SXSW 2007 - Ozone Magazine

Transcription

sxsw 2007
**special edition**
devin
dude
the
+
PIMP C // MONEY WATERS // RAPID RIC
OG RON C // TUM TUM // BIG CHIEF
LIL PEACE // ROB G // CHINGO BLING
BOSS HOGG OUTLAWZ // BILLY COOK
sxsw 2007
**special edition**
lilpeace+
PIMP C // MONEY WATERS // RAPID RIC
OG RON C // TUM TUM // BIG CHIEF
LIL PEACE // ROB G // CHINGO BLING
BOSS HOGG OUTLAWZ // BILLY COOK
sxsw 2007
o
PUBLISHER:
Julia Beverly
CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER:
N. Ali Early
GUEST EDITOR:
Matt Sonzala
CONTRIBUTORS:
DeVaughn Douglas
DJ Chill
Edward Hall
Eric Perrin
Mike Frost
Randy Roper
PROMOTIONS DIRECTOR:
Malik Abdul
ART DIRECTOR:
Tene Gooden
SUBSCRIPTIONS:
To subscribe, send check or
money order for $11 to:
Ozone Magazine
644 Antone St. Suite 6
Atlanta, GA 30318
Phone: 404-350-3887
Fax: 404-350-2497
Web: www.ozonemag.com
COVER CREDITS:
Devin the Dude (cover and this
page) by Mike Frost; Lil Peace
by Tony Boyatti; Rapid Ric by
Luxury Mindz.
DISCLAIMER:
OZONE does not take responsibility
for unsolicited materials, misinformation, typographical errors,
or misprints. The views contained
herein do not necessarily reflect
those of the publisher or its
advertisers. Ads appearing in this
magazine are not an endorsement
or validation by OZONE Magazine
for products or services offered. All
photos and illustrations are copyrighted by their respective artists.
All other content is copyright
2007 OZONE Magazine, all rights
reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in any way
without the written consent of the
publisher. Printed in the USA.
Section A
26-27pimp c
10og ron c
12rapid ric
14-15venue map
22-25chingo bling
16hotel listing
18-19event listing
17venue listing
20sxsw founder
11photo gallery
09guest editorial
21entrepreneur profile
28-31 devin the dude
Section b
16-17
ROB G
10
DJ CHILL
08
DJ DOMO
18-19
NAYROCK
14-15
TUM TUM
30-31
BIG CHIEF
12-13
GRIT BOYS
20-21
BILLY COOK
28-29
MONEY WATERS
07photo gallery
22-23
BOSS HOGG OUTLAWZ
24-26 lil peace
OZONE
My 2 Cents
A Guest Editorial by
Matt Sonzala
T
here’s not too many real music conferences
left. Sure, we see the ads and get the emails
for pseudo conferences where hustlers
who have barely made it themselves attempt to
wrangle money from every starving rapper in the
country in the name of “education” and “promotion.” We’ve all been to these pseudo events and
sat in these pseudo panels where “managers” and
“label execs” complain about never getting their
just due and tell the people what they are doing
wrong, rather than what they could be doing
right. Later that night we see a bunch of no-name
artists who paid to perform get on stage and rap
over their shitty sounding CDs through mics that
barely work. The whole time, we’re hoping that
the advertised headliner actually shows up. For so
many people, this game is a hustle. The hustlers
focus on getting money by any means necessary,
fuck anything else. The music is secondary to so
many people in this industry.
People have been saying that sort of shit about
South By Southwest for years. But, twenty-one
years later, the conference is still standing and
it’s bigger than ever. It’s known as the #1 music
conference and festival in the world. No one,
nowhere, does it as big, and I would venture to
say that there is no single music event in the
world that combines as many artists from different genres, backgrounds, regions, countries and
lifestyles than South By Southwest. People who
hate on it generally are mad because they weren’t
included. But those who are included know that
whether they invested their time, art, money and/
or energy in the event, it was all well spent.
SXSW attracts music business professionals and
artists from all over the world to the small town
of Austin, in the middle of the big state of Texas.
It’s a place where you can see up and coming
rock, rap, jazz, techno, blues, funk, world, country,
and more bands performing side by side on up
to 100 stages, mostly within walking distance
of each other. I’ve been going to the conference
since 1990. I was a teenager and would head to
Austin in a car full of dudes with no money, no
hotel, no pass for the events, just the hopes to
see and hear some incredible music and to be
turned on to something I had never seen before.
Back then I’d see groups like the Ultramagnetic
MC’s and Decadent Dub Team up next to big name
rock acts and thought to myself, “Damn, this is
like the ultimate promotions experience.” It was
right up my alley. I love all sorts of music and this
is one place where you can see it all.
A few years later, in 1993, I was approached by a
man named Andre Walker. He was programming a
couple Hip Hop showcases
for SXSW and he asked
me to host and help
book the shows. We had
acts like the Odd Squad,
K-Otix, Blac Moncs, Gravediggaz, Mad Flava, ESG,
Big Mello and Erykah Badu before she was ever
signed grace the stage. From then until 1996 I
helped him in whatever way I could, because
I knew that there was a place for real Hip Hop
in this massive event. Back then the number of
events was a lot smaller, but the crowds were
huge, starving for the newest sounds in Hip Hop.
I left Texas in 1996 and moved around a bit until
the end of 2001, when I returned to Houston. I
had attended SXSW pretty much every year with a
press pass, covering it for magazines like Murder
Dog and the Illinois Entertainer, but only saw a
smattering of Hip Hop. It was in mid-2003 that
I made a cold call to the conference offices and
was connected to Craig Stewart, who is featured
in this special edition of OZONE. I said “What if I
could bring you all of the prominent rap artists
in Texas to one stage at one time? Houston rap
is about to blow up and I think it needs to be
showcased at SXSW.” He asked me who I had in
mind and of course I named Swisha House, Bun B,
Chamillionaire, and a few others.
Craig said, “You can do that? If you can get those
artists, I’ll give you a venue.” And a beautiful
partnership was formed. That year we did a huge
showcase that featured all the aforementioned
artists and Dizzee Rascal from London. I saw
similarities between the independent scenes in
London and Houston and wanted to bridge that
gap. Since then, Dizzee has recorded with UGK and
the Grit Boys and a great bridge was formed. I
was asked to bring Hip Hop again the next year,
and it’s been growing ever since.
This year we have almost 150 acts representing Hip Hop in all its forms. UGK, DSR, Trae, Sage
Francis, Whut it Dew Family, Money Waters, Nayrok, Studemont Project, Deaf in the Family, Devin
the Dude, Public Enemy, X-Clan, The Pack and The
Federation to name just a few. Each of those artists represents something radically different, and
you can see them all between March 13th - 18th
in Austin, Texas.
It’s a lot of work, a few headaches, a couple of
conflicts and a lot of fun. I’m glad that you, the
reader, found your way down to Austin this year
and can have as good a time as me. If not more.
http://houstonsoreal.blogspot.com
OZONE
OG Ron C
W
By Matt Sonzala
ho’s OG Ron C? Where do you come
from?
I come from Houston, TX. I’ve been
responsible for a few things. I helped Michael
Watts kick off the Swisha House stuff as some of
you might know. I did radio. I’m just trying to
hold down the Screw thing right now, make sure
the Screw Music keep going. I got a record label
called OG Ron C’s Platinum Sounds; I signed
5050 Twin that used to be in the Color Changing
Click. I signed Khujo Goodie from the Goodie
Mob, we’re doing a joint venture with his record
label for his project. Also I got the Wreckin’ Yard,
and another guy out of Atlanta called DJ Styles.
I’m working on signing an R&B girl by the name
of Tye. A lot of people have heard her sing at
the Red Cat Café.
Who all is the Wreckin’ Yard?
Mr. Kaila, Big Nik and Kool Rod, G. Miller. It’s a
few friends of mine from school, and we all got
together right after I left Swisha House in 2002.
The F-Action CDs have been big for you. People
really love your slowed down R&B mixes.
Yeah, that’s probably my claim to fame now, but
some of my best titles that do good on a yearly
basis are Spring Break, After the Kappa, well it’s
called After Daytona now, and my Grind Mode
CD’s and my Breakin’ Shit series. My Breakin’
Shit series are really for those artists that don’t
got that record deal and they trying to get
on. Their music might be a little homegrown,
so I got a series for them. There’s a place for
everybody with OG Ron C. This is my 20th year
DJing. I’m doing a 5-box set for the F-Action 50.
One gonna consist of a F-Action Greatest Hits. I
took a little vote on MySpace about what songs
people think I did the hardest so I let people
choose that one. Of course it’s gonna have a
70s, 80s, 90s and a present disc. Just like when
we did the 4-disc set for F-Action 40. We got a
DVD too. We gonna do it big for that F-Action 50.
50? The fiftieth???
Who are some of the people you’ve worked with
and seen come up on the Breakin’ Shit CDs?
Man, Granddaddy Souf, he did the last one. I
love working with him. He’s one of the artists
that I think hasn’t been getting that chance. And
other artists like Casino Mob, Kottonmouth, and
DSR were on Breakin’ Shit. I had Kiotti on Breakin’ Shit. I had Chamillion[aire] and Paul Wall
on the first Breakin’ Shits. I done had Lil Flip
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OZONE
on it. They workin’, I guess you could say. They
servin’ they purpose. It’s those artists that you
don’t hear on the radio but I feel that they had
good music. Just because they couldn’t afford
that $85 an hour studio with that mic compression that sounds so wonderful, some of them
take it to a different level. I feel like everybody
deserves a chance. That’s what my conference is
about. Everybody wants to deal with you once
you get one step up or something. I wanna deal
with you when you’re on the ground.
You’re doing a live set at SXSW. What can we
expect to hear from you?
I’m getting back into DJing at parties. I went
from DJing parties to being a stage DJ to being
a tour DJ, I want to go back to actually rockin’
a party. That’s what you can expect to see from
OG Ron C. We gonna try to “reinvent ourselves.”
I got that from an old school DJ homeboy of
mine, D-Nice, y’all might know him if he’s old
school. Some real live words.
Tell me about the music conference you have
coming up.
The conference is March 29th – 31st at the Hyatt
Regency in Downtown Houston. It’s gonna
be real big. We got a lot of folks coming in. I
know a lot of people think conferences are all
about money, but this conference is free for all
those who come from out of town and stay at
the Hyatt Regency. It’s $50 for people inside of
Houston, for the whole conference the whole
weekend. We gonna show you how to get this
money. From no money. I’m gonna have a 20th
Anniversary Party on that Friday. I’m having
music and comedy showcases and a fashion
show. As far as comedians, I got Michael Collier,
he did the movie Norbit with Eddie Murphy. I
got D. Ellis, Hope Flood and Ali. I got Killer Mike,
Da Franchise Boyz, Yung Joc and the whole
Block Entertainment, Southern Gurl, Trae, he’s
a featured artist along with the Grit Boys and
Moufs of da Souf, Tony Neal, he’s the president
of the Core DJ’s, DJ Jelly from Atlanta, Mr. Pookie
& Mr. Lucci, and Pitbull. Those are the artists for
the artist panel. I got press from all over, so I’m
trying to give access to my peoples and my fans.
I got music directors, I got Mac Payne coming in.
There’s a lot of people coming in. I’m filming a
reality show too, called Life Of A Celebrity DJ. //
For more information, visit
www.ogronchoustonmusicconference.com
AUSTIN
PHOTO
GALLERY
1. Black Mike and
Kiotti
2. Carnival Beats
3. DJ Chill and DJ
Princess Cutt at
Spirros
4. Chingo Bling &
Tomar Williams of
Carnival Beats
5. DJ Bounz
6. DJ 2DQ, South
Paw, Chico Rico, and
Jamie Lee
7. Chamillionaire
at Hot 93.3 Winter
Meltdown
8. Axiel and Black
Mike in Austin
9. Black Mike, Chingo
Bling, and Chalie Boy
10. Chalie Boy at
Hot 93.3 Winter
Meltdown
11. Eddie Deville and
Stunna Man at The
Parish
12. Frankie J
13. DJ Rapid Ric
& Chalie Boy at
Hot 93.3 Winter
Meltdown
14. Gerald G and
Black Mike performing live at The Parish
15. DJ Ebonix and
Matt Sonzala
16. Chamillionaire
at Hot 93.3 Winter
Meltdown
17. Chingo Bling
- They Can’t Deport
Us All
18. DJ Grip at The
Parish
19. DJ Hella Yella
20. Chamillionaire
at The Austin Music
Hall for the Hot 93.3
Winter Meltdown
21. KJ Hines
Photos by Luxury
Mindz
OZONE
11
rapid ric
Y
By Matt Sonzala
ou’re not originally from Austin, but
you’ve been there for quite some time
and have probably been to a lot of South
By Southwests. How has it changed?
There’s a lot more appreciation for the Hip Hop
shows now. SXSW used to be more known for
rock and indie and weird stuff and country and
it’s just great that SXSW and the city in general
has embraced Hip Hop. That’s one of the biggest
changes. For a lot of the local artists who may
not have been mentioned before, they have
more of a spotlight to do their thing. It makes
them work harder and gives them a great outlet.
Do you benefit from SXSW?
Every year I’ve done it has definitely benefited
me just because Austin is such an important music city for so many reasons. SXSW is a cool way
to get that audience, who normally don’t go to
Hip Hop shows to be exposed to new Hip Hop.
In the past few years you’ve become known as
one of the hottest DJs in the south. I know the
Whut it Dew mixtapes have been a big thing for
you, but you’re working on a label now too.
