Cassidy: Jail, Lessons, & The State Of Affairs

[bigted]

I know some of y'all don't like his music much, I personally ain't really his fan either but he seems to sound like a real dude, check this interview:

Cassidy: Jail, Lessons & The State of Affairs Part 1

By Jigsaw

On June 8, 2005, it appeared that all remnants of 23-year-old Cassidy’s life - the recording artist and a free man - was a decrepit thing of the past. A warrant was issued for the Philadelphia rapper due to his involvement in the murder of a 22-year-old man during an April 15, 2005 shooting in his hometown. The case, which was wrought with twists, turns and contradiction, played out like an episode of Law & Order.

But this murder case was real life for Cassidy, a father of one named Barry Reese. At the time of his arrest, he had the streets ablaze with his song “I'm A Hustla,” but the album of the same name languished during his months-long in the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. The rapper dodged a grave murder charge, but was convicted on possession of an instrument of crime, involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault.

Unlike the other man, Barry Reese’s life didn’t end in any form. And the rapper is back, having after serving his time. The Philly native spoke eloquently about the changes he’s undergone since jail, the tragic loss of life, the state of Hip-Hop and how urban America can get it together.

AllHipHop.com: Was the jail-time a hindrance to the last album?

Cassidy: Without a question. It dropped when I was already in jail. I didn’t get a chance to perform none of the songs, do a promotional tour, none of that. I didn’t get a chance to shoot anymore videos, it really hindered it. At the same time, it benefited me as a person, so I’m happy I went through it.

AllHipHop.com: How did it benefit you as a person?

Cassidy: I’m more patient, humble. I’ve got a better relationship with God and my family. I know my real friends. I just learned so much from it. I was able to clear my mind up – not drink and smoke and party and not deal with the business every day. I was able to think – get my priorities together. I came to the conclusion of where I wanna go and the type of artist I wanna be.

AllHipHop.com: A lot of people considered you to be a Pop rapper. The last album cleared that up a little bit. Are you going to talk about this jail situation?

Cassidy: I’ve never been a Pop artist. I started my career doing mixtapes, bitin’ n***as heads off battlin’ in the streets. I never was a Pop artist. But when I came out and signed to J Records, they wanted me to do Top 40 records. It was they decision to bring out “Hotel” and “Get No Better,” which was when the world first met me – my first big look. That’s why they think I was a Poppy-type artist. So the second time around, they wanted to set it straight. That’s why they dropped two hard singles like “I’m A Hustla” and “B-Boy Stance,” so we went all the way left. The first album was all the way right. The second album was all the way left. The third time, we learned so much from them two albums, we gonna land right in the middle – the way we should of did it the first time.

AllHipHop.com: How did you do, SoundScan, when you had a major hit and all the publicity with the trial and everything?

Cassidy: I’m not even sure. Personally, I ain’t even ask how I did, ‘cause I just swept that album out from under the rug. I ain’t even try to check up on the album, to be honest with you. I’m just glad to look ahead to this third album. The people that heard it know the type of music that I bring to the table – quality music.

AllHipHop.com: What are your priorities now?

Cassidy: Continuing to build my relationship with the Lord. Staying close with my family. I’m spending more time with them than I ever did before, because I’m realizing that my family is there. I wasn’t able to spend time with them when I was locked up. Not just my blood family, but my street family. I’m looking other ways of generating money and success, besides just music.

AllHipHop.com: They’re using your mugshot on the cover of the “Cassidy Anthem” what’s that about?

Cassidy: That’s a song I had did a long time ago. They just put that out to keep my name out in the streets and with the DJ’s – to let people know that I still do music. But that’s not the new single.

AllHipHop.com: Who made the decision to use your mug shot on “Anthem,” the last single from your previous album? Somebody could say you are promoting or exploiting your jail time.

Cassidy: That’s definitely not what we set out to do. I not trying to use the situation to try to benefit my career, because I don’t need to. If I was a gimmick artist that really couldn’t spit, in the industry, I might try to use that to my advantage. A lot of other artists get into a situation and try to use it to their advantage, but not me. I know I can make quality music. I was still locked up when they made that decision to use that. But, that was a picture that was floating around at the time and I think they used it as it was a [mock] newspaper article. So, that was a smart idea since I was going through was I was going through. I was still locked up. It kinda caught your eye and you thinkin’ there is something about the case and it’s just something to promote the single.

