THE SOUTHERN VOICE OF HIP HOP MUSIC

LIL JON
WANTS HIS MONEY!
HOT BOYS
REUNION?
MANNIE FRESH
LEAVES CASH MONEY
ESG
DIRTY
YO GOTTI
REMY MA
JAZZE PHA
PAUL WALL
KILLER MIKE
TRICK DADDY
YOUNG JEEZY

DAVID
BANNER
PLAY WITH IT!
 AUG05
PUBLISHER/EDITOR:
Julia Beverly

MUSIC REVIEWS:
CONTENTS
ADG, Wally Sparks

CONTRIBUTORS: FEATURES:
AJ Woodson, Bogan, Cynthia
Coutard, Dain Burroughs, Dar- ESG pg A19
nella Dunham, Felisha Foxx,
Felita Knight, Iisha Hillmon,
TURK pg B20-21
Jaro Vacek, Jessica Koslow, DIRTY pg A26-27
J Lash, Katerina Perez, Keith
REMY MA pg B11
Kennedy, K.G. Mosley, King
Yella, Lisa Coleman, Malik
ALLSTARS pg B13 COVER STORIES:
“Copafeel” Abdul, Marcus
DeWayne, Matt Sonzala, YO GOTTI pg A17 DAVID BANNER pg A32-38
Maurice G. Garland, Natalia
Gomez, Noel Malcolm, Ray LIL WAYNE pg B22-23 PAUL WALL pg B26-28
Tamarra, Rayfield Warren,
Rohit Loomba, Spiff, Swift KILLER MIKE pg B30-31
SALES CONSULTANT: B.G./MANNIE FRESH pg B19
Che’ Johnson (Gotta Boogie) CHAMILLIONAIRE pg A22-24
LEGAL AFFAIRS:
Kyle P. King, P.A. (King Law
5TH WARD WEEBIE pg A29
Firm)

STREET REPS:
Al-My-T, B-Lord, Bill Rickett,
Black, Bull, Cedric Walker,
Chill, Chilly C, Chuck T, Con-
troller, Dap, Delight, Dereck
Washington, Derek Jurand,
Dwayne Barnum, Dr. Doom, Ed
the World Famous, Episode,
General, H-Vidal, Hollywood,
Jammin’ Jay, Janky, Jason
Brown, Joe Anthony, Judah,
Kamikaze, Klarc Shepard,
Kydd Joe, Lex, Lump, Marco
Mall, Miguel, Mr. Lee, Music
& More, Nick@Nite, Nikki
Kancey, Pat Pat, PhattLipp,
Pimp G, Quest, Red Dawn,
Rippy, Rob-Lo, Statik, Stax,
TJ’s DJ’s, Trina Edwards,
Vicious, Victor Walker,
Voodoo, Wild Bill, Young
Harlem

CIRCULATION:
Mercedes (Strictly Streets)
Buggah D. Govanah (On Point)
Big Teach (Big Mouth)
Efren Mauricio (Direct Promo)

To subscribe, send check or

money order for $11 to:

1516 E. Colonial Dr. Suite 205

Orlando, FL 32803
Phone: 407-447-6063
Fax: 407-447-6064
Web: www.ozonemag.com MONTHLY SECTIONS:
Cover credits: David Banner, FEEDBACK pg A10
Chamillionaire, and Killer Mike
photos by Julia Beverly; Paul
CHICK FLIX pg B46
Wall photo by Cara Pastore. PHOTOS pg A12-20, B8-18
OZONE Magazine is published
eleven times annually by LIVE SHOW REVIEWS pg B49
OZONE Magazine, Inc. OZONE
does not take responsibil-
CD & DVD REVIEWS pg B38-44
ity for unsolicited materials, CAFFEINE SUBSTITUTES pg B45
misinformation, typographical
errors, or misprints. The views
DAVID BANNER’S SPECIAL GROUPIE CONFESSIONS pg A13
contained herein do not nec- EDITION COMIC BOOK:
essarily reflect those of the
publisher or its advertisers. LIL JON pg A42-43 INDUSTRY 101:
Ads appearing in this magazine
are not an endorsement or val- NELLY pg A44 WENDY WASHINGTON pg B35
idation by OZONE Magazine for
products or services offered. JAZZE PHA pg A45 EDITORIALS:
All photos and illustrations are GET COOL pg A46 JB’s 2 CENTS pg A11
copyrighted by their respec-
tive artists. All other con- MARCUS. pg A47 MATHEMATICS pg B15
tent is copyright 2005 OZONE
Magazine, all rights reserved. TRICK DADDY pg A48 GUEST EDITORIALS pg B9
No portion of this magazine
may be reproduced in any way
LIL SCRAPPY pg A49
without the written consent of MANNIE FRESH pg A49 PRISON DIARIES:
the publisher. Printed in the
USA. GANGSTA GRILLZ pg A50 C-MURDER pg A15

OZONE AUGUST 2005 A9


It’s about time a Southern-based magazine put
it down. I’m up here in Virginia, a.k.a. the Top
of the South, and I got ahold of your mag. I’m
gonna be following y’all from now on. It’s good
to see underground and mainstream Southern
artist gettin’ their shine on. Keep up the good
work and keep it gangsta! JB I fuck with ya!
– LadyDWell, lrbeas@aol.com (Virginia)
I’ve been following your mag for about a year
now and I must say that I’m genuinely happy
with your success. I thoroughly enjoy your pub-
lication and actually look forward to my copy
each month. As a female, I just wanted to send
the support and let you know that you’re doing
your thing, withstanding obstacles, and most
importantly, facilitating a connection. I see the
growth with the website and the magazine and
know that you have so much more in the works.
Do your thing, stay on the scene, and all you
deserve will surely be at your feet. And all those
who oppose you without reason will come to re-
gret ever fucking with you! – Skyy, kasmith@
radio-one.com (Houston, TX)
I been peepin’ your editorials lately in the mag.
I must say I’m impressed with your heart. You
goin’ real heavy against some big dawgs. – Kei-
non Johnson (Atlanta, GA)
First off, I’d like to thank you for allowing me
the opportunity to speak my mind in your maga-
zine this month. I don’t want to beat around the
bush, so I will get to the point. I am Dame Do-
zha. There’s an uncanny resemblance between
me and another rapper from Jacksonville, Pimp
G. So weird that we are from the same town,
Jacksonville, and we are both involved in the
same industry, but there is one thing that is not
A10 OZONE AUGUST 2005
the same: our talent. I used to be approached
all the time while hustling my music, and the
people would say that they knew of me and
would call me Pimp G. Everyone says we look
just alike. I used to be in denial but I have ac-
cepted the resemblance for what it is worth,
free publicity. When he is in your mag, it’s al-
most like I am in your mag. I actually met him
and told him about how I felt, that we looked
alike, and it was weird that we do the same
thing. After meeting him, I traded CDs with him,
but didn’t pay much attention to it the first time.
Then, tonight, my evil twin has come to the city
I dwell in, Tallahassee. He was at The Moon, a
place I like to consider my night sanctuar. We
greeted each other and he gave me his mixtape.
I felt the need to separate myself from him be-
cause of the confusion it would cause to have
us in the same place at the same time. Now, I
did expect the guy to be good at what he does.
I had high expectations, thinking that he looks
like me, so he must be blessed with talent as
well. Besides, he is in OZONE. Paid for the ad,
but he is also in the O of OZONE. So he must be
doing something right that I am not, and I com-
mend him for that. So, I was excited, in fact.
The suspense was killing me, wondering what
his CD sounded like. I just got through giving it a
thorough listening session. Well, as thorough as
I could stand, because the music was garbage.
Beyond garbage. Words can not explain how bad
it was. I even called in reinforcements to come
listen, because I tend to be a hater. I don’t give
anyone much credit. But this guy made me feel
the need to write you. I am baffled at the qual-
ity of the sound, stature of the cadence he uses,
and even the appearance of the CD. It’s all god
awful. If you don’t believe me, ask someone,
and listen yourself. I plan to let him know my-
Hate it? Love it?
Send your comments to:
feedback@ozonemag.com
OZONE reserves the right to edit
comments for clarity or length.
self but I had to tell you and the world how I
felt. Also, I respect Young Cash for the drive
he appears to have, but he too is on Pimp G’s
mixtape (which doesn’t even have a name).
The fact that he has the audacity to rap with
this man lowers my respect completely. Again,
I am a hater even to my crew, but I am also
honest. If you print any of this, and he wants
beef on wax, I’m ready. Your move, twin. -
Dame Dozha, damiandoozha@hotmail.com
(Jacksonville, FL)
The new issue looks great. Spent the morning
reading it. Thank you for putting up with the
bullshit interviews, doing graphic design, and
draggin’ your camera around to get pics, cause
it’s worth it when you put out this good of a
product. To people who are tryin’ to come up
in the game, you do have a true medium set
up to offer an inside look at the real Hip Hop
game. We appreciate it, and even though you
may have some competition, that just shows
that you’re on to something. Imitation is the
highest form of flattery, and none I have seen
have anything on OZONE. You do a consistently
great job with the publication. It helps us, and
many more like us, more than you will ever
know. - Trey Wilson, treygeorge3@yahoo.com
(Enterprise, AL)
I think you should put my baby Pitbull in the
magazine more. He is the finest and most tal-
ented Latino rapper. Nobody can outdo him.
Everyobdy should know his name. If you’re not
a fan you should be. It’s the sound of his voice
and his fine-ass looks that drive me wild. Pit-
bull, we love you and what you stand for. Tell
the haters to be gone. You’re #1 in my book.
- MissPittbull07@aol.com
< You see, kids, this is
what happens when
you write bad checks,
won’t pay your OZONE
invoice from last year
and threaten the edi-
tor via Blackberry: you
get put on blast!
Hint to aspiring record
label owners: you’re
supposed to pay your
bills before you buy
the fleet of wrapped
vans!
The Source is next!
Final warning!

Read David Banner’s interview, because he’s
right: the harsh reality of the music business
is that people don’t give a fuck about you. I
realized it a few years ago but it’s the type of thing
where you have to constantly remind yourself so you
don’t believe the hype. All those hugs and fake love don’t
mean anything. Let’s just stop pretending. You don’t know
me, and I don’t know you. This is just a job.
So do me a favor. Let’s begin a policy of brutal honestly when it
comes to OZONE Magazine. Don’t send me a kiss-ass email that
Trevor, me, and Greg G @
begins with “I love your magazine” and ends with a few paragraphs
Icon in Orlando
about your group and how wonderful you are and that you’re the
next big thing and OZONE is sleeping on you. Please, please tell me
how you really feel, and if you don’t love it don’t say it. I don’t like
to have my ass kissed, unless your name happens to be Al Lindstrom
(in that case, I thoroughly enjoyed the quasi-apology but I’m still
waiting for Rene’s).
If you don’t like me, or the magazine, just say it. Don’t be afraid to
speak your mind out of fear that I’ll rip your pathetic ass to shreds
in my next editorial, even though I probably will.
I’ve been on the road almost every day this month and somehow
DJ Chill, Matt Sonzala, and
me at KPFT Damage Control managed to churn out a 100 pages, thanks mostly to a lightweight
Dell laptop, a mobile high-speed internet card from Verizon, my
radio in Houston
trusty driver, and contributions from a number of good people.
Someday I’m going to write a book about traveling on a budget, but
today I’ll just leave you with this nugget of knowledge: sleep is not
a travel necessity, but showering is. A $5-10 guest pass to the local
gym (gyms have showers, you know) is much cheaper than any ho-
tel room. And if you can’t imagine going a night on the road without
sleep, you’ll never make it in this industry so quit wasting your time
and go get a 9-5. I stay in the OZONE truck because if I have to go
through one more airport full-body search I will SCREAM.
They say sleep is the cousin of death. Think of all the things I
would’ve missed this month if sleep was a requirement. Pitbull and
Me, Mike, and Pit in Dallas
Lil Jon disrupting a Mary Kay convention and trying to get me drunk
in Dallas? A memorable 4 AM IHOP breakfast in Houston? A week in New York thanks to the good
people at Universal? Dame Dash making the most of some really stupid questions on a panel
at How Can I Be Down in Miami? Jay-Z greeting Young Jeezy at his album release party, or 50
and Eminem hanging out backstage at the Anger Management tour in Atlanta (you will not see
photos of either of these incidents in the magazine because of overzealous bodyguards)?
Speaking of overzealous bodyguards, I have a question for Interscope/Violator/Clear Channel/
Radio One/all other overprotective entities: how famous do I have to be to get a permanent
all-access photo pass tattooed on my hand? Cause I feel like I’ve paid my dues. G-Unit has,
like, a twenty page photo agreement that you’re required to sign before you can even get
near any of their artists. In fact, I’m probably violating the agreement by even mentioning it,
so I’m sure a cease and desist order will be forthcoming from the Interscope/XXL Corporation
(ha, ha). Thanks for the plug, Elliott, you played into my game beautifully! I’m good at this
too, yes?
Shouts out to Matt & Chill at Damage Control (KPFT) in Houston, Miss Info at Hot 97 in New
York, and Michael Soul in Columbus, Georgia, for showing some love on their respective radio
shows. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the coolest white girl in the South is finally available for
radio and television interviews, and I’m getting better at the on-camera shit, so Barbara
Walters, watch your back.
Judging from the last TJ’s DJ’s, some of you aspiring rappers must have missed my editorial
about bad breath. Smoking weed, gold grills, bad hygiene, and networking do not mix. At the
next pool meeting, if I offer you an Altoid, get the hint. I was just kidding about the ass-kissing
though. Feel free to keep doing it, I don’t mind.
- JB the Brutally Honest (jb@ozonemag.com)
Guilty pleasure:
Black Eyed Peas “Don’t Phuck with My Heart”
Ying Yang Twins f/ Bun B “23 Hour Lockdown” Bun B “Draped Up”
Grandaddy Souf f/ Get Cool “Run It” Webbie “Crank It Up”
Tony Yayo f/ 50 Cent “I Know You Don’t Love Me” Jay-Z “Back Then (remix)”
Chamillionaire, Pastor Troy, Killer Mike “Southern Takeover” Remy Ma “Secret Location”
David Banner f/ Jazze Pha “We Should Be Fuckin’” 334 Mobb “Keep It Pimpin’”
P$C f/ T.I. & Lil Scrappy “I’m A King” Young Jeezy “Trapster”
internet goin’ nuts
W
ho’s got
the inter-
net goin’
nuts? This month
it’s Karrine Stef-
fans, a.k.a. Super-
head, who fucked
a bunch of famous
dudes (Kool G Rap,
Ja Rule, P Diddy, Dr.
Dre, Usher, Ray J, Irv
Gotti, Bobby Brown,
Xzibit) and wrote a
book about it, trying
to pass it off as a
“cautionary tale.”
Although the writing style itself is not impres-
sive and her constant claims that she’s learned
her lesson are not convincing, the book landed
on the New York Times’ bestseller list thanks
to its scandalous content and plenty of free
radio publicity. Needless to say, the men men-
tioned in this book were not pleased, and I’m
sure their wives weren’t either. But the person
whose reputation has suffered the most isn’t
even mentioned in the book: Tigger.
In the first chapter, Superhead says that she
will not reveal the most damaging informa-
tion, like “the music industry lover” who she
caught in bed with another man. When Kool
G Rap and his wife, Ma Barker, called in to
a New York radio station to dispute many of
Superhead’s claims, Ma Barker insinuated that
this man was Tigger. Superhead didn’t confirm
or deny the claim, simply stating, “That’s not
in the book.” Here’s Tigger’s side of the story:
Do you know Kool G Rap’s wife Ma Barker?
Tigger: I don’t know her. I met her once when
Kool G Rap came to Rap City, but I have no
idea why she’s bringing my name up and tell-
ing lies about me on the radio.
Do you know Superhead?
Tigger: I do know Superhead, but we were just
friends.
Usually when you hear a rumor there’s some
sort of truth to it. Where do you think this
came from?
Tigger: I have no idea where that came from.
I’ve been trying to find Super to find out
where this is all coming from. I have no idea.
For the record, are you hetereosexual?
Tigger: I am heterosexual. I love women. I
have never engaged in any homosexual activi-
ties, and I do not like men. I have not, and
will not, be entering into any man ever in my
lifetime. There’s nobody on this earth that
could tell you that I’m even remotely homo-
sexual. I was actually on Hot 97 this morning
and I challenged Ms. Jones or anybody else
who wants to challenge me to put up $100,000
against my $100,000 to take a polygraph
test. And when I win, the money is gonna go
towards my charity for HIV/AIDS prevention.
What was your motivation for starting a
charity for HIV/AIDS prevention?
Tigger: I started the charity in Washington,
D.C., which is by far the most highly infected
area in the country. One out of twenty people
in D.C. are infected, and 25-30% of the people
who are infected don’t know.
OZONE AUGUST 2005 A11
 01: Young Cash, David Banner, and
Jae Millz @ Club Raj (NYC)
02: DJ Dr. Doom, DJ PLO, and DJ
Dap @ The Moon for TJ’s DJ’s (Tal-
lahassee, FL)
03: Too Short and the Bishop of
Crunk reppin’ OZONE @ Visions
for Jeezy’s album release party
(Atlanta, GA)
04: Webbie and Lil Boosie per-
forming @ The Underground
(Tampa, FL)
05: Todd Moscowitz, Mervyn
Mack, and DJ Clark Kent rep-
pin’ OZONE @ Club Raj (NYC)
06: Nutty Boy Entertainment
reppin’ OZONE @ Firestone
for Jamlando Record Pool
meeting (Orlando, FL)
07: BloodLine crew @ TJ’s
DJ’s (Tallahassee, FL)
08: Dewayne Barnum and
Get Cool @ TJ’s DJ’s (Tal-
lahassee, FL)
09: Sandra Jacquemin
and Lisa Lisa (Miami, FL)
10: DJ Fresh reppin’
CRUNK!!! @ WQSL The
Beat (New Bern, NC)
11: Slim Thug and Ebony
Eyez (Houston, TX)
12: Apex and Mercedes
@ Icon (Orlando, FL)
13: Fish N Grits and
Fresh Kid Ice @ KPFT
Damage Control radio
(Houston, TX)
14: Young City and
Young A @ Rap It Up
block party (New Or-
leans, LA)
15: Mr. Collipark and
Jim Jonsin @ The Moon
for TJ’s DJ’s (Tallahas-
see, FL)
16: DJ G-Spot, Malik
Shabazz, DJ Lil John,
Big Al, and Ike G Da
@ How Can I Be Down
(Miami, FL)
17: Young Cash, MIke
Jones, and T-Roy (Jack-
sonville, FL)
18: Medicine Men: KLC,
Moby Dick, Craig B, and
O’Dell @ their studios
(Baton Rouge, LA)
19: Bohagon, Lil Scrappy,
and Rob Mac @ Anger
Management tour (Dallas,
TX)
20: Timbaland, Fat Joe,
and Paul Wall @ Jim Jones’
video shoot (Miami, FL)
21: DJ Clue and Dave Mays
@ State (Miami, FL)

Photo Credits:
Bogan: #20
Greg G: #12
Julia Beverly: #01,02,03,05,
06,07,08,13,15,16,17,19
Keadron Smith: #11
King Yella: #18
Luis Santana: #04
Marcus Jethro: #14
Rico Da Crook: #21
Sandra Jacquemin: #09
Travis Mealer: #10

A12 OZONE AUGUST 2005

Disclaimer: These interviews are anonymous,
so we cannot verify if they are true or not. All
details (cities, club names, hotel names) have
been removed. These stories do not necessar-
ily represent the opinions of OZONE Magazine.
These stories did not necessarily occur recent-
ly, so if you are currently seeing one of these
fine gentlemen, no need to curse him out.
These stories are from different women.
If you have a celebrity confession, send an
email to feedback@ozonemag.com and we
will reply with a phone number where you can
call anonymously to be interviewed.
LIL WAYNE:
Where did you meet Lil Wayne?
We met after a concert, several years ago.
Did you approach him, or did he approach
you? How did you meet?
Actually, one of his friends had approached me
outside the club and we were talking. Then
Wayne came by. I guess he tells his friends
what to do or whatever. I ended up talking to
Wayne.
Was it a friendly conversation or pick-up
lines or what?
It was just a little conversation like, where I’m
from, stuff like that. He asked me if I wanted
to get on the bus with him. Me and my friends
went with them.
Were you a Lil Wayne fan before you met
him?
Yeah, I am a big fan of his. That was my main
reason for wanting to get on the
bus.
“[Lil Wayne] is such a little guy, people wouldn’t
Was the bus headed back to
the hotel? expect much out of him. But he’s good in bed.
Yeah, we went back to the ho-
tel after the show. It was cool.
He’s very energetic. He can go for a minute.”
His friends were around for a
minute. I think they had to leave a few hours
later, so that time, nothing really went on. We
just exchanged numbers. He called me and we
kept in touch. We met back up a while later
in [another city]. Then we lost touch for a
few months. He’d switched numbers. One of
my friends had been at the show too, and she
hooked up with one of his friends. When she
went to see him, I ran into Wayne again and we
got back in contact.
When did it become sexual?
When me and him started fucking, that’s when
he was with Nivea. I started reading magazines
that said she was his girlfriend, but he never
said anything about it. But he’s kind of a ladies’
man about it. He wasn’t trying to jump into
it. He was a gentleman. He’s a real respect-
ful guy.
What was the situation when you finally
hooked up?
His friends were all in the room, smoking and
stuff, and when everybody left it was just
me and him. He took a few phone calls, but
when my phone rang he wanted me to cut
my phone off. We were in the front room
of the suite and then we moved into the
bedroom. It was like 4 or 5 in the morn-
ing. We started talking and one thing
led to another.
Obviously, he’s got a lot of girls
chasing after him because of who
he is. Why do you think he was interested in
you?
I’m just his type. He likes light-skinned girls
with long hair. That’s just what I’ve observed
from being around him. We never really talked
about it.
How was he in bed?
Oh, he’s good. I mean, cause he’s such a little
guy, people wouldn’t expect much out of him.
But he’s good. He’s very energetic. He can go
for a minute.
Did he do anything unusual?
Not really anything unusual, but he does stuff
during sex. Like, he might be smoking during
sex, or drinking during sex. Stuff like that. And
he always says, “Please, say the baby,” like in
that song “Soldier.” (laughing)
Did you only sleep together once or was it a
relationship?
No, it was several times.
Did he ever throw on a Lil Wayne CD to listen
to during sex?
He played a Lloyd CD once during sex, but
mostly, nah. He never played a Lil Wayne CD.
It’d usually be so late we’d go to sleep right
afterwards.
Why did it end?
He got married, so I respect that. We talk every
now and then but we don’t sleep together any
more.
There have been rumors that some people
in the Cash Money camp are gay. Did you
ever see anything that would make you think
that?
Oh, no, no, not at all. I haven’t seen any signs
of that, and I’ve been around all of them a lot
– Cash Money and Sqad Up and the new Young
Money camp. I never saw anything like that go-
ing on.
Would you consider yourself a groupie?
No, I wouldn’t consider myself a groupie, be-
cause I wasn’t doing it because of who he was.
I was kinda into him as a person. I acted the
same with him as I would with a regular person
who’s not a rapper.
SLICK ‘EM (PRETTY RICKY)
How did you meet Slick ‘Em from
Pretty Ricky?
We actually went to high school togeth-
er. We had a class together and we were
friends first. I really didn’t like him cause
he’s not all that attractive to me, but he
had a nice personality.
Was he in the group Pretty Ricky when you
met him?
They were forming the group, but they weren’t
very well-known at the time. They were just
starting out.
Was it more exciting because he was in the
group?
Yeah, a lot more.
Did you have a relationship with him or just
a one-time thing?
We dated for a few months.
When did it become sexual?
We were at their house. It was just me, Slick,
and Pleasure, and we were chillin’ in the room
watching movies. We were watching the movie
“Baby Boy” and Slick ‘Em was like, “That’s
gonna be us one day.” We were just playing
around and stuff and eventually one thing led
to another.
How old were you?
We’re the same age. We were both 17.
Do you think you were too young to be hav-
ing sex?
Nah, not really.
So was it good or bad?
I’d say it was pretty
good, but, I guess be-
cause he was young
– still is young – he liked
to play around and joke around a lot. That’s
kind of a turn-off when I’m in the mood to do
something. He’d be telling jokes, acting silly,
playing around.
What did you do in bed?
He likes really rough sex, and he likes to take
it out and cum on your stomach. He does that
a lot.
So you think he just needs to grow up a lit-
tle.
He needs to grow up a lot. Even when I see him
on TV, he’s the loudmouth. He’s always the one
that wants to play around. He acts the same
in person.
Do you still sleep with Slick ‘Em now?
No, but we still talk occasionally. We’re not to-
gether anymore.
Why did it end?
I don’t really know. I think it’s because the
group started getting bigger and people started
to know who they were. He started to get big-
headed about the situation. He feels like girls
are always gonna want him wherever they go,
so he doesn’t need to have a girl. I don’t really
know.
When you see him on TV, how does that make
you feel?
Just to know that other girls want him, that
makes me want him back.
OZONE AUGUST 2005 A13
 01: Joe Budden and Fabolous on
South Beach (Miami, FL)
02: Zay and models @ low rider car
show (Houston, TX)
03: Killer Mike and David Banner
parking lot pimpin’ outside Purple
Ribbon Records (Atlanta, GA)
04: Spiff and Ice Shuler @ Har-
lem Grill (NYC)
05: C.O., Mark, and Pitbull @
Anger Management tour (Dal-
las, TX)
06: Marquis Daniels and B.G.
@ Cairo (Orlando, FL)
07: FoSho @ The Moon for
TJ’s DJ’s (Tallahassee, FL)
08: Smilez and Phil Becker
@ 95.3’s car show (Kissim-
mee, FL)
09: I-20 and Lil Fate @
Visions for Young Jeezy’s
album release party (At-
lanta, GA)
10: DJ Magic Mike and
Jill Strada @ Antigua
(Orlando, FL)
11: Baby and Baby D @
Visions for Young Jeezy’s
album release party
(Atlanta, GA)
12: X and Mr. Collipark
@ Club Raj (NYC)
13: BloodRaw and
Haitian Fresh reppin’
OZONE @ The Moon for
TJ’s DJ’s (Tallahassee,
FL)
14: Chopper City Re-
cords’ VL Mike, BG, and
Sniper (New Orleans,
LA)
15: Dirty @ Kartouche
for Upstart Record Pool
meeting (Jacksonville,
FL)
16: Kaine, Mr. Col-
lipark, D-Roc, and Big
Teach @ Ying Yang
Twins’ album release
party (Miami, FL)
17: Play-N-Skillz,
Pitbull, and Lil Jon @
Anger Management tour
(Dallas, TX)
18: Fat Joe, Paul Wall,
and Jim Jones on the set
of “Summer” (Miami, FL)
19: Southpaw reppin’
David Banner on the set
of Chamillionaire and Lil
Flip’s “Turn It Up”
20: Fiend reppin’ OZONE
(New Orleans, LA)
21: RX, Philly, and Mr. Mur-
doch (West Palm Beach, FL)

Photo Credits:
Bogan: #18
J Lash: #01,16
Julia Beverly: #03,04,05,06,
07,09,11,12,13,15,17,19,21
King Yella: #20
Malik Abdul: #10
Marcus Jethro: #14
Spiff: #08
T-City Promotions: #02

A14 OZONE AUGUST 2005

 If you have a comment or question for
C-Murder, email it to feedback@ozonemag.
com or write him here (do not send CDs):

Corey Miller #58815110

P.O. Box 388
Gretna, LA 70054
 01: DJ Quest and DJ 007 @ Club Envie
for 007’s birthday (Ft. Myers, FL)
02: Lil Jon and Pitbull reppin’
OZONE @ Anger Management tour
(Dallas, TX)
03: Amerie and DJ Clue @ Sobe
Live (Miami, FL)
04: Ted Lucas, Trina, and Dr.
Teeth on the set of “Don’t Trip”
(Miami, FL)
05: Tone, Q-Tip, and Sylvia
Rhone @ his listening session
(NYC)
06: Sindy Gilbert, James
Eichelberger, and KK Rich-
mond @ Supper Club for
FEDS magazine party (NYC)
07: DJ Dagwood and DJ
Weezy reppin’ OZONE @
The Moon for TJ’s DJ’s
(Tallahassee, FL)
08: Letoya Luckett and
Ebony Eyez (Houston, TX)
09: Black Mike and Rell @
Cairo (Orlando, FL)
10: Paul Wall’s Reebok
signing (Houston, TX)
11: Mercedes and Chris-
tina @ the Blue Room
(Orlando, FL)
12: Bobby Valentino live
(Jacksonville, NC)
13: B.G. reppin’ OZONE
(Orlando, FL)
14: Tigger, Two Faces,
and Playa Rae reppin’
OZONE @ Kasanova’s
(Oklahoma City, OK)
15: DJ H-Vidal and
Webbie reppin’ OZONE
@ The Underground
(Tampa, FL)
16: Snowman dancers
@ Visions for Young
Jeezy’s album release
party (Atlanta, GA)
17: Big Boi outside
Purple Ribbon Records
(Atlanta, GA)
18: Wes Phillips, Mr.
Collipark, Troy Hudson,
Memphitz, TJ Chapman,
Static, & Jim Jonsin @
The Moon for TJ’s DJ’s
(Tallahassee, FL)
19: Theripy, Get Cool,
Legion of Doom DJs, and
Suthern Boi @ TJ’s DJ’s
(Tallahassee, FL)
20: Steve Rifkind, David
Banner, and Gaby @ Elec-
tric Lady for his Certified
listening session (NYC)
21: Strictly Business @ How
Can I Be Down (Miami, FL)

Photo Credits:
Bogan: #04
Travis Mealer: #12
DJ Quest: #01
Johnny Lewis: #21
Julia Beverly: #02,05,06,07,
09,13,16,17,18,19,20
Keadron Smith: #08
Luis Santana: #15
Malik Abdul: #11
Playa Rae: #14
Rico Da Crook: #03
T-City Promotions: #10

