CONCRETE Magazine - Memphis Edition #12 by CONCRETE Magazine

10-12 ....................... Mo Betta 14-15 .................... Devin Steel 20 .......................... P P. London 22 ................................ DJ Q 24-26 ................. Memphis 10’s 28 ............ Free Game: Kim Ellis We normally put the shine on others, but for this moment we’re going to big-up ourselves. Actually the Southern Entertainment Awards, that were in Memphis on March 7, did it for us – they awarded CONCRETE Magazine the 2010 “Impact Magazine of the Year”, and our editor Cory Sparks, the multi-layered hustler, received “Record Promoter of the Year.” It’s always nice when your hard work is recognized. Thanks for the support. Editor: Corporate Cory Sparks Assistant Editor: Amariah Tyler Online Editor: Daria Greene Sales Manager: Ricardo Manager Distribution: Connell Boyland Art Director: Rex2 Cover Photo: Donna Permell - Prime Phocus Publishing Consultant: Bryan Deese

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Waka clearly stated, “That’s just not my thing, I do it for fun and for Method Man to say that was shocking.” Waka went on to say he was a huge fan from a young age. But that obviously isn’t stopping him. Googling Waka will bring up his music videos, his connection with Gucci Mane and of course, his shooting. Not one to brush it off, He says it has made him a mental monster and sharper on his surroundings. His rap career was on standby for a couple of months due to recovery, but throughout that time Diddy, Rick Ross and various others have jumped on the remix hit song, “O Let’s Do It.” He says, “I love it, I didn’t expect the feedback.” Twitter has also helped get him keep updated with what’s going on, using it as an outlet while he was hospitalized. When asked, “What’s the craziest tweet you’ve received, he replies, “It’s too inappropriate,” and laughs. He also says he can’t go a day without French fries. No album in the works as of now, but fans can expect plenty of upcoming collaborations on upcoming mix tapes. Waka Flocka Flame: one hit wonder or consistent hit maker? Only time will tell. -Tatiana R.

“I f*cked my money up, now I can’t re-up”.... This first line has reached millions from heavy club go-ers to six year old birthday parties. Rapper Waka Flocka Flame, nickname mixed with what friend Gucci Mane gave him is on your radios, television screens, and heavy on the internet regardless if you like him or not. From his point of view he can careless but he says, “I love the love from the fans.” One can say his has a mixture of the best of both worlds. Born in Queens, NY and then moved to Riverdale, GA, his influences are a combination of both areas. Starting from behind the scenes filling in the blank spots of the label, he didn’t think about rapping too much until Gucci Mane suggested he give it a try. When asked to describe Waka Flocka he says, “A rock band mixed with Wu-Tang and Onyx and of course me.” Speaking of Wu-Tang, he recently stated he couldn’t rap and wasn’t into lyrics and only doing it for money. This caused tremendous reactions including Wu-Tang member Method Man. Method Man said he had a right to his own opinion but in short his career wouldn’t last long with that mindset.

CONCRETE: Let’s talk Memphis music. How was the Memphis music scene, particularly rap, when you ﬁrst got here from Houston? MO BETTER: It was very one dimensional. Everybody was super thuggin’. Everybody was hardcore. It was about dope, cars and everything that these artists didn’t actually have. I think it was a major difference back then because they were trying to capitalize on their own sound. Three 6 had the blueprint. Tela had success along with 8Ball & MJG. I think Memphis pretty much got labeled that they could only do hardcore gangsta type of music which I think is still the problem today. A lot of major labels don’t take this market seriously. When people think of Memphis music you think of Three 6, 8Ball & MJG or Tela. If you look at the music that they were so successful with when it all popped off, it was hardcore. Mainly about women, strip clubs, dope and cracking you in the head. That’s what it was. CONCRETE: Why do you think it takes so long for an artist to get recognized from here? MO BETTER: Look at how long Yo Gotti’s been doing this sh*t until ﬁnally now starting to break out and getting recognized. He was signed to TVT but they didn’t understand how to work him. They tried to work him like they did everybody else from the south but Gotti was so different from Lil’ Jon and Ying Yang Twinz. That sh*t was not going to work at all. Gotti should’ve been out before Jeezy and all of them f*ckers. Everything is timing. I don’t know if there’s an artist out here, this day in age that has the time to invest in how long it took Gotti to get there. You can’t get it overnight in this game. Al Kapone is smart. I really like Al because he’s not really concerned with being an artist. He does it continued on pg 12

