B.Dot: The Ultimate Hustler!!! Pt 2
Alright, how about some stupid shit? I know there was some stupid shit on the show. When you and Kyra had that stare down. (laughs). What the fuck was that all about? Do you think that was just Dames way of fucking with yall?
B: Yeah, you know, Dame and them... They loved having that stare down. They were cracking up. The hardest part about the stare down had nothing to do with the stare down. It had to do with keeping a straight face while everybody is just cracking jokes on you. But thats how his crew gets down. They capping on each other all day. So you dont take it personal. The shit is funny, so youre sitting there like knowing you doing some silly shit and you gotta sit there.
So how did you feel about all of the other competitors?
B: I mean overall, now that we are away from the show and everything, I can say that I got respect and a certain amount of love for all of them. I think during the heat of the competition theyre not really getting to know me personally. They really arent seeing the real B.Dot. Theyre seeing the competitive side. So, I realize that Im probably seeing the same side from them. But I didnt take anything personal on the show. I really stuck to myself in the house. And they didnt really show it that much but while a lot of people were chopping it up, Id be sitting back reading.
I still talk with Ray to this day. You know, thats my man. And hes a real dude. Despite what people may think from what they see on the show, hes hustler and hes gonna get his money. And we probably gonna be working on some projects together.
When you were watching the show was there anything that somebody said or done that
you were kinda like shocked or like what the fuck was that?
B: Uh for the most part no. It was very funny to me when I seen them all.
Did you take any exceptions with Kiras Kung Fu Louie shit?
B: To me thats like Im use to seeing ignorance. You showing the world that you ignorant. I dont give a damn, cause Im still going to be here and you gonna be on a flight back to Los Angeles.
Right, you gonna end up a negative $18.
B: Exactly!
Was there a favorite mission that you did. Besides the money clip one because you killed that. But was there a favorite mission outside that or a mission that you werent feeling.
B: I dont think that there was a task that I just didnt like. They all covered different aspects of running a business, but there are some that stick out in my head that I liked the most. One was King Dome Classic. And that was mainly because it was an event where we were really giving back.
To actually see like all the youngsters who might not have had a lot of different opportunities. And we were passing them free stuff, like free ice cream and stuff like that. So, I thought that was hot. And also the thing is the inside of Dame that I hadnt really seen before. Thats not really in the media, not covered in MTV news or any of the news covers. And his foundation, this man cares about the community. And he is very concerned about it. And you begin to see it from King Dome Classic to having people like Minister Ben Chavis around him at all times. I actually liked the office challenge too. The one that just came on
Really???
B: You know it sounds wild. And people were like man, you like answering phones and stuff like that? And its not so much that I like to answer the phones. But I think that it was good experience to know how a office like that would function. With me being a CEO of a record label, we independent though, so we not the size of what Dames running right now. But we on that same path so one day I want to have an office like that. So for me that was really the only task when we really saw the inter-workings of the business.
So you think like the missions were helpful at you reaching your goals? Or did you think that it was more of some kinda scheme put together by Dame just to put yall through hell?
B: I think it was a mix. I think that some were definitely to teach us a lesson and I think others were just, to test these us. Like the photo shoot. I learned a lot on there. That was my first photo shoot. And we really got some jewels dropped on us. (Also) the bike challenge, which I think was important, but also I think that was a test. (They) put me in a helmet, and had to bike around New York City. In the middle of Midtown, through all this traffic just to see if they really gonna put the hustle.
Is Dame truly the asshole that they portray him as on BET? Give us your perspective.
B: First off, Dames a good dude. You know so theres this perception of him being an asshole. And can he be an asshole? He can be an asshole to the people who deserve it. Ill put it like that. If you come sideways youll see the asshole in Dame. But to me thats a good trait cause its like thats how you make sure that people not getting over on you. You know when you got millions of dollars, and youre running a company like that people are gonna try to get over on you. The other aspect that I saw is that Dame is a good dude that is very loyal. Like extremely, to the point where he looks out after those who he was on the block with him. Hell give opportunities to those he respects that wouldnt necessarily get opportunities in other places.
Word, word. So, what you think about that uh
B: Hey, you know that joint was wild. We were hot as hell up in that house. We aint have no AC up in the house!
