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10/10/2005 How have you been lately? I'm feeling good, just feels good to still be in the game, "Block Movement" is your sixth album, how do you feel about the way it came out? I'm pretty satisfied with it. I've tried to make this a well-rounded album. I feel that music is universal and that I've been in the game long enough where I can start reaching out now. I gave my loyal fans that Bay Mob music. They know where I'm coming from. I'm also trying to mature with my music too. How do you stay fresh being that you've been in the game so long? Basically just being on top of my P's and Q's. I've stay in the clubs, all the major events, and I'm glued to the block. The music that I talk about stays current because it's what I'm really experiencing right now. How long did it take you to record "Block Movement" The "Block Movement" album could have been done a long time ago. I have two or three albums that are done, but I don't like to name another album until I know one is coming out first. As the C.E.O. of my company, you have to make sure that your business is straight. It takes time to switch labels. Being an O.G. in the game, I've seen how it goes down. I like to sit back and watch the sidelines and see how the Bay can develop a new scene and get back in it. Radio DJ's are back behind the music, people are coming back., and there's a lot of artists coming out right now. How was it working with Rick Rock on "Block Movement?" Rick Rock is a genius. We could have done more if time allowed it, but we were in crunch time. He beat-boxes first, he'll make a beat with his mouth first and then he'll turn it into a song, it's amazing. You wouldn't even believe it unless you saw it. Just watching him develop…I remember when he came from Alabama with his drum machine and to see where he is now, it's a real story in itself of hard work and determination and staying true to his music. He's on top of his game now and I'm happy to be a part of that movement. What advantage do you have on the kids just coming up now? I've seen the game before and I don't get biased about the music. That works for some people, but not everybody. I'm everywhere, and I ask questions about what do you want to hear. I go with different ideas and I'm not afraid to do it. I do me and the Bay area, and I can do that on a South track or a crazy outrageous track. Trying different things is what makes your albums different. When all your albums sound alike, that's when you fall off because your fans have heard it all before. You have to change something. I've seen Jay-Z do it, where he'll rip a Timbaland track and get nothing but love in the South for it. What did you want to make by collaborating with artists like Jadakiss, Styles, and Paul Wall? I wanted a more universal sound and to show that we can all get along. Music is our common denominator. I see Jadakiss and them all the time every time I go out to the Source Awards or the All-Star Game. We had always talked about doing a collab, but we never did. And for those guys, it's important for them to have presence in the Bay Area too, and they want to come out and know what it's like out here. All artists are trying to get that plaque and stay on top of their game, and Jada wanted to get out in the Bay Area and do his thing, and who better to work with than me? We hooked it up and it turned out hot. It don't have to be a West Coast or East Coast thing, it's a music thing. Music is universal and I'm trying to break down the walls where we don't have to fit certain stereotypes. That's what it's all about, breaking the barriers. What made you want to go with Fontana Records with this release? It was a new situation for me. I've tried a couple of different situations. Jive put me on hold, they were turning into a pop label at the time. I went to Koch Records for two albums but I couldn't get my career where I wanted it to go with them. I may be on a smaller level now with Fontana but I can build a bigger pyramid here and have creative control and I'm thinking it can be a good situation? Do you want to bring in more artists? Exactly. That's why I started the Block Movement imprint. I want to be able to develop artists and bring in artists. I'll do my 1-2 thing as well as sign artists and do distribution. I got the power and freedom to do that over there. I'm running my own program and that feels good. That's the whole purpose of me going with Fontana? How do you feel about the way West Coast radio treats artists from the West Coast? When I first came out, it wasn't possible to hear West Coast being played on West Coast radio. Now, you have an over-abundance of West Coast artists, which is cool. Everything is cool and lovely. There was a time when they would only play your music if your sales were high. Now, there's a division between Northern California and Southern California. Northern California won't play Southern California and Southern California won't play Northern California. It's crazy man with all these beefs. How have you seen the West Coast change throughout your