Jena 6 Rally sparks new spirit of protesting

By Yaminah Ahmad

“If they were Jewish students who sat under the tree and the following day had swastikas or offensive racial imagery hung from those trees, and they decided to respond to that imagery with their fists, they wouldn’t have charges placed against them in this country or any other country, for that matter,” rapper Mos Def retorted to CNN reporters during a live broadcast from Jena, Louisiana last Thursday.

Jena, with a population of 3,000, was flooded with a reported 50,000 people from across the country, primarily African American, demanding justice for six Black high school students known as the “Jena 6.”

Since last fall, racial tensions between Black and White students at Jena High School have been brewing with a series of events in the small town whose population is 85 percent White.

Among them was a Black student sitting under what was considered the “White tree.” The next day, some White students responded by hanging nooses from it. Black students protested and District Attorney Reed Walters, along with police officers, ended the protest and told the Black students, “I can take away your lives with a stroke of my pen.”

Soon after, White students at a party beat a Black student and, the next day, a group of Black students were arrested for theft of a gun when they wrestled and obtained a shotgun from a White man after he pulled it out and threatened them with it at a local store. No charges were filed against the White man.

Everything climaxed when an outspoken White student who supported the noose prank called a group of Black students “nigger.” The Black students retaliated by attacking him. The White student suffered minor injuries and later attended a party that evening.

Six Black students were arrested and charged with second-degree murder for the school fight. An all-White jury convicted 17-year-old Mychal Bell of aggravated battery. He has been in jail since December.

The case has drawn national attention and sparked a heated debate about race relations in the U.S. Some believe that because of the outcry of injustice heard throughout the country, Bell’s conviction for second-degree battery was thrown out earlier this month, with a judge saying it should’ve been handled in juvenile court. Charges for four other students were reduced to battery and conspiracy. One student, Bryant Purvis, who claims he was a spectator of the fight, and an unidentified student, are charged with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton and their constituents, along with busloads of college students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), concerned families and high-profiled personalities like Martin Luther King III, filmmaker Tyler Perry, rapper/actor Mos Def, author Michael Baisden, Hip-Hop writer and activist Kevin Powell and Congresswoman Maxine Waters, responded to what many deem inhumane treatment of children by swarming in on the autonomous town donned in Black and carrying picket signs while shouting, “No justice, no peace!”

It was a scene out of the civil rights demonstrations. Red-faced sheriffs aligned the outskirts of the massive crowd with their hands resting lightly on the holsters awaiting trouble. It never came.

Jackson led a passionately peaceful three-block march to the LaSalle Parish Courthouse where he told participants that injustice like the Jena 6 case is taking place in every state. With Blacks accounting for 80 percent of children in juvenile detention, the civil rights leader alluded to the business of imprisonment.

“They use inmates as prison workers. They are cutting grass along the highway. They rent prisoners out to friends in private business… It’s called pillage or slave labor.”

D.A. Walters, who held a press conference Wednesday, and some local residents, mainly White, believe the attention on the case is blown out of proportion and that their town is being misrepresented.

“This case has been portrayed by the news media as being about race,” said Walters. “The fact that it takes place in a small Southern town lends itself to that portrayal, but this is not, and never has been, about race. It is about finding justice for an innocent victim, and holding people accountable for their actions.”

“This is a very close community. I feel safe here. I think this is a good community,” said one woman, convinced that “outsiders” should stay out of it.

But Sharpton believes silence is a catalyst to injustice.

“The silence shows us that this was fine as long as it was under the carpet. We came to pull the carpet up. If there are roaches [when] we turn the light on, don’t blame us for being those that get rid of roaches. Blame those that let the roaches crawl around.”

Melissa Bell, the mother of Mychal Bell, marched alongside Sharpton wearing a “Jena 6” T-shirt. She said her son was watching the rally on the news and was overwhelmed by the support from strangers across the nation.

Unfortunately, their excitement was cut short the next day when a judge denied a motion for Bell’s release from jail even though his charges have been voided. As of yet, D.A. Walters hasn’t re-filed charges in juvenile court, so according to Bell’s attorneys, there is no reason to hold him. Protestors from the rally who were present at the court hearing vowed to come back.

Donald Washington, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, concluded that the nooses and the school beating of the White student were not related incidents and dismissed any notion that the events are hate crimes.

ColorofChange.org, an Internet-based grassroots organization, lists several steps Jena 6 supporters can take to help the high school students.

“The prosecutor and district attorney should be made to know that the responsible thing to do is the right thing to do,” said Mos Def. “These are young men. There’s no justification in ruining their lives over something that’s so ridiculous.”

THE LATEST NEWS

A White supremacist website posted the phone numbers and addresses of five of the six Black students, calling for their community to “deliver justice,” the FBI reported Saturday.

Some of the families have received constant threats 24/7 and the governor has called for an investigation by local police.

“These people need more than an investigation. They need protection,” Rev. Jesse Jackson said Sunday. He is now calling for President Bush to intervene.

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Pimp C: Tell 'Em I Said That

By Bonsu Thompson

You’ve conducted some interviews recently that expressed some pretty offensive opinions, but you only apologized for your “Atlanta ain’t the South” statement. Any other apologies you wanna make?
Let me say this: That statement about Russell Simmons had nothing to do with his sexual orientation. It had more to do with a disagreement [we had]. I don’t know if the man likes Martians, squirrels or whatever, so I ain’t gonna speak on something that I didn’t see. It’s no gay-bashing with me. It’s just, be proud of what you are, instead of hidin’ in the closet. And if ya fuck boys in the ass, then don’t be tryna fuck with the girls, too, poisoning the pussy population wit’ ya shitty ol’ dirty-ass dick.

So Pimp C is not a gay-basher?
I’m not a gay-basher, because gay people buy my records. Why would I be offended by your sexual preference, unless I’m in the closet? If ya like boys, go get all the boys ya want. And whatever you did that you ashamed of, don’t do it no more.

Do you ever feel any compassion for Bun B, for being in a group with a man like yourself, who is unfiltered and can be bullheaded in his ways?
You been programmed to think I’m bullheaded. I just know what the fuck goin’ on. I know who’s a faggot, I know who lettin’ them girls fuck ’em in the ass with them dildos, I know who really sold dope, I know who didn’t. I be in Houston. The only nigga I see [in Houston] goin’ to the mall by himself is Slim Thug. Other niggas, when I see ’em, they got bodyguards around ’em. How you gonna be scared of the neighborhood you supposed to be reppin’? All them [Houston rappers] that think they stars, guess what, bitch? Ain’t no stars down here. Only stars is in the muthafuckin’ sky!

So the only Houston rapper you’re acknowledging is Slim Thug?
I didn’t say that! I said, again, the only nigga I see at the mall by himself is Slim Thug. You magazine muthafuckas need to have more responsibility for what you write and put on your goddamn covers. I couldn’t get on a Source cover ’til I went to prison. I had to go to prison to get on the cover of yo funky-ass magazine?

But, Pimp, you do know this isn’t a Source interview, right?
I know this ain’t The Source. I’m riding on them in yo book! So if [they] wanna give promotion off the negativity, then eat my whole dick and nuts at the same time. I’m not talkin’ to you, but, like, you gotta ask the hard questions. I gotta answer the hard questions in a hard-type manner.

Anything else would be uncivilized. In your Ozone interview, you referenced rappers lying about their drug rep—specifically, Mr. 17.5, which is Young Jeezy’s nickname. Why did you call him out?
So that’s your opinion? You’re basing your opinion that I went after Jeezy ’cause the same number that he calls himself is the same number that I used in my interview?

Uh, yeah, he’s the only person I know that calls himself Mr. 17.5. So, yeah, I guess you can say I assumed that’s who you were referring to. But was I wrong?
First of all, Jeezy is a cold muthafucka with a microphone who, in my opinion, gotta have something in him that’s street or somebody street around him that’s instillin’ something in him. Now that I gave him his compliment, let me go on. Don’t single out Jeezy, because he ain’t the only one that’s kickin’ numbers that don’t match. Have you ever sold drugs?

Excuse me?
Well, you do know there’s no water around Atlanta. So all the drugs in Atlanta either come from Miami or Texas. Ain’t no way those prices match up. If work in Texas is $15,000 to $16,000 a ki, you gotta pay a muthafucka $2,000 to $2,500 a bird to bring it back to your city. How you gonna sell it for lower than you got it? A muthafucka might be cold and go down to San Antonio to buy it straight from the muthafuckas that get it across the border for $10,000. But news flash: I know you muthafuckas ain’t comin down here to get it, ’cause we woulda saw ya. See, real niggas don’t swap it out. We get ya on the next batch. But Young Jeezy is my brother. I done made records with the nigga. I’m not gonna side with the media against my brother. It’s just that these dope prices… It ain’t even just the South. It’s a bunch of niggas lyin’ on records. Y’all ain’t gettin’ it like this on the East Coast, neither. Just stop, ’cause y’all know y’all gotta come get this work from us. Chuuch.

WWW.XXLMAG.COM

Streets Is Talking: Young Jeezy

By Aqua

Young Jeezy’s got something to say. You really should know why if you’ve been following the always entertaining, and insightful, banter of Pimp C. Much has been said about Pimp’s assertion in Ozone Magazine’s August 2007 issue that a certain Mr. 17.5 wasn’t coming correct with his math. Mind you, the UGK vet never implicitly singles out Jeezy as the culprit in print or on his storied interview on Atlanta’s Hot 107.9. When XXL Magazine asked Pimp C in their October 2007 issue to again clarify the “17.5” reference, he reiterated that Jeezy was a “cold muthafucka with a microphone” but didn’t back down on his assertion that the numbers aren’t adding up.

Jeezy has been mum with his take on the chatter. But, he’s blessed AllHipHop with the opportunity to get his opinions on the matter, along with bigging up his present endeavors, of course. Now before heads go running at the lip or tip tapping at their keyboard with partial quotes to incite more hype, please know that there is no beef. It comes down to a difference in opinion, and below you’ll find Jeezy’s.


AllHipHop.com: How ya feeling?

