We know him as the dude who was co-signed by Andre 3000 and made one of the best mixtapes of the past year, 4180: The Prescription. But that was pretty much all we knew. To learn more, we invited Pill to the Complex offices while he was working on the follow up to 4180, 4075: The Refill (which dropped today, download link after the jump) to find out exactly who the man behind the music was. Read on to learn about how he came up, what he thinks of the rap game now and why he’d rap even if there was no money in it for him…

DOWNLOAD PILL’S NEW MIXTAPE 4075: The Refill HERE.

Interview by Damien Scott

Complex: Everyone knows you’re from Atlanta, what part do you hail from?

Pill: I’m from the West Side of Atlanta. But Zone 3, Zone 4, Zone 1, Thomasville—I still got my Thomasville I.D. if you wanna see it.

Complex: What’s Thomasville like?

Pill: That’s the projects. I done stayed in Thomasville, I done stayed in Edgewood. So when I say I’m from Atlanta, I’m from all the gutta parts of Atlanta. I done stayed in Kimberly Courts, I done stayed at Adamsville. I been here and there all my life, you feel me? It’s great to receive the attention that I’m receiving and be able to show people the whole point of the visual, because of the simple fact that there’s a lot of people talking but ain’t really walking. For me to be able to give that visual meant a lot. To the people that were in it, it kind of uplifts them in a certain way because it’s kind of like, “Damn, somebody that’s really from here is doing something!”

Complex: As opposed to some people who just shout it out…

Pill: A lot of these guys say they’re from them places but they really ain’t from there. I ain’t ever seen them [Laughs]. And I’m from everywhere. I ain’t ever seen ‘em, at all. A few of them, a few of them cats I could vouch for that’s out the A, but a few of them I can’t.

Complex: Why did you move around so much when you were younger?

Pill: Honestly speaking, my mother was addicted to drugs. I would say from the time I was seven years old until the time she passed. May she rest in peace. She passed two years ago, I found her in Thomasville Apartments. I mean, I was always at an auntie’s house, I done stayed with a teacher, a brother, a cousin, a friend, a girl—I was always with someone. Then, you know, being in the trap and shit and traveling all your life, you really can’t get your own spot down there, so it’s like, it’s just kinda what happened…

Complex: You were bouncing around Atlanta from such a young age. When do you start selling drugs?

Pill: I went back and forth with it in my teenage years and got a little more deep in it when I got to 18, 19. I started out selling green and what not. That was just to keep a little money in my pocket, keep some fresh shoes on my feet, get fresh for the girls—for the fly ladies and what not. I know by the time I was 10 or 11, I was already smoking, already rollin’ blunts [laughs]. I was already rollin’ up like I still remember me and Lil’ Terry, Cut Throat, and I think Tre Bo’. That was the first I really hit some weed.

Complex: [Laughs]

Pill: [Laughs] A little bit after that, I started doing this thing: we used to walk around with a little sheet of paper saying we were collecting the money for the football team for a trip to Disney World—but we were hustling though [Laughs]. Of course we were scheming, but we couldn’t get no jobs at the age, so we had to put money in our pockets. That moved on to the green and the green kind of finagled into the—of course I graduated high school though, through out all of this. I was one of the first males in my family, well, actually the first male in my family to graduate high school.

After high school it got a little more heavy. I started to really see that I could make some money. My cousins were already serving yay then, but I just wanted to rap and do all that shit but they was like, “Shit, man, you need some money in your pocket.” So I ain’t have no choice. There was a time when I went straight from the studio, straight back to the trap. From the trap to the after party. I actually left from the trap to come up here, you feel me? Sometimes that’s the only place I got to go, to be honest with you, and it’s instilled in me. I gotta get away from it, of course, and I’ve been distancing myself from it because of the simple fact that I know it can be detrimental to my career. So I’ve been distancing myself from it, trying to become a better person and to teach other people not to do it, and telling them little young niggas in the hood not to do it. But, it is what it is.

Complex: At one point did you make the decision to pursue rap full time?

Pill: Probably last year.

Complex: Last year?

