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MINI SUPER BOWL 2006 SPECIAL EDITION
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CHAMILLIONAIRE
BUSTA RHYMES
MOBB DEEP
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& MORE
WELCOME TO DETROIT
MINI SUPER BOWL 2006 SPECIAL EDITION
DEM
FRANCHIZE
BOYZ
BUSTA RHYMES
TRICK TRICK
MOBB DEEP
CZAR NOK
BIG NEIL
SAIGON
HI-TEK
B.G.
CHAMILLIONAIRE
WELCOME TO DETROIT
MINI SUPER BOWL 2006 SPECIAL EDITION
CHAMILLIONAIRE
CHAMILLIONAIRE
BUSTA
BUSTARHYMES
RHYMES
TRICK
TRICKTRICK
TRICK
MOBB
MOBBDEEP
DEEP
CZAR
CZARNOK
NOK
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NEIL
BIGNEIL
HI-TEK
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B.G.
DEM
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WELCOME TO DETROIT
superbowl2006
PUBLISHER/EDITOR:
Julia Beverly
OPERATIONS MANAGER:
Gary LaRochelle
MARKETING & PROMOTIONS:
Malik “Highway” Abdul
ASSOCIATE EDITOR:
Matt Sonzala
MUSIC EDITOR:
Maurice G. Garland
COVER STORIES
Trick Trick pg A22-25
Chamillionaire pg A14-17
Dem Franchize Boyz pg B16-19
CONTRIBUTORS:
Destine Cajuste, Jeremy Deputat, Jessica Koslow,
Ray Tamarra, Rohit Loomba, Trina Edwards, TT
To subscribe, send check or money order for
$11 to:
1516 E. Colonial Dr. Suite 205
Orlando, FL 32803
Phone: 407-447-6063
Fax: 407-447-6064
Web: www.ozonemag.com
Cover credits: Trick Trick photo by Jeremy Deputat; Chamillionaire photo by Matt Sonzala; Dem
Franchize Boyz photo by Barry Underhill; Saigon
photo by Ray Tamarra. 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 2006 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.
DJ PROFILES
DJ Don Q pg A8
DJ Babe pg A10
FEATURES
Detroit Map pg A13
Event Listings pg A12
Photo Galleries pg A9-11,B5
INTERVIEWS
Busta Rhymes pg A18-19
Czar Nok pg A20-21
LocDown Records pg B4
Saigon pg B6-7
Hi-Tek pg B8-9
B.G. pg B10-11
Big Neil pg B12-13
Mobb Deep pg B14-15
Cash Out pg B20-21
OZONE
can you play a party?” I set it up for them to
come see me play, but they never made it
through so I was mad. I was like, “I’ll come
to wherever you’re at.” I went to the club
the station was doing at the time and got
to do the last hour, after the live broadcast
ended, and I killed it. They hired me right
after that, and I’ve been at WJLB ever since.
That was about five years ago.
DJ DON Q
How did you get interested in DJing?
I just love hip-hop. I got into DJing after
seeing Jam Master Jay back in the days.
I wanted to be just like him. I wanted to be
the guy that controlled the party, the absolute center of attention.
How did you get your first set of turntables?
I saved up my money like crazy, doing little
odd jobs and everything. I bought all the
wrong stuff. I had no guidance; nobody
told me what to buy so I used to go buy
garbage belt-driven turntables. I kept trying
to practice with them, though.
When did you realize DJing was something
you wanted to pursue as a career?
About three years ago I decided to take it
real seriously. I looked at all the DJs in the
area, and I was like, “These guys aren’t really that good.” I realized I could just take
over if I wanted to. At the time, rave parties were real big in Detroit. I entered a DJ
battle, and a guy went up to the head of
WJLB’s mixshow department Kim James
and was like, “The guy that wins this battle is the one you should hire.” They were
looking for somebody at the time. I wont
he battle, and he was like, “Okay, you can
battle, but can you make me a CD?” So I
made him a tape and sent him the tape. He
was like, “Okay, you can make a tape, but
OZONE
What’s the hot spots to visit in Detroit for
Super Bowl weekend?
It’s gonna be so many parties. It’s hard
to narrow it down. I’ll be doing a club I’ve
been doing for the past five years, St. Andrews. On Friday nights it’s a good place to
come in and have fun when you just wanna
throw caution to the wind and act a fool.
Everybody’s gonna be having a party, so
just come up to Detroit and try to soak up
as much culture as you can. Detroit is a different place, just the attitudes and the way
we dress and the way we talk, everything
is completely different. Detroit is so different. It was techno city for years, so we have
a strong house and techno influence on
everything. That’s just one part. Then you
have your street guys, and some backpack-type rappers. It’s so many different
styles here.
Who are some of the hottest local groups
in Detroit?
Definitely Rock Bottom, they’re on a street
vibe. The guys from the Street Lordz Chedda Boyz too. On the R&B side we’ve got
cats like Ray Ray and a young lady named
Melanie Rutherford. And you’ve always got
Slum Village out there making noise for the
underground hip-hop scene.
Do you think Detroit is influenced more by
the East, West, or South?
Two years ago it was more East coast, but
it seems like we have more of a West coast
influence these last few years. It seems like
guys have been trying to develop their own
style these days. I wouldn’t categorize us
as anything. You can tell that everybody’s
experimenting and trying to find something
that fits Detroit.
Are you affiliated with any DJ crews?
I’m affiliated with a lot of crews, like the Violator All-Star DJs, the Hittmenn DJs, and the
Shadyville DJs. I like networking with other
DJs and seeing what’s going on in their cities; learning different styles. I’m a turntablist, so I’m always trying to learn a new style
from other DJs. I get to go learn something
new and take it back to my hood. I’m constantly a student of the game.
- Julia Beverly
NYC
PHOTO
GALLERY:
01: DMX and Chad
Elliott (Sony Urban) at
DMX’s Press Conference at Sony Studios
02: Dedan Kasimu
(Blow), D Prosper
(G-Unit), and Agullah
(Purple City) at Swagger’s Meet-N-Greet
03: DMX and Swizz
Beatz at DMX’s Signing To Sony Urban
Press Conference at
Sony Studios
04: Guest, Adolfo
Vasquez (AV2 Solutions), and Chad Elliott
(Sony Urban) at DMX’s
Signing To Sony Urban
Press Conference at
Sony Studios
05: Edwin Holmes and
Cardan at Mashonda’s
Birthday Party at Cain
06: Elle Castro
(Allhiphop.com), Kim
Osorio (BET), and
Thomas Golianopoulos (BET) at DMX’s
Press Conference at
Sony Studios
07: Vlad Charles
(Rush Philanthropic)
and Chad Falconer
(Phat Farm Kids) at
Mashonda’s Birthday
Party at Cain
08: Too Short at BET’s
106 & Park Taping at
CBS Studios NYC
09: Spliff Starr at BET’s
106 & Park Taping at
CBS Studios NYC
10: Dee Dean (Ruff Ryders) at DMX’s Signing
To Sony Urban Press
Conference at Sony
Studios NYC
11: Monique Blake
(Full Surface) and
Swizz Beatz at
Mashonda’s Birthday
Party at Cain NYC
12: Ernie Paniccioli
and James Koe Rodriguez at Swagger’s
Meet-N-Greet
Photos
courtesy of
Ray Tamarra from
TheCrusade.net
OZONE
to broadcasting school instead and got my
certificate because I just wanted to be on
the radio. When I finally got on the radio,
just to be real, there was people doing payola and a lot of behind-the-scenes bullshit.
I wasn’t with it, and they were really controlling the records that I played. It damn sure
wasn’t what I had envisioned as a kid. To
top it off, I wasn’t making no money. I was
doing more in the streets and my name was
good from the other stuff that I was doing,
so radio just wasn’t for me. The people that
were working there were on some straight
bullshit.
DJ BABE
Are you from Detroit?
Nah, I’m originally from Pittsburgh, so you
know who I’m going for in the Super Bowl.
When did you decide to start DJing?
When I was a kid I used to go down to
Pittsburgh, and they were bigger on hiphop than Detroit was at the time. I started
breakdancing, and I went to Pittsburgh in
the summer of 1984 and they were filming
a movie with DJ Melle Mel. He was the first
person that I saw actually mix live. I came
back home and told my mama, “I need two
turntables and a mixer.” She was like, “Boy,
I ain’t buyin’ you no damn turntables.” She
ended up buying me one turntable and a
mixer. I got the other one for Christmas and
I’ve been doing it ever since then.
