Rap Radar

You brought the lovely Amanda Diva into the mix for “Manwomanboogie” and gave her a nice little look there.
Yeah, gave her a nice little look. You know I told her… I love Amanda and we have a thing ’cause I always tell her she’s on ten, like all the time. So I said…

Why you say that? (Laughs) Her, Amanda?
(Laughs) So I was like, “Yo, just… 6. And she kinda did that and she nailed it. I liked the tone in her voice on that. I’ve gotten a lot of comments and compliments on her voice in that.

Yeah, she sounds different on that.
But that should kinda be her thing that she shoots for.

You’ve done mad songs with Dilla. How’d you decide to go with “Move” for the album?
Well that was the last thing he and I kinda did together. He sent that to me and I was just fuckin’ wit it and ya know… so I said lemme just throw that shit on here.

I know you obviously have a personal connection with him but it seems like in America, we tend to glorify the people that are no longer here. Do you get weary sometimes of that stuff?
Yeah, totally. ‘Cause like when he was here, dudes was fuckin’ with him but not like that. It’s good that people are finding out about him and stuff like that but you see kids walkin’ around with T-shirts and it doesn’t need to be fad-y. That seems like what it’s become. It’s cool if you really get into it but get into the shit. Don’t be a girl at a party or a dude at a party with the T-shirt on and just.. you don’t even know who Phat Kat is. You don’t know who T3 is? Or you don’t know the joints he did for Pharcyde? If you gon rock it, rock it! That’s it, know what you rockin’.

Here’s the one thing that pissed me off about the album. Why is the title track all cut into “Move” and all that?
Yeah, I know, I know. That was because they was like, “We gotta get it now!” I was tweekin’ it. I was like, “I still gotta get this mix on it.” “Well fuck it!” And I was like, “Watch what’s gonna happen ’cause this shit is bananas.”

Why’d you call the next joint “Dance on Glass“?
I just thought the beat sounded… I don’t know like shard. The music just brought that title out.

The record’s kinda your jab at record labels. What happens in those kinda meetings where you present your music and they say they want something else?
Well, ya know, they offer their opinion. I listen and act like I care. (Laughs) And then I do what I wanna do. We argue and then I stomp my feet and I act like this disgruntled, spoiled brat artist. And then they say, “Fuck it because they’re gonna put about 10 artists out in 7 months.”

Have you ever changed anything from the record company input?
I mean, if I thought that it made sense I would. I listen to them but ya know, but for the most part I take it with a grain of salt ’cause I know what I wanna do. Like I never really been A&R’d and shit like that.

Part 4 Thursday.

Raekwon attempts to explain why we’re still waiting for Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II and shoots down the previous leaked songs that he says won’t make the cut.

“I had to make it my business to serve appetizers and that’s what they were. Guess people must of thought it was Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II. I’m in the back laughing because I know at the end of the day these are just Jamaican beef patties.”

Props: VIBE

Catch up if you missed Part 1.

On “Official,” you say “Busta is ferocious/I’m flawed and precocious.” Explain that. What do you mean?
Exactly that: I am not perfect.

And what girl told you that?
I know, I know, right? [Laughs] That

You seem like you’re really good at keeping your personal life out of your music, but actually you do touch on your personal life but you do it in a very abstract kind of way.
No pun, right? I guess so, I mean, you know… I try to like make it relatable and not too overbearing. Or something that when people can listen to it they can see themselves in it. Like I try to, the challenge for me… Because I feel like as an artist we all probably wanna get in there and talk about our whole lives and document it and say, ‘This is what happened.’ To me, that’s easy. The challenge is, how do I still get those messages across, satisfy myself then at the same time; include the listener too? And do so in a way that still has artist merit, the credence; it still has that, you know’m sayin’? So that’s how I view it so… Yeah I had that, a lil’ bit of that, was definitely about my past relationship and um, but it’s also… Some of it isn’t. It’s jut like things that we go through like I’m always gonna have songs that deal with relationships in my music.

