Young Buck: Buck You! (Part
1)
G-Unit is definitely 50 Cent's ship, but after taking a look at the newly-expanded roster that includes everyone from vets like Mobb Deep and Mase to newcomers like Hot Rod, there's no question of which member of the crew receives the most respect. After migrating from Juvenile's camp to join G-Unit, Young Buck established himself as more than the group's interim Yayo replacement with standout verses on the group's Beg For Mercy album and a whopper debut album, Straight Outta Cashville. With his smokey Nashville drawl, tough as nails lyrics and slew of cameos alongside the south's elite, Buck stood out from his fellow G-Unit soldiers so much that enemies of the group would attempt to disclude him from their beefs.
While Buck is still riding for 50 and co., he's preparing his own takeover with a star-studded sophomore LP and his own label. In part one of a must-read interview with HHDX, Young Buck talks about naysayers' accusations of G-Unit's downfall, standing out from the rest of the crew and more.
HHDX: Tell me about the new album.
Young Buck: It speaks for itself, well the title do: Buck The World. With this record, I ain't hold nothing back nothin, I ain't got no limits with it, and I worked with key producers to add to that sound. Dr. Dre produced like three of em, Eminem produced something, Hi-Tek produced something, Lil Jon produced something, DJ Pod produced something, Timbaland produced something, everybody. Feature-wise, you gon get records like me, T.I., Young Jeezy and Pimp C on something together; me, Snoop and Trick Daddy together; me, Bun B, 8Ball and MJG together; me and Lyfe. So I've got a lot of features and things, but what I did was put my features together so I could make a lot of room for my own solo work, too. It's one of them records where real honestly, man, I can compare it to Dr. Dre's Chronic, 'cause this shit is one of those albums that's a legendary album, and I feel like this is an album that's going to be here for a minute.
HHDX: How do you think you've changed and developed as an MC since your last album?
Young Buck: I'm a mothafucka that's hands-on with the streets. You take the streets away from the world, and there's no more Young Buck. I'm breeded from this. I keep my fuel going, and make my music advance based off of the reality of life that I go through. I make my music based on reality; that's the only way mothafuckas are going to feel what you're saying through your music is if they can pull something out of these verses you put out, and say, “I'm going through that, I know somebody who's going through that, I don't want to go through it.” All my music is real life shit. It lasts longer; no disrespect to none of the people of the snap era, but dances get old. You aren't going to see anybody doing the MC Hammer typewriter today, but you can find somebody listening to 2Pac's “Keep Ya Head Up” or “Brenda's Got A Baby,” and it's still very relevant for today, and it's 10 or 11 years old. I've always leaned toward that side of the music, more than the party side; even though you get that from me, the majority of what you're going to get is real-life shit. Just being out here, being a part of these streets gives me plenty of shit to write about. Just constantly working, my work ethic is a little bit different from the average nigga. I stay working, so I always grow. I reinvent myself as an artist, but stay myself as a person.
HHDX: Your preference is pretty clear, but you can still pull off party tracks. How difficult is it to make those types of songs for you, when they don't seem like your type of thing?
Young Buck: It's not difficult, because at the end of the day, every record that I do is all me. Even when you get to my party records, if you listen to the lyrical content, it's never on no booty-shaking shit. You may get a party-feeling record just because of the track itself, but when you pay attention to the lyrical content of the record, and it's pretty much not going to be straight dedicated to that shit. I'm the type of person, I change with the music. I know just one wave of music, or that street shit isn't going to reach every audience that I'm trying to get to. I just make my music and keep that same composure as a street nigga, but I'm versatile to make that shit to get it over to the other people who may not really catch that street crowd, but they get a chance to learn about it through Buck by jumping on their level with that type of music. It's a challenge for me to do it like that, 'cause like you say homeboy, my shit is strictly street. But I'm growing as an artist, I don't think nobody wants to continually hear the same type of shit.
HHDX: With G-Unit's last two projects not going platinum, people are saying that the group is beginning its fall. How are you guys ensuring staying power?
