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[female reporter]
A couple of local DJs
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are accused of bootlegging
thousands of CDs.
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Fulton County SWAT Team
and officers from Clayton County
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raided Gangsta Grillz recording studio
last night.
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Among the items seized,
50,000 counterfeit CDs,
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recording equipment, computers,
cars, cash, and bank statements.
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[hip-hop music plays]
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[ambulance siren burst]
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[traffic sounds]
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[male narrator] Rewind hip-hop's history
all the way back,
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to a time before rappers,
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and you'll find DJs.
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As hip-hop entered the new millennium,
DJs were still the culture's taste makers:
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the bridge between what was happening now,
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and what would happen next.
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And one way in which
DJs played hip-hop's unofficial Aandamp;R role,
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was through mixtapes.
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[DJ Mars] The mixtapes were
how a lot of DJs got their name.
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It was your audio calling-card.
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[Riggs Morales] Kid Capri, Ron G,
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Chill Will, Clue.
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They were our radio
before radio got into hip-hop.
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That's what the mixtape DJ was.
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They were highlighting
either singles that were due out,
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or awesome album cuts
that the masses didn't really know about.
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There was people getting known
off of being on my mixtapes
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that wasn't getting any shows
or anything, they wasn't eating.
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So, that was helping a lot of people.
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Now, keep in mind
that this was an underground thing.
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It wasn't something
that was really lawful.
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You're dealing with other people's music.
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[narrator] Mixtapes were collections
of the hottest music on the streets.
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They also happened
to break every copyright law on the books.
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But, as long as DJs
were also breaking new artists,
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a delicate peace
between record labels and DJs existed.
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It was a system that benefited everyone,
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and it kept hip-hop firmly connected
to its roots.
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And there was no better place in the world
to cop the newest mixtapes
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than the chaotic, open-air market
in downtown Manhattan:
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Canal Street.
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[hip-hop music playing]
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[car horn blows]
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[DJ Whoo Kid]
Canal Street was
the biggest hub in New York.
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We had Irish, African, Chinese.
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Every race bootlegging, selling shit.
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Every idiot from all over America,
or overseas, would go to Canal Street.
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These tapes were so legendary
that they came to buy tapes.
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[DJ Mars] The Canal Street market
was the internet of mixtapes.
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The cats on Canal Street
were the very first ones
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to set the bar for what happened
in New York City on the mixtape scene
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and the entire rap industry, period.
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[DJ Drama] The mixtape culture was
just booming in so many ways,
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and it was pandemonium.
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Like, the streets were on fire.
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Mixtapes became so much more
at that time.
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I always look at mixtapes
like there's a post-50 Cent era
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and there's a pre-50 Cent era.
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Fif' revolutionized that part of the game.
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[narrator] For decades, the DJ was
the marquee name on the mixtape.
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A DJ's reputation was
what made a mixtape hot.
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It was a crucial position in the culture
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because a DJ's blessing was a lifeline
to up-and-coming rappers,
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and the first step
towards a coveted record deal.
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Or, at least, that's how it used to work,
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back before one MC
with a chip on his shoulder
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changed how mixtapes
and stars were made in hip-hop forever.
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[50 Cent] I met Jam Master Jay a while...
Like, three years ago.
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And, I was signed to JMJ Records
for, like, a year.
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I recorded 18 songs with him.
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He kind of, like, taught me
how to write in song format.
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-[interviewer] Okay.
-[50 Cent] So, he helped me a lot, like.
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[interviewer] How did you meet 50 Cent?
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[Sha Money XL]
I was in Jam Master Jay's studio
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in Rosedale, Queens.
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Jay was playing me music.
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He was playing me Onyx,
he was playing me Sweet Tee, Lost Boyz.
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All the stuff he was doing.
A lot of Queens stuff.
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Then, all of a sudden,
he started playing something different.
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He was playing a record called "The Hit,"
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and I heard that voice.
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Something different
from everything else he was playing.
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Nobody was screaming, no one was...
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You know, just, it was somebody rapping
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and talking some real good shit.
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♪ The only thing hotter than
my flow is the block ♪
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♪ That's why I left this snow biz
and got in to show biz ♪
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♪ Let's get this clear ♪
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[Sha Money XL]
I was like,
"Yo, who is that?"
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And when he saw my face,
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that's what made him get excited, like,
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"Yo, let me go get this kid."
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I went back to my hood
and kind of told them, like,
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"Yo, I just met this kid, he was dope."
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And a lot of people already knew
who he was.
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"Yo, that kid got caught in school
with a gun."
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You know what I mean? He had a story.
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I heard 50 Cent...
He started putting out demos,
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started putting out freestyles.
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He was a different type of heartbeat.
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Raw, pure,
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and I was a huge fan.
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But, then, he came up with "How To Rob."
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"How To Rob" is this concept record
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where he went around robbing rappers.
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Most of these rappers were still alive,
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which made it all the more audacious.
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I want to take hip-hop to being,
like, back.
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Like, back to when we were
a little more competitive.
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Now it's to the point where the artist
is even scared to say your name.
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So, I figured it would be groundbreaking
for me to come out the gate
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and, just, say whatever.
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"How To Rob" was what made me love Fif',
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because he don't give a fuck what he says
or who he's saying it to,
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and if you're offended, so what?
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I was offended because he said
he'd rob Big Pun.
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I wasn't trying to hear all that.
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♪ I'll rob Pun without a gun
Snatch his piece then run ♪
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♪ This nigga weigh 400 pounds
How he gonna catch me, son? ♪
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[Fat Joe] But, I knew it was, like,
a parody, it was a joke.
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But, still, we wanted to beat 50 Cent up.
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Big Pun addressed it,
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♪ To the 50 Cent rapper
Real funny, get your nut off ♪
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♪ Real life, you don't know me
I'll blow your motherfuckin' head off ♪
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Rappers were like,
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"Is he gonna come try to rob me?
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Who is this guy?
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He's out of his mind."
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Like, to the point where dudes thought
they were gonna get robbed.
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It created a whole bunch of energy
that a lot of people didn't like,
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but, it was just a marketing move.
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Like, "How can I make the entire industry
like me, love me,
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but, most importantly, talk about me."
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[Riggs] 50 really showed from there,
like, he was not gonna stop.
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He wanted everyone's attention, he got it.
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That's one of his biggest contributions
to the game,
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which was, like, not really giving a fuck.
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You don't do that, and not be prepared
for the repercussions that come from that.
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Whether it's from the business standpoint,
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or from a street standpoint.
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[narrator] "How To Rob" wasn't the only
record bringing 50 fame and infamy.
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The Queens MC dropped
other controversial tracks,
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name-checking real-life New York City
drug kingpins on "Ghetto Qu'ran,"
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and publicizing his never-ending beef
with Ja Rule on "Your Life's On The Line."
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50 quickly became a polarizing figure
in the NYC rap scene,
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and his on-wax recklessness and mayhem
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was making him serious enemies
in the music industry,
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and in the streets.
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I got shot in the thumb.
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My legs a bunch of times.
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I got shot in the face.
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I was scared the whole time.
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Nobody gonna tell you they ain't scared.
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It's a hit, man. You supposed to die.
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[Sha Money XL] When he came home from
the hospital,
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he called me and was like,
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"Yo, they put Humpty Dumpty
back together again."
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I said, "50?"
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He was like, "Yeah."
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I said "Yo, get the fuck out of here!
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Yo, this nigga's back!"
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So, here you got me, Sha Money,
the new producer on the scene,
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intern at Def Jam,
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running around,
speaking his name to everybody.
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Like, I'm speaking...
Jesus, like, seriously, like,
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I'm telling everybody, "He's coming back."
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But, guess what?
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No one wanted to fuck with him.
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He was already dubbed, just,
"fucking troublesome."
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So, a lot of people actually were like,
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"Hmm, I don't know."
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[Riggs] No one would sign him.
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Guy got shot nine times.
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Like, most label folks,
they didn't want that problem.
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They didn't want that kind of energy.
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[Sha Money XL] He called me and was like,
'Yo, this is fucked up."
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I was like, "Yo, Fif',
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I just bought a new crib,
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I got a studio in my basement.
