I heard you aren’t really into groupies.
Mike Jones: Well, I liked that article you had with Lil Wyte. He cool, man, basically I’m the same way. I got a girl, and I don’t really be trippin’ off them groupies. My girl was here before everything jumped off, so I don’t wanna take a chance of messing it up over somebody who only likin’ me ‘cause I’m “Mike Jones.”

But you’ve got lyrics like “I got a lot of hoes ‘cause I got a lot of money.” Are you just saying that to sell records?
MJ: No, that’s real. But when I say “I got a lot of hoes,” I mean, I’ve got a lot up on me now because I’ve got money. Now a lot of hoes are comin’ at me ‘cause I moved out of the ghetto, but I ain’t takin’ advantage of that.

How do girls usually approach you?
MJ: Man, they come up to me and sing [my songs] like “Dick don’t fail me now,” or “Feel good, don’t you?” They’re like, “Can you do that for me? Can you show me that?” But they cool, though, they don’t be trippin’.

The lyrics to “Feel Good” sounds like it’s based on a personal experience.
MJ: (laughing) Yeah, that was from the heart. What that song really means is like, if a dude is with a girl and he puttin’ it down on her, makin’ her feel good mentally and physically, and she start trippin’ or messin’ up he’s just reminding her. “You feel good, don’t you? Real good, don’t you? You don’t want this dick up in nobody else good, don’t you?” Basically, you better quit trippin’ before I put it in somebody else.

Being on the road and having a lot of women throw themselves at you, how hard is it to be in a committed relationship?
MJ: To be real, it’s not hard. But it’s like, if you’ve got a girl who you don’t really trust, then dudes are like, “Shit, if she trippin’ then I’m gonna be trippin’.” But with me, that trust is there so I don’t want nothing that’ll come back around on me and then I’ll be feeling guilty. I just be chillin’, man, I don’t be messing with those girls.

Do you think people assume that you fuck groupies, since you’re a rapper?
MJ: A lot of fame brings a lot of girls, but it all depends if you want to take advantage of it or not. It ain’t just rappers, it’s football players, whoever, anybody that’s successful and popular in the public eye. And being famous means they paid, so a lot of girls, they after that meal ticket. And there’s a lot of people that just be boppin’, and I appreciate the love that people show. I’m a cool dude, but a lot of dudes do take advantage of it. With a lot of rappers, if a girl comes up and she fine and wants to do this and that, it’s like, “Well, come on then, let’s get in the truck and get busy.” But nah, it ain’t like that with me, and it ain’t like that with a lot of other rappers too. It’s a job. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love doing what I do. But at the end of the day, it’s a job.

There’s a rumor that says that you turned down Mya. Is that true?
MJ: (laughing) Mya’s a good friend, she’s real cool. She was listening to my CD. A friend of mine down in New Orleans had hit me and said, “Hey, I got somebody who’s a fan of yours.” He put her on the phone and said it was Mya. I was like, “Man, quit playin’,” but it was, for real. She had a show the next day in New Orleans so I was like, “Man, I would like to meet you.” Me and my manager T Farris, we shot straight down there to New Orleans and met her the same night. Me, her, and Choppa did a song together. She cool, man. So from then on we’ve been keeping in contact. She called me the other day, actually. My girl know about her, I mean, it ain’t like that. She’s just real, real cool. She’s a good person.

So Paul, why do they call you the chick magnet?
PaulWall: In my earlier raps I used to always refer to “catchin’ boppers.” See, you’ve got golddiggers, groupies, and boppers. A golddigger is somebody who wants your money, a groupie is somebody who wants to sleep with you cause of your status, and a bopper is somebody who just wanna be seen with you cause of your status. A bopper is generally a girl, but not necessarily a girl. And it’s not necessarily because you’re a rapper, you could be just a regular person who has an Escalade on 24’s so they wanna be seen with you. So, I used to always say, I’m so fly that I could catch boppers if I rode on spare tires and donuts. I ain’t gotta have 24’s, girls still be boppin’ off me cause I’m so fly. So my homeboys used to be like, “You the chick magnet, Paul, I’m gonna stand next to you.” You know, I’ve got a good personality and good looks, so I do generally have a lot of girls flock to me cause they’ve heard about the legend of PaulWall.