Young Jeezy: Like a million dollars homie. For the record I’m doing me. I just been running trying to get some money but I’m all ears, anything you asking I’m answering.

AllHipHop.com: What’s up with the clothing line?

Young Jeezy: Aww man, 8732 it’s crazy right now. I’m doing the official launch Thursday, September 28.

AllHipHop.com: Is the clothing line through Roc-a-Wear?

Young Jeezy: Yeah, we got a collabo. I sit down with the powers that be man and we got it really cracking. I really wanted to do it and they had a crazy outlet so we just made it happen.

AllHipHop.com: What’s the meaning behind the clothing lines names?

Young Jeezy: It’s the culture. When I went in it for USDA they wouldn’t let me do it, so I just flipped it. If you really from the streets and you know the old school ways, when you want to get at somebody without saying, you just put it on their pager, ya know, dial it in the phone. So basically if you go to the phone booth back in the day, you put it in somebody’s pager, you look at their pager and read it, USDA spells out 8732.
It’s two or three different logos for it but we mostly playing with the numbers. It’s one hundred, I wouldn’t even lie to you. It’s doing real good in the stores right now, when I’m out and about I see people really wearing it, really buying it, really supporting it man, I can’t do nothing but thank them for that.
Other than that man we just grind. I might be back in on another album, I might not be. [laughing]

AllHipHop.com: Come on man, the streets ain’t trying to hear you retiring.

Young Jeezy: Ya know, just tell them get ready for me though because when I come, I’m coming right. It’s going to be my best work.

AllHipHop.com: Do you have a release date yet?

Young Jeezy: Nah man. I could be done right now to be honest with ya, I really never stop recording bruh. I never really stop. It’s just depending on how I’m feeling and when I feel the vibe I’m moving.

AllHipHop.com: What about a title?

Young Jeezy: Yeah but I’ma keep that under wraps because I don’t want nobody getting a hold of no songs and putting a Young Jeezy album out. [laughing]. [Corporate Thugz Entertainment] is good, I got some West Coast things going on. I got 2 Eleven and Young Rocket from out there. 211 from Inglewood, Roccett from Carson, them my homies from out West so we been dealing with them lately. We got Slick Pulla and Blood Raw, they going to drop at the top of the year. I just signed my man out of Jackson, MI, Boo the Boss Playa, he one of my homies I been knowing him for a long time but he been on the grind. We just got a chance to really make it official.

AllHipHop.com: So what’s your take on Keisha Cole’s article in Essence Magazine?

Young Jeezy: Aww man, ya know, I guess it’s publicity season everybody trying to sell records. Can’t knock her for that but I ain’t really tripping because that don’t pertain to me. She can’t obviously be talking about me. It’s publicity season, everybody’s doing what they do, so I guess that’s what that is.

AllHipHop.com: So you wanted to address the Pimp C situation so…

Young Jeezy: Yeah, ask whatever questions you want to ask, I’m answering. We gon’ keep it one hundred around here. We can get in depth about whatever you want to get in depth about, it’s AllHipHop, let’s do it.

AllHipHop.com: Just so we’re clear, Pimp questioned the figure 17.5. He’s been adamant that he wasn’t referring to you, but people are wondering if it’s still a slight to you since you go by Mr. 17.5.

Young Jeezy: If he ain’t referring to me he ain’t referring to me but first of all I’m one hundred, I’m a real street ni**a and I ain’t gotta stress that. And nor will I get myself or anybody in my circle indicted to prove nothing to no ni**a, but at the end of the day that what it is and that’s what I’m standing on. He been gone six years, he don’t know what’s been going on in these streets. And to be honest with you, nobody ain’t got to go shop over that way anyway. Come on man, this real man, this the world. You can go to the West Coast, you can go wherever you need to go to do what you got to do, ain’t just one store. [laughing]

I don’t know what that’s about but I’m still standing on it. It’s 17.5, ni**a got a problem with it, then let’s get it.

AllHipHop.com: Have you spoken to Pimp C at all since all this came about?

Young Jeezy: No, they reached out man but I’ma be real, I’ma keep it 100, when he said he won’t speaking about me I left it at that. I really don’t got a good relationship with Pimp but I know Bun [B]. And the thing I will say about Bun, even if dude don’t know that, is that Bun knew me before rap. I used to pick Bun up in my cars and ride him around when he lived in Atlanta and smoked with him, have him around me and my homies, so Bun know me. If you ask anybody about me, in any part of the world, I’m 100. Even out there in Houston, ni**as know me for real and I’ma leave it at that. Bun like my brother from another. We chop it up all the time, me and Pimp just ain’t have the relationship.

AllHipHop.com: And you and Pimp C have done records together.

Young Jeezy: Yeah, but you know even the little comment about the 60 thousand for a verse, man I did four verses for them dudes for free man. I sell millions of records. I fucks with real ni**as. It takes a real ni**a to know one so when a real ni**a reach out to you, you do what you do and you don’t trip on it. I didn’t real get it. Me personally, I think ni**as was getting way too emotional. If you a G, you’ll reach out. I got a phone, you got a phone, whatever, and you’ll holla like men. You don’t get in a magazine and say nothing crazy and think a ni**a ain’t going to take it personal. But at the end of the day, like he said, he wasn’t pertaining to me. I couldn’t really give a fuck homie, because at the end of day man, I’m fucking amazing my ni**a. I’m good at what I do, but I was great at what I done, I’m the last motherfuckin’ Mohican. Ain’t no ni**a walking this fucking earth fittin’ to tell me that I ain’t do what I said I did. I’m not even being mad about but it’s like when you grew up listening to ni**as, and you respect them, and you get out there and do everything they say they done, but better—and then you get to where you at and they don’t respect you, then fuck it. It’s what it is. At the end of the day, I done it. I done it homie, I’m one of the best.

I ain’t never seen none of these ni**as I rap with in the streets, ever. Never crossed paths with them, ever in my life. I know these ni**as from music. At the end of the day I did what I did and I’m here now and I’m blessed homie so I ain’t even trippin’ on that. That’s nothing to really glorify, that’s all I know. And I cater to the people who love what I do and that’s what I do. Real ni**as respect other ni**as craft and let other ni**as do what they do. My thing is sometimes you gotta let the younger ni**as eat though. For everybody wondering why it took me a minute to even speak on the shit, I been getting money man. I been busy chasing paper man, I ain’t got time to deal with no bullshit. That’s the ni**a’s opinion man, that shit’s like an Escalade, everybody got one of them motherfuckers.

AllHipHop.com: Have you read the interview in XXL with Pimp C?

Young Jeezy: Yeah yeah, I read it. Cause my thing is…and I’m a say this, if the ni**a saying he ain’t talking about me, then I’m cool with that. I got love for Texas, I really do. I really been out there for real and I know what he talking and he 90% right. But, I wasn’t speaking on that at the time. I was speaking on what was going on with me. So if he took it the wrong way, the whole 17.5 thing, that’s what it is, though. But like I said, he said he wasn’t talking about me, so I left it at that. But in the magazine, when they put the shit in XXL, it was my name in big bold letters, I ain’t know how to take that. But if a ni**a call me his brother then that’s what he saying. My whole things is if we brothers we gon’ leave it at that. It can be everything or it can be nothing. But I’m a man, I’m a grown ass man, I’ma stand on my own ten at all times. I don’t take that well, especially when you got respect for ni**as, you feel me?

My thing is, I ain’t got nothing to do with that. And I feel like he feel. That’s why I got in this game. There’s a lot of fake ass ni**as out here talking this shit. But you don’t just wake up and talk like this, you don’t just wake up and walk like this, ni**as don’t know about that shit being around it. My thing is you get in the XXL article and discuss prices. Like, you an OG, you ain’t supposed to that. You still got to show some type of rules and morals for the street, there’s still nig**as out here doing what they gotta do everyday to survive. It’s one thing to speak on it on records to motivate ni**as but when you get to talking about that shit in magazines, the feds read too. They’ll pay you some attention if you don’t get none from nowhere else.

That ain’t being realistic. I would never disrespect the streets like that. Never in my life homie. I’m telling you, I stand here on God’s green’s earth, if I ain’t do it, it’s never been done. At the end of the day I would never disrespect the streets like that. I would never get in no magazine and discuss this and that and what it costs and all that. That might not be another ni**a’s program, at the end of the day you just putting the shit out there for the world to see. It’s one thing to be you and do your craft and speak on it and do that, but if you an OG my ni**a you don’t do that. Everybody ain’t fortunate enough to get a rap check. But god damn it I am!

The ni**a spoke on my homeboy and shit [Ed. Note: referring to Big Meech of BMF], and I’ma say this, that’s my ni**a, that’s my fucking heart and shit still real out here. So at the end of day ni**as gotta play by the rules. I’m not mad, because I can’t be. Cause you don’t get offended when a real ni**a straight in his business. My thing is, we gotta keep the morals to this shit and we can’t lose it by trying to god damn step on the next ni**a head. Sometimes you gotta let the young ni**as eat, cause I’m the same niIIa that was screaming free this ni**a when he was locked up. I’m the same ni**a that single handedly helped Bun get back on his feet when the shit was falling off out that way. I did several songs with Bun B, ya feel me?

AllHipHop.com: It’s seems like it’s simply a disagreement in the numbers.

Young Jeezy: A ni**a can have a pocket full of stones or a Navi full of squares my ni**a, but at the end of the day who the fuck cares, we here. We made it. Only thing we can do is motivate the ni**as who’s still out there. Fuck the numbers, the numbers change everyday. You think I’m going to get into a dispute over some numbers? I could see if I was coming to shop with him, yeah. But other than that, come on man.

If we brothers, you can disagree with your brother. What I really was pissed off about was the whole dissing the ATL thing. I’m a strong believer in when you meaning what you say, and say what you mean, that’s what you mean dog. So for some ni**as that fucked with y’all ni**as from the beginning, for you to say that it just made us feel a whole other way like, “God damn dog, what we doing?!” We support you. You take the rap game and look at the younger ni**as of today we collab. I fuck with Buck, I fuck with T.I.P, I fuck with [Lil] Wayne, ni**as get money together, it ain’t about that, cause at the end of the day it’s a business. This ain’t gangland. If it’s like that all of us could have stayed in the streets. If it ain’t about the money, why we rapping for? I can’t do you, I can only do me brother.

