 Project Pat | DJ Quik  |
When Lil Jon fell off, he didn't worry about helping nobody else.
Lil Scrappy hates Lil Jon. Okay, hate (especially an italicized hate) is probably a little strong. So let’s find a better way to say this: Lil Scrappy is, um, “not happy” with the King of Crunk. Forget that Lil Jon discovered Scrappy in Atlanta in 2003 and signed him to his BME Recordings label. Or that he gave him his first major national look on The King of Crunk & BME Recordings Present: Lil Scrappy (BME/Reprise/Warner Bros., 2004). Or that he executive-produced Scrappy’s solo debut, Bred 2 Die Born 2 Live (BME/Reprise, 2006), alongside 50 Cent. Lil Scrappy, born Darryl Richardson, still has a bone to pick with his former mentor. Because, see, ever since crunk died (and, for the record, crunk did die, regardless of what Lil Jon’s chain says), the self-proclaimed Prince of the South has been sitting on the shelf.
Fortunately, Scrappy, now 25, won’t be on the sidelines much longer. In April, he officially joined Ludacris’s Disturbing Tha Peace label, and he’s already banked his long-awaited sophomore solo project, The Grustle (DTP/Def Jam), featuring The J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League–produced single, “Addicted to Money.” But before he steps back into the spotlight, VIBE found out where he’s been. Here, Scrappy talks about signing with DTP, his rocky relationship with Lil Jon and the violent altercation that almost kept him outta the game for good.
Congrats on signing with Luda’s label. Can’t say anyone saw that coming, though. How did that come about?
[Luda’s manager] Chaka [Zulu] was a fan. Every time we would pass each other, they always showed love, I always showed love, and they were always like, ‘Yo, keep your head up, keep going, we hear you out there.’ And then one day, they didn’t hear me anymore. So they were like, ‘We have the machine that he needs.’ My whole problem is that I was never with a good machine. Everybody thought I was with a good machine just because Lil Jon was doing his thing when I first came out. But Jon was only worried about Jon. And when Lil Jon fell off, he didn’t worry about helping nobody else.
Really?
He was always a fame-hogger. He’s cool when it comes to performing and making beats, and his work ethic is good. But when he’s not working, he thinks everybody else needs to be on standstill. So that’s what happened to my career. And no matter what I tried to do, in Atlanta they [hated on me] so bad because I guess some people didn’t get certain things out of Jon that they wanted. So they put me in that same box and same category.
How recently did all this go down? Jon and 50 Cent were involved in Bred 2 Die Born 2 Live in 2006. Were you still cool with Jon back then?
Yeah, yeah, they were both executive producers, but I did like 12 songs over 50’s house before I even did anything with Jon. 50 was like, ‘Why you don’t have a whole bunch of songs with Jon?’ I didn’t know. [Jon] kept telling me that he hadn’t found his old swag yet. He ain’t in his little mood yet that he’s supposed to be in. So I couldn’t do anything. I did 12 to 15 songs with 50 over at his house in like two weeks and then came back and didn’t do anything with Jon until the end of [the recording of] the album. I had got stuff from everybody else except Jon. And then when we were going with other singles, he wanted to jump in and be like, ‘No, no, no, I got a single for him,’ [and] the label was only going with what Jon was saying. I couldn’t put my real Scrappy out there. And then there was one situation where I guess he seen things were going down the drain [with the album] and he jumped out the ship. He jumped out before it sunk. That’s what Jon did.
Oh, so after the album came out, that’s when he really started to distance himself from you?
Yeah. And when he did that, everybody did. It didn’t have nothing to do with me. I ain’t get into it with him. I just came in one day and [the people at my label] were like, ‘BME is not part of your deal anymore; you’re strictly on Warner Bros.’ I was like, ‘Wow, how does that happen?’ (laughs) So I tried to work from there. But Warner Bros. is a rock ’n’ roll label. They don’t really know how to put out no acts unless the acts are already moving. That’s why they’re going after Gucci Mane right now.
So are you and Jon on speaking terms now? Have you worked with him at all since then?
Nah, I mean, I done tried to work with him a couple times. He’s never reciprocated. He’s got a little ego situation, I guess, or he’s just scared to work with me. I don’t know. And then, I’m gonna tell you this: When I was searching for a deal after I left Warner Bros., Jon called and was telling me he wanted me to get on his label over on Universal. But he wanted me to hold on until he finished his album. And I was like, ‘Whoa, that could be…you never know how long that is!’ So I passed on that.
Yeah, Crunk Rock has been on hold for a minute now.
Riiiiight, you feel me?
Okay, so back to DTP. Have you started working on the new album yet?
Yeah, I’m done with it! I’m 100 percent done with it. I got Gucci Mane on the album, Diamond, Luda, Trey Songz, Pleasure P and Maino. Luda is on the first single, called “Addicted to Money,” produced by The J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. It’s called The Grustle—grind and hustle! I been grinding and hustling the whole time.
Appropriate enough. With all that’s gone on with you over the last couple years, was there ever a time where you were concerned about your future?
Oh, yeah, man. I was always thinking like that. I done been through some stuff. I done got into a situation where I had to go into jail. I done got into it with people and got stabbed and hurt other people. But it just makes you stronger. If you fall off, then you ain’t meant to be in the game anyway. It’s just like the street game. If you’re timid, then you don’t need to be in the street game. So I just know that this situation I’m in, when you sign your rap contract, you put yourself out there for all these troubled times. So, you want to rap? Rap! Or stay on out of there.
You mentioned getting stabbed. You were involved in an altercation in 2008 in which you were stabbed by your sister’s boyfriend during a dispute and you actually ended up going to jail on drug and weapons charges. Is everything cool with you now?
Everything is cool. I did my little time. I’m on probation now. I had to help my sister, that’s what happened. She was too stupid to know that getting beat on ain’t what it is these days. So I had to do that and stand up for my little sister, stand up for the fam. I did, and that’s what happened.
But you’re all good now?
Oh, yeah! Nothing but probation and a lot of community service. (laughs) Trust me: I’m not gonna disappear on y’all again.
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