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interview BIGG STEELE (August 2005) | Interview By: Westcoast2K

      
Westcoast2k chopped it up with Long Beach rapper Bigg Steele for an exclusive interview. Steele talks about his mixtape and his new debut album "Size Duz Matter" which came out earlier this month. Steele lets us into some of his thoughts and recent business moves, as well as a very interesting idea about building a whole new radio station for the West Coast.

 


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Westcoast2k: For people who are not familiar with Bigg Steele, give a little rundown on who you are and what you represent...

Bigg Steele: Oh fa sho. Bigg Steele, originally from Cleveland, Ohio. I moved out here to Long Beach when I was 16. And I been here pretty much ever since except when I went to school to Mexico State to play Ball. I played a couple seasons in the CFL. I was a roadie for 2 Live Crew after that. I went to the studio with them dudes and did some stuff with them on the road and got my feet wet. After that, I bumped into Hi-C one day at the barbershop and was rappin for him. So then I was rollin with Hi-C and got on Suga Free's last album, got on Hi-C's last album. And here I am today.


Westcoast2k: So you always hooked yourself up to go a step further?

Bigg Steele: I ain't never really been the type of dude to be in people's faces rappin. They always found out I was rappin but they never believed it was me. So it was one of those things, I was always blessed to be at the right place at the right time.


Westcoast2k: How did you even get to where you at now? Who are some of the people that you came up with?

Bigg Steele: Oh you know, what I can't forget about is my boy Bobcat, Bobby Irvin. He's a legendary producer out here. Him, Mr. Mixx, and Hi-C probably thought me more about this business than anybody else. Because Bob, he showed me alot of stuff on the production level, Mr. Mixx showed me stuff as far as the stage presence thing. And Crawf told me more about stuff where people can relate to. So each person is like a piece to the puzzle. I always was like the hustler type of dude, and I always had business sense and knew how to market stuff. So it was all like a puzzle and here it is today.


Westcoast2k: Who would you list as a musical influence?

Bigg Steele: Oh there is alot. I love Scarface, Ice Cube, Kool G. Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick. There's a whole bunch of people. Even the 2 Live Crew. You would be surprised, this next album is more a reflection to that than "Size Duz Matter". A lot of people got it twised of what they think Hip Hop is. A lot of people say Hip Hop is the backpackin shit. But to me all of it is Hip Hop, even Nelly. Because Hip Hop is a culture, and Rap happens to me part of the Hip Hop culture. It's different arms and branches, and there's different divisions of what's Hip Hop. I think people need to really stop that when they say that. A lot of people be speaking when they don't even know the history.

You know what, with this first album I wanted to keep shit simple. And that's my main goal, there's everybody that will tell you 'Man I keep it real'. But me, I wanna sell fucking records man. Females buy records, females buy records. People buy shit that they understand, and I can't come up with little "Save the Whales" campaigns on my first album. I'd rather have the money than the so called critical acclaim. The next album, I'm droppin that in January and it's called "Watch This". And it's representing more this side, because "Size Duz Matter" is my party album.


Westcoast2k: Now you recently dropped "The Bigg Steele Chronicles" mixtape. You put 2Pac & Biggie on there...what was the concept behind it?

Bigg Steele: Man, before I put my album out "Size Duz Matter", being the party album, you always got fools that make comments 'Oh this dude only makes these kinda songs'. I wanted to show motherfuckers, these are two of the greatest rappers of all time, my object wasn't to go on there and beat nobody cause they two of the greatest. My whole thing was just to be able to touch them dudes on the shoulder. Show fools something different than just beats and rhymes. I don't wanna be just known as the "Bubble Bounce".


Westcoast2k: What was the idea behind dropping the mixtape in the UK only?

Bigg Steele: You know, for obvious reasons. Cause I couldn't get a big spread over there cause America is so fuckin overcrowded. You got everybody from Joe Blow to Booboo the Fool droppin mixtapes. Overseas it's more appreciated. You got everybody that got a little bit of money and some studio time, so they drop a mixtape. "The Chronicles" was like a album. We took a few beats that was hot, but for the most part me & Polar Bear went in there and built whole new tracks. And the thing that surprised me, it even hit the charts in the UK. But I ain't really making no money of this, it was more of a promotional thing. But people was even buying the T-Shirts! But I didn't want it to be one of them things where people get the wrong idea like 'This dude is trying to make money off 2Pac & Biggie' cause that wasn't even the idea. I got my own product to make money, this was just a promotional thing.


