The West is on it's way back. We've got The Game, Daz signing, DJ Quik in the studio, Ras Kass back and in the studio, Bishop Lamont, and Scipio too.
When Ras Kass got locked up two years ago, Scipio took the reins of Re-Up Entertainment and ran with them, keeping his mentor's name as well as his own in everyone's mouths. By keeping his name in the streets via various mixtapes, Scipio is known by a lot of hip-hop industry as one of the West Coast's brightest up-and-comers. Most recently, MTV's DJ Clue gave the rapper even more shine when he featured him on his last mixtape (The Incredible) -- take note that Scipio was the only West Coast rapper on the tape aside from G-Unit's Game.
For those who are checking for Scipio, you should be. He's one of the hungriest and most driven artists in the game, and vows that he will not stop until he's on top. Read our candid interview with the young emcee as he speaks on everything from Ras Kass schooling him on the game to how he decided to become a rapper.
BallerStatus.net: You are Ras Kass' protégé, so tell me about how you linked up with Ras Kass?
Scipio: Me and Ras met through a mutual friend a while ago -- over like 10 years ago. That's my dog, that's like my mentor. He's like a brother to me.
BallerStatus.net: And how has working with Ras Kass helped your career thus far?
Scipio: It's helped my career because he's extremely intelligent, and he's put me up on a lot of game. I've really got a chance to see what he's going through, his whole situation and how things really went wrong (Ras Kass has had a lot of trouble with Priority Record, since they shelved his past two albums, Goldyn Child and Van Gogh). Obviously, the mistakes that the made, I'm gonna try my best not to go through them. I'm gonna have that much more of a chance to evade those problems just by seeing what he went through. He always was like, "You see this man? This is who you don't f--k with; this is who you should f--k with." And just showed me how sh-t happens, and how you should avoid it.
BallerStatus.net: Let's step back a little into you as a kid. When did you kinda decide you wanted to be a rapper as your career?
Scipio: [DJ] Quik, R.B.L. Posse are kinda some of the people who influenced me; Ice Cube, of course. I was more into Cube than N.W.A. I've been writing, but it didn't really get extremely serious to me -- as far as me thinking about it as a career -- until I was in college in '98. I would ask myself, "Am I really about to sit up here for four years, and get a piece of paper when I really don't wanna do nothing with mass communications?" So I came back home...actually I had a fight -- I beat a ni--a up and the dean kicked me out of the school. That actually kinda helped me make up my mind also. Probably around then -- around '99 and 2000 -- I was really trying to make this sh-t pop man. I dropped everything. I had a football scholarship on the table, so when I got kicked out of there, I went to Mount San Antonio College where I played football. But I dropped it all for this hip-hop sh-t.
BallerStatus.net: Right now, you are known for being one of the up-and-coming dudes from the West. You got a nice buzz going on. What are some of your qualities that will help you stand out from everyone else in the game?
Scipio: I don't know man. I really took the time to study all the people that I admired in the game, and learned their style, and tried my best to be better than them. As far as lyrics, I think people say, "The ni--a's dope," so they like what I'm spitting. Also, when they get a chance to meet me, they like me as a person because they see I'm a real ni--a. And I get my hustle on... What more could an audience ask for in an emcee than a real ni--a that be out here spitting. I ain't out here on some phony gangbangin' sh-t neither, even though everybody I know gangbang, I'm not trying to follow their path. I just try to come with witty, clever sh-t. I listen to Jay-Z, and listen to his metaphors and try to conquer them. I listen to Pac, and try to really put my life into these tracks like he did. And I listen to Ras, and I try to come up with them lyrics that will f--k your brain up. I just try to be better than everybody I look up to, and be a real ni--a to sum it all up.
BallerStatus.net: You were just on DJ Clue's last mixtape (The Incredible), and aside from Game, you were the only West Coast emcee on there, which is big. How does to be recognized from a big East Coast DJ like Clue, when right now most West Coast emcees aren't getting the love they used to?
Scipio: It was a blessing. It was a real blessing, and it was kinda like a pat on the back for all my hard work. I've been doing all this struggling I've been through, and this is kind of like it's paid off to some extent. I've come so far, but I have so far to go. Little things like that give me hope, and keep me focused, and make me wanna do my research -- read and write -- and do the things that got me where I'm at today. It was most definitely an honor for him to reach out, and put me on the mixtape. That was real big.
BallerStatus.net: How do you feel about the current situation with hip-hop music on the West Coast?
