Murder Dog Magazine hat ein Interview mit Evil Pimp geführt (April 05).
This interview continues from Murder Dog Magazine Vol 12 #1
You live in Iowa now. What is the rap scene like there?
Really there ain’t no scene here. Every time someone tries to do something niggaz don’t try to support it unless they are involved in it. They don’t try to feature unless they get full credit and they ain’t trying to pay another nigga. Niggaz here want other niggaz to rap for free. I get calls all the time saying, "Do a show with me," but niggaz ain’t trying to pay. I got kids, so I ain’t trying to sit here and rap for free. Really there ain’t much of a rap scene. We do got some niggaz that are buzzing though! I got a buzz, Creep Lo has a pretty strong fan base too. There are a lot of other niggaz here doing shit rap-wise, but they ain’t doing shit business-wise. There really ain’t shit here to be honest with you.
No one does that sinister style anymore and it is needed!
Now it is more on that crunk shit. Anyone who comes out with an album is going to automatically think that they have to do crunk to make it and blow up. Back in the day when Bone Thugs came out everybody was up on that fast shit. People are gonna follow what is hot. If you got a whole bunch of niggaz rappin’ the same and you got one nigga that sounds different you are gonna wanna hear that nigga that is different. Memphis has the most unique style of anyone in the business. The Memphis style is so muthafuckin’ cold people buy the old tapes for a lot of money. Now everyone is trying to change with the trends, that they ain’t looking at what made them niggaz hot. Look at all the love this town was getting with that music. The very first time you heard a Memphis song I guarantee you were hooked from that day on. The crunk shit is gonna be like anything else, just a fad and a trend until the next thing comes along and hopefully it is that old M-Town shit that comes back.
You are also a talented producer. When did you get into producing?
I was about 15 and I knew a couple niggaz which I was real close with. These niggaz was older than me. They were always talking about trying to do something in the game. They would never let me rap, so I just sat back because I was a young nigga. I was always the type of nigga when I would see something I could easily do it. They got the little drum machines out sampling and shit. I went out to Strings & Things over the summer when I was in Memphis and bought a little $50 drum machine and a little 4 track and started laying down beats. It was all cheap equipment that I was using like a little Radio Shack keyboard, then I got with some guys rappin over beats I sampled at the crib. We didn’t really take it seriously back then. We didn’t even try selling them, so we would just pass ’em out. As I really started making beats the style really grew on me.
Your style is evil, is that where you got your name?
I met a dude named Gangsta Rip and back then I was rappin’ under the name Lil’ Cash with kind of an East Coast style. I sent a demo tape off to a record label in Texas called Definite Records with Hustler-E and they wanted to sign me, but it fell through. They said I was too young, so I kind of gave up on the rap game. Then Gangsta Rip had one of the fastest tongues that I ever heard and I wanted to get down with him. He told me that Lil’ Cash wasn’t going to fit his click because it was the R.I.P. Click. I was with DJ Slick and I was telling him that I needed to think of a rap name and he threw out some shit but it sounded like bullshit. One day we were fuckin’ wit some hoes and I was doggin’ them bitches. He told me that "I am so evil to them hoes that I was like an Evil Azz Pimp". He said "You know what? That should be your name: Evil Pimp. They started calling me Evil Pimp. I don’t slap bitches, I burn ’em. That name came from DJ Slick who died. I gotta give him credit for that!
You rap so many different styles. What do you prefer, the fast or slow style?
To be honest the fast rap is elementary with me. I think rappin’ I slow I prefer to do because it is the hardest. The fast rap is really simple to me, but I know the fans love it. A lot of people have compared me to Twista, which I think is a good compliment, because he is one of the kings of the tongue twistin’.
What is the next album that Slaughter House Records is droppin’?
We got the Krucifix Klan album called The Last Krucifixun. We are trying to secure some distribution for that. Right now we are working on the Playa Rob album. Every time you think of Krucifix Klan and Slaughter House you think of Evil Pimp. I told my guys that I don’t want it to be like that. I want to give everybody some time to shine. I’m trying to put everyone else’s album out and put mine on hold. I’m gonna give some of my other artists time to shine.
How did you connect with Slaughter House Records?
