Thursday, July 3, 2008
The In Crowd Unsigned Artist SpotLight
It's time to meet TASH… Never before have four letters embodied everything that the music industry's been missing. In the ever growing arena where dissimilarity is uncommon and distinction underachieved, this 21 year-old song-star has finally ascended, determined to remain outside of your box & do it her way. Returning again for the very first time, Pay close attention, TASH is about to take her throne. A singer, dancer & model, TASH emerges as one of few who authentically serve up the undeniable talent you've been longing for. Fulfilling the destinies of her aspiring model mother & R&B vocalist father, "I've always wanted to be an entertainer," she admits. "Whether I was dancing, singing, modeling, acting, or just being goofy, I knew it was in my blood." Already sought after by some of the favorite names in the game Including: Kwame, The Corna Boyz & Rich Harrison, Tash has been able to tap into and perfect a one of a kind brand of "Couture & B" where Jersey Girl Charm and Uptown Fashionista collide, to create a sound that's sure to excite your senses. Her Lyrics speak the words & experiences on the minds of today's young urban modernists. And when her melodic voice flows like water over the Corna Boyz track, "Read My Mind", she effortlessly states what some girls wish for. Even on the Pop side Kwame delivers a hit called "Dumb Dumb Dumb". This radio single is sure to warn all men of a woman's intuition. Don't mistake arrogance for confidence, instead delight in the sexiness of a young Donna with enough swagger for both him & her. Currently working with multi-platinum hit maker Kwamé, Tash is now in the process of recording her first full-length CD, also collaborating with new and upcoming songwriters such as Atozzio Towns and producers Oak (Chris Brown, Joe, Mario) and Eric Hudson (Omarion, John Legend, Ne-yo) Though she credits Stevie Wonder, Dianna Ross, Kelis & Brandy as notable influences to her artistry, she exclaims that "they already exist, so I'm gonna be the first ME!" Original determination like that can never be faulted. Rock on young princess, we've been waiting for you.
FUNK THIS
CHRISETTE MICHELLE SAYS “FUNK THIS”
Y’all better respect Chrisette Michelle
I heard there was a music showcase for Seagram’s a few days a go and Chrisette Michelle, the Def Jam, got up and sang like 3/4 of a song. But, it seems like the crowd wasn’t giving her the proper attention and a rep got up and scolded the crowd for not being attentive. I heard Chrisette was so upset she left in a huff and had to come back after the venue was cleared to record the performance. She also had to get some pics with the sponsors. Poor Chrisette. She really is a dope singer so I am going to chide the crowd from my computer! “Don’t let that happen again, crowd – or else!”
MJG: This Might Be The Day
When you hear legendary Hip-Hop artists 8 Ball & you should immediately think of a few things. There is the chronicling of their “Space Age Pimpin’” lifestyles, their badge of putting Memphis, TN Hip-Hop on the map or their steadyfast resolve at only delivering their brand of raw Hip-Hop music despite watered down rap selling more.Now, MJG is releasing a third solo album, This Might Be The Day, on July 1 on MJG Music/404 Music. No longer signed to Bad Boy Records, the rap veteran also has plans to take his writing to another level by penning R&B songs along with Jazze Pha. Fifteen years since his debut on Comin’ Out Hard, Marlon Jermaine Goodwin is still keeping it pimpin’.
AllHipHop.com: You’re new album is called This Might Be The Day. As far as it being a solo project, did you approach this differently?
MJG: I approached it like the MJG and 8Ball stuff, but only some of the stuff…I have a couple of radio friendly joints, a couple of crunk joints but a lot of it I go to the left.
AllHipHop.com: What do you consider to the left?
MJG: A couple of songs that you wouldn’t expect. I still have the 8 Ball and MJG style but some of it is different.
AllHipHop.com: Why are you doing this solo project?
MJG: I’m always focusing on the 8 Ball and MJG projects but at the same time, I’m like a studio rat. I’m always working on beats. I always got a lot of solo stuff. It is a good time in the game now. I just felt like it was good timing to come back with another solo.
AllHipHop.com: Are you with 404 Music? Are you no longer on Bad Boy?
MJG: It’s 404 and it’s MJG Music.
AllHipHop.com: Was there a reason why you left Bad Boy?
MJG: Well, MJG and 8 Ball are always trying to do something different. I think at this point in our career, we don’t need to be with a label for a long time because it don’t really make sense. So, it’s like anything that we do as far as a project is to grow.
AllHipHop.com: You have been doing music for years. What do you think it is that allowed you to stay prevalent in Hip-Hop for so long?
MJG: Working hard and keeping it genuine. You got to have the genuine love for it. We are trying to stay in tune with what’s going on. Outside of regular hard work; patience. Keep pushing for it when other cats probably aren’t going to keep pushing for it.
AllHipHop.com: As far as Hip-Hop today, what would you say you bring to the table? This is in comparison to some of the newer cats.
MJG: I can’t put that in words.
AllHipHop.com: Say what you feel.
