WorldWideConnected.com: Where are you from and what was it like?
I’m from 24th Street, Garden Blocc, California, which happens to be in South Sacramento. I’m from the BLOCC, man! GBC! But, yea, I feel you, I was born in Sacramento but I was raised all over the place. My pre-teen years were spent being bounced back and forth between Sac, Waco, TX, and Prichard, Ala. There were stops in Huntsville, Ala, Ft. Worth, TX, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Arizona… and then I went home, FINALLY, when I was 14 or 15, back to Sac for good. Mama was a rollin’ stone… wherever she laid her purse was her home.
WorldWideConnected.com: For those who don’t know, how long have you been in jail for and what are you in jail for? How many years do you have left?
I’ve been in jail forever, it feels like! Shit, I was in youth authority programs before I hit the county jail or prison. But I’ve been in the pen since 1996 for 186.22, which is gang-related homicide. It’s been nine years of prison so far, and I’ve got 9 more left on my sentence unless I get lucky on an appeal.
WorldWideConnected.com: I heard that Flesh-N-Bone, BG Knocc Out and Tray Deee were in the same jail that you are in, is there any truth to that, if so, did you ever meet any of them?
I’ve been at the same prisons as them niggas at the same time, but they ain’t never walked the same kind of yards as me. I’m level four, max security. I walk the yard with lifers and niggas with 15 years or worse. The only way a short timer could be on a max yard is if that nigga is about to wrap up a decade and change. But I think BG is level four, and I’ve heard good shit about him… He’s not a mark, ya heard? Flesh ‘N’ whatever would mean nothin’ to me if I met him or not because this is prison, not a rap convention. Tray Deee and BG are Crips… if we were together, it would be Crip love, automatic; me and Flesh would have nothing to discuss.
WorldWideConnected.com: I heard you got a new album coming out in 05, do you have a title for it? Who is going to produce it? Any guest rappers? What’s the difference between this album and your other albums?
Yup… new album comin’ for ’05. Man, I’ve got about three different titles, so it’s still in the air. I’ll decide when I have to, ya know? Production is being done by Loki and Speakeasy, plus Lynch and whoever else… it’s early right now and I could still pass on some of this shit if it doesn’t move me. But it’s coming, fa sho. I’ve got Lynch, Loki, No Love, T-Nutty, and, as usual Luni Coleone. There will be others… this isn’t a conceptual thing with lots of focus. I’ll do that with Unforgiven Volume 2 either later this year or in early ’06. The difference between this album and my other albums? I’d say control. This time, I got the last word on every detail, and that’s a first since Psycho Active. Everyone has the freedom to do as they please, to work freely, but I can reject the shit if I think it’s wack. Usually, the album would be done by the time I heard it and I’d hate 60% of the shit and not be able to do nothin’ about it because too much money was already spent. Not anymore!
WorldWideConnected.com: Do you and Brotha Lynch ever plan on doing a duo album together? Or do you plan on doing that with someone else?
I’d love to do some duo shit with Lynch… there would be no better twosome. I mean, me and that nigga got flows that ain’t too many other niggas able to fuck with… For a decade and change now. But there’s always bullshit in the game, little shit that gets in the way. Like niggas think I’m mad at them or whatever, all the time. I’m like, damn, cuzz, I’m mad because you don’t be at me right, not because I don’t like you! (ha ha ha) Feel me? But what can I do, dogg? I’m not suckin’ no cock for nothin’, fuck a beat, a feature, and a collaboration if I have to get on my knees. Lynch is the man in his world, I’m the man in mine… I don’t want to do nothin’ but make music and let it speak for me… I don’t know what to say to make niggas comfortable and secure because I honestly don’t know what the problem is! I mean… Every Blocc nigga Lynch knows, especially 24th niggas, I’ve introduced him to, even recently. If I hate a nigga… I mean… No Love would smash any nigga I asked him to smash, or he would order it to occur, so if I was trippin’… No Love sees Lynch at Lynch’s house… I’ve got niggas in your house… Feel me? So it’s like, damn, No Love treats you with respect because of X-Raided… so why you think I’m trippin’? Damn, nigga, I love you, cuzz, what more can I say? Jesus fuckin’ christ, nah mean?! We’re good!
