BustaBusta
New member
http://www.sixshot.com/articles/8148/
In the over crowded world of Hip-Hop, one of the toughest things to do, is to stand out.
In recent years, it just seems like everybody is doing the same thing, instead of trying to lead the pack. One way an MC [might] stand out, is if they have a unique moniker to go by.
Something that’s really recognizable and so descriptive, that when it’s heard; there’s no mistaking who it is. Now some artists use colorful names, and some choose to use nicknames given to them as children.
But a good way to grab the people’s attention is to adopt the name of a notorious villain. Just look at the duo of; CNN (Capone -N- Noreaga), not mention the stint when Nas was known as Escobar, and even Daz Dillinger derives his name from the 1930’s outlaw, John Dillinger. But what about Frank Lucas? Unfamiliar with his story? Well let’s try to fill in as many blanks as possible.
In the early 70’s Frank Lucas was a heroin distributor in Harlem; who brought in sales of over $2,000,000.00 a day by handling it all himself. He shipped the heroin in the coffins of deceased servicemen being brought back to America from the Vietnam War.
Two time Oscar winner Denzel Washington is portraying his life in the movie; American Gangster. But who has enough credibility to take on his name as their rap persona? Maybe that’s a question you should ask his son, Frank Lucas Jr.
The second generation Lucas is also making headlines of his own these days, but in a positive manner. All though both Lucas’ share the same drive for success, their particular choice of product is far different.
This son of a hustler, can actually bring you real-life descriptions of what “so-called” gangster rappers only get influenced by on the silver screen . And after the movie on his father is released, there’s sure to be other rappers coming out of the wood-works with their over the top fabricated tales of dug lore.
Hip-Hop has always been a bragging game, and most people would think Frank Jr. would use his name to his advantage. But he chooses not to glorify the foundation that his father laid out for him. As he gets ready to pitch his brand of 16’s to the world, the younger Frank sets the record straight about his father, keeping [their] legacy alive, and the true meaning of the word; “gangster.”
So how did you first get involved with music?
I just had a natural passion for it, and a passion for the greats that came before me. Like Rakim, LL Cool J, Slick Rick, and KRS-One. Basically just the dudes who molded the essence of today’s culture.
When did you realize you could do it on a professional level?
When I first realized I could do music on a professional level, is when people started telling me. I always liked “rapping”, but I wasn’t with the whole industry vibe. I had a few people who were executives, and also happened to be my family, tell me that I really had something. So after that, I started digging into it a little more.
And the “game” in terms of hustling, wasn’t really what it was, so I couldn’t do that forever. That only has two ends, either jail or death. And I didn’t want to go out like that. [Laughs] So I started getting into Hip-Hop a little more, and taking it more seriously. I approached it with an “attack mode”, as opposed to falling back.
Who are you currently signed with the moment?
Actually what we have is a company by the name of; Lucas Legacy Group. And it’s about the changing of power from the father to the son. It’s sort of like passing the torch, and allowing me to take over the “quote-un-quote” negative aspects of [his] regime. And just turning them into positive things. Basically just to leap out of the negative, and go into the positive. Because music is healing, and that’s the only language the whole world understands and interprets really well. So that’s exactly what we do; we do music.
How would you describe your style of Hip-Hop?
Well to me, I’m just me. When you hear it, I guess you’ll have your own interpretation of it. I think I’m just a combination of the greats, including the past and present. I defenitley think I have something to offer to the game.
A lot of people have their own perception of what “gangster” is. What’s your definition of the word?
Well being the son of one of the aficionados, I can just tell you my experiences. Being the [son] of Frank Lucas, I not only watched him, but I watched his peers as well. It’s about how they operated, and how they moved. It’s about being quiet, and getting [your] business done with great results. At the end of the day, it’s about piercing through your target with precision to make sure you accomplish your goal. It’s about not letting anything stop you, but yet; you still find a way to maneuver.
A lot of guys talk about being “gangster” on their records. But killing is the last thing you’d want to do, because killing stops the money. A gangster’s first objective is to get the money, and doing something like that would stop the money. A lot of these cats are really opposites of what they portray to be; maybe because they really don’t know what a gangster is. I guess you have to have that tutelage, and fortunately, I was able to have it. So it worked out to my advantage, and I understood what it was going into it.
So how was it like growing up as child back then?
