Bang'em Smurf: Life after G-Unit
By Houston Williams
Queens, New York has bred some
of the finest rap
artists, but at the same time, the borough has produced some of the biggest
beefs
in hip-hop. Former G-Unit member Bang'em Smurf came to national recognition
when
he went on record and had some unfavorable things to say about one of
hip-hop's
biggest stars, 50 Cent. But the beef is quite deeper than simple talk - a fact
revealed after talking to Smurf.
The infighting is something that Bang 'Em Smurf says won't
interfere with his
latest aspiration, GF Records and The Silverback Guerrillaz [with Fredro Starr
and Domination]. Smurf and his new clique appear to be climbing the exact ladder
that 50 Cent used to rise to prominence in 2002 and 2003. Recently, Smurf
charges that 50 showed up at a GF Records video shoot and allegedly hurled
violent threats.
With the rap juggernaut an he too reach the top?
AllHipHop.com: There are rumors that 50 waved a hand gun or made some kind of
threat. What happened at the video shoot that day?
Bang 'Em Smurf: He did not wave no handgun. His hands were outside his
pockets,
beside his waist the whole time. He had police with him. He had two vans of
police
with him. All he did was jump out. I had my dudes over there. I was in the
trailer
[when he came] and somebody told me 'I think 50 rode by but I wasn't
sure. I think
because he had tint [on his windows].'" I got hype like, 'What?
Son is coming
through my sh*t?' I though he was trying to shut my sh*t down. So, I went
outside
and me and [50] made eye contact as he was turning the corner. I guess
that's
what made him jump out. So I started going crazy. I'm like, 'Son, how
you gonna
come through here with police.' When he jumped out the police jumped out
with
him. So, I'm thinking, 'What does this dude think he is - George Bush
or something?'
I'm like, 'Son, you not the president. Why are you coming through here
with police?'
All he said was, 'What are you thinking about?' I'm like,
'What? Bitch ass nigga.'It was like 500 people out there for my video
shoot. Everybody out there shouting
'Guerilla Gang.' [50] took his loss like a man. He turned around,
jumped in his
van and left. Police left with him, jumped in their van and left.
AllHipHop.com: Were these plainclothes cops or uniformed ones?
BES:
There were plainclothes cops and men in black.
AllHipHop.com: So tell me about the label situation you have going on.
BES: We just got our label off the ground. Me, Domination, and Fredro
Starr - it's called GF Records. We did a 2-for-1 video for my hood n*ggas
and for the
females.
AllHipHop.com: What's the "GF" stand for?
BES: That's for Gangsta Flip Records.
AllHipHop.com: Is
this the Silverback Guerillas or something else?
BES: Bang 'Em Smurf and Domination is Silverback Guerillas. That's
the name of
our group. The name of the company is GF Records, Bang 'Em Smurf,
Domination and
Fredro Starr.
AllHipHop.com: Speak on Domination. His buzz is crazy
right now.
BES: That's my boy right now. That's Freaky
Tah's little cousin, God bless the dead. Domination's been
rappin' for a long time. He's been rappin' since he waslike 14.
Everybody raps, but they didn't have songs. They can kick a freestyle,
write 16 bars. Domination is so talented, he can do all that. He's in
school as well, John Jay College. He works as well. He's very intelligent.
He ain't a regular street dude. His vocabulary is crazy. Domo hard working,
that's all I can say
about him. He rhymes hard.
AllHipHop.com: Do you have a release date for
Domination?
BES: We pushed it back and I'm going to just keep the
promotion going. We definitely
coming this summer.
AllHipHop.com: What was the video that you shot?
BES: "You'll Lose" and "Fool For You."
It's a 2-for-1 video. "Fool For You" is the original single but
that's for the shorties. We got an image to uphold so you know we
couldn't just come out on some shorty junk. We did the hard joint
first ["You'll Lose"] and then we calmed it down. I think
everybody going to enjoy
this.
AllHipHop.com: Do you rhyme?
BES: I don't rhyme at all. I take care of the
business.
AllHipHop.com: Everybody thinks that you rhyme too.
BES:
I just do the ad libs. You know what Freaky Tah did for the Lost Boyz. Everybody
thought he rapped too.
AllHipHop.com: Do you have any other
artists?
BES: I have two other artists. Young Dice, he's 14.
He's in school as well. This boy is incredible. He writes his own rhymes
and everything.
AllHipHop.com: Who else you got?
BES: I got Big
Swing. We call him the beast of the game. We gonna be here for a
minute.
AllHipHop.com: How did you link of with Fredro Starr?