What exactly is the legend of PaulWall?
PW: The bedroom legend. They’ve heard about the, um, squeakation of the bed springs, makin’ em feel like they walkin’ on the moon.

So you have a certain technique?
PW: Yeah, I sexercise a lot. Three to four times a week, it helps keep me in good shape. The Mushu Academy, that’s where I learned the tricks of the trade.

Is it fair to say that you take advantage of the, uh, perks of being a rapper?
PW: I will say this: It’s kinda impossible for me to meet a girl that isn’t at least somewhat intrigued by the fact that I’m a rapper. They might have seen me on TV or heard my music, but that only gets me so far. Some girls that’ll get you in they panties, but not all the time. If that’s what I’m after, what’s gonna get me in there is my personality and just my whole demeanor. I have four sisters and I grew up with a single mother, so I don’t disrespect any women. Never have, never will. I’m real respectful of all ladies, but at the same time, a lot of women are intrigued by me being a rapper. So, do I exceed the limits? Maybe sometimes I do. They might get to feel what it’s like to walk on the moon, on occasion.

There aren’t too many white rappers in the game, so you’re a minority. Do you prefer black women or white women?
PW: All women, all women. I don’t prefer any of em, I just love all colors. Everything, for real.

What’s PaulWall’s ideal female look like?
PW: Junk in the trunk, rear-end extended cab, gotta have that. Pretty face too. I like all women, though. I like big women, slim women, skinny women, but I prefer women with junk in the trunk. See, some girls think they thick. It be a lot of skinny girls talkin’ about they “thick” just cause they got a booty, but that ain’t what “thick” is. “Thick” generally refers to the thighs and hips. But I like all types of girls, for real, and I like girls for they personalities too. You could check my resume.

Any famous women on your resume?
PW: We’ve got a lot of well-known women on the resume. I can’t name any names, though, cause that would knock me out of the box for doing it again.

You can’t give us any hints?
PW: Well, there’s a couple professional athletic women, some multi-multi-multi-platinum R&B singers, and a few rap females. I can’t say no names, I can’t give too many hints. All I can say is that I’ve got a hell of a resume. And most of the women say they’re not attracted to me cause I’m a rapper, it’s more my personality and my demeanor.

What’s the craziest way a groupie has approached you?
PW: It’s been some crazy shit like girls throwin’ they panties on stage and stuff. You know, you usually hear about that happening at rock concerts or something back in the day, but I’ve never seen that before in my life. One time a girl threw her panties and her bra on the stage. The funny part is when I’m on the road, there’s people that don’t really know me, but they be frontin’ like they know me so they’re the ones that get the real groupies. They’ll act like they know me to get to the girls and they end up smashin’ more girls than me. But with me, it’s not necessarily about smashin’ as many girls as I can. That ain’t what it’s all about.

Are you looking for a steady girlfriend, or just looking to have a good time?
PW: I have a lot of part-time lovers. I don’t have a girlfriend, but I know it’s gonna be a whole bunch of girls reading this that are gonna be mad at me for sayin’ that. (laughing) There’s gonna be a couple girls in every city talkin’ about, “What you mean, you ain’t got no girlfriend?” They gon’ call and cuss me out… I mean, yeah, I’m looking for a good woman. But we party a lot, we on the road a lot so it’s not necessarily about smashing as many girls as we can or whatever, we just like to have a good time.

So is there any difference between famous women and regular women in bed?
PW: Oh, yeah, there’s a big difference. It’s kinda hard for famous women to get picked up by guys cause usually they security is real strong. The only guys that can really get to ‘em tend to be celebrities, so the celebrity mackin’ game is a little different than a regular person. Celebrities don’t usually have to do too much. Most of the women, if they’re sleeping with a celebrity it’s generally just cause they wanna say they slept with em. But with me, that’s never what it was about. Almost any girl I ever slept with, it wasn’t cause of my rapping status or whatever, they really liked me. But sometimes it’s the opposite. A lot of the girls I meet are like, “Oh, you think I’m finna talk to you just cause you PaulWall?” No, I think you gon’ talk to me cause I’m cute, cause I got a lot of money, cause I ain’t no loser, cause I’m funny, I got a good personality, and I can dress good. You know, why wouldn’t you want to talk to me? Not being conceited, but that’s just confidence.

