What made you want to branch out from the CEO role of 2 Dog Records and pursue the artist role? It was a natural progression into it. When I first started doing music I was in a group and then I moved into the CEO role. I was putting my money behind all my different artists and no one could score like I’ve learned to score. 2 Dog Records is a brand name; it’s an entity that everybody knows, but nobody was giving me that smash hit. Nobody was giving me what I was trying to coach them into doing. It’s similar to Nelly and the St. Lunatics – they were a group first and everybody saw that Nelly was gonna be the first franchise to break off and make a way for everybody else. I’m gonna show everybody how to do it, and then we’re gon’ all come back together and make more music.
childhood friend of mine and an original member of The Strangers, Willo Da Don. That’s how it got started.
So before this song you actually had experience being a singer? I think most people saw you as the man behind 2 Dog Records, but didn’t realize your other talents. I was actually an original member of the group The Strangers, which is one of the groups I had signed to my label. I started out singing on hooks and they would rap about whatever I was singing about. We separated and then I signed Willo Da Don. I sang hooks on some of his biggest songs. When I signed Big Koon and Hollywood, anytime you get one of their CDs and hear somebody singing on the hook, it’s a good chance it’s me singing. All the songs I did were street songs or hood anthems and those are the ones that everybody in the hood attached to – like “Fly As Me” and “I’d Rather Do 100 Years” on Big Koon and Hollywood’s project. All the songs I sang would be the top songs on their CDs, so it was a natural progression into doing it.
Do you feel like the time and money you’ve invested so far is paying off? I think we’re well on our way to being put in the position where it’s gonna pay off. It has a lot to do with timing. I heard E Class say in an interview that he invested over $750,000 before he made his first hit with Rick Ross. He had small success with Jacki-O, but it still wasn’t her time. He didn’t see big success until Rick Ross came along. It’s like that with me. Now with me putting out the single, I’ve gotten the biggest response faster than I’ve ever seen on anything I’ve put out on my artists. I think our label is strong and the majors are definitely looking at 2 Dog. They all know who we are. We have gotten calls but none of the situations were necessarily in our best interest. But we have everything lined up where it’s really gonna pay off big for us.
Speaking of Big Koon and Hollywood, why did you give them the group name Certified after everyone was already familiar with their other name? It was a decision made by radio, like with 2 Pistols. We couldn’t go to radio with the name Big Koon. There was a derogatory connotation behind the name, like a racial slur, so we had to give them a group name for radio. We came up with the name Certified because they’re certified all the way across the board, everything they do from street to corporate. When did you first come up with the idea to start a record label? I came up with 2 Dog Records in 2000. From ‘95 to ‘98 I was in the group and when we separated I was doing my own thing for about two years. I came back to my hood and started a label again. The first person I signed was a
Explain the process for getting your company up and running and how challenging it has been. It was definitely challenging. I think for the most part, as a street person, everybody looks at you as if you’re going to be here today and gone tomorrow. They looked at 2 Dog like it’s another street person trying to start a label, looking for a way out. And it’s much more than that to me. I’m such a musical person myself. I think with me coming out and singing, people will see that as the reason why I got into music, not because I’m a street person looking for a way out. I love music and I have talent.
What else do you have planned for yourself and 2 Dog Records? I just got finished recording the next song. What we wanted to do was capture the streets. I’m doing street R&B. I’m living my life through R&B. It’s been so many years since we’ve had a group that the gangstas and hustlers could listen to. As a street person, we don’t listen to Ne-Yo or Chris Brown. We don’t go in the trap and play those records. We was listening to H-Town or Jodeci. I’m the closest thing to one of those groups that the trap people will listen to. I’m so deep in the streets and with the angle I’m going, I think the streets will receive it like they’ve never received anything before. I’d like to end the interview by saying, with 1Lee, when this project comes out it’s gonna be something different that nobody’s ever done before. Everybody should pay attention to it and know that it’s gonna be something so street, so strong, and so undeniable that it can’t help but to win. OZONE MAG // 11