Clyde Carson Hits Rehearsal for "Theater Music" Debut Album (Part II)
Words by Fern
In Part 2 of our exclusive feature with Clyde Carson , he talks about the bay area in fans eyes, his reason for entering the rap game, Team Business, how he got signed and more..
PART 2 OF 2
Baycentrik: Do you think the music industry is doubtful of what the bay can do..numberswise? Are they skeptical of dealing with artists?
Clyde Carson: I don't think the music industry gives a fuck about the bay. I don't think people are even talking about it. It's just whatever's hot is hot at the time. I turn the question to you: What's hot in hip hop right now?
Baycentrik: I'm listening to alot of dirty south music right now..
Clyde Carson: So if you listening to alot of dirty south shit and you from the bay, imagine everybody else. They don't care what's going on in the bay! I don't think nobody's hating on the bay, they respect it. I travel all the time, they like alright yall niggas crazy out in the bay, it's hyphy. But it's not like anyone cares about the numbers we doing. Ringtones is the new singles, they selling 3 to 4 million and albums are selling 200,000. It's all about the quality of music and wherever you from just make hot music. I don't think the average American cares about what numbers niggas is doing in the bay. I just don't think about it myself, cause independent is always independent. We did ten thousand each team album. Those are cool numbers, we got alot of radio play. Independently we cool we can still move like that. But I dont think people are like "What is the bay doing?" I dont think they care.
Baycentrik: It seems like record labels see someone doing it big, for example they see Jeezy being successful and are looking for that next Young Jeezy that can make it for them.
Clyde Carson: Yeah I got signed. This is how it initially started. I got signed because of "Tell Me When To Go." Straight up! Capitol Records' Wendy Goldstein saw what the hyphy movement was doing. E-40 came out, they were like who else is hot. They heard through the grapevine, it's a dude named Clyde Carson. They flew me out and I met up with them, played them my album. Theater Music was already in the works, I had like 15 songs done on that.
Baycentrik: So how did The Game and Black Wallstreet come into play?
Clyde Carson: They came into play because they had a deal at Capitol. So when I came into Capitol office we had Jazze Pha, different labels up there. Game heard my shit, they played it for him and Jimmy Henchman and they like yo dude is hot. I met up with Game and it was a no brainer. I was like if I could sign with Game, I'm in the game! Not to sound corny or nothing. That puts you right there. Probably one of the biggest artists in the industry who's still selling. He's platinum. So for me I'm like let's do it. And dude is hella cool, one of the coolest dudes I ever met. So that was a no brainer. It's Moe Doe/Black Wallstreet/Capital. I'm still signed to Moe Doe, we been on that for the last 7 years. I still got my own shit going. Kind of like E-40 has Sick Wid It and he signed to Lil Jon. So this is your chance to take it to the next level. You got a mega star who wants to co-sign you. Who wouldnt jump at that?
Baycentrik: So I'm asking this one for the fans. What's the state of the Team and the future of the group as a collective?
Clyde Carson: I got nothing but love for every member in the Team. It's never gonna be no beef, but right now I'm focusing on my album. Kaz is doing his own thing, working on his album, he got his own label, Mogul Music. He wanted to branch off and put out his own shit and I support him. Do ya thang! Let's keep moving. I plan on doing more things with him in the future. It's no beef, it's nothing it's just niggas is doing their own thing right now. Mayne is pretty much with me all the time. He handles all the shit that goes on with Moe Doe. He runs the whole label. You know, you called him! He just gave you the phone. My own concentration is rapping. At first for me, I was doing hella shit. I was my own manager, I was everything. I was all about the hustle. No one came with me to Capitol, I was there all by myself. Everything I been doing for the longest, it's been a grind for my own shit and when I got my deal it got to a point to where mothafuckas around me were like you just chill, you just worry about rapping. It's the most important time in your life all you gotta do is worry about rapping. Everybody surrounded me and was like yo we gonna handle everything. That's the situation. So if you don't see Kaz with me it's cause he's working on his shit! That don't mean it's beef though. He dropping mixtapes, he got his own mixtapes, he doing his own thing. I support him, I wish him the best of luck. It's all love. Nigga tattooed on my fuckin arm. I got everybody in The Team tattooed on my arm. These my brothers for life, I love them dudes. We plan on making music, so that's for the fans.
Baycentrik: So talk about how Hyphy Juice is doing. Do you plan on rolling out new flavors?
