Y E K E E R F EY ZEK
Was it a situation where you got caught up with the wrong people, were set up, or were in the wrong place at the wrong time? It can be any of those three. I checked my discovery back check and it had no one claiming me as the person who did the drug selling, so I can’t point my finger at somebody who told [on me]. I guess it was just bad luck on my part. Do you think you were targeted because you’re a rapper? Actually this was a ’99, 2000 case, so really The Diplomats wasn’t of age at that time. We were signed to Sony but we were still strugglin’ to be on top because we didn’t have creative control. We couldn’t stake our claim to make us millionaires yet, so I had to take it to the road. There was an article in a local newspaper on your release, and it stated that you are a millionaire. Is that an exaggeration? No, that’s not an exaggeration. Cam and Jim [Jones] are the CEOs of Diplomat Records and Juelz [Santana] is the Vice President, so we divide everything, 25% [each]. We’re all able to eat off each other and there’s no discrepancies. That’s the reason why The Diplomats have reigned so long and we’ll never fall. We know who’s who and what’s what. It’s no disputes, no arguments. Cam comes first, he’s the head. Then there’s Jim, myself, and Juelz, and we always stay in our chain of command so there’s nothing but success. Well, the average person wouldn’t think that you’re a millionaire because you’ve never had a hit record – [laughing] A hit record? I’ve never had a record, period, you know what I’m sayin’?
OTO: H P & S WORD EVERLY JULIA B
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et’s start off by introducing yourself to the readers who might not be familiar with you, What’s your role in the Dipset movement? Okay, I’m gonna introduce myself, even though I’m not new to the OZONE. I’m Freekey Zekey, the President of Diplomat Records, and I gets it poppin’. Basically I do everything from janitor work to signin’ checks. You just got out of prison in North Carolina. Do you stay down here? You’re originally from New York, right? Yes, I’m from Harlem. Harlem is where it’s at. I ended up doing three years and six months down here. They claim that I was running an ecstasy ring, quote, unquote. Well, were you? [laughs] They say I was running an ecstasy ring, quote, unquote. I did some time. I did three years. I got out a little early because of good behavior. I was sentenced to 42 months and I did 36 of it. The charge was in Wilmington, NC. I actually never lived down here, I was just on I-95 tryin’ to make ends meet. When I moved down South, I never put the money in my pocket to spend on clothes and stuff. I always put it towards Diplomat Records, and to make sure my sons eat. 98
Well, let’s compare you to an artist that’s signed to a major label and has hit records – the average person probably would think they have more money than you. Is that accurate? Which would you rather have, the fame or the money? Of course I’d rather have money, cause the fame don’t pay the rent. Nobody’s gonna love your music enough to pay your rent, so of course I’m gonna go 100% with the money. But being an artist, you want the fame also. You want people to love your music. You want to express yourself and have people hear what you’re saying to everybody. Why haven’t you had the chance to put out an album yet? Were you more focused on the behindthe-scenes? I was more on the street side. I was the underground mover, so that’s basically where my time went. I did a lot of hooks and skits. I was on Juelz album. I did the hook for “Hey Ma,” and I helped produce a couple songs. Everybody writes their own rhymes, but I help come up with hooks. Are you working on an album now? In the near future you’ll definitely hear something extremely powerful from me. My album’s gonna be called The Book of Ezekiel. That’s my name, and if you’re Biblical, you’ll understand. Is there Biblical content? Well, if you read the Bible, the content in the Bible is crazy. Killin’, cuttin’, women, boning women, women bonin’ they father, like, it’s on and poppin’ in the Bible. So yeah, it’s gonna have that kind of content. How did you pass the time over the last three years? Writing, snapping on other people. Reading a lot of hood novels. I read the Bible too whenever I needed to clear my mind before I slapped somebody. Slappin’ people and going to the hold when you’re upset. Sometimes you’re in a dorm, where there’s a lot of people, a lot of attitudes, and a lot of personalities. If you can’t take it, you just slap the shit outta somebody or make an argument pop off so you could get in a fight and get put in solitary confinement so you’ll be at peace with yourself. Sometimes