So anyway the club was deep with all kinds of people and plenty of ratchets as you’ll be able to see in the videos. So on with the show, I’ve got a sample of videos and we can start it off with a little bit of Mr Lucci and the Stoney Crook Family as they took the stage first at about 2:30 in the a.m.

Why people go to this club I dont even know. I had on a clean white t and was made to buy a $20 f@#king sticker so that I didnt appear to be gang affiliated. Put a sticker on my t-shirt and somehow Im now good. But as you can see Mr Lucci, Mr Pookie and the Stoney Crook guys are definitely on the come up and that Mr Lucci ‘100% Real’ is in the stores as of today so grab it while you can find it. Believe that title too, Lucci is a real dude and was by far the most friendly and down to earth artist I’ve met yet.

It was right after that performance that Tumzilla jumped up onto the stage and started is performance off with the crowd definitely into it. He had plenty of family with him in the house and on stage and gave a performance that you could feel and heres a little clip of that and some ratchets.

Dont worry thought Zilla hasn’t forgotten the fans or the haters so stay tuned to the end of this blog to see what he’s got to say to you.

There were also a few others spotted in the crowd that came out for the party like west coast rapper C-Bo and Spice 1. They showed out of D town and came down to party with the city.

So here are a few more videos of the above mentioned as well as a street drop from Mr Lucci, Mr Pookie and Stoney Crook Family.

and

And as promised earlier a little street drop video for the fans here at SOHH and my site GrippinGrain.com, it’s Tumzilla letting you know whats really good!

DigiPimp – Haters still can’t see me!

It went down with all the guys getting on stage and working up a sweat in some southern late night heat. Things started off with my boy from the OKC Chris McCain working the mic to warm the crowd up a bit. But they went crazy for your boy Chop Chop with the Presidential Trap House crew. It was a homecoming for the man Chop as he took the stage with that exclusive sh!t and damn near shut the place down.

So yeah it went down in Oklahoma even if the haters didn’t come out Grippin the Grain and the players did.

So here it is, unedited and uncut, rough and raw like it should be. It’s Chopper Young City and myself discussing the past, present and future. Fans can get in touch with him at his own personal MySpace and he does read and answer his own messages. So check it out and stay tuned for some exclusive new tracks from Chopper and more news and interviews in the very near future. Be sure to comment and let him know what you think and have to say! Click the pic and listen to the interview or right click and download to your computer to listen to!

Lil’ Flip ‘Back In The Zone’ With New Label, LP, Reality Show
After several rocky years, Houston MC ready to return with I Got Mine.
By Jayson Rodriguez

Lil’ Flip’s last three years have been filled with one series of unfortunate events after another.

First, there was his well-publicized spat with T.I., followed by a Ja Rule-like backlash for his pop hit “Sunshine.” Then came a power struggle between the 26-year-old MC and his recording home, Sony Urban.

Things got so bad for the Houston rapper that at one point he said he felt like the people in charge of promoting his long-awaited project I Need Mine — due March 27 and now being released by Asylum Records — were actually working for his rival.

“I don’t wanna say no names,” Flip said. “But there was a person [at Sony] who worked for me that used to work for the person I was beefin’ with. [And then] I did a song with Kelly Rowland, I was on the ‘Can’t Nobody’ remix, but some dumbass engineer threw my second verse off so it sounds like I’m rapping off-beat. So we had to get that canned. Then the next opportunity comes, Beyoncé’s ‘Naughty Girl.’ That sh– comes out, cool, they play it everywhere. They wanna shoot the video, but it’s, ‘Oh well, we can’t get the OK.’

“Meanwhile, the person I’m beefin’ with,” he continued, “had a song with Destiny’s Child, ‘Soldier,’ that they shot a video for!”

That incident turned out to be the last straw for Flip, who began negotiating out of his contract. But bad luck struck the Leprechaun (a nickname he picked up in his Cloverland neighborhood) once again as a rough version of I Need Mine leaked to the Internet right before he signed a deal with Asylum. Flip estimates 19 of the 26 songs were lost in the process.

Flip re-recorded the album, keeping only nine of the remaining tracks, and bumped up the project to a robust 36 songs. He got the chance to lay down vocals with a range of guests including Chamillioniare, Mya, Three 6 Mafia, Mike Jones, MJG, Z-Ro and Rick Ross, who appears on Flip’s first official single, “I Got Money.”

