With the controversy of “Black Women Need To Stand By Their Men More” in the rear view mirror, Slim Thug is riding bigger and on badder blades with his latest project. The release of Tha Thug Show promises to take fans along a musical voyage into Slim’s reality as only he can express. With compelling features from some of the hottest artist in hip hop like B.o.B, Nispey Hussle and Ricky Ross this new album should be blasted to the highest decibel.
The Boss Hog is not shy about speaking his mind and living by his own code. He understands and embraces these characteristics as keeping his originality intact. Always reppin the south to his core, Slim Thug’s larger than life mentality and persona can be championed through out hip hop where many have failed. Slim Thugga talks to DX to share his current viewpoint on the past, present, and future.
HipHopDX: There’s something about Texas that definitely influences your sound. What is it about Texas the life style that is so magic that simply can’t be found anywhere else?
Slim Thug: Man, in Texas, they really got they’re own lil’ swag. The lifestyle in Texas is just so real and so laid back. It’s a different, you know, type of hood. You know how they ride the candy cars out here with 24 [inch wheels]. I think when it comes to music, the music is just so real. Everybody’s stuck on being real. But then now it’s changing. We got a lot of new [dance] younger cats, so the whole view is changing. I grew up on cats like Scarface, UGK, and Rap-A-Lot [Records]. That was all the gangsta music, the real music. Nowadays, you got these new cats that do dance music and stuff like that. Which I ain’t hatin’ on ’em, I’m just sayin’ it’s new. So like now it’s kinda changing. It used to be everybody laid back we enjoying the screwed music. That’s how our culture was. Now it’s just changing, I can’t really explain it.
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DX: The mixtape game has changed a lot. What are some of the ways that you’ve changed with it in order to keep up with the industry?
Slim Thug: We used to put out mixed CDs, and it didn’t even have a regular version. It used to be just straight screwed. Nowadays, things are changing and it’s not really like that no more. The Screw music ain’t really as big as it used to be. We used to be able to got out and hit the road and grind, and go to different stores put CDs in them and make a profit. Those days are gone, the stores are gone. Now I do a mixtape, and just leak it on the internet and let everybody download it for free. You know what I mean to let it reach a wider fan base. Now I rarely even put out a chopped and screwed version. That’s another thing that changed from back then to now.
DX: Let’s talk about Big K.R.I.T., you guys have been putting in some work together why did you choose to put him on Tha Thug Show?
Slim Thug: Well I’m a music fan. It was on “Hometown Hero” with Yelawolf, that was the first Big K.R.I.T. I heard. After I heard that and liked how he was rapping on there, I did my little investigation. I went to iTunes, typed his name, and it was that easy. I downloaded the [K.R.I.T. Wuz Here
] CD, I listened to it, and I liked the music. So I reached out to him and told him, “Hey man I wanna do a record with you.” That was it, we got in touch ASAP. No problem. If I like the way your music is, I wanna work with you. That’s what it was all about.
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DX: So you’re getting ready to release Tha Thug Show tell me about the concept of your title?
Slim Thug: It’s me, my reality, it’s my own personal reality show. It’s my life, it’s how I’m living. It’s the Thug show. I mean I really ain’t put too much thought into it. I just named it Tha Thug Show ’cause it’s going to be me. You’re going to see what my life is like, but it’s through music. I don’t sit down and say I’m going to do an album a certain type of way. I let the music guide me there.
DX: Walk me through the creation of this project who did you work with…
Slim Thug: I worked with Rick Ross, Z-Ro, Lil Keke, B.o.B., Big K.R.I.T., Yo Gotti, Nipsey Hussle, a lot of cats like that. I got a record with Lil Wayne, but I didn’t get it cleared in time so I couldn’t put that one on there. I’ll probably still leak it so people will hear it.
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DX: So there were some issues getting the Wayne verse cleared what was up with that situation?
Slim Thug: It was really our fault honestly. We were moving last minute on everything we were doing. It was like I reached out to his camp on a Friday, and we had to turn the album in on Monday. They probably would have cleared it, I’m sure they would’ve. But I just went through a legal situation on my last album and I really didn’t want to shake the dice on it.
DX: When can the fans expect to see you on a national tour for you to support this album?
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Slim Thug: We are working on this right now. We’re out here on the road right now doing radio promo. I went to like 10 cities last week. Next week we’re going to the west coast. We’re just trying to go everywhere and promote this album and promoting the new song [“So High”] with B.o.B.
