CROOKED I (July 2006) | Interview By: Nima

       Dubcnn.com received word that Crooked I wanted to speak with Dubcnn shortly after our Snoop Dogg interview was released. The reason why was not to discuss a new release or project but to discuss some comments made regarding Crooked I by Snoop Dogg during the interview. In this one hour feature with Crooked I he tells us of his surprise at the comments, his reasons why he believes the comments were made, his past detailing his youth and much more is discussed in this exclusive interview.
 

 As always we have both the transcript and the audio for you to check and please feel free to send any feedback regarding the interview to: nima@dubcnn.com

 

Interview was done by phone on on July 29 2006)

Questions Asked By : Nima

Crooked I Gave Dubcnn.com A Shoutout! Check That Here

Full Interview In Audio : Here

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Dubcnn: Wassup Crooked? We just did that little Snoop interview, and he had some words for you. You wanted to let the fans know your side of the story?

I mean first, I'm gonna set the record straight. I'm one of the few cats out here that's really born in Cali anyway! He spoke on me being from Long Beach or what not. If I'm correct, he's not even born in Long Beach or California period. Yeah, I'm from Long Beach. My father was stationed in the navy, on the Westside of Long Beach, that's where he met my mother, that's where I was conceived. I left Long Beach in the 80's as a youngster though cause my moms divorced my pops. Well she didn't divorce him, the nigga just walked out.

So we left Long Beach in the 80's, I lived in Compton, Watts, South Central. Then I moved to Oaklahoma, I moved to Philadelphia. Then I came back to Long Beach in '92, just to set the record straight! Yeah I wasn't in Long Beach from the mid 80's to '92, cause I bounced out. But when I got like 14-15, I came back home and took it from there. I read the thing in depth. He's talking about what school I went to. I didn't go to school! A lot of people don't know this, but I dropped out of school in the sixth grade. As a youngster I was out there in the streets, I picked up a pistol. While niggas was trying to maintain their C average I was already in the streets at 12 years old doing everything they rap about.

So of course he didn't see me at Poly High, cause I didn't graduate from Poly High, I never went to Poly High! I was in the streets, we didn't have shit. I grew up in shelters, I grew up homeless, I grew up without nothing, section 8, food stamps, I was helping moms pay the rent when I was thirteen
years old! Stick-up kid shit, like gimme watchu got! Hittin' pawn shop licks, running in niggas houses, home invasion! That's what I was doing while they was in school! So you know, I can understand why he's like "Well I gotta check what school..." Nah! I didn't do that!

I don't speak on it that much because I'm an advocate for education. I want all the young people that's out there listening to Hip-Hop music to understand that you need an education. All the rappers coming up need to understand that you need to be smart, articulate, you need to read books, you need an education, and it's very important! So I don't just put that out there like that, cause I got a lot of young kids who look up to me, who if they knew that I was out there robbing muthafuckas, dropped out of Jr. High School, and I'm out here shooting at muthafuckas and all that, they might
think it's a cool thing to do. Its' NOT a cool thing to do. So I don't really put it out there like that.

I was cut from a different cloth than a guy like Snoop Dogg. I was raised by killers, dope dealers, but I was also raised by militants and black panthers and shit like that. It's a a whole different pedigree when you dealing with me. I got a whole other way of thinking. I'm not here to try to destroy his
credibility, because that ain't my job, dogg. I could say some things about Snoop Dogg that's damaging, that muthafuckas be like "What?!", shit I've seen with my own eyes. But my whole thing is, why? If we really wanna unify the West Coast, then we gotta start acting like it! It's a contradiction to say you wanna unify the West Coast, and then attack a Crooked I, who's been putting it down for the West Coast for years, all over America. Fuck just America, I got a passport, all over the globe! I've been putting it down for the West for years! So for you to attack a person like me, goes against what you say you riding for!


Dubcnn: He did say that if you're reading that, he still loves you like he loved you the day he met you, saying he didn't really mean no disrespect.

Well you could say you don't mean no disrespect, but if I sit up here and say no disrespect but fuck you Snoop. *laughs* That's disrespect! The fans ain't dumb, when they read a interview like that, they know what he means! They know what his intensions are. Let's break it down real quick, let's get real grimy and gritty and talk about the real shit. First of all, the man is mad cause I was on Death Row Records. Okay? Now, Daz Dillinger took me to Death Row Records. I had my own deal on Virgin Records. I left Virgin Records, went to Death Row with Daz Dillinger. Now, when I got to Death Row, Daz and Suge fell out.

So I stayed on Death Row. Daz left. He fell out with Suge, he left. I stayed, because there wasn't no other record deals out there for West Coast, period. The whole world was like on some other shit at that point. The East was starting their reign, so the deals was pretty dried up out there anyway. So yeah I stayed on Death Row Records and I told Suge Knight: "Hey homie, I'm not gonna diss Snoop Dogg, I'm not gonna diss Tha Dogg Pound, I'm not gonna diss niggas from Long Beach. Because that's gonna make me look weak. That's gonna make me look like a robot, doing whatever YOU want me to do. So I'm not gonna diss them." I sat at his table, inside the penitentiary talking about this.

