By Brandon Dunlap
It's a new year but Paul Wall still
rocks his platinum and princess cut studded grills which gleam when he smiles.
The Houston rapper is still sitting sideways and still considers himself the
people's champ.
Now two albums deep, the artist born
Paul Slayton is looking at readying the release of his third and oft-pushed
back album Fast Life with an early
2009 release. Riding high since his mainstream inception People's Champ in 2005, the Swishahouse
diplomat was instrumental in bringing Houston to the forefront of Hip-Hop and
the Billboard charts.
Yet amidst his latest return to
music, his extracurricular resume reads more like an ex-reality show celebrity
trying to hold onto his 15 seconds than a relaxed star-studded rap veteran. There
are talks of an autobiography written with the help of Internet king of drunken
sex chronicles Tucker Max, the connection with Travis Barker and Skinhead Rob
which launched a mixtape and plans to also present a
clothing line. Nevertheless, Paul Wall still plans to stand by his music, first
and foremost.
AllHipHop.com: What has been
going on with Paul Wall since Get Money,
Stay True dropped in '07?
Paul
Wall:
I've really just been touring so much, and we've been hitting a lot of cities
like crazy man. I've also been preparing this new album Fast Life which should be released [March
24, 2009]. I have just been real busy with that recording the singles and
getting the promotion together for it. I'm just doing me, I'm on the grind all
day, you feel me?
AllHipHop.com: What are your
feelings about the reception Get Money, Stay True got and the finished project?
Paul
Wall:
I was very pleased with the reception Get
Money, Stay True got. I loved that album; I think it really showed growth
from People's Champ. The beats on
there were crazy and it showed a lot of versatility. We put a lot into the
production especially on Get Money, Stay
True. That was the kind of joint you listen to while you're posted up in
the parking lot. That's the album for me, that brought everything together man.
It brought everything full circle.
AllHipHop.com: With that album,
you stuck to a formula and kept with things pretty gutter and glossy where your
first album was a bit more on the personal side like an intro into the game.
Will your next album be similar to either of them? What can we expect from it?
Paul
Wall:
Yeah true, the first album was a lot more personal and stuff. And this next
album will definitely be a mix of both of the first and the second, taking the
best of those two on this new one. We've worked hard on this one and made some
real dope music. I have joints with my man Lil' Keke,
another one with Yung Joc and Gorilla Zoe, and I did
a some stuff with Travis Barker from Blink 182 and Skinhead Rob, plus I have
the single with Akon ["Girl On Fire"].