In 1997, Hip-Hop in America was at its most controversial. There were deadly feuds between the East and the West Coast, which resulted in the tragic day of March 9, when the legendary Notorious B.I.G lost his life due to the chaotic territorial rap wars. While all of this was happening, a young Dutchman by the name of Thomas Gesthuizen, known as Juma 4 formed a website that would soon bring African Hip-Hop culture to the consciousness of many.

Africanhiphop.com consists of hip hop culture from 40 countries across the continent. The site has eight solid sections dedicated to African based content including a library, maps, forums, news articles, and extensive archives going back to the beginning of the site’s creation. More recently, the site has joined forces with africanhiphopradio.com, a monthly webcast which is two hours in length featuring some of the hottest radio personalities from six African countries in languages such as Dutch, French and Swahili.

The site has received recognition from the mainstream outlets like The BBC.The Motherland. Rap music in Africa is just as prevalent there as it is in western civilization. The philosophy behind the website is that “it is not important where you are from, it’s where you’re at… and Hip-Hop is our tool to reach our shared goals, and build on the revolutionary power of rap.”

That being said, AllHiphop.com had the chance to talk with Juma 4 about the rising Hip-Hop culture in Africa, the socioeconomic system, and helping to put African Hip Hop on the map for global recognition.

AllHipHop.com: I’m just looking through the website here. How often do you update the site?

Juma 4: Depends. Whenever I get the time. A few years ago, I had more free time. The past year, we really concentrated on africanhiphopradio.com and on building our non-profit organization.

AllHipHop.com: the African Hip Hop Foundation?

Juma 4: Yes, we’re an official foundation. The next step we want to take is to get some funding to take that organization to a next level, where I can spend some more time, and hopefully take a few [people] along with me to build the website and other related projects. We do try to make a difference among some of the organizations or media that come up now, which are like all western Non-African owned, and seem a bit disconnected with what is happening in the streets.

AllHipHop.com: What initially influenced you to create the website?

Juma 4: I think my early trips inspired me ‘cause that is when I decided to take African studies and Swahili at university. I first traveled in Africa when I was 17, and I’m now 32. I have been to different places [in Africa] -like 12 times or more, just lost count.

AllHipHop.com: I remember being told that based on the amount of hits, you can turn your website into a career? But I take it because you are not for profit that’s not so?

Juma 4: Well, we can get sponsoring and then it could work out. We want to get development sponsoring first, and then when the site updates are more frequent we want to get a good corporate sponsor. And no alcohol or cigarette brands. We had an offer and turned that down.

AllHipHop.com: Would you like the site to be global?

Juma 4: Well, we have four board members one of whom is from Capetown, South Africa and living there… and we have a few people here in Amsterdam who do work already. We are making moves locally now. For instance, if 50 Cent comes here [we] get the interview. But meanwhile, we already had a team of people in different African countries for example on the radio and on the website. So all that is already fully functional.

AllHipHop.com: So is the radio station live to air?

Juma 4: The radio is web based only. We have two monthly shows done by presenters in six different countries though each presenter does have his or her own show on local radio in their own country – such as Lee in South Africa who is hugely popular on YFM radio, and Revoltod from Cape Verde.

AllHipHop.com: Give us some African Hip-Hop history…

Juma 4: Nost African Hip-Hop communities were entirely isolated from each other until very recently. And until now, people in for example Senegal have absolutely no clue that in Tanzania. We have been trying to create more awareness so that they can be inspired by the fact that other people in similar circumstances as them, are doing it for themselves. So the mainstream doesn’t have a lot of inspired lyrics and people are afraid to talk the truth, they rather not talk about poverty and problems in society ‘cause they are afraid that is not what the people want to hear on the radio. And even if the people do want to hear that, the presenters and music programmers will tell them to ‘soften their message.

AllHipHop.com: You have taken a keen interest in Senegal and Tanzania. Are those the countries that are most controversial? Or do you find rappers are the most talented in those countries?

Juma 4: I have been there, so I know the scene of these countries better than others.

