bg pimp c rick ross lil boosie twisted black juelz

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OZONE MAGAZINE
REAL, RAW, & UNCENSORED SOUTHERN RAP
THE FIRST ANNUAL
IT’S HARD TO BE LEGIT AND STILL PAY YOUR RENT
DRUG
ISSUE
CRACKHEAD
CONFESSIONS
TRUE STORIES FROM RAP’S
MOST DESPISED HEROES
B.G.
PIMP C
RICK ROSS
LIL BOOSIE
TWISTED BLACK
JUELZ SANTANA
& MORE
G
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MARCH 2007
K
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PL NE ST IGG LIO
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OZ T COB, J-AXAM
S A
WE H F T, TR
STA R
MI $HO
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TO
REAL, RAW, & UNCENSORED SOUTHERN RAP
THE FIRST ANNUAL
DRUG
ISSUE
FEATURING
B.G.
PIMP C
RICK ROSS
LIL BOOSIE
TWISTED BLACK
JUELZ SANTANA
& MORE
CRACKHEAD
CONFESSIONS
TRUE STORIES FROM RAP’S
MOST DESPISED HEROES
E
I
S
O
O
B
L
I
L ENTERTAINMENT
& TRILL
ICE
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P’ EED SHOULD HOUSE
A
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CY BE ASONS WHY W O ROB A STASH MORE
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12 // OZONE MAG
OZONE MAG // 11
introduction
PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Julia Beverly
CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER N. Ali Early
MUSIC EDITOR Randy Roper
FEATURES EDITOR Eric Perrin
ART DIRECTOR Tene Gooden
ADVERTISING SALES Che’ Johnson
PROMOTIONS DIRECTOR Malik Abdul
MARKETING DIRECTOR David Muhammad
LEGAL CONSULTANT Kyle P. King, P.A.
SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER Destine Cajuste
ADMINISTRATIVE Cordice Gardner, Kisha Smith
CONTRIBUTORS Alexander Cannon, Bogan,
Carlton Wade, Charlamagne the God, Chuck
T, E-Feezy, Edward Hall, Felita Knight, Iisha
Hillmon, Jacinta Howard, Jaro Vacek, Jessica
Koslow, J Lash, Jason Cordes, Jo Jo, Joey
Columbo, Johnny Louis, Kamikaze, Keadron
Smith, Keith Kennedy, Kenneth Brewer, K.G.
Mosley, King Yella, Luis Santana, Marcus
DeWayne, Matt Sonzala, Maurice G. Garland,
Mercedes (Strictly Streets), Mike Sims, Ms.
Rivercity, Natalia Gomez, Ray Tamarra, Rico
Da Crook, Robert Gabriel, Rohit Loomba,
Shannon McCollum, Spiff, Swift, Wally Sparks,
Wendy Day
OZONE WEST CONTRIBUTORS D-Ray, DJ BackSide, Joey Colombo, Toby Francis
STREET REPS Al-My-T, B-Lord, Big Teach
(Big Mouth), Bigg C, Bigg V, Black, Brian
Franklin, Buggah D. Govanah (On Point), Bull,
C Rola, Cedric Walker, Chill, Chilly C, Chuck T,
Controller, DJ Dap, David Muhammad, Delight,
Derrick the Franchise, Destine Cajuste, Dolla
Bill, Dwayne Barnum, Dr. Doom, Ed the World
Famous, Episode, General, Haziq Ali, H-Vidal,
Hollywood, J Fresh, Jammin’ Jay, Janky,
Joe Anthony, Judah, Kamikaze, KC, Kenneth
Clark, Klarc Shepard, Kuzzo, Kydd Joe, Lex, Lil
D, Lump, Marco Mall, Miguel, Mr. Lee, Music
& More, Nick@Nite, Nikki Kancey, Pat Pat,
PhattLipp, Pimp G, Quest, Rippy, Rob-Lo, Stax,
TJ’s DJ’s, TJ Bless, Tim Brown, Trina Edwards,
Vicious, Victor Walker, Voodoo, Wild Billo,
Young Harlem
DISTRIBUTION Curtis Circulation, LLC
SUBSCRIPTIONS To subscribe, send check or
money order for $11 to:
Ozone Magazine, Inc.
Attn: Subscriptions Dept
644 Antone St. Suite 6
Atlanta, GA 30318
Phone: 404-350-3887
Fax: 404-350-2497
Website: www.ozonemag.com
COVER CREDITS Young Buck photo by Ray Tamarra; Lil Boosie & Trill Fam photo by King Yella;
Kafani photo by D-Ray; Tax Holloway photo by
Julia Beverly.
DISCLAIMER OZONE Magazine is published 11
times per year by OZONE Magazine, Inc. 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.
14 // OZONE MAG
T2
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OZONustlin’ pg W110
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fi
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WestsidFAB pg W14--11
Mistaha Love pg W58-21
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CalifornpRising pg W pg W4
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Youth Ut is Back...Sidrt pg W6
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The Weerapy: Too $hpg W22-23
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contents
COVER STORIES
Young Buck pg 74-77
Lil Boosie pg 98-100
INTERVIEWS
Juelz Santana pg 68-69
Twisted Black pg 44
Rick Ross pg 92-93
Pretty Ricky pg 73
Pimp C pg 96-97
Fabo pg 106-107
B.G. pg 86-87
FEATURES
X Files pg 32
The Inspiration pg 78
The World Is Ours pg 36
Up In Smoke pg 64-65
What’s In A Name pg 84
The Burning Question pg 30
Under the Influence pg 79-83
Crackhead Confessions pg 50-53
How To Rob A Stash House pg 38
They Must Have Been High pg 101
20 Greatest Drug-Related Movies pg 34
20 Reasons Weed Should Be Legal pg 28
IOgN4S0
T
C
E
S
p
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MONTH Hustlinle’ pg 46
DJ Profiack pg 16
Feedb ne pg 112
End Zoheck pg 26
Chin CCents pg 19
JB’s 2 ry 101 pg 424
Indust matics pg 221
Mathe est pg 20- 19
Rapqu Powell pg 02
RolandProfile pg 1113
Sportslements pg g 48
The E er Profile p-109
Produciews pg 10825-49
CD Revalleries pg 54-62
G
Photoly Waiting pg
Patient
feedback
Dope editorial, JB! I read the whole thing and it was very articulate. I feel you
100%. Keep it lit for the South!
- DJ Devro, DJDevro@aol.com (Oakland, CA)
Damn JB, what’s up with your 2 cents this month? Do you like New Yorkers or
not? You talk shit about New York but you stay having New York niggas in the
magazine. This month you got Nas, Freekey Zeekey, Jim Jones… come on.
- Ackmon The Kid, Ackmontheekid9@gmail.com (Brooklyn, NY)
This might be old by now, but I feel what you are saying. I recently picked up the
October 2006 issue of OZONE Magazine and I found your 2 Cents article to be very
colorful and informative about what happened backstage at the OZONE Awards.
You had some very good points and I could relate to what you were saying.
People really don’t know what it takes to make an event - big or small - be successful. I just want to let you know that there are people out here that are thankful for people like you, and I am one of them. It takes the nobodys to pull things
off for the somebodys. So please keep up the good work and I will be looking
forward to seeing your future work. Your article has made me add OZONE to the
list of magazines that I read now. You also have motivated me to keep on track
doing what I love to do and to never give up. Stress comes and goes in everyone’s
everyday life, so you’ve got to deal with it and keep going. Thank you!
- Shannon Erica, sejkaynook67@yahoo.com
I second that motion! I couldn’t have agreed more with your editorial talking
about the relationship between ambition and sex. The most powerful, wealthy,
driven and historical figures in the world have a lust for life. What makes you feel
more alive than sharing life with someone? Even if the connection is momentary,
the electricity created when two people are attracted to one another and can express it sexually is out of this world. “All things in moderation” is true to a point,
but life happens every day, so why can’t sex? If the two people involved have an
understanding of what the relationship is, have fun! I don’t think the sex game
is only privy to those in the entertainment industry. The higher you go in society,
the more people you will be around who are just as ambitious or they wouldn’t be
there. Students fantasize about the teacher, the teacher about the principal and
the principal the superintendent. It’s a crazy cycle. Keep doing your thing. This
is my first time reading your magazine. I like the emphasis on safe sex. Children
need to hear that there are consequences to every act, no matter how alluring it
may seem at the moment.
- Rasheed Amin Chappell, rasheed.a.chappell@verizon.com
You’re really gonna ruffle some feathers with JB’s 2 Cents this month. No disrespect, but the South controls the clubs in New York, L.A., Chicago, and all the major
and minor markets because we party and have beats with soul. It’s rare that you
get songs like Jim Jones’ “We Fly High (Ballin’)” that really cross over into the
South from New York. But even if Jim hadn’t got the South, Jim and Dipset already
have a fan base and sell tons of records. These New York rappers and DJs that are
complaining need to gain a fan base, make good records, and form an alliance
with Southern rappers and the rest will happen. This game is about relationships.
The South ain’t complaining, the West ain’t complaining. Everybody gets a chance.
Like Gorilla Zoe says, hating makes the situation worse. Great piece, JB.
- DJ Kool Laid, kool.laid05@gmail.com (Boyle, MS)
Gillie The Kid is the hater of the year? You got to be kidding me. Gillie pulled lil
fella’s hoe card bad. I know Lil Wayne is from the South and you got to love him,
but come the fuck on. Lil Wayne’s ass could barely form a sentence in the Hot Boys
days and now he’s rapping with complicated metaphors and all that. Lil Wayne
has an East Coast flow now! If anybody goes back and listens to the Suave House
compilation, you’ll hear Gillie on like four songs. Lil Wayne took dude’s complete
swagger! The DJ Kurupt mixtape of them two proves it as well: Lil Wayne is Gillie’s
clone! Period.
- Adam Murphy, jessejames314@aol.com (St. Louis, MO)
I loved your February’s 2 Cents. That’s right, tell them folks to c’mon down here to
the South. We’re getting money. You gets much respect JB, because Screw music is
an art form.
- DJ Supa C, DJSupaC@gmail.com (Houston, TX)
16 // OZONE MAG
Hey JB, your 2 Cents column in the January/February issue of OZONE with the
Underground Kingz, Bun B and Pimp C, was refreshingly truthful in its perspective of how New Yorkers are generally haters. More than a little bit, they feel like
they’ve got sole ownership or domination in the Hip Hop game because they
were the birthplace of the culture. I too have experienced the hostility of haterism numerous times. The most significant was when I spent some time in Dallas,
San Antonio, and DJ Screw’s old stomping grounds of Screwston (R.I.P.). When
I brought back some chopped and screwed mixtapes to Melbourne, Austrailia,
I continually heard from the backpacking segment of the Hip Hop fans that it
wasn’t “real” and would die out in due time. I’d rather see everybody get down
together and represent their region and see profits on all levels. That’s my
nickel’s worth of thoughts and I’m eagerly anticipating the next OZONE.
- Paul Vanselow, notesfam_bloccmusic@yahoo.com (Southern California)
Polow da CON is whack. How is he gonna be from the South and hatin’ on the
South? That dude should take his fuck-ass back to the West coast. We don’t want
him here.
- Alexander Cannon, alexanderg.cannon@hotmail.com (Atlanta, GA)
How did Block get on the cover of Ozone? I mean, that dude straight, but a
cover? I think you shoulda put Killer Mike or SL Jones on the cover before Block. I
question some of your cover choices but OZONE is still the shit. Every year Ozone
keeps getting better. I’m happy to see y’all doing your thing.
- Ian Priester, Ianpriester_404@gmail.com (Atlanta, GA)
OZONE MAG // 17
18 // OZONE MAG
JB’s 2 CENTS
T
upac said it and it’s still true: It’s a dirty game, and you got
to be careful who you fuck with and who you don’t fuck with.
I got a lot of good advice this month. I’m tryin’ to do it right
in 2007.
Oh, yeah, it’s true, I packed up all my shit and moved to Atlanta.
I’ll always be a Floridian at heart, but sometimes you’ve got to cut
ties to grow.
10 Things I’m Hatin’ On
By Roland “Lil Duval” Powell
I have a few questions for my readers.
Disclaimer: This is really what everybody else is sayin’. I
know I’m dead wrong, but I’m hating anyway.
First, if you don’t know me, what would possess you to call my cell
phone after midnight on a holiday “just to say hi” and to find out “how to
get [your artist] in the magazine”? I really would like to know.
1. New Years
I’m so tired of people sayin’, “This is my
year.” Nigga, you been saying that for the
last six years.
2. Clear Air Force Ones
These shoes should be abolished and if you
see a nigga with some dirty socks on, slap
the shit outta him.
So, yeah, I kinda have this thing
for sitting on rapper’s laps. Here
I am with Polow in Atlanta...
3. Sway from MTV
I know I ain’t the only one wondering what
the hell is in his hat. I think there’s a midget
in there controlling his brain like Men in
Black.
4. People That Think They Been Through A
Lot
People always think their life has been so
hard and say, “You don’t know what I’ve
been through.” I hate hearing people say
this. A 12-year-old nigga going to a private
school and living with both parents told
me this.
5. Realtors
This is a prime example of niggas doing
what they see everybody else doing. First
people wanted to be in entertainment (and
still do), now everybody wants to be a real
estate agent. There’s more realtors than
houses now.
Lastly, I really would like to know why people call our office asking for our
mailing address and then as soon as you start to give it to them, they say,
“Hold on, let me go find a pen,” and put you on hold for ten minutes.
Impersonating John Lennon
with Scrappy in Milwaukee...
In NYC with my favorite rapper...
6. Club Security Guards
I shouldn’t be bigger than the security
guards at yo’ club. How am I supposed to
feel safe?
7. Tyra Banks
She kills me with all this undercover shit.
She’s been a man and a stripper, but the one
where she was homeless took the cake. We
all know damn well she still ain’t gon’ give
nobody shit on the streets.
Bringing in the New Year with
Young Buck in ATL...
10. Country Ass Towns
Don’t you hate it when a nigga tells you
about something in their town that no one
else gives a damn about? This girl told me,
“Did you know that Thomasville is the home
of the watermelon-spitting seed contest?”
www.myspace.com/rolandpowell
It’s been a while since I blasted anybody in my editorial. It could be that
I’m getting nicer, but more likely, it’s just that most people have learned
not to piss me off. If you live in Orlando, I would advise you to never do
business with that fat beady-eyed faggot True who runs 407 Motoring rim
shop and thinks he’s better than everyone else cause he’s supposedly from
Jersey. He owes me $2400 and everything about him screams “bullshit”
so I should’ve known better in the first place. There’s a few people in jail
who owe me money but I won’t kick them while they’re down. HotFlyerz.
com ($500) and a guy named James Harleston with Street Gossip ($3,000)
are two more bullshitters who you should avoid. Same with MC Qua and
another Houston rapper who I won’t name yet. Warlock Records is full of
shit, but then again, aren’t all record labels? The cheapest muthafucker in
Miami, Abebe, who runs a multi-million dollar recording studio, has been
dodging me for four years to avoid paying the $520 he owes for an ad. The
list goes on and on but I won’t name the others yet because of the slight
possibility that they’re actually going to pay me.
I’m quite popular all of a sudden, but rappers, listen: If you weren’t tryin’
to hit years ago when I was a lil’ anonymous photographer hangin’ around
your show or video shoot, don’t try to hit now that I got a lil’ magazine.
If you were a visionary, like me, you would’ve seen the potential and the
power and tried to holla back before I knew better and possibly succeeded.
It’s too late now! You’re not getting a free cover, either, so don’t ask.
Next month we will holla at the DJs (the Aphilliates got raided earlier
today by the Feds for “bootlegging”; I would like to say on the record
that I think that’s bullshit) and introduce you to a bunch of new people at
OZONE who are much more enthusiastic and much less burned out than I.
Shit, that’s making me sound old. Anyway, as they say, it ain’t where you’re
from, it’s where you’re at, and right now ATL is a great place for us to be.
8. Stank Breath Females
I don’t care how fine you is. If yo’ breath
smell like ass, don’t speak to me.
9. Niggas With Receding Hairlines
Don’t try to blame the barber cause your
hairline is so far back it’s on another
nigga’s head. I know a nigga with a bald
head who’s still got a bald spot.
Secondly, I realize that being a “successful” female has gained me a lot
of female fans and readers, and I appreciate them. However, I do wonder:
Why do I get ten emails every day from female “models” with their pictures
attached? If you read OZONE, you would know that we are a rap magazine,
not a model magazine. I don’t want pictures of random “myspace model”
chicks filling up my inbox. Do I look like I like women? I don’t. If I wanted
to see ass and titties, I’d look in the mirror. I know Source, XXL and all
them have their little “eye candy” sections. We don’t, because this is my
shit and I like men. We got too many complaints when we printed “male
model” pictures, so if I can’t look at half-naked men in OZONE, y’all can’t
look at half-naked women. Sorry.
& winning a bet in Jacksonville
- Julia Beverly, jb@ozonemag.com
Young Jeezy f/ R Kelly “Go Getter”
Rich Boy f/ David Banner & Attitude “Role Models”
Lloyd f/ Andre 3000 & Nas “You (remix)”
Fantasia f/ Big Boi “Hood Boy”
Messy Marv “Get On My Hype”
Young Jeezy “Bury Me A G”
YoungBloodz f/ Jacki-O & Busta Rhymes “Whole Lotta Ass”
T-Pain “Mr. Downtown”
jb’splaylist
David Banner “Hey Girl”
Miss B “Grown Man”
Mike Jones “Mr. Jones”
Dat Boy Aim “This My Year”
OZONE MAG // 19
RAPQUEST
S POPPIND’AT ALL, HIT US UP at JB@OZONEMAG.COM
T’
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THE STREMISREPRESENTED, OR NOT REPRESENTE
OZONE HITATS YO
UR CITY IS
IF YOU FEEL TH
INDIANAPOLIS, IN:
The word from the Nappy is that Indy Idol winners The Block have taken off with a vengeance
and their mixtape is hitting stores soon. The war between 625 Entertainment and the other
artists in the city is heating back up. Even DJs out here are beefing. DJ Panic is hitting the
scene extra hard right now and others don’t like what he’s doing or the way he’s doing it. DJ
Balo is starting to really heat up the streets with his mixtapes. Jim E Mac, G Stack, & Keylo G,
some of the OGs in the city, have hooked up with DJ Panic and put out some super hot mix
tapes. The Hype Magazine has kicked off their monthly showcase series.
– Lucky the Promo King (srfoleaf@aol.com)
NASHVILLE, TN:
There’s a petition floating around Nashville being by local talent, demanding that the radio stations support local music. In addition to that Clear Channel nonsense, damn near every Titan football player has either a label or an album. Pac Man had an album release party, but has no album. And what’s the deal with
Cashville’s Prince All Star? Where is All Star’s Cash Money Records debut? Why does Lil Wayne mention Curren$y in all his interviews and never mention Star? And
why is the whole city waiting on All Star’s next mixtape and not Young Buck’s Buck Tha World?
- Cory Sparks (corysparks@gmail.com), Janiro (Janiro@southernentawards.com), Jo Jo (f4ent@tmail.com)
MEMPHIS, TN
Producer Antonio “2Shay” Parkinson has taken on the role of Chairman of the Memphis Music Commission (MMC)
after Rey Flemings stepped down. MMC has also launched “ND Radio Show” for local artists on K97 hosted by
Devin Steel. Club Changes has re-opened after failing to reapply for a liquor license, and plans on regaining new
business with a fresh start. Watch out for Gangsta Boo’s controversial single “Queen of the South” where she
blasts other female rappers. Memphis artist Miscellaneous says he’s now washed his hands of the beef with Yo
Gotti and plans to continue with The Memphis Movement and bring unity among local artists. Memphis rapper/
producer Mr Sche, nominated for best producer and best album, was selected to perform at the 2007 SEAs.
DALLAS/FT. WORTH, TX:
Club M5 is the newest nightlife spot
in the city for the partygoers, ballers,
and boppers. Tum Tum’s “Caprice Music”
aired as the new joint on BET’s 106th &
Park and Lil Peace’s “Hit Da Dance Floor”
grabbed the attention of local radio
stations. Chase Pat’s “Rep Da Grove” is
the anthem being sung word for word
in every club and DJ Drop’s Kingz of The
Kitchen is still the hottest mixtape in the
streets. Big Tuck’s album Tha Absolute
Truth is in stores now, while Mistalong,
Coby Savage and Philly Station are buzzing in the streets. Bo-Leg and Twisted
Black got locked up – stay strong!
– Edward “Pookie” Hall (EHall@urbansouth.us)
CHATTANOOGA, TN:
The club scene was dead until First
Fridays at The Whole re-emerged to heat
up the nightlife, along with weekend hot
spot Deep Blue and Club Dominques’ new
–Deanna Brown (DeannaBrown@MemphisRap.com)
Saturdays. Three Chattanooga residents
are nominated for multiple SEAs: WJTT personality Ms. Magic and mixtape/mixshow DJs Dutty Laundry
and Wally Sparks. Local rap hustler D. Cooley appears on two singles with Knoxville artist Mr. Mack.
Entrepreneur Jermaine Harper continues catering to the upscale crowd with his own Harlem Entertainment, and Dutty Laundry and Big Daryl have opened up their lifestyle shop 3D Urban Music & Movies.
One of Wally Sparks’ four new mixtapes, Cocaine Cowboys with Rick Ross, is receiving critical acclaim.
– DJ Wally Sparks (DJWallySparks05@aol.com )
JACKSON, MS:
Often overlooked and underestimated, we get money here just like in
any other city. We break records and contribute to your record sales.
David Banner ended ’06 right by sponsoring a Christmas toy drive,
and Boo da Boss Playa kicked off ’07 right by collaborating with The
Aphilliates for The Drugstore mixtape. The Vikings’ defensive back Fred
Smoot suffered a broken jaw in a car accident which totaled his Rolls
Royce – get well soon! Buffie the Body is coming soon to Upper Level.
- Tambra Cherie (TambraCherie@aol.com) & Stax (Blockwear@tmo.blackberry.net)
AUSTIN, TX:
Carnival Beats, producers of “Still Tippin’,” “Back Then,” and
“Sittin’ Sideways” brought out the heat on the ‘Pac’s Life
album and now are working with Chingo Bling. DJ Rapid
Ric and the Whut It Dew family just released Whut It Dew 4,
which includes the “Pullin’ Up” music video DVD. Top Dollar
Clothing, originators of the famous “Whut It Dew” shirts,
opened their retail store on the eastside. DJ Bounz’s Mindset Vol. 2, hosted by Rasaq and Tum-Tum is in stores now.
Basswood Lane’s single, “Ciabiata Bread,” is receiving a big
response from the streets and demanding radio play.
- O.G. of Luxury Mindz (LuxuryMindz@gmail.com)
BAY ST. LOUIS, MS:
Nels Sports Bar & Lounge, the Gulf Coast’s hottest entertainment venue, proves that the Mississippi sound is still very
much alive post-Katrina. The success of Block Boi Volume
1 featuring David Banner prompted the early release of
Block Boi Volume I: Katrina Survivor. Dub G is nominated for
the Southern Entertainment Awards. SwampRoot videos is
highlighting talent from the Mississippi Gulf Coast at www.
youtube.com/crossroadsentllc with their Life After The Storm
mixtape featuring G’No, Lil Camile, Duece Double 0, and The
SwampRoot Klik.
– DJ Deliyte (unodasound@yahoo.com)
HATTIESBURG, MS:
Miz Smurff continues to blaze the airwaves with her new track “Ooh Yeah,” while awaiting the Southern Entertainment Awards where she’s nominated for several awards. Urban super-club Hi Hat 2000 has been closed due to unknown reasons. Deeman a.k.a. Big Daddy, the afternoon jock on
WILD 106.3, is preparing Volume 2 of his Hustlin’ Slow mixtape series with crazy never-heard exclusives. A routine traffic stop on the highway near
Hattiesburg revealed 300 pounds of that good green in the rear of an 18-wheeler; law officials connected dozens in trafficking ring that spans
from the A to H-Town. Producer/artist GMB continues to grind, preparing his still-untitled second release.
- DJ Big Brd (LLerbac@yahoo.com)
20 // OZONE MAG
CINCINNATI, OH:
Even in a city where 2006’s homicide rate reached
an all-time high of 85 - amidst the shoot-outs,
curfews, and beef - there is still some real music.
For all y’all who have been frontin’ on Hi-Tek,
WIFZ 100.9 let him speak out. And although Tek
made it clear that money ain’t the only thing that
motivates him – he’ll work with you if you got
real music – the money helps too. Tocka has the
hottest mixtape of the year, which can be found
on every bootleg table in the city. They don’t
bootleg bullshit. Deaf Boy Records is back in effect since the release of the Notorious Bobby.
– Judy Jones (Judy@JJonesent.com)
WASHINGTON, DC:
Another year has passed and D.C. is still looking for that breakout rapper to put the city on the map.
The D.C. hip-hop scene bubbled crazy in ’06 and right now all eyes are on Wale. Since linking up with
former Roc-A-Fella Records VP Kenny Burns and his upstart Studio 43 imprint, the former Source “Unsigned Hype” has been building quite a regional following while developing into a mainstay on area
radio rotations with his go-go sample looped singles such as “Dig Dug.” He headlined the New Year’s
Eve party at Platinum Nightclub and performed with Fat Joe on the Budweiser Select Series.
– Pharoh Talib (PTalib@gmail.com)
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA:
The Clipse threw their album release party and “made it rain” on everyone in attendance. They also dissed Lil Wayne live on the radio and
audio from the interview made its rounds on the internet, creating mass
hysteria. Fam-Lay is gaining speed in the market thanks to heavy radio
support. New Orleans import Derrick Tha Franchise a.k.a. Young Fame
(that’s me!) flooded the streets with the mixtape series Ear 2 Tha Street.
– Derrick Tha Franchise (Trax4Profit@hotmail.com)
RALEIGH, NC:
MONTGOMERY, AL:
Lil Boosie zoomed through and the crowd made “weather like Katrina.”
Security had to regain control of the 900+ attendees before the show
could continue. Grand Hustle producer Khao has closed the doors to his
studio because “it ain’t makin’ no money.” Meanwhile, Michael London
is the certified COO for Longmoney Entertainment’s new studio. Are the
Dirty Boys still together? Well, they tore up the stage together, performing something old, something new and acting an ass with Mr. Blu.
It seems that 2006 was the year for Young Real here in the capital city of Raleigh.
After having several hot joints hit the North Carolina airwaves, the streets are
waiting to hear the next thing coming out of the Haz Camp. There are a few other
NC hopefuls looking for a favorable nod in ’07: Original Sin (Durham), P-Batters
(Raleigh), Josie Mo (Durham) and J-Khrist (Fayetteville). The streets in North
Carolina are buzzing with the hype of the possibilities for 2007.
- Big K (NCStreets@gmail.com)
COLUMBIA, SC:
Columbia has quite a few nominees in this year’s Southern Entertainment Awards. Hot 103.9 is nominated for Radio Station of the Year, as
well as radio personality Neek, record promoter Rob-Lo, and DJ BLord. Club Evolutions keeps it crunk every weekend with the hottest
DJs – Frosty.com, Big Gee, B-Lord, Tazz, and Phat Boi – while hosts
such as Neek, Venom, Charlamagne Tha God and D. Stretch keep the
parties live. Lim’s Fashion in the Columbia Mall has all the gear you
need, and when Lim’s closes for the night, you can stop by Swagger
Clothing Company, where the doors don’t close until midnight.
– Hot Girl Maximum (HotGirl.Maximum@gmail.com)
TALLAHASSEE, FL:
Everybody’s getting ready to go back to school (FAMU, FSU,
and TCC), and preparing for Demp Week and the first TJ’s DJ’s
Tastemakers Only record pool meeting. Blazin’ 102.3 FM kicks
off a new show in February with Tallahassee residents like TPain, Shawn Jay of Field Mob, Pleasure P of Pretty Ricky, and
Thrill da Playa of the 69 Boyz. DJ Butch of the County Boyz
has a new single that’s firing up the clubs and radio stations,
the uptempo track “U Ain’t Crunk U Trippin’.” One time for
Young Jeezy and Lil Boosie, the hottest artists in the streets.
– DJ Dap (DJDapOnline@gmail.com)
– Rob-Lo (RobLoPromo@aol.com)
CHARLESTON, SC:
Lil Boosie is coming to our newest hot spot, the Weekend Pub, with DJ B-Lord
and DJ Kub spinning. The streets are buzzing about legendary Charleston rapper
Pachino Dino’s new single “Tear The Club Walls Down.” Pachino recently returned
home after serving time for various charges. DJ Kub is preparing to drop Mix or
Die Vol. 3: The Best of The Chuck, and the city’s #1 gentlemen’s club Bada Bing will
be bringing in Flavor of Love’s Eye Candy, Deelishis, to host the birthday bash for
the club owner, Spence.
– DJ B-Lord (BLordDJ@aol.com)
ORLANDO, FL:
JACKSONVILLE, FL:
With Florida’s state senator found guilty of felony
grand theft, the Orlando city commissioner being
arrested for bribery and the release of Sho Boy’s
Terrorist Threat mixtape, Mickey Mouse is to sure
to give the city back to the streets. Smilez, one
half of the rap group Smilez & Southstar, released
Smilez Runs Orlando, the official charity event
mixtape. The new Spiff TV DVD hit stores, and R&B
singer KC plans on shooting a video shortly while
still finishing up with production duo The Runners. Mrs. Johnson’s soul food restaurant recently
moved from the slums of Parramore to the up and
coming development of Church Street.
Believe it! The Kings of the South tour rolled through but the most exciting thing
that happened that night was the Duval Boyz getting jumped. They held it down
though. Hip-Hop Hell had its fourth annual freestyle battle. Strife won, again.
Y’all were well-behaved at the Ghetto Grammys, but I can’t say the same for the
OZONE party at Da Real Ting Café. Them heffers got to fighting so security maced
the whole club. Now that my lungs have recuperated to check out Swordz, Beckett
and the Duval Boyz. “Outside Pussy,” “X,” and “Hayie” are buzzin’ in the streets of
Jacksonville, as well as the Grind2Shine DVD and Swordz’ Street Album.
– Ms. Rivercity (www.myspace.com/msrivercity)
MIAMI, FL:
– Destine Cajuste (UPromoteMe@aol.com)
TAMPA, FL:
We might be in the middle of some major players, but don’t count us out.
Call it a comeback for Tom G with his hit for the ladies, “Nympho,” featuring
MVP. Everyone and their mama wants to put Tampa on the map. Aych is doin’
it and doin’ it well with his weekly open mic night at Da Cypher, giving local
artists a chance. The Olivia Fox Morning Show and DJ H-Vidal are both off the
air at 95.7 The Beat, just like that! Can we get a warning next time?
– Tamara Brown (MzTRock@yahoo.com)
Everybody from Ludacris, T.I. and his fiance Tiny, Venus and Serena
Williams, Queen Latifah, Kelly Rowland, Solange Knowles, Nick
Cannon, Lil Jon, Pitbull, Lindsay Lohan and Scott Storch brought in
2007 right here in the 3-0-5! After 20 years of doing every job at
99 Jamz, Derrick B became the program director. Big Lip and Supa
Cindy celebrated six years of running the radio game! Promoter
extraordinaire Michael Madd sent out a massive email insulting the
afternoon jock at 99 Jamz, Lorenzo “Ice Tea” Thomas. Will there be
a reply and who has a bigger email list? The hottest song in the
streets is Poe Boy’s Brisco with “Opa Locka.”
– Supa Cindy (SupaIsAQueen@gmail.com)
OZONE MAG // 21
22 // OZONE MAG
OZONE MAG // 23
mathematics
byWendyDayoftheRapCoalition
www.wendyday.com
MARKETING
D
ictionary.com defines marketing as the “activities of a company associated with buying
and selling a product or service. It includes
advertising, selling and delivering products to
people. People who work in marketing departments
of companies try to get the attention of target
audiences by using slogans, packaging design, celebrity endorsements and general media exposure.
The four ‘Ps’ of marketing are product, placement,
price and promotion.”
Many people believe that marketing is just about advertising or sales.
However, marketing is everything a company does to acquire customers and
maintain a relationship with them. Even the small tasks like writing thankyou letters, playing golf with a prospective client, returning calls promptly
and meeting with a past client for coffee can be thought of as marketing.
The ultimate goal of marketing is to match a company’s products and services to the people who need and want them, thereby ensuring profitability
for the company.
In the music business, labels figure out who will buy their CDs (target market) and the best way to reach that market. With the increase of downloading
and P2P music swapping, figuring out who will actually buy CDs grows harder
everyday. Once a label figures out who will buy the CDs, they then focus
on the areas where those people live. Independent labels focus on small
regional areas and target them a few at a time, while larger major labels
focus on key markets nationally and blitz them simultaneously. This is why
first week sales are so important to major labels – it gives them a gauge of
how much more effort to make for a project. For example, if Young Jeezy
comes out and sells 352,000 CDs in his first week, it tells Def Jam that there
is demand for his project. If a major label releases another artist and the
project only sells 30,000 CDs, this tells the label that demand for that project
is not very high. The label, being interested in focusing attention where
the bulk of profits are, would shift their focus from a project that only sold
30,000 CDs to one that had the ability to sell more, often bringing that less
successful project to a grinding halt. An indie label, on the other hand, would
see sales of 30,000 CDs as a success because they spent less money and have
lower overhead, so they’d continue working that project as long as the sales
kept rolling in.
Once a label focuses on the areas where the potential target market are,
they then figure out the best way to reach that market so they can get
their advertising, publicity, street team, and promotional efforts directly in
front of those potential consumers. For example, a label would market and
promote an Eminem CD much differently than they would a Young Jeezy
CD, because it is a different core audience. Sometimes labels look at similar
projects and what they’ve done in the past to market a newer project. For
example, a fan of Mos Def or Common would also be a potential fan of Talib
Kweli, so a label may pull up the sales track record for Mos Def and Common
when plotting the areas to attack for a Talib project. Labels often look at
similar projects to see what they’ve done and where their success has been.
Once a label has found whom to reach and where to reach them, the most
essential part of marketing is figuring out “how” to best reach the consumer.
If a Young Jeezy fan isn’t sitting at home watching PBS’ The Lehrer Report,
then advertising a Jeezy release during that news show would be a waste
of marketing dollars. But if a Jeezy fan is watching Rap City on BET, then it
makes perfect sense to spend money on commercials during Rap City, three
weeks prior to the CD’s release, and a few weeks after (if the budget for that
exists).
Marketing is the ability to reach the key audience in a way they will understand and relate to, and in an environment that will catch their attention.
The problem with advertising during Rap City on BET is that every other rap
record label with similar music is trying to reach those same viewers, all at
the same time. When a viewer is bombarded by the same shit day in and day
out, they begin to tune out, reducing the effectiveness of that advertising.
This doesn’t mean that a label can skip BET ads during Rap City, because
sometimes the absence of something creates a negative association (for
example, if Jeezy ads weren’t seen on BET prior to his release, a fan may
24 // OZONE MAG
wonder if he’s fallen off or if the label isn’t behind the project very soundly,
leading to the wrong assumption that the project may not be good).
Label employees spend weeks and months developing plans to reach the
consumer in new and exciting ways that cause the artist to stand out. David
Banner’s team chose to give away three scholarships inside of his CDs, so 3
lucky fans would buy a CD that allowed them to collect $10,000 towards going to college. This was done at a time when other artists were giving away
rims, chains, and other material possessions, so the scholarships not only
stood out, but it got the press talking about how it stood out (free publicity). I could also mention the good karma involved in giving out scholarships, but this isn’t that kind of article.
Independent labels, because their financial resources are smaller, have to
target smaller areas (perhaps 5 cities or 3 states in a region to begin with)
and spread their messages a bit slower than a major. Since independent
labels don’t care about first week sales (they only care about how many
CDs have sold in total before they put out the next release), they can work
a project region by region over a period of, say, nine months to a year and
a half - time doesn’t matter because the project is seen as new in each new
territory they move into. Independent labels also have to make certain their
marketing dollars are well spent because there are less of them to spend
than a major label spends. Since indie labels are smaller and closer to the
streets, they often make better decisions on where to spend their dollars.
Major labels are so large, and have so much bureaucracy involved in the
decision-making process, that if they start to go in a certain direction, and
it isn’t working, they have difficulty stopping and re-focusing. An indie
label can stop on a dime if a certain plan isn’t working and change their
focus within a few days.
Since they’re working one region at a time, a smart indie label knows that
national magazine ads and national commercial spots on BET aren’t as
helpful to them. They can focus on regional magazines and regional or
local ad buys on BET. This allows them to expand their ad messages slowly
region by region. This way, if a project like Lil Keke is selling well in Texas,
by the time the label expands to Atlanta, it’s not seen as an old project because the ads have been running for months. The ads can also be targeted
towards the market they are reaching. Once Lil Keke solidifies his fan base
(as he did years ago), it becomes time to expand his project nationally. By
the time the new Keke project drops in 2007 through Swisha House, everyone across the US knows who he is and is aware of him from his regional
independent projects over the past ten years. This also is more financially
feasible for the artist because it allowed him to collect independent money
over the years before coming through a major label and taking that kind of
pay cut. It allows the artist to expand his or her career into larger arenas,
such as touring, TV and film, and endorsement deals. As his image expands,
so will his bank account.
Image is everything in urban music, especially rap. If an artist is not seen
as legitimate and authentic, he or she doesn’t have a chance at success.
This is why so many outsiders who come into the music business fail. They
don’t understand that sales come from fans who find the artists believable
and real. This is why basketball players who become rappers don’t succeed,
and why the American Idol type rap stars never become real stars. A key
part of marketing is spreading the word of the rapper, but also within the
confines of his or her image. Keeping a consistent message surrounding
that image is key. Marketing Jeezy the way someone more commercial is
marketed would never work because it would dilute his strong street image.
