In September 2015, just a few hours after releasing his self-titled debut album, Fetty Wap’s star came close to falling back to Earth in the most horrific way.
While riding his father’s motorcycle in Fetty’s hometown of Paterson, NJ, the “Trap Queen” singer collided head-on with another vehicle. The 24-year-old suffered a broken leg. And, as if that weren’t enough, the police ticketed him for driving without a license, not having insurance and failing to produce a vehicle registration card. Although he had to cancel a string of tour dates, Fetty was well enough to play the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball in December — but had to do so while wearing a walking boot as he sat in a huge golden throne during his performance, while members of his crew the Remy Boyz kept energy levels high.
You’d think the incident would humble hip-hop’s new idol (real name: Willie Maxwell II), who scored three Billboard Top 10 hits in 2015 and will be performing them at Irving Plaza next Tuesday and Wednesday on the Monster Energy Outbreak tour. But Fetty’s single-mindedness helped him break out from the rap underground into the mainstream, and he refuses to change his ways now.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a reality check,” he tells The Post bluntly. “I had a reality check when I lost my vision. I already know what life can do to you, but my accident hasn’t stopped me doing anything — I still love riding my bike. Wheelchairs, crutches, left eye missing, ain’t nothing gonna stop me from doing what I want to do.” (Fetty contracted glaucoma as a child and now has an ocular prosthesis where his left eye used to be.)
“It was just a minor setback,” adds Montana “Monty” Buckz, founder of the Remy Boyz, whose vocals were featured on Fetty’s hits “My Way” and “679.” Having grown up and cut their musical teeth together, Monty remains Fetty’s right-hand man both onstage and off. “When he had his cast, I was helping him up the stairs at home. I was with him at the doctor’s office, whatever he needed. He’s like my brother — I’m gonna make sure he’s all right no matter what.”
It’s not just physical injury that Fetty has endured. The rapper has also been embroiled in a paternity case relating to Masika Kalysha. The pregnant former star of VH1’s “Love & Hip-Hop” claims they had an unprotected encounter last year and Fetty responded by telling entertainment blog the Shade Room that “she knew what she was doing.” In return, Kalysha angrily responded on Twitter by saying, “Go back to the shade room and make up some more lies.”
But even the dark side of this newfound fame doesn’t appear to faze Fetty, who is intent on continuing his successful streak on his own terms. “Negative attention doesn’t bother me,” he adds flatly. “Coming from Paterson and all the negative energy around here, I feel like I was prepared for all this — the good and the bad.”