JULIO G  (November 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 November 2007

Questions Asked By: Nima

Julio G Gave Dubcnn A Shoutout! Check That Here

Full Audio Interview Here
 

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Dubcnn: Dubcnn connected with the legendary Julio G for an interview. What's up with you man?

Man I feel like ya'll are legendary man! *laughs* I be on your website all the time, so good looking out, I appreciate you taking the time out to talk to me!


Dubcnn: Thank you. To start it off, go ahead and let everybody know what your current situation is, what you got going on.

Well, actually now I am past my 20 year anniversary in the game, I'm working on a Westside Radio album that I'm putting out soon, and I might actually jump on Satellite radio and do the Westside Radio on Satellite a little more rawer than you heard it on regular terrestrial radio. I've been doing shows with Cypress Hill actually, kind of been on tour, in and out, trying to stay busy.


Dubcnn: What's up with K-Day, how come you're not on anymore?

K-Day, it was sort of like a money issue in one sense, and I had a family situation I had to deal with, my moms, so it kind of worked at the right time, I had to take a little break, but I think I'll be coming back. We'll see, radio is fun, if it works for me then I'll do it, if it doesn't work then I'd rather stay out of the loop and let them continue do what they feel is right for them. I like K-Day, I don't have no personal problems or nothing with them, they've been very good to me, so I'll support whatever they want to do, whether I'm involved or not. It's just radio, that's how it goes sometimes, especially when you're dealing with a guy like me. I'm a different type of DJ than everybody else, I demand different type of things. So if it works, it works, if it don't then I just gotta figure out the next plan! But I'm still gonna stick to what I wanna do.


Dubcnn: What made you interested in Satellite radio?

Somebody has been telling me for a while that I should go make that move, and I had it in the back of my mind, but now I want to try some of that just to have some fun, especially if I get the freedom I wish for. That's all it is about, having the freedom to play your music, as opposed to the radio which is so programmed. At the end of the day it's about money, but I really enjoy what I do, so I would do it for whatever money really, but if there has to be a price to it, I still wanna be able to do things that I feel are fun for me. Everything I do with Hip-Hop is always about fun, cause that's what got me into it. It never was about me, 1580 K-Day when I did that back in the days, we didn't get paid to do that! All that Hip-Hop that we put out back then, we did that for no money, we did it for the love!


Dubcnn: How do you feel about the lack of support California DJ's give to their state?

I think it's a funny thing, I kind of don't like to pay attention to that, cause me, I'm from the beginning, so it's hard for me to take a look at a new kid coming in as a DJ, the music he chooses to play is up to him, cause he's not from my era. My era, when we're talking about 1580 K-Day, back then I was the first one that ever played Public Enemy in Los Angeles, first one to play De La Soul, we all broke records! But we always thought about the other guys, the L.A. guys, like Rodney O and Joe Cooley were out of the trunk, Eazy-E was out of the trunk when I met him, MC Hammer out of the trunk when nobody ever heard of him before he got his Capitol deal! Comptons Most Wanted, King Tee, Breeze, a lot of dudes that were our guys, so I felt like when I played BDP, I had to make sure to give Eazy his love.

We always looked out for our guys, cause our guys didn't have those types of deals, it was from the streets! So we always thought about that, that's why there is a West Coast, because of the mixmasters, we were the ones that opened the doors to Dr. Dre, the Wreckin' Cru, L.A. Dream Team, Uncle Jams Army, all them records that came out we played all of it, always supported our own. So it's a different mindstate, but a lot of the DJ's nowadays, they don't realize that you gotta be proud of where you're from! We all are from where we're from, from the West Coast, and you can play everybody else's music as much as you want, but at the end of the day, it's like "what about your music? what about where you're from?" Even if you agree or disagree with it!

I don't actually like all the West Coast records that have ever been out, but I like the person, I like the artist, and they have the right and the freedom to speak, my job is to try and support our movement as much as I can. And it seems like it's always on me, like I'm the only one out here that does that. That's the feeling I get when I'm on the streets, everybody's always like "You the one holding down the West Coast, you are the West Coast!" That's all I hear everywhere I go! It's sad, cause those DJ's don't realize that one day it will be over! Those guys who let you play all their records, they're not gonna care for you.

At the end of the day you still gotta walk on the West, you still gonna run into those same artists on the West! Me, when I'm off or on the radio, it doesn't really matter, cause I can go holler at Snoop Dogg or Dr. Dre or whoever, it doesn't matter! They don't care, they don't even ask me, they just know! They know "this nigga is West Coast like a muthafucka! He has created that platform for us to get our music out"! Now just Snoop and Dre, cause they have a platform, but they also want to hear some other dudes!


Dubcnn: What do you think is the issue though? Do the program directors force the DJ's to play certain records, or is it their own choice?