Are you on the radio in Detroit?
I had a radio show on WJLB on Friday and
Saturdays, but I quit. I didn’t get fired, like
people think. I quit the radio station and
started doing guest mixes on various stations all over the country. I did shows with
both XM and Sirius satellite radio.
Why did you quit the station?
At the time when I was growing up, WJLB
was the only urban station that we had. I
really wanted to be on the radio. When I
came out of high school I had the money to
go to college and I got accepted, but I went
10
OZONE
What’s the hot spots to visit in Detroit for
Super Bowl weekend?
You might wanna hit up Fairline Mall, or
if you’ve got some real money you might
wanna go to Somerset Mall or Great Lakes
Crossing. As far as the club scene, there’s
so much stuff going on for Super Bowl that
it’s hard to say who’s gonna pop and who’s
gonna flop. In Detroit this is really the first
time we’ve had something on this scale.
There’s so much going on it’s hard to say
what’s the place to be. Puffy has a party
February 3rd, Shady Records has a party
which is gonna be off the chain on February 4th, John Legend and the Fugees are
performing on February 3rd, and there’s a
Kanye West concert on February 2nd.
Who are some of the hot local artists in Detroit?
You’ve got a guy named Tone-Tone who’s
signed to Jazze Pha, he’s got a nice buzz
here. Big Kirk sold a lot of records independently. Teairra Mari is signed to Def Jam,
and she’s from Detroit.
What’s your relationship with Shady?
There’s a lot of guys from Shady that I’m
cool with. I’ve known Proof for over ten
years, and when I used to DJ the open mics
Obie Trice would come through. These
guys were all involved in the rap scene locally for years, so when they got on and got
their deals we stayed friends and just look
out for each other.
You’ve dropped a couple mixtapes with
them, right?
Yeah, the mixtapes are available through
websites like www.mixtapemakers.com or
stores around here. I’m working on a project with Obie called The Reintroduction.
How’s Obie doing after getting shot?
Obie’s good. He’s still Obie. Thankfully it
wasn’t a major wound that held him down.
He’s back to doing what he does.
- Julia Beverly
NYC
PHOTO
GALLERY:
01: Bonsu Thompson (XXL/Eye Candy)
and Kamillah Brock
(Ave. Magazine) at
Mashonda’s Birthday
Party at Cain NYC
02: New Ruff Ryder
artist My My at
DMX’s Signing To
Sony Urban Press
Conference at Sony
Studios NYC
03: Waah Dean
(Ruff Ryders), Swizz
Beatz, and Dee Dean
(Ruff Ryders)
04: Drag-on at DMX’s
Signing To Sony
Urban Press Conference at Sony Studios
NYC
05: Suga Jay and
Cardan at Mashonda’s Birthday Party at
Cain NYC
06: DJ Mos and DJ
Will at Mashonda’s
Birthday Party at
Cain NYC
07: Big Tigger (BET)
at BET’s 106 & Park
Taping at CBS Studios NYC
08: Mashonda
and Swizz Beatz at
Mashonda’s Birthday
Party at Cain NYC
09: T.I. at Mashonda’s Birthday Party at
Cain NYC
10: Fabolous. at
Mashonda’s Birthday
Party at Cain NYC
11: Bobby Brown at
Mashonda’s Birthday
Party at Cain NYC
12: Spliff Starr and
Busta Rhymes at
BET’s 106 & Park
Taping at CBS Studios NYC
Photos
courtesy of
Ray Tamarra from
TheCrusade.net
OZONE
11
SUPER BOWL 2006 EVENT LISTING
Tuesday, January 31st, 2006
- Shady Kick Off party @ Bookie’s Tavern
Wednesday, February 1st, 2006
- New York vs. Chicago & The Comedy Bar @
The Detroit Historical Museum
- Legendary Night hosted by Magic Johnson
- The Charles H. Wright Museum of
African American History
Thursday, February 2nd, 2006
- Slim Thug/DJ Babe @ Club Visions
- Fashion Comedy Style @ Pistons Hoop City
Grille
- The Grapevine Film Series Presented by Ciroc
@ Hoop City Grille
- Pepsi Smash At Super Bowl XL Starring Kanye
West - State Theatre
- Superbowl Kickoff Party - Posh Nightclub
- The Perfect Party Honoring the 1972 Miami
Dolphins, the only NFL team with a perfect
season - Charles H. Wright Museum of African
American History
- Fight Night @ the Fisher
- Dre Bly Party @ Half Past Three
- Jerome Bettis Super Bowling Extravaganza @
Majestic’s Garden Bowl
Friday February 3rd, 2006
- DJ Babe will be at Clutch Cargo
- Super Comedy Show I @ the Millennium
Centre
- Runners of the Game @ The New Detroit Science Center
- Uncle Luke @ The Belle Isle Casino
- Ciara & LL Cool J @ The Opera House
- The Rap Bowl @ The Palace of Auburn Hills
with DTP, Young Jeezy, Twista, Juelz Santana &
Juvenile
- Diddy, Jeezy & Bun B @ Captains Bar & Grille
- Diddy’s “Cashmere Luxe” Party @ Elysium
Lounge
- Unplugged Super Bowl Weekend: Live Jam
Session featuring The Fugees, John Legend,
Slum Village and More @ Clutch Cargo
- Magic Johnson VIP Party @ Posh Nightclub
- Super Bowl Gospel presents Patti LaBelle &
friends @ the Masonic Temple Theatre
Saturday, February 4th, 2006
- Shady Records at the State Theater w/ 50 Cent,
G-Unit, D12, Obie Trice & Stat Quo
- DJ Babe will be at Seldom Blues for the Ebony
Magazine Pathfinders Awards
- Player’s Gala feat. DJ Kid Capri @ The New
Detroit Science Center
- Terrell Owens @ Envy
- Gridiron Glamour 2006 @the Ritz Carlton
- Unplugged Super Bowl Weekend: The Evening
of Magic, Fashion and Passion hosted by Magic
Johnson - Clutch Cargo
- The Gucci Party @ Posh Nightclub
- Gridiron Celebrity Hoops NFL players & celebri-
12
OZONE
ties @ the University of Detroit
- Terrell Owens’ Super Bowl party @ Club Envy
- Leather & Laces Party @ Royal Oak Music
Theatre
- Groove Detroit: Art in Motion @ Ford Conference & Event Center
- Gridiron Glamour @ Ritz-Carlton
Sunday, February 5th, 2006
- Gospel Comedy Brunch @ The Upper Room
- DJ Babe will be at Clutch Cargo
- Unplugged Super Bowl Weekend: Post Game
Party @ Clutch Cargo
- 8th Annual Players Gala W/ KEM @ Elysium
Lounge 313-962-2244
- Pampered Party Bowl @ 4731 Gallery
PARTIAL CLUB LISTING
ELYSIUM LOUNGE
625 SHELBY AVE
DETROIT, MI 48214
PLATINUM LOUNGE / (313) 342-7944
14541 W 8 MILE RD
DETROIT, MI 48235
CLUB CELEBRITY / (313) 934-0422
14421 PLYMOUTH RD
DETROIT, MI 48227
CLUB GOLD COAST / (313) 366-6135
2971 E 7 MILE RD
DETROIT, MI 48234
CLUB VISIONS / (313) 365-8088
6570 E DAVISON ST
HAMTRAMCK, MI 48212
COBO JOE’S BAR / (313) 965-0840
422 W CONGRESS ST LBBY
DETROIT, MI 48226
ENVY INC / (313) 962-3689
234 W LARNED ST
DETROIT, MI 48226
TOYA’S SPOT / (313) 491-7768
14906 SCHAEFER HWY
DETROIT, MI 48227
TRENCH TOWN / (313) 831-8552
3919 WOODWARD AVE
DETROIT, MI 48201
TRUMPS / (313) 592-1190
21413 W 8 MILE RD
DETROIT, MI 48219
X S / (313) 963-9797
1500 WOODWARD AVE
DETROIT, MI 48226
- More info hit [email protected]
DETROIT METRO MAP / SUPER BOWL 2006
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14
OZONE
CHAMILLIONAIRE
Are you happy with the response to your
album so far? Sales & otherwise?
Yes, I’m very happy. I’m officially a gold
artist, and I’m confident enough to believe
that I’ll go platinum with The Sound of Revenge. A lot of people would’ve bet against
me before my album came out if I would
have told them that my single “Turn It Up”
would be top 10 on the nationwide rhythmic charges with over 5,000 spins, or that I
would sell this many records, or be on two
video games, or have one of the top-selling
hip-hop ringtones. I feel that I put out a very
strong first album that’s still getting good
response from fans.
