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12/19/2005 How are you doing? I'm doing good man. I've been working hard, I got the album in stores right now. What did you want to give people with your album "Who Do U Think U R?" That raw shit. The raw. A little bit of everything in Hip Hop. I wanted to give them all the elements of an MC. I wanted to give them street joints, story joints, some conscious joints, some lady joints. The album is full of every element of being an MC. You've got a lot of big-name guests on there, how did you get them? I just used my resources. I just figured who I could do records with. It wasn't really hard. How was it working with Fat Joe? It was cool. It was a learning experience. Joe definitely has a lot of years in the game and is very successful. It was definitely a good vibe. How was your experience working with Scott Storch? It was good. The track came through my man out in L.A. There was only three tracks on this CD, and the last one had the vibe that I wanted. It fit the vibe of a song I wanted to do called "Almost Died," because I've had so many near-death experiences. How important was it for you to get Rah Digga on the album? Very important! Jersey representer! I tell people, Rah Digga is not a female MC, she's an MC. It was a pleasure to get her on there. We did a banger on there. Everybody's going to be hearing a lot of that very soon. It's a great record. You've got a crazy history going back to DMX. How did you first get up with X? We met in Miami. There was a big, big battle, and it ended with me and one other dude. It was crazy, I was signing autographs and all that. I got down with the Ruff Ryders and they gave me some light working on some different projects. What'd you learn working with X? I learned not to stab your people in the back and I learned how an artist works with other artists. I learned how competitive the game is and you see how a lot of bullshit starts within the camps. I think the biggest lesson I learned was how to shine with someone. That definitely didn't work out in our case. Are you on good terms with DMX today? No. Not at all. Basically, at that point and time, and probably still, X is a selfish individual when it comes to shine. The game is very competitive and competition breeds hatred, even within camps. That's a prime example of it. The bottom line is that I can't sit and watch people around me make $20 million and I can't even make $2 million. If you can't help me, at least don't try to hurt me. When you try to hurt me at the same time as not helping me, it makes me want to attack. I did a joint called "Venting" to get it off my chest. The bottom line is, when you have a problem knowing that somebody is basically trying to hold you back, you've got to retaliate. It's not about me being mad or upset, it's about me being stopped from trying to feed my peoples. Do you feel you got blackballed? Nah. I didn't really feel blackballed. The worst kind of hate is the hate you can't see. As far as I'm concerned, a new artist is always being blackballed. If anyone is blackballing me out there, I say, "Fuck y'all!" You were signed to Universal for awhile. How come your album never came out? There were a lot of factors. Universal was a new label at that time. I had the album done and everyone had said it was a killer album, and it sat. At that time, Universal was dropping every artist they had. It was crazy. Part of being in this game is staying sharp and being able to shake and move. What made you want to go over to Warner and how's that working out for you? It's working out good. Every road has its bumps but it's moving along well. I'm in control. I don't want to be slowed down. I know the business very well. I'm not the average, dumb artist. You know how the game makes you pretend to be dumb, but you can only do that if you're half-smart. Just give me my budget and let me move how I move. What are your plans now for your next release? It's going to be crazy. We're going to keep it coming. The future looks good. Me and my team are self-motivated machines. We're going to just keep going and staying consistent, whether the project does 30,000 or 3.2 million. It's all stepping stones and it's all progress, and we're all just steadily progressing. At this time in the industry, do you think it's a good time to be coming from Jersey? It's always a great time to be coming from Jersey. Jersey has a bunch of talented, talented people. The struggle represents itself. Economically, Jersey is one of the hardest places to live in the country. A lot of great things come out of the struggle. New York is definitely a hard place to do your thing, but the fast-pace up there makes it much easier to open doors and make money. Jersey isn't as fast-paced. You got Akon, the Fugees, Redman…it's real crazy over here. How do you live up to your name? My name represents me. It's how I am on the tracks. I'm a loose cannon. A loose cannon is unpredictable, unrestricted, and unrestrained, so watch out. What should we be looking for next? Right now, I just urge everybody to get that album. A lot of times I tell people that I wish it wasn't me. People say, "Why?" and I say, "Because when I tell you how great the album is, you expect to hear that, coming from me. I want you to hear it from someone else." I call my music "crack music," because it only takes you hearing it one time. That's all you need. It's funny because when people get the album, everybody has a different favorite track. That's what I love. The variety is crazy. From "That's Me" to "Take it Off" to "Who Do U Think U R" to the next smash-single "No More Mr. Nice Guy," to the Rah Digga joint, "Two-Step." It's crazy. It's just a pleasure to hear people have positive comments for the album. That's why I'm doing all of these shows in New York. You don't have to have ever heard me before to love what I'm doing. What do you want to say to everyone out there? Everybody out there, go get that album. I am a fan of Hip Hop, I have been a fan of Hip Hop and the whole culture all my life. The music in the culture is older than me, but I have heard damn-near every Hip Hop record that's ever came out. That's a fan, and you can hear that in the album. I'm telling you to get that album. You will not be disappointed. For more info, check out www.myspace.com/65records

By Brian Kayser

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