24:  Mr. Cooper, how are you doing?

Pleasure: Whats happenin playboy.

24: I’m sure today is going to be a busy, but productive day for you. Tell me what a typical day is like for you?

Pleasure: A typical day for me, I cant explain a typical day for me, man, I mean today for instance I gotta do these interviews on the phone, I just got out of a interview before this one, and recording music. Meanwhile taming my five year old son which is running around right now going crazy. I’m also flying around back and forth doing shows and taking pictures, and autographs. You know, a typical day for me, NO SLEEP!

24: What about when you get home, what do you do when you’re not in the studio or on the road?


Pleasure: I chill with my son when Im not in the studio. I just hang around loving friends and family or I party. 

 
24: You’ve made it very far since your start in this business. How does it feel to be where you’re at in the music industry?

Pleasure: I mean I ain’t where I wanna be, but I mean as far as me working hard at it, its coming! Me and everybody around me sees the potential and progress. So were just overwhelmed and happy that things are going the way they’re going bccause they could be going a lot worse.

24: Who were your influences and what influenced you to want to be Pleasure P?

Pleasure: My biggest Influence is Stactic Major! Thats my brother from the another, he tought me everything as far as just stepping my singing game up. I never had singing lessons so I kinda learned a lot from him, such as learning how to do harmonies and hitting different notes. Even my content, He gave me my whole style, so thats my biggest inspiration. My son also had a big part of me becoming me. I found something I was good at and I just started doing it a lot more then I use to and I took this music thing serious and it paid off.

24: If music didn’t exist what do you think you would be doing right now?


Pleasure: Who knows? Probably in jail or could be hustling or maybe even working somewhere. I dont know.

24: You were apart one of the biggest groups in the game. Do you feel now that you’re solo you have bigger shoes to fill?


Pleasure P:  No. I feel that I just do my thing. Whatever is the come out of it is the come out of it, that’s my mentality. I never really thought I had bigger shoes to fill. I just do whats best for me .I dont think I got pressure on me. I do what I gotta do and thats what makes me happy.

24: While I was compiling questions for this interview I was listening to Boyfriend # 2. Where do your songs come from? Do you have a special routine when you sit down to write?

Pleasure P: My songs come from real life situations. I like to touch things that people are not going to talk about. The way the industry is, there are a lot of people that are scared that others will judge them. I think alot of people feel that way but never say it. There are things my album is going say that most people won’t say or are kinda scared to touch. That’s the way me and my team write. I cant say I write everything, because I have a team of writers and we all sit down and write collectively. They’re responsible for a lot of stuff I do and have done. If it wasn’t for my team, MY staff, The people that work with me at Atlantic, and everybody in general, I dont know what I do with out them! So I gotta shout them out and thank them.


24: Did you wrong is a hot single! Does that tell a story of something Marcus Cooper went thru?


Pleasure P: Yea. It was off this one relationship alone. It ended over something petty and what i was saying in this record is you gotta stick it out in your relationship. Me and this woman I was talking about could’ve a had a good relationship til this day. So what I’m sreessing to people in this record is stay down with that significant other, don’t just leave over something petty. In a long lasting relationship no body is perfect. You gonna do somebody wrong, somebody gonna do you wrong, but at the end of the day if you can look past that and grow with each other and accept each other problems it will work out. Thats what that record was for.


24: You have a highly anticipated debut solo album coming soon entitled “Introduction to Marcus Cooper”. What should we expect to be on the album?


Pleasure P: Just expect to put it in and press #1 and not skip any songs. I don’t have any album fillers on this album, I’ve been working on it for a year and a half. My team and I put a big effort into seeing that we touched different subjects and topics. This is a very soulful album. I have a melodic voice at the same time. It’s going to be a Richening sound. It’s a great album all around and I’m telling you Y’all are gonna love it!


24: You’ve worked with Rico love, Dre and Vidal, Cool and Dre, Tank and Jim Jonsin to put together this art. What type of experience was that?

Pleasure P: It was a crazy experience working with all these guys because I’ve known them for a minute. I got to work with the movement also. They got this crazy song on my album. Oh yea, Static Major, you cant forget Static Major he taught me all I know. Keith Sweat worked on this album too. Thats my mentor.


24: Jim jonsin gave you one of the biggest hits of your career. Do you think you guys will repeat history in your solo career?

Pleasure P: I’m a say this, Did you wrong was a big record and Boyfriend # 2 Is going to be bigger then anyone of my records when I was in a group. Mark my words! My record after Boyfriend #2 is going to be bigger then Boyfriend #2. We’re just going to keep coming with hits. My music is going to speak for it self. Slowly but more surely the doubters will be fans. They’ll give respect as they keep listening. Right now I dont mind being the under dog.I got a fan base too, I do it for them.

