What was the first time you got arrested?
In elementary school, I got arrested for stealing. My lil’ friend that I was going to school with, she used to tell me every day, “Let’s go to the store.” I used to always be like, “Nah,” ‘cause I knew we ain’t have no money. She was like, “It’s easy to get something.” I don’t remember what I stole, I think it was a diary or something. I got my ass tore up. I got three whuppings: one from my auntie, one from my momma, and one from my grandmomma. I didn’t steal for a long time after that, but you know, after I got to the age where I didn’t care about no ass-whupping, it was back to stealing.
What was your strategy?
Before you even go in the store, you make sure you got somebody with you that’ll watch your back. A lot of stores have floor watchers. You’ll see these people that are “shopping” but they actually work for the store. They’ll be in plainclothes, walking around in the same department all the time. You might see a man in the womens’ department, just walking. You can spot a floor walker from a mile away. They don’t have shit in their hands and they never check out. You just watch and pay attention. You see who’s who. If you hit the store a few times, you gonna know the management, the floor walkers, everybody.
What’s the best items to take?
Whatever you can sell. That’s how you pay your bills. You’ll start to get orders from somebody ‘cause they know you boost, they’ll give you their sizes and everything. But if you talking about electronic shit, you know, TVs, refrigerators, you know, shit like that. Or wood. Niggas build houses now, they be needing plywood.
How does a booster get stuff out of the store?
Girdles, buzzer bags, or if the store real sweet, a person could walk in there with two or three garbage bags. A buzzer bag is something that a booster makes for stealing. It’s wrapped in aluminum foil. When I say “real sweet,” I mean there’s only one person working and she scared. She might know somebody is stealing, but she really don’t care cause it ain’t her shit. Or, there’s two or three people in the store, but they’re all really together. She’s helping one or two people so the other one can steal.
What kind of stores are we talking about?
I’m talking about high-end stores, designer gear. If you steal bullshit you ain’t gonna get no money. You gotta steal good shit that the average working person can’t afford. That’s why people are gonna buy it. But when the store’s hot, you can’t get no money like that. You got your other game: credit cards.
How do you make sure credit cards don’t get traced back to you?
You never ship nothing to the spot where you lay your head at. You never use your own phone, and you damn sure don’t keep a lot of people in your game room. Only deal with people that you know are gonna buy your shit.
Have you ever had a “real” job?
Tried that. Didn’t like it. I wanted to be in control of my own destiny. I just know that what I went through in life prepared me for what I’m doing now. I’m not condoning where I come from, I’m not saying it’s okay to do these things. What I’m saying is, when your back is up against the wall, what else can you do to eat? Especially when you have prior convictions. WIthout being bilingual, what else can you do when you’re living in a jungle? Hustling isn’t right and it’s not easier than a real job, it’s just faster. And it’s better money.
Were you ever worried about the risks?
Yes. You think about the risks and you know it’s not right, but what else can you do? You have to do what you can to feed your family. If you try to get a “real” job, first you gotta find somewhere that’s hiring. Second, you gotta figure out what to write on the application to make them hire you. Third, you gotta pray they don’t find out about your prior convictions, because if they do, they’re gonna fire you as fast as they hired you. And four, even if you do get the job, it’s gonna take you two weeks to get a check. So what are you supposed to do during that time? Are you gonna starve to death or get out there and put food on the table?
What about stores that have security cameras?
You know what they say: all black people look alike anyway. And you cover your tracks.
You were charged with carrying a concealed firearm? Why did you start carrying a gun?
‘Cause a girl needs protection out here. You never know what kind of pillow talk your best friend is having with her man at night. They might be sitting around talking about what a bitch got and how they can get it. You never know.
Do you believe the saying that if you live by the gun, you die by the gun? I mean, were you worried about it coming back at you?
You know it’ll come back to you, you just hope that God will be a little lenient.
Was God lenient?
Very. I had a prayin’ momma, so I’m very, very blessed. And I’mma tell you a funny story. When I got my first lump sum of money – legal money, from music – I opened up a checking account. Actually, it was a savings account. And because I be out of town all the time, I wanted my momma to be on my account with me. True story. And I couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t come to the bank with me. She thought I was doing something illegal. I was like, damn. My own momma ain’t really want to get on the account with me. That was a real wakeup call.
When you rhyme about your experiences, do you think that would influence other people listening to try the same things?
