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8/14/2007 What’s up?  I’m good, man. I’m just working hard, man. I’m in the studio cooking up that album so that we can get ready to break the single and shop it.  Right now you’re known as a battle MC for what you’ve done at Fight Klub and on 106 and Park. Is that a good thing?    To me, I look at it as a good thing because that fucking stereotype is so crazy, how battle rappers can’t make songs. But I know how to work under pressure. They call me Crunchtime Oun in the Clutch. When it’s time to say something like that, I smack them with 50 bangers and I hit them like that. When I play my joints for people, their whole face changes. I played some songs for Rockwilder and the songs were so crazy that they made him throw his phone against the wall and break it after three songs.   What was it like coming up through Fight Klub?  That was crazy. I was at the first Fight Klub. I aired two cats out in the first day. I came in there with nothing and I left with $1500. I killed a lot of people. O-Solo, on TVT Records, I bodied him. That’s how I got my name up. I was 15 – 0. Shout out to International P and Executive Nick.  You were also retired on 106 and Park. What did that mean to you?  That was a great look for me. Fight Klub got me known in the streets, but 106 and Park has a lot of viewers and that got me a ton of friends on MySpace. People know me everywhere. I went to the BET Awards and they showed me mad love. I walked down the red carpet with Trina from College Hill, the Virginia State season. We walked down the red carpet together. It was real crazy, the BET Hip-Hop Awards.  Will you still battle today?  I really left the battling thing alone because I don’t want to stay in a shell. So I’m just making these songs so that people can really recognize what it is. Recently I heard that I’m supposed to battle some dude named Iron Solomon for $10,000. HipHopGame, hopefully you can see what I do to him.  You and Shells had your problems in the past. What exactly happened between you two?   Me and Shells has a personal beef through records in the street. It got escalated but we dealt with it like men. A lot of people say I’m responsible for ending his career. But I don’t take it like that. After I did what I did to him, he’s not around no more.  He was on the radio on Hot97. He said a little freestyle about how he has “guns you can hear from here to Jackson.” That’s my projects. I took offense at that. So after I heard that, I dropped a bomb on him and a year later, he responded because he was hot and I was a nobody. He was like, ‘Why respond to this nigga?’ because he had that deal at J Records. He came back at me a year later and I’m not going to lie, his shit was all right, but now, you don’t hear nothing from him anymore.  You’ve also had your issues with JR Writer. What’s going on with you guys?   He did some real funny shit. My brother used to do beats for them. My brother is Ty Trackz. He did “Harlem Streets” for them. JR came to us for a beat. Ty said, “I’m going to let you get a beat, just get on a track with Oun.” I laid my verse down in the studio before he got there with Jae Millz. He heard my verse and he said he was going to do his verse in his studio. A couple of weeks passed and Ty was like, ‘What’s up?’ If JR Writer is doing a track with a nobody, he’ll lay the track down right there and get it done. He took it home to write to it and I look at that as some real scared shit. He never laid the track down and it’s whatever. He never laid his verse down and I lost respect for him after that.  Could he have just been busy?    He’s not that busy. He’s not eating like that. That was when I didn’t have a name. Now everybody comes to me for a feature. With the type of nigga that I am, I’ll probably still do the track if he came to me today.  Your brother, Ty Trackz, produces for you. How important is he to your career?   It’s been crazy because he’s the one that keeps me on my grind. He feeds me beats like crazy. It’s different when you have to run around for beats versus when can wake up with beats. Ty’s working a lot and Ty’s crazy with it. You can check out HipHopGame to hear more from Ty Trackz.   What’s it like working with your brother?    It’s crazy. Anybody that comes to the studio thinks it’s crazy. Sometimes he’ll make a hook for the beat and sometimes I will. It’s all good because I don’t have to run around asking people for beats. Me and Ty’s chemistry is real crazy.  You also worked with Ron Browz. What was that like?    My man Pesos hooked me up with him. We got a little session and we sat down and listened to beats and we did “Step Up” and then 50 came out with the same sample. That kind of deaded my shit so I just got on 50’s beat and I did what I do. I got on 50’s beat and that’s all that is.  Ron Browz has accomplished a lot and you’re an unsigned dude. How do you make collaborations like that happen?    My A&R, Pesos, is really holding it down. He’ll set up meetings and play tracks so that they know we’re official and that we’re not no trash-ass niggas from the streets. It’s the same with Vinny Idol and everyone else that I work with.  How’s your debut album coming?    I’m working on that right now. I’m already 60 songs in, but I’m just going about getting more big-name producers. Ty Trackz isn’t really out there like Rockwilder and everybody else, so I’m just working with the big-name producers because they show me love and they feel my flow is hip-hop. My album, A Breath of Fresh Air, is coming. I’ll definitely let you know about that when it comes.  How are you looking to put out A Breath of Fresh Air?  All of the labels are already on me. They’re like, ‘This is the hottest dude in NYC and he could be one of the hottest dudes everywhere.’ They’re looking at BDS spins and all that because they’re under a lot of pressure. Shout out to my dude Sickamore. Once he sends my album to the executives up there, it should be all good. Shout out to everyone holding me down and to Kay Slay for holding me down. I went up to the Drama Hour and rapped for five minutes straight. The streets were loving that.   What do you have to do to succeed today?    The game has just changed. Shit is so crazy. On some real shit, a lot of the game has to do with money. If you have the right backing to push your project, you’ll be all right. A lot of people are with payola in the game. A lot of people want that gwop to push your record. That’s how a lot of these wack songs come out. I’m not hating on them, but that’s how a lot of these songs are coming out. Once I come out, all of that is going to end.   What’s the next move for Oun-P?  The next move is just to finish up the album and push the single. Right now we have a single that’s going crazy and I already got an endorsement offer from T-Mobile. It’s called “Just Text Me.” It’s not really in my lane, but music is like a job. You do the hard shit and you’re in the street and you wear baggy shit, but the game is your job and you have to throw your suit and tie on and do your job. I did “Just Text Me” to get the fans and the kids into it. Then once that breaks, I can get back in my hoody and Timbs and do what I want. That’s what it is.  What do you want to say to everybody?    Good looking out to all of the fans for looking out for your boy. It’s been a long time and I’m trying to get my album done. You can expect the mixtape. That should be out in the end of summer or the beginning of fall. Shout out to the whole BX. The BX is the mother of hip-hop, baby, and hip-hop raised me, baby. Holler at your boy, man. And keep your ears open.  http://myspace.com/ounp1523

By Brian Kayser

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