Also, they are very active scenes. I don’t think these countries are very controversial.

AllHipHop.com: Tell me what the rapper in all of Africa that has been the most controversial, what did they rap about?

Juma 4: I think every country has had its controversial rappers. One person I liked for speaking the truth was Mr. Devious from South Africa, who died last year. <br

AllHipHop.com: Really, so what did he say that really caught ears? What was the cause of his death? <br

Juma 4: he was talking about corporate lies. Devious was from the cape flats, the poor townships outside Capetown and initially, a lot of what he said was informed by what the youth on the streets were saying. Like, they had all these conspiracy theories about AIDS, and then he started to do self study and read books and get informed so that he could teach his audience. He was also working with youth in the prisons of Capetown. That guy touched so many people. He died because he was stabbed by some gangster youth in his township – the same kind of boys who he was trying to help in the prisons. <br

AllHipHop.com: Juma, a lot of people in western civilization call Africa the "Mother Land" and really believe that is the only place for us black North Americans to find the true meaning of “civilization”, but when I look through the site, the rappers, the people on there, it's really not that easy, it's almost as though us over here are superficial, what's you're take on that? <br

Juma 4: What I get from listening to some MC’s – and much of the Afro-centric movement in Hip-Hop around 1989 – is that they create this image of Africa in their head… as a better place, more pure and true to the meaning of life than the place where they find themselves. And many of these MC’s never actually made it out there. So it’s almost logical that…. that they don't get to see what life in modern day urban Africa is like. I don't pretend I know. because I have never lived my life there, but it's true that there is a lot of stereotyping – positive and negative – about Africa. <br

AllHipHop.com: So basically, North American's are kind of misinformed when it comes to what life in Africa is really like… <br

Juma 4: I think a lot of people around the world don't have a clue as to what life in Africa is like, and we can blame the media for that. It's true that there is a lot of stereotyping – positive and negative – about Africa, starting with the concept of Africa as a single society or country, instead of a continent which is more diverse than most other continents though. <br

AllHipHop.com: Has this site created cognition to mainstream rappers internationally? <br

Juma 4: Yes a couple. Tahir [a producer] for dead prez. Ty, who is UK's most popular rapper. Chuck D and KRS-One recently did shout outs for our radio, and they felt the connection. <br

AllHipHop.com: Yeah I definitely could see Tahir on this, he loves going to Africa, he's always mentioning it…<br

Juma 4: Yeah, this one song [“I'm a African”] in which he describes Africa as a long lost love who he is about to see again for the first time in decades. <br

AllHipHop.com: Lastly, tell the readers something that you really feel they should know, besides what we have already talked about, something to really enlighten them. <br

Juma 4: The first African rap 12” was released in 1986 in Ivory Coast. And break dancing was around in Cape Town, South Africa in 1984. So Hip-Hop [in Africa] has been around. Another one is that the life stories of popular American MC’s are very influential on young kids in Africa. [An] example: at some point a rebel army in Liberia was wearing 2pac t-shirts as uniforms. <br

On June 8, 2005, it appeared that all remnants of 23-year-old Cassidy’s life – the recording artist and a free man – was a decrepit thing of the past. A warrant was issued for the Philadelphia rapper due to his involvement in the murder of a 22-year-old man during an April 15, 2005 shooting in his hometown. The case, which was wrought with twists, turns and contradiction, played out like an episode of Law & Order.

But this murder case was real life for Cassidy, a father of one named Barry Reese. At the time of his arrest, he had the streets ablaze with his song “I’m A Hustla,” but the album of the same name languished during his months-long in the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. The rapper dodged a grave murder charge, but was convicted on possession of an instrument of crime, involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault.

Unlike the other man, Barry Reese’s life didn’t end in any form. And the rapper is back, having after serving his time. The Philly native spoke eloquently about the changes he’s undergone since jail, the tragic loss of life, the state of Hip-Hop and how urban America can get it together.

Cassidy address the rumors about him being raped in jail.

