Es ist verdammt ruhig um Juelz Santana geworden, der gerade wieder langsam beginnt, aus der Versenkung aufzutauchen. Vielleicht bekommen wir ja sogar nochmal I cant feel my face zu hören. Mit Gutta Music Presents: Lil Wayne And Juelz Santana - Grade A Cocaine machen Juelz und Weezy grade wieder ganz gut Werbung für ihr verdammtes Mixtape. Nach all dem warten, labern und Teaser-hören, wäre schon ein Album statt nem Tape angebracht.

In diesem Quartal releast alle was rappen kann, gerade bei Def Jam. Alle außer Juelz. Und vielleicht der abgeschobene Über-Rapper Joe Budden. Stattdessen macht The Game gerade den Joe Budden für Amerika, aber das ist ein anderes Thema.

Also: das übertrieben geile Jim Jones Album anmachen und aufm ProllBlog ein aktuelles Interview mit Bandana Santana lesen.

Interview by Joe"JayRich"Robinson

JayRich: Let’s jump right into it; I know you got many things to do. What’s the label situation like and how long do you have left on the deal?

Juelz: “Ummmmm…..It’s pretty much a joint venture. We did a three album deal; so I got two albums left, as far as Def Jam. There was a rumor going around that I got dropped; I don’t know how that got out there because it doesn’t make sense. It was a kinda a stupid rumor.”

JayRich: How can such a rumor get around when you’ve already gone gold with your album?

Juelz: “That’s what I’m saying. I’m an asset to the company…..so you know, they go keep me around.”(little chuckle)

JayRich: Right now, if your last album was out and on the table is a contract for a renewal of your contract with Def Jam, would you sign again?

Juelz: “Ummm….I don’t know man. I think I’ll be big enough to put out my own stuff. I should be able to just do my distributions through the Diplomats. Like I said, right now it’s a 50/50 deal with Def Jam and Diplomats Records. I’m more toward Diplomats anyway; it’s like the deal DTP got; Ya Dig?! But, I don’t know; L.A. Reid is behind me. As long as they don’t try to rush my stuff out to meet quotas, or anything like that, we good. I like to take my time and (the Diplomats) do have the machine to make it work. You can’t just have music ready and put out an album next week; Ya Dig?!”

JayRich: Yeah, Cam’ron and Jay-Z had a mainstream dispute. How is it for you to be in the middle of that?

Juelz: (little excited) “It ain’t really no situation for me like that. I’m a Diplomat; that’s what it is. Cam is my brother, Ya Dig?! That’s love. Jay….I don’t even deal with Jay; never have. It was the same even we had Roc-a-fella imprint on us. We had a Roc stamp and the Diplomats stamp; Ya Dig?! So, if anything, I moved a bit further away from Jay. Now it’s like my joints come out with the Def Jam and Diplomats stamp on there; Ya Dig?! I’m a great business man; Cam a great business man; so it’s not like I stayed at Def Jam not knowing Jay-Z would have the power to stop my album from coming out or whatever. I had in my mind to stay at Def Jam before Jay became president. It was a big shit to everybody…it wasn’t like everybody knew he was about to be the president. I still wanted that machine working for me anyway. I needed that push and I really couldn’t go to a independent and get exposed like I could with (Def Jam). Now, I might be able to do that and do the damn thing.”

JayRich: When it became official, when Jay got the title of president, did you, Jay, and L.A. Reid sit down and talk about your status and how that could affect you?

Juelz: “Yeah, we talked. Me and Cam went to L.A. and we talked about it. Cam was just like, ‘Juelz wants to here and you’re the one that’s hands-on with his project. We’re aware of Jay…’ Jay has to sign off on everything at Def Jam, including my shit. But, Jay has to sign anything that has to do with me. It’s to that point; it’s in my contract. It’s not nothing against him; it’s just in my contract. When I signed, I knew Jay was the president of Def Jam.”

JayRich: Ever since Cam dropped “You Gotta Love It,” where he aired out Jay-Z, have you encountered something different at Def Jam or spoken with Jay at all?

Juelz: (somber voice) “Naw, (Me and Jay-Z) really don’t have any personal conversations or nothing like that. I definitely spoke with him in the past or whatever and he’s been there and felt my music. He would come down to Baseline Studios and I’d be recording and he’ll definitely feel it. You can’t take away what he’s done for the game, but, just because you’re an artist and he’s an artist doesn’t mean your going to be his friend. An artist may be the best artist in the world, but you may not be able to be cool with that artist as a person. He’s the Roc and I’m a Diplomat; I ride for my side.”

JayRich: Both LL Cool J and Method Man had problems with Def Jam and Jay after their albums got put out. Did you have some ill feelings concerning your album and the way it got pushed?

