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 OZONE | 11
DANNY! COLUMBIA, SC Words // Ms. Rivercity Photo // Ingrid Hertfelder 12 | OZONE
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