Ozone Magazine

SOLDIERS OF LOVE
This article appears in the newest issue of OZONE Mag featuring Trae tha Truth & Birdman on the covers.
Words by Julia Beverly
Photos by Erick Anderson & Julia Beverly

Paul Wall and DJ Smallz accepted their mission with pride: boost morale amongst American troops deployed in Afghanistan. OZONE tagged along for an unforgettable ride through the war-weary Middle East.

Wait.

Where am I?

Seven days in, the thought finally hits me. This is crazy. How did I end up here? I’m weighted down by military-issue body armor, hovering several thousand feet above ground in decidedly unfriendly skies. Mere inches from my left shoulder, a gaping hole where the door should be (photo at left) allows a bird’s eye view of the dry desert and the scenic mountainside of Afghanistan quickly falling away beneath the chopper.

A handful of us are on board the helicopter, including Houston rapper Paul Wall and Florida representative DJ Smallz, but I appear to be the only one suddenly smitten with panic. A four-pronged seatbelt strapped over my bulletproof vest seems to be the only thing separating me from sudden death-by-gravity, as I cling tightly to my cameras and gear with both hands. And a tall, heavily-armed soldier named John Tuerck, strapped in facing me and intently eyeing the ground through the scope of his assault rifle, appears to be the only thing separating me from mid-air death-by-Taliban.

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This past weekend, Ciara hosted a party at Haze Nightclub inside the brand new Aria at City Center Las Vegas. Nick Cannon was also in town and his wife Mariah stopped through to kick it with Ciara. OZONE photographer D-Ray was in the mix. CLICK HERE to view the photo gallery.

CLICK HERE to view the rest of the photos.

Previously, we reported on some alleged shady business going on in Gucci Mane’s camp, primarily by his booking agent Johnnie Cabbell of Hitt afta Hitt Entertainment (who also manages Shawty Lo) and his manager/business partner Debra Antney of Mizay/So Icey.

Since then, we’ve heard unconfirmed rumors that Gucci Mane fired both Cabbell and Antney and hired a new business manager to audit Antney for missing show monies.

Earlier this evening, it appears that Cabbell and his Hitt Afta Hitt company were evicted from their offices. Here is the scene outside their former location at 101 Marietta St in downtown Atlanta:

Disclaimer: Employees at other businesses within the building told OZONE this is all Hitt Afta Hitt’s stuff on the sidewalk (including boxes of Shawty Lo and Fabo CDs, whom the company manages), but we do not know this for a fact and details remain unclear. Rumor has it that the eviction may have something to do with another tenant from whom Cabbell was sub-leasing space.

This past weekend, the reunited Goodie Mob, along with opener B.o.B., shut down The Tabernacle in Atlanta for a sold-out show. CLICK HERE to check out the photo gallery.

B.o.B. getting the crowd amped up

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After a disappointing turnout in 2009, the Magic Convention (fashion) moved from its traditional home at the Las Vegas Convention Center to the Mandalay Bay and managed to reinvigorate its spirit a bit. Several celebs came through as well.

CLICK HERE for the photo gallery.

Young Dro & B.G.

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During All Star weekend, Dorrough celebrated the release of his Gangsta Grillz mixtape with some special guests, including OZONE Magazine, comedian Lil Duval, fellow Texas rapper Trae Tha Truth (who appears on the upcoming cover of OZONE), and Cali rappers Roccett and Kafani. In true Texas style, Trae gave away a set of swangaz to a lucky woman in the crowd.

CLICK HERE to view the photo gallery.

Trae Tha Truth, Lil Duval, & Dorrough on stage

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DJ Khaled took advantage of all the celebrities in town for Super Bowl weekend to film the video for his new single, “All I Do Is Win,” featuring Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Rick Ross, & T-Pain. CLICK HERE to check out the photo gallery by OZONE photographer Terrence Tyson.

If you didn’t make it down to Miami to get your copy of OZONE’s Super Bowl special edition featuring DJ Khaled on the cover, CLICK HERE to check it out.

I’m a little late posting these, but Playaz Circle recently filmed the video for their record “Big Dawg” featuring Lil Wayne & Birdman in Atlanta. CLICK HERE to view the complete photo gallery.

