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- Interview by Nile Ivey for TheMixGame.com

THEMIXGAME - When you first started out, did you ever imagine your success reaching this level?

DJ SMALLZ - Definitely not. My head was really into school. I got a scholarship to college and everything. I was DJin' as a hobby ever since middle school and I was ready to get my club game poppin in high school. The first southern smoke CD was really a demo for me to get into clubs. It was the hottest southern music put together, mixed by me. People passed the CD around in high school and clubs, word of mouth spread and one thing led to another. That's how the southern smoke movement really began.

TMG - The Southern Smoke empire is somewhat similar to the Gangsta Grillz Empire. You have very popular mixtape series, radio shows, label deals and albums coming out, what separates your imprints?

SMALLZ - It's an honor to be compared to Drama's empire. He's about 8 years older than I am, so for me to be mentioned in the same breath as him, it's truly an honor. From day one I've gone my own lane and the streets can really vouch for that. I did a lot of things differently then my peers right out the box... for example I never put my face out when a lot of DJs were putting their pictures on the fronts of their mixtape covers and I never ever talked on my promotional mixtapes when my peers did... I was born and raised in the left field and thats where I plan to continue to play ball at... I'm the first DJ to ever A&R a song together and put 30 of the most unique artists from my very own home state of Florida on one muthaf***in' record... the "Welcome to the Gunshine State" record a lot of people are talking about. I'm also the first DJ to take a street brand (Southern Smoke!!!) and make a city to city tour out of the brand... this being the first annual "Southern Smoke College Tour" hitting 9 major cities and homecomings this fall. Again its an honor to be compared to Drama, but I'm really different when you put it on paper.

TMG - Iight, tell us about this Southern Smoke college tour you have coming up.

SMALLZ - The first annual "Southern Smoke College Tour" is amazing. We're hitting up 9 major homecomings throughout the South, primarily in Florida and we are adding on more dates as we speak. It's the first street brand with its own tour, and its been in the planning stages for the last 9 months. We are breaking artists on every tour date! Flo-Rida (Poe Boy/Atlantic), Kinfolk Kia Shine (Universal Records) and Foxx (Trill Ent/Asylum) are the headlining acts this year, and it's hosted by Delicious & Tango (of "Flavor of Love" & "I Love NY" on VH1) as well as the cast of "College Hill" from BET last season. For tour dates and venues check out DjSmallz.com.

TMG - That's whats up. Recently you just finished up a tour in Japan, how did that go?

SMALLZ - Japan was nuts!!! Wait until you see the footage we got for Southern Smoke TV that will be debuting on our YouTube channel next month (SouthernSmokeTV.com). It's the 2nd time I went on tour in Japan... I was there last summer for several shows in Tokyo. This year I went over there and smashed shows in four major cities in Japan --- Osaka, Tokyo, Fukouka and Okinawa. "It's Southern Smoke you bastards!!!"

TMG - Word, Southern Smoke TV sounds like its gonna be a problem! Now gettin back to the music. You're from the south and you rep the south to the fullest. Are there any aspiring artists from the south that have seriously impressed you lately, and or are you working with any artists on the come up?

SMALLZ - Well, I definitely addressed this on my recent record I produced called "Welcome to the Gunshine State." The purpose of the record honestly was to showcase the incredible talent in my home state of Florida... I'm really trying to unite artists in the underground down here with quality street music to these execs in the industry... it's nothing new to me... I've been doing this for the past several years and if you look at my 3 year track record I've been really on point, helping artists like Chamillionaire (sold platinium on his debut), Pitbull (sold gold on his debut) and others really establish themselves in the streets. Atlanta and Houston have really been on the streets hard for the past couple years in the South, but I'm really trying to make Florida the featured player for the next year... thats my goal.

TMG - No doubt! That record is dope, how hard was it for you to get 30 different artists on the same page to get "Gunshine State" finished?