A16 OZONE AUGUST 2005

How long have you been rapping?
Man, I been doing this since I was like 13 or
14, back in the day when Skinny Pimp was real
hot and Three 6 [Mafia] was just starting out
on the mixtape circuit. When I was around 15
or 16, that’s when we first started releasing
albums. I put out three indie albums, mostly
through Select-O-Hits.
Did you mostly listen to Memphis rap?
I listened to some rap outside of Memphis,
but I was most inspired by people like 8Ball &
MJG and Skinny Pimp, people that were right
around here.
When people talk about Southern music, do
you feel like Memphis doesn’t get the prop-
er respect it deserves as compared to, say,
Atlanta or Houston?
Memphis played a big part as far as the South-
ern sound. I ain’t a person who really dwells
on that. I just wanna take it to the level that
it should’ve been.
How would you describe your music?
I know people are probably gonna put it in
the gangsta rap category, but I call it reality
music. I ain’t talkin’ about, “Kill kill, murder
murder,” I’m talkin’ about stuff that happens
every day. It’s real life, so people everywhere
are gonna be able to relate to it.
You put out three albums independently?
Two through Select-O-Hits and one through
TVT, the Life album. We had a distribution
situation with TVT but it was still indie. From
the Dope Game To the Rap Game was the first
album, and Self-Explanatory was the second.
Those were my solo projects. I put out a host
of other indie projects.
For anybody else who’s indie and struggling
with distribution, would you recommend
Select-O-Hits?
Yeah, I have a good relationship with them,
and made a lot of money with them.
Did you decide to stay independent because
the situation was better for you financially?
Probably not all the way, but that was part of
it. With a lot of indie rappers, it comes to a
point where you have to expand to even be
hot down here. It’s like, you’ve come as far as
you gonna go in Memphis. When I put out my
third album I had money, but I wanted to go to
the next level. I felt like I had put in enough
work independently. Now, I’m trying to take it
to the next level and get the shine for Mem-
phis. I want to take Memphis to the next level.
That was the main reason I wanted to go with
a major company – I could do stuff that other
artists around here didn’t do. It ain’t all about
Memphis not getting the credit. I think a big
part of it is that the rappers who were able
to do it didn’t. If you’re from Memphis, why
are you shooting all your videos in Miami and
Atlanta? Everything we do, we wanna be right
here where we come from. This is where I
grew up.
Who exactly are the Block Burnaz?
Block Burnaz is the group that’s signed
to my label. I got a production deal with
Cash Money, so we’re able to put out dif-
ferent acts through the Cash Money/Uni-
versal situation. Block Burnaz is one of
the first groups I took that way. I’ve
also got a solo artist, All-Star, out of
Nashville.
It seems like you’ve got good business sense.
Where did you get that from? Did you read up
on the music industry before you got into it, or
just a natural hustler?
I didn’t really read up on it. I took the hustle
mentality from being in the streets and just took
it to the music industry. To me, it’s common
sense. If you how to add and multiply, it’s not
too hard to figure out. If you’re getting $8 per CD
through Select-O-Hits and you sell 10,000 CDs,
that’s $80,000. It’s just common sense. You’re
your own boss. I guess you just have to have the
money in the beginning to do what you have to
do. I just took the same street mentality, the
hustle format, and did it with the rap game. It’s
the same game, really.
You look kinda clean-cut. Is that part of your
image, to separate yourself from people’s per-
ception of a Southern rapper?
It ain’t really that I try to do it, it’s just how I
am. I would always stay fly, but I ain’t never be-
lieved in tryin’ to look rough. Certain people do
that – they try to look hard and shit. We wanna
stay fly, stay fresh, look good. We on some playa
shit.
What other parts of Memphis culture do you
plan on exposing to the world?
I wanna show them how real it is down here. Peo-
ple associate Memphis with the club. They think
we in the club all day jumpin’ around, getting
buck, sweating and wearing big straw hats. It’s
all about pimpin’. It’s real life down here. Peo-
ple getting money, people looking good, having
common sense. It ain’t no country shit. It might
be a small city on the map, but it’s equal to New
York, Atlanta, any other city. It’s real down here.
It ain’t what their perception is down here. I
wanna show that to the whole world.
What’s the name of your new album?
Back To The Basics. We got Baby on there, Bun B,
8Ball, All Star, Block Burnaz, you know.
You have deals with both Cash Money and TVT,
and there have been rumors in the past that
they don’t like to pay people. Have you had
any problems getting your money?
We got lawyers, managers, people who stay on
top of that. Me coming from the streets, it’s
part of the street code. I heard stories about
Cash Money and TVT, but where I’m from you
don’t get in other people’s business. That
didn’t bother me when it came to making
my decision. I was taught not to get in other
people’s business. I ain’t thinking twice about
what they done with former artists. I’m worried
about my money and my money only. I stay out
of people’s business. Once again, a lot of shit is
on the artist. If you ain’t on top of your busi-
ness, it’s on you. Some people put themselves
in a position to get done like that. I just use the
same strategies to get my paper. I stay on top
of my game and don’t leave no hole open for
anybody to get over on you. That’s just life. If
you just wanna be a rapper and all you’re con-
cerned about is girls and getting high, you ain’t
paying attention to your money ‘til you wake
up. I ain’t sayin’ it’s cool for companies to do
artists like that, I’m just sayin’, you have to do
you and stay on top of your business.
What other projects are you working on?
I do this Blackout Squad CD, where I take all
the Memphis rappers that I can work with and
put it together. We do the Blackout CD every so
often. We’re about to release Volume 2. We’ve
got another indie act called V-Slash that’s about
to drop too.
What do you look for when you sign a new
artist?
We’re looking for a person who can do them,
who doesn’t need me in the studio with them
all day. Kinda like All-Star. Dude was hot in his
own market before I even heard of him, so it
ain’t hard work with him. He just like me, he
run his own situation. I just help him add gas
to his fire. It’s the same situation we have with
Cash Money. The let us do us 100%, and when
we’re finished they do what they do.
- Julia Beverly, jb@ozonemag.com
OZONE AUGUST 2005 A17
 01: Chamillionaire and Lil Flip on the
video set for “Turn It Up” (Houston,
TX)
02: Peter Thomas and Damon Dash
@ How Can I Be Down (Miami, FL)
03: Justis and Russell Simmons
reppin’ OZONE @ Live 8 (Phila-
delphia, PA)
04: Webbie and DJ G-Man @
KBXX The Box (Houston, TX)
05: Payne, DJ Killatone, and
DJ Y-Not @ Firestone for
Upstart Record Pool meeting
(Orlando, FL)
06: Iz, friend, and DJ Kaoss
@ Cavern (Greenville, NC)
07: Keith Kennedy, Ed the
World Famous, and Ric Ross
@ The Moon for TJ’s DJ’s
(Tallahassee, FL)
08: Ole-E and CJ @ The
Moon for TJ’s DJ’s (Tal-
lahassee, FL)
09: EZ Money, JoJo, and
Jock Smoove reppin’
OZONE @ Visions for
Young Jeezy’s album
release party (Atlanta,
GA)
10: DJ Entice and Smitty
(Miami, FL)
11: Gu and T-City pro-
motional models @ Paul
Wall’s Reebok signing
(Houston, TX)
12: Grace Remedi and
Shawanna Paris @ Blue
Room (Orlando, FL)
13: Trina, Doug E.
Fresh, and Rob Celestin
@ How Can I Be Down
(Miami, FL)
14: Raw from No Luv
and Big L reppin’
OZONE @ Kartouche
for Upstart Record Pool
(Jacksonville, FL)
15: Slick Pulla, Slim
Thug, and BloodRaw @
Jeezy’s album release
party (Atlanta, GA)
16: Mr. Collipark, DJ
Dap, and Lady T reppin’
OZONE @ TJ’s DJ’s (Tal-
lahassee, FL)
17: Chamillionaire and
OG Ron C filming “Turn It
Up” (Houston, TX)
18: Owe Jive reppin’
OZONE @ TJ’s DJ’s (Tal-
lahassee, FL)
19: Erick Sermon and David
Banner @ Club Raj (NYC)
20: Paul Wall and the Trans-
plants (Houston, TX)
21: DJ Chill and Rapid Ric’s
full-body premiere in OZONE
(Houston, TX)

Photo Credits:
Felita Knight: #03
J Lash: #13
Julia Beverly: #01,02,05,07,
08,09,14,15,16,17,18,19,21
Keadron Smith: #04,11
Malik Abdul: #12
Matt Sonzala: #20
Sandra Jacquemin: #10
Travis Mealer: #06

A18 OZONE AUGUST 2005

A lot of people have heard of ESG, but don’t
know exactly who you are.
I’m originally from about thirty minutes out-
side of New Orleans. My dad was always going
back and forth to Houston, so I first met DJ
Screw in 1993. I did a demo with my homeboys
and it became a regional hit. I went to the
penitentiary from 1995-1998, and while I was
locked up, my album sold over 200,000 copies
independently. When I got out in 1998, Screw
had just passed away. I was tryin’ to find a
way to keep the South alive. I did another al-
bum called The Shining, and in 2000 we sold
85,000 copies of another album. At the time, I
was with a label that didn’t want to deal wth
the major labels. I was in the studio learning
and I knew I could do it myself. We tried to
take this shit to another level independently.
Selling 120,000 units or more wholesale, you
could make a million dollars independently.
I was talking to Interscope, but that didn’t
work out because of some bullshit. When peo-
ple aren’t used to having money, they get a
little money and do some bullshit.

Are you referring to the accusation that Slim

Thug cockblocked your deal at Interscope?
Yeah, when we were doing shows together we
were getting love. Steve Rifkind at Universal
liked the album. The album that I created,
and put all this work into, running around to
DJs and getting radio play and promo shows.
[Slim Thug] goes to New York by himself like
it’s something he created by himself. It’s some
crazy shit. Then, he called me and was like,
“Jimmy Iovine wants to talk to us.” I never
even brought up the Universal shit; I left it
alone. He never called me back about Inter-
scope and I was like, “What happened?” He
was like, “Jimmy don’t want to talk to both of
us, they wanna talk to me.” Everybody knows
in this industry that there’s a few artists that
pop up, but most of the time they want to sign
an artist who has Soundscan and BDS. Slim had
never even dropped an album, so that was
kinda strange to me. I came to find out that
he had told them I already signed to another
label. When he was in the meeting, Interscope
asked why I wasn’t there and he said I was
signing with somebody else. One of the at-
torneys who actually worked on the deal with
Slim is the one who told me that shit. That’s
how I am, I just speak my mind. I didn’t go on
a “bash Slim Thug” campaign or a “I’m gonna
whup his ass” campaign. I just try to look at
it like this: Lil Flip ran with ESG, Slim Thug
ran with ESG, before they even made it to
be heard nationwide. These are people that
are being looked up to, so I just sit back and
laugh. There’s people who molded their craft
off what they do. I ain’t trippin’ though, I ain’t
put out any new music bashing him. I ain’t
just a rapper dude. I rap to get paid, but hey, I
had a murder charge in 1995 that got dropped
to self defense cause that’s what it really was.
I had a drug charge, niggas snitching on me
and lying. I did four years in the pen. I done
been through it all. I’m not tryin’ to come in
the industry like, “Fuck you, fuck you,” I’m
comin’ in the industry as an entrepreneur.
I been making moves and making hits. I’m
gonna bring you somebody else from the
South that the rest of the world can really
respect as a new artist. The whole music
scene is kinda focused on Houston. Not
just Houston, but people like Boosie and
Webbie from Baton Rouge. The South
is finally getting they due. I’m kinda
like a UGK down here, someone that
everybody knows and loves but the rest of the
world just hasn’t had a chance to feel me yet.
That’s what I’m tryin’ to do this year. I’m one of
Houston’s best kept secrets.
Do you think the Houston artists with major
deals are representing the culture properly?
Well, I’m glad for the whole Swishahouse thing,
but a lot of people around the world are thinking
Mike Jones damn near created Screw music and
don’t really understand the history of it. But it
makes me feel good when you’ve got somebody
like Chamillionaire putting the light on Screw
music. I like how Paul Wall reached out to Big
Pokey and put him on “Sittin’ Sideways,” that
was a playa move. Even though Mike Jones went
platinum, a lot of people in Houston don’t re-
ally respect his music. We’re just really trying to
make sure we bring people quality music. Back
in the days, everybody went out and bought al-
bums, not just one hit song on the radio. Now
you’ve got so many people with one hot song,
but you get them in the studio and they can’t
even come up with a real song.
Your freestyle on the Dirty States DVD was im-
pressive.
Yeah, man, that night we was twisted up. I start-
ed freestyling when I was twelve years old. Back
then everybody used to be into breakdancing or
saying raps from a Run-DMC or N.W.A song. I just
started rapping about what was around me. I did
a big citywide talent show when I was in the sev-
enth grade. Twelve years old, I just freestyled. I
was talking about the whole crowd, and every-
body went crazy. I did that until I graduated,
and when I was in college I started doing shows
all throughout the South and Midwest. When I
went into a new city, I’d always do a straight
acapella. I don’t even worry about that “free-
style king” title, but the true Screwed Up Click
knows that the phrase “freestyle king” came up
when people were talking about ESG, Keke, and
Phat Pat back in the day. Sony was like, “Hey,
Flip, we’ll say that Screw gave you the title
‘freestyle king.’” Not only can I freestyle, but
I’m a beast in the studio. A lot of times you have
battle rappers who can’t make records. I don’t
even wanna be mentioned in any category with
battle rappers. I did that way back when I first
started rapping.
Do you think the art of freestyling has been
watered down because mixtapes and Rap City
“freestyles” are often written rhymes?
Yeah, man, that ain’t a freestyle. Ever since I
can remember, I used to just embarrass niggas
in battle raps. They’d come with all their meta-
phors and “yo’ mama”s and they might get a few
“oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd, but when
it’s my turn, I’ll be talking about their cheap-
ass tennis shoes, their nappy-ass hair, their fake
jewelry, their homeboys next to them with a
muthafuckin’ Roc-A-Fella chain you bought in
the middle of the mall. Nobody’s tryin’ to hear
their dumbass metaphors any more. They’re
amazed by how I do my freestyles. I talk about
things on the wall, the club we’re in, anything.
That’s a real freestyle. My son, he’s four years
old, and he can really freestyle too. He’ll be
like, “I’m with my daddy / We ridin’ around in
the car,” he’ll make up words and shit.
Why don’t you and Lil Flip battle for the title
of “freestyle king”?
Aw, man. I’m on good terms with Flip. I fucks
with T.I., too, but it ain’t no bad blood. But I
promise you, I put this on my son, if you asked
Flip, he would never agree to battle me. He
rolled with me in and out of town. We’ve had
rap battles for fun, and he know goddamn well
there ain’t too many rappers that could see me
on some freestyle stuff. I don’t really consider
battle rapping to be freestyling. Freestyling is
just entertaining and standing up on that mic
and never falling off, going off the top of your
head. Flip wouldn’t even attempt to come in
the ring with me. But he knows I love to see him
doing his thing, though. Even though Slim Thug
hated on me with the deal and did some foul
shit, I don’t wish nothing bad on him. They’re
both products of the ESG tree.
- Photo and words by Julia Beverly

OZONE AUGUST 2005 A19

01: Woodie, TJ Chapman, and Kevin
reppin’ LRG on the set of David
Banner’s “Play” (Los Angeles, CA)
02: VA, DJ Kaoss, DJ Fresh, and R-
O-D at Cavern (Greenville, NC)
03: Uncle Luke, Big Teach, and D-
Roc @ the Ying Yang Twins’ album
release party (Miami, FL)
04: Young Jeezy and Clay @ Vi-
sions (Atlanta, GA)
05: Grace, ESG, Hawk, and
Los @ Screwed Up Records
(Houston, TX)
06: Thomas, Malik Abdul,
and Joey Nice @ Jamlando
Record Pool meeting (Or-
lando, FL)
07: T-Roy, Dereck Washing-
ton, Noah, and Ron Smuv @
Upstart Record Pool meet-
ing (Jacksonville, FL)
08: K-Oz, DJ Nasty, and
Ricky P @ Blue Room
(Orlando, FL)
09: Ted Lucas and Plies
on the set of Trina’s
“Don’t Trip” (Miami, FL)
10: DJ Jelly and Cha Cha
Jones reppin’ OZONE @
Visions (Atlanta, GA)
11: Serious and Josh
@ Visions for Young
Jeezy’s album release
party (Atlanta, GA)
12: Tye Boogie and
AJ Woodson @ Young
Jeezy’s album release
party (Atlanta, GA)
13: Gil Green and Zay
on the set of Chamil-
lionaire’s “Turn It Up”
(Houston, TX)
14: DJ Magic Mike rep-
pin’ OZONE @ Antigua
(Orlando, FL)
15: C Rola and T-City
Promotions reppin’
OZONE @ low rider car
show (Houston, TX)
16: Stay Fresh, Lil
Scrappy, and Mark read-
ing OZONE (Dallas, TX)
17: Lil Flip and Sqad Up
on the set of Chamil-
lionaire’s “Turn It Up”
(Houston, TX)
18: Models (Miami, FL)
19: Mr. Mauricio and DJ
Khaled filming Jim Jones’
“Summer” (Miami, FL)
20: Big Herc, Jigga JT, Val-
erie, Derrick Da Franchise,
Freda, and Young City (New
Orleans, LA)
21: David Banner and Young
Cash reppin’ OZONE @ Club
Raj (NYC)

Photo Credits:
Bogan: #18,19
J Lash: #03,09
Julia Beverly: #04,06,07,10,
11,12,13,16,17,21
Malik Abdul: #08,14
Marcus Jethro: #20
Matt Sonzala: #05
T-City Promotions: #15
TJ Chapman: #01
Travis Mealer: #02
 PAUL WALL’S FORMER RAP
PARTNER CHAMILLIONAIRE
IS USED TO BEING

THE
BAD
GUY.
NOW HE’S BACK
FOR REVENGE.

WORDS & PHOTOS:

JULIA BEVERLY

A22 OZONE AUGUST 2005

You’ve had a lot of success in Houston, but do
you feel like you haven’t gotten that main-
stream recognition yet?
I mean, it could always be better, but a lot of
people know of us outside of the Houston mar-
ket. I was doing shows in Cleveland and Denver
and all kinds of places before I even got signed
to a major. The bootlegs and the mixtapes help,
you know. Everybody wants to show the world
what they have, so that’s what I’m ready to
do.
With a lot of Houston artists signing deals, did
you feel pressure to get signed?
Not really. It’s just that when you are having a
certain level of success on the underground, ev-
erybody wants to step it up and show the world
what they’ve got. People are like, “He can do it
regionally, but not nationally.” But that doesn’t
really bother me. The main thing that motivates
me is just being financially set. I don’t care
about being famous more than I care about be-
ing financially set. It was a lot of people coming
to me about getting signed, so it just happened
that way. I didn’t go to New York trying to get
signed, that’s just how it turned out.
What labels did you talk to?
It was a bidding war. I talked to a lot of people,
from Def Jam to Asylum/Warner. Asylum actu-
ally wanted to sign me, and I didn’t know that
Swishahouse was signing with them. When I
found out, I was like, “I can’t do it.” Joie was
real cool, they came to Houston and hollered at
me, but I just couldn’t do it.
You didn’t sign to Asylum because you didn’t
want to be labelmates with Mike Jones and
Paul Wall?
Yeah, honestly. And I told [Asylum] that. But
honestly, Universal gave me the best deal. It
was a deal that made sense for me. Honestly,
at first, Universal was the label I didn’t want
to sign with. But when I learned how their sys-
tem worked, I found out a way to make it work
for me. I’m a person who likes to have a lot of
control.
How did the relationship between you and
Paul Wall deteriorate?
I can’t really put my finger on it. I could point
out a lot of little things, but they’re really just
little things. I don’t know, honestly. I hear all
kinds of stuff from the streets, but I’ve never
heard it directly from him. I’ve sat there next
to Paul for so many years and seen him smile at
people that he really hated. I’m just not that
type of person. Who would’ve known he could
do that to me, too? He was actually sitting there
smiling and not telling me what was wrong.
So would you say that he caused the split?
Nah, it’s a little bit of both. We both were go-
ing in different directions and arguing. I’m a
person that cares more about the business. For
a while, when we were doing shows, we’d do
the good guy/bad guy thing. Kinda like good
cop/bad cop. And he would be the good cop.
We didn’t have a manager. I had to go out there
and be the bad guy. I was doing it for the team.
He’d be whispering in my ear, “$3,500. Don’t
go lower.” So I’d tell [the promoter], “$3,500. I
can’t go lower.” I was doing it for the team. And
he’s telling them, “I don’t know why Chamil-
lion trippin’.” So he’s looking like the good guy.
And I was cool with that, because I didn’t care.
But now that we split up, everybody remembers
that he was the good guy and I was the bad guy.
He’s trying to turn it on me. Most people that
know me are like, Chamillion’s cool. It is what
it is. I don’t go out there tryin’ to be friends
with everybody. I just do me. You can’t really
worry about that too much, cause at the end of
the day, that’s just business. That’s everybody.
People smile in your face all day and lie to you.
That’s what this business is built on. It’s a lot of
fake people. I don’t need that. I just hang with
my team and make money.
A lot of Houston artists are making noise on
a national level right now, but a lot of those
artists don’t get along with each other.
That don’t really matter, because the fans who
are on the outside looking in don’t really know
about that stuff and don’t really care. If you’re
a Mike Jones fan and a Chamillionaire fan,
you’ll go buy both CDs regardless of whether
they’re beefing or not. Of course, when you
see a city have success, you don’t want to see
everybody go at each other. But to me it’s not
that bad, it’s just a little tension. Even the
beef or whatever that I was in, I felt like it was
something I had to do. If I had to do it again, I’d
do it again. People can have whatever opinion
they want. That’s just how I feel.
Do you feel like the CD you put out dissing
Mike Jones was a bit of overkill?
I heard that before. People are like, “Man, you
did a whole CD.” Man, people are so dumb. I’m
not saying my fans are stupid, though, don’t
quote me wrong. But people don’t really pay
attention to stuff. You could explain the mean-
ing and the reason why you do something, but
they’re only gonna hear what they want to hear.
As far as the overkill thing, it was three CDs,
and one of them was chopped and screwed.
Originally, the CD wasn’t even about him.
Count how many songs it really was. They’re
acting like it was a hundred songs about dude.
(laughing) Well, honestly, it was a lot. But we
did leak a lot that were already done. It got
to a point where DJs kept putting it on their
mix CDs, so it just looked like Chamillionaire
was out there doing all these mix CDs when
in reality I had only done Mixtape Messiah. It
was so many mixtapes lingering on after that,
they were like, he’s still killing dude. It wasn’t
really like that. a lot of my fans took it more
“REVENGE IS
SUCCESS.
I LOVE THIS
POSITION
THAT I’M IN
RIGHT NOW,
BECAUSE
I’M SO
CONFIDENT.
THERE ARE
A LOT OF
FANS OUT
THERE THAT
YOU CAN’T
COUNT ON
SOUNDSCAN
OR BDS.”
serious than I did. I heard people say all kinds
of stuff, but I don’t care what they say. I know
what he did to me.
Ultimately, do you think the beef with Mike
Jones helped or hurt your career?
Nah, man, I don’t think it hurt. You don’t un-
derstand the cult following that I have. I don’t
really think about that and measure it. I don’t
think it hurt my career, so I guess it helped it.
Honestly, when I dropped it, I thought it was
gonna backfire. But I’m the type of person that
can only hold it in for so long. I have to say
what’s on my mind. If right now, we’re sitting
here and I’m not feeling you, I just can’t hide
it. It’ll make me feel better if I say, “I don’t like
you.” Some people might say that makes me an
asshole, but that makes me feel better. It makes
me feel like a real nigga. When I wake up in
the morning and look at myself in the mirror,
I’m comfortable with myself. I was just basically
venting. The way I grew up, I’ve been around a
lot of fake stuff all my life. I got tired of deal-
ing with that world. People tell me that’s just
the way it is, you have to pretend. I’m a per-
son that’s like, nobody’s gonna control my life.
People told me that no matter where I signed
a major deal, I was gonna get screwed, so just
worry about the show money. I’m like, nah, I
don’t wanna just worry about the show money.
I just wanna be comfortable with every part of
my life. When I signed the contract, I wanted to
feel comfortable with it.
What’s the name of your album?
It’s called The Sound of Revenge, and it’s drop-
ping September 27th.
Wasn’t it originally going to be called Contro-
versy Sells?
Yeah, originally, my album was gonna be called
Controversy Sells, but it’s crazy the way it
panned out. When people were saying, “It’s a
publicity stunt,” they basically turned it into a
publicity stunt. There was a concept to Contro-
versy Sells, just like Kanye West’s College Drop-
out had a concept throughout it. That’s how I
was doing my album. [Paid In Full], the label I
used to be signed to with Paul [Wall], put out
Controversy Sells. They started dissing me on all
the skits and took my old vocals and put them
with new Paul Wall verses. I thought it was funny
that they dissed me on all the skits, because my
fans were calling the label cursing them out.
Every great rapper has a story, and all this is
creating a big story for me. Before, I was just a
young kid that could spit. Now, they’re into the
whole story – the breakup of Swishahouse, the
breakup with Paul – and it just creates a story
for me. People like to feel like they know you
and what you’ve been through. Honestly, Mike
Jones has got a song called “Back Then,” and
it’s successful because it’s telling the story of
what he’s been through to get to where he’s
at. People can relate to it, because honestly, a
lot of his music isn’t the best. That’s just my
opinion. At the same time, I understand why
somebody could relate to his story. Anyway, the
vocals they put on the Controversy Sells album
was old throwaway stuff. When I left [Paid In
Full], I took my music with me. It made me real
mad when I heard it, because I didn’t think there
was any Paul Wall and Chamillionaire songs left.
Then I hear Paul rapping over an old verse of
mine, shooting little shots at me. I’m supposed
to be quiet about this? For a while, me and Paul
wasn’t cool, but I was telling everybody we
were. I knew the power of my words. If I say,
“We ain’t cool,” it’s divide and conquer. People
OZONE AUGUST 2005 A23
 would start getting in my ear and getting in his ear.
When I’m hearing stuff like that, I can’t be quiet. “THERE’S A LOT OF STUFF
Eventually I’m gonna have to get mad. It is what
it is. There’s a lot of stuff I know about the whole I KNOW ABOUT THE WHOLE
Swishahouse situation that I don’t even talk about. SWISHAHOUSE SITUATION
There’s stuff I could say in the interview right now,
and people would be like “Whoa.” Just to prove THAT I DON’T EVEN TALK
I’m right. But I’m not gonna do that. It’s not for the
media. The media would love that, but I don’t get ABOUT.”
down like that.

So now there’s Revenge.

Well, The Sound of Revenge album title is not di-
rected at anyone personally. It could be anybody.
People just doubt you, and revenge is success. I
love this position that I’m in right now, because I’m
so confident. I know my music, I know the mar-
ket and what it needs, and I feel like I’m about to
bridge that gap. If I fail and fall flat on my face, oh
well. But I love this position I’m in right now. The
Sound of Revenge, just watch me. I’m gonna create
a hell of a story when I’m successful. There are a
lot of fans out there that you can’t count on Sound-
scan or BDS. These people aren’t with me when I’m
going through the streets and hearing what people
are saying. I’m doing shows in towns that ain’t even
got no radio station, with two thousand people in
there screaming my underground lyrics. It’s crazy
right now. Slim Thug just sold 125,000 on his first
week out. I just won a bet. Somebody bet me that
he wouldn’t crack a hundred. We’ve got big fan
bases in the Texas area.

Let’s say, hypothetically speaking, Mike Jones’

album outsells yours. Would you feel like you lost
if that happened?
Remember, I dissed Mike because I had to get it
off my chest. A lot of times the label will try to
push it on. I’ve got footage with two thousand
fans screaming “Dyke Jones.” How come I never
put it out? Do you know what a label would love to
do with that? Honestly, I just wanted him to stop
talking about me. Now, when they ask him about
Chamillionaire in the interviews, he says, “Next
question.” That’s all I wanted him to do. That has
nothing to do with the success of his album. He left
it alone and didn’t say anything, so if his album
does whatever, I mean, I don’t need to get caught
up in that. Of course the fans are gonna be keeping
count, because they take this stuff a lot more seri-
ously than probably the artists do. Me, I know what
my deal looks like from the inside. I don’t know
what a lot of other people’s deals look like from the
inside. I might not be able to tell the fans that I’m
making more money than somebody else, but who
cares? Like B.G., now that he’s on Koch, he might
be making more money than when he was at Cash
Money. Who knows? As long as he feels comfortable
that’s cool. I’m gonna get in this game, make as
much money as I can, open up a whole bunch of
businesses, and fall back. If somebody else wants
to analyze who sold more, that’s on them.

Who are some of the artists featured on The

Sound of Revenge?
We’ve got Krayzie Bone on there, rapping fast, and
a song with Bun B. Bun B’s my favorite rapper. I
got Scarface and Lil Wayne on there. The Lil Wayne
track is produced by Mannie Fresh. Cool & Dre went
in the studio and did like three tracks for me, and
one went on my album. Basically, I remember when
me and Paul first came out with Get Ya Mind Cor-
rect. It was different than everything else that was
coming out of Texas, and it was successful because
it was different. That’s what I’m trying to do for
Texas. I’m trying to do something that’s lyrically
tight, Southern, and the whole world can appreci-
ate it. I don’t run with the trends. At the end of the
day, it’s just good music.

