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SL JONES (August
2010) | Interview By:
Chad Kiser
Bill Clinton is perhaps the most recognizable person to come out of
Little Rock, Arkansas, but SL Jones might just be on the verge of changing
that. Jonesy has been heating up the Net lately with dose after dose of fire
courtesy of his “No Expiration Date” leak series.
His remake of Jay-Z’s “1900 Hustler” with Mike Bigga and Pill dubbed “Grind
100 Hustler” was a tremendous hit all over the Net as just about every major
hip hop blog and site featured it.
With his mixtape WhYSLjones? on deck, SL says he won’t put a date on it
until the streets and fans demand for it. Dubcnn recently talked it up with
Jones about his leak series, upcoming mixtape and gang culture as the Crip
affiliated rapper takes us into his state of mind.
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Interview was done in August 2010
Questions Asked By:
Chad Kiser
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Dubcnn Exclusive – SL Jones
By: Chad Kiser
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Dubcnn: What's up SL, you've been banging on wax for a while now. First
being introduced to the masses on Killer Mike's album I Pledge Allegiance to
the Grind, leading up to the creation of your own imprint, M.A.D.E.
Entertainment. How have you grown as an artist from Pledge Allegiance to the
present?
Working on The Pledge I learned how to shine collectively within a
crew and stand out by setting myself apart at the same time – if that makes
sense [laughs]. I played a major role in putting that album together. Killer
gave me a lot of creative freedom on that project from picking beats,
writing hooks, all the way down to arranging the track listing. It was a
great opportunity because it gave me a chance to exercise a lot of ideas and
put them into practice. Killer allowed everybody’s input on The Pledge. What
he liked, he kept, what he didn't like, he left on the cutting room floor.
We were surrounded by a lot of talented people when we made that album.
Shout out to Big Key, Bill Collector, The Northside aka Da Cracktown, Smiff
and Cash of Heatwave Productions and Free Chaotic "Mazzetti Alexander"
Beatz.
Dubcnn: Can you explain what M.A.D.E. stands for?
M.A.D.E. is the acronym for Money Always Determines Everything.
It’s self-explanatory. I’m a tell you like Brother Jimmy Cunningham Jr. told
me, "Find something that you love doing so much that you would do it for
free, and figure out how to get paid doing it." It takes money to make
money. That's why the broke stay broke and the rich get richer. MADE
Entertainment, respect the shield - Red hold your head bruh. Free Big Haas!
Dubcnn: You have a leak series dubbed "No Expiration Date." Tell us
about it.
No Expiration Date is a series of viral leaks I'm releasing via the
internet. They're really more like commercials for my upcoming mixtape,
WhYSLjones?. I call them "inflomercials" because I'm spazzing over other
niggas’ beats but I'm still informing you on what's coming next from SL
Jones and M.A.D.E. Ent. Jacked beats go stale quick, but the flow is
timeless.
Dubcnn: Now one of the tracks you dropped was a remake of Jay-Z's
"1900 Hustler" featuring fellow Grind Time Rap Gang cohorts Mike Bigga and
Pill titled "Grind 100 Hustler," which took over the blogosphere. How was
the feedback in the streets?
The streets loved it. The beat is so old a lot of people were
thinking it was an original song. I was a die hard Roc-a-Fella fan and a fan
of the original song so I would never compare the two, after all, ours is a
remake. I think the fact that you have three southern lyricists on a vintage
East coast track and we all held our own bar-for-bar is what makes it
exciting. People enjoy the unexpected and nobody saw this one coming. Wait
until y'all see the video. We shot it in the middle of the hood in 4th Ward
of Atlanta. It was 100 degrees outside. Three bangs for the gang; Mike Bigga
and Pill - my brothers, I salute. Trauma what up!
Dubcnn: Whose idea was it to get on that beat?
[Laughs] it was G. Davis' idea to go in on that beat. It was so
hard to get me, Pill and Bigga to do it because we all were busy doing other
stuff. G really wanted to see that one happen so he kept pushing the issue
until he finally got everybody in the studio to get it done. DJ Trauma just
so happened to be in the studio while we were recording the track. It was
Bird's idea to put Trauma on there. He tapped me on the shoulder like, "Say,
it would be hard if y'all had a DJ on the song working the trap line
bringing everybody in… See if Trauma will do it." I asked Trauma and he
hopped on it right then and there. The track locked up baking soda style.
Dubcnn: There's been confusion about the name of your upcoming
mixtape. Some believe it's titled "No Expiration Date," others believe it's
titled "WhySLJones?" Can you clear that up for us?
The upcoming mixtape is titled WhYSLjones?. "No Expiration Date" is
the viral leak series that I'm releasing as the promotional campaign for the
upcoming mixtape. No Expiration Date is not a mixtape, at least not yet
anyway, but don't get it twisted M.A.D.E. Entertainment pushing everything
so if the people want a No Expiration Date project, we will sack it, wrap it
up and serve that too - ain't no rules to this shit.