At the end of the day I’m an adult, and on top of that ain’t nobody gave my shit. I came from the bottom, I came from nothing, and I’m staying here man. Every ni**a I know is either dead or in jail. When I see ni**as in the street that I used to know, [they] look at me like, Damn how the fuck did you make it? And I tell him I believed and the big homie upstairs made it possible for me.

AllHipHop.com: To be clear, has anyone from Pimp C’s gotten at you to try to resolve this?

Young Jeezy: I ain’t trying to put the homie on blast, he tried to reach out and when I got that I was done with it. It’s like, man it’s already hard enough out here for us and ni**as gotta stick together. I gotta be blunt and this is my last time saying this; the man never said my name. A hit dog would holla. He ain’t hit me, so he wasn’t speaking to me, that shit went over my head. And you can quote when I say this, I feel like he feel. There’s a bunch of fake ass ni**as out here and I know how he feel, cause I see it. But them ain’t my charges and that ain’t my case. You quote me when I say that. Those are not my charges and that’s not my case bruh.

AllHipHop.com: Sometime down the line would you be willing to speak to him?

It ain’t even that serious bruh. At the end of the day I feel like he feel, I’d die about this shit. I die before I walk in the street and I feel like a ni**a played. Tell a n**a to bring the motherfuckin’ yellow tape, the white chalk and a body bag my ni**a. I ain’t got no choice, what am I going back to? But at the end of the day it ain’t that serious and I know he feel the same way, cause he stand on what he speak on. Fuck all the dumb shit, let’s get money. And it ain’t me coppin’ no deuces, it ain’t me slowing down cause I damn sure ain’t no sucka. But at the end of the day what would you rather do? Would you rather get money or be on some dumb shit, about nothing. Cause if the beef was legitimate we wouldn’t even be doing this conversation. It would be on, like fuck that. It ain’t no legitimate beef. It’s a ni**a with his opinion saying he was from out that way, and the prices ain’t, I can respect that.

AllHipHop.com: You mentioned Big Meech, have you been able to communicate with him?

Young Jeezy: I spoke with him actually. I tried to see him when I was out in Detroit. He’s good, holding his head high. It’s just going through the changes of life man but we all praying for him. Like I say man, I can’t express to you enough…I just take that to the heart when people speak on that man. That’s my brother, like, no bullshit. Me and that man got a real relationship. That ni**a love me like his mama had me. I know his parents, I know his people, this ain’t no game. He’s just in a bad place right now. I shout him out every time I got a chance. But ya know, he got some things going on that I might not need to say nothing about. We’re going to leave that at that but that’s my ni**a, I love him to motherfucking death and I pray every night that they free that man cause he is a real, good, ni**a.

AllHipHop.com: What do you say to the people that say all you do is talk about the streets, drug dealing and all types of negativity?

Young Jeezy: That’s my point exactly. For all the criticism I get, I still keep it real. I’m an intelligent individual and a hell of a businessman but I keep it real to what I know. That’s all I know, that’s it, that’s all I can tell them, I don’t know nothing else. I been on my own since I was ten years old. I raised myself, I raised others around me, and at the end of the day that’s all I know. If a ni**a can’t accept that from me I can respect it bruh. At the end of the day, like I said, I am fucking amazing. I’m good at what I do, I’m great at what I’ve done, I’m the last Mohican.

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Twista: Adrenaline Rush 2007

By Latifah Muhammad

Coming back for the first time is no easy task. So with Twista’s latest release Adrenaline Rush 2007 (Atlantic) holding the same name as its predecessor 10-years the senior, expectations are high. This nouveau rush finds Twista further away from his radio friendly previous releases, which was technically a deviation from the style that he first gained notoriety for. Instead he’s back to basics. Trading in silky hooks for grimy beats and edgier lyrics. Producers Cuzo and Toxic take over the bulk of the credits, providing the right amount of grit for Twista’s swift flow. While a few other usual suspects, Jazzy Pha, and The Neptunes add their ingredients to the recipe.

The line between the differences in production is obviously clear on the stand-out track “The Come Up” a dirty South wolf of a beat dressed in a sheep’s Midwest clothing. Twista trades in his patented fast delivery for the slow-motion version. “I’m a killa’ man standing on this corner hustling for my dinner man”. His rhyme scheme is always perfect down to every second. Following this theme, on “I Aint that Ni**a” he elevates his game a few notches with a continuance of disenchanted seriousness to let you know that you might not want to cross him.

However, still trying his hand at easily digested crossover appeal “Give It Up” is a Neptunes archetype track with Pharell thrown in for good measure. “That girl wanna’ give it up. Black girls wanna’ give it up. White girls wanna give it up.” You get the picture. Just throw in the heat of an 808 and the energy of a late night trip to the club and response is sure to be a contagious one.

Capturing the platinum status of 2004’s Kamikaze isn’t as important this go around, as making a concrete album. That's not to say that the success level won’t be as high, it’s refreshing to hear that too much hasn’t changed. As each track glides into the next the solidity is undeniable. Typically on a ride like this a few road blocks are inevitable. “Love Rehab” throws salt in Adrenaline Rush 2007’s game and should be reserved for a feature performance on a future R. Kelly album. Then there’s the hook man of the moment, T-Pain. Known for his club friendly joints, “Creep Fast” is no exception. Though not as high on the list of certifiable T-Pain hits, having him on the album is a pre-requisite these days so kudos are in order.

The harsh but true musical reality is that you either have to have street credibility or pop appeal. Very few know how to navigate those lanes and experience the best of both worlds. Adrenaline Rush 2007 is somewhat of a battle for Twista which results in a few out of place tracks. Despite this, rather than saturating the record with candied R&B singers and contrived subject matter, choosing to stick with his classic style was a smarter move.


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WC: The World is a Ghetto

By Jake Paine

On the should-be classic "I Left it Wet for You," UGK's Pimp C rhymed "All the time, I'm bumpin' WC, 'cause it seems like he's the only n***a makin' sense to me." That was almost 15 years ago. WC, approaching his twentieth year as a recorded MC is still making plenty of sense to many.

With his recently-released Guilty By Affiliation, William Calhoun keeps it currently by chronicling his strong bond with Ice Cube, weighing his hood credibility against his rap wealth and twisting words into a flow that's endured from WC's early days with Rhyme Syndicate and Low Profile.

The twisted-braid MC spoke to AllHipHop.com about his evolution and maturity, his back catalogue and his status abroad. With a new album that shows no age but flexes its wisdom, WC will forever make sense to me too.

AllHipHop.com: My favorite WC line ever was on “Just Clownin’” where you said, “When Run-DMC and Jam Master first bust / We was snatchin’ motherf**kas out of Nissan trucks.” To me, that line embodies your street certification with your love of Hip-Hop. Tell me about that line’s meaning to you… what was WC like in 1984?

WC: 1984 was the era of crack taking over in the hood. A lot of money was starting to flow to the hood, in the ghettos in general. When there’s more money, there’s more weapons. With more weapons, there’s more violence jumping off. Music was an outlet for me. Back then, that was an era when mothaf**kas was rollin’ in Nissan trucks with little sounds in ‘em. We used to have Uncle Jam’s Army come through and do concerts and stuff, and always something would jump off at those concerts. I was just letting people know that I’m not new to this. Back in the days when motherf**kas were listening to Run-DMC, I was really experiencing “Hard Times.”

AllHipHop.com: You found your first major success with DJ Aladdin as Low Profile with the song “Pay Ya Dues.” You just came back from touring in Australia. In a WC concert in 2007, does that song still get performed?

WC: On a WC solo show, s**t, yeah, definitely! When I’m on the road with [Ice] Cube, nah. My whole goal when it comes to getting out and performing is to not just do the records that cats have heard from me lately, my whole goal is to get in there and create one big party. At a party, if you request a song, you’ve got it. I just want to put n***as up on WC and West Coast culture. I’m bringing ‘em up to date. You’ll catch “Pay Ya Dues,” ‘cause that was the foundation, the beginning.

AllHipHop.com: If you were to release that song today, or write it. Would the lyrics change much? A lot of rappers aren’t paying dues…

WC: It would be the same song, it would just have different names. “You sound like KRS-Chuckski-Kool Moe-S-1, yelling on the mic like your name was Run,” I’d change the names to somebody that’s relevant right now. Other than that, I’d keep it the same way because it’s still relevant. In order to get out here in this game and maintain, you gotta pay dues. Even the cats that’s been very successful in this game is still paying dues in this game.

AllHipHop.com: In the late ‘90s, some people perceived Westside Connection as a group throwing gasoline on embers from the East/West conflict. Some of us knew better. But shortly after the first album, you appeared on “The Militia Part 2” with Gang Starr and Rakim. Tell me what that record meant to you.

WC: It meant a lot to me. A lot of people in the media was trying to make it like it was an East/West thing when it really wasn’t. We was representing where we was from – liberating the West Coast. By us throwing up the “W,” people that didn’t like that, ran with it. Long story short, that record at the time was something I seized the opportunity to do. I’m still a fan. It just so happened that me and DJ Premier was always cool. To this day, we’re like brothers. If Premier flies to L.A. to handle some business, he has no problem getting a rental car, meeting me in the hood, getting a hood burger, going to the corner liquor store, and eating in my living room, smoking a joint, chopping it up, and being out. That’s how we’ve been for the longest.

That record was nothing – nothing but a phone call. I called him and told him I was in New York on business. He was like, “Stop by the studio.” I got there, he played me a bangin’ track and said, “Get up on it.” I just couldn’t resist. It was like three or four in the morning.

AllHipHop.com: On your album, you have a track called “Crazy Toones 4 President.” He’s been instrumental throughout your career since the ‘90s, and did all the scratching on this album. Why did you do that now?

