WOS: What’s happening man?
Fiend: Ain’t nothing man, working man ya know: studios beats, hooks, songs you know what I’m saying?
WOS: The big question, are you still signed to Ruff Ryders?
Fiend: No sir…
WOS: Why in the world would they not release an album from you?
Fiend: See that’s the thing man I don’t even know. I can’t even tell you, like I seen so many different era’s of music that came out since I signed with them and at one time when Ghetto Mafia and “Never Scared” and all that came out I had songs that you know that was just as big or bigger as his song and it was just too much that they didn’t really know what to do with it. It’s hard to say man, it’s hard to say but whatever reason I mean it’s alright we still gotta great relationship with them you know.
WOS: Did they allow you to leave with the music you had?
Fiend: Yeah, we left with what we went there with, the music that got us to the situation.
WOS: I remember reading that you had to take your Can I Burn album off the shelves… and I remember that there was going to be a DVD to go along with it. What ever happened with that?
Fiend: I had put the first “Can I Burn” out, I sold much of it like sometime back when people were still playing vhs and everybody didn’t have a DVD Player. I’m still about to go ahead and do the DVD and with the part two we gon’ package that us as a set probably before the summer out.
WOS: What’s the DVD going to be about?
Fiend: Us touring with Jada Kiss, Mystikal, you name it ya know, Redman all kinds of cats just you know the tours, live backstage footage, recording sessions, video’s we done shot, underground videos, a whole lot of smoking, a whole lot of smoking, that’s the whole Can I Burn projects that been about the people that’s connected by blowing real good.
WOS: How is the “Go Hard or Go Home” album doing?
Fiend: Its doing pretty good it’s doing a little bit underneath the bar that I like 15,000 pieces. That ain’t bad it just came out a few months ago and it’s still constantly selling. We just getting ready to take another single to the radio station. That’s gonna keep everyone tuned into us until I get ready to drop this “Addiction” album coming this summer
WOS: Who you got on the “Addiction” album as far as producing and features?
Fiend: I got the famous Beats by the Pound fuckin’ wit me. They call themselves Medicine Men now I got them doing production, this cat from Baton Rouge name Los, got him doing some stuff, and a whole lot of myself might even get a Dre beat on there.
WOS: Yeah, that would be tight if you got Dre on there. So is it dropping on your label?
Fiend: Yeah it’s gonna drop on our label FE. and we gone see who can actually match these funds whether it be Interscope, or Jive, Sony, or Capitol.
WOS: On the track "Baller 4 Real", you had some choice words about the whole King of The South issue. Many cats been coming down on T.I. about it…do you have an issue with it?
Fiend: Nah, I ain’t got an issue with T.I. about that. He the dude, we works with him and we been doing a little bit of production with him lately, left him some music and beats see what he going to do with it. I just feel like every man feels like he’s the best rapper that’s just one of them aspects. Everybody feel like they the king of they era, they own area, they city, they block.
WOS: How is your label currently doing?
Fiend: We got an artist coming out, P-Dub, and we got a few other people we looking at right now. We got a few labels that’s interested in him. We trying to sign one or two artists right now get ‘em out there get em some exposure. Y’all gonna be seeing the Addiction album, make sure to do a couple mix cd’s so we can take all the exposure so we can hold our spot down in 2005.
WOS: You been on Big boy, No Limit, and Ruff Ryders and recorded wit HCP…four different learning experiences. How were the vibes when recording your music with each label?
Fiend: During the Big Boy days I was young and lil’ naïve to some of the business aspects but it was a great experience with the individuals and the artists and the people that were involved with the music.
The No Limit days were great as far as one of the experiences. I had a little growth and did what I could do with it. Got two gold albums off it and a whole lot of multi million involvements also in record sales.
The Ruff Ryder days as far as my rap career is where manhood came from because I made a serious growth being in and out of jail and stuff, been out there living somewhere that I never lived before…the east coast just made me and my skin toughen up, tighten up a little bit more. Already growing up in New Orleans is a muthafucker but just being out there not having my people. I can’t just drive a couple miles and just run into my people. That was wild it was real wild.
