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7/19/2005 How have you been lately? Been running around, doing the mixtape thing. I'm about to start recording the album. The Militia has a lot of stuff coming out, that's my camp. The DVD's coming out soon. There's a whole lot of stuff we're doing. How's the new mixtape coming? The mixtape is coming out crazy. We weren't even going to put out a third "Apprentice," but me and my father spoke about it, and he said we have to put out the third one, probably by the end of this month. It should be out in August. What's up with the Militia? The militia is an unorganized army, that's why we call it the Militia. We're unorganized, but when it comes to handling our business, that's what we do. My homie Rain is from Fayetteville, North Carolina, and there's Germ. That's my camp, we're a group, but it's family at the same time. I've known Rain for a long time and we thought we needed to collab and make a group. They'll come out after me. How did you link up with Rain? He would always come to the Bronx for the summer because he has a lot of family in the Bronx. So every summer we'd battle and go at it. After awhile, we started doing songs together, and then we decided to make a group. What's up with your album? We got a lot of records recorded. We don't know what's gonna make what. We really don't know, but we got a lot of records. You've never made an album, what difficulties do you think you'll face putting this together? The only difficult part for me is living up to my street credibility from my mixtapes. To live up to that will be hard, because making an album is a lot different than freestyling over other people's beats. With the mixtapes you're just trying to prove you're nice, how is that different from making a song? The difference is exactly what you said. On the mixtapes, you just want to prove you're nice on the mic. When you make a song, you've got to make the sure is not for your pleasure, but for everybody's pleasure. You can spit on a beat and you and your mans think it's hot, and some people in the street might think it's hot, but when you make a song, it's for the fans. What do you like better? It's easier for me to write a freestyle. It takes time when you do a song, you have to sit there and think. With a freestyle, you can write whatever. It's not really your beat so you don't have to put thought into everything you say. All you have to do is make sure it's hotter than whoever's song it was. We heard that Jay-Z was taking you under his wing, can you speak on that? I had a meeting with Jay. After that, the rest is history. I'm over at Def Jam now. I've been running around recording like crazy, doing DVD's, mixtapes… So what happened with Universal and Casablanca? I left Universal. I'm still under Casablanca. A lot of people think I left Tommy (Mottola), but he's the one that brought me to Jay. We all sat and talked about it and we came up with an agreement. Why would Tommy bring you to Jay? I have no idea. The reason I think is because he thinks Jay will be able to handle me as a rap artist better than that label can. And then when I'm at a certain point in my career, he can take me to the top. But it would take somebody who's been rapping and doing this for years in the Hip Hop game first. Tommy had Mariah and a lot of different pop and R&B artists, so when you get to that certain point where it's time to hit TV, I'll be straight. But to get me to that point, I need Jay. Besides Jay and Tommy, you've got your father and Lord Tariq in your corner as well, how does that feel? It's excellent. Knowing that everyone around me is experienced is great. I have my father in my corner, he wouldn't steer me wrong. He's showing me the business, giving me pointers, I think I'll be straight. What's been good at being at Def Jam? The work. I'm starting to know a lot of the people here, it's fun. I'm inspired. I see the artists pictures on the wall, and I'm inspired to become one of those multi-platinum artists. And I wanna have LL's longevity. He started younger than me and he's still making hits. I have a lot of inspiration here. Smack got a lot of people talking, how did that come about? I was coming home from school one day, and Lord Tariq picked me up from school and told me he had to get me on this DVD, that it was imperative that I do it. I didn't think too much of it, I did the freestyle…I never thought it would be so big. People in England were calling me saying they knew who I was. For me, it was crazy to be on that stuff. That played the biggest part in me getting my buzz. Where does school fit in the picture now? I've been getting home-schooled at the moment. It's been kind of difficult. I do the work when I get the time. It comes in the picture though. Do you miss the high school experience? I do, and I never thought I'd see the day when I say I miss high school. I miss the environment, the friends…it was a fun experience. Now that I'm not there, it's kind of boring, it's kind of wack, but this is what I want to do. What were your first Hip Hop memories? I was always into the music. I'd be going to the studio with my father when I was little when other kids would want to run around or watch TV. I always wanted to watch my father record music when I was little. What made me really want to rap was seeing Tariq and my father on the TV. That was real big to me and that's one of the things that made me want to rap. Plus how can you complain when you get paid for doing something that you like. When did you start rapping? I've been rapping for years. I started writing my own stuff when I was 14. And you're 17 now? I just made 18 last month. How involved is your father in your career? He's there everyday. He makes sure I make the right decisions. His thing is, he can't tell me what to do, but he can tell me what not to do. If I do this, this is what will happen. That's his thing. I have to learn some things the hard way. That's how I have to learn. But he's there to make sure I make the right decisions. Grant Hill's father, who was a professional football player, wouldn't let Grant play football because of the pressure and injuries. Did your father ever not want you to rap? I'm not even gonna lie, at one point he didn't. He said it wasn't guaranteed. He said that he didn't want rap to be a career for me, but I think he