Roccett Interview

• Artist: Roccett
• Label: CTE West
• Be on the lookout for: Corporate America Mixtape (Coming Soon)
• Artist Website: Roccett

  Email this page to a friend

Before a space shuttle blasts off, there must be a launch date.  For West Coast rapper Roccett, the countdown has begun and will reach T-minus zero seconds and counting this up-coming January.  With six months to prepare for the arrival of 2008 and the start of a promising career, Roccett has focused all of his time and energy on connecting with his fans and listening to offers from the major labels that are courting him.  Already signed to Young Jeezy’s CTE West imprint, the California native hopes to use his talent, not his association with the Snowman, as leverage when he signs his eventual major label deal.  Until that time comes however, Roccett plans to continue churning out mix tapes and making his name known in the streets.  In an exclusive interview with DJBooth.net’s DJ ”Z,” Roccett explains how he hooked up with Jeezy and the connection that makes them similar, why like his boss he refuses to write down his rhymes on paper and what he has in common with Democratic Presidential hopeful, Barack Obama.

DJ Booth:  What’s goin’ on ya’ll?  It’s your boy “Z,” doin’ it real big, and joining me inside the DJ Booth is an upstart rapper who’s down with the corporate thug.  Lookin’ to be the next big thing in hip hop, please welcome West Coast Native Roccett – Whats good, man?

Roccett:  Aw man just chillin; glad you got me on today, Z.

DJ Booth:  I’m glad you had the time, because what we want to do is put you on blast.  Let everybody know who exactly Roccett is.

Roccett:  Roccett is just an MC from California, man, doin’ his thing – just grindin’ it out, puttin out mix tape after mix tape, representing California.  You know, I’m an MC, doin’ my thing.

DJ Booth:  You hooked up with Young Jeezy and CTE West.  Tell me all about that.

Roccett:  Bein’ signed to Jeezy’s crazy, man.  He’s one of the hottest stars in the game right now, doin’ his thing, you know, just went platinum off his second album, went double-platinum off his first album.  It’s good to be around, to be in that platinum atmosphere – that’s what we’re lookin’ forward to and bein’ signed to the West Coast, you know, we got a lotta politics down here, but it’s great being signed to them and it’s great that I’m from where I’m from because it shows that the West and South got a connection.

DJ Booth:  Speaking of that connection, that bridges the gap between the South and the West, being that you are from the West Coast – Jeezy’s from Atlanta - what do LA and Atlanta have most in common musically?

Roccett:  Just the struggle.  I mean, the facts are universal: everyone goes through their ups and downs, and no matter if yours was a hard day of work, or, you know, yours was trappin’ in the streets, it was a struggle, and the South will understand that struggle and we understand that struggle out here.  And you know we just put it together like one unit, ‘cause the struggle is a worldwide effort.  You know, everybody gets up every day and go to work – some people wish they didn’t have to – you know, that’s a struggle.  So we just bring it all together and make it one.

DJ Booth:  It’s a beautiful thing, though, when work for you and me is sittin’ on the phone and talkin’, it’s not too bad is it, huh?

Roccett:  Aw, man, you know you gotta love that, you gotta love that.

DJ Booth:  Jeezy’s famous for his ad libs, when you’re rappin’ is everything written down or is it off the top of the dome – how do you go about it?

Roccett:  I don’t write nothing; I haven’t wrote nothing in years.  It’s not a freestyle so I don’t want my fans to get it misconstrued that I freestyle – no, I take my time and I explore the studio and walk back and forth and I write my records in my head and I really take my time and I do it right.  But like I said: I respect everybody that writes – I don’t use a pen- I haven’t used a pen for years, and probably will never use a pen again, you know what I mean?  I don’t write, it’s just my thing, shout-out to Jay-Z, you already know.

DJ Booth:  Where is one place, when you’re not doing something musically, where you have the most inspiration – is it in the car, is it in the shower, is it just hangin’ out with your family?

Roccett:  The craziest thing is that usually it’s either in a car, on a plane – either of those two or even in the studio, when I get to the studio I get into what I call, “Zone Out.” Like you get in there and you know what you’re there for, and when you get there it’s time to take care of that business, you know what I mean?  So I go in there and I do my thing and I’m serious about when I do anything – like I’m in the car talkin’ to y’all now and handlin’ my business.  The car is just a great comfortable place to make things happen.

DJ Booth:  Definitely.  In the studio, you’re there a lot, and you’ve been knockin’ out a lot of material for mix tapes – you recently unveiled Cali Untouchable’s mix tape with DJ Warrior, “The Who’s Next Edition.”  What type of exposure did that mix tape give you?

Roccett:  That mix tape got incredible exposure, and it was just so crazy because the idea I had from it was just so – I didn’t see it goin’ this far.  I knew it was incredible.  I knew that I took my time and tried to make everything as great as I possibly could on it – I had big visions, but it exceeded my expectations and more, man.  It did what it was supposed to do and I’ve gotta thank my manager, Rick, for that, you know, shout-out to Warrior, and shout-out to me for doin’ my thing in the streets with it.

