In life, people are judged by the company they keep. As a youth growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, rapper Lil Boosie spent his time around the wrong crowd of friends. In and out of jail several times before he could legally drink, Boosie developed the persona of being a “bad ass.”
Still carrying with him the title to this day, he looks to stay out of trouble and continue his quest to be the MC of the south. His next chance comes in the form of a Trill Family compilation album, Survival of the Fittest.
Lil Boosie Interview Transcription
DJ Booth: What’s goin’ on ya’ll? It’s your boy “Z,” doin’ it real big on DJBooth.net, and on the phone with me repin’ Baton Rouge, Louisiana—my man Lil Boosie. How ya doin’?
Lil Boosie: I’m good man, repin’ Baton Rouge, Louisiana to the fullest. Lettin’ everybody know that I got some new heat comin’ to the streets. You know what I’m sayin’? Got the true final album and it’s goin’ down.
DJ Booth: Boosie, your debut album was titled “Bad Azz.” Are you proud of growing up, known as a “bad ass” or do you regret the image you gained?
Lil Boosie: Somtimes I regret it, because people take it the wrong way. Everybody got a bad ways, and I’m a ‘Bad Ass’… whenever I’m not good, so that’s what I’m talkin’ about.
DJ Booth: Throughout your life you’ve overcome a number of obstacles. You’ve beaten a rather large drug charge. You’ve been arrested for being in a stolen vehicle, and for slapping a high school teacher. All that aside, what have you done in your life, to limit your opportunity to stay out of trouble in the future, and keep yourself clean?
Lil Boosie: Uh…really, I just try to stay around the same people, stick around the same group. That’s what kept me out of trouble, because when I got into trouble, it was with people from the outside. The outside always led me to getting into trouble, and really just stayin’ in the studio [and] workin’ hard, and mainly just keepin’ my mind straight.
DJ Booth: Boosie, when a popular artist like Young Buck, who is also from the south, can’t even reach 200,000 units sold his first week out, or Timbaland, one of the biggest producers in the game right now, unable to sell more than 150,000 units in the first week… What does that say about the direction of the industry?
Lil Boosie: “Z,” how much did Buck do in the first week—how much did he sell in the first week?
DJ Booth: —Less than 200,000 copies…
Lil Boosie: What was the question?
DJ Booth: What is the direction of the industry, when these marquee artists aren’t selling big numbers in the first week?
Lil Boosie: I think that’s because a lot of people are burning’ C.D.’s. There are a lot of people burnin’ peoples stuff, and that hurts a lot of rappers. They not workin’ more, [or] as hard than the first time. People expect more and more every time. They gotta look at that too. I think there are different reasons.
DJ Booth: Why did you decide to sign with Asylum, and get backed by major label distribution, if you were selling units independently equivalent to major label first week sales?
Lil Boosie: Really, there was just not a lot that we could do as an Independent. We could barely make $100,000. It was nothing’ else livin’ on the independent scene, and I think we needed to get on the TV and be seen. We need to work really hard this time.
DJ Booth: Having already dropped a solo album, with a Trill compilation album on the way, in hindsight, was it a good move?
Lil Boosie: Yeah, I feel like it was the right move for me. I got better moves I’m gonna make, so I feel like I made the right move [for now.]
DJ Booth: Let’s talk about this new album, coming out on May 22, Survival of the Fittest. You’ll be featured along with label mates Foxx and Webbie. What can we expect from this album?
Lil Boosie: You can expect me goin’ hard, collaborating; you know what I’m sayin’? We got 8 people on the clique’, so we’re bringin’ a new flavor in, some new artists.
DJ Booth: Okay, we’re going to play a game of Hip Hop Survivor: Down South Edition. We have 6 contestants. There’s going to be one artist repin’ a bunch of different cities and you’re going to tell me who will win, and how it will all go down. So repin’ Houston, we got Paul Wall, Miami is Rick Ross, ATL is Young Jeezy, Mississippi is David Banner, Rich Boy is Alabama, and repin’ Baton Rouge, is you: Lil Boosie. So who will win—who all will survive, The Down South Survival Edition?
Lil Boosie: Boosie—Boosie will win! Boosie—I’ve been doin’ this for ten years compared to most of these newcomers man, because [I started in] ‘98 [and] its almost ‘08. You know what I mean? I’m the only one that put out 200 songs, and [fans] listen to all of ‘em. I don’t care who you talk about down south, Boosie gonna win. I’m the only one to put out a whole album, with more songs, so I don’t care who said what. The fans tell the truth. I got real fans—more fans than everybody, so Boosie gonna win.
DJ Booth: Any thoughts on who would make it to the championship ring to fight you to the top?
Lil Boosie: Naw, I don’t have any thoughts. I don’t feel like any of them could touch me.
DJ Booth: A confident man, I like it. Boosie, the lead single that has buzz on radio across the country is called “Wipe Me Down.” I’ve talked to a lot of people who don’t understand the industry and all its slang. Explain the meaning behind the ultra catchy hook.
Lil Boosie: You so fresh, you so clean, if you not a hater, than wipe ‘em down. You have to wipe yourself down, to stay clean. If ya’ girl clean, and ya’ thoughts clean, wipe ‘em down. Wipe ‘em down man.
DJ Booth: Okay, I’m going to start wiping’ some people down…
Lil Boosie: Yeeaaah!
DJ Booth: Boosie, let’s say 5 or 10 years from now the music industry isn’t going in the right direction that you wanted it to. If rapping doesn’t work out for you, what other career field would you want to join? What would you do?
Lil Boosie: I wanna do actin’. You know what I’m sayin? I want to be a manager for new artists, get real estate…
DJ Booth: What type of movie would you want to be cast into?
Lil Boosie: I could be a comedian. I could be a gangster. I could play all of those parts, even for the first time… I’m versatile.
DJ Booth: So ‘versatility is what we’re going to hear on this new album?
Lil Boosie: Yeah, everybody already knows, it’s gonna be tight!
DJ Booth: Boosie go ahead and give everybody a MySpace or Web page address, so your fans and my listeners can find out more about what you got goin’ on.
Lil Boosie: We got www.trillfamily.com.
DJ Booth: I wish you nothing’ but the best with this drop.
Lil Boosie: All right man, thanks.
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