Ozone Magazine

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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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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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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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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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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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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TRINA: Hey Tiger. What are you doing boo?

TIGER: Look, Katrina. Please, leave me alone. I can’t talk right now. My wife and I are in counseling.

TRINA: Ok, just text me when yall done.

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Hood Deeds
Words by Eric Perrin
Photo by Annette Brown/Getty

Sean “Diddy” Combs isn’t the kind of guy you would expect to see riding around in a cab, but last year he spent close to a million dollars on cab rides—in one night alone.

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