He was born and reared in a borough of Hip-Hop elitists, purists, and pioneers. He brokered his first deal to the tune of $300,000 off the strength of a now classic verse [“Give Up The Goods”] from Mobb Deeps seminal The Infamous. His debut album (really an EP), aptly titled, Episodes of a Hustla landed on the streets during a time when the creativity of your music held far more precedence than a catchy chorus or corporate appeal.Due to personal reasons, after his 1996 debut Big Noyd waited seven years to release another album. Since his resurgence in 2003, Noyd has toured the world and released four well received LP’s. As a constant mainstay on Mobb Deep tracks, Noyd has managed to stay afloat in a finicky industry thanks to a mixture of street knowledge, gritty wordplay, and a love for his craft. With a reinvigorated passion for the game and the release of his new album Illustrious, slated for January 22nd release, Rapper Noyd sat down with AllHipHop.com to discuss the new album, the kids, and his new situation with Koch Records. AllHipHop.com: So how did you come up with the title for the album?Big Noyd: Illustrious. It’s something to the meaning of a shining star. You know I’m a star in my own right. I don’t sell millions of records, you don’t see me on BET, MTV, or no stuff like that, but just making it from where I come from, statistically I’m supposed to be dead or in jail at this point. So in my own right I’m a star. I’m not just going to be an artist no more. From this point you’re going to have Noyd Inc. which is my label. That’s who I put out my last album with and it was distributed by Caroline (Records). I’m going to be even stronger hopefully with the push from Koch. You know I’ll become more of a business man than just an artist.AllHipHop.com: M.O.P.’s Lil’ Fame is Executive Producing the album. How did that come about?Big Noyd: No doubt. Fame is the man. What’s crazy is I’ve known him for a while but I’ve never done any music with him before. I happened to go to a studio out in Brooklyn and he was in the back working on some beats. I heard one of the beats and I’m like damn that’s some crack. He was like what you doing? I’m like nothing. He was like lets get on it lets do it. I did that one joint… and that’s how real Hip Hop comes about you know, you don’t plan it. We did that one song and it came out so crazy he was like what you doing tomorrow? I was like I’m here. He was like come on let’s do it. I’ve been going back and forth there every other day doing like ten songs. We picked like the best four out of the ten. And he was like let’s continue. Fame was like are you working with any other producers? I was like yeah. He said do you mind if I check out the beats. I said yeah no doubt. And I didn’t even know fame did beats. All them hot joints he did for M.O.P., I thought Preem (DJ Premier) did em’. Come to find out he did em’, I was going crazy. Seeing him in their on the MPC going hard. Digging through crates. I’m like, “Wow, damn this boy is nice.” So when he asked to let him sit in and listen to some of the beats that I was going to pick. I was like definitely so that’s how that whole thing begun.AllHipHop.com: So Fame did the first single, “Things Done Changed.”Big Noyd: Yeah.AllHipHop.com: That’s a real soulful track. Does the whole album have that soulful feel?Big Noyd: You got like two or three joints on the album like that. You’ve got “Things Done Changed,” we also got “We Gotta Get It Right,” which is featuring 40 Glocc from L.A. That one right there is more about, no matter how you look at it, we’ve got kids looking up to us. You know, I’m not just going to cross over because I’m still struggling. I’ve still got that struggle in my heart. And with the same token I’ve got a nine year old daughter. So at one point you’ve got to really realize that we do have kids listening to us so we’ve got to get it right. I’ve got a couple of joints on the album that’s like that. All the other joints is still that struggle, that shoot em up bang bang on the block. And hopefully one day we can all survive from that. There’s a lot of energy with this album. Like, a lot of theses songs, not that it’s not good for the cars, for the whips, and for the house, but you really want to see me perform these songs because there’s a lot of energy. It’s like performance type songs.AllHipHop.com: So besides Lil’ Fame and 40 Glocc who else can we expect to hear from on the album?Big Noyd: I’ve got Joell Ortiz on there. That boy spits so ill. I’ve got Rick Rude producing. I’ve got DJ Skiz. And it’s not like I really wanted to keep Mobb Deep out of the loop on this album. There’s some joints I wanted them on. There was some legal difficulties with G-Unit and Koch Records and stuff like that. And at same time I didn’t want the same ol’ what people expected that Mobb Deep was going to be all over with the Queensbridge sound. Not that I didn’t want it. It worked out well because they’re not really on this album. So my next project maybe I can go back to my homies and the sound that we all know and love, and add it to the new flavor of Rick Rude and Fame from M.O.P. and mix it up with the next project. I kept them out of the loop just to show