has changed a lot in terms of marketing and promotions. Moving into the digital age what are some of the new strategies you’re using? I kinda got away from the street team thing when I started working with Three 6 Mafia. I run a mom & pop record store in Indianapolis. Basically, the street team is no more. I’ve seen the game transition into free music. Everybody is putting out mixtapes and getting their money off shows. The game has totally changed. I remember when the label would pay $20,000 to run a tour and put some posters up. Now it’s all internet. You might see a couple posters in mainstream markets but Indianapolis is a third-string market so you’d rarely see promotion. Not many of the mom & pop record stores have lasted this long; even major record stores like Tower Records have gone out of business. What are you doing to maintain? Well, mom & pops are still running strong in my area. I talked to Scream about opening up a Hood Rich store in Atlanta or a Hypnotized Mindz store in Memphis with Three 6. Everybody knows they can get the CD from the bootlegger or go to the internet now, just keeping it 100. There’s only a select few people who are really supporting the actual album when it comes out. But I’m able to survive just off my name and my personal music. I order everything direct from the distributor, the new Jay-Z and Kanye, the new Ross, the new Rihanna, everything is legit, nothing bootleg. When you walk into a mom & pop store and the music is playing, you just get that Hip Hop feel. Right now I’m transitioning into a more digital approach. That’s what I’m working on right now. How do you think the Super Bowl weekend is going to be in Indianapolis? I think the city is going to be overwhelmed. They don’t know how much money there really is out there in the world. I don’t think the people of Indianapolis are ready for the amount of stunting that’s gonna be going down. Who are some of the artists in the Indianapolis area making noise? You’ve got Dro Man, he’s got the jiggalate dance goin’ on with Gucci Mane. You’ve got Pacman, he’s got his single going with 2 Chainz, Juicy J of Three 6 Mafia, and Gorilla Zoe. You’ve got G Fresh and Munki Boi Entertainment and his labelmate Young Tone. You’ve got Playboy, Lil Pooty, Grinny Boy, and a guy named Maxamillion, he’s like the new Machine Gun Kelly. At one point, there was a lot of controversy with the RIAA targeting certain mom & pop stores and shutting them down for selling mixtapes. Did that affect you?
I’m not a dumb muthafucker. If you come in my store, you can buy the [mixtape] cover and I’ll give you the CD for free. That story basically originated in Indianapolis with a guy named Alan Berry. He had a store called Berry’s Music. Google it and you’ll see the whole story about him and the RIAA. After he beat his case with the RIAA, he came back and opened Naptown Music. He recently closed because they were robbed five or six times. It was a [dangerous] area where the store was, and he’s an older white guy in his forties. He knows his Hip Hop, though. [The shootings] kind of scared him I think, so he got out of the music game. So I bought Naptown Music and closed my store down. I’m moving Naptown Music to a new location on the number one street in Indianapolis. That’s all I have to say about the RIAA. I bought [Berry’s] original Naptown Music sign, his inventory, everything. So I’m going to reopen Naptown Music and it’s going to be a landmark spot in Indianapolis, for sure. It’s a dream come true. Nice. You’re also known for your Dragged Up mixtapes. What’s the difference between Dragged Up music and Screw music? RIP DJ Screw, first of all. I’ve got “R.I.P. DJ Screw” tatted real big on my stomach. I really live that type of music. I have gotten into altercations over it. I’m not the type of dude to just get on the internet and be talking about it, feel me? Drag is basically slower than Screw music. IT’s mob music. I call it Dragged Up because I don’t think you can do Screw music if you’re not [DJ] Screw, you know? Screw would say that right now if he was alive, so just out of respect to him and his family, I call it Drag. We’re going to keep the tradition going that Screw pioneered, but in real life, you can’t be Screwed if you not Screw. A lot of people know that Dragged Up music originated with DJ Black, and that’s an accomplishment to me. Anything else you want to add? Shout out to the team Hood Rich DJs, they’re killin’ it right now. Shout out to OZONE Magazine for always showing love. Shout out to the city of Indianapolis, 317. I love it, I’m still here. I just wish they would give me the respect I deserve. I’m behind a lot of stuff in the music industry. I’m really a humble cat. If you want to talk to me 901-428-4255 is my direct line. // Twitter: @DJBlack_HCP
OZONE MAG // 17