(Yash) Dubcnn: What’s up bro, last time I spoke to you it was when you were in Sweden back in 2004; I got you that kush, we toar up the club. How you been?
Young Buck: Hell yeah, hell yeah I’ve been good man holding it down out here bro. A lot of shit has been going since Sweden bro. Working on this new record “Buck The World”. It’s about to get crazy out here you know what I mean.
Dubcnn: Yeah man. You recently did a banging hook to a song for Spider Loc and BG Knocc Out called “Another Day In L.A.”. How did that come about?
Young Buck: It’s pretty much me being out there in L.A. man. Spider my homeboy through the Unit and everything, but outside the music game I’ve been out there in L.A. off and on throughout my whole life you know what I’m saying? So that whole atmosphere is like half of Buck. You know L.A. and the South is kind of like what make Buck up. Then you got the East Coast with the Unit so that’s really how that came about. Just me being out there with me having roots in L.A. I felt like I was a South nigga who was able to do a hook like that.
Dubcnn: Exactly and everybody been showing you a lot of love for the love you showed Knocc Out because he just got out of jail after doing ten years and you blessed him with that tight hook and you put him on that track with Spider, that was tight.
Young Buck: Yeah yeah, BG is a motherfucking real nigga though. Like you said he been gone for 10 years, it’s a long time being behind the penitentiary walls. I felt like shit, let me give some to the homeboy who deserve it!
Dubcnn: Yeah man real talk. Let’s go back in time now. How was it growing up in Tennessee?
Young Buck: Shit just every day street shit bro. Just basically when you come from any ghetto where the environment is robbery, and right here we got the gangbang. So gangbang, robbery, murders and shit like that you know you gone do whatever you got to do to survive if you’re a motherfucker who’s forced in this position. That’s pretty much my life bro.
I’m the motherfucker who was brought up in the hood and come from the ghetto for real and always a motherfucker who had to put my hands on it and not be around a motherfucker who put his hands on it you know what I mean? I had to actually put my hands on that other shit to be able to survive. I’m breaded from the game and breaded from the streets.
Dubcnn: You know it’s been a long time since you been broke and you’re now even the head of G-Unit South. What’s it like being a CEO now?
Young Buck: Man it feels good. G-Unit South is a movement, Cashville Records is my label so G-Unit South is our movement and that’s what you’re always gone hear throughout everything. It feels good being a CEO though Cashville Records. Just to be able to put an artist in the game and with me focusing right now on my group 615; the artist names are Hi-C, D-Tay and Lil’ Murda.
Me being focused on them, they all come from my city so they all come from the same struggle I’ve been through my whole life, so it feels good to give them opportunity and just outside of them just to be able to put other artists that got the talent and deserve at least a shot to let their talent be known. I feel good we’re playing a part in that. That’s what I’m focusing on first. I focus on the quality of the music and then we’ll get the money next, you know shit got to be right! I believe in checking niggas report cards, you know you got to have a report card fucking with Buck.
Dubcnn: Do you have any plans of signing any more artists in the near future?
Young Buck: Yeah, me and C-Bo; I’m probably finna sign C-Bo that’s for sure, from the West Coast!
Dubcnn: Damn, how did you squash the beef with him?
Young Buck: It never was a beef with C-Bo. It was like... I think at the end of the day it was C-Bo in a position where he was put in a position where he was like “yo let me speak on some shit”. Well really, just as an artist just trying to show his loyalty towards another situation. Then at the end of the day you know I’m a West Side nigga too *laughs* You know what I’m saying!
So I’m out there and he was humble enough to come present himself and let me know the way he got down with his situation. I respected it. Shit, we ended up doing a little more business and shit started falling in the way of it looking like this is where homeboy want to be, so he came to me like "Young Buck, nigga lets go on and do the damn thang, I’m ready to fuck with this Cashville Records, G Unit South shit”. So I’m all for it!
Dubcnn: You know that incident that happened at the Vibe awards with Dre, have ya’ll been closer since that happened? Like, are you much closer friends with Dre now?
Young Buck: Yeah Dre been my nigga from day one. That didn’t bring us no closer or pull us no further apart. At the end of the day a lot of people may feel like with the situation that happened is the reason for Dre’s whole introduction to being on my album when it wasn’t even the case! It was like Dre was already in the plan of being a part of my next project because I didn’t work with him on my first project. And Dre was like from day one the motherfucker in my corner, like he always gave me nothing but true love. So I didn’t move in the sense of that Vibe Awards shit. Like coming into that building feeling like I was going to start some shit, that’s how I felt like I walked away from the shit. What I did it’s right there for you to see.
I came into that motherfucker with my mindframe like I’m finna check out some of these fine ass hoes running around here and get my award like any other real nigga, but shit don’t be that way. I’m the type of motherfucker where if I’m in a position where I feel like my loved ones or anything around me is in danger, I’m going to do whatever to protect my life and theirs so that’s pretty much what went down with that whole shit. Good look though, that nigga live so it’s okay!
Dubcnn: Have you worked with Dre on anything this past year?
Young Buck: Dre produced like 3 records on my album “Buck The World”. Bro, my new album’s crazy man.
Dubcnn: Tell them about the new album.
Young Buck: Yeah Dre produced 3 records on there, Eminem produced something and I worked with Hi-Tek, I worked with Timbaland, Justice Lee and Jazze Phae produced a lot of killa shit, Focus. Man I got a lot of hot name producers, big name producers. DJ Paul, Lil Jon produced something on there. Man I worked with everybody.
Dubcnn: Damn.
Young Buck: Yeah bro, with this records right here you will get the real fucking explosion of Young Buck! Feature wise you’re going to get records like me, T.I., Young Jeezy and Pimp C together on something and I got a record with me Snoop Dogg, Trick Daddy and shit like that
Dubcnn: I heard the first single with Jazze Phae, it’s straight fire man.
Young Buck: Yeah yeah, I wanted to really take it to the club and get the ladies a little something they could feel and that the fellas could feel too. So it’s one of them records where you can just hear it in the club and do your thing, or you could jump in your car and roll yourself something up and enjoy that motherfucker too.
Dubcnn: Like you got something for everybody, right?
Young Buck: Yeah something for everybody, man I’m not no one coast person. I’m not just going to give you a totally Down South record or a totally East Coast or West Coast record because at the end of the day, I’m a rolling stone man. My life is really set, I’m born in the South, all my family is out West, all my homeboys is on the East and half of them are everywhere you know what I’m saying. I’m a rolling stone and my music is kind of like catered to that way.
