After over two weeks touring the south and midwestern United States in promotion of Boss Of All Bosses [click to read], Slim Thug has evaluated his marketing approach. To the Houston star, this is how an audience base is made. “You gotta treat every album like it’s your first album, and you want to do that. You want to do the groundwork, man.”
Having spoken with DX at both Memphis and Saint Louis, Thug continued, “[Some artists] get too big and you feel like, ah man, I can skimp on this, I can skimp on that. You know, if you show your fans attention and you show people love, then they’re always going to show that love back, you know what I’m saying? Well, that’s why I do it. I’ma do it either way. I could sell 10 million records, and I’ma still hit the road up and represent.”
As arguably a flagship star for Koch-turned-E1 Records, Slim Thug spent his first week of solo independent debut quite busily.”Since [March 24th], I did the 106 and Park, you know what I’m saying? I did an autograph signing, a big autograph signing out here, and we had the album release party where all the city showed up, like Z-Ro, Chamillionaire, you know what I’m saying? Lil O, Lil Keke, a lot of people came out and supported it. The party was good. And then I had another party last night on my side of town, on the north side. It was packed. Now, I’m on my way to Dallas, you know what I’m saying? But everybody’s been showing me nothing but love, and just saying that they love the album, man, so I’m satisfied. I just want to put out good music more than anything. I don’t care about sales, I don’t care about nothing.“
Having titled his 2005 Geffen debut Already Platinum, sales now take a backseat to art. “I want the people to enjoy the music. Like, on this album, it wasn’t like, ok, I’ma do this one here to take me here, and do this one here to take me there. It was like, nah, you know what? Since I’ve been gone so long, and since the first album that came out, you know, people felt like that wasn’t true Slim Thug music because I worked with Pharrell so early, you know what I’m saying? So, I really didn’t want to give people the visual of me before the deal and how I make music, and satisfy my city and my fans that were here before more than anything and let them know, you know, that this is what it is from here on out, you know what I’m saying? I’m gonna be representing like this. I’m just really trying to find myself. “
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That level of art appears on the emotional track, “Associates,” featuring Z-Ro and J Dawg. “Man, you know, actually, this is one of the few times that I think [Z-Ro] is the only artists that I got in the studio with and created something with, you know what I’m saying? Out of all these artists that I’ve worked on with this album, we did these songs like kind of though email maybe, or I did my verse and then get it to him, or whatever, but he’s the only artist that I went in the studio with. I had some ideas, but we ain’t even use the idea we had. I had the beat that was alright, that was kind of already done, but then there was another beat that Mr. Lee was actually just working on, and then we heard it and it was like, that’s a jam. We just sat there for a minute, and I said, man, do the hook, and Z-Ro did that shit.“
Known for his once conceited interviews, Slim Thug continued, championing the ABN member and Screwed Up Click alum, who recently left Rap-A-Lot Records after over five years. “See, that’s what I love about Z-Ro’s music, because it ain’t about flash, it ain’t nothing but, you know, like you said, human-type shit, shit people go through or whatever. That’s why it’s real music that’s timeless, you know? You could play this shit 10 years from now. It ain’t no fad-type, it’s just something that anybody can relate to. So, he came up with the hook, and that was it, man, that’s all that it took, a hook and his verse, and I did mine, and at the end of the day, J Dawg has that same kind of style, you know what I’m saying? His shit is so heartfelt, like you know what I’m saying? I can’t do a song about that type of shit that, like, how J Dawg and Z-Ro do it. I can’t beat them niggas at their shit, that’s their shit, you know what I’m saying? I’ve got my certain shit that I can probably do better than them, but on that type of shit, that’s their shit. So I wanted to get on their level and bring that part out of it, because that’s the type of shit that I listen to, that’s the type of music I love.“
Boss Of All Bosses is in stores now.
