want to appear to be alright. I thought maybe if people don’t know what they fuck is going on they’ll think I’m in more despair than I am. I was alright, but I didn’t want to do interviews and have [the authorities] be like, “Aw, that muthafucker ain’t learn nothing. Let him stay in there and hurt some more.” In Louisiana, with the kind of charge I had, it was high profile. They didn’t give a fuck. Now that you’ve served your time, are you open to talking about the actual situation that led to your incarceration? Some parts of it. I have a confidentiality clause I signed, for the allegations and all that shit. The basic gist of it was that the girl stole money from you and – Julia, baby, we not even going to get into that shit, because that there is over and done. I’m out. I gave that muthafucker enough of my time. Okay, fair enough. So you’ve got a new record out with Lloyd. What else do you have coming? Yeah, that’s his records. Me and Wayne did something prior to him leaving. I got a chance to talk to him and give him some advice and let him know that’s how I had success [while incarcerated]. Leave Lil Wayne out at the gate. Let him wait for you. Go in that muthafucker as Dwayne, knock that shit out, and come on back to the people and do what you do. Gucci just came out, T.I. just got home, Wayne just went in – why do you think so many rappers are doing time? Cause we crazy. We’re fucking crazy. A lot of times it’s our fault. If we don’t give them a reason to fuck with us, then they can’t. We’re just not being smart. We’re not dotting our i’s and crossing our t’s. We’re not being conscious of who the fuck we’re hanging around and what the fuck we’re doing. We get so much power and we start trippin’. I’m not saying that I’m guilty of what them people was saying [I did] but I still am ultimately responsible for a lot of the shit that happens.
my immediate family, my cousins and all of that – out of New Orleans. They all came to my house in Baton Rouge and stayed with my mom. I had them safe and secure. Do you think that New Orleans is going to come back to prominence? You fucking right. Time heals everything. It’s just a matter of time. We came a long way and we still have a ways to go. Do you feel like you didn’t get as much support from the Hip Hop community compared to other artists due to the type of crime you were convicted of? Oh, fuck no. They showed me love. Man, I’m a fucking gangster, and them people really fucked with me. I really got the opportunity to see that shit and it was mind-boggling. There’s some rappers that stay away from the scene for six months and people aren’t checkin’ for them no more. I was gone for six years and that shit never wavered. Shaquille O’Neal came to the jail to see me. Roy Jones Jr., Busta Rhymes, Luda, Snoop, fucking right, I’m a good dude. Ain’t nobody believe that shit [about me]. Since you’ve been gone there’s been a lot of groupies kissing and telling. That shit is funny. You were mentioned in Superhead’s book. Yeah, man. I’m telling my girlfriend, “Man, I ain’t fuck with that girl. I’m telling you!” and then she read that fucking book. But she didn’t say we did anything. I knew she wasn’t going to play with me like that. She was talking about Ja Rule had his fucking legs in the air! But that goes to show you, that shit you do in the dark is going to come to light. She couldn’t say nothing about the pimp, nothing. But I had that work, shit. Somebody told me she [said more] in part two, but in part one she was real bland with my shit. And now we’ve got Kat Stacks. What the fuck is that?
That sounds like a good philosophy, because you hear a lot of the conspiracy theories and the “they’re targeting me” excuses. That has a lot of truth to it also. But if you don’t give them a reason to fuck with you, they can’t. They can just be mad from a distance, looking at you rich and enjoying your life.
A bootleg Superhead. You read her book too? She said something about me?
What did you spend most of your time in prison doing? Reading OZONE Magazine. Thank you so much for that. That was so helpful and gave me a lot of opportunities to plug in and see a lot of faces I hadn’t seen in a long time. I thank you so much for sending me those magazines. I could not wait to come and tell you that personally.
It seems like there aren’t a whole lot of opportunities for women in Hip Hop anymore. There’s only a handful of female rappers. So it seems like some women think that’s the only way to get publicity. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so it is what it is. I used to read OZONE’s Groupie Confessions and be nervous. I was like, “Somebody gonna tell!” (laughs) I was foul out there. But ain’t nobody rat on me so I was alright. Some of those Groupie Confessions were cold-fuckin’-blooded, man.
You just performed here in Houston and in addition to a lot of Houston folks like Willie D and Z-Ro, some other folks like Mannie Fresh and KLC were in the building. Is everybody from the former No Limit/Cash Money crews on good terms? It is what it is. We had a lot of success so it just depends on what you were able to do with it afterwards to enhance your career. When we were at our height we went crazy. I saw where it was going, so I was plotting my next move. Do you see any No Limit reunions in the future? Yeah, we’re about to head to New York for the Hip Hop Honors show. We’re performing “It Ain’t My Fault,” if I’m not mistaken. It’s going to be fire. It’s been a long time. How do you feel about that? I know some people, like Scarface and Uncle Luke, felt like it shouldn’t have been categorized as “Dirty South.” I think they should’ve made it a lot more broad. Don’t separate it like that. Do you have a planned release date for your next album? I’m shooting for the fall. I’ve got a meeting with the people at [my label] to see what kind of agreement we can come to. To be honest, Julia, right now to me it’s kinda like, “Get the fuck out of my way.” Just let me do what I do. I trusted them with my whole career and that shit doesn’t add up – the money I’m making and the money they’re making. So they need to let me do me, and we’ll negotiate somewhere in the middle. I’ve been calling [the album] “The Big Shake Back,” but that’s unofficial. It’s like James Brown with The Big Pay Back. You’re based in Baton Rouge now, right? Is there a noticeable difference in Louisiana compared to pre-Katrina? It’s kind of balanced out a little bit. It was tough looking at that shit from jail, not being able to help my people swimming in the water. I was supposed to be out there with them. But I was able to get my entire family –
Nah. (laughs) Oh, okay. Good.
Big Truck Records is your record company, right? I see you kinda played off of the No Limit logo to create your logo. Yeah, big vehicle coming through the street. What are you gonna do when you see that? You’re gonna get the fuck out the way, right? Are there other artists signed to Big Truck Records? Yeah, I got a couple. It was so much talent inside those fuckin’ walls, so I was kinda scouting when I was going through it. I was watching how they move. If you can survive and stay out of trouble when you’re in [prison], you can do that when you come out here. The guys that were talented but knuckleheads, I can’t do nothing with them, because they’re gonna come out here and do that same thing. You ain’t learn shit; you retarded. The ones that had sense, though, y’all are gonna be hearing from them. Trust me. Why did you decide to cut off your braids? I was in jail; that wasn’t my call. If that was the case, my shit would be down to my knees right now. They people told me, “No, none of that.” I felt like Sampson; all my superpowers went away. But I was too old for that shit, so eventually I was gonna have to do it anyway. Do you see the South maintaining our position at the top of the music charts for a while? That’s where we at? I’m out here, aren’t I? Well, shit. You know better than to ask that question. I’m not playing with these dudes, man. I gave them dudes six years to frolic their ass across that stage and get my awards. I’m not playing with these niggas, man. Is there anything else you’d like to say? I just want to tell the fans, thank y’all for the love and support throughout that ordeal, through my time and moment of despair. I really needed that, and the music is going to be well worth the wait. // OZONE MAG // 53