Guce Interview
By Black Dog Bone
From Murder Dog Vol. 6 #1
From the beginning you've been with Git Paid Records?
Yeah, from day one I been with my boy Michael Gregory, the owner of Git Paid. Mike is from Hunters Point, he's from the same hood I'm from. We both from Frisco, we both from the hood. He had faith in me because there's a lotta shit that we hear that's garbage, but they sellin a million records. It's political shit.
You're more on the Gangsta tip, comparable to artists like C-Bo, Spice 1, Brotha Lynch Hung.
Hardcore. And I take that as a compliment because C-Bo, Spice and Brotha Lynch are great artists. For a person to compare me to them means I'm doin something right.
You had two or more albums out before your new album, If It Ain't Real It Ain't Official?
Lotta albums. It started in like '92 when I first met Mike. When I came to him I already had a finished product, it was a 6 song ep. I was in a group then--I was Guce and there was Jin--it was Jin & Guce and The Straight Laced Mob. Then Jin went to the penitentiary for hella years, and I guess he just gave up on rappin. I say he gave up on rappin for the simple fact that he knew we was out here strugglin and he still done some dumb shit and got sent into the pen. Other than that, the ep was already finished, we took it to Mike, we put it out. It was called Comin Out The Fall. We sold some underground units--5 to 10 thousand. After that I went solo and then I came out with the album Pure Pressure in '95. That did cool. A lotta people still didn't know. I had to break it into the public. Lotta people couldn't understand how to say my name, they was callin me Gucci and Goose. When we came with Pure Pressure the first week we was like 25,000. We hit billboard at #56. When Sway had his Hip Hop show on from 9-12 he was bangin our single "Western Bay Players". We was at like 50,000 sales underground, but a lotta people slept on that. Then I came with Clear And Present Danger, which was when I tried to expand myself with the Funk.
How would you describe your lyrical style? Are you similar to other rappers in Frisco?
A lotta rappers in Frisco don't wanna change their flow. I wanna progress every time. I'm like the first Frisco rapper to fuck with Oakland artists. And everybody I work with--B-Legit, 3 X Krazy, C-Bo, Marvaless, Mob Figgaz, Spice 1--when they check my shit out they like "Man, you sure you from Frisco?" A lotta my lyrics come from a lotta shit I done in the past, a lotta crime. I'm not from Sac, but Sac is like my second home. I stayed in Oak Park, the Garden Block, South area, my brother and them is from 29th Street. I been affiliated with a lotta shit. In and outta Y.A., just doin a lotta shit--robberies, jackin, all kinda shit. So I'm speakin on my experiences. Most of these niggaz that's out rappin right now, they just started comin outside in '98. I'm an O.G. to this shit, you feel me? Lyrically I fit myself right in the category with E-40 or 2Pac or C-Bo. I ain't doin nothing but spittin real shit. What I spit right now is what I live today.
Your new album is real tight. A lot of people like it.
I feel damn good about what we're doin right now. People openin up their eyes and they're likin what we're doin. And none of it is a gimmick, it's all real shit, cause we really wanna get paid. When we came up with Guce it wasn't about no gimmicks, it was about straight real shit. All the shit I done seen, all the niggaz I know that's dead, they probably could fill up the Oakland Coliseum. That's how many people I know that's done died. All that bullshit they 're poppin about Gangsta Rap is just this or just that--naw, tell 'em to come to Hunters Point and see how we ride around with gloves on and vests and how everybody got glocks and macs. Everybody's beefin over sales, and we're out here livin hard just tryin to survive. Can't roll around in Benz's, muthafuckas goin out to the auctions and buyin buckets and shit for $200. Flippin 'em and sellin 'em for $400, barely trying to make ends meet. It's real shit out there man. Muthafuckas hatin on us, just cause our Rap shit is expanding. But me and my niggaz, we stick together in this shit. We gonna bubble in this shit cause it's real out here. Everything that's comin, we expectin it. Muthafucka catch me somewhere slippin and rob me from my Git Paid chain, I ain't gonna be mad, I'm gonna expect that. But same way it got took, I'm gonna get it right the fuck back.