because he enjoys it and likes to perform, but he’s a writer. He’s ghostwriting for a bunch of damn rappers. He did “Snap Your Fingers” and he’s had a bunch of stuff. He’s on the NBA 2K10. This is a man who has no f*cking label! No f*cking label and he’s on a damn video game! The royalty rate has to be insane that he’s getting. Hustle & Flow – all up in it. He’s had stuff in Stomp The Yard and everything with no f*cking label. There are a few people who are starting to understand that they’ll make more money as a writer. Who cares if people know that you’ve written them or not as long as the checks are coming? But that’s the problem. People can’t separate being successful because they want that fame. CONCRETE: There seems to be a lot of local artists from back in the day and new age who are stepping up now. MO BETTER: I like what Three 6 is doing now. I like the fact that they ﬁnally took some time to put out solo projects again because now I’m like, Wow! They’ve had all of this stuff in them and they did what they had to do to make their labels happy by doing some of these crossover joints. Their street stuff now is so far ahead of what they were before. You listen to “Highway” and everything that they’re doing you’re like “Damn, these are catchy records.” I don’t know if they’re getting re-inspired. I’m glad they’re back home more. You know when you get to California you get lazy seeing spring rolls and sh*t. Sometimes you have to come home, have some Jack Pirtle’s and get real. 8Ball and them, they coming back and look at their sh*t now. Their music is much tighter. Everybody’s coming back

and getting re-inspired, go home and see family and I think that’s what’s going to work. I really think it’s going to pop. CONCRETE: Overall, what do you think the future is for Memphis music? MO BETTER: All in all, I think the future for Memphis music is a positive one. I think Gotti and this “Women Lie, Men Lie” shows that somebody from deep sticks of f*cking Tennessee can actually do a song that you could actually here East Coast cats on. I think a lot of people thought that was a stretch for Gotti. I saw it right off the bat. I said, this is the most brilliant f*cking record that this guy could’ve done. I like it better than “5 Star Chick.” I think it opens it up to show that he’s very versatile and I respect him a lot. The fact that he got Wayne on, I think taps into his base. So I’m hoping that people will really start to open up and accept the city. Juicy J was on Twitter and made a promise for 2010 to put Memphis on and I’m like, ‘F*ck you late! That’s what I’m trying to do!’ [Laughs] I got to call him and say, we got to do it together because we’re playing more local guys than anybody here. Playa Fly is another one that I think should’ve f*cking been had a f*cking deal. It’s so many folks, like Kinfolk Thugs. When you look at the talent here, it’s killing me.

CONCRETE: How long ago was it that you were at Hot 107? DEVIN STEEL: It’s been almost ten years. I graduated from college and was actually the ﬁrst DJ hired right out of college. So, it was a real blessing to have a job in my ﬁeld right out of college. CONCRETE: So when you got there, they were just starting right? DEVIN STEEL: There were no t-shirts. There were no banners. No nothing. It was just a room. [Laughs] There were no DJs’ on the radio station. There was just music going on and we, myself and RJ Groove, would just show up somewhere in a parking lot and say. “Hey, we’re here!” And people would show up and we would

give away t-shirts. It was the summer of ’97. Actually, April of ’97. Radio had been kind of just hanging out. There was nothing fresh and nothing new about it. To come on and have a staff of a bunch of guys and girls who were street savvy that wanted jobs and understood the lifestyle. That was a big deal. CONCRETE: How would you describe the impact that happened when HOT 107 came? DEVIN STEEL: The difference was that we took a new school approach to the guerilla marketing. We would go to schools. Most of the people that were involved were already established in nightclubs. Even back then, I was doing three nights a week at three different clubs. It was an intangible partnership between those personalities and the radio station which had never really been done in the market. They had been doing it with Hot 97 in New York and all these bigger radio stations in other markets. It’s like the radio station endorses the DJ and the DJ endorses the radio station. That’s cool. So, it gave the average person something that they could embrace that and not just hear a monologue conversation on the radio. Like I said, one of the biggest attractions was that the people who were hired also lived the lifestyle. It wasn’t just somebody on the radio that you heard talking that may have been on the radio