24: Of all of your songs, do you have any favorite tracks?


Pleasure: I like all of them the same, because every track I recorded meant something to me. All of them are good to me.
 

24: Personally I think you haven’t failed my ears yet. But do you think you have room to grow?


Pleasure: Most definetly! You’re always gonna grow. Look at me from Pretty Ricky to how I sound now. It’s just hard work and dedication and learning more. The older you grow the more you learn. I definetly want to grow as an artist. That’s what we doing and thats what ya’ll going to see. For instance “Did you wrong” got leaked and that wasn’t my best vocal performance and the world heard it like that, and they liked it. Look at Boyfriend #2. Look at the transition, the vocal performance from then to now. It’s just going to get better.


24: Being that your mom raised you as a single parent. How did she go about turning lil ol marcus into superstar Marcus Cooper?

Pleasure P: I just wanted more out of life. I had to make sacrifices to do that. I didn’t want to to just know the streets of Carver Ranches.There was one point we just would stay in our hometown and not go no where. I was the one in the clique that wanted to go further. They use be like we sucessful in the hood we aint going no where. All they did was sit home and make money and I was like I’ll make a few dollars and clear it.Thats what got me to where I’m at. Going outside the box.Going somewhere further then staying right here you know what I mean?


24: We know you have the deal with Bluestar/Atlantic.What are your plans for Swagga Entertainment?

Pleasure P: Leave out the Bluestar, just Atlantic and Swagga Ent. We gotta put Bluestar on alot of stuff because we going thru legal processes, but Bluestar had nothing to with my album creatively. Not my single, not nothing. Me and my team pushed “Did you Wrong.”  Bluestar can’t get credit for anything but Pretty Ricky I thank Bluestar for making me a part of Pretty Ricky, but in my solo career, this point right here, its all me and my label.

24: I’ve heard a secret that you have the infamous Dirte Red on your team at Swagga Ent, is that true?


Pleasure P: Yes, Dirte Red is signed to my label and he’s in my group “Hollywood” thats coming out real soon. they like the NWA, they rap about what they go through. The good thing about this group is that they went through what they rap about. All of em went thru something dramatic.The stuff they rap about is crazy. Their first single under my label is titled “This lil mama” featuring me its crazy! It’s a Club banger!

24: You got a mean cameo with Ne-yo in the camera phone joint featuring The Game. Does that mean were going to hear a collab between you two on the new album?


Pleasure P: Ne-yo wrote a couple songs on my album but Ne-Yo cost too much. At the end of the day due to the budget I couldn’t work as much as I wanted . As for me and The Game, We signed to the same management wcompany Czar Entertainment. Jimmy Henchmen, Teddy Coleman along with Rex Moore are my managers. I live in LA now, and all of us are real cool. We cool, they ask me to come to the video so I did. I’m happy they gave me that oppurtunity to do so.


24: I was riding in the car and I heard Shone with you and fellow Atlantic recording artist Flo rida and I was like this joint is sick. How did this record come about?

Pleasure P: We just did the video it premieres on myspace. Its funny because me and Flo known each other for years even before I was in Pretty Ricky. We all use to record at the same studio called The Underground down in Carver Ranches. He was in a group called The Groundhoggz and Flo always stood out to me.We been suppose to do something from way back. Then I seen him when I was in Pretty Ricky at Devontae from Jodeci studio. He use to work with him and he played me some of his joints.I was like okay Flo. Next thing he just came back home to Miami and the rest was history. We always said we were gonna work on something. I couldn’t make it on the last album because of the situation I was in, I couldn’t do features because of the situation. This time, now I’m free. No one can hold me back now. It’s rap city in a basement!

24: Can you explain to the world what a Shone is?


Pleasure P: Thats somebody you do things with. Somebody you make love too. Pretty much your partner can be your shone.
 

24: Where can fans check out more of your music and pictures?

Pleasure: Myspace.com/pleasurepmyspace AND www.PleasurePmusic.com

24: Thanks for taking your time out of your busy day for 24 hour hip hop.com. Before we go any  last things you wanna say to the world?

Pleasure P: I just wanna tell everybody in Miami. Look out for “Introduction To Mr. Cooper” it’s coming. Don’t sleep on me!Just like ya’ll saying Miami Heat and Florida Marlins ya’ll saying me.Thats how you gotta look at me. My album release party is going to be crazy, it’s May 5th at Club Mansion and it’s going to be a movie.