Congratulations on your second album Phinally Phamous.
Thank you, thank you very much. It’s well needed in the music biz.
Is your real name a secret?
No, my real name is Patrick Lanshaw.
And you’re from Memphis Tennessee.
Yes ma’am.
You once said, "I’m one of the rappers that understands the difference between entertainment and real life." What’s the difference?
The difference is you’ve got to use real life situations to create entertainment. You can’t use entertainment to create real life situations. You see what I’m sayin’? You can’t make a song about shooting somebody and then go do it. People do it every day. Don’t get me wrong, but I take the news and life around me and make music out of what I see goin’ on. I was tellin’ this one DJ up in New York. He was like, ‘I understand you have a crack house song on your first CD. Have you ever sold crack?’ I was like, naw, but I sold my share of weed, and my next door neighborhood was a crackhead, and my best friend was a crack dealer for 10 years. Just because you don’t know about it, don’t mean you can’t speak on it. That’s what freedom of speech is all about.
Some of the rappers out here, they take shit to other levels, you know? They can’t just say what they gotta say and be done with it. They gotta say what they gotta say on this CD, the next CD, the mixtapes, the radio shows, you know, TV, fuck that. I’m here to shine. I make my music for what people want to hear. Getting together with Paul and Juicy from Three 6 Mafia helped me do that because that’s what they’re all about. We’re talking about millionaires that have got some of the hardest, crunkest songs in the world. I’m talking about a little of everything, and these boys ain’t got no time to go out and kill nobody or rob nobody ‘cause they’re in the studio 24/7 making this music for everybody that is out here doin’ their shit.
We have drug dealer songs for drug dealers. We have ass shakin’ songs for the girls who shake their ass. We have weed smokin’ songs for the weed smokas. Shit, I got a drinkin’ song on my new album for my redneck ass, or my black or white or Asian or African or whatever colored drinkers.
What about something positive?
Positive stuff. It’s all positive. If you listen to my lyrics, the topic might be a little negative but somewhere in there I throw some positivity so everybody don’t think I’m just this old negative-ass rapper that hates the world. I love the world. I can take the worst subject and make a positive rap out of it, seriously. I might talk about how I did it in the past, and don’t do it no more, would never do it again, but realize my mistakes. I’m all about learning from experiences. I always kicked it with older people when I was young. I’d be like 10 years old kickin’ it with like 15, 16, 17-year-old kids and it stayed that way. They get 20, I’m 12, 13. I grew up around these older people who were out doin’ all this dumb ass shit. Little kids stealin’ cars, robbin’ people left and right, and gettin’ on hard drugs, and I learned from all that. I learned how to take all that energy and make music with it.
I understand that you dropped out of school twice but you went back to get your diploma not just your GED; that’s definitely a positive statement.
It was more like, me and my dad going through high school were on bad terms ‘cause I skipped school like every other day. I missed like 88 days out of a 140-day school year. It’s not good. It got to the point where I said screw it, and I dropped out. They put cameras in my school and they tried to make it all corporate and it wasn’t the same old school it used to be. But as I sat at home I got bored as hell not doing shit. Looked for a job here and there, but it just got boring. So I went back to school, dropped out again. But I didn’t just drop out that time; I dropped out of that school to go to another school. I got my diploma. It was fun to see the look on my dad's face after all the bitchin’ he did, and I still walked the stage.
Amen.
He always swore I’d never get a diploma so that’s really why I did it. To show him I could do whatever I wanted. Anything I put my mind to I’ma do it.
What’s it like working with Three 6 Mafia?
Man. It’s like the opposite of hell. It’s heaven. It’s beautiful. I’m with two of the best producers in the game, if you ask me. When I started listening to rap, I started with lame head label shit that was on the radio, but once I found out more about rap, I was Three 6 Mafia bound. Working with them is like a dream. I tell a lot of people I feel like I’ma wake up any day now. I just recently got a gold plaque from my participation on Unbreakables. When I look at that gold plaque I’m like damn, this shit ain’t a dream. This shit’s really serious.
Some people say, "Oh, there’s a new rap guy coming out every week." What are you bringing to the rap game that’s different?
