ozone mag florida classic 2011 special edition
DESCRIPTION
Ozone Mag Florida Classic 2011 special editionTRANSCRIPT
WELCOME TO FLORIDA
FLORIDACLASSIC 2011
**SpeCIAL eDItIOn**
GHOSt ent // BUDJ GReen // YOUnG CASHCHARLeS ReeD // J DASHKInG OF DIAMOnDSRALpHIGe & MORe
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TERRY ELLIOTT JR. >& YOUNG DUCE
WELCOME TO ORLANDO
GHOSTENT.FEATURING
FLORIDACLASSIC 2011
**SpECIAL EDITION**
YOUNG DUCE // BUD // KING OF DIAMONDSJ DASH // YOUNG CASH // CHARLES REEDRALpHIGE // DJ NASTY // MIKE BLESS & MORE
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SIDE A7 ORLANDO MAP8 CLUB LISTING9 EVENT LISTING10-11 PHOTO GALLERIES12-13 J GREEN14-15 KING OF DIAMONDS20 RALPHIGE22-23 BUD
16-19TERRY ELLIOTT JR.& YOUNG DUCE
SIDE b6-7 PHOTO GALLERIES8-9 J DASH10-11 YOUNG CASH12-13 CHARLES REED18-19 MIKE BLESS20 DJ NASTY
14-17GHOST ENT.
PUBLISHER:Julia Beverly
CONTRIBUTORS & CREW:Ashley SmithEric PerrinJason PottsMercedesMert DeezineRandy RoperTerrence Tyson
PROMOTIONS DIRECTOR:Malik Abdul
STREET TEAMS:Big Mouth MarketingDJ SlymLex PromotionsOn Point EntertainmentPoe BoyStrictly Streets
SUBSCRIPTIONS:To subscribe, send check or money order for $20 to:OZONE MagazineSubscriptions DeptPO Box 250009Atlanta, GA 30325Phone: 404-350-3887Fax: 404-601-9523Web: www.ozonemag.com
COVER CREDITS:Young Duce & Terry Elliott Jr. photos by Terrence Tyson; Ghost Ent. photos by Terrence Tyson.
DISCLAIMER:OZONE does not take responsi-bility for unsolicited materials, misinformation, typographi-cal errors, or misprints. The views contained herein do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher or its advertisers. Ads appearing in this magazine are not an endorsement or validation by OZONE Magazine for products or services offered. All photos and illustrations are copyrighted by their respective artists. All other content is copy-right 2010 OZONE Magazine, all rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in any way without the written consent of the pub-lisher. Printed in the USA.
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MAPORLANDO, FL
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ORLANDO CLUb LISTING11/12 nIGHtCLUB843 Lee RoadOrlando, FL 32810(407)[email protected]
CLUB 2323 W Church StOrlando, FL 32801(407)[email protected]
57 WeSt57 West Pine StOrlando, FL 32801(407)[email protected]
AntIGUA41 W Church StOrlando, FL 32801(407)[email protected]
BAR 11 South Orange AveOrlando, FL 32801www.facebook.com/barone.orlando
B.B. KInGS9101 International DrOrlando, FL 32819(407)[email protected]
tHe BeACHAM46 N. Orange AveOrlando, FL 32801(407)[email protected]
BLISS ULtRA LOUnGe123 West Church StreetOrlando, FL 32801(407)[email protected]
BOSS39 W. Pine StOrlando, FL 32801(407)[email protected]
CLeO’S GentLeMen’S CLUB1310 S Orange Blos-som TrlOrlando, FL 32805(407)839-8559
CLUB StAtUS912 West Colonial DriveOrlando, FL 32804(407)839-1242
DRAFt301/333 W Church StOrlando, FL 32801(407)[email protected]
DRAGOn ROOM25 West Church StOrlando, FL 32801(407) [email protected]
FIReStOne LIVe578 North Orange AveOrlando, FL 32801(407)[email protected]
tHe GROOVeCityWalk at Universal Orlando6000 Universal Blvd.(407)363-8000
HARD ROCKHardRock.comUniversal CityWalk407-351-5483
HOUSe OF BLUeS1490 E. Buena Vista Dr.Lake Buena Vista, FL(407)934-BLUEwww.HOB.com
KOHA nIGHtCLUB426 E. KennedyEatonville, FL(407)740-0556
CLUB LAX7430 Universal BlvdOrlando, FL 32819(407)[email protected]
tHe LeGACY CLUB3925 Clarcona Ocoee RdOrlando, FL 32810
LeGACY ULtRA LOUnGe655 N Kirkman RdOrlando, FL 32808@KINGSofLIQUOR1
CLUB LIMeLIGHt367 North Orange AveOrlando, FL 32801-1638(407)[email protected]
LUX ULtRA LOUnGe5688 International DrOrlando, FL 32819(407)352-8838www.LUXOrlando.com
MOtOWn CAFeUniversal CityWalk(407)363-8000
tHe ROXY740 Bennett Rd.Orlando, FL 32803(407)898-4004www.RoxyOrlando.com
SAntA Fe630 Emeralda Rd Suite 105Orlando, FL 32818
SenSO13 S. Orange AveOrlando, FL 32801(407)[email protected]
tHe SOCIAL54 N Orange AveOrlando, FL 32801(407)[email protected]
SKY6060 North Orange AveOrlando, FL 32801(407)[email protected]
tAVeRn On tHe LAKe6996 Piazza Grande AveOrlando, FL 32835(407)341-4417
teRRACe 390390 N. Orange Ave
Orlando, FL 32801(407)[email protected]
teSSA2425 A South Hiawassee RoadOrlando, FL 32835(407)373-0005
tOUCH55 West Church StOrlando, FL 32801(888)[email protected]
VAIn in 3D22 S Magnolia AveOrlando, FL 32801(407) [email protected]
VIntAGe LOUnGe114 S. Orange AveOrlando, FL 32801(877)[email protected]
OTHERVENUESAMWAY CenteR400 West Church StreetOrlando(407) 849-2000www.AmwayCenter.com
CentRAL FLORIDA FAIRGROUnDS4903 W. Colonial DriveOrlando, FL
eAStMOnte CIVIC CenteR830 Magnolia DriveAltamonte Springs, FL
eXpO CenteR500 W. Livingston(across from TD Water-house)Orlando, FL
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ORLANDO EVENT LISTINGtHURSDAY nOV. 17* Megachicks Ent Classic Weekend Music BOOTH T4-5 Inside the Magic Mall Plaza (All Weekend) * Exit 21 @ Draft - Welcome to Orlando (Upscale Urban) DJ Nasty, Young Smitchell, Infa-Red, Ricky Padilla & City.* Return of Girlfriends Thurs @ The Beacham (18+) w/ DJ Q45, Disco JR & DJ Slym * Drake Live @ LAX* Karaoke Night Out w/ @DJNasty305 of 99 Jamz @ The Double Tree “Orange Ballroom” 5780 Major Blvd (786)301-0100* NRG Thursdays Classic Reggae Party w/ The #1UNIT DJs @ Tavern on The Lake
FRIDAY nOV. 18* Florida Classic Consortium Kickoff Luncheon 12pm @ Rosen Centre Hotel (9840 International Dr Orlando, FL 32819) * Music Industry Mixer 6pm-10pm (Private Loca-tion) Contact Mercedes Streets (407)257-7095 * Recess Happy Hour 4-9pm @ Draft (21+) w/ DJ Official, DJ Yoshi & Ms Bee* 14th Annual Classic Step Show Hosted by Lil Duval @ Bob Carr - doors open at 6:30pm * Florida Blue Battle of the Bands 7pm @ The Amway Center * Waka Flocka Flame Live @ LAX $100 Bottles of Ciroc. INFO & VIP: (678)796-3925* 30 Something Alumni Affair @ Draft (21+) Book Signing & Hosted by FAMU Grad Kwame Kilpatrick * Meek Mill Live @ Roxy w/ Bigga Rankin, DJ Nasty, City, Disco JR, DJ Bam & DJ Chilli. Hosted by Spiff TV * Kappa Klassic @ Dragon Room w/ DJ Chino & DJ 108. Hosted by AJ The Klassic & @WankaEgo * GQ Omega Psi Phi @ Club 23 * Beautiful Fridays @ Crave w/ Rod-Z, Hoe Bullard, Eaion Conner, Jay Deezy, & DJ’s Pointblanc, Emcee, Snow & Certified * Male Revue “Dat Meat Battle of the Beef” 8pm @ LUX (407)209-7813 * Jamaikin Me Crazy 10pm @ LUX * Chocolate Factory Ladies Night Out @ The Double Tree “Orange Ballroom” 5780 Major Blvd (786)301-0100 * MANSION PARTY w/ Bigga Rankin, Drumma Boy, Ball Greezy, Bama & Street Crumz (10pm-6am AFTER PARTY) 9524 Morton Jones Rd Orlando, FL34734 Contact Mercedes Streets (407)257-7095
SAtURDAY nOV. 19* Classic Fanfare 9am Lot C @ The Citrus Bowl Stadium (Free)