You know what Suge told me? He said "You ARE going to diss them, because you know what? While you are over here not saying nothing about them and trying to be cool, they're going to diss you, just cause you down with me. Then you're going to have to diss them." I was like "Nah, they ain't gonna diss me because they ain't got no reason to diss me, I'm over here trying to feed me and mines. That's it. They don't got no reason to diss me." So me and him sat back and forth talking about this in the pen, while I was already signed to Death Row.

Then, "Pimp Slapp'd" dropped. Okay, crumbs off the table comment, everybody knew what he was talking about. I let that one go under the radar! Cause I'm like, I'm trying to reconstruct Death Row Records right now. I'm not trying to put it in the same direction that it was going! At that time, I was one of the guys like "Yeah we need to call his Tha Row, drop the Death of of it, cause the late great Tupac Makaveli Shakur has died, while he was an artist on Death Row. We need to drop that Death and start talking about living." I was one of the ones that was saying "What ya'll think about naming it Tha Row?" Hell Yeah! Let's go! Let's drop the Death off.

When he did the "Pimp Slapp'd", I let it go under the radar. He made a comment, okay that's cool. I come to the studio, they're all looking at me like "Yeah, Crooked, ya'll don't wanna diss them, but he making comments about you!" They laughing at me at the studio at Death Row! Cause I ain't wanna diss. Not cause I was scared, but because I was trying to take Death Row into the new millennium dogg, into some brand new shit. Trying to make it an empire again, and I just didn't feel like old beefs that didn't mean shit was a good way to come back into the game for Death Row. So I let it go
under the radar or what not. Then, next thing, I'm listening to a mixtape, called "Welcome 2 The Chuuch Vol. 2" I believe.


Dubcnn: Nah it was Volume 1.

Yeah maybe Volume 1! And he's like "Crooked I, Crooked I got them crooked eyes! Best in the west best in the west!" Snoop Dogg did a skit dissing me! He said "Crooked I sounds like a white bitch" on a song, and he did that skit "Best in the West! Crooked I!" and then they beat them niggas down for
selling Crooked I CD's. So I'm like hold on, man. I done sit up here and recorded an entire album for Death Row, mixed and mastered, and I didn't say one thing about them niggas. Cause I'm trying to set off on a new foot, but this nigga just keeps poking at me like why are you poking at me man? I'm
over here trying to get my money, why the fuck is you worried about what I'm doing?

Then I'm looking at the internet and Daz is saying shit on his website, Daz got this to say, got that say, he say "Crooked I can't come to Long Beach no more." I'm like "Wait a minute! I live in Long Beach!" The whole time I was on Death Row I lived in Long Beach. What do you mean I can't come to Long Beach, I got an apartment on the Eastside on Lyndon, and I got a house on the Northside on 67th Street behind Eddy's Liquor. What the fuck is you talking about I can't come to Long Beach? I live in Long Beach! So I said you know what I'ma be a real nigga about this and I'ma get on the phone first.

I'm not gonna get on no mixtapes and diss these mutha-fuckas, I'm not gonna get on no interview and diss these mutha-fuckas I'm gone call them, I called Daz, Daz told me I ain't say that "I didnt say that" - i'm like ok, know what i'm sayin? I'm sat right there talking to Daz Dillinger I was on the Eastside across from the poly Apartment on the phone, the homie Big C-Style put me on the phone with him, I said "Man; what's good, I'm reading an article that says I cant come to long beach" - "man I didn't say that" - oh ok, next thing you know he's on his website telling the world I got a Silver Mercedes and that when they see need to get me, fuck me and all this shit on his website "I'm like come on man what the fuck is this?!" - now he's telling the world - I could be with my family members and niggas could start shooting at me in the car when innocent people are with me and that's not cool shit I took it to the next level on that incident, me and Daz and Daz know what it is but on the Snoop Dogg shit I was like Ok, I couldn't get at him - I called his bodyguard Marcus trying to holla at this fool, but no one could get me to the man and I saw him on the TV and you know what I dropped "Quit Snitchin'" cause it was more on some checking shit, like look while your over here talking bad about me dog and i'm tryin to ride for the beach, maintain my Long Beach stand up 100% while i'm on a label like death row, i'm trying to maintain my Long Beach loyalty and your over there dissing me; you don't need to be talking to the police on TV so I dropped "Quit Snitchin" I just was like imma slide this your way homie on some real shit so you know what all passed by - I saw Snoop at one of the peace summits...


Dubcnn: Yea he spoke on that at the end of the interview, Snoop said he saw you at the Russell Simmons peace summit at USC with a gang of homies, and you were by yourself, and he let you know that he wasn't tripping with you...

Well what he did was he shook my hand and said "Wassup Crooked" and I said wassup and that was the whole thing and I wasn't in there by myself - I was in the back by myself but I had more 20 niggas - but at the same time my whole thing is that we passed all that to be honest with you I still live in Long Beach right now I was on the Eastside on Martin Luther King avenue and some niggas was like fuck Snoop Dogg and I was like Na you cant say that cause the man opened doors for Long Beach, cause a lot if niggas ain't had the opportunities I have to go to New York and get to walk through the XXL Magazine office and walk through the Source office and see the kind of respect that Long Beach gets cause of what Snoop Dogg put down for Long Beach but they haven't seen that, they on the block and they haven't seen Snoop in a while so they like "Fuck him, man he ain't this, he ain't that" but i'm like that ain't the way to think about that dude cause he really opened a lot of doors for people in Long Beach but at the same time....imma keep it 100 with you Nima the dude didnt like that Suge was calling me "The Best In The West" and that's evident in the skit that he put on the "Welcome To The Chuuch" shit.