Pill: Probably last year or the year before that because I was still making good money in like ‘06 or ‘07 and I wasn’t spending that shit. But you know I started out rapping with Killer Mike in high school. I was on a few mixtapes with him and what not but like, say 2006, P. City was doing numbers! I’m talking about that thing was going ham sandwich—that shit was Trill! Like, bank rolls bustin’ out your pockets, we call them thigh pads. You can’t even keep it in your pocket it used to be so hard. That in itself was an addiction. Making fast money, you can go blow a thousand dollars, still make all of it back, still have money in your pockets, get fresh all week, and go make it rain. Pop bottles and all that, get in a fight and do it all again in that weekend. That used to be so fascinating to a lot of people, but to us that was just regular life. That’s just what it is, it ain’t like, “Yeah, that’s what I want to do when I grow up!” [Laughs]. You know what I’m saying? That’s what it was, nigga, that shit just was us.

Complex: Like, “I wanna grow up to be a drug dealer.” [Laughs]

Pill: Exactly like, “I can’t wait,” or raise your hand in class and be like, “I wanna sell drugs when I grow up!” [Laughs] A nigga was a victim of circumstance, that’s everybody. When you in that shit, family members done did it, everybody done did it. You know, it’s in you. You’ve been around it since you were a child. You probably held peoples bombs when you was a child or were the look out man, or did this, that, and the third, but there was always a way to make some money on the streets. It might not have always been right but when you can’t get no god damned job or when you dropped out of school…

Complex: It seems to be the only option.

Pill: A lot of people that decide they want to drop out of school probably don’t want to do shit else with their life. And I felt myself going down that same path at one point so I was like, “Man, what the fuck I’m doing?” I gotta posses some sort of talent, I gotta believe in myself some kind of way. So I need to tighten my belt up and tie my shoes a little tight and go on and go for it. And it turned out pretty good for me, you know what I mean? It’s overwhelming to me. I just want to thank everybody for fucking with me ’cause it’s surreal to me right now, man. I try to remain calm although I’m very excited on the inside. People are always like “You ain’t that excited! You ain’t that excited! How you feel? You just made the New York Times! You just did this!” I be like, you know, it is what it is, man, I’m cool.

Complex: So you said you were rapping while trapping, when did you start jotting down rhymes?

Pill: I was writing raps when I was in Kindergarden, it was always in me. I remember my first rap, that shit was like “My name is Slick Tie, I like to rap. I rap on the microphone and talk my crap. I be on time, on the line. When I’m on the microphone I start smoking the dimes. ‘Cause I’m the king of kings and I’m the cool of coolest. Step up to me? You must be foolish. Got a nine in the front and the gat in the back. Yeah, I’m a true mac.” [Laughs] Shit that was when I was five years old! That shit sounds better than a lot of the bullshit that’s out now! You can call my old elementary school teacher from when I was like in third grade because I always remember that. She used to make me recite that in front of the class, so I was always performing as a youngster. I was always on stage a youngster, like talent shows and shit like that. Playing an instrument or doing poetry. I wrote poetry, too. I played the trumpet, I wrote poetry, I played football, baseball, basketball, I drew. I did everything, nigga.

Complex: A true renaissance man.

Pill: You feel me? [Laughs] I did everything! Slung, hung, skateboarded! Nah, I ain’t really skateboard, but I tried and I skimmed my fucking self in all types of ways. I just wanted to do everything because the lifestyle I was leading as a child, I was already… I shot a pistol when I was five.

Complex: Why?

Pill: ‘Cause I was in the ‘jects. I was staying in Kimberly Courts. They were robbing people on the bus, they were robbing the ice cream truck. You couldn’t walk down the streets of Kimberly Court with out somebody taking something from you. They were finding bodies in the woods. I still remember jumping in the bushes from bullets—me and my momma. You had to learn how to pick up a pistol as a child, in case you had to use it. A lot of people is like, “I’ve been trapping and shooting pistols since I stood four feet.” Well I’ve been trapping and shooting pistols since I stood like, three feet [Laughs]. I was just spitting Tip ’cause I know he dead ass and seen it too, ’cause he was in that same lifestyle. So as a youngster it’s kind of how they do it overseas, you take the boy out to the woods and teach him how to shoot a rifle. But when it’s with us, people say, “Oh, that’s messed up!” But he needs to know, and I needed to know.

Complex: What happened the first time you shot a gun?

