“We’ve got this Smirnoff Ice Party happening that I’m actually really excited about because all of my homies are rolling up with me,” Smith told Blavity ahead of the highly anticipated annual music festival.

“As far as the top of the week is concerned, that’s what I’m looking forward to,” he continued. “That’s the main event for me. I’m also excited to see Tyler [the Creator], but first things first, when I get to the desert, this event is what I’m looking forward to.”

No stranger to putting his support behind brands and causes that are near and dear to his heart, Smith said the perfect partnership is all about alignment.

“It’s all about being aligned on vision and saying, ‘Hey, what is it here that I’m trying to do?’ And then there are other people in the world that are also trying to do those same things and aligning visions in that type of way,” Smith said. “Probably the most important part of a partnership is for it to make sense and feel authentic, and that’s why the whole Coachella, in the desert, and my connection with the desert and the festival … it just really makes sense. Most times when we do things, I’m flying to another side of the world to make something happen or make something fit. You can rarely find partnerships right where you were or for something you already planned on doing.”

During the kickoff to the festival, Smith helped Smirnoff Ice debut Surpr-ICEs, which are “a new take on surprises that will delight consumers in unexpected new ways,” according to a press release.

“I was already planning on being in the desert and hadn’t had everything scheduled just yet, so it just made a lot of sense to have a meeting place and a point for the fans and everybody to be able to kind of create that community, because it’s difficult — once you get inside the grounds of Coachella — to connect with people. You kind of just have to move around and go and see who you want to see,” he explained. “I wanted to create a space where we could all just get started together and have an amazing event to kick off the weekend.” 

Smith also highlighted how the Earth’s natural features, like deserts, are often muses for his creative endeavors and where he brainstorms most of his big ideas.

“I pull a lot of inspiration from the desert,” he said. “I pull a lot of inspiration from nature in general, and nature inspires me. I truly believe that nature inspires me. … That’s where I have my wildest, most radical ideas that people are just like, how do you come up with that? It happens when I’m on the top of the hill, just in nature.”

For his fellow Coachella attendees, Smith also shared his three festival must-haves, which consist of “sunglasses, a face mask for the dust, and ice.”

As far as what fans can expect next from Smith, he said he’s been working on music and projects that he’ll be able to announce in due time.

“I’ve been hard at work recently, just working on music and trying to create something really amazing for the fans,” he said.