E.S.G.: Independent Gangsta (Interview)

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E.S.G.: What’s up, what’s up Justin?

WordofSouth.com: I’m doing good; how are you doing E.S.G.?

E.S.G.: I’m super-super good.

WordofSouth.com: What’s the release date for “Everyday Street Gangsta”?

E.S.G.: September 29th man. It’s going down.

WordofSouth.com: What made you want to work with E1 on this project?

E.S.G.: Basically they reached out to me a couple of years ago. We began some talking then. Over the last year we just been trying to get some business stuff straight. I’m an independent cat you know. I always have been an independent cat. There’s too much rift and raft with the majors today. They wanna’ press the buttons and have you doing what they want you to do. They want you to be the type of artist they want you to be. With KOCH, you’re much still independent. I like what they did with Slim [Thug] over there, DJ Khaled, Jim Jones, B.G. when he first went independent. It’s a good fit for me mayne’. We just finna’ get it crackin’ and my music can get heard more. I’m more of an out-the-trunk type cat but I’m so competitive that I can’t just stay selling CD’s out the trunk and compete with these majors and major artists. I wanted to get somewhere where I could get some secure distribution and it’s about to go down. September 29th, the return of the realest.

WordofSouth.com: I know it’s E.S.G. “Everyday Street Gangsta.” Why did you title the album that though?

E.S.G.: The industry is so fickle already but the game is so watered down whether it’s the production or making up one line and saying it over and over to make a hit record out of it, and getting all this radio play. I pretty much wanted to stand up for the south and this whole screwed up movement in general, you know what I’m saying? Pimp C no longer here and like he called it, country rap tunes. I’m basically giving you the realest. The streets and the hood – I’m bringing it to you in a way where everybody could relate to it. Of course I’m speaking about everything I’ve been through and I’ve seen in my years in life and in this hip-hop game. I just try to keep it 100% authentic. What better way than to introduce myself to the rest of the world and just let them know who E.S.G. is and what E.S.G. stands for – of course Everyday Serving God but I also am a “Everyday Street Gangsta” you know what I’m saying? That’s pretty much how I came up with it. The label just wanted to know the real me.
The first song, the intro is pretty much like an autobiography. Whoever you are, wherever you from – if you right there in Canada, no matter where you at, once you hear the first song, the intro, it’s really not an intro because it’s really a song but once you hear that, “The Autobiography”, if you a true fan of authentic music and hip-hop from the heart, just good music – you should want to take a listen to the whole album. I’m pretty much giving you what I got right there from the intro letting you know who I am and how I got to where am at, what I did in the past. Once they hear that, they pretty much sold like let’s hear what else he got to say.

WordofSouth.com: You touched on a few things that we’re going to get into like Pimp C and the underground success you’ve achieved. First off, do you feel you get enough credit for the whole chopped and screwed movement?

E.S.G.: I would say Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama are my demographics. I’ve been touring man. I’ve been on like a 9 years straight tour (laughs). I got three shows this weekend. I’m always booked down here working. We’ve been in our own lane for so long, we pretty much never cared what the east coast thought about us; I always got love on the west coast though. We pretty much never cared what anybody thought about us. With the politics in the music, you kinda’ have to pay attention and you kinda’ have to give everybody what they want. Even though we’re not listening to screw music as much as we used to in the past, I still gotta’ hold it down for the screwed up click and the fallen soldiers like DJ Screw, Fat Pat, Big Hawk, Big Moe, Big Steve and of course the people that are not screwed up click members, the people like Pimp C, Big Mello and just southern artists in general. The people want to see us keep this going. That’s pretty much how it is.

Of course the whole south is under rated, whether you go from Bun B to whoever. I feel like almost all southern artists are under rated. OutKast gets their props; a few people make it like Scarface gets the props he deserves. But as far as southern artists in general, we’re always under rated and over looked. And you can’t over look us as businessmen. I came up as of course a fan of 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G. and so on, but man my inspiration came from Master P, Lil J, Tony Draper, Baby and Slim – those are the people that I was inspired by. That’s why we’ve always been able to be successful. We’re major with no major deal. You don’t see me on BET but I might sign 30-40 autographs every time I do a show.  That just goes to show you that we’re major with no major deal. And of course I am under rated.

WordofSouth.com: No doubt. You mentioned holding it down for some of the fallen soldiers. I’m sure all of those deaths hit you hard and were all extremely tragic. But can you single out one in your mind that was just so tragic or hit you the hardest the way it went down?

E.S.G.: I would have to say [DJ] Screw & Big Hawk. Those two, we just wasn’t ready for them to leave. Screw never to got to see the success with his whole movement that we created. From my first album “Swangin’ & Bangin’” to just him seeing the staple of artists who was once just at his house free styling and making tapes become so successful out the region. If you listen to the music like Paul Wall, Slim Thug, Mike Jones and everybody, all the hooks pretty much was screwed anyway. It was still a chopped and screwed movement going on even though Screw wasn’t here to see it. Michael Watts kinda’ kept it going and took it to another level with what he did.