Pill: I shot a .40 when I was five years old. I asked my brother if I could see and he let me see it. He probably didn’t think I knew what to do with it like, “This little nigga don’t know what he doing. He probably ain’t even strong enough to pull the trigger.” I leaned up against the wall and BAH-POW! Of course it threw me back against the wall and the adrenaline rushed and I was like, “Oh, I wanna shoot it again! C’mon!” He was like, “Boy, get your ass in there, you not supposed to do that shit!” [Laughs].

Complex: How did your friends and family react when you told them you wanted to focus on rapping?

Pill: They gave me a little flack at first but then they started to embrace me a little bit more because they started seeing the older cats were like, “Stay on what you’re doing, that shit’s good.” ‘Cause I started performing right in the trap, at this place called The Ham. You know, “Trap Goin’ Ham,” all that shit. So that was the first time I did that and I brought back to the hood and they were like “Yeah!” I incorporated a few of my peoples names into my raps ’cause of my problems and niggas started to get behind me. They started to come to my shows and it made me feel good because at first they were like, “Aw, this nigga ain’t trap no more, that nigga want to rap! He don’t want to get money no more!” I was still around though ’cause that was the only place I had to go at the time, so of course I would still pick some up or chop something up or drop something off, just to keep some money in my pocket. But I had to make sure that my goal was in sight. I had to make sure there was a bigger picture and that I could be a better man than I was being. Once I brought the CD to the ‘hood, they were like, “Oh shit, that boy Psych! That boy Psych finna’ blow up!”

Complex: Psych?

Pill: They call me Psych in the hood. It’s short for Psycho.

Complex: Where’d the name Pill come from?

Pill: Pill came from football. And I just finagled it into the medicine because as I started to get more serious with the rapping, I was like “Okay, Pill the medicine. I’m the cure for rap cancer.” I was saying that years ago. First it came from football. Julian DeMario Johnson gave me that name. Him and Jamal Johnson. Lil’ Mario, we used to call him, he died in an accident, years ago. I scored a few touchdowns and Jamal would be like, “Oh, here’s the Pill!” ‘Cause that was his name for the football. Like throw me the pill, pass the pill.

Complex: Your first mixtape, 4180: The Prescription, is what got everyone interested in you. How did that tape come about?

Pill: I just basically made sure I had a bunch of tight ass beats. I knew I had to get some classic shit that people ain’t heard in a minute, I had to get some shit that everybody ain’t rapping on, and I probably had to get one or two of the hottest songs on the radio. I wanted to make sure I did me. I didn’t want to compromise my creativity by just trying to put out a bunch of shit that’s on the radio or a bunch of shit that I think people might like. I did what I think I might like. I ain’t record in no big time studio or no shit like that. I recorded that shit in a basement. I just had a tight ass engineer with some expensive equipment and we set up the studio in the basement. He had a nice studio in his spot but his spot got broken into. So I was like, “Damn that just fucked up my studio!” So we had to bring him from Alabama, a guy by the name of Scrag Lee with grade A music. He actually produced “Trap goin’ Ham”, thats why you hear “Grade A on the beat”. We brought him from Alabama, set up shop, went in, non-stop.

Complex: One thing I liked about the mixtape was your sense of remorse about the trap life. It’s not glamorized or glorified…

Pill: That’s something I do anyway because I don’t want the other kids to follow in my footsteps. There’s a lot of young kids that look up to rappers and I’m starting to realize that kids are going to be listening to me. Of course I’m going to talk about what I talk about but I’m going to find a way to stick a message in there. I am going to talk about the trap and I am going to talk about the struggle and I’m also going to talk about how we need help and I’m also going to let people know that it’s fucked up out here. It’s ugly. Ain’t really much money for not many people, in whatever profession they have. I just want to uplift the people, man, I wanna be the sound track to their lives. I want to be able to make the people feel like they were right there with me when I was going through it and so they can have better judgment on the decisions they make coming up, whether it be adults or kids, young and old, whoever the listener is, I want to make sure that they can take something from my music and apply it their everyday life.

That’s why I made sure in that mixtape I incorporated all types of beats to show people my versatility on each type of beat so they won’t try to put me in this box of “just some nigga that sold dope and rapping about it.” I’m trying to enlighten some people about the shit that’s going on and that we need help out here and it’s fucked up cause they tearin’ the projects down. I got some new shit I just did with ILLFONICS about my mama. She passed away and it took a lot for me to write that song. I want people to get in my mind. Walk down those same streets I walked down or stand in front of the same stores I stood in front of or running from the police—I want them to feel like they’re running, so it can be exciting. It can make you laugh and it can make you cry. I want it to be timeless music. When I do it, that’s not even something I think about. It’s something takes a hold of me and it just comes out. If that’s what comes out then I’m glad.

