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n the tight-lipped political world of Hip-Hop, perhaps Jim Jones is a revolutionary. The Diplomats’ movement has grown to one of the biggest forces in Hip-Hop, and their Capo still kicks it with street-corner candor. Maybe that’s why, if any rapper’s voyeuristic documentary appeals, A Day in the Fastlife lives up to its name.

In celebration of this realistic look into Jim Jones’ life, AllHipHop decided to follow up on some juicy talk involving Jones and his company. True to his reputation, the Dipset commander dodges nothing. From talking about food, to Hip-Hop cops, to Tru Life, it’s all there in authenticity. Going into his next album, the tentatively titled Bright Lights, Big City, Jim Jones has much to discuss, and plenty of watchers, listeners, and readers along for any ride.

AllHipHop.com: Okay, so your new DVD gives us a glimpse of what your life and Harlem is all about?

Jim Jones: It doesn’t all revolve around Harlem. Harlem’s my birthplace, Harlem’s where I learned to hustle and s**t like that. I take Harlem around the world with me, you understand?

AllHipHop.com: What’s on there?

Jim Jones: The DVD is A Day In The Fastlife. Get you a glimpse of what real life thugging is about. I keep telling people thugging ain’t about how wild you is, or how many n***as you could bust in the face. If you keeping your family fed, you got shelter over your head, and you doing the right thing, that’s first. Anything else after that is what you do, but that’s what you call thugging, n***a. ya nahmean? Keeping your kids fed, clothes on your back, and living like a man, ya dig?

AllHipHop.com: Okay. Where’s the best place to get a plate of food in Harlem?

Jim Jones: The best place to get a plate of food in Harlem. Well, I go to this restaurant called The [Harlem] Grill on Seventh Avenue between 132nd and 133rd Streets. But um, there’s a lot of restaurants in Harlem that I eat at. I eat at Chinese Restaurants, you got Seafood places we eat at, got Jamaican restaurants we eat at.

AllHipHop.com: Nice. On the DVD you curse the “Hip-Hop Cop” Derrick Parker. Why’d you do that?

Jim Jones: Why is everybody asking me about Derrick Parker?

AllHipHop.com: It’s out there, we gotta ask.

Jim Jones: That’s that n***a’s title. If he the f**king Hip-Hop Cop, that n***a’s a pig. [Laughs] [To someone in the room]: I just said I was alright with Derrick. I ain’t got no problem with Derrick, they keep asking me why I’m cursing Derrick out. Derrick’s my man. It was a misunderstanding. [Laughs] That’s my n***a.

AllHipHop.com: I was saying you’ve been outspoken about not snitching. Did you feel that Lil’ Cease was wrong for testifying against Lil’ Kim, but in the case of Busta Rhymes, do you feel he should speak out if he knows who murdered his friend?

Jim Jones: Ay Ay Ay Ay Ay, see? That’s what… see? And now…I fault myself for going too far speaking on behalf of other people’s business when it comes to the law. Like, I shoulda never said that comment about Lil’ Ceasey, that lil’ snitch, uh Lee, uh Lil’ Cease. [laughs] But, I ain’t mean to say that because, not because I didn’t want to, because that was just a lil’ bit far beyond me, ya dig?

AllHipHop.com: Right.

Jim Jones: I… like I tell n***as, don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time, point blank, yanamean? I ain’t liable for nobody else’s mishaps, and I can’t mention about nobody else’s, how they handle they business, ya dig? I know I handle mine, man. I know what lane I’m moving in. So, I take everything that comes with the game and I ain’t mad, ya dig?

AllHipHop.com: True. With Suge Knight currently going through his problems is he a “certified gangsta” to you?

Jim Jones: Suge?

AllHipHop.com: Yeah.

Jim Jones: Uh, I never met Suge.

AllHipHop.com: Okay.

Jim Jones: Smell me? So if you wanna go on heresay, s**t I hear, he’s a pretty hard individual from what’s been going on, but, you know, everybody got they own lil’ s**t, you know. I ain’t really got nothing to say. I know one thing: he do his time like a man and come home like a man. I never hear him snitching so…

AllHipHop.com: Earlier in the year, there were rumors that you and Cam had a little tension, especially since you got the A&R gig. It was said you were outgrowing your role as part of the Diplomats, and Cam was hating on you because, you know…

Jim Jones: [raising voice] Do you believe that?