Hypnotize Minds shit was dope because it was a great financial jump as far as making things happen ya know what I’m saying the independent label and independent artist. It was different because not only we made a great album together in just 3 days but we made nice money with each other and we know that no matter what’s going on that we can always do some kind of business with each other to show that people in the south can hook up.
WOS: A lot of folks been wanting another HeadBuzzaz album…will we ever get to hear another one?
Fiend: I don’t know, it be great to do. I enjoyed working on that album with them. I guess if we can negotiate and get things to a common ground, I believe so because it would be great for both parties.
WOS: Whats your current thoughts on the N.O. rap scene
Fiend: I believe it needs a face lift, a nip tuck, and liposuction and we gonna be the ones to give it to em. It gon’ be one strong energy that make that change happen
WOS: What’s going on with Hound and Ward Block?
Fiend: Oh yeah man, Hound, sorry to say, had to check himself in to do a nickel go do five years. Ward Block, I just recently hooked up with them and they coming to get some beats for their album. We slowly getting things together we just trying to keep a lot of cats from being incarcerated so damn much and just dying.
WOS: Do you still deal with anyone from Big Boy?
Fiend: O yeah, we just went out there to support a big boy video shoot. They shot a video and we out there to support them. That was love we. We all men. Some dudes are good some dudes are bad we just make the best out of it.
WOS: Have you ever worked with JR Mack?
Fiend: In the studio, yeah we did some things. We never got a chance to put it out.
WOS: I talked to MAC about a month ago and he doing real well…have you spoke with him since he been locked up?
Fiend: Yeah I talk to MAC and I talked to C-Murder last night.
WOS: Are you going to be on C-Murder’s new album?
Fiend: Yeah, I produced a track and I’m on it, me and P-Dub.
WOS: What was your relationship like with Big Ed and Soulja Slim, and what will you always remember about the two?
Fiend: Big Ed was a serious dude about health and lifting weights and keeping it positive, he’ll let you know what’s your strong points and what’s your weak points in a heart beat. That was dope about Big Ed. It’s sad to see a great guy like himself so healthy pass from something that he never even see coming. Slim was wild man, Slim was wild but he was a great cat and he always remind you ya never know when you gotta be back out here like whatever. From music experiences you know we gotta utilize our time in the studio and do what we can we can’t try to get ourselves too involved in negativity because it ain’t fair to you. You can be doing way more with yourself you can’t forever let bs hold you down and negativity hold you down from all the things that you should have.
WOS: New Orleans isn’t the safest place to live as far as crime rate and a lot of artists who have had a chance to leave that lifestyle alone still end up getting caught up. How have you personally managed not to get yourself into any real trouble?
Fiend: Well for one, nothing ain’t promised. You gotta be realistic with yourself if you really need to be hangin’ here or hangin’ there and you just need not to be. If you out chea you know the consequences and that’s what I get out of it. New Orleans you just gotta be a careful guy anything can happen to you. Stay out of it or like I say work and stay focused, you understand and try to get God first. You get God first and be a man second. You gotta follow them guidelines and you know everything else is like nothing it’s like breathing air ain’t nothing to ya.
WOS: A lot of folks who have heard your “Street Life” album consider it your best work and the album is a real personal album. What was you going through during that whole recording process?
Fiend: For the most part of the album I was in Europe and I guess just being in another environment having a clear mind and the right to get focused and not pay attention to everything that’s around you and that’s probably what happened and I couldn’t been around a better production team then Beats By the Pound. I actually got to say everything that was on my mind.
WOS: What’s your favorite album out of all the work you have done?
Fiend: It’s hard to say I would have to say everything we did. It’s the Big Ed’s album, it’s the Mia X’s album it’s all that energy that we put into to pivotal point of music because a lot of me went into a lot of people too. The Addiction is going to be one of the biggest album’s I have ever released in my life. It’s gon’ be so enormous over Street Life, and "There’s On In Every Family" so if there is one favorite I couldn’t give it to you.
