Houston rapper D.A returns with a free mixtape download!!
Download D.A - THE RETURN MIXTAPE
By simply clicking this link:
KIDS IN HOUSTON TO GET A SNOW DAY COURTESY OF CITY HALL AND TRAE THE TRUTH
Houston Councilman Jarvis Johnson will host his 3rd Annual "Winter Wonderland" Christmas Party for the students in his district (District B) with the most improved academic record this coming Thursday, December 18th, 2009 and he has once again tapped Trae Tha Truth to assist him in making the event a memorable one. Along with Councilman Peter Brown, who donated toys and decorations for the event, Trae will be on hand to play Santa and meet and greet with the participating children.
Long-known for his community outreach efforts, for which he was awarded a Proclamation by Houston Mayor, Bill White, earlier this year, Trae Tha Truth is routinely present for the many youth-oriented programs and community-assistance efforts that both Council Members put together; most recently a "Tackle Hunger" Thanksgiving food drive in conjunction with the Amobi Okoye Foundation.
The 3rd Annual "Winter Wonderland" Christmas Party, which is being held this year at Discovery Green Park in Downtown Houston will feature a fun-filled day of ice-skating in the park, horse trolley rides and a snowman-making contest, giving the students a rare opportunity to play in actual snow. The lucky participants will be comprised of 25 students from 20 different schools throughout District B who have shown the greatest academic improvement throughout the year.
"By rewarding the academic success of the most improved students, it is my expectation that other students will strive harder next year to achieve the same success." says Councilman Johnson.
The event will run from 10AM until 1PM and media is encouraged to attend.
Yung Redd
Hey Yung Redd
How you doing I like that accent!
Thanks! I’m fine, how are you?
I’m cool ma’am just trying to make it!
So Yung Redd introduce your self and tell us what part of Houston are you from?
It’s Yung Redd and I’m from the South East side of Houston, Sunny side is like a real legendary area in Houston.
Why is it a legendary area?
The South East side is where all the first Houston rappers came up like Fat Pat, Lil Keke, DJ Screw and so on.
What made you want to start rapping?
It was kind of accidental man I played basketball and one day I was just around and met Lil Flip, we we’re best friends and he started me rapping so that’s how it happened.
Did Lil Flip give you your first break in music?
Me and Lil Flip became friends and he introduced me to my first label and that’s where it happened that was 1999, Suckerfree Records.
What artists have influenced you along the way?
Actually, Scarface, 8Ball and MJG, UGK, Lil Keke and my favourite rapper Fat Pat.
Maybe apart from Fat Pat who has passed away have you had a chance to work with your favourite artists?
Nah I have worked with Lil Keke of course and that’s pretty much it. Fat Pat is dead now so I never had a chance to work with him, but his brother Hawk was a good friend of mine so I worked with him too. Keke, I work with him all the time.
You’re signed to Swishahouse how did you all hook up?
I been putting put albums since 99 and T Farris is a real good friend of mine and he told me if he ever got on before I did he’d come back for me and he kept his promise. He just called me up like 3 in the morning and he asked me what my situation was and I just jumped on the chance.
So you’ve been putting out music since 1999 what have you put so far?
I’ve had 3 group albums, this is my first solo album called “Dead Presidents” that’s gonna be on a major. I’ve got a tower of mixtapes! I don’t even remember half of them there’s too many!! But I’ve sold a lot of records independent you know, under the radar.
Tell us about your album “Dead Presidents”, what can expect to hear on there?
Dead Presidents is just like you know everything people do for money. The situations they get in, the problems and the perks, how women treat you how dudes treat you, how people love you at first when you got it or when you ain’t got it how they don’t associate their self with you. It’s just the whole feel of money the things that go on when there’s money involved.
Who features on there?
You got Lil Keke course you got Paul Wall, Slim Thug and Z Ro I kept it real Texas and I got an up and coming cat called Killa Kyleon he rolls with Slim Thug and just mostly me, just me!
When will the album be out?
Beginning of 09 we’re just wrapping it up now.
Will you be dropping a single?
We could got with the single “Get Money” Drumma Boy produced it he produced “Put On” for Young Jeezy and Kanye. He produced my first single called “Get Money.”
Who else has done production on there?