AllHipHop.com: Nah, I didn’t believe it, but I gotta address the rumors, the speculation…

Jim Jones: Ah, come on, man. Like I told you just now, me and Cam are brothers. This is something we started. This is a movement. This little separation, and this, you know, divide and conquer… money was always second when it came to us, and s**t like that, so for people and the rumors, we don’t even listen to the rumors, that’s why you don’t never hear us say nothing about it. Not going deep into nothing, [but] when we was living our life, it’s nothing I can’t do without [Cam’ron], nahmean? Like me and him go through the whole stretch of this s**t together, like, you see me you see him regardless, n***a.

AllHipHop.com: That’s good to hear because this industry is good for breaking people up…

Jim Jones: Nah, we here.

AllHipHop.com: Aight. It was also reported that you and Fabolous got into it in Miami during Memorial Day Weekend. What can you tell about what went down?

Jim Jones: Ain’t nothin’ go down, man. Ya dig?

AllHipHop.com: Okay. So y’all relationship’s cool? You’re cool with Fab. You talk to him?

Jim Jones: Shout to Fab. You smell me? We ain’t trippin’.

AllHipHop.com: Aight. We gonna go into another rumor real quick. What’s the deal with you and Tru Life? There was a report that his Roc-A-Fella chain was stolen, and y’all had diss records back and forth. Where’d the bad blood stem from?

Jim Jones: Whoa, whoa, whoa. [a long pause] First of all, [laughing] I don’t have no idea who you talking about. Second of all…

AllHipHop.com: Tru Life is the dude on Roc…

Jim Jones: Who?

AllHipHop.com: Tru Life. He’s from the Lower East Side. He got that record out “The New New York.”

Jim Jones: Who own Roc-La-Familia? Juan? F**k Juan! Put that on there: “F**k Juan!” F**king Mexican ass n***a. I’ll put a cocktail in 40/40, n***a. F**k outta here. F**k Juan, n***a. I get at bosses, n***a, I don’t get at soldiers.

AllHipHop.com: But isn’t it true you challenged [Tru Life] to a fistfight for money?

Jim Jones: [calmly] Yeah, but he ain’t really never holla back. Feel me? I don’t know if he ain’t have the money or… but, you know, that’s here nor there. Smell me? I deal with bosses, so if it’s Roc-a-Fella, it’s f**k Jay-Z! And if it’s Roc-la-Familia, it’s f**k Juan.

AllHipHop.com: This seems personal. A lot of people perceived the beef with Jay as a marketing tool. What do you say to that?

Jim Jones: It ain’t no marketing tool. We been known for kicking ass, so why would we use that as a marketing tool?

AllHipHop.com: Ok. I just wanted to clear that up. What do you think about Nas signing to Def Jam? I know he was another dude you called out in the past…

Jim Jones: Ay Ay. Like I just told you, I don’t give a flying f**k about, um, Nasir. Feel me? I’ll slap the holy living s**t out of him. He got a nice lil’ song right now [“Where Y’all At”] that I kinda like. But, like, I don’t care about him personally. I don’t care who he signed to, or s**t like that. I don’t care if he feeling the movement.

AllHipHop.com: On a lighter note, how did it feel to close out Hot 97’s Summer Jam?

Jim Jones: Yo, that was a beautiful feeling. Now that’s some gangsta s**t. When you mu’f**kin’ talk about headlining and s**t like that, and you think about Run-DMC coming out saying “Who’s house?” you think about B.I.G. at the Apollo, n***a, now n***as gotta think about Dipset when they closed down Summer Jam, ‘cause it was raining and it was still 50,000 people out there waiting for the boys to come out. They stayed around, smoked blunts wit’ us, they got they drink on. It was beautiful. It just felt like a block party out there for us. Imagine how that feel, ya dig? On some old school Run-DMC, Big Daddy Kane come through the park, jump up on the speaker and do something.

AllHipHop.com: That’s great. What made you sign Katt Williams the comedian?

Jim Jones: It was all business. Like, me and Cam been working with comics and comedians and s**t like that for a minute trying to get our whole s**t together. It’s another business venture.

AllHipHop.com: You never planned to rhyme in the past, but now you’re approaching your third album. How do you feel you’ve grown as an artist?

Jim Jones: Um, I think I’ve grown as an artist… I don’t even consider myself an artist, like… I got a chance to be the voice of the people. I’ve seen things go on in the hood, n***as is dying and mothers is crying, n***as is coming up on corners hopeless and s**t like that.

AllHipHop.com: Right.

