Roscoe

Originally published: January 2005

How you doing man, how you holding up?

I'm good man, I can't call it. Everything is everything. It's beautiful. The breeze is beautiful. The shoulder is beautiful. I been workin out doing my lil Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, Roy Jones thing. I'm chillin. I can't call it.

New Years day, the accident happened. Why don't you break down what happened that night?

Dead on Arrival. Dead on Accusation cause thats what they thought. They tried to revive a nigga cause they couldn't get no pulse, no air out my chest. They pounded on me for a minute. I guess for 14, 15 minutes they couldn't get nothin outta me. So they put a triage tag on my left wrist. Deceased. They put me to the side, they went to go cut everybody else out the car. So they had to cut us out the car with the jaws of life. I guess when I woke up, they was cuttin everybody out the car. First thing I felt when I woke up was glass in my eye. So I was kinda trippin about that. I jump up and I'm like, god damn man it's some glass in my eye! So they look over and they see me. Last thing I remember seeing was just hella firemen cutting the car out, the ambulance pull up. I'm looking around getting a grasp of everything cause I was in shock. So that pain hit me on my shoulder. I didn't know that my shoulder bone was broke. I'm runnin around in circles. Going crazy! Like whats going on. I felt that pain in my shoulder, just knocked a nigga off his feet like a Donovan McNabb touchdown pass. That's the way it happened. It hit a nigga, knocked a nigga down. As soon as I crumbed, they put the backboard on me, put me in the stretcher. The whole nine. Took me to the hospital, did some X Rays on me and things. But God is good, God is with a nigga. Always.

You definitely got a different outlook on life? You happy to still be here huh..

Oh yeah, most definitely. I can't deny it. I can't disagree with you right there. It's like for everyday that goes by, and the pain get lesser and lesser a nigga is stronger and stronger, the more I appreciate getting back the usage of my shoulder and my neck and everything. I was so stiff, I'm walking around like Christopher. I couldn't move, I was paralyzed damn near.

How did everybody else that was in the car with you hold out?

My nigga Goldie and my nigga Sam, we call him KO. My big homie. He about the same age as me. My nigga Goldie and his lil brother. We was all in the car leaving the studio, but my nigga Sam got 2 punctured lungs. I think he had to have his spleen removed. He had a broken clavicle. Head trauma. The two in the back both had broken femurs, and they legs snapped in half. It was crazy. I'm the only one that really walked away in one whole piece. With everything attached to him. None of us had no seat belts on. So everybody wear your seatbelts, cuzz! That's what Kurupt would say, "Wear that seatbelt cuzz!"

It was a drunk driver that hit yall?

Yeah, pretty much. Underage drinkin. I guess the driver was still in the holiday bubble. We not worried about that, everything is everything. We prayin for them people too, and they families too. Cause she was hurt, the driver was a young lady. She didn't know any better.

That's cool that your not holding any grudges or anything.

Nah we don't...Accidents happen man.

Right now your out in Philly, taking a little break from things? Spendin time with the fam?

Yeah well you know, I'm recuperating. I was in a great deal of pain. I'm in pain all the time. Like if I sneeze right now, we wont be able to finish this interview for another 5 minutes. I'd be out of commission. My muscles and everything is still real tense. I'm having spasms all over my torso and everything. But you know, God is good, thats all I got right now to go by.

So you think you'll be speaking on this situation in a song maybe?

You know, I ain't Kanye West or nothing. I ain't gonna do a whole album about it. But I been in the studio every day. Real talk. I ain't gonna be a biter and just go ride the Kanye West...I wouldn't take away from what he did. I'm gonna speak on it. I ain't gonna say too much. I might do a record about it, but not a whole album or nothing. It's all up to Kurupt. Me and Kurupt just going through everything right now. I'm just healing, and when I get the okay from Kurupt, I'll be back in the West Coast. It's nothin.

Your recording stuff out there in Philly right now?

