CONCRETE Magazine, Memphis Edition #14 by CONCRETE Magazine

8-10 .................... Travis Porter 12-14 ................... Frayser Boy 18 ..............Do It Yourself: Bone 20 ............. Do It Yourself: Mack 22 ................. DJ Charlie White 24-26 ................. Memphis 10s 28 ....... Mind Right, Money Right This issue is dedicated to the hustlers. The artists, video directors, promotions and marketing guys, club promoters that believe in taking action and DOING IT THEMSELVES. The ones that will tighten up their belt before they beg for help. This if for you. Lets stay working. If you need me, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be in the street. -C. Sparks Editor: Cory Sparks Assistant Editor: Amariah Tyler Online Editor: Daria Greene Sales Manager: Ricardo Hunter Distribution: Connell Boyland Art Director: Rex2 Publishing Consultant: Bryan Deese

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CONCRETE: The group is Travis Porter. (all three scream Traviiieeeee!!!) What are your names and ages? Travis Porter: I am Quezzy and I’m 19. I am Strap and I’m 19. I am Ali but I’m 20! CONCRETE: Why do you want to record and release music? Do you have any inﬂuences? Quezzy: Mainly because we have a lot of inﬂuences through music. Our granddad played the trumpet, and I play a lot of instruments. What about you Strap? Strap: I look up to T.I., The Hot Boyz, and I always loved music. Why not put my passion to use? I started making songs for the girls, and I’m still doing it.

Ali: Well my influence was my old neighborhood. There were guys who did music and they had all the girls. I was like “AYE” that’s cool! That’s when the thing started jumping off. I look up to T.I., Lil Wayne, Andre 3000. Just pioneers who were doing it while we grew up. CONCRETE: What image does your music convey? Strap: That we love to have fun, differential music! We don’t rap about fighting, drugs, or anything like that because we don’t do that. We rap about life and that you can do anything you put your mind to. Our music gives confidence. And it’s for the ladies! continued on pg 10

CONCRETE: What are your immediate career goals? Quezzy: Right now we want to focus on getting on BET. Man, BET doesn’t keep it G like MTV. MTV really gives independent artists a chance to shine. Like a platform to step on. BET only wants you if you’re on. We want awards. We’re nominated for MTV Jams for “Best New Group” and we’re excited about that. Strap: I just want to record music and please our fans. CONCRETE: What are your long-term career goals? Ali: We want Travis Porter to be a household name. We want national and hopefully global recognition for our music. (All three scream Traviiiieeeee!) CONCRETE: You all are independent artists. Do you have any aspirations to be signed to a major label? Why or Why not? Quezzy: We want to be signed, but you can’t rush anything. Being independent is not a bad thing. It’s actually more comfortable. We call our shots.

No one controls what we do right now but us. When you’re signed you can sometimes lose that. I want to be signed but I’m not rushing it. CONCRETE: How do you all stay motivated? Ali: We motivate our team everyday, and they motivate us. We gotta stay focused. Our fans motivate us also. When you receive love like that, you can’t help but to want to be better and keep on pushing. CONCRETE: What’s the biggest misconception about your group? Quezzy: We don’t have any. We’re pretty transparent for our fans. Anything they want to know we tell them. CONCRETE: How do you respond to questions involving Roscoe Dash? How do you deal with people thinking that you guys are the same person? Ali: We don’t really have to deal with that. We don’t address it. We just ignore it. CONCRETE: Is there anyone that you would like to acknowledge for their support? Strap: Our fans ﬁrst! Without them there would be no (screams) Travvviiiieeee! Our whole team! Too many to name but we are grateful for them all. Our Dj, DJ Technik. Drake. Weezy. Lil Boosie. Just everyone we’ve shaken hands with! Thanks! CONCRETE: Any last words? All Three: Travvvviiiieeeee!!!!

