To have someone like Rick Ross on your side is a big deal. He’s created a brand for himself and managed to gain recognition for his music nationwide. Being from the south, it’s hard to get people from the upper regions to take notice, and The Boss overcame that challenge, with a little help from Jay-Z and the late Shakir Stewart. Nevertheless, now comes the part where you have to give back. With the new group Triple C's set to emerge, Maybach Music finally leaves the driveway.
Custom Cars & Cycles is the marked Def Jam-backed arrival of Ross' longtime friends, entourage and musical enterprise. Gunplay, Torch and Young Breed represent an array of regions, and as they say, have distinct, but overlapping styles. In an interview with HipHopDX, the trio says that they plan to surpass the success of another southern spin-off outfit, the Hot Boys. The group explains why their album is really a message to keep it real, and when that message was challenged with their leader earlier this year, it backfired into more success. From Carol City to your city, the Triple C's and DX kick it big C style.
HipHopDX: What does your group name stand for and mean to you guys?
Gunplay: Triple C is Carol City Cartel. That's the city we're from in uptown Miami. We took it from the streets to the music and just kept the cartel. That's how it came to be Carol City Cartel.
DX: How did you guys come to be a group?
Gunplay: I met [Rick] Ross [click to read] when I was young. We both had the same dream and drive. A year or two later, we met Torch. Recently, within the last two years, we saw Young Breed on his grind in the streets. We saw the talent and the drive and picked him up to complete the Carol City Cartel.
DX: How did Rick Ross’ solo career come about? Who decided he would be the one to be solo first?
Gunplay: Rick Ross did.
Young Breed: That was always the plan.
DX: Since Rick Ross is the one with the huge name and exposure, how does it feel to have that kind of upper hand in getting the groups name out?
Torch: It’s like that’s the schooling that we came under. It’s almost like a big brother-effect. How I measure myself is like this, if I can stay on a track with him and just have somebody say, “Oh, he’s nice,” then I feel like there’s nobody in the world I can’t do that to. If we all go in the booth with that edge like you’re tryin to impress the next person, you want the other dude to be like, “Yo, you killed that shit.” Ross’ lyrical ability will make you look at him like he’s a machine. He just bangs out track after track. With that work ethic around you, you have no choice but to pick up yours. Even if you were lacking in the work ethic department, it’s no way you could be around somebody that works like that and not work like that. You’re going to feel like you’re slacking.
DX: I’ve seen that you’ve been compared to the Hot Boys. Do you feel it’s an accurate comparison?
Young Breed: It's a suitable comparison. We are different in our own right. When they compare us to the Hot Boys [click to read], they mean the whole aura. We come out as a label with Maybach Music and we’re going to continue on that regime.
Torch: They love to use that comparison. I don’t mind that comparison because everyone from that group came out very successful. I feel like we’ll take it to even bigger levels than them. Shout out to all of them. I love their music. I’m just so confident in what we do. I cannot wait for the world to see what we can do. It’s like an enlightenment is about to take place.
DX: That being said, who are some of your musical influences?
Gunplay: All the street ghetto legends that came up in the game, from Trick Daddy [click to read], JT Money, Scarface [click to read], UGK [click to read] and the whole Texas movement. There’s also the whole west coast with Ice-T, N.W.A. [click to read], 2Pac and Ice Cube [click to read] and all of that. Of course we have New York with Rakim [click to read], Eric B and Biggie Smalls.
Young Breed: That’s just to name a few.
DX: What can we expect from your upcoming album Custom Cars & Cycles?
Young Breed: You can expect big street music with ghetto classics, hood classics and a lot of big stuntin’. The name of the album is titled Cutom Cars & Cycles, we got that just from it being as far as we could see at the time. When we were just freestyling and beating up the booth dropping mixtapes and hustling and grinding, as far as we could see there would be custom cars and cycles that we’d get off this Rap thing. We’re just paying homage to that. Expect a lot of that type of stuff, we stuntin’ on ‘em and ballin’ out. You can also get to know Gunplay individually on this album. You’ll be able to get to know Torch on this album. You’ll get to know Young Breed as well. You already know the big boss Ross.
DX: What’s the track to look out for?
Gunplay: Look out for the single “Go” [click to listen]. It’s produced by Schife out of West Palm Beach, and it has Birdman [click to read] on the intro. Rick Ross, Torch, Young Breed and myself shot the video a couple of weeks ago and you can check it out on MTV Jams on heavy rotation. Look out for the 106 & Park debut soon. It’s taking the radio and streets by storm as well.