Young Buck: At the end of the day, we aren't making nothing to acknowledge that. We're just continuously doing us. The negative energy is what we use to fuel the fire, but we don't pay no attention to it, because all them is downward statements. Speaking on Tony Yayo and Mobb Deep's last projects, people are feeling like, “Oh shit, the Unit may be looking like they're about to fall,” because they're so used to getting success from the Unit, but they forget that a gold album is more success than half of the rap game is seeing itself. Our standards are set so high with the millions that 50 sells and the millions that me and Banks (1st album) sold, so when you have a person come in and do a gold album, you're like, “Oh shit.” But at the end of the day, they're good, and that's money. That gives you enough foundation to be able to put out another record. With Yayo, he came out, and two weeks later 50 dropped, so that's always a conflict. Mobb Deep, I don't really understand why they didn't do the numbers I was expecting them to do, because I feel that that was one of the best albums that Mobb Deep has put together, period.
Outside of that, it's just about hustling whatever material you have. I push, I pray until something happens. And at the end of the day, I don't make my music based on record sales. I make my music just to make good fucking music, 'cause I eat from the streets nigga, straight up. And however you take that—I do the business game in the streets, I've got a couple clothing stores, and other shit. My total focus in fucking with this rap shit is to be the best artist in the game, and I know the money comes with that. My whole focus is just about getting good with what I'm doing, I know the money will come along. Up until then, I'm straight—as long as I keep ten co's down these streets, I'ma be all right regardless. It's these hip-hop mothafuckas that's outside, these industry mothafuckas that twist the game up, because that's all they know, is the industry. If you ask me, striaght up, in the rap industry, the people behind the scenes are the problem more than the people who are involved in the peoples' eyes. Most of the time, they're doing what they're told to do. So if you want to get to the source, you have to go behind the scenes of the rap industry to start fixing shit.
HHDX: G-Unit has artists in different areas now, but you were the first artist to sign to the group that wasn't from NY. How difficult was it for you to establish your own style, while still keeping with the group's general themes?
Young Buck: In the beginning and coming around, people thought I was a fill-in for Yayo, (because) I came around when homeboy's incarceration came about. Mothafuckas didn't understand the struggle that I had been through to get to where I was at, they were pretty much judging on what they had perceived off the time—which I had no problem with, I just knew had to stick to doing me. My natural character of myself is totally different than from whom I was surrounded by, and who I'm still surrounded by. I'm automatically going to stand out. With my whole flow thing, you're going to get the southern slang with me being from (Tennessee), and then the lyrical side; you put that shit together, and I don't even know what the fuck to call it. That's what keeps me going.
Check out part two when Buck talks about beef, how Jay-Z switched up his hustle and G-Unit South....
While Buck is still riding for 50 and co., he's preparing his own takeover with a star-studded sophomore LP and his own label. In part one of a must-read interview with HHDX, Young Buck talks about naysayers' accusations of G-Unit's downfall, standing out from the rest of the crew and more.
HHDX: Tell me about the new album.
Young Buck: It speaks for itself, well the title do: Buck The World. With this record, I ain't hold nothing back nothin, I ain't got no limits with it, and I worked with key producers to add to that sound. Dr. Dre produced like three of em, Eminem produced something, Hi-Tek produced something, Lil Jon produced something, DJ Pod produced something, Timbaland produced something, everybody. Feature-wise, you gon get records like me, T.I., Young Jeezy and Pimp C on something together; me, Snoop and Trick Daddy together; me, Bun B, 8Ball and MJG together; me and Lyfe. So I've got a lot of features and things, but what I did was put my features together so I could make a lot of room for my own solo work, too. It's one of them records where real honestly, man, I can compare it to Dr. Dre's Chronic, 'cause this shit is one of those albums that's a legendary album, and I feel like this is an album that's going to be here for a minute.
HHDX: How do you think you've changed and developed as an MC since your last album?
Young Buck: I'm a mothafucka that's hands-on with the streets. You take the streets away from the world, and there's no more Young Buck. I'm breeded from this. I keep my fuel going, and make my music advance based off of the reality of life that I go through. I make my music based on reality; that's the only way mothafuckas are going to feel what you're saying through your music is if they can pull something out of these verses you put out, and say, “I'm going through that, I know somebody who's going through that, I don't want to go through it.” All my music is real life shit. It lasts longer; no disrespect to none of the people of the snap era, but dances get old. You aren't going to see anybody doing the MC Hammer typewriter today, but you can find somebody listening to 2Pac's “Keep Ya Head Up” or “Brenda's Got A Baby,” and it's still very relevant for today, and it's 10 or 11 years old. I've always leaned toward that side of the music, more than the party side; even though you get that from me, the majority of what you're going to get is real-life shit. Just being out here, being a part of these streets gives me plenty of shit to write about. Just constantly working, my work ethic is a little bit different from the average nigga. I stay working, so I always grow. I reinvent myself as an artist, but stay myself as a person.
