Archive for June, 2009
Shawty Lo feat. Ludacris - "Atlanta, GA"
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009WIRED MIXTAPE: 6/29 to 7/3, 2009
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009Snoop Dogg - "Fear & Respect"
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009Grafh feat. Cassidy- "It's So Easy"
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009DJ CHUCK T
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
Origin: The Carolinas: Representing North & South
Top 10 Playlist
1. "The Underdawg" - Young Jeezy
2. "Grind Flu" - Yung Joc
3. "5 Star" - Yo Gotti
4. "Do You Mind" - Lil' Brod (Columbia, SC)
5. "Dam*it I'm Fly" - Bettie Grind (Charlotte, NC)
6. "Sex, Drugs, Money and Murder" - Trae Tha Truth Ft. Maino
7. "Live My Life Alone" - T.I.
8. "Get Loose" - Young Daze (Greenville, SC) Ft. V.I.C.
9. "Certified Girl" - Marly Mar Ft. Marcus Allen (Charleston, SC)
10. "24-23 (Kobe/Lebron)" - Young Jeezy (Dissin' Gucci Mane)
HipHopWired: How did you first get into the game?
DJ CHUCK T: I broke into the game about 1999 when I first started rapping. It was so hard to get the right amount of support from the DJs so eventually I started looking into what it took to become a DJ and did some background on the actual culture. From there, I started to host parties, I started interning at the radio stations and then started to do production and that naturally progressed. After that I started mixing and scratching, learning how to work the boards and then I started to do mixtapes.
HipHopWired: As far as building your brand over the last few years, of course in the 90s you had the DJ Clue's and everything, how hard was it and what was that grind like where your name now is popular like theirs was especially with you coming from a smaller market like North Carolina?
DJ CHUCK T: Man, to be honest with you, I just took advantage of every opportunity that was put in front of me. I made a lot of mistakes, but everything was a learning experience. As far as my brand is concerned, the name of my premier mixtape series is called Down South Slangin' and that was the hook off of a Master P record featuring UGK that went, “Down south slangin, rollin with these hustlers/Trying to get rid of all you haters and you bustas.”
It was actually one of my favorite songs so I adapted the name from that song. From there, I just made sure that I had my logo straight and, with everything that I did, I just made sure to attach that name and logo to it. Eventually, it started to work and I started to build a brand and people started to look for it. I had to do a lot of traveling because I am from a smaller market so I had to get my hands on a lot of exclusives. Doing a lot of networking and politicking with artists just wasn't possible because we didn't have a lot coming through at that time. I did a lot of traveling, gave away a lot of free CDs, I did a lot of cross promotion with magazines that were on the come up at the time like O-Zone Magazine and I really worked hard. I spent a lot of money in the first three and a half years of my career going to music conferences, DJ retreats and I was just making sure I was everywhere that I needed to be. I worked two jobs to front my mixtape career and I got to the point where my mixtape career paid off enough to where I could quit my job. I had three different mixtapes and I had a very supportive family who helped me in the beginning so that I could concentrate on doing mixtapes.
HipHopWired: How did you feel when Lil Wayne said fu*k DJs? Overall what is your perspective on how this generation of DJs is being perceived by the masses that feel as though they aren't really doing it for the art and are only after the money?
DJ CHUCK T: You have to understand that's one of the main reasons that I got into DJ'ing and studying the art form because of the DJ's that were A) In it for the payola, B) not trying to break records or C) out in it for themselves and weren't in it for the good of the actual culture. They wouldn't learn how to mix, wouldn't learn how to break records, wouldn't learn how to scratch and were just in it for straight cash. It's a shame, but that's the majority of the DJs that are out here, so my goal was to look out for the independents and the people who were from a smaller area like me and were talented but just couldn't get the right look because their money wasn't extra long or they weren't running behind these DJs and making them think that they were bigger than they actually were. My main goal was to break records and a lot of people's goals in this mixtape game, or more of the DJ game, wasn't to break records.
My issue with Wayne came from the fact that he never had a problem getting records broken and never had a problem getting the support from DJs. When he was doing all of his mixtape music and he was freestyling over every last single record that came out, it made it on every mixtape. When he wasn't the hottest rapper out, he was able to get support. To me, it was more or less a slap in the face. There are a lot of artists who can generally say fu*k DJs and really mean it from their experiences and can back it up from their experiences. Wayne wasn't one of those people who could have said that and really gotten away with it because his whole career has been supported through DJs and he has always gave the support that other artists couldn't give.
HipHopWired: Having DJ Drama dealing with the situation with the RIAA about two years ago, how has that made you back off as far as releasing material? How do you feel about the record labels as they were quiet about it, but have clearly used you as a promotional tool in the past?
DJ CHUCK T: Well you have to remember that three years before Drama got hit, I got hit. That was in O-Zone Magazine, it was in The Source, but I wasn't as big as Drama so it didn't get a lot of the publicity and press that it should have. I was very aware of the consequences of putting out mixtapes well before I got hit and Drama got hit. We all know that the labels use us and that mixtapes are illegal, even though they shouldn't be. Those are just the consequences that come with it. We help the game; we break the new artists, we get the flood of artists going and we break the new music. We are basically free promotion for the label. I think that the labels just use….whenever the real DJs start teaching the younger generation how to do mixtapes and the purpose of a real mixtape. They are starting up the younger generation that is coming up here making bootlegs instead of mixtapes. The younger generation of DJs thinks that they can be a bootlegger, but will put a mixtape cover on it and call it a mixtape.
After a while, the game itself started to hurt. When you have albums leaking out, two or three weeks early, the DJ will take about 90% of the album and mix it into freestyles and call it a mixtape. It's not a real mixtape. The label started getting mad because it was like DJs were bootlegging their album and trying to call it a mixtape and get away with it. I think that pissed them off. When they started losing money, they started looking at people to point the finger at and they started to point at the mixtape DJs because we were out in the open. There are so many factors to why music is not selling the way that it was selling, but people prefer to go after what's right in front of them instead of finding the root of the problem. I do feel like we are to blame for that and that's why I work with a DJ academy here in Charlotte, NC because my main goal is to teach the younger generation what the real essence of DJ'ing is and putting out mixtapes. We start working together with the artists and then get back and work together with these labels rather than us being at odds with one another.
HipHopWired: I like your disclaimer on your site and how you sell the jewel case with the artwork. How did you come up with that marketing concept and why did you have to?