WC: Crazy Toones is definitely the backbone of my music. He’s my little [blood] brother. We know each other like we know ourselves. He’s always been my inspiration, my ears too. Even in my solo career, he had a major hand in it [outside of the Maad Circle]. He’s the only n***a I know that I can ask to spell something or say something with records, and he can do it within 30 minutes. He can go to his records or Serato and make “Jake Paine;” he’ll take the “P” from f**kin’ Whodini and so forth. This n***a’s ridiculous. Cube and Snoop…they’re all reaching out to him to do what he do. Toones had to be involved in this record right here. This record is so important to the West Coast. We needed a record under the radar that still stood for something. The West Coast is always known for their DJs… Joe Cooley, Battlecat, Egyptian Lover, Aladdin. Most n***as never mention their DJs anymore, we made a song about it.

AllHipHop.com: Looking at yourself all these years later, how have you matured as a man and as an artist?

WC: As a man and an artist, I’ve changed ‘cause I’ve had the chance to taste success. I realized that a lot of us don’t get to taste success in the way that I’ve been blessed to. A lot of people don’t get a chance to be in the spotlight. Success is really only based on the eye of the beholder. What I’m trying to say in so many words is, all I wanted to have was a worldwide voice. Once I tasted it, and saw how many people from ghettos there were dying, worldwide, over senseless crimes, I got to say to myself, “Damn, this is a blessing. I’m not gonna waste it or take it for granted.” That made me mature a lot as an individual and as an artist. Easy come and easy go.

AllHipHop.com: Overseas, you’re something else. Domestic radio might shun your album because you’re on an independent label and the climate has changed. In Europe or Asia, what’s your career like right now?

WC: Yeah. Product nowadays is only as good as the person who can get it to the fiends. If you got a big machine behind you… Kanye West and 50 Cent had machines behind them pushing buttons, making sure every five minutes, you’ll hear a record, see a video, n***as talking about you. At the end of the day, buttons are being pushed. On the other hand, the others gotta get it in the peoples’ hands. But once the people taste that s**t, they’re gonna want that as well. We’re not relying on radio [or] video to sell our record, we’re relying on the word of mouth on the streets. We’re beatin’ up the pavement, getting inside these clubs that a lot of people don’t want to f**k with, in order to have a lot [consumers].

When we’re overseas, they get to see and hear what we’re working with ‘cause we brought it to them. Once they taste that s**t, they love everything we’re giving ‘em. Right now they’re trying to get my record licensed overseas. There were requests for me to come back over as a solo artist – not “WC & Ice Cube,” but me. They want a month over there. It’s just a matter of us getting out there. Overseas, it’s overwhelming. I can’t walk off stage without them yelling, “Crip walk!”

AllHipHop.com: You’ve done so much for Hip-Hop for nearly 20 years. You’re still doing it too. What do you want from Hip-Hop?

WC: At the end of the day, I just want n***as to listen to me and say, “Know what? I learned something from that n***a. Throughout his career, he kept an element of staying true to himself, to the West and to something he believed in.” You can’t do a whole album about being in the club ‘cause when you leave the club, you go home and face reality. There’s bills due, police killin’ n***as – and this s**t is going on worldwide.






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This guy is somewhat stupid...but for the most part a trill dude...

SEATTLE - Federal agents thought there was something fishy about Leroy Carr.

On four occasions since last December, Carr either crossed the Canadian border or was found near it with thousands of dollars in cash, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court. He also sometimes carried night vision goggles and a GPS device programmed with coordinates for a well-known drug-smuggling trail.

But Carr refused to speak with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and they let him go — until he called to ask if they had seen his cocaine.


According to the complaint, he told agents that on Aug. 3, he had stashed two blue backpacks containing 68 pounds of cocaine by the entrance to a Boy Scout camp near the Canadian border. When he returned the next day, they were gone, he said.

Carr, of suburban Federal Way, asked if ICE could put out a news release saying that federal agents had seized the drugs. That way, according to the complaint, the organization he was working for would believe his statements that he hadn't stolen them.

Two weeks later, a Boy Scout ranger found the backpacks, which were dry and in good shape, and called police.

Carr was arrested last weekend on a federal charge of cocaine possession with intent to distribute. He made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Monday and is scheduled for a detention hearing Thursday.

Carr's attorney, Nancy Tenney, was out of the office Wednesday morning and did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Rapper Jay-Z Releasing New Album 'American Gangster' In November

By Roman Wolfe

Rapper/mogul Jay-Z has announce that he will release an album full of all new material this November titled American Gangster.

While Jay-Z's version of American Gangster is separate from the official motion picture soundtrack, the new album is Jay-Z's lyrical interpretation of the movie, which stars Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Cuba Gooding Jr. (as Nicky Barnes), RZA, T.I., Ruby Dee, Common and others.

American Gangster is based on the true story of Frank Lucas, who is played by Denzel Washington. The movie chronicles Lucas rise to dominance over the Harlem drug trade in the streets of New York in 1970 by smuggling heroin into the country using the coffins of Vietnam veterans returning home from the war.

The movie is produced by Brian Grazer and directed and produced by Ridley Scott and opens in theaters November 2.

According to the sources, the first single from Jay-Z's American Gangster album will be titled "Blue Magic."

The album will feature a variety of producers, including Pharrell Williams.

Jay-Z's album American Gangster is due in stores November 6.

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Will. I. Am: The Professor of Production; From Eazy-E and Black Eyed Peas, to Nas, and The Game

By Fawn Renee

For those who think Hip-Hop is dead, you have been bamboozled; at least according to Black Eyed Peas front man. Born William James Adams Jr., the famed MC and producer has been a force to be reckoned with around the world, as he has successfully immersed himself into the melting pot of musicality. From Nas and Talib Kweli, to Fergie, Will.I.Am has left no room for discussion as he oozes with versatility and musical prowess, hit after hit.

While some find this mainstream success a deviation from what is Hip-Hop, Will.I.Am argues that the very essence of all music is Hip-Hop, thus making him a staple in the genre in 2007. As he gears up to release his first solo debut Songs About Girls, Will.I.Am caught up with AllHipHop.com to give us some California Love. In the quirky conversation, he discusses what separates him from every other producer in the industry, the problem with Hip-Hop, and why Black Eyed Peas embody the essence of what true Hip-Hop is. And anyone who disagrees, well frankly, he says “F**k ‘em.”

AllHipHop.com: When did you first fall in love with production and making beats?

Will.I.Am.: I’ve been making beats since 1991/92. This dude named DJ Motivator taught me how to make beats. He had this drum machine, well it wasn’t even a drum machine; it was like a work station called the Roland F550. That’s what I started on. At the time, I was in high school with Ahmad, the dude who had that song “Back in the Day,” and I remember coming to History class like, “Yo! Ya’ll gotta check out this beat I did.” And they were like, “You make beats and rap?” And I’m like, “Yeah dude, while I make beats, I can make beats to the way I hear my rhyme.” I wanted to write a rhyme to the beat I made, or I wanted to make a beat to the rhyme I wrote. I was working with musicians, and I would tell the musicians “Can you make the bass line like [this]?” I would be trying to hum it and s**t. And it’s like, how can you lead someone when you don’t speak their language? So I didn’t want to know just beat talk, I wanted to play it. So I went to school and learned [music] theory and expanded my knowledge on beats, writing songs, transposing, keys and semitones and all that stuff.

AllHipHop.com: People often refer to you as a Hip-Hop musician, as opposed to a Hip-Hop producer or artist. Why do you think you garner that title?

Will.I.Am: There are so many different names for producers. A rock producer doesn’t touch the drum machine. He has programmers, and all he does is set-up mics, produce the songs and EQ s**t. On the other hand, a Hip-Hop producer will have a programmer, he ain’t a rock producer, but that motherf*****’s an engineer. Then you have a producer that don’t do anything but sit back in the studio and tell you what he does and doesn’t like. They’re all producers. [Listening to production] from Papa Roach, Rolling Stones, Earth Wind and Fire, I realized there’s a big difference in what a producer is, regardless of a Hip-Hop producer or Hip-Hop musician. At the end of the day, it’s just music. And in the world of music, there’s different titles that define how songs are executed. I just wanted to be all of them.

AllHipHop.com: So are you saying that someone who sits behind a keyboard and creates a beat in 15 minutes can still be considered a producer?

Will.I.Am: Yeah, they’re a producer. No matter how the song is done, whether it’s from 0 to A, or Z to A. Like Kanye West- a perfect example. That motherf****r is a producer. He makes a beat, he sits there throughout the whole session and produces vocals for it, and even gives you some f****n’ ideas on how to flip the hook. I’ve seen the n***a do that. The thing that I don’t respect is people who makes beats and then leave the studio, and someone else does all the hard work. Because you know, making a beat isn’t hard. Now, with technology, anybody can make a beat.

AllHipHop.com: But that’s the game right now. If you do get that placement, the label’s engineers get their hands on it and master it in their studio. How do you curb that as a new producer?

Will.I.Am : As a new producer, if you’re shoppin’ beats, you’re just a beat maker. It’s no different than if you’re a bass player and you’re shoppin’ bass lines. Just because you’re a bass player, it doesn’t make you a producer. If I was a new producer, knowing some of the things that I know now, I wouldn’t even shop beats. I would go out and find me a superstar to make [with] the beats that the labels want. I’d be like, “You want beats? F**k that. Use my beats to build your artist? How about you build my artist?” Just in the business of it, if you make a beat, they may give you like 2500 dollars, and that’s a foot in the door; but your foot in the door could be a lot bigger if you come in with a project. Like, if you introduce the next Fergie or 50 Cent, oh you’re large. Producers need to control things.

AllHipHop.com: few people know about your roots with Eazy E’s Ruthless Records. What’s the story behind that?

Will.I.Am : Eazy E and Ruthless Records was a big deal. You know, Eazy E and Dr. Dre all come from that. And now that Black Eyed Peas is so big, it’s hitting people like “Whoa! Ya’ll come from the same place Dr. Dre comes from?” Yeah, that’s crazy huh? When Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and all these people left, Eazy E went to the LA underground and found MCs to ghostwrite and be a part of his camp, and I was one of those guys.

