DX: G-Unit has been criticized for being too formulaic. What separates this Product of the South album from the previous stuff?
YB: This is totally different than what you’ve been getting from me with G-Unit. If I had to label what Cashville Records brings to the table, I’d call it ghetto gospel. We make records for the club. We make hits that will spin on the radio just as much as any other record would. But, our strong point is speaking about the struggle to those people still in it and the ones who already made it out. That’s what we all come from. C-Bo, The Outlawz and the other artists I’ve signed are people I listened to. I’m their fans, so you can imagine what having them on my team is doing for my confidence. I’m through the roof with Cashville Records, and it ain’t a soul out here than can fuck with us.

DX: You’ve gone on record as being a big 2Pac fan, and he was a fan of C-Bo and a mentor to The Outlawz. How much did that play into you signing them?
YB: A lot of people don’t know that when ‘Pac was living, he had a family member, I think he was his cousin, named Kenny Black. Back when I was a young boy grinding in the streets, I was in Atlanta at the time. This nigga Kenny Black ran up on me like, “Yo, nigga you a Outlaw!” I was young, so I didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about. But he kept on with it like, “You one of us, nigga. You gone see what I’m talking about. I’m ‘Pac’s cousin.” He was a real loud nigga, and I was like, “Alright my nigga, I hear you.” I was with Juvenile and UTP at the time, but I had always been a fan of ‘Pac. I had came through that Death Row circle at a point in time, so I’m squared up with Suge [Knight]. Suge know how Buck get down. He knows me from the streets to the beats and some more shit. When the shit happened from that angle, he was always pushing that line.

C-Bo was one of the first artists to get down with me. We used to fuck with each other in the streets. Once I started to establish my shit with Cashville Records, he was the first to actually sign a contract with my label. Once he signed, he was like, “Yo, my nigga, The Outlawz are really loving what we’re doing. They really want to be a part of it.” I’m going, “What? Let’s do it.” I ended up getting with E.D.I. and Young Noble and I’m telling them, “When I was a little boy, this nigga was always running up on me popping shit, saying I was an Outlaw and I’d see what he meant later on in life.” That nigga really did end up being 2Pac’s first cousin, and they called Kenny Black up on the phone. We ended up having a little family reunion.

DX: So this isn’t a novelty thing, and there really is a connection between you all?
YB: This shit is God’s plan, my nigga! This ain’t no shit where I just woke up as a fan of Tupac Shakur and said, “Fuck it. Let me run and go get The Outlawz and C-Bo.” Nah, I’ve been fuckin’ with them for a minute, and shit is just unfolding this way. One thing about God’s plan is that you can’t stop it. No man on Earth can stop God’s plan. So we’re taking that shit, the good and the bad, and rocking. It ain’t shit that can stop me—not 50 Cent, not nothing. 50 is down with me. A lot of people get that shit twisted, but I just rock on. That’s the only thing I can do because there’s so many rumors out there. I’m still sitting on a phone call from 50 to let me know when we’re moving with the G-Unit album.

DX: As you said there are a lot of rumors. Do you feel like addressing those?
YB: Yeah, it’s cool.

DX: What happened with your chain allegedly getting taken from you?
YB: I ain’t gonna act like it wasn’t a situation that didn’t happen. It happened. I got into an altercation at a club down here called The Place, and the altercation was actually with some cats that I know. Now, during the altercation, my watch popped off my wrist and one of the cats also reached over and snatched my chain. I’ll just put it this way…at the end of the day my watch just jumped back on my wrist. My chain just fell out of nowhere and landed right back in my hands and shit. I’ll just be real. Shit happens out here, but it’s all about how you handle it. As far as anybody taking anything from me? Hell no. My watch is here right now, my chain is on my neck and the Bentley is in the driveway.

DX: Given the politics of the game, what do take away from a situation such as DJ Khaled refusing to play G-Unit records or the now resolved incident with The Core DJ’s?
YB: It is what it is. That was ’07 and this is ’08. As a matter-of-fact, this is not ’08, it’s dough-eight. Everyone is focused on doing better for themselves. By not playing a Young Buck record or not playing a G-Unit record, who are you hurting other than yourself? There are people out there that actually like me and like G-Unit. As far as The Core DJ’s, we already resolved that issue. Shout out to Tony Neal and the cat that the incident was with too. We sat down like men and worked it out and got an understanding. He understood that my involvement with that situation wasn’t as deep as he thought. He spoke his side, I respected everything he had to say, and we moved on. Continued on page 4 »