A24 OZONE AUGUST 2005

 WORDS &
PHOTOS:
JULIA
BEVERLY

A26 OZONE AUGUST 2005

What’s going on with you guys?
Pimp: Really, man, we done started our own la-
bel and we’re doing it big with Rap-A-Lot. This
is our second album with Rap-A-Lot.
Gangsta: “Rollie Pollie” is the first single off the
album, featuring Bun B. It’s a hot club song.
It seems like you fell off the map for a min-
ute. Were you just laying low, or recording?
Pimp: I wouldn’t say we fell off the map, but
we had to get our business straight. There was
a lot of issues with our management and the
label we were with. Now we’re doing our thing
directly with Rap-A-Lot. We had to shoot ‘em
down cause there was a lot of funny business
going on. Now we’re dealing directly with J and
things are better.
How did you end up at Rap-A-Lot?
Gangsta: When we were having those prob-
lems at Universal, Scarface was a fan of our
music. He was like, “If y’all niggas ever need
a home, come down to Rap-A-Lot and holla at
J. After we got done doing what we had to do
over there, we hollered at J the next week. We
signed in Houston.
What’s the difference between Universal and
Rap-A-Lot? Is it more family-oriented?
Gangsta: Yeah, it’s more family-oriented. You
can tell J directly what you want to do. With
Universal, you had to go through ten niggas be-
fore you could see Monty or Avery. That right
there has got a lot to do with it.
Did signing with Rap-A-Lot open the doors for
you to work with other artists on the label
like Bun B?
Gangsta: Yeah, you know, we’ve got our own
creativity. They give us leeway to make our de-
cisions.
How is this album Hood Stories different from
your last album?
Gangsta: This album is just a little more ma-
ture. We representing Alabama and letting nig-
gas know where we’ve been, just keeping it
hood.
Pimp: We more mature. We grew up a little bit
more. We get older every album and talk about
something new and different.
How does Montgomery, Alabama, compare to
other cities you’ve visited on the road?
Gangsta: Places like New York and Cali are just
(l to r) Da Pimp and Da Gangsta
bigger cities, that’s all. It’s pretty much the
same. We more laid-back, more country. We
talk a lil’ slower than the East coast or West
coast, but person-to-person, we the same.
Who’s featured on the album?
Pimp: We kept it simple. It’s a lot of cats tryin’
to eat and a lot of cats already eating, so we
like to deal with the ones that’s tryin’ to eat.
We’ve got Lil Burn One and Lil Mario from our
label. Lil Burn One was on “That’s Why I.” Those
are our artists; he’s our first cousin. Lil Mario
was on “Get Your Hands Off Me.” We’ve also got
another new artist on our label, Rell. We kept
it hood. We used the dudes that are still around
the neighborhood instead of getting those big
names that are already eating. We kept it sim-
ple. Love the song we did with Bun B, “Gang-
sta.” We ain’t got too many features.
What about production? Any big names, or
mostly in-house?
Gangsta: Mostly in-house. Mike Dean, Maximil-
lian, Killa B out of St. Louis, and some other
upcoming producers doin’ their thing. It shows
our growth. We kept it on that Southern slang.
We had a debate in the magazine recently
– Bohagon didn’t like the fact that Field Mob
had pigs in their video to represent life in the
country.
Pimp: You’ve got to rep where you come from.
Field Mob put pigs in they video? I ain’t seen no-
body else put pigs in their video, so they came
different and I love them for that shit. It’s the
country. That’s gangsta. How can you hide being
from the country? Albany, Georgia is the same
as where we come from, Montgomery, Alabama.
Shit, we were raised ‘round cows and pigs, so
if they took that to the next level and put it
in their video, that’s love. I don’t know what
exactly Bohagon said. Maybe he meant it in a
different way. I got love for Bohagon too, so I
think it was just a misconception.
Do you think the North has a perception of
country rappers that includes pigs and such?
Pimp: They always gonna think like that. That’s
how we’re portrayed. But we’re ridin’ big
Chevys down here with 26’s. Y’all shit ain’t no
harder than ours; ain’t no different. We doing
our thing. We could laugh at how they talk or
act, so it goes both ways.
For people who might not be familiar with
you, what’s been your biggest hits so far?
Pimp: “Hit The Flo’,” “I Wish,” and “Candy
Man.” “Hit The Flo’” opened the doors; that
was the first hit off our first album.
How would you describe your style of music?
Gangsta: We’ve got club music, soulful music,
gangsta shit, pimp shit. We touch on different
points. All our albums have always been versa-
tile.
Do you have a favorite song on this album
Hood Stories?
Pimp: I think mine is “Pray For Me.” It uses a
sample from “Message in a Bottle.” We just
asking our momma and grandmomma to pray
for us, cause it seems like our prayers aren’t
reaching. It seems like your grandmomma and
momma are always closer to God, so if they got
the hookup with God, maybe they can hookup
one of their prayers. I really like that song; it’s
really touching. We talking to our momma and
God.
It looks like you’ve lost weight.
Pimp: I was 314, now I’m down to 259. But I’m
always gonna have the gut, that’s just my im-
age. I just had to trim down for health reasons.
You know, I give a fuck about my image, hav-
ing that big stomach, but I’m just tryin’ to be
healthy.
What’s your diet?
Pimp: I drink a lot of liquids and eat only twice
a day to make sure I ain’t just being doggish. I
drink juice, water, and a lot of liquids. I drink
liquor. I ain’t never really cared for beer, but
we drink plenty of liquor and plenty of weed so
it’s a balance.
Gangsta: I don’t eat pork no more, I cut that
out for health reasons. I just like to know what’s
going in my body. If it ain’t good for me, I ain’t
gonna eat it. I eat a little red meat and chicken,
but I’m tryin’ to slack up on that too.
Pimp: I still eat pig ears though. I love pig ear
sandwiches and chitlins. Love it, love it. I don’t
think I can leave it alone. I might be on a diet,
but a pig ear sandwich every now and then is
okay. (laughing) Nah, I’m just fuckin’ with you,
but I’m still on pork though. I just watch how I
eat. I don’t overdo it no more. Instead of two
Big Mac’s, now it’s just one. Instead of five eggs
with cheese, it’s two.
Did you notice a change when you stopped
eating pork?
Gangsta: Yeah, I started feeling a little better.
No high blood pressure, no headaches.
Do you exercise?
Pimp: Yeah, I exercise. I get up in the morn-
ing and throughout the whole day I end up do-
ing about 300 pushups. I do ten here, and if
I’m thinking about it I drop and do ten later.
Throughout the whole day it ends up being like
300. I do pushups, situps, and we be on them
barbells too. Shoutouts to my homeboy Rod-
ney, my personal trainer. I go to World’s Gym in
Montgomery, Alabama.
Gangsta: I just like to do pushups and situps and
curls and all that. I don’t do too much. I kinda
gained a little weight so I’m tryin’ to work it
off.
Pimp: The number one workout plan for me is
fuckin’ three different hoes three times a week.
That’s the best cardio a man can get.
Anything else you want to say?
Gangsta: Let everybody know we’ve been gone
for a hot second but we’re back. This time in
the game, we’re dropping something every six
months. We ain’t leaving no more. The album is
in stores August 16th, Hood Stories. Go get it.
Alabama, stand up!
OZONE AUGUST 2005 A27
How did you start rapping?
My story is basically like the average street
rapper. I just started out bouncing from club
to club, getting on the mic with the DJs
around my city and creating a buzz for my
name. I got into a situation with a local re-
cord company called Mobile Records and did
my first disc with them, Show The World. The
hot song off that album was “5th Ward Weebie
Got Them Hoes Off The Heezy.” I was mostly
on some street rap, thug shit, but it was that
one bounce song that everybody liked.

How long were you with Mobile Records?

For about a year. Then I ran into Partners N
Crime, some real legends in the game. They’re
with UTP and Rap-A-Lot now, but they were
with Southcoast at the time. They discovered
me in the club. I had a real hot name for my-
self. They had already laid down six albums
with back-to-back hits, so they were already
underground legends in New Orleans. They
were kinda like my industry parents. They
raised me and showed me the game; gave me
the chemistry and the formula to make hits.
I released an album through Southcoast under
their direction in 2000. We sold 15,000 with no
radio play and no video play. The radio didn’t
wanna play us, but it was so hot in the streets
they couldn’t deny us. Then I ran into Kane &
Abel through Partners N Crime, and we did a
song called “Shake It Like A Dog.” That song
blew out of the water independently, which
gave me some recognition. We did a video
and it made it to the top 10 on the Billboard
charts. I got some real nice regional attention
off that song.
Did the major labels come looking for you?
The labels were really knocking on the door
but the labels, Southcoast and Most Wanted,
kinda kept that away from me. Me as an art-
ist, nobody had direct contact with me. I feel
like that’s held back a lot of artists. They
didn’t give me the opportunity to say “Yeah”
or “Nay,” because they were doing all the
talking. They didn’t want me talking to them,
which is understandable, but not understand-
able because they didn’t give me the opportu-
nity. The song I did with Kane & Abel opened
up another opportunity at the time. Kane &
Abel were really interested in me, and I was
loyal. At the time, the best move was to go
on the road with Kane & Abel because they
were creating work for me. I don’t have no re-
grets. I did 500,000 indie on the album, ghetto
platinum, featuring Mystikal, Three 6 Mafia,
Mr. Serv-On, Fiend, and Kane & Abel. It was a
real step up for me. At that point in my life, I
was making elevated moves. That opened up
all new doors for me. I got picked to be the
regional spokesperson for Burger King’s break-
fast campaign. I did a Judge Mathis commer-
cial. We got [Master] P’s attention. I was still
on the road with Kane & Abel, but they were
facing some jail time. They had a case hang-
ing over their heads. I don’t want to get too
detailed into that, but when P called, I took
the opportunity. I was never signed to No
Limit, but P flew me out to Texas to record
with him. That’s when we created the song
“Oowee.” I had already laid it down off a
bounce beat raw, but when I got with P I
really made it into a real song. We also
did “Rock The Boat,” which was on the
Game Face album. I didn’t know he was
gonna pick it for a single, I just went
out there to do work. When the video
hit BET and MTV and all that good
shit, we hit Rap City, 106th & Park, Soul Train,
and all that. P was basically in negotiation mode
with me at that time. It’s no bad blood with me
and P. A lot of times when somebody leaves No
Limit people think it’s a bad situation, but my
situation was different. It was more like a work-
for-hire situation. I did songs for his album and
the 504 Boyz album. I was featured on “Tight
Whips.”
Why not sign to No Limit?
We wanted to move forward with me signing to
No Limit, but it’s a business. With my previous
situations, I was more cautious doing business
with anybody. My lawyers and his lawyers were
getting together, and at the end of the day, the
agreement was not official so we just called a
truce. He’s good, I’m good, we just decided to
go separate ways. It’s no beef or bad blood. We
just weren’t seeing eye-to-eye on the business.
It’s all good. I got exposure, and he got a hit. It
was a good situation for both of us.
What do you think is the next step to get more
mainstream exposure?
I just gotta keep working and doing me. I’m not
really worried about the majors right now, to be
honest. I’m doing me, indie. When I’ve made
enough noise on my own, the labels are gonna
come in and bank me up, but that’s not some-
thing I’m banking on. I don’t set myself up for
big disappointments. I don’t want to wait on a
major label. If you keep grinding and rocking
the streets and creating a buzz for yourself,
it’ll happen. Jay-Z said a long time ago, “Treat
your first like your last and your last like your
first.” It’s always a startover process. I believe
I’ve done so much work in this game that I’m not
starting over, I’m just grinding harder. I gotta do
more work. I don’t have a team of niggas. I don’t
have fifty muthafuckers in the office working for
my company. It’s really just me with about three
other people. The labels are really gonna have to
be talking what I’m talking, because I done put
so much work in the game. Come on, man. Not
to be feeling my own shit, but you know, Master
P fucked with a nigga like me and then picked
both of my songs for singles. I know what my ca-
pabilities are, but these labels are ignoring me
like they don’t see me. The labels really piss
on 5th Ward Weebie, for real. They know about
me; they heard about me. They know what I’m
doing. If they wanna holla, they know where to
find me. It’s like a Mike Jones situation. Every-
body has their struggle process where they’ve
gotta grind. I ain’t trippin’, I’m just doing me.
Do people confuse you with Webbie?
Yeah, it’s a lot of confusion because the names
are similar. They’re spelled different, though,
and I’ve always been 5th Ward Weebie.
I heard you were facing a murder charge?
Yeah, they tried to C-Murder me. Much love,
shout outs to my dawg C-Murder, keep your
head up. I beat that case, man. New evidence,
no probably cause. It was just a he-said, she-
said situation. I was the only known name in the
club from New Orleans, so they put a stamp on
New Orleans. They figure everybody from New
Orleans is a headbusser and a murderer. Nig-
gas ain’t stupid. I’m not scared and I’m not no
hoe, but I’m not stupid. I’m a rapper out here
performing, trying to make money. Why would
I be stupid enough to murder somebody in the
club and put somebody in a predicament? They
couldn’t put two and two together. When they
found out I had video footage of the actual inci-
dent, they tried to break the charge down from
second degree murder to accessory after the
fact. First they said I murdered somebody, then
they said I didn’t but I know who did. Since they
couldn’t charge me with murder they tried to
bring it down. It was a bunch of bullshit. Those
dicksuckers ain’t even know what they was do-
ing. My lawyer beat that. They really ain’t have
nothing on me. Hip-hop is under a telescope.
They always try to knock off young black rap-
pers who are getting money. If we do anything
other than what they expect, they try to pin a
murder on us. It’s crazy. I just move on from
that shit.
- Julia Beverly

OZONE AUGUST 2005 A29

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 DAVID
BANNER
PUT IN YEARS OF HARD WORK
TO GET TO THE TOP. NOW HE’S
GOT TO “PLAY” TO STAY THERE.

WORDS & PHOTOS:

JULIA BEVERLY

A32 OZONE AUGUST 2005

D
o you think MTA2: Baptized in Dirty Wa- themselves. Nobody cares if you had a bad day. spend more time trying to rap, why rap?
ter was your weakest album because it Nobody cares if this is your first time out. If you Because I have a goal. I can have more of an
was put together so quickly? went from being on the streets, homeless, to effect on the world being a rapper. It’s cool
Nah, because I’ve heard people say that was being considered a ten-million dollar dude in being a producer, and you make more money.
their favorite album. I was trying to make a less than a week, nobody cares that it’s gonna But I can always make money. God has blessed
record for the streets, and I think I really ac- take a minute to get adjusted to that. People me to be able to make money. But some people
complished that. The songs that are on the CD don’t give a fuck about you. I’m a good person said I had an effect on the Emmett Till case.
could’ve been at the same level of a “Like A and I love people, but it took my own mother to Some people say I changed the way that people
Pimp” or any other record that I ever produced, tell me, “Everyone’s not like you.” All the stuff view Mississippi. Regardless of whether these
it was just a timing thing. “My Lord,” that was I did in the streets before, the negative things things are true or not, these are powers that I
the equivalent of a “Cadillac on 22’s.” “Crank It I did to people, I did them because of a neces- have only through becoming a rapper. I can’t go
Up” was jammin’. Even now that I go back and sity. I did stuff that I would never talk about on on TV and be like, “Hey, I’m a producer!” Be-
listen to the CD, that shit was jammin’. It’s just the record, I would never say it in a magazine. ing able to be on VH1 and MTV and BET means
not what people expected from me. Even if you more to me than any money. I don’t believe
listen to “Play,” nobody expects that from Da- Hurting people physically, emotionally? that a producer could get the cover of OZONE
vid Banner, at all. Most people don’t even know Yeah. All of that. But all the stuff I ever did, Magazine - could he? To be immortalized in
that’s my song. it was out of necessity, because I had no way history means more to me than money does.
to eat or had to provide for my family. I never Nobody can take my cover of OZONE away. No-
People don’t expect to hear a song like “Play” did anything just because I wanted to do some- body can take my cover of The Source or Fader
because you’re known for being politically thing negative. Anybody I ever did something or URB away. That’s history. That goes down in
and spiritually active in the community? to deserved it because they put their hands on history forever. Nobody can “x” me out of his-
Well damn, I’m still a grown-ass man. I’m thirty- me or stepped in front of whatever I had to do tory. That’s what means the most to me, being
one years old. I think the problem is that people in life. So that’s the harshest reality – people a historical figure.
don’t understand that we’re just people who don’t give a fuck about you. People only care
make songs. Actors can make a movie, and it’s about what they can get out of a situation. Where does your obsession with firearms and
just a movie. We stick an R-rated sticker on it. weapons come from?
A porn actor could say his porn is art, but rap- Do you want to talk about your father’s ill- I understand that the government is no more
pers can’t just make movies. I wanna make mu- ness, or your health problems? honest or upstanding than the average man.
sic that affects every part of a person’s brain. No, not really. Like I said, people don’t give The government and the police department are
What people don’t know is that song has a deep a fuck about that. People are like, “Where’s just as crooked as any individual. You’ve got
meaning to it. First of all, Mr. Collipark a.k.a. DJ David Banner?” Seven months ago I almost died racist people who will kill you because of your
Smurf, the guy that signed the Ying Yang Twins from a heart attack. I had been on the road color; racist cops who will kill you because of
and produces for the Ying Yang Twins, came up for two years straight. I had put out four al- your color. If a police man has the right to bear
with something called intimate club music. He bums – Mississippi, MTA2, and both chopped & arms, regular everyday people should have the
said that crunk music left a lot of the ladies out, Screwed albums – all in one year. I stayed on right to bear arms.
so we’re gonna have to start making music for the road from promo to promo. People are like,
the ladies. He told me, “I want you to be a part “Why you ain’t been here?” It was because I Wouldn’t it be dangerous for anyone to be
of this movement. The whisper song was just was working. Not only that, I’m a producer too. able to obtain a gun, at any time, any place?
the beginning of my music, and I want you to be I’m a platinum producer. I’m actually bigger as I really don’t think it’d be any more dangerous.
a part of it. Your duty is to make songs, not for a producer than I am as a rapper, and I spend A person who really wants to get it poppin’ can
every woman in the club, but for one woman more time trying to be a rapper. People never find what they need. That’s what I don’t under-
in the club. Your duty is to make every woman understood that when I leave from a show, I stand about these bullshit laws. A person who’s
feel like she’s that one woman.” I coupled that can’t go home. I can’t go party. I gotta go do a a criminal doesn’t give a fuck about the reper-
with a conversation I had with a friend of mine beat for Young Buck, or Nelly, or whoever. cussions of the law anyway. Think about it.
who’s a dyke. She does both men and women,
and I asked her why. She said, “Because men If you make more money as a producer and You seem to be a natural politician. Do you
are selfish. But when
a woman loves a man,
she’ll do anything she “PEOPLE
can for that man.” So
I was thinking, damn, DON’T
if a dude made a song GIVE A
saying the stuff that
women want to hear, FUCK
but still from a man’s
perspective, he’s outta ABOUT
here. It’s a hit. YOU.
Having been in the PEOPLE
music industry for
several years now, ONLY
what would you say is CARE
the harshest reality of
the business? ABOUT
People don’t really
care about what’s WHAT
right. They care about THEY
themselves. No mat-
ter how much right you CAN GET
do or how much you
do for the community, OUT OF
no matter what you’re A SITUA-
going through – your fa-
ther’s sick, you’re sick,
you just fell off a mo-
TION.”
torcycle and broke half
your body up – people
don’t care about you.
They only care about

OZONE AUGUST 2005 A33

 think you’ll ever run for office?
It’s funny you ask that, because a good friend
of mine in the music industry is trying to prep
me to become the governor of Mississippi.
He says that constantly. I don’t like the word
“politician.” To me, a politician is a person
who has an ulterior motive. Originally, a per-
son who ran for office was supposed to be
a regular person from the community who
cared about the people. Today’s politicians
only use politics to position themselves for
other things – real estate, finances, war, pow-
er, or influence. Me, I love people. I love be-
ing around people and I’m not afraid to speak
to people. It’s funny because in America to-
day, with the exception of some parts of the
South, people don’t even speak to each other.
People would rather fight you than greet you.
That’s not how I was raised. I love people and
enjoy people. I love my fans and I love people
who want to be around me. So, if God puts
me in a position that fits for me to run for
office, then that’s what I’ll do. When I ran
for SGA president at Southern [University], it
wasn’t because I had a motive. It was just the
“TO BE IM-
MORTALIZED
IN HISTO-
RY MEANS
MORE TO
ME THAN
MONEY
DOES.
NOBODY
CAN ‘X’ ME
OUT OF HIS-
TORY.”
A34 OZONE AUGUST 2005
position that the students at Southern were in
at the time. It was bad. I’d always hear people
say, “If somebody real ran for office, I’d vote
for them and I’d be involved.” It was real pitiful
around campus. I ran because of the state we
were in at the time, not really because it was
something I wanted to do.
If you did decide to run for governor of Mis-
sissippi, don’t you think you’d have a lot of
detractors who’d criticize your lyrics?
I don’t worry about them. That’s the problem
with a lot of politicians. Nobody’s perfect. You
need somebody regular in office, who’s made
mistakes, who can understand the plight of the
common man. If you haven’t went through any-
thing, how can you understand the average per-
son? That’s the problem with America. You’ve
got all these people who were born to be politi-
cians. They don’t know nothing about real life
and real people, therefore, they can’t adjust
or cater to real people. They’re fake. They’re
artificial people.
You and Lil Flip had planned to do an album
together, but that never happened, and he
isn’t featured on your new album. Did the T.I.
vs. Lil Flip situation cause problems for you
since you’re friends with both of them?
Nah. Me and Flip had a song together for this al-
bum, but we’d sampled the Eurythmics and the
sample didn’t clear. When T.I. and Lil Flip had
beef, they both were very understanding about
the relationship that I had with each of them.
Wasn’t Chaka Zulu managing you for a short
time?
Me and Chaka are still the best of friends. He
just had so much on his plate, and didn’t want
to compromise the friendship that we had. With
me being as serious about my career as I can be
at times, he just had too much going on.
There was a rumor that you dissed Kanye
West.
That’s not true. One of the things I hate about
rap is that it’s turning into the WWF. Everybody’s
looking for beef and drama. I’m so sick of peo-
ple talking about ‘Pac and Biggie and how much
they cared about them, but they still perpetu-
ate violence between rappers. A DJ brought me
a beat he wanted me to rap over, [Kanye West’s]
“Diamonds Are Forever,” and I did the song the
way I woulda done it if it was my song. People
turned that into a diss.
You’ve always been very accessible to people in
the industry. Why did you recently change your
phone number?
Somebody put my phone number on the inter-
net and told people to call me if they wanted a
deal. A thousand people called me and it was just
overwhelming. Somebody called me and growled,
“David Banner, you the realest nigga evaaaaaaah-
hhhh!” and hung up. I was like, wow, it’s time to
change my number.
When it comes time to narrow down the songs
that are going to make it on your album, how do
you choose?
For Certified, I tried to put nothing but hits on
there. Every song on there could be a single, I
think. I just tried to stop being personal about it.
I let people hear it. I called a lot of DJs and got
their opinions.
People wondered why you named your song
“Cadillac on 22’s” and it wasn’t really about a
Cadillac on 22’s.
It actually did have to do with Cadillac on 22’s.
People don’t wanna think about it. It was a mes-
sage to God. I was basically saying that I want to
do what’s right, but it’s hard when you’re trying
to reach kids who come from nothing. They see
the hustlers with Cadillacs on 22’s. It’s hard to get
their attention and talk about something positive
that may not materialize right now. They can see
that Cadillac on 22’s; they can touch it. They’ve
watered down rap so much that there’s no imagi-
nation no more. People don’t dig deeper into the
songs. Like I said in a freestyle, “Cadillac on 22’s,
that was cool / But y’all would rather see a nigga
act a muthafuckin’ fool.” Record companies don’t
want people to think.
You don’t talk about death as much as you used
to.
I try to be a little brighter now. I went back and lis-
tened to my last two albums and it was so fuckin’
morbid and depressing. I don’t want to feel like
that no more. A friend of mine was like, “Dawg,
you not struggling no more. Smile, be happy. Your
 life is getting better. You’re blessed.” As much as I’ve
been blessed, I’m still a really down person a little bit.
The crowd will never see that, though. I’m so critical
of myself and my career. I don’t ever take time out to
be happy about the things I’ve accomplished. I concen-
trate more on the things I didn’t do right; relationships
I could’ve handled better.

Let’s talk about some of the other people you worked

with on this album, like Jazze Pha.
My thing with Jazze Pha goes a whole lot further than
just music. When I was in Atlanta and was doing bad,
Jazze helped me out. A lot of the early work I got was
because Jazze would always allow me to come into his
studio. Bonecrusher was the one that introduced me to
all of them. When I was doing bad, Jazze would just tell
me to come in and sit back and studio. I never forgot
his kindness. He would even give me drum sounds and
stuff.

Lil Jon.
Lil Jon was just interested in me because he saw the
hustle, and early on he’d even help me out with beats.
When he got hot, dude still supported me and made sure
I got good looks in his videos. The whole Atlanta move-
ment really supported me and what I was trying to do
for Mississippi.

Lil Scrappy.
Scrappy’s like my little brother. He reminds me of how I
was at that age. I always wanted to make sure he’d be
aight, even before his career popped off. Scrappy just
recently came back to Mississippi and did a free concert
for the kids for me.

Mannie Fresh.
I met Mannie Fresh at The Source Awards, when all of
us performed – me, him, Ying Yang, Bonecrusher, every-
body. Mannie was like, “Dude, you’re one of my favorite
artists, cause you’re the underdog. I root for the under-
dog, and I wanna help you.” Ever since then, Mannie has
always helped me, given me sounds, always keeping me
updated on what’s going on. If somebody’s working on
some stuff, he’ll make sure I’m a part of it. Me, Jazze,
and Mannie are just the get money brothers.

Trick Daddy.
Trick goes down in history for me because “Thug Holi-
day” was the first big hit I ever had. Trick really got
it poppin’ for me, and he’s always helped me do well.
Whenever he sees me, he either tells me what I’m doing
wrong or what I’m doing right.

Nelly.
When I produced “Tip Drill” for Nelly, he had already
sold like fifteen million, so for Nelly to come to me for
production was really big. Everywhere I went, people
would tell me, “Nelly was talking about your beats on
the radio.” Dealing with Nelly is one of the things that
helped solidify David Banner as a top-notch producer,
and of course, “Tip Drill” was the ghetto video of the
century.

T.I.
“Rubber Band Man” was the biggest production credit of
my career so far. T.I. told me a long time ago, “If you be-
lieve in me and work with me, I’m gonna take this song
and flip it a million times and come back and get you.”
A lot of people say that, but not too many people keep
their word. Dude came back and took care of me, so
that let me know that it’s still some men in this industry
that can keep their word. Even before he blew up Tip
always made sure he paid whatever he could for beats
– he didn’t want nothing for free.

Twista.
Twista’s one of the best homies in the game. We’ve
known each other for almost ten years. Whenever I call
him, he’s there.
(Above) Banner was elected SGA President of Southern University in 1996, but don’t call him a politician
OZONE
OZONE A
AUGUST
UGUST 2005
2005 AA35
35
A36 OZONE AUGUST 2005
 BEHIND THE SCENES ON THE SET OF DAVID BANNER’S “PLAY” Photos by TJ Chapman

A38 OZONE AUGUST 2005

 IN TODAY’S FINALLY! MY OWN
ADVENTURE, THE MISSIS-
SIPPI MADMAN DAVID BAN- COMIC BOOK!
NER MORPHS INTO THE YEA!
INCREDIBLE HULK AND
INTRODUCES US TO THE
REST OF HIS CERTIFIED
SUPERHERO
SQUAD!

WORDS/PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS:
JULIA BEVERLY
ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS:
TJ CHAPMAN, JARO VACEK,
CJ PETERS, & KING YELLA

A40 OZONE AUGUST 2005

 DAVID BANNER’S VIDEO APPEARANCES!
LIL JON, FAT SO FRESH, SO
JOE, & TRICK CLEAN ON THE
DADDY’S SET OF
“PLAY NO “PLAY”!
GAMES”!

WITH LIL FLIP

LUDACRIS’ ON THE SET
“DIAMOND IN OF YUNG WUN’S
THE BACK”! “TEAR IT UP”!

WITH LIL JON YOUNG BUCK’S

ON THE SET “LET ME IN”!
OF “CRANK
IT UP”!

CARL ON THE
THOMAS’ SET OF
“MY FIRST YUNG WUN’S
LOVE”! “WALK IT,
TALK IT”
WITH YUNG &
SWIZZLE!

WITH
BOOSIE
ON THE
SET OF
“AIN’T
GOT
NOTHIN”

ON THE SET
OF CARL THOMAS’
“MY FIRST LOVE”!

WITH COUSIN WITH WILLIE AND

DEWAYNE ON THE COUSIN SWEETS
SET OF “CADIL- ON THE SET OF
LAC ON 22’S”! “CRANK IT UP”!

FUN FACT: DAVID BANNER WILL HAVE A SUPPORTING ROLE IN CRAIG BREWER’S
NEXT FILM, BLACK SNAKE MOON. BREWER ALSO DIRECTED HUSTL E & FLOW.
OZONE AUGUST 2005 A41
 DAVID BANNER’S CERTIFIED OZONE COMIC BOOK!

LIL JON!
INTRODUCING...

...THE KING OF CRUNK CAN DOWN A PIMP

CUP OF CRUNK!!! ENERGY DRINK AND
CURSE OUT HIS CEO IN A SINGLE BOUND!

What song are you featured on for David Banner’s new album
Certified?
The song I’m on, “Treat Me Like,” featuring Jadakiss, was supposed to
be on the album, but [my label] TVT are some bitches. In case y’all didn’t
know, I’ll never record another album for TVT again. You’re hearing it right
here in OZONE.

Wow. This sounds like it’s gonna be an interesting interview.

Yeah. I don’t fuck with [TVT Records owner] Steve Gottlieb.

Why’s that?
He don’t know how to pay people and take care of the people that helped
take his label to another level. You’ve gotta take care of the people that
helped you make money and basically made your company and made other
artists wanna come to your fuckin’ label.

Is he just birdfeeding you, giving you small checks?

He ain’t even doing that. I ain’t getting shit.

How many copies did your album sell?

Total, with all the albums that we’ve ever put out, I’ve had record sales
totaling probably about ten million, and I ain’t seen no money from the WHAAAT?!?!!
label. None at all. Zip, zero. Show money and production is how I’m get- YEAAAHH!!!!
ting paid.

Is there some legal action being taken?

We’ve got some things going on with Mr. Steve Gottlieb.

How can he do that, legally, if you’ve got a contract?

Well, you know, people hide things and claim that there are reasons why
you ain’t got your money. But it’s all bullshit.

Claiming that they’ve got to recoup expenses?

Yeah, that’s part of the bullshit, but damn dawg, we sold a lot of records.
Shoulda recouped by now. I don’t wanna get into all the contract details,
but basically, fuck Steve Gottlieb. I need my money.

