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Paul Wall Champions Hard Work

Houston rapper speaks on work ethic and the inportance of family
Paul Wall, along with Houston compadres Mike Jones, Slim Thug and Z-Ro, have been busy schooling the rest of the planet on what's been common knowledge in their neck of the woods... that you don't need a record deal to become a music superstar. On their own, these rappers along with countless others have sold millions of albums and mixtapes combined and have built an empire for themselves on pure passion, guts and work ethic.

We spoke to Wall whose mainstream debut set, The People's Champ, recently opened at No. 1. Like his colleagues, he's no stranger to hard work and he took the time to break down his work ethic for the rap.about.com audience.

"The fact of the matter is nobody owes anybody anything except you to go out and get it. And you can sit at home and make excuses all you want to but if you do that, you're gonna end up broke."

The entrepreneur whose given name is Paul Slayton, talked about how his successful business ventures (including real estate, promotions and a jewelry store) frees him creatively and liberates him from pressure to make a ton of money with his music.

"Being that I'm making money doing all these other things, I'm not forced to make money on music. So I have the privilege to be able to make creatively the kind of music I want to make. I'm paid regardless of whether I make an album or not."

Wall expected his mainstream debut to open in the Top 5, but he was surprised when it opened at the top.

"I was shocked. I knew it would do good. I expected it to be in the Top 5 but for it to be No. 1... is a big difference."

Wall, 24, also shared his feelings on becoming a daddy.

"The day the album dropped... that was the day that I found out that I had a baby on the way. So, I was ecstatic, overjoyed... I wasn't even concerned with the album. The album was in the complete back of my mind... That's my ultimate goal in life, to have a family.

Wall also shouted out on a number of topics including his spirituality, staying real, and his former partner Chamillionaire. Peep the complete audio interview below. (Quicktime)

We asked Paul Wall...

1. What do you think attributed to ...Champ opening at No. 1?

http://rap.about.com/library/interviews/paul_wall/no1_surprise.mp4

2. Will you ever work with Chammilionaire again?
http://rap.about.com/library/interviews/paul_wall/chamillionaire.mp4

3. Speak on the importance of working for yourself and owning your own businesses.
http://rap.about.com/library/interviews/paul_wall/business_ethic.mp4

4. What do you think makes you different from most other rappers?
http://rap.about.com/library/interviews/paul_wall/being_grounded.mp4

5. Do you make music for money or for love?
http://rap.about.com/library/interviews/paul_wall/business_vs_creative.mp4

6. Congrats on becoming a father. How do you feel about it?
http://rap.about.com/library/interviews/paul_wall/family.mp4

7. You're currently screwing and chopping the rock group The Transplants. Do you plan to screw/chop more artists outside of rap?http://rap.about.com/library/interviews/paul_wall/screw_genres.mp4

8. Shout out your upcoming projects.
http://rap.about.com/library/interviews/paul_wall/last_words.mp4

9. What are some of your other aspirations for the near future?
http://rap.about.com/library/interviews/paul_wall/aspirations.mp4

Usher's Record Label to Launch Next Month
10/23/05 - 11:09 PM ET
By Jennifer Fong

(andPOP) - After three years of fine tuning, Usher's US Records is finally ready for its unveiling. The superstar’s record label, first announced in 2002, will make its formal debut next month with the release of the soundtrack for the romantic comedy “In the Mix.”

The album will feature songs by rapper Rico Love, R&B quintet One Chance, Rayan, Anthony Hamilton, Christina Milian, Claudette Ortiz, Paul Wall, and newcomer Chris Brown. There will also be one song from Usher himself, who served as writer/producer on the project. No exact date has been announced for its release but the movie, in which Usher stars alongside actors Chazz Palminteri and Emmanuelle Chriqui, will open in theatres nation-wide on November 23.

Of the delay, BMG North America chairman/CEO Clive Davis says, “[Usher’s] priorities were finding the right artists and then waiting until he strongly believed they were ready.”

Usher says he hopes US Records will achieve the same success as the label he’s currently signed under, Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds’ LaFace Records. "I've gone through a lot of trial and error to find what works and what doesn't," Usher says. "With that comes an understanding of how to offer the same opportunities to other artists."

Oct. 17, 2005, 4:23PM

Houston rap pioneer to release first solo album
By KRISTIE RIEKEN
Associated Press

HOUSTON — As one of the pioneers of Houston's burgeoning rap scene, Bun B feels a responsibility to unite all the city's often beefing players.

Associated Press
Bun B shows off some bling.

So it was no surprise that he invited all the city's heavy-hitters to appear on a remix of Draped Up, the first single off his solo debut, Trill, which comes out Tuesday.

What is surprising is to hear feuding rappers like Slim Thug and Lil' Flip, or Chamillionaire and Paul Wall, come together on the same track to support one of the South's most influential MCs.

"Whatever problems people had they didn't bring it to my song," said Bun B, one half of the rap group Underground Kingz. "They was just like, 'We know what you trying to do and it's going to make us all look good.' It's not about me. It's about Houston and keeping Houston on the map."

The song takes a cue from the hit single Still Tippin' also featuring a screwed hook, this one by underground star Lil' Keke. The remix includes Z-Ro, recent Roc-A-Fella signee Aztek Escobar and the plantinum-selling Mike Jones.

Slim Thug said he got on the song despite beefs with Flip and Z-Ro because of Bun B's constant support: "He been a legend in the game. He's somebody everybody respect. Nobody ain't going to tell Bun B no because he showed so much love to us young dudes."

Expectations for the album are high after the Port Arthur native, who now calls Houston home, has guest starred on about a half dozen top-selling albums while awaiting the expected December prison release of his UGK partner Pimp C.

Long revered for his witty, complex lyrics and bellowing baritone, Bun B, born Bernard Freeman, has increased his profile for the past three years despite his bandmate's incarceration, recently appearing on albums from everyone by Beanie Siegel to the Ying Yang Twins.

"People say out of sight out of mind, and I didn't want people to forget about Pimp C and I definitely didn't want people to forget about UGK," he said. "It was all just really to let them know that we're still here and I'm still reppin' for him."

Aside from the Houston cameos, the 17-track album features a coterie of Southern stars such as Ludacris, T.I., Young Jeezy, Juvenile and the Ying Yang Twins, plus a taste of the other two coasts from Jay Z and Too $hort.

UGK has sold more than 1 million records since 1992. Celebrated regionally but largely unheard of elsewhere, they made their first national splash on Jay Z's 1999 hit Big Pimpin.'

The 32-year-old Bun B, who has been rapping since most of the new crop of Houston lyricists were in junior high, is enjoying a renaissance of sorts as Houston continues to gain notoriety as the new capital of Southern rap.

He will be the face of a throwback Reebok shoe that will be unveiled in Houston during the 2006 NBA All-Star game, and is working with Damon Dash on a Pro-Keds shoe line. Heady stuff for a man who has spent most of his career doing small club shows and commanding little radio play.

Modest and unassuming, Bun B, seems overwhelmed at the credit he's received as an influence to some of today's top-selling artists.

"I feel lucky every day when I wake up and people still like the music," he said. "People that have taken our music to heart like that and to build off of it and prosper and make a career out of what I've done really is an honor."

He said the project was challenging because Pimp C had almost single-handedly produced all the UGK records. Bun B produced much of Trill, with help from musicians including Mannie Fresh and Jazze Pha.

Bun B said being away from Pimp C for the almost three years he's been in prison on an aggravated assault charge has been difficult. He is rarely seen without a "Free Pimp C" T-shirt or baseball cap and every other scene of the Draped Up video shows groups of people in similar shirts.

"We will definitely do more music," he said. "I expect it to be bigger and better than ever before."

LIL’ JON SUES LARRY FLYNT OVER PORNO: Crunk king says footage was used without his permission.
September 30, 2005



*Lil Jon and his pimp cup are taking Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt to court for allegedly using his name and likeness without permission for the adult film "Phat Tuesday," reports MTV.

The producer’s federal lawsuit, filed Monday in Atlanta, seeks some $30 million from Larry Flynt Productions (LFP), which Lil Jon claims acquired promotional onstage and backstage footage from another company, Category 5, which shot a February 2004 Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz concert in New Orleans. Category 5 was supposed to clear any use of the footage with TVT Records, but failed to do so, the suit says. That breach comprises $75,000 of the damages sought in the suit.

Hustler Video then used the footage for "Phat Tuesday," a film that follows five women who go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and attend a Lil Jon concert. Lil Jon’s picture appears on the DVD cover in a composite photograph with two of the film's actresses, with the words, "Featuring Lil Jon, King of Crunk." Jon had no idea that his face was on the cover of a porno until the video was released in February, his suit says.

Lil Jon’s suit claims breach of contract, false advertising, infringement of right to publicity and appropriation of name and likeness. The crunk producer says he's been deprived of royalties, revenue and reputation. Had his name and likeness been properly licensed, he estimates he would have earned $500,000.

Since his previous authorized video ("Lil Jon's American Sex Series") generated "significant income," he estimates that the money made from a similar video, released while he was even more popular, "would have doubled."

Paul Wall Emerges As Billboard 200 'Champ' -
September 21, 2005

Wall Emerges As Billboard 200 'Champ'



By Margo Whitmire, L.A.



In a week that sees seven new top tier entries, Houston rapper Paul Wall emerges triumphant with a No. 1 debut on The Billboard 200 with "The Peoples Champ." The album sold 176,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, putting the Atlantic effort ahead of new discs by Switchfoot, Trisha Yearwood, the Pussycat Dolls, Paul McCartney, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley and Charlie Wilson.

Though Wall has released albums with rapper Chamillionaire and a solo effort -- 2004's "The Chick Magnet" -- in the last three years, this is the first appearance on the big chart for the artist. In the last year, the chopped-and-screwed stylist has earned exposure as a featured rapper on T.I.'s "Urban Legend" and Mike Jones' "Still Tippin," which reached No. 25 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Songs list.

Wall's chart-topping debut ends the two-week reign of Kanye West's "Late Registration" (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam), which falls to No. 2 on a 42% drop to 165,000.

San Diego rock act Switchfoot grabs the No. 3 slot with "Nothing Is Sound" (Columbia), earning its highest Billboard 200 chart position with a career-best sales week of 131,000 copies. The group's 2003 set "The Beautiful Letdown" opened at No. 85 with 14,000 and has gone on to sell 2.5 million.

Trisha Yearwood's "Jasper County" (MCA Nashville) takes the No. 4 spot this week with sales of 118,000 copies. Her first album following a four-year self-imposed hiatus gave the country songstress the second-highest sales week of her career and also opens at the top of Billboard's Top Country Albums chart.

Featuring the No. 2 Billboard Hot 100 hit "Don't Cha" featuring Busta Rhymes, the Pussycat Dolls pull in at No. 5 with "PCD" (A&M/Interscope), earning a first-week total of 99,000 copies for their first effort.

Paul McCartney's "Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard" (Capitol) gives the Beatles and Wings alum his 45th top 10 Billboard 200 album. Arriving at No. 6, his latest sold 92,000 copies, much better than 2001's "Driving Rain." That album started at No. 26 with 66,000 copies and has moved 398,000 so far.

Starting with 86,000 copies, reggae's newest Marley, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley, debuts at No. 7 with his third album, "Welcome to Jamrock" (Universal). The album's title track is in the top 20 on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Marley's last album, "Halfway Tree," sold just 2,000 copies in its first week, debuting at No. 2 on Billboard's Top Reggae Albums list; the set has a to-date total of 91,000 units.

It's notable that Damian's father, late reggae icon Bob Marley, enjoyed only one Billboard 200 top 10 during his career. His 1976 release "Rastaman Vibration" peaked at No. 8 and spent 22 weeks on the chart.