“Fat Joe did it with ‘Make It Rain,’ so I had to take it to a different angle,” Flip said of “I Got Money,” which interpolates Audio Two’s “Top Billin’ ” on the chorus: “I got money/ Money I got.”

Flip even wrote the treatment for the video and is set to co-direct the clip with Bernard Gourley (Three 6 Mafia, Master P) in Las Vegas next week. “It’s gonna be two big bosses,” Flip revealed, noting that the video was inspired by the 2006 movie “Lucky Number Slevin,” which starred Bruce Willis and Josh Harnett. “We’re living in buildings across the street from each other and we’re beefing, but at the end you find out we’re in business together.”

And speaking of business dealings, Flip said he has a few in development. He’s working on a project that chronicles his rap career, and he’s also about to begin shooting a reality series he created called “Lil’ Flip’s American Rapper.” The show follows aspiring MCs as they learn media training, punctuality and networking skills. The winner will tentatively receive a two-album deal with Flip’s company, as well as a financial prize.

“Now I’m back in my zone, where I got control over what I want to make,” Flip said of his business and music. “I feel like [Sony] put my career on hold. If I didn’t have show dates and know how to hustle, a mutha—— wouldn’t have nothing, ya dig? For real.”

Z-Ro will likely be locked up until late into next year but that’s not going to stop this album from getting some major play in the south. Z-Ro has been around for more than a minute now and he’s got a lot to say. Click inside and you can download the Damage Control show from this past Wednesday and listen to what he has to say straight from his own mouth not on sites that are full of rumors.

Click here and save as, don’t stream please

They’re just starting to drop a single and he’s been supplying them some help as a fellow southern rap legend and fan he says. Check out inside for the full interview and see what’s really going down this fall in the south.

Scarface: Fixed on Change
By Rohit Loomba

As Rap-A-Lot Records turns 20 years old, a lot of the people who made the label what it is aren’t there to blow out the candles. Most would concur that there’s none bigger than Brad Jordan, better known as Mr. Scarface. Since 1988’s Making Trouble, the Geto Boys did just that, for anybody who was comfortable keeping southern Hip-Hop out. While juggling the group duties, ‘Face also reigned as King of the South with a grip of successful solos.

Today, Scarface has reportedly retired from making albums. Without a label, ‘Face sticks to features and his always constant, rarely celebrated production duties. With work logged for Nas, Chamillionaire, and U.G.K., the future seems as bright as the past. Get Scarface’s thoughts on religion, baseball, and his paperwork. Scarface never molded to the conventions people expected him to fit, and this exclusive interview is no different.

AllHipHop.com: What got you interested in Islam?

Scarface: I think the views of this religion are a lot different from the views of Christianity.

AllHipHop.com: Was there anything in particular that attracted you?

Scarface: It’s just that they see things the way you do. I don’t really want to go into it right now, it’s a long story.

AllHipHop.com: Do you think that Islam provides with you more freedom than Christianity?

Scarface: We’ll see. [laughs]

AllHipHop.com: How long have you been interested?

Scarface: I just started. Right now, I’m not rolling with anyone. You know me; that’s like a gang to me. When you put a stipulation on a boundary or a color or a religion, that sounds like gang talk to me. I want to be somewhere where it’s not illegal to me what I am. Right now it is illegal for me to be in church, because my heart ain’t pure. Everyone’s sick, that’s what church is, it’s a big ass hospital. I would expect the person to lead me, to me a little different from me. I’m a hoe monger. I would hope the person that leads me to where I need to be isn’t a homosexual, or a hoe monger, or a pimp or any of that s**t we’re dealing with. I don’t need any helicopters, I don’t need two churches, I don’t need any of that s**t to serve my Lord. I need some pots and some pans, I need some stuff that can help us get income together. I don’t think we should be sitting here trying to outdo each other. And that’s just my own personal.

AllHipHop.com: Recently you made a shift to production completely.

Scarface: I’m just making music right now. I’m probably one of the best that did it. A lot of my credit is being taken by other people. But the stuff that I have my name on and the stuff they have their name on, my stuff sounds totally different, because they just can’t do it. You can’t teach this, what I know about music. This is by blood. There are generations after generation after generation of musicians.

AllHipHop.com: What projects are you currently working on?