Jim Jones: I’m trying to be they inspiration, trying to let people know what we going through and s**t like that. I know we perform around the world, but it shows like everybody could get up outta the ghetto, and at the same time, we all like to have a good time, and us as black people we like to stay fly and go through the motions. It’s all about the fast life, making more money. Like B.I.G said, it’s more money, more problems, yeah that may be true and s**t like that, but I’m trying to prepare for the problems. I ain’t trying to get caught up in nobody’s mistakes. I been watching the game, so I learn my lessons from other peoples.

efore anyone cared who Mike Jones was or how Chamillionaire was riding, there was Lil’ Troy. One of the first rappers out of H-Town, Lil Troy has been in the game for nearly 20 years. Oddly enough though, Troy quickly asserts that he’s long been more of a businessman than an MC. Still, the man’s grind’s been strong in three different decades, though the pinnacle came in 1999’s “Wanna Be a Baller,” a H-Town local hit turned crossover anthem.

That was seven years ago. Since, Troy has been battling another Houston veteran, Scarface, in court and on wax. Disputes over copyright led to a $225,000 lawsuit amidst Troy’s successes. Then, more recently, Scarface labeled Troy on a snitch on The Geto Boys’ “G-Code” last year. With his documentary, Paperwork, Lil’ Troy pulled a Michael Moore in retaliation. The film alleges that ‘Face is a police-informant himself, and has some weighty cosigns to prove it. Troy, however, says that his film is being ignored – a product of an industry blackball.

Unstopped, Lil’ Troy and Short Stop Records surge onward. With an album slated for autumn release before distribution is even secured, Troy continues to show his hustler ambition. Catch up on the H-Town baller that seemingly taught Chamillionaire a thing or two about catchy choruses…

AllHipHop.com: For those who don’t know, tell me a little about the history of Houston rap and where you fit in?

Lil’ Troy: Houston rap goes back to the early ‘80s. We were all listening to Sugar Hill Gang and all that and then when the gangsta rap came out in like ‘88 or ’89. I put the rapper, Scarface out. There were only like two or three other companies in Houston that were making moves. There was Southpark Coalition and the people on the North Side: Rap–A–Lot. There weren’t a bunch of people out here putting music down.

AllHopHop.com: What do you mean by “put Scarface out”?

Lil’ Troy: I had Scarface when he was 16 years old. I was the first person to put an album out on Scarface. The song [“Scarface”] that y’all all hear and like, “I started a small time dope game cocaine/ pushing rocks on the block and never broke man,” Lil’ Troy put that out in 1988. Lil’ Troy is the one that gave him his persona. His rap name at the time was Akshen. I gave him the name Scarface.

AllHipHop.com: So what happened with you two? He went on to something else?

Lil’ Troy: Yeah, he went on to become the new Geto Boy with Rap-A-lot.

AllHipHop.com: Were you part of the legendary Screwed Up Click?

Lil’ Troy: Nah, but I had songs on some of their projects. I started the Houston rap scene. I was the first person on the South Side…in H-Town period, to put out a rap album. There was no one putting out rap records at the time except Short Stop [Records], which I own, and Rap-A-Lot. I was the first person to put a Scarface song on the radio, in the club or anywhere. And that was in ‘88. I started the rap scene. And the Screwed Up Click, they all from my neighborhood. Those boys are all under me. I raised half those boys up. You ask them and they’ll tell you, “Yeah, Lil’ Troy is a real pioneer, he started it around here.”

AllHipHop.com: Would you say that you paved the way for other Houston rappers like Paul Wall, Chamillionaire and Mike Jones?

Lil’ Troy: I helped pave the way, from the beginning, by putting the rap scene down in Houston to now. When I came out with “Wanna Be a Baller,” that really opened the door and put a lot of light on Houston. And at the time I had a lot of local guys on my album and they got national attention. That helped the Houston scene so I gotta say that I’m a big influence. I’m glad that those boys took advantage of it and got the door open which allows me to come back and drop an album. It takes all of us to build a city like this.

AllHipHop.com: That record was on Sittin’ Fat Down South in 1999. For those that don’t know, what have you been doing since then?

Lil’ Troy: I released an album with Koch Records, Back to Ballin, and I had a video with Lil’ Flip. Before he came out, he was on an album with me. The album came out on September 11th when the planes hit the World Trade Center. I didn’t put anything else out except for this Paperwork DVD that I have out right now.

