Old Jayo Felony Interview (The Source)

[Okka]

I hope y'all like it, took a while to write it down.

JAYO FELONY
a thug determined
words by miguel burke pohoto by stephen stickler

If you ask highly succesful people to tell you their story, don't be suprised if you don't hear the words
"overnnight sensation" too often. Instead, "resilience" will probably get tossed around a lot. Hip-hop
artists are no different. After all, if your favorite rappers weren't resilient after paying dues, remaining
unnoticed and generally getting fucked over, there would be no Fugees, no No Limit, no E-40. And just
when you thought Left Coast underdog Jayo Felony had given up on his own fight, he resurfaces with a
label change, a gang of cameos and a new album, embodying the very meaning of resilience.

The Source:
What's the science behind the title of the new album Whatcha Gonna Do?

Jayo Felony:
It has a lot to do with my last album and how it was handled-why everybody loves the album, but it
never really got to the people. Now it's like i'm telling my label, "I'm giving you another album, but
whatcha gonna do with this one? You gonna fumble the rock or are we gonna win?"

The Source:
Why do you think your first album was virtually unnoticed by consumers?

Jayo Felony:
It was just bad business altogether. It wasn't [distributed by] Polygram, like the average Def Jam
record, so it didn't get that pushh. And they wasn't meeting the demand of the people. The more word-
of-mouth got around, people were going to go get it and it wouldn't be in stores.

The Source:
You give your album more balance than the typical gangsta rap album by mentioning the topics of
slavery, ancestors, oppressors and the ending monologue from Amistad. Drop sience on that

Jayo Felony:
I'm not no iliterate muthafucker. I have sense and i know my history and sometimes i kinda touch on it.
I don't get too into it like i'm on some Black history shit-i keep it gangsta. But at the same time, i
have a consience and i do put some of the things that i learned into my music.

The Source:
One of the outstanding characteristics of your music is your hooks. Describe your song-writing
process.

Jayo Felony:
Really, i just scribble shit together. With the hooks, i try to come with a title first that i'ma be rappin
about and try to make that title sound dope. It will be easier to write a song when you got a hot hook.
Everybody's gonna be able to groove to your lyrics and probably gonna love what you say, but at the
end of the day they wanna be able to sing along with it.

The Source:
Explain your mission to put the thugness back on the West Coast.

Jayo Felony:
It's been shaky for a minute since all that shit went down with Death Row. They was holdin' it down for
the West Coast, but also for the industry as a whole. Now you got Bad Boy and No Limit puttin' it
down, and you got my dawgs E-40 'n' em up in the Bay, and Westside Connection out here puttin it
dwon. But right now, i feel that i'm the next thug nigga out here to put it down in a major way. And i
got the support of all the rappers in the industry from East, West, North, down South. It's all love.
I just wanna see the West Coast blow up out of the water like we did two or three years ago.

The Source:
What's your definition of a thug?

Jayo Felony:
Thug is not just some negative shit, it's just how we relate. We thugs. We puttin' it down. We mashin'
for our chips. We ain't kissin' no ass to get to where we gotta be. And we gon' sag, wear braids, and
dress how we wanna dress. It's not about West Coast thugs or East Coast thugs. It's worldwide.

The Source:
So you define it as a lifestyle or a culture?

Jayo Felony:
Yeah, it's definitely a lifestyle or part of a culture because you can be a thug dressed in your
business shit down to a "t" and you can still be makin' it happen. It's either two things: you can be a
thug or a square. You don't have to be bangin' or killin' novody to know what's going on in the streets.

[Bad Dreamz]

A dope interview. And props for the effort of writing it over here.

Vitun isopäinen kidnappaaja.

[Blood$]

propz once again

[stephen619]

Nice Read

[Allgold]

When's he dropping some new shit allready? I was listening to the "Time is Bread" mixtape last night, and I want a new Jayo album, damnit. He goes way hard on those new tracks, I love that "My History" and especially "Fake Ass Gangbangers", dope, dope shit.

[Black Excellence]

props. i remember that interview. lunatic 63 tell that nigga we need the album now!!!!!!!!!!

[K-9]

PropZ