Look Suge didnt think I was the best in the west while he was locked down - I was on Death Row for like a year and a half before he was released - Suge didnt start thinking that til we went on promos - you know how they say Kurupt served 2000 MC's - he saw me serve 4000 MC's - we were on promo tours at Hot 97 and the whole muthafucking lobby was packed with rappers that want a deal and he was telling them "if you wanna deal ill give you a deal but to get it you gotta see Crooked I and ill give you a deal right now" - so they be spitting they hardest shit and I be cutting niggas and when he starts seeing that and when that Jay-Z shit niggas talk about going in the booth and just doing a song without writing - I been doing that shit Nima, that ain't nuttin to me - I been in the booth doing whole songs, Young Boss Volume 2 I did in 3 days, that's 21 songs - na'mean? And once Suge seen, and he always used to compare my work ethic to 2Pac, and that's why he's like this is The Best In The West, this is the heir to 2Pac's throne and that's when he jumped on TV, and he ain't gonna jump on TV and say something he doesn't mean - so he went on Jimmy Kimmel live on NBC and said Crooked I is The Best In The West and that made allot of people mad, so I told Suge you gonna have to stop telling people that they can battle me to get a deal cause i'm sick battling these niggas and killing them, i'm not a battle rapper - i'm really a songwriter and a story teller but I know...


*phone cuts*

My bad man! Communication in the ghetto, not got the right wiring and shit! I'm in the ghetto right now! We recording?


Dubcnn: Yea man, you were saying you were sick of battling...

Yea I really ain't no battle rapper...People think that cause I went on 106 & Park - like I said I left Long Beach in the mid eighties and I spent a year out East and allot of those niggas were looking at me funny cause I was a young nigga and I had a finger wave, khakis on, chuck tailors, white tees and my older brothers a crip he in a '64 Chevy Impala - a lot of people don't know - I got a blue rag on my eleventh birthday homie - my life is real, i'm not no gangbanger though, i'm a business man - i'm a hustler i'm from C.O.B - Circle of Bosses - we bosses - but when I moved to the east as a youngster a lot of them used to talk bad cause we'd be on the basketball court and they be freestyling and I be kicking them hood stories and they be like "Yall West coast niggas cant rap" and clowning and so I started developing a skill for battling - I developed that skill so I could protect my coast - I was like we'll serve you niggas and that's how I started that shit but I ain't no battle rapper.

Snoop Dogg he know what the deal is, he told Big C-Style himself "Big C-Style you need to fuck with Crooked" - we were on the Eastside at my homeboys Chucky Millar studio, he came through there with some instrumentals from Murder was the Case before Murder was the Case came out; we start freestyling, my homeboy Nucc Dogg was like lets kick some freestyles - my homeboy Nucc Dogg - N-U-C-C D-O-G-G - Snoop know him and my nigga locked up right now but he was like lets freestyle so we did and I did what I do - he walked down the stairs to my homeboy Big C-Style and said "you need to fuck with Crooked" - so next thing you know I was walking down Atlantic Avenue on the Eastside of Long Beach and Big-C-Style and LT Hutton pull up on me like "Cuz we was looking for you, we got a compilation we doing, we need you on this - Snoop said we need to be fucking with you" and I jumped in the car and we went and made the 19th Street Compilation.

So when he says things like "I don't like his style" and all that, that left me like you not being a real nigga snoop cause you the one that told Big C-Style that he needs to be fucking with me and we used to be in the studio - Soundcastle Recording studio - all the young niggas get on the microphone, I be outside playing playing pool or something, they come get me, Snoop would be in the studio "Hey Cuz I need you on this verse and come with this west shit - I need you to get on" - I jump in, do my thing, blow the muthafucka up - walk back out the booth and Snoop be like "see ya'll that's why yall ain't on that many songs like Crooked" cause if you wanna go back and check the 19th Street Compilation i'm on like 9 or 10 songs and I came in on the second half of that! Just think if I was on from the first half of the album! It was gonna be called the "Low Life Compilation" til I got in there and i'm not from Low Life, that ain't no disrespect I love the Low Lifes and I love Bad Azz but i'm not a Low Life so if i'm gonna be one of the main dudes on there we gotta name it something else.


Dubcnn: You know when Snoop told me that, and you know cause you saw it when you read it that - I was like "You serious, you don't like Crook's rap style?" I was surprised to see Snoop saying that, I mean you could say a lot about you but to say you cant rap was kinda weird...

That's what i'm saying from here to New York, from Manhattan to Brooklyn to Queen to the basements of Long Island all the way back across the map to Houston, Atlanta - that's some weird shit to a lot of people - my thing is that I have 100% proof that the nigga loved my style so why would you get in the interview and say you don't like my style, come on its something else going on behind that interview dog and that why i'm like why not just call me on the phone - if you trying to unify the westcoast, I came to the Westcoast Conference, you seen my standing right there while Snoop talking, watch Beef 3 and you can see me while Snoop's talking i'm right there - I came to the Westcoast Conference cause I wanted to holla at niggas, I came with 12-13 niggas from Long Beach - we wanted to holla and say lets get this shit together and lets roll. I stood in front of him, Daz, Nate Dogg all the niggas on the panel - if you got problems lets talk, so my whole thing is that I know for a fact dude loved my style. There's been times I wrote songs and he been like "You should let me rap that rap cause that's some hot shit." I know for a fact that he loved my style; so for him to say that then its something else that's bothering him, I think there's 2 or 3 things that bothering him.

