Ozone Magazine

This interview will appear in Ozone’s upcoming Sex Issue

Freaknik Resurected
Adult Swim is Bringing Freaknik Back…but is it welcome?
By Maurice G. Garland

Even though Freaknik has been retired for a decade, the mere mention of its name still draws a bevy of emotions. Whisper the word around the city of Atlanta and you get a spectrum of responses ranging from “ah man, good times” to “oh lord, good riddance.” What stared off as a small gathering amongst Atlanta University Center students in 1982, grew into a city wide party that became both legendary and notorious.

Very similar to the Spring Break celebrations in Miami, Cancun and Daytona Beach that often made it to MTV, Freaknik was the Black version where students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities convened on Atlanta for a weekend of partying. Unlike the other celebrations though, Freaknik did not take place on beach, but rather in the confines of a major city. Gridlocked traffic was a common occurrence as party seekers often made a party out of the situation, making many other Atlantans late for work, weddings and even emergency hospital visits.

While traffic was a tolerable nuisance, Freaknik’s reputation for lewd and sometimes violent behavior was not. Reports of rapes and robberies often times overshadowed the benefit concerts, celebrity basketball games and even job fairs that were also associated with the weekend celebration. Couple this with the fact that the thought of 250,000 Black people being in one place at one time can look threatening to some, the City of Atlanta acted swiftly to start thwarting the party.
City officials blocked off streets, boosted police presence and littered the streets with tickets the same way that patrons did with empty food and drink containers. From 1992 to 1997 Freaknik became a thing of folklore that had popular rappers not only name dropping it, but making plans months in advance to attend. But by 1998, the party was strangled to death and eventually disappeared completely by 2000.

Party promoters have attempted numerous times to resuscitate the festival, but none have succeeded. However, Cartoon Network’s late night programming block Adult Swim has found a way to bring Freaknik back, as a ghost.

Last night Freaknik: The Musical debuted on Adult Swim with T-Pain voicing the part of Freaknik. A ghost with skin made out of dollar signs who wears an outrageous gold chain with a charm that is a likeness of himself. Surprisingly, this probably isn’t the most outrageous element of the cartoon. (more…)

Eldorado Red has a habit of dipping in and out of the music scene, but he also has a fan base that forgives his elusiveness time and time again. Bubbling back up in the underground, Eldorado released the mixtape Black Gangster with DJ 5150 recently and a new song with Zaytoven. The above video clip outlines some of Eldorado’s past history and upcoming projects, but if you want the full, in depth scoop on Alabama’s great hope, keep reading. Eldorado had a lot to say about the street life compared to life portrayed in rap music, and he also explains his new collaboration with Alley Boy which raised a few eyebrows.

We’ve been sitting here talking about your history in the game and there’s some key elements in your career that people might not be aware of – you had a situation with Rick Rock, the producer…
Yeah, shout out to Rick Rock and the whole Federation and the Bay Area. I was out there fuckin’ around for about four and a half years. I was working on a solo project with Rick Rock – we actually put out an independent album with Fontana called The Eastside Rider. The Federation situation didn’t work out so my solo project never came out. But I was out there grindin’ wit’ Rick Rock for a minute. That’s the first little bit of rap industry shit I ever experienced. At the time, he had just did the Jay-Z record “Change the Game,” he had the Busta Rhymes record with Mariah Carey, he had a lot of big records.

What was your game plan after that situation was over?
After the deal got fucked up, I came back to Alabama, to the streets. I knew Rick Rock from Alabama – he was originally from the Bay Area but we both had family in Alabama. We knew each other before he had blew up in the production game. So I went out there and tried to make somethin’ happen. But you know, every situation ain’t the right situation. When you tryin’ to fit in to someone else’s program, but at the same time, you patiently waitin’ to do yo thang, then your success is basically depending upon if these people pop off or not. When The Federation’s success wasn’t what the label expected, they got dropped from they situation, which domino affects everything else.

So you quit the game for a minute?
I ain’t have no plan – my plan was to go back to where I started, back to the block. I had said fuck the music thang for a minute after that. I came back down south and kinda reinvented myself and that’s what we got today. >>>>> (more…)

Courtesy of the folks at Sixteen Seventy Media/Clothing.

And as a reminder, Travis Porter’s Unbelievable short film premieres on Saturday March 6th in Atlanta.

