I can’t really go into details about it, because the situation is real delicate. All people need to know is that Suge didn’t have anything to do with it…
Believe me, if I said a muthaFawkas name, everyone would be locked up and you would see my name on court papers and also on the stand. – Yukmouth
Bay Area emcee and Luniz member Yukmouth has been no stranger to beef. From his 1995 rift with Master P to his verbal exchange with fellow west coast MC The Game, Yukmouth has established himself as one MC that doesn’t take verbal shots lightly.
But lately, Yukmouth is on a new level. No longer being a “hardhead,” Yuk has learned to pay homage to the vets and also that the best thing to do for a newcomer in the game is to teach them how to be a CEO.
Yukmouth sat down in an exclusive interview with Hip-Hop Wired to discuss his new album, new films, dispel rumors about the so-called “beefs” he has in the industry and being locked up with O.J. Simpson and The Game.
Check The Video & Interview After The Break!!! [Continue]
Hip-Hop Wired: First things first, what can fans expect when they cop the album Free at Last?
Yukmouth: Fans can expect that unity. I got features from Midwest artists, down south, the east and the best in the west. I made sure to put a little bit of everything to show that we all one in the game. I really think that is what the game is missing, plus you got me on the album spazzing the Fawk out lyrically, so it’s a banger trust me.
Hip-Hop Wired: Free at Last holsters a lot of features, including Curren$y, Gudda Gudda and Mistah FAB, how did you select who you want to work with for the album?
Yukmouth: Honestly, I reached out to a lot of the artists on Twitter. Twitter was real instrumental in all of it because artists were hitting me up when they found out I was dropping an album and I was reaching out to people through relationships, so that is how it all came about. Curren$y, 211 and Chopper City all hit me up and was down for the collabo so it was on from there.
Hip-Hop Wired: Let’s touch on some of the drama that has surrounded you for a while, first off what happened between you and Suge Knight with the chain snatching situation?
Yukmouth: I can’t really go into details about it, because the situation is real delicate. All people need to know is that Suge didn’t have anything to do with it and that is really all I am going to say on it because street Shyte stays in the street and wax stays on wax.
Hip-Hop Wired: I read that initially that was your response, but later a report surfaced that you named Suge as one of the assailants in the robbery…
Yukmouth: Man, that was some bullShyte that the police let out because I wasn’t cooperating with them. The thing is, I never said that Suge did it. After the stuff happened I told them that the dudes ran up on me while I was talking to Suge. The cops have it out for Suge, so they wanted me to say he had something to do with it, but I kept telling them no. They got mad, because detectives are packages. They are some crooked muthaFawkas and they released a statement to TMZ stating that I told them Suge was the one who robbed me; but I never did.
Believe me, if I said a muthaFawkas name, everyone would be locked up and you would see my name on court papers and also on the stand. I am the type of n*gga where if I said it, I have no problem with letting people know that is what I said. Police just put that out there to make themselves look good.
Hip-Hop Wired: Let’s go back to some throw back beef, what is the situation between you and The Game like now or was the beef squashed?
Yukmouth: Oh yeah, we been squashed that before the Beef 3 DVD came out. Shout out to my homie Eastwood, who was an artist at Black Wallstreet at the time. He helped squash the beef, so we cool.
Hip-Hop Wired: Does that mean a possible collaboration for you and The Game in the future?
Yukmouth: I don’t think so, I mean The Game is doing his thing and I am doing mine and that’s all it is. There’s no beef, but that doesn’t mean we need to work together.
Hip-Hop Wired: Back in the day, there was a reported beef between you and Master P because The Luniz felt that he lifted the “Ice Cream Man” concept from you guys. Where does that stand now?
Yukmouth: That beef has been squashed. The crazy thing is that [Master] P handled it like a real man. We squashed that beef and talked about it face to face and he told me that he did it paying homage to the Bay. It wasn’t on no fighting Shyte, he was a man about it. Us being young, we were ready to go at anybody, so we were on some “they stole our stuff, but he was cool.