Yeah. Me, Bavu Blakes and a few other people
have teamed up to start a record label called
Dew Music. It’s a way of graduating from the
mixtape game into the album game. When I
first started doing mixtapes, I was doing them
because not a lot of people were doing them
and putting a lot of time into them and putting
the music I wanted to hear on them. When
the mixtape thing became hotter and people
started seeing mixtape DJs become somewhat
celebrities, everybody did it and it kind of made
the game saturated. Now, once again, I have to
figure out some kind of cool, creative thing to
do with music that everyone else isn’t doing. I’m
involved in the production from start to finish
and it’s giving me the chance to become an
artist. but I’m also engineering the project and
getting musicians and becoming something like
a Quincy Jones or a DJ Premier or Hi-Tek rather
than just a mixtape DJ. We have Gerald G, Black
Mike, Bavu and myself and we are still affiliated with the Whut it Dew Family of Chalie Boy,
Magno and Da Ryno.
Has DJ Drama’s situation affected you at all?
Naw, I don’t think so. I still haven’t seen the
dust completely settle so I can’t say what happened, but it hasn’t affected me in any way and
I don’t think it will affect Drama in any way but
positive just because a lot of people know who
he is now. I haven’t received any phone calls or
emails or letters [from the RIAA] like other DJs.
12
OZONE
Tell me a little bit
about your artists.
Bavu Blakes is one of
the first dudes who
ever started rapping on
my tapes. The kind of
bond we had music wise
and business wise and
friendship wise it was
almost necessary for us to get together and do
this. We’ve always seen eye to eye on a bunch
of different things. He recruited other artists
like Gerald G and Black Mike, and he also does a
bunch of production. He produced Lil O’s album,
“I Do,” and he’s got a couple joints on the new
Mike Jones album. He did a song for Plies. Him
being a factor, not only as a rapper but also in
the production, it made us want to work with
him. These are two of the first people I ever
seriously wanted to work with really heavy.
They’re both young and filled with a lot of passion for the stuff.
Who all have you DJed for?
I’ve been on the road overseas and in Canada
with Devin the Dude, Chamillionaire, and Slim
Thug. It’s great getting a check with those big
artists and that touring helps with my DJ gigs. I
use it to my advantage. Every dollar I make off
these DJ gigs I put back into making my album
pop off. It’s great having all these resources.
When you go overseas where are they most
receptive to Southern music?
Paris, Norway, the UK, and Amsterdam, but
the most receptive is Paris. A lot of the young
folks over there are into Hip Hop more than
everything else. They’re all about Hip Hop: neosoul, harder stuff, Texas stuff, weird, obscure
underground stuff, and they have all their own
music as well. It’s huge. Paris is a place I’d like
to go back to cause I see a lot of potential to
make some moves there. Like Texas, France has
its own Hip Hop scene. Musically they’re always
doing their own thing, like the South is.
Where were the biggest shows you’ve DJed?
The shows with Chamillionaire were all in big
arenas, and the Quart Festival in Norway was
insane. We went on with Slim Thug and then
Kanye West went back on after that. The biggest
crowds I saw was me coattailing on other artists’ sets. I can put together a DJ set for people
who don’t get to hear Texas music on one big
stage, and the parties are cool.
For more info visit www.mixtapemechanic.com
OZONE
13
SXSW
2007
SXSW Hotels
DOWNTOWN
01. Courtyard Marriott Downtown 02. DoubleTree Club University 03. DoubleTree Guest Suites 04. Driskill Hotel 05. Embassy Suites Downtown 06. Four Seasons 07. Hampton Inn & Suites 08. Hilton Austin Convention Ctr 09. Hilton Garden Inn (Capitol Pl) 10. Holiday Inn Town Lake 11. Hyatt Regency 12. InterContinental S.F. Austin 13. La Quinta Capitol 14. Mansion at Judges Hill 15. Omni Downtown 16. Radisson Town Lake C. 17. Residence Inn Downtown 18. Sheraton Austin CITYWIDE
19. America’s Best Value (Quality) 20. Best Western Airport 21. Clarion Inn & Suites 22. Comfort Suites Airport Austin 23. Country Inn & Suites North 24. Courtyard Marriott Airport 25. Courtyard Marriott Central 26. Courtyard Marriott South 27. Crowne Plaza 28. DoubleTree Hotel 29. Drury Inn & Suites North 30. Embassy Suites North 31. Fairfield Inn South 32. Hampton Inn & Suites Airport 33. Hampton Inn South 34. Hilton Airport Hotel 35. Holiday Inn Express - North 36. Holiday Inn Express 37. Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel 38. La Quinta Airport Austin 39. La Quinta Austin North 40. La Quinta Ben White 41. La Quinta Oltorf 42. Marriott Austin South 43. Omni Southpark 44. Radisson North 45. Ramada Limited North 46. Ramada North Central
47. Springhill Suites Marriott
48. Wyndham Garden
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OZONE
300 E. Fourth, 512-236-8008
1617 N. I-35, 512-479-4000
303 W. 15th, 512-478-7000
Sixth & Brazos, 512-474-5911
300 S. Congress, 512-469-9000
98 San Jacinto, 512-478-4500
200 San Jacinto, 512-472-1500
500 E. Fourth, 512-482-8000
Fifth & I-35, 512-480-8411
20 N. I-35, 512-472-8211
208 Barton Springs Rd., 512-477-1234
Seventh & Congress, 512-457-8800
300 E. 11th, 512-476-1166
1900 Rio Grande, 512-495-1800
Seventh & San Jacinto, 512-476-3700
Chavez & Congress, 512-478-9611
300 E. Fourth, 512-472-5553
701 E. 11th, 512-478-1111
909 E. Koenig Lane, 512-452-4200
2751 Hwy. 71 East
2200 S. I-35, 512-444-0561
7501 E. Ben White, 512-386-6000
7400 N. I-35, 512-380-0008
7809 E. Ben White, 512-386-7464
5660 N. I-35, 512-458-2340
4533 S. I-35, 512-912-1122
6121 N. I-35, 512-371-5243
6505 N. I-35, 512-374-4853
6711 N. I-35, 512-467-9500
5901 N. I-35, 512-454-8004
4525 S. I-35, 512-707-8899
7712 E. Riverside, 512-389-1616
4141 Governors Row, 512-442-4040
9515 New Airport Dr., 512-385-6767
8500 N. I-35, 512-821-0707
7501 E. Ben White, 512-386-7600
7800 N. I-35, 512-836-8520
7625 E. Ben White, 512-386-6800
7622 N. I-35, 512-467-1701
4200 S. I-35, 512-443-1774
Oltorf & S. I-35, 512-447-6661
4415 S. I-35, 512-441-7900
4140 Governors Row, 512-448-2222
6000 Middle Fiskville, 512-451-5757
9121 N. I-35, 512-836-0079
919 E. Koenig Lane, 512-454-1144
4501 S. I-35, 512-441-8270
3401 S. I-35, 512-448-2444
SXSW Music
Festival
Venue List
01. The Ale House // 310 E. Sixth (alley) • 21+
02. Antone’s // 213 W. Fifth • All Ages
03. Austin Music Hall // 500 E. Cesar Chavez • All Ages
04. BD Riley’s // 204 E. Sixth • 21+
05. Beauty Bar (2 venues) // 617 E. Seventh • 21+
06. Beerland // 711 1/2 Red River • 21+
07. Blender Bar at the Ritz // 320 E. Sixth • 21+
08. Bourbon Rocks // 508 E. Sixth • 21+
09. Buffalo Billiards // 201 E. Sixth • 21+
10. Carver Museum // 165 Angelina • All Ages
11. Cedar Street Courtyard // 208 W. Fourth • 21+
12. Central Presbyterian // 200 E. Eighth • All Ages
13. Club de Ville // 900 Red River • 21+
14. Club One 15 // 115 San Jacinto • 21+
15. Continental Club // 1315 S. Congress • 21+
16. Co-Op Bar // 400 E. Sixth • 21+
17. Copa // 217 N. Congress • 21+
18. Creekside EMC at the Hilton // 500 N. I-35 • 18+
18. 18th Floor at the Hilton // 500 N. I-35 • 18+
19. Dirty Dog Bar // 505 E. Sixth • 21+
20. Elephant Room // 315 Congress • 21+
21. Elysium // 705 Red River • 21+
22. Emo’s (3 venues) // 603 Red River • All Ages
23. Emo’s Annex // 600 Red River • All Ages
24. Eternal // 418 E. Sixth • 21+
25. Exodus // 302 E. Sixth • 21+
26. Flamingo Cantina // 515 E. Sixth • 18+
27. 401 Guadalupe // 401 Guadalupe • 18+
28. Friends // 208 E. Sixth • 21+
29. Habana Calle 6 (2 venues) // 709 E. Sixth • 21+
30. Habana Calle 6 Annex // 708 E. Sixth • 21+
31. The Hideout // 617 Congress • All Ages
32. Jovita’s // 1617 S. First • All Ages
33. Karma Lounge // 119 W. Eighth • 21+
34. La Zona Rosa // 612 W. Fourth • All Ages
35. Lambert’s // 401 W. Second • 21+
36. Latitude 30 // 512 San Jacinto • 21+
37. Lava Lounge Patio // 405 E. Seventh • 18+
38. Light Bar // 408 Congress • 21+
39. Maggie Mae’s (2 venues) // 323 E. Sixth • 21+
40. Mohawk (2 venues) // 912 Red River • All Ages
41. Molotov Lounge // 719 W. Sixth • 21+
42. Momo’s // 618 W. Sixth • 18+
43. Opal Divine // 700 W Sixth • 21+ (all ages Wed)
44. The Parish (2 venues) // 214 E Sixth • All Ages
45. Red 7 (2 venues) // 611 E. Seventh • All Ages
46. Red Eyed Fly // 715 Red River • 18+
47. Redrum // 401 Sabine • All Ages
48. The Rio // 301 San Jacinto • 21+
49. Room 710 // 710 Red River • 21+
50. Soho Lounge // 217 E. Sixth • 21+
51. Spiro’s (2 venues) // 615 Red River • 18+
52. Stubb’s // 801 Red River • All Ages
53. The Tap Room at Six // 117 W. Fourth • 21+
54. Uncle Flirty’s Loft // 325 E. Sixth • 21+
55. Visions // 614 E. Sixth • 18+
56. Whisky Bar // 303 W. Fifth • 21+
57. Zero Degrees // 405 E. Seventh • 18+
DS. SESAC Day Stage Cafe // Austin Convention
Center • All Ages
TL. SXSW Dew Music Fest at Town Lake// 500 W.
Riverside • All Ages
OZONE
17
Tuesday March 13th
George Washington Carver Museum & Cultural Center
– 1165 Angelina – All Ages
5:30 – 6:15 p.m. – Matt Sonzala of HoustonSoReal Interviews Chamillionaire
6:30 – 7:00 p.m. – Chamillionaire Performs (Houston, TX)
7:20 – 7:50 p.m. – Gutta Gang (Austin, TX)
8:10 p.m. – Cyrill Neville & Tribe 13 (New Orleans, LA /
Austin, TX)
Wednesday March 14th
SXSW
HIP HOP
SHOWCASES
Visions - 614 East 6th Street – 18+
1:00 – 2:00 a.m. – Devin the Dude (Houston, TX)
12:30 – 1:00 a.m. – Coughee Brothaz/14K/ Rob Quest of
the Odd Squad (Houston, TX)
11:45 – 12:25 a.m. – Evidence of Dilated Peoples (Los
Angeles, CA)
11:00 – 11:30 p.m. – Kidz In Da Hall (Chicago, IL)
10:30 – 10:55 – K-Rino & The South Park Coalition
(Houston, TX)
10:05 – 10:20 – KJ Hines (Austin, TX)
9:45 – 10:00 – Public Offenders (Austin, TX)
9:15 – 9:30 – Lower Life Form (Houston, TX)
8:45 – 9:00 – Southern Intellect (Houston, TX)
8:00 – 8:45 –DJs Domo & Good Grief of the Coughee
Brothaz (Houston, TX)
Hosted by Matt Sonzala of HoustonSoReal
Zero Degrees - 405 E 7th St - 18+
1:15 - 2:00 a.m. - Kev Brown (Baltimore, MD)
12:25 - 1:00 a.m. - Oddissee (Philadelphia, PA)
11:30 - 12:15 a.m. - Trek Life (Los Angeles, CA)
10:50 - 11:20 p.m. - Faculty (Oxnard, CA)
10:00 - 10:40 p.m. - Classified (Halifax, NS)
9:25 - 9:55 p.m. - Omni (Los Angeles, CA)
8:40 - 9:15 p.m. - Jern Eye (Oakland, CA)
8:00 p.m. - Scratch Bastid (Montreal, QC)
Thursday March 15th
Club One15 – 115 San Jacinto St. – 21+
1:15 – 2:00 a.m. – Billy Cook (Houston, TX)
12:30 – 1:00 a.m. – D-Madness (Austin, TX)
11:45 – 12:15 p.m. – Keite Young (Ft. Worth, TX)
11:00 – 11:30 p.m. – Ter’ell Shahid (Austin, TX)
10:00 – 10:45 p.m.- Carmen Rodgers & Geno Young
(Dallas, TX)
9:15 – 9:45 p.m. - W. Ellington Felton (Washington, DC)
8:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Nuwamba (Ft. Worth, TX)
Hosted by Mr. Blakes, DJ For Night Frances Jay of Neo
Soul Cafe
Zero Degrees – 405 East 7th Street – 18+
12:00 – 12:45 a.m. Chingo Bling featuring Stunta, Lucky
Luciano, Coast & Jezufavio
11:25 – 11:45 p.m. - Play-N-Skillz (Irving, TX)
11:05 – 11:25 p.m. – Reyez (Irving, TX)
10:50 – 11:05 p.m. – Lumba (Dallas, TX)
10:15 – 10:45 p.m.- Rob G. (Houston, TX)
9:45 – 10:00 p.m. - J. Kapone (Austin, TX)
9:15 – 9:30 p.m. – D of Carnival Beats (Austin, TX)
8:30 – 9:00 p.m. - Juan Gotti (Houston, TX)
Hosted by Paul Saucido of ME Television
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Copa – 217 Congress Ave. – 21+
1:00 – 2:00 a.m. – C-Mon & Kypski (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
12:15 – 12:45 a.m. - Cadence Weapon (Edmonton, AB,
Canada)
11:30 – 12:00 a.m. - Chris Lee (Oslo, Norway)
11:00 – 11:25 p.m. - El Axel (Oslo, Norway)
10:00 – 10:45 p.m. – Grand Analog (Winnipeg, MB,
Canada)
9:15 – 9:45 p.m. Monster Maker (Washington, DC)
8:30 – 9:00 p.m. C-Rayz Walz (Bronx, NY)
8:00 p.m. DJ Spinner T and DJ Crop Diggie of the Superstardjs (Austin TX)
Fox & Hound – 401 Guadalupe St. – 18+
1:00 – 2:00 a.m. – UGK (Port Arthur, TX)
12:15 – 1:00 a.m. – UGK Records Featuring ???