WorldWideConnected.com: What is your favorite album of all time?
My personal favorite album of all time? What the fuck is that? That’s some shit to ask a kid… I’m a grown ass man… I’ve got a million favorites! Some 16 year old has only experienced, alive, a decade of music, so that’s a muh fucca who would say, “oh, All Eyez On Me” or some shit. Fuck that, I love Curtis Mayfield and Marvin! I love Prince, nigga! Sign O’ the Times and Purple Rain! Led Zepplin the guitar on Cashmier is incredible! I’m sayin’… R. Kelly T.P.2.Com is a classic, but so is AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, Chronic and Niggaz For Life! So is Born To Mack, Quik Is The Name, Eazy Duz It, No One Can Do It Better and muh fuccin’ Doggystyle. Ice T got classic shit! So this is a question for a teenager or just a dumb nigga… Maybe that’s your point? (ha ha ha) You can tell a lot about a fool by how they answer this question, for real.
WorldWideConnected.com: What is your favorite album by yourself?
My personal favorite X-Raided album is, and will be, Unforgiven Volume 2. Lyrically, I killed it and I did it on purpose! Other than that, I have no “favorite”. I’m attached to different albums for different reasons. I did Psycho Active in the midst of the Garden Blocc Crips going to war with the Meadowview Bloods and I was in close proximity to some of their leaders and more well known members. So there is urgency, anger, siccness, real emotions behind Psycho Active. I was only 16 then. And Unforgiven Volume One was made against all odds, in the pen, lots of sneakin’ around, Spy VS. Spy shit, so there is an excitement in the vocals. I was in trial when I did Xorcist… real pain, real crazy. I was really out of my mind with gang bangin’ then. So there are different reasons that I like and dislike each album.
WorldWideConnected.com: How do you feel about the state of West Coast Rap? And what do you think about the Sacramento rap scene?
The state of West Coast Rap… Maybe this Game nigga will bring the majors back out West… you know… without Nelly, Chingy never gets a deal… Without Twista, that new Chicago nigga never gets a deal… Kanye did wonders for backpack niggas, Eminem gave white boys salvation in a post-Vanilla Ice industry. Lil Whyte and Bubba, Haystack and them all owe Em’ some gratitude. So maybe Game can get the light back on the West, but I’ll tell you why it doesn’t matter. Number one, when we say West Coast, subconsciously, we’re sayin California. And when we say California, subconsciously, we’re saying Los Angeles and her satellite cities (Compton, Long Beach, etc…), so Game’s success will do nothing for Northern Cali and Cali as a whole unless that niggas do what Pac did and unite Northern and Southern California rappers. Then there’s a bigger issue… you gotta sell records. Game’s success is a result of 50 Cent, Dr. Dre and Eminem’s public endorsement and Jimmy Iovine’s private investment. That’s literally some major shit. But who is Game on his own and what can he do for himself, as 50 Cent did post-Get Rich Or Die Tryin’? That will determine if the West will benefit from his success. But like I was saying… Record sales… man, we depend too heavily on California for record sales. It’s like NY got in the late 80’d and early 90’s. We act like we don’t need the USA as a whole. We’re all “Fuck this and fuck that” but we cryin’ cuz our shit won’t sell? (ha ha ha) But , okay, fuck New York, fuck everywhere right? So now what? Man, the West Coast is not just California, and it definitely ain’t just LA. Shit, Yukmouth could murder half the rappers in LA on his own, and we got Hyroglyphics for that lyrical shit. Nor Cal got fire. E-A Ski got beats as hard as Dr. Dre, and fools forget that Ric Roc and Cyper Clef and Federation is from Sacramento. Dr. Dre uses Ric Roc beats himself, so what’s really good? Jayo is hard as fuck, but he’s from San Diego! He ain’t no LA nigga. Besides the nigga Crooked I, don’t know no LA niggas blow me away as no emcees, cuzz, and that includes Kurupt becuz that niggas not writing, he is freestyling, and hot albums ain’t made that way. Ras Kass is god in LA. I mean, they exist, but it’s bigger than Southern and Northern Cali. We need to be in the streets of Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. Shit,, Kansas City loves Cali niggas, too. These places combine to create the West Coast, and if we actually networked and impacted these states, we would be platinum every album without a NY or Southern nigga ever even buyin’ our shit. Master P proved it and, evidently, nobody in Cali paid attention! He used states