YOUNG HOGGS (July 2004) | Interview By:  Nima

      Dubcnn.com caught up with Tj Santana and T-Mac of The Young Hoggs to talk about their new mixtape, what new things they bring to the game, hooking up with Mack 10 & why they spoke on Mack 10 on their mixtape, upcoming projects, their friendship with Bg Knocc Out And Dresta and much much more. Check out this exclusive Video interview below (34mb) on a fast server. Please feel free to send any feedback regarding the interview to: nima@dubcnn.com




Huge thanks to TJ Santana & Te Mac for taking time out to answer the questions fans wanted to know! (Interview was done by camcorder in July 2004)

Questions Asked By : Nima

Filmed by: Yash

Young Hoggs Video Interview: Here (High Quality - 34mb)

Young Hoggs Dubcnn Shoutout
 

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dubcnn.com: What's happenin', we're right with 2 membes of the Young Hoggs, introduce yourselves!

TJ Santana: Fo sho! I'm Mr. TJ Santana from the Young Hoggs.

T-Mac: What's happenin' this is T-Mac, aka Tracy McGrady! Holla!


dubcnn.com: How did ya'll get together at first?

TJ: Well how we got together... actually, he was part of the group before I was, he's an original member, started back in Junior High, High School and what not. But you know what? I'll let you tell him, he can tell you better than I can!

T-Mac: I mean it all started with conversations on the phone, and watchin' Eazy, Dresta & BG Knoccout do their thang. So we formed a group, out of the departments that we stayed in in Compton, you know? And, shit, we came together!


dubcnn.com: How did ya'll hook up with Mack 10?

TJ: Shit, we hooked up with Mack 10 thru one of the members of the group, now Rest In Peace, Nutty Nuttso. But before I get to that, I wanna say wassup to Young Shame, Killa Cane, Tabu, my nigga Nutty Nutso Rest In Peace, and the homeboy Time Bomb Rest In Peace. That's the Young Hoggs right there. Now back to the question, we hooked up with Mack 10 thru Nuttso, Nuttso and Mack's Road Manager are cousins, so that's how we hooked up with Mack 10.


dubcnn.com: Were you signed to him?

TJ: Nah we weren't actually signed to him, it was getting there, but it never happened.


dubcnn.com: What's your relationship with Mack 10 now?

Uhh..

*Dresta walks in*

Dresta: I'M WATCHIN' YA'LL LIKE BOBBY BROWN!!! HAhaaa!

*Everybody laughs*

TJ: About Mack 10, it is what it is... It's all up in the air right now. Ya mean? Shit didn't happen like it was supposed to, so, it is what it is. Holla!


dubcnn.com: What projects have ya'll appearared on till now?

T-Mac: What projects? We've been on alotta shit man... We been on the Death Row Too Gangsta 4 Radio project, that's still out in stores. Of course, the Mack 10 Ghetto Gutter Gangsta, then some underground shit like Kill Kill, Keitarock, you can pick up all that. You can also pick up L.A. 2 The Bay Vol. 2! We on that. And we got alotta upcoming shit too, Industry Phunk Entertainment. We doin' this mixtape right now, Dre'sta the Gangsta. BG Knoccout 2006! BG Knoccout 2006!


dubcnn.com: How did you hookup with Dre'sta?

TJ: Shit... Dre? Actually I met Dre through Knoccout man. Ya' mean? I stayed in Watts, and Knocc had alotta patnas in Watts, and we just hooked up like that. I wa road dawgs with Knocc, and runnin' wit Knocc, then Knocc got locked up, and me and Dre just clicked up like that. Dre, they [the rest of the Young Hoggs] from Dre's neighbourhood, so they already knew Dre, and I was doin' my thang, and they was doin' they own thang with Dub, shit, and Dre was like we just gone push one thang, instead of pushin' three different groups, we gone puttem all together and rep the Young Hoggs! Cause I was in the BG Click, they was doin' the Young Hoggs, and Nuttso was doin' the Hard Heads! So right now, we mashin' Young Hoggs! Hustlas out gettin' green succesfully! That's what it is!


dubcnn.com: What new do you feel you're bringing to the rap game?

TJ: Aw shit, a breath of fresh air!

T-Mac: Yeah, fresh faces man! New music! I mean, it's one of those situations where Compton got more to offer than what you just see. We got alot of groups out here that's unheard, cause it's alot of people that's steppin' on us you feel me. I mean, shit, we a product of it! And we 8 years strong, doin this shit! 8 years! And we just now creatin' a buzz right now. We've dealt with alot of people on the West Coast as far as music wise, and alotta cats they tell you one thing, but they don't have good intentions with what they wanna do, so we gotta take it upon ourselves and do it the right way. How we want it, with our own label, Young Hoggs! It is what it is, straight up!

TJ: We also bringing versitality to the game. Right now, shit is just sounding the same. And where we going right now, it ain't soundin' like nothin' else. We got our own sound. Us as far as Young Hoggs, Dresta, our whole camp, we got our own sound. That's what we bringing to the game right now, new sound, FRESH new sound!

Dre'sta: Who wanna see us though? Ya'll can't see us on these mics man?

TJ: Nobody wanna see us right now, nobody!