CONCRETE: You’re first studio album, Gone On That Bay Bay, came out in the early 2000s. How did you get your start in rapping? Frayser Boy: Just working with DJ Paul and Juicy J, on the road promoting. They tried me on the mic one day and they digged my voice and I’ve just been at it ever since. I’ve been at it ten years so it’s been a minute, but I’m still here. CONCRETE: Your last studio album actually came out in 2008. Frayser Boy: Aw yeah. My last studio album, Da Key Key, was with Hypnotize Mindz. I’m letting everyone know that I’m no longer with Hypnotize Mindz. I’m with a new label, Money By Da Pound. I have my own label now Bar Muzik. My first artists are the Dolla Boyz. That’s what I’ve been working on right now. CONCRETE: Are you working on an album now also? Frayser Boy: Like I said, I’m with a new label now, Money By Da Pound, so I’m working on my first studio album with them. It’s going to be called, Truth Be Told Told. It’ll probably be coming at the end of the year or the top of next year. CONCRETE: Do you have a new mixtape out? Frayser Boy: Actually two, The Streets Need Me: Volume 3 with DJ Rock Steddy, Muzikfene.com and Cartune Netwerk Netwerk. I also just dropped a DJ Scream & Frayser Boy mixtape called Still Breathing and it’s in the streets right now. CONCRETE: People felt an array of emotions after the Memphis snub at the recent VH1 Hip Hop Honors Awards. As an Academy Award winner, what are your thoughts on it? Frayser Boy: I really took it somewhat as some disrespect because when I wrote that song, I wrote it to what John Singleton was telling me to write it to, which was the actual movie before anyone had seen it. So I just took my Memphis street knowledge and his knowledge of the movie and put it together and I think it came from the heart. So, you know, it is what it is. continued on pg 14

CONCRETE: When you found out they weren’t honoring Memphis, did you even watch the awards? Frayser Boy: I watched it. I really feel why they don’t honor Memphis is because it’s always beef here. It’s never positive. Don’t nobody want to see nobody have nothing. I just think we need to get more on point with each other in our own city. That’s why I really think we really can’t get anywhere. Everybody just needs to wake up. It’s not all about talking about this person or this and that person. We all making music. Just do what you do and you’ll stand out anyway. CONCRETE: Was the reason for you leaving Hypnotize Mindz due to some beef or a business move? Frayser Boy: Yeah, it was a just a business move. I felt at that point in my career that I just wanted to jump out on my own limb and just try to do my own thing and just do me. Ain’t no love lost. It’s all good. It was just time for me to grow and do my thing. CONCRETE: What was that moment like for you? Did you expect to win? Frayser Boy: I did. When nobody else didn’t, I did. Like I said, I wrote the song exactly to what the movie is about. So it was just a focal point of the movie. That’s why I think it was nominated and that’s why I think it won. I didn’t doubt it. I really didn’t. CONCRETE: Did you have a speech prepared? Frayser Boy: No, not really. I was unprepared. I felt the whole world shook when Queen Latifah announced that we won. I felt it. CONCRETE: Anything else you’re working on that we should be on the lookout for? Frayser Boy: I’m working on a lot of stuff. I’m writing a book right now called The Life of an Oscar Winner Winner. I’m just putting a lot of things in my hands right now. I’m trying to be an all-star player – not just musically. Just trying to keep it moving and keep my name out there.

CONCRETE: Where do you see yourself in ﬁve years? Frayser Boy: Hopefully behind a desk helping other artists. Just being that person behind the scene putting out artists. I don’t want to do this all my life. I don’t want to be this 50-year old rapper still trying to do this. I want to put out younger people that probably can speak through my eyes. CONCRETE: Anything else you want to tell our readers? Frayser Boy: Just be on the lookout for the new album. I’m on Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. As far as Money By Da Pound, be on the lookout for the Dolla Boyz, Dirty Mike, and Da Yungin$.

