Bang’em Smurf: Life after G-Unit

Queens, New York has bred some of the finest rap artists, but at the same time, the borough has produced some of the biggest beefs in hip-hop. Former G-Unit member Bang’em Smurf came to national recognition when he went on record and had some unfavorable things to say about one of hip-hop’s biggest stars, 50 […]

Queens, New York has bred some

of the finest rap

artists, but at the same time, the borough has produced some of the biggest

beefs

in hip-hop. Former G-Unit member Bang’em Smurf came to national recognition

when

he went on record and had some unfavorable things to say about one of

hip-hop’s

biggest stars, 50 Cent. But the beef is quite deeper than simple talk – a fact

revealed after talking to Smurf.

The infighting is something that Bang ‘Em Smurf says won’t

interfere with his

latest aspiration, GF Records and The Silverback Guerrillaz [with Fredro Starr

and Domination]. Smurf and his new clique appear to be climbing the exact ladder

that 50 Cent used to rise to prominence in 2002 and 2003. Recently, Smurf

charges that 50 showed up at a GF Records video shoot and allegedly hurled

violent threats.

With the rap juggernaut an he too reach the top?

AllHipHop.com: There are rumors that 50 waved a hand gun or made some kind of

threat. What happened at the video shoot that day?

Bang ‘Em Smurf: He did not wave no handgun. His hands were outside his

pockets,

beside his waist the whole time. He had police with him. He had two vans of

police

with him. All he did was jump out. I had my dudes over there. I was in the

trailer

[when he came] and somebody told me ‘I think 50 rode by but I wasn’t

sure. I think

because he had tint [on his windows].'” I got hype like, ‘What?

Son is coming

through my sh*t?’ I though he was trying to shut my sh*t down. So, I went

outside

and me and [50] made eye contact as he was turning the corner. I guess

that’s

what made him jump out. So I started going crazy. I’m like, ‘Son, how

you gonna

come through here with police.’ When he jumped out the police jumped out

with

him. So, I’m thinking, ‘What does this dude think he is – George Bush

or something?’

I’m like, ‘Son, you not the president. Why are you coming through here

with police?’

All he said was, ‘What are you thinking about?’ I’m like,

‘What? B#### ass n####.’It was like 500 people out there for my video

shoot. Everybody out there shouting

‘Guerilla Gang.’ [50] took his loss like a man. He turned around,

jumped in his

van and left. Police left with him, jumped in their van and left.

AllHipHop.com: Were these plainclothes cops or uniformed ones? BES:

There were plainclothes cops and men in black.

AllHipHop.com: So tell me about the label situation you have going on.

BES: We just got our label off the ground. Me, Domination, and Fredro

Starr – it’s called GF Records. We did a 2-for-1 video for my hood n*ggas

and for the

females. AllHipHop.com: What’s the “GF” stand for?

BES: That’s for Gangsta Flip Records. AllHipHop.com: Is

this the Silverback Guerillas or something else?

BES: Bang ‘Em Smurf and Domination is Silverback Guerillas. That’s

the name of

our group. The name of the company is GF Records, Bang ‘Em Smurf,

Domination and

Fredro Starr. AllHipHop.com: Speak on Domination. His buzz is crazy

right now. BES: That’s my boy right now. That’s Freaky

Tah’s little cousin, God bless the dead. Domination’s been

rappin’ for a long time. He’s been rappin’ since he waslike 14.

Everybody raps, but they didn’t have songs. They can kick a freestyle,

write 16 bars. Domination is so talented, he can do all that. He’s in

school as well, John Jay College. He works as well. He’s very intelligent.

He ain’t a regular street dude. His vocabulary is crazy. Domo hard working,

that’s all I can say

about him. He rhymes hard. AllHipHop.com: Do you have a release date for

Domination? BES: We pushed it back and I’m going to just keep the

promotion going. We definitely

coming this summer. AllHipHop.com: What was the video that you shot?

BES: “You’ll Lose” and “Fool For You.”

It’s a 2-for-1 video. “Fool For You” is the original single but

that’s for the shorties. We got an image to uphold so you know we

couldn’t just come out on some shorty junk. We did the hard joint

first [“You’ll Lose”] and then we calmed it down. I think

everybody going to enjoy

this.AllHipHop.com: Do you rhyme?

BES: I don’t rhyme at all. I take care of the

business.AllHipHop.com: Everybody thinks that you rhyme too.BES:

I just do the ad libs. You know what Freaky Tah did for the Lost Boyz. Everybody

thought he rapped too. AllHipHop.com: Do you have any other

artists?BES: I have two other artists. Young Dice, he’s 14.

