MacShawn 100 Keepin It 100: Full Interview Audio (17:55)

Words: nando
Published: December 21, 2009

MacShawn 100 is a man who's lived through many eras, but through it all kept it 100. From being one of the vocal players of the mobb movement, to being stranded on Death Row. With a new deal through Snoop Dogg and Priority Records, we will catch The Bigg Fish flood the streets with his never ending sea of game in 2010.

Baycentrik: So its no longer just "Mac Shawn" huh? I see you threw on the 100….

MacShawn 100: Oh yeah I just put the 100 for 100% mackin, all the time, not some of the time. 24/8 not 24/7 ya dig!

Baycentrik: For the people that ain't been in the know, what have you been up to the past few years?

MacShawn 100: The last few years I just been in the studio laying the groundwork right, for the upcoming new album The Bigg Fish. I been in the lab working on that for about 2 1/2 years getting it all right and all tight. I got a whole bunch of big bosses and players on there. It's a hell of a project. Real radio friendly, at the same time real edgy.

Baycentrik: Who do you have on there as far as production and features?

MacShawn 100: The featured artists I have on The Bigg Fish are Turf Talk, my group the Funk Mobb, Daz Dillinger, E-40, Kurupt, Snoop Dogg, J Menace, B-Legit, Kavio, D-Shot, a few players on there. A couple of ballers on there. I got my family, and then I got my LA crew, Dogg Pound. I always have been affiliated with that DPG thing. Snoop and Daz they like my cousins, we go way back, almost 20 years. We all doin that, I got Snoop to Executive the album with me. We going through Doggystyle/Priority, the new million dollar deal, no one does it better.

Baycentrik: Let's go into detail about that deal, I know some people might not know Snoop has a high ranking position at Priority now. How did the deal come about? You are one of the first artists if not the first artist..

MacShawn 100: Yeah I am the first artist signed to that Priority deal. That came about, Snoop like my cousin, we always been getting it up real tough. It just so happened that this time we bring the music in together. We always been doing the partying, the family thing and the hangin, staying with each other and all that. This time it was just nothing but right for me to bring my music down there with Snoop

"This is show business. Not rap business. We getting A's in showmanship"

and let Snoop graze all around it and do what he wanted to do to it. I brought the creativity to him and he took the creativity to a higher level with his creativity right! You know the Dogg is the biggest thing since the chicken wing.

Baycentrik: Whether people like it or not, Snoop has been the biggest representative for the west coast for the past two decades.

MacShawn 100: What it is, you know what kind of business this is! This is show business. Not rap business. We getting A's in showmanship, and the Dogg is a brand. I don't know nobody else that perform 147 days a year. All around the world. Believe that!

Baycentrik: I saw Snoop doing the introduction to your new video, "And U Do Know That." Everybody that is everybody is in that video.

MacShawn 100: Everybody that's somebody! Shouts out to DJ Quik, my old school partner Too Short, Mistah FAB, 4'Tay, Daz Dillinger, Dogg Pound, Gangsta Brown, Fillmore Slim, 2nd II None is in there. We representing, it was a good feeling, the energy was high! It was groovy like a drive-in movie. We let it go, we let it rip, we put it up, got great reviews on it. We just plastered it up yesterday morning. All the sites is picking up on it, getting up on it, getting ready for the new Mac Shawn 100 "The Bigg Fish." The one and not the two, the California giant, a bay area boss man. You hear me?

One thing about me, my music circles all through Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, St. Louis, Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky, Nevada, you know I'm just not a bay area guy, right!? I always had that nationwide stamp on me, cause that game I got is not just regional game, it's marketable game.

Baycentrik: You've always been a Vallejo cat, and the bay area has always had it's own scene. You've always kept your west coast connections tight, and as you said you cater to other regions. How important do you think that is for artist to reach past to the bay?

