Young Kingz Chops It Up With BFochs!!!...Part Two!

BFochs: Well well well, we cross paths once again Mr. Kingz. What is the good word amigo?

Young Kingz: I’m good chillin’ like a villain

BFochs: I can dig it. What's goin' down in NYC this exact moment?

Young Kingz: Well Jada, Busta, & 50 got New York going bonkers, and plus it's mad brick here. Cold blooded, like 50 going at Mr. Carter & Kanyeezy.

BFochs: That's what Curtis does best, beef when he's got projects dropping haha. We can skip the intro. If these kind folks don't know who you are, it’s obvious they haven't hit up one of the finest blogs the internets has to offer, or, they didn't read the last interview lol. On that note, we shall get down to the nitty gritty. It's quite clear all of your thoughts cannot be contained in a few posts on your site, so this interview will deal a lot with what your thoughts are on some hot topics within the industry and current affairs in general. First off, let's discuss the evolution of the music blog a little bit.

2008 seen an explosion with a great expansion in the blogosphere. Where do you think this blog madness will go in 2009? Do you think the industry/blogger synergy that was been seen towards the end of '08 will continue to strengthen and the industry will be fully involved with the blog scene?

Young Kingz: Well ’08 was definitely a big year in the blog game. I mean, I came back for the love of the game, and a totally different mind set. My main goal was to increase the sales for ’08, and I tell ya I did my best. By linking every post to record outlets, and making my blog market friendly for fans & industry heads, you can see that I’m not a BS type of dude. Personally if these labels are smart enough, they better run with the best blogs instead of harassing them, and they ultimately need better communication with these sites, because we are the reasons these quote & quote artists are blowing up nowadays. So basically in ’09, there needs to be more label interaction with all top blogs, and anyone for that fact, who is grinding to support their favorite artists. This is the only way the industry can be involved with the blog scene, because some of these labels don’t do their jobs on the promo tip, and sites have to pick up the dirty work.

BFochs: Word, we do help promote singles and what not TONS. 2008 also seen a rise in youtube beef and online fuckery between hip hop artists, what is your take on these shenanigans in general? Do you think this form of beefing is just a sign of the times or people are just softer than back in the day?

Young Kingz: I mean e-thuggery was at an all time high in ’08. With chain snatchings, niggas callin’ people this that and the third, this shit was completely absurd. You’d think with all the energy they were wasting, they would’ve had hits already. I mean it’s Darwinism in the fullest. Only the strong survive, and these rappers are hungry. So what better way to eliminate your competition by jacking a chain or talking slick, just to make your competition seem like a peon. I mean it’s certainly a sign of the times & it’s not gonna slow down any time soon, because people are hungry, and if they see you flossing that shiny ish, you are basically “lunch meat” too these niggas. That’s when e-thuggery crosses boundaries & people are targets. But I gotta admit Berg took the biggest L in ’08.

BFochs: Mr. Berg was on a L-athon in '08, hopefully he gets it together this year. Very good point about the Darwinism, there's only so much industry space, the weaklings gotta go! Dipset and other artists have used the terms 'no homo/pause' to the point where everyone does damn near does it, which to me is quite annoying. What is your take this 'no homo/pause' fiasco?

Young Kingz: Man. I see no problems in this lingo (Laughs). I mean you said it before, and this lingo is definitely a sign of the times. It’s just Hip Hop’s way of breaking away from its underlying homophobic problems, and it’s funny how these words hit the streets hard. I mean harder than Halle Berry hittin’ that pipe in Jungle Fever. So now basically everyone runs with it, including old folks. True story. Like one day I was looking for some food to eat, and I couldn’t find sh*t, and I said damn “I need franks or some hot dogs” really loud, and then my senior citizen lookin’ boy relative said “paussssse.” It’s funny as hell when it’s coming from an African old school dude with an accent.

BFochs: Oh man lol, seeing old people say stuff like that makes you know that the shit is officially trendy haha. The 'blog=the new DJ' topic has ruffled many feathers it seems amongst select industry heads, do you think that the music blog is becoming the new DJ, or is just another lane of promotion? I noticed there has been collabos with many DJs/sites for certain projects, will we ever see a collabo with your site and DJ on any projects?