I got my personal producer called X File he’s out of Louisiana he did some stuff for Lil Wayne and Ludacris and stuff but he’s my personal producer. Mr Lee he’s from Houston he’s done a lot of legendary Houston tracks.
Say if I came over to Houston and you were doing a show what could I expect to see at your show?
The future, I’m like the new breed of Houston, I don’t really rap the same way my accent is a little stronger than everybody else you know? I’m more on the new school the year 3000 kind of stuff. So that’s me!
Can you tell us what has been the biggest achievement so far in your career?
Making it out the hood and seeing the United States. I came from a real poor family and just making out the hood changes my situation. That has been the biggest accomplishment and it ain’t over with cause I’m young I’m 26 so I got a long way to go.
What advice would you pass on to somebody who is just getting in the game?
Study your craft, study the greats, and emulate what they did to become great. Don’t copy cat do your own thing, there’s enough room for everybody and everybody is different. Make sure you study your craft and sharpen all your skills man cause people look at that, you’ll go a long way like that.
For somebody just getting into your music what CD would you tell them to go and buy first?
Which ever one they can get their hands on, you can go and get “Eviction Notice” or most recently me and Paul most recently released “Paper or Plastic” you can look that up at http://www.swishahouse.biz/
Do you have a MySpace page where people can check out your music and videos?
Oh yeah sure that’s www.myspace.com/yungredd
What are Yung Redd’s plans for next year?
I’m trying to take over as many parts of the world that I can, when it’s all said and done I want them to say my name I want to be remembered in music.
Yung Redd thanks for taking the time out to do this interview is there anything you would like to add?
The future is a memory so I’m on my way I’m real close.
Interview by Jai Boowww.myspace.com/jaiboowolftown
How you doing I like that accent!
Thanks! I’m fine, how are you?
I’m cool ma’am just trying to make it!
So Yung Redd introduce your self and tell us what part of Houston are you from?
It’s Yung Redd and I’m from the South East side of Houston, Sunny side is like a real legendary area in Houston.
Why is it a legendary area?
The South East side is where all the first Houston rappers came up like Fat Pat, Lil Keke, DJ Screw and so on.
What made you want to start rapping?
It was kind of accidental man I played basketball and one day I was just around and met Lil Flip, we we’re best friends and he started me rapping so that’s how it happened.
Did Lil Flip give you your first break in music?
Me and Lil Flip became friends and he introduced me to my first label and that’s where it happened that was 1999, Suckerfree Records.
What artists have influenced you along the way?
Actually, Scarface, 8Ball and MJG, UGK, Lil Keke and my favourite rapper Fat Pat.
Maybe apart from Fat Pat who has passed away have you had a chance to work with your favourite artists?
Nah I have worked with Lil Keke of course and that’s pretty much it. Fat Pat is dead now so I never had a chance to work with him, but his brother Hawk was a good friend of mine so I worked with him too. Keke, I work with him all the time.
You’re signed to Swishahouse how did you all hook up?
I been putting put albums since 99 and T Farris is a real good friend of mine and he told me if he ever got on before I did he’d come back for me and he kept his promise. He just called me up like 3 in the morning and he asked me what my situation was and I just jumped on the chance.
So you’ve been putting out music since 1999 what have you put so far?
I’ve had 3 group albums, this is my first solo album called “Dead Presidents” that’s gonna be on a major. I’ve got a tower of mixtapes! I don’t even remember half of them there’s too many!! But I’ve sold a lot of records independent you know, under the radar.
Tell us about your album “Dead Presidents”, what can expect to hear on there?
Dead Presidents is just like you know everything people do for money. The situations they get in, the problems and the perks, how women treat you how dudes treat you, how people love you at first when you got it or when you ain’t got it how they don’t associate their self with you. It’s just the whole feel of money the things that go on when there’s money involved.
Who features on there?
You got Lil Keke course you got Paul Wall, Slim Thug and Z Ro I kept it real Texas and I got an up and coming cat called Killa Kyleon he rolls with Slim Thug and just mostly me, just me!
When will the album be out?
Beginning of 09 we’re just wrapping it up now.
Will you be dropping a single?
We could got with the single “Get Money” Drumma Boy produced it he produced “Put On” for Young Jeezy and Kanye. He produced my first single called “Get Money.”
