POST/READ ALL SOUTHERN ARTIST INTERVIEWS HERE!!
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devin the dude (all hip hop)
Richard Pryor was America?s most provocative comedian of the twentieth century. He incorporated a totally different technique to his stand up performance, setting new standards from the minute he stepped out under the spot light. Not only was Richard Pryor infamous for his cutting-edge humor but because he overstepped boundaries with his ability to humorize racial stereotypes. And yet he accomplished this all without actually telling jokes. His shows personified nothing more than real life and actual experiences. Even though he may not be with us in body his memory will never fade as his spirit still lives on in many other performers.
Houston?s Devin the Dude has Richard Pryor as one of his main influences and just as he was considered, "Your favorite comics, favorite comic." The Odd Squad front-man has been classified on more than one occasion as, "Your favorite rappers? rapper." His tongue in cheek lines may not be what you expect from your average Houston rapper, but Devon keeps to his plan by keeping his style as authentic his inspiration did. Those who just bought or received Chappelle Show DVD box sets of the holiday ought to look at Devin's reflection with AllHipHop.com on the originator.
AllHipHop.com: You put Richard Pryor down as one of your main inspirations, if not the main one. I was just curious to know how you reacted when he died?
Devin the Dude: My immediate reaction was, "Richard Pryor is dead," it wasn?t even a fact. To me, to die is not to be heard of anymore. I knew he was going through some physical problems, and I eventually knew he would pass on, but it did shock me. When they say he is dead, he isn?t really dead to me. It hurt me a little bit, but I felt good at the same time.
AllHipHop.Com: Why did you feel good?
Devin the Dude: A lot of artists have a lot of success, make their fortune, and get the attention of the media only to be let down towards the end of their career - there was nothing like that with him. That couldn?t happen to him as he set his own standards and he was so real, so blunt and straight to the point, that everything he said he meant and everything he did he turned into comedy. Even when he was serious, he was funny.
AllHipHop.Com: What is your earliest memory of him?
Devin the Dude: My earliest memory of him, that?s kind of hard. I was back in the fourth grade or so and I was listening to one of his records and that would be one of the records I would get in trouble listening to. There would be times when I had another album right on top of that one, so I could slide that right down. You know, I had a stash and I would have three or four of them in a stash and that one would be in there. [laughing]
AllHipHop.com: Is there one point in his career that you remember the most?
Devin the Dude: I mean, there is one time of his career which I remember really well but it was not necessarily the Richard Pryor I know: It was when I snuck in the movie to see The Toy. The dialogue wasn?t really him, but it made me feel good to see that he could bring that off. I was sitting there thinking, "Did Richard Pryor do that?" You know a lot of people change during their careers, but it isn?t really them. He could change and yet still stay the same.
AllHipHop.com: Talking of movies do you have a personal favorite?
Devin the Dude: No, not really. It was his stand up that was the killer stuff for me and his old albums. A lot of times, he had like a collage of stuff that he had been getting real big on coming up and then he would put it into a show and it could be from two or three different albums from way back. I guess I would say Live on Sunset Strip. He has so much material, man.
AllHipHop.com: There appear to be parallels between you and Richard Pryor, you know he was considered, "Your favorite comic?s fave comic" and you have been perceived as "our favorite rappers rapper," do you see the parallels yourself?
Devin the Dude: Well, I appreciate that. I guess we both just like to laugh. We see the funny side of things and have something to laugh about. He helped me grow...he was like an Uncle to me almost. He was one of the people I listened to growing up, so that comes through in my music. He was like mentor to me.
AllHipHop.com: Did you ever get to meet him?
Devin the Dude: No, I never got a chance to meet him and I always wanted to. I know he had a comedy club on the Sunset Strip out in Los Angeles, and one of the fellas tried to get me out there to do stand-up. But one of my friends said you might want to stay doing your own thing, as that could hurt you. I was like, if I could just get to see him, it wouldn?t really matter.
AllHipHop.com: Everyone knows you as a somewhat comedic rapper, what was the premise behind that, is it just your personality?
Devin the Dude: I listened to Richard Pryor, Slow Fly, Red Foxx, you know I liked the old school comedy. It was the stuff I grew up on, the records I liked to hear; so when I got a record deal and had the chance to actually record all that stuff kind of came through. Hip-hop is so genuine like that, there are no boundaries, sampling and all that you take a bit of this and a bit of that; you know hip-hop is a collage of everything. That was a big thing about it too; know being a rapper you are able to voice your opinion on record. I was excited about that.
AllHipHop.com: Being that Houston is pretty much dominating the mainstream right now, has that been a help to your career?
Devin the Dude: Well, of course it will benefit anyone in Houston right now, just to be looked at. A lot of people have been waiting for a chance to be heard and seen, and everyone is having a chance to be seen now.
Richard Pryor was America?s most provocative comedian of the twentieth century. He incorporated a totally different technique to his stand up performance, setting new standards from the minute he stepped out under the spot light. Not only was Richard Pryor infamous for his cutting-edge humor but because he overstepped boundaries with his ability to humorize racial stereotypes. And yet he accomplished this all without actually telling jokes. His shows personified nothing more than real life and actual experiences. Even though he may not be with us in body his memory will never fade as his spirit still lives on in many other performers.
Houston?s Devin the Dude has Richard Pryor as one of his main influences and just as he was considered, "Your favorite comics, favorite comic." The Odd Squad front-man has been classified on more than one occasion as, "Your favorite rappers? rapper." His tongue in cheek lines may not be what you expect from your average Houston rapper, but Devon keeps to his plan by keeping his style as authentic his inspiration did. Those who just bought or received Chappelle Show DVD box sets of the holiday ought to look at Devin's reflection with AllHipHop.com on the originator.
AllHipHop.com: You put Richard Pryor down as one of your main inspirations, if not the main one. I was just curious to know how you reacted when he died?
Devin the Dude: My immediate reaction was, "Richard Pryor is dead," it wasn?t even a fact. To me, to die is not to be heard of anymore. I knew he was going through some physical problems, and I eventually knew he would pass on, but it did shock me. When they say he is dead, he isn?t really dead to me. It hurt me a little bit, but I felt good at the same time.
AllHipHop.Com: Why did you feel good?
Devin the Dude: A lot of artists have a lot of success, make their fortune, and get the attention of the media only to be let down towards the end of their career - there was nothing like that with him. That couldn?t happen to him as he set his own standards and he was so real, so blunt and straight to the point, that everything he said he meant and everything he did he turned into comedy. Even when he was serious, he was funny.
AllHipHop.Com: What is your earliest memory of him?
Devin the Dude: My earliest memory of him, that?s kind of hard. I was back in the fourth grade or so and I was listening to one of his records and that would be one of the records I would get in trouble listening to. There would be times when I had another album right on top of that one, so I could slide that right down. You know, I had a stash and I would have three or four of them in a stash and that one would be in there. [laughing]
AllHipHop.com: Is there one point in his career that you remember the most?
Devin the Dude: I mean, there is one time of his career which I remember really well but it was not necessarily the Richard Pryor I know: It was when I snuck in the movie to see The Toy. The dialogue wasn?t really him, but it made me feel good to see that he could bring that off. I was sitting there thinking, "Did Richard Pryor do that?" You know a lot of people change during their careers, but it isn?t really them. He could change and yet still stay the same.
AllHipHop.com: Talking of movies do you have a personal favorite?
Devin the Dude: No, not really. It was his stand up that was the killer stuff for me and his old albums. A lot of times, he had like a collage of stuff that he had been getting real big on coming up and then he would put it into a show and it could be from two or three different albums from way back. I guess I would say Live on Sunset Strip. He has so much material, man.
AllHipHop.com: There appear to be parallels between you and Richard Pryor, you know he was considered, "Your favorite comic?s fave comic" and you have been perceived as "our favorite rappers rapper," do you see the parallels yourself?
Devin the Dude: Well, I appreciate that. I guess we both just like to laugh. We see the funny side of things and have something to laugh about. He helped me grow...he was like an Uncle to me almost. He was one of the people I listened to growing up, so that comes through in my music. He was like mentor to me.
AllHipHop.com: Did you ever get to meet him?
Devin the Dude: No, I never got a chance to meet him and I always wanted to. I know he had a comedy club on the Sunset Strip out in Los Angeles, and one of the fellas tried to get me out there to do stand-up. But one of my friends said you might want to stay doing your own thing, as that could hurt you. I was like, if I could just get to see him, it wouldn?t really matter.
AllHipHop.com: Everyone knows you as a somewhat comedic rapper, what was the premise behind that, is it just your personality?
Devin the Dude: I listened to Richard Pryor, Slow Fly, Red Foxx, you know I liked the old school comedy. It was the stuff I grew up on, the records I liked to hear; so when I got a record deal and had the chance to actually record all that stuff kind of came through. Hip-hop is so genuine like that, there are no boundaries, sampling and all that you take a bit of this and a bit of that; you know hip-hop is a collage of everything. That was a big thing about it too; know being a rapper you are able to voice your opinion on record. I was excited about that.
AllHipHop.com: Being that Houston is pretty much dominating the mainstream right now, has that been a help to your career?
Devin the Dude: Well, of course it will benefit anyone in Houston right now, just to be looked at. A lot of people have been waiting for a chance to be heard and seen, and everyone is having a chance to be seen now.
dj smurf a.k.a mr collipark interview (ahh)
When you hear the name Mr. Collipark, the Ying Yang Twin’s hit single “Whisper” comes directly to mind. But long before the Ying Yang Twins, DJ Smurf was burning up the turntables on the Southern Bass scene.
After linking up with the only mixtape crew in Georgia, King Edwards J’s team in 1987, Michael Crooms, then known as DJ Smurf was introduced to MC Shy D and the rest was history. After hitting the road with Shy D in 1991, in two years he was an accomplished enough beat maker to produce half of Shy D’s album The Comeback. Simultaneously dabbling in rapping, he crafted a song called “Drop Like This B***h” on Ichiban Records’ Bass compilation called Excuse Me Sonny, Do You Know Where I Can Find Some Bass?, where he created the infamous “To the windows, to the walls” which he copyrighted and Lil’ Jon capitalized.
But as Bass started to be etched out of the Hip-Hop scene, so did DJ Smurf’s popularity. Determined to re-carve his name in the movement, Smurf met up with an unknown artist by the name of D-Roc who was known in Atlanta for his more laid-back rhymes. Soon after, under the moniker Beat-in-Azz, the Ying Yang/Collipark movement was born.
After the success of “Whistle While You Twurk”, Crooms knew that in order for him to be the success he wanted to be, he had to change his name to something more marketable. Named after both his hometown and his label; he dropped Beat-in-Azz and dubbed himself Mr. Collipark. AllHipHop.com got a chance to sit down with the purveyor of the snap and whisper movement to discuss his life and how it feels to be one of the most sought after producers in the game.
AllHipHop.com: First things first, how does it feel to be credited with ushering a movement that changed the way Hip-Hop music sounds in the South?
Mr. Collipark: It feels good, because [the South] has been responsible for a lot of things, we just never received our credit. Like the a big part of the up-tempo Crunk music came from the Ying Yang Twins and myself, but now that we are doing our thing and people know how we are they automatically credit us, and that’s what I love about this.
AllHipHop.com: Do you feel that the “Whisper” record is what Crunk has evolved to, because honestly you can’t get any louder?
Mr. Collipark: [Laughs] Yeah for real, but that was what Crunk was for, to have you act a fool in the club. But after the “Whisper” record, now Atlanta has a whole new sound with “snap” music which started with “Wait [The Whisper Song]” and “Play”, a lot of people have already started to flip it into something else. So I definitely feel that the hey-day of Crunk is over, and the South is definitely coming with something new.
AllHipHop.com: On that same note, you initially debuted on the scene as DJ Smurf, then you changed your name to Beat-in Azz and now you are known as Mr. Collipark; what made you change your name and go under so many different monikers?
Mr. Collipark: Well initially, I changed my name from DJ Smurf to Beat-in-Azz so that Ying Yang Twins wouldn’t be stigmatized, because that was my first act going in as a label owner. With me at the time being known for Bass music, I didn’t want [Ying Yang Twins] to be prejudged as another Bass group or project by record labels and executives. But Beat-in-Azz was something that I just created just being funny and it took off and blew up when Ying Yang blew up. I really couldn’t use the name DJ Smurf again due to legal issues with the Smurf Corporation, but the success of what were doing was starting to grow. I knew that I need a name that was marketable so I could really establish my label and my sound and I couldn’t do that with a name like Beat-in-Azz.
AllHipHop.com: So how did you finally decide on Mr. Collipark?
Mr. Collipark: Honestly, every since I started making records, I always shouted Collipark, because that’s where I’m from and now is the name of my label. Plus I was really the first one from College Park to really do something big so I believe I earned the right to call myself Mr. Collipark.
AllHipHop.com: How did that sit initially with fellow ATLiens, because there are a lot of self proclaimed “Kings” out there in the game?
Mr. Collipark: But it’s not a name to disrespect because I was doing mixtapes when nobody was really messing with music out here in College Park, except for Jermaine [Dupri] - and he was doing Hip-Hop sounds. I was really the only at the time who was staying true to the sounds and going through the different stages that Atlanta was going through at the time, I was always apart of that. So I earned it.
AllHipHop.com: With all the big name artists that you have been working with lately, are you planning on releasing a compilation album?
Mr. Collipark: If I do decide to release one, it would be more like Dr Dre’s The Chronic album, where it would be a compilation of music that I want to do. You know what, if I made an album it would be full of music that I want to do. Back when I was doing Bass music, I took a lot of chances and that’s why it spills over to the Ying Yang projects and other creative artists that can do this with me. So if I did an album, it probably wouldn’t be what people would expect from me, because I would do whatever I feel and it wouldn’t be anything that I am known for right now.
AllHipHop.com: Initially you were on three labels previous to TVT, you were signed to Koch initially with the Ying Yang Twins but back in the day you were signed to Ichiban and SMD which were independent labels, how is the situation at TVT better than the previous deals?
Mr. Collipark: After I out the four solo albums back in the day with MC Shy D, I ended up creating the “Whistle While You Twurk” record that got us signed to SMD and distributed through Universal, but after we caught the lawsuit over the sample, it messed everything up. But luckily we ran into someone from Koch who believed enough to give us a deal, but not enough to go beyond one record, so once we dropped that record and went gold Ying Yang started catching a little noise. With the work they were doing with Lil’ Jon, it only seemed right that we link up with TVT. But honestly because I have been under the independent for so long, now I want more. TVT is great at what they do, but I really just want more for me and my artists.
AllHipHop.com: What do you think makes your beats stand out from that of any other producer?
Mr. Collipark: I think that a Southern producer as a whole, is a lot more melodic because we have a lot of different personalities in the South. Not taking away from my New York counterparts, but everything up there is just so hard. In the South, we are more laid back and more observant of life. I mean everywhere else in the world you have rap and R&B, in the South we have music. So if music is all we know music is all we are going to create.
AllHipHop.com: Do you think that music as a whole is suffer due to the follow the leader type of style, because when The Neptunes first came out, everyone had a space age beat. Now with the new “Snap” music everyone has a “Snap” beat.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah definitely. I think that the record companies are to blame for that because they are afraid to take risks. They want the next artist that sounds similar to the ones already out making noise. So I blame the record labels and the artists equally, because if Ying Yang Twins can blow up with an empty ass beat and some finger snappin’ then I can take my superstar artist and do the same thing, but they don’t think like that. Instead the labels want the next Ying Yang to re-create “The Whisper Song”. Honestly, everyone now is coming at me for another “Wait” or “Play or “Shake”, I am so tired of hearing the same thing, with all the “Snap” beats popping up I ain’t going to sit up there and dispute who was the first to do it, I am just going to make something new and leave everyone else finger snappin’.
AllHipHop.com: As a behind the scene type of guy, what is your opinion on producers who appear all through out their artist’s videos?
Mr. Collipark: Truthfully, when I first got into the game, it wasn’t about that, it was about creating good music and letting the artists shine. Now the industry has changed, now its common for the producers to be in the video and to be able to survive in music is being able to change with the times. Because although Ying Yang will continue to be a success, my Collipark label won’t be because people won’t know Collipark, just The Ying Yang Twins. So when it comes time for me to drop the next artists it’s going to be like starting all over again. So this is actually the first year I started branding my stuff, it’s funny because people are actually asking for that Collipark yell or appearance, because they are associating the name with heat, so I can’t be mad at all.
When you hear the name Mr. Collipark, the Ying Yang Twin’s hit single “Whisper” comes directly to mind. But long before the Ying Yang Twins, DJ Smurf was burning up the turntables on the Southern Bass scene.
After linking up with the only mixtape crew in Georgia, King Edwards J’s team in 1987, Michael Crooms, then known as DJ Smurf was introduced to MC Shy D and the rest was history. After hitting the road with Shy D in 1991, in two years he was an accomplished enough beat maker to produce half of Shy D’s album The Comeback. Simultaneously dabbling in rapping, he crafted a song called “Drop Like This B***h” on Ichiban Records’ Bass compilation called Excuse Me Sonny, Do You Know Where I Can Find Some Bass?, where he created the infamous “To the windows, to the walls” which he copyrighted and Lil’ Jon capitalized.
But as Bass started to be etched out of the Hip-Hop scene, so did DJ Smurf’s popularity. Determined to re-carve his name in the movement, Smurf met up with an unknown artist by the name of D-Roc who was known in Atlanta for his more laid-back rhymes. Soon after, under the moniker Beat-in-Azz, the Ying Yang/Collipark movement was born.
After the success of “Whistle While You Twurk”, Crooms knew that in order for him to be the success he wanted to be, he had to change his name to something more marketable. Named after both his hometown and his label; he dropped Beat-in-Azz and dubbed himself Mr. Collipark. AllHipHop.com got a chance to sit down with the purveyor of the snap and whisper movement to discuss his life and how it feels to be one of the most sought after producers in the game.
AllHipHop.com: First things first, how does it feel to be credited with ushering a movement that changed the way Hip-Hop music sounds in the South?
Mr. Collipark: It feels good, because [the South] has been responsible for a lot of things, we just never received our credit. Like the a big part of the up-tempo Crunk music came from the Ying Yang Twins and myself, but now that we are doing our thing and people know how we are they automatically credit us, and that’s what I love about this.
AllHipHop.com: Do you feel that the “Whisper” record is what Crunk has evolved to, because honestly you can’t get any louder?
Mr. Collipark: [Laughs] Yeah for real, but that was what Crunk was for, to have you act a fool in the club. But after the “Whisper” record, now Atlanta has a whole new sound with “snap” music which started with “Wait [The Whisper Song]” and “Play”, a lot of people have already started to flip it into something else. So I definitely feel that the hey-day of Crunk is over, and the South is definitely coming with something new.
AllHipHop.com: On that same note, you initially debuted on the scene as DJ Smurf, then you changed your name to Beat-in Azz and now you are known as Mr. Collipark; what made you change your name and go under so many different monikers?
Mr. Collipark: Well initially, I changed my name from DJ Smurf to Beat-in-Azz so that Ying Yang Twins wouldn’t be stigmatized, because that was my first act going in as a label owner. With me at the time being known for Bass music, I didn’t want [Ying Yang Twins] to be prejudged as another Bass group or project by record labels and executives. But Beat-in-Azz was something that I just created just being funny and it took off and blew up when Ying Yang blew up. I really couldn’t use the name DJ Smurf again due to legal issues with the Smurf Corporation, but the success of what were doing was starting to grow. I knew that I need a name that was marketable so I could really establish my label and my sound and I couldn’t do that with a name like Beat-in-Azz.
AllHipHop.com: So how did you finally decide on Mr. Collipark?
Mr. Collipark: Honestly, every since I started making records, I always shouted Collipark, because that’s where I’m from and now is the name of my label. Plus I was really the first one from College Park to really do something big so I believe I earned the right to call myself Mr. Collipark.
AllHipHop.com: How did that sit initially with fellow ATLiens, because there are a lot of self proclaimed “Kings” out there in the game?
Mr. Collipark: But it’s not a name to disrespect because I was doing mixtapes when nobody was really messing with music out here in College Park, except for Jermaine [Dupri] - and he was doing Hip-Hop sounds. I was really the only at the time who was staying true to the sounds and going through the different stages that Atlanta was going through at the time, I was always apart of that. So I earned it.
AllHipHop.com: With all the big name artists that you have been working with lately, are you planning on releasing a compilation album?
Mr. Collipark: If I do decide to release one, it would be more like Dr Dre’s The Chronic album, where it would be a compilation of music that I want to do. You know what, if I made an album it would be full of music that I want to do. Back when I was doing Bass music, I took a lot of chances and that’s why it spills over to the Ying Yang projects and other creative artists that can do this with me. So if I did an album, it probably wouldn’t be what people would expect from me, because I would do whatever I feel and it wouldn’t be anything that I am known for right now.
AllHipHop.com: Initially you were on three labels previous to TVT, you were signed to Koch initially with the Ying Yang Twins but back in the day you were signed to Ichiban and SMD which were independent labels, how is the situation at TVT better than the previous deals?
Mr. Collipark: After I out the four solo albums back in the day with MC Shy D, I ended up creating the “Whistle While You Twurk” record that got us signed to SMD and distributed through Universal, but after we caught the lawsuit over the sample, it messed everything up. But luckily we ran into someone from Koch who believed enough to give us a deal, but not enough to go beyond one record, so once we dropped that record and went gold Ying Yang started catching a little noise. With the work they were doing with Lil’ Jon, it only seemed right that we link up with TVT. But honestly because I have been under the independent for so long, now I want more. TVT is great at what they do, but I really just want more for me and my artists.
AllHipHop.com: What do you think makes your beats stand out from that of any other producer?
Mr. Collipark: I think that a Southern producer as a whole, is a lot more melodic because we have a lot of different personalities in the South. Not taking away from my New York counterparts, but everything up there is just so hard. In the South, we are more laid back and more observant of life. I mean everywhere else in the world you have rap and R&B, in the South we have music. So if music is all we know music is all we are going to create.
AllHipHop.com: Do you think that music as a whole is suffer due to the follow the leader type of style, because when The Neptunes first came out, everyone had a space age beat. Now with the new “Snap” music everyone has a “Snap” beat.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah definitely. I think that the record companies are to blame for that because they are afraid to take risks. They want the next artist that sounds similar to the ones already out making noise. So I blame the record labels and the artists equally, because if Ying Yang Twins can blow up with an empty ass beat and some finger snappin’ then I can take my superstar artist and do the same thing, but they don’t think like that. Instead the labels want the next Ying Yang to re-create “The Whisper Song”. Honestly, everyone now is coming at me for another “Wait” or “Play or “Shake”, I am so tired of hearing the same thing, with all the “Snap” beats popping up I ain’t going to sit up there and dispute who was the first to do it, I am just going to make something new and leave everyone else finger snappin’.
AllHipHop.com: As a behind the scene type of guy, what is your opinion on producers who appear all through out their artist’s videos?
Mr. Collipark: Truthfully, when I first got into the game, it wasn’t about that, it was about creating good music and letting the artists shine. Now the industry has changed, now its common for the producers to be in the video and to be able to survive in music is being able to change with the times. Because although Ying Yang will continue to be a success, my Collipark label won’t be because people won’t know Collipark, just The Ying Yang Twins. So when it comes time for me to drop the next artists it’s going to be like starting all over again. So this is actually the first year I started branding my stuff, it’s funny because people are actually asking for that Collipark yell or appearance, because they are associating the name with heat, so I can’t be mad at all.
