It's been 13 years since he kicked off his career with the Luniz, but after his recent departure from his long time label Rap-A-Lot Records, Yukmouth is more excited about his career than ever. Now as a free agent, Yuk is in the driver seat and plans to take his career to new heights. Already a West Coast legend, Yuk has always had his eye on the prize and he continues to have his hands in all types of hustles. He also continues to be surrounded by controversy as he sticks by his words, "The Worlds Most Hated". Some things just don't change, but after his release of Million Dollar Mouthpiece, Yukmouth plans to change a lot of things.
You just dropped the Million Dollar Mouthpiece album, tell me how that's going.
Niggas is saying that it's the best I've dropped so far, so I'm enjoying the feedback. I still think Thugged Out: The Albulation is the best one.
Are you still with Rap-A-Lot?
Naw, this was my last album with Rap-A-Lot, I'm off. When this album dropped, it completed all my requirements and ended my contract. That last thing was this drop and I was officially released. I signed my release papers last year, but I had to wait "til the album dropped to officially end the contract. Now I can drop an album with a bigger label.
How you feeling about finally ending that?
I feel great man! It's time to get at that money, that real money. That's the reason I left Rap-A-Lot. I mean look at this album –“ no fuckin' promotion! They don't promote shit, they just put the shit out. Luckily I got a fan base from going platinum with the Luniz and from doing my own thing. I still sell a hundred, two-hundred thousand from word of mouth and I'm fortunate to be one of those artists. But at the end of the day, imagine if I had the push of a big artist, even an artist with a medium push. Imagine what the result would be then coming from no push. I left "cause I know that me on a better label, me with a better engine, means that the car gon' run and its gon' win Indi-500's cause that engine will push it. Rap-A-Lot had no engine, they was just a good stepping-stone. It's more of a family orientated type of label than a label like Def-Jam or Interscope that puts real money into their artist and millions into each album. They don't do that at Rap-A-Lot. I mean my advances were coo and they had me when I went to jail. That nigga J-Prince bailed me out at $150,000 on a Sunday night, which is something a regular record label wouldn't do. So there was a lot of shit that was beneficial at Rap-A-Lot, but as an artist you want to put an album out and blow.
How's your relationship with J-Prince now that you left?
Oh it's wonderful. It isn't like I got dropped or I left. We came to the conclusion together and J gave me the permission to leave. I owed them more albums after this one and I was like I can't do it, I gotta get my independent thing going. I can't keep putting these albums out and ya'll just throw them out like a fuckin' Frisbee. I need my shit to be pushed right and taken to the next level. They do mediocre everything and in this day and age where albums ain't selling any way, you gotta have a hit ringtone or a million niggas on one song for it to sell. That's just where we at right now and if I'm not with a label that's ready to step up with that type of money, I'll drown. So I'm ready to go to the big labels. I did the independent thing but at the end of the day the only thing beneficial was the money, but I ain't in it for the money, I'm in this shit to blow up and be famous and to really be a master with this craft. I've been getting money, that shit ain't nothing to me.
What "big" labels have you been talking to so far?
I don't wanna pull a rabbit out the hat just yet, cause I don't want nobody to call up from my old label and start playa hatin'. I want this shit to be inked before anything and then I'll start shouting out names. But I got a few big labels and its gon' be a motha fuckin' surprise with who ever I go with. All I know is I'm already doing songs with T-Pain and shit, which the label I'm trying to fuck with is trying to get cleared and they already talking about a million dollar budget for the album.
What's the situation with you and Numskull? At times I've heard you say fuck Num and at other times you seem to be cool wit him.
Maaaaaan. Cuz the nigga will diss the shit out of me and then I'll see the nigga in person and he'll be like, "Oh wassup man, I'm sorry, let's hook up and do this album, I need the money." But I don't need to do no fuckin' Luniz album, I'm getting this Yukmouth money. I got a career, I don't gotta do the Luniz shit, my shit is poppin'. If I was to do it, I would do it to help him as a favor. Like the Silver and Black shit, we wasn't really clickin' when we did that album but I did it because the nigga begged me. That album dropped and we did a couple shows, then after that the nigga went on a rampage. I seen the nigga at the B.A.R.S. Awards and right when I'm pulling up in the parking lot I hear the nigga on stage like "Fuck Yuk!" and "Let's fight!" Why you on stage saying fuck me? What did I do to you nigga? That nigga got a problem. I don't know if it's the drugs the nigga snorting or what, but he got a real problem against me. He literally hates the shit out of me and I don't know if he can ever get over it, so until that nigga get his mind right, I'm good. That nigga can starve. The only way he can get back in the game is a Luniz album. Nobody checking for a Numskull solo album but they will check for a Luniz album. I'm not stuck on that old shit. I don't give a fuck about it and if I do it, it's gonna be for the fans and that nigga gonna really have to kiss my ass and apologize. But other than that man, fuck that dude. Just like he said fuck me at the B.A.R.S. Awards, fuck him and a fight go with it.
So nothing happened at the B.A.R.S. Awards?
Man, right after that we linked up with the nigga he apologizes and we ended up starting to work on a Luniz album. That's why you seen little ads in the magazines that there was going to be a new Luniz album coming, but the nigga flashed again. He called me out the blue one day on some bullshit, talking bout "I hate you man, fuck you, you a bitch." That nigga must have been high off a million snorts of cocaine or something, but he called and vented out on me like I stopped his whole future when I went solo. Come on man. I'm done with this shit. And after all that talk about when he see me he gonna beat my ass, when he see me in person there no punches thrown or nothing. That nigga's not a piece of my life right now, I don't give a fuck what he doing.
Are you getting good money off them pornos?
I'm fucking with this porn out here in L.A. They break a nigga off, so I'm fuckin' wit it. The porno movies and them mixtapes is how I've been surviving these last four years. Off Yukmouth and Regime mixtapes alone I made like a quarter million from 2005 to right now. I didn't give a fuck about dropping an album cause I was making 6 dollars a mixtape and I had distribution for my mix tapes. That's unheard of. Niggas with big label deals ain't even getting 6 dollars.
What else are you currently working on?
Right now I'm working on that Thug Lordz album Part 2 with C-Bo titled Thug Money, the United Ghettos Vol. 3, and that new Regime album titled Regime Life. Also look for my next album The West Coast Don.
Source: http://www.stashonline.com/blaster.php?subaction=showfull&id=1230864040&archive=&start_from=&ucat=6&