DX: Now you were with Star Trak and Interscope but I know you left Interscope so are you still affiliated with Star Trek, do you still have a good relationship with Pharrell?
Slim Thug: I don’t see him that often, but when I do see him we do kick it. Me leaving Interscope didn’t have nothing to do with Pharrell. I got love for Pharrel, I definitely want to do more records with him.
DX: I heard you live your life with no rules, what does that mean exactly?
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Slim Thug: I wouldn’t say no rules. I just do me. I’m very different. I live my life a lot different from a lot of people. I definitely have rules. I mean I’m not a dumb-ass dude I know I gotta follow some rules. But at the end of the day, I do what I wanna do, say what I wanna say. A lot of the stuff that a lot of people might be embarrassed to say or won’t speak on I will and that’s what makes me different.
DX: You’re the boss or bosses, but I know you’re also a ladies man. I’ve heard that the woman that you choose to be with are required to have certain freaky qualifications, break that down for me?
Slim Thug: I like women that like women. I just feel like people need to step into the future. Nowadays that’s what’s up, girls like girls. Everywhere you go it’s like that, [that’s what’s going on with the younger generation] I like that. I like my girls to be more wild. I’d be lying if I said I like a square girl that might not want to have sex a lot. So I’m going to be real and tell you what I like. I like girls that like girls, I like a girl that goes hard.
DX: You always seem to be real approachable so how is it that you’ve managed to be so successful without changing and getting on some Hollywood ego ish?
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Slim Thug: ‘Cause that ain’t real to me. I could pay a security guard to walk around with me. But I’m 6’6″, what I gotta bodyguard for? To protect me from people that like my music? I just don’t feel like I need one. I’m just being real with myself. I think a lot of people have bodyguards to make themselves’ feel more important, some people might need it though. Everybody ain’t 6’6″ and big like me, everybody don’t have the mind frame of the streets.
DX: Beef: You recently had a little rift with Rick Ross over his line in “King Boss” tell me your immediate first thoughts when you heard the line in that song?
Slim Thug: Some people called me before I heard it. When I first heard it, to me it sounded old. I was really shocked. I had met Rick Ross a few times and every time we seen each other it was always cool. Anytime I’d ever seen him, it had always been love like, “Let’s do some music.” So I was like any kind of diss record or anything like that can’t be real. I hit him up on Twitter and he was like “I ain’t going to lie, it had already got crazy before you reached out to me.” You know he said “King Boss” is what whoever put the song out named it. He said it was petty, he did the song before he met me, and that’s all I needed to hear.
DX: It was a lot of Twitter back and forth from his camp. Since Twitter appears to be the safe way for people to now get disrespectful let me ask you this, what does a real thug think of a Twitter thug?
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Slim Thug: You know that’s what it is. You have all kind of people that send you hate tweets. But it’s all about what you want to focus on. It’s a lot of people that send me stuff about how much they love me and how much they love my music. It’s instant feedback. For example, with my music, I can send a record out and find out if they like it or if they don’t like it. Twitter is like a journal for me. And now all those people that didn’t know me before Twitter know me a little more now. They know what I’m thinking. Things I put on Twitter I just randomly write. That’s the good thing about Twitter, people get to understand my personality and know me more.
DX: Now it’s well known that Lupe Fiasco’s song “Hip Hop Saved My Life” was inspired by your life, so my question is what was that dedication like for you and also is Hip Hop still saving your life?
Slim Thug: It’s definitely saving my life. Ever since I started rapping I haven’t ever had to have a job, or fill out an application ever in my life. It’s feeding me, my family and everybody else around me. On Lupe [Fiasco], you know, when he told me that I was in shock. By him to say that he was inspired by my story, that’s a blessing because I respect Lupe. I think he’s one of the coldest when it comes to these lyrics and stuff. I definitely think he has a great gift. For him to do a song, that’s inspired off my life is just crazy. I respect him. I take my hat off to him for that.
DX: Lastly, I know you’re more than a rapper but you’re an entrepreneur as well break down all of your other business ventures and what business moves can people expect from you with the new year approaching?
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Slim Thug: I don’t know. I’m at loss right now. Back when I was doing a lot of that it was real estate, it was CD stores and stuff like that. A lot of those things went down with the economy went down. So I chilled out on a lot of that and stuck with the rap, cause the rap was still paying off real good. Now, I kind of want to do something with the Internet, I feel like that’s the future.
