Young Buck "Buck The World" interview

[Meho]

Young Buck - Buck The World

Interview By: Melanie J Cornish

Within the confines of Hip-Hop there are innumerable factions, all who think they are better than the rest. Egos are a dime a dozen and braggadocios personalities populate. After all Hip-Hop is the most narcissistic genre of music.

Young Buck and his band of brothers require no introduction. They have been loved, detested, adored and loathed during their reign. But regardless of public opinions and media speculation, the G-Unit army isn’t breaking down, Young Buck isn’t looking to jump ship and they are still as close as ever in all their endeavors.

With sophomore project 'Buck the World' slated for a late Novemeber release date, one thing he and co-hort Lloyd Banks had on their sides while working on their these albums was time. Plus home recording studios certainly helped the G-Uniteers in crafting and concocting this go around.

Here Buck talks about Africa, the real ghetto, the interest in Soundscan and just what lessons he has learned from watching some of Hip-Hops major players at work.

Nobodysmiling.com : When is the album dropping?

Young Buck : November 28th, it is everything you have been waiting for and it’s worth the wait and worth your money.

Nobodysmiling.com : Did you enjoy making this album?

Young Buck : Yeah I had a lot of fun as I had more time with this album as my first album I recorded when I was on tour with Roc da Mic, so this one here; it’s been pretty much on me. I had my own studio built and I write the best in my own settings and most of it is recorded in my studio, so I really enjoyed it. I smoked a lot of weed while making it.

Nobodysmiling.com : After going two times platinum on your first album, are you conscious of sales on this project?

Young Buck : I just try to keep that out of my mind. I make music based on reality and what I have gone through in my life. To me that’s the way people get to understand my music. You know if someone can pull something out of one of those verses that I write and say ‘Damn I am going through that too’ that’s good, its life. You know if you concentrate on selling records and making an album and making music based off trying to see a record it becomes limited. You know you limit yourself instead of going in there and doing it for the love of the music.

Nobodysmiling.com : Do you find Soundscan has become an obsession?

Young Buck : Yeah, for a long time and even now I don’t pay Soundscan too much attention. I see Soundscan when I am at the G Unit office; you know I don’t really focus on it. I think a lot of artists, at the end of the day are in it to see music and be able to become financially safe. I think the only way of making good music is to be focused on the project itself. You have to love the music, before you can make a dollar from it. Even trying to come up in the game and making the music happen for you and being an indie artist or something, you have to grow to love your stuff before you can get anyone else to love your stuff.

Nobodysmiling.com : Are there any differences with this album compared to the first?

Young Buck : I had a little more time to work on it and I worked with a lot of different producers on this album than I did with my first. My first album I didn’t have no big name producers, as I wanted to keep the budget down so I could make some money. But on this one I got Dr. Dre who produces three of them, Eminem, Lil Jon, Akon, Jazze Pha, he produced a couple of them, Just Blaze, Hi-Tek. So there is a variety of production on there. Then feature wise I have more features on this than you will find on any other G-Unit album.

Nobodysmiling.com : Is there any particular reason as to why you went with so many features?

Young Buck : At the end of the day, I got a lot of friends and all the features are from people I am associated with outside of just being involved in this music. You know I got a record with T.I, Young Jeezy, myself and Pimp C. You know they are my homeboys so we would be hanging out one day and that’s how that came about. I got a record with Trick Daddy, one with MJG, 8Ball and Bun B. But what did was put all my features on one records, you know you may get me with two or three other major artists, so then I could make enough room for my own solo records. Whatever standard you expect to get, there is a lot of different people on this album so it is guaranteed to be a classic album, I can promise you that.

Nobodysmiling.com : Weren’t you supposed to go on tour to Africa with Missy and 50, some sort of Violator Tour, what happened with that?

Young Buck : I think there was some problem with the plane; something happened but I know they are supposed to be re-scheduling the show. I have been to Africa before.

Nobodysmiling.com : Yeah I was just about to ask if that would have been your first time to visit Africa.

Young Buck : No, my first time was one of the best experiences I have ever had in my life despite the little problem we had which caused us to come back a little quicker than we scheduled. We love Africa and I cant wait to go again.

Nobodysmiling.com : Where were you?

