TEXAS street rapper Trae Tha Truth IS NEVER ONE TO BACK DOWN. PERHAPS MOST INFAMOUSLY KNOWN FOR PUNCHING MIKE JONES AT THE OZONE AWARDS, THE RAP-ALOT AFFILIATE NONETHELESS HAS DONE A LOT OF GOOD FOR HIS BELOVED CITY OF HOUSTON THAT OFTEN GOES UNRECOGNIZED - NOT TO MENTION, HE CAN REALLY SPIT. NOW PREPARING TO TELL THA TRUTH ON HIS NEWEST PROJECT, TRAE ANSWERS THE TOUGH QUESTIONS IN THIS OZONE EXCLUSIVE. What have you been working on since the last time we spoke? A little bit of everything. I’m getting ready to drop my new album Tha Truth. Since the last time I talked to y’all, I’m back with ABN Entertainment getting distributed through Fontana. Right now I’m on an all-out campaign for Tha Truth. I’m independent, but I still have the same resources as a major label. It’s good for me on both ends. Money-wise, I’m most definitely independent, but look-wise, I still have the connects. I’ve always been my own CEO because I feel like nobody [else] will get out there and do it how I do it. If I don’t get out there and do it, I’ve failed myself. So I’m gonna give it my all. The reason I say nobody will do it better than I will do it is because I’m going to bat for myself harder than anybody. Considering the climate of the music game today and the economic recession that has affected everyone, do you think it’s more beneficial now for artists to stick it out independently or try to get a major record deal? It depends on how you look at it. For some cats it’s more beneficial to get a deal; to get all the money they can get and put it up and prepare for whatever else might come. I feel like it’s more beneficial independently because you spend less money and can get the same results as a major. You’ve got cats who are independent that can move 100,000 units or more, and you’ve got cats who are major that move less than 100,000. You’re still kinda “underground” because you haven’t really hit that peak yet as far as crossing over to the mainstream. Are you comfortable with the position you’re in, having more street-oriented music? Do you feel like you have to “sell out” to become more commercially recognized? I’m most definitely gunnin’ to stay me. Music, to me, is not only a form of art, but it’s also a form of ventilation. This is how I vent. So if I went for a certain commercial “look” or “sound,” that’s not really me expressing myself and what I’m going through out here in real life. I feel more comfortable doing me. Even these days, with the economy the way it is, a lot of people can relate to the struggle that I speak about in my music. So if I continue doing me, they’ll be able to relate. Do you think consumers have become turned off by all the materialism in rap music now that the so-called “bling bling” era has passed? It’s always gonna be here to an extent. People in general like to show off what they’ve got, especially people who ain’t never really had shit. Once they finally get their big break, they’re gonna let it be known. I think it’s cool, but it’s like, you won’t be able to do the majority of your music about that. It’s cool here and there, I mean, shit, you just had me in Chain Reaction [showing off my jewelry]. But at the same time, when you listen to my album, it isn’t about [jewelry] and all that type of shit. If somebody criticized you for spending a lot of money on jewelry, how would you respond? I’d say, “Fuck ‘em in they ass.” Nobody is allowed to judge somebody else if you’re not that man up above. You can have your opinion, but you can’t judge me. I know muthafuckers who fuck their money off on gambling or pussy or all types of shit. At the end of the day with me, a muthafucker can’t tell me shit. My whole purpose in living is to take care of me and mine and my family, and all those other people that I can reach out and help. So would you say jewelry is a vice, or more of an investment for your rap career? The image? For me, it’s just a bonus. Like I was saying, as long as my family and everything else is taken care of, what’s the problem? All of my stuff is situated before I go spend on myself. Even though I’ve got a right to spend on myself and do what I want – I bust my ass and make sure everything is taken care of first before I go do me. Everybody’s got a right to enjoy life. I give a damn about the critics. I’m my own man. You just had a child, correct? Yeah, I just had a son named Houston. So you’re representing for the city in a major way. Everybody calls me Houston anyway, so I decided to just go ahead and ride it out. I had two little boys before him, so Houston is the newest addition to the family.