Marketing an artist like Nelly the way Jeezy is marketed would never work
because Nelly isn’t seen as a hard street figure - he’s more commercial.
Remaining true to the artists’ character while expanding the reach of the
message is key!
People often ask why some labels have more success than others (it’s not
rocket science to see that Def Jam and Interscope are better labels for rap
music than Koch or Capitol), and my opinion is that they understand how to
market rappers better. In some cases certain labels spend more money to
achieve success, but spending in the right places is really where the value
is in marketing any product, especially something as intangible as an artist.
Sadly, a label can move onto the next project if they drop the ball (as they
often do) but the artist only has one career. The stakes are very high! //
PHOTO GALLERIES
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OZONE MAG // 25
chincheck
byCharlamagneThaGod
www.cthagod.com
POST-HOLIDAY BLUES
I
spent most of the holidays drunk off Georges
Vesselle Champagne and Silver Patron mixed
with Sprite and Lime Juice. Being that I was
raised a Jehovah’s Witness and now claim no
particular religion (though I do study Islam), the
holidays are an excellent time to get drunk and
reflect on life because my mind is not filled with
the clutter of what to buy people on the holiday
created by the powers that be to increase economic
revenue at the end of the year, commonly known to
most people as Christmas.
I thought a lot over the holidays and one thing in particular I did think about
is that fact that HIP-HOP IS NOT DEAD! I’m not about to make this a North vs.
South thing because that is not the case. I will say this to all New Yorkers or
hip-hop purists who think hip-hop should be regulated strictly to New York:
Maybe the years of inhaling the fumes of paint from when you used spray
cans to paint graffiti on the subway has caused a chemical imbalance in your
brain. Or maybe it’s the spinning of your head on a cardboard box on the
concrete that has you not thinking logically.
If hip-hop had been regulated to just New York, then the genre of hip-hop
would have truly died a long time ago. If hip-hop had just been a New York
thing, the music would have been just a fad that would have passed already.
It would have never become part of mainstream pop culture if it had been
regulated to just New York. Without the contributions of other regions to hiphop, you would not have had great artists like Outkast, Kanye West, Eminem,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.
And most importantly to New York, on March 21, 1966 a man was born in
Houston, Texas. This man was introduced to DJing at Prairie View A&M in
Prairie View, Texas. This man went on to become one of the greatest hip-hop
producers of all time and if you ask me, he was the sound of New York hiphop for years. This man was known as DJ Premier. Feel free to quote my last
few lines when you’re debating with one of those die-hard New Yorkers who
believes hip-hop should only live in New York.
Nas’ statement that Hip-Hop is Dead is not a ridiculous statement if you
look deeper in to it. Hip-hop is an art form and art is a reflection of life. In
real life, people are mentally dead. How else do you explain the increase in
murders all throughout America? How else do you explain the increase in
gang violence, the glorification of the drug culture, the degradation of our
greatest natural resource: black women?
If morality, spirituality, and the value of life or death is dead in black culture,
then so is the art form that we use to reflect ourselves. When the statement
“Hip-Hop Is Dead” is made, we need to look at the bigger picture, which is
the death of our beautiful black minds.
Over the holidays, I also thought about that show Rob & Big that comes on
Massa’s Television (MTV). As soon as I see Rob, I’m gonna slap the shit outta
him. I’m not going to slap Big because he’s like Lenny from Mice and Men:
a huge simple-minded dumb fuck who doesn’t even realize that the white
man is not laughing with him, but at him. Rob is taking advantage of poor
Big. I don’t even think Big realizes he’s cooning, shucking, and jiving for the
pleasure of Rob, his massa, who he truly believes is his friend. That’s why as
soon as I see Rob, I’m going to put him in a scorpion deathlock.
I thought about Michael Richards a.k.a. Kramer over the holidays. I’m not
mad at him for his racial tirade on stage at the Laugh Factory. You know why
I’m not? Because I’m not a hypocrite. I call my people niggas all the time, so
how can I be mad when somebody else does it? We have desensitized a word
that can never truly be desensitized. To people who know the baggage that
word carries, hearing someone like Michael Richards say it causes pain because it’s a hurtful word. “Nigga” means “nigga” the same way “bitch” means
“bitch.” “Nigga” is cool if used in the presence of your homies, but if a white
man calls you that, it’s wrong? “Bitch” is cool if you talking to one of your
homegirls, but if I call you a bitch I’m calling you out? See, I’m confused.
Until I rid myself of using these words in everyday language to describe my
black people I won’t be mad at the next person for using them to describe
26 // OZONE MAG
my black people.
The holidays led me to another conclusion: T.I is one of my favorite emcees
of all time! He has officially been placed in my Top 5 greats. I have been a
fan since I’m Serious but I’ve had King and Urban Legend in the CD player
over the holidays and I just fucks with his music. I can’t wait for his next
album T.I. vs T.I.P.
Last but not least I want to give a R.I.P to South Carolina native James
Brown. He was born in Barnwell, SC. Don’t get it fucked up. Because of him
I know to say it loud, “I’m black and I’m proud!” I also want to give a R.I.P.
to Saddam Hussein. That was my brother in the name of dictatorship. Plus,
he died like a lot of my ancestors did, so in some strange way I feel like we
share a bond.
Yes, I have had a little too much Silver Patron. The bottle is starting to look
like some sort of cologne that I might as well splash on my neck because I
smell like I been swimming in it! //
PHOTO GALLERIES
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ille, FL) 19 // Th Uptown Angela, and Young Je
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nv
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Manny “Neg” Sim
(Ja
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// Kinky B and
DJ Jay Faire (0
(Dallas, TX) 23
Photo Credits:
5,13,14,15,16,1
Sandman (11);
OZONE MAG // 27
L
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20 // The Wrong People Are Getting Rich
With marijuana laws in their current state, the only people (that we
know of) who are getting rich are the illegal growers and the dealers on the
street. If marijuana were legal and controlled like alcohol, it could be taxed
and that revenue would be used for positive things like saving art programs
in our public schools or maybe helping the victims of natural disasters (yes,
I’m being sarcastic).
19 // The Government Is Wasting Time, Money And
Resources
For real. As taxpayers, we pay billions of dollars each year to prosecute and
incarcerate non-violent drug offenders.
18 // In God We Trust
On every dollar bill printed in the United States are the words “In
God We Trust.” If we trust God so much, why is a plant illegal? The Bible says
that God gave us all seed bearing plants to use. In its current state, most
places can’t even grow marijuana to use its hemp fibers and other non-psychoactive properties, like its oils that could possibly be used to run a car.
(Young Buck adds: “God made weed. Man made beer. Who do you trust?”)
17 // Our Prisons And Probate Courts Are Overcrowded
With Non-Violent Drug Offenders
How many people reading this have a friend or friends currently in jail or on
probation for possessing marijuana? To incarcerate a person for using a drug
is draconian and ludicrous. At worst a non-violent drug user might need help
with his/her addiction. At best these pigs just need to leave us alone.
16 // Some Of These Fools Need Something To Balance
Out Their Ecstasy/Cocaine/Alcohol Induced Psychosis
People like drugs. People use drugs. People sometimes abuse chemically
based/altered drugs, and those drugs make them crazy. Marijuana can help
bring their crazy asses back down to earth. Valium works too.
15 // All Marijuana Use Is Medicinal
I say this because I, personally, need it.
14 // It’s Been Proven To Ease Symptoms Such As Nausea, Appetite Loss, Or Chronic Pain
Some components of marijuana have been shown to be comparable to
most analgesics and are much safer to ingest than opiates like morphine or
codeine. It’s also been known to stimulate appetites in people - for example,
AIDS patients - who lose their appetites due to a mixture of other drugs and
for cancer patients who receive chemotherapy.
13 // It’s Less Toxic Than Cigarettes, Less Debilitating
Than Alcohol
According to editors of the prestigious Lancet British medical journal: “The
smoking of cannabis, even long-term, is not harmful to health... It would be
reasonable to judge cannabis as less of a threat... than alcohol or tobacco.”
REFERENCE: Deglamorising Cannabis. 1995. The Lancet 346: 1241. Editorial.
November 14, 1998. The Lancet. They said it, and I agree.
12 // It’s Easier For A Minor To Get Than Alcohol Or
Cigarettes
I could be wrong, but I’ve never seen a dude in a high school bathroom with
a case of beer and some bottles of liquor trying to sell his wares to young
children. But throughout my personal school experience, I was offered weed,
on campus, during the day, many times by some dodgy individuals. Quite
often, I took it.
11 // Go Fight Some Other Crime
Our police need to concentrate on finding murderers, rapists and
drunk drivers, not dudes who like to smoke weed and watch a lil’ Napoleon
Dynamite before falling asleep on the couch.
10 // We Shouldn’t Have To Go To Amsterdam
It’s a nice place and all. I personally want to settle down and raise
my children there. But for the average American, the long flight across the
28 // OZONE MAG
Atlantic, high priced hotels and hassles at the border just aren’t worth it
to be able to smoke a few blunts without fear of being arrested. Actually,
it is worth it. Go to Amsterdam, see how they do it, then come home and
write a letter to your congressman, organize a demonstration outside your
governor’s mansion and plant a few pot seeds on the White House lawn.
Seriously, go there and you’ll see what a free society really is.
09 // Bad Movies Are Mysteriously Better While Stoned
Dude, it’s true. Like, I was totally into Super Troopers one night after smoking half a bag of Purple Nurple. Then it came on again one Sunday
afternoon when I didn’t have any weed and I kicked a hole in my television
set. Now I have no TV.
08 // Nagging Bitches And Belligerent Assholes Aren’t As
Annoying When You’re High
Because you simply don’t care what they have to say. You are stoned, they
are not. They can get lost in your fog.
07 // Muthafucking Cocksuckers Like Bill O’Reilly and
Ann Coulter Might Try it and Become Human
I’m convinced that these uptight, warmongering cunts would quit rallying
our nation’s lowest common denominators in Satan’s direction if they’d take
a toke of one of God’s greatest gifts every now and again. Marijuana opens
up portals in your brain that makes things like war and the destruction of
our planets natural resources seem like bad ideas. Some people need that.
06 // People Should Have The Right To Make Their Own
Decisions Regarding Their Bodies As Long As They Are
Not Hurting Anyone Else
In what our leaders like to call a “free society,” no grown man or woman
should be subject to the discretion of another if he or she is not inflicting harm on anyone else. In the case of marijuana, most users are not
even harming themselves. Except maybe blunt smokers. That stank fuckin’
pseudo tobacco leaf can’t be good for you. Neither is paper, get some glass,
hip-hoppers. Oops, I’m being judgmental, sorry.
05 // The Police Use The Law To Easily Shackle Minorities
And Our Youth In General To The System
You’re on papers, he’s on papers, she’s on papers, and that’s the way they
like to see you. Quite often, in a car full of four teenagers, one person is
probably going to have a joint. That person and possibly everyone else in
the car will be fingerprinted and at the very least entered into the local
police database, whether convicted or not.
04 // We Already Learned This Lesson
When alcohol was illegal, people certainly did not stop drinking.
They just did it like people today smoke weed, behind closed doors, illegally. This gave power to folks like Al Capone and other ruthless gangsters
who, like today, killed cops and members of their communities. Prohibition
didn’t work then and it doesn’t work now.
03 // Canada Decriminalized It And Their Streets Are A
Lot Safer Than Ours
‘Nuff Said. Holland’s are as well. In fact, Canada and Holland are two of the
safest countries in the world.
02 // Drug Use Is A Public Health Issue, Not A Criminal
Offense
Putting people in cages and making them piss in cups does not help. It
hurts, and annoys.
01 // There Needs To Be Some Distinction Between Hard
And Soft Drugs
There’s a huge difference between the effects of marijuana and other drugs
like crack, heroin and crystal meth. Some states in our nation recognize
that fact, and others don’t. A couple rooms full of pot plants do way less
destruction to a community than one fool with some cocaine in a pot on his
stove. It’s true. I know it, you know it, we all know it, and we have to work
for a change.
PHOTO GALLERIES
&
Bigga Rankin,
) 03 // J-Shin,
ape Awards (NYC rd Greens, Mac, Ru, & Flip @
xt
Mi
’s
sto
Ju
//
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Lucky Leon, Co
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South Tour (Jack Sparks @ Bow
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// Young Buck
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s, & Isis
J-Baby & Mans
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Justo’s Mixtape
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Photo Credits:
Laid (21); Luxu
(0
OZONE MAG // 29
bate. OZONE
e
N
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sp
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legality will a
TAHcaEndBidUdisRcuNssIN
ion on cannaanbdis’passes it on for you to decide
up,
// by Eric Perrin &
ghts it
breaks it down, li
T
he debate as to whether or not America’s
favorite drug should be legalized remains
a sticky situation. Pot proponents argue
that marijuana is far less harmful than alcohol
or tobacco and that legalization should in fact
occur, while those who oppose the herb feel
that cannabis is criminal, despite the fact that
most Americans have sparked up at some time
in their lives. In fact, according to a 2006 survey
conducted by The U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, nearly 30% of all Americans
between the ages of 18 and 25 use marijuana
regularly. Marijuana accounts for over 35 billion
dollars in (illegal) sales per year, making it the
most profitable cash crop in the United States,
far surpassing the three largest legal crops: corn,
soybeans, and hay (the legal hay). Regardless of
its legality, marijuana is as big a part of American
culture as baseball or baked apple pie. Since this
is OZONE’s first annual Drug Issue, our curiosity
led us to conduct a survey of 420 random Americans’ opinions on whether or not weed should be
legalized.
Mike Sims
“YES. WEED SHOULD BE LEGAL SO I COULD CARRY
IT ON THE PLANE WHEN I TRAVEL.” - DJ DRAMA
(ATLANTA, GA)
30.7% said NO, marijuana
should not be legalized
“NO. IF IT WAS LEGALIZED, THE WHOLE WORLD
WOULD BE LAZY AS HELL AND NOTHING WOULD GET
ACCOMPLISHED.” - WARREN (CHICAGO, IL)
“YES. IT’S JUST A NATURAL HERB, AND IT FEELS
GOOD.” - PRESTON (ATLANTA, GA)
“YES. IF IT AIN’T HARMING NOBODY AND AIN’T
KILLING NOBODY, IT SHOULDN’T BE AN ISSUE.
I DON’T FUCK WITH IT, BUT THAT’S JUST ME. TO
EACH HIS OWN. IT’S LEGALIZED IN OTHER PLACES,
SO WHY NOT HERE? IT’S LEGAL IN AMSTERDAM
AND THEIR CRIME RATE IS LOWER THAN OURS.
IT’LL PROBABLY SLOW A LOT OF PEOPLE DOWN.
THEY’LL BE TOO GODDAMN HIGH TO DO SOME
SHIT.” - TRAE (HOUSTON, TX)
“YES. LEGALIZING WEED WOULD CUT DOWN ON
ARRESTS.” - HERMON (DALLAS, TX)
69.3% said YES, marijuana
should be legalized
“YES. WEED SHOULD BE LEGAL, BUT IT’S AN
UNHEALTHY SUBSTANCE JUST LIKE ALCOHOL AND
SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH. FOR EXAMPLE, NO
SMOKING AND DRIVING!” - KRISTEN (CHICAGO, IL)
“YES. THERE’S PEOPLE WHO REALLY CAN’T FUNCTION PROPERLY WITHOUT IT. IT HELPS CALM THEM
DOWN.” - MISTAH F.A.B. (OAKLAND, CA)
n
THE RESUicipLanTtsSsurveyed, 69.3% of participants favoofrepad lerticgaiplizanattsiofavored legalization
)
Out of 420 part
eyed, 72.1% (269
d legalization
aged 18-34 surv
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Out of 37
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rveyed
ants age 35+ su
Out of 47 particip
:
E
T
A
B
E
D
T
A
E
R
G
THE
Legalize
It
Ever heard of someone checking into a rehab
center for weed addiction? No? How ‘bout a death
related to toking up? Still nothing? That’s because,
boys and girls, pot isn’t a drug, it’s a substance;
the same as tobacco or liquor or maybe even
less harmful. Cigs and spirits are concoctions of
man-made ingredients that can lead to addiction,
while you can pick weed right off a plant. What do
you think was in the Indians’ peace pipes? Listen,
weed is illegal because it’d be impossible for Uncle
Sam to put tax on it. It’s not because it’s a gateway
drug. You won’t be a walking zombie after you fire
one up, and if you know someone who has some
herb that will make you sit on Pete’s couch for 11
hours, nigga, I got five on it. Mary Jane sedates
you; it slows down your motor skills a smidge,
might get a little temporary loss of memory but it’s
not a hallucinogen, and despite the habits of most
rappers and those who in engage in day-long
Madden tournaments, it’s not addictive. The American people should feel free to indulge.
30 // OZONE MAG
It’s
Better Off Illegal
The sticky stench of Mary-Jane funk can be
detected at every nightclub, bar, and black
movie theater in America and it’s supposed to
be illegal. Just imagine if the government was
to legalize the plant that has inflicted damn
near all of America? It would be complete and
utter chaos. Niggas would be rolling blunts
everywhere from daycare centers to church
basements and sending lil’ Jimmie to the
corner store daily to pick up a swisher and
a sack. Not to mention that the entire rap
industry would go out of business; there would
be no more reefer sales to fund indie labels, no
more weed-men turned emcees spittin’ rhymes
about sellin’ high times, no more summer
jobs for your local high school hoodlums and
thousands of Americans would be laid off when
Zip-Loc’s stock plummets. Lastly, if weed was
legal, the government would tax it so much
that a sack full of sticks and stems would end
up costing more than a pound of dro does
today. So, America, if you enjoy cuddling with
kush, pray that marijuana never gets legalized.
“NO. MARIJUANA SHOULD NOT BE LEGAL BECAUSE
THERE ARE ALREADY ENOUGH LEGAL DRUGS.
ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO ARE THE ONLY DRUGS WE
NEED.” - JANELLE (LOS ANGELES, CA)
“YES, BUT ONLY FOR THOSE WHO USE IT FOR MEDICINAL REASONS.” - BIG MAN (NEW ORLEANS, LA)
“WEED WILL NOT BE LEGALIZED, BUT IT SHOULD
BE DECRIMINALIZED. IT’S A GREAT MEDICINE, AND
PRODUCTS MADE FROM HEMP ARE MUCH MORE
COST-EFFICIENT. ANYTHING THAT ONLY REQUIRES
A SEED, SUN AND SOIL TO GROW IS LEGAL IN MY
GOD’S EYES, SO FUCK WHAT THE GOVERNMENT
THINKS.” - KILLER MIKE (ATLANTA, GA)
“YES. IT’S THE CALI WAY OF LIFE.” - MARY (PASADENA, CA)
“YES. EVERYBODY, INCLUDING THE COPS, ARE
ALREADY DOING IT. IT MIGHT AS WELL BE LEGAL.”
- NICOLE (CHICAGO, IL)
“NO. IT SHOULD NOT BE LEGALIZED. I’M FROM
JAMAICA, AND MARIJUANA MAKES UP HALF OF
MY COUNTRY’S INCOME. IF IT WERE LEGAL, WE
WOULDN’T HAVE NO MONEY. MY CUSTOMERS
WOULDN’T HAVE NO MONEY, EITHER, BECAUSE
MOST OF THEM SELL WEED.” - MARK (ATLANTA,
GA)
“YES. IF PROZAC AND VIAGRA ARE LEGAL, WEED
SHOULD BE TOO. THE ONLY SIDE EFFECT IS THAT
IT MAKES YOU HUNGRY, HAPPY, AND SLEEPY.” - DJ
B-LORD (FLORENCE, SC)
“YES. THE ONLY REASON IT’S NOT LEGAL IS BECAUSE I CAN GROW THAT SHIT IN MY BACKYARD.”
- JOHN (WASHINGTON, DC)
PHOTO GALLERIES
bia, SC)
adliners (Colum
Bibi Guns @ He
ert
&
nc
y,
co
Ta
se
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lea
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le (NYC) 03 // Ric rnacle for Young Jeezy’s album brings back
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ayson @ The Ta
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amScrappy & DJ Pr
s, & Rahman Gr
ape Awards (NYC is @ Plush for the Ghetto Gr a,
a, GA) 02 // Lil
// Guest, J-Nick
@ Justo’s Mixt
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04 // D-Tec, Colla DJ Juice, Traxamillion, & DJ Tit
rty (Milwaukee,
// Slick Pulla, Yo ) 14 // DJ Wally Sparks, DJ Mo
// D, Supa Chino y @ the
//
al’s birthday pa pical Magic (Orlando, FL) 12
FL
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(Detroit, MI) 17
(Atlanta, GA) 06
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memories @ Clu FL) 11 // Young Buck & Baby
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man, Doug E. Fr
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b Onyx for Tony Bigga Rankin & Rich Boy @ Pl ars @ Club Deep Blue (Jackso
GA) 13 // Sand
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Photo Credits:
OZONE MAG // 31
the x files
True experiences with the infamous love drug that has the country rollin’ // as told to Mike Sims (MASims7@hotmail.com)
Case 1 //// The Horny Nightmare
Case 2 //// Indecent EXposure
When I initially took ecstasy, it was the best time of my life. But
the day after was the worst time of my life. I was with a friend of
a friend who I didn’t know very well. I was in my senior year [of
high school] and it was the first hot weekend of the year, so we
decided to go out. A guy from my school was having a house party
and I talked my friend into going. I went to a private school in the
suburbs and she went to a public school in the city. We didn’t hang
out with the same crowd and were really nothing alike.
It’s kinda funny now that I look back on it. I had been drinking for a few
hours and had smoked a blunt. I popped two pills after that. I had fucked
with X before, but only like a half a pill, so I was kinda nervous. I was with
three other niggas and we ain’t have no plans so we just decided to go to
[local] college.
We were completely sober when we got to the party, but it was
out of control. There were like four kegs and people were outside
smoking weed. My friend went to the bathroom upstairs and she
said she saw kids snorting coke and I wasn’t even surprised. We
were just drinking with some kids from my school and I took a
couple hits of some weed. This guy who was like the unofficial
drug dealer at my school gave me an ecstasy pill.
I don’t know why I took [ecstasy], but
I did and I just got really friendly. My
[guy] friend who was throwing the
party had taken one too, so we were
just being really flirty and touching
each other. So we walked to a grassy
part of his backyard and were giving
each other massages.
“I DIDN’T HAVE
ANY STDs,
BUT I DID GET
PREGNANT AND
HAD TO GET
AN ABORTION.
I DIDN’T HAVE
A CLUE WHOSE
BABY IT WAS. IT
WAS AWFUL.”
The crazy part about it was that we
ended up having sex on the grass in
plain sight and no one really noticed.
I guess that’s a sign of how crazy
the party was. I’m not normally that
sexual of a person at all, but the X
just made me so horny. I just had to have [sex]. I didn’t really even
like the guy [that I slept with at the party] and I had a boyfriend
at the time.
I ended up having sex with three different people at the party
without a condom. One of the guys came in me, and I had just
started having sex that summer. [Before that night] my boyfriend
had been my only partner.
After that party, I got a reputation as the biggest whore at my
school. My boyfriend, who I actually did love, cursed me out and
broke up with me. My friends stopped talking to me. It was the
worst point in my life. I wanted to transfer or get my GED, but my
mom wouldn’t let me. I got tested and I didn’t have any STDs but
I did get pregnant and had to get an abortion. I didn’t have a clue
whose baby it was. I didn’t go to my prom. It was awful.
I had worked my ass off my whole high school career, so I thought
I deserved to let loose [at the party], but it ended horribly. [Once
I got to] college, I felt stronger because of what I’d gone through.
I rarely even go home during breaks [from college] because I feel
like that part of my life is over. That experience really scarred me
so I don’t want to be reminded. I only go back to see my family,
but besides that, I don’t want to be there.
For those people who want to try X for the first time, I can’t say
“don’t do it” because experimenting is a part of growing up. There
are so many stories that make X seem awesome. If you do try it,
have people around you that are really your friends and will stop
you from doing anything stupid. You can die from it. You should
definitely do it with your boyfriend or something because you will
be in the mood for some lovin’.
32 // OZONE MAG
You don’t feel it at first, but by the time we got there I was higher than
a muthafucker. The Kappas was havin’ this lil’ party. Usually, I get horny
when I’m rollin’, but at first I was just high and talkin’ to people; random
niggas and damn near every bitch in the room. I think people could tell
I was fucked up and people was just chillin’. I think I made some people
nervous but most people was just laughin’ at me. The party was kinda boring. I was wildin’ and I was like, “Yo, ya’ll tryin’ to drink or somethin’? Say
the word, and I got ya’ll.”
So I go to the liquor store by myself and I’m trippin’, tellin’ myself to just
steal some drinks. So I’m going down the aisle and all of a sudden I just
grab a whole bunch of vodka and run out the door. I broke about eight
bottles but I got like five in my arms and the nigga at the register was
watchin’ the whole time. He picked up the phone to call the law. And I had
money to just pay [for the liquor] but I was trippin’.
I’m driving back and I was high, drunk and rollin’. My adrenaline was
pumpin’ and I was really feelin’ the X. I’m thinkin’ the drink is gonna make
all them hoes in the party feel like me. I’m going about 80 in a 35 [MPH
speed zone] tryin’ to get back to the party. I hit a parked car on the way
into the housing complex.
When I got back to the party, someone else had already bought some
liquor to the party. Niggas started taking shots of that cheap ass vodka I
had. I was takin’ shots and feelin’ them hard. For real, I was kind of out of
control. I was talkin’ to this girl who wasn’t really talkin’ to nobody else at
the party. I was asking her to rub my head and I kept huggin’ her and kissin’ her on the cheek. I just started grindin’ my dick on her side and I was
tellin’ her shit like, “Oooh, this feels so good,” and “I don’t even wanna
fuck, I just wanna do this all night.” I think she liked it, but people was
startin’ to look so she was stuntin’, trying to play it cool. I kept fuckin’ with
her and she finally left.
“SHE HAD ON
THOSE LITTLE
CHEERLEADING
SHORTS, LOOKIN’
GOOD AS SHIT. I
PULLED MY DICK
OUT AND STARTED
BEATING MY MEAT
RIGHT IN FRONT OF
HER. SHE WAS LIKE,
‘WHAT THE FUCK
ARE YOU DOING?’
AND I SAID SOMETHING STUPID
LIKE, ‘DO I MAKE
YOU HORNY?’”
Then I found out that the girl I was rubbing my dick on was there with her man.
So this nigga was trying to fight me and I
was so high I tried to give him a hug. We
were asked to leave the party.
I went home and called this girl I had
been talking to for like a week. I was
feelin’ her. I said I wanted to come by and
watch a movie or something and she said
okay. I got over there and she had on
those little cheerleading shorts, lookin’
good as shit. I pulled my dick out and
started beating my meat right in front
of her. She’s like, “What the fuck are you
doing?” and I said something stupid like,
“Do I make you horny?”
She just looked at me with this disgusted
look on her face and said, “Get the fuck
out of my house.” So I go home and I’m drinkin’ orange juice cause it keeps
the high going. I just watched TV the rest of the night.
I did feel stupid the next day. I’ve had some real good times with ecstasy,
and some bad ones. I’ma keep taking it every now and then.
PHOTO GALLERIES
a,
imetime (Atlant //
in’ OZONE @ Pr
ntana Trax repp psy Tea Room (Dallas, TX) 05
Mo
&
,
all
8B
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se concert (Atla
heem DeVaughn
//
birthday party
ezy’s album relea ilwaukee, WI) 04 // Mojoe, Ra ammys (Jacksonville, FL) 07
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Tw
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The Tabernacle
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for the Ghetto
y Boy @ Club 11
Murphy Lee @
s 15th DJ Anniv
ester @ Plush
(Jacksonville, FL ds (NYC) 12 // DJ Jaycee & Tit
(Tampa, FL)
01 // Nelly and
yx for Tony Neal’ nce, SC) 06 // M-Geezy & Hoet r OZONE & Point Blank party
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& Gully @ Justo 14 // Sakeya & friends @ Splur le for Lil Scrappy’s release
Real Ting Café
// Jody Breeze
au
151 & Alju @ Da
Coach K &
est @ The Temp
ll (Atlanta, GA)
Orleans, LA) 11
gu
DJ B-Lord, Rash s (Jacksonville, FL) 08 // DJ
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& DJ B-Lord @
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(Chicago, IL) 10 DJ Clark Kent, Jason Geter, &
//
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FL
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o, FL) 16
Summit (Miami, Opium Gardens (Miami, FL) 21
(Atlanta, GA) 13
al Magic (Orland
Entertainment
o, FL)
& BSU @ Tropic
lik
Koon @ Florida GA) 20 // Cham & Jim Jones @ wife @ Tropical Magic (Orland
Big
&
5,
15 // Papa Duck
Q4
DJ
,
Santana (14); Ma
a,
od
his
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&
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(A
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Royal for CTE’s
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(02,03,06,07,11,1
his mom @ The & Clay Evans @ King of the So
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4)
(0
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ton, SC) 22 // Lil
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; Edward
DJ H-Vidal (21) Abdul (17,23); Marcus DeWayn
Photo Credits:
OZONE MAG // 33
S
IE
V
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M
D
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2by0RGanRdyERAoTpEerSTDRUG
ag.com)
OzoneM
(Randy.Roper@
x The Godfather Trilogy (1972, 1974, 1990)
This crime drama staring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino is set in the years
1945 - 1955. Don Vito Corleone (Brando) is the aging head of a drug organization family in New York. When Vito Corleone is shot by drug dealer Virgil
Sollozo, Vito’s son, Michael (Pachino) leads the family into a mob war against
Sollozo. The sequels follow the Corleone family through the ‘60s and ‘70s.
x Up In Smoke (1978)
Comedic duo Cheech Martin and Tommy Chong were getting high long before
Craig and Smokey lit their first blunt. This duo starred in ten movies in the
‘70s and ‘80s, most notably Up In Smoke, which all focused on getting high.
x Scarface (1983)
This rags-to-riches story stars Al Pacino as Tony Montana, a Cuban immigrant who rises to the top of the drug game in Miami before greed leads
to his untimely demise. Scarface is arguably the most popular drug-related
movie in hip-hop and pop culture history. The Geto Boys, Nas, Mobb Deep,
Public Enemy, and Fat Joe have quoted and sampled lines from the movie.
Rapper Brad Jordan also adopted his Scarface moniker after the film.
x King of New York (1990)
In this film starring Christopher Walken, Laurence Fishburne, and Wesley
Snipes; crime boss Frank White (Walken) returns home from Sing-Sing prison
and begins to eliminate his drug lord competitors. In a Robin Hood-meetsNew-York-drug-trafficking twist, White uses the stolen money and drugs to
finance a hospital for the needy. But White’s downfall is fueled by renegade
cops that get frustrated in their attempts to arrest him. The Notorious B.I.G.
referred to himself as “the black Frank White.”
x The Goodfellas (1990)
The Goodfellas, starring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, and Joe Pesci, directed by
Martin Scorsese and based on the Nicholas Pileggi book “Wiseguys,” is based
on the true story of three decades of a mafia family. The movie follows the
life of Henry Hill (Liotta) as he grows from an Italian kid in Brooklyn to a
mafia member in the Lucchese crime family.
x New Jack City (1991)
x Friday Trilogy (1995, 2000, 2002)
No one made a one-day adventure out of smoking weed like Craig (Ice Cube)
and Smokey (Chris Tucker). When Craig loses his job on his day off, Smokey
comes through with some herbal stress relief. But when they smoke up a
dope dealer’s weed, Smokey and Craig have to come up with the dealer’s
money by 10 PM. Throughout the day, their encounters with neighbors and
family members make Friday a smokers’ (and nonsmokers’) classic. Although
Chris Tucker wasn’t around for the sequels, Next Friday and Friday After Next,
Mike Epps filled in to keep the blunts lit and laughs coming.
x Gridlock’d (1997)
One of the last films starring Tupac Shakur, Gridlock’d is based on two
friends’ - Spoon (Shakur) and Stretch (Tim Roth) - attempts to kick their
drug habits after a friend overdoses. They find themselves being chased by
drug dealers and the police as they travel to various offices to enroll in a
government detox program.
x Half Baked (1998)
Before Dave Chappelle made millions with his own show on VH1, he co-wrote
the comedy Half Baked and played weed-head Thurgood Jenkins. When
Kenny accidentally kills a police horse, Thurgood and his stoner homies sell
weed to bail their buddy of out jail. But things get dangerous when rival
dealer Sampson Simpson realizes Thurgood’s business is cutting into his
profits.
x In Too Deep (1999)
LL Cool J plays drug kingpin Dwayne Gittens who’s so powerful he calls
himself “God.” Omar Epps plays undercover cop Jeff Cole, who joins Gittens’
organization in an attempt to bring down Gittens’ Cincinnati drug ring. Cole
begins to befriend Gittens as he moves deeper into the empire and Cole soon
finds himself in over his head.
x Traffic (2000)
Traffic follows the war against drugs through four different perspectives - a
user, enforcer, trafficker and politician - that are all connected. Linking the
storylines provided a detailed look at the drug underworld from all aspects.
In the first theatrical feature film by director Mario Van Peebles, Nino Brown
(Wesley Snipes) and his Cash Money Brothers organization rule crack dealings
during crack cocaine’s rise in New York City in the ‘80s and ‘90s. This film,
from the Cash Money Millionaires to Lil’ Wayne’s Tha Carter, has had a heavy
influence on hip-hop culture. Ice-T’s starring role as an undercover cop is
credited as his breakthrough performance.
x Requiem For A Dream (2001)
x Deep Cover (1992)
This comedy lands hip-hop’s favorite smoking duo, Method Man and Redman, at Harvard University after the tandem smokes magic weed that helps
them score high on their college entrance exam. The duo keeps the weed
burning, and turns Harvard upside down in the process.
Police officer Russell Stevens (Laurence Fishburne) goes undercover to bring
down a drug kingpin in Los Angeles. Along the way Stevens finds himself
in too deep as he’s forced to kill and assist in the very drug trades he’s attempting to stop in order to keep his cover. The movie is best known for Dr.
Dre’s song “Deep Cover” from the film’s soundtrack, where then-newcomer
Snoop Dogg popularized the line “it’s 187 on an undercover cop.”
x Carlito’s Way (1993)
Al Pacino (yeah, he plays all the bad guys) is Carlito “Charlie” Brigante, a
Puerto Rican ex-con who has just been released from prison. Carlito promises to stay away from the drugs and violence that landed him in prison, but
while running a nightclub, his past sucks him back into the street life.
x Sugar Hill (1994)
When drug dealer Roemello Skuggs (Wesley Snipes) decides to quit the drug
dealing business he established with his brother Raynathan Skuggs (Michael
Wright) and start life over with his girlfriend, he soon finds that walking
away from the drug game isn’t as easy as it sounds.
x The Basketball Diaries (1995)
This film, based the book of the same name, is the true story of high school
basketball player Jim Caroll (Leonardo DiCaprio). Caroll has dreams of becoming a basketball star but his drug addiction leads him down a dark path
of crime and drugs on the streets of New York.
34 // OZONE MAG
In this film based on Hurbet Selby, Jr.’s 1978 novel, four individuals get
addicted to everything from heroin to cocaine to diet pills. Requiem For A
Dream depicts the effects of substance abuse, and the ills that occur as a
result of drug addiction.
x How High (2001)
x Blow (2001)
Based on the true story of George Jung, Pablo Escobar, Carlos Lehder and the
Medellin Cartel, Blow follows the life of drug smuggler Jung (Johnny Depp)
as he becomes rich by introducing America to cocaine. Jung was reportedly
responsible for handling nearly 85% of the cocaine supply that entered the
US in the ‘70s. That’s a lot of blow.
x Paid In Full (2002)
Produced by Roc-A-Fella Films, Paid In Full is about Ace (Wood Harris), who
works at a dry cleaner but later becomes a major drug dealer in Harlem
during the height of crack in the ‘80s. Ace, along with partners Mitch (Mekhi
Phifer) and Rico (Cam’ron), learns that you can’t sell drugs forever. The best
part is watching Cam’Ron (back in his chubby days) murk Mekhi Phifer.
x State Property I & II (2002, 2005)
Two other Roc-A-Fella produced films feature Beanie Sigel and his gang of
reckless drug dealers as they get rich by taking over Philadelphia’s drug
market. Problems surface when Beans’ rival Dame (played by the “cakeaholic” himself) tries to get Beans out of the picture. Good acting is at a minimal
but the movie spawned the tagline “You either get down or you lay down.”
PHOTO GALLERIES
an
i, FL) 03 // Haiti
Mansion (Miam a, GA) 05 // Mick
@
ing
rm
rfo
pe
nt
clef
thday party (Atla
e, WI) 02 // Wy
s
party (Milwauke Wilk @ Brian Michael Cox’s bir Plush for the Ghetto Grammy
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DJ Anniversary
&
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th
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15
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Photo Credits:
,07,08,10,12,14
Terrence Tyson
OZONE MAG // 35
:
S
R
U
O
S
I
D
L
R
O
W
E
H
T HIP-HOP’S INFATUATION WITH SCARFACE
by Jacinta Howard
I
n 1983, Brian De Palma introduced the world to Tony Montana. While
Scarface earned several Golden Globe nominations and was embraced
whole-heartedly by mainstream movie goers, the tale of a poor dishwasher turned filthy rich drug-dealer has been adopted, embraced and to a
large degree, emulated by the Hip Hop community.
From larger than life movie posters and airbrushed vehicles to jackets,
t-shirts and video games, Scarface has blossomed from a well-made film
into a full-blown ideology. The rags to riches story, fostered by a hustler’s
relentless ambition and street smarts, is one that Hip Hop artists and listeners easily identify with.
