Loon
Q:
How is it working with Puff?
A:Puff is like that coach that just wants to win. He
doesn’t care how he wins, he just wants to win. If you are
a player that shares the same desire it’s beautiful working
with Puff. I’m a player so I enjoy working with Puff.
Q: Took a minute for this project?
A: It was all for the better but I do think we missed a
window of opportunity. I could have dropped an album after
the success of "I Need a Girl" and did really well but
still I feel I have a chance to do well. Now that the music
has changed and evolved it’s good I’m able to complete an
album now. Artist such as 50 Cent has brought a street
awareness to the game again and you have a lot of new
stars, emcees, characters and to not be part of today’s
evolution will cause you to fail.
Q: What’s the subject matter of the album?
A: I’m actually giving off energy and a vibe rather than a
message on the album. I’m all on that classic Harlem vibe
without force feeding you Harlem this Harlem that.
Q:Who did what on that album?
A: I learned a lesson from doing Harlem World and running
out and getting the super established producers. Now I have
mixed it up, it was like whoever had the heat. A lot of big
name dudes did come through I have Neptunes, EZ LP,
Trackmaster and Buckwild. I also have features with
Claudette Ortiz, Missy Elliot, Trina, Aaron Hall and Carl
Thomas. I’m trying to offer some type of satisfaction to
the game
"I felt G-Dep I thought he was the man too. I remember when we were in the mall the girls used to run pass me to get to him. "
Q: So right now Bad Boy is building around Loon?
A: They have no choice. Everything is riding on me right now. There is a lot of pressure some may take this energy and use it the wrong way, I’m taking it as fuel and as a blessing.
Q: At one time G-Dep was the man there?
A: I felt G-Dep I thought he was the man too. I remember when we were in the mall the girls used to run pass me to get to him. They didn’t know who Loon was. Now I’m up to bat and I have a lot riding on me but I have a lot of support.
Q: What was the mood at Bad Boy when the G-Dep project didn’t do too well?
A: It was an individual thing. Bad Boy and Harlem at the time had potential to take it to the next level. I think Puffy putting out the compilation took away from G-Dep’s album.
Q: So how was it during that time?
A: I came in at the end of that. I came in when it was established that Bad Boy had issues but also realized they had something to prove and I (coming out of the Arista situation) had something to prove. There’s no better partner to team up with than one that is driven.
Q: Lets talk about coming from Harlem and spending time in Beverly Hills?
A: I was the Fresh Prince before the TV show. I’m definitely not ashamed to have lived in Beverly Hills. Any brother in any poverty stricken community would love to live in Beverly Hills. I was born and raised in Harlem. I did every hustle that was possible. At the end of day it’s the same environment because in Harlem you have people that are so poor they’re miserable and in Beverly Hills you have people that are so rich they’re miserable.
Q: What have you learned so far in this business?
A: In this business it is really what you make it. You have to place yourself in the position you want to be in. You really can’t allow the game to take you places that’s unnatural to you. I also learned the evolution of music is crazy because I did "I Need A Girl" a couple years ago and I heard about sixteen different versions of the song.
Q: How’s the market changed since you first came out?
A: The facade is no longer effective. These young kids are not fascinated about reading fanzines magazines.The other day I saw some kids arguing in the street and one kid told the other kid "yo, your man that you were hollering about the other day is whack, he only sold 65,000 copies first week." You can’t fool them any more. That’s why people are gravitating to 50 Cent and Eminem. Kids are not stupid any more they can tell when you’re trying to be something you’re not. I came in as a ladies man so for me to change that, I would be a fool plus I wake up thinking about getting money and females.
Q: How come uptown cats don’t collaborate too much?
A: Harlem is not the click up type of town. You hear names of lot individuals such Rich Porter, Nicky Barnes, Pee Wee Kirkland, you never hear of Pee Wee’s crew. I don’t know if it’s good or bad. Cam’ron and I are putting together a Neptune collaboration so I’m going to break the mode. It has never been a Harlem trait to click up with people.
Q: What do you think of P.Diddy’s Making The Band (The fourth episode of Making The Band appeared on MTV?)
A: So far the show is not pertaining to any music. The show is moving away from the point and then the whole cheese cake thing is just nasty. It puts those brothers in a ugly position to where anyone could just tear them out the frame.They could come out with their best 16 and cats could be whack and just turn around and say something about the cheese cake and the crowd will go crazy. It also might rub off the wrong way where people think Puff does that Sh!t to me. But Puff is a genius he’s going to figure out a way to bring the show back into perspective but right now it’s looking kind of nasty and the hood is talking about it.
Q: What do you think about cats paying their dues?
A: You can’t make a person pay dues in that manner. The way you make a person pay dues is by working them in the studio. You work them until they get a hit record. Running laps and doing push ups isn’t going to help a cat’s verse. I know how it feels to be an inner city kid knowing you just auditioned against twenty thousand people can be discouraging.
Q: So what’s your approach to doing a track?
A: I do whatever the beat makes me do. I listen to the music and let that take me where it has to go. When I first heard the beat to "I Need a Girl" I really wasn’t feeling it. It felt like a beat someone was supposed to sing on, I had to take a subtle approach where it sounded like some one’s singing on it. I don’t have a consistent pattern like some artist who sound the same all the time.
Q: What do you think of the Hip Hop scene uptown is it starting to warm up now?
A: Black Rob did his double platinum thing, G Dep struggling but still doing his thing. Cameron representing uptown right now.
Q: What’s up with BR (Black Rob?)
A: He’s working on his album. He has some s#!t.
Q: What can we expect in October?
A: Expect a lot of excitement. I have the album coming out, a movie with Roc-a-Fella films called "Death of a Dynasty," I’m going to be in a Broadway play called "Broadway Musical." Puffy can’t be the only hot cat on Bad Boy.
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