SMALLZ - It was extremely hard!!! Man, I'm still sweating just thinking about it! (Laughing)... It was really hard to keep a record of this magnitude from leaking in the streets and making this a real industry surprise. This record is amazing, I'm even gonna go all in and call this record a street symphony!!! I recorded over 60 different verses for this record from 60 different artists across the state, and I only released 30 of them so far... the record took 2 months to create and I produced the track myself! It was great to see it finally release during the Ozone awards in Miami this year. I'm representing every hood, county and artist on the grind thats the "Future of Florida"... matter of fact, 2 artists that were on the gunshine state record signed to major deals after we released the record the very next week! Treal from Orlando, FL signed to Universal Republic and Haitian Fresh from Daytona Beach, FL signed to Wyclef Jean's new venture with Universal called Sak Pase Records... I'm really workin right now Florida!!!

TMG - Nowadays popularity is based on ringtones, endorsement deals and catchy singles, do you think the labels are at fault for not developing the artists or does it lay entirely on the artists?

SMALLZ - It's both. Artists aren't making quality music anymore and the labels aren't marketing and promoting artists like they used to anymore. Artists really aren't striving to create a unique album like they used to. I remember back when artists would take 2 or 3 years just to make a classic album. Think about the artists that do that nowadays (Eminem, Alicia Keys, UGK, Kanye West). Nowadays artists find themselves working backwards. A label might pick up an artist on the strength of a hot record, and the artist doesn't have an album to back it up, they're stuck workin on the rest of the album during the shoot of their first major video and promo tour, and then they gotta shit out an album within a 6 month period. Labels don't set up artists anymore and market and promote them like they used to either. They really bank off their one hit or two and shit out the product to consumers. Back in the Master P no limit days, I remember when I could name every artist on his label, even the small cats, I knew their background, their history everything. Nowadays I can't even tell you the names of each member of the Shop Boyz. We need to really strive hard and go back to the hay day of making good quality music and marketing it. The listeners and consumers are not to blame.

TMG - How do you feel about Hip Hop in general these days?

SMALLZ - I'm really getting tired of supporting bad music. There's really not that much good music these days. I'm also wondering when CDs are gonna stop getting pressed up, everyone nowadays has a laptop or an ipod or a cell phone that is mp3 campitable.

TMG - What new ventures do you have planned, and what can we expect from DJ Smallz in 2008?

SMALLZ - Expect the unexpected!!! (Laughing)... Look out for the "Southern Smoke College Tour" this fall... as well as "Southern Smoke TV" with QD3 (creator of the "Beef" series" at the top of the year... and of course the "Southern Smoke" album summer of 2008, with the first single featuring your favorite rappers leaking very soon. Also be on the lookout for my production game... I'm shopping beats to a lot of major artists from Ludacris to Young Dro... so be on the lookout for that as well.

Big shout to TheMixGame.com for holding me down always!!!

--Interview by Nile Ivey for TheMixGame.com

THEMIXGAME: Whats good Fine$$e? Why are you so heavy in the R&B Mixtape game?

DJ FINE$$E: Consistency and quality! Not too many DJ’s spend that much time on, I’m not even going to say R&B, just Mixtapes period. They don’t spend that much time to make sure they have a quality Mixtape, they’re so worried about this exclusive sh*t and they aren’t thinking about the fact the consumer is looking for some quality sh*t they can just ride out to and not changing every other track. I just switched up my whole format and now I don’t care if I have to wait a month or two to put out a CD, I’m going to guarantee when you put it in, there’s no need to even change the track.

TMG: When you drop, you drop like 3 and 4 tapes at a time. Where do you come up with your concepts; because you’ll have an old school joint, then you’ll have an exclusive R&B and then a tape designated to a certain concept. How do you come up with your ideas?

Fine$$e: My main concepts are the R&B up-tempo, the slow jams, R&B Soul and my R&B Best Of. However, my other concepts just pop into my head and I just run with it. It’s basically whatever the game is missing and I’ll fill that void….

