[Initially], Disco D hit me through Myspace. He was surprised that I hit him back. He told me that as far as southern rappers, he felt that me and Lil’ Wayne was his favorites, and he was excited by the fact that me and [Wayne] were doing his track together. I only had the two-track, I didn’t have the full files. After that, I found out that he committed suicide. I was trippin’ off that, like he seemed so happy. I wouldn’t expect that. Then his friends hit me and told me that he had put the files up on a server, and we logged on, and got the files. It was like he was leaving the files for me or somethin’. A lot of people don’t know this story. People hit me tryin’ to get the old version of the song and stuff, but I don’t feel comfortable releasing that version.

DX: In last month’s XXL, the interview mentioned that you recently quit drinking Red Bull because you sensed an addiction. Rappers love drinking, smoking, whatever. How do you see the correlation between fame and addiction?
C: Man, that’s real. It can change a lot of stuff. It can change you, it can change the people around you, it really does. Even me, I’ve changed a little bit because of fame. When you get on Forbes’ ["Hip Hop Cash Kings"] and stuff, man, people start treating you differently. Just now, we just walked through Canadian customs and the guy there was asking me all kinds of questions about that stuff – my ringtones, just for us to get through Canadian customs. It can be a real addiction where you can start to soak that in and love it a little too much, but you can become this big monster, somebody who’s not in touch with reality. Whatever your weakness is – if it’s women, if it’s money, if it’s drugs – there’s only a few that can stay completely grounded. My thing is, I never really wanted to be famous like that, so I look at it from a distance. I still haven’t adjusted yet. I think that’s a good thing.

DX: A bonus song on the album is “Still Countin’ Cash.” You’re humble, but you’re also from a Houston culture that’s known for bragging. How do you balance both?
C: It’s kinda hard. You’ve got to balance it out, that’s my thing. Money doesn’t make me or break me, but I think there’s so many people attached to the younger version of me. When I was young, I was rappin’ about money and didn’t have it. They all kind of expect me to rap that same way. Now people will be like, “Chamillionaire changed,” but it’s only because they’re not attached to who I am now. Now, to give them what they want, I have to give them a little bit of the old me, which is rappin’ about money and braggin’, when the real me, if you look me in the eye and ask me if that’s me, that’s not me. I’ve got paper; I’ve got paper for real now! But I just don’t feel comfortable braggin’ to people about money. That’s not even cool. The old me would’ve really just dissed somebody. Me, I’m growing into somebody who’s not comfortable being like that. Nowadays, I just hide the medicine inside the candy. I still do the braggadocious style. When I do Mixtape Messiah CDs, I just try to randomly say a whole bunch of craziness, ‘cause I know that’s what they want to hear. You just gotta give ‘em what they want.

DX: You’re one of the most grounded Hip Hop stars of today. What is your favorite book, or something that you soak up wisdom from?
C: Music industry books, man. My problem is, man, I want to be so successful that I might think too much. I want to know everything - when it comes to my project, my finances, everything. It was hard for me to get a business manager. I’m the person that tries to go in Bank of America and do every little thing with my money. Sometimes the best businessman needs to delegate duties to other people. That’s my hardest thing. I try to do everything myself because I want to know it all. There’s so many artists who know nothing about their contracts. You could ask them about ASCAP or publishing or per-diems and stuff, they’ll have no idea. If I’m gonna be in this rap world as a businessman, then I’m gonna know as much as I can. I read books like that. Then there’s a lady named Wendy Day. She got Rap Coalition, and it’s really informative on industry stuff. She might not even know it, but I get a lot of my guidance from her too. When it comes to fiction or stuff like that, I don’t get down, ‘cause I’m all about real life.

DX: Hip Hop Honors is this week. If Chamillionaire was on the awards committee, who would you vote in?
C: To me, if I could, I’d take 2Pac. I know a lot people would randomly say that, but ‘Pac wasn’t really as big when he was alive. He got big after passed away, and people start to see the message behind his stuff. I think he epitomized everything. There was a bad side, a good side, everything. He was somebody everybody could relate to. He’d spit at the camera and do crazy stuff. I really think there was a motive behind the madness. Look at the Thug Life thing. He got so powerful to where he had all the thugs listening to his words, almost like a preacher. He always hid the medicine inside the candy and gave ‘em “Dear Mama” and stuff. I feel like there was a purpose behind him. A lot of people make words rhyme just to make them rhyme, and I think it was a lot deeper with him.

If it had to be somebody who’s alive, somebody who I think don’t get a lot of credit is Will Smith. It sounds crazy, but he did his thing rappin’, and what he’s doing now, as far as movies and being a role-model, to me, I’m impressed by what he’s done with his career.