One; he feels like we cant co-exist in Long Beach....but that's ridiculous, cause no one can take Snoop Dogg's spot from him in Long Beach cause that shit is in concrete, he'll have a star on Hollywood Boulevard before any other rapper in Long Beach will ever have one so he needs to relax and be comfortable he doesn't need to worry about somebody out-shining him - "That nigga sounds better than you do Snoop" - So what?! Na' mean? He needs to not worry about being out-shined on a track cause that ridiculous man, this a business, his spot is solidified in Long Beach man ain't no body gonna be able to take that - so Snoop Dogg if you read this - CANT NOBODY TAKE YOUR SPOT IN LONG BEACH HOMIE - YOU GOT THAT - but your not gone stop other people being successful and great artists from Long Beach - you cant stop them. Everybody can't be signed to muthafucking Dogghouse/Doggystyle, some people gotta be working at Burger King and some people gotta work at McDonalds - that's the game of life. That's one of his main problems, his other is that i'm the only nigga with the balls enough to diss the fuck out the nigga after he dissed me on the mixtape, I don't care what you pushing or what you got going on, you disrespecting me i'm coming right back at you...


Dubcnn: So what's the main thing you want them to get out of this interview?

The main thing I want people to know man, on some real shit, is that a dude like Snoop, out here if you're gonna be reunifying the West, you can't do it without Crooked I. It's that simple. I'm a boss homie, I'm the boss of the new West. Let me break it down what the whole West Coast structure is.
Snoop Dogg I would consider the King of the whole West. I really consider Dr. Dre the King of the entire West, if you look at him, empire for empire, even record sales, the Chronic sells a lot of records. He's to me the King of the entire West Coast. Then you got Snoop Dogg who's like the King of the old West Coast. If anybody is the King of the New West, it's Game. And then you got Crooked I, I'm just the boss of the West! I'm a boss. All that Southern California Boss shit came from here, right here, I set the boss shit off. Niggas was thugs, niggas was G's, niggas was other shit, I put the
boss in it on the Southern part of the West Coast. That's my shit. I'm the Boss of the West.

That's how it goes to me. I started early, but I was younger than Snoop, Daz and them. I'm not considered part of the old West crew, I got vans on but they look like sneakers you feel me. I'm still a youngin in this shit! I'm an executive, I own my own label, I own my own DVD production company, I know artists signed to me, but I'm still young in this shit. My whole thing is, if you wanna unify the West, you can't do it without Crooked. I don't wanna see beef! Beef is wack, Nima! Beef is wack! Unnecessary people get hurt. If Snoop Dogg gets into a beef with somebody, two or three niggas might get hurt before he even get hurt! If I get in a beef with somebody, my homeboys will get hurt before I get touched! That's wack. I'm a real leader, I'ma jump in. I won't let nobody catch my fade like that.

I think we should be about the money, about the power, about bringing the West back. The West Coast is a body. I could a body part, Snoop could be an arm, Daz could be an arm, Kurupt could be a leg, Black Wall Street could be another leg, Dynasty could be the heart. It's like, once we go against each other, we're going against our own selves. I'm disappointed in Snoop, because he preached a lot of unification but he straight attacked me homie. Back when I was young, I woulda made a whole album dissing him. When I was a teenager, I woulda read that article, and made a whole album dissing him.

But that's bullshit homie. I'm on grown man minutes right now. I wanna see us sit down, and do some shit. If he's really got something in his heart where he feels like I disrespected him, and he wanna see me on a one on one fight, we can go out in the front yard, catch that fade, don't let nobody else catch your fade, we mix it with each other, and then after that, let's do a song together! Let's do some business together! I got moves right with me, Nima, where I could make one phone call and put 10 million dollars in Snoop Doggy Dogg's pocket. Because I'm out here on the business of this shit now. I'm not paying attention to all the ra-ra in the studio, the groupies, the smoking and drinking. I'm not even looking at that shit! I'm looking at the corporate shit now, I'm on the corporate side. I'm in the offices man. I got my own office!

I'm trying to make power-moves for the West Coast, I got moves right now, no bullshit, that if me and Snoop did together, he'd make 10 million dollars. I'm the type of dude, that if I was signed to Snoop, by now he'd be owning a part of the Clippers like Jay-Z own part of the Mets, feel me? I'm that type of dude, cause I'm bringing the real shit to the table! "Hey dude, let's go to this business expo, fuck that pimp shit and all that, put on an Armani suit, you finna roll up in here, like "I'm Snoop Dogg, we're going to the black business expo, we gonna roll outta here with business from every major corporation in America." Just because of who you are! But nobody ain't really gone get at him like that because for one, a lot of people don't know how to get at him like.