Along with West, the Black Eyed Peas' "Monkey Business" (A&M/Interscope) and Mariah Carey's "The Emancipation of Mimi" (Island/Def Jam) hold onto their top 10 status this week in spite of the onslaught of debuts. The former drops 4-8 on a 0.3% dip to 83,000, while the latter slides 5-9 as sales fell 8% to 75,000.

Meanwhile, Former Gap Band frontman Charlie Wilson grabbed a career-best sales week with his first album in five years. The Jive set "Charlie, Last Name Wilson" sold 71,000 to arrive at No. 10, the highest he's ever reached on the chart. His last album, 2000's "Bridging the Gap" (Interscope), didn't debut on the big chart, starting instead at No. 70 on the Top R&B Albums tally with 3,000 copies. It has sold 194,000 to date.

Other albums scoring top 20 debuts this week are Trapt's "Someone in Control" (Warner Bros., No. 14), David Gray's "Life in Slow Motion" (ATO, No. 16) and Bonnie Raitt's "Souls Alike" (Capitol, No. 19).

Other notable entries include Lonestar's "Coming Home" (BNA, No. 26); Sigur Ros' "Takk" (Geffen, No. 27); CeCe Winans' "Purified" (Sony, No. 41); DJ Quik's "Trauma" (Mad Science, No. 43); B.B. King's "B.B King & Friends: 80" (Geffen, No. 45) and Tracy Chapman's "Where You Live" (Elektra, No. 49).

At 10 million units, overall U.S. album sales were up 5% over the previous week; down 3% from the same week last year. Year-to-date sales are trail 2004 by 8.5% at 395 million units.

Paul Wall: What It Do, Baby!

The Core / Features
written by Carl Chery (carl@sohh.com)
Tuesday - Sep. 13, 2005
Paul Wall

After appearing on records with Swishahouse's Mike Jones and Kanye West, Paul Wall's buzz is now nationwide and reaching deafening proportions. The Houston native is readying to drop his major label debut, The People's Champ September 13th. But don't mistake Wall for a rookie. He's already released several independent albums in th south, including collaborations with fellow Houston emcee Chamillionaire.

Though busy promoting his album, the people's champ took time to chop it up with SOHH.com and discuss topics ranging from groupies, to syrup, to his feud with Chamillionaire.

SOHH.com: So I heard you got a Reebok deal, how did that come about?

PW: It was just something I always wore. I was always representing the Reeboks. I just wanted to be different. Everybody else in Houston was always wearing Jordan's and Air Force 1's, but me I was wearing the Reeboks. It's real, it's not like I'm getting paid so I gotta wear em. This is what I wear anyway. It's just something that we always pursued just being that I was always a fan of the Reebok and finally when my popularity kinda started growing and getting to a new level, we threw a line and they bit and we ain't turn back since.

SOHH.com: You shout out T. Farris in a lot of songs, so people are starting to wonder about him, who is he?

PW: T. Farris is one my homeboys. We came in the Swishahouse together on the bottom of the barrel, doing promotions, running CDs -- doing whatever we had to do. He just kinda climbed in the ranks executively and I climbed the ranks musically. He pretty much been my homeboy, supporting me from day one. Now that I'm officially with Swishahouse as an artist too, he's my biggest supporter, making sure things go right. He's the reason why I'm on "Still Tippin." He does a lot of the A&R work for the Swishahouse. He's president of the Swishahouse now. He pretty much finds the talent, finds the beats. He puts songs together, comes up with a lot of the concepts of the songs. He's great creatively and musically. That teamed up with Micheal Watts and our hard grind work ethic we're guaranteed to succeed.

SOHH.com: You just mentioned "Still Tippin," a lot of heads were buzzing about your line, "I got the internet going nuts," can you break down what you meant when you said that?

PW: I mean the internet is always talking. I get on certain web sites, but then there's some sites I avoid, they always talking, always talking controversy and stirring up rumors. But in the words of Slim Thug, "that sh!t it gay." I've been an avid supporter of certain web sites like Blackplanet.com, and other web sites like that in the chat rooms, DJPaulWall.com, Swishahouse.biz. I be on there chatting, get people talking. Just across the board, I just kept seeing my name being mentioned here and there like I was the talk of the internet, being good or bad, a rumor or the truth or just some outrageous sh!t. It was like, "Damn man. I got the internet going nuts over here." So I said, "fuck it I'm a put it in a song." [Paul raps the line]

SOHH.com: You mentioned Blackplanet.com, I heard you used to pick up chicks in there, what's good with that?

PW: I mean, we've picked up a lot of chicks over the years a lot of different ways. You know the clubs, the internet. We don't discriminate. Coming up with Lou Hawk on one side and Guyu on the other side, it's definitely gonna be girls in the mix wherever we go. These are two of my boys that trained me to become the chick magnet and the daddy mack that I've become today. [Laughs]

SOHH.com: Blackplanet is mostly ethnic women, do you have a preference or a fetish for a specific ethnicity?

PW: Nah. I like all women, all sizes, all shapes, all colors, big women, skinny women, thick women, flat asses, big titties, smile, chest everything, pretty, ugly, I like all women. Well, not all of them.

SOHH.com: I remember reading another interview and they were asking you about eating pu$$y, and you basically said that everybody gives head, but won't do it for everybody...

PW: [Jumps in] I mean, you ain't just gon do anything. You ain't gon eat food from any restaurant, but you gon eat food just like you do anything. [laughs] You ain't gon wear just any kind of clothes, but you gon put some clothes on though. If the situation is right, then you do what's right.

SOHH.com: You say "you're macking game is top rank." How do you approach the ladies nowadays?

PW: Maaaan, the most important thing is you gotta be you. I'm 100% me, all the time. I've grown. I've matured. I've evolved as a person, but I've always been Paul Wall and that's the most important thing. You just gotta do what works for you. Coming up in a single parent household, having a sister around me and god sisters around me, I've always treated women with the utmost respect and that works for me. Now I got friends who dog women out and that works for them.

SOHH.com: I'm sure you're getting groupie love nowadays -- we all know some are out for blood, some out for cheddar. When do you know to fall back or not?

PW: I'mma be real with you, we got Guyu on the groupie patrol. We got Unique the freak out there on the road too. I ain't gon lie, I be doing my thang and my woman I got, she's so fine and she's so beautiful, that it's like...she make me to where I don't even wanna mess over her, to mess up what I got. But on occasion in the past, we've definitely had our rounds with the groupies. It's to a point now where it's getting old for us. We've been doing this for years and now we're on a national level it's growing to a new plateau. At the same time, coming up in the independent ranks, we got tired of that sh!t a long time ago.

SOHH.com: How does new pu$$y get old?

PW: We out here making money man. I'mma be honest with ya'll. We fucked so many beautiful women, extremely top notch women, so many of them, so long that after a while this sh!t just gets old. Ya'll ain't been where we been. If ya'll done seen the women and the situations we've been in, after so long, you'd be like, 'fuck that, we getting this paper.' And that's what we're doing right now. But at the same time, we still got the groupie patrol in full effect.

SOHH.com: They ever say something about the grills, like take them off?

PW: Nah, most people are just intrigued by it just cause it's something different. They ain't never seen some fronts up in somebody's mouth quite like what we got. [Paul gives his trademark smile to show off his diamond studded grills]

SOHH.com: If you could pick a celebrity that you could design grills for, somebody that no one would expect, who would it be?

PW: I just did something for The Transplants [ rock/rap group featuring Travis Barker, former Blink 182 drummer]. I talked to Lil' Kim about doing something for her. I just did something for Trey Songz. I'm doing something for Omarion and Usher. If could really just do a grill for anybody I wanna do it for someone like Slick Rick, who just really popularized that sh!t a long time ago. So for me to do something for him or Flava Flav, it just would be like, these motherfuckers that really started the sh!t in my eyes. They the first people I saw with teeth in they mouth. But if I could do just any celebrity, it'll be somebody outrageous like Ashton Kutcher or Paris Hilton or some sh!t.

SOHH.com: You got an impressive list of clients, can regular Joe's afford your grills?

PW: Yeah, definitely we can make em from $200 to $200,000, whatever fits into your budget we gon work with you at TV Jewelry Mob 832-661-5664.

SOHH.com: Word out is that you're going to chop-and-screw Common's album, is there any truth to that?

SOHH.com: Word out is that you're going to chop-and-screw Common's album, is there any truth to that?

PW: Yeah. I did Kanye West's College Dropout now I'm doing the Common album[Be] and we're just breaking barriers with the screw music. We're not limited. For so long it was limited to southern artists. Now I'm chopping the Transplants album. It's an alternative rock album and it's so different screwed-and-chopped. The same thing goes for the Kanye West and Common albums. It shed new light on the project. It's a different branch of the Hip-Hop tree. And screw music is another branch of the Hip-Hop tree on a totally different spectrum by combining that, we're breaking barriers. DJ Screw back in the day was screwing Bob Marley. So if I can screw reggae why can't we screw Common.

SOHH.com: How did you link up with Common?

PW: I hooked up with him at the same time I hooked up with Kanye West. We were doing a magazine article for "The Coming Kings" [in] King Magazine. And I hooked up with him and I've always been a fan of Common even back in the day when he had "I Used to Love Her." I was telling him how I had bought the album, but all my friends was hating on me like... "you listening to that bullsh!t" cause coming from Texas we're real secluded and we're one track minded. You listen to this and if you listen to anything else you're out of line. By him putting his seal of approval on it, it really helps push the movement in a whole new direction.

SOHH.com: Speaking of screw music, it goes hand in hand with syrup, did you hear about the article saying that 30% of Houston teens have tried it at least once?

PW: That was just a devastating blow to all the syrup sippers all across the city man. It's just definitely putting a halt on the manufacturers of the syrup. I do not support any of that. I don't support any article exposing the users of the syrup. I mean the syrup is part of the city. It's a part of the culture. It's just like weed. It's just a part of Hip-Hop as syrup is a part of screw.

SOHH.com: Was it established that DJ Screw died from a drug overdose?

PW: I ain't never seen the medical reports so I don't know. There's been a lot of rumors. I even heard a rumor that somebody put speed in his syrup. I heard that somebody killed him. I heard a rumors that he did it on purpose I don't believe that. I believe that it was just an overdose. It's an addictive drug and if you start using it too much, it can overcome you. Regardless of what happened it was a sad and devastating blow for Houston music. It's just sad, not only that he passed away, but that people don't mention his name the way they should. When people say Big, Pac, Jam Master Jay, Big Pun, they should definitely mention DJ Screw. He gave birth to a whole art form of music. We gotta honor his legacy. Whenever I see award shows and they got pictures about all these people who passed away, I respect that, but it's almost an insult that they not say rest in peace to DJ Screw.

SOHH:com: I think people respect you because you don't make a big deal out of you're ethnicity...

PW: [Jumps in] It's not an issue for me. I'm me. Growing up my mom taught me anti-racism. It's not cool to be racist. That's just common in Houston. Off course there's racism and bigotry off course mostly with the older generation, but this is the MTV generation. You see a lot of separatism once I come up north, and on the east and on the west. In Texas, there's really not a division.

SOHH.com: I read somewhere that you watch "The O'Reilly Factor," he's often labeled as a racist, do you agree with that?

PW: I don't know. He does do a lot of things that would definitely contribute to that speculation. I never met him so I don't know. He do a lot of off the wall sh!t. I watch "The O'Reilly Factor" to try to help me see another angle of the world. That way, I ain't just watching videos all day long. I'm filling up with all kind of ingredients. See he has a different perception than we do. From how he was brought up, for whatever reason he see things different than we do. He does and there's a lot of people who think like that. So instead of clashing with him, let's try to come to a common and see if we can compromise on a lot of things. So of course race is an issue, but bigger than that, it's just lifestyles. He has a different lifestyles than we do.

SOHH.com: You were brought up not to see color, but unfortunately people will still look at you as the cool white boy, so I want to list a bunch of white dudes with some kind of relevance or cred to the hood and see what you think of them. Let's start with Ali G.[Star of HBO's "The Ali G Show"]

PW: He's funny. That's a funny motherfucker. He got a degree and sh!t. Where he went to school again?

