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9/13/2007 What’s up?  Man, I’m great, dog.  Are you considering West Kept Secret to be your debut album?    It’s more like a street album. We’ll call it a “malbum” to stay away from the term “mixtape. But this is not my official debut. No sir.  What made you want to put West Kept Secret out at this time?    I had previously changed the title to the album I consider my debut album from West Kept Secret to The World Wide Web. The name (West Kept Secret) had gotten a buzz and I said I would put it out as a street album, so I did that because I got the opportunity to through my own label.  Why are you releasing it on the same day as 50 Cent’s Curtis?    I had two dates, either in June or on September 11. September 11 just stood out because of what took place in our nation a few years ago in New York. It just so happened that the Boss’ date got pushed back to the same day, but I actually had it prior to him having it. His first release date was June 26, I believe.  Did 50 give you his blessing to go through Koch for distribution?  I don’t have a deal with Koch. Koch is for distribution. I don’t want anyone to go think that I would do something that The Boss isn’t in agreement with. They’re just a distribution company, not a record company. Without 50 Cent’s blessings, I couldn’t be going this far with the project.  Why aren’t their any G-Unit features on West Kept Secret?    This effort is about Spider Loc. I’m not attempting to create a perception that this is a G-Unit effort. This is me as an individual and I just rolled in that fashion.  Is that why you barely had any features on West Kept Secret?  I got too much to say, man. I get it in with my colleagues as much as possible, but sometimes I need that platform to talk about what Spi is talking about. I do plenty of mixtape work and plenty of collab work with other artists that has yet to come out. I just took this time out to address the public alone. I wanted Ice Cube on there. Outside of that, I didn’t feel like there was too much of a need to have too many voices on there. I’m more with trying to help those that are underground get aboveground than me get more aboveground by riding the coattails of others. I’m already connected to the strongest in the game so it’s hard to impress me by having anybody else on the project. I just have an overabundance of things to say and I’m using this time to get a lot of it out.  You went into a ton of detail on “Blutiful World,” probably setting a record for using the word blue so much in such a short amount of time. Was that a hard track for you to write?    To be honest with you, it wasn’t as hard to write as you might imagine. The concept just kept rolling in my head. I’m so connected with blue that the ideas just continued to roll and they just fell together, man.  You also shot a video for “Blutiful World.” Are you happy with how far the song went?    I’m tremendously pleased with the response and with the progress of the record, man. It was just a mixtape record and I had no idea that it was going to generate that much interest. I thank the fans for understanding and accepting it. Stay tuned. There’s more to come.   What was it like recording “Big Blacc Boots” with Ice Cube?    That is one of the highlights of my career. I’ve been a big Ice Cube fan my whole life and I feel like he gave me that fire and I appreciate it, man. I tip my hat to Mr. Jackson. Ice Cube, man, he’s one of the premier black entertainers. He’s crossed over from such a street-orientated career to a corporate one and he’s accepted everywhere.   Where would West Coast hip-hop be without Ice Cube?    I think it would be stuck in a very small box. They’re still trying to force us into a box, but without the contributions that Ice Cube made, there would be a much smaller box for them to want to put us in. You can’t even imagine getting to this point without the contributions that Ice Cube made in film and music. Up until when he got more family-oriented, he kept it hip-hop-based. There was always a hip-hop feel. Of course he’s graduated from that now, but he still has it. Everything that he did was hip-hop-based.  “All I Know” is one of the most introspective songs on West Kept Secret. What inspired you to write “All I Know”?  Well, the lyrics came to me as thoughts and I chopped them down to verses. That’s how I got the verses. It’s like the music was talking to me. I might not know a lot about a whole lot, but some of the things that I’m sure of are the things I said in that record. I might not be able to tell you how deep the ocean is, but I can tell you that I’m that nigga and then a few other things that’s in that record.  Are you happy with how West Kept Secret came out?    I’m definitely happy. I had total control over it. I was able to put what I wanted out there. I appreciate the promotion that I’m receiving and I’m just looking for it to be well-received by the public.  You’ve had beefs with Game, Yukmouth, Messy Marv and others. How do you find yourself in so much controversy?    