8BALL & MJG

For any artist, expanding from an underground audience to a commercial audience is always difficult. For 8Ball & MJG, already highly respected in the South, the transition was a bit easier. After signing with Bad Boy, P Diddy’s New York influence is highly evident on their seventh release, Living Legends. Walking the tightrope between pleasing the streets and pleasing their record label, with the album receiving positive reviews it seems that the duo accomplished their goals. Relaxing at Bad Boy’s Daddy’s House Studios in New York, 8Ball & MJG explain their status in the game.

Having been independent so long, why did you choose to make the move to Bad Boy?
MJG: We felt like it was the best move for us. Bad Boy needed tools like us, and we needed a tool like Bad Boy. It was all about timing. We felt like making that move, putting it together, would make everybody happy.

Has the move made you happy, did everything work out the way you planned?
MJG: Yeah. It’s working in that direction.
8Ball: The album is in stores now, Living Legends, and everything is going good right now. Everything we did before this was independent: cassettes, CDs, all that, straight out of high school. Our first two albums, Coming Hard and On the Outside Looking In, were totally independent.

Creatively, are you happy? How much input does P Diddy have when you’re in the studio?
8Ball: We get 100% creative control. Puff does his thing to enhance what we do.

So what exactly happened with the label you were previously signed to, Suave House? Was it a mutual decision to leave?
MJG: Yeah. We couldn’t negotiate any further, and we had to make a better business decision so we moved on.

You’ve named your album Living Legends. You’re well-known and respected in the industry and the underground, but on a mainstream level do you feel like people respect you as legends?
8Ball: Not on a mainstream level.

Why do you think you haven’t received that mainstream support?
8Ball: I think it’s because we don’t look for that kind of support. We don’t do industry gangsta shit. That ain’t us. We do music for real niggas with attitude, and that’s the kind of people we attract. That’s just the kind of music we do. We’re not as polished as some people.
MJG: We’re still a little rough around the edges.

As far as being polished, do you think that’s just an ‘image’ thing? You’re not out there taking pictures in a bulletproof vest and things like that.
MJG: Yeah, I guess we’re just not doing it the normal way.
8Ball: We have new opportunities now being with Bad Boy/Universal. That’s one of the things we definitely saw that they could give us. Maybe some of the people that weren’t noticing us then will notice what we do now.

Even though you might not have that mainstream recognition yet, you’ve been in the game for such a long time – what would you say is the formula for longevity? What has kept you around this long?
8Ball: I think just being ourselves. I think we’re a lot more laid-back then a lot of cats. A lot of people be laid-back on TV, and act a fool when they ain’t on TV. We’re laid-back all the way around. We don’t do stupid shit to try and get attention or prove that we’re the hardest gangstas on the street.
MJG: We don’t try to make you notice us when we’re not working.
8Ball: We’re just living our lives. Things happen in our lives, but we don’t have a publicist that reports everything that goes on in our lives.

You worked with a lot of Miami producers for this album: Cool & Dre, Red Spyda, Drum Majorz…what was it like working with them? Do you feel like your sound melded well with theirs?
8Ball: The Red Spyda track, “Memphis Blues,” we weren’t even supposed to use that track. We were listening to some old shit and we heard that. We were freestylin’ and playin’ around with it, and MJG said the chorus just freestylin’.

You’ve got a track from Lil’ Jon, were you worried at all that the “crunk” sound is getting kind of played out?
MJG: I think that the material we do and a Lil’ Jon track will create a whole new sound.
8Ball: I think his production just feels like him.
As Living Legends, what do you want people to remember about you?
8Ball: Just us, man. People that know us outside the music. If you met us inside the music, you’d think we’re the most low-down pimpin’ muthafuckers you ever met in your life.
MJG: We are people. We’re just everyday cats.
8Ball: We got families, kids. We regular people too.

So, 8Ball, do you think Bonecrusher is biting off your whole “Fat Mack” thing?
8Ball: (laughing) That man can’t help it that he fat. I can’t help it either. That’s my dawg. He doing what he do.

Do either of you plan on doing another solo album?
8Ball: I do, definitely. MJG got an album. He won’t let anybody hear it, though (laughing).

When you do your solo project, is that going to be independent or through Bad Boy also?
8Ball: I don’t know. I’m doing a lot of stuff. I’ve got my own label, 8Ways Entertainment. We got a bunch of live stuff we been working with. Some bands, a lot of shit going on.

Were you happy with the way the video for your first single, “You Don’t Want Drama,” came out?
8Ball: Definitely. MTV wouldn’t play the whole thing, though. I guess they felt “Don’t make me kill no muthafucker in here” is offensive. How is that offensive? They played the video, but cut the end off. BET played the entire video.

I’ve heard some people comment that the video was surprising to them; it didn’t really look the way they expected. Were you switching it up intentionally?
8Ball: We wanted to dive in. We didn’t wanna play with it and try something so artsy that people would hate the change. We just wanted to dive in.

Now that you have a little more pressure to appeal to mainstream audiences, do you think you’ll still be able to keep your street audience?
8Ball: We’re hoping to attract a larger audience of street fans.
MJG: We’re making people who would never identify themselves with the street want to be identified with the street. We’re making people move out of the suburbs into the ghetto.
8Ball: We just want them to listen to our album and not think about that shit. We not trying to make everybody be like us, we just want them to buy our shit and enjoy it. Don’t throw on our record when you’re feeling militant; throw it on when you’re feeling good. When you’re about to go to the club, or when you’re cleaning the house.

For each of you personally, what is your favorite song on the album? Is there one song in particular that’s meaningful to you?
MJG: We got about ten potential singles on there. I really can’t say. There’s a bunch of them bouncing in my head right now.
8Ball: I love the whole album. “Memphis City Blues” might be one of my favorites.

What’s your opinion on the hip-hop game in general right now? Do you think changes need to be made?
MJG: I just think it needs to keep doing what it’s doing. We’ve seen in the past that hip-hop has been building up, and everything happens for a reason. And if we went back and changed something that happened, how would that affect us now? History repeats itself. Don’t try and change nothing. If you change something that’s meant to be, then you’re going to mess something up.
8Ball: We getting back to the raw. If you really can’t get on stage and rap, and have to lip-sync and all that, you may as well go be a news reporter or cameraman or something. Straight up.

What’s your opinion on the hip-hop game in general right now, do you think any changes need to be made, what do you think the industry needs right now?
MJG: I just think it needs to keep doing what its doing. We’ve seen in the past that hip hop has been building up, and everything happens for a reason. And if we went back and changed something that happened, how would that affect us now. History repeats itself. Don’t try and change nothing. If you change something that is meant to be, then you’re going to mess something up.
8Ball: We getting back to the raw. If you really can’t get on stage and rap, and have to lip-sync and all that, you may as well be a news reporter or cameraman or something. Straight up.