Torch: My favorite songs on the album are “Diamonds & Maybachs (Part 2)” and “Hustla” [click to listen]. I don’t even call them songs, I call them psalms. Everything that we do is kind of like teaching somebody. Someone is going to learn something when it comes to our music. We’re going to surprise a lot of people. A lot of people know already, but we’re going to surprise a lot of people. They’re used to cliché artists putting out their homeboys shit and this is completely different.
DX: How is it different?
Torch: We’re different because of our talent. How I feel about it is like this: when you look at most of those groups that come out when their homeboys put them on, there is only a few successful ones. They were successful because they actually had people that were talented. Recently there has been a lack of talent in the group. It’s almost as if there is only one main person in the group who has the talent. If you do your homework with Triple C, you’ll see that there are tracks with just me and Gunplay. There might be a track with Breed by himself or just Gun by himself or me by myself. People love it. We have solo mixtapes, and soon, after this is all said and done, we have solo albums coming out as well. That’s really what separates us. It’s the talent. You can listen to all of us and compare it to those other groups. If the main nigga isn’t on the song, than you don’t want to listen to it.
DX: What exactly is the message you’re trying to say with your music?
Gunplay: To be loyal. To be a real dude, be a real nigga to yourself. If you’re real with yourself, you will be surrounded by real people. That’s basically the message. Keep it gangsta.
DX: What has been the response from your peers and fans in regards to your music? What has been the feedback?
Young Breed: Everybody is showing major love. They just know it’s our time. They have been hearing it for so long. It’s been embedded in their heads. They’re just ready for it. Everybody is excited. We have been getting a real good positive response. We’ve been going from city to city and state to state and they love it. We’re about to go overseas. Where we headed, Gunplay?
Gunplay: London tomorrow, and Germany after that.
Young Breed: We’re about to go show Germany love and see their response. Overall, it’s been real positive.
DX: What are your thoughts about Rick Ross being called a liar due to his position as a corrections officer?
Gunplay: That’s just media hoopla. That doesn’t stop anyone’s bank. It doesn’t stop me feeding my belly. We got more money, more deals and whatnot. After that, we got bigger and stronger. When you’re great and you’re a great artist, people will try to bring you down in any way possible. It didn’t work. The plan backfired. It didn’t work at all.
DX: What does each individual person bring to the table?
Gunplay: I bring that carefree, wild style, unorthodox, no guidelines type of personality to the table. I don’t play by the rules.
Young Breed: Torch is going to bring you that arrogance. He is going to bring you that talk and immaculate vocabulary and he’s going to do it in that smooth way. He’ll still bust ya head at the same time. He brings that Bronx flavor. I’m the newest and youngest member. I just bring that young gutta side. I’m here to represent a whole new generation. I’ll still give that old soul at the same time, but, I’m going to rep for the young generation and put on.
DX: Is there ever any conflict with the group in a sense that Young Breed is too young or Torch being from the north and what not?
Young Breed: As a group, you’re going to have your arguments and disagreements. Someone may not like how this sounds or how that was done but, real niggas do real things, and all we do is brush that off. We’re brothers so there is always going to be a little conflict here or there. For the most part, it’s not stopping any money.
Gunplay: Exactly, as a semi-veteran of the game and watching Young Breed on the come-up, he is soaking it all in. He’s really taking everything in real good. He’s humble. He pays attention. He works real hard. As long as you got that in the game you will succeed in whatever you do.
DX: Going back to Torch being from the north and the sound of music up here as opposed to down south being different. What’s the overall sound of the album? Was there any conflict in creative direction in that sense?
Gunplay: The whole album is well-rounded. It’s not strictly one way. It’s not just south bounce, kill, kill, kill and all of that. We got songs for the ladies, gangsters, hustlers and feel good songs to pop in on a sunny day. It’s for everybody. It’s well rounded.
Torch: We’ve been down for so long. I’ve been down with them since ’98 going back and forth to Miami. It’s not like I’ve only known them for the past month and it’s chemistry that is issue. We’ve been doing music together for a while and we’ve been building together and groomed together. It’s like being around people in your neighborhood. When you been around them for so long, you start to move similar and that’s what happened with the music. We come together so well because we have been doing it for so long together. In New York and down south it’s not even like that. I write for a lot of people. I write for males, females and I can see from a lot of different perspectives. Getting on a beat and vibing with a beat it doesn’t really matter what region you’re from. If you know how to you rap, you can rap to anything.
