Allhiphop.com: Who are the top West Coast MCs,
in your opinion, and what have they brought to the table of Hip-Hop as a whole?
BLH: I got to go with Yukmouth, Crooked I, 2Pac…I
usually go with people who got lyrics, you know? Hitman from RBL Posse (R.I.P.)
had lyrics, too. X-Raided is one of my favorites, too, you know what I’m saying?
Allhiphop.com: Talk about the new label and the
new artists you got underneath your wing.
BLH: The label is called Siccmade Music. I got
an artist named Loki who appeared on Master P’s "West Coast Bad Boyz II"
with me. That album went gold and probably platinum by now. He developed a name
for himself, so he’s dropping his albums under me. I also got an artist named
C.O.S., who’s been on all my albums. All the albums that did good, he’s been
on all of them.
Allhiphop.com: Have you ever had a major label
deal at any point in your career?
BLH: Actually, I was with Priority Records/Blackmarket
Records. That was around 1994 up until about 1997. Then, the company I went
to court with got kicked off of Priority because they wasn’t handling their
business right. Priority wanted to sign me alone, but the company wouldn’t let
me go. So, I’ve been stuck in court for a couple of years behind that sh*t.
Allhiphop.com: I hear a lot of sh*t about Priority
and how they screw their artists out of their deals with no Vaseline.
BLH: That’s the thing, too, so if I was going
to leave Blackmarket to go to Priority, my manager was like, "I don’t know
if you should do that."
Allhiphop.com: What sort of issues do you have
with major labels and the deals they try to pass on to these artists?
BLH: Shoot man, I’ve always been a firm believer
in not f*cking with them majors. Of course, you are going to like the videos
and the up front money, but I’m telling you, anything they give you, you got
to pay back. I’d rather just go ahead and stay independent. Them major labels
have too much control over how they promote you. If they want to throw $1 million
into your promotion, and if you don’t sell that much, you are going to owe them.
Allhiphop.com: A good example of that situation
is our boy Ras Kass. You see what happened to him at Priority?
BLH: That was kind of f*cked up. I didn’t hear
too much detail, but I heard a lot about it. Even when Ras Kass was with them,
I was on Priority back in them days.
Allhiphop.com: So, you and him were label mates
at one point?
BLH: Yep, and that’s how I found out about him,
man. Every time I went up to Priority, they was bragging about him. I said to
myself, "I need to check this cat out."
Allhiphop.com: Ras is a good dude, but they messed
up his momentum and the rest is history, you know?
BLH: It goes both ways, because they shot JT
The Bigga Figga hella cash to do their joint venture, but he wasn’t able to
come through with some good sh*t. They lost out on JT, so it’s like now, it’s
hard for me to move around in Priority because n*ggas was so tense up in that
muthaf*cka. Then, that Master P. sh*t started jumping off and muthaf*ckas started
getting beat up at Priority…
Allhiphop.com: (laughs)
BLH: You know, I don’t even know nobody up there
no more.
Allhiphop.com: Now, you and C-Bo have another
album coming out right?
BLH: Yeah, we just started working on it. We
are just pre-advertising it and stuff. It’s called "Blocc Movement 2."
It’ll be better, too, based on C-Bo trying to stay out of the pen this time.
Allhiphop.com: Talk about you and your old label
parting ways and what has transpired since that time.
BLH: This Blackmarket thing ain’t nothing nice.
He (the owner) is a millionaire, and he wasn’t trying to pay me nothing. So,
I’ve been in court the last two years fighting it. I finally got half of my
money, but he’s going to make me sell more of my old records to get the rest
of it. He can’t touch it. He can’t touch none of the money or the record company
until the records are sold.
Allhiphop.com: He owns a company that he can’t
get anything out of?
BLH: Nope. We go straight to the attorney until
all my money is gone. It’s been a lot. That’s my underground story, man. But,
it’s the shame sh*t that them big folks be going through.
Allhiphop.com: But, there is more money to be
made in the independent game than there is as a major label artist.
BLH: The only ones getting paid in the majors
is the major label.
Allhiphop.com: (laughs)
BLH: I’m telling you.
Allhiphop.com: Explain to me how an artist can
make a company $100 million dollars, but they aren’t rich themselves?
BLH: (laughs) That’s some real sh*t.
Allhiphop.com: DMX said one time that he sold
three million albums, but the label "loaned" him some money. What
the hell do you mean, "loan" me some money? This cat sold triple platinum,
did mad shows, and kissed a lot of label ass, and they "loaned" him
some money.