SOHH.com:Oxford I think.

PW: Yeah. He got a funny TV show. It's funny man.

SOHH.com: Eminem.

PW: You want to look at it from a closed caption, as a white rapper, Vanilla Ice put a huge burden on any other artist of any other color. Vanilla Ice, he was looked at as a cornball. He don't get no respect. So for Eminem to come and just break down the barriers is just amazing. Even more importantly, what Eminem did for Hip-Hop was just so big because he crossed over to a whole other generation of fans who if it wasn't from him, might have not liked Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop just has a huge relevance in society and Eminem had a lot to do with that just by breaking down the barriers.

Bill Clinton: [laughs] I mean Bill Clinton is Bill Clinton, getting head in the oval office. I aint' mad at you baby.

SOHH.com: John Mayer.

PW: John Mayor is John Mayor too. [laughs]

SOHH.com: Are you not familiar with him.

PW: Heeeeee! He's John Mayer too. [Wall says with a big smile]

SOHH.Com: Jerry Seinfeld

PW: I like Jerry Seinfeld. That's a funny show. Jerry Seinfeld is like a token New York white guy. From when Jerry Seinfeld stopped airing society has changed a lot of since then in the past few years and a lot of that is due to Hip-Hop. When you got artists like Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton teaming up on commercials that's just breaking barriers across the ground.

SOHH.com: Besides Hip-Hop, how do you think Seinfeld changed society?

PW: People were just so closed minded. Even five years ago. It's just a whole new generation. Homosexuality is so open now and you gotta deal with it. And little sh!t like cell phones. You can't live without cell phones now. Five years ago you wouldn't think that these things would be such big symbols of our society. Even regular sexuality, diseases and sh!t are at an all time high. You don't start fucking nowadays when you're 25 or 30. Motherfuckers is fucking when they 12 and 11. Six year-olds getting head and sh!t. And it's for real. It just changed our society as a whole.

SOHH.com: You went to the University of Houston, did you graduate?

PW: Nah. I went three years.

SOHH.Com: What was your major?

PW: Comunmications, Radio and Broadcasting.

SOHH.com: I'm assuming that you dropped out to pursue your rap career full-time.

PW: Just going to school ain't make sense to me. I was going just to be going. It came to a point where I was going just to be going. The purpose of going to school and getting a degree, it didn't fit into my path as a person. And it's crazy cause I see people who go to school, get a degree, get a masters and they can't get a job when they graduate. That sh!t is just sad. We come from a generation where they tell you, "gotta go to college" and then you see people going to college and getting a masters and they can't even get no jobs. I ain't learn anything from the classes. What I learned is from the people, like where they came from, from their situations. And learned how the deal with people.

SOHH.com: Were you a good student?

SOHH.com: Were you a good student?

PW: Yeah I was great. I learned to cheat off the best people. I learned the best ways to get the answers before the test came up. That's what college is all about, finding the right person to cheat off of, finding the right teacher to ass kiss so you can get a good grade.

SOHH.com: Your moms ever get on you about going back?

PW: My mom was a teacher. She just wanted to be successful. Fuck a degree. If it takes a degree for me to be successful, I'm a get a degree. But it ain't take a degree. It took me putting in hard work in different areas of life.

SOHH.com: Word is they were trying to pair you up with a big name producer for your album, but you weren't with it. Why not?

PW: We had an agenda at hand and we wanted to be us and introduce our brand of music and our style to the rest of the world. I think when Slim Thug hooked up with Pharrell [Williams] I think it took him out of his element a little too early. Slim Thug kinda had two albums out, he had the first album that got bootlegged and never came out then he re-did it and dropped another album. The first album that got bootlegged was more like a Pharrell album. I like the album, but it wasn't a Slim Thug album. The best song on his album is "Three Kings" that Mr. Lee did from Houston and they ain't push it as a single until it was late. Pharrell is one of the biggest producers in the world. You gotta grow to be at that level. That ain't really what's for us at this time. For us at this time is just to establish our style and our brand. Right now that sh!t ain't make sense for us.

SOHH.com: Talk about the album, who is on it?

PW: B.G., Bun B, we got a song together called "Trill." I gotta song called "March Like A Soldier" with Lil Wayne. I got a song with T.I. They all supported the vision of introducing the Texas culture to the rest of the world. It's a wonderful classic Swishahouse album. It's an album that you don't have to be from the South to like. The level of my lyricism has just stepped up enormously from the previous albums. The level of production is phenomenal. We're actually making music with concepts and themes. Not just a beat and a verse.

SOHH.com: What's up with Mike Jones?

PW: His album in stores right now. We first kinda came up on the national scene together, but when he got up streamed to Warner Bros and I got up streamed to Atlantic that kinda separated us. A lot of people would see us together all the time and now they don't see us together, so they always be asking like, "Ya'll got beef?" But the whole time he always had his Ice Age crew. And I had my Grit Boys crew. At the end of the day, we're supporting each other, but we're both still Swishahouse.

SOHH.com: I heard rumors that he ain't on Swishahouse no more.

PW: He's Swishahouse. If he ain't then that's news to me. I heard rumors too.

SOHH.com: There were also rumors that he said you were only getting the press you're getting cause you're your white.

PW: I never heard it. I would be shocked if he said that. As long as I've known Mike Jones, I've always known him to support me, Slim Thug. We got the same movement, same goals in mind, same vision, but we all pushing the same cart.

SOHH.com: What's the situation with you and Chamillionaire like now?

PW: We're doing our own thing. At the end of the day, you look at what's going on and the beefs and the negativity ain't never good for any situation. He's from Houston. I support him. I support his sales. We were going through our little problems with me and him or whoever else, but we've grown as men. We squashed that sh!t, put it behind us.

SOHH.com: So is it officially squashed, are ya'll homies still? Have ya'll kicked it together?

PW: He's doing his thing. I'm doing my thing and that's it. And even him, we both got the same movement and the same vision in mind. As long as the movement is pushed and people see the vision that's the most important thing. Whatever problems we had in the past, put that sh!t in the past.

Paul Wall's The People Champ featuring T.I., Lil Wayne, Bun B and B.G. and production from Three Six Mafia hits stores September 13th.

Originally published at SOHH.com [http://www.sohh.com]
©1995 - 2003 4CONTROL Media, Inc.

Paul Wall Chops It Up With The UK



LONDON, UK (Asylum Records) - Paul Wall has come a long way since he first jumped in to the rap arena with his then partner in crime, Camillionaire. Since going solo, this extremely successful businessman / rapper has now joined forces with Asylum Records and is set to release his much anticipated solo album "The Peoples Champ".
'The Peoples Champ' is set to drop on the 13th September, boasting production from, The Grid Iron (PT and Calvin Earl), Sanchez, K-O, KLC from the Medicine Men, and 3-6 Mafia. Other contributors to this album come in the shape of T.I, Lil Wayne, BG, Freeway, Bun B, and Big Pokey.

As well as discussing his album Wall speaks on who inspired him musically, his thoughts on perhaps working with Chamillionaire again if the opportunity arises, up and coming projects in the pipeline, and his recent partnership with Asylum Records, of which he says 'I really feel like together we are unstoppable. It is a beautiful relationship'

At this moment in time, the Paul Wall machine is indeed truly unstoppable, and it doesn't look as if it will be slowing down anytime soon.

Write On Point, is an informative and dynamic UK based online publication, dedicated to giving its visitors up to date news and information, from within the world of black entertainment on both sides of the Atlantic. It also aims to give maximum exposure to up-coming home grown UK talent, and information on showcases / events taking place throughout the year.
Visit Paul Wall's official website: www.djpaulwall.com

Check out SHei Atkins as she puts it down on Stage in H-town.

Click the link below

Paul Wall: Avoiding the "White" thing.

Monday - August 15, 2005

Jessica Koslow

Paul Wall is not a White Rapper. He is a rapper who happens to be white.

Talk about your major-label debut, The People’s Champ. It’s got Lil Wayne on there, B.G., Bun B, the Grit Boys, T.I. and my boy Freeway. I got production by Sali. He has a production company called Carnival Beats. He did “Still Tippin.” He did “Back End” for Mike Jones. He did my next single. I also got production by the Grid Iron. They did most of the production on my previous albums. It’s going down Atlantic Records/Asylum/Swisha House. We all three teaming up, three different machines pushing it out there making it happen and trying to promote the album.

But this is really like your fifth album?

Yeah, the first album I dropped was called Get Your Mind Correct. The second one was called The Chick Magnet. Then I dropped one called How To Be A Player. Then most recently was one called Controversy Sells. But this one, The People’s Champ is going to be my major label debut. The transition from being independent to being major has been a big step being that when we’re independent, we’re taking care of everything ourselves. And on major labels other people take care of those things for you. In a sense, it leaves me more room to be me, where independent I’m doing most of the business myself.

Do you enjoy being an artist full-time?

Not really. I don’t like being an artist. A lot of people don’t respect you as an artist but a lot of that is because of the artists who’ve been assholes in the past. They don’t do things on time, don’t do what they need to do by deadlines, so there is a lesser level of respect if you’re an artist. They put you on a celebrity pedestal, but at the same time, they don’t respect your mind in terms of business. I look at it all like it’s a business. I don’t look at it like I’m a celebrity and an artist. I take care of my business and do my job. The fame is bullshit. It is a headache. It’s cool that people come up and ask for your autograph, but if you in a rush at the airport to make your flight and you got 20 people following you trying to get your autograph and take a picture, they don’t understand if you trying to make a flight to be on 106th & Park and you miss the flight you gonna miss 106th & Park. But they don’t care about that. I don’t like being an artist. I like the creative side of it and making good music, but all the other bullshit that comes along with it, that’s just an anchor that holds you down.

It seems like nowadays artists have to be businessmen too?

Yeah and no. It depends on the person and the situation. Being that we’ve been hustling for so long and been hard, diligent workers for so long, it allowed people to want to work with us. Cause they see that they’re not working for us, they’re working with us. I hear stories of other artists who didn’t want to work, who just want to go home and get high all the time. This is what we’re working for. I’m ready to do whatever I got to do to get this money and be successful with it.

How’d you hook up the collaborations on your album?

Bun B, I’ve done a lot of projects with Bun B. I hope to put him on every project I ever do. He’s a hero to me, him and Pimp C. They icons and legends in Texas and in the South. They innovators and pioneers for Southern music, for gangsta music and for Texas music. Not to mention, they were some of the first Texas artists to put out albums and they still getting better with time and being consistent with their music and they still relevant to hip-hop today. I’ve always been a fan of Lil Wayne and B.G. Lil Wayne was going to the University of Houston and I knew one of his boys and I hooked up his grill for him. I have a studio and I offered him access and he told me one of the problems he was having is that the engineers’ aunts and sisters and everybody wants to take pictures so there’s no freedom for him to do his work. Our studio is more exclusive. When you working, you working. We give the artists the respect and privacy that they want. He used the studio and from there he got on my album. And the same with B.G. I have been a fan of the Hot Boys for so long. So to get B.G. and Lil Wayne on there was great. Freeway is one of my favorite rappers. Freeway and Cam’ron. I got Cam’ron on some future projects. I like the way they rap because they rap about hustling, but not from a rapper’s aspect, they rap about it from a hustler’s viewpoint. They styles is so different from the type of style I do. It’s different shit that you wouldn’t expect. the Grit Boys, we got a crew in Texas called the 713. It’s like a movement. With myself, the Grit Boys (Ghetto Reality In Texas), also the production team the Grid Iron, and my boy Young Red and Tre. We coming together and making music together and forming a united movement for Houston. Toward the end of the recording of the album, that’s when we saw the success of “Still Tippin,” so opportunities for me to work with more major producers. It’s good to have major features and production on the album because it draws the spotlight to you but with me, I didn’t want the spotlight to be on who I had on the album and what production I had. I wanted it to be more of what can I bring to the table. I got a beat from KLC from the Medicine Men, Juicy J and DJ Paul from Three 6 Mafia and Sanchez (T.I.).

