A year after the unsolved murder of Max-A-Million Records’ CEO Big Wil, his closest friends and artists Sonny Chulo and Jonny Bravo linked up to perform a live tribute of their verses from DJ June Buhg’s “Bigger Than Life” mix CD. A year after Wil’s passing, Sonny reflects on the past and speaks on the future.
Wil raised me. I was his first artist. You know, everybody screams “family,” but it’s not too many people that mean it. Me and Bravo was definitely the first. Bravo lived with him at one time, I stayed with him at one time. Sometimes there was no lights in the studio and we had candles. It’s different when you’re just an artist, but we was family to that nigga. Not too many people could get a hug from his pops or his brother, and that’s what it boils down to. And what certain people did when he passed – I’m not here to judge nobody. I just keep Wil in my heart with everything I do, and I know that Bravo and P-Scheezy are the same way. It’s like he’s helping me. Everything he can’t do for me physically, I’m very confident he’s gonna do for me spiritually. If I do pop off, a lot of it is owed to him. I’ve learned a lot from his mistakes. But I just know that I miss my dawg every day. It’s funny, I see a lot of these niggas out here lookin’ like mini Max-A-Mils. Same way you see these wannabes comin’ out with mini-OZONEs. And I just laugh.
As far as Max-A-Mil as a label, I haven’t heard shit about it. Max-A-Mil, to me, is me and Bravo. I lost a little respect for Southstar. He didn’t show up to the tribute, send his blessings or anything. But I guess two bitches belong together. Smilez basically just thinks he’s hotter than me. I know he’s not. And he’s a liar. He should never speak no gangsta shit in his rhymes because he broke rule number one. The first rule of the streets: you never get the cops. I don’t care if it’s your fuckin’ father that’s a cop. Basically, it was an ongoing thing, but I had seen Smilez and everything was deaded. But I told him I was gonna get him back for that whack trash freestyle he did on Voice of Da Streetz’ mixtape. It’s just my duty. I rep the streets so there’s no way I’d let him get the last word. Anyway, a member of his entourage – that homo, Wildchild, with the big teeth? That nigga’s a bitch too. That nigga’s pussy. Print that. He came up to me at the club, and it was a Lil Jon record on so he was getting crunk like, “Yeah, we heard that diss record.” I’m like, “That’s why I did it, nigga, y’all niggas is pussy.” Don’t step to me unless you ready to rock. Besides this rap shit, I’m a man. This nigga went outside and got the cops – one of the cops is Smilez brother – then he went and got Smilez. Smilez came up to me after the cops did. His brother – who looks like the Nutty Professor – put his hand in my face and said some slick shit. The cops hit me with a couple cheap shots. It’s gonna take more then billy clubs, though. I’ve been hit by fifteen niggas and I’m still here. Those little cheap shots ain’t shit, but don’t hide behind your badge. When you get out of your uniform, we could get shit poppin’. That’s why Smilez is a bitch. Smilez is a rappin’ name, and he don’t get no respect from me as a rapper, that’s why I call him Rodney. We ain’t pop, nigga. We don’t do that bubblegum shit. And he needs to talk to his partner Southstar to find out how we get down. I don’t know why his partner is frontin’ like we ain’t save his life at the D12 concert. And this shit I’m saying to you now, I would say to their face anytime.
Right now, I’ve got my own label, GoodFellaz. I’ve been doing freestyles here and there, but the conversion from a rapper to an artist is what’s going on right now. As far as features for the album, we’re looking at Fat Joe and Tony Sunshine of course, and trying to politic some shit with Mr. Vegas, Akon, and the singer Lloyd. Cool dude. I don’t care if he’s with Murder Inc. or got beef with 50, whatever, it’s just whatever could benefit me. The beats is Urban Child all day, my man Shawn Starr. He’s fuckin’ ridiculous. He’s a singer too. We got hella joints, we doing our own version of the “Best of Both Worlds.” My album is basically wrapped up, it’s called “I Promise.” We gonna put out a single near the end of this month. I’m gonna have a listening party to decide what the single should be. We just trying to capture the streets first, ‘cause people look at Orlando like it’s a pop city.
We kinda shied away from the battle scene, ‘cause I got nothing to gain no more. I feel like I won every battle that really counted. I won The Quest, I won the Interscope battle. Mad shouts to Kevin Black, too, that’s my nigga. And honestly, I took my time with this album. You might feel like you’re ready at one point, but you’re not. I’m not better than nobody now, but nobody’s better than me either. We doing this without the Just Blazes, the Kanye Wests, without the cosigners, and we still rockin’. We gonna see, though. If Orlando chooses to be biased and not accept it just ‘cause I’m from here, that’s on them. They’ll appreciate a New York artist before they’ll appreciate this. Niggas will look at me different just ‘cause I’m from Orlando. Honestly, though, I’m different from a lot of cats. They out here talking about shotguns, and when I see ‘em they weigh like forty pounds. If they really blasted off, that shit would knock them backwards. Real recognize real, though, so if you don’t come from that daisy shit you’ll appreciate my music. Orlando takes its talent for granted sometimes. And if anybody knows that, it’s you. I can’t believe you still givin’ these mags out for free. - As told to Julia Beverly, jb@ozonemag.com