TMG: So you’re watching real closely…

Fine$$e: Yea, that’s my main thing that I do. I study and watch the mix scene. I watch and see what people put out; I don’t just look at it like these dudes are wack or somebody’s good or bad and just go along with it. I see what’s being put out, I see what type of material is being released and I give respect to certain people. Other people, I can’t stand to see their name because they consistently put out garbage.

TMG: What tapes have been the most memorable that you put together?

Fine$$e: I would say the “The Best Of” series that I have hosted, probably The Best Of Donnell Jones, The Best Of Ginuwine…I did a joint with Trey Songz, and Shareefa. Those are pretty memorable because I got to actually interact with the artist instead of just placing their songs on a tape and calling it a day.

TMG: Now with the whole DJ Drama issue, do you think the surveillance will spill over to the R&B Mixtape game, or will Mixtapes take a collective hit?

Fine$$e: They’re watching Mixtapes period. However, everyone fell back…they’re scared, I’m not scared! I’m good, because at the end of the day I have a secret and I’m not going to say because I know you’re going to post this anyway (laughs). There’s a reason why I didn’t stop and I’m not scared, nor do I care if there even reading this because I’m good.

TMG: Probably the first thing I should have asked you to state, but run down your resume for all the people who aren’t familiar with your work.

Fine$$e: I’ve worked with everyone from Swizz Beatz, Mashonda, Joe Budden, Busta Rhymes, DMX, Red Café to Donnell Jones, Ginuwine, Shareefa, Trey Songz. I received the “The Best Of” Mixtape Award…RIP Justo, and Southern Entertainment Mixtape Award recently. I’ve been featured on MTV, BET, Rap City and all that type of stuff. I’ve done parties all over the world and back. What separates me from a lot of other Mixtape DJ’s is that I’m an actual DJ. A lot of these DJ’s in the Mixtape game don’t actually DJ, they just sit at home on their computers, get songs , put them on CD and call themselves DJ Such and Such. I believe that’s totally against Mixtape rules; if you can’t spin records don’t call yourself a DJ…call yourself a name. If we put you on two turntables, in front of 15,000 people, you would freeze up.

TMG: So it’s safe to say that you’re still carrying around the vinyl, you didn’t switch over yet….

Fine$$e: Well I switched over to Serato; I never ever did the CD thing!

TMG: Nowadays, DJ’s like Clue, Drama, Green Lantern, Khaled, and Envy all have album deals. Are you working on anything in the future?

Fine$$e: I actually have something on the table right now, but I can’t speak on it to much. It’s close to being on the same level on the things they’ve done, but all I can say is be on the look out because if this thing does fall through you’ll be expecting something in the top of 2008.

TMG: One little hint……

Fine$$e: Too much…if I say to much, it can cause me to get pushed back.

TMG: What endorsement deals do you have on the table….not the ones you have in the works, but the ones that are already solidified?

Fine$$e: LRG, Gilliard, Timbaland, Rockport, Coogi, Adidas, and that’s about it for now. My people Tapemasters Inc have a new clothing line “Rare” coming out so hopefully we can work something out.

TMG: You stated earlier that you mixed overseas, what’s the difference between rocking a party in the states and rocking a party in Europe?

Fine$$e: In the states you can get away with a lot more new records. Out of the country and stuff like that, they have no idea what the new and exclusive stuff is at all. I went to Paris twice in the span of two months. The first time I went out there I played Jim Jones “We Fly High” and they had no idea what the hell I was playing. The reaction was like; what is that…it was a very dull moment. However, back home it was the best sh*t on the radio. I mean it was the best sh*t everywhere. Now I go back out there 2 months later and play the record again and get an insane response, but go back at home and they don’t want to hear the sh*t no more. Overseas is basically behind, they listen to everything we listen to, but their just behind.

TMG: Everyone is worried about the state of Hip Hop right now and being that you’re a proficient DJ in the R&B area, where do you think the state of R&B is at right now?