Dubcnn: OK. What’s the difference between the new album and “Straight Outta Cashville”?
Young Buck: You know with my first record I felt like it was a good introduction album. It did exactly what I was looking for to do. I wanted the world to know who I am, where I’m from and what I’m about and shit. That’s exactly what I established with that record.
With this new record, I dug my music out of reality homeboy. Shit that a nigga going through on a day to day experience and I feel like that’s the only way people gonna be a true fan of your music. It’s if they can pull something through these verses we put out and say like “Yo I’m going through that, I know someone going through that and I don’t want to go through it.” So I base mine on real life man. I’ve been going through a lot of shit that the world know about and a lot of shit the world don’t know about. And I just chose to ball it all up and put it on this album. They wouldn’t let me name the album “Fuck The World” because if I could I would. *laughs* The title speaks for the album itself!
Expect the unexpected but you won’t hear no beef shit; no Game disses and all that extra shit, I ain’t with that shit. I feel like whatever whatever, and if it’s real like with this beef shit we gonna take it and put it in the streets. I’m going to do my music, I’m on a whole different vibe of that shit because I’m a hands on nigga. I’m a see what niggas gonna do with it if we hit face to face with it.
Put it this way, if we’re rappin about this shit on these tracks beefing with each other back and forth, if I know about it then the police know about it. If you know about it, the police know about it! So I’ma keep it on the low and see what it’s about.
Dubcnn: So when is the official album release date?
Young Buck: November 28th. And yo put this in there: If you spray paint my November 28th on a project building then get at me, I’m going to break you off.
Dubcnn: Do you think it’s a good thing or a bad thing that you, Lloyd Banks and Hot Rod are all dropping albums around the same time?
Young Buck: Nah it’s a good thing.
Dubcnn: What do you think about people saying that G-Unit is like selling less and less each time every artist drop?
Young Buck: You know what, it’s pretty much the whole factor of... you know the last couple of projects wasn’t successful as people was pretty much looking forward of them to be. I think Tony Yayo project came out and went gold. And then Mobb Deep project came out and it’s doing what it’s doing. They're used to get so much success from the Unit that they feel like gold isn’t good enough, when at the end of the day gold is what half these artists never seen. So our standards are set so high, people only expect the best. And in a minute when they get a little loss, you know you like ’Ohh shit because you’re used to winning so much’.
Even the albums that I feel like didn’t win with The Unit, it wasn’t because they wasn’t good albums. It was just because other situations such as Yayo album. He dropped and then 2 weeks later 50 Cent’s album dropped, so that caused a little conflict. And with Mobb Deep, I just really don’t understand their situation because I feel like that was one of the best Mobb Deep albums that has been put together.
At the end of the day it’s just about making good music bro and I can guarantee you as far as Young Buck and Lloyd Banks moving bro, you finna get the same fucking shit, the same energy but better music because we only grow with the music and the energy never stops. We reinvent ourselves as artists and stay the same as people. Shit gonna stay on top, we on top now, we ain’t went nowhere bro we gone stay right here. Just don’t lose focus, stay right here with us.
Dubcnn: In G-Unit who’s your favorite person to collaborate with?
Young Buck: I probably say Fifty bro. Because it ain’t no telling what the fuck the dude’s going to do. With Fifty it’s like, I don’t know what the fuck to expect.
Dubcnn: What about outside of G-Unit, who’s your favourite?
Young Buck: Young Jeezy, that’s my homeboy. Me, Young Jeezy and T.I., we kind of like move outside of music in the streets and shit. Me and Jeezy really move in the streets for real, so that’s like my number homeboy outside of the Unit. I don’t really fuck with too many other motherfuckers that’s in the rap game. Jeezy is not a rapper, I’m not a rapper, we just street niggas. So it makes it feel good to be in this rap game and have another motherfucker that I know come from that same pit that I was in who can relate to a nigga.
Dubcnn: Do you sometimes think about how hard life was back then and where ya’ll are right now? Is it mind trippin?
Young Buck: Just to think back about my life bro, it’s crazy that’s why I’m riding right now. I bullshit you not, I’m passing through..*rolls window down and says* “Whats up young niggas!” I’m riding through the projects right now as we speak by my god damn self. So for me it feels good bro just to be able to come through this shit and still be respected as the same nigga that just come from me putting my work in before this shit. I’m not judged from my homebase for where I’m from about a people behind music and my music, because the people hear my music and match it up with my life my nigga and be like “Hell Yeah!”.
For me, I’m a little bit different than the rest and a lot of different artists, because they grow their momentum from the rap game when I grew mine from the streets before the rap game and I was blessed to be able to have success with this here and carry over to make my shit even powerful to these niggas in the streets. I’m that type of nigga, I got that Pac blood and shit.
Dubcnn: Can you share a backstage question of when y’all was on tour?
Young Buck: *laughs* Oh shit! Yeah me and Havoc from Mobb Deep, that motherfucker be getting drunk than a motherfucker. We was on tour this nigga ran out of the stage and fell in a hole in the middle of the stage, and all you could see was half his body hanging out the hole, but he maintained the mic and everything. That’s one silly ass shit that I can say. But shit, it be so real don’t too much shit be going down back there, but a whole lot of motherfucking weed getting smoked and niggas getting ready to go rock the motherfucking crowd.
Dubcnn: When are you coming back to Europe?
Young Buck: I’ll be out there real soon bro. I mean I got to come out there because my promo tour is poppin’. Europe for the Unit, that’s like our second home in a sense. I think we moved around out there more than any fucking American artist period you know what I’m saying? We'll be looking forward to getting over there for the weed, the bitches and the money straight up.
(Lil Jay) Dubcnn: As far as the South goes, it's really on top right now and has taken everybody else's spotlight including New York and Cali, but G-Unit is still holding it down on y'all own. How did you guys stay on top for so long?
Young Buck: Man pretty much being in the streets. It’s like... The street foundation don't never leave. Meaning that if a motherfucker feel like that they're able to relate to you like you are still them even though you had the success that you have, then they continue to follow you I think. So that’s pretty much what we do. You know we try to stay as hands on as possible with the fans of G-Unit and the motherfuckers who hate G-Unit we try to turn them into fans more or less then give them energy to their hate.
