We titled the album Flight 360: The Take-Off because 360 [degrees] is a circle,” says Tity Boy. “And since the success of ‘Duffle Bag Boys,’ we’ve traveled a lot. We saw a lot of different cultures, a lot of different females, just a lot of different ways of life, and style, and slang. So, Flight 360 is like a celebration of what ‘Duffle Bag Boys’ did for us.” With the income generated from the “Duffle Bag Boys” phenomenon, the group not only bought jewelry, chains, cars, rims, property, but they also invested, says Tity. “Since ‘Duffle Bag Boys’ was the last thing people really know us from, we invested the money from that—which was a great deal—into things that will help promote, market, and move this new project, Flight 360,” he explains. “So the plane chain on my neck symbolizes me being fly. It symbolizes the takeoff; it symbolizes the Southside. We grew up right around the corner from the airport, so I’m like a Delta mascot.” Today, however, they’re grounded. Sitting on a pool table in a photo studio in Atlanta’s West End, the duo humbly discuss the plight of Flight 360, as they joke about how they occasionally suffer from a self-diagnosed condition called MADD (Musical Attention Deficit Disorder). How does having Musical Attention Deficit Disorder affect your music? Dolla: (laughs) I’m just fucking with you big dawg, but I think I figured it out. We smoke as much kush as possible. But it’s really according to the type of song we doing, as far as how high we need to get. What if you’re doing a song about the ladies? Dolla: We might have to smoke one blunt with a little Cristal to get in the mood for the females. When it’s some gangsta shit, we got to get on that mud. One eye closed on you sucka niggas when you really get through. Only the aim. What have you been doing during the layover between the last album and the new project, Flight 360? Tity: We invested in a studio, and the whole Flight 360 project was recorded in our own studio so we could be in our own comfort zone. It’s on the South side, where we can really just sit and digest the music over time and really come up with a conceptual album. We’re coming from a street level and just painting a picture, showing that this is the takeoff right here. Dolla: ‘Duffle Bag Boys’ just paved the way and set a certain expectation for our fans. We just gotta keep going hard and being consistent and connecting the dots with the fans. Since the “Duffle Bag Boys” record was so big, do you feel pressure to try and come up with a track as big as that record? Dolla: I think we definitely ran into that problem on the first album, Supply and Demand. Since ‘Duffle Bag’ was so huge, it was really difficult to have a follow-up record and things of that sort, but on the Flight 360 album we fixed that problem. On Flight 360 we have too many singles; too many big records. When ‘Duffle Bag’ came out, we didn’t really [have] nothing to follow up. We learn as we go. We’re just tryna keep it moving, that’s what Flight 360: The Takeoff is. We’re taking off. How many songs did you record for the album? Tity: We did over 60 songs for the album, but we felt like certain songs fit the album and painted a
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picture. Every verse that made the album is very visual. We’re gonna shoot a video for every song, so just be looking out for Playaz Circle because we ain’t going nowhere. What are you most excited about with this project? Dolla: Everything. The fact that so many people are getting behind us. Me and Tit’ been on the grind since Supply and Demand came out, doing it underground, reaching out to our fans, hitting all the different markets that we need to. The fact that everybody is behind us including DTP and Def Jam, it gets us real excited. Tity: The machine is getting behind the machine that’s getting behind the machine. You mentioned earlier that you have too many potential hits this time around. What tracks do you predict will really takeoff? Dolla: We’ve got songs for the females like “Can’t Remember,” and “Quit Flossin” with Jagged Edge, and you’ve seen the videos for “Look What I Got,” and “Yeah We Gettin’ Rich.” That went crazy on the internet, almost 2 million views in one day. You guys worked with Wayne again this time around as well, right? Tity: Yeah, he’s featured on a track called “Big Dog”, which is basically like a “Duffle Bag Boys Pt. 2.” We like to consider Wayne as one of the unofficial Duffle Bag Boys, but he’s like the R&B singer out of the group, so on this track he’s doing the hook again. It’s me and Dolla going ‘ham on the verses. It’s called “Big Dog,” produced by Wonder. It’s really just one of those feel-good records that makes you wanna get crunk whenever it comes on. When the original “Duffle Bag Boys” track came out, there were some spinoffs of your song by other artists. Did you signoff on that, and if not, did you have any problems with it? Dolla: Naw, it was a compliment. The crazy part about that is that it’s been