bigted

Outkast's Big Boi Set To Drop Solo Album Next Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For something he's calling his "mega-top-top-secret solo record," Big Boi sure is willing to divulge details. "You're going to get something from every genre, every funk, beat, loop, horn, whistle. We got it all on the record," the Outkast rapper said Friday on the set of Fantasia's "Hood Boy" video. "I got maybe 35 beats already done for it now, so I'm just diving in and trying to carve out the pie with the vocals." Fans can expect something similar to Speakerboxxx, Big Boi's half of Outkast's 2003 smash double album, only without an Andre 3000 album attached. Big's high school friend will, however, contribute production. "I'm going to try to keep it in-house," Big Boi said, noting that he's also producing along with Organized Noize. The yet-untitled album should hit stores sometime in 2007, unless "they keep pulling me back and forth with these movies," the rapper said. Big Boi, who starred in 2006's Idlewild and ATL, is currently shooting the comedy Who's Your Caddy?with Cedric the Entertainer, Faizon Love, Andy Milonakis and Finesse Mitchell. "It's about a music mogul who tries to play golf in this exclusive golf community," Big Boi explained. "I go inside this country club and buy this huge house, and the 17th hole just happens to be on my property, so they got to let me in. There's a lot of antics with them trying to get me [kicked] out and things like that. It's seriously funny." Big Boi actually learned golf and polo for the role — some of the perks of his second career. "Acting is great, man," he said. "I've been getting offers for years, but music has always been the first love. But now that I got time to step back from everything and take a breather, I can pick and choose roles and take them as they come." Although the highly anticipated Idlewild, which is coming to DVD on December 5, was hardly a runaway hit, Big's not disappointed with the movie, or the soundtrack for that matter. "The thing that people don't know is that we were switched over to a new record label, going from Arista to Jive," Big Boi said of the soundtrack, which doubled as Outkast's follow-up to Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below. "And Jive, they put their best foot forward, but I don't think they really understand our music and know how to work our music. We're still doing what we did 13 years. If you listen to the Idlewild album, the quality of music is there. Everything is there. It's just a new system and trying to get used to things. But hey, we got songs for days." Along with his own album and movies, Big Boi is busy with his Purple Ribbon imprint, with releases from Konkrete and Janelle Monae on the horizon. He's also featured on Unk's "Walk It Out" remix with Jim Jones and Andre 3000, and Fantasia's "Hood Boy." http://www.sixshot.com/articles/6620/

DMC, DMX Celebrate 'Day Of The Child' By Chris Richburg Date: 11/17/2006 8:50 am Hip-Hop icon Darryl "DMC" McDaniels of Run-DMC and rapper DMX are among the performers at this year's Day of the Child celebration tomorrow (Nov. 18) at Chelsea Piers in New York. Presented by New York City’s Administration for Children's Services and Children Uniting Nations, the Day of the Child is described as the community's way of reaching out to at-risk youth in an effort to expose them to mentors who are available to help and guide them. Mentored children are more likely to find ways of surviving within the community without turning to crime, drugs or gangs. More than 500 youths will be paired with adult volunteer mentors, while spending the day getting to know each other and exploring what a long-term mentoring relationship might entail. The goal of the event is to recruit mentors for at-risk youth, including those living in foster care. Additionally, the celebration will include musical performances from Mario and DJ Miss Saigon and the chance to mingle with celebrity guests, who will participate in games and activities. Expected to attend are New York City’s Administration for Children's Services Commissioner John Mattingly, New York Liberty point guard Loree Moore and members from World Wrestling Entertainment. The Day of the Child celebration takes place at at Chelsea Piers, Field House Pier 62.

I was just peeping LL's bio on wikepedia.com and I noticed that it mentions how he's rumored to sign onto Columbia Records for future albums after "Todd Smith 2: Return To Cool"