a long time that you couldn’t connect with. So that probably had the most impact. CONCRETE: Why did you switch over to K97? DEVIN STEEL: I left HOT 107 in 2001 for a career opportunity. It was like going to play for the Lakers. Who wouldn’t want to go and surround myself with people who’ve built careers in radio? The thing is, we’ve really grown into what we think what Memphis wants which is the only Hip Hop and R&B station in Memphis. We’re not going to give you four or ﬁve unfamiliar songs that you don’t know. We’re going to play the Hip Hop and R&B artists that you love and have star power. That’s what it is. You’re talking about also the span of thirteen or fourteen years when so much has changed in the marketplace and the city. It’s a lot of different working mechanisms and working parts that make things the way they are now that have happened behind the scenes. CONCRETE: Of course, both of the stations are somewhat rivals, but how was it back then? DEVIN STEEL: Honestly, I don’t look at it as a competition. I don’t look at what’s going on down the street. My competition is people’s time. I want to give people a reason to listen to K97 more than satellite, or their iPod, or whatever else they have going on in their car. That’s what I’m competing with. The whole paradigm has shifted. Then, it was almost like a power struggle because we don’t really have a big group of industry people here in Memphis. You’ve got on-air personalities, DJs, and a small group of people who all have to deal with each other regardless. Then, it was a

big power struggle because people like myself and people like Howard Q, who I brought into the picture at 107, it was an opportunity for us to use the radio to empower what we had going on and to have them embrace us. Not, this person is a personality on the radio and the radio station is going to send them wherever they want to send and control them. So that was the biggest difference. It was more of a power struggle and also a struggle for advertising dollars. Here’s the new kid who’s younger, cooler, and dresses better against their uncle who used to be cool. But that was then back in the late nineties. CONCRETE: What do you think is the biggest difference now? DEVIN STEEL: The biggest difference now, number one, is the music. It’s a direct correlation of people not buying music. You look at how quickly people get music and where they get music from. We used to get vinyl everyday at the radio station and break our necks running to check the mail to see who was going to get the new Busta Rhymes or DMX record. Or the new Jay-Z 12 inch. Now what we play on the radio isn’t even new. You heard it two weeks ago or six weeks ago sometimes. Like I said, I don’t care what any other radio station is doing. I’m competing for your time.

CONCRETE: You’re creating a buzz with your song “Maybelline” and “Counterfeit”. How did you get your start as a rapper? P. LONDON: I used to always be on Facebook and writing statuses, rhyming and stuff. Me and [Lil’] Cam went to high school together so I already knew him and one day he was like “Bring your ass to the studio.” [Laughs] So, I went to the studio and I did a verse on “Wetter” by Twista, a remix and ever since then I’ve just been at it. I’ve been with Special Entertainment almost a year now. CONCRETE: Who would you say are your biggest inﬂuences? P. LONDON: Trina and Mia X because they’re gangsta rap. I’m not with all that “Barbie girly-girl” stuff. I’m gutta! CONCRETE: Who do you like as far as male rappers? I see you have on a Tupac shirt. P. LONDON: Tupac is number one. I love Tupac and he’s a Gemini like me. Now, the number two would be Lil’ Wayne and then Gucci Mane. CONCRETE: What are some of the favorite songs you’ve done? P. LONDON: My favorite songs are “Counterfeit” and “Ima Do You” which hasn’t come out yet. “Counterfeit” is my favorite right now but the people like “5 Star Trick”, “Maybelline”, and “Sh*tty Booty.” [Laughs] CONCRETE: What type of guys are you attracted to? P. LONDON: I like tall guys with a good personality and something going for themselves. I can’t stand a worrisome n*gga because I’m something like a dude. Not saying that I like girls or nothing because I love men. I love men, but I like my space. I’ve been single so long and my ex-boyfriend messed it up for everybody. But if you’re tall and dark, you’re probably in. [Laughs] Talk, dark and lovely. I also like Sagittarius’. CONCRETE: What are some things women can do to please their men? P. LONDON: Quit worrying about another female. You can’t worry about the next female. You got to worry about yourself. The more you worry about another female; you’re going to run his ass off. Regardless of what he’s doing for her or what he’s doing for you, as long as he’s taking care of you, why worry about the next b*tch? CONCRETE: Any last words for our readers? Any shout outs? P. LONDON: We got mixtapes on deck and all of them are free. Also, if you got beef and you start some beef, don’t get mad when I ﬁre back at you. I don’t get mad, I get even. It’s all competition. Special Entertainment H*e!

