Chopper City Boyz – Interview

Starting off, a lot of people know your background BG, but what about Gar?

BG: Music, really chose me, I ain’t choose it. It was just something I would do just for fun. It was a talent that I didn’t look at as a talent at first. I used to be free styling in elementary, beating on the school desks and getting put out of class when the other kids were doing work. I preferred writing raps because it was just something that I always liked to do.

Gar: Music really wasn’t an interest of mine to tell you the truth. I was the type kid growing up, that did all kinds of things. I went school, hustled, played ball and more. But by BG staying two houses down from me at the time, I was kinda familiar with the whole studio thing. He’s like a brother to me, and in the effect once Juvie left Cash Money, BG went on the road with him to promoting his own album, he asked me to come out with him to be his hype-man. From that point on, we had recorded tracks in the studio together and later he asked me did I want to be apart of the family and I was like good lets get it cause we was like family already because we knew each other personally.

So it’s fair to say that BG and Juvie were influences on you, but are there any others by chance?

Gar: Ahhh. but of course, rappers like 2Pac, BIG, Eightball, MJG and Scarface are some of my others. I came up listening to what everybody down here come up listening to. New Orleans had shit on lock. Cash Money and No Limit Records were like the biggest influences on me from a label standpoint.

What about you BG?

BG: 2Pac, Scarface, Geto Boys, UGK and Soulja Slim are some of my big influences. I was into a lot of bounce music that’s true from New Orleans like KLC and Lil Slim.

Individually, how would you guys describe your style of music?

Gar: I mean I just call it ‘G-A’ you know, it’s authentic. I rap about what I do what I’ve seen or what I saw, so I let y’all pretty much describe what the style is but as long as it’s authentic it ‘G-A.’

BG: I define it as real, rough, rugged, raw, hood and ghetto fabulous.

Did you expect to have such a good response from your “Bubblegum” record?

Gar: I’ma keep it all the way “G” with ya shorty. I’m excited but I know how this shit go. One day your hot and one day your not, but at the same time we came out making quality street music and we had streets ringing. So the response, it really don’t have me trippin’, but I know that the record has potential because we used to making street music. This time around though, we wanted to switch it up and go with a female driven record.

BG: Honestly, I just wanted to try something different with the Chopper City Boys because this is my second Chopper City Boys album. The first one I put out on Koch and this one is coming out through Asylum. They already certified in the streets and my street credibility is ‘A1′, so you know the album off top is going to be G’d up and soldier down. But I just wanted to try something that was more female friendly, radio friendly, more clubbish but still have that street edge.

The name of your new album is “Life in the Concrete Jungle.” What does the name of this represent to you guys?

BG: Man, because Chopper City is another name for New Orleans. In New Orleans ain’t nothing but a jungle once you land at that airport. It’s like lions, tigers and bears. You got to cut the grass because the snakes in there. If you can live in New Orleans, you can live anywhere. It’s a straight up jungle down here and we just living life in the concrete jungle.

Gar: Life in the concrete jungle. New Orleans is a jungle and as humans you know, we compare em’. You got your snake ni**a, that’s your no good ni**as. You got your gorilla, that’s your ni**a that will do whatever.

Snipe: You got the beast in the east and gorillas uptown.

BG., why did you decide to push the group album before your 11th solo album?

BG: It was just the timing with Atlantic and with Asylum. I’m signed to Atlantic and Chopper City Boyz signed to Asylum, so it’s all about the right time. I want to go so hard though, you know by it being my 11th album, it means so much to me but I feel comfortable with putting the group album out first and setting a tone and then coming with mine.

Is it true that you’re linking up with the original Hot Boyz members for a new album?

BG: Yeah, the Hot Boyz reunion is most definitely in effect. I’m on board, Juvie on board, you know Wayne on board. I think the world has been wanting to see it for a minute now and even though we parted ways, we never had any problems amongst each other as a group. It was just bad business on the executive part of it, but we’ve shown that we can stand on our own two feet.
and still work together.

As proud natives from the N.O. you guys represent the energy coming from out the city even through the rebuilding at Katrina. While making this album did Katrina help to motivate some of the content on this album?

BG: Most definitely, Katrina being one of the biggest disasters, it made history. Our city will never be the same, but it always be in out hearts and it’s going to always come out in the music because we gotta live with that for the rest of our lives.

Other than Bubblegum, what else can we expect to come out?

Snipe: We’re going to let the fan base let us know what the next single should be.