Yall aint have no AC at the crib???
B: Naw! We aint have no AC, and I still dont know why. I dont know if was to cause more tension or if it was because of the sound. I dont know because sometimes theyll be like the sound would get messed up by the AC. But then I was like I dont know. The AC in the Apprentice house dont be messing with the sound.(laughs) They edited out a lot of how we were looking in the house. Cause we were looking nasty up in the house sometimes. You couldnt help it just sit there and sweat. I averaged like three showers a day.
Damn! Yeah, thats that New York humidity, and no AC doesnt help. B, was you tired of being watched?
B: (laughs) You definitely get tired of always like being in front of the cameras. Like literally sometimes you be like I just wanna go to the bathroom. You get up to go to the restroom and the cameras follow you while you walking to the restroom. And you just like Damn, you know sometimes I would just go into the bathroom for five minutes to chill out and get away from the cameras. Because you know thats the only place the cameras wont go. So Id go in there and close the door and just chill for five minutes. You still want time to yourself sometimes. I mean I be trying to leave sometimes. You know and the cameras are still in my face. And Im like come on , yall arent really going to use this footage. This is not going to make the show. But thats what we signed up for. So I cant complain.
I just wonder if they kinda like pushing the envelope to see whos gonna do what. Or who is going to lose it. It seemed like you kept your composure pretty well.
B: Yeah, I think for the most part wasnt any physical fights in the house. Thats one thing, as far as the show, we bust down a lot of those rumors too. So, you can have a group of us (black folks) in the house and were not gonna fight. You see what Im saying?
Yeah
B: Someones not gonna end up going to the ER or looking hella ignorant. Even though we were competing, once we were done competing it was all good.
Alright, so lets talk about you, lets forget about the Ultimate Hustler for a moment. Lets talk about who is B.Dot. What was you doing before the finals of Ultimate Hustler?
B: Oh yeah, most definitely. You know for the past two and a half years, Ive been running my independent label called Conduit Entertainment with my man, who is originally from Arkansas his name Epiphany. Hes a rapper you know (and) thats our first artist. He was out in New York, he went to Stanford too (with me). And after he got out he went to New York and he really wanted to pursue his ambitions of being a rapper. He was like hey this is what I want to do, this is my passion. So, he was out there, and at the same time I had got laid off from my job, so as it turns out I was working in a little tech start up or whatever. So I get laid off and I got a severance packet at the same time Im talking to him. And Im like Aye, you know all the big time rappers have really done it themselves over the past decade. Thats to say the ones that have really came up and made cake in the industry (have) done it themselves. And so I was like why dont we do this?
So, we wake up and start the company and everything. We quickly saw in New York the importance of kinda having that type of hometown allegiance and having that background. So we upped and moved. I moved from Cali and he moved from New York we went to Arkansas. Little Rock, Arkansas, for me everyone was like what are doing man? You done graduated from here, why you moving to Arkansas to start a rap label? But for me though it was like the fact that they didnt get it, that a lot of people didnt get it (that) told me that I was on the right path. Little Rock is a midsize market that clearly got a base of people that like rap, (and are) into hip-hop, but theres no sound that defines that state.
Very true.
B: You know so in states like Mississippi thats just as small. And you know the population getting put on the map by folks like Banner. Whos to say Arkansas cant get put on the map if its done right? Its no competition until we go in there. And then in less than a year and with our first release we had rotation on the number one hip-hop station out there. We were the best selling independent label out of Little Rock. And we was moving. And so we started acquiring new talent out there. Thats one thing that I learned too, theres talent in every single city and every single hood in this world probably. You know Im in small towns that I aint even heard of people coming here- Pablo, Arkansas; Setha, Arkansas, and finding jewels.