that were being neglected… Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas to go platinum. As a result of lockin’ down home, the USA came to him as a whole to see what all the fuss was about, which took him 5X platinum. And he did it all with wack-ass music. So what’s really? In my opinion, no matter how good or bad the music, the West Coast will never achieve non-Dr. Dre or Snoop Dogg assisted success until we do what they did… establish love in areas other than just California. Until then, the Guerilla Blacks and the whoever-the-fucks, including me, will continue to achieve underground legend status and that alone. Otherwise, E-40 would be platinum plus. I’m gonna try to do it, but I’ll need a lot of help and time, both of which I got plenty. As far as Sac-Town rap, I think we got some of the best cadences and deliveries in the game, but the lyrics are basted on nothing 60% of the time. It’s all murder, battle, bitches and I kinda started it… (ha ha ha) So now I gotta alter it a bit. I’ll give ‘em something else to follow as an example when Unforgiven Volume 2 drops.
WorldWideConnected.com: What rappers are you feeling the most right now? And what rappers are you not feeling? And also, do you have beef with Shyne?
I’m feeling different dudes for different reasons. I like Shady/Aftermath/G-Unit becuz of the beats, and Eminem and Young Buck’s rhymes. I like to see anybody smash and be successful, and Dr. Dre’s success is a beautiful thing to me, as a fan of over 20 years. The nigga influenced me more than anybody, period, ever, so I root for Dre to succeed. However you shake it, without Dre, we’d really be in trouble out West becuz at least Dre could blow one of us up… who else we got who could do it? Snoop? (ha ha ha) Then why ain’t Soopafly and them blew? Becuz Snoop can only blow up Snoop, and even that’s becuz of Dre, so it all comes back to Dre, so I’m feelin’ Aftermath. Besides Aftermath, I basically buy everything becuz I’m a competitive nigga. I’ll listen to Twista and love it, write a rhyme to his beats that are just as fast as his shit… just to prove it to my fam… Then I move on… I look for reasons to write, like Jordan looked for reasons to drop 40 on niggas. “Oh, that nigga thinks he’s fast?” (ha ha ha) But it’s cuz I love that shit. I’m a Twista fan of over a decade. I’ve owned everything he ever released. People said Pac was a prolific writer becuz he had accumulated so many songs… So I wrote 200 in two years to determine whether or not I am gifted, whether or not I deserve the crown. I got rid of the garbage, most of it, I hope (ha ha ha) and I had about 150 songs. I dropped Unforgiven Vol 1, Nefarious, Vengeance Iz Mine, Initiation and Sac-A-Indo in a three year span without ever repeating a rhyme! At 15 songs per album, that’s 75 songs I dropped in 36 months… So who’s prolific? I get my motivation from niggas I like. Their struggles and successes inspire me, so Twista is the man to me. I like Ludacris a lot. Killa Tay is, like, my favorite to hear at any time. He's great. Luni Coleone makes me laugh… I threw rocks with that nigga as a kid, real ones and coke ones, so it’s like, “Hey, it’s MONTERIO RAPPING!” It amazes me. As far as who I’m not feeling… It fluctuates. Every emcee is capable of a wack rhyme, even me… Just less likely than, say, your Nelly’s and Chingy’s. But I’m not feelin’ any nigga rippin’ off his shit and singin’ a hook who ain’t clearly an R&B artist. I ain’t feelin’ no nigga who is hard in his rhymes and a bitch on the street. I ain’t feelin’ no nigga who ain’t workin’ to advance Hip Hop. Basically, I ain’t feelin’ that intentionally Pop Hip Hop, it sucks. And no, I ain’t got beef wit’ Shyne. I don’t even know that nigga. I disliked the way the media tried to tell ME, X-Raided Loc, that Shyne was “The Truth”. I disliked the media sayin’ he accomplished something unparalleled when the LIFERS GROUP, MAC DRE, and then I put out nationally distributed albums from jail first. And his shit wasn’t MADE in jail, it was unreleased shit from before/during his trial, so they tried to play us. Man, I’ve dropped, what, six long players from WITHIN’ THE PRISONS, without permission, been in “the hole” for it for months of my life, and you wanna tell me SHYNE is the truth? (ha ha ha) I reject that enthusiastically. I wish the brother great success. I’ve been told by the right people that the kid is a solid dude, so Thug King to Godfather, I wish the nigga the best, on the Blocc, even if I got a little angry about that Def Jam deal! (ha ha ha) If Shyne’s the truth… I’m the Holy Grail, dogg. I’m jus’ sayin.
