For some, personal and physical adversity is enough
to sideline any hope and dream. For others, like Bronx, New York
native Fred the Godson, they
are able to transform a negative into a positive. He’s been through some trying
times from having to leave his family’s home with his siblings due to a fire
also having a slew of physical ailments like kidney disease, asthma, and
diabetes. In the darkness of all this he’s seen the light which is what we call
hip- hop and never looked back since.
He’s put out mixtapes with his T.B.M. (Talkin’ ‘Bout
Money) crew and branching out on his own to make his latest solo release
mixtape, “Fred the God – They Call Me The Flow.” With joints on previous
mixtapes such as “So Crazy,” “Sound Of The Police,” and the street banger
“Where My Money At?”
From the time he has picked up his pen and wrote his
first lyrics, to the battles, and showcases, Fred has managed to draw fans
where ever he performs with his witty punch lines and crazy flow. Once he gets
started there’s no stopping him.
AllHipHop.com: What was
life like for you coming up in the South Bronx?
Fred the Godson: The
Bronx was crazy, man. We had a fire when
I was young; we had to move into a shelter on Fox Street & 156th. You know, stayed
there for a couple of years, moved to a building in the area. It was rough but
we got through it.
AllHipHop.com: You have
any siblings?
Fred the Godson: Yeah,
six of us. I’m the oldest; it taught me how to be a man and care about people.
I caring heart and thought about people more than the average person;
especially for someone growing up in the hood. Only because I had to look over
5 little brothers and sisters, so I was raised like that. Trying to look out
for others and it comes with the territory when you mess with me, you know, you
look out for me and I’ll look out for you. Even if people don’t look out for me
I’ll still look out for other people, because that’s how I was raised. I’m
built like that.
AllHipHop.com: When did
you immerse yourself into the street life?
Fred the Godson: In high
school.
AllHipHop.com: You have
some ailments does that have any affect on your rapping ability. Did it ever
hinder you in the early years?
Fred the Godson: Yeah, I
got a kidney disease, asthma, and diabetes you know I’m a different kind of
person. I know what I got is a gift, I know God gave me a gift, when I was
younger there came a time when I wanted to rap but I looked past it. I couldn’t
say like two or three sentences without stopping so it was impossible for me to
rap. But, out of nowhere I still have real bad asthma, but when it comes to me
rhyming I could be on stage no hype man rhyme fast or slow and still have a
steady breath. It’s amazing! Even doctors don’t understand how I can perform
like that.
AllHipHop.com: Hence the
name “Fred The Godson.”
Fred the Godson: Yeah
Man! I was given that name, they call me the Godson. It’s a well given name, I
take heed to it. It’s a lot of things behind it. When I really look at it I’m
blessed, I escaped a lot of things and for me to still be standing talking to
ya’ll. It’s a miracle. I treat everyday as if it is my last.
AllHipHop.com: When did
you really get into Hip-Hop as if like, ‘I can do this.’
Fred the Godson: Two years after high school.
AllHipHop.com: Was it
anything that you saw that inspired you or pick up the pen?
Fred the Godson:
Listening to Biggie had me like really ready to rock, but what really made me
pick up the pen was watching Big Pun. I saw Pun when he came around my
neighborhood and he rhymed live; It was this line that he said had me go crazy.
He was so big and the way he rapped—it was over after that. Pun had me man,
once Pun did it. I was always in love with rap, but, I really thought that I
could do this if I went hard at it was by looking at Big Pun. Everything else
was T.V.; Biggie was T.V. I never met him in person, but, Pun I seen him in
person, and it had me going crazy.
AllHipHop.com: So after
that, you were honing your skills doing battles, and showcases?
Fred the Godson: In the
beginning, I got a partner named Slim, we still a group, but I’m just doing the
solo thing for now. But, he used to hold me down because like I said before I
have asthma, which held me back from rapping for a long period of time. Being
that I couldn’t rap for a long period of time I had to fall back from the
showcases or handle other things. But once I started getting my grip, yeah, I
was battling everything. I killed a lot of people in this battle thing whoever
looked at the internet, and its gonna be a lot of people seen me in action. No
one is gonna front about that.
AllHipHop.com: Got any
joints on Youtube?
Fred the Godson: Naw. I
don’t have no joint on Youtube. I come from the era where– they just started putting battles on Youtube
nowadays, when the Youtube thing came out I done beat so many cats that when
Youtube came out, I wasn’t battling’ no more.
AllHipHop.com: So you
retired from the battle game and dudes all over the different media spectrums
you beat?
Fred the Godson: You see
people on DVD they’re doing this and that I aired them out already, I paid my
dues. I don’t battle no more; I make music. I paid my street dues, I done went
in on people. I done did it.
AllHipHop.com: So doing
all the battles did you put out any mixtapes or street albums?
Fred the Godson: I have
mixtapes and other stuff out in the streets. I had one mixtape called “T.B.M.-
Talkin’ ‘Bout Money”, um, the second on was a double-disc it had 46 tracks on
it. It was called, “Loved by Few, Hated by Many, But Respected by All.” Another
one after that was called, “T.B.M. Talkin’ ‘Bout Money- Bronx Back Out.” The
last one I just put out which is my first solo mixtape called, “Fred the God –
They Call Me the Flow.”
AllHipHop.com: The track
“Nightmare on Fox Street”
definitely stood out reaching out to all of Hip- Hop’s fallen M.C.’s, the
concept was dope and the lyrics were definitely sharp.
