RBX (June 2009) | Interview By: Jose Ho-Guanipa

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Interview was conducted in June 2009
 

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RBX // Exclusive Video Interview // Dubcnn

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Dubcnn: What’s up y’all it‘s Jose with Dubcnn. We’re here in Santa Ana, California at Napsac Clothing with my man Eddie and RBX. We’re gonna get to talk to RBX. He’s dropping a mixtape pretty soon and he’s also working on an album so were’ just gonna talk to him about his music and what’s going on with him.

Eddie: Right now we got this mixtape we doing, MIXTAPE, RBX mixtape we dropping June 26. It’s already out on the streets right now. It’s got a gang of features but I’mma let X elaborate a little more, but I just wanna thank Dubcnn for coming out to the Napsac Sports Apparel and Urban Gear to make this interview possible. So X go ahead and give them more information regarding what’s on the mixtape CD “X2 The Digital Kush”.

RBX: Well been workin’, constantly workin’ and some of the overflow, some of the stuff that we had posted that was good music we needed to put that on the streets. So that’s what we did, we formed “X2 the Digital Kush” and we got X3 bubblin’, we got the Unanimous Project bubblin’, I got some things in the work. We still a little tentative, so we ain’t gonna speak too much it. We workin’ right here, we got Nap out here and he doin’ what he do, we got Joaq’, so it’s a good look. We strivin’ and we gon’ get it right.

Dubcnn: X I just wanted to ask you about your experience in the game. We just did an interview a little while ago with you about your work on the Slim Shady record. You’ve been involved in some of the biggest projects in hip-hop ever, Dr. Dre Chronic and Marshall Mathers LP. At the same time you kind of kept a low profile as far as not being in the limelight. Is that something you do on purpose?

RBX: Actually, no. That’s just the powers that be. We don’t wanna put no disrespectful things out there but that was just holding back to control ‘em type thing and now it’s time for me to break out of the mold and do me without having somebody tell me or censor me or anything of that nature. So now we kinda breaking out of that mold. It wasn’t a bad thing, it’s the just the way sometimes it happens.


Dubcnn: Musically we know you have a lot of musical connection in the family. Your Dad’s Bootsy Collins, your cousins with Snoop and Daz, Dogg Pound Gang. How did that influence when you were growing up as far as music and being around it?

RBX: Well honestly Bootsy is not my father. Bootsy is a close friend of the family, that’s like uncle Bootsy. We have the same last name so people threw it together like that was my father. My last name is Collins his last name is Collins, he’s a close friend of the family but he’s not my father. Snoop is my cousin. I will never say me and Snoop will never work together because that is my cousin but right now we keep missin’ each other. He on the road or he miss me doing what I’m doin’ so eventually we gonna get together and make it happen but right now I’m just pushin’.


Dubcnn: Tell us how you hooked up with Eddie and Napsac. Tell us how did that come about?

RBX: I did a show and I saw Eddie was out there tryin’ to hustle. And my whole thing is trying to network with hustlers. I ain’t into the name game. If you strivin’ for somethin’ let’s go get it and that’s how that came about.


Dubcnn: Wanna say anything about that?

Eddie: X pretty much said it out there. Basically we were doing an extravaganza media network and X stepped into the place and we talked and chopped it up, myself and Joaquin Scott. He liked the way we presented ourselves. Real recognize real. We know everybody out there tryin’ to strive, chasin’ these dollars and currency. And the way the situation is now you know your camp can be shady as shady. So basically we felt that we good real folks, myself and ‘Quin. ‘Quin over there, ‘Quin, Joaq’.

Joaquin: Mixtape, mixtape release party. Don’t miss it, it’s goin’ down.

Eddie: So what we did, we talked to X, X took the calls, we sat down we chopped it up we tried to basically be real with each other, who we are as people, where we came from, our background and stuff like that. And the network came together, so now it’s basically us putting each foot forward each day tryin’ to make something strive for us as Napsac and definitely something for RBX to make it possible for everybody to come together. And as for that the package came and we’re still tryin’ to perfect the package everyday, every minute. And from there on it’s like X2, RBX Napsac, and Dubcnn just pick us our time. It’s what it is.


