admin You know, to be honest with you man, in the Bay they call it the valley—Stockton, that whole area, these cats got their own thing. It’s street shit. I’m not even mad at them; as you get older you get wiser, so you kind of change how you approach your lyrics. But I still fit right in with them, I just need to be real intelligent about how I spit my spit. I’m glad it’s their turn. I’m happy to watch not-the-norm win.
People talk about it being a young man’s game, and you just said you’re happy to see the youth take over, but—
I made it cool to be over 40 and still rapping. At one time, people would say, ‘He hella old,’ but they don’t say that no more. Because now everyone’s favorite rappers are in their 50s, whether that’s Jay-Z, Nas, me, Scarface, all the greats. 2Pac would’ve been in his 50s, Biggie would’ve been in his 50s. They’re half a century old. You’re gonna be old soon, and you better hope you can have the career we’ve had.
We’ve talked before about your relationship with Pac. How did it evolve over time?
It was just genuine with him. I met him in ‘92; the last time I seen him was ‘96. I mentioned this at Pac’s street unveiling on MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland: he had a song he was working on called “Changes,” and I had a song called “Things’ll Never Change,” with the same Bruce Hornsby sample. That was the same page we were on, man, it was crazy. The last time I saw him, he was in my trailer at my “Rapper’s Ball” video, and he was playing me songs. I told him my new handle was Fonzarelli, and he was like, ‘Yeah, mine is Makaveli.’ He told me had had albums for when he passed, and I was like, ‘Woah, what the hell?’ I knew he was living at a fast pace, and he was hardheaded out there cutting up—but when I sat back and thought about it more, I understood what he was saying. He was a workaholic. He’d go in the studio and knock out seven, nine songs a day. He didn’t even go back and tighten them up, he was like, ‘It is what it is.’ He was that great of a songwriter.
Do you consider yourself a workaholic?
Oh, to the fullest. I love making music. I’d probably trip out if I didn’t make music. I have to. I’ma keep working; even if I’m 80, as long as I got my life, health, and my strength, and the Lord bless me to be in my right mind, I’m not gonna resign. They don’t even have to stream it or buy it, I’m just gonna do it because it’s therapeutic. Lord willing, if I’m still on this earth, between this time and when I’m 80, I’m gonna make another legendary record. One or two at least. You just never know.