The recently-freed lyricist talks about the shooting that landed him in jail.

Cassidy discusses the state of the Hip-Hop community and the Black male.

AllHipHop.com: Was the jail-time a hindrance to the last album?

Cassidy: Without a question. It dropped when I was already in jail. I didn’t get a chance to perform none of the songs, do a promotional tour, none of that. I didn’t get a chance to shoot anymore videos, it really hindered it. At the same time, it benefited me as a person, so I’m happy I went through it.

AllHipHop.com: How did it benefit you as a person?

Cassidy: I’m more patient, humble. I’ve got a better relationship with God and my family. I know my real friends. I just learned so much from it. I was able to clear my mind up – not drink and smoke and party and not deal with the business every day. I was able to think – get my priorities together. I came to the conclusion of where I wanna go and the type of artist I wanna be.

AllHipHop.com: A lot of people considered you to be a Pop rapper. The last album cleared that up a little bit. Are you going to talk about this jail situation?

Cassidy: I’ve never been a Pop artist. I started my career doing mixtapes, bitin’ n***as heads off battlin’ in the streets. I never was a Pop artist. But when I came out and signed to J Records, they wanted me to do Top 40 records. It was they decision to bring out “Hotel” and “Get No Better,” which was when the world first met me – my first big look. That’s why they think I was a Poppy-type artist. So the second time around, they wanted to set it straight. That’s why they dropped two hard singles like “I’m A Hustla” and “B-Boy Stance,” so we went all the way left. The first album was all the way right. The second album was all the way left. The third time, we learned so much from them two albums, we gonna land right in the middle – the way we should of did it the first time.

AllHipHop.com: How did you do, SoundScan, when you had a major hit and all the publicity with the trial and everything?

Cassidy: I’m not even sure. Personally, I ain’t even ask how I did, ‘cause I just swept that album out from under the rug. I ain’t even try to check up on the album, to be honest with you. I’m just glad to look ahead to this third album. The people that heard it know the type of music that I bring to the table – quality music.

AllHipHop.com: What are your priorities now?

Cassidy: Continuing to build my relationship with the Lord. Staying close with my family. I’m spending more time with them than I ever did before, because I’m realizing that my family is there. I wasn’t able to spend time with them when I was locked up. Not just my blood family, but my street family. I’m looking other ways of generating money and success, besides just music.

AllHipHop.com: They’re using your mugshot on the cover of the “Cassidy Anthem” what’s that about?

Cassidy: That’s a song I had did a long time ago. They just put that out to keep my name out in the streets and with the DJ’s – to let people know that I still do music. But that’s not the new single.

AllHipHop.com: Who made the decision to use your mug shot on “Anthem,” the last single from your previous album? Somebody could say you are promoting or exploiting your jail time.

Cassidy: That’s definitely not what we set out to do. I not trying to use the situation to try to benefit my career, because I don’t need to. If I was a gimmick artist that really couldn’t spit, in the industry, I might try to use that to my advantage. A lot of other artists get into a situation and try to use it to their advantage, but not me. I know I can make quality music. I was still locked up when they made that decision to use that. But, that was a picture that was floating around at the time and I think they used it as it was a [mock] newspaper article. So, that was a smart idea since I was going through was I was going through. I was still locked up. It kinda caught your eye and you thinkin’ there is something about the case and it’s just something to promote the single.

AllHipHop.com: How were you treated in jail? There were rumors that you were raped in jail, assaulted and all sorts of things.

Cassidy: It’s always people that show love and there’s always haters. The same thing [happened] when ‘Pac was locked up, saying he got raped. It’s always gonna be a rumor about somebody that’s a celebrity. Ask people that’s really in my city, that was really in the jail. I was in general population every day, going to church every day, reading my books, exercising, getting outside food from C.O.’s [correctional officers] that were showing love. I did me. It was a situation that I was forced to go through and I went through it. And I’ma go through it the same way I go through my life in the streets. I’m out here in general population and on the streets by myself, you know, with wild jewelry on so, of course, I’m just gonna be in jail with my blues on.