How do you feel about the promotion/
support given to your project thus far?
I just play the cards how they are dealt to
me. I have learned a lot from my past mistakes, and I don’t cry over spilled milk. I
signed the deal with Universal and I feel like
I’m making the money that I’m supposed
to be making and calling the shots that I’m
supposed to be calling. I am content with
Universal’s push because they’ve done a
lot with my project that I have never seen
them do with other projects. So I do feel
like they are giving me their full attention.
The way the game is designed, when you
sell a good amount of records your label
is on your side. I haven’t seen their enthusiasm die down at all so I’m thankful to be
having this run that I am having now.
Who are some of the other artists (rappers or otherwise) that you would credit
for having influence on your career?
Musically, it would be Jay-Z, Tupac, Outkast, and UGK. I used to listen to all the
music that Death Row, No Limit, and Cash
Money came out with. UGK is my favorite
group. I know I’m not there yet, but I hope
to craft myself into the type of artist that
can make timeless music like that. Their
old songs still sound so authentic and relevant today. They came into the game at a
time when the game was pure and people
weren’t as worried about making carboncopy, radio-friendly singles for their labels
and fans. When I was recording my album
Killer Mike & The Beat Bullies were givin’
me a lot of good game with music and life
in general. Shout out to everybody over
there at Purple Ribbon in ATL. There are always a lot of good vibes comin’ out of that
place and seems like everyone over there
is very genuine and humble.
Now that you’re a “mainstream” artist, is
there anything that surprised you about
life in the limelight? Or did everything
turn out the way you thought it would?
When it comes to the life of a rapper nothing really surprises me. I’m a young man
with an old soul that has been through a
lot so I just accept this rap life for what it
is. If you’re reading this and you’re wondering what the life of a rapper is like it’s
everything you think magnified by 10 when
you’re successful. One minute you could
be at the awards partying with every rich
and famous rapper and actor you admired
growin’ up and the next minute you could
be getting’ sued by everybody who wants
to bring you down. The ups can be really
high and the downs can be really low. You
have to have a strong mind because a lot
of people crack under pressure. I still have
not grasped it yet because nothing seems
real. When you leave the lights of the MGM
Grand or Hollywood and go right back to
your people at home that didn’t see it, everything you went through kinda seems like
a dream cause all that will disappear when
you’re not the man.
Why did you choose “Ridin’ Dirty” as
your second single?
It was getting the best immediate response
after my album dropped. It was a record
that was a little closer to who I am. I feel like
I’m in my own skin when I hear that record,
cause that’s me, and a lot of real-life people
can associate with that. Krayzie ripped the
verse and Play & Skillz ripped the track. It’s
getting a very good response at radio and
in the streets, so it looks like I made a good
choice. I love working with the underdog
anyways, because I’ve always been in that
position and people on the other side was
overlooking me.
Do you think it’ll help bring Bone Thugs
N Harmony back into the game?
They’re gonna be in the game whenever
they wanna be in the game. Chamillionaire
can’t make or break Bone Thugs, because
they’re international superstars and that’s
the level I’m trying to get to. They’re living
legends, really. I think they have a lot of
big, big stuff goin’ on right now, but they’re
kinda keeping it to themselves until they’re
ready to let the world know. Me and Krayzie
just shot the video and then they’re leaving
to go shoot another Biggie video, so they’re
gonna get it regardless. I think they were
OZONE
15
just handling some family business and
now they’re ready to come out and play.
Why did you film the video for “Ridin’
Dirty” in Dallas instead of Houston?
Throughout my whole mixtape career Dallas, Ft. Worth, and Arlington showed me the
most love out of any other area. I started
pushing so many mixtapes out there in the
Metroplex that I couldn’t keep up with the
demand. I shot my last video in Houston,
so this time I decided to show love back to
another city that had been treating me like
a king. I sold a lot of records out there and
every time I go back they always treat me
like family.
A lot of Houston artists run with their
own clique. Do you look at yourself as
the solo/renegade/loner artist out of
Houston? Do you prefer it that way?
It may seem like I’m just off in my own world
but I get love from most of the groups in
Houston and vice versa. Some others do
act confused about me, but I don’t see
what’s so confusing about me minding my
own business and keeping to myself. We’re
in the music business, and a lot of times
people are really only friends with you when
it’s good business for them to be friends
with you. I don’t talk on the phone or party with people as much as someone else
would because I’m just tryin’ to stay sane
in this crazy business. I don’t care about
who said what to who, or who doesn’t like
who, so it ain’t much to talk about unless we
gettin’ money together. I’m a serious workaholic. Some people take that the wrong way
like I don’t mess with them, but really it’s
because I have real-life morals and not rap
world morals. I could see how people could
look at it that way because at the end of the
day what I’m pushin’ is me and my own.
Much respect and love to everybody else,
but last time I checked there wasn’t another
clique or group that went out of their way to
see that my bills get paid. I been standin’
on my own two feet for a while and that has
made me a stronger individual.
Have things cooled down in your “beef”
with Mike Jones and Paul Wall?
Yeah. Congrats to Mike. Congrats to Paul.
Congrats to me. Everybody is doin’ well,
and I’m not just sayin’ that to be politically
correct for this interview. If I didn’t mean it,
I wouldn’t say it. The instigators have died
down, even though a lot of the fan feuding
hasn’t. I’m just glad I can focus on being a
good artist now. Rap beef just seems so stupid nowadays no matter how personal it is.
I don’t even wanna hear the word competition anymore. I don’t think about what he or
she is doin’. I’m in a different zone right now
and just wanna make music that I like.
On the set of Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’ Dirty”
video shoot in Dallas, TX:
Cham with
Bone Thugs
Big Tuck,
Play & Skillz,
and Cham
16
OZONE
Cham with his brother Rasaq
Cham with Tiny Lister a.k.a. D-Bo
Are you surprised that Mike Jones is cutting ties with Swishahouse?
Nope. Not at all. I guess some people
thought I was lying when I said that he told
me he was gonna build his own and leave
the House. I wasn’t sayin’ that because I
thought I was psychic. Everybody was running around sayin’ I was a liar. Since I first
met him he said he was gonna do that, and
since they first met him he was showin’ it,
so I don’t see why anyone would be surprised. A long time ago Watts told me he
was gonna rebuild the Swishahouse with
new members. I didn’t think it was a good
idea and didn’t think he was gonna do it
but I respect him for pullin’ it off. Watts will
probably make it work again.
I went to his shop about a year ago and
was surprised at the custom vehicle work
he could do. I gave him a bike to work on
and he chameleon-painted it and chromed
the entire bike and gave it back to me with
my logo and face airbrushed in it. He was
the first person I would see ridin’ around
on custom candy and 26-inch rims with
Lambourghini doors. He turned trucks into
dooleys and cars into sedans. He customized and painted the candy red El Dorado
that I bought that was in the “Turn It Up”
video, and a drop top Fury that I got also.
I got down with him on the car thing and
now I’m just tryin’ to help a good dude take
something that I feel could be big to the
next level.
Do you think you and Paul Wall will ever
make peace and record a song together,
a la Jay-Z and Nas?
We are at peace. I would rather hear JayZ and Nas’s duo songs, though. No Cham
and Paul songs. That chapter in my life is
dead. I seriously mean that.
Are there any other outside projects –
shoe deals, clothing lines – you’re working on that we should know about?
The Sound of Revenge is in stores! The
Chopped and Screwed OG Ron C version
is in stores also. Look out for Mixtape Messiah 2 and the Rasaq Reloaded mixtape. Let
me get some more record sales first and I’ll
start talking about all that other stuff later.
Fans can check out www.myspace.com/
chamillionaire for all my tour updates.
Tell us about the car shop that you coown that was featured in the video for
“Ridin’ Dirty.”
My partner Big E is the brains behind Fly
Rides. He’s been doing his thing in Houston for a while, but he’s an underdog. He
does a lot but people just wasn’t seeing it.
- Julia Beverly (Photos: Matt Sonzala)
Fly Rides
Big Tuck of DSR
Video models
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OZONE
BUSTA RHYMES
Why did you cut off your locks?
It was time. It was a 3-4 hour process to
do my hair. I was getting tired of that shit.
I couldn’t do it myself. I always had to fly
somebody in that did my shit the way I
liked it, put them up in a hotel, plane ticket.
