Young Life Interview 2008

Er ist der jüngste GUAP BOY und ehemaliger Hypeman auf Ja Rule Konzerten. Die rede ist von Mpire Records Young Life.

Wir sprachen mit dem Hollis Queens Rapper über dessen erste zwei Bars und das normale Leben eines Teenagers, dessen Kumpels weltweite Superstars sind. Außerdem gewinnen wir einblicke in den Künstler Young Life und seine Faszination für die Musik. Oh und ja 0-1 is in the building!!!

 

MIO: Young Life, what have you been doing since last time we were talking to you?

YOUNG LIFE: I’ve been in the studio, you know, working. We’ve got this Guap Boys project coming out. We’ve just been putting together records, we’ve got about six more records to finish up and then we’re gonna just put that out for the people. And after that we’ll still be working, more work, more grind.

MIO: There was a lot of talk about the “Cold War Mixtape Series,” is that still coming?

YOUNG LIFE: “Cold War,” That was a mixtape that we had coming, we still have it coming but we got one coming right  now with DJ Absolut and that’s THE GUAP BOYS!! So we’re gonna get that done get it out there, but the “Cold War” is still coming, it’s just gonna be a little later because we’ve got a whole series of stuff we want to put out.

MIO: So first you’ll be dropping the group album and then a solo project?

YOUNG LIFE: Yeah, we’re gonna drop the Guap Boys Album after these mixtapes, you know we’re just trying to get the people familiar with us. Me, my n***a Montana, H-O and the God Rule, put it together and that’s The Guap Boys right there.

MIO: So who do you work best with out of the group, you and Merc have had a few tracks together.

YOUNG LIFE: Hmmm All my dudes, we all get it in. Well Merc, that’s my n***a from Queens you know what I’m saying? We “Queensmates” you know? My n***a H-O from The Bronx, and Rule’s another guy from Hollis. Merc, me and him have similar styles, not so much the same but as far as bringing it. So, you know, we bring it and that’s why we put it together like we do. Merc Montana! (laughs)

MIO: Do you have any plans for a solo album?

YOUNG LIFE: Definitely! I don’t know when it’s gonna be, I might not be the first one, we’ll see but I definitely have the solo coming. I’m gonna let you in on something too, my shit is gonna be called “Beginning of Life” I got it coming!

MIO: Are you working on that already?

YOUNG LIFE: My records, I got them! I’ve got loads of them, I’m working!

MIO: You’ve made a name as a freestyle rapper, how do you find the transition from freestyling to writing?

YOUNG LIFE: It comes natural, well for me it came natural. I’m gonna put it together like this. Since back in the day, since like ’95, I’ve been watching, I’ve been plotting, I’ve always been wanting to do this so the transition is kind of easy for me. As far as making a song and freestyles… The freestyles – it’s funny that ya’ll looked at that because with the freestyles I just put out to give ya’ll the edge of everything, no hook, no chorus, just to give you everything out of my mind that I was thinking. The songs are totally different, like I think of the hook, think what I want to talk about and then when I write my verses it’s a little bit more toward the hook, not just spitting all over the place. Because in my freestyles I just spit all over the place, trying to get my point across.

MIO:  Which do you prefer?

YOUNG LIFE: I like creating songs, I like creating music. The hook, the three verses or two verses, I’m into that shit. But the freestyles that’s where you get real creative and just want to go everywhere with it, I do that too.

MIO: So what’s a typical night in the studio with the Guap Boys like?

YOUNG LIFE: The energy is crazy! A lot of drinking, a lot of smoking, so we’re walking around with a lot of things! We need that sort of atmosphere to get it popping basically. So that’s what it is over there. But we coming, the Guap Boys are here. You’ll hear some more shit and be like “Oh the Guap Boys are definitely here!”

MIO: Were you out in Brazil with Rule?

YOUNG LIFE: No I didn’t make that, I was here, I was in the studio for that one. There were parties here too though, the party don’t end! The last trip I was on, I just got back from Africa, I was in Africa, we tore it down. In Ghana. So that was my last trip, we’re gonna make a couple more. But I’ve been in the studio hard.

MIO: You started out as Ja Rule’s “hype man”…..

YOUNG LIFE: Well basically, my whole thing how I came up was as “Young Life” that’s where that came from, because I was the youngest dude around, I came up straight out of high school. My n***a Rule took me on the road and showed me the ropes. So I was on the road as his assistant, and dude showed me everything. He took me all around the world, showed me everything. So after a while and I had learnt a few things I became his hype man [he said] “It’s time for you to show me what you’ve got.” So I stepped up to the plate and I hit a home run. Basically I just got to keep working and everything will ease past.

MIO: Do you like performing on stage?

YOUNG LIFE: Now that right there that’s crazy for me, performing! Especially when I went out with Rule as his hype man – the crowds he has! Crazy. Different type of crowd! So I had to come right out to that. And it was just like “here do what you gotta do” and I did it! I thought that I’d be scared like “god damn I dunno if I can do this” but from learning being on the stage, because I used to just be on the stage chilling when he used to be rapping. So would just look at him and learn. So from doing that I learnt what I gotta do, how I gotta do it. So once I got on, it was nothing for me. “I got this!”

