Real estate was one of the first things I was doing. I kinda like mistakenly fell into that. I bought a house early in my career, and in my head, it was like, if everything goes wrong, I own this one house, you know... As I started doing concerts and more concerts, I started buying more houses.
Naw, I don't write raps down. All my raps come off the top of the head.
I think CMG is gonna grow and only get bigger and bigger. We're gonna continue to find the right talent and do everything that's necessary because I got an 'I will not lose' mentality.
'Back 2 Da Basics' was my way of saying I'm done and out of the streets and I'm going to get a record deal and be a rapper for real.
I never tell my artists how to rap or how to approach a song. I let them do the song.
I would watch all of the videos that came on on BET and MTV. I was infatuated with the hip-hop culture.
I recorded 'The Art of Hustle' album three times because I had the time to do it.
They say you're blessed to be a blessing to others. There's no better time to live that saying then the holidays. Especially when so many families are struggling.
When you live a certain way for so long, that's the only way people can see you. I don't necessarily mean that's who you is or you can't change, but it's a stigma that they put on you when you're from a place where I'm from. That's one way of looking at 'Trapped.'
I got a lot of respect for Drake, most definitely; he's killin' it.
It was once upon a time where me, myself as a kid - and I know plenty of people who grew up the same way - couldn't even afford a pair of shoes.
I didn't study no rappers when I was coming up. I was studying moguls. I was studying Jay Z. I was studying Puff. I was studying Master P.
You got some artists who want street credit. Like, they market street credit. They take certain incidents and turn it into marketing to try and boost the sales. You don't never see me speaking on that. I'm trying to stay away from it.
As a street hustler, you've got to be smarter than everybody. You have to outsmart the police, you have to outsmart the people in competition with you, you have to outsmart all the opposition.
Labels don't want artists to put out mixtapes because they don't monetize it.
Memphis breeds hustlers, I feel. It's just cutthroat living period, so to survive around vultures and savages like that, it prepares you for whatever profession you go in.
The fact is, I'm the biggest rapper from Memphis, I help a lot of rappers from Memphis.
Memphis is just like any other city. I'm pretty sure it's like the streets of Baltimore, with your hoods and traps.