Life. I’m bringing life to the rap game. I’ma bring honesty. I’ma bring truth. I’ma bring some luuuv to the rap game. For real. You listen to old school hip hop, there was a lotta love in hip hop. [Now] it’s a bunch of anger and beats in hip hop. Don’t get me wrong, my clique is one of the biggest anger-distributing cliques out there, but we are that clique that gives everybody that CD that they can sit back and deal with all their bullshit, and listen to this smokin’ song or listen to this get your ass kicked song. But when I got into the game I told myself if I ever do make it far, no matter how big I make it I’m seriously not going to let this get to my head because rappin’ is just like my gateway door. I got so much other shit I want to get into once financial shit gets straight. Like once I’m up there in the game, music ain’t nothing compared to what I’m finta’ do.
Like what?
I’m going to get into any entrepreneurial shit I can, like TV, movies, whatever I can do. Before I’m done I’ma have a NASCAR on the NASCAR track. That’s my retirement plan. I’ma sit back and chill and still be bumpin’ my first album. It’ll be a classic in 20 years.
Wow. Now, as far as critics are concerned –
Eminem?
No, um, you’re white. And this is a predominantly black industry. What do you say to folks like, "You’re just a little white dude in a black game." How do you respond to the color issue? Is it an issue for you?
No, it ain’t. Growing up in the hood it was a black house, a white house, a black house, a white house, so my whole neighborhood was mixed. Anybody that’s going to look down on me because I’m a new rapper, all I can say is in 10 years they gon’ say, "Damn! I never should have talked shit about that little fuck ‘cause I sho’ bought his CD and I’m watching his car on the race team." Fuck it. I’m just gon’ prove ‘em all wrong. They can talk all the shit they want. I’m not finta unleash. They could come to my doorstep with a fuck you note and I’ll get my girlfriend to put some lipstick on it and kiss it and send it back to them. I don’t give a fuck. Nobody can judge me but God.
Phinally Phamous, what can the public expect?
The beginning of a takeover. The beginning of a takeover. The next album’s called Third Time’s The Charm. I’m finna get started on it soon and try to have it out hopefully by October of this year like we did this last one.
By Kellye Whitney
Thank you, thank you very much. It’s well needed in the music biz.
Is your real name a secret?
No, my real name is Patrick Lanshaw.
And you’re from Memphis Tennessee.
Yes ma’am.
You once said, "I’m one of the rappers that understands the difference between entertainment and real life." What’s the difference?
The difference is you’ve got to use real life situations to create entertainment. You can’t use entertainment to create real life situations. You see what I’m sayin’? You can’t make a song about shooting somebody and then go do it. People do it every day. Don’t get me wrong, but I take the news and life around me and make music out of what I see goin’ on. I was tellin’ this one DJ up in New York. He was like, ‘I understand you have a crack house song on your first CD. Have you ever sold crack?’ I was like, naw, but I sold my share of weed, and my next door neighborhood was a crackhead, and my best friend was a crack dealer for 10 years. Just because you don’t know about it, don’t mean you can’t speak on it. That’s what freedom of speech is all about.
Some of the rappers out here, they take shit to other levels, you know? They can’t just say what they gotta say and be done with it. They gotta say what they gotta say on this CD, the next CD, the mixtapes, the radio shows, you know, TV, fuck that. I’m here to shine. I make my music for what people want to hear. Getting together with Paul and Juicy from Three 6 Mafia helped me do that because that’s what they’re all about. We’re talking about millionaires that have got some of the hardest, crunkest songs in the world. I’m talking about a little of everything, and these boys ain’t got no time to go out and kill nobody or rob nobody ‘cause they’re in the studio 24/7 making this music for everybody that is out here doin’ their shit.
We have drug dealer songs for drug dealers. We have ass shakin’ songs for the girls who shake their ass. We have weed smokin’ songs for the weed smokas. Shit, I got a drinkin’ song on my new album for my redneck ass, or my black or white or Asian or African or whatever colored drinkers.
What about something positive?
