“
I went into my office after the raid and saw it empty, after all the things we brought to the game with a brand we built from scratch. But instead of feeling like putting my head in the dumps and waving my white flag, I felt like, it’s time to get motivated. It’s time to get to work.
”
legal issues, how does it benefit you to do an album instead of just a mixtape? The album benefits me because it’s a bigger platform. Having a major label behind me pushing me and pushing that button on a bigger scale is a great thing. This mixtape album is like the accumulation of everything I represent and everything I’ve done in the game over the last four or five years. To see it come full circle to get here, in a lot of ways, I think it would be every mixtape DJ’s ultimate goal. We make mini-albums, so here I am with the opportunity to paint my picture on a broader canvas. I think it’s important because over the last few years, DJ albums have been a little lackluster and haven’t really gotten the support from the major labels that they deserved. We’re trying to take it back to those early years of the mixtape albums. With people like myself and Khaled in the positions we’re in, we’re really making good music and putting out a good quality DJ album to open the doors for other DJs to come and do what we do.
DJ albums or compilation albums have been known to not sell very well because a lot of times they’re just throwaway tracks from artist’s albums. How do you avoid that stigma and really brand it as a DJ Drama album? I’ve got a lot of answers to that question. First off, one of the things that I knew early on that I have to my advantage is that I don’t consider my album a compilation. Other people may disagree, but I consider my album a mixtape album. Gangsta Grillz the brand at one point in time was even bigger than DJ Drama. People knew Gangsta Grillz but didn’t know who the hell I was or what I looked like. It’s not just about DJ Drama the individual; it’s also about the brand I’ve created and what it represents for the Southern movement and for mixtape culture and for Hip Hop and the stamp of quality that I’ve brought to the game with my brand. Secondly, when I got the opportunity to do this album, it was very clear to me that I didn’t wanna tarnish anything I had created before. I’ve done a lot of classic mixtapes. There are no songs on my album that are throwaway tracks, or songs that were leftovers. I went into it with a blank canvas and paint, and I painted the picture I wanted to paint. Myself, Sense, and Cannon, we A&Red the album from scratch. We picked the artists and the beats and the topics. I wanted to get rid of that image of a “DJ album” just being a bunch of throwaway tracks. I wanted to make good music and make a good album. The single is called “Takin’ Pictures,” but under my circumstances, a lot of people wanna call it “Feds Takin’ Pictures.” Instead of me running from my situation, I embraced it and made a song about it for everyone that’s paying attention. I feel like the best music is made when you make it more personal and let people feel what you’re going through. I’m letting people see what I just went through and what we overcame. Do you think in the long run this situation will help you make more money by turning you into a bigger star than you already were? The positives have outweighed the negatives. Of course, I still have a criminal case pending, and the most important thing is to have a resolution for that. Overall, God works in mysterious ways. It’s opened up doors. It’s put DJ Drama and The Affiliates and the whole movement on a larger scale. People who may not have paid attention before are definitely more aware of what we do. They’re embracing me and supporting what I do, so it’s a positive thing. This is not the last chapter of my book. This is just a chapter of my book. If anything, I would wanna use January 16th [the day of the raid] as a platform for me to do bigger and better things. Have any of the labels that were paying you for mixtapes worked on your behalf in any way throughout this situation? I haven’t had any conversations with the labels. Except Atlantic Records, they’re about to put out my album, so that’s definitely support. But right now, I’m not looking for labels to come out and support me. I’ll support me. Everyone in the music industry knows how mixtapes have benefited the labels. Everyone knows how Gangsta Grillz have been topics of conversation in marketing meetings at every single label and how mixtapes have helped everyone from 50 Cent to Young Jeezy. Everyone has utilized mixtapes. Now, I wanna take my position help everybody figure out where we’re gonna go from here. There’s gotta be some type of conversation, but I’m not looking for any label to come out and support me. I have my own team; The Aphilliates, 58 // OZONE MAG
people around me for that support. Worst case scenario with the trial – what kind of penalties are you looking at? We haven’t been indicted so we don’t know any charges yet. My lawyers are in conversations with the RIAA and the district attorney. It’s not a Federal charge, it’s state charges. It’s the state of Georgia. It wasn’t the Feds that came to our doorstep, it was the Morrow Police Department of Clayton County. So it’s not a Federal situation and everybody’s having an open dialogue, so I’m hoping that it can get resolved. I have no idea when that will be, but hopefully it’ll be sooner rather than later.