Clyde Carson: We got the Wild N' Out. We branched out and did the drink 40 Water with E-40. Right now I'm focused on taking Hyphy Juice on another level. As I get bigger I want Hyphy Juice to get bigger with me. I just wanna focus on Hyphy Juice. Everybody love it, that's they favorite drink. It's just a good drink. While the energy drinks is poppin I'm gonna blow it up as big as possible. Then I'mma go and do my vitamin water thing and sell it to Coca Cola for $500,000,000 or something.
That's the goal with Hyphy Juice, to blow this shit up and really make that type of money where I aint ever gotta work again. Where everything is just hilarous. You know when people laugh and they stomach hurt? Like that.
Baycentrik: Just laugh and wipe your tears off with 100s huh?
Clyde Carson: [laughs] Yeah!
Baycentrik: That's cool. Hyphy Juice really set off a wave of energy drinks in the bay as the original...
Clyde Carson: Yeah and you know what man? Honestly it feels so good and makes me so happy when I see that. I don't be like aww niggas is biting. That's good that we encourage other entrepreneurs out there. I'm glad that I could set a trend. You know Crunk Juice and Pimp Juice was out way before, that's how we got the idea! It was like Crunk Juice, Crunk Juice! Let's do Hyphy Juice. And we wasn't the only niggas with the idea because it was like 3 or 4 other mothafuckas trying to put out Hyphy drinks. Now I'm seein Mac Dre Juice, Hunid Racks, that's good I'm proud of them, get that guap. I encourage everybody to do as much as they can. Even with The Team, when we came out and we changed the sound we started hearing people we grew up on rap like us! Everybody doing the "ay ay," and the whispering. I wasn't like oh niggas is biting! Even though people were coming to us saying oh they stealing your style. I'm like man that's dope! I'm flattered...
Baycentrik: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...
Clyde Carson: That just lets me know I'm doing something right and I'm gonna keep evolving as an artist. My goal is to just represent Oakland and the whole Bay Area on a level to where mothafuckas is proud. Where they like damn I wanna see The Team do it, I wanna see Hyphy Juice blow, I wanna see that nigga get as big as Puff, or Jay. I'm not in this -- and I say this in alot of interviews -- I'm not in this for the little shit. That was never the point, to get local radio play or be an independent artist. The reason I started rapping was because I seen I could take it somewhere further. I was like "I could do that, I could do that a little bit bigger," and I did it. So now it's just about continuing to do it.
Words by Fern
In Part 2 of our exclusive feature with Clyde Carson , he talks about the bay area in fans eyes, his reason for entering the rap game, Team Business, how he got signed and more..
PART 2 OF 2
Baycentrik: Do you think the music industry is doubtful of what the bay can do..numberswise? Are they skeptical of dealing with artists?
Clyde Carson: I don't think the music industry gives a fuck about the bay. I don't think people are even talking about it. It's just whatever's hot is hot at the time. I turn the question to you: What's hot in hip hop right now?
Baycentrik: I'm listening to alot of dirty south music right now..
Clyde Carson: So if you listening to alot of dirty south shit and you from the bay, imagine everybody else. They don't care what's going on in the bay! I don't think nobody's hating on the bay, they respect it. I travel all the time, they like alright yall niggas crazy out in the bay, it's hyphy. But it's not like anyone cares about the numbers we doing. Ringtones is the new singles, they selling 3 to 4 million and albums are selling 200,000. It's all about the quality of music and wherever you from just make hot music. I don't think the average American cares about what numbers niggas is doing in the bay. I just don't think about it myself, cause independent is always independent. We did ten thousand each team album. Those are cool numbers, we got alot of radio play. Independently we cool we can still move like that. But I dont think people are like "What is the bay doing?" I dont think they care.
Baycentrik: It seems like record labels see someone doing it big, for example they see Jeezy being successful and are looking for that next Young Jeezy that can make it for them.
Clyde Carson: Yeah I got signed. This is how it initially started. I got signed because of "Tell Me When To Go." Straight up! Capitol Records' Wendy Goldstein saw what the hyphy movement was doing. E-40 came out, they were like who else is hot. They heard through the grapevine, it's a dude named Clyde Carson. They flew me out and I met up with them, played them my album. Theater Music was already in the works, I had like 15 songs done on that.
Baycentrik: So how did The Game and Black Wallstreet come into play?