CONCRETE: How did you get your stage name? Bone: My name is Bone. B-O-N-E. When I was 12-years-old my football coach nicknamed me Hambone because my last name is Hamilton. That’s the reason he uses it and you know people always cut nicknames in half or try to shorten them. So they call me Bone, and I’ve been Bone since I was 13 years old. CONCRETE: Who inﬂuences you? And why did you choose rap music? Bone: Eminem, UGK, Devin the Dude, Mike Jones and Paul Wall. I feel like I am one big collage of a lot of the rappers I enjoy listening to. I don’t really feel that I have a particular kind of rap or music. I just like to make quality music. Club music you can dance to. Party music you can groove to. I just make music you can vibe to. CONCRETE: If you could collaborate with any artist who would it be? And why? Bone: Eminem, Pimp C, it’s just so many. OMG! (pauses and thinks) Musiq Soulchild. I’m a huge Musiq Soulchild fan. I’ve loved him since “IJUSTWANNASING”. That would be a great collab! It’s just so many that I’d have to make a list. Eminem would be a dream. DJ Premier because he’s alumni at Texas A&M which is the same school I attend. CONCRETE: What music are you listening to right now? Bone: I’m actually listening to UGK – Dirty Money right now! It’s in my car. CONCRETE: Where have you performed and what are your favorite venues? Bone: I can honestly say that the place that was the craziest and showed me the best time was Topeka, Kansas. It was the funniest spot I’ve ever performed! I just opened up for Lil Jon in Hollywood. That was great. I was in L.A. and did a show in Palm Springs and at the Def Jam Party during the BET Awards. I have one of the best booking agents ever! I’ve been to Memphis like 10 times. I’m performing at the Summer Jam too! I love Memphis and I have family here. CONCRETE: So “Homegurl” was a rapid hit. How do you address being called a one-hit wonder? Bone: I think it’s great actually! You know how hard it is to get a hit? A song that people actually like and enjoy listening to? I’ve been rapping since I was a little boy. Making a hit it’s like one of the hardest things to do in the world. To have one...I’m glad! I’m glad to be called a one-hit wonder. There are some no-hit wonders out there. CONCRETE: Anyone you would like to acknowledge for offering support? Bone: I would like to thank God, my supportive family, my production team Red Prodigy. It’s so much that people have done for me. It’s actually too many and I don’t want to forget anyone. So I just want to thank everybody! CONCRETE: Do you have any advice for upcoming artists? Bone: Stay passionate and dedicated to your music. You can never go wrong with that. Make sure you educate yourself on this business. Please stay on top of that. Everyone wants to make it. But you should make yourself aware of what comes after that.

CONCRETE: You’re the CEO of Macktown Records. Tell me about your brand and what you do. Mack Town: What I do is develop, produce, brand and make hot acts and hot music. So that’s pretty much branding Macktown from an executive standpoint even though I produce, write and arrange – all that. But my thing is more on the executivebusiness side. CONCRETE: How long have you been in the music business? Mack Town: I’ve been in the business since ’94. I graduated from college in ’94 at Texas Southern as a business major and got into the business of music. If I had to do it all over again I probably would have done Finance because I did management and that was kind of in me already. CONCRETE: What are some pros and cons of running your own indie label? Mack Town: One of the cons is that the money doesn’t jump back quick enough or quick as we would like.

But if you believe in what you do, eventually – with perseverance – it’ll pay off and you’ll see the fruits of your labor. You have to nurture, take care of and rear a baby. With an independent company it’s the same thing. You get the whole gratification or rewards of building something from scratch. Even myself, even though I have a situation where there’s a major distribution now in place, the whole internal operation is independent. I’m not at the mercy of a major release date. Things like that, especially with this first project, I can release when I want to release it. With the right independent situation and the right buzz, you also get to keep more of the money. CONCRETE: Who all are you working with now? Mack Town: Right now I’m working with Reggie Bean, another young artist J. Redd and Lil ZPG. I’m actually in the phase where I’m signing acts right now so I can’t say any specific names. But I do have something right now that a lot of people are excited about. You can definitely expect more releases. One of the things I’m more committed to is putting more product out on the streets such as series of mixtapes from Reggie Bean and J. Redd. I’m also doing management now. I can go on record and say, that it’s official that a production team out of Atlanta called the Phenom (producers of Young Money’s “Roger That”), we’re bringing them in as in-house production now. When I spoke of that in-house production earlier, that’s one of the production companies that I’m talking about and I’m co-managing. CONCRETE: What is your advice for anyone that wants to get into the music business? Mack Town: Get in where you fit in, no doubt. You got to get in the lane of this music and entertainment. You got to weed out all the bullsh*t. You got to figure out who it is or what entities that you need. Build the right alliances because you can’t do it yourself. You have to build alliances with the right people, other organizations, teams and companies. Music people hang with music people. Lawyers hang with lawyers. Doctors hang with doctors. I don’t think you can be successful and on the come up, especially as a starving artist professing and wanting to do music, but everyone you hang around every day is in law or another profession. You have to be with your kind. Get with the people who are already in the business. Beyond that read and learn about the business. Get you some Music Education 101 first.

