Juelz Santana was introduced to the rap game
in a major way. Featured on Cam’Ron’s hits "Oh Boy," and "Hey
Ma," Juelz has seen some interesting things in his life.
Now, the upcoming artist is ready to pick up
where the gold selling album, Diplomatic Immunity left off.
AllHipHop.com: You coming under the umbrella
of Cam, a lot of artists that have come under others, haven’t done as good as
the original or their mentor.
Juelz Santana: I’m just trying to do me. Cam’s
promoting me, I’m promoting me. That’s another reason why Cam tries, when I
go do my shows, he lets me do me. Like a lot of artists, when they coming up,
they use their mentors like right next to them. It’s good to do that too, but
it’s like Cam wants me to go do me. Cam says "I want the people to see
that you are Juelz Santana, you can stand-alone, you could do what you do by
yourself." We family, like I can walk out and he’s right there. It’s always
gonna be that, but it’s just like yo "now it’s your time, if you gotta
stand alone, you gotta stand alone."
AllHipHop.com: What’s going to be featured to
the people?
JS: The album is called Juelz Santana, From
Me To You. Its crazy, super crazy. I put my all in to it. Its like a real long
journey. I take you straight through my own life, I put together an album, not
just something for the people to go buy
AllHipHop.com: Who’s on it?
JS: Really the family and me cause I know my
album would be promoted by hype and all that. This dude on it, this dude on
it. I f*ck with a lot of dudes; I’m about to start working with everybody now.
I just wanted to do my album by myself and have people just really f*ck with
me. I want people to say that Juelz Santana came out and did his thing
AllHipHop.com: What about production wise?
JS: I f*cked a lot with the Heat Majors, like
ya know they got in house producers, I got a couple of beats from Charlotte
Man. I got beats from D.R. Period on my album. I got beats from Jimmy Hendricks;
he worked on Jay’s album. He did the My Way on Jay’s album. I worked with these
dudes from Philly they are like Peddi and them’s in house producers, like Freeway
and them. They do a lot of beats for them, so we reached out and touched bases
with them. I’m saying, who else I go on there? Self which did the Santana sound
joint. I worked with a couple of producers. Just Blaze got a track on there.
AllHipHop.com: So what kind of topics are you
touching on?
JS: I touch everything. Like I said I got a
song about like who am I and like my grandmother she got cancer. I got like
the intro to the album, just talking about everything, all the people who passed
away, Big, recollecting, Big L to Aaliyah, everybody. Just how The Diplomats
was nothing to something to getting out there with Def Jam to Dame having first
rights to the whole sh*t. I got a song called "Jealousy." It’s a song
that I deal with my girl. We had a little fight and I hit her. I brought that
up, ya know where a lot of people don’t like to hear that. I have another song
called "Squally" its about the police. I got a couple of joints that
I touch bases with. I got a song called "Why," its basically why I’m
rapping the beat just keeps saying "why." I’m telling you why everything
is happening in my life, like why this, why that.
AllHipHop.com: Do you put your real life in the
song?
JS: Eight-five percent its me all the way and
I try to bring as much as me as possible. I don’t know how to bring the bull
sh*t in too much., so when I throw it in it ‘s not even me anyway. I try to
stay away from it anyway.
AllHipHop.com: You had said Cam took over the
rock and it caused a lot of controversy. People are talking about that line.
What did you mean when you said that?
JS: I mean like I said, I speak eighty five
percent truth and fifteen percent bullsh*t. What part did that sound like to
you? That’s part is the eighty-five percent right there, know what I’m saying?
Who’s rockin right now. We came over here and we rockin right now, its not like
we took it over in a sense like nobody ain’t come out, but right now we poppin.
Don’t deny what’s hot, if you hot your hot. Its not like anybody went anywhere.
Cam came over and he does what he wants. It’s not like he took it over, but
we get to do what we want, we got our own label. We don’t answer to no one.
AllHipHop.com: Beanie apparently sent out a little
diss to Cam. Have you heard that song yet?
JS: I don’t think that’s possible and anyway,
that was all cleared up. Beanie had stepped to Cam like "you know that
sh*t wasn’t nothing." Cam ain’t even hear that sh*t, but what was it, do
you even no what it was? People was stressing it.
AllHipHop.com: It was on a mixtape in Philly,
Cosmic Kev. The lyrics are out there, but nobody can back it up with audio for
some reason. It’s hard to find.