You take Big Hawk for example and he had a heart the size of Texas. He was just always a good cat. I remember inspiring him to go rap; he ain’t even wanna’ rap. He just wanted to do tapes. I told him he went hard and he gotta’ go make songs, singles and albums outta’ it. We used to talk about that. He winded up getting into it but it was a business deal unsolved, it was tragic. With Big Moe it was sad too but he had been in the hospital a lot with complications with his weight and size. It was the same situation as Big Pun is how Big Moe passed away. I would say Screw & Hawk were the most shocking; and of course Pimp C. We wasn’t ready for that. Pretty much all of them was pretty tragic. You look at Pimp C, Hawk & Screw passing, that’s just like an artist from the east coast seeing Biggie pass and an artist from the west coast seeing Pac pass; or even just a fan of hip-hop seeing that. That’s just how big it was for us down here.

WordofSouth.com: Out of all those people, do you have a fondest memory of DJ Screw or anyone else we talked about? Something were you just think of it, sit back and laugh to yourself.

E.S.G.: That’s all the time. Me and my wife, we’ve been married ten years. Back then when we was just boyfriend and girlfriend, Screw made everybody relationship dangerous (laughs). Everybody who had a relationship at the time be on bad terms just because of Screw. Screw was the type of person, he was a vampire. He didn’t wanna’ do any tapes at 1 in the daytime. If you was going to do a Screw tape, you better meet him at his house at mid-night, or maybe 2am after the club. You telling ya’ girl “hey I’m at Screw house” and she like “ya right, you ain’t at Screw house at 5-6 in the morning.” Man, it was so many relationships like that. It was just the love of the music and what we was doing.

WordofSouth.com: Let’s get into more detail about your independent success. Also, do you think young rappers are taking enough advantage of that underground mixtape circuit that Houston lived off for so long?

E.S.G.: See I think it’s over saturated now to the point where when we was doing mixtapes, you can hear somebody did a mixtape and it was something we worked out with them; we gave them exclusives if it was set up the right way, we did our free styles and this and that. Nowadays, I did a show not too long ago with Drake and Lupe Fiasco. Drake showed us so much love, Lupe [Fiasco] of course too. They was like “man, you legend to us; we been jamming your shit” and that caught me off guard. But I was looking at it like damn; these are the people trying to be real artists today and they paying real attention. You look at for example with Drake, there are so many Drake mixtapes out and half of them are not being no official Drake mixtapes. A lot of them are people like bootleggers or not just a real DJ out there doing it the right way. A lot of times it’s just people taking ya’ songs and making they own mixtape outta’ them.

I think it’s getting a little over saturated with the mixtape market because it’s almost like anybody who can’t get distribution is throwing a mixtape out. Of course that’s the way to build up your fans and it can lead off to bigger and better things, but I think there’s too many people jumping into the music game right now just to say they’re in the music game. It may be a d-boy in the hood who got a little money and he spent a bunch of money on himself as a rapper. Of course he may have paid dues or he could just have got his lucky break. Back in the times when we was doing it, it was so much work involved as far as us doing the ground work. Even though I’m on KOCH, I gotta’ get my own artwork done, I gotta’ get my own flyers pressed up, I gotta’ get this done, I gotta’ get my own songs mixed mastered – I have to do all that groundwork.  I gotta’ set up stuff and go to the radio stations and talk to everybody myself.

I look at it like, I‘ve sold almost a million records independent. There are so many of us who has sold a number of records independent and you may take a cat whose in a different region of the United States, he may be in New York and sell 3-4 thousand records independent and Def Jam is gonna’ come knocking your door down. You look at us down here selling 300-400,000 independent, and it takes 4-5 years for a label to take a chance on ya. They probably think a lot of the screwed up music is more regional, not understanding or being aware that of course we could sell to the masses – look at the Chamillionaire’s, UGK’s; the list goes on and on. I think it’s going down this year and I’m trying to be one of the one’s keeping the realest in this.

WordofSouth.com: I got three tracks for you – “Swangin & Bangin”, “Crooked Streets” and “Smoke On.” Did you realize they were gonna’ be such hits?

E.S.G.: Hell no. Not in my mind. My partner who produced “Swangin & Bangin” didn’t even like it. We was like y’all are trippin’. I was like this here? I was just so young at the time; fresh outta’ high school. We were just doing the music for the love of it. We wasn’t worried about money or radio; none of that because we was doing it for the love of it. “Swangin & Bangin” just became a classic. Matter of fact, it was voted #2 songs of all time in Houston hip-hop right behind “Mind Playing Tricks on Me.” That’s a very big look for us. “Crooked Streets” was such a hood song; you heard that all throughout the south no matter where you go. “Smoke On” was retarded; that’s why I did a “Smoke On 2” on the new album and it’s crazy. I’m gonna’ do “Swangin & Bangin 2“for the next album. I gotta’ figure that one so I can bust they head one more time with that.

WordofSouth.com: Just to get back in the album a little bit, name off the guest appearances you got on “Everyday Street Gangsta.”