HHDX: Your preference is pretty clear, but you can still pull off party tracks. How difficult is it to make those types of songs for you, when they don't seem like your type of thing?
Young Buck: It's not difficult, because at the end of the day, every record that I do is all me. Even when you get to my party records, if you listen to the lyrical content, it's never on no booty-shaking shit. You may get a party-feeling record just because of the track itself, but when you pay attention to the lyrical content of the record, and it's pretty much not going to be straight dedicated to that shit. I'm the type of person, I change with the music. I know just one wave of music, or that street shit isn't going to reach every audience that I'm trying to get to. I just make my music and keep that same composure as a street nigga, but I'm versatile to make that shit to get it over to the other people who may not really catch that street crowd, but they get a chance to learn about it through Buck by jumping on their level with that type of music. It's a challenge for me to do it like that, 'cause like you say homeboy, my shit is strictly street. But I'm growing as an artist, I don't think nobody wants to continually hear the same type of shit.
HHDX: With G-Unit's last two projects not going platinum, people are saying that the group is beginning its fall. How are you guys ensuring staying power?
Young Buck: At the end of the day, we aren't making nothing to acknowledge that. We're just continuously doing us. The negative energy is what we use to fuel the fire, but we don't pay no attention to it, because all them is downward statements. Speaking on Tony Yayo and Mobb Deep's last projects, people are feeling like, “Oh shit, the Unit may be looking like they're about to fall,” because they're so used to getting success from the Unit, but they forget that a gold album is more success than half of the rap game is seeing itself. Our standards are set so high with the millions that 50 sells and the millions that me and Banks (1st album) sold, so when you have a person come in and do a gold album, you're like, “Oh shit.” But at the end of the day, they're good, and that's money. That gives you enough foundation to be able to put out another record. With Yayo, he came out, and two weeks later 50 dropped, so that's always a conflict. Mobb Deep, I don't really understand why they didn't do the numbers I was expecting them to do, because I feel that that was one of the best albums that Mobb Deep has put together, period.
Outside of that, it's just about hustling whatever material you have. I push, I pray until something happens. And at the end of the day, I don't make my music based on record sales. I make my music just to make good fucking music, 'cause I eat from the streets nigga, straight up. And however you take that—I do the business game in the streets, I've got a couple clothing stores, and other shit. My total focus in fucking with this rap shit is to be the best artist in the game, and I know the money comes with that. My whole focus is just about getting good with what I'm doing, I know the money will come along. Up until then, I'm straight—as long as I keep ten co's down these streets, I'ma be all right regardless. It's these hip-hop mothafuckas that's outside, these industry mothafuckas that twist the game up, because that's all they know, is the industry. If you ask me, striaght up, in the rap industry, the people behind the scenes are the problem more than the people who are involved in the peoples' eyes. Most of the time, they're doing what they're told to do. So if you want to get to the source, you have to go behind the scenes of the rap industry to start fixing shit.
HHDX: G-Unit has artists in different areas now, but you were the first artist to sign to the group that wasn't from NY. How difficult was it for you to establish your own style, while still keeping with the group's general themes?
Young Buck: In the beginning and coming around, people thought I was a fill-in for Yayo, (because) I came around when homeboy's incarceration came about. Mothafuckas didn't understand the struggle that I had been through to get to where I was at, they were pretty much judging on what they had perceived off the time—which I had no problem with, I just knew had to stick to doing me. My natural character of myself is totally different than from whom I was surrounded by, and who I'm still surrounded by. I'm automatically going to stand out. With my whole flow thing, you're going to get the southern slang with me being from (Tennessee), and then the lyrical side; you put that shit together, and I don't even know what the fuck to call it. That's what keeps me going.
Check out part two when Buck talks about beef, how Jay-Z switched up his hustle and G-Unit South....
