Czar reports "the hottest upcoming artist out of Florida "Black Da Da" explains his current situation with Strictly Business Records. Shows us a glimpse into his packed shows and his and Redd Eyezz new clothing line "Zoe Gear".
THE REAL MIAMI UNCUT! PICTURE TRAILER UPDATED EDITION WITH MORE GANGS AND NEW PICTURES....
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Street Knowledge reports New Trailer for Nipsey Hussle "Turn'D Up" The Making of Hip Hop's Next Superstar Episode Three. With guests appearances from The Game, Tony Yayo, DJ Whoo Kid, Alchemist, and Kay Slay. The all new thirty minute minute documentary is exclusively dropping on WSHH. Currently on tour with The Game. For more info log on to Nipseyhussle.com
Cam’ron is walking around the circular 24th Floor Asylum Records offices like he owns the place. The 10-year veteran is cracking jokes, talking to various label personnel and holding court as only a flagship rap artist should. You can hear his distinct voice reverberate around the floor with eagerness, an excitement that his Crime Pays return is hardly an independent underdog release, but the true article of anticipation.
A few hours later than expected though, when Killa Cam, separated from his crew, steps into an empty boardroom for a HipHopDX interview, he’s all business. In a day filled with questions about his three-year Florida hiatus, The Diplomats' status and unfinished beef, Cam’ron almost begs for the questions. Soundbytes aside, DX discusses the album, the origins of “no homo” and Cam’ron’s Children of the Corn late, great rhyme partner Big L. We love our job.
HipHopDX: How do you think the time away from the industry light helped you, both as a man, but also as an artist? Cam’ron: Um, as a man, [it didn’t] really help me, period. I’m just gonna always be a man, regardless of music or TV or movies or if I was a janitor; I’m gonna be a man regardless. Being away from the game just made me realize how much I love [I have], [and that] people were interested in where I’m at. You know there’s a lot of people that could be gone for the same amount of time I was gone for and nobody’s interested in where [they are] at or what’s goin’ on. They’d be like, “Fuck ‘em. We’ll see ‘em.” But you know, just in general, the interest and everybody wantin’ to know where I’m at and what’s goin’ on with me and why [I was] not comin’ out with an album, it just lets me know that I’m more appreciated than I thought I was.
DX: Flowing with the single, one of the things I like about you is, I’ve been in this game myself for 10 years. You were here was I started. You’ll be here when I quit -- Cam’ron: -- I hope so, man. I hope so.
DX: But at the same time, you represent that era – that Tunnel era, you ran in the same circles as Biggie for a minute. I want to ask you, with all the sensationalism and the gossip Hip Hop is at today, is there ever a day where you hate your job? Cam’ron: Well…that’s a good question. There was a time, maybe about two [albums] ago, where I was like bored with it. I’ve been rappin’ since I was nine, 10 years old. Just in general, it wasn’t necessarily about me hatin’ my job, but [it let me know] I could do other stuff. I’ve made enough money; I wanted to do other things. I was like, “I’m not gonna rap.” I found myself eatin’, at the tables, just makin’ up raps. Or I’d find myself in the car, makin’ up raps. [I’d] go to the movies [and I’d be making up raps]. I’m like, “Damn, I’m not even tryin’ to rap and I’m rappin’.” It kinda [started the fire in me]. Even if I wanted to stop, I couldn’t stop. There was a time where I wanted to, I just couldn’t. so I guess I hate it but I still love it at the same time. I couldn’t stop if I wanted to. Now I’m enjoying myself.
