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February 09 | 15:40 PM
Interviews
Young Gunz: What's Left of Roc-A-Fella?
HHDX Additional Content From Solange Durand
They’re the youngest in charge and still holding down the R-O-C! The Young Gunz… Young Chris (born Chris Ries) and Neef (born Hanif Muhammad…we go a chance to sit down and chop it up with these two studs in the ROC.
I know you’ve been asked this dozens of times…but why the name Young Gunz?
Neef: You know what they call ‘gunning’ in basketball? It’s taking the rock, going down and shooting. You just take advantage and take over. That’s why we call ourselves the Young Gunz. We’re just gunning at anything. This game is crazy, but as long as we’re together, nothing can break us up. It’s a game that makes a weak nigga break and if we’d have been weak niggas, we’d have been broke. I learned that we’re real strong and nothing can take us apart.
An introduction in a middle school cafeteria would set the forces in motion for this Philadelphia duo and the two have been tight ever since. Coming from the mean streets of the Nicetown area Philadelphia the two had kindred spirits that took them above and beyond the ghetto. Hard work and steady determination soon paid off for the duo.
Chris: Around the time I first met Neef, me and my other homeys went to his crib, he was in the crib writing to some beats or whatever. He started up some rap song, and I just got going with my joint.
Although the first brush with success was a flop that didn’t deter the two from further pursing. Beanie Segal ‘s Manager, Dink, would be the link between the Young Gunz and the empire known as ROC-A-FELLA.
They quickly discovered being signed was just the first step in becoming…
Chris: The youngest in charge. We got our first check and ran through it real quick. We thought we gonna get out the hood, get our moms out the hood. Naw, it didn’t work like that. Getting signed was the stressed time to eat. We gotta grind right now. The game is different now.
Chris and Neef learned the hard way that success doesn’t come easy. After nearly blowing their chances the first time and returning to the streets of Philly, they knew they had to get it together.
Neef:At one point in my career, I fell from who I was and got mixed up in the street life, I fell back and gave Chris the torch. He was doing what he had to do, and he did this song. One verse on the song was called 'tough love,' where he was talking about me and how things were going and that I needed to come back in it. Then I did a verse talking to him about everything. It's a crazy song, and it's probably the toughest thing we ever did.
Young Gunz first debuted with brief appearances on the first State Propertyalbum in 2001, which was prior to a coveted shout-out in Jay-Z’s Takeover earlier that year, but what would prove to be the success of the two would be their first hit single, Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop.
Chris: It was some old school party shit, and when the beat came on, that's what came up in our heads. We went over the bass line, and laid that down in like 20 minutes. That's all it took. The verses weren't hard to do, and once we came up with the hook, that's all we needed, because the hook is what makes the song. The hooks and the beats, that's how it went.
Roc-a-fella had such belief in the hot single that they granted it the lead-off position on State Property’s second album in 2003, Chain Gang. Soon after the two hit more success with their cross-over love song, No Betta Love.
Since they last hit the scene they’ve been on the road with Kanye for Common’s tour and were touring with Jay; first with what started as the Best of Both Worlds tour and ended up the Jay Z and Friends tour. Even with the R Kelly and Jay-Z situation, personal situations and the R-O-C splitting up, the Young Gunz weren’t gonna stop there. The completion of their new album would be Malcom X style, by any means necessary. It came time to hit the streets, literally and that’s where they completed their sophomore album, on the road.
Tell us something about the new Album!
Neef: The Album is called Brother From Another and it’s in stores now! The first Single is called Set It Off produce by Swizz Beats…
How long did it take to record the album?
Chris: We recorded on the Jay-Z and Friends Tour…so we got that raw energy…of course we had to work up a few songs like the 2nd Single, Don’t Keep Me Waiting feat. Slim from 112. We had the song done, and the Jay made the call to put Slim on that…and we didn’t had the first single Set It Off so he told us to go in the studio with Swizz and we stayed with him for like a week in the studio and we knocked out a couple of joints, and we picked, 3 joints and of them was Set It Off…so we went with that one first cause it came out crazy.
What other artist are on your album?
Neef: we got our own Artist Pooda Brown…cause we started up our own label G.I.F.I. , which means “Get In where you Fit In” . We got Slim, Daz and Memphis Bleek…
Chris: We kept it light.