“From running numbers to moonshine runs and after hour juke joints, black
folks have often utilized the underground economy,” says Edward Garnes,
counselor and founder of from Afro to Shelltoes (afrotoshelltoes.com), an
organization that strives to bridge Hip Hop’s generational gap. “Scarface is a
hood hero because it is the ultimate underdog story. Hip hop is about making
a way out of no way, and Scarface’s rise to power is linked with the struggle
of black males dealing with poverty, despair, and limited life chances.”
The same capitalist system that Al Pacino’s Tony Montana successfully
raped to bear a profit seed is the very one that the Hip Hop community has
consistently tried to overtake. Both Tony and Hip Hop fans (namely the black
community) have been subjected to systematic poverty, tagged before ever
getting a fair chance to thrive. Using his instincts and smarts to elevate himself into a position of wealth and power, Tony’s fearlessness and ambition
— his balls and his word — became more than a mantra.
“The driving element of Scarface is access to power,” says Garnes, who has
worked alongside Hip Hop critic and activist Kevin Powell and rapper Killer
Mike. “Hip Hop has always looked for its piece of the pie, so a story of a
dishwasher rising to a drug lord will always be appealing to folks who relate
to being locked out of conventional institutions.”
for your actions when you see a glamorized version of your lifestyle being
played out on a big screen and millions of people cheering for you. Sure,
Scarface was a soldier, but the nigga also died at the end.”
Still, a blood splattered Tony Montana, lying dead in his own home, cocaine
painted over his tortured face, isn’t the scene that makes rapper’s videos. It’s
the wealth and endless power - the “fuck the world, give me mine” quotes
that are flocked to, while the consequences of his choices and lifestyle is
largely ignored.
“At the end of the day, you gotta realize that it’s a movie,” Miami-based rapper Pitbull says. As a fan of the movie, he suggests that Scarface shouldn’t
be taken so literally, but rather taken for its entertainment value. “The
reason it’s had an impact on Hip Hop is because it embodies the whole nothing-to-something struggle.” However, Garnes believes gangsta personas like
Tony Montana’s are defensive mechanisms that allow Hip Hop heads to cope
with racism and the realities of being second class citizens in America.
“Scarface’s mythology is like cultural armor protecting folks from oppressive
systems,” he contends. Still, Phonte believes Hip Hop’s affinity with the film
is understandable, even if misguided. “I think most rappers identify with the
whole ‘against all odds, win at all costs’ mentality of Tony’s character, which
is admirable,” he reasons before reiterating, “but the nigga died at the end.”
It’s a point that Garnes says people would do well to remember. “There is a
difference in dying fighting for freedom versus being killed for white powder
and bullshit.” //
Trick Daddy’s Scarfacethemed living room
“Movies like Scarface sort of
legitimized criminal activity for
cats who were already doing it,”
reasons Phonte of the rap group
Little Brother. “So instead of a street
dude feeling like, ‘Yo, maybe I should
leave this shit alone,’ they would
be more prone to be like ‘Fuck that,
son, I’mma go out like Scarface - he
was a soldier!’ because Scarface gave
them a sort of twisted ideal to live
up to. It’s kinda hard to feel remorse
36 // OZONE MAG
“SCARFACE GAVE US
A TWISTED IDEAL
TO LIVE UP TO.
IT’S HARD TO FEEL
REMORSE FOR YOUR
ACTIONS WHEN YOU
SEE A GLAMORIZED
VERSION OF YOUR
LIFESTYLE ON THE
BIG SCREEN AND
MILLIONS OF PEOPLE
CHEERING FOR YOU.”
- PHONTE OF LITTLE BROTHER
PHOTO: JULIA BEVERLY
In theory, the idea of a man overcoming obstacles to realize his vision is
inspiring. However, two points of the story simply can’t be denied—the first
being that Tony was a drug dealer who was often ruthless, and two, he’s
eventually murdered. Though these
two realities have been glossed over
by the countless rappers who have
quoted Tony Montana in their music
and tacked huge posters donning
his image on their walls, its impact
simply can’t be denied.
PHOTO GALLERIES
G-Mack
rty (NYC) 03 //
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& MC Hammer @ (Orlando, FL) 22 // Elle Castr
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OZONE MAG // 37
How to roba stashhousebykillermike
F
irst of all, never rob a trap house.
Rob a stash house. With a trap
house, you only stand a 50/50
chance that there’s going to be dope
in there, and it’s almost a 100%
chance that there’s definitely going to
be guns in there.
her cut. It really depends on what the
stash house brings in. She definitely
gets at least a 5-10% finder’s fee. So
if you come up on a $120,000 lick, you
know, that’s $12,000 for her at 10%.
That ain’t too bad. $12,000 just to talk
shit and get taken out to dinner?
If you’re robbing a trap house and it
ain’t no guns in there, you’re robbing
a crack house, in which case you ain’t
gonna get nothing but apple bags
and used rubbers layin’ around. If you
robbing the stash house, then you’ve
sat outside for a few weeks. You done
watched them come and go. You know
their schedule, and you know when
the work is there. Stash houses usually ain’t protected by a lot of people,
either, and they’re usually protected
by the stupid cousin, brother, sister,
or brother-in-law of the muthafucker
who’s really making the money.
So you convince her to put her mouth
to work. Not literally, but you know,
just put her mouth to work and use
some conversation and see if she can
get in this guy’s head. Hopefully, what
you want is a peaceful lick. You want
the ability to make it seem like him
and the gal just got caught slippin’ on
a date. You want to make it seem like
she done got knocked over the head
just like he did. But if all else fails and
the game gets raw, just bring a lot of
heavy duty industrial plastic, cause
you will be putting his ass in the
ground in a hole somewhere. I hope
whatever he hid in his stash house
was worth it.
It’s easy to stake out a stash house. In
a black neighborhood, shit, just hide
in the Cadillac that’s parked across
the street in the front lawn. If it’s in
a Latin neighborhood, just hide in the
Chevy drop-top ’64. It’s America, so
people mind their own business anyway. If you got a girl with a rental car
with some light tint or a girl with a
nice car, you just drive her car or have
you drive her there and the next day
you have another girl – or you and a
homeboy. You usually gonna work in
a two to four man tandem. That way
you’ve got two up front and two in
back, or one in the car and three in
the house. You’ll always need a real
top-notch team. You’re gonna need
to watch it for at least a solid week.
If it’s a stash house, you gotta watch
that bitch for a month, depending on
what they’re stashing.
You’ve got to follow the trap captain
from the trap house to find the stash
house. The trap captain is definitely
takin’ the money to somewhere, and
bringin’ the work in from somewhere.
So he’s really who you follow. You
ain’t really scopin’ the house out,
you’re scopin’ out the trap captain
and his moves.
The best thing to do – the Atlanta
way – is called PBOH: Put a Bitch On
Him. You work out a lil’ situation with
your homegirl in the club and you tell
her about this guy, the trap captain.
You help her understand that if she
can help you get a little closer to him
and where he’s at, you can help her
achieve her dreams of freedom from
the pole and seven inch heels a lot
quicker. Understand? The incentive
for her is some muthafuckin’ money.
You sit down and discuss how much is
38 // OZONE MAG
Don’t wear solid black [clothes], cause
all blacks aren’t the same color. It’s
best to go with a brown or a dull grey,
cause those colors blend in a little
better at night because they’re flat
and they don’t throw light back out.
And wearing all black is very suspect
anyway. You look like either a robber
or the police, so your ass can get shot
regardless.
Watch out for the dogs, man. Not the
red dog police, the real dogs. The
pitbulls. A lot of times, it makes more
sense to just kill the dog before you
go rob the place. It makes a lot more
sense to just go on and feed that
fucker some antifreeze on a Monday
before you go. Always try to eliminate
the dogs, man. Get the dogs out of
there.
Remember, the stash house is the
ultimate lick. The advantage of robbin’ the stash house over a 7-11 is
that cocaine sells all day, but slushies
don’t. And who’s going to report that
their [cocaine] got stolen? Problem is,
my good friend from East India [at the
7-11] is not going to send out a goon
squad to come find you, your mama,
your fat-ass sister, your lazy girlfriend
and your beautiful kids. But the guy
who owns the stash house will most
certainly do this.
Before you even consider robbing a
stash house, make sure you have a
passport. Make sure you are familiar
with the smaller airports in the area.
If you’re in Atlanta, that would be
Dekalb-Peachtree Airport to the North
or Charlie Brown Field, that’s Fulton
County Airport. You got to be ready
to get out. Man, you got to be ready
to get into a small twin engine plane
and get out of the country. If you get
away with the right amount of bread,
he could be wanting to kill your dog,
your bird, anything, everybody. So
you got to prepare for that, you gotta
have your escape route.
You’ve got to research who you are
targeting. If you fuck around and try
to hit somebody like the great Mr.
Terry White, oh my God, your fucking neighborhood might be gone
tomorrow. Terry White was one of the
most influential hustlers to ever run
through [Atlanta]. Shit ain’t been right
since we lost Terry White and I ain’t
seen good crack since we lost Charles
Black.
“the Atlanta way is
TO Put a Bitch On
Him: You work out a
situation with your
homegirl. if she can
help YOU, you can
help her achieve
her dreams of
freedom from the
pole and seven inch
heels a lot quicker.”
When it comes to robbin’ a stash
house, always take somebody who
speaks Spanish. Most stash houses
these days are manned by our Latin
brothers. Just to make sure nobody
is getting killed over bad translation,
definitely take a Spanish interpreter.
If you’re robbin’ a heroin stash house,
take an Asian or an Arab interpreter.
You’ve got to know your drugs.
If the girl is really on her game, there
ain’t no need to bust in the place. I’m
not the fuckin’ police. I don’t really
want no thrills, I just really want my
shit to be kinda easy. Like, “It’s me,
surprise!” Like a [Yung] Joc song. I
would rather find out where the stash
house is from the girl and get somebody good at breakin’ and entering.
Most stash houses are not going to
have an alarm, cause they’re not tryin’
to have the police accidentally pop
up there.
So you get your men in there, and you
tie up whoever needs to be tied up. If
somebody is real extra loud, run a tub
full of water and tell them that you’re
gonna put their ass in there face
down. That usually works, but if they
don’t shut the fuck up, put their ass in
the water face down. By the time they
finish gasping for air, they’ll shut the
fuck up. The oven is always good, too.
When you turn on the oven people
get afraid and start telling you what
you wanna know real quick. Usually
there aren’t small children at stash
houses, but if they are, threatening to
kill them works. The kids usually cry.
Just give them a good yell. That kinda
shit usually works. Especially with the
women, if you tell all the women, “I’m
gonna kill all the kids and next it’s
you,” they usually get to talkin’ real
quick. Guys usually don’t talk as quick.
Be prepared to shoot somebody in the
ass or ankle. If you’re gonna shoot
somebody in the ass or ankle, make
sure you take a potato with you or a
two-liter bottle to tape to the edge of
the gun if you don’t have a silencer.
If everything goes wrong, the plan
B depends on where the stash house
is. If it’s in a white place, you better
have a white girl driving. Police don’t
pull over white girls. I always like to
have someone driving who looks like
a square. I want my getaway car to
be a Honda Accord or a Camry. They
fast as fuck, they real quick just out
of the factory. An Accord or Camry
can get out quick, but they blend in.
It’s so many Accords on the street.
Don’t drive your Chevy with the rims.
That’s a big mistake we make robbin’
the stash house. If your Chevy has
Courvoisier on the side, you’re gonna
be pretty easy to find on Bankhead.
Don’t call real names [while you’re
robbin’ the stash house]. Really, man,
don’t say nothing before you go in.
People always say that you need to
bring duffle bags [to bring the stash
out], but it ain’t that serious most of
the time. If it ain’t busted down or
broke down, you’re just takin’ it out
in the same shit they got it sittin’ in.
Most guys ain’t smart enough to hit
the big stash house anyway. They
only hit the ten-brick house. It ain’t
nothin’ but twenty pounds. Twenty
pounds is nothin’ to carry.
I’m not a fan of the whole take-thesafe thing. Fuck that. The safe gets
opened. I’m not a dynamite expert.
Somebody has to give up that combination. Always bring a low-caliber
gun just in case you got to shoot
somebody in the ass. Bring a .25;
bring a .38; bring something especially for ass shots. You shoot ‘em in
the ass because you’re pretty sure you
aren’t gonna kill them and it’s gonna
hurt enough that they can’t sit down.
You want them to remember you. //
PHOTO GALLERIES
rssic car show (O
man’s Florida Cla clef performing @
wg
Da
@
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t
Pa
, Supa Chino &
kee, WI) 05 // Wy a, GA) 08 // Trina
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Royal for CTE’s
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04
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// Adept & DJ Re cksonville,
sonville, FL) 10
01 // Young Jeez etty Ricky reppin’ OZONE (New Suga Bear @ Southern Whisp
sonville, FL) 12
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ker Ball (Atlant
her birthday pa
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DJ Drama @ Clu ime (Atlanta, GA) 17 // MC Wi
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Big
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(Miam
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(NYC) 19 // Shak
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Temple for Lil Sc dz @ WJHM 102 Jamz (Orland
Mixtape Awards Jim Jonsin @ Florida Enterta Awards (Dallas, TX)
& En
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Photo Credits:
OZONE MAG // 39
hustlin’self-mademoguls
NATURAL BORN HUSTLA:
DEMETRIUS “KINKY B” ELLERBEE
W
hile winding through traffic in the Midtown section of Atlanta on the
way to Corporate Thugz Entertainment (CTE) to interview Kinky B, I
wondered what kind of partner would a trapper-turned-rapper actually have. My mind rejected scenario after scenario of the type of person Young
Jeezy would partner with. I half expected a southern version of Damon Dash
(I like Damon, so that’s not a bad thing) but more gangster.
Nothing prepared me for the brilliance of Kinky B, a 29-year-old CEO running
the hottest label in the country. Kinky is a charismatic guy with an incredible
sense of humor and the office staff looks up to him like a father figure with
a healthy combination of fear and respect. Kink is cool, humble and very
laid back with a devotion to doing good business. The office was bustling,
and CTE shares an office complex in a warehouse district with other success
stories: Hitco, Def Jam South, Dirty South Studios, etc. Inside Corporate Thugz
is Jeezy’s management company, Emanon Management (No Name spelled
backwards) headed by Coach K and Yusef, and a strong team of CTE marketers, street promoters and a slew of interns all working feverishly to keep the
record label chugging along. CTE is a hotbed of activity — but unlike most
urban labels, it’s organized and structured lacking the usual chaos that usually plagues rap record labels.
Kinky B, born Demetrius Ellerbee, is a tall dark-skinned man dressed in
stylish street wear. Wearing a colorful “I LOVE MONEY” hoody with matching
Bathing Ape sneakers and blue jeans, Kink greets me with a smile and a hug.
He exudes warmth and has that Southern charm that instantly relaxes those
around him. He also reeks of money - from the white Lamborghini parked
outside the front door, to his array of top of the line gadgets spread out
across his glass desk that keep him in constant communication with his team
and with the Def Jam staff.
Kinky was brought up in Macon, a rural town about 90 minutes south of
Atlanta. Like most rural areas, it is very poor. Kink partnered with Jeezy early
on, running the streets. You can hear his respect and affection for Young
Jeezy as he talks about their goals and aspirations for the company, as well
as where they’ve been and where they are going. But don’t get it twisted,
they are not just friends. They are business partners and are not afraid of
hard work. CTE is the hardest working label in urban music since 1998 when
Kink entered the music business. It started as a hobby locally in Macon.
In 1999, they decided to get serious about starting a label, and took their
name from a phrase they heard Jay-Z say about corporate thugs. They felt
this summed them up precisely. How ironic that a few years later their label
would be signed to Def Jam with Jay-Z as the CEO.
his partner happy, and since they truly love each other as brothers, this
isn’t difficult to do. Their 13-year friendship has allowed them to see each
other’s strengths and weaknesses and they consistently have each other’s
backs. “We are truly brothers from another mother,” explains Kink about
his best friend, Jizzle from the bottom of the map. “We are an artist and
businessman team. The best of both worlds.”
I asked Kink about his management style. He listens to people and hears
everyone out. He remains humble with no ego, and realizes that everything
worth having is a team effort. He respects everything he has and is thankful
everyday for what he has been able to achieve. He is still excited about
working with people that he never thought he’d ever get to work with. It
still floors him every time he sits down and politics with Jay-Z or LA Reid.
There was a bidding war for Young Jeezy and Corporate Thugz. L.A. Reid
immediately saw the value and did the deal for the entire CTE label, beating
out Atlantic and Warner Bros. “L.A. Reid is a genius. He created success with
a brand new artist that no one co-signed (Young Jeezy), but who had the
streets, and he resurrected the career of Mariah Carey that year too. We just
really appreciate the opportunity to prove ourselves,” says a humble Kinky
B about his mentor.
When asked how difficult it is to run a label, Kinky B doesn’t flinch. He says
it was different from everything he’s ever done before so it was challenging, but challenging in a positive way. “It’s hard, but I love it. I learn new
stuff everyday. Each day is different from the previous one and I get to
work with artists I respect,” reflects Kink. Corporate Thugz is more than just
its superstar, Young Jeezy. There are solo rappers Slick Pulla, Blood Raw,
Roccett and 211. The groups signed to CTE are ReRene - a female R&B trio
from Eastpoint in Atlanta, and Penzo, a soulful R&B male duo from Atlanta.
As I asked Kinky what his personal goals are in this industry, he cites the careers of L.A. Reid and Chaka Zulu (new president of Interscope) as his guiding
light. He has watched L.A.’s career over the years and admires the positive
moves he has made. Kink considers L.A. Reid (CEO of Def Jam Records and
former owner of LaFace Records) his mentor, and would like nothing more
than to run a major label one day. I asked Kink if he’d go to Harvard and get
an MBA like L.A. Reid did to run Arista Records, and he said he’d do whatever
he had to do to be the best.
Slick Pulla was signed to the label because of his demeanor and the fact
that his swagger was different from most. He has a mellow tone and
his flow is rare for the South, which caught everyone’s attention at CTE.
BloodRaw, a rapper from Florida, was signed backstage at a show in
Dothan, AL. Kinky B saw him perform one song, “Represent,” and signed him
on the spot, saying it was the hardest song he’d ever heard. He was also
attracted to BloodRaw’s rough street image (BloodRaw was acquitted of
Federal drug charges last year).
So where did the name Kinky B come from? When Kink was in middle school,
he made a healthy income renting porn flicks to the other kids for $5. “It
was my hustle! It was how I made money to buy gear and kicks when I was
13 or 14 years old,” says Kink with no embarrassment in having a history
in trafficking in porn. I like this in-your-face honest quality of Kinky B’s
because it was his reality and he dumped it out there for me to deal with it
as I saw fit. He seems to have the attitude that if you like him, that’s great,
but if you don’t like him, well, that’s fine too. It’s a Tupac quality and it’s
found in the most secure and well-adjusted people, but rarely exists in the
music business.
Over the years, Kinky has discovered that he blends in well with the corporate world and can equally relate to street dudes. This is a gift because
very few people can blend into all surroundings and environments as easily.
When asked what the secret to CTE’s success is, I expected him to give the
standard answer of giving the people what they want, but Kink responded
without missing a beat that “marketing creates revenue and CTE supplies
good product that can be marketed easily.” While focusing on building
the brand every step of the way, they put out career artists. They had a
joint venture in place with Def Jam long before Jeezy sold 2 million CDs of
Thug Motivation thanks to guerilla street marketing tactics that drove two
mixtapes street platinum: Streets Iz Watching sold 400,000 copies in October
of 2004 and Trap Or Die followed right behind it, selling 250,000 in February
of 2005. And it looks as if they are now celebrating all the way to the bank
with a man named Kinky B leading the charge. //
Kink realizes that the music business is not just about selling CDs, but also
entails keeping shareholders happy. He keeps the company structured and
running smoothly while assembling the best team possible to succeed. He
is focused constantly on how to become stronger and build better brands
(the artists’ and CTE’s brands). He also realizes the importance of keeping
40 // OZONE MAG
- Wendy Day (Photo: Julia Beverly)
PHOTO GALLERIES
leans,
y, & Gar (New Or
y, Anthony Murra n, J Prince Jr., & Bone
Bo
by
Ba
,
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Su
// Sn
ndo, FL) 05 //
th DJ
party (NYC) 02
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album release
pical Magic (Orla
@ Club Onyx fo arleston, SC) 10 //
for Lil Scrappy’s 04 // Guest & Papa Duck @ Tro
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Photo Credits:
OZONE MAG // 41
industry101
KEVIN BLACK
WARNER BROS. RECORDS
I
n record industry circles, you will very seldom hear people say Kevin
Black’s name without hearing the phrase “always bet on” in the middle.
“Promotions” and “guru” are a couple other words that are synonymous
with his name. With a resume that includes companies like Death Row Records, Virgin, Interscope and now Warner Bros, Black has become a sure bet
in the game.
The Bronx native got his start in the industry as a bag handler for Run-DMC.
Since then he has used his magnetic personality to forge fruitful relationships with everyone in the industry from the ground floor janitor to the
Jimmy Iovines of the world. OZONE caught up with Black in his Los Angeles
office as he gears up for a new year and a new challenge.
Working for Run-DMC during the Fresh Fest had to have been a dream job for
you. Why did you really choose to pursue a career in the music business?
To keep it real with you, when I saw all them muthafucking girls running to
Run-DMC, I said, “This is the business I need to be in.” I loved the music, the
parties and seeing the women jump up and down. I just wanted to be a part
of it. That’s why I first got into it. It wasn’t about the money.
How have you been able to stay in the business so long?
Because of my Four F’s theory. First F, you’ve got to be Friendly. Let people
know that you’re that type of guy. Second, you gotta be Focused. Keep your
eye on the objective; know what you gotta do to get where you want to be.
Third, you’ve got to be Firm. No one wants to be around a jellyfish. Know
your answer, how to explain it, know why you said it, and know what people
need to hear. The last F, you’ve got to know when to say Fuck it. Sometimes
the mountain is too high to climb.
Are you saying it’s okay to give up?
I’m not saying to give up, I’m saying know your parameters. Know that if
you’ve got seven bullets you can’t shoot eight times. Know what you’re doing and know how to get there. If you’re saying you need nine bullets and
the gun only holds seven, you gotta think things over, reconfigure and get
your mission done with seven bullets.
Your first promotions job was as the National Director of Promotions at Death
Row. Many artists have spoke of their experiences there; what was yours
like?
It was fun, to be honest with you. It prepared me for the beast this business
is today. I have nothing bad to say about Death Row or Mr. [Suge] Knight,
because I was diligent and young and wanted to run the streets. I learned a
lot over there. One thing about Mr. Knight, he didn’t put shackles on you. If
you did promotions, he wanted you to learn as much as you could. Publishing, A&R, everything.
What were some of the highlights of working there?
Breaking new artists because everyone there at that time was brand new.
The only known person was Dr. Dre. Everybody was brand new so I loved
getting with my new artists. That’s been my history, breaking new artists.
Doing that lets people know that you have substance. Don’t get it wrong, I
love the known artists, but breaking new artist lends more credibility to your
resume.
Why did you leave?
It was time for growth; that was the same reason I just left Interscope. You
want to grow in this business. If water doesn’t move, it becomes stagnant.
In this business if you don’t move you become frail and broke down. I just
wanted to grow financially, mentally and businesswise.
Since you’ve been doing promotions, with all of the technological changes
over the years, has your job gotten easier or harder?
It’s both. It’s more difficult because you’ve got to work 24/7; you’ve got to
know where you’re shooting and how far. It’s also easier because you’ve
got different vehicles to get things done, but you have to know how far the
vehicle can go. You’ve got to know the internet, new media, mobile, the
42 // OZONE MAG
streets, the clubs, the colleges and come up with new guerilla tactics. It
ain’t just being someone with a big mouth and bullhorn going to a football
game saying, “We here!”
What’s the biggest mistake that you see other promotions people making?
Not being properly educated on the mission you are trying to accomplish.
Some people like to put the cart before the horse and hustle backwards, you
can’t do that and expect to succeed at what you’re doing. I’d also like to tell
people to be a jack of all trades and a master of none. My forte is marketing and promotions, but I try to dip and dive in all aspects of this business.
I want to keep learning, never stop learning, when you do that you get
stagnant, old and frail.
What other advice do you have?
You should be a walking promotions man at all times. You should never
spend most of your time in the office. You should go from the streets to the
suites and back again. I’m not afraid to go in the streets. I’m still young, I
love the clubs. I’m what you call a new age executive. //
Words by Maurice G. Garland
Photo by Julia Beverly
PHOTO GALLERIES
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prisondiaries
TWISTED BLACK
T
wisted Black, otherwise known as the “Screw Hustler,” has been dropping albums in Texas for over a decade. Already well-known on the
underground scene, he landed a deal with TVT Records off the strength
of his single “I’m A Fool Wit’ It” which is steadily gaining airplay in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and beyond. But his career progress was abruptly halted
when he was convicted of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. Twisted
Black adamantly denies the charges against him and points the finger at a
crooked cop; he reached out to OZONE from his prison cell in West Texas to
tell his side of the story.
I heard that you were sentenced to life in prison. Is that true?
Nah, nah, I haven’t even been sentenced yet. I’m trying to get my appeal
started. I’m trying to get out on a bail bond before [sentencing] in February.
You were convicted of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. Are the charges
against you true or false?
Oh, they’re definitely false. False. They’re totally fabricated. I done messed
around and got a crooked cop mad at me down here in Odessa, TX, a crooked
cop by the name of Mitch Russell. He conspired to put a case together
against me. He had eight different people whom I’ve never met before, ever,
come up to the stand and say they bought drugs from me. They were all
inmates. They were already locked up trying to get a deal cut.
What motive would he have to fabricate a case against you? Was it because
of your status as a rapper, or did he have something against you personally?
There’s an artist who was signing to my label who caught a case. Once he
caught his case, me and my big mouth recorded the confidential informant.
I put it on a CD who their confidential informant was and after that [the
crooked cop] came after me.
So basically you put somebody’s name out on a record and now it’s coming
back to haunt you?
Exactly. I named a snitch who brought down a buddy of mine that I was
looking to sign and that’s how my name got tied up in this mess. I ain’t
never sold nobody no drugs. [The people who testified against me] ain’t
never seen me before a day in their lives. Literally, the FBI made these allegations up.
One of the witnesses testified that you were making so much money off drug
sales that you were using hundred dollar bills to light your cigarettes.
Nah, hell nah. That ain’t even my style. I need a hundred dollars too bad to
be burning hundred dollar bills. That’s exactly what one of the clowns that
testified said, that me and him were up in the club burning hundred dollar
bills. I had never seen him before in my life ‘til he took that [witness] stand.
Did your rap career have an impact on this case? Do you think the jury was
biased against you because of the fact that you rap?
I sure do think so. I think that’s why the guy targeted me. They even tried to
get some of my lyrics permissible in court. The judge wouldn’t allow it, but
they still ended up doing it. I’m in West Texas and they kinda do it the way they
wanna do it down here. My appeal goes through another court, thank God.
What were some of the lyrics they used against you?
“I cooked my way to the top, all I need is a Pyrex pot.” That’s one of the
quotes that they used [laughs] against me, but of course you know how we
talk in our raps. We talk about everything. They definitely wanted to quote
me on that and they wanted to quote interviews. They even monitor these
phone calls [from the prison], so if they want to use it against you they can.
In Pimp C’s interview after his release from prison, he said that the Texas
prison system was inhumane. What kind of facility are you in right now?
I’m in a federal detention center, and the conditions are okay. It’s a little different than where Pimp was, but I’ve been there too.
What could you have done differently to avoid being in this situation?
I overstepped my boundaries. I got a big mouth. I hate snitches so much and
I put my mouth on one of the snitches and this is how they serving me. They
know I’m gonna win the appeal but they put my life in such disarray right
44 // OZONE MAG
now. Me and my big mouth should have just been quiet. I should have left
them and their snitch alone.
Have you been able to get anything positive out of the situation?
It’s all bad, I ain’t got nothing good up out of it. It’s all bad, for real. The
only thing that may be good is that you know who you can count on.
You actually have a deal with TVT, right? Have you been in contact with
them?
Yeah, I talked to them just yesterday. I’m staying in touch with them and at
this point they’ve been very supportive. They got the “Free Twisted Black”
campaign. Steve Gottlieb personally called my wife to let her know that he
was behind us and they’re still putting out my project Street Legend. So I
definitely gotta give a shout out and a thank you to TVT for that. I got three
kids and a wife so my whole family has been turned upside down behind
this whole ordeal.
People say the street game is the same as the rap game. Is that true?
Identical, as much as I could tell from what I’ve observed of the street activity. I’ve never been a part of it too much but from what I’ve observed it’s
identical. It’s about who you know. You can’t trust nobody and you gotta
make sure you’ve got your bases covered.
You said that you’re appealing your case right now?
Immediately. I’m appealing it so fast they couldn’t even get the gavel
down in time. I had two of the best lawyers out of Fort Worth, TX, but we’re
looking to find the best appellate lawyer for my appeal. They messed up
on a couple legalities. I can’t say it over the phone because they’re probably listening to this phone call, but there are a lot of credibility issues.
Everybody they had testify against me were inmates trying to cut a deal [to
lessen their sentence].
Aside from the appeal, what do you expect to happen at the sentencing?
Just being realistic, my minimum [sentence] is ten years. I can go down
there and take the drug program and all of that stuff and be out of there
in 6 or 7 years. Within the next six months to a year I’m looking to be back
[out] on appeal, but worst case scenario, they gon’ give me a life sentence.
Ten to life.
Is there an address you want to give people to write to you?
Tommy Burns, #27-17. The address is PO Box 1588, Odessa, TX, 79760. //
- Julia Beverly (Photo: Matt Sonzala)
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OZONE MAG // 45
djprofile
byEricPerrin
DJ J-NICE
ATLANTA, GA
H
PHOTO: JULIA BEVERLY
is Myspace page claims that he is Atlanta’s Number 1 Crowd Motivator.”
Given the fact that he is the resident DJ at one of Atlanta’s perennial
powerhouse nightclubs, Club 112, it might be an accurate statement. DJ
J-Nice has been in the game since the mid 90s and doesn’t plan on forfeiting
his number 1 spot anytime soon.
Tell me about yourself
I got started basically my freshman year in college, in Baltimore, MD. I went
to Morgan State University. I’m originally from New York, but I grew up in
Baltimore and DC.
And you have ties to the West Coast too, correct?
Yeah, I was DJing for the Lakers. I got in the game DJing for Shaq at 112,
when it was the old school 112, the after-hours 112. Shaq’s cousin Mark kept
coming to 112 all the time, and Shaq came out with him one time and heard
me DJ. His cousin was like, “Yo, we bout to do these events throughout the
NBA season. Do you want to do it?” Of course I was like, “Hell yeah!” It was
history after that. I was with him when we won his first three [championship]
rings.
I’m sure you’ve had some pretty unique experiences DJing. What inspires you
to spin? What makes you enjoy your job?
What makes me want to go to work every day is just the people’s response
to the show that I put together. I’ve done tours and I’ve worked with a lot of
the top artists in the game, and it just makes you feel so good when people
cheer when you’re first coming on. I feel real good when people appreciate
my musical selection and how you put it together. It’s a wonderful feeling.
Sometimes it’s hard for me to go from laying around chilling at the crib, to
“Aw, man, I got to go to work.” But when you step in and put that first record
on and say your name and everybody cheers, all that tiredness goes away.
It’s a straight adrenaline rush.
If you had to classify your style as a DJ, what would it be? Do you prefer
Serato, CD’s or vinyl?
I consider myself an entertainer. I grew up on vinyl so I’m not just a DJ that
sits around all day and presses buttons and is just playing music with a
hype man. I’m an entertainer, I do everything myself. I go in there, I use the
microphone I perform, and I work with the artists. As far as Serato, honestly,
I think they made Serato for older cats that’s been in the business for a
minute, because we went through those days where we were lugging 8 or 9
flight cases up and down stairs and going into small DJ booths and things of
that nature. Serato made it easier for us, but just because you’re using Serato
doesn’t mean you’re a good DJ.
Since the hip-hop scene in Atlanta is so deep, there are a lot of DJs and a lot
of rappers. Does that help or hinder you as a DJ?
Well, I got to Atlanta before Atlanta was popping. I’ve been here for almost
10 years. [I moved here because it] was good for business and it was a great
place to live but it wasn’t poppin’ music-wise like it is now. Back then, it was
all booty shaking. Now I’ve seen new artists evolve. I remember when T.I.
was broke and big headed coming in 112 late, beggin’ to get on the microphone, and now look at him.
How do you feel about artists who blow up and then forget about the DJs
who helped make them who they are?
We’ve had that conversation with a few of the artists here in Atlanta and to
tell you the truth, I think it’s really foul. Trust me, when they need you and
they’re trying to get their record played, they’ll do anything and everything
they possibly can in their power to get you to play that record. They’ll give
you their direct cell phone number and tell you that they ain’t gon’ never
change their number. They be like, “Whatever you need, just pick up the
phone and call me. You ain’t gotta call my manager, none of that.” Then,
when they blow up, their numbers change. They ain’t taking your calls and
the managers are like, “Well, nah we can’t help you with that.” But it’s all
about longevity in this business. The DJs will be around much longer than
the artists. Whenever they’ve got another album coming out, they’re gonna
be right back to needing us. I think it’s foul and it shouldn’t even be like
that, but there are a few artists who are still mad cool regardless of the situ46 // OZONE MAG
ation. Like Lil’ Jon, he’s been the same person every time I’ve seen him.
As a DJ, were you offended with Nas’ “Hip-Hop is Dead” statement?
Naw, for Nas to say hip-hop is dead is his own opinion. It’s just evolved.
New York used to have all the major artists and all the hot music; now
they’re lucky if they’ve got three hot artists. If I was an artist from New York
I might say hip-hop is dead, too. You gotta look at it from his perspective.
That’s a New York perspective, but if you look at everybody down South, we
think it’s alive and running right now.
Who do you think is the next artist to blow up?
To be honest, there’s so many new artists that are out there. I’ve heard so
much hot stuff I couldn’t even pinpoint on one person. Young Sean, Big Ooh,
and P Stones are crazy. My artist Envy, she’s singing crazy. I play a lot of
new music at 112. I pretty much control what I want my people to hear. Everybody that comes to 112 is from somewhere else. It’s not like a local club;
it’s a tourist spot. When you come to 112, you expect to hear something
different than what you’re hearing at home all the time. For me, everybody
always will look and expect to hear something new and different from me.
What are your thoughts on the situation with Young Buck and DJ Will?
We got partial information. I wasn’t there to hear the whole story, you
know, so I’m getting two different sides of it. Young Buck is saying that it
was some disrespectful stuff going on and Will was saying it was disrespectful of Buck to grab him and choke him up, but at the end of day, I
know Will, and the people at BME, they’re family to me. So regardless, I’m
gonna support the DJs, because it could’ve been me in that situation.
Say for instance, an artist is at 112 who has beef with another artist with a
hot record. Would you play the other artist’s record?
I don’t know. First off, I like controversy because it sells records. So really,
that’s a hard question. Yes and no. If they ain’t from Atlanta then I would
play it, but if they’re from Atlanta then I wouldn’t do it. For instance, when
Gucci Mane and Jeezy was beefing I pretty much played both sides. They
both made diss records, but I didn’t play Gucci Mane when Jeezy was in the
club, or Jeezy when Gucci Mane was in the club. You gotta play it as political
as possible because it’s rough out here in these streets. There’s a bunch of
loose cannons walking around with the artists that are just looking to show
loyalty. You got cats that might knock you out so that once everybody runs
up out the club the artist will be like, “That’s what’s up. That means you’re
down for me.” So you just gotta be political. Will sent out a big email blast
to everybody [about the situation], but if you’ve been in Atlanta, you’d
know that there have been many times when DJs got their ass whooped.
Y’all just ain’t hear about it.
Changing topics, what can we look forward to from DJ J-Nice in the future?
I have so much that I’m involved in right now. I just signed a deal with the
new marketing and management company, Michael DeNiro Marketing and
Management, and Loose Cannon Entertainment. I just signed a deal with
Emerge International, they got a new clothing line and they’re involved
with the official NFL Super Bowl Gala. I’m out on the road right now doing
events from Carmelo Anthony, Ron Artest and Jermaine O’Neal. We also got
a big deal on deck with Toys R Us for this program called Toys N the Hood.
