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12/12/2005 How are you doing? Oh man, I’m good. I’m excellent. I’m happy to be alive. It’s been a minute since we spoke. How have you been? Everything’s been good. I’m just putting myself in a position to win. I’m hitting the streets, I’m hitting the country, and I’m getting everybody to hear me. Even if people can’t afford a CD, I just give it to them. I just want to be heard. It sounds like you had a lot of fun recording your new tape, “Cross Country Part 2.” Yeha, it was real fun. It’s a new thing now. You have to know how to adapt. My new motto is “adapt or die.” If you can’t adapt to other territories, you’re going to fail. You can’t go to a weed spot in Virginia and ask for a “20,” but they call it “dubs.” I’ve learned how to adapt. I’ve been so many places and I bring that out. How important is it to be able to rock over beats from any region? That’s extremely important. I’m from the Northeast Bronx, and “New York rappers” are expected to have a certain sound. These kids now, in their CD-changers, will have a Snoop, Jay, Nelly, Lil’ Flip…they like all those people. That’s who they grew up on. I’m a New York rapper, but I’ve got to come on some shit where they can listen to my shit. There’s no difference to them. That’s why it’s so important to show that versatility. A lot of people say that the problem in New York is not sticking to the traditional style. What do you say to that? I say it’s not 1989 now. We’re going into 2006. You can sit back and say, “Remember what this was like, it was better then…” Remember when Geto Boys came out? I didn’t know where they were from. “Mind Playing Tricks on Me” sounded like an East Coast sound because we were running it back then. In order for me to get heard by a kid in the South that only listens to a T.I. or Lil’ Scrappy, for them to understand and listen to me, I have to have something on there that he likes and that he can listen to in his car that has the same thump as what he likes. That’s why I do that. I know how important that is. What’s up with the Northeast Wildcats these days? We’re working on stuff simultaneously. I’m getting myself popping. Everybody in the group is busy in their own right. We’re all getting ready to get in a position to win. We’re crazy. That’s all I can say about it for now. We’re dropping a new mixtape first quarter. Are you still working with Charlemagne today? Yeah. Me and Charlemagne are real good friends. He’s a real busy guy. We haven’t been able to sit down and really grind it out, but he’s showed me so much support. He’s the one that showed me how to record. He’s showed me so much support back from the L-Swift days. That’s my man forever. I work with Twinz from Thundertrax, Joey Bravo…I’m also expressing myself on that level too so there’s some other things coming. Are you still working with Scram Jones today? Yeah. We were just in L.A. for the Vibe Awards. He’s showed me a lot of support. I first met him when he was a rapper. I didn’t know him as a producer. He’s getting to a nice point now. He’s seen me go through my changes. We’re getting real comfortable with our formula now. Any chance for a Natural Elements reunion in 2006? Right now, A-Butta has a group called “Bulletproof Junkies.” They do rock-and-roll. The band is Japanese and A’s the lead singer. He’s got some dope stuff. I just saw a show with him a couple of weeks ago. We’re just doing us right now. We’re still cool. I don’t know what Voo (Mr. Voodoo) is doing right now. Me and A talk every day. I just have to follow through with this Swigga thing. God put me to do this, what I’m doing, right now, and I can’t sidetrack myself in any way. Will you guys come together sometime? Definitely. There’s going to be a few albums coming. Natural Elements made their mark on shows like Stretch and Bobbito. It seems like there’s not a lot of outlets like that today… I don’t blame that on anybody. When we were doing it, we would go up to the show, and Redman or Nas would be there. There was a mixture of up-and-coming artists and artists that were already on. Now, college radio will play a hot record, but if it gets on Hot97 or anything commercial, they stop playing the record. Now, they separate it so much so the listener has to separate it. You should be able to hear 50 Cent, Mr. Complex, and anybody else. That’s what we had, when the Roots could get played and then Method Man would get played. You have to create that niche. Underground radio has to balance it out. It’s almost like the internet is the only place left… Yeah. I go to HipHopGame every day to see what’s up there. That’s a whole new medium. I know that someone from Arkansas as well as someone from the U.K. is checking it when I am. What are your goals right now in music? Of course I’m going to get signed again, but this time I know how to do it. Now, it’s a multi-million dollar industry, and you have to exhaust all you can when you’re hot. When you see me with my first big record, there’s going to be something bigger to follow. I know how I’m going to go at it. I’m going to get a good six or seven years after my first big song hits. How has the label hunt been going so far? It’s been good because before, I didn’t understand all that it took to get a good deal. I say a good deal, because anybody can get a deal. You need to have a good deal where you have a business relationship with a label and you can stay with them for your whole career. A lot of people switch labels because they didn’t sign the right deal for them. The label doesn’t change. When we were at Tommy Boy, we signed a wack deal. We signed a fucked up deal. I don’t even blame Tommy Boy. Peace to Tommy Silverman for giving us a chance. The more you do for you is the more they’re going to have to take you seriously and where you already laid things down. It’s a whole different focus right now, a whole different thing. I’m just taking it one step at a time and making sure I get the right deal. Labels can say, “L-Swift, you had your chance, why should we invest in you again?” If you know what made me go into the transition from what made me go from L-Swift to Swigga, the events that made me change that, then you’ll see that it’s a whole different person. I am Swigga forever, this is not a name-change where I’m going to be L-Swift again in two years. Listen to my new material and understand that when you sign an artist that has been signed before, there’s less things that you have to school them on, and they should look at that as a plus instead of a minus. From Natural Elements and Tommy Boy to everything else you’ve been through, what advantage do you have right now over others? There’s a big thing about you getting pigeon-holed. When they pigeon-hole you, you can’t move. It’s a wrap. A lot of artists reading this right now know what I’m saying. Whether you change or not, they’re going to remember how you were. You have to know exactly how you want to ride it out for your whole career. That’s what I have a grasp on right now. I want people to look for me on my fourth and fifth albums. That’s why I do so much material. I know how I want people to view me. How’s your debut album coming? It’s good. I have a few of them actually. It’s coming along so good because I’m not under label pressure. I can go in the studio and do nine songs, and maybe six of them will be real hot. I got songs with me singing on them, but when I get a deal, I’ll get someone like John Legend to sing on it. I’m just setting it up where I’m in a position to win and all I have to do is put the pieces in the puzzle. Are you looking for an indie or major? Major. I feel like I could sell 3-4 million on my first album. I’m not saying that just because other people do it. The money that it takes to reaching 10 million people so 3 million will buy your album, you need a certain budget. I can’t go to Koch and sell 3 million records. It’s impossible. Koch is real bad for a new artist, it’s real good for an established artist. If I was playing basketball, and the whole game is points, that’s what I’m going to try to get. That’s what I’m going through. What’s next for you? I got this joint called “Ready to Live.” It’s either going to be that CD or a Northeast Wildcats project. It’s all about productivity and being consistent. What do you want to say to everyone out there? Look out for anything you see Swigga on. Know that it’s going to be well put-together and crazy. Thanks for showing me love. I’m going to be consistent, and I’m going to show you what I mean by that.

By Brian Kayser

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