dubcnn.com: What's up Yayo? Thanks for taking the time to talk to DUBCNN. To start it off, let everybody know when your debut album is dropping.
Whatup Nima! I'm chillin' man! It was crazy out here last night, you know what I mean? The name of my album is called "Thoughts of A Predicate Felon", it's coming out August 30th. The reason I called it "Thoughts Of A Predicate Felon" is cause I wrote half of the album while I was incarcerated, and the other half on the streets.
I got features too, I got my favorite white boy, I got 50 Cent, I got Lloyd Banks, I got Young Buck, I got Obie Trice, I got olivia, I got Jagged Edge, I got Spider Loc from the Westside, I got Joe, and I got production by Dr. Dre, Havoc, Em (2x), Focus, I got various producers, I'm not going by the name, I'm going by quality producers.
dubcnn.com: The ammount of Gangsta rappers in the game right now is so large, that it's hard to keep an overview. What are you doing to distinguish yourself from all the gun talk and killing on wax that would make you stand out?
I can tell you that real quick. I mean If you heard my hit record "So Seductive", that's in the street right now, I can make all kinds of records. I got a record with Joe where I wrote the hook it's called "Curious", I got a record with Jagged Edge called "Private Princess" I wrote the hook too, so you know, I got various kinds of music. I got another song out right now that's called "Pimpin'", it's another club banger. It's not just gun talk and all that, it's the reality of my life. It's just the harsh reality of my life.
But then, I also got some Jagged Edge, I got songs with Joe, with R&B Hit Hooks, like 21 Questions, like Karma, In Da Club. So me, Buck, Banks, 50, got the ability to make both, and that's what makes us different from alot of these gangsta rappers.
dubcnn.com: What do you say to people that say G-Unit turned pop and has watered itself down with the mainstream first singles?
You know what man? I mean c'mon, G-Unit turned pop... If you heard 50 Cents album "The Massacre", it was hard records. "Somebody Gone Die 2Nite" and all kinds of hard records. And then you got your club records. Like "Candy Shop". And his first one had that too, "In Da Club". It's just different shit that people can relate to.
dubcnn.com: Your song "So Seductive" was different from what you were doing before. If it was up to you, would you still have released that song as the first single?
Oh yeah of course! I know everybody expected a hard street record to be my first single, but that hard street record ain't gonna bang back in the club, it's not gonna rock overseas, it's just that you gotta make music for the world. It's a difference between makin' music for your hood, and makin' music for the world. But I got records on my album that's street hard, "Homocide", "Eastside Westside" and shit, but then I got songs that your grandmother could dance to.
dubcnn.com: When The Game was on G-Unit, he was riding for you hard. You've probably heard 300 Bars and the Game mixtape going at G-Unit. What was your first reaction when you heard it?
I'm not mad at him.. I mean Game is a young dude, he's making alot of bad decisions right now. I mean he just contradicts himself. This is the same guy who told Jay-Z to suck his dick, tell Beanie Sigel to suck his dick. He said on MTV, that I'm the most rawest rapper in G-Unit. And then the next day he said I was wack! He said G-Unit is the Eastcoast NWA. And now it's G-Unot. He said all kinds of things man, this is the same dude that said all kinds of things and contradicted hisself.
Right now I'm just trying to be down to earth, I just went through the streets and signed 50 autographs. All the artists ain't doin' that. Me and my niggaz took two young Bloods of the streets, they was Bloods. These niggaz was dirty. I took my sneakers off my feet and gave it to them. Took them to our hotel, gave them haircuts, got them all G-Unit clothes, and we brought them backstage to our show. What rappers you know who keep it real like that? You know what I'm sayin? I'm a loyal dude man, I learned from 50 Cent, I learned from Jam Master Jay Rest In Peace man, I've been riding with 50 when he got shot and he got dropped and we did the mixtapes. I'm the last one coming out but I'm a loyal dude, and I love that dude. I love Buck, I'm just a loyal dude. If you down with me I'ma ride or die for you.
dubcnn.com: Has Hip-Hop become so fake that people make up at a conference and then go on and diss each other again? Hip-Hop has been reminding me of the WWE Wrestling lately, with all these beefs... What's your take on that?
