Billy Blue has come a long way in music since his original signing with Poe Boy just a couple of years ago. With each and every year that passes, not a day goes by that the North Miami Emcee isn’t in the studio murking a beat or recording a hit. Last year’s 36 Reasons Reloaded caused a huge stir amongst the industry. It was definitely a serious deal all throughout Florida, being voted as the hottest street album of the summer of 2010. That album alone bought Blue to a forefront that not many up and coming artists have gotten in a lengthy period of time and it is real obvious that his fans are quite dedicated and loyal. With an excessive amount of material pouring out the vault like water, his musical work is almost infinite.

First quarter 2011 showcases the release of his latest most anticipated street album to date, another EP to equal or even top that of 36 Reasons Reloaded, this time around oddly entitled ‘Blumanatti.’ With the many tracks that the album consists of, the title immaculately fuses with the music indefinitely. According to Blue, he put more heart into this album as it deals on the personal struggles and aspects of his past and present. His elemental style becomes more elaborate as he narrates his life from the prospective of seeing death, being broke, experiencing time on the yard, and watching his closest friends take the same path. His lyrics have always been able to illustrate a story through your mind giving you a personal testimonial journey into his life through lyrics and song. This is an exclusive interview with the ever transitioning Billy Blue.

24: How is everything with the infamous Billy Blue?

Billy Blue: I’m out here, you know, Billy Blue, Blumanatti, March 1st. On March 5th we doing the release party at Sobe Live. And you know, I’m doing what I do best staying in the studios, staying out the streets, staying out of trouble. I’m just…happy to be here, you feel me. Hiram, Poe Boy, we out chere.

24: So let’s get straight into your anticipated mixtape entitled ‘Blumanatti,’ where did the origin into the title come from and the initial overall idea?

Billy Blue: Blumanatti, well you know, one I was just sitting here thinking to myself, thinking about all the rebellious things that happen in my life, thinking about all the things that go on in the hood, you know, the aftermath of everything, the beginning, ending and I was just like you what, Blumanatti.
It’s like when you say Illuminati, it’s such a controversial subject, but that Blumanatti is like the controversies that go on in the hood we live by and die by, everyday, so that’s how that Blumanatti came about. I was thinking about everything, the beginning, the ending, the controversies, the things we do to get money, the way we stress, we way we make it, the way we blow it, we way we lose it, the way we gain, and the best way to describe it is Blumanatti.

24: Did you incorporate your own controversy and conspiracies into this upcoming mixtape that you want to stress to the fans, we know that you have your own personal demons and such that you express through your music?

Billy Blue: Of course, every single record, I’m saying something. If you could read between the lines you’d understand and I’ll show you that I’m not a perfect dude. I’m not one of the most perfect people out there, I mean, I’ve done shit that I regret and will continue to regret, but as long as you repent and as long as you have God on your side, you just out to let go. And I think I incorporate that into all of my songs, things that people can relate to and understand.  

24: The first single of that mixtape is ‘Go Gangsta,’ let’s get into that and talk about the origins of that song, where did the idea come for that?

Billy Blue: That ‘Go Gangsta,’ I was at home thinking about my homies and watching ‘Gangland’ seeing so much shit going on and I was like you know what, ‘that’s crazy, cause everything that’s happening in my hood is happening in everyone else’s hood.’ I remember watching it and it was about Cali, and I ain’t gonna, boy, Cali is like the home of gangstas, just gangstas everywhere, thugs, whatever you want to call it. And it was just showing me how when niggas got out of jail. In my hood, when you get out of jail, you don’t what you going to do, and you coming out after 10 or 15 years, jail is all you know, it’s like ‘what you gonna do when you get out of jail, I’mma go, go gangsta.’ Cause I already know, I’m going to go all the fuck way from this jailhouse, it’s like I’m gone, I’m going gangsta. So that’s basically how I came up with it, it’s from me being in that yard counting days ready to go home, and when people know that your days are numbered for your time to leave, people start fucking with you and get you stay in jail again, like trying to fuck shit up and like we don’t need that. I’m just expressing like, anyone’s that’s locked up, how they be feeling and how shit be going on in the chain gang. Shout out to all my homies that down in the P, everybody that’s in the chain gang, East side, West side, Twinz what it is, shout out to my cousin, who got like triple life, I love you, homie.

