G. Malone has been looking for the perfect deal since about 2004. A onetime affiliate of Black Wall Street, Glasses, as he’s also referred to, took a seven-figure deal with Sony at a time when The Game was winning, and each major scrambled for California talent to follow suit.

That was then. Nearly two years later, G. Malone, with some help, returned much of his stipend to Sony, walking away with his half-completed Beach Cruiser album. Now affiliated with Cash Money Records in a deal brokered by Mack 10, the Eastside emcee is already getting spins of his official first single “Certified.” Here, DXNext gets opinion from Malone on underground love, the importance of unity, and how respect is just as good a commodity in the industry as money.

HipHopDX: Tell me how your career or the timeframe of releasing your album has been different since Cash Money Records has gotten involved…
G. Malone: It’s a lot better. If you see somebody who understands what you’re doing and can bring to the table and match your energy. My records are getting really big out here, getting all day spins in L.A. and San Diego. I think in terms of breaking the record in the south, because it’s a completely different look, it will make that step easier too.

DX: A year ago, your situation did not even include Mack 10. Walk us through the last year, since leaving Sony. Since you’re with Cash Money now, are you with Universal?
GM: Exactly. What happened [with Sony] was the people that signed me left. That was all the confirmation I needed.

DX: You had a blockbuster, seven-figure deal. Was it hard to get out of there?
GM: What happened, really, was that’s what took so long for me to get out of the situation, because of the deal I got, because of the size of the advance I got, because of the type of budget I had, because of all that. They weren’t gonna let somebody go, who they had invested so much money in. I had half of my record paid for. There was so much money as a stipend that I had to pay it. It was hard to get out, once I knew the situation was going bad. We had to go through a lot. Shout out to Chilly, that’s the dude who runs Lupe [Fiasco’s] whole [1st & 15th] camp, got locked up, Big Chuck of Drama Family and K.P., an executive over there at Sony. [With their help], I was able to maneuver my way out. It was a situation between Akon and Mack 10, and I just kept it west coast. Akon is my partner, so whatever he needs…I’ll kill a nigga for Akon, he’s just that type of guy. Like I said, it took a minute, but as soon as I got out of the situation, I got a half-done [album] with Akon, Wyclef [Jean], all kind of people. It was never a problem. Mack 10 really brokered it. Once I got out, he made the situation really smooth for me as to whatever I was going to get in.

DX: You mentioned a huge budget at Sony. The half-done record, we’re never going to hear, correct?
GM: Nah. The thing about Sony…a lot of people talk shit about Sony, but I’m not. Lil Flip got to leave with his material and I got to leave with mine. So I’ve got the same material, plus Cash Money has allowed me to do even more, which is stepping it up to a whole ‘nother level. It’s an awesome project. You’re gonna hear everything that I’ve been working on. You’ll hear what’s taken me a year and a half for making great records, great music for everybody. You got the whole thing. Sony let me walk away with my whole masters. It was in exchange for a lot of the stipend, but I’m not in the hole with ‘em at all, so it’s actually worked out really good for me.

DX: When people saw you associated with that budget, I’m sure it was no problem charging you heavy. But so much of Hip Hop, as Lil Wayne and Akon know all-too-well, is about favors for favors. Having been exposed to both ways of doing business, which do you prefer?
GM: It’s a little bit of both. When you can walk up to somebody and say, “Money’s not an issue,” of course, you’ll get whatever you fuckin’ want to get. That’s the perk of having a situation where the money is that big. Secondly, when you sign to a label like Cash Money and people know Lil Wayne, and you’ve got Baby, Slim and Mack 10 pushing you, everybody wants to just get down anyway. To be honest, from stepping to a have-money situation to more of a respect situation, I’d go with the respect. It’s going from having all the money you need to people respecting what you’re a part of; it’s the same thing, really. Some artists wanted money, some didn’t. When I was with Sony, it was all good. And while I’m with Cash Money, it’s been all good. Baby and them ain’t strange with the change. They’re gonna get whatever I want them to get, and do whatever I want them to do. They love that shit. Continued on page 2 »