AllHipHop.com: Tell me about the project? It’s getting a lot of controversy…

Lil’ Troy: It’s a brief DVD about the rapper Scarface. Me and Scarface been going at it for a long time. I’ve been letting him get away with a lot of stuff, and now it’s time for me to retaliate. Scarface is on a four page affidavit introducing his friends to the [police] as a cocaine supplier. They call Scarface by his government name, Brad Jordan. The guy who went to federal penitentiary for six years is on my DVD talking about it. And Scarface has misled the people that he’s a real gangsta, hardcore street rapper when he has otherwise violated the G-code. And the public demands to know this. Everyone who’s been calling over to Scarface, he won’t answer any of the allegations. A lot of magazines won’t report this ‘cause they don’t want to think that Scarface is a rat.

AllHipHop.com: So this project is all about Scarface?

Lil’ Troy: It’s between me and Scarface ‘cause we got history together. Scarface called me a snitch on “We Don’t Talk to Police” from the last Geto Boys album. He called my name out on that song. Anytime you reference another man as being a snitch and you don’t have no paperwork, then you’re less of a man yourself just for calling somebody out just to make yourself look big. This is my response to Scarface. I got you on a four-page affidavit. I ain’t just call you no name, this is what the government said you did.

AllHipHop.com: When did the beef between you and Scarface begin?

Lil’ Troy: The beef first started when he sued me and got $225,000 out of me.

AllHipHop.com: Why did he sue you?

Lil’ Troy: Copyright infringement on a song [“Scarface”] that me and him had put together in 1989. I put the same song [“Small Time”] back out in ‘99 on my album with Universal and he sued me for it. But they, Scarface and Rap-A-Lot, had gotten big off of the song when they released the same exact song. I never sued them, but they sued me.

AllHipHop.com: How long has this DVD been out?

Lil’ Troy: It came out about three months ago. I’ve been promoting it, and like I said, none of the magazines won’t touch it. They’ll just make a little comment about it.

AllHipHop.com: Do you have an album coming out too?

Lil’ Troy: Yes. It’s called Hush. It’ll be out in October on Short Stop Records.

AllHipHop.com: What’s the sound of the album?

Lil’ Troy: I’m fittin’ to incorporate a new sound out of Houston. Right now, Houston has that laid back, slow screwed up feel. But I’m gonna incorporate that slowness with a little crunkness and twist it a little bit to give it a Southern feel. And add some guitar and bass back into our music instead of just all drums. I want to reach more than just the little 15-16 year olds. I want to reach the 30 and 35 year olds too. And in order to do that, you gotta have some music, some rhythm up in your songs.

AllHipHop.com: What cosigns do you have riding with you on this one? That’s also an important thing in H-Town…

Lil’ Troy: My new single is with the late, great, Fat Pat. He died a little while back, he was on the song “Wanna be a Baller” with me. I have Lil’ KeKe, and my camp The Go-Getters, Cool & Dre, Drew-ski, The Assassins, and I have the East Side Cheddar Boys from Detroit on there. I did some moving around.

AllHipHop.com: How have you grown as an MC from your last project?

Lil’ Troy: I haven’t just grown as an MC, ‘cause I ain’t no MC. I’ll go ahead and spit some game and tell you about what’s going on in these streets. That’s what I’m going to tell you. I ain’t never said I was an emcee. I’m a businessman. I make business moves and business decisions.

AllHipHop.com: What happened with your distribution deal with Universal?

Lil’ Troy: They didn’t have enough money. I’ve been putting out records independently for years. It’s like going from getting $7.50 a CD to $1.25. They want to put stipulations on when you can release the album and what can be on the album. I’m my own A&R. I don’t need anybody to A&R me. I just need your machine to push it. So now I got off their label so I can find me another situation for an independent distribution deal, that way, we make more money.

AllHipHop.com: So you still need distribution for the new album?

Lil’ Troy: Yes. But I’m gonna do like I know to do: Release a single, and make it hot in the streets, and on the radio and then they’ll come and call me like they normally do, “Troy, what can we do? We want to put this album out.”

AllHipHop.com: In the past 10 years, you’ve been in and out of jail. What landed you there?

Lil’ Troy: I’m a hustler. I go and get it. I go get it and come back with it, or I don’t come back at all. I got caught up each time for drugs.

AllHipHop.com: What does the future hold for Lil’ Troy?

Lil’ Troy: Back on top, back as a household name. Success for my record company, clothing line, and movies. I’m just back at it. It’s like I’ve been given a new birth with this music again.

