Published: Monday - December 1, 2008
Words by Carl Lamarre
What else do you want from Slim? His prolific group 112 has sold over 20 million records worldwide, and with a bevy of awards, cemented themselves into legendary status. Still, haters appear to be creeping. With everybody proclaiming the demise of 112 imminent, rather than grab some Kleenex, Slim simply smiles and waves to the haters a la Maino.
Amid all the controversy, Slim was able to conjure up his solo debut album, titled Love's Crazy, out now. In a time where many artists fall short of reaching acclaimed success on charts, Slim's first single, "So Fly," proved to be resilient. Landing a top 10 R&B record, Slim's decision to go solo at his new home, Asylum Records, has proven to be golden. The young CEO of his new label, M3 Productions, sat down with BallerStatus to reveal, in a bar none interview, his reason for going solo, relationship with Diddy, current state of 112, and why Day 26 wouldn't have been relevant in the '90s.
BallerStatus.com: I know you must be feeling good. Love's Crazy is out.
Slim: Yeah man. The wait is finally over. Man it came out ... the timing of it was great. You know, "So Fly" maxed out to be a top 10 record. Then I had a second look with "Good Lovin'". It was added to the radio last week, and it was the number one added record in the United States. Then you drop the record, Love's Crazy, and I'm getting great reviews on it. So it's like, man I feel like a kid ten minutes before Christmas Eve. You know you're supposed to be sleeping, but I can't go to sleep.
BallerStatus.com: How was the process going into the studio different, knowing all the tracks you recorded were going to be done by only you, and not with the fellas?
Slim: That right there was a challenging situation because you know the sound of 112. It took four members to make that sound, so everybody had to play their part in order for each song to come out great. If one person was slipping on that situation, it dragged the situation. With my situation, I never really had to concentrate on things like background. I would add notes here and there, but never all by myself, where someone like Q, who mastered in background, would waltz through those situations. So of course, it's situations like that. It was a small challenge at first, but I definitely got over that rather quickly.
BallerStatus.com: That's real good. Well Slim, the fans are curious to know. Why did you decide to go solo now?
Slim: I never wanted to go solo to tell you the truth. I promised I never ever wanted to go solo. What I wanted was ... I wanted to start a label. I wanted to start a label and basically, what I wanted to do, was I wanted to run it the independent way. I wanted to run it the independent way, but have the same punch as a major label. I felt like this: music is changing. Things are evolving in the music industry. When you have things like the internet, and you're able to get to certain tracks, and download, what you need to do is stop complaining about it, and adapt to the situation. Adapt to the climate.With doing things independent, you know you could sell a fraction of what a major artist could sell, and you make way more money. I can tell you that because I been in the game for twelve years, I could tell you the break down from a major deal as opposed to an independent deal. Once you're working hand and hand, at the end of the day, it's how much money you spent out or the label spent out as opposed to how much money you bring in and put in your pocket. That's where it really matters. It's about how much money you put in at the end of the day, and in your pocket. Bump all the hype, and all the wild fame. I know artists right now, that in the region ... in the region of certain states that live better than major artists that been in the game for a very long time. So I decided to hang around them, and know what was I doing wrong. Like what's up? That's what was really attractive about the situation. Their knowledge of the game was uncanny. It was like what do I need to do? I shot my game up. I started really focusing, really learning, and studying what's been going on. That's how I got this label M3. I have a great partnership with Asylum records, and everything is going great.
BallerStatus.com: You know what's really interesting in regards to artists who are on independent labels as opposed to major labels, the first thing that came to my head was Ryan Leslie.