We’re doing big things. 2007 is really gonna be a big year for me. //
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(Ja
ur
of the South To
GA) 07 //
etime (Atlanta,
Pimp C @ Prim
ddy in-store
Da
ck
Tri
r
fo
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T-Roy @ Best Bu 08 // Magic City’s Sinna
)
(Jacksonville, FL icle @ Young Jeezy’s
r art
showing off he
bernacle
party @ the Ta
album release
n & friend
ow
Br
nji
Be
//
(Atlanta, GA) 09 Daddy’s “Tuck Ya Ice”
ck
on the set of Tri
Dirty
// Headkrack @
(Miami, FL) 10
, TX) 11 //
as
all
(D
s
ard
Aw
South Hip Hop
GA) 12 //
b 112 (Atlanta,
DJ J-Nice @ Clu e Indiana Pacers (Los
th
of
Al Harrington
y Tea
// Mojoe @ Gyps
Angeles, CA) 13 14 // Supah Mario @
)
TX
Room (Dallas,
nville,
m Studios (Gree
Dollar & A Drea
Tum @
m
Tu
&
rd
sta
Ba
MS) 15 // Fat
allas, TX)
Hop Awards (D
Dirty South Hip
@ Plush
an
Se
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un
Yo
d
16 // Kaspa an
sonville,
Grammys (Jack
for the Ghetto
The Venue
@
ve
Lo
&
y
n$
FL) 17 // Curre
concert
Christmas Eve
for Jim Jones’
uble R on
Do
//
18
)
LA
,
Ice”
(New Orleans
Daddy’s “Tuck Ya at
the set of Trick
V & La Ch
g
Big
DJ
//
19
(Miami, FL)
, MS)
ispers (Greenville
@ Southern Wh
Jones on
lm
lco
Ma
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Ice”
20 // Directo
Daddy’s “Tuck Ya ew
the set of Trick
oove (N
Sm
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Ra
DJ
//
21
(Miami, FL)
nes, &
// Love, Jim Jo
Orleans, LA) 22
tmas Eve
ris
Ch
on
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nu
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Star @ The
lini @
LA) 23 // Bossa
(New Orleans,
ards (Dallas,
Aw
p
Ho
Hip
Dirty South
uis,
ly Affair (St. Lo
TX) 24 // Fami
@ The
on
nn
Ca
n
Do
MO) 25 // DJ
rappy’s listening
Royal for Lil Sc
ck
GA) 26 // DJ Bla
a,
nt
party (Atla
) 27 //
WI
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ilw
@ Onyx (M
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ton, TX) 28 // Gu
cksonville,
(Ja
ert
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ss
@ Rick Ro
@ The Royal
FL) 29 // 4-Ize
listening party
’s
py
for Lil Scrap
// Coach Cognac
30
)
(Atlanta, GA
Tuck’s album
Big
r
fo
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@ Club Blu
, TX) 31 //
as
all
(D
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release pa
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//
32
)
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Lil
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ya
@ The Ro
(Atlanta, GA) 33
listening party
es @ Primetime
ag
Im
ll
// E of Tri
// Tom G @
34
)
GA
(Atlanta,
ow (Tampa,
Sh
ion
sh
Splurge Fa
dels @ Club
Mo
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ph
Tro
FL) 35 //
) 36 //
TX
n,
sto
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(H
Ice Age
al Magic
pic
Tro
@
sh
Haitian Fre
ppin’
Re
//
37
)
FL
(Orlando,
Connection @
Music Industry
sion (Charlesplo
Ex
y
Quarterl
Tek & DJ
D//
38
ton, SC)
erly Explosion
Venom @ Quart
)
(Charleston, SC
Carl Lewis
Photo Credits:
Jam-X (12);
DJ
);
,31
(09,18,20
,10,13,1
,04
(02
ll
Ha
Edward
Perrin
c
Eri
0);
3,3
4,15,19,2
Julia
);
,37
,32
,29
(03,08,25
,33,36);
Beverly (06,11,26 Luxury
);
Luis Santana (34 ercity
Riv
Mindz (01); Ms.
Wayne
(16); Marcus De
tivation
(17,21,22); Promo ite (24);
Wh
ie
mm
Ta
);
(27,35
(05,07,28)
Terrence Tyson
OZONE MAG // 47
producer
profile
byRandyRoper
MOUSE
BATON ROUGE, LA
M
ouse’s production has been bangin’ on airwaves and in clubs across
America for the last few years and you probably didn’t even realize it.
As the in-house beatmaker for Trill Entertainment, this 22-year-old
handled the bulk of the production for Webbie’s album Savage Life and Lil
Boosie’s album Bad Azz. He’s the man behind Webbie’s hit singles “Bad Bitch”
and “Give Me That,” as well as Lil Boosie’s breakthrough single “Zoom.” And
if you noticed the charismatic individual singing the hook in the “Zoom”
video with the red hoodie on, that’s him.
But Trill’s go-to-guy isn’t just a producer. He works double duty as a Trill Entertainment rapper in the group Three Deep with fellow group members Phat
and Shell, while he continues to stack up production credits. As part of the
Trill Entertainment feature, we spoke with the producer that has everyone
zooming (even the little kids zooming), to talk about his role within the Trill
family, his rap group and why Foxx is the next big thing to watch for in the
Trill regime.
PHOTO: KING YELLA
First off, tell me about where you’re from?
I’m from Baton Rouge, LA. It’s cool out here, bruh. You just got to get on
your grind and get it out here.
Where did you get the name Mouse from?
Man, I been had it since about 6th grade. I was skinny with some big old
ears.
When did you start making beats?
When I was little, my partner got a keyboard for Christmas. I used to go over
there, get on the keyboard and drop some beats. The next Christmas, my
people got me one. Matter of fact, Webbie, before he got with Trill, he heard
some of those beats. That’s how I got started, and I upgraded from there.
Did you know Webbie before he heard your beats?
Yeah, me and Webbie went to school together. He didn’t stay in school. He’d
come for a little bit and get kicked out, but that’s how I know him.
What’s the process like for you when you’re making a beat?
I might hear a tune in my head and I just build around it. Gotta have the 808
in it, boy. I love that sub.
What was the first beat that you had on a Trill Entertainment project?
Well my first time selling a beat, I sold it to [Trill] and that was that “Swerve.”
But that was my first time selling a major beat. Then I came with “Bad Bitch”
and “Give Me That,” but that “Swerve” was the one that got me in the door.
How did it feel watching your beats blow up like “Bad Bitch” and “Give Me
That” did?
That’s cool, bruh. I like that, especially when those checks come back. That
makes it even better. That just makes you wanna do more singles and stuff
like that.
Are you working with anyone outside of Trill Entertainment?
I worked with B.G. a lot. I worked on his last two albums that dropped. But
I’ve been basically doing in-house. We got a lot of artists. And I’m in a group
that’s coming from Trill called Three Deep. Matter of fact, we got a song out
right now called “Do It, Stick It” that’s getting radio play out here.
So you’re a producer and a rapper?
Yeah, I’m coming on the artist side. I’m really gonna let these youngsters
do their thing, but I’m in [the group] with them. For me personally I like the
producer [side]. That’s just me. If everything else fails, I’m gonna always get
behind the keyboard and make beats. So I like the producer side better. But
[as an] artist you show your skills with your mouthpiece and people can hear
you. They can feel you, but at the same time they can feel you when you’re
making beats.
Tell me about the group that you’re in.
Well it’s me, a dude named Shell from New Orleans and my partner Phat.
Shell is 19, Phat is 14 and I’m 22, and we’re called Three Deep. We’re gonna
48 // OZONE MAG
be on this Trill Fam album that’s coming out. We’re gonna show off on there.
Trill Fam consists of Three Deep, Foxx, Boosie, Webbie, Big Head and Soulja
Boy from Mississippi.
Are there any artists that you’d like to work with that you haven’t already?
I got a lot of people that I want to work with. I’m always gonna work with
B.G. because he’s one of the first niggas who came and hollered at me
when I was still just a local thing. I still got a little ways to go, but he was
still one of the first that came and hollered at me on some national stuff.
I’m feeling T.I., Trick Daddy, a lot of people. I couldn’t even name them.
Anybody. Anybody that wanna do some things.
Do you have any advice for other producers trying to come up in the game?
Yeah, when you’re original they’re gonna feel you the most. Just make sure
you do you and sometimes you’re gonna have to sacrifice. You’re gonna
have to grind it out, you gotta start from somewhere. It might pop off fast
for you, it might not. Make sure you have your own sound. Don’t copycat
nobody. Just do your thing.
Do you have anything within the Trill camp that you want to talk about?
I’m gonna talk about the artist we got, Foxx. I had scooped up Foxx from
the block cause he was from the same hood as my little partner Handy, who
got killed in a car accident. While I was working with Trill, I was working
with my homeboy Handy. He did a couple songs with Webbie, and he was
close to getting signed to the Trill team before he got killed in the car accident. But his little homeboy, Foxx, he’s on the Trill label now. He’s doing
good. I know the people are going to like him. Foxx got a song right now
called “Swipe It Down.” He’s about to drop something soon.
What is it about Foxx that people are going to like?
Man, Foxx is going to talk about stuff that’s gonna make you laugh. He’s
one of those rappers that talks about stuff you wanna listen to all day long.
But it’s serious stuff. It’s gonna be good to listen to. It’s good entertainment, but it’s real though.
Do you have anything else that you want to say?
I was working at Popeye’s and Church’s [Chicken] when I was 16. So you
never know what the next person will do. The nigga working at Wal-Mart
might be the next nigga to do something. So you can’t sleep on nobody.
I know how to fry some chicken. [laughs] That southern backwoods fried
chicken, you heard me? So don’t sleep on nobody. //
flix
r Lil Scrappy’s
@ The Royal fo
01 // DJ Drama
// Young
02
)
GA
a,
nt
tla
(A
listening party
Scrappy @ The
Lil
//
03
)
GA
Jeezy (Atlanta,
style @
GA) 04 // DJ Pro & Adam
Royal (Atlanta,
, Rico,
ris
Ch
//
05
)
The Temple (NYC
// Big Tuck
Louis, MO) 06
@ Dante’s (St.
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//
(Atlanta, GA) 09 10 // Montana Trax @
LA)
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Primetime (Atla
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Gary & Bigga Ra
// C.O. on the se
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29 // Slick Rick,
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lia
Ju
//
30
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(Dallas, TX
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party
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) 31 // La Chat
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MS) 32 //
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Matthew
listening party
for Lil Scrappy’s Triple T @
//
34
)
GA
(Atlanta,
reenville, MS)
Phat Wheels (G
an Mike, Chase
35 // Puerto Ric
er @ Club
ldi
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all
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// Models
36
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//
37
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LA
,
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(Dallas, TX)
Life @ Club M5
@ Hipnotic
rd
Lo
B38 // DJ
)
SC
,
ce
(Floren
Carl
Photo Credits:
rd Hall
Lewis (12); Edwa
,29,31,34,35
(06,14,19,22,26
(01,03,07
,36); Eric Perrin
,38); Julia
,08,14,24,32,33
,17,18,30);
Beverly (04,10,11 ); Luis
(02
z
se
Ca
Katching
xury Mindz
Santana (13); Lu
yne
Wa
De
s
rcu
(16); Ma
tivation
(09,23,36); Promo ite
Wh
(27,28); Tammie n
so
(05); Terrence Ty
(15,20,21,25)
OZONE MAG // 49
“
e her lose
I threw my wife to the ground and mad
drugs
her baby just [because I wanted] to get
asked her
when she was six months pregnant. I
for $20, and she wouldn’t give it to me.
“
True Stories from HIip hop’s
most despised heroes
Words & Photos by Eric Perrin
(Eric.Perrin@OzoneMag.com)
50 // OZONE MAG
“
“
you
the only placeom
is
se
u
o
h
ck
a
cr
fr
The
own and keep
can go to lay d, cause the last time I
getting rapedhere I was fighting every
was around ouldn’t get raped. I have
night so I w k like a boy to keep from
to try to loo .
getting raped
I
didn’t really believe we were going to go crackhead hunting. It was
simply an idea I tossed around during our “Drug Issue” editorial meeting
thinking no one would agree, but obviously I was underestimating my
ubiquitous editor, Julia Beverly, a 25-year-old white girl from the home of
Disneyworld, whom I’ve learned finds adventure in adversity.
It was a frigid Sunday night in Atlanta. I was watching the Chargers vs. Chiefs
game hoping I wouldn’t receive the text from JB signaling that it was time for
our mission to begin, but by 9:45 PM we were on our way to pursue crackhead
confessions.
I didn’t know exactly what to expect. Like most people who live in the hoods
of ATL (the infamous “Crackheadz Gone Wild” DVD was filmed a block from
my apartment), I’ve had my share of crackhead run-ins. There was the time
a crackhead threatened to sue me for accidentally throwing a wet garbage
bag on top of his head while he was eating rice inside the trash compacter,
or the time a crackhead adamantly tried to sell me a buy-one-get-one-free
coupon to Chick-Fil-A for $5, or the day a skinny, Uncle Ruckus looking seventy-something year-old crackhead tried to fight me at the Citgo for jokingly
asking him for money right before he could twist his chapped lips to ask me
the same question.
But during all my experiences with dope fiends, I never went out of my way
to actually speak to a crack addict. It was always a crackhead trying to extract money from me and me trying to ignore the crackhead as best as possible. Throughout a three month span last year, I didn’t leave my house one
time without being bombarded by hit-hungry hypes looking to collect cash
for crack. It got so bad that I began to inadvertently study their methods of
approach so I would know how to effectively evade contact with them.
I would speak loudly into my cell phone even though no one was on the
other line, just so I could attempt to pump gas in peace. I would hold my keys
in hand while walking, just so they wouldn’t dangle in my pocket, enticing
desert lipped, cactus teeth crackheads to ask for the “spare change” that they
heard clinging in my pocket. Most effectively, however, I would avoid all eye
contact with crackheads, because staring at the pitiful pain in their dull gray
eyes can cause even the most exuberant of moods to deflate.
So I’d always tried my hardest to have as little interaction with the legions of
rock-head rodents that infested my hood as possible.
But, this night was different; opposite, in fact. Our sole mission was to find
stories of addiction from perhaps the most despised people in America. As we
ventured out into Atlanta’s “Historical” West End District, equipped with an
abundance of blankets and boxes of snacks to give away, I listened to their
stories and recorded their involuntarily chopped and screwed voices on the
same tape recorder that I’ve used to interview some of hip-hop’s royalty.
And then it hit me: Maybe our society has been hypocritical in our treatment of crackheads. After all, these are the same people who have funded a
plethora of independent record labels we all know and love; they are the forgotten remnants of rap who have helped turn so many trap stars into emcees.
Any true hip-hop fan should pay occasional tribute to the crackhead, for they
have been just as influential to the culture as Afrika Bambaataa or Kool Herc.
Let’s not forget that crackheads provided the original funding for some of our
favorite lyrical legislators like Jay-Z, Biggie Smalls, Young Jeezy, T.I., 50 Cent,
Killer Mike, Cam’Ron, Juelz Santana, and countless others.
The money that was begged, hustled, and stolen by crack crazies has contributed to some of the best music our generation has heard. You may ridicule
and look down upon the crackhead who sleeps in the street by your favorite
club, but more than likely, the money he spends to free-base has financed
the bass in the beats that emanate throughout that same club.
I can’t understand their addiction, or why they would choose to smoke
their lives away. But that night, I did respect them as humans, and sincerely
listened to what they had to say. I decided that our crackhead hunting mission would serve as OZONE’s way of providing the often happily forgotten
entities of our culture with an opportunity to express themselves. Some of
their stories are graphic, many of them are disturbing, and all of them are
unfortunate.
joh
n
daniel
new
yn
dwa
e
yor
k
mary
gregory
meesha
OZONE MAG // 51
Daniel
Charles
If you think you’re strong enough to say “I’m just gonna try it,” don’t fool
your damn self. Excuse the “damn” but it’s just that damn serious. Drugs are a
serious thing. You have a tendency to withdraw from friends, family members,
life. But I guess God just put an extra taste of mercy on me so maybe I can be
an example tp someone. I’ve done every drug there is to be done, even down
to snorting fumes from paint thinner.
It’s sad when you get hooked on that chemical imbalance. You don’t have
positive guys - especially blacks - that even care when you’re on it. Sometimes you wanna get off drugs but you don’t have family members to just
give you a hug or a little kiss on the neck or something to give you encouragement and let you know that it doesn’t have to always be that way. To be
honest, it’s the white people who help the most. If I ask a black person to lift
me up or to help me get off drugs, not even for money, just help, they look at
me and say, “Get the fuck out my face.”
“
“
s. They focusFuck ‘em! Fuck the young rap guy
and the
elry
jew
ing on the wrong thing, the
nger,
-hu
ger
hun
the
ut
bling-bling. What abo
ked
hoo
are
t
tha
s
guy
the
of
e
what about som
on what they sold us?
They don’t understand how hard it can be dealing with drugs. I think for most
people [on drugs] the hardest part to overcome is the depression. You’re okay
when you’re high but when you’re coming down you’re in a depressed, stupid
stage. And a lot of people doing drugs were already a little mentally handicapped before they started, so drugs makes them do even more stupid things.
People can do a lot of bad things, and drugs ruin some people’s self esteem
to the point where [how you feel about your] appearance is out the window.
A job? Some of ‘em can’t spell a job, and a job takes too long. You need to
get high right now, you can’t wait for a job. I’ve seen people do pretty much
anything imaginable to get drugs. It hurts to see some of the things they do,
especially the ladies. I’ve seen many of them suck a banana if you know what
I mean. And in Atlanta, I’ve seen guys suck a banana, and that’s really, really
pathetic.
Daniel goes on to tell us that he’s been in Atlanta for years. He claims to have
bought drugs from multiple rappers and has no respect for trappers turned
rappers.
I have no respect for the rap singers. I have no respect for them because they
forgot who they come from. They help put dents in a lot of peoples’ lives.
They’ve torn away families and they don’t bring nothing back to the people
whose lives they helped destroy. They could just bring back 50 peanut butter
sandwiches or something to help, but that never happens. Fuck ‘em! Fuck the
young rap guys. They focusing on the wrong thing, the jewelry and the blingbling. What about the hunger-hunger, what about some of the guys that are
hooked on what they sold us? If those guys would just donate $20 apiece that
could change some of our self-esteem. They’re glorifying the wrong things
and most of them are about three-quarters illiterate. They only rap to hide
that illiteracy. I say fuck rap. It’s nothing positive.
Daniel is a man who clearly knows his life is in shambles and makes no
excuses, but the one thing he does ask for is an opportunity to give advice to
our readers.
I got one message and one message only to the people that read this magazine: Don’t even try drugs. Never, ever think that your mind is strong enough.
Don’t think you’re gonna just dibble into the pie one time and then just walk
away; it never happens. I’m an alumni of Boston College. I majored in Business Administration and Psychology and drugs still got my ass. Don’t fuck
with drugs. That shit fucks your brain up.
52 // OZONE MAG
Charles’ story is perhaps the most riveting of all the stories we heard that
night. The look in his eyes as he revealed his experience with drugs, HIV, and
gay prostitution was frightening. Speaking to Charles was like a scene from a
horror movie; you know what’s going to happen next, but it doesn’t make the
thought of it any less horrifying.
M
y name is Charles Carver. I’m originally from Kentucky, I’m thirtyseven years old, and I’ve been smoking crack for almost twenty years.
I’m divorced, depressed, upset, and angry. Drugs have taken me to a
level that I never thought I would be on. Since I’ve been on drugs, I have
contracted the HIV virus. That was through male prostitution, with men and
women, and that was something I never did until I started doing drugs.
“
“
M
y name is Daniel Wise. I’m from Dorchester, MA. I’m 52 years old. I’ve
been doing drugs off and on since I was 17 or 18 years old. I started
off just playing around with it, but the chemical imbalance got me
hooked on it. My body liked that feeling. Most people start off with marijuana.
I’m 53, so I started smoking marijuana back in the 70s, but in my lifetime I’ve
done all of ‘em, and that isn’t anything to be proud of: heroin, cocaine, crack,
any type of over-the-counter drug, beer, all of them.
the
gs, I contractned
ru
d
n
o
n
ith
ee
w
b
,
Since I’ve
le prostitutiomething I
a
m
h
g
u
ro
th
s
as so
HIV viru
en, and that w
g drugs.
in
men and wom
o
d
ed
start
I
l
ti
n
u
id
d
er
nev
I had went to Miami to prostitute, and at first it was to white women, because
they think black men got big, long dicks, so white women liked me. At first I
was only prostituting to them, but then I started getting more money from
men; mostly black men and white men with money, so that’s what I did for
drugs and money. And I was married. My wife was trying to figure out where
I had been getting all this money from for drugs. She had no idea I was
prostituting.
Me and my wife were married for almost 18 years. I just got divorced January
of this past year. Drugs has taken me to a level that has forced me to move
away from my family. They don’t even know that I’m HIV positive; [not] too
many people know [Editor’s note: Charles did not want to be photographed
for this reason]. That’s something I try to keep to myself but I also try to
share it with young people that I see starting out on drugs. This is not the
way of life; this is not what is positive. It’s not cool, and it’s not fun.
For me, it was [fun] when I first started cause it wasn’t a everyday thing, but
the more and more I did it, the more and more it became an everyday thing.
I had to have it. I’ve never stolen anything from my mom or my sister or
anything, so I thank God for that, but I have taken things that did not belong
to me and I’m not proud of that. I do have a [criminal] record.
Right now in life I am a weakling. You know, I’m trying to get myself back
together. I’m trying to do the things that I need to do to take care of me,
because now I have no choice but to take care of me. Everybody always says
you’re supposed to look for your family for help, but when you can take care
of yourself you need to take care of yourself.
Charles takes a slight pause, looks down at his hands where he is gripping a
mini-size bag of Cheez-Nips that we offered him and continues with his story.
I’m homeless. This is the first thing I’ve eaten today, but I do the best I can to
maintain myself and to keep my pride up. It’s not good, the place where I’m
at, but the skills I have, I can’t go back to because of the HIV. It’s something
that I cannot do.
Charles seemed to be very educated and articulate compared to most of the
other drug addicts we spoke to that night. As he spoke of his HIV infection
there was no added emotion, no distress, no reservation. He seemed as if
life had taken its toll on him, and his HIV-positive status is just another nail
deeply hammered into the already sealed coffin that had become his life.
He spoke very calmly, almost peacefully as he described his future with the
disease that will leisurely eat away at his immune system until the day his
slow dance with death concludes.
When I found out I had HIV, I was in jail, and they was doing free testing.
When I found out that I had been infected it kinda hurt me because I know
it was all just because of drugs. I grew up in a good family, and once I tell
them about my HIV, they ain’t gon’ have nothing to do with me. I’m not on
medication, but I’m going tomorrow to for a T-Cell count. So far, my T-Cells
are good, but my health is not as good as it used to be. I try to maintain and
keep a positive aspect on life, because that’s something that I have to do.
Tomorrow I’m going back to the [rehab] program that I was in to see if I can
get back in it. One of the rules is that if you leave three times, you can’t come
back. I’m praying that they allow me to come back. It’s not something that I
want, it’s something that I need. That’s all that’s gonna keep me alive.
The power of parenthood is evident as Charles’ demeanor on life took a
drastic turn towards optimism when be began thinking about his children. His
speech exuded hope that, based on his circumstances, was very unrealistic.
They told me people have lived twenty years [with HIV] before they contracted the AIDS virus. I want to be one of the ones that lives fifty years. I
just want to see my grandchildren grow up, and pray that I’ll live to see my
great-grandchildren. I have eight children. Four of them are my stepchildren
but they’re still mine, cause I raised them and they call me “daddy.” They still
love and care about me and do what they can for me, when they can. And it’s
gon’ hurt when I break down and I tell them about my HIV, but I gotta take it
one day at a time. Thank God my wife doesn’t have HIV.
The message I have to tell people about drugs is: Don’t do it. There’s nothing
in it. It’s not grand, there’s nothing about it that’s good, nothing. It takes
you to the lowest point. My life is the lowest you can get, living on the street,
don’t know when you’re gon’ get something to eat, that’s not a good thing.
Digging in the garbage cans, drinking water that goes down the side of the
road just to have something to drink. Going to the restaurants eating out of
the dumpsters off napkins where people have blown their noses on, and then
threw it on the plate, then you go through and just scrape it off, trying to
clean it as best as possible just to eat, that’s my life. It’s not grand, it’s not
fun. There’s nothing about it that I could recommend to anybody. I would not
turn drugs onto my worst enemy. I threw my wife to the ground and made her
lose her baby just to get drugs when she was six months pregnant. I asked
her for $20, and she wouldn’t give it to me. We got into a big argument, and
when I got ready to go out the door she grabbed me and tried to stop me and
I slung her to the ground. I didn’t realize exactly what I was doing because I
was high, and when she fell to the ground she cried and said, “Oh, I’m bleeding.” I didn’t know what to do so I ran out the door. And that was gon’ be my
only daughter. I have all boys - well, two step-daughters - but none that’s
my own. That would have been my only [blood] daughter, and I killed her.
Mary
M
y name is Mary. I’m 44 and I’ve been doing drugs on and off for about
ten years. At first I used [drugs] for a painkiller and then I started
using every time I got my feelings hurt, or had bad relationships. It
seemed like nothing was going right in my life. I just kept getting hurt and so
for the pain, I use crack.
The most painful thing for me to deal with is family, relationships and socalled friends. My best friend had the nerve to sleep with my fiancé the week
of my wedding, so that took me for a loop and I always try to kill myself.
Normally, Thanksgiving or Christmas, I be so depressed that I try to commit
suicide. This past Thanksgiving is one time that I didn’t do it, but Christmas
ain’t here yet. My birthday just passed. I don’t get nothing for my birthday. I
have six kids. All of them are grown and I don’t know where none of ‘em at
but one; one of ‘em is in Iraq. When I did get in touch with one of my daughters she always ended up cussing me out or just treating me very [badly] and
I can’t handle it. I’m very emotional and very sensitive.
I live on the streets or go from house to house as long as I got a few dollars
to get in. Tonight I’m looking for the girl that got my shoes and my coat. I
got on somebody’s else shoes and somebody else’s coat. Hopefully I can find
some money to pay to get in somebody’s house to lay down for the night. If
not, I’ll be sleeping outside. The crackhouse is the only place you can go to
lay down and keep from getting raped, cause the last time I was around here
I was fighting every night so I wouldn’t get raped. I have to try to look like a
boy to keep from getting raped. It ain’t nothing easy.
Mary does a good job of trying to look like a man. She was dressed in an
oversized jean jacket and pants, a doo-rag, and a facial expression that suggested her life was beyond repair.
One of my friends got killed. She got in the car with two guys and I never
seen her no more. The next thing I know they found her body. It’s not nothing
easy out here in these streets, especially being a woman because guys try
every chance to take advantage of you. I’ve been raped several times, that’s
why I try not to look like a woman. Now some of these women out here is
really cracked out, worse than me, and they don’t care. They just loose, and
what I mean by loose is, anything goes. Some of ‘em don’t even wear underwear. They might have on a little short dress or a miniskirt, and wherever
they fall down at, or wherever they get high at they be telling the guys to
come get it, just so they could get high again. They might turn 50-60 tricks
a day just to get drugs, so that makes it hard for the women that ain’t like
that, and you know, you get raped. It ain’t no joke trying to be fighting just to
make it to the next day and go through the same thing all over again.
Then when the churches close down and you ain’t got nothing to eat, you
have to be extra careful. If people that’s homeless ain’t got nothing to eat,
some of the guys will start snatching pocketbooks or whatever they can get
they hands on, and you just have to fend for yourself.
My life day-to-day consists of trying to find a place to sleep whenever I can,
try to eat, find some water, try to get a few dollars from some guy so I’ll be
able to go inside somewhere and wash up.
A lot of the people that’s out here on drugs are not [on drugs] cause they
wanna be. You’re out here with nowhere else to go and nothing else to do,
and you’ve got people always offering it to you, so eventually you’re gonna
give in. My advice is please don’t try it, cause once you try it, I don’t care how
many times you stop, you’ll always go back. The slightest little thing that
hurts your feelings or make you feel bad will make you go back to it. So the
best thing to do is to try to stay away from it.
Dwayne
I
started off on the street at the age of 12. My dad was in the penitentiary
and my mom, the white man put her on the drug. I started smoking crack
when I was 16. I had just come out of training school and my partner,
supposedly my friend, led me to it. It was just regular weed at first, and then
they start lacing it up [with crack] like the Miami boys do, and that’s how it
went down, man. A lot of boys got caught up in it when we were teenagers.
When they started lacing it they were like, “This is the new high. This is what’s
going on now. People ain’t smoking regular weed no more, we sprinkling it
down.” I’ve been smoking crack for 18 years now.
Is crack ever hard for you to come by?
Is it hard to come by?! Do you know why so many black gentlemen are in the
penitentiary today? It’s because they get on crack and it’s so hard for them to
get some more that they commit a crime.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done to get crack?
Sell somebody some fake crack.
What does fake crack consist of?
Sheet rock, candle wax, corn meal, goody powder, a whole lot of different
things, that’s real talk, man. I been smoking dope for 18 years, and I done
seen people [overdose], I done seen muthafuckas fall out. The first dude I
seen die from crack was when I was in a house, and dude was nervous. Next
thing I know, he just fell out. And they throwed him out the front of the
house. He had died before they even threw his ass out the house, though. I
ain’t know these people, I was just in the house smoking.
How does the whole crackhouse thing work?
Shit, you gotta pay the house. If you coming in somebody’s house to smoke
dope you got to pay them for it.
How much?
$5 a night.
How many people are usually in there smoking?
Shit, about ten or fifteen. All kinda shit be going on.
How much do you spend on crack in an average day?
I done spent $300 since Friday.
Damn, where do you get that kind of money from?
I know how to talk to people, especially white folks. I love them. I go up
there by The Ritz Carlton and Hard Rock Café and Hooters and tell ‘em I just
did six months and just like that they give you $20. I ain’t been to sleep since
three days ago.
Do you have one consistent drug dealer?
Naw, I be buying from everybody.
Do you ever worry about somebody giving you some bad stuff?
Naw, I know what it is. I told you I’ve been doing it 18 years.
How would you describe the high?
Geeked up. Seriously, when I hit a rock, I start looking on the ground, looking
for change so I can get that feeling again. It’s a good feeling, it’s a real good
feeling. But don’t ever smoke it, cause you will not have shit. //
- Kisha Smith, Kenneth Brewer, and Alexander Cannon also contributed to this
article.
OZONE MAG // 53
LY
T
N
E
I
T
PA AITING
W
CAROL
CARTE CITY
M
L
IAMI, F
L
For mo
st
are har hip-hop grou
d
p
Murdd to master. For s, the concepts
ock and
Miami’
of loyalt
s
past nin
T
e years, orch – the con trillest trio – R y and longevit
Miami
y
c
T
ick Ross
e
r
p
ip
ts
le
ar
to
C
of Miam enjoying the has gone from e second natur , Gun Play
e
success
i to bec
.
su
O
rvivin
ver the
e
oming
a family s of Ross’ plati g the streets
o
num so
After fl
.
lo album f
eeing th
found h
e Castle
Port
imself u
Hill Pro
Ross as
n
one of h der the astute jects in the Br
on
me. I m
is bigge
g
e
st mento uidance of Ric x, New York
,
when w t him back in
’98 whe rs saying, “Th k Ross. Torch Torch
e found
at man
credits
n I was
music fr
ed Caro
k
e
l
o
Triple C m him and m City Cartel. I vading a char inda raised
ge
uch mo
le
was com
re.” Wit arned everyth . That’s
plete.
h the ad
in
It’s easy
dition o g about this
f Gun P
long, bu to give up and
lay,
p
t
Torch sa the Carol Cit art ways after
y
h
eating g ys, “My little b Cartel has ple ustling as a c
oll
n
o
o
I’m try od and setting y keeps me fo ty of motivati ective for so
in
on
c
I did.” G g to make sur up the future used – making to progress.
wh
eh
su
un Play
finds in e don’t grow u ere he don’t g re he’s
otta str
spiratio
p in the
u
n in ev
erythin type of atmo ggle.
sp
g from
money here
to mar-
EST.”
“WE’RE THE B
(l to r): Torch, Rick Ross, & Gun Play
54 // OZONE MAG
ijuana,
b
two of ut his strongest
th
to how e best artists in influences com
th
catch u ey formulate the game righ e from the gro
p
u
th
t
kept Tr to them and w ose words, it now. When y p. “They’re
iple C to
ou liste
makes m
ork har
n
d
gether
for so lo er.” It’s this w e really want
to
“I see th
ork eth
ng.
ic that
e same
has
come fr
hunger
o
in them
able to m the same h
ood and that I have,”
get in th
Ross sta
and kee
I respec
e studio
te
p
te
real im it original, ga and do three o d their hustle s. “We
portant.
ngsta an
r four r
” Ross c
ecords – being
Lee and
d fly at
a
o
th
play. “E says nobody in mpares Gun P e same time. night
la
v
T
complim erybody had ththe game can y to the black hat’s
compar
T
e
e
n
ir
te
o
d
w
e
each oth
When
n lane a
to Torc ommy
Iw
lr
h
e
and eve as on the Jay r. It’s a lot of eady and ove ’s word
r
e
r
looked ybody was exc Z internationa nergy in their time we
a
l
d
h
here. I t both of them anging verses. tour, we was elivery.
ba
se
a
leader, e the vision.’ nd was like, ‘T Jay looked at m ckstage
H
b
in the b ut with these e was impress his is real hip- e and
dudes,
ooth.”
I gotta ed. Most dude hop right
stay on
s
my toe lean on the
With th
s when
e
we’re
is bring ir forthcomin
g
in
produc g everything album Black F
ti
h
la
feature on and top no e can to the ta g nearly com
tc
p
Ja
b
Dre, DJ y-Z, Young Je h collaboratio le, including to lete, Ross
n
K
e
true-to haled, Yung zy, Junior Re s. The debut p p shelf
id
-li
Jo
r
“We’re fe stories and c and Brisco. , 8Ball, Smitty oject will
Each m
the best
, Cool &
synergy
e
,” Rick
m
boasts. of styles will b ber believes
“That’s
th
Words:
e
from T felt by the m eir
Ms. Riv
he Boss
asses.
Photo:
.”
Terrenc ercity (msrive
rcity@y
e Tyson
ahoo.co
m)
OZONE MAG // 55
LY
T
N
E
I
T
PA AITING
W
IT IS
IN DETROSE
Y
D
O
B
Y
LR
E
V
“E
LL ABOUT G.L
STUCK. IT’SSA
IN
L
ND KIL TA
ING DRUGERA
IN ATLAN
E
DOWN H E TO PARTY.”
THEY LIK
TAX
HOLLO
ATLAN
E
WAY
TA, GA
ven tho
u
view w gh he knew T
o
a
ing secti uld appear in x Holloway’s in
our Pati
on, D-B
terDon Ad
entl
o
y
am
thing b s insists that Entertainmen y Waitut
t
h
know th patiently wait is lead emcee CEO
is
in
a
waiting t’s patiently w g. “What nig anyga
a
o
the city n him from a iting has hoes you
balcony
pa
of Atlan
Hotel?”
overloo tiently
ta from
kin
in
th
of what quires Adam ey condo at th g
s. How
his ban
e
e
v
k accou
confide
er, rega 12
nc
nt
rd
tive Tax e his label ha may contain, less
s in him
or the
Hollow
,
to succ
eed in th ay still feels m Detroit nauch pre
e rap in
ssure
dustry.
“I got d
eadline
s to me
a show
et.
or
house ju at the club pr If I ain’t out d
oing
omotin
st writin
g
ain’t pa
rtying o g. I ain’t in th , I’m in the
e streets
r bullsh
ing,” Ta
itti
,I
x
mornin says. “I wake ng; I’m work
up early
g and g
o straig
my pad
in
the
ht to m
. I’m sta
y
p
y
ing har
d. I got ing on the grin en and
a lot of
pressur d, worke on me
For Tax
.”
,
especia pressure is ine
lly whe
vitable,
n your
billboar
face
d
you’ve s all over the c has graced
been bil
o
led as p untry and
rap sav
ior from
erhaps
the nex
a city st
shadow
t
s
u
been a of Marshall M ck in the
lot
ath
the D, b of artists that ers. “It’s
u
c
nothing t I don’t think ame out of
th
that sou
theoriz
nds like ey heard
es.
what th “I’m differen me,” he
t fr
e
after m y’ve heard alr om
eady, a
y proje
nd
c
t,
is gon’
be look I believe Detr
ed at a
way.”
differen oit
t
Like m
an
from ar y aspiring arti
ou
st
has ma nd the countr s
de
y
hip-hop the pilgrimag , Tax
e to
’s mode
rn mec
lanta. T
ca
he
MI to A drive from D of Ate
tlanta,
GA is a troit,
723 mil
bo
es;
hours, b approximate ut
ly
the diffe ut according to 11
ity betw rence in the m Tax,
entalmuch h een the two
“I
st
ab
da
a
arder to
cities is
and it’s murder ‘bout ncing vibe. If out selling dr uck in one min keep my raps
e
sc
a
to
u
b
y
all real.
pe.
d
g
I came happen when ou go to a club s and killing. state,” says Ta ased on my life
Down h
to Atlan
x. “Eve
y
in Atlan
and my
r
Atlanta
e
ta to ge ou leave the c
y
r
ta
b
p
e
o
a
,
in
st
dy in
ever
, bu
Atl
t peace
is
lu
of mind learning to e
of mind b. I’ve lived ybody is enjo anta they lik Detroit is stu t I ain’t
ying th
through
e to par
n
ck
. Down
e
ty
the neg his had found joy Tax as we
y
h
a
se
. It’s mo . It’s all
ll that.
ere I ge
lves. Ba
ll. He is
ativity,”
in A, an
I
t
re of a
w
to
c
k
a
s
e
h
n
r
su
o
d
eall
joy myse
he conc
m
ludes. “ his positive ap ccessfully inte
lf a little y a hustler, I e, it’s probably
Words:
I stay p
p
g
r
r
r
e
a
o
b
a
ti
a
it
ll
c
ng h
.”
y sold d
h to
ositive,
E
rugs,
Photo: ric Perrin (Er
that’s w the game w is past experie
Julia Be
ill
ic.Perrin
hy I ain
n
verly
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@Ozon
e
eMag.c
p
e
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d in the
in
om)
same ca of the way. “ Detroit with
I
th
tegory
as all th just try stay a e peace
way fro
e other
s.”
m
56 // OZONE MAG
LY
T
N
E
I
T
PA AITING
W
HUEY
ST. LO
E
UIS, M
O
ven wit
h
people several succe
d
ss
STL as idn’t know an ful rap acts, S
t. Louis
an inev
ything
and Mia
abo
it
is st
ab
m
movem i. Jive record le hip-hop hu ut the city wit ill a slept-on
city. Be
b, but in
ent.
h the A
ing arti
fo
st Huey
r
, howev recent years T ch. But in the re the days o
f
year 20
er, beli
“Nelly
h
e
Lou has
eves he
had his
00 that Nelly and the
been se
St. Lun
all chan
time, C
can pro
time. W
v
e
r
ati
e
h
v
ge
ly
in
ide a m
e
contend ’re about to tr gy had his ti
uch-ne overshadow d. Many peop cs, many
ed by A
me and
eded pu
y to giv
le billed
s. Form
tl
now I fe
sh to th
e them
year-old
erly kn
a
o
e slowin anta, Houston
e
,
for both St. Louis star wn as Baby H run for they m l like it’s the
g
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idwest
youngst
is
uey, th
oney,”
Swing
e 19
er’s
suprem industry and c aiming
Huey
acy. Th
ity
us far, h
done w
e
e
He has ll in his efforts ’s
c
.
entire c aptivated his
it
country y and much o
f
lead sin with his infec the
tious
gle, “Po
p, Lock
It,” wh
ic
,
attracte h is what initia Drop
d the att
lly
industr
e
n
ti
on o
y
TJ’s DJ’ exec TJ Chapm f
s.
an of
“I starte
d out m
wasn’t
aking b
pla
e
I wrote nning on rap ats. I
p
a few v
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, so I ke
d I kind
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p,
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so big th
p
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to play at DJs had no d it got
choice
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bu
e
Chapm
an cam radio. When t
e to St.