I got the tracklisting for 2Pac's album, it looks a lil' more promising than the last couple doctored albums, might get it if I could find it in a clearance bin somewhere: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac%27s_Life Title Performer(s) Producer(s) 1 "Untouchable (Swizz Beatz Remix)" 2Pac & Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Swizz Beatz 2 "Pac's Life" 2Pac, T.I. & Ashanti L.T. Hutton 3 "Dumpin'" 2Pac, Hussein Fatal, Papoose & Carl Thomas Canei Finch 4 "Playa Cardz Right (Female)" 2Pac & Keyshia Cole Carvin and Ivan (Karma Productions) 5 "Whatz Next" 2Pac, A3 & Jay Rock Salih 6 "Sleep" 2Pac, Young Buck & Chamillionaire Sha Money XL 7 "International" 2Pac, Nipsey Hussle & Young Dre The Truth L.T. Hutton 8 "Don't Sleep" 2Pac, Lil Scrappy, Nutso, Yaki Kadafi & Stormy E.D.I. 9 "Soon As I Get Home" 2Pac & Yaki Kadafi QD3 10 "Playa Cardz Right (Male)" 2Pac, Ludacris & Keon Bryce Sha Money XL 11 "Don't Stop" 2Pac, Big Syke, Yaki Kadafi, Hussein Fatal, E.D.I., Young Noble & Stormy L.T. Hutton 12 "Pac's Life (Remix)" 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, T.I. & Chris Starr L.T. Hutton 13 "Untouchable" 2Pac, Yaki Kadafi, Hussein Fatal & Gravy Sha Money XL 14 "Dear Mama (Remix)"[3] (European Bonus Track) 2Pac