Slim: (laughs) Here we go. That's one of them. That's one particular person.BallerStatus.com: If you can, can you give several people who are making money that we don't necessarily hear of too often?Slim: The ones who are out of control, and on the independent status? Well that's great you called Ryan Leslie because Ryan Leslie ... with dude, people don't even know this, but he's fluent in different languages. I've heard his records, and I've heard an incredible record he's done in Dutch. The records that he's done on mixtapes for years in Germany, he's like P. Diddy over there. That's how I learned about him, and that's why I wanted to work him.If you look at E-40, and his situation. Go to his career, and you will see exactly what's going on. One of the main reasons that really caught my eye was when I was in the Bay area, and I was listening to E-40. E-40 has a show on Sunday. He had a show on Sunday, and they were really clowning this particular major artist because they sold a certain amount of records and got dropped (laughs). They were like "We sold that same amount of records, and you see how much money we've made." I was like "What in the world is going on?" Go check out how Slim Thug is living. I know. I've seen it myself. It is not a game.These dudes are really living this way, and they've sold fractions of what I've sold in my music career. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is what you're bringing home to your family, and how you're living. It doesn't matter about how much hype and fame you got, because the bigger the hype and fame, the faster you appear on "Where are they now?"
BallerStatus.com: In the mid to late 90s, you had Jagged Edge, Dru Hill, Next, and even B2k. My question is, why not go solo 5-10 years ago when competition was real stiff? The only competition as of now is Day 26, and they're new.
Slim: When 112 came out, 112's competition was Boyz II Men, Jodeci, and Mint Condition. We were like teenagers, and we managed to survive, weather, and sell the millions of records that we have. Our focus was never ... we didn't care whether you knew our names or not. As long you knew the brand of 112, and it was a household name, that's all that matters. That's why we were a group's group. We wanted to let y'all know that we could sing under any type of condition. That you had four lead singers in the group, and group wise, it would transform. Once we came all together ... we were powerful by ourselves, but when we came together, and made that one big robot, we were really unstoppable. That's why 112 kind of stood for.I had no itch to think to even do a solo project. The only reason I'm doing this now is because I already have a sound and I already have a brand when I'm working with 112. I have a distinctive sound.
BallerStatus.com: You touched up on this already but you mentioned Boyz II Men, and Jodeci. Back in the 90's there were some real grown ups in terms of firepower, but as of now, there's barely a spark. Outside of Day 26, do you feel R&B male groups are a dying breed?
Slim: Well you know what? It doesn't really feel like what it was about 4-5 years ago when the only group who was really making noise, even from a mainstream side was Destiny's Child. The competition is definitely different. I call the 90s the golden era, where the groups were explosive. Not to mention when you had Blackstreet, and the rest of those incredible groups. They were selling millions, and this was who we were on stage with night, after night, after night. Let's not forget New Edition. They were doing their thing too. It's like wow. As of right now, you can't really take anything away from Day 26 because they are a talented bunch of guys. It was just that we come from an era where it was very strong.
BallerStatus.com: Let's say Day 26 came out about 1995-1996, do you think they would be just another average group?
Slim: Well if they came out around that time, they would have never existed. I mean, we were the group on Bad Boy. If they were under any other type of situation, I don't know. It would be hard to say. There were advantages of being at Bad Boy at that time. With the piggy-backing of the artists and stuff like that. One thing that really set us apart is the fact that we worked with the Notorious B.I.G., who is pound for pound, one of the best rappers ever. We worked with a label, pound for pound, one of the best labels popping. We ran the charts for a year and a half. There was a Bad Boy artist for a year and a half in the top 5. I don't even know real record labels that set standards like that. Like I said, talented-wise, they have all the potential in the world.
BallerStatus.com: Well you know, there are a lot of young hungry cats in the R&B game out right now. Guys like Ne-Yo, Chris Brown, Mario, Trey Songz, and even Ryan Leslie. With you being a seasoned vet, do you feel any sense you should feel worried about these artists in terms of competition?
Slim: (laughs) Worried!? Nooo. At this part of the game, they haven't done anything that I haven't already experienced. I have Grammy's. I have every award that exists except for an Image Award (NAACP Image Award). Everything else I have. I mean we've sold millions and millions of records. We toured around the world. Right now, it's about elevating my career, and taking on the transition from being an artist into a young CEO. That's what I'm doing right now. The transition is great.
BallerStatus.com: Artists like Omarion, and Marques Houston who were in their respective groups, left to begin their solo careers. For the most part, they faired pretty well. Let's say Love's Crazy goes double platinum and receives a Grammy nomination. If all these accolades and awards came to you with you being a solo artist, would going solo be a permanent thing?