Positive stuff. It’s all positive. If you listen to my lyrics, the topic might be a little negative but somewhere in there I throw some positivity so everybody don’t think I’m just this old negative-ass rapper that hates the world. I love the world. I can take the worst subject and make a positive rap out of it, seriously. I might talk about how I did it in the past, and don’t do it no more, would never do it again, but realize my mistakes. I’m all about learning from experiences. I always kicked it with older people when I was young. I’d be like 10 years old kickin’ it with like 15, 16, 17-year-old kids and it stayed that way. They get 20, I’m 12, 13. I grew up around these older people who were out doin’ all this dumb ass shit. Little kids stealin’ cars, robbin’ people left and right, and gettin’ on hard drugs, and I learned from all that. I learned how to take all that energy and make music with it.
I understand that you dropped out of school twice but you went back to get your diploma not just your GED; that’s definitely a positive statement.
It was more like, me and my dad going through high school were on bad terms ‘cause I skipped school like every other day. I missed like 88 days out of a 140-day school year. It’s not good. It got to the point where I said screw it, and I dropped out. They put cameras in my school and they tried to make it all corporate and it wasn’t the same old school it used to be. But as I sat at home I got bored as hell not doing shit. Looked for a job here and there, but it just got boring. So I went back to school, dropped out again. But I didn’t just drop out that time; I dropped out of that school to go to another school. I got my diploma. It was fun to see the look on my dad's face after all the bitchin’ he did, and I still walked the stage.
Amen.
He always swore I’d never get a diploma so that’s really why I did it. To show him I could do whatever I wanted. Anything I put my mind to I’ma do it.
What’s it like working with Three 6 Mafia?
Man. It’s like the opposite of hell. It’s heaven. It’s beautiful. I’m with two of the best producers in the game, if you ask me. When I started listening to rap, I started with lame head label shit that was on the radio, but once I found out more about rap, I was Three 6 Mafia bound. Working with them is like a dream. I tell a lot of people I feel like I’ma wake up any day now. I just recently got a gold plaque from my participation on Unbreakables. When I look at that gold plaque I’m like damn, this shit ain’t a dream. This shit’s really serious.
Some people say, "Oh, there’s a new rap guy coming out every week." What are you bringing to the rap game that’s different?
Life. I’m bringing life to the rap game. I’ma bring honesty. I’ma bring truth. I’ma bring some luuuv to the rap game. For real. You listen to old school hip hop, there was a lotta love in hip hop. [Now] it’s a bunch of anger and beats in hip hop. Don’t get me wrong, my clique is one of the biggest anger-distributing cliques out there, but we are that clique that gives everybody that CD that they can sit back and deal with all their bullshit, and listen to this smokin’ song or listen to this get your ass kicked song. But when I got into the game I told myself if I ever do make it far, no matter how big I make it I’m seriously not going to let this get to my head because rappin’ is just like my gateway door. I got so much other shit I want to get into once financial shit gets straight. Like once I’m up there in the game, music ain’t nothing compared to what I’m finta’ do.
Like what?
I’m going to get into any entrepreneurial shit I can, like TV, movies, whatever I can do. Before I’m done I’ma have a NASCAR on the NASCAR track. That’s my retirement plan. I’ma sit back and chill and still be bumpin’ my first album. It’ll be a classic in 20 years.
Wow. Now, as far as critics are concerned –
Eminem?
No, um, you’re white. And this is a predominantly black industry. What do you say to folks like, "You’re just a little white dude in a black game." How do you respond to the color issue? Is it an issue for you?
No, it ain’t. Growing up in the hood it was a black house, a white house, a black house, a white house, so my whole neighborhood was mixed. Anybody that’s going to look down on me because I’m a new rapper, all I can say is in 10 years they gon’ say, "Damn! I never should have talked shit about that little fuck ‘cause I sho’ bought his CD and I’m watching his car on the race team." Fuck it. I’m just gon’ prove ‘em all wrong. They can talk all the shit they want. I’m not finta unleash. They could come to my doorstep with a fuck you note and I’ll get my girlfriend to put some lipstick on it and kiss it and send it back to them. I don’t give a fuck. Nobody can judge me but God.
Phinally Phamous, what can the public expect?
The beginning of a takeover. The beginning of a takeover. The next album’s called Third Time’s The Charm. I’m finna get started on it soon and try to have it out hopefully by October of this year like we did this last one.
By Kellye Whitney