Custom Cars & Cycles is the marked Def Jam-backed arrival of Ross' longtime friends, entourage and musical enterprise. Gunplay, Torch and Young Breed represent an array of regions, and as they say, have distinct, but overlapping styles. In an interview with HipHopDX, the trio says that they plan to surpass the success of another southern spin-off outfit, the Hot Boys. The group explains why their album is really a message to keep it real, and when that message was challenged with their leader earlier this year, it backfired into more success. From Carol City to your city, the Triple C's and DX kick it big C style.
HipHopDX: What does your group name stand for and mean to you guys?
Gunplay: Triple C is Carol City Cartel. That's the city we're from in uptown Miami. We took it from the streets to the music and just kept the cartel. That's how it came to be Carol City Cartel.
DX: How did you guys come to be a group?
Gunplay: I met [Rick] Ross [click to read] when I was young. We both had the same dream and drive. A year or two later, we met Torch. Recently, within the last two years, we saw Young Breed on his grind in the streets. We saw the talent and the drive and picked him up to complete the Carol City Cartel.
DX: How did Rick Ross’ solo career come about? Who decided he would be the one to be solo first?
Gunplay: Rick Ross did.
Young Breed: That was always the plan.
DX: Since Rick Ross is the one with the huge name and exposure, how does it feel to have that kind of upper hand in getting the groups name out?
Torch: It’s like that’s the schooling that we came under. It’s almost like a big brother-effect. How I measure myself is like this, if I can stay on a track with him and just have somebody say, “Oh, he’s nice,” then I feel like there’s nobody in the world I can’t do that to. If we all go in the booth with that edge like you’re tryin to impress the next person, you want the other dude to be like, “Yo, you killed that shit.” Ross’ lyrical ability will make you look at him like he’s a machine. He just bangs out track after track. With that work ethic around you, you have no choice but to pick up yours. Even if you were lacking in the work ethic department, it’s no way you could be around somebody that works like that and not work like that. You’re going to feel like you’re slacking.
DX: I’ve seen that you’ve been compared to the Hot Boys. Do you feel it’s an accurate comparison?
Young Breed: It's a suitable comparison. We are different in our own right. When they compare us to the Hot Boys [click to read], they mean the whole aura. We come out as a label with Maybach Music and we’re going to continue on that regime.
Torch: They love to use that comparison. I don’t mind that comparison because everyone from that group came out very successful. I feel like we’ll take it to even bigger levels than them. Shout out to all of them. I love their music. I’m just so confident in what we do. I cannot wait for the world to see what we can do. It’s like an enlightenment is about to take place.
DX: That being said, who are some of your musical influences?
Gunplay: All the street ghetto legends that came up in the game, from Trick Daddy [click to read], JT Money, Scarface [click to read], UGK [click to read] and the whole Texas movement. There’s also the whole west coast with Ice-T, N.W.A. [click to read], 2Pac and Ice Cube [click to read] and all of that. Of course we have New York with Rakim [click to read], Eric B and Biggie Smalls.
Young Breed: That’s just to name a few.
DX: What can we expect from your upcoming album Custom Cars & Cycles?
Young Breed: You can expect big street music with ghetto classics, hood classics and a lot of big stuntin’. The name of the album is titled Cutom Cars & Cycles, we got that just from it being as far as we could see at the time. When we were just freestyling and beating up the booth dropping mixtapes and hustling and grinding, as far as we could see there would be custom cars and cycles that we’d get off this Rap thing. We’re just paying homage to that. Expect a lot of that type of stuff, we stuntin’ on ‘em and ballin’ out. You can also get to know Gunplay individually on this album. You’ll be able to get to know Torch on this album. You’ll get to know Young Breed as well. You already know the big boss Ross.
DX: What’s the track to look out for?
Gunplay: Look out for the single “Go” [click to listen]. It’s produced by Schife out of West Palm Beach, and it has Birdman [click to read] on the intro. Rick Ross, Torch, Young Breed and myself shot the video a couple of weeks ago and you can check it out on MTV Jams on heavy rotation. Look out for the 106 & Park debut soon. It’s taking the radio and streets by storm as well.