He explained that the way we were acting is like him being mad at anyone who used “‘Bout it ‘Bout It” [Which he stole too]. He said when people use what he has done he just looks at it like they are paying homage and through his explanation he helped me see things totally different. Shout out to Master P for being on some grown man Shyte. The funny thing is that this is an old beef, but it was just squashed like 2 years ago. It was good because we were able to clear the air.
Yukmouth New Video “211” feat. L.E.P./Bogus Boys
Hip-Hop Wired: Ok let’s get back on the musical side of things; what is the deal with Numskull, is he still locked up?
Yukmouth: He’s locked up. [Laughs] I mean it’s out there what he’s locked up for, but I’m not going to get into how much time he got and all that, but it’s all love with us. I have no problem with Num and when he gets out, we definitely going to make some things happen. We don’t have beef if that’s what you’re asking. [laughs] Your whole interview has been about beefs, can my album get a mention up in here. [laughs]
Hip-Hop Wired: You know we want to know all about the album, but we had to clear it up because people were going at you hard for a little while.
Yukmouth: Yeah, people tried to go at the kid, but ain’t sold enough albums to rub two dimes together. All the haters that kept shooting for me made me stronger in the end, because I am still me and I ain’t going nowhere. This is Yay all day baby.
Hip-Hop Wired: Touching back on the jail topic, there was a rumor that you were in jail…
Yukmouth: Yeah, I did a little stint in the county back in the day on celebrity row but it wasn’t nothing.
Hip-Hop Wired: Celebrity row, are you serious?
Yukmouth: For real, there is a spot in the LA County jail that is called “Celebrity Row”, where they put all of the celebrities. I was in there with OJ Simpson and The Game. People think The Game was in gen[eral] pop[ulation], but he was on celebrity row with the rest of us.
Hip-Hop Wired: So is “celebrity row” different than general population?
Yukmouth: No, it just keeps the celebrities separate because if a celeb gets into a fight and gets messed up, they can [file a lawsuit], so to prevent that they put you on “celebrity row”. The only n*gga I know that was living large on celebrity row was OJ Simpson. That n*gga had a dial up phone in his cell, not the collect call phone, so he was on VIP status on Celebrity Row. He got to make calls whenever he wanted, it wasn’t no waiting to go to the shower for his a**, so he was loving it.
Hip-Hop Wired: Let’s touch on the Rap-A-Lot situation, is everything cool over there and how is it on your new label?
Yukmouth: Everything is cool with me and J Prince. He is one of the realest cats I know. He taught me how to be more than an artist, like on some run your own business type Shyte. So I definitely don’t have a problem with him. He was instrumental in helping me get the deal that I have, because he let me out of my contract. The deal I have now is better because I am more of a CEO than an artists because I was always on an independent type of deal, but now I really am independent. The deal I have now is more of a joint venture with RBC/E1, so I am getting more money than I was before.
Hip-Hop Wired: Besides the new album, what else can fans look for from Yukmouth?
Yukmouth: Right now I have the Free At Last album that is getting ready to drop, also I have a movie called Five K One that is right now. I am playing a hitman in the movie, so be sure to check that out. I also got the album Thug’n and Mob’n with DJ Fresh and Thug Lords’ Thug Money album with C-Bo dropping in September.
I am also a part of a group called The Regime, which is me and Tech N9ne and the whole west and we’re dropping an album called Dragon Game. Also fans need to be on the lookout for my DVD series and CD collection dropping this winter called The United Ghettos of America, it will feature a DVD called the “Passport, Vol. 3” and the “Eye Candy” edition, so it will be a hot summer, fall and winter for the fans, ya dig.
Five K One Tralier
Luniz – “Got 5 On It”
The Luniz feat. Shock G, Spice 1, Richie Rich, Dru Down & E-40 – “5 On It (Remix)”
