Sha Money XL Interview: The Hunger For More

Throughout the entire interview, rather than probe for the next follow-up question, I found myself engaging in one discussion after another. It was clear to me that I wasn’t interviewing your proverbial artist on a promotional run to promote their latest project. Instead, I interviewed someone who cares deeply for their craft and the direction it’s going in.

Read on as Sha Money and I discuss his departure from G-Unit, why Kevin Liles and Lyhor Cohen need to step up, and who’s going to fill the vacant spot at Def Jam.

RTNY: How’s everything?

S.XL: Everything’s good.

RTNY: For those people living under a rock, let the readers know who Sha Money XL is and some of your contributions to hip-hop.
S.XL: Sha Money XL–born in Queens; raised right off of Hollis Queens; home to Run DMC, LL Cool J, and A Tribe Called Quest. I came up under that influence and it led me to start producing for every rapper in Queens–Tragedy, Royal Flush, Mobb Deep and 50 Cent. I met 50 through Jam Master Jay and kept a relationship. He went over to Track Masters, we kept tight and after he got shot we started this whole crew and started this whole campaign that is G-Unit.

RTNY: Yeah, let’s go ahead and get that out of the way. What was your reason for leaving?
S.XL: Me and 50 were both going in two different directions. I wanted to expand a brand that was my own and had a stake in (Money Management Group) something that I had dreamed of doing for a long time. I felt that everything that I could contribute to G-Unit I did, and I wanted to expand on a new venture that I considered to be mine.

RTNY: So you didn’t leave on bad terms?
S.XL: Oh, no…far from bad terms. Everything is good, I still contribute through music and I still manage artists on the roster.

RTNY: I was going to ask you about that. I think its Young Buck and Lloyd Banks that you still manage right?
S.XL: Yep.

RTNY: Your Money Management Group did some work on XXL’s first DVD right?
S.XL: Yes, yes we did. We did all the music for it, me and my whole team.

RTNY: How did that come about?
S.XL: They know me from locking down video games like 50 Cent’s Bullet Proof, I did 56 tracks on that video game; Freestyle Basketball, a few of the NBA Live’s; I have that soundtrack to themes, so with that and doing films, it was easy for me to do that. We were able to do it. Dan “The Man” shot it and it was all internal.

RTNY: How do you feel about Elliott getting fired?
S.XL: Yeah, I heard about that. Elliott was a great dude! So I don’t know if it’s a rat in the office or some kind of fish in the office. But I can tell you it smells funny.

RTNY: Do you think it was warranted, or do you think it was corporate politricks? Notice I didn’t say politics, I said poli-tricks.
S.XL: Yeah, I think it was internal corporate politricks. There is always a time where someone feels they need to be bigger and better than you. So their whole thing becomes dedicated to the shifting of positions. You just have to be careful of your surroundings.

RTNY: I think Elliott will bounce back. He has a nice portfolio and I think anyone would be fortunate to have him.
S.XL: Yeah, yeah, he’ll absolutely bounce back! XXL is my favorite magazine, and he’s been there a long time prior to being with the Source, which he left to do that.

RTNY: What are some of the things you look for when signing artists/producers?
S.XL: What I look for is a consistency and good music. Every producer has their own sound. You can tell a Timbaland beat from a Pharrell beat–you know what’s different. My guys all have a unique sound. Jake 1, Hi-Tek and Ill Mind, they all have their own sound. That’s what I look for. All my guys are talented and a challenge for me as a producer.

RTNY: You recently did a track for Papoose, “You Mad Cause I’m Stylin’ on You”, do you have anything else in the works?
S.XL: Yeah, I’m doing a lot more stuff. I’m working on Buck’s upcoming project. He has his Cashville Records deal with Sony, so I’m contributing a lot of music to that. Of course Snoop, I just did something on Gorilla Zoe’s last album. I’m getting into R&B more…I got this new program called LOGIC. I can make beats in my hotel room, living room, anywhere I can make music. I transfer all my sounds to it. So I’m on a laptop making masterpieces.