DX: I remember where I was the first time I heard “357.” You introduced a whole new style to the game, in my opinion. Not only lyrically, but sonically. Every single one of your albums has done that. I look at joints like that, “Killa Cam,” the new single. Tell me, sonically, the level you’re taking it to on Crime Pays. Cam’ron: This album here, I would say it’s vintage Cam’ron, but it’s still ’09 Cam’ron. There’s a lot of people that come up to me and be like, “Well I want that Confessions of Fire album” or “I want that S.D.E. album,” and I’ll be like, “Confessions of Fire came out in 1998. I can’t give you what I gave you in 1998.” But this album is just…I can’t put my finger on what to [call the style], but the creativity is just incredible. I’d say I have about 40% topic songs – the “I Hate My Job” [click to listen] stuff. I got maybe 20% of party records. The rest of it’s street. There really aren’t any cross-over records on there, radio-type records. It’s real gritty. It’s real dark – and when I say dark, I don’t mean like [roars], it’s a real street record. There isn’t too many “See More Hundreds” or “Hey Ma’s” on there, or stuff like that.
DX: Did you record most of this record down in Florida or did you do it up here? Cam’ron: Um, I did a majority of it here. I own my own studio here, but when I was in Florida, I had access to a studio also.
that’s on there [is] eight months [old]. I’m a person that, we’ll be in the studio, and I’ll come in [while] my friends are playing some of my songs. They’ll say, “Yo, this shit is fuckin’ hot…” I’ll be like, “Yo, it’s a year-and-a-half-old.” They’ll [argue that nobody has heard it], but if I heard it, it’s old. I kinda stay current. If a song that’s timeless, I think it wouldn’t matter. I gotta stay updated. Whether the music comes out or not, I’m always working.
DX: From Digga to Heatmakerz to Kanye West, you’ve brought a lot of people with you. Are you introducing producers this time or are you revisiting old friends this time? Cam’ron: Most of the album is done from in-house producers. New—well, they’re not really new producers, but they’ve done a lot more work on the album than on previous albums. My man Skitzo, he did about 60% of the album. Arab, a new producer from Rhode Island, he did about the rest of it. Besides Skitzo and Arab, there’s probably two other producers, but [they] did most of the album.
DX: Between XXL and Miss Info, they covered a lot of The Diplomats questions people had. So many people have questions, and they’re getting their answers. Are you touching on these issues at all on the record, with questions people have, regardless of what those questions are? Cam’ron: A lot of people ask that. I tell ‘em: get the album. You’ll see when you pick it up.
DX: Fair enough. One of things I respect about you is you made being independent seem like a smart move. You were the first artist to go to a Koch or go to an Asylum, and make artists who thought they were good at a major kind of rethink it. Last year, between T.I. and Lil Wayne, it was a winning year for the majors again. Is there anything you’ve figured out, with the new technologies, on how to make being independent what it was for you in ’05, ’04 and so on again? Cam’ron: We’re gonna see, man. Like I said, you can’t really say. If somebody asked me five years ago what I’d be doing today, I wouldn’t see no Internet be this poppin’, so and forth. Everything I’m doing, I’m definitely doing for the whole one hit. It’s not like [Asylum executives] Todd [Moscowitz] and Joie [Manda] are like, “We are an independent; we need to sell 20,000 records this week.” We definitely gonna move some units, but I can’t sit here and say we guarantee we’re gonna do [a number]. ‘Cause like you said, there was a time where being at a major was crazy, and now it’s like – like you said, T.I. [click to read] and [Lil] Wayne [click to read] doing good, I think they’re just putting that umph back into it. You’ve got to realize too – I’m not sayin’ that Asylum didn’t do their job, but that’s why I love them, ‘cause I get a majority [percentage] of the gross [sales]. So for them to even want to put their foot in the project like they get the majority percentage, I love them for that. They definitely put their foot in like that. As far as me making predictions, I don’t know, couldn’t tell you. But we’re definitely going for the whole [thing].