DJ CHUCK T: Man, I basically came up with it after my first run in with the RIAA. It was something that I think could have been easily fixed. They didn't really want me too bad, but they were actually just ticked off about someone saying that it was me. When they actually saw what I had, they were mixtapes. Basically I was told to stay underneath the radar and make sure that I kept my name cool and do what was necessary because it was obvious to them and me that I had obviously pissed somebody off. They weren't really too pressed about arresting me and taking me to jail. I had to pay a little fine, but the fine was because I didn't have copyright information or a parental advisory sticker on my CD. That's when I started to put the advisory sticker on my CD and I made sure that whatever disclaimer I could up with to keep them off my back, I would do. Saying for promotional use only doesn't seem to work anymore. I actually saw a disclaimer on another website so I just jacked it off of there and it has worked ever since. I'm pretty sure that they monitor my activities seeing as that I'm a whole lot bigger than I was when I first got hit by the RIAA so I'm sure that my name has come across their desk and that they are very familiar with who I am, but I'm not going to make it easy for them to use me as a scapegoat like they did Drama.
HipHopWired: I know that you initially came from radio. Are you still in North Carolina or on the radio at all?
DJ CHUCK T: I really have no desire to do commercial radio right now. I just pray that the name that I created was by being able to break records. That's why I'm so valuable to the mixtape game, as well as the music industry, because I am able to break records. I feel like the minute that I get on commercial radio, a lot of my power will be taken away from me and I feel like that would actually water me down. If I can get on a station that will let me have creative control over my show I would hop at the chance to do it, even if it was satellite radio. With satellite radio, it started to get to a format. At one point, satellite radio was something that you could just get on and do what you wanted, but now it is starting to get watered down too like commercial radio because the more money that is involved, the more things start to sort of get corrupted. If commercial or satellite radio came at me with creative control over my own show, I would be more than happy.
HipHopWired: Let's talk about the North Caroline market. What's some of the hot stuff that people should be aware of that's not on the radar yet?
DJ CHUCK T: The Carolina's are a hot zone for talent. A lot of people and a lot of labels just don't know how to market us because we are so different and in an area where the East Coast meets the South. You can be in one city, and everybody is southern and then be in another city and everyone sounds like they are East Coast influenced. The Carolinas and Virginia are very similar in that sense. The labels will come and sign artists, as we have a lot of artists who have been signed and are getting signed, but the labels drop the ball because they don't know what to do. They will take an artist and immediately move them to Atlanta or take an artist up towards New York thinking that will work, but it's not because you can't market a South Carolina artist in Atlanta or a North Carolina artist like he's from New York. They have to market us like who we are. We are also an area where reality means a lot, representing where you're from means a lot and staying true to yourself means a lot to us so as soon the minute we see these artists mixing and mingling with these people that aren't their own, we automatically don't support. Once we stop supporting, if you don't have your own cats, then you really don't have anybody.
So, a lot of labels have dropped the ball with Carolina artists and I feel like some of the most talented in the nation are here. We're also the biggest urban radio station market in the United States so it's like the talent and exposure is here, but I just don't think that the labels know what to do with artists that are from here. What they need to do is get someone that is from here to market these artists versus getting the people from Atlanta and New York to do it for us because they are going to drop the ball as well. We are a very unique market and some of the artists that are making noise; like Shelly B from North Carolina, Rain, who is making a lot of noise from North Carolina. The list goes on and on. There are artists everywhere throughout the Carolinas, but at this point, we are very guarded about what we do on the industry level because so many artists have been signed and flopped or they haven't been given creative control and they tried to make us out to be something that we are not. A lot of the artists out here have been turning down deals because they already sit here and make $150,000 a year off of shows so what's the point in signing to a label?
HipHopWired: With your Publicity Stunt Company, would that be a role that you would take on?
DJ CHUCK T: Through my record company, Port City Productions, I have publicity and access to the North Carolina record pool and all three companies are designed to take music from the Carolinas and present it to the world properly. We want to make sure that these artist's careers are handled properly and not have to worry about going to somebody that doesn't know what they are doing and can't handle the project. Publicity Stunt Marketing is payment for that united Carolina record pool. A lot of people can sit back and analyze the problem, but I'm one of the few people that analyze and actually act on it.
HipHopWired: What clubs do you spin at in North Carolina?
DJ CHUCK T: I just really started getting back into the club scene because the mixtape scene is very fast and competitive. You can actually catch me in North Carolina at Club Ice on Sundays. Basically, any other club that books me or anywhere throughout the Carolinas is where I am going to be so I want to make sure that I don't shout anybody out because I want to keep my schedule open.
MIXTAPES:
WIRED MIXTAPE: 6/22 to 6/26, 2009
Monday, June 22nd, 2009no sirrr
Soulja Boy: Bastard Of The Party
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
The Bloods and the Crips were left without guidance after the Black Panther Party and the Civil Rights Movement were destroyed. And just like those kids without guidance, Soulja Boy is the result of Hip-Hop elders abandoning the movement long before he came and wrongfully putting the blame on him for the mess they created. Despite those obstacles, Soulja Boy has been a force since he bombarded the scene two years ago and showed his fellow MCs how to really make the Internet go nuts. But with any type of success, comes haters and problems. The 18-year old MC born De Andre Way recently talked with Hip-Hop Wired about the pitfalls of success, the now infamous robbery, as well as his journey to catch Jay-Z and 50-Cent on that ladder of success. Soulja Boy also goes in on his acting aspirations and addresses a few issues with the media and fellow MCs Snoop Dogg and Ice-T.
HipHopWired: Most MC's are trying to be the hardest gangsta on the mic and over exaggerating their hood exploits. You happen to be one that actually came up hard and had to struggle. So in essence, you're actually keeping it real so why don't you choose to exploit your struggles in your music?
Soulja Boy: It's a million rappers already doing that so why should I do that. It's a million rappers trying to get out of the hood from places like where I'm from which is Zone 1, Simpson Road in Atlanta and Batesville, Mississippi. It's Gangsta Disciples and Vice Lords in Batesville, Mississippi that ain't never gone get to see the things that I got to see in my life. So what's the point of me coming out here and speaking on that and glorifying that? Even though I don't speak on those t situations I've been through in my life, they actually come back to haunt me.
Even though I try to stay away from that side of my life, my house still got kicked in and they ran in and tried to get me , that's just like my past still following me. I'm out the hood, got money and being successful and I'm taking a different route but you still going to have that backlash of people who from where you from and they want what you got. But at the end of the day, I want people to see that it ain't impossible for you to be where I'm at from me doing it in another way. From me doing YouTube interviews of me over in Tokyo, Japan or me going to buy Lamborghini cash. Just coming from where I'm from and not just getting up there saying I'm moving all these bricks to buy this whip or I'm doing all that to get a house. Nah, I'm saying I'm 18 years old and a self made millionaire before I turned 17 so I'm showing them another route of how they can get money and be successful too.
HipHopWired: Critics and artists alike are always crying saying that there's not enough balance. It's too gangsta and not enough conscious raps and want to diss those making music for the clubs. But it seems they forget the essence of Hip-Hop which was initially based on rocking the party and moving the crowd so how do you feel when they knock you for doing that?
Soulja Boy: Fu*k'em man. At the end of the day I make whatever kind of music I feel like making when I go into the studio. If it comes out a dance song, it's a dance song. If it comes out a “Kiss Me Through The Phone,” then that's what it is. If it's me talking some gangsta sh*t, then that is what it is. But music is music, period. No matter what kind of music it is at the end of the day. What I do is music so if anybody knocking it or anybody don't like it, F*ck them.