Westcoast2k: How has the response been so far?

Bigg Steele: Shit I guess its good, I sold over 16'000 copies as of now! But I'm bout to stop it really, cause like I said the whole thing behind it wasn't to make no money, but to promote myself. Ima let the bootleggers get a hold of them.


Westcoast2k: You seem to be doing some smart business moves. Is that what's lacking on the West Coast? Do you think that artists fail to realize that there is more than just home?

Bigg Steele: You know, alot of people out here got a tunnel vision. They so busy but they don't understand that Power, The Beat, and whoever else is not gonna fuck with you until you become an issue somewhere else. It's like, out here people think they got this hot record and about to get they shit played. Man you dealing with 2 million other mothafuckers trying to get they shit played. So why would I stay here with an overcrowded market? And L.A. gotta be the most play-hatin place in the world man. So why would I stay in this market and try to bump heads with everybody else. Cause there's a lotta people out here that got good shit man. You got Crooked I, he's doing his motherfuckin thing, he the shit to me. You got Sly Boogy doing his thing, you got cats like Dr. Stank, Dirty Birdy, Diamonique. And these are just underground people that's tight as fuck! Why would I stay out here and try to bump heads with my people, when I can go somewhere else, spread myself out, make my money and just as much as a nigga signed to Interscope, and come back home.

You know I'm going all over the world. Cause if you look at the map, California is like a little shit stain on some underwear. I'm not saying that my state is a little shit stain, but I got a lotta goals. I'm trying to get 4'000 fans in each region. If I reach that many around the world I sell 300'000 everytime I come out.


Westcoast2k: Other artists do it the other way around and start blowing up in their hometown first...

Bigg Steele: Man, you know I got something to say about that. California don't really got no identity. It's easy for somebody from Houston or Kansas to say that, cause they own people go support them. I bet you know a thousand rappers, and does Power 106 got time to play a thousand rappers? They only play like 30 songs. So how they gonna worry about Bigg Steele, Joe Blow, or whoever the fuck else that got a hot record? So that's like impossible to blow up in the second biggest market in the country. You gotta remember, you're not only competing against your local comrads, you're competing against 50 Cent, The Game, and all them dudes. You can't really compete, because they not only got good music, they also got a marketing budget of 2 million dollars. They on TRL everyday, so I'd be a fool to stay out here. It's kinda like me being out here, about to go to war with some fools that got uzzys and tanks and shit, and all I got is a bat and a butcher knife. So why would I even stay out here and try to go against them. Over there in Europe they play my video on MTV, they play my shit on Channel U. I got like 20 magazine interviews. The Source was gonna give me a "Off The Radar", but they switched that shit to "Independence Day" because somebody else bigger came in or gave them more money or whatever. I wouldn't give them that, so it's like you're always constantly competing against somebody. It ain't that I'm scared of competition, I'm just gonna get my money easier.


Westcoast2k: Is that a reason why there's no artists on TV right now that's coming from the West, except for Snoop & Game?

Bigg Steele: Well a lot of people don't get the opportunity. I know we got alotta hustlers in L.A., but they just need to get out of L.A. You know Snoop done been exposed to different people. They love Snoop over in London, they love Game over in London. That's because they present themselves over there. I just got my first cover in Ireland, with my fat ass face on the cover. So it's just about exposing yourself. See, people forget that rap is all opinion. You can think of somebody 'Oh this mothafucka tight'. But then the next person, some female that don't know nothing about Hip Hop might be like 'I don't like that, I don't know what he's talking about'. It's all about opinion. So it's like, for a opinion to perpetuate yourself in your favor, you gotta go in front of as many people as you possibly can.

And I'm not just talking about people at the swapmeets in Lynwood or Compton, I'm talking about connecting with people all over. You see the beautiful thing about the internet, you can talk to motherfuckers from all over the world. People is openly talking to you. People don't buy records, they buy personalitys. People think 'Oh I gotta have the hottest this and that'. Like that fool William Hung, they aint buying no records cause he was the greatest fucking singer. They buying his personality. You know I come from a real agressive area, this the gang capitol. So people don't really know how to come at people, we need to be more diplomatic. And I hear a lot of people talk about unity out here, but you still got people that got their own agendas. As long as you got people with they own agendas you never gonna have no unity, cause it's gonna be some fake unity going on.

