The Godfather

Young Buck is stuck. The Cashville, Ten-A-Key (ahem, Nashville, TN) native was given his walking papers from G-Unit last year, but the rub is that he is still signed to G-Unit Records.

Despite his tenuous predicament Buck is willing and wanting to fulfill his recording obligations. But according to the exiled rapper his attempts at reaching out to his former leader 50 Cent, and anyone else at G-Unit, have been essentially ignored.

There is hope for Buck, though. Getting booted from the G-Unit franchise is not the end of a career. Ask The Game. But while the polarizing L.A. rapper makes a living out of talking reckless to his enemies, Buck’s sobering return home has meant less vitriol towards his foes and more time with his family (“I couldn't ask for a better thing than being able to spend as much time at home with my kids. They love 50 for whatever situation he took me through because he brought me closer to them,” says Buck). It also means, as seen by the new music he’s recently leaked, a desire to get back down to the business of making music.

So in the message directly to 50 Cent below there aren’t any shots fired, but the extension of an olive branch. Peace is not the word to play, after all.

AllHipHop.com: So have you tried to reach out to 50 Cent ever since y’all tiff went down?


Young Buck: I tried to reach out to 50 man honestly ever since the situation first started. You know with the first situation with me when I spoke on me not seeing a royalty check in my career.


AllHipHop.com: So you're going back til' middle of 2008?


Young Buck: Right. I've been stretching out to 50 ever since before 50 actually kicked me out of G-Unit. Just on that strength, I wanted to have a one-on-one conversation with him before s**t got to where it was and actually let him know about the statement that I made like, "Look dude, you know I made that statement that I've never seen a royalty check in my career, not saying that you ain't paid me no money, but it's the truth." Not to say he was taking nothing from me, but it's the truth. And I never had that conversation. All I did was deal with was his reaction. Because he never gave me a conversation, he just pretty much did his thang and said, "You know what Buck you outta here."


AllHipHop.com: Contractually what do you owe to G-Unit?


Young Buck: I owe three albums. I mean it's all kind of characters that would love to buy me out of my situation and all that good stuff and I think 50's aware of that. He's just pretty much, you know holding on I guess as long as he can.


AllHipHop.com: If you could speak to 50 Cent, what would you say?


Young Buck: If I could speak to him, I would just basically let him know, "Look. It is what it is. What's done is done. Now let's get to the part of me completing these albums that I have left amongst G-Unit.” Because as far as me indulging in the back and forth thing, I'll let that go. My life is a little bit more realer than that s**t. My s**t is real life out here. So you know I don't have time to play that game, s**t is real. You know I got kids, he got kids. I'm just trying to complete mine.


AllHipHop.com: Speaking of real life, you've obviously taken steps to better yourself financially, what have you done in that realm?


Young Buck: I've never worked a job, so you do the math. I'm putting myself in a situation where I rely on my outside ventures such as my watch deal. My shows, they stay booked up. So that's keeping me active. I'm actually shooting a movie right now called No Warning. It's got me, Omar Gooding, Cuba Gooding's in this movie, as well as a lot more other big name actors. I try to do a lot of different things from that end.


AllHipHop.com: What's the word on Cashville Records?


Young Buck: Cashville Records. Man, I still have a situation over [at] Sony Red. I actually haven't gave them no product at this point. Just basically trying to really work my situation out because I don't want to have no problems with getting cleared on records and things of that nature from 50 Cent before I move down that lane, and going that way. And you know, with no communication, I'm just not been wanting to hand them no projects. You know I'm involved in the project and I get disappointed. So I've actually been just working man—just working.


AllHipHop.com: Any other business ventures that you want to speak on that you got going on?


Young Buck: My Tenakey Timepiece, which is a watch deal that I did with some cats called Horolos, it's actually doing very, very well. Real good overseas. They’re a watch company that's pretty much already pretty big over seas. They gave me a deal that helped me create my own line, which is the Tenakey Timepiece. In stores right now, so wherever you're at, all you gotta do is go to your local jeweler and ask them about the Tenakey Timepiece and he gon' hook you up! I got em' from $500 to $500,000. Straight up and down.