HipHopWired: You're a student of the game but nobody wants to acknowledge that Hip-Hop was supposedly “messed” up before you arrived. Prior to you stepping on the scene, everybody was a hustler and making it rain and moving bricks and talking about different ways to get money. Now that you've arrived, everybody seems to want to knock you for following their footsteps like now it's a crime to make dance music and get money. Where do you think the hate comes from because normally you would hear your fellow MCs saying, “Don't knock the hustle?”
Soulja Boy: All the hate comes from success. After you see a person like me come from to nothing way over something in such a short amount of time, it's going to generate a lot of interest to my situation. But I'm ok with that as long as I'm doing good, my peoples around me are doing good and I know that I still got fans around me that support me and like my music, then it's a done deal. But once I got everybody saying we don't like Soulja Boy's music and we don't want to hear it and I'm not selling nothing and nobody's showing up to the concert, that's when we have a problem.
HipHopWired: How did you feel about the media purposely misconstruing your words and running with a wrong statements to make headlines? For instance, when you said that Nas killed Hip-Hop by putting it out there. Any person with common sense knows you didn't say Nas killed Hip-Hop but you were basically saying if you put something out there and keep screaming it then that's where people's attentions are going to focus to.
Soulja Boy: At the end of the day they take my words out of context so they can get hits for their sites and to create stories. It's all good because they sensationalizing my comments to generate traffic and to get money so I know how the game goes so I don't trip off it actually. I was never dissing Nas and at the end of the day I'm going to say what's on my mind. They can take it and put it out there however they want to take it but if it gets to the point where it's too bad, I'll handle it myself. Even if I got to make a YouTube video and clarify what I meant or what I said, I'll do that. If I got to call every radio station in the United States to clarify what I meant then I'll do that to so ant the end of the day what I really said will come to light. And people will realize what I stand for.
HipHopWired: I think it's a fair assessment to call you a leader in this new generation of Hip-Hop. With the way that record sales are down now across the board, what are the new ways for artist to generate income now outside of album sales and touring?
Soulja Boy: Me personally, I have a lot of different ways that I make money. When you talking about Soulja Boy and you speaking on revenue as far as my profits and how I make money on a daily, monthly and yearly basis, album sales is my last source of income. Even though my first album went platinum and my second album is like at 200-thousand copies, it's still last. As far as being an artist in this day and age, it's a lot of different revenue options they should know about. My first source of income comes from live shows and performances. When people book me for appearances, that's money that's forever going to be there especially with a song like “Crank That.” They'll probably want to book me ten years from now to come and do that dance.
But outside of doing shows, there's a lot people need to be hip to. I got my own label Stacks On Deck (S.O.D.) Entertainment. I got my artist Arab and Jabori. Like with my phone number, “The Say Now” number, the YouTube views, my clothing line Yums and shoes that's in stores right now. I make money off my website, Souljaboytellem.com. Tellem.tv. There's a lot of different fields you explore while you're in your position. You have to strike while the fire is hot as far as the movies, television shows, iPhone applications, the ringtones. The list goes on but it's just how far are you willing to go to keep your status and your name relevant. Not only in the music but just the entertainment industry as a whole.
HipHopWired: You seem to be utilizing Master P's blueprint of capitalizing off everything while that #1 spot window is open for you. Have you ever had a conversation with P as far as what he did when he was in your position?
Soulja Boy: Yeah I am capitalizing off of everything but no, I've never had a conversation with Master P. I have had conversations with his son Romeo and we've met and kicked it a few times. Romeo is a homeboy of mine and we real cool. But nah, I haven't had that conversation with Master P yet but I am looking forward to meeting him. I have had several conversations with Romeo though and he's real cool people. He's sheded some light onto my situation and has given me some advice about the Hip-Hop game and the entertainment industry period so it is what it is. Shout out to Romeo and Master P.
HipHopWired: When you create your songs, do you think about the concept first and how it can generate you more income?
Soulja Boy: It's different situations for every song that I make. When I did “Kiss Me Thru The Phone,” it was not just about making that song. It was about incorporating my phone number into it. 678-999-8212 and right now I'm averaging 1.5 million people that's calling that phone number that's generating me at least six figures a year. So that's where my mind frame was at when I was writing that particular song, it was to promote my phone number so people could call it and I could make money from it. Then after all that, I ended up doing a deal with Cricket Wireless and that wasn't planned.
As far as “Crank That,” I wanted to make a song that would make everybody dance in the club and when it comes on everybody will get up and do this dance. So different things that I see make me create the music I make so it's (not all from a promotional aspect.)
HipHopWired: You close out your album with “I Pray” which I feel lets people in on who DeAndre Way really is. It pretty much details your life struggle growing up and the problems that also come along with success and shows people that you could take it there if you want but you choose to keep the party rocking.
Soulja Boy: It was just to get a lot of stuff off my chest and to show people that I'm an average human just like everybody else. I went through the same situations that people are going through right now. I'm not going through them anymore but I have went through them and still have family that's still going through it. At the end of the day, “I Pray” shows the reality of Soulja Boy and who I really am and to bring my fans in and give them a closer look at my life period.
HipHopWired: On the track, you also speak on groupies trying to railroad you with schemes of having your child so what's the after math of all those claims.
Soulja Boy: Yeah when I first came out with “Crank That,” they were blowing me up real had saying I had this girl pregnant or whatever. They actually had a couple of girls on there so I was just speaking about that and when you get into certain situations, everybody wants something from you so that's' basically all I was saying. If they know you, they want something from you but won't nothing to it though.
HipHopWired: You also did several tracks with Gucci Mane and one with Yo Gotti which shows that you get respect from the streets. How did your collaboration with Yo Gotti come about?
Soulja Boy: With me staying down in Batesville, Mississippi, That's like 50- minutes from Memphis, Tennessee so down in my hood we don't have no radio stations. So all we did was listen to Memphis which was K97 and they played Yo Gotti, all the old 3-6 Mafia, Lil Whyte and Frazier Boy. And Yo Gotti is the king down there and everybody listen to him so when I was staying down there, that's what everybody was checking for. Then I met Yo Gotti when I was on the verge of rising up before I got signed and I gave him my mixtape and we eventually hooked up because him and my manger knew each other. He was the king of where I was staying at so once I blew all the way up and I got into the situation that I'm into now, I thought back to my roots and where I was really from. I was like man I got to put Yo Gotti and Gucci on my album. I don't do songs with people just to be like oh that's going to be big and sell. I did a song with them because I fu*ks with them. They are people that I'm a fan of and people that I listened to when I was in the hood that kept me going to grind and to get to where I'm at now. So I just went back and got them and we hooked it up.