My childhood was defiently different. My grandparents had a few houses, and one of them was in Englewood New Jersey. At the time, there was still a few remaining parts of [my] father’s regime still intact. And the money was still being produced at a high level from [their] business, so they had bags and bags of money stuffed in the attic. Nobody new about it, except all my cousins who were older than me. I was around 6 at the time, and they were around 14, 15, and 16. They was going up there, and taking the money out, and buying mopeds.
They were shoving $100.00 bills in all the little kids pockets like; “here take this and go to the store and get some candy, but don’t say nothing.” We didn’t know what it was. I’d go to the candy store with a $100.00 bill, and buy two lollipops and I would be leaving. And the Indian guy who was running the store would be like; “no, no take more candy, take more candy!” because he knew the situation. But I didn’t catch onto it, until I got a little bit older. The funny thing about it, was that nobody knew what was missing, because there was so much money. So my child was definitley different, in some regards. Being born with a silver spoon, and then having that silver spoon taken away.
What was your involvement with the movie?
As far as the movie, I was my father’s personal consultant, and a liaison throughout the process. It was a cool experience, and it taught me that everything is not what it seems. I thought the music business was vicious. As I was telling you earlier; I love the business of music, but I hate the “music business.” But Hollywood is even crazier. I was like; “WOW!” they’re on a whole ’nother level with their viciousness. But all due respect to the gentlemen that produced American Gangster; Ridley Scott and Brian Grazer. Just to allow my father to get his story out there, and his point across. Like a lot of times, autobiographies are done on people after they’re dead. But [he] has the fortunate experience of being there to actually see his legend come to play, and I was happy for him in that regard.
What would you say are some of the things you learn from you father?
The most important thing I learned from him is: No matter what you do, if you’re not careful, in the blink of an eye, it can be undone. Because he was the first to being a billionaire. If you add up all his finances and assets combined, he was almost the first black billionaire in America. And in the blink of an eye, it was torn down by three major organizations. Like the Feds, and what have you. So you can have something, and if you’re not careful and you don’t count your blessing, you can lose it very quickly. That’s probably the most important lesson that I learned from him.
Most people associated with something negative tend to shy away from it, but you seem to embrace it. Is that a fair assessment of you?
I wouldn’t say I embrace it, I would say that I understand that it’s a reality. Like back in the days, cats said it was whack to do time, and nobody was talking about being gangster. Nowadays everybody is a gangster, and they kill 100 people on a record.
Everybody is an American Gangster now. My thing is at the end of the day, I’m not glorifying it, [they] are. My thing is to redefine what “gangster” really is.
Because I think a lot of kids are being mislead, and I think the American Gangster movie will serve a purpose. And it will show that really being “gangster” is not about the drugs; it’s not about that.
What made [my] father and his regime gangster, is what he had to overcome to gain success, on any level. And how he turned a negative into a positive.
A lot of people see your father in a negative light. What’s something positive about him that no one knows?
Well in terms of the positive, you would probably have to look at the mere fact. [Pauses] Just look at it like this; people portray him in a negative light, because he’s recognized as a criminal. That’s a fact, and that’s why they made the movie American Gangster. Its not that [Frank] didn’t do great things, its just the fact that [Frank] was international. And this is not to boost up the negativity aspect of it at all, it’s not about the fact that [Frank] wasn’t a drug dealer, he was an international distributor. And he was also a man with diplomatic immunity world wide, until he was taken down.
So you have to look at the overall picture of the man’s accomplishments. Just understand; at that time when [he] was coming up, [they] wasn’t giving out 100 million dollar contracts for baseball and basketball. So he did what he had to do, in his era to solidify his situation and his family. He contributed to the Civil Rights Movement, and he took care of Harlem and Harlem took care of him. Did he do negative things? Of course. He was responsible for 75% of the heroin distribution in America.
So yeah, in that way, it was very negative. And I can’t portray that in a positive light, because I also had family members that have suffered from the abuse of drugs as well. So I understand it, and I respect it. I understand what he did, and I know it wasn’t a positive thing. But that’s my dad, and I’m going to stand by him 150% in terms of his decision to make the movie, and to how the story be told.
There’s some things in the story that will let you know it wasn’t all about Cadillacs, there’s definitley another side to it. And there’s a lot that the movie didn’t tell you, but it was way more than just getting money. Things like being locked up, and having your family threatened. Just all these different things that he had to go through. Its way more than just drug dealing, and how many millions he was getting a day.