MJG: I think we bring reality, humbleness. We make it seem like anybody can make it. The regular guy, the underdog can appreciate and identify with us.
AllHipHop.com: Do you think that some of the newer rappers to the game aren’t bringing that humbleness and reality?
MJG: I think a lot of them are, but I think that it takes certain experiences and stuff to humble you. A lot of them just haven’t been through those experiences yet.
AllHipHop.com: Do you feel that you get the respect due as a veteran in the game?
MJG: I feel like the ones that respect us give us pub. Sometimes you got to come down off yourself to appreciate someone else. A lot of cat’s egos are too big to appreciate someone else.
AllHipHop.com: What producers did you work with on this project? As well as features?
MJG: Me and my team, Space Age Pimpin. I got 8 Ball, Gucci Mane, and Slim from 112.
AllHipHop.com: What is your opinion about the status of Hip-Hop right now?
MJG: For me it’s like a 360. We came in the game at a weird time.
AllHipHop.com: Why do you say you came in at a weird time?
MJG: Well because we’re from Memphis, Tennessee. When we came in the game there was no eyes on Memphis or even the south. The game is slipping. Now everybody record sales is down. It is just a weird time to come into the game. You have to up the anty. But, it’s cool for us because that is how we came in the game.
AllHipHop.com: What do you feel kept you guys together?
MJG: We were friends. We been friends since the 7th grade. We were already friends for a while before we dropped our first record. Real friendship.
AllHipHop.com: Do you have any plans to get involved with anything besides Hip-Hop at this point in your career?
MJG: Anything that I would be included in, I would incorporate Hip-Hop into it. From commercials to jingles. I want it to deal with Hip-Hop. I’m also going to be doing some writing for some people.
AllHipHop.com: Tell me about that.
MJG: I am going to be writing a lot of R&B and Hip-Hop songs and hooks. I’m working with Jazze Pha. He from Memphis also.
AllHipHop.com: Have you done some ghostwriting in the past?
MJG: Nah. This is mostly hooks. I did a few hooks for some singers who sang on our stuff. He knows how I get down in the studio. He is a known and established producer. He already got things on the table. I’m just going to join his team and work with him. It will be like write this for such and such and that is what I will be there for.
AllHipHop.com: Are you just writing hooks or are you writing the whole joint for the person?
MJG: I’m a writing motherF**cker. Hooks, whole songs, all of that. I’m a cold motherf**cker. It ain’t me playing around with singing or trying to. This is something I do. I write.
AllHipHop.com: People may be surprised by you writing an R&B song.
MJG: A lot of the people don’t check the credits. I wouldn’t even expect for them to know it is me. The only thing I care about is whether they like the song. I let the music speak for itself. You wouldn’t know if I wrote the song. It would just sound like an R&B song. I don’t leave a clue. I get into what I’m writing.
AllHipHop.com: Is there a certain place that you have to go to mentally to write an R&B track as opposed to a Hip-Hop track?
MJG: Yep. To me, it really is all the same. I just know how to make it work. R&B is less words. Hip-Hop is more words. I have to write a lot more. R&B is slowed down Hip-Hop. I understand my melody.
AllHipHop.com: How would you describe the album?
MJG: The beats are hard. Very lyrical. If you want music that sounds good, but I’m saying something and I’m not boring like I’m trying to teach a class then that’s it. It is fun, gangsta, with a message to it at the same time.
AllHipHop.com: Anything else you want to add?
MJG: Much love to everyone who has been riding with 8 Ball & MJG all of this time and we are gonna bring you a lot of heat.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
I Smell Hate Is that You Kelly?
R. KELLY, IS THAT YOU HATING?
Ne-Yo has been suddenly and mysteriously dropped from the R. Kelly Tour! Now from what I heard and have already reported…Ne-Yo has been doing well on the tour. Here is what Ne-Yo had to say:
"I don't understand their actions because I was rehearsing, doing media, promoting the tour, and performing, said Ne-Yo. In my opinion, I was doing everything possible to make the tour a success. I love being on stage in front of fans because of the immediate feedback you get. You know right away if they are feeling you; and they were really feeling our show."
It looks like the young lion might have brought too much of his A-Game to the tour and was drawing fans into his lair. You know, that’s nothing new. I don’t know if you all know, but Run DMC and LL used to have a similar deal back in the day. Now, to be fair…Kellz and his camp are saying that Ne-Yo was dumped, because they didn’t have a signed agreement. Um, just sign it!?! Anyway, it looks like sometimes good is just too good for some people.
Young Mel Speaks
Imagine having Jay-Z as an uncle. Money. Fame. Wealth. Bentleys. Could life really be that
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glamorous? With an uncle that is worth over $300 million dollars, earning the number one position on the Forbes lise of Hip Hop Cash Kings due to owning a few 40/40 clubs, selling Rocawear, and appearing in a couple of Budweiser commercials; if Jay-Z is eating, the family is eating.