Like straight up, I signed this group Suga City, a two man rap group, and Im really feeling them and they just some soulful cats. You hear their music and its almost like you can feel the South. Its like, I wont even say that theyre conscious, (but) they are for that average Joe, who just sits on the porch and lives that life. Then in a different city I signed this solo rapper. This young cat, his names BK. And hes just vital you know, use to be on the block doing his thing, but then he had a baby and everything and he knew it was time to kinda get serious. And his flow was sick, so I signed him too. And since then weve been putting out mixtapes. We did over ten thousand sold independent, and we done branched out of Arkansas into like Tennessee and Alabama, Louisiana, they doing shows a little bit. (In spots like) Shreveport, Monroe, uh, a lot of the colleges in the area- Grambling, UATB and University of Little Rock. So the independent thing down South in a midsize market we started throwing the buzz out though.
So being as though you are running your own independent spot down south, especially where music is really hot right now. How do you feel about everything thats coming out? How do you feel that the label can make a difference? Is it coming at a different angle than everyone else? You know give us your little perspective on all this.
B: Well, first off, when we started the company we realized that everything that we put out is going to have some artistic technique behind it. You know what Im saying?
Right
B: Im not one of those cats thats like in order for it to be real or in order for it to be good, its gotta be conscious. I dont think that way. To me an artist likes to communicate, communicate everything about the human condition. The good, the bad, the pretty, the ugly, you know what I am saying? The pain, the love, and the joy and all of that. Folks like Pac. So you listen to a couple of Pacs albums and you can see that. You know you see the conscious, graceful, intelligent organizer. You see that ignorance though out there, who gets a little mad and wants to fire at somebody. You see the players, the pimps, you see the artist in them and thats real. Thats Pac. If thats him thats him. You know what Im saying? I dont even judge that. And people say you are contradicting yourself. Well, show me some human that doesnt have contradictions in they mind, in their heart.
So, when I started the company and my partner started the company it was so like whatever we put out, it was going to be real. And so we tried to stick to that. Im not gonna put out a crunk record just because crunk is hot right now. We not gonna put out a so-called conscious song, just cause they like ok, we need a conscious song. Our artist are artist that spit from their perspective in life. You know from whatever they grew up in. Because they grew up with no money, having to hustle, sold everything under the sun. Youd have a much different perspective than what I would have if I was a rapper. So, I look at it as long as they are staying true to themselves I have no reason to put them down.
As far as the industry in general right now Its so much money involved in it that you start to get people outside the culture, from outside of the whole movement try to pull the string and control the button. And so whats happened is that these dudes that dont understand it they go strictly on numbers. So, its like Houstons hot right now, Mike Jones, Slim Thug, Paul Wall, you know them dudes hot right now.? Next itll be another city. In St. Louis you had Nelly, then they said ok we need another one, heres Chingy. So they are always gonna be a step behind a bit because the trends are still made in the streets. And they are only going off major sales numbers. What the suburbs are buying. And so, they spend all this money on Chingy, so that he wont flop. But Chingys lost in the streets. Chingy didnt have any hood validation any more at that point. So, thats the one problem in the industry and a lot of the independents and those who dont have the benefit of being with a major cant compete in marketing, promotion, and distribution wise Sonys. I cant put a record out internationally right now. I just dont have the money for it.
So is there anything else that you want to get out there. The finale is
Tuesday right?
B: Yeah, yeah. Tell everybody to text the letter b to 64242.
Cool, plug that.
B: You gotta plug that you know? They could go to BET.com too and vote there. Cause the text gotta fifty cent charge. So if they go directly to www.BET.com/UltimateHustler theres a link there where they can vote for who they want to win.
Ok
B: We got a new single coming out from my group Suga City. And we are shooting a video right after the holidays. So we gonna be putting that up on BET real soon. That songs is called Lookin and its fire. Its some laid back southern stuff.
Anything else you want to say before your life hopefully changes forever?
B: (laughs) Just keep a look out. We got the little site www.conduitentertainment.com. Its a state movement and were bringing the integrity back to hip-hop at all levels. Straight up and we taking control of it too. Aint nobody gonna pull the string but us. They dealing with a hustler, you know what Im saying? Im not gonna let you bullshit me. Youre not gonna control me. Not when I have the same intelligence that all these other folks have. Like the Sonys and the BMGs and all that. So when we deal, we gonna deal to keep you paying for it.
Thats whats up man. The last question. Are you
the Ultimate Hustler?
B: Hell yeah! Without a doubt. I mean you dont see the other cats getting interviewed by Hiphopdx!
Thats whats up kid!
