FSD: With Chicago re-emerging as one of the biggest forces in the music industry, have you seen a change, work ethic wise, in some of the artists that have risen to fame?
Hustlenomics: Yeah, a lot of artists got lazy. Especially the artists I work with. Once they seen Chief Keef come up, some of them were like “Okay we can do it to because we grew up with him.”
FSD: So you’ve witnessed artists catching the “Big Head”?
Hustlenomics: It’s been minor—I’m not saying a lot of people supposed to change, but when you get a little money you really have to maintain being exclusive. So as long as you maintain your contact with fans, and interact with them then that’s cool. The people who helped you get on, treat them how they treated you when you needed them. A lot of people call Chief Keef “Hollywood.” He’s really not Hollywood. He’s not hard to get in contact with, but he’s changed in certain guidelines. He can’t work with just anybody, because that’s the labels decision now. Everybody is maintaining the same attitudes. They love Chicago. They still give back, do shows and hang around the same hood they grew up in.
FSD: With you having such a high-profile now, will you be selective now on which artists you work with now?
Hustlenomics: Yeah that’s part of your name going up. You got to maintain your exclusiveness. Once you work with a certain name, it’s mandatory you up your prices and what you select to work with. The higher your name gets the more exclusive your business has to be.
FSD: How are you dealing with your new fame?
Hustlenomics: It’s cool — I don’t necessarily consider it fame. I get a lot of love throughout the city. If they call it fame, then that’s what it is. You got a lot of people that don’t like you because, you don’t respond to them. It’s people I work with that doesn’t like other people I work with. That’s where the beef comes in. You have to take it a day at a time. If you don’t get big-headed then you are cool– nobody will look at you as a target.
FSD: What’s next for you?
Hustlenomics: I’m popping into events now. Mixtapes — I’m never going to stop that. I’m working with a couple of artists in Atlanta. I’ll be flying to New York in a couple of weeks to handle some business –hopefully L.A. by the end of the summer. It’s going up from here.