Who else has done production on there?
I got my personal producer called X File he’s out of Louisiana he did some stuff for Lil Wayne and Ludacris and stuff but he’s my personal producer. Mr Lee he’s from Houston he’s done a lot of legendary Houston tracks.
Say if I came over to Houston and you were doing a show what could I expect to see at your show?
The future, I’m like the new breed of Houston, I don’t really rap the same way my accent is a little stronger than everybody else you know? I’m more on the new school the year 3000 kind of stuff. So that’s me!
Can you tell us what has been the biggest achievement so far in your career?
Making it out the hood and seeing the United States. I came from a real poor family and just making out the hood changes my situation. That has been the biggest accomplishment and it ain’t over with cause I’m young I’m 26 so I got a long way to go.
What advice would you pass on to somebody who is just getting in the game?
Study your craft, study the greats, and emulate what they did to become great. Don’t copy cat do your own thing, there’s enough room for everybody and everybody is different. Make sure you study your craft and sharpen all your skills man cause people look at that, you’ll go a long way like that.
For somebody just getting into your music what CD would you tell them to go and buy first?
Which ever one they can get their hands on, you can go and get “Eviction Notice” or most recently me and Paul most recently released “Paper or Plastic” you can look that up at http://www.swishahouse.biz/
Do you have a MySpace page where people can check out your music and videos?
Oh yeah sure that’s www.myspace.com/yungredd
What are Yung Redd’s plans for next year?
I’m trying to take over as many parts of the world that I can, when it’s all said and done I want them to say my name I want to be remembered in music.
Yung Redd thanks for taking the time out to do this interview is there anything you would like to add?
The future is a memory so I’m on my way I’m real close.
Interview by Jai Boowww.myspace.com/jaiboowolftown
Michael "5000" Watts
First of all tell us what part of Houston are you from and what was it like growing up there?
I’m from the Northside of Houston and I grew up in this area called Homestead. My neighbourhood was Rosewood back then it was kind of rough. A lot of the guys they made their money through hustling and stuff you know. Our neighbourhood was small, some neighbourhoods made money from selling drugs but our neighbourhood made money from robbing people.
For people that may not know you’re a Chop and Screw DJ and you also own Houston record label Swishahouse. When you first started out did you ever think that Screw music would be as big as it is now?
First of all I started out as a regular DJ I DJ’d for clubs and I DJ at the radio station doing regular stuff. I never really saw myself at this point doing Chopped and Screwed. When I first started doing it I did it for as friend because DJ Screw would make their mixtapes and they would strictly represent the South side of Houston. People loved the mixes but there was nothing in the mix that represented them so I started making mixes for guys on the North side. I took it from that point and just commercialised it instead of just making it a local North side thing. I kind of like commercialised it and made it neutral for everybody that like that type of music to enjoy.
What made you decide to be a DJ instead of wanting to become a rapper?
Actually I’m not good at anything else but that! (Laughs) I’ve always had a passion for music, ever since I was young I was doing little homemade mixes with what ever equipment I had. I have a natural knack for music.
A lot of people are now taking on the artform of Chopping and Screwing do you think the market is becoming saturated with people who think they can Chop and Screw?
Oh man the market is saturated with a bunch of bullsh*t! Actually there’s a lot of trash out there that’s actually destroying the art of what Chop and Screw is. Like, for people that’s really into it from like I hear, you know what a good Chopped and Screwed song would sound like right?
Yeah
Well I think it’s saturated with a bunch of trash, then it will eventually play the whole sound out because you can’t get what you want. Then it gets to the point that if I can’t get what I want then I’d rather not listen to anything at all or just listen to a regular speed mix. There definitely is an art to it.
I mentioned earlier that you also own Swishahouse, what was the main aim of starting the label?
When I first started it I wasn’t starting a label. When I first started the name Swish House I started making slowed down mixes, I didn’t want to call them Screw mixes because of DJ Screw. So, I called my mixes Swisha mixes and the reason why I called them that was because when we used to smoke weed, we’d roll them into Swisher cigars so we would just call them Swishers when we used to roll them up and smoke. Whenwe making the mixes that’s what we’d do so I called the mixes Swisher mixes and I called my studio “Swisha House” so that’s how we ended up with that name.