Complex: You have a very intricate rhyme style, who were your rap influences?

Pill: Of course Tupac. Of course Biggie. Jay-Z, he was always real fly with it, a fresh kind of dude. Then you got Raekwon, Redman, Method Man.

Complex: A lot of New York dudes…

Pill: A lot of New York rappers and what not but then again you have OutKast, who were god damn huge to me. To hear OutKast, to hear Cee-Lo, to hear MJG, to hear Devin the Dude, Too Short, to hear Scarface. I listen to everything. I had the Fat Joe tape when he was still with Tommy Boy and they had the little characters on the back. Whatever was poppin’ at the time, whatever was good. I can’t even front like I was always listening to gangsta’ shit. I mean I took a liking to Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek. I remember when Talib and Hi-Tek had that video in the rain and shit, you remember that shit? Of course Common was the shit, I still remember his beef with Ice Cube. I listened to Cube, N.W.A. was always the greatest. I remember I thought Eazy-E was the coolest motherfucker walking the earth and I wanted them shades! I really got a Jheri curl when I was a child. Seeing that and being able to remember that music is good because that’s when real rap was real rap. Now you got a lot of bright colors.

Complex: What’s real rap to you?

Pill: Real rap is talking about what you’ve been through. Real rap is personifying your experiences as a person and throughout life. If you can’t personify the truth, you’re not making real rap. That’s just shit that entertains the people, that’s just entertainment. Real rap is when you can really talk about some shit that really went down.

Complex: Do you feel like rap is full of entertainers now?

Pill: Yeah a lot of them are just entertainers basically. I mean no disrespect to nobody. Get your money and it is entertainment at the end of the day but damn what happened to it being art in its truest form? That’s what hip-hop used to be. You rapped about what you just did down the street. I remember seeing old tapes of shit where they were just beat boxing and shit and I was like, “That’s what I want to do!” So I automatically started rhyming. I automatically started battling when I was a child. I remember I was in a little group back when I was in first, and second grade and it was like you had to have the the tighter group.

Complex: Talk to me about your creative process. When you write a song do you actually write it out or do you keep it all in your head?

Pill: No, I write. I’m not one of them guys that be like, “Oh, I ain’t write this by the way” or “Yeah, I come off the top!” I freestyle too but I respect the art form, you feel me? I’m a writer. I could be on the train, I got to pull my note pad out. If I hear some shit in my head, I got to write it down.

Complex: What can people expect from the new mixtape?

Pill: I’m going to show that I’m growing at least a little but I don’t want to stray from the formula at all. That’s what people like, so that’s what I want to give the people. I just want to keep people jamming. I’m not going to be one of these guys who is like, “Fuck this shit! I ain’t got no Rolls Royce!” or “I ain’t got no Lamborghini! I’m mad as hell!” That’s not why I do it, I do it for the love. I’d be doing this shit if I ain’t have a dollar or if it weren’t profitable to me. A lot of niggas are claiming they’re making a bunch of money, but they ain’t off of that music shit right now because it’s ugly. Tapes ain’t selling like that. Imagine what type of loss I’m taking and I’m giving away these CDs for free! ‘Cause it’s all about the music. If people can’t hear it then what the fuck are you doing it for? If you’re just doing it for the money, then what the fuck are you doing it for? Straight up, of course I want a lot of money, to live comfortably but that’s not why I’m doing it. I got people that’s on my back right now. Family members that need me right now, homeboys that need me right now. It’s a lot of people that depend on me right now. That’s probably the only reason why I feel like I need money right now, but other then that, if I was just already straight or already rich, I wouldn’t give a damn. I’d do all free shows. But a lot of people just do it for the money and that ain’t good, man. That’s why I think the music went down with in the past couple of years. I don’t want to be solely responsible for it but I want to be credited with bringing this shit back to what it was, real music, real hip-hop.

