Big Mike on Death Row, Rap-A-Lot & Being A Geto Boy

On this episode we have a convo with former Rap-A-Lot recording artist Big Mike. We talk about his time with Death Row records, his experience with Suge Knight, Recording with the late Lord 3-2 and joining the Geto Boy's.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Against the Chronic goals. This is not your average shows.

(00:04):
You're now tuned into the rail.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
The Streets. Welcome to the gainst the Chronicles podcast, the
production of iHeart Radio and Black Effect podcast Network. Make
sure you download the iHeart app and subscribe to Against
the Chronicles. For my Apple users, hit the Purple Michael
your front screen subscribed Against the Chronicles, leave a five

(00:30):
start rating and comment what.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
Your father did or you know, I know my father
was in the Navy and whatever whatever. Uh, But by
the time you know, my generation rolled around, I guess
you could say those choices that they presented to your
dad's and your grandfathers were looked at in different lights

(00:59):
coming from when I first stepped off the porch, You
get me right, You know, of course, you know, of
course it was sports. You know, our niggas could play
sports type of ship. And then you know, I guess
in our father's days it was like nigga go to
the military.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
You found me.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
That was frowned upon when we was coming up as kids.

Speaker 3 (01:27):
You get uh, right, And and I don't know, you know,
some of us probably tried to make those choices. Who knows,
Before you know, you got introduced to what we talking
about right now, the street life. Once you got introduced

(01:51):
as far as our generation is concerned, once the street
life was sent it to me, I thought that was
the life choice, get me going to the military or
trying to play sports. You know, after high school it
was like man ship like like like did niggas feel

(02:14):
educated enough to try something else? Or was it the
was it was it that that life style out back
the end of introduction in the eighties and the seventies
of the drugs and the life and the money and all.
Did that sway of nigga's options. You feel me because
I think, you know, I'm a product of that.

Speaker 4 (02:35):
You know, at the high school played sports, but but.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
Then the streets too, you feel me.

Speaker 4 (02:44):
And no, maybe just kind of lean towards the streets
too much and couldn't make up that lost time, you
know what I'm saying. But yeah, definitely coming out of
coming out of out of the low income situations and
things like that. You know, we was out there taking chances,

(03:06):
and we was trying to get us some money, some
immediate money. So a lot of cats went to the
streets to get that immediate money.

Speaker 1 (03:15):
Some cats was patient.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
You feel me.

Speaker 4 (03:18):
They saw the school thing through, you know what I mean,
stuff whatever recreational situation they was in, whether football, basketball,
whatever the arts.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
But I think it's just a situation.

Speaker 4 (03:32):
I just think it's about, you know, if your draw
to the streets, you feel me, and then just.

Speaker 1 (03:39):
Being young and making them decisions.

Speaker 4 (03:41):
On your own like that, were not realizing how young
we is in our own head. We think we're grown.
You feel me, and it's not making the right choice.
And we see that now. But back then, you know,
nigga was bro good luck fam.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
Yeah, you know what you talk about. One time, Me
and you was rapping the other day, man, and uh,
I think people have this idea that when you were
a rapper, when you signed a contract, you riched off
the bat and you was telling me a story about
how your moms had called you. You was out here
in California messing with death Row, and your moms had
called you because they was about to kick her off
the call the projects and she needed some money.

Speaker 1 (04:23):
Oh yeah, yeah, definitely.

Speaker 4 (04:26):
This was on around the time when Men with Me
and three two we was we had came out there,
We're about to do the thing with death Row. But
we had just got there, so business wasn't handled, but
nothing like that. We we had probably just arrived, man,
I don't know. I think we was there probably about
a week or so. And I went to Sugar's office

(04:46):
to call my mom. Actually, can I use the phone?
He was like, yeah, you know, make the long distance call.
So I called my mama and shit, and she.

Speaker 2 (04:54):
Was on the phone.

Speaker 1 (04:55):
She was telling me she was she was in distress,
and she was like.

Speaker 4 (04:58):
Man, I need some money right And I'm like, damn,
I ain't got no money right now. I just got
out here with these folks. We ain't handle no business yet,
you feel me. I'm like, what's going on?

Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (05:09):
Man, they about the victims out the project. We're standing
in the project at the time. I'm the oldest side
of nine kids, so the rest of the kids was
in the house.

Speaker 1 (05:17):
I think one of my sisters.

Speaker 4 (05:18):
My sister was probably in Houston at the time, but
this was day my mom was in New Orleans and
mal Man, I'm hurt. I can't help my mom, you
know what I mean. I'm sharing a few tears. She'll
walk back in the office. He seen me on the
phone shearing tears.

Speaker 2 (05:34):
He was like, who that is?

Speaker 4 (05:35):
I say, man, it's my mama. And he was like
he got just got the phone for me, told me
to wait outside. Came back outside. He was like, man,
we finna get ready to go out. And I was like, well,
my mama had. He was like, she's gonna call you tomorrow.
Come back up here. She's gonna call you up here tomorrow.
So the next day I had came up there, my
mom called up there and she was.

Speaker 1 (05:54):
Like, Hey, tell your friend. I say thank you, I
say what happened? She was like, yeah, send me five
thousand dollars. We about to move.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
You feel me?

Speaker 4 (06:01):
And like, I say, five thousand dollars at that time,
that was probably the most money my mamad held in
her hand at one time.

Speaker 1 (06:07):
You feel me right now.

Speaker 4 (06:09):
It wasn't enough to go buy no house, right but
went from the projects to a nice rent house. You
did what I'm saying, So I'll never forget that gesture
right there.

Speaker 2 (06:18):
I never get that, you know what. I'm glad you
said that, man, because that's one thing I want to say.
Everybody always talk about the bad stuff that should did it.
Should did a game of that shit too.

Speaker 4 (06:31):
I can't, at least my testimony, you feel me about
that incident. Yeah, that was real right there. That was
real right there. You know what I mean. I didn't
been in situations you know what I'm saying, Well, a
motherfucker would probably try to take advantage of me in
that situation. You feel me, right, Let you write a
couple of songs, man, and you know what I mean?

(06:53):
This and that, this and that you feel me? The
man did it. He ain't even asked for it back.
I had just got there, So I thought that was real.
I thought that was real. That was one of the
one of the realist gestures that that that that I
was able to have the benefit you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (07:10):
The scene, Yeah, that was a crucial period. Man, yo
shoot yo was coming up. That was just like the
dawn against the rep.

Speaker 4 (07:23):
The light had already started shining, but it was still
kind of early.

Speaker 2 (07:30):
What year was that? What year was that?

Speaker 1 (07:33):
I think this was probably like this had to be
like ninety one and ninety two, ninety one, Yeah.

Speaker 3 (07:43):
Yeah, yeah, I remember when y'all first came out this way. Yeah,
they was, and she was around all that then. Yeah,
I was around then. It was around I had an
association and with you know, with through one of the

(08:04):
producers unknown Yeah, used to work on our music. He
was also in Incahoops with trying to I guess get
some work for him and slip over at death Ro,
you know, with knowing Dre and the history of Prey
and the record crew. A non came from that era,

(08:26):
you know know heja techno hop. You know, it's where
I got my start. Dudes like King T and so forth.
I tea so a known was around me and and
uh that's how I sort of like the death Ro
name came about, because you know, a known I think

(08:47):
should with the name. Whatever the history is about that.
We all sat down and thought of the name and
it was felt differently and whatever. Anyway, Uh, yeah, he
was over there as a producer, and that's how we
got to know that big mic and three two came
out Texas and Louisiana, uh, and was on Uh it

(09:11):
was supposed to be the Fluge project on Death Row
if if I'm not mistaken.

Speaker 1 (09:17):
Right, Yeah, we knew about you, about.

Speaker 3 (09:21):
The apartment and everything. I knew about all that ship man. Yeah,
because like I said, no one used to go up
there and uh, you know he's he was supposedly be
doing work in music for Sugar and them.

Speaker 4 (09:33):
So just because he was working on the convicts app
him and Big Slip mm hmm, there was. We was
we started off grinding with them. Yeah, we had did
and we did a handful of songs. I remember Slip
had then the first version to own Straight Gangsterism M
that wegains I got man. I wish I had a

(09:56):
copy of that, but he did. Yeah, and Unknown he
was putting it down too.

Speaker 2 (10:01):
Yeah, it was a record winding records.