I'm gonna give you the other side, from a DJ's perspective. They don't have the freedom to do the kind of things that I get to do. But that's why I say that you have to try and find a way to stand out, so you can demand that respect to get the freedom. The reason why program directions at any radio station I ever worked at, they let me do what I do, it's cause I made it like that, because of my track record. You HAVE to believe that I know what time it is with the music, much more than you! Cause any program director from any radio station, he ain't from the neighborhood! Maybe a small percentage across the country really come from a neighborhood, but me I'm different, if you talk to me I'ma tell you what it is! I know Watts, I know Compton, South Central, Ingelwood, Long Beach, I know people from all the years, so I kind of know who's happening and who's gonna bring me something right.

It's about trying to convince the program director people to have a little more belief in the West Coast. They're all like "Yeah, okay man." cause they don't want the problems. They think it's a problem. That's the feeling I get. They hear a couple of crazy records, or hear a couple of things that refer to the streets or with the N-word, or some type of guns, so they think that all the music is like that, every record that's put out is like that. Like DJ Quik and AMG, they had a great record, and that had nothing to do with that! But they put that in that category automatically. It is that. But they don't listen to the lyrics, they don't listen to the music, they just think West Coast music is just about gangbanging, but it actually isn't! Some of it is, but there's a lot of stuff going on on records.

It's just a sad time for the west, that's why I try to do what I can do to keep our situation alive. People think I'm crazy that I do that, cause they're like "you could just do something else!" But I feel very passionate about it, I'm from the hood and it's where I'm from! I'ma represent where I'm from even if it's not popular right now. That's how it goes sometimes. But if you see my track record, I've been with the West Coast through ups and downs, I'm always the one that does that, keeps it going. When I'm not on the radio, you can tell the difference! That's how it is.


Dubcnn: Which DJ's are you feeling right now?

I like Felli Fel, I think Felli Fel gets a bad rep, people can have their opinions about him but he does his thing, he's a DJ, he plays music. I like my man Von up in the pay too, he does his thing. I like Big Boy too, he's funny to me, cause he's got that L.A. comedy, I can relate to his comedy a lot. It's like catching the bus back in the 80's, you always had that homie that was making you laugh, and he reminds me of somebody I used to ride the bus with when I used to go to high school. He would be going to another school but he'd get on the same bus, and everyday he'd had me laughing, all the time! He'd bang on me but it was so funny that I had to laugh, and that's who Big Boy reminds me of.

I like the Goodfellas too, I actually like all the DJ's, people think that we'd have beef, or that I wouldn't like Felli Fel, but we talk about it, I talk to him all the time, we laugh about it! I tell him "Let them think what they wanna think, I don't have no personal beef!" But there are some times where I've went hard on situations from his radio station, cause they've done some things that were not cool. The audience doesn't notice but I do, so I express myself. But it's like rappers man, it's a competitive thing in its own way, but it's nothing personal, I don't dislike E-Man or Felli Fel or anybody over Power 106, I love them all I listen to them all the time. But if I work with somebody else, then we're on the court, it is what it is! *laughs*

But it's all to raise the bar up, when I come they already know that I'm coming, West Coast! So if you ain't on it, then they're gonna come start asking me! I put the pressure on all the rest of the DJ's cause I come so hard with it, and it sounds so right. When you're hearing it you're like "Man why don't all these muthafuckas just do this! Why does he just do this? How come this dude when he gets on, he's just with it! And ya'll muthafuckas is tap dancing around the shit!"

I'm gonna explain something to you that people might not understand about me, or understand why I'm so popular. Number 1 is because I give respect. I've always been very respectful towards the culture, I never juiced it for convenience of my own. I've given to the West Coast a lot more than its given back to me. I've blown up a lot of peoples careers, but the difference between me and everybody else is that I actually sell the music. I sell you Glasses Malone, I sell you Jay Rock, I sold you Mr. Short Khop back in the day, I sold you Xzibit, and I sold it to you! Like even though Jay-Z was popping, and yeah he's a cool muthafucka, but when Xzibit's song would come on, I'd go extra on his. Like "Yo this is my man right here X 2 the Z, Likwit Crew, this album "40 Dayz & 40 Nights" I'm telling you it's a banger! It's in my deck!" You have to sell that shit!

Everybody's just like "Here's the new Xzibit" and boom they're gone. And then they're like "Oh man, Kanye and 50! And bla bla bla." They don't fuck with you dog! They gone fuck with you when they need you, but they ain't fucking with you, do they hang with you, do you see them out here all the time? Do you go to 50 or Kanye's house? Do you fuck with him? 9 times out of 10 you really don't. A lot of the artists from out of town, no disrespect to them, but they don't thank you! They just take it for granted! That's where I think the issue comes with the West Coast, cause it's like you're pumping all these other muthafuckas up, but for what? When they come to your town all they do is smoke your weed and fuck your bitches and get out of here! They ain't doing shit for you man.