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Come to my house, you can record.
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Nobody knows where I live.
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Come fuck with me, bro.
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You can rock, bro."
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And he listened to me.
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He came with the soldiers,
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Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks: G-Unit.
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So, we're in my basement.
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My baby mother is not allowed
to come down.
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It's a lot of weed smoke,
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ninety-nine-cent burger wrappers
on the table,
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guns on the table,
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50 doing push-ups in between verses.
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A lot of niggas, man.
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That shit was crazy.
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The next thing is,
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"Alright, 50 got the hardest part locked.
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We need a DJ."
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[funky breakbeats]
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[Sha Money XL] Whoo Kid's my cousin,
so I brought him to the table.
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[DJ Whoo Kid] I was scared to go see him
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because he'd just finished, like,
dealing with all the shooting.
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Because I'd heard he'd got shot
and all his teeth came out or something.
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I don't know. Maybe he did, I don't know.
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But I was like,
"Damn, I'm gonna meet him?"
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Everybody had bulletproof vests,
there's guns all over the basement.
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He said, "Yo, if somebody comes at me,
with, like, guns and shit like that,
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what the fuck you gonna do?"
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I'm like, "I'm getting the fuck
out of here, yo!
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What the fuck do I look like, a hero?
Get the fuck outta here!"
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He was like, "You know what, I don't have
to ask you the second question,
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you're hired."
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They knew I was a mixtape DJ.
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So, we just was like, "Oh, why don't
we just make, like, mixtapes?"
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The traditional mixtape was
either a DJ blending,
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or a DJ having new exclusives
that he would put on a mixtape.
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I was like, "Yo, 50,
we did all these freestyles,
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let's put it on the streets
and let the hood hear it."
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That's what the first mixtape was.
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And it was called 50 Cent Is The Future.
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I was the one
that distributed every mixtape.
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I literally slipped the inserts into CDs
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and got it to Queens, Bronx, Canal Street.
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Then the African bootleg at night.
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Spotify like you never seen it.
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It's out of here, man.
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That shit was everywhere, man.
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[hip-hop music playing]
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[Sha Money XL]
When I came back the next time,
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"You, Sha Money?
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00:09:30,267 --> 00:09:31,768
50 Cent? Oh!
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00:09:31,894 --> 00:09:33,395
Yo, let me get that shit, bro."
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They wanted that
like it was fucking Blue Magic, for real.
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This was the Blue Magic of mixtapes.
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It was crack, man.
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It was fucking crack.
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What 50 did was,
I would call a ghetto album.
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"I'm gonna take your record
and make it hotter than you.
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I'm gonna take your song
and make it hotter than you,
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00:09:53,624 --> 00:09:56,668
and I'm gonna resell it in the street,
and that shit will make me a superstar."
239
00:09:56,752 --> 00:09:57,961
And what did it do?
240
00:09:59,713 --> 00:10:01,423
[Sha Money XL]
So, the bootleg was out there.
241
00:10:01,507 --> 00:10:02,633
This shit was traveling.
242
00:10:02,716 --> 00:10:03,675
So, it got to Detroit.
243
00:10:04,051 --> 00:10:06,053
Em was hearing it as it was coming out,
244
00:10:06,470 --> 00:10:08,013
and he was playing it non-stop,
245
00:10:08,639 --> 00:10:09,640
and he was loving it!
246
00:10:10,057 --> 00:10:13,560
To the point where he called me and 50
at my house,
247
00:10:13,644 --> 00:10:16,480
and told us he wanted us
to get on a plane tomorrow
248
00:10:16,563 --> 00:10:18,440
to come fly to meet with him and Dre.
249
00:10:18,941 --> 00:10:21,902
And that was the meeting
that changed 50's life.
250
00:10:22,486 --> 00:10:23,946
I'm on the dream team right now.
251
00:10:24,488 --> 00:10:25,822
I got the two biggest bodyguards
252
00:10:25,906 --> 00:10:27,616
I could possibly have
at Interscope Records.
253
00:10:28,116 --> 00:10:29,409
Eminem and Dr. Dre. You heard me?
254
00:10:29,493 --> 00:10:32,037
[Fat Joe] The moment he got
with Eminem and Dr. Dre,
255
00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:34,748
people realized, "Oh, this shit is real."
256
00:10:35,457 --> 00:10:36,583
And then they gave him that,
257
00:10:37,209 --> 00:10:39,545
♪ Go shawty, it's your birthday ♪
258
00:10:39,628 --> 00:10:40,629
That's when niggas knew,
259
00:10:40,712 --> 00:10:42,506
"Oh, my god.
260
00:10:43,006 --> 00:10:44,299
This guy is here to stay."
261
00:10:44,383 --> 00:10:45,842
♪ I'm feeling focused man ♪
262
00:10:45,926 --> 00:10:47,803
♪ My money on my mind
I got a mill out the deal ♪
263
00:10:47,886 --> 00:10:49,346
♪ And I'm still on the grind ♪
264
00:10:49,429 --> 00:10:51,932
[DJ Drama] You know, even
after Get Rich Or Die Tryin' came out,
265
00:10:52,432 --> 00:10:54,893
I think he dropped a mixtape, like,
two weeks after.
266
00:10:55,352 --> 00:10:57,729
Here's a guy that's a million records
out the gate,
267
00:10:57,854 --> 00:11:00,190
and he drops a mixtape with more material.
268
00:11:00,524 --> 00:11:02,150
It comes from a background
from the streets.
269
00:11:02,234 --> 00:11:03,944
Like, "I'm really gonna flood the block."
270
00:11:04,027 --> 00:11:05,571
Like, "I'm not letting nobody in."
271
00:11:06,655 --> 00:11:09,074
[50 Cent] I'd like to thank Eminem
and Dr. Dre.
272
00:11:09,157 --> 00:11:10,534
This is a special night, thank you.
273
00:11:11,535 --> 00:11:13,120
[DJ Whoo Kid] He became bigger than life.
274
00:11:13,245 --> 00:11:14,871
In that era, if you listened to 50 Cent,
275
00:11:14,955 --> 00:11:17,207
he had, like, "In Da Club," "PIMP."
276
00:11:17,874 --> 00:11:21,044
He had, like, so many songs on the radio
but then he had mixtape cuts on the radio,
277
00:11:21,128 --> 00:11:22,588
which had never been done before.
278
00:11:22,671 --> 00:11:24,047
[crowd cheers]
279
00:11:24,131 --> 00:11:26,008
[Kid Capri] "You ain't gon' get me
a record deal?
280
00:11:26,091 --> 00:11:27,342
You ain't spending money on me?
281
00:11:27,426 --> 00:11:29,177
You don't think I'm an artist
you could push?
282
00:11:29,261 --> 00:11:31,263
Who are you to decide my fate for me?"
283
00:11:31,346 --> 00:11:32,723
He's waking up the industry.
284
00:11:34,016 --> 00:11:37,185
[narrator] 50 Cent broke hip-hop's
decades-old model for mixtapes,
285
00:11:37,644 --> 00:11:39,521
turning mixtapes into street albums,
286
00:11:39,980 --> 00:11:42,816
and empowering rappers
to cut their own path to stardom.
287
00:11:43,567 --> 00:11:46,778
The impact of this massive shift
was immediate across the country,
288
00:11:47,112 --> 00:11:50,157
and no city would use it
to greater effect than Atlanta,
289
00:11:50,824 --> 00:11:54,161
where mixtapes would facilitate the birth
of a whole new sub-genre of hip-hop:
290
00:11:54,703 --> 00:11:55,537
trap music.
291
00:11:56,872 --> 00:11:59,499
And one of the architects
of the trap sound is this man:
292
00:11:59,791 --> 00:12:03,211
T.I., who I met sitting
in his very own trap museum.
293
00:12:03,837 --> 00:12:05,088
Thanks for the consideration.
294
00:12:06,173 --> 00:12:07,132
I see you shuffling.
295
00:12:07,341 --> 00:12:10,135
Yeah, man, I was just, you know...
Nervous energy.
296
00:12:10,218 --> 00:12:11,887
I was just killing time.