Scipio: I feel like the West is overdue. We been in a rebuilding process, and it's coming back around. Game is doing some nice things, opening up the West, but there is so much more talent. He is not what it's gonna take solely to bring the West back completely. Not one man -- not [Game] -- can bring it back by himself. But collectively, there are a lot of dudes out here in L.A. that can spit. I plan to bring a lot of them to the forefront. It's looking real positive out here, and there is a lot of love out here right now. I feel like that was something the West Coast lacked for a long time. On the East Coast it's a little bit different because you got some many cats out there rhyming, and some many clicks working with each other on some business sh-t. Out here it's kinda like crabs in a barrel, and whoever gets on, they get on and they don't wanna help no one else. It all comes from the N.W.A. tree anyone that comes outta Dr. Dre's camp is gonna do good, and anyone coming outta Eazy-E's camp -- rest in peace -- is gonna do good, and anyone that came from Cube was gonna be listened to. But now, there is an energy now, and everyone is working together for the most part.
BallerStatus.net: You're working with Ras Kass' Re-Up Entertainment. Can you tell me a little about that, and what's going on over there?
Scipio: Well, Re-Up is a company that me, [Ras Kass], Brad and another homie developed. That's our company, our indie company, and our bond. We’re trying to take it to that next level. We haven't solidified specifically what we want it to be, but it's gonna be a label, it's gonna be an entertainment company -- all of that. We want it to branch off into all genres of entertainment. Instead of limiting ourselves by putting it as Re-Up Records, we did Re-Up Entertainment.
BallerStatus.net: Can you talk about the grind -- especially a West Coast artist -- goes through to get himself out there?
Scipio: Aww, it's crazy; you can't sleep. You cannot sleep dog. I just lock myself in a hotel for 2 1/2 weeks, and just write. I had to get out of my hood man; sometimes you gotta get out of your comfort zone. A lot of times not everyone around you is gonna see your vision. I noticed that the closest people that know me all my life didn't see my vision. Only I saw it, from the beginning of my career to where I'm at now, and I assure you that I'm gonna make them see my vision. They are gonna believe my vision when they see me on TV on some real sh-t. My advice to young up-and-coming ni--as is that you gotta work hard man. You gotta work harder than the next man. If you wanna be at home playing PS2, there is another ni--a that's more talented or even less talented that's has a drive to succeed. You gotta be driven; you gotta have that battery on their back, and have that fire under their ass. Me personally, I don't necessarily have a click. Ras is the only ni--a that showed me, then the ni--a went down for 2 years. So I had to really get my mind right, and do all that sh-t myself, and keep our sh-t popping while the ni--a was away. People shouldn't rap just to rap. If you don't have a passion for it, put it down and get a job because this sh-t is no vacation. I've done went crazy for this sh-t man. I've been like, "This money ain't coming in, what the f--k? I'm
not about to drive birds across town and risk my freedom." All types of sh-t goes through your mind when you’re broke. Some ni--as intern for like 10 years rapping, you know? What other job do you know where a ni--a will intern for like 17 years before he makes it and sees some money?
BallerStatus.net: Yea, that's what you have to go through if you really want it.
Scipio: Hell yea and I won't stop 'til I do. I put condoms on and I'm still pulling out when I bust 'cause I ain't having no kids. If I ever do, I'm gonna take care of my young ones, but I can't do that right now. I'm focused dog, and nothing is gonna stop me unless God comes and takes me. And he's not gonna do that 'cause we talk every night.
BallerStatus.net: Let's talk about the projects you got going on right now?
Scipio: I'm working on the album, and I'm working with Ras Kass on a mixtape with him; his Welcome Home joint (with the CaliUntouchables). I'm working on another mixtape for me, and right after that I'm working on a Best Of Scipio mixtape. My official album should drop say early 2006. Realistically, when you sign a deal it takes close to a year to drop anyway, but I'm doing all the footwork myself. Once I present it to a label, the streets will be waiting for me, so you won't have to force it out there. They expect me already.
BallerStatus.net: But in the meantime, you'll be dropping mixtapes to keep material out there?