That's why me, I have a relationship with artists. Like Spider Loc, me and Spider, I go by Spider's studio and go fuck with him, smoke some weed, just cause I'm over on that side of town! We ain't talking about no music, we just hanging as friends, I have a relationship with dude, I like to kick it with Spider, he's cool people. All his people are cool. Big Syke from Thug Life, I go all the way out to his house to go fuck with him too. It's like, I have relationships with these peoples, it got past the records! They know that if I can play their records I will, and if I can't they will understand it and know that the door is always open. Like I said, I'd rather have those relationships, cause whether the radio is on or off it doesn't matter, when I run into you I wanna be able to chop it up with you.

But out of towners, what's the odds of me seeing these dudes? I just met 50 Cent the other day for the first time, wonderful guy, I did a interview for him on MySpace that's got about a half a million hits, first time I ever talked to him, he's cool, but what are the odds of me running into him like that? I'll run into Snoop, or run into Domino! It's more about the relationship that I like to have. That's why I tell the DJ's, it's cool to support the other dudes, but you gotta ask yourself "What are they actually doing for you? Are they supporting you?" Or do you play their records and when they see you they give you a pound like "Yeah whatever." They take it for granted almost! Just take that time out and play somebody from the West! Watch how much more love you'll get out here with his homies and his people!

That's why I get to go to neighborhoods, I can go fuck with the Rollin' 60's and the Nickerson Garden Bloods, and go fuck with the Grape Street Watts, I can go to Compton and go fuck with a few different areas over there. I just be rolling! You'll catch me on a block in South Central, it's not a big deal, and that's what I think a lot of the DJ's don't do either, they're scared to really come fuck with muthafuckas. They think they gone get beat up or robbed, but it's not even like that, if you come at a person the right way, it's respect. They respect that you're even in their neighborhood, risking your life to come holler at a muthafucka! It's always been like that, that's where the music comes from.


Dubcnn: As a person who has broken many new artists, who are Julio G's hottest picks as far as up and coming artists right now?

On the West, I just did a mixtape with this guy Dro, I like Dro a lot. I like Jay Rock too, he's got a good album, and I like him personally, he's a cool dude. Of course Glasses Malone I like... Let me think though, let me really give you some shit. I heard some shit by Bangloose that was really good, I like where Bangloose is going too with it, he's a club sound and I liked that, get to the club a little bit. I like this kid Ya Boy from the Bay, I like Bishop Lamont, I haven't heard a lot of stuff of his, but what I've heard I liked. I like Westurn Union too, I just talked to Soopafly, I like that new joint they got "Cali Grown", that shit knocking like a muthafucka. Young Maylay I fuck with him. I heard some shit the other day from this kid Young Dre with Bishop Lamont that shit was dope too.


Dubcnn: Yeah Young Dre is dope, he's been around for a minute too.

Yeah I've heard his name here and there but I hadn't really heard a lot of music. But as a matter of fact, I think I was on Dubcnn when I heard it! I brought it back a couple times like "damn that shit hot!" So he caught me with that song basically. There's a lot of good dudes out here, I just don't think that we have the opportunities right now as far as the labels. A lot of guys are just looking for this radio support, and they need to get the label and things they are doing more situated before they even come at the radio.

A lot of the guys I named, we've had some disagreements with about whether I could play the record or not, so I'm just trying to give them advice. Sometimes they don't like to hear it at first, but later on they realize that what I was telling them was a jewel, I was right! Like "Dog, I'm not just trying to tell you to down you." I would never do that to a West Coast artist, I would never tell him "Give it up, you just suck!" *laughs* I would never do that, I would always encourage you, like "This ain't the song for you man! And the reason why I'm telling you is because you can't change that first impression! I'm just telling you my nigga, once that shit is out, it ain't gonna go!

I'm telling you because I do this for a living everyday. I ought to be charging for that, they call that shit consultation when white boys do it" But when I do it it's like muthafuckas get upset sometimes! But I just tell them like "If I upset you, then just go ahead with it, give it two or three months, and after you heard this 10 more times, you'll see what I mean." This is how I tell muthafuckas, it's like selling dope! Let's say you got a bomb ass kush joint, and pass it around to the homies, you got 7 people in the circle, and you pass it around, and everybody like "Goddamn that weed bomb as a muthafucka!" And all these muthafuckas in the circle, they all got money. Now, me, if I can come up on some shit that somebody got, that's just that banging, I'm going in my pocket! Can I get some of that? I'll buy this off you!

