Ozone Magazine

This past weekend you hit the streets again. What was your mindset at the time you found out that you were gonna actually be released?
It felt like a dream, with me being in them conditions for so long, and the amount of pressure and problems that’s going on inside those places. I think everybody out there knows that [prison] isn’t the best conditions to be living in. So it’s just me coming out and seeing my brother, seeing the rest of my family and being able to be free. I can’t really describe the feeling – overwhelming joy is the best way to put it. It’s like winning the lottery for $500 million. How would you feel, you know what I mean? I really don’t think you could tell me.

You were in for three years, right?
Yeah, three long, rough, hard years. Second time, three years. It was actually two sentences. It was a three year sentence and a twenty-seven month sentence combined with state and federal charges.

Did you get out early for good behavior?
I was basically allowed to get out when the time was up. (laughs) The Feds don’t really give you any favors unless you’re snitching. Sometimes they don’t give you favors then [either]. It was [just] me doing my time and my time being up.

So you did your time and you’re free to go? I think a lot of people were under the impression that you were away for a lot longer than that.
Yeah, ‘cause most people want bad for you anyways, especially when you ain’t got anything going for you. JB, when you were first trying to come up with a magazine years ago, you weren’t on anybody’s radar so they really didn’t care about what you were doing. You weren’t a factor. But once you are successful, people have knowledge of your success. That comes with the fame as well. That’s when all the hatred comes. People wish bad for you at that point. Some [people] wanted me to be gone forever, you know? It was a serious case, six attempted murders, first degree, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, federal violation and shooting into a building. Each charge is enough to put you away forever. So people just prejudge situations.

Were you able to take a plea bargain on those charges, or what actually developed when it came to your sentencing?
It took about a year. The prosecutors didn’t want to talk to me, you know? They believed that it was an open and shut case. They felt like I was done; the state had ninety witnesses against me. They found six guns in the car, the car [was] in my name, I [was] driving, and they’ve got all of the victims who were shot. Not only [were there] ninety witnesses who didn’t get shot [testifying against me], but the other five victims who actually got shot, the majority of them were sayin’ I did it. That’s how I got the six attempted murder charges in the first degree. So with those type of charges people rightfully assume for the worst instead of the best.

Obviously, your brother has become a lot more successful on a national level since you went away, so is there a sense of you coming back to join the party? Or are you going back on the road resuming what you were doing in the early stages?
I don’t wanna say too much and give away too much. While I was away, I was able to do a lot of things and make a lot of things happen to keep his career going upward. I can’t get into the details, ‘cause you know Feds read magazines too. But I had a lot of things going on that kept increasing my brother’s success. I was always there when it was decision-making time, and [I had] a lot of lawyers coming to see me, a lot of business partners, my A&Rs, marketing managers. So I was connected enough with my team where I kept things going. All the silent decisions were still being made by me. But now I’m hands on and I don’t have to wait for somebody to come and get me. I don’t have to worry about only having 300 minutes a month [to talk on the phone]. I can talk that in a few hours. Now I can say more and do things faster and more accurately. I used to write a lot of letters. I sometimes wrote five to ten letters a day, to my executive team, to get certain things answered and certain things done the way I needed them done. I never stopped and never gave up on increasing my brother’s success. Thank God I was able to start the party and now rejoin the party.

Do you think going through that whole experience has made you a better businessman? Obviously you had to adapt to your circumstances.
Yeah, I think it did, extremely. I don’t wanna give the system too much credit because the system helps destroy lives. I’m just one of the few chosen ones that went into the system, utilized it, got better as a businessman and better as a person, and actually kept things going. Most people go into the system, they ain’t got no lawyer money, so they’re dead from the beginning. They just play cards, play dominoes, work out and shoot basketball or play flag football or do something recreational. They really don’t utilize the system. I’m just one of the few that took the time. I took the time twice – I started my company in prison, [during my] first bid. So I’ve utilized both situations to become better. I was reading the Wall Street Journal every day, the USA Today every day, Business Week every day, Economist magazines every day, OZONE, you know, just different publications. I’m one of the few dudes that doesn’t watch TV much, other than a few videos to keep up with the business trends, but other than that it’s mainly work. So definitely it enhanced me as a business person. It taught me a lot of patience and expanded my mind.

Some artists have had negative things to say about your brother. We all know that when you become successful you have haters but at the same time, do you think that there is any validity to statements that have been made? Where do you think those statements are coming from?
For one, I can say off the top of my head, as you mentioned with success definitely comes haters, but when a guy is a competitor to another rapper in the same area, street music, or whatever they call it, goon music, or thug music, you’re competing on a level that is gonna be built on animosity. But in our black “world” sometimes the competitive edge gets outta hand and goes a little further and becomes hatred, instead of being a competitive edge. Sometimes Mercedes and BMW get a [lot] right across the street from one another so they can compete. But BMW ain’t gonna walk across the street and shoot all the cars in the Mercedes parking lot, and Mercedes ain’t gonna do that either. They’re just gonna try to hire the best people and make the best vehicle. They’re gonna try to be in the best location and target certain consumers. It’s more of a thinking game with these major companies for the same consumer, versus the rapper. This is no different than what goes on with the major record labels that are headed by the white boys. But the rap industry is more of an enemy game, it goes further than competition. It turns into hatred and animosity.

