CARLOS CARTEL Words // Charlamagne Tha God
You’ve probably seen his ads in OZONE and thought to yourself, “Man, this dude is crazy.” But honestly, there aren’t too many artists who market themselves better than Carlos Cartel. Let’s find out why: When I first saw your ads in OZONE I called Chuck T, like, “What the fuck is wrong with Carlos? Is he trying to sell CDs or cocaine?” What was your thought process behind that? First of all, that wasn’t a smart thing for me to do, but it was necessary. It was a story behind the brick of cocaine I put in the two-page ad in the mag. On the first page, I sat a brick of cocaine on the table and told you about the positive things I could do out of something negative – as far as my own wrapped van, ads in magazines, songs with major artists, rather than buying unnecessary things that would not help once my run is over in the dope game. Look at it as motivation for niggas who rap who don’t know what to do with dope money. I also saw you on so many street
DVDs I was like, damn, Carlos is on his grind, but you were showcasing your arsenal of guns more than your talent. Why? For a while I was the triggaman in my city; niggas know to call me for straps. Also, who would you rather listen to, a nigga holding a mic or holding an AK with a hundred round drum? You’re a smart man if you said the nigga with an AK. So I went that route and it worked. Every DVD you see me on, after I floss the AKs, I drop a freestyle. That’s the part where I speak and y’all listen. One thing I started to appreciate is the fact you seem to invest in yourself a lot with wrapped trucks, flyers, ads in national publications. What motivated you to start doing that? Simple. I play chess, not checkers, and by saying that I use my mind a lot more. You’re also known as “Cause Hell Cartel”; you’ve had altercations with Juvenile and Lil Wayne, among others. Has your reputation ever caused any doors to shut for you in the industry? I run and make money on the streets of one of the hardest streets in America. I’m around guerillas all day; so if I’m around guerillas all day I’ll know when I see a monkey. But as far as them hurting my career, let’s just say this is my third year in the bike week edition – so you answer that. Why do you think the Carolinas haven’t popped off in the industry yet? Because you got a lot of fuck niggas who’s in position to help niggas out going for self and picking favorites. Tell people what to look for from Carlos Cartel in the future. Look for the new album The World is Cartel’s. Check me out on Myspace.com/ Carloscartel and Myspace.com/Causehellcartel. I’m also on BlackPlanet and me and my dawg T Drumma got the new clothing line called Everythang Mix coming soon. Website: Myspace.com/CarlosCartel
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