11:30 – 12:00 a.m. – Boss Hogg Outlawz (Houston, TX)
10:45 – 11:15 p.m. – Willie D Introducing Huntzville
(Houston, TX)
10:25 – 10:40 p.m. – Xxzotic (Little Rock, AR)
10:10 – 10:20 p.m. – Moufs of da Souf (Houston, TX)
9:45 – 10:05 p.m. – KB da Kidnappa of Street Military
(Houston, TX)
9:15 – 9:35 p.m. – Steve Austin (Dallas, TX)
8:45 – 9:00 p.m. – Saint (Houston, TX)
8:20 – 8:40 p.m. - Short, Bird Street, Mike Moe & DJ
Wrecka of Beltway 8 (Houston, TX)
DJs for the Night DJ Grip, DJ Since & Young Spinna
Friday March 16th
Town Lake Stage at Auditorium Shores – All Ages
8:00 p.m. - Public Enemy (New York, NY)
6:45 p.m. - Ozomatli (Los Angeles, CA)
6:00 p.m. – X-Clan
Beauty Bar Patio – 617 E. 7th St. – 21+
1:15 – 2:00 a.m. - The Federation (Oakland, CA)
12:30 – 1:00 a.m. – Balance (Oakland, CA)
12:00 – 12:25 a.m. – The Pack (San Francisco, CA)
11:30 – 11:55 p.m. – Saafir (Oakland, CA)
11:00 – 11:25 p.m. – Rico Pabon (Los Angeles, CA)
10:30 – 10:50 p.m. – Qualo (Chicago, IL)
10:00 – 10:20 p.m. – Roxy Cottontail (New York, NY)
9:30 – 9:50 p.m. – Wale (Washngton, DC)
9:00 – 9:30 p.m. – Doujah Raze (Brooklyn, NY)
8:00 – 9:00 p.m. - DJ For Night – Nick Catchdubs (New
York, NY)
Beauty Bar - 617 E 7th St. - 21+
BIZ 3 Publicity and Kork
1:10 - 2:00 a.m. - Kid Sister (Chicago, IL)
12:10 - 1:10 a.m. - A-Trak (Montreal, QC)
11:30 - 12:00 a.m. - Yo Majesty (Tampa, FL)
10:40 - 11:15 p.m. - Bondo do Role (Sao Paolo, Brazil)
9:45 - 10:30 p.m. - Flosstradamus (Chicago, IL)
8:55 - 9:30 p.m. - CX Kidtronik (Chicago, IL)
8:00 - 8:55 p.m. - The Rub (New York, NY)
12:00 – 2:00 a.m. – MTV & Mountain Dew: artists TBA
11:30 – 12:00 a.m. - Rapid Ric’s Whut it Dew Family
(Austin/Houston, TX)
10:55 – 11:25 p.m. – Houston North Side All Stars
(Houston, TX)
10:25 – 10:50 p.m. – Money Waters (Dallas, TX)
10:00 – 10:20 p.m. – VIP, (Austin, TX)
9:35 – 9:55 p.m. – MC Fatal, (Austin, TX)
9:00 – 9:30 p.m. – DJ Chill Presents Chill Factor Music
(Houston, TX)
8:00 – 9:00 p.m. - Host and DJ for night - OG Ron C
8:00 – 8:25 p.m. – Zeale 32 (Austin, TX)
8:30 – 8:55 p.m. – Perceph1 (Houston, TX)
Saturday March 17th
Club One15 - 115 San Jacinto St. – 21+
1:00 – 2:00 a.m. – Dirty Wormz (Austin, TX)
12:00 – 12:40 a.m. – Nayrok (Dallas, TX)
11:00 – 11:40 p.m. – Peekaboo Theory (Houston, TX)
10:15 – 10:45 p.m. – Purple Crush (New York, NY)
9:45 – 10:10 p.m. – Deaf in the Family (New York, NY)
9:00 – 9:30 p.m. – Studemont Project (Houston, TX)
8:00 – 8:40 p.m. – Dujeous (New York, NY)
Flamingo Cantina - 515 E 6th St - 18+
1:00 - 2:00 a.m. - Lee “Scratch” Perry (Kingston,
Jamaica)
12:15 - 12:55 a.m. - Grimy Styles (Austin, TX)
11:45 - 12:05 a.m. - Brother Ali (Minneapolis, MN)
11:15 - 11:40 p.m. - Lethal Bizzle (London, UK)
10:15 - 10:55 p.m. - Mau Mau Chaplains (Austin, TX)
9:15 - 9:55 p.m. - Joseph Isreal (Fayetteville, AR)
8:15 - 8:55 p.m. - Rocky Dawuni (Accra, CA)
7:45 - 8:15 p.m. and throughout night - DJ Queen
Majesty (New York, NY)
TheScrewShop.com 10 Year Anniversary
1:20 a.m. – 2:00 a.m. – Trae (Houston, TX)
12:50 a.m. – 1:10 a.m. - Carnival Beats (Austin, TX)
12:35 a.m. – 12:50 a.m. – Basswood Lane (Austin, TX)
12:15 a.m. – 12:30 a.m. – Grit Boys (Houston, TX)
11:55 p.m. – 12:10 a.m. – Sparkdawg (Killeen, TX)
11:35 p.m. – 11:50 p.m. – Dok Holiday & Set 4 Life
(Austin, TX)
11:15 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. – South Bound (Austin, TX)
10:55 p.m. – 11:10 p.m. – Ryno (Austin, TX)
10:35 p.m. – 10:50 p.m. – Big Sid (San Angelo, TX)
10:15 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. – Circle G’z (Houston, TX)
Hosted by Tosin of thescrewshop.com
10:00 p.m. DJ Bounz – And DJ for the night
Dallas Night Presented by OZONE Mag & Urban South
1:15 – 2:00 a.m. - Big Tuck, Tum Tum & DSR (Dallas, TX)
1:00 – 1:10 a.m. - T. Balla (Dallas, TX)
12:45 – 12:55 a.m. - M. Dot (Dallas, TX)
12:20 – 12:40 a.m. - Big Chief (Dallas, TX)
12:00 – 12:15 a.m. - Gator Mayne (Dallas, TX)
11:30 – 11:50 p.m. – Kottonmouth (Dallas, TX)
11:00 – 11:20 p.m. - Mr. Pookie & Mr. Lucci (Dallas, TX)
10:40 – 10:55 p.m. – Lil Peace (Dallas, TX)
10:15 – 10:35 p.m. - Big Ben (Dallas, TX)
9:30 – 10:00 p.m. - PPT (Dallas, TX)
8:45 – 9:15 p.m. – Verbal Seed (Dallas, TX)
8:00 – 8:30 p.m. – Thesis (Dallas, TX)
DJ for the night – DJ Drop (Dallas, TX)
For information on all of the showcases including even
more Hip Hop go to www.sxsw.com
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19
Craig Stewart
SXSW Music Festival founder
T
his year SXSW has over 1400 acts playing.
Has South By Southwest always been this
big?
An “act” is insincere by definition. We have
1500+ bands and solo artists playing. It’s mostly
real shit but there’s some corny crap; that’s
life. We try to avoid “acts,” unless their fans got
crazy money.
Just what is South By Southwest?
It’s my 9th year planning and booking and I
have no idea. It’s like an atomic smart bomb of
artistry. An artistically overrated city like Austin
getting mobbed by crazy shit from all over the
world in 5 days. I love it. It’s like a smack in the
face. But I hate that I don’t get to witness most
of it, cause I have to work and run around and
put out fires all night, every night.
What exactly do you do?
I run this shit! Ha, no, I book a lot of the music
festival with my great friends and colleagues
like Cathy, Todd, Darin, and others – we couldn’t
do this huge shit storm without each other.
Why did you decide to bring in so much Texas
Hip Hop to the conference?
Because we love it, and it’s embedded in this
region and America and the world. And mostly
because “someone” reached out four years back,
to pump it up like never before. We have over
100 rap artists for 2007, and UGK is playing SXSW
this year. That makes me almost faint, seeing
that shit in our schedule.
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By Matt Sonzala
How do you feel when people stereotype the
conference as a rock event? There’s lots of different styles represented at SXSW each year.
Parts of the industry will always focus on rock,
and some labels only put promo money into
rock bands, even when they have a diverse
roster. But fuck ‘em, man, in 2007 you can’t label
any city, event or era one genre. We’re at war,
and whatever rock is in 2007 is not going to get
me through the day. I wanna hear some Terry
Riley, Betty Davis, Fleetwood Mac, Devin the
Dude, Wire, KB, Dead C, Z-Ro, Reigning Sound,
Bun B. Yeah, looking at our schedule, we have a
bunch of rock. But c’mon, fuck with us.
You’re also a musician. Can you tell me a bit
about your band Rubble, your solo jams, the
Yella Album and Emperor Jones Records?
Rubble is in litigation, so no comment. The Yella
Album will be like the bearded opiate version
of Boosie’s Bad Azz when it drops. My label
Emperor Jones is going on 12 years now and
my SXSW duties forced it to being a side thing,
which is fine, fuck the game. My focus is on vinyl
lately. There’s too many CDs out there. I put out
an Ill Tactics 12” last year that featured Lil Keke,
very limited. And I’m looking to put out more
rap. Just things that I like and feel are unique.
Who are you most looking forward to seeing
this year?
Jandek. But a lot of live music is very disappointing. At the end of the day I just wanna
bang my Screw. //
will hustle
W
entreprenuer profile
By Matt Sonzala
Will Hustle
By Matt Sonzala
here’d you get the name Will Hustle?
How’s it relate to who you are?
When I came up with the name I told
all my fam. Everybody was like, “Nigga, that fits
you. Run with it.” I’m known all over the country
for all my hustles. My motto is MASH: Maintain
All Sorts of Hustles. I got that shit tatted on me.
I don’t talk this shit, I live this shit. I will hustle.
What’s your main hustle? I know you do DVDs
and manage artists.
My hustle is maintaining all sorts of hustles. I
am a music mogul. Whether it’s music, media or
fashion, this is my passion. I’m in this to be in
the history books. The industry is shook right
now. I plan on changing the game. I can show
you better than I can tell you. Just keep watching me like Z-Ro and Trae say. Right now Will
Hustle Multimedia is my bread winner. My DVDs
are like cable in the hood. Boys be watching my
shit over and over again. We are about to do
some major branding through Will Hustle TV with
major companies in ‘07. A lot of major people
came and hollered at us after what we did for
the Da Bomb Blunts. The DVDs, mixtape promotions, and marketing are all under Will Hustle
Multimedia. I created it just so I could make my
own lane for my record label Set For Life. It’s so
many dead weight fuck niggas in the rap game
taking up space I had to do something to stand
out. This is chess not checkers.
How is the independent rap scene in Austin?
The indie game is wide open right now with all
the Houston artists going major. The underground is wide open. All of Texas is looking for
that new sound. It’s funny cause I saw this shit
coming in 2001. I met T.I and Jason Geter, and
Geter asked me what the Texas scene was like
and ask about Paul, Flip, Slim, all the niggas
making noise. I told him, “In about five years
all y’all niggas will be major and y’all will leave
the underground to a nigga like me.” Look at all
them niggas now; they’re on top of the world.
Set For Life, we don’t worry about just Austin
that’s why we are so big outside of Austin. We
are killing the underground. Next year at SXSW,
we will have major deals on the table.
You’ve got radio stations, retail outlets, a TV
station, and newspapers that cover local rap
artists. Do people in Austin listen to Austin rap?
Hell yeah. Austin listens to Austin now more
than ever. A couple of years ago if you weren’t
from Houston, you weren’t selling shit. But that
all has changed. Austin wants to see someone
from Austin blow
just like Houston
did. It’s really
due to the talent
down here. Boys
got an original
sound and it’s a
nationwide sound
that has the ability to crossover
just like the ATL
sound did. Robert
Gabriel is holding down the movement with his
articles in The Chronicle. Steve Savage and 88.7
has had our back since day one, but that’s only
on the weekend. As far as corporate radio, the
DJs help as much as they can, but the powers
that be don’t give a fuck about us. I used to get
mad about them not playing us, but it’s not going to stop our movement. We running the underground. Austin rap is popping all over Texas.
We are ‘bout to blow, so soon they are going
to have to play us. That’s just how radio works.
Shout out to all the DJs. We got other options:
clubs, mixtapes, they are holding us down.
What releases have you put out?
My nigga Dok Holiday is a legend around this
bitch. He dropped a mixtape series called The
Pre Season. Dok Holiday and PLA’s album will
be out this summer. My Set For Life roster is
crazy. We plan to drop albums like Master P in
his prime. I hooked up with DJ Knowledge to
do the Whata Hustla mixtape series. We flipped
the Whattaburger Logo into Whata Hustla. It’s
one of the hottest mixtapes out right now. Me
and Ice Water put out the Kappa Bound DVD and
Will Hustle TV Vol. 1 and 2 are in stores now. Will
Hustle TV Vol. 3 will be out nationwide this April.