What about the other artists that you helped bring to the la-
bel? Are they getting paid?
I don’t know if Pitbull is happy. I don’t know if Ying Yang is happy. I don’t
think Jacki-O is happy. I don’t think Teedra Moses is happy. I don’t think
anybody’s happy at TVT.
So what’s the problem? Wouldn’t a CEO want to keep his big-
gest artist happy?
Yeah, you would think that. One of the main rules of having a record com-
pany is to take care of your people. Take care of your little soldiers and
they’ll be down with you forever. He don’t take care of nobody.
It wasn’t an issue before, with previous albums?
Yeah, it was, but sometimes you let stuff build up so you can get a more
substantial payday later on.
When is your contract up?
I have a couple more years, but legally, that stuff will all be worked out.
Somebody else might wanna pick up the contract or whatever. Who
knows what could happen. All I know is that I don’t fuck with Steve Got-
tlieb. I’m not gonna do any more records for TVT. I’d rather quit rapping
than give this muthafucker another album.
So because of the issues with TVT, you can’t appear on other
LIL JON’S VITAL STATS:
ALTER EGO: JONATHAN SMITH
COSTUME: PLATINUM GRILL, SUNGLASSES
SUPERPOWER: ZERO TO CRUNK IN 60 SECONDS!
artists’ albums?
Right, and that goes back to the Banner thing. [Steve Gottlieb] and Ban-
ner had worked out something, and I guess he’s reneging on their agreement.
Whenever you’re signed to a label, you have to get clearance to appear as a
feature on other artists’ albums. Banner personally talked to Mr. Gottlieb on a
couple occasions about me getting on a record for his album. I think Mr. Got-
tlieb told Banner that he would clear it, but since now I’m not recording for
Steve or even talking to Steve, he thinks he can get back at me by not clearing
features. He won’t even let me get in videos. I did the “I’m A King” song with
P$C and he sent the label letters preventing them from using the footage. I
can’t get in the video for the YoungBloodz “Presidential.” It’s a bunch of fuckin’
bullshit. He’s hating. But he can’t get to me, because I can still make money as
a producer. He can’t hurt me.
Why wasn’t a video filmed for “Lovers & Friends”? There were ru-
mors that you had problems with Usher. Do you feel like the record
coulda been bigger than what it was?
That was the labels again. When you’ve got a song with three superstars from

FUN FACT: DAVID BANNER APPEARED IN ONE OF LIL JON’S FIRST VIDEOS, “BIA
BIA,” SPITTING FLAMES - LITERALLY!
A42 OZONE AUGUST 2005

GETTING
CRUNK!!! AT THE
OAKLEY PARTY IN
LOS ANGELES!
three different labels, everybody wants the best for their artists. The
situation just never got worked out. I ain’t really mad, because we still
had the #1 record. The fans showed that they loved it because they made
it #1 without a video. Me and Usher are cool. We’ve talked a few times
recently. I’m gonna be doing some tracks for some of his other artists.
Was it a similar situation, where the label didn’t want to clear
the features?
Yeah, it was clearances, and mismanaging. Steve has his Def Jam prob-
lems because of the Lyor Cohen lawsuit. Def Jam has a sour taste in
their mouths with Steve from that situation, so that could be part of the
problem with getting Ludacris’ verse cleared. It’s just crazy.
Were you happy with the Crunk Juice album sales?
My album sales are amazing. Two million plus and the record is still sell-
ing. I’m blessed to even be able to put out the last album. I look at every-
thing as a blessing. I don’t look at anything negative, because no matter
how much negative shit happens to you, there’s always something posi-
tive you could pull out of it. I showed people I could do some shit other
than crunk music. I showed them I could do R&B shit too. It showed that
people loved me and Usher and Luda together.
Why aren’t the Eastside Boyz on the Anger Management
tour with you?
They’re at home working on their album. I don’t really wanna be an
artist right now. I wanna produce. Even though I’ve had all this success,
I haven’t really been able to sit at home and do tracks like most produc-
ers. They wanna become as big as I am. They wanna become stars too.
When we do stuff together, sometimes people just talk to me because
they don’t know who the Eastside Boyz are. They wanna do their own
thing and stand on their own two feet, so they’re at home working on
their record. I came out to do the shows cause the shows were already
booked, and somebody’s gotta go do the shows. So they’re home doing
their album. Me, Scrappy, and Bohagon are working on their albums.
We’ve got the studio on the bus so we comin’ up with some hot shit.
Did Trillville skip the tour because of the Lil Scrappy beef?
Nah, Scrappy and Trillville are cool. They had their problems, but they
worked that shit out after those mixtapes came out. Trillville is doing
their thing. I needed to bring Scrappy on the road to keep him out there.
Trillville just had a big record and their album’s coming, but Scrappy
hasn’t had anything since “No Problems.”
Was Scrappy trying to leave BME for G-Unit?
Scrappy and 50 are real cool, and Scrappy and Buck are real cool. So,
you know, that’s his people. He’s not trying to leave BME cause BME
got him to where he’s at, but I guess if 50 can help us make Scrappy
a bigger artist, let’s do it. We’re in this game to sell units. I didn’t ex-
pect Game to sell as many records as he did, but when 50 stepped
in he helped Game become way bigger and sell more records than he
would’ve by himself. It might end up being the same type of situation
with Scrappy. It’s all a business, you know? I have to figure it out. It
could be just 50 talkin’ on some records.
I heard they tried to Punk you on MTV.
Yeah, they clearly tried to Punk me. They tried to get me with the same
shit they did to T.I., but it didn’t work. T.I. was getting on a private jet,
and there was some bags in there and they were like, “Who’s bags are
these?” On mine, they had a body in the bag. Dude was duct-taped
and tied up and shit. On T.I.’s they had some bullets in the bag. He’s on
probation, so this muthafucker was trippin’, buggin’ out.
How did you figure it out?
Luda hit me one time like, “Yo, nigga, word on the street is that Ashton
Kutcher is tryin’ to get us. Keep your eyes out, be on the lookout. We
the only niggas he ain’t got.” So I was on edge from that day forward.
Anything weird happening, I’m going crazy, like, “What the fuck? Y’all
tryin’ to punk me?” So it only took me about five minutes to figure that
out. Muthafuckers were sayin’ slick shit. And usually, when you get on
a private jet, it’s on a runway. This jet is in a hanger, and there’s a Win-
nebago in the hanger. It was just a couple things that didn’t make sense.
And a body in a bag? Come on, man, you ain’t gonna get me with that.
You gotta do better than that. I don’t think they’re gonna air it, cause
[Ashton Kutcher] is supposed to be invincible and shit.
When I interviewed you a year ago you predicted that Ciara’s
“Goodies” would be your next big record. You turned out to
be right – what’s your prediction for the next big record?
I got a couple new ones. I just did a Styles P and Akon song that’s hot,
and I’ve got an Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg song (whistles), that shit is
crazy. It’s for Ice Cube’s album. Then I’ve got an Elephant Man joint.
We still figuring out records for E-40, Scrappy, and Bohagon. They’ve
got one called “White Girl” that’s hot.
Any interesting tour stories from Anger Management?
To me it’s just work. Every day I’ve gotta be mentally ready to get out
there and give niggas a good show. We haven’t toured since the Crunk
Juice album, so to get out here and touch these fans after Dave Chap-
pelle and Crunk Juice, it’s great. Eminem brings me on stage with him
every night now to close out the shows, so that’s like Em cosigning for
me. At the end of the show, he says, “Lil Jon, is it over?” The last thing
the audience hears is me saying “Yeah!” and “What?!” So I ain’t really
got no crazy stories, I’m just out here working. I’m like a brand-new
artist, that’s how I’m looking at the shit. Even though I’m out here with
[Eminem and 50 Cent] I’m still the opening act, so I’m grindin’, making
contacts with the DJs and trying to make business happen. CRUNK!!!
Energy Drink happened because we were on tour. When we went on
the Grey Goose tour I met the guy from Grey Goose, Sydney Frank,
and that’s how he got involved with CRUNK!!! Energy Drink. He put
the money up. So, after the last tour CRUNK!!! Energy Drink hap-
pened, and this is a way bigger tour so who knows what’s gonna happen.
We’re just looking for opportunities.
Anything else you’d like to say about Banner’s album?
Banner, you need a vacation, you piece of shit. You work too hard. La-
dies and gentlemen, I don’t think y’all understand. Y’all really need to go
pick up Banner’s new album, because this muthafucker was going crazy.
Julia can attest to that – he was losing his mind, no sleep, working on
this damn album to make y’all muthafuckers happy. So you need to give
that man the courtesy and go pick it up. Buy his muthafuckin’ album.
BANNER AND
JON AT FUNK-
MASTER FLEX’S
CAR SHOW IN
MIAMI!
OZONE AUGUST 2005 A43
 DAVID BANNER’S CERTIFIED OZONE COMIC BOOK!

NELLY!
INTRODUCING...

THIS ST. LOUIS SUPERPOWER’S CO-SIGN

HELPED CARRY DAVID BANNER’S PRODUC-
TION CAREER TO NEW HEIGHTS!

Why did you decide to drop two albums on the same day,
Sweat and Suit?
Honestly, I went into the whole project looking to do one joint. Then I just
started doing so much material I thought it would be hot to do something
different and new.

How long did it take you to record the album?

I probably did the bulk of it in about a month, a month and a half. From
there I was just adding on pieces here and there. After you do it, you want
to listen, see what you got, see what you don’t have, see what you might
wanna add.

When you go into the studio do you specifically say, “Now I’m
going to make a song for the ladies” or “Now I’m going to make
a party song”? What’s the process like?
I just go in and do it. I work with a lot of my in-house producers like Base-
ment Beats and Mo’ Beats, so I pretty much already know what it is I
wanna do. I’m not really trying to categorize it and say, “This one’s for this”
or “This one’s for that.” But it does get to a point to where you have to
be like, “Okay, do I have everything to make this a well-rounded album?”
That’s when I came up with the whole concept of doing two albums. I
realized that people have supported me on both ends of the music that
I do. I’ve had people support me on the “#1”, “Hot in Herre,” “Air Force
Ones,” “Country Grammar,” and “E.I.” But they also supported “Pimp
Juice,” “Ride Wit Me” and “Dilemma.” So I was like, “How about if I just
separated them and did one album of each?”

Let’s talk about some of the collaborations on your album.

They sound natural. Some collaborations nowadays are basi-
cally just people sending files back and forth.
Well, sometimes you have to do the parts separately because of schedul-
ing. I would love to be in the studio with the artist every time, but it just
doesn’t work out that way. With Christina, we were in the studio at the
same time. With Jaheim, we never got to be in the studio at the same
time because he had a lot of stuff he had to do in New York, and I had a lot
of stuff I was doing out of L.A. It was impossible to hook up, so we com-
municated on the phone lines, working back and forth. We had a vibe, an
understanding of what we wanted out of the song, so it was easy. We were
both thinking in the same direction.
What was the studio process with Christina like?
We were just in the studio just chillin’, having fun because the song is so up-
tempo. Christina’s voice is incredible, so we just really cut it loose. It was a
bit different for both of us because it was our first time working together.
We had to feel each other out, but after a while we just had a ball.
You also have hot Southern artists like David Banner and T.I.
on your album. Why did you decide to collaborate with them?
Because I appreciate what they do. I’ve always been a fan of artists like
T.I. and Big Gipp. I’ve been a fan of Goodie Mob since before I was an
artist. I grew up on [labels like] South Circle and Suave House [with
artists like] Mr. Mike. Now that I get a chance to work with artists from
the South that aren’t necessarily selling records on a national scale, I take
advantage of it. I’m so appreciative of all the support people have given
to me. I’m not taking it lightly and I don’t expect to do it each time I come
out. I don’t expect to sell over 5 million albums every time I come out. Am
I hoping for it? Yeah. But if it don’t happen, will I be upset? No, because
who can really say that they’ve accomplished everything I’ve accomplished
in their first few years?
We also have Nelly the businessman. You’ve been making some
IT MUST BE
YOUR ASS,
CAUSE IT AIN’T
YOUR FACE!
NELLY’S VITAL STATS:
ALTER EGO: CORNELL HAYNES JR.
COSTUME: GOLD TOOTH, BAND-AID
SUPERPOWER: RAP-SANGIN’!
serious power moves lately.
You have to. You want to be able to explore other options. I idolize P. Diddy,
Jay-Z, Russell Simmons, Master P and people who have had success outside
of music. It shows people that you’re not just a dumb-ass rapper with a doo-rag
on, because there are still a lot of people out there who think that’s all rappers
are. A lot of people think that, and we don’t help them out a lot when we first
get in the game. We don’t do much to change their minds. And that’s because
you’re taking kids that a lot of times come from nothing. All of a sudden you give
them something and you expect them to know how to operate and manage it
and make it last and make it functional. That’s just not the case. You’re taking a
kid who just yesterday was hanging out on the block, chillin’ with his homies and
all of a sudden he’s a businessman and he’s an entrepreneur. You have people
who go to school for 15 and 12 years just to learn how to do that. So it’s culture
shock. Boom: here’s this money, now know how to manage it and know what
to do with it to make more. We all want to be able to go outside of music and
make something happen so we can stop rapping. Then we can do albums at our
leisure, because we’re feeling the music, not because we have to do it to make
money. That’s where I’m trying to get to in my career.

FUN FACT: DAVID BANNER PRODUCED THE BEAT FOR NELLY’S INFAMOUS “TIP
DRILL,” A REMIX OF HIS HIT “E.I.”
A44 OZONE AUGUST 2005
 DAVID BANNER’S CERTIFIED OZONE COMIC BOOK!

INTRODUCING...

JAZZE PHA!
...THE UNDERRATED MEMPHIS MACK IN-
JECTS SOME PIMPIN’ FLAVOR TO DAVID
BANNER’S NEW ALBUM CERTIFIED!

How did you and David Banner start working together?

I met Banner a few years back. He used to come through my studio with
Bonecrusher. He was really tryin’ to grind. He spent a lot of time at my
studio, just watching and checkin’ out what was going on and the way I did
things. I’m from Memphis and he’s from Jackson, so we kinda like cousins
anyway.

I remember once he mentioned that you’d let him borrow some

production equipment.
Oh, I let him use my sounds. Borrowing equipment is nothing, but he
wanted to borrow some sounds. In production, nobody does that. I mean,
Banner’s just that kinda guy. I wouldn’t give that to anybody. It’s only a
couple producers that I would do that for.

What song did you produce on his new album Certified?

I produced “We Should Be Fuckin’.” We was in the studio kickin’ it, and I OH
told him that’s what he needed. I don’t think he really heard the potential BOY!
at first, but he took a stab at it just because he felt like it was cool. He was
really checkin’ out the vibe of the song and he fell in love with it.

Being from Memphis, how would you compare the music scene
in Memphis to the scene in Atlanta?
I think Memphis is definitely a musical city. Atlanta just had more resources
with LaFace and So So Def and Dallas Austin and everybody doing they
thing. Atlanta just had that head start on a big label level. I’ve got so much
going on out here in Atlanta, I don’t know if I could leave my city now. It’s
like going out of town. I’ve gotta be here. It’s so much more going on here
for me. It’s more friendly for record labels, too. If a label wants to send
Mariah Carey down here to Atlanta, she can come see Jazze Pha, Dallas
Austin, and JD all at one time. It’s more accessible.

Didn’t you originally have a joint venture with Young Jeezy?

Why did you go separate ways?
It’s just that Jeezy wanted to go his own way with his project. I told him
in the beginning that I wasn’t gonna hold him to a contract, because if he
wanted to be gone he could go. I didn’t go to L.A. Reid, I didn’t go to
nobody at Def Jam, I went to Jeezy and I told him myself – do whatever
you want to do with your situation. We had no beef; nothing like that. I love
him, he’s like my little brother. He can always come to me and holla at me.
He knows who put him on, and as long as we know, it’s all good.
You seem to have a knack for finding new talent. Is there any
up-and-coming artists you’d like to name?
Yeah, look out for my man Tone Tone, out of Detroit, and my group Neph-
ew. I’m also closing a deal with a young female that’s incredible, but I don’t
want to say her name yet. And, of course, Jody Breeze is still with Shon-
uff and Boyz N Da Hood. Ciara’s doing movies and a tour right now.
What’s going on with your solo project?
Me and Cee-Lo are doing a whole album together right now called The
Happy Hour. That’s the next thing. As far as my solo project, I had prob-
lems with Atlantic Records. They didn’t want to do what they were sup-
posed to do for the Jazze Pha project, so I had to find a way to do some-
thing else. It’ll be coming out in November, and I’m doing the majority of
the production. Me and Atlantic Records are not seeing eye to eye right
now. I’ve got a label deal now with Capital.
JAZZE PHA’S VITAL STATS:
ALTER EGO: FENZELL WASHINGTONZELL
COSTUME: SUNGLASSES, 5X JERSEY
SUPERPOWER: EAR FOR NEW TALENT
feeling. It’s just the typical story of someone who’s like, if I make it, I ain’t gonna
be able to hide it. If I make a few mill, you’ll know. I’m gonna put on some new
rims, new clothes, and new jewels.
Do you ever just sit back and think about the fact that you make
money to do what you love?
Aw, yeah, I mean, I can’t believe it sometimes. But it ain’t always easy work.
A lot of people see the effortlessness and the fun parts of the music. The easy
part is in the studio. It takes nothing to cut a record. If it was that easy to push it
and make a whole country of people feel the same way about the song, every-
body would do it. There’s a lot of work involved. To wake up at 7 AM to take a
flight, day after day after day, people don’t understand what kind of wear and
tear we go through.

On Slim Thug’s “Incredible Feeling,” you talk about how much Are there any producers today that you feel are underrated?
fun it is to make money. Is that your main motivation for being Yeah, Jazze Pha! But it’s cool, because that’s why I stepped up and started
in this business, or is it more about the music? saying my name and letting people know that my presence is here. Showing up
You know, that’s just one aspect of it. It’s a celebration. It’s really a great in the videos has done a lot for my career in the last few years.

FUN FACT: JAZZE PHA’S FATHER, JAMES ALEXANDER, WAS A MEMBER OF THE
LEGENDARY SOUL SINGERS THE BAR-KAYS!
OZONE AUGUST 2005 A45
 DAVID BANNER’S CERTIFIED OZONE COMIC BOOK!

GET COOL!
INTRODUCING...

...OUR HERO SETS OUT TO PROVE THAT HIS

HOMETOWN OF CORDELE, GEORGIA, IS
MORE THAN JUST AN I-75 SPEED TRAP!

Where are you from?

Cordele, Georgia. Twenty minutes from Albany and thirty minutes from
Macon.

For some reason I thought you were from the Carolinas, be-
cause of your affiliation with Petey Pablo.
Nah, nah, I’m from Cordele, Georgia. Get it right. I ain’t from Atlanta, I
ain’t from Albany, I’m from Cordele, Georgia.

The speed trap near the Florida/Georgia border?

Riiiiight. You go through there and you’ll get pulled over quick.

How many speeding tickets have you got in Cordele?

Nine.

Are you the first rapper from Cordele?

Yeah, I’m the first producer and rapper from Cordele. MY CITY,
How did you get into the music game? CORDELE, GA,
I started producing first. I was working with Field Mob and started rap- AIN’T EVEN GOT
ping on the side. Then it went from me meeting Petey Pablo and produc- NO DAMN MALL!
ing for Petey Pablo to going on the road with Petey Pablo as his DJ. I’m
not a DJ, but he fired his DJ [Dynamite] the night we met. He bought
some beats from me and he gave me the job to just push “stop” and “play”
at every show for $300. He bought five tracks from me that night in Pen-
sacola we met and he had a show that night. He gave me the job as his DJ.
I went on the road with him for six months last year.

How did you go from being Petey’s DJ to being an artist?

I been doing this here rappin’ thing for a minute, and I been producing for
a minute. It just blew up, from Field Mob to Petey to Grandaddy Souf to
David Banner to Lil Scrappy to Nelly and everybody else.

What are some tracks you’ve produced?

Grandaddy Souf’s “Run It,” I produced that and rapped the second verse.
David Banner’s “I Put That On Everything,” with him and Twista. I just
did beats for Lil Scrappy and Nelly, but I don’t know the name of their
songs yet.
As a rapper, are you signed or independent?
I’m gonna drop my album indie. My mix CD, Get Cool a.k.a. Mr.
Cordele, comes out August 8th. I’m gonna keep on grinding from there
until somebody offers me a good publishing deal, and then I’m gonna start
my own label and bring my group along, UGB. I’ll keep going from there.
Your voice kinda sounds like Petey Pablo.
Yeah, I done heard that a lot. They say I sound like Petey, or Banner, or
Ludacris. I try not to sound like none of them. I try to sound like myself,
with my deep voice and sangin’ and rappin’ over tracks. I got a different
style from everybody else. I’m the first rapper to sang, rap, harmonize,
and make my own beats all on one song.
Why do you think you’ll be successful as a rapper when there’s
thousands of other people trying to rap?
Because I’m a country boy and I’m very different. My sound is different
from everybody else and I’m more hungry than everybody else. I’m in a
small town. We ain’t even got no damn mall.
Which do you enjoy more: producing or rapping?
Both. Producers make more money, but I like being in the spotlight. I used
to be in a singing group and I’d get mad cause I was in the background. I
GET COOL’S VITAL STATS:
ALTER EGO: WILLIE POOLE
COSTUME: GOLD GRILL, 3-FINGERED CHAIN
SUPERPOWER: MEMORABLE VOICE
used to sing bass, but the lead singer was up front and he’d get all the women.
That’s why I quit the group and started rapping.
How did you end up working with David Banner?
He heard the track I did for Bloodraw and Pastor Troy, “My Block Burn,” and
he got in touch with Bloodraw. TJ the DJ got involved somehow and got my
number and told me to call Banner. I called him and sent him some beat CDs,
and a week later I went up there to mix down that track for him. David Banner
is my boy, my homie, and I’m glad he noticed my talent. He’s behind me 100%.
He’s the coolest brother a guy could meet and he cool to work with and every-
thing. The track I did for him is a band beat, it’s him featuring Twista, “I Put
That On Everything.” I hope it does good for him. I love the guy.
Did you get the chance to work with Twista also?
Nah, Twista wasn’t there, they just sent the beat to him.
Get Cool blessed OZONE with a beat CD filled with 30+ hot tracks. For
a copy, email jb@ozonemag.com.

FUN FACT: GET COOL PRODUCED BLOODRAW’S “MY BLOCK BURN,” GRANDADDY
SOUF’S “RUN IT,” AND DAVID BANNER’S “PUT THAT ON EVERYTHING” WITH TWISTA!
A46 OZONE AUGUST 2005
 DAVID BANNER’S CERTIFIED OZONE COMIC BOOK!

MARCUS.!
INTRODUCING...

EAST MEM-
PHIS IN THE
HOUSE,
...THE FIRST ARTIST ON B.I.G.F.A.C.E. EN- MANE..
TERTAINMENT, THIS SLICK-SPITTING MEM-
PHIS RAPPER IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY!

I hear you’re a little bruised right now. What happened?

Yeah, man, comin’ off Banner’s house there’s a blind turn, and this lady was
speeding and she let me have it. She hit my driver’s door. On the real, it
was kinda ugly, man. My ribs were broken. It’s been two weeks, going on
my third week. They told me anywhere from four to six weeks [to recov-
er], so I’m just sitting around waiting. I’m feeling a lot better than when I
first got my ass knocked off. Still sore, but the swelling’s been going down
a lot. It don’t hurt anymore.

Did your life flash before your eyes?

I’ve been in a couple fender benders before, but yeah, a lot of crazy shit
flashes in front of you. You can’t take life for granted. A week prior to that,
a friend of mine from school was killed in a car accident, and another dude
I know died in a car accident recently. I coulda been dead instead of having
a couple of broken ribs, so I’m just trying to be a little more thankful.

How did you become David Banner’s first artist?

I’m from Memphis, and I came down to Jackson State University to play
ball but I broke my foot. I was in a group called the Doberman Gang.
Banner was in the group Crooked Lettaz with Kamikaze, who went to
Jackson State. When I met Kamikaze, we hit it off. We did a couple songs
with him and eventually I met Banner. We were at Kamikaze’s house, and
we walked a few blocks just talking. He was a real dude. I guess you could
say we had a connection. He was out of town at the time, going to school
at Southern University in Baton Rouge, but every time I saw him it was
on some real cool shit. Originally we were gonna be the first artists out on
[Kamikaze’s] OurGlass Entertainment, but that didn’t work out. It was
all cool though, ain’t no bad blood. Me and DB had never lost contact, we
were always good friends, and one day he pulled me to the side, like, “I
know you’re a writer and a rapper, and I make hella beats, all day, every
day, so let’s put two and two together.”

You were featured on Banner’s song “Gangsta Walk” along

with Three 6 Mafia and 8Ball & MJG. Being from Memphis,
how did it feel to be a part of history like that?
I came up listening to the cats that I’m on the song with. It’s long overdue
for gangsta walkin’ to go nationwide. Everybody in the industry has been
jumpin’ on Southern music, so now it’s cool to be crunk. We been getting
buck in Memphis since I was a little nigga. Niggas been gangsta walkin’
in Memphis ever since I could remember. I think that’s the first dance I
actually knew how to do. I give DB a whole lot of props for reaching out
and making that song happen. That’s the first time those two cliques got
together on the same song, so it was real big. Me, I’m representing East
Memphis. The gangsta walk is like one-two steppin’. It’s kinda like a mosh
pit, but a little more organized. It’s not just a whole lot of pushin’. When
you see any of the Three 6 Mafia videos, you’ll see Crunchy Black gangsta
walkin’. Throughout the years, it’s kinda changed and upgraded. There’s a
lot of different versions. They leaning like Michael Jackson nowadays.
Do you still spell your name with a period at the end?
That’s all the time. The period don’t go nowhere. I use my real name,
Marcus., because it kinda explains to folks what I’m about. My music is
real humble and to the point. It’s me. Ain’t no attitude or no debating. I
don’t jump on what’s hot to make me a quick buck. In the rap game, nig-
gas wanna jump on what’s hot and they switch they whole style up. More
power to ya, but I couldn’t be nobody but myself. That’s why I do it like
that, man. The period is to let them know that’s me and that’s it. When I
say “humble,” I mean that I’m just speaking about life, stuff that a lot of
folks can relate to. Regardless of what kind of car you drive or what you’ve
got around your neck, we all still livin’ in the same world. I just talk about
regular life, whether I’m driving a hoopty or a clean-ass Cadillac.
MARCUS.’ VITAL STATS:
ALTER EGO: MARCUS WILLIAMS
COSTUME: GOATEE, RUBBER BANDS
SUPERPOWER: KEEPIN’ IT PIMPIN’
On the road, you’re Banner’s hype man, barber, artist, and..?
Whatever I need to be doing so we can win. I’m an artist first, but Banner sup-
ports me like a brother so whatever he needs I’m here to do it. I got a couple
mixtapes coming out, and we’re working on my solo album. We got the studio
in the back of the [Certified] tour bus, so we definitely doin’ our thing in the
lab.
Will you be able to establish your own identity as an artist?
I’ve got my own sound. Memphis got a lot of different flavors. It’s more than just
“Tear Da Club Up.” When I was comin’ up I was listening to the Isley Brothers,
Bobby Womack, Isaac Hayes, and Al Green. My music has more of a soulful
feel to it. Working under Banner’s wing, it’s gonna hit niggas out of left field.
He’s gonna be doing the primary production on my album. When you hear him
produce for other cats, his music really goes to another level that they probably
wouldn’t have expected. They’re probably used to the crunk stuff he does. It’s
gonna be stuff you can get buck to on my album, but I make a lot of ridin’ music
first. I definitely separate myself, man, not just from DB. It’s just me. Going
back to my rap name, I can’t be nobody but me. It’ll definitely show, man.

FUN FACT: FORMERLY KNOWN AS MR. MARCUS, HE SHORTENED HIS NAME TO

“MARCUS.” TO AVOID BEING CONFUSED WITH THE PORN STAR OF THE SAME NAME!
OZONE AUGUST 2005 A47
 DAVID BANNER’S CERTIFIED OZONE COMIC BOOK!

INTRODUCING...

TRICK DADDY!
...THE MAYOR OF MIAMI AND CEO OF THE
DONK RYDERS REPRESENTS FOR DAVID
BANNER AND ALL THE “REAL NIGGAS”!

David Banner says that every time you see him, you tell him
what he’s doing right or wrong. What’s your advice now?
The only thing I think he need to do is an X-rated version of the video for
that new single he got, “Play.” Let them girls show some inner thighs.

You’ve been working with David Banner for a while.

Yeah, you know, he [produced my song] “Thug Holiday.” You could tell he
was raised by an older woman cause he’s a real nigga like me. When we
first worked together I got a good vibe from him. Since then, money ain’t
changed him, and the deal ain’t changed him. The prices of his beats are
still the same for me. I’d put him in the category of a real nigga. DADE COUNTY
IN THIS MUTHA-
What appealed to you about his beat for “Thug Holiday”? FUCKA, YOU
I explained to him what I wanted and he gave me exactly what I asked BITCHES!
for. After [Latocha] Scott got on the song he did some more shit to the
beat. “Thug Holiday” was a big song for me and also for him because it’s so
personal. All of Banner’s songs are the same as mine; we tell stories in our
songs. We make sense all the way through. I’m looking forward to working
on my next album with him. I don’t know the name of the album yet, be-
cause I always name my albums at the last minute. We did a song together,
but I don’t know if it’s gonna make his album. Worst come to worst, it’ll be
on my album. One way or the other, we gonna work together again. I only
work with real niggas; that’s why I don’t have a lot of big features on my
album. The dudes that the media and the fans think are real are the dudes
that don’t sign autographs and don’t take pictures.

You’re featured on Jeezy’s album. Who are some other artists

you plan to work with that fall into the “real” category?
I’m working on a track right now with Camron. I like Beanie Sigel, and
of course that nigga Jay-Z. I like Nas. Besides that, I like the Eric B and
Rakim. Out of the West coast, Snoop is my nigga. I like them niggas from
the Bay area like E-40 and Daz, that’s real nigga shit. In the South, I like
Scarface and that nigga Slim Thug. Besides that, you know, all my niggas
in the 305 like Pitbull and Dirtbag.

I saw an article recently on Slip-N-Slide and there were quite

a few people featured, including Trina and Ted Lucas, but you
weren’t. Are you distancing yourself from Slip-N-Slide?
I am an artist signed to Slip-N-Slide, but I’m also a man that has his own
record label. I gotta eat too. I wish them the best.
Were you happy with the success of your last album?
No, I feel like Thug Matrimony could’ve did better, but I know it did good,
because I have a bigger fan base now. I do both hood records and cross-
over records. I think I had one of the first rap songs in the last ten years
or so to be played on pop stations, with the exception of the Nelly and
Kelly [Rowland] collabo [“Dilemma”]. Kelly is my girl. She’s real sexy, and
that’s the only girl I could like and my wife won’t get mad. I heard her and
that Dallas Cowboys dude aren’t together no more, so shout out to Kelly.
Are you glad Ricky Williams came back to the Dolphins?
I talked about Ricky real bad, so if Ricky could forgive me for all the shit I
said about him, then I could forgive him for running out on us last season.
Why did you name your label Donk Ryder Records?
A donk ryder is somebody who rides in a Chevy. You know, Chevys are
real big in Miami. We call a Chevy ’71, ’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, or ’76 hardtop
convertible a “donk.” The Donk Ryder Click mixtape is coming out. I’ve
got my little brother Soup, also known as Slime. He’s got two names. I got
Lil Thailand and a young cat named Iceberg. I got a joint venture with one
of Poe Boy’s artists, Brisco.
TRICK DADDY’S VITAL STATS:
ALTER EGO: MAURICE YOUNG
COSTUME: DICKIES, ANYTHING REPPIN’ MIA
SUPERPOWER: KEEPIN’ IT REAL
I heard you didn’t like our 25 Greatest Southern Artists list.
I had some issues, but they weren’t about me. I think I fell in a decent category
because you had some real top-notch dudes in there. Some of the people you
had in the top 5, like 2 Live Crew, Geto Boys, and Outkast, really sold records
and kept it consistent. 2 Live Crew opened a lot of doors when music from the
South wasn’t getting airplay. Scarface should’ve had his own section outside of
the Geto Boys. I think Tupac should’ve been number one. Tupac was from all
over. Tupac was the baby of a lady who was a baby of the slaves. Us black folks
have come a long way. Of course there’s nothing you or I could’ve done about
slavery. But we came a long way on those slave ships. Them ships was crowded
and niggas wasn’t eating. They came over here and worked the shit outta them.
All them big strong niggas got sold for a lot of money. The pretty black women
had to have sex with the masters. ‘Pac represented for the streets all over the
world, so he could’ve been on the “25 Greatest Southern Artists” list.
Anything else you wanna say?
Donk Ryders comin’ real soon. All you suckers and fuck niggas, keep hatin’. Y’all
will be dead in a minute so don’t even worry about it.