* 2:30pm FAMU vs BCU Classic Game @ The Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium www.FloridaClassic.org * Bigga Rankin, Tity Boi aka 2Chainz, Yo Gotti & Boo Rossini “100” Video Shoot @ Private Location. Models Contact Mercedes Streets (407)257-7095* 1pm-8pm 13 Annual Dawgman Ent FLA Classic Tail Gate Party @ The Solo Gas Station ( Tampa Ave & Church St ) music by White Boi Pizal, Mello-C, Baby Lac & DJ All City * Tity Boi aka 2 Chainz Live @ Roxy * Rocko, Yo Gotti & Famous Kid Brick Live @ LAX w/ Bigga Rankin * Grown Folks @ House of Blues * “The Life” @ Tavern On The Lake w/ DJ Q45, Hoe Bullard, Jay Deezy, Pointblanc, Kevy Kev, Rincon & Grinz * Retrospect @ Club 23 * Frat Boy Classic @ VAiN w/ Travis Porter * Twitter Bash @ Cheyenne Saloon * Alumni Jam @ Draft * Saturday Night Live @ Bar 1 * Rich Kidz @ Firestone Live * Omega Oil Spill @ Imperial Swan Ball Room * The Hangover Block Party @ Antigua w/ DJ Drama, DJ Greg G, DJ Slym & Tony C * We The Best & Friends “I’m On One” Platinum Party w/ DJ Nasty, Ace Hood, DJ Khaled, DJ D-Strong & DJ Noodles @ Bliss * Classic Reunion $10 @ The Double Tree “Orange Ballroom” 5780 Major Blvd (786)301-0100 * After Party To All After Parties At Santa Fe (Music By Dj Slym,Disco & The City Boyz, Dj C-Lo) (3am-6am) * “Island Saturdays” @ Club Limelite “DJ Stamina Birthday Bash” 367 N Orange Ave* MANSION PARTY w/ Bigga Rankin, Drumma Boy, Ball Greezy, Bama & Street Crumz (10pm- 6am AFTER PARTY) 9524 Morton Jones Rd 34734 Contact Mercedes Streets (407)257-7095
SUnDAY nOV. 20* Sunday Brunch & Daytime Soiree 10am-Until @ Draft Complimentary Admission, Breakfast & Lunch Menu, Bottomless Mimosas.* Riding Big Car Show & Concert @ The Central Florida Fairgrounds w/ Trina, Ball Greezy, Famous Kid Brick, Tom G & More * Senso on Sunday Classic Finale w/ DJ Nice & Young Smitchell * Future, Ball Greezy, Tom G, Famous Kid Brick & Rich Kidz Live in concert hosted by Trina & Yo gotti @ LAX* 102 JAMZ Ladies NIght $20 All Night @ Fire-stone Live w/ City, DJ Nasty, DJ Blaze, DJ Jay J, Disco & The City Boys * MANSION PARTY w/ Bigga Rankin, Druma Boy, Ball Greezy, Bama & Street Crumz (10pm-6am AFTER PARTY) 9524 Morton Jones Rd Orlando, FL34734 Contact Mercedes Streets (407)257-7095
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Above: Heavy D’s last performance @ the BET Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta, GA. RIP Heavy D! (Photo: Terrence Tyson) Below: Trick Daddy @ Plush in Jacksonville, FL (Photo: Terrence Tyson)
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01: DJ Prostyle & Busta Rhymes @ the BET Hip Hop Awards (Atlanta, GA)02: Vawn, guest, & Jazze Pha @ the BET Hip Hop Awards (Atlanta, GA)03: Wale & DJ Khaled @ the BET Hip Hop Awards (Atlanta, GA)04: TJ da DJ, DJ Q45, DJ Smallz @ T Juan’s It’s My Time Video Shoot05: Travis Porter @ BET Hip Hop Awards (Atlanta, GA)06: Rocko & Heavy Boi @ The Coliseum (Day-tona Beach, FL)07: DJ Koolaid, Fella, & Suga D @ The Coliseum (Daytona Beach, FL)08: Meek Mill & DJ Drama @ the BET Hip Hop Awards (Atlanta, GA)09: DJ Demp, C.O., Trina, Bigga Rankin, & Byron Trice @ Plush Nightclub (Jacksonville, FL)10: Plies @ Club LAX (Orlando, FL)11: Dukwon & Terrence Tyson @ Club Christo-pher’s (Orange Park, FL)12: DJ Koolaid & Rocko @ The Coliseum (Day-tona Beach, FL)13: Fella & Heavi Boi @ The Coliseum (Daytona Beach, FL)14: Trina & Bigga Rankin @ Plush Nightclub (Jacksonville, FL)15: Wade, Jah da Grinch, Young Cash, Midget Mac, Lil Hen, Swole, & Malik Abdul @ Young Cash’s welcome home celebration (Jack-sonville, FL)16: Pressure, PI Bang, & Plies @ LAX (Orlando, FL)17: Soulja Boy & Miami Mike @ the BET Hip Hop Awards (Atlanta, GA)18: DJ Kool Aid, guest, & Disco Jr @ LAX (Or-lando, FL)19: Webbie & crew 20: Yo Gotti & Bigga Rankin @ Plush (Jack-sonville, FL)
All photos by Terrence Tyson
J GreenWords by Julia Beverly
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J Green
AS tHe MAIn FORCe BeHInD pOLK COUntY GROUp OHB (OAK HILL BOYz), J GReen WAS BeSt KnOWn FOR tHe “pARALYzeD” ReCORD WHICH GOt pLentY OF pLAY In FLORIDA nIGHt-CLUBS. BUt A MURDeR CHARGe tHReAteneD tO DeRAIL HIS WHOLe CAReeR. OzOne CHeCKeD In tO FInD OUt HOW He BeAt tHe CASe, AnD HIS neXt MOVe
What exactly happened with your legal situ-ation?I caught a second-degree murder charge. I was waiting for like two and a half years to go to trial. Once we finally went to trial, I had a five day trial and won my case. It was basically a situation with two opposing cities fighting each other, and shit escalated. I was the most well-known guy in the situation, so it kinda made me stand out. The only [name] they could really say was “J Green.” But I was innocent; I didn’t do shit. I’m guilty of fighting, you know? But I was innocent [of the charges]. Five days in trial, three dudes testified against me, five days in the newspaper, you know? Shit was hectic. I missed three birthdays [in jail].
Obviously, sitting down for two and a half years must have detrimental to your career.As an artist, I feel like it definitely slowed me down. But back then, it was a group thing. Now I’m more focused on me as an individual. I kind of found myself as a solo artist. I feel like some of the [OHB group members] could have done better than what they did, but you know, I ain’t put my burden on nobody else. I’m a man and I’ve got to hold my own.
So you feel like you were able to make some-thing positive out of the situation?Yeah, regardless of the situation, I’m still able to get in the booth. A lot of people try to be too serious with this music shit. I mean, I’m serious too, but I just get in there and do me. The first mixtape I dropped, Fresh Out The Gate, was kind of like my introduction. When I was locked up I wasn’t really able to hear [new mu-sic] so I kinda felt behind. I had to get updated. Now I can tell what people want to hear.
What surprised you most about the rap game when you got out? Two and a half years is a long time to be away.It went from a million rappers to 30 million rappers. I mean, shit was just different. [Rap-pers] who had leverage before ain’t really have the same leverage. Shit went through a real drastic change, I ain’t gonna lie. It kinda
throwed me for a loop. And with the music now – I don’t really feel like they’re talking about anything. Everybody is talking about the same shit. With my style, I talk about real life shit, storylines that a nigga really goes through. But some people just have a nice ass beat and a hook and don’t be saying a damn thing. You know, they just recite the hook and that’s enough to get by.
For people that were fans of OHB’s music or “Paralyze” in particular, do you feel like your sound is still similar?I mean, I’m older now. I was 19 then and I’m 27 now, so the way I talk and the way I sound is different. This new mixtape that I just dropped is starting to catch a lot of flame. I’m getting a lot of feedback every day. I’m like my own promoter. I go to the streets and the hood and just flood it with my shit. I ain’t selling [mixtapes], I’m just giving that shit away to gain momentum.
