Ozone Mag SXSW 2012 special edition

WELCOMETO AUSTIN

G FEATURIN

TRAETHATRUTH &ABN RENEGADEZ

+

POOCA LEROY // PAUL WALL SCHOOLBOY Q // DJ HELLA YELLA MARCUS MANCHILD // LE$ SLIM THUG // DJ RAPID RIC LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY G’Z SKEWBY // TONY WILLIAMS

SXSW 2012

**special edition**

WELCOMETO AUSTIN

SXSW 2012

special edition

G FEATURIN

POOCA LEROY

+

TRAE THA TRUTH & ABN RENEGADEZ SCHOOLBOY Q // DJ HELLA YELLA MARCUS MANCHILD // PAUL WALL SLIM THUG // DJ RAPID RIC // LE$ LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY G’Z SKEWBY // TONY WILLIAMS

2 // OZONE MAG

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PUBLISHER: Julia Beverly CONTRIBUTORS & CREW: Jason Potts Stephanie “Eleven8” Ogbogu Terrence Tyson PROMOTIONS DIRECTOR: Malik Abdul STREET TEAMS: ABN Eleven8 Money Mobb

SIDE A 6-9 10 11 12 14-15 20-23

SXSW EVENT LISTINGS AUSTIN MAP CLUB LISTINGS DJ HELLA YELLA SCHOOLBOY Q PAUL WALL

16-19 TRAETHATRUTH & ABN RENEGADEZ

CONTACT US: Phone: 404-350-3887 Fax: 404-601-9523 Web: www.ozonemag.com DISCLAIMER: OZONE does not take responsibility for unsolicited materials, misinformation, typographical errors, or misprints. The views contained herein do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher or its advertisers. Ads appearing in this magazine are not an endorsement or validation by OZONE Magazine for products or services offered.

All photos and illustrations are copyrighted by their respective artists. All other content is copyright 2012 OZONE Magazine, all rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in any way without the written consent of the publisher. Printed in the USA.

SIDE b 5 6-7 8-9 10-13 14

20-21 22-23

DJ RAPID RIC LE$ MARCUS MANCHILD SLIM THUG LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY G’Z SKEWBY TONY WILLIAMS

16-17 POOCA LEROY 18 MONEY MOBB

SXSW* 2012: WELCOMETO AUSTIN * This issue is not directly affiliated with or endorsed by the SXSW festival

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OZONE MAG // 7

SXSW

HIPHOP

Event

LISTING

AUSTIN,TX

TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2012

XXL Freshmen Issue showcase @ 1100 Warehouse (1100 E. 5th St.) Hosted by DJ Chill & DJ Rapid Ric 8:30PM - 8:50PM: Worldwide (San Antonio TX) 9:00PM - 9:20PM: Kydd (Austin TX) 9:30PM - 9:50PM: The Niceguys (Houston TX) 10:00PM -10:20PM: A.Dd+ (Dallas TX) 10:30PM -10:50PM: Future (Atlanta GA) 11:00PM -11:40PM: Hopsin (Los Angeles CA) 12:00AM -12:40AM: Danny Brown (Detroit MI) 1:00AM - 1:50AM: Kendrick Lamar (Compton CA) Nerdcore showcase @ Flamingo Cantina (515 E. 5th St.) 8:00PM - 8:30PM: Brandon Patton aka BL4k Lotus (New Haven CT) 8:40PM - 9:10PM: Adam WarRock (Memphis TN) 9:20PM - 9:50PM: Thesis Sahib (London ON) 10:00PM -10:30PM: The ThoughtCriminals (Charlotte NC) 10:40PM -11:00PM: Teenburger (Toronto ON) 11:05PM -11:35PM: More Or Les (Toronto ON) 11:45PM -12:15AM: Schaffer the Darklord (New York NY) 12:20AM -12:50AM: Jesse Dangerously (Halifax NS) 1:00AM - 1:50AM: MC Frontalot (Brooklyn NY)

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 2012 Young California showcase @ Treasure Island (413 E. 6th St.) Music by Southern Hospitality DJs 8:00PM - 8:15PM: aKa Frank (Oakland CA) 8:20PM - 8:30PM: Bobby Brackins (Oakland CA) 8:40PM - 9:00PM: Starting Six (San Francisco CA) 9:10PM - 9:30PM: Erk Tha Jerk (Richmond CA) 9:35PM - 9:55PM: Alexander Spit (Los Angeles CA) 10:00PM -10:20PM: Berner (San Francisco CA)

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10:30PM -10:55PM: IAMSU! & HBK Gang (Richmond CA) 11:00PM -11:25PM: J Stalin (Oakland CA) 11:30PM -11:50PM: Roach Gigz (San Francisco CA) 12:00AM -12:20AM: Skeme (Santa Monica CA) 12:25AM -12:45AM: Young L (Berkeley CA) 12:50AM - 1:10AM: Main Attrakionz (Oakland CA) 1:15AM - 2:00AM: Andre Nickatina (San Francisco CA) SOB’s 30th Anniversary @ The Belmont (305 W. 6th St.) 8:15PM - 8:45PM: Maya Azucena (Brooklyn NY) 9:00PM - 9:10PM: Nikki Jean (Philadelphia PA) 9:25PM - 9:40PM: CJ Hilton (Baltimore MD) 9:50PM -10:05PM: Elle Varner (New York NY) 10:20PM -10:45PM: Miguel (Los Angeles CA) 11:00PM -11:10PM: Anthm (New York NY) 11:20PM -11:35PM: The Airplane Boys (Toronto ON) 11:45PM -12:10AM: Travis Porter (Atlanta GA) 12:20AM -12:40AM: 2 Chainz (Atlanta GA) 12:50AM - 1:10AM: Machine Gun Kelly (Cleveland OH) 1:20AM - 1:50AM: Slaughterhouse (New York NY) Welcome To Texas @ Kiss & Fly (404 W. Colorado) Hosted by Big Sid & DJ Grip 8:15PM - 8:30PM: Die Slo Entertainment (Austin TX) 8:35PM - 8:50PM: Dat Boi T (Houston TX) 9:00PM - 9:15PM: Uzoy (Houston TX) 9:25PM - 9:40PM: HoodStar Chantz (Houston TX) 9:45PM -10:00PM: V.I.P. (Austin TX) 10:10PM -10:25PM: Yung Quis (Houston TX) 10:30PM -10:50PM: Gerald G (Austin TX) 11:00PM -11:20PM: Chalie Boy (Hearne TX) 11:30PM -11:50PM: League of Extraordinary G’z (Austin TX) 12:00AM -12:15AM: Yung Nation (Dallas TX) 12:20AM -12:40AM: Doughbeezy (Houston TX) 12:45AM - 1:00AM: Marcus Manchild (Houston TX) 1:10AM - 1:50AM: Killa Kyleon (Houston) MTV Hive and Yours Truly present In My Room featuring Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q and more - private party Fake Four showcase @ 512 Rooftop (408 E. 6th St.) 8:00PM - 8:25PM: Ceschi (New Haven CT) 8:30PM - 9:05PM: Bleubird (Ft Lauderdale FL) 9:10PM - 9:45PM: Dark Time Sunshine (Seattle WA) 9:50PM -10:25PM: Blue Sky Black Death (Seattle WA) 10:30PM -11:10PM: Sole (Denver CO) 11:15PM -11:55PM: Awol One & Factor (Los Angeles CA) 12:00AM -12:50AM: Busdriver (Los Angeles CA) 1:00AM - 1:50AM: Astronautalis (Minneapolis MN) Pandora Discovery Den showcase @ Antone’s (213 W. 5th St.) 8:00PM - 8:40PM: K.Flay (Brooklyn NY)

9:00PM - 9:40PM: Big K.R.I.T. (Meridian MS) 10:00PM -10:40PM: Young Guru (Newark NJ) 11:00PM -12:00AM: Theophilus London (Brooklyn) Hotel Vegas Patio (1500 E. 6th St.) 7:15PM - 7:30PM: Rusty Lazer (New Orleans LA) 7:30PM - 7:50PM: Prom Date (Baton Rouge LA) 7:55PM - 8:10PM: Magnolia Rhome (New Orleans LA) 8:15PM - 8:40PM: Caddywhompus (New Orleans LA) 8:45PM - 9:00PM: JC Styles (New Orleans LA) 9:10PM - 9:30PM: Mars (New Orleans LA) 9:30PM - 9:50PM: Nola Fam (New Orleans LA) 9:50PM -10:15PM: Nicky da B (New Orleans LA) 10:15PM -10:45PM: Katey Red (New Orleans LA) 10:45PM -11:15PM: Mannie Fresh (New Orleans LA) 11:15PM -12:00AM: Juvenile (New Orleans LA) Life Or Death/R.A.P. Music/Mishka @ Lustre Pearl (97 Rainey St.) 7:30PM - 7:50PM: Children Of The Night (Queens NY) 8:00PM - 8:20PM: Cities Aviv (Memphis TN) 8:30PM - 9:15PM: G-Side (Huntsville AL) 9:20PM - 9:40PM: DaVinci (San Francisco CA) 9:45PM -10:15PM: Action Bronson (New York NY) 10:25PM -10:50PM: Jacques Greene (Montreal QC) 10:55PM -11:20PM: Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire (Brooklyn NY) 11:35PM -12:00AM: Wavves (Los Angeles CA) 12:15AM -12:35AM: Trash Talk (Sacramento CA) 12:40AM -12:55AM: Prodigy/Mobb Deep (Queens NY) 1:00AM - 2:00AM: Killer Mike (Atlanta GA) Suburban Noize showcase @ Club 606 (606 E. 7th St.) 8:00PM - 8:30PM: Wheelchair Sports Camp (Denver CO) 8:45PM - 9:15PM: DeLon (Los Angeles CA) 9:30PM -10:00PM: Kyle Rapps (Harlem NY) 10:15PM -10:45PM: Soul Khan (Brooklyn NY) 11:00PM -11:30PM: Na Palm (Chicago IL) 11:45PM -12:15AM: Kosha Dillz (Edison NJ) 12:30AM - 1:00AM: Mickey Avalon (Los Angeles CA) 1:15AM - 1:45AM: Blaqstarr (Baltimore MD) Quality Control showcase @ Malaia Upstairs (300 E. 6th St.) featuring C Plus, Chuuwee, Moe Green, NPire Da Great, J. Pinder, Murs, Nottz presents DMP, Radio Galazy, A Wax & YG Hootie Nerdcore 2 @ Malaia (300 E. 6th St.) 8:00PM - 8:30PM: Backburner Crew (Halifax NS) 8:40PM - 9:00PM: The Extremities (Toronto ON) 9:10PM - 9:30PM: Twin Peaks + Boom Baptist (Toronto ON) 9:40PM -10:00PM: Chokeules (Toronto ON) 10:15PM -10:45PM: Dual Core (Cincinnati OH) 10:50PM -11:20PM: Timbuktu (Toronto ON) 11:30PM -12:00AM: Random aka Mega Ran

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(Phoenix AZ) 12:15AM -12:45AM: YTCracker (Colorado Springs CO) 1:00AM - 1:50AM: MC Lars (Carmel Valley CA) Doomtree showcase @ Scoot Inn (1308 E. 4th St.) Music by Get Cryphy (Minneapolis MN) 8:30PM - 8:45PM: Paper Tiger (Minneapolis MN) 8:45PM - 9:00PM: Lazerbeak (Minneapolis MN) 9:10PM - 9:40PM: Dessa (Minneapolis MN) 9:50PM -10:20PM: Cecil Otter (Minneapolis MN) 10:30PM -11:00PM: Mike Mictlan (Minneapolis MN) 11:10PM -11:40PM: Sims (Minneapolis MN) 11:45PM -12:15AM: P.O.S. (Minneapolis MN) 12:15AM - 1:15AM: Doomtree (Minneapolis MN) 1:15AM - 2:00AM: Wugazi / Get Cryphy (Minneapolis MN)

THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012 6:30 PM: Lil Wayne @ Austin Music Hall (208 E. Nueces) 11 AM - 6 PM Unrefined Hype: Extended Play @ Bat Bar (218 E. 6th St.) Jhene Aiko, Talib Kweli, Dee-1, Lecrae, Miguel The Warner Sound Captured by Nikon @ La Zona Rosa (612 W. 4th St.) 9:45PM -10:00PM: Snow Tha Product (San Jose CA) 10:00PM -10:15PM: XV (Wichita KS) 10:20PM -10:35PM: Kirko Bangz (Houston TX) 10:40PM -10:55PM: Curren$y (New Orleans LA) 11:00PM -12:00AM: Meek Mill (Philadelphia PA) 11:00PM -12:00AM: Stalley (Massillon OH) 11:00PM -12:00AM: Wale (Washington DC) 12:15AM - 1:15AM: B.o.B. (Atlanta GA) 12:15AM - 1:15AM: T.I. (Atlanta GA) The Rumbler Lounge ft. XV, Jon Connor, Dee-1, Rittz @ Peckerheads (402 E. 6th) Turntable.fm Does SXSW ft. Diplo, A-Trak, QuestLove, AraabMuzik - 1100 E. 5th St Music Matters showcase @ The Stage on Sixth (508 E. 6th St.) Hosted by Buttahman Music by DJ Hella Yella & Michael “5000” Watts 10:00PM -10:15PM: Jingle Punks Hipster Orchestra (New York NY) 10:30PM -11:00PM: Nneka (Warri Nigeria) 11:15PM -11:45PM: Miguel (Los Angeles CA) 1:00AM - 1:50AM: Big Sean (Detroit MI) The Stage On Sixth Patio (508 E. 6th St.) 8:15PM - 8:35PM: Don Trip (Memphis TN) 8:45PM - 9:05PM: Stalley (Massillon OH) 9:15PM - 9:45PM: Kendrick Lamar (Compton CA) 10:00PM -10:30PM: Machine Gun Kelly (Cleveland

OZONE MAG // 9

OH) 10:45PM -11:05PM: Smoke DZA (Harlem NY) 11:15PM -12:00AM: Big K.R.I.T. (Meridian MS) S.O. Terik showcase @ Clive Bar (609 Davis St.) 10:00PM -10:25PM: Ab-Soul (Carson CA) 10:30PM -10:55PM: Jay Rock (Watts CA) 11:00PM -11:40PM: ScHoolboy Q (Los Angeles CA) 12:00AM -12:40AM: Kendrick Lamar (Compton CA) Audible Treats showcase @ Kiss & Fly (404 W. Colorado) 8:00PM - 8:30PM: THEESatisfaction (Seattle WA) 8:25PM - 8:50PM: SL Jones (Little Rock AR) 9:25PM - 9:50PM: Roach Gigz (San Francisco CA) 9:55PM -10:20PM: L.E.P. BOGUS BOYS (Chicago IL) 10:25PM -10:50PM: A.Dd+ (Dallas TX) 10:55PM -11:05PM: Moe Green (Vallejo CA) 11:05PM -11:15PM: Truthlive (Santa Rosa CA) 11:15PM -11:25PM: DJ Toure (Oakland CA) 11:30PM -11:45PM: Georgia Anne Muldrow (Las Vegas NV) 11:45PM -12:00AM: Dudley Perkins (Las Vegas NV) 12:10AM -12:55AM: Talib Kweli (Brooklyn NY) 1:05AM - 2:00AM: Souls of Mischief (Oakland CA) Malaia (300 E. 6th St.) 8:00PM - 8:20PM: Big Kannon (Chicago IL) 8:30PM - 8:50PM: Future- TN (Nashville TN) 9:00PM - 9:20PM: Crew54 (Killeen TX) 9:30PM - 9:50PM: Playdough (Dallas TX) 10:00PM -10:30PM: The Chicharones (Portland OR) 10:45PM -11:15PM: I Am Many (Brooklyn NY) 11:30PM -12:00AM: Phranchyze (Austin TX) 12:10AM -12:40AM: Shawn Chrystopher (Inglewood CA) 1:00AM - 1:50AM: Grieves and Budo (Seattle WA) Malaia Upstairs (300 E. 6th St.) Hosted by Sarah West Music by DJ Jelly 10:30PM -10:45PM: We Present The CYPHER (Austin TX) 10:45PM -11:15PM: Statik Selektah 12:00AM -12:20AM: Reks (Lawrence MA) 12:30AM -12:50AM: Termanology (Lawrence MA) 1:00AM - 1:50AM: EPMD (New York NY)

FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2012 7 PM Shady 2.0 SXSW Showcase @ Austin Music Hall (208 E. Nueces) 50 Cent, Big K.R.I.T., Schoolboy Q, Action Bronson, Don Trip, STS, Slaughterhouse, & Yelawolf.

Def Jam showcase @ The Belmont (305 W. 6th St.) Hosted by Peter Rosenberg 8:00PM - 8:20PM: Cris Cab (Miami FL) 8:30PM - 8:50PM: Wax (Dunkirk MD) 9:00PM - 9:45PM: Noisemakers with Peter Rosenberg and Nas (New York NY) 10:10PM -10:30PM: Asher Roth (Morrisville PA)

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10:40PM -11:00PM: Big K.R.I.T. (Meridian MS) 11:05PM -11:20PM: Prynce CyHi (Atlanta GA) 11:25PM -11:45PM: Ace Hood (Miami FL) 12:00AM -12:40AM: G-Eazy (Oakland CA) 1:00AM - 1:50AM: Chris Webby (Norwalk CT) 8 PM JUICE: The DJ Official Showcase @ Malaia World Lounge (300 E 6th St) Play N Skillz, DJ Hella Yella, DJ Rapid Ric, DJ Jasmine Solano, DJ Amen & more Madison House showcase @ Beauty Bar (617 E. 7th St.) 8:00PM - 8:45PM: Cobraconda (Denver CO) 9:00PM - 9:30PM: Mr. Lif & Chief Xcel of Blackalicious (Berkeley CA) 9:30PM -10:00PM: Eligh & Amp Live (Oakland CA) 10:15PM -10:45PM: Chali 2na (Los Angeles CA) 11:00PM -11:45PM: Minnesota (Santa Cruz CA) 12:00AM -12:45AM: Latyrx (Oakland CA) 12:45AM - 1:15AM: Zumbi x The Are (The Burnerz) (Oakland CA) 1:15AM - 1:50AM: Blackalicious (Oakland CA) Spinlet showcase @ Beso Cantina (307B W. 5th St.) 8:00PM - 8:30PM: N-Dex (Oklahoma City OK) 8:45PM - 9:15PM: JIM-E-O (Austin TX) 10:00PM -10:30PM: Bez (Lagos Nigeria) 10:40PM -11:20PM: Naeto C (Lagos Nigeria) 11:30PM -12:10AM: M.I. (Lagos Nigeria) 12:30AM - 1:00AM: Blitz the Ambassador (Brooklyn NY) 1:10AM - 2:00AM: 2Face (Lagos Nigeria) Signature Sounds showcase @ Buca Lounge (422-B Congress Ave.) Music by GoDjKnowledge & The Trendsetters 8:00PM - 8:25PM: Sore Losers (Lancaster TX) 8:30PM - 8:50PM: No One (Hawthorne AZ) 9:00PM - 9:20PM: Minister Blakes (Long Beach CA) 9:25PM - 9:45PM: Focus... (New York NY) 9:50PM -10:10PM: Chaundon (Brooklyn NY) 10:15PM -10:30PM: Sha Stimuli (Brooklyn NY) 10:35PM -11:00PM: Toki Wright (Minneapolis MN) 11:10PM -11:30PM: Torae (Brooklyn NY) 11:40PM -12:10AM: Rapper Big Pooh from Little Brother (Charlotte NC) 12:20AM -12:50AM: Skyzoo (Brooklyn NY) 1:00AM - 1:50AM: Slum Village (Detroit MI) Vibe House @ Kiss & Fly (404 W. Colorado) The Airplane Boys, BJ the Chicago Kid, Dee-1, Don Trip, EVITAN (Jarobi from A Tribe Called Quest & Dres from Black Sheep), JoiStaRR, King Louie, Mystikal, Rockie Fresh, The Stepkids, Trae tha Truth, & Travis Porter Blacksmith Duck Down showcase @ La Zona Rosa (612 W. 4th St.) 9:00PM - 9:15PM: Promise (Toronto ON)

9:20PM - 9:35PM: Iron Solomon (Brooklyn NY) 9:40PM - 9:55PM: Bad Rabbits (Boston MA) 10:20PM -10:55PM: Statik Selektah (Brooklyn NY) 11:00PM -11:20PM: Smif N Wessun (Brooklyn NY) 11:25PM -11:50PM: Talib Kweli (Brooklyn NY) 11:55PM -12:15AM: Buckshot (Brooklyn NY) 12:45AM - 1:15AM: Pharoahe Monch (New York NY) 10 PM - Paul Wall @ Mexican American Cultural Center (600 River St.)

SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2012 1 PM Korg showcase @ Cielo (505 Neches St.) Idle Warship (Talib Kwei & Res), Dawn Richard, Schoolboy Q, J*DaVeY, 9th Wonder, & Terrace Martin Texas Showdown showcase @ Barbarella Patio (615 Red River St.) Music by Stickygreen Productions 8:30PM - 8:45PM: Brain Gang Blue (Dallas TX) 8:50PM - 9:15PM: Above All (Austin TX) 9:15PM - 9:30PM: G$Baby (Austin TX) 9:40PM - 9:55PM: DeLorean (DeLo) (Houston TX) 10:00PM -10:20PM: Mookie Jones (Houston TX) 10:30PM -10:50PM: Tum Tum (Dallas TX) 11:00PM -11:20PM: Western Tink & Beautiful Lou (Austin TX) 11:30PM -11:50PM: Milli Mars (San Antonio TX) 12:00AM -12:20AM: Fat Tony (Houston TX) 12:25AM -12:45AM: Snow Tha Product (San Jose CA) 12:50AM - 1:05AM: M.U.G. (Houston TX) 1:10AM - 1:25AM: LE$ (New Orleans LA) 1:30AM - 2:00AM: Slim Thug (Houston TX) Swishahouse showcase @ Beso Cantina (307B W. 5th St.) 8:00PM - 8:30PM: Felo a/k/a Felony (Houston TX) 8:40PM - 9:00PM: Surreall (Houston TX) 9:10PM - 9:30PM: Lil Young (Houston TX) 9:40PM -10:00PM: Yung Redd (Houston TX) 10:30PM -11:15PM: Fam 420 (Houston TX) 11:30PM -12:00AM: Swishahouse OG’s (Houston TX) 12:00AM - 1:00AM: Michael “5000” Watts (Houston TX) 1:00AM - 2:00AM: BMC (Houston TX) Hip Hop Hope Unity Converence & City Takers Weekend @ Carver Museum Boyd Vance Theater (1165 Angelina St.) 12:00PM -12:30PM: Tre9 (Houston TX) 12:30PM -12:40PM: Too Phliy (Washington DC) 12:40PM - 1:00PM: Jerrell Johnson (Tampa FL) 1:05PM - 1:30PM: Enlitement (Atlanta GA) 1:40PM - 2:00PM: Gifted Da Flamethrowa (New Orleans LA) 2:00PM - 2:20PM: J.Kwest (Chicago IL) 2:20PM - 2:40PM: K-Drama (Cincinnati OH) 2:45PM - 3:15PM: theBREAX (San Diego) 11 // OZONE MAG

