Raptalk hooked up with groundbreaking independent artists Tha Joker & Lil Mal for an interview. If the names sound familiar, it's because Tha Joker & Lil Mal are currently doing major label numbers as independents! With a former beef with Soulja Boy, Tha Joker talks to us about what was their highly publicised issue.

We catch up with Tha Joker and Lil Mal during there hectic tour schedule, promoting the new release of “Straight from the Heart.” 

Interview: We are here with Tha Joker & Lil Mal. Now these two are doing it very big and our readers will see why shortly. They just finished performing with Travis Porter last night and we have a few statistics for everyone later on. How are you guys doing?

Both: We’re doing alright; always on the grind. We’re on the road moving around.

Interview: We want to give the fans some background information on you two. Talk to us about growing up in the south.

Lil Mal: We’re both from Mississippi. We do a lot of work in Atlanta, Texas, Kentucky – we’ve done shows in Alaska, Denver – anywhere you name. We always stay on the road. This is our full time occupation.

Interview: Both growing up in Mississippi, what influences did you have early on?

Tha Joker: Both of us grew up without anything. We had to face your regular poverty. We were regular kids in regular schools.

Lil Mal: Growing up, we listened to a lot of southern music - Lil Boosie, Lil Webbie, T.I., Young Jeezy, and UGK – the regular southern acts.

Interview: Being from Mississippi, what are your thoughts on David Banner?

Lil Mal: He’s pretty good but we’re not a big fan of his. I respect him because he’s doing well for himself. He’s very successful but I’m not a fan of David Banner.

Interview: Tha Joker – where does that name come from? Growing up, did people always say you had a good sense of humor?

Tha Joker: Yeah, I was your typical class clown. I loved to joke and make people laugh constantly. So you know I was one of the ones that stayed getting put out of class and suspended.

Interview: Let’s get into music. How did you two meet and begin making music together?

Tha Joker: I started out with LT and I’m doing pretty well as far as shows and digital sales – I've been getting $1,500-$2,000 plus travel a show for the last year off of internet buzz alone. You can check my ITunes sales and it's at 50,000 plus.

Lil Mal: I was doing my thing in my area of Jackson, Mississippi. Tha Joker had already made a name for himself in the south so we just came together and broadened the fan bases as far as the streets and the internet. If you check our internet fan base, we have a lot of people supporting us as far as YouTube and all the different websites.

Interview: That’s hot. Speaking of all that, you mentioned some statistics. Joker, we are talking massive plays on MySpace and YouTube downloads on iTunes and DatPiff and so on. Talk to us about that because that’s big.

Tha Joker: Every month we have great statistics. The majority of my YouTube videos have 200,000 to 600,000 views. My most successful YouTube video has 3,000,000 views. I have a series of freestyles going called "We do it for fun." All of my mixtapes combined are at about 60,000 downloads. My MySpace is doing 4,000 to 10,000 plays a day with no radio play. Check some of the major artists MySpace they're barely doing my numbers with national radio play and numerous BET videos under their belt. Like I said, check the iTunes data.

Lil Mal: We get the numbers. The subject of this interview is why we aren’t signed yet. What’s the hold up? I don’t know what we have to do. You have a lot of artists out here on major labels not doing half of our numbers. We’re showing people we’re not one-song artists. We have a lot of songs, 20-30, we just dropped a new mixtape “Straight from the Heart”, and we have Lil Webbie, Roscoe Dash who created “All the way Turned Up.” Basically, we’ve already put out 10,000 hard copies of that. We’re doing pretty well on www.datpiff.com and www.livemixtape.com.

Interview: Ok, we’re going to get into that. In terms of you Lil Mal, the “Can’t Win” record has received an impressive amount of plays as well. Tell us about that one.

Lil Mal: We recorded that song in Alaska. That was the fourth song me and Joker did together. We came back and shot a video to it a week or two after we did it. We dropped a song with the video first – we didn’t drop the song and then the video – we dropped both at the same time. The first time people heard that song was through the video. We debuted it on YouTube as a promotional tool. It gave the people a visual idea and we get to paint a picture of the song, it's currently at 72,000 views. That is something a lot of artists aren’t doing. That sort of put us two steps ahead because they’re not doing what we’re doing.

Interview: That’s definitely a creative strategy. You want the basis of this interview to be why you aren’t signed yet. Talk to us about that? Why do you think that is the case?

Lil Mal: It all points to this – you have major artists who aren’t making our sales off ITunes period. We as independent, we’re doing what major artists aren’t doing with no radio play. And plus our money off shows, $2,000 a show plus travel and hotel rooms, it doesn’t make sense [why we aren’t signed]. We’ve done these shows in Alaska, Indiana, Texas, Denver, Atlanta, Kentucky and so on. Why aren’t we signed when we’re doing two times what the average major label artist does? But we’re not getting the BET, MTV and all the stuff the major artist does to capture their audience. They need that and we’re doing it without it – now imagine if we got that push behind us too.

We’re also working real close with Recognition who just signed a deal with Capitol Records. We have 5-7 songs with them [Recognition] and shot a couple of videos and they just signed their major deal and are getting a lot of radio play right now. We’ve also worked with a few other artists like Lil C and Sally Bizzle. We keep it within our circle. We just focus on making good music – stuff you can ride to, relate to, something girls can feel and real people out the hood relate to us.