You had some problems with your hearing too, right?Yeah, me and my homeboy went out to an event and we were riding. My homeboy had just got some [speakers] put in his car – twelve 10” speakers, to be exact. Man, that shit was ridiculous. I told him that shit was hurting me. All day we were arguing about it. I was like, “You need to wait until we get out to play this shit because I can’t breathe in here, feel me?” But the shit ain’t really affect him. When I did get home later on, man, I couldn’t hear for like seven days, period. That shit drove a nigga crazy. I was getting in the booth and couldn’t even catch the beat. And I’ve heard about other artists going through similar shit. I never really got to get [medical] treatment for it because maybe three weeks after that situation occurred, I ended up catching a case. I had another case prior to the murder charge. I guess in due time my hearing came back in one ear, but in my other ear I only have like 30% hearing. They say that shit is ruined per-manently. They tried to get me to get some hearing aids. Hell no, I can’t get no hearing aids, man! They got the little blue invisible hearing aids and shit, but I aint’ fuckin’ with it. As long as I can catch the beat and stay on beat, I think I can flow with it.
What’s the name of the new mixtape?The first mixtape was Fresh Out The Gate and now I feel like I’m in a new chapter in my life, so shit, I’m one step farther. So the new mixtape is called One Step Farther. I’ve also got a new video called “Take Off” featuring my homeboy Snapp Dogg. He was one of the ones on “Paralyzed.” //
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Terry Elliot Sr.Words by Julia Beverly
Photo by Yusuf “Ace” Vernon
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FOR teRRY eLLIOtt SR., pARtYInG IS SeRIOUS BUSIneSS. AS tHe OWneR OF SOUtH FLORIDA’S HOtteSt StRIp CLUB KInG OF DIAMOnDS, eLLIOtt HAS HeLpeD BRInG ADULt enteRtAInMent MAInStReAM.
Have you always been a club owner? What was your first project as an entrepreneur? I’ve always been interested in the entertain-ment business as a dancer. I had a dance group years ago and we toured around the world to different nightclubs to perform. I put on a few different functions. I got into the adult busi-ness almost a decade ago. A friend of mine had a problem with his club because the managers were stealing money. He asked if I would over-see the club and help them out for a month. I didn’t want to get into the adult business and my wife didn’t want me to get into it, but I did
it to help my friend out. A month turned into six months and that turned into years. I stayed in the business because I love my family and I knew I could run [the clubs] well. King of Diamonds used to be called Crazy Horse, and the owner asked me to help them out because Crazy Horse wasn’t doing too well. I currently have King of Diamonds, Angels (14813 W. Dixie Highway), Club Secrets (11340 Biscayne Blvd.), and Playhouse (13045 SW 87th Ave. down-town). We’re also looking into doing a chain of hotels with a theme park.
What was the building before it was a strip club? It’s the size of a Costco or Wal-Mart. Before it was Crazy Horse, it was just a chain warehouse. Crazy Horse did great the first week and after that it just didn’t do well, so the owner was sitting on a vacant building. So I came in and built a special team to build this club. You have to have the right group of
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Terry Elliot Sr. people with the right chemistry. I lined up some of the best African American guys in this busi-ness for an urban adult club. Charles “Pop” Young and Disco Rick and Manny. Manny is the type of person that has a very upscale professional look in a club. Charles “Pop” Young has street credibil-ity amongst a lot of people. And Disco Rick is the emcee, the host, to keep the vibe in the club go-ing. And a young lady by the name of Liz joined the team. With that team, we created a vibe and a chemistry that all the artists loved. All the major artists were talking about it in their songs. Three years later King of Diamonds is the biggest urban adult club in the world, in the state of Florida. We created a nice vibe for the celebrities along with the customers. The celebrities can come to a place where they’re not being harassed and asked for autographs, because everybody is a celebrity.
There’s been a lot of publicity surrounding King of Diamonds claiming that rappers have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars. How much of that is real and how much of it is exaggeration to hype up the artists and hype up the dancers?Well, I cannot disclose the amount of money the artists spend. But I will say this: there is nothing fake about any of it. Sometimes niggas spend over a million dollars in there, depending on who is there. And yes, the dancers do leave there with thousands of dollars. It can be very lucrative for the dancers themselves.
There’s a common perception that a woman would only strip if she didn’t have any other options or maybe was abused in the past. Have you found that to be true, or do you think the dancers choose to be in the business because of the financial benefits? It can be all of the above, but mainly it’s about the financial gain. A lot of the entertainers have their own businesses or support their way through college or support their family. So there’s a lot of different things, but I don’t think it’s belittling your character just to be [at a strip club]. They actually love what they do. A lot of them are smart enough to understand that they have a skill they can use, and utilize the money to invest in another business. So when they do retire, they retire into another business. It is very lucrative to be a dancer.
You mentioned that your wife was hesitant about getting into the adult business. Do you feel like King of Diamonds has broken the stereotype of the typical strip club and made it more of a professionally-run business? Has your wife changed her opinion? Well, I don’t disrespect my wife. Me and my wife have been married for twenty years so we under-
stand each other and understand what levels of respect to uphold.
The urban nightlife crowd tends to be fickle. What do you have planned for the future to keep King of Diamonds at the top of the entertainment game? We have a lot of plans, but I probably won’t disclose them because the other clubs will be reading the article. But we do change according to the times. We are not a one-set club. When you come in there, Disco Rick cre-ates a good vibe and Liz changes the whole atmosphere and decor. The atmosphere changes all the time. There is a lot we do to keep making the place vibe. We’re just trying to create that.
A lot of major artists have done events at King of Diamonds. In your mind, what are the top three events you’ve had so far? Diddy kicked off the first one and opened the door; celebrities started wondering what was going on at King of Diamonds. Jeezy brings a big crowd wherever he goes. Cash MOney, Young Money, YMCMB, they bring a lot to the table. Rick Ross came in on a helicopter. So I know you asked for three, but those four [events] were top notch.
Aside from putting together the right team of people, what are some other key components to the success you’ve had with running a strip club or nightclub business? You have to be straight and direct with your customers. Don’t put a celebrity above a regular customer. Your customers and your celebrities should always be treated the same, and always welcome people with open arms. I believe that taking care of your customers is key. Customers are the reason we exist and the reason we’ve sustained this far.
I understand your son Terry Jr. is also in-volved in the entertainment business also.Yes, my son has an artist that he’s developing by the name of Young Duce. My son knows a lot of people he networked with at a lot of clubs because of me, and he’s putting his artist through that system.
Is there anything else you’d like to say? I’m actually looking at expanding King of Diamonds to other states. We have imitators out there who tried to call themselves King of Diamonds, but when it is a King of Dia-monds of yours, you’ll know it’s us. //
SLIDE OR DIE’s
Young Duce & Terry Elliott Jr.Words by Julia BeverlyPhoto by Terrence Tyson
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SLIDE OR DIE’s
Young Duce & Terry Elliott Jr.
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MIAMI nAtIVe YOUnG DUCe IS DeteR-MIneD tO SLIDe OR DIe. WItH FRIenD & MAnAGeR teRRY eLLIOtt JR. AnD tHe YMCMB FAMILY In HIS CORneR, He’S On tHe RIGHt pAtH.
How would you describe your music?I’d say I’m kinda different. I have a lot of beat-makers that I work with, and I just add myself as the extra instrument on the beat.
So you decided to start your own label, and are working with Terry Elliott Jr.?Me and Terry have been friends for a very long time. We had a car club years back. So when my music started getting real serious, hot in the streets and everybody started to like it, Terry took me on. We already have a bond, so it was more of a comfortable feeling than to be working with somebody I don’t even know. So from there, it’s just about staying focused. Everything is full-time music: music, music, music, that’s all I really have right now. So we came out with my label Slide or Die. Slide or Die is actually a marketing company, but we have a music group in the marketing company along with it. Slide or Die means, go all out for everything you’ve put your mind to. You’re either going to go full throttle with it or don’t do it at all. I live by it on everything I do. If I’m going to go full throttle with this music, I go overtime, just straight working, you know.
Do you feel like strip clubs are the best place to break your records? The clubs are always going to be a good place, you know. I consider the strip clubs to be like a tester. It’s a teaser to see if it can pop off fast. I call it a make-it-or-break-it test, you know? When you play it in the club you’re going to get the crowd reaction, you’re going to get the dancer’s reaction. If it’s a hot song, they’ll call you for bookings or anything. You’ll know [the reaction] within a week. Somebody’s going to say something about the song. Before we try to take a song to the radio stations, online, and XM radio, we take it to the strip clubs. That’s just the first level.