HipHopWired: What's the relationship like with your mentor Mr. ColliPark? He seems to let you do you and you don't have to compete with him as say Bow Wow is forced to compete with Jermaine Dupri. He lets the artist be the artist.
Soulja Boy: Basically ColliPark is just the person who put me on. He's the person who put me in the situation for me to get the money and that was it. He came down to Mississippi, then he flew me to L.A. and sat down and had a talk with me and he said, “Man, if this is what you want, then this is what I'm gone give to you.” He signed me up and I took the game from there and I just went and did my own thing with it. So ColliPark is the person who put me on so it's not like a J.D. or Bow Wow situation where we're around each other all the time. I may see ColliPark once every month or every other month. He just really gave me the game and a chance and I took it and ran with it.
HipHopWired: What's next for your label Stacks On Deck?
Soulja Boy: Right now I'm in the studio working on Arab's debut album. He got that “Pass It To Arab” DVD that's coming real soon. I got Jabar, he's dropping his album this year and his single is on iTunes right now and he sold 10,000 in two days. The single is called “Hey, What's Up” so ya'll go cop that from my homeboy Jabar and hopefully we drop the group album, S.O.D. Money Gang this year. My third solo album is dropping so that's what we got popping off this year under S.O.D. Entertainment.
HipHopWired: What's up with Sammie? He's really doing his thing on the “Kiss Me Thru The Phone” hook.
Soulja Boy: I'm in the works of actually trying to put his R&B album out. I'm trying to get him over here on my label S.O.D. Ent. So we working that out right now so ya'll might, I'm not going to conform it, but ya'll might see a Sammie album and solo single coming this year as well.
HipHopWired: You have been spending a lot of time out in L.A. so what's popping with you on the acting tip?
Soulja Boy: I'm was on the TV show “The Game” and my character was called Ray-Ray and The Game is on the CW Network and BET so ya'll be on the lookout for that. I'm going to be on the big screen this year as far as movies and T.V. shows go but “The Game” is the only thing I can spill right now. I also performed on Snoop Dogg's TV Show, “Dogg After Dark.” I performed my new single “Turn My Swag On” and did an interview with Snoop.
HipHopWired: What was the conversation like with Snoop after he initially dissed you some time back on Jamie Foxx's radio show and called “Crank That” some bullsh*t?
Soulja Boy: I didn't think he was dissing me but it was more so the song and he didn't get it at first. But after a while he saw I was about my business so I didn't even bring that up. He's an O.G. and he gave me a lot of advice about the industry once we met. He was also like we need to get in the studio and make a song together. I fu*ks with you real hard, you a real artist out here getting money and you got it on lock like that so I wouldn't even bring that type of situation up after him showing me that much love and bringing me on his T.V. show and showing me in a positive light. Because usually, people try to show me in a negative light so for him to show me that much love, I never even brought the situation up or gave any more thought about it so it is what it is.
HipHopWired: Have you and Ice-T ever spoken since your Internet sparring, not necessarily on a beef tip but just on him giving some advice on the game and acting and having longevity?
Soulja Boy: Nah I've never spoke to Ice-T ever in my life. But I would, we could sit down and have a conversation. If he wanted to have a conversation and shed some light on my situation or give me some advice on the game, that definitely can happen.
HipHopWired: Where does the calm demeanor come from regarding how you deal with these media tactics as well as the negative comments from some of your fellow MCs?
Soulja Boy: Because it is what it is and at the end of the day everybody in the world ain't going to like you or your music and want to see you succeed. In this day and time, people are all about theirselves and we got enough problems going on in our lives to stop and worry about the next man. I got to feed my family, you got to feed yours. I got to make my money and you have to make yours. But at the end of the day, it's what it is…Life. You can't cry about it and dwell on it so I just got to do me and keep being successful and move on. Only so much can happen through words so it is what it is?
HipHopWired: Daddy Mack from Kriss Kross recently spoke about Jermaine Dupri taking them through the cleaners and that he spoke to your people about making sure you didn't fall into the same traps since you came into the game young as well. Did ya'll speak personally yet?
Soulja Boy: Nah I didn't see that and I didn't speak to him either. But at the end of the day, I may be just 18 but I'm a young boss. I got lawyers on deck and I make sure I'm getting all my paper. Because at the end of the day, if you try to get over on me, you're going to get fired. I make sure all my money is handled properly and I'm getting what I'm supposed to get. With me having that mentality, I know 10 years from now I'm still going to be a millionaire. But that's how it is though; you have to be all about your business. Me being famous and being “Mr. Crank That” and “Superman” is all well and good but at the end of the day if I'm not getting all the profits and what I'm supposed to be getting then we got a serious problem. I don't care who you are.
HipHopWired: So with you being your own boss, what type of effect has President Obama being elected had on you as far as being a progressive Black businessman and were you at the inauguration?
Soulja Boy: Actually on the day of the inauguration I was in Cali because I was doing the Jimmy Kimmel show that night so I wasn't able to be in D.C. in person. Barack being elected was history and Black history at that and it's a day in time where anything is possible. But to me, anything is possible has always been the way I looked at life even since I was little. So once we got a Black president, it basically confirmed that my thoughts on life are true. I think anything is possible so for me to be in the hood broke with $0 dollars and for me to think I can become a millionaire or billionaire like 50 Cent or Bill Gates, I had to have a big imagination now look at me know. Everything I dreamed about came true so for us to have a Black President, that's just adds on to how I'm thinking about life, anything is possible. It may sound corny and cliché but if you put your head to it, you can do it and that's real talk.
Jadakiss Delivers The Last Kiss And Restores NY's Hip-Hop Buildings
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
J to da “Mwah” is back in the building proving that New York lyricism still pumps throughout the veins of the streets. Moving over an impressive 150,000 copies last month during the initial release week of his third solo release The Last Kiss, the Yonkers, NY vet born Jason Phillips followed his own advice as his latest single “Grind Hard” with Mary J. Blige proclaims. As his Def Jam Records debut steadily approaches gold status, the revered spitter and 1/3 of The LOX talked exclusively with HipHopWired about his latest release The Last Kiss, the state of the industry, and the return of the Ruff Ryders. With the film Notorious finally making its way to DVD after a successful run at the box office, Jada also speaks fondly of his late mentor, “The Great Frank White” and why the game will always love Big Poppa.
HipHopWired: Congratulations on the success of your latest project Jada. Was there a lot of pressure to switch the album title from Kiss My A*s to The Last Kiss?
Jadakiss: Nah, nah. It wasn't a lot of pressure. It was just actually a good business move being that all the retail stores are closing… Virgin Megastores, Coconuts, Best Buys, they closing. So if Wal-Mart and K-Mart wasn't going to put it in there, that would have been a bad business move for me.
HipHopWired: That's real talk. But with all of these record stores closing, as an artist, does it scare you that the landscape for how you make your money is changing?
