Have you achieved any other goals that you’ve had outside of monetary things now that you are in control of your own destiny?

I’ve gotten to go to South Africa and perform for brothers out there. I’m getting into writing scripts and I’m directing my own videos. I’m getting into editing. I’m really just enjoying life and having a good time. This is my college education. This is my university in the truest sense of the word. We need money to live, but the freedom that’s what it is. Its like Maya Angelou said why does the caged bird sing, because that nigga want to get out. He ain’t singing because he is happy and I think I’m not a caged bird anymore. I’m singing because I’m happy. I’m exploring life how it was intended. I just enjoy that I could do not only for myself, but for others now. To try to take brothers who never been out the hood somewhere and give them an opportunity to learn something. Nothing in this world is ours its all God’s and God makes us the steward of these things and sees what you’re gonna do with it. A lot of people slam Oprah like she a sellout but Oprah straight up building schools in Africa. You can’t say nothing! She ain’t that much of a sellout she is being smart. She know that she needs these white people to make that money to build them schools in Africa because the black people ain’t looking at her. We are like crabs in a barrel and it’s a shame. A majority of my shows that I do now will be all white people.

It’s like that Rahzel show we went to.

I did two shows with Rahzel recently One we were out in Europe and the other we were in Detroit but I didn’t perform with him I had performed two nights before but I got stuck out there in that big snow storm. I went to check him out and it was all white dudes, but after his show was over they opened the club up. Rahzel’s show was about 200-300 white kids and maybe one or two other kinds but when the regular club opened and they started playing the ignorant booty music the club was packed like 3,000 people.

When are you coming through to Baltimore?

Whenever we get a show out there. I was recently in DC at Club 5. It was off the hook so hopefully we’ll hook it up because actually I sold the most records in the Baltimore/DC area when the “Sun Rises in the East” came out. They even got the Go Go version of “Come Clean” with Backyard.

They also did a club song with it.

Yea I sold the most albums in those areas so I know there are mad people in the area looking for a brother but since I am independent and don’t have millions of dollars for my budget I have to get the bang for my buck. I’m about to get this new video out. We’re keeping it realistic, we are stressing independence, liberation, and upliftment. My ultimate goal is to build a youth center in all the ghettos of America and teach them audio, video, mathematics, things that amaze them now that they see on TV and show a brother how they put that together. That’s why they don’t want computers in our schools. I can do everything I see on TV on my computer in the lab with a program or two. So if a kid in the hood could do that it wouldn’t be so fascinating to them. Everybody wants to be famous and be on TV and be rappers, nobody wants to be a doctor or a lawyer. Back to the beginning for the black man, I think our liberation is through education. I was watching a show on Cinemax and it was about the national spelling bee and there was one little black girl in there, she got eliminated in the first round but she was one of the top 200 kids in the country. Me and my girl was like we’re proud of her because she made it even though she didn’t win. We make being intelligent dumb. Oh you smart you’re a nerd. Ask most black kids what’s the last book they read. They got the PS2 and the only thing they read is the booklet to the game and they don’t even read those anymore they just play and figure it out.

I had one question before you be out and it’s mad off topic but you mentioned Black Thought and it popped in my mind about how you guys were supposed to start a big group.

Yea me, him and Common.

What happened?

I don’t know baby.

Hahaha

It might still happen though you never know. But before I go the last thing I want to say is it’s not even about buying my records but for everybody just be yourself. Know yourself and love yourself and at the end of the day you’ll probably make all the right decisions. If you can love brother like you love yourself then the world would be a better place.

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Posted by Halftime on Saturday, February 7th, 2004 and is filed under HIP HOP ICON SERIES.