Speaking of relationships, that definitely brings us to the next song, “We Fight/We Love.”
“We Fight/We Love,” that joint is like, the first verse is a woman who is fighting to keep her relationship going, with like a dude who’s kinda like sitting around on his ass or whatever, doing what he’s doin’. The second verse deals with a kid who’s probably like 19 who can’t afford college and decides to enlist in the armed services and goes to Iraq. He’s tryna find himself looking for his soul in WMD’s, but you don’t find nothing ’cause its empty. And then it’s just like, you’re fighting for identity in both cases. And fighting for that emotion to have somebody to care or to care about something or care about yourself. It’s definitely a fight to maintain those things and to have those things. So that song is commentary on that.

So let’s get Raphael Saadiq on that. And we good. (Laughs)
Yeah sent it to him and he sent it right back to me. I think that’s the one song, if I could change it, I’d make it a little shorter. Like the chorus and the middle, I’d shorten it a little. If I could have a do over.

Part 3 manana.

Words: Brian “B.Dot” Miller

So far, Young Jeezy is having the best week year ever. Still reveling in the success from last year’s aptly titled The Recession, this January, Da Snowman became the official spokesman for Belvedere Vodka, Then last week, inked a deal with management firm Hip-Hop Since 1978 (Kanye West and Lil Wayne). Sweetening the pot, this summer he makes his acting debut alongside Ice Cube and Mike Epps in the comedy Janky Promoters. Sitting down with RapRadar, Jeezy talks about on his new deal, film, and writing for Kanye West.

You recently signed your management deal with Hip-Hop Since 1978. Why did you hook up with them at this stage of your career?
It got to the point where I wanted to focus just on my music and I wanted to trust somebody else to put it in they hands. So I just took my Louis Vuitton backpack off and put it on them for a minute. I been doing a lot for myself, but sometimes you just gotta expand your game and the way you do that is get linked with people. That what they do for a living, all day everyday.

The Recession was critically and commercially successful. Do you think you’ve proven yourself with this album?
I think when it marinates on people and when they realize what I was trying to do and what I set out to do, I’ll feel much better. But for the most part, if people really knew how much work I put into that album, how many studio hours, and how much I paid attention to what was going on to complete the project, then I think it [would be] appreciated much more. I was working night and day on that shit. I just felt like I had a lot to prove. I had to show people that I wasn’t just some nigga that was just standing on the corner a few years ago, doing what I was doing. I had to show them that I’m a part of this society. I’m a part of this world.

Why didn’t the iTunes bonus song, “Done It” make the cut?
Yo, I’m about to shoot a video for that. I’m about to tell you the realest shit in the world. You know why that song didn’t go on my album? Cause it was a fuckin Hall and Oats sample and they cleared it the day the after the album was turned in. We kept trying to track them down to clear it, but they cleared it the day after. That shit hurt me. I went in on that song. I brought out harmonicas, violins— we built that song from scratch. I had a saxophone player come in my nigga! That was it. That was the one. They cleared that shit like a day after I turned my album in. I could not believe it.

Damn, that sucks. Were you also upset for not winning the Grammy for Best Rap Performance last month?
I mean shit, my nigga I was bitter. I was ready for whatever. But you know, just to get nominated for some shit like that was a sign for me. It definitely showed me to keep it moving and go just go harder next time, man. But shit, I’ll see ‘em next year. I ain’t letting up. I don’t give a fuck, I’m a winner.

So where do you go from here?
I don’t think that I should get off my square and try to do something that’s too far out the box because that’s what everybody else is doing. I been the type of nigga to stay to my lane. I call it staying in my lane, staying in my coupe. I just hope with this next album, people appreciate it the same and just know where I’m going. I ain’t trying to be no lyrical nigga. I’m just trying to get my point across for the people. 

Well, didn’t you extended your pen and pad to Kanye West on 808s & Heartbreak?
I went [to Hawaii] to do a record with him, but I end up helping him write like four or five joints on his album. It was crazy though man, but it worked out good. It was kind of innocent. We just started writing together and it just worked out. He would play something and I would help him like get his point across or whatever.

Your relationship with DJ Drama has been rocky as of late. Have you guys since reconciled?
Niggas can agree to disagree. Drama alright. We spoke. He still the homie, my nigga. I been on the road getting money, so I hear things and I addressed it. I let him know how I felt and we pretty much kept it moving from there. It wasn’t a problem cause if it were a problem you woulda heard about it. Other than that, he’s getting his money and I’m getting mine. Maybe sometime in the future we might work together. Other than that, we just moving.