Jadakiss: Nah man, it doesn't scare me because there's always a loop hole. Once they let you in the door, you should be able to create some revenue. It's just about how you go about doing it. Now everything has switched to digital. You have to get your websites up and be aware of the blogs and all the other sites and pay attention to what's going on on the Internet and that's how you get yourself out there as well as going and touching people and doing the hand-to-hand thing. You got to keep up with the Jones' whatever it may be and that's what it is with me. It's a little bit more difficult but that just means that you gotta work a little harder.
HipHopWired: When you originally signed with Def Jam you were also signed to Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella imprint. But since Jay left Def Jam, are you still signed with Roc-A-Fella and what's Jay-Z's involvement or is your deal strictly Def Jam now?
Jadakiss: Yeah Jay's still involved. It's just like having Jay-Z on one end and L.A. Reid on the other along with my whole D-Block family and the Ruff Ryders staff too. It's just more upper cuts we're throwing.
HipHopWired: We haven't heard you or The LOX mention Ruff Ryders in a while. They've been quite for a minute, what's up with Dee and Wah and the whole Double R?
Jadakiss: They was down for a minute but they definitely back. They ain't in the building but they got it surrounded. We family for life, nah mean.
HipHopWired: What was the process like working with Puffy again from a business perspective after you recorded “Letter To Big” for the Notorious Soundtrack?
Jadakiss: I just let my peoples talk to his peoples. I mean Puff respects me and he respects us (The LOX) as businessmen know because he knows we understand it a little bit more. So it wasn't like me thinking anything funny was going to happen. It was just a matter of me connecting my peoples with his peoples and making it happen. If it wasn't able to happen the correct way then it wouldn't have happened.
HipHopWired: In many people's opinion, The LOX should be way bigger of a group than they are. You've always been plagued by label hang-ups whether with Bad Boy or Interscope and now with Def Jam. When you signed, Jay-Z was in the building and then he left and then Shakir Stewart passed, so how comfortable are you now with the label?
Jadakiss: I'm still comfortable because I'm not a new artist. As long as the departments do what they do then I'm gonna do what I do and we hope for the best and take it from there. I ain't looking for nothing extra. Once I get the product to the people, I can make millions of dollars on the road regardless to whatever happens and I'm cool with that. As long as the people like the product, the money is going to come. I ain't worried about that.
HipHopWired: What's the situation with The LOX album and what label is it going to be on now?
Jadakiss: The LOX album is coming out on Interscope but it's not coming out till The Last Kiss come out and shut everything off baby. The Last Kiss is the set off.
HipHopWired: People have been waiting on Dr. Dre's next album for nearly ten years now and it now seems like a mirage. Ya'll have been screaming that The LOX album was coming for the past few years now so do you have a fear that the anticipation may slowly die as the Hip-Hop audience gets younger?
Jadakiss: Well you know the fans are finicky. They always changing and the young kids like what they like. But we got core fans so they ain't going to wait that much longer but they're there.
HipHopWired: How did you feel about The Notorious movie and what was your experience like when you first met Biggie and how did your relationship grow from that?
Jadakiss: The first time I met Big I was like, Wow! It was like I met Santa Claus. Because we used to sit around and write rhymes just to say, “How would he like these bars right here?” And then to actually become label mates with him, that made it even crazier. So we just used to be like, “Da*n.” But then we had to get it to a point where we gonna stop being in awe and start working. And once he let us know that he thought we were nice and I was nice, that just put the battery in my back even more. So that's why “The Letter” was that much important because he was like my mentor and my homie. He gave me a lot of advice about what was going to happen in the game after I got in. Mo Money, more problems pretty much. Plus that's still a weird situation with his death because when we lost him, that was actually my first time going to Cali and I still miss him. I miss him a lot and think about him a lot especially every time I go out there but I just try to move on though.
HipHopWired: As far as The Notorious movie, you mentioned that you didn't think the Pac character was believable. Why was that and do you have any comments about what actor Anthony Mackie who played Tupac said about Kim's views on the movie. Mackie stated that Lil' Kim's career was pretty much irrelevant right now and he applauded Naturi Naughton for making Kim (who he claimed was 1one-dimensional) be a 3-dimensional character who you cared and felt for.
Jadakiss: They did nice with the movie and I don't have no problem with actual actor who played Tupac. I don't even know that dude. I was just talking about the character and he just did what they told him to do in the script. If anything, I don't like what they wrote for him. I don't like how they had him. I don't got no problem with his acting, I don't even know him. I wasn't making it a personal thing. I was speaking from the outside in looking at the movie.
HipHopWired: So what makes you feel that Pac wasn't accurately portrayed in the flick?
Jadakiss: I didn't even know Pac either but for one he don't look like Pac and then he was little bit too chipper. If you listen to Pac's music and watched him on Juice and watch him on any other movie, he wasn't that happy like that. He wasn't joking… but it might have been me because I wasn't around back then so maybe that's how he used to be. It's just my personal opinion.
HipHopWired: With Biggie initially co-signing you and the era that you come from, as a fan of Hip-Hop and as a business person who's actually involved in Hip-Hop, how does it feel to watch the game go from lyrics over the past few years to where they don't matter anymore. You can be the wackest rapper in the world but have auto-tune on your song or sing and dance and now be considered hot.
Jadakiss: That's what this album represents because I came in when the era was no ringtones and the only person on the auto-tune was Roger Troutman and Zapp. You had to be able to hold your own amongst the Wu-Tang, Dre & Snoop, Biggie, Hov, Nas… you name it. I represent that and that's what I want you to get with this album. No gimmicks, just good beats, good lyrics, good songs. You can ride thru with no interludes and just bang out. And hopefully with New York, we gone feel good about being from New York and everybody CD just start dropping and we get this thing back to where it's supposed to be.
HipHopWired: With the way that the game is now, was there any contemplation from you, Styles P or Sheek Louch to dumb yourselves down?
Jadakiss: Never. Never at all. That's probably why it's taking us so long to get where we're supposed to be because we ain't gone compromise what we stand for or what we do to be successful. Because we getting money doing what we do. We're able to take care of our families, buy houses, buy cars, have a couple million in the bank and grind out like that. It gotta happen the way we want it to happen or it ain't gonna happen.
HipHopWired: With that said, have the three of ya'll ever contemplated in personal conversations what if ya'll had went the Jiggy route that Puffy had mapped out and what if it had been successful and made the millions but not staying true to yourselves.
Jadakiss: Nah we never think about that because we still made the millions. It just took us longer by doing it the way we wanted to do it. As long as you're doing whatever you want to do and you feel good about it, it gets no better than that.
HipHopWired: Let's get into the album a bit. “Cartel Gathering” is definitely a heater and brings back the late 90s essence. What was the recording session like with Raekwon and Ghostface?
Jadakiss: You know I'm from the purple tape era. So we were trying to get that back to the young kids that don't know about the purple tape. Working with Ghost and Rae is always incredible because of their slang and how they incorporate it into the rhymes. Their slang and whole style is just something different that if you ain't used to it, it's amazing to you. Even if you are used to it, it's amazing so it's always good to be around the older Gods and build with them and do songs. Just to talk with them and kick it, I speak with them on the phone on the regular.
