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CORY MO
BEHIND THE BEAT
P
eople know me for my production more than rapping. I’m a writer at heart because that’s what I started doing first. I’ve been rapping since I was in fifth grade, so I’ll forever be a writer. I feel like I’ll be able to produce records forever, but I’m not gon’ rap forever. I’ve produced for Devin [the Dude], The Geto Boys, Pimp, Bun, a lot of artists. I produced the intro track on Bun B’s first solo project, Trill. And I’ve got some stuff coming out real soon on Bun B’s new album. I actually produced the last song that Bun and Pimp recorded together. It’s called “Underground Thang.” It’s on Bun B’s new album, and it’s Pimp, Bun, and Chamillionaire singing the hook. That’s definitely gon’ be a big deal. Oh, and I got a track on Mike Jones’ new album featuring Lil Wayne. Yeah, it’s some nice shit called, “Ya Dig.” One of the moments that really sticks the most in my career is the last song that I produced on the UGK album, Underground Kingz. It’s a Best Buy Bonus Cut called “Top Drop Dyne.” Pimp actually hated whenever I would sample his voice and use it for hooks, which I do frequently. So he definitely hated that track when I first did it because his voice is sampled on the hook. He was like, “Damn mane, I’m tired of you sampling my voice, mane. Blah, blah, blah.” But I did it anyway ‘cause the shit was jammin’. At the end of the day that song was so jammin’ that Pimp went on and decided to rap on it, and then Bun ended up rapping on the song, too. They needed a third verse, and they were supposed to split 8, but they never got around to recording it. So one day I asked Bun, “What you gon’ do with the third verse?” And he was like, “Shit, C-Mo, you gon’ ahead and write a verse to it. Go on ahead and write a 16 and see how it comes out.” So I was like, “No shit?” So I went on and wrote the third verse and Pimp ended up hearing the song, but he didn’t know that Bun told me to rap on the third verse, so when Pimp heard it he got real mad at me. He was like, “Damn, mane. I ain’t tell you to rap on it, mane. I already didn’t wanna use the beat. You trippin’ mane, you rapping on the
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song and didn’t tell me...” So I told him that Bun told me to rap on it, and then everything was cool. Pimp was like, “Okay, okay, okay, okay.” Like I said, in the beginning, Pimp really, really didn’t like the song, but by the time we were done with it, he loved the song so much that he wanted to make it a single and use it as a Best Buy Bonus Cut. It never really got around to being a single, but I definitely consider it a classic UGK song itself, especially because all that went into it, and the fact that Pimp ended up loving it more than almost all the other songs on the album. A whole lot of people who didn’t even who I was before know me now just because of that song. So, as a producer, that track meant a lot to me. But as a friend, shit, that track meant everything to me, bro. That’s one of the last songs that I produced and rapped on with Pimp C. And I rapped on a lot of songs with Pimp; I produced a lot of songs with Pimp, shit, we done made beats together side by side on the keyboard, you know what I’m sayin’? We did all types of shit together, but that one song there really stands out. It wasn’t even supposed to make the album; it was more a last minute song, and not only did it make the album, but it was a Best Buy Bonus Cut. Now, it’s on everybody’s mixtape, and people are really starting to jump on it now; I think it’s gon’ forever be a UGK classic. But the most important thing is that, it’s a lot more than just a music thing with me and Bun and Pimp. We was pa’tnas before all of this shit. I been knowing them niggas since the early 90s so it’s more than just music to me whenever it come to UGK. A lot of people don’t know that my brother was Pimp C’s road manager, so that just goes to show that it’s an all day everyday thing with them boys. Being able to be produce and rap on of Pimp’s last songs is something that is priceless to me. www.myspace.com/corymo As told to Eric Perrin // Photo by Julia Beverly