Juelz: “I definitely feel like Def Jam could’ve done more for me. I’m certified platinum, but I feel like I gave them a double or triple platinum album, Ya Dig?! But, I do feel triple platinum coming from New York and I sold the most units from New York in a while. I feel like I did it big though with the South moving the way it is. Def Jam could’ve done more for my project; you see how Ludacris album got pushed and how Jay-Z gets promoted. Like the “Mic Check” video, I paid for that myself. I made the label look stupid. I was doing so much for myself, they had to make moves; Ya Dig?! I know what this is though; it’s business. L.A. Reid didn’t come up with me and he ain’t got that extra feeling for me to go that extra mile. I’m a money maker for the company. I know what’s going to happen if I’m not hot tomorrow. I respect the Game.”

JayRich: The “One Blood” remix, how did that happen?

Juelz: (excited) “Aw man, me and Wayne was in the studio working on our album and the producer came in and wanted to know if Wayne could do his verse. When dude came in he was like, ‘Oh, Juelz; I know Game would want you on the remix.’ I didn’t get on it then because Game didn’t ask me to get on it yet. I didn’t wanna just jump on it. I think the next week he called me and asked me to do a verse on there and I said yeah.”

JayRich: What about 50 and the way he comes after guys who helps people he has a problem with?

Juelz: “I been rocking with Game since he first came out; Ya Dig?!”

JayRich: Did you know it was going to have so many rappers on there?

Juelz: “He told it was go have a lot a niggas on it. I knew it already had five people on it. I knew Lil’ Wayne, Jadakiss, Jim Jones, and me was on the record. I saw what it was turning into. I didn’t know he was going to have 25 rappers on there! I had actually heard the song once; I didn’t get to hear the whole thing. I got to Jadakiss verse and that’s it.”

JayRich: Is a possible video in the works; because that’ll be a long ass video.

Juelz: (laughs) “Long as hell. Who go play it, BET, MTV? He probably gotta do it on the street DVD or something. He make the phone call and I’ll be there.”

JayRich: You brought up the album between you and Wayne; how you approaching that different from the mixtape?

Juelz: “You know the mixtape, we just spit. I respect Wayne when it come to the rap and it’s not a lot of dudes I respect like that. It was like a friendly competition. He would send me something with a crazy verse and I would do the same thing to him knowing he go wanna respond like me. It’s love at the same time. If Wayne sent me a song and I felt like he killed me, I’m not gonna go back….it’s love; Ya Dig?! We was just lapping; like it was no choruses, right? Me and Wayne recording it’s nothing. I do a song and if I hear Wayne on it, I send it to him. He do his part and then we got a song done. I get back to doing what I do for my album and he get back to what he do for his album. We meet up and work on the album. Like the mixtape, we really didn’t meet up, but it sounds like when in the same room. As far as right now; Wayne is my favorite rapper.”

JayRich: What about production?

Juelz: “We both not in to that. We know the people go wanna hear the Scott Storch or whatever, but we not into to that. We got a joint from Scott and the Runners though. Just like I do and he do; we working always. People think that just because I ain’t got a joint on the radio, I ain’t recording. I work all the time because when the time comes and the label wants a album, you may not be in album mode. I want to be able to pick songs. I’m a street nigga and I rap from the heart, so whatever’s in me comes out. I record my life like it’s a journal or diary or something.”

JayRich: The streets been loving Dipset forever…

Juelz: “Yeah, we grind and we put in that work for it. It’s kinda funny cause we street with mainstream appeal; Ya Dig?!”

JayRich: Yeah, everyone in the past who makes the traditional crossover hit has found themselves being questioned or having to fight to win the streets back. Do you feel Dipset would have to that?

Juelz: “I feel like it’s easier for Dipset cause we was looking out for the streets when it wasn’t nobody looking out for the streets; Ya Dig?! It’s just us; like me and Wayne did a mixtape. How crazy is that? We didn’t have to do that. We both got status high enough in the game to bypass the mixtape scene, but we still did it. We could’ve said, ‘Fuck that! We putting all this on the album.’ We didn’t even do no short deal and distribute the mixtape. We just put it out.”

JayRich: What else you got going?

Juelz: “Many things. I got the Hip-Hop Soda Shop I’m trying to put together in Harlem. It’s just getting the location. Warren Sapp is getting one going in Tampa too. We want a set-up like the games for the kids to play and have a DJ there doing his thing too. Like an arcade sit-down with a Hip-Hop feel to it. We got these screens through the people that make plasma TV’s; they got this new thing where it’s a split screen on one TV. You can do two things at once. You can have the computer going on the left and have your cable/satellite on the right. How crazy is that. It comes with a Playstation 3, XBox 360, all that. It’s go be kinda expensive, like $5,000. It’s go upgrade the entertainment game.”

JayRich: I’m done with the interview; you got anything you wanna say?

Juelz: “Expect the world from Santana; Ya Dig?!”