You mentioned your situation with Akon. Are you signed to Konvict Music? Te Money: We’re doing the same thing we did with Dolla; it’s a joint venture with Konvict Music. We’re also still working on the reality TV show. It’s bigger than just music. The music really comes last; it comes easily to us. It’s more about us getting along and reaching out to help somebody else. What’s the focus of the reality show? Te Money: Just tryin’ to get out of the hood. A few weeks ago I told Lefty to come to the
“my grandpa’s been to the joint and probably his grandpa too. every kid looks for that fatherly attention or role models. you’re just a kid and don’t know what direction to go, so you want someone to look up to. they teach you that shit and you pick it up. it passes down to every generation.” chino
Beverly Center. He lives like twenty minutes away from there and had never been there before, even though he’s lived [in Los Angeles] his whole life. L.A. is separated by gangs, and when you grow up here, you feel like, “This is my hood, so what do I need to go over there for? Matter of fact, we beefin’ with them over there so I’ma stay right here and protect my hood.” Lefty: Yeah, I just stay in my comfort zone. 70 // OZONE MAG
So you’re broadening your horizons. Do you see the gang situation in L.A. getting better or worse? Te Money: For me, since I grew up, I’d say it’s definitely calmed down. Especially since the Rodney King [riots], L.A. has calmed down and is getting along more. It’s more Crip on Crip beef than anything, and the blacks and browns don’t get along period. It’s kinda out of our control. I didn’t start the gang, I just grew up here and got involved in it. Somebody’s gotta go talk to the muthafucker that started all this bullshit. Lefty mentioned that he didn’t want his son to join a gang. If you had it your way, twenty years from now, would you have gangs eliminated period? Te Money: Nah, not really, because sometimes gangs are family. Some people get involved with gangs because they don’t have a family; sometimes that’s all you have. Lefty: They got love for you and you feel comfortable around all your homies. Chino: Not every gang is [violent] either. A lot of gangs started out as clubs and just got labeled as “gangs.” There are a lot of clubs just fighting for rights and fighting for our people, and that’s what we’re here today to do. How do you think you can keep the family and community aspect of the gangs but take the violence out of it? Te Money: Everybody’s an individual. You can’t stop somebody from what they wanna do, you can only tell ‘em. I got homies that went to school and were on the honor roll and went on to play [professional] basketball and still come back to this neighborhood. Then I’ve got homies that shoulda played [professional] basketball but instead they were like, “I need this gun, this dope, this money right now.” If you had grown up in the suburbs, where do you think you would have ended up? Te Money: Lefty would probably still be gangbangin’. Some people are just fascinated by it. It depends on the individual. Sometimes you can be born into it if your mom and dad are into it. But I know some people that grew up in the suburbs and just started comin’ over to our neighborhood. Lefty: Some people are fascinated by the