I never even got into an altercation in jail. I passed a couple words to a couple dudes, but any situation that happens like that, and somebody tries to touch me or disrespect me, I would have had another charge, fighting another case.

AllHipHop.com: The guy that was murdered, did you consider him a friend?

Cassidy: Friend is something that’s a touchy word. Yeah, I considered him a friend. Yeah, that was my man at one point.

AllHipHop.com: Even if it’s a former friend, how does it feel having a role in that whole matter in hindsight?

Cassidy: Well, now that it’s all over with and you look back on the situation, I wish things could have went differently, but in the heat of the moment, things go the way they go. It was God…you can’t go against God’s will. It was meant to happen. I don’t feel no type of way about it. It is what it is – it already happened, it’s already done. You can’t go back in time and change it. But if I could, if that was possible, I probably would do certain things differently. Because, whether it was my friend or not or I didn’t know him from a can of paint, still somebody lost their life and a couple other people got shot. That’s never a good thing. I don’t wish that on nobody. But, at all times, I’m going to protect myself and make sure that I come out all right too. Would you rather it be you that died? If you change the situation, and do something differently and you [could] die or you got shot. I don’t know. I wish the best for his family and pray that God blesses his soul.

AllHipHop.com: Is there a lesson to be learned here?

Cassidy: Man. Like, the lesson is to see how the judicial system tries to target entertainers without the proper evidence, with out the proper investigation. Back in the day, there were [TV investigators like] Columbo and Matlock that go out there and and find out what’s really going on. Now, people can just make a statement with no hardcore evidence and take time out of your life, don’t give you a bail. And you still innocent until proven guilty, or they say you are, but you really guilty until proven innocent. No matter how much paper you got or what never you on, you not exempt. They can do the same thing to you if you get yourself in a situation – even if you around a situation.

AllHipHop.com: We never heard about anybody else being charged. Was anybody else charged with a crime?

Cassidy: I don’t know about that. I ain’t have no rappies [co-defendants] in my case. I was fighting my case by myself. Like I said in the previous question, they tried to target the big name, the person they feel they gonna get some light off…

For more on ‘Cassidyclick here.

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AllHipHop.com: Not to get all philosophical, but Proof of D-12 was killed today and it seems like rap music and Hip-Hop is going through this over and over. What’s your opinion of the state of Hip-Hop on the level and specifically the state of the Black man in America.

Cassidy: It’s definitely going down real crazy on the streets and the Hip-Hop community – and as you said, not just the Hip-Hop community, as far as the minorities. As far as entertainers, I’m sure somebody else [that wasn’t famous] died yesterday too. That’s stuff we ain’t hearing about. Violence is at an all-time high. There are so many reasons why it is, that we’ll be here for months talking about it. Its like, you know, there are a lotta reasons that dude’s are responding the way they are responding. Dues ain’t eating, they hungry out there. That’s one of the main reasons. They don’t have access to the paper [money] that’s out here in the world. That’s one of the reasons violence is at an all-time high. It’s a lot of ways to be successful and a lot of ways to make paper, but the dudes in the hood, the minorities don’t know about it. So, they feel all they can do is be a drug dealer, rapper, or a sports player. They feel if they ain’t one of those three things, they are left out so they gotta take what they want. That’s not true. There are a lot of other ways to be successful and probably generate more money than a celebrity or a sports player. But they don’t know those things. Knowing those things is not in the hood. The people doing those things is not in the hood. The only think that I see in the hood is the dude moving these birds [drugs], so Im’a try to be like him and not this doctor. I don’t see this doctor [in the hood]. A lot of these successful [people that got] good careers, they need to step it up and be positive role models for the people that’s stepping up. So, they I wanna be like him instead of Scarface [Cuban druglord played by Al Pacino] or Nino Brown [drug dealing character in 1991’ New Jack City.