Scarface: I’m really proud of the UGK project. I’m not just chucking them beats; I’m a fan.

AllHipHop.com: Do you sit in the studio with them and mold the beat around them? What is the process like?

Scarface: No, I don’t need to do that, I’m a fan. I have the blueprint in my head already. For me to listen to anything else, it’s a waste of our time, I know where I want them to be as a fan.

AllHipHop.com: People like you and UGK have had longevity, how did that come about for you guys?

Scarface: I don’t know, it’s by God, that’s all I know to do is jam. I make music.

AllHipHop.com: Is music also a way for you to give back to you community?

Scarface: It’s a way to let my community to reflect, reflect on what it did for me.

AllHipHop.com: What kind of programs or initiatives have you started?

Scarface: It will be so that we can have something to do in our neighborhood. There ain’t nothing to do.

AllHipHop.com: Are you a baseball fan?

Scarface: I know that more Black people need to get into it, I wouldn’t be surprised if only nine percent of the Black people out there know how to play baseball.

AllHipHop.com: Is it just a matter of giving people opportunities?

Scarface: If you gave them the chance they may appreciate it.

AllHipHop.com: Tell us about some of the production work you do and what you do to put together a beat.

Scarface: It’s not a process at all. I just hear it in my head.

AllHipHop.com: Do most of your ideas come randomly or are you inspired?

Scarface: It’s all random. I need to start carrying a tape recorder.

AllHipHop.com: Do you lose a lot of ideas?

Scarface: Yeah, but they come so frequently.

AllHipHop.com: What kind of samples do you find yourself attracted to more? Scarface: It doesn’t matter, if it works it works, if it jams it jams. If you need beats holla at me.

AllHipHop.com: How do you stay on top of your business?

Scarface: It’s a long story, [laughs] just make sure you stay on top all the time. I do admit at the early phase of my career I wasn’t on top of it. I have songs on people’s albums that I haven’t collected on, and I have songs out right now that I haven’t collected on. I’m about to start collecting.

AllHipHop.com: Why were you so passive about it?

Scarface: Because I loved it that much. I don’t mind using my voice to help you on a track. But if you don’t look out for me, that’s just not right. If you’re using my talent to get paid, it’s only right for me to get chipped off. I got the lawyer and the whole package. It’s illegal for someone else to hold your money. I have tracks on a whole bunch of albums, like the Biggie Duets album, the old Nas album, and the Chamillionaire album I haven’t collected on it. I didn’t do any contracts on them, it was love, love is love.

AllHipHop.com: Do you have a few million left to collect on?

Scarface: I’m sure it’s out there.

AllHipHop.com: Are you shifting any of your attention away from music to get your business straight?

Scarface: No I’m all about work, I’m not handling the business, I got people that do that. My whole thing is about the work.

AllHipHop.com: So are you doing contracts from now on?

Scarface: No, I’ll let people who deal with that deal with that. When you put your voice on a track, that’s contract enough.

AllHipHop.com: What is your situation right now?

Scarface: I don’t have anything in terms of that, I’m just making music.

AllHipHop.com: What kind of set up do you have in your studio?

Scarface: I have an MPC 3000, some old analog keyboards, and old Korgs.

Source:AllHipHop.com

Between the success of Mike Jones, Paul Wall, and Slim Thug, Swishahouse Records was a proud father of artists in 2005.. However, as Chamillionaire and Slim Thug fared well without the label at times, Mike Jones has also recently been declaring his own independence.

Michael “5000” Watts and G-Dash say otherwise, and responded to comments that Jones made last week. These Houston hard-hitters are the CEOs of Swishahouse. It is Watts’ remixes that largely popularized the recent spread of the Chopped & Screwed movement that DJ Screw pioneered. The Swishahouse sound is set to carry in 2006, with Paul Wall’s recording underway of Get Money – Stay True, and Screwed-Up Click alum, Lil’ Keke’s next effort. The second is a historic H-Town moment in terms of past cross-town tension.

In addition to strengthening their city and clarifying allegations, Michael Watts and G-Dash reflect on the next class of Swishahouse artists that will be pressured by the masses to fill some impressive shoes. On the verge of a new compilation, The Day Hell Broke Loose 3, time will tell if the Swishahouse will be Houston’s new home.

AllHipHop.com: Mike Jones made some comments on our site last week regarding Swishahouse. He said that “foul business” had gone down. How do you respond to that?