WorldWideConnected.com: What do you think about 2Pac’s new album?
I didn’t get to hear Pac’s new album ‘cuz I’m in the hole right now. But I have it. I’ll knock it ASAP. It’s in my boxes of property as we speak.
WorldWideConnected.com: Who would you want to work with that you have not worked with yet?
Who would I wanna work with that I haven’t… Damn, jan, I’ll work wit’ the kid with a palm top studio to the nigga workin’ at Sony Studios. I’m an emcee, fam… I will rhyme with anybody even if I dislike the nigga… ‘Cuz I could still want to stomp him on his own track (ha ha ha) Man, I’m from the true school! My “dreams” aren’t about who I could rap with, it’s more who I could rap for and who could produce my shit. I’d love to live in the studio with Dre for a year. We would change the game. I’d re-energize that nigga and give him another 5 years of fire. And I’d love to write an album for Ice Cube ‘cuz he’s, like, not too focused. I could take him back to the FIRE. He is a West Coast legend. I’d love to write some Too Short shit… Give him the inspiration he once gave me… Give them my YOUTH. Man, I’d work with a million muh fuccas… Anybody who ain’t wack and/or disrespecting the culture. And I’d work with Alicia Keys too, Alicia got great beats.
WorldWideConnected.com: Are you still working on your autobiography? When do you think it will be released?
Yup… Still workin’ on my autobiography. I have Soren Baker and Billy Jam supporting me with the book thing, and we’re looking to secure a deal for it as we speak. I hope to get it released this year… there is no reason why we shouldn’t.
WorldWideConnected.com: Do you think The Game is going to bring the West Coast back?
The Game… no. He can build toward it, but he has a lot to prove before he could ever carry the cross. Remember… Whoever brings us back… He will have to be an undeniably superior lyricist just to survive the initial hate out East. We don’t need their sales but we do need their MEDIA. NY media, for a West Coast nigga to blow majorly, have to endorse you as a credible artist. Game can rhyme, but he is not superior even in his own city, nevertheless the Coast, and he gotta stop havin’ these corny beefs wit’ niggas. You fuckin’ wit’ Budden, then you photo oppin’ wit Budden? Yukmouth? I mean, if it’s war, war, if it’s not, keep it clean from the gate or it looks like a stunt. Once you become Super Dave, you can never be seen as Evel Kinivel. Dave was a joke… Kinivel jumped the fuckin’ Grand Canyon! He was SERIOUS! If Game is serious, he will have a positive affect on us all. If not, he’ll set us back even more.
WorldWideConnected.com: What’s your favorite Rap magazine and why?
Man, I like Murder Dog interviews ‘cuz it’s ghetto. I like whatever got a good story in it, tho’, and that varies from month to month. But Murder Dog is my home team, and above all, they get the love.
WorldWideConnected.com: Are you still mad at The Source for rating your “Unforgiven Vol 1” too low?