CONCRETE: Start off by telling us how you broke into the DJing? DJ Q: To be honest I wanted to be a star football player in the NFL. I was actually good but when I was in 10th grade I saw an ad about being a high school reporter on the Hot 107 website. I filled it out to see if I could win and I did. When I got there, they were showing us around and I was hooked in a sense. Then I really got into when I was 19 and hooked up with DJ Killa Cam, World Wide Kenny Kaign, and my big homie B-ware. They took me under their wings and gave me my first gig, records and even equipment to use. After that I hooked up with my big bro Freddy Hydro and he opened the door to people like Memphitz, TK, Ripp Squad, Jay at Unity/Club Vision and DJ Lil One. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be at Hot 107. CONCRETE: What are the perks to being a dj? What are the negatives? DJ Q: The perks of being a DJ is seeing people having a good time. The negative’s to me is not being able to really go out with your girl or family without rappers putting a CD in your face. Or they get mad cause u didn’t listen to their music right then on the spot. CONCRETE: Has the recession affected you in any way as far as DJing? DJ Q: The recession hasn’t had an effect on me. Hydro always told me to never waste a minute and always think of hustle. Even if you make $5 that day, you made something. CONCRETE: What are you interested in business-wise outside of DJing? DJ Q: Right now I’m going back to school to finish up and get my degree in Marketing and Promotions. I would really like to get into that or even become an A&R for a label. CONCRETE: Are there any local DJs you look up to? DJ Q: My big bro Freddy Hydro who showed me the real meaning of being a grinder. Devin Steel and Boogaloo because they set the bar. Jus Borne: what can I say, just a legend! But I really look up to all djs: Spyderman, Superman, Kutta, Stan Bell, Spanish Fly, Tim Bachus, Styles, DJ 007 and of course Howard Q. My generation of djs: DJ Rock Steddy, DJ D-Nyce, DJ Cherry, DJ Lighta, DJ Whezzy in Nashville and just all DJ’s that really DJ and don’t just play music. CONCRETE: Any shout outs? DJ Q: I want to shout out Hunter Promotions, Concrete Mag, Club Vision Jay, Mo Better my program director, and DJ Hustle at Lane College and all my people that support me. Everyone come check me out at Vision Fri/Sat/Sun and on Hot 107 from 7pm to 1045 every weekend. Also hit me on twitter @djqmemphis and facebook.com /djq.

Since the introduction of MySpace, Facebook and now Twitter, the net has allowed for many up and coming artists, promoters, publicists, managers, etc. to gain access to professionals who work within the entertainment industry. Although this access has allowed for some to flourish in new business ventures, in my personal experience they have been few and extremely far between. Why do you ask? Despite the fact that what you hear at music conferences or through other sources that the most important thing you should do is network with others to build relationships, what is happening is the relationships aren’t being built. But rather they are almost being demanded in an intrusive way which turns off the person being pursued. I’m finding that many are reaching out too prematurely to established entrepreneurs who are respected in their field. I never really understood the phrase “Time Is Money” until I began to realize that I was allowing the majority of mine to be wasted. Don’t get me wrong, I love to network, make new connections and venture off in mutually rewarding business dealings. However it seems that our “young grasshoppers” are jumping a little too quickly. This business costs money no matter what position you hold. For example: a publicist has different media programs that cost money to pitch your story to for possible placement; a graphics guy spends hours of his day creating an image that represents you and tells your story; a consultant who has taken their journey over the years has built relationships that can’t be wavered; you get the picture. When you pick up the phone or draft that email to contact a professional who you have heard their name numerous times, read about them or seen them on a panel, understand that they are a professional and their time is money. The moral of this story is: have patience or be prepared to cut a check before you make that initial contact because there is nothing worse than wasting someone’s valuable time and you would NOT want that to be your first impression.