What are the biggest records you’ve had?I would have to say “Tear The Club Down,” “Like A Drummer,” and “Surf Boy Swag.” I have a lot of songs down here in the South and in Miami. I just came from Portland, Oregon; I’ve been up there playing a couple of songs. They really
like “Tear The Club Down.” It’s really the most played, the most energizing song.
And you’re involved with Young Money too?Yeah, I’m affiliated with them. We’re just going through a pre-trial thing. They’re just watching and keeping me on standby, trying to see how much we’re really going to do by ourselves. I really don’t know the business side because Terry handles that. I just stay focused and stay working.
Do you have any big records coming in the near future that you want people to be look-ing out for? We’ve been shooting music videos for all the records, trying to push them out like singles. It’s going to be a really good album. Iced Out Human was my first mixtape, and right now I’m working on Iced Out Human 2. I’m thinking about dropping it around Christmas or maybe New Year’s. Everybody’s waiting for some new, new music.
Are you releasing an album independently? If I come across any major labels, we’ll see what’s good. It depends on what’s more ben-eficial. But we’re still working on the Young Money thing. I feel like I’m in football right now. It’s like when you’re in college and about to go to the pro’s and they’re scouting you. I’m just trying to be prepared so there won’t be any artist development needed. I’m just focused. Slide or Die!
Are you doing any events in Orlando during the Florida Classic weekend? I’ll be there. OZONE came from Orlando, right? It’s only right to do it big, so I’ll be there. You’ll probably see me at the games on the side-lines, out there vibing with my manager and the whole team, passing out promotions and CDs and everything. Club-wise, you know, we might fall through and “Tear The Club Down.”
Is there anything else you want to plug? Iced Out Human 2, the mixtape. Be on the look out for it. Swisher Gang Clothing coming soon. Rise to Millions DVD coming soon. Real-ity show coming in 2012. I mean, we’re work-ing. We’re trying to get on every [magazine] cover until they notice what time it is. Just go-ing to stay working. Everybody that’s reading this issue, hit me up on Twitter. I like to stay in touch with my fans and get advice.
Web: YoungDuceMillions.com Twitter: @YoungDuce305
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WHILe teRRY eLLIOtt SR. WAS MAnAG-InG MIAMI StRIp CLUBS AnD FOUnD-InG tHe pOpULAR KInG OF DIAMOnDS, He pASSeD ALOnG tHe FAMILY BUSI-neSS tO HIS SOn. FOLLOWInG In HIS FAtHeR’S FOOtStepS, teRRY eLLIOtt JR. ALSO MAnAGeS A StRIp CLUB - SeCRetS - AnD MAnAGeS YOUnG DUCe OF SLIDe OR DIe MUSIC GROUp.
Your father has been very successful in the nightclub and adult entertainment businesses in South Florida. Has he been a mentor to you? We have a very close relationship and he’s been teaching me the ropes ever since I was a kid. I knew how to run a club by the age of sixteen, so I was just following in his footsteps. Currently I’m running Club Secrets, on 113th & Biscayne Blvd. I also manage an artist and my artist’s record label, Young Duce and Slide or Die Music Group.
What are some of the things you’ve learned by running a strip club that you were able to apply to the music industry?Well, a club can’t be right without a DJ. You’ve got to have a good DJ; a DJ that’s known and respected. If you don’t have a DJ that’s respect-ed or liked, no one will come to your club.
Do you feel like strip clubs are still a prime place for artists to break their music?Yeah, because in the strip club you never know who is there. There’s many big name artists that come around and A&Rs from labels like Poe Boy and Cash Money. There’s different record labels that come through every night and actually listen to the music.
What are some records you’ve seen break at strip clubs?Billy Blue “When You Hood You Good,” Flo Rida, Brisco, Ace Hood. One of my managers was real cool with Ace Hood, so we helped break his record. DJ Khaled, you know, the list goes on.
How did you link up with Young Duce?We’ve known each other for years. Back in the day we were in the same car club, Swerve Kings. It’s now called Street Sliders. We do all kinds of cars; imports, domestic cars, racing cars. We hook them up, from 18 to 30 inch rims.
When did you start managing him?It was funny how it happened because when Duce was doing his thing back in the day, he was out there in the streets hard. Everybody knew Young Duce and looked up to Young Duce. He was real big in Miami and a cool guy. So I’ve been seeing him around and been supporting his music also at my clubs. We break artists and hit records at Club Secrets. A couple years ago he asked me to be his man-ager. We’ve also been able to spend a lot of time around Young Money and I look up to Lil Wayne’s road manager and personal assistant. Him and Duce are real close and he’s become like a mentor or older brother to me.
Do you plan on releasing an album your-selves or are you looking for a major label to handle the distribution?The next mixtape Iced Out Human 2 is coming out soon. Iced Out Human 1 was crazy; every-body loved it. He’ll have another one coming out after Christmas. The album is almost done too, but we’re letting everyone feed into the buzz before we release it. We want them to be asking for more before we actually let out the big album.
Do you have anything specific planned for Florida Classic weekend?Yeah, we’re going to be around for that week-end. We went out there last year and killed it so we’re going to be there again. Also, my car club is going to be down there. My car club is supported very well. It’s called Street Sliders Car Club and we’re the number one car club in Miami, FL. //
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A COMeDIAn In HIS OWn RIGHt, MIAMI pRAnK CALLeR RALpHIGe HAS FOOLeD tHe LIKeS OF FAt JOe, LIL KIM, BIG BOI, YOUnG BUCK, SUGe KnIGHt, AnD CHRIS BROWn - BUt HIS CROWnInG ACHIeVeMent WAS pRAnK CALLInG MICHAeL JACKSOn.
How did you get the idea to prank call celebrities?I’ve always had the ability to get all these [celebrities’] phone numbers and a lot of inside information. I never knew what to do with it. I was really young so all I could do was prank call ‘em. They didn’t expect it.
How did you have access to those numbers?I’ve revealed my source before but people don’t believe me. They think it’s crazy, but the truth is, I’m able to dream up these numbers. I just see them pop up everywhere.
Can you dream lottery numbers? That might be more profitable.I cannot, no. I’ve tried. At first I thought they were lottery numbers so I tried playing them at the lottery but I had no luck. Once I realized they were ten digits like phone numbers, I thought I’d go ahead and dial ‘em.
Who was the first celebrity that you called?Back in ’07 I believe it was Scott Storch. Scott Storch and DJ Khaled were the first two. When you strike one of these rappers’ egos, they don’t let it go.
The Michael Jackson call was pretty contro-versial. Some people didn’t believe it was re-ally him, and other people felt like you were wrong for crank calling him. In the beginning everyone loved it. I was the king of crank calls for being able to prank Michael Jackson. Everyone loved it, until he
died. When he died everyone turned on me. All the diehard Michael Jackson fans hate Ralphige now.
What’s your opinion on Dr. Murray’s convic-tion?I think he should’ve just lost his license, not been convicted of anything. But just because of the fact that Michael died in his hands, I think the sentence he’s gonna get of 3-4 years is appropriate. But at the same time, Michael Jackson killed himself. And I said this even be-fore the defense brought it up as their defense. He would take that [Propofol] every night, and one night he woke up and he was pissed off because Dr. Murray wasn’t there, so he saw the [IV] right there, pushed it in himself, and gave himself too big of a dose.
Have any of your prank calls gone too far and really caused some serious trouble?Everybody’s taken the joke well. I make sure to let them know right after [the prank call] that it was a joke. I contact them immediately afterwards and make sure we’re cool.
Has anyone not wanted their calls released?Yeah, I’ve had a lot of people ask me not to release their calls. There are some which I’ve released anyway and some which I’ve sup-pressed. One of the biggest prank calls [I never released] was Jay-Z. I prank called him and he didn’t want it released. I guess he felt like he had nothing to gain from it. [The call] actually wasn’t very controversial at all; it was kind of disrespectful to him and Beyonce though. This was before they were actually “dating.”
Do people know what you look like?I’m not undercover, but I’ve never been after the fame so I’ve never released my face or tried to get any attention. I’m not trying to get press at all. I can definitely walk down the street and look bummy in chancletas or sandals and shorts like Jay-Z says and not be recognized.
Where are your prank calls available?They’re available on iTunes and on ralphige.com. You can also check out michaeljackson-prankcall.com. That’s made me a crank call legend. Nobody can ever take that crown from me. I have a lot of crank calls I haven’t released yet – Floyd Mayweather, Paula Abdul, Ellen Degeneres, all A-List celebrities coming soon.