Speaker 1 (10:07):
No, man, we would have to get that Slip for
that record right there. Yeah, Slip had that ship man
Slip did.

Speaker 2 (10:19):
Man got out. That's crazy. So you was out here,
so that means you was working with Snoop and all them,
d o C and all the other cats.

Speaker 4 (10:30):
Yep, yep, d C was there, Rage who most of
the you know, the useful suspects.

Speaker 2 (10:39):
Uh, it was. It was.

Speaker 1 (10:41):
It was a heck of experience bro.

Speaker 4 (10:43):
Us coming out there, being out in California like that
for the first time in the presence of people that
we was listening to, you know what I mean, Doctor
dray d o Ce, you feel me. We wanted we
got eight up here We're seeing. It was just like
you know, the Texas we fucked with the West Coast
heavy back then.

Speaker 2 (11:04):
You feel me.

Speaker 4 (11:05):
They go ask youngsters right now, you know they it's
really about your location now, you feel me, Jack, Yeah,
we've rolled with the West Coast heavy back then. So
to be able to come meet these guys, man, it
was just like a dream come true. It was it was,
it was, it was, it was. It was a hell
of a high. I ain't gonna lie it was. It

(11:27):
was a time for me in three two.

Speaker 2 (11:30):
That's crazy, man. So nineteen ninety one, shoot, I don't
even know. I'm trying to think who was out she
would have drop the record, but then huh by that point,
h yeah, yeah, check yeah.

Speaker 3 (11:45):
I was on my second album around ninety one. Ninety two.

Speaker 2 (11:50):
Yeah, that's crazy.

Speaker 1 (11:51):
We'll drop We'll dropped the accomptant thing. And then I just.

Speaker 3 (11:57):
Dropped ninety two ropped, uh straight checking them with growing up.

Speaker 1 (12:03):
In the thing in the apartment, man, man, bang it
on them trainks smoking that cat, We banging it. But yeah,
it was. It was a cool time, man.

Speaker 4 (12:17):
I wish we would have had the opportunity to see
the project all the way through, you feel me. But
things happened. I got presented with an opportunity, you know
what I mean. And it happened around the time when
like production kind of slowed down on the Convicts thing,
right because it was other things going on at the label.
You feel me, and I had already had responsibilities by then,

(12:40):
you feel me. So I was I was like, I
was kind of like on the clock. I needed to
get get in the situation. I need to release some music,
you know what I mean. So another situation, the Ghetto
Boys situation had came. It took me a second. I
didn't jump on it right away. I pondered it for
a while, and you know, decided to go that route

(13:02):
kind of worked out from a little bit though I
would have thought about it more in hindsight, you did
what I'm saying, But yeah, that's what.

Speaker 2 (13:11):
We were doing.

Speaker 1 (13:15):
I'm sorry, ahead, Yeah, I'm sorry. Had you and three two?

Speaker 2 (13:20):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (13:21):
Had you and three two had done music together?

Speaker 3 (13:24):
And and how were y'all presented the death row situation?
Basically being from being from where y'all were, who convinced
y'all to come to Cali and try out the death
row situation?

Speaker 1 (13:39):
Ah Man, So me and three two we had.

Speaker 4 (13:45):
We was introduced to each other by the label right.

Speaker 2 (13:49):
Well, yeah, I rapped a lot, right.

Speaker 4 (13:51):
They had this the the convicts concept right that they
was they was putting together. So I was a solo
artist and me and Tony Draper, Me and Toni Draper,
we had worked at restaurant together, right.

Speaker 2 (14:10):
So.

Speaker 1 (14:13):
We would go we would go to the studio.

Speaker 4 (14:15):
Bro he would put he would take money out of
his check put getting the studio.

Speaker 2 (14:20):
I'll do the.

Speaker 4 (14:21):
Same, and it was gonna be me and him and
the demos that we was making.

Speaker 1 (14:31):
Through Tony. They got over there to rap a lot, right.

Speaker 2 (14:34):
So once.

Speaker 4 (14:36):
Once Jay had heard it, he probably wanted to have
a meeting and he was like, look, I see what
y'all doing. Right, We got this situation over here with
the convicts. If you help me with this, then I'm
gonna help y'all. You feel me, right, what you're doing,
you feel me? So I looked at it, you know,
tall about any things, and it led up to us

(14:57):
doing that. So that's how me and three two had
got into to each other, right, But it was automatic
once we had met each other, it was automatic. We
just clicked and so we have recorded the convicts album
before right before we had came out there, the Convicts
album was released. I think it was out. I don't
even think it was out a whole year whatnot. But depending,

(15:18):
it's all about who you ask. I know, people got
different stories. But I one day I know how. I
later found out the end the workings of the whole
move once I got to California, right, But really it
was like one day, man, they just hit us and
was like, y'all going to California?

Speaker 2 (15:40):
Were young? You feel me?

Speaker 4 (15:42):
Why what I'm saying, let's go? Yeah, I was, man,
And it was like the next day we had flew out. Nigga,
ain't even have no clothes and ship you feel me?
Motherfucker just caught out. But yeah, it was, it was,
it was, it was.

Speaker 1 (15:58):
It was a few people in off in that in
that whole move, but I just can't.

Speaker 2 (16:05):
Here around at that time.

Speaker 4 (16:07):
Tom was here, you are round at the time, but
we would talk to him on the phone. Why you
have yo, We would talk to him on the phone.

Speaker 1 (16:18):
I don't know. I know we was requested. So I'm trying.
I'm trying to go back, man and run it all down, right.

Speaker 2 (16:28):
I know what you're doing.

Speaker 1 (16:31):
It's a lot to it. Yeah, but it's a lot
to it. It was a lot to it.

Speaker 4 (16:36):
But it was a situation with Harry Yo and and
Jay m hm. It was a situation with them and
and that's in in in from my understanding.

Speaker 1 (16:50):
At first, that's what led to us going down there.

Speaker 4 (16:55):
You know, they was doing the death rope thing, and
they was like the convicts on death Row, they thought
it'd be a good move, and that's how we had
wound up going down there. But like I say, it's
a whole lot of other things that had came to
light later on, right, and I was able to put
the pieces together and see the whole in the workers

(17:15):
of it.

Speaker 1 (17:16):
But it'll take a long ass time.

Speaker 4 (17:18):
But in short, right, it was it was talks between
Harry Yo and Jay that that led to it. But
I think it was a collective you know, with with
with with with with the heads over there at death
Row about making a move and and climbering about us, right.
But I think because Harry Yo and Jay probably had

(17:41):
a relationship, right, he was the one that instigated it,
you did.

Speaker 2 (17:47):
So yeah, yeah, that's crazy, man, That's kind of like
and that's history. People don't never talk about because you
would have never thought of you know, Big Michael Lord
three two was at Death Row.

Speaker 4 (17:57):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, we was. We was there. We
had man, we was having fun. Man, We was turning
on me new people.

Speaker 2 (18:03):
Man.

Speaker 1 (18:03):
We learned a lot down there.

Speaker 4 (18:05):
You know, we left, We left our mark down there, right,
And I just wish that we was able to see
it through right and finish the whole thing up. But
you know, things happened like they happened. You can't you
can't live with regrets, right. We was able to go
back home and still put the match down.

Speaker 2 (18:22):
You know.

Speaker 4 (18:23):
But yeah, man, it would have been lovely. We was
able to release that Convicts record on death Bro. It
would have been super dope.

Speaker 2 (18:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (18:31):
Yeah, we had with Warren g one G.

Speaker 2 (18:35):
We had.

Speaker 1 (18:36):
We had the song on that motherful with Snoop.

Speaker 2 (18:38):
Man.

Speaker 1 (18:38):
It was early in the game.

Speaker 4 (18:39):
But I know that that one is released on It's
it's floating around there on line. It's called playing for Keeps. Yeah,
we Snooped three two one G on the track. Yeah,
but it was it was early production though, but that
one is out came from good to hear it after
so many years.

Speaker 2 (18:59):
Man. Warren used to do a lot of sampling back then.

Speaker 4 (19:06):
Everybody was sampling back then. Oh yeah, definitely, the just
sampling back then. It wasn't just samplings. Niggas was able
to chop them up, you feel me, But niggas was
sampling was still keen back then.

Speaker 2 (19:21):
Well yeah, like a mother. It seemed like that sh
it is a lost or. But you know what when
you went back down there to to wrap a up,
was the Ghetto Boys offer a life changeing situation.

