Q: We're here with Rich Graham; let us know how you’re doing homie.

I’m good fam; Staying busy - Trying to keep my head above water.

Q: Good stuff. You grew up in New Jersey, correct? Tell us about life growing up.

No doubt I’m a Jersey boy to the core. Life growing up for me was alright. Its life…you learn to adapt to your surroundings and you try to find your path. I don’t really have the typical rapper story as far as my upbringing. My parents were divorced when I was very young and I was raised by my father. My whole family is from Trenton which is the hood and he (father) didn’t want me to grow up like that so I was raised in Willingboro which is a suburb of Trenton, Camden, and Philly.

It’s funny because I guess everybody in the late 70s and early 80s must’ve had the same plan because 85% of the people who live in the ‘Boro are from surrounding inner cities and ghettos. You know what they say. You can take somebody out the hood but you can’t take the hood out of them.

So basically, I grew up in a suburb with all hood niggas (laughs). Ain’t too many soccer moms round my way. If there are, I damn sure ain’t seen em (laughs).

I ain’t saying its super gangsta out here but all the niggas I grew up with and the young boys that came up under us do the same shit that niggas in the ghetto do. Sell drugs, talk shit, rob niggas, have shootouts, play ball, argue wit baby mommas, gang bang etc. Only difference is that it’s smaller out here so when u have a problem with somebody you are going to see them today or tomorrow and you gonna have to man up. This damn sure ain’t no big city and ain’t nothing fake about it.

Q: Thanks for giving us such a deep background. When did you move to Atlanta and where in Atlanta do you reside?

I moved to Atlanta in ‘99 for college. When I first came to Atlanta, I lived on the Westside off Six Flags. Now I live in Marietta because I got some more money (laughs). I’m still in Cobb County though.

Q: besides College, was their any other motivation behind moving to Atlanta?

I just didn’t see a future for me in Jersey. I was bored and I saw what my life would be if I stayed and I didn’t want that. I’ve always been extremely ambitious, more so than my peers and there was no opportunity for me to grow there. My right hand man was already in the A (Atlanta) for a year so I packed up my stuff and me and my left hand man decided to bounce; The three of us been tight since we were five years old so it just made sense. Those are my brothers.

Q: Do you ever go back to Jersey at all?

I go back as much as I can. I’m actually in Jersey right now. There’s no place like home dog. Atlanta is soooo different than where I’m from so I try to come home to get my swagger back if I’ve been away too long. It’s my reality check. It reminds me where I’m from, who I really am, and why I decided to leave. Anybody from Jersey can tell you it’s a love/hate thing. We love what we come from but we don’t want to stay if we don’t have to. Plus my whole family is still here.

Q: Ok, moving on to the music side of things - How did you get into Hip-Hop? At what age did you begin taking it seriously?

I’ve been into good music in general for as long as I can remember. My dad used to throw a lot of parties when I was young and I remember the soul music and hip-hop blasting through the speakers. It was a lot like Kane in the beginning of Menace to Society minus the shooting and the heroin (laughs).

I remember coming home from school when I was in junior high and everybody in my neighborhood would come to my house everyday. We would watch rap city (back when it was Mayor Chris Thomas) and Yo MTV raps and I would record the best videos and make video mixtapes. I was so fascinated by it but I was still a visual artist. I never wanted to be a rapper but I would draw them all the time. It wasn’t until my senior year that I started rapping. I always was a witty dude with a smart mouth. My boys would bang on the lunch table and tell me to tell jokes and crack on people off the top of the head and I was real good at it. That’s how it started. I didn’t take rap seriously until I moved to Atlanta and met my manager. He wanted me to ghostwrite for an artist he had. That was perfect for me because I never was the type of nigga who wanted to be famous. I could write hot shit and let somebody else say it; Just give the cheques (laughs).

Q: Which artists influenced you to do what you do?

The Golden Age of hip-hop was a very big influence on me. I grew up listening to Big Daddy Kane, KRS One, Rakim, Boot Camp Clique, Wu Tang, Redman, A Tribe Called Quest, Jeru Da Damaja, Jay-Z, Nas, The Lox, and Beanie Sigel. I’m a mixtape head. I didn’t buy a lot of albums but I probably have every Clue tape ever made. DJ Juice, Ron G, S&S, DJ Envy, etc. That’s what I listened to everyday. I miss the days where you would just hear the best MCs at the time just rap. No hooks or girl records. No formula, just straight spitting. I want bring that back. “Ready to Die” is the album that sparked the MC in me though. Hands down Biggie was my greatest influence.

Q: You also went to art school; how did that influence your lyrics and musical creativity?

Well because I’m a very visual person I have to make sure you see something when I spit a rhyme. Not just words that don’t make sense or just sound cool. Even if it’s not a story, I visualize what I’m writing so I can convey a message to the audience. I want you to see what I’m saying.

That’s why I loved Biggie. You can see everything he was saying. You picture his outfit, his surroundings, who was there, what the weather is like at the time, etc. Biggie, Jay-Z, Nas and Scarface are the best at that in my opinion and that’s why their songs are timeless.

Q: Fair enough. How did you get introduced to T.I. and Grand Hustle? Tell us about that experience.

I met Tip and the Grand Hustle family around 2000 or 2001. My manager Dark Gable was close friends with all of them. This was a few months before “Dope Boyz” came out.