When did you first come to SXSW? What does it
mean to you as a man in the music business?
I was raised in Austin so SXSW has always been
around. It wraps up the end of the first quarter
and gets you ready for Texas Relays and the
summer. The panels are throwed; a lot of good
game and education.
Does it mean much to the Austin independent
Hip Hop community?
It helps a lot. I saw it come from barely no rap
shows to having all Austin showcases. I would
like to thank everybody who helps put these
shows on. It’s a good look for the city.
For more info visit www.willhustle.com
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22
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chingo bling
By Matt Sonzala
A
lot of people know you for the comedic
side of your music, but on “Like This and
Like That,” you’ve got a pretty serious
political message running through it. There’s
some humor in it but you’re saying a lot of deep
stuff that people aren’t touching on right now.
I knew I was up against that, and I know that
I’m gonna have to fight that battle. Program
Directors say, “Well, this isn’t anything like ‘Taco
Shop.’ That did well for us. I don’t think this will
work.” My main point is, I just cater to my core
audience. If I feel like my audience is gonna
allow me to show my versatility and my range,
that’s all I care about. At the end of the day, I’m
not out to please certain executives at certain
networks or nothing like that.
On the subject of immigration, plenty of people
on the other side of the issue are speaking out
on it, but on your side of the issue it doesn’t
seem like a lot of people are speaking on it.
Especially not in Hip Hop.
I think it’s my responsibility as an artist to do
that, and it’s something that I feel in my heart.
Shit, it’s something I gotta say. It affects us all
and that’s my way of spreading a little information; just raising a little awareness, addressing it
or just talking about it. Whether it’s with a little
anger or a little satire or humor, I’m gonna get
my point across.
Do you think even mentioning George Bush
could be dangerous for you as a business move?
I mean, you see what happened to the Dixie
Chicks.
I think it’s a little different for them because of
the way their whole career is. They’re signed to
a big label. They’re out of a conservative scene
like Nashville and for a long time they were just
at the pinnacle. They were on top of their shit
and they made certain comments overseas. They
went to Great Britain or something and started
bashing, whereas I do it through my art and I’ve
always had this stance. It’s not like a night and
day thing where last week I was a Republican
and I was answering to a label and I didn’t have
creative control and all of a sudden I want to
lash out in frustration. We’ve always done things
our way and will continue to do so. If anything
the danger lies more in saying some powerful
shit that somebody doesn’t like.
It’s equally as dangerous to not say anything.
You’re right, but I think in the past with the civil
rights movement and things like that, people
took different approaches. Like Martin Luther
King said, a threat to justice anywhere is a
threat to justice everywhere. That’s basically
saying, “Hey man, by not doing anything you’re
a part of it.”
On “Like This and Like That” and in the video,
you’re talking about the current state of immigration and especially how it affect Mexicans
in our country.
Well, on the song I’m talking about all kinds of
stuff. I got the hustler’s perspective on there,
and I’m flossin’ a little bit, because I’m not gonna be preachy on every bar. I just threw a little
line or two in there. But the video, I think that
kind of paints a picture, showing what an immigrant goes through and how a person could
come to this country, really not hurting nobody,
really just working. That’s really the main gist
of the song. In terms of the movement, I’m not
saying we deserve a little bit more respect, I
just think that we need a little bit more understanding. There’s just not enough awareness
out there. George Lopez is representing and we
got a couple Mexicans on TV who every so often
express themselves, but I just feel that we’re
like the battery pack of America. We’re like a
part of this Matrix where they want our money.
Tthey wanna sell empanadas at McDonalds,
they wanna sell tacos at Burger King, they want
to target us on radio stations for advertising.
Lincoln, Palmolive, Procter & Gamble, all these
companies want to cater to us to get our money
at the grocery store, but by the same token,
[what would happen] if we really just took a day
off like the way we were supposed to that one
day, but no one did? Everybody was too scared.
There’s not enough communication and organization within our community. But if we really
did, the economy really would have taken a hit.
Because guess what? All them people that work
at them slaughterhouses, they wouldn’t have
been there to kill them cows, which means there
wouldn’t have been fresh meat for that day.
Which means Jack In The Box would have been
out of some hamburgers for like a week. That’s
just the fast food industry. But we’re the ones
picking the tomatoes, the strawberries, cotton,
killin’ the cows at the slaughterhouse. Dangerous jobs. You might break your back or lose a
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limb at one of them slaughterhouses. There’s
pesticides being sprayed over the people like
roaches because they live on the property and
pick them fuckin’ vegetables. I mentioned what
Kanye said [about George Bush not caring about
black people] as well, and I basically said “Hey
we Kanye, you got a point and we’re in the same
boat.” We [Mexicans] make up a large part of the
U.S. Army and the military. Basically, we’re here
to catch some bullets and buy some empanadas at McDonalds. We’re the battery pack. Our
stomachs are hooked up into the Matrix and
we keep this bitch going. We keep the economy
afloat and pay taxes. We don’t take advantage
of all of the things that our taxes should go for,
like health care. If you’re an immigrant, you get
hurt and sometimes you’re scared to go to the
hospital.
Are you afraid that message could fall on deaf
ears? Are you trying to open up some ears? Not
too many other rap artists are speaking about
those issues.
I think there’s two things. You got the media,
which really is just a function of distraction.
They want to keep us dumb and worried about
Anna Nicole Smith all day instead of worrying about the real facts. They call these people
insurgents, when really they’re just immigrants.
They don’t have no army. They’re just muthafuckers in some regular ass clothes with some
guns trying to defend their house or whatever.
So you’ve got the media as a big factor and
also, the music industry really doesn’t nurture
those type of stars. Back when Hip Hop was
fresh and young and expectations weren’t the
same, all these playlists and payola didn’t
exist. All the shit that is wrong with the music
industry, all the lawyers and bankers and accountants, hadn’t moved into these executive
positions. You still had “music people” in high
places. So a lot of artists feel like they might
not have that outlet. They feel like, “Well if I do
say some shit [about these issues] in my song,
my label’s not gonna let me put it on a record
anyway. If I submit all these songs, they’re
gonna turn them down cause I mention certain
things and they want to hear some more party
tracks.” I’m not making excuses for no artist because at the end of the day, if you call yourself
an artist, you call yourself Hip Hop, you’re supposed to do what’s in your heart and represent
that way. None of that shit should affect you.
Not no car, not no mansion, not no advance,
and not no label is supposed to make you less
of a man to where you can’t express yourself
in this country. I said that on the intro of my
song. I said, “Dear Uncle Sam in that white and
green van, why you chase my daddy, huh? Why
you make him ran? On the 25th of August 1969,
daddy was focused on the grind. He headed to
H-Town [from Mexico] in an orange two-door
‘53 Belaire, a pound of grease in his hair.
Yeah, he crossed with a trampoline, not with a
passport. They asked him, ‘Did your ass learn
English from the black folk?’ Thank God for his
backstroke, I probably wouldn’t be here. Gave
me free speech, talk shit about your speaker.
Work in the gas tank, they’re looking for arrests.
‘You an American citizen boy?’ My Daddy said
“Jess!’” You know he gave me free speech and at
the end of the day, I’m a man. It’s my responsibility to say what I want to say. I just have that
luxury because we’ve always done things our
way and we’ve always found a way to get our
music out to the people whether it’s through the
internet or just driving around one or two deep
in a vehicle and just posting up at mom and pop
shops, or at the flea market.
people ain’t got no papers. If they just came
from Guatemala and crossed three borders and
jumped on five trains to get here, I’m not gonna
belittle their fear [of being deported]. But what
I’m saying is if we have a little unity, we can
demand a little bit of respect because I feel
like we’re second class citizens. Even the ones
that are citizens, like my parents - they were
naturalized and everything. Shit, we still feel
second class like we’re in the back of the plane,
no peanuts, and we’re just getting harassed.
We’re sitting here in the back of the plane,
cleaning it, gassing it up and keeping it going.
And they like, “Get off the plane!” But we like,
“Nigga, we gassed it up. We sitting here cleaning
it, and we paid for the seats. We paying taxes
for the seats but it’s like, ‘Get off the plane, we
don’t want you.’”
A lot of companies talk about how they are
starting a movement, but you seem to really be
working to spark a movement here. I know your
distributor is really big on movements. Do they
understand yours?
When Hip Hop started, people had no choice but
to be innovative because we had to find ways to
get reactions. You had to find a way. I don’t give
a shit who you are, you had to do something
original. Like LL Cool J, he said he was gonna be
the young dude with the Kangol, take his shirt
off and rap like this. Run-DMC brought the no
laces thing. Everybody brought their own thing.
Nowadays people want to call that a gimmick.
Everyone wants to look like everyone else and
talk about the same old shit. Nobody even has
their own style, their own voice. Even with
poetry, people say you gotta find your voice.
You gotta find what you’re about. These days
people aren’t about too much. I don’t feel like
I’m the greatest rapper by no means, but I do
feel like there is a lane for me and I do have
something to say. Like our statement, “You Can’t
Deport Us All.” You could wear that shirt in an
airport, or you could wear it walking down the
street and you’re gonna get a reaction from
people. It’s gonna provoke thought. It’s gonna
have people saying, “Oh, yes we can.” And, “Say
it to my shotgun, boy.” Or “Man, that’s true.” You
know, there’s really strength in numbers. There’s
strength in unity and when we start to really
think, “You know what, they probably really
can’t.” Then we’re starting to call their bluff.
It’s like, “Man you can’t deport us all. Dude, do
you really want to deport us all? How many
buses is it going to take and how logistically,
who’s gonna build the fence and how much
is it gonna cost and are we gonna be able to
jump the fence again? How are you gonna go
about rounding up everybody?” It’s not even
possible. And the minute that we just snap out
of that fear, you know, it’s a natural fear. Some
Well, America was originally founded by immigrants.
Yeah, and I think if we looked the same as
the people on the other side of the argument
- let’s say the Irish - it would be different. When
the Irish first came they went through some
problems. They couldn’t get hired in Boston or
anywhere in New England. Italians, Jews, they
went through a lot of stuff. We’re all human but
at the same time there’s gonna be divisions.
Does that tone run through the album?
Shit, I got all kinds of stuff on there, man. I
been working with Salih and Carnival Beats,
Tomar and them. They produced the bulk of
the album, so it’s jammin’. You might hear a
beat on there that’s kind of reminiscent of
Wreck Shop and the “Barre Baby” days. Basically I’m touching on all kinds of stuff that just
goes together. I feel like it’s more effective to
throw a line or two [about immigration issues]
in a crunk song or a line or two in a party
song; make it fit in there cause you’re giving
medicine mixed in with the honey. If you’re just
preachin’, preachin’, preachin’ it turns people off
sometimes. It reminds people of problems. But
if you’re just jammin’ and you’re talking about
all this other stuff and all of a sudden there’s
a punchline at the end of a verse, they get the
message. I’ve also got a few songs I did with
Jim Jonsin. I have [a beat from] Daniel Cartel
from New Orleans, he did “Slow Motion” with
Juvenile and Soulja Slim. He’s actually Honduran
and Nicaraguan as well. We got Shadow that
used to be with Dope House. We got Smoke
Beats from Corpus on a song that’s just silly
as hell. Of course I got Trae on there, Lucky
Luchiano, Stunta, Paul Wall, Coast, Paul Wall, Big
Pokey, and even Fat Pat on a verse - we’re going back and forth on the hook. I’m really proud
of it, man. The skits, everything. I got some
funny little characters. //
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25
I’m
not saying that [mixtape DJs] are
getting rich off artists and the
artist ain’t getting no benefits from it, but yeah,
they’re getting paid. To me, doing a mixtape
is like putting out an album. I might as well
take those same rhymes and put it on some of
my own beats and put a record out instead of
paying for some street credibility that a nigga’s
trying to sell me, telling me that this [mixtape]
is what I need to make my album sell.
If someone’s getting paid [off my mixtape], I
want to get money too. If everybody can get
paid, it’s a beautiful thing. But as soon as you
put your rhymes over beats, it’s no longer a
mixtape. It’s an independent album. What I
propose is that mixtape DJs start hosting independent record releases. Instead of the rappers
taking the small end of the money or no money
at all and wait for the mixtape DJ to blow them
up, why don’t the DJs take $5,000 or $10,000 and
jump on these independent mixtapes and host
them muthafuckers. They need to say “hosted by
DJ so-and-so” now, because with the copyright
game and the way the powers that be are playing dirty now, they can come get their houses
and cars. Even with “for promo only” on it, it’s
still copywritten music and they’re still going to
26
OZONE
get sued. So we’ve gotta come up with new, creative ways to put this stuff out and still keep the
same street flavor that we get out of mixtapes.
DJs are gonna have to start doing mixtapes of
their own music. That’s just the bottom line.
If you’ve got a reputable artist that’s hot, it’s
going to sell whether you use existing beats
that’s already on the radio or brand new beats.
People just want to hear these hot dudes rhyme
and want to hear some new material cause
everything is so watered down right now.
In my case, I don’t have a publishing deal right
now, so Jive doesn’t have jurisdiction on my
income. But in most cases, the artists do have
some type of deal with their label. At the end
of the day it’s easier to give up [a freestyle]
and still run with your business than it is when
you’re dealing with total copyright infringement.
I don’t buy mixtapes or listen to them. I like
[artists like] Young Jeezy and Lil Wayne, but
I ain’t never heard none of their mixtapes. I
don’t participate in that shit. Do I think Jeezy
would be where he’s at without his mixtapes?