E.S.G.: Man I got the O.G. homie Bun B. me and Slim Thug hooked back up of course. We got the late great Big Hawk and the late great Big Moe. Chamillionaire, Trae and my eight year old son Killa B. The few other spots is just artists I’m working with like Duane Harris and a new artist of mine, a cat named Young Beast. That’s pretty much it. I’m giving you the real with 17 tracks all back to back. Ain’t nothing to skip.

WordofSouth.com: Who handled production?

E.S.G.: My dog Sean Blaze, he did a lot of stuff for Chamillionaire. Super-duper producer Mike B is on here. He’s pretty much the one behind the Big Mike sound down here in h-town, just a classic h-town sound that he has with a funk feel to it. He has live guitars with his music, a live bass player and all that. I got him on there. I got a new young up and coming producer named Mike…. That’s pretty much my production right there. You won’t be able to tell when you listen to the album, you’ll be able to tell if you know the slang or lingo, I make it where people can relate to it. You can tell I’m representing the south to the fullest. You won’t know where the production team is from; whether it’s New York, down south west coast, Miami or even Canada. The record is very universal.

WordofSouth.com: Are you planning to shoot a video for any track? Any type of first single or anything like that?

E.S.G.: Yeah, the first single is “Gangsta Anthem” and of course we gonna’ shoot a video. We gonna’ try and shoot a video for pretty much as many songs we can. Any songs that don’t go to BET or anything like that, they straight for the YouTube, WorldStarHipHop and outlets like that; of course links with you guys for the MySpace and everything. Of course we’re gonna’ shoot the video. The first single though is “Gangsta Anthem” and it’s pretty much, I’m not hating on the people that’s dancing in the clubs, but I’m saying when I came up with it, what guys do nowadays, we didn’t dance to the point where we was all sweaty like strippers and shit in the club. What we call it down here is body rock and other cats might call it the two step. That’s basically what the song is about. It’s about paying homage to the Pimp C’s, Eazy E’s, Pac’s, BIG’s – the people who tried to keep this real authentic music going. That’s pretty much what the song is about.

WordofSouth.com: What are your overall current thoughts of the state of Houston hip-hop?

E.S.G.: We need a little lifeline. I need to perform a little CPR. Pimp C is gone and Bun B can’t do it by himself. Slim [Thug] is trying; everyone is trying – Chamillionaire, Paul Wall – everybody is trying to keep it going. It needs a little CPR, a little mouth to mouth reciprocation and that’s why I’m here to play that. For those critics and bloggers who might try to stereotype a lot of the southern music, especially our regional music heads, just this screw music, nah it’s not just that. Whether I’m on a track with Weezy, Drake, Wale, it doesn’t matter – I will be able to adapt and represent for my demographic to the fullest. That’s pretty much how I feel. That ain’t saying hip-hop is dead because hip-hop is not dead; it’s just moving around in different areas with a couple of new addresses. She [hip-hop] has a town house in Canada right now but of course she still has a mansion down close to New Orleans and of course she has a ranch out here in Houston. Hip-Hop is not dead, it’s just taking up a couple of new addresses for this ’09 and 2010 and I’m here to hold it down one time.

WordofSouth.com: No doubt right there. I ain’t supposed to be bias or anything but Imma’ keep it real with you. My favorite rapper of all time is from Houston. I wanna’ ask you, who do you think is the greatest rapper of all time that resides in Houston? Not in hip-hop or the south period, but just in Houston.

E.S.G.: I would have to say Scarface. I would probably have to say Face. My “right behinds” would be Bun B, E.S.G. and Z-Ro (laughs).

WordofSouth.com: That’s a respectable list right there.

E.S.G.: (Laughs) that’s my list right there.

WordofSouth.com: If I were to take Houston out of the box and expand that to the whole south, would your list remain the same?

E.S.G.: Yeah, I think it would. Of course I would have to throw Tip [T.I.] in there. Tip is a great artist as far as rap wise. I would definitely have to throw Tip in there. Of course Andre 3000 as well; I definitely couldn’t let him off that list. It depends what kind of music you want. I can have a street list and the top of my street list would of course be E.S.G. and [Young] Jeezy. As far as just hip-hop records, of course I would have to throw Tip in there and a couple of artists like that. That’s pretty much my list. Those are the only three that I would add on with that list I told you earlier.

WordofSouth.com: Ok, no doubt. That’s a beautiful thing right there. “Everyday Street Gangsta” is in stores September 29th. Make sure y’all go cop that because you know it’s gonna’ be that real street shit that E.S.G. has been bringing to you for nearly 20 years. Do you have any last words before I let you go?

E.S.G.: I’ll be glad when I do make it to 20 years (laughs).

WordofSouth.com: That’s why I’m saying damn near 20 years!

E.S.G.: Yeah, I’m just glad when I do make it there. Just give the music a chance and listen to the real. I’ve been doing this since I was 18, fresh outta’ high school. Everything is there. If you wanna’ hear some good music that you could ride and listen to, if you tired of the everyday top 40 radio hits and wanna’ hear some real music sometime, check out my brand new album September 29th mayne’ because it’s going down.

– INTERVIEW BY: Justin Melo