Speaker 4 (19:40):
In a sense, right, I mean to the point like, Okay,
the Ghetto Boys had already was making strides, right, they
had already you know, especially down in age time, right,
and to come back and pay for the hometown team,
I guess it would become like the equipment of a

(20:01):
homegrown product getting drafted and playing for the Texans up
playing for the Rockets.

Speaker 2 (20:06):
Right.

Speaker 1 (20:07):
That's how That's how I.

Speaker 2 (20:08):
Have felt about it, you know.

Speaker 4 (20:11):
But yeah, it was it was an exciting time, you know,
the anticipation about it and everything.

Speaker 1 (20:18):
But yeah, that's how that's how I felt about it.

Speaker 4 (20:21):
You know, I try to look at it like that,
and and you know, I know at home it was
well received. I don't know, some people say you know,
you know they like the inner ration that Ghetto Boys
were just really deep. Wish we can scar face. I
could dig that too, But the Ghetto Boys was always
like like like a franchise, right players, players leave you

(20:46):
bringing more players, you feel me, And it was always
like that. But for me, I was able to get
my name out there. It led to me being in
a position to drop my solo records. You feel me,
to embark upon my solo career. So I used the
opportunity to the best.

Speaker 2 (21:05):
So yeah, So at the completion of the Ghetto Boys album,
you're like, hey, man, I want to offer you a
solo deal for your services or yeah alreadyod or he came,
he came, you have to get a boys out.

Speaker 3 (21:19):
And before you answer that question, Jay was behind the
Death Row record. So what made him go, no, fuck that,
come over here and do this Ghetto Boys record?

Speaker 1 (21:33):
Say that again.

Speaker 3 (21:34):
So Jay was in support of y'all as the convicts,
going to get on the row and do a project
over there. Yeah, why did he turn around and go
fuck that, come back home and do this Ghetto Boys project?

Speaker 4 (21:51):
He didn't, he is he didn't say, he wasn't like
fuck that, right, not in that sense, But it was
separate fe okay, getting it wasn't yeah, continuing on me
still performing or releasing the project with the convicts?

Speaker 2 (22:08):
Right? But was it was? It?

Speaker 3 (22:12):
Was it the fact that the Convicts project on death
Row wasn't taken off fast enough? No? No, Is that
what made you go back home and say fuck that?
Or was it just I didn't really say for but
that's what made me go back home? Like I said,
I had already had had a couple.

Speaker 4 (22:32):
Of children, right, so I had I had responsibilities.

Speaker 1 (22:35):
I didn't, you know, I wasn't.

Speaker 2 (22:36):
I didn't.

Speaker 4 (22:37):
I didn't have the luxury of just hanging around and
not being productive, you feel me? For a year, a
year or two or whatnot. You know, I was trying
to get in motion. So when the opportunity came, I
guess when Willie D had left the group, and you
know they probably took self inventory, right honestly, Right, if

(23:00):
you're a CEO, you're gonna look round the label and
be like, you know, who else can I get to
fit the trio?

Speaker 2 (23:06):
Right?

Speaker 4 (23:06):
Because that's how the Ghetto Boys were operated, right? So
my name, you know, it came to me, you feel me,
it came to me. They hit me up when we
was in La. Like I said, I didn't jump on
it right away. I had thought about it. But then
when things exactly like you said, when things had to

(23:28):
when the production slowed down on the basically came to
a hope on the Convicts project, right, I was like,
I had to do what I had to do. If
the Crime Convicts Project was still moving, who knows, who
knows what I would have done, right, But it wasn't.
So then I get the opportunity to go back home

(23:49):
and play with the home team.

Speaker 1 (23:51):
It was, it was, it was, it was, It seemed
it was the right move at the time.

Speaker 2 (23:56):
You feel me, it was lower three two salty.

Speaker 1 (24:02):
I don't. I don't. I don't. I wouldn't say he
was Sautsi. He wasn't saut Sea.

Speaker 2 (24:08):
Yeah, think about it like this. He had you know,
he over a death row and got a situation. Ain't
nobody called him to come join the group. You feel
what I'm saying? So you leave that kind of shorten
his situation out, didn't it.

Speaker 4 (24:21):
Free Too was already gone before I had left some
three twos. He had already went back went back to
Houston before I had that.

Speaker 2 (24:31):
Wasn't the same thing. The records was taking too long.

Speaker 4 (24:34):
So it was on that Ghetto Boys album He's on
straight Gangsterism Altham. He he wasn't South and he was family.
It was it was it wasn't like that.

Speaker 1 (24:43):
We knew if if one of us get there, then
all of us get there. He did what I'm saying,
So it was it wasn't like that whatsoever.

Speaker 2 (24:52):
Yeah, that makes sense. If he was, especially if he
was gone already, he probably wouldn't.

Speaker 3 (24:56):
Trust there was It was their other work going on
a death row that was taking precedent over the convicts
record is why it slowed down.

Speaker 4 (25:07):
So when we got there, of course dra was already
They was already formulated the chronate, right, So I think
they had justin did the deep cover soundtrack right, putting
together the chronic.

Speaker 1 (25:24):
When Slope was able to be on deck right once.

Speaker 4 (25:28):
He was on deck, then I think they just went
full ahead with that, you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (25:36):
And that's understandable, right, So I was gonna have a.

Speaker 4 (25:40):
Song of mine gonna be on there anyway, mister Officer
was gonna be on there. Later I found out Drake
had wanted to record that straight gangster rhythm, right, But
I was always I was already in the process of
recording with the Ghetto Boys, so I had bought those
songs over there, and but let me see, not to

(26:02):
get off track, but hit me with that that last
part of that question again, like like, like I said,
was there other records that were taking more precedent.

Speaker 3 (26:19):
Over I was, Yeah. How many songs would you say?
Y'all was deep into the Convicts record? Man, we probably like, like, well, damn,
like when you start noticing shit was slowing down?

Speaker 1 (26:34):
Mm hmm. Man, we probably had to record it like.

Speaker 4 (26:41):
Maybe like four or five, like five songs between Slip
and Unknown, right, and then we had the one from
Warrant g So that's probably like six songs right there, right.
How many songs was we putting on the album back then,
ten or twelve? About ten about ten, Yeah, so I
would say we was half played, right, but it was

(27:02):
our pre production, right, it was reproduction, and then things
had kind of slowed down. It was the incident that
happened after things had slowed down that that Unknown was
involved in. Yeah, we tried to We went back to
work with her normal a little bit after that, but
things had kind of slowed down because.

Speaker 2 (27:25):
What was the incident? Huh, who was the incident?

Speaker 1 (27:29):
He got, he.

Speaker 4 (27:31):
Got touched up, he got he got to Yeah, he
came to the studio with us one night and it's
darkest fucking the studio where you know, back then this.

Speaker 1 (27:43):
Bitch black and this like, Nigga, why you got some
goodnesses on?

Speaker 3 (27:49):
Because we just kept we like, just why is this
nigga win something like Okay, maybe he like you standing
there for five minutes or so and you ain't trip,
but we've been in here for about thirty minutes.

Speaker 1 (28:00):
Nigga, This nigga still got his sunglasses.

Speaker 2 (28:03):
Yeah, nigga, what the.

Speaker 3 (28:05):
Fuck is going on? And Nigga pulled them glasses off.
Nigga boom.

Speaker 4 (28:11):
Yeah, man, I think it was behind, like the production
had slowed down. I was, and we were like, hey,
we ain't been to the studio.

Speaker 3 (28:23):
This is exactly what was was told because Slip was
a part of that, right.

Speaker 2 (28:31):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (28:32):
From what I heard was he went and got some
money from sug to start production on the Compix project.
But in the midst of that, Slip was working on
music to drive by with me. So Sugar is requesting

(28:54):
these beats Nigga even took my money, so where's the beats?
Anne kept putting it off, like, well, you know, I'm
busy working on h record.

Speaker 4 (29:06):
And once he heard that, Nigga okay, see I heard yeah,
you're probably right right because I thought it was because
the production had slowed down. Because it probably because when
sug had asked me, I was like, should we ain't
been to the studio? You know, and he was like,
on who y'all been working with? I was like, man,

(29:28):
we was working with Unknown with with slip and he
was like, don't worry about it. I take care of it.
Oh yeah, he took care of it.

