Credited as the first rapper to release tracks as part of a weekly series, Crooked I takes his trendsetting in stride. The Slaughterhouse member explained that he’s content with creating a new business model for hip-hop and that those who are in the know pay him respect.
“I mean, I think I definitely created a different business model for rappers to promote themselves online. It’s cool to set a trend. Sometimes you don’t get your full props or accolades, but niggas who know, know,” he told Forbez DVD. “And that’s all that counts. To set that trend made me feel good, it made me feel like I had something to offer hip-hop. People took it and they ran with it. Some people salute me when they see me and they talk about it, and some people, they act like they made it.”
He also spoke on signing to Shady Records after grinding for years. “I feel good because it’s inspiring other artists,” he said. “Niggas who know my story, they know I went through trials and tribulations, valleys and peaks, ups and downs. And then they see me pop up on Shady, and they think, you know what? I can do that shit too.
But not everyone was in his corner. “Some niggas tried to kick me when I was down. They don’t understand how tough it is to pull yourself back up out of a ditch,” he continued. “The niggas who did it was typical, basic, non-hustling niggas. They didn’t have to hustle for nothing that they got. They got the red carpet treatment all the way through the industry. So they didn’t know how to respect the hustle.”
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