CONCRETE: First, tell me how you got started. DJ CHARLIE WHITE: When I first started, I was in Virginia. I grew up in Charleston, Virginia. Basically, I was about 12 years old and started buying...Well first I started saving up for turntables because I always wanted to be a DJ. CONCRETE: How did you get out here? DJ CHARLIE WHITE: I got a music scholarship to go to the University of Memphis, for Music-Recording Technology. CONCRETE: Ok cool. DJ CHARLIE WHITE: Basically I saved up by mowing lawns and bagging groceries throughout high school to buy equipment. The first pair of turntables I got were the worst turntables that you could get, but I still saved up and got them. Then I started buying records. I was doing college parties at like 14 or 15 so this was the early 2000s. I moved out here when I was 18 and got up with Hunter Promotions, Setting the Pace and DJ Rock Steddy. I met him through the University of Memphis. He and DJ Chev brought me to all the events. Shout out to them for taking me to meet people. That’s how I got involved with the scene here by doing college parties from the University of Virginia to The University of Memphis. CONCRETE: Let us know what all you’re doing right now. DJ CHARLIE WHITE: As far as the college parties, I work for Red Bull so they book me for the University parties – University of Arkansas, Arkansas State, University of Memphis, Christian Brothers – all the various markets around the mid-south I do. Just touring and traveling around. For artists, that’s really what I have become – a tour DJ. I think that’s what most DJs need to get under their belt is traveling and getting out to other markets and putting their efforts into another artist as compared to being the celebrity themselves. Putting your work in and investing in somebody you believe in that can control a crowd too. The main three that I work with out of Memphis is Free Sol, Skewby and Al Kapone. I also just released my mixtape entitled, No Days Off available online. CONCRETE: Now I know that it’s early in your career but what’s your claim to fame, if there is one? DJ CHARLIE WHITE: I guess it would be Skewby’s Proving You Wrong Since ’88 – the critically acclaimed mixtape that got featured in TThe Source. That’s probably my proudest accomplishment right now. It’s something that I worked really hard on and to see it take off in less than a year, that’s one of my dopest memories this year.

The late Notorious B.I.G. once said “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems”. However most of us we wouldn’t mind having more money no matter what problems come with it! Some of us can’t even grasp this concept because in our mind we think the opposite; that money can solve anything! We need to realize that money has never been and never will be the solution. Caution to those who want more money and are not mentally ready for the responsibility that comes with it! This is the exact reason why you see millionaires go bankrupt and lottery winners losing it all within years! The more money you have, the greater the probability of you creating a financial disaster if you are not properly trained to maintain your finances. People who make more money and have no financial discipline are more prone to loosing it all because they have more at stake. They make more money, buy bigger houses, expensive cars, create more expenses and now need to be able to sustain that lifestyle. The answer to all of this is: Budget your expenses! Whether you have a lot of money, a little money or no money at all, learning how to budget your expenses will alleviate ever having to worry about how you are going to maintain the necessities. Budgeting your expenses is about creating a road map for your life. It’s about planning and strategizing and knowing how you are going to get to your financial destination. It’s about not relying on chance, hope or fate to guide you through your finances. Those who fail to plan, plan to fail, so you must create a budget that you can adhere to and follow religiously. Your budget must be listed first in the order of necessity, then want. After you complete your budget, if you notice that you are paying out more money than you actually receive, you must begin to remove some of the things on your list beginning with the want column. Your budget also must include money for savings Ash’Cash is a Business Consultant, and for entertainment. Savings and Entertainment Motivational Speaker, Financial Expert are vital components of a budget that will help you and the author of Mind Right, Money keep your sanity! Work Hard! Play Hard! But do it Right: 10 Laws of Financial Freedom. within reason. For more information visit: Visit: http://www.ashcashmgmt.com/budget.xls www.IamAshCash.com for a free budget sheet to get you started.