Young Kingz: Like I said before the blog is essentially the main way of getting music these days. I mean I don’t fuck with those blogs that take pride by posting full albums. That sh*t is so ’07, and we as a blog community have to strive on just giving people a taste or preview of these artists, and maybe just maybe, these sales will go up somehow. It may seem so far fetched, but it’s definitely a start. So you can’t really get mad, because it’s the internet, and everything is easily accessible. Either way it’s like the industrialization days, when the machinery replaced the real workers, and it’s like a passing the torch thing. And oh yeah, I’m currently working with DJ Elamentz of All Pro on an upcoming mixtape, and I’m planning to release a mixtape filled with upcoming artists from NYC in like March or April. It will be NYC oriented, because we are alive and kicking.

BFochs: That's true, things must always evolve. WATCH OUT FOR THAT YOUNG KINGZ/DJ ELAMENTZ TAPE AND THAT NYC UPCOMING ARTIST TAPE!!! The industry has seen many movements/groups come and go. Out of all the groups that have faded away in the rap game, which one do you think has the biggest chance for making a comeback? Out of all of the new movements/groups, which do you think has the greatest chance of having longevity? Do you think a co-sign in the music game is worth as much it was say, 10 years ago?

Young Kingz: Hands down it’s The Fugees. If Lauryn can get off the 'Welcome to Jamrock' lovebug and release something for the masses, people will pop champagne like Obama Day. Just get these three in the studio ASAP, and it’s a wrap. Umm, the group that has the greatest chance to stay strong in the game is probably Pac Div. Their style and music is definitely here to stay. I mean I haven’t f-ed wit them a lot on the site, but that’s my mistake, but they are certainly a great group. Of course a co-sign these days it’s like giving a fat kid a double cheeseburger, because we’ll eat it up, and get big headed. So much props to the group I just co-signed & whoever who is getting co-signed (Laughs).

BFochs: The Fugees are so illie, a wise answer indeed. I too haven't showed love to Pac Div even though they got it goin on heavy, meh, you win some you lose some lol. The mp3 is poppin' heavy obviously, but there are always advancements in technology so eventually something will take the mp3's place. How long do you think the mp3 craze will last? Do you think the next time around they'll create something that is copyright-protected so bootlegging will be harder or do you think bootleggers will survive?

Young Kingz: Technically we are always developing every second, and there will be something to take the place of mp3, but since I’m no psychic I don’t know what the hell it would be, but it will be replaced faster than all of J-Lo’s husbands. So yeah bootleggers will always survive, and as long as you have my fellow Africans around (Laughs) just kidding. But yeah bootlegging will survive in the states, but over in the Motherland there is a software, which I won’t disclose for the U.S.'s sake, and no matter what you do, you can’t rip nada from it. Not a LAME EAC can save your life like here in U.S. But the U.S. needs to catch on for the CD & physical form’s sake. You can already tell mp3’s will be replaced, because mp3’s will officially be DRM free on iTunes in April, so it won’t really matter, and we’ll move on like we always do.

BFochs: That's true, our technology steelo is pretty heavy, I'm suprised we don't have walking sidewalks everywhere yet lol. Hopefully they create some kind of medium that helps both consumers and labels so these leaking shenanigans will cease to exist. We've seen some pretty big exposures in the game within the last year or so, one in particular, the Rick Ross exposure. Although it is widely known that a majority of rappers lie in their music, it's good to know some keep it real, what is your take on this fuckery and do you think that realness within the music matters or is it just 'entertainment'?

Young Kingz: Hell yeah I think realness counts. I mean when Bruce Bruce lookin’ boy Rick Ross lied, I couldn’t take his music serious anymore. I tried and tried. Lord knows I tried, but that picture of him in that corrections officer uniform is like a bad Freddy Kreuger nightmare that won’t go away. I mean it’s good he’s still trying his hand at the music thing, but I’m still wondering how much his fans will still support, being that all of his albums have gone Gold. The last straw is when I heard him on Luda’s “Theater Of The Mind”, and I skipped the track as soon as I heard his verse. I guess time heals wounds, and in his case it may take a long long time to get me to be a fan again. We’ve been basically bamboozled minus the black face. Now if I find out that the Clipse are lying, then I’ll probably faint, have a seizure, and suffer from severe and chronic niggalyitis syndrome. Shit is deadly.