That shit was $1,500-2,000. Then you got
to pay them to do the hair. Then it’s 3-4
hours because you got to wash the hair in
sections because it’s getting so long. You
can’t just wash the whole shit. You got to
wash the bottom part of the dread and the
middle part of the dread and the top part
of the dread and then the scalp. Then you
got to dry the muthafucker. Then you got
to twist the dread. Then you got to braid it
up, put it in a style. Then you got to grease
the scalp. It was like 3-4 hours. I couldn’t
sit there and take it no more. There’s too
much going on in the day for me to be losing that much time out of my business day
to maintain what my hair should look like.
This shit is taking longer than a broad to
do her shit. The energy wasn’t feeling right
no more. I got tired. This hair is reminding
me of a lot of shit that I done got past. I
ain’t in that space no more. It was like, old
skin on a fucking reptile that sheds. I had to
shed. I got a lot of good happening now so
I’d rather re-grow my shit while this good is
happening so I can trap all this good energy
in my head and carry that shit around. I’m
going to grow it back eventually. Not right
now, cause I like the breeze in my shit.
You’re also more muscular these days.
I like to stay in shape. It’s something I always did here and there because the energy on the stage is such an intense one that
your cardio got to be right. Your stamina
got to be right cause I like to shit on whoever I’m performing with. If we’re performing
with somebody you’re not doing a better
show than me. I don’t give a fuck what million dollar set you have, I’m going to smash
you. That’s the goal that I always try to fulfill
personally. We would always work out but it
was never to the intense level that I started
doing lately. I guess I had a lot of time off
recording this album. Three years recording. I never sat out the game this long and
it was sort of driving me crazy. I occupy myself with productive things so I don’t drive
myself crazy. I do shit that’s going to tire me
out. Living in the studio, going to the gym,
that shit consumes my energy enough to
where I’m content with that if I do it enough.
I like to be out. I always put an album out
every year. I wasn’t used to not having a
record out for 2-3 years. I’m sitting around
watching muthafuckers getting money,
headlining big venues, doing all these
big tour dates and I’m the sideline mothafucker just looking and shit. But I was able
to comfortably take the back seat, which
was real good for me because financially
to make money you got to spend money.
So when you go and do these shows you
got to pay entourages, staff members. You
breaking off a lot of people while you getting your bread. This time around I didn’t
need to do that. So I was stockpiling a lot
of money. I was able to still go out and
see things and enjoy things and treat myself to being around shit that I could learn
from and know how to outdo when it was
my turn again. The gym was one of those
things. The time spent in the studio was another one of them things. Being able to sit
back and focus and analyze how the game
was transitioning was another one of them
things. It helped me learn how to reapply
myself when it was time for me. So now
is that time. I’m going to come back and
show niggas a thing or two.
What’s been going on since you left J
Records and signed with Aftermath?
I’ve just been making my album. I left J Records, which was one of the best things I
ever did. Clive is an amazing man. His establishment is just horrible when it comes
to hip-hop music. He’s a genius for music
but not hip-hop music. I hope he can fix
that because he got some incredible shit
over there as far as hip-hop is concerned. If
he provides a little more a nourishment and
a support system and a fueling and food
that people could feel good about running
around championing that shit on a hip-hop
level, it could help a lot of dudes over there.
After leaving them I just been taking time off,
enjoying the family. I never had the chance
to do that, rushing projects out every year.
I gave a lot of time to my kids and myself,
trying to take better care of myself, getting
more sleep, going to the gym, eating better.
I ain’t never made an album and took this
long to do it. I was able to experiment and
try a million things that I always wanted to
and couldn’t.....
- Jessica Koslow (Photo: Ray Tamarra)
For the rest of this interview, check out
the April issue of OZONE Magazine at
www.OZONEMAG.com.
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CZAR NOK
Cincinnati is ranked one of the most
dangerous cities in the country. Why do
you think that is?
The poverty. Niggas is going crazy here.
It’s fucked up. I think that’s the main reason
why niggas are going crazy, trying to get
money. White folks ain’t giving you jobs, for
real. I mean, it is opportunities, it just depends on the life you live. I’ve got more niggas that’s on some other shit here.
How did the two of you link up?
Jimmy Haze: Me and ‘Nok was just doing
our own thing out here, dibbling and dabbling in the studio and trying to get money.
We just knew each other from the streets.
Why did you choose the name Czar
Nok?
Jimmy Haze: You know, I’m the Czar, and
he’s Nok. We was really just tryin’ to make
people step up their game, cause we ain’t
really simple cats. We really complex balling. It’s like space age, futuristic, as far as
the mentality not the physical aspect of
things. Like I said, we complex. We doing
a lot of powerful things and I just think it’s
powerful how we putting it together.
How did you start out grinding in the
game?
Just knowing that it ain’t simple. When you
get out there, you can’t expect nobody else
to get out there and get your shine on for
you. It’s hands-on out here in the streets.
You’re not gonna get paid by staying in
the house and not getting outside. It’s the
same thing, if you’ve got CDs out there you
gotta stay on the road and pass out flyers,
CDs, and perform. You gotta stay on it. We
started off selling CDs ourselves for $5. I
sold a CD to Los Vegas for $10, and now
he’s my CEO.
around, we talked to Universal and Def
Jam and Capitol. We just took the best situation for LocDown. We had the contacts,
we were having meetings with everybody.
We moved with Capitol cause they cut that
check the fastest.
Are you happy with the way Capitol has
handled your project?
They don’t know what to do with some niggas that’s really trying to have some longevity in the game. They just tryin’ to go
pop straight out the gate. They ain’t tryin’ to
give us time to build. They’re making mistakes, and it’s costing us. They wanna just
come out the gate with a crazy pop record
so we can sell three million records. They
don’t really know about the grind. You gotta grind. These street records start in the
clubs. They’re trying to start out at radio. To
sell three million you gotta have that shit in
the streets and you gotta grind with these
DJs. All these DJ pools we’ve been hitting
are important. That’s what you gotta fuck
with. They just wanna fuck with radio.
Have you tried to sit down and have that
conversation with them?
You’ve got people in the building that know
what we’re talking about, but the people
that’s supposed to press the buttons ain’t
listening...
- Julia Beverly
For the rest of this interview, check out
the February issue of OZONE Magazine
at www.OZONEMAG.com.
How did your label LocDown get a major
deal with Capitol?
We had contacts like Kanye West, before
he was really Kanye West. We had him and
all the big boys in the industry that are in
the game out here now, like Bun B. So we
had always been growing. Los Vegas introduced us to the game and let us do our
thing. We had undergrounds in the streets
before we came out, so a lot of people
know about the song we did with Bun B
on a Kanye West track. We were shopping
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TRICK TRICK
22
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>>>
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23
So you’re born and raised in Detroit, huh?
Yep. Born and raised.
When most people think of Detroit, Eminem is the first
rapper that comes to mind. Do you think Em has presented a good depiction of Detroit’s scene?
There’s a whole other side of the tracks that I’m gonna
bring. The street side, the hustlers. There’s a major hustle
market right here. Our dudes and our women get money around here. I’m tryin’ to show you the realness. You
know, the real shit they don’t want you to see. The stuff
they sweep under the rug.
What’s the sound of Detroit?
Hmm. I’m gonna call it a Trick Trick sound. I got my own
sound. I produced the majority of my album myself, so I
truly bring my own sound.
How did you get into production?
I started out doing production. The first song I produced
was called “Life of A Gangsta.” It was a real big record. I
wasn’t deadlocked in producing. When I made this song,
I knew what I wanted to hear so I wrote over it. And since
I did it, it’s always been that way. This was back in 1991.
I was in a group called GBK, and that’s what “Life of A
Gangsta,” ended up being. It was me and a guy named
Marc V. We put the album out, GBK’s Life of A Gangsta.
Then Mark when to jail, he got sentenced to 15-20 for
shooting at the police.
So the group disbanded.
Right. At that time I was by myself. I formed the Goon
Squad. Then I went upstate. I was in the penitentiary for
a year. I decided that I gotta find a way in this music, because I can’t come back.
What was your charge? Was it related to your rap partner Mark’s charge?
Possession with intent. Nah, he had got locked up like two
years before I did.
So that was a big transition time for you.
Yeah, it was a big transition. 1995. I decided to get serious
about this music. This is what I gotta do. I can’t do both, I
have to make sacrifices.
So you dropped a solo project?