FUN FACT: TRICK DADDY’S “THUG HOLIDAY” WAS DAVID BANNER’S BREAKTHROUGH
PRODUCTION CREDIT.
A48 OZONE AUGUST 2005
 DAVID BANNER’S CERTIFIED OZONE COMIC BOOK!
LIL SCRAPPY!
A-TOWN,
STAY DOWN,
SHAWTY!
LIL SCRAPP Y’S VITAL STATS:
ALTER EGO: DARRYL RICHARDSON
COSTUME: PIMP CUP, BME CHAIN
SUPERPOWER: STAYING SUPER CRUNK
What’s it been like working with David Banner?
Lil Scrappy: Banner is like the big brother that I never had. He’s the
one that kinda put me back on my game a little bit. He sat there and
told me, “Dawg, you real. I know you short or whatever, so you feel like
you gotta be extra crunk cause you’re the small nigga, but nigga, you is
Lil Scrappy, feel me? Can’t nobody take that away from you.” When
he told me that, and all the shit he went through, I was like, damn. He’s
a straight uplifting person, and you can tell throughout his career he’s
uplifting too. But on the mic he’s a straight beats. On the beats, too.
Are you featured on his album Certified?
Lil Scrappy: Nah, I’m not on his album. Shoulda been, though. But he
gave me a beat for my album, “G’ed Up.” When I say “G’s Up,” I’m talk-
ing about God’s lil’ thug cause God is up, feel me? I’m a real person, so
through the hood music I slide God in there every now and then. That’s
what David Banner does too. You can’t just be out here in the streets
and be waking up in the morning by your lonesome thinking there’s no-
body to help you and shit. That’s the type of nigga David Banner is.
MANNIE FRESH!
F-FR-
F-FRESH!
MANNIE FRESH’S VITAL STATS:
ALTER EGO: BYRON THOMAS
COSTUME: NONE
SUPERPOWER: RIDICULOUS BEATS
Did you do production for David Banner’s new album Cer-
tified?
Mannie Fresh: We’re still doing a song. I’m gonna do one for him. I’m in
Houston right now and David left here yesterday. I’m gonna try to get
a song on there cause his album got pushed back.
Have you enjoyed working with David Banner in the past?
Mannie Fresh: That’s like my brother. When we work together, I don’t
look at it like work. There ain’t really no words I could say. David is just
a good dude.
What about your own solo projects, are you working on an-
other album?
Mannie Fresh: Nah, I’m pretty much doing everybody else’s songs. I
probably won’t even do that again. I never really wanted to be an art-
ist. It’s cool, but I kinda wanna concentrate on doing production. That’s
what I love to do. When you start to do one thing, it takes away from
another. I’m tired of stretching myself out.
OZONE AUGUST 2005 A49
THE SOUTHERN VOICE OF HIP HOP MUSIC

ESG
DIRTY
YO GOTTI
REMY MA
JAZZE PHA
PAUL WALL
TRICK DADDY
YOUNG JEEZY
DAVID BANNER
CHAMILLIONAIRE
LIL JON
WANTS HIS
MONEY!
HOT BOYS
REUNION?
MANNIE FRESH
LEAVES CASH
MONEY

PAUL
WALL
THE PEOPLE’S CHAMP
 01: Big Kuntry and Slim Thug @
Visions for Young Jeezy’s album
release party (Atlanta, GA)
02: Big Cotten and Shock Muzik @
The Moon for TJ’s DJ’s (Tallahas-
see, FL)
03: David Banner’s listening ses-
sion @ Studio 7303 (Houston,
TX)
04: Shawty, DJ Jelly, and Bigga
Rankin @ Visions for Young
Jeezy’s album release party
(Atlanta, GA)
05: Joe Anthony and Lil Jon
@ Anger Management tour
(Dallas, TX)
06: Peter Thomas and Da-
mon Dash @ How Can I Be
Down (Miami, FL)
07: Scarface performing @
Roxy (Houston, TX)
08: Peter Thomas and
Benzino @ How Can I Be
Down (Miami, FL)
09: Jody Breeze reppin’
OZONE @ Visions for
Young Jeezy’s album
release party (Atlanta,
GA)
10: Ruthie, Sandy, and
Rashaun @ Cairo (Or-
lando, FL)
11: Gucci Mane and
Darrell Johnson @ Hot
104.5’s Rap It Up block
party (New Orleans,
LA)
12: DJ EFX and JR rep-
pin’ OZONE @ How Can
I Be Down (Miami, FL)
13: Like father, like
son: Lil Troy and T2
(Houston, TX)
14: Mr. Collipark and
Jokaman @ TJ’s DJ’s
(Tallahassee, FL)
15: Willie, Cubo, Pic-
calo, and Jimmy Choco-
late @ Upstart Record
Pool (Jacksonville, FL)
16: 8Ball, Young Buck,
and MJG shooting their
video for “Stay Fly”
(Miami, FL)
17: DJ Clue and Chad
of The Neptunes @ Sobe
Live (Miami, FL)
18: On the set of Pretty
Ricky’s “Your Body” (Mi-
ami, FL)
19: Gil Green, Chamillion-
aire, and Lil Flip on the set
of “Turn It Up” (Houston,
TX)
20: Sway, Big WIll, and Luke
@ the Rollexx (Miami, FL)
21: Devin the Dude gets his
Pacman on @ Studio 7303
(Houston, TX)

Photo Credits:
Bogan: #16,17,18,20
Johnny Louis: #08
Julia Beverly: #01,02,04,05,
06,12,13,14,15,19
Keadron Smith: #03
Malik Abdul: #09,10
Marcus Jethro: #11
Matt Sonzala: #07,21

B8 OZONE AUGUST 2005

GUEST EDITORIALS Got something to get off your chest? Email jb@ozonemag.com
The Job of Entertainment
Planning For The Future
By Kamikaze
T D
he NBA has it. The NFL has it. Hollywood actors have it. Hell,
even your local garbage man or fast food employee has it. How-
ever, if your occupation is Hip Hop artist, you don’t have it.
What is “it,” exactly? I’m talking about a pension fund. A retirement
fund, a 401K. Better yet, we Hip Hop artists often lack something as
fundamental as healthcare or life insurance. The basic benefits that
are offered to nearly every working citizen in the country never reach
those of us who call “Hip Hop” our job.
For the most part, America doesn’t look at rap as a “real” occupa-
tion. They’re regularly bombarded with images of lavish homes, big
SUVs, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of jewelry hanging from
the necks and wrists of more successful artists. But in reality, hip-hop
artists are hustlers on a really tight schedule. We average a career
span of 3-5 years, if we’re lucky.
After all the records have been recorded and all the advances have
been recouped, we still have families to take care of. To society, we’re
expendable. Once we’ve stopped entertaining them, we’re flushed
from public consciousness. And if you haven’t been wise with your
savings, you could very well become another VH1 Behind The Music
casualty.
Hip-hop is my job. It’s how I put food on my table and clothes on my
kids’ backs. I haven’t sold a million records, but I make a comfortable
living as an independent artist. I’m blessed. But there are many who
pursue this thing called hip-hop while working day jobs. As I’ve learned,
this rap game is something that you must be devoted to 24/7 in order
to reach your full potential. It’s hard, however, to do that when you’ve
got bills to pay. The hometown won’t support you, and promoters are
constantly asking for “promos.” You can’t live off hope.
But why should we? Why are a couple of former Leaders of the New
School working minimum-wage jobs? Why did I once see a legendary
artist in the offices of Ichiban Records asking for money to take his
daughter to a doctor? How can an artist entertain us for “x” amount of
years and then suddenly have nothing to show for it?
In Mississippi, we are taking steps to change this reality. Almost a year
ago, the Mississippi Artists and Producers Coalition (M.A.P.) was formed
in an effort to unite the state’s artists under one umbrella. The goal
is to promote Mississippi hip-hop and organize a union. That’s right,
folks, I said “union.”
In the next three years, M.A.P. hopes to establish an organization that
will provide a pension fund for Mississippi emcees. Not only that, but
also life insurance, a health and dental plan, and a credit union de-
signed to hold artists’ earnings and offer loans to aspiring entrepre-
neurs. We currently boast over 100 members throughout the state and
have made our mark by organizing our own shows and releasing two
compilation albums under the coalition banner. We’re taking our music
back!
The hip-hop industry is set up to make you famous before it makes
you rich. Selfishness and deceit permeate the business, making it hard
for the little guy to survive. Labels pimp us. If you’re independent,
concert promoters short you while juggling the balls of every rapper-
of-the-moment. M.A.P. pledges to cut out the middleman. Hopefully,
we will create a blueprint for other states to follow suit.
You deserve to be compensated for your work, as with any job. You
deserve to be able to provide for your family, as with any job. Missis-
sippi has stood up. Now you do the same.
- Kamikaze is CEO and artist on OurGlass Entertainment. He is also
President and Founder of the M.A.P. Coalition.
For more information on the Mississippi Artists and Producers Coali-
tion, please call 601-212-6381 or 601-317-1891 or e-mail us at
map_LLC@yahoo.com.
A Punk Rock Approach to Hip-Hop
Taking Your Career Into Your Own Hands
By Matt Sonzala
on’t be scared off by the title. No one expects you to grab a guitar and
a shave your waves into a Mohawk. We’re not suggesting you should
abandon your regional sounds in favor of some Limp Bizkitesque
bullshit. No, the point of this column is more to teach the ways that you,
the rapper, producer, or DJ can take your career into your own hands and
thrive. This month we’ll focus on touring as an independent artist.
It’s no secret that the bulk of an artists’ money comes from touring. Sure,
some rappers live the fast life for a few good years as they ride out a couple
of hit singles, but what do they do before and after that peak? Sit on your
ass? Sadly, many do.
In order to thrive in this business, you have to get out there in front of the
people. Young punk rock bands do it all the time, without an ounce of tour
support. Take a band like Green Day, for example. You may or may not have
ever heard of them, and when they first started in the late 80’s, no one
else had ever heard of them either. This trio of guys from the Bay Area in
California began putting out their own records with a local indie label called
Lookout Records, much like many rappers do today, but what set them apart
from the pack was their relentless drive. For ten years they struggled as an
independent band, mostly on the road. They had a piece of shit van, one
that probably broke down often, and they hit the road consistently playing
gigs for next to nothing.
As they progressed, the shows started becoming more lucrative, they sold
more records, shirts, hats, bumper stickers, and posters, and eventually
landed a deal with Warner Bros. With a proven track record both on record
and on the road, they were able to write their own ticket when it came time
to sign with the majors. Their first release on Warner Bros., Dookie, sold
10 million copies. They had already done their “artist development” before
ever coming to the majors, and they had already established relationships
with venues not only around the country but around the world. And they
did it themselves.
In hip-hop, David Banner is a great example of this same process. He trav-
eled around the country, sleeping in his van, surrounded by what seemed
like everything he owned. One deep he would ride from his modest home
in Jackson, Mississippi to wherever he could work. If the moment called for
him, he was there. Performing, producing, doing features, whatever.
Unfortunately, many rap artists are raised on MTV, BET, and commercial ra-
dio, and only see the glamour and glitz side of the business. I bet you think
your career starts and ends with your first and last hit. It’s not true. Last
week I had a conversation with Fresh Kid Ice of the 2 Live Crew. If you know
your history, you know that 2 Live Crew hasn’t had a hit in over ten years.
But if you pay attention, you know that 2 Live Crew (or some combination
of 2 Live Crew members) has performed in your town in the past year. And
they’ve performed in your town every year since they started. How can
they do this?
It’s simple. Everyone knows that the basis of this business is relationships.
If you don’t get out there and meet people and make things happen, you
are not going to thrive. I don’t care if you come from a bustling rap mecca
like Houston or Atlanta or a small town like Mobile or Tallahassee. If you
don’t get up and go take your music to the people, you are not going to be
heard. It takes real determination and stamina. Often, you will lose money
on the first few tours. Unlike the dope game, the money is not always fast.
It’s no secret that many of us in this game need to develop some patience
and get away from the fast money mentality. The real success stories in this
game put in time, effort, and often their own money to make their career
jump off.
It doesn’t take much, and the formula has been proven time and time again.
So what are you waiting for?
- Matt Sonzala is a freelance writer and photographer for OZONE, Mur-
der Dog, The Source, XXL, and various other publications. He also hosts a
weekly radio show, Damage Control, on KPFT FM in Houston, Texas.
For more information, visit Matt’s always-entertaining blog at
www.houstonsoreal.blogspot.com.
OZONE AUGUST 2005 B9
 01: Dizzee Rascal and Bun B @ Studio
7303 (Houston, TX)
02: Young Buck and Grandaddy Souf
on South Beach (Miami, FL)
03: Yung Redd and SLAB @ KPFT
Damage Control radio (Houston,
TX)
04: Bigga Rankin and Young Cash
@ Kartouche for Upstart Record
Pool meeting (Jacksonville, FL)
05: Chamillionaire with video
models on the set of “Turn It
Up” (Houston, TX)
06: Legion of Doom DJs rep-
pin’ OZONE @ The Moon for
TJ’s DJ’s (Tallahassee, FL)
07: Bruce and video models
on the set of Chamillion-
aire’s “Turn It Up” (Hous-
ton, TX)
08: Damon Dash, Rachel
Roy, and their daughter
@ How Can I Be Down
(Miami, FL)
09: ESG reppin’ OZONE @
Club Raj (NYC)
10: Sally Anthony and
Static reppin’ OZONE @
The Moon for TJ’s DJ’s
(Tallahassee, FL)
11: Nino and Disco @
Cairo (Orlando, FL)
12: Jacki-O reppin’
OZONE @ The Moon for
TJ’s DJ’s (Tallahassee,
FL)
13: Xtaci @ Visions for
Young Jeezy’s album
release party (Atlanta,
GA)
14: Dizzee Rascal and
the g.r.i.T. Boys @ KPFT
Damage Control radio
(Houston, TX)
15: Get Cool and
Collard Greens @ The
Moon for TJ’s DJ’s (Tal-
lahassee, FL)
16: Smack and David
Banner @ Electric Lady
Studios for his Certified
listening session (NYC)
17: Jim Jonsin and
Pretty Ricky on the set
of “Your Body” (Miami,
FL)
18: 50 Cent performing
@ the Anger Management
tour (Dallas, TX)
19: Three 6 Mafia, 8Ball,
and Young Buck reppin’
OZONE on the set of “Stay
Fly” (Miami, FL)
20: Treal and Acafool @
Firestone (Orlando, FL)
21: Sylvia Rhone, Yummy,
and Rockwilder @ Harlem
Grill (NYC)

Photo Credits:
Bogan: #02,17,19
Julia Beverly: #03,04,06,07,
08,09,10,11,13,15,16,18,21
Malik Abdul: #12
Matt Daniels: #20
Matt Sonzala: #01,05,14

B10 OZONE AUGUST 2005

Remy Ma strolls into New York’s Electric
Lady Studios at 9 AM, where a group of
reporters and various industry folks have
gathered to hear cuts from her upcoming
album. “This 9 AM thing was not my idea,”
she begins abruptly. Waving a bag of Skittles
and a blunt, her “ghetto breakfast,” Remy
makes her way to the front of the studio.
In an outfit slightly more dressy than usual,
Remy is clearly uncomfortable, wiggling out
of her heels within five minutes of the ses-
sion and moaning, “I couldn’t find my Up-
towns this morning!”
With Remy, what you see is what you get.
The only female in the Terror Squad crew,
she still acts like one of the dudes. Still,
there’s just Something About Remy, which
is actually the title of her debut album
scheduled for release this summer through
SRC/Universal. With stellar beats from the
likes of Cool & Dre, DJ Khaled, David Ban-
ner, Scott Storch, and other up-and-coming
producers, Remy has been blessed with a
fiery backdrop for her crisp vocals.
Later in the day, Remy is rocking a wifebeat-
er (no bra, of course) and posted up in a
hotel suite, visibly bored from doing a string
of interviews. OZONE attempts to break up
the monotony.
Are you sick of doing interviews?
I hate telling the “how-I-started” story over,
and over, and over, and over again. Haven’t
these people read any articles I’ve done in the
last six years? God, I hate that question.
Aside from interviews, what’s the worst
part of being an artist?
I hate the fucking schedule. Like, nothing’s
on time, but everything’s on time, you know
what I mean? Everything has a time, but it’s
never on time. It’s just so much shit.
How did the attitude within Terror Squad
change when Pun passed?
For a minute everything was crazy, with Cuban
[Link] leaving and then [Triple] Seis leaving.
Joe was going through a lot of family issues
at the time. I didn’t have a record deal. Tony
Sunshine was like, in the middle of a record
deal. Everything was real crazy right after Pun
passed. I can’t say that it panned out the best
way, because I would’ve liked to see every-
body stay together.
What’s your opinion on some of the accusa-
tions that have been leveled at Fat Joe by
Cuban Link and other people who’ve left the
camp? They say Joe doesn’t want his crew
to shine and doesn’t pay them properly.
A lot of people just don’t understand that
Joe has soooo many people that depend on
him. It’s hard when everybody’s depending on
you. You can never make everybody happy, so
it gets to a point where you just decide, I’m
gonna try to make myself happy. Trying to
make everybody else happy is not working
and I’m not happy either, so at least I’ll be
happy this way. I respect that. That’s why I
don’t ask nobody for anything free. I don’t
expect any handouts. I don’t expect any-
thing to be given to me, because nothing
was given to him. He doesn’t owe any-
body anything. Sometimes, people are
like, “If that was me, I would…” But
you’re not in that situation. You don’t
know how it is to have everybody
depending on you. he has me, Geddy, Prospect,
all the people that work with us, his family, his
cousins, his uncles, his brothers and sisters, his
wife, his wife’s family. They’re callin’ her be-
cause they know that’s her man. Like, it’s crazy.
That’s the part people don’t understand. He
don’t owe me nothing.
Big Pun’s chain is up for an auction on eBay. Is
his family really hurting that bad financially?
I wouldn’t know. I mean, I know for a fact that
I’ve given the kids money on different occa-
sions. Joe has given them money. When Pun
passed, though, he had a lot of taxes and bills
that weren’t taken care of. It’s so many personal
things going on behind the scenes between Joe
and Pun’s wife that people don’t know about.
It’s a lot of animosity between them. She put out
a DVD where she’s totally disrespecting [Pun’s]
name. How do you expect the people who loved
your husband to do things for you when every-
thing you’re doing is degrading his name and
character? That’s not gonna make people want
to help you. Me personally, if I was in posses-
sion of Pun’s chain, I’d rather be dead broke and
starving in the streets than to put his chain on
eBay. Maybe a pawn shop as the last straw, be-
cause you can still get it back. How you gonna
sell it to someone you don’t even know? That’s
crazy. That’s totally disrespectful.
Are you still cool with Cuban and Seis?
I speak to both of them. They have their differ-
ences with Joe. It’s a bit of a conflict with me
being friends with all of them, but I feel like
I shouldn’t be forced to pick. They’re all my
friends, and I’ve known all of them for the same
amount of time. Neither side has done anything
to hurt me.
Do you think the timing is right for you to come
out as a solo female artist because there really
aren’t any females holdin’ it down right now?
I feel like the timing is right for me, period, not
just because of me being female. It’s not about
being a female rapper. I wanna be compared to
all other rappers, period. Other guys and other
females. I want people to go to the store and
think, Am I going to buy this guy’s album or am
I going to buy Remy’s album? It’s easy to choose
me when it’s between two girls. I’d feel like I
accomplished something more if you chose my
album over a guy’s album.
Do you think New York rap is in a rut?
I think New York needs a comeback right now.
But at the same time, I’m not gonna put down
the South. I like Young Jeezy, I like Slim Thug.
It’s been New York for so many years. It used to
be that everybody was trying to sound like they
were from New York. Now, everywhere else is
getting play, and New Yorkers are trying to flip
our style to incorporate it with theirs. We don’t
need to hear the same thing all the time.
Are you relieved to finally have your first solo
project?
Yes, yes, yes! And it’s still not even here yet. So
I’m about to relieved. All the tension and pres-
sure. I have the first-time jitters. It’s so much
pressure, because they expect so much. I’m
100% content with everything on this album, but
people are crazy. You never know what they’re
gonna think. Consumers be buggin’ sometimes.
Why do you think the Terror Squad album
didn’t sell well even with “Lean Back”?
We didn’t go on tour. We didn’t promote. We
didn’t have ads like we were supposed to. Pro-
motion counts for a lot. It wasn’t pushed right.
You’re picky with your beat selection?
So very picky. Producers hate me. But I have to
like it if I’m gonna put my fuckin’ lyrics over it.
Your beat can’t be whack in any shape, form,
or fashion.
If you could steal a beat, what would it be?
T.I.’s “A.S.A.P.,” and the “Hate It Or Love It”
beat that Cool & Dre did for Game and 50. Cool
& Dre are fuckin’ down with Terror Squad, so
how did I miss that one??
- Words and photo by Julia Beverly
OZONE AUGUST 2005 B11
 01: Lil Flip and Z-Ro on the set of
Chamillionaire’s “Turn It Up” (Hous-
ton, TX)
02: Young Harlem and James
Eichelberger @ Harlem Grill (NYC)
03: Chamillionaire on the set of
“Turn It Up” (Houston, TX)
04: Mr. Collipark and Uncle
Luke @ Ying Yang Twins’ album
release party (Miami, FL)
05: Treal performing @ Fires-
tone (Orlando, FL)
06: MTV’s Rahman Dukes and
Joseph Patel @ Q-Tip’s listen-
ing session (NYC)
07: Memphitz and TJ Chap-
man @ The Moon for TJ’s
DJ’s (Tallahassee, FL)
08: Models Montana and
Leann on the set of Jim
Jones’ video (Miami, FL)
09: Deuce Poppi @ Young
Jeezy’s album release
party (Atlanta, GA)
10: Alonzo Mourning and
his wife @ Zo’s Summer
Groove (Miami, FL)
11: Q reppin’ OZONE
@ Visions for Young
Jeezy’s album release
party (Atlanta, GA)
12: Tony Yayo @ Anger
Management tour (Dal-
las, TX)
13: Meech and DJ
Demp @ Young Jeezy’s
album release party
(Atlanta, GA)
14: Oxycottontail and
Devin the Dude @
Rothko (NYC)
15: Scott Storch, Ame-
rie, and her manager/
boyfriend Lenny @
Sobe Live (Miami, FL)
16: J-Dot, DJ Fresh,
and DJ Kaoss @ Cavern
(Greenville, NC)
17: David Simoneau,
Malik Abdul, and Carina
@ Icon (Orlando, FL)
18: Pretty Tony and Jack
Nasty @ AMA Studios
(Gulfport, MS)
19: DJ Demp, Tampa
Tony, and BloodRaw @
The Moon for TJ’s DJ’s
(Tallahassee, FL)
20: NuBreed Entertain-
ment reppin’ OZONE
@ Firestone for Upstart
Record Pool meeting (Or-
lando, FL)
21: Hawk, ESG, Sway,
DJ Chill, and Yungstar @
Screwed Up Records & Tapes
(Houston, TX)

Photo Credits:
Bogan: #08
J Lash: #04,10
Julia Beverly: #01,02,06,07,
09,12,13,19,20
Malik Abdul: #11,17
Matt Daniels: #05
Matt Sonzala: #03,14,21
P Love: #18
Rico Da Crook: #15
Travis Mealer: #16

B12 OZONE AUGUST 2005

St. Louis, the gateway Arch city, has a storm
brewing in the form of gangsta rap group
The AllStars. Group members Nimmy Russel,
Trust, Top Dolla, and Vic Damone have capti-
vated their city with tales of hustling, street
life, and partying. Top promoters and co-
CEOs Guccio and Just Black are the guiding
hand behind the group and their successes.
The AllStars’ album All City features names
like Akon, Styles P, Bun B, Webbie, Murphy
Lee, and Chingy.
How did the AllStars come together?
Just Black: The AllStars came together in
1999. I started this company in 1991. I was the
first artist out of St. Louis to represent gang-
sta music independently. I didn’t really know
what I was doing when I first started out, but
I just did my songs and put it out.
How has the music business changed from
the time when you first started rapping until
today?
Just Black: It’s not even music right now. It’s
politics. It’s all political, it’s all about the
game. It’s all about who you know. It’s not re-
ally about the music like it was back then. The
game has changed tremendously.
Do you think the changes in the game have
benefited you and the AllStars, or made it
tougher for you to succeed?
Just Black: Nah, it helped us. Gangsta music
has never been represented in St. Louis like
we’ve been doing it. It’s 390 independent re-
cord labels in my city, and I can assure you
that over half of them are gangsta rap labels.
But you’ve got to do it right so hundreds of
thousands of people can know who you are.
There aren’t a lot of people who know how to
do it right. We know how to shape songs to get
mainstream acceptance.
Why do you think the AllStars are so popular
in St. Louis? Would you credit that to Guccio
and your promotional savvy?
Just Black: You know, Guccio had a record la-
bel in 1993 called Good as Gold. He already
had the promotional game down, and so I did
I, so we really had come together even before
we had the AllStars. Once we came together
we developed the AllStars. It took us a while
to get to this point, because we’ve been work-
ing with them for so long, teaching them dif-
ferent aspects of the game. We always knew
they were good rappers, but we had to turn
them into writers and entertainers and mold
them into good artists.
What was the AllStars’ first project?
Just Black: We were developing the group
from 1999 til 2003. we did our first project
in 2002, which was a mixtape. In 2003 we put
out our first album, The Movement.
What does each member of the AllStars
bring to the table?
Just Black: Trust is the strongest player of
the group. He’s got a real pimpin’, player
style. He’s grassroots, straight from the
street. He keeps most of his lyrics real, real
basic. Playa style. Vic Damone is the real
laid-back, gangsta-type playa. He keeps it
real to the situation. He’s going to give
you the real, straight and direct. He
don’t write about nothing but facts. He
spent a little time in the military. Then
you’ve got Top Dolla. He’s the crunk
man, he’s extra crunk. He’s the one
that keeps everybody straight and together. He’s
always on time and puts forth the effort. Next,
Nimmy Russel is the wild one. His whole image
is just wildin’ out. He’s a battle rapper too. He
brings that hardcore street sound.
Are all the members of the AllStars from the
same neighborhood?
Just Black: Nimmy’s from the West side of St.
Louis. Top Dolla and Trust are from the North
side of St. Louis. Vic Damone is from Illinois,
across the water, East St. Louis.
Who’s featured on the All-City album?
Just Black: Webbie, Bun B, Akon, Styles P, Mur-
phy Lee, Just Black, Icon and Chingy.
How did you get big-name features, being in-
dependent?
Just Black: This is 2005, and we’ve been in the
game since the early 90s. For over thirteen
years, we’ve been building relationships. That’s
how we met all these people. We didn’t have
to call their agents or go through middlemen,
we didn’t have to do none of that. They gave us
their prices direct. Each one of these artists flew
in, dropped their stuff, collected their money,
and that was it. Except Styles P, cause he did his
right after he got out of jail. We were actually
gonna go with Jadakiss, but we felt that Styles P
fit what we were doing a little more.
Tell me about some of the producers who con-
tributed tracks to the All City album.
Just Black: We’ve got our own in-house produc-
ers, 1-0 Productions. We’ve got some tracks from
Organized Noize but I’m not sure if they’ll e on
this album. We went to the West coast and got
a few tracks, but most of it is from the MidWest
producers. We wanted to keep it real Southern,
real home style. We decided instead of spending
$30,000 on production and $10,000 on features,
we’d be better served if we spent the bigger
bulk on the features and the rest on production.
What’s the first single?
Just Black: The first single is “So Serious.” The
remix features Chingy.
Speaking of Chingy, with him and Nelly having
a war of words, how do you guys get along
with both cliques?
Just Black: They’re not really beefing. It’s just
a verbal beef. It’s like, a rapper said something
about another rapper, and that’s it. That isn’t
street beef. It’s a DJ up here named DJ Bishop
who’s a part of our house staff, and he put out
this mix CD called Beef. He took some exclu-
sives from Nelly and some exclusives from Ch-
ingy. Bishop did it so big that the rappers had
to speak out about it. It got to the point that
radio stations had to take two days out of the
week to get Nelly and Chingy and them on the
phone and sort things out. It’s not a legitimate
beef, though. If it was real there would be ca-
sualties.
With all the members of the group coming
from different parts of the Lou, do they get
along pretty well?
Just Black: They get along good because Guc-
cio and I really raised them as a group. We put
them on the road and took them all over, and
they just bonded with each other. Each one of
them is ready to put out a solo project, but they
understand how important the group is and that
they need one another to be successful.
What group would you compare the AllStars
to, past or present?
Just Black: I’d have to say N.W.A.
Is there anything else you’d like to say?
Just Black: Go out and pick up the All City al-
bum. Check us out on the web at www.bobqp.
com. I’ve also got to mention that Bun B is our
partna, for real! Look out for my solo project
Grown Folks Music coming real soon, as well
as a new youth rap group that we’re develop-
ing. We’re an entertainment company, first and
foremost, and we’ve got a lot of big things hap-
pening.
- JC (Photo: Andre B. Murray)
OZONE AUGUST 2005 B13
 01: Nas and Devin the Dude @ Rothko
(NYC)
02: Pimp G and Ful of Drama
Records @ Kartouche for Upstart
Record Pool meeting (Jacksonville,
FL)
03: Red Dogg, Pimp J, Clay D,
and Tim Brown reppin’ OZONE @
Firestone for Jamlando Record
Pool meeting (Orlando, FL)
04: Kaine, Da Musicians, and
Theo Brown gettin’ CRUNK!!!
@ Club Raj (NYC)
05: Trillville and Big Herc @
Rap It Up block party (New
Orleans, LA)
06: Hoodz DVD @ Universal
press junket (NYC)
07: Butta Smoove, Malik
Abdul, and O-Eazy @ Icon
(Orlando, FL)
08: Jim Jones getting in
shape before his video
shoot (Miami, FL)
09: Lil Wayne on the
set of Trina’s video for
“Don’t Trip” (Miami, FL)
10: T2 reppin’ OZONE by
the Chillmobile (Hous-
ton, TX)
11: Scarface and Kyla
Staten @ Studio 7303
for David Banner’s
listening session (Hous-
ton, TX)
12: Dolla Signs defeats
VA in the MC Royal
Rumble Pt. 2 (Green-
ville, NC)
13: Karen Douglas and
Money Mark (Miami, FL)
14: Scott Storch and
a friend @ Sobe Live
(Miami, FL)
15: TJ Chapman and
Playa Poncho @ The
Moon for TJ’s DJ’s (Tal-
lahassee, FL)
16: Chad Brown, Noah,
Ray Daniels, and Mizike
@ Cairo (Orlando, FL)
17: Lil Jon, Stay Fresh,
Bohagon, Lil Scrappy,
and Pitbull @ Anger
Management tour (Dal-
las, TX)
18: Vince Phillips, Em-
peror Searcy, and DJ Will
@ Visions (Atlanta, GA)
19: The GhostWriters and
Money Mark reppin’ OZONE
@ KPFT Damage Control
radio (Houston, TX)
20: Lil Jon showing off his
Oakley tour bus @ Anger
Management (Dallas, TX)
21: BSU

Photo Credits:
Bogan: #08,09,13,14
BSU: #21
DJ Fresh: #12
Julia Beverly: #02,03,04,06,
15,16,17,18,19,20
Keadron Smith: #10,11
Malik Abdul: #07
Marcus Jethro: #05
Matt Sonzala: #01

