is taking my time. The same buzz he has in his city, I want that to leak to other cities, like Miami, the rest of Florida, Atlanta, and beyond. We’re doing mixtapes, doing promo runs, and leaking music until we get a groundbreaking record that we can’t control. And when that happens, he’ll already have his big buzz so it’ll all connect. I have a vision with him to be the next big street authentic, down South artist, with real raps. Do you have anyone else signed to We the Best? I signed an R&B kid named Jarvis out of Atlanta. You’re going to hear some music from him real soon. Right now it’s all about Victory, so I’m gonna start breaking Jarvis sometime in March. This is the same Jarvis that was signed to DTP? What made you interested in him? He used to be with Jermaine Dupri too. I didn’t really know who he was, and what happened was, I heard his music, some of the new records y’all haven’t heard yet, and it was so amazing. I heard the passion. I got records in the safe right now that’s crazy. He just hasn’t had his chance yet. I feel like he’s young, the girls love him, and under my brand with his hit records, he’s about to explode. He’s another one that I’m going to take my time with. Everyone under my belt, I’m developing them right now. I’m not just gonna throw them out there, it takes time. It took me 15 years to get where I’m at, maybe longer. If you ask any artist, from Jeezy to Ross to T.I. or Wayne, they’ll tell you they’ve been doing it for like 20 years. A lot of people take this game for granted – it’s a grind. It’s work. You mention developing your artists and making sure they’re ready to be released. Are they ready enough for your upcoming album? They’re going to get a look on my album, definitely. Rum has a solo record on my album called “Bringin’ Real Rap Back.” I feel like this record is one of those street records that’s just gonna give him a stamp. When people buy my album, they’re gonna love it. They’ll be like, “Damn, who is this kid?” It’s part of the breaking process. Then when they research him in Virginia, they see that he’s the king in Virginia. You’re helping put together major releases for solo artists alongside doing your album, which involves a lot of artists. Is creating an album like yours more difficult? There’s probably a lot more involved.
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//DJ Khaled continued It’s harder because I have to deal with clearances, scheduling, and there’s so many artists involved. But I’m respected, and with my relationships and passion for the music, people know I can do it. That’s why I’m on my fourth album. I put quality music out there. But I make my albums like I’m a solo artist, like I’m Nas, Biggie, Pac, Pun, Wayne, or Jay-Z. When a lot of people make compilation albums, they just put records together, but not me – I put a sound together. When you hear it, you’ll understand why it’s titled Victory. My records are big records. It’s special. Do you have plans to work with any female artists? I don’t think we’ve seen too much of that from you yet. I’m supposed to put Nicki Minaj on this one. She’s agreed to it, but with her schedule and mine we haven’t done it yet. I don’t want to put her on just any record. It’s got to be right. I’ve worked with females before – Lil Kim was on my last album. Trina’s been on two or three albums. I’m looking forward to working with Nicki Minaj in the future. I want to work with Lil Kim again. And of course I want to work with R&B artists like Keyshia Cole, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Mary J Blige. That’s my next goal. I’ve worked with some of them on other projects, but not on mine. You’ve confirmed that Shyne is being featured on the album. When can we expect to hear that? I’m going to talk to Shyne and see if we’re going to put it out ahead of time or wait. I’m letting Shyne decide the destiny of the record we have together, out of respect, because nobody’s heard from him in a while. He actually co-produced the record. I got a totally different respect for Shyne. I don’t want to give away the concept of the record, but we have a big surprise. What else do you have going on that people should know about? My album Victory is coming out March 2nd. I promise you it’s amazing. I got every artist in the game on there, and I put amazing concepts to amazing records. Look out for “All I Do Is Win” and “Put Ya Hands Up.” Look out for “All My Life” – that’s one of the titles I want to put out there. //