Beanie Sigel

Dropping The Solution, his first album in two years, Beans talks loyalty and “leisure pleasures.”

As told to Richard “Treats” Dryden
Photograph by Jared Ryder

1 Never prejudge.
I’ve been in the public since ’98. From that time ’til now, there has only been two incidents—the weapons violation and attempted murder. So, to base my real life on two incidents, how do you do that? What if I was a fraud? It could all be an act, so you can’t give nobody that label. That shit is crazy.

2 Think outside your ’hood.
I never considered myself to be the king of Philly because I’m bigger than just Philly. I ain’t going to limit myself and be boxed into that situation. To be a self-proclaimed king of one little section of the map, that’s stupid to me. So people can argue about that all day.

3 Look out for No. 1.
It ain’t about State Property being loyal to me, you have to be loyal to yourself. Meaning that whatever you do, stand by it. Let your actions and your feelings be your own and not somebody else’s. You move out and you act on that. You have to be loyal to yourself before you can be loyal to somebody else.

4 Let the art speak for the artist.
Every question you want to ask me is already out there. “Feel It in the Air” has everything you want about the Roc-A-Fella/State Property situation. I always pray for the best, prepare for the worst. “If I get locked, State Prop better mention me.” All that stuff, I seen it already play out.

5 Allow a man his vices.
There ain’t no advantages or disadvantages to sippin’ that purple thizzang. That’s just one of my “leisure pleasures.” A lot of people don’t know, but that was an old gangsta high from Philly back in the ’60s. It’s popular now, but I been talking about that from day one—listen to the music.

INFORMER

Among his many hustles as a kid, Beanie sold Coach bags and squeegeed car windows on street corners.