Dubcnn: Do you ever go as far as comparing the current situation in the South with the golden era of the West of 93, 94. Or is it even bigger than that?
Young Buck: Yeah yeah yeah... We ain’t as big as that era right there. See that era I think was the biggest era in Hip Hop in a sense. That era is too big in a sense for the West Coast you know what I’m saying? That was like the world was bridged off of that era in a sense, the whole Pac, the whole movement out there back then. From the Snoop and Dre movement, the whole NWA. I think gangsta rap period is bridged from the West Coast honestly.
I’m just blessed to be able to have an affiliation of a life set out there before rap. So my shit is being a South nigga born and raised, bread from this shit, but all my family and them have my shit turning out there on the Coast where you from, so you get half and half with me and then I'm surrounded by the East Coast so it’s like a nigga is a rolling stone. I can’t even put no name on my style of music, it’s just that I do the damn thang.
Dubcnn: But it’s close to being from what the West was?
Young Buck: Yeah we’re close to being from what the West was, but I think we got to continue put in work. You know I think at the end of the day we represent right now the togetherness that how the West was. The West was together in a sense and right now you got motherfuckers like Snoop that I really really worship in a sense of putting it back together. He’s the reason of keeping a lot of shit and trying to put motherfuckers together in that whole West Coast movement that niggas is trying to pull together. I’m a South nigga and I feel like being a part of that whole movement of coming together, cause like I said I got a life out there too. It’s like with that shit bro, I feel like we representing the togetherness in the South.
You got artists like me and Jeezy and T.I., we run together and Ludacris and shit. We all moving in a sense of together you don’t really hear too many Southern artists beefing with each other. And back then it was just like that with the West Coast. They may have beef with the East at the time but you really weren’t hearing West Coast artists beefing with each other. We representing that much you know what I’m saying, and we representing the money part because we’re getting our bread out here for god damn sure!
Dubcnn: How big do you think the demand for your new album is gonnna be? A lot of times people anticipate a rapper's debut album, but after that it kinda dies down. How do you see that in your situation?
Young Buck: I think the anticipation comes within a person. For me you got real life issues that motherfuckers, as far as my first album, the niggas that had the chance to realize and see that make them grow a little focus, as far as the Vibe Awards incident, and just me being in the streets that shit get around you know. Motherfuckers start to know Buck is a street motherfucker for real or you know that nigga really down to earth. So that anticipation carries the same crowd that you had, your crowd that you had that went and bought your album, I think if you delivered a good album they gone stay there and you grow.
So the anticipation for me, I think it’s just on the strength of me being involved in other artists’ projects and having hot fucking features on other people’s albums, such as T.I., the 3-6 record “Stay Fly”, [Lil Scrappy] “Money in the Bank”. And I can go on with other records that I’ve been featured on doing my weight. So I never went nowhere to the streets and to the natural eye and that just keeps them hungry. And just the fact that knowing he come again November 28th, “Buck The World” it’s like 'OK, now we got a date on this nigga!'
So the anticipation is there and if you can feed them a good album like me I can tell you straight up my shit is on some “Chronic” shit. And this ain’t even a good album, it’s a classic album! And I can promise you that. I know it’s hard to do, but I can back it up by saying I worked with Dr. Dre; he produced 3 of them. Eminem produced on my album, Hi-Tek produced on my album, Jazze Phae produced 2 on there, Lil Jon produced one, DJ Paul produced one, you know what I’m saying? Focus produced some, Needlz produced some. So I can give you all these major names to give you the insight that this shit finna be crazy.
Then I’m a come back and tell you nigga get ready for hearing me, Snoop and Trick Daddy together on songs. Then tell you like you finna hear me T.I., Young Jeezy, Pimp C all together on one song. You finna hear me MJG & 8Ball and Bun B all together on one song. You finna hear me and Life, you finna hear me and the whole Unit together on one song. Shit like that gone build the whole anticipation and when I give it to you nigga I’m finna buck the fucking world. They wouldn’t let me name my shit “Fuck The World”. So it’s like I’m calm, cool, I’m going to give them this shit “Buck The World”, and we gone get to the money. It ain’t on no old shit where I’m finna pay attention to that beef shit, that Game shit, that old Fat Joe, and all that old so called beef shit. I feel like it’s been enough put out there as far as from our end and from everybody else who got beef with the Unit. And the people can do they own judgement on who real and who fake, what’s real and what’s fake.
For me to continue on speaking on any of that shit, I’m devoting energy to something dead. So no nigga, you’re not going to get none of that from this album. You just gone get some real good hood gangsta shit. And then I gave the ladies a little bit more that they can fuck with Buck on. With my first record I only catered to the ladies with one record; “Shorty Wanna Ride With Me”. That was the biggest fucking record on my album, so yeah man I had to make sure I keep them wet a little bit longer than what I did. So I catered to them with at least 2-3 records but it’s still on some gangsta shit so niggas gonna fuck with it bro. You just got to let them know to fuck with me! Cause I’m not playing, it’s dead fucking serious!
Dubcnn: All the way. You mentioned beefs earlier. What do you think about a fans involvement in a rapper's beef? Like when they analyze everything around it and try to get involved with it and make up opinions and shit, whether they going to like the artist in the future or not.
Young Buck: I think it’s cool bro, opinions is like assholes everybody got one!
Dubcnn: But do you think fans have the right to do that or should they just care about the music?
Young Buck: Yeah yeah, they got the right to do that bro, because at the end of the day they have the choice of spending their money on a record so I think they have the right to judge an artist on the sense of what they like or not. And that’s a good judgement because that’s what falls to the bootlegging, because it’s so much bullshit that gets thrown out that the fans run to the bootlegging shit and see if this shit worth buying. And I support that there because my first album was bootlegged 30 days before it actually dropped. And I still came out maintained the number 3 rap album in the country and had the number 3 album in the country. I would have had the number 1 album in the country if it weren’t for country ass Tim McGraw and R. Kelly. So they had both beat me, but they wasn’t rappers, so I had the number 1 rap album but not the number 1 album in the country. And like I said I was bootlegged 30 days before that, so all I can tell you is when a motherfucker got a good album, a motherfucker don’t even care about the bootleg. The bootleg then is used for the anticipation of the hunger and waiting to get it before the album actually come out. You see what I’m saying?
