Three Men On A Boat

3-mob caught up with Jay Reid, of Bad Boy South Enterainment and he had a few things to say to us. He speaks to us about himself, why he is in Zimbabwe and a few little nuggets on his mind.

3-mob: How are you loving Zimbabwe so far?

JR: Loving the people here. I kinda knew what to expect. Africa moves a little slower than America but he love is good. Pretty much everything I have experienced has been lovely. It won’t be the last time I come back here to feel the kindred spirit of the beautiful, loving and people of Zimbabwe.

3-mobWho is Jay Reid?

JR: I am a kid out of North Carolina. The place is kinda like Zimbabwe. It gets overshadowed a lot but there is a lot that has come out of there like Jodeci and Michael Jordan as well as this new kid by the name of J. Cole who is blowing up right now. I am a kid from the hood and got involved in things I shouldn’t have. I played American football and got a scholarship. I obtained two college degrees – Public Relations and Psychology. I went on to play football for a semi-pro team but the money wasn’t too crazy. I ended up moving to Atlanta where I met people who I used to do business with ten years prior to and they said they were working with Bad Boy. So at some point they did a show that they didn’t get paid. I was like ‘That’s my specialty. You didn’t get paid? Let me show you how we are going to get this money’ So I went about getting the money…

3-mob: What kind of getting the money?

JR: It doesn’t matter. As long as someone owes you x amount of dollars and I get you that x-amount and you let me keep x-amount…

3-mob: Don’t ask any questions?

JR : [laughs] Don’t ask any questions. Just let me go and get that bread. ‘So they were like we like that dude. That’s our dude’. So we became family with each day and that is when I became close friends with a dude by the name of Mark Curry [who wrote a lot of Puffy’s songs]. We became best friends and I became his manager till that relationship faltered when he wrote a tell-all book on Puff so needless to say we don’t speak at all. But from the relationship I was able to do work with Black Rob as well as Loon, who was big at the time. Then when we opened Bad Boy South and we took on Young Joc, Boyz n the Hood and Gorilla Zoe. I was instrumental in making sure their CDs got played and running them through the circuit, kinda like what we’re doing with Akon where he plays four or five African cities, but on a smaller scale. Then I ended up taking Young Joc to London where he performed at the MOBO awards. There I met a Zimbabwean girl in London and then, you know the rest. I started going to London quite frequently and realized that every time I got off the plane I would lose so much money to the pound and so I decided that I needed to set up something that would keep me from losing so much. So me and couple of partners bought a club called Runway in London. Lately, because of unforeseen changes in the artist roster; Black Rob just got out of jail; Loon is now Muslim and of course the situation with Mark Curry I was having to hustle for artists for Puffy from Atlanta which coincided very well with the opening my club in London cause it gave them a new space to launch from. I was even able to get Puffy to come over for the opening in London which was a good look. Two weeks later I was able to get Madonna. So I was eager to get some of this international currency so to be honest with you, the dollar is drying up for artists in America. So unless you’re like Lady Gaga or Sean Paul and you’re big all over the place you have to hustle for new spaces and it won’t matter whether you sold CDs in America or not.

3-mob: Who are you working with right now?

JROne of the hottest artists I am working with right now is a cat called Giggs from England. Also working on new Black Rob with this kid called Dean Marsh also out of England and they got a song called ‘Louis’ on’ which is available on Youtube. Also of course there is the new Dirty Money which is Puffy’s group coming out mid-September. Also we signing new acts like Red Café which is actually a joint deal with Konvict cause they were signed to Akon first. Also been trying to hustle everywhere else. Of course Bad Boy is my family. But what I learnt from Puffy is that it doesn’t matter where you get your money from.

3-mob: Why are you in Zimbabwe

JR: A young lady by the name of Fungai from Khaya Media who is a good friend of mine and myself are holding the Official after Party for the Akon/Sean Paul show and also a pre-show party with a young man by the name of Sifiso at his club, Symphony. But I am here to experience all that Zimbabwe has to offer. Yeah I want to show you how we party but I am hoping to come away with an experience of how you do what you do. Like I am experiencing the Victoria Falls on the Friday before the show. A lotta stuff I have been privy to you would change the misconceptions people have about this country. And when you look at your natural resources you know that this place is going places.

3-mobWhat is your take on the music here?

JR: I haven’t really been exposed. I heard some good stuff when I did the radio interview and there was a song with a banging beat. That kinda stuff can take people places. But after I hear a little more I can tell you what’s banging and what we can take back to the states.