New Lil Keke Interview - On The Real Magazine
[quote author=Onthareal link=topic=12020.msg178386#msg178386 date=1136783452]
WWW.ONTHAREALMAG.COM
OTR-Where were you born for those who have been living under a rock for the last 10 years?
LIL KEKE-I was born right here in Houston Texas, raised on the southern part of Houston Texas.
OTR-When did you know that you wanted to rap?
LIL KEKE-Where I’m from, little kids come up wanting to rap but I didn’t take it serious until I really got a buzz.
OTR-You were one of the first to be heard worldwide on the mainstream level, how has the industry changed to you personally from then to now?
Lil ke ke: well this is how it has changed when me and Fat Pat was recording music at Screw’s house we did the music for fun this was a hood thing. We didn’t do it for money as a matter of fact we paid 15 dollars to do the tapes. When we got our buzz and people caught on to the music we were still street people, when I made my first album Don’t Mess Wit Texas it was like I was 20, 21 years old straight from the streets making two hundred to three hundred thousand a year and it still hadn’t dawned on me that I needed to be going strong taking this rapping seriously. On the other hand Swisha House came in and they were selling C.d’s for money, we weren’t pressing up cd’s we were doing it for fun, street credibility and rank within doing the shit. The thing that changed with the young people like Flip, Mike Jones and Paul Wall not saying they didn’t work hard but they came into the game going directly towards videos MTV and BET when I was coming up in the south side I didn’t really give a damn about MTV or BET. It was about an independent thing we was selling a bunch a records, we were doing shows driving our fancy cars living In the big houses. As far as being a star and going to New York really didn’t matter to me at the time, now that the competition level and the money is bigger and its on a worldwide frame I’m just trying to adapt to that situation and get my feet wet in the new game.
OTR-You have an underground cd where you talk about Fat Pat being your Idol can you talk about why he is an Idol to you?
LIL KEKE -Yeah Fat Pat was my Idol because I wanted to go to screw’s house. I was about 14 or 15 and I used to catch the bus to screws house that was probably one of the last times that I caught the bus and I remember that Fat Pat was rapping on tapes and Pat was winning the freestyle battles at a club called High Rollers and that’s what I wanted to do cuz I could freestyle I practice my whole life mayne to be able to rap and do my thing at Screw’s house! Fat Pat is the reason why I started freestyling. When I got there he just totally embraced me and we went at it man like rivals but together it was like 2 for 2 and we had an album we were going to do called 2 for 2. That’s why I call him my idol because of freestyling about slab and the whole H-town culture, Fat Pat was my idol in that.
OTR-How important is it to keep your credibility on the mainstream level as well as the underground?
LIL KEKE -It’s about Longevity and I live by the statement would you rather be a young fool than an old fool. I was young having money doing what I wanted to do and I just was myself I have always been myself. Now its all about longevity I ask people all the time how many independent artist are really eating off they pen, look I really live this game I’m eaten it don’t matter if I get big in New York, Cali I really wake up everyday and live this shit I’m on the underground putting tapes out doing shows and I’m still here 10 years later but this a young mans game and how many rappers you know got a new deal a lot rappers used to be here but they ain't hear no more I’m still here back with a new deal with Swisha House only thing about it is I had to humble my self and realize that I was young and I made mistakes and I realized you can’t do it all by yourself I wanted to get back to a level where I was just a rapper all I have to do is wake up and go to the studio and be a monster, I don’t have to worry about anything but bringing that fire and that’s when I’m at my best.
OTR- Speaking on the new deal, how did that deal with Swisha House come about?
LIL KEKE -Well actually Swisha House has been trying to offer me a deal for some time now even when Mike Jones was putting his album out, we tried to make it happen a few times and the timing wasn’t right but I had a few offers but Swisha House offered me the best deal for the immediate action that I wanted.
OTR-What do you say those listeners and fans that wonder would you have made the move to Swisha house if D.J Screw was still alive?
LIL KEKE -If screw was still alive I would have still made the same move and you would be surprised at some of the moves screw would have made if he was still alive because at the end of the day business is still business. They never thought Snoop would be with Master P and they never thought Mack 10 would sign with Cashmoney just like they never thought Mase would sign with G-Unit now it’s the same thing with the Don and Swisha House it’s still just business.
OTR- What project do you have waiting to be released?
LIL KEKE-Well they are just finishing one of the albums that was included in the deal which is The Day Hell Broke Loose part 2 and we have a lot of features on there from Scarface to Santanna to Paul Wall to Z-ro. We just working on a buzz I’m working on my album it’s called Loved by Few and Hated by Many we are going to do it real timely on this go around just going to go by timing.
OTR-Speaking on the album are there any other features that you are thinking about working with?
LIL KEKE-Well we are talking about some things, this year is going to be real big for me I will say that the music will be heard by everybody and I am just sitting back observing and really taken my time with this one cause it is going to be a killa man it is going to be a classic.
OTR-What happen to you and the Herschlewood Hardheads?
LIL KEKE -The whole thing is really we didn’t see eye to eye on things. They carry themselves in a
Different way, but hood shit is hood shit. We had some complication or whatever but we took it to the streets and handle it like g’s are supposed to and it got handled. With that being said whether it be Jamdown hating on me and my hood I always let my talent show.
The beef is really over because I put that behind me and all my fans still stayed down so that didn’t phase me at all I have been knowing them since I was 8 or 9 I can’t kill them and they can’t kill me.
OTR-Do you have a website?
LIL KEKE -Hit me up at www.swisha house.biz
OTR- Any last words
LIL KEKE- I just want to say I appreciate OntharealMag and look out for me this year I got a lot of things rolling I got the new CMG Click (Custom Made Gangstaz) I’m going to stay on the mix tape circuit real big I got a new underground coming called return of the freestyle king
INTERVIEW BY JWOOD
PHOTO BY BIG KARL
GO CHECK OUT WWW.ONTHAREALMAG.COM
[/quote]
5000
[quote author=Onthareal link=topic=12020.msg178386#msg178386 date=1136783452]
WWW.ONTHAREALMAG.COM
OTR-Where were you born for those who have been living under a rock for the last 10 years?
LIL KEKE-I was born right here in Houston Texas, raised on the southern part of Houston Texas.
OTR-When did you know that you wanted to rap?
LIL KEKE-Where I’m from, little kids come up wanting to rap but I didn’t take it serious until I really got a buzz.
OTR-You were one of the first to be heard worldwide on the mainstream level, how has the industry changed to you personally from then to now?
Lil ke ke: well this is how it has changed when me and Fat Pat was recording music at Screw’s house we did the music for fun this was a hood thing. We didn’t do it for money as a matter of fact we paid 15 dollars to do the tapes. When we got our buzz and people caught on to the music we were still street people, when I made my first album Don’t Mess Wit Texas it was like I was 20, 21 years old straight from the streets making two hundred to three hundred thousand a year and it still hadn’t dawned on me that I needed to be going strong taking this rapping seriously. On the other hand Swisha House came in and they were selling C.d’s for money, we weren’t pressing up cd’s we were doing it for fun, street credibility and rank within doing the shit. The thing that changed with the young people like Flip, Mike Jones and Paul Wall not saying they didn’t work hard but they came into the game going directly towards videos MTV and BET when I was coming up in the south side I didn’t really give a damn about MTV or BET. It was about an independent thing we was selling a bunch a records, we were doing shows driving our fancy cars living In the big houses. As far as being a star and going to New York really didn’t matter to me at the time, now that the competition level and the money is bigger and its on a worldwide frame I’m just trying to adapt to that situation and get my feet wet in the new game.
OTR-You have an underground cd where you talk about Fat Pat being your Idol can you talk about why he is an Idol to you?
LIL KEKE -Yeah Fat Pat was my Idol because I wanted to go to screw’s house. I was about 14 or 15 and I used to catch the bus to screws house that was probably one of the last times that I caught the bus and I remember that Fat Pat was rapping on tapes and Pat was winning the freestyle battles at a club called High Rollers and that’s what I wanted to do cuz I could freestyle I practice my whole life mayne to be able to rap and do my thing at Screw’s house! Fat Pat is the reason why I started freestyling. When I got there he just totally embraced me and we went at it man like rivals but together it was like 2 for 2 and we had an album we were going to do called 2 for 2. That’s why I call him my idol because of freestyling about slab and the whole H-town culture, Fat Pat was my idol in that.
OTR-How important is it to keep your credibility on the mainstream level as well as the underground?
LIL KEKE -It’s about Longevity and I live by the statement would you rather be a young fool than an old fool. I was young having money doing what I wanted to do and I just was myself I have always been myself. Now its all about longevity I ask people all the time how many independent artist are really eating off they pen, look I really live this game I’m eaten it don’t matter if I get big in New York, Cali I really wake up everyday and live this shit I’m on the underground putting tapes out doing shows and I’m still here 10 years later but this a young mans game and how many rappers you know got a new deal a lot rappers used to be here but they ain't hear no more I’m still here back with a new deal with Swisha House only thing about it is I had to humble my self and realize that I was young and I made mistakes and I realized you can’t do it all by yourself I wanted to get back to a level where I was just a rapper all I have to do is wake up and go to the studio and be a monster, I don’t have to worry about anything but bringing that fire and that’s when I’m at my best.
OTR- Speaking on the new deal, how did that deal with Swisha House come about?
LIL KEKE -Well actually Swisha House has been trying to offer me a deal for some time now even when Mike Jones was putting his album out, we tried to make it happen a few times and the timing wasn’t right but I had a few offers but Swisha House offered me the best deal for the immediate action that I wanted.
OTR-What do you say those listeners and fans that wonder would you have made the move to Swisha house if D.J Screw was still alive?
LIL KEKE -If screw was still alive I would have still made the same move and you would be surprised at some of the moves screw would have made if he was still alive because at the end of the day business is still business. They never thought Snoop would be with Master P and they never thought Mack 10 would sign with Cashmoney just like they never thought Mase would sign with G-Unit now it’s the same thing with the Don and Swisha House it’s still just business.
OTR- What project do you have waiting to be released?
LIL KEKE-Well they are just finishing one of the albums that was included in the deal which is The Day Hell Broke Loose part 2 and we have a lot of features on there from Scarface to Santanna to Paul Wall to Z-ro. We just working on a buzz I’m working on my album it’s called Loved by Few and Hated by Many we are going to do it real timely on this go around just going to go by timing.
OTR-Speaking on the album are there any other features that you are thinking about working with?
LIL KEKE-Well we are talking about some things, this year is going to be real big for me I will say that the music will be heard by everybody and I am just sitting back observing and really taken my time with this one cause it is going to be a killa man it is going to be a classic.
OTR-What happen to you and the Herschlewood Hardheads?
LIL KEKE -The whole thing is really we didn’t see eye to eye on things. They carry themselves in a
Different way, but hood shit is hood shit. We had some complication or whatever but we took it to the streets and handle it like g’s are supposed to and it got handled. With that being said whether it be Jamdown hating on me and my hood I always let my talent show.
The beef is really over because I put that behind me and all my fans still stayed down so that didn’t phase me at all I have been knowing them since I was 8 or 9 I can’t kill them and they can’t kill me.
OTR-Do you have a website?
LIL KEKE -Hit me up at www.swisha house.biz
OTR- Any last words
LIL KEKE- I just want to say I appreciate OntharealMag and look out for me this year I got a lot of things rolling I got the new CMG Click (Custom Made Gangstaz) I’m going to stay on the mix tape circuit real big I got a new underground coming called return of the freestyle king
INTERVIEW BY JWOOD
PHOTO BY BIG KARL
GO CHECK OUT WWW.ONTHAREALMAG.COM
[/quote]
5000
AllHipHop.com: Did you change songs or add new ones?
Juvenile: I changed songs, added new songs. I mean, it delayed everything for me because you know I was close to putting my album [out around that time.] My reality check was like man, no matter what you do or how big you make it or how much money you made - I just built my house - no matter how much you accomplish, you still a n***er. I ain’t no better than nobody else, ‘cause I do still have problems [like ordinary] people.
AllHipHop.com: Do you think people scoff when artists become activists? I mean, you have money, and a lot to come “home to,” so to speak…
Juvenile: Everybody wasn’t like that, but I do think the majority thinks like that. I mean, the true colors come out during the worst times. They seen me full of alcohol, speak your sober mind, because you can’t control the truth then. It looked like it was a whole bunch of drunk ass people working for the government until the truth came out, you know what I’m saying? The truth came out and the answer is: they ain’t gonna give a f**k about us.
AllHipHop.com: What’s the status down there now, like you know, it’s out of the media, it’s not really prominent like that anymore. People kind of want to know like how is it.
Juvenile: I said all, all of the media, y’all full of s**t, you know. And probably won’t play me, probably won’t show my commercials or nothing, probably won’t play my videos or nothing but I got to get out, to me y’all full of s**t.
AllHipHop.com: How so?
Juvenile: Y’all should of, a lot of them should have been doing something different than what they was doing and showing. And then you, enough you’re not showing the truth, 'cause the truth is the levees didn’t break. The levee was breached, but not by water. It was breached by military, by military firearms. People heard a boom, then the waterways. So, you know it’s a whole bunch of lies man. Honestly when you saw me at that [Red Cross] press conference, you know, I was really in there mad, like, “Y’all full of s**t.” I really lost my s**t, you sure they didn’t, the insurance agency really ain’t giving me nothing yet, know what I’m saying? Oh, I was really, I walked out.
AllHipHop.com: A lot of people have military-related theories…
Juvenile: What happened was the water was backing up in the wrong areas: the tourist areas. And they knew it, and it was backing up in areas where some strong people was politically, and on other scales were, and those people knew what was going on. Like man, y’all could have fixed this pump system where everybody could be safe, but y’all fixed one area of the city. We watched them over the past couple of years, you know the pumping system that was designed to pump water on the lower main. They blew the levee.
AllHipHop.com: Wow.
Juvenile: It’s more like out with the old, in with the new. Now you got [wealthy real estate barons] down there, buying up all the property - now it’s a big business venture. If you didn’t pay your taxes on your property - and half of the people weren’t able to pay taxes, you know - a lot of people lost their money for real.
AllHipHop.com: Is this a new era of political mindedness for you?
Juvenile: Nah, you ain’t gonna catch me doing a public anything, I’m not like that, all you’re gonna catch me doing is telling my people, ‘Get what the f**k you gonna get and get it right now,’ man. Get what you can get right now. Make the best of out of life you know what I’m saying. Stop crying, don’t feel sorry for yourself, do what you gotta do. It’s time to eat.
AllHipHop.com: Moving on, what’s your relationship like with Cash Money these days?
Juvenile: None.
Juvenile: Trying to take five with your boy, whenever you want to fight --
AllHipHop.com: For real?
Juvenile: Yeah, it’s for real.
AllHipHop.com: Why’s it like that?
Juvenile: ‘Cause, [the] man got a big mouth.
AllHipHop.com: Who?
Juvenile: Baby. He got a big mouth, [I'm] gonna punch him in it.
AllHipHop.com: What’d he say this time?
Juvenile: A lot. Now, what I’m saying, is how you even know he saying something? He’s always saying something ‘cause we gonna, I’m gonna get it on with him.
AllHipHop.com: I heard y’all was working out a reunion of with Cash and Hot Boys or something.
Juvenile: Yeah.
AllHipHop.com: Why it didn’t go through?
Juvenile: There’s another reunion between, that’s another reunion involving Cash Money, I think. I ain’t caught up with Cash Money thing. You probably [heard] B.G. talking about me, and him, and Mannie Fresh.
AllHipHop.com: Right, right, so no reunion? Well, what about B.G. though?
Juvenile: No, nah, nah. We be bumping heads with each other, we be holler and stuff like that, you know.
AllHipHop.com: Are you and B.G. on good terms?
Juvenile: Yeah we good. But you know, we got a situation, and I got my situation right now. And it like we both trying to make it happen, like, “You got your little camp and I got my little camp,” we agree to do songs with each other, but it’s like, we both in motion. You know the Hurricane killed everything, too.
AllHipHop.com: Are you working with Mannie on this album?
Juvenile: All the time, all day. He ain’t even Cash Money either.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, I know. Last year you were the first person that confirmed that, at the BET Awards.
Juvenile: Yeah, people didn’t believe me, people was looking at me like I was crazy or something, I’m telling you.
AllHipHop.com: Well, what about Wayne? His album is very hot right now…
Juvenile: You like that “Party Man” [actually titled “Fireman”] song?
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, it is cool, but the album is better. What are your thoughts on his tattoo tear? People wonder about that kind of stuff these days…
Juvenile: Tattoos [tear] is people’s fashion nowadays. My homey told me, they told me, when you get the little tattoo [tear] like that that means you put in some work. I'm gonna bash them, [that] little boy that grew up and he needs daddy. What I'm say is nobody remembers [him in the street], so all this s**t you saying, is false. Now far as rap, he's a good rapper, he been a good rapper. He's been to the best schools, he been, he been a good boy.
AllHipHop.com: In the summer, there was a rumor of a dude who allegedly took your UTP chain…
Juvenile: Man, that’s a long story. But that dude, honestly, [it must have been] one of the little cats, ‘cause I don’t have a chain like that. One of little cats on my bus got, guy got a little chain and slipped a little over, you know what I mean? And I guess since she give the chain to her dude and he got an itch, he was gangster and everything [sarcastically]. Man, keep the chain, da, da, da. I don’t even know what happened, the end of the story I don’t even know what happened with the chain.
AllHipHop.com: There were pictures on the Internet for a second.
Juvenile: Yeah, he come back on, you never saw him back on it, I wonder why you never see the Indian, right? We straightened it. He so stupid is out on the web site and showed his face on TV. Now you’re playing. Jump on the TV, that was like something on national TV, I got the chain, it’s me, we got the gun, okay, so now you know where, where is [the chain now]?
AllHipHop.com: What prompted you to do this “Rodeo” single?
Juvenile: It really falls upon the Reality Check title. And that song is an uplifting song for women. Once you see the video, you’ll understand that I’m trying to show you what these women go through, the women that stay in strip clubs what they go through after they leave away from the strip club. Some of them got kids, some of them forced women, forced into doing that. Some of them try to go to school, don’t have nobody to help them, some of them been badder than that. I’m showing you the other side of the picture. I’m just saying [to the women], “You’re beautiful anyway.” I got a daughter, I got a momma, and I got a wife. So I look at things differently, you know what I’m saying, I look at things like how could I make a song for them what I need, you know what I mean? Getting off of the G upside that you always catch me on, because every time you hear a song from G you expect it to be this way, you know what I’m saying? But this is something different and also when you get off into the album and you see there, that’s one in a million, you know what I’m saying, it’s like it was the only song on my album that was really radio playable to that extent.
AllHipHop.com: Given the reality we’re faced with in 2006, why should people get this album?
Juvenile: All I got to say is you ought to get my album. My album was generally done before the hurricane hit. But the hurricane hit, and I tried to change up as much but you’ll probably get more footage ‘cause I got a DVD coming out, and you’ll get more footage of the people actually [involved], me actually in New Orleans, and you seeing it really handle the truth because you’re talking everybody [affected] but the White people.
AllHipHop.com: Do you ever feel that moves like that could compromise your gangster?
Juvenile: [People are] kind of they scared to make songs like that, song needs to be made. I’m G’d up all the time, I am who I am, you know what I’m saying? I don’t feel like making a song like that takes anything away from my character, I feel like you know my respect stays there because I can make a song like that and I can make a song like that, you know what I mean and I ain’t gonna cross my boundaries.
Juvenile: I changed songs, added new songs. I mean, it delayed everything for me because you know I was close to putting my album [out around that time.] My reality check was like man, no matter what you do or how big you make it or how much money you made - I just built my house - no matter how much you accomplish, you still a n***er. I ain’t no better than nobody else, ‘cause I do still have problems [like ordinary] people.
AllHipHop.com: Do you think people scoff when artists become activists? I mean, you have money, and a lot to come “home to,” so to speak…
Juvenile: Everybody wasn’t like that, but I do think the majority thinks like that. I mean, the true colors come out during the worst times. They seen me full of alcohol, speak your sober mind, because you can’t control the truth then. It looked like it was a whole bunch of drunk ass people working for the government until the truth came out, you know what I’m saying? The truth came out and the answer is: they ain’t gonna give a f**k about us.
AllHipHop.com: What’s the status down there now, like you know, it’s out of the media, it’s not really prominent like that anymore. People kind of want to know like how is it.
Juvenile: I said all, all of the media, y’all full of s**t, you know. And probably won’t play me, probably won’t show my commercials or nothing, probably won’t play my videos or nothing but I got to get out, to me y’all full of s**t.
AllHipHop.com: How so?
Juvenile: Y’all should of, a lot of them should have been doing something different than what they was doing and showing. And then you, enough you’re not showing the truth, 'cause the truth is the levees didn’t break. The levee was breached, but not by water. It was breached by military, by military firearms. People heard a boom, then the waterways. So, you know it’s a whole bunch of lies man. Honestly when you saw me at that [Red Cross] press conference, you know, I was really in there mad, like, “Y’all full of s**t.” I really lost my s**t, you sure they didn’t, the insurance agency really ain’t giving me nothing yet, know what I’m saying? Oh, I was really, I walked out.
AllHipHop.com: A lot of people have military-related theories…
Juvenile: What happened was the water was backing up in the wrong areas: the tourist areas. And they knew it, and it was backing up in areas where some strong people was politically, and on other scales were, and those people knew what was going on. Like man, y’all could have fixed this pump system where everybody could be safe, but y’all fixed one area of the city. We watched them over the past couple of years, you know the pumping system that was designed to pump water on the lower main. They blew the levee.
AllHipHop.com: Wow.
Juvenile: It’s more like out with the old, in with the new. Now you got [wealthy real estate barons] down there, buying up all the property - now it’s a big business venture. If you didn’t pay your taxes on your property - and half of the people weren’t able to pay taxes, you know - a lot of people lost their money for real.
AllHipHop.com: Is this a new era of political mindedness for you?
Juvenile: Nah, you ain’t gonna catch me doing a public anything, I’m not like that, all you’re gonna catch me doing is telling my people, ‘Get what the f**k you gonna get and get it right now,’ man. Get what you can get right now. Make the best of out of life you know what I’m saying. Stop crying, don’t feel sorry for yourself, do what you gotta do. It’s time to eat.
AllHipHop.com: Moving on, what’s your relationship like with Cash Money these days?
Juvenile: None.
Juvenile: Trying to take five with your boy, whenever you want to fight --
AllHipHop.com: For real?
Juvenile: Yeah, it’s for real.
AllHipHop.com: Why’s it like that?
Juvenile: ‘Cause, [the] man got a big mouth.
AllHipHop.com: Who?
Juvenile: Baby. He got a big mouth, [I'm] gonna punch him in it.
AllHipHop.com: What’d he say this time?
Juvenile: A lot. Now, what I’m saying, is how you even know he saying something? He’s always saying something ‘cause we gonna, I’m gonna get it on with him.
AllHipHop.com: I heard y’all was working out a reunion of with Cash and Hot Boys or something.
Juvenile: Yeah.
AllHipHop.com: Why it didn’t go through?
Juvenile: There’s another reunion between, that’s another reunion involving Cash Money, I think. I ain’t caught up with Cash Money thing. You probably [heard] B.G. talking about me, and him, and Mannie Fresh.
AllHipHop.com: Right, right, so no reunion? Well, what about B.G. though?
Juvenile: No, nah, nah. We be bumping heads with each other, we be holler and stuff like that, you know.
AllHipHop.com: Are you and B.G. on good terms?