Clyde Carson: They came into play because they had a deal at Capitol. So when I came into Capitol office we had Jazze Pha, different labels up there. Game heard my shit, they played it for him and Jimmy Henchman and they like yo dude is hot. I met up with Game and it was a no brainer. I was like if I could sign with Game, I'm in the game! Not to sound corny or nothing. That puts you right there. Probably one of the biggest artists in the industry who's still selling. He's platinum. So for me I'm like let's do it. And dude is hella cool, one of the coolest dudes I ever met. So that was a no brainer. It's Moe Doe/Black Wallstreet/Capital. I'm still signed to Moe Doe, we been on that for the last 7 years. I still got my own shit going. Kind of like E-40 has Sick Wid It and he signed to Lil Jon. So this is your chance to take it to the next level. You got a mega star who wants to co-sign you. Who wouldnt jump at that?
Baycentrik: So I'm asking this one for the fans. What's the state of the Team and the future of the group as a collective?
Clyde Carson: I got nothing but love for every member in the Team. It's never gonna be no beef, but right now I'm focusing on my album. Kaz is doing his own thing, working on his album, he got his own label, Mogul Music. He wanted to branch off and put out his own shit and I support him. Do ya thang! Let's keep moving. I plan on doing more things with him in the future. It's no beef, it's nothing it's just niggas is doing their own thing right now. Mayne is pretty much with me all the time. He handles all the shit that goes on with Moe Doe. He runs the whole label. You know, you called him! He just gave you the phone. My own concentration is rapping. At first for me, I was doing hella shit. I was my own manager, I was everything. I was all about the hustle. No one came with me to Capitol, I was there all by myself. Everything I been doing for the longest, it's been a grind for my own shit and when I got my deal it got to a point to where mothafuckas around me were like you just chill, you just worry about rapping. It's the most important time in your life all you gotta do is worry about rapping. Everybody surrounded me and was like yo we gonna handle everything. That's the situation. So if you don't see Kaz with me it's cause he's working on his shit! That don't mean it's beef though. He dropping mixtapes, he got his own mixtapes, he doing his own thing. I support him, I wish him the best of luck. It's all love. Nigga tattooed on my fuckin arm. I got everybody in The Team tattooed on my arm. These my brothers for life, I love them dudes. We plan on making music, so that's for the fans.
Baycentrik: So talk about how Hyphy Juice is doing. Do you plan on rolling out new flavors?
Clyde Carson: We got the Wild N' Out. We branched out and did the drink 40 Water with E-40. Right now I'm focused on taking Hyphy Juice on another level. As I get bigger I want Hyphy Juice to get bigger with me. I just wanna focus on Hyphy Juice. Everybody love it, that's they favorite drink. It's just a good drink. While the energy drinks is poppin I'm gonna blow it up as big as possible. Then I'mma go and do my vitamin water thing and sell it to Coca Cola for $500,000,000 or something.
That's the goal with Hyphy Juice, to blow this shit up and really make that type of money where I aint ever gotta work again. Where everything is just hilarous. You know when people laugh and they stomach hurt? Like that.
Baycentrik: Just laugh and wipe your tears off with 100s huh?
Clyde Carson: [laughs] Yeah!
Baycentrik: That's cool. Hyphy Juice really set off a wave of energy drinks in the bay as the original...
Clyde Carson: Yeah and you know what man? Honestly it feels so good and makes me so happy when I see that. I don't be like aww niggas is biting. That's good that we encourage other entrepreneurs out there. I'm glad that I could set a trend. You know Crunk Juice and Pimp Juice was out way before, that's how we got the idea! It was like Crunk Juice, Crunk Juice! Let's do Hyphy Juice. And we wasn't the only niggas with the idea because it was like 3 or 4 other mothafuckas trying to put out Hyphy drinks. Now I'm seein Mac Dre Juice, Hunid Racks, that's good I'm proud of them, get that guap. I encourage everybody to do as much as they can. Even with The Team, when we came out and we changed the sound we started hearing people we grew up on rap like us! Everybody doing the "ay ay," and the whispering. I wasn't like oh niggas is biting! Even though people were coming to us saying oh they stealing your style. I'm like man that's dope! I'm flattered...
Baycentrik: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...
Clyde Carson: That just lets me know I'm doing something right and I'm gonna keep evolving as an artist. My goal is to just represent Oakland and the whole Bay Area on a level to where mothafuckas is proud. Where they like damn I wanna see The Team do it, I wanna see Hyphy Juice blow, I wanna see that nigga get as big as Puff, or Jay. I'm not in this -- and I say this in alot of interviews -- I'm not in this for the little shit. That was never the point, to get local radio play or be an independent artist. The reason I started rapping was because I seen I could take it somewhere further. I was like "I could do that, I could do that a little bit bigger," and I did it. So now it's just about continuing to do it.