Cool. This summer, you’re starring alongside Ice Cube and Mike Epps in the comedy, Janky Promoters. When did you find time to shoot a movie?
Fuckin’ with Cube, man. I was out in L.A. I think it was for the BET Awards. And so happened that I was out there and I was about to start shooting and you know he called me through and we got it done. I had to test that big screen out. Only time I been on the big screen was videos and the news.

Have you ever had to deal with janky promoters?
I know about janky promoters. I done been put a few of them in my trunk, ya feel me?! [laughs] I done ran up on niggas tour buses and taken my money. All kinds of shit, man. I’m with all that. I dealt with it, so to me it was close to home. Like, the shit really made sense and it was funny cause a lot of the instances I been through. Niggas don’t got your money, they trying to trick you, they waiting on they homeboy to bring it; niggas wanna get you something to smoke, get you something to drink, get you some girls to calm you down. Niggas put you in a fucked up hotel room. Like nigga, I was in better than this at home. You trippin’!

Lastly, what are your thoughts on the backlash your pal Michael Phelps has received?
I don’t know, that’s my dude man. I wish him the best! I hope he come out of that aight. It’s like he was doing a hookah. That what I would said. [laughs] It wasn’t nothing in there but flavored tobacco, yeah.

Interview: Brian “B.Dot” Miller

The latter of 2007 was tough for T.I. Despite releasing a platinum album earlier that year, the Atlanta rapper was charged and found guilty on weapons possession. In March 2008, he was sentenced to a year in jail, ordered to pay a hefty fine, and perform a shit load of community service. In the meantime, T.I. used his freedom to sell over a million copies of his latest LP, Paper Trail and star in an MTV reality series, Road To Redemption. Before turning himself in two weeks from today, T.I.P. phoned in to RapRadar to discuss his final days, baby mama drama and ghostwriting for a certain doctor.

Are you upset that for the second time in a row, you didn’t win the Grammy for Rap Album of the Year?
Nah, I feel like— remember last time I said I had the album of the year, but Iike I said, I felt those were the two albums of the year, so either one of those who made it, I ain’t got a problem with it. Damn near everybody in the category, even if it wasn’t huge the commercial success, it was just lyrically and creatively well put together albums. If American Gangster would’ve won, I couldn’t have been mad. Wayne did his thing, man. Wayne had a phenomenal year.

True, but alot of folks have said that you’ve stepped your rap game up on Paper Trail. Do you think that’s why Dr. Dre recruited you as a ghostwriter?
Say what, bruh?

You know, ghostwriting for Dre. Several reference tracks that you did for Detox leaked on the ‘net a few weeks ago.
Hey man, I cannot confirm nor deny any of those allegations.

Huh? Come on T.I., everyone knows that’s you.
I cannot confirm nor deny the allegations.

Ok well, lets just say they were you.
Well, I mean if I had been or if I am in fact writing for Dr. Dre, it would definitely be a pivotal moment and highlight in my career. It would definitely be an absolute honor to work alongside such a musical genius, specializing in gangsta shit, as I do myself. But that’s if I am in fact— if I had ever written for Dr. Dre, you know. But I cannot confirm or deny.

Right. So if you did get a chance to meet him, what would you say?
If I did meet Dr. Dre or if I did talk to Dre, I would just tell him, man, whatever he needs from me, I’m on deck for him and how I— goddamn, respect the legacy you know what I’m saying, and how much I grew up loving that shit, man. And also, whatever we get a chance to work on my stuff— if we were ever able to put sometime aside to ever work on my stuff then you know, I would it expect it to be nothing less than catastrophic. If.

Well, on T.I. vs. T.I.P., you collaborated with Eminem on “Touchdown” so it’s easy to connect the dots.
Em is a great guy. He’s a good partner of mine. We speak a lot and I’m looking forward to what he put together. I know it’s going to be A1 certified.

You recently wrapped up Takers, starring yourself and Chris Brown. How do you feel about him being removed from the film’s marketing campaign?
Nah man, that can’t be further from the truth. There’s no validity to that statement. I’m a producer on the movie and I ain’t put forth no sort of order or request man. And personally, it’s very, very premature to jump to such a conclusion given that none of these matters have been resolved. No one has been tried or convicted or nothing like that. I’m not going to jump to no conclusions. I’m not going to. I think that’s unfair ’cause that’s what people did with me, and I’m not going to do that.

