Z-RO interview:Speaks on SlimThug,Stayin Undaground,Watchin Swishahouse,Screw's death
I hear you’re in a feisty mood today.
Yeah, I’m in a saucy mood right now. I’m feelin’ myself right now. I ain’t masturbating, though.
That’s good to know. So since you’re in a saucy mood, tell me why Z-Ro is the greatest rapper of all time.
sh!t, you know. I can’t tell you that it’s because I bring the real. I can’t tell you it’s because I’m a ghetto preacher, because that’s everybody’s story. It’s just because when I start my sh!t off, I finish it. I ain’t gonna jump from sh!t to sh!t without concluding the first sh!t. I ain’t gonna open the door before I close the last one. I give muthafuckers the complete sh!t.
Did you come into the game through DJ Screw?
I really started doing this sh!t on my own, back when a muthafucker had to pay to open up for somebody. I had a clique called the Boomerang Clique. This was back when artists like Too Short, 2 Live Crew, and Bone Thugs & Harmony were comin’ through. Back when that sh!t was crunk. When I met Screw, I was already puttin’ it down. He was a real-a$$ cat. He put me where I needed to be. He was definitely one of the reasons why Z-Ro popped off.
When Screw passed, how did it affect you personally?
Man, he was a friend. I was like, “fu@k rap.” My partner is dead, my friend is dead. I ain’t even wanna do this sh!t no more, to tell you the truth. These bit@h-a$$ niggas down here are so selfish. Selfish-a$$ CEOs with short arms and deep pockets. Muthafuckers don’t wanna break bread. Screw was like a confidant in hard times. He showed me it was gonna be alright. That sh!t actually shut me down for a long-a$$ time. That sh!t just hurt. I couldn’t do music for months. fu@k a sound room, fu@k a microphone. I was on some straight ridin’ sh!t. That’s when that gang sh!t really took an influence in my life. I always been Crippin’ but sh!t, I was just representing for the hood. When Screw went in the box, I really got Crip crazy and muthafuckers really started gettin’ it.
What inspired you to come back to music after that?
It’s real, real, real hard to stop doing something when everybody else around you is lovin’ you when you do it. I don’t give a damn if I’m pleasing the people next door or not, but as I’m getting older and older, you know, that grown man sh!t catches up with you. You’ve got responsibilities. You’ve got rents and mortgages and car notes and sh!t. It’s either keep on with the penitentiary chances out here doing that sh!t, or stick to something that’s gonna keep me free a little bit longer. I had to get my focus together and really buckle down so I could have a chance at having a life out here.
People say that Screw died from a codeine overdose. When he passed, did you stop sipping as heavily? Did it change people’s attitudes about the drug?
Obviously, to a person outside that didn’t really know what was going on, if they’re smart they would be like “Damn, if that killed dude, let me stop using.” But just to clarify all the bullshit that’s been going around, let me tell you this. Codeine, man, that’s a downer. That’s that sh!t that’ll put you to sleep and sh!t. When they did the autopsy, what they found in the codeine sample was some ice. That’s some ol’ white boy speed type sh!t. That’s an upper. Somebody slipped something in my nigga’s drink. Only a bit@h-a$$ muthafucker would do some sh!t like that. A stand-up cat is gonna murder a nigga to his face. Whoever did that was a muthafuckin’ coward, but it musta been somebody close to us cause Screw didn’t fu@k with too many cats. Somebody slipped something in my man’s drank that made his heart blow up from the inside. So, I mean, I’m drankin’ now while I’m doin’ this muthafuckin’ interview. Ain’t nobody tapped my muthafuckin’ drank.
What’s the benefits of sippin’ lean?
For a dude like me, I been doing this sh!t for a while, so I don’t even feel the lean off that sh!t no more. I don’t drink heavy now. Back in the day it was custom for you to show up at Screw’s house with eight ounces or a pint and do a dub. That was all your favorite songs slowed up on the tape plus a freestyle from your favorite artist from H-Town or the surrounding areas. I used to put a pint of that sh!t in a two-liter and not share with nobody. Now I drank probably like two ounces in a twenty ounce.
Does it relax you, help you to chill out?