TJ
numbe
Lo
r
He told 1 as far as spin uis it was
s
[J
pHiTz’ ive A&R] Mic in St. Louis.
W
k
days late right about m ey ‘MeMe
on his w r Memph was and two
o
got me, ay to The Lou n a plane
.H
fl
two we ew me to New e came and
e
then I si ks later I did a York, then
sh
g
that, H ned the paper owcase and
uey bec
.” And
a
just like
2007 pr
me one
o
Paper is spects. His Jiv of Jive’s biggest
e
2007 an slated for relea debut Notebo
ok
d accor
se some
ding to
ti
Huey, it me in
“Noteb
’s
a classic
oo
.
be a wh k Paper is a c
razy CD
ole pac
kage; th
a topic
. It’s go
th
n
e
With so at’s left out,” re’s not gonna ’
h
b
m
game fe e of the bigg e says confide e
est
n
a
Brown, tured – like Ja names in the tly
z
L
to prov loyd and T-P ze Pha, Chris
ain
e.
ing tha His biggest ch - Huey has
m
t
a
turely to he’s not just an llenge will be uch
sh
o
uching
the mic ther teen prem ow.
a“I’m ve
rsa
streetn tile, man,” h
ess
e
the ladie , the conscio contends. “I g
usn
o
It’s goin s’ love, the life ess, the club t the
b
g
and if y down. Hip H struggles; ever angers,
ything.
op is de
ou liste
n to me
finitely
Bring m
, I’
n
e
for this a beat, that’s m gonna sho ot dead,
. I’m re
a
ll
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Words:
ming.”
Eric Pe
rrin (Er
ic.Perrin
@Ozon
eMag.c
om)
58 // OZONE MAG
“BRING M
BEAT,
THAT’S ALELA
I
C
SAY. I WAS BU AN
ILT
FOR THIS.”
OZONE MAG // 59
LY
T
N
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I
T
PA AITING
W
TUM T
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S, T M
DALLA
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allas re
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“THAT’S A L
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DECISION
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THAT MA
HITS.”
60 // OZONE MAG
Tum Tu
m
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f mixta
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pes in th work speak
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glas (Dr
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Dougla
@yaho
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OZONE MAG // 61
LY
T
N
E
I
T
PA AITING
W
HAITIA
DAYTO
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N FRES
NA BEA
CH, FL
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LIKE I DO
62 // OZONE MAG
OZONE MAG // 63
UPINSMOKE
RMER
O
F
D
N
A
R
E
C
U
D
O
PR
IFT
CRACKHEAD J-LSEWSSON
LEARNED HISAY
THE HARD WG. GARLAND
MAURICE.com)
WORDS //rla
nd@Gmail
.Ga
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ric
(Mau
SS
PHOTO // MATT BA
F
ifteen years ago, music producer Juan “J-Swift” Martinez had it all. A
mansion, a family and a bright future. He gained critical acclaim for
producing every song on The Pharcyde’s classic debut album Bizarre
Ride II The Pharcyde, but had a falling out with the group by the time it was
released. He went on to do remixes for Prince and songs with Chaka Khan.
But after a couple traumatic experiences, his occasional weed smoking for
creativity turned into smoking crack cocaine to escape reality.
By 2003, J-Swift had gone from living in a mansion to living under a tree,
pimping women and selling dope to sustain his addiction. Remarkably, he
never lost his musical talents (he even owned a recording studio at one
point) and continued to record music in the midst of his poverty and addiction.
A documentary entitled 1 More Hit is slated to be released in March 2007. It
will chronicle J-Swift’s bouts with addiction and will also reveal him getting
clean and piecing his life back together. OZONE caught up with J the day
after his 35th birthday to get a fraction of the roller coaster that is his life.
When did you start having your bouts with illegal substances?
I’m an artist so I’ve always been experimental. In 1994 my father died, and
that’s were my depression began. He was my idol, so me not being able to
set him up to live his last days in comfort, for his sacrifices he made, that
messed me up. I had a son of my own by then, but then I closed my deal
with Tommy Boy and it was a dry period for me in getting production work.
That’s when I started fucking with cocaine. I did a remix for Prince around
that time and I bounced back and got a budget and had my production company up and running in 1997. But the industry was changing into the beast it
is today. The labels were telling me I was played out, telling me to do what
was hot at the time. They wanted me to be like Timbaland. I said, “Fuck that.
I’m an artist so I’m going down with the music.” I got backlash from the in64 // OZONE MAG
dustry because I was like, “Fuck them. If I can’t have creative freedom I ain’t
fucking with y’all.” So by 2000, I was only fucking with niggas that knew
I was dope. I did shit with the Outlawz, Yukmouth, Chaka Khan, and Gonzo
from Kaution. I had another son in 1999 and things was getting rough. By
2001 I was smoking rock cocaine, but it was occasionally. It wasn’t knocking
me over yet. By 2003 I was broke and my mom almost died in a car accident
and was on life support. That’s when I started smoking every day. Four
months after that, my ex-wife couldn’t take it anymore and she kicked me
to the curb. That fucked me up. I was with her for 10 years at the point with
two kids by her. I really didn’t give a fuck anymore. I was disgusted with the
industry and my life. So I was just in the studio, which I had made my home,
smoking every day like it was going out of style.
A lot of us know how it feels to hit a blunt, and some know what it’s like do
cocaine. But what does it feel like to hit a crack pipe?
With weed, you get a creative rush, you get focused, it hones into your spirit,
it’s like a conduit for creativity. Snorting cocaine is social; you’re talkative
and horny. When you smoke rocks, you forget about everything. Everything
disappears. I was suicidal so I wanted to forget about everything. But when
you take a blast it’s a short high, so short sometimes that five minutes later
you wanna take another hit. Fortunately for me, since I was still smoking weed, I started putting the crack in the blunt so I was okay. But then
I stopped caring and started smoking crack straight up. I never created
anything smoking dope. It made me think I was escaping, but I wasn’t. It’s
like going on a roller coaster. You get shot up in the air, you’re suspended in
the air for a while and then you come down.
When did it grow into an addiction?
By the time I was living in my studio and not with my ex-wife. I had a
girlfriend who smoked too. It was a necessary thing, I had to have it. I was
in a bad mood if I didn’t have it. Nothing else mattered. I was losing my
d started
“I stopped caring an
er
smoking crack. I nev king
o
created anything sm hink I
t
dope. It made me sn’t.”
wa
was escaping, but I
studio because I was
depressed and didn’t want to see
nobody. She started smoking ridiculously. Crack is so powerful. This
old guy told me it’s like the ocean - you can get in and get wet, but if you
get in too deep the riptide will wash you away and you can’t get out. It was
an addiction for me, but it never got to the point where I was stealing from
people or selling my equipment. But I did get robbed. That’s how I lost my
studio.
What happened?
This guy came looking for me to do a remix for a single. I had no phone, so
he just tracked me down. My studio was a mess. He saw me in there with
bottles of piss everywhere because I wouldn’t leave. I’d send my girl out for
crack, or I’d get it and come right back. But, he gave me a single deal, and
when he gave me that job I had hope. I finally had an opportunity to do
me. I was so happy he believed in me, I did two songs for him. In exchange
he paid my studio’s rent for six months. My studio was in the middle of
Hollywood, so I could look out the window and see the pushers, smokers,
prostitutes, all of that. But, when I got that work, I went off to record the
singles and left my girl at the studio. She would let anyone who had dope in
the studio. So one day I came home, and all these people were in my studio.
I’m like, what the fuck is this? She was offering them a haven to get high as
long as they got her high too. So, she let these Crips in my studio, and when
they saw what I had it was on. One came back later, with an excuse saying
he left his coat. He happened to rap and he wanted me to work with him.
He put me in a twist where I couldn’t refuse him, because he had fronted
me some dope. So one day he came over, and I wasn’t finished with what I
was doing for him. He had some guys with him; they were strapped and they
beat me down, hogtied me for six or seven hours in my own studio. They
jacked me for most of my stuff. They thought they took my computer, but
they took my monitor and keypad. They left the hard drive. If I had lost that,
I wouldn’t give a fuck about nothing anymore, because all my masters were
there. Thank God for that. They hid me behind my file cabinet at one point.
People were coming by asking where I was at; they had their foot on my
neck telling me that if I said anything they’d snap my neck. I got loose twice
and they tied me up again. Later in the day, they left one Crip in there, he
was cleaning my place like it was his. I escaped for a third time, slipping out
of my clothes, and got security. That was the last straw for the landlord. He
kicked me out after that.
How long did this attack last?
They started fucking me up around 3 AM and beat me for over an hour. They
had me laid out on the floor. They hauled out most of my equipment and
came back and beat me some more. I passed out; then I woke up and felt
them hog-tying me. I was tied down from 5 AM til 1 in the afternoon. 1:30
is when I got loose for the third time and escaped. One of them was still
there and he had dope on him. The police got mad because I wouldn’t press
charges. I just didn’t want them in my place anymore. I wasn’t tryin’ to
snitch on them.
What did you do after you got kicked out of your place?
I went back to my ex-wife’s house to recover. She gave me one month to get
right and get out. By June of 2003, she said I gotta get out. So now I was in
the street. I got up with this black chick who ended up being my girl. We was
living in the street, under a tree. I took my computer to my engineer to hold
for me. But when I was in the street, she started hoeing for me too. I started
selling dope too. I kept some money to sustain my habit and the other part
to go record. That’s when I called Shana [close friend and 1 More Hit director]. I knew her for years. She wanted to do a film on me back when I was 22
with a mansion. I called her asking for money for dope. She asked me where
I was living, and I told her on Ira and Hollywood. She came over in a Hummer, she sees where I’m at and rolled the window down. She sees me under
a tree asking what I’m doing. I tell her I live here, come on in. She gave
me the money to do what I had to do. When I got in the car I popped in the
CD and she was blown away. She asked if I could get cleaned up if I could
come with an album. I said shit yeah, but I got arrested right when we was
gonna start. I spent ten days in jail. After I got out she started filming me
everywhere I went. By this time I was staying in a hotel, but my girl started
smoking crack behind my back. She was hoeing and not coming back, and
we ended up getting kicked out of the hotel. Shana was filming all of this
stuff, but I was still going to the studio recording.
How were you still recording with a crack habit?
My main addiction was hip-hop; that’s what saved me. God first, hip-hop
second.
Having been an addict, how do you feel about music that seems to glorify
drug use or selling?
Really, rap has always been wrapped around drugs. Even the terminology,
people say they’re dope or that’s dope. It was always wrapped around drugs,
but it wasn’t as dominant. What happened is that a couple hustlers blew up,
and these suckas followed them. That’s the bad thing about the industry. It’s
not the rappers, it’s the industry. Two niggas blow up talking about dope,
so the label want to sign ten more who sound like them. I just thank God
that I can show the hypocrisy of this industry. There’s a lot of celebrities
that smoke dope, but do it like I used to, occasionally, every couple months.
But if you have a depression and smoke enough, you will get trapped. I got
friends that do heroin, but are functional drug users.
Through all of this, at what point did you get embarrassed?
When I was living in my studio, I was very
embarrassed and secretive. I didn’t want
anybody to know of my addiction. But once
I lost my studio and saw how people with
drug problems in jail were treated, I realized
that it was bullshit. I was hanging out with
people in the industry and hearing them
make crackhead jokes while I’m behind closed
doors smoking.
Now that you’re clean, do you think you will
ever slip back into that phase of your life?
I’m not a hypocrite and I won’t swear on anything. Just let “yes” mean yes and “no” mean
no. I don’t smoke right now and I’m glad I
don’t. I’m happy. I struggled with addiction
over the last two years, but for the most part
I’ve been a good man. I don’t want to put my
foot in my mouth, I’m not gonna say what
I’ll never do again. I don’t know what life is
gonna bring, all I want to do is help people
who have addictions. I know what it’s like to
not care. I want to show them that there is a
way out.
In addition to 1 More Hit, J-Swift will be releasing an independent album, Negro Knievel,
this summer.
OZONE MAG // 65
66 // OZONE MAG
OZONE MAG // 67
juelz
santana
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m
g
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Do you think the younger cats are losing respect for the older cats?
h
o
R
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Words b y Ray Tamarra
It’s not so much the respect, it’s just the way people are brought up now. EvPhoto b
erybody wants to be the boss. Just like the rap game; everybody wants to be
How big is crack in the hood right now?
In the hood right now I think that crack is definitely huge, but I don’t know
how huge. I would say the drug game is definitely a lot slower than it used
to be. I don’t think there’s less users, but the hustler’s game has changed.
Back in the day you had a lot more organization and a lot more teamwork.
You had leaders, and then you had soldiers, and people played their positions. Nowadays everybody wants to be their own hustler. Everybody will get
$20,000 and then sell it himself. He doesn’t need a boss. He just wants to do
it himself. Everybody is their own hustler. It’s just like the rap game. People
who don’t even rap are stepping in a booth just because they think it’s easy.
A nigga could come on the block right now and be like “Yo, I need 10 bricks,”
and a nigga who never even sold crack in their life will be like, “Yeah I can
get that for you.” The game is just crazy right now. It’s still big, but it doesn’t
have the impact that it used to have. It’s more spread out.
68 // OZONE MAG
the king. Everybody wants to be the boss and that’s why a lot of crews break
up. Every crew needs a leader. Everybody has to follow their position and
play their part. The new generation just wants to come up too fast because
they don’t want to be hustling for somebody else.
Do you think they’re just not prepared?
I definitely think they’re not prepared. You got dudes that are not even
hustlers. They just sell drugs. Harlem is like the mecca of people coming from
everywhere. People are just like, “Yo, who got it?” Back in the day, there was
organization. If you came asking [for drugs] they’d send you to the right
person. Nowadays, you could run up on a little kid and ask them, “Yo, can you
get [some drugs]?” and they’ll tell you they got it. All of a sudden, they sell
drugs. But that’s not hustling. Hustling is like playing basketball or rapping;
you have to know everything about it. You have to know the streets and
understand the game or you’ll definitely get caught up.
What is a drug dealer’s job?
A drug dealer’s job is to deal and watch out for the police. There are definitely rules and regulations to the game, but I think a lot of people are just
playing it their own way. It’s just like the CD game. The price of CDs keeps
going down because everybody is cutthroat. Everyone is competing with each
other. And going back to the drug game, everybody is playing cutthroat. Back
in the day, it was like points. There were a set amount of points on every
block. Everybody on Broadway had it for this price and everybody on another
block had it for another price. You might be able to get it for a dollar or two
cheaper if it was your man. Now it’s like a personal seller selling a whole
brick and only making $25 or $100. To me, that’s not hustling. I don’t really
want to go too much into detail. But for example, [ecstasy] pills, back in the
day, could have gone for $12. You’d get it for $6 and sell it to your peoples
out of town for $12. Now, some people are just trying to make a quick buck.
You might get the pills for $6, and sell ‘em for $6.25.
Do you think drug dealers make less money now than back in the day?
Oh, hell yeah. The game is fucked up. You can go ask any hustler. They are
making less money. Back in the day you had one boss and ten guys working
for him, but now everybody wants to be their own boss. So the money is still
there, but it’s more spread out. The game is just so fucked up that it looks
like the money isn’t there. Niggas that aren’t dealers are trying to deal now,
so that’s fucking up the money. You got these niggas cutthroating, taking the
money away from the real dealers out there. They’re making it bad for the
real niggas who do know the game and just want to take care of business.
G TO BE ORGEAIN
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DRUGS OR ROLE.”
PLAY THEIR
Tell us the difference between a hustler and a dealer.
A hustler and dealer are the same thing, but there is a difference between
a hustler and a guy who sells drugs because he has the opportunity to sell
drugs. That’s like a nigga that gets in the studio and raps just because he’s
standing next to me, Juelz Santana. He’s not a rapper. He’s just my man. And
you can hear with a lot of these dudes, they just put their man on. It’s the
same thing on the streets. You may know a big hustler. He has everything
set out the right way; he knows what he’s doing. That doesn’t make you
a hustler. That doesn’t mean you can go to people and say, “I sell drugs
because my man is the biggest drug dealer.” That doesn’t mean you know the
game like that dude knows the game. And that will lead you to the position
where you get caught up. The seller is there for a quick buck. He doesn’t care
about the work he gets. He doesn’t care if it’s bad coke or not. Whatever it
is, he doesn’t care if the customer comes back. A dealer is trying to keep his
business going. That’s the mindset of a real hustler. A normal guy will keep
copping an O, make a few hundred dollars and spend it getting fresh. That’s
just his mindset. A real dealer sees the bigger picture and he’s not just trying
to make a quick profit.
What other changes do you see in the hustlin’ game these days?
Having more hustlers in the game definitely creates more tension. That’s
why I feel like there’s more violence than money. A lot of old dudes that
know the game came up in the 80s when they had that traditional system.
They got locked up and now they’re coming home and the young kids don’t
have respect for the old ways. And at the same time, the old guys don’t have
respect for the young kids. That’s a problem right there. Niggas who don’t
know the game get mad because they don’t know any better. If that’s that
nigga’s block and he’s known for being there, you’re supposed to get dealt
with when you get on his territory. These young niggas feel like, Yo, I grew
up here, so I can be here. They feel like it’s everybody’s block. Now you got
like 24 kids that grew up together and they’re all hustling. No organization
and they’re all getting money. People aren’t trying to be organized right
now. People don’t realize that there really isn’t an “I” in team. Whatever you
do, whether it’s selling drugs or whatever, everybody has to play their role.
A lot of people don’t like to be role players. A nigga can’t respect the fact
that there’s always going to be somebody getting more money than you.
Whether it’s the nigga you’re working for, or the nigga he’s working for. So
somebody’s always working for somebody, unless you’re Pablo Escobar.
Do you think they’ll ever be anyone at the Escobar level again?
I don’t see anybody getting to Pablo Escobar’s level. Not in this day and age.
It’s not organized right now. The trust is not there. Nobody trusts anybody to
the level where one person can get that kind of power and control, especially
in New York City. But Pablo was in his own country, so he was like the president. He built his own jail. I don’t see anybody getting to that level. You will
definitely have people that come up and become leaders in the game. But I
don’t think it’s ever going to be like it was back in the days where you had
your Alpos, your Rich Porters, your Nicky Barnes.
What would you consider the golden age of drug dealing?
The 80s, man, the Reagan era. That’s when crack really took over because it
was the affordable drug. Cocaine was a more expensive drug, but crack was
accepted in the ghetto. When crack got out, it became a problem. In the 80s,
that’s when the whole thing evolved. Everybody was getting their hands on
it. You could get some of the purest coke and cut that in so many ways and
from there came crack. Then, it all goes back to the organizations.
How do you make sure you get out of the game before it’s too late?
Well, you can’t go backwards. It’s all about how you play your cards. The
game is to get in and get out. It’s not for life; a real hustler knows that. Get it
while it’s good. If you go in, you have to be sure that you can get out. Some
people get locked up fast, because they just sell drugs. The good dealers
know when it’s getting to a point where it’s kind of crazy. You just know;
hustler’s instincts. The streets are always talking.
You have a track called “I Am Crack.”
I definitely had my run-ins. I wasn’t the kingpin, but I definitely wasn’t
small time. I call myself “crack in the flesh” just like Ja Rule and them call
themselves the murderers; they want to say that they’re murdering the game.
That song “I Am Crack” is just explaining all the different ways that I am
equivalent to crack.
What’s your recipe for crack?
Everybody has their own recipes. It’s all about what you do when you get in
that kitchen. Some people cook it in the microwave, but I’ve never done it like
that before. I remember one time, I was out of town. I was with my dude - I
can’t mention any names - and I was about to cook up some weight. He says,
“Yo why don’t we put this shit in the microwave? It’s better!” We were like,
“What the fuck are you talking about? Put what in the microwave?” I’ve heard
about it being done. I’ve never really thought people actually did it like that.
I heard the real Ricky Ross did it like that.
Let’s switch subjects to weed real quick. What sets good weed apart from bad
weed?
I probably smoke every day, probably more than anybody. No bullshit. I
smoke entirely too much. Weed would have to be grown good. I’ve personally dealt with more coke and crack when it was my days of dealing. I think
weed is more common for people to sell than crack. People who use crack
use weed and people who don’t use crack use weed. Purple Haze is a lot of
money. Back in the day you had the skunk and to make any money you had
to sell a lot of it. Now you have Purple Haze that is seven thousand dollars a
pound. Now definitely, me coming across a lot of weed, it is deceiving to the
eye. You just have to smoke it. I look at the weed they sell in High Times and
they have some crazy looking weed that has no THC in it. You definitely have
to smoke it [to find out]. It can look good and smell good, but it may not be
good. If you’re going to buy some weed, you have to take the time out to go
and smoke it.
What are some rules you followed when you were selling?
Never bring that stuff in the house. Don’t bring too many people in. It was
always just me and my dude and my other dude. Never let anything get in the
way of money. //
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72 // OZONE MAG
prettyricky
L
ife is pretty sweet for Slick ‘Em, Pleasure P, Spectacular and Baby Blue.
The four Miami Maverix, better known as Pretty Ricky, have successfully made created their own lane in the music game. Their style, which
Pleasure P describes as “pop, R&B and rap all mixed in one,” is as distinctive
as it is marketable. The brothers have parlayed their industry success into an
entertainment empire. They have plans on releasing several acts under their
new record label, Bluestar Entertainment, as well as a clothing line and their
sophomore CD, Late Night Special. We recently caught up with Pretty Ricky to
discuss the group’s business ventures, the Scream IV controversy and their
new album.
Tell me about your new CD.
Late Night Special is basically an extension from the first album, Bluestars.
Bluestars was a lot of pre-recorded music and with this album we got a
chance to take our time and actually give the ladies what they want. We’ve
had more time to organize the album and we’ve been around the world.
We’ve been through different experiences and stuff, so it’s gonna be crazy.
We actually did two albums again this time; a clean album, one you can find
at Wal-Mart and then one you can find in record stores. So for the parents
that’s concerned out there, you can go get the Late Night Special from WalMart for your daughter. We’re kinda beating them to the punch, so we don’t
get that animosity that we always get where they say, “Aw, they raunchy.”
So parents, you gotta pay attention to what your kids listen to, cause if you
did, then you wouldn’t have no problems with Pretty Ricky. We’re just artists
at the end of the day. But our new record is phenomenal. I’m gon’ say that
myself. I think it’s gonna be the best album out this year.
That’s a pretty bold statement. What exactly makes Late Night Special the
best album of the year?
We’ve actually stepped it up and we’re growing older now. We got a lot more
to talk about and it’s a crazy album, but a different crazy. You’ll see.
Record sales have been down a lot this year. Are you afraid at all of a
sophomore slump, in terms of sales?
I’m gon’ tell you the truth. I mean, our first album was a good album, but
our second album is gonna top it a whole lot. We really ain’t stuttering that
sophomore blues stuff because we’re talented young men and we make good
music that our ladies love. We don’t really care about this album sales thing
that’s going around because Pretty Ricky’s gon’ sell no matter what.
I know last year at The Scream IV tour, you guys had some of the parents a
little upset by “giving the ladies what they love” in terms of some of your
stage antics.
Everything was just over the top. People overreact to what we do, I mean,
you’ve never seen some guys on stage with boxers on? I don’t really think
that’s all that bad compared to somebody on the stage getting naked. I ain’t
saying no names, but you know. Everything was taken a little hard on us. If
we grind, people start overreacting, but we’re just artists putting on a show.
Okay, you guys are definitely known for making music the ladies want to
hear, but do you have anything for the fellas on this new one?
We always do something for the fellas. Everything we do is for them too,
because the fellas ain’t gotta really say anything. All they gotta do is pop
that Pretty Ricky CD in and press play and the girls just gon’ relate to it. It
makes life easier for the fellas.
So your first single “On the Hotline” has done pretty well so far?
Yeah, the video is all over BET. It’s on the countdown and it’s hot. Baby Blue
directed the video and we got a lot of input on this project, too. That’s why
I can say the project is going a lot better, because it’s a 50/50 thing with us
and Atlantic. We’re signed to our own record label which is Bluestar Entertainment International.
A lot of critics have trouble defining your style, but would you say that you
guys are more rap, R&B, or pop?
We all three, we’re all three in one. That’s what’s so phenomenal about us,
we got all three characteristics. We’re pop, R&B, and rap. It’s just all mixed in
one. The fact that you got three rappers and one singer in a group, period,
is just phenomenal. A lot of people try to do it, but they don’t know how to
do it like us. If you gon’ try to imitate us then you gotta lot of work to do
because Pretty Ricky is just some characters within ourselves. That’s what
people like about our group. We’re media trained but we don’t act like we’re
media trained because we don’t care about none of that stuff. We’re just
rough. We’re ready.
When people refer to you four as a boy-band, how does that make you feel?
Is that an accurate classification?
Ain’t nothing wrong with being a boy-band. Boy-bands make money and
if it don’t make money then it don’t make sense. So if you wanna say boyband, say that. If you wanna say group then say that. But whatever we are,
our fans know. So we don’t really care. We don’t get caught up in those
wordings. Say whatever you wanna say about Pretty Ricky, but at the end of
the day, your sister, daughter, or woman loves us.
The industry can be kind of tumultuous at times. What have you guys learned
about the business in the few years you’ve been in the game?
We just learned that in the industry you can make a whole lot of money if
you do things the right way. We got our clothing line coming out, Pretty
Clothing. We got our two groups coming out. One is named Buttercreme.
That’s the girl version of Pretty Ricky and then also we got Meat and Bones.
Our older brother, Rick Ravish, he’s in that group too. What we learned from
the industry is that you just gotta milk it, so we got our groups coming out,
the clothing line; we’re writing movie scripts right now. You just gotta milk it
til you can’t milk it no more.
How does your relationship as brothers influence your music?
It’s more convenient because we could actually argue, fuss and fight and
then get along ten minutes later. As opposed
to being with someone you don’t know, in that
situation, you’re always gonna take it personal
because you didn’t grow up with that person.
The good thing is that we all know each other.
I know what he’s gon’ say before he say it and
he know what I’m gon’ say too. So it’s a better
vibe.
There are a lot of groups that end up dismantling and have pretty ugly break-ups. Do you
ever worry about how your business situation
will affect your bond as brothers?
Our bond is going to always be there, even if
we eventually do our own thing or whatever,
we still gon’ be together no matter what.
That’s just how we roll.
I know your dad used to be kind of strict on
you guys in terms of messing around with
females. Has that changed at all?
We’re grown men now, so he just sits back and
helps us businesswise to make sure everything
is right. But as far as that, we got our own
lives. //
- Eric Perrin (Photo: Ray Tamarra)
OZONE MAG // 73
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Words: Eric Perrin
(Eric.Perrin@OzoneMag.com)
Photos: Ray Tamarra
74 // OZONE MAG
Y
oung Buck is a misunderstood man. His entire rap career has been
plagued by misconceptions of mass proportion, but he insists it’s all
part of his plan. “I’m thuggin’ with a conscience,” the 25-year-old
G-Unit veteran states bluntly. “Even though my moves seem loose cannon, believe me, they’re thought of before they’re made and I know how to
handle the repercussions.” Three years of probation and 80 hours of community service following the infamous incident at the VIBE Awards proves the
Cashville Captain is no stranger to the consequences of his combat. However,
his latest (alleged) duel with DJ Will may prove to the entire rap industry
that rappers’ beef should not be a DJ’s dilemma. And this March, when Young
Buck releases his sophomore mission Buck the World, the Core DJs may show
the Guerrilla Unit clean-up man his biggest fear; that the Buck stops here.
YB, however, maintains that the entire incident was a misunderstanding and
that the allegations of him attacking DJ Will at an Atlanta nightclub are completely false. “I swear to you on my child’s life, and on every piece of blood
in your body, Buck ain’t touch nobody,” says the man who is reportedly
banned from ATL’s Hot 107.9 as a result of the incident, “The love and support
that I’ve always got from the Core DJs, I think I won’t lose none of that on
the outcome of all of this.”
50 Cent’s top recruit is taking the optimistic route in regards to his relationship with the DJs, but is even more optimistic on the outcome of his new
CD, which has received rave reviews and has been hailed by critics as the
possible revival of G-Unit Records. Following severe sales strikeouts by Tony
Yayo and Lloyd Banks, G-Unit is in desperate need of a designated hitter to
salvage the win. “They’re looking at me as the savior,” he says. “I am the
fucking savior. I ain’t gon’ bite my tongue about it. It ain’t hard to see. I’m
the clean-up man.”
First off, do you wanna clarify your situation with the Core DJs in response
to their “Young Buck boycott” that was sent out in response to an incident
between you and DJ Will?
Shout out to all the Core DJs, first of all. It was a big misunderstanding with
the situation that happened and it’s getting worked out right now. They’ve
always been supportive of Young Buck and I ask for them to stay focused
and stay supporting Young Buck. Don’t let a situation so small, such as what
happened, a big misunderstanding, cause the devastation of you taking
away from my career, which is a lifetime that I’m here for. At the end of the
day, wounds are meant to be healed.
So we won’t see any more DJs getting hurt because of artist beef?
That situation wasn’t created behind artist beef. All the DJs and all the fans
are left to go off of is the story that they’ve gotten from one individual. I
choose not to say nothing because I’m gonna let y’all get the story from
however you choose to get it, and do your own math and your own judgment. I know what went down and I can straight up and down tell you, I
ain’t put my hands on nobody.
So for legal reasons you can’t really speak on it?
Not even legal reasons; it’s just that I choose not to keep any problems
going on. I don’t want to create a problem with the DJs or with radio. All I’m
gonna say is that I didn’t put my hands on nobody, and nobody out of my
entourage put they hands on nobody. If you could show a tape or anything
of that nature that shows me or anybody out my entourage putting they
hands on you, then I’ll be guilty. But I swear to you on my child’s life and on
every piece of blood in your body, Buck ain’t touch nobody.
Okay, moving forward, tell me about your new album?
Man, that shit crazy. Straight up for real, this new record here, it’s like, I ain’t
holding nothing back. With my first album I feel like I was almost rushed
and I still got a classic out of that. I rushed with my Straight Outta Cashville
because I was trying to meet a date then, but with this album, I’m more
comfortable. I have more time to prepare the album and to work with artists
I really fuck with in the streets and shit like that. So this one right here is by
far better than my first album. I can tell you that much.
In what ways are the two albums similar?
Well you still gon’ get that same street feel with this one right here. That
street shit, that gangsta shit, that’s really what follows with me. But at the
end of the day, I realized that “Shawty Wanna Ride Wit’ Me” was the biggest
record that I had on my first CD, so I cater to the women. I gave the hoes - I
mean, the ladies a couple more records, [laughs] but you know with music, I
look for growth. I don’t think no fan wants to continue to buy the same thing
over and over; so for me, I’m always looking for ways to reinvent myself as
an artist, but stay the same nigga. I know they love me for this nigga that I
came in the game being, and that’s myself. So for me, it’s no pressure to sell
records. No, I’m not trippin’ off the beef shit. My shit is real and at the end of
the day, this album is gonna really show the growth of Buck, the coming of
age of Buck.
G-Unit has been in the mainstream for about four years now, so what are
you guys doing to stay on top?
Everybody stays with one foot in the streets and one foot over here in the
industry. It’s that simple. And it ain’t really hard when you come from an
environment like I came from. I come from Cashville, most of my crew comes
from the east coast, but we all come from those environments where murder,
robbery and shit like that happens on a day to day basis, so it ain’t hard for
us to relate to each other. Keeping a foot on the streets and keeping a foot
over in this industry makes us stay on time with our music.
A lot of people are looking at you as kind of the savior for G-Unit.
I am, my nigga. I’m the clean-up man. I’m gonna tell you that off real, and
it ain’t any ifs, ands or buts. They looking at me as the savior and I am
the fucking savior. I ain’t gon’ bite my tongue about it. It ain’t hard to see.
I’m the clean-up man. When the army got a special mission that they need
handled, I’m that one nigga that they call in to handle the situation. Even
though they got a crew of niggas, there’s always that one nigga to just lean
his head back and kick that door down.
Why do you think some of the other G-Unit artists such as Lloyd Banks and
Mobb Deep haven’t sold as many albums as projected in the last year?
I think overall, the sales in hip-hop is low. If you look and you really follow the numbers in music, you’ll realize that there’s other artists besides
Lloyd Banks that had big numbers anticipated for their first week of sales
that just didn’t happen. You got major chain stores that are closing down
such as Towers due to the bootlegging and all that. I think that the whole
bootlegging thing and all of that came in effect heavy, especially because
a lot of artists have put out sour music, so the fans feel like they’re gon’ go
download the shit before spending money on it.
It seems as if G-Unit gets targeted extra hard by the bootlegging epidemic.
I feel like we get caught by the bootlegging thing so hard and the bottom
line is that the standards are set so high for G-Unit that the average fan of
G-Unit is used to seeing these hellacious, big ass numbers come across, and
the minute they see a gold plaque it’s like “Oh, shit, is the Unit over?” But
really, gold is considered good in this game. Half these artists in the game
never get to see a gold plaque. But we ain’t goin’ nowhere, bruh. Our bread
is real long and then outside the money thing, we rapping and dealing with
this game from the heart, meaning that if you take the money away from
this shit, we’ll still do it.
I hear G-Unit didn’t get invited to the BET Hip Hop Awards this year. What’s
up with that?
To me there’s no explanation for that and knowing no reason why, maybe it
wasn’t enough metal detectors or some shit like that. Maybe it’s some kind
of inside political games that’s going on, or maybe it’s a problem within
BET’s staff that someone may have with G-Unit. And if so, if it’s a way for it
be worked out, now’s the time to work it out, because I’m looking forward
to longevity in this game. BET is a foundation channel not only for black
entertainment, but for hip-hop in general. I need BET’s support, but I also
need BET to understand me as a person. For me, it was a little deeper than
any other member of my crew because for a lot of them it was just another
award show. It kinda meant a little more to me because it was in the South
and I felt like my presence should have been there, even if it was just handing the next man his award. You can’t say down South or dirty South without
mentioning Young Buck.
Not too long ago at another award show you had on a shirt with a knife on
it that read, “Don’t make me do this.” What made you wear that shirt?
That was a way of me getting at the police. Before I got to go to that award
show right there, they had me go through a lot of different bullshit due to
that whole Vibe Awards incident. Before I got to go to the awards, the police
was giving me a hell of a bullshit ass run-around. They was following me,
they was doing all kinda calls into the office, saying I gotta do this and that,
even where I sat, I was surrounded by undercover police officers and shit
like that. So I just felt like, let me make these bitches do they job a little
bit more. Especially since they coming with this shit on they mind, like I’d
be coming to an award show to fucking stab some fucking body? With what
went down at the Vibe Awards, the only reason I felt like I was able to walk
away from a situation like that was because I didn’t come in the building
OZONE MAG // 75
looking for no shit like that. I came in there to check out some of them fine
ladies and get my award like any other real nigga would. But if you put me
in a situation where I feel like my life or any of my loved ones lives are in
danger, then I’m gonna do whatever it takes to protect that. I’m thuggin’ with a conscience. Even though my moves seem loose cannon, believe
me, they’re thought of before they’re made and I know how to handle the
repercussions.
You’ve been pretty vocal against Cash Money recently. Why’s that?
The whole Cash Money question thing came about when I was asked on Kay
Slay’s radio station about the whole kissing incident. With me being a part
of Cash Money and whether or not I had ever witnessed it and things of that
nature and I answered it with the truth, which wasn’t hard. I felt like that
question was pretty much simple and plain because it was something that
was done by them cats in front of me, but also in front of a lot of people. So
I answered it. The question that always follows that is, Is it a problem or do
I have beef with them? and my answer is, “I don’t have no problem with Cash
Money, I don’t have no problem with Wayne or Baby.” I’m not saying that
them guys is gay or none of that. I just answered the question when I was
asked the question. I was just saying that the whole man kissing another
man thing is something that ain’t really in a nigga nature. That ain’t part of
my thang, my swagger.
I heard you’re trying to sign Gillie Tha Kidd, who is currently Baby and
Wayne’s biggest nemesis.
If he’s available, shit, I’m trying to sign any artist who got a report card
to pretty much follow-up his music and is really living what he’s spittin’.
I’m in the process of building my own label which is Cashville Records/GUnit South, and I was asked the question, “Yo, would you ever work with
Gillie Tha Kidd?” I ain’t got no problem with him. I actually heard his music
through mixtapes and I’ve been around for a lil minute so we done bumped
heads, at the end of the day if shit was possible, who knows? I’m keeping my
head focused on my album which is Buck The World, cause I know a lot relies
on this.
You and 50 Cent are both strong-minded businessmen, and you work closely
together, so have you two ever have any conflicts or problems from a business standpoint?