Like I was talking to my homegirl who put that "True Crime" Soundtrack together with all the West Coast rappers on there. She was gonna get all the West Coast rappers to do some shit on there, but everybody she talked to was like 'Nah this dude gonna be there, fuck him, he a bitch'. We need to stop all that bullshit, stop hating on the next man and get your shit in order. I cannot hate on Game, cause Game is doing a lot of good things for the West Coast. Like when somebody asks me a dumb ass question in an interview like 'What do you think of Game saying he's the King of the West Coast?' That man sold like 5 million records, so he is! As far as this music shit goes. So I think people need to stop with the negative shit all the time and focus more on getting their business together.


Westcoast2k: You dropped your album "Size Duz Matter" earlier this month. Speak on it real quick, what can people expect on there?

Bigg Steele: Oh man this is a party album. I would be lying if I told you I was on some campaign against terrorism and all this shit man. This is some shake your ass type of stuff. I got a few songs that is on some different shit, it ain't all just party stuff, but for the most part.


Westcoast2k: It has kind of a Dirty South vibe to it, as far as beats go. Is that how you planned it to come out from the start?

Bigg Steele: Well I'ma tell you something that might make niggas mad. I love the funk shit, but that shit is not hittin' right now. Ain't nobody checkin for that shit, so why would I come out with that sound? I'm just being real as a business man. I just think that nobody's fucking with that no more. It's like they play more Dirty South shit out here.

But it depends on the mood I'm in when I go record. But I see a lot of artists out here that can't even get their shit played in the clubs cause they don't really have no shit that can bang in the club. Every record that I had always got played in all the clubs out here, pretty much. You think about an alternative, what if you don't have radio? Who's gonna play your shit? Clubs is the whole way motherfuckers wanna be breaking the records. So you gotta have some other shit crackin, cause you gotta be able to compete. Motherfuckers can say what they want about Lil Jon, but he runnin' shit right now. You gotta have something that you can take to a club DJ where they can say 'Yeah I can see me mixing it with this or that record'.


Westcoast2k: How come you had Polar Bear produce the entire album? What made you decide to do the whole thing with him?

Bigg Steele: Man cause it was one of them things where I'm comfortable with Polar Bear and the vibe is right. Dude listens to me, and that dude is doper than a motherfucker to me. There was a time where Kanye couldn't really get his tracks to a whole bunch of people. Then he had that one, so I think one day Polar Bear gonna have that one. So I'm just sticking with my dude. And then me and him business partners too, so it just makes sense.


Westcoast2k: Is that the Bigg Steele sound which people can expect in the future, or is that just a phase in your career?

Bigg Steele: Every album is gonna be always the same but different. Like with the next album we used some samples, we got a few club songs too. You gotta keep evolving but staying the same. Like I give them songs like the one called "Money" with RBX. I give them a taste of what's to come. I ain't gonna say "Watch This" is gonna be a more hardcore album, but it's gonna be more well-rounded than "Size Duz Matter" is. I got more producers on there, Polar Bear did like 15 tracks. I also got tracks from Red Spyda and Fingazz. But Polar Bear is like my sound, my producer.


Westcoast2k: You already started working the new album. How come so soon?

Bigg Steele: Oh it's finished already! It's coming in January next year. You know, my name is starting to get real hot in the UK, Ireland, Sweden, and places like that. So I gotta keep it going, I'm bout to go on tour for 2 months, I got 20 shows lined up. So you tell me when I come back do I wanna have to actually wait? 2006 is about to come, 2005 is gonna be old to people so I gotta hit them with some other shit. And then after that I'm get a group started with my homeboy Big Arch outta Watts, and my homeboy Big Skip, called "Street Currency". That's the name of my label. So this gonna be on some whole different shit again. Them street cats and respected over in Watts.

When I'm gonna be in the UK I'll shoot a video over there for my second single "Da Hood". I did a version with my homeboy from the So Solid Crew out in London. And right now we're working on a reality show for Channel U in the UK. So I got all my moves planned already! This is a business, man. If you go up to Interscope, they got all their moves planned for this year and the next year. Pretty much anybody that got some good material and tryna get out about their business, I can help get them where they wanna go.


Westcoast2k: You got this radio show thing going on with Big Syke, what's the deal with that?