I mean for the Game situation man, we moving on. I don't think about it, it was a business move, somehting had to be done. It is what it is. 50's a boss. He just signed Mobb Deep, he just signed M.O.P., my album comes out August 30th, we got Olivia "Behind Closed Doors" coming, we got Mobb Deep album they bout 30 songs in, M.O.P. is like 30 songs in, Banks and Bucks new album are done, we got a movie soundtrack coming out in November, with me Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, M.O.P. Mobb Deep, Olivia. We just signed another California artist, Spider Loc. So we not biased or nothin', you know what I mean? We still got love for California, we just signed another California aritst. It's all good. Basically it was like, 50 wrote half of Game's album, and then when it was done and he sold 4 million, he said Fuck It! That's what it came down to!
dubcnn.com: To close the Game topic, what would happen if you ran into Game today in traffic?
I'm not even thinking about that dude! Oh man, let me tell you something, I'm on state parole man, I'm not finna do nothing to nobody. I'm not even focusing on that. But as for 50, 50's been real. From the 80's, the 90's, his life is real. And we don't glorify what we do, we just came from the bottom man, and now we on top! So dudes hate!
dubcnn.com: G-Unit just signed Mobb Deep and M.O.P. Specially Mobb Deep was surprising, as 50 kind of dissed them on The Massacre. I guess it's all about the money, huh?
That was just a lil thing man, it wasn't nothin'. Both me and 50, we been fans of Mobb Deep ever since Shook Ones! And 50 holla'd at them, we got on tour, did some songs, they on 50's Massacre Re-Release on the bonus track, and they doing their album!
dubcnn.com: I heard you have Kokane on 3 songs, how did you hook up with Koka?
Oh yeah! I got a record called "So High", I wrote the hook, I got Kokane on it. It's about smokin' that chronic, you know?
dubcnn.com: Is it true he's going to be signing with G-Unit?
Oh nah, Kokane is cool, Kokane is a good dude, hopefully in the future we'll work some more but he's not on G-Unit.
dubcnn.com: There's also rumours circulating that Jayo Felony is about to sign to G-Unit... Do you know anything about that?
Nah, I don't really know anything about that...
dubcnn.com: Are you personally a fan of West Coast Hip-Hop?
Of course man! Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, MC Ren, come on man! I could keep going on! Ice Cube! I mean West Coast Rap really paved the way for Gangsta Rap, they made it cool to do gangsta rap. Nate Dogg! I mean 2Pac is one of the greatest! Him and Biggie Smalls, Biggie is from the East, and them two is the greatest!
dubcnn.com: Have you hooked up with Papoose yet?
Oh yeah Papoose is my guy, we haven't recorded anything yet but I've been freestyling with him, he's cool dude, I listened to his music, I got nothing but good things to say about him and Kay Slay, they real niggaz, good niggaz. The dude is hot!
dubcnn.com: If somebody has enough money to buy 1 record, has 10 to choose from though, why should he pick up yours?
Why should he pick mine? Because if you listen to G-Unit, all the albums have been quality, so that's a good reason right there, and then my album is very diversified, I got the club bangers, I gave you Pimpin', that's killing the clubs right now, I got a record with Joe called "So Curious", and I'm just the last one coming out, it's my time to shine! I mean you heard the mixtapes, you heard me on Banks album, you heard me on Games album, on Bucks album, I mean come on!
dubcnn.com: What's the future for Tony Yayo after this album?
The future for Tony Yayo, probably some acting, 50 got his movie, Get Rich Or Die Tryin' coming out, I got all kinds of endorsment deals, video game "Bulletproof" coming out in November. I got another video game coming out, I got my own sneaker deal, I'm working on my own liquor deal, I'm working on real estate! Rap is not the only focus, I'm a business man.
dubcnn.com: I appreciate you taking to time to answer the questions, is there anything else you'd like to let everybody know?