G-Dash: First of all, that’s not true. Second of all, he’s still contractually obligated to [Swishahouse]. There hasn’t been no separation, and we still have agreements in place that we’re gonna continue to enforce those agreements.

AllHipHop.com: You said, “that’s not true.” What can you tell me to affirm that to our readers and those that feel otherwise?

G-Dash: Like I said, we have contracts and agreements in place. That definitely lets you know that’s not true.

AllHipHop.com: When was the last time Mike Jones communicated with y’all?

G-Dash: It’s been probably about…how long has it been since I spoke to Mike Jones? I guess that would be the last function I seen him at. I can’t recall what function – probably about a month ago.

AllHipHop.com: He may’ve said it was The Source’s photo-shoot for “A Great Day in Houston.”

G-Dash: Okay. Yeah.

AllHipHop.com: He mentioned it being an amicable difference. In a city like Houston, a tighter knit, close-quartered Hip-Hop community, how important is it to keep peace and friendship in general?

G-Dash: A lot of times, meetings just come together for us to sit down and settle things amongst themselves, you know what I’m sayin’? [You can’t] just let it go on and on with all the b*tchin’ and stuff, which could easily end up to other things. It’s better to just sit down, ‘cause this really is a business. At the end of the day, if the business isn’t handled right, nobody’s gonna be makin’ money. If Mike Jones don’t make no record, nobody benefits from it, even him.

AllHipHop.com: With or without Mike Jones, what’s the Swishahouse movement gonna like in 2006?

G-Dash: It’s lookin’ real good. We got a new compilation, The Day Hell Broke Loose 3 comin’ out. We also got other artists, such as Archie Lee, Coota Bang, and then T. Farris – he’s launching his record label, and we’re supporting him 100% by licensing our logos to his record label brand. We’re assisting him in bringing out artists like Lil’ Keke, which I’m sure everybody’s known. He’s had a great deal of Southern success in the past.< AllHipHop.com: Now let’s talk about some of these artists. A lot of people came to know Swishahouse through the Houston explosion last years. Others were in the know years ago. But as Paul Wall and Mike Jones blew up, why has Archie Lee sat for two years? Why’s 2006 better than 2005?

G-Dash: Well, Archie’s back in the redevelopment stages. He was with us for a time, and then there was a time when he wasn’t with us, when we was rebuildin’ with Mike Jones and them. So Archie, he came back in, and we redevelopin’ him and Coota Bang.

AllHipHop.com: Other labels have historically had that “come and go as you please” relationship with artists. Both Death Row with Kurupt and Cash Money with Juvenile come to mind. As a business, why are you both comfortable with that?

G-Dash: I think they go somewhere else to test the waters, then come to realize that they really had it better than what they thought. They see the success we’re havin’. Also, you have no complaints – you can talk to any of our artists, there’s never been no complaints over money issues or things of that nature.

AllHipHop.com: Mike Jones said money was not a factor. Other articles elsewhere alluded to money disputes.

G-Dash: If you read articles, like you said, one article said there was a money dispute and now [your] article says it’s not a money dispute. There’s a lot of inconsistencies and contradictions, so you never know what’s true. Mike Jones is an artist, so he’s very artistic, and has a creative way of puttin’ things together – I guess his own thoughts and ideas. I mean, he’s an artist.

AllHipHop.com: In the history of Swishahouse, was there one significant reason why you blew? Was there a catalyst as to why, last year, everybody was in the know?

G-Dash: I think it’s just been a long period of grindin’ through the years. I’m sure people had heard about us in the past. But every year, we just been takin’ up another level. I think what finally cracked everything off was the “Still Tippin’” video that we had on our The Day Hell Broke Loose 2 compilation. I think that set the tone for the visuals that exposed our whole culture – the slowed down music, the candy-paint, the cars. I think people gravitate to somethin’ that’s new. I don’t think they gravitate to somethin’ they already gettin’. I think we came with something that was new and creative to the rest of the world – I think that’s what made everything jump off.

AllHipHop.com: That’s a good point. That said, will the focus move from candy-paint and grills to new directions?

Michael “5000” Watts: You know what man, I think all artists are growin’ beyond the candy-paint, the syrup, the rims, and stuff like that. A lot of the stuff on Paul’s record, that’s not the main focus. If you hear Keke’s record, that’s not what the album’s about. Of course we gonna keep our Houston thing. But our artists are goin’ farther than just that.