career? West Coast has always been gangsta music. You have rappers like C-Bo, 2Pac…and all that is cool until it hit home. After 2Pac and Biggie, they wanted love music. I consider my music real with no sugar-coating. Now that 50 Cent came back, he squashed all that love shit and its back to being gangsta. It's crazy. There's so many different ways to classify music. I think right now, in the Bay Area, we're on the Hyphy tip. That's how we do it with the doors open, hanging out the windows, having fun. It just has different phases. How do you feel about the Hyphy movement? It's cool. I support it. I've been on the sidelines the last two and a-half years, and I supported it. But I'm looking at the sales and the sales aren't matching up with the hype. How can we take it to another level? I'm addressing the fans. If you like the music, you have to get out there and buy it and support it because these artists are not making the music for free and it takes money to make a new album. That's why I keep my sound universal. You can't keep all your peas in one pot, and that pot overflows, then it's no good. If you spread it out, some might blow and some won't. you can't be one-dimensional. Where do you see music in the Bay going? I think you're going to see two different things happen in the Bay. We've got the underground Hip Hop going on out here. There's Zion I, I really like their music. It reminds me of Q-Tip. There's cats like Casual from Hieroglyphics. I went to his release party the other day. There's the Hyphy and gangsta music too. Rap music is in full effect out here. There's all different forms. I stay on the internet in the forums seeing what they're talking about and what they want to hear. There's cats really rooting for the home team, and that's why I do it. It seems like a lot of Bay Area artists have to go independent. Do you feel like labels don't know how to market them? Yeah. I don't know if they're scared. Even though we have a big influence on the whole Hip Hop community, from the pooping of the collars to the lingo like "fo' sheezy my neezy," they never elect us to be up there. It's like they like what we're doing, but they don't want to get us our platinum plaque. I don't know why it's like that. It's crazy. We have the biggest influence on the whole industry but they can't give us our props all the way. I don't know if it's because we're from the Bay Area. I've also seen how tours come through here and do a show in San Jose but they won't stop in San Francisco or Oakland. That's what they won't do. I don't know, are we the most feared? I don't know what's going on. Looking back, what does it mean to you today to be featured on 2Pac's "All Eyez On Me?" He would let you know that if you didn't make the "All Eyez On Me" album, then you weren't a part of what he was trying to do. Everyone on there was who he felt was down with him. A lot of people went out there and made money off of him, but they weren't close to him like we were. It's a beautiful situation. It was on the love. I heard that you have songs in the stash with 2Pac as well… I have other songs with 2Pac, but you'll never hear them because I don't want to capitalize off his death because we were real friends. If you look at the old documentaries, you'll see me, Richie Rich. We were really close. Everyone out there is acting like they're down with him but they never knew him. Do all these virtual collabs with 2Pac need to stop? Yeah. That's a whole lot of fake stuff thanks to Pro Tools. People are doing that just to make money and I don't think that's right. Those people that did that really made me not want to put out my songs with 2Pac. There's no real love there in those songs. Do you think the Bay can be the next city to blow like Atlanta or Houston? I strongly believe it will be. I think the Bay is in line to do it again and it's time for history to repeat itself, and I'm going to be a part of that movement. I was one of the first ones to start it off, and it's going to be our turn real soon. What's up with the "Dolla Danglin'" album with E-40 that's supposed to come out? That's going to come out. When E-40 was on Jive he couldn't do it just like he couldn't do the Too Short album. Now that he's on BME, it's all gravy. We also have a Clique reunion album, look for that in the Summer of 2006. We're going to make it happen man. We're going to give those people that support us what they want. What's up with your Purple House mixtape? That's coming out probably in early November. Rick Lee hosted it, and its official. I got some old stuff on there, some new stuff, freestyles, everything. It's beautiful. I'm really loving that, it's in my car now. What do you want to say to all your fans out there? I want to tell them first, thank you for the support from day one. I'm listening, whatever you need me to do. I'm tuned into BlockMovement.com, drop me a line and I'll get back to you. Let's keep it moving, it's very important that we support each other if we want to keep this movement going.

By Brian Kayser

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