DX: You said Priority pushed you to radio. Throughout your career, whether it was Snoop Dogg or Master P, you’ve had mainstream artists support you. Has this been a good thing for exposure?
BLH: I probably had a lot of Snoop fans because of my little gang-banging days and stuff like that. Snoop even said he kind of grew up listening to me [since] my first records were out before him. He told me who to mess with after that, ‘cause I had messed with Snoop way back in ’95. We had talked. He told me where to go. It was cool for me, ‘cause I did develop some different types of fans. Especially with Master P, he was the one who kind of opened it up for me down south. Ever since I met him, I started gettings lots and lots of down south sales.

DX: You have a huge following through the internet and your Siccmade website. What’s your secret to independent success?
BLH: I’ve learned a lot off of Black Market Records. Even though I had a lot of bad things to say about [them], which are true, at the same time, they’ve done a lot of good for me. I watched their promotional ways. I keep that same type of thing going with my artists.

DX: Many artists complain of declining sales and changing climates. Have you experienced this?
BLH: I think it hit all of us. I used to go from going 200,000 records in three or four months till the internet came and dropped it down to about 100,000. The thing with me, is I want my packaging to be way different than anybody’s. I keep that going. I try to throw prizes and stuff in there. My packaging is very important, ‘cause they still do sell in the record stores.

DX: You perform a lot, doing spot dates. As a lonely, reclusive child, is it harder for you to get on stage and perform than say, record in a studio around one or two people?
BLH: The stage part is the easiest part. In the studio, I’m a little stressed because I don’t want to put out anything that sounds like anything else that’s out. That’s kind of hard to do, but not really for me, because I’ve kind of developed my own style. The respect I do get, I want the people to know I’m working hard and stressing in the studio. Then the fun part is the stage.

DX: Over the years, a lot of what you’ve rapped about has gone from fiction to reality in the Hip Hop Community. From somebody who rhymed about cannibalism, did you ever, in your wildest dreams, imagine that a peer rapper would actually do it?
BLH: As far as the Big Lurch situation, that tripped me out. He wanted to sign to my label before that stuff happened with him. If you don’t remember what happened, I guess of they found some parts of a girl’s insides in his stomach. I was a powerful influence on him. But he took it to the next level. [Laughs] It trips me out, a little bit. I’m a meat lover. That’s where all of it came from. [Laughs] I’m glad people are listening.

DX: Do you feel like a Hip Hop legend? Obviously, with your cult-followed career, some people perceive you as such…
BLH: Ohhh. I appreciate that. I don’t really feel like a legend, but I do feel good when I hear of somebody mentioning my name. For instance, Young Buck said I was one of his favorite rappers in a couple of magazines. I love that type of stuff. One day, hopefully, I’ll be working with Eminem or something, if he keeps going. That’s who I’m feeling.

DX: I don’t want to dwell on it. You mentioned this trilogy being your departure from albums. In past interviews I’d read, you’d said you could rap forever. Selling 100,000 copies of a CD in a few months would keep many people in this. For you, why do you look at retiring?
BLH: I’ve been going through a lot, as far as my career. A lot of people have been fighting over me and stuff. It costs a lot of money to stay up in court. It takes a lot of time away. Everybody is talking this, “It’s hard to surpass your classic albums,” and stuff. So this is why I’m doing this three-album trilogy. Then I’ll go more into the movie scene. I don’t want to be an actor or anything, I want to be a screenwriter. On my record, I call myself a “Steven Spielberg of Rap” and “Wes Craven on Tape.” My legacy will probably be writing these movies and stuff. I’m gonna do some producing too. I have a 17 year-old daughter who’s into the Hyphy thing. I’m gonna help her out.

DX: People emphasize “keeping it real” on records these days. But if it’s too real, it’s snitching. For you, your raps are creative. What role do you think fiction ought to play in rap?
BLH: Rap, to me, started out as being creative. If you can come up with a good story, it’s always good to mix that in on your album. How I wrote my albums, I write specific songs about my life and spread them throughout the album. Everything else is creativity. I think you should have a little bit of both. As you get older, you really don’t go through a lot of what you went through when you were younger. It takes away a little bit away, so you have to bring your more creative side out. Since I write movies, that’s why I decided to do this. Continued on page 3 »