It’ll have the effect of a Xanax or some sh!t. Just don’t go driving. If you drink a whole pint and go driving, you fu@k’ with your life. I don’t know, I mean, I wouldn’t tell nobody to drank the sh!t, but everything we do nowadays kills us in the end. I wouldn’t be biggin’ up the sh!t, though, I wouldn’t be tellin’ other people to sip drank.
There’s a lot of Houston artists blowing up on the national scene. Is there any sense of jealousy that you aren’t really recognized yet on a mainstream level?
Nah, it’s not that at all. I understand totally what’s going on right now. It’s just that some sh!t is radio-friendly and some sh!t ain’t. Maybe I could cuss on this interview with OZONE, but sh!t, if I’m fu@k’ with that dude on MTV, I can’t say “damn” or “sh!t” or none of that sh!t. A nigga like me, I’m not gonna check my language to please the next muthafucker. I’m gonna keep my sh!t gutta. That’s why you can’t send Z-Ro to award shows, because on my way up to shake Magic Johnson’s hand, I’m gonna stop and slap the sh!t out of your favorite rapper. That’s why I’m not up there on the stage. But can’t nobody with a deal right now see Z-Ro. They can’t see me on the streets, and they can’t see me with a fu@k’ mic neither. These niggas with deals know they can not fu@k with Joseph McVey. The only thing that’s different is that they’re dressing up the image of a dope dealer and packaging that sh!t and making that sh!t look good for corporate America to buy it. Me, I ain’t gonna kiss nobody’s a$$ for no commercial play, cause the niggas down in the bottom buy my sh!t. There’s a ghetto everywhere, and them ghettos support Z-Ro. I been driving the same cars these niggas be driving on TV, and after the video shoot I don’t have to give it back.
How many copies did your last album sell?
I don’t check that sh!t. Z-Ro pays attention to show money, cause that’s the money, period. I don’t give a fu@k what your rap label is giving you; it ain’t gonna see your show money unless you just a lazy-a$$ nigga.
Your album is doing very well in Texas, but do you think that outside of Texas you’re being slept on because it’s not promoted on a mainstream level?
As far as promotion it could be a little better, but for the most part, it’s good. As far as going to cities and sh!t, we do our traveling thing and then come the fu@k back to the crib. I do me. I don’t cater to what other muthafuckers want. If I was to change up anyway then I wouldn’t be Z-Ro no more. We just do that gangsta real-life grown man music.
Outside of rap, what kind of music has inspired you?
I just like music period. I listen to a lot of gospel music. I fu@k with rock & roll every now and then, but mostly I listen to religious music.
It seems like you’ve got a problem with a lot of rappers.
sh!t, I ain’t got a problem with nobody. I mean, aside from me always boosting DJ Screw cause the bit@h-a$$ nigga Watts ain’t do it. I ain’t beefin’ with him, though, I just think he’s a bit@h-a$$ nigga. And he knows that I think he’s a bit@h-a$$ nigga. When I see him in public he walks by me, but I’m not beefin’ with him. If I was beefin’ with him I woulda shot him up like six months ago. I deal with niggas as they come.
When I interviewed Watts a few months ago we discussed Screw music, and he gave Screw credit for creating the genre. He didn’t say anything that seemed to be disrespectful towards Screw. Do you think it’s possible that you misunderstood something he said or took it out of content?
Nah. Of course Watts paid homage to Screw in your interview because he knows I’m in his a$$ like a G-string. He’s not gonna say disrespectful sh!t on TV and in the muthafuckin’ magazines now because he’s watching his a$$. A bit@h-a$$ nigga will always bow down if he knows he can’t beat you. It’s either ride with you or get stomped the fu@k out. Right now, Watts knows he’s wrong, and Mike Jones knows he’s wrong for making little bullshit-a$$ statements like Screw ain’t never exist on this muthafuckin’ earth. Like I said, Screw was my partna beyond some music sh!t. Anytime a muthafucker slows some sh!t down and calls it Screwed and chopped, I tell them, “bit@h, that sh!t is slowed down and chopped.” That’s all I’m sayin’. That’s why a muthafucker is gonna jump on TV and say “Big ups to DJ Screw,” because he knows the Screwed Up Clique is watching his bit@h-a$$.