HipHopWired: You also flipped the script on the “Smoking Gun” with Jazmine Sullivan. Many people wouldn't expect you to come from that perspective?
Jadakiss: That's just one of them joints on the album to make you say “Wow.” Da*n, I wonder why he would do this joint. But I had been talking to a few chicks over the past few months and a couple of them seemed to have some real stories inside about abuse. Whether it was a physical rape or just somebody trying to do some stuff to them and they just held it in and only told a few people with me happening to be one of them. So after hearing that, I felt like there must be a lot of ladies in the world that had stuff done to them and they holding it in and I just wanted to reach them right quick and let them know that I'm there for them. Not touchy or none of that because that's why it's called “Smoking Gun.” It means to let them know if they call me, I'll come through and handle some business for them but with a different twist to it.
Jasmine was cool to work with. I had to meet with her and her mom and speak with them about the song but they were real cool. I had a show with them somewhere in Connecticut and I hollered at them backstage and they said that she would do it and it was all love.
HipHopWired: How do you feel about everyone making their renditions of “Letter To Big” with tributes to Pun, Pac and other slain MCs?
Jadakiss: That's cool. That's motivation. Whenever a song can inspire a bunch of people to do different versions of it, it's all good. That means that that song hit home like that. That make them wish that they thought of it and that's a good thing.
HipHopWired: Switching gears for a minute, do ya'll still own those shiny suits for nostalgic purposes?
Jadakiss: We got them somewhere daddy (laughs). Our stylist who styled that tour got them somewhere in storage.
HipHopWired: Ok so as far as the music, would the LOX ever perform “If You Think I'm Jiggy” again?
Jadakiss: Yeah, why not. Actually we used to be spoofing it on tour when we did the Ruff Ryders/Cash Money tour but sometimes we used to get a mixed response. The people in some of the arenas wanted to see it but we were actually making a joke of it and they wanted us to rock that joint. So from that we knew that people still like it so it's nothing for us to perform it. You might see us perform it at the Bad Boy reunion or something (laughs).
HipHopWired: What's the chance that the fans will ever hear The Lox, Eve, Drag-On, and DMX over a Swizz Beatz track ever again?
Jadakiss: Oh man, that's nothing. It's just a matter of everybody wanting to do it. Swizz can make it happen. That could happen tomorrow it's just that everybody doing their own thing. If somebody call with a joint and say they need everybody it could be done in an hour or two. That's nothing right there. We don't have no beef. We still speak and stay in touch when we see each other but it ain't like we're enemies. We still family; it's just that we distant. You know how you don't see your cousin for a minute but it's still all love when ya'll see each other.
HipHopWired: With that said, the game's been missing hot female MCs. How come ya'll weren't in Eve's ear about giving the fans an album?
Jadakiss: Eve's been doing movies and all that. Eve's in Hollywood and all. We haven't seen her. She was gone drop her joint last year but she didn't feel it was right. That's a good artist right there with good instincts. She got her joint ready now though. I think she rapping up some movies and then she gone drop it. She got something for ya'll.
HipHopWired: Where is your fellow Yonkers native Mona Lisa and have ya'll seen her since The LOX debuted on her “Just Wanna Please U” joint?
Jadakiss: I ain't seen Mona Lisa in a while man (laughs.) (He asks his man Juice where Mona Lisa at who says she's still out in Yonkers doing her thing.) I would love to sign her and give her another shot.
HipHopWired: Ok man, before we wrap this up, I gotta ask… Where did the infamous “Unh Hugh” laugh come about and what made you start putting it in your verses?
Jadakiss: (Laughing historically) Ah man, that was just a tension breaker to clear my throat, ears and head before I get ready to lay my verses. I just did it one day and my engineer kept it and then it happened to get out there and people started liking it so I just do it all the time now before I'm about to come in.
HipHopWired: So for all those people who haven't heard The Last Kiss, what aspects do you want people to walk away with?
Jadakiss: Man I want them to walk away saying Kiss is that ni**a. New York is back and I need more of it and until I get some more of it I'm just gonna play the words off of this sh*t though. The Last Kiss is a joint you can just rock out to.
Mike Jones: The Voice of Houston Returns
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
Houston's Mike Jones has returned with a vengeance with his third major label release The Voice. Still tipping on four fours, wrapped in four vogues, Mike is now a little lighter on the scale after losing 100 pounds from his once 280-pound frame but his music stays stacked like Oprah. The Texas lyricist recently chopped it up with Hip-Hop Wired and had a few things to get off of his chest from H-Town being overlooked for its lyricists to label hassles with Asylum/Warner Bros., which prolonged his release. Mike also talks about what lead to his lifestyle change and adapting to the new music industry.
HipHopWired: Wasn't your last project The American Dream supposed to be a double album? How did you come to release it as an EP with a movie instead?
Mike Jones: Nah, it wasn't ever a double album. It was always just a movie and an album. The movie was something I put together that I wanted to give to the people to show them visually how I came from nothing to something to living the American dream. When I recorded “Cuddy Buddy” and “Next To You,” people didn't like those songs back then and didn't want to use those songs on the album. I didn't want to put an album out if it wasn't put out and marketed the way the Who Is Mike Jones? album was. So I just kept it and held on to it and it took me three or four years to finally get “Cuddy Buddy” out the right way and now “Cuddy Buddy” done took off. I lost over 100 pounds and now people are like, “Wow.” I'm like, “Back then they didn't want me, now I'm hot they all on me.” I guess it come back around for the songs too, ya know.
HipHopWired: Who made the decision back then that the songs weren't hot because normally songs get dated but fortunately yours didn't?
Mike Jones: I try to make all my songs non dated. I look at it as if when I die, I want people to still bang Mike Jones. I want people to still be able to have them songs. Like Michael Jackson, he got songs that people are going to forever jam. I just try to hold it down and do it like that but it's the big boys. When you get on a label, the big person on the label makes the decisions. Don't nothing get sprung unless they say, “Approved.” And if they personally don't like something then they can turn it into a business decision and there it is.
HipHopWired: How hard was it having to fall back since you come from an independent grind and normally put stuff out when you want?
Mike Jones: It was hurtful. I did Balling Underground and did 250,000 on my own and then to go and do Who Is Mike Jones? which went double platinum and then to not come out with another album… And to have to hear that ya'll don't have faith in the project. Nah man, I wasn't feeling that. I didn't want to put an album out. I was like since ya'll already got the movie, ya'll already got these songs. We just going to put out the EP, the album and that's what we did. I wanted to at least let the fans see a vision of me while I was going through that war. But now everything is fine and great. The album The Voice is out now. Asylum/Warner Bros. is on the team with this one. We get to pushing you know, family fights. But at the end of the day, we all smiling right now.
HipHopWired: What's the growth from Who Is Mike Jones? to The Voice?