Slim: Solo permanent? That's not my itch. That's not what setting out to do. What I'm really trying to do is, I'm trying to make my label M3, the next Def Jam, the next Arista, the next Jive Records, the next Interscope. That's what I'm trying to do.
BallerStatus.com: Normally when musical acts sever ties with their labels, they want nothing to do with them afterwards. What was admirable with you guys was when you guys severed ties with Bad Boy, you and Diddy were still cool. The love was still there. How were you guys able to maintain a relationship like that with Puff even though he knew 112 left the label?
Slim: Well, the problem wasn't really with Diddy. 112 never really wanted to leave Bad Boy. I'm speaking for myself. Slim never wanted to leave Bad Boy. The problem was that 112 was tied into a production deal that was horrible, financially speaking. For us taking care of our family, you want to do things for your parents, your family, and for yourself. The production deal was horrible. There was no way that we could live. It was just impossible with the numbers in that type of a deal. So what we did was, when we finished the production agreement ... people didn't even know this but we weren't directly signed to Bad Boy. We were signed through that production deal to Bad Boy. When we finished the agreement with the production deal, it automatically knocked us off of Bad Boy. When we became free agents, we became free agents at the top of our game. That's great when you're an athlete or anybody. When you become a free agent, you come on the block, and people start coming at you. You know the great thing about me, is that everybody starts coming at us, and we ended up getting an incredible deal. (Laughs)
BallerStatus.com: (Laughs) Most definitely. Congrats on being the first R&B artist signed to Asylum Records. That's a big thing. Do you feel there's any pressure on delivering considering you are the first R&B singer at Asylum?
Slim: Not really, not at all. I don't feel pressured and stuff. Pressure is when you first come out. Pressure is when people start asking you about sophomore jinx. Man I've been in this game for 12 years. If you go and listen to my album, I start my album by quoting the 23rd Psalms. When you listen to the scripture, you'll see why Slim always smiles, and why I always keep a positive attitude. The first sentence starts off real sweet. "The Lord is my Sheppard. I shall not want." It doesn't matter what's the problem or whatever challenges that are faced. That's life. When I put it in God's hands, I could comfortably smile, and know that everything is going to be alright because God watches his children. The Sheppard watches his sheep.
BallerStatus.com: At first it was confusing because it appeared like there were two versions to the "Good Lovin'" single. There was one with Fab rapping over it, and the other with R. Leslie rhyming over it. Was that intentional?
Slim: No, actually when the record was first done, because it was nobody but me and Ryan Leslie putting the record together. Ryan Leslie is very well-rounded talented. He had his rap already on the record. Well me as an artist, and a CEO of the situation, even though I did like Ryan Leslie's rap, at the end of day, I had to make sure that ... first off, I wanted to work with Fabolous, and I felt like he would of definitely kill the track. It was going to be either him or Luda. I tried to reach out to Luda, but Luda was busy at the time; he was doing the movie. When I reached out to Fab, I was blessed to know DJ Clue off the rip. DJ Clue straight up caught him right down the block. "Like yo, he's right up the block. Yo what's up?" You know for him to look out for me like that, and made that happen for me, that was hot.
BallerStatus.com: You touched on this a few minutes ago. It's safe to say you're not really feeling the whole vo-coder thing aren't you?
Slim: Big shouts to T-Pain, because he mastered it. Of course I guess because I've been in transitions for music so long. When I think of vo-coder I think of Teddy Riley, and Zapp & Roger. If you listen to the Backstreet albums, they had it running through that joint too, but they had incredible singers. I feel like if you're using it correctly, like the way T-Pain is doing it, it's all love. It's just when everybody starts jumping into it, they're trying to use it, and they don't do it the right way.