So my whole bottom line is, let's do business! We over here fighting each other, talking bad about each other, try to destroy each other's credibility... I'm not gonna do that! I'm not gonna destroy nobody's credibility, unless they just really force my hand. Cause niggas know I'm from Long Beach! Yeah I left Long Beach in the 80's, but so what? Big deal. Half the niggas that's on the squad, that's out there pushing Long Beach, wasn't even born in Long Beach! They weren't even no where around Long Beach, but, I'm not tripping on that.


Dubcnn: The reason I had even brought your name up was because we had the Cali Iz Active, and you weren't at the video shoot, and he did that "My Peoples" track, and we didn't hear your name. So I was like "Okay let me ask him about Crooked, see if he's involving him." That's how the whole thing came about.

Yeah well you know, when they shot the video, they did all that, he did the song, and to be honest with you, people called me from New York, in the industry, just some rappers and producers like "Yo why that nigga Snoop never say your name?" "Why does he never try to shout you out?" "He still
tripping on that Death Row shit?" That's what they wanna know! But the thing about it is, I'm disappointed. I read the interview, the Part 1, and I seen my name right there. I was like "Hmm, let's see what this guy is gonna say, I hope he says something positive because I really got some moves that we can go make right now and make some real money together." So I was hoping that he could say something positive, water under the bridge type shit.

Yeah I was on Death Row, but your cousin took me over there, I was feeding my family, I never dissed him one time until he dissed me. What does he expect? Real recognize real. So it was like "I hope he says something positive about me." That way, I could pick up the phone, reach out to him,
say "Hey, I saw the article, I got these moves over here, these moves over there, that I think if we do this shit, we can make something happen!" I mean Snoop Dogg is a megastar, he's a superstar. But he don't get the radio play he should be getting right now, he don't get the recognition he should
be getting. When I'm on the East Coast I barely hear any Snoop Dogg, when I'm in the South in the Clubs I don't barely hear no Snoop Dogg.

So my whole thing is, let's take some different angles, put our hands together, make some real money and make a real impact, and bring the West Coast back into life! Because the market could be widened, a lot of people think the market is like a one-way street, only cars can go on one way. The market is like a freeway! Four different lanes, and a car pool! The West can eat, the South can eat, the East can eat, the Mid-West can eat, we all can eat! It's enough money! So my whole thing is, when I read the article, I was really hoping to see if the dude was gonna say something positive, cause I was gonna pick up the phone and try to make some moves happen.

But now that he came with that negativity, it let me know that he's in fear of my success! Which I don't know why, I don't know why he's fearing my success! But, it's very easy to see, cause some of the things he said weren't real. Like "Crooked ain't from Long Beach." That's not real. "I don't like
his style." That's not real! "I said this at Russell Simmons" that's not real! I was sitting down Dogg and he came in there with five dudes, I was by myself back there dogg, he shook my hand and he kept walking. I was like "Oh that's cool." I had all kinds of niggas from Long Beach and Watts in the
front, but man, we at a Hip-Hop Summit! I went all around the world with Russell Simmons! Russell Simmons is one of my mentors man. I'm not finna be on no beef shit back here! Why beef? I was off Death Row at the time when I seen him!

Anybody that knows me, know what kind of person I am. I'm a thinker homie, I'm the type of person that wanna see shit happen. Ain't no disrespect towards Snoop man, I just think that on some real gangster shit, if you're a gangsta, fuck all the gang banging. Cause Al Capone wasn't a gang banger.
But nobody gone say Al Capone wasn't a gangster you feel me? If you a real gangster, you should pick up the phone and holla at a nigga before you do a interview and say some shit. I think you should pick up the phone and holla at a nigga! You never know, that part of the interview might've lead to a whole other part of the interview, had he made one phone call! He would've made one phone call to me, now this whole negative shit don't even exist, and he would be telling you about some kind of business venture he got going on with me.

Cause right now, he supposed to be the C.E.O. of Koch West. So you're the C.E.O. of Koch West. I know Michael Koch, the owner of Koch. Alright Snoop, I got somebody over here that would put six million dollars behind the project right now. All you gotta do is distribute it through Koch West, and
you gonna make X-amount of dollars on the deal. Let's go! You know what I mean? That's the type of shit I'm on!


Dubcnn: I mean who knows? He might read this, and the shit might take a new direction, so it's good that you spoke your part of the story.

Yeah, like I said! I love Bad Azz homie. I'm not gonna turn against Bad Azz. He's talking about Crooked can't fuck with Bad Azz, Crooked can't fuck with this nigga, can't fuck with that nigga. I'm not gonna be all like "Nigga I can fuck with him I can fuck with him." That's stupid! I love Bad Azz. When Bad Azz got into that incident with Death Row in Vegas, I wasn't there! Cause if I was there, I woulda stopped all that shit from happening! Cause I'm a real nigga man. I woulda jumped right in with him! Right now, to this day, if Snoop happened to be walking through Long Beach by himself, and somebody tried to jump on the nigga man, I'ma jump in with him! Even after the article!

