Following this morning’s release of the song “King Me,” listeners may have wondered if Gillie Da Kid was speaking about fellow Philadelphia, Pennsylvania emcee Meek Mill. The pair of rappers, both from North Philly, appeared to be subliminally speaking to each other earlier this week, following Gillie’s recent interview with Mikey T The Moviestar. This afternoon (July 25), Gillie spoke with HipHopDX about the newly-released song.
“Honestly, bro, the record has been done for maybe close to a month,” Gillie said of the Battman-produced “King Me.” “So really, it’s not a Meek Mills diss.” Gillie referred to Meek as “Meek Mills,” a name the emcee used in past years, a time when Gillie worked with him on songs such as the “Get Down On The Ground Philly All-Star Remix” and Meek’s “In My Bag Remix.” Gil continued, “It just so happened that it’s perfect timing. He, for whatever reason, started talkin’ his bullshit on the social websites. And you know, I was about to drop ‘King Me,’ so it was just perfect timing.”
While Meek Mill previously beefed with Cassidy, another early 2000s star from the City Of Brotherly Love, the former Major Figgas standout dismisses a generational problem in the 2-1-5. “All the young kids, you know, they all fucks with me. From Chic Raw, to Reed Dollaz, to the Young Savage, to the Lights Camera Actions, to Joey Jihad, to Cysssero—everybody fuck with me, ’cause everybody knows who the king is. I didn’t know where the discrepancy came in from or any of that. I’ve been relevant, in my city, forever.”
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Gillie believes that Meek Mill is out of place to question his kingdom. Although he never released an album, Gillie spent years signed to Cash Money Records, reportedly penning hits for Lil Wayne and other flagship acts of the label. In the years since, he’s released a plethora of street albums and mixtapes, collaborating with Meek, who came up through the same circuit, before signing to Grand Hustle Records, and later, Maybach Music Group/Warner Bros. Records.
“He’s got a long way to go. Is it possible that eight, nine years from now, is Meek still gonna be relevant? ‘Cause that’s how long I’ve been relevant—over a decade. When I first came out, he may have been 12 or 10; now he’s 25 [years old],” said Da Kid, who released I Am Philly as a digital EP in 2009. “The same bitches that’s talkin’ about [him] was talkin’ about me. The same niggas that’s talkin’ about [him] was talkin’ about me.” With Ab-Liva, Dutch, Bump J and Rolx, Gillie and Major Figgas released Figgas 4 Life in 2000, a Top 200 debut on the RuffHouse spin-off label, RuffNation. “It can’t be a discrepancy over the king is, ’cause my longevity is ridiculous. You can’t last over time without [success]. If I were a bubble-gum or a popcorn-ass rapper, I would have been up out of here. But the fact that I got real talent, you can’t deny that. God gave me that.” Gillie laughs at the debate. “The only person who questions if I’m the king or not is Meek Mills.”
Now signed with Tamba Hali’s Religion Records, Gillie Da Kid on his studio solo debut, Welcome To Gilladelphia, which he is planning for early 2014. The LP also includes production from former label-mate Mannie Fresh.
“A lot of people, when they think about Gillie, they think it’s gonna be all shoot-’em-up, bang bang records. No, I make real music. I make real records—songs, with real concepts and thought behind ’em. It’s not ‘I want to party, I want to go to the club,” said Gillie of the design of his upcoming works. “I make records to please my folks first. I won’t go away from my fan-base, what I do. Now I’m ’bout to hit ’em with club records and street records and girlie records, ’cause I got it all.” Pointing back to his ghostwriting, Gillie reminded listeners that he has reached radio well beyond his region. “Behind closed doors, I done made Pop records for people that [fans] don’t even know.”
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RELATED: Gillie Da Kid – “King Me” [AUDIO]