MacShawn 100: That's so important! That's real important, because you come from a region and you don't wanna just be hot in your own region. Which is good cause that means somebody like you, but the name of the game is to get with the masses. If you call yourself a gangster rapper and you rappin' this gangsta talk, you want them gangstas that's all over the world to like your music. Yall supposed to have something in common. One thing about it like JT The Bigga Figga said and San Quinn, Game Recognize Game! In the bay mayne. That goes for anywhere you at, and just like the music. If you servicing some good music right, and you got some real stuff behind it, in the rap game, them gangsters all over it gonna listen to you, and know about you and hear about you. If you just doing it in your region and only your region taking to you, that means you just got a certain swag and your region likes you. But when you start being accepted across certain lines, it  makes it more receptable. It makes you more bigger in what you trying to do. That lets you really know you somebody, not just cause you kicking up dust around your era, your region. You don't ever wanna start thinkin' you're nobody, but when them boys

"I would be willing to do business as long as the money is right..the Death Row sticker couldn't be on there. That Death Row got a stigma to it, for some reason."

across other state lines is recognizing that game and appreciating that game---cause this is pure motivation, pleasures all mine--then you know you doing something, and that's the lesson for the day mayne. And you do know that!!!

Baycentrik: Not too long ago I saw a single came out, Wet In the Paint with E-40 and you had a deal with another label. What happened to that situation?

MacShawn 100: Naw that wasn't a deal I just put that out on the internet. I put it out through Rhapsody. That was just a single I dropped out there, that was all. It wasn't about no deal or nothin. And I got the video Party Don't Stop featuring Daz Dillinger! You liked the Wet the Paint huh?

Baycentrik: Yeah I downloaded it off iTunes…

MacShawn 100: Right! iTunes and Rhapsody. That was just a little digital distribution deal that I got and I really don't be using it. Sean T actually did the track, shouts out to him. Me and 40 beat the track up, called putting paint where it aint, I'm Wet in the Paint.

Baycentrik:  So that was for no real specific project, just for the people…

MacShawn 100: That record is actually on the album. You will hear "Wet in the Paint" on The Bigg Fish album.

Baycentrik: You were rollin with Death Row for some time, now they're under new ownership through WideAwake. If they got at you to release some of that old stuff you recorded that never came out, would you be open to it?

MacShawn 100: Actually it all depends on if the money's right. I was on Death Row for about 3 years. Suge paid me good though! One thing for sure I can't say nothing bad about his money. He took care of Mac Shawn real good, roughly about a quarter million, 250 large! I never put an album out but I had an album over there. I was on the Chronic 2000, I was on the Dogg Pound 2002, and the Too Gangsta For Radio. So I did about 3 or 4 compilations over there with them or whatnot, right? I had an album over there that they never put out so I can imagine that they got it in the archives. I ain't sweatin' on that shit though, that shit's so old. This game so different now. If they would get at me and want to release some of it, yeah, I would be up to it but they would have to pay me upfront, the business would have to be right, the Death Row sticker couldn't be on there.

That Death Row got a stigma to it, for some reason. If they ain't seeing the real Death Row niggas over there, ain't nobody fuckin' with that Death Row shit! Meaning, I don't care how much--they up under new ownership true enough, but if they don't have Snoop, Daz, or Kurupt, or Soopafly, and Mac Shawn over there, ain't nobody fuckin with that Death Row shit. That shit finna be a waste of time. They steady putting out shit right now that's selling zero records! So yeah, I would be willing to do business as long as the money is right, with them. Dropping an old project, I wouldn't have a problem with that, as long as the money's up front! Slam em on they back and tell em vamonos!

Baycentrik: You come from the old school of mob music, with the Funk Mobb, what is your opinion of this new stuff coming out, like jerk music…

MacShawn 100: Aww man that jerk music, I like it! It's for the kids. It ain't for the grown folk, I'm with the grown folk crowd! I'm a mobb type of guy, I'm a street nigga. I like all forms of dancing and music! That jerk music is good for the kids, I like to see them dancing, poppin around, real energetic. It's nice! But it's not for people who call themselves hustlers, mothafuckas that's in the game! It's not for a grown man. Not for no dude that call himself a boss! But I recognize jerk music and I like it. I support the jerk music, yall keep doin it! Shouts out to yall. And you do know that! I'm musically inclined, I like a lot of music. I don't really knock nothing. I know that the class and the league that I'm in, if you call yourself rappin' you better have your game up to par and be on point, cause we sure listening and watching!

