Illuminati 2G

Part 2 of our epic interview with X.O. continues. We discuss his Feed The Streets Organization, upcoming projects, the premise behind his new single A-List and his new stock in the website lol (check out the outro to see what I mean). For Part One, click on the link below.

Illuminati 2G Interview With X.O. (Part 1)

I know you also have your Feed The Streets organization. Could you talk a little bit about it and how you came up with it and what you feel your long term goals are with the organization.

Operation Feed The Streets is something that comes from my spirit. It feels good for me to help other people, period, that's it, that's all. I am not saying that I am at missions every weekend, but I will have a impluse to say hey let me buy 500 burgers and I will go hand them out in downtown L.A. or Skid Row. I just love giving, but I won't give to bums that say are standing in front of McDonalds or Wendy's when you are coming out of the drive thru, I don't give to them muthafuckas.

I could not be standing outside, I would be bored as shit. I feel like if you have that energy to stand out there like that, you can use that energy to do something better with your time. But my organization is something that I like to do out of my heart and we have a couple of events that we have every year. I like to do alot of things in my community and in Los Angeles in general, but eventually when the capital and the money is right, I will be able to do bigger and better things.

I am just trying to play my part and lead by example because I know that there is alot of eyes on it. Whether it be little kids growing up in my community or people on youtube, there is alot of eyes. You just asked me the question about it so it reaches beyond my neighborhood.

Absolutely and I really feel like with artists, especially with rappers, it is so easy for people to say oh we seen this artist get into a confrontation with this person and glorify and expose it, but there is alot of goodwill that rappers do and I feel like it goes unoticed. I found that very interesting that you had that organization and I give you congrats and big ups for doing that.

I appreciate it man, it is good to know that it is being noticed. I hope in turn it will influence others to get their community service up man.

In being a fan of the Black Wall Street movement, just my personal opinion, I have had interviews with Juice and Nu Jerzey Devil and they all say the same central theme of playing your position. It seems like at times, it is cool that Game steps back and you all do your mixtapes, but at the same time you look at a situation like Lil Wayne and Young Money and he jumps on tracks with them and has even put out a compilation with the entire roster.

With BWS, everyone is doing their own thing, which there is really nothing wrong with that, but what is your opinion on that and where do you feel like BWS is going? I always here it's more of a movement, not a label. What are you trying to get out of the whole BWS experience?

First of all I want to say that I know a million other muthafuckas that would like to be in our situations.  Basically how I feel, BWS is..., Game gives you a chance to come on, and nothing is really spoon fed for us, as artists you have to maintain some kind of hustle. That is what it is, it's a platform for young enterpreneurs to come and make men even better then before they came here. If that makes any sense.

Absolutely.

I know that Game is in talks with a couple of people as far as distribution and getting BWS where we deserve to be. Because really there are no other camps that people are fucking with other than Young Money and BWS. But I feel what you are saying, with a BWS single, I know that is what the whole world is waiting for. Young Money is doing their thing in part because no one else is filing that void.

Everyone in the industry loves a group. Hip Hop loves groups. That is why Slaughterhouse made a push and did their numbers, that is why they are accepted. You had the 4 Horsemen and there was alot of anticipation behind that as well. I feel like Young Money is successful in their own right. I love the music that they make but they are the only group that is really out there right now. Slaughterhouse had their run as far as their first project

I guess they are re upping they shit. BWS we coming strong man, and we have alot of things in the plans for 2010. It is going to be well worth the wait for all the fans. I can promise you that.

Tell me a little bit about the track you dropped, A-List. Very interesting track and I enjoy it. Tell me a little bit about the concept behind it and what inspired it.

I got the beat and I enjoyed it and it was one that I could ride to. It came with the hook on it and I heard it and I was like ok well A-List, cool. Me, I am not going to rap about the A-List as far as popping bottles, that is not me. I will do it in a more slick way so I just wanted to change it up and I just started thinking that there was alot of fucked up shit that was happening in hip hop.

I guess that is kinda my M.O., I point out when someone is wrong. If someone is wrong, I am going to speak on it, and I did that. I did not want people to take it too harsh, or going at these people too heavy or tough, but some people do deserve to get it like that. I just kept it at a mellow pace and tone, I did not want to scream on anyone like that but it is what it is. It was alot of fun making that track and just seeing the reactions and how well people took to it online, I definitely appreciate that.

Yeah it kind of threw me off a little bit when you said the Snoop line that he did not co sign you when he was with Pharrell. That had thrown me for a loop there and again I am not trying to make this interview into a beef situation, but can you speak on that or do you feel like that is something that both you and him are just speaking your mind and you did not appreciate that? Or is there nothing really behind it?

Nah whatever music you hear of mine, there is something behind it. What that was about, it is true. They are true words, Uncle Snoop, I love Uncle Snoop, he basically raised me in hip hop. I am a huge fan of this, and that is something that has been on my chest for a while. My old manager and 2 other cats, they were managing me and they were friends with Pharrell. They introduced me to him and played my music for him and he loved it.

Pharrell said yo he is one of the greats. He gave me that tag. Because of the lyrical shit and everything, that is one dude that has vision is Pharrell. I have not had the opportunity to work with him in a capacity that I would like to. He has vision and he seen what I see in myself and he told my managers that all I need is a westcoast co sign.

It ain't like a east coast co sign, where you can go get a couple of dudes. A west coast co sign, you only get one, maybe 2 people that are relevant. Snoop, Game, Dr. Dre, and Dre ain't coming out like that. So he really meant Snoop, so we were at Pharrell's concert in LA and Snoop was there. So he introduced me to Snoop and I rapped for him, I went off and I was spitting. Pharrell was like I am fucking with him, all I need is the go from you and we will go with it and he never did it.

