FLIPSIDE: T.I. vs. LIL FLIP

LIL FLIP INTERVIEW:

When T.I. dissed you at Birthday Bash, were you already at the venue?

My plane got delayed. We didn’t land til 11pm, and by the time we got to the venue it was 11:30. When we got there, dude was on stage. We tried to get out there, but the police wouldn’t let us go. They knew something was fin’a go down. They wouldn’t let us get to the stage. Somebody came back and told me what was going on.

T.I. claims he was responding to comments you’d made dissing him at shows in Atlanta, claiming to be the King of the South.

Naw. If anything, I gave that nigga a shoutout. I had a freestyle that I performed at Music Midtown that went like, "You know my favorite rappers is Tupac and B.I. / But I rock 24’s just like T.I."

Do you think he misinterpreted that as a diss?

Man, that nigga is just stupid. If you from the street and somebody comes and tells you some info, before you react to it, go make sure it’s true. I guess he got out of jail, seen me on the cover of The Source, and got mad. He’s got somebody putting the key in his back. He don’t even understand what he’s gotten himself into.

So do you think you’ve lost any fans because of this whole incident?

Nah, he lost fans. Since he disrespected me, he disrespected the whole Screwed Up Clique, the whole Texas.

What about the people who are caught in the middle between you two, like Bun B, David Banner?

Bun B let me know, "Dude is on stage trying some hoe-ass shit." You know Bun is from Houston, and he ain’t like that shit. Don’t nobody like that shit. And I knew Banner way longer than [T.I.]. T.I. even started shit with Ludacris. How you gonna start shit with Ludacris, who been reppin’ A-Town? He the only dude from down South that’s sold three million records.

So you think T.I. just did it to get attention?

Yeah, he just trying to get attention. Shit, if it took me four videos to go gold, I’d be trying to get some attention too. But not like that. Man, I would never be in his position. I wouldn’t be running around saying, "I’m a seven-time felon, what I care about a case?" He must not give a damn about his kids, so I see what kind of mentality he got. He ain’t no real thinker, man.

Any chance y’all can just squash this?

Naw, ain’t no making up now. That dude [T.I.] was in my trailer for The Source photo shoot, trying to get on the "Game Over" remix. If the dude had a problem, he should have said something back then. We could’ve did it like men, cause I box. I would have knocked his little hundred-pound ass out! I ain’t with all that going back and forth shit. I ain’t friendly. I’d rather fuck with R&B cats instead of rappers. So to these rappers: when you be in public, exchanging numbers, I ain’t with that shit. If you ain’t fuck wit’ me then, don’t fuck wit’ me now. That’s how I look at it.

So on another note, you said your album is almost double-platinum?

Yeah, almost, ‘cause it’s a double album. Whatever I sell, it counts twice. I’m at 780,000, so that’s like 1.4 million.

What made you decide to release a song like "Sunshine" which is obviously directed more towards the ladies?

I mean, everybody liked it. When I do my albums, I let the DJs tell me what they like, the label, my homeboys, instead of me just going with what I wanna go with. Sometimes you can lose like then when you go with your ego. I took everybody’s advice and the radio just started playing it.

So you’ve also got a liquor coming out?

Yeah, I got my liquor coming out September 1st: Lucky Nites. We got the Clover G album coming out with Glo, Gloria Velez on the album. All the fans, tell ‘em good lookin’ on the support.

How do you feel about the Diplomats coming out with a liquor called Sizzurp?

That’s good shit. We all trying to migrate and make money. I’m also on Def Jam’s "Vendetta Pt. 2," and I got my own DVD coming out.

Does your character look like you in Vendetta?

Oh, hell yeah. I got my big Clover chain on, tattoos and everything. Yeah, man, it’s crazy.

What happened with the Sucka Free/Sony situation?

I’m with Sony, and I’ve got my own label, Clover G’s. How can I put albums out for a person who doesn’t give me money for the albums? He was taking show money too, and also my advances. He told Sony to give him money for my album, but I recorded my whole album in Dallas. So what did you do with the money? I didn’t record in Houston. But it’s all good, man, I’m platinum again.

Anything else you want to say?

Scarface is the real King of the South. Make sure you print that.

T.I. INTERVIEW:

Is it true that you tried to get on Flip’s "Game Over" remix?

