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1/17/2006   Free Maiden, CEO of Free 4 All, Inc. (the label that Bump is signed to), sat in on this interview. How are you doing? I'm good. I can't complain. I'm working in the studio right now. Before we get into things, how do you feel about Twista and his car accident? I'm glad that he's doing all right and wasn't hurt. Let's get this out of the way because this is what everyone's checking for right now: what's going on with you and Twista today? Let me start off by saying I'm pro-Chicago. I'm with the whole Chicago movement. I want to do a tour with everyone from Chicago similar to what Jay did with all the cats from New York to really put Chicago on the map. I'm not with what's going on right now. Twista disrespected me so much and there was only so much I could take. I had Twista on my album. The man gets robbed and it's guys that I know that robbed him. I know the guys from seeing them around and out in the streets. Twista saw me talking to the guy one day and associated me with him to the police. That's where I draw the line at. When you try to get me fucked up with the police…He goes and tells the police that The Goon Squad robbed him. You know me! You know me! I got you on my album! C'mon man! I see you in the streets, well, barely, but I still see you, and it's always been love. We never disrespected him, period, but he goes and puts my name in the police's mouth. I think that led to the incident I had with Twista at The House of Blues. I'm friends with Jeezy. He had a show at The House of Blues. 30 of my guys walk right in, through the tunnel, with no problem. I'm doing a free show for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. We're not getting any money for this show. Twista was headlining that night. Twista and his people were in charge of the shit. I came in with 10 of my guys. He told me, well, no, he didn't tell me, his security told me that only I could come in with two of my guys. Three of the guys were supposed to be on rapping stage with me! There's also the subliminal stuff he says. I'm the "Chief of Chicago," but I guess other rappers don't like that. They're not going to say shit because they know a motherfucker's credibility. But they don't like that shit and they thought there was some shit that I wasn't going to find out about that I found out about. That says a lot right there. There was so much bullshit going on in Chicago. There was a lot of disrespect going on behind my back with some sneaky shit. There are a lot of subliminal things going on. Free Maiden ( CEO of Free 4 All, Inc.): Let me add something. This whole "Chief of Chicago" thing…when I first met Bump a few years ago, that's what he was saying and that's what people recognized him as. It's not really rap-related as to why he's known as "The Chief of Chicago." It's for a whole different set of reasons. It is what it is. Bump J: A motherfucker is mad! I don't even have a video or album out yet, but I'm out in the streets and people will recognize me before they recognize him. I'm out there with $300,000 of jewelry on and he can't go out with his jewelry on. I can go anywhere by myself because there are members of The Goon Squad all over. As far as "Send Him Off," I've had that record and it just leaked out. I was trying to hold back. Free stayed on me that it wasn't good for business to put out that record. Fuck that, it leaked out and it's out there. I'm not going any further with it. I was frustrated with the situation about the police coming to me and I had to do the record to get this off my chest. Free Maiden: I'm a businessman first. You've heard powerful members of the mob say, "War isn't good for business." This isn't really serious. Puff nailed it on the new B.I.G. album when he said, "Beef is B.I.G. not being here." What's going on between Bump and Twista is nothing. The Goon Squad's reputation definitely precedes them. I would hope that Bump never has beef or issues with another rapper. I hope it doesn't happen because of The Goon Squad and how they get down. That's one of the reasons why I prevented the record from really getting out, because I knew it would get ugly before it would get better. Bump's not the type of dude to do this for publicity and to go back-and-forth with another rapper. Bump is done with it and I would like to move on. Do you see things getting better between you and Twista? Bump J: I have a problem when you try to mess with my money. Confront me as a man before you confront the police. I don't have no more words for him. I'm not going to make another song. That's why I put it on the mic because I didn't want to do anything to him. That's not the route to go. Why did you guys want to take the song off of HipHopGame after it leaked? Bump J: That wasn't my decision. If it was up to me, it would stay up there. Free Maiden: At the end of the day, it's a situation that could get a lot worse. If there's anything I can do to prevent Bump from having beef with another artist, I'm going to prevent it because I know where it could go. Has Atlantic gotten involved at all? Free Maiden: I've had some conversations. At the end of the day, everybody wants to do what's best for business. If you have kids living under the same roof, you would prefer that they all get along. It's natural. Like Bump said, he's pro-Chicago. It would be in everybody's best interests if everything was good, but at the end of the day, shit happens. Was "Send Him Off" directed at anyone else? The first verse I was talking some shit to guys in the streets, but it was basically aimed at Twista. How's your debut album coming? Good. I just did two more songs with Kanye. Me and Scott Storch just did a new record. It's pretty much wrapped up. Kanye had said that you were the future of Chicago. Were you disappointed that you weren't on his album? Honestly, me and Kanye are two different artists. It really doesn't disappoint me. I spent New Year's with him. We're good friends. We're two different artists. I expected Lupe Fiasco to be on his album because his music vibes better with Kanye. I respect everything he