Fred the Godson: I’m
glad you liked it. I recorded that a couple of years ago, but, I put that out
last year, so that’s what that was about.
I mean I ain’t really put it out, I just had it on my mixtape, I took
that back that one is gonna be for the album.
AllHipHop.com: The track
“Where My Money At” has an infectious hook and beat, who handled the production
on that?
Fred the Godson: My man
Buda da Future from the Bronx.
AllHipHop.com: What’s
the feeling like for you now when you hit shows and get the masses to listen to
your music?
Fred the Godson: Oh
Yeah. That’s the best feeling in the world, you know, it started with me going
to the showcases, now I’m starring in them or special guesting. It was a big
jump it happened fast, but, I love it. People coming up to me giving me pounds like,
“Yo, that was crazy!” it’s a good thing I worked hard for it.
AllHipHop.com: So with
all of the showcase appearances and studio work, I know there has to be some
sort of buzz with the A&R’s from major labels trying to get a piece of the
action?
Fred the Godson:
Everybody you can possibly think of, it’s real crazy right now. I didn’t think
it would get this crazy this fast, well, I wouldn’t say this fast. I mean in
this short period of time meaning in like months. I like it.
AllHipHop.com: Anybody
in particular that’s really interested in hollering at you?
Fred the Godson: Yeah a
lot of people, but you know me I live by the code of the streets. On both
sides, so I don’t really want to broadcast nobody in an interview. I would love
to do it, but, you know how it is.
AllHipHop.com: Not
saying nothing ‘til the ink is dried on the dotted line.
Fred the Godson: You
already know.
AllHipHop.com: What
other projects do you have coming upcoming?
Fred the Godson: I have
another album that I’m putting together, it’s crazy, it’s called Best of
Both Hoods with my man Tyler Woods from D.F.L. It’s like what Jay- Z and R. Kelly did, he’s
from North Carolina, he’s an R&B singer
and I’m from the Bronx. We got production from
Buda Da Future, Rockwilder, and the majority is 9th [Wonder].
AllHipHop: Damn. That’s
a heavy roster. What other producers have you worked with?
Fred Da Godson: I worked
with a lot. Done joints with the Heatmakerz, Scram Jones, DJ Clark Kent, Reefa,
Young World, Ron Browz, Charlemagne, Amadeus, and Bangout.
AllHipHop.com: With
beefs going on in rap music especially in the underground mixtape circuit and
Hip-Hop in general, you hear artists going at it just off of braggadocio. Then
you hear about the repercussions afterward, what’s your take on that?
Fred the Godson: You
know what it is, man? At the end of the day, n****s is gonna be men and other
people are gonna say things, and sometimes dude’s be lying. So I’m a be honest
with you this is hip- hop this is rap, we can bring it to the street, however
people want to do it. I’m not gonna like really mess up the rap game on that,
man, and act like I’m the toughest dude in the world. But n****s already know
how it is with me. N****s can check my
background, it ain’t happening. I’m in the hood for real, this ain’t no fairy
tale joint, for them other people I mean for them other people as far as other
dudes doing that to them it’s f****d up. It happens though, I ain’t got nothing
to do with that.
AllHipHop.com: Well,
they do sometimes bring the attention to themselves.
Fred the Godson: Yeah,
they do bring the attention to themselves. They f*** up their own self by
talking all that and then they bring it to them and they can’t back it up. I
know people myself that went through it and had this and that happen to them. I
ain’t saying no names, but they did it to themselves, they over did it. They
tried to do this and that when they wasn’t. So, the trouble found them.
AllHipHop.com: Well,
flapping the jibs is never a good thing.
Fred the Godson: It’s
never a good thing, man. At the end of the day, anybody can do it I have power
to go around and slap people and do what ever I want to people. Like people
that know me and see me when I go into the showcases and clubs they see me 60
deep, nothing less than 35- 40 deep, 20 cars lined up back to back. They
already know how I get down, but I’m just there to have a good time support the
artist and just get up out of there and go home.
AllHipHop: You
definitely have an aura about you are onstage performing.
Fred the Godson: Now,
let me ask you a question. What was your impression when you seen me perform
and do what I do?
AllHipHop.com: Well, I
definitely listened to what was being said the beats and the rhymes. I’m a big
sports fan, and the line that had me was when you said: “Why clap? My killas
will do it/ I’m like Van Gundy on the sideline, ‘YAOOOO, Shoot it!’” That had
me right there.
Fred the Godson: Yeah,
you were listening. I just wanted to test you brother, just to see if you were
listening. [Laughs]
AllHipHop.com: The line
stuck out like a sore thumb to me, it made sense.
Fred the Godson: I make
a lot of sense, man. I come from that era growing up even before I started
rapping. For some reason, like when somebody was talking about something and it
sounded good and the lyrics weren’t all over the place and it made sense that’s
what got my attention. Like Big Daddy Kane when I was little, Rakim, Biggie,
Pun, and all of my favorite rappers make sense. They are lyrical, me listening
to all of that you know while you growing up you’re mentally recording it. It
gotten into me so now when I do it it’s all of them combined together.
AllHipHop.com: So it is
safe to say you are a student of the old school.
Fred the Godson:
Exactly. Everything I told you about earlier when I was growing up in the
shelter all I had was music. I come from the walkman era all these CD’s and I pods
are new to me.
Fred the Godson’s
MySpace Page is www.myspace.com/fredthegodson