AllHipHop.com: How were you treated in jail? There were rumors that you were raped in jail, assaulted and all sorts of things.

Cassidy: It’s always people that show love and there’s always haters. The same thing [happened] when ‘Pac was locked up, saying he got raped. It’s always gonna be a rumor about somebody that’s a celebrity. Ask people that’s really in my city, that was really in the jail. I was in general population every day, going to church every day, reading my books, exercising, getting outside food from C.O.’s [correctional officers] that were showing love. I did me. It was a situation that I was forced to go through and I went through it. And I’ma go through it the same way I go through my life in the streets. I’m out here in general population and on the streets by myself, you know, with wild jewelry on so, of course, I’m just gonna be in jail with my blues on.

I never even got into an altercation in jail. I passed a couple words to a couple dudes, but any situation that happens like that, and somebody tries to touch me or disrespect me, I would have had another charge, fighting another case.

AllHipHop.com: The guy that was murdered, did you consider him a friend?

Cassidy: Friend is something that’s a touchy word. Yeah, I considered him a friend. Yeah, that was my man at one point.

AllHipHop.com: Even if it’s a former friend, how does it feel having a role in that whole matter in hindsight?

Cassidy: Well, now that it’s all over with and you look back on the situation, I wish things could have went differently, but in the heat of the moment, things go the way they go. It was God…you can’t go against God’s will. It was meant to happen. I don’t feel no type of way about it. It is what it is – it already happened, it’s already done. You can’t go back in time and change it. But if I could, if that was possible, I probably would do certain things differently. Because, whether it was my friend or not or I didn’t know him from a can of paint, still somebody lost their life and a couple other people got shot. That’s never a good thing. I don’t wish that on nobody. But, at all times, I’m going to protect myself and make sure that I come out all right too. Would you rather it be you that died? If you change the situation, and do something differently and you [could] die or you got shot. I don’t know. I wish the best for his family and pray that God blesses his soul.

AllHipHop.com: Is there a lesson to be learned here?

Cassidy: Man. Like, the lesson is to see how the judicial system tries to target entertainers without the proper evidence, with out the proper investigation. Back in the day, there were [TV investigators like] Columbo and Matlock that go out there and and find out what’s really going on. Now, people can just make a statement with no hardcore evidence and take time out of your life, don’t give you a bail. And you still innocent until proven guilty, or they say you are, but you really guilty until proven innocent. No matter how much paper you got or what never you on, you not exempt. They can do the same thing to you if you get yourself in a situation – even if you around a situation.

AllHipHop.com: We never heard about anybody else being charged. Was anybody else charged with a crime?

Cassidy: I don’t know about that. I ain’t have no rappies [co-defendants] in my case. I was fighting my case by myself. Like I said in the previous question, they tried to target the big name, the person they feel they gonna get some light off…

[MaxFly]

Good read. I hope the best for him, and I hope that he gets his life together.

[mfuqua23]

It was good to read an honest point of view like that. I really glad that he said "I just learned so much from it. I was able to clear my mind up – not drink and smoke and party and not deal with the business every day." That just shows how good or bad the music business can be when your caught up in it.

[bigted]

Here's the second part to the interview:

Cassidy: Jail, Lessons & The State of Affairs Part 2

By Jigsaw

W AllHipHop.com: Not to get all philosophical, but Proof of D-12 was killed today and it seems like rap music and Hip-Hop is going through this over and over. What’s your opinion of the state of Hip-Hop on the level and specifically the state of the Black man in America.

Cassidy: It’s definitely going down real crazy on the streets and the Hip-Hop community - and as you said, not just the Hip-Hop community, as far as the minorities. As far as entertainers, I’m sure somebody else [that wasn’t famous] died yesterday too. That’s stuff we ain’t hearing about. Violence is at an all-time high. There are so many reasons why it is, that we’ll be here for months talking about it. Its like, you know, there are a lotta reasons that dude’s are responding the way they are responding. Dues ain’t eating, they hungry out there. That’s one of the main reasons. They don’t have access to the paper [money] that’s out here in the world. That’s one of the reasons violence is at an all-time high. It’s a lot of ways to be successful and a lot of ways to make paper, but the dudes in the hood, the minorities don’t know about it. So, they feel all they can do is be a drug dealer, rapper, or a sports player. They feel if they ain’t one of those three things, they are left out so they gotta take what they want. That’s not true. There are a lot of other ways to be successful and probably generate more money than a celebrity or a sports player. But they don’t know those things. Knowing those things is not in the hood. The people doing those things is not in the hood. The only think that I see in the hood is the dude moving these birds [drugs], so Im’a try to be like him and not this doctor. I don’t see this doctor [in the hood]. A lot of these successful [people that got] good careers, they need to step it up and be positive role models for the people that’s stepping up. So, they I wanna be like him instead of Scarface [Cuban druglord played by Al Pacino] or Nino Brown [drug dealing character in 1991’ New Jack City.