If you don’t see it, a lot of dudes ain’t gonna go in a book and read and kids ain’t gonna try to do they own research. They need people with status to promote other things besides clothing lines, besides sneakers. Show these dudes another way and how to generate money, how to love each other and how to build a foundation over time. It took a long time for it to get this way. It ain’t just happen over night. Its gonna take time for to get better.

AllHipHop.com: Do you feel the older generation has let down the Hip-Hop generation, or at least neglected them?

Cassidy: [Pauses] The older dudes, it might not have necessarily been their fault. [The 70’s and 80’s], that’s when the drugs hit major, that’s when crack hit, so a lot of the dudes that’s older than us, teaching us the right way to go, they were lost themselves. Either they were lost up in hustling, or lost in using the drugs or caught up in pimping or being pimps. They wasn’t able to be the positive role models that they could have been. I don’t necessarily point the finger at them, because everybody is responsible for their own decisions. But they did play a role in why the generation after them went so crazy.

To make a difference, the dudes that’s young like me, Juelz, T.I., Fab, step it up and show a difference. Then the younger kids that’s five, six, 11 years old, they might take a different direction, gradually change. And then the generation under them, might gradual change and you might see improvement.

AllHipHop.com: What would you say your career stands at right now, musically?

Cassidy: I’m in the best shape of my life, man. I feel as though when I drop this next album, my third album, This Time Around, I’m gonna reach the most success I ever had. I’m gonna reach the level that I always dreamed about bein’ at – then continue to rise.

AllHipHop.com: Okay, I want to move forward with your music. You are one of the illest battle MC’s and definitely have good songs too. Are you working on anything right now?

Cassidy: When I was in jail, I wasn’t writing a lot of songs, because I didn’t have music, but I stayed on my job lyrically. That’s what I do so it’s like a habit for me. I stayed on my P’s & Q’s, because I am so competitive. I always wanna be the best, and I always wanna sound better than I did the last time.

AllHipHop.com: You got any mixtapes or anything like that coming out?

Cassidy: I’m looking forward to it. Every DJ is looking for a freestyle from me so, I’m looking forward to putting out a bunch of mixtapes. And, also coming out with my third album soon. So I got a lot on my plate right now.

AllHipHop.com: No release date yet?

Cassidy: Nah, I didn’t even go to work yet. Its probably gonna take me two months to get everything finished. So, I should have a single out this summer and probably looking to release the album fourth quarter.

For more on ‘Cassidyclick here.

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ostaboy’s battle to enter the rap game began a long time ago, when people were still calling him Sharard Dixon, a time when he was still managed by Kamal Blake – a former member of the rap group, Zhigge.

Anyone who saw Postaboy rip through seven consecutive weeks as the champion on 106 & Park’s “Freestyle Fridays” would be quick to label him a battle rapper. After not hearing from him for over two years, most people assumed he fell like some many battle greats – off. What most people did not see was how Postaboy successfully battled back from a botched deal, the loss of his brother in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, and cancer.

Fresh off of the release of two mixtapes, “Real Recognize Real” and “State of Emergency,” both hosted by DJ E-Nyce, Postaboy is poised to drop his album Live From The Emergency Room. Postaboy doesn’t need your sympathy, but if you’re a record label executive, he is out for your check.

AllHipHop.com: Your run on 106 & Park is like an urban legend now. Some people say seven straight weeks and I’ve also heard ten, exactly how long were you winning?

Postaboy: Seven weeks in a row, eight weeks total.

AllHipHop.com: And then after that you were on DJ KaySlay’s “Street Renegades” mixtape, still without a deal?

Postaboy: KaySlay was the first big mixtape I got on, so shouts out to him for showing me unconditional love. He always held me down from day one, even before 106 & Park, he threw one of my freestyles on a mixtape. This was before he even met me, we just talked a couple times through the two-way.

AllHipHop.com: So what’s going on after you start getting all of this exposure through BET and the mixtape circuit, was there a deal already waiting for you?

Postaboy: It took some time, to be honest with you, because it was kind of a bidding war to sign me. 11 different companies wanted to sign me, and I was doing a lot of traveling and going to meetings. I had a lot of hype and buzz, but I had to get my lawyer game up and all that because there were a lot of figures involved.