DX: Flowing along with that, yesterday, the biggest record on our site for listens was the remix you did with OJ Da Juiceman and Gucci Mane, “Make Da Trap Say Ay!” [click to listen] To what extent does this label make you want to be a leader? Cam’ron: You know me, if I like the beat…and I heard the beat and it was knockin’. Like I said, Joie and Todd [were] patient with my whole situation. They gave me a lot of money, and I haven’t turned in a [second] album yet because of my mother’s [illness]. I don’t want them to think that I’m not a team-player – they may have gotten that vibe from me over the last couple of years. Now that I’m back in motion, I just want to let them know [I have their back after all the delays]. Anything I can do to help the label out, it’s not a problem. Plus, I’m a fan of Gucci Mane [click to read] anyway. Gucci’s a good artist. I like the new song that OJ has. It was my first time hearin’ it, but it was a good record and I heard it was doin’ real good in Atlanta. So definitely happy to be [a team-player].
DX: On a lighter note, in your time away, the phrase “no homo” really took off. You’ve been a trendsetter. At the same time, as you took this time away, did at any point, you think that phrase got out of hand? Cam’ron: Nah. Like I said, ‘cause it isn’t like people didn’t know where it originated from. A couple times it was crazy, ‘cause a friend of mine’s son is like three or four. [He] thought Lil Wayne made up “no homo,” but the younger kids are gettin’ into it too, like infants are no-homoing. I think Wayne just crossed over with it. That’s my man, use it anytime you want.
I didn’t originate that. It’s from the east side of Harlem. I learned that at Jefferson Projects at 115th [Street] and 1st [Avenue]. they are the originators of the “no homo.” That’s where it started from. The first time I heard that phrase, it might’ve been 1990, ’91; it’s a 20 year-old phrase.
DX: Last week marked the 10 year anniversary of Big L passing away. It’s not talked about too much, but some of those tapes that you guys made together have leaked, and it’s some mind-blowing stuff. I wanted to ask you one or two questions about that. One being, what’s your favorite memory of your brother from that era in your life? Cam’ron: Big L? Big L was a funny guy, man. He was the comedian on the block; he always hung out. He was the one who told me I should rap. I used to play basketball and stuff like that. He was like, “Oh, you good” or whatever.
I would say my fondest memory is the times I used to just come to the block and L’d be standing there by himself. He’d be like, “Yo, I can’t think of no rhymes. Give me some inspiration.” I used to be like, “Wow, Big L wants me to rhyme,” even though that was my friend, I looked at him like the main rappin’ nigga. Like damn, he had a [record] deal, he’s from my block, he wants me to rap? Hell yeah, I’m gonna rap for him. I used to come over to 139th and [Lennox] and he’d just be sitting out there, asking me to rap for him, I just thought that was just [amazing].
DX: And you had a verse on his debut, Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous. What did that mean to you in 1995? Cam’ron: Yeah. That was crazy! I was just gettin’ out of high school, gettin’ ready to go to college to play basketball. So to be on a real rapper’s album, it was really, really cool. It was a good look, man. I really appreciated it.
DX: Of all your career, what’s your proudest verse? Cam’ron: My proudest verse…that’s a good question. I don’t know, man. I never been asked that question before, you know what I’m sayin’? I made so many songs, so many different things. I would say basically, if you pick up Crime Pays, right now my favorite verse is the intro. [It’s] deep; you’ve got to listen to it. It talks about how when I was growing up, and the teacher asks you what you want to be, so on and so forth, it’s kind of going in that direction. But I spit a verse that’s kinda crazy on the intro to Crime Pays. I don’t want to say that’s my favorite all-time. I can’t think; that’s really a great question. But right now, at the top of my head, I’d have to say that’s my favorite verse right now.
DX: Last question. From the color pink, to the phrase “no homo” to driving Italian sportscars in New York City, you’ve set a few trends. After Crime Pays makes its rounds, what do you forecast being the next Cam’ron trend? Cam’ron: I don’t even try to set trends. It’s just me being me, and it kinda happens. When I wore pink, I didn’t know everybody was gonna wear pink. Or, like you said, saying “no homo,” I didn’t know – that’s just some shit from Harlem I picked up. I don’t really try to set trends. I think saying you’re gonna set a trend is kinda jinxing yourself. So I don’t know. Maybe everybody is gonna start wearing a cape. I don’t know.