Check out Suga City (from B.Dot's record label Conduit) with their hot single "Lookin" in hiphopdx's HOT TRAXX
B: Yeah, you know, Dame and them... They loved having that stare down. They were cracking up. The hardest part about the stare down had nothing to do with the stare down. It had to do with keeping a straight face while everybody is just cracking jokes on you. But thats how his crew gets down. They capping on each other all day. So you dont take it personal. The shit is funny, so youre sitting there like knowing you doing some silly shit and you gotta sit there.
So how did you feel about all of the other competitors?
B: I mean overall, now that we are away from the show and everything, I can say that I got respect and a certain amount of love for all of them. I think during the heat of the competition theyre not really getting to know me personally. They really arent seeing the real B.Dot. Theyre seeing the competitive side. So, I realize that Im probably seeing the same side from them. But I didnt take anything personal on the show. I really stuck to myself in the house. And they didnt really show it that much but while a lot of people were chopping it up, Id be sitting back reading.
I still talk with Ray to this day. You know, thats my man. And hes a real dude. Despite what people may think from what they see on the show, hes hustler and hes gonna get his money. And we probably gonna be working on some projects together.
When you were watching the show was there anything that somebody said or done that
you were kinda like shocked or like what the fuck was that?
B: Uh for the most part no. It was very funny to me when I seen them all.
Did you take any exceptions with Kiras Kung Fu Louie shit?
B: To me thats like Im use to seeing ignorance. You showing the world that you ignorant. I dont give a damn, cause Im still going to be here and you gonna be on a flight back to Los Angeles.
Right, you gonna end up a negative $18.
B: Exactly!
Was there a favorite mission that you did. Besides the money clip one because you killed that. But was there a favorite mission outside that or a mission that you werent feeling.
B: I dont think that there was a task that I just didnt like. They all covered different aspects of running a business, but there are some that stick out in my head that I liked the most. One was King Dome Classic. And that was mainly because it was an event where we were really giving back.
To actually see like all the youngsters who might not have had a lot of different opportunities. And we were passing them free stuff, like free ice cream and stuff like that. So, I thought that was hot. And also the thing is the inside of Dame that I hadnt really seen before. Thats not really in the media, not covered in MTV news or any of the news covers. And his foundation, this man cares about the community. And he is very concerned about it. And you begin to see it from King Dome Classic to having people like Minister Ben Chavis around him at all times. I actually liked the office challenge too. The one that just came on
Really???
B: You know it sounds wild. And people were like man, you like answering phones and stuff like that? And its not so much that I like to answer the phones. But I think that it was good experience to know how a office like that would function. With me being a CEO of a record label, we independent though, so we not the size of what Dames running right now. But we on that same path so one day I want to have an office like that. So for me that was really the only task when we really saw the inter-workings of the business.
So you think like the missions were helpful at you reaching your goals? Or did you think that it was more of some kinda scheme put together by Dame just to put yall through hell?
B: I think it was a mix. I think that some were definitely to teach us a lesson and I think others were just, to test these us. Like the photo shoot. I learned a lot on there. That was my first photo shoot. And we really got some jewels dropped on us. (Also) the bike challenge, which I think was important, but also I think that was a test. (They) put me in a helmet, and had to bike around New York City. In the middle of Midtown, through all this traffic just to see if they really gonna put the hustle.
Is Dame truly the asshole that they portray him as on BET? Give us your perspective.
B: First off, Dames a good dude. You know so theres this perception of him being an asshole. And can he be an asshole? He can be an asshole to the people who deserve it. Ill put it like that. If you come sideways youll see the asshole in Dame. But to me thats a good trait cause its like thats how you make sure that people not getting over on you. You know when you got millions of dollars, and youre running a company like that people are gonna try to get over on you. The other aspect that I saw is that Dame is a good dude that is very loyal. Like extremely, to the point where he looks out after those who he was on the block with him. Hell give opportunities to those he respects that wouldnt necessarily get opportunities in other places.
Word, word. So, what you think about that uh
B: Hey, you know that joint was wild. We were hot as hell up in that house. We aint have no AC up in the house!
Yall aint have no AC at the crib???