Interview: Good stuff. Joker, I want to talk about the Soulja Boy issue. Now I know the story but break it down for our readers.

Tha Joker: That’s what it is. First off, I just want to say that it’s not really a beef anymore. I’m really about getting money. At the time, I didn’t even want to do it but it got to a certain point. We had worked together a long time ago and it was cool. So we made a song together and it was released in 2007 called “Boy Shorts.” When he got on, I got in some trouble and got locked up. There are certain ways I put my songs and words together and I knew through dealing with him where he got his stuff from. I watched it at first and I didn’t say too much. I got at him and asked about it and he told me I influenced him and he was a fan of mine. I really couldn’t be mad but he kept doing it. Finally, I said that’s enough. I don’t even look at it like that. I’m just here on the road grinding and getting money. It is what it is.

Interview: You did know him and have recorded with him before you went to prison? You noticed him rapping with your style?

Tha Joker: Right.

Interview: I just wanted to clear that up. Is it still an on going issue?

Tha Joker: It’s not ongoing on my behalf. I really am done with the whole thing. I’m really concentrating on getting money and being positive and successful.

Interview: Talk to us about the new mixtape with Lil Mal that’s out right now.

Tha Joker: It’s a mixtape that dropped on February 5^th with Lil Mal. It’s a free mixtape and we got together and put it out. It has some hot production out of Texas. We have Webbie on there, Recognition and Roscoe Dash. It has 30,000 downloads thus far and it’s still going.

Interview: I got a chance to hear the “On God” that you have big plans for. Tell us about that.

Lil Mal: “On God” is something that everybody is hearing. With that “On God”, we’re talking about on my momma, I put that on God. It’s a well-known slang in the hood and we put it into a song.

Interview: In terms of being slang, it’s used, tell us about the concept? Did you want to bring that slang forward?

Lil Mal: It’s really slang in two ways. There are a lot of people who go at it the wrong way and see it in a religious manner. We don’t look at it like that. It’s just an “On God” type of slang. The people who do see it in a religious manner aren’t the ones supporting our music anyways. The fan base is so strong and has been with us for a long time so basically there going to support. We have a fan base that is buying whatever we put out. You have religious people who are mainly going to be older people who are not coming to the shows or buying music at all. If they were to come at us with anything, the music is there. They’re not going to buy it regardless. It’s not dealing with God, just something everybody says in the neighborhood.

Interview: Tell us about the “We do it for Fun” mixtape coming soon.

Tha Joker: I got the “We do it for Fun” mixtape coming soon. It’ll be dropping sometime around May before the summer. We already have five freestyles from the series already. We’re just going to keep releasing them and push them. I know the fans are going to love it.

Interview: The “On God” single is the one you’re pushing? Your about to shoot a video for that?

Lil Mal: We’re really pushing the single “Pull Out” with Recognition and it’s getting some play on radio stations. We already have a video out to it too… 

Interview: You guys are obviously doing major numbers independently. Have you ever run into any struggles or roadblocks?

Lil Mal: We have a lot of roadblocks. A lot of times, we don’t have the push that major artists have. It’s hard to deal with that when you’re independent. The radio is a good example of that. The only thing we’re missing right now is a label. Once we get the radio push and distribution behind us [it’s going to be a good situation], and I don’t think that’s too far away. As I said, the whole subject of this interview why we’re not signed or why it’s taking too long. That’s what it is. Why is it taking so long? You have artists that wake up and made a song three months ago and they get a deal.

Interview: That’s definitely a focus point in this interview. In terms of performing, do you have a city or venue that has been your favorite?

Lil Mal: I have three and Tha Joker agrees with me. Kentucky, Indiana and Alaska.

Interview: Why those three?

Lil Mal: Alaska because you don’t even find major artists performing out there. Kentucky because nobody says there going to Kentucky. We go to a lot of spots that you don’t hear of and we make the best of it. I love Kentucky but there is nothing to love in Kentucky; we just make the best of it. It is what it is. It’s the same with Alaska – it took us 15 hours to get there. You don’t see major artists performing in Alaska. Indiana because it’s like home. We do a lot of work with guys up there too.

Interview: What’s next up for Lil Mal & Tha Joker?

Lil Mal: Joker is working on the “We do it for Fun” mixtape. I’m working on a solo mixtape that has 3-4 songs with Joker. We’re just basically focused on making a lot of noise so when a label or somebody does holler at us; they’re talking about $100,000 or more.

Interview: We’re right here with Lil Mal & Tha Joker and we’re going to end it on that note. You heard the official word right here and the numbers do speak loud and clear. There is success ahead for these two. Mal & Joker, do you have any last words before I let you go?

Tha Joker: Everything is good. If they don’t know about our MySpace and Twitter, www.myspace.com/ophlilmal , www.myspace.com/joker2cold and www.myspace.com/suddentakeover. Follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/lil_mal and www.twitter.com/ftejoker. Check that out and check us out on YouTube. The music is available on ITunes and the mixtapes are available for free download on www.datpiff.com and www.livemixtapes.com. Make sure y’all stay tuned.

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