happening to us since we entered the game. That ain’t the only thang they took from us, or copied us on. But we’re happy to be trendsetters and innovators and all we gotta say to that is, “Keep watchin’.” Tity: Me and Dolla have been doing it for a minute now—since ’97, ’98. At this point we feel like we’re polished in [terms of doing] interviews, we’re polished in the booth and everywhere else. We feel like we’re mature in this game already, so you’ve got people who, in my opinion, don’t always give us the respect we deserve. In my opinion, they feel like our music is all about the beat, but naw, it ain’t all about the beat, pa’tna. This is Playaz Circle; we’ve been doing it like this for a minute. We really do this, man. As you see, most of the album was done by young, hungry producers that are humble and just motivated to get it. We didn’t really reach out to a lot of the big name producers because we felt like we didn’t need that. We felt like we bring a lot to the table as well. This whole album just embodies a whole trip. It’s like you’re listening to a DVD. Blind people are gonna feel like, “That was a good movie I just saw.” Tity, you kind of touched on it a bit, but one thing that always bothered me about your critics is that they don’t credit you for two for being lyricists. Does that aggravate you as well? Dolla: You can’t really blame the listeners for that. There’s different phases of the game. Me and Tit came up in an era when the game was all about lyrics and who was the dopest emcee. It was all about substance, so we caught on to that and all of that is in our style, but at the same time we are
able to adapt to hot, down South, booming beats. We’re able to do it all. That’s why I say we’re one of a kind; there’s nothing like us. Tity: Even if we dumb it down, we’re still dope. That’s real talk—even if we dumb it down to our lowest degree, we’re still over some people’s heads. That’s just how we feel about this shit, and regardless of what’s going on with the label and promotion and marketing, minus what’s going on with the internet and the digital age with what’s going on with music, me and [Dolla] are gon’ keep on doing what we doing. We’re consistent. Although we’re a group, we’re individuals as well, and that’s what we preach. How is your relationship with Def Jam and DTP right now? Dolla: I mean, I think it’s the same as with pretty much any label. You’ve gotta be able to work with the machine and cooperate along the lines so the machine can get behind you and so y’all are on the same accord. But everything is good between us and the label because me and Tit’ got the mindset of independent label owners anyway; we gon’ do what we got to do to get our music up and running. We can’t depend on nobody else to do that for us. Once it gets pumpin’ over here and it’s time to get it pumpin’ over there, that’s when you go to the label. But we gotta do our part first, then DTP comes in, and then Def Jam comes in. Do you feel that over the years DTP has progressed the way you imagined it would? Tity: Like Dolla said, we don’t get caught up in that. We try to really focus on what we’re doing internally before we ever take them anything. We try to already have mastered the idea and the project before we bring it to the label. And the good thing about DTP is that we have 100% creative control They hear our ideas and rarely ever tell us that they’re not in agreement with what we’re doing, because we do everything from buying t-shirts, to pressing mixtapes, to buying a studio, and even buying the van and getting that wrapped. We do what any label would want their artists to do to take it to the next level. They don’t mind assisting us when we ask for something, because they know we can hold our own and they’re confident is us. A lot of artists get a deal and once they sign the papers they feel that’s all they got to do, but once you get a deal you still have to continue working and doing what you did to get the situation in the first place. As rappers, you two have a job that it seems 99% of young black males in America desire. Is there any part of your profession that you dread? Dolla: There’s nothing we dread about it; it’s similar to being a professional athlete [in that you] grow up training and practicing something you love and then somehow you end up getting paid for it. The road that me and Tit’ took, to now end up doing something we love so much, that we’ve been doing since high school, and getting paid for it is wonderful. If we don’t make another dime in rap, we’re happy. We made it happen, and not many people can say that. Tity: Say, for example, you go to a fast food spot and get bad service at the drive-thru because those people don’t enjoy their job and when get up they’re like, “Fuck! I gotta go to this damn job.” But me and Dolla don’t feel that way. We’re happy everyday and eager to make music, because making music makes you more money. We can’t wait to get to the studio; ain’t no telling what we gon’ think of. //