Halftime: That’s true but nostalgia is strong as hell. That’s what always seems to force a reunion that maybe should never occur.

CL: Yo it could have happened but your mind has to be there brother. You have to surround yourself with people that will allow that to happen. It cannot be I’m the nigga and you’re fucked up. I’m going to fix you and we’re gonna do an album. Are you fucking crazy? Come on man. That’s like somebody the other day that was working with me. They’re telling me yo I just got an apartment I gotta pay for this shit. What? Nigga, I have three houses what point are you trying to make? You’re paying rent to own and people are paying me rent to live. This is my job. I’m showing you I’m successful on many levels. I didn’t go back and sell crack or get arrested eight times to get to the point where I’m gonna make a new album. I showed ya’ll I’m a premier hustler. Ya’ll don’t know what I’m hustling but ya’ll know I’m getting it. They can’t say I’m selling drugs all they can say is whatever you’re selling I know you don’t need to rap anymore. So you taking that vibe and saying now I’m gonna pay for my own shit. I’m gonna get in the studio and I’m gonna make this happen and work with some new producers: Arsonist of the Heatmakerz, KG, Divine Milz the whole crew giving me beats and making legitimate songs. “Call on Me” where I’m talking about my childhood, sleeping on grandma’s couch being that crack dealer, being lost, being fucked up and having to change my ways and actions and be a man. That sounds like Reminisce. I got this beat from this Italian dude straight from Italy and it sounds like jazz. I’m rapping on it and it’s like here goes the next joint. Here’s the shit that everybody wanted to hear and Pete Rock could have done it. I know people are gonna say Pete Rock did it. You can get whatever you want out of this game, you just have to be able to understand how to play it. I would love to work with anyone who wants to work with me because that’s the great part about it.
People don’t understand that you can’t create with someone who doesn’t want you to have nothing. You have to create with the people who are willing to say here I made a beat for you not take my beat, do something with it and bring it back. I was here for the inception from the pause button. How do you do interviews saying me and my man started from the pause button but you want to charge me for getting a beat from you. You want to charge CL money to get a beat from you? I don’t understand that. We don’t even have to go there I want to show you more to prove to you. I want to show you that you’re wrong more than hurt you. I want to show you that I’m worth something more than saying fuck you. It’s not about that it’s more like fuck this situation let’s move onto a better one. It’s not fair to the people but I’m pretty sure when I saw the creativity level, that it had to be approached a certain way I knew we wouldn’t have made it. It’s like a boxer that doesn’t want to train. Certain people in this business are very scared of success. I understand because they come out the woodwork. They’re out to hurt you or do this or that. When it’s dying down people think that you’re past tense and they won’t bother you anymore. You love to live through that. I want to do songs for Jim Jones and Ghostface but I don’t want no recognition. I want recognition but not the shit that comes with it. Come on you doing Jim Jones and Ghostface why can’t you do CL? Even more for CL. Then you want to charge me $10,000 or $25,000 like this is ’92. Come on baby let’s do it like it needs to be done. But you know what I got some great producers that want to work and the vibe is different and the love is different and that’s what you need to make a successful record anyway. If people are just doing you a favor it really doesn’t sound right.

Halftime: At this point you have the recognition so it’s not like you couldn’t get beats from anybody you want anyway.

CL: But you want the people to have what they want man. You want people to have a piece of Pete Rock even if it’s one record. The more successful I am the sorrier people are that I didn’t bring Pete along. That’s what it is now. When he’s on it’s like you’re alright but you should get with CL man. Then when CL come it’s like damn Pete fucked up he should be on this great album why is he being an asshole? At least get one record on it. He can’t give you one record? Nah cuz that one record will push back my whole album because he’ll be demanding shit talking about my record, my shit my shit but that’s not how it goes baby. We all trying to build something here and if we come to Pete Rock he thinks he’s saving the whole ship with his drill. How are you gonna save the ship when you are drilling the holes in it? That basically sums up that Pete Rock [situation] and the disappointment in me. It was a disappointment that it didn’t happen. It’s like ok we broke up fine. Now you come back ten years later to do the same shit again. That hurt me even more like why? You saw me sweep all that shit away get a new slate just to have you come back and call me to fuck with me like that. That was crazy and then to go around the world with your girlfriend and fuck with me too. It seems like he’s gotten worse. And I’m the one that never goes to the public or anything to talk so everybody is thinking CL is this fucking drug induced motherfucker and it’s really not that way. Then when people see me it’s like I thought you were in a coffin or digging out the garbage. I heard so many things about you and no ones heard from you and you walking around with a $2,000 suit on while they trying to figure out where did you get $2,000 from.