B14 OZONE AUGUST 2005

 MATHEMATICS
Financial realities of the music business
by Wendy Day
founder of Rap Coalition (RapCoalition.org and RapCointelpro.com)
T
here are a multitude of different deals out there for
any recording artist. It depends solely on what you
DIFFERENT TYPES OF RECORD DEALS
agree to contractually. There is no such thing as a
standard contract; a contract is just an agreement between
two people that says who will do what by when, what hap-
pens if they do NOT do it, and how everyone gets paid. You
don’t get what you deserve in this business, you get what
you negotiate. A contract can tie you up for three to seven
years, so be VERY careful what you sign!
Just like every deal is different, so is every record label.
While one may be great at radio, another one might suck
at radio but be great at blitzing the streets. It’s important to
know the label’s strengths and weaknesses when negotiat-
ing a deal. In the deals I negotiate, I always make sure the
artist is compensated for the area in which the label is weak.
So if the label is weak at radio, for example, I make certain
there is an additional budget for the artist’s team to hire
their own radio promotion people.
When dealing with an independent label to do a deal, it is
important that they know what they are doing and have
done if before, are properly financed, and are well connect-
ed in the industry. Any idiot can spend $11 at Kinko’s to
print business cards saying they own a record label. You are
an even bigger idiot if you sign a deal with one.
It is important to have an entertainment attorney finalize
any deal (or negotiate it, if you are not skilled in this area - I
have done numerous deals and still always have a lawyer by
my side in every deal) because it isn’t always what’s written
in a contract that can hurt you, but often what is missing.
Every contract is different because every situation is differ-
ent! Recording contracts are set up to benefit the label and
not the artist, so many changes are needed. In fact, I once
heard that the average contract goes back and forth seven
times. My deals go back and forth even more than that.
David Banner’s paperwork went back and forth for nine
months until it was right - by the time he signed his con-
tract and got paid, his first CD had been out for six or seven
months. This is not standard, nor do I recommend anyone
ever put out a CD before the contract is signed.
There are basically three different types of deals and then
everything in-between. Deals are not quite so cut and dry,
so I have outlined the three basic types of deals, but a deal
can fall in between any of these extremes. All deals are at-
tainable based on the leverage of the artist, how badly the
label wants to sign the artist, who is on their team that the
label sees as added value (for example, a successful producer
or a connected manager), if other labels are bidding for the
artist as well, and the track record of success of the artist
or producers.
Distribution Deal (sometimes called a P&D deal for
“pressing and distribution”):
This is the most difficult deal to get. It can be an 80-20 split,
with the major label making 20% and the artist making
80%. There is rarely money advanced (in a few cases I have
seen pressing costs advanced).
This deal is usually reserved for the most successful artists
where the label perceives little risk and sees value in allow-
ing the artist to do the bulk of the marketing, promotion,
radio, and video work. Cash Money has this type of deal,
as did No Limit back in the mid-90s at Priority. When Body
Head Entertainment had its short-lived deal with Universal,
it was this type of deal, according to Roy Jones, Jr.
The only thing the major label or distributor is really re-
sponsible for with a distribution deal is getting the CDs into
stores and collecting the money. The artist does everything
else. The length of the deal usually runs 3 years and rarely,
if ever, goes to an artist who doesn’t already have proper
funding already in place. The artist always owns the mas-
ters. This is the type of deal a successful independent label
would seek with a major label after they have released nu-
merous successful independent projects regionally.
This is also the type of deal an independent label would
seek from an independent distributor such as Select-O-Hits,
Navarre, and/or Bayside Distribution. This is an area where
artists and indie labels MUST understand the difference be-
tween being a label and being a production company. An
indie label has the money to effectively market and promote
a CD, the experience and know-how to do so successfully,
and a strong work ethic since the indie label does every-
thing but get the CD into the store and collect the money.
A production company makes a great CD, but needs to have
a label to deliver it to, because that’s all they have is a great
CD. If you have a great CD but no experience and no money
to market and promote, you are NOT an independent re-
cord label - I don’t care what your Kinko’s printed business
card says. You are not a record label. This is why Koch,
Asylum, Fontana, and TVT exist. They offer deals that al-
low people to think they are their own record label, but
they do most of the work and advance most of the money,
making it more of a joint venture deal, and usually a 60-40
split (60% to the indie label, that is).
Joint Venture Deal:
This is also a deal that is not easy to get from a major label
without a track record of success. It is usually around a
50-50 split, and the term can run from 3 to 7 years. Most
labels split the work with the artist (or indie label) but of-
fer the sole funding for the deal. There can be an advance,
which is always recoupable before the splits, and it is up to
negotiation whether the label owns the masters or splits
them with the artist.
Most joint venture deals are not profitable for the artist,
because most major labels never recoup all that they have
spent. Unless you have some say over what is spent, how
and where it is spent, it is hard to control this type of
deal.
Artist Deal:
By far, this is the most popular and common record deal.
The label does everything, except record the album (al-
though they pay for it), and they have complete control
and ownership. The term is usually for 5 to 7 years, and
the average percentage for the artist is 12% (meaning the
major label keeps 88%). Out of that percentage, the artist
pays back everything the label spends that is recoupable,
rarely leaving the artist any money unless the sales are
exceptional (meaning platinum).
Hope this quick breakdown gives you a starting place to
do more research!! In my next Mathematics column in the
next issue of OZONE, I will break down the exact financials
of an artist’s record deal. If you have any questions, please
write to me at Mathematics@RapCoalition.org.
OZONE AUGUST 2005 B15
 01: Gabe Tesoriero, Shawn Costner,
and Ashaunna Ayars @ Young Jeezy’s
album release party (Atlanta, GA)
02: Maino, Tone, and Yummy @
Harlem Grill (NYC)
03: Pattie and DJ Infinite reppin’
OZONE @ Firestone for Jamlando
Record Pool meeting (Orlando,
FL)
04: Lil Wayne, Boo, and Dizzy
@ Cairo (Orlando, FL)
05: DJ Clue and DJ Ideal on
South Beach (Miami, FL)
06: DJ Chill and DJ Ryno @
KPFT Damage Control radio
(Houston, TX)
07: J-Mills and DJ J-Kwik @
Visions for Young Jeezy’s
album release party (At-
lanta, GA)
08: Game and Twista @
Dub car show (Miami, FL)
09: Earl Thomas and Don
Dinero @ How Can I Be
Down (Miami, FL)
10: Playa Rae, Tigger,
and Eddie Brasco @ Club
Kasanova’s (Oklahoma
City, OK)
11: The Diplomats’ Jha
Jha and Karen Civil
reppin’ OZONE on the
set of Jim Jones’ video
(Miami, FL)
12: Partners N Crime @
Rap-A-Lot vs. Swisha-
house celeb bball game
(Houston, TX)
13: Dizzee Rascal and
Nancy Byron @ the
Gridiron (Houston, TX)
14: O-Solo reppin’
OZONE @ Club Raj
(NYC)
15: David Banner and
Zay reppin’ OZONE
@ low rider car show
(Houston, TX)
16: Fabolous and Young
Jeezy @ Visions for his
album release party
(Atlanta, GA)
17: Tone, Chamillion-
aire, and Bruce Carbone
@ his Sound of Revenge
listening session (NYC)
18: Tity Boy, Ludacris,
Lil Fate, I-20, and Dolla
Boy @ Visions for Young
Jeezy’s album release
party (Atlanta, GA)
19: Trina the diva on her
video set (Miami, FL)
20: Mike Dean, Bun B, and
Willie D @ Rap-A-Lot vs.
Swishahouse celeb bball
game (Houston, TX)
21: Lil Flip reppin’ Treason
clothing on the set of “Turn It
Up” (Houston, TX)

Photo Credits:
Bogan: #05,11,19
J Lash: #08
Julia Beverly: #01,02,03,04,
06,07,09,14,16,17,18,21
Matt Sonzala: #12,13,20
Playa Rae: #10
T-City Promotions: #15

B16 OZONE AUGUST 2005

 01: Neef and Joe Budden @ Mansion
(Miami, FL)
02: ESG and Dizzee Rascal (Houston,
TX)
03: Black, Mike Fresh, Webbie,
and Hoe Tester on the set of
Webbie’s “Bad Bitch” (Miami, FL)
04: C-Note, DJ Chill, and Hawk
reppin’ OZONE (Houston, TX)
05: Get Cool and BloodRaw @
Visions (Atlanta, GA)
06: Dan and Michael Watts @
celeb bball game (Houston,
TX)
07: Roland Powell and DJ
Jelly @ Visions for Young
Jeezy’s album release party
(Atlanta, GA)
08: Hip-Hop Today TV @
How Can I Be Down (Mi-
ami, FL)
09: Niko and La’keia @
Bulletproof celeb bball
game (Miami, FL)
10: Beat Bullies on the
set of Chamillionaire’s
“Tear It Up” (Houston,
TX)
11: Gangsta Boo reppin’
OZONE @ Visions for
Young Jeezy’s album
release party (Atlanta,
GA)
12: Young Buck and
Redeyez reppin’ OZONE
on the set of “Stay Fly”
(Miami, FL)
13: Picasso and Brian
Michael Cox @ Visions
(Atlanta, GA)
14: A real chameleon
on the set of Chamil-
lionaire’s “Turn It Up”
(Houston, TX)
15: Kaine and Mr. Col-
lipark @ the Ying Yang
Twins’ album release
party (Miami, FL)
16: David Banner and
OG Ron C @ Studio 7303
for his Certified listen-
ing session (Houston,
TX)
17: Zay, DJ Chill, and
Matt Sonzala reppin’
OZONE on the set of
Chamillionaire’s “Turn It
Up” (Houston, TX)
18: Lil Jon officially
inducting Bryan Leach into
the BME family (Dallas, TX)
19: Rasaq and Chamillion-
aire on the set of “Turn It
Up” (Houston, TX)
20: Boo da Boss Playa, Slick
Pulla, and Serious @ Visions
(Atlanta, GA)
21: Gil Green reppin’ Krim-
inaltized Jeans (Houston, TX)

Photo Credits:
Bogan: #12
J Lash: #09,15
JC Crunk: #18
Julia Beverly: #03,05,07,08,
10,11,13,17,19,20,21
Keadron Smith: #16
Matt Sonzala: #02,04,06,14
Rico Da Crook: #01

B18 OZONE AUGUST 2005

WILL THERE BE A
HOT BOYS Is this the end
of an era? MANNIE
REUNION? FRESH
STRIKES OUT ON HIS OWN
I heard that you’ve left Cash
“There’s four Money and there’s a Hot Boys
different people, reunion project in the works.
you know, so Well, we doing something like
there’s negotia- that, but it ain’t what y’all think.
tions from four It ain’t nothin’ messed up with
different angles. Cash Money, I’m just doing my
I’m ready to own thing. That part of it is true
do it if they’re – Chubby Boy Records. But it ain’t
ready to do it. ended on no bad note or whatever,
It’s easy for us it’s just time for me to do me.
four to get in That’s all.
the room and
agree to do it, Sounds like you’re being politi-
but since pretty “IT’S OFFICIAL THAT I’M NOT cal.
much everybody
is signed with a
WITH [CASH MONEY] NO MORE, It’s official that I’m not with them
no more, but I’m doing my own
different record BUT IT AIN’T A SITUATION WHERE thing. It ain’t a situation where we
company, we’ve
got to work that
WE GONNA BE NAME-CALLING gonna be name-calling and going
out first. But AND GOING BACK AND FORTH. IT’S back and forth. It’s just me matur-
ing. It’s time for me to do me. It’s
Baby don’t have
no say-so. That’s
NO BAD BLOOD.” - MANNIE FRESH no bad blood.
part of the deal.

B.G.
Everybody wants
to do it, but
they fact is, they
don’t want him THE BABY
involved. That’s
how the whole
GANGSTA IS
thing came to LOVING LIFE
be. They asked
me if I wanted to
AFTER CASH
do it, and since MONEY
three of the four
What’s the status
Hot Boys don’t
of the lawsuit
want Baby to
you filed against
have no part
Cash Money?
of the project,
It’s looking good,
that’s the way
really, really
it’s gotta hap-
good. I can’t re-
pen.” - Mannie
ally talk much on
Fresh
it but it’s looking
real good.
“I talked to
Mannie the other
You just dropped
day. He’s no
a new album?
longer with Baby.
Yeah, I just dropped my new album Life After Cash Money. Life’s going good, I’m
He got his own
just doing what I do. I’ve got a Chopper City Boys album I’m about to drop too.
thing he’s doing. He did some cuts for Juvenile and he’s
doing some cuts for B.G. The conversation we had was
How are things with Koch compared to the situation you used to be in at Cash
basically that we need to get back together and do this
Money?
thing. There’s gonna be a Hot Boy reunion when I come
It’s alright. At the time it was the best situation for me, and I was just trying to
home.” - Turk
drop an album cause I hadn’t dropped one in about two years. At that time, that
was the best choice. I’m finished with that situation and I’m movin’ on now. I got
“To tell you the truth, I heard we are about to do
like three or four different deals on the table right now for my label.
something like that. They asked me if I agreed. I ain’t
trippin’. Maybe we will do a reunion album. That’s what I
Have you been in contact with Turk?
heard, but the boss gotta agree on that first. They could
Yeah, I talked to him about a week ago. They say he’s supposed to go back to court
say he’s greedy or whatever, but the boss still gotta
on August 1st and it’s looking good for him, so hopefully he’ll be home soon. I wish
agree on that for me to do anything. I could say I agree
him the best in his situation and I can’t wait for him to come home.
and I wanna do it, but still, if he don’t agree, I can’t do
it. And I’m the President of Cash Money Records now, so
He said that it may have been a good thing he got locked up because he was
it’ll have to be released under Cash Money. Baby would
able to get over his drug addiction.
have to sign off on it cause he gonna have to get his
Ya know, if that’s how he feels about it, that’s good. I can’t really speak on that,
too.” - Lil Wayne
but I know I wouldn’t want to go to jail over it. I was fortunate enough to not have
to go to jail to overcome [addiction].
“It’s a possibility, as long as Birdman ain’t got nothin’
to do with it. He might have to sign off on [Lil] Wayne’s
How did you overcome it? Just quit cold turkey?
behalf, but not on my behalf.” - B.G.
Yeah, I just felt it inside me. It just wasn’t there no more – the feeling, the drive,
the craving. I was just craving money, and [heroin] and money don’t mix.

OZONE AUGUST 2005 B19

B20 OZONE AUGUST 2005
 Why are you in prison?
They allege that I shot a police officer. I’ve been
held without bond in Memphis, Tennessee, on
attempted murder and possession of a firearm
charges. The firearm charge is a federal charge.
I go to court on August 1st. The judge gave [the
prosecution] til the first to find a material wit-
ness. I don’t know if they’re gonna proceed or
go forward with the charges. I’ve been in jail
for eighteen months, and I’m finally going to get
a fair trial. I’ve been waiting from the begin-
ning. They denied all my suppression hearings
and bond hearings. The police sued me for $60
million dollars before I got prosecuted. They
wasn’t even tryin’ to take me to trial.
Do you think you’re being treated unfairly be-
cause you’re a rapper?
Yeah, that’s basically what it is. There was three
of us in the house, and the other two people
that was with me went home. They hit me with
the charges. I’m not gonna talk about my case,
but I know one thing – I’m innocent. Hopefully
they’ll dismiss the charges before I even go to
court and it’ll get settled like that. If we have
to go to trial, the world gonna see the truth.
Worst-case scenario, how much time are you
looking at?
To tell you the truth, I don’t even know what
I’m facing because I know I didn’t do anything.
I’m not worried about what I’m facing. I know
I’m coming home, for a fact.
< >
You were kinda the quietest member of Cash
Money. We heard Juvenile and B.G.’s reasons
for leaving, but what were your reasons?
“BACK THEN, [HEROIN] WAS JUST THE THING TO DO. IT WAS LIKE A
FASHION STATEMENT. ALL THE GIRLS WANTED A NIGGA WITH THE DOPE
DICK. I DIDN’T THINK I WAS A JUNKIE, BUT NOW THAT I’M NOT IN DE-
NIAL, I CAN SEE IT FOR WHAT IT REALLY WAS ... I GUESS GOD ANSWERED
MY PRAYERS, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW I’M SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD.”
The same - money problems. I wasn’t getting
what I was supposed to be getting, and that’s
the reason I left. Money problems. It was always
supposed to be a family thing. We were young
men. We trusted people, and that was our
downfall. We trusted Baby to do the right thing
and treat us fairly, which he didn’t. [Lil] Wayne
was actually the youngest of the Hot Boys, but
they raised me. I been with them since I was
15 years old, but when the big money came,
Baby just wanted to be greedy. He wanted ev-
erything for himself, the money, the spotlight.
He was birdfeeding us, basically, just giving us
enough. We were young niggas, and he’d just
give us enough to be satisfied. He was giving us
cars and jewelry, but on the backend, no royal-
ties. We were blinded to it because of all the
fancy things he was giving us.
When did it come to a breaking point? When
did you decide to leave?
I went to jail in 2000, when my Young & Thug-
gin’ CD came out. I kinda had that feeling, like,
Damn, man, I’m locked up, I got a whole album
and I’m part of the Hot Boys and these boys
ain’t answering my phone calls or returning my
letters - what’s going on? I went through the
whole seven months trying to figure out if they
were just showing me tough love cause of my
drug habit, or they just sayin’ fuck me. I was
confused. When i came home, Juvenile and
B.G. had left. To me, that meant they ain’t give
a fuck about us at all. It was all about [Baby].
When I came home from jail after 7 months,
in 2001, I decided to leave and signed a deal
with Koch.
Have you kept in contact with anyone from
Cash Money?
B.G.’s been down here twice to see me. I
haven’t really talked to Juve. I talked to Baby,
Fresh, and Slim.
Are any of them helping with your current
legal situation?
They ain’t fuckin’ with me like that. My court
costs and all that, I’m takin’ care of. I’d say
B.G. is my main dawg. He keep it real. He ain’t
never changed. But when you get in a situation
like this here, people just tend to forget about
you. [Cash Money] says they’ve got love for me.
They get in all these magazines and scream my
name, but that shit ain’t real. I still got love for
those niggas, because I’ve got “Baby,” “Slim,”
and “Mannie” tattooed on my chest. I got loy-
alty love for them, but it was wrong how they
did a nigga. I can’t cry over spilt milk, though.
I just have to learn from it and capitalize from
it. I’m 24 years old now. I was young then. Now
I’ve got my own label, Young & Thuggin’ Music.
I’m the leader now, I’m the CEO, so I guess I had
to go through that to get to where I’m at now.
With this jail situation, it took me coming here
to kick my drug habit and get back focused on
my career.
When you were with Cash Money, do you think
they encouraged your drug habit to keep your
mind off the business?
No, I wouldn’t say they condoned us getting
high. They’d always tell us, “Y’all don’t want
to be doing that.” I ain’t gonna put my habit on
Baby. I’d say he’s probably the reason I turned
to [drugs], but it’s not his fault I was putting it
up my nose or putting it in my arm.
Do you think that drug abuse is a severe prob-
lem in New Orleans?
It’s not just in Louisiana. I love my city, so I
ain’t gonna say it’s the city’s fault or the state’s
fault because drugs are all over. Back then, it
was just the thing to do. It was like a fashion
statement. All the girls wanted a nigga with the
dope dick. That’s the reason why I got on it. I
didn’t think I was a junkie, but now that I’m
not in denial, I can see it for what it really was.
Like I said, since I’ve been through that, now I
could go and tell someone who’s in that same
predicament that there is a way out. There is a
God that can deliver you from it if you put your
mind to it.
Where do you think you’d be right now if you
weren’t in prison?
Three days before the incident [I’m in prison
for] on January 26th, 2004, I got on my knees
and prayed to God. I told God, “I don’t know
when I’m gonna stop using drugs, unless it’s
life threatening.” Three days later, I guess God
answered my prayers, because right now I’m
supposed to be dead. God protected me and
shielded me. I know that. I’ve been here for
eighteen months. Even though things look bad
on the outside, I know it’s a spiritual awakening
because it’s something I prayed for. I wanted
deliverance from those drugs. I wanted my life
back, my career back. I’ve got my own label
now and a lot of people want to sign me to their
label, so it’s a blessing.
If the charges against you are dropped, how
do you avoid falling back into the same ad-
diction?
Staying focused. Doing what I want to do and
not worry about other people. Being in con-
trol of my life and accepting the things I can’t
change. I can’t change drugs. I can’t change
people’s attitudes. I gotta be concerned with
me and what I’m doing.
Do you plan on releasing any material while
you’re incarcerated?
I released Penitentiary Chances last year in
April. I got another album called Still A Hot Boy
that I plan on releasing later on in August. I
haven’t really set a release date because of my
trial. I might hold it back or I might release it,
it depends on how everything goes. I’ve got 21
cuts with production from DJ Toomp.
There’s rumors that Mannie Fresh is also leav-
ing Cash Money.
I talked to Mannie the other day. He’s no longer
with Baby.
Why did he leave?
Same situation. Baby playing games with money.
Baby is a selfish, greedy-ass nigga. That’s just
what it is. That’s no secret. So if any mutha-
fucker is thinking he’s straight, he’s not.
B.G. sued Cash Money. Do you plan on taking
legal action against them as well?
Yeah, I plan to take legal action. Basically, ev-
erybody’s gotta take legal action against Baby
because we started Cash Money. He was the
CEO, but without us, it wasn’t no Cash Money.
We weren’t paying attention to the paperwork
like we should’ve, and we were so young. Fif-
teen, sixteen years old.
OZONE AUGUST 2005 B21
Have you started classes at the University of
Houston?
Yes ma’am. I’m in my second semester.
How does it feel to go from the rap game to
a classroom?
I’m not actually sitting in class every day. To
tell the truth, it’s just like another job. I have
a tutor, so I just go into the classes to take the
exams.
There are rumors that Mannie Fresh is leav-
ing Cash Money.
I think Mannie’s already gone. I think he’s al-
ready got a solo deal with someone. I don’t
really wanna say who, because I’m not sure.
Have you seen that coming for a while?
You know, I’ve been the only child by my moth-
er for twenty years. I’m 22 now and my brother
is two. My momma always told me to worry
about myself first. That’s all I ever did – focus
on myself and what’s gonna better me. I guess
that type of stuff would’ve been a blur to me,
because I’m so focused on me. When it hap-
pened, I didn’t really see it coming, because
I’m focused on me.
Having interviewed Turk,
B.G., and other people
who have done busi-
ness with Baby, ev-
erybody says the
same thing: he’s
greedy, doesn’t
take care of his
people. Do you think it’s different in your
situation because of the relationship?
I mean, that has a lot to do with it, but that
relationship just began. I mean, he’s been my
father since day one, but the way the world
is seeing the relationship now is new. They’re
looking at it like I’m the one he really cares
about, but it just became like that. No one else
is around. At the end of the day when the smoke
clears, he can see who’s still there.
You never had the same type of money prob-
lems that Juvenile, Turk, and B.G. complained
about?
Like I said, I’m the youngest, so I can’t speak
for a grown man. They probably had different
issues than me. To me, $100,000 is like a mil-
lion dollars. I could live off that for two years. I
wouldn’t even ask for no money, and my mom,
she’s a well-off woman. She’s a working wom-
an. Even though I’m signed to Baby, still to this
day, my momma will break her neck to get me
anything. It was always that way. It’d be times
when everybody had just got a new car. I’d
come around with a new car three months later
because my mom bought it for me.
So it wasn’t an issue because you weren’t
hurting for money.
Not at all.
Do you think Mannie Fresh’s departure from
Cash Money will affect your career?
Any Lil Wayne fan knows that they bought Lil
Wayne’s album not because of the single, but
because Lil Wayne can spit.
You don’t think Mannie leaving would have
the same result as Beats By The Pound leaving
No Limit?
I never listened to No Limit so I don’t really
know, but you know, music is changing and
evolving. Back in the day, that music was what
was up. It still is. You’ve got Young Jeezy’s hot-
test single with Mannie Fresh. But you’ve also
got Swizz Beatz, Kanye West, and a lot of other
producers. I’ve come to that point as an artist
where I’ve got to grow. Any Lil Wayne fan can
go back to my first round of spitting and they’ll
know that I touched the mic to rap, not to make
you move just to make you listen. So for me, as
an artist, I’m progressing, so I need my music
to also. Me sticking with Mannie Fresh would be
the same sound.
Who are you working with for your new al-
bum?
Swizz Beatz, Cool & Dre from the Terror Squad,
Havoc from Mobb Deep, X-Files, Howard M from
Baton Rouge, and my man from the Dipset.
I heard you and Camron are real cool.
Yeah, that’s my big brother. When I come to the
city, I don’t have to stay in the hotel. That type
of shit. I’m on Juelz Santana’s second single,
and me and Boo hopped on their mixtape. Juelz
and Young Jeezy got a mixtape coming out and I
jumped on that too.
When you get calls from artists like Destiny’s
Child and Bobby Valentino for appearances,
do you feel like you’re getting more respect
as a lyricist on a mainstream level?
I think the Destiny’s Child thing was just because
they from the South and they keeping it real.
That’s how we all looked at it. T.I. and Wayne,
that’s the South, so I felt like that’s what that
was about. As far as Bobby, we just real cool.
To tell you the truth, I sent the song back to
him with one verse and they sent it right back
like, “Yo, you need to do two verses.” I mean,
I appreciate it.
Do you think you don’t get the same type of
respect as a lyricist from New York?
Of course I don’t get that type of respect, but
you can’t blame that on the South. You can’t
blame that on where you’re from. If you’re tal-
ented, you’re talented. Some of the greatest
muthafuckers come from places you ain’t never
heard of. It ain’t really about that. I just don’t
get the exposure everybody gets. I stay low, I
stay in the cut. My lights always dim. You see
people like 50 Cent and them on TV all day so
you have no choice but to see them. There’s
been plenty of 50 songs I hated just cause I
heard it so much.
Do you think that’s because of the machine
that’s behind you?
It ain’t about the machine that’s behind me, it’s
the machine that’s behind them.
So if you were on Interscope, you’d be more
commercially successful?
Probably so. But I love my situation; I wouldn’t
give it up for the world. I’m President of a self-
made company. I never have to make another
rap in my life. Every day I wake up wondering
if I still want to be a rapper, and that’s kinda
scary. I really do wake up thinking, man, I got so
much stuff to do now. I don’t even have time to
go to the studio, and when I do go to the studio,
I’m trying to get my artist to record.
So you’re literally in the office every day, do-
ing paperwork and sitting behind a desk?
Yeah. I’m the CEO of my label, Young Money,
and the President of Cash Money. The Young
Money office is located in Miami, and the Cash
Money office of course will always be located in
New Orleans.
What is Slim’s role in Cash Money?
Slim owns it. Baby is the mouth. Slim’s the
brains, though. He makes all the final deci-
sions. Everything we’ve ever said, everything
Baby’s ever done is what Slim told him to do.
Slim sits back and watches. On the tour bus
back in the days as the Hot Boys, that’s what
I did. B.G. and all them rode Baby’s bus, but I
always rode on Slim’s bus. I’ve got that same
attitude. I guess I didn’t see what they saw.
What artists do you have on Young Money?
First up is my man Currency, he used to be in
No Limit. That’s my first solo artist, then I got
a roster full after that.
Are most of the artists you’ve signed based
in New Orleans?
Well, Boo – from Boo & Gotti – is from Chicago.
He said when it’s time for his album to come
out he’s gonna flip a coin to decide if it’ll come
out through Cash Money or Young Money. Boo’s
in this group I got comin’ out called the Paper-
boys. It’s gonna be crazy – it’s me, Boo, Kurupt,
and Juelz. East coast, West coast, down South,
Midwest. We haven’t recorded any songs yet,
but we’re anxious right now. We’re just excited
that everybody’s been approved. Everybody’s
situation is straight; we got all the paperwork
done.
Are you working on a new solo album?
The Carter 2 is coming in October. They keep
leakin’ it, but it’s cool. I assure
you that no songs that get
leaked will be on The Cart-
er 2. They’re making me
work harder.
- Julia Beverly
OZONE AUGUST 2005 B23