Bigg Steele: Man you know what, me and Syke is both so busy now. We're trying to get that up and running. We only recorded like 2 episodes, and we ain't even put them out yet. So we tryna wait till we can both really have time to really devote to it. Cause there's a thing where I don't like doing stuff half ass. So we wanna make it come out right cause it ain't gonna be no one time thing. That's why we really gotta have our stuff together. You know sometimes you hear or see some shit and think that shit is dope, but you never see it again? So we trying to have it proper.


Westcoast2k: You were signed to Bungalo for a while. How did you end up leaving that label?

Bigg Steele: Yeah well, the Laneway camp is like my family. I'm real close with Black Tone, we got a real cool relationship. But my next album is gonna be coming out on 456/Universal. It's gonna be a situation where we gonna have 456 for distribution in the Unites States to get a bigger spread. 456 is with Universal, and they can get the record in every store in the country. Right now I'm getting emails from people in Florida, Ohio and different places, say they can't find the record. Even though the distributor is not bad, they just ain't got the power Universal got to ship all over the country. Cause they still shipping my record, with Universal the shit would have been done on that Tuesday when it came out.


Westcoast2k: You had a role in the "Malibu's Most Wanted" movie. How was that experience?

Bigg Steele: Oh man, that was real cool. That's what I really wanna start focusing on, more the acting stuff. A lot of people don't know I've done like 20 commercials prior to that. It was my first role ever to play a rapper. Cause to get that part we had to battle and shit. And I got the call that night, so it was cool to do that shit with my boys Hi-C and Young Dre. And we did that shit for the soundtrack, I got to meet Young Maylay. And Jamie Kennedy is a cool dude. So it was just a overall good experience, and good publicity too.


Westcoast2k: So was there a possibility for you to be a actor first, and rapper second?

Bigg Steele: Oh hell yeah, cause the music industry is probably the most corrupt business in the world. To where people are just allowed to get away with all kind of faul shit. With this acting you get your money when you're supposed to get it, it comes quick and they don't let you wait 3 to 6 months for a check. So it's just a higher level of professionalism. You don't hear about fools that go to the Oscars trying to shoot people! It's only with this rap music man! Like I said, I'm trying to build my company and I love music, but I'm trying to spread my wings.


Westcoast2k: We're pretty much through with the questions, is there anything else you wanna say?

Bigg Steele: Yeah, you know what man, I think what we need to do man, as far as all the West Coast artists that got a little bit of money and try to get it cracking, let's get everybody together and start a fucking radio station. And I'm not talking about no internet radio, I'm talking about a real radio station. Anybody that's serious get at me, you see me in these streets. Cause these motherfuckers out here is not for us, they job is to make as much money as they possibly can. Let's stop kissing they ass and get our own shit, start our own distribution.

It's like, if a motherfucker came in and halfway knew what they were doing programming wise, they would knock Power, The Beat, and KDAY out the box. Cause them motherfuckers play the same 30 songs being played all fuckin day. You think people really checking for that shit? Cause I'm still a fan of the music dogg, there's certain motherfuckers that I wanna hear on the radio. I like Suga Free, I like The Relativez, how come I can't hear them on the radio? So all the fools out there buying cars and buying all this dumb shit, let's put our money together and buy a radio station. I got my part, but motherfuckers out here is too selfish and too stingy. All the people that do graphics, let's start our own magazine. See all the press right now is coming out the East Coast. We out here in Hollywood, but we ain't even got no video channel man! Think about it, them Ying Yang Twinz is all over our radio station. They do what they wanna do, so we need to buy our own shit. And I'm telling you, people would support this shit. So all these rappers buying these cars and rims and shit, put stock in a radio station. I don't care if you just got $5, everybody put stock in there and let's get our own shit crackin! People always talk about how they tryna do this or do that. Let's do some real shit.

Think about it, you could have a dope ass station! Get somebody like E-40 as a morning personality, then have somebody like Crooked I in the afternoon, and get someone like Glasses Malone doing the traffic jam! Tell me that wouldn't be off the hook! Get Big Wy in the night time man! We gotta support our own shit. I don't hear people play Keak Da Sneak on the radio down here! So let's start this shit, we start with our own money and then ask these different companys 'Look, can you donate $10.000 for our radio station, we wanna purchase stock in this'. We gotta really start thinking about our shit as a business, instead of just being some fool running around at the mall. This is a business, so let's boss up on these bitches!



 

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