Part 2: Looking Forward
Most in the Hip-Hop community believed Alfamega’s career had come to an abrupt end in the first week of May 2009. T.I. had kicked him out of Grand Hustle without even notifying him. The whole ordeal was based on a report by thesmokinggun.com, which pegged Alfamega as a government informant. At the time of the report, few realized that he was going through one of the most traumatic personal experiences of his own life. But beyond the facts often lie emotions, and sometimes even the truth.
Here in part two of our exclusive interview with Alfamega, who remains focused on healing and getting back to the music. The former “Grand Hustle Muscle” and his manager Reek shed more insight on what the last couple of months really mean.
AllHipHop.com: With everything that’s happened, were does your music career stand right now?
Alfamega: Me, I’m moving forward, I’m still on my own two feet. Like I said, I have no ill will towards anyone. I’ma just take everything on my own shoulders and run with it. I’m Muslim, I pray five times a day. I don’t hate that dude [T.I.]. I’m disappointed in his actions.
AllHipHop.com: Did you get a chance to speak to T.I. before he started his sentence last month?
Alfamega: I haven’t spoken to dude. But I checked on him. I talked to people who’s around him. The people around him keep saying ‘Why don’t you just call him?’ For what? I ain’t got nothing to talk to him about. He took his stance where he’s at, Imma stand over here where I’m at. [Editorial Note: Since this interview, Alfamega tells AllHipHop.com he has since reached out to the Grand Hustle camp and sent a message to T.I. that he’d like for the two of them to speak.]
AllHipHop.com: What do you think was T.I.’s motivation in making the announcement he made?
Alfamega: He had his legal issues. People tried to spread rumors, “Alfa had something to do with his case.” Come on man! He know that [isn’t true]. If y’all go talk to him, Tip know for a fact, Alfa ain’t have nothing to do with his case. Alfa ain’t even know his case was going down. Alfa ain’t even know he was doing what he was doing with dude. I’m not part of your security team. My name got brought up in it in the indictment. They mentioned my name and they mentioned C Rod’s name.
AllHipHop.com: Were you with T.I. on the night he got arrested?
Alfamega: No, I wasn’t there. I found out he was arrested [because] I got a call from Busta Rhymes. I was on my way home. I was with my people. The people that was with him when he got arrested was C Rod and them. I wasn’t with him.
AllHipHop.com: So how did your name get involved?
Alfamega: The dude Biggs, the informant, he involved my name in that s**t. He put C Rod’s name in it. Basically it was a blatant lie. He threw our name in there. But all of a sudden, everybody wanna scream “Alfa, Alfa. His name was in Tip’s indictment, how come nothing ain’t happen to him?” If you go back and read the indictment, what was there for you to lock us up for? Ain’t nobody knew what Tip was doing.
Reek: If you look at the video from the BET Awards, immediately, you see the emotions that’s pouring out of Alfa.
Alfamega: I was the first one screaming “Free T.I.P.” I wasn’t even gonna perform. They made me perform.
Reek: “Hurt” was performed that year. And you can tell from the look on the crowd, they had no idea why he was screaming free TI. Some people are gonna say that still can be acted out. But anyone that knows Alfa knows he wears his emotions on his sleeve. That’s authentic.
AllHipHop.com: With all that being said, do you betrayed?
Alfamega: I feel disappointed. If you look up the word “disappointment” and “betrayal” comes up under that, I guess you could say that. I’m not a scholar. I’m a regular Joe. Like my manager said: I wear my emotions on my sleeve. If I don’t like you, I don’t like you. I’m not gonna walk around and shake hands with you and kick it with you like I like you.
AllHipHop.com: Now, back to that document that says you were originally sentenced to 110 months and your sentence was reduced. You’re saying that information isn’t factual. So where did the document come from?
Alfamega: I don’t know. I’m telling you if a document existed like that it would have my signature on it. Every time you go to court and you sign a plea agreement, you gotta sign it. There ain’t no if, ands or buts about it. Anybody that been arrested for anything [knows] you gotta sign the paperwork.
AllHipHop.com: Do you have any ideas where it would’ve come from? [Here is the original report.]
Alfamega: [Laughs] Believe me: if I knew, you would know. CNN would know.
AllHipHop.com: Who’s the guy you supposedly provided this evidence against?
Alfamega: This guy named Ali. I didn’t even know Ali from the streets. We don’t know each other. That man ain’t came out and said nothing against me. And this what people not looking at. They say this man got locked up in ’97; this man got out in 2002. He got out a couple of months after I did. This man been on the street this whole time. If this many had any beef with me, he know my name and he know my face. This man coulda been stepped up and said something. So why everybody saying this and that, and this man ain’t never came to me. I don’t have nothing against Ali. I’ma apologize to him for his name getting caught up in all of this. I’ma do that right now. I know that’s something that’s on his shoulders right now because his name is in the middle of a lot of bulls**t.
AllHipHop.com: How do you think you’re going to be affected by all of this moving forward, as far as the relationships you had established, etc.?
Alfamega: If you were my friend, you’re my friend. If you got something to ask me, come to me and ask me. If I ain’t never bulls**tted you before, I ain’t gonna bulls**t you now. If you take the side of what’s on the internet and all that, me and you was never like that any way. It is what it is. If you don’t wanna mess with me? Cool, don’t mess with me. I’ma do me.
AllHipHop.com: With that being said, how do you plan on dealing with your label status?
Alfamega: I never listened to the radio interview. But I was told he said I ain’t got nothing to do with them, right?
AllHipHop.com: But at the same time, since you never got a release, if you put out something and it sells, they get a cut. So what’s the plan?
Reek: That’s the issue the public doesn’t understand. Business is not handled through the internet. Business is not handled through radio interviews. When real business transactions take place, it’s done in black and white. Which means you have a binding contract, which my client Alfamega has with Grand Hustle. They’re still obligated to Alfa. So you can denounce whatever you want, you can make all the accusations that you want, but until you present us with some kind of documentation, you’re still contractually obligated to us. So right now, what [T.I.]’s done is breached the contract. There are certain things that an artist has to do or provide to a label, and that’s stipulated on the contract. On the other side, there are obligations that they have to provide. There’s nothing that stipulates that if you catch a case or something like that or if you have any past history, we’ll void this contract. So he’s basically put Alfa in the driver’s seat. They can buy him out of his contract. I think right now, Alfa’s in a great position. I’m not a lawyer, but I have some knowledge of the contract between Alfamega, Grand Hustle and Capitol.
AllHipHop.com: So what’s next for you guys?
Reek: Before this whole situation had taken place, a lot of people where probably not aware of this, he was being promoted as “the Grand Hustle Muscle.” But through out the whole Shawty Lo/T.I. beef, he was the one denouncing the beef. Besides the Dirty Awards where there was that altercation where Alfa was, again, being a soldier for Tip and riding for Grand Hustle. You didn’t see Young Dro, you didn’t see L.A. You only saw Alfamega and Big Kuntry. All that to say, Alfa’s gonna continue to do what he needs to do. Grand Hustle, where they go with that, that’s on them. Jason [Geter] is an intelligent businessman, him and Tip, they built a successful organization. But you have to realize what you have in your camp.