11/4/2005

How are you doing man?

I'm really good. Just out here in California grinding.

What's good in Fresno right now?

Fresno's like two hours from L.A., two hours from the Bay, we're right in the middle. We have a little of the L.A. mentality and a little of the Bay mentality. It's real weird. It's multi-cultural. There's no big skyscrapers or nothing, the crime rate beats most of the other cities, it's violent down here. It's a little grimy spot, but the houses are cheap.

What are you trying to give people with your music?

Really, I'm just trying to show them something that they haven't seen, but also something that they've already seen. No matter where you live at, it's pretty much the same but it has a little twist. Fresno is different. We've had a lot of people come out here. Rafer Alston went to junior college out here. We get a lot of cats from Florida for junior college. This is the spot for people that want to come out to the West Coast and live cheap. As far as the sound of it, I think I'm the first person that's going to define what it sounds like coming from Fresno, California.

You've put out two albums, how have they done so far?

They do well in my area. They sell out in two to three weeks. I'm just trying to break out of home now. I lived in L.A. for two years, I was on Def Jam for two years just sitting. Out here, I get a lot of love. All the shows are mine. No matter who comes to town, I'm the opening act. I get radio play out here, I do commercial spots for people out here, model t-shirts, trying to do the clothing thing, I got love at home.

What happened with Def Jam?

That was my first label situation. I worked with production companies out of L.A. with them. It was real cool, but I just happened to be there at the wrong time. It was right before the Feds investigation of Murder, Inc. That stopped everything, Foxy, Redman…nobody could do anything because there was such a hold there. It was hard for me being a new artist. Imagine if people like Foxy and W.C. couldn't talk to anybody at the office, how could I? I had to get out of there. Kevin Liles left, Gina Davis left. It was a cool experience, but I just got there at the wrong time. The labels that were a part of Def Jam like Rocafella, they did their thing, but no Def Jam artists were coming out of that time like Redman, Method Man, Keith Murray…there was a hold on everything. It was a good experience for me though, being young in the game. It was a great experience.

What are your goals right now?

I'm just trying to get that paper! I'm hustling. I'm putting out DVD's, singles, mixtapes. We're doing it non-stop. It costs money. I learned that even with a deal, you're going to have to come out of pocket for promotions and all that. It costs money to play this game here. Nothing worth having is easy to obtain, so I'm just working as hard as I can, mentally, physically, financially…I'm just out here mashing trying to make a name for myself. I believe my music will speak for myself. I've been all over the U.S. on my own without a label backing me, and a lot of people are feeling me, but at the same time, it don't matter. Right now, I'm just trying to make sure I'm heard. If they hear me and don't like me, I can't be mad because I did my job. I'm going to make sure everyone gets a chance to hear young Diego Redd.

How did that "City Behind Us" track with Kanye come about?

What happened with that is there's a small clothing store out here called F.T.K. (For the Kids). The cats there, Bobby and Sam, did some artwork on Kanye's first album cover. They did t-shirts too for him. They're good friends with him. They were talking with him while on tour, and they told Kanye I'd be perfect to do a track with. They played my music for Kanye, and Kanye said I was hot. He sent me the beat on a Pro Tools format, and I got it back the next night. I laid my verse down and he said it was hot, and he was going to use it on his mixtape. The song ended up becoming that boost mobile commercial with Ludacris and Game. I believe they already had that worked out, so I wasn't a bit mad or upset. I think he just wanted to hear me under pressure. However, just me being on another version that's out is good enough for me. A lot of people thought I jacked the beat, but I haven't heard anybody with that beat on a mixtape anywhere. The instrumental I had came from Kanye. I didn't clip it from somewhere and do my own version, he sent it for me. It was a blessing. He also gave me a drop for my mixtape letting everyone know Diego Redd was hot. It doesn't matter if you're hot, people don't believe it until someone else says it. I really don't care if anyone says it, but for him to say that then, it made a big difference because people want to hear somebody that's doing something say that. He really helped me solidify that I was one of the hottest on the West Coast and in the game period.

Will you be working with Kanye in the future?

I would hope so, but dude has a lot on his plate right now. I'm not some artist looking for some other artist to discover me. I am a Kanye West. I talk to a few of his people every other day. G.L.C., he's also from Chicago, he's hot, and he's Kanye's first signee. He's on the GOOD Music label. Right now, I'm just content with working with G.L.C. and other dope artists that I meet on some music shit. I would love to work with Kanye, hopefully he finds the time to sit down and work with me. But that goes for everyone in the game, anyone in the game I want to sit down and work with you! I just met David Banner, I'll probably do something with him. Anything is good right now.

What's coming up for you?

I got a group, the Underworld Rebellion, we have an album coming out, my next project coming out, called "The Rap Game." I have a mixtape coming out called "All Eyez on D," which is me redoing the whole "All Eyez on Me." That's a tribute to 'Pac, nobody's ever done that before. I'm just working right now. I'm working on a mini-movie called "Diary of a Dealer" a short film which chronicles the day-to-day life of a dealer. I'm working on whatever's coming my way.

What's the hardest part about being independent?

The hardest part about being independent is getting your music to different areas and places. I feel like I have something anybody anywhere can relate to. You have to have distribution though. I wouldn't even call it hard. I'm a hustler, period. I'm not a dreamer, I don't dream, I don't wish. I think about what I want and I get up off my ass and go get it. The hardest thing is getting music heard in another region. I get out and I'm going to get it heard. You have to sacrifice. When you're independent, you have to sacrifice. You can't always have the freshest car or the freshest shit. You have to spend that money on yourself. You have to spend your money on CD's and give them out. Not too many people are going to give you money if they never heard of you. If you're not from their region, it's even harder. It's that simple. You have to give some shit away in order to get something back. That's the hardest part, when you're spending money without getting it directly back.

Why should we check for you over everyone else coming out right now?

Why should you check for young Diego Redd? Diego Redd, there ain't been a nigga like me since fill in the blank! That's just the way I'm feeling right now, and I honestly believe that. It's not a marketing scheme. I'm a lover of music. I'm in the record store every Tuesday buying four or five albums of artists coming out, and I haven't heard anything like me. You can put my real life stories together from front to back. I can do the punchlines, the hooks, but at the same time, my shit is real life. It's real life shit. Even though they can't rap, they're listening to themselves.

What do you want to say to everybody out there?

I just want to say to everybody out there, you can achieve anything that you put your mind to, but nobody is going to do anything for you. Don't let anybody ever tell you how to live your life. Nobody's going to give you anything. Believe in God, because He'll never put nothing in your hands that's too heavy to carry. Peace to the Rebellion. Skeam, Ntriuge, Money Bo$$, Saint, and my mans Hecktik Soprano. Also check for Diego Redd "Dog Eat Dog," and The Underworld Rebellion "Above the Law." I just want to say to just stay strong and hold it down, because nobody's going to do nothing for you.

For further information on Diego Redd, contact: hecktik@mycingular.blackberry.net