AllHipHop.com: Mike Jones, Paul Wall, even Chamillionaire – these guys had very friendly images. Looking at the tough exteriors of New York and West Coast rappers, I think that had tremendous crossover appeal. I know there’s real talk on those records too, but it’s less ego at times…

G-Dash: It’s different in them streets though.

AllHipHop.com: I’m quite sure. Mike, you recently did a Chopped & Screwed version of Dem Franchise Boyz album. Will there ever come a time when we see you come to New York artists? Where’s the Mobb Deep or Papoose Chopped & Screwed?

Michael “5000” Watts: Of course, man. My door’s always open as far as expanding stuff. Recently, I did two songs for Matisyahu. On my own, personally, I do a lot of Rock and stuff too. I’m very unlimited. Like, my radio shows, I don’t just do Southern stuff. I do East, I do West. I even do two hours of R&B, Chopped & Screwed. Whenever they wanna step up to the plate on what they want to do, I’ll do it.

AllHipHop.com: The Chopped & Screwed movement, as we all know, came from DJ Screw on the Southside of Houston. Swishahouse is about the Northside. When you started doing what you’re doing, was there animosity or resistance?

Michael “5000” Watts: Yeah, when we first started doin’ it. When I started, my mix CDs represented the Northside. There was a lil’ tension. But there was a lot of tension between the North and Side [sides of Houston] goin’ on before we even got into the music thing. A street tension, that carried into the music. Of course, all that is resolved now, ‘cause we all work together.

AllHipHop.com: What resolved it?

Michael “5000” Watts: What it boils down to man, we gotta feed our families. The only way we can all be successful is if we all work together. If you go out there and bump your head a couple times, we all realize, “Man, we’ll get a lot farther working together.” If you sit up there and look at the reasons that we’re successful, a lot of the guys are workin’ together.

G-Dash: I think the [gangsters], as they got older, they got wiser. All that s**t wasn’t gettin’ them nowhere or no money. Let’s get this money.

AllHipHop.com: Lil’ Keke started with Screw. To have him riding with Swishahouse now is a big deal. What does that mean to Houston?

G-Dash: I think it’s real big. At the same time, it’s gonna help unease all that tension. He’s like the Don over there. He was with the originators. That slang. That whole style was originated by Keke and Fat Pat.

AllHipHop.com: Does the parts of the city have different sounding music today?

Michael “5000” Watts: I think, right now, we have a culture as a whole. We have a Houston sound as a whole. When it comes down to styles, it’s not about North and Side [sides], it’s between artists within themselves. There’s different Southside artists that sound different from Keke and different Northside artists that sound different from Slim Thug. Slim Thug and Chamillionaire are both Northside artists with two totally different styles. [Same with] Trae and Keke.

AllHipHop.com: Mike, there’s an artist out of Philadelphia named Mike Watts. He messes with Screw music a bit too. Have you heard any feed on this guy?

Michael “5000” Watts: I’ve never heard any of his music. I’ve heard from other sources that it sucks. It’s like, I heard of him before he popped. But the thing about it, I know his lawyer that was representin’ him, right? He told me ‘bout this guy named Mike Watts that was gonna come out, right? He was making it like it was a coincidence that we both had the same name. Okay, this guy is from Philly and all that stuff. A lot of people in Philly aren’t doing Screwed & Chopped that I know of. So him havin’ the same name is tryin’ to plagiarize off of the success that we had with “Michael Watts and the Swishahouse.” He recently dropped a single and had an uncleared verse from Paul Wall on it. I look at this as plagiarism. You’re tryin’ to capitalize off of what we’re doing. If you’re gonna go that far to get a bootleg verse from Paul and market it as a commercial release, come on man!

AllHipHop.com: The feature has been what’s kept the streets hungry for Archie Lee and other artists you’re redeveloping. In a community like Houston, do you feel that enough attention is paid to linking the new popular acts with veterans like K-Rino, Willie D, and Lil’ Troy?

Michael “5000” Watts: Of course, you gotta respect the people that opened the doors for you. If it wasn’t for people like Rap-A-Lot and K-Rino,… they were the ones who got Houston to the point where it is right now. A lot of people gotta respect that and recognize that.

