[Interview] Bobby Creekwater (VO)

What's up?

I'm doing good. It's another beautiful day. I'm feeling blessed for real.

How have things been going for you at Shady?

There's a lot of love at Shady. There's not a lot of traffic over there
and they're very into the music. It's a beautiful situation for me because it allows me to do what I do.

How did your situation with Shady come about?

An A&R at Shady got some music from a mutual friend we have and he hunted me down. He introduced my music to Paul Rosenberg and Paul introduced it to Em and it was on from there.

Was there ever any hesitation to signing to Shady?

Awhile ago, my mans was asking me what were my ideal labels and who would I want to go with. They were one of the names I threw out there. I felt like it was a done deal and it was something I really wanted to do and it was something they really wanted to do so it was easy for the both of us.

The new Shady Records mixtape is about to drop. What can you tell us about that?

Man, I can tell you that it has everyone on there from Bobby Creek to Eminem. It's got out newest team member Cashis. He's from the west coast. It's going back to the basics with the lyrics. It's raw and uncut. Go out and get you one.

You've been pretty quiet lately. Are you going to start hitting everyone with some music now?

Oh yeah, most definitely. I'm working on a mixtape with Don Cannon now. I'm definitely about to pick some things up. I'm lining up tour dates, working on the Shady mixtape, my album, and we're getting ready to leak a bunch of songs. We're looking to drop the album in February.

How's your mixtape coming?

It's coming beautifully. I'm taking my time with it. I want to make sure I put the best possible product out because the streets are very important to me and that's a very important element in hip-hop. You can't sleep on the streets. I have to have my foundation. You can't sleep on the streets.

How will the new one show growth from your first Anthem to the Streets?

The old one was just a collection of songs I had done from time-to-time. This one is more focused and I'm taking this one into the album. This is more of a preview of what to expect on the album.

How's the album coming?

It's coming great. I'm very pleased with how it's coming. I'm just trying to make the best possible music I can. I'm trying to get five-mics on that. I don't hear too many MC's trying to get five-mics anymore. I'm trying to take it back to that era.

Who are you working with?

Of course I'm working with the team: Obie, Stat, Eminem, and Dr. Dre. We're making a big, classic album. It's crazy. The music is a melting pot. You have everything from rock to hip-hop to Jamaican. We're throwing it all into one melting pot and making something big and new. That's definitely what you can expect from me. I also have my own team, BGOV and The Triangle Offense. That's my team and they're very talented.

How has Eminem helped you so far?

We recently knocked out a couple of songs and we're still getting a feel for each other and the type of chemistry that we have.

Will you be ready for a February release?

Yeah. Em asked me what I thought for a release date and I said February. That would give me enough time to do what I had to do throughout the course of the summer to prepare for it.

Why is it titled The Greatest Mistake?

That stemmed from a conversation me and my mother had. There are two types of births. Some people plan conception and some people conceive out of wedlock or out of circumstance. We were having a conversation about how I was conceived and I asked her if I was a mistake or planned. She said I wasn't planned, but I wasn't a mistake because God doesn't make mistakes.

How does family motivate you on a day-to-day basis?

I'm very family-oriented. I have a daughter and she's the center of my life. I love my mother and my father and it's always kept me on the right path. It's very important to me.

Are you still working with Charlie Hustle from your group Chavis?

He's like a brother to me. I couldn't see life without him. It's just that this situation was presented to me first. We're still working on the Chavis album. That's going to be action-packed. We're going to have some fun on that one.

How did you and Charlie Hustle form Chavis?

Chavis started out as a four-man group with me, Charlie Hustle, and two of my cousins. In eighth- grade, we decided that we wanted to do a group and I guess my cousins couldn't do it. One was really into the streets. Me and Charlie Hustle had chemistry and we just kept on. Chavis is Swahili for family. Those were my boys at the time and they're family. I said "Chavis" because they were my boys at the time and they're family. It has a nice ring to it.

How do you feel hearing Chavis' old album today?

I listen to it and it motivates me to this day to do what I'm doing. Me and Charlie Hustle had an idea of what we stood for and we always wanted to have a message that came across in the music. We wanted to inspire people. That's what we set out to do. When I listen back to it, it still inspires me, so it's a beautiful thing.

How was your experience at Loud?

It was a beautiful experience. I appreciate Steve Rifkind and we still have a great relationship. It just didn't work out. He's a very cool person, though.

