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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The Hip Hop mixtape circuit has always been the secret backbone for pushing artists to another level. Their names, reputation, and notoriety grow stronger, while usually gaining a plethora of fans throughout the underground market. But ever since the arrest of DJ Drama in January of 2007, the mixtape game has changed dramatically.  Before 2007, Hip Hop fans purchased their mixtapes, but now anybody with a computer can download a mixtape for free. Artists such as Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane, and few others took this opportunity and ran with it, dropping mixtape after mixtape, while gaining fan after fan.

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Snoop Dogg
Malice In Wonderland 
Priority
Though Snoop Dogg has become more known as a character and celebrity in recent years, the man still knows how to make dope music. Recreating himself once again, Snoop blends in with just about every beat thrown at him. Although this album features more cameos than Snoop albums of the past, he still remains the star. – Maurice G. Garland

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California has had its share of dance movements over the last few years. First, there was Krump in Los Angeles. Shortly after that, Hyphy exploded out of the Bay Area. Now, a new Hip Hop dance frenzy has emerged out of L.A. called the Jerk. At the forefront of this new movement is Audio Push, a rap duo consisting of 20-year-old Oktane and 19-year-old Pricetag.

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Shawn Chrystopher’s tale is far from the typical rap story. While many rappers glorify stories of crime, Chrystopher’s chronicle is the exact opposite. “I was always the kid on the honor roll, so when I told people I was rapping, they’d be like, ‘What?!?’ I could never go to the hood niggas and get beats,” laughs the rookie rapper/producer.

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Birdman/Pricele$$
Cash Money
Cash Money’s HNIC, Birdman, reached that point again where he got bored sitting in the office counting money and the result of this boredom is another Birdman album. But, naturally, Priceless is a Cash Money family affair, with Lil Wayne and Drake doing the heavy lifting and Bird adding his two cents. While this album isn’t full of hits, “Money to Blow” and “More Milli” are among a few gems that make this an album worth turning up with the top down. – Rohit Loomba

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While most American-born artists aspire to become international superstars, Atlanta-native Donnis technically began his career as one.

“That was part of the plan,” admits Donnis, who hails from the city’s Jonesboro area. “We all know what’s  getting played on Atlanta radio; a lot of dancing and trap music. I’m a little different with my approach. So I came to New York where they have a little more going on.”

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You can say Block Entertainment has had reputable success in the rap game. From Yung Joc to Gorilla Zoe to Boyz N’ the Hood, Russell “Block” Spencer knows how to find new talent and skyrocket them to stardom. In the next wave of artists added to the Block Entertainment roster comes something big, something colossal.

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There’s an infinite number of rappers whose alias begins with the stereotypical “Young,” but since this Durham native started his rap career at the tender age of 13, he gets a pass. Back then, Young Swift formed rap groups with neighborhood friends. From the beginning, Swift knew rapping was what he wanted to do. “We used to think we were gonna get on when I was like 14,” says the now 19-year-old rapper. “We didn’t realize how long the grind really takes.”

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When PI Bang emerged in the Orlando rap scene in ’01, his expectations were high. He expected to shine immediately and automatically receive credit for his talent. But things didn’t exactly go his way.

“When I first started, I thought if you were hot you would just get on, and they would sign yo’ ass,” the independent rapper explains of his misconception. “It’s nothin’ like I thought it was gonna be – it’s more of a challenge.”

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When Interscope recording artist Maurice “Verse” Simmons first recorded his smash hit, “Buy You A Round” he didn’t think it was going to be a big deal.

“I just thought [the record] was cool,” admits the rapper/singer/songwriter behind the song that is currently the favorite of “that girl” in the club. “I didn’t think it was [a hit] like it’s becoming now. I just thought it was a good song for the clubs. But when the DJs heard it, they’re the ones that brought it to life. I was like, ‘Damn ya’ll like it like that?’ Okay.”

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Teiron “Iceberg” Robinson never imagined one day he’d be rapping alongside a Southern rap icon like Trick Daddy. But when Iceberg’s freestyle over Nas’ “One Mic” attracted Trick’s interest in the then 15-year-old rapper, Berg’s farfetched fantasy soon became a reality. “I was just happy to be around him,” the now 20-year-old says of the day he met Trick Daddy. “I was born and raised in Miami. In Miami, niggas look up to this nigga Trick like that nigga is a fucking God.”

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In music, royalties are how an artist gets paid; in the strip club, Royalty is where those checks get spent.

Meet Royalty, a vivacious 26-year-old from Orlando, Florida who is quite proud of her pole prowess and uses her head to get whatever she wants in life—literally.

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We put former DTP crooner and Patiently Waiting alum Steph Jones to the test to determine if the Texas-born model/R&B singer is G’ or just as soft as the stereotype.

A. Have you ever been to jail?
Yes, I was in prison for 2 years actually. When I was in France I ran into some people that I knew from L.A., but I didn’t know they were being investigated by the authorities. As soon as I got home, when I got off the plane, the authorities demanded I give them the real names of like 9 different people who I was hanging out with. They said if I didn’t give them the names they would send me to jail. So I ended up taking one for the team because the people I was with weren’t the type that you snitch on; I love my life and my family so I didn’t say anything. I ended up spending 25 months in a French prison.
Not snitching keeps you and your family safe, and it also earns you extra credit on OZONE’s “Are You a G’” scale.

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1. SMACKA BATCH
www.myspace.com/smackabatch
With a name like Smacka Batch, you wouldn’t expect this guy to have songs named “I Just Wanna Talk 2 U,” “Bedroom Eyez,” or “Sexy Lady.” But he’s actually quite the ladies man, rapping and crooning about taking women on shopping sprees and holding hands. This only forces us to quote the legendary Pretty Tony when he told Goldie, “You ain’t no pimp…you’re a rest haven for hoes.” Oh, did we mention that he heads up a label called Southern Plantation records? As outrageous as that sounds, his crew has a song called “Blessed” on YouTube that’s really worth checking out.

2. GAGGIE
http://twitter.com/chitowngaggie
Not sure how or why someone would decide to name themselves Gaggie, but this Chi-town MC doesn’t seem to mind the name at all. Not much of his music is floating around on the net, but…it seems to make some people want to, eh, you get the point.

3. SWAGZILLA
http://www.myspace.com/lilaldagoon
If Kanye’s swag is on “a hundred, thousand, trillion” then Swagzilla’s must be in the zillions, euro even.

by Maurice G. Garland