AllHipHop.com: So, then you decided to sign with Universal/Fo’ Reel off of the strength of your relationship with Cudda Love, and what he did with Nelly?

Postaboy: Yeah.

AllHipHop.com: Obviously you’re not with them now, what went down?

Postaboy: I don’t really have no problems with Universal or with Cudda Love. I just expected more when I went through my situation. As far as the business part goes, I just don’t feel that Cudda went hard enough, because Universal is following Cudda’s lead. So, if he’s not telling them, “We need to get Posta out right after Nelly,” then they won’t do it because they have like 50 artists, or so, that are under the whole Universal umbrella. So, it’s nothing personal, I just feel that Cudda wasn’t pushing their buttons letting them know, “This kid has to come right out. Everybody knows him, he’s doing shows and he’s got a record with Nelly, and the kid is fire.”

AllHipHop.com: So you’re involved in the Universal situation and then do you start to notice your health deteriorating later?

Postaboy: Well, the Universal situation was what it was, but, then in ’04 is when I started going through all of this. In ’04 there was really no communication from them, and I know they didn’t expect me to initiate any communication, because I was literally on my deathbed. I dropped to 130 pounds and they put 42 staples in my chest, 21 staples in my hip, 14 staples under those 21, and like 11 stitches under the 42 staples! I’m talking bald-head, no eyebrows, no mustache, and two complexions darker due to the five months of chemotherapy. I was just trying to get better. During that time, everything was about praying and wondering how I’m going to beat this situation because my girl was pregnant with my son at the time. I was going through a lot.

AllHipHop.com: So this kind of popped up out of the blue?

Postaboy: Before this disease affects the outside, it’s killing your insides. It could be spreading before you know it. Now that I rewind, I used to do a lot of shows and touring and I would be getting sleepy early and my appetite was funny, and that’s what it was. I was thinking, “Damn P, you’re doing too much.” But the reality was that while I was looking good on the outside, I had cancer.

I had some swelling in my testicle area, so I went to the doctor. They ran some tests and when I got to the hospital they’re telling me that I may only have six months to live. On top of that, I found out my girl was pregnant. Now she was only two months pregnant, so the math on that is only eight months. At that point I’m like, “Damn, I may not even get to see my son or daughter born.”

AllHipHop.com: They were able to remove all of the cancer after two surgeries?

Postaboy: Yeah, the first surgery was literally two or three days after that first doctor’s visit on Father’s Day. So that emergency surgery was to remove one of my testicles, and I had to heal up and recuperate from that. Then I underwent five months of chemotherapy; going home and having to stick needles in my thigh and stomach, all to try to shrink this mass of cancer which had spread to my kidney area. After all of that, we shrunk it down enough to be able to do surgery. That surgery ended up lasting 11-and-a-half hours because the cancer had wrapped around my liver and other vital organs. I literally almost died during the seventh hour of that surgery, but they were able to successfully remove that kidney, so I’m just happy to be here. It’s definitely a blessing – anything I go through after that is peanuts. Cancer is the number one killer, it’s neck-and-neck with AIDS.

AllHipHop.com: So is this a genetic type of thing, is it more prevalent among one group?

Postaboy: Before I got this disease, I always heard about it. Having it makes you do the studies, and you find out that it’s really a young man’s disease. The average age is 14-27. I never smoked cigarettes, nobody that we know of in the family tree has ever had this disease, so its like I’m the black sheep. Since it only hit me, my biggest fear is that it might hit my son, or will this go into the generations that I start. But 24/7 my faith is in Allah, so I don’t even let that worry me man. I just go with the flow, I’m happy to be here.

AllHipHop.com: Those ages are the average age of the Hip-Hop crowd, and some males aren’t too eager to let the doctor poke around in their p#### area, what advice would you recommend?

