YOU DON'T WANT NO
PROBLEMS
WHEN HIS INITIAL PLANS FOR MUNKI BOI ENTERTAINMENT DIDN’T DEVELOP QUITE AS EXPECTED, CEO G FRESH DID WHAT HE’S ALWAYS DONE: TAKE CHARGE AND DO IT HIMSELF. NOW BOASTING ONE OF THE HOTTEST INDIE RECORDS IN THE MIDWEST, HE PLANS TO USE ALL HIS RESOURCES TO BRING INDIANAPOLIS TO THE FOREFRONT OF THE HIP HOP SCENE. ON HIS MOMMA! Words & Photos by Julia Beverly
So you’re both the CEO and the lead artist on Munki Boi Entertainment, right? Is that how you’d describe yourself? G Fresh is the CEO and now is the artist too, yes. I started out doing more of the business side of things. I had four other artists on my label: [the group] Nappyville, Young Tone, Gold E. Patron, and Riddles. They’re all still on my label. Nappyville had a few hot records and some movement. What made you decide to switch over to the artist side yourself? [The CORE DJs CEO] Tony Neal kinda brought it up. I mean, basically, it was behind my whole image that the label was created. [Indianapolis] had the buzz already. Everything I’ve done in the city prior to that, as far as shows and parties, was to brand Munki Boi. Aside from Nappyville doing their thing, I was just making creative music. Munki Boi is a statement. When we roll, we roll gorilla heavy. How did you come up with that logo? The whole concept, man, I don’t know. We were actually in Atlanta when Munki Boi was created. We were sitting around talking about different situations. We were touring through cities with Nappyville, and that’s when we came up with the whole concept. We drew the actual Munki Boi logo and trademarked it when we got back. Indianapolis hasn’t really made its mark yet on the Hip Hop map. Exactly, cause they aren’t known for breaking music. There’s one of two radio stations that everybody listens to, and all they play is Billboard music. Whatever’s hot on the Billboard charts, that’s what they play. For an artist to come out of Indianapolis or even get airplay, that’s real big, because they won’t even play half the national artists unless you’re on top of the Billboard charts. But there’s a lot of talent, so more than likely, a lot of people from the Midwest gotta either go to the South or East to get on. But now, I think I’ve kinda broken a barrier by getting out there. Does the music scene in Indianapolis kinda gravitate towards Southern music? We listen to a lot of Southern music, like the Boosies and Webbies and Gottis and Waynes. So yeah, it gravitates towards the South, but it’s also kinda mixed too. We also listen to the East Coast and the West Coast. So we get it from every angle. Would you say the music you’re putting out has Southern-style beats? Nah, everybody in the Midwest is kinda gangsta. They hard. Ain’t no dances, ain’t no two-steppin’ in the club and all that, comin’ in doing the stanky leg. I’m not knocking [those records] but people from the Midwest are kinda thorough, just holdin’ up the wall. My style is very unique. I’m not trying to sound like I’m from the South or the West or anywhere else. I have a balance, of course, of street records and club records. I have some sexy shit too. I try to hit every angle. I really can’t compare myself to anybody as far as my musical style. I think I’ve got my own style and my own flavor. I ain’t no Jeezy, I ain’t no Gucci, none of them. I’m a street dude and I’m telling my own story about everything that I’ve seen and where I come from.
Mostly street stories or just life in general? I’m telling relationship stories, street stories, the come up, you know what I mean? The blueprint to anything. If you listen to anything I’m talking about, it’s all real. Is there one record you have that’s really personal to you? “On My Momma.” That’s just a Midwest saying. Everybody says it, and it’s like, “I mean it.” It just emphasizes that the story is true or whatever. When I say “On My Momma,” I mean, this is for real. It ain’t no play-play. Are you planning on going straight independent with this project or is the goal to get a deal through a major label as far as distribution? I’m just trying to hustle the music and the movement. It is possible [to put the project out ourselves] and it can happen right where we’re at. We’re making them believe. If it goes to a major that’s fine too, but that’s not my goal right now. The goal is just to get the music out there and work and see it pays off. What methods are you using to get the music out there? Mixtapes, of course. We’ve been on the road since we started. My song is getting over 100 plays a week right now in over 30 different markets, so it’s all work, no play. We just drove from Indianapolis to Memphis yesterday for a show, and then from Memphis to Atlanta last night just to get it in. You’ve been doing a lot of things with The CORE DJs, right? The CORE DJs, The GO DJs, the Definition DJs… we’ve got a lot of good relationships with a lot of the DJs. A lot of the good relationships we have with them are based off of the artists I had before. I’m still pushing the whole movement; it ain’t just based on G Fresh or Nappyville as artists. It’s based on Munki Boi as a movement. Since people associate you so strongly with Munki Boi, is it a challenge to brand the name G Fresh? I’m branding both. I currently have my video on MTV2, BET, and MTV.com. They can also go to MunkiBoiEnt.com and hit me up on Twitter and Facebook, MunkiBoiCEO. Obviously you’ve had good success as an indie label being able to build relationships with these DJs. A lot of indie labels have tried to do the same. What’s a good method? DJs are real people, and everybody else in the business are real people too. When it comes to meeting them, I come with business first. I guess it’s just like anything else. You feel people out and figure out how to approach them and keep it 100. I ain’t gonna go up to nobody and just be like, “Hey, put me on!” It doesn’t just happen like that. People are working in this industry and trying to get money in this industry, so don’t just think that everybody’s gonna put you on for nothing. What about features and production? Are you working with anyone in particular? I just got some beats from Zaytoven that I’m currently working on. We’ve had OZONE MAG // 47