3:15PM - 3:45PM: Viktory (Huntsville AL) 3:45PM - 4:15PM: Omega Sparx (Charlotte NC) 4:15PM - 4:45PM: SaulPaul (Austin TX) 4:45PM - 5:00PM: DJ Promote (San Angelo TX) 6:00PM - 6:40PM: Wesley Bray presented by Holy Ghost Party! (Round Rock TX) 7:00PM - 7:40PM: The Carpenter Ants (Charleston WI) 8:00PM - 8:40PM: New Generation (Houston TX) 9:00PM - 9:50PM: River City Christianettes (San Antonio TX) iHipHop & Babygrande & Madbury Club showcase @ Haven (409B Colorado) 8:00PM - 9:00PM: Statik Selektah (Brooklyn NY) 9:00PM - 9:20PM: Mod Sun (Bloomington MN) 9:30PM - 9:50PM: The Airplane Boys (Toronto ON) 10:00PM -10:20PM: T. Mills (Los Angeles CA) 10:30PM -10:45PM: Flatbush Zombies (Brooklyn NY) 10:50PM -11:10PM: Marz Lovejoy (Los Angeles CA) 11:20PM -12:20AM: Jet Life (New Orleans LA) 12:30AM - 1:00AM: M.O.P. (Mash Out Posse) (Brownsville NY) 1:10AM - 1:50AM: GZA of Wu-Tang Clan feat. Grupo Fantasma & Brownout (Brooklyn NY) DJBooth.net showcase @ The JR (603 Red River St.) 8:30PM - 8:50PM: League of Extraordinary G’z (Austin TX) 8:55PM - 9:10PM: Nikkiya (Atlanta GA) 9:15PM - 9:30PM: Shane Eli (Los Angeles CA) 9:35PM - 9:50PM: Rapsody (Raleigh NC) 9:55PM -10:15PM: Sir Michael Rocks (Chicago IL) 10:20PM -10:35PM: Thurz (Inglewood CA) 10:40PM -11:00PM: Torae (Brooklyn NY) 11:10PM -11:25PM: Skyzoo (Brooklyn NY) 11:30PM -11:45PM: Rittz (Atlanta GA) 11:55PM -12:15AM: Wax (Dunkirk MD) 12:50AM - 1:20AM: Freeway (Philadelphia PA) Vibe showcase @ Kiss & Fly (404 W. Colorado) Terrace Martin & 9th Wonder, Strong Arm Steady, Skeme, Six, Self Scientific, Rocky Rivera, Problem, Nipsey Hussle, Glasses Malone, Bad Lucc, Alexander Spit Reach showcase @ La Zona Rosa (612 W. 4th St.) 7:45PM - 8:40PM: Norah Jones (New York NY) 9:00PM - 9:15PM: DJ Official (Philadelphia PA) 9:15PM - 9:35PM: Thi’sl (St Louis MO) 9:35PM - 9:55PM: High Society Collective (Atlanta GA) 10:05PM -10:25PM: Andy Mineo (New York NY) 10:25PM -10:45PM: Trip Lee (Dallas TX) 10:45PM -11:30PM: Lecrae (Atlanta GA) 11:45PM -12:05AM: KB (Tampa FL) 12:05AM -12:25AM: Pro (Nashville TN) 12:40AM - 1:00AM: Canon (Chicago IL) 1:00AM - 1:20AM: J’son (Iowa City IA)

OZONE MAG // 11

A3C showcase @ The Main (603 Red River St.) 8:00PM - 8:30PM: Fort Knox (Atlanta GA) 8:45PM - 9:00PM: Boog Brown (Atlanta GA) 9:10PM - 9:25PM: Laws (Spring Hill FL) 9:35PM - 9:50PM: Young Scolla (Detroit MI) 10:00PM -10:15PM: Jon Connor (Flint MI) 10:25PM -10:40PM: Killa Kyleon (Houston TX) 11:15PM -11:30PM: Jarren Benton (Decatur GA) 12:05AM -12:20AM: Hopsin (Los Angeles CA) 12:30AM -12:50AM: Homeboy Sandman (Queens NY) 1:00AM - 1:20AM: Brother Ali (Minneapolis MN) 1:30AM - 2:00AM: Prodigy/Mobb Deep (Queens NY) Malaia (300 E. 6th St.) 8:15PM - 8:30PM: OBX (San Antonio TX) 8:40PM - 8:55PM: nosaprise (Houston TX) 9:00PM - 9:15PM: Karma Jonze (Austin TX) 9:20PM - 9:40PM: Perseph One (Houston TX) 9:50PM -10:10PM: Skewby (Memphis TN) 10:20PM -10:40PM: 4th Pyramid (New York NY) 10:50PM -11:10PM: Rockwell Knuckles (St Louis MO) 11:20PM -11:40PM: Blunt Fang (Atlanta GA) 11:50PM -12:10AM: Soul Khan (Brooklyn NY) 12:20AM -12:40AM: Boog Brown (Atlanta GA) 12:50AM - 1:10AM: Truth Universal (New Orleans LA) 1:15AM - 1:50AM: Max Burgundy (Brooklyn NY) Malaia Upstairs (300 E. 6th St.) Music by Rusty Lazer 8:30PM - 8:50PM: Chilldren (New Orleans LA) 9:00PM - 9:20PM: Nesby Phips (New Orleans LA) 9:30PM - 9:50PM: Rhodes!! (New Orleans LA) 10:40PM -11:10PM: LuckyLou (New Orleans LA) 11:20PM -11:40PM: Nola Fam (New Orleans LA) 11:50PM -12:20AM: Jean Eric (New Orleans LA) 12:30AM - 1:00AM: Nicky da B (New Orleans LA) 1:00AM - 1:30AM: Magnolia Rhome (New Orleans LA) 1:20AM - 2:00AM: Katey Red (New Orleans LA) Thrasher Magazine showcase @ Scoot Inn (1308 E. 4th St) 8:00PM - 8:20PM: Boldy James (Detroit MI) 8:30PM - 8:50PM: Husalah (Pittsburg CA) 9:00PM - 9:20PM: The Jacka (Bay Area CA) 9:30PM - 9:50PM: SpaceGhostPurrp (Miami FL) 9:55PM -10:15PM: Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire (Brooklyn NY) 10:20PM -10:50PM: Freddie Gibbs (Gary IN) 11:00PM -11:30PM: EL-P (New York NY) 12:30AM - 1:00AM: Dom Kennedy (Leimert Park CA) 1:15AM - 2:00AM: Willie D of the Geto Boys (Houston TX)

SUNDAY, MARCH 18 7 PM: 2012 MTVu Woodie Awards @ Austin Music Hall (208 Nueces)

12 // OZONE MAG

MAP

DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, TX

(SIXTH ST. AREA)

13 // OZONE MAG

DJ HELLA YELLA WELCOMES YOU TO AUSTIN AND PUTS YOU UP ON SOME OF HIS FAVORITE LOCAL SPOTS. What was one of your favorite SXSW memories?

No question, my favorite SXSW was my first SXSW. I ended up DJing for UGK and it turned out being Pimp C’s last show ever in Austin.

That’s by far my best SXSW memory.

Since you’re from Austin, how do you feel about the state of Hip Hop in Texas?

I feel like it took a negative turn over the past few years because people look at us like we only make dance records. It’s starting to get back on the upswing though. We’ve got a lot of good artists coming, not just from Houston or Dallas but the whole state is being represented as well.

What are you DJing for SXSW this year?

On the 15th I’ll be playing the official BET Music Matters Showcase. And on the 16th I’ll be playing the Juice Showcase, which is an official all-DJ showcase. I’m also doing some other unofficial parties, like the Unrefined Hype show on the 15th and the Interscope party on the 16th. I’ve really been working hard for SXSW just to show everyone what Austin is about. I want to be a good host for the city and keep trying to push this Texas movement through the door for the whole nation.

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Is there anyone in particular you’re looking forward to seeing this year?

I have to see DJ Jazzy Jeff play this year at the Red Bull party. That’s on my list of things to do before I die.

Are there any artists you’re working with right now?

I still work with Dorrough Music and also Yung Nation. They just dropped their album a week before SXSW. Also I’m working with Lil Tony from Dallas, he’s getting major spins in the Bay Area. We’ve got a lot of positive things coming up this year.

Where are some of the essential places for out-of-towners to visit while they’re in Austin?

My favorite thing is, you have to get a waffle taco. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s like the waffle is the taco and you have your chicken inside. I don’t think you can get that anywhere but Austin, and that’s something you definitely have to experience. You can find the waffle tacos in the waffle taco truck on 6th & Waller. I promise you will not be disappointed. For the sneaker heads, you’ve gotta go by Nice Kicks. It’s one of the best sneaker stores in the nation. Those are my two main spots: Nice Kicks and the waffle taco spot. // Website: DJHellaYella.com Twitter: DJHellaYella

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Schoolboy Q Words by Julia Beverly

TDE ARTIST SCHOOLBOY Q DISCUSSES HIS HABITS AND CONTRADICTIONS AND HIS EXCITING ADVENTURE AT LAST YEAR’S SXSW FESTIVAL. I hear Top Dawg just signed a label deal with Aftermath/Interscope. That’s a good look for the whole camp. How will this affect your next project?

It’s cool, now I get to give ‘em the in-store album, so we’re gonna see how that works out. But I’m signed to TDE, we just got a label deal, so I don’t really know anything about the situation yet. I’m new to it. But we worked hard for it and we got what we wanted. We decided we didn’t want to sign anywhere as a single artist, we wanted to keep the whole team together, you know?

We came from nothing, from the bottom all the way to where we’re at right now. We’re

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not at the top yet but we came a long way from being nothing and nobody fucking with us to selling our mixtapes on iTunes and touching Billboard charts. Me, Kendrick Lamar, and Jay Rock, we all independently touched Billboard with our records and Ab-Soul is about to drop next.

Are you happy with the response you’ve gotten so far to Habits & Contradictions?

Yeah, yeah, everything’s good. Everything’s perfect right now, actually. A little too good, you know what I mean?

Too good? I’ve never heard that before.

I just wasn’t expecting the response to be what it is now. I’m just trying to stay humble and cool and keep working. I really don’t have too much to say right now, I’m just so brain fried and shit. Right now I just wanna keep working.

Obviously everyone has their habits and contradictions. What made you settle on that for a mixtape title?

Just like you said, everybody has them. It was a prequel to my first project, Setbacks.

When you have bad habits and contradict yourself, it brings you setbacks in your life. I decided to mix it up and do something fresh.

Have you overcome any bad habits?

I’ve stopped hanging with the wrong people and the wrong crowd, that’s one thing. I don’t hang out no more. I don’t be all in the hood and shit chillin’ on corners and going to liquor stores. I ain’t really ‘bout that. I don’t take pills either or no shit like that. I just make the music.

Speaking on contradictions, a lot of artists seem to have a totally different personality in real life compared to the persona they put forth on records. What about you?

Yeah, [my personality] is pretty much completely opposite from my music. I’m nothing like it. I’m not a high-pitched talkin’-ass nigga. I’m not an angry dude or a depressed dude. I’m not pill-poppin’ and I don’t go to parties and shit, but I make that type of music. My music is made from my past times, it’s not my current issues. Reflecting on the past, that’s all. I just close my eyes and think back. I’m waiting for my debut album, which I’m about to work on now. I don’t have a date yet but [when that drops] I’m going to give you the present Q. On my past projects I gave you the past Q and now I’m gonna give you the present Q. Do you already have a theme in mind for your debut?

Yeah, I’m gonna put Habits & Contradictions together with Setbacks and give you the complete version of me. I’m working on the title but I wouldn’t wanna put the title out right now because shit changes and the format of the album is gonna change. I wanted to call it Oxymusic but I figured that wouldn’t really be a good idea.

I read an interview where you talked about when you were selling Oxycontin. What does the typical Oxy addict look like?

It varies. I was [selling] in Seattle. It’s really in the suburbs, like Everest and Tacoma. It’s students, lawyers, judges, doctors. The doctors, I’m thinking, “For sure, I know you could get the pills because you’re a doctor,” but I guess they don’t want [the evidence] on their 17 // OZONE MAG

hands. I’ve sold to doctors, lawyers, some of the worst junkies, people that steal from their mothers - for the most part the people who buy Oxy are like Middle America. Oxycontin is expensive. It’s like $50-60 just for one pill so you can’t just be a nigga hustling cans [to buy one].

Mentally, did that ever get to you? The fact that your clients are ruining their lives over your product?

At the moment, no. I was thinking about feeding myself. Only the strong are gonna survive, that’s how I was looking at it.

Either fuck up this person’s life and eat or let this person fuck his life up anyway and still don’t eat. You know what I mean?

They’re gonna do it regardless. The drug dealers will stop selling once there ain’t no more fiends.

What’s going on in your cover photo for Habits & Contradictions?

The scene symbolizes the robbery, the pain. You’ve got me looking like a sad puppy with a woman licking my face with brass knuckles. That’s all a contradiction in itself. I was gonna call it just Contradictions but I threw Habits in there too.