Ruthless Records was influx after Eazy E passed away and the whole infrastructure of Ruthless Records was trying to get over the fact that Eazy was gone. And we were some group on Ruthless [Records], but it didn’t become relevant until recently, selling 30 million albums. So, in 1997, who cared? Yeah we put out albums, but it wasn’t a big story. In 2000, we put out the second record. The people who talked about it talked about our affiliation with Eazy E, but it wasn’t until recently that anywhere you go on the planet, people know who the Black Eyed Peas are.

AllHipHop.com: Most producers out of California have a distinct sound, but your sound is so unique because it isn’t distinct. Is that something you had to work at, or was it natural for you to go against the grain?

Will.I.Am : That was a result of how we got put on. The person that put [Black Eyed Peas] on passed away and then we had to get back on, and we got back on through performing with a band. We’re not on because I did a track for such and such that blew up and now I’m getting my shot. We got on because we kicked and knocked down walls, and we did a whole bunch of s**t. So for me, I loved producing and I hated saying “That s**t’s wack.” Like, if you can’t do something, then it’s not wack. This is just me personally, but if you don’t know how something was made then you can’t comment on it. So I can’t say an MC is wack if I don’t know where his influence is. I would practice and do samba songs, or Hip-Hop, or soul ballads. I built all that information from f***in’ with musicians and trying to flip different styles of music. That’s why I can make a record for The Game, then do “Hip-Hop is Dead” for Nas, then turn around a do “Big Girls Don’t Cry” for Fergie, and still work with John Legend on “Ordinary People.” I just love music.

AllHipHop.com: We talked about how you guys became popular, recently. Do you think that was in large part due to the addition of Fergie?

Will.I.Am : I think Fergie being in the group was a definite bonus, but if we didn’t do the NBA campaign, the iPod commercials, or the song “Where’s the Love?” I don’t think people would’ve cared. What that song did alone was make everyone pay attention to the group, because everyone was on the same accord. So if we didn’t have those things, it would be no different than with Esthero. We did a song with a white girl before, same s**t, but Fergie added fuel. She’s beautiful, she sings great and she has a story. And after that story is told, she’s dope.

AllHipHop.com: Now with the addition of Fergie and dumbed down lyrical content, to many you became predominately pop. Do you feel the need to validate yourself in the world of Hip-Hop?

Will.I.Am : See, I care but I don’t really care, because I know what I am. I know what got me into music and the things I’m inspired by. I know my capabilities as a beat maker, a producer, an MC and a dancer, and f**k it, a graffiti artist. The thing that saddens me is that there’s a flaw in Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop is the only culture that doesn’t keep the things relevant. In rock & roll, people are always talking about the clash, punk rock, and they keep their music relevant. Like, the only people benefiting from Public Enemy, sadly but true, is VH1. Sorry, that’s f***ed up. That ain’t nobody’s fault but Hip-Hop’s fault. Hip-Hop should be making all that loot. There should be a f***in’ Hip-Hop infrastructure, not just little things that fans build that turn into things like AllHipHop.com. Hip-Hop has turned into a disposable lifestyle, where someone else profits from it.

So I care but I don’t care, because when you say Hip-Hop you say “they.” When you talk to Nas, Premier or The Game, they view me as Hip-Hop. I mean, was Heavy D Hip-Hop? Yes. Was MC Hammer Hip-Hop? Yes. All of them are Hip-Hop.

AllHipHop.com: You’re working with like, the entire pop culture roster right now, with Michael Jackson at the top of that list.

Will.I.Am : Michael Jackson is dope. Working with him has taught me a lot, just talking and asking him questions.

AllHipHop.com: Speaking as objectively as possible, do you think he can make a smash record like Off The Wall or Thriller ever again?

Will.I.Am: I don’t think anybody can do that. Justin Timberlake can’t even do that. I don’t think he’s supposed to even do that. That’s what we talked about in the studio, like “Let’s not compete with you.” I mean, they don’t even make records anymore. Even if you came out with Thriller today, it won’t sell what it sold [then].

AllHipHop.com: Anyone else on the roster that you are particularly excited about working with?

Will.I.Am: Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Ludacris, Snoop, and finishing my record really.

AllHipHop.com: How is that project coming along?

Will.I.Am: Good. I’m working on two albums at the same time. Songs About Girls is coming out on September 25^th. That has songs like “I Got It from My Momma.” The second one is called Black Einstein, and that one is finished but I don’t know when I’m putting it out. I have Nas, Kanye, Slick Rick, Common all on that album. But I’m focusing on Songs About Girls right now.

AllHipHop.com: I just saw the video for the first single “Got It From My Momma” and it reminds me of Sir Mix A Lot’s Baby Got Back video. What are your views on misogyny and it’s prevalence in Hip-Hop?

Will.I.Am : I think it’s the same as in every form of music on the planet and movies. That’s just the mentality of humanity right now. It isn’t just on Hip-Hop. I was watching Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and I seen a n***a kick a chick in the titty. But people are like, “That’s so fresh.” Let 50 Cent talk about the same thing and he’s labeled a woman abuser. Hip-Hop just gets a bad rap, no pun intended, because it’s made by Black people.

AllHipHop.com: Talk to me about Musicane.

Will.I.Am : Right. There is this player with this company I’m a part of called Musicane. You go to musicane.com and you download the player to any site, and if someone comes and buys the song from your player, then whoever has that player gets paid when I get paid. Black Einstein will be released on the player and Songs About Girls will actually launch [the player] when it is released.

AllHipHop.com: And I know it isn’t scheduled to be released until next year, but what’s the deal with BEP’s next album?

Will.I.Am : We’re gonna flip the script on that one, because we flipped some marketing s**t on that project too. It’s going to be dope.

AllHipHop.com: For you, where does the production process begin and where does it end?

Will.I.Am : It depends. It can develop just from this conversation right now. I can take what you just said, “where does it begin, where does it end?” and we can develop that into a hook, or that could be the melody. [begins to make the beat with his mouth and sing the melody] Then we can add some bass and strings, and then I can start adding my rap. Or it can start with a beat. The way the cuff drops could be hot. Then you build on it with the piano. Or I can hear two people talking, not even in the same conversation, and if you combine it together, that could make a hot melody.

AllHipHop.com: I wish I could see you doing this. In 2007, do you feel that the Hip-Hop producer has to open up to the idea of more than Hip-Hop in order to garner the mass appeal of Hip-Hop artists such as Jay-Z and Kanye West, who have worked with the Adam Levines, Jon Brions and and Chris Martins of the music industry.

Will.I.Am : I think Hip-Hop producers, today, need to know what Hip-Hop means in order to call themselves Hip-Hop. And once you know what Hip-Hop means, you’ll go out and start to realize that Hip-Hop is everything. Hip-Hop is James Brown, Led Zeplin, Sly and the Family Stone, gospel, blues…it borrows from everything. Hip-Hop is the most open-minded form of music because it feeds off everything to make it Hip-Hop. But it has become so close-minded because we stopped doing that. So if there’s any group that embodies what Hip-Hop truly is on the planet, I don’t give a f**k what anybody says, that’s Black Eyed Peas, because we incorporate all the elements. So if somebody says we ain’t, f**k them.

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Chamillionaire: Ultimate Victory

By Deepa Shah

Chamillionaire's going all political on his new album, Ultimate Victory (Universal Motown), and this time he doesn't care if he impresses anyone with slick punch lines and metaphors. Instead, Cham packs this album with intelligence and a sick flow. Coming off his Grammy-winning single "Ridin'," Cham shows no signs of fall off on his delayed re-up and has no problems relaying his anger about the state of Hip-Hop. "Hip-Hop, crunk music, hyphy music, snap music/Sounds like a nursery rhyme, get a beat and rap to it/Ain't speaking with a purpose, I'ma call it crap music," Cham fires on the opening track, "The Morning News."

That said, the Houston product lashes out against the recording industry and the fake friends and women that come along with being an entertainer. On "Industry Groupie," Cham throws dirt at gold diggers who are always looking for an easy way in and up the chain of rich ballers. "Now your business all over the radio and it's the penalty that you have to pay/You made the choice to go and be a freak, even Akon been smacking that/Her plan was to get ran through by a linebacker or a quarterback."

"More money, more problems" seems to be Cham's sentiment throughout his sophomore effort. From living the flashy, luxurious life on "The Ultimate Vacation," to so-called friends trying to sabotage his career on "I Think I Love You"—both produced by the Beat Bullies— Chamillionaire's got a beef with everyone who gets in his way to the top. "Having money is like a relationship/Everybody's always gonna get in your business/Trying to break it up, trying to get involved in it/But they really need to mind their own business/Money don't do nothing but bring you trouble."

And for all those fake rappers who are spitting out "crap music," Chamillionaire's got words for them, too. Cham calls out all those wannabe hustlers and gangstas who claim to have street cred on the synth soaked "Come Back To The Streets." Taking a citizen journalist perspective, the Mixtape Messiah sheds light on currents events always blaming Hip-Hop culture as the problem over producer Kane’s tense strings on "The Evening News." "Don Imus made comments that made everybody forget about him/That's him, Anna Nicole got pregnant and had kids by him/Rest in peace to Virginia Tech, too many innocent kids dyin'/Well let's just blame Hip-Hop and act like that's the big problem."

Chamillionaire's flow and lyricism is rampant through each track on Ultimate Victory while the production work itself—which included the likes of JR Rotem, Happy Perez and Play-N-Skillz—gives this record value. Add in Cham's quick rap skills and personally reflective lyrics, as well as selective features from folk like Pimp C (“Welcome To The South”), Bun B (“Pimp Mode”) and Lil Wayne (“Rock Star”) and this sophomore bump has hit written all over it. After all, to the victor belongs the spoils.

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Spider Loc: West Kept Secret—The Prequel

By Deepa Shah



As G-Unit adds to its entourage, newest member Spider Loc reps the west coast with the release of West Kept Secret: The Prequel (Baymaac/RBC/Koch) setting the stage for his major label debut. Spider Loc uses his laid-back flow to bring subtle realism back to Los Angeles gangsta rap. He keeps to his hustler status without flashing meaningless rhymes, and he does so without getting up in your face. Could it be that G-Unit has finally found the perfect verbal sparring partner to fight off The Game?