Torch: My favorite songs on the album are “Diamonds & Maybachs (Part 2)” and “Hustla” [click to listen]. I don’t even call them songs, I call them psalms. Everything that we do is kind of like teaching somebody. Someone is going to learn something when it comes to our music. We’re going to surprise a lot of people. A lot of people know already, but we’re going to surprise a lot of people. They’re used to cliché artists putting out their homeboys shit and this is completely different.
DX: How is it different?
Torch: We’re different because of our talent. How I feel about it is like this: when you look at most of those groups that come out when their homeboys put them on, there is only a few successful ones. They were successful because they actually had people that were talented. Recently there has been a lack of talent in the group. It’s almost as if there is only one main person in the group who has the talent. If you do your homework with Triple C, you’ll see that there are tracks with just me and Gunplay. There might be a track with Breed by himself or just Gun by himself or me by myself. People love it. We have solo mixtapes, and soon, after this is all said and done, we have solo albums coming out as well. That’s really what separates us. It’s the talent. You can listen to all of us and compare it to those other groups. If the main nigga isn’t on the song, than you don’t want to listen to it.
DX: What exactly is the message you’re trying to say with your music?
Gunplay: To be loyal. To be a real dude, be a real nigga to yourself. If you’re real with yourself, you will be surrounded by real people. That’s basically the message. Keep it gangsta.
DX: What has been the response from your peers and fans in regards to your music? What has been the feedback?
Young Breed: Everybody is showing major love. They just know it’s our time. They have been hearing it for so long. It’s been embedded in their heads. They’re just ready for it. Everybody is excited. We have been getting a real good positive response. We’ve been going from city to city and state to state and they love it. We’re about to go overseas. Where we headed, Gunplay?
Gunplay: London tomorrow, and Germany after that.
Young Breed: We’re about to go show Germany love and see their response. Overall, it’s been real positive.
DX: What are your thoughts about Rick Ross being called a liar due to his position as a corrections officer?
Gunplay: That’s just media hoopla. That doesn’t stop anyone’s bank. It doesn’t stop me feeding my belly. We got more money, more deals and whatnot. After that, we got bigger and stronger. When you’re great and you’re a great artist, people will try to bring you down in any way possible. It didn’t work. The plan backfired. It didn’t work at all.
DX: What does each individual person bring to the table?
Gunplay: I bring that carefree, wild style, unorthodox, no guidelines type of personality to the table. I don’t play by the rules.
Young Breed: Torch is going to bring you that arrogance. He is going to bring you that talk and immaculate vocabulary and he’s going to do it in that smooth way. He’ll still bust ya head at the same time. He brings that Bronx flavor. I’m the newest and youngest member. I just bring that young gutta side. I’m here to represent a whole new generation. I’ll still give that old soul at the same time, but, I’m going to rep for the young generation and put on.
DX: Is there ever any conflict with the group in a sense that Young Breed is too young or Torch being from the north and what not?
Young Breed: As a group, you’re going to have your arguments and disagreements. Someone may not like how this sounds or how that was done but, real niggas do real things, and all we do is brush that off. We’re brothers so there is always going to be a little conflict here or there. For the most part, it’s not stopping any money.
Gunplay: Exactly, as a semi-veteran of the game and watching Young Breed on the come-up, he is soaking it all in. He’s really taking everything in real good. He’s humble. He pays attention. He works real hard. As long as you got that in the game you will succeed in whatever you do.
DX: Going back to Torch being from the north and the sound of music up here as opposed to down south being different. What’s the overall sound of the album? Was there any conflict in creative direction in that sense?
Gunplay: The whole album is well-rounded. It’s not strictly one way. It’s not just south bounce, kill, kill, kill and all of that. We got songs for the ladies, gangsters, hustlers and feel good songs to pop in on a sunny day. It’s for everybody. It’s well rounded.
Torch: We’ve been down for so long. I’ve been down with them since ’98 going back and forth to Miami. It’s not like I’ve only known them for the past month and it’s chemistry that is issue. We’ve been doing music together for a while and we’ve been building together and groomed together. It’s like being around people in your neighborhood. When you been around them for so long, you start to move similar and that’s what happened with the music. We come together so well because we have been doing it for so long together. In New York and down south it’s not even like that. I write for a lot of people. I write for males, females and I can see from a lot of different perspectives. Getting on a beat and vibing with a beat it doesn’t really matter what region you’re from. If you know how to you rap, you can rap to anything.