I heard you got into a little trouble at SXSW last year. Are you nervous about going back? (laughs) Yeah, I am kinda nervous.

Honestly, I’m really nervous though. [Last year] I had like a quarter of weed and shit on me and it was just all bad. I was gonna smoke before the show backstage and some dude that worked on the bar told me I can’t smoke in there and tried to grab my weed. My people got hot and tried to beat the dude up and then there was a big ass commotion. The police were outside and I went to jail. (laughs) The bail was cheap though. The bail was only like $300 so that was cool.

Hopefully you’ll have better luck this year. Maybe you need a weed carrier to travel with you.

Yeah, but if I was in Cali I wouldn’t have had that problem, period. I have my weed license so I’m straight. // Twitter: @SchoolboyQ

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Trae Tha Truth +ABN Renegadez Words by Julia Beverly

YOU CAN’T BAN THA TRUTH. AFTER MOURNING THE SUDDEN DEATH OF HIS RIGHT-HAND MAN CLIP D, HOUSTON STREET FAVORITE TRAE THA TRUTH BOUNCED BACK WITH RENEWED MOTIVATION AND LANDED A DEAL WITH TI’S GRAND HUSTLE. HERE, HE INTRODUCES HIS CREW THE ABN RENEGADEZ: JAYTON, YUNG QUIS, ROD C, & BOSS. GRAND HUSTLE.

18 //18 OZONE // OZONE MAGMAG

The last time we spoke, you were suing Houston radio station The Box for banning your music. I know that’s old news now, but was there anything positive you were able to take from that situation?

With that whole situation, I appreciate everything. Good or bad, big or small, everything is a blessing. That was a blessing because it gave me the energy to show what I’m really capable of doing and who I’m capable of being. It brought me to the level where I am now and it gave me that hunger again, so I’m kinda appreciative of them for doing that. I wasn’t comfortable in that zone so I felt like this was mandatory – this is what I need. Let me get out here and do my own thing. I’ve been running and haven’t stopped since.

Radio isn’t as much of a factor today, period, because there are so many other avenues to get your music out there.

For some artists it’s mandatory, but for artists like me and a lot of the newer artists, we can sell out venues without it. It can go both ways. In today’s music game there are more ways around [radio]. Back then you had to have radio and video, but nowadays you’ve got internet, streets, blogs, and all that.

Let’s talk about this Trae Tha Truth and ABN Renegadez project you’re promoting now.

The ABN Renegadez are a branch off of ABN. The rap group ABN is me and Z-Ro, and we had a street crew called the ABN gang. The Renegadez are some of the youngsters out of the game who actually do music too.

Jayton and Lil Boss were a part of the crew when me and Z-Ro were doing our ABN thing. Me and Z-Ro are still touring right now. The new ones in the game are Rod C and Yung Quis, they were younger than everybody. Jayton was young too, but he’s been around. So we’ve got the ABN Renegadez project coming out on March 27th.

Me and Z-Ro are back working again too.

No telling when [that album] will be coming out, but we’re back working heavily.

When you say “ABN gang,” of course the word “gang” has a negative connotation, but you do a lot of positive things for the youth at the same time.

With the “ABN gang,” a lot of people get so off track and don’t see the bigger picture.

I was around a lot of different hoods and crews and gangs and one thing they all had in common was the love they had for me and the faith they had in me. I was always the one who stayed neutral. My brother 19 // OZONE MAG

Jayton and my cousin Boss and my cousin Z-Ro were crips. One of my brothers Dub was a blood. My other brother Clip and them were 2-4(BD’s), so everybody was doing their own thing and I came together to make it one big branch. I was trying to show the youngsters that it doesn’t matter what set you’re from. It doesn’t matter what hood you’re from or what gang sign you throw up or what color you wear, it’s about respect. As long as you respect them and they respect you, everything should be good. You used to have cousins from two different blocks who are actual blood cousins that couldn’t even [speak to] each other because they’re from two different areas. You can still rep [your neighborhood] and do you, but you don’t have to be closed off in that little circle in one block. You’ve got some brothers who rep different colors and they can’t really live their lives because they feel like every person is looking at them crazy. I wanted to create an outlet where every man can be their own man.

You’ve talked pretty openly about your past and the fact that you really didn’t have a father figure to guide you in the right direction. With some of the younger kids you’re mentoring, what practical life skills do you give them?

With me being from the streets, I understand the street way of life. It’s by any means necessary. I never turn my nose up or act like I don’t understand that lifestyle, but I also want to show them how I came up. When I was young I was running with the old heads, and a lot of the principles and morals that we had back then [are gone] today. Anybody around me, we don’t rob, we don’t steal, we don’t hurt kids, you know, some niggas will gas you up thinking shit like that is cool. But all the real niggas I know, we ain’t standing for shit like that. I just let them know how they need to operate. Some people may look at you like you’re weak or something, but every real nigga I know ain’t the show-off type. They just go out there and take care of their family.

You’ve put out a lot of videos and music lately. Was there one in particular that was very meaningful to you?

The last CD I just put out, the King of the Streets Freestyles, is one of the most

important ones. My brother, my ace, Money Clip D was just murdered on Thanksgiving night. The crazy thing is, we had just gone out on Thanksgiving feeding all the homeless people and going through the apartment complexes and projects downtown and everywhere else making sure people had food to eat. That’s just the kind of thing we do. When he was murdered, I just kinda shut down. Me and him were together every day.

You know, every time you saw one of us, you’d see the other one too.

So I kinda shut down. The King of the Streets Freestyles was my first time coming back doing anything rap-wise in months. I got in [the studio] and just fought myself to get out of that shell, and it turned out to be a good thing. That tape alone led to all kinds of crazy stuff happening so that was a blessing, man.

believed that [my career] should be a lot farther along than where I am. So I think the timing just worked out. With me and him, it’s kinda to the point where it isn’t even necessarily about music. We were pa’tnas first and foremost. We’re similar in a whole bunch of ways so everything just panned out. Now he’s got somebody on the label like me, I’m finna get out there and get it by any means necessary. He understands that with me, I’m not the average type of artist where you’ve gotta hold my hand and walk me here and walk me there. I think it’s definitely a power move because we’re both real dominant from Atlanta to Houston and that’s gonna bridge a different gap.

JAYTON

Did they find out what happened?

My brother was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, man. He was an innocent bystander in that situation, but that’s all I can really speak on.

What do you miss about him most?

Everything, man. We struggled from nothing to having something to losing it all to gaining it all back and having something again. It’s hurtful because now that he’s gone, I actually have one of the biggest situations in my career, with me and TI doing a Grand Hustle/ABN deal. He used to push to see me in [that type of ] situation, you know?

He was willing to sacrifice whatever to make sure we got there. So it’s hurtful now that he ain’t able to see it, but I’m gonna get out here and handle my business to the utmost so while he’s up there looking down he can still be proud.

How did your deal with Grand Hustle come about?

Me and Tip have been cool for a long time. It was just about timing, and now is a better time than ever. He had his eyes on different stuff I was going through, and he

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Will you be spending a lot more time in Atlanta?

They know I live and die for Houston, so I’ma balance it out.

But you know, I’m a street nigga.

I’ve gotta be in the streets, that don’t ever change. I’m really out here with the lil homies, and if some shit is about to jump off and I feel that shit ain’t worth it I’m gonna be the first nigga in the middle of it deading it right then and there. I’ll forever be out there because I feel like there are so few real niggas in the different neighbourhoods and blocks and cities and states. The few who are there, make sure you reach out and try to involve some of the youngsters.

ROD-C

Was Grand Hustle involved with the ABN Renegadez project?

Nah, that was actually done. The album comes out March 27. We’ve got Meek Mill, J Cole, Twista, Jim Jones, Krayzie Bone, Messy Marv, Freeway, a lot of features on there.

I wanted to showcase each of [the Renegadez] in their own way.

Everybody knows Jayton does his thing, that’s my little brother.

Boss does his thing, Quis was up-and-coming, and Rod C is another real talented one that’s gonna shock

a lot of people. I just wanted to showcase them. I’m the backbone of it so I can pump it and promote it and make sure people are receptive to it. Sometimes music industry people don’t wanna try new shit. I wanted to show that’s not just me, there’s a lot of us over here that are talented. I’m actually very proud of this project.

I’m not expecting it to do crazy, ridiculous numbers out of the gate because we aren’t even that type of artists; we have longevity. I think it’s gonna be one of those projects that comes out and people hear about it and are like, “Damn, I was slippin’. I need to grab this and see what they’re talking about.” Me and Z-Ro are touring right now with Return of the Asshole doing sold out shows, so we’ve got [the Renegadez] with us, Rod and Quis opening up for us and it all makes sense.

It’s just one big family thing. I really want the world to check them out. Jayton did a lot of music with a lot of major artists already, so people know what he’s capable of doing. I just wanted to showcase the whole camp, because [most major artists] have their camp and their camp is just aiight. I just gotta make sure my camp is up to par.

is actually my cousin, and he’s got a crazy following when it comes to the streets and the gangbangin’ heavy. Boss is a G. His talent is more similar to that West Coast feel.

Yung Quis brings more of the Jeezy feel, the trap feel, and Rod C brings more of the pain and the struggle and the determination. So I think it’s a well-rounded CD because you have songs with niggas going off, you have trappin’ songs, street songs, byany-means-necessary songs, struggling songs, just all kinds of shit. I think this CD will shock a lot of people. I always set my mind high to make myself proud. My fans are real strict. It’s gotta be something major to impress me, and I’m actually impressed with the CD.

YUNG QUIS

Are you doing any SXSW events?

We’ve got a lot of shows; they’re gonna be running around with me. I wanted to be out there [at SXSW] every day but I’ve got spot dates in different cities so I’m working every single day. They did the video “Lights Off” featuring Freeway that was directed

by Philly Fly Boy and he just shot another video for them called “We Here.”

LIL BOSS

What are the qualities each group member brings to the table?

With Jayton, that’s my little brother, so first and foremost you know we’re super similar in so many ways. I feel Jayton just brings the street gangster feel to it, period. He speaks for a lot of the youngsters coming up because they follow his lead. You know, it’s all about the guidance, and he came up under some real niggas so he’s out there doing his thang and he’s got a crazy following. Boss 21 // OZONE MAG

Are there any particular songs on the Renegadez CD that stand out to you?

Well, “Lights Off” is the one that’s running, produced by CyFyre and “We Here,” which is produced by Kaleon, another young producer up and coming from the East Coast. We’ve also got Jahlil Beats on there, he’s signed to RocNation now; he did “I’m A Boss” for Meek Mill and a bunch of other stuff.

We’ve got Honorable C-Note on there; a lot of real crazy production, man, so the project is gonna be something real major.

Anything else you want to say?

Make sure you check for Jayton’s new project coming after this Renegadez CD. Free my brother King Dinkie, that’s who started me rapping and that’s who I dedicate it to. All day every day I’m dedicated to my team and my family. I ride for those who ride for us. // Twitter: @TraeABN

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Paul Wall Words by Julia Beverly Photo by MQI Images

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AFTER DROPPING 100+ POUNDS WITH THE HELP OF A GASTRIC SLEEVE, NEWLY SVELTE PAUL WALL AND HIS WIFE CRYSTAL HAVE EMBARKED ON A HEALTH AND FITNESS JOURNEY. OZONE CHATS WITH THE PEOPLE’S CHAMP ABOUT ENTERTAINING THE TROOPS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND HOW HIP HOP CAN TAKE OVER THE GRAMMYS. You’re dropping a Gangsta Grillz today with DJ Drama, right? Do you want to tell us about that?

Yeah, it’s all produced by GL Productions which is G Luck and B Don. They did most of Slim Thug’s mixtape and they do a lot of production. I’ve got a lot of Houston artists on there, like Slim Thug, Bun B, and Z-Ro, and new artists like Marcus Manchild, Propain, and Kirko Bangz. Every week we’ve been putting out a new track for Paul Wall Wednesdays; we just give em away, so this is a collection of all those tracks plus a lot of new ones we didn’t release yet.

People have different opinions about mixtapes. Some established artists feel like they shouldn’t put out free music because it will damage their album sales. Why did you decide to go that route?