The independent hip-hop scene is big in Houston.
It’s always been huge in Houston. The radio stations play a lot of local music. At the same time, there are a lot of rappers and every rapper doesn’t have a song on the radio. I think since we’re so far from New York, the media didn’t know about us for a long time. And since we’re so far from Hollywood, that side didn’t know about us. The rest of the country had their respective movements, Miami, Atlanta, St. Louis. Everyone has their respective style and brand. Houston is at the bottom of the map in the middle. We got the short end of the stick for a long time in terms of props and credit go. The mixtapes we do, the DJ Screw tapes he created a whole new art form, a whole new branch of the hip-hop tree. It created a whole genre of music that we live that reflects our culture that the rest of the world is completely oblivious to. But it’s so huge in Houston. Screw music is Texas. It is the Houston culture. The number of mixtapes that we sell and the number of people that listen to our mixtapes by far outnumbers the DJs in New York, L.A., Florida and Atlanta. We’re doing the same thing in Houston but we not getting the notoriety for it. It’s no hard feelings. It’s just the way it is. When I saw that, I said we ain’t too far off. It’s real hard to step above the rest in New York. When I compare the New York to Houston in terms of productivity and sales, we ain’t too far off. We really are doing our thing. It’s all timing. The Geto Boys, Rap-A-Lot and J. Prince set the foundation 20 years ago. If UGK was from any East Coast city or West Coast city, they’d have won Grammys. Being they from the bottom, people don’t have the slightest clue.

Talk about your grill shop.
I started doing gold teeth in ’98. A guy named Crime, he moved to Houston from NY. He has a couple of gold teeth shops. I wanted a grill but it was too expensive. I told him I would get him a whole bunch of business and all I ask for in return is to get the wholesale on the teeth. He did it, and all the business I brought him was overwhelming so he asked me to open up a shop for him, and I did. But then my record started picking up so I closed the shop. He plugged me directly into the people who was doing the actual diamond work, Johnny. Now we got a shop called TV Jewelry (832-661-5664) in Sharkstown Mall.

Has being White been an issue for you?

I was rapping before Eminem came to the spotlight. At that time the only rappers were Vanilla Ice and MC Serch. At the beginning, there was a lot of, you White. Me being White overshadowed my lyrics and style and the way I rapped. So I took a step back and avoided the whole White thing. It was more important for me to be White than for me to be a good rapper. As time went on, the spotlight drew to me because I was White. From there it’s up to me. I have to step up to the plate and either I’m going to hit a home run or strike out. When I got down with Michael Watts and Swisha House and they hear me on the tapes, they don’t know I’m White, especially on the slowed down tapes. As time went on, I got on my first Swisha House tape in ’99, some people just figuring out now I’m White. I don’t put it out there that I’m a White rapper. I’m a rapper who is White. Eminem came to the spotlight and broke down a lot of barriers for other rappers that are White. He earned respect. He kept it real. He made people say that’s cool, you being you. He didn’t give a fuck. And his success. The labels started looking for other White rappers. They got Bubba Sparxxx. Then Haystack. Then Lil Wyte. People started comparing me to all those. My style is nowhere near their styles. My style ain’t like any other rapper, no matter what they are. My style is Paul Wall. I represent the Texas culture and the culture that I grew up in.

Do you still have beef with Chamillionaire?

Nah, he’s just someone in the past. That’s like asking me about my kindergarten teacher. He tried to make a big deal of it. I’m on 106th & Park and he’s not, sheee. He’s just somebody in the past, that’s all.

Tribute to the King DJ Screw - Damage Control - July 21, 2005

July 21, 2005 Damage Control Radio hosted Their 5th tribute to DJ Screw. They do it twice every year, in July and November, the anniversaries of his birth and his death, and on the 21st they had a gang of people in the house adding a lot of insight to what made Houston what it is today.

Screw is what made Houston what it is today.

"I'm not trying to take anything from anyone else, we all know Rap-A-Lot started this and they started their own revolution and get respect for that" said one person. "But fact is, no one has had as strong an impact on rap as DJ Screw did. At least not since Kool Herc and Bambatta. No DJ In the world has started a movement like DJ Screw" said another person. You can dispute that if you want. You can have other favorite DJ's, but unless you were here when Screw was in his prime, you never saw a DJ spark a revolution and genuinely touch people like Screw did. So Click on the link below to listen to this show or go to houston.blogspot.com to download the show and learn something...


And look, don't miss out on the annual Screwed Up Records and Tapes Tribute to Screw Block Party going down Saturday July 23rd from like 5 p.m. on. It's the livest party of the year and one of the few things you should always make sure to come out to. It's the best event in Houston, every year for real.

Mike Jones, Paul Wall, Slim Thug Talk H-Town
By Houston Williams
Date: 7/22/2005 10:50 am



With Mike Jones certified platinum, Slim Thug No. 1 on Billboard’s rap charts and Paul Wall on deck, Houston, Texas is experiencing its biggest resurgence in recent history.

However, the trio is keeping their success in perspective.

Paul Wall humbly told AllHipHop.com, “We just following suit, because the Geto Boys been putting it down with Rap-A-Lot, UGK of course. Other places been doing it…we just following suit to represent for real.”

With The People’s Champ coming September 13, Paul Wall recently joined Reebok apparel company in its print ad campaign.

And although Slim Thug sold major units on the independent circuit, his major label debut was bootlegged forcing Geffen to push his date back.

The rapper, who stands 6’6,” merely adjusted to the streets.

“Already Platinum had gotten out on bootleg and we didn’t want to give the people the same record [that was in the streets],” Slim Thug said. “We went and redid the whole thing over so it’s a whole new album.”

Slim’s album was the largest debut this week on the Billboard 200, selling more than 129,000 copies and debuted No.2.

On the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, Already Platinum emerged in the No. 1 spot.

Mike Jones’ Who is Mike Jones? pushes a steady amount of units and is already platinum.

“I’m just trying to make it. I’m the motivator, I motivate people. I got my own label, Ice Age Entertainment,” Jones said. “I’m ready.”

“People are showing (Houston) a lot of love and embracing us,” Paul Wall concluded.

Thug Ready for Platinum
Rapper from Houston underground anticipated his huge debut

Slim Thug's solo debut, Already Platinum, was named for the lifestyle the Houston rapper cultivated before even signing a record deal. "I rode around in a Phantom before my album came out," says Slim. "It ain't got nothing to do with sales. I'm already living like I'm platinum."
He's off to a good start, as last week Platinum became the Number Two album in the country. "It's just the loyalty of my fans that I have been having before this shit," Slim says, with a nod to his indie albums with Boyz-N-Blue and DJ Ideal.

Born Stayve Thomas, the artist started polishing his skills in 1998 when he met DJ Michael "5000" Watts, who helped introduce fellow Houston hip-hop breakout Mike Jones. "I started with Swishahouse -- it wasn't even a label back then. DJ Michael Watts used to just do tapes," Slim says of his experience in the Southern underground. "We met at a party, he heard me freestyle. He was like, 'Hey, man, how about you come over to my house and we do some shit?'" By 1999, Slim had created the freestyle "Still Tippin'" -- "tippin'" being local slang for cruising -- that went on to become a hit for Jones, featuring Slim.

After years of mixtape success and nearly two years with Swishahouse, Slim was inspired to form his own label and crew, the Boss Hogg Outlaws. He signed to Geffen Interscope and teamed up with the Neptunes. "Jimmy Iovine gave Pharrell a list of people who he might work with, and he picks Snoop and me," Slim explains. "So we go in the studio for a week, and we grind it out."

Slim recognized the need for an established producer to attract the fan base he lacked. "I'm like, 'How the fuck am I gonna get all these people around the world ill when I'm underground?'" Slim recalls. "I felt like Pharrell would help me cross over, 'cause I wasn't really that type of artist."

At this point, with his debut in stores and making his name known, Slim is more than ready for fame to catch up to him. "I used to be able to be in Texas and shoot out to L.A. and Vegas to walk out and chill and do the normal shit," he says. "Now the shit different everywhere I go -- motherfuckers know me. Now I get that love everywhere."



SULAIMAN FOLARIN
(Posted Jul 26, 2005)

The new Charger's popularity with the hip-hop world stems from its in-your-face design and ability to accommodate extra accessories.



Hip-hop artists ramp up Charger

Rappers boost the Chrysler sedan's street cred by featuring the muscle car in videos.

By Brett Clanton / The Detroit News


Warner Bros. Music

Houston rapper Mike Jones showed off his new Chrysler Charger on the MTV series "Cribs."


Forget Bo and Luke Duke, the new Dodge Charger is winning over the likes of Twista and the Ying Yang Twins.

DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group has agreed to allow several hip-hop artists to feature the Charger sedan in music videos and other promotions in a move that could help expand its reach with the MTV Generation and give a key new model a push out of the gate.

Dodge has received requests from a range of hip-hop musicians, including reggae-style rapper Sean Paul, who dropped a Charger in a video for his new single "We Be Burnin," and party-rap duo the Ying Yang Twins, who use the muscle car in a TV commercial to promote their new album "USA (United States of Atlanta)."

The requests are the latest sign of the rap world's fondness for new Chrysler vehicles such as the Chrysler 300 sedan and Dodge Magnum wagon, whose in-your-face designs have offered an ideal palette for the oversized wheels, special front grilles and other accessories that have become the calling cards of the hip-hop crowd.

While Chrysler says it has not chased after the deals, it welcomes the opportunity to broaden the appeal of its brands.

"We certainly aren't going to try to stop this from happening," said Julie Roehm, Chrysler's director of marketing communications.

The Charger received an early blessing from one of hip-hop's biggest names, 50 Cent, who after seeing the beefy sedan debut at the Detroit auto show requested the first production model. In a January phone message to the publisher of auto-customizing magazine Dub, the chart-topping rapper asked, "What I gotta' do to get that Dodge Charger first? I need that."

50 Cent got his wish. This spring, he became the first customer to take delivery of a 2006 Charger.

And a wave of interest from other rappers followed.

The new Charger filled a vacuum left by big sport sedans like the 1996 Chevrolet Impala, which could accommodate 22-inch wheels and offered ample room for accessories, said Myles Kovacs, president and co-founder of Dub.

"By hitting that market, it gives the Charger instant credibility with the street," he said.

Hip-hop heavyweight Twista and rising Houston rapper Mike Jones have shown off their new Chargers on the MTV series "Cribs."

Jones will also grace the cover of Dub in August with his decked-out black Charger to promote his debut album, "Who is Mike Jones?"

In addition, two other hip-hop artists are in talks to use footage of a Charger in their music videos. And the car has popped up in a number of other rap videos without formal permission from the automaker.

The new rear-drive sedan is a four-door update of the classic fastback that was born in the early 1960s and was later known for as the Luke boys' creek-jumping General Lee on TV's "The Dukes of Hazzard."

The 2006 model, which rides on the same underbody as the 300 and Magnum, went on sale this spring. Through June, sales were 6,195, according to Autodata Corp. But Chrysler says it's still ramping up inventories.

The automaker is wise to accept offers from hip-hop artists to feature the Charger in promotions, even if the hardscrabble image of many rappers is out of step with Chrysler's typically conservative marketing approach, said Michael Tchong, an analyst at Ubercool LLC in San Francisco.

"My sense is that any type of exposure that is almost an implicit endorsement by an artist is going to help propel a brand."

He said Busta Rhymes' hit single "Pass the Courvoisier" almost single-handedly led to a 20 percent boost in sales of one of the brand's cognac lines two years ago.

Chrysler has already benefited from the interest of A-list rapper Snoop Dogg, who last year phoned Chrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche to ask how to get his own 300 sedan.