BFochs: LMFAO, for real Robobawse shouldn't have faked the fonk, then he wouldn't be the victim of Photoshop fuckery. I noticed that you said the bloggers and what not should challenge Soulja Boy to step up his game or something along those lines, do you think it's humanly possible for him to even step up his game? It's taken for granted nowadays that there will be wackness in music, should fans stand up for themselves and demand better quality music, or do you think the industry is so dumbed down that it's not even possible to do that?

Young Kingz: I mean you can’t cheat people of what’s hot or not. The product should represent the artistic talent of these people, and if you rap like a two year old-lullaby track, it’s definitely not my fault you’re wack. Just step your game up. That’s why Weezy the gremlin is respected now, because he improved year after year, and when Tha Carter I hit, you saw a whole new Weezy. The superstar was born & now look at the dude. Bow Wow & Weezy have both shown that starting off at early ages has its benefits, and young’ns should all take note. Scooter Smiff will be that dude in years to come, because he flows better than some rappers now (Laughs). So in the end, fans shouldn’t settle for wackness, and conform to ringtone rap, because I feel in ’09 the ringtone scene will be dominated by R&B music. Rappers should attempt to leave singing to R&B people & vice versa. More props to Kanye, but we all know what we like best from Kanyeezy, and we are still waiting for that quote and quote ‘crack music” from him.

BFochs: I miss that good ole boom bap rap from Mr. West, hopefully he gets back to that this year. The time has come, and Obama has officially been inauguarated as president, now is the time for him to get shit poppin'. We spoke about some of the problems with our country in our last interview, if you were in Obama's shoes what 3 things would you tackle first? If you had a chance to give Mr. Obama some encouraging words of wisdom what would you tell him?

Young Kingz: Well, hmm. The three things I would tackle first would be the ongoing unemployment rate, prevention of terrorism, education improvement, and getting our damn soldiers out of Iraq. Oops that’s four (Laughs). But yeah, I mean, who are we dying for? Now that Forrest Gump Bush is outta here, we have let these families have peace in their lives, and ultimately closure. We’ve basically lost too many young souls in this pointless war, so the only thing I‘m praying for on Obama’s behalf, is that he can get us going financially, and we’ll be essentially good. And last but not least my only words of encouragement would be “DON’T FUCK UP.” (Laughs)

BFochs: Word life, if the economic stuff is corrected at least somewhat in his term I'm happy. Indeed, not fucking up is crucial, especially if your the president lol, wise words, wise words. What if all of the sudden music blogs ceased to exist, what effects do you think that would have on the music industry?

Young Kingz: Like I’ve said numerous times in this interview (laughs) if there aren’t any blogs, then sales would suffer like DMX’s career. Basically these labels need us to function, and if you subtract us from the equation, then it’s do or die, and in this case, it’s die.

BFochs: FREE DMX! Lol, indeed, it would be a curveball the industry doesn't need to have pitched at it right now. Out of all the cats in the blog game you are in the upper echelon of those who keep it legit on their site. Do you think you are getting the credit you deserve for your contributions to the blogosphre? When it comes to accolades for you what is more important, knowing you are positively promoting music and building long-lasting industry connections or achieving large site view/hit totals?

Young Kingz: Well, I feel like I’m still not noticed enough, but it doesn’t really bother me at all. I mean there will always be people who respect your efforts & acknowledge that you are grinding hard (pause), but I’ve been in this blog game for almost two years, and that alone is an accomplishment. So to be considered a Triple OG in this game is good enough for me. Like I could honestly leave the game right now, and I would have already made a difference in someone’s life in some way. I mean it’s quite evident from the love I’ve been receiving, and from the people who reach out to say I’ve made a difference. So really shout outs to the fans, because at the end of the day, they made me who I am today.