Young Buck : Johannesburg and Nigeria. It was nice over there. There is a lot of real poverty over there. You know what we call the ghetto is not the ghetto; we got it good. I don’t care how hard your projects is, you still got running water and things of that nature because there were people over there that I actually spoke to that really, really, really don’t have nothing and seeing that many black people without nothing is kind of crazy. You know you go so far and you see the blacks just a little worse than the people in the ghetto but for the most part there is a lot of poverty. For me it was like a way of coming home and being thankful for what I got now.

Nobodysmiling.com : But you put a lot of money back into Tennessee and Nashville with the G-Unity Foundation. The organizations that you opted to go with, why do you choose those ones exactly?

Young Buck : Well we like giving back as much as we do receiving; the way to receive is to give back. It was a situation where from the beginning we decided to orchestrate something to be able to support events that have happened through our lives such as tragedy, for us such as the hurricane in New Orleans. Any types of major things, even the flood overseas we sent something over there so we could be pretty much involved, but not looking for the recognition. Everybody got a good home; you know we are like gangsters with good hearts you know what I am saying? So in the beginning it was decided that we would establish something to show our support, show our people and our neighborhoods where we come from as well as the people we don’t know out here that we are able to show love. So it was pretty much started by 50, it was his idea and it was acknowledged and we all developed our own individual foundations outside of just that, you know we are all a part of the G-Unity Foundation but we all have our individual foundations also. So it’s a good look to be able to give back and see the smiles on some of the faces we have helped for real.

Nobodysmiling.com : People don’t look for recognition when giving but doesn’t it bother you when you as a movement receive so much negativity?

Young Buck : Yeah it does as you do a lot of different things from the heart and people get it twisted and it becomes really confusing. But at the end of the day, we practice four letters Ma and I am going to give them to you and you can practice them. P.U.S.H, Pray until something happens and its like at the end of the day that’s how we get down and how we make it through all this, the so-called ‘beef’ situations. I feel like a lot of who are in a position of being so-called Hip-Hop stars, people that kids and the young folks look up to haven’t got their shit right with the man upstairs so they don’t even know who they are themselves. That’s why you see a lot of different images from one person. Most Hip-Hop artists refuse to find themselves and the different thing about me is that I know where I come from and I know where I have been and what you get is what you gonna keep getting in this life. All I pretty much do is work on delivering the message that I already put out there because the message ain’t going to change as far as the struggle and all I can do is push the youth on the good end. But then I can’t give you all the happy stuff of Buck, because 90% of this shit is bad and I can give it to you that way too. No-one has seen things delivered in this way since Tupac Shakur.

Nobodysmiling.com : You are only 25; do you feel you have achieved so much in just that time frame?

Young Buck : Nah, nah, I feel like I have just taken one giant step, being able to have one foot out of the ghetto. Because you have to understand that where I am from, you can’t take just one giant step and take both feet out, you gotta keep one foot in, because if you take one giant step out with both feet your people turn their back in a fashion. I made one step, but as far as Hollywood and making my statement I don’t think I have come close. I am only on my sophomore album, I mean I have had success through the material on the projects I have worked on but at the end of the day there is a lot more to come with Young Buck that I want to being to the game as far as G –Unit South and my own rap label Cashville Records.

Nobodysmiling.com : There has been a lot of speculation in regards to you moving away from 50 and the rest of G Unit, is there anything you want to say in response to that or is there any truth in it?

Young Buck : Hell nah. The day you see me stop being affiliated with 50 Cent will be the day that I stop music. With me I had a lot of situations who I could have done my music with but I was burned by so many individuals as I jump started my career that once I came around 50 and actually seeing eye to eye and feeling the movement, I just cant see myself anywhere else, even if I have my own thing, it will still be G-Unit affiliated. I am a believer that if it ain’t broke, don’t fucking fix it, straight up. Everything is perfect, I’m paid before I started rapping, I’m good, me and 50 are good; he understands me as an individual. I am a man, I won’t run home to Daddy like the whole Baby and Lil Wayne situation

Nobodysmiling.com : Yeah I was going to say being around G-Unit and also being around Cash Money during two stages of their tenure in music; what lessons have you learned?

