For someone of AZ’s calibre, it is hard to believe that he has not garnered the kind of support and love that his peers have so easily acquired. It’s not as if Cruz’s flow and delivery has not been recognised in this industry; it has, only on a much smaller scale compared to the likes of Nas or Jay-Z. I ask why he thinks this is, and he replies casually, “I guess because they had that machine behind them, which was pushed into where they had to go, and I never had that same particular machine, so I mean as far as me, personally, I feel like I have that same love, and that credibility that they have.” I agree avidly, and try to get him to describe his music in three words. “Hahaha!” he laughed. (I’m not quite sure what was so funny…) “Er… inspirational… poetical… and to the point.” When I mention that he’d listed a little more than three words, he quipped, “Well ‘to the point’ is one word to me!”

For the time being, AZ is fully focussed on his music. However, in the three years since the release of 2002’s ‘Aziatic’, the rapper has been busy getting his Quiet Money Records off the ground, and in the rapper’s own words, it is “only now getting its shine”. “Well I have my artists, which are from my hood… Y.G., Animal, Trav…” he told, trailing off. “They getting set up right now. They on this album right here [‘A.W.O.L.’], and then we’re gonna figure out how things go.”

AZ has also been occupying himself with making movies, taking one further step towards becoming an all-round entertainer. “Well, I just did a movie called ‘Envy’, with Ray J, Lisa Raye, Mya Campbell and Chico De Barge, which hopefully comes out the end of this year,” he revealed. “I got the lead role in it, and it’s just me being in the street life, and Ray J’s my little cousin, wanna follow behind my footsteps, so I leave it alone and he takes over. Then the friends that I’m with, they wanna know why I handed it over, and there’s a lot of shit going on. Lisa Raye plays my wife in the movie, so you know, it’s a good look.”

With so much going on in his life, the rapper, who describes himself as ‘low key’ - (“I don’t get caught up in the hype; I just do me.”) – is gonna need to find time in his already-packed schedule to do some touring to promote the new album. However, he assures HHDX readers that a tour is definitely on the way, despite not being able to give specific details. “We’re setting things up as we speak, so yeah, I’ll solidify something real soon.”

Finally, any last words? “Just the album here, the ‘A.W.O.L.’ album, which should definitely give my fans their bragging rights. They’ll be able to say, ‘I told you so!’”

‘A.W.O.L.’ drops on August 23rd on Quiet Money/Fastlife Music, and is distributed by Koch Records.