BallerStatus.com: When I first heard the album was named Love's Crazy, the first thing that came to my mind was girl stabbing your tires, and obsessing over you. Maybe those were just my experiences, but what's your interpretation of the title? (laughs)
Slim: (laughs) It's self-explanatory. Love is crazy right? Love will have you doing all types of crazy stuff. I kind of elaborated real good on the AOL Joint. I had my own blog on The BoomBox. Love is crazy, and you could experience all types if craziness. Here's my interpretation on love. I'm an optimistic, and positive cat. So I'm about highlighting the solution of the problem. So when you're in a relationship, life is about a lot of compromise, and communication and stuff like that. A lot of times when things are going wrong, they're always signs. They're always some type of sign showing you like "Oh no, there's a red flag," or this person is not feeling it this day. Sometimes you're significant other may be going through some problems. Maybe they lost their job or whatever and when they come home ... normally our problem is we bring the problem home, and that affects the relationship. Well I have a record called "Don't Say It", and basically what I'm saying is: they might be going through some crazy stuff or whatever, and if you don't pay attention, you'll rub the person the wrong way. What I'm trying to show the other person is you could say two or three things that could shut that whole situation down. If you know your mate, if you know you're special somebody, then you know how to press their buttons. Now you know how and what to get from them anyway, so why not say certain things that will make them feel good?
BallerStatus.com: You should definitely write a book man. (laughs)
Slim: I feel like they should have some type of classes or something man. (laughs) There's so much stuff going on in the world. There's a lot of crazy stuff that's happening. I mean, but then again, there's a lot of change. There are a lot of good things that are happening too. If we could just think about the positive side ... we just need something positive to look at. When I look at music, music is universal. So everybody should be able to relate to something. So why not just put out music that's not just going to sound good on the ringtone or to your ear, but put music that's going to feel real good to the heart, and soul. Those songs that when you hear, great memories come up, those songs last forever.
BallerStatus.com: Well I must have been 11 or 12 years old when Peaches and Cream came out. You know that record had people doing the dirty dirty. (laughs) Did you guys have a feeling that this record would explode the way it did when you guys first started recording?
Slim: (laughs) Yeah the record went faster than Puff thought. When we tried to tell him the name of the album, and the name of the record, he was like "Dog, peaches and cream? Are you sure?" Man, a lot of records he used to come to me, and be like "Slim are you sure?" I used to always be around him, and I kind of started developing the same ear that he had. I still got a long way to go, but at the same time, he did trust my judgment. Man that record we were so passionate, the group threw him out of the studio, and told him "Don't come back here man until after we finish." (laughs) We threw him out of the studio. It was just something special. When Mario Winans brought us the track, man, I knew from the rip that this was easy. I ain't gon' front, me and Mike in the group really wanted this track. We really structured how this record was going to go. It happened rather quickly.
BallerStatus.com: Fans are curious because there was a lot of confusion with the group. With Daron leaving, and coming back, then Mike leaving, we're curious to know, who's currently in the group 112?
Slim: Well right now, if you ask Slim, all the members are in the group. The ones that are going out on the road right now is me, Q, and Daron. One thing we do in this group right here is when a person is soul searching, in terms of what they're trying to do with their life, that situation you have to let whatever suppose to happen just happen. Whatever God has planned for you, that's between you and God. It's bigger than what I want. If you ask me, I want everybody to be together. I want everybody to never ever want to walk away from the brand. Everybody clicked pretty much. The sacrifices, the time. Nobody said one did better than the other. Nobody, because that was what the brand was. It was a group.
BallerStatus.com: That's what's up. Well you know, there was a rumor circulating around. The rumor was the reason that Mike had left was because a former group mate was trying to steal money from you and him. How true is that statement?
Slim: That situation right there ... well I'm going to keep this real one general and plain. Whenever there's a situation that's going on between family, should stay in the family house. I never say anything that's going to affect anybody's family, make anybody look crazy in the group. At the end of the day, when you love somebody, trust me, whatever the problem is you're going to fix that. It won't be in five minutes. It won't have to be in five days. It won't have to be 5 weeks. It could be 5 years, but you're going to fix it right? Well in this situation right here, I know my name was tossed in it; I never left the group because of no money. I have no money issues whatsoever. (Laughs)
BallerStatus.com: Ballin'(laughing)
Slim: I mean even if I did. I would never allow money to affect the relationship of something I felt like that God put together. We've known each other since 8, 9, and 10 years old. Whatever the problem is needs to be handled in the house, and it's going to be rectified.
BallerStatus.com: My final question for the fans is, which will we see first? Slim's sophomore album or another 112 album?
Slim: Don't know. Only time will be able to tell on that one. Like I said, it's bigger than me. I put that in God's hand.