And that’s what you get when you're fucking with Young Buck. I’m an artist that don’t worry about the bootleg system because my shit is so saturated in the fans heart and I’m so much in the streets that I know if a motherfucker wanted to grab mine on bootleg, it’s because they can’t wait. But when that motherfucker get to the stores, they’re going to get it because you don’t know when ever it’s gone. I learned that through Tupac. So I’m one of them motherfuckers you got to have because you don’t know when he gonna be gone. Hell yeah!
Dubcnn: As far as fans and beefs, to me it's a phenomenon. With G-Unit it seems when people hear something about you it’s like they gone either hate it or love it. It’s like nothing in the middle.
Young Buck: Most rap fans are not loyal, but you can’t blame them though! You understand where I’m coming from?
Dubcnn: Yeah.
Young Buck: Most rap fans are not loyal but I don’t blame them for not being loyal, because I even been loyal to a few artists and then I go buy their shit and I be disappointed like a motherfucker, like Damn! So then that starts the bring down the loyalty to an artist. So being consistent with good material is the key to keeping your fans cuz and being real bro. Keeping ten toes down in the environment that you come from, but being able to take one foot and step out of that and deal with this shit like what I’m doing now with you. Remain in the same as a person but changing with the music and reinventing yourself with the music. And then bottom line bro, you can’t just be laid back with this shit. People don’t understand that you can be the coldest nigga in the world and if you can’t relay your message to a motherfucka and make them understand that you the coldest motherfucker in the world, then you just another cold motherfucker who don’t know how to talk. Straight up!
So you get the real from Buck, you get it all the way from everything that come with a nigga is here. And then everything that come with the other side, I can get to that too. So that’s how I’m able to be a CEO of my company Cashville Records, G-Unit South, and move a whole line. You know I’m in the making of signing C-Bo, that’s how I’m able to move and push a line of business in and keep myself steady with the streets and grow my same fan base of the people who are not coming from that environment that I come from. It’s just because the nigga is a real nigga, bro.
I pull up in traffic, you might pull up beside me and I roll that window down and say 'Whats up?', I’m still that type of nigga. I’m not hidden behind no shield where you can’t see me nigga! I’m here and people love that!
Dubcnn: How do you feel about G-Unit’s progress in the last couple of years with all the new additions from every side of the country?
Young Buck: Well I take my hat off to Fifty because me just being a CEO myself I understand how hard it is to put out other projects and then to maintain the whole company structure. So I really take my hat off to Fifty. But as far as the artists, I give them the thumbs up and tell them “let’s keep going, let's keep at it”. Because you know, the last projects that we put out they weren’t successful as the recent ones. Me and Banks were blessed to have platinum records. And then Yayo came and he did gold, which I feel like the reason for them not selling is not all the way their faults. You got situations such as Yayo’s when he dropped, and then 2 weeks later 50 Cent's album come out.
Mobb Deep I can’t really just say, because I don’t understand. That was one of the best Mobb Deep albums I’ve heard put together. And you know, God has his own way in pushing the projects and making whatever success happen for whoever that person may be. So establish yourself right with the maker and then you’ll be able to get you some paper! Niggaaa! *laughs*
Dubcnn: *Laughs* Yeah you mentioned 50 Cent and your new label Cashville Records. How much did you learn from 50 about being a CEO and having your own label?
Young Buck: I learned a lot from Fifty bro and I’m still learning. I’m so hands on with Fifty, he’s like my big brother. He’s like a nigga mentor and at the end of the day he like a nigga guidance as far as business wise. I pay him a lot of attention, as far as his business moves is one of the most powerful moves and not only Fifty, but in a black human being period!
His success represents a lot just from his short time being in the game and then just having success that he’s having to be able to you know put his motherfucking artists out such as myself. So for me honestly bro, I learned so much but the most thing I learned from Fifty is to kind of do business from the heart not a hand perspective. What I’m saying is I fuck with people from the heart, that’s what Fifty do. All of us, he deal with us from the heart and not from a hands on, it’s not a business perception, it’s not just the money or a deal where you go do yours and turn your album in. You know everybody’s hands on. A half of Mobb Deep and fucking M.O.P. probably in the car, they probably riding around together now.
So I learned from Fifty that in order to make the best of your business, you really got to get hands on with everything. From the artists all the way to the god damn T-Shirts that’s getting printed up *laughs*. You have to always have total control of everything and keep your eyes open and then trust nobody. Fifty’s trust factor is the shit! He don’t trust nobody in a sense of what he went through being shot and just on the fact of what he’s learned from the industry on the fact of motherfuckers that say they will do this and just don’t do it, and other different issues.
Dubcnn: But you know what’s dope to me is that even though there’s many more cats on the roster now, people still call you best of the whole crew.
Young Buck: It’s crazy right?
Dubcnn: What do you think makes the difference, say to a Fifty or Banks. I mean not to speak bad about them, but more like speaking good about you.
Young Buck: Well I think people get a chance to see me a little more and I get a chance to be involved with a little more outside fans than Fifty. Fifty is in a position where he’s almost forced to be gone all the time and behind a desk where he have to control so much and things of that nature where it’s sometimes kind of hard for him to get to the ghetto. And then I’m so hands on and then like I said I’ve touched bases in all these different states and shit before I got the success that I’m getting right now, as far as touching bases in a state and being involved in the other environment and that shit really sticking.
Having that motherfucking report card in these other cities is more stronger and people feel like they hands on. A motherfucker can tell you “Hell yeah I done seen Buck on the streets of L.A. running around”, or a nigga will tell you “yeah that nigga used to live in the magnolia with Juvenile” or they could tell you “Hell yeah I was in Death Row studios and seen that nigga over there with Suge” and shit like that.
Niggas can tell you shit like that, and then you got to go from Fifty and he give you what he got and you got to feel his life story. So my life’s been spread around all these different states before I got to where I’m at now. And niggas always known me for real life shit and it carries over to this here. But Fifty and Banks is the same type of motherfuckers that I am, they’re just more set in their environment with they gangsta throughout New York. See I come from Cashville so I had to take my gangsta around the world. My section was built on country music and it’s a little small city in a sense, but we do the damn thang nigga! *laughs*
Dubcnn: Right. Does beef keep G-Unit in shape? Cause sometimes it seems that some of the beefs could have been avoided.
You can hear Young Buck's answer to that question as well as 50 Cent's piece on the Southern takeover in Hip Hop, New York's state of mind, current and past issues with different artists such as Game and Diddy, Young Bucks energy and drive, and much more, in Part 2. Stay tuned to dubcnn.
