http://www.hiphop-magazine.com/interviews.php?pn=fullnews&newsfile=news-show&id=29
Queensbridge has a tradition. It has a legacy in rap. In fact, it's fame is spread so far and wide you may have thought it was a borough of it's own, or maybe even a whole city. Roxanne Shante, MC Shan, Nas, Mobb Deep, Tragedy, Cormeaga, Capone…the list goes on and on. It may come as shock then to realize that Queensbridge isn't a city, or a borough, but a housing project. One project in New York that gave birth to so many famous rappers? It must be something in the water.
Whatever the case may be, the self-proclaimed next big thing from Queensbridge is a rapper quixotically named Littles. If you follow the QB scene, you might know Littles already. Raised in Queens Bridge, on the 41st side of Vernon, Alfredo Bryan, aka “Littles” is definitely the Best of the Block. He’s not only managed to make a name for himself within the industry, but has stamped an impression and has developed a fan base of his own. “I tend to carry my hard work, my label experience and my lyrical abilities to new levels. Hopefully this will inspire many others in achieving their goals and dreams .The many jackets that I’ve worn sets as an example; it’s not all about just wanting to rap that makes an artist successful, but the machine and many men aiding the project. I’ve dabbled in it all and although this is just the beginning of Littles I’m enjoying every step of the way”.
Thanks for takin' the time out to do this interview, what's goin' on ?
No doubt...
Alright, first off, tell us how you got into this rap shit, a little bit about your early influences...basically what got you to where you are today.
Well I got into the rap game after comin' home 4-5 years and seeing all my peoples while I was incarcerated, elevatin' my music...I returned back to the streets with the same dreams and goals and here I am today achievin' em.
As far as Mobb Deep... Late last year you were quoted as saying "Things started falling a part because of [Havoc and Prodigy], they get on stage, one is on one end, one is on the other. They split up the label, that's why I am gone. I can't pick sides, so I gotta step back and do myself." What led to ya'll going your separate ways ?
Well what led to me goin' MY separate way is; first and foremost, I was doin' my own thing as far as Mobb Deep, I was doin' my own thing before them, I was puttin out mixtapes before Mobb Deep...but we grew up together; I was on Mobb Deep's first album, I was on P's album, I was still doin my own thing though....But when they got that 50-50 deal at Jive Records....I had 50-100 ppl sellin' my mixtapes, we'd bump into one another....Tellin' me "We got a 50-50 deal and we got our own label, you could jump aboard"...and I got involved with em 'cause they been in the game for 10 years, know what I'm sayin'...I thought I was gettin' involved with 2 Russell Simmons type individuals...when I got involved with em, they did have a 50-50 situation, it was they´re own label...Shit didn't add up right though, they´re business mentality to get the label up and runnin...they weren't ready to do it. I wanted to do an M.O.P./Mobb Deep album, I wanted to do shit with the new Mobb Deep Mafia, Noyd...Get Lil' Jon and Nate Dogg too, it would set us all back up in the market. I knew the chain of command and I wanted to do it precisely right. You don´t just try to go to Mobb Deep and try to piggyback for 6 months. I wanted to make Infamous Records the new Def Jam. I thought Mobb Deep could blow up, and I guess it came true 'cause they signed to G-Unit.
So they signed to G-Unit Now ?
Yeah...
Okay...one thing I wanted to touch on...QB. A lot of your more casual rap fans will assume this like, a city or a borough. When it's actually just some projects that speaks a lot to how much talent has come out of there, cats like Nas, Mobb Deep, Tragedy, Cormega. What exactly is it about Queensbridge that's made it the birthplace for so many talented emcees?
I think that people have to realize, that we say over and over again, and it's the truth...Queensbridge the biggest project in the world, havin' people like Marley Marl, MC Shan, gave QB a way for one after another to come out. I think Marley Marl did that, brought Shan, Roxanne Shante and with a few sneakin in, it led to Tragedy, Capone & Noreaga but the sad part is, everybody got into the game on they´re own. Nobody did shit together...
So shit wasn't united...
Not at all...
Where do you place yourself in that group ?