Cause I'm not no hater, I don't got that in my blood man! I'm a hustler, my father was a Crip homie. I was born into this shit. I was born into gangbang mentality, hustling, streets, that's why I'm not a gangbanger! Because it's like, why? I was raised by gangbangers, and all my homeboys that's really
doing life, or all my homeboys that's dead, they all wanted to see me succeed me! They wanna see me succeed. Now if a nigga comes my way man, you might hear about something on the news. It's that simple! I'm on probation as we muthafuckin' speak. It's like, if a nigga comes my way, I'ma handle my business, I'm a street cat. But I'm not looking for that. I'm running from that. I'm running from having to shoot at people, I'm running from having to rob muthafuckas, I'm running from all that type of lifestyle. I'm running from it! I'm not running to it! I'm trying to get the fuck away from that shit!

I'm trying to get on a billion dollar level. I'm trying to have skyscrapers, I'm trying to open recreation parks in every hood in America! So kids that grew up like me with nothing, have something to do with their time besides crime! I'm trying to go out like Marcus Garvy, Malcolm X, at the end of my
day! I'm not trying to go out like a muthafuckin' petty ass criminal! So, my whole thing is, real talk man, I was disappointed, I was disappointed in his statement. You can't check my TRW Snoop, because I don't have a TRW. I wasn't in Poly High with you homie, I didn't go to high school. I was on the streets homie, my older brother bought me a 64 when I was about 15 and a half, 16! I was bending corners man, trying to get bread. I don't know you, you don't know me. We was introduced to each other by a real Long Beach muthafucka, my homie Nucc Dogg. We introduced by a real Long Beach gangsta, he introduced me to Snoop Dogg. But other than that, I don't know, and I'm not here to destroy none of his credibility, cause what would that do dogg? People from the East Coast read it, people from Down South get on your site, like "There them niggas go, they can't even get along with each other." So I ain't on that shit.

My shit is this: since you wanna unify the West, I'm willing to forget all that shit you said. I wasn't wrong for going to Death Row firstly. Cause when Snoop Dogg was on Death Row, it was all good. When niggas from Long Beach wasn't trying to feel him being on Death Row, he was like "Nah, cuzz,
this is where I'm gettin my food from." But then if somebody else gets on there, it's a problem. Come on man, I wasn't wrong for being on Death Row Records, I would do it again! I told Half Dead, I saw Lil Half Dead in Houston, he was like "Man, you shouldn't have been fuckin' with Death Row." I said "No I should've been fucking with Death Row because I was trying to feed my family homie." I been raising my muthafuckin' lil brothers, I been paying my mama's rent since I was a baby! That shit costs money man! I can't be out here not making no bread! I gotta make bread! I'm the man of the
house!

So, I wasn't wrong for being on no Death Row Records. I was trying to steer it into a new direction cause I'm a leader. So, if he says "I forgive him for being on Death Row." What the fuck is that man? What you mean, you forgive me for having a job?! You forgive me for going and trying to put some music out? Come on! That doesn't make sense! But I'm willing to forgive HIM, for the statements HE made, and I'm willing to come to the table and do business! Do real business with him. I'm willing to help him take his shit to the next level. Cause "Yeah you are Snoop Dogg, you are a superstar. But
you haven't released an artist that sold 5-6 million records." 50 Cent has already caught up to this man! 50 Cent has already released artists that have done exactly or more than the artists that Snoop is releasing. That's because 50 is a business man. Game is a business man, I fully plan to see Game with successful ventures. His brother Big Fase, I love Big Fase! I see Fase having successful ventures in the future.

I wanna see everybody successful dogg, like what he said about Dre, that kind of pinched me too! Cause Dre put Snoop Dogg on homie! Now Dre might not be dealing with a lot of West Coast artists right now, but he can do that. He's a business, it's a business. If he wanna sign a East Coast or South
cat, that's on him! He already made his mark on the West!


Dubcnn: You just mentioned Dr. Dre, that's another thing that people have been talking about right now, I don't know if you wanna speak on that. That track that leaked to the internet, that "Say Dr. Dre".

I mean, I'm not really gonna speak on that, but I talked to Dr. Dre, and Dr. Dre knows I got nothing but love and respect for him. Working with him would be a honour. By the way, I'm have my dude MP3 you a track that I made called "Respect Your OG's". In this track I even give it up to Snoop homie. This was something that was gonna be on my mixtape, "Young Boss Vol. 4", but I'ma give it to you man, just to show my fans where my head was at before this article that Snoop jumped in and try to discredit me. Cause he says "No disrespect, no disrespect" But it is disrespect. The song is called "Respect Your OG's", talking about all the Hip-Hop artists on the West that came before me, that I got respect for.

Cause that's what's wrong with the hood too! The youngsters don't respect the West Coast OG's, and even in the gangbang society, the youngins, the YG's and the BG's, they need to respect their OG's, cause their OG's been there and done that, and can give them some wise information to keep them
out the same trouble. But they listening to the OG's and they're about to wipe theyselves out at a young age! I'm sick of seeing my young homies killing each other, missing out on their football, basketball careers, missing out on becoming doctors, the next president! I'm sick of seeing them
wipe theyselves out with the gangbang shit! So I bring that shit in my music too.

So this song "Respect Your OG's", I even gave it up to Snoop and the DPG in the song, but that just lets you know where my head was at. My head was never on some "Fuck that" but if you bite me, I'ma bite back! If a nigga comes up and swings on me, I was taught to get down man! I was raised by my moms man, my moms wouldn't let me walk in the house, if I ain't fight back when a nigga hit me. I couldn't even get in the house, I was gonna get my ass beat again! So what the fuck is that about? You said "Fuck Crooked I, he raps like a white bitch." Yeah I'ma come back at you!