AllHipHop.com: Lastly, Paul Wall is newly a proud father. What’d the label do for its artist?

G-Dash: Oh yeah, plenty. We gave him a congratulations and a cigar.

Source: AllHipHop.com

Tortas out the trunk
By: JULIANNE SHEPHERD

Chingo Bling
EARNING STATEMENTS: Poking fun at the gringo perception of Mexican culture is integral to Chingo Bling’s business plan.
The video for Chingo Bling’s “Walk like Cleto” opens in a dank basement full of scantily dressed chicas wrapping packages in butcher paper, drug-cartel style. Chingo’s full of big-pimpin’ bluster. But instead of coke, they’re packing tamales. And the joke’s on who?

Three years ago, the Houston “ghetto vaquero” (whose name means “fuckloads of bling”) dubbed himself the “Tamale Kingpin.” Part comedian, part rap artist, and more than a little bit cultural spoof, he’s more comfortable wielding molcajetes than guns. On his pièce de résistance, 2004’s Tamale Kingpin, he brags bi-lingually about the affordability of his tacos (cheap), the strut of his rooster (Cleto), and the quality of his “Air botas” (his Nike-swoosh-embellished cowboy boots). He sells tinfoil-wrapped packages of husks from the trunk of his car; buy something via post from his label, Big Chile Enterprises, and it’ll come with a package of masa and his tamale recipe. On one of his newest mixtapes, Kingz of Spring Break (Hosted by Paul Wall), Chingo freestyles over 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop” beat, replacing the hook with a different kind of hustler’s anthem: “I’ll take you to the Taco Chop/Big chile is what I got/It’s cheaper than any spot/My tacos, they’ll make you fart.”

As for his Tex-Mex flow, let’s just say he won’t be battling Big Daddy Kane anytime soon. But the man has style: his nasal tenor underscores clever lyrics and sharp timing. On another recent mixtape, Undaground’s Most Wanted , a 37-track odyssey featuring Stunta the Tex-Mex Thugga, he relies less on punch lines, though he does flip Webbie’s “Gimme Dat” beat into “Gimme Dat Torta.”

As Chingo revises familiar rap themes in his Texican image, America gets browner by the day: Latinos in the US are now 40 million strong. And the music biz has been quick to accommodate this growing market. Most of the attention has been accorded reggaeton, with Puerto Rican stars like Tego Calderon and Daddy Yankee attaining Jay-Z levels of popularity. But among Mexican-American rappers — like his “cousin,” Houston hip-hop heartthrob Baby Bash — Chingo is something of a mascot. Outfitting himself as a caricature of an assimilating immigrant, he reaps a bonanza of signifiers: he’s a broadly painted embodiment of a cousin who just came over, an abuelita who sells tortillas off her front stoop, the slightly blustery ranchero who fuses hip-hop bling (diamond grilles, nice cars) with Mexican symbols of wealth (ostrich boots). By standing proudly on the border between cultural pride and stereotype, his carnivalized Spanglish targets a gray area between truth and consequences.

The young Latino community, with its voracious rap appetite, loves this. Chingo is reported to have sold 30,000 copies of Tamale Kingpin through his Web site. He’s been featured on MTV. And he has a killer cameo on a remix of Nelly’s inescapable “Grillz” in which he raps, “Me, I cross the border in order to get icey.” It’s true: born Pedro Herrera III in Houston, he earned a business degree from Trinity. He’s since branded himself using everything from coloring books to “Air Chingo” sweat towels to bobblehead dolls.

But subtext is everything with Chingo: poking fun at the gringo perception of Mexican culture is integral to his business plan. He’s built his mini-empire by dealing straight on with the crucial question of how to assimilate without losing your cultural identity. There’s a hunger to hear someone voice — even in Crayola — the very real economic viability of the tamale stand, the importance of the rooster as a symbol of male virility, the insistent presence of la migra (a/k/a the INS). And when Chingo freestyles on Underground’s Most Wanted, “It’s fucked up growing up in the barrio/They holding back the truth if they won’t let us on the radio,” the joker sounds almost melancholy.