Spider's first single, "Blutiful World," throws back to his Crip roots and gang bangin' lifestyle. He spits about the luxurious appeal of bangin'—having everything in life from clothes, and women to drugs and his homies—without coming off as an egomaniac. The best example of his gangsta status is heard on "Big Blacc Boots" featuring Ice Cube. Spider gives props to Cube for being an original gangsta, and Cube's solo proves he'll never be deadbeat, has-been rapper: he kicks, “Drive by music use it don't abuse it/Please don't confuse it with R&B bullshit/Ice Cube ain't no broke back rapper/I'm one flop away from a fuckin' kidnapper/Hip-hop or Hollywood, bitch, I gotta win.”

Spider Loc reflects on the rough life growing up in a gang and always hustling just to get by on "All I Know." He brings conscious lyrics to his not-so-right lifestyle without being regretful. "Pursuing paper is such a dangerous race/He's got hustle in his blood though/His veins are laced/He's still hangs out where his gang is based." And like every hustler out there, Spider puts together his business plan on "Hustle To You Come Up," and raps about the everyday ghetto grind on "Close To The Edge."

West Kept Secret: The Prequel is packed mostly with gang bangin' anthems, but Spider Loc does attempt to show his soft side on "Cry And Cry," a plea to his woman to accept his lifestyle because it's the only way he knows. But "Make You Love Me" sums up who Spider Loc is—a west coast rapper who's going to do anything and everything to come up those charts as the newest spit fire member of G-Unit. "Look close tell me what you really despise/Understand haters make up the silliest lies/I know it's kinda hard to believe and you're hard to deceive/And a lost trust is hard to retrieve/I'm gonna keep it 100 make it harder to breathe in this rap shit/Serenade the heart of the thieves."

Spider's prequel blends 90's gangsta rap music with the current hustler status of Hip-Hop culture. This is just a taste of what we have yet to hear from Spider Loc's G-Unit debut – he's brings more meaning and realism to gang culture than other wannabe hustlers who have suffocated today's rap music. The verbal attacks from The Game have already started; we can only imagine how the retorts will sound.

me personally... I don't fuck w/ g-unit/g-unit affiliated artists so i rate him...EXTRA LAME :)

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Eve: Wonders of My World

By Archna Sawjani

Ever since Eve broke on the scene in 1999, she’s had a knack for making stardom look easy. Grammy Award winner. Check. Starring in blockbuster films. Check. Achieving elite status as a fashion icon. Check. The “blonde bombshell” is a triple-threat entertainer in the truest sense of the term.

Eve was one of a new breed of tough, talented, commercially viable female MCs to hit the rap scene during the late '90s. Though she could be sexy when she chose, she wasn't as over the top as Lil' Kim or Foxy Brown, and as part of the Ruff Ryders crew, her production was harder than Da Brat's early work with Jermaine Dupri. In the end, Eve came off as her own person; a strong, no-nonsense street MC who could hold her own with most anyone on the mic; and was finding success on her own terms.

Following a successful four-year takeover of the Hollywood and fashion scene, The self-professed “pitbull in a skirt” has been getting ready for the release of her fourth album, Here I Am, scheduled to hit stores on September 18th which features the likes of Pharrell Williams, Mary J Blige, Sean Paul, T.I., Robin Thicke and Timbaland and executive produced by Swizz Beatz. She's tough, straight, talented, and cares about what others think. E-V-E sits down with AllHipHop.com and weighs in on the wonders of her world.

AllHipHop.com: So let’s address your recent DUI [Driving under Influence] incident and being ordered to wear a DUI ankle bracelet amongst. Do you feel the punishment was fair or the court made an example of you?

Eve: I know I wouldn’t even be wearing this bracelet if all the other things that have happened with all these other celebrities hadn’t the way they have been and because I live in California, well I’m between California and New York, but because the incident actually happened in California, they like to make examples of people there if it was New York then I might have lost my licence for a couple of months which is fine but I wouldn’t have had to wear this bracelet or do the meetings or anything but in L.A. because of these other celebrities and there recent situations, I’m sure I got a tougher deal.

AllHipHop.com: Do you witness a lot of sexism in this industry around you?

Eve: Definitely. I hang around a lot of guys and so there are times where things are said or situations happen and I have to be like, “Look don’t do that while I’m around, you can do that on your own time but if I’m around then don’t talk too a women like that or act that way.” So I do see it, but not a lot though. The guys I surround myself with are basically respectful, like they’re not pigs. I don’t surround myself with those ignorant kind of guys and so as long as the women are respecting themselves then they are respectful.

AllHipHop.com: Comments were made about you dating White men after Sean Penn visited you after the DUI charge. Do you feel its frowned upon more for Black women to date White men in this industry where as it’s okay for Black men to date White women?

Eve: It’s most definitely worse if a Black girl dates a White guy, but before I go on, I want to clarify that there’s absolutely nothing going on between me and Sean Penn. I’ve known him for five or six year’s and we are mutual friends and that’s it.

Okay, so back to the point: I feel it’s my decision who I am with. If an alien came onto earth and treated me right and I fell in love with it, then it’s my business. This isn’t the first time comments like this have been made though. I went to a basketball game with a friend and there was a picture of us and someone posted it on a blog and wrote “Eve dates White guys,” and it wasn’t true, the guy was just my friend but even if it was true there must be bigger thing’s going on in the world for them to report on. And I see a lot of Black athletes with White wives or White girlfriends, so what’s the problem? Because I’m a Black girl in this industry, I can’t date a White guy? I’m going to love whoever loves me back and it’s my business. I think people get so caught up on all this s**t, and it’s ridiculous.

AllHipHop.com: Could you comment on the recent rumors regarding you ordering a female prostitute at a hotel?

Eve: [Laughs] Yeah, my assistant actually told me about that. First of all, I think that’s ridiculous and number two, if I wanted to have sex with somebody, then I definitely wouldn’t order a prostitute. I have enough people around me that either work for me or that I know that if I really felt like I needed to have sex with somebody then I would be like, “Hey, could you go find me somebody,” and number three, I was in New York with my mom and my little brother at the time, and so I don’t even know where that came from. That’s one of the most ridiculous rumors I’ve ever heard about myself. I think people can just be stupid, somebody was really bugging to start that.

AllHipHop.com: How do you feel about the Internet, because these kind of rumors can be posted on one site and within the hour be news on websites all around the world?

Eve: It’s so bad as the world right now is so celebrity-driven and everybody is so obsessed with celebrities’ lives even celebrities are obsessed with other celebrities’ lives. I would hope that people would think about what they read and figure out for themselves if something sounds stupid and too ridiculous too be true.

AllHipHop.com: Let’s move on. How do you feel about Hip-Hop music currently?

Eve: I think a lot of Hip-Hop music right now is stupid, a lot of it is very disposable, like ABC lyrics. It feel like “Really, how long did it take you to write that?” You know what I mean? Did they even care about thinking about what they were saying. I feel like a lot of it is a joke.

AllHipHop.com: What’s your take on all the Hip-Hop beefs?

Eve: It’s f**king stupid. At the end of the day, a lot of these people become rappers or entertainers to get out of their neighborhood and to get away from stupid s**t and then it seems like the same people are bringing this negative energy into the industry. Honestly, I feel like is the only way that you feel you can prove yourself or be noticed? It’s a crap way to be noticed, like if you’re talented, then prove it with the music, you don’t have no need to worry about the next person. Beef to me is basically you taking too much time out thinking about that other person when you could be thinking about your next move. It’s ridiculous too me and they need to grow up, it’s very childish. R&B artist, producers everyone’s beefing. It’s really silly.

AllHipHop.com: So if someone called you out right now, would you choose to ignore it?

Eve: I have been called out before by two female MCs almost at the same time a few years back, and I did ignore it. Actually, I also just heard from a friend of mine that there’s someone right now who is actually trying to say my name or whatever, but first of all, I don’t get involved in beefs as my life’s too busy and I got a lot of things going on so that’s number one and two, I feel if I respond I’m not doing anything but helping blow them up. If I’m saying they’re name on tracks then I’m giving them free publicity, people are going to be like, “Who’s this chick that she’s talking about?” and I don’t have time too blow somebody else up, I got to worry about my own career.

AllHipHop.com: Are you going to tell me who the other female artist is who’s calling you out?

Eve: You probably wouldn’t even know her name because I think I didn’t even know here name. It’s some girl, honestly I can’t even think of the name right now. I got to ask my friend to remind me. You know that was what shocked me, it’s someone who doesn’t even have any music out in the States at all. I mean I think she was out along time ago and then she went away and now she’s trying to resurface and for some reason she’s using my name to try and resurface but she’s really not a good rapper so I don’t even know where’s she’s going or what she thinks she can accomplish.

AllHipHop.com: You’re singing an entire track on Here I Am, right?

Eve: I sang a Reggae song on Scorpion before, but that was more like a fun, whatever kind of thing that I felt like doing for myself. [The] song on this album Pharrell produced, and I went in the studio with him and I didn’t actually want to sing and he kind of talked me into it, but now I’m happy I did it and it’s one of my favorite songs on the album, it’s not like a Alicia Keys or a Mary J. Blige song but it’s a basic song over a crazy track, it’s defiantly a club track, it’s a fun song [called “All Night Long”].

AllHipHop.com: Are you feeling pressure with this album as you’ve been away from music for a while and especially with the current climate in album sales?

Eve: Yes, there’s definitely some pressure. I try not to let myself think about it because if I did, I’d have anxiety attacks like every day. [Laughs] It’s been like five years since I put out my own album but thankfully I’ve still been visible on other people’s music. I think if I had gone away totally for five years and not been seen at all doing anything, it would be even harder to come back. The state of Hip-Hop, actually the state of music - not just Hip-Hop right now is so different, so I definitely have been sitting down with my label and having meetings but at the end of the day it’s going to do what it’s going to do and I can only work as hard as I can work and put out the best music that I know that I can make, and whatever else happens, is going to happen.

AllHipHop.com: What is your actual label situation right now?