Fine$$e: It’s way better than hip hop. Everyone’s doing an R&B record right now. I think hip hop is having its issues right now, due to the fact of the large amounts of southern records that are coming out that aren’t lyrical and not too much hip hopish. It’s to the point where if you’re going to jump in the rap game you have to be a tremendous artist to do any kind of numbers…other than that you might as well call it a rap and lean wit it, rock wit it.

TMG: Do you think that’s hurting Hip Hop or do you think it is what it is for right now?

Fine$$e: I think the down south movement is Hip Hop. Hip Hop is creativity, with all these silly songs that they’re making…that’s creativity. To me hip hop is not gun busting, talking bout bitches and all this stuff that isn’t relevant. Hip Hop is about being creative and different. Cam and the Dips do well by being different off their own particular style. Everyone else sticks to the same shit, their lucky if they get a deal. Hip Hop is creativity, and at the end of the day southern hip hop is fun for everybody, it’s creative and it sells.

TMG: Thank you for sitting down with us. Anything you want to say to your fans?

Fine$$e: Expect a whole lot of Mixtapes coming out this year. I’m trying to break the amount of Mixtapes I’ve done in one year…ever, this year! I’m going to drop a whole lot of Mixtapes because I have a big project that’s coming on in the beginning of 2008 and I probably won’t be able to drop any Mixtapes next year. Enjoy the Mixtapes this year because if this goes through next year might be really quite by me!

BIG MIKE INTERVIEW

-Interview by Nile Ivey

THE MIX GAME: Did you ever think when you first got started in the mixtape game that it would be this big for you personally?

BIG MIKE: Nah, but I've always been a fan ever since back in the day when I was on Fordham St. to go school shopping for clothes. I would always see the mixtapes out there like the Clues, Ron G, Kid Capri, Craig G, the S&S's. I would always try to come home back to CT and bring back the new music and basically one thing led to another. I could have never imagined my name being mentioned amongst the Clues, the Kay Slays, the Whoo Kid's, the Envy's, like the big dogs like that. I've been putting in work for the past seven years, a lot of grind, a lot everything so I'm definitely blessed and honored to be mentioned amongst everybody!

TMG: As far as the greats are concerned, for instance, DJ Clue, he doesn't drop as much as he used to. Do you think the quality or quantity is the most important, because a lot of DJ's nowadays just throw out tapes just to do them, do you think it's good to have that one exclusive joint or 6 or 7 consistent bangers on a tape?

BIG MIKE: I mean Clue doesn't have to drop a lot because he's transitioned into other things. He has sneaker stuff, he runs a label, he has his radio position, and his artist Fabolous has sold millions of records. What other DJ can really say they've taken it to the next level and say they have accomplished this and that? I'm sure he'll never forget the mixtapes because that's what made everything possible, so he'll never leave like that. He can come out pretty much whenever he wants and his name is solidified and move whatever amount of units he's going to move because that's Clue and everyone's going to swallow it up.

TMG: Going into the DJ Drama issue and Lil Wayne's comments about playing it safe, what's your take on it?

BIG MIKE: I look at it like this; a blessing and a curse. It's a curse because nobody wants anything like that to happen…especially DJ Drama! Drama is an artist, Drama grinded his way up the ladder and was very instrumental in breathing life back into a lot of the alums careers and the breaking of new artists. Drama was very instrumental in getting Lil' Wayne poppin again. He really took a lot of artists over the hump as far as their music goes, and he branded Gangsta Grillz crazy at the same time. I think it's a very f**ked up situation, but at the end of the day I think everything is going to be good with him, and he's going to beat everything. And the reason why I say it's a gift and a curse is because a DJ of his stature; for something like that to happen to the mixtape game its going to open up a lot of peoples eyes. These labels and artists are going to realize that they need us like that, Drama took the fall for hip hop; he took the fall for the game. You need mixtapes, mixtapes aren't the enemy. All the other stuff is the enemy; the bootlegging, the downloading stuff like that. Mixtape DJ's break the artist, dictate what the streets want to hear before these labels waste millions of dollars on marketing on something that's going to flop.