Rick Ross: On The Real
By Amanda Diva

It is said that each year in the music industry is equivalent to three normal years. If that’s the case, then Rick Ross is way beyond a new artist – he’s a veteran. Most of the time, when neophytes drop records, the fans and the industry are typically interested in one thing: “is that person hot?” No one is really interested in their opinions or even their story until they produce a hit. Folks may not have been listening before, but now that his single “Hustlin’” is impacting radio stations across the nation, the masses have now begun to care about Rick Ross. On his music hustle for ten years, he’s been patient with his creep up out of Miami.

From being a consumer, to an MC with a hit single, the journey to the top has been a wild ride where he’s gained a wealth of knowledge and experience. Now that he’s got the people’s attention, Rick Ross has got a lot to say. The rapper even offers a few gems to drop on hustling, expectations from his album, Port of Miami, why the city of Miami is so dope, and not only what makes a man real, but also why he’s one of the realest.

AllHipHop.com: It’s safe to say you’ve been hustling before turning your focus to rhyming?

Rick Ross: Most definitely.

AllHipHop.com: How long would you say you’ve been committed to making your rap career pop off?

Rick Ross: I would say like 12 years. But seriously committed, I would say the last five.

AllHipHop.com: What made you make that decision?

Rick Ross: For me, once I really started seeing the reaction and the participation of the streets and their involvement is when I really saw how far this music could go. At first, when you’re writing those songs, you’re doing it for you homies in your class or the n***a you finna smoke a joint with. Then you may go to the studio, but you only playing it for a hand full of cats, ‘cause you know your s**t ain’t really all that – you just tryin’ to see what you could do. But it got to a point when n***as was comin’ up to me sayin, “What’s up boy. I heard that record you did. Damn boy. Where I could get that?” And I’m like, ‘Damn. Okay.’

AllHipHop.com: So you felt like the streets wanted you?

Rick Ross: I started seeing that the potential for growth was there. ‘Cause after you’ve been in the business-I was in the business for ten years and ain’t make a dime. When you spending money all that time [in the streets], that’s what I mean, when you in this [music] game it’s a real business. When you get in it you hustling. You doin’ whatever you gotta do to get your studio, your lil’ s**t, your CD’s, your t-shirts. You’re tryin’ to go and to the events and the clubs. You buyin’ the DJ a drink to get you a spin or two, and I did that over a decade. So you gotta understand the s**t I endured. You going to work everyday and making no money. The crowd ain’t rappin’ your songs but you gotta be a real n***a to keep going.

AllHipHop.com: So what do you think you bring to this game that isn’t here? Especially coming from the South there are a high number of artists coming out.

Rick Ross: I bring a little more class to the game [and] a little more game to the game.

AllHipHop.com: What exactly does that mean?

Rick Ross: You gotta be a little more detailed about [your hustle] sometimes, and that’s why I’m gonna be real detailed and personal with the project and the records I’m doing. I’m a put a little twist on that South thing.

AllHipHop.com: So you say you’re being a little more detailed? Do you feel like it’s your responsibility as an artist to tailor your lyrics or is it just whatever comes out comes out? If you like it, you like it, if you don’t, you don’t.

Rick Ross: I know for me it really represents communication from hood to hood. When I was consumer, I was just buying music. When I bought your record, your cassette, your CD or whatever, I bought it really to get an understanding of where you was from and what you were representing. That’s why it’s like once I got a bite of NWA and Eazy-E that opened up the markets for the other smaller groups like MC Eiht and Comptons Most Wanted and all those other kinds of artists. Because once you hear the lifestyle and intrigues and entertains you, you dig in deeper and for me and my homeboys, that’s what music was. It wasn’t just about he rapper. It was the fact that now about the culture in LA and never been there. I may never go there, but I know what’s happening. I know they got Bloods. I know they got Crips. I know they got the Slauson Swap Meet. I know they got Crenshaw. When Bone Thugs came out [it was] Cleveland, Ohio. You know what I’m saying? It’s like you recognizing the map and you’re kind of understanding what they expect. So when I make my music that’s what I do for Miami. I kinda of want them to know what to expect. I want them to know the lingo and the attitude.

AllHipHop.com: I did a panel on the radio and the topic was “Does all the references to hustling and drugs in music have an affect on folks choosing to involve themselves in that lifestyle” and they used your song “Hustlin” as an example. Do you think this music has enough of an influence to push people to do that? It influences people to buy sneakers, cars, etc. Can it influence folks in a negative way as well?