297
00:12:14,848 --> 00:12:16,933
Why don't we start with
where you're from in Atlanta.
298
00:12:17,142 --> 00:12:19,102
What was your neighborhood like,
growing up?
299
00:12:19,186 --> 00:12:22,606
So, I grew up with my grandma
and my granddad, you know.
300
00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:25,108
And then I went to live with my mom.
301
00:12:25,442 --> 00:12:29,529
The communities that my mom stayed in
were heavily, heavily Section 8.
302
00:12:29,780 --> 00:12:33,200
You know, apartments and trap houses.
303
00:12:34,117 --> 00:12:36,203
Now, all the while,
while I was living with my mom,
304
00:12:36,286 --> 00:12:39,331
is probably where I learned all the stuff
that you shouldn't be talking about.
305
00:12:40,082 --> 00:12:41,625
I was about 15 at the time.
306
00:12:41,833 --> 00:12:43,669
That's when I learned to sell crack.
307
00:12:46,296 --> 00:12:49,633
I hooked up with my guys,
who we know now as the P$C,
308
00:12:49,925 --> 00:12:52,094
and we basically started trapping.
309
00:12:53,762 --> 00:12:56,390
Everyday, that was, like, our clubhouse.
310
00:12:56,473 --> 00:12:57,724
The trap was our clubhouse.
311
00:12:58,308 --> 00:13:00,519
We would meet there every single day
and sell dope.
312
00:13:00,852 --> 00:13:02,104
Every single day.
313
00:13:03,021 --> 00:13:06,191
Finding a way to take this product,
314
00:13:06,983 --> 00:13:08,610
and turn it into currency
315
00:13:09,444 --> 00:13:11,530
so I can have something to eat tonight
316
00:13:11,613 --> 00:13:13,573
and so my mama's lights won't be cut off.
317
00:13:14,366 --> 00:13:16,618
A lot of people were going through that.
318
00:13:17,285 --> 00:13:18,245
And I mean...
319
00:13:19,996 --> 00:13:22,666
I just felt like they needed a voice.
320
00:13:23,959 --> 00:13:26,253
I started writing my own raps
321
00:13:26,670 --> 00:13:27,754
and I'd perform at the trap,
322
00:13:28,088 --> 00:13:29,464
but I needed a studio.
323
00:13:30,132 --> 00:13:31,633
My homeboy Dennis, he told me,
324
00:13:31,717 --> 00:13:35,429
"There's a man up there, he got a studio
in that house."
325
00:13:35,846 --> 00:13:36,847
We hit the path.
326
00:13:37,723 --> 00:13:40,308
I headed straight to the crib,
knocked on that door.
327
00:13:40,392 --> 00:13:41,727
-[door knocking]
-[door opening]
328
00:13:41,810 --> 00:13:44,396
Big, burly guy
that had a beard, deep voice,
329
00:13:44,980 --> 00:13:45,814
"What's up?"
330
00:13:46,398 --> 00:13:47,941
I was a little, bitty kid, like,
331
00:13:48,024 --> 00:13:49,443
"You got a studio in there?"
332
00:13:49,693 --> 00:13:50,777
[T.I. laughing]
333
00:13:51,027 --> 00:13:52,738
He said, "Yeah I got a studio,
why you ask?"
334
00:13:53,155 --> 00:13:54,114
"Man, I wanna record."
335
00:13:55,157 --> 00:13:56,742
So, he let me in.
336
00:13:56,825 --> 00:13:58,785
So, we went in and recorded a demo,
337
00:13:58,994 --> 00:14:00,495
and in the midst of us doing all this,
338
00:14:00,579 --> 00:14:01,997
he introduced me to DJ Toomp.
339
00:14:02,539 --> 00:14:05,542
Little, skinny red dude,
walking up my driveway,
340
00:14:05,625 --> 00:14:07,461
arms out like he big as hell.
341
00:14:07,753 --> 00:14:10,422
And then he started playing
some of the music.
342
00:14:10,881 --> 00:14:11,965
I was blown away, man.
343
00:14:12,549 --> 00:14:14,092
I was like, "Yo, this kid is amazing."
344
00:14:14,593 --> 00:14:17,345
He has an East Coast flow
with a Southern drawl,
345
00:14:17,554 --> 00:14:19,389
and that's all I needed,
346
00:14:19,473 --> 00:14:21,725
because I was looking for rappers
at that time, for real.
347
00:14:22,434 --> 00:14:24,936
During that time,
it was more of a beat-driven era.
348
00:14:25,479 --> 00:14:27,105
That's what really gave us our sound, man.
349
00:14:27,189 --> 00:14:28,148
The Roland TR-808.
350
00:14:28,607 --> 00:14:29,900
Out of the drum machine you had...
351
00:14:29,983 --> 00:14:31,401
Boom! Boom!
352
00:14:31,485 --> 00:14:34,696
You can adjust the decay,
where it's just a solid kick.
353
00:14:35,155 --> 00:14:38,533
So, what we did was sample all the sounds
out of that drum machine
354
00:14:39,159 --> 00:14:41,453
and we used to put it on a floppy,
so we got our 808 floppy.
355
00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:43,872
And we got on the SP1200.
356
00:14:43,955 --> 00:14:45,874
They have this thing called
"time correct."
357
00:14:46,416 --> 00:14:49,419
If you hit "time correct"
and hold a kick, snare, or hi-hat,
358
00:14:49,628 --> 00:14:51,463
you can adjust it to when you got...
359
00:14:51,546 --> 00:14:53,548
[imitates accelerating metronome]
360
00:14:55,550 --> 00:14:57,761
So, now, here we started
having our own sound,
361
00:14:57,844 --> 00:14:59,554
as far as that drum roll,
362
00:14:59,638 --> 00:15:01,973
with the snares
and the hi-hats real repetitive,
363
00:15:03,225 --> 00:15:05,811
and it was just our sound, man.
364
00:15:05,894 --> 00:15:08,188
What gave it the thing
when we were doing it,
365
00:15:08,271 --> 00:15:09,231
was the subject matter,
366
00:15:09,314 --> 00:15:10,482
and of course the sound, too.
367
00:15:10,565 --> 00:15:13,151
But the subject matter was
what really made people start saying,
368
00:15:13,235 --> 00:15:14,236
"Oh, that's a trap song."
369
00:15:14,694 --> 00:15:17,906
To hear, you know,
someone like Tip rap over that.
370
00:15:18,114 --> 00:15:20,951
He was the first person
to put trap music together.
371
00:15:21,284 --> 00:15:22,327
There was a trap.
372
00:15:22,410 --> 00:15:24,204
-Yeah.
-There was music.
373
00:15:24,538 --> 00:15:25,372
Trap music.
374
00:15:25,455 --> 00:15:26,873
["Dope Boyz" playing]
375
00:15:26,957 --> 00:15:28,667
♪ Do it fifty mo' times ♪
376
00:15:28,750 --> 00:15:30,752
♪ The quarter go for five
And the half go for nine ♪
377
00:15:31,419 --> 00:15:34,256
♪ Still in the trap with them
Break down dimes ♪
378
00:15:34,339 --> 00:15:36,758
♪ Hit me on the hipper anytime
I don't mind ♪
379
00:15:36,842 --> 00:15:39,344
I mean, the first trap song
was "Dope Boyz and Trap Niggas."
380
00:15:39,427 --> 00:15:43,223
That was really just an ode
to my old lifestyle,
381
00:15:43,306 --> 00:15:44,641
to what I was doing,
382
00:15:44,724 --> 00:15:46,852
and to what the people
around me were doing.
383
00:15:47,143 --> 00:15:48,061
How we were living.
384
00:15:48,144 --> 00:15:49,813
That's where you get trap music from.
385
00:15:49,896 --> 00:15:51,940
That's where you get the language
of the trap.
386
00:15:52,023 --> 00:15:53,900
That's where you get the ideology
of the trap.
387
00:15:53,984 --> 00:15:56,069
We get T.I. popularizing it.