In 1995 my first big record was a gold single called “Booty
Bounce.” When I got out of the joint, dance music was
poppin’ off. Luke and 2 Live Crew, “Shake What Ya Mama
Gave You,” that kinda stuff was real big. I had been on
that gangsta shit, but it wasn’t flyin’ well with the public because dance music was all on the radio. “Too much booty
in your pants,” all that shit. You gotta get in where you fit
in. That’s the difference between being an artist and just
being a rapper. Then I released another song called “Everywhere We Go We Deep.” That did real good. We did like
60,000 units of that. We hooked up with a distributor that
moved the shit for us.
The majors didn’t step to you after you’d sold that many
albums independently?
I had my run-ins with the majors here and there, but at the
time I didn’t want no major deal. I really didn’t.
24
OZONE
Why did you decide to sign with Universal?
Universal made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Wendy Day
negotiated the deal, and when she negotiates, she brings
something to the table that’s definitely worth it.
Where did you get the name Trick Trick?
I got that name when I was younger. I used to be just Trick.
I was a nasty ass little boy, so they kinda handed that name
to me.
What was the situation between you and Trick Daddy?
It was a situation where his boys were acting stupid. They
tried to rob me when I was in Miami. I know the game;
I’ve been a dirty muthafucker for a long time. They were
tryin’ to get me to go to some afterparty. They started off
mad, cause of my name Trick Trick. No resemblance. Fuck
him, you know? No fuckin’ resemblance. Why would I try
to come up off his name? I’ve been Trick since I was little.
I wouldn’t even know who this nigga was. The only reason
I was in the area was cause the club was poppin’ off and
he just happened to be having a party at that club in Miami. So I made it my business to say that when they come
my way, I’m gonna show them how it’s done. They didn’t
get me. They didn’t get nothing from me. I decided when
they come through my area, I’m gonna show them how
it’s done. I don’t want his fuckin’ jewelry. That’s why I beat
they muthafuckin’ asses. Me and half the city of Detroit.
But originally it wasn’t really directed at Trick Daddy, because he didn’t start it. it was his boys. Everybody looked
at it as Trick Daddy vs. Trick Trick, but it was his boys.
So when he came up, you were ready for him.
It was already set up. Detroit was aggravated at what had
happened. That’s the kinda city I live in. But I’m done with
that shit. To be honest, I hate talking about it. It’s some old
shit that happened. I wasn’t trying to blow it up. I’m a street
nigga, so my beef stays in the streets where it belongs. I’m
not tryin’ to blow up by nobody. I had to get my hands on
quite a few people, so I’m not tryin’ to get in no trouble. I
did a documentary because a friend of mine had footage
of that shit. He was there that day with a camera upstairs,
and he caught some of that shit on tape.
What’s your relationship like with Eminem?
Me and Em are cool. We’re family. Em’s a real good friend
of mine. Eminem actually produced two songs on my album The People vs.. We couldn’t publicize it because Interscope ain’t have nothing to do with it, but Em actually
co-executive produced this album. Eminem did a lot on
this album. I also got Jazze Pha and Mr. Porter from D12
on this album, Diesel the Hitman, Miss Corona, Obie Trice,
and Proof from D12.
Do you think it’s hard to blow up nationally off a song
like “Welcome to Detroit”?
Nah, I don’t think it’s hard at all. You had songs like “Welcome to Atlanta,” so why not Detroit?
Any recommendations for Super Bowl week?
Detroit is a party city; that’s what we do around here. We
ball out. So it’s hard to say. I can’t endorse nothin’ personally, but there’s a bunch of parties goin’ on.
- Julia Beverly (Photos: Jeremy Deputat)
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Los Vegas, CEO of Cincinnati-based
LocDown Records, is responsible for
acts like Czar-Nok (signed to Capitol Records) and Big Neil.
Before you started the record label LocDown Records, what were you doing?
I had a construction company, because my
family was into construction. I still own the
construction company, and various other
businesses.
What led you to start LocDown?
Little homies from my neighborhood. My
brother used to rap, so I started getting
into it for that reason, just trying to help my
brother out. We started snatching up other
artists and put some of our extra money to
work.
Does your brother still rap?
Nah, we got more into the business end of
things. He runs Hustle Tight Management
now; we’ve got other artists besides LocDown artists Czar-Nok and Big Neil.
What are the similarities between the
construction business and music?
You’ve gotta put in a lot of hard work in construction, and you’ve gotta put in a lot of
hard work in music. In construction you’ve
gotta be able to manage people, so I guess
that carried over and helped me on the music end.
Is there anything else you learned in
construction that’s helped you in the
music game?
You’ve gotta be straight-up with people. I
don’t talk around the bush, you know, I’m
all business. I don’t like small talk. In construction, there ain’t no small talk. I get right
down to business, and that’s it. I think that’s
what carried over to my music. So many
people in music are phony, but I’m straight
to the point.
What made you want to sign Czar Nok?
They had a different type of style coming
from Cincinnati. A lot of young rappers out
of Cincinnati was sounding too East coast
for me, but Czar Nok just had the total package. I loved the way they could put songs
together, and their work ethic.
OZONE
What about Big Neil?
I could feel everything Big Neil talked about.
I come from Zone 15, Lincoln Heights, and
being from the streets I could feel everything Big Neil was talking about. He’s just
what the streets want right now.
How did you get the deal with Capitol for
Czar Nok?
A lot of people wanted Czar Nok. I wanted
to be totally independent, like Cash Money,
but signing with Capitol helped me learn a
lot more of the game.
Are you happy with Capitol’s handling of
your project?
Capitol don’t know how to work a record if
it ain’t pop. Chingy, that’s what they want.
They don’t know how to work nothing else.
The people sitting up in the offices are the
wrong people. It’s a whole bunch of white
people behind desks trying to tell you
something, and they’ve never been in the
streets or at the club. That’s not a good relationship, especially when you know your
project and how to work it.
So it’s frustrating for you.
Yeah, very frustrating. And when Chingy
did 3 million records on his first album and
only went gold on his second album, that
proved it. They thought they knew what
they was doing, but they don’t. They have
some good people over there, but the top
people don’t know what they’re doing.
Are you planning on putting out Big
Neil’s project independently?
I wanna get Big Neil to the point like Baby
and them did with Cash Money. I wanna do
everything ourselves so that if somebody
comes in and offers money, it’s cool. But
aside from money, what can they offer you?
They don’t know nothing.
What’s the similarities between Cincinnati and Detroit?
Detroit and Cincinnati have a similar vibe.
A lot of people from Detroit migrate down
to Dayton and Cincinnati. They call Dayton
“baby Detroit.” It’s nice. It’s smaller than
Detroit but about the same.
- Julia Beverly
DETROIT
PHOTO
GALLERY:
01: Cesar and
Shoes
02: Gettin’ ready
to spend some
money
03: Trick Trick,
Kid Rock, SteveO, and Mikey
04: Kid Rock,
Mikey, and Slick
Rick
05: Proof, Mikey,
and friends
06: Trick Trick
and Obie Trice
07: Trick Trick
and Cindy
08: Mobb Deep
09: Slum Village
10: Phat Kat
11: Nick Speed
and K-Fresh
12: You can
come up with
your own caption
for this one
Photos
courtesy of
JD from
Public Media
Group
publicmedia
group.com
OZONE
OZONE
SAIGON
There was an interview posted on www.
wordofsouth.com recently where you
said some negative things about the
South.
When I was doing the interview, they asked
me how I felt about the South movement. I
said I was happy for the South. I told them,
first of all, it’s weird because we’re following them now, and they used to follow us.
The South was slow, as far as socially.
When I said “slow,” I didn’t mean “dumb.”
This dude took it out of context. I meant,
socially and as far as the new styles and
new things. Comin’ from New York, New
York was always the epicenter of the country. It wasn’t just in the South. Everywhere
you went, coming from New York, you was
the man. And now, unfortunately, it’s not
like that no more. It’s the opposite now.
Now they come up here and get love. They
come up here and steal our chicks. We
used to go down there and go to the mall
and girls would be like, “Oh, shit, he look
like he from New York,” and we’d get all
the love, but that shit don’t work no more. It
was just some miscellaneous website tryin’
to make a come up, tryin’ to use me as a
scapegoat.
Your family is from the South?
Yeah, my whole family is from North Carolina. My moms just moved up here, but they
all from North Carolina. That’s how I know,
because I used to go down there and they
used to be like, “What’s the new mixtape?
What’s the new shit?” I just mean socially,
man. The slaves were running, coming up
here because of the industrial revolution
and things of that nature. The jobs and
shit like that. When they were still getting
lynched down there, muthafuckers was up
here living a little bit better. So in the North,
New York always had a step up on everybody. So now for us to be following them is
like, damn, son. What the fuck happened?
