Mack 10: Still Hoo Bangin?

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Mack 10: Still Hoo Bangin?
Monday - October 10, 2005
K.B. Tindal

As artists grow with age in Hip Hop and begin too find the niche that keeps them completely happy and grounded, we as fans begin to hear the consistency within the music from these artists. Mack 10 is no different. After a decade in the industry Mack 10 has been through a world of different obstacles along with various business endeavors, several movies, and a few Hip Hop beefs as well. At the end of the day Mack 10 still has a successful career in music and film and still has his own successful record company to boot. So basically, Mack is still Hoo Bangin' and I would assume he will be Hoo Bangin' for life.

I got the chance to talk with the Inglewood, California rider about his relationship with his Westside Connection homies, his new album Hustla's Handbook and his latest film. Mack seemed very at ease and confident

Mack's newest release, Hustla's Handbook, drags us to the rugged streets of Inglewood, California where hood cats push the flyest whips, street pharmacists run the area, scandalous hoodrats and thugged out chicks play the game of getting paper by any means.

"If you want to hear about hustlin' and the streets, then this is the record to buy. It's a handbook of stuff that people love to hear from me. A Mack 10 fan is not interested in anything other than what he's been hearing for a decade from me..." Mack says about the new album. "I did it well on Hustla's Handbook and I think I did it in a rough type of way because my fans always want me to keep it so gangster. I wanted to regain the form of some of my earlier stuff, I was in a good frame of mind and I wasn't under any pressure doing the record. I had a lot of fun doing this record, more than any record I've ever done."

Indeed Mack is destined to keep giving his fans that real gangster shit but does he in any way feel obligated to the youth who listen to his gritty stories? Does he offer them a way out? "Well if you want chocolate cake and you go to the store to buy some cake you don't buy pound cake, that's why I keep giving the streets what they ask for. I'm gonna always give the streets what they ask for but I'm gonna also give the streets what they need." Mack laments... "As far as giving back through an organization, I haven't had the time to set up a foundation but I'm always gonna give back to the hood." 10 years is a long time not to set up an organization for the hood but I guess Mack knows his roots and feels he's doing the best he can.


Mack also talked about his new gothic epic The Beauty Queen. The film was directed by Thomas McGully who is also a photographer for Time Magazine. Mack says, "It was a great experience and I got to work with a lotta good people." The movie went so well that Mack ended up meeting some underground St Louis artists named Ruka Puff and Bigga Brown at a club while he was shooting the film and decided to work with them on his album. "I just happened to go out with the guys from the movie set and they took me to this underground club," Mack reflects about his initial meeting with the guys. "Ruka Puff and them were there performing. When I saw them on stage, I went crazy. I had to do something with them."

So how does Mack 10 feel now that he's getting older and his kids are growing up and life is moving a little slower due to lots of responsibilities? "I feel that with the more a person experiences, the wiser they should get. I also found that there were things I could never have to much of in life, like dirt (Real Estate) property value and location is everything and it's better to have lots of land instead of lots of cars. Cars depreciate in value as soon you drive off the lot, where as real estate makes your money grow."

When asked about his Westside Connection homies Ice Cube and WC and whether they will ever do another album Mack says,"No way. There won't be another album." When asked why he states, "Because we were originally never supposed to do a second album but a lotta people just kept asking us to do it so after 7 years we did it but there won't be another one. I mean my relationship with those guys is cool, Cube is doing movies and WC is doing his thing and I'm making music and that's just how it is."

So with all of that said what is Mack 10's next goal? "I plan to just keep doing what I do. My new album will be out on September 27th and then I'm putting out Red Café from Brooklyn who I just signed to my Hoo Bangin label. He'll be coming out the 1st quarter of next year.

How does Mack want to be remembered when it's all said and done and age finally catches up to him? "I just want people to say that I was one of the real ones."

That he is. Keep mackin' Mack.

[Wessia4LiaNia Chieee Chieee]

When asked about his Westside Connection homies Ice Cube and WC and whether they will ever do another album Mack says,“No way. There won’t be another album.”

     WHY?!?!?!      

Hustlaz handbook is kinda wack really...it ain't what we expected from Mack, good title, that "Like This" song is bangin...but the rest of it...

Hope for Cube to make it, even if Chrome and Paint is not what i wanted to hear from him