388
00:15:56,152 --> 00:15:58,947
♪ Standing around in my trapp
I think you fucking up shawty ♪
389
00:15:59,114 --> 00:16:01,741
♪ Same nigga who taut AK
Getting paid in the trapp ♪
390
00:16:01,825 --> 00:16:04,202
♪ Made a song for the niggas
And the J's in the trapp ♪
391
00:16:04,661 --> 00:16:06,997
♪ The dope boyz in the trapp nigga ♪
392
00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:09,457
♪ The thug nigga, drug dealer
Where you at nigga ♪
393
00:16:09,541 --> 00:16:12,294
[DJ Toomp] You know, the album came out,
I'm Serious.
394
00:16:12,752 --> 00:16:15,255
We had signed to a label, LaFace.
395
00:16:15,338 --> 00:16:17,299
I love L.A. Reid,
but he really didn't understand.
396
00:16:17,382 --> 00:16:19,426
He was like,
"What y'all mean, 'the trap?'"
397
00:16:19,509 --> 00:16:21,887
His whole thing was like,
"Man, is it built for radio?
398
00:16:21,970 --> 00:16:23,221
Y'all talking about selling dope
399
00:16:23,305 --> 00:16:25,140
and y'all want me
to push this song to radio?"
400
00:16:25,557 --> 00:16:26,474
I really don't get it."
401
00:16:26,975 --> 00:16:29,436
You know what I mean?
L.A. really didn't get it.
402
00:16:29,853 --> 00:16:33,106
So, that was just a project
sitting on the desk
403
00:16:33,189 --> 00:16:35,191
that nobody really knew what to do with.
404
00:16:35,525 --> 00:16:37,652
As a rapper,
he got a bunch of attention really fast,
405
00:16:38,111 --> 00:16:41,823
but it wasn't supported
in the way that I thought it should be,
406
00:16:41,907 --> 00:16:43,074
or he thought it was, right?
407
00:16:43,491 --> 00:16:45,452
Because, he sold about 200,000 of those,
408
00:16:45,869 --> 00:16:47,954
so it felt unsuccessful.
409
00:16:48,038 --> 00:16:50,081
So, we all kind of went
in our little hole, like,
410
00:16:51,041 --> 00:16:52,167
"We don't know."
411
00:16:52,250 --> 00:16:54,794
Well, the world would
consider our album a flop.
412
00:16:55,503 --> 00:16:56,838
But, to us, we were like,
413
00:16:56,922 --> 00:16:59,758
"Shit, man, down here in the south.
I hear y'all hollering this flop shit,
414
00:16:59,841 --> 00:17:02,552
but this "Dope Boyz In The Trap,"
everybody's crazy about it."
415
00:17:04,262 --> 00:17:06,431
[T.I.] I was discouraged
but I wasn't defeated.
416
00:17:06,931 --> 00:17:09,851
Everybody who heard my shit loved my shit.
417
00:17:10,310 --> 00:17:13,146
So, I said "I just gotta get it
in the hands of the people."
418
00:17:13,979 --> 00:17:18,026
In New York, you have 50 Cent
starting his dominance of mixtapes.
419
00:17:18,485 --> 00:17:20,320
"Let's do
what 50 Cent's doing right now.
420
00:17:20,487 --> 00:17:22,447
This dude is winning,
let's do the same thing."
421
00:17:22,530 --> 00:17:24,991
"Man, these dudes living in mansions
off mixtapes, man."
422
00:17:25,075 --> 00:17:26,284
I'm like, "What?"
423
00:17:26,618 --> 00:17:29,079
And he's like, "Yo, man, we need
to bring that shit to the south.
424
00:17:29,162 --> 00:17:30,538
We need to start doing mixtapes."
425
00:17:31,289 --> 00:17:33,208
[DJ Toomp] Most of the beats were
coming from me,
426
00:17:33,291 --> 00:17:34,292
for all the P$C stuff.
427
00:17:34,542 --> 00:17:36,169
My house was the office, basically.
428
00:17:37,170 --> 00:17:39,547
I mean, I might wake up by eight or nine
and work on a beat
429
00:17:39,631 --> 00:17:41,591
and everybody might come
to the house around one.
430
00:17:41,675 --> 00:17:43,593
And while we were making a track,
431
00:17:43,677 --> 00:17:45,011
I used to cut everybody's hair.
432
00:17:46,388 --> 00:17:49,432
But, while I was cutting the hair,
I'd have some type of beats playing.
433
00:17:49,516 --> 00:17:52,018
["24s" playing]
434
00:17:52,102 --> 00:17:53,603
I had there the "24s" beat.
435
00:17:53,687 --> 00:17:56,773
[imitates bass line]
436
00:17:57,315 --> 00:17:59,567
I was cutting Tip's hair, man.
He heard the beat.
437
00:18:00,235 --> 00:18:03,530
He was like, "Dude, don't play that
for nobody else, I got something, man.
438
00:18:03,613 --> 00:18:06,533
By the time you finish that line up,
I'll have a hook.
439
00:18:06,616 --> 00:18:07,617
Got a hook for that shit."
440
00:18:08,284 --> 00:18:09,285
And he had--
441
00:18:09,369 --> 00:18:10,870
[murmuring lyrics of "24s"]
442
00:18:10,954 --> 00:18:11,830
He was mumbling.
443
00:18:12,247 --> 00:18:13,707
I was like, "Bro, let's get it."
444
00:18:13,790 --> 00:18:18,920
♪ Money, hoes, cars, and clothes
That's how all my niggas roll ♪
445
00:18:19,254 --> 00:18:24,718
♪ Blowin' dro on 24s
That's how all my niggas roll ♪
446
00:18:25,135 --> 00:18:27,846
♪ In a drop top Chevy
with the roof wide open ♪
447
00:18:27,929 --> 00:18:30,807
♪ My partner's looking at me
To see if my eyes open ♪
448
00:18:30,890 --> 00:18:33,643
♪ Cause I've been drinkin'
And I've been smokin' ♪
449
00:18:33,727 --> 00:18:37,355
♪ And flying down 285
But I'm focused... ♪
450
00:18:37,439 --> 00:18:41,651
We decided to put that song
on one of the mixtapes.
451
00:18:42,027 --> 00:18:44,112
And that's when shit went crazy.
452
00:18:44,195 --> 00:18:48,783
♪ ...Still bumpin number eight on NWA
Straight Out of Compton ♪
453
00:18:48,867 --> 00:18:51,578
[T.I.] So, we put out
In Da Streets Volume 3,
454
00:18:51,661 --> 00:18:54,706
and passed them motherfuckers out
in the hood, you know what I'm saying?
455
00:18:54,789 --> 00:18:55,790
Outside the club.
456
00:18:55,874 --> 00:18:58,543
The song, "24s," is going crazy.
457
00:19:01,504 --> 00:19:05,300
Enough for L.A. Reid
to call us and, you know, say,
458
00:19:05,967 --> 00:19:09,971
"Hey man, how about, you know,
we start working on the second album."
459
00:19:10,055 --> 00:19:12,057
I said, "Tell you what,
we work on the second album,
460
00:19:12,140 --> 00:19:14,017
I'm gonna need a million dollars,
461
00:19:14,809 --> 00:19:16,061
or you let us go."
462
00:19:16,311 --> 00:19:17,604
He said, "I tell you what,
463
00:19:18,271 --> 00:19:19,355
I'll get you what you want."
464
00:19:19,606 --> 00:19:21,816
I say, "Shit!"
465
00:19:21,900 --> 00:19:22,776
"I'm letting you go."
466
00:19:23,234 --> 00:19:24,360
[interviewer laughs]
467
00:19:25,195 --> 00:19:26,029
"What?
468
00:19:26,946 --> 00:19:28,364
Yeah, great."
469
00:19:30,033 --> 00:19:32,619
[T.I.] But, the million dollars
that L.A. didn't give me,
470
00:19:33,036 --> 00:19:34,621
I negotiated two million
471
00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:37,123
and a joint venture at Atlantic.
472
00:19:37,582 --> 00:19:38,875
So, that worked out.
473
00:19:39,501 --> 00:19:40,919
Yeah, L.A. did me a favor.
474
00:19:41,628 --> 00:19:42,712
[T.I. laughs]
475
00:19:44,255 --> 00:19:48,426
I started recording the first album
that we did on Atlantic Records.
