E-40 has been in the game for more than 20 years and has never seemed to take time off. He first hit the scene in ’88 as the lead member of The Click. He is most known for his ability to create new slang which always seems to catch on globally right after the words leave his mouth. In 2011 E-40 has released two albums “Revenue Retrieving: Graveyard Shift & Overtime Shift” on the same day.
E-40 spoke with @JazzyF about the new album, being independent, the state of West Coast hip-hop music and more. Check it out below!
TUD: Would you say E-40 creates the slang or are you just responsible for making it mainstream?
E-40: You know it’s a little of both. I’m from the bay area where it started, we trend setters. You got words like Po-Po, Captain Save a Hoe, Fo Shizzy, Fo Shizzle. I make up many words but we can go on for forever about slang words that E-40 created. That has always been one of my things since was youngster. I have always being creative with my words.
Do you feel you’re under-rated and overlooked in the rap game?
I’m under-rated off top, I feel I am the best game spitter. I talk about things that real street cats can relate to. If you ain’t around it or in it, I feel you should not be listening to me. The songs they hear on the radio are watered down, they haven’t heard my ghetto anthems. I speak to the real cats and females because they can relate to me. I speak the real and a lot of people don’t understand because they haven’t been a part of the hustle to make ends meet. They don’t know it’s a whole new generation right now and I’m not knocking the young generation because some of them listen to me but a lot don’t because they haven’t been sat down and schooled.
Why does it seem like E-40 been on chill mode?
On the west coast we don’t hear a lot of songs get on the radio or BET and MTV because of the formats. Some of the networks go by how many spins you have on radio. We don’t have urban stations here on the west coast, the closest thing we have is top 40 crossover radio so you don’t really see us on MTV or BET. Last year I had the biggest song on the west coast called “Bitch” and we cleaned it up and called it “Trick.” 50 cent hopped on the remix and we sent it out independently. My thing is that I might not be a part of the major but I get the fan base of an artist that’s on a major and I have the same distribution of a major. I use my outlets now that I’m already famous so I don’t need a major. People want to know who signed me, I signed me years ago. We sold tapes out the trunk of the car. We had no internet, no radio no nothing. It was just word of mouth, hood shit. All the people across the country were messing with E-40 and the click. I never took my foot of the brake and if I did take a break I must of put a lot of ketchup on my fries. I put out 2 albums out last year “Day Shift “and “Night Shift.” I sold 8,000 records in Dallas, that’s a lot for one city and it’s independent. I got “Revenue Retrieving/Overnight Shift” and “Graveyard Shift” dropped on the same day March 29th as Wiz Khalifa and Snoop’s album but I’m not trying to compete with them. I know Wiz is the new kid on the block, not like the group. He is doing his thing so I take my hat off to him. It’s all about maintaining. I don’t have to sell a million records to make the same amount as a artist that sell a million records. I’m independent, ghetto golden. If I sell 100,000 I get goudaed up ya feel me.
How do feel about west coast music not getting the amount of radio play it use to?
We guilty by affiliation. Everybody wants everything to sound the same. DJs set tripping like that’s west coast music. No disrespect to the song “Make It Rain” but if you aint making it rain on your song it’s like you ain’t getting no love. It’s like you got to go out of your element to get love. It’s nice to have video play, radio play but as long as I can work my virals on the internet or yet get it out to where people hear it and can see it anytime, I’m cool. As long as everytime you pull up to a gas station and you got people from all different walks of life bumping my music from the hood to the suburbs, I’m not tripping. I’m good because I’m eating. I always been ahead of my time. I masterminded independent grinding with this rap shit. I was independent in ’88 when my first album came out and I got gold and platinum albums and singles. Now I’m ghetto gold, f*ck double platinum. I’m trying to go double profit. I just hope one day all the DJs stop saying “aww thats west coast music, “when they know they was on it back in the day real talk. I’m not begging them to play me because it’s a lot some fake DJs and radio programming thats closed minded and don’t like nothing different but it’s some real ones out there that f*ck with me.
How did you come up with the album titles?
Revenue Retrieving came from paper chasing so it was like “what’s another name for paper chasing ?”cuz we been saying that for years. I came up with “Gouda collecting,” “fetti fetching.” Gouda is money, that’s cheese and chasing is getting it. So revenue is money and retrieving is bringing it back so we “Revenue Retrieving.” People don’t understand that everything I say has a meaning and they’ll be using it years from now. Remember I had everyone and their momma popping their collar. I was the first one popping my collar.
Why did you choose the artists you collaborated with on this album?
I got some people I wanted to make music with for a while. I ain’t tripping about how big your name is and if your popping right now. I had T-Pain on one of my singles before anyone really knew of him. I was the first one to put that to life of having T-Pain on the hook. I got T-Pain, Devin the dude, Bun B, Slim Thug & Tech N9ne. I worked with a lot of my friends. I got my potnas Black sheep, Juice and we just doing it man. The albums are ridiculous.
Whats going on with the Hifey movement?
Not on a mainstream level, hifey is a real movement. The word hifey is a street name for a wild ass motherfucker. It originated in Oakland where I shot the “tell me when to go” video. I, too short and click started the mob music. That’s a sound that a lot of cats in the bay grew up on and aint nothing really change. You can get dumb on any type of tempo just doing your thing. But when people hear up tempo they automatically think it’s hifey music. Aint nothing new under the sun.
What are your thoughts on the new generation being criticized by the vets?
I don’t think old cats really have any control over the new cats, as far as letting them in. What are the old artists supposed to do just quit? I work with a lot of the new cats. They keep me fresh and I keep them fresh. An OG need a young dude around and a young dude need a OG around. They keep me fresh and I keep the gamed up. I like when a youngster has a lot of talent and self-esteem towards their hustle.
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