Yeah I got a new group I'm starting called the Armory. It's a spinoff of YA. It's a group of Philly cats. Everybody named after a different gun. I got a producer named Tec. I got a producer named Track Addict, but his name is Mac Addict for the album. I got Young Steel. Young Bullets. Nuke. Bizzle the Sawed Off aka Mr. Mausberg. I got AK, Young AK. He's not for play. And then it's Roscoe. So we all named after a different heat. We not for play! The Armory is major.

Did you say Bizzle?

Yeah but it's not the same Bizzle. He from Philly, this whole group is from Philly. That's what his name is Nuke. Nuke Bizzle the Sawed Off, aka Mr. Mausberg. I ain't gonna make him change his name cause they got the same name, we just added on to it to make sure people know the difference. But the group is not for play, everybody is scorching hot. Kurupt ain't really heard the finished product yet, but he helped me start the group off. So I'm just gonna turn in the project and see if it's hot or not. That's what I'm doing in my spare time, staying outta trouble.

Staying in the lab huh? So that group right there that's gonna be the East Coast influenced side of you that we're gonna get to hear?

Exactly. That's basically all it is. It's East Coast hip hop. It's grimey. It's not the same thing as YA. It's something totally different. But at the same time, they support the YA camp cause they know that's what I got going. I'm just loving the new group. I'm waiting to bring them to the West Coast and see what yall think about em.

That Track Addict, thats not the same Track Addict that yall fuck with?

Exactly, it is. My producer Tec from the East Coast, and Track Addict he from the West Coast. So it's gonna be a little West Coast influence on the album. I can't go nowhere without my West Coast influence. Track Addict done the majority of my next album, and Mark Sparks. I got Chuck, he does alot of engineering for Damion, that's Chaka Kahn's son. He's doing his own thing, producing. J Wells. I got some support from all the same cats, we still doing it big, man. Nobody went nowhere.

That will definitely be something interesting to hear, a whole new side of you..

Exactly. It's just giving back to Philly. This is really just..what you gonna get on this album is the Philly Fanatic for real. It's all East Coast hip hop. We not trippin off none of that garbage. It's not about beef, it's not about none of that. It's all about what's going on in this East Coast, and what's happening in the streets of Philly. It's all about Philly, that's what this album is about.

You gonna pretty much prepare your solo album before any of these other group projects drop?

I'm working on it. It took a while to make the first album. When I signed to Priority/Capitol. I think it was 99, 2000. Record didn't come out till 2003. Not to tell the fans like I don't care or nothin like that. People that support, but I wanna take the time and make sure the project is hot. Also I wanna hold out for Kurupt's project. He got that Against the Grain. While we doing that, we got alot of mixtapes poppin and going down. I'm putting out a solo mixtape as well to hold the streets over while the next album is ready. Everything is going smooth, we don't have nothing in our way.

Pretty much waiting on that Kurupt album to just set it off?

Yeah because that's the main focus right now. Kurupt's album is everything. Until Kurupt's album drops, nobody really wants to do anything. Who wants to do anything till Kurupt's album drops? I put my album out, he held out for me while I put my album out. So it's not that I don't have a choice, because I know if I wanted to do it, he would move on it. But the thing is, that's not what support is all bout. Support is all about kicking back. So if anything I'm just gonna prepare the deal situation for when the time comes I can just move on it.

We all move at the same time. We strike at the same time. So that way they can't block. [laughs] Kurupt come hit em from the side, bam! I come hit em from the front, bam! YA hittin em from the left, bam! You got Armory hittin em from the back, bam! So we all up in em. We still got the Switchblade sisters, we got another artist on Rose of Sharon Entertainment, we got Summer, she's from Philly. I got a whole bunch of artists. We got alot going down. So we just not Hollywood, we not in a rush to do anything. As long as we can stay together, stay alive, and feed each other and take care of each other and keep making music, until we get the right deal structure, until we get everything to where we comfortable with it; man we not just gonna be throwing garbage out. We always gonna make sure the product is hot, we gonna keep the streets serviced with some hot underground shit.

