BLEU I C N I V A D Julia Beverly y b s rd o W tt Spellman o c S y b to o h P
What’s the difference between BMF the record label and BMF the street organization? “Street organization”? “BMF” is just a title [the DEA] is giving these individuals [that were indicted] because they’re affiliated with a person that’s running the label with me. [The DEA] calls them all “BMF” because I’ve got a record label that’s picking up steam in the streets, and everybody knows that. They ain’t BMF. If you look it up and do your homework, first of all, there’s no such thing as Black Mafia Family. That’s a group of the Bay that’s signed to Thizz Entertainment. So when [Vibe Magazine] talks about “The Rise and Fall of the Black Mafia Family,” they talkin’ about another nigga’s group. They tryin’ to get back with Vibe’s attorney. My record label is not even Black Mafia Family. That name was taken. When we went to incorporate it, we was “Blowin’ Money Fast.” When people hear BMF they think of us, but BMF is my record label. Them niggas that were indicted ain’t BMF, understand? Them niggas are whatever they call themselves. “BMF” is just the name the government decided to put on their paperwork. Nobody on my record label, nobody signed to the label, no producers or none of that is indicted. None of them. So I don’t understand why people keep asking me, “What’s going on with the indictments with BMF?”
not signed to me, they don’t be with me. You ain’t seen me with them. You ain’t got pictures of us together. Whoever them niggas are, I can’t even speak on them cause I don’t know them. It works like this, sweetie: Let’s say me and you are cool, right? I’m a guy and you’re a lady. When I come to Miami or wherever, we hang out, me and you and all my friends. We go to the club. You’ve got a little brother, and since me and you are cool, when we go to the club you’ll always bring your little brother. So every time I come to town, I got something for my lil’ homie. If he smokes, I got smokes. If he needs new Jordans, we go to the mall. When we do a show, he gets on stage cause that’s my lil’ dawg. He’s your brother, right? So me and him get cool. He tells his friends, “I be with Bleu from BMF, yeah, we cool, we be in the club, havin’ girls, that’s my sister’s homeboy.” So what ends up happening is that he becomes “BMF.” He’s the one always talking about “BMF.” He involves his friends, so now they be at the club with fifteen BMF t-shirts. They got the royal blue ones, the black ones, the ones that say “I’m Rich, Bitch,” and the ones that say “I’m a Boss.” They got BMF shirts, but they ain’t really BMF. It’s just your little brother. But when you’re “BMF,” the girls like you a little more, they wanna know what’s going on with Meech, you know, he getting some cool points around the nation.
So you were not indicted on drug charges? I was never indicted. My name is Barima McKnight. If you can find my name [on an indictment], let me know.
How did you and Meech meet? That nigga Meech knows a lot of people from around the globe. I met Meech in Cali through DJ Poo. Meech used to be a DJ. He was like, “Atlanta finna pop off.” I thought it was gonna be Xzibit, but he was like, “Nah, let me show you.” He moved me down to ATL and we started hanging out down there. He showed me that you’ve gotta be attuned to what’s gonna be the next thing to happen. He was showing me the real ropes of the music industry. I knew how to rap and record and perform so I was in the game, but he just brought a broader horizon to me. He took me out in the world and showed me hwo they do it [everywhere else]. He was there to polish me off, and that’s what’s good with us. He’s the best A&R from any label. He’s cool. He gets along with anybody and talks any language. He’s real good with people and that’s what showed me that he was a good connection for me to have. I know what we need to record and who we need to mix it and produce it, I know what sonically sounds good, and he knows how to get it out there. That’s what works between
What is Meech’s role in the record label? Meech is the CEO of BMF and I’m the President. We co-founded the label together. We was BMF on the streets. We didn’t have no name for a record label. It wasn’t no solidified name of a record label until I did my first mixtape. Once we started picking up steam, I knew we had to get something done legally, and that’s when I went and filed the articles of incorporation for BMF Entertainment. We couldn’t use Black Mafia Family cause it was already taken. I couldn’t even register that name cause those dudes [in the Bay] had it already. Why would the government label them “BMF”? Those people that were indicted don’t got nothing to do with me. They’re 64