476
00:19:48,843 --> 00:19:50,720
I ain't giving them nothing but trap shit.
477
00:19:51,513 --> 00:19:52,931
I'm gonna call it Trap Muzik.
478
00:19:56,768 --> 00:19:59,604
David Banner came
and we did "Rubber Band Man."
479
00:19:59,687 --> 00:20:00,855
That's why he came.
480
00:20:01,606 --> 00:20:04,067
I have to be totally honest,
I didn't know what it was.
481
00:20:04,776 --> 00:20:07,028
Beause if I knew
what "Rubber Band Man" was,
482
00:20:07,112 --> 00:20:08,363
I'd have used it for myself.
483
00:20:10,490 --> 00:20:12,075
He said, "If you let me have this beat,
484
00:20:13,451 --> 00:20:16,621
I'm gonna return it to you in a way
that you will never forget."
485
00:20:17,330 --> 00:20:18,498
I told Tip, like,
486
00:20:18,581 --> 00:20:20,583
"Bro, you can have it for five."
487
00:20:21,042 --> 00:20:23,253
He said, "I don't have five,
but I'll give you $2500."
488
00:20:23,336 --> 00:20:25,839
-[trap music playing]
-And he looked me in my eye,
489
00:20:25,922 --> 00:20:28,842
he said, "Watch what I do with this
if you give this to me for $2500."
490
00:20:29,801 --> 00:20:32,887
That was the song
that made me a platinum producer.
491
00:20:32,971 --> 00:20:35,932
♪Rubber band man
Wild as the Taliban ♪
492
00:20:36,015 --> 00:20:38,601
♪ Nine in my right
Forty five in my other hand ♪
493
00:20:38,685 --> 00:20:39,519
♪ Who I'm is? ♪
494
00:20:39,602 --> 00:20:42,230
♪ Call me trouble man
Always in trouble, man ♪
495
00:20:42,313 --> 00:20:45,358
♪ Worth a couple hundred grand
Chevy's, all colors, man ♪
496
00:20:45,441 --> 00:20:48,444
♪ Rubber band man
Like a one man band ♪
497
00:20:48,528 --> 00:20:51,573
♪ Treat these niggas like the Apollo
And I'm Sandman ♪
498
00:20:51,656 --> 00:20:54,492
♪ Tote a hundred grand
Cannon in the waistband ♪
499
00:20:54,576 --> 00:20:57,745
♪ Looking for a sweet lick?
Well this is the wrong place man ♪
500
00:20:57,829 --> 00:21:00,331
[DJ Drama] When "Rubber Band Man" hit,
it was a dope boy anthem.
501
00:21:00,999 --> 00:21:02,750
It was like a coming out party.
502
00:21:02,834 --> 00:21:08,381
Like, T.I. was the sound of Atlanta
that came from the streets,
503
00:21:08,464 --> 00:21:11,467
that wasn't crunk music,
that wasn't Ludacris' sound.
504
00:21:12,218 --> 00:21:13,845
It wasn't OutKast, you know.
505
00:21:13,928 --> 00:21:15,221
This was street music.
506
00:21:15,638 --> 00:21:18,308
People were talking about selling drugs
and stuff before,
507
00:21:18,391 --> 00:21:19,976
but I don't feel like it was as in depth.
508
00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:22,353
That's just, kind of,
like, Atlanta culture.
509
00:21:22,437 --> 00:21:26,191
Guys in Atlanta, period,
they actually love to sell drugs.
510
00:21:26,274 --> 00:21:29,402
["Rubber Band Man" playing]
511
00:21:29,694 --> 00:21:32,447
T.I., I think if he had not
started putting out mixtapes,
512
00:21:32,530 --> 00:21:35,867
he would be forgotten and probably
would've been a one-hit wonder.
513
00:21:35,950 --> 00:21:38,828
Mixtapes gave him a way
to communicate directly with people.
514
00:21:39,245 --> 00:21:41,873
You got people all over the world
talking about trap music
515
00:21:41,956 --> 00:21:44,834
and trap beats
and trap this and trap that.
516
00:21:45,084 --> 00:21:48,838
Like, it's infiltrated the whole culture
and created a whole life of its own.
517
00:21:48,922 --> 00:21:51,966
♪ Rubber band man
Wild as the Taliban ♪
518
00:21:52,050 --> 00:21:55,511
[narrator] Both 50 Cent and T.I.
used mixtapes to revive their careers
519
00:21:55,762 --> 00:21:57,722
and turn themselves into bona fide stars.
520
00:21:58,681 --> 00:22:00,225
But, what if you were already a star?
521
00:22:01,184 --> 00:22:03,895
How could giving music away
for free benefit you?
522
00:22:05,146 --> 00:22:08,107
The answer to that question would come
from an overlooked child star
523
00:22:08,441 --> 00:22:10,735
who would use mixtapes
like a public sketch pad,
524
00:22:11,319 --> 00:22:14,030
pumping out rhymes and flows
at such a furious pace
525
00:22:14,322 --> 00:22:15,490
that he transformed himself
526
00:22:15,573 --> 00:22:18,117
into one of hip-hop's
premium rhyme stylists.
527
00:22:18,201 --> 00:22:20,495
[Li'l Wayne rapping]
528
00:22:20,578 --> 00:22:22,372
[Mannie Fresh] Wayne was this kid
at the time
529
00:22:22,455 --> 00:22:26,000
who was really waiting
for a platform to shine.
530
00:22:26,918 --> 00:22:28,503
Cash Money was in trouble.
531
00:22:28,586 --> 00:22:30,922
Juvie was gone,
and we were failing miserably.
532
00:22:31,089 --> 00:22:34,008
I'm like, "If we don't fix this shit,
we out of here."
533
00:22:34,092 --> 00:22:37,136
We got Wayne on the back-burner
while all of this is going on.
534
00:22:37,679 --> 00:22:40,807
And I'm going, "Bro, now you gotta step
up to the bar. Like, you gotta step up."
535
00:22:40,890 --> 00:22:43,810
And I think he took it serious, dude.
536
00:22:44,435 --> 00:22:45,270
Super serious.
537
00:22:45,853 --> 00:22:47,522
This was the importance of Tha Carter.
538
00:22:47,605 --> 00:22:50,149
♪ I'm the Cash Money Makaveli,
Y'all ain't ready ♪
539
00:22:50,233 --> 00:22:52,819
♪ Quick, fast like Tom Petty,
Y'all just petty ♪
540
00:22:52,902 --> 00:22:55,738
♪ '82, I was born ready,
I'm too ready ♪
541
00:22:55,822 --> 00:22:58,783
♪Y'all baller blockers
I'm too heavy ♪
542
00:22:58,866 --> 00:23:00,285
Wayne was fascinated with Missy.
543
00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:03,621
Missy's wordplay, how Missy did raps,
and did the...
544
00:23:03,705 --> 00:23:05,415
[scatting]
545
00:23:05,498 --> 00:23:09,043
He'd do ad-libs, you know,
and he'd make a sound.
546
00:23:09,127 --> 00:23:11,421
He's like, "I make my alarm 'beep beep'
and 'chirp chirp.'"
547
00:23:11,504 --> 00:23:12,338
And I'm like, "Okay."
548
00:23:12,422 --> 00:23:14,841
That was Wayne's style,
but then we do the first Carter,
549
00:23:14,924 --> 00:23:16,551
he's really rapping.
550
00:23:16,759 --> 00:23:19,012
♪ I be easy,
Fall back and be cool with it ♪
551
00:23:19,095 --> 00:23:22,515
♪ Pallbearer is moving his dead
Flow I'm through with it ♪
552
00:23:22,598 --> 00:23:24,851
♪ I'm in the sh--
Naw I'm sewer-rich ♪
553
00:23:24,934 --> 00:23:26,894
♪ Weezy-f baby
I do this... ♪
554
00:23:26,978 --> 00:23:29,731
Everybody was like, "Ah! I like Lil Wayne.
555
00:23:29,814 --> 00:23:32,233
I like his voice, I like his delivery
and all of that."
556
00:23:32,317 --> 00:23:34,235
So, then, everybody's paying attention
to him now.
