 What’s up with you Indo?
Shit, sitting up here chiefing.
Now all of your fans know
that you’re from Memphis, but they may not know exactly what part of M-town
you’re from.
I’m from Black Haven but I grew
up in South Memphis.
What was it like growing up
in South Memphis?
Man, Growing up in South Memphis was
cool. It was just like any other hood. There wasn’t nothing too crazy going on. It
was just a regular hood. I did the usual things growing up. You know get home from school,
go kick it, ride bikes, fuck with the ho’s, smoke some trees and go to the candy
lady.
I know that Memphis has a
rich musical heritage with the blues and Stax Records being there. Tell what type of music
did you grow up listening to?
I grew up listening to a whole lot
of blues and shit. My mama used to play a lotta blues and r & b. You know B.B. King,
Bobby "Blue" Bland, Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire –shit like that.
I also listen to a lotta soul music
from the 70s: Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Willie Hutch, Lamont Dozier, Donny Hathaway
–all that shit. We call that style "Pimpin’ Mane." It’s like some
laid back off in the cut type of music that we all listen to down here. And that kinda
like the style of music that I get into.
 What about hip hop?
Coming up, I was a big LL Cool J and
RunDMC fan. I used to listen to a lotta Kool Moe Dee, NWA, and the Geto Boys. In fact, for
a while, Memphis was into a lot of Rap-a-lot shit. That and that Show Boy "Trigger
Man."
Now you’ve been in the
Memphis rap scene for quite a while. Tell us a little bit about your history.
As far as Memphis rap goes, me and
Eightball and MJG were the first ones to have a video play nationally on the Box. This was
back when I was rapping with a guy name Lil’ Blunt. We had an album out called Up In
Smoke, on Luke Records and they were with Suave Records back then. We had a little video
called Blame It On the Funk back in 94.
How did you get at Luke?
We met Luke through a friend of a
friend. His name was Brian Johnson. He was like the head of promotions over there and he
just walked that shit in there and we got a deal.
What happened to the record
deal with Luke?
Luke closed the label and filed
bankruptcy and we had to come on back home.
Okay, let’s talk about
you stint with 3-6 Mafia, how did you all hook up?
Me and DJ Paul and his brother
Lord Infamous grew up together. I didn’t know Juicy too well. But me and Paul were
always rapping and shit. This was before I went with Luke. When I came back from Miami
they had started making mix tapes and they were selling them in the City. They had hooked
up with Select-O-Hits and they started really putting their shit out there. And their shit
started to get so hot that they started to put out mix tapes with original material and
freestyles. By then we had start back kicking it and shit. And they just put a nigga down.
So I did that one album with them.
 One of the common misconceptions about your career was that you were once a
member of 3-6 Mafia. Is that true?
I wasn’t really a member of the 3-6
Mafia I was on their label. They signed me once I got back from Miami with Luke. I was
signed to their other label Prophet Entertainment. When they got hooked up with Relativity
they formed a corporation called Hypnotized Minds and they released my solo album, Angel
Dust, on that label.
You guys are no longer
together as a crew what happened?
Them guys ain’t no good
business men, let’s just leave it at that.
One thing that I like about
you is that you seem to shine best on that laid back style of music from the 70s,
it’s called "Pimpin’."
Being laid back is my style. I get
crunk every once ‘n while when I’m doing some crunk songs. I feel like
there’s a place for all of that shit. I like that laid-back shit, but I try to give
people a variety of shit. People might not want to listen to crunk shit all the time. They
might want to laid-back shit, some pimp shit sometime. That’s really where 3-6 fell
out at. They want me to do that crunk shit all the time among a few other things. We
didn’t have a meeting of the minds, so I kinda left them alone. I put out a couple of
independant albums before I hooked up with Tommy Boy.
You recently dropped the G
from you name and now call yourself Indo. Why?
I had to drop that G because that
shit was gangs affiliated and it was causing me problems as far as promoters not wanting
to book me for shows and shit. I had to kinda let that shit go.
Okay tell us what up with
this Tommy Boy deal?
I got the deal with Tommy boy the
same way I got the deal with Luke Records through a friend of a friend. My management firm
sent out a bunch of demo packages. We had interest from Universal, Priority and Tommy Boy.
Out of the three of them Tommy Boy moved the quickest. Everybody else was talking about
wait until next quarter and they could do something, but I was like shit, I ain’t got
time. I’m trying to do something now.
 What’s the name of the album?
Don’t know yet. We still
recording it.
Well do you know what the
first single is called?
Yeah. Giddy Up is basically a strip
club anthem. It’s somewhat of a departure from what I normally do, but right now the
club joints are what happening down South so I had to give the people what they want.
What else have you recorded
so far?
Besides Giddy Up and Dip Down South,
I got a song called "Big Mamas House" it's a song that I dedicated to my Grand
mama, who passed. I got a Latin flavored joint called "Get That Cheese"
It’s kinda hot.
What can we expect from this
album here when it drops?
Versatile styles are what
you’re gonna get. From the South to the West to the Mid West, if the beat’s
tight and I can feel it I just rhyme. This shit is worth listening to, trust me. If you
don’t like it, I’ll give you your money back.
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