Granted. Closing in on your final days, what’s your mind state?
Man, to be honest with you man, I’m ready to go get my days in and get the moving on, this ain’t really nothing to sound drowned up and hung down low about. Winter, summer, home period.

Well, it’s not something you look forward to, like a birthday.
Actually, I’m looking forward to it! I’m looking forward to it. Spring, summer, fall winter, the crib.

Has there been anyone outside of the hip-hop realm that’s shown support?
Minister Farrakhan extended his support. Man, he’s a great man. I think he exemplifies growth and longevity and prosperity, you know in the community. Everything he says is so profound. When he speaks, he speaks for a reason. He just speaks so much to the point of taking back our communities and being more responsible for our children and the youth today. Being more involved, caring more and not looking the other way when you see young people doing the wrong thing.

Do you know where you’re going to be housed?
No I don’t. That’s up to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Do your kids understand the severity of your situation?
I mean, somewhat. But I teach my family not to listen to gossip. Especially the boys, I tell ‘em all the time gossiping is for girls.

Speaking of your children, your monthly child support payments were recently increased by $2,000. That’s not too recession friendly.
I think it was an excellent decision by the judge. [The court] did increase the funds somewhat, but it also increased the responsibility. Now, LaShon Dixon is paying for all private schools, all uniforms, all tuition, all books, half of the extracurricular activities, all in which she never paid for any of these things before. Once it was all laid out and brought forth on the table, the judge recognized the situation immediately.

Interview: Brian “B.Dot” Miller

Figuratively speaking, Terius Nash has the stuff that dreams are made of. That’s because for nearly 10 years, the singer/songwriter/producer known as The-Dream has become a musical triple threat. And on the cusp of his sophomore release Love vs. Money, the Georgia native chopped it up with RapRadar about his new album, photographs, and how he and his main squeeze are laughing all the way to the bank.

A lot of folks have called your debut album, Love/Hate a classic.
Dream: I made two modern day classics.

Oh, really? So what’s the overall theme this time around?
Well, Love/Hate was the first album and it was just about where I was coming from. How I just got a certain type of recognition. And I knew there would be a certain kind of hate I was going to receive for being in that particular position because I seen it happen to others. This one, Love vs. Money is about what I got now. It’s about me and what I do it for. It’s a question I ask myself and a question I pose to everybody else. Do you do it for the love? Do you do relationships for the love? Is it about the money I have? When I do my job—writing songs, is it about love or is that about money? So that’s what it is. It’s exactly what the title says.

But in these trying times, shouldn’t people do things with money in mind?
Not really. I think love always brings us through. No matter how much money you got. You haven’t loved somebody in a time like this in order to receive stuff. It’s not just going to come to you based off “Ah I got money.” You can lose money you can never really lose love if you got it.

Speaking of which, you lost a lot of weight. How’d you do it?
I only loss about 20 pounds. Just keep having sex three hours at a time.

Uh, duly noted. Recently, your girlfriend Christina Milian has caught a lot of heat over the pictures she took at the Atlanta Hawks game.
Oh yeah, they hate her. [But] I love it. Cause evidently, we controlling the airwaves right now. People that can’t hate on me are going to hate on her.

You think that’s what it is?
I don’t get it! Me and her had this conversation, “Like what the hell are they looking at? Like, maybe it’s something wrong with they computer screen and maybe Rasputia comes up every time they looking at you,” cause I don’t know, I have no idea. Like, I think something is wrong. When we go out the country they go crazy [for her]. I get back here, I read a blog— it makes no sense.

It seems much of criticism comes from the blonde dye job.

That shit look good to me. She is an artist. She changed her hair color cause she wanted to change it. I aint have shit to do with it. Why I look like walking around making someone change their hair color. Like y’all aint got nothing to do.

Did you feel some sort of way about Johntá Austin, Jermaine Dupri, and Usher were clowning her?
Hmm mmm, of course I did. I called all of them. First person I called was Johntá Austin.