I wouldn’t encourage anybody to do what I did. I would just tell them the cause and effect. I’m not ever gonna say the cause without saying the effect.
How would a booster sell their products?
They have their regular customers, and they know where to find their customers.
How much cheaper does a booster sell products than the store?
Half price. Or if it’s a good customer they would get a good price because they’ll always buy your stuff even if they don’t need.
Did you get involved in drugs?
I did two years house arrest for allegedly trafficking cocaine. I’m not gonna say I did it, but I got charged with it. Back then I had a car with tints, and you couldn’t be riding with no tints, especially if you dirty and Jump Out is around.
What is Jump Out?
Jump Out is the police in unmarked cars. They usually come out Tuesdays and Thursdays in Miami, in Liberty City. They could be in any kind of car, a Chevy Blazer with music playing or a Monte Carlo with 20” rims. You never know what kind of car they’ll be in, so you won’t know it’s them until they pull you over. All they do is ride around in the hood and catch you slippin’. That’s their job.
What else were you arrested for?
Let’s just say I got caught slipping a lot. Aggravated assault, carrying a concealed firearm.
Aggravated assault? What was that all about?
That was some hoe shit. You know how it is when hoes bring drama.
Being from Liberty City, what kind of guys did you date?
To be honest with you, all my boyfriends have sold crack. Not that I wouldn’t date a corporate nigga, but I don’t know no corporate nigga in Liberty City.
By dating them, did you learn anything about crack?
I learned a lot of things, and I taught them a couple things too. Like, there’s 28 grams in an ounce unless you catch a duck from out of town.
Do you think getting into rap helped you get out of the streets?
Rap? What? Shit. They say the halfway house is your last chance. Shit, this is all I’ve got. Rap is all I’m betting on. So whoever bettin’ on me, put all your money on me ‘cause I’m gonna win. I ain’t trying to go back to all that. I know how it is. I’ve got friends that are still ridin’ ten-year bids.
After all the things you’ve been through, if you had the opportunity, do you think you’d change anything or redo anything?
I don’t think I’d change nothing. Because everything I went through in my life prepared me for what I’m doing now, the whole mentality of being strong-minded and keeping a good head on your shoulders. Believe it or not, all that shit comes from your upbringing. I know plenty of females that wouldn’t be able to survive. If you took a girl out of a corporate job right now and put her in Liberty City, that jungle, she wouldn’t make it. You gotta be able to survive anywhere, and that’s what Miami taught me: to go and make it anywhere. My brothers was in the Feds when I was a little girl. I ain’t really have no role models, I was the first one in my family to even go to a community college. Nobody was there to say, “Don’t do that.” I was the breadwinner. All those things I went through taught me how to manage my money, because I don’t ever wanna be broke again. I come from nothing, so it’s a blessing to still be here. People counted me out a long time ago. I don’t understand why people don’t want to see other people grow. I learned to maintain what I have. I own my own entertainment company, my own publishing company. I’m a businesswoman now, and everything that I went through in my life has prepared me for this. So to answer your question, no, I wouldn’t change anything.
How many brothers and sisters do you have?
Two sisters, two brothers. And they all out, all of ‘em out. Thank God my mom finally has all her kids out of the system.
Do you believe in the idea that you’re a product of your environment?
Depends. There’s a lot of people I know that came from good families and ain’t got no business selling drugs, so I ain’t really gonna blame it on the environment. It’s ‘cause you felt like you could do that for now to make ends meet, or for whatever reason. You there ‘cause you wanna be there. I ain’t have to be there. I was doing it ‘cause I wanted to do it. I ain’t have to be runnin’ with hoes, fighting and stealing. I could have changed early in life. I could’ve went to college, pledged a sorority and all that shit, but I ain’t want that. I liked being able to wake up in the morning, go hit the stores, and get rid of my shit by noontime, one o’clock. I got my rent paid. I ain’t have to work all day. Some girls lay around and fuck niggas for money, look for ballplayers. Different people take different routes to get money. My route was to get it on my own, I was just that type of bitch. Don’t get me wrong, I like a rich nigga just as much as any other bitch, but I can’t sit around waiting for him to pay my bills. Work forty hours and week and come home with $230? Shit. Not me. The freedom, the money, and plus, I felt comfortable doing it. It’s a high. You take a risk and you start to get addicted to that shit. I used to feel good about it, but now I look back and think, I ain’t have to do that. I coulda went another route.
