L.E.P. - Ozone Magazine

here, we were more about the organizations
in the streets. Rap hit hard around here
like everywhere else in the country, but in
Chicago, we don’t have any major labels,
so people just have to get their buzz up and
perfect their craft. We’ve got the momentum,
and we’re pushing down the door
and creating opportunities out here. The
Chicago story needs to be heard and that’s
what we’re here doing.
There definitely seems to be a distinct connection
between the culture of Chicago and
the South.
Count: Well, Chicago has a little bit more
of an edge to it then down South does.
People up here are a little less friendly than
cats down South, but there are definitely a
lot of similarities. The South is as gangsta
as it gets, and so is the Chi. But Chicago
has a lot of different musical styles, and
some music from the Chi is really similar to
Southern music. The Bogus Boys get love
everywhere we go, whether it’s the East
Coast, West Coast, or Down South.
What type of fans come to your shows
Count: Our fanbase is diverse. We keep
it in the streets, but the females do what
they do, too. We gear some of our music
to the females. We got some songs for the
guys, and some for the lil’ juvies, ‘cause
they be out in the streets, too. Basically, we
make music based on the last 6 months of
our lives, so what’s currently going on the
world, you gon’ hear in our music. We make
music for the streets, for our hood. I wish I
could tell you something different, but we
ain’t in the corporate buildings downtown,
so I can’t tell you about that. I’m in the
streets every day. We’re in the streets right
now while I’m talking to you.
As Chicago artists, what attracted you guys
to Bike Week in Myrtle Beach
We just wanna be a part of whatever’s
going on. That’s how we’re getting our
music and our movement out there. We go
everywhere that’s poppin’.
What it is about L.E.P and The Bogus Boys
that makes y’all different from the legions of
other independent rap groups
Our story. We’re different. Our streets is
different—they’re more structured. You
need to hear about our political prisoners.
We structured these organizations, and had
these neighborhoods under control where
it wasn’t all wild out here like it is now. They
took the structure out of the streets when
they locked up our chiefs and our leaders.
It wasn’t all this random killing before
then. We got a serious story to tell; this is a
Chicago thing, and plus we’ve got some really
good music. We’ve got cool production,
nice features, and it’s real professional. It’s
on point, and it’s industry ready.
Big Rugg: We don’t advocate violence, we
only talk about what we see. We put out
120,000 copies of our mixtapes last year,
we got 60,000 out in the streets right now.
We’ve done the Raw Report, The Source,
and a couple of other small magazines. Our
grind is so ugly. We’ve got our wrapped
vans, a hundred miles moving. A label is
gon’ really have to come get it with us, and
put they money where they mouth is.
Not too long ago, you released a Yung Berg
diss. Where did that come from
E: Yung Berg used to be on our label.
He tells everybody that DMX signed him,
but actually we were in a meeting in New
York with DMX. I wasn’t gonna go with the
deal they were trying to offer us, because
we weren’t getting enough from the label.
[Yung Berg’s] dad lied and said he had left
his bag in the meeting room; he went back
in and got DMX’s number. Once we got
back to Chicago we didn’t hear from Berg
again. Then we found out he had went
back up there and signed a deal with DMX.
Shorty feels he’s in a good situation right
now, but we’ll see where his career is when
the real gangstas come through. We’re in
his video, but we still dissing him. He knows
he can’t come to the city without letting us
in his video.
So do you still have animosity with him
E: Until he straightens it out with Moonie I
ain’t got nothing to say to him. I put $50,000
dollars into him for he and his daddy to be
where they are. Yung Berg wanted to be on
so bad, he would cross his mother or father
to get in the game.
Okay, so getting back to L.E.P., tell me
about your current label situation
Moonie: We’re independent now. Infared
is our label. We were with Sony, but when
Larro got killed, the label kinda got scared.
We got off the label and started pushing the
music ourselves. We’ve had a few labels
call us offering 360 deals. We don’t want a
360 deal. We’ve been good by ourselves,
why would we get into a situation where
somebody can control our music
Website: www.myspace.com/bogusboyslep
18 | OZONE