Juvenile: Yeah we good. But you know, we got a situation, and I got my situation right now. And it like we both trying to make it happen, like, “You got your little camp and I got my little camp,” we agree to do songs with each other, but it’s like, we both in motion. You know the Hurricane killed everything, too.
AllHipHop.com: Are you working with Mannie on this album?
Juvenile: All the time, all day. He ain’t even Cash Money either.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, I know. Last year you were the first person that confirmed that, at the BET Awards.
Juvenile: Yeah, people didn’t believe me, people was looking at me like I was crazy or something, I’m telling you.
AllHipHop.com: Well, what about Wayne? His album is very hot right now…
Juvenile: You like that “Party Man” [actually titled “Fireman”] song?
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, it is cool, but the album is better. What are your thoughts on his tattoo tear? People wonder about that kind of stuff these days…
Juvenile: Tattoos [tear] is people’s fashion nowadays. My homey told me, they told me, when you get the little tattoo [tear] like that that means you put in some work. I'm gonna bash them, [that] little boy that grew up and he needs daddy. What I'm say is nobody remembers [him in the street], so all this s**t you saying, is false. Now far as rap, he's a good rapper, he been a good rapper. He's been to the best schools, he been, he been a good boy.
AllHipHop.com: In the summer, there was a rumor of a dude who allegedly took your UTP chain…
Juvenile: Man, that’s a long story. But that dude, honestly, [it must have been] one of the little cats, ‘cause I don’t have a chain like that. One of little cats on my bus got, guy got a little chain and slipped a little over, you know what I mean? And I guess since she give the chain to her dude and he got an itch, he was gangster and everything [sarcastically]. Man, keep the chain, da, da, da. I don’t even know what happened, the end of the story I don’t even know what happened with the chain.
AllHipHop.com: There were pictures on the Internet for a second.
Juvenile: Yeah, he come back on, you never saw him back on it, I wonder why you never see the Indian, right? We straightened it. He so stupid is out on the web site and showed his face on TV. Now you’re playing. Jump on the TV, that was like something on national TV, I got the chain, it’s me, we got the gun, okay, so now you know where, where is [the chain now]?
AllHipHop.com: What prompted you to do this “Rodeo” single?
Juvenile: It really falls upon the Reality Check title. And that song is an uplifting song for women. Once you see the video, you’ll understand that I’m trying to show you what these women go through, the women that stay in strip clubs what they go through after they leave away from the strip club. Some of them got kids, some of them forced women, forced into doing that. Some of them try to go to school, don’t have nobody to help them, some of them been badder than that. I’m showing you the other side of the picture. I’m just saying [to the women], “You’re beautiful anyway.” I got a daughter, I got a momma, and I got a wife. So I look at things differently, you know what I’m saying, I look at things like how could I make a song for them what I need, you know what I mean? Getting off of the G upside that you always catch me on, because every time you hear a song from G you expect it to be this way, you know what I’m saying? But this is something different and also when you get off into the album and you see there, that’s one in a million, you know what I’m saying, it’s like it was the only song on my album that was really radio playable to that extent.
AllHipHop.com: Given the reality we’re faced with in 2006, why should people get this album?
Juvenile: All I got to say is you ought to get my album. My album was generally done before the hurricane hit. But the hurricane hit, and I tried to change up as much but you’ll probably get more footage ‘cause I got a DVD coming out, and you’ll get more footage of the people actually [involved], me actually in New Orleans, and you seeing it really handle the truth because you’re talking everybody [affected] but the White people.
AllHipHop.com: Do you ever feel that moves like that could compromise your gangster?
Juvenile: [People are] kind of they scared to make songs like that, song needs to be made. I’m G’d up all the time, I am who I am, you know what I’m saying? I don’t feel like making a song like that takes anything away from my character, I feel like you know my respect stays there because I can make a song like that and I can make a song like that, you know what I mean and I ain’t gonna cross my boundaries.
gucci man (all hip hop)
Just as his hit "Icy" began to climb in video and song rotation, Gucci Mane's life was put on pause. After a very well publicized attack, Gucci Mane was on trial for murder after admitting to shooting one of his attackers in self-defense. However, approaching a year after the madness began, Gucci Mane is now a free man. Less than a week out of jail, AllHipHop.com spoke to the Southern rapper on the issues at play in his absence. For instance, what's he going do with Trap House, the album that he was unable to really promote? Will he be bringing these recent tribulations into his future work? What does he feel about Young Jeezy - a man who many felt that Gucci Mane's issues benefited? These tough questions are met with concise, precise answers from a man whom skeptics presumed guilty by profession. One thing's true, most rappers find their greatest inspiration in times like these. Read and listen to Gucci Mane...
AllHipHop.com: How are you feeling now that you are a free man?
Gucci Mane: I’m feeling real good right now.
AllHipHop.com: When the charges were dropped, like what did you think? Did you believe it when you first heard it?
Gucci Mane: Yes, I believed it. I believed it, because I was expecting that to happen. And I was very happy when it – happy when it happened, you know, the outcome of the case. My two attorneys, Manny Aurora and Ash Joshi did a wonderful job.
AllHipHop.com: Right, right. Rappers specifically, but black people in general seem to have it pretty hard legally. So you didn’t really think that it could go for the worse? You really kept your faith?
Gucci Mane: Yeah, I had to have faith. You know, the whole time I had to put my faith in Lord. I knew He was gonna get me out of this.
AllHipHop.com: Okay, good, good. So you got out on Dr. Martin Luther King Day, how does that feel? The irony is crazy...
Gucci Mane: [Click here to listen to Gucci Mane speak about Martin Luther King, Jr.] Yeah, it felt real good to get out on Dr. Kings’ holiday… I [had a] “I have – I have a dream shirt on.” I’m a big fan of Dr. King.
AllHipHop.com: Oh you went in with that on. Oh okay, okay. Did you know you were getting out on MLK Day or you just –
Gucci Mane: I didn’t know I was getting out on that day.
AllHipHop.com: Oh okay, so fate has a sense of humor. That’s what’s up. So how are you in general?
Gucci Mane: I’m really excited man, I’m real happy to be out, you know what I’m sayin’? Gettin’ another chance, fresh start. I’m gonna take advantage of this second chance I got.
AllHipHop.com: So you plan to start doing more community stuff, is that case?
Gucci Mane: [Click here to listen to Gucci Mane talk about helping kids] I feel like a lot of experiences that I done went through and hardships in my life, I use that to reach out to some people and, you know what I’m sayin’, tell them not to make the same mistakes that I made.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, any lessons learned, you know?
Gucci Mane: Numerous, numerous lessons.
AllHipHop.com: Well, like what for example?
Gucci Mane: Well, I guess I learned that you gotta be patient and you gotta always pray, always gotta get good with God first. You believe in Him and give it all to Him, things will work out.
AllHipHop.com: Now I gotta admit, I didn’t think you were gonna get out of this one. I thought it was gonna get kinda crazy for you. What was the lack of evidence based on?
Gucci Mane: I really can’t get into that right now.
AllHipHop.com: Okay, okay, understood. Where does your beef with Young Jeezy stand now?
Gucci Mane: Right now, I just got out of jail so, you know, I’m tryin’ to get back into the lab and make some new songs. I ain’t really put no – put no effort – put too much energy into that right now.
AllHipHop.com: Now are you gonna try to like push the old album, Trap House, or are you gonna start a new one?
Gucci Mane: I’m actually gotta second single on my – my first album called “Go ‘Head,” we fixin’ to shoot the video for that late January, we’re gonna still push the stuff off the album.
AllHipHop.com: Like how do you intend to work the angles now?
Gucci Mane: I plan on going on tour. We doing spot dates right now, you know what I’m sayin’? We gotta push this album, man, we gotta turn this album into a classic man. You know what I’m sayin’? [I had] one of the biggest of the album of the year independently that came out.
AllHipHop.com: In the midst of the whole murder situation so-to-speak, you had other situations and altercations or whatever. Do you feel that you’ll be able to stay outta trouble?
Gucci Mane: I plan to just, you know, keep positive people around me and just like my surroundings at all times. And I think it’s not gonna be hard at all to stay out of trouble.
AllHipHop.com: Have you reported in or anything like that already?
Gucci Mane: Yes, I already reported to probation already.
AllHipHop.com: Now your time in jail, how was that for you? Was it rough? Were you in like confinement or with general population?
Gucci Mane: I was in confinement, 23-hour lock-down isolation. It was tough on me, but I had to be strong.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah. What got you through that?
Gucci Mane: Prayer and my mother.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, yeah, I remember you had mentioned her before. Did people write you a lot?
Gucci Mane: Yeah, I got tons of fan mail. They kept me going. They kept me motivated. They let me know I’m still having fans and I had to come home and come back and give them some music so they’ll keep lovin’ me.
AllHipHop.com: Being locked down for like 23 hours a day, I mean, it just seems like it would like really – you could lose it so-to-speak. You know what I’m sayin?
Gucci Mane: Yeah, it was very hard. I ain’t gonna even lie to you. It was hard but, you know, I had – I had to be strong. You know what I’m sayin’? In a situation like that you have to lean on the Lord, let Him carry you.
AllHipHop.com: Did you encounter any animosity from people that may have hatred towards you or anything like that?
Gucci Mane: Yeah, there was some animosity, but it was mostly good, so you know, you gotta take the good with the bad.
AllHipHop.com: We had an article on the website and it was a snitching-related piece. You made it very clear that, you know, you were attacked without any provocation or whatever the case may be. How do you address the notion of snitching in the streets? This editorial that I’m talking about, the writer basically said, “Yo, I’m not gonna like go to jail for life based on something that something else did.” You know, how do you feel about that?
Gucci Mane: Best thing is to keep yourself out of the stupid situations so you – you won’t even get in no trouble where you have to tell nobody.
AllHipHop.com: Do you have any like required like say community service or anything like that?
Gucci Mane: Yes, I have community service I have to do.
AllHipHop.com: About how many hours?
Gucci Mane: 100.
AllHipHop.com: Oh yeah, do you like know what you’re be doing or anything like, you know, sometimes you’re picking up trash, you – other times you may be talking to kids.
Gucci Mane: Hopefully I’ll be talking to kids, because I’m trying to turn this whole situation to a positive and get to reach out to the youth as much as I can.
AllHipHop.com: Do you think will this effect your music in anyway or will just basically continue as you were? You know, like sometimes cats say they’ve made a change, but the music they rap about really doesn’t reflect that.
Gucci Mane: I’m gonna keep makin’ good music. I really don’t put a lot of my life stories into my music. I just make people have a good time with my music. But, you know, it might – it might spill in there, you never know.
AllHipHop.com: Anything else that you wanted to tell everybody about?
Gucci Mane: I’d like to leave y’all with my the motto for Big Cat Entertainment. It's We Will Be Respected.
Just as his hit "Icy" began to climb in video and song rotation, Gucci Mane's life was put on pause. After a very well publicized attack, Gucci Mane was on trial for murder after admitting to shooting one of his attackers in self-defense. However, approaching a year after the madness began, Gucci Mane is now a free man. Less than a week out of jail, AllHipHop.com spoke to the Southern rapper on the issues at play in his absence. For instance, what's he going do with Trap House, the album that he was unable to really promote? Will he be bringing these recent tribulations into his future work? What does he feel about Young Jeezy - a man who many felt that Gucci Mane's issues benefited? These tough questions are met with concise, precise answers from a man whom skeptics presumed guilty by profession. One thing's true, most rappers find their greatest inspiration in times like these. Read and listen to Gucci Mane...
AllHipHop.com: How are you feeling now that you are a free man?
Gucci Mane: I’m feeling real good right now.
AllHipHop.com: When the charges were dropped, like what did you think? Did you believe it when you first heard it?
Gucci Mane: Yes, I believed it. I believed it, because I was expecting that to happen. And I was very happy when it – happy when it happened, you know, the outcome of the case. My two attorneys, Manny Aurora and Ash Joshi did a wonderful job.
AllHipHop.com: Right, right. Rappers specifically, but black people in general seem to have it pretty hard legally. So you didn’t really think that it could go for the worse? You really kept your faith?
Gucci Mane: Yeah, I had to have faith. You know, the whole time I had to put my faith in Lord. I knew He was gonna get me out of this.
AllHipHop.com: Okay, good, good. So you got out on Dr. Martin Luther King Day, how does that feel? The irony is crazy...
Gucci Mane: [Click here to listen to Gucci Mane speak about Martin Luther King, Jr.] Yeah, it felt real good to get out on Dr. Kings’ holiday… I [had a] “I have – I have a dream shirt on.” I’m a big fan of Dr. King.
AllHipHop.com: Oh you went in with that on. Oh okay, okay. Did you know you were getting out on MLK Day or you just –
Gucci Mane: I didn’t know I was getting out on that day.
AllHipHop.com: Oh okay, so fate has a sense of humor. That’s what’s up. So how are you in general?
Gucci Mane: I’m really excited man, I’m real happy to be out, you know what I’m sayin’? Gettin’ another chance, fresh start. I’m gonna take advantage of this second chance I got.
AllHipHop.com: So you plan to start doing more community stuff, is that case?
Gucci Mane: [Click here to listen to Gucci Mane talk about helping kids] I feel like a lot of experiences that I done went through and hardships in my life, I use that to reach out to some people and, you know what I’m sayin’, tell them not to make the same mistakes that I made.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, any lessons learned, you know?
Gucci Mane: Numerous, numerous lessons.
AllHipHop.com: Well, like what for example?
Gucci Mane: Well, I guess I learned that you gotta be patient and you gotta always pray, always gotta get good with God first. You believe in Him and give it all to Him, things will work out.
AllHipHop.com: Now I gotta admit, I didn’t think you were gonna get out of this one. I thought it was gonna get kinda crazy for you. What was the lack of evidence based on?
Gucci Mane: I really can’t get into that right now.
AllHipHop.com: Okay, okay, understood. Where does your beef with Young Jeezy stand now?
Gucci Mane: Right now, I just got out of jail so, you know, I’m tryin’ to get back into the lab and make some new songs. I ain’t really put no – put no effort – put too much energy into that right now.
AllHipHop.com: Now are you gonna try to like push the old album, Trap House, or are you gonna start a new one?
Gucci Mane: I’m actually gotta second single on my – my first album called “Go ‘Head,” we fixin’ to shoot the video for that late January, we’re gonna still push the stuff off the album.
AllHipHop.com: Like how do you intend to work the angles now?
Gucci Mane: I plan on going on tour. We doing spot dates right now, you know what I’m sayin’? We gotta push this album, man, we gotta turn this album into a classic man. You know what I’m sayin’? [I had] one of the biggest of the album of the year independently that came out.
AllHipHop.com: In the midst of the whole murder situation so-to-speak, you had other situations and altercations or whatever. Do you feel that you’ll be able to stay outta trouble?
Gucci Mane: I plan to just, you know, keep positive people around me and just like my surroundings at all times. And I think it’s not gonna be hard at all to stay out of trouble.
AllHipHop.com: Have you reported in or anything like that already?
Gucci Mane: Yes, I already reported to probation already.
AllHipHop.com: Now your time in jail, how was that for you? Was it rough? Were you in like confinement or with general population?
Gucci Mane: I was in confinement, 23-hour lock-down isolation. It was tough on me, but I had to be strong.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah. What got you through that?
Gucci Mane: Prayer and my mother.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, yeah, I remember you had mentioned her before. Did people write you a lot?
Gucci Mane: Yeah, I got tons of fan mail. They kept me going. They kept me motivated. They let me know I’m still having fans and I had to come home and come back and give them some music so they’ll keep lovin’ me.
AllHipHop.com: Being locked down for like 23 hours a day, I mean, it just seems like it would like really – you could lose it so-to-speak. You know what I’m sayin?
Gucci Mane: Yeah, it was very hard. I ain’t gonna even lie to you. It was hard but, you know, I had – I had to be strong. You know what I’m sayin’? In a situation like that you have to lean on the Lord, let Him carry you.
AllHipHop.com: Did you encounter any animosity from people that may have hatred towards you or anything like that?
Gucci Mane: Yeah, there was some animosity, but it was mostly good, so you know, you gotta take the good with the bad.
AllHipHop.com: We had an article on the website and it was a snitching-related piece. You made it very clear that, you know, you were attacked without any provocation or whatever the case may be. How do you address the notion of snitching in the streets? This editorial that I’m talking about, the writer basically said, “Yo, I’m not gonna like go to jail for life based on something that something else did.” You know, how do you feel about that?
Gucci Mane: Best thing is to keep yourself out of the stupid situations so you – you won’t even get in no trouble where you have to tell nobody.
AllHipHop.com: Do you have any like required like say community service or anything like that?
Gucci Mane: Yes, I have community service I have to do.
AllHipHop.com: About how many hours?
Gucci Mane: 100.
AllHipHop.com: Oh yeah, do you like know what you’re be doing or anything like, you know, sometimes you’re picking up trash, you – other times you may be talking to kids.
Gucci Mane: Hopefully I’ll be talking to kids, because I’m trying to turn this whole situation to a positive and get to reach out to the youth as much as I can.
AllHipHop.com: Do you think will this effect your music in anyway or will just basically continue as you were? You know, like sometimes cats say they’ve made a change, but the music they rap about really doesn’t reflect that.
Gucci Mane: I’m gonna keep makin’ good music. I really don’t put a lot of my life stories into my music. I just make people have a good time with my music. But, you know, it might – it might spill in there, you never know.
AllHipHop.com: Anything else that you wanted to tell everybody about?
Gucci Mane: I’d like to leave y’all with my the motto for Big Cat Entertainment. It's We Will Be Respected.
Trae interview from Ballerstatus.net
I haven`t seen this posted earlier..
_____________________________________
Link: http://www.ballerstatus.net/features/read/id/21851280/
Trae: The Real Houston
Thursday - January 5, 2006
— by Jay Casteel
Houston was arguably hip-hop's city of the year in 2005. Slim Thug, Mike Jones, Lil' Flip, Paul Wall and legend Bun B all enjoyed some heavy success, as the spotlight shined bright in Houston, Texas. Although these rappers were able to break out of the regional success they all shared, there are still many artists in H-Town on the everyday indie grind, pushing their mixtapes out the truck -- one of those rappers is Trae.
Already an OG in Houston as a member of the legendary Screwed Up Click, Trae is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and who does he credit for opening the doors? He credits Paul Wall, and with Paul's help, Trae's music has spread beyond Texas to all 50 states.
The 25-year-old Houston native is currently in a bidding war with several major labels looking to find the next star in Texas. But, Trae isn't jumping into any deal, he is weighing his options and continues his independent hustle while waiting. After all, if you are selling 20,000 mixtapes at $10 a CD, why rush to sign with a major?
Trae chopped it up with BallerStatus about how his career is taking off, why Houston is the breeding ground for new talent and why his fans are so loyal.
BallerStatus.net: How has the last few months been for you, being that your name is starting to spread beyond the South?
Trae: It's been cool 'cause I've been out here grindin'. When I first started, I was like the youngest in the race 'cause I been with a bunch of the old school cats. Now that I'm getting of age (I ain't nothing but 25), it's crazy! [People] be knowing me on a wider scale than before -- they knowing me in all 50 states and overseas now. It's cool.
BallerStatus.net: You recently did a mixtape with DJ Smallz and you were on a few other tapes including Game's latest one (Stop Snitchin', Stop Lyin'). Why do you feel people are beginning to catch on?
Trae: For the most part, I have to say real recognize real. If you come to my city and my state and you ask about Trae, people will let you know I'm the truth. My music is not falsified in no form or fashion and I guess people respect that.
Shout to my n---- Paul Wall 'cause he really shining the light on me right now. He is letting people know that "If y'all like the South, y'all trippin' if y'all ain't up on Trae yet 'cause he's the truth."
BallerStatus.net: How does it feel to have one of your city's biggest stars in Paul Wall looking out for you like that?
Trae: It's cool man 'cause I think real recognize real and I appreciate him for that. That's why I let people know that they gotta watch what they say about Paul 'cause we the streets out here. So, he got a hell of a team behind him. It make me feel good to know that there is someone out here still loyal to pump it up for me 'cause a lot of people try to keep the doors closed, but he's opening them up for me.
BallerStatus.net: How did the Game collabo come about?
Trae: Game, him and Paul is cool, so they was chopping it up. I guess Paul was out there doing something with Game and he was like "Yo, I got this dude from [Houston] who's really hot, I think you otta f--- wit him." Game was like "Cool, y'all just do it and send me the verses," so we went from there. We actually did two songs and the sh-- came out hard as hell. I give respect to Game for even putting us on there.
BallerStatus.net: You are one of the original members of the Screwed Up Click...
Trae: I'm actually one of the youngest. There are few of us who are younger than everybody. You know how in the hood you got the O.G.'s and the B.G.'s, well I'm finally getting up on that O.G. status, but I was always one of the baby ones.
BallerStatus.net: Talk about how you got up with them, and how they've helped mold you to who you are today.
Trae: I really looked up to them on a street aspect 'cause it's a big camp. We've always done our own thing, but we're out here and we're well respected, you know? Really, they just kept me on my toes of what needed to be done.
BallerStatus.net: Ok, for the people out there, tell me more about yourself. Talk about how you came up in the game and what kinda things you've been doing over the years.
Trae: I came up as a young, hungry type guerilla man. My situation is different, that's why a lot of people out here respect it. I wasn't the cat that you would find featured on everybody's stuff. I wasn't one of the cats who you would find in the videos when someone got a guest appearance; I wasn't a guest. Ain't nothing was given to me; I had to work for everything I've gotten. A lot of people respect me 100x more because I got out here and made my own name. I got on these mixtapes when I was younger and sold these mixtapes on my own, so I brought people my own way. There wasn't anyone out here trying to give me a chance being that I was younger than everybody, so I got out here and did it on my own. And it's paying off 'cause of how my sh-- sells. Like I was never trippin' off radio play or anything 'cause every time I dropped a tape, it would sell. I would release a tape, press up 10/20,000 and sell 'em for $10 a pop, so just imagine the money. I was doing mixtapes once a month or once every other month and people was buying them. It was all gravy; I just made my own little formula.
BallerStatus.net: Now, from what I hear, you're music is really personal and you really get into the experiences of your life, instead of rapping about material things or just crank out club hit after club hit. So, why do you feel it's important to let people into your life via your music?
Trae: That's what I tell people man...that there is a bigger picture. Everybody can rap, but I don't consider myself a rapper; I just do what I do. I tell people that I write about my emotions and that's why a lot of people can respect it because those are the people who go through the same sh-- I go through. I'm the one who represents for the underdog and people who really go through sh--. You know how some people make the happy music and the girl music, well sh--, there are people out here with real problems who are barely making it from day to day. They can't relate to this other sh--. That's why I make my music for them 'cause I am one of them.
I got an older brother doing three life sentences -- Free Dinkie. When you see my n----s on that Later Dayz mixtape that says "I'm my brother's keeper; Free Dinkie," I'm holding it down for my brother, you know? I've lost a lot of people and I've been around a lot of sh--, so for me to still be here strong like I am, that's what makes me keep going, just to show them they can do the same thing.
BallerStatus.net: And I think because of how much you let the fans into your life, that's one of the main reasons they are so supportive of you.
Trae: Yea 'cause I don't have the average fan base. My fan base will ride or die for me man 'cause I keep it 100% real with them. The way I was raised, it was just simple: be real. If you can't be real, you don't even need to speak like you is man. That's just that.
BallerStatus.net: That should be a general rule for everyone...
Trae: Yea, it should be, but due to certain situations, it ain't like that right now. There are a lot of falsified rappers out here man. I'm glad that I'm gonna be one of the few that they really, really know that I'm keeping it real out here man.