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Young Buck: Hell yeah, hell yeah I’ve been good man holding it down out here bro. A lot of shit has been going since Sweden bro. Working on this new record “Buck The World”. It’s about to get crazy out here you know what I mean.
Dubcnn: Yeah man. You recently did a banging hook to a song for Spider Loc and BG Knocc Out called “Another Day In L.A.”. How did that come about?
Young Buck: It’s pretty much me being out there in L.A. man. Spider my homeboy through the Unit and everything, but outside the music game I’ve been out there in L.A. off and on throughout my whole life you know what I’m saying? So that whole atmosphere is like half of Buck. You know L.A. and the South is kind of like what make Buck up. Then you got the East Coast with the Unit so that’s really how that came about. Just me being out there with me having roots in L.A. I felt like I was a South nigga who was able to do a hook like that.
Dubcnn: Exactly and everybody been showing you a lot of love for the love you showed Knocc Out because he just got out of jail after doing ten years and you blessed him with that tight hook and you put him on that track with Spider, that was tight.
Young Buck: Yeah yeah, BG is a motherfucking real nigga though. Like you said he been gone for 10 years, it’s a long time being behind the penitentiary walls. I felt like shit, let me give some to the homeboy who deserve it!
Dubcnn: Yeah man real talk. Let’s go back in time now. How was it growing up in Tennessee?
Young Buck: Shit just every day street shit bro. Just basically when you come from any ghetto where the environment is robbery, and right here we got the gangbang. So gangbang, robbery, murders and shit like that you know you gone do whatever you got to do to survive if you’re a motherfucker who’s forced in this position. That’s pretty much my life bro.
I’m the motherfucker who was brought up in the hood and come from the ghetto for real and always a motherfucker who had to put my hands on it and not be around a motherfucker who put his hands on it you know what I mean? I had to actually put my hands on that other shit to be able to survive. I’m breaded from the game and breaded from the streets.
Dubcnn: You know it’s been a long time since you been broke and you’re now even the head of G-Unit South. What’s it like being a CEO now?
Young Buck: Man it feels good. G-Unit South is a movement, Cashville Records is my label so G-Unit South is our movement and that’s what you’re always gone hear throughout everything. It feels good being a CEO though Cashville Records. Just to be able to put an artist in the game and with me focusing right now on my group 615; the artist names are Hi-C, D-Tay and Lil’ Murda.
Me being focused on them, they all come from my city so they all come from the same struggle I’ve been through my whole life, so it feels good to give them opportunity and just outside of them just to be able to put other artists that got the talent and deserve at least a shot to let their talent be known. I feel good we’re playing a part in that. That’s what I’m focusing on first. I focus on the quality of the music and then we’ll get the money next, you know shit got to be right! I believe in checking niggas report cards, you know you got to have a report card fucking with Buck.
Dubcnn: Do you have any plans of signing any more artists in the near future?
Young Buck: Yeah, me and C-Bo; I’m probably finna sign C-Bo that’s for sure, from the West Coast!
Dubcnn: Damn, how did you squash the beef with him?
Young Buck: It never was a beef with C-Bo. It was like... I think at the end of the day it was C-Bo in a position where he was put in a position where he was like “yo let me speak on some shit”. Well really, just as an artist just trying to show his loyalty towards another situation. Then at the end of the day you know I’m a West Side nigga too *laughs* You know what I’m saying!
So I’m out there and he was humble enough to come present himself and let me know the way he got down with his situation. I respected it. Shit, we ended up doing a little more business and shit started falling in the way of it looking like this is where homeboy want to be, so he came to me like "Young Buck, nigga lets go on and do the damn thang, I’m ready to fuck with this Cashville Records, G Unit South shit”. So I’m all for it!
Dubcnn: You know that incident that happened at the Vibe awards with Dre, have ya’ll been closer since that happened? Like, are you much closer friends with Dre now?
Young Buck: Yeah Dre been my nigga from day one. That didn’t bring us no closer or pull us no further apart. At the end of the day a lot of people may feel like with the situation that happened is the reason for Dre’s whole introduction to being on my album when it wasn’t even the case! It was like Dre was already in the plan of being a part of my next project because I didn’t work with him on my first project. And Dre was like from day one the motherfucker in my corner, like he always gave me nothing but true love. So I didn’t move in the sense of that Vibe Awards shit. Like coming into that building feeling like I was going to start some shit, that’s how I felt like I walked away from the shit. What I did it’s right there for you to see.
I came into that motherfucker with my mindframe like I’m finna check out some of these fine ass hoes running around here and get my award like any other real nigga, but shit don’t be that way. I’m the type of motherfucker where if I’m in a position where I feel like my loved ones or anything around me is in danger, I’m going to do whatever to protect my life and theirs so that’s pretty much what went down with that whole shit. Good look though, that nigga live so it’s okay!
Dubcnn: Have you worked with Dre on anything this past year?
Young Buck: Dre produced like 3 records on my album “Buck The World”. Bro, my new album’s crazy man.
Dubcnn: Tell them about the new album.
Young Buck: Yeah Dre produced 3 records on there, Eminem produced something and I worked with Hi-Tek, I worked with Timbaland, Justice Lee and Jazze Phae produced a lot of killa shit, Focus. Man I got a lot of hot name producers, big name producers. DJ Paul, Lil Jon produced something on there. Man I worked with everybody.
Dubcnn: Damn.
Young Buck: Yeah bro, with this records right here you will get the real fucking explosion of Young Buck! Feature wise you’re going to get records like me, T.I., Young Jeezy and Pimp C together on something and I got a record with me Snoop Dogg, Trick Daddy and shit like that
Dubcnn: I heard the first single with Jazze Phae, it’s straight fire man.
Young Buck: Yeah yeah, I wanted to really take it to the club and get the ladies a little something they could feel and that the fellas could feel too. So it’s one of them records where you can just hear it in the club and do your thing, or you could jump in your car and roll yourself something up and enjoy that motherfucker too.
Dubcnn: Like you got something for everybody, right?
Young Buck: Yeah something for everybody, man I’m not no one coast person. I’m not just going to give you a totally Down South record or a totally East Coast or West Coast record because at the end of the day, I’m a rolling stone man. My life is really set, I’m born in the South, all my family is out West, all my homeboys is on the East and half of them are everywhere you know what I’m saying. I’m a rolling stone and my music is kind of like catered to that way.