Jay-Z once stated, "I carry my nephews like my sons.” So, after the untimely death of his nephew, Colleek Luckie—who had plans to continue the Carter legacy of fine music and entrepreneurship—it is only right for another nephew, 19-year-old Ramel Carter a.k.a Young Mel to continue with his aspirations of achieving rap stardom. Young Mel opens up about being Jay-Z’s kin, forming his own label, (Natural Born Hustlaz Entertainment), and why he considers himself a new breed.
AllHipHop.com: How are you related to Jay-Z?
Young Mel: I’m his nephew.
AllHipHop.com: What made you start up a label?
Young Mel: To show people that I could do this by myself. I could have took the easy way and went to my uncle but I did everything myself and I showed him I can do it too.
AllHipHop.com: How did you come up with the label name, Natural Born Hustlaz Entertainment?
Young Mel: We don’t mean hustlin’ as in any illegal stuff. We just hustlin’. We get it any means necessary. Me and my two cousins came up [with the name] - me, Rah, and Spank. We were just up one night, chillin’. Me and Rah went through a bunch of names and N.B.H. just stuck.
AllHipHop.com: Who are the artists on this label?
Young Mel: It’s me, my two cousins- Spank and Young Rah, my homeboy J. Dot that I grew up with, A.K. and Sam Hook. I met A.K. at a pizza shop. My boy met her actually and she gave us a demo. We heard it and we just grabbed her up. And Sam, my homeboy Carl introduced us at my little cousin’s baby shower.
AllHipHop.com: What made you start rapping?
Young Mel: I love music. [It was] to express myself and get some things off my chest like therapy. I use to be shy but now I’m not. When I [was] shy, I use to write to express what I feel.
AllHipHop.com: Who is your inspiration?
Young Mel: Me, my mama, my uncle, my family… all my family.
AllHipHop.com: How old were you when you began to rap?
Young Mel: I started to rap when I saw the “Aint No N***a” video but I began to
show people [when] I was 16, 17.
AllHipHop.com: On the “Anything” track, he started the third verse as if he were writing a letter, “Dear nephews, I’m writing this with no pen or a pad. And I’m signing it, your uncle, your best friend, and your dad...” How has Jay-Z affected you?
Young Mel: He’s like my biggest influence in life, ever. That line right there proves everything. I ain’t have a father when I was growing up. He’s like my father. He’s like my brother. He’s like my best friend. [He’s] all that in one.
AllHipHop.com: How did the untimely death your cousin affect you?
Young Mel: That right there just stopped everything. I felt like the whole world stopped. It made me appreciate life more and look at life different. It made me focus on what I wanted to do.
AllHipHop.com: Have you met Jay-Z or is he just Uncle Shawn all the time?
Young Mel: Uncle Jay, not Shawn. That's my real uncle. We [are] a normal family.
AllHipHop.com: How is Christmas at your house?
Young Mel: Everybody gets everybody a gift, just like you would. [Laughs] We do a grab bag. We put names in a hat. We do all that.
AllHipHop.com: So does anyone ever expect anything extravagant from your uncle?
Young Mel: You better tell him what you want or you ain’t going to get nothing.
AllHipHop.com: Does he still make time for the family?
Young Mel: Yeah, of course. We a real family. I can call him right now and he will answer, we talk.
AllHipHop.com: On the Panjabi MC’s “Beware of the Boys” track, Jay began the song “It's the Roc in the building/ Colleek, Ramel, Jarell/ I got my nephews in the house.” How does it feel being in the studio with him?
Young Mel: Electrifying. It’s like sitting on the floor watching Jordan play. It’s what he do.
AllHipHop.com: Are you the only brother that raps?
Young Mel: Nah, my younger brother Jarrell raps but he doesn’t take it seriously. He’s going to be my bodyguard. He’s big as hell. He’s like 6’8.
AllHipHop.com: On the “Lucky Me” track, he stated “I pray hard that none of my nephews want to be stars.” Is that what you mean when you said that they wanted you to go to school?
Young Mel: Yeah and he said it on AllHipHop.com that he doesn’t suggest it at me. At the end of the day, it is my decision. I’m a man now. I figured that he didn’t want me to go through all the bullsh*t. Like all the bullsh*t to go through in being a star. I feel like he was protecting me.
AllHipHop.com: In high school, did people treat you differently?
Young Mel: Some people but all my life people treated me differently. My mother would teach me that all people are not your friends. From what I seen, it’s true. Some people try to use me but I can see a snake from far away. I cut the grass on that @ss.
AllHipHop.com: How can you distinguish your real friends from the fake ones?
Young Mel: I can just tell who my real friends. I would give them a test. I might leave them at my house and leave something important out when I leave and if it’s here when they are there, they good. I got a close circle and if you ain’t in it then you’re an associate.
AllHipHop.com: You must occassionally hear people criticizing or hating on Jay-Z, how do you deal with it?
Young Mel: Now, it’s like nothing. Before I use to get mad and want to fight them because you’re talking about Jay-Z, but you are talking about my uncle. It’s like that’s a little disrespectful because that’s my real family member. It’s like, Hey watch your mouth. He said it best, he won’t take it from nobody. So, if he don’t take it, I’m not going to take it from nobody, no more.