You also have a radio show can you tell us about that?
Yeah I have a radio show out here in the States I do 5 hours of Chopped and Screwed every Sunday. You can hear it at our time in Houston at 8pm CST and it ends at 1am CST. 2am – 7am UK time. The website that you can listen to it on is www.kbxx.com
It is all Hip Hop or do you play RnB too?
It’s 3 hours of Hip Hop and 2 hours of RnB but I play everything I play Rock all kinds of stuff I’m unlimited to it. If it’s hot I will do it I don’t care. If you want you can hit me there. Also you can hit me directly on MySpace www.myspace.com/djmichael5000watts
What do you think of the current Houston music scene at the moment?
The Houston music scene is growing and transforming to a different level right now. Some of the things you’ve been hearing from Houston before in the past like some of the things with Paul Wall and Mike Jones when they sampled Screwed hooks and stuff like that you know it’s not just all about that people are expanding their musical horizons. It’s getting more out of the average basic formula which you expect from Houston it’s like people are fully expanding into the music thing. So you gonna see a lot more of that you’re gonna see a lot more expansions from Houston.
What qualities do you look for in an artist before you sign them?
Creativity, cause that’s what’s gonna make you stand out above another artist. Out here in the States artist come a dime a dozen you know? Artists are everywhere so show me something that’s totally different from the last 100 people that gave me a CD or MP3. It’s got to be something totally different.
If you didn’t own Swishahouse and you weren’t a DJ what do you think you would be doing now?
I’d probably be in jail right now honestly. I like money and I’d do anything to get it and a regular job is not big enough to fill my appetite. (Laughs)
Tell us about the artists on Swisha House.
You can check out our new artist Yung Redd we have a female artist by the name of Surreall and we also have a Latin artist by the name of Lil Young and of course we still have Paul Wall and Lil Keke he’s doing really hot out here in the States.
Are Archie Lee and Coota Bang still on there?
Yes they are we dropped a CD on Archie Lee and Coota Bang not too long ago it was called “Hood Theory.” Matter of fact Coota Bang is gonna be on the flip side of the I-45, it’s a double disc the second disc will be Coota bang.
Let’s talk about the releases you’ve put out a lot this year! Can you tell us about some them?
Wow! That’s interesting I’ve put out so many it’s crazy I’ve been doing it over 10 years. I’ve been doing it for a mighty long time you know. Lately I’ve been using my avenue to help more that just us. I’m expanding the Southern culture as a whole with my mixtapes. At first my mixtapes were more Houston based but now I’m more into working with Houston with everybody else. I’m trying to put it so that everybody who is in the circle with us, like people that’s on the same level that we work with and network with and stuff like that I’m using my avenue to help people as a whole cause I know that I have a lot of influence in music down here so I’m using it to help people more. As far as mixtapes we dropped one with Paul Wall called “Fast Money: The Album Before The Album” also we did one with Paul Wall and Yung Redd called “Paper or Plastic.” We dropped a new album called “Universal Ghetto Pass” that was with our artist Lil Keke and also I remixed Devin the Dudes last album “Landing Gear” I Screwed and Chopped that for him.
You’re about to release the “I-45” album?
Yeah actually what this is, is a CD that’s not all Texas its 90% Texas. There’s a lot of artists out here that have talent and I really wanted to put everybody on one big collaboration to work with us and push it out there to get people the exposure that I think they probably need. That’s the whole purpose of the “I-45” and it’s available regular speed and screwed.
Is that available from the Swisha House site?
Yeah www.swishahouse.biz
If somebody was just getting into Swishahouse what CD would you tell them to go and buy first?
I take pride in everything I do so you can pick any one that you like! Everybody has there own thing that they’re into like I have an RnB series called “Straight to the Room” so if you like RnB you can try that. It just depends, if you like rock I screwed and chopped Korn’s last album! It depends on what you like it’s an artform you know, if there’s a project that we did or there’s an artist that you like then pick it up and see how you like it.
You can also buy download CDs from your digital download page what do you think of the downloading generation, do you think it’s a good or bad thing?
Wow, well you know what from a record label stand point or the financial stand point it’s awkward. But as far as a promotional stand point and for an artist it’s a whole lot easier for an artist to get exposure. It can be good and bad it depends on what level you’re in. I feel like for an artist it’s good for a record label its bad.