Well, nah. I’ll tell you one time we almost bumped heads. It was a situation
regarding The Game. It was a minute ago. I think Game was making phone
calls to Spider Loc’s phone before the beef really just took off, but it was
already pretty much known that Game wasn’t no longer a part of G-Unit. He
was calling my homeboy Spider Loc and I heard him say, “I’m throwing in
the white towel. I don’t want no problems. I’m through with this situation
and dissin’ the Unit and all that.” So I took it as if maybe homeboy’s serious.
I could hear it in his voice. I said let me go head and get at 50 and see if I
can make a nigga come to terms with this beef shit. So I got at 50 and I was
like, “Yo, I got this nigga Game on Spider’s phone talking about he wants to
throw in the towel and shit like that,” and 50 was like, “You know what Buck,
I’m gon’ have to take a check on that. I ain’t fucking with it.” I was feeling
like, “Hold up, this nigga Game is trying to show his other hand, at least pay
attention to that.” I’m pretty good at voicing my opinion and I said it to 50,
“Yo my nigga, damn. Maybe you might be a little too hard on niggas.”
Yeah, 50’s been known to be relentless when it comes to beef.
Yeah and he was like, “Nah, Buck, my reason for not responding to that is
because next week you’ll hear Game on the radio right back on the ‘fuck you’
mode. So I’m not even gonna put myself out there to even see which way it’s
gonna go.” And I swear to you on my daughter’s life, it wasn’t even a week,
bruh. It was fucking the next day, Game was on the radio in LA pushing his
whole “Fuck G-Unit” thing. It was kind of negative for me because I was
pretty much getting upset with 50, my homeboy, on behalf of another nigga
who got a fucked up situation with the Unit and the shit came out just how
50 said. That’s what really fucked me up, but I’m at the point right now with
this whole rap shit where I’m seeing so many pretend situations go down
that I’m almost like a fan trying to figure out what part of this shit is real
and what part of this shit ain’t.
What are your current thoughts on The Game right now?
Shit, I just think that at this point, nobody’s interested in hearing about this
situation. I think it’s been enough put out there from our end, from Game’s
end, from everybody about this beef shit. I feel like it’s enough that’s been
put out there that the streets can do their own math about who’s real and
who’s fake. For me, too much energy has been devoted to the situation and I
come from the gutter. I come from the streets for real and by me participat76 // OZONE MAG
ing in a lot of these beef records, people might honestly think that a nigga
playing when he say some of these things and I’m not, man; honestly, on my
life. I got a life to protect, a child to wake up everyday to see. It’s not even
halfway a game. It’s not even a piece of a game to me. So I choose not to
include that shit on my album. So when you get Buck The World, you won’t
hear these nigga’s names.
So you’re through with all the beef?
I’m gonna be honest with you. There was a situation that just passed a few
days ago. I was going to White Tracks Studios in New York City to pick up
a CD. I saw a few Interscope people that I had seen around before and I
asked them, “Yo, who’s here?” and they were real nervous-like, and I felt
like, damn, something ain’t right. I went upstairs to get my CD and I seen
somebody else from Interscope that I know and damn if he ain’t answer me.
I knew something was kind of funny so I go on upstairs and my manger got
a two-way saying, “Game just pulled up outside.” So I’m like, oh, shit here
it go! This is the opportunity. I finally have a chance to get close enough to
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see how real this shit really is. So Game pulls up and I’m upstairs waiting on
the cats to bring me my CD and I guess he had a session that was downstairs
or whatever; so I got my CD and I come out of the session and I see a couple
of his homeboys. They had spotted me and one of ‘em jumped quick on his
chirp phone. He was chirping some cats and I was sitting there finna get on
the elevator, but he went to chirping cats and taking the stairs. So shit, I
went to take the stairs with him, straight up. I followed him down the stairs,
and I move right if you understand what I’m saying, period, not just in New
York, but with my life, period. I come downstairs, and here it is. I see four or
five Black Wall Street cats and I’m like, “What’s up, niggas?” and nobody said
nothing. So I go down a few more flights of stairs and it’s more Black Wall
Street niggas and I’m like, “What’s up, niggas?” Ain’t nobody really saying
nothing. Ain’t no fuck you looks or nothing. I didn’t hear “G-UNOT,” I didn’t
even hear a “Fuck you, Buck” or none of that. It was me, my homeboy Tick
and another one of my homeboys. It was three of us and probably 11 or 12
of them.
Did you see Game?
I was looking over to see if Game was around cause all his crew was around
but I didn’t see him. Nobody was around. So I go outside and I was just
about to get in my vehicle and I see a couple of cats peeking behind the car.
Where I come from that means shoot, but instead of running away from the
bullet, I would run to it and that’s pretty much what I did. I was trying to
come see what it was and niggas went they own way. From my understanding, Game had jumped in a cab or whatever and pulled off and ended up
getting pulled over or some shit. I don’t know if it was the incident where
they said he was impersonating an officer or not, but that was around the
same time as when he was leaving from that studio.
So if you would have ran into Game that day, what would you have said to
him, if anything?
Honestly, I wasn’t coming looking for a problem. I wasn’t even aware that
Game was in the same studio that I was in. But if we were to bump heads,
with the way he’s expressing his feelings of, “I don’t have a problem with GUnit,” I don’t know how it could have went. I don’t do or make moves to sell
records; I make the music from the passion and love of this music. My whole
thing for Game is, “Get your money, partner. As long as you say there are no
problems and you don’t want no problems, then there’s no problem. But, if
there’s ever a problem, then niggas is available for it. Other than that, you
get your money, and we get our money.” Actions speak louder than words
and that’s the only real nigga way I can put it.
Kind of changing topics a little, since this is our first annual drug issue, why
do you feel the drug game and the rap game are so closely related?
Shit, it’s no difference, man. It’s just more money involved. Well, I can’t even
say that because it’s a lot of money involved in both. It’s almost the same
rules that apply in the streets as in rap. If you use the same drug dealing
tactics with the same mentality as you use to get rid of that shit, then when
you get into this industry you gotta apply that same hustle to sell your
music, but the drug game and the
rap game is pretty much the same
because you got so much money
involved in both of them and your
life is continually being put on the
line in both. When you’re in the
streets you’re constantly watching
your back for the next man, whereas
in the rap game, you’re constantly
looking over your back for the next artist who wants your spot.
There are a lot of drug dealers who become rappers and aren’t necessarily
regarded as “real” emcees. What do you feel about that?
It all depends on the person. Drug dealers who turn into real rappers are
the ones who actually got involved and played the game of really being a
hustler, who really washed the pot themselves or who actually closed the
zip-lock bags, because they got a real story to tell. I think that’s pretty
much why my city is some much behind me, Cashville, Tennessee, because
my home understands the things that I spit. They can identify with me and it
matches up to the life I’ve lived. My city has always supported Young Buck,
and they still do.
Why do you think ecstasy has become so popular in hip-hop?
Aw shit, because it’s involved around sex, and sex is a high selling thing. A
lot of pill poppin’ shit ends with some fucking. Ecstasy in a sense is brand
new to a lot of people, especially the young ones. They’ve really taken the
drug and made it more popular, but I would like to say this, about any drug:
If you’re gonna do a drug, don’t let the drug do you.
What do you think the hardest part of your life as an up and coming rap
mogul is?
When you come from the streets, going into corporate America, it’s like they
got a fence up and a gate with a fucking padlock on it. So coming from the
streets and going into corporate America is two different things. Corporate
America don’t really agree with what the streets has to offer and most the
time corporate America don’t agree with the person that the streets make.
So my whole thing is maintaining my same personality, and not changing as
a person to make corporate America understand that I got the knowledge
and the know-how to carry a company as well as being a good artist. That’s
where I’m at right now. I’m in the middle of a bidding war with a couple of
different labels. They starting to understand me a little bit, but I’m still open
as far as moving my label. I don’t know if my shit is going to Def Jam, Atlantic, Universal or where it’s going. Being that my shit is Cashville Records, I
can take label outside of Interscope, and a lot of labels have been hollering.
I wanted to name my label G-Unit South Records, but as a brand, Interscope
would still hold that name G-Unit. You knew Jimmy wasn’t gon’ let you get
me and the brand, but I also wanted to start something new, my own thing.
I’m the President of the label and 50 is the Vice-President, so being an artist
amongst what I got going is kind of like the best of both worlds.
Getting back to your new album, how many records do you need to sell in
your first week for Buck The World to be a success in your opinion?
In my opinion, even if I didn’t sell one record my first week, I’m already successful, man. Honestly, with all respect to every nigga who quotes his numbers in sales, I’m looking to pretty much shock myself. I don’t know what I’m
gonna sell. The anticipation of Buck is strong. I’m just looking to outdo my
last numbers. In my last first week I did like 270,000 and I think the streets
want me to do more. I think I’m gonna do way more than that. //
OZONE MAG // 77
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by Eric Perrin (E
Young Jeezy presenting the
scholarship winner Keosha
Morgan with a $2,500 check
T
The scene was much different a little more than a year ago.
In 2005, Young Jeezy froze critics and burned haters when
he reached double platinum status and became the hottest
rapper in ATL. He would go on to be so hot that he literally
melted the competition and surpassed Frosty as America’s
favorite Snowman. Jeezy’s clever marketing and attire was
so revered by high school students that hoards of teenage
fans nationwide flocked to their nearest flea market or hood
clothing store to purchase shirts adorned with the Snowman
logo. School officials around the country weren’t as thrilled
by what they looked at as the “abominable snowman.” A
bitter snowball fight commenced. Jeezy was blindsided by the
criticism but not frostbitten. The CTE front man maintained his
composure and never lost his cool, and eventually the controversy thawed
out.
A year later, instead of being bitter towards high school administrations,
Young Jeezy realized his vast influence on American youth and sponsored
a scholarship contest. He hoped to encourage college-bound high school
students to stay inspired. “The Young Jeezy Inspiration Essay Contest” called
for high school students to write essays on the things that inspired them the
most.
“When I was in school a lot of cats I looked up to and respected didn’t do
things like this. If they had, maybe I would’ve been a little more enthused
about what was going on in school,” explains Jeezy. “I just wanted to help
these kids get excited and inspired about the whole school thing. There’s
a lot of kids out there that are really unfortunate, so hopefully the contest
could give them some hope.”
His plan worked, and as a result, Jeezy received thousands of essays from
inspired Atlanta-area high school students. He personally selected the
winner, Keosha Morgan, a senior at Mays High School who wrote about her
experiences working with sexually exploited girls.
It was a chilly Wednesday in December when Young Jeezy appeared at
Benjamin E. Mays High School in the Adamsville section of Atlanta. He stood
on the stage, casually dressed in a white thermal shirt and blue jeans, and
presented Keosha with her $2,500 prize check to be used towards college.
“Her essay was heartfelt,” admits Jeezy. “It was real touching, and that’s why
she won.” He hopes that his efforts will inspire other rappers as well. “Hopefully, I can inspire a lot of other artists to get out to the schools and add to
what I started. I always try to give back. I normally try to go through the
pep rallies, but I had been working on the album and on the road so much
that I hadn’t had a chance to get out recently. I just wanted to do something
to give back to the community.”
Proving that rappers positive efforts often go unnoticed, almost no media
outlets were present that day. And even though Jeezy had just released
his own Inspiration project a day earlier and was busy promoting at radio
78 // OZONE MAG
PHOTO: MAURICE G. GARLAND
he excitement inside Benjamin E. Mays High School
auditorium went from slight flurries to a massive blizzard
as the anticipation of Young Jeezy’s appearance grew in
intensity. Jeezy was coming to town and both the students
and staff couldn’t have been more inspired.
stations and preparing for his album-release party and concert later that
day, he took the time to sign an autograph for every student present at the
school’s auditorium.
“It wasn’t about me and it wasn’t for no publicity or nothing,” Jeezy says. “I
just wanted to inspire some kids that are doing positive things. They inspire
me, so I wanted to inspire them. I love to do that type of thing; that’s what I
do. I’m trying to be like Robin Hood. That’s my new name, Young Jeezy a.k.a.
Robin Hood.” //
The Winning Inspiration Essay
by Keosha Morgan
T
he difference between a great man and an ok man is what inspires him
to take that extra step towards greatness. I live my life to be the best
person that I can be, and my inspiration for that greatness is a group
of teenage girls who have faced many challenges in their lives, but work
hard to overcome them. Every other Saturday I spend two hours at a group
home for sexually exploited girls, most of who are African American, helping
them to heal through writing. While many people may say that it is my job to
teach these girls how to write and express themselves creatively, I feel that
it is not them who learn from me but the other way around. Dealing with
issues such as abandonment, teen pregnancy, drug abuse, and depression
has helped me to become passionate about devoting my life to educating
people about the epidemic of teenage prostitution. My inspiration does not
come from a civil rights leader or anyone famous, but from a group of faceless girls that many people frown upon without hearing their stories, and
living their lives. I’m not pushed to greatness by any superficial means, but
six powerful girls helped me to strive to do better, and to give people who
are ultimately silenced a voice. I do this not for recognition or praise, but
so that I can continue my work with girls like this in the field of social work
and journalism, helping to tell their stories. I want to inspire others the way
that these girls have inspired me. I know that many people might enter this
contest with the thoughts of the two thousand dollars but I enter it with the
pride of having educated at least a few more people about teen prostitution,
which is my true inspiration.
OZONE defines the top 10 drugs that have hip-hop hooked.
Underthe
Influence
By Eric Perrin
Caffeine///
Found in: Tea, coffee, cola, soft drinks, chocolate, energy drinks, diet pills, certain pain medication
Where it comes from:
Caffeine is found in the beans, leaves, and fruit of over 60 plants, as it serves as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and
kills harmful insects which feed on them.
History:
Humans have been using caffeine since the Stone Age, when they discovered that chewing the seeds, bark, or leaves of
certain plants would make them more alert and kept them awake longer.
What you probably didn’t know about caffeine:
10G of pure caffeine is a deadly dose.
In its pure form, caffeine is a white, bitter tasting crystal, powder-like substance
What it does to your body:
It is a stimulant that causes changes in the chemicals in the brain. It affects the part of the brain that slows down nerve
impulses and the causes of drowsiness; therefore the brain becomes more alert. Caffeine also increases the levels of
dopamine in your brain, which improves your mood.
Facts
- Over 450,000,000 cups of coffee are consumed in the United States every day
- Caffeine is the world’s most popular and common drug.
- 90% of American adults consume caffeine daily
The HIGHlights: It makes the brain more alert and keeps you awake. In a society where 72% of Americans don’t get the
recommended amount of sleep, caffeine is vital.
The DOWNside: It can make you jittery, and other side effects include difficulty sleeping, headaches anxiety flushed face
nausea, and accelerated heartbeat. No long-term effects of caffeine have been discovered.
Scale of addiction or dependency: 5/10
CIGARETTES///
Also known as:
Squares, jacks, Newports, Joe, cancer sticks, etc.
Where it comes from:
Tobacco is a short leafed plant grown primarily in warm climates. Although China is currently the largest producer of
tobacco, the plant is indigenous to North and South America.
Although some of
these drugs are legal
and accepted by
mainstream society, these prescriptions aren’t the kind
you’ll find behind the
counter at your local
Walgreens or Eckerds.
OZONE’s pharmacy
school is street certified and guaranteed
to provide you with
valuable insight on
the highlights and
downsides on some
of hip-hop’s biggest
influences.
History:
Cigarettes originated in Spain when bums and beggars began picking up the cigar butts that were left on the street
by rich men. The street urchins then wrapped the remaining tobacco from the old cigar ends they found in paper and
smoked these “cigarettes.”
Facts
- Approximately 5.5 trillion (5,500,000,000,000) cigarettes are produced globally each year
- An estimated 1.3 billion people in the world smoke cigarettes
- In America, 35% of men and 22% of women smoke cigarettes
- 420,000 Americas die from cigarette-related illnesses every year
- Nicotine is more addictive than crack cocaine or heroin
- 80% of smokers begin smoking in high school or younger
- Americans spend $65 billion on cigarettes every year
- 5 times more Americans die due to cigarettes than AIDS, murder, car accidents, suicide, and drug overdoses combined
What you probably didn’t know about cigarettes:
- The nicotine in cigarettes is so toxic that children and pets can die from eating cigarettes or cigarette butts
- Allstate Insurance Company estimates that each cigarette smoked shortens a person’s life by 10.7 minutes
The HIGHlights:
The nicotine in cigarettes is a powerful stimulant that temporarily improves alertness, memory, and mood. Cigarettes
provide the user with a relaxed, calming sensation. They release the “feel-good chemicals” in the brain the same way
heroin or morphine does.
The DOWNside:
Cigarettes have been linked to heart disease, birth defects, strokes, emphysema, and throat, tongue, and lung cancers.
Lung cancer has only a 16.4% survival rate and cigarette smokers are 25 times more likely to get lung cancer than
non-smokers. Cigarettes advance the aging process, causing wrinkles in the skin and graying of the hair. In addition,
smoking cigarettes is bad for virtually every part of the body and significantly decreases a person’s life expectancy.
Scale of addiction or dependency: 9/10
OZONE MAG // 79
Underthe
Influence
Alcohol///
Also known as: liquor, spirits, package, drank, booze, hooch, sauce
Where it comes from:
Alcohol is created by fermentation of fruits or grains with yeast and sold in package stores, liquor stores, grocery stores,
bars, gas stations, etc.
How it works:
When a person drinks alcohol it is absorbed by the stomach, enters the bloodstream, and circulates to all the tissues.
Alcohol is absorbed almost immediately and allows more negatively charged particles to enter brain cells than normal,
which slows the brain down and affects judgment and physical responses.
History:
Archaeologists suspect that wines made from grapes existed more than 10,000 years ago, long before Jesus turned water
to wine. It is also believed that beer has been in existence even longer than wine. Historians speculate that prehistoric
nomads made beer from grain and water even before learning to make bread.
Facts
- Approximately 14 million Americans, or 7.4% of the adult population, are technically considered alcoholics
- Alcohol is a factor in more than 50% of all fatal car accidents in America
- In America, college students spend more money on liquor than on soft drinks, tea, milk, juice, coffee, or books combined (an estimated $5.5 billion dollars)
What you probably didn’t know about alcohol:
The human body produces its own supply of alcohol naturally on a continuous basis, which is essential to sustain life.
The HIGHlights:
Aside from the fact that alcohol generally produces feelings of relaxation and cheerfulness, alcohol in moderation can
actually be beneficial to your health.
The DOWNside:
Alcoholism is the largest drug problem in the America. Long-term, heavy alcohol use is the leading cause of illness and
death from liver disease. In the United States alcohol is responsible for more than 100,000 deaths per year, mostly from
car accidents involving drunk driving.
Scale of addiction or dependency: 7/10
Marijuana///
Underthe
Influence
Also known as: weed, cannabis, pot, reefer, grass, bin laden, green, kush, sticky, indo, herb, hemp, bud, Mary-Jane, ganja,
hash, dro, trees, dank, hay, chronic, and many, many others.
80 // OZONE MAG
Where it comes from:
Marijuana comes from the plant “genus cannabis” which is a flowering plant that is believed to have originated in the
northwest Himalayas.
History:
Dried marijuana leaves were found with a 2,800 year old mummy from the Tang Dynasty in China. Marijuana has been
smoked by humans since the Stone Age between 5,500 and 10,000 years ago.
Facts:
- According the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 28% of all Americans between the ages of 18 and 25
smoke marijuana on a frequent basis
- Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in America
- Marijuana is by far America’s largest cash-crop, grossing over $35 billion (illegal) dollars annually
What you probably didn’t know about marijuana:
- According to the Merck Index, 12th edition, in order to overdose on marijuana you would have to inhale 40,000 times
more THC than it takes to get high and you would have to smoke it all at once.
- The U.S. Federal Government has released information saying that the potency levels of marijuana have risen anywhere
from 10 to 25 times since the 1960s.
The HIGHlights:
Marijuana promotes a feeling of relaxation and creates an enjoyable, stress-relieving sensation for the user.
The DOWNside:
Marijuana has been associated with, but not proven to cause, problems with memory and learning, distorted perception,
trouble with thinking and problem-solving, loss of coordination, increased heart rate, and anxiety.
Scale of addiction or dependency: 7/10
Main ingredient:
MDMA or methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine
Also known as:
X, pills, E, The love drug, The club drug, The hug drug, designer drug, pink
pig, Cadillac, lollipop
Where it comes from:
Illegal scientists create ecstasy in laboratories.
History:
A patent for MDMA (ecstasy) was originally filed on Christmas Eve 1912 by the
German pharmaceutical company Merck. Ecstasy was originally patented as a
drug for the army to use to control bleeding from wounds. In the 1950s the
U.S. Army tested ecstasy on animals and later, the drug was used by psychiatrists to treat patients. Ecstasy first became popular as a street drug in the
gay dance clubs of the early 1980s and became illegal in the United States
in 1985. Ecstasy, however, grew in popularity in the sexually charged rave
scene of the 90s. Ecstasy has now become one of the most popular drugs in
hip-hop.
Facts
- In 1994, The United States’ Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) reported only
one ecstasy-related death. In 2001, however, 78 ecstasy-related deaths were
reported in America.
- 5.5% of 19-22 year olds in America use ecstasy
What you probably didn’t know about ecstasy:
Ecstasy is considered a love drug and increases sexual desire, but is not good
for sexual performance. In fact, ecstasy users often report difficulty with
achieving orgasms or erection. Many people mix ecstasy and Viagra to make
a drug known as “sextasy.”
A common side effect of ecstasy is excessive jaw clenching; pacifiers or lollipops are often used to prevent teeth grinding.
The HIGHlights:
One user described being high on Ecstasy as similar to being in love. It creates a general feeling of happiness and openness to the world. X makes the
user feel optimistic about life and has been known to heighten the senses,
especially the sense of touch. Ecstasy users also report strong sexual desires.
The DOWNside:
One main problem with Ecstasy is that it is usually manufactured in laboratories by criminal drug dealers, not chemists; therefore you can never be sure
what you are taking. There are thousands of different types of X tablets and
virtually each one has different ingredients and strength. The most common
unwanted ingredients in ecstasy are aspirin, ephedrine, caffeine, speed, and
many over-the-counter medicines such as DXM, which is the main ingredient
in cough medicine. Although it may not sound too bad, the amount of DXM in
one tablet of ecstasy can be up to 14 times more than what is used in cough
syrup. Occasionally, stronger drugs such as cocaine can also be present in
ecstasy tablets.
Perhaps the biggest danger with ecstasy is the risk of death or coma from
either dehydration or water intoxication. Dehydration occurs because ecstasy
interferes the body’s natural cooling down process. It blocks the blood
vessels near the skin, preventing the body from releasing heat, and since X
can mask the body’s normal thirst and exhaustion responses, drinking a lot
of water is necessary to control dehydration. However, too much water is
equally dangerous and can lead to water intoxication. Water intoxication is
when a person drinks too much water and drowns their insides, which dilutes
the blood and causes swelling of the brain.
Aside from the above dangers, ecstasy can also cause confusion, hallucinations, sleep problems, anxiety and paranoia, extreme depression, and
decreased ability to process serotonin which is vital to sleep and general well
being.
Scale of addiction or dependency: 3/10
Crack Cocaine///
Also known as:
Rocks, work, candy, dope, ready-rock, crunch & munch, cookies, wicky-stick.
Where it comes from:
Cocaine comes from the coca leaf plant that is grown in many Central
and South American countries. Crack was born in the United States and is
produced by dissolving powdered cocaine in a mixture of either water and
baking soda, or water and ammonia. The mixture is then cooked until it turns
solid. The solid substance is then removed from the water, dried and broken
up into chunks called rocks.
How it works:
Crack is smoked in small glass pipes often called straight shooters. The rock
is placed at one end of the pipe and the other end of the pipe is placed in
the mouth. A flame is then held under the rock, as the rock is heated, it melts
and burns away to vapor, which is inhaled as smoke. The drug is absorbed
immediately into blood through the lungs, and it reaches the brain in about
five seconds. The effects are felt almost immediately after smoking, are very
intense and do not last longer than five to fifteen minutes. The average time
taken to reach the peak high is around 1.4 minutes.
History:
Crack hit the streets in the 1980s and started an epidemic. The first news
report about crack appeared in the New York Times in November 1985 and
within a year there were 1,000 newspaper articles and 400 television broadcasts on crack cocaine. At its peak, 1 out of every 20 Americans used crack.
Crack use has been rapidly declining since the 1990s.
Facts
- An estimated 7,840,000 Americans age 12 or older have tried crack at least
once in their life
-Nearly 90% of people arrested for Crack offenses are black
-The average prison sentence for low-level crack dealers and first time offenders is almost twice as long as the prison sentences for rapists
-In 2005, the DEA seized a total of 118,270 kilos of cocaine
What you probably didn’t know about crack:
The chemical name for Crack is benzoylmethyl ecgonine.
Crack cocaine is the only drug in which the first offense of simple possession
can trigger a federal mandatory minimum sentence. Possession of 5 grams of
crack will lead to a 5 year mandatory minimum sentence. “Simple possession
of any quantity of any other drug by a first-time offender, including powder
cocaine, is a misdemeanor offense punishable by a maximum of one year in
prison.”- (21 U.S.C. 844)
The HIGHlights:
Crack produces as euphoric sense of happiness and increased energy.
The DOWNside:
The high produced by crack lasts less than 15 minutes and is sometimes followed by discomfort, depression and a strong craving to get high again. Side
effects are twitching, paranoia, and sexual impotence. Crack causes the body
to break down and is responsible for heart problems, lung trauma, tooth
decay, and many other problems including chemical changes in the brain that
can lead to mental illness.
Scale of addiction or dependency: 9/10
Underthe
Influence
Ecstasy///
OZONE MAG // 81
Underthe
Influence
Heroin///
Also known as:
H, smack, heron, junk, black tar
Where it comes from:
Heroin comes from the opium poppy which is primarily grown in South America, Asia, and Mexico.
How it works:
When heroin enters the bloodstream, it makes its way to the brain where it is transformed into morphine and
alters the chemicals in the brain to create and strong and long lasting high.
History:
In July 1897, a German chemist at Bayer created heroin as a medicine 11 days after he invented aspirin. Between
1898 and 1910, heroin was used as a morphine substitute and cough medicine for children.
Facts
- 3.5 million Americans age 12 and older have used heroin at least once in their life
- The average heroin addict spends between $100-$200 a day to support their addiction
- Heroin withdrawal symptoms last between 7-10 days
What you probably didn’t know about heroin:
The word “heroin” comes from the German word “heroisc,” which means heroic. The drug was given this name
because people on the drug reported feeling like a superhero when on the drug.
The HIGHlights:
After an injection of heroin, the user feels a surge of euphoria and a pleasurably strong “rush” about 7 seconds
after injection. The rush is accompanied by a warm flushing of the skin and a heavy feeling in the arms and legs.
After the peak high, a drowsy state follows.
The DOWNside:
Heroin overdoses can be fatal, and abuse can cause serious health conditions such as collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, cellulitis, and liver disease, pulmonary complications, pneumonia,
depression, and respiratory problems. Infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis can be contracted by
sharing needles.
Scale of addiction or dependency: 10/10
Underthe
Influence
Oxycodone///
82 // OZONE MAG
Also known as:
Oxycotton, hillbilly heroin, percs, Oxycontin, oxy-good, percocet, Oxy 80, blue.
Where it comes from:
Oxycodon is an opiate that comes from the poppy plant
History:
Was FDA approved on December 12, 1995 for treating chronic, severe pain.
Facts
- Every year there are over 900 overdose deaths of oxycodone
- Nearly 3 million Americans age 12 and older have used oxycodone for non-medical uses at least once in their
life.
What you probably didn’t know about oxycodone:
Oxycodone is just as powerful as heroin and affects the central nervous system the same way. Oxycodone robberies have often occurred at pharmacies where the robber demanded only Oxycodone, not cash.
The HIGHlights:
Produces a relaxing, euphoric feeling similar to heroin.
The DOWNside:
Side effects include restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes, slow breathing, seizures, dizziness, weakness, loss of consciousness, coma, confusion, cold or clammy skin, small pupils and
involuntary leg movements.
Scale of addiction or dependency: 8/10
Crystal Meth/// (crystallized methamphetamine)
Also known as:
Crank, meth, go-fast, crystal lite, fizz whiz, barney dope, eraser dust, cristy, chalk, glass, life or meth.
Where it comes from:
Made in illegal labs by criminal chemists, laboratories producing Crystal Meth have been found in homes, garages, motel rooms, and even pick-up trucks. The
main ingredient in Crystal Meth is ephedrine, however other ingredients include lye, ether, iodine, draino, brake fluid, lighter fluid cold medicines, lithium from
batteries, hydrochloride, acid, ammonia.
History:
Crystal Meth was first made from ephedrine in 1919.
Facts
- For every pound of Crystal Meth produced, 5 to 7 pounds of toxic waste remains. Most of the toxic waste is dumped into rivers, streams, sewage systems, or
simply the ground.
- 10.4 million Americans age 12 or older have used Crystal Meth at least once in their life
- The relapse rate for Crystal Meth users is 92%
What you probably didn’t know about Crystal Meth:
$5 worth of Crystal Meth can keep you high for up to 24 hours.
The HIGHlights:
Crystal Meth creates a euphoric feeling, and causes the user to be energetic and alert.
The DOWNside:
The drug also makes the user feel paranoid, incoherent and self-destructive. The most common side effects of Crystal Meth are anxiety, emotional mood
swings, paranoid delusions and hallucinations. Violence and self-destructive behavior are also common. Overdose is a big risk with Crystal Meth. Symptoms
of overdose include fever, convulsions, and coma. Death can result from burst blood vessels in the brain, or heart failure. Many users also suffer severe brain
damage.
Scale of addiction or dependency: 10/10
Mushrooms/// (psilocybin)
Also known as:
Magic Mushrooms, zoom, fungus among us, ‘shrooms, caps, rooms, copper tops, gods flesh, hippie flip, Mexican mushrooms, dat pooh pooh.
Where it comes from:
Psychedelic Mushrooms can be grown naturally in the ground in any country in the world. They are grown from mushroom spores.
History: Various cultures have eaten psychedelic mushrooms dating as far back as 7000 BC, Native American’s built shrines and tributes to magic mushrooms as they
believed them to be sent for the gods. The first documented use of “magic mushrooms” was in 1799 when an English man in London went picking mushrooms
in a garden for his family’s breakfast. He included the mushrooms in the meal which led to his whole family being high.
What you probably didn’t know about mushrooms:
Mushroom spores which are used to grow psychedelic mushrooms aren’t illegal in any US states except California, Florida, Idaho, and Georgia.
Facts:
- Out of the over 2500 different types of mushrooms, only 2 species contain the active ingredient in magic mushrooms
- A mushroom high can last between two and six hours
The HIGHlights:
Magic mushrooms change the way you perceive the world; they can make you see music and hear colors. They have been reported to cause bliss, relaxation,
and wonder. People describe the feeling as being closer to God.
The DOWNside:
Mushrooms can cause hallucinations, paranoia, and many users report having bad trips which are similar to living a nightmare. Mushrooms do more mental
harm than physical harm as they can cause fear and provoke odd behavior such as jumping off of rooftops and running from imaginary gremlins.
Scale of addiction or dependency: 2/10
The statistics quoted in this feature were gathered from the following sources: National Drug Intelligence Center, U.S. Department of Justice, National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health, US Sentencing Commission, Special Report to the Congress, and Reports by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) “Tidal
Wave” and a “plague.”
OZONE MAG // 83
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x Rick Ross
Rick Ross the rapper is a Def Jam up-and-comer who spits
tales of coke sales in the M-I-Yayo. The West Coast’s “Freeway” Ricky Ross is the man credited with introducing crack
cocaine to the world and birthing an epidemic that still to
this day ravishes the black community.
x Yo Gotti
Who knows where the “Yo” came from, but John Gotti was
once the face of the Italian Mob. The Teflon Don reveled
in the media spotlight and openly scoffed at the justice
system, proving once again that defiance is revered among
today’s go-getter’s.
x Scarface
The Texas legend choose the pseudonym of America’s
favorite bad guy. Tony Montana murdered at will, made a
fortune off of yayo, and two decades later, still manages to
have a cult of followers.
x Capone N’ Norega
One of most prominent rap duos of all time were influenced
by two of the G.O.A.T. in the dope game. Al Kapone dibbled
and dabbled in a numbers of illegal rackets from alcohol to
prostitution on his way to a hostile takeover of the Cicero,
Illinois government in the 1920s. Manuel Noriega was a
Panamanian general who was involved in cocaine trafficking and money laundering and eventually was extradited
to American federal court where he was convicted of these
crimes and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in jail.
x Tony Yayo
Yet another Scarface aficionado, Yayo seemed to be more
famous in the pen. With an album that ended G-Unit’s string
of platinum success, 50’s bag handler has sank back into
the trenches.
x Young Dro
The significance of the Atlanta rapper’s name akin to potent
marijuana is not certain; suffice it to say that he is fond of
getting high and he is… young?
x Pusha T
Considered by many to be the better half of The Clipse, Pusha T saturates his listeners with grim, creative and varied
methods of moving powder. The “Pusha” claims he hails
from a lineage of street pharmacists including a grandmother reminiscent of Madam Queen from “Hoodlum.”
x Notorious B.I.G.’s alter ego “Frank White”
“A nickel bag is sold in the projects, I want in!” Francis White
ruled the Big Apple with an iron fist and it was only fitting
that Biggie took the name of the King of New York.
x U.S.D.A.
Not the U.S. District Attorney, but the United States Dope
Boyz of America is the correct acronym for Jeezy’s crew.
Don’t expect them to have a dental plan nor a 401k.
x Nas’ alter ego “Escobar”
If you used coke on the West Coast in the late 60s, to the
early 70s, it probably came from Pablo Escobar. God’s Son
adopted the name as a symbol of his dominance in the rap
game.
x Birdman
The rapper formerly known as “Baby” choose a not-sosubtle title that alluded to him being a champion of moving
kilos or “birds.”
x Chyna Whyte
Lil’ Jon’s crunk female counterpart gets the ladies juiced up
to beat a bitch with a bottle. That uncut “China White” coca
will do that to you.
x 8Ball
No, he’s not talking about the last black ball on the pool
table. 8Ball is the street term for an eighth of an ounce of
the white stuff, the typical amount per bag carried by your
common street hustler.
x Alicia Keys
Yeah, you ain’t know? Pianos ain’t the only keys Alicia’s
pushin’. “Fallin’” wasn’t about no nigga, it was about fighting a cocaine habit. [That’s a joke, for those of you who take
this shit too literally]
x Trap Squad Boyz
It’s quite obvious that they are from the same hood as D4L
and Dem Franchise Boyz; it sounds like they all share the
same producer and rhymebook. But fuck it, “Tea Bag That
Hoe” is one of the greatest songs ever!
x Freeway
Read between the lines on this one. Is he talking about
the actual highways and byways of pavement, or does
the name appertain to the most frequent route of drug
trafficking?
x Beanie Sigel
Before the portly Philly rapper took over, there was Ben
Sigel, the Brooklyn-born thug who found an oasis in the
desert. Las Vegas became “Sin City” only after Sigel, who
was known to rub elbows with the Hollywood elite, and his
pals invested millions of dollars in a luxury resort.
x Fiend
We’ve all encountered a fiend at one time or another.
They’re recognizable by a bedraggled look that will have
you giving cautionary looks over your shoulder. Why the
former No Limit rapper choose this self-destructive pen
name is beyond us.
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x Spliff Starr
The Boo Boo to Busta’s Yogi pledges his affection for the
spinach with his moniker. Perhaps Spliff thinks a little too
highly of the green stuff; he and Bus’ must have been high
to play patty cake with each another in the “Touch It” remix
video.
OZONE MAG // 85
FOUR YEARS AFTER GETTING THE MONKEY OFF HIS BACK,
FORMER HEROIN ADDICT
B.G.
SPEAKS ON NEW ORLEANS’ DRUG OF CHOICE & HIS PROMISING
FUTURE AS A SOBER CHOPPER CITY BOY
WORDS: JULIA BEVERLY // PHOTO: MARCUS DEWAYNE
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me doin’ that anyway. They know my abilities and they know I’m bigger than
that. Niggas wanna see me alright cause they know I represent New Orleans
right. I give New Orleans a good look so niggas wanna see me straight.
What got you hooked on heroin in the first place?
That was just the thing to do down here in New Orleans. Man, that was like
weed. Niggas are sittin’ on the porch on dope.
Do you think you rap better when you’re high or sober?
Honestly, you ain’t even gonna be able to tell the difference. Rap is just
in me. Rappin’ is in my heart so I could be high as a kite or sober as a
muthafucker and I’ma still rip it. I mean, fuck, I recorded Chopper City In The
Ghetto loaded, I recorded Checkmate loaded, I recorded Chopper City loaded,
I recorded It’s All On You Volume 1 and 2 loaded. Bein’ high or sober don’t
make no difference.
ince you’ve been clean for four years now, what advice can you give to
people that are struggling with drug addiction?
Man, fuck. I can’t really speak on no other drugs but heroin. Me, I just
can’t get loaded and get money at the same time. I was getting money but I
wasn’t doing all the other things I wanted to do because of that bullshit.
How old were you when you first started?
I was like 15. One of my homies in the hood had got killed and he used to
snort dope. The night after the funeral I was like “fuck it” and everybody in
the hood was like, “We gon’ snort a pack for our dawg.” So I snorted an L
and it was some real shit ‘cause my uncle had passed. That night I ended up
fuckin’ a hoe and [the heroin] kept my dick hard so at first it was like Viagra
to me. After that it became a habit.
At what point did you realize it was an addiction?
I realized about a month afterwards, cause I was doin’ it every day. I wasn’t
struggling [financially] so it really ain’t dawn on me. Other people could
slip but I couldn’t slip cause I was the breadwinner. I was fresh in the game.