Speaker 2 (29:35):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (29:35):
And then one day when Unknown popped up we was
going to the studio, he had them sunglasses on. Yes, yeah,
he wearing them sunglasses for a minute, and when he
got to his house, got to his studio, Bo took
the sunglasses off. And that's when we found out what
had happened. I kind of I was like, damn. I
kind of felt bad because I thought it was because

(29:58):
I had told him we ain't been to the studio, right, Yeah,
But Mike, basically because it's one of those things when
you ride and high, right, you know, we was having
a little success, and when they was working on that album,

(30:19):
because it was three two, we would be privy to
some of the songs I was working on. Remember that intro,
that figure a intro I came up with that.

Speaker 2 (30:30):
Yeah, yeah, Hey.

Speaker 4 (30:32):
We was like, oh, we couldn't believe we was here
and this ship.

Speaker 1 (30:37):
You feel me? But shout out the slipped and shot
out the unknown.

Speaker 4 (30:40):
I wasn't laughing at his situation, right, I was just
recalling everything. But the brothers were still good brothers, you
know what I mean. I enjoyed working with them cats.
You know, I learned from everybody that be around, so
I was definitely I definitely.

Speaker 1 (30:55):
Picked up on some things and learned some things.

Speaker 4 (30:58):
Man, and getting down over at West Coast Production, that
really helped my float, You feel me? My float was
already ready in the right direction, but that really helped
refine it. You did, know what I'm saying?

Speaker 2 (31:10):
Like you a good nigga dog.

Speaker 4 (31:13):
Even though we didn't get to finish the project and
stuff out there, I still learned some things right and
was able to, you know, you know, upgrade my game
a little bit from being just from being down there.

Speaker 1 (31:29):
You know what I'm saying so.

Speaker 3 (31:31):
But yeah, and sometimes when you're around other you know,
when you're around other greatness in the make and you know,
it just makes you refined and polished. Not that shit
as a competition, but you know, being around motherfuckers who
you feel have already set the tone for being you

(31:51):
know great. You know, like, yeah, Dre was one of
the motherfuckers. You know, Slip was one of the motherfuckers.
Then being able to able to hang around you know,
the Snoops in the in the Warren Gee's too, you know.

Speaker 1 (32:08):
You know at the apartment.

Speaker 2 (32:10):
Yeah, over there, you.

Speaker 3 (32:11):
Feel me because y'all already, like I said, y'all were
y'all were looked upon as some great niggas already so
being because y'all were the first ones to represent a
California West Coast label coming from Texas. You know how
niggas felt about the Convicts early projects. You feel ready

(32:34):
rest in peace my nigga three too. Funny, motherfucker.

Speaker 2 (32:41):
Mike when they did put when they did put the
three to the Convicts album out right, did they put
a lot of promotion on that or was it just
something that just kind of popped up?

Speaker 4 (32:52):
No? No, no, they just they put it out there.
We had we had little promotion, you know what I mean,
But it wasn't like no major roll out or nothing
like that. You had to be a deep uh rap,
a lot records connoisseur, you know, as far as the
convicts is concerned. You have to be a real nigga

(33:16):
who appreciated underground hip hop. You know what I'm saying, Because,
like you said, y'all didn't get there, and I felt
like I was in that same boat.

Speaker 3 (33:25):
A lot of us got mediocre motion because niggas really
didn't know what to do with us. You feel me,
you know, you have attention, You feel me. It that's valuable, right,
motherfucker said.

Speaker 4 (33:42):
Damn, I ain't even putting no money behind this ship,
but they making noise. Yeah, it's you know, some people
get it up front. Some people got to grind a
little bit more.

Speaker 3 (33:54):
Right, But you know, yeah, that's the That's the motto
I tell my son today.

Speaker 1 (34:00):
Like some some niggas get it like you'd be.

Speaker 3 (34:02):
Like god, damn, like damn, that was fast, and then
you look at itself and be like, Nigga, I've been
grinding for a long time, But hey, fuck it. Sometimes
it's just the way the route you have to go.
Fuck it sometimes it's just like that, you know.

Speaker 2 (34:18):
Y'all wound up doing a couple hundred thousand copies of
the album nont you know.

Speaker 1 (34:24):
On the Convicts album. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, the Convince
getting around.

Speaker 2 (34:32):
Back in the days.

Speaker 3 (34:33):
So that was a pre that was that was appreciated
back in those days.

Speaker 2 (34:38):
Though.

Speaker 3 (34:38):
In those early hip hop days, you could sell two
hundred three hundred thousand. Yeah, motherfucker, look at you like
you know, okay, you know that was that was. You know,
ship nowadays? Ship you you can't. You ain't pushing triple billion, nigga,
you ain't ship?

Speaker 1 (34:58):
Yeah, wea nowadays?

Speaker 2 (35:02):
You know, then it's two hundred thousand. And that was
a lot of money back then, because you gotta remember, man,
I had a record store. Labels was getting anywhere between
sixty seven dollars back then. Man, you know, put that
up man it you know it made about one point
five two million, yeah off that album, you know what

(35:23):
I'm saying.

Speaker 3 (35:24):
Yeah, that's been changed now when you're collecting about what
sixty seventy cents? You know the point then point nigga,
don't know a point of seven cents and ship. So nigga,
you getting motherfucking you're getting. You're getting what eighty nine
points in the album? Nigga, you look up there, that
ship add up to about a couple of cents. Then

(35:44):
you're turning around and they charging you for every stamp,
every phone call, every fucking promo tour. You think like, oh, goddamn,
I just sold half a million records. Niggat fit to be.
They like, no, no, no, now they made money. But
them motherfuckers turn around and go, nigga, oh, your budget

(36:04):
was what two point fifty? Your videos added up to
about another two seventy five, your pro one hundred.

Speaker 1 (36:13):
Really you owe us out of that?

Speaker 3 (36:16):
What out of that eighty six cents you getting, you
owe us about motherfucking eight hundred and something thousands and shit.
So you like, huh, but it just made thirty million dollars, Nigga,
you owe us eight hundred and ninety thousand and some
change out of that seventy two getting clazy nigga never recouping,

(36:40):
and then the motherfucker turned around next year, go here,
go another twoft give us another record you got with
you nicking up advances in that show Gotta eat off that.

Speaker 1 (36:52):
That's how you gotta live.

Speaker 3 (36:53):
You gotta figure right away, like Homa, get my shit recorded,
beat all that shit with this budget, and put some
of this money in my pocket because I'm never gonna
see a royalty check off of this project.

Speaker 1 (37:06):
Never.

Speaker 2 (37:07):
Never.

Speaker 3 (37:08):
I don't give a fuck. I gonna sell two million
copies and motherfucking make them about forty fifty million. I
still owe these niggas three millions. I have provided you
with a real budget. Yeah, I don't put out two records,
and I'm still in the red three million, and that's
got to come out of seventy two cents.

Speaker 4 (37:29):
Like like to learn, but you learn not to ask
for so much shit next time.

Speaker 1 (37:35):
Right, I don't.

Speaker 4 (37:37):
I don't need this this city, going to work with
producer this and that. Yeah, fucking ads and the magazines,
fuck all that shit, man. Right about now, I just
want to go off a world of mouth for the streets,
fucking because y'all charging a nigga for.

Speaker 1 (37:54):
Every game everything heighty they feel like they got to
get get back.

Speaker 2 (38:01):
Keep in mind, not only are they connected collecting everything
back out your seventy two cents, but they probably an't
already made anywhere for one and a half to seven
eight million dollars already, just just already, and they still
charge your game.

Speaker 3 (38:16):
You sell them, You sell the motherfucking million copies for them.
They they've done made some money because.

Speaker 4 (38:24):
What some of them how many seven dollars album?

Speaker 2 (38:31):
Yeah, that's thirty five million dollars album?

Speaker 1 (38:34):
What some of them flipping? What nine ninety nine?

Speaker 3 (38:36):
At the motherfucking one stops, they sending them up fourteen
dollars thirteen.

Speaker 2 (38:45):
Up?

Speaker 1 (38:46):
They steal some of that, gangster Yeah, that's straight right there.
I just do. Going into One Stops, nigga, I'm like,
who album is out? Oh?

Speaker 3 (38:57):
Yeah, let me get that, Let me get that one,
Let me get that one, Let me get that one. Yeah,
go to the label, fucking anybody who was on the label, nigga.
I'm going shopping, nigga. That's how I get all my music.
Fuck ghet up the label, going there?