Since starting Swishahouse do you think it’s got easier to promote your self and your artists with sites like MySpace etc?
Yeah it’s a whole lot easier to promote people because right now you know Swisha House has an established brand name, number 1, and having an established brand name and all the tools like MySpace and You Tube it makes it a whole lot easier for artists such as Surreal. We just dropped a song on her just last week, she just posted it up on her MySpace page and it got her a couple of thousand hits in a couple of hours. With Surreal she hasn’t ever dropped anything commercial really yet but I know that the exposure that she has with us and the quality of music that she’s got, working with us as a label has helped her out a whole lot and it gives her a jump over the average artist that is on her level. I think it’s a beautiful thing I know it’s easier to promote now. First you had to mail out singles to everybody and you had to pay thousands on expenses, now you can just upload your song to your DJ list, click the send button and all of them have the record. A lot more listen to the record because of the brand name you know.
Michael Watts that wraps up the interview but before you got can you tell us your MySpace and website addresses?
Our main thing is the website www.swishahouse.biz and we also have the MySpace page www.myspace.com.swishahosue and every body has their MySpace linked to it.
Thanks for taking the time out to do the interview!
Ok that’s no problem.
Interview by Jai Boo
www.myspace.com/jaiboowolftown
Paul Wall Interview
Hey Paul Wall!
Wassup what’s going down?
I’m doing fine how are you?
Ah man I’m cool I’m right here in the States right now just kicking it.
Paul Wall introduce yourself!
It’s Paul Wall baby “The People’s Champ” getting money and staying true, breaking all the haters off real bad!
Tell us where about in Houston are you from and what was it like growing up there?
I’m from the North West side of Houston but I really grew up all around the city, like all sides. It was like a different world to what I saw on TV you know what I’m saying? In Houston we got our own style so the things I saw on TV and even the music I heard on the radio wasn’t what I saw around me on a day to day basis.
Do you mean that musically on the TV there was mostly West Coast or East Coast Rap?
Yeah well you know on the radio they played mostly West Coast music and on MTV or BET they’d play East Coast music so when we listened to our own music it was mostly on the Screw tapes, the mixtapes that was how we heard our local Texas music and that’s what I grew up listening to.
What particular artists influenced you and made you want to start rapping?
Definitely UGK influenced me a lot and also my boy Lil Keke he's a real big influence on me.
Over the last year and a half you’ve been touring throughout the States and Europe with acts like Fall Out Boy, Tech N9ne, Ill Bill and now Marz on your Fast Life tour, while visiting these cities what has been the most memorable show for you so far?
It’s kind of like everywhere we go they show us a lot of love. Right now we’re in Columbus Ohio they’ve shown us a lot of love, we were in Indianapolis last night. I can’t really say which one was the most memorable, probably when I went to Italy just cause it was a different kind of place for me over there, it was memorable because it was somewhere I’ve never been before.
When you do a show in Europe do you find that the crowd response the same as a US crowd?
It’s a little bit different. Wherever Americans are living out there they always show up at your shows and come out and represent. We get a lot of Military too they come through and put it down with me. Wherever we go the local people always show us a lot of love, but yes it’s a little bit different. I think in the States we take Hip Hop for granted when I come to Europe I see they are real fans of Hip Hop but in America like I said we take it for granted.
Do you find the time to write when you’re on tour?
Yeah a little bit usually I write when I got to the studio but yeah I get the itch to write a little bit when I’m on tour.
You’ve got a new album coming out called “The Fast Life” when will that be coming out?
It’s comes out February 24th 2009.
You’ve got Akon on there and Chamillionaire, Lil Keke who else features on there?
Also on the album we got Yung Joc, Gorilla Zoe I got a new song with my boy Webbie called, “Bizzy Body” we’ve been pumpin’ it real hard and getting a lot of love from that.
Will you doing a video for that track?
Nah not yet we probably will end up doing one though.
What can we expect to hear on this album?