What advice would you give to younger people who are on the streets?
The way the economy is, if we don’t get out to vote and get these people out of office, there won’t be any jobs for us. African-Americans can’t get a job without being bilingual. We’ve gotta get our ass in the polls and vote to help make more jobs. It ain’t no hope for us if we don’t vote. I ain’t gonna blame it all on the system, but we need to get off our asses and vote.
What’s the most creative things that you used to sell?
Car tires, rims, refrigerators, stoves, plywood, it don’t even matter. Whoever wanted it, that’s what I was selling that evening. When you don’t have the certain resources you need to make money one way, the hustle don’t change. You still gotta get your hustle on, you just gotta change your game up a little bit and try something else. You can’t say, “Oh, the store’s hot, I can’t pay my rent.” You gotta get out there and do something else.
If you weren’t rapping, would you still be hustling?
I would still be doing it if it wasn’t for rap. I’ve been writing since I was in junior high school, just writing and writing and being inspired by people from my hometown, people putting Florida on the map. I’m saying, well, shit, I could do that. I ain’t gotta be stealing. I know how to rap, I know how to write. And I knew when I got into this music game that you can’t be playing. People are investing their money and you out there trying to do dumb shit? Not only are you gonna lose somebody’s investment, but it’s over for you. I stopped all that shit, I got serious.
If you had the choice, would you rather do prison time or house arrest?
Prison, cause I woulda only done eight months.
Is there anything else you’ve been arrested for?
I almost got arrested for walking around with body paint. You know, they don’t like me when I’m a thug and they hate me when I’m nasty. A girl can’t hang. That’s my signature look, I like to tease the guys with just a little bit of paint.
Are men intimidated by your hustle?
I wouldn’t say intimidated, I would say insecure. A lot of men feel insecure when they see a woman making more money than they make. For a long time I didn’t even have a steady boyfriend, ‘cause if a nigga wasn’t gonna match what I was doing, bring home what I was bringing home, I wasn’t fuckin’ with him. And I had a hustle, you could check my credit on the streets.
If two hustlers are in a relationship together, do you think it becomes a competitive thing?
Not really a competitive thing, ‘cause if both of y’all are on that same wavelength y’all could build together. You can save and have things together and take over the world. But you just don’t want no nigga that’s bullshitting.
What kinds of gifts have you received from guys?
Jewels, mink coats, handbags, perfume, just little trinkets, money.
What about returning the favor? Have you ever given gifts to a guy you were involved with?
You know, if you dating a dude or whatever and you out there doing your thing, you’ll keep him in mind. It is free shit, you know? (laughing)
So as a booster, what was your average paycheck like?
That money be good. But it ain’t really no average, cause some days be slower than others. You might not get no money for two weeks. That’s one of the bad things besides jail. You may not get no money for weeks cause the store’s hot. That’s like the drought for us girls. But you get caught up in the flossing and buying the Porsches and shit. I remember I bought a Porsche back in 2000. I didn’t buy it cash, but it was a fuckin’ Porsche. You hustle and work hard, so you look at it like a little reward to yourself. That’s your little heaven and shit. Then you gotta keep up the payments, so you gotta get out there and hustle some more. It’s like a revolving thing. You can’t wait on no nigga to get your hair and nails done. If you got a man and he know you ain’t working, you shouldn’t have to ask him for money. If you keep asking a nigga for money, you’ve got a problem. And any woman that’s waiting on a man to take care of they kids is a sorry woman. If you sitting on your ass waiting on some child support, keeping on a nigga phone for some Pampers, you a sorry bitch and that’s real.
Okay, let’s switch topics a little. What’s going on with your album?
We’re looking at a summer release. I did some work with DJ Smurf and the Ying Yang Twins, did a Scott Storch track, beefing it up while we had more time to work. Make it hotter. And I’m on TVT Records now, not Warner Bros. My main concern was getting with a label that was gonna push the project and make sure the project was handled right. With the success they had with Lil’ Jon and the Ying Yang Twins, I felt comfortable with TVT. It’s a small family, it’s not a lot of people involved. And now that I have my own entertainment company, Jackmove Entertainment, there’ll be more releases from some of the other projects that I’m working on.
Anything else you want to say?
To all my homegirls out there getting your hustle on, stay two steps ahead of the game and ten steps ahead of the haters.