RTNY: Let all the producers that are reading this know where they can pick that up at.
S.XL: I don’t want to put Guitar Center out of business. Well, they’re still going to be in business because you have to buy some of the equipment from them. But they don’t have to worry about buying those keyboard synthesizers. Now there are digital standalones that you can input into your PC and into your Mac. You also have Native Instruments that have batteries that you can convert into drums and better folders that will spread across any keyboard. It has Massive, which is what Timbaland used on some of those Justin records. So, it’s like these big sounds that are all internal that you never loose a generation from. It’s like having a keyboard but it’s all in your computer.

RTNY: How much does all that run?
S.XL: The LOGIC program will probably cost you a grand, and the complete COMPACT 5 will cost you a grand also.

RTNY: It seems like your trying to re-shape the music scene with producers and all of the new technology coming out. Is that what you’re trying to do?
S.XL: Yes, every industry has its own conferences. They even have porn conferences these days. You go from conferences like SEMA for cars; NAM for technology; and you want to have one for years to come for producers. And technology will know where to come to co-brand. They want us to buy all their equipment but you don’t see any of us being the face behind it, and we’re all buying it. If you come to One Stop Shop you’ll find where Swizz is at; you’ll find where Primo is at; you’ll find the generation of the next best guys. If you’re looking for music, this is where you need to be at.

RTNY: Can anyone attend?
S.XL: Anyone can attend. You can log on to www.moneymanagementxl.com and register to attend. You’ll have a blast. The website gives you a description on the panel and the panelist. All the information you need.

RTNY: What made you start the conference?
S.X: It was a dream. I went to bed from an exhausted day of mad producers saying will you manage me, can you hook me up with this, I need that…I didn’t wanna be all arrogant and be like, nah-fuck off. So I was like let me do something. I fed the guys, flew out all the talent and their cousins. I did all that so these guys could have a place where they can learn and absorb the information that’s going to make them one of the greater ones.

RTNY: Like you were saying, there are tons of conferences out. Do you think there needs to be more conferences like this for hip-hop, where artists discuss political issues, maybe the censorship of rap…
S.XL: Absolutely! I wish Russell would get behind me because I would make that happen. That’s going to be the next one, we have to make that happen. Hip-hop is a family, we got to stop all the ignorance.

RTNY: And all of the beefing!
S.XL: Yeah, ignorance is an excuse to get away with what we’re doing. Ignorance is not justified. It’s no way you can tell me when we do all this stupid shit and look like fools to America it can be justified by saying I’m from the hood. No, it’s ignorance. So we need to start educating each other and letting each other know that maybe music isn’t exciting anymore because people are not interested in what they felt was once real. Half you dudes are phony, half ya’ll dudes are broke. Everyone has to get with the real and stop putting out false imagery.

RTNY: Do you think another problem would be getting rappers to attend? I mean like the big names…
S.XL: That’s the problem! Egos in hip-hop are bigger than the buildings that put out our records.

RTNY: (Laughing) True story.

S.XL: (Laughing) It’s bigger than the Def Jam building. Egos are huge, you couldn’t fit one ego in a room. It would be bigger than that building.

RTNY: Man, you gotta’ get Russell aboard on that. I think it would be good for hip-hop and enlightened the masses and show another side to us instead of all the videos. Try to hook that up.
S.XL: I will, man. Russell is the ‘Godfather of Hip-Hop’, people have to understand I’ve watched more people be employed from him than Microsoft where there’s like 60,000 employees. Russell is responsible for thousands and thousands of employees that came from hip-hop that went off and did there own thing for different labels. He was the first person that when I walked into a black owned business, I saw so many affluent people with creative careers. We have to keep that. Right now the talk of the town is who got fired…shit is crazy.

