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n one of the very first issues of OZONE, when you had first come out with “My Neck My Back,” we printed all your mugshots and jokingly suggested that you use them as part of your promotional materials. What made you decide to finally use your mugshots as your new album cover, years later? Just because I came up with the name Gangstress [for the album]. i am a gangstress, so what better to use than my mugshtos? I just thought it was cute. It matched the name so perfectly. I’m not really inot the “sex sells” thing, so the mugshots seemed fitting for me. So have you been getting into any trouble lately? You got any new mug shots? No! I ain’t got no new ones. I’ve been good lately. Why? You have money now so you don’t have to do anything crazy? My last charge was in ’97, so I haven’t been in trouble in almost ten years. Those were the younger days. I don’t have to run in stores and steal clothes and stuff. I write my raps. Running in stores and stealing clothes – are you referring to someone in particular? No, no one in particular. I’m not tryin’ to just use my mugshots like goin’ to jail is something I’m proud of. That was my past; things that happened in my youth. It’s been almost ten years, so that was then and this is now. Most of the charges sounded like bullshit – disorderly conduct and things like that. Why did you keep getting arrested? When I was like 17, 18, 19, it was just boyfriend stuff, breaking out windows, carrying a concealed weapon. I got in a shootout one time at the club. That’s just the kind of stuff that happens. I was young and wildin’ out. I’m not into that kind of stuff now. Every [mugshot] on there, I was a baby. When your single “My Neck My Back” blew up, you were living in Tampa. Now that you live in Atlanta, people in Tampa kind of feel like you abandoned them and stopped representing the city. I represent Florida. I love Florida. I rep the South to the fullest, but Tampa never really showed me any support. That was the reason I moved to Atlanta. There wasn’t enough recording studios there [in Tampa], there wasn’t much of anything for what I was tryin’ to do. Tampa didn’t have anything to offer so it was time for me to move. You don’t feel like Tampa played a part in the success of “My Neck My Back”? If I remember correctly, that song was in rotation on Tampa radio pretty early. Can’t blow something up that’s already hot. I sold records all over the world and that definitely didn’t have anything to do with Tampa. Tampa didn’t support me from day one. Tampa doesn’t have anything to do with my success at all. Tampa artist Owe Jive has accused you of stealing his song; he did the original song that “My Neck My Back” was based on. His name is Willie Hill, and I’m through talking about Willie. That’s old. I got a new record and it’s gangsta, so now he’s not gonna be able to say, “She stole my song.” We’re gonna see what he has to say now that I have a new album. I’m just through talking about that; it’s funny to me. I got much love for Willie. I went to school with Willie and I know his family. He’s gotta get over it. I never had a problem with him, but I guess he felt that I took an opportunity from him. But it was never like that, and you can’t blame somebody for being talented. I have talent, and “My Neck My Back” wasn’t the only hit I had on the Thug Missus album. Every song on that album was a hit. My music was played all over: Tampa, Orlando, Germany, Greece, everywhere. If he thinks that I was the reason he didn’t succeed, he needs to really wake up. I took control of my situation and I’m out here grinding. I write my music and I do my shows. Come on, Julia, you see me on the grind just like you. I’m grindin’ doing everything by myself. I didn’t stay in Tampa trying to make somebody like me and support me and be on my side. Either you’ve got talent or you don’t. Either you’re gonna get on the grind or you’re gonna be left behind. I love you, Willie. I pray for you. Either you got it or you don’t, and you can’t blame somebody else for something you just don’t have. I don’t know if you saw this, but one of Taz’ partners with Dirty Down Records actually sent OZONE a feedback email in response to your last interview. He publicly offered you a million dollars to sign back with their label. How do you feel about that? That was their last cry for help. They know they wasn’t nothing before
