Slim Thug: Duck Season

The last time AllHipHop.com featured Slim Thug, Already Platinum seemed like a political campaign from a president – questionable. Already, Slim Thug has affirmed what Mike Jones showed early, and what Paul Wall is likely to punctuate – that Houston is beastly in the ’05 Rap Game.

It hasn’t been since Lil’ Flip’s commercial boom in 2002 that Houston turned so many heads. Lil’ Flip’s comments certainly don’t appear to be turning Slim Thug. Read AllHipHop.com’s post-album follow-up feature to discuss Already Platinum, the elbow-room quarrel in Houston, and how Dubya ain’t the only Texan with a gun rack. If you’re Slim Thug, the Rap game must look like Duck Hunt.

AllHipHop.com: One thing you have been credited for prior to working with a major label was your independence. Since the album has dropped, do you still feel positively about moving to a major label?

Slim Thug: Yeah, working with the majors is definitely the best way to be if you are trying to be in this Rap business and you got your numbers right, as far as your business, and what they are supposed to pay you. Now, the money s**t, if you want to be independent, you got to have that hustle, if you want to be a successful independent. As far as me, I am cool with my situation right now, I’m cool.

AllHipHop.com: Recently, there has been a burst of artists out of H-town, with any city, Atlanta, New York, Houston, etc; everyone is going for that shot to be the king of their respective city. Do you find that same thing about Houston? We certainly sensed such from “I Ain’t Heard of That”…

Slim Thug: It has been competitive with Houston, man. Like a lot of people in Houston don’t even stick together and get in to it over the same ole s**t. Motherf**kers trying to be the baddest motherf**ker in the city. It really does not matter to me as long as what I do is a factor, it don’t really matter to me. Rap is just a competitive thing, everybody is competitive and everybody wants to be number one, be the king, all that s**t, you know what I’m sayin’.

AllHipHop.com: As far as the friendly competition out there, do you have any guys that you compete with in a friendly manner?

Slim Thug: We don’t compete, I got my n***as I f**k with like: Mike Jones and Paul Wall. We don’t compete or no s**t like that.

AllHipHop.com: Is there any competition between yourself and Lil’ Flip?

Slim Thug: No there ain’t no competition, not on my end? Some n***as, they feel like

that to the point where they wanna be the king and all that there to the point where they be speaking on s**t, getting out of line with it. I said that about Flip on that song because on the [song] with Z-Ro, [he said]“n***as think they made it before they album dropped” or whatever; that s**t was big in the streets, everybody was like he talking about Slim, because the name of my album is Already Platinum. I felt like he shot that slug right there, but I was chillin’ though, I left that alone. His group, Squad Up, they got on a mix cd and shot some slugs, they said my name on the s**t. It wasn’t no guessing since they said my name, so, when I heard that record, I just responded, lettin’ n***as know, “N***a, I don’t give a f**k what you talking about, it’s whatever.” It ain’t no competition, I really ain’t in no competition with nobody.

AllHipHop.com: “The Interview,” is a perplexing record, can you comment on it more?

Slim Thug: That’s just what it is, this here is prior to all the “Still Tippin” s**t a lot of people did not listen to Houston Rap, they did not really respect the Screwed-up s**t. I always kept it like that and did that type of s**t. When I first got with the Neptunes, I was still doing my H-Town s**t on those types of records. Motherf**kers got to speaking that s**t, like it ain’t going to do nothing or whatever. It’s just a lot of n***as, everybody going to talk. I was talking to Houston right there: DJ’s, people in the streets who think they know every f**king thing, just trying to predict what people do and all that there. I just be like man, get off my d*ck.

AllHipHop.com: “This is My Life,” is another gem of Already Platinum…

Slim Thug: Pharrell made the track, and when he made the track I was just feeling it, it was some real gangsta s**t, Pharrell kind of got at me on that song right there, he was like man, I want you to do some s**t like that “Bout It.” The beat kind of like “Bout It,” how I am rappin on there, it’s kind of off beat, Pharrell told me to rap offbeat, to give it that type of feel. I hate it got on bootleg, I think it kind of took away some of the impact. If this album would of came out and ain’t s**t been heard, it would have been bigger than what it is.

AllHipHop.com: Just counting songs, seems like more that almost a fourth of the songs was out before the release date, how do you feel about that?

Slim Thug: I was so anxious to get Already Platinum, to get pass that. For one the bootleg was out, everybody think they had the album. Still motherf**kers ain’t bought the album because they think they got the album or whatever, they like I got them songs. My first week, I think if the bootlegs wasn’t out I would have did even bigger numbers. I was ready to get pass this album, so people would know it’s a whole new thing. I still don’t feel like I have seen my full potential, like what I would have really did, because the bootleg being out there, because the singles that I pushed was off the bootleg. I’m ready to get to the next one.

AllHipHop.com: Not trying to compare, but coming out of Houston and getting a major deal like Flip, you do feel like people may turn on you the way people kind of turned on Flip this year? Do you feel like you are about to experience a whole lot more animosity directed at you now that you have dropped Already Platinum, an album on a major record label.

Slim Thug: Hell yeah, you ain’t know? That’s what the whole Flip thing is about; it’s already in effect right now. There have been other dudes talking down, that’s just a n***er mentality, see someone else getting it; get mad and hate, instead of getting on they grind—hatin’. It’s not just rappin’ if you on the corner and you got the most money; you got the most licks, getting the most money, you going to get hated on. It just comes with the territory. When you successful you got to have a hard-heart man. Motherf**kers is always quick to say n***as that got something, changed. Most times it be the people that saying that a n***a changed is the ones that changed. Just ‘cause I got a Phantom, I can’t play with motherf**ker no more, I can’t joke about nobody care no more or they going be like this n***a on some more s**t. It’s really the people who you was around they expect you to change, you can’t play with them in certain ways no more, that is how I feel about it.

AllHipHop.com: Everybody is involved with the whole paper chase, the Rap game…what do you consider going to far the paper, as far as being a rapper, selling out for money?

Slim Thug: I can’t call that one, s**t. Me, personally, if it ain’t real to me I can’t do it. I don’t talk about s**t I don’t do, I ain’t fin to say I’m driving nothing if I ain’t driving it, I don’t have a big imagination. As far as other rappers who do make up a lot of s**t, I don’t know what they would call selling out.

AllHipHop.com: You talk a lot about different guns on your CD, are you an avid gun owner?

Slim Thug: Man, I own a gang of guns; this ain’t no little s**t I am saying to hype myself up. I like guns; I got a DVD that is going to show some of my guns.

AllHipHop.com: So, what’s your favorite out of your arsenal?

Slim Thug: I got an FN; it is a pistol that hold 21 shots, the bullet look like baby AK bullets, got the piercing. Man, they like 1200 [dollars], they trying to stop them from getting sold. It’s serious! I got AKs, pumps, Mac 10’s; I got this Raging Bull too. I don’t go to the range a lot. Only time I really shoot my s**t is in the backyard on some New Years s**t.