Oh man I just wanna thank everybody for the support, everybody that's locked up, that's out, 50 and the whole squad. Mobb Deep, Spider Loc, everybody, I wanna thank everybody. Support my album, I'm a real nigga I make real music, August 30th, I got a classic album, it's comparable to Get Rich Or Die Tryin', I'm gonna show the world something!
http://www.dubcnn.com/interviews/tonyyayo/
Whatup Nima! I'm chillin' man! It was crazy out here last night, you know what I mean? The name of my album is called "Thoughts of A Predicate Felon", it's coming out August 30th. The reason I called it "Thoughts Of A Predicate Felon" is cause I wrote half of the album while I was incarcerated, and the other half on the streets.
I got features too, I got my favorite white boy, I got 50 Cent, I got Lloyd Banks, I got Young Buck, I got Obie Trice, I got olivia, I got Jagged Edge, I got Spider Loc from the Westside, I got Joe, and I got production by Dr. Dre, Havoc, Em (2x), Focus, I got various producers, I'm not going by the name, I'm going by quality producers.
dubcnn.com: The ammount of Gangsta rappers in the game right now is so large, that it's hard to keep an overview. What are you doing to distinguish yourself from all the gun talk and killing on wax that would make you stand out?
I can tell you that real quick. I mean If you heard my hit record "So Seductive", that's in the street right now, I can make all kinds of records. I got a record with Joe where I wrote the hook it's called "Curious", I got a record with Jagged Edge called "Private Princess" I wrote the hook too, so you know, I got various kinds of music. I got another song out right now that's called "Pimpin'", it's another club banger. It's not just gun talk and all that, it's the reality of my life. It's just the harsh reality of my life.
But then, I also got some Jagged Edge, I got songs with Joe, with R&B Hit Hooks, like 21 Questions, like Karma, In Da Club. So me, Buck, Banks, 50, got the ability to make both, and that's what makes us different from alot of these gangsta rappers.
dubcnn.com: What do you say to people that say G-Unit turned pop and has watered itself down with the mainstream first singles?
You know what man? I mean c'mon, G-Unit turned pop... If you heard 50 Cents album "The Massacre", it was hard records. "Somebody Gone Die 2Nite" and all kinds of hard records. And then you got your club records. Like "Candy Shop". And his first one had that too, "In Da Club". It's just different shit that people can relate to.
dubcnn.com: Your song "So Seductive" was different from what you were doing before. If it was up to you, would you still have released that song as the first single?
Oh yeah of course! I know everybody expected a hard street record to be my first single, but that hard street record ain't gonna bang back in the club, it's not gonna rock overseas, it's just that you gotta make music for the world. It's a difference between makin' music for your hood, and makin' music for the world. But I got records on my album that's street hard, "Homocide", "Eastside Westside" and shit, but then I got songs that your grandmother could dance to.
dubcnn.com: When The Game was on G-Unit, he was riding for you hard. You've probably heard 300 Bars and the Game mixtape going at G-Unit. What was your first reaction when you heard it?
I'm not mad at him.. I mean Game is a young dude, he's making alot of bad decisions right now. I mean he just contradicts himself. This is the same guy who told Jay-Z to suck his dick, tell Beanie Sigel to suck his dick. He said on MTV, that I'm the most rawest rapper in G-Unit. And then the next day he said I was wack! He said G-Unit is the Eastcoast NWA. And now it's G-Unot. He said all kinds of things man, this is the same dude that said all kinds of things and contradicted hisself.
Right now I'm just trying to be down to earth, I just went through the streets and signed 50 autographs. All the artists ain't doin' that. Me and my niggaz took two young Bloods of the streets, they was Bloods. These niggaz was dirty. I took my sneakers off my feet and gave it to them. Took them to our hotel, gave them haircuts, got them all G-Unit clothes, and we brought them backstage to our show. What rappers you know who keep it real like that? You know what I'm sayin? I'm a loyal dude man, I learned from 50 Cent, I learned from Jam Master Jay Rest In Peace man, I've been riding with 50 when he got shot and he got dropped and we did the mixtapes. I'm the last one coming out but I'm a loyal dude, and I love that dude. I love Buck, I'm just a loyal dude. If you down with me I'ma ride or die for you.
dubcnn.com: Has Hip-Hop become so fake that people make up at a conference and then go on and diss each other again? Hip-Hop has been reminding me of the WWE Wrestling lately, with all these beefs... What's your take on that?