Speaker 1 (39:12):
Whose record out?

Speaker 2 (39:13):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (39:13):
Michael Jackson's record out? Yeah, let me get one of
them for days? Who else is out?

Speaker 2 (39:19):
So?

Speaker 3 (39:20):
Yeah, because you ain't fing to see nothing, you better
be smart and be able to budget that motherfucking advance
they give you.

Speaker 1 (39:28):
Stick some of that, stretch it out.

Speaker 4 (39:31):
But then you know, you was able to get some
money to get your published in right, and then after
a while, you know them raw teas to catch up
a little bit.

Speaker 3 (39:39):
Right, but when you start figuring out the game, because
just say, yeah, at least some of us as artists
came in this game young and uh, it's it's fortunate
now that a lot of artists are able to to
gain from that having the knowledge of of what we

(40:00):
had to go through because we was getting.

Speaker 1 (40:03):
The game young, you was gonna get skinned.

Speaker 3 (40:05):
Up published, Nigga, that Nigga published, Nigga, I thought you
just get a check for I thoughn't you just get
a check.

Speaker 1 (40:18):
On the album covers?

Speaker 2 (40:20):
And ship?

Speaker 1 (40:21):
I'm like, what about being on the album covered? Check?

Speaker 3 (40:24):
At you know what I'm saying that it's publishing and
did you get your mechanicals?

Speaker 1 (40:28):
And you're like, what the fuck is that you?

Speaker 3 (40:31):
We didn't. We didn't know that. We weren't able to
figure that ship out until later on down our lives
and our careers and shipping. Unfortunately, you know, there's some
motherfuckers out there still eating off your work because you know,
you write, you you wrote the songs, you did the music.

Speaker 1 (40:48):
You know.

Speaker 3 (40:51):
It's just that we came from that era that certain
niggas felt like they deserved that more than you, and
you the motherfucker who produced that situation. You know, a
beat you might have undead, or a verse you might
have wrote. Now youvene wrote every fucking verse on your
album and you look up in somebody else's claiming the

(41:11):
publishing on it.

Speaker 1 (41:12):
You know, I should even hit you to the game.

Speaker 2 (41:16):
You feel me I'm a hit you know, But.

Speaker 1 (41:21):
I don't know. Let me ask you this eight.

Speaker 4 (41:25):
If you was in a position back in the days
to be a CEO, right, you win the head, You
wasn't behind the mic, right right?

Speaker 2 (41:35):
Right?

Speaker 1 (41:36):
You got young, it's got some talent, you sign them
on up. You gonna hit him to the game, or
you're gonna let him learn through trial and error.

Speaker 3 (41:47):
Coming from the era that we came in, I'm gonna
beat uh the CEO because, like I always tell the motherfucker,
the object of that situation, as me as a CEO
is to retain uh most of what we need as
a company. And I'm gonna feel like in certain some
situations now it all depends on how knowledgeable the artist is.

(42:11):
I'm dealing with you get me. If I'm dealing with
another young nigga and he coming in and we getting
ready to do a deal, and I want to sign him,
and he's knowledgeable about the situation and knowing like, Okay,
my publishing is separate and WOOTI womp and blah blah blah,
then I'm gonna have to give a young nigga credit
and we're gonna have to come up with a deal.

(42:33):
Like I said, the first situations, niggas are just not knowledgeable.
So those are the situations where we got fucked. Because
I'm one of those niggas. I wasn't knowledgeable about a
lot of shit as a young seventeen year old kid
coming up the neighborhood.

Speaker 1 (42:53):
I didn't have the guy.

Speaker 3 (42:54):
You know, my mom frowned upon that type the shit
I was trying to do.

Speaker 2 (43:00):
At least you was on a major label, Mike, I
give you. You didn't get no advance for that Convice album?
Did you not?

Speaker 1 (43:08):
For that Convicts?

Speaker 4 (43:10):
We was you know, we was able to go in
there and get fifteen hundred here, you know what I mean.
One of those situations. Listen, to stay off this corner. Main,
I need to have some money right, I ain't going
to finish this.

Speaker 1 (43:27):
Record if I get caught up there on the block
right now, you know you got to go make that
kind of stance, right, But yeah, no, it wasn't.

Speaker 2 (43:36):
We didn't. We didn't.

Speaker 1 (43:37):
We didn't.

Speaker 4 (43:37):
We didn't get no no quote unquote advanced for the
convicts record. But you know, we're hungry, be we was hungry,
and we were just trying to put in some work
so that we can get out there.

Speaker 1 (43:48):
Naturally, we don't, we are we are. We come in
the game.

Speaker 4 (43:51):
Ninety percent of us that come in the game, we're
not adept to you know, the business side of it, right.
We just were really being trusted, right, going off, going
off off. The people that we ride with decided to
sign with their reputation right in the game, right, were
looking at their success and were looking at it like, naturally,

(44:12):
they want the artists to have success, right, they want
the artists you feel me to to, you know, to
come up right.

Speaker 1 (44:19):
It's a good look. But you know.

Speaker 4 (44:23):
When it comes to that pin game, man, they whipped
you with that pen and they make you learn on
your own right.

Speaker 3 (44:32):
To be just to be uh, not to be biased
about the situation, but it was no difference between RAPP
and being on Sony or Big beat Up under Epic
or whatever.

Speaker 2 (44:46):
Yeah, it wasn't.

Speaker 1 (44:47):
It wasn't even.

Speaker 3 (44:48):
Like like like once I became knowledgeable about situations, but
now I was on Sony in Capitol and got fucked
for my first three hour. Nobody felt justifirebowing going this
dude's writing all this music or whatever nigga I was
getting somebody is somebody is getting picking up a check

(45:11):
for two hundred and fifty thousand, and I'm going home
with five grand in my pocket.

Speaker 1 (45:18):
You get me.

Speaker 3 (45:19):
There was no difference because it was an independent and
a major. If a nigga could fuck you, they were
gonna fuck you just period until you took a stand.

Speaker 1 (45:31):
I would say they would definitely take advantage rules. But
I tell you that all the day.

Speaker 4 (45:37):
You feel me.

Speaker 2 (45:38):
Still.

Speaker 3 (45:38):
We have discussions about nigga's character today and how a
nigga should be more you know, And I tell you shit,
in this day and age, if a nigga can fuck you,
he's gonna fuck you unless you know your business and
know where you're coming from. If a nigga go, yeah,

(45:59):
we got five, I should give him two fifty and
take my two fifty.

Speaker 4 (46:05):
But you a way to give him seventy five and
that just you know what, man, I'm.

Speaker 1 (46:15):
You get me unless you know I got.

Speaker 2 (46:18):
That this one.

Speaker 4 (46:20):
You don't know that that five I'm gonna figure out
away now you saying that a nigga should just be
credible and go, I got.

Speaker 1 (46:30):
This five for us to fifty you to you, but go,
yeah I said.

Speaker 3 (46:36):
That, But now five is in my hand and it's
like he don't even know that it's the file, right,
this all.

Speaker 2 (46:44):
Look at it, this all, look at it. I look
at it like this. All right, we got that five?
Unless say I'm the label, right, Okay, I gotta pay
for his studio time. Let's say, okay, I don't spend
ten on the studio, right, I don't spend this that
I don't been giving them money, but.

Speaker 1 (47:02):
Fifty let's say I don't. Let's I don't spend fifty thousand, right.

Speaker 2 (47:06):
Yeah, I'm gonna say, okay, you know what, I'm going
to take three hundred this because you know, I gotta
get my little bit of money back and I gotta
make some money, and I'm gonna give you the other
two hundred. You know the rest of it, right, you
know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (47:21):
How they gonna give you that seventy five good?

Speaker 2 (47:24):
Not just give a nigga.

Speaker 1 (47:28):
That's kind of like right there, that's just a nigga's mentality.

Speaker 3 (47:33):
That's just it's it's like the bigger, the bigger the prize,
the lesser nigga want to pay you for your contribution.
And you could have you done done just as much,
and and and I don't know why their mentality was
this way.

Speaker 1 (47:50):
You get me.

Speaker 3 (47:51):
I have no idea when I first came in the
game and I'm sitting up in the studio late nights
and not seeing my kid, and not going to the
hoods and participating in my activities with my my neighborhood,
and you know, moms is tripping, I'm missing school. I
didn't do all of that. So a nigga could go,

(48:14):
he should get this, but I'm.