I got a lot of production with my homeboy Travis Braker he jumped down and did a lot of production with me we had a lot of fun in the studio. Also Beanz and Cornbread they’re some local guys form Houston they did a lot of production on there too. Other than that it’s the same raw parkin’ lot rap that I stick to you know? It’s straight hood stuff, we got some different stuff too that I haven’t done before. We had a lot of fun and I know people are gonna like it when they hear it.
For the people out here that may not know much about you, can you tell us how you got in the rap game?
I just grew up listening to rap music it was something that I was into growing up. I really liked listening to it and thought, “Hey I can do this too.” I’d see other people do it for fun and I’d be like I can do a little better than them let me see what I got.
You were in Colour Changing Click with Chamillionaire would you ever get back together as Colour Changing Click or do an album together as just Paul Wall and Chamillionaire?
Yeah I hope to do that that would be nice. I hope to do that one day.
So if you weren’t a rapper what do you think you’d be doing now?
I think I’d be a DJ because I love music so much.
And would you be a regular speed DJ as well as a Chop and Screw DJ?
Yeah fa sho and I’m a fool with it too especially when it comes to clubs I set the club off and get the club jumping!
As well as being a Rapper, Jeweller and DJ you also chop and screw music what equipment do you use to do that CDJ’s, Technics?
I use the CDJ’s I got the Technics 1200, I got the 1210’s I got the Serato jumping too so I stay active in what’s going on, whatever’s out I got to get with it.
What format do you find the easiest CD’s, Viynl or MP3’s?
Me personally I prefer the vinyl, old skool style. I guess maybe that’s just cause of how I was raised. My boy Ron C taught me how to DJ and that’s how I learned to DJ so that’s just what I prefer.
Was Chopping and Screwing something you wanted to do or was it because Ron C showed you how to do it and you just picked up on that?
It was just something I wanted to do I had a love for it and I wanted to try it out and figure out how to do it. Me and him were cool, so I kind of just picked up on it. Then after a while you know, me hanging around and picking up on little things here and there he just sat me down and just started teaching me little by little.
So what do you think makes a good Chop and Screw DJ?
Well you got to speak through the music you’ve got to let the music speak through you. I think that’s one of the main things. But other than that you just got to get in there and do your thing you know? Try and do the same old thing but at the same time maybe try and come up with something different, something new.
Texas is home of the SLAB! Or cars to my UK peeps! What Slabs have you got?
Yeah I got a few of ‘em all Cadillac’s of cause. I got a 91, a 77 Cadillac, I got a 76, I got a 71 and a 75. I got a couple of new ones too I got a new Escalade and a new GTS but all Cadillac’s I love Cadillac’s! That’s what I stay ridin’ that’s what I stay pushing. If you see me ridin’ in something it’s got to be a Cadillac baby!
Wow so what colours are they are they all Candy Painted?
Yeah all of them Candy. I got Brandy Wine over Grey, I got a Cobalt Blue over Gold you know we always try and come with some new colours every now and then. I got California Gold that one is off the chain! I just try and stay ahead of the game a little bit with the paint, make sure I got something fresh and something new that somebody else ain’t got.
Do you change the colours every so often?
Every now and then but I go through so many cars. I fix them up and I end up selling them to one of my homeboys. We do so many car shows I just end up selling them! So I go through them like crazy just from finding old beat up ones and fixing them up and turning them into masterpieces. Once I turn them into masterpieces I get tired of them and get rid of them and move onto something new!
So you take them to Car Shows and show them off?
Yeah fa sho! I got a couple of trophies too, first, second place trophies. I got a few of them just from different car shows that I put it in.
So, Paul which car is your favourite and why?
Ahh I think my favourite one is my 1976 Eldorado Convertible Cadillac it’s the one I have on my album cover “Get Money Stay True.” I think it’s my favourite one cause it’s one of the first ones I put together, it was a masterpiece from the start.
A new year is just around the corner what are your plans for next year after the release of “Fast Life”?
Same old routine for me just getting money staying true, hustling, grinding getting out there and stacking up paper how ever I can get it! I got my new album coming out February 24th I thinks that’s probably the main thing that I got going on next year. I got a clothing line too called “Expensive Taste” you can check the website http://www.igotexpensivetaste.com/ and that’s about it that’s what I got planned out for next year.
Have you dropped an Expensive Taste album yet with Travis Barker and Skinhead Rob?