Well, to be honest with you, I had the wrong perception of the industry upon my introduction. I would look at it from the outside-in and I would see people sagging and wearing t-shirts and flags and hear them talking about how tough they were. I kind of bought into that. Once I got into the circle and I was around these cats and certain incidents came up, I realized that it wasn’t like the streets or prison. It just took me some time to learn that these guys weren’t cut like that. I had to realize that this wasn’t the street or the ‘hood that I stepped into. It was a business. Even though the mannerisms of these guys will remind you to act a certain way, you have to remember that this is Corporate America you’re dealing with. In the street, if a motherfucker cut his eyes at you a certain way, there was a certain way I would handle it. Anything like the cut of an eye would just have me respond a little hastily and physically. I don’t really do much arguing. I don’t argue at all. It just happened to fall that way. I’ve learned from my behavior and I appreciate the environment. I come from a rough environment and most of the ones that you named appear to come from rough environments and certain actions bring certain responses. People would make certain suggestions and I got into certain situations where I would resort to my normal tactics of handling it instead of doing what I should do corporately.  Are you on good terms with Yukmouth today?    I’ve seen him a few times since our incident and we’ve spoken and we’re cool. I don’t make peace with nobody. I embrace the war quicker, even if I’m seeking peace. I don’t have any ongoing problems with anybody in the rap game, but fuck anybody who wants a problem. Come close enough and make it obvious that you want a problem and then we can have a problem. Other than that, leave me the fuck alone and I’ll leave you the fuck alone.  What exactly happened between you and Messy Marv?    Man, nigga said my name on a record. The bitch-ass nigga spoke on the low so I shot a line or two back and let him know that that shit ain’t the business. Street niggas know that you don’t put nobody’s name in a song if you don’t have no issues with him. I don’t know what dude’s motivation was for thinking it was cool, but he did. You don’t know me like that.   Are you learning not to take records so personal today?  Oh, yeah. I don’t take it half as personal as it may sound. I take it as part of the game. You have a lot of artists that say things on records that they never would never say to your face so you have to just laugh at it.  What’s the best way for you survive the industry?    The best way is for you to just keep everything business. Just be focused on the profit. Anybody that’s not about that is trying to impede your progress. Always stay focused on being productive because the majority of what’s going on around you is irrelevant.  Have you had to sacrifice any of your morals while navigating the game?  I don’t knock anybody that serves as creative artists in contemporary times. I can’t judge that man or say nothing about him. But one thing about me is that I can fit the bill. That is true about the industry. I don’t have to compromise anything or do anything specifically. But there are certain things that I won’t do. I’m sure there are plenty of situations that can be presented that I will not be involved in. But from what I’ve seen in the past and what I see going on, they might try to make the spots for people like me smaller. What I can continue to do is occupy that spot and occupy this arena. You have to understand how to be yourself and you have to be the best that you can be. You can’t just let anything go. You be you, but be the best you.  Have you spoken to Suge Knight lately?    Man, I’ve bumped into Suge a lot of times. We spoke. He called me from a blocked number. He said, “Well, I’m going to hang up and call back so you can get the number,” but then he never called back. I don’t know what Suge was talking about. Suge stays on the Hollywood scene. I bump into him every now and then but I haven’t seen him in awhile.  How’s your G-Unit debut album The World Wide Web coming?    The World Wide Web is coming good, man. It’s ready and it’s done. We’re just going through the politics of the label. We’re just trying to figure out when it’s going to hit the world, but The World Wide Web is cooked and it’s hot.  Ideally when would that drop?    I want to drop it tomorrow. It’s going to come out as soon as The Boss puts out his release schedule. It’s not my job to predict dates. After Curtis drops on September 11 we’re going to work on the G-Unit album before the Spider Loc album comes out. That’s specifically where I’m at with it.  What do you have to do to make sure that you get a release date soon and that The World Wide Web is successful when it comes out?    It’s the fourth quarter and it’s a close game. The coach put me in the game and put the ball in my hands. I have to make sure I score. I have to be the best I can be. That’s what I’m going to continue to do and let the chips fall where they may. I realize that there are going to be certain situations that are out of my hands. In the meantime I have to do what Spi is doing.  What’s the next move for Spider Loc?    I have to make sure West Kept Secret does well. I’ll be on Weeds coming up soon. I just shot the episode. I’m not sure what episode it is, but you can catch me on Weeds on Showtime. I’m developing a show on ABC called A Good Look. I’m working on a clothing line. I’m just grinding, man. I have my artists. I’m doing shows and I’m doing it all.  What do you want to say to everybody?    Go grab West Kept Secret: The Prequel and go grab Curtis. If you love the West Coast, you have to love Spider Loc. Keep your ears open.

By Brian Kayser

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