Well, we’ve always done mixtapes. Michael Watts always taught me that the sole purpose of a mixtape is for promotion.

Even though sometimes you might make some money off it, at the end of the day, the purpose of a mixtape is for promotion. That’s just what he taught me. When we were putting out mixtapes before, we were selling them to make money. Times have changed now; no one sells mixtapes anymore, they just give ‘em away free. So it is kinda hard for me to get used to giving it away; it’s hard to adapt to the new avenues that you use to put out mixtapes. You don’t buy ‘em from stores anymore, the websites are the stores. I’m used to sending them out to stores, so I had to adapt to that. But it’s no pressure involved with a mixtape, you just get in the studio and have fun and give it away to the fans. It’s really for the fans, because I don’t wanna keep them waiting and waiting and before you know it three years has gone by since you put out an album. It’s like a restaurant. If you stop feeding the fans they’re gonna go to another restaurant. People are hungry; 23 // OZONE MAG

they wanna hear your music. And if you feed ‘em too much, they’re gonna get full.

You’ve just gotta balance it out.

That’s a good analogy. Speaking of Swishahouse, I heard there’s been some internal drama lately.

I don’t really know what has been going on at the label, but I know Michael Watts is still putting out mixtapes. As far as Swishahouse as a record label I don’t know, I think it’s back to being what it was traditionally - putting out mixtapes and Michael Watts DJing. But as far as the execs I really don’t know the answer to that. I’m gonna be doing a screwed and chopped version of the mixtape with Michael Watts and hopefully dropping that during SXSW. Speaking of screwed and chopped, the University of Houston has put together a DJ Screw exhibit that runs March through August. That’s pretty major that a major university is acknowledging Screw Music as an art form. Have you been able to check out the exhibit or contribute anything?

It’s amazing the type of respect they’re giving to DJ Screw and his contributions to society and music. It’s incredible. Hats off to the University of Houston for doing that. They have 1,000 of his original [vinyl] from his record collection. Some of my favorite freestyles that I grew up listening to, they have the original, exact same vinyl that he was scratching on. There are a lot of things that people donated. I think DJ Chill donated [the vinyl] but a lot of people donated other things. They’ve got old rhyme books, there’s a [drycleaning] hangar with a mixtape tracklisting on it, there’s a notepad with people’s numbers - like Z-Ro’s and Lil Keke’s numbers - it just takes you back to how it was back in the day before cell phones and Blackberries and iPhones and all that. This is how it was. I’m donating the grill that I wore on the cover of The People’s Champ to the exhibit. The exhibit definitely deserves

PAUL WALL CONTINUED: respect but a lot of people might not expect that from a big university. They’re storing it in the same climate-controlled room where they have a first edition King James Bible - the first edition ever. Next to that is DJ Screw. So that’s the level of respect they’re giving him.

We previously covered your USO trip to Afghanistan with DJ Smallz. You recently went back to the Middle East to perform for the troops, right? That’s a big sacrifice for an artist to take that much time out of their schedule to perform for free. What’s your motivation for doing it?

I feel like it’s our duty as entertainers to go over there and entertain the troops and bring them a little touch of home. It’s an incredible opportunity to go over there and see people, because a lot of them are my neighbors. A lot of them are from Texas so it’s an honor to go over there and meet them and perform for them. It’s a huge honor.

This last trip was a little different. Normally, when I’ve gone in the past, I go through Kuwait and there’s a lot of action going on [because of the war in Iraq]. Now that the troops have pulled out of Iraq, Kuwait was real mellow. It wasn’t at all like it had been in years past. It wasn’t as populated. But the other places we went in the Middle East, it’s still going down like normal. These people are putting their lives on the line, and not just the troops in action but also the service members who are behind the scenes making things happen. Like I said, it’s an incredible honor and I think it’s an obligation and a duty that a lot of people take for granted. As an entertainer this is one way we can give back.

You also volunteer on the Grammy Music Committee, right? What does that involve?

Yeah, I’ve been the President of the Texas Chapter and now I’m the new trustee, which goes into effect in May. I’ll be a national trustee now. That’s another thing a lot of artists take for granted. You can be a member of the Grammy Academy, and that’s a real big deal.

Anybody who’s a voting member can submit music to be nominated [for the Grammys], vote on the music to see who gets nominated, and vote for the actual winner. Any artist who wins a Grammy was nominated by the

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members and voted on by the members, so that’s something to keep in mind.

Last year Steve Stoute wrote a letter to the Hip Hop community basically suggesting that we boycott the Grammys because he felt like we weren’t shown enough respect. What’s your thoughts on that?

Well, this year and last year, Hip Hop has gotten a lot more exposure than in years past. In the four main categories - Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and New Artist - there were several rappers nominated in each category.

So that’s pretty big right there. People are always going to feel that Hip Hop is overlooked, but really, Hip Hop is the new pop music.

An artist like the Black Eyed Peas, at the end of the day, is really a rap group. It’s a different style than the traditional rap group, but they’re still a rap group. You’ve got Cee-Lo Green; he’s a rapper and he ends up performing every year a the Grammys and being nominated for all kinds of stuff. Hip Hop has just evolved and grown.

The Grammys are inclusive; they want you to be involved. If you’re not a member you can’t vote or nominate music. So the first thing I ask when people complain about not winning or not getting nominated is, “Are you a member?” Usually the answer is no. That’s not to say that if you become a member you’ll get nominated for a Grammy or win a Grammy, but Hip Hop as a whole, we have to get more involved.

We have to speak up because the Grammys want us to be involved. They’re trying to get us involved. I don’t see too many other rappers that are involved; MC Lyte is the President of the Los Angeles chapter, though. Rappers should get involved. I’ve been a member since 2006 but I could’ve been a member since 2000 because of my credentials. The qualifications are there,

so it’s not like you have to go platinum to be eligible.

What are the requirements?

You have to have six album credits. Not six albums, but six album credits. So you have to have written on or performed on at least six songs that were released on a CD, or twelve songs digitally. So any artist who’s ever put out an album that came out on a CD is eligible. Any producer that’s ever produced six beats is eligible.

So there’s not an outrageous requirement. That’s the only requirement, period.

You have to have written, produced, or performed on six tracks that came out on a CD or twelve tracks that came out digitally.

There are different levels of membership, too. There’s voting membership and associate membership. To be an associate member you just have to work within the recording industry in some way, and you can still nominate and you can still go to the Grammys. If you’re a journalist, graphic designer, video director, engineer, lawyer, publicist, manager, record label CEO, or anything like that, you’re eligible to be an associate member.

In our last interview, you talked about losing over 100 pounds with the gastric sleeve. Since then, it seems like you and your wife Crystal have been getting really active in the fitness and health community.

Growing up, it seems like when you listen to Hip Hop and rap music, the party lifestyle is always what’s promoted.

You don’t ever hear people promoting a healthy lifestyle or having a healthy family. I don’t know what the reason for that is, but it’s something I hope to promote. I would hope that getting my health right and getting my life together would help motivate someone down the line in the next generation or even in my generation to do the same.

get their life together. Thank God for me it wasn’t too late. That’s something we want to encourage other people to do - to get themselves together and get in shape. When you look better and feel better you’re gonna have a happier and longer life.

You’re also involved with Feel Rich and their running challenge. What is that all about?

Feel Rich is a company dedicated to educating the urban community about a healthy lifestyle. They’re basically educating the hood on getting in shape and living healthy. It’s QD3’s company - he’s Quincy Jones Jr.’s son.

Quincy is also involved with it, and Shawn Ullman, who’s from Houston and lives in Austin. That’s how I got hooked up with them, because he’s from Texas.

Crystal has a lot of fitness stuff she’s doing; a segment called “Kickin’ It With Crystal” and a video blog. She’s a Zumba fitness instructor too, she teaches classes every day and once a month she does a free one sponsored by Feel Rich. They have a bunch of different sponsors and it’s a pretty big deal.

I’m also doing Feel Rich’s Nike run challenge.

It’s my team against Noreaga’s team, and we’re all running for the month of March. My team’s miles every day combined against his team’s miles every day for the month of March. Whoever loses, we’re going to go perform in the winner’s city. If he wins I’m going to New York and if I win he’s coming to Houston.

Are you performing at SXSW? Yeah, I’ve got a big Grammy block party on Thursday the 15th and on the 16th I have a concert at the Mexican American Cultural Center. It’s a free concert for all ages. // Twitter: @PaulWallBaby Website: PaulWallBaby.com

Although we all enjoy partying and that lifestyle, at the same time, we should promote a healthy lifestyle. Our health is something that people take for granted, and a lot of times they wait until it’s too late to try to do something about it and

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DJ RAPID RIC For people who aren’t familiar with you, what’s your background?

I started DJing when I was 15 on the border [of the U.S. and Mexico]. I moved up to Austin for college and stayed there for about ten years. I opened up a studio two years ago in downtown Houston, DMG Studios, so I go back and forth from Austin to Houston. We had Kendrick Lamar come through. We recorded the Big Sean verse on the Tyga album. Bun B records here at least once a week. The last Killa Kyleon and Chalie Boy projects were recorded here.

Street that’s just all bars with music and bands and DJs. It’s all unique and grassroots. There’s a whole bunch of entertainment in one area.

As far as Texas is concerned, [geographically] it’s the midway point between Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, and there’s a lot of music out in Corpus Christi. Austin is kinda the epicentre because it sits in the middle of this big state.

Austin City Limits is another huge festival they have in the fall that’s similar to Coachella with all different genres of music. With SXSW and ACL, people know they’ve gotta check out the live music capital of the world. That’s made Austin very dope and amplified Sixth Street.

Have you dropped any recent mixtapes?

I got more into production so I’ve just been focused on doing beats. I don’t drop my mixtapes as often, but when I do, I pick a theme. I’ve still been dropping my 420 tapes with pro-weed music, and the Whut It Dew album last year. I’ve been shopping beats; Chamillionaire was the first one to pick one up for his new EP. You’ve traveled extensively with Devin the Dude and other artists. Are you surprised at the reception to Houston music worldwide?

The big Texas movement that happened six or seven years ago definitely made an impact on the music that’s being made today, because even when I go other places, you’d be surprised at the [Texas] albums they have. Now you have artists like ASAP Rocky blowing up, and he’s [obviously] a big fan of that [Houston] sound, and other artists like Big KRIT. I think it’s really cool that they appreciate it. I meet people from Detroit and Pittsburgh that are big fans of Bun B. I think it’s cool that the Houston sound still resonates in music today. When [artists] come down to Austin for SXSW, they get that feeling like, “Wow, I’m in Texas,” and we’re just as excited to have them in Texas.

What are you expecting from SXSW this year?

It gets crazier every year. Last year they had Kanye West and Jay-Z performing and now JayZ is coming again with Eminem. It’s grown to a household name. I think it’s a really cool way to interact with a lot of people who already have a name or just wanna come back and re-establish their name, as well as total newcomers. It’s a good place to network and see each other’s talent and make use of those relationships.

How did Austin gain its reputation as the live music capital of the world?

I’ve been almost everywhere in the world and I don’t think anywhere has a strip like Sixth 29 // OZONE MAG

Who are some of the new Texas artists you have your eye on?

There are so many talented guys who are just a hit away from blowing up. Some of my favourites are Killa Kyleon, Treal Lee and Prince Rick from Dallas, and Kirko Bangz from Houston.

Beat King is another dude who’s always on the radio. His songs are always playing in the clubs and the college parties. There’s also Doughbeezy, a new cat out of Houston. He raps really crazy and the songs are really jammin’. There’s a whole new Houston movement; I guess it’s kinda like the blog rappers that have a presence, the Marcus Manchilds and Propains and a bunch of young cats who got their internet and YouTube hustle on. // Website: WhutItDew.com Twitter: @RapidRic

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AS A CHILD, LESTER JR. ADOPTED THE MONIKER LES, AND WHEN HE EMBARKED ON A RAP CAREER THE NAME STUCK – SUBSTITUTING $ for S OF COURSE. WITH HOUSTON AND NEW ORLEANS INFLUENCES, HE SOON LINKED UP WITH SLIM THUG’S BOSS HOGG OUTLAWZ. Being raised between New Orleans and Houston, those are two good influences for a Southern rapper to have.