Scipio: All day! I'll be on the next DJ Warrior mixtape, CaliUntoucble Radio Pt. 5. I was on a mixtape with DJ Warrior & TheDJStrong, with me and Game; it did really good for me, they put that out there in the streets. It had a lot of my old material and a lot of Game's old material, but everyone was feeling it. Shoutout to CaliUntouchables, they really did me some justice with that.
http://rapidshare.de/files/1079220/Scipio_-_City_of_Angels.wma.html
When Ras Kass got locked up two years ago, Scipio took the reins of Re-Up Entertainment and ran with them, keeping his mentor's name as well as his own in everyone's mouths. By keeping his name in the streets via various mixtapes, Scipio is known by a lot of hip-hop industry as one of the West Coast's brightest up-and-comers. Most recently, MTV's DJ Clue gave the rapper even more shine when he featured him on his last mixtape (The Incredible) -- take note that Scipio was the only West Coast rapper on the tape aside from G-Unit's Game.
For those who are checking for Scipio, you should be. He's one of the hungriest and most driven artists in the game, and vows that he will not stop until he's on top. Read our candid interview with the young emcee as he speaks on everything from Ras Kass schooling him on the game to how he decided to become a rapper.
BallerStatus.net: You are Ras Kass' protégé, so tell me about how you linked up with Ras Kass?
Scipio: Me and Ras met through a mutual friend a while ago -- over like 10 years ago. That's my dog, that's like my mentor. He's like a brother to me.
BallerStatus.net: And how has working with Ras Kass helped your career thus far?
Scipio: It's helped my career because he's extremely intelligent, and he's put me up on a lot of game. I've really got a chance to see what he's going through, his whole situation and how things really went wrong (Ras Kass has had a lot of trouble with Priority Record, since they shelved his past two albums, Goldyn Child and Van Gogh). Obviously, the mistakes that the made, I'm gonna try my best not to go through them. I'm gonna have that much more of a chance to evade those problems just by seeing what he went through. He always was like, "You see this man? This is who you don't f--k with; this is who you should f--k with." And just showed me how sh-t happens, and how you should avoid it.
BallerStatus.net: Let's step back a little into you as a kid. When did you kinda decide you wanted to be a rapper as your career?
Scipio: [DJ] Quik, R.B.L. Posse are kinda some of the people who influenced me; Ice Cube, of course. I was more into Cube than N.W.A. I've been writing, but it didn't really get extremely serious to me -- as far as me thinking about it as a career -- until I was in college in '98. I would ask myself, "Am I really about to sit up here for four years, and get a piece of paper when I really don't wanna do nothing with mass communications?" So I came back home...actually I had a fight -- I beat a ni--a up and the dean kicked me out of the school. That actually kinda helped me make up my mind also. Probably around then -- around '99 and 2000 -- I was really trying to make this sh-t pop man. I dropped everything. I had a football scholarship on the table, so when I got kicked out of there, I went to Mount San Antonio College where I played football. But I dropped it all for this hip-hop sh-t.
BallerStatus.net: Right now, you are known for being one of the up-and-coming dudes from the West. You got a nice buzz going on. What are some of your qualities that will help you stand out from everyone else in the game?
Scipio: I don't know man. I really took the time to study all the people that I admired in the game, and learned their style, and tried my best to be better than them. As far as lyrics, I think people say, "The ni--a's dope," so they like what I'm spitting. Also, when they get a chance to meet me, they like me as a person because they see I'm a real ni--a. And I get my hustle on... What more could an audience ask for in an emcee than a real ni--a that be out here spitting. I ain't out here on some phony gangbangin' sh-t neither, even though everybody I know gangbang, I'm not trying to follow their path. I just try to come with witty, clever sh-t. I listen to Jay-Z, and listen to his metaphors and try to conquer them. I listen to Pac, and try to really put my life into these tracks like he did. And I listen to Ras, and I try to come up with them lyrics that will f--k your brain up. I just try to be better than everybody I look up to, and be a real ni--a to sum it all up.
BallerStatus.net: You were just on DJ Clue's last mixtape (The Incredible), and aside from Game, you were the only West Coast emcee on there, which is big. How does to be recognized from a big East Coast DJ like Clue, when right now most West Coast emcees aren't getting the love they used to?
Scipio: It was a blessing. It was a real blessing, and it was kinda like a pat on the back for all my hard work. I've been doing all this struggling I've been through, and this is kind of like it's paid off to some extent. I've come so far, but I have so far to go. Little things like that give me hope, and keep me focused, and make me wanna do my research -- read and write -- and do the things that got me where I'm at today. It was most definitely an honor for him to reach out, and put me on the mixtape. That was real big.
BallerStatus.net: How do you feel about the current situation with hip-hop music on the West Coast?
