E.D.I Interview With On Wax Magazine

Group formed by legendary rapper Tupac Shakur after his release from prison and signing to Death Row, The Outlawz still continue to artists that are truly keeping the assassinated rappers legacy alive while paving their own way as artist. Along with five studio albums that feature various members of group (there were seven members at its peak), the group’s popularity gained a boost in 2006 when they collaborated with revolutionary duo Dead Prez on Can’t Sell Dope Forever. Now members E.D.I. Mean, Hussein Fatal and Young Noble are in the process of releasing their sixth studio album Perfect Timing on September 13th; a date that also coincides with the day that Shakur was pronounced dead after a shooting in Las Vegas days before.

On Wax: Talk about the recent release of the Killuminati 2k11 and it being a leadoff to Perfect Timing.
E.D.I. Mean: It’s the follow-up to Killuminati 2K10 which was dropped last Halloween. Some of the features are Trae The Truth, Young Buck and a couple of other people. Right now the mixtape is available right now. We just dropped a couple of videos from it. The first video we dropped from the mixtape is “Brand New” featuring Shorty the Comedian. It’s like a mini movie.

On Wax: What’s going to separate this album from Outlawz 4 Life
E.D.I. Mean: It’s better. It’s just a better album. Better songs, better song structure all around. Everything you do, you get better at it and we’ve been doing this for a minute so it’s just simply better. The music is reflecting that. It’s a collection of great songs and while we were recording we caught on that time was becoming a theme so we came up with that title Perfect Timing. September 13th is the drop date.

On Wax: The Outlawz have been around for long. How have you gone from being a project of Tupac’s to being where you’re at now?
E.D.I. Mean: Hard work, dedication and a whole lot of luck. Blessings; I think our message has always been consistent. We don’t wave it in front of people or flip/flop in front of the people. So what you see is what you get. I think people trust that and believe in our brand to always deliver quality music that’s saying something to you that you can feel that can add something to your life. We don’t want to waste people’s time when you listen to us. We want you to get something from that. The fans continue to support and still ride with us. As long as you supply them with what they need, they’ll still support you.

On Wax: Seeing that it’s been around 15 years since his passing what are your thoughts on Tupac’s legacy now?
E.D.I. Mean: Amazing. It’s a testament to him and his hard work along with dedication he put into the game. His legacy endures. I just continue to try to not be a dark spot on that legacy. I want to add something to it instead of taking things away from it. We do what we do with that mind frame at all times. When people look back I want people to feel that Tupac had his body of work and The Outlawz had their body of work so it all attributes to him. It’s because of him that we’re still doing it.

On Wax: One of my favorite projects that you guys were apart of was the Can’t Sell Dope Forever collaboration with Dead Prez.
E.D.I. Mean: Thank you.

On Wax: Do you ever see yourself or does the group see itself doing a sequel?
E.D.I. Mean: Definitely. It’s a follow-up project that’s only in theory right now. Can’t Sell Dope Forever 2 is something we plan to drop in the future. Both M1 and stic.man stressed that they are very interested and so do we but the business has to be right. It has to make sense because it’s still a business. We got to get the business right and find a real label to get behind it because that it’s considered a classic by so many. So the next time we do it, we got to do it right.

On Wax: As far as labels are concerned, many seem to steer away from music that contains political and revolutionary messages. Do you see that even happening?
E.D.I. Mean: If labels were smart, they’d understand that it’s money in the type of music that we make. We put that Can’t Sell Dope Forever project during the huge mixtape era. Every rapper coming out had to have a mixtape and we just put it out there. People responded to it. The only thing that hindered that project was that it wasn’t available everywhere for people to get and no one marketed it. So the people that saw that project, bought it and loved it were people who loved Dead Prez and The Outlawz so they seek out our music. But if we seek out those who didn’t know the project was out there, there was money to be made. We easily could have sold 100k independently.

On Wax: Going back to the your relationship with Tupac. What were your thoughts on this year’s accusation that Jimmy Henchmen really did pay someone to shoot Tupac from a person who said that they were actually involved?
E.D.I. Mean: I thought homeboy’s timing was impeccable seeing that it was a day before Pac’s birthday. So he definitely seized the moment with that. But as far my thoughts and opinions on it, they coincide with Pac’s just like the “Against All Odds” record. He basically told everybody what it was about. I ride with my homeboy on that He spoke the truth as he saw it and as he knew it. Homeboy was really coming out confirming it. Now how valid it is? Is he a credible source of information? That’s to be debated. Anybody can come out and say some thing but he seems to have all his ducks in a row. The people have the information and can make their own assessment on it but we’re riding with Pac regardless.

On Wax: Do you feel that the government targeted Tupac along with other artists that made politically conscious music
E.D.I. Mean: You know in the 60s and 70s, the FBI had the COINTELPRO program that was designed to infiltrate anything black movement or political party that was coming up. I still fill that it’s still operating but just under a different name. That’s what the government does. They’ll shut down one department and just name it something else. I definitely feel that it’s still around. Hell, in this rap game that we’re in, it could be other rappers. That’s possible. You have a lot of young black millionaires in the game right now and I’m sure our enemies don’t want to see that happen.

On Wax: Do you feel as if you’re a target?
E.D.I. Mean: As a young black male in America, I feel that I’m always a target. I’m never confused about that and I always live life everyday like that. I’m not paranoid but I do live everyday aware that I am the target.

On Wax: What’s going to separate this album from Outlawz 4 Life
E.D.I. Mean: It’s better. It’s just a better album. Better songs, better song structure all around. Everything you do, you get better at it and we’ve been doing this for a minute so it’s just simply better. The music is reflecting that. It’s a collection of great songs and while we were recording we caught on that time was becoming a theme so we came up with that title Perfect Timing. September 13th is the drop date.