557
00:23:35,445 --> 00:23:37,530
But, even when we were doing
the first Carter,
558
00:23:38,031 --> 00:23:41,659
he's like, "Bro, I feel like there's
something holding me back, creatively."
559
00:23:42,285 --> 00:23:45,621
And then, he's telling me about DJ Drama
and these mixtapes.
560
00:23:46,247 --> 00:23:48,916
For Wayne, this is what was missing.
561
00:23:49,167 --> 00:23:51,502
[interviewer] Where would you say
Wayne was at in his career,
562
00:23:51,586 --> 00:23:53,504
in terms of popularity,
in terms of respect?
563
00:23:53,588 --> 00:23:56,674
Wayne had already become, like, a phenom
564
00:23:57,008 --> 00:23:58,718
from the Cash Money days.
565
00:23:58,968 --> 00:24:02,013
Those guys were already
going into the record books
566
00:24:02,096 --> 00:24:04,057
because of records like "Bling Bling."
567
00:24:04,140 --> 00:24:06,309
I'm not gonna lie.
Like, you know, I liked Wayne
568
00:24:06,392 --> 00:24:08,853
but he was, like,
the "Drop It Like It's Hot" guy.
569
00:24:09,354 --> 00:24:11,189
But, man, he shined on Tha Carter.
570
00:24:11,689 --> 00:24:15,276
He was more lyrical
than we were used to around that time.
571
00:24:15,360 --> 00:24:17,153
I was on the road with T.I., I was his DJ.
572
00:24:17,236 --> 00:24:20,073
And Tip was on the phone with Wayne,
and I was like, "Lemme talk to him."
573
00:24:20,156 --> 00:24:21,824
And I was like, "Yo, let's do a tape."
574
00:24:21,908 --> 00:24:23,576
And he was like, "Bet. Let's do it."
575
00:24:24,202 --> 00:24:27,455
The Dedication 1 mixtape...
I wasn't even prepared.
576
00:24:28,039 --> 00:24:29,749
His wittiness, and, you know,
577
00:24:29,832 --> 00:24:32,502
the creativeness
of how he was putting words together...
578
00:24:32,585 --> 00:24:35,838
It was a whole other level of lyricism
that was going on.
579
00:24:36,506 --> 00:24:38,257
I'd done mixtapes all my life,
580
00:24:38,591 --> 00:24:40,093
but I'd never done it with a known DJ
581
00:24:40,176 --> 00:24:42,845
and DJ Drama was the first known DJ
I've done it with.
582
00:24:42,929 --> 00:24:46,682
He's well-known in the South
and it got it pushed heavy, you know.
583
00:24:46,766 --> 00:24:49,394
I've never had a mixtape circulate
the way that one did.
584
00:24:50,645 --> 00:24:52,563
That tape wound up getting flooded
in New York.
585
00:24:53,272 --> 00:24:55,566
And around this time,
in the mixtape world,
586
00:24:55,650 --> 00:24:57,443
it was still very East Coast-driven.
587
00:24:57,527 --> 00:25:00,405
Like, the majority
of the mixtape world, you know,
588
00:25:00,488 --> 00:25:02,907
still lived on the East Coast,
lived in New York City.
589
00:25:03,366 --> 00:25:05,827
From Dipset to, you know, G-Unit.
590
00:25:06,369 --> 00:25:08,830
The South still had a bad rap
when it came to lyricism.
591
00:25:09,914 --> 00:25:12,917
[Don Cannon] On Dedication 2,
he really wanted to show his talent.
592
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:14,419
Like, a freestyle talent.
593
00:25:14,502 --> 00:25:16,462
"Give me a beat, I'll shred all of 'em."
594
00:25:16,546 --> 00:25:18,297
Me and Drama sat down to pick some beats.
595
00:25:18,464 --> 00:25:20,550
My idea was
to take "C'mon N' Ride This Train,"
596
00:25:20,633 --> 00:25:23,052
which was, like, a bass song in Miami,
597
00:25:23,136 --> 00:25:24,470
and flip it to an East Coast beat.
598
00:25:24,554 --> 00:25:28,141
["C'mon n' Ride This Train" beat playing]
599
00:25:28,224 --> 00:25:29,809
[Don Cannon] When we sent this beat
to Weezy,
600
00:25:29,892 --> 00:25:32,687
I didn't really know what he was gonna do
to the Cannon beat,
601
00:25:32,979 --> 00:25:34,313
but it was back within an hour.
602
00:25:34,605 --> 00:25:36,941
He gave us three minutes straight
and we were like, "Damn!"
603
00:25:37,024 --> 00:25:39,652
♪ Howdy-do motherfuckas it's Weezy baby ♪
604
00:25:39,735 --> 00:25:42,363
♪ Niggas bitchin' and I gotta tote the
(cannon) ♪
605
00:25:43,281 --> 00:25:45,199
♪ Listen close, I got duct tape and rope
606
00:25:45,283 --> 00:25:47,827
♪ I'll leave you missing
Like the fucking O'Bannons ♪
607
00:25:47,910 --> 00:25:49,662
That's what the fuck I'm talking about.
608
00:25:49,996 --> 00:25:51,247
That's what was missing.
609
00:25:51,330 --> 00:25:52,790
Like, something in him clicked.
610
00:25:52,874 --> 00:25:54,876
Like, he got pissed off about something.
611
00:25:55,001 --> 00:25:57,003
Because he is running raps that--
612
00:25:57,211 --> 00:25:59,213
a style that I never heard him do.
613
00:25:59,630 --> 00:26:01,382
Shit, like, where's all this coming from?
614
00:26:01,466 --> 00:26:04,135
I'm like,
"Dude, this dude's delivery is nuts."
615
00:26:04,218 --> 00:26:06,387
Man, those mixtapes are so good.
616
00:26:06,679 --> 00:26:08,181
Arguably better than the albums.
617
00:26:08,264 --> 00:26:11,309
And, you know, that just goes to show you,
the approach is different.
618
00:26:11,392 --> 00:26:14,145
With a mixtape, you put out
what you fuck with, what you like.
619
00:26:14,228 --> 00:26:18,733
Whereas, with an album,
you're thinking "hits, charting, mass."
620
00:26:19,233 --> 00:26:21,736
It's less stress, less overthinking
with a mixtape.
621
00:26:21,819 --> 00:26:23,404
♪ You fucking with the hitman ♪
622
00:26:23,488 --> 00:26:26,532
♪ Kidnap a nigga,
make him feel like a kid again ♪
623
00:26:26,616 --> 00:26:29,243
♪ Straight up,
I ain't got no conversation for you ♪
624
00:26:29,327 --> 00:26:31,370
♪ Nigga talk to the (cannon) ♪
625
00:26:31,454 --> 00:26:34,373
[White] They'd reintroduce him to people,
because he was putting albums out,
626
00:26:34,457 --> 00:26:36,751
but I felt like he wasn't all the way
getting that respect.
627
00:26:37,168 --> 00:26:39,962
Wayne was like, "Nah. I rap."
You know what I mean?
628
00:26:40,046 --> 00:26:42,757
Like, "I really rap.
I'm the down-South Jay-Z."
629
00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:44,759
He was just going crazy on it, man.
630
00:26:44,842 --> 00:26:47,053
Like, every song was,
you just felt like it'd never stop
631
00:26:47,136 --> 00:26:49,222
and he just keep on coming and coming
with the bars.
632
00:26:49,305 --> 00:26:54,560
[DJ Mars] It was just total creativity
that you hadn't seen from Wayne before.
633
00:26:54,644 --> 00:26:57,855
Southern rappers weren't rapping
like he was.
634
00:26:57,939 --> 00:27:00,525
You had lyrical artists
in the South, clearly.
635
00:27:00,650 --> 00:27:03,361
OutKast, Goodie Mob, T.I.
636
00:27:03,903 --> 00:27:07,406
But, Wayne just took it
to an entirely different stratosphere.
637
00:27:07,490 --> 00:27:11,327
I thought it was dope because you looked
at him in this one particular way,
638
00:27:11,619 --> 00:27:13,454
and then, next thing you know,
he's on mixtapes,
639
00:27:13,579 --> 00:27:15,331
standing like a giant, killing it.