Halftime: Word, I’ve heard rumors that you were working at labels to one rumor where cats were saying you were working as a parking attendant. It’s all over the world.

CL: All crazy type of shit but all of that hype and controversy you bring that into the studio and you make it happen. That’s the motivating factor that people think your life is that way and then they get to see how you really live. They like man you don’t have one gray hair, you got all your teeth, you’re doing your thing going to the gym everyday living good. You got your $60,000 truck in your driveway. This wasn’t paid for with rap this was paid for with my brain work and my understanding that I’m a man and I gotta take my scraps and make something out of it. And I did. I made an empire and these dudes say you know what let me follow the general because the general knows what he’s doing. I had to start from somewhere low. I had to start from that. I wasn’t able to do what I wanted to do off the bat, there was a time when everything had to be liquidated. On that same song, “Call on Me,” I tell you I lose everything dawg. I lose everything and like the book of Job I get everything back. I got double for my trouble. This is all creativity that Pete Rock is missing. You think this shit is bouncing off of his walls? No way and when his peers get an opportunity to sit down and listen to my shit they’re floored. I got songs that will bring motherfuckers to tears and they gotta understand this shit is real. I lived every bar, every single song I live it. I don’t get mad at Pete, I show Pete the way now. I was just so disappointed how the shit was just public knowledge that you’re fucking me over. You think I’m gonna come back after ten years and be like Pete do me a favor?

I rocked shows with your back turned, pants hanging down with the crack of your ass showing. I’m waiting for the next record to come on and you don’t got it ready but my professionalism is still getting me geared up to do the damn thing and get it over and have great shows. They are booking us two and three more times with 2,000 and 3,000 people in the joint. I’m scared of his interviews because I always feel like I have to defend myself for nothing. Why do I have to be the evil person? I can be that evil person but compensate me for being your whipping boy. Just like you left me in the hood with these terrorists. You said hold them down because I have to go to the studio. As soon as I’m done with this studio shit we out. Two or three months later I’m still here with these motherfuckers. You gotta pay me to sit here now and that’s what I told him. If we’re not gonna go get any of my money which is on the road cuz I ain’t a producer waiting up for Shaq to come over my house with Queen Latifah. I ain’t waiting for that shit. I’m waiting to go on the road and promote this new album we got. We ain’t gonna do it behind you producing a Jeru the Damaja remix. We ain’t gonna do it like that so my vibe is totally different from Pete’s. If Pete Rock is my brother he is a punk ass brother to me.

Halftime: Hahaha

CL: He’s a punk ass brother to me and everybody got some. You got your gay cousin, your nutty uncle and your punk ass brother and that’s what it is. I can’t help it because it’s four square miles of what it’s all about. His family should be like wow how the fuck you letting CL come around making these great songs and you’re too pigheaded to say let me get in on that. Let me give him something because I need it too. I need to be apart of that run too. Everybody wants to talk about Pete Rock like he’s this great guy. He’s a great guy ten years ago. So you want me to drag this fossil with me to make me feel like what that I’m doing something right? The people want what they want and a lot of times when the people got what they wanted like “The Love Thing” and “Appreciate” they threw that shit to the wayside because he surrounded it with bullshit. He didn’t keep going. [He didn’t go,] “Hey you made “Love Thing” that shit sounded crazy or you made “Appreciate” let’s keep it going baby!” Nope instead, “It’s my album, my shit, I’m going out and doing my shit with my niggas.” Ok cool. The only time I get to grace your presence is if I’m backing you up on your promotional tour for your little raggedy ass album. Come on baby what about CL? You think he ever went out on tour and was like this is just about CL. It ain’t about me right now it’s about my rapper this is his time. I had my time listen to my beats. He’s not doing that he’s looking like he is waiting on an invitation from Armageddon to drop something on me or put it in the mail. I’m just upset the people didn’t get what they wanted. They’re gonna get it but not from him. All they are gonna do is feel sorry for him because he is not apart of this movement. Why didn’t you get just one from Pete? I could have put one of those “Love Things” or “Appreciate” on my album and say that’s Pete Rock right there but all he’d do is drag me through litigation saying that’s his record. The business I had with the record was after six months you relinquish all rights of the song to me. He got mad at me over that. I’m like what do you want me to do keep making you records just to see them fall by the wayside and not pick one of them up and try to run with it?

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Posted by Jbutters on Tuesday, November 21st, 2006 and is filed under HIP HOP ICON SERIES.