Hey Jim Jones also responded in an interview recently to how he felt about Jay-Z dissin' him and a lot of what he says is true here, Jay-Z acted for a long time that he was too big to respond to Dipset but now all of sudden why is he replying now? Jay-Z' pulling off a publicity stunt for his album just as much as you could say Cam'ron did. Jay-Z only has like 2 good songs on his new album and "Ballin!!!" is much hotter than "Show Me What You Got", Dipset has a chance to win 'cause I think Jay-Z is washed up, I'm personally getting sick of all this hype from him myself, I'd like to see somebody slow down his ego, the only way Jay could dominate again is if he pays Nas to ghostwrite him some decent lyrics, like I said all along I really think he signed Nas just so Nas wouldn't ether him again, lol: http://www.allhiphop.com/features/?ID=1624 Jim Jones: Boulders At The Throne By Chuck "Jigsaw" Creekmur For the clueless few, Jay-Z and the Diplomats have had friction between them even when the group leader Cam'ron and company were signed to Roc-A-Fella Records. The tension had settled under the surface, dormant for many years. Furthermore, when Cam'ron issued his own lyrical barrage at the Def Jam president last year...it was basically ignored. Things have changed in the last year and Jay-Z has put on his rapper cap in addition to his presidential duties. In full MC mode, he's taken up a festering beef with Jim Jones who has prodded Jay for some time, an effort that culminated in the diss track "Kingdom Done." Both men have generated their share of electricity with their albums, Jim's Hustler's P.O.M.E and Jay-Z's Kingdom Come. Jim Jones reacts to Jay-Z latest Jab, "Brooklyn High," his own diss that's all the rage on the internet and radio. But, Jim Jones, a certified star, appears unfazed and even confident in the face of a lyrical assault by one of Hip-Hop's dominant forces. Filled with belly-laughs and animated barbs, Jim Jones describes the fun autumn he’s having. AllHipHop.com: Let’s cut to the chase. What do you think of Jay’s answer ["Brooklyn High"] ? Jim Jones: Personally? It’s a couple feelings. To get Jay-Z to bite the bullet was a hell of a chess game, ‘cause he thinks he’s always playin’ chess. So right now, [i got a] check for his ass, ‘cause he sold for the bait. He said Jim Jones’ name a couple weeks ago on HOT 97, that was his first mistake, nobody ever thought he’d do that – If I’m supposedly not on his level, when he’s supposed to be this rich dude and such this gangsta. [laughs] That was his first mistake. And then he bit the bullet and did the remix to “We Fly High” [titled “Brooklyn High”], which I appreciate. He did two verses, and that registers as BDS, ‘cause it’s over two minutes. [Editor’s Note: BDS is Broadcast System Data, which records the frequency of a song’s play on a radio station] So what I’m gonna do is, I’m gonna put my verse to it, then we got the official Jim Jones [and] Jay-Z remix [listen to the new remix called "We Fly High (Beef Mix)"]. He ain’t even spittin’ right on that joint, so he kinda disappointed me ‘cause I thought he would’ve came harder. But for the people, I’m gonna put my verse on it tonight, so we gonna have the official Jay-Z [and] Jim Jones remix, and I’m gonna have it tomorrow. The BDS is already runnin’, so I appreciate you Jay, givin’ me extra BDS. That’ll probably take me up another thousand spins or something like that. I look at it like I must’ve really gotten under his skin and all that, man. I appreciate the love from baby bro, nahmean? Since he can’t f**k with me in no way around the board, I listened to his [Kingdom Come] album, I’d say there was about two songs on there that was decent. It really wasn’t there for my n***as that be in the hood, hustlin’, tryin’ to get money, for the fly girls, them independent ladies, it wasn’t there for them, man. I was really disappointed in the album, man. You know? He says men lie, women lie, numbers don’t, and I don’t know if people understand what I’ve done this week, by shipping 300,000 units, I did 108,000 units – that ratio is incredible, understand? For me to be on an independent and to do 108,000 units in the first week is outta hand – not to mention that we do get seven [dollars and some change] a record, understand? So I just recouped and made a few dollars the first week, and next week, I’ll make all seven dollars off my records. It’s a big game goin’ on now, that I’m not mad at. I came in number one rap album, number one indie album, number six overall. I was lookin’ at the charts today… it’s funny though, ‘cause I was listenin’ to him on HOT 97, [and] he was sayin’ how [i’m] not in the top five rappers. Now, I’m on these things, which I’m gonna fax you so you can put ‘em up on the computer tomorrow. [Reading:] This is a BDS from HOT 97’s playlist, it says “We Fly High” is the number one record, getting played 98 times, and “Kingdom Come” is the number 11 record, getting played 38 times, “Show Me What You Got” is the number 14 record, getting played 34 times. [Laughs] The number two record is Snoop, what’s up Snoop? Then I was lookin’ at the BET playlist, tryin’ to see what’s up with the video, and it says “We Fly High” is number one on BET also. “Show Me What You Got” is number three. I’m glad that he knows I’m not in no one’s top five, I ain’t, I’m number one, b***h! It ain’t in no more room up here. [laughs] I got this old n***a. His jump shot is weak, his knees is bad, his swagger is gone. AllHipHop.com: Where does this all come from? Where does the beef start? Jim Jones: Um, it’s a little bit personal, man. We’ve been in a couple situations, back and forth. We also had a deal with [Roc-A-Fella], and been in a lot of spots with him. We recorded at Baseline [studios]. There’s been a lot of things; we always had the upper-hand. There were a few aggressive situations where we had to put our hands on a few people. It wasn’t… there’s just a lot of things that we choose not to expose, but these n***as really know what’s going on. We leave the music to music, and hold all that gangsta s**t for when we see each other, but they don’t want no parts of that, man. These n***as is young bols, I don’t care how old he is. And he talk about 30 is the new 20, but he’s 40. I’m 30, so who’s 20? Shorty? [laughs] AllHipHop.com: Aside from the remix, are you gonna do a reply? Jim Jones: He didn’t really spit. I’m just gonna spit, I’m not gonna reply to him. Like, he didn’t really say nothin’ to me that was harsh. He didn’t even insult me. I thought Jay was gonna try to get at me! That s**t bounced off me, that s**t was weak! He just helped my song out. He got me on the hook and all that, talkin’ ‘bout “Brooklyn!” - so I’m just gonna go “Harlem!” He wanna say “ballin’!” but he said, “Brooklyn!” - you see how he sounds? You coulda said “ballin’!” baby, if you wanted to do the remix, you could’ve done it for New York with me, we coulda did the New York thing. I wouldn’t have been mad, I understand what’s goin’ on around the world: New York gotta come back, but he went about it wrong. You can’t divide Brooklyn and Harlem, ‘cause I’ve got more n***as in Brooklyn than you. Shouts to Bed Stuy, shouts to Marcy, shouts to Marcus Garvey, shouts to Jefferson, shouts to Lincoln. Come on, don’t play with us, man! We out there, man. AllHipHop.com: For years Cam seemed like he was in the front, and that it’s changed positions, but you’ve really come into your own… Jim Jones: I don’t want nobody…let me set this record straight: I don’t got no beef with nobody but the devil, I keep tellin’ people that. If anybody’s got a problem with that, they can go meet him, by all means. This game is built on aggressive competition. By all means, I am an aggressive competitor, smell me? Whatever devil gotta come off the top for me to be there. That’s why I never say I want to be king. That’s why I say I’mma kill these [guys] in total game, and I mean that for sure. I’m that soldier that’ll tear down everything, I don’t matter. But you know, we just havin’ fun out here, so shouts to Hoova, I mean Hova, I mean whatever the n***a’s name is, smell me? I appreciate the love, big baby. ‘Cause he’s not accomplishin’ nothin’. It’s a bigger battle for me to win than him. What is he accomplishin’? What is he gonna say he’s accomplishin’ by dissin’ Jim Jones? He’s supposed to be this multi-platinum artist who’s sold so many millions, and he’s G5’in, and I can’t follow. So what does he need, somebody more street level, or am I part of your marketing strategy? If I’m part of your marketing strategy, I’m a bad n***a. [laughs] AllHipHop.com: At the same time, you pressed up flyers saying, “Who’s Jim Jones? Ask Jay-Z”, is he a part of your strategy? Jim Jones: No, that’s what he said on HOT 97. When Flex asked him, he said, “Jim Jones? Who is Jim Jones? Jim Jones who?” So I just put it on flyers. “Who is Jim Jones? Ask Jay-Z” That came out his own mouth. He used himself as his own publicity stunt for me. I don’t do that, smell me? Anything I do is pure fact, and I’m just havin’ fun. That’s the funny part. He’s really upset, and I’m just havin’ fun…and I’m gettin’ my money. The people are lovin’ it right now, ‘cause they know where I come from. I’m the underdog right now, people love the underdog. I’mma keep riding and keep riding, and when I’m no longer the underdog, then my days in this game is over. That’s what Jay shoulda did, he shoulda learned that he’s not the underdog no more, and bow out like the king he was, smell me? [laughs] He f**ked up. Freddie Kruger, n***a, I’m your worst nightmare. I’m young, I’m pretty, I’m Black, and I’m rich, and I’m ready for war, whatever you wanna do, ‘cause I got my money. [laughs] AllHipHop.com: Is Juelz messed up, being that he’s signed to Jay-Z through Def Jam? Jim Jones: He’s not signed to Jay. LA Reid handles all Juelz’ business, not Jay. AllHipHop.com: He can’t get shelved? Jim Jones: He can’t get shelved. Told ya, LA Reid is the boss over there. He even bigger than Jay. Juelz Santana is straight, and anytime he don’t like the Def Jam situation, he will be off of it in days. AllHipHop.com: Dipset has a Christmas album. What’s that all about? Jim Jones: It’s Christmas, man, I love Christmas. For the last 10 years, I been watchin’ how Christmas is declinin’ with the decorations in the street and all that, the whole Christmas spirit is dead, man. I look at my son, man, and I want him to really feel Christmas at least until he’s eight [years old], and knows what’s goin’ on. The whole spirit of the city, just everything when it comes to Christmas is wrong, man. There’s no soul. I need that unity. I need to feel that eggnog flowin’ and things like that, so [the album] is just my contribution to make it an old school Christmas this year, man. I got special things I’ma do for Harlem, just to make it old school Christmas. I can’t save the world, but I know I’ma try to give back to where I came from, ‘cause I love Christmas to death, I swear to God.