Do you guys have a favorite record on the album?

Snipe: Every single one of them because I put my heart into it.

Which producers did you guys work with on the album?

Snipe: Production wise we got, Joe the CEO that produced the single Bubblegum. We got Bass Heavy, Cory from Detroit, Chauncey the producer and a lot more.

Gar: We working with a lot of producers that’s hungry from New Orleans and a lot of producers that’s just hungry from any Chopper City in their own state.

Who are some of the featured artists on this album?

Snipe: We got BloodRaw from CTE, we got Lax from the D Boys-from old Cash Money days, The Show from Mannie Fresh’s label Chubby Boy Records and ALFAMEGA from Grand Hustle Records.

Gar: We got Rocko, Straight Shot and Lil’ Dollar on the joint.

What do you think is the key to longevity in the music industry?

BG: Really and truly, just keeping it real with myself and staying consistent. Rapping is just my way of opening up and I’ve been putting people in my business my whole career. Like from my drug addiction to everything that I’ve been through with the criminal justice system. I just like to tell my story and people like hearing my story. A lot of people can relate to it.

Snipe: I mean you just got to stay afloat. You have to pretty much stay in game constantly, give ’em that street as much as they want it.

Gar: The thing is man, you gotta stand down point blank. Come out the same way you went in with the same mu***f***ers that’s real.

As a group, what are some of your goals? Do you have any aspirations outside of music?

Gar: See me and Snipe, we came up with a goal to both have solo deals by the end of the year. But it don’t matter, one of us or none of us, but that’s our goal with this rap shit.

BG: If it makes money, it makes sense to me. I could be an actor, I want to own a real-estate company. I want to own a couple of clubs. I want to open up a pharmacy. It’s a whole bunch of things that I want to do, but rapping is where my heart is at. That’s where my heart is at before the business is concern. I want to do a whole lot of different things for when I’m ready to hang the mic up.

How do you guys feel about current Hip-Hop right now?

Gar: I love it. Hip-Hop is right were it needs to be.

Snipe: It’s just a new era right now.

What is that era?

Snipe: It’s more dancing on the scene right now. Its all about club songs, but we got a whole lot of theme joints. This fact alone makes it easy for us to say that we got swag at the ass because we can switch into any lane.

Gar: Right now, the whole rap game done moved around and went from the west coast, to the east coast and now the south. We gotta hold that shit up. Florida is just beating the rap game over the brain right now. It’s a lot of smoke that’s about to come from New Orleans and they say Hip-Hop dead but Lil Wayne just did a mil in a week, so Hip-Hop is what ever you make it.

A lot of people know who guys are already, but for those who don’t – what do want yor new fans to get from ‘Life in the Concrete Jungle’?

Gar: Our core fan base already know what to expect but for the new fans if they listened to the first album and compared the two, they would say this album is more mature. You can see the growth and development, but from the both of us as artist, they can expect that street music that we make all the time. It’s quality street music.

What do you think your fans would be surprised to know what you do in your off time away from music?

Gar: Look at your window, we in the hood. We do the same thing y’all do man but y’all put us in this position and keep us in this position so we appreciate y’all as much as y’all appreciate us.

Snipe: We ordinary people just like you.

BG: Well I’m into politics. I’m following the Presidential Election between Obama and McCain. I spend time with my kids and just chill. I’m the same person I was before all this shit and I’ma be the same person after.

To date, what is your biggest career highlight?

BG: Let’s see, that word ‘bling, bling’ being in the dictionary really threw me off. For me having a word inducted into the dictionary is crazy, especially coming from where I come from and having the whole world saying ‘bling, bling’ that’s one of them.

Where do you guys see yourselves being in 5 or 10 years from now?

Gar: Successful. If God see the same, Barack Obama will be the first black president and that’s enough motivation for us to keeping working hard.

Snipe: I can’t see myself being no where but more successful than where I’m at now. I’m trying to reach a mark that a lot of people ain’t reaching for.

BG: Opening the doors for other young and upcoming artists that have dreams. I want to put people on and give those in the hood with talent a way out once I’m a hundred million strong, not even a hundred million strong, 20 million strong. I want to reach back out and help other people because I feel that’s where I feel blessings come from.

Ok guys, any parting words before we close out?

BG: I say it all the time, you keep it real with me, I’ma keep it real with you, and all my fans know that. I feel that’s how I survived and lasted in the game for so long, by just being myself and keeping it one hundred. I appreciate everybody, who appreciates me and what I’m doing.