24: Which track on the album would you say is more personal to you, that you put more of your heart into it or if you have more than one?

Billy Blue: I got this track on there called ‘Ghetto Dreamin,’ I got another track called ‘Everything’s Wrong, Nothing’s Right,’ Life I Know.’ I got so many tracks on there with like I’m stressin’ like you could actually hear me choking up when I’m rappin’ you can tell like I’m damn near crying from the things I remember, the shit that done happened, and the shit I could change. I’m just happy that I could express it through my music, and have people saying ‘that’s it’s all good,’ you feel me.

24: We get the Billy Blue element on top of substance of life, what was the substance that you put into ‘Ghetto Dreamin’?’

Billy Blue: ‘Ghetto Dreamin’ is like one of those songs where ‘you wish, like where I wish I could do this or I wish I could do that.’ And I talk about situations where one of my homies, one of my best friends I were at a club and we were drinking, having fun and we were in Myrtle Beach as a matter of fact. We were all having fun and it’s like we ended up getting into a little argument and I was drunk, he was drunk, I was talking shit, they were talking shit, he was talking shit,  and we all were just like whatever, then we were outside in the parking lot and shit just popped off before I save his life. He grabbed his gun, I grabbed my gun, before I could even react, we shooting, then he got shot in the process. There was a part in this song where I say, ‘I got my homeboy killed over my negligence.’ It’s some real shit, cause shit hurt, I wish he could like really be here with me right now, just reaping the benefits that I’m reaping right now and just enjoying shit with me.

24: Would you say that ‘Blumanatti’ is more to heart and more personal than ’36 Reasons: Reloaded,’ how would you compare and contrast the two, would you even go as far to say to upped a level?

Billy Blue: It’s a growth, I grew up and I’m still growing, I’ll continue to grow. And with 36 Reasons, that was one of the best mixtapes out there and everybody felt the same way, but that Blumanatti is that walk with me, be by my side, see what I see, live what I live, go through what I go through, understand me. That Blumanatti mixtape is going to tell you everything about me, I mean the pressures, the good, the bad, the ugly, the fun, the sad times, and people are just to going to love it.

24: You’ve actually revolutionized the mixtape game, they’re still artists out there that freestyle on industry beats, while you keep it real and original to your fans and the people that have supporting you since day one, what is your reasoning behind that?

Billy Blue: Tomorrow when Blue becomes one of the biggest artists in the world, they’re going to say you know what, ‘From his first mixtape, this nigga’s been spitting out albums.’ There’s never like a beat that somebody else’s beat that you heard somewhere else, I’ve always seen him spitting out his own beats, his own shit, his rhymes. And really, I don’t really care about rapping on other rapper’s beats for the simple fact that, ‘If you did it, you did it, okay that’s your beat, you came with it, you ripped it, the people loved it, and it’s only an honor for another rapper to come and rhyme on it, just cause they know like this nigga’s shit is hot and they wanna go head and continue to be in that light, shine inside the light that you’re already shining on. Gucci Mane came out with the ‘RockStar Lifestyle’ and so many people tried to do their remixes to it and at that time it was hot, so when they play Gucci shit, they got to play my shit too. But really, I’m proud of Gucci, he did his thang, and just like Ace Hood that’s one of the remixes that I did with that Hustle Hard. So when it comes to my mixtapes, I want it to be my beats and not like “I heard that beat from this rapper or from that rapper, nah, you heard this shit before in your life, I was there when they made the beat…fuck you.” You feel me.

24: Out of all the tracks you’ve recorded for ‘Blumanatti,’ which one would you say is your favorite or the one that will always stand out to you?

