Back in 2002 the South was not enjoying the prominence it is
today. A then teenaged Archie “Mr. Evasocold” Eversole, randomly appeared and
shocked the nation with his debut hit “We Ready.”
“I was fifteen years old; about to turn sixteen when I
recorded it,” Archie reminisces. “I really didn’t have any expectations for it.
I was just trying to record good music. I was young and thrilled that I had the
opportunity to record a album.”
The track quickly consumed the country becoming a nationwide
anthem, helping to detonate a combustible region. Both the NFL and NBA
recognized the catalytic effects the song possessed and featured it in their
national campaigns. Following the ‘02 release of his debut, Ride Wit Me Dirty South Style, Archie’s
sweltering progress cooled due to the fiscal irresponsibility of his manager.
“I had a whole second album done with Bobby Brown, Whitney
Houston, Bun B, Big Gipp, Baby from Ca$h Money. …the one person, he had spent
all the money,” says Archie. “There was no way to release another record. It
was just bad management of the money. It happens all the time, especially when
people ain’t used to that type of money. Our first budget was somewhere around
1.2 [million] and then MCA folded about three, four months after that.”
Years passed and Archie’s buzz was frozen; his sophomore
effort, banished to a frigid lyrical purgatory. Chaka Zulu of DTP and
Jazzy Pha were some of the people who were interested in working with Archie.
Says Archie, “I kept working; it never deterred me away from my craft or what I
do,” determination is enunciated with each syllable.
Deciding to completely leave the streets, Archie rededicated
his life to his craft; soon a deal with Slummed Out/Dry Rain Ent. followed. Khari
“Needlz” Cain, the nucleus of Dry Rain Ent. and the creative guru behind
Fabolous’, “Think Y’all Know,” shares a ridiculous musical chemistry with
Archie. “I move off him, he move off me. We always just continue to work and
always try to make a better quality of music,” attests Archie.
Wanting to dispel his status as a one-hit-wonder, Archie
plans to re-ignite his career by releasing his mixtape, Back Like I Never Left. Archie is contemplating if his sophomore
endeavor will be released as an independent venture or with the backing of a
major label. Either way, he emphatically states, “I’m really doing it for my
fans that stuck with me and still want to hear from me.” Reintroducing himself to the public with, “What Money Sound
Like” and “How U Like Me Now,” Archie plans to motivate his listeners just as
he was motivated by his top five Southern MCs.
Archie Eversole
“I’m number one because unlike most South n****s I can rap a
whole lot of different ways; which they really gonna see on this mixtape. You
know, because a lot of n****s ain’t really heard a lot of s**t from me to know
what to expect…
Hold on, hold on, my n***a’s giving me ego training, right
quick. I’m number one because I brought out this crunk s**t in 2002! N***a,
when I was 16 years old being a phenomenon in the game, ya dig? My record is
still used to, you know, introduce in stadiums of 100s of 1000s of fans, they
sing, ‘We are ready!!!’” [laughs]
Andre 3000
“Andre 3000. Andre 3000 because I feel like he’s the best
rapper out’a the South, period, point blank. Anybody get mad tell them to suck
a d**k. Hell yeah! He’s, he’s almost—I would say, when I was younger, I
used to want to be like Andre…before the clothes changed, but I’m talking about
flowing wise. He’s gonna be different on every single thing he does. You’re
never gonna hear Dre have the same flow on practically anything; unless you go
back to some of his old old Outkast s**t. But on the new stuff he did, he’s
never gonna be the same. He’s always pushing the envelope, ya dig?
“I love Outkast… a lot of people like Outkast for different
reasons. Some people like Big Boi more than they like Dre. Them n****s really
did something with that ATLiens CD; that was my favorite. They painted
a real good picture of what Atlanta was. That was really when I really heard Outkast featuring a lot of
people too. I heard Dre 3000, I was like damn, that n***a s**tted on all you
n****s on this track! That’s when they started coming kinda hardcore too.
“[Outkast] put us on a nice pedestal when ATLiens dropped. Especially how they
used the name of the album, this is how it is in the A. Back then them ATL n****s
could rap. Now, you got all these n****s f###### up what my city stand for;
damn, dawg. Them n****s probably out there like, ‘Look what these n****s did
with my legacy. We built the s**t up, get the s**t to jumping, now look what
y’all n****s do.’”
A Life In The Day Of Benjamin André (Incomplete) – Andre 3000
Scarface
“Scarface, [his] realism and how he kept it. I mean he can
spit too. All, my favorites could really spit. I like ‘Face because he was one
of the first artists out of the South to ever go live. The main reason I like
him is because of his reality and he’s the s**t. Scarface, he’s one of our
pioneers; he’s always been on reality. And he never let the industry
commercialize him too much.
“Back in the day in the Geto Boys era, it was real hardcore
then. And Scarface was really speaking the reality of it. Like; s**t, “I ain’t
never see a man cry til I see a man die,” ya dig? See, that’s something that
you might not even know nothing about. Because Hip-Hop is now this corporate
machine I think he’s ready to retire from Hip-Hop because of what Hip-Hop has
become. It wasn’t like that back then.
“Now, especially when the albums don’t sell like they used
to…it’s like we’re just advertising tools, we’re getting paid by corporate
sponsorships and s**t. That’s what be killing me. But that’s gonna be said in
another interview. It’s crazy, they tell us that we sold out Hip-Hop; but y’all
did all the deals that sold it out.”
I Never Seen A Man Cry – Scarface
Bun B
“Bun B [is] one of my favorites. He’s one of my favorites,
as in spittin’. He took the South
to a new level, you know what I’m saying? Like on the “Big Pimpin’” and s**t
like that, he showed n****s that we could really spit; that it wasn’t just making
dance music.”
MJG
“MJG, that’s another one. But you see, South n****s weren’t
raised on who’s the best lyrical, it was about who got the best delivery. Now
if you got lyrical ability, which you do with Bun B and MJG. But, even them n****s
had to realize what the game has become. You have to dumb down…you can’t be out
here trying to be the best rapper in the world right now. Like even if you can
be, you can’t do that right now. It’s f**ked up to say this, I never thought I
would say this about Hip-Hop, but that’s bad for business.” [laughs]
“Check for the mixtape. I appreciate all the support of the
people who still support me up here now. Me and Needlz in here creating this
stupid sh*t; it’s going digital. I’ma be working real hard. So, they’re gonna
hear a lot from me to make up from the time passed, ya dig. But, other than
that, God bless. Man, keep grinding.”
Archie Eversole f/ Ray Lavender “Keep
Winning”
Archie Eversole “What Money Sounds Like” (p###
by Needlz)