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ith visibility ever-important for record sales, Lloyd Banks knows there’s no better marketing machine than himself. With his sophomore release, Rotten Apple on track for a September 19 release, Banks wants to unveil some of his album to the very city that inspired it in.

Lloyd Banks breaks from his busy schedule to discuss touring, performing with his peers, and how he’s showing that G-Unit is also on their “New York S**t.”

AllHipHop.com: So you’re back in New York?

Lloyd Banks: Yeah, I’m actually just back doing radio and a few TV things.

AllHipHop.com: It just happens to coincide with the AllHipHop Week and the concert at Hammerstein?

Lloyd Banks: Oh yeah, definitely, this week I’m getting a few things together. A lot of us stay in New York, so you never know who’s going to drop through there. I look forward to it. The whole AllHipHop Week… it’s bananas, man.

AllHipHop.com: One artist on there, Papoose, he’s kinda like you in a way – young, and expected by some to pull New York up. How do you feel about sharing the stage with someone like that? Are you going to give him some advice backstage?

Lloyd Banks: We cool. I’ve seen him a few times, when we did the BET Awards, and in the studio and things like that. So of course, I’m sure he’s been waiting for this for sometime, he didn’t start rapping yesterday. I’m sure he’s been waiting on this for a while. He’s going to be ready to put on a good show.

AllHipHop.com: Have you been any interesting places lately?

Lloyd Banks: Nah, I’ve been home, I’ve been recording, been working on my mixtape. The album is completed, but I’m working on mixtape material. I actually have a CD out right now with DJ Whoo Kid entitled “More Money in the Bank, Volume 4” and I’m actually putting another Volume 5 and that’ll be out in about a week. I’ve really been in the crib and recording. The last few stops on the tour were Taipei and Bangkok, and the last performance I did was in Bangkok.

AllHipHop.com: So what about your big project, The Rotten Apple. I wanted to ask, I don’t know of any artists who’ve used that title. Can you talk about the project and how it will be about the “rotten apple?”

Lloyd Banks: It’s just everybody in New York City… they know it’s called “The Big Apple.” I just wanted to show the people more than they can see, when they come from other cities, they see the big buildings, the bright city lights, the yellow cabs – I just want to take them to the boroughs to give them a better idea and understanding of where I come from. I grew up in Southside Jamaica, Queens, it’s not an easy upbringing, but it prepares you for life.

AllHipHop.com: What’s on the album as far as production?

Lloyd Banks: Well, as far as production goes, I got Eminem, I got two from him, I got two beats from Havoc from Mobb Deep, I got Timbaland on the project … I have Jeruz, Nick Speed out Detroit, Black Milk out of Detroit. It’s a lot of new producers also, you know, I’d rather make a big-time producer than a big-time producer make me, because they will make another excuse for why you sell the record. I kind of keep that to a minimum. I like to dictate my own pace, I like to go to all the cities. I don’t have an A&R, you know, so I pick my music out. I don’t want the people to know I produced the record before they read the credits. As far as features go, I got, of course everybody in the crew is there. 50 is there, Buck is there, Yayo is there, Mobb Deep is on the album, I got Scarface on the album … Musiq Soulchild and Rakim on the record.

So when does the Rotten Apple drop?

Lloyd Banks: It’s slated for September 19th. <br<

AllHipHop.com: Is there going to be a supporting tour?

Lloyd Banks: Actually, the promotion tour, I leave this Sunday. I’ll be gone from this weekend until the actual album is released. Buck is going to be on promo tour with me because he has an album coming in the near future also, entitled Buck the World. I love to perform, so even though it’s a promotional tour, I’ll stop in the clubs and lay it down. Look out for a full-fledged tour, I did over 170 shows as a solo artist on my first album. They can expect me to get out there and every city can expect to see me at least two times – ‘cause I’m not going home.

I

t’s been almost four years since a pair of Virginia-based brothers showed everyone what it meant to truly grind. While Malice and Pusha T say that the next Clipse album has no resemblance to Lord Willin’, that hustle will be tested once more. Originally from The Bronx, the Thorton brothers will return home to a New York stage to show this new side with their current single, “Mr. Me Too.” (Tickets can be purchased at the door or Ticketmaster)!

Finally situated on Jive Records, Malice discusses the album, and is later joined by Pusha. Both express dissatisfaction with the content in Hip-Hop today, and as Hell Hath No Fury looms on the horizon, perhaps The Clipse will balance the game with their lyrical triple-beam.

AllHipHop.com: What’s up Mal?

Malice: What’s up brother, how you doing? I’m making it man, I’m good.

