Q&A: A Soul-Stirring Conversation On Bobby Bodega’s Impassioned Return With “Gravity”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
BOBBY BODEGA HAS SOMETHING TO SAY WITH “GRAVITY”– an expression of his soul, mind, and thoughts in a way that is both unyielding and grounded. This track is a four-year labor of love that showcases the Bronx-born rapper’s piercing flow and layered writing. The intriguing lyricism packed in this single pushes forward Bodega’s mission to “honor hip-hop’s essence.”
Emerging from a hiatus with renewed focus, Bodega returns stronger and more tenacious, determined to tell a story rooted in Bronx grit and personal truth. His music bridges past and present, drawing from formative moments on Undercliff Avenue and the cultural legacy of 1520 Sedgwick while also challenging real-life developments in technology and, further, its intersection with music. Beyond tackling Web3 dynamics, the artist is still bringing light to political and systemic issues affecting Black people. Bodega brings an unflinching honesty in his music that encapsulates the title “Gravity” fittingly.
With experience opening for acts like Ab-Soul and Pusha T, Bodega brings both lyrical weight and industry insight, but more than that, meaning and reflection. Poetry with a message.
In this conversation, Bobby Bodega discusses the impact of AI on storytelling in music, his compelling comeback, and how his upbringing shaped this release and creative output.
LUNA: "Gravity" is your first release in almost four years – what pulled you back to music, and why was this the song to reintroduce yourself?
BOBBY BODEGA: A lot of life happened in those four years ... loss, growth, stillness, and rebuilding. Music never left me, but I had to step back and figure out who I was becoming. "Gravity" felt like the clearest reflection of that journey. It’s a song that pulls from pain, but also from perspective. It felt honest, like I wasn’t trying to prove anything, just tell the truth. That’s how I knew it was the right one to come back with.
LUNA: How does your Bronx upbringing shape the stories you tell in your music today?
BODEGA: The Bronx made me sharp. It taught me how to move, how to read a room, and how to hustle — not just for money, but for respect and identity. You grow up fast, 'cause the stakes are high early on. But there's also so much culture, soul, and rhythm in the Bronx. That duality is where my stories come from. The Bronx is poetry. There's struggle and survival, but also joy in its purest form. Being the flyest motherfuckers in the world doesn't hurt either (unbiased take).
LUNA: "Gravity" explores themes of cycles, pain, and perseverance. Can you talk about one personal experience that directly inspired a line or verse in the song?
BODEGA: One thing that really shaped this song was watching people I grew up with turn on each other. Not out of malice, but because they were convinced the world wasn't big enough for both of them to make it. I've seen lifelong friends fall out over money and pride...fighting over things we never owned. That's the kind of pain that comes from the system that raised us to think survival is a solo mission. We all had to be against each other to make it. That's the energy behind "Gravity." That feeling of trying to move forward, but something always pulls you back into old cycles. Whether it's the justice system, poverty, or just unhealed trauma we haven't unpacked, that weight is real. I've felt it. That line, "Gravity keeps pulling me back to you," is about that pull, not just to people or places, but to patterns. And the struggle to break them.
LUNA: You write, “Give them doors but no keys” — a powerful statement. What systemic barriers were you thinking about when crafting that line, and how does this topic show up in your storytelling?
BODEGA: That line came from sitting with the reality of how opportunity is constantly dangled in front of us, especially as minorities, but rarely made truly accessible. It looks close enough to touch, but still out of reach. I've seen whole neighborhoods flipped, and watched weed go from criminalized to commercialized, yet the same people who were punished for surviving are now boxed out of ownership. It's like we're shown the door, but never handed the keys. In my music, I aim to bridge the gap between visibility and access, between promise and reality. I'm not just telling stories about struggle, I'm documenting the systems that shape how we move. At times, it shows up through frustration or reflection, but it's always rooted in truth. That line was me putting a spotlight on how the game is still rigged, even when it appears we're being invited to play. Look at the culture now. Everyone hates these "YNs" but they are a product of every system running out of tricks to keep us in the hamster wheel. Now they move without structure and live on their terms because they watched us fail over and over, reaching for that carrot.
LUNA: You mention the impact of AI on the music industry in the track. How do you see technology changing the role of the storyteller in hip-hop, and further, how is it integrated into art?
BODEGA: AI is transforming every aspect of how music is created, shared, and consumed. And in some ways, that's exciting. It provides people with tools they may not have had access to before. But it also raises fundamental questions about authenticity and intention. It's getting harder to tell what's real. From AI-generated voices to inflated streaming numbers, manipulation has become increasingly digital and covert. In music, especially in hip-hop, the storyteller has always been the soul of the genre — someone who could turn pain into poetry or joy into movement. With AI, there's a risk that voice gets diluted when algorithms decide what matters or when voices get copied without the life behind them. I'm not against tech. I just believe it should be a tool, not a replacement. The best stories still come from real life, from perspective, from community. As long as artists stay rooted in that, we can push the art forward without losing what makes it human.
LUNA: You’ve chosen to release music slowly and intentionally. Why is it important for you to let your audience sit with the music instead of dropping a full project all at once?
BODEGA: We live in a time where everything is moving fast, attention spans are short, and artists are expected to feed the algorithm constantly. Yet, for me, music isn't just content, it's conversation. It's meant to sit with you and [potentially] change shape depending on where you are in life. I want people to truly feel what I’m saying, not just scroll past it. Each song I drop is a piece of a larger story. By releasing slowly, I’m giving people space to digest, reflect, and return to it. That feels more honest to how life works, too. Growth doesn't happen all at once, and neither should the music.