Is there anything else you’d like to say?Jesus Christ is the greatest. //
Twitter: @RalphigeWeb: Ralphige.com
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IN TODAY’S OVERSATURATED MUSIC ENVIRONMENT, IT’S RARE FOR A RAPPER TO gET SIgNED OFF A DEMO WITH NO PROVEN SALES RECORDS OR RADIO SPINS. BUT THAT’S ExACTLY WHAT HAPPENED FOR SLIP N SLIDE ARTIST BUD. NOW PREPARINg FOR THE RELEASE OF THE FOLLOW-UP TO HIS POPULAR MIxTAPE, Heart of a Hus-tla 2, HE AIMS TO gIVE THE STREETS OF LIBERTY CITY AND BEYOND WHAT THEY’VE BEEN FIENDINg FOR.
How did you get started in the rap game?I really stumbled upon it. My friend had a studio and I ended up doing like ten, eleven songs, just freestyling or whatever. We ran into an A&R from Slip N Slide Records in the streets and just gave him one of my CDs. They gave me a call and ever since then I’ve been doing my thing.
Are you born and raised in Miami?Yeah, born and raised in Miami. Liberty City, to be exact. I went to Liberty City Elementary, Martin Luther King Elementary, you know. My grandma stays in the heart of Liberty City.
Is your music similar to what we’ve come to expect from other Slip n Slide artists?It’s hard to categorize it, you know? It’s reality music. It’s based around current events; things going on in my city. What I know. What I see. The environment I was raised in.
Why do you think there’s such a disparity between the tourist perspective of Miami and the actual reality of someone who grew up in Miami?South Beach is made for tourism, like any other place that’s made for tourism. They’re going to show you what they want you to see. But in Liberty City – Dade County in general – on the other side of the bridge, it’s a whole other world. I guess it’s the mentality of the people. Liberty City and South Beach have a whole different mentality.
What are some of the topics you discuss in your music?I speak on the streets. I speak on jealousy. Jealousy breeds envy. A lot of times it’s crabs in a barrel. When a person sees that you’re trying to do music, they want to pull you back to discredit you or whatever. That’s just how it is. And a lot of the violence stems from jealousy; that’s the root of it if you get down to the core
of the problem.
What do you have coming out now?I dropped Heart of a Hustla 1.5 and now I’m getting ready to release Heart of a Hustla 2. My first mixtape got me a buzz; it got me a lot of shows from here to Georgia back around to the Carolinas. Heart of a Hustla 2 is an amazing mixtape. I really just call it a street album because I don’t jack tracks; I do original tracks. Jacking beats is kind of played out to me. I mean, people want to hear new ideas. As soon as you hear a jacked track, okay – next song – you know? That’s where I see Hip Hop going. People don’t really want to hear that; they want to hear beats and lyrics. That’s what I bring to the table: original music.
Do you have features from other Slip n Slide artists on your mixtape?Yeah. Mike Bless from Slip N Slide is on there. I have a few other artists also, but I don’t really have too many features because I wanted to premiere myself. I worked with artists like Brisco and Piccalo on the first Heart of a Hustla, so I wanted to do me on this one so people could see who I am.
What about on the production side? Any big-name producers we should be looking out for?I worked with CP Hollywood, Trackology, Zay-toven, and a few others. That’s all I can think of off the top of my head, but there’s some good music on there.
Is there anything else you want to add?Bud is the new face of Slip N Slide Streetz. Right now the rap game needs to be ready for me. What I’m bringing to the table is crazy. It’s going to be a movie. Things are moving faster than a lot of people expected. We keep it moving! twitter: @BudMusicSnSFacebook: Bud, Slip n Slide StreetzWeb: Budmusic.net or SlipnSlideRoyalty.com
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BudWords by Julia BeverlyPhoto courtesy Slip N Slide
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Above: Plies @ Club LAX in Orlando, FL (Photo: Terrence Tyson) Below: Yo Gotti @ Plush Nightclub in Jacksonville, FL (Photo: Terrence Tyson)
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01: DJ C-Lo & Rocko @ The Coliseum (Daytona Beach, FL)02: Swordz, Dead Prez & Friends @ Fat Kat Lounge (Jacksonville, FL)03: Lil Hen, Lil Duval, & Field Mob @ Fat Kat Lounge (Jacksonville, FL)04: Heavi Boi, Stix, Daw-gman @ The Coliseum (Daytona Beach, FL)05: DJ Demp, Yo Gotti, & Bigga Rankin @ Plush Nightclub (Jacksonville, FL)06: Wiz Khalifa, LL Cool J & his wife @ the BET Hip Hop Awards (Atlanta, GA)07: DJ Koolaid & Yo Gotti @ The Coliseum (Daytona Beach, FL)08: Tyrese & DJ Drama @ the BET Hip Hop Awards (Atlanta, GA)09: Fella, DJ Big Tiny @ The Coliseum (Daytona Beach, FL)10: DJ Rell & Lady @ The OEC (Ocala, FL)11: Kevin Liles, Big Sean, & Busta Rhymes @ the BET Hip Hop Awards (Atlanta, GA)12: Kim Osorio & Julia Beverly @ the BET Hip Hop Awards (Atlanta, GA)13: Jasmine Guy & El Debarge @ the BET Hip Hop Awards (Atlanta, GA)14: Plies & Disco Jr @ Club LAX (Orlando, FL)15: LL Cool J & his wife @ the BET Hip Hop Awards (Atlanta, GA)16: Vee, Julia Beverly, & Too $hort @ the BET Hip Hop Awards (At-lanta, GA)17: Yo Gotti & Stix @ The Coliseum (Daytona Beach, FL)18: Travis Porter & PI Bang 19: Busta Rhymes & Young Jeezy @ the BET Hip Hop Awards (Atlanta, GA)
All photos by Terrence Tyson
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J DashWords by Julia Beverly
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WHILE ATTENDING THE UNIvERSITY OF FLORIDA IN GAINESvILLE, FL, COMpUTER SAvvY JACKSONvILLE NATIvE J DASH pRODUCED “THE WOp” IN HIS DORM ROOM, A SONG WHICH WOULD GO ON TO GENERATE OvER A MILLION vIEWS ON YOUTUBE AND THOUSANDS OF COpYCAT vIDEOS. NOW THAT HE’S GAINED A FAN BASE, HE pLANS TO TAKE THEM ON A JOURNEY BEYOND A DANCE GIMMICK.
I see the Wop dance is gaining a lot of popu-larity – you’ve got NFL players doing it in the end zone as their celebration dance. How did you come up with the “Wop”?“The Wop” was just a dance me and my friends came up with when we were in college. We used to dance to other people’s music in the clubs, and everybody was like, “What is that dance?” We didn’t actually have a name for it. One of my friends said, “We need to make a song for this dance.” So I went back to my dorm room in college and made the beat and came up with the name for “The Wop.” I put the video out on YouTube and came back a few months later and there was a half a million views on the video.
I know you wear a lot of different hats, so was it always your intent to be an artist? Or were you more behind the scenes and it was just something that happened?It’s always been my intention to be involved in music, but did I know I was going to be an artist? No. Did I know it was going to be “The Wop” that did it? No. But I love that it happened that way. I’m a producer first. I’m a musician, a producer, and I dabble in engineer-ing. I’m a computer engineer, so I wear a lot of different hats.
What are the pros and cons to coming from that background? Most rappers come from more of a street background, as opposed to computer engineering.I don’t really identify myself as a rapper. I’m a poet and an artist. But there is definitely pros and cons to it, as far as having that street cred. I’m a geek, I’m a nerd, so I don’t have that street background, but I just love music. I think there’s a lane for that. When it comes to street credibility, what saves me is that I have a lot of friends that have street credibility. So you don’t always have to have that background. There’s a lane for just good, fun music. The Kanyes, the Drakes.
Do you think it’s true that you get more respect coming out of jail than graduating from college?I think that can be true in certain circles. A
lot of people are going to talk behind your back. The haters talk, but when you get in somebody’s face, it’s different. People respect different things. If you’re making money, sometimes they will respect you just for that. But I definitely think I have a fan base that enjoys my music no matter where I come from or where my background is.
What did you gain from college that has helped you in the music business?I think I just have a wider perspective on busi-ness. I was exposed to a lot of things when I was in college, but I don’t think it makes me better than anybody else. I always work hard. I’ll be in the studio in Miami and drive back in the middle of the night so I can be in class at 9:00 in the morning. I wanted those things so bad. So it’s really not about a college degree, it’s all about what you’re exposing yourself to and the goals you’re setting.
