JOE HOUND
MIAMI, FL
J
oe Hound will be making a lot of noise this Super Bowl weekend. With Miami cosigners like Cool & Dre, his new single “Choppa” is taking off. In preparation for his forthcoming album, Hound and his crew will be shooting a music video and releasing two mixtapes – all at the same time. What are you working on right now? I’m working on the album. It’s called Misery Loves Company. It’ll be out in ’07. I got two mixtapes I’m dropping Super Bowl weekend. One is called War 2; that’ll be hosted by DJ Khaled, and the other one’s called Two Sides to Life. It’s coming out with DJ Papa Smirf and Kronic – all three of them are Miami DJs. It’s going to be big. It’s going to definitely be an event. What’s the independent hip-hop scene like in Miami? Is it growing? As far as independent artists in Miami goes, the scene is getting bigger. Right now we got a couple of independent acts that’s making noise. You have me; I’m signed under Epidemic. You got C-Ride under Epidemic, too. You got D-Shep and Brisco. You also have a guy named Flo Rida. Are the people in Miami supporting y’all? People in Miami are starting to understand that you don’t have to be on a major label to have good records. Back in the days, people used to think if you didn’t have no Def Jam, Atlantic Records, or Universal behind the project then the project ain’t no good. Now they’re realizing there are talented cats in Miami that can rap, that can make good music, too. Now that the scene is growing, they can hear Joe Hound on the radio. They’re seeing there’s a lot of other talented artists out there. So the scene in Miami, as far as music is concerned, is really growing to tell you the truth. Since you’re working on the album, have you chosen a single yet? I have the “Choppa” record featuring Dre from Cool & Dre. I got another single dropping in March called “Connect Boy”. It’s dropping on the Epidemic label. Khaled’s playing the “Choppa” record; Entice is playing it; Ideal’s playing it. The radio is basically showing me love. Cool & Dre have really been pushing you lately. How long have you been working with them?
I’ve been working with them since ’98. Me and Dre went to the same high school. I didn’t know Cool in high school, but I knew Dre. So I bumped into Dre in ’98 and it’s been on and bumpin’ ever since. So you’re from Miami originally? Born and raised. Have you collaborated with anyone else? I have no collaborations on my album right now. I have a couple collabos from Dirt Bag’s album that’s coming out on my mixtape. As far as collaborations for my album, I’m trying to get Rick Ross. Hopefully I can get a collabo with Trick. You gotta have Trick on your album. If I can get Trick, that would be lovely. I’m hoping we can pull strings to get those things to happen. What are you doing to promote the album? Right now we’re putting posters out in all our target markets. But for Super Bowl weekend, we’re going to be doing it big. We’re shooting a video for “Choppa.” We start that on the 1st of February. It might be a two day shoot or it might be a one day shoot. It depends on the weather and how quick we do our thing. We’re going to promote well. We got a couple of teams in Miami that’s setting up marketing strategies. They’re supposed to get back with us and let us know what they plan on doing. We got a lot of things in the works. We’re doing a lot during Super Bowl weekend. Hopefully in all the markets we’re targeting, we’re going to do it big there, too. We got plans to go in a lot of cities. We’re doing some things during All Star weekend as well. Is there anything else you want to mention? The album’s coming out in May of 2007. Look out for “Choppa” – the single with Dre and C-Ride and “Connect Boy” – the next single off the album. The pressure’s gonna be on now. That’s all I need to say. Do you want to give out any contact info or a website? You can get in contact with me at www.myspace. com/joehound. I’m always on there. That’s where all my people can check for me. Everything I mentioned is on my Myspace page. Words: Ms. Rivercity Photo: Big C Photography OZONE
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