I mean, I don´t compare myself to anyone 'cause I'm me and I got my own story to tell. You could put us all in one room, where we could all write a movie script, and it'd come out different for each of us. We all walk the streets different ways, I got my own story to bring to the table. I get myself in the studio, I wrap my own van, my own posters when it's my time it's gonna be my time, and I respect that. What I'm tryin'a say is, like whoever been in the game X amount of years to get recognition, same thing for me. I been goin' out the trunk soundscannin' shit for 6 years. I'm here to stay baby....this mixtape I got out, the arrangement of the songs...no old songs, nothin' on other people's beats. It just feels like a mixtape album, it's Reloaded it's crazy, the best DVD I ever done. People gonna have to step up, I'm here to stay. When I can afford to send $100,000 to Dre, it's over...that's a wrap.
Why do you think there's such a deeply rooted sense of competition between a few of the higher profile QB rappers -Mobb Deep and Nas, Nas and Mega. How does this shit begin, and what fuels it ?
It's just media hype, I think it's media hype. I'ma be honest with you, I haven't seen Nas in 2 years. Mobb Deep are stars in my projects, Nas is a star in my projects. They ain't gonna pop up on the block...it'd be like any kid seein' this star on BET in the flesh for the first time.
What are your plans for the future? Anything we should know about as far as producers, potential collaborations, etc.? And is there anybody you'd like to work with, producer or emcee, that you haven't been able to yet ?
Neptunes, Dre...I love the cats I'm workin' with now; Red Spyder, Buckwilde. There's so many artists I would love to work with, I feelin' T.I., Lil'Wayne, and a bunch of older cats...Scott Storch too.
You've been criticized in the past for being TOO cliche as far as your writing. Not saying you frontin' or something of that nature, but that your subject matter has been overdone. How would you respond to that ?
I think whoever that is, that shit dont pay my bills, nderstand what I'm sayin'? I mean like, I think that there's gonna be a few people that may hate on me, but I can't get better without hate. I can't improve my skills without people critiquing me. If you listen to Mobb Deep's album, they talkin' about the same thing. Down south people sayin' the same thing...people don't be criticizing that....I do too many things, I don´t have a manager, I take my own studio time, write my own rhymes....when I get to the point where I have a big machine behind me, I know it'll be a wrap because right now I come from a full day of work goin' hard and I might be tired yet still get it done; so I give myself credit at the end of the day.
What'chu think of the internet's influence on hip hop? Seems like it's globalized it very quickly. Guys like Capone & Noreaga, Redman, and Pharoahe Monch worked with European producer Adam F not too long ago. Give us your
thoughts on the expansion of rap music.
The internet is the best thing that happened to Hip-Hop...here I am, a young kid from Queensbridge, ya know. I went to prison, dropped outta Junior High....Gettin college credits in prison, I'm computer illiterate, don't know nothin' about computers. But the first time I sat in front of a computer, like 6 months later, I was STUCK...(laughs)...I get on, and I don't wanna get off. It lets you travel the world in seconds. I think the internet has impacted my career greatly, I'm doin' interviews with people in France, Australia, and Africa...that would never be takin' place if I wasn't easy access globally over the internet.
So how you feel about music downloads ? There's a lot of dissention in the industry about whether it's a positive thing for the artist.
I think that it's bad and it's good. I think it's good because it allows people who don't know who you are to find out about you. But it's bad because there's nothin' else for them to go to the store and buy. The record labels gotta strategize a way to put a cap on it. So it doesn´t hurt you financially. The industry has to learn how to work together but once it's out it's out. What I do is, I ship outta state and I ship all over the world 'cause once NY gets it, it's a wrap...bootleg helps though for the street artist...you can have somebody in Ethiopia download your shit, and introduce it to a whole new audience and you end up havin' a following that you ain't even know about.
Who are your favorite emcees ? Maybe rappers you grew up listening to, or who you think we would find in your CD or mp3 player these days.
I only have a few...my favorite rapper was Tupac; and before Tupac, Kool G Rap...That's basically it, KGR and Pac were my favorites.
Alright, well good looks on the interview, anything else you'd like to speak on ?
The album's in stores now, Reloaded...Queensbridge's new general, look out for me.