Coming out with a dance record like “The Wop,” are you concerned about getting people to take you seriously as an artist? How do you move past that gimmick?I’m not nervous about it at all, only because “The Wop” was something that was fun for me to do. Artists are so multi-dimensional that you can’t try to pigeonhole somebody into one thing. I can make dance records, but that’s not normally what I do. As long as you have your fan base’s attention and put out good music, it doesn’t really matter. But I think the fans are going to appreciate where I take them next. I’m excited more than nervous about it. I have a record called “Tabloid Truth” featuring Captain Carlito, the last member of Menudo. It’s such a deep record, it’s the realest song I’ve ever done. It’s a spiritual record and I’m excited for people to hear that because there’s a lot of soul in it.
Are you still independent?I’m with an indie label called Stereofame. We’re doing it independent with no major label support. It’s like a partnership; a family. We’re just letting “The Wop” grab some more attention before we look at putting out an album. It just broke in the West Coast and got picked up by twenty Top 40 stations last week. I’ve been doing a lot of interviews and shows and just getting out there with the people. I think that’s what’s most important right now – touching the people and letting them see that I’m deeper than one dance track. //
Twitter: @TheRealJDashFacebook: TheRealJDashWeb: TheRealJDash.com
J Dash
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NAppy BOy ARTIsT yOuNg CAsH WAs “WINNINg” BeFORe DJ KHALeD AND CHAR-LIe sHeeN. FResH OFF A ONe-yeAR sTINT IN JAIL, CAsH Is BACK HOMe IN DuvAL COuNTy AND AIMs TO geT BACK ON HIs HusTLe.
Let’s update the OZONe readers on what’s been going on with young Cash. you’ve been gone for about a year, right? Yeah, I was locked up on drug charges from ‘04. I had already got out of the drug game in ‘04, ‘05, and some dudes I was fucking with back then got me caught up. Some Mexicans I had been dealing with back in ‘04 got knocked off at the end of 2009 and told on everybody they ever dealt with. I used to get weed from these dudes; I ain’t never even get no mutha-fuckin’ coke from these dudes. I was getting coke from a whole other set of Mexicans. They told the Feds that they brought me five keys. I didn’t even know they were bringing the keys, so when they showed up, I was like, “Nah, I’m straight.” I didn’t want them. [The Feds] said that since I knew they had the keys, I’m part of the conspiracy because I didn’t notify the authorities. That’s how “conspiracy” works. It was all some bullshit.
A lot of people think they can escape the street life by getting into the rap game and it’ll never catch up with them. You cannot escape that shit, man. Espe-cially with that bullshit “conspiracy” [charge] because conspiracy runs so many ways. For example, if I tell you I can get some keys from somebody, and you don’t even deal drugs but you tell me, “Here, call my homeboy,” and me and him hook up and one of us gets fucked up, you’re getting charged with the same [charges] as we do. Even if you never saw noth-ing or touched nothing, that’s “conspiracy.”
That’s the law. So you can’t escape that shit, man. Conspiracy runs forever; there’s no time limit. That’s what I thought. I was like, “That was back in 2004.” And I didn’t get charged until 2009, damn near 2010. After six years, I thought the state of limitations [would’ve ex-pired] but that shit doesn’t apply. Conspiracy is ongoing, and if they charge you, your ass is going to prison, period. The judge was lenient on my sentence because he said this was the first time anybody came in his courtroom and had stopped [selling drugs] on their own. I had already started my music career and put the drug game to the side, and he said he had never seen somebody quit on their own. Niggas always get caught and then say, “Yeah, I’ll change my life,” you know? So, that played a big part in it. I ain’t trippin’. He gave me 18 months, but really I shouldn’t have even got that because I never touched no muthafuckin’ keys that these people were talkin’ about. So even if you get out the game, you’ve still got to worry about all the shit you did in the past. As soon as a bitch gets knocked off, if they want to flip it on you, they can do it. There’s re-ally no escaping the dope game at all. I don’t know too many niggas that have survived; they’re all either dead or in prison.
Another rapper that used to be a part of your crew is locked up, and there’s been a lot of finger pointing - why did you two fall out? I really don’t even want to talk about it, but I’m going to talk about it because you know us and you know how much I looked out for him. I brought him into the music shit, but I brought him into the street shit too. But he got so caught up that he started feeling him-self too much and listening to what all these other niggas in the street were telling him. He started going around telling people that I set him up. How did I set you up when you
YoungCash
Words by Julia BeverlyPhoto by Terrence Tyson
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got [arrested] before me and you ain’t even tell nobody on your team that the Feds had picked up your case? We knew he had got knocked off [on a] regular state case, but nobody knew the Feds had picked him up. So he [snitched]. If you snitch in the Feds, you’re going to get a 5K or Rule 35 [paperwork] added to your case. None of those two things are on my case - you can look at it and see. But what I failed to realize is that he briefed on me. He gave the Feds information on me. And the whole reason I even revealed that is because he was telling people that I got him knocked off. Everybody knows that ain’t true because that muthafucker was arrested six months before I was. Anyway, I ain’t got no Rule 35 on my file, but he does. That’s his business. He did what he thought he had to do; you gotta play the Feds’ game. When they snatch you up they want to play all these games. I played the role, but I’m not finna snitch on nobody to get nobody else locked up. Especially being a rapper - you can’t do that shit, they can go look up [your paperwork] anytime. So that whole situation with dude, he did what he did, but I still love him to death. We were raised under the same roof since we were five years old, so I’m past that shit already.
A lot of people know that you’re signed to T-pain’s label Nappy Boy now, but there’s a lot of history there too. How did you first meet? I used to go to Tallahassee back in the day, when [T-Pain’s group] the Nappy Headz had “Rob-bery” out. Then T-Pain went solo, and I heard his “Sprung” song when I was in Tallahassee. A dude at the radio station told me that T-Pain had done the beat for “Sprung” and “Robbery.” I asked him, “What’s the nigga selling his beats for?” He told me $150. I had a whole gang of money on me because I used to go party in Tallahassee. I met T-Pain and Jay Lyriq at the studio, and rolled back to his house - this fucking poor ass house on Ridge Road somewhere. He was letting me listen to some beats; he had a little studio in his little room. I couldn’t believe he had done all that shit in that little small ass [studio] he had in his room. I asked him, “How much you charge for the beats?” He’s sizing me up - here I am, a young nigga with a lot of money, pulled up in my Hum-mer and shit. Of course he was going to up the price. So he told me $500. I was like, “Damn, the nigga at the radio station told me fifty bucks!” He said, “Man, in my city, all these dudes are trying to hate on me. They don’t want me to get no money.” I felt where he was coming from be-cause I was going through the same shit in my city. Niggas be hating just because you’re doing something. So I gave him a thousand dollars a track and I bought three beats for him; I handed him $3,000, which was probably more money
than he’d ever had in his life. I told his daddy I was going to take him back to Duval with me to drop a whole gang of beats. Me and my brother Vic gave him another $7,000 for seven more beats when he came back to Duval with me. He started staying with me whenever he came through; he’d sleep on my couch in Jacksonville. Around 2005, we both got a deal. He got a deal with Jive because “Sprung” started poppin’ everywhere. SRC was seeing me in OZONE and they heard two of my songs and wanted to sign me. Steve Rifkind signed me to SRC/Universal. Pain took off; he had all those records. I was still working on my album; Universal ain’t really want street music. They wanted more of that Chamil-lionaire sound, commercial rap. They weren’t with that gangsta shit at the time. So I was just sitting there on Universal doing my own thing independently, dropping my own records and just getting independent money. I saw Pain in L.A. shooting a video with Akon and he was like “Bruh, what the fuck are they doing with you [at Universal]?” Pain said he was going to call them and have me signed to his label. Mike Blumstein, who is now my manager, made the call to Steve Rifkind and bought me out of the Universal deal, so I ended up on Nappy Boy.
When should we expect your album to drop? I ain’t really focused on no album. This shit ain’t even about albums anymore, as you can see. Nobody’s selling records like that anyway, so it doesn’t really matter. The only thing that matters is hit records. I’m going all the way in with this Win Movement I created. You see everybody in the world has copied my shit, but it’s all good. Charlie Sheen needs to cut me a check. Khaled needs to cut me a check. I let Khaled borrow my swag; as long as he gives it back, it’s cool. I ain’t eat off that song [“All I Do Is Win”], but I started that whole Win Movement right here in Jackson-ville. I gave Pain the idea he used for that Khaled hook. That’s how that industry shit goes, so I just charged it to the game. Next thing you know, Charlie Sheen is “winning.” But it’s all good. I’m getting ready to put out my Win Squad mixtape with my whole team.