From Murder Dog Vol. 6 #1
From the beginning you've been with Git Paid Records?
Yeah, from day one I been with my boy Michael Gregory, the owner of Git Paid. Mike is from Hunters Point, he's from the same hood I'm from. We both from Frisco, we both from the hood. He had faith in me because there's a lotta shit that we hear that's garbage, but they sellin a million records. It's political shit.
You're more on the Gangsta tip, comparable to artists like C-Bo, Spice 1, Brotha Lynch Hung.
Hardcore. And I take that as a compliment because C-Bo, Spice and Brotha Lynch are great artists. For a person to compare me to them means I'm doin something right.
You had two or more albums out before your new album, If It Ain't Real It Ain't Official?
Lotta albums. It started in like '92 when I first met Mike. When I came to him I already had a finished product, it was a 6 song ep. I was in a group then--I was Guce and there was Jin--it was Jin & Guce and The Straight Laced Mob. Then Jin went to the penitentiary for hella years, and I guess he just gave up on rappin. I say he gave up on rappin for the simple fact that he knew we was out here strugglin and he still done some dumb shit and got sent into the pen. Other than that, the ep was already finished, we took it to Mike, we put it out. It was called Comin Out The Fall. We sold some underground units--5 to 10 thousand. After that I went solo and then I came out with the album Pure Pressure in '95. That did cool. A lotta people still didn't know. I had to break it into the public. Lotta people couldn't understand how to say my name, they was callin me Gucci and Goose. When we came with Pure Pressure the first week we was like 25,000. We hit billboard at #56. When Sway had his Hip Hop show on from 9-12 he was bangin our single "Western Bay Players". We was at like 50,000 sales underground, but a lotta people slept on that. Then I came with Clear And Present Danger, which was when I tried to expand myself with the Funk.
How would you describe your lyrical style? Are you similar to other rappers in Frisco?
A lotta rappers in Frisco don't wanna change their flow. I wanna progress every time. I'm like the first Frisco rapper to fuck with Oakland artists. And everybody I work with--B-Legit, 3 X Krazy, C-Bo, Marvaless, Mob Figgaz, Spice 1--when they check my shit out they like "Man, you sure you from Frisco?" A lotta my lyrics come from a lotta shit I done in the past, a lotta crime. I'm not from Sac, but Sac is like my second home. I stayed in Oak Park, the Garden Block, South area, my brother and them is from 29th Street. I been affiliated with a lotta shit. In and outta Y.A., just doin a lotta shit--robberies, jackin, all kinda shit. So I'm speakin on my experiences. Most of these niggaz that's out rappin right now, they just started comin outside in '98. I'm an O.G. to this shit, you feel me? Lyrically I fit myself right in the category with E-40 or 2Pac or C-Bo. I ain't doin nothing but spittin real shit. What I spit right now is what I live today.
Your new album is real tight. A lot of people like it.
I feel damn good about what we're doin right now. People openin up their eyes and they're likin what we're doin. And none of it is a gimmick, it's all real shit, cause we really wanna get paid. When we came up with Guce it wasn't about no gimmicks, it was about straight real shit. All the shit I done seen, all the niggaz I know that's dead, they probably could fill up the Oakland Coliseum. That's how many people I know that's done died. All that bullshit they 're poppin about Gangsta Rap is just this or just that--naw, tell 'em to come to Hunters Point and see how we ride around with gloves on and vests and how everybody got glocks and macs. Everybody's beefin over sales, and we're out here livin hard just tryin to survive. Can't roll around in Benz's, muthafuckas goin out to the auctions and buyin buckets and shit for $200. Flippin 'em and sellin 'em for $400, barely trying to make ends meet. It's real shit out there man. Muthafuckas hatin on us, just cause our Rap shit is expanding. But me and my niggaz, we stick together in this shit. We gonna bubble in this shit cause it's real out here. Everything that's comin, we expectin it. Muthafucka catch me somewhere slippin and rob me from my Git Paid chain, I ain't gonna be mad, I'm gonna expect that. But same way it got took, I'm gonna get it right the fuck back.
