where we handle the publishing for all those people. Our business model at Polo Grounds is exactly what the major labels are trying to figure out: management, touring, merchandising, publishing, and the label side. So we’ve got a pretty good spread. And I’m still a consultant; I’m a co-executive producer on the Lil Jon project on TVT Records. What do you look for in the people that you hire for Polo Grounds? I look for people who put in as much work and passion as I put into the company. I look for people who do what you and I did when we were building our companies. I look for people who are doing what you did when I met you in 2001 and what I was doing in 2001; the passion and the hunger and the grind that I had and that you had. That’s what the fuck I look for. If somebody ain’t got it, then it ain’t worth fucking with them. Nowadays it’s so hard to make money in this business that if you ain’t ready to hustle, you might as well just not fuck around with it. What about when you sign artists, aside from the obvious? I need artists who are humble, but confident. Artists that are talented and have the ability to synergize with all kinds of industries, whether it’s film, TV, music, or the corporate world. Kids just want to buy music from the artists they love. It’s not really about songs. They’ll buy the songs, but in terms of the artist that they really want to be a part of, they’ve gotta have all those things. I think I was a little spoiled by being involved with some of the artists that I was involved with. Pitbull is one of the hardest working artists I’ve ever worked with. If I could take one artist from TVT, I would take Pit. [Lil] Jon is one of the smartest artists, and one of the most creative and diverse people I’ve ever worked with. Smurf is really underrated. He’s a hard-working, humble executive. So now that I’m looking at all kinds of other artists, it’s hard to find somebody who can measure up to that shit. You look for artists who could either do [what Pitbull and Lil Jon do] or get as close to hitting that mark as possible, but there ain’t too many of them left. You mentioned that back when you signed Lil Jon and Pitbull they weren’t popular signings, but these days, as soon as a Southern artists gets a slight hit record the major label start bidding wars. Do you think the fact that the major labels are on the South so hard right now actually works against us and decreases the quality of the music because artists don’t have to work as hard to get a fanbase and get deals? I think all of those arguments are suck-ass arguments. People start crying about how the labels only sign artists who have a sales base and radio play and a story, well, yes, you do need to have all that, because the artists have raised the bar. It’d be different if the labels got smart and had something to do with it, but the labels didn’t have nothing to do with it. David Banner, Bonecrusher, T.I., Ludacris, Three 6 Mafia, all these artists learned the indie game and decided to be entrepreneurs. They decided that. Labels ain’t have shit to do with that shit. We just play catch up. So when people started crying and saying, “Oh, all you do is sign artists that have got a story,” well, you’re muthafuckin’ right. We didn’t have nothin’ to do with it but we’re smart enough to follow the artists’ lead. When people criticize ringtone artists, to me, that’s just another form of hating. They act like it’s easy to sell 3 million ringtones. Selling 3 million ringtones is a sign of popularity. People put the stigma on Southern artists, and they put the stigma on ringtone artists. Stop hating. Stop crying because you can’t do it. Hurricane Chris’s album sold 30,000 units the first week. So people ask me, “What makes you continue to pump money into a project like that? You believe in the artist?” You can believe in the artist all day, but that’s not enough. The fact that he sold 3 million combined ringtones and digital downloads allows you, financially, to continue to invest in that artist you believe in. So now that he’s passed the first week of sales and that pressure is gone, and he has another record [“Playaz Rock”] that’s potentially a big record, that allows us to continue to make sure he never goes away. We can invest in this artist that we believe in and break him on the second record, which is no different in terms of the artist development process then how we did it a few years ago. So you felt like Hurricane Chris’s lead single “Ay Bay Bay” kinda overpowered him as an artist? People are surprised when they hear his album. They’re like, “Dude can rap.” We’re already working on a second album. With Polo Grounds I’m coming from an indie background, so this whole grind mode, I’m used to it. We’re dropping another album in June with remixes from the first album. We’re going to remix the album and put it out with new artwork. He’s on Mike Jones’ first single that Smurf produced, the cover of OZONE Magazine, the cover of the Source Magazine, he’s on the Chris Brown tour, so he’ll never leave the market. He’s got a whole lifestyle campaign that’s about to kick in to make sure that he never goes away. That’s how you develop an artist. So stop hating. Stop talking shit because homie sold 3 and a half million downloads and ringtones. T-Pain sold 5 million ringtones off “I’m In Luv (Wit’ A Stripper)” and people were saying all types of criticisms with dude on his first album, like he was done. Now all of a sudden everybody is riding his dick and they want him on