Dubcnn: OK. What’s the difference between the new album and “Straight Outta Cashville”?
Young Buck: You know with my first record I felt like it was a good introduction album. It did exactly what I was looking for to do. I wanted the world to know who I am, where I’m from and what I’m about and shit. That’s exactly what I established with that record.
With this new record, I dug my music out of reality homeboy. Shit that a nigga going through on a day to day experience and I feel like that’s the only way people gonna be a true fan of your music. It’s if they can pull something through these verses we put out and say like “Yo I’m going through that, I know someone going through that and I don’t want to go through it.” So I base mine on real life man. I’ve been going through a lot of shit that the world know about and a lot of shit the world don’t know about. And I just chose to ball it all up and put it on this album. They wouldn’t let me name the album “Fuck The World” because if I could I would. *laughs* The title speaks for the album itself!
Expect the unexpected but you won’t hear no beef shit; no Game disses and all that extra shit, I ain’t with that shit. I feel like whatever whatever, and if it’s real like with this beef shit we gonna take it and put it in the streets. I’m going to do my music, I’m on a whole different vibe of that shit because I’m a hands on nigga. I’m a see what niggas gonna do with it if we hit face to face with it.
Put it this way, if we’re rappin about this shit on these tracks beefing with each other back and forth, if I know about it then the police know about it. If you know about it, the police know about it! So I’ma keep it on the low and see what it’s about.
Dubcnn: So when is the official album release date?
Young Buck: November 28th. And yo put this in there: If you spray paint my November 28th on a project building then get at me, I’m going to break you off.
Dubcnn: Do you think it’s a good thing or a bad thing that you, Lloyd Banks and Hot Rod are all dropping albums around the same time?
Young Buck: Nah it’s a good thing.
Dubcnn: What do you think about people saying that G-Unit is like selling less and less each time every artist drop?
Young Buck: You know what, it’s pretty much the whole factor of... you know the last couple of projects wasn’t successful as people was pretty much looking forward of them to be. I think Tony Yayo project came out and went gold. And then Mobb Deep project came out and it’s doing what it’s doing. They're used to get so much success from the Unit that they feel like gold isn’t good enough, when at the end of the day gold is what half these artists never seen. So our standards are set so high, people only expect the best. And in a minute when they get a little loss, you know you like ’Ohh shit because you’re used to winning so much’.
Even the albums that I feel like didn’t win with The Unit, it wasn’t because they wasn’t good albums. It was just because other situations such as Yayo album. He dropped and then 2 weeks later 50 Cent’s album dropped, so that caused a little conflict. And with Mobb Deep, I just really don’t understand their situation because I feel like that was one of the best Mobb Deep albums that has been put together.
At the end of the day it’s just about making good music bro and I can guarantee you as far as Young Buck and Lloyd Banks moving bro, you finna get the same fucking shit, the same energy but better music because we only grow with the music and the energy never stops. We reinvent ourselves as artists and stay the same as people. Shit gonna stay on top, we on top now, we ain’t went nowhere bro we gone stay right here. Just don’t lose focus, stay right here with us.
Dubcnn: In G-Unit who’s your favorite person to collaborate with?
Young Buck: I probably say Fifty bro. Because it ain’t no telling what the fuck the dude’s going to do. With Fifty it’s like, I don’t know what the fuck to expect.
Dubcnn: What about outside of G-Unit, who’s your favourite?
Young Buck: Young Jeezy, that’s my homeboy. Me, Young Jeezy and T.I., we kind of like move outside of music in the streets and shit. Me and Jeezy really move in the streets for real, so that’s like my number homeboy outside of the Unit. I don’t really fuck with too many other motherfuckers that’s in the rap game. Jeezy is not a rapper, I’m not a rapper, we just street niggas. So it makes it feel good to be in this rap game and have another motherfucker that I know come from that same pit that I was in who can relate to a nigga.
Dubcnn: Do you sometimes think about how hard life was back then and where ya’ll are right now? Is it mind trippin?
Young Buck: Just to think back about my life bro, it’s crazy that’s why I’m riding right now. I bullshit you not, I’m passing through..*rolls window down and says* “Whats up young niggas!” I’m riding through the projects right now as we speak by my god damn self. So for me it feels good bro just to be able to come through this shit and still be respected as the same nigga that just come from me putting my work in before this shit. I’m not judged from my homebase for where I’m from about a people behind music and my music, because the people hear my music and match it up with my life my nigga and be like “Hell Yeah!”.
For me, I’m a little bit different than the rest and a lot of different artists, because they grow their momentum from the rap game when I grew mine from the streets before the rap game and I was blessed to be able to have success with this here and carry over to make my shit even powerful to these niggas in the streets. I’m that type of nigga, I got that Pac blood and shit.
Dubcnn: Can you share a backstage question of when y’all was on tour?
Young Buck: *laughs* Oh shit! Yeah me and Havoc from Mobb Deep, that motherfucker be getting drunk than a motherfucker. We was on tour this nigga ran out of the stage and fell in a hole in the middle of the stage, and all you could see was half his body hanging out the hole, but he maintained the mic and everything. That’s one silly ass shit that I can say. But shit, it be so real don’t too much shit be going down back there, but a whole lot of motherfucking weed getting smoked and niggas getting ready to go rock the motherfucking crowd.
Dubcnn: When are you coming back to Europe?
Young Buck: I’ll be out there real soon bro. I mean I got to come out there because my promo tour is poppin’. Europe for the Unit, that’s like our second home in a sense. I think we moved around out there more than any fucking American artist period you know what I’m saying? We'll be looking forward to getting over there for the weed, the bitches and the money straight up.
(Lil Jay) Dubcnn: As far as the South goes, it's really on top right now and has taken everybody else's spotlight including New York and Cali, but G-Unit is still holding it down on y'all own. How did you guys stay on top for so long?
Young Buck: Man pretty much being in the streets. It’s like... The street foundation don't never leave. Meaning that if a motherfucker feel like that they're able to relate to you like you are still them even though you had the success that you have, then they continue to follow you I think. So that’s pretty much what we do. You know we try to stay as hands on as possible with the fans of G-Unit and the motherfuckers who hate G-Unit we try to turn them into fans more or less then give them energy to their hate.
Dubcnn: Do you ever go as far as comparing the current situation in the South with the golden era of the West of 93, 94. Or is it even bigger than that?