You and Plies seem to have a different perspective on the whole game. You look at it as strictly a business. If you look at the whole Miami movement, there were maybe some problems between certain people in the past, but they kinda put on – you know Khaled brings people together for videos, they kinda do shows together, and everyone shows up at Mansion. And Plies always seems to kinda distance himself from that a little bit.
I can agree with that. He kinda distances himself from a lot of the industry functions, and he does it for a lot of reasons. His main reason has always been that his big brother is not there. So he’s never really felt as if he has friends or family with the industry. But he knows that when it comes down to the power of his voice, he is the streets, and appears to be the radio [too]. He has the biggest street movement right now. I’m sure a couple people might debate that, but the truth is he’s the one selling out venues now, he’s the one people are going out and buying the albums like crazy for, and he’s the one that’s making number one radio hits back-to-back, which most street rappers can’t do. He’s dropped 3 CDs in sixteen months, and another album, Goon Affiliated. He’s doing a lot of things that street rappers never did without losing any of his fanbase. He’s keeping his format very similar to when you first met him some years ago, but definitely he’s doing more of the same.

And what about you – do you share the same mentality as your brother?
I’m more of the industry type of dude, more so than Plies. I use to be more like my brother [with a] street mentality. But I think I’ve developed to a certain degree. I’ve also been the business-minded one, and my brother has always been the music one. It’s normally me that says, “Let’s do a feature.” It’s me that says, “Let’s go ahead and get these videos done.” I cosign a lot of things that he doesn’t really care to do. It’s me that says, “Let’s do a song with an R&B dude.” It’s always been me that’s brought people in; it’s never really been him. So when I left, it was kinda like leaving him out in the world alone. He couldn’t call me so he couldn’t ever get my opinion on a lot of things ‘til after the fact. Sometimes I would give out instructions but it would be too late due to the limited time we had to talk. But I’m finally back, and I can make those types of moves now. The next album is gonna be unexplainable. It’s gonna actually have rap features for the first time. But again, that’s my idea, not his.

I know you have some other artists. Will the rest of the Big Gates’ roster be going through your Atlantic Records situation as well? Or are you looking for new homes for them?
With Chris J, he took off so fast being on Plies’ top ten hit “Put it On Ya” that Universal Republic called; Sony called. And it wasn’t like we had sent them a demo. They called based on music they’d heard. After that song got big and he had a performance on 106 & Park with Plies, people started calling the next day. Right now I’m laying back. I wanna do it the way I did the Plies situation. We worked it underground first and then the majors came to us. I get more leverage that way versus me going to them, taking a peanut deal, like we a monkey or something, and nobody ever hears your music. Most of those major labels have hundreds of thousands of artists over there that you’ve never heard of and never will. Fella, my newest rap artist, is taking over the streets with his Pill & a Half mixtape. Also, I’ve got a rapper named Zach King and an R&B singer named Lil Rufus who will both have music out next month.

Do you think taking that same approach you did with Plies with an R&B artist is gonna work? It’s a little bit different to break an artist on the R&B side than on the Rap side.
You’re definitely right. I’m taking Chris J to radio right now. I sent his album independently to the radio stations. I’m working his single two ways, radio primarily, but I’m also working it in the street. Plies was strictly street first and then radio caught on. I’m working that project in a similar way but better, especially ‘cause it’s R&B. It’s more like a street-ish version of R&B. Chris J is like the new R. Kelly of R&B. Lil Rufus, an R&B singer, is 20 years old, and is considered the “new” sound of R&B. I’m working them both radio and street at the same time.

Now that you’re scouting new talent, what have you learned from the past as far as finding artists for your team? What are you looking for in those artists?
Definitely work ethic is important. When I sign artists I make sure my artists are straight. I take care of bills, I send them checks every week, I file taxes for them, and I make sure they have vehicles, once they’ve proven themselves. They don’t have to have albums out. Even with no radio spins and no street buzz, once they can prove to me that they can deliver great music, that’s when I open all the financial doors for ‘em. Even with our artists, their managers always call us and wanna know what the budget is? I always tell ‘em, it’s an unlimited budget. I don’t work off budgets. It’s an open budget. Whatever we’ve got to do to get your project to work financially, I’m gonna do it. So I don’t wanna give you a budget for marketing or a budget for recording. We’re gonna record and we’re gonna market ‘til the consumer says, “This is what we want.” If an artist doesn’t work, it’s the label’s fault. Labels sign artists, and artists depend on the label. So I feel that if the artist never works, never takes off, never blows up, then it’s the label’s fault ‘cause the label should’ve never signed the artist. Unless something happens like the artist gets killed or goes to prison forever – obviously then it’s [not the label’s fault]. If the artist is still free to move and still free to do what he does, and can’t come up with good music, then it’s still the label’s fault because they believed in this guy, or they believed in this girl, so if nothing works, then the label didn’t know what they were doing, and the A&R didn’t know what he was doing, and the executives didn’t know what they were doing.