OJ seriously needs help, there's something really wrong with that guy

DJ Jazzy Jeff Preps "Magnificent" Return With Help From Little Brother, Rhymest and Method Man Friday - November 17, 2006 by Jolene "foxxylady" Petipas DJ Jazzy Jeff is currently putting finishing touches on his sophomore album, The Return Of The Magnificent. Solely produced by Jeff, the album will feature appearances from Method Man, Big Daddy Kane, De La Soul, Rhymefest, Raheem DeVaughn, Kardinal Offishall, Little Brother, CL Smooth and KRS-One, among others. "I technically could be done," Jeff explained to Billboard recently. "I probably was done about a month-and-a-half ago and I'm just really tweaking stuff. I came to the conclusion today that I'm just gonna go home, finish everything that I've done so far and just close it out, but I never want to say I'm done." Jeff, who is currently touring the UK, will return to the U.S. on Tuesday (November 21) before heading out to Asia for a two-and-a-half week outing. The Philly bred producer/turntablist is also setting up projects with Biz Markie, Jean Grae and Eric Roberson. DJ Jazzy Jeff's The Return Of The Magnificent is due in stores early next year

I was trying to get on the forum a few times today and wasn't able to, was it an update, somebody tried hacking again?

I don't think Teddy Riley was retiring, he was going through financial troubles for a lil' while that probably kept him from releasing new music I believe, I remember hearing that he had to sell his publishing at the beginning of this year, but I guess he got that straightened out now 'cause he's getting involved in this project with Chauncey and gonna produce on MJ's comeback album, hopefully he could get back to being one of the top producers in the game, I love his music

I know how that feels, the funny thing with me is that sometimes I could turn on the radio and listen to a song on there from an artist that I don't really check for and I could actually relate to it, just like Chris Brown's last single "Never The Right Time To Say Goodbye"

Wow I'm the only one that likes Blackstreet here? It's a damn shame what Teddy did to Chauncey, I guess like FP says "Girls Ain't Nothin' But Trouble", lol

Well since he produced a track for JJFP, I think I'll pin this thread to get more to notice it, I'm gonna check him out myself later on

I got this album from ebay a few weeks ago and it's a very good album, I been listening to it quite a bit since I got it, my favorite tracks are probably "Do Your Time" with Beanie Siegal, Pimp C, and C Murder, "Runaway Love" with Mary J. which is the new single now, "Woozy" with R. Kelly, "Tell It Like It Is", and "Freedom Of Preach" with Bishop Eddie Lee Long, he really put his heart into this album, I'm not really a fan of his of course but I just gotta give props where props is due, he did a damn good job with this album, it really seemed like he had a chip on his shoulder when he was making it, he wanted to show everybody another side to him and that's real right there, I definately got more respect for him than before, he always had skills but now he's using them to display more messages and that's definately showing growth as an artist

It came out the same day as Busta's album last summer, I mentioned it once but didn't say anything anymore since some people on this board get on me about talking about KRS so much, lol, but on the real though KRS really brought it on this album and the damn truth is he's a better mc than 95% of the rappers that get hyped on this board, Game and them are cool but they sure ain't f'ing with "The Teacha"!!! I'm happy somebody mentioned it finally, probably the most underrated album of the year, KRS' probably the most consistant mc ever in my book, I think that was his 14th album, can't wait till he releases the album next year with Marley Marl, should be another classic, now a Marley Marl track with KRS and LL would be heaven to my ears

Well nobody's going 2X platinum anymore anyway except for people like Justin and Beyonce, it's good to know that the crap artists ain't selling like they used to, Nsync used to go 13X platinum, so only going double platinum for Justin Timberlake is a big time fall off from those days he was with them, btw that Ludacris album is really good, he actually says quite a bit of things from his heart on there, I actually brought back that post about his album to talk about how much I actually been feelin' it since I gave it a listen a few weeks ago, and that Diddy album is actually better than I would've thought too, I'm especially feeling that track with Christina Aguilara "Tell Me" that's a single right now, when they put out weaker material they sell millions but it looks like they might not even go platinum when they actually do something good, go figure, lol, Jim Jones is "Ballin'!", I'm not a big Dipset fan but that song bangs, selling 96,000 independently in a week is great making $7 a CD sold, that's the way to go, Fat Joe gonna be getting that paper too next week

Diddy featuring Christina Aguilara "Tell Me"(listening to it on the video playing on BET), this is a really banging track

Yeah I think beats is really something that's carried Jay-Z over the past few years, he got a great ear for beats, but overall he hasn't really been that hungry lyrically for the past albums, with the exception of some hot tracks in between, I even think "Blueprint" is very overhyped, he had some good lyrics in there but Kanye carried that album in my opinion, his last great album was "Hard Knock Life: Volume 2", like AJ I think the collabs were something that made me like him back then

Yeah sales ain'treally important to Fat Joe, he put out a great album which is the most important thing, probably his best since "Don Cartegena", he really stepped up his game here, Game got all that hype 'cause people been anticipating his album ever since his feud with G Unit over a year ago but it does live up to the hype, I actually had some doubts but he proved that he's in the rap game to stay, 2006 has been a great year for hip-hop from a quality standpoint, a lot of great music been coming out

Game got much more hype right now, that's to be expected, Fat Joe's basically just promoting the album himself so he'll probably go gold like Ice Cube did at best