Dubcnn: When do you anticipate on dropping the project?
I haven't committed to an actual drop date yet. Right now I'm
focusing on the viral campaign as well as the street campaign. The people
will let me know when they want it. I'm ready to give it to them whenever
they're ready to receive it. I appreciate the listeners ear I just want them
to be able to appreciate my work in return.
Dubcnn: Now you don't hide the fact that you are a Crip from Little
Rock's 23rd and Wolfe Street neighborhood. Can you speak on how your
environment and gang affiliation shaped your being and music?
Well when you from a gangland being gang affiliated is cultural.
Everything and everybody is gang related. It goes way beyond the colors blue
and red. The way you talk, walk, dress, even the way you write is influenced
by the neighborhood you’re from. For example, the GDs would only lace their
shoes right over left, and they would stand in what they call a six-point
stance. People think it’s just a bunch of niggas shooting each other over
colors.
This is Sophisticated Gangsterism. You have to know and recognize what you
are looking at all the times. Every set has their own way of doing things.
Just because you see a nigga in all blue or red doesn't mean he’s a Crip or
Blood. When I shout out my neighborhood on record I'm not banging on nobody
that's just my neighborhood pride. A lot of Locs died and went to prison
pushing line for the neighborhood to be respected. I do it for them. I don't
celebrate the violence but I honor them because they put it down for the
turf. That's real certified G shit so I don't expect for a square to be able
fully understand where I'm coming from. If you can wrap your mind around
what I'm saying then you should be able to grasp this concept.
I can represent what I love without disrespecting what the next man loves.
Throwing your hood up and hitting a nigga up are two different things. You
just have to know how to conduct yourself. Everything I speak on I do it
with regards to the niggas who really lived it everyday. I was right there.
Shout out to Crip Moe, Solo aka Cadillac, Bobby Banks, OG & Dewitt and Joe
Kelly - they Rocktown Legends.
Dubcnn: Without having to say much, Little Rock is similar to Los
Angeles and Cali, in general, in that there is a big gang culture present,
specifically Bloods and Crips. Have you been out West, and if so are there
any similarities and differences in the way the cultures are represented in
each city?
Yeah, I’ve been to L.A. a few times. I would have to say the
biggest similarity I saw between LR and L.A. is that there isn't an ongoing,
never-ending turf war between the Crips and the Bloods. The media will have
you think that niggas is killing each other on sight for nothing, everyday.
It’s not like that in LR and that wasn't the case when I visited LA. You
also got to keep in mind that Cali niggas brought gangbanging to Little Rock
so we got the game straight from the source.
With that said the differences still outweigh the similarities. For example,
in LR, Bloods out number Crips but in L.A. Crips out number Bloods. In LR,
Crips stuck together while the bloods on the east and west sides of town
would bang on each other, but in L.A. Crips were known for banging on other
Crips. In LR, Mexicans were the minority and were real cool, but in LA they
were the majority and were killing niggas. In LR, the Bloods are the deepest
gang, but in L.A. the cops are the deepest gang [laughs].
Shout out to the big homies Meech from 190-97; East coast Rollin 60s; Rich
Crippin 4 Life; J.J. in Compton, DB from Avalon, Awol, Crip Kev and Smiley
from Sho-Line; Rome and Cracc from Delamo; all my Uces Kuluku Jones, Bones,
Izzle, Biggie, Segan, Rayme, Tahps, A-Dawg, Unko Matt; and the whole Royal
Samoan fam, y’all know who y’all is. Third St. what up, and all my SkyLine
reli's I got Diago love!
Dubcnn: How would you feel about getting down on a track with Snoop
Dogg or Nipsey Hussle?
Well Snoop's music was the soundtrack to doing dirt if your hood
was active. I thought I was Snoop growing up [laughs] straight up. Nipsey go
hard in the paint. Him and Dom Kennedy are the two coldest new niggas out
West right now. I’m a fan of their work. I definitely would like to put in
some work with them - on wax [laughs].
Dubcnn: Has your music been at all influenced by any West coast
rappers? If so, who comes to mind?
Man, N.W.A collectively and individually, Snoop, Tha Dogg Pound,
2Pac, Warren G., Spice 1, Domino, MC Eiht, DJ Quik, Dru Down, The Luniz,
E-40 and the Clique, Too $hort, Messy Marv, Celly Cell just to name a few. I
was listening to everything from out that way - I could relate.
Dubcnn: We've enjoyed our time with you but before we let you go let
the readers know where they can find more about you and your music.
To find more about SL Jones and M.A.D.E. Entertainment you can hit
up the website.
Also, hit me on Twitter,
MySpace and
Facebook.
Always remember, you can sit a real nigga down but a stand up nigga will
never stand down. Free all my partners - R.I.P. to all the fallen soldiers.
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