T-Mac: The potential is real heavy man, we not even at our peak right now man.

TJ: Not even in our prime. It's just gettin' crackin' right now, ya mean? So, you better get it!


dubcnn.com: Tell us about your mixtape, what can we expect from it?

TJ: Shit, we givin' 'em away for free! Pressin' em up ourselves! Got machines and pressin' 'em up ourselves! Givin' em out ourselves! Doin' big thangs right now. Compton Unified Thug District Vol. 1. We pressin' up 10,000, AND it's on the internet. We gone give it to ya'll, and let dubcnn do they thang with it! It's gone be a big thang, cause right now we comin' wit some heat and we givin' it away for free! Dresta said it best! Our pain is for sale, but right now we givin' it away for free!


dubcnn.com: Ya'll droppin' a real record too?

TJ: Oh yeah, we got our album! It's called "Album Full Of Singles". And with an album like that, you know what we comin' with! I just said the name and you got a big koolaid smile on ya face *laughs* So shit, Album Full Of Singles! It is what it is, self explanatory.


dubcnn.com: Is there anything else you wanna say or let the fans know?

T-Mac: Thanks for the support from day one! All my niggaz that's in the hood, city of Compton, Watts, Long Beach, Inglewood, whereever you from man. It's like, we've been doin' it for a long time, an d believe it, we do have a fan base. It's just that we out of mind out of sight right now. And until we get the ability to let people see, they gone know.

Dre'sta: We out of sight purposely though, we ain't tryin' to be seen right now!!

TJ: They ain't tryin' to get us seen right now.. So we gotta get our own selves seen. So, basically what it is is, like the bio say nigga, if you sleep, your ass will be awaken, cause these young niggaz is kickin' up alotta dust and we gonna be makin' alotta noise. So good looking out from the YOung Hoggs!

Dre'sta: CPT, nigga, that's all you need to know!

T-Mac: Like I said, Compton got alot to offer man, we the Young Hoggs, it's not just a young group, we trying to branch out to the whole industry, to the whole youth, to the whole inner city. That's what we comin wit', some new shit. And Compton is the foundation of all this gangsta rap man, that's the main point. We started this shit period! Me not me personally, but niggaz off our street, like Dre'sta, NWA, man. We started all this shit that you hear on the radio, period. And niggaz ain't even from Compton, don't even mention West Coast or Compton or nothin', they just do their thang and niggaz act like they just ran with it, like "Oh what they doin" but WE started this shit man! Period!

TJ: And not even gangsta rap, just rappin' where niggaz is usin' profanity! Ya mean? Cause back in the days, you couldn't cuss on a record! They was just straight popcorn. Not taking nothing from what they did, cause of course they paved the way, but at the same time, give respect where respect is due, cause just say, if a artist from over there do some shit on some West Coast tracks, it's fresh, it's hard. But when we do that shit, its like "oh it's old, they still on that old shit". So we gotta go do other shit. Why is that? Cause other motherfuckers is gettin' paid off of what we do.

T-Mac: The game right now is one sided man, period. The game been like that since Pac died man, period!

TJ: But see at the same time, that ain't even the key to it. The key to it is okay you know the game is like that, you can't cry about the shit, you gotta either roll with it or get rode on. So you gotta do what you gotta do to make yo shit pop. Now that you KNOW it's like that, the question is, what you gone do to overcome that and go around that. So basically that's what it is right now. We doin' what we doin', and that's mashin' the Young Hoggs, hustlers out getting green succesfully. Comin' straight out of Compton, and that's what it is!

T-Mac: Another shoutout to Nuttso Rest In Peace and Timebomb Rest In Peace. We started this shit and we gone push on for ya'll, period. It's alotta people out there that want us to continue this shit. We been thru alotta shit man period.


dubcnn.com: Did Mack 10 have anything to do with Nuttso's death or somethin? I heard rumours goin' around.. And ya'll had that diss track to Mack 10 too.

TJ: Nah man, nah man... Basically, what it is.. it ain't even a diss track homie, it's just a song that's tellin' the truth. Me as an artist I felt like I had to express that. When I heard the beat, that was the first thing that popped in my head! Like oooh, shit. Ya mean? 50 did it, so that was the first thing that popped into my head! So I just picked up a pen and started writing. And that's what came out! It ain't that I'm really dissin' the dude, I mean, it's a love-hate type of thing. Cause the nigga looked out for me when I was homeless, the nigga put me in a hotel. So how can I be salty at this man? But at the same time, it was other shit that was supposed to be done that wasn't done. So a nigga took action to that, and I'ma man, and I'ma say what I feel! Like right now, this Mack 10 situation is like whatever... take it like you wanna take it. Shit, it is what it is! He did what he did, I said what I said, or we said what we said, and that's what it is! And I feel like.. all I did was air out dirty laundry. They can't be mad at me for that! Shit if you take your clothes to the cleaning, your shit ain't gone be dirty! Ya mean? So, all I basically did was tell the truth. And by me telling the truth dissing the man, what does that say about you? If I'm telling the truth, and other muthafuckas say I'm dissin' you cause I'm tellin you the truth, then what does that say about you? It is what it is... Holla, nigga!