BallerStatus.net: With Houston being the new spot for major labels to scout talent, what does Trae bring to set himself from the rest of the talent in Houston?
Trae: Well, my gang is called Assholes By Nature, so they better be prepared for an asshole themselves. They can take my music any way they want 'cause I'm doing sh-- my way, I ain't following the rules. I'm not being political, I'm not going to get the hottest producer to get on my album and I'm not gonna be friendly with these people because they hot -- I don't care about any of that. I'm doing sh-- my way, the Assholes By Nature way. For some people it's gonna be good, but for others, I'm gonna be a pain in the ass. It is what it is. I'm finna bring the real 'cause I'm sick of this fabricated sh-- you hear today. There's supposed to be all these real n----a in the game today, but in reality, there ain't that many. So, that's what we are bringing.
BallerStatus.net: What do you think the biggest misconception people have about Houston rappers or rappers from the South in general?
Trae: It depends 'cause some rappers in the South get respect and some they don't. Some they think are gimmicks. I ain't one of them gimmicks. I'm finna show them that the South ain't no gimmick.
BallerStatus.net: Does it upset you that rappers from the South get stereotyped as rappers that only make club hits?
Trae: That don't offend me because they're not aware of me yet, so until they see it, they can't really speak on it.
I'm finna bring a lot of stuff. I wanna give people the understanding of what Screw music really is or who DJ Screw was. I finna bring light to a lot of places out here. I got a hell of an album and they probably gonna be amazed when they hear the versatility -- I not only rap Southern, but I flip fast. I don't care who you are or what you can do on a track, I can hold my own with you. I'm one of the raw talents from out here and I'm going all the way.
BallerStatus.net: Now you are one of the few to really work with DJ Screw when he was alive, so how does it feel to see all these people today using his name to benefit themselves when they didn't even know him?
Trae: It bothers to the point where they don't really know they history man, so I'm here to show them they history. That's all it is. I can't get mad at people for what they don't know. For the people who do know, they d---riders and they leeches for that. But at the same time, there are people out there who are really shedding light on what it was about like Paul Wall.
If you look at Paul Wall, he's bringing out the South to the rest of the world. He's introduced the Screwed Up Click to the mainstream, you know? He's letting them know how we do, but he's recognizing the cats out here that been doing it. That's why I give some much respect to Paul Wall 'cause he doing it the right way man. He's doing it the same way I would've done it if I was in his shoes. There's some cats out here doing it a little, but they still trying to hide it.
BallerStatus.net: Speaking of majors, I understand that there are some labels very interested in you. Can you talk about your current situation as far as a deal is concerned?
Trae: Right now, I got a few labels hollering. I'm just trying to weight out my options.
BallerStatus.net: Now, do you have an album ready to go when you sign? Tell me about that?
Trae: Everyone is waiting on Restless. It is what it is. I got the hot single "Swang." I also got The Outlawz, Three 6 Mafia, Mya, Bun B, my family S.L.A.B. and the Screwed Up Click, Jim Jones and Paul Wall -- I'm bringing it. It's a helluva album. It was supposed to drop independent, so I'm bring it to a major to show them that it holds as much weight as if it was made with a major's budget.
BallerStatus.net: What other things are on your plate right now?
Trae: Right now I'm working on my solo album. We got S.L.A.B. The Anthem in stores -- that's my little brother and them; we pumping them right now. And anything that comes out under this G Maab Entertainment/ABN family sh--.
For more info on Trae, visit him online @ www.TraeOnline.com.
I haven`t seen this posted earlier..
_____________________________________
Link: http://www.ballerstatus.net/features/read/id/21851280/
Trae: The Real Houston
Thursday - January 5, 2006
— by Jay Casteel
Houston was arguably hip-hop's city of the year in 2005. Slim Thug, Mike Jones, Lil' Flip, Paul Wall and legend Bun B all enjoyed some heavy success, as the spotlight shined bright in Houston, Texas. Although these rappers were able to break out of the regional success they all shared, there are still many artists in H-Town on the everyday indie grind, pushing their mixtapes out the truck -- one of those rappers is Trae.
Already an OG in Houston as a member of the legendary Screwed Up Click, Trae is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and who does he credit for opening the doors? He credits Paul Wall, and with Paul's help, Trae's music has spread beyond Texas to all 50 states.
The 25-year-old Houston native is currently in a bidding war with several major labels looking to find the next star in Texas. But, Trae isn't jumping into any deal, he is weighing his options and continues his independent hustle while waiting. After all, if you are selling 20,000 mixtapes at $10 a CD, why rush to sign with a major?
Trae chopped it up with BallerStatus about how his career is taking off, why Houston is the breeding ground for new talent and why his fans are so loyal.
BallerStatus.net: How has the last few months been for you, being that your name is starting to spread beyond the South?
Trae: It's been cool 'cause I've been out here grindin'. When I first started, I was like the youngest in the race 'cause I been with a bunch of the old school cats. Now that I'm getting of age (I ain't nothing but 25), it's crazy! [People] be knowing me on a wider scale than before -- they knowing me in all 50 states and overseas now. It's cool.
BallerStatus.net: You recently did a mixtape with DJ Smallz and you were on a few other tapes including Game's latest one (Stop Snitchin', Stop Lyin'). Why do you feel people are beginning to catch on?
Trae: For the most part, I have to say real recognize real. If you come to my city and my state and you ask about Trae, people will let you know I'm the truth. My music is not falsified in no form or fashion and I guess people respect that.
Shout to my n---- Paul Wall 'cause he really shining the light on me right now. He is letting people know that "If y'all like the South, y'all trippin' if y'all ain't up on Trae yet 'cause he's the truth."
BallerStatus.net: How does it feel to have one of your city's biggest stars in Paul Wall looking out for you like that?
Trae: It's cool man 'cause I think real recognize real and I appreciate him for that. That's why I let people know that they gotta watch what they say about Paul 'cause we the streets out here. So, he got a hell of a team behind him. It make me feel good to know that there is someone out here still loyal to pump it up for me 'cause a lot of people try to keep the doors closed, but he's opening them up for me.
BallerStatus.net: How did the Game collabo come about?
Trae: Game, him and Paul is cool, so they was chopping it up. I guess Paul was out there doing something with Game and he was like "Yo, I got this dude from [Houston] who's really hot, I think you otta f--- wit him." Game was like "Cool, y'all just do it and send me the verses," so we went from there. We actually did two songs and the sh-- came out hard as hell. I give respect to Game for even putting us on there.
BallerStatus.net: You are one of the original members of the Screwed Up Click...
Trae: I'm actually one of the youngest. There are few of us who are younger than everybody. You know how in the hood you got the O.G.'s and the B.G.'s, well I'm finally getting up on that O.G. status, but I was always one of the baby ones.
BallerStatus.net: Talk about how you got up with them, and how they've helped mold you to who you are today.
Trae: I really looked up to them on a street aspect 'cause it's a big camp. We've always done our own thing, but we're out here and we're well respected, you know? Really, they just kept me on my toes of what needed to be done.
BallerStatus.net: Ok, for the people out there, tell me more about yourself. Talk about how you came up in the game and what kinda things you've been doing over the years.
Trae: I came up as a young, hungry type guerilla man. My situation is different, that's why a lot of people out here respect it. I wasn't the cat that you would find featured on everybody's stuff. I wasn't one of the cats who you would find in the videos when someone got a guest appearance; I wasn't a guest. Ain't nothing was given to me; I had to work for everything I've gotten. A lot of people respect me 100x more because I got out here and made my own name. I got on these mixtapes when I was younger and sold these mixtapes on my own, so I brought people my own way. There wasn't anyone out here trying to give me a chance being that I was younger than everybody, so I got out here and did it on my own. And it's paying off 'cause of how my sh-- sells. Like I was never trippin' off radio play or anything 'cause every time I dropped a tape, it would sell. I would release a tape, press up 10/20,000 and sell 'em for $10 a pop, so just imagine the money. I was doing mixtapes once a month or once every other month and people was buying them. It was all gravy; I just made my own little formula.
BallerStatus.net: Now, from what I hear, you're music is really personal and you really get into the experiences of your life, instead of rapping about material things or just crank out club hit after club hit. So, why do you feel it's important to let people into your life via your music?
Trae: That's what I tell people man...that there is a bigger picture. Everybody can rap, but I don't consider myself a rapper; I just do what I do. I tell people that I write about my emotions and that's why a lot of people can respect it because those are the people who go through the same sh-- I go through. I'm the one who represents for the underdog and people who really go through sh--. You know how some people make the happy music and the girl music, well sh--, there are people out here with real problems who are barely making it from day to day. They can't relate to this other sh--. That's why I make my music for them 'cause I am one of them.
I got an older brother doing three life sentences -- Free Dinkie. When you see my n----s on that Later Dayz mixtape that says "I'm my brother's keeper; Free Dinkie," I'm holding it down for my brother, you know? I've lost a lot of people and I've been around a lot of sh--, so for me to still be here strong like I am, that's what makes me keep going, just to show them they can do the same thing.
BallerStatus.net: And I think because of how much you let the fans into your life, that's one of the main reasons they are so supportive of you.
Trae: Yea 'cause I don't have the average fan base. My fan base will ride or die for me man 'cause I keep it 100% real with them. The way I was raised, it was just simple: be real. If you can't be real, you don't even need to speak like you is man. That's just that.
BallerStatus.net: That should be a general rule for everyone...
Trae: Yea, it should be, but due to certain situations, it ain't like that right now. There are a lot of falsified rappers out here man. I'm glad that I'm gonna be one of the few that they really, really know that I'm keeping it real out here man.
BallerStatus.net: With Houston being the new spot for major labels to scout talent, what does Trae bring to set himself from the rest of the talent in Houston?
Trae: Well, my gang is called Assholes By Nature, so they better be prepared for an asshole themselves. They can take my music any way they want 'cause I'm doing sh-- my way, I ain't following the rules. I'm not being political, I'm not going to get the hottest producer to get on my album and I'm not gonna be friendly with these people because they hot -- I don't care about any of that. I'm doing sh-- my way, the Assholes By Nature way. For some people it's gonna be good, but for others, I'm gonna be a pain in the ass. It is what it is. I'm finna bring the real 'cause I'm sick of this fabricated sh-- you hear today. There's supposed to be all these real n----a in the game today, but in reality, there ain't that many. So, that's what we are bringing.
BallerStatus.net: What do you think the biggest misconception people have about Houston rappers or rappers from the South in general?
Trae: It depends 'cause some rappers in the South get respect and some they don't. Some they think are gimmicks. I ain't one of them gimmicks. I'm finna show them that the South ain't no gimmick.
BallerStatus.net: Does it upset you that rappers from the South get stereotyped as rappers that only make club hits?
Trae: That don't offend me because they're not aware of me yet, so until they see it, they can't really speak on it.
I'm finna bring a lot of stuff. I wanna give people the understanding of what Screw music really is or who DJ Screw was. I finna bring light to a lot of places out here. I got a hell of an album and they probably gonna be amazed when they hear the versatility -- I not only rap Southern, but I flip fast. I don't care who you are or what you can do on a track, I can hold my own with you. I'm one of the raw talents from out here and I'm going all the way.
BallerStatus.net: Now you are one of the few to really work with DJ Screw when he was alive, so how does it feel to see all these people today using his name to benefit themselves when they didn't even know him?
Trae: It bothers to the point where they don't really know they history man, so I'm here to show them they history. That's all it is. I can't get mad at people for what they don't know. For the people who do know, they d---riders and they leeches for that. But at the same time, there are people out there who are really shedding light on what it was about like Paul Wall.
If you look at Paul Wall, he's bringing out the South to the rest of the world. He's introduced the Screwed Up Click to the mainstream, you know? He's letting them know how we do, but he's recognizing the cats out here that been doing it. That's why I give some much respect to Paul Wall 'cause he doing it the right way man. He's doing it the same way I would've done it if I was in his shoes. There's some cats out here doing it a little, but they still trying to hide it.
BallerStatus.net: Speaking of majors, I understand that there are some labels very interested in you. Can you talk about your current situation as far as a deal is concerned?
Trae: Right now, I got a few labels hollering. I'm just trying to weight out my options.
BallerStatus.net: Now, do you have an album ready to go when you sign? Tell me about that?
Trae: Everyone is waiting on Restless. It is what it is. I got the hot single "Swang." I also got The Outlawz, Three 6 Mafia, Mya, Bun B, my family S.L.A.B. and the Screwed Up Click, Jim Jones and Paul Wall -- I'm bringing it. It's a helluva album. It was supposed to drop independent, so I'm bring it to a major to show them that it holds as much weight as if it was made with a major's budget.
BallerStatus.net: What other things are on your plate right now?
Trae: Right now I'm working on my solo album. We got S.L.A.B. The Anthem in stores -- that's my little brother and them; we pumping them right now. And anything that comes out under this G Maab Entertainment/ABN family sh--.
For more info on Trae, visit him online @ www.TraeOnline.com.
t.i (allhipop)
T.I.’s loving the game right now. While he didn’t release an album in 2005, Tip caked up on features with homies, Young Jeezy, Slim Thug, and Paul Wall. In 2006 however, the Atlanta trap-star aims to conquer the market with, KING coming with the arrival of spring. T.I.’s not out to melt anybody’s snow or ice though, and he makes that quite clear to AllHipHop.com.
Lounging in a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper, we thought we’d take it to another level with “The Rubberband Man.” In a light-hearted feature, T.I. speaks on issues ranging from gay rappers, to Dave Chappelle, to video chicks, and Ferraris. He’s already rap royalty, so see “What You Know?” ‘bout T.I.
AllHipHop.com: You know, Brokeback Mountain is huge…
T.I.: [Laughs] Now, why the f**k are you gonna ask me a question about Brokeback Mountain?
AllHipHop.com: Would you ever make a song with a gay rapper?
T.I.: Hell no! We don’t mix.
AllHipHop.com: Really?
T.I.: Who is the gay rapper?
AllHipHop.com: I don’t know.
T.I.: There is no gay rapper to make a song with, so that question is non-applicable!
AllHipHop.com: At this stage in your career, you remind me of Scarface…
T.I.: What makes you say that?
AllHipHop.com: You’re lounging on the couch, just like the scene in the movie when he was in the Jacuzzi. You made it to the top…
T.I.: Not yet…
AllHipHop.com: Well, you’re on the throne as the “King of the South…” what else is there to prove now?
T.I.: Man, you know, just the will to be the best. It’s the constant pursuit of perfection. As long as there’s an award to win, win it. As long as there’s a record to sell, sell it. If there’s money to make, make it. Do it, get it and be done [laughs]. You know what I’m sayin'? I feel more comfortable being done. Ideally, I would love to walk away having introduced an artist to the industry that outsells me and exceeds my success.
AllHipHop.com: Speaking of success and Scarface, Hip-Hop has always been about claiming the throne. Tony Montana had the Diaz Brothers and Caspar Gomez as his competiton, and now you have artists like Young Jeezy and Slim Thug as viable threats to the “throne…”
T.I. But they’re my partners…
AllHipHop.com: I know…but they are threats to the Kingdom.
T.I.: No threats, I mean like, we work together. That’s the benefit of having allies. No matter how successful they become, they’re not a threat to me.
AllHipHop.com: Best friends become strangers though, sometimes…
T.I.: On the real, if Jeezy, Slim Thug [and] Paul Wall sell three times the amount of units as me, I’m a salute them and be happy for them. There’s certain people that I’m cool with and even if they exceed my success, I’d be comfortable knowing that they are in that position, because I know that they share my enthusiasm as far as putting real n***as on top. I know that it would have been harder for n***as like that to get on right now if there never was a n***a like me. I take their success as a compliment. It’s kinda like the groundwork has been laid. I made it to where you could get away with saying “dopeboys” and “trap” on the radio. kinda loosened them up and Jeezy just flooded the market with the “Snowman” s**t. That’s what he supposed to did. I don’t look at it like it’s a threat at all. Threat is a very harsh word. If someone’s a threat to me that means there’s something wrong.
AllHipHop.com: There was a pic in Ozone magazine called “A Great Day in Atlanta.” What was the vibe like for that shoot? What did it mean to be around your comrades?
T.I.: The vibe was cool, man. I knew everybody there. A lotta people who I ain’t seen in a minute and it was good to catch back up with them and, you know, see people all in the same place and the same time. You very,very,very rarely get to see that. It was a positive outcome. Everything was smooth sailing, easy going.
AllHipHop.com: Pharrell Williams called you the “Jay-Z of the South…”
T.I.: [Laughs]
AllHipHop.com: What did you think about Jay’s line off of the Biggie Duets, “Rubberband man before T.I. was”…?
T.I.: Man, you’s a real s**t-starter, you know that? You trying to see what I’m a say.
AllHipHop.com: Well, when I first heard it, I was like, “What would T.I. say to that?”
T.I.: He was the rubberband man before I was publicly known as "the rubberband man", you know what I’m sayin'? I’m sure he was getting money, and wrapping rubber bands around it. Am I supposed to be f**kin’ [mad] at him? I’m supposed to feel bad about it? I’m supposed to have an attitude and be salty? That’s what b*tches do. I’m a stand up guy. That s*** wasn’t out of line. I’m not sensitive. Especially to motherf**ka that I know I’m cool with.
AllHipHop.com: Tell me about ATL: The Movie…what’s the story behind it?
T.I.: It’s a look inside the lives of five, six teenagers growing up in the A and basically how they resolve their conflicts; how they get from where they are to where they want to be in life. A lot of different scenarios play themselves out; it’s just interesting how it all unfolds. Big Boi’s in it, Diana’s Ross’s son, Evan Ross is in it, Mykelti Williams…a lot of people are in it. It’s a wonderful ensemble cast.
AllHipHop.com: Being in New York City, a lot of times, it’s almost impossible to hear a Southern artist on New York City radio like Hot 97. But when you collaborated with Swizz Beatz on “Bring ‘Em Out,” the single got you heavy airplay. What gave you that edge to crossover into New York radio? Was it the production? Was it your own approach to the song?
T.I.: I think it was just time, man. After “Rubberband Man,” it opened a lot of people up to my music. [They] were just waiting on what was next. Then when it was [released], of course they were going to be perceptive to it. It was a Swizz Beat…Jay on the hook. It just so happened to be the best introduction for that album. I didn’t put that single out with specific intentions to cater to New York. It was more so like after recording all the songs for the album [and] sitting back and listening to it, [I said] “which best describes what’s going on right there and best introduces the public to the album?” And that was “Bring ‘Em Out.”
AllHipHop.com: On your verse on Slim Thug's "3 Kings", you’re rapping about, how can I say this... a “really good time” with your Bun B and Slim. Did that really happen?
T.I.: Oh, you asking me if that s**t is true. Who knows what happens when people be out. It has just a possibility of being true as anything else. It could happen [laughs].
AllHipHop.com: What does wifey think about verses like that and video girls all over you?
T.I.: It makes home life difficult at times. I just try to keep on reminding [her] that this is what’s getting the money; this is what’s enabling us to live the life that we live and provide the luxuries that we’re fortunate enough to [have]. She understands that when I explain it to her, but she forgets it soon after [laughs].
AllHipHop.com: What if your wife was in your shoes? How would you feel if you were at home?
T.I.: It depends, bruh. Exactly what do you mean?
AllHipHop.com: I’m the jealous type. If I married a porno star, for example, I would be [heated]…
T.I.: Then your wife would be f**ked! If my wife was a actress and she was doing a movie with a dude, and they’re playing boyfriend and girlfriend, I mean, s**t man…if I’m Halle Berry’s husband, I would be just like this [Lies down with his feet on the couch] “How was work today, babes?” [laughs] “Pass the Grey Poupon. I got kind of tired of driving the Phantom, so I took the Ferrari around the corner today, you know, I hope you don’t mind.” I am more concerned about her absence from the household than I am about a fictitious visual; you know what I’m saying? Man, nobody be f**kin’ with [video girls]. Man, I don’t. I don’t have time. I be working, ya dig? You can’t focus your attention on that [stuff] if you try to handle your business, anyway.
[T.I. gets up from couch and takes a seat.]
AllHipHop.com: When you were lying down on the couch you reminded me of that Dave Chappelle/Oprah skit…
T.I.: Yeah, yeah, I seen that s**t.
AllHipHop.com: Can you relate to some of his recent claims about fame, like once he got to a certain echelon, the world started changing around him?
T.I.: I don’t have 50 Million dollars, personally. I done have a few million, you know…five, ten maybe. I never had 50!
AllHipHop.com: Would you walk away from it? He walked away from it!
T.I.: I mean man, money ain’t everything. What is the profit for a man to gain if he gotta lose his soul? That’s how I always felt. If I gotta be a f**k n***as to get on top, I would never make it. I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t live with myself.
AllHipHop.com: I read a press release saying that you’ve done a lot of charitable efforts, and I commend you for your Katrina relief work [raising over $300,000]…but we get people in The New York Times like Bob Herbert, for example, who seem to slam Hip-Hop whenever he gets the chance…
T.I.: Oh well, you know, there’s probably a rapper f**kin’ one of his daughters. People with little d*cks have complexes man. They don’t live life well, so I could understand how he may be perturbed by the success of Hip-Hop and Hip-Hop artists. Our influence is overwhelming to someone who’s not of the culture.
AllHipHop.com: So, speaking of the culture, when you have to deal with the White culture, how do you feel when you step into a room with people completely different from you?
T.I.: How it feel? If I’m in a room full of White people with suits on, it must be time to get some money. A lot of times man, I really don’t take into account [how successful I am]. A lot of my people are like, “Do you realize how big this is?” [My response is] “Nah, not really.” They’re like, “You were at The Grammy’s…you got a Phantom….you just bought a Ferrari…” You know what I’m sayin? It don’t impact me like it impacts them.
AllHipHop.com: You sound like a Buddhist. Buddha was a Prince, and then he let it go. Material s**t doesn’t give you happiness.
T.I.: Man, shawty, I don’t buy that s**t for happiness, I just like to ball [smiles]. I know you ain’t able to do everything forever. I’m just enjoying it while I’m able to. I want to be able to say I’ve experienced the most I could say I’ve experienced by the time I’m taken away from it.
T.I.’s loving the game right now. While he didn’t release an album in 2005, Tip caked up on features with homies, Young Jeezy, Slim Thug, and Paul Wall. In 2006 however, the Atlanta trap-star aims to conquer the market with, KING coming with the arrival of spring. T.I.’s not out to melt anybody’s snow or ice though, and he makes that quite clear to AllHipHop.com.
Lounging in a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper, we thought we’d take it to another level with “The Rubberband Man.” In a light-hearted feature, T.I. speaks on issues ranging from gay rappers, to Dave Chappelle, to video chicks, and Ferraris. He’s already rap royalty, so see “What You Know?” ‘bout T.I.
AllHipHop.com: You know, Brokeback Mountain is huge…
T.I.: [Laughs] Now, why the f**k are you gonna ask me a question about Brokeback Mountain?
AllHipHop.com: Would you ever make a song with a gay rapper?
T.I.: Hell no! We don’t mix.
AllHipHop.com: Really?
T.I.: Who is the gay rapper?
AllHipHop.com: I don’t know.
T.I.: There is no gay rapper to make a song with, so that question is non-applicable!
AllHipHop.com: At this stage in your career, you remind me of Scarface…
T.I.: What makes you say that?
AllHipHop.com: You’re lounging on the couch, just like the scene in the movie when he was in the Jacuzzi. You made it to the top…
T.I.: Not yet…
AllHipHop.com: Well, you’re on the throne as the “King of the South…” what else is there to prove now?
