West Coast Rydaz: Talk about your new album, Drop Them Thangs Just Box?
JT The Bigga Figga: Thats an album dedicated to the street as far as so many homies quick to bust somebody head and kill a mothafucka. Im tellin mothafuckas drop your thangs, just box. Go back to the old school shit, as we move forward to the future we get more violence. I just wanted to stand up for something that's more real, as opposed to just going with the flow.
West Coast Rydaz: Thats something you been working towards for a while, to unite bay area youth. For example last year at the BARS Awards you had some youngsters from Harbor Road and West Point together. Do you think progress has been made or things need alot more work...
JT The Bigga Figga: I think it's definitely alot more work to be done, there need to be more people involved. I'm only one person. I was blessed to make progress. Alot of people was motivated by that and it caused alot of people to actively start pursuing making it better. We resolved certain problems, being the big homie reaching out and helping squash some of these beefs. Trying to end them before they get started. I definitely see progress cause I see more people making peace treaties and that's becoming more popular now. Getting up out of the bullshit instead of being locked in it. Some people are truly locked in it.
West Coast Rydaz: Getting back to the music side of things..what happened to The Main Event?
JT The Bigga Figga: I never released it.
West Coast Rydaz: As far as your standing in the game, that was supposed to be your last album. So you decided to continue rapping?
JT The Bigga Figga: That whole statement was really meaning dropping albums on that particular level. I put out that album Who Grind Like Us and made those statements according to a format I was working with up under them distributors. That was a way for me to say goodbye to the game, but not really say goodbye. Just make sure when I come back it's new and improved Fig. When you listen to my style now, it don't sound like the old JT. It sound like some of the old JT, but some of the new JT is more prevalent. I'm more of a storyteller, my style is slowed down, you can understand it. I'm not going so fast. I still got my fast style but it's new and improved. I got about four new albums I'm finna drop all at the same time. Main Event is gonna be one of them.
West Coast Rydaz: What are the other albums coming out?
JT The Bigga Figga: Drop Your Thangs is one, I got one called Independent Money, and I got one called Name In Ya Mouth.
West Coast Rydaz: Are these all JT solos?
JT The Bigga Figga: Yup, JT solos.
West Coast Rydaz: What else is in store for Get Low? Any new artists your putting out?
JT The Bigga Figga: Me and Snoop got a movie coming out called Mandatory Business, you can see a clip of it at MandatoryBusiness.com. That film and soundtrack is something I'm excited about, it's LA to the Bay. Also we have a couple of handbooks. Collectors Items is coming out. It's a number of books that's on the way back out.
West Coast Rydaz: Tell us some more about Mandatory Business. Is it a documentary, a movie with a plot...
JT The Bigga Figga: It's more or less a DocuDrama., I feature the situation at the BARS Awards last year. We featured some Snoop down in his hood when he brought some of his boys together down there. It features us discussing and keeping it bossy and pushin a heavy line.
West Coast Rydaz: Are you gonna continue to produce?
JT The Bigga Figga: Nah production is always in me, I just been doing these films. I got another film called Name In Ya Mouth. It's alot of documentaries. I been working on that and getting my filming game down pat. Working on my writing shit, writing movies and writing albums is the same to me. Once I get this last one where I really want it then I'mma be knocking out alot of music. I know when I come back with the music, cause I'm a fan of the music -- to make good music, to know how to and just don't, I just don't do it. Only sometimes the last beats that I made...I can't even remember it.
West Coast Rydaz: Will we see another GLP reunion?
JT The Bigga Figga: Yeah that was the last beats I did too. GLP reunion could be something but I think it's all about JT right now. I gotta make it dominant, it's a dominating market. Quinn been leading the charge for us and keeping Get Low lit. Even thought he represent Done Deal everybody know where he come from. No matter what label he go to, they know the foundation is Get Low Records.
West Coast Rydaz: What's your opinion on the new San Francisco talent, to name some: Ya Boy, Infamous JD, Killa Keise.