every fucking single. How many times have we seen this happen? I saw it with Lil Jon. I saw it with the Ying Yang Twins. People said, “Them niggas are half retarded.” All of a sudden we put them in suits and give them a hit record and Lil X directs the video and now you want them on your red carpet. Pitbull? Oh, “His pants are too tight,” blah blah blah. But he was part of all these big records like “Shake” that influenced music. It’s just hate. Call it what it is: It’s hate because you can’t do it. Do I want a fucking Pitbull, or do a want a fucking Saigon? No disrespect to Saigon, but you do what you do, and let them do what they do. Stop trying to be the judge and jury about who’s hot and who belongs. It’s hate. That’s the way I look at it. It’s like Source and XXL and King and Vibe telling you that you don’t belong because you’re OZONE, when you’ve got a better relationship with all these artists and tastemakers and executives than all of those other magazines combined. You can walk into studios, walk into places with the artists and you ain’t gotta go through the publicists, the marketing people, none of that shit. Artists want you involved with their career. It’s all hate and bullshit and I just thank God that I come from an independent background so I don’t get caught up in that bullshit. Do you see Hurricane Chris being at the point T-Pain is at in a couple years? I’m gonna make sure this nigga never goes away. And if niggas don’t believe me, they need to do their homework. My history and my muthafuckin’ consistency rate is solid. You’ve had a lot of success with Southern artists even though you’re from New York. Do you see the Southern movement continuing for a long time or are you looking into other parts of the country? Louisiana is poppin’. Atlanta’s always poppin’ not just because of the artists but because of the producers, the songwriters, the music, the energy, the lifestyle. Do your homework; don’t be ignorant and think that the South ain’t been around. If you do your history you’ll know about Stax Records [in Memphis] and Motown and the origins of this music. It didn’t all start from New York. In the South there are places that could stand to have a rebirth; new energy. New York can stand to have new energy. L.A. can stand to have new energy. The Midwest needs something that just kinda ties everything together. There are places that do it and do it well, and people just need to follow up and educate themselves on why they’re able to do it and just stop hating. Hate is a fucking disease and if you buy into that shit you’re going to end up broke and irrelevant. Do you think the album format will eventually go away and music will only be sold by ringtones and digital downloads? I have no idea, but usually in any industry there’s a minority group of people who are responsible for actually being the first to make those changes and pave the way. I may not know where the next change is, but I am smart enough to know what my limitations are. I’m 38 years old, but here in this studio I can point out five kids that are 19 or under, and I’m smart enough to follow their lead about certain things. Smurf is smart enough to follow the youth. We don’t need a think tank and all that other research to figure this shit out. I’ve got a 20-year-old daughter, another 13-year-old daughter, and a 7-year-old son, and honestly, I’ll listen to him before I’ll listen to one of these suits. We’ve got a challenge and a responsibility to be kind of unbiased about what we report and really try to make sure that we get people who are hot and put it out there. That’s all nigga’s tryin’ to do. Hurricane Chris’s album got 90% good reviews and 10% bad reviews, and everything he’s done has created a reaction. He had a hit record out of the box that a lot of artists struggle their whole career to have. Most artists may not have a hit record like that til their second or third album, and this kid is still only 18 years old. Will C-Ride be the next artist dropping on Polo Grounds? C-Ride is a huge priority for us. He has a lot of the things that he needs and he’s missing a lot of the things that he needs, but those other things are going to come. We’re going to go back to artist development. A lot of the reasons you liked SWV and Xscape and some other artists is because they grew up right in front of your eyes with all their abilities and inabilities. You saw Bow Wow grow up from being a kid to what he is right now. This is an experience; music is an emotional experience. I believe in him as an artist. What’s up with Lil Jon’s album? Working on Lil Jon’s Crunk Rock album is exciting. A lot of people are wondering what this dude is coming with, and it kinda makes me laugh. If there’s anybody that counts this dude out and questions whether or not he can bring it, to me, that’s personal. I started my career with Lil Jon and he started his career with me. We were both influential in each other’s careers. I still get paid by TVT [as a consultant], but I would do it if I wasn’t getting paid. I’m still involved with Lil Jon’s album and with BME, Rob and Vince and everybody else over there. That’s where the creativity and the direction came from and that’s what it is. // Words by Julia Beverly OZONE MAG // 73