AllHipHop.com: Where’s your brother at?

Malice: I haven’t seen him all morning. We’re here in Indianapolis. We just doing promo, the Russ Parr. We just out here doing shows, promoting the album, the single.

AllHipHop.com: Does this mean that label politics are solved for the time being?

Malice: Yeah, well, you know, we’re off to a great start with Jive. They haven’t denied us anything that we’ve asked for so far. We got our own label deal out of the situation, so we’re off and running. I can’t say how happy I am going to be until I see how the album moves, but as of right now, it’s working.

AllHipHop: What can we expect with the new album, Hell Hath No Fury? It will drop on Halloween, right?

Malice: There’s a whole bunch of aggression and frustration on this album; it’s extremely emotional. Just pouring out our hearts and soul on these verses because the politics was getting in the way of everything and if you’re not careful you can get caught up and not really be creative, which is what [“We Got It for Cheap” mixtapes] Volume 1 and Volume 2 was about.

AllHipHop.com: You guys are an example of a group that mixtapes basically helped save from going into obscurity.

Malice: Absolutely.

AllHipHop.com: It’s ironic you had a single out called “Grindin” out when you originally came out. You ever sit back and think about that?

Malice: In the beginning, the mixtapes really didn’t work for us. When we first started, we were trying to get on any mixtape, and for whatever reason, we were never able to get on that scene; maybe because we are from Virgnia, maybe [because] we got caught up in the whole rap race … so we did the OutKast route, we were from this area in Virginia and didn’t have to compete with anybody. So, then, after the hiatus and it was taking so long … We put out “Got It For Cheap Volume 1.” We put that out, than we put out Volume 2 soon after. We got a lot of acclaim from a lot of different magazines. It was real therapeutic for us.

AllHipHop.com: How did you all push the tapes?

Malice: We did it all ourselves. We put it out ourselves, distributed it ourselves. We didn’t make any money off of it. It was a sense of urgency, a sense of “we better do something,” because, like you said, we were falling into obscurity. So we had to like, make something work, we had to produce something. It was good, because we were frustrated, so on the mixtape we were on the playground – just making the music we wanted to make, music that we like. [We thought] just like “to hell with the labels,” that s**t will work itself out, or at least it will do what it does while we put out these mixtapes.

AllHipHop.com: Let’s talk about the new album, though. Is it a brand new album or the one recorded as a follow-up to Lord Willin’?

Malice: This is a fresh ass album. We couldn’t come no less. We were ready to get into the thick of things with the success of the first album … the songs we had done were really hot, but at that point in time we were in a different place, we were happier. Time passed, and we saw it was a big hold up, and the momentum, the people that waited for us, we took too long. We couldn’t dare come out in the same mind frame as we did in Lord Willin’ – so, now we mad, we angry, we p##### the f**k off.

AllHipHop.com: Who are the producers you’ve worked with on this project?

Malice: The production on the whole album was again done by the Neptunes. We felt like we owed it to the fans. We wanted to keep the same chemistry that we had when we first came out. There’s nothing I can’t stand more than when your favorite group comes out one time and then they rearrange the chemistry of what they had at first. I think we owed it to the fans to hear these verses to the superior beats by Chad and Pharrell.

AllHipHop.com: While you two were gone, the trap/dope music genre has exploded in the South. What are your thoughts on cats like Young Jeezy or Rick Ross blowin’ up?

Malice: My thoughts on it are ‘it’s all good.’ Brothas are getting a chance to get out here and talk about what they do, what they have done. I feel we have heavily influenced a lot of it when we came out. A lot of people really emulated our style and our content. When we came out, there was a lot of criticism about what we talk about and whatever, but we don’t just say “keys, bricks …” but we use real descriptions: from the upside to the downside, we tell the full spectrum. Some of these cats have been rapping for years and they are Platinum artists and now they got s**t in their trunk? I don’t buy all of it, but I think for the most part, it’s good. There ‘s a lot of literature in [our] verses, like we would never dummy down, we really sayin’ something and it does take a certain intellect to keep up with the verses that we write. That’s what separates us from the rest.

AllHipHop.com: Were you inspired by cats like Nas and others who did the same type of music you do?

