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My boyfriend brought me my first OZONE Magazine back in March for my birthday and I have been hooked ever since! Every month like clockwork I get the new issue. My favorite is the issue with Plies on the cover! Keep up the good work! Right now I’m pregnant and your magazine keeps me informed on everything since I don’t go out anymore. I know from reading your 2 Cents this month that you have good days and bad, but just ignore the haters and know that your loyal female readers appreciate all the blood, sweat, and tears! - Samantha Westfall, girliegcivic@aol.com (Daytona Beach, FL) JB, your 2 Cents in the November issue hit me hard. I’ve been doing the SXSW festival for ten years now and I want to quit after every one and just be a person in the audience without having all this pressure. But in the end I love it all. Fuck SXSW. But the artists that come get me the energy I need to do it again. Your love of Hip Hop feels like when I discovered punk rock (not the 2007 “punk rock”) in the early-mid-80’s, when it was all about the art form and a finger to the world. Pure beauty. - Craig Stewart, craig@emperorjones.com (Austin, TX) JB, I just wanted to send much love and support! I love your mag and what you do. Thanks for reppin’ the white girls. You give me hope that in the world of Hip Hop a white girl can be taken seriously. After love for my kids, family, and friends, my love of Hip Hop is crazy wild! I really do love your magazine and wish you all the best and success with it. Love the Plies interview! - Chi Nicole (Port City, LA) We appreciate the magazine every month. They come in handy and it makes good jock chatter at our radio station. I just wanted you to know that our on-air interview with Young Jeezy was not as good as it could’ve been because he was so distracted looking at your magazine. In the future I will whip out the OZONE Mags after the interview. – D’Lyte, dlyte@radio-one.com (Dallas, TX) I’ve been an avid OZONE reader since I picked up my first copy early last year. I even made sure that the gas station near my house started carrying it so I wouldn’t have to drive too far to get a copy. But, I digress. My reason for writing is to offer my 2 Cents on a topic that will be of interest to all those whose main goal is to stack so much paper that generations after them will never want for a thing. I believe that accumulating this much wealth can be done through money management and real estate investing. Several artists who have been in the game for a minute already know this and are active investors: Big Boi, T.I., and Slim Thug, to name a few. Some even own companies that deal in real estate. Unfortunately, we hear more about a rapper’s jewelry and car fleet then his investment portfolio. I would like to change that. I have not yet read an article in OZONE related to Hip Hop and real estate, wealth building, etc. These topics are key if you want to ball the right way, i.e., owning enough appreciating assets so that you can really afford to 14 // OZONE MAG
buy out the bar and not have to eat mayo sandwiches for the next couple weeks. I suggest that you interview artists who have their paper straight and ask how they are keeping it that way. This will not only entertain a whole lot of readers but it will enlighten them and let them know that there is a serious side to BALLLIN’!! (Is that term officially overused yet?) - Alaw, myspace.com/kinglaw78 (Dallas, TX by way of Lagos, Nigeria) First off, I gotta give respect to JB and the entire OZONE staff for putting together a reputable magazine that puts shine on a region that was overlooked for so long. I’ve been a reader since the boy DJ Black started promoting for you folks back in ’03 here in NAP. I appreciate the fact that you guys hit the road and show love to events around the country, especially Circle City Classic and the Kentucky Derby. If you haven’t picked up on it yet, the kid’s a Midwest resident, born and bred country. The reason I’m sending this message is to ask one simple question: Will OZONE please step out of the box and do something that all the industry-run rags won’t do: PUT SOME REAL SHINE ON THE MIDWEST!?! It may sound unconventional, but facts are facts. We buy more from the culture and support more artists collectively, thus making more artists successful, than any other region. To top it off, we’ve got some of the most talented and underrated acts, and no mags to rep for them. OZONE needs to do a Midwest edition similar to OZONE West. - Double Ii, 13176526654@tmomail.net (Indianapolis, IN) Hey JB, I loved your June 2 Cents article with DJ Khaled on the cover. You talked about women learning not to settle for less. You said a lot of things that are true about this generation of women that are chasing dudes in the clubs. You should make a full-fledged article off those points you touched upon. – Majic, myspace.com/darealist305 (Dade County, FL) JB, I really enjoyed your 2 Cents in regards to the part where you said, “I never even dreamed I’d be in the position I’m in. If I can stick it out another five years, maybe I’ll really be the shit then.” I believe in networking to increase your net-worth. I’m that Filipino dude out here in California with the zillion dollar mouthpiece. - Klevah, myspace.com/klevahseven (California) JB, I’m a loyal fan of OZONE and an even bigger fan of you. You’ve got that drive and I’ve seen you go from shit to sugar in this game, busting every other magazine’s ass with the fire you continue to supply us with. But, you are missing a small piece of the puzzle and that’s this little city called the Mac Town – Macon, GA. We are the kids that all the big kids pick on. We are the runts that get our toys taken from us when we go the playground. We’re really the heart of Georgia and we’ve been overlooked for too long. Please help us shed some light on what these so-called “real niggas” don’t want you to know. - John Aymos, johnaymos@gmail.com (Macon, GA)