FSD: With the resurgence of the Chicago music scene, there has been a lot of veterans reaching out to the younger, rising stars. Do you feel like some of the established artists are trying to help the movement evolve, or are they just riding the bandwagon?
MoonDawg: What were Kanye’s motives with the “I Don’t Like Remix?” I don’t think Berg or Ye were on any bandwagon stuff. I’m in a position where I can help the right artists. I’ve been waiting for our scene to mature. The reality is for a while, Chicago wasn’t in that position where we had enough artists that were really ready to go to the next level for stardom. They have been waiting for the scene to sprout out all this new talent. Most artists have to take time to develop, and find their lane, style, and niche—it’s development.
Look at Bo Deal. In the last couple of years, his stock has gone through the roof—because of development. I feel like Berg and Kanye felt like now the time has come, and they want to be a part of it. For a while, they’ve been doing this on their own. Don’t forget Berg came in the game at 15. They finally see Chicago “coming of age.” They want to make sure their involvement is felt.
FSD: In your opinion, what will make or break Chicago’s music scene in the years to come?
MoonDawg: Honestly, I feel like eventually what will make or break the movement, is how the business is conducted. You have a lot of people that don’t have the right business people around them. Their homie might manage them, or they have a girlfriend that’s a publicist. At the end of the day, this is a business—key word: business! The music is only 10% of it. You need the right people around you that know how to play their part.You can’t have anybody in your camp trying to shine bigger than the artists.
My concern is there is a national stigma regarding Chicago. There’s a lot of talent here, but people shy away from here, because artists here have too much baggage. There are too many hands in the pot, or they don’t have the right managers that are doing the right business. I really encourage people to educate themselves on the business side. Honestly, people think you rap and make money, but the one’s that make the money are behind the scenes.
FSD: Recently there was an exchange of words between yourself and Fredo over a tweet you posted about the success of GBE. You stated that their fame rose off one mixtape — ironically the one you hosted. Can you elaborate on that?
MoonDawg: Twitter only gives you 140 characters. If I recall what I said, it was something to the effect that everything is moving based off Back from the Dead. I forgot to interject a word, and Fredo was like “Nah, we been doing this.” I hit him back, and I corrected myself. It wasn’t to take away nothing they did before, but that mixtape put them on a national scene. You look at that now, that’s what got them the deal. That’s based off the music and videos from Back from the Dead. He’s touring off that mixtape. Also, on a national stage, most people don’t know his first mixtape. Unless you are a hardcore GBE fan and been following since day one, the general public just knows that one tape.
I know where he is coming from, but at the same time I know what I’m talking about, too. It’s not taking away from what they been doing, but all the success and what they been able to get now is based off that tape. If there was anything before that, then it would have been happened. Dog, do you know how much flack I got for playing Chief? I put Keef on the radio first! I remember DJs taking subliminal shots on Twitter, like, “This is garbage.” A few weeks later, the same people that said it was garbage were reaching out to him directly, saying they supported him. Honestly, I think him being on house arrest was the best thing to have happened for him. He was just focused. From recording to shooting videos. He made a positive out of a negative situation—it was genius!
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