Malice: The people that I like in the game or in Hip-Hop period were those that took Hip-Hop serious; and when I say serious, I mean they were clever with metaphors, they put thought into the rhymes. It was the skill, it wasn’t about who you shot, or how much drugs you sold, but it was about swagger and style and really handcrafting these verses. I like cats like Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, KRS-One, Large Professor. I like Jay-Z, Biggie of course … cats like that really inspired me. That’s the kind of Hip-Hop that I used to love to listen to, and that’s so hard to find now. And that’s what we do, we make the music that we enjoy. When we made “We Got It For Cheap,” I kept the disc in my car … it wasn’t because it was mine, when I listen to Pusha and Ab Liva and Sandman … it had nothing to do with this is my group or nothing like that … and it stayed in there I don’t know how long.

[Pusha T joins the interview]

AllHipHop.com: What up Pusha?

Malice: We in the same hotel, in different rooms. I don’t know what happened.

AllHipHop.com: Well, now that I got both of you here, I wanted to ask: what’s your attitude these days overall?

Pusha: My attitude is I really don’t like the industry. This s**t is boring, it’s not based on the actual talent of the artist anymore, and it’s just like, whatever, anybody can win. It just depends on the machine. I’m not into it.

AllHipHop.com: Speak on the new album. I heard it’s going to be aggressive. Who are you guys going at?

Pusha: I think that the whole album is aggressive in the sense of, like, letting the lion out the cage. We said everything that we wanted to say, and think about it … when rappers come out on they first album from the street, the next album is softer, because they made their money, and blahzay blahzay blah. These verses are just as hungry as the ones from the first album, or actually better, because we’re grown. It’s the same hunger, because a lot of other people have slacked off.

O

n his acclaimed eight-minute mixtape track, “Dumb Out,” Joe Budden professed, “Let me find out Hip-Hop turned Republican.” In the election for “King of New York,” perhaps Joe is a worthy third-party candidate. With hit records like the current assist on Ne-Yo’s “Sexy Love” and a rich history of introspective verses, Budden meets the parties halfway where most can’t go. If a campaign is indeed in order, then Friday night’s Hammerstein Ballroom stage is the New York Primary. (Tickets can be purchased at the door or Ticketmaster)!

The Jersey City veteran understands the importance of such a performance. Still, Joe promises to devote no extra energy than he would for any other show. However, the man who says he’s beginning his career all over again intends to add to an already cult-like fanbase. The night promises to be big, and the fan inside of Budden is equally anticipating some of his peers’ performances. From mic check to encore, Joe Budden has devoted his passion to keep the rhymes real and the seats packed. Friday night knows no different.

AllHipHop.com: I’ve never seen a Joe Budden performance before. As a fan, I’m excited to see what it’s all about…

Joe Budden: [Laughs] You know what? Quite a few people have been saying that.

AllHipHop.com: Let’s just start there for a second. When you’re performing for an Up North crowd, how does that differ from the ordinary old show? How is the New York stage more important?

Joe Budden: For me, it doesn’t differ. For me, there’s no difference at all in the actual performance. Of course, the crowd is always different ‘cause New York is one of the tougher markets to perform in. Them n***as will just f**kin’ stand there unless you performin’ [“It’s All About The Benjamins”] or some s**t. From a performance standpoint, I go into every show with the same state of mind: I’m trying to tear it down.

AllHipHop.com: Everybody talks about the two sides of your music – the club and the heartfelt. When you’re performing in New York, in the past, what does the crowd gravitate to more?

Joe Budden: Um…the club s**t. In 2003, when the album came out, I was getting maybe four or five shows a week based off of the club s**t. The die-hard Joe Budden fans, they knew that there was more substance to me. But I think, as of late, with the release of “Mood Muzik Volume 1” and “Mood Muzik Volume 2” and everything that I’ve been doing on the mixtapes, I think people are starting to appreciate the other side more. I’ve been to a lot more shows where people just want to hear that. I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t had a mainstream song out there, but people really wanna hear that other stuff a lil’ more now.

AllHipHop.com: Recently, I interviewed MC Eiht. He blew me away when he said that he can perform any song from the 400 or so he’s released. If I asked you right now to perform a mixtape track like “Dumb Out” verbatim, do you think you could?

Joe Budden: Yeah. Anything that somebody wanted to hear, I could do it on the spot. ‘Cause I mean…I listen to my music. [laughs] From an artist’s standpoint, I’m listening to get different ideas, to see what I could’ve done differently, what I could’ve done better. Unless you go back… there may be two songs that I can’t do. That’s from very early in my career – songs I didn’t even like, songs that I didn’t even listen to.

AllHipHop.com: There’s artists out there that have songs that they will not perform though. I think LL Cool J has one even. Being such an emotional dude in your lyrics, do you have stuff that you just can’t do?