AllHipHop.com: What is the one advice that he gave to you that you will never forget?
Young Mel: Finish school and you can get anything in this world.
AllHipHop.com: You did the Faces in the Crowd showcase did you get to meet with anyone?
Young Mel: I was suppose to but they played me. I didn’t get my meeting. But with Faces in the Crowd, when I started doing shows in New York, I didn’t tell people who I was. I didn’t tell them that I was Jay-Z’s nephew. I just did them to prove to myself that I can do it. I use to win all these talent shows and it was a test to myself that I can do it without him.
AllHipHop.com: In the AllHipHop.com feature, Jay-Z stated a couple of things that I found interesting. The first is, “Then he'll have a “Big Uncle” record and it'll be all good.” Now, what would you rap about if you were to make that track?
Young Mel: I don’t think I would make a “Big Uncle” record. I would make something different.
AllHipHop.com: Does Jay-Z have your CD in the car? Does he comment on your work?
Young Mel: I put a package together of songs that I think is hot like a mini-album. Then I bring it up to Big Homie and he criticizes like tough love. He criticizes and tells me to work on it.
AAllHipHop.com: Do you ever take offense to his opinion?
Young Mel: Never. Because if he ain’t going to keep it real with me then who will? I rather him tell me because he is looking out for me.
AllHipHop.com: Have you ever been on stage with your uncle?
Young Mel: I’ve been on stage with him but not performing with him. I’ve been in the background. That sh*t was crazy. It’s overwhelming. I want that. That’s what I see and I want that. It’s motivation.
AllHipHop.com: Can you be the next Jay-Z?
Young Mel: No, there could never be a next Jay-Z. I’m going to be the next one.
AllHipHop.com: You already know people are going to expect a lot from you as opposed to any other upcoming rapper. In other words, they want a Lil Hovie running around. Now, how are you going to handle the pressure that people are going to bring to you?
Young Mel: I’m going to just be me. They have to accept me for me.
AllHipHop.com: What if you had to do a track with Jay and he doesn’t like your verse, would you have to go back and do it again?
Young Mel: I think it would bring the best out of me. It’s a challenge. You already know and he already knows what he’s bringing. He is going to go in. If I don’t match that, I won’t even get on the song. I’m only going to embarrass myself.
AllHipHop.com: Would you consider rapping if your uncle wasn’t rapping?
Young Mel: Yeah because I just love music. I just don’t love him; I love all good music.
AllHipHop.com: Who are your influences?
Young Mel: My family, my uncle Hov- of course- Big, Pac, Dre, Snoop. It’s a lot.
AllHipHop.com: What’s your favorite Jay-Z album?
Young Mel: I’m going to pick The Blueprint, because the tracks on that were amazing. It was music. It changed Hip-Hop.
AllHipHop.com: What producer would you want to work with?
Young Mel: Timbaland and Dre. Those are my two favorite producers, ever. Timbaland with that FutureSexLoveSounds [Justin Timberlake], the beats on there is crazy, like the next level.
AllHipHop.com: Do random people ever come up to you and say, “You look like Jay-Z?”
Young Mel: All the time, since I was younger. Like I was saying before with the shows in New York, some people know who I was by looking at me and they would come up to me. I brought my grandmother to a show and she’s famous. So they would notice her. I had to cut that out and tell her that she can’t come no more.
AllHipHop.com: Wait, you told your grandmother she couldn’t come anymore?
Young Mel: Ha ha, it was a joke. [Laughs]
AllHipHop.com: What do you want to do in the future? Back in the Reasonable Doubt days, Jay would say after the first album, I’m quitting. But now he is going to other countries and donating, volunteering, giving his time back. Do you ever see yourself doing that?
Young Mel: Yeah, I see that but right now I am just focused on my music. I got to knock this out the way. I don’t look at the future; I take it a day at a time. I live for the moment.
AllHipHop.com: Do you have the same mentality as your uncle in which after the first album you are going to quit?
Young Mel: Nah. But Jay-Z was in a whole different mind state when he did the first album. So, that’s probably why he was saying that. He was on a totally different level. He was thinking about some other s**t.
AllHipHop.com: When do you plan on getting signed?
Young Mel: I don’t know. Hopefully soon, before the summer [of 2008].
AllHipHop.com: What message are you trying to send to the listeners?
Young Mel: I’m coming.
AllHipHop.com: That’s not a message.
Young Mel: Yeah, it is. They didn’t hear nothing yet, so I’m coming.
AllHipHop.com: Why should we take time out to listen to your music?
Young Mel: Because I have a story to tell, everybody likes a new story.
www.myspace.com/nbhyoungmel
Jay-Z once stated, "I carry my nephews like my sons.” So, after the untimely death of his nephew, Colleek Luckie—who had plans to continue the Carter legacy of fine music and entrepreneurship—it is only right for another nephew, 19-year-old Ramel Carter a.k.a Young Mel to continue with his aspirations of achieving rap stardom. Young Mel opens up about being Jay-Z’s kin, forming his own label, (Natural Born Hustlaz Entertainment), and why he considers himself a new breed.