the world I can stand on my own two as well.AllHipHop.com: So can we expect any videos any time soon?Big Noyd: We shot a video for “Things Done changed,” we just got the first edit back yesterday. I loved it, the video came out great, I love the colors, it’s a real clean video. I just need to add a little more drama. So there’s a few things we’ve got to take out and a few things we’ve got to add, so hopefully we’ll have the video up by next week.AllHipHop.com: So we’ve seen both Alchemist and Prodigy put out albums on Koch. Did their dealings with the label influence you to go with Koch?Big Noyd: Yes and No. I actually did a joint with Bob Perry. I believe he’s an A&R up here at Koch. He had his own label Landspeed which dropped Cormega and the 50 Cent album. I put an album out through them also. So with him working up here at Koch that’s what really plugged me in but it definitely helped to know that my homies are over here and they’re comfortable. So the transition was good because Koch knows me but they also know Alchemist and Prodigy. So they know what to do with my type of music. So it kind of works it self out.AllHipHop.com: You’ve been on practically every other offering from the Mobb camp except Blood Money. What was the reason for behind that?Big Noyd: A lot of people don’t understand that before the Mobb Deep/G-Unit situation, Mobb Deep was in the hole. They put out an album with Jive, so when the head of the stake is cut off it leaves everything else out of place and that’s what Mobb Deep is, Havoc and Prodigy they the head of the clique. So when they was going through their struggles imagine what we, the people in the camp, was going through. At that time everybody was doing the solo thing so when we all get something we can bring it all back to the table. At that time 50, as a business man, was like I’m not going to put Infamous Mobb or Big Noyd flooded on a G-Unit album because if this album go platinum or double platinum, which I’m guessing they were expecting, and now Noyd go get a situation on the strength of G-Unit…he’s not signed to me underneath no papers. That’s just business and I respect that. The love with me and Mobb Deep is never going to change. Havoc mother and my mother is like sisters. Our relationship goes too deep before rap.AllHipHop.com: So a lot of people are hating on some of the stuff coming from the south, but I read an interview the other day where you said as long as everyone’s getting their money then…Big Noyd: I don’t knock it man. To be honest I enjoy it. When I’m in my car man, if I’m not waking up going straight to the studio or listening to some beats in the whip, I’m R&B. So I don’t really even listen to down south or even New York Hip-Hop. Unless I’m going to the club because that’s what they play in the clubs. The women like it so I love it. And my daughter she’s nine now, she’s sees the videos the dances, so to see her enjoy it, I enjoy it. It may not be anything you’ll catch me doing. Not to say I won’t work with a south artist. I would definitely work with a Southern artist, but like dancing in the videos that’s just not me. AllHipHop.com: So for someone that doesn’t know Big Noyd and Big Noyd’s music what can they expect?Big Noyd: Google the name and check my track record. I’m not just one of these artists that’s jumping out on the scene right now because everyone is doing it. I’ve paid my dues. And if you like real Hip-Hop you can tell I helped pioneers. Maybe not in the sense where Mobb Deep carried the load but I definitely played my part and played my position and did my job and what I was expected to do. I put my heart into it. And that’s one thing I want them to know. I’m young at heart because of music. It helps me grow. So for me to lay something down on a track and people enjoy it, it makes me feel so much better. The money’s always good but for me to see somebody appreciate my music it means a lot more to me than the money. I love Hip-Hop and I don’t want it to go anywhere.AllHipHop.com: Are you doing anything for Prodigy before he goes away?Big Noyd: We just trying to do a whole bunch of music and videos with him. Ain’t too much fun you can have with your brother when you know he’s going for that long. How we make fun out of it is all of us making music and making videos and making that fun.AllHipHop.com: So what’s a typical studio session like for you?Big Noyd: I like when the studios crowded. I bring five of my homies. The producer, if I don’t know him, he bring five of his homies. We conversating, somebody mention something street or something that happened at a club, at The Tunnel back in the day. Then the stories start flowing and I’ll pick out little things from those conversations. We kicking our war stories, vibing, like we family. When you get people all in the same room that all love the same thing you see how well we get along from Rap music. If we see each other in the streets we ice grilling each other and its problems but if we meeting in the studio it’s all love. That’s why Hip-Hop can’t go anwhere. We need it to keep us together.Mobb Deep f/ Big Noyd “Give Up The Goods (Just Step)”Mobb Deep f/ Big Noyd “The Learning (Burn)”Big Noyd “Shoot Em Up (Bang Bang)”