Speaker 1 (48:19):
Not.

Speaker 3 (48:20):
Just what because you the you, You the nigga who
found me and walk me through the door.

Speaker 1 (48:27):
I'm still putting in the work.

Speaker 3 (48:28):
Though, it ain't like I'm just sitting here and in
like like like a put together superstar. Right, were gonna
get your wardrobe, We're gonna get your songs written. We're
gonna get your music done, we gonna get your hair done.
All you gotta do is sit there and when we
go action, you do no nigga like create. I'm in

(48:51):
there trying to figure out, Okay, what is gonna what
is gonna make me?

Speaker 1 (48:55):
Oh you know?

Speaker 2 (48:56):
Oh Damn.

Speaker 1 (48:57):
I listen to this nigga song and his ship is
all on that. I gotta come up.

Speaker 3 (49:01):
And Nigga's sitting in there at at three o'clock in
the morning, and I'm missing my kids functions and I
don't do this and do that all because I'm trying
to create and be this artist. And when the money
hit the table, you think you should take eighty five percent.

Speaker 4 (49:15):
Of it, Like God, damn dude, Like I don't like.

Speaker 3 (49:20):
But some niggas mentalities idiots like that. Some niggas is like, Nigga,
we and this together. We started this shit.

Speaker 1 (49:27):
Nigga sua like that, right, half Familion hits.

Speaker 4 (49:31):
It's like, damn, I got this, just brought in five right,
But he wasn't even brought in this five if it
wasn't for me, not like it's a partnership, right. Some
niggas had that mentality if it wasn't for me, and
that's how that's how I felt like. Remember that night
we had the homie on there and he was like figuring,

(49:52):
he figuring, like, Oh, I'm the label, so without me, nigga,
you can't get shit done.

Speaker 3 (49:57):
Nigga's gonna write some songs. Yeah, we're gonna getting studio
and creation. So artist, if I wouldn't a dope, artist
should not put it out, but guarantee you somebody gonna
hear this shit and go we gotta do. Don't feel
like if I didn't have this label, you would never
be who you are as an artist?

Speaker 1 (50:17):
What do you mean?

Speaker 4 (50:18):
You can't do shit? You can't create a song, you
can't make a beat.

Speaker 3 (50:24):
All you got is is a motherfucking mouthpiece and a
little more dollars than I have. And if I was
smart enough and was knowledgeable, I'd be independent, like you
would start my own.

Speaker 1 (50:35):
Shit that you got money and you got a mouthpiece.

Speaker 2 (50:39):
Right, but this.

Speaker 3 (50:42):
Right, if you don't like your status as the label
and as the whatever is where, well I should collect
ninety percent. What do you mean if you didn't have
this song, in this beat, in this artist, what would
you promote?

Speaker 1 (50:59):
What would you mouthpiece.

Speaker 2 (51:01):
Well, you know what the crazy not not to cut
you off a but you know what the crazy part
is they almost just they justify all of that, the
economics and how they do stuff and the structure of
the deals because probably only one in five artists gonna
be successful at the label. Think about all them records
that Wrap a Lot put out? How many of them records? Actually? So, Mike,

(51:24):
you think a lot of that ship was selling like that?

Speaker 1 (51:26):
Do you? But do you? But do you qualify?

Speaker 2 (51:32):
Huh?

Speaker 1 (51:33):
Rap a Lot had a following?

Speaker 2 (51:35):
Right?

Speaker 1 (51:35):
So the label itself, you know, the labor itself was
seeing some was seeing some income because we had they
had a lot. They had It was quite a few
art this song Rap a Lot, right, and Rap a
Lot had a following, you feel what I'm saying? So
they they Rap a Lot ship.

Speaker 2 (51:58):
But like I saw some crazy CDs from him, Like
I saw a white midget with a snake around his neck.
Like it was supposed to be like an off brand
version of the Ghetto Boys or whatever.

Speaker 1 (52:11):
That's why did you try master Pie? Did you try
the master Piece? It beyond the Ghetto Man?

Speaker 4 (52:20):
And but yeah, yeah there was my homies though, but
but yeah, yeah, yeah, it was like a spin off
from the Ghetto Boy exactly.

Speaker 1 (52:33):
But and everybody was.

Speaker 4 (52:35):
But when you meet those guys, they was, they was
their own original.

Speaker 1 (52:40):
You feel me right.

Speaker 4 (52:42):
That's where the comparisons stopped, just at the the optics
of it, you feel me, But everybody had. Everybody had
aspirations and hopes and dreams man as an individual and
things like that, you know. But unfortunately, just like other
artists that came be for the hip hop era, right,

(53:02):
we talk about blues, R and B jazz artists that
that was dealing with the music industry, you know what
I mean, getting taken advantage stuff. You know, the white
white artists just just covering black songs and putting them
out like it's they songs. You feel me right, You

(53:25):
would think that blacks in the business, after seeing and
knowing that this kind of stuff and being a victim
of this kind of stuff, that we would treat each
other differently, you feel me right, and treat each other
a little bit better, with a little bit more respect.

Speaker 2 (53:42):
Right.

Speaker 1 (53:42):
But it's not always like that because that money. You
feel me when.

Speaker 4 (53:49):
They when a person is on got their own aspirations, right,
and you're just a byproduct of that, you're just a
means of you know what I'm saying, to help them
get to where they want to be. Right. But you're like, okay,
that's cool, right, because sometimes you got to get with
somebody to get somewhere.

Speaker 1 (54:07):
Right.

Speaker 4 (54:08):
But at the same time, at the end of the day,
you want to walk away with something as well.

Speaker 1 (54:13):
You feel me like you say.

Speaker 4 (54:14):
Hey, you don't want to be dedicating all of this time,
all of this effort, right, all all it because it
takes a lot of emotions to put them songs down,
be in the studio, you know what I mean, all
them hours and and and they do me we do
music quick these days. And then it wasn't so quick
to be put together.

Speaker 1 (54:33):
The song you feel Me Niggas is recording on reels
and everything. But it's it's a learning experience, bro.

Speaker 4 (54:41):
And look we got more knowledge about it now, right.
Some people came out less gay than others, right, But
you know, it's just it's just one of them things, man.
And but look look at them now. You know they
able to go at least they able to go get
a larger bag.

Speaker 2 (55:00):
Right.

Speaker 4 (55:01):
I wouldn't say workers of the business didn't change it's
just enough month, it's just enough money to put bigger
bait on the hook.

Speaker 1 (55:07):
I guess you feel me right real, Mike, let me
ask you this, man, So you went on the run.

Speaker 2 (55:15):
I think a lot of people forget you put all
three more records on rap a Up. You put off
some serious and on that some serious album. You was
the first one to really start fucking with PIMPC.

Speaker 4 (55:27):
That So I had met pimping them before we had
came out to Los Angeles, so we had already knew
the matter of fact, I was the one me and
three two. We brought their music out there right and
stooping them.

Speaker 1 (55:45):
But I own that ship.

Speaker 4 (55:46):
You feel me because let me get this tape. You
feel me like man gone the niggas and the niggas U
gally K. But they was already our homies before we
had came out there. But I'm thinking because I had
PIMC on the album. He did the hook on Halving Things,

(56:08):
and he produced it. He produced the track. I had
initially sung the hook, but after we finished the after
we finished the song, him talking to me and talking
and I'm hearing his voice, and I was like, man,
to give the song more texture.

Speaker 1 (56:24):
You should go off in there and sing that hook.

Speaker 2 (56:26):
You feel me?

Speaker 4 (56:29):
Yeah, I said you should go off in there and
sing that hook. And then Bun he was on the
song car on the one. I should have both of
them on the same song. I don't know why I
broke it up like that, but it's the way that
it had happened. Him had produced to having things we
was working on there, and I just got him to
do the to do the hook. But I'm just trying

(56:51):
to think and make sure. But maybe I'm thinking like
I'm probably like the first right Jack other than their
own project that they had performed on, probably that they
had featured on. Yeah, was out to Bun b Ip PIMC,

(57:13):
you feel me? But yeah, man, I think that was
I think man, matter of fact, Yeah, yeah, yeah, And
we were just I was just looking out because I
was I was there was my partners, and I was
fans of them. You feel me, I had to have
them only I should have had them both on the

(57:35):
same song, right, But you know that just looking back
in hindsight, but still with a strong showing on both songs.