All that shit about me being in his trailer is absolutely false. Everybody was using that muthafuckin’ trailer at the photo shoot. If it was his trailer, why was I in there smoking and kickin’ it? The nigga who produced ["Game Over"], Fury, produced "I Still Love You" on [my album Trap Muzik]. Fury had called Jason, my partner in Grand Hustle and also my manager, and asked Jason if I would put a verse on there for him. I didn’t even know Flip at the time. Since [me and Fury] had already established a relationship, it wasn’t no big deal. In the trailer I told Flip I did the verse, and he was being all Hollywood and shit, talkin’ about, "I did three remixes, one for the West Coast, one for Down South, and one for the East Coast." And I’m thinking, man, you ain’t my kinda nigga right there. Shawty, I could see it, but back then I didn’t have no problem with him.

So when did you start having a problem with him?

While I was locked up he was doing shows in Atlanta, asking "Who’s the King of the South?" I guess he objects to me calling myself the King of the South. When people would answer, "T.I.," he’d say, "Oh yeah? Tell that nigga I say ‘Game Over.’" At one show, [Flip] was tryna holla at some broads that happen to be affiliated with me personally. They some ghetto broads from my hood, and they was in the club getting drunk and kickin’ it. He had his partner walk over and say, "Flip wanna holla at you." So they walk over to Flip and he’s like, "Why don’t you do that dance for me on stage?" They was like, "Nah, I ain’t finna dance for you," so he tries to pull his Hollywood card like, "I run the A. I got this on lock." Everybody with him is like, "Hold up. Tip run this shit." So he turns to his partners, giggling and shit. He’s like, "I got something for that nigga, just wait for my show." That’s when he did his little "Game Over" shit, tryna shine for the broads. And I’m still locked up at the time, hearing all this shit. And now he’s denying it, but a nigga can’t tell me shit, honestly. And all that other shit niggas talking about – I’m jealous about this, mad about that – shit, that’s absolutely false. He wants to tell them that just to gain support. I ain’t got no reason to be jealous of no nigga. I’m my own man, I stand on my own two, I call my own shots, make my own music. If I was to envy a nigga, it damn sure wouldn’t be a nigga with as little respect in the streets as [Flip].

I heard that you filmed a video in prison the night before Birthday Bash?

Well, yeah, it was supposed to be an intro to my show. The camera showed me inside my cell saying, "I’m sorry I wasn’t able to make it." Then, later on in the shot, I’m like, "I got to make it, it’s Birthday Bash," so then two officers walk up and ask me if I’m ready. Then they escort me out and I’m basically just talkin’ shit the whole time.

How did you get the film crew in your cell?

I got authorization from an officer and he said he had to get authorization from his superiors. So I thought it was all a go. Honestly, man, if that other incident never took place I don’t think it would have been a problem. Then, at the Birthday Bash, [the officers] were kinda backing up and saying, "Nah, I didn’t know nothing about that."

It seems like you have problems with a lot of rappers: Ludacris, Trick, now Flip.

Trick? I just got off the phone with Trick. People just speak off hearsay. When [Flip] was on 106th & Park, Trick hit me up like, "Man, that old fuck nigga on TV talkin’ about you, shawty." Trick was like, "Man, I told niggas all that King of the South shit don’t mean nothin’." Any real nigga can recognize a real nigga. As far as Luda, that was me and one of his partnas. Since I been out of jail, me and ‘Cris sat down and resolved the issue. We ain’t got no problems no more, even though there’s a song out right now where he’s going at me and I’m going at him. Basically I told the nigga straight up, you ain’t really never did shit to me. It was just people on the outside looking in, keeping shit going. All that shit has been resolved. I got a problem with one nigga. Only one nigga in my scope.

What about the people that are cool with both you and Flip? Bun B performed with you, and then after you dissed Flip he was backstage on his cell lookin’ upset.

Are you serious? That’s you taking what you think and basically making it into whatever you would like for it to be. I talk to Bun B every other day. I’m up here in the studio right now with PaulWall and a gang of niggas from Cloverland. If a nigga is cool with him and me too, hey, I apologize if you feel like you being placed in the middle but the best thing to do is just stay out the shit and let him stand on his own two feet.

So is there any chance of y’all just squashing the beef?

Man, man, man. That’s between me and him. That ain’t nothing to be published in no magazine. It’d surprise the hell out of me, but who knows. I’m through talking about this shit. This shit ain’t for the public.

Anything else you want to say?

My new album Urban Legend is coming in November.