RTNY: It sounds like that was one of the reasons why you started your Money Management Group–to give people an opportunity.
S.XL: Yeah, I network with dudes in different states that are on it. That are finding ways and opportunities to make it happen. Whether we’re doing shows or events, trying to channel new artists or new producers…I mean these are new guys who are coming up. They’re learning the ropes and I’m being fair and teaching them everything I know. Hip-hop has a lack of mentorship.

RTNY: So, how can an artist or producer send you their music for consideration to be a part of your group?
S.XL: We have a new email right now, they should log on to www.moneymanagementxl.com, you can send music through the website. And I have an email where you can send your music to be apart of the beat battle at One Stop Shop, which is going to be hosted by the top producers in the industry. It’s all on the website.

RTNY: Who are some of the producers that are going to be in attendance at the conference?
S.XL: Swizz Beats, DJ Toomp, DJ Premiere, 9th Wonder, Hi-Tek, Scott Storch, and me. I have Teddy Riley calling me, even Warren G called because I want more West Coast producers. So even as things are going on and they’re reading realtlky.net, everyone is calling me from New York…Buckwild, LES and Just. I mean, I can’t have a panel of twenty guys but I’m going to work it out.

RTNY: What’s up, no Timbo?
S.XL: I reached out to him, I hope he can take a minute and put the banana down and come rock with us.

RTNY: (Laughing)

S.XL: You know what I’m saying…

RTNY: (Laughing) Yeah.

S.XL: Put the muscle milk down and rock with us. Come be with a league of producers. (Laughing)

RTNY: His counter-part Danga Handz is a beast.
S.XL: He is a beast. He’s one of the only people that came to one of my houses that I rarely invite people to. He came to my house during Labor Day and I got acquainted with him. He’s talented man.

RTNY: In the next five years, where do you see your Money Management Group and One Stop Shop?
S.XL: I want to get into technology. I want to have an input on these new instruments and games that are coming out. Like my Traxx Pad video game, it came out last summer on PSP, you can make beats on it. I’m trying to move continuously in that direction and get down with Microsoft and other companies like X-BOX, and be apart of the technology wave. It’s the viral stages, the viral stages are important and I support that. It’s the quickest way for people to get news, especially if you’re from New York where the illest news is going on. It’s real talk New York, you know. (Laughing)

RTNY: Thanks for that plug. (Laughing)

RTNY: You’ve got some big things in the works, your ambition is motivating.
S.XL: That’s what it is, I think in some cases I was over ambitious and it hurt me because I always had the hunger for more-that’s like tattooed on my belly. So it’s like I can’t sit still. I wake up early even if I don’t have to.

RTNY: We’ve talked a lot about technology. Do you think there needs to be some type of technology developed to stop all of the downloading?
S.XL: That’s the crazy part, they like that shit. I’m not going to lie to you, I bought my daughter a computer, within a half-hour she downloaded all of her favorite songs for free. I’m like how did you get that? She’s on LimeWire and I’m like somebody needs to bomb that building or we’re all going to be interns.

RTNY: Do you think you can get with Microsoft and come up with something?
S.XL: That’s something to think about. But the real question is where are all these moguls that are making [pauses] we make millions, they make multi-millions. Where is Jimmy, where is Doug, where’s L.A., where’s Kevin Liles…

RTNY: Lyor Cohen.

S.XL: Yeah, where they at?

RTNY: Somewhere chillin’.

S.XL: Come on, are ya’ll not that intelligent to let one place make money off of all our music? There’s a writer’s strike, there needs to be an industry strike.

RTNY: Damn, that would be crazy if it happened.

S.XL: But everyone is too thirsty for money. Rappers aren’t trying to take days off because that’s money out of their pockets. They’re not going to do that.

RTNY: I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon. And it’s unfortunate because people like you, who love this industry and want to see hip-hop reach higher echelons, can’t because record sales are slumping and labels are dumbfounded – they don’t know what the hell to do.
S.XL: They don’t know! You would think the top guy is smarter than everybody, but he was just the one with the money. Seriously, you always consider the boss the smartest guy and that’s not the case. Steve Jobs sat with all these guys and came to an agreement. They signed off on iTunes and this digital era. They couldn’t see that far…all they could think about was that we’re going to be apart of this new wave.