But there may be a greater opportunity to reach out to younger buyers through the Dodge brand, whose average buyer is just younger than those of the Chrysler brand. The average Dodge buyer is 45 years old, just slightly under the median age of 46 for all U.S. car buyers, according to J.D. Power and Associates.

Though the Charger is being heavily promoted to the NASCAR crowd, the interest from the hip-hop world could also give it crossover appeal among different demographic and racial groups.

But it's unlikely to score with hip-hop's trendsetters the same way the Chrysler 300C did last year, Kovacs said.

"I don't think it as obvious as the 300C. It's going to a different market. It's less luxury and more muscle."

Click on Photos tab to see the car..

Kelly Outslugs Thug, Bow Wow
by David Jenison
Jul 20, 2005, 1:15 PM PT
back to story

It was a slim victory for R. Kelly--or, more precisely, a victory over Slim.

The R&B star extended his chart reign a second week by holding off new debuts by rappers Slim Thug and Bow Wow.

Although Kelly's hit "Trapped in the Closet" remains hot at radio and on video, the singer's TP.3 Reloaded suffered a considerable drop, falling from a 491,000-copy first week to 139,000, but still had enough juice to remain number one.

Slim Thug's rookie release, Already Platinum, was the biggest debut on the Billboard 200, selling more than 129,000 copies to open at number two, according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers Wednesday. Slim, who joins Mike Jones and Paul Wall in the bid to make Houston the next Atlanta, first shot to prominence with a guest rap on Jones' "Still Trippin'" and is currently getting big airplay with his new track "I Ain't Heard of That."

Following close behind was the Lil'-less Bow Wow. The now 18-year-old rapper opened at number three, with Wanted selling nearly 120,000. Indeed, it's a big year for him: He will headline this summer's Scream IV tour and also has the lead role in the Fox Searchlight film Roll Bounce opening in September.

The third and final Top 10 bow came from the All-American Rejects at six. The Oklahoma-based group, best known for the hit "Swing, Swing," sold 90,000 of Move Along, which features the new single, "Dirty Little Secret."

Legendary singer-songwriter Carole King opened surprisingly well with her live double-disc set The Living Room Tour, selling 44,000 copies at 17. The collection has been heavily marketed in TV adds and through Starbucks.

The Diplomats and DukeDaGod's new joint, Dipset: More Than Music, Vol. 1, followed at 22 with 38,000. The rap-led Hustle & Flow soundtrack--featuring Mike Jones, Boyz N Da Hood and TI--dropped in at 31 with 29,000.

Other noteworthy debuts include Willie Nelson's Countryman at 46, Fatty Koo's House of Fatty Koo at 64, Zucchero's Zucchero & Co. at 85 and Son Volt's Okemah and the Melody of Riot at 89, Black Dahlia Murder's Miasma at 118. With the film itself topping the box office, the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory soundtrack unwrapped itself at 143.

Finally, Brad Paisley's Mud on the Tires celebrated its two-year anniversary on the charts this week at number 171. To put this feat in perspective, the day Mud on the Tires made its debut at number eight, the Bad Boys II soundtrack ruled the charts.

Here's a rundown of the Top 10 albums, according to Nielsen SoundScan:

1. TP.3 Reloaded, R. Kelly
2. Already Platinum, Slim Thug
3. Wanted, Bow Wow
4. X&Y, Coldplay
5. The Emancipation of Mimi, Mariah Carey
6. Move Along, The All-American Rejects
7. The Cookbook, Missy Elliott
8. Monkey Business, Black Eyed Peas
9. USA (United State of Atlanta), Ying Yang Twins
10. Somewhere Down in Texas, George Strait

Slim Thug takes his rap nationwide
Texas rapper gets helps from Lil Jon, Ludacris on ‘Already Platinum’

The Associated Press
Updated: 3:13 p.m. ET July 11, 2005


CYPRESS, Texas - Slim Thug is a Goliath on the Houston rap scene, and it has nothing to do with his 6-foot-6, 265-pound frame.

The skyscraping rapper, who's sold enough records independently to earn regional renown, a huge suburban home and a fleet of luxury cars, now has his eye on conquering the rest of the country with his major-label debut, "Already Platinum," which comes out Tuesday.

The album combines his boastful rhymes and smooth baritone with slick production from The Neptunes and a cadre of big-name guest stars, including Lil Jon and Ludacris.

"I think I covered the whole thing with satisfying the Texas people and other people," he said during an interview in his 6,000-square-foot house. "If a person ain't really into the straight up Texas slowed-down type of music, I got other type of music on there too that I'm sure can reach them."

Slim, whose real name is Stayve Thomas, said he gained the first part of his rap moniker because he was beanpole skinny as a teenager. He added "thug" to it, he said, because of his braids and gold teeth.

A testament to success
The title of his album might seem arrogant, but Slim insists that it's simply a testament to his independent success. Major labels have been wooing him since 2001, but selling records through his own Boss Hogg Outlawz label was so lucrative that he had no use for a deal, Slim said.

"The money they was offering us, it wasn't adding up to what we was making independent," he said, adding that he has sold more than 300,000 copies of his three album releases and numerous mixtapes — and makes $8 per album sold.

"It's like we got a big state right here and we got Louisiana too," Slim said. "That's a lot of people. That's a lot of different retail stores and you can make a lot of money off of that alone."

The fruits of that labor are evident throughout his spacious home, which overlooks a man-made lake and includes an outdoor kitchen, a theater room and a recording studio.

The garage houses his Rolls-Royce Phantom, BMW 760Li and personalized Chopper motorcycle. Seven other cars dot the driveway, but he can't drive any of them.

"I have too many speeding tickets, man, too many," he said. "They suspended me (his license) indefinitely. So I'm in trouble."

For now, one of his brothers acts as his chauffeur.


Slim and his six siblings moved from apartment to apartment while being raised by a single mother, Mary Thomas. She struggled to support the family as a cashier at gas stations and grocery stores.

Slim developed his love of music in those years. At age 10 he memorized and often recited a rap about bicycles and toys that his brother wrote for him, and later spent countless hours freestyling on a small karaoke machine.

"He used to try and rap when he was little and I used to tease him about that all the time," said his older brother, Raymond "Ray-Face" Thomas.

Slim got his professional start by rapping on Swishahouse Records mixtapes, but outgrew the label after a couple of years and decided to start his own company.

He called his label Boss Hogg Outlawz after a second nickname he picked up when he drove a convertible Cadillac similar to that of Boss Hogg on the old "Dukes of Hazzard" television show.

When he realized that many top producers wouldn't work with him because he wasn't with a major label, he signed with Geffen Records last year. Pharrell Williams, half of hip hop's super-producer duo The Neptunes, chose to work with Slim through Geffen's Star Trak label.

Slim said he tries to refrain from negativity in his raps and that fans often say they like him because "I don't let my imagination run wild when I rap."

"I'm about getting money," he said. "I'm a hustler rapper, like a motivational rapper who talks about getting money and doing things."

Rap and real estate
Rap is not his only means of income. The 24-year-old owns two record stores and buys and sells real estate.

His mother said she doesn't like rap (even her son's) and she listens strictly to country music because "that's the only thing I can understand."

But she's clearly proud of her youngest child's accomplishments — beaming when he enters the room and fawning over him.

"He acts like he's bad," his mother said. "But he's really just a pussycat."

Slim is laid-back as he sits at his glass kitchen table and slowly thumbs through a magazine featuring wheel rims that cost more than most small cars. He's rarely excited, save for a brief rise in his voice when he stops in midsentence to point to himself being interviewed on MTV to his mother.

"There I go right there," he said, pointing a heavily tattooed arm toward a flat-screen television, and breaking into a huge smile that reveals his sparkling platinum teeth while "You see me on TV?"

Slim feels lucky to be part of the Houston rap movement at a time when people around the country are finally starting to take notice.

"It's a good look," he said. "They really opening their ears to what we doing down here in Houston. We got a good opportunity down here right now. And I'm gonna take it."

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
© 2005 MSNBC.com

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8544113/page/2

July 6, 2005, 9:38PM



Slim Thug's platinum prophecy
By MICHAEL D. CLARK
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

Rapper Slim Thug prefers a quieter life than some of his peers who flash their pricey possessions on MTV's Cribs. But the lanky 6-foot-6 rapper is still living plenty large.
Johnny Hanson : For the Chronicle
Slim Thug recorded his major label debut, Already Platinum, at his home studio, northwest of Houston.

"I don't want MTV Cribs coming in here. I want this place all to myself," Slim says from the quiet confines of his home northwest of his native Houston. "It's not easy for me to hide out. When I lived downtown, people would be waiting outside my house for autographs and stuff.

"Out here there's none of that. It's peaceful."

In a rural neighborhood lined with foliage, acres of open space and horses, Slim Thug has found a comfortable place to live his hip-hop lifestyle — with a mansion, a black BMW, a sea-blue bike customized by Orange County Choppers and the most striking vehicle in his fleet, a $460,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom — on his own terms. Likewise, Slim's relationship (his girlfriend is former Destiny's Child singer Latoya Luckett) is without any celebrity buzz. It seems to be the way he likes things.

Even in his own home, it's not easy to find Slim Thug. After all, he lives in a monstrous 7,900 square-foot estate. He could be up in a rec room outfitted with blue-felt pool table and conjoined recliners facing the wall-mounted movie screen. Perhaps he's in his office with furnishings carved out of dark wood or his Asian-themed bedroom highlighted by a walk-in closet with more pairs of white sneakers than you'd find at a Foot Locker.

But more than likely Slim is upstairs in the makeshift recording studio, another walk-in closet. This one is lined with black sound-proofing material with a microphone at its center. It's where a large portion of Slim's solo debut, Already Platinum, was recorded.

"This is where it all happens," says Slim pointing to the computer and components where his beats can be tweaked and manipulated. Just how much of a homebody is he? Well, he used the rock-inlayed pool with three fountains in his back yard as the backdrop for the video for his first single I Ain't Heard of That.
Johnny Hanson : For the Chronicle
Slim Thug relaxes in his $460,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Keep in mind Already Platinum is Slim Thug's debut album. And it doesn't even go on sale until Tuesday.

Should he sell a million copies, he might really start living well. And reaching that kind of sales figure might not take long.

Based on the underground success of local peer and Swisha House labelmate Mike Jones — whose spring release Who Is Mike Jones? has been certified platinum (sales of 1 million) — it's a good bet that Slim's album title could be a reality before the end of summer. Those two artists along with pal Paul Wall (whose The People's Champ is due in August), have helped established Houston's most viable rap scene to date.

Of the three, early betting lines would have pegged Slim's album as the release with the most potential for national success. Super producer Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes recorded the set, and it also features guest rhymes by Pharrell as well Bun B. from Houston rap forefathers UGK and some other up-and-coming local word slingers.

"I definitely think this is the time. Mike Jones just came out and he's platinum. Paul Wall's got strength behind him. Now I drop mine and that should hold it down for a minute," Slim says.

Mississippi rapper David Banner is convinced that Houston's hip-hop scene isn't a passing fad.

"Texas is such a powerful state," he says. "A record can basically go gold (500,000 copies sold) just in Texas. It's Houston's time, and Houston deserves it."

Fans of the deep-baritone drawl of Miami rapper Trick Daddy and the quick rhyme schemes of Bun B. should be seduced by Already Platinum's thick beats, grunts and hooks.
Johnny Hanson : For the Chronicle
Slim Thug listens to his album in his recreation room.

Slim and Pharrell have dotted the set with memorable hooks and choruses like those on Everybody Loves a Pimp and Click Clack. It's a listener-friendly sound that, like Eminem's best tracks, will have casual hip-hop fans humming along oblivious to some raw lyrics about the street lifestyle.

