211  (September 2007) | Interview By: Nima

As ever, you can read and listen to this exclusive interview and we urge you to leave feedback on our forums or email them to nima@dubcnn.com.

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Interview was done in August 2007

Questions Asked By: Nima

211 Gave Dubcnn A Shoutout! Check That Here

Full Audio Interview Here

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Dubcnn: Dubcnn right here with CTE West artist 211. What's up with you man?

What it do man! I'm coming live from Westside Inglewood!


Dubcnn: For those who don't know, go ahead and introduce yourself to everybody real quick.

Young 211 the muthafuckin' bizness, Corporate Thug Entertainment, CTE West, nigga, USDA, you already know what it do, what it is and what it is gone be.


Dubcnn: You're from Inglewood, California, tell us how you came up.

Yeah the City of Champs, I got from the Rogers Park gang, Neighborhood Piru, it's just on some L.A. shit, how it is out here. It's real hard for young niggas out here to get out here and stay positive, cause we're surrounded by the element, but we're trying to come up an do what we do out here, you know?


Dubcnn: How did you get into the music business?

I'd say I fell in it by accident! I was out here grinding doing what I do, and shit I just started meeting people, niggas started fucking with me here and there, startin hitting these studios with a couple of homies, and niggas was feeling it! So I put together a little album in New York, printed it up, came back to the hood started selling them! Niggas was fucking with me, so I fucked around a ran into Suge one day, and he took a liking to a young nigga. So I started going in the studio heavy with that nigga, and we started busting them out!

But when it came down to doing some business shit, everything wasn't together how it's supposed to be, so a nigga kept pushing. Shit, I fucked around a ran into Jeezy, one of my homies fucked with him, he introduced me to that nigga, and I went to Atlanta and started doing my thang fucking with them! They inked me in, CTE, and shit it's been on and cracking ever since!


Dubcnn: How long have you been active?

Shit I've been going hard for about two years, two going on three years, just really taking this shit seriously.


Dubcnn: So when was the time when you were recording with Suge?

This was like 2005, the beginning, Summer of '05, I was going in there with Petey Pablo, and the niggas he had on the Row, we was banging them out, Squeak Ru from my hood, we was just cutting record after record, and at the same time I was going to my other little studio putting together a mixtape, the Cold Young Rida mixtape, I put that shit out and I must have did like 8,000 copies, that put all the niggas on to me, like "211, 211". Now I got this new mixtape coming out "Money Over Everything", I'm trying to sell a million copies! As well as an album. So I'm in it.


Dubcnn: Who would you name as your main influences musically?

Musically man I fuck with this gangata shit. I fuck with the Jeezy's, the T.I.'s, the Snoop's, Tupac, all the niggas that come from the same background that I come from and if I see they can do it, I know I could do it. So I'm into that shit, niggas that came from nothing, and made something from nothing, that's motivation for me.


Dubcnn: Which projects have you been heard on so far?

I'm on the U.S.D.A. Cold Summer, number 1 album in the country, damn near gold right now, I'm also on the new Messy Marv & Mitchy Slick called "Messy Slick", I'm on that album, and I just got word from Julio G that I'm on the new "Westside Radio" album coming out beginning of fall sometime, so I'm really feeling myself. And I got my mixtape done now, so I'm finna go hard man, these niggas finna really know about me.


Dubcnn: How did you hook up with Young Jeezy and CTE?

Shit man, one night I was in Vegas, and my homie is his personal assistant, which is his manager now, and I guess they must have gotten into a little altercation or something, and them nigga called me up there, so me and my nigga Ice B, we pull up there at the end of everything. I pull up there and shit, we just had some drinks, and niggas fucked with your boy! I'm a real nigga, real recognize real, and niggas just took it from there! Niggas had already seen me being in Atlanta, so they already knew about my getdown, so I fucked around and met them niggas, they came back to L.A., and did the Trapstar video.

That was like the first video I was ever in, I hopped into that, them niggas went back to Atlanta, I hopped on a plane, paid for my ticket and everything, went to go fuck with them niggas, hopped on the tour bus and everything, Then we came back to Atlanta after the tour and the nigga just signed me! Since then we've been heavy in the studio cutting records with them niggas. Me and the homie Roccett, they signed Roccett too from East Coast Crip you know what I'm saying?