What’s your ultimate goal for the way Big Gates Records is perceived? When you hear names like Cash Money or Slip N Slide, people kinda know what that label stands for and what type of music they represent. So what’s your vision for Big Gates Records and what direction are you going?
You’ll notice that I never got a logo. No Limit had the tank, Cash Money got the dollar sign, Slip N Slide has had a couple different logos. Much respect to Ted though, the owner of Slip N Slide, I look at him more like a buddy than a business partner. Big Gates Records is its own logo. There’s really no certain category that I want the label to be classified in. I’m not even going the street rap route like most of those labels that I just mentioned. They went street rap. I’m not really trying to classify myself into a certain realm. It’s kinda like a major [label]. When you think of any major, you think of a little bit of everything.

Since you’ve been branded so far with Plies, people kinda expect Big Gates Records to go in that direction, as far as street rap. But with two R&B acts coming up next, it seems like you’re trying to broaden your horizons. But don’t you think that a recognizable logo is crucial to developing a company’s brand and image?
No disrespect to them, but Big Gates is the new go-to company. Even when you look at the videos and the magazines and the radio charts and the different places, all the different places you see Big Gates, is also where you always see big things. My brother kept my name alive everywhere he went. And the rappers that got mad at him were saying, “Your brother is the real one,” so they kept this whole Big Gates thing alive and it’s even gotten bigger. All kinds of people from magazines, to radio, to internet were trying to [interview me when I got released] and I’m taking a lot of them, but this is my first one [with OZONE]. The name Big Gates alone has generated more press and publicity then I could have ever paid for. And that’s what separates my label’s brand from these other brands. There’s no categorizing Big Gates.

What was the first thing that you did when you got out?
When I first got out I thought I was dreamin’. I really didn’t do much. I really didn’t want to eat anything. I was just really thankful to God that he blessed me again, ‘cause I was just as done as they thought. When I walked out I was just blessed that I was able to go through the system twice without telling on anybody, without breaking down and turning Muslim. (laughs) I was just thankful that I went in one way and came out a better way. And that was all I really did when I got out; I was just thankful. I didn’t really believe it was real until a couple days later. That’s why I decided to do this interview, because now I’m realizing I’m actually out and free. It’s reality, not a dream, and I’m out on a good Monday back working, back in stride. They won’t let me run my own company due to the restriction that I’m on for a couple months. But I’m working for people that know people, still musically related.

You mentioned earlier that you’re at the Mercedes Benz dealership. What are you about to pick up?
I don’t know. I really hate that I said Mercedes, ‘cause I feel like I’m freely promoting them now. You know how I feel about that.

Yeah, you sound like your brother.
I’m heavily on [Plies] about that. I stay down his throat about [not] promoting a brand for free.

Well, maybe they’ll give you a discount.
They might. Well, you know how it is with Mercedes. They don’t market to our people, they say. The street folks, and most of the minorities, if you’re not an executive they don’t really try to deal with you too tough. But we buy them anyway ‘cause I’m sitting in one right now. (laughs) I love utilizing their image.

Are there any other purchases you have planned now that you’ve been released? What’s the itinerary looking like this week?
My main thing right now is focusing on getting into the technology field. I’ve been studying that for some years now. That’s one of the directions I’m heading in. I wanna get some of that technology money that we black folks don’t seem like we’ve figured out how to do. I’m heading into different directions, but my core is music. I have production companies out there. I take calculated financial risks with my money. My brother loves all the other stuff. He loves the jewelry. I think they say he’s got the best jewelry game in the music industry. He’s caught up in the custom jewelry and all the cars. He’s got Bentleys, Maseratis, convertibles, and all this other stuff that he doesn’t even drive. I’m the opposite of that. I’m looking for something else to invest in.

Are there any other upcoming projects you want to speak on? Are you actively looking for new artists to sign?
We just signed a new artist that’s gonna remake the face of the industry. He’s a rap artist, Fella, the second rap artist that I’ve signed. He’s totally different from Plies. He has a mixtape out right now called Pill & a Half. I’m working him the same way that I worked Plies. Fella also has a hit out right now called “On Yac,” featuring Plies. //