Cause I wear fronts now, and I had some
fronts in my mouth the other day and a girl
was like, “Let me see your grill.” I was like,
“My grill? These are my fronts.” We been
doin’ this shit for years. But I got love for
the South, and all my peoples in the South.
Bubba Sparxxx, Young Jeezy, that’s my
man. That’s my dude.
So when you called the South “slow,”
you felt like that was misinterpreted?
Yeah, cause the word “slow,” I think that’s
what made it offensive. But if they would’ve
read the whole thing they’d understand.
Cause they only put certain things in bold
face. The sentence before that, I said, “My
whole family is from the South.” My mother,
everybody. So why would I call my mother
and my whole family “slow” if I meant it in
that way? That wouldn’t make sense. Anybody who has reading comprehension –
something they teach us in school – would
know what I meant. I’m not tryin’ to diss the
South, man, come on. What kind of idiot
would I be to diss a whole fuckin’ region
when I’m tryin’ to get support and tryin’ to
get love? I gotta do shows out there. I don’t
wanna worry about niggas tryin’ to take my
head off. That would be some stupid shit.
I had to clear it up cause my mother read
that shit like, “Boy, you think I’m slow?”
Basically, you’re mad because you can’t
get girls when you go down South?
No, I just speak my mind and a lot of times
the truth hurts people. When I speak the
truth a lot of times people take it the wrong
way. I got a commercial on MTV where I’m
tellin’ the truth, and it rubs a lot of people
the wrong way. Only way I feel that you
should be mad is if I’m up there lying. The
truth is not debatable. You can’t doubt the
truth, point blank. The truth is like that a
lot of gangsta rappers are pussy. They’re
not real. They’ve never lived that life at all,
and they portray that life and glorify it to
these kids. They were all this jewelry and
shit in their rap songs tryin’ to make it look
like it’s the shit, when really it’s not nothing. These same bullshit diamonds that
they sell us, when we try to sell it back to
them, we wouldn’t get half of what we paid
for it. So this shit ain’t real. It’s fantasy. The
thing about hip-hop is that muthafuckers
is confused in rap. They quick to say, “We
kill niggas, we flip bricks,” but when people
come down on them, they say, “Naw, it’s
just entertainment.” But on your song, you
say, “I’m real, this is real, I keep it real.”
Part of being in rap is being real. If people
think you’re not real, they ain’t gonna fuck
with you. So it becomes confusing to these
young kids. These labels market it towards
the youth. So if children are the future, like
people say, let’s start telling them a little bit
of truth....
- Julia Beverly (Photo: Ray Tamarra)
For the rest of this interview, check out
the April issue of OZONE Magazine at
www.OZONEMAG.com.
OZONE
OZONE
HI-TEK
You’re probably one of the biggest names
that’s come out of Cincinnati. Was that
your goal, to put your city on the map?
It definitely was about putting the city on
the map.
I heard you’ve worked with a few Cincinnati-based artists. Who do you think will
be next to blow out of the area?
It’s a couple cats. There’s one cat named
Home Skillet, he was on my first album and
we did some underground stuff. I respect
his work. These cats named Czar Nok from
Cincinnati got a deal on Capitol Records;
they pretty dope.
Are you focusing on production now,
or planning on putting out another solo
project?
I’m working slowly on another album. A lot
of times I can’t even keep a hot beat, because these niggas want it. It’s like, what’s
worth more? Trying to get this album done,
or helping somebody else with their album
that’s about to be released soon? So I
make tracks and shit that I end up giving
to other artists.
Financially, is production better for you
than putting out your own album?
Yeah, and I gotta keep producing tracks
just to keep it moving and make sure I keep
my name out there.
Do you prefer being behind the scenes?
The limelight ain’t really me. I like it sometimes, but I kinda try to let my work speak
for itself.
You had a couple tracks on 50’s Get Rich
or Die Tryin’ movie soundtrack, right?
Yeah, I did a song called “We Don’t Need
Your Help” with Young Buck and another
one with 50 called “Best Friend.”
Any big plans for the Super Bowl? Are
you coming up to Detroit?
Nah, I’m gonna just be watching the game
hoping Pittsburgh loses. I ain’t going up
there. I might go up there at the last minute, but right now I’m working with this artist Deon, an R&B artist. We’re trying to work
out this situation with Aftermath.
How’d you link up with Aftermath?
At first I submitted a beat CD to one of his
people and Dr. Dre heard it, and since then,
Dre’s been checkin’ for me. From there
we’ve been networking or whatever.
How did it feel to know that a producer of
Dr. Dre’s status was impressed by your
beats?
Damn, that’s one of the best feelings in the
world, besides sex. It’s just a good feeling
to know that a producer I respect is fuckin’
with me like that. And it’s more than just
that – knowing that he’s in an executive position. He’s not just a producer, he’s making power moves too. So it’s good to have
somebody like that in an executive position.
It’s not just somebody that’s never pushed
a button and never laid a beat down. He
knows his shit, so that’s a good thing.
Is your artist Deon from Cincinnati also?
What’s his style like?
Yeah, Deon’s from Cincinnati. He’s an R&B
cat. He’s got his own lane, but I guess he’d
fall into the category of a John Legend but
he’s cleaner. His shit is more soulful. He
sings to the ladies, but the way he does it
with the beats is real Marvin Gayeish.
What about your next album? What are
you going to call it?
It’s gonna be called Hi-Teknology Volume 2.
It’s basically a way to display my production; it’s a compilation album, like the first
Hi-Teknology. It’s gonna be like that, basically displaying my production and putting
on new artists. That’s how I break new artists; sliding them in with a veteran.
Who’s featured on the album?
I got Snoop, Rafael Saadiq, Mos Def, Bun
B, Slim Thug, myself, my artist Deon, and
a few more people. I produced the whole
album.
What would be your advice to new producers tryin’ to get in the game?
Just keep inquiring on how people did their
stuff, and listen to other people that you respect. As far as other producers, I wouldn’t
recommend getting up under their wing, but
if you have that opportunity that’s cool too
if it’s somebody that’s out there doing their
thing. The proof is in the pudding. If somebody sees potential in you, that means a
lot for them to even want to put you on like
that. I think all you gotta do is keep working
hard and stay focused, do your own thing,
and be original.
- Julia Beverly
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OZONE
B.G.
When’s your next album coming out?
Tha Heart of Tha Streetz Volume 2 is
scheduled for March 21st. The first single
is “Move Around” featuring Mannie Fresh,
produced by Mannie Fresh.
What was working with Fresh again
like?
It was beautiful, man, it was like magic.
Me and Fresh ain’t been in the studio together since I left Cash Money but we always stayed in touch. He was supposed to
work on my Life After Cash Money album
but he told me I had to change the name,
and I couldn’t do that. It just so happened
that I was in the lab working on the new
album when he left. He was in Houston so
I jumped onto the first plane smoking to
Houston and we got in the studio together
and it was like being born again. Fresh was
the first producer I ever worked with, so
when we hooked back up again it felt good
for me and it felt good for him.
What’s the difference between Mannie
and other producers?
Fresh raised me in the studio. Fresh created my sound, my whole sound from day
one, so Fresh know me better than I know
me in the studio. It’s unexplainable, it was
beautiful.
What’s your relationship like outside the
studio?
It’s all good. Before we got in the studio it
was because we always stayed in touch.
Fresh wasn’t the one who had my money,
Baby the one who had my money. Our relationship was always A1 and always will be
A. Fresh is Fresh, man, how can you not
love Fresh?
Would you say you look up to him as a
father figure?
As far as a mentor in the studio and as a
man for guidance, yeah. When it comes to
the studio he’s a genius.
What kind of advice did he give you?
Now, you know, I been in the game for like
ever so I kinda had to flush the toilet Baby
gave me cause it wasn’t right. He had corrupted me. As far as musicwise and delivery and when it come to the studio, Fresh is
who I had to turn to. Our situation is crazy. I
really don’t know how to answer that.
What kind of wisdom do you pass to
your artists?
One of my artists is my little brother and the
rest are my friends. I let ‘em know that we
friends and family, but at the end of the day
I make sure their business is right. I always
talk about Baby and how he did me. I’m in
his position now, I’m a CEO. I got artists
and I never do my artists how he did me.
Our friendship is all good but I make sure
they never run into the problems I ran into
with Cash Money. I make sure they keep it
real with themselves first. At the same time
you have to live and learn because sometimes you might have expectations that are
real high and shit might not go as you expected. You have to take the good and the
bad.