I'm willing to forget all that shit. I'm willing to forget that, I'm willing to forget all the discredit shit you tried to do to me. Let's do business! If he got a real real real problem with me, then just let it be known what the real problem is. Don't say you don't like my style, trying to create a scene where you looking like "Oh I'm not stamping Crooked." Cause that's all it is, Nima! It's like "Oh I'm not stamping you, Crooked! I don't like your style, I'ma tell the public, so that way you don't have that official stamp from Snoop Dogg." But I know for a fact that you love my style! You told me to my face that you love my style! So I'm willing to forgive all that, let's go and let's do some real business on some Long Beach shit! Let's do some business! Get some paper!


Dubcnn: I think this interview just clear a lot of shit up.

I hope it did man! I was disappointed, but it is what it is. A nigga can check my files homie. I got family members that know Snoop very well, but he don't even know they're my family members. I'm like "Look, if the nigga over there talking crazy, don't even let the nigga know you're related to me!"
I'd rather get the info and know how people feel about me, than for you to expose yourself and to get into it with niggas. I'm on some 5 star general shit, Nima, I'm trying to bring some real opportunity to the West. Cause we talk all this West Coast unification, okay, well then go to Power 106, sit down, have a meeting, with the program director of that station, bring all the New West artists, Old West artists, whoever, you're Snoop Dogg! You can do this! Have the meeting over there, talk to the program director, and talk to this man about the importance of playing more West Coast music on the radio!

It's hard for a West Coast artist to the House Of Blues if he ain't got a single popping on the radio! So you're Snoop, you got the power to do it, let's talk to the program directors, and then let's spread that same formula all across the map! Let's holla at Bob Johnson at BET, and say "Hey man, why
can we only throw 2 or 3 W's up per video? Fuck that, let us throw our shit up. Let's rep our shit how the world loves to see us rep." Let's talk to all the bosses who make this industry dough, and let's bring some shit back to the West man, instead of attacking each other man! Cause attacking each
other ain't gonna get us nowhere. That's not gonna get us nowhere. Skills don't get us nowhere. I can be like "Fuck it, me and Snoop get on pay-per-view and have a battle. That's ridiculous, nobody wants to see that. If he's like "Crooked don't want it with me." or "Crooked is the type of player that comes off the bench." That's disrespect Nima! You can't cover that up and say "No disrespect cuzz but you come off the bench. You not a Kobe Bryant, you a woo-woo." That's disrespect.

But he's right, I am not the kind to be playing on the court, I am the kind to sit in the owner spot. I'm not coming off the bench, but I'm probably on the bench and on the court. I'm trying to be on that level. I'm not trying to be out there just making baskets for the others. I'm trying to be out there owning some shit. We do have different ways of thinking, him and I, but at the same time, we could co-exist. I sat on this man's couch, in his living room. This ain't no dude that we say hi and bye, nah, I sat on his couch in his living room. And he told me straight up. But to me that's dry snitching if you talk too much on the internet, or on your mixtapes and all that, it's dry snitching. Even if it's on a niggas credibility, even if you see a nigga get fucked up and he don't fight back or something like that. Or you see a nigga get robbed and he don't do nothing to go get the people that robbed him, and you get on the internet talking about this and that, man, that's weak! That's weak shit!

Let's do some business, let's bring this West Coast back. If you really don't like me, just say that! Don't make up lies about me, just say "I don't like him." "Crooked, I don't like him." But making up lies and shit, it's like "Ah man, come on dogg." When Rap City came to Long Beach last year, I did it live from the V.I.P. at my homegirl Victoria's spot on 1st street. Those kind of things, they get upset about it. But why? You should be happy that I'm doing Rap City in Long Beach! But I'm getting word that they're upset cause it wasn't Snoop or somebody from the Dogg Pound doing Rap City. You should be happy for me dogg! I'm out here on my own! Dr. Dre never gave me a first single! I never had a Interscope push on my album! I'm out here on my own making moves, doing what I can do to survive this rough ass industry! You should be happy and proud of me.

But instead, you bad? Niggas was up there at the V.I.P. when I was filming, like "Fuck that nigga Snoop." I'm like "Man, we ain't putting that part on the Rap City!" I had lil homies out there, but we ain't doing that! Don't say that shit in front of BET! Cause it symbolizes something that I'm not
trying to represent. I'm not trying to represent division, I'm trying to represent unity. That's on all levels. Fuck Hip-Hop, on some Crip, Blood, Ese... I'm trying to represent unity on all levels man. So, my whole thing is, number 1: nobody can take your position Snoop Dogg in Long Beach. You did that. Number 2: Stop worrying about people outshining you, on a fucking song! You sold millions of record! So what if somebody say "Oh Crooked sounds better than Snoop." So what? You sold millions of records across the world! Number 3: Let's do some real business, so you can elevate yourself to the Jay-Z, Puffy level. Not just by worldwide fame, but by money. Cause I'm sick of looking at the Top 40 richest people under 40, and I don't never see Snoop Dogg on that list.