We did a mixtape but we haven’t done an album yet. You can get the mixtape from http://www.skeetv.com/ it’s a free download.
Will you be dropping an album at all?
Nah not that I know of maybe when my contract is up with my record label right now but not till then.
Do you want to shout out your website addresses?
http://www.grillzbypaulwall.com/ for your Grillz for your Ice we ship out to Europe all the time so anybody out there trying to get a Grill and get Iced up holla at me we’ll take care of you, know what I’m talkin’ bout! Also I got http://www.igotexpensivetaste.com/ you can check that out and make sure you got to www.myspace.com/paulwall and check that out cause we got that in full effect.
Paul Wall thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this interview any last words or shout outs?
Yeah thank you for the love.
Interview by Jai Boo
Wassup what’s going down?
I’m doing fine how are you?
Ah man I’m cool I’m right here in the States right now just kicking it.
Paul Wall introduce yourself!
It’s Paul Wall baby “The People’s Champ” getting money and staying true, breaking all the haters off real bad!
Tell us where about in Houston are you from and what was it like growing up there?
I’m from the North West side of Houston but I really grew up all around the city, like all sides. It was like a different world to what I saw on TV you know what I’m saying? In Houston we got our own style so the things I saw on TV and even the music I heard on the radio wasn’t what I saw around me on a day to day basis.
Do you mean that musically on the TV there was mostly West Coast or East Coast Rap?
Yeah well you know on the radio they played mostly West Coast music and on MTV or BET they’d play East Coast music so when we listened to our own music it was mostly on the Screw tapes, the mixtapes that was how we heard our local Texas music and that’s what I grew up listening to.
What particular artists influenced you and made you want to start rapping?
Definitely UGK influenced me a lot and also my boy Lil Keke he's a real big influence on me.
Over the last year and a half you’ve been touring throughout the States and Europe with acts like Fall Out Boy, Tech N9ne, Ill Bill and now Marz on your Fast Life tour, while visiting these cities what has been the most memorable show for you so far?
It’s kind of like everywhere we go they show us a lot of love. Right now we’re in Columbus Ohio they’ve shown us a lot of love, we were in Indianapolis last night. I can’t really say which one was the most memorable, probably when I went to Italy just cause it was a different kind of place for me over there, it was memorable because it was somewhere I’ve never been before.
When you do a show in Europe do you find that the crowd response the same as a US crowd?
It’s a little bit different. Wherever Americans are living out there they always show up at your shows and come out and represent. We get a lot of Military too they come through and put it down with me. Wherever we go the local people always show us a lot of love, but yes it’s a little bit different. I think in the States we take Hip Hop for granted when I come to Europe I see they are real fans of Hip Hop but in America like I said we take it for granted.
Do you find the time to write when you’re on tour?
Yeah a little bit usually I write when I got to the studio but yeah I get the itch to write a little bit when I’m on tour.
You’ve got a new album coming out called “The Fast Life” when will that be coming out?
It’s comes out February 24th 2009.
You’ve got Akon on there and Chamillionaire, Lil Keke who else features on there?
Also on the album we got Yung Joc, Gorilla Zoe I got a new song with my boy Webbie called, “Bizzy Body” we’ve been pumpin’ it real hard and getting a lot of love from that.
Will you doing a video for that track?
Nah not yet we probably will end up doing one though.
What can we expect to hear on this album?
I got a lot of production with my homeboy Travis Braker he jumped down and did a lot of production with me we had a lot of fun in the studio. Also Beanz and Cornbread they’re some local guys form Houston they did a lot of production on there too. Other than that it’s the same raw parkin’ lot rap that I stick to you know? It’s straight hood stuff, we got some different stuff too that I haven’t done before. We had a lot of fun and I know people are gonna like it when they hear it.
For the people out here that may not know much about you, can you tell us how you got in the rap game?
I just grew up listening to rap music it was something that I was into growing up. I really liked listening to it and thought, “Hey I can do this too.” I’d see other people do it for fun and I’d be like I can do a little better than them let me see what I got.
You were in Colour Changing Click with Chamillionaire would you ever get back together as Colour Changing Click or do an album together as just Paul Wall and Chamillionaire?
Yeah I hope to do that that would be nice. I hope to do that one day.