So we really focused right now. Everybody focused. Especially myself. I can be the most impatient sometimes out of the whole organization, but at the same time, I think I can also be very patient when it comes down to it. Cause I got my brother right there coaching me and keeping me calm through the whole thing, so no matter what happens, flip over in a car accident, if my marriage is going up and down, or whatever's going on with me, I can always turn to my brother for advice and we take care of each other. So it's not really about consistency in these records, these records is what we do for fun. To enjoy ourselves, as well as take care of our families. We just concentrate on our priorities before we concentrate on the consumer point of the game. It's like, you got the people criticizing you 24/7, "when you gonna do this, wassup with this, when you gonna do that?" We don't care about he say she say, people thats gonna stay down with us, gonna stay down with us regardless.

I guess alot of cats think its so easy to just put a record out like that.....

Yeah it's definitely not. My album took 4 years and a mean dollar. Not easy.

Speaking on your album now that you brought it up, you kinda spoke on it on Styles interview with Kurupt and YA, talking about the label kind of wanting to market you as a Lil Zane type of rapper. How is your new album going to differentiate from that?

That album was hot. But that album was totally mainstream West Coast, with some East Coast flavor on it. This album is more about death, and about style. Geographical identity. This next album is more about me, myself, and I. You hear all my life stories, you hear all my sad stories. You hear how I really feel about all these ragedy dirt rock females runnin' around here. You hear how I really feel about all these lame fools trickin on all these chicken heads, and all these fake pimps, and all these fake gangstas. Not to say that I'm speaking on anybody in particular, but it's alot going on in the world. You encounter alot of reach niggas in the world everyday, and a whole bunch of fake niggas everyday. Real recognize real. So this next album is basically about me. Me puttin my heart on record. The first album, I had fun. This next album, I got a goal. This next album is all about liberation. It's more about me feeling good with the record at the end of the day. I got a story to tell, I'm gonna tell my story on this next album.

So the next project coming up is that YA mixtape?

Yeah. We had a whole lot of fun doing that too. Shout out to everybody in YA. I love em to death, that's my #1 squad. YA always comes first to me. Everybody knows it, that's why everybody wants to know whether I'm focused on YA or myself at the moment, or something Kurupt. Cause it's all these projects mean the same to me, I don't put more effort into one project then the next. Same effort I put into my album, I'mma put into the YA album, and the Armory album, and Kurupt album, or whatever he gonna let me do, or whatever he gonna need me for. I'm gonna be right there for him. With the YA projects, the albums as well as the mixtapes. And with the Armory, it takes more because we gotta work with the youngsters, we gotta train em. Make sure everybody's on deck, make sure the songs come out hot, they gotta go through this person and that person to get made sure everything is hot. It's different levels and ranks in all of these groups. It's only certain people that have the say so on what's hot and what's not. That's what we working on right now.

But we ride to the fullest and we ride as a team. So anything you see us doing, you gonna see us doing it together. So basically what I'm doing right now is promoting that Armory. It's the newest addition to the Kustapo gang. It's the Armory, and they not for play, and anybody got a problem with me, come out to Philly, The Armory gonna get you. You ain't gonna see em coming cause they ain't got no pictures out. So yall better be careful!

You mentioned your bond with your brother and all that...would you ever consider doing an album with Kurupt. A duo album type thing?

Yeah, well me and Kurupt got a group together called Frank and Jess. We the James brothers. Frank James and Jesse James. I'm James, my big brother is Frank. That's for the wild, wild west. We robbin them trains out there! [laughs]

So that's something that will come out down the line right? Once you both dropped new solo albums...