AllHipHop.com: Have you been able to perform and tour and all that?


Young Buck: My shows stay booked up man. I can definitely say I haven't had a album out in the last two years, and I probably did more shows than the average hot cat out here. That's one thing I can say. That's why I give my fans all the love because I know it's some unusual s**t for a cat to not have an album out for damn near two years, and all my f**king shows is f**king damn near sold out. That just lets me see how strong of a fan base and how in tune my fans actually are with me. I love them for it.



AllHipHop.com: You still owe 50 Cent money and you say you have been trying to pay him back, what’s the status on that end?



Young Bucks: The communication was not there period. So what ever I did owe, we could never work out a way of him getting it or nothing, without conversation.


AllHipHop.com: What was the meeting you had with Interscope like?


Young Buck: It was a good meeting you know. I just wanted to see…50 is such a powerful asset to Interscope and me and him going through our situation, I wanted to see their outlook on it. Their whole thang pretty much was, "We're not getting involved in it, but we definitely wanna do another Young Buck album. And if we don't do nobody else's album, we definitely want a Young Buck album."



So I've been sitting on that, looking forward for that phone call from either Jimmy Iovine or whoever's over there that put the budgets and things like that in motion. I've actually been having Michael "Blue" Williams, which is the cat that's managing me, he's been back and forth trying to get some understanding throughout the situation. Blue’s been back in forth with Interscope, back in forth on the phone with 50's lawyers and G-Unit and all that good stuff just trying to work the situation out. And he's really not getting too far himself.



AllHipHop.com: You've been hitting us with joints, so how often are you in the studio recording?


Young Buck: I'm pulling up to that motherf**ka right now as we speak. I'ma hit y’all with a joint in a minute, that' how often I'm in this s**t you know what I'm saying? I mean there is one thing I can say, a lot of people will say, "Well damn Buck if you're giving out these hit records you should hold this s**t for your album. I tell them "This s**t is in me. Everything I do is gonna feel good. Regardless."


I seen it work for Lil' Wayne, and a few more big artist out here. I'm just tryna get as much energy and get mine to the streets; the DJs, the AllHipHop.coms. Because to me, I feel like y'all are the most relevant thing to an artist career at this point. With everything moving to the Internet and all that good stuff it's the sites like AllHipHop.com that people are really going and paying attention to because not only are they getting the updated news, but they're actually being able to hear that exclusive music that y'all provide. You know, that's definitely, definitely something that I'm not looking to stop, even in my situation. You're definitely going to hear an [abundance] of records from Young Buck on a daily basis homie.


AllHipHop.com: How does it feel that despite that you're still giving fans fresh product, that there's still people that want that certified official Young Buck album, but your hands are tied...


Young Buck: You know what I do, I just tell them, It's not me, I put it in God's hand, and it's working itself out. Just stay down, and I'm gonna keep giving you product regardless. But you gotta know that once I do release an album, it's probably going to be the best album not to come the year whenever it does come, but it will be the best album that you've heard from Young Buck up to date. And that all refers back to what 50 told me: "Things you go through in life, make you who you are." So I express my feelings and what's going on with me and my life on a real level through the music. I really actually base my music off of reality man.


AllHipHop.com: What’s your take on the 50 Cent versus Rick Ross beef.


Young Buck: I mean I really ain't been able to just keep up with it and ain't been keeping up with it like that, but I would pretty much just say, "Good luck to both of them." I've got my own set of problems to actually put myself in the middle on either side. I'm a fan of Rick Ross and 50 do whatever you gon' do and all that other good s**t. It's not my situation, so good luck.


AllHipHop.com: Your last album dropped March 2007, two years later what have you learned or what would you change, if you could?


Young Buck: I've learned the business. I came in the situation amongst a group, and in a group, there's always a chain of command. And 50 Cent was the leader in my situation so I stayed loyal towards 50 and the business of whatever he controlled that was my career in G-Unit. I put my career in his hands. And you know honestly ever since my exiting from G-Unit, I’ve had no choice but to get straight with the business because my career is left in my own hands.