He’s in school as well. This boy is incredible. He writes his own rhymes

and everything.AllHipHop.com: Who else you got?BES: I got Big

Swing. We call him the beast of the game. We gonna be here for a

minute.AllHipHop.com: How did you link of with Fredro Starr?BES:

We were in the streets grinding, droppin’ our mixtapes. When me and 50 had

our fallout, I always had Domination as one of my artists in the cut. I felt it

was time that I started working on my artist. So, we went in the studio and we

dropped our mixtapes a month and a half later and the streets embraced it. By

that time, we dropped a second mixtape and that’s when the industry started

to embrace us. Fredro Starr reached out because we were on every mixtape that

was on the street. DJ Sickamore gave him my number. I think two days later, we

linked

up and went out to eat and the next thing you know – we

here.AllHipHop.com: You used to be down with 50 heavily,

right?BES: Yeah, that was my right hand. G-Unit. I grew up with son. We

all from the same neighborhood.

AllHipHop.com: Where did things go wrong with you and 50?BES: I had a

company with 50 called Hollowpoint Entertainment. We had a little

business together and I had 17% of the company. We did the Guess Who’s Back

CD. He was nobody. He wasn’t signed to Em, nobody. He was fighting back to

recovery and I was by his side the whole time. I guess he trusted me to give me

17%. Then 50 just took off. Em came along, Dre came along. Things just went

crazy. I don’t think all of this is 50’s fault, it’s that money.

The n*gga just blew so quick. It all started when I had an altercation with his

road manager. 50 sent everybody back to the hood for four months. I was calling

him the whole four months, I’m leaving messages and nobody is calling me

back. That’s when I started working with Domo [Domination]. But, I caught a

case and he left me in jail. So I came

out and that’s when I really started doing me. I walked

away.AllHipHop.com: Do you think that you will become the new 50 Cent,

in that he will start blocking the moves you make? BES: 50 is doing that

right now. He’s blackballing me right now. Like before me and Fire (Fredro

Starr) ever got together, he knew about it. I don’t know how this dude be

finding his information. He called Fire’s manager like, ‘Yo don’t

do business with him’ or whatever. Fredro is like, ‘Man, them dudes is

talented. I’ma see what they got.’ He be calling them DJ’s too.

For instance, DJ Big Mike. This dude is from Connecticut and he’s a hot DJ.

He hosted my mixtapes, “Groundwork 1 & 2.” He called Big Mike saying,

‘Don’t mess with them dudes.’ But I respected Big Mike as a man

because he told me himself like, ‘Yo, these dudes are on top right now and

I need them.’ I respect that. 50’s really going out of his way to stop

us. He don’t want to see my company go where its got to go, but its too

late.

Once the streets embrace you, there is nothing you can do about it.

AllHipHop.com: Do you think they are losing their street credibility?

BES: They are doing the same thing that Ja Rule was doing. They singing

on every hook. He talking about Ja Rule and now he’s doing that bubble gum

music – even

on mixtapes. Mixtapes is for the streets, it’s supposed to be hard. I

couldn’t

believe it myself. Like ‘Why is he doing this?’ He opened that gangsta

door back

up. N*ggas wanted that. Everybody was on that ‘I need a girl’ stuff.

He messin’

the game up again. The streets have lost their love for homey. Every bridge he

burns is a bridge for us to walk over. AllHipHop.com: Not to harp on 50

too much but, what is he really like since you know him well. Is he like his

image? BES: I grew up with 50. That’s my son’s godfather. That

dude is a good dude, man. He used to hold my son. He’s not…everybody has

a sensitive side, I don’t care who you are. 50 was a good dude. I used to

sleep on that man’s couch. He used

to cook for me. I was his homey. That’s when we had nothing, but when that

money came in, he don’t got no pride no more. …Rolling up in the hood

with two police vans and all the hood n*ggas are laughing at you, throwing

bottles and donuts at you – you should be embarrassed. He ain’t only sh*t

on me, he sh*tted on his

whole community. That song [sings] “I’m so hood” that was real

people from my

neighborhood. He can’t even come back to the community, but 50 was a good

dude. He was a real n*gga. He was a fighter. All that gun talk, 50 ain’t

like that. He knows how to manipulate a n*gga, I’ll tell you that. God

blessed him with that talent. AllHipHop.com: A lot of people think that

the beef between you and 50 will turn bloody one day. Cats don’t want to

see that happen.BES: I’m not trying to go that route, because

I’m doing real good. I’m not worried [about 50] or trying to harm 50.

I got three young artists that are talented and I’m focusing on that now.

I’m tired of that violence. I been there and done that. I’m trying to

get money now. I got kids as well. 50 got kids. My kids know 50

kids. It will never get that serious. Me and 50 will never be friends again. I

was his right hand man at one point. He got love for me the way I still got love

for son, but this is the hood. This ain’t nothing new.

AllHipHop.com: Right.BES: If we see each other and knuckle up,

that’s as far as it goes.AllHipHop.com: Are y’all gonna go at

him the way he went at Ja?

BES: That’s only for the streets. 50 said my name first. I never said his

name. [We have] a diss track , because he tried to swing on Fire (at the Vibe

Awards). Don’t be mad at somebody for doing business with me. I’m

grateful [Fredro] came out of his way to work with me. I’m trying to get up

out the hood too. Don’t disrespect Fredro like that. That’s a good

dude.