Hell yeah. The nigga is cold. Wayne is on top
of his game right now. That nigga ain’t gotta
rap on other niggas’ beats just to get people to
know that he can rap. He could take those same
rhymes and put them on some indie shit on the
site and get paid. Most of those independent
[labels] are getting $7 or $8 per record, and a
nigga like Jeezy right now can sell 50,000 independent records. Even if he just gets on a record
and farts, we’re going to buy it. I think [the idea
that artists need mixtapes to sell albums] is the
attitude that these [DJs] want us to have.
And Jive ain’t on an island of their own. These
muthafuckers [at all the record labels] were up
there paying this dude [Drama] to do mixtapes
on their artist. For a brand new artist that needs
a street buzz and has never sold no records,
that’s a great thing to do. Get them a DJ with a
name, put a mixtape out, get people hyped on
you, and then you’re able to get a deal. But for
a nigga like me that likes money, and niggas
buy my records anyway, I can’t fuck with it. I
gotta get me some bread.
But I do think it’s dirty that record labels pay
mixtape DJs to do a mixtape on an artist and
then turn around and send the Feds to niggas’
studios to arrest them and fuck over ‘em like
that. I think that’s some fucked up shit. I think
it is very unfair that record labels are paying
niggas like Drama to do mixtapes and then they
turn around and sell a nigga out and throw
him under the bus. That’s fucked up. If they’re
going to turn their heads on [mixtape DJs] then
they need to go ahead and turn their heads on
the whole thing. I think it’s easier for them to
condone the shit. [The record labels] are going
to have to adjust their approach a little bit.
But at the end of the day, the same people that
was paying Drama to do mixtapes send the
Feds at him, and I think that’s real fucked up.
I’m riding with Drama because they fucked over
him. He ain’t doing nothing worse than what
the record companies are doing; putting out
records and trying not to pay the artist. If you
see a nigga in the street who has sold 100,000
records and he
The first time we talked [about doing a UGK
Gangsta Grillz mixtape] me and Drama had
figured out a way for both of us to get paid.
We ain’t gonna expose all the details of what
we were talking about, but we came up with
a way that both of us could get paid. We were
going to do a Gangsta Grillz, mixtape style, but
using beats that I produced. [Our record label]
Jive was going to give Drama $10,000 to do
our mixtape, and he was going to give us the
$10,000 back. I said, “Nah, you keep the $10,000
and let’s do the mixtape over our beats, you
host the muthafucker, we’ll walk in Jive and let
them press up 100,000 or 150,000 copies and
put it in the stores as a limited edition.” In a
case like that, I can make Jive give me $100,000
[advance] and give Bun a $100,000 [advance].
So even though I don’t do mixtapes and all
that, I still gotta ride with Drama because he’s
a product of the streets. At the end of the day,
fans don’t give a fuck about [the politics]. They
just want to hear their favorite rapper. He was
supplying the streets with the dope that they
needed to keep going in between these weakass watered-down albums where they won’t
let a nigga sample no muthafuckin’ records
no more. And Drama is just the first example
of what the Feds are going to do to a bunch
of muthafuckers if they don’t get their game
together....
- Julia Beverly
The rest of this interview is featured in the April
issue of OZONE Magazine. Visit us online at www.
ozonemag.com
If you want to settle for $10,000, that’s you.
But me, I like advances. I like money. I don’t
give a fuck about getting niggas on the street
to like it. But even though I feel a certain way
about the mixtape game, when it comes down
to the RIAA vs. mixtape DJs, I’m riding with [DJs
like] Drama. I’m never going to ride with the
establishment. I support Drama because they
threw him under the bus, and a whole bunch
of these record labels were paying him to do
their mixtapes. You and I both know we had the
conversation because Jive was trying to pay him
[to do a UGK Gangsta Grillz].
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27
28
OZONE
devin
dude
the
Words by Matt Sonzala
Photos by Mike Frost
OZONE
29
T
his is your third year doing South By
Southwest. Is this a big event for you?
Yeah, and it’s getting bigger and bigger, actually. It’s cool to be a part of it. I got
people from California that’s coming down to it
and asking about it, even people from Norway.
Everywhere, man. It involves a lot of people, a
lot of cultures of music. It’s just a good time.
Especially the spot where it is in Austin on 6th
Street, man, it’s just a ball every year. It’s getting bigger and bigger.
Who all are you performing with this year?
All the Coughee Brothaz. The Odd Squad has
been a big part, DJ Domo, Good Grief, T-Mac,
14K, pretty much all the Coughee Brothaz. We
got K-Rino and Evidence from Dilated Peoples.
It’s going to be good.
This year you’re not just going for a show,
you’re celebrating the release of your 4th
album, Waitin’ to Inhale.
Yeah fo’ sho’, man. Waitin’ to Inhale, we been
having a cool time with it. We been having
as much fun as possible, trying to make it as
humorous as possible and keep movin’ and
groovin’.
So we can expect more of the wit and wisdom of
Devin the Dude?
Yeah, man. Well, there might be a song or two
on there that you might say, “Man, what in the
fuck is wrong with this dude?” It’s just all in fun,
and you know we just having a good time making the most out of what we have. Especially
with Hip Hop nowadays, you really just can’t
take it too serious, man. You gotta know that
there’s gonna be new cats coming. It’s gonna be
the old school that you love. There’s different
kinds of music with Hip Hop involved in it and
it just spreads and it’s really cool; the fact that
it lives and breathes everywhere and you’re a
part of it.
What are some of these songs that people are
going to be wondering about? Are you taking
shits on record again?
Ha! Well there might be a song called “Just
Because” on there that we did, and it sounds
something like a “I Need Love” type song when
it first comes on and it just gives you the flip
side of love and what people think about doing
to their loved ones. And it’s just a thought, it’s
nothing serious. I don’t want people to get the
wrong idea. It’s just thoughts that go through
peoples’ minds. Then a song called “Cut You Up,”
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OZONE
on there. They might get the wrong understanding but if they listen they’ll get it.
Wrong understanding of “Cut You Up”?
It’s all in the wording. You got to listen to it
from the beginning to the end and understand.
If you’ve been listening to my music since back
in the day you might get a good idea of what
I’m talking about, but if not you might say, “This
guy, something’s wrong with him. We might
have to watch him.” And that’s just not the case.
At all. A lot of listeners out there or critics get
the wrong idea about certain songs and it goes
the wrong way. This is just a way to fuck their
heads up. All in all it’s just about something so
innocent and pure and natural and good for me
and you.
You’ve got a couple of really huge features on
this album, like Bun B, Snoop Dogg, and Andre
3000, but it sounds like a lot of it really stayed
in house this time.
For the most part, that’s what it is anyway. All
the previous albums that I did, it’s just the Odd
Squad. They played a big part in all the projects.
Rob Quest, Jugg Mugg, DJ Domo, we have
Funkafingaz on the bass, he’s been around for a
minute. We’ve been having keyboard players and
stuff, like my homeboy Lester from Shreveport,
and we also accept tracks coming from different
areas. We work with up and coming producers
who have nice music. We invite them over and
listen to what they have. If it fits in with what
we’re doing and we can make a cool song out of
it, then we’ll go with it. That’s what made it real
cool over the years. We welcome anybody with
open arms, any Coughee Brothaz, you don’t even
have to smoke weed to be a Coughee Brotha.
It’s just an in-house thing, we just like to have
fun with what we do.
Is Snoop a Coughee Brotha?
Oh yeah, he’s an O.G. Coughee Brotha. We’ve
been trying to get something together for a
minute. Maybe we’ll have a song together called
“A Pound of Coughee,” with the Dogg Pound and
the Coughee Brothaz together. We’ve been trying
to get that together for years.
You have Snoop and Andre 3000 on the same
song?
Yeah, on a song called “What a Job.” It’s a song
done by Chuck Heat from L.A. and we were just
expressing how our music and what we do in
the studio is considered a job. A lot of time,
people wouldn’t consider what we do a job. We
have a lot of fun doing it. They
hear about the hoes and the
bling and the drinks and the
weed and they think it’s like
a party for the most part. But
it’s not. It’s work and it’s gotta
be considered work. You gotta
take it seriously. And also, a
lot of other people depend
on what we’re doing with our
music and we gotta support
each other with it.
You’re basically celebrating the
life? Do you come from three
different perspectives?
All in all it’s about the studio
and work being done in the
studio. On my verse I’m in the
studio, on Snoop’s verse he’s
at a radio station announcing,
letting the shorties know and
his family know what he’s doing, and on Andre’s verse he’s
actually communicating with a
couple and hearing their problems and letting them tell him
how they feel about his music
and how it’s helped them out
through their lifetime. He talks
about downloading music
for free and the artists get
charged for it. It’s a trip, man,
it’s wild.
You been touring all over
lately. Where will we see you
this year?
We got some stuff lined up.
There’s some offers available
and people looking forward to
having us come out, which is a
blessing. People from Australia
and London and places that
I’ve never been and that will
be real cool. Hopefully we’ll
get something happening before the album comes out, get
a nice little buzz created, book
up a solid tour and hopefully
we’ll able to get it structured
enough to be able to have fun
and give the people a good
time.
myspace.com/devinthedude
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OZONE
AUSTIN
PHOTO
GALLERY
1. Will Hustle and
PLA at The Parish
2. Russle Lee
3. Pimp C at Hot
93.3 Winter Meltdown
4. Mr. Fitness of
Gutta Gang at The
Parish
5. Mr. Blakes talking to the kids
6. Nina Sky
7. Money Waters
8. Wine-O at Hot
9. South Bound at
The Parish
10. Rapid Ric and
Coota Bang
11. Matt Sonzala,
Tony C, and Tino
Cochino
12. Magno and
Kinfolk Joe at The
Parish
13. Michael Watts
14. K-Paul, Jamie
Lee, Black Mike, and
Duece
15. Mr. Blakes and
Tomar Williams of
Carnival Beats at
The Parish
16. Shareefa
17. Ryno at Hot 93.3
Winter Meltdown
18. Nac at The
Parish
19. Natalie at Hot
20. TYK and Young
Mexicans on the
Rise at The Parish
21. Mimi, Boogie,
and D-Train from
Hot 93.3
Photos by Luxury
Mindz
OZONE
dj domo
Y
ou’re known as one of the original
dudes out here. Where exactly did you
come from?
I come from LaPorte. I went to school out in
LaPorte and started DJing probably around the
summer of ‘83. I was like 12 or 13 years old
when I started DJing.
What made you start?
Man, I have no idea. My homeboys from back
then said we were sitting watching Jam Master
Jay on TV one day. I just started doing that shit
and from the first day, I was cold at it.
How did you end up being the DJ for the Geto
Boys? You started when you were 13, but there’s
got to be a lot more to it. I remember hearing
you on the radio live from a club.
Me and my pa’tna Wiz - who’s now the DJ for
Aesop Rock and Def Jux Records - was DJing
at this club called Amnesia out on 290 and
Antoine. Scarface and Bushwick used to live
together right there off of Mangum. Ready Red
used to live over there; everybody lived over
there. They used to come to the club and we
automatically just started kicking it. That was
when that Grip It! On That Other Level came out.
The Scarface single just came out so they used
to come through there. But aside from the club
I used to go fuck with ‘Face and Bill. I’d go ride
over there, pick ‘em up, go get food, whatever.
We used to kick it. After that we was just sort
of hanging around for the next two years, but
after Ready Red left the group it kind of fell in
place to do that shit. I was on the radio before
I got with them. Me and Wiz were on live mixing
from the club at Infinity. That’s around when Bill
got shot. I was up there [at that club] that night
fuckin’ with Bill. Like all around that time, when
Bill got shot, going to the hospital, that’s when
Red quit, so a muthafucker got the opportunity
and seized that shit.
You still work with them to this day, right?
OZONE
Yeah, when muthafuckers work, I’m there.
Tell me about the Coughee Brothaz. Is that your
production team?
The Coughee Brothaz has different aspects of
it, but as far as I’m concerned it’s mainly with
production. Me and Devin and Rob, we do the
Coughee Brothaz production thing.
What are some of the songs people might know
that you’ve produced?
I got a lot of songs on Devin’s albums. I did
like ten of ‘em on The Dude, six or seven on
Just Tryin’ to Live and I got like six on the new
album, Waitin’ to Inhale. I did a couple songs for
David Banner.
What else do you have in the works?
I’m just getting back in the lab, jammin’ on
beats, man, doing some more Coughee Brothaz
songs. I got my boy Capo and them from New
Orleans that I’m fuckin’ with.
What equipment do you use?
There’s a kick drum and a snare, a hi-hat,
and a couple hand claps. I fuck with the 4000
though. I do all the sequencing on the 4000, and
everything else comes from records, live shit,
keyboards, whatever. I got a bunch of little different shit that I get sounds from, but I do the
drums and sequencing on the 4000.
So this year at South by Southwest you’ll be
DJIng for Devin the Dude and also being the
house DJ along with Good Grief all night. What
can we expect to hear from you?
We gonna jam, man. You know me. I’ma bring
some real old school with me. I got some old
shit; I’m gonna bring that. Grief got the new
shit, I got the old shit and we gonna play it
all. //
www.myspace.com/djdomotraxxx or [email protected]
dj chill
Photo by Keadron Smith
W
here exactly are you from?
Houston, TX, in the South Park area.
Coming out of South Park you must have seen
some of the most important people in Houston
Hip Hop coming up.
Yeah, I saw pretty much everybody out the
Screwed Up Click. First, K-Rino, he was one
of the first rappers I ever had some kind of
relationship with. We went to school together.
Fat Pat, basically everybody out the Screwed
Up Click, I’ve had some kind of dealing with
coming out of that area. Everybody that put out
an album, a record out of Houston between ’88
till now I’ve had some type of dealing with. I
started DJing when I was like 16 at a skating rink. That was like mid-80s. Things started
breaking through in Houston for independent
rappers in the early 90s.
You came up alongside DJ Screw as well, right?
