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6/19/2006 What's up? I'm good, man. We're on this Mobb Deep Blood Money tour. How's the tour going? It's going good. Of course the Mobb has a core fan-base and my fan-base is kind of different from theirs, but I'm getting a good response and it's showing me people know who I am. It's a good tour for me. How do people like your debut album Cash on Delivery so far? I'm getting the response that people really fuck with it because it's some real rap shit. I'm not fronting on you. I'm not giving you the bullshit. I'm giving you the hood and real talk. I think people will be happy someone is being honest with them. Are you happy with how the album came out? Yeah, I'm happy with the way it came out. Sony's the machine. Of course I would love to do it without any help from anybody, but for it to be my first album, I'm happy with it. It's me. Me and my man A&R'd most of the album. I went to the first three sessions to record for the album in New York which was a year and a half ago, and everything else was done in Cleveland in our room with a mic in it where everyone else has to shut the fuck up so you can record. I got Bun-B, Beanie Sigel, and Scarface. I got production from Rick Rock, Cooley C, Chad West, the Kick Drumz out of Cleveland…I didn't really want a lot of the big-name producers because you can get overshadowed. I wanted the appearances to be on the same level as me where it's mutual. I wanted it to be somebody I respect. I knew with Scarface, Beanie Sigel, and Bun-B, I would have to go hard. Coming up, none of my people rapped, so they were my competition, so to rap with them was a pleasure. How do you get Beans and Scarface down with you? The name of my company is Real Recognize Real. I do my best to keep it moving and I think they see that in me. I think that's why a lot of the OG's fuck with me. I was taught to pay homage to the older niggas who really did it the way they were supposed to do it. That's how I treat it and they give me the same respect back. They give me advice and they help me move forward. One hand washes the other. It's all about karma and I don't think a lot of people who do this rap understand karma. Have you paid your dues? I'm still grinding. I'm a humble dude, man. People look at you being on TV and they think it's a whole 'nother world. When people see me, they react kind of crazy. I'm a humble dude and I know I'm nowhere near where I need to be. It's good to be in this position here, but it's not where I want to be five years from now. By the time my first album was done, I was already working on my second album. What kind of record do you have to make in 2006 for it to be successful? You really have to do you. I don't know how a lot of artists are, but I do me. Either you respect it or you don't. If you don't like it, that's fine. This music is therapy for me. I can get on the mic, say whatever I want to say, and I get it off my chest. People like my swag but I'm nowhere where I want to be. I'm still perfecting my craft. This is the set-up and you have to make sure you have the right set-up. This is just the beginning for me. Are the people ready for Ray Cash? I think certain people are because I think they miss actual lyricism and actual stories. I came up on Nas but my swag is different. I think they're ready for it. My first single was in the streets real heavy last summer and I came back this year with 'Face and people can see that I can rap. My single now is different from my first one, but I'm still getting it in. If you can mix lyrics with swag, you can win. If these people on the radio can win with their bullshit, I can win. How was it working with Scarface on "Bumpin' My Music"? It was an honor for me. I did the song before he heard it. He heard it and wanted to do it on the strength of what I was doing. He saw how I wanted to pay homage. This is what I came up listening to. He liked it and he wanted to pay homage to the people he grew up on. For him to get on the song was classic, but for him to get in the video with me was even bigger. He's a good dude. He's a real good dude. We fuck with each other heavy. It must have been dope working with Rick Rock. Yeah. It was crazy because before I wrote the song, I already had the hook and everything, "You can hear my speakers go boom, boom, boom." Two weeks later, that beat was there. Rick must have known what I wanted. It was a match made in heaven. People don't realize how heavy Rick Rock is. He's a Bay Area legend. He's playing a big part in the Hyphy movement. You have to respect Rick Rock. How's your Apphiliates-hosted mixtape going? It's going real well. I also did one with Joey Fingaz from Cleveland. We got a good response off that. It got out there a lot further than we thought it would. I'm talking to a couple other DJ's who want to do mixtapes. You're going to be hearing a lot from me. How's the hip-hop scene in Cleveland? Anything relating to hip-hop doesn't seem too special unless it comes from New York. It's a little bit harder out here because people look to see who's popping on a national level but they never check for Cleveland artists. We fucked with Mike Jones two years before he blew up. Artists like that come to Cleveland and get mad love. There's a movement going on with us. We're building our own mixtapes and we have to keep knocking down these doors so the kids can get inside. I fuck with all the DJ's in the city and they fuck with me. We need each other. They said artists who came before me were wack, but they couldn't say that about me. Now they're more likely to listen to the kids after me because there's something to compare it to now. Is it ever frustrating that Ohio is mainly known for the legendary Bone Thugs as well as Bow Wow? No. It doesn't bother me. I knew coming into the game that's how it would be because that's all we had. If I played basketball, they would compare me to Lebron. How did you first get into the game? Just by bullshitting with it. I never really wanted to do it. I'm kind of a private dude. It's weird being in this business. I was basically doing nothing. I graduated high school and played ball. I started doing what everyone else was doing. You either got a job, went to school, or hustled. I hustled. My man wanted me to try this rap shit. He said I was nice. He was from Harlem. He would call me to see if I had anything new. I must have been doing something right. We were like, "Fuck it, let's try it." I was in the right at the right time. How did the Sony deal come about? We have our company Real Recognize Real. Hip-Hop from Atlantic was with my partner and they were chilling. We gave him our music and he felt it. We met Kevin Woo and a few months later, we got a deal. Thank you to my nigga Hip-Hop. Kevin and Shaleeq have really put the work in to make it happen. Are you happy with how things are going at Sony? You're trying to start controversy! (laughs) It's a record label. I'm blessed to get the opportunity but Sony isn't really known for hip-hop, so we really have to do a lot of grinding ourselves. It can get a little frustrating at times. It's like a game. The only thing I don't like is there's a lot of politics and a lot of snakes in the grass. You'd be surprised what people do just to get their shit off. The game is kind of fucked up, but I'm comfortable and nobody can make me do anything I don't want to do. I'm a man first before I'm an artist. As long as they respect me, I'm good. Let's get this money. What's your next move? I'm making sure they hear the music. I'm already ten songs into the second album. I'm on my grind. I'm staying on the road constantly. I just had a baby girl and I need to make sure she can eat. I'm staying on the road and in the clubs so people know. I'm going everywhere just putting the grind in. I'm not going to stop until it pays off. What do you want to say to everyone? Your boy Ray Cash from Cleveland is not a fluke. There is a movement going on and the name of the movement is Real Recognize Real. Watch your feet because we're coming through. We're dropping June 27. Fuck with us. Real niggas understand it.

By Brian Kayser

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