Growing up in New Orleans and being able to see Baby and them do it firsthand, it made you feel like, “Hey, I could really do this.” I used to be out here in Houston in the summer and I would go to the Kappa and see Slim [Thug] and Chamillionaire and Paul [Wall] getting money, and they were just from ‘round the way. So to see them coming from the bottom to the top, that just let you know it was possible.

I used to do this for fun with my pa’tnas. It was something I was good at so I invested in myself and bought some CD burners and started handing them out. DJ Mr. Rogers heard my mixtapes in the streets; he was Slim’s DJ and worked with the Party Boyz. When I started working with him that’s when I started thinking this could really happen and we started making some progress. The first mixtape I did, Settle 4 Les, he produced all the tracks on there. The last time I put out a mixtape I didn’t even have to look for beats because I already had them.

Houston has always had such a specific sound, with the screwed and chopped feel to it. Do you feel like you and some of the new artists are carrying on that tradition or how does the sound compare?

A lot of people say my sound is pretty much the same sound as it used to be. I kinda stuck with it. Some people get mad at cats like ASAP Rocky but I feel like, you shouldn’t be mad at them because they’re influenced by the Houston sound. When I came up I was real big into the whole Swishahouse, SUC, Cash Money thing. I’m talking about the old Cash Money when Mannie [Fresh] used to do all their beats; smooth beats, the Big Tymers era. That’s where I got my style from. I think it’s pretty much the same Houston style but it’s a little more organic. It’s not forced. I don’t have a grill in my mouth, I just am who I am.

Speaking of grills, it seems like a lot of the topics in the Houston music just got cliche - the grill, the swangaz, sippin’ lean. What are some other topics you speak on?

Not to be cliche (laughs), but literally, my favorite rappers growing up were Bun B and Pimp C. Listening to their music you just learn to put your experiences into the music. If you talking about coming down and ridin’ clean and all that, that’s cool for that song, but you’ve gotta have more substance. I’ve got a song on my last tape Beautiful Struggle called “Story 2 Tell.” It’s about a girl catching AIDS, and the second verse is about a guy who used to do crack who got off crack and then got back on it. I was really talking about my uncle. You’ve gotta dig a little deeper, you know? I used to always hear Pimp C say, “If we don’t stop talking about these cars, we’re gonna lose it.” It’s more than just cars, that’s true. You’ve gotta put a little more real life into the music. Actual experiences.

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LE$

Words by Julia Beverly

How do you think Pimp C’s passing affected the Texas music scene?

I think he was the life of this scene. Everybody says, “What if he was still here?” I don’t know. I didn’t know him personally. I got a chance to meet him three or four weeks before he passed. I was a huge fan and I got to meet him in front of Onyx strip club in Houston. I gave him a CD and we chopped it up and he was real cool. So, you can never really say for sure. I don’t know who would be here or who wouldn’t be here or what he would speak on, but it seems like it would be a stronger scene. I think we’re trying to get up out of the trenches right now, but you know, Bun is doing a lot to help too.

Houston really put sippin’ syrup on the map and then it became sort of a national epidemic. Do you feel like it’s still prevalent or has it fallen off with people like Lil Wayne and Paul Wall publicly talking about quitting?

I really think right now it might be a bigger issue than ever.

Just the other day a friend of mine showed me on YouTube how there are kids pouring up lean like ridiculously because cats like Drake and Lil Wayne were talking about it.

You know, kids will follow whatever, and they don’t really know what they’re doing with the drug because they just take it and mix it up no matter how much they pour up. It’s kinda scary because they’re doing it not caring about what the repercussions might be. I have pa’tnas that have been addicted to it for years, since before it was “cool” to do it.

It’s really not cool, man. I occasionally do it myself but I don’t go crazy with it because I’ve seen what can happen. I feel like if you know the repercussions and you have common sense, you should know not to do it. But people really follow music and they’ll do whatever they think is cool.

What kind of repercussions have you seen - medical issues?

Yeah, it really messes up your stomach, and of course it can kill you. Obviously we’ve seen it happen. People just have to be more careful. It’s not like weed. You can’t overdose on smoking weed, but drank, if you do enough of that, it’ll take you out of the game. Even trying to quit can be a struggle. I’ve seen that with people passing kidney stones and all that type of stuff. It’s not something you should really want to do.

Will this be your first year at SXSW? Nah, I’ve been going for a minute. This might be my fourth or fifth time going. I was out here grinding before I got with [Slim Thug’s] Boss Hogg Outlawz. It’s crazy to see the progression. I remember when you would go out there and see [major artists] just walking down the street with no security. Last year is the first year it really got crazy; you had Jay-Z, Kanye, all these big artists down there. I’ll be performing at like four spots. I just dropped my new single last week with Dom Kennedy and Mac Miller, so we’re going to try to make the video happen [during SXSW]. // Website: settle4les.com Twitter: @Settle4Les

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Marcus Manchild Words by Julia Beverly

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HOUSTON NEWCOMER AND AMG ARTIST MARCUS MANCHILD’S CAREER HAS TAKEN OFF QUICKLY. HERE, HE REFLECTS ON THE ADVICE HE’S GOTTEN FROM HIS OG MENTORS. You had a brief cameo in the OZONE parody video “Shit Rappers Say,” but seriously, it seems like it would be tough for a new artist today because the game is so oversaturated with so many cliche topics.

How do you stand out from the pack?

Just speaking on everything I do personally.

A lot of people who are rapping right now are trying to do it to impress everybody else, but I think the people who are winning are just having fun and talking about what they do on a daily basis. Just be you. A lot of these people sound the same or sound just like another rapper and they’re not being original.

I think putting your own personality in the music will separate you from everybody else.

You did a show in New York City recently opening for 2 Chainz and brought out Slim Thug and Paul Wall during your set.

I wanted them to come to make a statement. I felt like it was a power move. I knew [the crowd] would know “Still Tippin’.” I was nervous coming out because I know my history and I’m trying not to get booed in New York. So I took every avenue to make sure it was a great show. When I saw how the crowd reacted I knew it worked because their ears were open. I rock with both of them personally and it was a good show.

I think everybody around the country is feeding off the South and looking at a lot of the things we’re doing. Don’t get me wrong, even when I got on stage, I was like, “Oh shit, I hope I don’t get booed.” But it was cool. I was excited and it was a blessing just to have that experience. I couldn’t even believe how the show turned out.

Are you performing during SXSW? We have several shows lined up for SXSW and we have a video shoot [that week] for “You Ain’t Trill” with Yo Gotti and Scarface.

We’re going to shoot that out in Austin and then I have to go to New York for more meetings with [major] labels. We’re just continuing to put out material to keep my name out there. Space Jam 2 drops tomorrow.

Having worked with artists like Scarface, Paul Wall, and Slim Thug, is there anything they’ve told you about how to be successful and have longevity in the rap game?

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Even when we were in New York, we had long talks out there. Me and [Slim Thug] sat down and smoked and he was like, “Man, just keep having fun. A lot of people get [too involved] with the business part of it and start learning [the business side] and then they just think that way. You can tell in their music. Just have fun.” I talked to Scarface the other day too; he called just to talk. He told me basically the same thing: “Stay humble, rep for the city, and have fun. Don’t let the business side get to your head because your music is going to go downhill from there.” I feel like that’s true.

Sometimes when you start overthinking it you’re like, “I’ve gotta make music for this type of crowd,” and that always handicaps you. So if I just stay having fun and make sure I represent the city right and keep going with my music, I’ll go far. I’m listening to [their advice] because they’ve had more success than I have. They’re legends in the game so it’s just a blessing.

Are there any other releases you’re working on besides Space Jam 2?

Yeah, we’re really getting ready for Free Yo Mind Music. It’s kind of like an album because it’s all original beats. We went deeper into my life. I’ve got Scarface, Twista, and Bun B on there, but not too many features. This time around I’m just telling people who I am. Fuck it, I’m just going to express it and I’m not worried about what people think. We’re probably going to wait until we get my [label] situation right and then release that.

I hear you’re doing double duty today, simultaneously doing a rap magazine interview and handling daddy responsibilities. How is it balancing the two?

I have one daughter, and it’s kind of hard because it’s not what I expected. I didn’t expect [my career] to go as fast as it did but now I see it. You’ve gotta make sure you’re in the studio. Every big artist that has made it, they’re in the studio 24/7 and that’s why they made it. Some artists are not even cold. Some can’t rap, some can rap. But it all depends on the material you put out. I try to balance being a father and still doing the music and showing my face at the parties. It’s hard but it’s starting to come together. I’ve gotta make it happen.

Ain’t no stopping on the grind now. // Twitter: @MarcusManchild

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Slim Thug Words by Julia Beverly & Devi Dev Photo by MQI Images

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IN THIS CANDID CONVERSATION WITH OZONE’s JULIA BEVERLY AND RADIO PERSONALITY DEVI DEVI, HOUSTON’S RESIDENT RAP COMEDIAN SLIM THUG TALKS LOSING HIS VIRGINITY, BABY MAMA DRAMA, SWINGERS, SEX TAPES, AND HOW TWITTER RUINEd HIS RELATIONSHIP. Julia Beverly: Who responded to your mock Craigslist ad [for sex]?

Slim Thug: It was some decent chicks that actually hit me back, for real. It was like over 200 responses. They were for real though.

They were saying, “I’m married, so it’s going to be confidential” and all this. They were serious. You can tell muthafuckers really do that shit. I ain’t respond to nobody though.

I swear to God I ain’t respond. That shit was funny as fuck.

JB: So you said men are superior to women.

Slim: Of course. That’s how it was made, right? The woman is supposed to serve the man. Y’all trying to change up shit. Men are supposed to pay the bills. It’s like, if you get a flat [tire] I’m going to change your tire. If I’m hungry, cook me something to eat. The fuck?

That’s what men do, that’s what women do.

Devi Dev: Is it hard to date a woman who follows you on Twitter?

Slim: Yes. Me and my ex broke up because of Twitter, kind of. She says that I say too much wild stuff on Twitter. Twitter is just funny to me. I say wild random shit to make people laugh, you know. I ain’t going to change. I think the best thing about Twitter is that people don’t get my jokes. That’s the funniest thing to me. People believe I was on Craigslist actually looking for chicks? For somebody to be that dumb to believe that, that’s the funny part. Today people started hitting me back after I wrote “all black dudes should fuck a white chick for MLK today.” I got all kinds of responses from muthafuckers with dreads that were on some real [MLK] stuff, like, “You fucking coon!” That shit is funny to me, that’s the funny part of Twitter.

Devi: What do your DMs look like on a daily basis?

Slim: My DMs are pretty light. I don’t really follow nobody. I only follow the people who tweet me. I’ve slept with maybe, no more than five girls that I met off Twitter. Can’t be more than that. I doubt it was five. I’ve been on Twitter for like three years.

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Devi: So how does something like that unfold? Do you get a DM like, “Oh Slim, I love you so much!”?

Slim: Nah, it ain’t even about that. It’s just [convenient] because you don’t need nobody’s phone number. You can just meet a girl on Twitter. Maybe somebody retweeted a picture of her, or you see a chick that you saw out somewhere and just follow them and it goes from there.

Devi: Break it down for me. This feels like To Catch A Predator. How did your interaction go from Twitter to the bedroom?

JB: Was it like, “Hey, do you want to come to my house tonight?” Or was it a little more conversation involved?

Devi: Did she check in on FourSquare?

“Fourth person, I’m now the mayor of @SlimThugga’s house”?

Slim: (laughs) Nah, it don’t be like that.

It’s just like meeting somebody out [at a club]. You see somebody on Twitter; you see their picture. A lot of the pictures are false advertisement, though. So I don’t go off just the picture. Maybe I saw them in the club before but I don’t have their phone number, or I know one of their friends. You know, “Hey, what’s up?”

JB: Do you meet girls on Facebook too?

Slim: Whatever I tweet goes to Facebook, but I don’t actually [log on] Facebook.

Maybe we need to check out that Facebook. [to J-Dawg] Fool, you on Facebook?

JB: So the ex you just mentioned, was that the girlfriend you were talking about in the article that got a lot of black women upset with you?

Slim: Right. But she was black. I never stopped dating black women. I’ve never been in a relationship with a white woman.