I hear you’re in a feisty mood today.
Yeah, I’m in a saucy mood right now. I’m feelin’ myself right now. I ain’t masturbating, though.
That’s good to know. So since you’re in a saucy mood, tell me why Z-Ro is the greatest rapper of all time.
sh!t, you know. I can’t tell you that it’s because I bring the real. I can’t tell you it’s because I’m a ghetto preacher, because that’s everybody’s story. It’s just because when I start my sh!t off, I finish it. I ain’t gonna jump from sh!t to sh!t without concluding the first sh!t. I ain’t gonna open the door before I close the last one. I give muthafuckers the complete sh!t.
Did you come into the game through DJ Screw?
I really started doing this sh!t on my own, back when a muthafucker had to pay to open up for somebody. I had a clique called the Boomerang Clique. This was back when artists like Too Short, 2 Live Crew, and Bone Thugs & Harmony were comin’ through. Back when that sh!t was crunk. When I met Screw, I was already puttin’ it down. He was a real-a$$ cat. He put me where I needed to be. He was definitely one of the reasons why Z-Ro popped off.
When Screw passed, how did it affect you personally?
Man, he was a friend. I was like, “fu@k rap.” My partner is dead, my friend is dead. I ain’t even wanna do this sh!t no more, to tell you the truth. These bit@h-a$$ niggas down here are so selfish. Selfish-a$$ CEOs with short arms and deep pockets. Muthafuckers don’t wanna break bread. Screw was like a confidant in hard times. He showed me it was gonna be alright. That sh!t actually shut me down for a long-a$$ time. That sh!t just hurt. I couldn’t do music for months. fu@k a sound room, fu@k a microphone. I was on some straight ridin’ sh!t. That’s when that gang sh!t really took an influence in my life. I always been Crippin’ but sh!t, I was just representing for the hood. When Screw went in the box, I really got Crip crazy and muthafuckers really started gettin’ it.
What inspired you to come back to music after that?
It’s real, real, real hard to stop doing something when everybody else around you is lovin’ you when you do it. I don’t give a damn if I’m pleasing the people next door or not, but as I’m getting older and older, you know, that grown man sh!t catches up with you. You’ve got responsibilities. You’ve got rents and mortgages and car notes and sh!t. It’s either keep on with the penitentiary chances out here doing that sh!t, or stick to something that’s gonna keep me free a little bit longer. I had to get my focus together and really buckle down so I could have a chance at having a life out here.
People say that Screw died from a codeine overdose. When he passed, did you stop sipping as heavily? Did it change people’s attitudes about the drug?
Obviously, to a person outside that didn’t really know what was going on, if they’re smart they would be like “Damn, if that killed dude, let me stop using.” But just to clarify all the bullshit that’s been going around, let me tell you this. Codeine, man, that’s a downer. That’s that sh!t that’ll put you to sleep and sh!t. When they did the autopsy, what they found in the codeine sample was some ice. That’s some ol’ white boy speed type sh!t. That’s an upper. Somebody slipped something in my nigga’s drink. Only a bit@h-a$$ muthafucker would do some sh!t like that. A stand-up cat is gonna murder a nigga to his face. Whoever did that was a muthafuckin’ coward, but it musta been somebody close to us cause Screw didn’t fu@k with too many cats. Somebody slipped something in my man’s drank that made his heart blow up from the inside. So, I mean, I’m drankin’ now while I’m doin’ this muthafuckin’ interview. Ain’t nobody tapped my muthafuckin’ drank.
What’s the benefits of sippin’ lean?
For a dude like me, I been doing this sh!t for a while, so I don’t even feel the lean off that sh!t no more. I don’t drink heavy now. Back in the day it was custom for you to show up at Screw’s house with eight ounces or a pint and do a dub. That was all your favorite songs slowed up on the tape plus a freestyle from your favorite artist from H-Town or the surrounding areas. I used to put a pint of that sh!t in a two-liter and not share with nobody. Now I drank probably like two ounces in a twenty ounce.
Does it relax you, help you to chill out?
