Skilla Baby and Rob49 Talk Surprise Dream Collaborators, Lessons from Travis Scott, Co-Headlining Tour (Exclusive)

The two rising MCs opened up about their first headlining tour Vultures Eat the Most and what connects them as creative partners

• Skilla Baby and Rob49 are currently embarking on their first U.S. headlining run of shows, the Vultures Eat the Most Tour

• The two musicians caught up with PEOPLE about lessons they each learned from working alongside Travis Scott this past year

• Skilla discusses what its like to avoid falling "into this trap of being too cool" to be himself

Days before the kick off of his first-ever headlining tour, while driving around Detroit, Skilla Baby starts singing one of his all-time favorite songs: Adele’s “Someone Like You.” The first verse, without interruption, in the middle of an interview.

“I would love to have a song with Adele,” he tells PEOPLE following the impromptu performance. “I just be doing stuff, for real. I don't put a limit on myself. I don't limit myself to, ‘OK, I'm just going to be a gangsta rapper. I'm just going to be a rapper today.’ I'm going to do what I feel like.”

Doing whatever he feels seems to be the ultimate mission for Skilla Baby. And right now, he feels like hitting the road with fellow MC and another hit-maker destined to do things on his own accord, Rob49.

The pair, who've just departed on their very first co-headlining gigs in the U.S., the Vultures Eat the Most Tour, have more in common than just being frequent collaborators. They both have the Travis Scott stamp of approval, both rep their cities (Detroit and New Orleans, respectively) with pride and are ultimately cut from the same cloth. So beyond Skilla potentially busting out another viral rendition of Fun.’s “We Are Young,” there’s really no telling what fans can anticipate from them on the road.

“I think we both just want to see each other win,” Skilla says of Rob, who he’s collaborated with on multiple occasions (“Mama,” “C4,” “Mike Jack”). “I want to see young guys and girls win in general. What we do is so popularity based and it's like a competition, it's so competitive. Once you get some people that genuinely want to see you win and do as good as them, you just keep them around.”

“I think his brand is real gritty. My brand is like, I'm more like hustle and slowed down. And when you combine them, it's smooth and gritty at the same time,” he adds. “I don't really know how to explain it. But I’m excited for this tour.”

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From Rob49’s standout “Topia Twins” feature on Travis Scott’s Utopia, to Skilla’s name-drop on Jack Harlow’s No. 1 smash “Lovin’ On Me,” to their own creative partnership, the duo detailed to PEOPLE what fans need to know before catching them on the road this summer.

Related: Here Are All of the Guests Featured on Travis Scott's 'Utopia' — from Beyoncé to John Mayer

What's your overall vision for this tour — how would you describe it?

Rob49: I just want the fans to get a moment to come turn up with us, have a great time and give us the opportunity to make new fans in different cities. We want to give the people what they’ve been asking for and kick off the summer lit.

When you're out there on stage, are there any performers that you try to channel? Skilla, I know you've got the Michael Jackson avatar on social media.

Skilla Baby: I try to take a little bit from everybody. I try to take a little Uzi. I try to take some Sada Baby. He was one of my favorite performers. I try to take some Michael Jackson. These are some of my favorite performers. I've never seen Michael Jackson live, but I've seen his impact and I've seen videos of him live. So I try to take all of that and put it into one. I'm not really athletic and I can't dance and I don't have the best rhythm, but I try to take some of it and just put my little own spin on it. I try to give people. I really love to find different ways to entertain people.

You both grew up on Lil Wayne. Do you two ever compare notes on influences or notice any overlap when working together?

Skilla Baby: We don't really compare notes like that, but we do say sometimes like, ‘Dang, we have influence like that.’ I feel like Wayne's influence, he influenced a whole generation. I feel like me and Rob's influence is like... I feel like we’ve changed, we shifting the culture for real as far as how people go about songs and how they writing them, how they carry themselves. I feel like we are definitely, especially me, I feel like I haven't done enough. But I feel like if I stop doing music today, I'm OK. I'm fine with how I shifted the culture.