I just totally focused on the business and came to realize that I'ma get better and better with the talent because of my work ethic. I work everyday with it and I'm seeing myself getting better with the music. So I just focus on the business to become as strong with the business as I am with the talent, to actually get exactly what I deserve out here. What I done went through with 50 cent is something that I don't want to go through again period.

I know my career is far from over, it just started. This is only my second solo album. My first, Straight Outta Cashville, went past platinum, and then Buck the World was right at gold. In my eyes, that's with no promotion in a sense. Because if you listen to the album, it was an album to me that was better than Straight Outta Cashville, but it sold lesser numbers than Straight Outta Cashville. I blame nobody for nothing. I take the blame for everything. And I just sa,y "Look, it's time for Young Buck to move forward." Young Buck has grown a lot man, within these two years—from the business level of things. Looking forward from that back and forth situation for me, as far as G-Unit, you're just not gonna get it man because I've realized that the most important thing for me to do and the biggest pay back is for me to be successful. And that's where my focus is man. My focus is to be as successful as the good Lord allows me to be. And that's what I'm doing man.


AllHipHop.com: You've mentioned that you never made 8 million dollars or whatever 50 Cent said you made, you said that wasn't true, right?


Young Buck: I mean yeah. I'm aware of that statement where he said, "I made 8 million in my career." You know, it's simple man. All I need to do is show you guys my tax statements man since I've been with G-Unit and I mean that don't lie right? Alright then so. I’ll just say this much out of of it. I never paid over a million dollars in taxes so I couldn't [laughs]. If I laundered over 8 to 10 million dollars then I'm a bad motherf**ka. I've heard that statement and I actually smiled and laughed about it.
I even smiled at the fact of him putting, "He's a drug addict," and all this and that. You know I've had my time, I've did my thing. I won't get here and say I haven't played the part of indulging in cocaine at a point of time in my life. It was a phase that came and went throughout of my life, but that's been so many years ago honestly that it's irrelevant to me. It is what it is, there is no rules in the art of war. I think 50 pretty much said what he feels is the truth. But the truth is that I've never seen nowhere near 8 to 10 million dollars and I'll be happy to provide my tax statements for you guys at some point of time to clear that all the way on up.


AllHipHop.com: So where did all the money you did make go?


Young Buck: The whole fact of me owning any kind of money dealing with my taxes, it's a situation that came to me when my career first started with G-Unit. I never experienced that abundance of money legally you understand, and outside of that, I was a cat that was all over this television, videos, touring, and Roc the Mic tours and s**t, you know all that s**t back then was moving, but my family was actually still living in the projects. I actually still stayed in the hood.


Once I did receive that money, I did everything that anybody from that environment that I come from would do. And that was to get out of there. I brought my moms a house, moms a car, me a few cars [laughs]


AllHipHop.com: Probably a little more than you needed…



Young Buck: Yeah, probably a little more than I needed. And also I just wasn't aware of who and what Uncle Sam was, you understand what I'm saying. As tax time rolled around, and they was like, "Yo you gotta give this much…" I'm like, "What?!"



I didn't know once you made a million dollars, it's only 500,000. So I was left in a situation where I actually had to come to 50 and was like, "Look man, I need you on this one." And honestly that's what I thought a big brother would do. I've always judged and looked upon 50 as a big brother in my time of being with him, because I felt like there was no way to deal with these real life situations that we were going through, whether it was beefing with Ja Rule or all these different beef situations, without having a genuine love for a motherf**ka. I applied that genuine, the s**t that [you] get from the gutter, to my whole thing dealing with G-Unit. And I would just say that I was more looked upon as business in 50's eyes, because I don't think you can actually do someone—your brother, the way and things he tried to [do to] the kid, you know what I'm saying?


So you know, like I say, I don't blame no one for my mistakes. I don't even blame 50. I'm not in this interview to actually create no bulls**t and try to get no publicity from nothing. All I'm here is to give the truth and pretty much let you know, my friends know, 50 Cent know and everybody, "Hey man, it's time for Young Buck to move forward". The fans has been waiting long enough and I'm looking for conversation from somebody on pretty much letting me know this budget is open, and it's time for you to go on in and complete an album.

Features : Young Buck: Peace Accords

gimiwan

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