It’ll have the effect of a Xanax or some sh!t. Just don’t go driving. If you drink a whole pint and go driving, you fu@k’ with your life. I don’t know, I mean, I wouldn’t tell nobody to drank the sh!t, but everything we do nowadays kills us in the end. I wouldn’t be biggin’ up the sh!t, though, I wouldn’t be tellin’ other people to sip drank.
There’s a lot of Houston artists blowing up on the national scene. Is there any sense of jealousy that you aren’t really recognized yet on a mainstream level?
Nah, it’s not that at all. I understand totally what’s going on right now. It’s just that some sh!t is radio-friendly and some sh!t ain’t. Maybe I could cuss on this interview with OZONE, but sh!t, if I’m fu@k’ with that dude on MTV, I can’t say “damn” or “sh!t” or none of that sh!t. A nigga like me, I’m not gonna check my language to please the next muthafucker. I’m gonna keep my sh!t gutta. That’s why you can’t send Z-Ro to award shows, because on my way up to shake Magic Johnson’s hand, I’m gonna stop and slap the sh!t out of your favorite rapper. That’s why I’m not up there on the stage. But can’t nobody with a deal right now see Z-Ro. They can’t see me on the streets, and they can’t see me with a fu@k’ mic neither. These niggas with deals know they can not fu@k with Joseph McVey. The only thing that’s different is that they’re dressing up the image of a dope dealer and packaging that sh!t and making that sh!t look good for corporate America to buy it. Me, I ain’t gonna kiss nobody’s a$$ for no commercial play, cause the niggas down in the bottom buy my sh!t. There’s a ghetto everywhere, and them ghettos support Z-Ro. I been driving the same cars these niggas be driving on TV, and after the video shoot I don’t have to give it back.
How many copies did your last album sell?
I don’t check that sh!t. Z-Ro pays attention to show money, cause that’s the money, period. I don’t give a fu@k what your rap label is giving you; it ain’t gonna see your show money unless you just a lazy-a$$ nigga.
Your album is doing very well in Texas, but do you think that outside of Texas you’re being slept on because it’s not promoted on a mainstream level?
As far as promotion it could be a little better, but for the most part, it’s good. As far as going to cities and sh!t, we do our traveling thing and then come the fu@k back to the crib. I do me. I don’t cater to what other muthafuckers want. If I was to change up anyway then I wouldn’t be Z-Ro no more. We just do that gangsta real-life grown man music.
Outside of rap, what kind of music has inspired you?
I just like music period. I listen to a lot of gospel music. I fu@k with rock & roll every now and then, but mostly I listen to religious music.
It seems like you’ve got a problem with a lot of rappers.
sh!t, I ain’t got a problem with nobody. I mean, aside from me always boosting DJ Screw cause the bit@h-a$$ nigga Watts ain’t do it. I ain’t beefin’ with him, though, I just think he’s a bit@h-a$$ nigga. And he knows that I think he’s a bit@h-a$$ nigga. When I see him in public he walks by me, but I’m not beefin’ with him. If I was beefin’ with him I woulda shot him up like six months ago. I deal with niggas as they come.
When I interviewed Watts a few months ago we discussed Screw music, and he gave Screw credit for creating the genre. He didn’t say anything that seemed to be disrespectful towards Screw. Do you think it’s possible that you misunderstood something he said or took it out of content?
Nah. Of course Watts paid homage to Screw in your interview because he knows I’m in his a$$ like a G-string. He’s not gonna say disrespectful sh!t on TV and in the muthafuckin’ magazines now because he’s watching his a$$. A bit@h-a$$ nigga will always bow down if he knows he can’t beat you. It’s either ride with you or get stomped the fu@k out. Right now, Watts knows he’s wrong, and Mike Jones knows he’s wrong for making little bullshit-a$$ statements like Screw ain’t never exist on this muthafuckin’ earth. Like I said, Screw was my partna beyond some music sh!t. Anytime a muthafucker slows some sh!t down and calls it Screwed and chopped, I tell them, “bit@h, that sh!t is slowed down and chopped.” That’s all I’m sayin’. That’s why a muthafucker is gonna jump on TV and say “Big ups to DJ Screw,” because he knows the Screwed Up Clique is watching his bit@h-a$$.