The movie seems to have a lot of Hip-Hop influence, especially with Jay-Z making his own album version of it. Do you think movies such as your father’s are the reason why some people associate violence with Hip-Hop?
People are always talking about killing people on records. It seems like when Public Enemy was finished with their consciousness and KRS-One was forced out the game, like so many positive people. It just seemed at that point; it was all N.W.A., and all of the other things that came out of New York, subsequently. There were a lot of negative things, but don’t forget about the movies. Like how many people died in The Terminator? If you count all the movies together, it’s probably more than 1,000 people.
Negativity has been portrayed in music and movies long before Delores Tucker started up. And no disrespect to her, because she is a strong woman. I’m just saying you have to look at the overall picture of it.
And as far as Jay-Z’s portrayal of American Gangster, he doesn’t understand what "Blue Magic" is. He never satisfied the consumer, or educated them about "Blue Magic", and he never explained that. So if you’re going to tell the story, get it right. And the first rule of Hip-Hop is; don’t bite. He has nothing to do with The American Gangster; he never talked to my father.
His co-sign came from Hollywood, through Ridley Scott and Brian Grazer. In terms of his “so-called” inspired album; you can’t be inspired by the movie, unless you go to the man who they made the movie about. Because the movie doesn’t tell you the whole story. So in terms of the negative light people want to put on my dad, they still want to be associated with him.
You have T.I. saying; “I made a million dollars a day, Frank Lucas ain’t the only one to do it”, and now you have Jay-Z coming out with his album. So everybody wants to be associated with the situation. They want to eat off the plate, but they don’t want to respect the legacy. And I’m here to make sure that they stay in check.
What do you say to the people that glorify your father’s lifestyle from back then?
I think the glorification of my father’s lifestyle is not so much that he sold drugs, but that he did it his way. He cut the middleman out, and deaded The French Connection.
He flew over to South East Asia, and made his own contacts. At that point, he made his whole empire. And he came from the South at the age of 14 years old to New York; and had experiences that other “so-called” gangsters didn’t have. I mean your talking about a guy that when he was a 14 year old kid, was walking around in lunch meetings with Bumpy Johnson, Frank Costello and with Lucky Luciano. With a bulge in his pocket, protecting Lucky.
So the experiences that he’s had are all international. He was blessed by a man, who blessed by the hands of the official commission; in Lucky Luciano. Bumpy Johnson was basically the only black member of that commission; he was accepted because he sat at the same table they sat at. And [Frank] was Bumpy’s student, and he learned from him everyday. And he did whatever Bumpy told him to do. You understand what I saying? Because he respected Bumpy. Bottom line was in that; if you wanted to do business in Harlem, you pay Bumpy or you die. It was that simple, and [Frank] respected that.
There was a code, and today there’s no code. So in terms of people who look at it, and try to put it in a positive light, people may look at it and be like; “hey, this is something to talk about.” The reason why it’s something to talk to about, is because a lot of people can’t believe that he did all these different things, and he’s till here to talk about it right now. There’s a reason for that, and that reason is because he is thee American Gangster…..
Well said… Any final thoughts?
Well my purpose like I said, is to just keep things in check, and to tell the story for what it is. And basically turn a negative into a positive. A lot of people want to dwell into the conversation about [my] father being a rat, or a snitch. But they don’t know what they’re talking about. Because number one: If you studied the court docket, you’ll see a lot of the stuff was in referance to something totally different, and had nothing to do with his peers. It had to do with the crooked international military people, the crooked international police, and the New York police who were involved.
They were on the “take”, and they were making more money off the situation than him. And if that’s what you got to do, than you do that. So people want to say things like that, but yet they still want to be involved with the situation. A lot of people are just hating because he’s recognized as a criminal, and we all know [Serge] everybody that’s on the streets, and in music, wants to be involved with something “gangster.” I’m not necessarily saying [you], but the general population. And they’re all fooled by this “quote-un-quote” “gangster” genre. So being that he’s recognized as a criminal, and he’s Frank Lucas people want to say negative things.
Just like the gentleman Nicky Barnes is putting out his [thing] with Damon Dash, and that’s all due respect to him. He’s another gentleman who did his thing around that time, and had a lot of success in the same field. So you just have to respect it for what it is. Like I respect everybody, want to be respected also.