Fiend: Ain’t nothing man, working man ya know: studios beats, hooks, songs you know what I’m saying?
WOS: The big question, are you still signed to Ruff Ryders?
Fiend: No sir…
WOS: Why in the world would they not release an album from you?
Fiend: See that’s the thing man I don’t even know. I can’t even tell you, like I seen so many different era’s of music that came out since I signed with them and at one time when Ghetto Mafia and “Never Scared” and all that came out I had songs that you know that was just as big or bigger as his song and it was just too much that they didn’t really know what to do with it. It’s hard to say man, it’s hard to say but whatever reason I mean it’s alright we still gotta great relationship with them you know.
WOS: Did they allow you to leave with the music you had?
Fiend: Yeah, we left with what we went there with, the music that got us to the situation.
WOS: I remember reading that you had to take your Can I Burn album off the shelves… and I remember that there was going to be a DVD to go along with it. What ever happened with that?
Fiend: I had put the first “Can I Burn” out, I sold much of it like sometime back when people were still playing vhs and everybody didn’t have a DVD Player. I’m still about to go ahead and do the DVD and with the part two we gon’ package that us as a set probably before the summer out.
WOS: What’s the DVD going to be about?
Fiend: Us touring with Jada Kiss, Mystikal, you name it ya know, Redman all kinds of cats just you know the tours, live backstage footage, recording sessions, video’s we done shot, underground videos, a whole lot of smoking, a whole lot of smoking, that’s the whole Can I Burn projects that been about the people that’s connected by blowing real good.
WOS: How is the “Go Hard or Go Home” album doing?
Fiend: Its doing pretty good it’s doing a little bit underneath the bar that I like 15,000 pieces. That ain’t bad it just came out a few months ago and it’s still constantly selling. We just getting ready to take another single to the radio station. That’s gonna keep everyone tuned into us until I get ready to drop this “Addiction” album coming this summer
WOS: Who you got on the “Addiction” album as far as producing and features?
Fiend: I got the famous Beats by the Pound fuckin’ wit me. They call themselves Medicine Men now I got them doing production, this cat from Baton Rouge name Los, got him doing some stuff, and a whole lot of myself might even get a Dre beat on there.
WOS: Yeah, that would be tight if you got Dre on there. So is it dropping on your label?
Fiend: Yeah it’s gonna drop on our label FE. and we gone see who can actually match these funds whether it be Interscope, or Jive, Sony, or Capitol.
WOS: On the track "Baller 4 Real", you had some choice words about the whole King of The South issue. Many cats been coming down on T.I. about it…do you have an issue with it?
Fiend: Nah, I ain’t got an issue with T.I. about that. He the dude, we works with him and we been doing a little bit of production with him lately, left him some music and beats see what he going to do with it. I just feel like every man feels like he’s the best rapper that’s just one of them aspects. Everybody feel like they the king of they era, they own area, they city, they block.
WOS: How is your label currently doing?
Fiend: We got an artist coming out, P-Dub, and we got a few other people we looking at right now. We got a few labels that’s interested in him. We trying to sign one or two artists right now get ‘em out there get em some exposure. Y’all gonna be seeing the Addiction album, make sure to do a couple mix cd’s so we can take all the exposure so we can hold our spot down in 2005.
WOS: You been on Big boy, No Limit, and Ruff Ryders and recorded wit HCP…four different learning experiences. How were the vibes when recording your music with each label?
Fiend: During the Big Boy days I was young and lil’ naïve to some of the business aspects but it was a great experience with the individuals and the artists and the people that were involved with the music.
The No Limit days were great as far as one of the experiences. I had a little growth and did what I could do with it. Got two gold albums off it and a whole lot of multi million involvements also in record sales.
The Ruff Ryder days as far as my rap career is where manhood came from because I made a serious growth being in and out of jail and stuff, been out there living somewhere that I never lived before…the east coast just made me and my skin toughen up, tighten up a little bit more. Already growing up in New Orleans is a muthafucker but just being out there not having my people. I can’t just drive a couple miles and just run into my people. That was wild it was real wild.
