What’s going on with you guys? Pimp: Really, man, we done started our own label and we’re doing it big with Rap-A-Lot. This is our second album with Rap-A-Lot. Gangsta: “Rollie Pollie” is the first single off the album, featuring Bun B. It’s a hot club song. It seems like you fell off the map for a minute. Were you just laying low, or recording? Pimp: I wouldn’t say we fell off the map, but we had to get our business straight. There was a lot of issues with our management and the label we were with. Now we’re doing our thing directly with Rap-A-Lot. We had to shoot ‘em down cause there was a lot of funny business going on. Now we’re dealing directly with J and things are better. How did you end up at Rap-A-Lot? Gangsta: When we were having those problems at Universal, Scarface was a fan of our music. He was like, “If y’all niggas ever need a home, come down to Rap-A-Lot and holla at J. After we got done doing what we had to do over there, we hollered at J the next week. We signed in Houston. What’s the difference between Universal and Rap-A-Lot? Is it more family-oriented? Gangsta: Yeah, it’s more family-oriented. You can tell J directly what you want to do. With Universal, you had to go through ten niggas before you could see Monty or Avery. That right there has got a lot to do with it. Did signing with Rap-A-Lot open the doors for you to work with other artists on the label like Bun B? Gangsta: Yeah, you know, we’ve got our own creativity. They give us leeway to make our decisions. How is this album Hood Stories different from your last album? Gangsta: This album is just a little more mature. We representing Alabama and letting niggas know where we’ve been, just keeping it hood. Pimp: We more mature. We grew up a little bit more. We get older every album and talk about something new and different. How does Montgomery, Alabama, compare to other cities you’ve visited on the road? Gangsta: Places like New York and Cali are just
(l to r) Da Pimp and Da Gangsta
bigger cities, that’s all. It’s pretty much the same. We more laid-back, more country. We talk a lil’ slower than the East coast or West coast, but person-to-person, we the same. Who’s featured on the album? Pimp: We kept it simple. It’s a lot of cats tryin’ to eat and a lot of cats already eating, so we like to deal with the ones that’s tryin’ to eat. We’ve got Lil Burn One and Lil Mario from our label. Lil Burn One was on “That’s Why I.” Those are our artists; he’s our first cousin. Lil Mario was on “Get Your Hands Off Me.” We’ve also got another new artist on our label, Rell. We kept it hood. We used the dudes that are still around the neighborhood instead of getting those big names that are already eating. We kept it simple. Love the song we did with Bun B, “Gangsta.” We ain’t got too many features. What about production? Any big names, or mostly in-house? Gangsta: Mostly in-house. Mike Dean, Maximillian, Killa B out of St. Louis, and some other upcoming producers doin’ their thing. It shows our growth. We kept it on that Southern slang. We had a debate in the magazine recently – Bohagon didn’t like the fact that Field Mob had pigs in their video to represent life in the country. Pimp: You’ve got to rep where you come from. Field Mob put pigs in they video? I ain’t seen nobody else put pigs in their video, so they came different and I love them for that shit. It’s the country. That’s gangsta. How can you hide being from the country? Albany, Georgia is the same as where we come from, Montgomery, Alabama. Shit, we were raised ‘round cows and pigs, so if they took that to the next level and put it in their video, that’s love. I don’t know what exactly Bohagon said. Maybe he meant it in a different way. I got love for Bohagon too, so I think it was just a misconception. Do you think the North has a perception of country rappers that includes pigs and such? Pimp: They always gonna think like that. That’s how we’re portrayed. But we’re ridin’ big Chevys down here with 26’s. Y’all shit ain’t no harder than ours; ain’t no different. We doing our thing. We could laugh at how they talk or act, so it goes both ways. For people who might not be familiar with you, what’s been your biggest hits so far? Pimp: “Hit The Flo’,” “I Wish,” and “Candy Man.” “Hit The Flo’” opened the doors; that was the first hit off our first album.
How would you describe your style of music? Gangsta: We’ve got club music, soulful music, gangsta shit, pimp shit. We touch on different points. All our albums have always been versatile. Do you have a favorite song on this album Hood Stories? Pimp: I think mine is “Pray For Me.” It uses a sample from “Message in a Bottle.” We just asking our momma and grandmomma to pray for us, cause it seems like our prayers aren’t reaching. It seems like your grandmomma and momma are always closer to God, so if they got the hookup with God, maybe they can hookup one of their prayers. I really like that song; it’s really touching. We talking to our momma and God. It looks like you’ve lost weight. Pimp: I was 314, now I’m down to 259. But I’m always gonna have the gut, that’s just my image. I just had to trim down for health reasons. You know, I give a fuck about my image, having that big stomach, but I’m just tryin’ to be healthy. What’s your diet? Pimp: I drink a lot of liquids and eat only twice a day to make sure I ain’t just being doggish. I drink juice, water, and a lot of liquids. I drink liquor. I ain’t never really cared for beer, but we drink plenty of liquor and plenty of weed so it’s a balance. Gangsta: I don’t eat pork no more, I cut that out for health reasons. I just like to know what’s going in my body. If it ain’t good for me, I ain’t gonna eat it. I eat a little red meat and chicken, but I’m tryin’ to slack up on that too. Pimp: I still eat pig ears though. I love pig ear sandwiches and chitlins. Love it, love it. I don’t think I can leave it alone. I might be on a diet, but a pig ear sandwich every now and then is okay. (laughing) Nah, I’m just fuckin’ with you, but I’m still on pork though. I just watch how I eat. I don’t overdo it no more. Instead of two Big Mac’s, now it’s just one. Instead of five eggs with cheese, it’s two. Did you notice a change when you stopped eating pork? Gangsta: Yeah, I started feeling a little better. No high blood pressure, no headaches. Do you exercise? Pimp: Yeah, I exercise. I get up in the morning and throughout the whole day I end up doing about 300 pushups. I do ten here, and if I’m thinking about it I drop and do ten later. Throughout the whole day it ends up being like 300. I do pushups, situps, and we be on them barbells too. Shoutouts to my homeboy Rodney, my personal trainer. I go to World’s Gym in Montgomery, Alabama. Gangsta: I just like to do pushups and situps and curls and all that. I don’t do too much. I kinda gained a little weight so I’m tryin’ to work it off. Pimp: The number one workout plan for me is fuckin’ three different hoes three times a week. That’s the best cardio a man can get. Anything else you want to say? Gangsta: Let everybody know we’ve been gone for a hot second but we’re back. This time in the game, we’re dropping something every six months. We ain’t leaving no more. The album is in stores August 16th, Hood Stories. Go get it. Alabama, stand up! OZONE AUGUST 2005
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