Yeah we came up together DJing. When I started
spinning at 16, he was spinning in his neighborhood and we just really came together because
I wanted to DJ for some up and coming rappers.
He was DJing for Al-D at the time. A friend of
mine knew Al-D and he introduced me to Screw;
that’s how we met. It was history after that.
You do radio, clubs, and mixtapes now. How
long have you been doing all that?
Since ’93 or so I’ve been doing mainstream rap
clubs here in Houston. Right now I still do two
of the hottest clubs in Houston with an attendance of 1,000 - 1,500 people, Candy Shop and
Konnections. I’ve been doing my own promotions for clubs myself. I got a little club in Texas
City that I do on Thursday nights. I’ve been
promoting another club called Bad Ass Fridays. I
do that in different little towns.
What’s Texas City like on a Thursday night?
Texas City is a hood club, know’m sayin’? A lot
of the local rappers in Texas City come out and
want me to play they music. They just come out
to jam. They introduce me to new music and I
introduce them to new music.
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OZONE
Besides Texas City, you’ve also toured Europe.
Where all have you been?
Yeah, I’ve been to Oslo, Norway, Trondheim,
Norway, Amsterdam, London, and Paris. I’ve
been touring as a DJ for the past 2 ½ years. I’ve
done shows as a DJ at All Star Games in Denver,
shows in New York mostly with Oxy Cottontail.
I’ve done shows in Austin, of course. I’ve done
South By Southwest for the past four years.
Where have you seen the best response for
down South music?
The best response I saw was in Norway.
Trondheim and Oslo had some of the biggest
responses for down South music from Houston.
It was the biggest positive response from there.
When we did London we got a positive response
cause you got a lot of Hip Hop heads that know
the music as well; same as in Paris. In Norway
they got a lot of love for this music. I’m going
to Norway the week after SXSW again with Rapid
Ric, and to Helsinki, Finland too.
Who are some of the artists you’re working with?
I’ve done promo mixtapes for a lot of artists like
Z-Ro. The last CD I did was hosted by Lil Flip. I
used to tour with Flip. I work with Young Samm,
a female artist named Kenika, and an R&B artist
named Sydnee, I’ve released CDs on all of them.
I just did a CD for a guy called Kritikal. I just did
a CD for Lil Troy. I got my store now too, Chill
Factor Music. I’m trying to make sure everything
keeps going at my store. Keep the music selling, keep the clothes selling. I’m also getting
ready for the OG Ron C Music Conference and the
OZONE Awards this summer. I’m really trying to
get overseas more this year as well. I also just
signed a distribution deal with R&D Distribution
and I’ve got an album coming out early this
summer called The Chill Factor. It’s gonna be a
compilation. I got four of my artists on there, a
new artist by the name of Ghost and some local
guys that’s been coming by the radio station
and my store. //
For more info visit www.djchill.com or www.
myspace.com/djchillmix2cold.com
OZONE
11
T
he G.R.i.T. Boys have been a hot name in
Houston for some time, especially in the
mixtape game. We’ve been waiting for a
real album. Now that you’ve signed a distribution deal with TVT Records, when is it coming?
We got most of the control out of the deal;
it’s like a P&D deal, which is better than being
the labels’ slave. But we’re finally dropping
an album and it’s gonna be nationwide. It’s
coming out May 15th and Pretty Todd is in New
York right now doing the marketing plan. As far
as the album, we finished it last week. We got
production from Cozmos, Mr. Lee, a guy named
Joe, and the Grid Iron produced most of it. It’s
a good look. I’m glad my album is coming out,
dawg.
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Who all is on it?
We got a lot of good features on there. We had
a song with a sample from Pat Benatar, I think
it was called “Follow Me Through This Town,”
and we took the line “You Don’t Know These
Streets,” but we had to get it redone because
the sample cost way too much to get it cleared.
We got Travis Barker to play the drums over and
Corey Funkafingaz to play the guitar. That shit is
crazy. Hopefully we can bring a Grammy home
this year for that one. We got Paul Wall, Hawk,
and Dizzee Rascal on there. We just shot Dizzee
another song; we want him on a single so we
can try to get a buzz over in the UK too with his
feature. We got Mase on the album, Trey Songz,
B.G., Bun B, and Slim Thug.
We got a lot of the reps from TVT coming out
there cause they got a couple other acts. This
year we’re trying to put on the best show that
we ever put on. Being that there’s so many
shows going on, we trying to enjoy everybody’s shit and make sure we do a great show.
There’s a lot of talent out there this year.
There’s always been, but this year it just seems
like it’s the biggest year to me.
Tell me about everybody in the group. All y’all
have real distinct styles. Can you describe
yourself, Poppy and Unique?
Well, Hawk is also a G.R.i.T. Boy and Paul Wall
as well. Pretty Todd is a G.R.i.T. Boy too, he’s
the producer. Poppy got lyrics. He don’t even
write his words down anymore, it just comes
to him like that. Niq, he has the best delivery
out the group. He’s got a response on the mic
and stuff. Me, I’m catchy, I got a voice. We all
different. We get on the mic and you wouldn’t
mistake us.
Grit Boys
Interview with Scooby
Words & photo by Matt Sonzala
Hawk was a mentor to you, right?
Yeah. On this album we did “Roll Up A Blunt Part 2”
with Hawk. We’re actually on his album Endangered
Species as well. We were his protégés. He put us in
the game. He showed us everything about being
businessmen and how to handle ourselves on the
road and how to get our money. He always told
us, “Once you get a deal, don’t look back. Keep
pushing forward. Make the money. Get Money, Stay
True.” Hawk really introduced everybody to us and
Paul Wall took us to another level. And of course
South By Southwest took us to another level.
Well, you guys have been doing that conference
for a few years now. What can we expect from you
this year?
What sets you apart from the rest of the
Houston artists who might have gotten a lot of
attention in the past couple of years?
I think what sets us apart from a lot of artists
period is our work ethic. That’s why a lot of
the stuff that’s happening to us happened in
the limited amount of time that we been in
the game. We’re setting trends and we’re not
following what everybody else is doing. A lot
of people switching to what we’ve been rapping about. I see a lot of dudes trying to make
reality songs and that’s what we been doing
from the jump. It seems like the whole game
switched back to the real and not so much the
gimmicks; the songs and the sampled hooks
and all that kind of shit. We doing us. We not
doing what everybody else is doing.
Did you ever feel pressure to conform to what
you think they might want?
I mean, we’ve got songs like that but we’ve
never simplified ourselves to rap like somebody else that’s out. We made songs with
sampled hooks, or about syrup and cars. We
did all that type of shit; we’re from Houston
and we’re gonna represent where we from. I
mean, that’s ghetto reality too, being outside
seeing a slab come down the street. But the
album is still reality. It’s so many different
subjects. The streets. The corporate shit. Being
on the road. We done seen the hood and we
done seen some shit too. Being away, making
some money, it’s touching a lot of different
areas. We represent Hawk on there a lot, too.
We’re keeping him alive. //
www.myspace.com/gritboys
OZONE
13
You hail from Dallas, Texas?
Yes sir.
When can we expect to hear an album from you?
Oh, I got a lot of them out already. Tumthousand and Six
is in stores. Fuck You Pay Me is in stores. I’m not a new
artist, I’m just new to a lot of people.
Where did the name Tum Tum come from?
I’ve been had that name. It’s just something my grandma
called me and I’ve been running with it ever since.
You’re a Dallas artist, so how you plan on bringing Dallas
to the rest of the rap world?
I think Dallas has a lot of talent and we have the ability to
make a lot of noise in the rap game. We got a lot of artist
out here, like E-Cla$$ and myself that are trying to put
Dallas on the map.
You told me about your mixtapes, but what’s your album
going to be called?
Eat or Get Ate. It’s on T-Town/Universal. It should be
coming out the 20th or the 27th of March. I’m thinking the
20th, [the label] is thinking the 27th. It’ll be out soon.
Who are you working with on the album?
It’s gonna be an in-house Dallas thing. There’s gonna be a
lot of people on there that represent Dallas. I had to keep
it in Dallas and show everyone what we’re about. There is
just gonna be a lot of Dallas artists and Dallas producers
on the album. I’m gonna have some people from outside
of Dallas, but this is gonna be an in-house thing.
What can we expect to hear on the album?
I got Carnival Beats on there. They did some songs for
Mike Jones and Paul Wall. I got Jim Jones on the album.
You’re gonna hear from Mannie Fresh and Cool & Dre. I got
Trae on the album, and of course I got DSR [Dirty South
Rydaz] on there and TBGZ.
What’s the first single off of the album?
Right now we’re still trying to decide what the first single
is gonna be. We’re trying to pick from about six songs that
could possibly be singles.
How does the Houston sound differ from the Dallas sound?
It’s kind of the same because we rap about the same
topics - candy paint, cars, girls - but it I would say that
Dallas has a more aggressive sound than Houston.
What is your take on the criticism that the South has a
simpler, more commercial flow?
I wouldn’t say that. People here are just rapping about
what they know in their lives. I mean, when they say,
“lean wit’ it, rock wit’ it” they say that because that’s what
they do. We’re just down here doing our thing. They out
there rapping for they hood whether anyone else likes it
or not. //
14
OZONE
tum tum
By DeVaughn Douglas
OZONE
15
rob g
By DeVaughn Douglas
Where are you from?
My parents came here as immigrants to this
country and settled in Chicago. After I was born
they decided to move to Houston. I’ve been here
all my life so I consider myself a Texan [laughs].
You first got into rap due to an MTV/Roc-A-Fella
battle, right?
Actually, I started rapping about two years prior,
right after I got out of high school. At that time
I was just making songs but I realized I needed
more exposure and that’s what brought me to
the whole battle scene. I started entering myself
in local battles around Houston and I was doing
real well. There was this big battle in Houston
called Roc-the-Mic that had about 300-400
contestants in it. It was this huge battle put on
by the radio station and the winner got to go
represent Texas in a battle on MTV hosted by
Roc-A-Fella records. I won the battle in front of
about 200,000 people at this car show we have
in Houston every year. Then I got to fly up to
New York and do the whole battle thing. I got
disqualified for cursing [laughs]. That battle,
though, is what kind of got my name ringing
around the streets. It was a good look for me.
After the battle I felt like I had done everything
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OZONE
I could do battle rapping and it was time to step
up, start making records, and become an artist.
How would you describe yourself as an artist?
I don’t feel as though I have a certain style or
image that I stick to. I have a lot of different
stories and I’ve been through a lot of different
things in my life and those situations get put
into my music. I’m a very opinionated person.
I’ve got an opinion about everything, like every
man should, so my music is just full of my
opinions. I feel like I have the ability to make
somebody laugh, make somebody cry, make
somebody hype, and make somebody angry. I
just try to stand out and be my own individual.
How much of your actual life story do you plan
on bringing into your music?
I’m a very personal writer. What I mean by that
is, when I write a song I like to take examples
from my own life. When I write a song about
females I put my own life experiences into that
song. If I write about the street then I’m going
to use examples from my own life to illustrate
my music. My music is shaped by the events that
have happened to me and how I view the world
through my eyes.
You’ve gone through a lot of events in your life.
I heard there are people trying to make a movie
out of your life story.
Yeah, we’re trying to put together an autobiographical movie about myself, starring myself.
Basically it is just going through everything;
from my childhood to me becoming a rapper,
and now the beginning of me launching my
career. To be honest, I never thought about [doing a movie] because I didn’t think I was on that
level yet, but my label and all the people behind
me just pushed it. As they got to know me better
and learned about my story, they thought the
movie was a good idea.
look at myself or the fans knowing I’m rapping
about something I don’t really know about.
You have a pretty interesting life story. You
turned your life around after a drug deal that
didn’t go as planned?
Yeah, I was about twenty and my son had just
been born. He was actually about one and I was
still involved in a little bit of drug dealing. I
mean, I used to have normal jobs, but I always
wanted more for myself and for my family so
[drug dealing] is what I turned to in order to get
more money. In one of the instances things just
didn’t go right and I almost lost my life because
of it. That’s when I started to open my eyes and
realize that I had to do something better with
myself. I always had real people in the street,
people that were a lot deeper in the game,
telling me that this wasn’t the kind of life that
I wanted to lead. I wouldn’t consider myself a
thug. Some people talk about the street for their
image. I did a lot of stuff, but I was just trying
to take care of my family.
Your mixtape has been selling well in Texas.
Yeah, it’s a three disc set called The Rob G Campaign. It’s got the regular album, with a screwed
and chopped version for all of my screw heads,
and a DVD hosted by Crisco Kid showing my
career up until now. It’s got about 47 tracks on
it with a few of them getting big on the streets.
I got a song on there called “Freaks of the
Industry (tha La Raza Remix)” that talks about
the immigration debate.
How do you fit in with the image of the Houston
rap scene?
I’m a huge advocate of where I’m from and I rep
Houston to the fullest, but I don’t fit into the
rap scene here. I kind of chose not to follow the
mold of the normal H-town artist. I didn’t want
to just stand in line, follow what everyone else
is doing and wait for my time to shine. I decided
to step to the left and start my own line. It’s
kind of like a double edge sword because I don’t
know if it will turn people on or turn people
off of me. So far I think it’s working because it
has separated me from everyone else. Plus now
I’m starting to see that there are more Houston
artists that see music the way that I do. Not that
there is anything wrong with any of the Houston
artists. It’s just not my cup of tea to rap about
candy paint, chrome wheels, and jewelry. I can’t
rap about any of that stuff because I never lived
it. I had a lot of drama going on trying to raise
a family and all so that’s what I have to rap
about. I felt more comfortable rapping about
the stuff that I know because at the end of the
day I have to look at myself in the mirror. I can’t
Are we going to hear that Houston sound on
your album or hear from any Houston artists?