T.I.: Man, you know, just the will to be the best. It’s the constant pursuit of perfection. As long as there’s an award to win, win it. As long as there’s a record to sell, sell it. If there’s money to make, make it. Do it, get it and be done [laughs]. You know what I’m sayin'? I feel more comfortable being done. Ideally, I would love to walk away having introduced an artist to the industry that outsells me and exceeds my success.
AllHipHop.com: Speaking of success and Scarface, Hip-Hop has always been about claiming the throne. Tony Montana had the Diaz Brothers and Caspar Gomez as his competiton, and now you have artists like Young Jeezy and Slim Thug as viable threats to the “throne…”
T.I. But they’re my partners…
AllHipHop.com: I know…but they are threats to the Kingdom.
T.I.: No threats, I mean like, we work together. That’s the benefit of having allies. No matter how successful they become, they’re not a threat to me.
AllHipHop.com: Best friends become strangers though, sometimes…
T.I.: On the real, if Jeezy, Slim Thug [and] Paul Wall sell three times the amount of units as me, I’m a salute them and be happy for them. There’s certain people that I’m cool with and even if they exceed my success, I’d be comfortable knowing that they are in that position, because I know that they share my enthusiasm as far as putting real n***as on top. I know that it would have been harder for n***as like that to get on right now if there never was a n***a like me. I take their success as a compliment. It’s kinda like the groundwork has been laid. I made it to where you could get away with saying “dopeboys” and “trap” on the radio. kinda loosened them up and Jeezy just flooded the market with the “Snowman” s**t. That’s what he supposed to did. I don’t look at it like it’s a threat at all. Threat is a very harsh word. If someone’s a threat to me that means there’s something wrong.
AllHipHop.com: There was a pic in Ozone magazine called “A Great Day in Atlanta.” What was the vibe like for that shoot? What did it mean to be around your comrades?
T.I.: The vibe was cool, man. I knew everybody there. A lotta people who I ain’t seen in a minute and it was good to catch back up with them and, you know, see people all in the same place and the same time. You very,very,very rarely get to see that. It was a positive outcome. Everything was smooth sailing, easy going.
AllHipHop.com: Pharrell Williams called you the “Jay-Z of the South…”
T.I.: [Laughs]
AllHipHop.com: What did you think about Jay’s line off of the Biggie Duets, “Rubberband man before T.I. was”…?
T.I.: Man, you’s a real s**t-starter, you know that? You trying to see what I’m a say.
AllHipHop.com: Well, when I first heard it, I was like, “What would T.I. say to that?”
T.I.: He was the rubberband man before I was publicly known as "the rubberband man", you know what I’m sayin'? I’m sure he was getting money, and wrapping rubber bands around it. Am I supposed to be f**kin’ [mad] at him? I’m supposed to feel bad about it? I’m supposed to have an attitude and be salty? That’s what b*tches do. I’m a stand up guy. That s*** wasn’t out of line. I’m not sensitive. Especially to motherf**ka that I know I’m cool with.
AllHipHop.com: Tell me about ATL: The Movie…what’s the story behind it?
T.I.: It’s a look inside the lives of five, six teenagers growing up in the A and basically how they resolve their conflicts; how they get from where they are to where they want to be in life. A lot of different scenarios play themselves out; it’s just interesting how it all unfolds. Big Boi’s in it, Diana’s Ross’s son, Evan Ross is in it, Mykelti Williams…a lot of people are in it. It’s a wonderful ensemble cast.
AllHipHop.com: Being in New York City, a lot of times, it’s almost impossible to hear a Southern artist on New York City radio like Hot 97. But when you collaborated with Swizz Beatz on “Bring ‘Em Out,” the single got you heavy airplay. What gave you that edge to crossover into New York radio? Was it the production? Was it your own approach to the song?
T.I.: I think it was just time, man. After “Rubberband Man,” it opened a lot of people up to my music. [They] were just waiting on what was next. Then when it was [released], of course they were going to be perceptive to it. It was a Swizz Beat…Jay on the hook. It just so happened to be the best introduction for that album. I didn’t put that single out with specific intentions to cater to New York. It was more so like after recording all the songs for the album [and] sitting back and listening to it, [I said] “which best describes what’s going on right there and best introduces the public to the album?” And that was “Bring ‘Em Out.”
AllHipHop.com: On your verse on Slim Thug's "3 Kings", you’re rapping about, how can I say this... a “really good time” with your Bun B and Slim. Did that really happen?
T.I.: Oh, you asking me if that s**t is true. Who knows what happens when people be out. It has just a possibility of being true as anything else. It could happen [laughs].
AllHipHop.com: What does wifey think about verses like that and video girls all over you?
T.I.: It makes home life difficult at times. I just try to keep on reminding [her] that this is what’s getting the money; this is what’s enabling us to live the life that we live and provide the luxuries that we’re fortunate enough to [have]. She understands that when I explain it to her, but she forgets it soon after [laughs].
AllHipHop.com: What if your wife was in your shoes? How would you feel if you were at home?
T.I.: It depends, bruh. Exactly what do you mean?
AllHipHop.com: I’m the jealous type. If I married a porno star, for example, I would be [heated]…
T.I.: Then your wife would be f**ked! If my wife was a actress and she was doing a movie with a dude, and they’re playing boyfriend and girlfriend, I mean, s**t man…if I’m Halle Berry’s husband, I would be just like this [Lies down with his feet on the couch] “How was work today, babes?” [laughs] “Pass the Grey Poupon. I got kind of tired of driving the Phantom, so I took the Ferrari around the corner today, you know, I hope you don’t mind.” I am more concerned about her absence from the household than I am about a fictitious visual; you know what I’m saying? Man, nobody be f**kin’ with [video girls]. Man, I don’t. I don’t have time. I be working, ya dig? You can’t focus your attention on that [stuff] if you try to handle your business, anyway.
[T.I. gets up from couch and takes a seat.]
AllHipHop.com: When you were lying down on the couch you reminded me of that Dave Chappelle/Oprah skit…
T.I.: Yeah, yeah, I seen that s**t.
AllHipHop.com: Can you relate to some of his recent claims about fame, like once he got to a certain echelon, the world started changing around him?
T.I.: I don’t have 50 Million dollars, personally. I done have a few million, you know…five, ten maybe. I never had 50!
AllHipHop.com: Would you walk away from it? He walked away from it!
T.I.: I mean man, money ain’t everything. What is the profit for a man to gain if he gotta lose his soul? That’s how I always felt. If I gotta be a f**k n***as to get on top, I would never make it. I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t live with myself.
AllHipHop.com: I read a press release saying that you’ve done a lot of charitable efforts, and I commend you for your Katrina relief work [raising over $300,000]…but we get people in The New York Times like Bob Herbert, for example, who seem to slam Hip-Hop whenever he gets the chance…
T.I.: Oh well, you know, there’s probably a rapper f**kin’ one of his daughters. People with little d*cks have complexes man. They don’t live life well, so I could understand how he may be perturbed by the success of Hip-Hop and Hip-Hop artists. Our influence is overwhelming to someone who’s not of the culture.
AllHipHop.com: So, speaking of the culture, when you have to deal with the White culture, how do you feel when you step into a room with people completely different from you?
T.I.: How it feel? If I’m in a room full of White people with suits on, it must be time to get some money. A lot of times man, I really don’t take into account [how successful I am]. A lot of my people are like, “Do you realize how big this is?” [My response is] “Nah, not really.” They’re like, “You were at The Grammy’s…you got a Phantom….you just bought a Ferrari…” You know what I’m sayin? It don’t impact me like it impacts them.
AllHipHop.com: You sound like a Buddhist. Buddha was a Prince, and then he let it go. Material s**t doesn’t give you happiness.
T.I.: Man, shawty, I don’t buy that s**t for happiness, I just like to ball [smiles]. I know you ain’t able to do everything forever. I’m just enjoying it while I’m able to. I want to be able to say I’ve experienced the most I could say I’ve experienced by the time I’m taken away from it.
lil flip
With a new album just over the rainbow, Lil' Flip is at ease handling his hustle. His past platinum plaques have might have brought him shiny rings and things, but his hardworking background taught him to never forget where he was from - like in every hood. From Houston, to Harlem, to Honolulu, you learn to rep it hard and to take pride in your town. Being from a place called "Cloverland," it was a no brainer to talk on the luck of the Irish style, aside from what House of Pain was able to bring to the Irish Hip-Hop head. While Flip might not pass for a Dubliner, he manages to retain the Irish attitude and spirit. "Liquor make me want to fight dog, for real."
As Flip ponders his career over a purple grape soda, he rarely speaks of himself in the third person and makes sure to thank everyone for their coverage and the love as they walk out the door. While he may have his critics, Lil' Flip knows that a rapper's commercial success will never outlast the love of lyricism. So, on St. Patrick's Day, with his family secure and his liquor label, watch line and sneaker company coming, Lil' Flip talks Hip-Hop, high school hoops and Hustling his Houston swagger with a authentic permanent grill and a tremendous grip on the task at hand.
AllHipHop.com: How did you actually decide that you wanted to run with the leprechaun thing, the clover icon if you will? Tell us about Cloverland?
Lil' Flip: Well, my neighborhood I stay in is called Cloverland. Growin' up, we could just make up s**t like, "We're the leprechauns," and we always liked the Notre Dame logo - the little fighting Irish guy. It kind of just went together. The Clover G imprint came about when I broke off from the dude who I used to have a record label with, and I came out with that U Gotta Feel Me album. I've always done my own s**t. I write the treatments for my videos, I draw my album covers, so I've always been the type of person who was hands on. At that point in time I had someone who was taking credit for everything I did, so I already knew I had to step out and get more freedom.
AllHipHop.com: You took some criticism for the leprechaun concept, did you see it as reaching out and trying to appeal to new fans?
Lil' Flip: For one, I represent where I'm from. At the same time, if there was another artist stated a neighborhood or there was a box of cereal or anything that was a symbol of their neighborhood, I'm sure that artist would throw it up. At the end of the day you want people to look at your s**t on the shelf, and want to buy it. S**t, I was 17 or 18 when that album dropped, and I was in high school. I'm actually proud of it, because if you listen to the whole album, I talk about different subject matter, even at the young age that I was.
AllHipHop.com: Do the Clover G's like to drink as much as the Irish are portrayed to?
Lil' Flip: Drinking? See, they drink liquor, we drink the opposite. S**t, I be drinkin', but we don't drink what [the Irish] drink. We drink that purple stuff. Nah, I don't really drink liquor like that. I had a show with E-40 one time, and he came an recorded some songs in my room, and he was like, "Flip, you need to get you a bigger room boy, you're a star, you need to come up to my room." I went to that n***a's room, and he had a huge bar in his room, like a $5,000 room, so you know what I said? I said, "F**k this s**t, I'm going to have people treat me like a star too." I wanted limos, two bottles of Moet, two bottles of Hypnotiq. But really, liquor makes me wanna fight.
AllHipHop.com: What was your first taste of the purple stuff like?
Lil' Flip: Oh man, it was kinda like being around people who had it and they were just like, "Here, taste this." Then you f**kin' taste it, and it kinda gets ya. It's weird, dog. The more you do it, you get sucked into it. I'd say I've been drinking it since probably 1995, [age 13] actually.
AllHipHop.com: When you do drink a beer, what brand is it?
Lil' Flip: S**t, I'll never, ever, ever drink a beer. You'll never see me drink a beer ever in my life. I drink my liquor, and I drink champagne and s**t like that.
AllHipHop.com: So is the whole Clover G click hard drinking and hard smoking?
Lil' Flip: Nah, everybody kind of much do what they do. Some people don?t smoke, a few don't drink. Some just drink liquor, and everybody is their own individual. It's kind of like the smokers be on the left, and the drinkers be on the right side.
AllHipHop.com: You definitely have to be one of the most overachieving smokers of all time...
Lil' Flip: I mean, s**t man, that's what it's about, dog. I've been having that hustle in me for a long while. You see, when you're a part of a team, you understand how to lead a team. And when your part of the team and your not the leader, I've been on both sides of the coin, if I have to take the back seat and let somebody else drive, it's cool. Now if they ain't driving right, then I gotta step up, but it ain't nothing to me. It's simple mathematics.
AllHipHop.com: Last time I saw you Flip, you chose a Honey Phillie cigar over a Vanilla Dutch Master. In your opinion, what makes for the best blunt device?
Lil' Flip: A Phillie is better than a Dutch, because the Dutch breaks easy and they [taste] stronger. Put it like this, you have a Swisher Sweet, which will tear easier, then you have the Phillie, which is more sturdier. But the Phillie is better than the Dutch to me. I f**k with Phillies, I f**k with Swishers, and I f**k with these things they're called Golden Wraps.
AllHipHop.com: What was it like when you were a junior or senior in high school and "Diamonds All In Yo Face" came out on local radio?
Lil' Flip: See, people were already seeing me as a rapper, because I was on the radio. I always participated in talent shows, I played ball, so they knew me as an athlete and being dressed with the jewelry. I always rocked my jewelry, I always had money, it just felt good. Like, one day, I was walking down the hall, and a girl came up to me singing my lyrics man. It's an amazing feeling. I remember that when the song came out, it was about the time I had my first shows. The crowd knew that s**t word for word.
AllHipHop.com: You played ball in school, what position did you play?
Lil' Flip: I played Point Guard.
AllHipHop.com: What number did you wear?
Lil' Flip: Five.
AllHipHop.com: Just like Jason Kidd, who was with the Dallas Mavericks around that time.
Lil' Flip: By the time I was hooping, he'd probably just came into the league and everything. I wanted to do the 23 thing, but I just went with [number] five.
AllHipHop.com: What is Flip like on the court?
Lil' Flip: I'm a tricky dude. I got a few little moves that make you think I'm slow, and I got a couple little moves that make a person reach for it and I'm out. In basketball, what helped me is that I played football before I played hoops. I played Running Back, Quarterback, Kicker and Safety. Being that I played all those positions, you have to be fast. So applying what I learned in football to basketball, if I drive past you, I'm gone. There ain't no catching up.
AllHipHop.com: Master P played a little pro ball. Is there anything like that in the future for Lil' Flip?
Lil' Flip: To tell you the truth, if I was going to do it, I should have done it about four years ago.
AllHipHop.com: In Beef 3, it's clear that you've had your share of hometown conflicts. But you and Chamillionaire meshed very well on "Turn It Up."
Lil' Flip: I've been knowing Chamillionaire since about 2000. I told him if he did something for me, any time he needed me he can call and I'll return the favor. With me, I'll return the favor. Most artists don't keep their word in this f**king business.
AllHipHop.com: Since you knew Chamillionaire back then, You had to have known Paul Wall.
Lil' Flip: Yeah, they was together. I don't really mess with the dude like that. He used to call me everyday. When I got shot, he called and he told me they were praying for me. He asked me where I got shot and he got a tattoo in the exact same place I got shot - that said that date I got shot, he showed it to me one day. And then, [he] got the audacity to be smiling in the face of the dude that I'm beefing with [Slim Thug], while he was walking around with a Lil' Flip tattoo. At the end of the day, I don't care who you're friends with. But that's why I just f**k with Chamillionaire, that dude [Paul Wall] there, that dude ain't right.
AllHipHop.com: RIME magazine recently ran this story on the "History of Houston Rap," and Lil' Flip wasn?t mentioned once.
Lil' Flip: I looked at it, and I think they said my name, kind of at the end or something, in passing or something. Like I say, you have magazines that jump on the bandwagon. A lot of magazines call and look for an interview, but by the next week they?re sh**ting on you. They do this s**t a lot. I'm not one of those kiss-ass-type of artists. I'm gonna respect you, treat you with respect, I'm not going to be fake with you and tell you I'm going to do something I'm not going to do. If a DJ asks me for a freestyle, he can get it. But they get so blinded by these other artists calling them up all day. I'm not going to bug you to play my record. The days of people playing good music because it's good is over. It's all politics now.
AllHipHop.com: Is that why your stepping over to XM Satellite radio [Channel 66]?
Lil' Flip: That's not why, but because of the people who do know me, I'll always keep it 100%.
AllHipHop.com: Between the label, the liquor, the clothing, your work ethic is pretty strong. How did it develop?
Lil' Flip: Man, just growing up in my Grandparents house, seeing him work for a company for 45 years and s**t. My Grandfather worked for Maxwell House for a long time, and just seeing the type of s**t they went through, and how they were able to maintain their bill with whatever it was they were making. S**t, most people from my age from my neighborhood are still living with they parents. When "Diamond All In Yo Face" came out, I spray painted the wax gold and put it on my wall. An about a year later, I took it down and put up a real gold record.
With a new album just over the rainbow, Lil' Flip is at ease handling his hustle. His past platinum plaques have might have brought him shiny rings and things, but his hardworking background taught him to never forget where he was from - like in every hood. From Houston, to Harlem, to Honolulu, you learn to rep it hard and to take pride in your town. Being from a place called "Cloverland," it was a no brainer to talk on the luck of the Irish style, aside from what House of Pain was able to bring to the Irish Hip-Hop head. While Flip might not pass for a Dubliner, he manages to retain the Irish attitude and spirit. "Liquor make me want to fight dog, for real."
As Flip ponders his career over a purple grape soda, he rarely speaks of himself in the third person and makes sure to thank everyone for their coverage and the love as they walk out the door. While he may have his critics, Lil' Flip knows that a rapper's commercial success will never outlast the love of lyricism. So, on St. Patrick's Day, with his family secure and his liquor label, watch line and sneaker company coming, Lil' Flip talks Hip-Hop, high school hoops and Hustling his Houston swagger with a authentic permanent grill and a tremendous grip on the task at hand.
AllHipHop.com: How did you actually decide that you wanted to run with the leprechaun thing, the clover icon if you will? Tell us about Cloverland?
Lil' Flip: Well, my neighborhood I stay in is called Cloverland. Growin' up, we could just make up s**t like, "We're the leprechauns," and we always liked the Notre Dame logo - the little fighting Irish guy. It kind of just went together. The Clover G imprint came about when I broke off from the dude who I used to have a record label with, and I came out with that U Gotta Feel Me album. I've always done my own s**t. I write the treatments for my videos, I draw my album covers, so I've always been the type of person who was hands on. At that point in time I had someone who was taking credit for everything I did, so I already knew I had to step out and get more freedom.
AllHipHop.com: You took some criticism for the leprechaun concept, did you see it as reaching out and trying to appeal to new fans?
Lil' Flip: For one, I represent where I'm from. At the same time, if there was another artist stated a neighborhood or there was a box of cereal or anything that was a symbol of their neighborhood, I'm sure that artist would throw it up. At the end of the day you want people to look at your s**t on the shelf, and want to buy it. S**t, I was 17 or 18 when that album dropped, and I was in high school. I'm actually proud of it, because if you listen to the whole album, I talk about different subject matter, even at the young age that I was.
AllHipHop.com: Do the Clover G's like to drink as much as the Irish are portrayed to?
Lil' Flip: Drinking? See, they drink liquor, we drink the opposite. S**t, I be drinkin', but we don't drink what [the Irish] drink. We drink that purple stuff. Nah, I don't really drink liquor like that. I had a show with E-40 one time, and he came an recorded some songs in my room, and he was like, "Flip, you need to get you a bigger room boy, you're a star, you need to come up to my room." I went to that n***a's room, and he had a huge bar in his room, like a $5,000 room, so you know what I said? I said, "F**k this s**t, I'm going to have people treat me like a star too." I wanted limos, two bottles of Moet, two bottles of Hypnotiq. But really, liquor makes me wanna fight.
AllHipHop.com: What was your first taste of the purple stuff like?
Lil' Flip: Oh man, it was kinda like being around people who had it and they were just like, "Here, taste this." Then you f**kin' taste it, and it kinda gets ya. It's weird, dog. The more you do it, you get sucked into it. I'd say I've been drinking it since probably 1995, [age 13] actually.
AllHipHop.com: When you do drink a beer, what brand is it?
Lil' Flip: S**t, I'll never, ever, ever drink a beer. You'll never see me drink a beer ever in my life. I drink my liquor, and I drink champagne and s**t like that.
AllHipHop.com: So is the whole Clover G click hard drinking and hard smoking?
Lil' Flip: Nah, everybody kind of much do what they do. Some people don?t smoke, a few don't drink. Some just drink liquor, and everybody is their own individual. It's kind of like the smokers be on the left, and the drinkers be on the right side.
AllHipHop.com: You definitely have to be one of the most overachieving smokers of all time...
Lil' Flip: I mean, s**t man, that's what it's about, dog. I've been having that hustle in me for a long while. You see, when you're a part of a team, you understand how to lead a team. And when your part of the team and your not the leader, I've been on both sides of the coin, if I have to take the back seat and let somebody else drive, it's cool. Now if they ain't driving right, then I gotta step up, but it ain't nothing to me. It's simple mathematics.
AllHipHop.com: Last time I saw you Flip, you chose a Honey Phillie cigar over a Vanilla Dutch Master. In your opinion, what makes for the best blunt device?
Lil' Flip: A Phillie is better than a Dutch, because the Dutch breaks easy and they [taste] stronger. Put it like this, you have a Swisher Sweet, which will tear easier, then you have the Phillie, which is more sturdier. But the Phillie is better than the Dutch to me. I f**k with Phillies, I f**k with Swishers, and I f**k with these things they're called Golden Wraps.
AllHipHop.com: What was it like when you were a junior or senior in high school and "Diamonds All In Yo Face" came out on local radio?
Lil' Flip: See, people were already seeing me as a rapper, because I was on the radio. I always participated in talent shows, I played ball, so they knew me as an athlete and being dressed with the jewelry. I always rocked my jewelry, I always had money, it just felt good. Like, one day, I was walking down the hall, and a girl came up to me singing my lyrics man. It's an amazing feeling. I remember that when the song came out, it was about the time I had my first shows. The crowd knew that s**t word for word.
AllHipHop.com: You played ball in school, what position did you play?
Lil' Flip: I played Point Guard.
AllHipHop.com: What number did you wear?
Lil' Flip: Five.
AllHipHop.com: Just like Jason Kidd, who was with the Dallas Mavericks around that time.
Lil' Flip: By the time I was hooping, he'd probably just came into the league and everything. I wanted to do the 23 thing, but I just went with [number] five.
AllHipHop.com: What is Flip like on the court?
Lil' Flip: I'm a tricky dude. I got a few little moves that make you think I'm slow, and I got a couple little moves that make a person reach for it and I'm out. In basketball, what helped me is that I played football before I played hoops. I played Running Back, Quarterback, Kicker and Safety. Being that I played all those positions, you have to be fast. So applying what I learned in football to basketball, if I drive past you, I'm gone. There ain't no catching up.
AllHipHop.com: Master P played a little pro ball. Is there anything like that in the future for Lil' Flip?
Lil' Flip: To tell you the truth, if I was going to do it, I should have done it about four years ago.
AllHipHop.com: In Beef 3, it's clear that you've had your share of hometown conflicts. But you and Chamillionaire meshed very well on "Turn It Up."
Lil' Flip: I've been knowing Chamillionaire since about 2000. I told him if he did something for me, any time he needed me he can call and I'll return the favor. With me, I'll return the favor. Most artists don't keep their word in this f**king business.
AllHipHop.com: Since you knew Chamillionaire back then, You had to have known Paul Wall.
Lil' Flip: Yeah, they was together. I don't really mess with the dude like that. He used to call me everyday. When I got shot, he called and he told me they were praying for me. He asked me where I got shot and he got a tattoo in the exact same place I got shot - that said that date I got shot, he showed it to me one day. And then, [he] got the audacity to be smiling in the face of the dude that I'm beefing with [Slim Thug], while he was walking around with a Lil' Flip tattoo. At the end of the day, I don't care who you're friends with. But that's why I just f**k with Chamillionaire, that dude [Paul Wall] there, that dude ain't right.