Tip had just gotten his new deal with Atlantic and he was working on “Trap Musik.” They just started Grand Hustle and my manager wanted to work me in to be a part of that. I’ve known them all ever since. They gave me the opportunity to stick around and learn the game and I got to watch first hand how this game works if you put your all into it. I wasn’t ready at the time because I didn’t want it bad enough. Time went on and I went away for a few years to grow as an artist and a man but when I got back with my manager it was just like old times. Those are my dudes and I got mad respect for them.

Q: What did you learn from being around them?

I learned that you have to eat, sleep, and live this or you can’t win. It ain’t all about talent; it’s about staying in the mix and showing what you can do. That’s how you become the best. It’s a 24/7 job and that’s why I don’t stop. Part time artists don’t win.

Q: Real talk. Tell us about your first mixtape "The Calm before the Storm." Are you happy with how it turned out?

I loved how it came out. To this day I think it’s a great mixtape. I did it completely on my own. You can hear the hunger in my rhymes and I have lines on there that niggas is just now saying in their songs today. I think that’s funny because a lot of people’s favorite rappers are saying shit that I said years ago. That’s how I know I’m the shit and I ain’t shy about saying it. It was an ill mixtape. I was going through a lot in my life at that time so I had a lot to talk about. I got a good buzz off of that.

Q: Tell us about how releasing that mixtape build up your buzz? What opportunities came from it?

That mixtape got my name out there. It was my name on a good product and that’s where it started. I was managing a store in the mall and I sold them out of there. It just started to spread and that’s how I started to get a fan base. Everybody knew me and respected me in the street because they knew what type of dude I was so they wanted to hear what I had to say. Guess they still do.

Q: Good stuff. Moving on, tell us about "Filthy by Association."

“Filthy by Association” is crazy. It shows my growth and my transition into being a bi-coastal artist. I broke out of my east coast shell and I found my style. I have great production and great songs on there. I show my versatility, tell stories, spit dope lines, and have banging beats. It’s a very solid project. I’m very proud of it. You have to love it. People who never heard me before tell me they bump it from beginning to end. You can’t even do that wit seasoned artists albums.

Q: I see. You have some great appearances on there like Lil Wayne; how did that come about?

The Lil Wayne feature came about through the producer of that particular record. It’s originally a Jody Breeze record called “Dipping” featuring Lil Wayne. I met the producer when he came to Atlanta and he was really feeling my joints. He played the song and I thought it was hot. I told him I loved the hook because I’m a big Beanie Sigel fan. He was shocked because he said nobody knew that was a Beanie (Sigel) sample on the hook. He told me he was doing a compilation and he wanted me to put a verse on the record so I did it and I crushed it. I never even met Wayne. It’s funny because I see how the dick riding comes in and people wanna listen because I have a song with somebody big. I know a lot of people only listened to my mixtape because of the feature but hey, it worked and niggas can’t say I ain’t kill the verse so it is what it is. Shout out to Weezy and Jody Breeze (laughs).

Q: (laughs). You have now released your first single "Looking for You." tell us about the motivation behind the record.

I make all kinds of records but I knew I needed a girl record. Its summertime and I was ready to get to the radio so I needed a hit. I got in the lab wit my homey Soundz who I’ve been working with since the beginning of my career. He also produced the “Love in the Club” remix with Beyonce and Weezy and one of my biggest records in the south called “Mobbin” feat. Young Boss.

I called him up and told him I need something undeniable so we can get on the radio. I’m tired of not breaking through that wall. He played me a beat I fell in love with and it was a girl record. He said Ludacris wants it so I was like dammit man! Why you play me that if I can’t have it!? (laughs) he saw how much I wanted it so he said okay, I’ll make you one similar but better and literally 20 minutes later he had the track done. I heard it and I knew it was the one. He had to run to a fashion show so I said let me stay here and vibe to the track and when you come back, we can record.

By the time he came back I had already recorded the record and when I played it for him we just looked at each other because we knew this was big. The inspiration just came a conversation I had a few days earlier. The conversation was about how easy it is for a female to please a man if they just do a few simple things. I decided to kill two birds with one stone with the record. I wanted to tell females what the perfect girl is for most men and what type of girl is perfect for me personally. It’s like an instruction manual for females to keep their man. Dudes around the world should be thanking me!

Q: Cool story. Are you planning on shooting a music video for that?

I definitely want to shoot a video for that but not until I get a deal or a big budget because it’s a big record and the video has to convey my message properly. I refuse to settle for a cheap video for a song that’s so big for my career. It’s a hit record so it needs to be a hit video. It’ll be my first worldwide look so it has to be right. You only have one chance to make a first impression.

Q: Real talk once again. What is the title of the album and when is it dropping?

The title of the album is “Get Money Season”. It’s pretty much self explanatory. One of my lines says it best. “This is Get Money Season/Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall/I gotta get the gwop/so I grind like a junkie’s jaw.”

Q: Good line. What is your current label situation like?

(Laughs) what label situation? I need a deal. I make hit records. I have an incredible stage show. I’m real. I’m humble. I’m smart. I’m marketable. I have a movement. I’ve written hits for other people. I don’t know what else I’m supposed to be doing but these labels need to wake up, Point blank period.

Q: For real. Do you have any last words for the fans before I let you go?

I just want to say thank you to everyone who loves and believes in my music. To everybody who tells me I’m the best and I should’ve been on. To everyone who comes to my shows and buys my mixtapes. I appreciate it and I’m gonna keep giving you what you want - Great music. Oh yeah... and to everyone who is a part of my movement. You know the call, KLICK KLACK AAYYYOOO!!

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