AllHipHop.com: How are you related to Jay-Z?
Young Mel: I’m his nephew.
AllHipHop.com: What made you start up a label?
Young Mel: To show people that I could do this by myself. I could have took the easy way and went to my uncle but I did everything myself and I showed him I can do it too.
AllHipHop.com: How did you come up with the label name, Natural Born Hustlaz Entertainment?
Young Mel: We don’t mean hustlin’ as in any illegal stuff. We just hustlin’. We get it any means necessary. Me and my two cousins came up [with the name] - me, Rah, and Spank. We were just up one night, chillin’. Me and Rah went through a bunch of names and N.B.H. just stuck.
AllHipHop.com: Who are the artists on this label?
Young Mel: It’s me, my two cousins- Spank and Young Rah, my homeboy J. Dot that I grew up with, A.K. and Sam Hook. I met A.K. at a pizza shop. My boy met her actually and she gave us a demo. We heard it and we just grabbed her up. And Sam, my homeboy Carl introduced us at my little cousin’s baby shower.
AllHipHop.com: What made you start rapping?
Young Mel: I love music. [It was] to express myself and get some things off my chest like therapy. I use to be shy but now I’m not. When I [was] shy, I use to write to express what I feel.
AllHipHop.com: Who is your inspiration?
Young Mel: Me, my mama, my uncle, my family… all my family.
AllHipHop.com: How old were you when you began to rap?
Young Mel: I started to rap when I saw the “Aint No N***a” video but I began to
show people [when] I was 16, 17.
AllHipHop.com: On the “Anything” track, he started the third verse as if he were writing a letter, “Dear nephews, I’m writing this with no pen or a pad. And I’m signing it, your uncle, your best friend, and your dad...” How has Jay-Z affected you?
Young Mel: He’s like my biggest influence in life, ever. That line right there proves everything. I ain’t have a father when I was growing up. He’s like my father. He’s like my brother. He’s like my best friend. [He’s] all that in one.
AllHipHop.com: How did the untimely death your cousin affect you?
Young Mel: That right there just stopped everything. I felt like the whole world stopped. It made me appreciate life more and look at life different. It made me focus on what I wanted to do.
AllHipHop.com: Have you met Jay-Z or is he just Uncle Shawn all the time?
Young Mel: Uncle Jay, not Shawn. That's my real uncle. We [are] a normal family.
AllHipHop.com: How is Christmas at your house?
Young Mel: Everybody gets everybody a gift, just like you would. [Laughs] We do a grab bag. We put names in a hat. We do all that.
AllHipHop.com: So does anyone ever expect anything extravagant from your uncle?
Young Mel: You better tell him what you want or you ain’t going to get nothing.
AllHipHop.com: Does he still make time for the family?
Young Mel: Yeah, of course. We a real family. I can call him right now and he will answer, we talk.
AllHipHop.com: On the Panjabi MC’s “Beware of the Boys” track, Jay began the song “It's the Roc in the building/ Colleek, Ramel, Jarell/ I got my nephews in the house.” How does it feel being in the studio with him?
Young Mel: Electrifying. It’s like sitting on the floor watching Jordan play. It’s what he do.
AllHipHop.com: Are you the only brother that raps?
Young Mel: Nah, my younger brother Jarrell raps but he doesn’t take it seriously. He’s going to be my bodyguard. He’s big as hell. He’s like 6’8.
AllHipHop.com: On the “Lucky Me” track, he stated “I pray hard that none of my nephews want to be stars.” Is that what you mean when you said that they wanted you to go to school?
Young Mel: Yeah and he said it on AllHipHop.com that he doesn’t suggest it at me. At the end of the day, it is my decision. I’m a man now. I figured that he didn’t want me to go through all the bullsh*t. Like all the bullsh*t to go through in being a star. I feel like he was protecting me.
AllHipHop.com: In high school, did people treat you differently?
Young Mel: Some people but all my life people treated me differently. My mother would teach me that all people are not your friends. From what I seen, it’s true. Some people try to use me but I can see a snake from far away. I cut the grass on that @ss.
AllHipHop.com: How can you distinguish your real friends from the fake ones?
Young Mel: I can just tell who my real friends. I would give them a test. I might leave them at my house and leave something important out when I leave and if it’s here when they are there, they good. I got a close circle and if you ain’t in it then you’re an associate.
AllHipHop.com: You must occassionally hear people criticizing or hating on Jay-Z, how do you deal with it?
Young Mel: Now, it’s like nothing. Before I use to get mad and want to fight them because you’re talking about Jay-Z, but you are talking about my uncle. It’s like that’s a little disrespectful because that’s my real family member. It’s like, Hey watch your mouth. He said it best, he won’t take it from nobody. So, if he don’t take it, I’m not going to take it from nobody, no more.
AllHipHop.com: What is the one advice that he gave to you that you will never forget?