Billy Blue: ‘No Pain, No Gain.’ In that track, I talk about my mom and my dad, not being able to be there and me trying to deal with it. I talk about another one of my homies who died like I remember his mom, we had to go tell his mom that he died and when he died, it’s funny because, when the shootings was going on, he got shot in the leg, I told him, I’m like you straight, cause you shot, he was like I’m good, this ain’t nothing. So we called the ambulance and he was in the ambulance, he was bleeding cause he got shot in thigh, but it’s a leg wound, you get shot in the leg, it’s like how you say, you get shot in the arm, but I guess it hit an artery and he wouldn’t stop bleeding, 45 minutes later, he was gone. So I went to his mom to tell her, but once she saw the blood on clothes, all she could do was scream, she was just screaming, so I talk about that. I talk about a lot of things in that song. So when you that ‘No Pain, No Gain,’ that’s one of my favorite songs, one of the songs I really put a lot into, one of the songs where I damn near cried when I wrote it, I actually did, I remember when I was crying in the booth. Just reminiscing.
 
24: Would you say that all the events that you speak about throughout the tracks on the mixtape occurred all before you signed to Poe Boy or did they occur along the course of your life?

Billy Blue: All of this happened before Poe Boy, everything happen before Poe Boy, I mean I still go through shit now. I’m still going through shit like I don’t want to go through. This is why I work so hard, so if my music make it out there, I’m the type of person whereby, I don’t care if I go broke, but stop doing this, stop doing that and let’s go, all of us let’s just go, leave this life alone. They say you live by the sword, you die by the sword, the world we from, we live by the sword every day. Any given moment, any given minute, any given second you could go, and I feel like that every day, I’m paranoid, I’m a paranoid person and I go through it every day, it’s crazy. I just pray to God that I make enough money so I can take all my homeboys out of the streets and just keep it moving.

24: It’s quite obvious that your mixtape ‘Blumanatti’ is a real personal testimony to the fans, what message are you actually trying to convey?

Billy Blue: “It happened to me.” That’s the message. So when you sitting and think, everything happens to you, now you know, I stress just like you. I wasn’t rich, I’ve never been rich, I’ve been broke, I’ve been poor, I’ve survived on Oodles of Noodles, I’ve done gangsta shit, I’ve shit I regret, I’ve done shit that I don’t regret. I’ve been through it all, I’ve been through anything and everything that you could go through, anything that you’ve been through, and I’ve been though too. If we could exchange shoes for you to go my pain and I go through yours, I would. I’ll show you that we’re one, you stress, I stress.

24: Let the fans know why they should cop that ‘Blumanatti.’

Billy Blue: That Blumanatti is that art of storytelling, I bought it back. Everyone will tell you that when it comes to my recordings, I record stories. I tell you stories of what happens in the life of Billy Blue or what happens in my hood and it’s a ride, I want you to take this ride with me. Every song, before you judge the song, I want you close your eyes, listen to the lyrics, and envision what I say, envision it, feel it, you know, just chill and close your eyes and feel it then you’d be like, ‘Okay, I understand.’ Listen to the picture that’s being painted.

24: Thank you for being one of the major artists and supporters on 24hourhiphop.com, do you have any last words for all your dedicated fans?

Billy Blue: Shout outs to all my fans, I love you, I will always love you. God says you don’t have to like everybody, but you must love everybody.  Love all my enemies, love those who conspire against me, love those grow with me, to my foundation, thank you for all your support, I will forever be indebted, and I will forever be there for ya’ll. People say fans aren’t loyal, but fuck it, mines are, they’ve been with me since day one. Shout outs to by DJ, DJ Ace aka Krunkman, ya’ll check him out. Shout out to by whole twitter fam, Black T Click, shout out to everybody. North Miami, Little Haiti, NMB, Eastside, Westside, we outchere, Jay Zoe the Kid, PT the Don, DJ Ace Krunkman, J Baby, Face Corde, Griny Grind, AD, we out here, let’s get it.  Blumanatti Drops March 1st!