This was the beginning of my career when I was snortin’ dope, and I was the
hottest nigga in the game.
Did your family or anyone close to you confront you about your addiction?
Yeah, once they found out. I hid it for a long time. It wasn’t all the way
out there. I was ridin’ in Lexuses and Benzes and had apartments and shit
like that crackin’ at a young age so muthafuckers couldn’t tell me nothin’
anyway.
So you think the fact that you were young and making money and you were
a celebrity made it worse?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that made me go harder. The average muthafucker gotta
get it how he could get it but I had access to so much money at that time
and muthafuckers was just givin’ it to me for free cause of who I was.
How much were you spending on heroin? Or were people just givin’ it to you
off the strength?
Naw, I ain’t even gonna look for no handouts. I’ma be my own man. But me
being so caught up, I’d score about a quarter or an eight from the homie for
about two weeks. I used to go hard, though. I used to do a gram a day.
How did you get clean? You went to rehab?
I went to this rehab in Los Angeles that was like the number two rehab
place in the country. I was there for 30 days and it cost $30,000. It was like
my heart had quit cause I had did it for so many years and kept getting the
same results. I was ready to quit and I just needed that little boost. I shot
out there [to Los Angeles]. I had been in and out of rehab all my life since I
was young. In and outta rehab; in and outta jail, so at that point I was pretty
much tired.
Why do you think that rehab program worked for you but the other ones
didn’t?
It wasn’t really that rehab. It was me. You could go anywhere but if it ain’t
in you [to quit], it ain’t in you. It wasn’t the rehab, it was me. You just gotta
stay focused, spend time off, and not be in that same environment. [Being in
rehab] kept me out of that environment for thirty days and that helped me
get my thoughts together and focus. I wasn’t being a good role model to my
son. I wasn’t being a good role model to my fans. I wasn’t being the nigga
that I am and it was really takin’ away from me.
Even though you’re clean now, have you noticed any longterm effects that
the drug had on your body?
I mean, shit. I find myself real happy, but I think my brain is fried. My brain
gotta be fried after all the shit I done ran up in my body. I know I ain’t got
the body of a 26-year-old, but I’m good, though.
Do you think heroin is still a major problem in New Orleans?
Most definitely. Man, muthafuckers wouldn’t even understand unless they
were down here. Our murder rate is like the worst in the country. It’s January
16th and we done had 13 murders already [this year] and most of the people
that got killed were under 17 years old. I don’t know, it’s just something in
the water down here.
Are you ever tempted to do it again? Do you run into situations where people
offer it to you?
Naw, niggas don’t even try me like that. I’m too well respected for that. Bein’
the nigga that I am and that I come from the streets, niggas don’t wanna see
Now you just smoke weed to get that creativity going in the studio?
Yeah, I smoke weed. I might take a shot of Patron now and again but it ain’t
nothin’ major, you know?
Do you think weed should be legal?
Fuck, I mean, in certain parts of the world it is.
So if you were the president, would you make it legal here in the United
States?
It’s some people that need it, so you know what? I think I would.
Switching topics a little, you made up with Baby, right? How did that come
about?
I mean, we aight. You know, he had a death in the family and I knew his sister personally. Me and Tamara grew up together. Me bein’ the type of nigga
I am, I ain’t know no other way but to put the bullshit behind and call him
and reach out with my condolences. If it was vice versa and someone on my
side of the family had passed, I would expect him to do the same thing. For
that type of situation I had to put my pride to the side and reach out, and
he respected me for bein’ a stand-up nigga like that. After that, we talked,
and he said some things I felt as though I needed to hear. I said some things
that he felt he needed to hear. I’m doing my thing and he’s doing his thing
and we’re moving on with our lives. I’m getting older and more mature. It
was what it was. He played me, but fuck, I’m still here so I ain’t trippin’.
Right. So you’ve hooked up with T.I. for your next album?
Yeah, T.I. is producing my next album with me on Atlantic. We moved Chopper
City to Atlantic, and T.I. really pushed a lot of buttons for me at Atlantic. It
was falsely advertised that I had already signed a deal with G-Unit, so T.I.
called me to congratulate me on my G-Unit deal. I was like, “Man, I appreciate you callin’, but that ain’t for me yet. I’m still negotiating with three different people right now.” And he was like, “You ain’t signed yet? Man, what
would it take to get you over here at Atlantic?” I shot him some numbers and
he was like, “Hold up, man. Don’t sign nothin’. I’ma call you right back.” He
called me right back and put Craig Kallman [from Atlantic Records] on the
phone. Craig talked to my people and flew me to New York and I signed.
Even on that “I’m Straight” record you and T.I. sounded like you have good
chemistry.
Yeah, we get down together. He seen that on my Life After Cash Money
album. I was a fan of I’m Serious and Trap Muzik so I tried to reach out to
him for my album and he reached back out to me when he was doing Urban
Legend. We just built a friendship. When I’m in the A we kick it and when
he’s in the N.O. we kick it. We just got cool and did some business together.
Outside the business that’s my nigga so we’re just tryin’ to come together
and make noise.
What’s going on with the Chopper City Boyz?
You already know. I still got my independent situation with Koch so I’m rap
hustlin’. I got their album comin’ out soon and all of them are independent
artists so I’m just getting my entrepreneur on. I’m the executive producer
on all my own projects, so I’m just hustlin’ and I got more to come. And I
ain’t exclusive to nowhere so you might have Chopper City artists comin’ off
Koch, you might have Chopper City artists comin’ off Asylum, you might have
Chopper City artists comin’ off Def Jam. If it ain’t about money I ain’t fuckin’
with it.
It’s you and four other guys in the group?
Yeah, it’s my little brother Hakim, VL Mike, Snipe, and Gar. I nicknamed New
Orleans the Chopper City back in 1995. They got Chopper City boys nationwide, so that’s just my movement. I look at everything. I look at how I
could market them and how they could work in certain situations. I look at
demographics and all that. My brother, he’s like me all over again. He got his
own style and his own swag, but he could study everybody and put it all into
one. Gar, he a lil’ storyteller. Slim, he could cross over. He could be a ladies’
man, he could be a thug, he universal. Mike, he just street; raw. He’s ghetto
fabulous for real. //
OZONE MAG // 87
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OZONE MAG // 89
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here’s a DVD out there saying that the original Ricky “Freeway” Ross, a
drug dealer out of California who is currently incarcerated, took offense
to you using his name. Did you have a relationship with him? Why did
you decide to name yourself Rick Ross?
A lot of the media outlets circulated that information, but I’m from the
South. I’m from Miami. I’m not gonna say that I’ve never heard of him, but
he didn’t have an impact where I was from. I’ve heard of a lot of [dealers].
I just flipped my name around and the streets felt it so that’s why I ran with
it. I been running this for the last six years. If anything, he should call and
thank me for getting him on BET’s [American Gangster] and all the extra
exposure that he’s getting. I’ma keep it real; in my line of work and where I
come from, I don’t want to hear no excuses on why you ratted. If you’re an
informant, you’re cut off from the real niggas. That’s the way it goes. I ain’t
got no disrespect towards him, but once I took off or whatever, he did start
trying to call me. All I know is that he ratted. I don’t know anyone he ratted
on so I could care less. I don’t know him and I don’t owe him nothing, but
if anything, if he was a real dude, let’s get up and get some real money. But
other than that, being an informant and contacting niggas from jail, voices
from the past, that’s what I’m hearing on the street. I haven’t even seen the
DVD but I hope he keeps selling them and making some money.
So you didn’t name yourself after him?
Just to be clear, no, I did not name myself after the West Coast dealer Ricky
Ross. I’m from Miami. Ten years ago, do you think they were talking about
him in Miami? Did you hear about him ten years ago?
No.
Hell naw. You didn’t know about him ‘til a few years ago, after Rick Ross
blew up. It’s a lot of bullshit, but just to keep it G, it’s all good. I ain’t trippin’. I’m grinding, I’m winning, and he needs to do the same. I wish him the
best whenever he gets released.
Of course you blew up off the single “Hustlin’,” and that word itself has a
drug connotation. What’s your definition of a hustler?
Somebody who turns nothing into something. A hustler, a go-getter, and
that’s how I define myself. I got a multi-million dollar situation and I’m
staying focused. I want money every day. I have an appetite for more, and I
just can’t settle for second. A lot of times a real hustler ain’t got nothing but
a dream, but to turn it into reality takes a real man.
A lot of people say the rap game and the drug game are the same thing. Do
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you think that’s true? What are the similarities and differences between the
two?
Of course there a lot of similarities in the game because of the people you’re
dealing with, but at the same time it’s totally different. There are absolutely
no bounds on the street. If you have to take advantage of somebody else to
make a dollar [in the streets], that’s what you’ve gotta do. But in this [music]
game, it’s an opportunity to clean your hands. I suggest all real hustlers and
all real street niggas take advantage of that. Take advantage of being in
this [music] business and conduct business properly. If you’re a true hustler,
challenge yourself and step up to the plate and conduct yourself as the next
P Diddy or the next Jay-Z.
Do you think drug kingpins are people that should be looked up to and
glorified?
Nah, I’m not gonna say that. But as for the people that I recognize that’s in
my life, I respect them for the honorable things that I witnessed them do on
the streets when they had the opportunity. I acknowledge legendary dudes,
the real dudes that set trends and made things happen, and when it was
time for them to sit down they didn’t rat and didn’t testify. I acknowledge
people that I knew personally in my life and had love for. I don’t just glorify
nobody because [they had] money. Money is no reason to glorify a man. If
I’m around a man who has a hundred million dollars compared to my four
million, that don’t make him a better man than me. Money is not the reason,
it’s the actions that a man takes to get where he’s at that makes you have
respect for him.
What are your thoughts on the movie Scarface – why do you think it has
become so influential in the hip-hop community even though he died at the
end?
The reason why I fell in love with the Scarface character is because he has
so much in common with me and the black race from the ghetto. He came
from another country and was deported. We have a lot in common with that.
He started with nothing. He might not have done it in the best way, but a
lot of times, where we come from you don’t have a choice. The area where
I come from, you’ll be selling heroin just to try to get some money. To see
him start from nothing and build a multi-million dollar empire and have the
possibility of going legit – that’s something a lot of people don’t acknowledge about the film. Scarface had the opportunity to go legit. He had the
opportunity, and that’s what you pray for. Every real G prays that once you
get a few million in the game and you get that opportunity to go legit, you
handle your business.
What do you think has changed about the drug game since your days of
hustlin’?
When I was coming up, all the dope boys in my community took care of the
hood. Now, niggas that are hustlin’ are getting money and trying to shine on
the hood. You’ve got to shine with the hood.
Took care of the hood in what way? Isn’t it a little hypocritical if you’re
putting poison in the community and using some of the profits to give away
toys at Christmas or something?
Nah, that ain’t what I’m talking about. In the projects we used to be in,
everybody up there is on welfare. So just for somebody to come through and
give your mama that extra $40 for that tank of gas or extra grocery money,
it’s giving them a boost. It ain’t about being hypocritical, cause everybody’s
getting money. You either getting money or you ain’t. If you don’t want no
money, go sit down somewhere. Go get a job and do what you do. But if you
want some money and you’re gonna be out here, you might as well just go
get it.
Have you seen any of your close friends or family deal with drug addiction?
Yeah, I done had people that was on drugs in my family. But that’s just the
way things gon’ go; you gon’ have the strong and the weak. It’s a sad situation that I’ve watched in my own life, and it’s just something I had to live
with. It was one of the downsides of being poor – having drug addicts in
your family, having no educational funds, having no father figure. It’s a lot
of aspects that could trigger somebody to just say, “Fuck it. I’m gonna go
‘head and get out here and sell dope. If I get caught, fuck it.”
When you were hustling were you ever tempted to get high off your own
supply?
Nah, I wasn’t tempted to try it. Since I was thirteen I was smoking marijuana
and once I started, I already knew [not to try cocaine]. Drug addiction hit
my home so close, I think that’s one of the main reasons I didn’t even try
cocaine.
Are you addicted to marijuana?
I love to have marijuana. I love it. I’ve been smoking a long time now, so
am I addicted? I might be. Do I miss it? Yeah, I get jammed up in situations
where I can’t smoke. That’s just my thing, something to help me deal with
my lifestyle.
Do you think weed should be legalized in the United States?
I’m gonna keep it all the way real. I’m in the airport just leaving Cali and as
far as I’m concerned, it is legal [in California]. You can walk in regular stores
and buy it. You can get prescriptions. I don’t see no problems with California.
The only difference between Cali and Miami is that you can legally walk in
a grocery store [in California] like it’s Publix and buy [marijuana] and ride
around with it and it’s legitimate. So what’s going on? We just need to keep it
all the way real. The United States needs to keep it all the way gangster.
What about cocaine? Do you think cocaine should be legalized in the United
States?
I wouldn’t even entertain that question because I know it’ll never happen. I
just wish there were other ways for niggas to get money. That’s what I honestly wish for, from the bottom of my heart. I wish there were other ways for
real street niggas to get money. The way this shit is set up, it’s just not easy.
I could’ve been a statistic also. All my homies got life sentences. Damn near
my whole football team that I graduated high school with is serving time,
and the football team was supposed to be the guys with the bright futures.
Do you actually know “the real Noriega”?
Manuel Noriega has been doing Fed time in Miami since he got picked up in
Panama, and I know dudes in there that’s doing time with him. Whenever I
holla at them I used to always ask them, “What’s up with the boy Manuel?”
He listens to DJ Khaled [on WEDR 99 Jamz] locally so I started putting his
name in remixes and shit like that. It’s just a way of us saying, you know,
“What up,” since he’s been in my city so long.
Obviously cocaine has had a large effect on the city of Miami. According to
Pitbull, everything in Miami is named after cocaine: Brickell, the Keys, etc.
How do you think Miami would be different without cocaine?
If you really do your research and do your homework on cocaine, that’s what
supported the fast life of South Beach. All the clubs on the Beach, all the
Columbian drug lords. When we talk about the other side of the bridge in
Miami, that’s the M-I-Yayo, that’s the city that Yayo built. On South Beach it
ain’t a secret that niggas don’t run that shit. The Russian mob owns that shit
but they fuck with us cause they’ve got to. They let us throw our parties in
the club and all that, but we all know what that shit is built on.
How has your financial situation changed since you’ve gone from an illegal
hustler to a legal hustler? How does the money in the drug game compare to
the music game?
Every hustle has its ups and downs, but now I’ve got an accountant. I was
blessed by God to have this opportunity to have a huge music career. I
went platinum on my debut album and I’m closing my label deal for my
crew [Carol City Cartel]. We’re finna close another situation with Def Jam. We
just signed Flo-Rida over at Atlantic with my partner E-Class and Poe Boy
Entertainment. We’ve been blessed to take off and we’re just trying to keep
focused and treat this like our last opportunity. We’re doing our thing. We got
bank accounts and checkbooks now.
You got the IRS now too.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. They know I’m rich now. When I walk in the bank they call
me Mr. Ross, you know?
Ecstasy seems to be the newest drug of choice in the hip-hop community. Do
you think cocaine is going out of style, so to speak?
That’s one thing I’ve been watching for the last six years or so. It’s been a
lot of different drugs; “fads,” that’s what I like to call ‘em. I ain’t trippin’.
You know, ecstasy makes you happy and leads you to girls, but that’s old
shit. Niggas been poppin’ bottles of Cris’ and putting roofies down at the
bottom so when a hoe goes to drink she doesn’t even know. That’s shit niggas been doing; that’s old school shit. So a lot of them muthafuckers just rip
and run, doing whatever they wanna do. I just stick to my kush, man.
Is there anything you’d like to say to the rest of your football team and all
the other people that weren’t as fortunate as you and are locked down right
now?
You already know. I wanna shout out Black Boy, Fonzo, Terry, Renzo Brown,
Antwan King, Black Doc, you know, it’s so many people that’s jammed up. I
send all my homies little gifts and money. At Christmas time, I tried to send
everybody I knew that was locked up a grand. Around Christmas time I gave
out close to $25,000 just to make sure everybody respected what I’m talking
about. I just want to thank them for keeping it real and keeping me out of
the system, first and foremost, and I just want them to keep their heads up.
Their day to shine is gon’ come and Lord willing, I’m gonna be here to hold
‘em down.
When you were hustling did you ever have a moral issue with the product
you were selling? Did seeing the effects of drug addiction ever give you a
guilty conscience?
Never. The fact was, I was already suffering from the effects of being poor.
Just imagine, every day you wake up and it’s nothing positive to look at.
There’s nothing positive going on at all. You don’t want to go and sell drugs.
You just wanna get a car with some working AC and help your mama out.
My mama is just retiring this year. I’ve been watching her work two or three
jobs my whole life, so when I was younger, to be able to come to the table
and give her $300 or $400, that was big for me and it meant a lot to her. Of
course she wouldn’t want me out there [hustling] for that, but I had to do
what I had to do.
Have you been arrested for anything drug-related?
Yeah, I got my first case when I was 15 years old. I caught a gun charge
in Opa-Locka. But I’m one of them big fat niggas who likes to sit back and
smoke my trees and dictate everything that’s going on around me. I’ve
always been real easy-going, but my name done been brought up in a lot
of things. I’ve been through the whole system. I did county jail time, all of
that. I just went and got [Carol City Cartel] Gun Play out of jail two days ago.
We’ve been doing that, and it’s just too much. That’s the last place you gon’
get money at; in the jail house.
Do you think the jail system is set up to rehabilitate drug offenders or does
it actually make the situation worse?
Man, you get more time for a kilo of cocaine than for shooting a man’s
brains out. It always comes back to the way the structure is set up. Majority of the time, just look at the numbers. Like my man Jay-Z said: Men lie,
women lie, but numbers don’t. If you look at the numbers and the ratio of
the black men that’s going to prison, it’s clear to see that it’s messed up.
Do you think the United States government is waging their “war on drugs” in
the wrong way?
Yeah, the war on drugs should go down the same way you went over there
and got Saddam [Hussein]. You gotta go over there and get the narcotics
before it hits the inner cities. After it gets to the streets, it’s only gonna
sacrifice one kind of people.
Anything else you’d like to speak on for the drug issue?
Yeah, to all my black brothers out there: Stay free, get money, keep God first
and your dreams will come true. //
OZONE MAG // 93
94 // OZONE MAG
OZONE MAG // 95
PIMP C
PUTS YOU UP ON GAME
& EXPOSES THE FAKE
HUSTLERS
PHOTO & WORDS: JULIA BEVERLY
W
hat’s your thoughts on the history of drugs in
America and the “war on drugs”?
I was watching The Wire last night on TV and I
heard a muthafucker say somethin’ on there that made
a lot of sense, and it pertains to what we’re talking
about. He called it “The War on Drugs,” right? But don’t
all wars come to an end? It ain’t no war on drugs cause
this shit ain’t got no ending. It ain’t no war on drugs
because if there was, they would be stopping that shit
before it comes into this country. There’s synthetic
drugs being made in labs, but ain’t none of that other
shit grown here in this country. Somebody’s letting this
shit in here. If they can stop terrorists, I know they
could stop dope from coming into this country if they
wanted to. I don’t think they want to stop drugs from
comin’ into this country because drugs are a way to
control certain types of people. That’s just my opinion
because that’s what I’ve seen. It’s like population
control. If you ain’t have drugs, you wouldn’t have
all these dope fiends and people locked up on dope
charges. In the state of Texas, prison is big business.
The government is eating off people goin’ to jail. So I
see what they’re doing. If they really wanted to stop
that shit, they could stop it. You’re gonna always have
people that abuse shit – prescription drugs and things
of that sort – but I don’t go along with that “War on
Drugs” shit.
“THE WORST
DRUGS I’VE SEEN
ARE CIGARETTES
AND ALCOHOL.
DON’T THINK IT’S
ACCEPTABLE JUST
BECAUSE IT’S IN A
PRETTY PACKAGE.
BEWARE OF THE
PRETTY PACKAGE.”
They try to stop kids from using drugs with those antiweed smoking commercials, and before that, the “Just
say no” campaign. Do you think those are effective,
or what would be a better way to discourage young
people from trying drugs?
The only thing young people respect is the truth. Lying
about a certain thing because you don’t want them to do it isn’t gonna make
‘em stop. The thing about marijuana is this: anything that’s smoked turns
into carbon monoxide, which is bad for you. If marijuana was being eaten or
ingested in other ways, it’d be different. But personally, I haven’t heard of
nobody eatin’ a whole bunch of weed and dying. Have you?
No, I haven’t.
But I hear of people dying from cocaine all the time. I’m not sayin’ that weed
is supposed to be legal. I’m not saying that little kids should be smoking
weed. What I’m sayin’ is that the commercials should tell people why it’s
really bad. Don’t make up fabrications about it because once the kid detects
the lie, they’re gonna throw out everything else you have to tell them.
Besides weed, what are some truths that young people should know about
drugs?
Everything else besides weed has been processed in some kind of way. Once
it’s taken out of its natural form, the shit is toxic. What other drug besides
weed is not processed? Cocaine is processed. Heroin is processed. I’ve never
seen a poppy plant or a coca leaf.
I don’t know how much detail you want to get into, but in last month’s issue
you talked about the fact that you have used other drugs besides weed. What
appealed to you about them? Why did you decide to try drugs?
It depends on which drug you’re talking about because in my lifetime I’ve
done a whole bunch of shit I ain’t have no business doing. Some I did just to
do it, others I did cause I thought I liked it. I’ve experimented with drugs like
a lot of people in our culture down here in the South. Some I liked, some I
didn’t like, and some I became fonder to at different points in my life. At one
96 // OZONE MAG
time I couldn’t live without marijuana in my system. But [last night] I was
in the club, standin’ by 8Ball, a well known rapper and a friend of mine, and
I knew he was smokin’ that good weed cause just standing there made my
head hurt. I have found in my experimentation with drugs that all of them
have bad side effects. Some are immediate, some are long term, but all of
‘em are detrimental to my success. All that shit is not productive. All of ‘em
are a waste of time and money.
When you made the decision that you didn’t want to do any more drugs, was
it hard to stop?
Well, it was different drugs at different times. I went through phases and I
got to a point where I was just done with it. And weed was good to me. I
smoked marijuana for years. I just got to a stage where I wanted to be in
control of my surroundings and know what’s going on. I don’t need nothing
to make me feel relaxed.
Does smoking weed make you a better rapper? Do you think it increases your
creativity?
At times. I can’t speak for other people but me, I’m more creative and I get
more work done when I’m level-headed. At the same time, I make good
records high. I just may not make ‘em at the speed that I could’ve made
them [if I wasn’t high]. But different strokes for different folks. If you want
to smoke that stuff, that’s fine. I’m not being hypocritical. Do you. But if I
see somebody putting something in their body that I know is the devil and I
know it’s gonna fuck them up, and they’re a friend of mine, I’m gonna give
‘em [advice] one time. If they’re a grown man or a grown woman, they can
make their own decision about whether to put the devil in ‘em or not. I don’t
knock nobody for what they decide to do.
“ALL DRUGS HAVE BAD
SIDE EFFECTS. SOME ARE
IMMEDIATE, SOME ARE
LONG TERM, BUT ALL OF
‘EM ARE DETRIMENTAL
TO MY SUCCESS. ALL OF
‘EM ARE A WASTE OF TIME
AND MONEY.”
When you rapped about having “a pocket full of stones,” did you really have
a pocket full of stones?
At one time I did. I was riding in the car and my man was driving. There
was a dude in the back I didn’t really know. The police got behind us and
the muthafucker [in the back] says, “If the laws pull us over, I’m runnin’.”
So I look over at my man, like, what the fuck is up with him? Dude in the
backseat said, “Man, I got a trunk full of guns, and a pocket full of stones.”
So that’s where the hook to that song came from. I just learn from life
experiences. I can’t speak for everybody else, but as far as me and Bun
was concerned, we hustled to get in that studio. We didn’t have nobody to
finance us so we hustled, and at the end of the month we gave our money to
the studio man.
Overall, how big of a problem do you think drugs are in the black community
or the rap community, and what do you see as possible solutions?
Well, most of the people in the rap community are from the black community
or the Latino community. It’s a minority thing. It’s not just a black problem,
it’s a Puerto Rican problem, a Mexican problem; it’s a second-class citizen
problem. Most of us rappers come from not-so-great backgrounds. There
ain’t no solution to the problem unless we eliminate [drugs]. We as minorities don’t have the power to eliminate drugs from our communities. If they
could stop terrorists from dropping bombs then they can stop that shit from
coming over here. Stop that shit from coming over here and then there won’t
be a market for cocaine. Stop all that poppy seed from coming across the
water and there won’t be no market for heroin.
Are you sure that wouldn’t just make the demand greater?
At first, yeah. But after a while it would die out. If the demand is there but
there’s no supply, it’ll go to something else. Do I ever think drugs are not
gonna be here? Hell naw. They’re making too much money. They’re making money in the hood where they cut it at. They’re getting money from
muthafuckers getting locked up. There getting money from rehab centers for
people who got a little bit of money. And then there’s HIV. People under the
influence of cocaine are more likely to have unprotected sex. These are facts;
this isn’t something that I just made up because it’s my opinion. So, hell
naw, they’re not gonna stop selling dope.
It seems like ecstasy is rap’s newest drug of choice. Do you think cocaine use
is decreasing?
Coke has its ups and downs. It has surges and then it dies down. But from
what I’ve seen, nobody’s slowing down with their use. But the X pill? Are we
talking about the real X pill or the street X pill with pictures and shit on it?
Is that something you see often in the rap industry?
Yeah, it’s widespread drug use in the rap community, but there’s widespread
drug use in our culture. Young people take drugs, and most rappers are in
their 20s and 30s so I don’t think they’re doing drugs because they’re rappers. They’re young people in America and it’s easy to put your hands on
anything you want to put your hands on. When something’s not available,
you can’t use it. If all the cows were extinct, we wouldn’t be eating steak.
Why do you think our culture is so fascinated with music about cocaine? That
seems to be every rapper’s favorite topic.
Off top, most of these niggas don’t know what they’re talking about. If I
showed them some cocaine or some china white they wouldn’t know that
shit from a hole in the ground. If you hear an average muthafucker on a
record talkin’ about selling cocaine, give him half a brick and some baking
soda and a Pyrex and tell him you’ll be back tomorrow. They won’t even
know what to do with it. They’re romanticizing and fantasizing about some
shit that’s not all that romantic. So that’s the first thing. The second thing is
that I ain’t never known no drug dealer or straight up d-boy that was successful that was high. That goes against all the rules of the game. If you’re
gonna be a dealer you can’t be a user. Some of these rappers might tell you
that they’re rapping from past experiences and they can be high and do all
this other shit, but some of the shit they’re talking about doesn’t add up. It’s
hard for me to believe that niggas from different parts of the country got
cocaine for $10,000 a key. I know what [cocaine] prices are in different parts
of the country. I keep my ear to the street, and it’s hard for me to believe
certain niggas. It’s just unbelievable. I call them dudes Hulk Hogans. That’s
where the wrestling in this game comes in. But at the end of the day, it’s all
entertainment. Who said it’s supposed to be real?
What’s the difference?
Pharmaceutical ecstasy, with MDMA, is different than the street ecstasy with
them goddamn Nike signs and Mercedes Benz symbols stamped on ‘em.
They’re totally different. If I remember correctly, the real X was a pharmaceutical drug. That shit on the street has got all kinds of stuff mixed in it.
It’s cut with all kinds of different alloys and stuff. Muthafuckers don’t even
know that they’re taking cocaine and heroin in a pill form. I never liked
that muthafuckin’ pill, even when I did take drugs. That’s some lil’ punk-ass
dope. That’s for people who wanna take drugs but don’t want the stigma of
taking a real drug.
So you tried X and didn’t like it?
I never liked that shit. That’s some punk-ass shit. I don’t like no drug that I
can’t eat and come down off of. That’s an unnatural high. I heard Jay-Z say
that these pills are like the new crack. They cost the same as crack. I never
liked that raggedy muthafucker. I never liked pills. I got a bad trip off it. I
took it a long time ago and it just wasn’t for me. You gotta know your limits
and how far you can go. But yeah, it’s very exciting to people. They pop ‘em
like M&Ms. That shit made me feel like I was on a trip I couldn’t control. Shit
never made me want to freak or nothin’, it made me sweat like I was on
some shit that I ain’t have no control over. I don’t like to be out of control.
Some people like that feeling, and some people need that shit to do what
they do. I don’t need that shit. If I wanna do something, I’m gonna do it
whether I’m high or sober or I really don’t want to do it. But, hey, I’m not
gonna knock anybody. If you do it and it makes you feel groovy, then do it.
I’m not a hypocrite. If you wanna do it, do it.
Is there anything else you’d like to say to our readers for the drug issue?
Some of the most dangerous drugs can be found right at Eckerds and CVS.
Just because it’s sold by a drugstore doesn’t mean it’s not harmful; I think
that’s a misconception. The worst drugs I’ve come in contact with is nicotine
in the form of cigarettes, and alcohol. If you research them and compare
them to other drugs, they’re just as harmful as PCP and heroin. Don’t think
it’s acceptable because it’s in a pretty package. Beware of the pretty package. //
OZONE
OZONEMAG
MAG////97
97
Y
our debut album Bad Azz was highly anticipated because
of the buzz you’ve created with your mixtapes. How is the
album different from the mixtapes?
It’s more of a nationwide sound, you know what I’m sayin’? It’s
more nationwide, but the same old Boosie. I still got the same
heat on there. The same people busted my album, Webbie and
Pimp C. It’s just a nationwide input.
Did Pimp C have a lot of input on your album?
Not really, he was just motivating me throughout the [recording of the] whole album. He’d be like, “Don’t stop. Keep doing
your thing.” That’s my motivator.
Is he a father figure to you?
Yeah, he’s a mentor to me. Before Pimp went to jail we were
hanging together, making music. I’d just chill with him at his
mama’s house. When he went to jail that just let me know that
no matter how much money you’ve got you still got the law
out there.
You said that your album is the best since Tupac died.
I really do think so, man. The effect I have on people is like
‘Pac. So many people tell me that to the point where I’ve gotta
believe it. They tell me, “You’re the next Tupac.” I was thinking
my third album should be called Young Pac. Everybody compares me to Pac. Everybody says that. Man, I saw how they had
Pac in the studio all the time. That’s how I work. I do three of
four songs. All day. I’m just like Pac because I say what I want.
I love my mama like Pac. Pac made me love rap music and Pac
touched me when he rapped.
LIL BOOSIE
The South’s best-kept secret talks
about getting sober, going mainstream,
and why Bad Azz is the “sickest double
disc since Tupac done passed away”
Words // Julia Beverly Photo // King Yella
What are some of the deeper topics that you get into on your
album?
I speak on my sickness, diabetes. I speak on diabetes a lot. I
speak on my family issues coming up in the hood. What makes
me different is that I don’t just rap about being a gangster, I
rap about what made me want to be a gangster. I talk about
what made me wanna be hood and what made me rap. I tell
life stories. I explain my raps better than a lot of people.
What made you want to be a gangster?
Just seeing all the gangstas in the hood with all that money,
all the fine girls, all the cars. I just wanted to be like then. I
wanted to be a gangsta. When I found out how to make money
it wasn’t no turning back.
What do you think it’ll take for you to expand your fanbase
beyond the South to the whole world?
I need more TV time. You know, if I was on TV every day like
Omarion or somebody like that, shit, I’d have the world like
Pac. I’m that deep. If I was on TV like T.I. and them, man, it’d
be over. That’s all I need. Some TV time.
Do you think it’s harder to get on TV being from a small city
like Baton Rouge?
Really, this is only my first major label album. So even though
a lot of people know about me, at the same time, a lot of
people don’t know about me. I think by my third album I’ll be
passin’ up 50 Cent.
What are some things you want to get into aside from music?
I wanna act. I wanna be an entrepreneur. I have a lot of things I
want to do. A lot of things depend on this album. I have a movie that’s supposed to be coming out and I’m trying to shoot this Boosie Bad Azz movie.
You seem like you’re a little less fucked up these days. Have you made an
effort to stay clean?
I laid off a lot of shit this past year. I got to [a low] point where I felt like I
was by myself. When Webbie dropped [his album], man, I felt like the major
label had forgot about me. I was really thuggin’ in the streets, flippin’ keys. I
was really doing this shit. Nobody wants to put no money behind somebody
who’s still in the streets because they don’t know if they’re gonna die today
or tomorrow. Now, [the label got me] in the studio and they got me away
from my city. They got me handling my business, connecting with people,
meeting all kinds of people. This is my new life and I gotta stick with it.
98 // OZONE MAG
Even on your album, you mentioned all the rumors about you overdosing,
dying, not showing up for shows, beefing with Webbie, etc.
That comes from me and Webbie not having shows together. People get mad
when they see me and don’t see Webbie. People wanna see us together.
Sometimes people call for bigger money but some people want just me or
just Webbie. We have to do separate shows so that’s how all that shit got
stirred up. People talk about me because a lot of people saw me come from
the slums and don’t wanna see me make it. So they’re gonna player hate me
anyway.
What are some of your favorite songs on Bad Azz?
I got a song called “I Remember” that’s real deep. That’s like some of the
realest stuff I remember coming up. That was a song I really liked, and
of course I liked that song “Smokin’ On Purple” cause I do smoke a lot of
purple.
Who produced your album?
Mouse did most of my beats. Mouse and BJ, we stick with them at all times.
We ain’t payin’ nobody $500,000 for a track that sounds like everybody else’s.
That’s part of our success. We’ve got our own sound from everybody. That’s
what makes us special.
Did the area you’re from in Baton Rouge feel any of the effects of Katrina?
Not much. When it first happened it was a lot of people down here [from New
Orleans]. Most people went to Texas. I saw a lot of homeless people getting
kicked out of trailers after six months. A lot of people couldn’t get their lives
together. I saw a lot of homeless people hurting, man, but Baton Rouge is
pretty much back to normal now.
DIFFERENT IS
E
M
S
E
K
A
M
T
A
H
W
“
T RAP ABOUT T
S
U
J
’T
N
O
D
I
T
A
H
T
R, I RAP ABOU
E
T
S
G
N
A
G
A
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IN
E
B
ANT TO BE A
WHAT MADE ME LWK ABOUT WHAT
GANGSTER. I TA A BE HOOD AND
MADE ME WANN RAP. I TELL LIFE
WHAT MADE MELAIN MY RAPS
STORIES. I EXP LOT OF PEOPLE.”
BETTER THAN A
OZONE MAG // 99
“WHEN WEBBIE
DROPPED [HIS I
ALBUM], MAN,
FELT LIKE THE
MAJOR LABEL
HAD FORGOT
ABOUT ME. I
WAS REALLY
THUGGIN’ IN
THE STREETS,
FLIPPIN’ KEYS.
I WAS REALLY
DOING THIS
SHIT. NOBODY
WANTS TO PUT
NO MONEY
BEHIND
SOMEBODY
WHO’S STILL IN
THE STREETS
BECAUSE THEY
DON’T KNOW IFA
THEY’RE GONN
DIE TODAY OR
TOMORROW.”
Tyson
Photo // Terrence
How would you describe Baton Rouge to someone who’s never been there
before?
It’s mostly family, man. It ain’t no gangbangin’ or nothin’. Your family is like
your gang. It’s mostly family oriented. There’s not too many big buildings,
but we up on game. We getting money down here. People love me; Baton
Rouge is my city. Everybody loves me. The kids love me. Everybody needs to
come down here. We got some nice little clubs, and we got the two colleges
with the most women: LSU [Louisiana State University] and Southern [University], the black college. We got all the women. If you don’t know about Baton
Rouge, you need to check it out.
You mentioned that you can’t go platinum in Baton Rouge because there
aren’t as many people living there as there is in New York.
I’ve been to New York a couple times. It’s just their weather, we’re not used
to that cold weather they be getting.
Do you think your music is “real hip-hop”? Or country rap tunes, like Pimp C
says?
I think my music is one of a kind. I wouldn’t know what to call it. I guess
it’s Boosie music, cause I touch everybody in every city, every ghetto. If you
listen, you’re my fan. It’s not like nobody’s gon’ listen to me and not like me.
It’s hard to not like me. I guess it’s like street music.
Do you think it’s harder for people up North to relate to your music because
you have a strong accent?
Not really, cause I’m not like Mystikal. I don’t rap that fast. I don’t think it’s
hard for them to understand me. I’m like Pac in Milwaukee, man. Anywhere I
go, Lansing, Michigan, wherever, people love me. They understand me.
100 // OZONE MAG
Webbie won Slept On Artist of the Year at the first annual OZONE Awards. Do
you feel that you’re slept on too?
Yeah, we are slept on a lot. Man, Webbie had a platinum album. I think we’re
the most slept on in the game. We’re the most slept on artists because at our
concerts people know our words word for word. You don’t know too many
people that do so many songs per concert and everyone knows the words.
We’re slept on a lot.
Are you on tour right now?
I’m on promo tour right now. Every city, I’m doing radio drops, in-stores,
retail. I’m just working right now. They got me working everywhere.
You kinda adopted Yung Joc’s motorcycle dance for the “Zoom” video. Were
you worried that it would be too mainstream for Lil Boosie fans?
I was worried at first but it just fit the hook of “Zoom.” People did it for me
whenever I went to shows so I had to go with it.
What’s the next single?
I’m gonna drop “Set It Off” next. It’s gonna be one of my major club bangers.
My third single is gonna be “Distant Lover,” for the women.
Is there anything else you’d like to say?
If you’ve never heard of Boosie, give me three minutes in your CD player,
give me three minutes in your CD player and I promise I’ll be your favorite
rapper and your best friend. Go buy the DVD in stores now. I’m the next one
coming up in the game. I’m the next Diddy and the next Jigga. I got the
talent and I got the time to do it. So if you’ve never heard of Boosie, give me
a try. //
THEYMUSTHAVEBEE
NHIGH
GreatUnder-The-Inf
luenceMomentsInRa
pHistory by Ran
dy Roper (R
andy.Roper@Oz
I
n life, people often do things that make you wonder what the hell they were
thinking?” Many of these brain-dead moments happen under the influence.
