IAR Interview: Gunplay

The eclipsing shadow of Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group (MMG) has taken the hip-hop industry by proverbial storm.  Number one hit records, multiple business ventures, and a roster of unmitigated and surreal talent has made MMG not only an unstoppable wildfire throughout the industry, but one of, if not THE most prominent and identifiable brands in all of music.  Like all brands and movements, the success is built on the significant groundwork laid by the true soldiers that have been down since the beginning.  Gunplay is one of those soldiers.  However, he isn't just another faceless artists filling a label roster spot or a hype man grinding his way to a guest place to a more favorable, bigger artist.  He is THAT ARTIST.  He's poetic, controversial, individualistic, and most importantly, a veritable asset to what makes hip-hop unique.  The road for Gunplay has been arguous to say the least.  As a member of Triple C's, their debut album "Custom Cars & Cycles" (which despite perceptions, was a solid collaborative effort) didn't live up to the promise it exuded or the industry standard for success, begging the question whether Gunplay was an artist who could perpetrate a lasting career, or if his time in hip-hop would be depicted as the role of a sidekick.  Rumored drug dependancy seemed to make the rap community see him as someone not taking his craft seriously enough to produce lasting content.  In the midst of a profoundly growing label and momentous outlay of talent, Gunplay's career has risen from the ashes like the Phoenix.  Having recently inked a solo deal

with Def Jam, releasing multiple mixtapes, (Bogota Rich, Inglorious Bastards, Off Safety, etc) and adopting a new found focus and approach to his inherent talent, Gunplay is emerging as the true and authentic force that he is and staking a claim where he belongs, at the forefront of the rap game.  If he is indeed the villain or bad guy of hip-hop, then he is a necessary evil.  The game needs Gunplay.  As the industry and underground may take a softer approach to the craft, Don Logan (his alias) legitimizes hardcore lyricism in an age where artists tend to shy away in order to remain commercially viable.  Also, with the bountiful and fabricated identities in rap music, Gunplay's

persona is 100% authentic.  He doesn't abide by implemented industry paradigms or standards, not only making him rare, but somewhat of an outlaw.  That is what hip-hop culture is made of.  What many musical connoisseurs seem to overlook is Gunplay's lyrical prowess.  He can spit with any artist.  While his flow and writing pattern may strike some as unorthodox, his sound and lyrical aptitude or what set him apart.  He's distinct.  From his wordplay, gritty street-centric lyrics, along with the sound of his voice, the distinction between he and other artists is automatically recognizable.  It's not about his on camera antics or the media backlash for his questionable tattoo, or the hiccups in his rap career, it's about how great of an artist he is and how he's finally coming into his own.  He's the underdog, the black-sheep, the man

that was seemingly headed for hip-hop purgatory, who now has not only rappers, but the entire industry itself on it's toes.  The fickle nature of the game can invariably swallow up the weaker willed, Gunplay is not built that way.  Through his trials and tribulations, he is emanating victorious as an esteemed solo artist, a salient spokesman for his Triple C's fam, and still maintaining his imperative and critical loyalty to the MMG empire.  It's A Rap had the opportunity to catch up with Gunplay, and while he is preparing new releases as a solo artist (Bogota and Medellin) along with a new Triple C's project (Color Cut Clarity) his focus is on nothing else except cementing himself among hip-hop's greats and hopefully soon, be in a position to cast shadows of his own.  Mr. Logan summed it up eloquently in the opening of his verse on Power Circle, "It's all on me now."

IAR: When did your career in Hip-Hop really take form and how did you link up with Ross?
Gunplay: "I linked up with Ross when I was a teenager.  My career really took form when I released "Rollin."

IAR: Some of the industry has yet to see you true talent as an artist, have the streets played a part in delaying projects and how has that shaped the perception of you as not only an artist, but a individual as well?
Gunplay: "No the streets have not played a part in delaying my projects.  How it shaped me as an artist and individual, nothing can phase me.  I can't be stepped on."

IAR: MMG is the family, but can you tell us how the solo deal with Def Jam came about?
Gunplay: "Streets picked it and Def Jam recognized a ni**az talent."

IAR: How has your music grown since releasing "Custom Cars & Cycles?"
Gunplay: "Expeditiously!!!!"

IAR: Have mixtapes like "Bogota Rich" and "Off Safety" helped you really channel your talent lyrically leading up to your debut album?
Gunplay: "Certainly."

IAR: What can we expect from your debut Def Jam release?
Gunplay: "My life up to date.  My trials.  My ups and downs. My smiles.  My cries."

IAR: What's the situation with Triple C's?  Aside from solo projects, anything in the works as a collective?
Gunplay: "Yes we still together, we still working, just making it do what it do.  Working on a new album "Color Cut Clarity."

IAR: You had an incredible standout verse on "Power Circle."  What's it like working with that caliber of artists on a record of that magnitude?
Gunplay: "Brings out the best in you."

IAR: You bring a hardcore element to you music.  Is that influenced by Miami and do you think the rap game has strayed away from that style?
Gunplay: "The rap game never strayed away from it, mainstream did.  Yes definitely influenced by Miami, we don't give a fu*k about none of that sh*t man."

IAR: What can we expect from "Bogota" and "Medelin" and what does the future hold for Gunplay?
Gunplay: "The future is very illuminated for the Maybach black-sheep."

Visit www.maybachmusic.net

Download Gunplay mixtapes at www.datpiff.com

Download Triple C's "Custom Cars & Cycles" at www.itunes.com

Follow on Twitter @ www.twitter.com/GUNPLAYMMG