Houston is getting a lot more media attention
these days. Do you think you’re partly respon-
sible for that?
Naw, I just played my role in keeping the torch
lit. Even if there never woulda been a Paul Wall,
it still would’ve happened. I think a lot of it
comes from UGK, with Pimp C being locked up.
That has a lot to do with the media and press
situation, because everybody wants to know
what he’s locked up for, when he’s getting out,
what is Bun B doing, and what are their plans
for when he gets out. I think that draws a lot
of attention to it, and being a positive person,
you can look at the positive in the situation.
Of course it’s a bad thing that he’s locked up,
but it could always be worse. Just looking at
the positive in the situation has drawn a lot of
attention to what’s going on in Houston. When
anybody asks about Houston rap, you can’t
mention Houston rap without mentioning what
Rap-A-Lot has done with J Prince and the Geto
Boys, and of course what UGK has done. You
can’t mention Texas rap without mentioning
UGK, so naw, I don’t feel responsible.
We’ve had everything in Texas for years – our
own distribution, sales, and fans, but we never
really had the media. Now all of a sudden it’s
like a media feeding frenzy down here. Do you
think people like yourself, Chamillionaire, and
Slim Thug have brought it to the next level?
Well, back then we was just on some different
type stuff. I was real bragadocious back then.
We were all in the Swishahouse. It was just
about bragging about how much money we had,
how fly we were. It was all about being fly. Of
course we got a lot of that from the Screwed Up
Click, because the way Lil Keke used to deliver
his raps was just so fly. He’d take something so
simple and add emphasis to it and change the
way it came out. I think a lot of the country is
so one-track minded that they never expected
this to happen. But when you’ve got sounds like
the Hot Boys and No Limit in Louisiana, and
you look at what Nelly did for St. Louis, those
are respected styles coming from those areas.
Not that everybody in Louisiana sounds like the
Hot Boys or No Limit or that everybody in St.
Louis sounds like Nelly, but you definitely can
tell where they’re from. In Houston, you’ve
B26 OZONE AUGUST 2005
PAUL
WALL
BABY
WORDS: MATT SONZALA
PHOTOS: MIKE FROST
got myself, Mike Jones, Slim Thug, we don’t But you have to admit it’s fallen off a little bit. Ten
all sound the same but you can tell from our years ago when these stations were really fighting
slang and our voice that we all come from the each other, they were a lot more open to support-
same background. That’s what the different ing the community. But Houston never had to rely
geographical regions have done for music. on radio. What’s it take for an independent artist
They’ve brought their scene and culture to to really infiltrate the streets in Houston?
the rest of the world, and that’s what’s going It’s a combination of a lot of things. Of course,
on in Houston. Houston is dead smack in the your music gotta jam, and you gotta be consistent
middle of the country and dead smack at the with your music. You can’t just jam every now and
bottom. We’ve been living in our own little then; that ain’t gonna work. You gotta be con-
world down here for so long. We didn’t get sistent with it. It also takes time and patience.
any media attention and that was cool with Swishahouse been doing this since 1995. I started
us cause we were getting money. A lot of rapping in 1999 with Swishahouse but I was do-
other people around the country were getting ing stuff with them in terms of street promotion
a gang of media attention but they weren’t and DJing since 1996 or 1997. It takes time. If it’s
getting too much money. We’re trying to in- meant to be, it’s gonna be. People rush things too
troduce this sound to the rest of the world. much; they jump the gun or switch their style up.
Shouts out to DJ Screw for inventing this. I think the main thing is just being patient. Most
people aren’t patient and they want to compete
There’s a lot of articles about Houston fo- on the same level as the big boys. You just gotta
cused on beef within the city. I don’t really do you and make good music.
see that. Artists say that Houston doesn’t
show support. Houston is hot right now, but it’s also a close-knit
I hear a lot of people in Houston say that. community. How is it for outside producers or la-
They’re like, “Aw, man, the radio be hating.” bels coming in and looking for Houston artists?
But if you look at the playlists statistically, With the success of songs that have a sample in
Houston shows more love to local artists than the hook, like “Still Tippin’,” “Back Then,” “Sit-
any other city across the country except for tin’ Sideways,” and even “They Don’t Know,” too
maybe Atlanta, New York, and L.A Any station many people are trying to do that. They gonna wear
in the country is gonna be playing Lil Jon and that shit out. It’s already worn out in my eyes. If
T.I., cause that shit’s hot. If you’re in Atlanta you keep doing that shit, it takes away from it.
and they’re playing T.I., that’s not the same They think that all you’ve got to do to make a
as playing a local artist. Yeah, he’s from At- Houston artist pop is to get a song with a sample
lanta, but he’s not a local artist. He’s a na- in the hook. I think that takes away from what
tional artist. Houston is the only city in the the city has to offer. Going back to the samples
country – at least from what I’ve seen, and we took, that shit ain’t nothin’ new. That’s been
I’ve been to every radio station in the coun- going on in Houston forever. When UGK did “Dia-
try – at any given time, you’re gonna have an monds and Wood,” it was a sample from the Screw
independent artist on the playlist in Houston. tape [Grace]. And that’s a classic song. People are
They always show a lot of love to local talent. wearing it out now; putting any type of sample ot
I really didn’t notice that at first cause I was any type of beat. That shit ain’t working. People
caught up in that too, thinking they’re hating. need to just do them. Of course Screw music is the
It’s not that they’re hating, they’ve just gotta backbone of Houston, but there’s a lot of people
follow protocol. There’s procedures they have who are not coming up in that Screw genre. You’ve
to go through and people they’ve gotta an- got people like Chingo Bling – his fans aren’t nec-
swer to. They can’t just play whatever they essarily fans of his because he’s slowed down. Peo-
want. It’s a system, and you’ve gotta respect ple like Chingo Bling because he’s Chingo Bling.
that. If you abide by the rules and you’ve got But at the same time, you’ve gotta respect the
some jammin’ music, it’s gonna get played Screw Above all you’ve gotta respect the Screw.
though. If you don’t respect DJ Screw and the Screwed Up
Click and people came before you and paved
the way and laid the foundation for all this shit,
then you’re stepping on people’s toes. I hear
people say, “Man, I ain’t with that Screw music,
I’m doing some other stuff.” Not to discredit
them, but they’re separating themselves from
the heart of the city. The heart of the city is
what DJ Screw created. That’s not to say they
won’t survive, but that’s always the rumor in
Houston. They say people aren’t gonna like your
music unless it’s screwed. That’s not necessarily
true, but I just think that’s embedded in peo-
ple’s minds. Here in Houston, if it’s done right,
it just sounds better Screwed. It sounds better
to us. But shit, Jay-Z is jammin’, whether he’s
Screwed or regular spee. I’ve met a bunch of
big-name producers who have moved to Hous-
ton, and it seems like they all have the same
agenda. They move to Houston with more of a
pop sound or a national sound, some produc-
tion more appropriate for Puffy Daddy or Snoop.
Like what Pharrell tried to do with Slim Thug.
That shit don’t work. Even with me. When we
were working on the album, my buzz and the
media attention is humongous, so we were try-
ing to find out what we could do to get radio
play. They’re like, “Let’s get Pharrell or Timbal-
and or Dr. Dre on a beat and somebody big on a
feature or a hook.” That’s what a lot of people
moving to Houston are trying to do – bring that
mainstream sound. But that’s not gonna work.
That didn’t work with Slim Thug. What worked
with Slim Thug was “Three Kings,” which had
him rapping on a Texas beat that Mr. Lee made.
He had Bun B and TI on there, and he was doing
Slim Thug. That’s what works. I don’t know if it
was Interscope or Geffen holding it up. I know
it wasn’t Slim Thug, cause he was tellin’ me
the whole time, “Man, I don’t know why they
won’t push this ‘Three Kings.’” If they would’ve
pushed “Three Kings” it would’ve been one of
the biggest singles of last year. But Slim still did
incredible his first week. Interscope thought
“Still Tippin’” wasn’t gonna work, but now ev-
erybody over there is kicking themselves in the
ass because they didn’t put it on Slim’s album.
“Still Tippin’” was originally Slim Thug’s song?
Yeah, of course. It’s his freestyle, his hook.
Did you have a problem with that becoming a
Mike Jones single? Even in Vibe magazine, they
made it sound like Mike Jones was doing you
and Slim a favor to put y’all on his song.
Naw. To be honest, I was just happy to have a
song that was as big a hit as “Still Tippin’.” T
Farris put me on the song. Originally they did
“Still Tippin’” to a different beat and it just
wasn’t it. That just wasn’t the one. The beat
for “Still Tippin’” that you hear today was the
last beat we had left for The Day Hell Broke
Loose Pt. 2 and nobody wanted to rap on it. The
way the beat was tracked, it was just a constant
loop and it was hard to write to. T just told me
to write to it as a freestyle. That’s what I did.
Salih Williams made both of those beats, and
“Back Then” and “Sittin’ Sideways” too. I was
just honored to be on the song. I don’t want to
discredit Mike by saying it’s Slim’s song, but it
is Slim’s song. it was originally on The Day Hell
Broke Loose Part 2.
When that song was originally made, it was
around the same time that major changes start-
ed happening at Swishahouse.
People always compare Houston to Atlanta.
They say, “Man, we need to get along, like they
do in Atlanta.” But shit, if you go to Atlanta, ev-
erybody don’t always get along. There’s a lot of
camaraderie; that’s true. You see a lot of peo-
ple doing features with other artists, because
Atlanta has so many major acts: Monica, Usher,
Lil Jon, TI, Goodie Mob, Boyz N Da Hood, Young
Jeezy, Jermaine Dupri, Mariah Carey, Jagged
Edge, Ciara, Ludacris, the list goes on. When
Usher gets on a song with TI, I don’t think it’s
because he’s from Atlanta, it’s because he’s one
of the number one rappers in the country. When
I do a song with Slim Thug, I consider him one
of the prominent rappers in the country When I
do a song with Bun B, it’s because he’s a legend.
It’s not just because he’s from Houston, it’s be-
cause I respect his music and his hustle. There’s
only one or two people in Houston that don’t
get along with everybody.
With everything happening in Houston, do you
see the music industry migrating here to give it
the backbone that Atlanta has?
Realistically, it’s just a matter of time. Hous-
ton is the fourth largest city in the country, so
that shit is bound to happen anyway. The rap
scene in Houston has been so “local” for a long
time and everybody doubted the sound, but
look at the sales. Chicago was Mike Jones’ #1
market. Chicago bought more Mike Jones CDs
than Houston and Dallas did. It’s not a local
sound. The sound is everywhere. I was in the
airport today and I got stopped by some white
kids from Iowa! For real! They mama came up
to me and asked me to take pictures with her
kids. I threw a peace sign up and they was like,
“Aw, he chunkin’ the deuce.” Cuz they saw me
on MTV with Sway. When MTV came down here,
they brought so much attention to what’s going
on in Houston.
Shortly after the Swishahouse/Asylum deal, it
was announced that you’d gone over to Atlan-
tic. How did that happen?
Well, Asylum is a branch off of Warner Bros. and
Atlantic. So when we go to Asylum, the ultimate
goal is to get upstreamed to either Atlantic or
Warner Bros. Mike Jones got upstreamed to
Warner Bros., so strategically, it was good for
me to go to Atlantic. If we were both on Warner
they would always push us together and have
us do everything together, which isn’t neces-
sarily a bad thing but it takes away from our
individuality. Being on Atlantic, they can focus
on pushing me. We both support each other and
team up when we can for the big situations. T.I.
and Grand Hustle are also teamed up with At-
lantic, so since I’m so close with them Atlantic
has taken notice of me for a long time.
Is it still Swishahouse though?
Oh, yeah, everything we do is Swishahouse.
We’re just using Atlantic and Asylum’s resourc-
es. The artists signed to Swishahouse are my-
self, Mike Jones, Archie Lee, Cooda Bang, Aque-
leo, and R&B singer Crystal.
Mike Jones doesn’t seem to be reppin’ Swisha-
house anymore on TV or in interviews. Just an
observation. Have you noticed that?
Yeah, definitely. Shit, not just in interviews, but
he ain’t. I support Mike in what he do. I don’t
know if that’s something he’s got with Swisha-
house, or if he’s just doing his own thing. He’s
always had the Ice Age company, so that aint’
nothing new.
How much credit do you give Swishahouse in
your career?
Me? Shit, 100% of my credit. I would’t be shit
without Michael Watts, G. Dash, and T Farris.
They started all the shit with me back in 1996
when Watts used to let me pass out flyers for
him. Then he started putting me on mix CDs.
It was an honor just to be in the mix. I give
him 100% of the credit. T Farris put me on “Still
Tippin’,” which gave me a lot of publicity and
exposure. I give Swishahouse 100% of my credit,
next to God. Whatever Mike’s got going on, he’s
doing his thing. I support him and what he do.
I really have no idea what’s going on. I don’t
know why he don’t stay Swishahouse.
It’s good to hear you being positive about the
situation. But even during the short time you
weren’t with Swishahouse, your release with
Chamillionaire, Get Ya Mind Correct, was an
independent milestone for Houston in terms of
sales and style.
Thank you. A lot of that was just because we
teamed up with Madd Hatta and Cat and Paid in
Full. Madd Hatta is just a genius when it comes
to making business decisions, and Cat’s work
ethic is phenomenal. They didn’t’ force any-
thing on us and let us make our own decisions
with the direction we wanted to go. We were
young and ready to work, just happy to be in
that position. We were full of energy and made
it into a positive situation. I was just happy to
be a part of it. I’ve been blessed because my
whole career, from start to finish, has been a lot
of good situations. I’m still climbing the ladder
though. It’s good to see the amount of success
I’ve had to day, and I’m not even at the top
yet. I’m still in the middle. But even if every-
thing ends today, I can honestly look back and
say, “Damn, I had one hell of a career.” I’m just
blessed to be where I’m at.
Have you heard Chamillionaire’s new Man on
Fire disc and the shots he took at you? He’s
claiming that he ghostwrote stuff for you on Get
Ya Mind Correct.
I’ve heard about it, but I haven’t heard the CD
myself. Man, I ain’t worried about that shit. I
don’t concern myself with those type of things.
I focus on positive things, like putting down
$80,000 on this house to bring my interest rates
down. I’m not worried about negativity. I wish
him all the best. I hope he’s successful. I ain’t
got no hard feelings. I hope he sells a million
records his first week, cause if he does, every-
body who buys his album is gonna go back and
buy Get Ya Mind Correct and Controversy Sells.
That’s more money in my pocket.
You are one of the few rappers who seems to
stay out of all the beef.
There’s been situations where I’ve thought
about it, and I played chess. I think actions
speak louder than words. I don’t talk about it, I
OZONE AUGUST 2005 B27

be about it as best I can. I’m Paul Wall. Part of
me is a real nice guy. But shit, I’ve got a temper
too. If you push my buttons enough I’m gonna
go off. When I listen to music, though, I don’t
wanna hear about that shit. I just wanna hear
good music. Since that’s what I want to hear,
I try to abide by those same principles when
I’m making music. My career doesn’t thrive off
making a scene and stirring up commotion and
trouble. I’ve been blessed to be around people
like Salih Williams and Pretty Todd and Calvin
Earl, the G.R.i.T. boys and Yung Redd and Trae
who support me 100% in everything I do.
The industry likes to play up all of that contro-
versy though. Have you ever been approached
by someone in the business who might want you
to jump into these controversies?
Oh yeah, definitely, a lot. And shit, I be doing in-
terviews sometimes and they try to rile me up.
Only magazines I got at my house is OZONE.
What producers are you working with?
I got Salih Williams, and I wish I would have got
more from him but he’s so hot right now it’s
hard to get with him. I got KLC from the Medi-
cine Men. DJ Paul and Juicy J, Sanchez and K-O
from Grand Hustle and of course the Grid Iron,
Pretty Todd and Calvin Earl.
You came up with Pretty Todd right?
Yeah, we went to college together at the Uni-
versity of Houston. I’ve known him longer than
that, but that’s when we first started clicking
up and hanging tough. Myself, Calvin and Pretty
Todd, we all pretty much have the same vision.
Musically we want to make good music, with
musical concepts and themes. We don’t want to
make the same music, we want to make ground-
breaking music. We don’t want to make the
same old shit and we don’t want to make trendy
music for now, we want to make timeless music
where you can put the song in five years from
now and it’s still gonna jam. That’s the ultimate
goal for what we’re doing. We all have our own
different backgrounds and creative concepts
and roles that we play. The shit that they doing
is just ferocious. And with the G.R.i.T. Boys and
Yung Redd teaming up too, I’m just happy to be
a part of it. I know I keep saying that shit, but I
never in a million years expected that I’d be in
the position that I’m in. Never. So just for me to
be here is like wow, I’m just happy to be here.
I’m enjoying this to the fullest, living it up and
trying to make sure my stay here lasts as long as
it can. And I’m trying to do what’s right. People
like Bun B and Big Hawk, they really reached out
to me. And they helped me in my journey and in
my path and being that they are legends, Bun B
B28 OZONE AUGUST 2005
and Hawk, they came before me and they kind
of helped bring me to where I’m at today. They
reached out to me at different times and gave
me a helping hand. Bun B came and did some
stuff with me and gave me a helping hand. That
let me know I need to help somebody else and
keep it going. I gotta keep showing love down
the line and help people coming out behind me.
It’s not just about me, it’s about keeping the
heart pumping in the city. That’s why I always
let it be known about what DJ Screw has done.
You’re one of the few white rappers that doesn’t
come off as a gimmick.
With me, it was never an issue growing up. My
mom always instilled in me that I’m Paul. It’s
not that I’m white and everyone else is black,
I’m just Paul and they are who they are. It don’t
make a difference what race you are. Houston
is so multi-cultural. Since we’re so close to the
border of Mexico, the Hispanic population is hu-
mungous. And we’re so close to the Gulf of Mex-
ico that the Caribbean is right around the cor-
ner, so we’ve got a large Jamaican population,
Cuban population, Puerto Rican population and
Trinidadian population. The Indian population is
huge. The Asian population is huge. There’s only
two airports in America that fly directly into
Pakistan, and Houston is one of them. The city
is multi-cultural. My mom always instilled that
in me and taught me anti-racism. She wasn’t
even neutral about the shit; she taught me that
it’s not cool to be racist. Shit, it’s 2005, not
1960. It’s never been an issue with me in life
or in rap. It’s just me being me. The only place
people really mention it is when I go on the East
coast. Other than that, nobody ever points it
out. I’m cool with a lot of rappers, and I’m cool
with other white rappers like Haystak, Bubba
Sparxxx, and White Dawg.
Racism is a lot more prominent up North even
though people have the perception that the
South is racist. That stigma also relates to the
fact that we never had the media down here.
People don’t even know what Houston is about,
like you say in the song.
Yeah, just like Bun says, “All they know is what
we tell ‘em and what we sell ‘em.” That’s all
they know. They don’t’ even really grasp what
we have going on. They have no idea. That’s
why people on a major label say, “We have
an album, let’s get it screwed and chopped,”
and go to the cheapest DJ they can find. Then
it don’t sell because the DJ didn’t do it right.
They could’ve just went to Michael Watts. They
don’t understand that just anybody can’t screw
and chop. Even to this day, if DJ Screw didn’t
do it, it ain’t screwed. But at the same time,
we’ve gotta honor his legacy, so that’s why we
call it screw music. DJ Screw is a legend. He
paved the way and created the backbone of ev-
erything we are in Houston.
What are some of the records that you’ve
screwed and chopped as a DJ?
I did T.I.’s Urban Legend, Lil Flip’s last CD, the
new C-Murder and Master P CDs. I did Z-Ro’s
Let The Truth Be Told. But the one that I took
the most pride in was DEA. That was DJ Screw’s
group, Dead End Alliance. Screw, Fat Pat, Hawk,
Lil Keke, KK, and all the main rappers from the
first Screwed Up Click were on that album. 3-2,
ESG, and Big Moe were on the album too. It was
a classic, one of my favorite albums of all time.
I always asked Hawk when he was gonna put out
the screwed and chopped version, and I bugged
him so much he was like “Go on and do it.” I did
it and took a lot of pride in that. I went back
and listened to a lot of Screw tapes and tried to
emulate it as best as I could.
What’s the going rate for an album to get
screwed and chopped? Do you make a lot of
money doing that?
Yeah, a lot of it depends on the artist. There’s
always different ways. Of course, getting points
on the album is one way. As far as flat fees, it
can be anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000. It de-
pends on the artist, the label, the relationship,
and the album.
Is it a lengthy process you have to put a lot of
thought into or is it just natural?
I just jump in and knock it right out. I can do it
in a few hours, a whole day or so. But Michael
Watts, he really put a lot of time into it. Ev-
ery project he does. Shit Michael Watts doing
his thing. He doing a great job of carrying the
torch, carrying on the legacy.
When was the first time you heard DJ Screw?
When I heard rap I heard Screw. There was
Screw tapes and there was the radio. As a little
kid I didn’t understand what it was all about, I
just thought that that shit was jammin’ more
than the radio was jammin’. Shit, it’s just what
we would listen to. It’s just like any other form
of music. There’s country, rock, jazz, classical,
rap, pop, R&B, and Screw music. For me it was
just an option of a different form of music.
You’ve set a new landmark though, because
you are screwing and chopping The Transplants,
a rock album. How did that come about, and
how does that process differ from screwing and
chopping a rap CD?
Man, it pretty much was the same process, but
it took a lot of effort. I had always been a fan
of Tim Armstrong and Rancid and Travis Barker
and Blink 182 and Skinhead Rob anyway. I met
them at Atlantic Records’ offices. When we met
they was showing me love, telling me they were
fans of my music. I was like, “Man, you gotta
be kidding me. Y’all are fans of my music?”
They played me their new album and I was like,
“Man, y’all need to let me go on and screw and
chop that bitch.” They were like, “Hell yeah.”
They just wanted to hear how it would sound.
Atlantic asked me to do it on a promotional tip,
but the buzz around it got so big that they de-
cided to put out a commercial release. Just like
anything else, I’m just happy to be a part of it.
Do you listen to rock music too?
Yeah, I listen to a lot of different forms of mu-
sic. I gotta diversify. I can’t just watch BET
Uncut and 106th & Park all the time, either. I
watch Bill O’Reilly, everything. Even though
I don’t agree with thing I see on Bill O’Reilly
all the time and the way he talks to people,
it’s good to watch it just from an educational
standpoint. I’m trying to understand a differ-
ent side of the fence. I’m trying to understand
where he’s coming from, even though I don’t
agree with it. It helps me step my game up. I
watch CNN and Court Tv and Forensic Files. A
lot of shit. It ain’t just entertainment all the
time. I’m soaking up information.
Outside of hip-hop, who are some of the artists
you listened to coming up?
Sade. That was one of the first CDs I screwed
and chopped on my own. I use to jam to Phil
Collins with Jimmy D in the lab. I got that from
a lot of my older partnas in the hood. They used
to jam that shit, and I was like, “Man, that shit
jammin’.”
 I
f honesty is brutal and the truth hurts, Killer Mike is pain personified.
Known among his peers as a man who holds his tongue for no one (not
even his mentors Outkast), Killa Kill from Adamsville has used his talents
to speak on whatever comes to mind and doesn’t give a damn what you think
about it. Rather, he’s concerned that you think about it.

Today, however, Mike is actually pondering what people think of him, or not think
words: of him, for that matter. “I wasn’t on [OZONE’s] 25 Greatest Southern artists
MAURICE G. GARLAND list, and that’s a problem for me,” he growls, puffing on a freshly unwrapped Al
Capone cigar. “Somehow in the midst of twenty-five muthafuckas my name gets
photos: forgotten? I’ma make sure that never happens again.”
JULIA BEVERLY

B30 OZONE AUGUST 2005

Being left off that list wasn’t the first time admits the artist who once recorded a song titled
amnesia has fallen on Killer Mike’s name. His “Rap Is Dead.” “But you got to understand that
lyrically acclaimed but production-critiqued the stance I was coming from wasn’t a criticism
2003 debut Monster quietly sold 511,000 copies of Dre, it was a critique of the state of Hip Hop.
off the strength of the singles “A.D.I.D.A.S.,” Nobody is above critiquing; niggas come to me
“Akshon (Yeah!),” and its crunked-out remix all the time and tell me they think I sound bet-
“Re-Akshon.” But, according to Mike, Colum- ter over certain beats. I should be open enough
bia Records (pun intended) killed the project’s to accept that shit. I don’t have a problem with
chances of going platinum when they under- Dre, but I’m just like any other fan. I’m asking,
shipped the record, thus making Monster lovers ‘Why the fuck you stop rapping? Nigga, you one
buy the CD from the local bootlegger. On top of the top 5 emcees I ever heard in my life,
of that, his label Aquemini Records’ distribu- why don’t you love rap anymore?’ I genuinely
tion home, Sony, merged with BMG and laid-off want to know. [Dre] gets in some articles and
most the people responsible for promoting his says Hip Hop done ran its course and don’t have
record, thus pushing it further down the priority nothing left. How can you say that when you
list. That string of events resulted in a failure to got niggas like Webbie and Boosie putting Baton
completely exploit the exposure he was receiv- Rouge on the map and the south approaching its
ing from his breakthrough appearance on that zenith? Or niggas like Talib Kweli becoming your
year’s anthem, Bonecrusher’s “Neva Scared.” favorite street rapper’s favorite rapper and nig-
gas like Bun B staying in the game 15 years and
Ever the optimist, Mike hasn’t looked at the still rapping hard?”
situation as a failure. Instead, he’s acting like
a shark on a mission for its elusive prey after Dre isn’t the only peer/elder to feel Killer
catching the scent of Mike’s compassion-
its blood. “That situ- “I DON’T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH [ANDRE ate wrath. On his DJ
ation just keeps me 3000], BUT JUST LIKE ANY OTHER FAN, I’M Sense mixtape The
doing my crunches and
push-ups and writing a
ASKING, ‘WHY THE FUCK YOU STOP RAPPING? Killer, he uses “Dun-
geon Family Dedica-
little later at night,” WHY DON’T YOU LOVE RAP ANYMORE?’ I tion” to both praise
says Mike about his GENUINELY WANT TO KNOW.” - KILLER MIKE and plead his extend-
album that pretty ed family to return to
much attained slept-on status the day it was re- into a Memphis Bleek mold where his mentors the rap game and reestablish themselves.
leased. “Who would have thought that a nigga are constantly telling him he’s just one hit
from Adamsville would be heard and appreci- away. But, Killer Kill has already come of age, “They did something great,” he says in a voice
ated by that many people? But this time I want got The Understanding and is looking to use this hinting that no one else agrees with him. “In
to sell 1 to 5 million.” album to show he is a M.A.D.E. man. the South it has always been about humility, but
really, fuck humility! Everybody talks bad about
“This time” translates into Killer Mike’s sopho- “I’m not just some dude Outkast brought out,” T.O. but no one gave a shit about him until he
more release Ghetto Extraordinary, an album frowns the rapper who got introduced to listen- started giving a fuck about himself. So if by as-
that has the poise, production, and personnel ers on ‘Kast’s 2000 drum-and-bass romp “Funk- sociation I’m DF, I’ma rep this shit and never
to propel Mike to that million-selling mark. anella.” “I’m me. I was blessed to be signed by let you forget what legacy I’m a part of. The DF
Monster was recorded on a strict budget that the premiere rap group on earth. It ain’t a gift flag done landed in the muthafucking mud, so
saw him using affordable studios and no big- and curse, its gift man.” I’ma pick it up. I just can’t rep no shit that gets
name appearances. His new album, however, overlooked.”
sees him with more resources, including his own The biggest gift to be received from his asso-
studio conveniently located across from ‘Kast’s ciation so far is the 2002 Grammy for Best Rap At the same time, he is also planting his own
Stankonia Studios and a little assistance from Performance by a Group or Duo for his part in flag in the ground, Grind Time Official. Com-
Three 6 Mafia, 8 Ball & MJG, and Jagged Edge. “The Whole World.” But the blessing in disguise prised of S.L. Jones, Young Pill, Nickel Plated
is the fact that he is now in a fresh situation. Nario, Bigg Slim, Jackpot, G.G. McGhee, Zach
The self-proclaimed “King Kong of the South” Aquemini, the label founded and ran by Big Boi Nichols, Sharpshooter, Cuzo and Shawty Mark,
continues to spit his brash blend of street in- and Andre 3000, dissolved after Dre decided to GTO is a team of lyricists that Mike feels will do
tellectualism, prototypical G shit and flat out pursue a career in Hollywood instead of acting him proud and keep him sharp as well.
soapboxing by cranking out the police brutal- like a record exec. Now the new Big Boi-helmed
ity addressing “Shot Down,” the semi-auto- Purple Ribbon imprint, which is also home to “I don’t need those industry relationships where
biographical “Mama Said,” and “Niggas Down Sleepy Brown, Bubba Sparxxx, Konkrete and we cool one year and we dissing each other
South,” a reworked version of Master P and Scar, is where the Killer rests. next. I’d rather make friends with a bunch dope
UGK’s decade old classic “Playaz From the ass niggas who hungry,” he boasts, mention-
South.” His first single “My Chrome” has all the “You’re gonna get a better sense of who I am ing that all of their recording goes down at his
makings of a hit: a cameo from a commercially because I’m out here by myself now,” says the Grind House studio. “I want to be a conduit for
accepted multi-platinum selling artist (Big Boi) former Morehouse College philosophy major other niggas who are great. If you ain’t helping
and a dancer-clad video by Hype Williams. who went to school as a part of a bet to prove others then you living your life in vain.”
a naysaying high school teacher wrong. “You
“I don’t want to be a B-level artist my whole ca- don’t see Big and Dre next to me all the time Ultimately, the artist born Michael Santiago
reer. And the only way to do that is to crush, kill ‘cause they doing their thing. So that puts me in Render wants to see the culture he loves and
and destroy,” says Mike, whose cynical voice- the best light I ever been in, totally alone.” knows like the back of his hand help itself. He
mail threatens, “If I don’t go platinum, I’m go- feels that the only way to do that is to speak
ing back to robbing niggas.” “Its not about my But loneliness is a feeling that’s hard to deal the truth.
art being B-level, it’s just that when you don’t with, and Mike has been dealing with it the
go platinum then that’s just what it is. I ain’t best way he knows how, rapping about it with “Niggas telling you the truth about the good shit
stupid. Reebok ain’t called me about my en- that brutal honesty of his. The outspoken MC about coming up, but not the whole truth. Part
dorsement deal.” snatched ears like a snagged doorknocker when of the truth is just as bad as a lie,” he says.
he called out his movie-making mentor on DJ “Yeah, I used to make money off crack, but that
Mike’s perception of A-level is a towering one. Drama’s Gangsta Grillz XI. In the society gut- shit ain’t good for the neighborhood. It fucked
How can you ever be satisfied with a gold-sell- check “Bad Day Worse Day” Mike emphatically a lot of people up. The first time I ever counted
ing record when you’ve been discovered and rhymed: “Q-Tip’s singing, Dre 3000 acting/Got out $10,000 to myself, just from the stench of
endorsed by Outkast, who’ve sold over 17 mil- damn, niggas too good for this rappin’?/I’m just the money and the thought of what I had to do
lion albums? asking, what the fuck happened?” to get it, I threw up. That’s the truth.”

Hell, the way things look, he could easily fall “That put a strain on our relationship at first,” Does it hurt yet?

