What’s been up big pimpin’
?
Boo: Man nothin’. Just been tryin’
2 push this new album, and get them spins up, and get another
situation workin’. U know what I’m sayin’?
Your new cd is called “Block 2 Block,”
right ?
Boo: Yeah !! It’s a double cd, u
know ? I got Lil’ Flip, Boosie, Papa Reu, Bone Crusher,
C-Loc, Max Minelli, & Queens Boys on there.
What’s your label called ?
Boo: 1 Life One Love.
This makes album number what for ya ?
Boo: This is about number 6 right here.
What year did u release your first album
?
Boo: ‘96
Where are u from ?
Boo: Canton, Mississippi. That’s
near Jackson (for those who don’t know).
What was it like growin’ up in Canton
?
Boo: U know, we come from nothin’
man. Poor town, tryin’ 2 make the best outta nothin’.
U know, we did our thang around there. Tryin’ 2 better a
nigga situation so we could raise up outta there.
Who were some of your influences growin’
up ?
Boo: Really, we didn’t have 2 much
2 choose from. We had 2 go with what they was playin’ on
the radio. Whatever was on the mainstream radio, that’s
what we was growin’ up on, cause u know it wasn’t
no talent comin’ from Mississippi really.
When did u first decide that this was what
u wanted 2 do ?
Boo: I realized I had a talent for writing
back when I was in school. Like in the 7th grade. Something like
that. I just took it and ran with it. This was an open market
for it cause everybody else was doin’ it in other markets,
but wasn’t nobody doin’ it around here.
Isn’t it true that u had a deal with
Interscope at one time ?
Boo: Right, right !!
What happened with that deal ?
Boo: Really, it was a lot of internal problems
goin’ on there. U know what I’m sayin’, they
was shifting around a couple of people.. Some people who brought
us in had got shifted around, and they had us on hold. So rather
than sit around and wait, we decided 2 go back 2 what we were
doin’. We was on hold for almost 2 years, so we decided
2 continue doin’ what we use 2 do. Which was drop underground,
and keep growin’ and growin’ each time we drop.
U got 2 million dollars out of that deal,
didn’t u ?
Boo: Yeah !
Did u have 2 give it back when u walked
away ?
Boo: Naw, cause we did our part. That was
guaranteed. They the ones who didn’t hold up their end and
do their part.
If the opportunity presented itself again,
would u re-sign with Interscope ?
Boo: Yeah, but it’s got 2 be right.
The money and the paperwork gotta be right. Cause they a machine
man. They could get my name out there much better than I can.
What kinda deal would u do ?
Boo: A label deal just like before. I ain’t
doin’ no artist deal because I’ve done 2 much with
my label 2 do that. They gave us a label deal before, so they’ll
have 2 do it again.
Do u think that the reason u were on hold
for 2 years is because they didn’t know how 2 market Southern
music ?
Boo: That’s really what it was. They
don’t understand it, and know how 2 market it. U know? It
really ain’t their heart. But the thing is, we know how
2 get out here and market ourself. All they gotta do is give a
nigga the support he need on the back end. U know ?
U been gettin’ any calls from majors
lately ?
Boo: Yeah, matter of fact, we done got
a couple of calls lately. That shit before was a learning experience
though. We got our feet wet with that situation so we’ll
know how 2 go into the next one. U know what I’m sayin’?
It ain’t gone be no more of that shit cause a nigga know
what he lookin’ for right now. U know, they took us off
our grind for a little while (on the underground side), so we
gone get on with pushin’ this album here. We back on it
right now, and we just lookin’ for the right situation right
now.
Is it difficult for you 2 run a label and
be an artist at the same time ?
Boo: Yeah, Yeah, Yeah !! Cause u end up
playin’ both sides. But that’s where having a good
staff and a team that u believe in comes in handy. They break
they necks for this, cause this is theirs 2.
How many acts are on your label ?
Boo: 2 - That would be Queens Boys, and
Scrilla Boy. Queens Boys album is called “Play Wit It,”
and Scrilla Boy’s is called “Bout That Scrilla.”
I heard that u have 7 Lincoln Navigators
wrapped and on the streets promoting all the time. Is that true
?
Boo: Yeah, kinda. We got 5 Navigators.
3 of ‘em are wrapped. U gotta spend that money 2 market
and promote. Know what I mean ? That’s important. We’ll
send em out 2 different areas of the state, and just roll in ‘em.
Do u pretty much do everything in house,
production, videos, & promotion ?
Boo: Yeah, pretty much. We use different
producers. I got one kat I been using a lot lately. As far as
promotion, we only work areas within about a 6 hour drive. If
it’s out of our area, we’ll use someone else 2 promote
in that area for us. Because they know the area much better than
we do. Plus, we can’t be everywhere at one time. We got
this young kat from the Jackson area that we get most of our beats
from, but we work with other producers so that everything don’t
end up sounding just alike. U know what I’m sayin’
? We use kats from Atlanta and Houston too, but the majority of
it’s done in house.
How’s “Block 2 Block”
doin’ right now ?
Boo: It’s doin’ real well,
u know ? We been gettin’ a lot of love from Mississippi
with it. We just takin’ it step by step right now. Whatever
area the record gets hot in, that’s the area we tryin’
2 target. Right at this time we got 15 markets that’s giving
it airplay. We just tryin’ 2 hit the streets, do the shows,
and meet the people head on.
Where are u hot right now ?
Boo: Well, we just did a show in Birmingham.
We been gettin’ a lot of spins over there. Tennessee and
Louisiana (Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Monroe), u know ? U know,
we hot in the region around here.
Where would u say you’re the hottest
?
Boo: Oh u know.... home, man. If u ain’t
got home, u ain’t got nothin’. Know what I’m
sayin’ ? If u can’t take ya home, u can’t take
nowhere.
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