It's the same thing with the music, it's like you can have a good song playing, and it could be the shit, and now they want it! But you ain't got no dope? So you ain't really a drug dealer. You were just a guy that had a good joint, one good joint to get us high and now the high is gone. Now the people left because they got jobs to do, they got shit to do, and that's it! That's why I see a lot of guys saying "Man my shit is hot!" But what's up with the label? Where did you put it out? How much money did you give them for the record?" You gotta be ready to sell that dog, cause you're hot at this moment, and if you don't got nothing to sell, you might as well not throw the shit out there!

That's my advice to artists, hold it! No need to hurry it, and be famous today for nothing! You'd rather hold that shit! If you got a hot song, hold it. If you ain't set up on a background yet, or you ain't got the label support and all that together, hold it! Put it to the side! Don't just throw it out there! Cause then if it takes off, you ain't got nothing to back it up with! So you ain't selling no dope! Now the guy that has the 6 ounces in the car and happens to pull the joint out, the muthafucka is gonna serve everybody, put the money in his pocket and that's it! It's the same thing, same concept! If you're a hustler on the streets, then that's the first thing you know! You ain't no drug dealer if you ain't got no drugs to sell! So if you got music, you can't just have a song, you need to have the music when people want it, and you gotta be ready to go. That's how you become successful and things work out. I think that's what a lot of West Coast artists need to understand better. Right now there are a lot of guys with talent, but they just gotta get the company, to somebody that can back them, even if it's an independent, just somebody who can back their music!

Dubcnn: Now you've been working on your official album "Westside Radio" for a while now. When did you decide to put out this album?

Well, I've been dealing with some sample clearances and things like that, so that's kind of been holding me back, but I've been trying to put a record out for a minute, just to do it. It's more of a statement, like a representation. I wanted to put out a Westside Radio album cause I've been very successful with my Westside Radio mixtapes. Everytime I put them out, I sell out in like two weeks, people gravitate to that, so that's why I was trying to do a real record.

Mack 10 had always offered me a deal, since the 90's, when he first got Hoo Bangin' going, he called me and told me "If you want a deal, it's here." So back then I was actually getting started on a record, and that Kurupt record "Callin' Out Names" where he dissed DMX, that was the first actual song for my album. A lot of people don't know that, I also did the scratching in the song. That was going to be on my record! Then it got leaked out through somebody, created a buzz, and then Kurupt asked me if he could put it on his album, cause it was gonna be a minute till mine came out. I said "Alright, cool, no problem, just trade me off another song. It's all good."

That was our agreement, but then Mack 10 parted ways with his situation that he had with Priority at the time, and he always left it open when he got another situation with Brian Turner, he called me and told me let's put it together! I love Mack 10 man, he's treated me wonderful, he's a wonderful person to do a record with, I hope to do a lot of records with him. I don't think I need to find another label or another person, I'm very confortable with Mack 10, he reminds me of Eazy-E a lot, that's why I think we get along so good. Like I said, I got nothing but the highest things to say about Mack 10, even if we didn't do a record again. He's a great person to work with, I love him.


Dubcnn: Have you spoken to him about the status on Westside Connection?

You know, we talked about it! Cause I actually tried to reach out to Ice Cube and WC, it's a couple of people that didn't really reach back to me, and it was a little bit disappointing, but I don't really want to use the word disappointing, it's the music business so I take it for what it is. It's cool. I reached out to The Game, and he never responded back to me, I reached out to E-40, he was gonna give me a song but then never came through, I don't know what happened with that. I reached out to Ice Cube and WC for a song, and I knew it was going to be a little funny maybe for them, because it's on Mack 10's label, but I thought that because it was my record, they might overlook that.

But they didn't really want to participate. They didn't actually tell me themselves verbally, but that's the impression I got. That was just a little bit disappointing, cause all those artists that I just named, I've supported. Especially Ice Cube, I was playing his records when he was in CIA! WC I've known since way way back, before the rapping, I've always been supportive towards him, so I just kind of feel like.. is it a problem cause it's on homeboy's label? I never like to get involved in those types of deals, when people have beefs and all that, I don't like to be in the middle. When Snoop Dogg and Suge Knight were having their situation, I know Suge and I know Snoop, it was a situation back in the days where it kind of put me in the middle, but they both had to understand that I'm Westside Radio man, I can't lean towards anybody, I can't play more Crips and less Bloods or more Bloods and less Crips! I can't do that! It's unfair to the music.

So that's why I try not to get involved in those kind of things, I actually try to see what I can do to resolve the situation. That's my whole thing. Cause I do know both parties. I've mentioned it to Ice Cube, and he said it was a family situation, family issue, and I respect that, that's cool. But I'm not mad at anybody, I'm not mad at The Game or whatever, or E-40, I'm just down with whoever wants to participate with me. I look at the positive. If they are down, I'ma focus on them. If they don't want to be a part of it, that's cool, it is what it is.


Dubcnn: So let's do some name dropping, who do you have on the album so far?
 

 Get the answer to that question and many more in Part 2 coming soon.