640
00:27:15,414 --> 00:27:19,001
["C'mon n' Ride This Train" playing]
641
00:27:27,468 --> 00:27:30,680
[Don Cannon] For a long time, it's like,
mixtapes were "B" music and not "A" music,
642
00:27:30,888 --> 00:27:33,057
but most of the critics
in the magazine would say,
643
00:27:33,140 --> 00:27:35,101
"We love Dedication more
than we love his album."
644
00:27:35,184 --> 00:27:37,228
You know, that became a thing in rap,
where it's like,
645
00:27:37,311 --> 00:27:38,854
"Your mixtape's better than your album."
646
00:27:38,938 --> 00:27:42,608
So, I come from the record-selling days
where we sold tapes and CDs.
647
00:27:42,692 --> 00:27:45,653
You know, I thought,
"You giving away music for free,"
648
00:27:45,736 --> 00:27:48,781
but not knowing it would turn
into actually a business.
649
00:27:48,864 --> 00:27:49,824
He saw the future.
650
00:27:49,907 --> 00:27:51,701
He was on something that I didn't see.
651
00:27:51,784 --> 00:27:53,786
But, when he dropped
that "A Milli" record,
652
00:27:54,620 --> 00:27:55,788
that song there, like that...
653
00:27:55,871 --> 00:27:58,165
I was like, "Oh, man, he going bananas."
654
00:27:58,249 --> 00:28:00,960
["A Milli" plays]
655
00:28:01,043 --> 00:28:04,547
♪ I'm a millionaire
I'm a young money milllionaire, ♪
656
00:28:04,630 --> 00:28:07,341
♪ Tougher than Nigerian hair...♪
657
00:28:07,425 --> 00:28:09,719
[narrator] The Dedication mixtape series
came in the midst
658
00:28:09,802 --> 00:28:11,470
of one of hip-hops greatest runs.
659
00:28:11,804 --> 00:28:15,266
Wayne's free association rhyme style
found the perfect home on mixtapes,
660
00:28:16,017 --> 00:28:18,519
and he'd apply his hundreds of hours
of rhyme practice
661
00:28:18,603 --> 00:28:20,896
to his next studio album,
and earn a spot
662
00:28:20,980 --> 00:28:24,025
in the most coveted
barbershop conversation in hip-hop:
663
00:28:24,692 --> 00:28:26,527
Who's the greatest rapper alive?
664
00:28:26,819 --> 00:28:30,990
♪ They say I'm rappin' like
B.I.G., Jay, and 2Pac, Andre 3000 ♪
665
00:28:31,073 --> 00:28:33,576
♪ Where is Erykah Badu at?
Who that? ♪
666
00:28:33,659 --> 00:28:35,661
♪ Who that said
they gon' beat Lil Wayne? ♪
667
00:28:36,746 --> 00:28:39,665
♪ My name ain't Bic,
but I keep that flame, man
668
00:28:39,749 --> 00:28:41,042
[DJ Drama] He was a monster.
669
00:28:41,125 --> 00:28:42,627
Like, he was just a savage.
670
00:28:42,710 --> 00:28:45,755
It was very key, you know...
He understood the mixtape culture.
671
00:28:46,047 --> 00:28:49,592
You know, and even on those tapes
there were early jabs at--
672
00:28:49,884 --> 00:28:51,218
you know, he was coming for hoes.
673
00:28:51,302 --> 00:28:54,138
Like, Jay was top of the food chain.
674
00:28:54,221 --> 00:28:56,223
Like, Jay was the king of rap, lyrically.
675
00:28:56,307 --> 00:28:59,226
But, around that time was when Hov said
he was gonna retire
676
00:28:59,310 --> 00:29:02,855
so, when a guy like Wayne really stood up
and said, like,
677
00:29:03,272 --> 00:29:04,273
"The best rapper alive."
678
00:29:04,357 --> 00:29:05,983
Like, yeah, you're fucking right.
679
00:29:08,152 --> 00:29:10,529
[Kid Capri] He had 77 songs
out in one year.
680
00:29:11,238 --> 00:29:12,782
I remember Busta Rhymes said to me,
681
00:29:12,865 --> 00:29:14,283
"Lil Wayne is my hero."
682
00:29:14,659 --> 00:29:17,203
He said, "Nobody works like Lil Wayne."
683
00:29:17,286 --> 00:29:18,579
This is Busta Rhymes saying that.
684
00:29:18,913 --> 00:29:20,331
Somebody that I know did some beats.
685
00:29:20,414 --> 00:29:22,124
♪ Like, "look at bastard Weezy!♪
686
00:29:22,208 --> 00:29:25,336
♪ He's a beast, he's a dog
he's a muthafuckin' problem ♪
687
00:29:25,419 --> 00:29:28,422
♪ Okay, you're a goon,
but what's a goon to a goblin? ♪
688
00:29:28,506 --> 00:29:30,341
♪ Nothin', nothin',
you ain't scarin' nothin' ♪
689
00:29:30,424 --> 00:29:32,593
[Mannie Fresh] I show up in LA
to go to the studio,
690
00:29:32,968 --> 00:29:34,261
and there's kids out there.
691
00:29:34,637 --> 00:29:36,806
They got posters
and motherfuckers with candles,
692
00:29:36,889 --> 00:29:38,599
and teddy bears and all kinds of shit.
693
00:29:38,808 --> 00:29:39,684
And I'm like,
694
00:29:39,767 --> 00:29:42,061
"So, what happened?
Somebody passed away or some shit?"
695
00:29:42,144 --> 00:29:44,188
And they just like,
"No, they been out there all day,
696
00:29:44,271 --> 00:29:45,940
waiting for Wayne to come out the studio."
697
00:29:46,023 --> 00:29:47,191
[crowd cheers]
698
00:29:47,274 --> 00:29:48,693
[Mannie] That's bigger than rap.
699
00:29:48,776 --> 00:29:51,070
I'm like,
"This dude is really a rock star."
700
00:29:51,153 --> 00:29:53,197
Like, you know, on a whole other level.
701
00:29:53,781 --> 00:29:55,074
This dude is rap God.
702
00:29:55,157 --> 00:29:56,867
[Don Cannon] We gave him that platform.
703
00:29:56,951 --> 00:29:58,285
Like, "Man, I can be myself
704
00:29:58,369 --> 00:30:00,162
and I can show these people
I can really rap?
705
00:30:00,246 --> 00:30:01,205
Let's do it this way."
706
00:30:01,288 --> 00:30:04,166
And then, even for our mixtapes
and our careers,
707
00:30:04,750 --> 00:30:07,420
it kind of pulled us this way
because everybody called us, like,
708
00:30:07,503 --> 00:30:08,796
"Yo, I need to do a Dedication."
709
00:30:08,879 --> 00:30:11,674
Everybody remembers that, you know,
that point.
710
00:30:11,757 --> 00:30:13,134
That point changed everything.
711
00:30:13,509 --> 00:30:16,387
♪ Motherfucker I'm ill
Not sick ♪
712
00:30:16,470 --> 00:30:18,305
[narrator] Lil Wayne, T.I. and 50 Cent
713
00:30:18,389 --> 00:30:20,850
were just the tip
of a giant mixtape iceberg.
714
00:30:21,475 --> 00:30:24,812
For barbershops and bodegas,
and even traditional record stores,
715
00:30:24,979 --> 00:30:27,106
new mixtapes
were hitting the shelves daily.
716
00:30:27,606 --> 00:30:30,401
The mixtape business model
had become the new norm in hip-hop,
717
00:30:30,818 --> 00:30:33,070
and DJs and rappers
were making good money from it,
718
00:30:34,321 --> 00:30:36,323
but that wasn't true
for the record labels.
719
00:30:36,949 --> 00:30:40,244
And as studio album sales dropped,
the tenuous partnership
720
00:30:40,327 --> 00:30:43,956
between the record industry
and mixtape DJs finally broke.
721
00:30:44,957 --> 00:30:47,918
[female reporter] Fulton County SWAT team
and officers from Clayton County
722
00:30:48,127 --> 00:30:51,922
raided DJ Drama's Gangsta Grillz
recording studio last night.