Dubcnn: You’ve been in the game for awhile, you were around before all the stuff, the internet, the digital downloads, the mixtapes and stuff. Now you’re kind of linking up with Napsac and doing that kind of thing. Do you think that’s where it’s headed as far as music and pushing your stuff out there. How do you think the future of the industry is gonna be in terms of that?

RBX: I don’t know. If you would’ve asked me the question a few years ago I wouldn’t think things would be as drastic as they are. Nevertheless, the concept is no woman no cry. So I just move with the stream. If this is the current thing you got to stay with the times. I got my homeboys that came from the old school who’s stuck in the old school ways and they suffering behind it. Out the trunk is still a viable way to do what you do but you gotta understand that there’s also internet, the Paypal so you gotta step your game up and learn all this stuff and you should be alright. I had got lost for a minute but caught up to speed and figured it out and now we movin’ forward.

Eddie: Like X said that’s pretty what it is. He’s got all the knowledge from being around all the whole projects, and the whole mix, and the majors and just the whole flamboyant extravaganza and stuff like that. And us over here, everyday, Monday through Saturday, same location, same grind. Grind in, grind out. We tryin’ to have X implement all his knowledge to us and as he implements his knowledge to us, no matter how it might come across we gonna try and take it in and utilize it to better us as a unit. It’s a good combination, it can be hard a times because we all got hard ways and that’s how we come at you but it’s real. That’s why Dubcnn’s here doin’ what we doin’ and we gonna make it happen.


Dubcnn: Tell us about Napsac as far as what you guys do. I know this is a retail store and you got your own clothing line but I guess it’s more than just clothes right?

Eddie: Yeah it’s more than just clothes. Basically Napsac Sports Apparel, let me tell you a little bit
about the name, Nap is my last name and SAC stands for Santa Ana California. And like I tell everybody SAC was basically watched up and the hands switched it up and now they clean. But Napsac, Santa Ana, California that’s what it is. We basically sell clothing apparel here from Mitchell & Ness, from Reebok, Adidas, Monster, who else we messin’ with, G3 that’s over there at Carl Banks, and Dallas Cowboys. Basically we sell clothing we have retail store people come through if we like a product we purchase it. We also do vendors, vendors and venues. We put shows together, we out there trying to get a lot of young actors and strivin’ artists a place to showcase their music, to have a venue. Maybe we put a gentleman like Mr. X or his caliber on a card and basically a lot of young artists come in so they can get showcased too. We also do a lot of stuff within the youth programs, with the kids and stuff. We also do custom uniforms for kids and stuff like that. Right now we workin’ through the program for the city of Santa Ana where the city supplements them with a certain amount of money and then they come to the facility and they work for us and they credits and stuff for it. We got our hands in a lot of stuff right now and like I said it’s Napsac Sports Apparel and Urban Gear and it’ s just a 360 so that’s pretty much what it is. Joaq’ my partner might wanna elaborate on it.

Joaquin: Get to Napsac in just a sec, back to RBX with this mixtape. If y’all for any inkling idea think that X’s bars ain’t up, his bars is tight as a motherfucker. I’m telling you that, I got a good ear for rap music, this nigga shit’s tight. But getting back to the Napsac, this my partner Nap, he created this movement in ‘05 right here in the city of Santa Ana. And we grind everyday with it. We wake up, we go to bed, we get up we do the damn thing everyday. Sunday we’re off here in the store, but we still grind on Sundays, believe that. It’s a movement man, we pushin’ on it. Once again I wanna give a shoutout to Dubcnn for makin’ it possible. Everybody that’s connected with Napsac, we doin’ big things. We comin’ to a city near you. We’re keepin’ RBX in heavy rotation, it’s comin’, 2009, 2010. I’m listenin’ to this mixtape so much I know the nigga’s lyrics at this point. But he got some tricky stuff up in there man y’all need to cop it, go buy it. It’s bangin’, it’s off the charts. West Coast has never went nowhere, there is no such thing as the New West, I’m puttin’ it down like that. X gave me the finger action he told me I could do this. It’s all gravy man, RBX man, one love out to him and nigga shit’s tight, go cop that shit.


Dubcnn: Alright man thanks. So yeah, back to X. Just for those that don’t know, what are you coming with on your new mixtape, your new stuff that you’re putting out?