There's never been a beef like Turntable said, some people are idiots if they considered them to be beefing, and there's only one person Fresh Prince needs to collaborate with right now and that's Jazzy Jeff, there's probably more people out there thinking that JJFP broke up than there is thinking that FP and Em had beef

Hopefully they both go platinum 'cause both albums are fire, I picked up both yesterday

Kool Moe Dee listed Fresh Prince at #23 in his top 50 MCs of all time book and didn't list Eminem on there so I think I'll take his word more than Time magazine, although even Fresh Prince would tell you that Eminem got mad skills and at the same time Eminem will tell you that he was inspired from the Fresh Prince

Well I think Jay and Game got some respect for each other but they're not really friends since Game has beef with Memphis Bleek who's in Jay-Z' click

I feel you there, real hip-hop ain't selling 'cause there ain't enough real hip-hop fans, that's what it comes down to, there's more teenagers making up the market that think Nelly was the pioneer of hip-hop than there is knowledgable fans that know about hip-hop so that's why it don't sell, even those so called hip-hop heads like to talk about how wack 50 Cent is more than talk about how much they like rappers like Lupe, the good news is that at least Lupe outsold K-Fed and sold as much as Chingy considering that you figure more white teenagers would want K-Fed and Chingy than Lupe, lol, but in all seriousness though who gives a f about sales, CL Smooth may not go platinum like Lil' Wayne but he's still a better mc than Lil' Wayne'll ever be, and now Robin Thicke might be able to do what Lyfe Jennings did last year, maybe at this time next year he'll be certified platinum

