DX: I think so. In early ’08 we might see something that will really blow peoples’ minds too.
B: I believe that too. I think everybody that’s watchin’, we saw 2Pac to Jay to Biggie; it’s Wayne’s turn, so watch this era. It’s gonna be really, really exciting to see.

DX: Universal Records has really worked hard for you personally and Wayne personally. To what extent though, do you still feel like an independent label? How has that independence been challenged or changed?
B: It’s challenged every day, bro, ‘cause they don’t want us to be strong and survive. I’m just fortunate, ‘cause if they could’ve, this shit would’ve been over. The Jacksons broke up, and they was brothers, ya heard me? Believe that, homie. You know ‘bout a batch of niggas. Once they put that money together…it’s a dirty game, homie, and I could talk to you all day ‘bout that type of shit, ya heard me? It’s definitely a dirty game, and the strong gone’ survive. And if you got somethin’ that God got, ain’t no man can take that.

DX: A good example of that is what went down two weeks ago in Tennessee [click here for story]. As you see it, are the misconstrued facts of your arrest an example of them trying to take you down?
B: I think that’s all that was about. ‘Cause they know I was legally with my guns. That’s the gift and the curse of a celebrity. They used the media. I never really thought that’s how people operated. [The police] had their own media for shit like that. They sent that wire out! Bad! Like I had all these different types of guns and all this shit, ya heard me? Which…I’m always with a gun; I’m never not with a gun, but I have a permit, I know the legals of the guns. I know where your gun’s good and where your permit ain’t good, ya understand me? That’s something we should all have knowledge of too. We carry these permits, but in some areas, they’re not good – like in Manhattan. As long as you know where you’re good and ain’t good, that’s all it is; ain’t nothin’ they can do ‘bout that. I guess by me being who I am, they can put the shit everywhere, and that’s the route they took. They took that route on their own, and I’m watchin’ that shit. They sayin’ all that shit bad [sic], ‘cause I was never charged with nothin’.

DX: You jump on a lot of remixes, official and not. You’ve done this for people outside your label, unsigned, etc. To what extent is that a benefit to you?
B: That’s the route Wayne decided. If a nigga wanna fuck with us, we fuckin’ with him. Definitely. A lot of niggas, we consider family; we been knowing [them] a long time. Like [DJ] Khaled. I’ve been knowing Khaled for like 15, 20 years. [Fat Joe] and all these dudes. I consider them family. We ride for that shit. My son is my son, and the rest of these niggas I call my family. My family and internet is so big, it’s so huge right now in this business to where I can press a button and do whatever. Man, you don’t understand the power I’ve got in these streets with this shit.

DX: “Like father, like son,” is a powerful statement. Beyond all the music and celebrity, do you think that your and Wayne’s relationship has given people a tangible example of what fatherhood in the black community could or should look like?
B: Where we come from, there’s very few dad and son relationships, ya understand me? My daddy died was I was young; Wayne’s daddy died when he was young. A lot of us lost our daddies young. It’s always been “Dear Mama.” I loved it when ‘Pac did that, ‘cause my mama died when she was young. I think this era in time, I think it’s about “Dear Father.” I think that man-to-man bond is needed for a boy. Mama is gonna be mama, and we love ‘em to death. I think mamas is there for love, but what I give my son, she can’t. I think that’s what me and Wayne bring to the game. I think it’s needed. Like father, like son. I was in the mall, and a man told me “Like father, like son can be good and bad,” which is true – and I respect that. But I think when it’s good, it’s great.

DX: Just beyond you, your brother Slim and your son, you’ve got a lot family members working for Cash Money. How did the Williams family look at you differently after being able to provide so much for your extended ones?
B: It’s an everyday struggle, ‘cause the Williams family done lost so much. My sister dead, my mama dead…we done lost so much. The money ain’t gonna heal the losses, ya heard me? You live life even trying to figure out how to make it through this shit everyday. If it wasn’t for the music, a nigga would probably be crazy as a mothafucka. But right now, I look past my family that’s [gone], my heart and soul lies with my…I got my nieces, I have my godchild, which is Wayne’s child. It’s about them right now for us. To make them the next…whatever-we-gonna-have. That’s where my focus is at: my children, my godchild, my nieces and nephews. I got 10 brothers and 12 sisters, so there’s a bunch of us. When I go home, I’ve got the most beautifullest little nieces. They’re beautiful. Fifteen, 18 – I got like 20 of ‘em. Now I’m thinkin’, I’ve gotta bring ‘em in this world, whichever ones of ‘em wanna come in this world. Wayne’s little daughter is so mothafuckin’ talented; she’s so special to us, it’s unbelievable. Her and my daughter is like one – the twins. That’s where my focus is at: I’m tryin’ to see where I can fit my kids in this and what their route’s gonna be. That’s what I live for now, it’s them. The family ties never stop. That’s what I always wanted was a family. Mine’s was broken as a child, so my family was my block, my neighborhood, my brothers and these niggas. And I still have that family love, but I got these little ones, nine and 10 and 11 and 15 and they’re my whole world. Continued on page 3 »