TMG: Do you think it's a blessing in disguise as far as the internet is concerned, or do you think it's something that's taking away from the essence of the mixtape game?

BIG MIKE: I mean I'll be honest with you. Any DJ that makes tapes that tells you he/she doesn't use the internet is a f**king liar first of all! I'll keep it a hundred with you, I had a kid, a web connect, that was able to get songs that a lot of DJs didn't know about. Different times call for different circumstances like that, but now I have relationships with artists, A&Rs, DJs, radio jocks so now I can get music more officially from when I first started. However, when I was first came into the game I had to do what I had to…you can't knock the hustle. Is it hurting, yea it hurts, it hurts when DJs go and put 15 records from an artists album on their mixtape and call it their mixtape. That's not what the game is about, there are unwritten laws to the game; you try not to go over three songs from someone's album. Most DJs know how to follow like that, some suckers don't. And I'm not going to sit here and tell you I never did any sucker sh*t before because I did and I regret it!

TMG: You have a good connection with D-Block, are you guys coming together with any major projects or is it just mixtapes?

BIG MIKE: Those are my people over there, and pretty much anything that goes out on the mixtape circuit goes through my channel. My distribution is crazy; I give away a million CDs all over the place because I have many connections in town, out of town and overseas. I'm just trying to make sure that every project that comes out gets the right type of exposure. I do those with my man Super Mario, their engineer Poobs who I've collaborated with, and their in-house producer Vinny Idol. Basically I'm just trying to solidify my radio situation, and there is talk of doing D-Block radio somewhere…it's just family man. Right now the Lox are back in the studio grinding out, J-Hood is working on his sh*t, Sheek Louch is back working also; basically everyone's working right now. Once this music comes out and the label situations get organized everything is going to lay itself on the line.

TMG: Hip Hop is a very competitive and aggressive sport, with the Jim Jones and Jay-Z thing and the Cam'ron and 50 Cent situation recently. It has started to spill over to producer's (Timbaland Vs. Scott Storch) and now it's working it's way to DJ's. Can you elaborate on the whole claim from Cutmaster C that you gave information to authority figures about DJ Drama and Aphilliates?

BIG MIKE: It really makes no sense! Cutmaster C is a jealous disgruntled DJ; I've had problems with him throughout my whole career. My thing is this; I'm not going to give shine to something like that. At least have some credibility with your sh*t…If I did that, then why is Drama hosting my next CD? It doesn't even make sense; I have a great relationship with The Aphilliates. Your claims have to have some sort of validity to them, don't just talk and throw my name on a cover just to get some attention because I'm not going to diss you back. I'm not going to help resuscitate your career; you made your moves and you are where you are because that's what you did…and the same goes for me. I'm not doing this back and forth stupid sh*t…I'll see him when I see him and that will be that. He's dead in the streets!

TMG: What was your favorite tape that you put out, whether it was a collaborative effort or a solo project…which was your favorite one?

BIG MIKE: I have two, one was planned out that I was supposed to put out and the other was a tape I wasn't supposed to put out. The one I shouldn't have done was a CD called "e;50 Cent: The Future Is Now"e;. When you first come up in the game you have to be a student to this. You have to study whose ahead of you, you have to do strategic stuff. Like I'm listening to see who this DJ is shouting out over this record; just so I can see what's going on. Me, personally, there are some rappers who hate me and won't f**k with me, but I'll play their sh*t just to feed the streets. I put a lot of personal relationships aside just to keep my fans happy. You can call me a sucker for doing this and that, but the streets come first. If your sh*t is hot and you don't f**k with me, I have to do what I have to do to get your sh*t. A lot of times instead of getting mad, what the artists should do is be thankful that they are in that position because some DJs will jump through hoola hoops to get your records like that. Some DJ's will take stuff off the radio; rip them from other DJs tapes, pay for songs…whatever. Dudes will do whatever to get your music, and these artists need to be thankful and just think for a minute (talking from an artist's perspective) like damn I'm that hot that this kid is doing all this sh*t to get my music on his tape. But artists don't look at it like that because of the egos so it's whatever, but they need to know that really.

