Despite the piss-poor timing of getting locked up right before my album’s release, we were prepared for that scenario. We’d already shot music videos with director Mr. Boomtown for “Lemonade,” “Heavy,” “I Think I Love Her,” “Photoshoot,” “Bingo,” “Wasted,” and “Worst Enemy.” Those were in the bank and ready to roll out at our convenience. XXL wanted me on the cover of their February issue. A year earlier I’d been on there alongside OJ, Shawty Lo, and Soulja Boy, but this time around they were giving me my first solo cover. Behind bars or not, I was the shit.
There was one thing I hadn’t planned for: my newfound popularity with these white hipster kids. Todd had been telling me I had this alternative fan base. “Lemonade” had especially connected with them. My songs were getting remixed by EDM DJs who played huge music festivals around the world.
I liked EDM. The big beats, the lights at the shows, the way the crowd responded. It was a world away from the hood-ass clubs in Decatur I was used to, but I liked that my music was touching different audiences. That was cool to me.
One of the DJs who was championing my music was Diplo. Apparently he was big in this scene. He’d been nominated for a Grammy for his work on M.I.A.’s song “Paper Planes.” Hoping to further solidify my place in this world, Todd and Coach sent Diplo my a capellas from the Cold War tapes. He recruited a whole gang of DJs and made Free Gucci, a mixtape with EDM remixes of the best songs from the trilogy. It took off.
Meanwhile, my shooter-turned-rapper and right-hand man Waka had stepped up in my absence and made a name for himself just like OJ had a year prior. Only this time Waka was carrying the torch for 1017. I’d given Waka his rap name, Waka Flocka Flame, and he took after me by going hard with the mixtapes. But Waka got himself hot with his own sound, his own songs, and his own crew of producers. It wasn’t like what happened with “Make tha Trap Say Aye.” “O Let’s Do It” kicked everything off for Waka. He followed that up with “Hard in Da Paint.” I couldn’t have been prouder of him. The boy was going in.
After serving six months of my one-year sentence I was released from Fulton County. It was shortly after midnight, May 12, 2010. Outside I was greeted by friends, family, fans, and the media. I approached the reporters with Duke, Holiday, Shawty Lo, and Todd and read a statement.
First and foremost, I would like to thank my legal counsel, Dwight Thomas and Michael Holmes, for the excellent representation, as well as my label Asylum and Warner Bros. Records for sticking with me through my situation and helping me through my time behind bars.
Most importantly, I want to thank all of my fans for their support while I have been away. Your letters and words of encouragement helped me make it through. None of my success would be possible without you.
I have made some mistakes in my life and have hurt a lot of people who care about me. I will work very hard to get past that. Those mistakes have brought me to where I’m at today and they will not be repeated. These past few months have been a difficult time, but fortunately I have learned a great deal from my experience. I was able to do a great deal of soul-searching. I’m coming out with a new attitude toward life.
Unfortunately, my incarceration came at a pivotal part of my career. Just as my first major-label album was dropping I was forced to miss what should have been one of the proudest moments of my life. This is something I will make sure never happens again. My time in jail was trying, but I grew from it and am now stronger and a better person. I want to continue on a positive track and truly focus on being a role model to my fans and to my community. I’m looking toward the future with a newfound respect and appreciation for the law and a strong dedication to my music and career. With that in mind, I have already begun to make positive strides toward the future. I have launched a new label, 1017 Brick Squad Records, in affiliation with Asylum/Warner Bros. Records and I’m working with a new team. I’m looking forward to getting back to business and start making hits. I am extremely excited about my new album, The Appeal, which will be dropping at the end of the summer.
Over the course of 2010, 1017 Brick Squad Records will be releasing albums from my artist Waka Flocka Flame, as well as my group Brick Squad, which features Waka, OJ da Juiceman, and myself. In July we’ll be heading out on a nationwide tour, hitting venues around the country and continuing the movement.
Finally, a lot of things happened while I was away. I’m back to address these things. The rap game is in need of substance right now, and I’m here for the streets right on time. I can’t wait to show the world why I feel that now that I’m free, ironically, I’m the most-wanted man in Georgia. I’m hungry for success and ready to compete, so may the competition begin. I set out five years ago to be the number one rapper in hip-hop and today that journey continues, with an even sharper focus. I challenge all artists to put out the best music they ever made this summer. I will accept nothing less than victory and I still want worthy opponents. So everyone who was there for me, thanks for y’all’s support. Holla.
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Of that entire statement, only the last part spoke to where my mind was at when I walked out of jail that night. The humble talk was for the lawyers, the cameras, Todd, whomever. In reality I was feeling myself more than ever. I was keenly aware of how my career and the artists signed to me had only grown stronger during my time away. “A newfound respect and appreciation for the law”? Give me a break. I was the hottest thing smokin’. No one could tell me shit anymore.
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I kept up my usual routine: straight from jail to the studio. After a welcome-home dinner I was back at Patchwerk, where Drumma Boy had a batch of beats on a thumb drive waiting for me. He loaded them up. Two beats in and it was back to business. I stepped in the booth and proceeded to freestyle “Normal.”
Hit the mall, spend 30 like that shit normal
Me and my broad nothin’ but Gucci, Louis, Ferragamo
Drop racks, get it back
Call the shit Karma
Fuck models when I want
All your hoes normal
Blowin’ Kush
What you smokin’ smellin’ really normal
Ask me if I wanna hit it
I don’t really wanna
Pulled up, old school, paint Willy Wonka
Guts all white, but the rims abnormal
Backseat of my Rolls in my silk pajamas
Hoppin’ out in house shoes like the shit normal
Change my jewelry every day, ’cause it’s the summer
If yo bitch want my number
Chill it’s really normal
The reaction to “Normal” in the studio was like when I did “First Day Out.” I hadn’t lost a step.
As I was knocking out the second verse to “Normal,” Drumma Boy went over to Patchwerk’s Studio B to work with Waka. That’s when they made “No Hands” with Wale and Roscoe Dash, a record that would surpass the heights of “O Let’s Do It” and “Hard in Da Paint” and take Waka from up-and-coming prospect to outright star. The song was such an obvious smash that as soon as they finished recording it there was a dispute over ownership. Folks from Interscope were at Patchwerk with Roscoe and they wanted to snatch it for his album. Lucky for Waka, Todd was there too, and he got back to his roots as a lawyer and won the power struggle. I wasn’t there for any of that. I was still in Studio A, chewing up Drumma’s beats.