I think "Believing" in yourself these days gets over looked all the time when it comes to artists having a successful music career. A lot of times you may hear an artist say hard work pays off or they might mention their day to day grind. But it definitely takes having belief in yourself at times to overcome a lot of obstacles in the music world. Most of our leading artists were looked over or slept on such as Lil Wayne until his Tha Carter II album which got the attention of the masses to Jay-Z whom every label turned down so he started up with own label Roc-A-Fella Records or even 50 Cent who was dropped from his label Columbia Records and production company Track Masters after his fatal shooting.
That same "Belief" made artists like Ryan Leslie, who has written & produce hits for other artists, start his own label Next Selection. Not to mention putting his own money into his project and not leaving his career's success up to the label he's signed to or luck. Ryan Leslie is more than an artist he's an accomplished writer who has topped the charts with Cassie's #1 hit "Me & U" to being today's leading go to producer for a hit working with acts from Rick Ross, Fabolous, Kid Cudi and Mary J. Blige to name a couple. You can even catch his Youtube channel and see him cook up his hits from scratch. I have followed the Ryan Leslie movement for a few years now and its good to see him finally get his shot.
24: After years of hard work and sacrifice how good does it feel to finally see your album in stores right now?
Ryan Leslie: To me it has laid the foundation of the contribution that I want to make to music. So it really feels like its all in a days work, you know what I mean. I'm definitely grateful and I know that this moment is significant to many folks that are out there grinding that would love to put an album together and has a collection that you can press up into a CD. What I think is interesting from my perspective is that I have been making records own my own since I was a teenager so I have albums and albums and albums worth of material and this is actually the second body of work I have delivered to my distribution company and gotten on the same page and put out. So you know I'm very grateful that we were able to get on the same page and really get this thing out, so yeah it feels good.
24: Personally I have been following you for a while now checking out your Blog and Youtube Channel but I feel like the "Diamond Girl" single really took you over that hill you were trying to climb, so I wanted to ask you did you think when you made that record it was going to get the reaction it did?
Ryan Leslie: Yeah, but you know what when people check out my videos or Blogs like you said if you really check it out you'll see that I approach every record the same way you know. And it just so happens that I feel my records and I feel the music that I make are made pretty consistently and to me I just try to gage how other people respond, and people really responded to "Diamond Girl" and not only did the public respond to it but so did my internal team. When they heard that record they said man there is something special about it and bottom line ever since 2003 I've been waiting for the opportunity to get behind something. I had made some money as a producer from 2003 and to the end of 2007 so when I first put that record out I took my own money and said you know what I can continue to wait or I can make an investment in myself and jump start this record. That’s exactly what I did and I am very thankful that people responded the way that they did.
24: Tell me how did your record "Addiction" come about and what made you choose to get Fabolous on the record to go along side you and Cassie?
Ryan Leslie:Fabolous is a long time friend and supporter and was featured on one of my first singles and when I first played the record for him he immediately wanted to be on the record. He was actually on Tour with One Republic and he recorded that verse from his tour bus and sent it back. The way he came on the record was just so fitting, so shout out to Fab for coming through for both videos and for that song and showing me a lot of support and Cassie was just a no brainer she's signed to Next Selection and the first artist with whom I made my first #1 record with.
24: What should fans expect when they download your album on Itunes and press play on their Ipod or when they purchase the CD at Best Buy get in the car and turn the volume up?
Ryan Leslie: Well, they should expect to hear an album that’s written, produced and arranged by one artist which I believe is my contribution right now to the game. The records speak for themselves and if anyone has any reservations I encourage them to go to my site www.Ryanleslie.com and you can go listen to the entire album and see all of the videos I have put out so far. It's an album that I have put all of my passion and creativity and hard work into, making the best records I could make. I really hope people can enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them.
24: Was there any artist that you really wanted to work with but didn't get a chance to work with for your album?