Queensbridge has a tradition. It has a legacy in rap. In fact, it's fame is spread so far and wide you may have thought it was a borough of it's own, or maybe even a whole city. Roxanne Shante, MC Shan, Nas, Mobb Deep, Tragedy, Cormeaga, Capone…the list goes on and on. It may come as shock then to realize that Queensbridge isn't a city, or a borough, but a housing project. One project in New York that gave birth to so many famous rappers? It must be something in the water.
Whatever the case may be, the self-proclaimed next big thing from Queensbridge is a rapper quixotically named Littles. If you follow the QB scene, you might know Littles already. Raised in Queens Bridge, on the 41st side of Vernon, Alfredo Bryan, aka “Littles” is definitely the Best of the Block. He’s not only managed to make a name for himself within the industry, but has stamped an impression and has developed a fan base of his own. “I tend to carry my hard work, my label experience and my lyrical abilities to new levels. Hopefully this will inspire many others in achieving their goals and dreams .The many jackets that I’ve worn sets as an example; it’s not all about just wanting to rap that makes an artist successful, but the machine and many men aiding the project. I’ve dabbled in it all and although this is just the beginning of Littles I’m enjoying every step of the way”.
Thanks for takin' the time out to do this interview, what's goin' on ?
No doubt...
Alright, first off, tell us how you got into this rap shit, a little bit about your early influences...basically what got you to where you are today.
Well I got into the rap game after comin' home 4-5 years and seeing all my peoples while I was incarcerated, elevatin' my music...I returned back to the streets with the same dreams and goals and here I am today achievin' em.
As far as Mobb Deep... Late last year you were quoted as saying "Things started falling a part because of [Havoc and Prodigy], they get on stage, one is on one end, one is on the other. They split up the label, that's why I am gone. I can't pick sides, so I gotta step back and do myself." What led to ya'll going your separate ways ?
Well what led to me goin' MY separate way is; first and foremost, I was doin' my own thing as far as Mobb Deep, I was doin' my own thing before them, I was puttin out mixtapes before Mobb Deep...but we grew up together; I was on Mobb Deep's first album, I was on P's album, I was still doin my own thing though....But when they got that 50-50 deal at Jive Records....I had 50-100 ppl sellin' my mixtapes, we'd bump into one another....Tellin' me "We got a 50-50 deal and we got our own label, you could jump aboard"...and I got involved with em 'cause they been in the game for 10 years, know what I'm sayin'...I thought I was gettin' involved with 2 Russell Simmons type individuals...when I got involved with em, they did have a 50-50 situation, it was they´re own label...Shit didn't add up right though, they´re business mentality to get the label up and runnin...they weren't ready to do it. I wanted to do an M.O.P./Mobb Deep album, I wanted to do shit with the new Mobb Deep Mafia, Noyd...Get Lil' Jon and Nate Dogg too, it would set us all back up in the market. I knew the chain of command and I wanted to do it precisely right. You don´t just try to go to Mobb Deep and try to piggyback for 6 months. I wanted to make Infamous Records the new Def Jam. I thought Mobb Deep could blow up, and I guess it came true 'cause they signed to G-Unit.
So they signed to G-Unit Now ?
Yeah...
Okay...one thing I wanted to touch on...QB. A lot of your more casual rap fans will assume this like, a city or a borough. When it's actually just some projects that speaks a lot to how much talent has come out of there, cats like Nas, Mobb Deep, Tragedy, Cormega. What exactly is it about Queensbridge that's made it the birthplace for so many talented emcees?
I think that people have to realize, that we say over and over again, and it's the truth...Queensbridge the biggest project in the world, havin' people like Marley Marl, MC Shan, gave QB a way for one after another to come out. I think Marley Marl did that, brought Shan, Roxanne Shante and with a few sneakin in, it led to Tragedy, Capone & Noreaga but the sad part is, everybody got into the game on they´re own. Nobody did shit together...
So shit wasn't united...
Not at all...
Where do you place yourself in that group ?