JB: So she was half white and half black?

In that Vibe interview, didn’t you say her white half was the one that cooks for you, or something like that?

Slim: Right, that was a joke. If you don’t get it, you don’t understand my humor.

People don’t understand a lot of the things I say because of my sense of humor. Damn near everything I said in [that interview] was meant to be funny. I was saying I had a black girlfriend, and my

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brother teases me because he has no problems with his white woman doing everything.

So I said when my girl is cooking, it must be her white half.

JB: Well, a lot of women took you seriously and were offended. How did you feel about the backlash that came from that interview?

Slim: People get so riled up. Really, if you’re not following me, don’t read my tweets. I guess you can’t get the humor in what people write all the time. Even with text messages, how you text people and they talk shit differently or whatever. If you don’t know me or don’t follow me, you won’t understand my sense of humor so why do you even care what I say? That’s how I feel about it. Most of the people who had bad responses were not fucking following me anyway, so I don’t really care about them and what they think.

JB: So now that you’re single, are you looking for a new girlfriend?

Slim: I ain’t gonna lie, I want to be in a relationship. People think I’m just a hoe ass nigga that fucks a thousand bitches at a time, but at the end of the day I want a family, I want a girl to live with me. I’m not saying I want to be married right now; I don’t believe [I’m ready] for that. I don’t think that I’m ready to say, “For the rest of my life, I will never sleep with another woman.”

Devi: Do you think you’ll ever get to that point?

Slim: Yeah, you know, the older you get [things change]. I’m 30 years old and I can think about all the girls I slept with [in the last 30 years] and then imagine spending 30 more years only sleeping with one girl. I don’t get it. Maybe things will change because I won’t be going to clubs as much when I’m older, so I might not be around an atmosphere where there’s a lot of women. When I’m 50 I might not even want to fuck anymore. I got high blood pressure. (laughs) Devi: Why do you want or need to sleep with more than one woman? I’m just curious.

Slim: That’s not really what it is. As long as one woman holds me down, I’m good. I can’t juggle too many women. That shit is a job, you know, juggling five women. I think it’s harder being single than in a relationship.

When you’re single, you’ve got one person to focus on. When you’re single you’ve got to juggle all these different emotions and different chicks and whatever they’re going through. Let’s say you’re talking to one and

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the other one wants to see you that night.

It’s just crazy. It’s too much.

JB: Were you faithful to your last girlfriend?

Slim: Right. I was. Y’all really be believing what you see me tweeting. Tweeting is not really, you know, all the way accurate.

It’s just for fun. I do shit to make you muthafuckers laugh.

Devi: How old were you when you lost your virginity?

Slim: 12. I was in middle school and girls used to spend the night at my house. My mama was at work. But even if she was there, she didn’t care. I’m the youngest of seven, so there was no control in my house whatsoever. We raised ourselves, really. My mama was working seven days a week, twelve hours a day. She couldn’t control us. Niggas was trappin’. Niggas were into everything at the house. And yeah, I was only 12, so I did it raw. The rubber probably ain’t fit around me when I was 12.

JB: Do you have any sex tapes you’re going to leak to promote the next album?

Slim: I ain’t going to leak nothing out. I got a safe about as tall as me with a hard drive full of [sex tapes]. So whoever gets the code and can get in my safe, I ain’t trippin’.

Devi: Have you ever been in love?

Slim: Yep, twice.

JB: So Twitter ruined your relationship.

Slim: That was part of it. She said I tweet crazy stuff to girls, but it’s all fun to me.

She kinda believed it, you know? I don’t know. I don’t get it. She was a nice girl.

Smart, good. It was all good just a week ago. See, people think I don’t have a heart.

But the reason why we’re broken up is because I have a heart and I didn’t want her running around unhappy. She was unhappy about me going to the clubs so much and talking crazy to girls on Twitter.

So instead of me dragging her through all that I said, “You know what? It ain’t working right now.”

JB: If you have two kids already and you want a family, why not try to make it work with one of your kids’ mothers?

Slim: One of them I was never in a relationship with, and the one I was in a relationship with, she’s crazy, you know? I’ll never

do that again. Actually, what happened with my baby mama was the same thing that happened with my ex-girlfriend. We were just having fun. I was independent, selling mixtapes, getting money. I’m from the hood; y’all don’t understand how low I was on the totem pole. I was just doing hood shit, shining in the hood, feeling like this might be the best days of my life. I come home and she’s crying. What the fuck is wrong with you? I was happy [in the relationship] but she was not happy. She got this dude’s number or whatever, and after I heard about that, I put her up in her own spot. I didn’t kick her out, I just put her in her own spot, paid it up for six months, started paying child support, put furniture in the house, and said “God bless you,” and that’s the end of it. She still tried to get back with me later on but it was a wrap after I tasted that single life. That’s what I’m scared of right now after a break up. Once I taste that single life and get used to not sleeping with that leg on me in the bed, it’s just not safe.

JB: What about your other baby mama? The rumor that you cheated on LeToya [Luckett] and got somebody else pregnant?

Slim: It wasn’t cheating because we were split up at the time. We were on a break. I was never in a relationship with [my other baby mama]. I didn’t even see my second child born because she had a boyfriend and she thought it was his baby. He was at the hospital with her. We found a blood test later to find out and it wasn’t his. After I found out it was mine, I stepped up and started paying my child support and taking care of my son.

JB: Child support is good but what about spending time with him?

Slim: I ain’t the best at that. I’m not trying to make excuses but it’s hard when you have two baby mamas and they don’t live near you.

The kids go to school every day. They’re off on the weekends and I’m working. I do spend time, but it’s hard. The other baby mama, I can’t even get in touch with her. I have to call my son’s cell phone and he’s only 9 years old.

A lot of people don’t understand that. I ain’t making excuses for deadbeat dads, but sometimes the mother is hurt from the relationship and can make it real hard for the man to be in the child’s life. It’s a difficult task. It’s your child so you’ve gotta fight for it, but they make it hard. A lot of jealous women see you’ve moved on and they hold it against you.

Devi: How much do you pay in child support?

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Slim: I refuse to disclose this information to the public. (laughs) Devi: Do you think it’s harder or easier to date someone in the entertainment industry?

Slim: I don’t know if it’s harder or easier.

[Me and LeToya] were cool, we had a good relationship. Sometimes it’s hard with scheduling. My last chick was a teacher, so when she’s off a lot of times I’m working.

So that’s another reason why we broke up. She felt like she was always sleeping in the bed by herself. All that plays a part.

I’m really a great guy. I could be a male chauvinist and do what I want to do and shit on women, but I don’t. I’m going to kill y’all when I get married. I’m going to find me a bad bitch that thinks like me and understands me and I’m going to marry her. I’m going to be the best husband. I ain’t going to cheat, watch. I don’t think I’m ready right now, even though I want to get married and have a family. Maybe if I had a woman that understands and says, “You know what? If you do fuck up down the line, I understand that home is home, people make mistakes,” maybe I would do it sooner.

Devi: Maybe you can be swingers.

Slim: I want to do that shit one time. I went to a swinger’s club on Halloween. I had an Obama hat and mask on. It was in Dallas.

That shit was cool. I was just watching.

You’ll be seeing people talking, turn your head, look back and the guy is eating the girl out. Shit was crazy. This one girl was just squirting everybody on the ground. (laughs) And since I just took both of you out to dinner, one of you has to give me some. If I get you something to eat I get to beat, that’s the rules. I’m paying the tab and if I ever pay over $100 it’s automatic.

I get to have sex with both of you. If the meal or the date costs over $100, it’s automatic sex. That’s the rule.

JB: I’ve never heard of that rule before.

Devi: $100 is not a lot of money.

Slim: Yes it is. It’s a recession. // We had to cut excerpts in the interest of space, but you can visit ozonemag.com or youtube.com/ozonemag for the complete interview.

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League of Extraordinary G’z

Words by Eleven8

Why did you decide to adopt the name League of Extraordinary G’z?

Tuk-Da-Gat: G’z can stand for anything. Gentlemen, Gangsta, Genius, it just goes on and on.

We took the idea from the movie where they each had their own individual gifts. We came together and became stronger as a whole than we were as individuals. We’re all different G’z. Everybody is a G in some way in their life.

How did the League of Extraordinary G’z come together?

Reggie Coby: We’re all mutual friends and knew of each other through different circles. Austin isn’t that big. We all work on songs here and there, but what solidified [the group] was my birthday three years ago. On April 19, 2009, I had a party and everybody came through. We decided that the three groups - the COD, The Southbound, and Dred Scott - were going to do a mixtape together. We wound up spending a lot of time together and becoming more like a family.

Tuk-Da-Gat: Now we’ve got like five mixtapes and an album that’s about to come out. It’s grow exponentially. We ended up just sticking together and riding it out.

Being from Austin, Texas, do you feel like your sound represents the city well?

Mr. Greezo: Well, you know Austin doesn’t currently have a sound. [No rappers] have come out of Austin yet that can develop and maintain a consistent sound. So, that’s part one. I do feel that we’re slowly developing some sort of theme. And there are hella groups in Austin that personfiy that as well. Reggie Coby is a phenomenal producer and I feel like he and a

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couple other producers are at the forefront of actually creating a sound for Austin that we can have for years to come.

What do you have planned for SXSW this year?

Tuk-Da-Gat: Man, we got a bunch of stuff planned. We’ve got two official shows, one on Wednesday at Kiss & Fly and one on Saturday at Emo’s downtown. We’ve got numerous unofficial events too. I know we’ve got a couple on Friday, but I don’t know the specifics.

Mr. Greezo: Don’t forget about the mixer.

Thursday from 2-6PM downtown at Soul Fresco on Sixth Street.

You’ve been getting a lot of blog love lately. Do you feel like you’ve “made it”?

Mr. Greezo: Nah, I really don’t. There are nu-

merous blogs that still haven’t posted our music or acknowledged our existence too. And, you know, that’s just the pessimistic side of me, but I am grateful to the blogs that have recognized us and do fuck with us. I’m sure eventually the other blogs will catch on. But we definitely do not feel like we’ve “made it.” We’re very humble about this and we understand there is a long path to follow to try to reach the level of success we’re trying to attain. So we just keep it moving one day at a time and we’re thankful for the blogs and writers and music journalists that do support.

For all the people who are coming down from out of town, what are some of the spots to visit in Austin?

Tuk-Da-Gat: Make sure you get some good Mexican food. Every time I leave Texas, that’s the first thing i do when I get back is get some good Tex Mex. I would suggest the Mayo Taco Village.

Reggie Coby: Tacos, Players Hamburgers goes hard. There are some dope places to eat in Austin.

Tuk-Da-Gat: But it’s more than just that.

It’s going to be everywhere. During SXSW Austin just grows into this different city almost. It’s a college town but when SXSW comes, there are people everywhere and there’s so much to do. It’s hard to get a real feel for the city in its natural state.

Reggie Coby: Instead of being centralized in the downtown area this year, they’ve got shit going on in Riverside, down south, and up north, so pretty much the whole city is going to be on that vibe.

Are there any SXSW shows you’re excited to see?

Reggie Coby: I’m looking forward to seeing T.I. and that Eminem joint. I’ve never seen Eminem live.

Reggie Coby: I’m just looking forward to discovering new shit. Every year at SXSW, you can walk into any venue and find something that’s really dope taht you didn’t even know existed. That’s one of my favorite parts about it, besides seeing the people you already know. // Twitter: @LOEGz Website: LOEGz.com Facebook: League of Extraordinary Gz

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Pooca Leroy Words by Julia Beverly

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DALLAS REPRESENTATIVE POOCA LEROY HAS BEEN RAPPING SINCE 1999. ALONG WITH HIS BROTHER MONEY MIKE OF MONEY MOBB ENT., THEY’VE CAUGHT FIRE IN THE STREETS WITH THE RELEASE OF HIS RECORD “RAP.” You’ve been rapping for quite a while. Was it just a hobby at first?

Nah, it’s always been serious, but you know, you’ve gotta put in a lot of hard work. It’s just a whole lot that comes with the game.

You’ve gotta keep grinding and working and promoting and feeding the streets. Year after year of working out here and it’s finally starting to pay off. It took a toll on the streets and now we’re one of the hottest things out here in the city.