(Our interview is interrupted by a girl telling Mike she loves him, and asking Paul for a hug. Mike asks her if she’s visited his website yet, www.whomikejones.com)

PW: Anyway, when we go to other cities, the girls that approach us are the same girls that approach every celebrity. I’ll meet girls that know all the rappers, football players, and NBA players. That’s a little scary. So, we don’t really talk to groupies, we talk to women.

And being a rapper just makes it easier to meet women.
PW: Oh, it definitely makes it easier to meet women cause of who we are. You know, our jokes are a little bit more funny. They take us a little more seriously. If a girl is walkin’ through the club and the average dude taps her on the shoulder, she gonna say, “Don’t touch me.” But if I tap her on the shoulder, she gon’ at least hear me out.

Do you have some good pickup lines?
PW: I’m just a funny guy, I’m a nice guy, so when I’m talking to girls I gotta be corny and cheesy. Dudes are gonna read this and be like, “Oh, wow, that’s so lame,” but when girls hear it in front of they face, it works. They thinking, I can’t believe PaulWall just told me, “If I could change outfits, I’d put you and me together.” (laughing) But that shit be workin’ though, cause it put a smile on they face. See, you laughing too, ahhh! JB! But yeah, that shit works. I can’t give you the blueprint to mackin’ though, I mean, you really just gotta be yourself. When the average dude tries to talk to a girl, at first he usually tries to put up a front, actin’ hard or actin’ like they got money or whatever. If you just be yourself, that changes the girl’s whole outlook on things. I mean, all this stuff was happening before I was rapping. Girls have always been drawn to me and attracted to who I am. I’ve got the glow.

Do you take your teeth out in bed?
PW: No. Well, I can’t say I never have, but usually the only time I take em out is when I sleep or brush my teeth.
MJ: I take em out before I got to sleep.
PW: Wait, I know what you’re tryin’ to ask! You’re tryin’ to bring the question towards going low!

Oh, I wasn’t, actually. But we could go there, yeah, since you brought it up. How do you feel about eating a girl out?
MJ: I don’t do that.

Not even with your girl?
MJ: I can’t do that, man, I’d be kicked out of Swishahouse. It’s like a vegetarian who doesn’t eat meat; we just don’t eat that stuff at the Swishahouse.
PW: (covering Mike & T Farris’ ears): Earmuffs! I mean, if the case calls for it, I’ll go down!
MJ: Ohhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PW: See, now girls are gonna read this shit and be like, “Oh, for real?” (laughing) Hey, if the case calls for it. Yeah, I’ve done it before.

Every guy has.
MJ: I ain’t never done that. I swear to God I ain’t never done that. I mean, I ain’t sayin’ that I won’t ever, but I just can’t see myself doing that.

If you can receive, why not give? Why the double standard?
MJ: It’s a lot different than girls. (holds up a rolled-up magazine and uses it to demonstrate) See, our shit is like, right there in front of your face. Y’all’s shit is like, up, inside. There’s stuff comin’, going. I don’t be down with all that shit.
PW: That ain’t some shit that would happen on a one-night stand, but if it’s somebody I’m steady with, it ain’t no thang.

Actually, what I was gonna ask about your teeth is, are the grills part of your public persona? Do you take em out when it’s a personal situation?
MJ: After the show, I take em out. The teeth don’t make us who we are. It’s just how we are down South, in Houston, we just like to shine. In this business we do a lot of talking, we have a lot of fans like, “Oh, that’s clean,” but when we get in the room just chillin’ that shit be off. Even when I’m in the studio doing a song, I take em out. It’s just like a chain, you don’t wear it everywhere.
PW: In the heat of the moment, you never know. But the teeth don’t make us, we make the teeth!

- Interview & photos by Julia Beverly,
jb@ozonemag.com