PATIENTLY WAITING:

CHAMILLIONAIRE BIG BUD FRESH
“We were just playin’ around at first,” Chamillionaire says of his entrance into the rap game. While doing street promotions with PaulWall in the thriving Houston music scene, he came in contact with Swishahouse CEO Michael Watts. After doing a radio promo for Watts’ show, Paul and Cham’s names started buzzing on the streets through Swishahouse mixtapes. When Houston label Paid in Full approached the two with contracts, they released a joint album, Get Ya Mind Correct. Although the album sold over 100,000 copies independently and was nominated for a Source Award, Paul and Cham had their differences. “We were going through problems at the time, so when he [left Paid in Full and] went back to Swishahouse, we weren’t a group anymore,” says Chamillionaire. “I was just tired of workin’ for somebody else. At the end of the day I just wanna have some sort of control, not just somebody else making all my decisions. Especially if I don’t completely trust them.” Recently, Chamillionaire shocked the Swishahouse family by releasing a CD dissing Paul’s new labelmate, Mike Jones. Swishahouse has since signed a deal with Asylum/Warner Bros. According to Chamillionaire, several major labels are vying for the rights to release his upcoming album, the appropriately-named Controversy Sells. Still, he scoffs at the idea that dissing Mike Jones was a publicity stunt. “It’s not something I did for a buzz record,” he emphasizes. “I’ve been hot for a long time in the streets. I’ve always sold records, so I’m gonna be alright when my album drops regardless. I’m just positioning myself to get the deal I want.” Cham knows the risks of signing to a major. “If you’re a young artist, you’re gonna get the short end of the stick,” he reasons. “I’m just trying to get a longer stick.” – Julia Beverly, jb@ozonemag.com Selling 4,000 albums in the small college community of Gainesville, FL is an accomplishment. Just ask Big Bud. "I sold [In Bud We Trust] independently, just hand-to-hand and in mom-and-pop stores within about a hundred mile radius of Gainesville," says the former member of the Strugglaz. "I’m still pumping that album into some other states, like Georgia and Alabama." Formerly known as Lil’ Bud, he is now over six feet tall and weighs a couple hundred pounds and has definitely earned the name Big Bud. Having opened for artists like Trick Daddy, Trina, Lil’ Wayne, Juvenile, UTP, Mystikal, T.I., Master P, the Big Tymers, and Lil Boosie & Webbie, Big Bud stays on the road and on the grind. "I done been a struggla all my life," he sighs. "I feel like there’s way more strugglas than ballas, so I don’t rap for the ballas." As you might guess from his name, Bud’s album contains at least one ode to marijuana: "Fire it Up." "Of course weed should be legalized!" he says. "It calms the savage beast!" Aside from the smoking songs, Bud says that his versatility extends from mellow joints to political statements. Bud’s hypeman Fresh optimistically chimes in, "From the view that I’m getting, there was once the Beatles, there was once Elvis, there was once Michael Jackson, and now there’s Big Bud. That’s what I’m seeing from people’s reactions to him. He’s not on BET, he’s not on the radio fifty times a day, but he’s getting the same reactions from people who know his music. I fear for the world when they get a taste of him." Big Bud agrees. "It trips me out too, how people react to me sometimes," he says. "My motto is: I ain’t gon’ stop til I reach the top. I’m like a steam roller right now. I just can’t be stopped." – Photo and words by Julia Beverly, jb@ozonemag.com Brimming with youthful exuberance, it’s clear that Fresh has a bright future. He started young, signed to Sounds of Atlanta/Universal Records at age 13 as part of a group called Problem Child. "We were like the Temptations," he laughs. "One person would be locked up, one person on drugs, so only one would show up for practice." Due to a tight contract, Fresh languished at the label for several years without ever releasing an album. When his contract finally ended, he started doing shows with T.I. and the P$C Clique and met producer Cyber Sapp, who signed Fresh to his label Infallible Records. Since he’s been on the grind in the South for years, Fresh already had songs recorded with artists like Bonecrusher, YoungBloodz, T.I., David Banner, Lil’ Scrappy, Trillville, Archie, and Killer Mike long before they achieved commercial success. "When everybody started blowin’ up, they were already my homeboys," says Fresh. "I already had five or six songs with each of them, so I put out an album to get a response." Tell Me Something Fresh Vol. 1 was a huge success and sold out in the Atlanta area at stores like FYE and Best Buy. He also received orders for the album online from as far away as Baghdad. The lead single, "Hey Fuck Boy," was sold to Jermaine Dupri and will appear on Bonecrusher’s upcoming album. Fresh is currently preparing for the release of Tell Me Something Fresh Vol. 2, which features PaulWall, Chingy, Akon, Slim Thug, Soulja Slim, Killer Mike, Ciara, Bohagon, and his clique the Get Money Boys, among others. Several major labels have expressed interest, but Fresh is more cautious this time around. "I’m still young, but I know the game now," he says. "Back then I was just happy to be meeting people, so I wasn’t really focused on the business like I am now. Now I’m all about paperwork." - Julia Beverly, jb@ozonemag.com