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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Gangsta rap is dead! At least that’s what Hip Hop’s reclusive legion of Facebook bangers, Twitter hipsters and blog’d out skinny jean b-boys would have us believe.

And, on some level, they do have a valid argument. With the global economy tilted like your local pool hall’s pinball machine and Cali penitentiaries hella crowded like public housing, things just ain’t the same for gangstas. Consequently, it’s back to bangin’ for way too real estate and slangin’ rocks for rims in a dope spot nowhere near you. (more…)

As the West Coast continues trying to find a new identity that isn’t somehow connected to the extended N.W.A family tree, Warren G finds himself trying to slide back in. Although he’s been active, a lot of people aren’t aware of his new projects. With The G Files (his second independent album since 2005) out right now, Warren is faced with several choices: rapper or producer, independent or major. But if there’s one thing that isn’t up for debate, iT’s his loyalty to the west coast and good music. Ozone caught up with Warren to get his thoughtS on the new direction he’s taking his career, the state of West Coast Hip Hop, and why people forget that he helped save Def Jam in the 90s.

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“Your Wifey’s Favorite DJ” may be a cocky nickname, but DJ Ill Will is living up to it. Dropping over 60 mixtapes, most notably ones with female favorites like Drake, Trey Songz and Tyga, Will is definitely carving a niche out for himself in the heavily-populated DJ game.

Originally an aspiring baseball player, the South Bend, Indiana native moved to Los Angeles after graduating from Ball State University. Making ends meet as a bartender, he wound up getting a shot at DJing when his venue’s in-house DJ quit. Since then he has evolved into a mixtape DJ responsible for breaking records like Jeremih “Birthday Sex” and Jay Rock “All My Life” featuring Lil Wayne.

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In case you haven’t noticed, Bryan “Birdman/Baby” Williams has been in this rap game since ’92…look at all the bullshit he’s been through. His biggest star at the time, Juvenile, left his Cash Money label at its height with his other star B.G. leaving soon after. His in-house producer and fellow Big Tymer Mannie Fresh departed years later. He’s caught plenty of flack for his relationship with his megastar, whom he also calls his son, Lil Wayne.

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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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When we initially caught up with Young Dro to conduct this interview, he was gearing up to finally release his new album P.O.L.O. But then disaster struck when the entire album was leaked out in the form of a mixtape titled Lo Life. Since then he has returned to the studio to re-record P.O.L.O. as well as release his R.I.P. mixtape with Don Cannon.

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You may have heard Lil Wayne shouting out his name (“Kane on the beat”) on the Kane Beatz-Produced “We Be Steady Mobbin,” but we doubt you know the whole story behind this Orlando beatmaker. Luckily, OZONE persuaded Kane to step away from Fruity Loops and Pro Tools for a second to tell us how he went from selling beats on Soundclick.com to producing for rap’s biggest names.

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As Asher Roth’s official tour DJ, DJ Wreckineyez has started on a journey that will surely lead him to being the next big name DJ in Hip Hop. skilled in both turntablism and party rocking, it’s only a matter of time before you see him on TV mixing for celebrity-filled events that you wish you could attend.

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Often, a hit record explodes overnight and disappears just as quickly. But for Bone, his song “Homegurl” had to marinate before hitting the charts. Circulating in the Texas region for nearly six months, “Homegurl” got a major push after being discovered by The CORE DJs CEO Tony Neal during the Texas Summer Music Conference last year. Bone, a student at Prairie View University, was signed to Citi USA Ent/Def Jam and the song was eventually added to radio rotation. Now over a year since he originally released the single, Bone and his label are dropping the video and introducing him to the rest of the country, starting with the patrons of All Star Weekend. Here he explains how a small town kid from east Texas landed a big break.

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Setting herself apart from other female R&B artists, Tomeka Pearl brings spice and bounce to her music. After debuting her artistry on Dorrough’s album Dorrough Music, more opportunities are coming left and right for this talented young singer. With her street single “You Like It” heating up on the south and west coast, you can believe this isn’t the last time you will hear from her.

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Representing the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Ray Paul has a heavy street presence in the city, along with his click the Y.G.z. Last summer Ray invited OZONE out to the Y.G. picnic and it was clear that their crew comes out in numbers. Here he gives us the scoop on his fan base, his affiliation with Greg Street, and some insightful opinions on the music game.

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