MIO: So is Rule somebody that you look up to?

YOUNG LIFE: Oh for sure! Because, let me tell you, it’s hard to do what he has done. Like to pop off and sell millions of records from the hood that we’re from, Hollis. And with that said, he’s ill, so I do look up to him and I watch what he’s done throughout his whole career and it’s time to capitalise.

MIO: What is your master plan to capitalise on Young Life?

YOUNG LIFE: Oh, hot records, a lot of marketing myself properly, be out there, don’t be afraid to show people what you’re really worth. That’s basically what I’m gonna try. But I’ll get it done.

MIO: How are you going to market yourself, what is your style?

YOUNG LIFE: I definitely want to go mainstream, but I have the streets in me so I’m gonna mix it up. Those mainstream big records, I’ve got them in me, I’ve got those. I’ve got those party record, I’ve got those records. When I start dishing them out I want people to know that I do both, I’m from the streets and I make street shit but the mainstream is what I love, I love that. I got a few female collabos, none that you’ve heard yet but I’ve got them.

MIO: Speaking of collabos, if you did have a dream collaboration, who would it be with?

YOUNG LIFE: My dream collabo? I would say…[long pause] Are we talking anybody? Dead or alive? (MIO: yeah dead or alive.) Ok then I would say Big. The New York vibe, I’d get Big, Nas, Rule I’m gonna say Rakim and I’m gonna say ‘Pac.

MIO: And what would that record be about?

YOUNG LIFE: Rage, like all those people I just named, they all had a struggle, like Rule had a struggle, Big had a struggle, ‘Pac, Nas, from the Bridge. Them N***a’s came up hard, and you might not think it was as hard as it really was, but it was, it was hard, everybody’s struggle is different. Whether it’s money or you’ve got kids and you can’t provide, it’s all types of shit and it’s happening out there.

MIO: What is your story, where does Young Life come from?

YOUNG LIFE: Well I’m from Hollis, Queens. That’s where Rule’s from, Run DMC, you know. And me I’m good, like I said I came straight out of high school and went on the road with Rule. My brother, O-1. Chris Black, Jodie Mack and Ja Rule they were CMC so I was always the little n***a around like “What’s poppin? What’s poppin? I wanna know what’s poppin!” So I was always around like “yo yo yo, I wanna rhyme!” I didn’t really know how to do nothing yet, but I wanted to know! That’s how I came about knowing Rule and how I came up.

MIO: How is O-1? What’s he up to these days?

YOUNG LIFE: He’s chilling, he’s doing movies, he’s still on his grind, but he’s around.

MIO: Of course you grew up in the CMC era.

YOUNG LIFE: Yeah that’s when it was DJ Irv and I was trying to see everything. I was like 16 and I just wanted to do everything, I was skipping school, not going home at night, I just wanted to see what was popping. I was the little-ist one around for real. [O-1] really pushed me through the door, because, I started writing when I was young, like 10 years old. I was like “O-1 you gotta start me off” so he was writing the first 2 bars of all my rhymes and I’d just go from there. I was like “I just need help for the beginning!” And it really helped me, because trust me, I’m a beast with the pen now, and I’ve been writing that long. He was also an idol for me, my brother because, I watched my brother do his thing and I was like “how does he do that? I want to do that!”

MIO: So he’s still around the studio?

YOUNG LIFE: Oh yeah, he’s still Murda, he’s still around. He’s still doing his thing, he’s still scribble scrabble with the pen, still in the books. We’ve got a CMC joint up our sleeves, believe that!

MIO: So when are you looking to drop the Guap Boys project?

YOUNG LIFE: We’re looking to drop November, we’re about to get our little photoshoot on. That’s going to be like an official mixtape that you can buy in the stores. And then the Guap Boys album probably early ’09. We’ve got about 30 records.

MIO: So is it straight Guap Boys on it or will there be features?

YOUNG LIFE: Straight Guap Boys, mixed up, we weren’t too selfish but we wanted to make solid joints for the team like “Guap Boys is coming, we’re gonna make some solid joints. Then we’ll get features” We’re gonna get our features with different artists because we gotta do that, we fuck with a lot of people so we’ve gotta get that up.

MIO: How about the beats? Are you working with original beats?

YOUNG LIFE: Original Beats, we’ve got all original beats, actually I won’t say all original beats. We’ve got original beats and then some that we just fucked around with and freestyled on, the shit that I do.

MIO: Last question, if you could compare yourself to any rapper, who would it be, and no dodging the question!

YOUNG LIFE: That’s hard, because I don’t hear what you hear, it’s hard to really hear what you do yourself, it’s a mixture of different shit so it’s hard. But I’ll say a mixture between Rule and Nas.

MIO: Life, thanks a million! Anything to say to the fans over on MurderIncOnline?

YOUNG LIFE: Mpire’s the Gang, we’re here mothafuckaz!!