3-mob: Seen any prospects you like from here?

JR: This show has brought a lot of focus to this country and shown people that this is safe place to come to. I mean there are places in America where I wouldn’t go with my jewelry but feel safe here. I am hood and whenever I visit a place the first place I want to go and check out is the hood. And the love here is phenomenal. And with Akon and Sean Paul two of the biggest Artists on the planet around sharing a stage for the price of a burger for you and your girl, it’s crazy. ‘Cause it is not just other artists that will be looking at coming here but businessmen as well. And if you look at the vast natural resources y’all got here, this is huge. I have been reading on the internet about a lotta cats saying that the money could have been spent on other things but the publicity you are getting from this is priceless. Like Prince Tendai said to me, it’s not the cash, it’s the bash.
If we are thinking of propelling Zimbabwe the right way, black people have to benefit the most and deal with those racial undertones. And it is about the next generation of leaders doing it big. In 1980, Bob Marley came and it was historic. Now, Akon and Sean Paul are here and it should be like another flashpoint in history.

That’s why Jay Reid is here… To be a part of history.

The Konvict dude, Akon arrived today. And yeah well that has gotten some people excited and I like… eh. Almost like Huey Freeman’s reaction to Obama becoming president. *shrug*

The masses are excited. There is a buzz in town. There is a feeling around town like there is something huge going on. Yeah that’s great. The proletariat can’t believe what is happening.

The area around Miekles is packed and it is hard to get by.

And me. I am not bothered. Not bothered at all. I am like whatever. What’s this?

I am trying to get excited but I am like…eh. *shrug*

Cases of abusive wives have gone through the roof. Traditionally it has always been quite documented that men are going about trying to disfigure their women over some simple shit.

Loads of organisations have been set up in a bid to have all men put under pressure to sever their genitals completely and then dip any vestige of being male into acid.

But it has come full circle now and men have become the victims. And sure the men are not willing to admit it freely because it is not a man thing to do is it? You have to be in control and stuff. That is simply how it works.

So they get their ass beaten into a pulp and they claim to have been in a car accident or something.

We have a lot of organisations protecting the rights of women now. Should we be setting up those for beaten husbands next?

Guess the libers are going to have a go at me. But never liked them anyway so they can stick it somewhere else.

So Akon is coming into town. That is a good thing because there is the tourism aspect and the fact that he can do a gig here is a plus.

Some people are not sure whether there are going to be 60,000 people to fill up that place. Going by conservative estimates the organiser will probably need about half of that to break even.

Now there is this thing they have in their pricing structure. $100 to get into what they call the golden circle. And then for the after party you have to pay another $50 and this is all before you buy a single drink.

Now I have four friends and that means that between the five of us we have to drop $750 for the ‘experience’. Imagine that. $750 dollars. With that money we could get one hell of a party going.

I am sure there are people willing to pay that and good luck to them. Maybe I am just not that much of a fan.

It’s one thing when you are told it is a game and also, there are no chicks. Yeah no women. Just a bunch of dirty scallywag miners trapped almost a kilometre underground.

I am not a fan of reality TV but this lot is going to have testicular fortitude to get through this. So far they have not been told how long they will be underground. Ok they have been told that they will not be free before a certain time. Which kinda says, the end of the world is not coming tomorrow (touch wood) without being told when it will actually happen.

With the cameras being sent down there and video messages being relayed it is being played out proper. Well they need cause the story will soon be overtaken by something or the other happening in some scary corner of the world. It just happens that way

They have jokingly asked for a blow-up doll because of ‘needs’. The longer this plays out, they will not be joking about it anymore because that could turn into the Village People without the outfits.

After all, they are already singing aren’t they?

At some point one of the boat riders was a resident of the oft-sleepy town of Bulawayo. And those from out of town will wonder why he left because the women there were off the chain. yeah well that is not the point is it? But have you seen those asses? ok… focus… focus… focus…

As I was saying Bulawayo…. Yeah ok the real point of this. Read in the Bulawayo local government rag, the Chronicle that one of the city’s most iconic labels, G & D Shoes was shutting down, forever.

Thinking to about 15 years ago that was where almost everyone’s shoes came from. If they weren’t from Bata, or the Indians near the Railway station.

Sign of the times I guess. You just feel some of these brands you grew up on were overtaken by events. Yes the economy has been piss-poor for a minute and it is some sort of credit to them that they have kept the lights on this far. But the to die after you get to the point when the economy starts behaving is a bit sad.