I mean for the Game situation man, we moving on. I don't think about it, it was a business move, somehting had to be done. It is what it is. 50's a boss. He just signed Mobb Deep, he just signed M.O.P., my album comes out August 30th, we got Olivia "Behind Closed Doors" coming, we got Mobb Deep album they bout 30 songs in, M.O.P. is like 30 songs in, Banks and Bucks new album are done, we got a movie soundtrack coming out in November, with me Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, M.O.P. Mobb Deep, Olivia. We just signed another California artist, Spider Loc. So we not biased or nothin', you know what I mean? We still got love for California, we just signed another California aritst. It's all good. Basically it was like, 50 wrote half of Game's album, and then when it was done and he sold 4 million, he said Fuck It! That's what it came down to!
dubcnn.com: To close the Game topic, what would happen if you ran into Game today in traffic?
I'm not even thinking about that dude! Oh man, let me tell you something, I'm on state parole man, I'm not finna do nothing to nobody. I'm not even focusing on that. But as for 50, 50's been real. From the 80's, the 90's, his life is real. And we don't glorify what we do, we just came from the bottom man, and now we on top! So dudes hate!
dubcnn.com: G-Unit just signed Mobb Deep and M.O.P. Specially Mobb Deep was surprising, as 50 kind of dissed them on The Massacre. I guess it's all about the money, huh?
That was just a lil thing man, it wasn't nothin'. Both me and 50, we been fans of Mobb Deep ever since Shook Ones! And 50 holla'd at them, we got on tour, did some songs, they on 50's Massacre Re-Release on the bonus track, and they doing their album!
dubcnn.com: I heard you have Kokane on 3 songs, how did you hook up with Koka?
Oh yeah! I got a record called "So High", I wrote the hook, I got Kokane on it. It's about smokin' that chronic, you know?
dubcnn.com: Is it true he's going to be signing with G-Unit?
Oh nah, Kokane is cool, Kokane is a good dude, hopefully in the future we'll work some more but he's not on G-Unit.
dubcnn.com: There's also rumours circulating that Jayo Felony is about to sign to G-Unit... Do you know anything about that?
Nah, I don't really know anything about that...
dubcnn.com: Are you personally a fan of West Coast Hip-Hop?
Of course man! Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, MC Ren, come on man! I could keep going on! Ice Cube! I mean West Coast Rap really paved the way for Gangsta Rap, they made it cool to do gangsta rap. Nate Dogg! I mean 2Pac is one of the greatest! Him and Biggie Smalls, Biggie is from the East, and them two is the greatest!
dubcnn.com: Have you hooked up with Papoose yet?
Oh yeah Papoose is my guy, we haven't recorded anything yet but I've been freestyling with him, he's cool dude, I listened to his music, I got nothing but good things to say about him and Kay Slay, they real niggaz, good niggaz. The dude is hot!
dubcnn.com: If somebody has enough money to buy 1 record, has 10 to choose from though, why should he pick up yours?
Why should he pick mine? Because if you listen to G-Unit, all the albums have been quality, so that's a good reason right there, and then my album is very diversified, I got the club bangers, I gave you Pimpin', that's killing the clubs right now, I got a record with Joe called "So Curious", and I'm just the last one coming out, it's my time to shine! I mean you heard the mixtapes, you heard me on Banks album, you heard me on Games album, on Bucks album, I mean come on!
dubcnn.com: What's the future for Tony Yayo after this album?
The future for Tony Yayo, probably some acting, 50 got his movie, Get Rich Or Die Tryin' coming out, I got all kinds of endorsment deals, video game "Bulletproof" coming out in November. I got another video game coming out, I got my own sneaker deal, I'm working on my own liquor deal, I'm working on real estate! Rap is not the only focus, I'm a business man.
dubcnn.com: I appreciate you taking to time to answer the questions, is there anything else you'd like to let everybody know?
Oh man I just wanna thank everybody for the support, everybody that's locked up, that's out, 50 and the whole squad. Mobb Deep, Spider Loc, everybody, I wanna thank everybody. Support my album, I'm a real nigga I make real music, August 30th, I got a classic album, it's comparable to Get Rich Or Die Tryin', I'm gonna show the world something!
http://www.dubcnn.com/interviews/tonyyayo/