JT The Bigga Figga: I think all of the new dudes is hot. I think they real lyrical, they hungry. They got good examples so they primed and ready to keep it pushing. Bailey is leading the charge out of the new ones coming, Big Rich is following closely at second, and the rest of the young dudes. I support the whole hyphy movement, I support all of the young dudes coming into the game, cause I know how hard it is trying to get in the game.
West Coast Rydaz: What's the deal with Rap A Lot West, and you being the CEO?
JT The Bigga Figga: That shit, I don't even wanna talk about it. That shit is bogus cause the media blew it up bigger than what it was and caused alot of confusion so we gonna dead that.
West Coast Rydaz: So the focus is just on Get Low right now then...
JT The Bigga Figga: Get Low Records baby!
West Coast Rydaz: What's your relationship, if any, with The Game?
JT The Bigga Figga: Business only. I just own the masters, ain't no relationship, ain't no communication. Ain't no ill feelings or nothing, it's just business, that's it.
West Coast Rydaz: Have we seen the last Game album from you?
JT The Bigga Figga: No. Stay tuned. [laughs]
West Coast Rydaz: You're probably the biggest independent hustler in the bay, what advice do you have to give a young up and coming artist?
JT The Bigga Figga: I would say don't wait on a deal. That's number one. Be prepared to spend your own money even if it's your shoe money, clothes money, rent money, and cell phone money. Be prepared to spend on yourself, cause if you're not, ain't nobody else gonna spend on it. Quit being a fuckin slave. Quit having your fuckin hand out all the time waitin' to get discovered. I didn't get discovered. I had to discover myself. Then they came to discover me after I discovered myself. So the advice I'd give is discover yourself first. Get a project done, get it completed. Sell that mothafucka if you got to. Make a DVD with camcorder, I don't give a fuck. Do something to make impact in the game.
West Coast Rydaz: What's your opinion on mixtapes...
JT The Bigga Figga: My opinion on the mixtapes is, if you have no money at all, do one. Even if you do have some money, do one just because. Hone ya skills up. Don't do hecka of em though, I don't think you should be wasting your time doing 10-20 mixtapes. You burn yourself out and when it comes time to do a real album you got no heat.
West Coast Rydaz: You were at the Dogg Pound's Cali Iz Active video shoot. What was that experience like?
JT The Bigga Figga: It felt like Cali is back. We truly was accepted amongst the biggest bosses that way, and they accepted us. Too Short been a legend in the game, I'm just an independent legend. It's like having the biggest dudes up our way. 40 water is big, he the past and the present. He just wasn't able to make it, if he could I'm pretty sure he woulda been on through there.
West Coast Rydaz: What do we gotta do to bridge the gap between Bay area and Los Angeles?
JT The Bigga Figga: Mothafuckas in the bay need to get off they ass and go network. All the big shit going on down there. Straight up. JT network with mothafuckas cause I get up and go to them. Alot of times they don't come to me, I go to them. And go with a plan, I don't go just to kick it and be they homeboy, I go to network.
West Coast Rydaz: Any last words you wanna end this interview off with?
JT The Bigga Figga: If you a real JT The Bigga Figga fan ride for the peace movement, any chance you get. If you got two homeboys beefin, be the bridge bewteen them to help em say something to each other before they kill each other. If they kill each other, there ain't no comin back. If they ain't ridin with the peace movement FUCK YOU!
West Coast Rydaz: Also, I was looking on your MySpace and seen the picture with you, Young Buck, and C-Bo. So they squashed the beef huh?
JT The Bigga Figga: Peace is the new thing. We making peace the cool thing. All that beef is for suckas. So they squashed that shit, it's over.
West Coast Rydaz: Good lookin out JT.
JT The Bigga Figga: Also, Im looking for writers to help me with this magazine, to help me with these manuals. They can email me if they interested at
[email protected]. I'm looking for writers. I wanna put out a whole series of manuals. We doing print now, I'm trying to get into the print game. I'm printing people's stories. If you got manuals or a book that's tight, I'm trying to print them mothafuckas up like we turn out albums. So get at me.