Of course Already Platinum couldn't be from Houston without some signature "chopped and screwed" cuts, the style of slowed-down, fuzzy version of songs originated by the late DJ Screw. Diamonds is a rare track that is featured only in a "screwed" version on the album. Others like 3 Kings, Like a Boss and I Ain't Heard of That have been chopped for a limited edition bonus disc packaged with Already Platinum.

Slim's excitement about the release of Already Platinum is tempered by relief that it will finally be in record stores. It was originally set for a December 2004 release, but leaked tracks and piracy forced a massive reworking of the album. Slim says only four tracks (Like A Boss, 3 Kings, I Ain't Heard of That and Incredible Feelin') survived from the original recording.

He admits that the extra time could have been a blessing in disguise. Hype and the maturation of Houston rap scene has Slim in talks about joining Eminem on the Anger Management Tour or going on the road with Jones and Wall. Both ideas are still in negotiation stage.

"I definitely like (the album) better now," says Slim. "It allowed us to make it more gangsta."

michael.d.clark@chron.com

Texan Paul Wall shines in sea of rappers

07/02/2005

By KRISTIE RIEKEN / Associated Press


Twenty-five grand worth of diamonds and platinum sit in Paul Wall's mouth, and syrupy Texas slang drips out of it.

While he prepares for the summer release of his major label debut, "The People's Champ," and basks in the spotlight of his appearance on Mike Jones' hit ode to cruising, "Still Tippin'," the Houston rapper keeps busy by selling jewel-encrusted teeth to his celebrity friends.

And whatever he's doing, he wants people to know where he's from.

"A lot of me is just Texas, because I represent Texas to the fullest, of course," Wall told The Associated Press in a recent interview at his studio. "You hear that in my music and in my slang and the way I talk and the way I rap and the music I make."

The rapper, whose real last name is Slayton, relies on a dizzying array of local vernacular to describe everything from attractive females (honey dips) to rims (swangaz) and tires (vogues).

He's also on a crusade to sell the rap world on screw music — Houston's hypnotic, slowed-down style of rap.

"Screw is the backbone of Texas music," Wall said. "Screw music just represents everything that our culture is here in Texas. Everything isn't screwed down here, but the screw type of style kind of holds it all together."

Wall, 24, began doing street promotions for Houston DJ-turned-Swishahouse Records boss Michael "5000" Watts about 10 years ago and last year he officially joined the label, which is also home to Jones.

"He's a ferocious worker," Watts said. "I've seen him grow a whole lot over the past few years. He found his own identity and his stuff now has more of his personality."

Wall got involved in the business of making teeth a few years ago to supplement his income and help his burgeoning rap career. The creations are mouthpiece-like pieces that cover a row of teeth.

"Me doing the grills promoted the fact that I rapped," he said. "With celebrities and high-profile clients I saw it as a networking tool and it opened up a door for me to talk to a celebrity."

Through the store, TV Jewelry, where he teamed with jeweler Johnny Dang, he has helped ice the grills of celebrities like Kanye West, Nelly, Cam'ron, Lil' Wayne, Chingy, Brooke Valentine and Z-Ro. He made a $30,000 rose gold set for his buddy, platinum-selling rapper T.I.

It has worked into his plan to separate himself from the overabundance of wannabe rappers.

"I kind of always promoted myself as an entity," he said. "As just Paul Wall. As opposed to promoting myself as Paul Wall the rapper. I made people be interested in me. By that they wanted to know what I was about — the total package of everything."

Wall, who hosts a show on XM Satellite Radio, released a handful of regionally successful independent albums with fellow Houston rapper Chamillionaire before a bitter split. He went on to sell more than 70,000 copies of his 2004 solo release "The Chick Magnet."

His raps cleverly combine street bravado and boylike charm, an uncommon approach to the common themes of money, cars and women.

Watts calls his sound "southern and funky," and Wall said it's all about the slow, laid-back vibe of Houston.

His album, scheduled to be released by Atlantic Records this summer, will have appearances by Lil' Wayne, B.G., T.I. and Freeway. A screwed and chopped version will also be released. The first single, "Sittin' Sideways," is getting some broadcast radio play and is in heavy rotation on satellite radio.

Upbeat and friendly, Wall has a contagious smile — even without the 20 carats of princess-cut diamonds it houses.

He loves to brag about his gaudy grill, making frequent references to it in his songs.

"Say cheese and show my fronts, it's mo' carats than Bugs Bunny's lunch," he growls in "Sittin' Sideways." On another song he boasts, "I'm a walking nightclub, cause there's a disco ball in my mouth."

As a white kid growing up in suburban Houston, Wall never thought he'd make it as a rapper. And he never dreamed he'd cause a scene like the one that unfolded at a recent video shoot for "Sittin' Sideways."

A parade of candy-colored cars with dazzling rims, led by a bright purple station wagon with longhorns on the hood, snaked down a Houston street. Hydraulics helped the station wagon bounce past hundreds of people lined up five to 10 deep hoping to be included in the video. Posters emblazoned with Wall's face covered nearby light posts.

"I always thought the reality of it is, I'm not going to be famous, more than likely," he said. "I'm not going to be rich. I'm not going be able to make money off this. So, one, what can I do if it doesn't work? Two, what can I do to try to better my odds?"

So Wall, who graduated from high school a year early, enrolled at the University of Houston to study mass communications. He dropped out three years later when his music career began to take off.

Life wasn't always so good for Wall, who said his father's heroin addiction left his family broke. His mother, who he says imbued his work ethic, remarried when he was about 10 and things improved from there.

"My mom always trained me to work and work hard," he said. "She instilled in me that if I don't work, I don't get paid. Nobody is going to give me anything. So it's up to me to get wherever I want to get."

And right now he's exactly where he wants to be.

"I'm floating on Cloud Nine right now," he said. "I'm just loving it. I'm eating it all up."

_____

On the net: Paul Wall, www.djpaulwall.com

Atlantic Records, www.atlanticrecords.com

Swisha House Records, www.swishahouse.com

Platinum Rapper Mike Jones Concert Taped Without Permission.

For_Immediate_Release:

Fort Myers, FL(PRLeap)July 01, 2005 — A Music Director and an employee of 105.5 The Beat Jamz, A Southwest Florida Clear Channel Radio Station, allegedly authorized an unauthorized taping of a concert event featuring Platinum Rap Star Mike Jones, hip-hop and rap artists The YoungBloodz, Cuban Link, Tone Loc and many others.

According to inside sources, they invited and verbally authorized The Reality TV Show, "WinYourOwnTVshow.com Presents: The Cipher Show" to film the event. The Music Director for 105.5 The Beat Jamz was the person in charge of this concert event. After the concert was filmed and edited, 105.5 The Beat Jamz Management realized they did not have proper clearance from record labels, management or the artists, to tape the event. However, by the time this was realized it had already been broadcast on the internet. As a result, the entire taping of this event became a huge violation of copyright and trademark infringement.

Crowd participants were also filmed, without proper consent. The Cipher Show was caught in the middle of this situation when they were verbally assured all clearance had been taken care of in advance.

A 105.5 The Beat Jamz/Clear Channel Radio Manager and a Beat Jamz Employee are both on tape, hosting The Cipher Show during this event, and in some scenes, even holding the microphone, performing interviews and talking to the camera, while leading viewers through the Concert. Now Clear Channel is demanding possession of the tapes in question.

WinYourOwnTVshow.com Presents: The Cipher Show has recently indicated an edited segment of this concert was leaked online and viewed over 600 times, before they were aware it was not properly cleared. It is likely the video segment was downloaded.

An official statement posted on http://www.WinYourOwnTVshow.com, currently says, "We also maintain that we were given verbal permission to film, indicating the proper paperwork was signed in advance, and Co-hosting support by the authority in charge of the event, thus providing proof the infringement was not our fault. Unfortunately, for a short period of time a large amount of people were able to access and view a short edited version of this event on our website. If you have downloaded the aforementioned video footage in error, please delete it."

Jay Z Can’t Stop Rappin
Friday - July 1, 2005
A-Plus
Jay Z, or rather Sean Carter, just can’t seem to stay away from the microphone. It seems as though we’ve heard more from Hov since his announcement to retire than when he was the CEO of the R-O-C.

For the record, the God emcee never stated that he would put the mic down, just that he would never record another album. ”I never said I wasn’t making anymore music,” he told XXL magazine. “I should’ve shut up… me and my big mouth,” he says in reference to his retirement.

While not recording another album, The Def Jam president has been popping up quite a bit lately. There was “Dear Summer” on the latest Memphis Bleek disc, as well as guest spots on songs by Teairra Mari and Kanye West.

The latest collaboration to hit the streets finds Jay linking up with the latest dirty south sensation Mike “Who? Mike Jones” Jones for the remix of “Back Then.” There’s plenty of Sean Carter to go around, and the future may see him following in the footsteps of Too Short and Master P, and returning with a full length album.

“…Maybe one day if I’m on the corner and it’s calling me,” he says of another Jay Z album. “I don’t wanna just box myself in where I can’t make another album

Lil Jon, T.I., Paul Wall Bring The Dirty South To Sunset Strip
06.28.2005 6:48 PM EDT

'Hustle & Flow' release party features all-star Southern hip-hop lineup.
Juvenile at the "Hustle & Flow" Soundtrack Party
Photo: Annamaria DiSanto

WEST HOLLYWOOD, California — The movie "Hustle & Flow" may take place in Memphis, Tennessee, but its soundtrack is more like the United South of America.

Monday night, an all-star Dirty South crew tore up the stage at the

House of Blues on Sunset Strip to celebrate the release of the film's soundtrack. "Hustle & Flow" is the story of a pimp aspiring to become a rapper — but on this night, we got bona-fide stars.

The show started just after 10 p.m. with the evening's host, Fat Man Scoop (a New York DJ who's become the go-to party guy for the likes of Mariah and Missy), getting the crowd hyped with his trademark call-and-response before newcomers Boyz N Da Hood took the stage. After a brief two-song set, they passed the mic to Webbie, another new artist from the soundtrack, who brought out Houston OG Bun B and the self-proclaimed Baddest Bitch (a.k.a. Trina) for their track, which is called (not surprisingly) "Bad Bitch." Trina won loud applause from the men in the crowd, despite her odd, ice capades-esque outfit and the fact that she didn't do any of her hot solo tracks.

The crowd had been pretty chill up to that point — but soon they got chopped and screwed. Paul Wall served up "Sittin' Sidewayz," which he ended with a "Free Pimp C!" chant in honor of the incarcerated H-Town rapper. The champ then made room — lots of room — for Mike Jones and the six-and-a-half-foot-tall Slim Thug to jump off "Still Tippin'." Then Jones took the mic for "Back Then" — the L.A. crowd seemed to know every word, especially that phone number.

Scoop kept the crowd hype, but he didn't have to stretch for long: Five minutes later, it was time for some bayou music as New Orleans' own Juvenile took the stage with his UTP crew. He did his "Hustle & Flow" soundtrack song, "Booty Language," as well as his strip-club classics, "Back That Azz Up" and "Slow Motion." He wouldn't properly rep his section of the South without doing "Nolia Clap," but was clear to distance himself from his old Cash Money crew. "F--- Baby/ He don't pay" was repeated many times as Juvenile's new label heads, Warner Music's Lyor Cohen and Kevin Liles, looked on from the balcony.

Atlanta hit the stage at 11:30 as Lil Jon, Lil Scrappy and Trillville served up their hits "Neva Eva," "Some Cut" and "No Problem," where Scrappy literally had to be held back from getting dragged into the front row of girls. Jon slowed it down for his verse from "Lovers & Friends," but the King of Crunk had to bring it back up with Lil Scrappy on "What You Gon' Do." Then, for the Latinos in the house, Jon brought out reggaeton star Pitbull to do his latest hit, "Toma."