723
00:30:52,006 --> 00:30:54,008
[DJ Mars] A friend of mine lived across
the street
724
00:30:54,091 --> 00:30:56,469
from where their studio was in Atlanta,
725
00:30:56,552 --> 00:30:57,720
and my phone rings.
726
00:30:57,803 --> 00:31:00,681
The phone call was like,
"Yo, Drama and them going to jail."
727
00:31:00,765 --> 00:31:02,016
"What are you talking about?"
728
00:31:02,099 --> 00:31:04,685
"The cops are outside the studio right now
I'm telling you, look."
729
00:31:04,769 --> 00:31:06,771
I see these black Tahoes coming
down the street.
730
00:31:08,439 --> 00:31:11,484
There's cars coming from both sides
and they jumped the curbs.
731
00:31:11,609 --> 00:31:13,444
You know, right in front of me and Cannon.
732
00:31:14,028 --> 00:31:16,781
These SWAT guys jump out with M16s drawn,
733
00:31:17,364 --> 00:31:18,616
and tell me to get on the ground.
734
00:31:20,117 --> 00:31:21,452
Like some shit out of a movie.
735
00:31:21,911 --> 00:31:24,872
[Don Cannon] It was a real sting.
Like, you know, they had helicopter views
736
00:31:24,955 --> 00:31:26,832
and vans riding back and forth
737
00:31:26,916 --> 00:31:28,709
and taking pictures of us.
738
00:31:28,793 --> 00:31:31,003
Like, this was some real, like,
Goodfellas shit.
739
00:31:33,714 --> 00:31:36,133
But, of course we were terrified
740
00:31:36,217 --> 00:31:38,344
at the moment
when we heard charges of racketeering.
741
00:31:38,886 --> 00:31:41,138
[female reporter] Donald Cannon,
known as DJ Cannon,
742
00:31:41,222 --> 00:31:43,724
and Tyrese Simmons, known as DJ Drama,
743
00:31:43,974 --> 00:31:46,727
are accused of bootlegging
thousands of CDs.
744
00:31:47,144 --> 00:31:48,187
Among the items seized,
745
00:31:48,521 --> 00:31:51,232
50,000 counterfeit CDs,
recording equipment,
746
00:31:51,315 --> 00:31:54,902
computers, cars, cash and bank statements.
747
00:31:55,444 --> 00:31:57,154
[DJ Drama] You know,
me and Cannon are shook.
748
00:31:57,238 --> 00:31:58,656
My first time ever in jail.
749
00:32:00,449 --> 00:32:03,494
I don't know if it was a definite tape
that alarmed them,
750
00:32:03,577 --> 00:32:05,746
but, they said they confiscated, like...
751
00:32:06,455 --> 00:32:09,333
I've heard 50,000,
I've heard 80,000, mixtapes.
752
00:32:11,418 --> 00:32:12,253
It was crazy.
753
00:32:12,336 --> 00:32:13,462
It really was crazy.
754
00:32:13,546 --> 00:32:16,382
I mean, I was the top of the food chain
when it came to mixtapes.
755
00:32:17,424 --> 00:32:20,094
[Kid Capri] Y'all gotta remember how hot
Drama was with the mixtapes.
756
00:32:20,177 --> 00:32:21,595
You know what I'm saying?
He was hot.
757
00:32:21,887 --> 00:32:24,515
It now becomes too much attention on it.
758
00:32:24,598 --> 00:32:28,018
You gotta remember the repercussions
that's gonna come with that.
759
00:32:28,894 --> 00:32:30,479
The music industry as a whole,
760
00:32:31,272 --> 00:32:34,233
the powers that be felt
that they were losing power,
761
00:32:34,900 --> 00:32:36,944
and losing their grip on what gets out.
762
00:32:37,152 --> 00:32:38,279
And that's a big deal.
763
00:32:41,323 --> 00:32:43,492
[male police officer]
Under the New York State Penal Law,
764
00:32:43,576 --> 00:32:44,743
failure to disclose the origin
765
00:32:44,827 --> 00:32:47,204
of a recording is a misdemeanour
and you're under arrest.
766
00:32:47,288 --> 00:32:48,998
Put your hands behind your back, please.
767
00:32:49,081 --> 00:32:50,332
Put your hands behind your back.
768
00:32:50,791 --> 00:32:51,834
Turn around.
769
00:32:52,376 --> 00:32:53,794
[DJ Mars] After that day happened,
770
00:32:53,878 --> 00:32:55,129
the game died.
771
00:32:55,212 --> 00:32:56,630
[engines starting]
772
00:32:56,714 --> 00:32:59,174
The raid ended the distribution
of mixtapes.
773
00:33:00,509 --> 00:33:01,969
Mixunit: dead.
774
00:33:02,136 --> 00:33:05,222
The mixtape spots downtown: dead.
775
00:33:05,639 --> 00:33:08,559
The artists, mixtapes,
the way they were doing it,
776
00:33:08,642 --> 00:33:11,020
collabing with the DJs: all of that died.
777
00:33:16,317 --> 00:33:17,735
[Cannon] It was time for change.
778
00:33:17,818 --> 00:33:19,194
We did mixtapes so much
779
00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:21,363
that it was going
in a direction it didn't need to.
780
00:33:21,906 --> 00:33:24,450
That changed the game
to go into streaming.
781
00:33:24,909 --> 00:33:26,660
The attempt to shut something out,
782
00:33:26,869 --> 00:33:28,162
as it always does,
783
00:33:28,621 --> 00:33:30,372
brings so much more light to it.
784
00:33:30,748 --> 00:33:34,335
And it helped the next wave
of mixtapes that were coming.
785
00:33:34,418 --> 00:33:36,712
Everyone was way more internet-savvy
786
00:33:36,795 --> 00:33:39,965
so you didn't have to necessarily go
to your local bodega to get a tape.
787
00:33:40,049 --> 00:33:42,051
You could just go to the next blog,
788
00:33:42,259 --> 00:33:43,302
and get it that way.
789
00:33:43,928 --> 00:33:45,095
For the last ten years,
790
00:33:45,179 --> 00:33:48,015
we've gotten all our biggest artist
off mixtapes.
791
00:33:48,891 --> 00:33:50,851
We get Wiz, we get Cole,
792
00:33:51,310 --> 00:33:53,187
we get Kendrick, we get Drake.
793
00:33:54,772 --> 00:33:56,482
Mixtapes will never die.
794
00:33:56,565 --> 00:33:58,692
You know, they became bigger than ever
after that.
795
00:34:01,362 --> 00:34:04,072
[narrator] From the beginning, hip-hop's
been about using what you got
796
00:34:04,155 --> 00:34:05,449
to make something happen.
797
00:34:06,075 --> 00:34:07,785
If you can't sing, rap.
798
00:34:07,867 --> 00:34:10,244
♪ All the ladies love me
Because I'm, Oh so "G" ♪
799
00:34:10,329 --> 00:34:12,956
♪ Well I'm din ding dang
From the bla bla bla ♪
800
00:34:13,539 --> 00:34:15,501
[narrator] No instruments? Sample.
801
00:34:15,584 --> 00:34:17,503
[drum beats playing]
802
00:34:17,628 --> 00:34:20,213
Mixtapes are part of
that same hip-hop pragmatism.
803
00:34:20,713 --> 00:34:23,759
And even though they haven't been
actual tapes in a long time,
804
00:34:23,842 --> 00:34:26,470
the spirit and purpose
of mixtapes remains intact,
805
00:34:26,804 --> 00:34:28,012
and innately hip-hop.
806
00:34:29,472 --> 00:34:32,184
Mixtapes have always been
about getting your voice out there
807
00:34:32,267 --> 00:34:33,602
without asking permission.
808
00:34:34,436 --> 00:34:36,021
And what greater amplifier could there be
809
00:34:36,105 --> 00:34:38,773
than hundreds of millions
of computers networked together?
810
00:34:39,775 --> 00:34:42,318
If hip-hop can build empires
with analog tech,
811
00:34:42,653 --> 00:34:44,863
just imagine what it could do
in the digital world.