What's Charlie Hustle doing?

Right now we're working on the Charlie Hustle album and the BGOV album, that's my crew. We're working on that compilation. BGOV stands for the Black Government.

How did that come together?

We were having a conversation about the music industry and we were talking about how we wanted to set trends and set the standards. In society, the government does that. Eventually someone said we should be the Black Government so we took that and ran with it. The album is untitled right now. We just have a bunch of songs we've been putting together. We're having fun with it.

What exactly happened at Loud?

We signed a deal and at the time, Steve Rifkind and Sony had their differences, so he was looking for another company as far as distribution was concerned. He left Sony and at the time, we were under the understanding where we could either wait on him to find distribution or we could move on. I can't say enough good things about Steve. I'm very appreciative and I learned a lot.

Do you still speak to him?

Oh, most definitely. He's a very busy individual, so I reach out to him when I can.

Coming from Atlanta, what's your opinion on snap music?

I'm hearing a lot of people down snap music, but I feel everybody has a story and I never want to knock someone's music or movement the same way I wouldn't want them to knock mine. There's a time and a place for everything.

Do you feel any pressure to do snap music?

None at all. It's not exactly my cup of tea. An MC is only at his strongest when he does what he's supposed to do. I'm trying to be a king on my chessboard.

Are you concerned being at Shady when Stat Quo, another southern
artist, was signed way before you and he still hasn't dropped?

Not at all. They're perfectionists at Shady. The people expect a certain quality of music at Shady. It doesn't worry me. I'm happy they expect to have me be the best possible artist I can be and have the best possible music before they break them to the world.

Do you see yourself in competition with Stat Quo?

No. He's like my best buddy in the whole world. We hang out and play basketball on the weekends. I've met his mother and held his son. If anything, it's friendly competition to push each other to get better.
He's my brother, my comrade, my partner in crime.

Who have you learned the most from at Shady so far?

I know everybody at Shady. It's like a family. When I first came in, they embraced me and it's just like one big family. Everybody knows everybody and everybody stays in contact with everybody. I understand why they make the best music because they move like one. It's a beautiful situation. I can't say that enough.

Did you have a good relationship with Proof?

Yeah. I met Proof a couple of times before the tragedy. He was a beautiful person. It's always sad when you lose a beautiful person to a tragedy.

What will you remember most about Proof?

When I would go to Detroit, I would see flyers of Proof for shows and he'd be doing four shows the same night. He was always on the move and always on the go. I heard nothing bad about him in Detroit. That's one of the things I will definitely remember.

Did his death make the people at Shady move harder?

Most definitely. We're going to keep going and we're going to keep doing it in his name. Everybody has come together and we're coming out all over again. It's the rebirth of Shady. Everybody's probably thinking we've been quiet for awhile, but Shady is strong as ever. That's what I wasn't the world to know. It doesn't stop. Em is focused right now, more focused than ever. And everybody is in the studio working to do the best product we can.

Have you hit the studio with Dre yet?

Not yet. I haven't gotten to Dre as of yet. Dre is a very, very busy individual. He has a couple of things lined up that he's working on. Look out for that Detox album coming soon. We're definitely going to make it happen.

What producers have you worked with?

I'm working with my own production team The Triangle Offense, Em, Will.I.Am, and I'm definitely going to be working with Dre. There's a lot of new talent out there and I'm definitely giving new producers a chance.

What have you learned from working with Em?

I've learned consistency and work ethic are two of the most important things in the game. When you're consistency, you can't lose. Em's a beast. He's in the studio day in and day out. He's very consistent as far as his music is concerned. I've realized that's very important when you're trying to win in the music industry or any other field in that matter.

What's your focus now?

The most important thing for me is to just have fun. I think a lot of MC's forget about that. This is my dream. We get paid to wake up and do what we do. A lot of people get sidetracked when a check gets introduced into the situation, but it's important for me to have fun in this.

What's your next move?

The next move for Bobby Creekwater right now is to get on the promotion s and marketing of Anthem to the Streets Volume Two. I'm working on some tours for the end of the year and just putting the finishing touches on my album.

What do you want to say to everyone?

I have to plug The Greatest Mistake coming out in February. Look out for Anthem to the Streets Volume Two and the Shady mixtape. We're going to have fun with the music so hopefully you have fun listening to the music.