Young Mel: Finish school and you can get anything in this world.
AllHipHop.com: You did the Faces in the Crowd showcase did you get to meet with anyone?
Young Mel: I was suppose to but they played me. I didn’t get my meeting. But with Faces in the Crowd, when I started doing shows in New York, I didn’t tell people who I was. I didn’t tell them that I was Jay-Z’s nephew. I just did them to prove to myself that I can do it. I use to win all these talent shows and it was a test to myself that I can do it without him.
AllHipHop.com: In the AllHipHop.com feature, Jay-Z stated a couple of things that I found interesting. The first is, “Then he'll have a “Big Uncle” record and it'll be all good.” Now, what would you rap about if you were to make that track?
Young Mel: I don’t think I would make a “Big Uncle” record. I would make something different.
AllHipHop.com: Does Jay-Z have your CD in the car? Does he comment on your work?
Young Mel: I put a package together of songs that I think is hot like a mini-album. Then I bring it up to Big Homie and he criticizes like tough love. He criticizes and tells me to work on it.
AAllHipHop.com: Do you ever take offense to his opinion?
Young Mel: Never. Because if he ain’t going to keep it real with me then who will? I rather him tell me because he is looking out for me.
AllHipHop.com: Have you ever been on stage with your uncle?
Young Mel: I’ve been on stage with him but not performing with him. I’ve been in the background. That sh*t was crazy. It’s overwhelming. I want that. That’s what I see and I want that. It’s motivation.
AllHipHop.com: Can you be the next Jay-Z?
Young Mel: No, there could never be a next Jay-Z. I’m going to be the next one.
AllHipHop.com: You already know people are going to expect a lot from you as opposed to any other upcoming rapper. In other words, they want a Lil Hovie running around. Now, how are you going to handle the pressure that people are going to bring to you?
Young Mel: I’m going to just be me. They have to accept me for me.
AllHipHop.com: What if you had to do a track with Jay and he doesn’t like your verse, would you have to go back and do it again?
Young Mel: I think it would bring the best out of me. It’s a challenge. You already know and he already knows what he’s bringing. He is going to go in. If I don’t match that, I won’t even get on the song. I’m only going to embarrass myself.
AllHipHop.com: Would you consider rapping if your uncle wasn’t rapping?
Young Mel: Yeah because I just love music. I just don’t love him; I love all good music.
AllHipHop.com: Who are your influences?
Young Mel: My family, my uncle Hov- of course- Big, Pac, Dre, Snoop. It’s a lot.
AllHipHop.com: What’s your favorite Jay-Z album?
Young Mel: I’m going to pick The Blueprint, because the tracks on that were amazing. It was music. It changed Hip-Hop.
AllHipHop.com: What producer would you want to work with?
Young Mel: Timbaland and Dre. Those are my two favorite producers, ever. Timbaland with that FutureSexLoveSounds [Justin Timberlake], the beats on there is crazy, like the next level.
AllHipHop.com: Do random people ever come up to you and say, “You look like Jay-Z?”
Young Mel: All the time, since I was younger. Like I was saying before with the shows in New York, some people know who I was by looking at me and they would come up to me. I brought my grandmother to a show and she’s famous. So they would notice her. I had to cut that out and tell her that she can’t come no more.
AllHipHop.com: Wait, you told your grandmother she couldn’t come anymore?
Young Mel: Ha ha, it was a joke. [Laughs]
AllHipHop.com: What do you want to do in the future? Back in the Reasonable Doubt days, Jay would say after the first album, I’m quitting. But now he is going to other countries and donating, volunteering, giving his time back. Do you ever see yourself doing that?
Young Mel: Yeah, I see that but right now I am just focused on my music. I got to knock this out the way. I don’t look at the future; I take it a day at a time. I live for the moment.
AllHipHop.com: Do you have the same mentality as your uncle in which after the first album you are going to quit?
Young Mel: Nah. But Jay-Z was in a whole different mind state when he did the first album. So, that’s probably why he was saying that. He was on a totally different level. He was thinking about some other s**t.
AllHipHop.com: When do you plan on getting signed?
Young Mel: I don’t know. Hopefully soon, before the summer [of 2008].
AllHipHop.com: What message are you trying to send to the listeners?
Young Mel: I’m coming.
AllHipHop.com: That’s not a message.
Young Mel: Yeah, it is. They didn’t hear nothing yet, so I’m coming.
AllHipHop.com: Why should we take time out to listen to your music?
Young Mel: Because I have a story to tell, everybody likes a new story.
www.myspace.com/nbhyoungmel
Jha Jha Dips 4 Real
After the Florida native joined Dipset she made her debut on Jim Jones’ "What You Been Drankin' On." The song got people's attention and after noteworthy features on numerous Diplomat projects such as Jim Jones' "We Fly High" and "Get From Round Me" with Juelz Santana and Cam'ron, she and fans both began to wonder, what's really good? Jha Jha speaks ons on the creation of her own record label, Git It Girl Entertainment, Foxy Brown allegedly biting her music, leaving Dipset and on her intentions of bringing all the images of female wealth and power that are associated with her name to life.