Sitting in the balcony watching the show were Talib Kweli and Fat Joe, and Joey Crack beckoned to the stage by the comparably sized Fat Man Scoop. Joe reluctantly obliged and did one verse of "Lean Back" for the hyped crowd. He then gave the mic to Trina to announce the night's headliner: She screamed, "Bring 'em out! Bring 'em out!" and T.I. emerged. Wearing his signature all-white gear, T.I. took this opportunity to showcase a lot of new material and feature his new group, P$C. They did the soundtrack cuts "Murder Game" and "I'm a King," which brought Lil Scrappy and Lil Jon back out onstage. He finally capped off the night with his back-to-back hits "Bring Em Out" and "You Don't Know Me."

If a Whitman's Sampler of the finest Southern hip-hop is your thing, then this was the Monday night to be out on the Strip.

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.



— Shari Scorca

Hot Off The Presses: Paul Wall....
By Jay Casteel
Tuesday - May 3, 2005

Paul Wall
Photo Credit: Atlantic

MTV is putting the spotlight on the next capital of the South -- Houston.

All this week, the network will be putting the spotlight on several rappers from the city that has got the industry's attention.

Monday night (May 2), Mike Jones gave some insight into his story and showing us why Houston is on fire right now. Later this week, Sway and the MTV News team will explain the Screwed & Chopped phenomenon; spend a day on the streets with Paul Wall; tell the story of underground kingz UGK; and finally showcase some of the artists next in line.

The show, which MTV calls "My Block: Houston," will debut Saturday (May 7) on MTV2. ...

VIBE Magazine: NEXT >> Paul Wall – Putting in Work


Paul Wall
The People's Champ in stores July 19th
The fluorescent floodlights illuminating MTV's TRL green room are like candles in the sun next to the $25,000 worth of princess-cut diamonds shining in Paul Wall's mouth. Fresh off performing at N.Y.C.'s Club Exit the previous night, he'll be stopping by BET later and then meeting with Warner Music Group CEO Lyor Cohen.

Ever since the influential, Texas-based rap powerhouse Swishahouse signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Asylum/Warner Music Group, life for the Houston rapper has been spinning out of control. "Ninety percent grind, 10 percent sleep. That's our motto," says the 25-yearold businessman born Paul Slayton. "I always knew that if I built my name up as an entity, that would be bigger than me just rappin'."

Wall got into the music game as a teenager on Houston's Northwest side doing street promotion for Cash Money, Def Jam, and No Limit. He studied mass communications at the University of Houston for three years, initially downplaying his MC aspirations. Wall nurtured relationships with Lil Jon and David Banner through his side hustle of making grills (gold and platinum teeth), and helped T.I. break into Texas by taking "24's" to all the DJs. "That's my partner," says the Rubber Band Man, whose latest album, Urban Legend, was screwed and chopped (the Texas technique of slowing beats and cutting vocals) by Wall. "He's got one of the illest work ethics I've ever seen."

Having built his buzz blazing mixtapes and dropping successful independent releases, Wall joined Swishahouse last year. His major label debut, The People's Champ, features Freeway, Lil Wayne, B.G., Bun B, and T.I. But Wall's hilarious similes and random references always seem to take center stage. Like label mate Mike Jones's smash, "Still Tippin'," Wall's first single, "Sittin' Sidewayz" — slang for leanin' back in the whip — will continue introducing Houston's unique vocabulary.

While momentarily pausing to exchange greetings with the lively VJ Amanda Diva, Wall appreciates how far he's come. "It's superlive being here, 'cause the impact that this has is huge," he says, his grill flashing. "And to hear people say good things about the music from Texas is all we've ever wanted." Considering he's in the house that made Justin and Britney stars, he can expect a lot more.

Online Exclusive: Is Houston Next?

No one can argue that Atlanta isn't the city holding it down righteously right now. Everyone coming out of Atlanta is making noise, and boasting about their accolades. In Atlanta alone you have the best R&B singer in Usher, the King of Crunk in Lil Jon, the Prince of the South in Lil Scrappy, the King of the South in T.I. and the princess in Ciara. Not to mention Ludacris who is making side deals like a bookie.

So it is safe to say that ATL has the key to success and has locked it. Or is it?

When your city has a devoted community and they feel differently than others in the country, that's when localized success is unparallel to national. Nelly did it in St. Louis and was then followed by Chingy and others, and Houston is about to do the aforementioned by bringing the meaning to the phrase "Houston we have a problem."

Hip hop and Houston automatically ring a bell to the name Scarface. Scarface and the Geto Boys have had their problems, but just recently dropped an album. The reunion was solely for the purpose of the dollar bill, as they all still can't seem to get along. Anyone in Houston though will tell you that Scarface opened all the doors for the city to get on the map.

Just like ATL is known for their crunk style, Houston is known for its laid back Screw style. A year or two ago, a person could hear a screwed and chopped style song and think that there was something wrong with their cd. In 2005 though, the style is quickly catching on nationally as more and more southern artists are dropping screwed and chopped albums.

The screw style is a true art form that was originated by Robert Davis Jr. (nee DJ Screw). He catapulted interest so quickly that he was able to form his own group in the Screwed Up Click. The last inductee of that click happened to be Lil Flip, when he was 19. When DJ Screw past away from a codeine overdose in 2000, Flip made it his own personal goal to Screw up the world.

In fact, you can't read an interview or hear a song by Lil Flip without him mentioning his mentor. He and many members of the Screwed Up Click know they would be nowhere if it weren't for him.

With that in mind, when Flip became the first to make it from local to national level it opened the eyes of a lot of other local artists. Still, most artists stayed underground and to their roots, because they were selling anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 albums locally.

More and more artists are thinking before signing the dotted line, and it shows the leadership of prior artists lending down helpful information. Labels finally started listening to Houston's underground niche, and 2005 will showcase that.

Slim Thug, Mike Jones, Chamillionare, Z-Ro, Paul Wall, Lil Flip, Killa Kyleon, and Yung Redd will all be dropping albums on major labels this year. Slim Thug has the most attention right now with a couple of videos in BET's rotation, including the hit, "Like A Boss."

Swishahouse has been wrecking shop in north Texas since Screw passed, and is led by DJ Michael Watts. Swishahouse signed a distribution deal with Warner Brothers, and will feature its main artists in Paul Wall and Mike Jones. Chamillionare who was featured on Lil Flip's Underground Legend, recently signed with Sony and his album will drop sometime during the summer along with Flip's. Better yet the Screwed Up Click has reunited and will drop, Making History on May 3rd.

The following these artists have in Houston is what is going to carry them to national success. There might not be another city that brings the true meaning to the term "grinding" than Houston.

BALLERSTATUS FEATURE STORY


Paul Wall: Got The Internet Going Nuts
By Mark Lelinwalla
Wednesday - June 8, 2005
Paul Wall
Photo Credit: Atlantic Records

Let's face the facts, when many hip-hop artists make it big, they get deeply-routed in a me, myself and I mindset -- to the point where they often forget to ask themselves what should be one important recurring question...what about the people?

While flashing high beams (via that fused icebox grill seen every time he cracks a smile), hip-hop's reigning charismatic world champion, Paul Wall, has not forgot the people. In fact, he embraces them.

"What it do it's Paul Wall/I'm the people's champ," the droll Wall proclaims on the smash record, "Still Tippin'," in what arguably was the most repeated hip-hop line of the year. Unfazed by recent fame and fortune, the affable Paul Wall is poised on always being that humble MC that delivers for the people.

Consequently, it was only right that BallerStatus.net had a chance to chop and screw up a conversation with the people's champ. We caught up with Paul Wall live and direct at the Atlantic Records offices in New York City. Here, we talk to Paul about everything from the history behind the Screw sound, its nationwide staying power and of course, his impending album, The People's Champ.

As you're about to find out, as off the wall (no pun intended) as the man can be, he's witty and has genuine love and loyalty for his regional sound, as well hip-hop as a whole. This, folks is going to have the Internet Going Nuts! BallerStatus-Paul Wall...straight icebox...say cheese and enjoy.


Ballerstatus.net: We're here with the people's champ, Paul Wall.

Paul Wall: Before we go anywhere I got to tell you that The People's Champ is coming August 5 for your listening pleasures.

Ballerstatus.net: Like "Still Tippin'," people are loving "Sittin' Sideways"...

Paul Wall: Aw man, yea, we pretty much took the same formula that we did for "Still Tippin'." Like with "Still Tippin'," we took an old freestyle that Slim Thug did back in '99, we made a chorus out of something he said and he pretty much came and laid his same verse, but just updated it. Like he shouted out new clubs, new cars, but it was pretty much the same formula for "Sittin' Sideways." We took an old freestyle that Big Pokey did on a DJ Screw tape, out June 27, which was by far the most popular Screw tape ever released. We took something he said and he blessed me with a verse.

Ballerstatus.net: That Screw sound is invading the entire country right now, and people that were previously clueless about it are fascinated. Obviously, DJ Screw founded it, but tell us about the history behind Screw music, the staple sound in Houston.

Paul Wall: Aw man, DJ Screw -- Robert Earl Davis, may he rest in peace -- created in back in the '80s; slowing sh-t down. The Screwed Up Clique came out '92, '93 and that was like when he formed a clique, where the rappers freestyle. That was a little different, but he's been doing the tapes since the '80s. It's just embedded in our culture in Texas; ya know, by slowing sh-t down. For a long time, it's been a big controversy, that if DJ Screw didn't do it, it ain't Screwed. It's still kind of controversial, but a lot of people eased up on it. One of the main reasons why we call it the Screw music is to honor his legacy and what he created. He created a whole branch of hip-hop.

Ballerstatus.net: That's his genre.

Paul Wall: Yea, a whole genre of music that's just different from the rest of the music across the world. It wouldn't be right to call it anything beside [Screw] because if we call it anything besides, it's going to neglect what he created. But at the same time just because you slow something down, DOES NOT MEAN IT'S SCREWED! You hear that!? Just because you slow something down, does not mean it's Screwed. A lot of DJs out there, across the country, across the world, a lot in Houston and the rest of Texas, that slow something down and think that sh-t is Screwed, but they need to stop it.

Ballerstatus.net: You set up a good segue for me. When you talk about slowing down a record and chopping and screwing it, can you tell everyone the main technical difference?

Paul Wall: Ok, when I hear a DJ Screw tape... because they say he made over a 1,000 of them and I personally have a 100 of them that I still have to this day and he was putting them out there, man. When he would make a mixtape, he would talk to the listeners through the sound. A lot of people in Houston would listen to Bone Thugs N' Harmony and they'd be rapping fast as hell and you wouldn't know what the hell they saying, but when you hear it on Screw's tape, it's like you can hear the sh-t; you can feel the music and understand what they're saying. It's a big misconception that you have to be high or you got to be drinked out on that syrup, to really be on that Screw music, and for a long time that was the case, but now it's like it's a form of music, so you don't have to be high or on that drink to enjoy this music. If you are high on that syrup, feeling good and you hear that music, that sh-t is just going to put you in a trance and you're going to hear and feel the music. But when DJ Screw would do it, he would talk to you through the music; he would bring parts of the song back and chop it up. When we say chop it up, it's when you get to the words, where the beat is repetitive and when he would do it, he would talk to the listeners through the song, so they could feel what the artist was saying. You'd hear sh-t in a song and you wouldn't even hear it, when you hear it on the radio.

In Texas, the Screw music is what the music is. We got the radio stations too, and the radio stations are doing their thing. Don't get me wrong, but I remember growing up man and you'd hear the music Screwed and then you'd hear it slowed down. Then I hear the music on the radio and I'm thinking, "Man, what's wrong with the music on the radio? Why are they playing it all fast?"

Ballerstatus.net: Ya'll were so used to the Screw sound.

Paul Wall: Yea. Whereas the same time, an out of towner or someone that doesn't know what's going on, comes and listens to Screw and says, "Why are they playing the music so slow?" But DJ Screw would talk to listeners and tell them stories through songs. He'd turn a three-minute song into a 15-minute song, and he'd just bring stuff back and talk to you through the music.