Yeah. Kurupt is on that level man. I'm still trying to build my status up to that level. I think Kurupt feels the same way. We don't wanna have to deal with none of that "Oh you only made it because you did this album with Kurupt." "You only made it because Kurupt." Which I don't have no problem with that, but at the same time I'm gonna still do my best to shine in my own way. Not to disparage his legacy, but to shine in my own way.

As far as your label situation, are you looking at any options right now?

Right now I'm talking to Scott Storch, Rico Way, I'mma just get distribution for my label. I don't make no moves without my brother. I like to really stay close to my brother. Cause this industry will really tear a family apart. Family is what matters the most. Cause when I flipped over, and was dead, and they took me to the hospital and I was laying up there, didn't nobody come to get me except my brother. I didn't even have to call them. They found out and they came and got me. I owe a whole lot for being here today not only to God, but to my brother and my sister for coming to get me. Nobody knew where I was at. It gets like that when you doing this music. You be out and about and not be in touch with your family at weeks at a time. You could just die, and there would be a whole 5, 6 months before anybody found you! A whole 2-3 years before anybody found you. My homegirl just lost a baby. It took them a while to find the baby, in the rain. It's crazy. The baby accidentally fell in the water. They took em a while to find the baby It's alot of things going on in this world that people have no knowledge of. People don't have no knowledge of family and people don't have family values anymore. No more priorities, everybody wanna be a star, and this and that. It gets to the point where people tell you, you only live once, you gotta get yours. But if gettin yours means you gotta turn your back on your family, then it's not worth it. Especially to me. I can't speak for anybody else. Maybe it is worth it. But to me it's not.

I'm in Philly right now. My family is in California. Nobody holding no papers in front of my making me say this. This is the real. I'm always gonna ride for Kurupt to the fullest. That's just the bottom line. Until he's straight, I'm not straight. Period.

Going back to that distribution thing. So you have your own imprint that your looking for distribution for?

Yeah I got my own label. Rose of Sharon Entertainment. That's exactly what I'm looking for, distribution, joint venture. I got alot of labels on the table talking to me. I'm just looking for the best deal to go with actually. It's alot of numbers involved. I get real weird when it comes to numbers. When we talk about big money I get eerie. I don't just touch any money. All money ain't good money. We just taking our time with this. We got God on our side and our corner, so we can't lose. That's what makes us more patient, that we gonna get it one way or another, regardless. It's inevitable. If it's inevitable, it's something you don't rush. You just wait for it. Good things come to those that wait. Patience is a virtue.

Anything else you wanna let the people know before wrap this up?

Yeah, I'm straight! Ain't nothing to worry about. Everyone out there worrying, it's all good, dry ya eyes, don't be crying! All my little bitches, don't be sad. All the homies out there, keep it G. When I come back it's gonna be poppin man, drinks on the house. We doing it big, we going on Sunset. Me and Kurupt, we coming out there, we gonna chop everybody's heads off like we always do. Everybody know it's not for play. I'm straight man. I'm healing like a champ. Johnny Cochran, I'm lookin for ya! [laughs] Know what I'm talkin about?

Appreciate you taking the time out to speak on things, Roscoe.

Nando, I appreciate you callin to make sure I'm straight and lettin everybody know it's all to the good! I ain't went nowhere, my voice is building back. My lungs is opening up, expanding everyday. So I'll be back in no time. Don't even trip.

I just wanna give a shout out to all my West Coast Rydaz. Everybody at WCRydaz.com, I wanna give a shoutout to dizzle, all my homies at YARidaz.com. Give a shoutout to YA, give a shout out to the Armory. Just everybody that supports YA, and Kurupt, and everything that we trying to do. Everybody that supports the West Coast, everybody that supports Philly. I wanna give a shout out to the Eagles. Cause they going to the Super Bowl, they did the damn thing. I'm gonna be there with bells on and my sling on! It's not for play. I'm supportin, I don't care what nobody say. It's not for play man! Dead man walkin, I'm back! I'm coming to stir up the whole game. Everybody out there on the West Coast, I'm coming to take what's mine.