realized it was what I wanted to do and he just had to respect it. Now, he's in my corner 100%. Looking at today's youth, a lot of kids don't have a strong fatherly influence how important is that for kids today? It's important. It's really, really important. It helps to know that he's there. It really does. How has Lord Tariq helped you? He's helped me a lot. Tariq, to me, is one of the best lyricists ever. He's really underrated. A lot of people don't pay attention to what he says. He's in my top-5. knowing Tariq has helped me a lot. What have been the most valuable lessons that they've taught you? It's a lot of them, I learn everyday. You just have to handle your business and don't ever mix your family in your business, and you don't have that many friends. I've seen that from them coming up. When they had the record out, everybody's cool and being there, but then nobody's there. You've got to learn that. Looking at today's young artists, they probably don't have the same appreciation and knowledge of Hip Hop Culture. Do you feel like you have a better understanding than these other kids out? I definitely do, because nobody knows the history of it and where it comes from. Anybody can get a record deal. Anybody can. If I wasn't Cory Gunz and I decided to started rapping anything I wanted to rap. "The cat hit the rat with the mat and then he sat on the bat" and the hook is catchy, I think I'm gonna have a hit record. That's just how the game is, it's so twisted now. What else separates you from every other rapper trying to come up right now? What separates me is that I'm more of a lyricist. That's my problem. I can try to make the most simple record, and it still wouldn't be catchy. That's my only problem. I'm just used to trying to prove myself so much that if I sit down and try to make a record, the verses will be tight but the hooks will be too complicated. That's what I'm learning, is how to make my hooks more simple. I think once I do that, I'll be unstoppable. You can't really categorize Cory Gunz into one style or flow, how important is versatility today? It's very important, because nobody will respect you. Like I said, everybody's getting deals so you never know. Hip Hop is so twisted right now, it's in a critical state. There's a lot of garbage. The people I see on BET are saying a lot of irrelevant things and rapping about it and getting a lot of play. I really don't like that. Hopefully, I'll be able to change that. Can you bring Hip Hop back to the Bronx? Definitely. I definitely do. What is the Bronx missing right now? We got Joe repping hard with the Terror Squad. We just need more. At one point, it was them, my pops and Tariq, Camp Lo…there were a lot of artists out there repping it hard. Right now it doesn't have that. Hopefully I'll be there. How would you describe yourself as an MC? I think I'm versatile. Very versatile. If you was to play me a song somebody did, I can freestyle and write it exactly how they did, no matter who it is. That's how I keep on top of my versatility game. That would be the only word I would say. Are people today ready for Cory Gunz? I mean, I hope they are. A lot of people won't accept me period, because of my age. But at the same time they have to respect that I'm not running around saying I killed a million people. I'm not running around claiming to be a gangster. If you listen to all my stuff, it's what I will do. I've never killed anybody, that's just being honest. But if you tempt me, that's what will happen. Anybody can do anything. A lot of people are not going to accept me, but they're just going to have to live with it. How much does your age handicap you? You look at how Bow Wow and Romeo fucked the game up… (Laughs) People are going to look at me and not really believe I've lived all of the things I write. It's gonna play a big part in me as an artist, so I don't know. I still have to do me. How much potential do you have that hasn't even been touched yet? A lot. To be honest, I'm my worst critic, and I don't feel that I've filled the shoes that I want to have filled yet. I'm not where I wanna be. As much as everyone says "you're nice," I don't believe it. I'm not even on my A-game yet. What's it going to take to continue growing as an MC? Inspiration. Different people coming out and me wanting to be in their spot. Every time someone new comes out and I think they're hot, that's where I want to be. So I have to do what I have to do to get there. How has your view of the rap game changed from when you first saw it to today? It changed a lot. It's ugly right now. If you listen to the things I listen to, it's a lot of garbage out. Anybody can get signed! Anybody! It's changed a lot. Before, it was more about being lyrical. Now, it's about people wanting to be catchy. You've got to have those easy, 1-2-3 records. But as far as a whole album, I can't do it. Is there going to be a Cory Gunz crossover record? Oh definitely. I'm not limited to doing one thing. I listen to all music. I'm a Nirvana fan. I was a big Nirvana fan growing up. I listen to everything…White Stripes, Maroon 5, R&B…but me coming out making a whole album of commercial records, I'd be cheating myself and going against everything that I rap for. It's not going to happen. What type of vibe do you want your album to have? I want to make a classic album. I'm not trying to compare, but "Illmatic," "Reasonable Doubt," "Ready to Die." I want to have my album put in that category as being one of the greatest albums of all time. I want to make music. A year from now, where do you want to be? I want to be in everybody's top-5. I want to be up there, no matter what number, that's my goal. Because I used to be upset when people would criticize, but I realized there are always going to be people who criticize certain things. I was on HipHopGame and I saw how people criticize Eminem and Jay. That made me realize I can't get upset if somebody doesn't like my music. I just have to keep doing what I'm doing. What do you want to say to all your fans out there? Thanks for the support. I'm going to keep hitting you with heat. Look for the album. We don't really have a title for it yet…and the "Apprentice Volume 3: Season Finale" is coming out, and the Militia DVD. I'm working hard, I'm not slacking a minute.

By Brian Kayser

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