YOUNG HOOTIE  (January 2005) | Interview By: Westcoast2K

      

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Westcoast2k.Net - Alright so go ahead and introduce yourself to the people who dont know about Hootie.

Young Hootie - Yeah my name is Young Hootie, I'm from Compton and representing Larceny Entertainment. Thats how we runnin' it.


Westcoast2k.Net - How did you start rapping in the first place?


Young Hootie - Oh well you know, in the first place I was just influenced by all the hot niggas that I grew up on. Like all the Pac shit, and I was going through a lot of shit Pac was talking about so that's how I started expressing my pain.


Westcoast2k.Net - When and how did you first break into the rap scene?

Young Hootie - Well actually not too long ago. I was just grindin doing my thing, and then I met TK through DJ Warrior. I just hit Warrior up and he plugged me with TK. TK and Breezy were just forming Larceny Entertainment and they were feeling how I was doing my thing. I gave them this mixtape I was doing on my own and they were feelin my skills. So thats how I became the frontline of the company.


Westcoast2k.Net - Whats the whole philosophy behind Larceny?

Young Hootie - Oh shit man, we just changin the game man. Trying to bring the West back. Headed by my niggas TK and Breezy, so thats how we're doing that.


Westcoast2k.Net - What was one of the most important key points that lead where you are right now?

Young Hootie - Well first of all DJ Warrior, so definitely shout outs to DJ Warrior. And plus my grind man, cause I was gettin up at like 4 in the morning man, I was doing it on my own. But grindin is lovely, I never get tired of it. If you don't grind you aint gonna have nuthin. Its definitely hard but I love to grind man. So basically my grind and hittin Warrior up is what got me where I'm at right now. I came in the game with a mindset that I'ma just do what I gotta do, and get where I wanna go. I wanna be at the top of the game so I gotta grind like the rest of these niggas that's on the top of the game. Everybody at the top is grindin, so I'm also grindin. Im grindin every day, wether I'm in Compton or in school in Atlanta. When I'm in school Im wring lyrics all the time, write some shit in class and pay half way attention to what my professor says. But I record too out here in Atlanta, not a lot though. I usually do a whole lot of writing for album cuts or mixtape cuts, whatever the case may be, then go back home to LA and hook up with a lot of niggas on the grind, like my niggas Spitfiyah, Scipio, or Bishop Lamont, basically all my niggas thats on the grind in LA. I dont really get into the underground scene out in Atlanta, I mean I see niggas on the grind, but I'm basically on my own lil zone cause I try to keep that West Coast vibe while I'm here. I don't wanna take away that vibe, I wanna keep it with me. Or I fly back home to do shows, we did one a while ago. But down here in Atlanta I won't be doing shows, I'm just workin.


Westcoast2k.Net - How hard is it going from being unheard to trying to break through in the game?

Young Hootie - Its hard, but you also gotta have a team behind you that can break you like that. So alot of artists out there wanna get they shit heard but you gotta have that squad behind you man. Like me, I got a group called Vendetta, and my young nigga Blizz. Thats coming out under my shit, Heatline. But that's later on, we grindin this Larceny shit out right now, Young Hootie. Right now Im basically low in the cut getting music together. A lot of artists wanna be out there but they dont wanna put the grind in first, but that's what I'm doing right now. I'm just making sure all my shit is together as far as music wise, working on my skills as much as I can. Cause I know we gonna break in to the game so I gotta be ready, there is a lot of pressure on me right now.


Westcoast2k.Net - Whats the easiest way to get your music out right now?

Young Hootie - Mixtapes is the thing to do right now. Thats what a lot of niggas is doing right now. Mixtapes is fun to me, thats what I like doing. You just grab a beat and write some hot shit, thats fun to me dogg. But the internet too, thats the shit man. Getting your shit on sites and letting people check it on the internet is a good way to test your shit out.


Westcoast2k.Net - How would you describe your music to those who are about to hear you?