Who said I was mad at The Source for that? I understood what happened. First of all, Eric Arnold gave me 3 mics. The Editors reduced it. So the question becomes “WHY”. It’s easy: to endorse X-Raided is to endorse GANGSTER FOR REAL, Authentic Article. I am little too TRUE for some people. So if they said, “X is hot. He is heated and he should be courted”, they could have been perceived as saying, “It’s okay to be a murderer”, or “Hey, kids, go kill people and get rich!” Also, to endorse me, with my story and my truth, with my skills… They could have initiated my takeover as King. There is much to ME, if it was properly promoted, I would have an intense spotlight on me… And I’ve got the rhymes to live up to any hype I receive. So, BOOM, a West Coast nigga is back, one who “kills people”, and isn’t that what they hated about Pac and Suge in the first place? Big DIED on the West Coast, dog, we took their King away from them, in their eyes. It was a fresh wound in 1999… Still bleedin’… So they would never have endorsed a West Coast emcee. The closest they came was Kurupt, and he’s from Philly. Xzibit’s from Detroit. They wasn’t BORN here. Ras Kass got hated, I got hated, C-Bo got hated… Luniz got hated, E 40 got hated… This wasn’t about X-Raided VS. The Source… It was The Source VS. anybody within a 10 hour drive, in any direction, of where Biggie was murdered at. The truth is that the REASON we’re shut out of the game right now is becuz we “killed Biggie”. No East Coast COMPANY fucks with us, no MEDIA, no RADIO. That’s not coincidental, dogg. Wake the fuck up. And they will never let Suge back in, as he will discover eventually… Becuz, well, people die when he’s involved. (ha ha ha) Fuck being mad at The Source, I think of it as, if you killed my homie, I’d hate you too. Biggie was they homie. Now they hate us. That’s fair. They never hid it… Everyone just acted like they didn’t want to say words. And to prove it… They burned me for being too concerned with “Prison, murder and bitches…” Yet DMX got love for sayin’ “IF your’ve got a daughter older than 15, I’ma rape her…” Man we kill niggas for sayin’ shit like that in prison… But, umm, I’m sayin’ he can rap some fantasy shit (I hope) and get 4 ½ mics, but I rap about what happens to really be my life and you burn me for it? (ha ha ha) They don’t want real gangsters in the game… Not from the West Coast… Becuz we really kill people. They just rap about it.
WorldWideConnected.com: What do your days look like?
My days are decent, man… I’m a well loved nigga. I get A LOT of love, dogg… I’m like… My days ain’t never dark. I shine too bright for that.
WorldWideConnected.com: How long have you been with your wife? How did you meet each other? Do you have any kids together?
I been with my wife forever… We met by traveling a long, winding road that connected and brought us together at the perfect time. Kids… man… I got a crazy daughter that be mackin’ me, dogg! And my wife wants MORE! Ahhhh… So do I! All jokes aside, I love my wife, dogg. Put her in a room with 50 married women and my wife would have the biggest diamond ring in the buildin’! She’s iced out! So, yea, I don’t too much give a fuck anymore… I’ve had a million bitches, and a million still holla, but my wife ain’t got no competition. It’s comforting to be situated in that regard. I ain’t even trippin’. I love her.
WorldWideConnected.com: Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
On my couch wit’ my feet up gettin’ served like a King (If I win an appeal); Or in the visiting room wit’ my feet up gettin’ served like a King; Either way, it’s as a King… And I’ll have the West Coast crown, by then, too, so that’s literal. K-I-N-G.
WorldWideConnected.com: Word Association
Brotha Lynch Hung
Different. Brilliant delivery.
Jay-Z
Smart dude. Very.
T-Nutty
My nigga… Proud of him!
Loki
Loyal. Honorable dude.
Black Market Records
Could have been major. Unfortunate.
George Bush
Arrogant. Idiot. Smart circle around him.
DMX
I wish I had a kilo, in rocks, and his phone number.
C-Bo
One of the realest niggas I know. Blocc love for life!
Yukmouth
I buy whatever he spits on! Enough said!
Benzino
You gotta be kiddin me? What the fuck would…
Eminem
Okay, so Benzino makes sense. Who gives a fuck?
WorldWideConnected.com: And the last word is for yourself, X-Raided
Loyal to a fault. My loyalty has gotten me in lots of trouble.
WorldWideConnected.com: Any last words?
Shit… I’m hungry! No, literally, I’m about to eat somethin! One love, big respect. I’m out!
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LMAO@ the DMX comment