In the over crowded world of Hip-Hop, one of the toughest things to do, is to stand out.
In recent years, it just seems like everybody is doing the same thing, instead of trying to lead the pack. One way an MC [might] stand out, is if they have a unique moniker to go by.
Something that’s really recognizable and so descriptive, that when it’s heard; there’s no mistaking who it is. Now some artists use colorful names, and some choose to use nicknames given to them as children.
But a good way to grab the people’s attention is to adopt the name of a notorious villain. Just look at the duo of; CNN (Capone -N- Noreaga), not mention the stint when Nas was known as Escobar, and even Daz Dillinger derives his name from the 1930’s outlaw, John Dillinger. But what about Frank Lucas? Unfamiliar with his story? Well let’s try to fill in as many blanks as possible.
In the early 70’s Frank Lucas was a heroin distributor in Harlem; who brought in sales of over $2,000,000.00 a day by handling it all himself. He shipped the heroin in the coffins of deceased servicemen being brought back to America from the Vietnam War.
Two time Oscar winner Denzel Washington is portraying his life in the movie; American Gangster. But who has enough credibility to take on his name as their rap persona? Maybe that’s a question you should ask his son, Frank Lucas Jr.
The second generation Lucas is also making headlines of his own these days, but in a positive manner. All though both Lucas’ share the same drive for success, their particular choice of product is far different.
This son of a hustler, can actually bring you real-life descriptions of what “so-called” gangster rappers only get influenced by on the silver screen . And after the movie on his father is released, there’s sure to be other rappers coming out of the wood-works with their over the top fabricated tales of dug lore.
Hip-Hop has always been a bragging game, and most people would think Frank Jr. would use his name to his advantage. But he chooses not to glorify the foundation that his father laid out for him. As he gets ready to pitch his brand of 16’s to the world, the younger Frank sets the record straight about his father, keeping [their] legacy alive, and the true meaning of the word; “gangster.”
So how did you first get involved with music?
I just had a natural passion for it, and a passion for the greats that came before me. Like Rakim, LL Cool J, Slick Rick, and KRS-One. Basically just the dudes who molded the essence of today’s culture.
When did you realize you could do it on a professional level?
When I first realized I could do music on a professional level, is when people started telling me. I always liked “rapping”, but I wasn’t with the whole industry vibe. I had a few people who were executives, and also happened to be my family, tell me that I really had something. So after that, I started digging into it a little more.
And the “game” in terms of hustling, wasn’t really what it was, so I couldn’t do that forever. That only has two ends, either jail or death. And I didn’t want to go out like that. [Laughs] So I started getting into Hip-Hop a little more, and taking it more seriously. I approached it with an “attack mode”, as opposed to falling back.
Who are you currently signed with the moment?
Actually what we have is a company by the name of; Lucas Legacy Group. And it’s about the changing of power from the father to the son. It’s sort of like passing the torch, and allowing me to take over the “quote-un-quote” negative aspects of [his] regime. And just turning them into positive things. Basically just to leap out of the negative, and go into the positive. Because music is healing, and that’s the only language the whole world understands and interprets really well. So that’s exactly what we do; we do music.
How would you describe your style of Hip-Hop?
Well to me, I’m just me. When you hear it, I guess you’ll have your own interpretation of it. I think I’m just a combination of the greats, including the past and present. I defenitley think I have something to offer to the game.
A lot of people have their own perception of what “gangster” is. What’s your definition of the word?
Well being the son of one of the aficionados, I can just tell you my experiences. Being the [son] of Frank Lucas, I not only watched him, but I watched his peers as well. It’s about how they operated, and how they moved. It’s about being quiet, and getting [your] business done with great results. At the end of the day, it’s about piercing through your target with precision to make sure you accomplish your goal. It’s about not letting anything stop you, but yet; you still find a way to maneuver.
A lot of guys talk about being “gangster” on their records. But killing is the last thing you’d want to do, because killing stops the money. A gangster’s first objective is to get the money, and doing something like that would stop the money. A lot of these cats are really opposites of what they portray to be; maybe because they really don’t know what a gangster is. I guess you have to have that tutelage, and fortunately, I was able to have it. So it worked out to my advantage, and I understood what it was going into it.
So how was it like growing up as child back then?
