32923OM - Page 21

2006 OZONE MAG // 21 Earlier, you were talking about budgeting your money, which is sort of funny because people have the perception of you as someone who just goes in the club and makes it rain and blows money on whatever. I do. But I’ve been doing this so long that I’m a vet. Any nigga like me, if you got this much shit coming in, you know how much you can fuck off, you know what I mean? But you’ve gotta pace yourself and be set up for this. You can’t be a new nigga and come out here blowing out money and balling out thinking it’s gonna last. I’ve been doing this shit forever so I know what it is. A lot of niggas be trying to impress muthafuckers and fuck around and end up broke. During the photo shoot you mentioned that you’re not going to wear jewelry anymore. Why’s that? I did all that, you know what I’m sayin’? It might mean more to the next man than to me. I’m more than a chain. To me, that shit don’t even matter no more. Fuck that, I’m more than a chain. I don’t want nobody to think that’s who I am. That’s the environment I was raised in so I just ran with it, but I understand that shit now. I’m the same nigga, with or without the chains. I still got the same mentality. You’ve been working out and trimming down a lot. Are you putting more emphasis on your image this time around to sell records? I always said that when I got out of the streets and I wasn’t stressed and worried about all that other shit, I was gonna try to get myself together. I ain’t tryin’ to be no 26-year-old fat boy. I’m just trying to have longevity with this shit, �� got myself together I was gonna get my health together too. I wasn’t focused on that before because I had a lot of other shit going on, but now I’ve got time to work out. I ain’t tryin’ to be no sex symbol, I’m just trying to be healthy. I wanna live for a long time. You don’t think you’re a sex symbol? The hoodrats love me, so I’m good in the hood. So what’s up with you and Keyshia Cole? Nothing. Nothing? Nothing. It ain’t like that, man. So Jeezy is single and mingling. Yeah, same old shit. Ain’t nothin’ changed. What’s your workout routine like? I got a trainer, so I might run about six or seven miles. On a good day I might run about eight miles. When I work out I don’t really do a lot of weights. I’m not trying to be big, I’m trying to be healthy. I’m not trying to be no big-ass buff nigga, so I do a lot of cardio. When a nigga fucks with me, I don’t have to fuck with those straps no more. I’m gonna take ‘em myself. What about your diet? I don’t really do junk food no more. I don’t really drink and smoke as much as I used to. I still get down, but I just take it easy on that shit so I can take care �� I keep it real basic – three or four meals a day with a couple snacks in between. Of course you had a real successful run with your debut album – now that you’re working on your sophomore project, do you feel the need to switch it up and catch people off guard? I do what I feel. I’ve never really done music for the clubs. I really just do what I feel in my heart. My shit is heartfelt, you know? I just feel that it’s my �� album. I was straight out the streets, so I had to give a nigga me. But I don’t want a nigga thinking that all I know about is cars and hustling. A nigga’s smarter than that. I made it farther than a lot of niggas. I’ve seen a lot of my peers dead or in jail. I’m still trying to win. I don’t wanna win and don’t give nothing back; that’s why I named it The Inspiration. That’s where I’m going. I want a nigga to feel me and love me, you know what I mean? I don’t think I’ve really changed, it’s just that I’ve showed niggas the growth. I’m thinking. I ain’t no dumb nigga from the hood. With this new album being called The Inspiration, I guess you’re sticking with the whole Thug Motivation theme. It’s not a theme, it’s a way of life. It’s a movement. You’ve got muthafuckers “Fuck that, I’m more than a chain. I don’t want nobody to think that’s who I am. I’m the same nigga, with or without the chain.” out there who really need niggas to help them through the day. I know I needed that shit when I was on the other end. So that’s why I call it The Inspiration . You know, I’m inspired by the streets, and I inspire niggas. So I felt like it was the only way to go. Niggas don’t never come up to me and say they like my songs. They say, “Nigga, keep doing what you doing. You’re holding us down out here.” That’s what my whole shit is about. After you achieve a certain level of success, how do you still keep that mentality that you had when you were in the streets and hungry? I’m gonna never stop being hungry. I’m a greedy-ass dude. But at the end of the day, that’s who I am. That’s my whole life. I could never change. Of course a nigga’s tax bracket might get bigger, but I still fuck with the same niggas. I still go to the same places and do the same shit. I ain’t gonna get caught up in the fame. To me, this is just a grind. I love the hustle. And when a nigga ain’t hot no more, a lot of people can’t deal with that cause they’re used to being a star. I had all this shit before I got on, so to me it’s more of a respect thing. As long as niggas where I’m at still fuck with me and the streets are still fuckin’ with me, I’m cool. I ain’t tryin’ to be no crossover nigga. I’m not gambling with it and trying to go for the big numbers. That really ain’t where I’m at, I’m just trying to make good music. �� The Inspiration doesn’t exceed those numbers? Nah, man, the numbers don’t matter as long as niggas are still fuckin’ with me. I’m a hood nigga. For me to go places and niggas really know who the fuck you are, that shit is better than all that shit. A lot of niggas do numbers but ain’t got that respect. Real niggas appreciate me. Musically are you going into some new territory on this album? Just doing what I feel. It ain’t no shit where I’m going to try to be lyrical and come up with a concept, it’s just what’s on a nigga’s mind and heart. I just put on the track and let it be what it is. Whether a nigga like it or don’t like it, I really don’t give a fuck. Even after a successful album you came back and dropped another mixtape, Can’t Ban The Snowman. What was the purpose, just to keep the hype going? I like to work. It was a lot of speculation. Niggas said I couldn’t rap – like I really give a fuck. I’m lyrical with reality. Niggas can’t do that. Niggas are good with them words but at the end of the day if that shit don’t mean nothing to nobody, it don’t matter. With Can’t Ban The Snowman, I let them know that if I wanna rap on this nigga’s beat, I’ll kill that shit my own way. I put some shit out on the street, “I Do This,” and niggas think it’s my single. This is just some mixtape music. I just wanted to put some shit in the streets and see what the streets want. When I drop, I’m gonna hit ‘em over the head hard. I’ve got a full clip this time. Have you decided on a lead single? I’ma drop this shit “Child of God.” Bury me a G. This shit is crazy. You’re gonna know when you hear it. I heard you’ve got a crazy record called “Hypnotize.” That’s just Jeezy being Jeezy. That’s some deep shit, but it’s more for my core audience. Niggas who really fuck with me, real niggas that listen to Jeezy, that’s some shit that’s gonna really fuck them up. If you ain’t on it like that, you won’t get it. �� don’t wanna talk in detail about that situation, so here’s the question: what separates someone like yourself, or 50 Cent, admitted drug dealers who are now legally successful, from the hustlers who end up in prison? I don’t think nothing separates us. Shit, I mean, I meet a lot of niggas, and I don’t blame muthafuckers. A lot of niggas might think I’m lying, but I don’t give a fuck. They might think, shit, this nigga’s trippin’. But niggas who know me know what it is at the end of the day, and I ain’t gonna let nobody go in vain. I miss my niggas. I know what’s real. My reality might not be a muthafuckin’ nightmare, but I really understand that it’s real out here. Why do you think BMF was so blatant with it? Billboards and all? The shit is real, that’s all I can really say. I ain’t tryin’ to break down why anybody would do anything. Niggas are gonna do what they feel. Shit, if you got the nuts to do it, fuck it. Did you get your baby mama drama straightened out? We’ve been straight. It was smoothed out before it even started, really. Your child support bill just went up a little. Yeah, you know how that go. Well, you did say the hoodrats love you.