me and they wasn’t gonna be nothing after me. They did some shady shit. I found out early on that they were thieves and I decided I didn’t want to sign a contract with them. After that, they spread rumors that I was dead and that I had AIDS and put out the DSD “Look Back At It” featuring Khia. They did all kinds of slimy, crazy stuff, booking shows in my name. They’re just crooked all they way across the board. I would never do business with them again. It’s no beef and no hate. The bottom line is that they’re crooked and I chose not to be a part of their situation, so they tried to sabotage me instead of just keeping it real. But real recognize real and the hood knows the truth. At the end of the day, where’s Dirty Down Records? I’m so high and they’re so low. Until they learn how to build good relationships with people and be honest and be good businessmen, they’re never gonna have good luck. What goes around comes around, and whatever you do in the dark will come to the light. They’re some shady-ass niggas and they’re never gonna prosper. Even through all that, I still continue to succeed and thrive. They had a good opportunity with me and we could’ve made millions of dollars together. They had to offer me a million dollars cause they know that’s the type of deals that are getting offered to me. Why would I let [Taz] be a part of that? He doesn’t rap, he doesn’t produce, he doesn’t do shit. He just walks around tryin’ to play like he’s got a label and trying to take advantage of people. They seek out artists that aren’t really educated on the music business and try to get them to sign these bootleg contracts that they print up on their home computer. They try to take advantage of people’s lives and people’s talent, so I’m exposing their ass because they’re wrong. If they were fair and built relationships with people, they’d be able to make money. But when you lie and cheat and steal and try to take advantage of people there’s no way you’re gonna achieve anything. Those niggas are clowns and until they learn that, somebody’s gonna fuck ‘em up. Taz claims that he gets a cut off all the albums you put out because you still have some type of contract with them. He wants people to think he’s on top, but he’s at the bottom. I’ve never been signed to Dirty Down Records. I have my own label now, and I’m putting my album out myself. Taz has nothing to do with this, so for him to lie and try to make people think that, why would he do that? Taz is obsessed with me. He’s so in love. I think he eats, sleeps, and dreams about me. I love you too, Taz. It’s all good. I’m so blessed right now. It’s no beef. If he was man enough to apologize for what he did and didn’t try to steal little petty show money, he coulda made big money if he would’ve just kept it real. He wants to be my friend so bad. He uses my name everywhere he goes. He tries to affiliate himself with Khia. I already know I’m a queen, so that makes me look so good and makes him look so simple and stupid. If you’re trying to promote everything you can with my name on it and people in the industry know I don’t fuck with you, it’s making you look stupid. Just let it go. Be man enough to admit that you fucked up and let it go, baby. I got a song on my album called “Forgive Me For My Sins.” Be man enough to ask me for forgiveness and let’s move forward. Don’t continue to lie to kick it, cause everybody knows the truth. So when does the album come out? It comes out July 11th on Thug Missus Entertainment. Warlock is doing the distribution. You’ve been pretty vocal about your beef with Jacki-O. It seems like you have a lot of animosity towards her. Is it personal? I just feel sorry for her. It’s no animosity; I don’t know her personally. Jacki-O got in the same situation with Poe Boy just like Dirty Down tried to do to me, but she just ain’t as strong as me to get out there and get it on her own. It’s a lot of fucked up shit goin’ on. She signed to a label with somebody and only sold 60,000 copies so she owes so much in promotion that she had to go bankrupt. Why would there be animosity? I sold 800,000 copies; she sold 60,000. I own all of my own publishing and I write my own stuff and I don’t owe nobody nothing. My situation is much, much better than hers. That’s just my opinion. I’m not a fan of hers. She said I was a one-hit wonder and I looked a hot mess. Well, this is my hair. I’ve got dreads. I don’t need makeup and expensive hairdos to make me look like something. I’m beautiful even on my worst day. I don’t have to get my ass pumped and I don’t have to walk around butt-naked to sell records. Anybody that knows me knows I’m real. I’m hood. I’m street. I walk around selling CDs. I sell t-shirts. I’m out there networking with my fans. I’m not on that cutie-cutie shit, I’m from the street but I’m beautiful. So it’s not animosity or beef, it’s just that she has her opinion and I have mine. I don’t listen to her music. I’m a better rapper than her. I have sold more records than her, and that’s why I can say I’m the queen of the South. How’s she gonna say she’s the queen of the South when no one even OZONE
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