Most people know you through your affiliation with Plies and Big Gates Records. What’s your status right now? I’m still signed to Big Gates Records, but I’m really out here going independent and doing what I gotta do because everybody can see they ain’t doing nothing for me. My lawyers are in the process of getting my contract terminated, it just takes time. So I’m going to keep trying to make a name for myself and drop these mixtapes and stay relevant in the streets. Your signing seemed like a good fit musically. What happened? I don’t know. When I first signed, everything was good. We were a family. My goal was just to brand the name, and if you listen to all my mixtapes, I was going hard with Big Gates Records. Shit just went downhill. I used to get calls from people that were around them telling me certain things. Me just coming home from prison, I was trying to play my position, but I guess every nigga has their own definition of what a “real nigga” is. I don’t wanna make this interview all about them, but the fans wanna know the truth. My problem was never with Plies. It’s just Big Gates, the CEO. I guess he never had that much money before and then he came home [from prison] and got power struck. Plies is 100, it’s just his brother, man. He fired everybody on the staff by email. He fired some people just because they’re still affiliated with me. I guess Plies feels like if it wasn’t for his brother he wouldn’t be where he’s at right now so he follows in his brother’s footsteps. If he would be his own man and stand up for what he always said he believes in, he’d be a better dude. Big Gates always told me if we ever came to a disagreement, they’re real niggas and they’d just give me my papers and let me go. He said he’d never hinder my situation, but now he’s going to a lot of websites and blocking my mixtapes. There’s only a few DJs and websites that will fuck with my situation because of what my label is putting me through. [Big Gates] deleted my whole YouTube account. And I see them around, we don’t stay far from each other. I see Big Gates at the bank and he says, “We gon’ sit down and talk at the round table,” and then goes back to talking about me on Twitter and deletes my whole YouTube account so people can’t find my music. People don’t know what I’m going through out here.
Were you also ghostwriting records for other artists on the label? Yeah, I wrote [Plies’] records “Chirpin’,” “Bricks On Me,” “On Yac,” Everything is going to come to light in due time. I wrote Lady’s biggest street hit “I Need.” Promoters were calling trying to book me for shows and my label was playing with them. I had movie offers but Big Gates was fucking my shit up so bad niggas were running away from it. Why were you in prison? For selling dope. I got signed right after I came home and I wasn’t even scoping for a deal. A lot of dudes are mad or jealous at my position because they felt like it was handed to me, but what God got for you is for you. I thank God every day for the position he put me in. I utilized that prison time wisely and then came home and got a son, so that really motivated me. My mom is doing ten years in prison and I don’t know who my father is, so I’ve got two little brothers to look out for and a son. That’s why I go so hard and that’s why I refuse to let these niggas take me down. I got my mama in prison doing ten years and my nephew doing 25 and they’re rooting for me, so I’ve gotta go hard. So assuming you’re able to get out of your label situation, what’s the next move? Just to keep going hard in these streets until I catch the attention of a major label. They were looking at me when I first came in the game so I’ve just gotta keep going at it 100 and dropping this hot music that people wanna hear, not this fake dictionary shit these niggas are on. Some of these rappers are assassinating the character of real niggas, for real. I’ve only been rapping for two years and I feel like I’ve made good progress. What do you plan to release in 2012? I’ve got The Prescription mixtape coming out on February 24th with Bigga Rankin. That’s my fifth mixtape. The others are all on DatPiff and LiveMixtapes.com. // Twitter: @FellaOnYac Facebook: MrFellaOnYac
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