I mean, I don´t compare myself to anyone 'cause I'm me and I got my own story to tell. You could put us all in one room, where we could all write a movie script, and it'd come out different for each of us. We all walk the streets different ways, I got my own story to bring to the table. I get myself in the studio, I wrap my own van, my own posters when it's my time it's gonna be my time, and I respect that. What I'm tryin'a say is, like whoever been in the game X amount of years to get recognition, same thing for me. I been goin' out the trunk soundscannin' shit for 6 years. I'm here to stay baby....this mixtape I got out, the arrangement of the songs...no old songs, nothin' on other people's beats. It just feels like a mixtape album, it's Reloaded it's crazy, the best DVD I ever done. People gonna have to step up, I'm here to stay. When I can afford to send $100,000 to Dre, it's over...that's a wrap.
Why do you think there's such a deeply rooted sense of competition between a few of the higher profile QB rappers -Mobb Deep and Nas, Nas and Mega. How does this shit begin, and what fuels it ?
It's just media hype, I think it's media hype. I'ma be honest with you, I haven't seen Nas in 2 years. Mobb Deep are stars in my projects, Nas is a star in my projects. They ain't gonna pop up on the block...it'd be like any kid seein' this star on BET in the flesh for the first time.
What are your plans for the future? Anything we should know about as far as producers, potential collaborations, etc.? And is there anybody you'd like to work with, producer or emcee, that you haven't been able to yet ?
Neptunes, Dre...I love the cats I'm workin' with now; Red Spyder, Buckwilde. There's so many artists I would love to work with, I feelin' T.I., Lil'Wayne, and a bunch of older cats...Scott Storch too.
You've been criticized in the past for being TOO cliche as far as your writing. Not saying you frontin' or something of that nature, but that your subject matter has been overdone. How would you respond to that ?
I think whoever that is, that shit dont pay my bills, nderstand what I'm sayin'? I mean like, I think that there's gonna be a few people that may hate on me, but I can't get better without hate. I can't improve my skills without people critiquing me. If you listen to Mobb Deep's album, they talkin' about the same thing. Down south people sayin' the same thing...people don't be criticizing that....I do too many things, I don´t have a manager, I take my own studio time, write my own rhymes....when I get to the point where I have a big machine behind me, I know it'll be a wrap because right now I come from a full day of work goin' hard and I might be tired yet still get it done; so I give myself credit at the end of the day.
What'chu think of the internet's influence on hip hop? Seems like it's globalized it very quickly. Guys like Capone & Noreaga, Redman, and Pharoahe Monch worked with European producer Adam F not too long ago. Give us your
thoughts on the expansion of rap music.
The internet is the best thing that happened to Hip-Hop...here I am, a young kid from Queensbridge, ya know. I went to prison, dropped outta Junior High....Gettin college credits in prison, I'm computer illiterate, don't know nothin' about computers. But the first time I sat in front of a computer, like 6 months later, I was STUCK...(laughs)...I get on, and I don't wanna get off. It lets you travel the world in seconds. I think the internet has impacted my career greatly, I'm doin' interviews with people in France, Australia, and Africa...that would never be takin' place if I wasn't easy access globally over the internet.
So how you feel about music downloads ? There's a lot of dissention in the industry about whether it's a positive thing for the artist.
I think that it's bad and it's good. I think it's good because it allows people who don't know who you are to find out about you. But it's bad because there's nothin' else for them to go to the store and buy. The record labels gotta strategize a way to put a cap on it. So it doesn´t hurt you financially. The industry has to learn how to work together but once it's out it's out. What I do is, I ship outta state and I ship all over the world 'cause once NY gets it, it's a wrap...bootleg helps though for the street artist...you can have somebody in Ethiopia download your shit, and introduce it to a whole new audience and you end up havin' a following that you ain't even know about.
Who are your favorite emcees ? Maybe rappers you grew up listening to, or who you think we would find in your CD or mp3 player these days.
I only have a few...my favorite rapper was Tupac; and before Tupac, Kool G Rap...That's basically it, KGR and Pac were my favorites.
Alright, well good looks on the interview, anything else you'd like to speak on ?
The album's in stores now, Reloaded...Queensbridge's new general, look out for me.
Wtf are you talking ab00t?