And concerning the hits, and all that BS, I don’t really care man. Like honestly, you can check the hits and all that traffic bullshit, and I’m far from being the best, but one thing I take pride in, is knowing that I assisted an artist, and they eventually blow up in this industry. That’s really my goal. So to make a long story short, this traffic shenanigans is so second grade, because it shouldn’t measure the individual or site, because you can ultimately be better than a site who is gaining traffic, but you aren’t being acknowledged. So to sum this whole thing up, just be true to yourself, and hopefully you can build friends and connections from hard work & dedication. So props to all the sites who do fuck with Kingz (no homo) (Laughs)

BFochs: Couldn't have said it any better bro. This shit ain't about hits it's about positively promoting music! Hits is just secondary if you are into that type of thing. You do a good number of reviews on your site for various albums, when did writing reviews become a desire for you? What review has been your most accepted and acclaimed? Which review was the least most accepted?

Young Kingz: Well I’ve been writing my whole life. From writing music, school papers, published poetry, and ghostwriting children songs, I’ve done it all (Laughs) Who knows your favorite children’s gingle could be my song (laughs). I used to write songs under a different alias three years 3 to 4 years ago for children, and it’s something I’m still proud of, because ultimately I did it for the kids. So yeah, writing is in my blood, and I’ve always been savy with the pen as a youngster, so I said what better way to expand my writing abilities then to review on my site. It has basically helped me, and my way of thinking, along with benefiting these artists. And as far as best reviews, hmm..I’ve written so many reviews, but the one that did get acknowledged the most would be Kanye’s “808’s & Heartbreaks”, Nas “Untitled”, & Beyonce’s album “I Am…Sasha Fierce”, which Columbia liked a lot (Laughs). Also shots to Latchkey Records for using my review for their artist Team Blackout on their main website. That meant a lot to me, despite who the artist was (Laughs). So basically time will tell if this actually pays off, because I’m only one class away from a BA in English/Media. So I’m crossing my fingers.

BFochs: Your writing steelo is top rank, I see you having no problems gettin' an industry gig when you graduate school, just keep at it mang you're VERY close to a trill job in the biz. Two very cliche things going on right now, the usage of autotune, and the emergence of 'swag rap' or music in which nothing but swag is talked about. What does Young Kingz think about the rise of these two staples in the industry? Do you think these types of things are the nail in the coffin for urban music or is it just a sign of the times and people are just up on new things?

Young Kingz: As far as autotune, that shit has to die this year. If it doesn’t happen then someone must hit me over the head with a hammer. I mean if Weezy & T-Pizzle can put an end to it, then maybe we’ll have a chance in Hip Hop (Laughs). But honestly it needs to die ASAP, because now we have artists using it that don’t deserve to use it at all. There are two Harlem niggas using this shit really reckless, and their songs wreak havoc. I won’t say their names, but one sips to much champagne & the other drinks too much chicken noodle soup. Just give it a rest, be creative, and jock your own style. Leave the Roger Trautman & T-Pain ish alone, and create heaters, minus robotic voices. As far as swag is concerned, this will never diminish in songs, because people associated with the Hip Hop culture all came from deprived & poor situations and it’s a way of showcasing economical success in their lives. Sh*t I’d probably do it also. I’d be all over TV with Slick Rick lookin’ chains screaming to the peeps at home “In your face, In your face” while flossing stacks of cash. It’s just how society is built today, and that’s by materialism and wealth. If you have neither one of them, then you’re assed out. At the end of the day, we deserve what we floss anyway, because we worked hard for it, and what better way to make up for 400 years of slavery, then to be successful brothers and sisters legal or illegally. But of course I prefer the legal way (Laughs).

BFochs: More real spit, hip hop is all about being iller than the next and what better way than by professing it in your music. That's true mane, all that b.s. and hardwork merits good times and spendin' money like you're on. That's all I got dude, another heater in the books! Any shout outs, last words or comments before we seal the deal on this shpeal?

Young Kingz: Shouts to the whole NMC, BuckMarley, Moe Greene, my homie TK, Nav, Heather, UK brethren Smokeyyy, DJ Z, DJ Elamentz, DJ EMI, Prostyle, Lexx, Curt, you of course, and that emotional ass nigga Sermon (Laughs). Oh yeah…shouts to Connie & Lu, you guys have been down since day one. If I forgot anyone, then I have a case of that Alzheimer’s disease.

BFochs: Thanks for blessing the spot with another interview bro, you already know I support anything you got poppin' off, I wish you the best of luck in the '09 and beyond!

Young Kingz: No doubt, peace and take care man.

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