Were you able to come away from your prison experience with anything positive? I read the Bible cover to cover. You know, I’ve always been a man of God, and I feel like that’s why God sat me down - so I could do that. That’s something I had always wanted to do - read it from cover to cover. And I got in shape too. //
Twitter: @youngCash Facebook: Joey Williams Web: NappyBoyOnline.com
CharlesReed
Words by Julia Beverly
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ORIGINALLY FROM CLEvELAND, OH, SING-ER CHARLES REED MOvED TO FLORIDA TO pURSUE HIS CAREER IN MUSIC. HAvING BUILT BRIDGES WITH SEvERAL KEY MUSIC INDUSTRY EXECS, HE AIMS TO BRING A LITTLE HEART & SOUL BACK TO R&B.
How did you end up coming to Miami?I was going to school at Full Sail [in Orlando, FL] and ended up meeting some producers that introduced me to Cedric Hollywood. Ced wanted to start working with me so we just formed a company together, Star Studded Entertainment. We just started working on records and put out “Fallen,” featuring Ace Hood. Afterwards we started pushing the record “Jook Wit Me.” At first it was me and then Ballgreezy. The Iconz stepped to me and wanted to get the song poppin’.
Were you going to Full Sail for audio engi-neering? Yeah, for Recording Arts. I was more behind the scenes but still trying to do my artist thing. I’m steady learning about music, day by day.
It seems like your sound is a little different from the typical Miami style. I’m definitely different. I’m really trying to create my own lane. But sometimes, in order to create your own lane, you’ve gotta follow a lane and make it better; make it fit your criteria for your music. To me, it just depends on the record. You can’t appropach every record with the same amount of soul. You can only ap-proach it with the same amount of hunger.
It seems like R&B artists today have to col-laborate with a rapper to get radio play, and the records have gotten a lot more explicit. Do you feel like today’s R&B is a lot different from the soul music you grew up on? Most definitely, especially with the music that I do. I’m an artist who believes that love exists. It still exists. Women still want to be wined and dined. Women still want to feel beautiful. Tell-ing them to “pop that ass open” doesn’t really mean anything. You can make them do that if you’re talking sweet to them anyway. We’ve lost the meaning of what love is and what we really do this music for. So many people are getting caught up in the idea of just trying to get played in the club.
Do you feel like that’s just a reflection of so-ciety as a whole? Or why do you think R&B music has gone in that direction? I don’t know. People don’t realize that the music you do today reflects on you tomorrow and in your future also. When you get older, will you still want to be singing that song?
That’s really the situation. If you plan on your career going that far, you’ve gotta make timeless music. A lot of artists aren’t realizing that fans are only as strong as we make them. Right now, we don’t have a solid artist that everybody is in love with. We really don’t. No solid rap artists, no solid R&B artists, nothing like that. When you go to the pop lane, you’ve still got somebody like Justin Bieber. His fans go hard, and he’s singing love songs. There’s a big market out there for love, and I’m really trying to tap into that market because that’s what I believe in.
I know you had caught the attention of a major label at one point. What ended up happening with that situation? We really had an agreement, but it was a lot of miscommunication. We just decided to keep the friendship and maybe we can work together in the future on something else.
So as of right now you’re independent? Right now, I’m going for the fans. I’m going for the people. I plan on putting out a mixtape. If I have to put out an album alone, indepen-dently, that’s what I’ll do. And I’ll have to pick people to have around me in order to help that situation work. If a major label comes around and the business is right, I’m with it. The name of the mixtape is Lover’s Lane, and the album will probably be called Charles in Charge. I’m pushing it with my independent label, and Cedric Hollywood is definitely involved. Cedric has really been working this radio stuff for me. He’s really like family to me. He’s trying to get me into as many [radio] mar-kets as he can. He used to run 99 Jamz and now he’s running three stations in Valdosta, Georgia, and one in Atlanta. He’s steady build-ing me up at radio and I’m just constantly working on records.
What’s your next single?I got the single “Think That I” right now. I did a video for it, that’s the song I’m pushing right now. And in the clubs, we’ve got the “War (In The Bedroom)” record popping right now. I’m really trying to get all of my music to the people. But with R&B, like you said, a lot of times you have to get a rapper on the song to get played in the club. I guess the DJs go with a format, and sometimes that format messes up the freedom of the music. If we hear the same songs in the club that they play on the radio every day, that’s what gets stuck in people’s heads. //
Twitter: @CharlesReed Myspace: CharlesReed YouTube: ItsReedWorld
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Ghost Ent.Words by Julia BeverlyPhoto by Terrence Tyson
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Ghost Ent.
(top row L-R): Mike Bless, A&R Bernie, Smoovey, & engineer Science(bottom row): Splurge Gang
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gHOsT eNTeRTAINMeNT’s TROy2DAveNT eXpLAINs WHy He LeFT sLIp N sLIDe DJs, AND WHy HIs NeW DJ CReW THe A&R DJs Is A sTep AHeAD OF THe ResT.
Let’s start by giving the people some background on you and ghost ent. Who is Troy2Davent? Are you an artist, DJ, manager, or all of the above?My brother is the CEO, GQ. He started the whole movement. I’m the CO of Ghost Enter-tainment, which is our management company. We manage Mike Bless, we just picked him up. You already know his history. He signed with Slip N Slide. Then we’ve got another upcoming group called Splurge Gang. They have a single right now called “808” with Waka Flocka.
you also promote events, right? Yes, Ghost Ent. is also a promotional company. We throw concerts all across the country – literally, everywhere. I run the A&R DJs. I used to run Slip N Slide DJs, and about 70% of those DJs followed me to the A&R DJs. Whenever we have a DJ posted in any city or state, we try to go there and throw a show and employ the DJs that are in our union. We’ll hire the DJs to play and promote. The company makes money off the show, but the DJ that is in our union will also get paid because we booked them to play or promote the concert.
What makes the A&R DJs different from some of the other DJ organizations that are out
there?A&R DJs is not a coalition like the Slip N Slide DJs were, or The CORE DJs, or some of the other organizations. The A&R DJs is just a union where DJs try to employ each other. We still do some of the necessary things like share music and do conference calls, but our main focus is to have our DJs employed. We refer work to each other.
Who are some of the most well-known members of the A&R DJs that people might be familiar with?DJ Big Cap, he’s on Shade 45 Radio. He’s the president. He was Biggie Smalls’ DJ, you know, everybody knows Big Cap. Then you’ve got Boy Wonder. Basically, we recruit a lot of DJs that people like on the radio. They might not be the DJ Khaled or DJ Drama doing songs, but they’re radio DJs. They might be the main in their market because they’re on the radio.
What happened with you and the slip N slide DJs?We kinda outgrew each other. I outgrew the label; I outgrew the DJ coalition. I don’t want to sound disrespectful like I outgrew them, I just felt like it was time for us to move on. I wanted to go in a different direction.
What makes the A&R DJ union different from other coalitions?Well, we’re different from the other coalitions. You can be in any coalition and join us if you’re
(L to R): Troy2Davent, GQ
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about making money. We have some DJs in our union that are also with the Slip N Slide DJs. We have DJs in our union that are in a lot of other coalitions. As long as they represent us and believe in our movement, we refer each other work. You’ll see that a lot of the DJs on our roster, we helped them get work in some of those cities. That’s the difference. If an artist comes on our line, they can’t come on our line unless they give the DJs drops. That’s a minor thing, but a lot of times, DJs push artists’ music and the artist won’t even do a drop for them. If you come on teh A&R DJ line, trust me, the minimum is that you’re going to give all our DJs drops, and they’re going to push you. They’ll basically push you for free because of your music. If they’re going to push you, the least you can do is give them a drop. We only mess with [artists] that are helping the DJs. It’s a union, so we’re fighting and standing up for ourselves.
Who are some of the artists that have showed the most love to the DJs?Rick Ross, and Maino really show us love. If you go to our page right now you’ll hear those cats shouting us out; they show love. If one of the DJs calls Maino, he’ll do a discount rate on booking. That’s another thing that helps us with prices. He shows a lot of love. 2 Chainz, Big KRIT, all of those cats are showing us love.
What should we look out for from Mike Bless?Mike Bless has this song called “I’m A Star” which is going to be a hit. And he’s got the single “Gone,” so that’s two hit records. Mike Bless, I’m telling you, he is going to be that nigga. The next big artist. The next Trey Songz, I’m telling you. Trust me, all he needed was a little backing. It takes money to make money. We’re going to help him with product and hookups and the looks he needs, like with OZONE Mag.
Is there anything specific you’ll be doing dur-ing the Florida Classic weekend?We’re working on some parties for Florida Classic right now, but it hasn’t been confirmed. We do have a show coming up in Birmingham at The Palace. We’re going to do different types of concerts and events. We’re actually going to have that plug every Saturday - The Palace in Birmingham. So we’re going to be out there doing a lot of work. We do a lot of shows. Right now we’re setting up shows that our DJs are working on with the manager and club owner.