does and we work well together, but we're different. What do you think "Nothing to Lose" will do to the game when it drops in April? It's going to make a lot of the fake-shit that's going on so see-through because the album is so pure. It's a versatile album. Listening to my mixtapes, people think I'm all about gun-clapping, drugs, and sex. With the album, you really get to look into my life and the other two million people out there like me. Free Maiden: Another thing about the album that's real good is that Bump is using his power for good. He could definitely misuse it, but that's not the case. Most kids out in the street, they don't want to listen to people they can't relate to. Malcolm X was so successful because he was able to relate to the people. To a lesser extent, Bump is like that. He goes to school and talks and does good things. Hopefully, the kids will listen to what Bump says and he can have an impact on kid's lives. "Move Around" was on a McDonald's commercial and Madden, how has that song helped your career? It broadened my audience a lot. I was in a casino in Vegas and an Asian guy ran up on me and said, "You're Bump J from 'Move Around.'" It definitely broadened my fan-base. How's your mixtape with DJ Drama coming? It'll be ready in stores in three days. It's called "Chicagorilla." It's all original tracks. Usually on my mixtapes, I put a few freestyles on it, but this one is all original tracks. I have another mixtape coming out after that with local DJ's V-Dub and Ferris Thomas. And after that I'm doing one with Whoo-Kid. What made you want to work with DJ Drama? I have a relationship with Drama. I used to be in Atlanta heavy. I'm good friends with Jeezy's family. This was before Jeezy even took off. Free introduced me to Drama later. How did you assemble The Goon Squad and what do you stand for? The Goon Squad stands for change. It's a bunch of goons that's in it. I took a lot of people out of the streets. I realized that the street life leads nowhere. Right now, there are no successful drug dealers or murderers. The laws are so strict. I just wanted all my peoples that were eating like I was at the time to be good. It started about 40-deep, and people started realizing that they can eat this way, so we ended up growing to be 500-strong. It's like a big-ass treaty. People put down the guns and drugs and stopped breaking heads. You can now have people in the room together that could never before be in a room together. How has that helped your music career? It's a promotional tool. I have people all over the city. Anything I need help with to help my movement, they did. That's how I got the huge deal that I got. There was a huge bidding war for me. There were 10 labels bidding on me. In a song with Eminem, Trick Trick says that he's head of The Goon Squad. Is that the same movement that you're a part of? No. We actually had a talk before about doing a song together. That's two different movements. I was on a radio station in Detroit and they said they have a Goon Squad up there. There's also a Goon Squad out West that I communicate with. We're all different movements. Have you had to shut down a lot of gang-related rumors about The Goon Squad? Free Maiden: I think a lot of the authorities should really be more accepting of what he's doing. People like Farrakhan and Elijah Muhammad, who both came from Chicago, weren't able to establish a gang truce, which Bump has done. It's unfair that you get scrutiny from the authorities. If Bump didn't assemble The Goon Squad, the crime rate would be a lot higher in Chicago. What part of Chicago Hip Hop do you represent? I represent the people who grew up in the struggle, the same struggle that I grew up in, meaning the streets. Chicago is an organized city. It's either you're in the streets or you're not. There's no voice in-between. There's Common and Twista, but I represent the streets. First, we were known for Twista and Do or Die. Then there was Common, and now there's me. That's versatility. I don't think we're known for just one sound. Common and Twista are just two sounds. I'm just one sound. There are a million other sounds out there right now. What's your Hip Hop career plan? I definitely don't want to be just an artist. I want to venture into anything I feel I can do successfully that involves my name, meaning clothing lines or movies, and definitely an executive position. Free Maiden: A movement like The Goon Squad only comes along once in a blue moon. It's not common to get 500 wild goons down for one cause. There's a lot of talent in this movement. What can you tell us about Sly Polaroid? Sly Polaroid is a banshee! That's what I can say. He's got such a sense of humor, but he's so real. He'll definitely have you laughing through his raps. He can talk about shooting you, but the way he talks about it will have you laughing. How do you decide who to do business with? A lot of the people I do business with, I'm friends with them first. I was friends with Free way before we did any business. What advice do you have for up-and-coming MC's? People always think they're going to get the money right off the top. I just gave my product away until I could get some money for it. I might have spent $5,000 on CD's and I'm passing them all out. Then I got my buzz up to where I could sell them. I did a lot of free shows too. Free promotion is the best promotion you can have when you're trying to get your name up. Do you feel that with what you've built with The Goon Squad that you don't have to go outside the family for help? Yeah. It's easier too. I was supposed to have Jeezy on my album, but it's taking four months to get his verse. Free Maiden: This movement is self-contained. Look at Biggie when he first came out and how Cash Money was. It was the same thing with 50 Cent. A lot of big movements have been self-contained. What do you want to say to everyone out there? Go get the album. I'm working hard. I'm giving y'all a bunch of free shit this month. The "Gangsta Grillz," the Whoo-Kid mixtape, and the "Three Kingz" mixtape.

By Brian Kayser

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