AllHipHop.com: I recently found out that you’ve separated from the Diplomats. What made you want to leave and why now?
Jha Jha: I was never signed to Diplomats. I never had a binding contract. I was with them for like four years. I thought we could work something out but no contracts were ever put on the table. I wrote a record for Diddy, I had a record on MTV Jams countdown, I was writing and producing records and at the end of the day...I guess you can say it came down to creative differences. I wish the Diplomats the best of luck. The good thing about this situation is I don't owe anybody any money. No money was ever spent on me. I bought my own cars I bought my own houses, I paid for my own studio time, anything that you've seen that had to do with Jha Jha I did myself. Because nobody spent any money I can walk away from this scot free. I appreciate everything that we did together but, at the end of the day, business is business.
AllHipHop.com: Some people say you never quit a job unless you have a new one. With that being said, do you have a new deal lined up?
Jha Jha: I started my own company, Git It Girl Entertainment. A lot of labels are showing interest in signing me right now but it's not just about getting a deal, I’m looking for a joint venture. The money is in ownership and branding yourself. As an artist you’re not really making any money. I’m signing myself to my own company and now you have to go through Git it Girl Entertainment to get Jha Jha. A lot of artists don’t know what happens when you sign to these regular deals. You’re getting like $0.06 off an album and then are left wondering why you’re selling 300,000 and still in debt. You’re getting $0.06 and they’re getting like $10 off of you at least. With that deal you’ll have to sell well over a million records just to see a hundred stacks. I think females in the industry are getting the sh*tty end of the stick.
AllHipHop.com: Why do you suppose that is?
Jha Jha: They say it's because we're not selling records and I really don't think that's the case. Like look at the ratio of men to women. What I mean by that is there's like 100 dudes rapping but there are only like seven you can say are really successful. There are only five females in the game who have had success or some type of success. That’s Foxy, Lil' Kim, Missy, Trina, and Remy. Kim and them came out when I was in middle school, like 10 years ago. No disrespect but, you can’t label the whole female genre on that. Like, they’re always going to have their fanbase but they’ve already sold their records. They’re not going to come out and sell four million records anymore. Their fanbase has grown up. Missy, Kim, they broke all types of barriers but their fans have grown up.
Even Redman and Method Man, they can’t come out and sell three million units anymore. Not saying any of them are wack but, their original fanbase has grown up and moved on to different things. They can still come out and sell like 200,000 or 300,000 but a T.I., or a Jeezy, or someone else who is fresher to the scene can come out and sell 700,000 or 800,000 units because their fanbase is still young. My point is this, if you had more female artists in the game there’d be a greater chance for us to sell records. It’s all about marketing. You can’t keep putting out the same five females every year or three years and think they’re going to sell the same amount of records as when they first came out 10 years ago.
AllHipHop.com: So as a female artist, do you feel women are recognized as equals in the business side of Hip-Hop?
Jha Jha: You got women out there like me that write and produce for dudes. People want to give me publishing deals to write for R&B artists. I’m that female that works harder than the dudes. Like if a studio session is 12 hours I’m in there from 9p.m. to 9 a.m. working, writing records making beats. I can get six records out in a day. A lot of people don’t expect that. A lot of people expect me to be a certain way because I come form a certain environment. I’ve spoken to people and they say, We thought you were going to be a hoodrat.” That’s not the case but women have this stigma about them being difficult and hard to work with and some are. But, I’ve seen a lot of men who can be drama queens. But at the end of the day it just makes you work harder.
AllHipHop.com: You mentioned you’re a songwriter and producer but it’s fairly rare to see female beatmakers. How’d you get your start?
Jha Jha: My producer, Hannon, who is signed to Timbaland’s company showed me a lot. I hear beats in my head so I’d get an idea for a beat and call him and we’d do the beat over the phone. So after a while he was like, “You need to get into producing because doing sh*t this way is hard.” So I went out and bought equipment and learned it. I had him teaching me and I’ve been producing tracks on my own for like three years now. I’ve always wanted to write and produce. I’m an entertainer; I’m not just a rapper. I want to be a superstar. I want to do everything like Jermaine Dupri, Diddy, Swizz Beats, all of them.
AllHipHop.com: And you’ve always written your own rhymes?
Jha Jha: I’ve been writing since I was like eight. That’s what really drew the Diplomats to me because I had records they wanted to get on. It’s usually the other way around when you’re a female. But I had different song concepts and choruses that was ill to them so they took me in and I definitely appreciate all that.
AllHipHop.com: Did not being respected as a self contained writer/producer play a part in the decision to leave Diplomats?
