L.E.P. - Ozone Magazine

Currently on the road with Boosie, Rick
Ross, Pleasure P., and Plies, Snook is
poppin’ bottles like a true Rokk Starr. It’s a
lifestyle Snook exposed long before it became
the current trend. Here Snook speaks
on the tour and how he’s finally getting the
recognition he deserves.
You’ve worked with a lot of big names in
the industry. Who all have you collaborated
with lately
My latest collaborations were with Lil
Boosie, Yo Gotti, and T-Pain. I’ve worked
with Sean Paul from the YoungBloodz, Lil
Mo, Rich Boy, and Princess of Crime Mob.
Tell me about the album American Roc
Star.
The album is set to come out late ’08. A lot
of groups came out and everybody wanted
to do the rockstar thing; they had the fad
with it. I don’t party like a rock star; I live like
one. The album’s gonna show you the life
and times of real hood rock star, like going
to the club, poppin’ bottles. That’s my lifestyle,
everything I do. I can’t really go into
depth. I’m open to a lot of different things.
Elaborate on what you mean by “groups
that came out wanting to do the rockstar
thing.”
I had a song called “Rockstar” on Myspace.
It wasn’t “Party Like a Rockstar.” It was
about living like a rockstar. I had a live
band come in and play it. I released it on
Myspace right out the studio, no mix on it or
anything. Maybe like a month or so later I
hear the “Party Like a Rockstar” song. I had
already done business with a record label
out of New York on the song prior to that.
So are you saying that you think the Shop
Boyz got the idea for their song from yours
I can’t remember what publication it was in,
but I actually read an article – I don’t like
to say names ‘cause that’s how you make
other people famous – but he was like, “I
heard the song on Myspace and I liked it so
we wanted to put our own twist to it.” That’s
where that came from.
It seems like the major DJs are cosigning
you. How did you get their support
They just like my music. I was down in
Jacksonville at Vision Sounds – shout out
to Jawad – recording a lot of my mixtapes
and Bigga Rankin heard some of the music.
One of my managers had a relationship
with Bigga and they were having a lunch
meeting one day. Bigga was telling him
that he liked it. He got behind it and put my
music out there, let other DJs hear it. The
South Carolina DJs jumped on it quick once
they heard it. It was like a domino effect, a
nice lil’ chain reaction.
Who do you consider to be the most inspirational
artists throughout history
Big Daddy Kane was the ultimate performer.
He wasn’t just a rapper; he actually
did acrobatics and all types of stuff. When
you came to see Big Daddy Kane you knew
you were gonna leave outta there sweating.
Other than that, I like Biggie Smalls. He
inspired me with his lyrical content. Nobody
can tell a story better than Biggie to me.
Jay-Z’s business mind was inspiring. He
somehow made it through the adversity and
got to where he needed to be. And last but
not least, Lil Wayne’s grind is crazy. He had
77 features last year; that speaks for itself.
When you think of your biggest dream in life
what comes to mind
Getting my mother outta the hood. However
I have to accomplish that dream, I’ll do it.
The music industry is definitely part of my
dream ‘cause I plan on that being my outlet,
but it’s by any means necessary.
Tell me about the history behind Southern
Dynasty Records.
The label was started by me and my big
homie that’s locked up right now. I’m originally
from New Jersey and I came to South
Carolina in ’99 to go to school. I stopped
going to school in ’01 to further my career
in music. I met Chris and we started the
label. I was the first artist under the label,
currently still the only artist under the label.
He got messed up with the whole Federal
thing and went to jail. We had to branch off
into ventures with other people. My homie
Mixx and Biggs came in and took over the
business side.
Do you have any upcoming events or promotional
plans you want to mention before
we go
I’m on the Hypnotized tour with Lil Boosie,
Rick Ross, Pleasure P, and Plies. Shout
out to SSP and Mon E. G. the Ghostwriter.
We’ve been to Augusta, Columbia, Jacksonville,
Indianapolis, Cincinnati, St. Louis,
Kansas City, and it’s still going so keep your
ears out for that. Watch out for the new
mixtape coming soon.
Website: Myspace.com/Snookmusic
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