Celebrities aren’t immune to these questionable, moronic and sometimes
career-ending incidents. Let’s take a look back at some brow-raising events.
Three 6 Mafia Winning An Oscar
Yes, we are as ecstatic as the next person about these boys from
Memphis winning an Oscar, but good googly moogly, nothing about “It’s
Hard Out Here For a Pimp,” has Oscar nor winner written on it. On the late
night tip, someone on the Academy Awards committee may have been smoking some purple haze and sipping on some sizzurp.
Young City Charged With BB Gun Armed Robbery
Chopper was charged with robbery from a case back in September
of 2001, but he was probably high when he committed the crime. And when
he missed court in 2002, he was probably high then too. We’re happy Chopper
is past all those legal issues and has signed with Cash Money. But truth is,
Baby was probably high when he signed the “Making The Band” outcast.
The Ying Yang Twins Fashion Fiasco
Have you seen the new publicity images for the Ying Yang Twins’
latest project? D-Roc looks like a confused black china man, while Kaine is
ridiculously trying to pull off a punk rock look, complete with a spiked dog
collar. Needless to say, it’s not a good look. The Twins look like they don’t
have any damn sense, but their stylist must have been taking pulls of the
kush to come up with these get ups.
Dr. Dre’s Detox Hiatus
We’ve been waiting on Detox for years. I wouldn’t hold my breath
waiting on its arrival, even with a September 2007 release date. Dre’s first
two albums were titled The Chronic and Chronic 2001. A lot of chronic can
deteriorate your short-term memory. Dre probably records for the album,
smokes a blunt and forgets where he puts his finished tracks.
Michael Richards Dropping the N-Word
We’ve seen the footage of Michael Richards losing his damn mind
at the Laugh Factory. To drop the N-bomb in that manner Richards had to
be high off of something. And we’re not ruling out the possibilities of crack
either.
Mike Tyson Biting Off Holyfield’s Ear
Mike Tyson’s sound bites generally have “I’m high” written all
over them. This guy threatened to eat Lennox Lewis’ children and bit off
Holyfield’s ear. Of course a major side effect of smoking weed is “the munchies,” so we see where these random acts of cannibalism stem from.
George Bush’s Slow Response to Hurricane Katrina
Bush has proven time and time again that his Internet hasn’t always
been connected during his tenure. Bush’s slow response to Hurricane Katrina
may be his biggest blunder of all and it’s probably safe to bet George W.
was somewhere smoking some of that purple stuff when Katrina turned New
Orleans into a gigantic fish bowl. He’s the president, so he shouldn’t have a
problem getting that presidential kush. Georgia Bush wouldn’t be the first
President to fess up to the pot smoke. Bill Clinton can attest to that.
DMX Behind the Steering Wheel
DMX has a history of traffic violations, drug possession and an incident where he allegedly stole a car and impersonated a federal agent. It’s a
well-known fact that Earl Simmons loves to get zooted. We understand X, it’s
dark, hell is hot and getting high is therapeutic. Just refrain from smoking
and driving 100 mph.
Master P Beefing with Bow Wow
Bow Wow and Lil Romeo’s dispute was one of the most laughable
beefs in hip-hop history. And when Master P stepped in to stick up for his
son, we knew he was probably back smoking on that Ghetto D. Master P’s
solution to the Bow Wow/Romeo feud was to have the two rappers box it out
in the ring on Pay-Per-View. But viewers would probably have to get high to
enjoy watching such randomness. A better solution would be to have the two
rappers battle each other. On second thought, we’d hate to see things get
ugly if Bow Wow started styling on Romeo.
onemag.com)
Lil Wayne and Baby Kissing
This OZONE Drug issue is teaching us that ecstasy pills will make
people do outrageous things. We’re passing Weezy and Baby’s kissy face
on those X pills. There’s no other way to justify grown men kissing on the
mouth, even if the Birdman is cutting the checks.
Terrell Owens Trying To Kill Himself
In September 2006, T.O. allegedly tried to kill himself by overdosing
on pain killers, but prior to popping a bottle of pills what was T.O. doing?
You guessed it, probably getting high on another substance. Fabo wasn’t
the only one seeing spaceships that night.
Ron Artest vs. Detroit Pistons’ Fans
The NBA is the only major sport that doesn’t test its players for
marijuana. If it did, more than likely they’d find something illegal in Ron
Artest’s system. Artest’s brawl with the Detroit Pistons’ fans is a testament
to that notion and if that’s not enough Ron Artest’s rap album (if you want
to call it that) is borderline Crackheads Gone Wild.
Jacki-O Shoplifting
You can only feel sympathy for this poe little rich girl. She filed for
bankruptcy and was caught stealing clothes from a high-end department
store. We’re not saying she’s a crackhead, but that move was “crackish.”
I guess her nookie is real good, but her credit must be terrible. Maybe
Shawnna and Remy will lend her some money now that they’re a female super group - or, this trio might be rolling blunts and lifting panties together.
Nas Signing to Def Jam
Hip Hop Is Dead was critically and commercially a success, but Nas’
decision to sign the dotted line with Def Jam and his arch nemesis is still
puzzling. Did Kelis slip something in Mr. Jones’ weed? I think so. It’s hard to
rule the world when Jay-Z is the boss.
Lil Wayne Arrested For Drug Possession
Weezy learned a valuable lesson last year: it’s okay to get high, but
never get high and leave your stash out in the open. Last August Wayne was
arrested after an employee at the Twelve Hotel in Atlanta saw a gallon-size
bag of what was believed to be marijuana in the rapper’s hotel room.
T.I. Going to Cloverland Looking For Lil Flip
Picture Tip and P$C riding on 24s, listening to Trap Muzik, playing
puff-puff-pass and hunting for leprechauns in Cloverland. Were Tip and
company high in search of Flip? To search for a man in his own hood without looking to give him a Publishers Clearing House check sounds like an
idea conceived during high times. Without a doubt the stash was most likely
in Tip’s Louie knapsack.
R Kelly Pissing On A Minor
Fried chicken and cornbread are causing young girls to physically
develop quicker and confuse the hell out of horny grown men (i.e. R Kelly).
But the 14-year-old on the infamous R. Kelly sex tape wasn’t all that developed, Robert. Chalk this one up as another e-pill popping experience. Who
really gets off by pissing on women? Kells was high enough to think that he
could literally put his whole damn head in it.
Foxy Brown Attacking Two Manicurists
Foxy, without a doubt, has been involved in some bizarre run-ins.
Whether she’s spitting on hotel workers, flipping her Range Rover or taunting judges in court, Foxy is presumably too high for her own good. But
Inga’s altercation with two manicurists in Manhattan in August 2004 was
her shining moment. Foxy was given three years probation and anger management counseling. Maybe drug rehab should have been included.
Lil Wayne Saying He’s Better Than Jay-Z
Yes, Weezy’s lyrical prowess has developed impressively over the
last few years (stop, Gillie) and Jay-Z may have bruised a few egos with
his “hip-hop savior” comeback. But Weezy F. claiming that he’s better than
Jay-Z is as farfetched as that fake Bow Wow/OZONE interview. Young Carter
might very well be bound for Shawn Carter status, but he’ll have to dominate a few more summers before we put him in “best rapper ever” debates.
Weezy, we know you’re getting high. It’s cool, keep the trees burning. //
OZONE MAG // 101
sports
RON ARTEST
M
By Eric Perrin
any rappers have proclaimed themselves “King,” but only Ron Artest
truly is one. Even if his lyrical skills aren’t regal, his $6.2 million dollar contract the NBA’s Sacramento Kings ensures that Ron is royalty, at
least on the basketball court.
In October 2006, Artest released his debut CD, My World. To call it a flop
would be an understatement. Even with appearances from the likes of Diddy,
Juvenile, and Mike Jones, Artest’s album sold only 343 copies in its first week
of sales (that’s 6,000 less than Kevin Federline). Still, Artest is persistent.
“I’m ‘bout to drop my next album soon, and this time I’ll make sure I put out
the music the right way,” says the confident, conflict-prone rapper/athlete
who two years ago requested time off from the league to promote his rap
CD. Only a few weeks later, he received the longest suspension in the 61year-history of the NBA for his part in Pacers vs. Pistons brawl, an incident
that has gone down in the books as the worst squabble in spectator sports
history.
Controversy can be used to sell records, but the negative attention surrounding Artest and his role in fiasco did nothing but give him a “bad rap”
with the NBA and its fans. The sports world laughed at him and harshly
criticized the aspiring rapper, while the oft-fickle and unpredictable hip-hop
heads failed to embrace him or his music. Still, Ron rebounded. Since being
traded to the Kings, Artest seems to have become a more focused athlete
with a more realistic perception of rap. Artest, who ironically averages 16
points a game, enjoys spitting 16 bars just the same. He’s determined to win,
both on the court and in the booth.
Tell me a little about your CD.
The project started about 3 or 4 years ago, when I was trying to figure out
what type of album I wanted to come out with. I like music so much but I
first just wanted to put out a couple of my artists, so I put out Allure. Allure
used to be signed with Mariah Carey and TrackMasters, and I put out their
album, but it kinda flopped. It was a really good album, but the label didn’t
give it no push. Then my album came out. It kinda flopped, too, but now I’m
‘bout to drop my next album soon. I’ll make sure this time to put out the
music the right way, but you know, it’s a grind. I’m in my early stages right
now. It’s no different than anybody else who took a long time to be successful in the entertainment business.
I know you’re originally from New York and there seems to be kind of a New
York vs. the South feud brewing. What are your thoughts on the East Coast
and the South?
I definitely don’t have no beef with the Southern rappers. I like the South’s
music, and I really think music is music. You got Eminem; he’s from Detroit
but he’s rapping like he’s from New York. You got Lil Wayne sounding like
he’s from New York, and you got guys like the Dipset who sound like they’re
from the South at times. 50 Cent also sounds like he’s from the south at
times. I think people try to make it real controversial, but it’s all music.
What kinds of rappers have inspired your music?
I’m more influenced by storytellers. I’m always in different clubs, so when I
sit back to relax and chill for a minute, I like to listen to storytellers like Lil
Wayne. Eminem is also a good storyteller, and Nas is the master of Hip Hop
right now.
There have been a few other NBA players that have tried to pursue rap. How
do you compare to some of the other guys such as Shaq, Kobe, or Allen
Iverson?
I think Shaq is the only one that’s real smart about it. He put out a single
and he ain’t even put out no album. He was real strategic. Shaq always puts
out his albums at the right time. That’s why that one time he went platinum
and was so successful. He actually made a profit from rap. He sold a million
records and they were only projecting to sell between 200,000 and gold. His
other albums didn’t sell as many records, but he still profited off them. It’s
important to stay in the [music] game. A lot of people get sidetracked, but
it’s not just basketball players. There’s a lot of people that get in the game
and waste so much money that they don’t wanna spend no more money or
time on the music.
Yeah, but there is a connection between sports, especially professional
basketball and Hip Hop.
102 // OZONE MAG
I played ball with Young Buck before, and Young Buck is nice. If me and
Young Buck was from the same hood, it’d be like this: Young Buck can play
ball but he really raps, and I can rap but I really play ball. You got guys like
Master P who rap and he tried to make it playing ball. He wasn’t really good
enough, but he pursued it. Some people could do both, but I don’t think
anybody from the rap side has crossed over into athletics like athletes have
crossed over into music. Deion Sanders did it big with that one song he had,
“It Must be the Money.” People were really feeling that.
Speaking of money, I know basketball pays you a lot more than rap. But
aside from the money involved, which would you rather do, rap or play ball?
Both. In basketball, people don’t realize that there’s a lot of wear and tear
on your body. When you play really, really hard every night, eventually you
wanna take a rest. With rap it’s more mental. Jay-Z is almost 40 years old
and he’s still rapping, and people are still feeling him. You can last longer
in rap. For example, when Michael Jordan was on the Wizards, he was still
pretty good but you could tell he was getting old.
Which do you find more challenging: spittin’ 16 bars, or scoring 16 points?
I think rap is more challenging because there’s more politics and whatnot
surrounding it. You got the internet making it hard to sell records, and the
haters and everything. Rap is way more challenging than basketball, just
because of everything involved with it. With basketball, when you get on that
court, nobody can really stop you. They see you every night and if you’re
good, people are going to notice. In the rap game, it’s way more political.
If a guy’s got a hotter song than you, that’s all based on politics, fans, and
Soundscan, and it’s hard to get noticed because the game is so monopolized.
West Coast rap has been on the rise lately. How is the Hip Hop scene out
there in Sacramento?
It’s a lot of people out here trying to make it. It’s harder to get on the radio
because they’re not in a big city. A lot of people are rapping and still have
regular jobs, and I respect that. It’s always good to have a second plan.
Don’t just rap. You gotta work and rap, or go to school and rap, or play ball
and rap. Whatever you do, you always gotta have a backup plan.
That’s good advice. So why should people go out and support your rap
career?
I think people should go out and support me because I love the music
and it’s really got nothing to do with money for me. A lot of people say I
shouldn’t rap or think I can’t rap, but I do it for myself. Anybody who is hating on me, I’d say fuck all them niggas. And if it’s a girl hating on me, fuck
that bitch. If you’re feeling me, go cop my album. Regardless, I’m still gonna
grind. //
104 // OZONE MAG
D-BOY ENTERTAINMENT
From trappin’ in the hoods of Detroit to owning a “majorpendent”
record label, Don Adams tells us just how real the game is.
How did you get started with your label, D-Boy Entertainment?
I got started in the dope game, that’s how I first got started. I started out
in Detroit, East Side, hustlin. Everybody in Detroit know about me. I’m
official, check my track record. I sold dope, a lot of dope. I can talk about
it because I already did five years and when I got out I just switched it up.
Now I do real estate. I flip houses like I used to flip them birds, but I’ve
been doing entertainment since before I got locked up. I’ve always loved
hip-hop. I think its an art form where we can express ourselves.
What makes your label different from other independents?
Number 1, we’re a majorpendent. That’s an independent that moves like
a major. We do everything that a major does and more.
Why do so many people come from the drug game to the rap game?
It’s the culture, the drug culture and the rap culture is the same. In hip-hop
you can still dress they way you wanna dress, you can still be like a dope
dealer, unlike if you working at a corporate office where you gotta be in a
suit and tie and stuff like that.
How’d you get started in the dope game?
I got started in the dope game at 11 years old. I started selling dope for
a crew called the Chambers Brothers out of Detroit. I started off selling
crack, I sold crack before I ever sold weed. I wasn’t a good weed seller.
How much money can people make if they’re really doing it big?
It ain’t no limit to how much money you can make in the dope game.
When I first started, I stayed in the spot all day selling crack and back
then, the crack house I was sitting in was doing like 50,000 in one day
selling nickel rocks. Shit, we used to just have lines of fiends. It used to be
a line all the way around the corner. That was back in ’85 when it was at
the peak of the epidemic. It was crazy.
Did you the police try to stop the operation?
Yeah, they tried to stop it. They tried to raid and stuff like that but at that
time everything was just so new. Back then it was so out there that when
people asked you what you did for a living, you was like, “I roll, I sell
dope.” Now if you do it, you gotta hustle low key. You don’t wanna be out
there like that cause you’ll get busted. It was so new back then that the
Government didn’t know how to handle that. As long as you didn’t get
caught with nothing on you then you was cool. There wasn’t no conspiracies, or Rico Laws, 48’s, or CCE’s (Criminal Continued Enterprises).
What’s the most important aspect of being a good drug dealer?
If you gon’ sell and be major in the game then you really gotta fly low key,
because now its space-age hustlin’ going on. We in the information age,
we ain’t in the industrial age like we were in the 80’s when it first came
out, we got too many informants. The FBI got that technology and it’s a no
win situation. Back in the days, we didn’t know what we was up against.
So you really don’t wanna be out there right now, if you ain’t got your
money by now, you ain’t gon’ get it. I got a lot of homies doing 20, 30, 40
years. Its kinda like what Jeezy said, “With drugs they’ll send yo ass outta
space.” That shit real as fuck.
What do you think the average crack sentence is?
30 years. That’s common. The average time for my homies is 20 years. I
did 5 years myself. I was caught up at the wrong place at the wrong time,
you know, I was unfortunate. But I was a stand-up dude, I ain’t tell on
nobody. I ain’t gon’ get caught up selling drugs again and get sent up in
space.
What percent of rappers who claim to sell drugs do you think are
lying?
Probably 75%. About 25% actually sold drugs. You ain’t sell no real dope
if you only sold $200 sacks, I don’t count that. If you tried one time and it
ain’t work out, or if you just seen your homeboys doing, then you’re not a
real dope dealer.
For a drug dealer to be legit, how much profit margin do they have
to sell, in your opinion?
For a low level drug dealer, you should be at least grabbing a big eight.
If you a mid level guy, you should at least be getting a bird. And if you on
a bigger level, you should be at least selling a bird a day. Shit, I made
over $200,000 a week, consistently. I took care of a lotta people, stacked
money, bought things. I $20,000-$30,000 dollar chains. The most expensive purchase I ever made in cash was a house.
In your opinion what’s the worst part about selling drugs?
You’re destroying your community and you’re destroying humanity. That’s
worse than the possible jail time. We had people; ex-doctors, lawyers,
and women selling they bodies for $10 rocks. I seen crack heads sucking
dog dicks for a rock. I done seen muthafuckas rob for crack, fuck everybody in a room for a rock, all kinds of irregular stuff to get crack.
Looking back on your time as a drug dealer, do you think it was
worth it?
It wasn’t really worth it, cause its other ways to make just as much. Drugs
is really just a trap. Its guys that made 300 million dollars for doing white
collar crimes and they only got 18 months, if you get caught with a ounce
of crack, they give you 360 months. If you sell crack, it’s a hundred to one.
One gram of crack is equivalent to 100 grams of coke. 10 grams of crack
is equivalent to 1000 grams of coke.
- Eric Perrin
OZONE MAG // 105
cd reviews
Ying Yang Twins
Chemically Imbalanced
TVT Records
In case you haven’t noticed, the Ying Yang Twins are the most recognized
duo out of Atlanta besides The Mighty O. So on their fifth studio album Kaine
and D-Roc tear a page from Dre and Big’s book and split the album into two
parts. The first half is for the YYT fans of yesteryear who fell in love with
rompish strip club anthems. The titles “1st Booty On Duty,” “Jack It Up,”
“Jigglin’” and “Big Boy Liquor” should let you know what to expect. The
“musical” half of the album has YYT experimenting musically but not lyrically. Wyclef mans the boards on most of the songs, but outside of the lead
single “Dangerous,” “Family,” and “Leave,” it’s nothing spectacular. After the
well-rounded United State of Atlanta, you’d probably expect a better album
from the Twins, but Chemically Imbalanced is actually very calm and stable.
– Maurice G. Garland
Baby Boy Da Prince
Across The Water
Universal Republic
It’s not often that you hear a voice out of New Orleans that didn’t drop
from the No Limit or Cash Money tree. Not only does Baby Boy Da Prince
have to emerge from their shadows, but he has to shine at the same time.
His national debut Across The Water introduces him as an artist who sounds
very polished, able to make singles with ease. From beginning to end Baby
Boy takes his bounce music roots and meshes it with a care-free attitude
that forces the listener to give the new jack a fair shot. Unfortunately, at
times Baby Boy falls into stereotypical N.O.-blingster mode, but he more
than makes up for it with airy songs like “Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.” He
also shows that he can make songs with a wide range of artists including Lil
Boosie on “The Way I Live” and Nina Sky on “They Don’t Know.” Across The
Water is a solid release from a Katrina survivor who will swim before he sinks
in the rap game. – Maurice G. Garland
Trick Daddy
Back By Thug Demand
Atlantic
When Trick Daddy had Dollars at the end of his name, he rapped like he didn’t
have any. Then when he dropped it, it seemed like he started rapping like he
had a lot of them. Criticized for losing some of his edge on his last album,
Trick re-emerges with strong piece of work that both new fans and hardcore
ones can enjoy. While the album has more cameos than you’d expect from a
Trick album, he never lets it leave his possession. This also ranks as perhaps
the most diverse Trick project to date production-wise. Standout tracks
include the single “Bet That,” “Chevy” and “10-20-Life,” but he is at his best
on “Tuck Ya Ice” featuring Baby. – Maurice G. Garland
Mos Def
Tru3 Magic
Geffen
With a five-year gap between his first and second albums, it’s surprising to
get a third Mos Def album just two years later. What’s even more surprising is
106 // OZONE MAG
the sound. The mood and sound of the album sticks to the gritty, basement
feel of The New Danger, and yes, it still sounds like he’s doing whatever the
hell he feels at the moment. But he does everything from beat-jack the GZA
and UTP to rhyme over beat-machine creations that sound as if they came
straight from a home studio on Bankhead. Easily, the strongest cut is his
concert favorite “U R The One,” but his swag on “Undeniable” and the dark
narration on “Murder of A Teenage Life” are what make this album another
well-rounded release from Hip Hop’s renaissance man. – Maurice G. Garland
Project Pat
Crook By The Book:
The Fed Story
Sony
Project Pat has one of the most recognizable voices and deliveries in Hip
Hop and his latest album is more proof as to why he’s everyone’s favorite
rapper that no one wants to admit to. Songs like “What Money Do,” “Cause
I’m A Playa” and “You Like” go down as instant favorites courtesy of Juicy
J and DJ Paul’s doing the best sampling since their mid-90s underground
tapes. There are plenty of Hypnotized Minds’ trademarked repetitive hooks
on deck too. Throughout the album Pat comes across as being the most
fluid he’s ever been on the mic, any time away from the microphone is not
evident anywhere on this CD. Even though his creative juices go sour on
tracks like “Crack A Head” Crook By The Book is still a good read. – Maurice
G. Garland
Big Tuck
The Absolute Truth
Republic
Right now the only person that seems to be rocking mics in Dallas is Terrell
Owens, but Big Tuck hopes to change that. While Tuck is far from the best
rapper, he has a skill that a lot of his lyrical peers lack; he can make a song.
Hate it or love it, songs like “Bottom Bitch” are straight to the point conceptually and are produced very well. Same goes for the less offensive “Ain’t No
Mistaken” featuring his fellow Big D native Erykah Badu lending vocals from
her underground gem “Danger.” Tuck also hops on I-45 South to hook up
with Paul Wall on “Dippin’ In Da Lac,” Chamillionare on “I Know U Want That”
and Slim Thug on “Tussle.” The Absolute Truth never comes across as a big
lie, but every moment here doesn’t make you a believer either. – Maurice G.
Garland
8Ball & 8Ways Ent.
Light Up The Bomb
8Ways Entertainment
If the album title and the picture of 8Ball blowing out smoke on the cover
aren’t dead giveaways, let us be the first to inform you that this album
will get you high (and drunk). After spending the first half of the album
“Swervin’” off that “Purple Stuff” before its “Time2HitDaClub,” Ball and the
crew come down from their highs to finish off a solid effort. On “This Ain’t
That,” MJG joins the party to give listeners the player shit they expect. But
it’s the exceptional performances by Ball’s stable of artists that make this CD
a respectable product. You can feel the hunger and intensity of these new
jacks in every verse, especially on “M Gang.” Light Up The Bomb is definitely
a good burn. – Maurice G. Garland
mixtape reviews
Grand Hustle Presents
In Da Streetz Volume 4
Grand Hustle/Atlantic
A lot has changed since the third installment of the now classic In Da Streetz,
but fortunately Grand Hustle’s sound hasn’t. Volume 4 attempts to pick up
where they left off in 2003 with plenty of braggadocio and dope boy freshness.
As usual T.I. leads the charge, sounding more like his former self than the
international GQ-esque star he has become. The beautiful thing is that he pulls
it of without sounding like he’s reverting. Mac Boney delivers a trunk-rattler on
“Work” while Young Dro continues to shine on “Grand Hustle Mafia.” Alfamega
crafts a just-above-average but pretty clever song with “Da One.” Unfortunately, the rest of the crew doesn’t show much growth or potential. Big Kuntry
sounds equally cool and boring on “Fuck Being Famous” featuring B.G. while
Xtaci comes off very confusing on “Who You Calling A Bitch?” While you won’t
find classics resembling “What Kinda Nigga Is You” or “In Da A” Volume 4 still
has music for the streets. – Maurice G. Garland
Chamillionaire
Mixtape Messiah 2
Chamillionaire might have been the biggest underdog to rise to the top in ’06.
But after his major label debut The Sound of Revenge sold 1.3 million copies,
you can’t call King Koopa an underdog in ’07. To keep the streets clamoring
until his next album Ultimate Victory hits stores, Cham released the sequel to
his now classic mixtape, 2004’s Mixtape Messiah. Part 2 might not reach the
record-setting sales numbers of Part 1, but the second installment does eclipse
the quality of its predecessor. Cham lyrically devours instrumentals like Nas’
“Hip Hop Is Dead” and Pac’s “Picture Me Rollin” and makes them his own. “Ridin’ Overseas” featuring Akon is a “Ridin’ Dirty” remix as potent as the original.
“Roll Call Reloaded” humorously features Cham imitating 20 Texas rappers from
Pimp C and Slim Thug to Lil’ Keke and Mike Jones over Bun B’s “Get Throwed.”
Judging from MM2, Chamillionaire doesn’t plan on letting platinum plaques and
awards impede his revengeful growth as an artist. – Randy Roper
crew to a bonafide record label, and Divide and Conquer shows why Drama is
placing all his bets with the newcomer. Throughout the mixtape WTK’s smooth
flow and witty wordplay displays a profuse swagger that even entices Busta
Rhymes to stop through and approve the passing of the torch to The Kid. WTK
shines brightest on cuts like “Money and the Power,” produced by Don Cannon
and “Live at The Regal,” where he showcases his vast lyrical skills. Drama
should be proud; WTK has the streets paying attention. – Randy Roper
DJ Drama &
Gemstar Da Goldenchild
Star Studded
Contrary to popular belief, South Carolina does have dope rappers. And
Gemstar Da Goldenchild is a perfect example of a South Cack artist that can
hold his own alongside the industry’s best. This mixtape from the Lexington,
SC native is 75 minutes of punchline-packed rhymes that you wouldn’t expect
from a Dirty South emcee, where lines like “Since a Juvenile I’ve been Hot Boy,
getting that Cash Money” come early and often. Most rappers drop mixtapes
full of freestyles over jacked beats, but Gemstar’s Gangsta Grillz is full of
brand new album-quality songs, produced by the SC rapper himself. With the
exception of a couple contrived pop records aimed at females, Star Studded is
one of the better Gangsta Grillz to drop in recent months. – Randy Roper
Clinton Sparks,
Kay Slay & Saigon
The Return of
the Yardfather
David Banner
Spare Clips
b.i.G.f.a.c.e. Entertainment
On the low, David Banner has a deep catalog. He’s a rapper, producer, and
just in case you wondered, has been dropping music since the mid-90s. Even
though the only Crooked Lettaz-era song on this mixtape is “Get Crunk” featuring Pimp C, Spare Clips gives the listener a better appreciation of Banner’s
universal skills. “Talkin’ Shit 2” featuring S.K. & Marcus showcases Banner’s
production skills as he flawlessly loops a T.I. line over light horns. Banner’s
rolodex comes in handy on “Let’s Roll” featuring 8Ball and Mr. Magic and “Who
You Fuckin’ Wit” featuring Trick Daddy and Rick Ross. On “45” he borrows from
‘Pac’s Thug Life classic “Str8 Ballin” and crafts a beat good enough to make
Snoop Dogg actually rap - for real. While Spare Clips has occasional stints of
monotony, it still showcases Banner’s diverse talent. – Maurice G. Garland
DJ Drama, Big Mike
& Willie The Kid
Divide and Conquer
Drama’s Gangsta Grillz imprint is hot enough for Dram to put a platinum chain
and Paul Wall grill on his grandmother and pass Rapping Granny off as the
Aphilliates Music Group’s lead artist. Luckily for Dram and rap fans, AMG won’t
have to go that route. Willie The Kid is leading the transition for AMG from a DJ
By now we should be over Saigon’s “the South is slow” comments from last
year. If you’re still hung up on that, you’re missing out on one of the most
insightful newcomers to enter the rap game in years. Sai, who fell back
on recording while getting HBO money during his reoccurring role on the
hit series Entourage, returns to drop a mixtape brimming with betterment
themes (“Desperado”), positive messages for the people (“Dreams”) and occasional threats so ignorant listeners can hear him (“Don’t Do That”). Saigon’s
debut album The Greatest Story Never Told is one of 2007’s most anticipated
releases, and The Return of the Yardfather emphatically unveils the reasons
why. – Randy Roper
DJ Aaries & Marshall Law
Productions
Hood Hard: Back to the
Block
Comprised of brothers Rico Law and BigYo, Marshall Law Productions give us another reason why
Memphis is one of the most musically gifted cities in
the country. The duo’s production leans away from
the M-Town’s typical crunk sound and more towards
its soulful side. Standout tracks like “Laughing at MCs” featuring Thorough,
and “Half Dead” featuring J Boogie, prove that lyrics are a priority as well.
Even though most of the songs have features, BigYo, the rapper of the group,
works well with all of them and still manages to shine on his own with cuts
like “Back To the Block.” Rhymes about struggle, independence and disdain
for empty-hearted rappers make up most of the CD. Although a couple
missteps like “Pimpin’” sound out of place, Marshall Law reminds you what
Southern Hip Hop is supposed to sound like. – Maurice G. Garland
OZONE MAG // 107
G E E K E D
fabo
Words by Eric Perrin
108 // OZONE MAG
U P
Can you tell me a little bit about your new CD?
I’m working on geek music.
I heard a song that you did with R. Kelly. I don’t think it has been released yet
but it was “The Gorilla Song.” Is that going to be on your new CD?
Nah, I ain’t worked with him so far on my CD, that’s gon’ be on his new CD.
We’re doing our first drug issue and I know in the “Laffy Taffy” song you said
something like “I pop, I roll, I stop, and go,” so can you tell us a little bit about
your experiences with ecstasy?
I plead the Fifth.
Okay, well why do you think ecstasy has been such a big issue in hip-hop?
I plead the Fifth.
I heard some rumors about you leaving D4L and going solo completely. Is that
true?
Nah, ain’t no leaving D4L. It’s a label, an organization. There’s a lot of cats
that’s gon’ be coming behind me from the D4L clique. Everybody working on
they’re solo project right now, so nah I ain’t left the group or nothing
Out of everybody in the group you have definitely stood out the most and have
attracted a lot of attention in the industry/ Why do you think you have been so
successful from a solo perspective?
Basically, I worked hard. I put out a lot of different things, but everybody’s got
their own flavor, though. People do it in their own way. Everybody’s got their
own different crowd. Me myself, I’m a little more outspoken, I’m probably the
most colorful out the group, but it takes a lot to make a car go.
Being that you’re the most outspoken one in the group is that why you [Interrupts] I’m geeked up. That’s what the geek is in your trunk. I used to hear
that type of music before I found out that you couldn’t get in the industry unless you was a nigga who knew a million syllables. I dropped out of school in
the eighth grade, I don’t know nothing about no ooochalogical intricate black
Americalaka oooochachloca geography ookaeotomy. I don’t know nothing about
all that shit, man. [starts singing/rapping] Just give me a drink and a bottle of
brew. I’m geeked up under the bottle [yells] HOW YOU DO THAT, I turned the seats
sideways in the back, [yells] HOW YOU DO THAT, I got a elephant in the truck with
me, man. HOW YOU DO THAT, different gangstas, different colors do that. [stops
singing] You know what? That’s the shit that I’m used to. I’m cool with that, so
they got theirs and I got mine. That was geek music, this is geek music, man.
That’s what geek music is, saying whatever the fuck you want to say when you
want to say it. Pulling down your pants down, gettin’ locked up, paying that
little bond, getting outta jail, going over to that little freak’s house, bust her
ass open, come home smoking on one of dem big purp sacks, lay it back, go to
sleep, get up, go to the studio; that’s what the fuck geek is. That’s what the fuck
I chose to do.
A lot of people refer to being geeked up as being high on ecstasy. Does that
mean Where I’m from being geeked up means you smoke crack. I take the reverse of
everything that they think is wrong and I make it right. That means that everything you think is fucked up feels good to me.
So from your experience, what does it feel like to be on X?
I plead the Fifth.
Okay, from a general perspective, do you think the ecstasy epidemic in hip-hop
is here to stay?
I plead the Fifth.
Ok so what can you tell me about then?
I get high off my ideas. [singing] I’m starting to see spaceships on Bankhead!
[stops singing]. Nobody’s trying to understand what I’m saying. I got kids, I
don’t want my kids growing up listening to the same thing I’m listening to on
the radio, that’s why I don’t listen to the radio, I live in my own world, and everybody around me lives in their own world. I make music for cats who grew up
away from here. If you wanna call it gettin’ high, then that’s what we’re gonna
call it. My motto is, if you don’t get high then fuck you. That’s how we live. It
don’t make no difference what type of drugs you do. You don’t even gotta be on
no type of drugs. The geek is for your own choice. If your girlfriend gets on your
nerves and she just got you riled up to the point where you might walk outside
and just slap the shit out of a nigga, that means you’re geeked up. She got you
geeked up. It’s just like a muthafucker; it’s a person, a place, a thing. You know
what I mean? I’m geeked about this situation. “Hey, man, I’m geeked the fuck
up,” that could mean you’re high or just spazzing like a muthafucka. Or it could
mean that you’re just mad. It don’t make no difference. It ain’t got nothing to
do with no drugs. I know a lot of niggas that don’t do drugs that be geeked up.
Okay, so on your new project Geek Music, what can we expect?
I’m going to muthafuckin’ Mars. I’m going to crank up a god damn spaceship,
and I’m gon’ get the fuck on. It’s gon’ take me higher than the sky; ain’t no polices, ain’t no critics, ain’t no paparazzi. They probably can’t afford no spaceship,
so they gon’ have to look for somebody else. If I get on a spaceship and get
the fuck away from all these haters then that would be good. That’s what my
new project is about, gettin’ the fuck on. If you want me to listen to something
different other than what you done heard, or what these other muthafuckers
been claiming to, cause you can’t claim shit. I thank Curtis Blow, Fab 5, and
James Brown, because they really worked hard. I don’t thank no cat who got on
a jumper or a hoodie who don’t know what slavery was, like my ancestors who
didn’t know how to read. You gotta know where I came from too before you
open your mouth.
Why do you think you have so many haters and critics?
I don’t give a fuck. If anybody hates on me, they kids going to break out in boils
and then they gon’ catch AIDS. If you hate on me then I don’t fuck with you. This
shit is like a job. The industry is my job, so if this nigga ain’t gonna give me no
job then I don’t think he got shit to say about me, especially if I ain’t never met
him. He could eat a dick, straight up.
In your opinion, who is the best rapper in Atlanta right now?
Fabo. I got the number 1, 2 and 3 songs on all 3 Atlanta radio stations. My new
song called “Tat It Up” with The Alliance is number one right now. I got the,
“Look at Her” record with One Chance at number 2, and rolling in at number
3 is “Scotty.” Those three songs be going back in forth between the top three
spots. Check it, right to this day we could listen to the radio. Just today, to make
another cat mad, I won a bet for $500 dollars about 2 hours ago. I gave it to my
momma. I’m just having fun.
So do you think party music the alternative to trap star music?
I don’t listen to no damn party music; I listen to geek music. If it sounds good
it’s soul music. Shit that you just don’t just play one or two times, it’s shit that
when you play it one time you just gotta play it again and again. That’s what
geek music is. Every song on my CD, you just gotta play it again and again. You
gotta hear that shit one more time, like, “What the fuck did he just say right
there?!”
So the new thing in rap is moving to the corporate side. Can you see yourself in
a suit going to work everyday doing the corporate thing?
I do got on a suit. I work for the city. Atlanta is my city. The sanitation man
wears Dickies, the garbage man wears Dickies, the damn postman wears Dickies.
The doctor; I’m the doctor. They call me the doctor in here. I work all day, every
day. I get paid from Dickies. I wear Dickies all day every day and I wear different
colors, and they cheaper, too. Go tell that nigga, that when we wearing them
red monkey jeans and all that shit, that’s when its time to pay the rent. If that
damn water bill is past due and he ain’t did no muthafuckin’ show, then he gon’
be fucked up. Look at me, my Dickies cost $48 and I wear Fila. Forever I Love
Atlanta, 2 for $89. I got it, but that other nigga gon’ be standing outside on the
front porch with them pills you keep talking about in his pocket.
Okay, so is there anything you want to say to all the readers of OZONE?
I don’t want to say nothing to them. I want to thank OZONE for giving me the
opportunity to represent the geek and once again, I want to say, “Fuck you,
George Bush.” I want to say, “Pray, bin Laden, cause I’m coming for you, too.” I
got a bounty out on the devil and I want to say, “Hating devil, kiss my ass.” If
you want me to go on and on, I will. I’m geeked up right now.
Nah, I’m good, man. Thanks though.
I want to say to all the cats out there that are really trying to get it: Be original, man! Be original all the time, you know what I mean? If you don’t be an
original, you can’t do more than what the last muthafucker did before you. And
if you represent for what somebody else already represented for, then you ain’t
gonna to get no farther then where the fuck he is at. So don’t be stupid. Quit
making music for your homeboys and all that. Make it sound good to the world
because you need to talk to everybody. If everybody willing to listen then they
will say something good, because they’re listening, too. //
OZONE MAG // 109
endzone
JimJoneslive
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Venue: Jacksonville Arena
Event: King of the South Tour
Date: December 17th, 2006
Photo: Terrence Tyson
112 // OZONE MAG