AllHipHop.com: RIME magazine recently ran this story on the "History of Houston Rap," and Lil' Flip wasn?t mentioned once.
Lil' Flip: I looked at it, and I think they said my name, kind of at the end or something, in passing or something. Like I say, you have magazines that jump on the bandwagon. A lot of magazines call and look for an interview, but by the next week they?re sh**ting on you. They do this s**t a lot. I'm not one of those kiss-ass-type of artists. I'm gonna respect you, treat you with respect, I'm not going to be fake with you and tell you I'm going to do something I'm not going to do. If a DJ asks me for a freestyle, he can get it. But they get so blinded by these other artists calling them up all day. I'm not going to bug you to play my record. The days of people playing good music because it's good is over. It's all politics now.
AllHipHop.com: Is that why your stepping over to XM Satellite radio [Channel 66]?
Lil' Flip: That's not why, but because of the people who do know me, I'll always keep it 100%.
AllHipHop.com: Between the label, the liquor, the clothing, your work ethic is pretty strong. How did it develop?
Lil' Flip: Man, just growing up in my Grandparents house, seeing him work for a company for 45 years and s**t. My Grandfather worked for Maxwell House for a long time, and just seeing the type of s**t they went through, and how they were able to maintain their bill with whatever it was they were making. S**t, most people from my age from my neighborhood are still living with they parents. When "Diamond All In Yo Face" came out, I spray painted the wax gold and put it on my wall. An about a year later, I took it down and put up a real gold record.
Five years ago, Three 6 Mafia fans would have their fingers crossed watching the Source Awards on UPN. In 2006, the Memphis Tennessee boys took home Oscar gold - on the biggest night in Hollywood.
As a result, their songs rose to the top of the iTunes charts and Most Known Unknown got a second look from the suburbs.
How will the group that screamed “Tear The Club Up” a decade ago adapt to their new fame? Will Three 6 Mafia go down in history according to their vision or that of their detractors?
Now that they have exploded in the mainstream, will the trio reunite with former crew members? Get a Hip-Hop look at the Academy Awards, and see if Academy Award honorees Crunchy Black, DJ Paul and Juicy J will be producing for the Bacon Brothers or Bette Midler now that they're in red carpet company.
AllHipHop.com Video
Three 6 Mafia Discuss Their Oscar Win.
Juicy J and Paul of Three 6 Mafia address the Devil Worship Rumors.
The crew talks about their approach to making beats and songs.
AllHipHop.com: All right, what was going through your mind when they called your name at the Academy Awards?
Juicy J: Man, 'just run, run Forest, run.' I just ran [to the stage] like the police was chasing me man. You know what I’m saying? I mean it was a blessing. I mean you know, [it's] not every day you get a chance to get nominated, get a chance to perform, get a chance to, win an Oscar.
AllHipHop.com: Right.
DJ Paul: So you know, it was just big adrenaline rush. It was all real man. You know we didn’t know we was gonna win. We didn’t have no acceptance speech, just ran out there like, “Hey thanks.”
AllHipHop.com: Right, I saw you were taking a lot of pictures of the award, were those the actual awards because I know --
DJ Paul: Yeah, they give it to you
Juicy J: The Oscars is the only award --
DJ Paul: They give it to you --
Juicy J: The Oscar is the only award [and] you leave with the award.
AllHipHop.com: I see, I see.
Juicy J: Grammy’s and everybody else they send to you, Oscar you leave right with it which is good.
DJ Paul: In hand.
AllHipHop.com: Were y’all scared to let ‘em go?
Juicy J: Yeah --
AllHipHop.com: Not scared but you know what I’m saying.
DJ Paul: I was scared. Yeah, but I mean they’re valuable, they got to get insurance on it
Juicy J: Yeah, [the people in Hollywood] loved it, man. They loved them Oscars, especially in LA because you know that’s what they live for. You know actors, go to LA be a actor, that’s your ultimate goal - to get the Oscar.
DJ Paul: Yeah, a lot of people live for those man. So hard to get one.
Juicy J: [With the Oscar in hand], I thought Jesus had walked in the room, they love it.
AllHipHop.com: Now, Frayser Boy got one too right? What’d he do with the song?
Juicy J: He wrote some bars on the song.
AllHipHop.com: Now what’s your take, you have gotten praise and criticism. Some Black people feel you didn't rep the race with your performance. How do you address that?
Juicy J: Make a prayer for them man. That’s all we do, pray for them and keep on pushing.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah.
DJ Paul: (Singing Bun B’s “Keep Pushin’”
AllHipHop.com: Terrance Howard even expressed some disappointment in the performance and saying that the performance was contrary to what the actual movie was about. Do you have anything to say about that?
Juicy J: Right. Pray for him, keep on pushing.
AllHipHop.com: Right, right. Did yall, did yall get a crack out of [actress who sang on "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp"] Taraji Henson when she sang that last note at the Oscars?
DJ Paul: [Laughs]
Juicy J: Yeah, she did that thing man, we loved it man. She did her thing man. That’s my girl.
AllHipHop.com: I ain’t clowning nobody. Is she trying her hand at a singing career?
Juicy J: I don’t even know man.
Crunchy Black: Don’t know nothing.
Juicy J: No, but if she was, she already know she got my number, she can always call me man. That’s like my little sister, man.
AllHipHop.com: Speaking of praying there’s been a lot of new talk about Three 6 Mafia’s so-called “devil worship.” Do you care to address that at all?
Juicy J: Man, we ain’t no devil worshippers, I mean how can you win an Oscar being a devil worshiper? I mean you know you probably win, win like a firecracker or something if you was a devil worshiper. You won’t win an Oscar. So I mean there ain’t nothing but God in me. That’s a blessing.
DJ Paul: We got so many blessings, we’ve been doing this for 16 years. Making a arrangement though [the devil] - no way.
Juicy J: No you can’t worship the devil and get that kind of blessing, man. I mean everybody know that.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah. Now people may not know that y’all been out for so long. Where do you see yourself headed because you actually seem to keep going up.
Juicy J: Yeah. I mean we just trying to just keep doing what we been doing, man- standing. Strip us to this music, man. This is what got us here. We’ll try to do some more production with our other big studio, big film companies. But yeah, we’re gonna stick with music man. Just keep on struggling with this, because this is the bread-n-butter right here man. It’s hip-hop.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, no doubt. Now how, speaking of God and religion, how do yall, deal with that conflict between the things you rap about and God?
Juicy J: It’s a job, man. It’s entertainment. You know people get things twisted. You can’t be scared to watch a scary movie. You know, you hear some kind of music, man. I mean you know just a certain kind of music. It’s a job.
DJ Paul: It ain’t reality.
AllHipHop.com: But people, kids, I mean and even me like I’m like “Yo, these cats is, yeah they the real thing right there.”
Juicy J: I mean you, people just, if you go online and look at our background, you be like man, these dudes been hustling. Man these dudes been hustling, you know making a honest living. Man, you know a putting out CDs, selling CDs out their trunk, till making it to the Oscars’ performing and then you know, they won the Oscar. So, that’s an accomplishment man, you know.
AllHipHop.com: Have, have you guys gotten any new opportunities through the Oscar situation?
DJ Paul: Film stuff, all kind of television right now. Got a lot of stuff on the table. Disney all kind of folks, yeah.
AllHipHop.com: Okay, what keeps yall motivated? Some people come in this game, they spit a few bars, drop a few classics and then they don’t know where else to go.
Crunchy Black: Stay home –
DJ Paul: Stay striving --
Juicy J: Yeah you got try, you know you got to always try. We just like music. We like making hard beats, making hard hooks, making hard songs, so we just a love for it man. We done made a lot of money in it and we still making some money, you know now but we just like got the love for the music.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah.
DJ Paul: So then we do film and, and you know rap as well, you know what I’m saying, both of them. Try to be doing both of them.
AllHipHop.com: Hungry, they look at the icy wrists and the icy chain and stuff and they like, “Man, really hungry?”
DJ Paul: That’s the make believe. You can still like, you know those are like, like basketball players that sign a contract for like a million dollars a year just sit on the bench. And he, he can, if he wants to, just sit back and [say], “I’m sorry, but [I have money] I don’t give a fuck about playing.”
AllHipHop.com: Yeah.
Juicy J: But you know, it ain’t gonna be like that [with Three 6 Mafia], you know we still gonna want to play. You still gonna want to get them rings and you know and be good at what you do, keep your fans happy. I love our music. I’m a fan myself.
AllHipHop.com: What’s the hardest song you ever heard?
DJ Paul: The hardest song I ever heard was “I’m Bad” by LL Cool J. That’s my favorite song of all time. And then “Funky Enough” by D.O.C.
Juicy J: I say “Funky Drummer” by James Brown.
AllHipHop.com: Okay, okay what about you. Crunchy?
Crunchy Black: I just like them all and, uh, I like them all.
AllHipHop.com: I think yall got some of the hardest, I got a whole mix tape I made of just all of yall’s songs for when I’m mad.
AllHipHop.com: Do yall ever think yall will get back with Gangsta Boo, I miss her, I ain’t gonna lie. I miss her, dog.
DJ Paul: Ain’t gonna happen, man, you know what I’m saying?
Juicy J: You never know. Man, my door is always open, to everybody man. It’s all great. We doing so good right now man, I’m just feeling good man - got an Oscar.
Crunchy Black: Got an Oscar –
AllHipHop.com: Now, I know y’all use to work with Boo and LeChat, why is it though that y’all can’t hold any women in the group? I mean why both females in the group bounced?
DJ Paul: No, no that, everything was all good they just wanted to do their own thing, you know. We don’t try to hold nobody back, you know what I’m saying. You want to be in the group, you can be in the group you just say hey, I want to be out of the group then well like all right I wish both of them the best of luck, you know what I’m saying. It’s all good.
AllHipHop.com: Anybody called you to get back with you?
DJ Paul: No, ain’t been nobody calling us, it’s just lot of times like you might hear somebody that be with us. But [people might say], somebody said this or that, this is that. I wish everybody the best of luck. We’re still doing our thing, we made history, you know performed at the Oscars. We won at the Oscar. I mean how good is that man?
Juicy J: That’s old news. We moved on.
AllHipHop.com: What’s y’all’s home life like, like family wise, I mean yall got kids or --
DJ Paul: Yeah, I got one kid, yeah.
AllHipHop.com: How old is he?
DJ Paul: My boy he’s ten.
AllHipHop.com: Oh yeah? How’s he, I mean is he rapping yet?
DJ Paul: Yeah, he plays games or he don’t know what he wants to do, say he want to play basketball but I think he can play football better than basketball.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, so, so I mean how do they feel? I mean, how did they feel about the whole Oscar situation? I mean --
Juicy J: I don’t have any kids. My Mom and my Dad, yeah, they was going crazy man cause they know what we been through man. We come from the street, gutter. We been, you know, six people living in a two-bedroom apartment, man. We done came a long way from that to this, you know. That was just a blessing man, they was going crazy.
AllHipHop.com: So your pop is a minister, Juice. Is he still preaching or anything?
Juicy J: Yeah, yeah, yeah a little bit here and there man. You know, kind of like chillin out. He used to like go out of town a lot, but now he’s just chilling.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah. Crunch so what’s up with you man, you never talk.
Crunchy Black: : You know I just go with the flow.
AllHipHop.com: Why don’t you tell me about your dance.
Crunchy Black: Ah, it’s a gangsta walk, you know. I didn’t invent it. I just do it the best, you know.
DJ Paul: That’s a Memphis thing
AllHipHop.com: So any music coming from you, Crunchy?
Crunchy Black: I always got something working.
As a result, their songs rose to the top of the iTunes charts and Most Known Unknown got a second look from the suburbs.
How will the group that screamed “Tear The Club Up” a decade ago adapt to their new fame? Will Three 6 Mafia go down in history according to their vision or that of their detractors?
Now that they have exploded in the mainstream, will the trio reunite with former crew members? Get a Hip-Hop look at the Academy Awards, and see if Academy Award honorees Crunchy Black, DJ Paul and Juicy J will be producing for the Bacon Brothers or Bette Midler now that they're in red carpet company.
AllHipHop.com Video
Three 6 Mafia Discuss Their Oscar Win.
Juicy J and Paul of Three 6 Mafia address the Devil Worship Rumors.
The crew talks about their approach to making beats and songs.
AllHipHop.com: All right, what was going through your mind when they called your name at the Academy Awards?
Juicy J: Man, 'just run, run Forest, run.' I just ran [to the stage] like the police was chasing me man. You know what I’m saying? I mean it was a blessing. I mean you know, [it's] not every day you get a chance to get nominated, get a chance to perform, get a chance to, win an Oscar.
AllHipHop.com: Right.
DJ Paul: So you know, it was just big adrenaline rush. It was all real man. You know we didn’t know we was gonna win. We didn’t have no acceptance speech, just ran out there like, “Hey thanks.”
AllHipHop.com: Right, I saw you were taking a lot of pictures of the award, were those the actual awards because I know --
DJ Paul: Yeah, they give it to you
Juicy J: The Oscars is the only award --
DJ Paul: They give it to you --
Juicy J: The Oscar is the only award [and] you leave with the award.
AllHipHop.com: I see, I see.
Juicy J: Grammy’s and everybody else they send to you, Oscar you leave right with it which is good.
DJ Paul: In hand.
AllHipHop.com: Were y’all scared to let ‘em go?
Juicy J: Yeah --
AllHipHop.com: Not scared but you know what I’m saying.
DJ Paul: I was scared. Yeah, but I mean they’re valuable, they got to get insurance on it
Juicy J: Yeah, [the people in Hollywood] loved it, man. They loved them Oscars, especially in LA because you know that’s what they live for. You know actors, go to LA be a actor, that’s your ultimate goal - to get the Oscar.
DJ Paul: Yeah, a lot of people live for those man. So hard to get one.
Juicy J: [With the Oscar in hand], I thought Jesus had walked in the room, they love it.
AllHipHop.com: Now, Frayser Boy got one too right? What’d he do with the song?
Juicy J: He wrote some bars on the song.
AllHipHop.com: Now what’s your take, you have gotten praise and criticism. Some Black people feel you didn't rep the race with your performance. How do you address that?
Juicy J: Make a prayer for them man. That’s all we do, pray for them and keep on pushing.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah.
DJ Paul: (Singing Bun B’s “Keep Pushin’”
AllHipHop.com: Terrance Howard even expressed some disappointment in the performance and saying that the performance was contrary to what the actual movie was about. Do you have anything to say about that?
Juicy J: Right. Pray for him, keep on pushing.
AllHipHop.com: Right, right. Did yall, did yall get a crack out of [actress who sang on "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp"] Taraji Henson when she sang that last note at the Oscars?
DJ Paul: [Laughs]
Juicy J: Yeah, she did that thing man, we loved it man. She did her thing man. That’s my girl.
AllHipHop.com: I ain’t clowning nobody. Is she trying her hand at a singing career?
Juicy J: I don’t even know man.
Crunchy Black: Don’t know nothing.
Juicy J: No, but if she was, she already know she got my number, she can always call me man. That’s like my little sister, man.
AllHipHop.com: Speaking of praying there’s been a lot of new talk about Three 6 Mafia’s so-called “devil worship.” Do you care to address that at all?
Juicy J: Man, we ain’t no devil worshippers, I mean how can you win an Oscar being a devil worshiper? I mean you know you probably win, win like a firecracker or something if you was a devil worshiper. You won’t win an Oscar. So I mean there ain’t nothing but God in me. That’s a blessing.
DJ Paul: We got so many blessings, we’ve been doing this for 16 years. Making a arrangement though [the devil] - no way.
Juicy J: No you can’t worship the devil and get that kind of blessing, man. I mean everybody know that.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah. Now people may not know that y’all been out for so long. Where do you see yourself headed because you actually seem to keep going up.
Juicy J: Yeah. I mean we just trying to just keep doing what we been doing, man- standing. Strip us to this music, man. This is what got us here. We’ll try to do some more production with our other big studio, big film companies. But yeah, we’re gonna stick with music man. Just keep on struggling with this, because this is the bread-n-butter right here man. It’s hip-hop.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, no doubt. Now how, speaking of God and religion, how do yall, deal with that conflict between the things you rap about and God?
Juicy J: It’s a job, man. It’s entertainment. You know people get things twisted. You can’t be scared to watch a scary movie. You know, you hear some kind of music, man. I mean you know just a certain kind of music. It’s a job.
DJ Paul: It ain’t reality.
AllHipHop.com: But people, kids, I mean and even me like I’m like “Yo, these cats is, yeah they the real thing right there.”
Juicy J: I mean you, people just, if you go online and look at our background, you be like man, these dudes been hustling. Man these dudes been hustling, you know making a honest living. Man, you know a putting out CDs, selling CDs out their trunk, till making it to the Oscars’ performing and then you know, they won the Oscar. So, that’s an accomplishment man, you know.
AllHipHop.com: Have, have you guys gotten any new opportunities through the Oscar situation?
DJ Paul: Film stuff, all kind of television right now. Got a lot of stuff on the table. Disney all kind of folks, yeah.
AllHipHop.com: Okay, what keeps yall motivated? Some people come in this game, they spit a few bars, drop a few classics and then they don’t know where else to go.
Crunchy Black: Stay home –
DJ Paul: Stay striving --
Juicy J: Yeah you got try, you know you got to always try. We just like music. We like making hard beats, making hard hooks, making hard songs, so we just a love for it man. We done made a lot of money in it and we still making some money, you know now but we just like got the love for the music.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah.
DJ Paul: So then we do film and, and you know rap as well, you know what I’m saying, both of them. Try to be doing both of them.
AllHipHop.com: Hungry, they look at the icy wrists and the icy chain and stuff and they like, “Man, really hungry?”
DJ Paul: That’s the make believe. You can still like, you know those are like, like basketball players that sign a contract for like a million dollars a year just sit on the bench. And he, he can, if he wants to, just sit back and [say], “I’m sorry, but [I have money] I don’t give a fuck about playing.”
AllHipHop.com: Yeah.
Juicy J: But you know, it ain’t gonna be like that [with Three 6 Mafia], you know we still gonna want to play. You still gonna want to get them rings and you know and be good at what you do, keep your fans happy. I love our music. I’m a fan myself.
AllHipHop.com: What’s the hardest song you ever heard?
DJ Paul: The hardest song I ever heard was “I’m Bad” by LL Cool J. That’s my favorite song of all time. And then “Funky Enough” by D.O.C.
Juicy J: I say “Funky Drummer” by James Brown.
AllHipHop.com: Okay, okay what about you. Crunchy?
Crunchy Black: I just like them all and, uh, I like them all.
AllHipHop.com: I think yall got some of the hardest, I got a whole mix tape I made of just all of yall’s songs for when I’m mad.
AllHipHop.com: Do yall ever think yall will get back with Gangsta Boo, I miss her, I ain’t gonna lie. I miss her, dog.
DJ Paul: Ain’t gonna happen, man, you know what I’m saying?
Juicy J: You never know. Man, my door is always open, to everybody man. It’s all great. We doing so good right now man, I’m just feeling good man - got an Oscar.
Crunchy Black: Got an Oscar –
AllHipHop.com: Now, I know y’all use to work with Boo and LeChat, why is it though that y’all can’t hold any women in the group? I mean why both females in the group bounced?
DJ Paul: No, no that, everything was all good they just wanted to do their own thing, you know. We don’t try to hold nobody back, you know what I’m saying. You want to be in the group, you can be in the group you just say hey, I want to be out of the group then well like all right I wish both of them the best of luck, you know what I’m saying. It’s all good.
AllHipHop.com: Anybody called you to get back with you?
DJ Paul: No, ain’t been nobody calling us, it’s just lot of times like you might hear somebody that be with us. But [people might say], somebody said this or that, this is that. I wish everybody the best of luck. We’re still doing our thing, we made history, you know performed at the Oscars. We won at the Oscar. I mean how good is that man?
Juicy J: That’s old news. We moved on.
AllHipHop.com: What’s y’all’s home life like, like family wise, I mean yall got kids or --
DJ Paul: Yeah, I got one kid, yeah.
AllHipHop.com: How old is he?
DJ Paul: My boy he’s ten.
AllHipHop.com: Oh yeah? How’s he, I mean is he rapping yet?
DJ Paul: Yeah, he plays games or he don’t know what he wants to do, say he want to play basketball but I think he can play football better than basketball.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, so, so I mean how do they feel? I mean, how did they feel about the whole Oscar situation? I mean --
Juicy J: I don’t have any kids. My Mom and my Dad, yeah, they was going crazy man cause they know what we been through man. We come from the street, gutter. We been, you know, six people living in a two-bedroom apartment, man. We done came a long way from that to this, you know. That was just a blessing man, they was going crazy.
AllHipHop.com: So your pop is a minister, Juice. Is he still preaching or anything?
Juicy J: Yeah, yeah, yeah a little bit here and there man. You know, kind of like chillin out. He used to like go out of town a lot, but now he’s just chilling.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah. Crunch so what’s up with you man, you never talk.
Crunchy Black: : You know I just go with the flow.
AllHipHop.com: Why don’t you tell me about your dance.
Crunchy Black: Ah, it’s a gangsta walk, you know. I didn’t invent it. I just do it the best, you know.
DJ Paul: That’s a Memphis thing
AllHipHop.com: So any music coming from you, Crunchy?
Crunchy Black: I always got something working.
Project pat (ahh interview)
Thanks to the Oscars, mainstream America may just be finding out, but Memphis has been holding their own on the music side of the things for a while now. Part of the Hypnotized Camp Posse, which also includes Three 6 Mafia, Lil Wyte, and newly added Frasier Boy, Project Pat has played an essential role in keeping Memphis Hip-Hop on the map. Beginning with his first release, 1999's Ghetty Green, and his continued features on Three Six Mafia's albums, Pat has solidified himself as one of the town's premier players. With his third album, 2002's Mista Don't Play he joined the South's burgeoning commercial movement getting heavy video/radio airplay on major radio/tv stations for his single “Chickenhead” featuring La Chat.
While the past three years have seen that movement of southern hip-hop explode beyond its regional borders, Pat has been unable to fully enjoy the fruits of his labor. In January of 2001, Pat was pulled over for speeding when police found two revolvers under the seat of his SUV. Convicted on two counts of firearm possession as a felon, he was sentenced to four years in a Federal Corrections Facility. Quiet since his release on July 28, 2005, he speaks on the “humbug” that landed him in prison, his plans for his new album, why there's still a lot more to come out of the South, and what defines the Memphis sound we've come to him love him for.
AllHipHop Video
Project Pat speaks about how he was treated at Trial User
Pat explains what the heck a “humbug” is.
Click here to watch what Pat talk about Southern music today.
AllHipHop.com: For the people who don’t know, tell us where you’ve been.
Project Pat: I’ve been in a federal correctional facility.
AllHipHop.com: What is the reason the government had for locking you up?
Project Pat: Well, the government always has their reasons. I got caught with two guns. It was really a cold humbug, you know what I’m sayin’. And how they was trying to portray it was [that] I was some gangsta in Memphis. [Since] I’m rappin’ about gangsta stuff, that made me a gangsta.
AllHipHop.com: So they used your lyrics in court?
Project Pat: Well, they were gonna use my lyrics if I testified. They had the CDs out. I had a copy. The judge had a copy. All that. But to me it was testifying for my own behalf. They said, “If you get up and say anything, we’re gonna put this CD here and it’s a wrap.”