"Bay area is about charisma, style, finesse, being different."

Now that this real game is back, that watered game is gonna fall off to the side! So if you comin' in this game and you watered down and you looking at me or E-40 or Snoop, Daz, Short, 4Tay, you rappin about somebody's lifestyle and that's really not you, man that is not the one! Cause that's what's goin' on nowadays. A lot of these new rappers are really rapping about my lifestyle. So it's different when you got dudes that really come from the lifestyle and rap about it! Understand what I'm saying?

Baycentrik: Just like you said, the game has changed since you got into it. It's more about the label building a character that they can market to the people.

MacShawn 100: That's right, that's right! I'm a rare situation mayne. There ain't too many dudes that's like me left in this game. I'm a gem now in this game. It's kind of like if you come from that era that I come from and you got that real game, this is a good time to get back in the game and do your thing. Cause the game is so watered down! When that real thang come through, the people love it cause it's so genuine. Like a breath of fresh air. When you first seen the video "And U Do Know That", did you have a sigh of relief?

Baycentrik: Yeah! It was good seeing everybody together…

MacShawn 100: And then the energy of the song, and the way it's going, you like okay we back now! Did you feel like that?

Baycentrik: Definitely man…that's why I had to hit you up for the interview!

MacShawn 100: And I appreciate that man. Shout out to Baycentrik. With my nephew Fernando! Shout out to Baycentrik one more time. Mac Shawn 100, Baycentrik, live and direct! And you do know that! Log on and blog on for the new video And You Do Know that! You hear me? And it don't stop and it won't stop. Yay area!! In the building, 2010, the new Mac Shawn 100 movement, Priority Records/Dogghouse. With the Snoop Dogg approval, you bitch you!

Baycentrik: When can people expect that in stores?

MacShawn 100: Roughly around March. We got another couple of videos we gonna drop. First of all, we got a new compilation coming out, 20th Anniversary of Priority Records. Mac Shawn is starting it off with the new And U Do Know That video with the Snoop Dogg stamp. That's how we gonna kick it off and then right after that we gonna drop The Bigg Fish the album. The album coming soon, Mac Shawn 100, The Bigg Fish!!

Baycentrik: Are there any other projects for Priority we should know about?

MacShawn 100: Yeah you got Snoop Dogg and the Dogg Pound coming back out on Priority, you got Soopafly the High Priest, you got the Hustle Boyz comin out, we got a roster of things we doing. This is a new year man, new money, smelling like brand new money. Bay area in the house, west coast stand up, you bigger than what you think. Know about it, be about it, everybody line up! Get behind Mac Shawn and

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I'm gonna make sure it happens. It's protocol. Believe dat! That's fo sho. It's real structure and real order! Bay Business!

When you say bay area, if you put American Gangster on TV, when you say bay area who you gonna see? The Romper Room, you gonna see Felix Mitchell. Gangsterism poppin off up out this bay area. When you see Mac Shawn and the mobb, you already know what it's about. It's about bay business, looking sharp, having money and getting business, ya hear me? We ain't doing none of that dancing, none of that clown shit, right? That's for you kids. Yall keep doing it, and we love yall for it, right? But you grown folks that's in this mobb lane, look good, look sharp, get money and stay fly. Bay area is about charisma, style, finesse, being different. The one and not the two.

And to KMEL radio station, stop jockin every mothafuckin thang! Learn where this real game come from, the bay area is the mecca of the game! Anything you rap boys over at KMEL get, yall jock anything! Make the real bay area look bad! That's why real niggas like me come through here and clean up the scene for us mayne, believe that!

Baycentrik: Anything else you'd like to say to end it off?

MacShawn 100: Much love man and shouts out to all. Shouts out the bayness, love yall, yall know what time it is. One love. Each one teach one, loved one! And I'm blowin' on kush right now, suited and buited, gooted and looted, spooned and groomed!  Blowin kush out the roof.