What was the first record that really made noise for you?

This last one that I did is called “Rap,” and I dropped it like a year and three months ago.

That’s the hottest song out here in Dallas right now. Once that happened, I knew it was gonna be a real good look for me out here. We dropped the video for it a few months ago.

Dallas has always been like Houston’s little stepbrother. A lot of people expected the DSR label deal with Big Tuck and Tum Tum to be the city’s big break but it didn’t happen. What do you think is holding Dallas back from being on the same level as a Houston or Atlanta in the rap world?

I think it’s [lack of ] unity that’s holding us back. Everybody wants to be “the man” and they feel like they can’t share out here, man.

Everybody wants to be the boss and I feel like that’s the only thing holding us back.

We’re not unified. We haven’t come together yet the way the whole city should have.

That’s starting to happen now because we have a few dudes in the game that believe in this unity thing.

And you’re signed to an indie label out of Dallas, Money Mobb Ent., right?

Yeah, my brother is the CEO and I’m the President. It’s something we started a few years ago and we’ve been running with it ever since, doing it on our own out of the trunk.

We hit all the mom and pop stores creating a big name for ourselves. It’s become kind of a household name out here now so it’s something we’re gonna continue to run with independently. We are actually blood brothers, same mother and same father, so it’s a 41 // OZONE MAG

real family thing. I’m the main artist on the label right now and we’ve got other artists signed to the label but we’re pretty much trying to get through the door before we start pushing any other music.

Is “Rap” the lead single off an upcoming album or mixtape?

Yeah, actually I dropped four mixtapes in 2011. I did a mixtape every three months titled Before The Storm Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol 3., etc. All of the mixtapes are leading up to the actual album. The album is gonna be called The Storm. You know, when the storm comes you gotta bring out the umbrellas and stay in the house. (laughs) When the storm comes that means we made it through everything and it’s our time to finally show the world what we’re made of and what we’ve been working so hard for.

Obviously “Rap” is a self-explanatory record. What are some of the other topics you speak on in other records?

Yeah, and I have the remix to “Rap” also with Gucci Mane and T Cash. I have another record too called “I Got The Streets” that has a real good buzz out here too. We just shot the video for that a few months ago. I just did another record called “She A Freak” with Chalie Boy. You know, we have a lot of street anthems and whenever we drop ‘em the streets and the clubs get behind ‘em so hard so they become instant hitss. I got a whole list; you can pick up a mixtape that’s full of hits on there. We had over 20,000 mixtapes in the streets just last year in 2011. We go hard with the online promotion too. Last year, I made DJ Smallz’ Southern Smoke mixtape, so I’ve started getting a lot of attention from other markets too.

If you had to describe your sound how would you sum it up?

Very, very authentic, man. It’s like no other sound. When you hear it, there’s no one you could compare me to because I have my own sound. It’s a breath of fresh air to the rap game because it’s a new sound and it’s some real music. It’s very Southern swag, but it’s some good music, man. // Twitter: @PoocaLeroy

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POOCA LEROY & MONEY MOBB CONTINUED: AS CO-CEO OF MONEY MOBB ENT. WITH HIS BROTHER POOCA LEROY, MONEY MIKE HOLDS DOWN THE BUSINESS BEHIND THE SCENES FOR THEIR RISING DALLAS RECORD LABEL. What do you think sets Pooca Leroy apart from other up-and-coming artists?

He’s not just trying to rap, he’s looking at the business side. He wants to venture into movies and crossover, so he’s not just trying to dominate the rap game. He’s got a lot more to offer than just rap. I just feel like the world needs to see him and hear him. The closest the world has probably ever gotten to see what Dallas is really about was Pimp C. We haven’t really been able to expose the world to our culture, and now we should. I believe Pooca Leroy will be able to do that.

What do you think the world needs to know about Dallas?

It’s not about the dance [music]. It’s just the image that they have of Dallas in different regions [is incorrect]. I have a background of logistics in trucking. I go out to different cities and when we promote I see that they don’t have the image

they’re supposed to have of Dallas. I believe Leroy could bring that, as far as just his swag and his lyrics. There’s a message to his lyrics, it’s not just a song. He has a message behind each hit.

Pooca Leroy is the one to put Dallas on the map. He’s the answer, you know? We had a lot of artists come out, and no disrespect to them, but they weren’t Leroy. They got next but we’ve got now, and we’re ready to take the world by storm. It’s not a one-hit wonder.

Once we get there, we really believe that Money Mobb as a corporation will be able to eventually be in the Forbes 100.

Wow, that’s a pretty optimistic goal. You said you have a background in trucking?

Yeah, a background in logistics globally.

We’re trying to give the world something new. Since our trucks are already running across the 48 states, we’re going to intertwine the two together and get this rocket taken off. Only thing the world needs to do is just hear Leroy. He’s the best thing since Tupac, and I’m not being biased. A lot of people use his name for the strength of it but as far as the message, I believe the world took a great artist real early and they replaced him with Pooca Leroy. //

(l to r): Money Mike, Pooca Leroy

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Skewby Words by Eleven8

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FROM PRODUCTION TO VIDEO DIRECTING AND UNIQUE VIRAL MARKETING, MEMPHIS RAPPER SKEWBY HAS TAKEN HIS CAREER INTO HIS OWN HANDS. How did you get the name Skewby?

I got my name when I was playing basketball as a kid. I used to make this very ugly face and my friend said I looked like Scooby. It turned from an insult to an actual nickname and it’s stuck with me ever since.

How long have you been rapping?

Man, eleven years. I started when I was twelve and I was dead serious. It’s been a long, drawn-out process, but that’s when I made the decision I wanted to do it. I listened to a lot of Jay-Z, A Tribe Called Quest, Outkast, and Master P - that’s a weird one.

You kick a lot of knowledge on Twitter about the music industry. How do you feel about the state of Hip Hop today?

I feel like it’s in a beautiful state right now because people can do what they want to do. It hasn’t always been like that, you know? Hip Hop is something where usually the person who conforms the fastest is the winner. Now, the person who’s original is the winner. I think it’s in a better state than it has been the past few years.

You’ll be performing at SXSW, right? Why do you think that’s important for an artist?

It’s a pleasure because it’s an important audience. That’s how I’ve always felt about SXSW. The people who are attending are not always fans but they’re people who can change your career. You never know who’s watching.

To me, that’s why I hold the festival in such high regard. I always wanted to be a part of it, so it’s a blessing. Last year was my first time going, but I had always wanted to go and couldn’t afford it. Last year I decided I’m just going to work hard and earn the right to perform there. Last year I met Erykah Badu at a Bun B show during SXSW and got a hug, so that was very cool. I’m a huge fan of hers.

What shows are you looking forward to?

Hopefully I can catch T.I.’s show. T.I. is very important to Hip Hop and very important to the culture I come from and from the South, so I would love to see him live.

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opposite.

We’re living in a time where artists can try different things and see what works. I’m at a point in my career where I can afford to do that. I’m not in demand by hundreds of thousands of people so I have the room to try new things and be original in my approach. It’s really just me being curious and creative and trying to approach the game in a different way.

What kind of response have you been getting?

It’s worked out pretty good, especially compared to the previous responses.

Usually if someone drops a new song and then waits two weeks before dropping the video, the buzz kind of dies down.

Since I’ve been putting the video out first, I’ve been able to have the same impact without the long, drawn-out anticipation, which I think is kind of overrated nowadays. Especially with lesser-known artists. Anticipation is cool if you’re Jay-Z or Kanye and you’re dropping Watch The Throne, but it’s not really as big of a deal when you’re an unknown artist.

You’ve also been directing your own videos. Why’s that?

That’s just how my career has been. It’s the same reason I produce my records: I don’t know anybody who can carry out my vision as well as I can. I remember when I put out my first mixtape, Proving You Wrong Since 1988. I wanted to shoot a video for “Sunday Morning” and I reached out to a few directors. I shot some footage for it and sent it to [the directors], but they all came back bad. I remember watching their edits of the video thinking, “If these guys can be directors, I can definitely be a director too.” So I shot my first video back then for “Talk To ‘Em” and I’ve done every video since.

You dropped More or Less about a year ago. Are you working on anything else?

I’m working on something new. It’s not a “mixtape” or a “project”; I don’t really know how to categorize it because it’s going to be something different. Like I said, I’m just taking advantage of the times and doing new things. There will definitely be a new music release this year, soon. // Twitter: @Skewby OZONE MAG // 45

EVEN THOUGH SINGER TONY WILLIAMS IS A BLOOD RELATIVE OF KANYE WEST’S, DON’T EXPECT HIM TO RELY ON HIS FAMOUS COUSIN‘s NAME FOR MUSICAL ACCLAIM. How long have you been in the game and where would people know you from?

To me, entering “the game” would mean the first day somebody cut me a check to do [music]. I was about 21, so that was a long-ass time ago. You know, there was a time when artists actually served their grind time in the streets, working clubs for years before they rose in popularity. But I’m sure most people would credit Kanye’s College Dropout album with being my entry into the game, and that’s fine.

What’s your formula for making a hit?

I don’t have a formula for making a hit. In fact, making a hit has never been my intention. I only have one purpose in mind and that’s to make a great song. There’s a huge difference.

“Hits” are usually defined by rules and tendencies that people have come to expect. I want to make music that separates you from the normal expectations, something different. In my opinion, music that defies expectations is the best kind. Of course, the hope is that people will embrace the true genius of the product to the degree that elevates it to a “hit” status in spite of its differences.

Why do you call yourself “The World Famous” Tony Williams?

I’m so glad you asked that question. Most people never ask that question, so I guess they think I must really be on my own jock like that.

They act as if they think I’m pretentious to the point that I’d be offended if they were to bring it up. I want people to know that I don’t take myself that seriously at all. I’m a humble, lighthearted, fun kinda guy. The whole “World Famous” moniker is actually hilarious to me.

It’s kind of a joke. I only came up with it so all the search engines could differentiate me from the legendary jazz drummer who played with all the jazz greats like Miles Davis. That Tony Williams is the real iconic and world famous one. He’s been dead for years and still if you Google search Tony Williams, you would have to sift through a hundred of his articles before you see any mention of me.

How do you plan to prove to the world you’re more than just Kanye West’s cousin?

Prove? Is Kanye a genius? Well, then he might just be astute enough to surround himself with geniuses. Our professional relationship

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has never been about nepotism. If you know any of my bodies of work separate from him, then you’ll know I’m not inspired by what he does. He’s always respected me for my uniquely individual artistry and he’s incorporated it. I don’t have to prove anything, just listen to King or the Fool.

I feel like [King or the Fool] still has a lot of growing and catching on to do, but that’s what I expected. It sometimes takes people a while to catch on to something that’s not the status quo. Sometimes they’ve gotta make sure it’s cool to like something that doesn’t fit the norm. “Another You” is a huge song, even without commercial radio play.

If people would look beyond that song, though, it’s not even one of the top three best [songs] on that project. We’ve just gotta let it grow organically. That will happen when the people who have supported and embraced what I do from the beginning start playing the album for a new audience.

Real soul music resonates with everybody.

You recently released the Some Of My Best Rappers Are Friends mixtape. Will any of your rapper friends be joining you at SXSW? Kyle Lucas, Cyhi The Prynce, Wale, and Fonzworth Bentley may be in town. I haven’t exactly locked in what my presentation is going to be. Last year I performed with my live band. It’s a disappointment because we applied to perform at the official showcase this year but didn’t get accepted. That being said, my experience with SXSW is that when you see me perform with my band, you’re getting the real World Famous Tony Williams experience. It’s different with a DJ. You’ll see at the Unrefined Hype showcase at Bat Bar on March 15th.

How has the response been to Some Of My Best Rappers Are Friends?

I made a comment on Twitter saying it was Grammy-worthy but there isn’t a mixtape category. It’s funny because as successful as I thought that project was, when “Another You” featuring Kanye dropped, it faded the rest of the project into the sunset. I really appreciate the response because I got a feedback on every song on the album. It had something for everybody on it. I got a lot of positive responses on it for different reasons and different songs. I was pleased with it. // Twitter: @TWFTonyWilliams Website: KingorTheFool.com

Tony Williams Words by Eleven8

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