So you basically just skipped ahead to the score, any plans to go back and write it?
If the album is successful, I will definitely. Otherwise, I’ll do it in my spare time, when it permits. I would like to do movies, both scoring and acting. I already scored a porno earlier in the year called "Asian Bang" and I recently tried out for a drug dealer role in an indie horror movie (even I can't make that shit up) and the people liked me, I may get a callback.

That’s dope. How different was it to work on this album, knowing it was purely instrumental?
It was the same but different. Most of my beats are conceptual normally, and I do a lot of concept songs. But I don't do many concept albums, its been a while. Music For Tu Madre and to an extent, $ick Of Bein Rich, were kinda like concept albums. But to do a whole story, I've never done that. It's also different because it doesn't have my usual shit talking and antics. It's just going back to beats and ideas, which I wanted to do since day one, but I got caught up in the rapper part. It still has my wit though, you can tell I did it

I was gonna say that, your personality is still all over it. After this experience you think you've got another instrumental album in you?
I can't say who yet, but I am working on an instrumental album with another producer (more known as a rapper) who is real ill. He's on a major as a rapper, so I can't really blurt his name out til we get the red tape straight. But we doin some crazy beat mixtape concept shit. I have another one I’m working on alone as well, with a theme of course. But I have to see how this one does first. I don’t know if the public will be receptive to me doin instrumental stuff cause they're used to my character on records and if I'm not crackin jokes, they may overlook it

When does zone the rapper come back?
I have no idea. No time soon, that’s for sure. Not really tryin to rap like that

If I recall, you planned on giving up the mic a few albums ago right?
Yeah, but within a year i was back rappin again. I finished Bo$$ Hog Barbarian$ last August and haven’t done a rap song since, so this is my longest hiatus thus far. I'm beginning to think it's a wrap for rap. I always rapped for fun man, I never wanted to be a full time rapper, I always said that. I take my song witing seriously, but my approach to rhymes is silly and humorous. But when I would refuse to freestyle, refuse to rap on the radio and people said I was a one trick pony with subject matter, I was like, man y'all not feelin what I'm sayin! Rapping is therapy and entertainment for me, no more no less, although I take the art of makin records seriously. So with that in mind, it shouldn't be a shock I'm gonna fall back from it. Especially being humor has no place in rap anymore, everybody is a battle rapper, hood killer, hustler, space rapper, etc. Continued on page 3 »