Did you always dream of being
a hip hop star?
When you're a kid you dream of being lots of things, from fireman to movie star
to hip hop star. I know I definitely want'ed to do something that would attract
attention!
But was hip hop something you did when
you were little?
It's like a way of life. You try to write rap when you're younger, y' know. Ii
was writing rhymes, just playing around. I think that's where it started.
You were chucked out of four schools
when you were a kid. Was getting in trouble part of the whole scene?
Yeah, yeah, I was definitely gettin' in trouble. My hood was real wild, we had
gang activity all were my whole block.
How did you get away from it?
Well, I was dead smack in it for a minute, y'know? And that's what took me away
from the whole base ball project (Nelly could have been a pro baller), being
around that kinda environment. So after getting in trouble a few times, I needed
to do something, and rap was there for me.
You put St. Louise on the music map,
like Eminem did with Detroit. Two young rappers with similar backgrounds - how
come your styles are so different?
In the end it's your life, and it's how you choose to live and how you speak in
your music, and I think Eminem's chosen to use his music as rebellion - and he
makes it hot! I just choose to use mine for celebration, but that doesn't mean
I'm dissin' anyone else's style.
You've been in trouble before, but,
unlike Em', you've moved on...
Yeah, but it's still there. I might reflect on it every now and then and do a
song or something, and it's definitely something I'm not afraid of telling
people about... y' know what I'm saying? Rap got me out of all that, but I will
let you know about it.
Em's got D12, you've got your hip hop
homies the St. Lunatics...
We're all old friend and it keeps my feet on the ground. So if I am getting big
headed, they're getting' big headed, hahaha! We got the first St. Lunatics album
coming out, and it's a group album, but every one does individual albums as
well. Murphy Lee is different from Nelly, Big Lee is different from Murphy,
Kyjuan is definitely off the rack!
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