Young Buck: Yeah yeah yeah... We ain’t as big as that era right there. See that era I think was the biggest era in Hip Hop in a sense. That era is too big in a sense for the West Coast you know what I’m saying? That was like the world was bridged off of that era in a sense, the whole Pac, the whole movement out there back then. From the Snoop and Dre movement, the whole NWA. I think gangsta rap period is bridged from the West Coast honestly.
I’m just blessed to be able to have an affiliation of a life set out there before rap. So my shit is being a South nigga born and raised, bread from this shit, but all my family and them have my shit turning out there on the Coast where you from, so you get half and half with me and then I'm surrounded by the East Coast so it’s like a nigga is a rolling stone. I can’t even put no name on my style of music, it’s just that I do the damn thang.
Dubcnn: But it’s close to being from what the West was?
Young Buck: Yeah we’re close to being from what the West was, but I think we got to continue put in work. You know I think at the end of the day we represent right now the togetherness that how the West was. The West was together in a sense and right now you got motherfuckers like Snoop that I really really worship in a sense of putting it back together. He’s the reason of keeping a lot of shit and trying to put motherfuckers together in that whole West Coast movement that niggas is trying to pull together. I’m a South nigga and I feel like being a part of that whole movement of coming together, cause like I said I got a life out there too. It’s like with that shit bro, I feel like we representing the togetherness in the South.
You got artists like me and Jeezy and T.I., we run together and Ludacris and shit. We all moving in a sense of together you don’t really hear too many Southern artists beefing with each other. And back then it was just like that with the West Coast. They may have beef with the East at the time but you really weren’t hearing West Coast artists beefing with each other. We representing that much you know what I’m saying, and we representing the money part because we’re getting our bread out here for god damn sure!
Dubcnn: How big do you think the demand for your new album is gonnna be? A lot of times people anticipate a rapper's debut album, but after that it kinda dies down. How do you see that in your situation?
Young Buck: I think the anticipation comes within a person. For me you got real life issues that motherfuckers, as far as my first album, the niggas that had the chance to realize and see that make them grow a little focus, as far as the Vibe Awards incident, and just me being in the streets that shit get around you know. Motherfuckers start to know Buck is a street motherfucker for real or you know that nigga really down to earth. So that anticipation carries the same crowd that you had, your crowd that you had that went and bought your album, I think if you delivered a good album they gone stay there and you grow.
So the anticipation for me, I think it’s just on the strength of me being involved in other artists’ projects and having hot fucking features on other people’s albums, such as T.I., the 3-6 record “Stay Fly”, [Lil Scrappy] “Money in the Bank”. And I can go on with other records that I’ve been featured on doing my weight. So I never went nowhere to the streets and to the natural eye and that just keeps them hungry. And just the fact that knowing he come again November 28th, “Buck The World” it’s like 'OK, now we got a date on this nigga!'
So the anticipation is there and if you can feed them a good album like me I can tell you straight up my shit is on some “Chronic” shit. And this ain’t even a good album, it’s a classic album! And I can promise you that. I know it’s hard to do, but I can back it up by saying I worked with Dr. Dre; he produced 3 of them. Eminem produced on my album, Hi-Tek produced on my album, Jazze Phae produced 2 on there, Lil Jon produced one, DJ Paul produced one, you know what I’m saying? Focus produced some, Needlz produced some. So I can give you all these major names to give you the insight that this shit finna be crazy.
Then I’m a come back and tell you nigga get ready for hearing me, Snoop and Trick Daddy together on songs. Then tell you like you finna hear me T.I., Young Jeezy, Pimp C all together on one song. You finna hear me MJG & 8Ball and Bun B all together on one song. You finna hear me and Life, you finna hear me and the whole Unit together on one song. Shit like that gone build the whole anticipation and when I give it to you nigga I’m finna buck the fucking world. They wouldn’t let me name my shit “Fuck The World”. So it’s like I’m calm, cool, I’m going to give them this shit “Buck The World”, and we gone get to the money. It ain’t on no old shit where I’m finna pay attention to that beef shit, that Game shit, that old Fat Joe, and all that old so called beef shit. I feel like it’s been enough put out there as far as from our end and from everybody else who got beef with the Unit. And the people can do they own judgement on who real and who fake, what’s real and what’s fake.
For me to continue on speaking on any of that shit, I’m devoting energy to something dead. So no nigga, you’re not going to get none of that from this album. You just gone get some real good hood gangsta shit. And then I gave the ladies a little bit more that they can fuck with Buck on. With my first record I only catered to the ladies with one record; “Shorty Wanna Ride With Me”. That was the biggest fucking record on my album, so yeah man I had to make sure I keep them wet a little bit longer than what I did. So I catered to them with at least 2-3 records but it’s still on some gangsta shit so niggas gonna fuck with it bro. You just got to let them know to fuck with me! Cause I’m not playing, it’s dead fucking serious!
Dubcnn: All the way. You mentioned beefs earlier. What do you think about a fans involvement in a rapper's beef? Like when they analyze everything around it and try to get involved with it and make up opinions and shit, whether they going to like the artist in the future or not.
Young Buck: I think it’s cool bro, opinions is like assholes everybody got one!
Dubcnn: But do you think fans have the right to do that or should they just care about the music?
Young Buck: Yeah yeah, they got the right to do that bro, because at the end of the day they have the choice of spending their money on a record so I think they have the right to judge an artist on the sense of what they like or not. And that’s a good judgement because that’s what falls to the bootlegging, because it’s so much bullshit that gets thrown out that the fans run to the bootlegging shit and see if this shit worth buying. And I support that there because my first album was bootlegged 30 days before it actually dropped. And I still came out maintained the number 3 rap album in the country and had the number 3 album in the country. I would have had the number 1 album in the country if it weren’t for country ass Tim McGraw and R. Kelly. So they had both beat me, but they wasn’t rappers, so I had the number 1 rap album but not the number 1 album in the country. And like I said I was bootlegged 30 days before that, so all I can tell you is when a motherfucker got a good album, a motherfucker don’t even care about the bootleg. The bootleg then is used for the anticipation of the hunger and waiting to get it before the album actually come out. You see what I’m saying?