You’re definitely going to hear that Houston
sound but it’s not going to be so dominant
on the album. My song that’s out right now is
called “Reppin’ my Block” and it features Lil’
Keke and Slim Thug. Those guys showed me a
lot of love so I got to send a shout out to them.
That record has a Houston feel to it but I think
my album, overall, doesn’t sound like a Houston
album.
Do you feel that Hip Hop in general need to
have more songs that talk about current events
and political issues such as the immigration
debate?
That’s a good question. I can’t call it. As a musical person I’ll admit that I don’t want to be hit
with a lot of political issues. But I would like
to see more artists express themselves. I didn’t
do the song because I’ve always had a problem
with how immigration is handled. I just had an
opinion on the issue and expressed it through
my music. It’s something that really hit home
for me so I decided to express myself. I don’t
think we necessarily need more political rap;
we just need more artists out there to express
themselves.
When is the album is supposed to come out?
It’s tentatively scheduled to be released in the
spring or summer of ‘07. I don’t have a title for
it yet but I feel like it’s going to be a big thing
for Hip Hop and Latin rap.
Do you feel as though people are more open to
Latin rappers?
I feel like we have a lot of groundwork to put
down but I do feel like people are more accepting. The reggaeton movement was huge for us.
I still think we have a lot of groundwork to do. I
just don’t feel like we have the respect of being
able to hang with anyone lyrically. I want to do
what Eminem did when he came out and get
to a point where people aren’t even concerned
with my race. //
OZONE
17
nayrok
By Matt Sonzala
Where exactly are you from?
I am from the South part of Dallas, which is basically Metro Dallas, the hood. I’ve been in Dallas
all my life, but I’ve traveled all around the world.
I’ve stayed a couple places, like I went to college
in Houston, but always made Dallas my home. I
started singing before I could talk. Church was my
spearhead for music. My godparents are my founders of the Black Academy here in Dallas and they
were my introduction to the arts. As a little girl of
four years old they started me in music, dance and
theater. My sister and I had a rap group when I was
in high school called Sustah MCs, but unfortunately
she had to go to college so she went to college
and I stayed at home and missed her but continued
doing my thing.
That sister you speak of is Erykah Badu, right?
That’s right. At that time she was known as Apples.
When time came for me to go to college, I attended
Texas Southern University in Houston, and that’s
where I started working with rock bands. I was
always into alternative music and rock music.
Aerosmith was my favorite band and Cyndi Lauper
was my idol as a little girl. I loved the Eurythmics.
Anything that was alternative, or against the norm,
I basically grabbed ahold of. I’m a vocalist but I’m
such a free spirited vocalist, I just like to get on the
stage and holler and blurt out some stuff. I loved
rock for the energy and that’s what I got into and
have been into ever since.
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OZONE
I don’t think Dallas gets credit for being
as musical of a city as it is. I mean, look at
female singers alone. Dallas has spawned
Norah Jones, Edie Brickell, Erykah, so many
great artists, but people don’t seem to ever
associate that with Dallas.
You’re absolutely right. Dallas is absolutely
underrated when it comes to music. I think
it’s because a lot of times we go outside of
Dallas to make it. Erykah had to go to New
York, as did Norah Jones. People aren’t coming to Dallas, artists are going outside the
city to be heard.
Well, you could say that about any city.
Yeah, that’s true but we don’t have that “music mecca” that Atlanta or New York or even
Houston has.
Will Nayrokula be with the band or will it be
more beat oriented?
The songs will definitely be live. I’m still
working on it but most of the music is live
with the band and produced by Boski. My
manager Tee Dee Davis is also a producer and
she produced “Redemption,” which is getting
rotation on K104 right now.
Who else will we hear on this album? Will
Erykah make an appearance?
Yes, for sure. I also have Big Tuck on my CD
and Tum Tum as well from DSR. Money Waters
is gonna be on my album and as of right now,
that’s it. For production though I have Boski,
Tee Dee, S1 from Strange Fruit Project and
Ernie G.
Is it more of a rock album or more of a Hip
Hop/soul album?
The advice that I got from Prince is, “Don’t
go on the rock shelf.” So I’m keeping my rock
edge, but I have to make the music radio
ready and with an urban edge. Nayrok is
always gonna be Nayrok. It’ll always have the
guitars but we’re gonna filter it with Hip Hop
and soul/R&B.
Was Prince a big influence on your sound? It
sure seems like it from listening to you.
You know what? I am a Prince fanatic. I love
him. I met him a couple of times and opened
for him once. He influences me just by his
individuality and his originality. I just love
that about him, and in talking to him, he’s
given me a lot of advice about the industry
because he’s all about independence and not
selling my soul to the labels. He just gave me
some advice about what to do in the music
industry. My album is coming out on my own
label called Hoodrok.
Who would you say is your biggest influence?
I’d have to say Tina Turner. She defied all
odds with what she did. She went from deep,
deep R&B to pioneering rock and roll. But
my personal influence is my sister. She’s the
hardest working person I know.
Who else should we be looking out for in
Dallas this year?
Definitely Money Waters, PPT, Strange Fruit
Project, Dow Jones, Baby Ray, and Carmen
Rodgers. There’s a lot of artists to look out
for here in Dallas. And T. Donkey, he’s like
some gutter rap, he’s hot. That’s pretty much
it. Love hard, live hard, rock harder. //
OZONE
19
W
here exactly are you from? You’re
known as one of the hottest singers
in Texas.
Actually I’m from Atlanta, Texas in East Texas
but I live in Houston, in Missouri City, actually.
I started singing at the age of four but have
been singing professionally since the age of 16.
The first song I ever appeared on was “Super
Star” from Fat Pat and the second song was “Get
Over That Shit” from Big Mike. I received my first
gold record from that. The first label I was ever
signed with was Always Infinity Records, but we
put the label on hold and I signed a deal back
in the day with Rap-A-Lot. I was on Rap-A-Lot
for four years and after that contract was up
I signed with Def South Records. That went on
for three years and I was back doing my own
label, me and Cynthia’s label, Battiste Music
1965. In between being back and forth with
our own label I did joint ventures with Paradise
Recordings and Pearl Records. Those two labels
never did get off the ground or work out for me,
so it was back to our own label and I never did
another joint venture with anybody else. Now I
think my business ethics, skills and music have
really progressed. While everything was really
taking off for the South, I was featured on over
450 albums. I was on a lot of radio hits, street
hits, and a lot of songs that fell by the wayside
but people still listen to til this day.
You take a different approach to your music.
Would you consider yourself an R&B artist with
hip-hop leanings? How do you describe yourself
musically? I know you do some very soulful
music, but you’re always associated with underground, hardcore rap.
I kind of associate myself with everything
because the world has so much to offer. To be in
the world and not of it, I think that’s what gives
my music its diversity. I came out of the church
singing gospel. I was raised in the church so
the soul has always been there. I’ve attended
Baptist church, Methodist church, and Catholic
church, so I got a chance to hear a different
sound and see people feel different things in
different churches and from different ethnic
backgrounds. It’s all in my music. It shows. I’ve
been on the secular side too but a lot of the
spiritual influences are still there. A lot of the
people who sing R&B, jazz and country also
have a spiritual background. I think everything
is spiritually influenced. In my music, I exploit it
with the hip-hop and gangsta music. I’m influenced by it because I’ve been in the streets. I’ve
seen the struggle, and I’ve been a part of the
movement. A lot of people don’t understand or
know the struggle of what hip-hop is all about.
With my background, being black, I think the
soul in my music comes from back in the slavery
20
OZONE
days with the real singing. People call it gutter
singing. It’s just so soulful. It’s kind of hard to
get away from that but it’s always gonna be in
my music. I’m influenced by Latin music; Tejano
music. I’m gettin’ off into opera right now so I’m
trying to learn everything. In junior high I was
in the orchestra. I used to play the cello, the
violin, the viola, so I’m getting back into that.
I’m learning how to play my acoustic guitar.
I’m learning my keys again. When I was in high
school I was in the choir so I had to learn how
to read music. But I strayed away from that.
What all have you released so far?
I released Certified Platinum, Livin’ My Dream,
The Truth, R&B Gangsta, and The Best of Both
Worlds. Some of those were overseas albums.
I also have It’s Christmas Time and the Peace
on Earth album, two Christmas albums. I also
have my underground album of all my greatest
features.
I know you’ve toured in Japan. Do they know
much about Southern music over there?
They know a lot about Southern music. They
have shelves and shelves of music. They love
the South and Texas music. They have Chicano
rap, South rap, Texas music period. Texas has
the biggest shelf. They really embrace our music
and I’m on the majority of those albums so
that’s how that whole thing came about. Plus I
sing and they’re real big on singing and R&B in
Japan. I was thankful those people finally got a
hold of me. //
billy cook
OZONE
21
Slim Thug & THE
Boss Hogg Outlawz
S
ince entering the rap game, Slim Thug has
referred to himself as Tha Boss. And in the
rap game, a boss is a CEO of his own label.
Slim Thug meets this Boss criteria, with his Boss
Hogg Outlawz label. With the release of Boss
Hogg Outlawz’ album Serve & Collect, featuring Slim Thug, PJ Tha Rap Hustla, J Dawg, Sir
Daily, Chris Ward, Killa Kyleon, Young Black and
R&B singer, Rob Smallz, only a few weeks away,
OZONE caught up with Tha Boss and his Outlawz
to find out what this new Houston record label
has in store for 2007.
How did the Boss Hogg Outlawz come about?
Slim Thug: Me, PJ, J Dawg, we been together
since Swishahouse. A lot of these niggas I’ve
been knowing for years. Chris Ward, we hooked
and we ended up working together, clicking up.
And he brought through Killa. And it all came
together like that. Everybody else fell in place
while we been grindin’.
What’s the difference between the Boss Hogg
Outlawz and the Boyz N Blue?
Slim Thug: Boss Hogg is the whole label, that’s
22
OZONE
Words by Randy Roper
Photos by Mike Frost
everybody. The Boyz N Blue only consists of
like three, four dudes. The Boss Hogg Outlawz
is everybody. We got Young Black, he’s a Young
Hogg. We got Rob Smallz, he’s a R&B dude, so
it’s the whole click.
You’ve had a lot of independent success but
your album didn’t do as well. Why’d you choose
to put out the Boss Hogg album before releasing
your next album?
Slim Thug: Really the Boss Hogg Outlawz Serve
& Collect shit is just some street shit to keep the
streets feed. We got my shit coming out April
24th, Boss of All Bosses. Then we gonna drop
Boys N Blue. It was like, we didn’t put nothing
out, so we had to keep the streets fed.
They are a lot of members in the group. Was it to
get everyone some shine?
PJ Tha Rap Hustla: It was really simple because
like in the way we work in the studio people
come and go, so it’s like if it’s a hot beat or hot
song we’re working on whoever jump on it first,
that’s who makes the cut. If you participate
that’s what determines whether you get put on
the song or not. I was simple for me cause during the making of this album I stayed in the mix.
I stayed in the studio. So every song that was
jamming I hopped on, you know what I’m sayin’.
So it was real cool, the process of making it.
Slim Thug: I just let niggas do them. Everybody
got solo songs on the motherfucker, know what
I’m saying, where they gotta stand on their own
two feet. I’m a big part of the record, I did at
least 12 records on there. It ain’t just like I’m
just putting my name on the shit, trying to sell
it to people. I’m really a big part of this project.
These niggas have been down with me since
day one, they’ve been making a lot of noise out
here. So it’s just time for them to get their shine
on too.
Chris Ward: There are a few [tracks] that I just
fall back from. Between me, PJ and Slim, we
don’t really tussle over who’s gon’ get on what.
We kinda almost know what was for who. And
sometimes though, what we did with a lot of
them, everybody writes a verse. But we don’t
have no problems as far as laying a verse, it’s
nothing. If the song is just super, super jamming, everybody lays a verse. And you know
how that goes, you go hard or go home.
Tell me about the Boyz in Blue.
PJ Tha Rap Hustla: A lot of people think we’re
Crips but on the Northside of our city we ride
blue cars, candy paint, candy blue. That’s where
the group Boyz in Blue [got our name].
What are we going to get when the album
drops?
PJ Tha Rap Hustla: You gonna get the rap hustle,
you gonna get PJ The Rap Hustla raw and uncut.
I ain’t no lyricist or nothing like that. I just get
straight to the point. I’mma groove wit’ the beat
and I’mma give you some good game. I might
get a little street, a little fly, whatever. You gon’
get PJ to the fullest. I got my own little style,
real simple wit’ it. That’s just me, I’m a simple
man. So you gon’ get straight PJ Tha Rap Hustla
talking about some money or talking about
grindin’, talking to some chicks, having some
fun, that’s about it.
Killa Kyleon: I ain’t gon lie my dude, you gon
hear lyrical. I’mma give it to you live and direct.
One thing I know, it’s a bunch of real dudes over
here. We real stand up guys. We bringing real
rap, real music back into the game and we’re
bringing a side of Houston that ain’t nobody
seen. It ain’t nothing but hard hitters over here.
It’s five Barry Bonds, that’s what it is over here.
Chris, what do you bring to the Boss Hogg
Outlawz?
Chris Ward: I bring a whole other swagger to it.
Cause we all do our own thing and everybody
stands for something different. As a team we
kinda like Voltron. We all connect in a different
kind of way. I kinda just bring the flyness to the
table. They always say I’m fly. I guess I bring
some of the flyboy swagger to the table. But
at the same time I still give it to them raw and
gutter.
Tell me about the album.
Chris Ward: The game right now is real crazy. I
don’t know if a lot of people look at it like that.
I know a lot of people in the industry do. I think
we’ll bring a whole ‘nother look to Houston. If
we get the right action and the correct timing
on this here, we’re going to bring a whole
‘nother look to Houston to where they’re going
to be like, “Oh, I ain’t know it was like that.”
They actually been looking over us, but I guess
sometimes you save the best for last. It’s not
just no one track album. We all have alter egos.