AllHipHop.com: Did you think that was fair?
Project Pat: Nah, I didn’t think that was fair because they were sayin’ that they were gonna show something they call “an affinity for guns” - meaning, because I talk about ‘em so much, it’ll show that I love ‘em.
AllHipHop.com: I know that I’ve seen Project Pat on videos and heard you on records and sitting here with you, I see you possess a whole different persona than I think folks would expect. What would you say is the difference between you as an entertainer and you as just Pat?
Project Pat: Well, it’s just a job. It’s just like Al Pacino played Carlito in Carlito’s Way. It’s a job. Al Pacino’s not a gangster. He’s an actor. You gotta look at it like this, I tell y’all rap tales and hood tale,s and some of the tales be similarly true and a lot of the tales guys can relate to. Some of the things I’ve done, somebody else did, or I know about, but all in all anything on me it had to have been the past. I’m not out here doing it now. You can’t be out here selling crack on the corners and rappin’.
AllHipHop.com: So what’s in the works now?
Project Pat: Well the plan of action for now is to finish this album, Project Pat the Fed Story: Crook by the Book.
AllHipHop.com: Why the title?
Project Pat: The reason why it’s called what it’s called is because they was tryin’ to portray me as some kind of gangsta. If I was really gonna be a gangsta like that, I’m gonna crook by the book. I’m not gonna rap about the stuff and put the stuff out there like I’m doin’ the stuff that I’m tellin’ folks I’m doing. That’s not being crook by the book, that’s dumb.
AllHipHop.com: So how soon is the album going to drop?
Project Pat: I hear this summer. Sometime like August. That’s what I hear, but who knows.
AllHipHop.com: Define a “humbug” for those who don’t know what a humbug is.
Project Pat: See, one thing about dudes that consider themselves real street dudes, [they] only caught up by a snitch or a humbug. A humbug is like, you wasn’t on nothin’. Say you was just riding, and you wasn’t on nothin’, but you meant to put the piece up-you was just going to the store, or Krystal’s, or White Castle or something and then all of a sudden, you get pulled over. You got your tags. You got your license, you ain’t even on nothing and then for some stupid reason your partna who had in the car the night before left a blunt in the ashtray. Police look and say, “Gotta search the car!” Humbug. That’s all that is.
AllHipHop.com: Was it a b***h not being able to be present while the crew was winning the Oscar with Hustle and Flow or did it not matter to you?
Project Pat: Now I ain't gonna lie to ya, it mattered, you know what I’m sayin? But you know, you don’t wanna do a day in jail no matter what you doin’. Yeah, it did matter, but I was cool with it and I was glad that it happened like it did. You know, I just consider it all a blessing. You know Three 6 Mafia won the Oscar and all that. That’s a blessing, man. That’s like, "What?" I’m talking bout, "What!"
AllHipHop.com: What’s different in Hip-Hop now than before you went in three years ago?
Project Pat: [The] big difference is I got out, and Paul and Juice was like, “Hooks are different.” I’m used to making hooks with longer bars, but the hooks have shortened all the way up. You can just say one word or one line, and it’s a wrap. Which is cool ‘cause it makes s**t easier, but then I had to get used to it cause I wasn’t used to that. I was used to sayin a line and the next line you get off into the meat of the hook. Now. you just straight to the point.
AllHipHop.com: Why do you think that is? Attention Deficit Syndrome?
Project Pat: That’s what we said. N***as is just out here getting high. They want you to get straight to the point.
AllHipHop.com: Now, the South wasn’t cracking like it is now when you went in--
Project Pat: Nah, it was but it wasn’t like now. For now, I’m just so glad to see that the South done just rose all the way up like cream all the way past the clouds. It’s super good out here now. When I was locked up, I was seein’ all them dudes in Atlanta and Houston that I knew was underground dudes that was finally starting to get on. I’d watch BET and on Rap City, it was like out of 20 videos, the South was on there like 17 times. I was glad to see that.
AllHipHop.com: When you spoke about the South you said seeing it on top made you feel good. Do you think there’s a difference with the way rappers act towards each other down South than up North? Many would say up North folks are more for self. A lot of Southern attribute the South winning right now to their fraternity and unity, do you agree?
Project Pat: I believe because it’s a lot of uncharted waters in the South. I know dudes out of Arkansas, and there’s dudes from a lot of different little towns. I know dudes in Alabama. There’s a lot of different areas that ain’t came out yet. And the South don’t sound exactly the same. You know Texas and Memphis, the music is not exactly the same. I mean it’s all bumpin’, but it’s not the same music. Everybody in the South got a different style. On the East coast New York is the capital, it’s like, that’s it. That’s what you getting and it’s a wrap. I understand that, because New York’s market is so big. New York market is huge. But the South is like-there’s a lot of different areas where people ain’t came out. Like say a dude come out of Arkansas, where the red dirt at. You know Arkansas is the razorback state. You know ‘bout them hogs? I’m waiting on somebody to bump outta Little Rock. I know they gonna bump.
AllHipHop.com: What do you think has been keeping them from that?
Project Pat: It’s just ain’t they time just yet. It’s comin’ though. I heard a lot of dudes in Arkansas with fire. I’m tryin’ to tell you. There’s a lot of dudes in Tennessee that ain’t come out yet.
AllHipHop.com: Three 6 has been underground for so long, I think folks figure y’all are happy not to blow.
Project Pat: Well see, the South don’t trip cause we ‘bout money. Not that other dudes ain’t bout money, but you know if we getting money in the underground, we not trippin’. We just about the money. That’s why you got so many independent labels in the South.
AllHipHop.com: Lastly you said Memphis music is different than Texas music, which is different than New York music. You and Three 6 really helped to define the Memphis Hip-Hop sound so how would you describe that sound?
Project Pat: Memphis got a gutter type sound and you know Memphis is 90% Black and it’s a Soul city. But Memphis music is a dark sound. It’s a gutter sound. It’s dark. So a dude can hear it in Baltimore, and much love to guys in Baltimore ‘cause a lot of Baltimore n***as wrote me. Baltimore n***as is good niggas, and it’s dark in Baltimore. So a Baltimore n***a can hear that sound, and he feel that pain. He feel that gutter and he may have never been to Memphis but he’ll say, “Man it’s like that down there?” It’s just like that down there. And he here’s it and says, “Man I can relate to that. I can relate to that.” And he just clicks in. It’s just like anywhere else. Like Brooklyn, you know what I’m sayin’? Brooklyn hear that gutter and they be like, “Man I feel that, son!” ‘Cause it works vice versa. When Biggie came out, I felt that. I felt that man. I felt that. I mean, you gonna feel that.
Thanks to the Oscars, mainstream America may just be finding out, but Memphis has been holding their own on the music side of the things for a while now. Part of the Hypnotized Camp Posse, which also includes Three 6 Mafia, Lil Wyte, and newly added Frasier Boy, Project Pat has played an essential role in keeping Memphis Hip-Hop on the map. Beginning with his first release, 1999's Ghetty Green, and his continued features on Three Six Mafia's albums, Pat has solidified himself as one of the town's premier players. With his third album, 2002's Mista Don't Play he joined the South's burgeoning commercial movement getting heavy video/radio airplay on major radio/tv stations for his single “Chickenhead” featuring La Chat.
While the past three years have seen that movement of southern hip-hop explode beyond its regional borders, Pat has been unable to fully enjoy the fruits of his labor. In January of 2001, Pat was pulled over for speeding when police found two revolvers under the seat of his SUV. Convicted on two counts of firearm possession as a felon, he was sentenced to four years in a Federal Corrections Facility. Quiet since his release on July 28, 2005, he speaks on the “humbug” that landed him in prison, his plans for his new album, why there's still a lot more to come out of the South, and what defines the Memphis sound we've come to him love him for.
AllHipHop Video
Project Pat speaks about how he was treated at Trial User
Pat explains what the heck a “humbug” is.
Click here to watch what Pat talk about Southern music today.
AllHipHop.com: For the people who don’t know, tell us where you’ve been.
Project Pat: I’ve been in a federal correctional facility.
AllHipHop.com: What is the reason the government had for locking you up?
Project Pat: Well, the government always has their reasons. I got caught with two guns. It was really a cold humbug, you know what I’m sayin’. And how they was trying to portray it was [that] I was some gangsta in Memphis. [Since] I’m rappin’ about gangsta stuff, that made me a gangsta.
AllHipHop.com: So they used your lyrics in court?
Project Pat: Well, they were gonna use my lyrics if I testified. They had the CDs out. I had a copy. The judge had a copy. All that. But to me it was testifying for my own behalf. They said, “If you get up and say anything, we’re gonna put this CD here and it’s a wrap.”
AllHipHop.com: Did you think that was fair?
Project Pat: Nah, I didn’t think that was fair because they were sayin’ that they were gonna show something they call “an affinity for guns” - meaning, because I talk about ‘em so much, it’ll show that I love ‘em.
AllHipHop.com: I know that I’ve seen Project Pat on videos and heard you on records and sitting here with you, I see you possess a whole different persona than I think folks would expect. What would you say is the difference between you as an entertainer and you as just Pat?
Project Pat: Well, it’s just a job. It’s just like Al Pacino played Carlito in Carlito’s Way. It’s a job. Al Pacino’s not a gangster. He’s an actor. You gotta look at it like this, I tell y’all rap tales and hood tale,s and some of the tales be similarly true and a lot of the tales guys can relate to. Some of the things I’ve done, somebody else did, or I know about, but all in all anything on me it had to have been the past. I’m not out here doing it now. You can’t be out here selling crack on the corners and rappin’.
AllHipHop.com: So what’s in the works now?
Project Pat: Well the plan of action for now is to finish this album, Project Pat the Fed Story: Crook by the Book.
AllHipHop.com: Why the title?
Project Pat: The reason why it’s called what it’s called is because they was tryin’ to portray me as some kind of gangsta. If I was really gonna be a gangsta like that, I’m gonna crook by the book. I’m not gonna rap about the stuff and put the stuff out there like I’m doin’ the stuff that I’m tellin’ folks I’m doing. That’s not being crook by the book, that’s dumb.
AllHipHop.com: So how soon is the album going to drop?
Project Pat: I hear this summer. Sometime like August. That’s what I hear, but who knows.
AllHipHop.com: Define a “humbug” for those who don’t know what a humbug is.
Project Pat: See, one thing about dudes that consider themselves real street dudes, [they] only caught up by a snitch or a humbug. A humbug is like, you wasn’t on nothin’. Say you was just riding, and you wasn’t on nothin’, but you meant to put the piece up-you was just going to the store, or Krystal’s, or White Castle or something and then all of a sudden, you get pulled over. You got your tags. You got your license, you ain’t even on nothing and then for some stupid reason your partna who had in the car the night before left a blunt in the ashtray. Police look and say, “Gotta search the car!” Humbug. That’s all that is.
AllHipHop.com: Was it a b***h not being able to be present while the crew was winning the Oscar with Hustle and Flow or did it not matter to you?
Project Pat: Now I ain't gonna lie to ya, it mattered, you know what I’m sayin? But you know, you don’t wanna do a day in jail no matter what you doin’. Yeah, it did matter, but I was cool with it and I was glad that it happened like it did. You know, I just consider it all a blessing. You know Three 6 Mafia won the Oscar and all that. That’s a blessing, man. That’s like, "What?" I’m talking bout, "What!"
AllHipHop.com: What’s different in Hip-Hop now than before you went in three years ago?
Project Pat: [The] big difference is I got out, and Paul and Juice was like, “Hooks are different.” I’m used to making hooks with longer bars, but the hooks have shortened all the way up. You can just say one word or one line, and it’s a wrap. Which is cool ‘cause it makes s**t easier, but then I had to get used to it cause I wasn’t used to that. I was used to sayin a line and the next line you get off into the meat of the hook. Now. you just straight to the point.
AllHipHop.com: Why do you think that is? Attention Deficit Syndrome?
Project Pat: That’s what we said. N***as is just out here getting high. They want you to get straight to the point.
AllHipHop.com: Now, the South wasn’t cracking like it is now when you went in--
Project Pat: Nah, it was but it wasn’t like now. For now, I’m just so glad to see that the South done just rose all the way up like cream all the way past the clouds. It’s super good out here now. When I was locked up, I was seein’ all them dudes in Atlanta and Houston that I knew was underground dudes that was finally starting to get on. I’d watch BET and on Rap City, it was like out of 20 videos, the South was on there like 17 times. I was glad to see that.
AllHipHop.com: When you spoke about the South you said seeing it on top made you feel good. Do you think there’s a difference with the way rappers act towards each other down South than up North? Many would say up North folks are more for self. A lot of Southern attribute the South winning right now to their fraternity and unity, do you agree?
Project Pat: I believe because it’s a lot of uncharted waters in the South. I know dudes out of Arkansas, and there’s dudes from a lot of different little towns. I know dudes in Alabama. There’s a lot of different areas that ain’t came out yet. And the South don’t sound exactly the same. You know Texas and Memphis, the music is not exactly the same. I mean it’s all bumpin’, but it’s not the same music. Everybody in the South got a different style. On the East coast New York is the capital, it’s like, that’s it. That’s what you getting and it’s a wrap. I understand that, because New York’s market is so big. New York market is huge. But the South is like-there’s a lot of different areas where people ain’t came out. Like say a dude come out of Arkansas, where the red dirt at. You know Arkansas is the razorback state. You know ‘bout them hogs? I’m waiting on somebody to bump outta Little Rock. I know they gonna bump.
AllHipHop.com: What do you think has been keeping them from that?
Project Pat: It’s just ain’t they time just yet. It’s comin’ though. I heard a lot of dudes in Arkansas with fire. I’m tryin’ to tell you. There’s a lot of dudes in Tennessee that ain’t come out yet.
AllHipHop.com: Three 6 has been underground for so long, I think folks figure y’all are happy not to blow.
Project Pat: Well see, the South don’t trip cause we ‘bout money. Not that other dudes ain’t bout money, but you know if we getting money in the underground, we not trippin’. We just about the money. That’s why you got so many independent labels in the South.
AllHipHop.com: Lastly you said Memphis music is different than Texas music, which is different than New York music. You and Three 6 really helped to define the Memphis Hip-Hop sound so how would you describe that sound?
Project Pat: Memphis got a gutter type sound and you know Memphis is 90% Black and it’s a Soul city. But Memphis music is a dark sound. It’s a gutter sound. It’s dark. So a dude can hear it in Baltimore, and much love to guys in Baltimore ‘cause a lot of Baltimore n***as wrote me. Baltimore n***as is good niggas, and it’s dark in Baltimore. So a Baltimore n***a can hear that sound, and he feel that pain. He feel that gutter and he may have never been to Memphis but he’ll say, “Man it’s like that down there?” It’s just like that down there. And he here’s it and says, “Man I can relate to that. I can relate to that.” And he just clicks in. It’s just like anywhere else. Like Brooklyn, you know what I’m sayin’? Brooklyn hear that gutter and they be like, “Man I feel that, son!” ‘Cause it works vice versa. When Biggie came out, I felt that. I felt that man. I felt that. I mean, you gonna feel that.
New Chamillionaire Interview XXL Magazine
Cham just needs to speak up and defends himself because someone needs to sit pimp down and just tell him some ppl cant be friends, squashing a beef should be enough.
Ha they really were tryin to catch him ridin dirty they should've listened to the song better.[/quote]
im proud of that boy...he grindin..
5000
Houston’s underdog seems to have finally gotten his revenge, and he’s laughing all the way to the bank. With his single tearing up the pop charts, Cham reflects on Pimp C’s call for a reunion with Paul Wall, his final moments with Hawk and the secret to a successful collaboration.
Lacking high-profile ties to Rap-A-Lot or Swisha House, a lot of people doubted that Chamillionaire had what it took to take his Houston sound nationwide. Although his status as an underground mixtape king had gotten him the respect of his peers, Cham had to blaze his own path, signing a deal with Universal Records for his own Chamillitary Entertainment. But the uphill battle paid off, with the sales of his major label debut, The Sound of Revenge, steadily rising thanks to the unexpected crossover success of his second single “Ridin’.” Cham then added fuel to the fire by releasing a string of remixes to the hit featuring a slew of MCs from around the country. XXLMAG.COM caught up with Koopa as he was pulling into New York City where we got him to reflect on some rumors before he broke down his top 10 favorite hip-hop collaborations of all time.
You were on Bun B’s “Draped Up” remix with everybody from Houston, but when the video came out, you were the only one not in it. What happened?
A lot of people ask me that. I had been on promo tour for six months. They called me [to do the video], but they called me at the last minute. Rap-A-Lot is known for doing that. They always tell me at the last minute. I think they didn’t ask me [earlier] ’cause they thought I’d have a problem with it. They called me at the end and I said, “I’m cool to do it,” but they was already done. They wanted me to just slide back, have a cameraman meet me and put it together. But I wasn’t able to; it’s just the timing. There’s rumors going around like, “Cham didn’t want to do it,” but nah. Media was kinda looking at it that way, but it wasn’t really that big.
Did you hear “Knockin’ Doorz Down” from Pimp C’s new album?
Yeah, man [laughs]. It said somebody “Need to stop bullshittin’.” Then it said, “Chamillionaire and Paul still ain’t talkin’.” I was just like, Aw, man. But he’s the person who can do that and nobody can say nothing. That’s Pimp, man. What can you say?
Do you agree with Pimp? Could you and Paul patch things up?
Man, it’s hard to say. Right now I feel like everybody’s doing that. These records are coming out that have these combinations, but I think there’s a difference. Slim Thug and Z-Ro can make a record together, and even Flip and T.I. can make a record together, but there’s a difference between that and Flip and T.I. holding hands and being friends. When people say they want these records, they mean that they want us all to be friends. There’s a lot of personal stuff that happens between everybody. It’s not going to be the way it used to be. Any marriage in a family where there are divorces and people split up, you can’t make mom and dad the way they used to be. People want that. Like I would like a whole bunch of people to get together, the whole West Coast to get back together like they did with The Chronic, but it’s just not realistic.
So you’re saying this doesn’t have to do with rap, it’s a personal thing?
Yeah. Put the rap to the side, it’s a personal thing. I remember when he never smoked and never cursed. How do you put that back together—it’s not the same marriage. Musically, where I see Paul going, and where I’m trying to grow, it just doesn’t match. Like we might be in the same booth and he’s saying I want to do this, and I’m arguing no I want to do this, and it just doesn’t work. It is what it is, man. We’re not trippin’ or nothing. We’re not beefing. I can speak to Mike Jones. I can speak to Paul. I don’t hold no grudge on nobody.
You worked with Hawk before he passed away. Did you know him very well, personally?
Yes, I did. And honestly, man, I’ve never felt as bad about someone losing their life as him, because I really feel he really didn’t deserve it. That’s one of the most honest, humble people I’ve ever met in my life, and you can put me on the record saying that. I’m not just saying that because he passed away. If anybody would have asked me that when he was alive, I still would’ve said the same thing. I just talked to him right before. We seen him at our show a little bit before he died. He met me backstage and said, “Hey Cham, I want to get a platinum plaque and I want to pay.” I said, “Nah, man, you can’t pay,” and he said, “No, I want to show you how much I appreciate being on the album.” I said, “Nah, man, you’re too humble. You’re a legend sitting there talking to me like that.” I’m listening to Trae’s song [“Swang”] and listening to what Hawk’s saying, about how Fat Pat breezed through him. Man, it’s so sad.
When did you hear that he had died?
I had been on tour and I was headed back to Houston at the time when they told me. They said it happened 20 minutes ago and I went and stopped by the crime scene. I seen the car still running and all the people out there. It was a terrible feeling. I’m just treating life a lot differently. One day you’re here, the next day you’re gone. That’s kind of the mode I’m in right now. And there’s so much of that happening, like what happened with T.I. We had just performed at that same club [in Cincinnati] a few nights before.
Really? What was the vibe like when you were there?
Yeah, we got a very bad response. The whole tour has been completely good everywhere, but when we got there, it was a funny feeling. It’s like the kind of people there, they looking at you in a different way. I saw it. So I already know what T.I. was going through when they went to that club. And I was surprised, because T.I. is a big artist. He sold 500,000 his first week. He shouldn’t have even been in that club. When I was in that club, I was like, Wow. It was a very street environment. I did the same thing in the same club, and the same place for the after party. It’s crazy. Even with Proof…I had never met Proof until a week before he died and he showed up backstage at one of my shows. I don’t know what God is trying to tell me. Life is too short to be arguing over some little things. We moving real differently now.
It must make you appreciate your success that much more. People seem to be surprised with how well “Ridin’” has been doing.
Yeah, TRL number 10 today, man. I wasn’t on the bus at the time, but the bus got stopped by the police and they were asking for me and about the “Ridin’ Dirty” song. They searched the whole bus.
Did you expect people to respond to the song like they have?
I kinda always had faith in myself, but just to see so many people embracing that song feels good. So many artists personally have called me to talk about it. A lot of them have jumped on the remix. It’s especially good to see it blow up because it’s a street record. Now street records are making it. “Still Tippin” is an example. Who would’ve thought a street record like that would’ve done what it did. So it’s good that it’s coming to that. Artists can be themselves. They don’t have to pretend to be somebody they’re not.
You already dropped a remix with Jae Millz and Papoose, and then another with UGK. Do you have plans to release other versions of “Ridin’”?
Oh yeah, we’re keeping it coming. There’s an L.A. version with The Game and DJ Quik. There’s a Bay Area version with Keak da Sneak, Mistah F.A.B. and San Quinn. Slim Thug’s going to be on another Southern version with a lot of Texas people like Magnificent and Killa Kyleon. We actually got an overseas international version with Akon, this guy named Sway and some others. My engineer is back in Houston pasting them all together. I might have to make one 18-minute-long version with everybody. We’re pushing it till the wheels fall off.
How did you get all these people to get on the track?
I was on tour across the country from the West Coast to the East Coast. You start to find out what’s hot in different markets and you start to find out who’s who. You also start building relationships. I had been a workaholic in my own zone doing my mixtapes, and I hadn’t really collaborated with a lot of people. When I decided to collaborate with people, I wanted to collaborate more with the underdogs, the street people, messing with the people like Jae Millz and Papoose. When I went to New York, they were all over the mixtapes, so I wanted to get down with those guys instead of trying to go safe with all the super-big names. I like to work with people who got that hunger in them. The people on the way up are the best people to work with, because they want it just as bad as you do. It comes out in the music. I like seeing different collaborations, because everything doesn’t have to be the same combination. With Chamillionaire, you expect to see a Slim Thug or Paul Wall on that same record, but when you go to different markets and you get Chamillionaire and Keak da Sneak together, it’s a lot more interesting.
http://xxlmag.com/online/?p=1651
Lacking high-profile ties to Rap-A-Lot or Swisha House, a lot of people doubted that Chamillionaire had what it took to take his Houston sound nationwide. Although his status as an underground mixtape king had gotten him the respect of his peers, Cham had to blaze his own path, signing a deal with Universal Records for his own Chamillitary Entertainment. But the uphill battle paid off, with the sales of his major label debut, The Sound of Revenge, steadily rising thanks to the unexpected crossover success of his second single “Ridin’.” Cham then added fuel to the fire by releasing a string of remixes to the hit featuring a slew of MCs from around the country. XXLMAG.COM caught up with Koopa as he was pulling into New York City where we got him to reflect on some rumors before he broke down his top 10 favorite hip-hop collaborations of all time.
You were on Bun B’s “Draped Up” remix with everybody from Houston, but when the video came out, you were the only one not in it. What happened?