Postaboy: Put your pride in your back pocket, homie. You don’t want to go through what I did. That’s what doctors get paid to do. When you take physicals and go to check-ups, they have to check down there. So unless you’re insecure, or have some funny business about yourself that you don’t want anybody to know about, you need to go to the doctor and let them check that out. It definitely needs to be checked out down there, whether you’ve got to request a female doctor or whatever.

AllHipHop.com: Harlem’s got Bill Clinton on the block and a Starbucks on 125th, how are you feeling about the new makeover?

Postaboy: Harlem needed a makeover, it was about time, so it just feels good, because that’s where I’m from. We always had the attention because Harlem’s the Mecca, you’ve got the Apollo, Lennox Lounge, The Cotton Club, the infamous Harlem World Club that used to be on 116th. My father Beno-that’s what they used to call him back then, was the DJ of that joint. Doug E. Fresh used to carry my father’s records back then, that’s how far he went back with it, so shouts out to Doug.

It feels good now that the government is paying us some attention and reinvesting some of that paper that they’ve been smuggling. It’s good that you don’t have to go way to 96th to hit the Starbucks or a bank with an ATM, you can just go right to 125th. I think it’s good that they’re providing a better environment for the next generation, because even though my crowd is in their early 20’s, it’s really about the youngie’s man. It’s about the little D’sani’s [Postaboy’s son] and the other little boys and girls that are coming up. All those little boys and girls coming up about to hit kindergarten, first, second and third grade, it’s all about them.

AllHipHop.com: Considering the lukewarm response you received when you first tried to get signed, and the experience at Fo’ Reel would you prefer to sign to a major label or go independent?

Postaboy: I’m not really trying to go the independent route, I want those majors behind me. I’m not just going to say, “Yo I’m trying to get seven dollars per record.” That’s a good look, but I want those majors behind me with that official backing so I could really get right.

AllHipHop.com: You just released another mixtape with DJ E-Nynce called “Real Recognize Real” with some heavy guest spots on it; everyone from Nelly and Talib Kweli to Da’ Band and Prodigy from Mobb Deep.

Postaboy: These are relationships that I’ve already got. They f**k with me and I f**k with them. They came out, no money involved, I had them in Harlem, blowing the trees, doing the things that we do, and they showed more love. And I’ll be there for them when they call me and need something too.

AllHipHop.com: Did it surprise you that so many people showed love, all with no money down?

Postaboy: No, that really didn’t surprise me. That’s not being cocky or arrogant, it’s just that I’m a big dreamer and I know how I give it up. Anybody who really knows me, knows that I’m a pure dude and I’m down to earth, and that’s what attracts people. For somebody in my position who was on the magnitude that I was on, it’s easy to start riding yourself and I did the opposite. Even though I was in the same clubs and doing the same things that the six-figure boys do, I still would come through and show love to the middle-class and the bottom class and even help a few people in that predicament.

When you do good things that’s what comes back in return. I think the love I showed and the things that I did in my life factored into me beating cancer, because I believe in Karma.

AllHipHop.com: Did BET always have it set up for you to come back and show your video for “God By My Side” on 106, or did that get worked out separately?

Postaboy: I set that up on my own. I shot the video on my own, with my own money less that 60 days out of the hospital. I had my own contacts with the producers, it was a 24 hour video shoot, we got guest appearances from Raekwon, KaySlay, and D’sani-he’s in the video getting his cameo on. It’s been done for like a year, the reason I haven’t put it out is because I wanted to have my bullets and everything loaded. I know when I put this video out, the [labels] are going to start biting. When they start biting, I want to have something to offer them, as opposed to just asking them to sign me to a recording contract.

AllHipHop.com: You’re currently looking to find a home for your label and put your name back out there, so how can people get at you?

Postaboy: The myspace is being built as we speak. But all of the label people can hit me up at [email protected]. As far as anybody wanting to hit me up on the label tip, Live From The Emergency Room is already finished and mixed, but if you want to get [Ken] Duro or one of the big boys to mix it again, that’s all good. To all my fans, I did my part now y’all have to do your part and request my video and let these A&R’s and industry people know that you want to hear your boy and see me in a situation.