You gonna have ‘bout 4 or 5 personalities, that
all got a double personality which is gon’ give
you about 10 people, feel me? Slim gon’ do
his boss thing. PJ gon’ do his rap hustla thing.
I’mma do my flyboy thing. Killa gon do his
thing. It’s just gonna be a flipside to everybody...
The rest of this interview is featured in the
April issue of ozone. Visit us online at
www.ozonemag.com
OZONE
23
lil peace
Photo by Tony Boyatti
24
OZONE
W
here exactly are you from? You’re really
young but seem to be really on top of the
game musically right now.
I’m from Oakcliffe. I’ve been into music ever since
I was little. I remember when I wanted a Karaoke
Machine. I was like in 4th grade beating on lunch
tables and rapping at football games, beating on
stands and battling people. Ever since then it’s like
everybody knows me as a rapper. They called me
Lil Rap-A-Lot. Everywhere I went I had to battle
somebody, so every week somebody felt like they
was ready for me. It just started from there all the
way to me recording CDs. My first CD I recorded
was between 7th and 8th grade called No Competition. I did that CD and I liked how it sounded
and everybody else gave me a good response.
They kept telling me I need to do it for real. I
thought, naw this ain’t what I do cause I used to
like playing basketball. I was playing for a little
bit but then I seen it was gonna take me too long
to make money playing basketball - you know you
gotta get a scholarship, do this and that, so it took
too long. I picked up the rap game real strong
towards the 9th grade.
How’d you get with Clout Records?
There was this girl, she was a model, and that’s
when Clout had first started. One day she took
me up to Clout Studios, I saw people working like
Oakcliffe and Young Nino and them and I already
been knowin’ about all of that, so I said shit, I’m
gonna try to get me a spot in. I had demos and
CDs and I knew it was gonna be hard to get Corey
one of my CDs so I went in the office and I spit him
a verse. I spit a hot 16 and he liked it. He threw me
a beat CD right then and there. So I got to writing
and he was liking what he heard and he picked
me up.
There’s a lot of history and a lot of music that’s
come out of Oakcliffe.
Yeah, Oakcliffe is like, man, I give big thanks to
Young Nino and Hot Boy Star. People didn’t look
at us like they do now. If you ain’t from Dallas or
anything, you probably still know about Oakcliffe.
Your song “Hit the Dance Floor” is getting pretty
big.
Yeah, I didn’t plan for that to be a hit. I just
record. I just do me and record. If you trying to
plan a song, it’s more stressful. Music to me is
just basically having fun. I have fun with it cause
rappin’ is something I like to do. I take the game
serious, but as far as music and stuff, the only
time I get real serious is when something gets real
fucked up. Like my daddy dying. I’ma write a song
about that and that’s gonna come from my heart.
About my hood, that’s gonna come from my heart.
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25
But when it come to stuntin’, shit, if I do that
I’m just doing that to have fun.
Aside from the music, you’ve got a pretty crazy
history.
Yeah, I got shot 12 times. It was a drive by. Our
generation right now is fucked up cuz back then
motherfuckers would rather be in the burbs than
the hood. But now it’s like the motherfuckers
that staying in 2-story, 3-story houses want
to move to the hood. For what? People want to
move to the hood just to say they “hood.” That’s
another thing. But shit, if you from the ‘burbs,
you good. What’s the point of moving to the
hood for? You end up getting killed.
What do you mean? Like white folks coming in
and gentrifying neighborhoods and destroying
all the low income housing?
Naw, man. I’m talkin’ about niggas. People, period. The music’s so fucked up, a nigga can say
something and right then a kid can go and kill
somebody. Why would you want to move to the
hood when you already in a good environment?
Me, my momma got out the hood. She got tired
of it. We moved out of Oakcliffe and my mom
moved to Duncanville. When she moved there
with all my brothers and me, we didn’t know
how that shit was gonna be. Everybody was
looking at us as different, cause we some different-ass niggas. We came into Duncanville High
School just different. So now niggas trying to
do shit we do just because. Like, we don’t try to
play hard, some people do, but real gonna know
real. Anyway, my daddy got killed on September
12th, 1999. It was a set up. He was riding with a
female, he stopped at this corner store and the
bitch ran in and came out with a nigga. Daddy
didn’t want to go take him to get whatever he
was looking for so he pulled out his pistol and
started shooting. Then my daddy pulled his out.
My Daddy put the car in reverse, then went in
drive, and lost consciousness like 15 seconds
in. So the man ran from the store all the way to
the street, threw him out his car on the median
and him and the other girl burned out and after
that some people came and seen my daddy was
outside and rushed him to the hospital. Then I
got shot October 17th, 1999, a month later in a
drive by.
Really? How old were you? Like nine or ten years
old?
I was like 11. That’s why I say anything can
happen to anyone. I got shot in Duncanville.
There was the Wolves and Hollywood, that was
the rivalry. Put it like this, for Duncanville those
were the two hoods. That’s where the hood niggas was really moving to. I was staying in the
Wolves for a little bit but after that my momma
26
OZONE
moved us to Hollywood and I didn’t know how
it was gonna be over there. I didn’t know how
niggas was gonna be looking at me, but eventually everything was cool. One day they had
did a drive by, they rode through two times and
the third time they shot. Everybody in the hood
know the procedure so niggas dropped. I’m a
lil nigga, so I’m runnin’. I’m trying to get away
from the shit. So just by me running I took my
bullets. Just by me not dropping I was the one
that got hit by the most bullets. After that I got
rushed to the emergency room.
Why did that happen? Was it just a rivalry?
Yeah, you know, in school, probably from one
fight at a school caused all that. I just can’t say
what really happened. It was some school shit
like Bloods and Crips. That’s when gangbangin’
was really strong. They wasn’t aimin’ for me but
you know the innocent always get hit.
That was one month after your father was
killed?
Yeah, that was a month after. I thought I was
gonna die like my old man. I went deaf and shit,
I was bleeding thinking I was finna die.
Not long after that you went into juvenile detention too, right? Didn’t you have some history
of that as well?
Yeah, that was like a little robbery. It wasn’t a
robbery, but they put it as a robbery. It was like
kids being normal kids. It started out from a
fight, me and this one dude started fighting. After we started, I ain’t gonna even lie, I took off
his shoes and was finna take him. I didn’t even
want the shoes so I threw him his shoes back.
After that shit, detectives and shit was coming
up to my school recording a nigga, trying to get
shit out of a nigga. Since I wasn’t telling them
shit they kept coming back saying other people
snitched on me. Since I didn’t snitch back on
them they threw everything at me. Everybody
was saying it was all me and just because I
didn’t tell anything they just threw it on me. He
said I took some money from him too. I gave his
shoes back, and he said I took $8. It was some
bullshit.
How long were you in juvenile?
A month. Shit, that month felt like some years
to a nigga though. Just being a young ass
nigga, that shit felt like forever. And then I had
violated so I had to go back for not going to
school. I was on probation and you gotta go to
school when you’re on probation. I was skipping
school and all that so after that a nigga was far
back. I didn’t graduate. //
www.myspace.com/lilpeaceclout
Money Waters
Photos by Edward Hall
28
OZONE
O
n your first album, The Porch, it
sounded like you have a really
heavy blues influence. Was that
what you heard growing up?
Yeah well, more spiritual music than
blues. I heard a lot of gospel. You
know the church always had that blues element
in it. The producer I work with, Cara Simone, he’s
a real cool cat and a cold musician. He plays a
lot of rock, funk, blues, and all type of things.
We wanted to do something different. He pulled
out some strings and it was instant chemistry.
We were just trying to do something different
with it, man, some real music.
I hear a lot of gospel influence on your second
album.
Yeah, it’s all spiritual. Even though what we
doing is rapping and everybody categorizes it as
being negative or like it ain’t got no meat to it,
come on now. We got some meat up in there. Hip
Hop ain’t dead, ya dig?
Well, there’s a lot of rap music that doesn’t have
a lot of meat to it.
Yeah, well everything has a yin and a yang. See
what I’m saying? Everything balances itself. It’s
all part of what the universe brings to us. It all
comes full circle.
Do you find it harder for yourself right now,
because you don’t fit in with mainstream music
or what Hip Hop has become? Your stuff is pretty
different from what you hear today.
Yeah, it is, but you know what I’m noticing is
that since we’re independent and underground
and everything is financed by us, everything we
do is us. What keeps us going is our fans, people
who buy our music. We ain’t on TV, we’re not on
the radio, but our word of mouth is a muthafucker. We got a lot of different press and orders
from places like New York, Norway, and Germany. We’re shippin’ a lot of stuff overseas. The
internet and word of mouth is a muthafucker, to
the point where you don’t need all that capital
that the majors are gonna put into you. You
really don’t need none of that shit, to be honest
with you. You just got to get out here and do
what you do. Like Young Bleed, he’s a legend
in the South. I’ve watch him walk through the
South and make things happen without a major.
It’s beautiful.
Do you incorporate a lot of live instrumentation
into your production?
Yeah, like I said, my producer Cara and Gugu
from Redrum Records, those guys did a lot
of my songs and we brought in a lot of live
instruments. Some horn players, whatever, it
was tight.
When you perform live you often perform with
a band too.
Yeah, every now and then I get a chance to do
it with the live band. When we do it with the live
band it’s like a circus, man. We could have 20
people on stage. A guitar player, a bass player;
we have drums, background singers. We bring
it full circle, man. When we do the live band, we
call ‘em Bangkok, Texas. It’s a different show
from when I just do it with the DJ. But both
shows, it’s still Niggalaws, you feel me?
Tell me about that title. Where did Niggalaws
come from?
Man, it’s just some old common knowledge
shit that we used to play with. It’s stuff people
need to ride by, or live by. Sometimes we get
so caught up in mainstream shit that niggas
be forgetting what they’re supposed to do. It’s
just a little theme to cover the whole album. My
manager Uncle Pauly did a track on there called
“Niggalegiance,” and kinda set some ol’ common law rules of how men supposed to get out
here and how we supposed to present ourselves.
Otherwise we ain’t right with the universe. We’re
doomed.
You said some people get “caught up in the
mainstream.” What’s your definition of “mainstream”?
Well, if you listen to the album we define a
whole bunch of rules. “Never come between a
man’s family,” shit like that. “Keep these women
out your business, quit goin’ naked dick in these
hoes,” you know, a whole bunch of shit. Just
a whole lot of common knowledge for men
period. We ain’t just talkin’ about black folks, we
talking about everybody in the world. It’s just
some shit to live by. Sometimes you gotta lay
down the law and say, “Hey, we need to look at
what we’re doing.” The mainstream has really
gotten to the point where people think that
whatever they do, things will be all good. But
naw, it ain’t like that. //
OZONE
29
I
’ve followed your music for a long time
and it seems like you have always been
affiliated with some of the bigger names in
the Dallas underground.
I started with Kevin A., Pookie & Lucci and them
when they was hot doing they thing. I had a
hot track with them. I’m messing with Tum Tum
and them right now. He’s on 106th & Park and
MTV doing his thing. I also got Twisted Black, he
locked up right now but he got his deal. I work
with everybody, we all mess around. Also the
Young Hustlaz and Corey at Clout. Anybody doing something I’m damn near gonna be messing
with them cause anybody who’s working needs
to be messing with each other anyway.
30
OZONE
What was your first release?
Exotic Games, I was 16 and I’m 25 right now so
that goes to show you how long I been doing
it. I got Exotic Games to the Actin’ Bad to the
Just Bein’ Me, to the Eat Greedy or Don’t Eat At
All, now we got the Eat Greedy Volume 2, Real
Conversation in stores right now. It’s the hottest
in the city. My company is Take it Off Entertainment. I’m also affiliated with Clout Records and
Scarred for Life Records.
How does it work out having three different
companies behind your project?
It works out because I’m really self-owned and
everything goes through me. I call all the shots,
big chief
Photo by Edward Hall
the same question and I told him Dallas is cool,
there’s a lot of potential down here and a lot
of promising things all across the Metroplex.
D-Town is looking good. These boys working.
Right now I got the hottest album in the stores
next to your Jeezys, your Games, and all of
them. I’m moving more at home than all these
boys. D-Town looking real good.
So Eat Greedy Volume 2 is an album, not a
mixtape?
Naw, it’s a whole album. I got the mixtape
coming too, Eat Greedy Volume 3 It’s All About
Emotion. So I’m steady working it with it. I ain’t
doing no stopping.
it ain’t like I gotta answer to nobody but we all
just work together. They help me as far as promoting and marketing. Corey [with Clout Records],
he’s got the clubs so anytime I wanna do anything
his door is always open for me. JT helps me on
the management side, turning me on to people
he knows. But it’s really Take it Off Entertainment.
I’ve always been doing my own thing.
How do you feel about Dallas right now? You’ve
been in it a long time and seen a lot of ups and
downs but right now seems to be a pretty strong
look for Dallas.
Yeah, right now D-Town is cool, man. I just got off
the phone with Allhiphop.com and they asked me
Who do you work with on production?
Right now I got my young secret weapon, his
name is Hollywood. He’s a monster right now.
I’ve also got my old school guy Mr. E. He does a
lot of live, musical beats, and Choko too. They’re
all from Dallas. They’re some starving artists,
man. They’re hungry and you can see through
their music how hungry they are.
This is your first year doing South By Southwest. What can we expect to see from you as
an artist?
Oh, man. I’m live I got a lot of energy. You’re
gonna see a real, prime time entertainer. It
ain’t gonna be all that whoopin’ and hollerin’,
it’s gonna be cool and you’re gonna be able to
distinguish who’s the artist. You’re just gonna
get a whole lot of energy. That’s what’s up. //
www.myspace.com/bigchief or www.donbigchief.com or 214-753-3002
OZONE
31

SXSW 2007 - Ozone Magazine

Transcription

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