B: Naw! We aint have no AC, and I still dont know why. I dont know if was to cause more tension or if it was because of the sound. I dont know because sometimes theyll be like the sound would get messed up by the AC. But then I was like I dont know. The AC in the Apprentice house dont be messing with the sound.(laughs) They edited out a lot of how we were looking in the house. Cause we were looking nasty up in the house sometimes. You couldnt help it just sit there and sweat. I averaged like three showers a day.
Damn! Yeah, thats that New York humidity, and no AC doesnt help. B, was you tired of being watched?
B: (laughs) You definitely get tired of always like being in front of the cameras. Like literally sometimes you be like I just wanna go to the bathroom. You get up to go to the restroom and the cameras follow you while you walking to the restroom. And you just like Damn, you know sometimes I would just go into the bathroom for five minutes to chill out and get away from the cameras. Because you know thats the only place the cameras wont go. So Id go in there and close the door and just chill for five minutes. You still want time to yourself sometimes. I mean I be trying to leave sometimes. You know and the cameras are still in my face. And Im like come on , yall arent really going to use this footage. This is not going to make the show. But thats what we signed up for. So I cant complain.
I just wonder if they kinda like pushing the envelope to see whos gonna do what. Or who is going to lose it. It seemed like you kept your composure pretty well.
B: Yeah, I think for the most part wasnt any physical fights in the house. Thats one thing, as far as the show, we bust down a lot of those rumors too. So, you can have a group of us (black folks) in the house and were not gonna fight. You see what Im saying?
Yeah
B: Someones not gonna end up going to the ER or looking hella ignorant. Even though we were competing, once we were done competing it was all good.
Alright, so lets talk about you, lets forget about the Ultimate Hustler for a moment. Lets talk about who is B.Dot. What was you doing before the finals of Ultimate Hustler?
B: Oh yeah, most definitely. You know for the past two and a half years, Ive been running my independent label called Conduit Entertainment with my man, who is originally from Arkansas his name Epiphany. Hes a rapper you know (and) thats our first artist. He was out in New York, he went to Stanford too (with me). And after he got out he went to New York and he really wanted to pursue his ambitions of being a rapper. He was like hey this is what I want to do, this is my passion. So, he was out there, and at the same time I had got laid off from my job, so as it turns out I was working in a little tech start up or whatever. So I get laid off and I got a severance packet at the same time Im talking to him. And Im like Aye, you know all the big time rappers have really done it themselves over the past decade. Thats to say the ones that have really came up and made cake in the industry (have) done it themselves. And so I was like why dont we do this?
So, we wake up and start the company and everything. We quickly saw in New York the importance of kinda having that type of hometown allegiance and having that background. So we upped and moved. I moved from Cali and he moved from New York we went to Arkansas. Little Rock, Arkansas, for me everyone was like what are doing man? You done graduated from here, why you moving to Arkansas to start a rap label? But for me though it was like the fact that they didnt get it, that a lot of people didnt get it (that) told me that I was on the right path. Little Rock is a midsize market that clearly got a base of people that like rap, (and are) into hip-hop, but theres no sound that defines that state.
Very true.
B: You know so in states like Mississippi thats just as small. And you know the population getting put on the map by folks like Banner. Whos to say Arkansas cant get put on the map if its done right? Its no competition until we go in there. And then in less than a year and with our first release we had rotation on the number one hip-hop station out there. We were the best selling independent label out of Little Rock. And we was moving. And so we started acquiring new talent out there. Thats one thing that I learned too, theres talent in every single city and every single hood in this world probably. You know Im in small towns that I aint even heard of people coming here- Pablo, Arkansas; Setha, Arkansas, and finding jewels.
Like straight up, I signed this group Suga City, a two man rap group, and Im really feeling them and they just some soulful cats. You hear their music and its almost like you can feel the South. Its like, I wont even say that theyre conscious, (but) they are for that average Joe, who just sits on the porch and lives that life. Then in a different city I signed this solo rapper. This young cat, his names BK. And hes just vital you know, use to be on the block doing his thing, but then he had a baby and everything and he knew it was time to kinda get serious. And his flow was sick, so I signed him too. And since then weve been putting out mixtapes. We did over ten thousand sold independent, and we done branched out of Arkansas into like Tennessee and Alabama, Louisiana, they doing shows a little bit. (In spots like) Shreveport, Monroe, uh, a lot of the colleges in the area- Grambling, UATB and University of Little Rock. So the independent thing down South in a midsize market we started throwing the buzz out though.