Ballerstatus.net: "Still Tippin'" is obviously a smash and so, a couple of months ago, how did you feel when the New York Times not only mentioned it, but did a whole piece about the Houston Screw sound movement? They put Mike Jones number in the Times! What do you think about that?

Paul Wall: That's ridiculous man. It's just great to be part of it. I got brought in as an artist into Swisha House and got put on "Still Tippin'." I'm happy to be part of it; for real.

It's just like a classic song that we got. The song now, is officially two-and-a-half years old, so being that the rest of the world is kind of now catching onto it -- and a lot of that is due to the fact that we signed a major deal; I'm with Atlantic and Mike Jones is with Warner Brothers, making it happen. We have a monster and a machine behind us promoting and pushing us to different areas, but we as independents have reached our peak. As independents, we have reached our peak and yea, we're going to sell 100,000 every time we drop, but it's going to be awfully hard for us to surpass that mark. Of course, we are trying to sell and move onto to platinum numbers. Hopefully we will; you never know, but we're going to do it baby.

Ballerstatus.net: How much on the street do you hear: "It's Paul Wall Baby and I'm the People's Champ" and "I got the Internet Going Nuts?"

Paul Wall: That's what it is. I hear it all the time. Every time I see somebody on the street, the first thing they say is, "I got the Internet going nuts!" I got three albums out already and we put over a 100 mixtapes out over the years, so it's like regionally and in the south -- the Texas and Louisiana area -- we've been doing it for a long time. Now it's getting to bigger numbers and reaching a mass audience. It's been great just being a part of it.

Ballerstatus.net: Alright man, we see the grill, we know you make them. So, a Lil Jon; how much would you charge him for a set?

Paul Wall: He just knocked out two of them and he dropped 50 stacks; that's $50,000 baby. My boy T.I. dropped 30 stacks and wasn't tripping at all. T.I. said, "Paul Wall, here's 30 stacks for one grill" and I said, "I'm going to make it happen for you."

Ballerstatus.net: Speaking about T.I., man how was it Chopping and Screwing that Urban Legend album?

Paul Wall: Man, it was an honor. I'm a big fan of T.I. and it's hard when you hear music and it's your friend and partner. It's like me being his homeboy and I'm like looking for the good, instead of bad, from a biased viewpoint.

But, when I hear T.I.'s Urban Legend and I hear someone say that they don't like the album or it's not good, in my mind, I'm like, "How can you possibly say that? This is one of the best albums to come out in a real long time." That was favorite album since '96, when UGK dropped Riding Dirty. It's a great album, from the concepts he has on songs to the way he delivers the songs, he talks about his demeanor and arrogance when he raps on the songs. He's definitely one of my favorite artists, but then too being his friend and homeboy, I'm proud of him because now he's at platinum status. That's something he was trying to get for a long time, when he dropped I'm Serious and Trap Muzik...I think Trap Muzik is just about to hit; it's at 950,000. It was a great album too, but for some reason it never reached its sales potential, but that Urban Legend followed suit; it came with it. I keep telling him that he needs to drop "ASAP" and "Motivation." There's so many songs on it that could be singles. Like when I DJ in the club, I play "Bring 'Em Out" and "You Don't Know Me," but when I play "Stand Up," "Motivation" or "ASAP," I could play them five in a row and the crowd is going to be crazy all the way through. It's just the level of content and ability, but T.I. man, I got two words, the sh-t! He's the sh-t.

Ballerstatus.net: How long have you been DJing?

Paul Wall: Since I was 14, 15. When I was 14, that's when my life changed because that's when I got really heavy into street promotions. I worked and did a lot of stuff for Def Jam and stuff for Cash Money, before they signed their major deal. But, doing the street promotion, a lot of that was me just learning and working the game because I was always taught and my mother always embedded in me, that if you work, you're going to get paid. If you don't work, you're not going to get paid and no one was going to give me sh-t. So I took that aspect and worked, worked, worked. I built up reputations with different store owners being that I was doing retail promotions and different DJs being that I would service them with records. When I brought them the new Jay-Z record, they remembered me like, "What's up." I built those relationships up. It's the same today, except if a record label wants something sent out, they do MP3, which kind of eliminates what I did back then, but you still need a retail promotions and of course, passing out flyers, which is the bottom of the barrel. I still took that job with pride, worked it to the best of my ability and it gave me respect within the industry to what I was doing: building up relationships and rapport with different record labels or producers.

Ballerstatus.net: Curious...how did you get that track done with Juelz Santana? It's a very interesting combination, The People's Champ and Santana.

Paul Wall: Yea, I did a new one with Juelz. I was in New York not too long ago and my boy Garnett does a lot of stuff with Juelz and me. Being a fan of Dipset -- Cam, Juelz and Jim Jones, as well as Freeway (that's one of the reasons I have Freeway on my album) -- I always felt like they were rapping about hustling, but everyone raps about hustling. I always felt they were rapping about hustling from a hustler's perspective, where most rappers rap about hustling from a rapper's perspective. I always was a fan of Dipset and Freeway, and in turn I got Freeway on my album. I was trying to make it happen; one of my boys made it happen for me and it was done. The thing with Juelz was we f--ked around like, we were in the studio and I was like, "Let's do something" and we did it. Same way, I did some stuff with J.R. Writer and the other night I did two songs with Jim Jones. It's going down man, for real.

Ballerstatus.net: If you can work with any artist, who would it be?

Paul Wall: If I could work with one person, it would be Fat Pat. When people say rest in peace to the rappers that died, they don't ever say Fat Pat and that's a monstrosity to hip-hop because he wasn't only a legend in Texas and to the Screw music, but he was jammin' like a muthaf--ka. People may be wondering, who is Fat Pat? Well, Fat Pat was one jammin' ass muthaf--ka from Texas that passed on. He's a real legend.

Ballerstatus.net: Who do you have featured on the album?

Paul Wall: I got T.I. of course, Lil' Wayne, B.G. and Freeway.

Ballerstatus.net: Did you keep your production for The People's Champ real Houston?

Paul Wall: Yea, I kept it real Texas-esque. The way we did it, we tried to build our own brand and style. That's the intent of the Swisha House. We're not just putting out an artist; we're putting out a style and an artist. We're keeping it Swisha House, but that's not to say we wouldn't want to work with other producers because of course we're fans of other producers and we would like to work with them. But, for right now, we need to establish ourselves in the industry for what we have to offer. I feel like too many times a record label signs an artist and the first thing a label does is they say, "Go get Lil Jon or Kanye to make a beat. Let's get a big name rapper." Nah, we want to build our own brand. Lil Jon and Kanye West's beats are jammin' like a muthaf--ka, but when [use their beats], you take away from the individual artists some times. Instead of seeing the artist, you see the beats. Sometimes those beats are jammin' so hard, they overshadow the actual artist.

Ballerstatus.net: Coming from Texas, what do you think about a legendary artist like Scarface?

Paul Wall: Oh, Scarface as well as Bun-B, UGK...they're real humble and they're my heroes. Bun-B is one of the most humble dudes ever. I've done like 15, 20 songs with him over the years, and it's an honor working with him and knowing him because I always looked up to [UGK] for what they represented and the style they portrayed through their music. They represented our culture: the Screw music, cars, syrup; [they reppe] to the fullest. I always admired them because they never tried to conform to what the rest of the country was doing. When you hear UGK, you're going to get UGK and nothing else.

Ballerstatus.net: The name of the album is called The People's Champ and in the Still Tippin video, you have the wrestling title slung over your shoulder. Are you a big wrestling fan, dog?

Paul Wall: (Laughs) Yea, yea, I have always been a wrestling fan baby. My boy had the belt and brought it to the video shoot. I told him, "Muthaf--ka I gotta use the belt," and he said, "Paul Wall, use the belt!"

Ballerstatus.net: Do you feel as though you're the reigning people's champ in hip-hop today?

Paul Wall: Well, my boy gave me that name, and when he gave me the name a lot of rappers were coming through Dallas that were real a--holes, arrogant and I was the exact opposite. I never tried to be famous, [but] I wouldn't mind being famous. Everyone says they're in it for the money and not the fame, but that's bullsh-t. Everyone wants the fame too. Of course, I'm trying to make money, but I'm me. What you see is what you get. I'm me. I'm a nice guy, but at the same time, I'm not the most gangster motherf--ker you'd meet. When you meet me, I'm not going to be talking sh-t to you. I'm going to be me. When you take on a name like that, you get flack. When Lil Flip took the "Freestyle King" name for the Screwed Up Clique, he got a lot of flack for it because people said he's a youngster, but that's the title he chose. Same thing with T.I.; that's the title he chose -- "King of The South." So, when I claimed the title "The People's Champ," I'm not in it for competition. I'm here to make money, be happy and be comfortable. I'm here to show the world the talents that God has blessed me with. I'm not here for competition. Other rappers or DJs could call themselves the people's champ. Go ahead! I got no problem with that because I'm not the only people's champ, I'm just me. I'm one of many people's champions, but I'm a champ.

Ballerstatus.net: How's your XM Radio show going?

Paul Wall: XM 66 Raw comes on Monday nights and Tuesday mornings and it's going down baby!

Ballerstatus.net: Last year the main style and sound to hit hip-hop was Crunk. This year it's Screw. What do you think the staying power will be of the Screw sound nationwide?

Paul Wall: A lot of people ask me that. I'm sure a lot of people ask Lil Jon the same about Crunk, but I feel as long as Lil Jon keeps making music that's jammin' like a muthaf--ka like it is, then that sh-t is not going anywhere. It's like any good music. People used to say that about hip-hop, questioning how long it was going to last, but motherf--kers stepped their game up, made good music and made a lot of money in the process. The sh-t ain't going any where; the same thing about Screw music. As long as we keep the lyrical and musical content up to par, then I don't think the sh-t is going anywhere. Further than that though, I don't think Screw is going any where because it's not bigger than our culture. Nationally, as a national trend, it may die, but regionally in the South and Texas, it's going to stay because it's been here; it's a part of us.

Ballerstatus.net: Here's your chance to have the Internet going nuts. Tell everyone why they should pick up the album.

Paul Wall: People should buy The People's Champ because it's jammin' like a muthaf--ka, for real. You're going to get the Texas sound, Screw sound, Freeway, Lil Wayne, B.G., T.I., Bun-B....hip-hop, at it's finest baby.

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Issue Date: May 7, 2005
#1
Mike Jones, Who Is Mike Jones?
Swishahouse/Asylum | 49340 | Warner Bros. | (18.98) 1

#2
Mariah Carey, The Emancipation Of Mimi
Island | 003943* | IDJMG | (13.98) 1

#3
Soundtrack, Three 6 Mafia Presents Choices II: The Setup
Hypnotize Minds/Columbia | 58884 | Sony Music | (21.98 CD/DVD) 3


#4
50 Cent, The Massacre 4 (million sold)
Shady/Aftermath | 004092* | Interscope | (13.98/8.98) 1

#5 Faith Evans, The First Lady
Capitol | 77297* | (18.98) 1

#6
Soundtrack, Tyler Perry's Diary Of A Mad Black Woman
Rowdy/Motown | 004615 | UMRG | (13.98) 6

#7
112, Pleasure & Pain
Def Soul | 004471* | IDJMG | (13.98) 2


#8 Beanie Sigel, The B. Coming
DDMG/Criminal Background | 003082* | IDJMG | (13.98/8.98) 1

#9 Ciara, Goodies 2(million sold)
Sho'nuff-MusicLine/LaFace | 62819* | Zomba | (18.98/12.98) 1

#10
John Legend, Get Lifted (1 million sold)
G.O.O.D./Columbia | 92776* | Sony Music | (18.98) 1

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Fantasia, Free Yourself (1million sold)
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#12 Lyfe Jennings, Lyfe 268-192
Columbia | 90946 | Sony Music | (12.98)