Scarface has never been one to mince words, but when the rap legend refused to participate in the 2010 Hip-Hop Honors’ ode The South, he revealed to Ozone Magazine exactly why. Peep it.
For more, go to ozonemag.com.Scarface:
I was nominated [to be honored at the “Dirty South” VH1 Hip Hop Honors] but I declined to accept because I don’t wanna be classified as just “Dirty South.” I’m Hip Hop, man. I’m not going because I feel slighted. Even though it was a nice gesture, I feel like it’s just a pacifier. They’re like, “Let’s give these n***as down there a pacifier so they can stop feeling left out. We’ll make Luke and all these n***as down here look funny,” you know? “Let’s put a plate of fried chicken and some watermelon and let’s just do some n***a-ass s**t.” (laughs) Quote, end quote. “Some n***a-ass s**t.” Fried chicken and watermelon. “s**t, the faster we get this over with, the better.”
Honoring [Uncle] Luke and James [Prince] and [Master] P and Timbaland and JD and Dungeon Family is a good thing. I don’t wanna f**k their Honors up. They helped lay the foundation. More power to ’em. I respect what they do and I respect what they’ve done for Hip Hop, but to put us in a category is disrespectful. Why would you categorize us as “Dirty South”? Why can’t you just honor some muthaf**kers from down here and leave it like that? You ain’t gotta make us look extra country. We know where we’re from and we know where you’re from. We know where Hip Hop came from, man. We’re cool with that. I’m proud to be from Houston but don’t make a mockery of my accomplishments. We’re not “dirty” down here in the South anyway. This s**t down here probably cleaner than the rest of the country, cause we got grandmas down here. Our grandmas don’t play that s**t.
I was a part of the Slick Rick and De La Soul and Too $hort and Public Enemy [Hip Hop Honors]. I felt good about being a part of that. I went [to Hip Hop Honors] when they honored Def Jam because I wanted to be a part of that. I felt honored that they would even call me to do it. But this year, I totally disagree with how they’re trying to categorize us. You know how they make us look on TV? Like we live on the front porch with flies and s**t flying around us, with our stomachs all big eating watermelon rinds? That ain’t us, man. Don’t f**kin’ make a mockery of us because we come from down here and you have no f**kin’ idea what it looks like. They’re gonna try to put us with some cows and just make us look f**ked up, man, like we don’t know what the f**k we doin’ down here. We’re smart, man. Our life is slowed down so we don’t miss nothing. When s**t gets moving too fast you miss everything. s**t’s slowed down here so we see it all.
I come from the era when New York and L.A. had the only Hip Hop, and they weren’t f**kin’ with us, at all. If you think I’m lyin’, check the history of Hip Hop. Try to pull up some footage from the 1989/1990 New Music Seminar. That’s what I base my whole f**kin’ life on: the New Music Seminar 1989/1990. They was NOT f**kin’ with us. We sold records all over the f**kin’ country and New York made a mockery of it. They f**kin’ booed the Geto Boys in New York. They sure did.
Back when Luke had Skywalker Records and J had Rap-A-Lot Records, they weren’t tryin’ to do no South s**t. “It didn’t come from New York, son, so f**k that.” That was their attitude. Just because a TV was made in Japan, is it a Japanese TV? Or is it just a f**king TV? If a lightbulb was made in China is it a Chinese lightbulb?
It was hard breaking through. It was hard getting respect from the East Coast. We didn’t get no f**kin’ love from nobody. Fab Five Freddy came down here early in our career to see what we were really about, and I respected and appreciated that. But we been having money down here. We been rollin’ f**kin’ Bentleys and Ferraris down here since the 80s. Muthaf**kers ain’t just started rockin’ gold and platinum chains. We had that s**t in high school. s**t, we just now started running out of money. (laughs) That’s how long we been had money down here.
Eventually New York came around and started f**kin’ with us. But for an East Coast-based show to call themselves showing some f**kin’ love by making a Southern watered-down version of what the show is supposed to be or what Hip Hop really is, man, I feel f**ked up about that s**t. Because we fought harder than a muthaf**ker. When [Ice] Cube was on Hip Hop Honors, it wasn’t the “Hip Hop West Coast Honors.” Every part of the ghetto is the same mu’f**kin’ story. Hip Hop is one machine, regardless if you come from New York or B#######, Africa. It’s f**kin’ Hip Hop.
But that’s just [my opinion], and f**k me. I don’t mean nothing. I’m just a n***a who fought harder than a muthaf**ker to get our records played in New York and on the East Coast period. And now all a n***a needs to do is fart on a record and it gets played. So it’s fine by me. I’m cool with that. I’m not mad about it, I just feel disrespected. Whoever goes [to Hip Hop Honors], it’s fine and dandy by me. But if you wanted to do a Southern-based show you shoulda got a n***a DOWN SOUTH to do it in the South.
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