What role does your brother gQ play with ghost entertainment?
He’s the one that came in and helped my situation to the point where I was able to grow and move on from the Slip N Slide situation. He personally came in and helped em fund my whole situation. He believed in my movement and helped me, and in exchange I helped him build his label and his management and promotions company. So, he is the one responsible for Ghost Entertainment, he funds the management company and the concerts. He grabs the artists. He’s been doing concerts for like ten years. He did Super Bowl parties, he’s done parties with Rick Ross before. He was promoting and we kinda hooked up and made this Ghost thing happen.
Is there anything else you want to add? At the end of the day, I just want DJs to know that I’m ana ctivist. I feel like DJs and people should understand this: the reason why I started A&R DJs is because I feel like a DJ is more than a person that spins records. I feel like a DJ is an A&R. If you understand what an A&R means, it means Artist Repertoire/Artist Relations. It doesn’t mean that the person just got an artist and a record and a label and puts their name on it as an A&R. An A&R should basically be somebody who handles the artists relations all the way around. They’re the ones that develop the artists at the label. The way you develop an artist ist hat you take that artist and coach them in the studio, build them, play their music, get their music played, send out email blasts, do posts, do facebook. To tell you the truth, as a DJ, we did all that already. We’re just knwon for spinning. So I said the new school A&R DJs should really get the credit for everything they do. We do all of that.
For example, with Mike Bless, we’re taking his music and helping him out on his social networking sites, on his Facebook, basically just reaching out to people like yourself. If we were just DJs spinning in clubs, we wouldn’t be reaching out to the Julia Beverlys and the OZONEs and the Sources. So basically we’re reaching out to people like that. We’re sending the email blasts, we’re sending the Facebook messages, we’re setting up the Twitter ac-counts, and I just feel like these are some of the things DJs don’t get noticed for. DJs aren’t getting noticed for the A&R work they’re do-ing. So that’s why I decided to call our union the A&R DJs. Yes, we’ve got A&R DJs that do spin at nightclubs and talk on the radio, but the new school DJs, in my opinion, should be an A&R DJ because he does both jobs anyway.
Web: TheRealghostent.comWeb: ANRDJunion.com
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Words by Julia Beverly
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MikeBless
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AKRON, OH RAppER MIKE BLESS TOOK HIS TALENTS TO SOUTH BEACH AND SIGNED WITH SLIp N SLIDE. HERE, HE TALKS ABOUT LINKING Up WITH GHOST ENTERTAINMENT & THE A&R DJ COALITION.
so you’re working with Troy2Davent and ghost entertainment on the management side of things now? How did that come about?Yeah, I met Troy2Davent when he was presi-dent of the Slip N Slide DJs. He was there since day one. He was there the day they picked me to sign with Slip N Slide, and he just believed from day one. It was genuine. A lot of my first paid shows really came from him and his brother Q, so I built a personal relationship with them. It’s kinda like a big brother type relationship. We started putting some more things together. I definitely needed that extra push and we all had the same vision, so we made it happen.
What do you think the A&R DJs bring to the table compared to some of the other DJ organizations?The thing about the A&R DJs is that they really try to help DJs get money. It’s more than just spinning records; they also handle the busi-ness side of things. They help teach them the game and how to make money off it. A lot of coalitions have DJs playing records, but it’s usually just one person making all the money.
The last time we spoke you were in the middle of filming a movie. Can you tell us a little more about that?The movie was filmed in Miami and it’s called Magic City. It’s directed by Malcolm Jones; he’s done a lot of music videos for Travis Porter, Flo Rida, Chris Brown, T-Pain, the list goes on. He’s been doing a lot of things on the music side and decided he wanted to take it to the next level and start shooting movies. This was his first movie, so I submitted soundtrack music and ended up building a relationship with him and getting to do a reading [for a character]. I play a character named True; he’s one of the lead characters in the movie. So make sure you check out Magic City directed by Malcolm Jones.
Music-wise, what do you have coming up?I just dropped by new mixtape, Money Sex & Paraphernalia 1.5. I had dropped Money Sex & Paraphernalia the first time but it didn’t really get out there like that, so we decided to touch it up a little bit with a different flavor and put it out there.
Is it all original beats or are you remixing well-known beats?Everything’s original. I might borrow some beats for the next mixtape, but this one here is all original tracks. My boy E&G, the Diaz Brothers are on there, The Architects, there’s a lot of producers on the record that I fuck with. It’s all family. I’ve built relationships off twitter and throughout the industry. There’s a lot of producers out of Miami, some from Toronto, you know, it’s all original beats.
Are there a lot of features on this project or are you mainly focused on introducing yourself as an artist?It’s primarily focused on me, but I’ve got a couple features from Miami, like Iceberg, Papa Duck, and Trina. It’s mainly me just being an artist and not just a “rapper” or a “singer.” I feel like music is getting back to just music.
Do you have any plans to release your debut album through slip N slide?it’s in the air right now. The main thing we’re trying to focus on is getting that buzz correct. I want my album to drop when it’s something that everybody is asking about.
Recently, uncle Luke spoke out against some of the Miami transplants because he felt they weren’t doing enough for the com-munity. Being a Miami transplant yourself, how did you feel about that?I understand where he’s coming from. We’re in his hometown so he’s basically just speaking about how he feels.
Do you have any plans to give back to the community of Miami?Oh, definitely. When I first got down here I was a part of the Care For Haiti movement. That was one of the first things I did. I was working with Michelle, a commissioner in Miami, on a lot of things as well. Once I get to the point where I’m a major name in the industry I’m definitely going to be sending information to a lot of different kids and get them to start spreading the message.
Is there anything else you want to say?I gotta give Pensacola, FL, and Akron, OH a shout out, and the whole Gulf Coast and definitely Miami - shout out for having me. I’m loving it. //
Twitter: @MikeBlessFacebook: /MikeBlessWeb: ANRDJunion.com
MikeBless
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MIAMI’s DJ NAsTy – NOT TO Be CONFuseD WITH ORLANDO’s DJ NAsTy OF NAsTy BeATMAKeRs – MADe HIs MARK WHILe ATTeNDINg COLLege IN TALLAHAssee BeFORe BRINgINg HIs DJ sKILLs BACK TO HIs HOMeTOWN. He’s ReCeNTLy LINKeD up WITH FLO RIDA’s IMg sTRONg ARM LABeL AND pLANs TO ReLeAse HIs OWN ALBuM.
How would you compare Tallahassee and Miami when it comes to DJing? What are the pros and cons of each market?Miami is a way better market but it’s also oversaturated. There’s too many DJs here. So the oversaturation is horrible, but as far as the opportunity and the chance to make money and progress, this is one of the best markets in the world.
since we’re speaking about oversatura-tion, what do you think sets you apart from the other DJs? What do you think is your strength?For me personally, I think my strength is just the ability to break a record. A lot of these DJs really don’t know what it takes to break a record. I think I have the ability to take a new record and make people feel like it’s the big-gest record ever, even though they’ve never heard it before.
What are some of the recent records you’ve broken?There’s a kid out here in Miami that just signed to Flo Rida’s label named Whyl Chyl. He’s got a record called “Money In The Bank,” and the re-cord is nuts out here. Like, in the hood, people go crazy for it. It’s really starting to pick up now on South Beach. I think everybody is starting to jump on that particular record.
Who are some of the other artists locally that are making a lot of noise?Iceberg, Ballgreezy, Whyl Chyl, there’s so many local artists in Miami that are doing there thing, it’s hard to name them all.
Will you be DJing in Orlando during the Clas-sic weekend?Yeah, Thursday I’m doing a karaoke joint at the Doubletree Hotel right off of I-Drive. Then I’m at the Roxy with Meek Mill on Friday. Saturday I’m at the Roxy again with 2 Chainz and then Sunday I’m at LAX with Future. And I’m sup-posed to do a car show soon.
Aside from DJing, do you have any other projects you’re working on?I’m getting ready to start on my album, Get Real. I’m going to get in the studio and start fucking around and I should have a single ready by February. My album is basically [a compilation] of me breaking some of the local Miami artists and putting them out there in the major scene. I’ve got a team of producers I’m dealing with, this dude named Breyan. A lot of people don’t know about him but this dude is crazy. He’s done records for Flo Rida, Pleasure P, Trina, the list goes on. This dude is incredible. //
Twitter: @DJNasty305Web: www.imgstrongarm.com
Miami’sDJ NastyWords by Julia Beverly
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Miami’sDJ Nasty
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