In case you missed it, the Playaz Circle cover of OZONE is in stores now and Birdman’s cover is coming soon.

Drake & Lil Wayne

By now you’ve probably seen some of these photos floating around the web, but don’t get it twisted, they originated right here at Ozone Mag.

For those who may not know, Lil Wayne was scheduled to begin a year-long prison sentence at Rikers’ Island this past Tuesday for gun-related charges. Although his sentencing was postponed til March for medical reasons (pending surgery on a cracked tooth), he fully expected Super Bowl weekend to be his last chance to par-tay with the Young Money crew.

Honestly, I haven’t had this much fun at a party in a long time. The whole YM crew was in a great mood due to the New Orleans Saints’ Super Bowl win – and they weren’t celebrating Wayne going to jail (as some cynical internet commenters have accused) but celebrating life and the fact that everyone had the opportunity to be together at that particular moment. As a photographer, those are the best parties to shoot, where everyone is just enjoying the moment and you’re able to capture that exuberance.

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You’ve got a couple videos circulating now on the internet and MTV Jams. Is the video with Dorrough the main one you’re pushing right now? Or is the Bobby Valentino song the newest?
The one with Dorrough is the newest video I’m pushin’. It just got added to MTV Jams and hopefully to BET soon. This is my third or fourth video on MTV Jams. I still work with a lot of Bay Area artists but single-wise, I’ve been working with southern artists because I’m trying to get that nationwide look. My records are getting a better, different look with Southern artists. I’m basically trying to take my sound beyond the Bay Area. I think the whole hyphy sound has kinda died down. I think artists are doing them right now and creating their own sound. When you had the hyphy movement it seemed like everybody was doing the same thing, but now everybody is developing their own lane. The Bay Area sound has always been universal.

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Freelance journalist and host of The Parker Report, Erik Parker, was in Haiti on the fateful day of January 12, 2010, when the country was rocked by one of the most deadly earthquakes ever recorded. During the aftermath, Parker provided an up-close-and-personal look at the devastation through intermittent access to his Twitter page,
@TheParkerReport. Below is one of the images he captured:

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Texas street rapper Trae Tha Truth is never one to back down. Perhaps most infamously known for punching Mike Jones at the OZONE Awards, the Rap-A-Lot affiliate nonetheless has done a lot of good for his beloved city of Houston that often goes unrecognized – not to mention, he can really spit. Now preparing to tell Tha Truth on his newest project, Trae answers the tough questions in this OZONE exclusive.

What have you been working on since the last time we spoke?
A little bit of everything. I’m getting ready to drop my new album Tha Truth. Since the last time I talked to y’all, I’m back with ABN Entertainment getting distributed through Fontana. Right now I’m on an all-out campaign for Tha Truth. I’m independent, but I still have the same resources as a major label. It’s good for me on both ends. Money-wise, I’m most definitely independent, but look-wise, I still have the connects. I’ve always been my own CEO because I feel like nobody [else] will get out there and do it how I do it. If I don’t get out there and do it, I’ve failed myself. So I’m gonna give it my all. The reason I say nobody will do it better than I will do it is because I’m going to bat for myself harder than anybody.

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SEAN GARRETT: TOOLS OF THE TRADE
As a songwriter, Garrett has penned many of your favorite radio hits for artists like Usher, Beyonce, & Chris Brown

The first piece I wear is a scroll. It’s like an old-school piece of paper, like an 1800s piece of paper, like a parchment or something they wrote the Declaration [of Independence] on. There’s a pen laying on there in black diamonds. The whole paper is studded out with diamonds and it says, “The ink never dries.”

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You are an unknown struggling artist. Rick Ross is in town performing and you have the ability to offer him a few thousand dollars to come by the studio and drop a quick 16 bars. Your cousin knows Akon and said for $80k he’ll sing the hook on your song, you just have to send him the money and the ProTools session. Lil Boosie went to jail and his manager has some verses for sale to keep money flowing to him while he’s locked down. You’d like very much to have Rick Ross, Akon, or Boosie on a song with you. But it’s not as simple as just having the money to pay for that feature…

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