TMG: So what were your two tapes that were your favorite to release?

BIG MIKE: The 50 Cent tape I mentioned early, I wasn't supposed to put out but ended up putting it out anyway and the tape moved like water. That tape really solidified my stance in the game because after that people with good music wanted to f**k with me. Managers, executives, artists, etc. wanted to f**k with me. That's what actually opened the doors for me to start f**king with D-Block. Super Mario seen my movement and saw my vision. Don't get it twisted; everyone in the game wants to be associated with who's hot, that's just the way it is. Nobody is friends in this sh*t, because if you get cold tomorrow your forgotten tomorrow that's a fact! The other tape is the "e;The Champ is Here"e; with DJ Green Lantern and Jadakiss. That tape speaks for itself, people cop tapes like dope fiends when Jada just has one new freestyle on a cd. We had 14, 15 brand new Kiss joints so when that tape came out we shut the city down…we shut a lot of cities down with that tape.

TMG: You have a lot of artists requesting you to host their next tapes?

BIG MIKE: Yea…I try to help everyone as much as I can, but to be honest with you it's impossible to help everyone. I do what I can which is a lot more than a lot of what other dudes do. I can't stop what I'm doing to do everyone's sh*t though. If I do that then it will never be Big Mike. I won't be able to keep my position, solidify it, and move on further in my career. If you pay attention to the streets, you should know whose buzzing and who you should make time for…the key ones! If you pay attention to the streets you should know what's going on because there are a lot of garbage rappers out there!

TMG: Are there any artists that you haven't been able to work with that you want to shine some light on?

BIG MIKE: I never really worked with Nas personally, M.O.P. personally. I'm an old head so I was always big on his stuff growing up. One thing for Nas to come back and body the streets again…he's not really a factor on the streets like he was…but back then he would drop sh*t and it would be CRAZY! I think he can get it back like that, but he needs the right DJ that's consistent and that will put sh*t out there like that. I can bring Nas back easily. I would love to work with Nas, which would be an honor!

TMG: What do you have coming up in the future?

BIG MIKE: I have my website www.mixtrap.com of course. Shout out to you guys www.themixgame.com. Look for the commercial radio move in a minute; I'm not going to say where and when, if the money is right for the parties I'm there. Right now I'm just killing the streets with the CDs!

TMG: What's the next tape you got coming out?

BIG MIKE: I actually have seven tapes coming out. D-Block R&B which is out tomorrow, Busta and I did a Spliff Star mixtape which is out tomorrow, Stack Bundles and The Riot Squad Mixtape out tomorrow, later on this week I have a brand new Max B mixtape…hold ya head Max. I have 2 new hip hop tapes coming out, one hosted by Sheek Louch and the other hosted by DJ Drama. New R&B CD, new radio CD…ummm what else is going on….new Sheek Louch tape we are working on, and Styles P The Phantom which is coming out soon. I got so much sh*t going on right now so I can't stop and pay attention to who is hating or what DJ's that are running their mouths because at the end of the day they're going to be stuck looking stupid. I'm trying to get money with everybody this year, so if I didn't f**k with you in the past whatever…I'm ready to squash it and get money this year.

TMG: Ight homey, I just want to thank you for sitting down with TheMixGame.com, is there anything you want to say to your fans, the new fans or the haters?

BIG MIKE: Just keep supporting and I appreciate the love and the hate, I'm just here to work. Whether you love it or hate it, I put in work and I paid my dues. I'm still paying dues so you have to respect it. Shout out to TheMixGame, they have all my official sh*t! I also want to shout out John Brown The Ghetto Revival. Look for Big Mike & John Brown: King Of The Burbs Mixtape. I like him, I f**k with him and his music so big shout to him!

Peace!