down or [T-Pain] or whatever he calls himself right now. (laughs) It’s so big because of that guy [on the hook] that I think it’s going to explode. I approach every record thinking that I’ve gotta slaughter the beat. I put the beat to rest; it’s a funeral for your beat and it’s a funeral for the guy that’s on the song with me. It doesn’t even matter who you are. Welcome to your funeral. What’s the name of the single? It’s called “Money Round Here.” We have really big plans to shoot a video. Speaking of videos, I just shot a video with 2 Pistols. He just signed to Cash Money. It’s a real nice baby-making song called “Lights Down Low” produced by Cool & Dre, who are kinda like my brothers. Yeah, I think I was at the video shoot. Yeah, I think I saw a Caucasian girl with a nonCaucasian body at the video shoot. After the T-Pain single that you’re about to shoot the video for, do you have the next single picked out? What direction are you planning on going with the album? It’s an Automatic Vibe. We’ve got like four singles lined up, and we’re gonna see what me and Teddy P can do on the first go-round. [The reaction] to that record is going to determine what we put out next. I wanna go with a girl record next because that young nigga Plies showed me what you should be doing on the radio. You’ve gotta talk to the ladies [to get on the radio] so I’m trying to go that route. So you’re going the female route for the radio records but still keeping the street side. Of course. Last time I saw you, you told me I needed to get in the gym. So since that day I’ve been in the gym, so I can’t wait to see you again. Did I? I must have been talking shit that day. Yeah, you were. Do you have a six pack yet? Real niggas don’t get six packs. That’s that gay shit. What’s one of the most significant songs you’ve got on the album that really came from the heart? It’s gotta be the one with T-Pain. I’m not just lying to you because that’s [the single] that’s coming out right now. “Money Round Here,” that’s from my heart, I swear to God. I love it, I pray about it, I eat dinner with it, I sleep with it and everything. I love that song. What do you think of the overall Miami rap scene right now? At a certain point it seemed like there was a lot of unity and everyone pushing forward at the same time. Recently it seems like there’s a little friction. I’m gonna be all the way honest with you, because you’re you. I think we’re still far behind. Shout out to Dallas because I keep seeing new songs with dances coming out from Dallas. In Miami we’ve been dancing since way before I was born, but somehow our dance songs can’t break nationwide. So I don’t think we’ve got our shit together yet. I think it’s going to take a young nigga that everybody knows to sell over a million records and sit the city down and tell them what they need to be doing. I don’t know who that guy is; maybe he will come out this year. I think we’re losing. We need to stick together and push each other. We don’t do that,
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but we need to. We all know each other, but we need to do more [together]. Miami is not a friendly city. If you’ve ever been to Miami on the other side of the bridge, then you know we’re not a friendly city. We’re not like Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia where there’s love. Southern hospitality. Yeah, we’re not even really the South sometimes. That’s what I think, my personal opinion. If you don’t like it you ain’t got to buy it. But I think we have a lot of catching up to do, as far as being [part of ] the South. Once we get it, I don’t think nobody is going to be able to take it from us. That’s why it’s taking so long. So you think the city needs to develop some Miami hospitality? Yeah, we do. But it’s going to take something major to get us to start liking each other like that. Strip clubs are big in Miami. Do you think strip clubs can break a dance record for the city? It seems like it would go hand in hand. We play our own records here, but we don’t allow [outside] records in. And it seems like we don’t push our records out. It’s weird that you can bust down here and still make stacks on deck, but you might not go nationwide. For whatever reason, strip clubs always seem to be the home base for breaking records, especially in the hood. The hood goes to the strip club. Down here in Miami so many records break from the strip club, but it doesn’t go past Florida. We’re trying to figure that out. C to the Ride is probably going to be the one to figure that out. I’m still working on it everyday, like I’m doing my homework. Are strip clubs your weakness? It’s actually my job. I found out how to make money at the strip clubs, so all the money I spent from years past, I’m working on recouping it right now. I’ve got a [club] night at the strip club that I love going to the most, which is Coco’s. I talked to the owner and got my own night. Every Thursday is C-Ride Night. So now I make money from the strip club. They owe me from all the time and work I put in, so I felt like it was only right for them to give me a night. Are you involved with strippers or you just enjoy watching them and you date the good girls? I just show my appreciation. As far as dating goes, I’m married to the microphone. Why not show your appreciation for women who work hard with their clothes on? It seems like there’s a lot of focus on stripping as an occupation for women, but there might be better job opportunities out there for them. You’re absolutely right, but when you show your appreciation to the strippers they compensate you. If the regular hard-working ladies would start compensating us… That’s not really “showing appreciation” then. If you’re just giving them something to get something back. No, that’s just if you have a bad heart. If you’ve got a good heart you know that it’s showing love, and it’s not just giving to get something back. You’re wording it all crazy. I show you love, you show me love. We’re in this together. That’s what this is.
Right. Giving to get something back. You can take a hard-working girl and give her [the same amount of money] you give to a stripper and she probably would do way more [for you], to be honest. How much money do you spend at the strip club in an average month? They call me Mr. Five Hundred Ones. But I mean, I make the money back. Don’t get it twisted. I’m not spending my rent money or anything like that; don’t get it confused. I think if you can [spend] under $500 on every visit, you’re doing good. How many times a week do you go to the strip club? Three or four or five or seven times a week. (laughs) So at least five times a week. That’s $2,500 a week? Probably more like $1,500 a week. But it comes back though [on my night], so you can’t really count it. It basically evens out. It’s just me living the C-Ride life, the shit I rap about. I’m absolutely a regular at Coco’s. I’m shooting my video on top of Coco’s, like [Rick] Ross did [when he shot his video at] the Rollexx. Interesting. When you hit the road to promote your album, are you going to go through Coco’s withdrawal if you’re not able to go there five times a week? You know, I thought about it. I prayed about it, and God told me, “Don’t worry about Coco’s. Just go do what you’ve gotta do.” So I’m gonna go with God and leave it alone, because everything happens for a reason. Maybe I need to leave it alone. Is there an ode to the strip clubs on your album? Of course. There’s like four. One is with Lloyd, one is with Trey Songz, one is with Pleasure P, and the other one is all C-Ride. So all of those [songs] have retarded strip club references. (laughs) Did Cool & Dre produce your whole album? Cool & Dre produced 88% of the album. The rest of it is niggas I fuck with from the crib. Are there any other features you want to mention? I’ve got Game on the album, Gorilla Zoe, Yo Gotti, and [will be adding] a couple more features before it comes out. Enjoy yourself. There’s a money back guarantee. It’s the first album in rap that comes with a money back guarantee. So if I buy your album and I don’t like your album, I can come find you and you’ll give me my money back? If you look me in the eyes genuinely and say, “This is a piece of shit, whack-ass album,” I will reach in my pocket and give me back the money you paid for it. I’m gonna check out your album and if I don’t like it, I’m coming to find you. Do that. I’m gonna have a lie detector with me, so you can’t be lying. I’m gonna know if you’re lying. You’ve gotta be genuine from the heart. If you tell me how much you hate my CD, I will give you your money back. And you’ve gotta have the receipt to prove you bought it. It’s the C-Ride money back guarantee. //