And that’s what you get when you're fucking with Young Buck. I’m an artist that don’t worry about the bootleg system because my shit is so saturated in the fans heart and I’m so much in the streets that I know if a motherfucker wanted to grab mine on bootleg, it’s because they can’t wait. But when that motherfucker get to the stores, they’re going to get it because you don’t know when ever it’s gone. I learned that through Tupac. So I’m one of them motherfuckers you got to have because you don’t know when he gonna be gone. Hell yeah!
Dubcnn: As far as fans and beefs, to me it's a phenomenon. With G-Unit it seems when people hear something about you it’s like they gone either hate it or love it. It’s like nothing in the middle.
Young Buck: Most rap fans are not loyal, but you can’t blame them though! You understand where I’m coming from?
Dubcnn: Yeah.
Young Buck: Most rap fans are not loyal but I don’t blame them for not being loyal, because I even been loyal to a few artists and then I go buy their shit and I be disappointed like a motherfucker, like Damn! So then that starts the bring down the loyalty to an artist. So being consistent with good material is the key to keeping your fans cuz and being real bro. Keeping ten toes down in the environment that you come from, but being able to take one foot and step out of that and deal with this shit like what I’m doing now with you. Remain in the same as a person but changing with the music and reinventing yourself with the music. And then bottom line bro, you can’t just be laid back with this shit. People don’t understand that you can be the coldest nigga in the world and if you can’t relay your message to a motherfucka and make them understand that you the coldest motherfucker in the world, then you just another cold motherfucker who don’t know how to talk. Straight up!
So you get the real from Buck, you get it all the way from everything that come with a nigga is here. And then everything that come with the other side, I can get to that too. So that’s how I’m able to be a CEO of my company Cashville Records, G-Unit South, and move a whole line. You know I’m in the making of signing C-Bo, that’s how I’m able to move and push a line of business in and keep myself steady with the streets and grow my same fan base of the people who are not coming from that environment that I come from. It’s just because the nigga is a real nigga, bro.
I pull up in traffic, you might pull up beside me and I roll that window down and say 'Whats up?', I’m still that type of nigga. I’m not hidden behind no shield where you can’t see me nigga! I’m here and people love that!
Dubcnn: How do you feel about G-Unit’s progress in the last couple of years with all the new additions from every side of the country?
Young Buck: Well I take my hat off to Fifty because me just being a CEO myself I understand how hard it is to put out other projects and then to maintain the whole company structure. So I really take my hat off to Fifty. But as far as the artists, I give them the thumbs up and tell them “let’s keep going, let's keep at it”. Because you know, the last projects that we put out they weren’t successful as the recent ones. Me and Banks were blessed to have platinum records. And then Yayo came and he did gold, which I feel like the reason for them not selling is not all the way their faults. You got situations such as Yayo’s when he dropped, and then 2 weeks later 50 Cent's album come out.
Mobb Deep I can’t really just say, because I don’t understand. That was one of the best Mobb Deep albums I’ve heard put together. And you know, God has his own way in pushing the projects and making whatever success happen for whoever that person may be. So establish yourself right with the maker and then you’ll be able to get you some paper! Niggaaa! *laughs*
Dubcnn: *Laughs* Yeah you mentioned 50 Cent and your new label Cashville Records. How much did you learn from 50 about being a CEO and having your own label?
Young Buck: I learned a lot from Fifty bro and I’m still learning. I’m so hands on with Fifty, he’s like my big brother. He’s like a nigga mentor and at the end of the day he like a nigga guidance as far as business wise. I pay him a lot of attention, as far as his business moves is one of the most powerful moves and not only Fifty, but in a black human being period!
His success represents a lot just from his short time being in the game and then just having success that he’s having to be able to you know put his motherfucking artists out such as myself. So for me honestly bro, I learned so much but the most thing I learned from Fifty is to kind of do business from the heart not a hand perspective. What I’m saying is I fuck with people from the heart, that’s what Fifty do. All of us, he deal with us from the heart and not from a hands on, it’s not a business perception, it’s not just the money or a deal where you go do yours and turn your album in. You know everybody’s hands on. A half of Mobb Deep and fucking M.O.P. probably in the car, they probably riding around together now.
So I learned from Fifty that in order to make the best of your business, you really got to get hands on with everything. From the artists all the way to the god damn T-Shirts that’s getting printed up *laughs*. You have to always have total control of everything and keep your eyes open and then trust nobody. Fifty’s trust factor is the shit! He don’t trust nobody in a sense of what he went through being shot and just on the fact of what he’s learned from the industry on the fact of motherfuckers that say they will do this and just don’t do it, and other different issues.
Dubcnn: But you know what’s dope to me is that even though there’s many more cats on the roster now, people still call you best of the whole crew.
Young Buck: It’s crazy right?
Dubcnn: What do you think makes the difference, say to a Fifty or Banks. I mean not to speak bad about them, but more like speaking good about you.
Young Buck: Well I think people get a chance to see me a little more and I get a chance to be involved with a little more outside fans than Fifty. Fifty is in a position where he’s almost forced to be gone all the time and behind a desk where he have to control so much and things of that nature where it’s sometimes kind of hard for him to get to the ghetto. And then I’m so hands on and then like I said I’ve touched bases in all these different states and shit before I got the success that I’m getting right now, as far as touching bases in a state and being involved in the other environment and that shit really sticking.
Having that motherfucking report card in these other cities is more stronger and people feel like they hands on. A motherfucker can tell you “Hell yeah I done seen Buck on the streets of L.A. running around”, or a nigga will tell you “yeah that nigga used to live in the magnolia with Juvenile” or they could tell you “Hell yeah I was in Death Row studios and seen that nigga over there with Suge” and shit like that.
Niggas can tell you shit like that, and then you got to go from Fifty and he give you what he got and you got to feel his life story. So my life’s been spread around all these different states before I got to where I’m at now. And niggas always known me for real life shit and it carries over to this here. But Fifty and Banks is the same type of motherfuckers that I am, they’re just more set in their environment with they gangsta throughout New York. See I come from Cashville so I had to take my gangsta around the world. My section was built on country music and it’s a little small city in a sense, but we do the damn thang nigga! *laughs*
Dubcnn: Right. Does beef keep G-Unit in shape? Cause sometimes it seems that some of the beefs could have been avoided.
You can hear Young Buck's answer to that question as well as 50 Cent's piece on the Southern takeover in Hip Hop, New York's state of mind, current and past issues with different artists such as Game and Diddy, Young Bucks energy and drive, and much more, in Part 2. Stay tuned to dubcnn.
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