If you don’t see it, a lot of dudes ain’t gonna go in a book and read and kids ain’t gonna try to do they own research. They need people with status to promote other things besides clothing lines, besides sneakers. Show these dudes another way and how to generate money, how to love each other and how to build a foundation over time. It took a long time for it to get this way. It ain’t just happen over night. Its gonna take time for to get better.

AllHipHop.com: Do you feel the older generation has let down the Hip-Hop generation, or at least neglected them?

Cassidy: [Pauses] The older dudes, it might not have necessarily been their fault. [The 70’s and 80’s], that’s when the drugs hit major, that’s when crack hit, so a lot of the dudes that’s older than us, teaching us the right way to go, they were lost themselves. Either they were lost up in hustling, or lost in using the drugs or caught up in pimping or being pimps. They wasn’t able to be the positive role models that they could have been. I don’t necessarily point the finger at them, because everybody is responsible for their own decisions. But they did play a role in why the generation after them went so crazy.

To make a difference, the dudes that’s young like me, Juelz, T.I., Fab, step it up and show a difference. Then the younger kids that’s five, six, 11 years old, they might take a different direction, gradually change. And then the generation under them, might gradual change and you might see improvement.

AllHipHop.com: What would you say your career stands at right now, musically?

Cassidy: I’m in the best shape of my life, man. I feel as though when I drop this next album, my third album, This Time Around, I’m gonna reach the most success I ever had. I’m gonna reach the level that I always dreamed about bein’ at – then continue to rise.

AllHipHop.com: Okay, I want to move forward with your music. You are one of the illest battle MC’s and definitely have good songs too. Are you working on anything right now?

Cassidy: When I was in jail, I wasn’t writing a lot of songs, because I didn’t have music, but I stayed on my job lyrically. That’s what I do so it’s like a habit for me. I stayed on my P’s & Q’s, because I am so competitive. I always wanna be the best, and I always wanna sound better than I did the last time.

AllHipHop.com: You got any mixtapes or anything like that coming out?

Cassidy: I’m looking forward to it. Every DJ is looking for a freestyle from me so, I’m looking forward to putting out a bunch of mixtapes. And, also coming out with my third album soon. So I got a lot on my plate right now.

AllHipHop.com: No release date yet?

Cassidy: Nah, I didn’t even go to work yet. Its probably gonna take me two months to get everything finished. So, I should have a single out this summer and probably looking to release the album fourth quarter.

[Turntable]

This is cool. To me he seem realy inteligent, and I think he definitly grow as a person. I allways like him as a Mc, I think he has big future. I hope the best for him.

[mfuqua23]

I wish he could've gave an example about the "older emcees" that let the Hip Hop future generations slip. There might have been some skeptical talk. But just like those "emcees" who may have made bad decisions, so do the people who listen to them; and it may not be because they listen to them). I see Cassidy in a new light now, so he's got my respect.

[ash trey]

To make a difference, the dudes that’s young like me, Juelz, T.I., Fab, step it up and show a difference. Then the younger kids that’s five, six, 11 years old, they might take a different direction, gradually change. And then the generation under them, might gradual change and you might see improvement.

:word: Well said! I always had a little respect for him as far as MC skillz were concerned but if he tries to promote something more positive with his music he might turn into something special. :1-cool:

[bigted]

I don't think Cassidy is referring to the emcees, he's referring to how the older generation wasn't guiding the youth down in the right direction when the "crack era" took over in the inner cities during the 70s and 80s in inner cities, he's not talking about music, he's talking about street life, he means that parents weren't leading their kids down the right direction 'cause they were caught up in the pimping and drugs themselves, and it still exists now, it's good to see that he understands that and it sounds like he really wants to be a positive role model for the youth that might listen to him, I wish him the best...

Edited April 14, 2006 by bigted

[mfuqua23]

I read it again, I see what he was saying, and he's right. Crack definitely did it's job in breaking up families and such, and I should know, cuz I surely wouldn't be here today.