Rick Ross: I think the people that go out and buy sneakers and cars [because of this music] would do that with R&B too. But at the same time, you gotta understand how the hustling impacted our generation. All we’re doing is giving back what we received. It’s just an output of the early 80’s. There was a lot of hustling going on before this music. There’s always been hustling before rap.

AllHipHop.com: I mean the drug hustle specifically.

Rick Ross: Well drugs you know…who’s getting the drugs here? That’s who we need to be talking to. They say they have cameras that can see the date of a penny in Time Square, why can’t you stop the narcotics? That’s who we need to ask. There’s always gonna be hustling. As long as there’s poor kids living two blocks away from rich kids, there’s always gonna be hustling. You have the “haves” and the “have-nots”. There’s n***as with s**t and there’s dead broke n***as. You decide what you want to do. You decide where you wanna go and how you wanna do things.

AllHipHop.com: You’re a very intelligent, brother. What was the highest level of education you completed?

Rick Ross: Twelfth grade. I excelled.

AllHipHop.com: You know there’s a lot of folks out here sending the message “Why go to school when you get money being a rapper or a hustler?”

Rick Ross: Nah, you go to college and be a hustler, pimp. The best hustlers are college graduates. The people who run the world are hustlers. You always want to hustle. I don’t care what you’re doing. You always gotta have a hustle about yourself. You need that extra little support some time, pimp.

AllHipHop.com: So let’s talk about the South. You know people have the nerve to say Florida is not the South?

Rick Ross: Then what is it?

AllHipHop.com: They say its Disney and South Beach.

Rick Ross: That’s funny. I wouldn’t even address somebody that says that. But you know, Miami is a beautiful place. I mean if somebody wanted to look at it statistically of course Miami is more culturally diverse with the Hatians, the Cubans, the Dominicans…It’s a melting pot of all that, but it’s most definitely South.

AllHipHop.com: Tell me about the album. Is there any dream collaboration that you want to do?

Rick Ross: Well, I’m about to do a record with R. Kelly and that was a dream record that I really wanted to do. So that was a big one for me. We finna get ready to knock that out ASAP.

AllHipHop.com: So, what do you think is the biggest difference to being a part of a big machine like Def Jam as opposed to a smaller venture like Slip-N-Slide?

Rick Ross: Well you know, of course by Def Jam being a bigger machine, there are more outlets. There’s more resources [i.e.] the budgets, the funds, the vision, and everything is there so the biggest difference is having all the access to what I really need. For instance this is my first time being a part of a DVD for AllHipHop.com I ain’t get to do that with the other-you understand? So, you know, s**t gets better the higher you go and the further you go. It gets easier for you as an artist. When I was by myself I had to do a million and one things to cover [a small piece of] ground. Now with the machine I’m with, you make a phone call and it’s done.

AllHipHop.com: So you do like it better?

Rick Ross: Of course.

AllHipHop.com: Because a lot of artists that come up independent, once they become a part of the big machine they kind of feel like they’re a slave to a bigger entity where as before they were the ones callin the shots.

Rick Ross: Nah, you should always remain in charge of your music and your product but you just gotta let them do what they do. When you get the deal you gotta understand what kind of deal you’re closing, and what’s gonna be everybody’s responsibility. Once you know that and accept that once you sign that deal, you should just do what you need to do. You know what I’m sayin’? If you feel like if it ain’t for you, you should consider all of that before you get the deal.

AllHipHop.com: So now that you’ve got the machine behind you, what do fans need to know about Rick Ross?

Rick Ross: I’m gonna sell a lot of records. I’m set up to sell a lot of records.

AllHipHop.com: How?

Rick Ross: I just happen to be Rick Ross one of the realest n***as doing this s**t. I’m the crème de la crème of this new music s**t you know what I’m sayin? You finna see a lot of me.

AllHipHop.com: You said you’re one of the “realest” n***as. What makes a real n***a?

Rick Ross: There’s a lot of phony mothaf**kas, but you know I done been in the game man, for over 12 years, and I done survived a lot of the bulls**t. I’ve lost a lot of my homies and I’m still here persevering, representing for the cause and that’s till the casket rock. A lot of started out screamin’, “Karat City Cartel!” where I’m from, but I’m one of the last ones and by me taking it this far, you already know and we still here. S**t don’t change. That’s being real. [I’m] Still f**kin’ with the n***as [I] started with.

Source: AllHipHop.com