I was actually listening to some Blackstreet today and I found this interview over at allhiphop.com just now: Chauncey Black: Soul Stirrer By Chris Richburg Chauncey Black could be the personification of never forgetting where you came from. Although he has achieved Grammy-winning status as an R&B singer, Black remains rooted in his gospel beginnings. So much so, that his official upcoming solo debut Church Boy is a nod to his upbringing in the church as the product of minister parents. Black recently signed to Busta Rhymes’ Flipmode record label, and is also upping the ante with a fledging clothing line, Churchwear, and an eagerness to deliver what he believes fans are craving. In an exclusive with AllHipHop.com Alternatives, Chauncey reminisces a bit about his days singing gospel with Jodeci’s K-Ci and JoJo, discusses his new Flip Mode affiliation, and drops the bomb on the real reason Blackstreet broke up. AllHipHop.com Alternatives: You recently signed with Busta Rhymes’ Flipmode record label. How did that come about? Chauncey Black: The way I got signed to Bus’ was I was doing a song called "Everyday Is Your Birthday" with Teddy Riley, and Bus’ heard the record up in New York and he wanted the record for his album. So Teddy called me and was telling me that Bus’ was coming down, but Bus’ didn't relay that he wanted the record, but Teddy kind of knew that he wanted the record. So Bus’ came down. We had a good vibe when we first met. I still wanted to do my solo career, so I kinda took advantage of a situation that came to me. Bus’ came, I got his cell number. I called him up the next day when he came to Teddy’s studio. He was supposed to come back tomorrow, but I called him before he got there. I said "I want to sit down and talk to you about something." So I called - I met him over by his bus, walked in there and he said, "What’s goin’ on man?" I said, "I want you to sign me to Flipmode." He couldn’t believe it. He said "What? You want to sign to Flipmode?!” [imitating Busta Rhymes] “Are you serious son? Are you serious?" You know how Bus’ get hype about everything. [laughs] [resumes Busta imitation] "Yo, it would be my honor, you know what I’m sayin. It would be my honor. We would get it poppin’ immediately." And that’s just how it happened. I got with him, he flew me to L.A. I was doing some more records out there. Three, four months down the line I had a deal with Universal/Motown, so it was an experience. AHHA: You describe this album, at least the vibe of it, as aggressive R&B. What exactly is aggressive R&B? Chauncey: I think aggressive R&B is pushing the limit, getting a little more edgier with your lingo with your writing and really keeping it more real. I got this record called "The Three Of Us." It’s talking about a man that’s in love with two women, and he just wants them all to get along. [laughs] But it’s going on out here. Let’s get along. It’s just the three of us. [laughs] Then I got this record called "A Woman’s Intuition Is Always Right." You have to give them real songs that they can relate to, even if it’s in a negative way. Believe me, those are the songs that win. Like "Every Day Is Your Birthday." Come on. What woman ain’t gonna want everyday to be her birthday and a man telling her that everyday is your birthday? A woman’s intuition is always right. I gotta work you like my nine to five, you know what I mean. I don’t think they’re out there. AHHA: On the new album, we see you reuniting with Teddy. Chauncey: Yeah, yeah. It’s just, you know...the Blackstreet situation was just such a sour situation. And I think I’ma put it out on AllHipHop first of the real deal, you know, like why Blackstreet broke up and stuff like that. The real deal is Teddy left Virginia because he was sleeping with my girlfriend. So me and him got into a little conflict. And I really… I don’t even know what would happen if I see him, you know what I’m sayin’. So I think he just better tread lightly. I even got a song to touch on that, but I’ma give it to AllHipHop first. AHHA: You got him producing a couple of tracks on this album as well as Dr. Dre, two people you’ve had success with in the past. In light of that revelation, how important was it to have these two individuals involved for the album? Chauncey: Oh no. I’m not letting that...I’m giving just due where just is due. Teddy is still one of the greatest producers I’ve ever worked with. It is what it is. His talent speaks for itself. He has the catalogue as well as Dr. Dre. It’s just things on a personal level that I’m not too fond of, you know what I mean. AHHA: So professionally, it was all good? Chauncey: It was all good. He never took any money from me or anything like that, but that’s just on some personal stuff. AHHA: Two great producers. Obviously, two different styles. Can you break down the difference between the two in the studio? Chauncey: Well, I don’t think they’re two different styles. If you can recall "No Diggity," Dr. Dre was on that record. So I think it’s just the respect of both of them that they have for each other, and I respect them both - and to be able to have a Dre record or a Teddy record is definitely an honor for me. I respect both of them well. They both remind me of each other. They’re both precise and when it comes to their production, they want to make sure it’s the right thing that’s on it. AHHA: I understand you sang in a few gospel groups before you got into R&B. Did one of those groups feature K-Ci and JoJo of Jodeci? Chauncey: Yeah, yeah. The Hailey Singers. Yeah. AHHA: How was it doing gospel with them and seeing them develop into R&B singers? Chauncey: It was amazing to all of us because when Jodeci, came out...let’s not even say Jodeci. Let’s go back to the group called Today. Remember the group Today? AHHA: Big Bub and all them? Chauncey: Yeah. We were in the circle of gospel. It was K-Ci and JoJo, the Hailey Singers. I was in a group called the Gospel Highlight Juniors. Big Bub was in a group from Teaneck [New Jersey] called the... I don’t even remember, but we would all used to go to church on Sundays It was just like battlin’ but we was in church. [laughs] For real, that’s how it was. K-Ci and JoJo used to come and wreck Paterson, New Jersey. We used to go to South Carolina and wreck South Carolina. It was like we all knew each other, so when we saw each other in that light, when we saw Today we were like, "Hold up. If Bub can do that, shoot we