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t’s been a long 5 years since C-Murder released a full length album. But after years of legal woes and negative news headlines, C is back to prove that he is still TRU to the game.
Screamin’ 4 Vengeance is the first studio album you’ve released in a while that you’ve been able to promote. Coming out of the No Limit situation where gold and platinum records were the standard, what goals have you set for yourself in this current music industry climate? My goal was to get some fresh C-Murder music out there, because I was gone for a minute and they ain’t know how I was rocking. This album was to let ‘em know how I’ve stepped my lyrical game up. Being “lyrical” isn’t something most fans would expect from you. What made you want to try that? I’m just keeping up with the times. On every album, you have to better yourself. Of course the nucleus of my music is the same, but I had to change it up a little bit. It wasn’t nothing that I had to really work on either. That’s just what happens when I get a fire track. In keeping up with the times, what convinced you that there was still a thirst for C-Murder music? I got some core fans that know what to expect from me. I’ve been through a lot of things, but they know my music will never change. It’s always going to be gutter, gangsta, talking about real things that go on in the streets. Even when I changed my name to C-Miller and changed it back. “C-Murder” is me, we change for situations. I will always be C-Murder. That’s how I came into the game. How did you deal with the negative connotations that came with that name? People try to judge a book by its cover, but they don’t know me. I’ve been portrayed as being a certain way in the media so I really can’t trip on that. All I can do is do things to better myself, my hood and my label. What are some of those things? I started my publishing company and put out my own book, Death Around the Corner. It got great reviews in the paper, Amazon.com, all of that. I’m writing some children’s books too. I’m using these books to get into a lot of the schools, colleges and public libraries, but you never hear about stuff like that. When I’m at these schools, I try to tell kids how important education is. I myself was an honor roll student. But at the same time, I get to tell these kids about my trials and tribulations so that if they come to a point in their life where they have to make a decision, hopefully what I told them will make them make the right one. I started Help Me Help You, a non-profit organization to help some of these kids too. We’re very much about the community around here, but they’re not gonna put that in the media. As much as some media outlets may not publicize those types of efforts, why don’t rappers doing those types of things publicize it as much as their music or business endeavors? I don’t know. For me, the things I do are spur of the moment. During school time I give supplies to the group homes; during Christmas time I send presents. I don’t really have time to call the publicist to put it out there because it happens so quick and it comes from the heart. Maybe the other rappers go through the same thing, I don’t know.
As far as your music is concerned, given your situations with the trials and the jail time and your reputation, did you find yourself being cautious about the content you’re putting out now? Yeah, I had to tone it down a tad bit, slightly. I couldn’t go all the way out there, I had to be real with myself in making the music and respecting my situation. There is a time and place for everything. There are still some things looming over you legally. Did you or do you fear your rhymes being used against you? It’s always a possibility for that to happen, but here’s how I look at it: Music is entertainment too, just like movies. That’s how I’m rocking with it. Well, with most rappers stressing how “real” they are, the lines tend to get blurred. How do you feel when rappers that may not have lived that lifestyle glorify it in their music? I just brush it off. I sit in the gap and watch and just do my music. What the next man does doesn’t worry me. I just sit back and make sure I put out quality music. All I care about is putting out good music for my fans. I just gotta feel like I’m connected to my core fans. Who is a typical C-Murder fan? It will surprise you. I’ve got fans overseas that are very loyal. Black, White, Mexican. I built quality relationships with people over the years. When I got letters when I was locked up, that showed me that I have connections with people in real life. Dudes, females, moms, pops, and grandparents say what’s up to me all the time. What is your current status right now? Are you allowed to leave the house at all? Nah, not right now but I’m looking to hit the road sometime in November or December to start doing shows. People should expect a real complete show. I’ve been thinking about it a lot. In your No Limit days, you got to work under your brother, Master P. What are some challenges you’ve encountered being in a role that he once held? I wear a lot of hats and have to make a lot of decisions. I just find myself being more busy, doing a lot of conference calls. I have to be in the studio with my artists and keep them on the right track. I take one-on-one time with them to show them the right path and teaching them about having the right attitude. A lot of them are real excited just like I was back then. So I’m showing them they ain’t gotta act a certain way, just calm down and enjoy the ride. Did you enjoy your ride during the No Limit era? It seems like you guys did so much work in the studio that you didn’t have time for much else. I really enjoyed my time. We traveled a lot and went overseas. We didn’t hit the road as much as other artists, but we did enough. A lot of doors opened up because of that situation. It was fun for me, I don’t know about the next man, but it was [fun] for me. Out of all the artisst on the label, you were pretty much the first to break off and do your own thing when you started TRU Records and released the Bossalinie album. What brought about that decision? Did it cause any problems? For me it was a daily routine. I was always around a lot of business people during that time. What I took away from that era was a good business sense about everything and building
relationships. The whole time I was working, I was building relationships, which has made it easier for me to do what I’m doing now. I always had the business mind and I was definitely loyal to the game more than anyone else on the label. I ran the idea through the chain of command to get the okay [to do my own project]. I wouldn’t have done it any other way. Since you are still residing in New Orleans, can you give us an update on what you’re seeing down there, post-Katrina? It’s a lot of people still going through a lot right now, they haven’t been able to get back into their homes. We have an 80% increase in homelessness, people still living under bridges. You can see all of them when you drive by. It ain’t use to be like that. The urban areas are still messed up. They haven’t rebuilt those areas, but the suburbs are straight. The poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer and the poor don’t have no way to get back on their feet. But I can say that it’s a little better than it was, though. I was locked down when the levees broke, so I wasn’t with my family. But three weeks later I found out they were okay so that took a lot of stress off me. Do you feel a certain way when people say that rappers from New Orleans aren’t saying enough about how it really is down there? It’s almost as if they expect you all to make nothing but records about Katrina. If they’re genuine about it, you can entertain them for a little while, but if they’re just trying to come up off a bad situation, I have to shut them down. I can tell if they’re phony about it. Before we wrap this up, would you like to talk more about your books? Everybody needs to check out my new book that’s about to drop under TRU Publishing, Thug Politics. It’s about a mayor whose cousins were drug dealers. The three of them saw an opportunity to own the city. The plan was to make sure the streets made him win the mayoral race so they could get money, but along the way they run into some situations. That sounds a little familiar. We recently ran a story about Jackson, MS mayor Frank Melton. People have accused him of similar activities. Was your book loosely based off that? As soon as the book was completed, we heard about the mayor in Detroit [Kwame Kilpatrick] and the mayor [in Jackson]. Our book was already finished though. So that’s a plus for us, because it will make readers wonder and think if we were talking about them. But no, the idea for the book was all ours. Do you have any words of advice or encouragement for people or even other rappers thinking about delving into the fiction novel world? How long does it usually take to complete a book? It depends on how dedicated you are. I get distracted easily and I might sit a book I’m writing on the shelf for a few months. But if I’m focused, I can knock it out in 3 months. For me writing a book was a personal goal I set for myself. You feel good about yourself when you set and accomplish goals. But, to write books, the talent has to be there. You have to be true to yourself. If the talent ain’t there you might want to try something else. But if you really want to do but you’re not quite good at it yet, you just have to keep at it if you’re serious about it. //
Maurice G. Garland OZONE MAG // 67