Mike Jones: The time from '05 to '09. There's four years of growth. I'm still here to live and breathe so I got to let ya'll know what I've been through and how I'm still good. I'm just trying to give a lot of aspiring artists that's on the come up some game. They thinking that all you got to do is make hits…that's the last thing you have to do.
HipHopWired: So who did you work with on The Voice and what can the people expect to hear?
Mike Jones: On the album I got “Cuddy Buddy” with T-Pain, Lil' Wayne and Twista. Jim Jonsin made that one. I got Mannie Fresh producing “Give Me A Call” and Devin The Dude is on that one. Amadeus produced “I Know” with Trey Songz. I got Big E on the track “Swagga Right” which got over 2 million views on the Internet video. Mike Dean produced like six tracks on the album and mixed and mastered the whole thing. Most of it is me just explaining to the world where I've been because so many people have been asking. Every record I made has a reason behind it and best believe I didn't disappoint my fans.
HipHopWired: There was a time when artists seemed to stand above their fans as if they couldn't be touched or come off their pedestal. You came out giving your phone number and connecting directly with your audience. How does it feel to have been ahead of the curve as artists are pretty much following in your footsteps now with outlets like MySpace and Twitter?
Mike Jones: I thank you and everybody else that knows I was ahead of the curve because people were calling me a gimmick rapper at first. That's all you would here about me and now you got everybody giving out their phone number so I'm like, “Damn, are they gimmicks too?
HipHopWired: What's with the status of your label Ice Age and the artists you had coming out?
Mike Jones: We still moving forward but a lot of bumps came into the middle of the road but we just had to move them out the way and keep going. Now we got swag through the roof and Ice Age is on its way. Right now I had to remove a lot…the whole staff. It's just me right now but we're actually in the process of signing other artists. We just got Nae Nae. She's on the “Next To You” record so we moving forward.
HipHopWired: Every artist now a days wants to be CEO of their own label. You actually launched your own label and career so can you speak on the process and how it's not easy as it looks. It's almost like it's the cool thing to say but most artists aren't built to be CEOs?
Mike Jones: Really man, anyone can run a label. You just got to be prepared to deal with the politics. My answer to this question would have probably been different four years ago because I didn't know what I know now. I know that the reason Ice Age isn't here because it was a lot of un-loyal dudes around. I prayed that everybody would stay together forever but when stuff happens, sometimes you have to shake it and move on. The album is out and it's been over four years so I feel so good it's finally come. It's been half a decade and I'm blessed to be able to be coming out again and let the world hear The Voice. A lot of people ask me about Soundscan and stuff which is cool but I ain't tripping off that. Because at the end of the day, I know the whole world will hear The Voice in time.
HipHopWired: True indeed….So let's switch gears for a second. Despite delivering some good Hip-Hop music, the talk around you has been the enormous weight lost. Congratulations on that and how much weight did you lose and how did you do it?
Mike Jones: I lost over 100 pounds. I ate a lot of Subway and counted my calories.
HipHopWired: As far as weight lost, it takes a lot more than that though. What else did you do because losing weight is more of a mental thing than physical?
Mike Jones: It's definitely a mental thing. It's like crime. You know that you're not supposed to do crime but if you do you have to be prepared to do the time. Everybody says they want to lose weight but you have to mentally push yourself to want to lose weight. Some people wait till they have to go to jail and are forced to lose weight and work out. But if it ain't in your heart, it ain't never gone stay there. I had to put it in my heart to make me want to do it. Somebody could throw you a girl but if you don't like her with your heart, you're not gone treat her the same as a girl you really feel for. I had to really feel for what I wanted to do and I wanted to work out and lose weight. I wanted to come back and show the world that Mike Jones wasn't a 1-hit wonder. I wanted to show the world that I'm still on my road to making my goals and I ain't fumbled the ball yet. I wanted to explain to the world what happened and why it happened and why it won't happen again and that's why I called the album The Voice because you getting it straight from me.
HipHopWired: How has the weight lost affected your performance and creativity? You're making these sex symbol records now showcasing yourself in whole new light.
Mike Jones: It ain't just the performance. Anybody that looses weight is going to perform quicker but it's not me. The media blew it up about me losing all the weight. All media outlets ask me about my weight every time they see me because they can't believe I lost that much. And I tell them the truth, it's the treadmill and Subway. People say, “You're like Jarret.” But nah, I got my own thing. First I had to be mental and ain't nobody get in my mind. I had to start running and eat right and that's how I got to this point.
HipHopWired: So what are you doing to keep it off?
Mike Jones: I stay mentally running. I put exercise in my work schedule. We're here in Atlanta right now but when I get finish with the sound check, I'm going to work out.
HipHopWired: Speaking of your work schedule, from the time you recorded 1st Round Draft Picks with your former rhyme partner Magnificent, has the music business been what you expected and have you achieved what you expected?
Mike Jones: From Draft Picks, I knew where I was going to go. I've been promoting Who Is Mike Jones? since the underground days. Everybody said I was stupid. I was a gimmick for doing it but they don't see the vision. I did. So I just kept on mashing with it. I started and met some of my goals but you don't never reach your goals and then say I'm done. I initially started to get my goal rolling which was to be a successful entrepreneur. Meaning not just music… But music, clothes, businesses, films, anything. I just wanted to let people know that I would take nothing and make something from it. I came with Ballin' Underground and moved 250,000 by myself. Who is Mike Jones? did 2 million so that right there showed you I was getting started. And I had another record that was going to take me even farther in my career and would have made my portfolio look even better but a personal opinion shut down my machine. Everything I've done has been by myself. Like starting from scratch and coming to the top. Once I got to the top… I just didn't know that the powers that be decisions mattered so much that a lot of stuff got shut down. But I learned a lot now and we moving forward and that's why I call the album The Voice because I got a lot of explaining to do.
HipHopWired: UGK and Slim Thug just recently released albums as well. Now you've dropped and Paul Wall is following right behind you. Was this a frontal assault that was planned to bring H-Town back in droves?
Mike Jones: Nah, that's funny because actually it wasn't. I think really because we're all signed to similar labels, they all felt like this person about to come out so we're going to put out our artist that's in that same genre out around this time too.
HipHopWired: “Scandalous Hoes, Pt 2” is another hot track on the album where you really go in and address a serious subject despite what the title may reflect? Five years ago that would have only been a dope album cut but the video and the song has a life of its own outside if what the label is promoting because of the Internet. Speak on the effect of the Internet and video outlets not making albums anymore?
Mike Jones: It's more freedom now because all those eyes aren't just on BET or MTV anymore. It's more eyes on the Internet with sites like MySpace and YouTube. Back then if you weren't on MTV or BET or that channel, you weren't it. Now, you don't have to be signed to the label. You can go to YouTube or MySpace and hustle and get on. “Scandalous Hoes, Part 1” was on the first album and we didn't try to make it as a single. We didn't even try to make it as a single on this one. We just shot a viral and were just telling a story and put it out there and the people just took off and ran with it.