Eve: [Laughs] There’s a lot going on with the label. I am still with Interscope, I’ve been with them for 10 years now. The original plan was for me to go to Aftermath, but [Dr.] Dre has a lot going on so Swizz [Beatz] basically took over the reigns on the album and is executive producer. Then Geffen also took over because they’re really good on the marketing and promotion aspect of the albums and they didn’t have anybody on the label like me and it seemed like something new and fresh start while still being able to stay with Interscope, so it all just fitted together.

AllHipHop.com: Everything is all good with you and Dre then? No problems?

Eve: Oh yes. Never any problems between me and Dre.

AllHipHop.com: Finally, I wanted to touch on fashion. You come across as very fashion-forward, is fashion a big part of your overall package?

Eve: I love fashion. I think that it is definitely an obsession of mine. I really have a problem. It’s not just the label stuff for me, it’s also cute stuff. I shop in all kind of stores. I literally get headaches from shopping. I love clothes, so if something is sold out or not in my size, I will have to hunt for it.

AllHipHop.com: How’s your line ‘Fetish’ coming along?

Eve: It’s going well. We’ve revamped the whole line. It’s more contemporary, more grown up, more sophisticated but still funky and still has an edge. The last line was kind of juvenile and stuff that I didn’t really want to support in wearing, but every piece in the new line, I really do want in my closet. It re-launches end of September, so will probably be in all store in the States in October.


WWW.ALLHIPHOP.COM

Papoose: Study Guide

By Francesca Djerejian

After nearly a decade in the trenches, the unwavering support of the likes of DJ Kay Slay and Busta Rhymes, and a devout following that extends from Brooklyn to the UK and beyond, Papoose already has the stripes of a hip hop notable. Boasting a $1.5 million dollar deal with Jive, the Bed Stuy rapper has plans to parlay the respect he has earned from paying dues into industry success. With the ever-elusive nature of a buzz to contend with, much of Papoose’s ability to reach the masses will depend on the release of his long-awaited debut, the Nacirema Dream. Distinguished by an unusual degree of patience that enabled him to turn down many a record deal, Papoose is on an uncompromising career trajectory with one lofty goal in mind: to make history. The self-described Most Lyrical One politicked with AllHipHop.com about his impact and aspirations.

AllHipHop.com: You just got back from a tour in the UK, how was that experience?

Papoose: I was shocked to see that people had so much appreciation and so much respect for my music in a place where I’d never been in the flesh. [I was] seeing people passing out and everything, it was crazy out there, literally ambulances had to come get them. I feel like my hard work was definitely appreciated. Sometimes you don’t always feel appreciated, but when I went over there, they gave it up for me.

AllHipHop.com: How have things changed for you since you signed the deal with Jive?

Papoose: Everything more or less changed, before everything was for the street, that was my mentality. I recorded everything and put it straight to the street, as opposed to when I’m doing my album, and I’m recording and saving joints. So it’s burning a hole in my pocket, before I had the freedom to put stuff out on impulse whenever I felt like it but now, it’s a whole different ballgame. And I think certain people in the industry have a different respect for me now that I’m a signed artist, that’s just how they mentality works. But at the same time, true Hip-Hop heads and the streets will always look at me in the same way. It just changed on the business level, that’s all.

AllHipHop.com: Now that you’re on, what is the game plan?

Papoose: Basically the plan is to get the Nacirema Dream out there and reach the population of the world. I just want to be heard, I want to make history. A lot of people are in this for different reasons, but at the end of the day, I want to make history. And the more people I can reach and spread my word, I’ll feel like I was successful. Twenty years from now, if the kids going to remember Papoose, I’ll feel like I was successful. A lot of these artists, they not going to be remembered years down the line. And that’d be a nightmare, my whole career would be in vain. I feel like I make the type of music that’s timeless, I feel like years from now people are going to remember me.

AllHipHop.com: Seven figure deals don’t come often these days, how did the deal with Jive go down?

Papoose: When me and Kay Slay was grinding, a lot of different labels started offering deals. Labels like Interscope, Atlantic, Def Jam, they all came to the table and we were turning them down because they wasn’t the deals that we wanted. I think a lot of artists, when they unsigned, and they on the mixtape scene or on the streets, they be so thirsty that the first deal they get offered they jump on it, but the impact that I made was so strong, I was doing better than artists that were signed on the record labels without me being signed to a label. So in the beginning we wanted to get a deal, but after a while, when I was coming out on Summer Jam, I did the BET Awards, I was in a lot of magazines, I was on paid shows all over the world, so after awhile we was like, “You know what, record label for what?” So when they was making these offers that were sub-par, these f**ked up offers they was coming at us with, we was like, “Nah, man.” Some of these labels think that just because of the title of the label, everybody should sign for anything. But if the business wasn’t right, myself and Kay Slay turned them down. So eventually Jive came to the table with a 1.5 million dollar deal, and we couldn’t resist it. We got creative control, and a lot of the other things they had in the contract that met our demand.

AllHipHop.com: You’ve turned down many deals in the past, too- you seem to have been very careful throughout your career…

Papoose: I’m going to be real with you, that’s been true. Even from day one, when I was working with [Kool] G Rap and I put out a twelve-inch on Select Records, they offered me a deal for eigh albums way back then and I turned it down. The whole music thing is my dream, so if my dream is coming to reality, and it’s not manifesting as what I always dreamed it to be, I’m hesitant about that.

AllHipHop.com: You’ve mentioned a release clause piece to the deal, is Jive sticking to that for Nacirema Dream?

Papoose: Yeah, definitely, the only thing that’s been holding up my project… When I first got signed, me and Kay Slay had the album done and we was ready to go, but when you got producers like Scott Storch, Jazze Pha, and all these other big name producers saying, “I got music for you,” you’d be an idiot to say, “Oh I’m done already.” So we had to take things into consideration and go back in, and also sample clearances held the album up big time. That’s the only thing that has held up my project, but other than that, we ready to go, man.

AllHipHop.com: How involved has Kay Slay been with the album?

Papoose: Just as much involved as me. Kay Slay been devoted time, energy, blood sweat and tears just like I did. Kay Slay is like a big brother to me as opposed to a business partner. We business partners but at the same time we family, our bond is real strong.

AllHipHop.com: You’ve said in rhyme that a mixtape award means more to you than a Grammy, is that still how you feel?

Papoose: In all actuality, it does. ‘Cause when you coming from the street, whatever neighborhood you came from, your first thought of being successful in music before you ever had any success was always focused on the gutter, the ground, the grime- the essence of Hip-Hop. Everything else like the Grammys and all that was always cool, but you can’t spit a Grammy-award winning verse on the street in a battle ‘cause you wasn’t even thinking about winning a Grammy when you first started, you was just thinking about square one. I just feel like the mixtape awards to me, yeah, they mean more than a Grammy, that’s the essence right there. That’s the first award that I ever received, and it meant a lot to me. I was real proud of that.

AllHipHop.com: On the “Publicity Stunt” record, you separate yourself from a lot of artists who court drama, and you do seem to keep a low profile. Is that a conscious thing?

Papoose: Yeah, I never had to do that. I didn’t come up like that, I feel like Hip-Hop music should be based upon Hip-Hop music. Not how tough you is or how much money you got. A lot of dudes, they try to start a fire just to get everybody’s attention and make everybody look. Most of these beefs that they come up with, they phony, they only cause their beefs to get attention. I never had to do that to make people focus on my music because I came with pure talent. So I just did all lyrics, no gimmicks and it worked for me. I never had to make a phony beef with nobody, so you see what it is, you already know my reputation and my history. My buzz was built off pure talent.

AllHipHop.com: Seems like with the Uncle Murda situation, you stayed quiet.

Papoose: Yeah definitely, actions speak louder than words.

AllHipHop.com: What’s your take on Remy Ma’s situation?

Papoose: Innocent until proven guilty, innocent.

AllHipHop.com: You need to write a “Law Library” for her.

Papoose: “Law Library” is definitely important for anybody that have a run-in with the law.

AllHipHop.com: Has anyone ever come up to you and said “Yo, “Law Library” helped me get out of a situation”?

Papoose: Hell yeah, a lot of people. I get a lot of responses about “Law Library.” People thank me for that record continuously, constantly, they always ask me, “When’s the next part coming out?” A lot of brothers who are incarcerated, they write letters. A lot of people in the streets, they tell me ‘That record got me out of jail, or “That record prevented me from going to jail,” so I feel proud for making that happen. That’s what music is about. That’s the strength of music. People use it for so many different things man, but there are so many different ways you can use music to help somebody. A lot of people like the Hip-Hop police, they think that all Hip-Hop is negative. They don’t look at things like “Law Library,” or “Mother Nature,” when I talk about the disaster of Hurricane Katrina. But when they get my album, oh my goodness, I can’t wait.

AllHipHop.com: Do you feel like you get full recognition for how deeply you go into those issues, and the level of detail and accuracy?

Papoose: I get scrutiny for that, I get hated on for what I do. People more or less try to go against it before they ride with it and appreciate it. But that’s cool. I do this from the heart. I feel like some of the songs I created were ahead of their time like “Alphabetical Slaughter,” I had that record since ’98, without a doubt that record was ahead of its time. I’m not here to toot my own horn, but if I don’t say nothin’, they act like it was never done.

AllHipHop.com: Were you at all influenced by the Nation of Gods & Earths growing up? Because you can hear some strains of it in your music.

Papoose: Most definitely. I grew up in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, and the God Born True gave me knowledge of self, R.I.P. to him. He was really instrumental in my life, he wanted to see me be successful at what I was doing; he dedicated his time and everything in his power to make that happen. So it broke my heart that he didn’t even get to see me be successful in this music. There were people who wanted to see me make it, but how can I celebrate it, they died early, so in their eyes, I never made it. That’s the brother Born True, I speak a lot about him in my music, he let me know where I come from as a Black man, and where I can go in the future.


WWW.ALLHIPHOP.COM

Remy Ma: Apocalypse Now & Later

By Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur

First rule of interviewing Remy Ma in 2007: no questions about her present attempted murder case.

Even coming close to the case will get you interrupted by a watchdog of a publicist. The reality is, Remy Ma stands accused of shooting her former friend Makeda Barnes-Joseph for stealing $3,000 on July 14 after a N.Y. party. The Bronx native has fervently denied the accusations, which includes gun charges, but must contend with a skeptical world that may have already passed judgment based on mainstream media reports.