A lot of people ask me that. I had been on promo tour for six months. They called me [to do the video], but they called me at the last minute. Rap-A-Lot is known for doing that. They always tell me at the last minute. I think they didn’t ask me [earlier] ’cause they thought I’d have a problem with it. They called me at the end and I said, “I’m cool to do it,” but they was already done. They wanted me to just slide back, have a cameraman meet me and put it together. But I wasn’t able to; it’s just the timing. There’s rumors going around like, “Cham didn’t want to do it,” but nah. Media was kinda looking at it that way, but it wasn’t really that big.
Did you hear “Knockin’ Doorz Down” from Pimp C’s new album?
Yeah, man [laughs]. It said somebody “Need to stop bullshittin’.” Then it said, “Chamillionaire and Paul still ain’t talkin’.” I was just like, Aw, man. But he’s the person who can do that and nobody can say nothing. That’s Pimp, man. What can you say?
Do you agree with Pimp? Could you and Paul patch things up?
Man, it’s hard to say. Right now I feel like everybody’s doing that. These records are coming out that have these combinations, but I think there’s a difference. Slim Thug and Z-Ro can make a record together, and even Flip and T.I. can make a record together, but there’s a difference between that and Flip and T.I. holding hands and being friends. When people say they want these records, they mean that they want us all to be friends. There’s a lot of personal stuff that happens between everybody. It’s not going to be the way it used to be. Any marriage in a family where there are divorces and people split up, you can’t make mom and dad the way they used to be. People want that. Like I would like a whole bunch of people to get together, the whole West Coast to get back together like they did with The Chronic, but it’s just not realistic.
So you’re saying this doesn’t have to do with rap, it’s a personal thing?
Yeah. Put the rap to the side, it’s a personal thing. I remember when he never smoked and never cursed. How do you put that back together—it’s not the same marriage. Musically, where I see Paul going, and where I’m trying to grow, it just doesn’t match. Like we might be in the same booth and he’s saying I want to do this, and I’m arguing no I want to do this, and it just doesn’t work. It is what it is, man. We’re not trippin’ or nothing. We’re not beefing. I can speak to Mike Jones. I can speak to Paul. I don’t hold no grudge on nobody.
You worked with Hawk before he passed away. Did you know him very well, personally?
Yes, I did. And honestly, man, I’ve never felt as bad about someone losing their life as him, because I really feel he really didn’t deserve it. That’s one of the most honest, humble people I’ve ever met in my life, and you can put me on the record saying that. I’m not just saying that because he passed away. If anybody would have asked me that when he was alive, I still would’ve said the same thing. I just talked to him right before. We seen him at our show a little bit before he died. He met me backstage and said, “Hey Cham, I want to get a platinum plaque and I want to pay.” I said, “Nah, man, you can’t pay,” and he said, “No, I want to show you how much I appreciate being on the album.” I said, “Nah, man, you’re too humble. You’re a legend sitting there talking to me like that.” I’m listening to Trae’s song [“Swang”] and listening to what Hawk’s saying, about how Fat Pat breezed through him. Man, it’s so sad.
When did you hear that he had died?
I had been on tour and I was headed back to Houston at the time when they told me. They said it happened 20 minutes ago and I went and stopped by the crime scene. I seen the car still running and all the people out there. It was a terrible feeling. I’m just treating life a lot differently. One day you’re here, the next day you’re gone. That’s kind of the mode I’m in right now. And there’s so much of that happening, like what happened with T.I. We had just performed at that same club [in Cincinnati] a few nights before.
Really? What was the vibe like when you were there?
Yeah, we got a very bad response. The whole tour has been completely good everywhere, but when we got there, it was a funny feeling. It’s like the kind of people there, they looking at you in a different way. I saw it. So I already know what T.I. was going through when they went to that club. And I was surprised, because T.I. is a big artist. He sold 500,000 his first week. He shouldn’t have even been in that club. When I was in that club, I was like, Wow. It was a very street environment. I did the same thing in the same club, and the same place for the after party. It’s crazy. Even with Proof…I had never met Proof until a week before he died and he showed up backstage at one of my shows. I don’t know what God is trying to tell me. Life is too short to be arguing over some little things. We moving real differently now.
It must make you appreciate your success that much more. People seem to be surprised with how well “Ridin’” has been doing.
Yeah, TRL number 10 today, man. I wasn’t on the bus at the time, but the bus got stopped by the police and they were asking for me and about the “Ridin’ Dirty” song. They searched the whole bus.
Did you expect people to respond to the song like they have?
I kinda always had faith in myself, but just to see so many people embracing that song feels good. So many artists personally have called me to talk about it. A lot of them have jumped on the remix. It’s especially good to see it blow up because it’s a street record. Now street records are making it. “Still Tippin” is an example. Who would’ve thought a street record like that would’ve done what it did. So it’s good that it’s coming to that. Artists can be themselves. They don’t have to pretend to be somebody they’re not.
You already dropped a remix with Jae Millz and Papoose, and then another with UGK. Do you have plans to release other versions of “Ridin’”?
Oh yeah, we’re keeping it coming. There’s an L.A. version with The Game and DJ Quik. There’s a Bay Area version with Keak da Sneak, Mistah F.A.B. and San Quinn. Slim Thug’s going to be on another Southern version with a lot of Texas people like Magnificent and Killa Kyleon. We actually got an overseas international version with Akon, this guy named Sway and some others. My engineer is back in Houston pasting them all together. I might have to make one 18-minute-long version with everybody. We’re pushing it till the wheels fall off.
How did you get all these people to get on the track?
I was on tour across the country from the West Coast to the East Coast. You start to find out what’s hot in different markets and you start to find out who’s who. You also start building relationships. I had been a workaholic in my own zone doing my mixtapes, and I hadn’t really collaborated with a lot of people. When I decided to collaborate with people, I wanted to collaborate more with the underdogs, the street people, messing with the people like Jae Millz and Papoose. When I went to New York, they were all over the mixtapes, so I wanted to get down with those guys instead of trying to go safe with all the super-big names. I like to work with people who got that hunger in them. The people on the way up are the best people to work with, because they want it just as bad as you do. It comes out in the music. I like seeing different collaborations, because everything doesn’t have to be the same combination. With Chamillionaire, you expect to see a Slim Thug or Paul Wall on that same record, but when you go to different markets and you get Chamillionaire and Keak da Sneak together, it’s a lot more interesting.
http://xxlmag.com/online/?p=1651
Ha they really were tryin to catch him ridin dirty they should've listened to the song better.[/quote]
im proud of that boy...he grindin..
5000
AllHipHop.com: Mike Jones made some comments on our site last week regarding Swishahouse. He said that “foul business” had gone down. How do you respond to that?
G-Dash: First of all, that’s not true. Second of all, he’s still contractually obligated to [Swishahouse]. There hasn’t been no separation, and we still have agreements in place that we’re gonna continue to enforce those agreements.
AllHipHop.com: You said, “that’s not true.” What can you tell me to affirm that to our readers and those that feel otherwise?
G-Dash: Like I said, we have contracts and agreements in place. That definitely lets you know that’s not true.
AllHipHop.com: When was the last time Mike Jones communicated with y’all?
G-Dash: It’s been probably about…how long has it been since I spoke to Mike Jones? I guess that would be the last function I seen him at. I can’t recall what function – probably about a month ago.
AllHipHop.com: He may’ve said it was The Source’s photo-shoot for “A Great Day in Houston.”
G-Dash: Okay. Yeah.
AllHipHop.com: He mentioned it being an amicable difference. In a city like Houston, a tighter knit, close-quartered Hip-Hop community, how important is it to keep peace and friendship in general?
G-Dash: A lot of times, meetings just come together for us to sit down and settle things amongst themselves, you know what I’m sayin’? [You can’t] just let it go on and on with all the b*tchin’ and stuff, which could easily end up to other things. It’s better to just sit down, ‘cause this really is a business. At the end of the day, if the business isn’t handled right, nobody’s gonna be makin’ money. If Mike Jones don’t make no record, nobody benefits from it, even him.
AllHipHop.com: With or without Mike Jones, what’s the Swishahouse movement gonna like in 2006?
G-Dash: It’s lookin’ real good. We got a new compilation, The Day Hell Broke Loose 3 comin’ out. We also got other artists, such as Archie Lee, Coota Bang, and then T. Farris – he’s launching his record label, and we’re supporting him 100% by licensing our logos to his record label brand. We’re assisting him in bringing out artists like Lil’ Keke, which I’m sure everybody’s known. He’s had a great deal of Southern success in the past.<
AllHipHop.com: Now let’s talk about some of these artists. A lot of people came to know Swishahouse through the Houston explosion last years. Others were in the know years ago. But as Paul Wall and Mike Jones blew up, why has Archie Lee sat for two years? Why’s 2006 better than 2005?
G-Dash: Well, Archie’s back in the redevelopment stages. He was with us for a time, and then there was a time when he wasn’t with us, when we was rebuildin’ with Mike Jones and them. So Archie, he came back in, and we redevelopin’ him and Coota Bang.
AllHipHop.com: Other labels have historically had that “come and go as you please” relationship with artists. Both Death Row with Kurupt and Cash Money with Juvenile come to mind. As a business, why are you both comfortable with that?
G-Dash: I think they go somewhere else to test the waters, then come to realize that they really had it better than what they thought. They see the success we’re havin’. Also, you have no complaints – you can talk to any of our artists, there’s never been no complaints over money issues or things of that nature.
AllHipHop.com: Mike Jones said money was not a factor. Other articles elsewhere alluded to money disputes.
G-Dash: If you read articles, like you said, one article said there was a money dispute and now [your] article says it’s not a money dispute. There’s a lot of inconsistencies and contradictions, so you never know what’s true. Mike Jones is an artist, so he’s very artistic, and has a creative way of puttin’ things together – I guess his own thoughts and ideas. I mean, he’s an artist.
AllHipHop.com: In the history of Swishahouse, was there one significant reason why you blew? Was there a catalyst as to why, last year, everybody was in the know?
G-Dash: I think it’s just been a long period of grindin’ through the years. I’m sure people had heard about us in the past. But every year, we just been takin’ up another level. I think what finally cracked everything off was the “Still Tippin’” video that we had on our The Day Hell Broke Loose 2 compilation. I think that set the tone for the visuals that exposed our whole culture – the slowed down music, the candy-paint, the cars. I think people gravitate to somethin’ that’s new. I don’t think they gravitate to somethin’ they already gettin’. I think we came with something that was new and creative to the rest of the world – I think that’s what made everything jump off.
AllHipHop.com: That’s a good point. That said, will the focus move from candy-paint and grills to new directions?
Michael “5000” Watts: You know what man, I think all artists are growin’ beyond the candy-paint, the syrup, the rims, and stuff like that. A lot of the stuff on Paul’s record, that’s not the main focus. If you hear Keke’s record, that’s not what the album’s about. Of course we gonna keep our Houston thing. But our artists are goin’ farther than just that.
AllHipHop.com: Mike Jones, Paul Wall, even Chamillionaire – these guys had very friendly images. Looking at the tough exteriors of New York and West Coast rappers, I think that had tremendous crossover appeal. I know there’s real talk on those records too, but it’s less ego at times…
G-Dash: It’s different in them streets though.
AllHipHop.com: I’m quite sure. Mike, you recently did a Chopped & Screwed version of Dem Franchise Boyz album. Will there ever come a time when we see you come to New York artists? Where’s the Mobb Deep or Papoose Chopped & Screwed?
Michael “5000” Watts: Of course, man. My door’s always open as far as expanding stuff. Recently, I did two songs for Matisyahu. On my own, personally, I do a lot of Rock and stuff too. I’m very unlimited. Like, my radio shows, I don’t just do Southern stuff. I do East, I do West. I even do two hours of R&B, Chopped & Screwed. Whenever they wanna step up to the plate on what they want to do, I’ll do it.
AllHipHop.com: The Chopped & Screwed movement, as we all know, came from DJ Screw on the Southside of Houston. Swishahouse is about the Northside. When you started doing what you’re doing, was there animosity or resistance?
Michael “5000” Watts: Yeah, when we first started doin’ it. When I started, my mix CDs represented the Northside. There was a lil’ tension. But there was a lot of tension between the North and Side [sides of Houston] goin’ on before we even got into the music thing. A street tension, that carried into the music. Of course, all that is resolved now, ‘cause we all work together.
AllHipHop.com: What resolved it?
Michael “5000” Watts: What it boils down to man, we gotta feed our families. The only way we can all be successful is if we all work together. If you go out there and bump your head a couple times, we all realize, “Man, we’ll get a lot farther working together.” If you sit up there and look at the reasons that we’re successful, a lot of the guys are workin’ together.
G-Dash: I think the [gangsters], as they got older, they got wiser. All that s**t wasn’t gettin’ them nowhere or no money. Let’s get this money.
AllHipHop.com: Lil’ Keke started with Screw. To have him riding with Swishahouse now is a big deal. What does that mean to Houston?
G-Dash: I think it’s real big. At the same time, it’s gonna help unease all that tension. He’s like the Don over there. He was with the originators. That slang. That whole style was originated by Keke and Fat Pat.
AllHipHop.com: Does the parts of the city have different sounding music today?
Michael “5000” Watts: I think, right now, we have a culture as a whole. We have a Houston sound as a whole. When it comes down to styles, it’s not about North and Side [sides], it’s between artists within themselves. There’s different Southside artists that sound different from Keke and different Northside artists that sound different from Slim Thug. Slim Thug and Chamillionaire are both Northside artists with two totally different styles. [Same with] Trae and Keke.
AllHipHop.com: Mike, there’s an artist out of Philadelphia named Mike Watts. He messes with Screw music a bit too. Have you heard any feed on this guy?
Michael “5000” Watts: I’ve never heard any of his music. I’ve heard from other sources that it sucks. It’s like, I heard of him before he popped. But the thing about it, I know his lawyer that was representin’ him, right? He told me ‘bout this guy named Mike Watts that was gonna come out, right? He was making it like it was a coincidence that we both had the same name. Okay, this guy is from Philly and all that stuff. A lot of people in Philly aren’t doing Screwed & Chopped that I know of. So him havin’ the same name is tryin’ to plagiarize off of the success that we had with “Michael Watts and the Swishahouse.” He recently dropped a single and had an uncleared verse from Paul Wall on it. I look at this as plagiarism. You’re tryin’ to capitalize off of what we’re doing. If you’re gonna go that far to get a bootleg verse from Paul and market it as a commercial release, come on man!
AllHipHop.com: The feature has been what’s kept the streets hungry for Archie Lee and other artists you’re redeveloping. In a community like Houston, do you feel that enough attention is paid to linking the new popular acts with veterans like K-Rino, Willie D, and Lil’ Troy?
Michael “5000” Watts: Of course, you gotta respect the people that opened the doors for you. If it wasn’t for people like Rap-A-Lot and K-Rino,… they were the ones who got Houston to the point where it is right now. A lot of people gotta respect that and recognize that.
AllHipHop.com: Lastly, Paul Wall is newly a proud father. What’d the label do for its artist?
G-Dash: Oh yeah, plenty. We gave him a congratulations and a cigar.
G-Dash: First of all, that’s not true. Second of all, he’s still contractually obligated to [Swishahouse]. There hasn’t been no separation, and we still have agreements in place that we’re gonna continue to enforce those agreements.
AllHipHop.com: You said, “that’s not true.” What can you tell me to affirm that to our readers and those that feel otherwise?
G-Dash: Like I said, we have contracts and agreements in place. That definitely lets you know that’s not true.
AllHipHop.com: When was the last time Mike Jones communicated with y’all?
G-Dash: It’s been probably about…how long has it been since I spoke to Mike Jones? I guess that would be the last function I seen him at. I can’t recall what function – probably about a month ago.
AllHipHop.com: He may’ve said it was The Source’s photo-shoot for “A Great Day in Houston.”
G-Dash: Okay. Yeah.
AllHipHop.com: He mentioned it being an amicable difference. In a city like Houston, a tighter knit, close-quartered Hip-Hop community, how important is it to keep peace and friendship in general?
G-Dash: A lot of times, meetings just come together for us to sit down and settle things amongst themselves, you know what I’m sayin’? [You can’t] just let it go on and on with all the b*tchin’ and stuff, which could easily end up to other things. It’s better to just sit down, ‘cause this really is a business. At the end of the day, if the business isn’t handled right, nobody’s gonna be makin’ money. If Mike Jones don’t make no record, nobody benefits from it, even him.
AllHipHop.com: With or without Mike Jones, what’s the Swishahouse movement gonna like in 2006?
G-Dash: It’s lookin’ real good. We got a new compilation, The Day Hell Broke Loose 3 comin’ out. We also got other artists, such as Archie Lee, Coota Bang, and then T. Farris – he’s launching his record label, and we’re supporting him 100% by licensing our logos to his record label brand. We’re assisting him in bringing out artists like Lil’ Keke, which I’m sure everybody’s known. He’s had a great deal of Southern success in the past.<
AllHipHop.com: Now let’s talk about some of these artists. A lot of people came to know Swishahouse through the Houston explosion last years. Others were in the know years ago. But as Paul Wall and Mike Jones blew up, why has Archie Lee sat for two years? Why’s 2006 better than 2005?
G-Dash: Well, Archie’s back in the redevelopment stages. He was with us for a time, and then there was a time when he wasn’t with us, when we was rebuildin’ with Mike Jones and them. So Archie, he came back in, and we redevelopin’ him and Coota Bang.
AllHipHop.com: Other labels have historically had that “come and go as you please” relationship with artists. Both Death Row with Kurupt and Cash Money with Juvenile come to mind. As a business, why are you both comfortable with that?
G-Dash: I think they go somewhere else to test the waters, then come to realize that they really had it better than what they thought. They see the success we’re havin’. Also, you have no complaints – you can talk to any of our artists, there’s never been no complaints over money issues or things of that nature.
AllHipHop.com: Mike Jones said money was not a factor. Other articles elsewhere alluded to money disputes.
G-Dash: If you read articles, like you said, one article said there was a money dispute and now [your] article says it’s not a money dispute. There’s a lot of inconsistencies and contradictions, so you never know what’s true. Mike Jones is an artist, so he’s very artistic, and has a creative way of puttin’ things together – I guess his own thoughts and ideas. I mean, he’s an artist.
AllHipHop.com: In the history of Swishahouse, was there one significant reason why you blew? Was there a catalyst as to why, last year, everybody was in the know?
G-Dash: I think it’s just been a long period of grindin’ through the years. I’m sure people had heard about us in the past. But every year, we just been takin’ up another level. I think what finally cracked everything off was the “Still Tippin’” video that we had on our The Day Hell Broke Loose 2 compilation. I think that set the tone for the visuals that exposed our whole culture – the slowed down music, the candy-paint, the cars. I think people gravitate to somethin’ that’s new. I don’t think they gravitate to somethin’ they already gettin’. I think we came with something that was new and creative to the rest of the world – I think that’s what made everything jump off.
AllHipHop.com: That’s a good point. That said, will the focus move from candy-paint and grills to new directions?
Michael “5000” Watts: You know what man, I think all artists are growin’ beyond the candy-paint, the syrup, the rims, and stuff like that. A lot of the stuff on Paul’s record, that’s not the main focus. If you hear Keke’s record, that’s not what the album’s about. Of course we gonna keep our Houston thing. But our artists are goin’ farther than just that.
AllHipHop.com: Mike Jones, Paul Wall, even Chamillionaire – these guys had very friendly images. Looking at the tough exteriors of New York and West Coast rappers, I think that had tremendous crossover appeal. I know there’s real talk on those records too, but it’s less ego at times…
G-Dash: It’s different in them streets though.
AllHipHop.com: I’m quite sure. Mike, you recently did a Chopped & Screwed version of Dem Franchise Boyz album. Will there ever come a time when we see you come to New York artists? Where’s the Mobb Deep or Papoose Chopped & Screwed?
Michael “5000” Watts: Of course, man. My door’s always open as far as expanding stuff. Recently, I did two songs for Matisyahu. On my own, personally, I do a lot of Rock and stuff too. I’m very unlimited. Like, my radio shows, I don’t just do Southern stuff. I do East, I do West. I even do two hours of R&B, Chopped & Screwed. Whenever they wanna step up to the plate on what they want to do, I’ll do it.
AllHipHop.com: The Chopped & Screwed movement, as we all know, came from DJ Screw on the Southside of Houston. Swishahouse is about the Northside. When you started doing what you’re doing, was there animosity or resistance?
Michael “5000” Watts: Yeah, when we first started doin’ it. When I started, my mix CDs represented the Northside. There was a lil’ tension. But there was a lot of tension between the North and Side [sides of Houston] goin’ on before we even got into the music thing. A street tension, that carried into the music. Of course, all that is resolved now, ‘cause we all work together.
AllHipHop.com: What resolved it?
Michael “5000” Watts: What it boils down to man, we gotta feed our families. The only way we can all be successful is if we all work together. If you go out there and bump your head a couple times, we all realize, “Man, we’ll get a lot farther working together.” If you sit up there and look at the reasons that we’re successful, a lot of the guys are workin’ together.
G-Dash: I think the [gangsters], as they got older, they got wiser. All that s**t wasn’t gettin’ them nowhere or no money. Let’s get this money.
AllHipHop.com: Lil’ Keke started with Screw. To have him riding with Swishahouse now is a big deal. What does that mean to Houston?
G-Dash: I think it’s real big. At the same time, it’s gonna help unease all that tension. He’s like the Don over there. He was with the originators. That slang. That whole style was originated by Keke and Fat Pat.
AllHipHop.com: Does the parts of the city have different sounding music today?
Michael “5000” Watts: I think, right now, we have a culture as a whole. We have a Houston sound as a whole. When it comes down to styles, it’s not about North and Side [sides], it’s between artists within themselves. There’s different Southside artists that sound different from Keke and different Northside artists that sound different from Slim Thug. Slim Thug and Chamillionaire are both Northside artists with two totally different styles. [Same with] Trae and Keke.
AllHipHop.com: Mike, there’s an artist out of Philadelphia named Mike Watts. He messes with Screw music a bit too. Have you heard any feed on this guy?
Michael “5000” Watts: I’ve never heard any of his music. I’ve heard from other sources that it sucks. It’s like, I heard of him before he popped. But the thing about it, I know his lawyer that was representin’ him, right? He told me ‘bout this guy named Mike Watts that was gonna come out, right? He was making it like it was a coincidence that we both had the same name. Okay, this guy is from Philly and all that stuff. A lot of people in Philly aren’t doing Screwed & Chopped that I know of. So him havin’ the same name is tryin’ to plagiarize off of the success that we had with “Michael Watts and the Swishahouse.” He recently dropped a single and had an uncleared verse from Paul Wall on it. I look at this as plagiarism. You’re tryin’ to capitalize off of what we’re doing. If you’re gonna go that far to get a bootleg verse from Paul and market it as a commercial release, come on man!
AllHipHop.com: The feature has been what’s kept the streets hungry for Archie Lee and other artists you’re redeveloping. In a community like Houston, do you feel that enough attention is paid to linking the new popular acts with veterans like K-Rino, Willie D, and Lil’ Troy?
Michael “5000” Watts: Of course, you gotta respect the people that opened the doors for you. If it wasn’t for people like Rap-A-Lot and K-Rino,… they were the ones who got Houston to the point where it is right now. A lot of people gotta respect that and recognize that.
AllHipHop.com: Lastly, Paul Wall is newly a proud father. What’d the label do for its artist?
G-Dash: Oh yeah, plenty. We gave him a congratulations and a cigar.