BLH: That’s scandalous, man.
Allhiphop.com: Well, I’m glad you decided to
go that route because you have a better opportunity from a financial standpoint.
You can get rich just selling 100,000 copies of this album.
BLH: My preorder for the album was at 47,000
copies. Plus, I got this Sacramento scene sewed up. I sold 42,000 in the first
week with my album "Loaded." It ain’t no Eminem sh*t, but it’s something
to be proud of for out here.
Allhiphop.com: After all the shrink-wrapping
and things like that, how much is your album selling for?
BLH: Blackmarket was selling my old sh*t for
$9.00. I’m selling my double album, which includes a DVD, for $9.50. Usually,
I’ll sell an album for $7.50.
Allhiphop.com: And you had 47,000 orders backlogged?
sh*t! Do the math, homey!
BLH: It cost about $15,000 to make it. Hopefully,
it’ll go good. I’m a good-hearted n*gga, even though I used to do all the gangbangin’
and stuff. I done got older and sh*t, so I think I deserve a little something
because this man done made $3 or $4 million off of me.
Allhiphop.com: What’s this cat’s name, man?
BLH: Cedric Singleton. He’s the owner of Blackmarket
Records, the label I was with for the last nine years.
Allhiphop.com: Exactly when did you have your
falling out with him?
BLH: It was around ’95. Man, I couldn’t get no
other artist on the label to go in with me and sue. All the other artists was
scared to sue. I had to do it by myself, but it still took me 1-½ years
to get it started because I couldn’t make the decision. This n*gga was buying
boats and all that sh*t…
Allhiphop.com: Damn, my man is ballin’ like that?
BLH: Aw sh*t! He got about three houses. I was
going to seize all of his assets, and then I found out he had a boat, three
houses, and all kinds of cars…he was big ballin’!
Allhiphop.com: Man, the game is scandalous!
BLH: I’m telling you, man. I got f*cked, and
it ain’t going to happen again. He ended up getting f*cked in the end, though.
Allhiphop.com: You can’t enjoy fruit that was
wrongfully obtained.
BLH: The f*cked up thing is if that n*gga was
smart, he would have gotten away with more. I was lucky to be dealing with a
dumb n*gga.
Allhiphop.com: He isn’t the smartest executive
in the world, huh?
BLH: He got some smarts and he knows a lot about
the music business because he’s been in it for about 15 years. He did a lot
of f*cking up, and my lawyer was like, "I can’t believe you was f*cking
with this dude because he keeps f*cking up." My lawyer’s from L.A., and
he seems like he’s a gangsta or something.
Allhiphop.com: (laughs)
BLH: The way he be talking, I like that sh*t,
you know?
Allhiphop.com: Sometimes you don’t need that
suit and tie wearing, Harvard grad type of cat to handle your business. You
need somebody that can give it to you raw, you know?
BLH: That’s real, and he seems like he cares
about the artist, you know I’m saying? These muthaf*ckas make millions off of
artists, you know what I’m saying?
Allhiphop.com: Why do you think Jews own most
of the game? It isn’t because they like Black people and they like Hip-Hop so
much. They know where the gold mines are located.
BLH: That’s some real sh*t right there.
Allhiphop.com: I’m going to tell you the honest
truth. I’m from the East Coast, but I never seen anyone on the "businessman"
level like I’ve seen since I moved to California. You, C-Bo, E-40, and other
rappers are really getting that real money and not letting these labels screw
y’all around. I really respect that about y’all cats, man.
BLH: Tackle this game region by region. That’s
how I sold in the first place. Even when I was with Blackmarket, you know they
are entirely independent. We just hit region to region. I was doing show after
show all the way from ’92 to ’97. I kept doing shows and it was helping my sh*t
sell. I rap for myself, so I didn’t think I was going to do all cool back east.
Chicago is one of my big areas, and so is Cleveland. I’ve sold a little bit
in New York…at least 50,000 to 100,000 copies over the years. I try to
let the East Coast know in some of my rhymes that I have an East Coast background.
I ain’t never even been to New York.
Allhiphop.com: Describe your town and what it
has to offer as far as the Hip-Hop scene and the general vibe of the people.
BLH: Sacramento has everything, man. It’s mostly
bangin’, but when you get to the downtown area, you catch the Hip-Hoppers and
stuff. I’ll be producing for some of them. I like to stay up in that scene and
stay away from the other stuff.