most controversial ozone moments Words and Photos by Julia Beverly
Lil Scrappy vs. the Orlando Police Department
Featured in: Issue #20 (February 2004) When Lil Scrappy dove shirtless into a crowded gymnasium full of high school girls during a performance of “Headbussas,” a damn near riot ensued, ending with Scrappy being pushed backwards nearly 20 feet off the stage by the Orlando Police Department. Thanks to some incriminating footage captured by yours truly, the moment will forever be remembered on the Beef DVDs. Scrappy avoided doing shows in Orlando for several years after that, and reportedly filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against OPD, the conclusion of which was never made public.
Lil Flip vs. T.I.
Featured in: Issue #25 (July 2004) As absurd as it may sound now, Lil Flip vs. T.I. was once viewed as a potentially fair fight. T.I., who was incarcerated at the time, managed to make a surprise appearance at Atlanta’s Hot 107.9’s birthday bash, where Flip was schedule to perform and had allegedly been making negative remarks about Tip while he was away. T.I. performed a scathing freestyle and held up the now-infamous pictures of Flip in the leprechaun suit with the title “GAME OVER” (photo at left). I hadn’t yet switched over to a digital camera at the time; had it been digital, I no doubt would’ve deleted this now-classic photo, since my first impression was that Tip was holding up some type of promotional posters.
Groupie Confessions Debut
Featured in: Issue #29 (November 2004) Who would’ve guessed that after years of covering underground Southern rappers, it would be Jay-Z’s dick that finally got us nationwide exposure? On New Years Day 2005, the New York Post (image at left) got ahold of a copy of OZONE’s annual sex issue in which groupies told sex tales about Jay-Z, Method Man, and others. OZONE’s office phones rang incessantly for a week with subscription and advertising requests. Can’t complain.
Lil Jon vs. TVT & Mannie Fresh vs. Cash Money
Featured in: Issue #37 (August 2005) Being in the right place at the right time led me to a couple unintentional exclusive breaking news articles/interviews in this issue. While conducting interviews for David Banner’s OZONE comic book, I sat down with Lil Jon on the Anger Management tour and the first words out of his mouth were “fuck Steve Gottlieb” of TVT Records, the label he was signed to at the time. A lot of legal drama ensued. Also, in a separate interview, Mannie Fresh matter-offactly revealed that he was leaving Cash Money.
Real Pimpin’
Featured in: Issue #40 (December 2005) I tagged along for two days with a real-life pimp and his house full of brainwashed (in my opinion) hoes for the 2005 sex issue. The pimp insisted on me reading every line of the article to him by phone for edits, a bad idea considering that his lines were being tapped by Federal investigators who eventually arrested him for various prostitution charges involving transporting minors across state lines.
The Infamous Benzino Voicemails
Featured in: Issue #41 (January 2006) After sarcastically awarding Benzino the “Extortionist of the Year” Award for his work with The Source Magazine, I received several violent late night calls from then-Source owners Dave Mays & Benzino. The subsequent voicemails Benzino left on the OZONE office phone were released on the net (via the CORE DJs & Funkmaster Flex) so the world could appreciate his unique catchphrases (“Slut Monkey” being the most popular).
The Chronicles of Pimp C Debut
Featured in: Issue #58 (August 2007) That line on Jeezy’s “My President” where he forgives Pimp C for “speaking his mind”? That was our fault. When Pimp C called me late one night wanting to start his own OZONE column (above), I thought it was a great idea. Didn’t envision that his ranting about “dick-in-thebooty-ass” Ne-Yo and Russell Simmons and “quit lyin’ about dope prices” which kinda sounded like Jeezy jabs and statements like “Atlanta is not the South” would land him on radio stations across the country. Although he never named names, his “$17,500” comments were widely interpreted as Jeezy disses, and nearly led to bloodshed at the 2nd Annual OZONE Awards. R.I.P. Pimp C. Gotta love him.
40 // OZONE MAG