RTNY: So in the next couple of years do you see yourself being amongst the guys we’re talking about – the L.A. Reids, the Lyor Cohens?
S.XL: Absolutely, and that’s something I strive for. I do want to be in more places where guys like us can mingle because they make is so high-class. If I’m not at a Grammy party, a VMA table, or a stuffy party…we don’t have places where we all can gather. And that’s what this conference is all about-take your tie and suit off. Be who you are. Put yourself in a place where you can spread knowledge and give back. That means a lot more than going to the Grammy’s dressing up and trying to play the part.

RTNY: Because you’re so ambitious and you’re not one of those types of guys, do you think that industry execs are afraid of you?
S.XL: Absolutely. I serve a higher power, so my ultimate result is going to be peace and happiness while I raise good kids. I’m going to actually raise them and not let television or music do it. I’m going to have a better end result. My thing is about the right things that are in the Bible and not making it materialistic.

RTNY: Well, you know your boy Jay left Def Jam, why don’t you go ahead and try to fill that spot?

S.XL: (Laughing) They already had it rigged!

RTNY: They had it rigged?

S.XL: (Laughing) That was a fixed fight, Don King is in the industry now.

RTNY: (Laughing)

S.XL: JD was already the president, ya’ll just didn’t know it.

RTNY: Straight up?

S.XL: Straight up. They made him the president of Island, which is an empty floor in the Def Jam building with no employees. They waited for Jay-Z to go out and they shifted him over.

RTNY: You serious?

S.XL: What is Island? What is the last record you seen from Island Records? Bob Marley was on and made Island Records.

RTNY: So JD’s taking over?

S.XL: He’s already in his spot. JD’s in New York. You didn’t see the headlines-JD buys condo in New York? Don’t get me wrong, not that JD don’t deserve it, JD makes hits.

RTNY: Oh, definitely.

S.XL: He’s more responsible for making hits for other artists. Jay-Z is a great businessman, but JD’s contribution to multiple artists is ridiculous.

RTNY: Do you think JD will do a better job than Jay-Z did?

S.XL: (Laughing)

RTNY: (Laughing) I had to ask…

S.XL: I gotta’ be diplomatic with that because I love Jay-Z. I think he’s going to be the first billionaire rapper. I really think he’s going to be the first one to make it to the billionaire boys club. So my respect for Jay-Z won’t allow me to talk him down. He’s one of my top 3 on my rap list…

RTNY: Who are your other two?

S.XL: 50 and Em!

RTNY: Speaking of 50, he’s suppose to be dropping his last album on Interscope, are you going to be helping with that?
S.XL: Yes, my Money Management Group did five tracks on the last album. So we’re going to continue production, that’s not going to change at all.

RTNY: So back to what we were talking about-JD is about to run Def Jam?

S.XL: Oh, yeah. He’s going to put out that Janet and Mariah album, make some more hits, and bring in some new talent…it looks good.

RTNY: Thanks for that exclusive.

S.XL: If they didn’t know, then they’re not paying attention to like you said how the poli-tricks go.

RTNY: Alright, give everybody more information and the website for your One Stop Shop conference. I definitely want to plug that for you.

S.XL: www.moneymanagementxl.com. It has all the information on there.

RTNY: Is there one last thing you’d like to say to the fans?

S.XL: Yeah, I just want to tell them you have to believe and stop hating. Let their be more love than hate. And I want them to get ready for somebody out of Harlem called Riz-his crew is Self Made.

RTNY: Alright, we’ll be checking for him. Thanks for the interview.

S.XL: Thanks.

For more info on Sha Money visit:
www.moneymanagementxl.com

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 14th, 2008 at 1:55 pm and is filed under Interviews.