RBX: The new mixtape is pretty much tryin’ to get people back to know who RBX is, the rough lyrics, not bowin’ down to nothin’, sayin’ what I gotta say whenever I gotta say it, not fearing the repercussions, no censorship. And then I got “X3” that I’m doin’ and that’ll probably be the appetizer before the main course, which’ll be the “Unanimous Project”, which I’m workin’ on with Chily Chill and WestCoast Scratch. We got things brewin’ bruh, I don’t wanna say too much because nowadays the game is shifty and shady. When cats figure out what you’re doin’ they try to block or whatever. So I don’t say much I just do. Actions speak louder than words anyways, so that’s where I’m at with it. And Dubcnn peace, once again, it’s all good, we do this.


Dubcnn: Couple more things before we close out. Any collabs or producers you worked with you wanna talk about?

RBX: Nah, not much. I’ve been told by some of the homies on the way up here don’t even spill the beans just yet. As we get it together and it’s all concrete, then we’ll probably have to get together and talk about it.


Dubcnn: What about on this past mixtape?

RBX: I got the little R Kelly collab. on the intro and I got some Myke Nez on there, yeah, I got Sick Jacken from Psycho Realm. Other classic West Coast joints, “They Can’t Be Mashin’ No Natter How Hard They Try”, which is so real, I got Lady Rage on there; shit, it’s nice, it’s nice. You just gotta go peep it out, it’s not to be played with. It’s a mixtape I threw out there, but we keepin’ everything active and bubblin’ and current.


Dubcnn: I know you did a lot of writing before for other people. Are you still doing that or has that kind of fallen to the back?

RBX: Yeah that’s kind of fallen to the back right now. We just focused on X for a hot minute so it’s all good.


Dubcnn: I know in the past you talked about how you like to bring it with your music and you’re not really about too much else as far as being in the spotlight. What do you think about the new rappers now that are kind of the opposite?

RBX: Right, and that’s really making the industry suffer. But they don’t care, they only in it for what they in it for. So the music’s fallen off, everything sounds like everything else. I know T-Pain came with the autotune but now it’s like the autotune I’m like, “Oh my God these niggas.” It’s just no creativeness no nothing. And they get a little change and they know how to promote it and they promotin’ all this garbage and tryin’ to block all the real music now. ‘Cause people get used to hearing that garbage and they thinkin’ that’s what it is and that’s just not the case.


Dubcnn: That’s pretty much it. So once again remind us when the event for the mixtape is.

Eddie: This isn’t the event tape it’s the actual mixtape, RBX. But we doin’ a function on June 26th, it’s gonna be at the Pressbox in Anaheim. Basically we got Dubcnn representin’ for us, OC Weekly, we got some family over there at Joker Brand, what’s up Spanky, Cartoon, Estevan, all them good people over there. We also messin’ with Street Low Magazine, what’s up Gilbert. We just picked up a new one working with us, Monster Energy Drink, so we got them goin’ on too, Hood News over there, KUCI, if I left anything out, oh my host Mamacita, what’s up Mamacita over there in San Diego.

RBX: What’s up Mamacita baby!

Eddie: It’s gonna be a good event, it’s gonna be a good cause. We got Imperial Assassins, Myke Nez, featuring the man himself RBX, but it’s a Naspac Presents collabo and that’s how we getting’ down. So come check us out June 26th, Dubcnn’ll be in the house, it’s gonna be hot. And many more shows to come. We gon’ lace up all summer up to 2010, we just gonna be doin’ this and that’s what we do. Napsac Sports Apparel and Urban Gear keepin’ it real be original, it’s what it do, Dubcnn. Jose what up baby!


Dubcnn: Alright thanks a lot to Napsac and to X.

Eddie: We got our hands in a little of pretty much everything Dubcnn. So once again this is Napsac just leavin’ RBX scene, we still in front of the shop hangin’ out. Got the train going by, keepin’ it straight trainin’ and stuff, you know. This my boy right here, ‘bout to show some work, check him out.

Yoshi: Napsac, good store, good people. Yeah I’m here, he’s [Eddie] getting me in the business and just representing Napsac.


Dubcnn: So how long have you been ridin’?

Yoshi: It’s barely been a year. Got friends at S&M hopefully they’ll wanna come here. Come and check out the store, and that’s pretty much it.


Dubcnn: Alright that’s what’s up man.