Tell me about your artists.
I got my little brother, I got Gar, I got Snype,
and I got my homie Mike. That’s who I’m
focusing on now. They’re a group called
the Chopper City Boyz and they solo artists too.
This album you’re dropping was an extension with you and Koch, right?
Yeah, it was crazy because I had two albums and an option. I did my two albums
and then I exercised my option. My contract was up and I had my release papers
and was in the process of doing another
deal, and they begged me to do another
album. We came up with a deal that I really
thought they wasn’t gonna match, but now
I think it’s the best one album deal in independent history.
Rumor has it that deal was worth
$900,000.
(laughing) I mean, I got pimped for a long
time, so I’ma pimp back.
What is your vision for Chopper City?
I’m trying to turn Chopper City what I helped
turn Cash Money into.
Are you going to use the Cash Money
formula?
Somewhat, because I think the formula
worked in a very good way. I had already
had like four solo albums before we even
did the Universal deal. My Soundscan
helped put Universal’s antennas up. Then
we put the Hot Boys together....
- Rohit Loomba
For the rest of this interview, check out
the April issue of OZONE Magazine at
www.OZONEMAG.com.
OZONE
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OZONE
BIG NEIL
What’s been going on with you since our
last interview?
Same ol’, same ol’. Makin’ more music,
meeting more new people, doing more
shows, staying in the streets.
When does your album drop?
I’m still working on making more music
for the mixtape. The album is in the works;
nothing but street music, to tell you the
truth. I got a big mixtape coming out called
Mattress Money with DJ Kool Laid from Mississippi.
Is the mixtape mostly freestyles over
other people’s beats, or original songs?
It’s gonna be some of my new stuff, some
of my old stuff, a couple tracks with Rich
Boy from Interscope, a couple of the Czar
Nok songs. It’ll be mainly my affiliates, a
bunch of Big Neil music tryin’ to get out to
these streets.
Your single is called “Dope Boy Music,”
so I guess people can guess what that’s
about.
Yeah, I’m just rappin’ about what the streets
want. I got another song on my album called
“Big Time” that people are about to start
hearing. I got another song called “Lock
It Down” and another song called “Fresh,”
made by LP out of Cleveland, Ohio.
Sinec you’re reppin’ for Cincinnati and
coming up for the Super Bowl, would
you say that Detroit and Cincinnati are
similar musically?
Yeah, Detroit has a lot of street music just
like my city. Everything in Cincinnati is really Midwest and Southern, cause we’re so
close to the South. We’re only a few hours
apart from the South, so it’s really just Midwest and South music.
What’s gonna be the hottest spot in Detroit during Super Bowl weekend?
The whole Detroit is real live. It’s poppin’.
We love Detroit.
Have you collaborated with any Detroitbased rappers yet?
Not yet. They got a lot of street rappers.
Detroit gives their street rappers a lot of
love. There’s one guy up there called Jesse
James, he got a decent album.
There’s a lot of people that have come
out lately that could be considered
“street” rappers. What sets you apart
from people like Jeezy and T.I.?
I got a gangsta-type swagger, so I’m different. I believe my voice is gonna stand out
a lot with this music that I’m doing. People
are gonna know that what I’m sayin’ is really real; they’re gonna be able to tell. I listen
to guys like T.I. and Jeezy and whoever’s
keepin’ it real, and you could tell in their
music and in their voice and in what they
talkin’ about that they really keeping it real.
That’s what I’m tryin’ to bring to them.
A lot of rappers talk about keeping it real,
but of course, being in jail or being shot
isn’t always a good thing career-wise.
How do you draw the line between keeping it real and getting in trouble?
You stay real by doing what you gotta do.
You better try your best not to get in trouble,
but if you’re keeping it real, you gotta do
what you do. You shouldn’t be just talkin’
about it. A lot of people are keepin’ it real
cause they gotta really do it like that. That’s
what I gotta do. That’s just how it is. You
gotta stay out of trouble though. You don’t
wanna be in trouble, but different things
happen in different people’s lives. You stay
getting caught up.
You mentioned that you have a gangstatype swagger. Were you influenced by
the West Coast?
Yeah, I’m bringin’ back all the gangstas.
That’s my vibe. I’m gonna have a mixture
of the Tupacs and the Biggies and even
the N.W.As. People gonna be wondering
where they been at all this time.
Have you collaborated with any West
coast artists yet?
I haven’t, but I wouldn’t mind collaborating
with anybody on the West coast. I wouldn’t
mind doing music with anybody, to tell you
the truth. Let’s just make it happen.
Your labelmates Czar-Nok are signed to
Capitol. Are you planning on dropping
through a major or staying indie?
For real, we gonna keep it all the way indie
until they bring the right deal to my boss
Los Vegas. If they bring it, we’ll keep rockin
it. They’re gonna come holla eventually,
cause they always callin’ to check up on
us. Los Vegas gonna keep us rockin’ indie
until it rocks off.
- Words and photo by Julia Beverly
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OZONE
MOBB DEEP
Congratulations on signing with G-Unit.
How’s life after the deal?
Prodigy: Everything is good, man. We’ve
been working on our album. The atmosphere is real good. We’re real happy, real
inspired, ready to go.
What’s your G-Unit deal look like?
Prodigy: It’s for albums, books, movies,
a whole bunch of things. It’s not just records.
How does it differ from your situation at
Jive?
Prodigy: Basically at Jive it was a 50/50
joint venture deal, just for two Mobb Deep
records. Here it’s for more business like
movies, books, everything.
What happened at Jive?
Prodigy: Well, at Jive, they didn’t know
how to market or promote street music.
They had the money and the machinery
but they couldn’t market it. They focus on
their crossover acts like N Sync and Britney
Spears. It just didn’t work out, and it wasn’t
good for Mobb Deep to be over there. It
was a good deal we had, but basically they
just dropped us. The record did good, we
moved some units, so we probably should
have a gold plaque by now. They decided
that Mobb Deep didn’t fit in their calendar
for the next year. Then they dropped us.
When we got the phone call, we were happy about it. That was the easiest we’ve ever
gotten out of a contract in our lives. Usually
we gotta fight to get out of contracts.
ways be. There’s definitely a lot of talent out
there that you will see in the future. It don’t
stop.
Once you reach success with Blood
Money, will you go back and get Infamous Mobb?
Prodigy: They always did their own thing.
We’re always here for them.
What are your immediate goals?
Prodigy: To have a successful album with
Blood Money and just have success with
the other business after that. Just seeing
sales do good, seeing our numbers come
back good.
How was your mindset during the recording of Blood Money different from
during your other albums?
Prodigy: We was more happier doing our
music and we felt better doing our music. It
wasn’t like we felt like slaves anymore. You
know how the labels treat you, and you really don’t eat off that. Once you sign with a
label they don’t care about you. Here, we
know our music won’t be wasted. Our music will be promoted and marketed worldwide. It’ll be maximized. It feels good to be
in the studio. We’re making music nonstop.
Now, more than ever, I still find myself hungry. Not so much money-wise.....
- Rohit Loomba (Photo: Rob Durand)
For the rest of this interview, check out
the March issue of OZONE Magazine at
www.OZONEMAG.com.
There were some rumors earlier this year
about Mobb Deep breaking up. Where
did those come from?
Prodigy: The reason rumors like that came
up is because we were affiliated with certain people that we had to let go. When we
let them go, they were out there trying to
spread rumors that Mobb Deep broke up.
It was a bunch of lies and rumors that they
spread.
Is Littles one of those people that was
spreading rumors?
Prodigy: We ain’t mentioning no names.
That’s the situation that went down.
What’s the state of QB hip-hop right now?
Prodigy: It is what it is. QB hip-hop will alOZONE
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OZONE
DEM FRANCHIZE BOYZ
WORDS: MAURICE G. GARLAND
PHOTOS: BARRY UNDERHILL
Dem Franchize Boyz hardly know what
a regular day feels like anymore. They
are on the road doing shows 6 days out
of the week, and at the airport on the
seventh. They’ve been zig-zagging from
New York to Cali to Atlanta and all points
in between capitalizing on the success
of their current hits “Oh I Think They Like
Me” and “Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It.”
shot and low blow, this foursome is putting their energy into things like building
their own “franchize,” DFB Records.
In the middle of promoting their upcoming album in Los Angeles, DFB got a brief
moment to sit down an interview. They
had a thousand things going on, but
what can you say, they are some busy
dudes. That’s a good thing, though.