The dude in charge says he will have it on skeletal staff for a bit to attract investors. He must be smoking something because who would want to buy a company that isn’t doing much. I mean it is like investing in a person on life-support cause you gamble that they might wake up and beat Usain Bolt in the 100m in 2012. It might happen, but you can’t really count on it.

Yes. That has got to be one of the most literal headlines I have ever put up. And I supposed the most explicit as well.

Just having a conversation on a shore somewhere. Been to so many of these places I can’t really keep tracks these days.

So we thought this.. there are 3 million people in Harare. And of those a very generous estimate of those going out regularly came to about 15,000.

So out of those we said as a very generous estimate, prostitutes aside cause they are an easy target, that about 200 of those girls are getting laid.

Which essentially means out of even 2,000 men who are screwing around they are at some point sharing those 200 women. And among those 200 are girlfriends to some of those 2000.

Damn! there are more virgins than we think there are

Rick Ross likes to talk about how much money he has or who he is friends with. That is just the way he is. I guess that is the reason that I have generally ignored him.

Then when the Teflon Don came out that was the time when I was still bumping my head to The Roots album so I slept on it.

Of course as it goes when you love music you tend to ignore your instincts at times and so I decided to give the album a listen. The surprise was pleasant though not overwhelmingly so.

That the album had about as much substance as a vacant space in the universe was out-weighed quite adequately by the amount of consistently tight beats and visitors on the album.

Not to say that the album is all sound and nothing else. There are things to take away from from tracks like ‘Free Mason’ which features a deep verse from the legendary Jay-Z where he slashes through the forest of noise that has labeled him a free mason; Live Fast, Die Young with a guest appearance from a hungry-again Kanye West.

But in spite of such strong company, Rick Ross never strays away from being a one-trick pony. Yes, he is good at that trick but that becomes his limitation as an artist.

Don’t get me wrong. He entertains. That is the least you can expect. But he never gets beyond the basic instinct of being a hoodrat that just came across a big pile of cash and is just about as ready to throw it away as a swine that just discovered pearls.

While he is doing it big now, he will never be a legend. It might not be because he doesnt want to. It might be because he is not able to.

All the same, this is what I will give this album. It is a big improvement from the three that came before it. It is soulful, clear-cut and although impersonal, if you fancy yourself a student of rapping about things you don’t have as if you have them, then this is for you.

Tracks to download

Live Fast, Die Young ft Kanye West
Free Mason ft Jay-Z
Super-High ft Ne-Yo

If the Pakistan tragedy that is unfolding every day was happening about a year ago I think it would have gotten a lot more attention. People would have been all over it like a fat kid on a pancake.

A lot of people especially at the UN have been sayin that the reason is that the tragedy has been like a slow Tsunami so it doesnt have the impact that Sri Lankan one did. Or that of the earthquake in Haiti.

I can see how they can get lost with that.

But in reality think we get fed too much news. And all bad news for that matter. There is a bomb blast here, mudslide over there, a plane crash in that corner, atrocities in there, shoot-outs in gang-wars, bus crashes, miners trapped, travel agent just crashed, strikes everywhere the economy is now officially as relevant a turd… you get?

That is the world we live in now. And that is just the news skimmed over in the last two days.

Now sitting in the middle of somewhere, as a simple human being, you generally feel helpless. You kinda expect bad things to happen and that there is nothing that you can actually do about it cause bad things will happen.

So you find that people can’t react anymore. That 50 people died in a suicide bombing in Iraq is no longer a tragedy. In fact it is not even news anymore because it is what is supposed to happen.

Why?

Cause the news is supposed to be bad it is supposed to be. And there isn’t a thing you can do about it!

So as usual you have the animal rights having a go at someone because of supposed animal abuse somewhere or the iother.

The latest is over some woman who decided that it was a good idea to pop some cat into a dust bin and bugger off. That the cat was in there for 16 hours is a shame.

But I have seen less outrage from that lot over the maltreatment of humans. You never hear them commenting over stuff that happens to people. Where kids are locked up by sick parents for days or some other form of abuse.

Now the poor woman has death threats from all over the world. I mean really. It is a fuckin cat people! Kill a person over one silly cat that should have been in its yard anyway.

You realise… Some people just need their petty little obsessions to survive

In the words of thugnificent ‘eat a… ‘