BES:
We were in the streets grinding, droppin' our mixtapes. When me and 50 had
our fallout, I always had Domination as one of my artists in the cut. I felt it
was time that I started working on my artist. So, we went in the studio and we
dropped our mixtapes a month and a half later and the streets embraced it. By
that time, we dropped a second mixtape and that's when the industry started
to embrace us. Fredro Starr reached out because we were on every mixtape that
was on the street. DJ Sickamore gave him my number. I think two days later, we
linked
up and went out to eat and the next thing you know - we
here.
AllHipHop.com: You used to be down with 50 heavily,
right?
BES: Yeah, that was my right hand. G-Unit. I grew up with son. We
all from the same neighborhood.
AllHipHop.com: Where did things go wrong with you and 50?
BES: I had a
company with 50 called Hollowpoint Entertainment. We had a little
business together and I had 17% of the company. We did the Guess Who's Back
CD. He was nobody. He wasn't signed to Em, nobody. He was fighting back to
recovery and I was by his side the whole time. I guess he trusted me to give me
17%. Then 50 just took off. Em came along, Dre came along. Things just went
crazy. I don't think all of this is 50's fault, it's that money.
The n*gga just blew so quick. It all started when I had an altercation with his
road manager. 50 sent everybody back to the hood for four months. I was calling
him the whole four months, I'm leaving messages and nobody is calling me
back. That's when I started working with Domo [Domination]. But, I caught a
case and he left me in jail. So I came
out and that's when I really started doing me. I walked
away.
AllHipHop.com: Do you think that you will become the new 50 Cent,
in that he will start blocking the moves you make?
BES: 50 is doing that
right now. He's blackballing me right now. Like before me and Fire (Fredro
Starr) ever got together, he knew about it. I don't know how this dude be
finding his information. He called Fire's manager like, 'Yo don't
do business with him' or whatever. Fredro is like, 'Man, them dudes is
talented. I'ma see what they got.' He be calling them DJ's too.
For instance, DJ Big Mike. This dude is from Connecticut and he's a hot DJ.
He hosted my mixtapes, "Groundwork 1 & 2." He called Big Mike saying,
'Don't mess with them dudes.' But I respected Big Mike as a man
because he told me himself like, 'Yo, these dudes are on top right now and
I need them.' I respect that. 50's really going out of his way to stop
us. He don't want to see my company go where its got to go, but its too
late.
Once the streets embrace you, there is nothing you can do about it.
AllHipHop.com: Do you think they are losing their street credibility?
BES: They are doing the same thing that Ja Rule was doing. They singing
on every hook. He talking about Ja Rule and now he's doing that bubble gum
music - even
on mixtapes. Mixtapes is for the streets, it's supposed to be hard. I
couldn't
believe it myself. Like 'Why is he doing this?' He opened that gangsta
door back
up. N*ggas wanted that. Everybody was on that 'I need a girl' stuff.
He messin'
the game up again. The streets have lost their love for homey. Every bridge he
burns is a bridge for us to walk over.
AllHipHop.com: Not to harp on 50
too much but, what is he really like since you know him well. Is he like his
image?
BES: I grew up with 50. That's my son's godfather. That
dude is a good dude, man. He used to hold my son. He's not...everybody has
a sensitive side, I don't care who you are. 50 was a good dude. I used to
sleep on that man's couch. He used
to cook for me. I was his homey. That's when we had nothing, but when that
money came in, he don't got no pride no more. ...Rolling up in the hood
with two police vans and all the hood n*ggas are laughing at you, throwing
bottles and donuts at you - you should be embarrassed. He ain't only sh*t
on me, he sh*tted on his
whole community. That song [sings] "I'm so hood" that was real
people from my
neighborhood. He can't even come back to the community, but 50 was a good
dude. He was a real n*gga. He was a fighter. All that gun talk, 50 ain't
like that. He knows how to manipulate a n*gga, I'll tell you that. God
blessed him with that talent.
AllHipHop.com: A lot of people think that
the beef between you and 50 will turn bloody one day. Cats don't want to
see that happen.
BES: I'm not trying to go that route, because
I'm doing real good. I'm not worried [about 50] or trying to harm 50.
I got three young artists that are talented and I'm focusing on that now.
I'm tired of that violence. I been there and done that. I'm trying to
get money now. I got kids as well. 50 got kids. My kids know 50
kids. It will never get that serious. Me and 50 will never be friends again. I
was his right hand man at one point. He got love for me the way I still got love
for son, but this is the hood. This ain't nothing new.
AllHipHop.com: Right.
BES: If we see each other and knuckle up,
that's as far as it goes.
AllHipHop.com: Are y'all gonna go at
him the way he went at Ja?
BES: That's only for the streets. 50 said my name first. I never said his
name. [We have] a diss track , because he tried to swing on Fire (at the Vibe
Awards). Don't be mad at somebody for doing business with me. I'm
grateful [Fredro] came out of his way to work with me. I'm trying to get up
out the hood too. Don't disrespect Fredro like that. That's a good
dude.
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