As one of the current hotbeds of America’s hip-hop landscape, Detroit has churned out many big names over the past few years.

Boldy James, Sada Baby, Tee Grizzley, Peezy, Icewear Vezzo, Babyface Ray, and 42 Dugg are just a few of the newer school emcees taking over the Mitt, while others remain in the wing. Veeze is one of those artists whose time is now.

In June, he released his breakout album Ganger to critical acclaim with many music websites and critics naming it one of the best rap albums to drop in 2023. It tows the line between Detroit's classic sound of up-tempo drums and simple synths and a more palatable national sound void of The D’s oft-off-beat rapping style. The result is Veeze’s quiet and raspy voice penetrating the freshest sound the Midwest has to offer, and it’s excellent.

Now, Veeze is taking his new album on the road with his Ganger tour, which kicked off earlier this week in New York, and making some additions to it with a deluxe version. Five songs make up the project’s post-drop, which he feels was brought on by the popularity of the original release.

“It's a beautiful thing. It was anticipated, so I'm happy they feel good about when it got released,” he told BET during a recent interview. “I'm proud of the reaction the fans gave me and the new fans that I gained. A lot of people’s favorite song is ‘Not A Drill’. They surprise me every day as a new person tagging me or making a TikTok to ‘GOMD’. I'm just happy to help hip-hop, the genre.”

Included in the more recent developments is Veeze’s video for “Safe 2,” a fan favorite from Ganger that reflects on his come-up and the trials and tribulations it took for him to arrive at this moment.

“[It] was ideally supposed to be a reference to Pursuit of Happiness but we just winged it and took touches of it,” he explains in describing the visual’s treatment. “I was shooting soon as I woke up so it kind of like made me look actually homeless because I really had just woke up and I started shooting after a long night.”

Part of Veeze’s growth will have to do with the new partnership between his imprint, Navy Wavy, and Warner Records. He says the newly announced deal is “a learning experience” where he’ll “get to bring ideas to life” through the new distribution and resources at his disposal.

“Everything’s better because they actually fans and they actually listen to [to my music] and they know things about my movement,” Veeze explains. “You would have to be paying attention to know so it's a genuine connection. They let me be my own boss, my own CEO.”

All of Veeze’s new triumphs in music are coming after a lull in not only dropping projects but also the desire to take music seriously in general. According to him, it was 42 Dugg who made him realize that if he puts in the work, his talent can take him a long way. After the fellow Detroit rapper was released from prison in 2019 and signed to Yo Gotti’s CMG imprint, it provided him that first-hand view of someone who could make it off rap.

“The way dog rapping, the way he makes songs is like he's so talented man he one of them,” said Veeze, who also named Babyface Ray as another person who was heavily influential to him. “Working with Dugg wanna make me work harder get better at being a lyricist and speaking about pain.”

Now, Veeze will look to take his momentum from a strong album showing, a new Wavy Navy partnership, and a tour into 2024.

“All I know is I'm trying to take Jimmy Kimmel's job and I'm trying to have $15 million by December bro, and there’s only one way I can do it: rapping,” he says. “That's all I got to say.”

Stream Veeze’s Ganger deluxe album below.