Dubcnn: Did you know Roccett beforehand or did you hook up through CTE?

It was like all at the same time. I kind of heard about him out here, here and there, I knew people who knew him, but I really kind of met him through Jeezy. We've been bool ever since, he calls me to his studio, or we be in Atlanta, here and there, that's my nigga.


Dubcnn: So are you going to be releasing a solo album on CTE or a group album?

I'm working on this album right now, we got a group album with me and Roccett, we got Jeezy on there, USDA, major production and all that shit. So we going from there. I'm also trying to do some independent work with my company Too Much Ent, my first artist Iceberg, straight from Inglewood, Neighborhood Pirus. I'm trying to get all this rap money, a nigga trying to get up out these streets and put some legal money into these streets.


Dubcnn: So when we can expect the next mixtape?

You can expect it right now, I got 5,000 of them pressed up right now, I'm finna make another order for another 5,000, I'm trying to do 5,000 a week! I'm finna hit this magic show Monday and go hard there, and I got my 211 street team in Atlanta and in L.A., so I'm trying to flood the streets, the Bay, L.A., Dago, I got some features on there from Mitchy Slick, Messy Marv, Iceberg, Slick Pulla, Roccett, with some production from Dirty Bird, the homie Disko from my Neighborhood he's doing half of the production.


Dubcnn: Is it all original beats?

I got like 5 or 6 mixtape beats, and that's just a lyrical exercise. I don't really like to do that shit, but I just do it just to show these niggas how I'm built, I flip a nigga's whole shit. My whole buzz is off mixtapes, so you gotta do it, it's real therapeutic. "Money Over Everything", yes sir!


Dubcnn: Did you get some good feedback off the feature on the USDA album?

Oh yeah, I'm killing them with that Cold Summer, "Respect The Shield", number 13, if you ain't got it you need to go get it! Number 1 album in the country, I think we had 320,000 right now, I'm trying to stay in it, I'm getting buzz off the Mitchy Slick Messy Marv album too, 2 Bombs. They fucking with me out here man.


Dubcnn: The West and the South have always had a connection, how do you view that relationship?

I mean, I've been everywhere, and it's the same mentality. All it is is it's a different place, but it's the same mentality. Like South niggas fuck with L.A. niggas, cause they damn near on the same sht. Them niggas down there gangbanging, it's a motion, I've been to the Mack Town, the Savanna, and every little part of Georgie, muthafuckin' Alabama, they on the same shit we on, niggas is gangbanging, killing niggas, selling dope, all that other shit, same shit we doing out here.

I'm loving it though, a nigga can go out there and they're like "You from L.A.? We on the same shit out here!" With they flags out and they rags on in they khaki's and shit. I don't knock it, get your bang on my nigga, but it's all the same mentality. Just being in the South, I love that shit, it's fun as a muthafucka, and it's active out there.


Dubcnn: Which artists from the West are you feeling right now?

Shit, right now I'm fucking with the nigga G. Malone, I think he's hitting hard out here, on this New West shit. I'm fuckin' with the nigga Hot Dollar too, I like that shit too, that shit hard. I'm fucking with all the new niggas, I'm all for this new movement. Back in the day during the Death Row era and shit, niggas wasn't together like how they is now. It was too much shit going on man, "I ain't fuckin' with ya'll cause ya'll fuckin' with him and he don't like him and this and that", but at the same time it's all the same money. If a nigga got problems man, take a fade and get over it, let niggas eat. All that other shit is bullshit.

So I'm loving what niggas is doing right now, I'm open, I'm fuckin' with everybody. I'm fuckin' with all the niggas that's buzzing in these streets and really giving it up for the West Coast. Just Los Angeles, I'm loving it, the Bay got their shit going on, Mitchy Slick killing the Dago scene, and it's a gang of niggas up out of L.A.. Niggas is trying to rebuild, I can't lie the shit fell off for a minute, and the only nigga that was really out here consistent was [The] Game. After that, niggas took a little breather and now niggas is pushing. I love it.


Dubcnn: Is there anything else you'd like to let everybody know?

Yeah, Money Over Everything, in the streets right now, check me out [on] MySpace, check me out, YouTube me, Google me, however you wanna get at me, I'm out here in these streets pushing, money over everythang!