Is it an unsettling feeling, not knowing what’s going to happen next with the case? Not really. The unsettling feeling was the 24 hours I was locked up, when I had to put that blue suit on. (laughs)
Did you post bond? We were released on $100,000 signature bond, which means the city or the state puts up the money and we were released on a signature to the state basically saying, I’m not gonna run. I don’t really have an unsettling feeling because I’ve got a lot of things to look forward to. I’m not locked up and I’ve got good people around me and a good family. Things are moving forward. Is there a “right” and “wrong” way to do a mixtape? For example, if Jeezy brings you a track and wants you to put it on a mixtape, does he legally have the right to do that? Or does his record label or publishing company own it? I think there are a lot of conversations that need to be had with myself, the record industry, and the RIAA to figure that out. From the RIAA’s perspective, from what I’ve read, they don’t have a target on mixtapes. Again, they just use the line of “finding somebody speeding and realizing they’re famous” so I don’t really know where they stand on it. I know from conversations I’ve had with very powerful people in the music business, and from conversations my lawyer has had on their terms, the RIAA is very willing and open to finding a resolution and making sure that everyone can go forward being happy – meaning them, me, and the labels. Do you have a release date for Gangsta Grillz: The Album? June. After that, we’ll be dropping Willie the Kid. I’m gonna set it up for Willie to basically show how much of a monster he is on my album. He’s on there like six or seven times. After that, we’re gonna put out his album. His album is pretty much done so it’s just looking for the right time to put it out. Our label AMG – Affiliates Music Group – is on Asylum, and Willie’s the first artist off the label. I’m signed to Grand Hustle/Atlantic for my album. I’ve got endorsements, doing a lot of stuff with LRG, Stall & Dean, Stashhouse, a bunch of clothing situations. My main goal is to become more of an executive in Hip Hop and at some point break into the film industry, probably behind the scenes. As much as I’ve accomplished, I still have a lot to do. This is my first major label release. This is my first opportunity to show my ability to sell records. It’s like the difference between college basketball and finally getting to the pros. It’s kinda like starting all over. When you get to the league you’re a rookie again and you’ve got to prove yourself. When you got out of jail you went straight to the radio station to promote the album? Yep, that night. I went home first. All in all – was it an unreal experience? When I put it in the context of my whole career, the shit blows my mind. I’ve been DJing for a long time, and I really love what I do. It all comes from having a passion for my music. I can’t believe I’ve been on major magazine covers and I’m putting out an album, or just how big Gangsta Grillz got. When I put it all in context – even us being arrested and the “Free Drama and Cannon” campaign, the shit blows my mind. That’s why I really don’t look at it as a negative situation. How many people can say they’ve had the career they’ve had, or gotten to the heights I’ve gotten to? Especially as a DJ, it’s just amazing. It’s just proof that anything is possible. I remember when people were telling me, “Why would anybody put you in a magazine?” And now I can’t stay out of them. I’ve traveled the world, so when I put January 16th in that context, at the end of the day, that’s not what I’m going to be known for. Look at some other people in Hip Hop and the situations they’ve overcome: Snoop’s murder charge, Puff when Biggie died or Puff when he got the charge, Russell Simmons and Def Jam. It’s not that I’m comparing myself to them – I hope to be at their level one day – but this is just another step for me to prove that I’m one of the greats, overcoming adversity. I’m sure when Snoop was on trial he didn’t know what direction his life was gonna go, but if you look at him now, he’s an icon. That’s how I put what happened to me on that day in context. It’s motivation. That’s it. Motivation. //