Fyfe07-20-2005, 12:39 AM
One of the original members of G-Unit in Tony Yayo, watched as all his fellow G-Unit comrades blew up around him, all while he could do nothing due to the fact he was behind bars. As 50 Cent, Young Buck and Lloyd Banks became mega superstars, Yayo waited in the wings in a concrete cell contemplating what he would do when he got out.

Now, a year and a half after his release, Tony Yayo aka the Talk Of New York, is the next in line. He is readying his solo debut, which the rapper reveals was more than half written while locked down. As his buzz continues to grow, the rapper makes his rounds doing promo, hoping to introduce the world to his own style of "reality rap" from the G-Unit circle.

Read as Yayo speaks on what it's been like trying to create a successful album, after all his click has already gone platinum; what people should expect from his debut, Thoughts Of A Predicate Felon; and his feelings toward Game.

BallerStatus.net: You got out of jail last year, so how much writing did you do while you were locked up, and do you feel that you've gotten better since you've gotten out?

Tony Yayo: I did a big percentage of writing in jail, and yea, I've stepped my game up.

BallerStatus.net: How much of a challenge is it to do a radio friendly track like "So Seductive," rather than a street track?

Tony Yayo: Aww man, I was on house arrest when I first came home and I was feelin' a lot of pressure because of the success of G-Unit and everybody was doing their thing, but 50 took care of me on Get Rich Or Die Tryin', so the pressure is kind of off now. Yea, there's a lot of pressure [to be successful] when doing music. I did a lot of songs, threw away a lot of songs, but I've kept the majority of a lot of them.

BallerStatus.net: What's it like recording your own solo album as opposed to recording with your fellow G-Unit members?

Tony Yayo: Oh man, it's a beautiful thing. The difference is that you just gotta do more work, rather than just spit a hot verse. There's a lot to worry about: writing your own hooks, your own concepts. Writing your own album makes it the way you want it, the way you want it to turn out.

BallerStatus.net: Now, is there any kind of formula or input from people in the higher positions, telling you the way they want you to sound or how you should sound, or do you have the freedom to do what you want?

Tony Yayo: I get the freedom to do what I want.

BallerStatus.net: You are now off house arrest, so what kinda of things can you do now that you really missed when you couldn't?

Tony Yayo: It's a beautiful thing. I'm going to like four radio stations where ever I go. You know, since I got this album coming, it was at the point where I couldn't do promo, so I was really nervous about that. You could have the best album in the world, but if people don't know when it's coming, then it might not do good.

BallerStatus.net: Talk about the new album a little.

Tony Yayo: The album's called Thoughts Of A Predicate Felon. And the reason why I call it that is because I wrote half the album while I was incarcerated and the other half while I was on the streets. I'm a predicate felon on the inside and the outside. Basically, why I wrote the other half of my album on the outside is because I wrote stuff people could relate to more, because not everyone has been to jail. More than half the album is thugged out, so I needed something else. I got a record with Jagged Edge, one with Joe, and one with Kokane, so I got a lot of different flavor on there.

BallerStatus.net: Right now, everybody is calling you the Talk Of New York, and you got a big buzz for your album. How does it feel?

Tony Yayo: I'll feel good after the first week's sales man. You can't let stuff go to your head because consistency is the key to everything. 50 sold 1.1 million his first week and I asked him how he felt and he said "It's nothing. I'm already thinking about my next project and this soundtrack." I think that's what keeps you going ahead, and ahead, and ahead. Sh-t doesn't get handed to you, you gotta work for it. I want the support of people and the respect of people, and I wanna give them what they want.

BallerStatus.net: What are some of the favorite tracks from this new album?

Tony Yayo: The Eminem and Obie Trice record; the record with me, Olivia and Banks; I got a record called "Homicide," that's real wild. The record "Homicide" and the record with Joe are the ones people should look out for [when they pick up the album].

BallerStatus.net: Will that be the next single?

Tony Yayo: Man, I got so many singles from my album; I'm having a hard time picking out what will be next.

BallerStatus.net: The rumors about you guys signing M.O.P. and Mobb Deep have been circulating for some time. Is there any official word on that yet?

Tony Yayo: It's official; the paperwork is done. M.O.P. and Mobb Deep are a part of the G-Unit family. We just did a video in New Jersey with M.O.P. and Mobb Deep for the "Out Of Control Remix." We just shot that video, so it's definitely official.

BallerStatus.net: G-Unit and Game are really going at each other right now. Game just dropped the "300 Bars" freestyle, so what's your response to that?

Tony Yayo: To me, that's like the R. Kelly record. He might as well put 5 parts to it; nobody wants to hear that sh-t. I look at Game like he made a big mistake, and to this day I don't know why he did it. I call him Mr. Potato Head 'cause he's a put together gangster to me. He can say whatever he wanna say, it doesn't matter. I'm gonna out-sell him. I'm gonna do my thing, and I ain't worried about him. At the end of the day, I feel good about my album 'cause 50 only wrote a hook on my album -- I wrote everything else. He can sh-t on 50 and sh-t on the Unit, but 50 wrote half his album brother. We ain't focusing on Game 'cause we got my album coming August 30, Olivia is next, then we got the movie soundtrack coming in like November -- we keep something out on the streets. If it ain't a mixtape...its Banks dropping a mixtape, followed by Buck, then we got Spider Loc -- our new artist -- we got M.O.P., and we got Mobb Deep. So we ain't focusing on him. We just getting our money. At the end of the day, when you bring to many people into your house, there's not a lot of loyalty. We signed M.O.P. and Mobb Deep, and we see that they are happy about the deal, so we are happy about the deal.

BallerStatus.net: When Game first joined G-Unit, were you guys cool? Was there any kind of tension or anything going on?

Tony Yayo: I felt me and Game's relationship was cool. He called me to get on a track, and when I first got home, I holla'd at him, you know. I'm doing my thing and he was busy doing his, but we holla'd at each other. He wanted me to get on his album, so I got on his album and did our thing. Right before he was gonna drop, he hit me and was like, "Yo, I'm kinda nervous," but I told him "Don't worry, you are gonna do your thing. Don't even trip." Then when he sold all those records, I called him and congratulated him. I'm being honest with you; I had a lot of love for Game.

BallerStatus.net: As far as your album, what can people expect, comparing it to like a G-Unit or 50 Cent album?

Tony Yayo: It's a whole different kinda... it's me. I'm the energy guy in G-Unit. You can expect a whole lot of energy, a lot of different kinda sh-t on there, and a lot of reality issues -- the stuff that I dealt with in jail and stuff like that.

BallerStatus.net: With the G-Unit brand being so huge, 50 has put his hands into everything from clothing to energy drinks. Do you plan to expand your game into the business side of the industry?

Tony Yayo: Of course. Right now, I have my own deal with Reebok for Tony Yayo sneakers coming out. I'm working on a record deal. I gotta a video game for your cell phone called "Free Yayo." 50 is coming out with a game called "Bullet Proof," which I'm a part of -- I'm in the game -- as well as Banks and Buck. I'm looking into all other types of endorsement: I'm looking to start my own fashion agency, my own videos...I'm doing a lot.