Young Buck : I learned how to pay people. You know I watched a lot of people do a lot of work around them and they left without anything, no opportunity. I pick up the bad before I pick up on the good and I will look at it like ‘What can I do to avoid the bad happening to me?’ The good will always come naturally; you know it will always come if you can eliminate the bad. I learned to take care of my people from them and always say what you mean as far as anything you are gonna do, mean what you say. You know I was young when I was around them [Cash Money] and they were the first people I knew who had leverage in the game, the first people who were actually moving. They were real hot in the independent world. I was like 14 or 15 and I was out in these streets heavy but trying to do my thing and do the rap thing. I was never given that opportunity to show my talent. Even though I was right there when Juvenile wrote 'Back that Ass up', it felt like I was almost used for my surroundings, the cars, the money and things of that nature. You got to see me, but you never got to hear me and that was really what I was about for, to get that opportunity and he never gave me any anyway. I was going on 19-20 years old. You know I dropped out of Junior High to go and live with them in New Orleans.

Nobodysmiling.com : Do you ever regret dropping out of school?

Young Buck : No I don’t, as I am a true example of not having to go through school to be successful. I don’t have no regrets because I am successful. I have sold multi-million records; I don’t have a college education or a High School diploma which doesn’t mean I’m not going to get it. At the end of the day it is about your relationship with the man upstairs and it comes from there and then it is on the person himself. You know if you got the know how and really want something to happen for you as much as I did, then you gonna get out of here by any means necessary and that is where I stand. The streets will pay out, but it may not be the legal route. So whatever works for you, do it to the best of your ability. I’m a hustler MC, I am about getting money on the real.


Nobodysmiling.com : Your album is a play on words, 'Buck the World' and then you have Lloyd Banks dropping with The 'Rotten Apple', what’s going on with these titles over there at G Unit?

Young Buck : (laughs) 'Buck the world' is pretty much how you feel in a sense, you know its an underdog statement. Everything revolves around the world and here I’m not giving you all of what I’ve got but I am going to give you most. I am going to save something for the rest of the albums I am going to put out. There ain’t no limits, you know I didn’t hold nothing back, so it’s like ‘Buck the World.’

Nobodysmiling.com : Where is home to you now?

Young Buck : Tennessee, as much time as I get away from working and that’s by being out on the road or in New York. I try to spend as much time at home as possible. I have a little girl and she requires a lot of Daddy’s time and she’s dead serious about that. It’s her birthday coming up soon so I am running around passing out invitations for her little birthday party.

http://www.nobodysmiling.com/hiphop/interview/86801.php

[Adriano]

on this one I got Dr. Dre who produces three of them, Eminem, Lil Jon, Akon, Jazze Pha, he produced a couple of them, Just Blaze, Hi-Tek

damn

props

[D1G1T4L]

So nowadays you got to stab someone to get dr dre beats for your next album? 

[Adriano]

So nowadays you got to stab someone to get dr dre beats for your next album? 

lol

[kingwell]

So nowadays you got to stab someone to get dr dre beats for your next album? 

Hahahahaha

[Tha Crip]

wow 3 dre beats...i hope he lets buck use em, if anyone in g unit deserves his beats the most its definately buck. This album is gonna be fuckin hot...way better then rotten apple i bet (which i wasnt too impressed with but still an alright album, jus too much chick songs for me) you'd think banks woulda been the one getting alotta big name producers on his 2nd album since he sold the most out of the g unit solo releases.

[Lunatic]

^^ 4 real. MAD disapointed with Banks cd. It was alright, but not nearly as good as hunger 4 more. Some1 mentioned, that the "hunger" just wasn't there, and that's real. Real sloppy cd. No more then 5 good tracks, and some average 1s. Buck cd should be intresting. Glad/Suprised to see 3 Dre tracks on there. Lol, at the gotta stab someone 2 get a dre beat. Did he have 1 Dre track on the last 1? cant remember, but don't think so

[Larrabee]

Nah, no Dre beats on Buck's 1st album...I dunno, I have a hard time believing that Dre produced 3 tracks on Buck's new shit, when 50 only got 2 for his last album.

I just wish one of the tracks Dre did is called "Take A Stab At It" or something. 

[Tha Crip]

50 probally coulda had the songs that dre produced on the get rich soundtrack on massacre but decided to just release them seperately (good move marketing wise but i think massacre coulda been better had the 2  dre tracks plus the Outta Control remix been included).