“A lot of my friends, we never really pictured going this far,” says Lite Fortunato, explaining how rare it is for people from his walk of life to travel to Asia. But after meeting some Thai rappers last year like 1Mill and Tarvethz and seeing the potential in front of him, he got his first passport and made his way to join us here on the other side of the world. “It feels healthy for my morale, it’s how I wanted to live for a while. Rather than looking over my shoulder in New York all the time.”

Fortunato will be throwing a release party for his new album, Hell Of A Life, at Rover on Wed, Sept 18th, offering a preview a day before it officially drops online. He’ll play the entire thing and perform some of the songs as well. What to expect at the event? “Be prepared, tie up your laces, and put your seatbelt on,” he says.

Fortunato grew up on the North Shore of Staten Island, where he’d been rapping since middle school. “I was always on some witty shit, putting together words even if it didn’t make sense,” he says. By high school, he started taking it a bit more seriously, recording and releasing tracks online, but it was still just for fun, not a bid for fame or stardom. Despite a deep love for the music, it got him into trouble. “I dropped out, made a song about my principle, started getting an ego and shit. I basically became a degenerate,” he laughs in hindsight.

This new album marks a departure for Fortunato. He’s been prolific over the years, releasing several albums, but they were just moments in time: “They were just letting people know people how I was feeling that month. By the time people heard it, I’d be feeling way different. I didn’t know what I was going to be doing next or where I was going.” With the new project, he’s taking a more serious, structured approach; crafting original beats with his team, using original instrumentation, and paying attention to sound quality.

Hell Of A Life is also an effort to spread Fortunato’s message to a wider audience. “Thailand has influenced me to go back to the basics with the lyrics,” he says. He’s slowing down his delivery and pronouncing his words more clearly so that people whose first language isn’t English will have an easier time understanding him. “I’m making music for the world instead of just my local area, my hood, my friends. It’s more elevated, but now every continent can understand me better, not just LA or NY.”

Fortunato’s experiences in Thailand have made their way into some bars, too: “It’s about how far I came and what I’ve done. What I see, smell, think, feel. Where you’re really in those moments with me.” He says the album is strictly substance: “I’m trying to spread my core values of family, unity, and loyalty. I want people to see what I see in them. That feels like my purpose in life.” Stylistically, he calls the album galactic and futuristic. “It’s a rollercoaster trip. There’s a lot of different frequencies, I go anywhere from loud to emotional. It’s like an ecstasy trip. You’re gonna be high, then you’ll come down.”