Legendz

B.G. has had a storied career in hip-hop. He was a part of the original Hot Boys. He battled a drug addiction and won. He’s even coined phrases that are now officially part of the English language, just check Webster’s dictionary. In short, B.G. is a survivor.

He went from being a multi platinum artist on Cash Money to beefing with Baby and Lil Wayne. Always one to land on his feet B.G. continued to put music out and became an extremely successful independent artist. And with a little help from fellow Southern superstar T.I., B.G. made it back to the majors, as he is now an Atlantic artist.

Few rappers can say they’ve been as resilient as B.G. Fifteen years in the game and he’s still relevant. Sixshot.com caught up with B.G to discuss the Chopper City Boyz, his situation with Atlantic, the effects of Hurricane Katrina, and the Hot Boys reunion.

Sixshot.Com: Alright man, first things first, I know you’re a real New Orleans dude. Are things getting better down there in terms of Katrina?

B.G.: I guess man. I mean it’s better than it was. I could say that. It’s better than it was a year or two ago but it’s definitely not where it should be or where I know that it could be. It’s not like it was before Katrina and I’m still waiting for it to get back to that. If certain people would step up and do what they supposed to do things might get better faster, you know what I’m sayin’?

Sixshot.Com: I feel that. So B.G., you and the Chopper City Boyz went in a different direction with the album's first single, "Bubblegum". Was that intentional?[Listen to Bubblegum]

B.G.: I mean for us that’s really just a buzz record man. We just wanted to show a different side of the Chopper City Boyz and get the buzz going for the album. I think the fans wanted to see another side of what we have to offer and we got that. People might thing we only got that street type of shit but we could do it all man.

Sixshot.Com: Are you happy with the response?

B.G.: Most definitely man. People are feelin’ it. You know what the fans expect from me and that’s that street shit. They expect that from me and my crew and I always got that for them. I always got that and I always will. I love giving the fans that type of music. We just decided to switch it up and so far so good because they’re loving the song. It’s getting a real good response.

Sixshot.Com: As a dude who’s been in the game for so long what is your take on the sales slump?

B.G.: The game is going through a transformation to digital right now and that’s what it is. You gotta get accustomed to the changes and all that and just roll with them, you know what I’m sayin’? Lil Wayne showed us though that if you set things up the right way and you got the right push and the right buzz that you could still sell a major amount of records. Wayne is on fire and we knew he was gonna sell a whole lot of records. Things ain’t that bad. They could be that bad though if you let them. It’s all about how you set things up and all that.

Sixshot.Com: Were you surprised when Lil Wayne sold that mil?

B.G.: I mean the way things were going I figured he was going to do about 700 or 800 in the first week so when he sold that mil I wasn’t really too surprised. It wasn’t too far from what I thought. I was real happy for him. He’s like a brother to me so I couldn’t help but be happy for him having that kind of success. We went through what we went through but I consider them to be my brothers, all the Hot Boys. I actually got a video coming out that features Lil Wayne and Juvenile.

Sixshot.Com: What is it like back working with them?

B.G.: It’s cool man. I mean we all men now so it’s a different situation from what it was. At the end of the day it’s cool and it’s what the people want. It’s what they been asking for. They been asking for it for a real long time. Everybody wants to see us back working together.

Sixshot.Com: So is there a chance for a reunion Hot Boys album?

B.G.: Most definitely man. That’s actually being talked about right now. It’s being talked about as we speak. You might see that at the beginning of the year. The record I’m going to drop is also going to help with the anticipation and the buzz for it. When people see Wayne, Juve, and me together again they’re just gonna want that Hot Boys album even more than before. The thing is we weren’t forced to do this. We don’t have to do this. Nobody is making us do this. If this happens it’s because we all want it to happen so if it does go down then ya’ll are gonna get another classic album from the Hot Boys.

Sixshot.Com: How big do you think a Hot Boys reunion album would be for hip-hop?

B.G.: Oh man, I think it would be huge. So many people want to see it happen and they’re ready. They’ve been waiting for a long time. I think it would be like the Beatles, like the return of the hip-hop Beatles. It would definitely be a highly anticipated album and I know at the end of the day the fans would love it, you know what I’m sayin’?

Sixshot.Com: What were you trying to give the fans with this Chopper City Boyz album?

B.G.: Basically what I wanted to do was just follow the formula of the first album and just step it up a few notches. We sold 100 thousand on the first album with no marketing and no promotion at Koch. That’s a big success so all we had to do was stick to the script and just bring it up some, make it bigger and better. I also got my situation with Atlantic. The movement is gonna be real big man. It’s already big.

Sixshot.Com: Are you happy with the situation at Atlantic?

B.G.: Yeah man, it’s a real good situation for me. T.I. is involved with the album and it’s gonna be serious so everybody should look out for that.

Sixshot.Com: Anything you’d like to say to your fans out there?

B.G.: Yeah I’d just like to say that I really appreciate all the love and support that I get from the fans. I promise that I’m never gonna let ya’ll down and I’m gonna keep delivering this music as long as I’m here. The Chopper City Boyz album is dropping so everybody should run out and cop that.