So being as though you are running your own independent spot down south, especially where music is really hot right now. How do you feel about everything thats coming out? How do you feel that the label can make a difference? Is it coming at a different angle than everyone else? You know give us your little perspective on all this.
B: Well, first off, when we started the company we realized that everything that we put out is going to have some artistic technique behind it. You know what Im saying?
Right
B: Im not one of those cats thats like in order for it to be real or in order for it to be good, its gotta be conscious. I dont think that way. To me an artist likes to communicate, communicate everything about the human condition. The good, the bad, the pretty, the ugly, you know what I am saying? The pain, the love, and the joy and all of that. Folks like Pac. So you listen to a couple of Pacs albums and you can see that. You know you see the conscious, graceful, intelligent organizer. You see that ignorance though out there, who gets a little mad and wants to fire at somebody. You see the players, the pimps, you see the artist in them and thats real. Thats Pac. If thats him thats him. You know what Im saying? I dont even judge that. And people say you are contradicting yourself. Well, show me some human that doesnt have contradictions in they mind, in their heart.
So, when I started the company and my partner started the company it was so like whatever we put out, it was going to be real. And so we tried to stick to that. Im not gonna put out a crunk record just because crunk is hot right now. We not gonna put out a so-called conscious song, just cause they like ok, we need a conscious song. Our artist are artist that spit from their perspective in life. You know from whatever they grew up in. Because they grew up with no money, having to hustle, sold everything under the sun. Youd have a much different perspective than what I would have if I was a rapper. So, I look at it as long as they are staying true to themselves I have no reason to put them down.
As far as the industry in general right now Its so much money involved in it that you start to get people outside the culture, from outside of the whole movement try to pull the string and control the button. And so whats happened is that these dudes that dont understand it they go strictly on numbers. So, its like Houstons hot right now, Mike Jones, Slim Thug, Paul Wall, you know them dudes hot right now.? Next itll be another city. In St. Louis you had Nelly, then they said ok we need another one, heres Chingy. So they are always gonna be a step behind a bit because the trends are still made in the streets. And they are only going off major sales numbers. What the suburbs are buying. And so, they spend all this money on Chingy, so that he wont flop. But Chingys lost in the streets. Chingy didnt have any hood validation any more at that point. So, thats the one problem in the industry and a lot of the independents and those who dont have the benefit of being with a major cant compete in marketing, promotion, and distribution wise Sonys. I cant put a record out internationally right now. I just dont have the money for it.
So is there anything else that you want to get out there. The finale is
Tuesday right?
B: Yeah, yeah. Tell everybody to text the letter b to 64242.
Cool, plug that.
B: You gotta plug that you know? They could go to BET.com too and vote there. Cause the text gotta fifty cent charge. So if they go directly to www.BET.com/UltimateHustler theres a link there where they can vote for who they want to win.
Ok
B: We got a new single coming out from my group Suga City. And we are shooting a video right after the holidays. So we gonna be putting that up on BET real soon. That songs is called Lookin and its fire. Its some laid back southern stuff.
Anything else you want to say before your life hopefully changes forever?
B: (laughs) Just keep a look out. We got the little site www.conduitentertainment.com. Its a state movement and were bringing the integrity back to hip-hop at all levels. Straight up and we taking control of it too. Aint nobody gonna pull the string but us. They dealing with a hustler, you know what Im saying? Im not gonna let you bullshit me. Youre not gonna control me. Not when I have the same intelligence that all these other folks have. Like the Sonys and the BMGs and all that. So when we deal, we gonna deal to keep you paying for it.
Thats whats up man. The last question. Are you
the Ultimate Hustler?
B: Hell yeah! Without a doubt. I mean you dont see the other cats getting interviewed by Hiphopdx!
Thats whats up kid!
Check out Suga City (from B.Dot's record label Conduit) with their hot single "Lookin" in hiphopdx's HOT TRAXX
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