HipHopWired: Lyrically Houston has some of the best MCs in the game above and underground. When the light shined bright on H-Town a few years back, why do you think it came off so quick?
Mike Jones: You got to keep in mind that that's how the world is and people's music span is so small. You get a record that's hot, back then people held on to it. Now it's hot two months or three and they move on to the next thing. So BET and MTV and all the TV networks follow what the people follow. People's time span is very small… one month they on this movement and the next month they on to that movement. Just because the camera moves on to the next movement at the time doesn't mean that we played out. When everybody was following New York and they were wearing the Timberlands and Yankee caps, people across the country were doing it. But when the screen went to Houston and people started talking about ‘64s and purple drink, people were still wearing the Yankee caps and Timberland boots out there. So I don't get how they say we dead because they did us like they did everybody else. They just moved the camera but we never stopped doing what we do.
HipHopWired: So Mike, what's next for you?
Mike Jones: Man, I'm good. I hear the haters talking but trust me. Ya'll really just don't know, I'm good. We just shot the video for “Swagger Right.” “Cuddy Buddy” is blowing up and letting the ladies know that if you ain't treating your man right then he gone go and get him a Cuddy Buddy. “Next To You” is another hot record I got out right now that I made just for couples. Every record that I made has a reason behind it and if you like those four records, you're going to love The Voice because I got way more baby.
Click here to watch Hip Hop Wired's exclusive interview with Mike Jones.
Buju Banton Enlightens With Rasta Got Soul
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
Buju Banton returns to his roots on Rasta Got Soul, taking listeners on an illustrious musical journey that embodies the true essence of this internationally acclaimed DJ's versatility. It's a PURELY culture album, so certified dancehall fans - this one may not be for you! I'm talking Niyabinghi drums, Bobo dread chants, redemptive lyrics and then some.
Til Shiloh esque (1995) but then again not quite- Rasta Got Soul is a cleverly reworked traditional roots reggae collectable, stocked with spiritual life lessons and audaciously live music. No synthesized beats or mass-produced riddims on this joint! Sorry.
Buju's been doing some serious soul searching since the release of his ferocious, Grammy nominated banger, Too Bad (2006)- We recently caught up with the Rasta mon, let's see what's on his heart…
HipHopWired: The last time we spoke was back in 06' right before Too Bad dropped, what's been going with you since then Buju?
Buju Banton: Just working hard in the studio here in Jamaica, trying to get these singles out. Going back to Africa, Europe and all dem places deh. Nothing major been doing…
HipHopWired: With this new album, you definitely return to the foundation of reggae music…the sound, the feel, the message, why do you feel like this project is important right now?
Buju Banton: Certain music have a time when it's more relevant than others. I always try to make music that people can relate to, and I myself, living my experience, people living similar experience, and the music just speaks directly to it. People feel like dem alone but there are people out there seeing and going through similar struggles as you.
HipHopWired: Real talk… You're inarguably the Godfather of this generation of reggae artists, who was the godfather of your generation and how did they influence you musically?
Buju Banton: Shabba Ranks and Major Worries were the godfather's of my generation. You see, I Buju Banton, I don't go around and tell people these things because I think it's supposed to show and anybody who know the music should have knowledge of it. In the 90's when I came into this game I brought competition and the whole rudiments of the music with me. I made songs with love and compassion that can still be played to this day. Now the rudiments have been adapted by many of the younger folks but they don't know for what purpose because they're not implementing it into the songs the way in which they should be. The moral of the music is dropping below standards.
HipHopWired: Do you feel like you're reviving reggae music with this album?
Buju Banton: I am doing what I can for the music but I wouldn't go so far and say I was reviving reggae music…
HipHopWired: What lies in the future for Reggae?
Buju Banton: We're up musically and it's weird. It come forward full circle, 360 degrees. That is why we're laboring and we do not labor in Vain.
HipHopWired: Going into your lead single, "A Little Bit of Sorry," an upbeat ska tune with a gracious message, what inspired you to revisit this particular sound?
Buju Banton: I find myself going sometimes on both sides of the music… you have people that love my dancehall contribution and people who love my reggae music contribution. The last album Too Bad was to satisfy those who are into the more dancehall side of Buju Banton, this record is more music that my reggae loving fans would look forward to.
HipHopWired: What's the meaning behind the title, Rasta Got Soul?
Buju Banton: Well right now I & I going through a soulful time. It's an actual fight against the spiritual, not against flesh and blood, but spiritual wickedness, yes? So you hafi have a soul. You hafi have moral conviction to do what you do. And you hafi make it different from what else is happening around you and what others are doing. One of my philosophies is, if the foundation is not rooted in spirituality whatever you're doing must crumble because there is no conviction.
HipHopWired: The album's signature song "Magic City" is an ode to Jamaica, what makes Jamaica such a mystical place?
Buju Banton: Jamaica hold a spiritual realm and to me it will always be on top. The whole Island is just so magical…
HipHopWired: Do you feel like you've fulfilled your musical destiny Buju?
Buju Banton: Noooo. The destiny is yet to fulfill. I'm still on the path to fulfilling my destiny musically and otherwise.
HipHopWired: Let's talk about the derivation of "I Rise" and "Optimistic Soul…"
Buju Banton: I Rise from the concrete…Haahaa… "I Rise" talks about where Buju Banton is coming from, my journey through life. Yes. And "Optimistic Soul" deal wid me looking out into society and seeing where people heading in the hands of man. I am an optimist, hoping corrupt artistry can turn back round and people become human ting once more.
HipHopWired: So you don't feel like people are in their human state right now?
Buju Banton: So much things is happening and it's taking that away from us, slowly, surely, evidently!
HipHopWired: "Bedtime Story" featuring Wyclef, speaks about the serious impact the War in Iraq is having on children. Do you hope this ballad will transform peoples minds... ignite change?
Buju Banton: I hope so. I sincerely do hope so. Every song I do and everything I contribute to the realm of music I hope will promote some sort of change in the world. You see, “Daddy won't be coming home tonight… cuz he got gunned down in a fight…” What kind of fight was he gunned down in? That question lingers. The focal point of the song is, someone, somewhere, out there tonight won't be there singing…
Real music come fi teach us a lesson; it's the only thing that will never get stale and die! It's the only thing we will never get tired of listening to. When the music come to that point, it's not music anymore it's a hustle. Music is something you supposed to hear and every time you hear it, it sound like it was just made yesterday.
HipHopWired: Who is Buju Banton listening to today?
Buju Banton: I listen to the wind… to the waves, the birds flying high up above because these days, these things I am more interested in listening to rather than the words of man.
HipHopWired: How long do you see yourself creating music?
Buju Banton: I do not put a time on music because music knows no time. Knows no hour and in the future you feel no pain…it is invisible so it hafi infinite, just like our God, you hear it but you cannot see it. I am a servant of his and after that I am no more.