Snoop Dogg is one of the reasons why you can sell gangsta music in the whole world! He's one of the reason why you can sell gangsta rap to the public and go multi-platinum. So let's do some business, let's get off that other stuff, let's sit down, I'll sit with him anywhere, I'll come by myself! Let's make some money on some Long Beach shit. That's what I'm saying! I'm in Long Beach right now. We are broadcasting live from Long Beach. It's a lot of people out here that got talent! You got Dynamic Certified, they whole crew got talent! They need to be out there on a major label getting a major push. You got Chuck Taylor from Long Beach. Not Game, you got Chucc Taylor. You got Misfit Entertainment, from Long Beach, they need to be out there. You got Wolf Wanggg The Banga from Long Beach, he needs to be out there. You got Hobo, you got Mosis, King Ave Entertainment. I'm naming you all these people, and put these peoples names in this article! King Avenue Entertainment, Misfit Entertainment, Wolf Wanggg, Chucc Taylor, Dynamic Certified.

These are the new generation, the word pushers, my nigga Tiny C-Style, these are the new generation cats in Long Beach that need to get to the spotlight and then we all come together instead of being against each other. We could make that shit happen! We gonna do it anyway. It's gonna get done anyway. It don't make sense when I'm talking to Master P about doing some business, and
me and Snoop is from Long Beach. It don't make sense when I'm sitting in New York hollering at Russell about some shit that me and Snoop could be doing. I love these people, I love Russell, I love Master P, I'd like to thank them for everything they've done for me, specially with this DVD project, they really helped me humongously on this DVD project. But Snoop is right here in Long Beach, it don't look right to the world man. The world is like "How the fuck ya'll niggas ain't fuckin' with each other?" It don't look right dogg.

I just wanna let my fans and my supporters all know that Crooked I is certified Long Beach product. I'm still in Long Beach, I ain't moved from Long Beach, I came back in '92, yeah I left in the 80's. I came back in '92 before the riots, and I've been on the Eastside every single day since '92. That was muthafuckin' 14 years ago! I've been on that muthafuckin' Eastside, bending them corners, they know where to find me! On Atlantic and Hill, 20th and Palmer Court, I'm on 19th and Lime with my homeboy Big C-Style, it's like come on dogg! That right there is irrelevant! That's like saying "Oh
2Pac, he's not from the West he was born in New York." Man, 2Pac is West Coast, Makaveli Supreme. That's semantics.

Let's talk about the real issues. The real issue is, we not selling no muthafuckin' records on the West Coast right now. The real issue is, E-40 got the baddest album out there, this muthafuckin' E-40 album is one of the hottest muthafuckin' albums out there, and it ain't 2 or 3 millions sold! That don't make no muthafuckin' sense! Let's talk about the real issues that we are having as a West Coast community. How you're gonna have a West Coast conference and the whole Dogg Pound on a panel? You gotta have a panel full of West Coast people and an open forum, for everybody to discuss what's
going on! If you got another agenda, and you not really trying to see this shit work, just tell the world your real muthafuckin' agenda. Because my agenda is getting the West back in the spotlight big time homie, I'm talking about big time man. I'm not liking the fact that I can't hear West Coast music when I pass Phoenix. Soon as I pass Phoenix, AZ, that's the end of West Coast music. I don't like that shit! I don't like the fact that our OG's don't get the same amount of respect as OG's from other regions get. I don't like that shit.

My whole thing is, can we please just pass the bullshit? If you got a problem with me, call me on my phone! Get the number from Nima! Call me! We can meet somewhere! We can have lunch, dinner, I'll treat you! But I'm about this West Coast shit, and I'm about this C.O.B. shit. Cause I wanna see a
crew of niggas out there doing their thang, I'm tired of seeing a whole crew and it's one person that got all the money and everybody else don't. One person got all the money so all the other real niggas in the crew gotta go out and commit crimes and take penitentiary chances just to keep up with
that one person, and end up wiping they muthafuckin' self out! I'm tired of that shit. I wanna see everybody eating. I wanna see whole crews eating. I wanna see everybody successful.

I'm gonna do it regardless. A nigga don't have to stamp me. When they say you can only get a stamp from this nigga, that nigga... I don't have to have a stamp. I'm proving that right now. I'm still in the game, Nima, I done made a lot of money in the game over these years. I got a lot of respect
from here to Australia. And I haven't been stamped like that. For them to say that is kind of disrespectful to the new generation coming up because the new generation needs to have some hope, that they can get on if they never meet Dr. Dre or Snoop Dogg. You can't get any hope from them! You telling me that they can't be successful in the game unless they meet one of you dudes? Don't do the youth like that man, it's 13-14-year old rappers that wanna make it out here, they don't wanna think damn, they gotta go through one of ya'll, otherwise it ain't gone happen. That ain't cool!
That's not cool homie. Cause we out here living this real life man. We not in no mansions and shit like that. We out here on the sidewalks man where muthafuckas gotta rap, if they don't rap they gone end up dead or in jail. We out here dealing with that type of shit.

So we gotta inspire the youth, they gotta know when they see Crooked I with 100 diamonds in his chain, and he got a big ass medallion on, they gotta know that they can reach that! They gotta know that's a point that they can get to too! No matter what their background is! Look at me, I own a company, I own two or three companies! I dropped out in sixth grade homie! Hit the streets tough! You know what I'm saying? Hit the streets tough! That's what t is.