Second rule: never forget the first rule.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. In 2006, when her debut Remy: Based On A True Story dropped many felt like her destiny finally matured into what her mentor Christopher “Big Pun” Rios intended. She had already been on hit records from the likes of M.O.P. (“Ante Up” remix) and Fat Joe’s Terror Squad (“Lean Back”). The landscape for female emcees was a commercial wasteland and Rem stood like a cactus. She appeared on Hot 97’s summer jam stage and later in the summer AllHipHop Week 2006’s grand finale concert, among many other highlights like Grammy nods and BET Awards. Based On A True Story was met with acclaim, but the SoundScan sales were disappointing. Rumors. Then the fallout with Fat Joe. More rumors.

Right now, Remy is in the middle of the biggest “rumor” of her 26-year-old life, one that the state of New York and her alleged victim hope to make a legal reality. Whether or not she will be convicted of attempted murder will be decided through the United States legal process and until then, Remy has decided to live her life as an emcee. With the weight of her case, she has opted to keep working on her music with the recent release of The BX Files and controversial mixtape/DVD Shesus Khryst. From her home recording studio, the self-proclaimed Queen of New York, speaks on her life, her grievances, former friends, former enemies and and all that goes into her present True Story.

Third rule: Let Remy speak.

AllHipHop.com: So how are you?

Remy Ma: I’m good. I’m working.

AllHipHop.com: What are you working on?

Remy Ma: Right now I’m working on my album and my next mixtape. The mixtape is called Blasremy; the album is called PUNISHher. I’m working with my speakers and my tweeters right now; I just blew a speaker. I don’t know how I keep doing that s**t. I gotta buy better speakers. I’m in my basement.

AllHipHop.com: So you have a home studio?

Remy Ma: Yeah. I learned how to record; I recorded “Fresh” by myself. Then I took it to the studio and mixed it.

AllHipHop.com: Are you looking for a major label?

Remy Ma: It’s all in the air. I’m talking, but I have to be me. I have to own the masters; the deal has to be what I want.

AllHipHop.com: There’s been controversy with this Shesus Khryst mixtape with Superstar Jay. Care to respond to it?

Remy Ma: First of all, in no way, shape or form is that me trying to show some blasphemy. What people tend to forget is this is en-ter-tain-ment, for the last time! It has stickers on it that say “Parental Advisory;” this is not real. Do you know how many movies I’ve watched from The Prophecy to The Omen to The Passion of Christ – it’s entertainment. Relax. People take everything way too seriously. I personally feel like I’m the BX, the Bronx Savior. That’s where Hip-Hop started. I also feel like the media wants to crucify me; I’ve taken so much punishment. That’s me. It’s a new me, a new day – people are just runnin’ out the window with it, but people ain’t sayin’, “She don’t spit that fire,” so I’m good.

AllHipHop.com: What do you mean “a new me?”

Remy Ma: For a long time I was down with another crew [The Terror Squad]. I was underneath other artists/label owners. I just never felt like I could do what I wanted to do, even though I had the potential. A lot of people didn’t want to work or do business with me because of what I affiliated myself with. From assistants to managers too; I had never even seen a phone bill that I paid for. It’s a new day, a new person. I’m so focused. This has been since January, December.

AllHipHop.com: Do you hear the protests?

Remy Ma: I try to stay off the hater-net. I don’t know. I do check my Paypal, and the sales from my mixtapes look right.

AllHipHop.com: You don’t check blogs and stuff like that?

Remy Ma: If I checked the blogs, I’d go crazy. I [access the Internet] through my Sidekick. It’s a group alert, and anytime my name pops up on the Internet, it automatically comes through my phone. But if I see somebody said something, I’m gonna want to say something, ‘cause that’s the type of person I am. I can’t just bite my tongue.

AllHipHop.com: One such example of publicity involving you through the Internet concerned Vivica A. Fox. What was that really about?

Remy Ma: Okay. First of all, my swagger is too up to try to go anywhere. I read that in the newspapers [that] we were at a party, fighting. I had an invitation to the party weeks before – RSVP’d weeks before; they already knew what it was. I did like 25 minutes; I couldn’t get off the red carpet. There were so many pictures, questions, all that, ‘cause that was the first time people had seen me out at a big event since everything with the case. Something personal with the owner of the club [happened], I guess, because with my case, he didn’t want me in the club. Vivica was not talkin’. It was her publicist. Tops, we couldn’t have been in there even 15 minutes – ‘cause it was a quick red party, go in, walk around thing so I could make it to Swizz Beatz party [that same night] on time. It wasn’t like I was pressed; I was just in that same club a month before at Zab Judah’s party, buying nothing but pink Moet and bottles of Remy Martin.

I figure all club owners know each other. He was probably related to the same owner of the little bar or club or whatever people claim whatever happened in. That’s the only thing I can think of. The only thing that upset me was a week ago, I RSVP’d to a personal invitation that I got. And I was nothin’ but cute.

AllHipHop.com: You don’t have the blonde streak in your hair anymore. Is that part of the new Remy too?

Remy Ma: At this point, it’s a new album, new look. That was the “Terror Era.” This is the new me. I made my mark. Halle Barry got her style, Mary [J. Blige] has hers, and I have mine. Remy Ma, all day.

AllHipHop.com: Why did you diss Fat Joe again, now, after things seemed to be over?

Remy Ma: [Laughs] When did I diss him the first time?

AllHipHop.com: On “Weatherman.”

Remy Ma: [Laughs] Yo. Nothing you see with him…everything is for fake. If y’all seen the type of roadblocks and blockades he tried to put in my career behind the scenes, and then saying, “We love her. We wish her [well]…” After that, the papers that he sent through his lawyer, never answering his phone. How am I dissing [him]? I’m speaking the truth. I’m supposed to be quiet? It is what it is. I’m telling the truth. If I’m lying, stop me. I don’t want to be a liar.

He never put me on, he never picked my beats. [He] ain’t Pun. [He] didn’t put me on his album with my own song. Whatever! It’s nothin’. The only album of his that went platinum or double platinum, I’m on that s**t like seven times. Whatever he did for me, I did for him. He ain’t write my rhymes. He never gave me no crazy checks, Everybody [in Terror Squad] is sayin’ the same s**t [that I am].

AllHipHop.com: A lot of people would like to see you on G-Unit. Is it true that according to your contract, that you cannot go there?

Remy Ma: [To her publicist] Can we give them a little excerpt of the contract?

[Publicist: do we really want to do that?]

Remy Ma: Why not? Who cares? It’s legally there. I’m sure if you go on some website, you’ll find it anyway. He has the government names of everybody even remotely affiliated with G-Unit in there.

AllHipHop.com: What happened to the all female super group?

Remy Ma: I personally think n***as happened, man. Me and Jackie, that’s my B-I, all day, my sister, and always will be. I haven’t spoken to Shawnna in a minute, but that’s my sister too. She chose a deal through DTP that prevented her from…I felt like we would have been able to get around that contract, but in the end, nothing panned me. I’m still doing me, J’s doing her, and whenever Shawnna wants to holler, that’s my b***h. It is what it is. In this business, you’ve got to take chances and be on top of your s**t.

AllHipHop.com: How do you feel about Foxy Brown's recent situation, knowing you two had your tense moments in the past?

Remy Ma: She's in jail, and I swear, I feel sorry for her! That's crazy. Get her the f**k out! [She's in there] for some dumb s**t. People fight, people throw things, and every f**kin' thing, people blow [stuff] out of proportion. Just yesterday I got an email about Lil' Wayne throwing money in the crowd and a girl getting hit in the head, are y'all serious? It's crazy! I was on Rikers Island, that s**t is disgustin'! F**k being a rapper, females period -- every female in New York needs to send a f**kin' letter, being that they're lockin' people up for suspended licenses and all that, write to the mayor, the governor, the place is disgustin', the food is disgustin', the place is dirty, filthy, nasty -- women are in there pregnant! She's sick right now, sick.

When I had to be there, waitin', I was sick. If I'm not mistaken, she had to be there on her birthday? What? That's crazy! It's [only] 'cause she's in the newspaper, it's a high-profile case, and the judge and DA don't want to seem lenient. Be fair! F**k being lenient. Do you know how many people I know who get community service for doing crazy s**t? Oh, you're gonna put somebody in jail to prove what? So you look good? Everybody wants a TV show, everybody wants to be famous.

AllHipHop.com: This isn't happening to Paris Hilton or Nicole Ritchie...

Remy Ma: That's California. This is New York. Her, Linday Lohan, they're not Black; they're not rappers. It's crazy how people make examples out of Foxy and [Lil'] Kim.

AllHipHop.com: I know we can’t talk details, but what’s your state of mind been like since everything?

Remy Ma: People see me smiling on red carpets, and what they tend to forget is that this is my job. I have to do that. This is how I make money. Do you think I want to be at parties? I didn’t want to be at parties when I was at parties. This is what I have to do; I have to make music. Anybody that knows me, knows me: I ain’t no stupid chick – never was, never will be. I’m very intelligent.

AllHipHop.com: A certain highly sexual voicemail leaked on the Internet of you…it was supposedly a skit for PUNISHher...

Remy Ma: First of all, I would never make the mistake of leaving a voicemail on the wrong person’s number. Voice messages like that, you’re gonna listen to a few times before you send something like that through (so it wasn’t an accident). Somebody hacked into somebody’s voicemail, and whatever - It ended up being a skit. Who cares? Who gives a f**k? I’ve done worse s**t than that on beats. Did anybody hear the “Everyday I’m F**kin’ Him?” Who cares? I don’t care.

AllHipHop.com: Who was the message for?

Remy Ma: [Sarcastically laughing] That’s not gonna happen.

AllHipHop.com: [Laughing] Ok, you’re not giving the people what they need right now. Any final words?

Remy Ma: The PUNISHher album is crazy. I ain’t got nothin’ to do till then, so I’m doing the BlasRemy mixtape. I’m the Queen of New York. I’m the best. [Laughs]

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