As they gear up to release their upcoming album On Top Of Our Game DFB appreciates their busy schedule, knowing
that hard work definitely pays off. However, this scenario looks very familiar.
Your new deal at So So Def/Virgin is a
second chance of sorts. How are things
different from your Universal situation?
Parlae: We are more involved with the record label staff and the people behind the
scenes. This time around we’ve got a good
understanding of what exactly is going on
in our careers.
Back in September 2004, Jamaal
“Pimpin’” Willingham, Bernard “Jizzal
Man” Leverette, Maurice “Parlae” Gleaton and Gerald “Buddie” Tiller were
fresh out of their teens with a hit single
(“White Tees”), a recording contract with
Universal, and debut album dropping on
the same day as Nelly’s Sweat/Suit. But
by the end of the month it became obvious where Universal was applying the
bulk of their money and muscle.
Even as their unofficial street single “Oh
I Think They Like Me” popped up on mixtapes and radio stations throughout the
South, they couldn’t convince their recording home to push it as follow-up single. Frustrated with the lack of support
DFB sought a release and was granted
one in 2005.
True to their grind DFB continued to
work their music in the same streets that
took them from the West side of Atlanta
to national television in the first place.
They eventually got noticed by a person
who appears more suite than street, So
So Def head honcho Jermaine Dupri.
Since the ink dried on their new contract
with JD, they’ve been acting as ambassadors for mainstream media’s newest
media darling, the “snap music” phenomenon. And just like most artists that
the media embraces, they’ve had have to
deal with tons of naysayers and biters.
Unscathed, DFB realizes that things like
this come with the territory. So instead
of spending time answering to every pot
Before you got with JD, you were working with Raheem the Dream right? How
was that?
Parlae: He just showed us love. We was
already out there doing our thing. We just
didn’t know anybody at the majors yet. He
helped us get the major deal at Universal.
Do you guys own the rights to all of your
music? Because hopping on Virgin on
the strength of a song you did at Universal isn’t something that just happens
everyday.
Parlae: We own all our music. All of us
got our own publishing deals. Just being
from the streets at first we didn’t have no
publishing. But now we’re getting all that
money back.
You’re often credited as the originators
of Atlanta’s “snap music” movement.
With so many artists making this type
of music now, how do you guys plan to
stand out from the rest?
Parlae: By doing the same thing we did
to make “White Tee” stand out, just being
ourselves. We had people copying us then,
when folks making songs about this color
tee and that color tee. We had snap music
was on the first album, but people ain’t pay
attention to it then.
Jizzal Man: It’s a trend that we setting. I think
its good that so many people are doing it.
Its gonna keep us alive because its gonna
be hard to not go through us to make this
type of music.
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17
How long do you see this “snap music”
movement lasting? Do you think you’ll
still be around if it dies out?
Parlae: Music is gonna be music and I see
it being around for a long time. Everybody
has came out with something representing where they are from and everybody
is feeling down south music right now.
So because of that everybody just feeling
our sound right now too. So we starting
a whole new era. Snap music is all of the
other genres of music in one. It can’t go out
of style because its everything in one. It expresses everything in you. I know you got
a lot of sides to you. You feel different ways
on different days.
Coming from the West side of Atlanta,
you guys have to have some kind of
street edge. You’ve showed that with
some songs on your first album and by
appearing on Slick Pulla’s 4th Ward Day
mixtape. How will you handle that being
that many people are viewing you as a
pop act?
Parlae: The thing with is that we can’t get
caught up in that. All of our playing around
song became hits. But that street type shit
is what we do. We all from the hood so you
can definitely expect that. Are we gonna
leave the street stuff alone? Hell naw! That’s
how we started raping, that’s all I know to
rap about.
Jizzal Man: We got a different game going
on over here, you gonna hear what we talking about. We got Jim Jones, Bun B and
Pimp C on the album. We got Three 6 Mafia
and that nigga Trey Songz on there too.
How much time does it take to make a
song like “White Tee?”
Parlae: We made “White Tee” in 45 minutes.
“Oh I Think They Like Me” came out of the
blue just playing around. “Lean Wit It, Rock
Wit It” got made in an one hour. It don’t take
long to make a lot of our music because
everything comes form the heart and shit
we done seen. I only been rapping for two
years. I don’t even write no more.
Jizzal Man: I been rapping since I was 7 and
performing since I was 14. I used to play
drums too, so making music isn’t difficult
to me.
With the all of the traveling and stardom
how often do you get to go back to your
old neighborhoods?
Parlae: We never left the hood. We still
the hood with the rats and jays. We shot
the video for “Lean Wit It, Rock Wit” at the
Poole Palace, in the hood. It’s like Freaknik
in the club. You can come out and have a
good time. It’s in the hood, but there is a
hood in every city so you gotta look out for
certain things everywhere you go. But you
ain’t got to worry, come get down.
Jizzal Man: Wednesday is the talent night
and Thursday is the club night.
- Maurice G. Garland
(Photos: Barry Underhill)
(Clockwise from top:
Parlae, Pimpin’, Buddie,
and Jizzal Man)
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OZONE
CASH OUT
You used to be a part of the Street Lordz/
Chedda Boyz, right?
Yeah, but ever since my man got killed it’s
been a separation. I don’t know how to explain it. I been doing my own thing, as of
right now.
Who got killed?
Blade Icewood. Ever since he got killed everybody’s been going their separate ways.
I was looking forward to everybody doing
another album together.
Are you from Detroit?
Yes, I am. I’m from the West side of Detroit.
Who did you listen to comin’ up?
Everybody, like EPMD, and whoever else
was nice back in the day. I was really into
EPMD though. I really dug them heavy
back in the day.
What category would you say Detroit
falls into musically? East coast, Southern, Midwest, West coast?
It’s its own city. It’s nothing like no East
coast, no West coast city. None of that. We
just do our own thing. We’ve got our own
slang and everything.
So you dropped an album with Blade
Icewood?
Yeah, it was two Street Lordz albums. He
actually had like three albums of his own
and I was featured on multiple songs on
those albums.
Is this your first solo project that you’re
working on?
Yeah, this project I’m about to drop is a mix
CD called Cash Out: The Gan Man. “Gan” is
our slang for the purple, high-quality marijuana.
Are you putting out the mixtape for promo or selling it?
I’m gonna be putting it out on the streets for
sale. I don’t have no type of distributor, but
the mixtape is gonna be out locally for sure
though. My album will be coming soon,
probably late June or early July. It’s called
Money Talks.
What are the hot spots in Detroit during
the Super Bowl?
Aw, it’s all type of spots. Icon, Elisium, the
Zoo Bar, the Apartment, Floods, Status Quo,
the Platinum Lounge, Cousins Lounge,
Theresa’s Lounge, Half Past Three.
Who do you work with for production?
Do you have somebody in-house?
Yeah, one producer I work with is named
AK. He’s a good producer, he produced
most of the Blade Icewood project.
Who are some of the other up-and-coming rappers in Detroit to look out for?
The Street Lordz, Jesse James, Kato, Rock
Bottom, Donnie Brasco, and of course Trick
Trick got a deal.
As far as rappers from Detroit, most people would instantly think of Eminem and
D12. Do you think they’re a good representation of the Detroit rap scene?
I wouldn’t say that. I wouldn’t want to diss
nobody though. I guess they are a good
representation commercially, but as far
as the street aspect of the hip-hop scene,
not really. It’s different. That’s not a diss,
though. They’re a good sound for Detroit.
They put our foot in the door, you know
what I’m sayin’?
What about the battle rap scene that they
showed in Eminem’s movie 8 Mile? Did
that accurately show the Detroit underground scene?
Yeah, in the hip-hop scene that’s exactly
how it is. I’m not really a hip-hop artist, as
far as being in a cipher and battling and
all that stuff. But that’s exactly what Eminem is, feel me? If gangsta rap is hip-hop,
than I’m hip-hop. I’m not really a hardcore
gangsta shoot-‘em-up-bang rapper. I really
call my music hustle music. Hustle music
hasn’t been categorized yet.
They might have to create a category
for “hustle music.” Does someone like
Jeezy qualify? Is that the vibe of your
music?
Yeah, it’s kinda like a Jeezy vibe with an upNorth feel to it.
OZONE is based in the South. Do you
think the South will feel your music?
My music will appeal to anybody in the
world. Just like Jeezy, I just like to motivate
people to really get on their grind and do
what they gotta do if they lookin’ forward to
getting some kind of cash.
- Julia Beverly
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