What did he say?
He ain’t know she was over here with Radio Killa like that, but I’m like in any event why are y’all, Grammy winning, critically-acclaimed songwriters, gentleman— It doesn’t make any sense to do that. I didn’t get it. I really didn’t get it. That’s like me doing that. Maybe I just have an ego that’s going to make me come down off my horse to talk about you. It’s not going to happen. Even in the cross of saying anything back, everybody calling “Hey man, what you going to—” Man, I ain’t saying nothing. I’m me. I’ll say everything I want to say on the left side of Billboard charts.

On the boards with your name next to triangle?
A triangle, a rectangle, whatever it is. Nobody ain’t got time for that. Most of my concern with Johntá is; first off, I know you were just goofing off and that you don’t believe that ’cause if you seen her you would try to holla at her.

I know I would.
So, I know it ain’t that. So what is it? Cause other than that you messing with my money. Now when you playing with my money, [you] talking a whole ‘nother ball game.

Right.
And to clear this up, “Oh, she fuckin’ for tracks” and this shit, I be like these muthafuckas must be stupid. It’s a recession ain’t nobody got to fuck for tracks. We basically giving them away. There’s a clearance! When I started to really want to build my label, I went looking for her. I was like, where is she at? I need that person over here. She’s talented and she’s a good person. I met a lot of people. That’s what I told Johntá. We know a lot of people that ain’t good people. You don’t do that to good people.

Did you speak to Usher?
He called me and told me he was sorry and or whatever. But she on Radio Killa. She feel a certain way about it, then I’m good on you. We can’t even work.

Did you ever think twice about hooking up with Christina Milian being that she’s been with Nick Cannon and producer Dre?
I only know people when I see ‘em. And from that day forward is what I know about them.

So it never crossed your mind?
I’m a tell you something crazy. How much I work and how real I am, ’cause the game is so fickle. I was getting ready to do something recently on some business stuff and I was like “You want to come by this particular thing” It was something in Utah. It was Sundance. I was like, “You want to come up here? Mariah is having this party,” I told this to Christina. She was like “Uh, no!” I’m so out the loop on that shit, man, I really don’t give a fuck! Like that shit— I really don’t give a fuck about that shit.

So, it’s all business at the end of the day.
We out here trying to get this money. Let them keep taking pictures. How about that? While you taking pictures, wondering what we doing in between them pictures, we just going to get that money.

Interview: Brian “B.Dot” Miller

On the track “Notorious B.I.G.” from Biggie’s posthumous album Born Again, Lil’ Kim bragged about switching her style like that hottest new dances. Well tonight, Kimberly gets a chance to cut a rug on the season premier of the hit ABC reality program Dancing With The Stars. Hours before slipping into her heels, Kim spoke to RapRadar about the show, her label situation, and Biggie’s thoughts on Notorious.

Interview: Brian “B.Dot” Miller

Photo: Chenoa Maxwell

Two years before Christopher Wallace’s death in 1997, he played himself. That’s right, in season four of the hit ‘90s sitcom Martin, he made a special guest appearance as the Notorious B.I.G. who was in Detroit in search of a new background singer. Although this wasn’t Biggie’s first crack at acting, this hilarious episode was unquestionably his most memorable. RapRadar recently caught up with former cast member and Everybody Hates Chris star Tichina Arnold who reveals how the legendary rapper stuck to the script.

What was the casts’ reaction to Biggie appearing on the show?

With Biggie coming the whole aura on the set was, “Biggie’s coming, Biggie’s coming!” Martin Lawrence is like famous and he was more excited that Biggie was coming than all of us. We were just elated that Biggie was coming because that’s what I listened to. Before I even started listening to rap, I was listening to Biggie [Laughs].

Interview: Elliott Wilson

Don’t really know why Q-Tip was the first rapper I decided to chop it up with for my new venture. It just clicked in my mind one day to do it and I hit him on Twitter and voila. I enjoyed his last album like most critics and I started to notice that no one had really ever interviewed him about the music in great detail. Here’s a guy who took damn near a decade to release his second solo album and I think this body of work deserves re-examination. So after a Martha Stewart appearance where his dog Monk pissed on the studio floor, The Abstract ambled over to the RR Mansion. Here’s Part 1 of all you ever need to know about The Renaissance. Cop the album cause he dropped it.

Are you satisfied with the response to The Renaissance?

Yeah, I