Skilla, you recently opened for Travis Scott on the Circus Maximus Tour. What did you learn from him on the road?

Skilla Baby: Travis Scott was the best show I've ever been to and the best show I've ever experienced. With that being said, I've been in the back with Travis Scott and he was this cool guy, normal, intelligent, holding a conversation and all of that. And when he gets on stage, he turns to what you see. So it's like, with a guy like that taking his craft seriously, and every time I get around these big artists, I ask them, “How you keep going?" And they all tell me, they just act like they haven't done anything. They in love with the hustle. They in love with it. So I got to be like that.

I've been on tour with Travis Scott, all his shows are sold out, packed with the same energy. For me to give any less effort or energy, that'd be me cheating the culture and myself, like what I'm in it for. If this guy, rich, successful, all these accolades and accomplishments to take his craft serious and don't take no shortcuts, why would I?

Rob, what's the most valuable lesson you've taken away from working with Travis?

Rob49: That any day I can explode and be what I feel like I’m destined to be. To stay true to myself and my creative process because my time is definitely coming. Trav is a huge inspiration to young artists because we all saw his come up.

I love to see how Travis turns up and how engaged his fans are. He has like a cult[-like] following but his fans are so in tune with him at his shows, and he really be performing hard.

Who would you point to as dream collaborators? Anyone we'd be surprised by?

Skilla Baby: Anita Baker, Summer Walker, Jhené Aiko, Adele. Crazy. Nicki Minaj, these are people I've been a fan of since I was, yay high. But I'm a big fan of those girls, those artists. And any of the groups that I used to listen to or my mom used to listen to, TLC, that type of stuff, En Vogue. I would love to just for the culture like Brandy, Monica, Keyshia Cole, all those type of people, I would love to do music with them more than I would love to do music with rappers.

Rob, are there any artists in your music library fans would be surprised by?

Rob49: Everyone is always shocked to hear that Frank Ocean is one of my favorite artists ever.

Skilla, you aren't afraid to pull out some classics during your live show with Fun.'s "We Are Young." How important is it for you to incorporate that random factor into your concerts?

Skilla Baby:  I just feel like sometimes you fall into this trap of being too cool. I think that type of stuff is cool. I'm not too gangster. I'm not too street. I'm not too cool to do anything. Like I said, if I'm going to do something, I'm going to go all the way in. So I'm an entertainer. I'm a risk-taker. I'm not here to be politically correct all the time. I'm not here to be safe. I'm here to entertain with the best of my ability. So I'm not going to shortcuts.

You said the mention in "Lovin' On Me" was a big moment for you. That song went No. 1 for six weeks. Have you talked to Jack about the mention?

Skilla Baby: I thanked him multiple times, but we don't really talk about music. We talk about life. Jack is a real genuine guy. He's a good dude. And he just cares about people's wellbeing. The most important advice he given me is just be different. And I think that's how I've got some of my success or some of my records because maybe somebody don't like them, but they're different. So I'm approaching music differently. And by me approaching music differently than somebody from my region or where I'm from, I think I stand out a little.

What are you looking forward to the most during these live shows?

Rob49: I’m just ready to give the Rob49 fans a true Vulture Mode experience. I can finally control how I want it to go, because this is my first tour. So I am really excited to have fun with the fans and continue to learn and grow as an artist from this tour. I’m really trying to take it to the top this year.

Skilla: I want them to experience happiness and fun and I want them to just be like, "This one of the best concerts I've ever been to. I'm glad I spent my money to go see these people." That's what I want them to get from me, especially me, but both of us. But I can only speak for myself on what I want them to experience. I want them to experience me. I want them to feel like they hanging with me for an hour. That's what I want. I want them to be like, "Oh, Skilla was my homeboy. I hung with him for an hour. I know Skilla like. That's my guy." 

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