Interview: Gunplay

Gunplay is a founding member of Southern hip hop group Triple C’s, Carol City Cartel, together with Torch, Breed, and the Teflon don Rick Ross, who released their debut album titled Custom Cars & Cycles in 2009. It was while being mentored under Rozay that Gunplay really honed his craft. Besides getting caught up in a string of well-documented street shenanigans involving himself and MMG’s favourite fiend 50 Cent, he released several mixtapes such as the acclaimed 601 and Snort. His debut studio album Living Legend, collects all the dystopian storytelling tips he learnt from artists with narrative vision and forceful vocal projection such as Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T, ASAP Rocky, and Waka Flocka.

As part of the Red Bull Music Academy Festival New York 2014 in May, Chairman Mao caught up with Gunplay for an interview with RBMA Radio. Below is an edited excerpt of their conversation.

What was your introduction to music?

My introduction to music was as a kid back in the ’80s when hip hop just hit the scene in New York City before it took off global; your LL Cool J, your Eric B. and Rakim. I still remember the Fat Boys. That’s where I came up when it was fresh and new. They thought it wasn’t going to last. But the records that influenced me would have to be Tupac’s albums, Nas’ Illmatic album, Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt, UGK Ridin’ Dirty. Those were the ones that really said you might be able to do this too young’un.

When you got to Florida what was that like?

My mom moved to Miramar, Florida. That’s five minutes from Carol City, so I hung out in Carol City a lot. That’s where I came up at. That’s where I met Rick Ross at. That’s where we started Carol City Cartel. That’s where we started MMG.

How would you describe Carol City, Florida for somebody who has never been there before?

Treacherous. You never know what’s going to happen, ain’t no true loyalty. If you do find it, it’s rare, you know what I mean? Everybody cut throat and everybody trying to get their own shit. When I came up. I can’t speak for back in the day.

What was it about Ross as a person that struck you when you first met him?

We think alike. We really, really, really think the same way, you know what I mean? We like the same person. He’s just a little older and a bit more wiser but all in all, we both have the same views on things, the same work ethic, the same take no for an answer and the same self-made design.

What were the musical elements that you took to try to formulate your persona and find your own voice?

To find my own style, my own swag, I just really was being myself. I took a little bit of Jay Z, a little bit of Nas, a little bit of Trick Daddy, a little bit Tupac, a little bit of Pimp C. Not consciously took it. I listened to them all the time and mixed it with my own swag, with my originality and now you got Gunplay. I’m from every hood when you listen to my music because a n---a from Houston could relate to me, a n---a from Cali could relate to me, a n---a from New York could relate to me, Miami.

Your first mixtape, Sniffer Hill, was in 2008. What was your mentality going into making that?

I just wanted the people to know that I wasn’t just a hype man, you know what I mean? That I’m talented and could hold my own with a solo album. Maybe not then, but working up towards it by releasing one mixed tape after the other. My plan was to release a solo project and create a fan base, an organic fan base, not a microwave processed fan base. My fan base is organic, they grew with me. They didn’t just see me on TV with a single and when I didn’t have the single no more they didn’t like me no more. Nah. They go back and they listen to my mixed tapes and they follow my movement.

One track that got a ton of respect and attention was “Cartoon and Cereal.” Can you talk a little bit about how you came to appear on that track by Kendrick?

They reached out to my big homey and he put them on the phone with me and Kendrick. At the time I really didn’t know who he was. He told me he was a big fan of mine and I was like, “That’s cool.” Afterwards I did my homework on him and realized how big he was I wrote that record and… I think I was on the run... I just gave him my all, I gave him who Gunplay is, what I was going through. It turned out to be a major turning point in my career.

You’ve been very honest and open about drug use in the past. As a creative person, is it something that fuels your creativity?

It definitely fuels my creativity. Because there’s things I wouldn’t say sober, that my mind wouldn’t think of sober. But on a few drinks, few joints, few pills and my mind goes somewhere else where I can say some other shit, you know what I’m saying? It definitely helps the creative process, but lately I’ve been on probation and I really don’t have the opportunity to really get as high as I want. So it’s kind of cool having a level head and clear mind, but I still want my party pack, man.

You made reference to the incident in 2012. Can you describe what it was like going through all that and how you emerged from that experience?

It was like a moment of clarity, you know what I’m saying? It was just like, “Do you really want to pursue this career, do you really want to take this opportunity that you have sitting right here in front of you that you helped create for the last ten years?” God gave me a warning shot. “If you want it, it’s here for you but you got to really want it and you got to stay grounded.” It showed who was really in my corner, as far as friends, family and shit like that. I’m sucker free now.

I think one of the things people love about what you do is this element of feeling like there’s some danger and recklessness. How do you navigate that in terms of keeping that energy that’s going to be something that people feed off of yet ...

Staying out of trouble, right?

Yeah.

Yeah. It’s like, when I go back, I just think back to when I was doing dirt, and I pull those feelings out. Not just what I did but the feeling of when I did it, why I did it. I go to a dark place and I pull that out and I put it on a record. I know there’s a whole bunch of people that’s going through the same thing, so when I pull that feeling out, I’m just letting them know, “I feel you. I’ve been there too.” That’s where my fan base comes from. Have nots, n---as coming up hard. I don’t talk about cars and shit like that. I drive a Benz, I’m living alright, I’m doing good for myself but I don’t glorify that. I’d rather tell you what I’ve been through or where I’m going, where I want to go, just like everybody else.

Can you talk a little bit about “Bible on the Dash”?

Yeah, again, I wrote that on the run. When I was on the run I shot a lot of videos, I did a lot of music, because I thought I wasn’t coming home. I wanted to at least leave with something to give to people before I left. That song basically was just asking God to give me the strength not to get further, deeper in trouble by going to kill a n---a. That’s how n---as roll down in Miami, them old heads, the OG’s riding with their Bible on the dash. It’s new to everybody else but it’s old to me, that’s how we stroll down there, that’s how we ride.

When you sit down and you write, what’s your process?

I write it in my phone, so if anytime I have a vibe I just flip my phone out and write in my notes. I let it come to me. I don’t like having to have to write a record. It won’t get done if I’m not vibing. I don’t sit there because now it feels like it’s a job and I don’t like jobs. That’s why I’m my own boss, I own my own company. There’s work to be done but I want to have fun doing it. If I wanted a fucking desk job I’d be fucking working for FedEx or some shit, you know what I’m saying? I don’t want it to feel like a job, I want to have fun with it so if I’m going through real life shit and don’t feel like writing, I won’t write. If I’m going through real life shit and I say, you know, I need to write to get this shit off, then I write to get it off. Long as it’s fun and it’s not feel like a gig, then that’s my writing process.

Do you feel as though you’re misunderstood?

Yeah, sort of. I think they’re coming around now and kind of understanding me. Through my interviews, through my blogs, my videos, my music. At first they didn’t understand why, I can’t believe this n---as snorting cocaine, why is this n---a fighting, he’s this, he’s that. Because if you knew me, I go headfirst in any situation, you know what I’m saying? My gun’s never cold. Once they figured it out, it’s, “Oh, okay, he really lives that life. That’s why.”

How do you want people to remember you?

Being a real n---a, man. Having integrity. I want people to remember me by knowing I never was scared of anybody. I wasn’t scared to live life, period.