How are things between you and Z-Ro at this point? Are you on good terms or is there still some friction? If we see each other it’s cool. He’s workin’ on the stuff he’s workin’ on, and I’m workin’ on my projects. We’re both just working and doing what we do. It’s never really been “beef.” Family members just don’t agree all the time. We had differences of opinion on certain shit, so we went our own lil ways, but at the end of the day there ain’t no beef or nothing like that. It’s not like I’m out here lookin’ for him or he’s lookin’ for me. Is he featured on Tha Truth? Nah. But there are a lot of songs we’ve got together that haven’t even been heard, so people might get ‘em, they might not. I just take it a day at a time. I can’t really tell you what tomorrow is gonna bring. You’ve been known to have some disagreements with other Houston folks. Did you and Mike Jones ever come to terms with whatever the issue was? What would happen if you ran into each other today? Since the [OZONE Awards] incident I’ve seen him once, and that was at a show in Austin. The police surrounded his vehicle and walked him inside the gate and closed the gate, and kept us outside the gate to keep us separated. (laughs) It ain’t that serious. I’m not worried about dude. Go out there and get your money, mane. I’m handlin’ my own business. At the end of the day, I just stand up for what I stand up for, and if I feel disrespected I’ma handle it. Other than that I’m not really worried about it. I’m not sittin’ around trying to bash him or do none of that other shit. Out of all the places to confront Mike Jones, why did you have to choose the OZONE Awards? (laughs) Only because it’s you asking me, I’m cool with [answering]. It’s like this: shit goes down out here on the regular. This ain’t the first time they heard about Trae gettin’ into some shit. This is the first time they heard about it throughout 50 different states, and overseas, though. He knew I was lookin’ to holla at him before then. Nobody saw him the whole [TJ’s DJ’s Conference/OZONE Awards weekend] so we didn’t run across each other then. The first time we ran across each other was [at the Awards] and my mindframe wasn’t that I’m at an award show. My mindframe was, “I’ve been lookin’ to holla at you all weekend.” If it had been in the parking lot or the corner store or after the Awards, and I felt disrespected, it was gonna go down. So it was no disrespect meant towards the Awards, and you know I apologized to you for it, but other than that, I stand for what I stand for. In retrospect, do you think punching him was the best way to handle the situation? I think it could’ve been handled differently. Because for one, we started off with me letting him know what it was. No voices were raised. When he raised his voice, that’s when it went a different route. But that’s neither here nor there. It’s done. Well, the reason I’m bringing it up is because it’s not like this is the first time some type of violence has occurred at a Hip Hop event or award show. Do you think situations like this make it difficult for us as a community to have positive events where everybody can come together? Truthfully, yeah. I can’t deny that. It does kinda put a little bit of strain on it. But at the end of the day, shit just goes how it goes. If you’re at your event, let’s say a bitch who’s backstage tryin’ to fuck with every rapper doesn’t know who you are and disrespects you. I couldn’t be mad at you if you decided to slap that hoe. Personally, I wouldn’t handle a situation that way. And I can understand that, but you don’t really know until you’ve been put in that situation. If you feel all the way disrespected, even if you don’t put your hands on ‘em, you’re damn sure gonna be like, “Fuck ‘em!” But thinking that in your mind and actually physically taking action are two different things. Baby, that’s just my mindframe. If I think it, I’ma say it. And that might not always be good, but it might not always be bad either. How can we as the Hip Hop community have more positive events where we’re able to be respected by the general public as a legit business community and not just a bunch of people who cause problems? Move past it and continue grinding and doing what you do, because at the end of the day, not me nor anybody else should be able to stop you if that’s what’s in store for you. And all the muthafuckers that be out here with that gas shit need to keep that gas shit at home. A lot of entertainers be feelin’ themselves so they do stupid shit that offends people. I think if people have a certain type of respect for one another, there’d be less confusion. OZONE MAG // 43