DX: So you’re saying that throwing money at a problem isn’t going to change it—"A nigga is always gonna be a nigga." But do you think that’s what’s keeping conservative America from realizing the artistic value of rap music?
DB: No, that’s not what’s keeping America from seeing the artistic value; our skin color is. The truth is, and I mean this literally, name one A-list star…not like a David Banner, but like a Tiger Woods or an Oprah…tell me one that stands for anything. Show me one that got dreads or provocative African looking hairstyles. We don’t have one star that stands for anything or that is gonna stand up and make America feel uncomfortable. In order to reach that [high level of success) you gotta be a do-boy. America won’t let you reach that level until the first prove that you’ve been broken.

DX: One of our bloggers, Charmalagne Tha God from The Wendy Williams Show, recently blogged about how there are no black people making black history. He basically said that Jay-Z isn’t making black history, 50 Cent isn’t, and neither is Lil Wayne. They might be making a whole lot of money, but they aren’t doing anything to uplift black people. Why do you think that so few rappers use their public platform to stand for something or uplift us?
DB: Well number one it’s not their responsibility. But that’s what America’s doing to rappers. If a dog gets killed in Lithuania it's 50 Cent’s fault. [Laughs] I just happen to take responsibility because I was raised that way. That’s how my mother and father built me. They built a revolutionary, not just a rapper. I gave money to the hood when I was hustlin’, I gave money to the hood when I was a teacher, and that’s what I still do now. I give scholarships. And I’ll give you an example of how hypocritical the press is: I am one of the few people that uses my platform! I threw the largest urban relief concert in history. Did they put that on the front of Time Magazine? But I bet if I got shot 15 times in the face, [they would]. Black people will do anything that’s worth it. But it’s not worth it to be a revolutionary, because if you black and revolutionary do you know what happens to you? You die. You name me one person that stood up for anything that didn’t die. They killed Malcolm, they killed Martin Luther King, that’s what history shows. If you stand up for anything, you die.

DX: Do you think they’ll kill Obama if he’s elected?
DB: Probably will. But it will be worth it. You don’t stop something 'cause you scared. I knew I was gonna die soon as I opened my mouth. I got about four or five more years before they do me in. I just look so good that they wanna marvel at me first before they kill me. [Laughs] I’m like a big doe—no wait-- I’m like a big buck! I’m a big buck and they wanna look at my antlers before they chop off my head. [Laughs]

DX: [Laughs]. So back to the media’s role in Hip Hop… the media makes this defined distinction between different regions of rap music: it’s East coast and West coast. Dirty South and Midwest. Why do you think that the media makes that distinction with rap, but not with any other genre?
DB: Have you ever heard of the Willie Lynch Letter?

DX: Of course.
DB: It’s the same principle. What they did with slaves is they divided them by their color, by age, by their region of where they were from. They separated us, but we continue to let them. We continue to let them do that to us. We still eat the same unhealthy food, we still treat each other the way the slave master treated us; it’s been beat into us and we feed into it. And there has to be some sort of effort that we make as a people to stop it. Like you said, they don’t have "Southern Rock n Roll"…it’s so stupid. I hear a lot of east coast rappers talkin’ about southern rap, and it’s so stupid! It don’t fuckin' matter! As long as someone is rapping and records is sellin' then we can all continue to have opportunities! If there was no west coast rap or southern rap, it would all be dead. It woulda died when the east coast died down. So what we have to do is understand that as long as we can keep the [rap] business going then we can all have a another chance. Look at Common. If it wasn’t for the south, Common wouldn’t have had that time to come back when Kanye helped him. You understand what I’m saying? It would be over.

DX: Now on a personal note, I know that Pimp C was a very close friend and influential mentor to you. How have you been coping with his loss?
DB: Aw man, it’s been hard…It’s been hard. Pimp C wasn’t only a friend, he was a mentor and a supporter of David Banner. It wasn’t just a relationship where I looked up to him; we sorta looked up to each other in a strange way. And to have someone of that magnitude and that much power and to know that I could call up Pimp C at any time and be honest…I mean…there’s two things that I think are the death of black men, besides [other] black men, and that’s not having mentors and not having strong black women to support them. There are strong black women out there, but black women don’t give a fuck about niggas no more! They got their jobs. And the truth is, white men want [black women to work for them] because they can complete two quotas by hiring a [black] woman. They get the woman quota and the minority quota…but that’s a whole other story. Continued on page 4 »