JS: Yea it was probably some indirect sh*t that
they took. We f*ck with everybody. Nothing is going on in Roc-A-Fella like people
think it is, just that everybody is different people. We come from different
places, different homes. State Property is still State Property, Diplomats is
still Diplomats. Why do they make it seem like Diplomats is not f*ckin’ wit
Roc-A-Fella? State Property is trying to do their own thing like everybody is
trying to do their own thing. The Philly dudes we f*ck wit them, Freeway, Chris,
Neef, Peedie Crack, Beanie, that’s a love thing right there. Those n*ggas is
some real n*ggas. They never cross our line, we never cross their line, so its
like all love between us and the Philly dudes.
AllHipHop.com: So what about your business endeavors?
Can you talk about this stuff?
JS: I got a little store uptown at 51st and
Amsterdam. It’s called Santana’s Town. I’m working it on to the Internet. These
girls are doing my whole clothing line making this Dip Set apparel pop off.
I’ma try to do some movies, but right now I’m focused on this album. That’s
what’s coming, that’s what I want, that’s what’s me.
AllHipHop.com: And you incorporate your mom in
your business too. Can you talk on that a little bit?
JS: My mom’s in my corner a 100 percent. I love
my moms to death. She’s all about Juelz Santana so it’s like I know ain’t nobody
going to get over me when she’s there, all about her baby. That’s my mother.
You ain’t getting over, you ain’t getting nowhere fast, she’s gonna get you.
AllHipHop.com: As far as the references to bloods,
is all that going to chill out?
JS: I don’t reference to bloods, What do you
mean reference to bloods?
AllHipHop.com: Gang signs and stuff.
JS: I’ma keep it funky, they don’t want me to
answer no blood questions. It’s some big sh*t going on. It’s the police and
sh*t.
AllHipHop.com: Where were you when Freeky got
shot?
JS: When Freeky got shot, I was uptown sleeping,
word. What happened that day, I think we went to Hot 97 that day. We was on
Hot 97 that day and I went home. I think they said we were going out to the
club. They called me at four o’clock in the morning. I got the word from some
miscellaneous people so you know the story was twisted. "Zeek got shot
eleven times, face, head, back, neck," so it was like aww damn! I’m like
word, it was four o’clock in the morning. Then I get the word he’s alright,
a little bit better.
AllHipHop.com: What did you think about that
when it happened?
JS: First of all I could’ve been there. Things
ain’t always what it seems. Don’t get caught slippin’, just pay attention to
your surroundings.
AllHipHop.com: Are happy they caught the dudes?
JS: They was gonna get caught.
AllHipHop.com: Ya’ll had another incident in
Boston. Do you get concerned with these things that’s going on?
JS: We never promote violence, we rap about
what we go through and who we are as people, but we never go to the club trying
to start incidents or nothing like that, we just do what we do. We ain’t do
nothing in Boston. Our bus was just pulled over for miscellaneous reasons, for
no reason, whatever the case may be. The more you try to avoid trouble, the
more trouble comes to you cause you’re trying to avoid it. It’s just like not
looking for a girlfriend. The more you start liking a girl or looking for a
girl you can’t find one. If you go in the club looking for trouble, nobody gonna
fight you, cause you in there jumping around, nobody wanna f*ck with you now,
your acting crazy. When your in there chilling’ smoking your weed, dealing with
the chicks, how you do, it’s a problem then, then he a p*ssy. It’s nothing though,
we just chilling. We’re in here to make this music and make this money; we ain’t
here to be beefing with nobody. We ain’t got time for that sh*t yo for real.
AllHipHop.com: What did ya’ll learn from that
David Stern situation (Cam not being allowed to perform during the All-Star
Game half-time show with Mariah Carey) if anything?
JS: You see how they still use us. We’re still
getting used. That’s why they keep saying hip-hop music is fading out. Hiphop
music is bigger than it’s ever been right now. You got people like Eminem in
the game being white, he’s opening up doors. You know Jin is coming in the game
opening doors for Chinese n*ggas.
AllHipHop.com: Do you have any final words for
people in general about you as a person?
JS: I’m me, there ain’t no change in me, I’m
always gonna be me, Juelz Santana, From Me To You. I’m going to be out August
19, get to know me.