E-40: One of the most Prolific 'Spitters' and 'Game-Getters' in Hip-Hop talks Biz under the Radar

Big swagg in the house, Mr. E-40 - the Yay Area's (ghetto) multilingual, and one of rap's most prolific MC's - kicks game, under the Radar with Hip-Hop Official, about how to handle 'biz' and ensure longevity and prosperity in the rap industry. If you ball and go hard all day every day, that's on you, but the "life" does come with [huge] financial costs and consequences. The more you have, the more you consume, and the more you owe. Painting pictures that ain't real and, literally, paying for it on credit is one of the game's traps. When we borrow from the store (money for high-tech productions and exotic car rentals), we exercise the attitude of instant gratification. It's never what you have, or appear to have, but what you actually keep and grow over time; cause once you get it, then what? 

While most [new] rappers starve for the game so tough they neglect crossing 'T''s and dotting 'I''s, on contracts and written agreements with middle-men, legendary rap-vets like E-40 endure due to high business savvy IQ, creative ability and "true-to-the-game" swagg-appeal. 

Though the game is full of tight MC's and rappers, who flex and spit-it real on the mic, far too many fall as quickly out of the game as they once entered. 

Whatever is not already owned by an artist, and she or he requests it from the record label, if granted, it becomes a loan or advance to be later subtracted from future artist(s) earnings, revenue or royalties..."a gift to be taxed". No matter how many claim to know this golden-rule, in spite of common sense, they sign without regard to consequence.   

In the tradition of Yay Area/West Coast get-down, E-40 also realizes what his fellow soldiers, Too Short, Ice T, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Russell Simmons, and others put down years before; "success is gained by cooperation, but sustained and furthered by independent ingenuity."  ~author, T.F. Hodge

"They some funky  

'turf-head' babies. Can I get a lil' mo' of that, playa?"

that there is  
Earl Stevens 
aka: E-40

"In 2012, E-40 will release three solo albums: The Block Brochure series 1, 2, and 3, as well as a collaboration album with Too Short."   [Source:  wikipedia]

 Studio Albums

    Federal (1993)
    In a Major Way (1995)
    Tha Hall of Game (1996)
    The Element of Surprise (1998)
    Charlie Hustle: The Blueprint of a Self-Made Millionaire (1999)
    Loyalty & Betrayal (2000)
    Grit & Grind (2002)
    Breakin' News (2003)
    My Ghetto Report Card (2006)
    The Ball Street Journal (2008)
    Revenue Retrievin': Day Shift (2010)
    Revenue Retrievin': Night Shift (2010)
    Revenue Retrievin': Overtime Shift (2011)
    Revenue Retrievin': Graveyard Shift (2011)
    The Block Brochure: Welcome to the Soil 1 (March 27, 2012)
    The Block Brochure: Welcome to the Soil 2 (March 27, 2012)
    The Block Brochure: Welcome to the Soil 3 (March 27, 2012)