Speaker 2 (57:42):
So yeah, well I'll tell you what I think you
broke PIMC as a producer with that because I was
hit the ug K. And that's how the rap a
lot of music. That's how a lot of music got around.
You hear one of your homies playing it, especially if
they're from somewhere else. My homie Quentinsino, he was from Texas.
He's Orange Texas and he was playing a short Texas record.

(58:04):
But you GK yeah, back back back, I said, who
was that? Man? Who was that? He dubbed me a
copy of it. I went. I came back to California.
They dubbed the copy for me. That's our music kind
of got around.

Speaker 3 (58:18):
Oh yeah, definitely, some music got it down at a
lot of UH, A lot of unknown ship and a
lot of what we consider underground UH got promoted just
by having word of mouth. And I would go to
Mississippi and my cousin would have shipped from the East Coast.

(58:38):
I never heard, and so I would dub that ship.
Or I would come back to La hit up the
Paramount Swap Meet and go digging through their twelve ventures
and be like, oh, here this ship is. But you
would never know because I didn't know who the fuck
the niggas was.

Speaker 1 (58:55):
You get all the.

Speaker 3 (58:57):
Good doing them doing their mother fucking family reunion trips
back to Mississippi. That's how I was connected because my
older cousin he listened to a lot of East Coast music,
so I didn't know about it, none of that ship.
But I would listen to Ship in his car and
then at the house on his record player, and then

(59:18):
I would be like, oh, I'm by that ship. When
I get home, rush straight to the paramount, schwap me
and and and one didn't ask Ship for moms stereo
in the living room, but fuck it, I'm finna go
to swap me by this record and throw this motherfucking
radio active on or that motherfucking the roof is on

(59:39):
fire or some shit like that, and be like, Mars,
be like, what the fuck is that ship?

Speaker 1 (59:45):
But that's how I got store. You ain't got to
get the record, but you're going to see if it's
there country music section, and come back and get my ship,
because I know fucker they go taking the country music
this motherfucker this record, come back.

Speaker 2 (01:00:07):
And get my and all.

Speaker 1 (01:00:09):
But yeah, man, that tape game was serious.

Speaker 4 (01:00:11):
Back then, boys used to have trash bags for the
motherfucker cossets. You hear me, mother didn't, but you knew
which was on each one of them motherfuckers, you know.
But yeah, those those those those were simpler times back then.

Speaker 2 (01:00:25):
But you know, for a minute though, Mike, you was
probably rapized big as artist for a minute for for
for a second there, because some Serious went platinum, didn't it.

Speaker 1 (01:00:39):
Some Serious did some numbers.

Speaker 2 (01:00:40):
Yeah, some Serious went big because because Scarface hadn't dropped
no ships yet, and you was like they maind for
a moment, I bet they was treating you different as
a motherfucker.

Speaker 4 (01:00:51):
With scar Face was already established. Yeah, Face was already
established face Face Face was he was the flagship artist there,
he was, sure.

Speaker 2 (01:01:04):
But you know what I'm saying, when you dropped some Serious,
he hadn't dropped nothing. You were kind of dropped both.

Speaker 1 (01:01:12):
What you mean he had he had, he had solo
albums already.

Speaker 2 (01:01:16):
Yeah. But when some Serious dropped Scarface and ever album
all at that time, I don't think not a new one.

Speaker 1 (01:01:24):
He probably was working on it.

Speaker 2 (01:01:26):
Yeah, That's what I'm saying.

Speaker 3 (01:01:28):
Well, you as a you, as a label at in
that position, you probably wouldn't want to have uh two
of your big artists uh out at the same time,
because it's really gonna contradict sales because for those for
those niggas who you know are unable to uh have

(01:01:51):
the benefit of purchasing both rock chatter time. Now I
have to make a decision of what I want to
saying until my next check you get being out at
the same time, is gonna really contradict the label and sale.
So if I drop a big Mic record, I'm knowing

(01:02:11):
I'm not gonna put out the Scarface record for at
least six months to the next year, and vice versa,
because especially when I got two prominent projects coming out,
you know, like even though I was signing to Sony,
Sony would never put out my record, you know, in
the vicinity of another Sony hip hop artist, like you

(01:02:34):
don't want team with each exactly like we want all
the sales. We don't want the fuckers to have to
have a decision. Now, you couldn't do that for other
labels who were figuring out were fuck it, if Big
Mic gonna come out on the twelfth, We're gonna drop
motherfucking so and so on the thirteenth. You know, that's

(01:02:55):
how other labels with they artists would do. The Piggy
back off or whatever was I'm in it at the time.

Speaker 2 (01:03:01):
You get me.

Speaker 3 (01:03:02):
You couldn't stop that competition. You just hope that fans
would gravitate to your ship more than the next party.
But if y'all both on my label, hell no, I'm
gonna keep y'all releases at least six months apart.

Speaker 2 (01:03:21):
Yeah, Mike, I got one more question for you, man.
So hard to hit? Was your last album on rap
A Up, wasn't it? Yeah? Hard to hit? After that?
You didn't have a lot of other ladys trying to
come and get your procure your services.

Speaker 1 (01:03:40):
Well, I got hard to hit. That's when I got locked.
I got locked around that time. But it was interest right,
some other labels right looking to pick me up, you
feel me? But after right after I lived with that,
I got when I got my rap a Lot, that's

(01:04:03):
my locks. I was on the run. But why they're
catching up with me?

Speaker 4 (01:04:13):
But but yeah, I had got locked around that time,
so it couldn't make no deals happened feeling from behind
the balls.

Speaker 2 (01:04:21):
How many years did you do? I did? I did?
I did? Folk?

Speaker 3 (01:04:27):
Yeah, was your situation? Was your situation of getting locked up?
Was a result of the decline in music, or was
it just some other ship that you had already had
done and it finally called up to you? The reason
why I got locked right, was it something that was

(01:04:51):
already you know, something that was already present that you
had already did, or you had to go back to
doing a situation because of the decline and hip hop
of your situation of not being able to you know,
after you put our records would rap a lot and
they started declining and then whatever whatever, you know what

(01:05:13):
I'm saying. Was it something that you already had hanging
over your head, or it was something that you had
decided to do. It's what got you locked up. It
was a situation, right.

Speaker 4 (01:05:25):
It was a situation that kind of like a rose right,
just some typical shit contractual talks, you feel me, right?
And it was a situation that it caught me by surprise.

Speaker 1 (01:05:40):
Do you feel me? The situation caught me by surprise,
and and I had to react.

Speaker 2 (01:05:50):
Right.

Speaker 4 (01:05:50):
When I come sit down with y'all, then we can
go more in depth. But if I was putting a
situation where I had to react, right, you feel me?
I was dealing with a grizzly bell, grizzly bear, attacked
me right right, there's the bell gonna come back.

Speaker 1 (01:06:06):
You feel me if I.

Speaker 3 (01:06:07):
Don't, don't make against the grizzly bear.

Speaker 4 (01:06:13):
And you did, right, But like I said, we'll go
in to detail about it. But yeah, it was a
situation me and the label it had got ugly. You
feel me slid into some gangster ship and you know
that's what that's what eventually led to my my incarceration. Yeah,

(01:06:35):
my part in it, you feel me.

Speaker 2 (01:06:39):
Yeah, you got up for retel you know, some ship.

Speaker 1 (01:06:43):
Basically, Yeah, but it's all good. I took my leak. Yeah,
especially when.

Speaker 3 (01:06:51):
When you're put in a situation to where it's either
put up or shut up, and you're feeling like, you know, hey,
this is what has to happen. Ship, you give me like,
ain't no if if it ain't no infens or but
about it, I'm just this is just the way it
go down, fucking and I might have to take my
liquor whenever it comes to it, you have to take

(01:07:13):
especially in the case like that, right, And I'm just
gonna have to deal with it. But you know, you know,
sometimes you put put in a situation where you feel
like you have to do what you have to do.

Speaker 4 (01:07:24):
Now me thinking about it now, right, maybe I could
have finessed the situation, right, but I'm a young man, right,
stay different. Yeah, my mind stayed different. I'm a young man.
I'm hurt, I'm in baddis right, I'm looking at I survive,

(01:07:46):
thank God.

Speaker 2 (01:07:47):
Right, But.