Scipio: I feel like the West is overdue. We been in a rebuilding process, and it's coming back around. Game is doing some nice things, opening up the West, but there is so much more talent. He is not what it's gonna take solely to bring the West back completely. Not one man -- not [Game] -- can bring it back by himself. But collectively, there are a lot of dudes out here in L.A. that can spit. I plan to bring a lot of them to the forefront. It's looking real positive out here, and there is a lot of love out here right now. I feel like that was something the West Coast lacked for a long time. On the East Coast it's a little bit different because you got some many cats out there rhyming, and some many clicks working with each other on some business sh-t. Out here it's kinda like crabs in a barrel, and whoever gets on, they get on and they don't wanna help no one else. It all comes from the N.W.A. tree anyone that comes outta Dr. Dre's camp is gonna do good, and anyone coming outta Eazy-E's camp -- rest in peace -- is gonna do good, and anyone that came from Cube was gonna be listened to. But now, there is an energy now, and everyone is working together for the most part.
BallerStatus.net: You're working with Ras Kass' Re-Up Entertainment. Can you tell me a little about that, and what's going on over there?
Scipio: Well, Re-Up is a company that me, [Ras Kass], Brad and another homie developed. That's our company, our indie company, and our bond. We’re trying to take it to that next level. We haven't solidified specifically what we want it to be, but it's gonna be a label, it's gonna be an entertainment company -- all of that. We want it to branch off into all genres of entertainment. Instead of limiting ourselves by putting it as Re-Up Records, we did Re-Up Entertainment.
BallerStatus.net: Can you talk about the grind -- especially a West Coast artist -- goes through to get himself out there?
Scipio: Aww, it's crazy; you can't sleep. You cannot sleep dog. I just lock myself in a hotel for 2 1/2 weeks, and just write. I had to get out of my hood man; sometimes you gotta get out of your comfort zone. A lot of times not everyone around you is gonna see your vision. I noticed that the closest people that know me all my life didn't see my vision. Only I saw it, from the beginning of my career to where I'm at now, and I assure you that I'm gonna make them see my vision. They are gonna believe my vision when they see me on TV on some real sh-t. My advice to young up-and-coming ni--as is that you gotta work hard man. You gotta work harder than the next man. If you wanna be at home playing PS2, there is another ni--a that's more talented or even less talented that's has a drive to succeed. You gotta be driven; you gotta have that battery on their back, and have that fire under their ass. Me personally, I don't necessarily have a click. Ras is the only ni--a that showed me, then the ni--a went down for 2 years. So I had to really get my mind right, and do all that sh-t myself, and keep our sh-t popping while the ni--a was away. People shouldn't rap just to rap. If you don't have a passion for it, put it down and get a job because this sh-t is no vacation. I've done went crazy for this sh-t man. I've been like, "This money ain't coming in, what the f--k? I'm
not about to drive birds across town and risk my freedom." All types of sh-t goes through your mind when you’re broke. Some ni--as intern for like 10 years rapping, you know? What other job do you know where a ni--a will intern for like 17 years before he makes it and sees some money?
BallerStatus.net: Yea, that's what you have to go through if you really want it.
Scipio: Hell yea and I won't stop 'til I do. I put condoms on and I'm still pulling out when I bust 'cause I ain't having no kids. If I ever do, I'm gonna take care of my young ones, but I can't do that right now. I'm focused dog, and nothing is gonna stop me unless God comes and takes me. And he's not gonna do that 'cause we talk every night.
BallerStatus.net: Let's talk about the projects you got going on right now?
Scipio: I'm working on the album, and I'm working with Ras Kass on a mixtape with him; his Welcome Home joint (with the CaliUntouchables). I'm working on another mixtape for me, and right after that I'm working on a Best Of Scipio mixtape. My official album should drop say early 2006. Realistically, when you sign a deal it takes close to a year to drop anyway, but I'm doing all the footwork myself. Once I present it to a label, the streets will be waiting for me, so you won't have to force it out there. They expect me already.
BallerStatus.net: But in the meantime, you'll be dropping mixtapes to keep material out there?
Scipio: All day! I'll be on the next DJ Warrior mixtape, CaliUntoucble Radio Pt. 5. I was on a mixtape with DJ Warrior & TheDJStrong, with me and Game; it did really good for me, they put that out there in the streets. It had a lot of my old material and a lot of Game's old material, but everyone was feeling it. Shoutout to CaliUntouchables, they really did me some justice with that.
http://rapidshare.de/files/1079220/Scipio_-_City_of_Angels.wma.html