My music caught the ears of a guy named Herbie Love out of Florida and he liked what I was doing. At that time I was fucked up and really didn’t have no money. I was getting fucked over with all kinds of shit. He hit me up one day and said, "I have been a fan of your shit for years and I know that if you get the right promotion you could fuck up this rap game." He told me that he wanted to buy in on the company and be head CEO. I was like, "I ain’t gonna say no to the money." If you put money with talent then it equals money! It was all gravy with me because he is a very good businessman. He got me all kinds of contacts! I would’ve never been in this Murder Dog if it wasn’t for him. I would’ve never been in stores and pushing as many units as I am now if it wasn’t for him. I thank him a lot for the opportunities that he gave me. He is real up front and there is no going behind my back doing shit. Everything is right up front and that is the way a business should be so I can concentrate on the music and not have to worry about this and that. As of right now I think that was the best move of my life.
Do a lot of people come at you for your beats?
It is funny you should mention that because I don’t even sell beats outside of my camp. A tight-ass beat that I could sell to a nigga might make that nigga a millionaire when I coulda gave that beat to one of my artists. I got a lot of people that hit me up, but they don’t have money. Don’t call me if you don’t have no muthafuckin’ money. Fuck that! I would gladly feature on an album or make a beat if the money is right. As of right now I ain’t doing shit unless you got money.
What is your favorite project that you put out and why?
Da Exocist Returns! I will stand behind that project until it’s judgment day. That album was my first album that I actually put a lot of effort in. I put my all into that project. The album came out a lot better than I originally thought it would. I am totally impressed with it. You can play the CD from beginning to end with using fast forward, which is something you can hardly do in this game anymore. It is a classic! It has too many hits and bumping ass beats. I like my other shit, but this is the one that I have in the ride.
What do you think about the state of Rap right now?
Now it is a lot better as far as getting in because you got niggaz that come out of nowhere and sell 2-300,000 units off of one song. Back in the day you had to have three hits off your CD and be on a major label to make any kind of money. As far as music it is more on crunk shit. People are not thinking outside the box. On my album I got a crunk song, some shit you can blaze to, some shit for the playaz if you are doggin’ hoes and everything. That crunk shit will get old if you constantly have that all over your album. Now everybody only has one style that they can do. I can go East Coast, West, or whatever the fuck. I just choose to do that evil shit for the simple fact that is what I came up off of and not because that is what’s in. Stick to what your roots are! Lil Jon was making bass and now he is all crunk. He just changed for the times instead of sticking to what the fuck he does, just like Three 6. Stick to the shit that you do! Twista came up off of that fast rap and that is what the fuck he is doing now. Nigga ain’t gonna change shit because he knows that is what got him where the fuck he is.
After Playa Rob drops will you drop another album?
Well we got an r & b artist named Eva which we are producing. It’s r & b, but it has that evil feel to it. I wanna see how the market is with that. I think an Evil Pimp album will be further down the road. I got Gangsta Roz, is a female artist that I just signed. I want to get my artists out there, because my name is already known. As soon as we get a major deal you already know Evil Pimp is gonna be the first nigga out.
When I look at Slaughter House I see another potential Cash Money, No Limit. What do you think?
Those right there are some hard footprints to follow. They knew exactly what to throw at the fans at the right time. That is what I feel like I am doing right now. I’m throwing shit at them when the game is saturated with the same style. I’m throwing a style at them that has never really blown up yet. We got strong production, strong rappers and a good business head that is leading us to the right path. I feel like we can be the next Cash Money, or No Limit. Unlike them we are gonna know when not to really over saturate the game where our longevity won’t get played out. That was how them niggaz fucked up! They were on every single and came out too much that when a new sound came out niggaz didn’t want to hear that old shit.
What about a real strong underground following like Esham or Tech N9ne?
They’re independent and still selling hundreds of thousands of units with no video and radio. If you look at it, they’re making that independent money real good. That right there is honestly how I want to be. I want to be underground, but to where I’m still selling units, because that is where the real money is. You can sell 50,000 CD’s at ten a pop independently and make 500,000. Them niggaz is probably right where the fuck they wanna be because every time they drop they know the following will support them. The majority of the time on the mainstream it is all about your single. Everyone rates you off of your single, but on the underground scene they rate you off your whole album. I want them loyal ass fans!
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