OZONE AUGUST 2005 B31

What was your career path? Did you go to col-
lege?
I majored in history at Vassar and then I became
a paralegal for a big law firm. I was on my way to
law school when I started freelance writing because
I was interested in pop culture. A friend of mine,
Kevin Powell, encouraged me to try and get pub-
lished. He was very instrumental when I was start-
ing to write. I go published in Vibe and a few other
magazines, just little pieces here and there. That
led to me working at Arista’s publicity department
as an assistant. I was just trying to meet more edi-
tors to get more writing assignments, and plus, I
liked music. Arista went through some changes and
I ended up taking on more responsibilities, so basi-
cally I got into public relations by accident. I start-
ed doing campaigns and reaching out to journalists.
I was there at Arista when Bad Boy was launching
Craig Mack and Biggie, so that was interesting to
work with them from the ground up. I got an offer
to go over to Jive, where I worked with KRS-One and
Tribe Called Quest. I ended up coming to Universal
from Jive. To sum it up, I went to college to go to
law school but I ended up in publicity, and due to
having solid relationships with journalists and edi-
tors and growing with those people, I was able to
get this position. I think it’s a real blessing to work
around music and creativity at this level.
Since your degree isn’t applicable to the music in-
dustry, do you think college was a waste of time?
No, I don’t. There are different types of publicity
– there’s event planning, personal party publicists,
and publicity for a label. Publicity for a label in-
volves strategically planning from the ground up.
You’re taking a completely unknown artist from A
to Z. It encompasses the other parts of publicity. A
lot of people think it’s just getting into parties and
stuff like that, but you need skills to do this type of
job. You need to be able to analyze the artist; fig-
ure out how they’re different from everybody else.
You’ve got to be able to sell them to smart people,
because writers and journalists read just about ev-
erything. You can’t pull the wool over them. You
have to be articulate. Fresh out of high school, I
don’t think you have the skills you’d need.
Universal is one of the few labels that does press
junkets for local magazines. How important do
you think grassroots publications are?
I think they’re absolutely essential. I started doing
junkets back at Jive, working with E-40. I’m from
Colorado, so I was familiar with E-40 and Too Short,
but a lot of the writers were very isolated. Outkast
had just started – I worked with them at Arista, ac-
tually – but outside of the East Coast it was basically
just Death Row. No one really understood who E-40
was. I flew out a bunch of journalists to Vallejo,
California. No one understood what his reality was
like until we got to his house party and we saw how
he flowed. After that, we all got it – who he was,
what the music was about. We did a press junket
again for Cash Money. We flew all the magazines
out to New Orleans. When Juvenile came out with
“Ha,” they didn’t understand. But when you go
down to New Orleans and see how people were liv-
ing then, you can understand his lyrics. That’s how
the junket concept came about; just trying to help
journalists understand how the music is shaped by
the artists’ environment. In every region, there’s
a magazine that means more and has more of
a reach than some of the national magazines,
because people are familiar with them and
they support local artists a lot
more. It’s just like a mixtape.
To me, street magazines are “No matter how trivial or small you
like mixtapes. Grassroots think the job you’re doing is, some-
magazines reach out to
people immediately. one’s always paying attention.”
Wendy Washington
Senior VP of Media Relations
Universal/Motown
If you read something negative about
an artist you represent, are you per-
sonally offended?
When you’re an artist, everything is
fair game. Some people are gonna
like your album, some aren’t. Some
people are gonna like what you stand
for, and some aren’t. Everything is par
for the course, and I understand that.
I also understand that sometimes it
doesn’t matter whether it’s good or
bad, sometimes it’s just free adver-
tising. I try to maintain a professional
stance, but I do get rubbed the wrong
way when something is misquoted or
unfairly written. If there’s a negative
article and the writer clearly doesn’t
respect the artist or the rap genre, I
have a problem with that. But I don’t
expect everything to be rosy and won-
derful.
If your artist gets arrested, are you
secretly happy for the publicity?
No, never. If an artist is talented
they’ll get the press anyway. I don’t
think you need negativity to fuel
press. Unfortunately, a lot of press
does thrive off negativity. A talented
artist with a great product doesn’t
need those gimmicks.
What advice would you give to some-
one trying to start up a grassroots
publication?
One thing that we look at with these
junkets is follow through. Do you have
a track record? If we invest our money
in you by making sure you have great
editorial content – not just ten minutes
on the phone or before the show in
your area – are you gonna be around in
a few months? Starting up, you really
have to have a business plan or some-
thing that shows you’re committed to
seeing it through. Persistence counts too.
If you’re trying to get the attention of a
major label, you’ve got to make sure that
we receive magazines regularly. If it’s not
on stands, we don’t know how regularly it
comes out.
Have you ever been put in a position where
you had to promote a product you didn’t per-
sonally agree with? Like, for example, Nelly’s
“Tip Drill”?
I do believe in everyone’s right to express them-
selves creatively and artistically. I’ve only been in
a position once or twice where I objected to some-
thing and chose not to work that project. As far as
“Tip Drill,” I felt that Nelly had the right to express
himself. But do I agree with some of the decisions
that young women make to get into this business?
No, I don’t. Ladies can keep their clothes on – they
don’t need to do that to make it in this business.
I think the “Tip Drill” video did start a healthy
debate in hip-hop. I don’t feel compromised as a
woman by the records that I’m promoting, but that
doesn’t mean I agree with everything. Sometimes
I have questions, and I’m in a position where I can
question an artist one-on-one. Hopefully through
that dialogue I can inspire them to think, but I also
believe in their freedom.
Have you ever represented an artist who wouldn’t
show up for interviews?
Absolutely. At first I used to get really upset, but
now, if I’ve got an artist like that, I just don’t make
commitments on their behalf. There’s so many art-
ists and so few slots for artists trying to get signed,
so if they don’t want it, someone else does.
You have a lot of staff in your publicity depart-
ment. How do you make sure everything runs
smoothly internally?
Luckily, it just seems like the staff is large, because
this time around we have a lot of great interns. This
is another reason people need to stay in school, be-
cause a lot of companies won’t let you intern any-
more unless you’re in college and receiving credit
for doing an internship. It’s not as easy as it once
was. So, it looks like we have a bigger staff than we
actually do. With the last press junket, there was
really just four of us that put together the whole
thing, and we just stay focused. It took 3-4 weeks of
consistently getting together and planning; trying
to assign people different tasks.
What are you looking for when you select in-
terns?
The interns that stand out to me are the ones that
don’t stand around and don’t need to be told what
to do. They’re like, “How can I help? What can I
do?” They take initiative. If you see me running
around, nobody should be standing still. A lot of
people think things are beneath them, like running
to the store or getting clips. Things like that show
follow through. No matter how trivial or small you
think the job you’re doing is, someone’s always pay-
ing attention. If you don’t have to ask someone two
or three times to do a small task, that establishes
their credibility. We’ve hired some interns because
they were ready for more responsibility, but a lot
of people feel like, “I didn’t know I was coming up
here to run errands and do clippings.” The ones that
get more out of the experience are the ones that do
it without complaining. They’re bright and eager.
How could someone apply for an
internship?
Send in your resume to the Univer-
sal/Motown Records Media Rela-
tions Department/Internship at 1755
Broadway, New York, NY, 10019.
OZONE AUGUST 2005 A35
 WEBBIE
SAVAGE LIFE
Trill/Asylum/Warner
If you ever wanted to know
what authentic independent
Southern Hip Hop music
sounds like, this album is a
good start. Webbie’s sound
is explicitly Southern. Some
people would see that as a
roadblock to national airplay
and platinum plaque. Others
will see this as the type of
artistic and creative control
that, if presented in the right
manner, can also lead to the
platinum promised land.
Fortunately for Webbie, his
current situation is the latter.
Webbie does his music his
way, for his community. Fresh
off the independent success
of Gangsta Muzik, a joint
album with his Trill Entertain-
ment labelmate Lil Boosie,
Webbie already has a steady
fan base ready to line up at
stores to buy his debut solo
album Savage Life.
Webbie’s debut does not
disappoint. Savage Life picks
up right where Gangsta Muzik
left off. The first joint, “G
Shit,” is exactly what it
claims to be – gangsta shit.
Even though this album has
its share of features, includ-
ing Mannie Fresh, Trina, Bun
B, and B.G., Webbie remains
the star.
Aside from the gangsta music,
Webbie has his fair share of
misogynistic records that
women still love. By now, I’m
sure you’ve heard the album’s
lead single, “Give Me That,”
where Webbie and Bun B en-
courage all the women to give
it up. Another record sure
to be a hit with the ladies
is the Mannie Fresh-assisted
“Come Here Bitch.” Take a
wild guess what that record
is about. If you want to feel
like you just ran through an
authentic dirty South hood
club, listen to this album.
- Wally Sparks
B38 OZONE AUGUST 2005
VARIOUS
HUSTLE & FLOW SOUNDTRACK
Grand Hustle/Atlantic/Warner
I’m going to be a little biased with
this review, mainly because I’m from
Tennessee. If you haven’t seen the
movie Hustle & Flow, it’s about a
down-and-out pimp from Memphis who
has dreams of breaking into the music
game.
Now that you know I’m biased, here is
my beef with this soundtrack: where
are all the Memphis artists? Sure,
you’ve got 8Ball & MJG, Nasty Nardo,
and Al Kapone, but that’s not enough.
But, rather than dedicating my entire
review to this travesty, I’ll focus on
how good the rest of the album is.
This album is a classic hood movie
soundtrack done in the image of the
Menace II Society soundtrack, but it’s
nowhere as good as that one was.
Instead of putting out a compilation
of throwaway tracks, remixes, and old
album cuts from newly signed artists
in the Warner Music Group stable,
this soundtrack could have used more
Memphis influence and less Atlanta
influence. No disrespect to the Atlanta
artists, because their songs are good,
but they could’ve been better uses
somewhere else.
The songs done by the movies lead
character D Jay are sort of an anomaly.
They’re dope in a way, because they
sound like real Memphis records (Al Ka-
pone and Frayser Boy wrote the lyrics,
and DJ Paul and Juicy J produced some
of the beats). But the songs are still
whack, because I know they’re fake.
I guess that’s Hollywood for you. Still,
no matter how much Terrance Howard
talks about all the “anna on his chest,”
ol’ buddy ain’t from Memphis.
Note to all you A&Rs over at Warner:
Playa Fly, Gangsta Blac, Yo Gotti,
Skinny Pimp, and DJ Squeeky are all
from Memphis, and could’ve contrib-
uted greatly to the soundtrack. And
even though Three 6 Mafia had cameos
in the movie and did some beats for D
Jay, they aren’t on the soundtrack. The
next person who makes a movie about
Memphis rap and doesn’t include Three
6 Mafia on the soundtrack should be
clubbed over the head.
- Wally Sparks
YOUNG JEEZY
LET’S GET IT:
THUG MOTIVATION 101
Def Jam
First things first. What the fuck
is up with that intro? I wonder if
that’s a beat from the engineer
who supposedly got his head
cracked for leaking this album?
The beat is kinda dope in a
weird Eastern Asian sitar kind
of way. It just seems so out of
place. As for the rest of the
album, it’s exactly what you’d
expect. Perhaps Jeezy says it
best: “See, I spit it for y’all, on
the real, my nigga, shit, I spit
it for y’all.” Up next we have
what could be the next ATL an-
them: “Bang,” featuring T.I. and
Lil Scrappy. Straight rida music!
Throughout the album, Jeezy’s
signature ad-libs (“Yeaaaaah,”
“That’s riiiiiight,” and “Let’s
get it!”) get a little old, but
aren’t quite as nerve-wracking
as “Who!? MIKE JONES!” Young
Jeezy seems to be a graduate
of the Project Pat school of
rapping. He has the ability to
put together extremely simple
rhymes without making them
sound like nursery rhymes. His
flow is so smooth and fluid, you
get so caught up in singing you
don’t realize he’s not doing any
Eminem-like verbal acrobatics.
On the cut “Last of A Dying
Breed,” featuring Young Buck
and Trick Daddy, Young Jeezy
and his collaborators explain
why real men are scarce. The
song also seems to be a gangsta
tribute to Scarface and 2Pac. On
“My Hood,” Jeezy rides a rub-
berband man-type rhythm and
gives love to the place closest
to his heart. Another standout
cut is “Soul Survivor,” featuring
a gut hook from Akon. The pas-
sion on this song is intense, and
I don’t think anyone but Akon
could’ve sung this hook. The
Streetz Iz Watchin’ and Trap Or
Die mixtapes got us all hyped up
for the album, and Jeezy does
what he always does: deliver
that dope!
- Wally Sparks
TREY SONGZ
I GOTTA MAKE IT
Atlantic/Warner
Stories of hard times
and struggles are
often the foundation of
many rap releases, but
they’re rarely the basis
for a full-fledged R&B
album. Especially not
when it’s coming from
a young crooner with
the official stamp of ap-
proval from the Queen
of Soul herself, Aretha
Franklin.
But this is the case of
up-and-coming soul
stirrer Trey Songz. His
debut album, I Gotta
Make It, is full of the
tales of hard times
you’d expect to hear
from a new rapper
trying to break into
the overcrowded urban
music scene.
Hailing from the small
town of Petersburg,
Virginia, Trey combines
the raw emotion of Al
Green with the nimble
vocal gymnastics of
Marvin Gaye. Evidence
of this lethal combina-
tion can be heard on
his lead single, “Just
Gotta Make It,” where
it seems as if Trey is
begging the audience to
have his back through-
out his struggle.
Other notable songs
include “Cheat On You,”
“Your Behind,” and
the remix of the lead
single, which features
labelmate Juvenile and
the aforementioned
Aretha Franklin. With
such a heavyweight
co-signing, the
pressure is on the
deliver the goods.
Trey Songz comes
through beauti-
fully.
- Wally Sparks

TJ’S DJ’S 2nd QUARTER 2005
TASTEMAKERS ONLY XCLUSIVES
(www.TJsDJs.com)
T-Pain / I’m Sprung – Jive
Contact: TJ Chapman – 850.877.6090
This is the quintessential definition of a hit re-
cord. At first listen this “rapper turnt sanga”
captures your attention and takes you on a musi-
cal ride that parallels ecstasy. T-Pain’s star will
continue to rise.
Z-Ro f. Devin The Dude, Juvenile / The Mule
– Rap-A-Lot
Contact: Xavier James – 713.680.8588
Z-Ro enlisted the services of Devin and Juvenile
to tell the tales of what happens when women
are d-whupped, or rather when they’re hit with
the mule. The collaboration works well and gives
good advice to prevent your tires from being
slashed.
BG f. Homebwoi / Where Dey At – Chopper
City
Contact: Jamal – 504.940.5793
On another Mr. ColliPark (“Wait (The Whisper
Song)”) track, BG and Homebwoi tag team to
make another cut that the streets and Cerwin
Vegas will love. Special shout goes to Mr. Col-
liPark for the creative use of a heartbeat.
Rich Boy / Niggaz Get To Poppin’ – Interscope
Contact: Ian Fletcher – 310.925.6736
This Alabama native expertly rides 16 bar verses
over an Indian influenced track to create a song
that will have asses poppin’ as much as pistols at
a Jamaican new year’s party.
Trina f. Lil Wayne / Fly Nigga – Slip-N-Slide
Contact: Roc – 305.535.7595
Trina has returned to the music scene by visiting
the landlord of the Carter, Lil Wayne. The pair
playfully trade secrets on how to pull that fly
stunna or stunnette.
Lil Fatt / Big Bottles – Big Planz
Contact: Desmond Pollard – 334.549.4119
Lil Fatt makes his contribution to the club scene
by poppin’ “Big Bottles” with his Big Planz posse.
If this record has any validity, a night out with
Lil Fatt sounds like a spectacular evening that
would make Donald Trump jealous.
Phifty 50 / Let ‘Em Hate – Phifty-50
Contact: Ray Goody – 904.626.9446
Phifty 50 puts detractors on blast with this cut.
These Jacksonville natives understand that if you
don’t have haters, you’re not doing it right.
Wideframe / What It Do – RND
Contact: Derrick McKinney – 713.521.2616 x12
This Texas native releases a laid-back track about
how to hang in the Lone Star State.
J. Spoolz / Beautiful – New Money
Contact: Frank – 412.758.2750
J. Spoolz takes advantage of this radio friendly
B42 OZONE AUGUST 2005
diddy to spit some game to a prospective Mrs.
Spoolz. From what he describes, she is as beauti-
ful as the melody of this track.
Jody Mo / Vibin’ – Florida Boy
Contact: Furquann – 904.545.5539
“Vibin’” has a sense of an old school song with a
new school spin. Jody Mo does a good job blend-
ing the two worlds to make a cool vibe.
21 Reese f. Triple J / Fly As I – Hustle House
Contact: Todd Brinson – 561.209.3868
Heavily reppin’ Palm Beach (bitch!), 21 Reese
and Triple J conspire to create a cut that states
how sexually fly they are. Over the heavy guitar
strings, this cut comes of as a cut that can be
played to help set the mood.
AMZ / Big Chevy’s – Infared
Contact: Kane – 954.665.4279
In this ode to the South Florida classic whip,
Chevy’s, AMZ creates a track that makes any car
collector proud.
Tone / Doin’ It Over Here – Digital Soul
Contact: Doc – 202.561.5838
This Philly representa’ jumps on this club track
and blows it up like dynamite! “Doin’ It Over
Here” will have your head bumpin’ like an 808
before you realize it.
Knowa Logic / Get Atcha – The Hit Connect
Contact: Knowa Logic – 321.947.4052
Knowa Logic’s flow matches this track perfectly.
This is another shining example of how the South
can ride a beat just as good as or better than any
other region in the Union.
Kimillion / Fever – Rough World
Contact: Mickey Rallens – 786.586.4653
“Fever” will have your temperature rising in
the club. But, be careful as Kimillion’s version is
highly contagious. Make sure there are paramed-
ics around in case you get too caught up.
Bomb Squad / What’s Really Real – R-N-S
Contact: Bomb Squad – 813.601.1122
This Tampa crew created a track that is easy to
two step to. Plus, as with most Tampa cuts, it
can double as a smoking track as well.
Rita Mosley f. Trap / Water – Fem Fatale
Contact: Earl Graves – 586.709.1557
The bass line in “Water” gets the dance floor rip-
pling with hands in the air. Rita Mosley’s sultry
vocals suck in the listener and become as re-
freshing as cold H2O.
Steve Austin / Bussa Move – Bioniq Labs
Contact: Steve Austin – 214.264.6666
Steve Austin went into the lab and spared no
expense creating a track that makes you wanna
“Bussa Move.” But, if you listen carefully, this
song will also land you in the hospital if you don’t
stick and move.
Woody / Don’t Even Worry ‘Bout It – MiWice
Contact: Mimi – 561.236.5739
If you think you’ve had a bad day, put on Woody’s
latest cut, “Don’t Even Worry ‘Bout It.” It is a
jammin’ hip-hop blues track that will make your
troubles seem miniscule by comparison.
Poncho / Fi De Gals Dem – City Boy
Contact: Ewen A. – 561.718.9066
Poncho puts down gutta verses over an island
track that will have women whinnin’ on time.
Stat Quo / Like That – Interscope
Contact: Zeek – 404.786.3157
This Statlanta native takes full advantage of his
abilities to rock a mic. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that
the track fully captivates your being and forces
you to vibe.
Suave Smooth / Gangstas, Thugs – Headquar-
ter
Contact: Jermaine – 561.389.5525
The high pitched crunk machine, Suave Smooth
is back to deliver another tune that quenches
your thirst for good music that rides at the same
time. Anytime Suave Smooth blesses a track,
you are in for a treat or a concussion from rock-
ing your skull too much.
Boo / Say It To My Face – J
Contact: Greedy – 917.673.4940
Shouts to this crooked letta representa, Boo.
“Say It To My Face” has been in circulation for
some time, but now that J is behind it hopefully
the rest of the nation will catch on to what the
South already knows, Boo is nice with his.
Scoundrels f. Pastor Troy / Ghetto – Invisible
Contact: KD – 706.393.3773
The Scoundrel Squad link with Pastor Troy on
this cut to let the people know about life in the
“Ghetto.” While it may not always be pretty,
The Scoundrel Squad show that with some good
friends, even the ghetto can sound good.
Racket City / Ya’ll Don’t Want It – Analysis
Contact: Michael – 404.222.0766
This moody track by Racket City is perfect for
riding slowly around the city of their hometown
of Atlanta. Plus, “Ya’ll Don’t Want It” helps you
get your nerve up if you’re about to go into
battle.
Pitbull / Down South – Slip-N-Slide
Contact: Jullian – 786.344.4433
This is a celebration of the Southern culture as
Pitbull and company spit about what makes the
South so great. In addition, the classic Florida
track takes it back to the era of Trick Daddy’s
upbringing too many moons ago.
Young Cash / Gimme A Bottle – D&G/SRC
Contact: Young Cash – 904.622.6229
Young Cash has proudly taken the 904 and placed
it squarely on his back. To celebrate his recent
signing to SRC, pass the bottle, throw this cut on
and watch a party develop.
Tampa Tony / Let’s Smoke – R-N-S
Contact: Tampa Tony – 850.210.3480
“Let’s Smoke” is a themed song that celebrates
The Blunt Splitter. The Blunt Splitter is Tampa
Tony’s invention that is the greatest devise for
smokers since the herb itself. Get one today!
Baby Stone / Catchin’ Cases – Corner Boy
Contact: Miclarre – 866.716.7068
In this righteous tune, Baby Stone is speaking
out against the recent rise in our people catchin’
cases. But the real answer lies in a simple state-
ment, STOP SNITCHING!
Young Swiss f. BG / Pimping In It – Holla
Point
Contact: Rob – 347.256.6530
Young Swiss and BG team to create a track
that is a point by point break down on what
pimping is. Plus, the track is so cool that it
does half of the game spitting for you.
Partners-In-Crime / Pooh Shooter – Rap-
A-Lot
Contact: Xavier – 713.680.8588
Partners-In-Crime take advantage move to the head of the class like
of this island melody to make a Robin Givens.
song that will have big bubbles
bouncing from left to right. AMZ / Combustion – Infrared
Contact: Kane – 954.665.4279
TQ f. Mike Jones / Tear This The Almighty Zoe are a group of
Bitch Up – HUD Muzic folks you do not want to mess with.
Joan Scott – 909.396.1310 With “Combustion” this is your
The Cali crooner TQ partnered warning or you may end up lost and
with Mike Jones to make a club never found.
song designed to “Tear This Bitch
Up.” Make sure you get your Mari / Silly of Me – Big Shot
game in early, because once TQ Jay Mendez – 201.993.4184
and Mike Jones get going there This jazzy R&B tune is a song of
won’t be much candy left. redemption by Mari. She under-
stands that not every relationship
Tha Chief f. Gangsta Boo / Get works out, but she takes personal
Back Space – Stay Paid responsibility for her mistakes and
Contact: Rod – 678.283.8057 will learn from them. Ya gotta love
After a long mission, Tha Chief that.
found where Gangsta Boo has
been hiding and recruited her E-Scrilla / Whole Life - Fast Flip
to jump on this club track. Boo Contact: E-Scrilla – 561.452.3506
brushes off the dust and attacks There is a reason why scrilla is in
the mic as if no time has passed. this artist’s name. His whole life
he’s been making that bread and
Young Capone f. Daz, T-Rock / will continue to make stacks until
I’m Hot – So So Def the end.
Contact: Mel – 212.786.8215
Young Capone matches lyrics to 7 Cal / All Soldiers – RIP
the title of the record ”I’m Hot.” Contact: Ian – 561.615.4211
Plus, it doesn’t hurt to have Daz This is a sober celebration of the
check in and rip this fire track. fallen soldiers in the wars created
by politicians who don’t have the
21 Reese / Lean To The Front courage to fight themselves. 7 Cal
– Hustle House does a good job in preserving their
Contact: Todd – 561.209.3868 memory with “All Soldiers.”
“Lean To The Front” is for those
who are the best at what you do. - Keith “1st Prophet” Kennedy,
Make sure you let folks know and keith@tjsdjs.com
 THE RAW REPORT
www.RawReport.com
Raw, unadulterated, fresh, and interesting! It’s
the Raw Report DVD Magazine, with informative,
flawless interviews. Actually, the Raw Report is
probably the only DVD magazine that lets the
interviewer interview themselves. For instance, in
one chapter called “Up Your Game,” Bob Johnson
(founder of BET and current owner of the NBA’s
Charlotte Bobcats) give insights into his billion-
dollar BET sale to media giant Viacom. He talks
about branding the BET name and his reasons for
selling.
The first chapter deals with the Game vs. 50
Cent beef, presented as a documentary along the
lines of a 60 Minutes segment. When Raw Report
interviews The Game, he is candid and funny, and
answers every question with some real gully, gutta
shit. When asked if he’d fucked R&B star Mya yet,
he replies, “Naw, she turned me down.” When
asked if he’d do a song with Memphis Bleek, he
said, “Naw! Even if I died and came back with a
Roc chain.” Chuck Taylor talks about his company,
The Black Wall Street, being from Compton, and
how he bought every house on the block he grew
up on.
Next, Mississippi is represented through a candid
interview with Boo Da Boss Playa. Boo talks about
how he was the first artist to ever drop a double
CD in Mississippi, and how Clive Davis signed him
on the spot. When asked about fellow Mississippian
David Banner, Boo quickly lets you know that he’s
from Canton and Banner is from Jackson, and their
music is different. Next Boo introduces his new
single, “Miss Me With That Rap Shit,” featuring
Young Jeezy and Bleu Davinci.
The cover features Boyz N Da Hood, so the Raw
Report interviews Block, the mastermind who
organized this Southern rap supergroup. All the
members take turns telling their story, and you
come away knowing the Boyz a little better.
The Raw Report DVD magazine definitely sets
itself apart from all other DVD magazines. Their
commercials are flashy, the features are produced
and edited professionally, and the freestyles give
artists a chance to shine and show off their skills
(Elliott Ness’ freestyle is worth listening to). In
the “Whips” section, Luda takes you for a spin
in his new Bentley GT convertible coupe, but be
careful if you’re thinking of running up on him for
the jack move, cause Luda carries an extra clip!
Pick up a copy of the Raw Report and you won’t be
disappointed.
- Malik Abdul, malik@ozonemag.com
B44 OZONE AUGUST 2005
ROLAND TRILL ENTERTAINMENT ALL ACCESS
POWELL BOOSIE & WEBBIE: GANGSTA VOLUME 9
DAT BOY MUZIK www.TheDVDMagazine.com
FUNNY www.TrillEntertainment.com
This edition of All Access features a
You’ve probably Louisiana is known for bringing must-see behind-the-scenes freestyle
seen Roland that next-level music out of the from Hot 97 featuring Memphis Bleek,
Powell in a lot South. It started in New Orleans the Young Gunz, and Jay-Z. Next,
of your favorite with the Miller boys, better Clinton Sparks shows how it’s done on
music videos, known as Master P, C-Murder, his Sirius radio show. The Get Familiar
BET Comicview, and Silkk Da Shocker. The Cash captain shows why and how he never
Showtime at Money Millionaires took the stops.
the Apollo, or sound to another level. It seems
on Cedric the that the next dynasty to arise Gloria Velez and Joe Budden are at it
Entertainer’s out of Louisiana is Trill Enter- again. In Volume 8 they seemed like
Platinum DVD tainment, hailing from Baton a lovable couple, with Joe admitting
series. Repre- Rouge. that he licks her secret spot and brag-
senting Jackson- ging about how good Glo gives head.
ville, Florida, The DVD starts with Lil Boosie Now they hate each other? Gloria
better known as showing off his money, guns, reveals Joe’s hidden talent by playing
Duval County, and cars (BMW 745 and a Dodge a saved message of Budden singing,
Roland reps the Magnum) and giving a tour of “I wanna make love all through the
city proudly his neighborhood. Next up is day.” It isn’t flattering. She also claims
everywhere he Webbie, who explains his up- that he lied about his age, can’t walk
performs under bringing and how he got started through his own hood, doesn’t have a
the name Lil rapping. In this DVD you’ll hear big dick, doesn’t know what to do in
Duval. and see for yourself how one bed, and couldn’t last more than five
of the summer’s biggest songs minutes. She claims that he is one of
Here, Powell (the Body Head Bangers “Do her groupies and won’t take “no” for
gives you hilari- It Big”) was modified from an an answer. To hear Budden’s response,
ous skits about original Webbie song. Accord- you have to pick up the limited edition
real-life situa- ing to Webbie, he created the of the DVD.
tions (growing song at age 17. Magic and Roy
up in the hood, Jones took the hook “Do It Big” As always, there’s plenty of eye candy
baby mama and released the song nation- from behind-the-scenes at various
drama, player ally. To back up his claims, the video shoots, including Fat Joe, Beanie
hating), and it’s DVD shows videos of Webbie Sigel, and Cuban Link. These are the
all mixed with performing both songs. women Mike Jones is rapping about: “a
his off-tune dime that’s top of the line.” All Access
singing. Powell Although rumors suggest that goes behind the scenes of Sigel’s video
also takes you Boosie and Webbie don’t get shoot for “Feel It In The Air,” featuring
to some of the along too well, Webbie denies Method Man. This DVD also includes an
hardest comedy the claims. He says that while exclusive interview with Beanie before
clubs, where the recording the album Gangsta he went to jail. Juelz Santana talks
audience is en- Muzik together, he and Boosie about how Dipset is poised to bring Hip
couraged to boo were like brothers. In any fam- Hop back to dominance. Puffing on the
the comedian if ily there wil be differences of best purple, Jim Jones explains why he
he sucks. opinions, but the competition doesn’t give a fuck about major labels.
makes them each strive to be
Dat Boy Funny better rappers. From the North to the South, All Ac-
is an accurately cess talks to the self-proclaimed
titled DVD. Overall, this DVD is an inter- King of the South T.I. In this inter-
If you love esting look at two talented view, a shirtless T.I. explains how
standup comedy artists with very different he’s been getting women since
and skits, this personas. Boosie has that the sixth grade. The limited
DVD should defi- gangsta vibe, and Webbie version of this DVD is full of hot
nitely be in your has star power and cross- interviews and behind-the-
collection. over appeal. scenes footage.
- Malik Abdul - Malik Abdul - Malik Abdul
 DJ Chuck T
01: Clinton Sparks (hosted by Eminem) “Anger Management 3” “Down South Slangin’ Vol. 17”
www.ClintonSparks.com Boston, MA
02: DJ Strong & DJ Warrior (hosted by Kurupt) “Untouchable Radio 5” CaliUntouchableDJs.com Los Angeles, CA www.DJChuckT.com
03: DJ Kool Kid “The Diesel Flashbacks” www.DJKoolKid.com NYC
352-246-4495

04: DJ Ideal “Interscope South” www.DJIdeal.net Miami, FL Hot tracks:

05: DJ Kurupt “Real Talk Pt. 2” www.DJKurupt.com NYC #02 - David Banner f/ Jazze Pha & 8Ball
“My Gun”
06: Klarc Shepard “Pink Chocolate” 404-488-9943 Gainesville, FL
07: DJ Scream & Ron C (hosted by Stat Quo) “Only The Crunk Survive #05 - Chamillionaire f/ Lil Flip “Turn It Up”
Meets I-95” 770-875-3 544 Atlanta, GA #27 - Young Jeezy f/ Akon “Soul Survivor”
08: DJ Y-Not (hosted by Payne) www.Nubreedent.com 407-923-8156 Orlando, FL #30 - Bonecrusher f/ Killer Mike & Trick
09: DJ Smallz (hosted by Master P) “Southern Smoke 20” www.DJSm
allz.com Ft. Myers, FL
Daddy “It’s On”
10: Voice of Da Streetz (hosted by Tony Yayo) “Hood Radio Pt. 5” Orlando, FL
11: P Cutta & DNA “Automotive Rhythms” www.PCutta.com
12: DJ Ideal & OG Ron C (hosted by Bun B) “Da Bottom Vol 4. Chopped & Screwed” www.DJIdeal.net Miami, FL
13: DJ S1 “Survival of the Illest: Dipset vs. Swishahouse” djs1@tma
il.com mixtaperadio.net
14: DJ RPM (hosted by Gucci Mane) “Dirty Money Pt. 4”
15: Greg Street “Celebrity Car & Bike Show mix CD” www.GregStreetCa
rShow.com Atlanta, GA
16: DJ EFN (hosted by Stat Quo) “Unstoppable Vol. 32” Miami, FL
17: DJ Barry Bee “Mixtape Serial Killa Pt. 2” 252-758-1122 Affishaul@
yahoo.com NC
18: DJ Quote (hosted by Mike Jones) “Who? The Mixtape” www.DJQuoteTheBeatmaker.com Denver, CO
19: DJ Purfiya (hosted by Sojo) “Stop Sleepin Vol. 2: Welcome to
the FLA” DJPurfiya05@yahoo.com FL
20: DJ GQ (hosted by Pee Wee Kirkland & Mr. Cheeks) “Part 14” DJGQ@tmail.com 954-572-3445 Miami, FL
OZONE AUGUST 2005 B45
 1
Venue: Visions Nightclub
4 Location: Atlanta, GA
1 Date: July 26th, 2005

By 9:30, the streets around

Atlanta’s Visions Nightclub
were already buzzing. With a
line at the front door down the
street and around the corner,
and a massive crowd surround-
ing the VIP red carpet out back,
Jeezy’s buzz was clearly about to
climax with the release party for his
major label solo debut. While guests
6 at the VIP entrance struggled for
position, various rappers, DJs, and
industry figures strolled up the red
carpet. Killer Mike, Too Short, Gang-
sta Boo, Ludacris and his DTP fam-
ily, Khia, Jody Breeze, Boo da Boss
5 Playa, Field Mob, and comedians Ro-
land Powell and Shawty braved the
sweltering July heat to come out and
show support.

Jeezy arrived fashionably late, well

after 12:30, after the fire marshal
had shut down all entrances. With
Slim Thug and his CTE entourage in
tow, Jeezy strolled the red carpet
and greeted the media before head-
ing into the packed nightclub (1). The
path upstairs to the VIP section with-
in the VIP section was overwhelming-
ly crowded and humid. Jeezy and co.
8 moved (slowly) towards an ultra-ex-
clusive section of the VIP where Jay-
Z and Beyonce were hiding out from
the crowd, alongside Ludacris. While
2 everyone jockeyed for position, I
moved to a slightly less crowded part
of the club, where the open bar was
adorned with snowmen (2).

Just when you thought it was too late

for a performance, Jeezy and co. hit
the stage (3). Backed by his CTE art-
ists Slick Pulla and BloodRaw, fellow
Boyz N Da Hood member Big Duke,
3 and a whole bunch of guys wearing all
black, Jeezy’s crew runs deep (4, 5).
Fellow BMF affiliate Fabolous made
a guest appearance (6). Jeezy ran
through a string of street hits (“Ova
Here,” “Air Forces”) along with new
cuts off his album (“Then What,”
“Tear That Pussy Up,” “Soul Survi-
vor”). The crowd was already famil-
iar with the material, since bootleg
copies of the album hit the streets
weeks ago. Nonetheless, judging
from the fans in the front row hold-
ing up copies of the actual album (7),
it doesn’t look like the bootlegging
hurt Jeezy’s Soundscan too much.

On one cut, Jeezy assured his folk

on lockdown that he won’t enjoy the
success until they’re home, but he
still looked like he was enjoying him-
7 self (8). When 3 AM rolled around,
the club turned off the sound sys-
tem. Everyone left sweaty as fuck,
but satisfied with a fire performance
and a story to tell. Ain’t nothin’ like
a gangsta party, right?

- Julia Beverly

OZONE AUGUST 2005 B49