Hypnotize Minds shit was dope because it was a great financial jump as far as making things happen ya know what I’m saying the independent label and independent artist. It was different because not only we made a great album together in just 3 days but we made nice money with each other and we know that no matter what’s going on that we can always do some kind of business with each other to show that people in the south can hook up.
WOS: A lot of folks been wanting another HeadBuzzaz album…will we ever get to hear another one?
Fiend: I don’t know, it be great to do. I enjoyed working on that album with them. I guess if we can negotiate and get things to a common ground, I believe so because it would be great for both parties.
WOS: Whats your current thoughts on the N.O. rap scene
Fiend: I believe it needs a face lift, a nip tuck, and liposuction and we gonna be the ones to give it to em. It gon’ be one strong energy that make that change happen
WOS: What’s going on with Hound and Ward Block?
Fiend: Oh yeah man, Hound, sorry to say, had to check himself in to do a nickel go do five years. Ward Block, I just recently hooked up with them and they coming to get some beats for their album. We slowly getting things together we just trying to keep a lot of cats from being incarcerated so damn much and just dying.
WOS: Do you still deal with anyone from Big Boy?
Fiend: O yeah, we just went out there to support a big boy video shoot. They shot a video and we out there to support them. That was love we. We all men. Some dudes are good some dudes are bad we just make the best out of it.
WOS: Have you ever worked with JR Mack?
Fiend: In the studio, yeah we did some things. We never got a chance to put it out.
WOS: I talked to MAC about a month ago and he doing real well…have you spoke with him since he been locked up?
Fiend: Yeah I talk to MAC and I talked to C-Murder last night.
WOS: Are you going to be on C-Murder’s new album?
Fiend: Yeah, I produced a track and I’m on it, me and P-Dub.
WOS: What was your relationship like with Big Ed and Soulja Slim, and what will you always remember about the two?
Fiend: Big Ed was a serious dude about health and lifting weights and keeping it positive, he’ll let you know what’s your strong points and what’s your weak points in a heart beat. That was dope about Big Ed. It’s sad to see a great guy like himself so healthy pass from something that he never even see coming. Slim was wild man, Slim was wild but he was a great cat and he always remind you ya never know when you gotta be back out here like whatever. From music experiences you know we gotta utilize our time in the studio and do what we can we can’t try to get ourselves too involved in negativity because it ain’t fair to you. You can be doing way more with yourself you can’t forever let bs hold you down and negativity hold you down from all the things that you should have.
WOS: New Orleans isn’t the safest place to live as far as crime rate and a lot of artists who have had a chance to leave that lifestyle alone still end up getting caught up. How have you personally managed not to get yourself into any real trouble?
Fiend: Well for one, nothing ain’t promised. You gotta be realistic with yourself if you really need to be hangin’ here or hangin’ there and you just need not to be. If you out chea you know the consequences and that’s what I get out of it. New Orleans you just gotta be a careful guy anything can happen to you. Stay out of it or like I say work and stay focused, you understand and try to get God first. You get God first and be a man second. You gotta follow them guidelines and you know everything else is like nothing it’s like breathing air ain’t nothing to ya.
WOS: A lot of folks who have heard your “Street Life” album consider it your best work and the album is a real personal album. What was you going through during that whole recording process?
Fiend: For the most part of the album I was in Europe and I guess just being in another environment having a clear mind and the right to get focused and not pay attention to everything that’s around you and that’s probably what happened and I couldn’t been around a better production team then Beats By the Pound. I actually got to say everything that was on my mind.
WOS: What’s your favorite album out of all the work you have done?
Fiend: It’s hard to say I would have to say everything we did. It’s the Big Ed’s album, it’s the Mia X’s album it’s all that energy that we put into to pivotal point of music because a lot of me went into a lot of people too. The Addiction is going to be one of the biggest album’s I have ever released in my life. It’s gon’ be so enormous over Street Life, and "There’s On In Every Family" so if there is one favorite I couldn’t give it to you.
