Boo the Hustler, has proven himself to indeed be a hustler. Growing up from a poor small town in Missisipi, Boo had the mindsense to start his own company and become a succesful independent artist. His hard work and persistence has payed off and he now has an album, “One Life, One Love,” coming out this May via J Records/Royal Dollar Records. RealTalkNY had the chance to talk to Boo about his past and his future.

Audio: Boo – Get Money(Doe Boy Anthem)
Audio: Boo- You Know How I Get Down

Hustling On Both Sides Of the Game
Interview by Nigel D.

RTNY: Whats good?

Boo: I’m good man, trying to work things out.

RTNY: I read your from Mississippi, how is life down there?

Boo: You know, just being from Mississippi period, trying to do music is against the grain and going against the odds. I’m just trying to be heard. As far as life goes, I came from a small town, you know, population around 14,000, a lot of poverty and a lot of negative shit. I’m just climbing up out that shit, trying to do something positive, as far as the music goes.

RTNY: How did you first get involved in rapping?

Boo: I started an independent company, I went and learned the business side of it. But as far as rapping goes, I been doing it for a minute. I grew up around music, the gospel and blues, you know, this is where it originated from, Mississippi. Just being around the house around my parents, music was instilled in me from day one. You know, I fell in love with it and  been doing it ever since. It goes back to the talent shows in school, sixth/seventh grade and spitting there. It just been in me since day one.

RTNY: What artist did/do you look up to and have influenced your style?

Boo: Well, no one influenced my style, but as far as doing the independent thing, I came up listening to Master P and following his blueprint. As far as getting your own label, barcodes, tax id numbers, and just following their blueprint. they wasn’t really checking for artist in the south, so we had to come up and get it our own. I was out there in the streets, learning about distribution. We started coming out the trunks, selling them first, just being consistent with it.

RTNY: One of your albums sold an impressive 30,000 records independently, I guess you know both sides of the game.

Boo: Yup, nobody gave us nothing, we started from the ground up.

RTNY: How did you get signed?

Boo: I was signed to Interscope at first. It didn’t work out, there was internal problems and they were sleeping on the project. I signed the release form and went back to my independent thing, trying to stay consistent. I dropped a double disc and I started recording. I had a meeting with a company in Miami called, Royal Dollar, they had connections with Swizz Beatz. They set up a meeting with Clive Davis(J Records), I brought new material and did my thing in front of the staff and the response was crazy. They liked the music and before we left the office they was like congratulations, we about to do the deal.

RTNY: What do you prefer, being independent or being a signed artist?

Boo: I been doing my independent thing for so long, but I’m ready to go nationwide. We done did the regional thing, three to four states, but now I’m ready for nationwide. This way people can go in stores and the music is available, they provide that outlet to get out music all over. We get more visibility in outlets like BET & MTV. It’s like going from high school to college.

RTNY: The name of your company and first album is, “One Life, One Love,” whats the inspiration behind it?

Boo: That’s the label, that’s the click, that’s the movement. Its family oriented, you only live once and for everybody in my circle it’s one love. We reach out to everyone, who been supporting us, and let them know its one  love. Everybody spending their hard earned money to buy my shit, I want them to know its One love. Even reaching out to RealTalkNY, interview wise, everyone that got something to do with this, I want them to know it’s one love. It’s appreciated, that’s where the one life, one love came from, you only live once and for everyone in my circle one love.

RTNY:Who did you collaborate with on your album?

Boo: Production by Swizz Beatz, Mannie Fresh, Jazze Pha, Colli Park, we got a gang of music and in the end we will pick out 15, 16 bangers.

RTNY: How would you describe the album?

Boo: It’s Boo, it’s introducing the world to Boo. My hardship, my struggle, my day to day. I’m just trying to get people familiar with me. Even though I got the heavy hitters on the album, I still got the young hungry cats on it too, to balance the album out. There are a lot of songs that trigger different emotions and talk about real life issues. It’s some real shit on there, some real day to day shit. No Hollywood type songs, its a real experience. It’s just my story, I’m the narrator, So I got to tell it from my point of view. Listeners follow me through the album to understand what I been through.

RTNY: What makes you different from other rappers out there?

Boo: It ain’t so much about different, because everyone go in with the same intentions. Trying to get the people to accept their music and hear their side of the story. I’m just trying to sell me and my story. I’m trying to be a best seller. If you coming from the streets or the game, I’m an inspiration for you. I’m from a small town, I never had shit, I didn’t take the shortcuts. I’m just giving my music to the next man going against the odds, trapped in the streets, going through their day to day shit.

RTNY: What are your goals for 2007?

Boo: Just to make sure my album is solid. Just put up the numbers we trying to get. Promote the album right, get it to the fans, the people riding with me. I’m just trying to make sure the music is right dog, and people get their money worth.

RTNY: Any last words?

Boo: The name of the album is, “One Life, One Love, A Hustler’s Hope.” It should be out this May, we just putting the finishing touches on it. I just want people to know they going to get their money worth. I took my time to put it together, its going to be a solid album.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 20th, 2007 at 3:19 am and is filed under Exclusives, Interviews.