Joe Budden: No. I can’t say that I’ve ever had that problem. There’s not a song that I wouldn’t do.

AllHipHop.com: With the Ne-Yo “Sexy Love” record being so hot right now, how would you evaluate your current buzz?

Joe Budden: I feel great! I feel great not so much because the Ne-Yo record is spinnin’ so much, but I just feel like I have a lot of things in the works, I really feel like this is the beginning of my career all over again. I’m a tad bit more knowledgeable than I was before, and I’m a tad bit more talented than I was. I feel great. My label feels great. Everything is wonderful.

AllHipHop.com: Scratch magazine recently acknowledged “Mood Muzik Volume 2” as one of the greatest mixtapes ever. How did that feel?

Joe Budden: Oh s**t, I couldn’t even put into words how stuff like that makes me feel. For years, I went back and forth in this debate with my record label over the type of music that people want to hear or the type of music that sells or the type of music that’s marketable – and everything on “Mood Muzik Volume 2” was full creative control. I was able to do everything I wanted to do. I was on downtime where n***as wasn’t really checkin’ for Joe Budden. My label wasn’t puttin’ me to work. So I had time to do everything that I wanted to do, and pour my heart out, and put it out. It was received so well. S**t like that, when I see it in Scratch, XXL, and VIBE, The Source, and it gets such great acclaim, I can’t even explain it.

AllHipHop.com: There’s some mixtapes that deserved to be repressed. Mister Cee’s “Best of Biggie” is the kingpin. Tony Touch’s “Tape 50” is another. “Mood Muzik” is approaching that level to many…

Joe Budden: When the New York Times had it in there, that let me know it was being received pretty well.

AllHipHop.com: You had this record “When Thug’s Cry” five or six years ago. That was my introduction to your work, and something I consider to be a mixtape classic. Tell me whatever you can about that record right there…

Joe Budden: At that time, I was newly signed to my production company, On Top. My Def Jam deal wasn’t even finished yet. I was new to the mixtape scene, and I didn’t really know which way to go. I hadn’t done too many freestyles. The ones I had were a bunch of metaphors. The records I was doin’ were a bunch of Pop, mainstream sappy bulls**t that I was workin’ on tryin’ to get this deal. One night when everybody was gone, I had this idea in my head. It was an actually a song I was tryin’ to give to one of my artists at the time. They didn’t want it. It was four in the morning. My producer was knocked out tired. I woke him up and made him do this f**kin’ record – he was amazed by it. That was my first introspective record to hit the streets, ever. I just wanted to show people that there was a lot more to me than the metaphors and the similes and whatever radio bulls**t I was still doing at the time. Ironically, I’m still stuck in that predicament today. [laughs]

AllHipHop.com: On “Dumb Out,” you said “Let me find out Hip-Hop turned Republican.” What’s that mean to you?

Joe Budden: It did, it did, it did, it did – especially from a fan’s standpoint. Nowadays, the people supposed to enjoy the music – the “Hip-Hop activists” – they’re like a rarity now. Everybody’s in the business. Everybody’s so concerned with numbers and budget and f**kin’ Soundscan, and image, and everything that Hip-Hop never stood for. It’s just pretty f**ked up. I feel like on one side, you’ve got the Democrats which would be – I don’t wanna “the backpackers” – but [them], but the people that are in it for the love of the music and the art of it. [Then you’ve got] the Republicans – the people who are in it for the money, the people who stand for other things.

AllHipHop.com: Playing along with the performance theme, was there ever a point in your career, where a show went completely wrong?

Joe Budden: Hmm…hmmm. Um, yeah. [laughs] Actually, there was. There was one in Cleveland. It was on the Def Jam Vendetta Tour. Keith Murray was performing, Method Man – a lot of people who know how to perform were performing. I was the new kid on the block. My n***as didn’t know the words to anything. The system was bad. The music was cuttin’ on and off. I was nervous. I was buggin’ out on the stage. I didn’t get booed. I managed to pull it off, but everything went horrible. I screamed on my entire staff after the show. That’s probably the only show that I’ve ever screamed at the people that I work with. It takes a lot to get me to that point.

AllHipHop.com: As a fan, what’s one performance, aside from your own on Friday, that you wanna see at AllHipHop’s concert?

Joe Budden: Um…you know what? I’m anxious to see Papoose perform. I would like to see his performance. I’m anxious to see Lloyd Banks perform. Those are really the two that I actually anticipate. I wanna see how it turns out.