Speaker 1 (01:07:51):
It was the chance that I might not have survived.

Speaker 2 (01:07:56):
Right.

Speaker 4 (01:07:58):
But but the Lord Jesus Christ, he had something else
in store for me.

Speaker 2 (01:08:03):
Right, So.

Speaker 4 (01:08:06):
But still I even with that, I didn't realize that
till later. I didn't realize God's hand in it till later. Right,
I was going to strictly off the emotion. You feel me,
and I'm retaligating it on the streets. My move is justified.
Exactly on the streets, my move is justified. You did

(01:08:30):
what I'm saying. You gonna tell any other care you
put it that, nigga, be like man, I would have
had to do what I had to do.

Speaker 2 (01:08:36):
You feel me?

Speaker 1 (01:08:37):
So on the street, move was justified.

Speaker 4 (01:08:39):
And that's that's the rules I was playing by coming
from the streets.

Speaker 1 (01:08:44):
You feel me, People think about your career. You an'y
think bro?

Speaker 4 (01:08:50):
Hell now yeah, like you feel me? You understand I
ain't thinking about none of that. I got to get
these motherfuckers off of me.

Speaker 2 (01:08:57):
I think people get a man before you anything else.

Speaker 1 (01:09:00):
Exactly, you know. But like I say, you know, I
took my knee here.

Speaker 4 (01:09:07):
You feel me still living my life getting older, and
that itself, that too was the experience as well.

Speaker 2 (01:09:14):
Right.

Speaker 4 (01:09:14):
So I got I got, I got, I got, I
got real time testimony, right, And I'm just being short
with everything because I am working on I'm working on
a memoir. You feel me, and I want to just
sitting there, so I do want to leave some things,
you know.

Speaker 1 (01:09:33):
That's why I'm being shot like that. I know y'all
kind of tell I'm being short.

Speaker 4 (01:09:37):
Still still be trying to hit you with questions to
kind of like, but I got to be short with
you right now.

Speaker 1 (01:09:43):
Still we'll talk. I gotta be something for the literature.

Speaker 4 (01:09:50):
But yeah, man, people you know, people basically got an
idea of.

Speaker 1 (01:09:54):
What happened and things like that.

Speaker 2 (01:09:56):
You know.

Speaker 1 (01:09:58):
Yeah, man, end up going.

Speaker 4 (01:10:00):
To the penitential, getting back out, having go through the
whole struggle of reiterating myself back in society, getting back
on my feet.

Speaker 1 (01:10:10):
You feel me, I won't even say unfortunately, but for.

Speaker 4 (01:10:14):
Me, I didn't have that fan fare waiting for me
like that, Like some rappers go to jail and then
niggas get out hey waiting for them.

Speaker 2 (01:10:24):
It wasn't like that.

Speaker 4 (01:10:25):
It wasn't like that for me, right, I think because
why I was locked up, and this was pre social media, right,
So motherfucker locked up, and you don't have homeboys that
have access to the media, right, You had to have
somebody that had access to the media to keep your
TV shouting you out, you feel me, to even be

(01:10:47):
able to go to the radio station, have a reason
to be at the radio station where they can shout
you out and things like that.

Speaker 1 (01:10:53):
You did what I'm saying. So my niggas was in
the streets.

Speaker 4 (01:10:58):
They wasn't rappers and things like that, so they didn't
have access to the media. You did what I'm saying, Right,
I'm getting all of this through letters and pictures. That's
how I'm getting my support, you feel me.

Speaker 2 (01:11:09):
Right.

Speaker 4 (01:11:12):
At the time, the source had reached out to me, right,
and I was locked up in their paths, so and
they wanted to they wanted to come interview me, but
I didn't see how it would help my situation because
I was going through a real situation at the time, right,
and it was it was.

Speaker 1 (01:11:30):
It was a real trial for myself and for my family.

Speaker 4 (01:11:34):
You did what I'm saying, and I just wanted to
go through it and get it done right, So I
didn't see the benefit of sitting there being interviewed from behind.
Boy and listen, I'm a studio head. I love to
be in the studio creating recording. You did what I'm saying,
even though I was in the I'm in the business
to where we have to be in front of the camera,

(01:11:55):
right and make ourselves accessible to the media and things
like that. I was never Listen, I'll be shooting videos.
I'll be sweating profusely at my own video shoot. It
could be cold outside because I just was never like
comfortable in front the camera.

Speaker 2 (01:12:10):
And things like that. Right.

Speaker 4 (01:12:12):
I can get on staging through my thing, but all
of that revolved around the music.

Speaker 1 (01:12:16):
You feel what I'm saying, Right.

Speaker 4 (01:12:18):
I could eventually get in there and get my mind
right to do the videos, and I had got.

Speaker 1 (01:12:22):
Better with it, but I was never that kind of cat.

Speaker 2 (01:12:25):
Right.

Speaker 4 (01:12:25):
That's why I'm a little bit behind with the social media,
not because when it was happening, I wasn't. I didn't
gravitate towards it like that, you did, you know what
I'm saying. So geez, So we got to ease into it, right,
and then we were gonna we're gonna perfect where we're
getting our bread at.

Speaker 1 (01:12:44):
Oh, this is what we gotta do.

Speaker 2 (01:12:45):
Damn.

Speaker 1 (01:12:46):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 4 (01:12:47):
The motherfucker go from there. But yeah, so I didn't.
I didn't seek out the media or nothing like that. Right,
people be like, you know, man, come down here and
interview me. I just wanted to get through that. We
got with my family, you know what I mean? And
and I did. I wanted seven year sentence and I
didn't have to stay the whole seven, right, I did

(01:13:08):
the rest in the streets.

Speaker 1 (01:13:09):
So that was a blessing. And I learned a lot
down there.

Speaker 4 (01:13:12):
My relationship with the Lord crew, right, I'm sure that
he didn't want me behind bars, right, but it was
other things in my life, right. I was undisciplined, right,
and he was giving me time on my own to
to to correct that, right. And then sometimes you got
to sit down, right, you got to suit you down
so he can isolate you. You didn't know what I'm saying,

(01:13:34):
but the you know, like I said, that's what I
gained from from the whole situation, right, I gained a
situation from my relationship with God.

Speaker 1 (01:13:43):
I saw him moving my life in.

Speaker 4 (01:13:44):
A real way, and and and and that's part of
my testimony. And maybe that's why I was placed in
the line of fire like that. Right, Maybe it's bigger
than all the pieces on the board, right, all the
people involved.

Speaker 1 (01:13:58):
Maybe it's bigger than all of that.

Speaker 2 (01:13:59):
Right.

Speaker 4 (01:14:00):
So I'm able to do that now now that I'm
past the the letdown of it, the anger of it all. Right,
now I'm able to you know what I mean, to
really see the workings of it and pull the positive
up out of it.

Speaker 2 (01:14:17):
You know. But yeah, it had gotten.

Speaker 4 (01:14:19):
Into some gangster ship. It was real, dope, it was real,
do you know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (01:14:27):
So you know, yeah, Man, we go ahead, this sit
down in person, man, like we talked about this. This
is a precursor of that.

Speaker 1 (01:14:36):
Man, it's crazy, right, I'm gonna get out there.

Speaker 4 (01:14:43):
I'm gonna get out there and fuck with y'all. Man, Definitely,
we're gonna sit down. And by then, man, I've been
had had this music that I've been working on, so
I could lay on y'all and we could talk about
that as well.

Speaker 2 (01:14:56):
Yeah, Mike, you gotta get Mike on a new album though, Yo, you.

Speaker 1 (01:15:00):
Already know, you know, I ain't.

Speaker 4 (01:15:03):
I know when the time is right, it's gonna happen.
You feel I know when the time is right, it's
gonna happen. But maybe the time is coming. Though it's coming.

Speaker 2 (01:15:15):
That's easy right there, for sure, Mike, Man, he said, Man,
we gonna get back together and do this. Person. Man,
we don't have you in here for hours some change, y'all.
I only asked you to give me our You gave
me so much more. I feel like if we don't stop,
we're gonna keep on going.

Speaker 1 (01:15:31):
And I got to get back to these playoffs lame.

Speaker 2 (01:15:38):
Right quick.

Speaker 4 (01:15:39):
This salute man, Love y'all brothers, man, and I see
y'all on the other side all ready.

Speaker 2 (01:15:47):
You know we got here all reck