can do that!" Then K-Ci and Jo, the Hailey singers, became Jodeci - and then me from the Gospel Highlights, we were Blackstreet. AHHA: There was a rumor that you were one of the original members of Jodeci. Is there any truth to that rumor? Chauncey: No. What that was was a print, a bad print. They thought it was me and they thought it was David Hollister, because David Hollister used to hang out with them a lot when they were with Jodeci. I think he used to sing background. So he was kind of in that clique and he had a sound like them. So they kind of got it mixed up. But even David wasn’t part of Jodeci. AHHA: Is there a chance of you doing a full on gospel album? Chauncey: There is. It’s probably going to be my next album, a gospel album. And there could be some possibilities of a gospel album from some former members of Blackstreet I might want to put together. I want to give people something that they haven’t seen. They seen Blackstreet in the R&B field, but you know with Blackstreet, we were gospel. We were a religion group, really. So we deserve to give that back. AHHA: Now this may be something a lot of people don’t know. You had put out an album before this. C. Black And The Pirate, a 2005 release. Did you do anything differently this go around? Chauncey: No. I would think that I’ve always tried to stay on the aggressive music, putting the Hip-Hop with it, making it more understandable and giving the people the best of both worlds of the Hip-Hop and R&B. Those records were really test records to see where the market was and how could I be different. And I really got a buzz with it, but then I signed with Bus’ and I got a whole new team now. More aggressive. My team is aggressive, and hopefully I can sell some records out here. AHHA: What can people expect from you on this album? Will there be any hint of Blackstreet in any of the content? Chauncey: Oh yeah. I think "Every Day Is Your Birthday" is a prime example of a Blackstreet record. It’s a hard ballad. It’s an aggressive ballad. You’re just gonna hear real writing, real topics - clever topics and just everyday life. AHHA: You mention that your music will be a departure from the vulgar and booty-shaking lyrics. Was there a time in R&B where these themes may have shifted or was it not as prominent as it is now? Chauncey: Yes. I believe when Hip-Hop came on the scene, it changed a lot of things for R&B. It put a damper on R&B. It made it look like R&B was old. It made it look like Hip-Hop was the new genre of music, but Hip-Hop came from R&B, sampling over R&B records and they rapping on top of them. So for it to be called old, we have to work harder now. We have to get with them, which ain’t a problem, because music is music. But it’s a little harder for R&B people out here now. That’s why you don’t see as many, but you can count 10 rap records on the radio before you can three or four R&B records on the radio that’s hittin’. Not saying Hip-Hop is bad or anything, but that’s just where it is now. AHHA: You’ve had a lot of success as a songwriter - "No Diggity," "Before I Let You Go," "Don’t Leave Me." Will there be any songs on the album that you wrote? Chauncey: I was co-writer on all the songs. You’re gonna feel that Blackstreet vibe, but I think it’s gonna be a little more aggressive, a little more edgier, a little more controversial with features from Rah Digga, Bus’ of course, Spliff Starr, Labba, Papoose, Young Buck, Game. Just a whole squad AHHA: Which do you enjoy more, singing and performing or songwriting? Chauncey: I love singing and performing. I love it. It’s nothing like that, pleasing your audience. It’s just a feeling like "Wow. They love the way I sing." It’s just a passion, just to get out there and to see people love what you do. AHHA: You’re about to celebrate your birthday this month. Do you have any big plans? Chauncey: Well, I’ll be 30 so I might have to give a 30 day bash, you know what I’m sayin'. I might have to just go ahead and do it. I don’t know. And I’m not ashamed to say that. I’m a grown man. AHHA: Many people have fond memories of Blackstreet. Is there a chance the group may reunite at some point and release new music? Chauncey: There’s a possibility. Once me and Teddy sit down and talk about some personal stuff, I think we probably can work something out. Time will tell. AHHA: In your career, have you ever recorded with an artist whose lyrics you necessarily didn't approve of? Chauncey: No I haven’t. I haven’t had that encounter. AHHA: There’s been a trend in the last few years of old school acts coming out again and not achieving the level of success they had back in the day. A prime example is New Edition. Is the attention span of the current R&B audience a concern for you? Chauncey: No. I think it’s really all about what you give them. You got to give them what they want. You can’t go, try to sing young music and you 30 plus in an old group. You got to fit in where you belong, I believe. Just like Blackstreet on our last album, that’s a prime example. Our first single was "Wizzy Wow." Remember that record? That wasn’t a Blackstreet record. People wanted to hear Blackstreet. Blackstreet is known for their ballads, like "Before I Let You Go" and the "Don’t Leave." If we would’ve came out in that, it would’ve worked. But that first impression is what it is, especially being that Hip-Hop has got a lot involved in it now and stuff. It’s a competition. It’s Hip-Hop against R&B and R&B against Hip-Hop. AHHA: You’ve been in the music business for 15 years. You’ve had some highs and some lows. If you could pick a song that best describes your musical journey, from then until now what would it be and why? Chauncey: There’s a song that Blackstreet did on the second album, Another Level. It would be "Money Can’t Buy Me Love" and that was a song that me and Teddy, we just arranged it over. It was a Beatles classic. Money is just the root of evil and I feel that’s what a lot of things are about, this music business and all of what a person can get off of you and your talent. That record right there has just kept me so humble. It’s just expressing the feeling of life. I’ll buy you everything, but money can’t buy you love. Money can’t buy you happiness. It can’t buy you what you want. It can get you a couple of things, but it can’t get you a happy life. If you’re sick, it can’t heal you. And another song on that album, “The Lord is Real.” Those [songs] are real.