Black Thought and Peedi Crakk rhymed, "There must be something in the water where I come from." Although perhaps true of Philadelphia, that line certainly suffices in describing Queens, New York. From Run-DMC to LL Cool J, to Nas and 50 Cent the borough that was clowned in Coming To America is serious in retaining Hip Hop's throne.

Sha Money XL used Queens to navigate his way into the Hip Hop industry that he dreamed of being in. Starting out as an intern for Steve Stoute, watching hometown heroes count money, Sha emulated Mobb Deep's Havoc in his production pursuits and started landing placements with Cormega and Onyx.

It was with another local guy, 50 Cent, that Sha Money went from industry to mainstream, in his would-be role in G-Unit. In a comprehensive discussion with HipHopDX, Sha brings the readers along for this journey, and explains why filling the scene with newjacks won't do, but that today's hit-makers need to better mentor tomorrow's. From Queens to becoming a king, Sha Money XL played the cards he was dealt to the fullest.

HipHopDX: I don’t think enough people in Hip Hop understand the merits of your work as a producer. Going back to your first placement, which I consider to be “Angel Dust” for Cormega; what did that mean at the time for you?
Sha Money XL: At that point in my life, I was so heavily trying to get into the game that I was willing to do anything and everything. So I was part of Nas’ street team. I was one of the street team guys that you would see out and about, handing out flyers and promoting It Was Written. That’s how I met Cormega. Steve Stoute gave me the opportunity to intern and hand out these flyers and books. That’s what I did. I went up to Harlem and Cormega and Nas was performing on 125th [Street], and that’s how it started.

DX: Were you coming home every night and making beats in the basement?
SM: Yup, I was making beats in the basement. I was on my [Akai MPC] 3000, heavily involved, trying to get that sound right, and make the best beats possible. Havoc was the best guy out there, so emulated a lot of the vibe – to be what Mobb Deep was. I was a Queens head and Mobb Deep was the best shit out.

DX: You say you emulated Havoc, but did you have a mentor or were you self-taught?
SM: I was experimenting on my own. I looked up to [DJ Premier], Havoc and A Tribe Called Quest. That whole Queensbridge era did a lot for me, coming from Queens.

DX: How did Sha Self evolve into Sha Money XL?
SM: Sha Self is who I still am. I’m a loner; I run by myself. In this industry, I move by myself from city to city. I’m always gonna be Sha Self. What happened was there was another producer out by the name of Self (Ja Rule, Onyx, Diplomats) and he was starting to gain recognition, and he also was a friend of mine, who was from my neighborhood, who was locked up for a long time. So when he came home, he come back with his same godly attributes to name himself Self, and I was a youngster, 18 years old called Sha Self, so at a point, I realized it was time for me to make a switch because people would confuse us. He was working with affiliated people that I was working with, like Onyx. So I had to backpedal. I said, “I’m about the money, and I’m gonna be as large as I can be.” That’s when it became Sha Money XL; I’m gonna get this money.

DX: Certainly, you did. With that money and extra large mentality, do you feel a connection today to Queens or its rappers?
SM: Right now everybody is about the south rappers. In Hip Hop, it was always about Queens. Queens was everything; it was New York. There are more successful Queens artists in Hip Hop than any other borough. Queens artists was the first ones to go platinum. Queens artists was the first ones to sell 10 million. There’s something about the water in Queens that just makes us some special dudes. Queensbridge had that whole get-up together, they had Mobb Deep, Nas, Tragedy Khadafi, Cormega, LL Cool J, Lost Boyz; we was all over the place.

DX: As time goes on, you really attached yourself to the 50 Cent movement; you were a major part of it. What is it like, as a guy from Queens, to first meet Dr. Dre?
SM: It’s an amazing experience. Coming from that and meeting Dre, Dre blew me away…you’ve been listening to his music, watching his videos, trying to be what Death Row was doing, and when I met him, I was in shock. I had to hold myself, hold my composure. It was definitely a serious blessing for me in Hip Hop, to meet Dre and on the terms that we were meeting him on.

DX: You segued from producer to mentor so early in your career. At what point and why did you do this?
SM: This is what made Fif completely understand that I was the truth. When we was in my basement, it was my studio, so normally, when you’re in somebody’s studio, all you’re gonna be doing is rapping to their beats. I would be the advocate and say, “Nah yo, Rob Reef, he got this ill beat right here; we need to listen to him. And Digga had this.” This happened with other producers on the scene – Megahertz, Rockwilder, guys that were already hot. It wasn’t only about me. It was about these dudes too, ‘cause they had some hot joints. Fif seen that and said, “Yo, you’re the first person…everybody I go to is all about ‘me, me, me,’ they only want you to hear they joints,” and that made him more comfortable knowing that I didn’t conflict my ear. I was able to hear other talented peoples’ hot beats. Continued on page 2 »