Ryan Leslie: Nah, not really you know I really enjoy on my projects to be selfish and be able to make the records I want to make and be myself and express myself. But if I had a dream collaboration though it would have to be Stevie Wonder and Prince.
24: You inspire many up and coming artists as well as producers/songwriters so I wanted to ask you who inspires Ryan Leslie?
Ryan Leslie: Man, I've said it over and over again my musical heroes such as Stevie Wonder, Prince, The Beatles, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, The Dream Team. There's many others but for musical contributions those are the guys but I have so many different inspirations from other stand point like Richard Branson who was the founder behind the Virgin Brand, so definitely there are a lot of folks that has inspired me.
24: When its all said and done what do you want the fans and music lovers to say Ryan Leslie brought to the game?
Ryan Leslie: When its all said and done what do I want people to say(Pause), You know I really don't get into having a desire for having people to talk about me I just really get into being really competitive with myself and knowing at the end of the day I gave the best that I could give to the game, and what ever people say or feel it’s going to be up to them.
24: What advice would you give to an up and coming producer or artist trying to get into the music industry who doesn't have any contacts but has the talent?
Ryan Leslie: I look at that and I hear that story a lot but I think that the internet provides a lot of opportunity for business people in the music world because it allows you the opportunity to have your own distribution pathway to your audience. Not to mention you can gage how people respond to you and Soulja Boy is a perfect example of that. This is someone who utilized the new media technology and social networking to build his own audience and after his audience grew people took notice. So I really don't think there is an excuse anymore for artist to say I have not met the right people as yet or I just don't have the exposure. I don't really get into that I feel like if you have talent you have to understand how to put a "Team" together to take advantage of the opportunity you have to create your own base and your own audience and excite others to want to be in business with you. 24: Tell me what are some of the projects you're working on as far as your production goes I know you recently finished working with Slim of 112 as well as being in the studio with Kid Cudi also ?
Ryan Leslie: Slim, Kid Cudi, Fabolous new album Jim Jones, Rick Ross and I'm going into the studio with Mary J. Blige. Not to mention 50 Cent just called me a couple of days ago so were trying to work out the schedules now also Wale new album. So I'm pretty booked up and I'm always looking to collaborate with new artist as well as my Next Selection artist. I signed a kid from overseas by the name of Bluey Robinson and a female from California name Chris Ivory we have Cassie new project and a whole lot in the work for 2009 and I'm also working on my second album as well.
24: I know the readers want to know if you will you be doing any touring this summer ?
Ryan Leslie: Yeah, I'm putting together something right now and doing a few spot dates so look out for me and my band to shake some things up. Everyone can stay tuned by going to my website and stay informed.
24: Do you have any finals words for the readers?
Ryan Leslie: I think we said a lot man, so the final words are, I'm on a campaign to be the worlds' most accessible artist through my videos diaries, Blogs etc so you can go to www.ryanleslie.com for all of the above.
From Wu Tang Concert in London, UK. Shout out to Harry Method Man commits 'stage dive suicide' at Day 2 of the Wu Tang's 8 Diagrams Tour! It was packed out but that cluster of crowd just all moved out the way! (Shepards Bush Empire, London UK)
Jim Jones stops by to kick it with Jenny and talk about his upcoming 3 albums, his relationship with Cam'Ron & slapping both Max B & Kanye West???. Shout out to badboy4life for sending this through
HELL RELL PRESENTS "RUGA STORIES" PART 3?A MESSAGE FOR RED CAFÉ, TALKS FABOLOUS & MORE!!! In the next chapter of the Ruga Stories webisode series prefacing the imminent July 22nd release of ?Black Mask Black Gloves,? Rell keeps it gully about Red Café, talks Fab and why they cool & more.
Ace hood we the best music and jordan tower films are making history...this off that ace won't fold mixtape...directed by jordan tower of jordan tower films...JTF TO THE DEATH!!!!
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e able to make the records I want to make and be myself and express myself. But if I had a dream collaboration though it would have to be Stevie Wonder and Prince.