My childhood was defiently different. My grandparents had a few houses, and one of them was in Englewood New Jersey. At the time, there was still a few remaining parts of [my] father’s regime still intact. And the money was still being produced at a high level from [their] business, so they had bags and bags of money stuffed in the attic. Nobody new about it, except all my cousins who were older than me. I was around 6 at the time, and they were around 14, 15, and 16. They was going up there, and taking the money out, and buying mopeds.
They were shoving $100.00 bills in all the little kids pockets like; “here take this and go to the store and get some candy, but don’t say nothing.” We didn’t know what it was. I’d go to the candy store with a $100.00 bill, and buy two lollipops and I would be leaving. And the Indian guy who was running the store would be like; “no, no take more candy, take more candy!” because he knew the situation. But I didn’t catch onto it, until I got a little bit older. The funny thing about it, was that nobody knew what was missing, because there was so much money. So my child was definitley different, in some regards. Being born with a silver spoon, and then having that silver spoon taken away.
What was your involvement with the movie?
As far as the movie, I was my father’s personal consultant, and a liaison throughout the process. It was a cool experience, and it taught me that everything is not what it seems. I thought the music business was vicious. As I was telling you earlier; I love the business of music, but I hate the “music business.” But Hollywood is even crazier. I was like; “WOW!” they’re on a whole ’nother level with their viciousness. But all due respect to the gentlemen that produced American Gangster; Ridley Scott and Brian Grazer. Just to allow my father to get his story out there, and his point across. Like a lot of times, autobiographies are done on people after they’re dead. But [he] has the fortunate experience of being there to actually see his legend come to play, and I was happy for him in that regard.
What would you say are some of the things you learn from you father?
The most important thing I learned from him is: No matter what you do, if you’re not careful, in the blink of an eye, it can be undone. Because he was the first to being a billionaire. If you add up all his finances and assets combined, he was almost the first black billionaire in America. And in the blink of an eye, it was torn down by three major organizations. Like the Feds, and what have you. So you can have something, and if you’re not careful and you don’t count your blessing, you can lose it very quickly. That’s probably the most important lesson that I learned from him.
Most people associated with something negative tend to shy away from it, but you seem to embrace it. Is that a fair assessment of you?
I wouldn’t say I embrace it, I would say that I understand that it’s a reality. Like back in the days, cats said it was whack to do time, and nobody was talking about being gangster. Nowadays everybody is a gangster, and they kill 100 people on a record.
Everybody is an American Gangster now. My thing is at the end of the day, I’m not glorifying it, [they] are. My thing is to redefine what “gangster” really is.
Because I think a lot of kids are being mislead, and I think the American Gangster movie will serve a purpose. And it will show that really being “gangster” is not about the drugs; it’s not about that.
What made [my] father and his regime gangster, is what he had to overcome to gain success, on any level. And how he turned a negative into a positive.
A lot of people see your father in a negative light. What’s something positive about him that no one knows?
Well in terms of the positive, you would probably have to look at the mere fact. [Pauses] Just look at it like this; people portray him in a negative light, because he’s recognized as a criminal. That’s a fact, and that’s why they made the movie American Gangster. Its not that [Frank] didn’t do great things, its just the fact that [Frank] was international. And this is not to boost up the negativity aspect of it at all, it’s not about the fact that [Frank] wasn’t a drug dealer, he was an international distributor. And he was also a man with diplomatic immunity world wide, until he was taken down.
So you have to look at the overall picture of the man’s accomplishments. Just understand; at that time when [he] was coming up, [they] wasn’t giving out 100 million dollar contracts for baseball and basketball. So he did what he had to do, in his era to solidify his situation and his family. He contributed to the Civil Rights Movement, and he took care of Harlem and Harlem took care of him. Did he do negative things? Of course. He was responsible for 75% of the heroin distribution in America.
So yeah, in that way, it was very negative. And I can’t portray that in a positive light, because I also had family members that have suffered from the abuse of drugs as well. So I understand it, and I respect it. I understand what he did, and I know it wasn’t a positive thing. But that’s my dad, and I’m going to stand by him 150% in terms of his decision to make the movie, and to how the story be told.
There’s some things in the story that will let you know it wasn’t all about Cadillacs, there’s definitley another side to it. And there’s a lot that the movie didn’t tell you, but it was way more than just getting money. Things like being locked up, and having your family threatened. Just all these different things that he had to go through. Its way more than just drug dealing, and how many millions he was getting a day.