DJ Booth:  For a fan who wants to go pick up a couple brand new mix tapes out on the street, what distinguishes Roccett’s material on his mix tape from anybody else who’s just a run-of-the-mill artist puttin’ out a mix tape.

Roccett:  Aw, I’m gonna tell it to you right here.  What you felt like today was how it was yesterday; if you ever wanted to ride with the G’s and jump in the car with me, and ride with me – even though you’re not literally in my car, when I’m in your car we’re together.  I’m gonna relate to you, I’m gonna come to you, I’m gonna come to your home base and you know if you on the streets you gonna relate.  I’m gonna talk to you, I’m gonna let you know what’s good, and we’re gonna make it work.  We just gotta make good music and make sure that I make it for my fans, not just myself.

DJ Booth:  So you’re strivin’ for that connection between the artist and the listener?

Roccett:  Aw, yeah, got you.  I mean, without a listener you’re no artist.  Or you are, just an artist without listeners, and you need the listeners, you know what I mean?  I’m strivin’ for the listener, I love the listener.  The fans, I tell them without them – artists are nothing without the fans.  It’s a business that we do here; you need to please your fans, you gotta have the best product on the street, if you know what I’m talkin about.

DJ Booth:  Definitely.  Continuing on with some mix tape talk: because the mix tape market over the past few years has become relatively flooded, do you feel like mix tapes hold the same weight that they once did, in order to help you achieve success in terms of getting a label deal, getting “on” in a region that maybe didn’t know about you before?

Roccett:  Yeah, man.  Even though the world is overpopulated with mix tapes, mix tapes hold something that every record label wants, every artist wants, manager wants, and it holds records.  At the end of the day, if you got a record – I don’t care what’s it on – and you can run with it, somebody’s gonna pick it up if you got that hot record. So, mix tapes are always going to be incredible, because you can do your own original music and if you make that right song, there’s no tellin’ how far you can go.  So I tell people they should continue to do mix tapes, you continue to make your own music.  Right now, if y’all listenin y’all turn this up man, ‘cause I’m really givin’ you some free game right now.  And if you do me a mix tape, man, do your own music – it’s cool to jump on other people’s records and it’s cool to do things with other people’s beats, but do your own music ‘cause you never know what song could be that song that’ll change your life.  Mix tapes are incredible, man, and I recommend every rapper do as many mix tapes as he can.  And it’s a trend – even signed artists still do mix tapes.  Jeezy does mix tapes, Lil’ Wayne does mix tapes – I mean, top-notch artists do mix tapes, so it gotta tell you something.

DJ Booth:  Do you currently have any particular songs being concocted in the studio that’ll be a big part of someone’s life when they get to listen to it in the near future?

Roccett:  Aw man, I just did a song the other day, man, on the new Corporate America that’s comin’ out, and that’s one of the realest songs I really ever did.  I mean, I been at times in my life where I go through my zone period of – you know, a lot of times you make songs and you relate to your fans, but I made a song that related to me because I feel like I am a fan of music, so I did a song and it was just so real, like – I just gave you real talk, you know what I mean?  I feel like they gonna love it.  I’m gonna give them me, I’m gonna give them my personal, my inside, I’m gonna let you walk a day in my shoes,– a day in the life of Roccett, and let you hear what’s real.

DJ Booth:  You got the deal in place with Jeezy, the major deal is on its way – so when does the official Roccett blast off?

Roccett:  Aw, we lookin’ for January, baby.  ‘08 is gonna be great – that’s my slogan, that ‘08 is gonna be great, cause I’m gonna go so hard – I’m tellin’ you.  I ain’t stoppin’.  If you a fan of me, man, I’m gonna give you more music and more music and more music.  Whether it’s on the major, whether it’s in the streets, whether you get it off the Internet or you bought it out of store, I will not stop givin’ my fans music; I’ve gotta give it to them.  It’s just like crack out here – you gotta keep feedin’ the folks and I’m hopin’ to give it to ‘em.

DJ Booth:  I’ll tell you something: your slogan, “08 is gonna be great,” - I think that’s something that Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama might be interested in using, so you should call him up, see if the two of you want to collaborate on that…

Roccett:  [laughter]  Yeah, that’s what’s up, that’s what’s up! ‘08’s gonna be great, baby!  And I might have to take that up on that, man, and see if we can get somethin’ goin’ with that.

DJ Booth:  Well, if he decides to give you a small portion of his funds for his Presidential election for you to use for your new album – because I gave you the idea, I’m gonna need at least five percent on that.

Roccett:  Hey, that’s a deal right there – I understand it!  Two heads is better than one!  [laughter]

DJ Booth:  Exactly.  Roccett, how can all of my listeners and your fans find out more about what you got comin’ up – the brand new mix tape and, next January, that album.

Roccett:  Please check out my Myspace, it’s myspace.com/roccett, or you can check out my website; its roccett.com.  You know my fans, if they have any time out there, check for your boy; I’m gonna give you something hot.

DJ Booth:  Definitely!  On behalf of DJBooth.net, we wish you nothin’ but the best of luck on your upstart career and much success into the future.

Roccett:  Aw, man, I appreciate you, Z, and much success for you.  You already doing your thing.  DJ Z, you the man; you already know.