You didn’t wanted to work with other artist?
Chris: No...
Neef: Sometimes you know it’s a waste, cause you can do a song with a big artist and then it’s just an album cut and you can’t use it for a single and if you can use it as a single they might not wanna do the video, and then even if you get all of that, they’re still not gonna be at the shows, so that takes away from the performance.
Chris: Plus its 2 of us, you know!
How old are you now?
Chris: 22…our birthdays just passed, March madness the 9th and the 30th
How do you write your lyrics?
Chris: We don’t write our lyrics.
What?
Neef: We don’t write our lyrics, we listen to the beat for 45 minutes and then we go in the booth and come out with something.
Do you remember all your lyrics?
Chris: Hell yes! We picked that up from Jay, once you start is really not that hard.
If you weren’t rappers...what would the Gunz be?
Chris: Real Estate business
Neef: I would’ve tried to go harder for basketball and football, if I wouldn’t have known this, cause I was so young when I started rapping, and I had a feeling that I was really gonna make it, and I always had opportunities since I was 10, to have offers to sign with different persons. That's how I focused on just this.
Do you guys have girlsfriends?
Chris: Nah…
Neef: We Bachelors Baby…
Chris: Are you single? You got a boyfriend?
Nah… I’m trying to work and mind my business
Chris: That’s a good look for us...
Neef: Thats right..thats good for us…
How hard will it be to find a female that is not fter your fame and money?
Chris: I just find one that has the fame and money…Shit…(laughs)
Neef: That’s right…
Is that the only way it can work?
Chris: Not always…
Neef: Majority of the time, because they understand what you go through…you don’t have to explain everything…
Chris: I don’t wanna put up with the Headache…
Whats missing in your lives?
Neef: More money
Chris: The sales and money!
Neef: Yeah man…the sales numbers!
Chris: More money, more money, more money…
Where do you see yourself in 10 Years?
Neef: : Doing something like Jay.
Chris: Yeah man…doing something like Jay and relaxing
Well…the Gunz currently aren’t relaxing as they are out on the road with Memphis Bleek and preparing for more promotions…check them out on disk or the road…it’s a good look.
They’re the youngest in charge and still holding down the R-O-C! The Young Gunz… Young Chris (born Chris Ries) and Neef (born Hanif Muhammad…we go a chance to sit down and chop it up with these two studs in the ROC.
I know you’ve been asked this dozens of times…but why the name Young Gunz?
Neef: You know what they call ‘gunning’ in basketball? It’s taking the rock, going down and shooting. You just take advantage and take over. That’s why we call ourselves the Young Gunz. We’re just gunning at anything. This game is crazy, but as long as we’re together, nothing can break us up. It’s a game that makes a weak nigga break and if we’d have been weak niggas, we’d have been broke. I learned that we’re real strong and nothing can take us apart.
An introduction in a middle school cafeteria would set the forces in motion for this Philadelphia duo and the two have been tight ever since. Coming from the mean streets of the Nicetown area Philadelphia the two had kindred spirits that took them above and beyond the ghetto. Hard work and steady determination soon paid off for the duo.
Chris: Around the time I first met Neef, me and my other homeys went to his crib, he was in the crib writing to some beats or whatever. He started up some rap song, and I just got going with my joint.
Although the first brush with success was a flop that didn’t deter the two from further pursing. Beanie Segal ‘s Manager, Dink, would be the link between the Young Gunz and the empire known as ROC-A-FELLA.
They quickly discovered being signed was just the first step in becoming…
Chris: The youngest in charge. We got our first check and ran through it real quick. We thought we gonna get out the hood, get our moms out the hood. Naw, it didn’t work like that. Getting signed was the stressed time to eat. We gotta grind right now. The game is different now.
Chris and Neef learned the hard way that success doesn’t come easy. After nearly blowing their chances the first time and returning to the streets of Philly, they knew they had to get it together.
Neef:At one point in my career, I fell from who I was and got mixed up in the street life, I fell back and gave Chris the torch. He was doing what he had to do, and he did this song. One verse on the song was called 'tough love,' where he was talking about me and how things were going and that I needed to come back in it. Then I did a verse talking to him about everything. It's a crazy song, and it's probably the toughest thing we ever did.
