Atlanta is typically known as the hot-bed for music coming out of the South, but Columbus Ga. has something to say about that. The Scoundrels, comprised of Big Bo, Christyles, Cutta, and Mr. Malt, are the team that can best be described as society’s villains creating an undesirable variation from the standard. With their Pastor Troy-assisted, “Ghetto” creeping on various charts, their debut album, “4-ever Gullie awaits.
Big Bo and Cutta enjoyed moderate success as a part of the now defunct Backwood Boys watching their single, “Down Here” appear on the prestigious Billboard charts. However, the Scoundrels promise to repeat that success, if they have anything to say about it. Georgia expands its Hip-Hop as AllHipHop.com spoke to Columbus’ promised stars-in-the-making.
AllHipHop.com: It sounds like you guys have something hot going on down in Columbus. In particular, I like the way Mr. Malt flipped his verse on the song, “Alright.” How did you develop your rhyme style?
Mr. Malt: It’s just that old school pimpin’, know what I mean? Like riding in the car listening to Al Green, and I just put it in my rhymes, and ride it like a Cadillac.
AllHipHop.com: Everyone in the group sounds completely different, is it hard to keep your individuality in a group?
Mr. Malt: Naw, it actually makes it easier when everybody does them.
AllHipHop.com: How does the music scene in Columbus differ from other parts of Georgia, like Atlanta?
Mr. Malt: It’s all the same. Everybody just has a little different way of expressing himself or herself. Everybody pretty much talks about the same thing in the rap game, but everyplace and person has their own way of expressing themselves with different slang and mottos and having different names for different things like gats and AK’s and things like that.
AllHipHop.com: Who’s on it, as far as production?
Cutta: Jazzy Pha, El-Rock Craig Love, Avery Johnson, Taj Mahal, we got a handful of names on there.
AllHipHop.com: I hear a lot of style variations in your music, where one song may have a little Nappy Roots feel to it another may have a little Cee-Lo, is it just that Southern connection?
Cutta: I think what it is, is we listened to a lot of people coming up and that Southern flavor is gonna be in us naturally. But we have a sound that allows us to go into different areas. What we do is just try to bring it all to the table be it Cee-Lo, Nappy Roots or whoever, and just spread it all around the album.
AllHipHop.com: You’ve got “Ghetto” with Pastor Troy along with many other collabos, how did these come about?
Cutta: Pretty much, just working out of the same studios with different folks, or having sessions at the same time as [well as] saying, “Y’all wanna hook up and do something together?” [then making] it happen. A lot of ‘em was also thru mutual friends.
AllHipHop.com: You guys have only been a group since 2002, but you had ties long before that correct?
Cutta: Me and Bo grew up together, but we never knew Malt and Chris till we started the group, ‘cause we was in Atlanta, and they was in Columbus. At the time and it was like the CEO was like I got a situation with the Scoundrels and when we met each other and found out they we’re [all] from Columbus, we we’re like, “Damn, we from Columbus too, and it was just funny that we had never met living there at the same time.”
AllHipHop.com: One might determine by some of your lyrics that you guys are somewhat “bad boys” if you will, would that be a safe assumption?
Big Bo: You can call us whatever you want, we’re just ladies men. We love the ladies.
AllHipHop.com: You can’t say your ladies men if in your songs you say you’re not trying to pay no bills.
Big Bo: That’s not speaking to those strong independent women like yourself, you know if we develop a friendship, we’ll hook you up a bill or two. [laughs]
AllHipHop.com: Although you’re still pretty early in your career, you’ve already had to deal with the drama of so-called friends on your fast track to stardom, how do you handle those types of situations and maintain your circle of friends once things really start to blow?
Mr. Malt: It’s hard, but if you have a goal, you gotta put everything else to the side. Of course, there are those around who hate but you just gotta keep God first and keep it movin’.
AllHipHop.com: What are some of the biggest obstacles you guys face being a new group coming out of the South?
Christyles: Coming from Columbus, it’s like we’re gonna be the first rap artist to make it out of here. Columbus has different laws for singers and stuff, but rap artists it’s kinda hard to get accepted. So we gotta keep pushin’ and meet them in the middle.
AllHipHop.com: Where did the name come from?
Cutta: A scoundrel is like a low down dirty person, who has [their] back up against the wall, and nowhere to go. It’s a plot we saying we’re coming from nowhere and we’re gonna take it to the top, and when we get there, we’re gonna show and prove and let everybody know we earned our respect.
AllHipHop.com: How important are your lyrics to you?
Big Bo: Basically, not too important, because we’re saying what we feel, what we’ve done and what we’ve seen, so if people don’t understand it, they just gonna have to deal with it. Hopefully, we’ll have something on their album that they will understand because we’re not just trying to reach one section of people, that’s why the album is so versatile.