Young Hootie - My music is basically street. I felt a lot of pain growing up in Compton, what I seen in these Compton streets is what I'm talkin about. We're re-representing the West Coast cause you know we did it before, so we about to reintroducing the shit now. Can't do it the same way as our forefathers. It's gangsta rap but it's upgraded. I mean I go to College and I read a lot of books and find out alot, but right now Im just tellin whats going on around these Compton streets. I dont really battle or none of that type of shit. I just grind and make music for the hood. I make a lot of pain music and doing my tapes in Compton. And niggas in Compton is showin love, all that shit in swap meets was all me doing it, thats why Larceny took notice. So now I'm on another level.


Westcoast2k.Net - What are you workin on right now?

Young Hootie - I got this mixtape coming out called "Young Compton", that's what we doing right now. It's coming early 2005 so we gonna start the year off with "Young Compton". There is alot of weak stuff coming out right now but we gonna seperate ourselves from that weak shit, its not hard, maybe when you're trying to get that first look. But once a nigga hear you he should be distinctive and be able to seperate your shit. I'm not really worried about competition, I know I'm a different nigga than anybody else so the competition means nuthin, they're not puttin out what I'm puttin out. Im trying to reach those that's checkin for me, so the competition means nuthin.


Westcoast2k.Net - What's the main focus when your next project drops?

Young Hootie - Man just make sure mothafuckas got they head rockin, make sure people are feeling it. My company got beats from from all over and I wrote them and we cut them. But I do got my nigga outta Compton Young Boo, he made a lot of tracks. He hot, he's up & coming.


Westcoast2k.Net - If you could work with 1 producer for an entire project, who would it be?

Young Hootie - Definitely DJ Quik, I grew up on that Quik shit. But I fuck with Needlz too, I like what Needlz is doing.


Westcoast2k.Net - You recorded a deep song called "Why" over the Jadakiss beat. You're touching on a lot of subjects, like the Bay and LA thing...

Young Hootie - Yeah, that basically speaks for itself. A lot of cats from the Bay dont like niggas from LA, and cats from LA dont like niggas from the Bay. Its like two different states, it shouldn't be that way. I feel like niggas should show love. But I was speaking from the heart. Niggas gotta show love, so Ima try to change that cause I grew up to the Bay shit. Ima show niggas mad love as for the streets and rap, cause I'm a street nigga and a rapper, not just a rapper. I'm at both sides of the table man. Not perpetuate the bullshit, niggas should keep it real. The Bay and LA we thread eachother like we dont even exist. Its California homie, lets get it on. But we'll make a change, I'm supposed to hook up with Balance. Like East Coast artists and cats from the South, they show love to each other. Niggas is takin over, they bring they niggas up, somebody fall off, they bring they niggas back on. You see them together in videos, they show each other love. So that should be possible on the West Coas too!


Westcoast2k.Net - You also mentioned the Petey Pablo incident...

Young Hootie - Yeah man that was crazy. I just heard about what Petey Pablo did, dissing Quik and shit. And he did this shit in LA, dude is wildin! But you know Quik he probably not gonna pay dude no attention. But niggas dont like that shit, just come to the West Coast thinking he can just diss a legend like that. That's some wild shit.


Westcoast2k.Net - What was the thing you mentioned about Denzel Washington's son?

Young Hootie - Yeah I go to school with his son. I said it because there is a lot of rich mothafuckas that go to my school. I mean he come from where I come from but then again its so different, I just get like a little culture shock like damn man...nigga got cash and look where I come from.


Westcoast2k.Net - You hooked up with with Roc-A-Fella artist Graph. Talk about that.

Young Hootie - Yeah, I can't really say much right now, but me and Graph linking up to do a cut. He's basically grindin' in New York, killin all them mixtapes, and I'm doing my thing in LA. So we coming together, cut a record and see how it comes out. TK linked it up like that in Puerto Rico.


Westcoast2k.Net - What can people expect from you and Larceny in the future?


Young Hootie - Man expect the takeover from Larceny and myself, the Young Compton takeover. I got a DVD coming too this year that we're workin on right now. We're hollerin at a few majors to get this major deal when the album is coming. Its gonna be crazy.




Westcoast2k.Net - Any shout outs or comments?

Young Hootie - Yeah shout outs to my nigga TK and my nigga Breezy. All my niggas in Compton, my young nigga Vendetta, and Blizz holdin shit down.