So if you weren’t a rapper what do you think you’d be doing now?
I think I’d be a DJ because I love music so much.
And would you be a regular speed DJ as well as a Chop and Screw DJ?
Yeah fa sho and I’m a fool with it too especially when it comes to clubs I set the club off and get the club jumping!
As well as being a Rapper, Jeweller and DJ you also chop and screw music what equipment do you use to do that CDJ’s, Technics?
I use the CDJ’s I got the Technics 1200, I got the 1210’s I got the Serato jumping too so I stay active in what’s going on, whatever’s out I got to get with it.
What format do you find the easiest CD’s, Viynl or MP3’s?
Me personally I prefer the vinyl, old skool style. I guess maybe that’s just cause of how I was raised. My boy Ron C taught me how to DJ and that’s how I learned to DJ so that’s just what I prefer.
Was Chopping and Screwing something you wanted to do or was it because Ron C showed you how to do it and you just picked up on that?
It was just something I wanted to do I had a love for it and I wanted to try it out and figure out how to do it. Me and him were cool, so I kind of just picked up on it. Then after a while you know, me hanging around and picking up on little things here and there he just sat me down and just started teaching me little by little.
So what do you think makes a good Chop and Screw DJ?
Well you got to speak through the music you’ve got to let the music speak through you. I think that’s one of the main things. But other than that you just got to get in there and do your thing you know? Try and do the same old thing but at the same time maybe try and come up with something different, something new.
Texas is home of the SLAB! Or cars to my UK peeps! What Slabs have you got?
Yeah I got a few of ‘em all Cadillac’s of cause. I got a 91, a 77 Cadillac, I got a 76, I got a 71 and a 75. I got a couple of new ones too I got a new Escalade and a new GTS but all Cadillac’s I love Cadillac’s! That’s what I stay ridin’ that’s what I stay pushing. If you see me ridin’ in something it’s got to be a Cadillac baby!
Wow so what colours are they are they all Candy Painted?
Yeah all of them Candy. I got Brandy Wine over Grey, I got a Cobalt Blue over Gold you know we always try and come with some new colours every now and then. I got California Gold that one is off the chain! I just try and stay ahead of the game a little bit with the paint, make sure I got something fresh and something new that somebody else ain’t got.
Do you change the colours every so often?
Every now and then but I go through so many cars. I fix them up and I end up selling them to one of my homeboys. We do so many car shows I just end up selling them! So I go through them like crazy just from finding old beat up ones and fixing them up and turning them into masterpieces. Once I turn them into masterpieces I get tired of them and get rid of them and move onto something new!
So you take them to Car Shows and show them off?
Yeah fa sho! I got a couple of trophies too, first, second place trophies. I got a few of them just from different car shows that I put it in.
So, Paul which car is your favourite and why?
Ahh I think my favourite one is my 1976 Eldorado Convertible Cadillac it’s the one I have on my album cover “Get Money Stay True.” I think it’s my favourite one cause it’s one of the first ones I put together, it was a masterpiece from the start.
A new year is just around the corner what are your plans for next year after the release of “Fast Life”?
Same old routine for me just getting money staying true, hustling, grinding getting out there and stacking up paper how ever I can get it! I got my new album coming out February 24th I thinks that’s probably the main thing that I got going on next year. I got a clothing line too called “Expensive Taste” you can check the website http://www.igotexpensivetaste.com/ and that’s about it that’s what I got planned out for next year.
Have you dropped an Expensive Taste album yet with Travis Barker and Skinhead Rob?
We did a mixtape but we haven’t done an album yet. You can get the mixtape from http://www.skeetv.com/ it’s a free download.
Will you be dropping an album at all?
Nah not that I know of maybe when my contract is up with my record label right now but not till then.
Do you want to shout out your website addresses?
http://www.grillzbypaulwall.com/ for your Grillz for your Ice we ship out to Europe all the time so anybody out there trying to get a Grill and get Iced up holla at me we’ll take care of you, know what I’m talkin’ bout! Also I got http://www.igotexpensivetaste.com/ you can check that out and make sure you got to www.myspace.com/paulwall and check that out cause we got that in full effect.
Paul Wall thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this interview any last words or shout outs?
Yeah thank you for the love.
Interview by Jai Boo
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)