the building. But when Haitian Fresh does a show, you don’t know what’s gonna happen. You might see live sex. Ain’t no tellin’ what’s gonna happen. You gotta come see it for yourself. I represent the freaks. I represent the Haitians and the people that like to have fun. Everybody can’t pick up a gun and shoot somebody. You’ll know if I’m a gangsta. What do I have to do to prove I’m a gangsta? I gotta have a murder on my record? Everybody with a murder is in prison right now, and they ain’t gonna make no money. I love this but I ain’t finna die for it. I got a beautiful daughter Jimiya, and that’s what it’s about – her. Rap is something I love to do. Right now I don’t think there’s anybody that can stop me but God. I got my own name. One, I’m a Haitian, two, my show’s different, and three, what I’m rappin’ about is different. Who else are you down with? I feel like anybody that’s out there trying to make it in the game needs a real team. You really can’t make it by yourself, unless you win the lottery and have a lot of money and you’re gonna pay everybody. Even then, you gotta start from the top, and the only way you can go is down. People might see you on the cover and all that, but after six months they’re gonna wonder where your music is at. I had to learn that from Wakeley. People don’t understand that Wakeley and Amp are geniuses. These dudes been there and done that. They been doing it for fifteen years. They went through a lot with BloodRaw. They’ve seen the ins and outs. Those are the people that I’m gonna ride with til this journey is over with, and I know I won’t fail ‘em. I’m one of those people who believes that failure is not an option. I have never failed in my whole life, and the first time damn sure won’t be rap. All you have to do is give people good music, promote, and not be afraid to go to the small clubs. I’m not afraid to go to the small clubs, and I go by myself. No security, none of that. You’ve gotta be willing to travel. That’s another big thing if you’re trying to make it in this business. You gotta travel. People gotta see you. People gotta see that you are no different than them. That’s what people love about rappers. David Banner is my favorite rapper cause he’s just real about it. He loves people, it ain’t just a show for BET. And it’s a couple other people that I like cause they’re real. How did you end up in Daytona Beach? I went to Oklahoma State University for basketball, but they kicked me out for weed. They caught me in the dorm and I went home, and my mom started crying for like
ten hours. They kicked me out in the beginning of August. I went home, and you know how it is – everybody was like, “I knew you weren’t gonna last in college.” Everybody was talking about it. I prayed about it and then I called Bethune Cookman. It was a Friday, and they told me I could start school on Monday. It was a blessing cause I had always dreamed about going to a historically black college. I went there and got my degree in Marketing, with a minor in Physical Education. How has your marketing degree helped with your rap career? A marketing degree helps because you’ve gotta be able to talk for yourself. 60% of the rappers don’t know people skills. You’ve gotta know how to talk to people and represent yourself. You’ve gotta know how to walk in a room and just shine, man. Hold some serious conversations. It ain’t gotta be about rap all the time. It could be about what happened yesterday. You’ve gotta know when to and when not to spend money, cause everybody’s comin’ at you when you’re trying to do something with yourself. Everybody says they can do it better than the next guy, so you’ve gotta make the best decision. What’s the music scene like in Daytona? It’s a lot of artists, a lot of people in Daytona. Daytona is behind me 100%. I got Bethune Cookman behind me, because that’s where I graduated from. Everybody’s kinda waitin’, just like me. When you do something big, that’s when people really support you. I represent Daytona and I’ma ride for Daytona, but the overall picture goes to Haitians. There’s so many Haitians just waitin’ for me. The streets already opened the door. Do you want to give any shout outs? My beautiful daughter Jimiya, FAMU – I love Tallahassee, that’s one of my favorite places. My team Wakeley, GTP, Earthwake, Gator, BloodRaw, 20, DJ Quik, Drama, Young Jeezy, Young Cash, Bigga Rankin and Cool Runnings, DJ Nasty, Tom G, Secrete, DJ Headbussa, DJ Chuck T, Dawgman, Frontline, Hood, Wild’n, HOB street team, my publicist Lady C, everyone who was involved with Katrina, all our soldiers in Iraq, all my trappers, Baby Lac, TJ’s DJ’s, T-Pain, and Disco. If I forgot you, just know that Julia is always in a hurry. Everybody, keep doing your thing and don’t listen to nobody. Nobody should be able to tell you if you’re gonna make it or not. Sak pasé to all my Haitians. Shout out to OZONE! - Words and photo by Julia Beverly OZONE
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