Young Gunz first debuted with brief appearances on the first State Propertyalbum in 2001, which was prior to a coveted shout-out in Jay-Z’s Takeover earlier that year, but what would prove to be the success of the two would be their first hit single, Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop.
Chris: It was some old school party shit, and when the beat came on, that's what came up in our heads. We went over the bass line, and laid that down in like 20 minutes. That's all it took. The verses weren't hard to do, and once we came up with the hook, that's all we needed, because the hook is what makes the song. The hooks and the beats, that's how it went.
Roc-a-fella had such belief in the hot single that they granted it the lead-off position on State Property’s second album in 2003, Chain Gang. Soon after the two hit more success with their cross-over love song, No Betta Love.
Since they last hit the scene they’ve been on the road with Kanye for Common’s tour and were touring with Jay; first with what started as the Best of Both Worlds tour and ended up the Jay Z and Friends tour. Even with the R Kelly and Jay-Z situation, personal situations and the R-O-C splitting up, the Young Gunz weren’t gonna stop there. The completion of their new album would be Malcom X style, by any means necessary. It came time to hit the streets, literally and that’s where they completed their sophomore album, on the road.
Tell us something about the new Album!
Neef: The Album is called Brother From Another and it’s in stores now! The first Single is called Set It Off produce by Swizz Beats…
How long did it take to record the album?
Chris: We recorded on the Jay-Z and Friends Tour…so we got that raw energy…of course we had to work up a few songs like the 2nd Single, Don’t Keep Me Waiting feat. Slim from 112. We had the song done, and the Jay made the call to put Slim on that…and we didn’t had the first single Set It Off so he told us to go in the studio with Swizz and we stayed with him for like a week in the studio and we knocked out a couple of joints, and we picked, 3 joints and of them was Set It Off…so we went with that one first cause it came out crazy.
What other artist are on your album?
Neef: we got our own Artist Pooda Brown…cause we started up our own label G.I.F.I. , which means “Get In where you Fit In” . We got Slim, Daz and Memphis Bleek…
Chris: We kept it light.
You didn’t wanted to work with other artist?
Chris: No...
Neef: Sometimes you know it’s a waste, cause you can do a song with a big artist and then it’s just an album cut and you can’t use it for a single and if you can use it as a single they might not wanna do the video, and then even if you get all of that, they’re still not gonna be at the shows, so that takes away from the performance.
Chris: Plus its 2 of us, you know!
How old are you now?
Chris: 22…our birthdays just passed, March madness the 9th and the 30th
How do you write your lyrics?
Chris: We don’t write our lyrics.
What?
Neef: We don’t write our lyrics, we listen to the beat for 45 minutes and then we go in the booth and come out with something.
Do you remember all your lyrics?
Chris: Hell yes! We picked that up from Jay, once you start is really not that hard.
If you weren’t rappers...what would the Gunz be?
Chris: Real Estate business
Neef: I would’ve tried to go harder for basketball and football, if I wouldn’t have known this, cause I was so young when I started rapping, and I had a feeling that I was really gonna make it, and I always had opportunities since I was 10, to have offers to sign with different persons. That's how I focused on just this.
Do you guys have girlsfriends?
Chris: Nah…
Neef: We Bachelors Baby…
Chris: Are you single? You got a boyfriend?
Nah… I’m trying to work and mind my business
Chris: That’s a good look for us...
Neef: Thats right..thats good for us…
How hard will it be to find a female that is not fter your fame and money?
Chris: I just find one that has the fame and money…Shit…(laughs)
Neef: That’s right…
Is that the only way it can work?
Chris: Not always…
Neef: Majority of the time, because they understand what you go through…you don’t have to explain everything…
Chris: I don’t wanna put up with the Headache…
Whats missing in your lives?
Neef: More money
Chris: The sales and money!
Neef: Yeah man…the sales numbers!
Chris: More money, more money, more money…
Where do you see yourself in 10 Years?
Neef: : Doing something like Jay.
Chris: Yeah man…doing something like Jay and relaxing
Well…the Gunz currently aren’t relaxing as they are out on the road with Memphis Bleek and preparing for more promotions…check them out on disk or the road…it’s a good look.
