(AllHipHop Exclusive) Last week AllHipHop.com ran a story about a recent interview former Cash Money rapper Turk did with the G14 internet radio show. In the interview, Turk was asked his opinion about Lil Wayne’s motivation for his lyric “hoes love me like Satan” from the song “B*tches Love Me.” Turk’s answer began with him sharing his own personal experiences with drug use and left an impression that could be taken to mean Wayne’s choice of words was connected to being under the influence of controlled substances.
Turk later addressed the media’s coverage of his comments in a tweet and through a press release stating that his words were taken out of context. AllHipHop.com was able to speak with Turk by phone so he could directly discuss the situation and clear up the matter.
In part 1 of AllHipHop’s exclusive interview, Turk explains his previous comments, his issues with the media, and whether he believes Lil Wayne is currently using drugs. In part 2, Turk also covers new music, possibly signing with another major label, his view on the young rappers in the game, and what’s next for the Louisiana native.
AllHipHop.com: You felt like the media took your comments about Lil Wayne from the G14 interview out of context. Can you explain exactly what you meant when you were referencing your own personal drug issues in your answer to that question?
Turk: I never talk behind a person’s back. Where I come from if we can’t say it to your face we ain’t gonna say it all. My whole thing with that situation, on what they was asking me, is I really couldn’t speak on the Lil Wayne that they talk about today because I don’t know that Lil Wayne. What I mean by that is the Wayne that the media portrays him to be. When I see Lil Wayne, I see a Lil Wayne that I know on a personal level. The Wayne I know, we still cool. I reached out to Wayne when I felt they twisted my words in the title of the interview – “Turk [suggests] drugs overpowering Lil Wayne.” That’s a lie.
I did talk about my drug addiction and I did compare my situation with the person they were portraying Wayne to be. Not personally saying Wayne is a drug addict, cause I’ve personally never seen him do any drugs so I couldn’t speak on that person. They took it, ran with it and twisted it up. Not G14, the other blogs. I understand the business side of the media, but them lies got to stop. If you gonna do an [article] on me. Say it like I say it. Don’t twist my words, because that becomes a problem.
You did put out a tweet saying you felt that like the media took you out of context, but that was about eight hours after a lot of the blogs had already started running the stories, and on your Twitter feed you actually retweeted a lot of those articles.
That was before I read it. I didn’t think they was gonna just twist my words like that. Then when I actually took time to read it, I was like ‘damn they trying to start some beef.’ So before it even got out of hand I reached out to Lil Wayne and I let him know what they was trying to do.
I don’t participate in no media frenzy. That ain’t me. I don’t even like that s###. They always trying to start some s###. I just did 8 Years, 8 Months and 16 days not for no b#######. For something that was real life, so I don’t play no games. I don’t want nobody playing with me. I don’t have no beef with anybody in the industry. I’m home. I’m a family man. I got responsibilities, so I ain’t with no b#######. So I’m gonna make sure I make that clear.
The interviewer asked you a question about a particular lyric that Wayne said, and then in your response you started by talking about your own personal drug use. Could you see how it could be interpreted that you were making a connection between drug use and the Wayne was acting?
I could see that, but at the end of the day read the whole message and see that I was talking about me. G14 didn’t take it that way, because they was the one who got the whole interview. AllHipHop.com took it to mean that way, because y’all wanted it to mean that way. I don’t have no ill will toward y’all. I not mad at it, but I’m addressing that today, because I felt that it was some f##### up s### for y’all to do it like that. Then everybody else seemed like they ‘followed the leader.’ Then when we cleaned it up, they followed that. The media do whatever’s out there. That’s their job to create a story, but my story is real. When it comes from me it’s gonna be ten times a hundred.
Just to be clear. You’re saying that you don’t believe Wayne is on drugs?
I don’t have no evidence. That’s like me going to trial, and they saying I’m guilty for something and they just got circumstantial evidence. They just got “he said, she said.” They didn’t see nothing. Guess what? I’m gonna walk. It don’t matter if I did it or not. I’m going walk, because they don’t have no evidence of that.
I don’t have no evidence of Wayne doing nothing. I haven’t seen it in my eyesight. As far as what people rap about, I rap about s###. It’s just like Denzel Washington acting in Training Day. That don’t mean he a bad person. When he go home, he’s a family man. We paint pictures. We got people that really do live this lifestyle. I use to do heroin and cocaine, but I don’t do it no more. I can still rap about it, because I done been did that. We still got people going through that struggle.
So to answer that question I don’t know. I haven’t seen it. When me and [Wayne] talk, he sounds sober to me. He don’t sound like he’s out of his mind or none of that. We talk about our family and what we about to do in this industry. Everything else, that s### for the birds.
I want to go off something you said about artists painting pictures, telling stories. There has been a lot of controversy the last few months in Hip Hop dealing with that very subject. You had the Rick Ross situation, the situation with Wayne and the songs that cost them to lose endorsement deals. That started a debate about should artists be held responsible for what they say or is it just entertainment. What’s your take on that?
It’s entertainment, but we hold a standard in the world, so sometimes we got to watch what we say. Even if it sounds right at the time. We got to watch what we say, because people are gonna judge us. They gonna point all they fingers at us. Ain’t none gonna point back at them. They gonna point all eight fingers and two thumbs at us. We gotta watch what we say, because at the end of the day the majority rules. The system, that’s why I put out a cd called Blame It On The System, they want us to continue to keep taking these loses so they can move us out the way, and put somebody else in the position and continue to make a mockery out of us.
My whole thing is we have to watch what we say sometimes, or be able to suffer the consequences when it comes. But when it’s come to b#######, you address that too. I’m gonna stand for everything man, so I won’t fall for anything. And everybody around me I gonna make them respect me. That’s all ask for is respect, and I’m gonna give respect. That’s what we missing in this game. F### the media. No disrespect to AllHipHop.com or any other bloggers or anybody else reporting these stories. At the end of the day you have to realize you’re a human being, I’m a human being. We all come from something, and we all trying to get somewhere. So we should stop trying to tear each other down to make ends meet or get to a certain place. I’m off that.
To download Turk’s Blame It On The System or Louisianimalz Vol mixtapes visit datpiff.com
Watch Turk’s video for “Blame It On The System” featuring Gunplay below.
Photo credit: Julius KodaK Wilson