June 26, 2007 @ 11:00 pm

MY ALBUM'S OUT: Tum Tum

Julianne Shepherd

Tony "Tum Tum" Richardson, nicknamed Tumzilla after his non-stop monster-grind, has been a steady presence in Dallas since he signed with T-Town Music in 2004. But the Dirty South Ryda finally hit nationwide in '06 with "Caprice Muzik," an addictively pared-down slab-rocker that slipped into heavy-ro on BET for the latter part of last year. Tum Tum's new album, Eat or Get Ate, is fitted accordingly with loads of subwoofer-jiggling low-end, thanks in part to Milk, Just Beatz, Mannie Fresh, Play-N-Skillz, and the possibly-having-a-renaissance Scott Storch. But if you think Tumteezy is solely about driving classics, check your dip and your swerve at the Lambo door. Our man stretches out his style into somber street anthems and well thought storytelling, as well as barking midtempo party joints. "I know everybody's used to hearing screwed and chopped, laidback hooks represent Texas," says Tum Tum, "but this is another side of Texas." Tum Tum's Eat or Get Ate (Universal/T-Town Music) dropped today. VIBE called him to see what was up. Your album's called Eat or Get Ate. What did you have for breakfast today?
Steak and eggs and a Fifty-water. You mean a 50 Cent VitaminWater?
Yeah! Are you celebrating your album release?
I just left the radio station. I been up since about five. We ain't barely been to sleep - we had a party last night. I went from the party to the radio station. How was your party?
We had everybody that's poppin in Dallas right now down there. We just had everybody in there partying all night, just had a good time. No violence, no nothing. That was crazy because usually it go down every week, but ain't nothing went down yesterday, so it's a beautiful thing. [Later today, I'm doing] radio interviews, in-stores, I'm a go to the studio, check up on some stuff, probably drop a 16 for a DJ, knock out some drops before they pile up on my ass. [laughs] Then I'ma go party. I ain't been to sleep yet. So what happened with the album - it got pushed back, right?
It only got pushed back once, cause I didn't want to put out a sub-par album so I wasn't ever finished with it. I blame most of that on me right there. No label drama?
Nothin like that, I just wanted to put out a real good album, and I'm glad I did. It's getting good reviews and the people like it, you know what I'm sayin. That's what I was hoping for. The fans took it in real good. I just got off the internet a minute ago, reading blogs and checkin' what everybody's saying.
I worked real hard on it, me and my homeboy Milk. He did a bulk of the production on it. We put our minds together and put out a dope album. I started last year around this time, that's what's so crazy about it! This week last year is around when I recorded "Caprice Muzik," so yeah. It's crazy. Do you actually drive a Caprice?
I own one, but usually nah, I drive a Jag. That's the real ghetto fantasy right there. I got two slabs and a hood Jaguar right there. I got the luxury one just to drive around town and make people mad. [laugh] How many mixtapes, total, do you think you've been featured on?
It was like 160 at the beginning of January, but I'm probably like at 195 right now. You've seriously been on 35 mixtapes between January and now.
Yeah, cause I'm a studio rat. I stay out of trouble if I'm in the studio. [laughs] Stream Tum Tum and Fat Bastard, "Pac Man Flow":

I heard you're doing comedy movies, too.
Yeah, me and my partner Boomtown, we trying to make one right now. Partly based on The Wash, that's one of my favorite movies, so we're gonna try to do something like that, but we're gonna flip it so we're working in a fast food restaurant. How does Dallas the city come through in your music?
Dallas has got to do with the way I talk, the way I dress, the way I wear my hair. The way I wear my clothes, my tattoos is all Dallas. Dallas got a lot to do with my swagger. That's why the whole city's riding with me right now, because I rep Dallas to the fullest. You look at Tum, you seeing Dallas right there. That's all I rap about. The way I pick my beats, I pick 'em for the clubs down here, cause I know the way they gonna dance to em. Everything revolves around Dallas. I go to the clubs, I see what everybody rockin to, I go to the studio right after that. "Square Bizness," that song I just put out with Play-N-Skillz, that's Dallas slang. Everything that I be talkin' bout is so Dallas. Even the "Caprice Muzik" is so Dallas. Caprice Muzik:
Tell me about working with some of the producers on this record.
With Storch [who produced "Do That"], I went down to Storch crib in Miami two or three times. We cut like two, he played a couple but there was one on this beat CD that he had that I couldn't get out of my fuckin head. So I rode with that one. With Mannie Fresh, he made "Hood Shit" in like 15-20 minutes. We were in there kickin it, drinkin beers. Fresh a real cool dude. And then he tells me he's got "Haterz" at the end. He went to shoot pool for like 20 minutes. When he came back, I was finished with the song. [laughs] On "Better Days," you say, "Bush got me ashamed to be from Texas / Since his term, there's been a lotta things neglected." If you could talk to the presidential candidates right now, what would you tell them is the most important issue to you?
Man, can we please get the education right, you know what I'm sayin? Cause when I hit the block these days, I'm seein kids that really ain't just doing anything. They just out on the block. And I don't want nobody to have to take that long like I did to realize that ain't the spot to be. It took me a long time to get there, know what I'm sayin? It took like three people to get shot and die and two people to get locked up for a long time for me to realize that was stupid. And I'd tell 'em to fix the jail systems, cause down here in Texas, they're messed all the way up.
When my homeboy Cliffordhead got locked up, that was like, my big brother. So when he got locked up, that's when I went rap full time. I was already rappin but I had one foot in and one foot out. That's why George [Lopez, CEO of T-Town Music[ and nem wasn't really with me at first like that, cause they knew I had one foot in and one foot out at all time, you know what I'm saying? When I got it together and started working hard and outworking everybody, that's how we came up with all the albums and mixtapes. I went to the studio and just finally put a hundred and ten in, instead of probably the 75% I was putting it in at first. Then I went to every city around here, all the cities, all the little towns. There wasn't a barbershop or a movie theater I wasn't hanging out in front of. A club I wasn't hangin out in, passin out CDs and fliers. Aint been a college I probably ain't been to. I'd just tell people your work pays off, for real for real. I'm finna go to the studio in a minute and after the studio, I got in-stores today. Most people wouldn't even be in the studio the day they album drop. I am. What track off Eat or Get Ate is closest to you?
"She's a Go" cause I got that off one of my favorite movies, The 40-Year-old Virgin. I didn't wanna say "she's a ho / fo sho" cause that ain't cool, so I just said "she's a go." It was funny in the movie and I know everybody will remember, but I changed it to "go." And "T.U.M." is one of the realest records on there. It's for the underdogs, and I feel like I'm an underdog. I come from an underdog city so I love that song. Do you mean Dallas is an underdog city to Houston, or in general?
Definitely in general - I'm cool with everybody in Houston. I was with Trae yesterday, Slim last week, Travis Barker the week before that. It's just a Texas thing when you come down here. But I know my city is overlooked a lot. Even Texas right now is bein overlooked. Dead alone, you know what I'm sayin. Dead alone.

Article tags: Caprice Muzik, Dallas Rap, Eat Or Get Ate, Tum Tum 

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