Jha Jha: I just think the Diplomats weren’t used to dealing with someone like me. They weren’t used to a female like me who knew exactly what she wanted to do. I know what I want to do and don’t want to sit around and wait. Like, Puffy don’t co-sign a lot of people so the fact that he picked one of my tracks…he wasn’t even supposed to hear the record. The engineer played him the record and he was like, “Who’s this chick she’s hot. You need to put her out.” I don’t think they were ready for someone like me. For example, even though I grew up in the hood I was on some, let’s tell kids how to get out the hood. Go to school and all that. Just because you come from the hood doesn’t mean you have to stay there. You can still keep it real with the hood but you don’t have to be all extra with it. Let’s be real, once you sell a certain amount of records ni**as is not living in the hood like how they talk about. Ni**as is living in Jersey. Let’s be real. So I probably wasn’t what they were used to dealing with in a female. I was on a whole different level. I had my whole plan done. All I needed was for someone to push the button. They didn’t have to write my records, they didn’t have to pick my beats and I think when they saw that they were like, Whoa.
AllHipHop.com: The Diplomats have relationships with Asylum and Koch. Will you be looking to work something out with one of them?
Jha Jha: I’m not a Koch artist. No disrespect but that’s not me. I know what I can do and what kind of deal I can get. I’ve learned from them. I’ve seen the mistakes they’ve made and I know what to do and what not to do. I’m not a disgruntled artist, I have no hard feelings but, at the end of the day, it’s business.
AllHipHop.com: There is currently a dispute with Koch, over a record of yours that ended up on Foxy Brown’s new album. Can you elaborate on that situation?
Jha Jha: This guy, Bob Perry, was calling me, blowing my phone up to do this record. Mind you, this guy owes me all types of money for other records I’ve done. I did a record for AZ and some songs for Disney and never got paid. So I was keeping my distance because he already had a bad reputation anyway. So he’s calling me saying “Jha Jha, I need you to come to the studio and do this record, please come through and do this record.” I was doing some other stuff with Hell Rell. Duke Da God, 40 Cal and Rell were all in the studio that day. We all happened to be in his studio. So I’m already like, Damn, why I got to be at this dudes studio? So he comes up to me and is like, “Yo, I got this record. I want you to write it. Just listen to the beat see if something happens.”
So I hear the beat and I’m like, Oh, that’s dope. It sounds a little like Diddy’s “Last Night” record. That was a big record. So I came up with a concept and wrote the record in like 30 minutes. I write records like that all the time so I didn’t think nothing of it. So he’s going crazy for it. I couldn’t stay because I had a show to do so I did one verse and I was out. So after, he’s calling my phone all crazy saying, “This is the one, I feel it. You need to come back and finish the record. Koch has a meeting with Capitol and I want to play the record for them.”
So I finished the record. After it was finished I never heard anything else from him. Where he messed up is that I have a copy of the song in ProTools on my hardrive also. I think from jump Bob wanted me to reference it for Foxy. But I think he felt that women have a cattiness about them so it’d be a lot of problems getting it done. But I write records. That’s what I do so all he had to do was come at me in a business manner and he could’ve got it. But he didn’t do that. He did some real underhanded stuff. I found out because someone sent me an e-mail with Foxy Brown-“Lights Go Out” [Ed. Note: Jha's Jha's version is below] from Koch Records. Automatically I knew something was up. So I listen and I’m like this is just like my sh*t. So her record was on Digiwaxx so I put my record on Digiwaxx. I did the record. You should’ve been a real man and a businessman and [approached] the situation for what it is. You want to steal my lyrics, my whole swag, I don’t appreciate that. So I put my record out there so now when they play her record, play mines. Good looking.
AllHipHop.com: Do you think he went about things this way to prevent friction between you and Foxy?
Jha Jha: I’m not really on it like that. I’ll work with her. Long as she don’t come out of her mouth wrong we don’t have no problems. And anyway, she already know how Miami girls give it up from the whole situation with Jackie-O last year. So she wouldn’t even want to do all that type of stuff but she could’ve just reached out. She could’ve had it. I make those all day. I’m a superstar. I make those records all day. That’s nothing to me and Bob knew that. But he tried to sacrifice me to make his little couple dollars over at Koch. That’s something I can’t appreciate. Alan [Grunblatt] and them all know what it is, I write records. Business is business. I have no hard feelings toward Foxy but, what her team and Bob did was kind of grimy.
AllHipHop.com: How close are you to resolving the situation?
Jha Jha: My attorney is on the case. I’m a businesswoman. I make records like that. I have records better than that. That wouldn’t even have been something I’d put out. I’m not stressing the record. It’s them trying to play me. It’s the principalities of things.
AllHipHop.com: After you get that settled, what’s next for Jha Jha?
Jha Jha: I got my company, I’m sitting down with a few labels but, at the end of the day, it’s about getting the right deal. You can just go get a deal but if it’s not the right one you’re going to flop like everyone else and still owe. I’m not trying to do that. I’m trying to win and really do it for the women to show that we can sell records. My story is impeccable. I have all the necessary components. I’m sexy, I’ve been through a lot, and I have a story that people need to know about.
AllHipHop.com: Anything else you’d like to mention?
Jha Jha: Yes, R.I.P. Stack Bundles. Always remembered, never forgotten.
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