The movie seems to have a lot of Hip-Hop influence, especially with Jay-Z making his own album version of it. Do you think movies such as your father’s are the reason why some people associate violence with Hip-Hop?
People are always talking about killing people on records. It seems like when Public Enemy was finished with their consciousness and KRS-One was forced out the game, like so many positive people. It just seemed at that point; it was all N.W.A., and all of the other things that came out of New York, subsequently. There were a lot of negative things, but don’t forget about the movies. Like how many people died in The Terminator? If you count all the movies together, it’s probably more than 1,000 people.
Negativity has been portrayed in music and movies long before Delores Tucker started up. And no disrespect to her, because she is a strong woman. I’m just saying you have to look at the overall picture of it.
And as far as Jay-Z’s portrayal of American Gangster, he doesn’t understand what "Blue Magic" is. He never satisfied the consumer, or educated them about "Blue Magic", and he never explained that. So if you’re going to tell the story, get it right. And the first rule of Hip-Hop is; don’t bite. He has nothing to do with The American Gangster; he never talked to my father.
His co-sign came from Hollywood, through Ridley Scott and Brian Grazer. In terms of his “so-called” inspired album; you can’t be inspired by the movie, unless you go to the man who they made the movie about. Because the movie doesn’t tell you the whole story. So in terms of the negative light people want to put on my dad, they still want to be associated with him.
You have T.I. saying; “I made a million dollars a day, Frank Lucas ain’t the only one to do it”, and now you have Jay-Z coming out with his album. So everybody wants to be associated with the situation. They want to eat off the plate, but they don’t want to respect the legacy. And I’m here to make sure that they stay in check.
What do you say to the people that glorify your father’s lifestyle from back then?
I think the glorification of my father’s lifestyle is not so much that he sold drugs, but that he did it his way. He cut the middleman out, and deaded The French Connection.
He flew over to South East Asia, and made his own contacts. At that point, he made his whole empire. And he came from the South at the age of 14 years old to New York; and had experiences that other “so-called” gangsters didn’t have. I mean your talking about a guy that when he was a 14 year old kid, was walking around in lunch meetings with Bumpy Johnson, Frank Costello and with Lucky Luciano. With a bulge in his pocket, protecting Lucky.
So the experiences that he’s had are all international. He was blessed by a man, who blessed by the hands of the official commission; in Lucky Luciano. Bumpy Johnson was basically the only black member of that commission; he was accepted because he sat at the same table they sat at. And [Frank] was Bumpy’s student, and he learned from him everyday. And he did whatever Bumpy told him to do. You understand what I saying? Because he respected Bumpy. Bottom line was in that; if you wanted to do business in Harlem, you pay Bumpy or you die. It was that simple, and [Frank] respected that.
There was a code, and today there’s no code. So in terms of people who look at it, and try to put it in a positive light, people may look at it and be like; “hey, this is something to talk about.” The reason why it’s something to talk to about, is because a lot of people can’t believe that he did all these different things, and he’s till here to talk about it right now. There’s a reason for that, and that reason is because he is thee American Gangster…..
Well said… Any final thoughts?
Well my purpose like I said, is to just keep things in check, and to tell the story for what it is. And basically turn a negative into a positive. A lot of people want to dwell into the conversation about [my] father being a rat, or a snitch. But they don’t know what they’re talking about. Because number one: If you studied the court docket, you’ll see a lot of the stuff was in referance to something totally different, and had nothing to do with his peers. It had to do with the crooked international military people, the crooked international police, and the New York police who were involved.
They were on the “take”, and they were making more money off the situation than him. And if that’s what you got to do, than you do that. So people want to say things like that, but yet they still want to be involved with the situation. A lot of people are just hating because he’s recognized as a criminal, and we all know [Serge] everybody that’s on the streets, and in music, wants to be involved with something “gangster.” I’m not necessarily saying [you], but the general population. And they’re all fooled by this “quote-un-quote” “gangster” genre. So being that he’s recognized as a criminal, and he’s Frank Lucas people want to say negative things.
Just like the gentleman Nicky Barnes is putting out his [thing] with Damon Dash, and that’s all due respect to him. He’s another gentleman who did his thing around that time, and had a lot of success in the same field. So you just have to respect it for what it is. Like I respect everybody, want to be respected also.