All Snoop had to say was that I am fucking with XO. If you know anything about hip hop, a co sign is a hook and a verse. That's it, that is all I need from you Snoop is a hook and a verse. That is the co sign, if you really want to be on some music shit, of course I will get on tours and shit because that is how it works, but he never co signed.

I felt some kind of way because Pharrell was super popping at that time. Of course I think that I would be somewhere else in my career, and I am not mad at where I am at now, I love where I am at. I am always right there with stupid music but just imagine if he would have gave that co sign to me. I felt some kind of way about it and I expressed it and the only way musicians know how to express how they feel is..., we don't write books, we don't act out roles in movies, we express it in music.

For me to get that completely all the way off my chest, only way to do that was in a song. I don't feel like it was disrespectful, I feel like it was truthful. I will never go at Snoop man, that beef shit is for clowns man. I only get at people that deserve it or something personal has happened to me with that person. Even with that, I put niggas to bed and I leave it alone.

I wish a nigga would respond to that, I will eat niggas alive, that put them to bed shit. But Snoop, no love lost with him, I absolutely love him and respect him. It just would have been cool, ya know?

Yeah. Alright let's get to the present. What do you have currently coming up for you as far as mixtapes or albums?

I got a song coming up called Home Town featuring Glasses Malone and Jay Rock. We just shot the video downtown LA, skyline, crazy. 28 Days Later, every day in the month of February I am going to drop a new song and then I am going to have a contest for up and coming mixtape DJs to take those 28 songs and make a mixtape out of it.

I have 2 singles, Maino is on my first single, and the second one is crazy as fuck also. Everything is leading up to those tracks, and I am in talks with a couple people to get a avenue to get those singles out. So hopefully by beginning of second quarter, those singles will be ready to go.

We have the BWS tour coming up and the promo tour for Game as well, back overseas again soon, so we are popping, we moving.

Do you have any singles or projects that you have done with anyone from BWS?

We have so much music together, I am just not sure as to what Game wants to put out. But as far as my project, I got the homies all over my shit. 28 Days Later you are going to see a little bit of everybody, so for the whole month of February, go to www.shootxo.com and that is where we will be releasing it from.

You had mentioned earlier that you were thinking about releasing Angel Dust 2. Is that still in the works?

I do, I want to release that. I am going to release that and I know alot of people have been talking about it and it just boggles my brain that it is no where online. That's crazy. Angel Dust 1 was my biggest mixtape aside from the Scipio and Game joint. I just can't believe that niggas can't find 2 anywhere online, but I do want to re release it as a collectors item for people because I want everyone to be able to get all of my shit.

Niggas can't really find my old shit, and that music is what made me. I am going to make all that available sooner than later.

Being from the west coast myself, and we just had a decade past and we for the most part started the decade on top and then went through ups and downs. It almost seemed like the west became more underground towards the end of the decade, what are your thoughts on the state of hip hop on the west coast for 2010?

I feel like towards the end of the decade alot of west coast cats started making a push. Nipsey, Glasses, XO, Juice is doing his thing, Lyfe. There are alot of people that are pushing but I feel like hip hop..., we are still trying to figure out this internet age. I feel like it is still a trial and error thing, some people are doing the download cards and some people are strictly viral and I feel like the industry is still trying to figure it out. It is hit and miss, twitter is not effective, Fabolous got mad muthafuckas on there and it did not help his record sales.

We are still trying to figure it out, but I do like all of the west coast artists that are making a push. The young, fresh talent like YG, Problem over there in Compton doing his thing, writing for Snoop. I feel like we working, but something has got to give. If people are in these good situations with distribution, pick a single and hop behind that muthafucka and go.

We working but we got to continue to make the music and just keep going man. But I do like that the west coast is alot more independent now. Not so much from a indie label standpoint but well you got Jay Rock at Warner right?

Yeah

Glasses at Universal, Nipsey at Epic right?

Yeah

So now you have different people at other label. It used to be like you had to come straight from under the NWA tree but it is no longer like that. People are getting opportunities, you seen Nipsey on The Cypher doing his 1,2 thing. All that shit is big man, we pushing, but we still trying to figure it out though.

You mentioned earlier that you have a new website out. What is your website information?

www.shootxo.com, myspace, I don't even fuck with myspace. Fuck myspace.

(Laughs)

www.twitter.com/shootxo. Or just google XO BWS and everything will come up then.

Alright well that is all the questions I have for you, appreciate you getting down for the interview. Is there any last words or shoutouts you want to get out there to the people?

I want to shout out God, keep holding me down. One love, shout out my momma, all the rest of the homies, the 100, Black Wall Street, Black Gang, bang bang, all the homies that have projects coming out, Nu Jerzey Devil, Juice, Clyde Carson, Elijah Harris. Yo I got a question for you though. What's good with the title of the website, Illuminati 2G?

It is just playing off of the whole New World Order, but it is a new way of presenting hip hop, just from my perspective. Just doing things a little different from other websites. I just try to keep it 100 and personal with interviews like this, I have done interviews with DOC, and just give a different outlook on hip hop. Just a little twist with the wordplay, that's all.

Oh so it is a New Web Order?

Exactly (laughs)

Well I want my 15% for that too nigga when it blows up.

Aight, absolutely (laughs)

New Web Order. That's what's up homie, well I am here man, keep in touch.

Alright, most def, I appreciate your time homie.

It's all good, let's get it in.