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With his 10 Deep sponsored mixtape “Diary of an Atlanta Brave” causing a major buzz in the industry, Donnis came by the Complex office to talk about why he loves New York City, how he managed to snag J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League production for free and why he didn’t sign with DJ A-Trak back in ‘07. And with New York currently in a frenzy over Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 and his Sept 11th concert at Madison Square Garden, Donnis hit us with an exclusive freestyle over Hova’s “Run This Town”. Read on to listen to the freestyle and read the full interview below…

EXCLUSIVE: Donnis “Run This Town Freestyle”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Interview by Damien Scott

Complex: So, your mixtape got a pretty good response considering no one knew who you were. Did that make you nervous at all?

Donnis: I don’t even take that as a bad thing. It’s cool. The track “Underdog” explains everything. Kinda where I was at in my mind frame. I lived in Tokyo for two and half years so I was on streetwear before. I was in line with Japanese kids trying to buy Bape. When I came back home my whole mind frame was different. I loved the dance music they were on but when I came home it wasn’t the cool thing to do. So I was like, well, what the hell to do next? So I just put myself in the closet and just wrote, wrote, wrote and built my relationships. And I was like, Alright, I’m going to do what the hell I think should be doing next.

Complex: Tokyo? Let’s take it back a little bit. When did you first start rapping?

Donnis: Kriss Kross’, “Jump Jump,” I was like…hell yeah! I’m not going to lie to anybody. [laughs]

Complex: [Laughs]

Donnis: It kinda just started there, man, and I just kept growing a love for it. I’m from the south so you know the bass music, then after the bass music we really just started to establish ourselves with TLC, Outkast and the entire Dungeon Family. I watched my city just really put on for itself. From there I was living like in what people would consider slums. We moved out to the ‘burbs, I was a regular kid who was in love with fashion and music and it just was…you know school just wasn’t the first priority. I had to make a choice so I went into the military. I went into the military did my two and a half years in Tokyo and then did my time in Denver.

Complex: You went to Tokyo with the Army?

Donnis: Yeah, through the military. The funny thing about it was everybody here was like, “Tokyo, wow!” and I was like, “Hell no!” I put Virginia and shit, I was trying to stay close to home [laughs], but I got out there and for the first few months I was just like “Yo, this is so shitty” and then I was like, You know what? Lets just make the best of it. And I just started making music out there…

Complex: How did that work? Who were you rapping with out in Tokyo?

Donnis: There were other kids in the military, so there was the older guy which is my dude D-Focus who did who did “Over Do It”?. He was doing his thing and his career and I was like, Well, there’s nothing else to do, lets just go ahead and make these records. So I spent everyday making records, then on the weekends–I’m only 19 so you know I’m getting drunk as hell you know on the weekends [laughs]. Basically me and him just came together and we were working, working, working. I was doing shows around the base. I was living in an area called Fussa, which is about 30 minutes outside of Tokyo, so I would do shows around there, around the clubs around bases. And then promoters just started hearing about me just like if you were rocking out here. I got asked to an area called Reppongi which is in Tokyo, then I did a show at a spot called the Warehouse out there and from there it just kinda got stupid. I hooked up with DJ Master Key, that was my partner in crime, and he would just take me everywhere to like the biggest clubs, and I would just open for him.

Complex: So you were underground in over in Tokyo. Did you meet any other artists out there?

Donnis: Yeah, that’s when other artists start coming. T.I starts coming over there and everybody else and I would open for them. Then it was like, I had to make a decision. By that time I was like, I’m in love with Tokyo, I don’t really want to leave. I had to make a decision: do you want to do music for real in the states? You could only go so far if you don’t speak Japanese [laughs]. You’re going to be that stupid kid speaking English [laughs]. Everywhere you go around the world, once America stamps it you know everybody else is going to stamp it. I just had to make the decision, so I was like, Forget it, I’m leaving. So then I came back to the states, did my thing in Denver, finished my time and then shot out to New York. I stayed out here for about a year then just kinda grinded it out. I kinda explained it best on “Underdog,” A-Track offered me the contract and I was like Nah, so he was like, Aight and kinda went with Cudi and Cudi blew up and it was like that’s when I kinda went into the dungeon.

Complex: How’d you meet up with A-Trak?

Donnis: I met A-Trak in my second week out here. He heard “Party Works” on my MySpace page and he called me while I was in the military. I was in Denver and I had like a month left and he was like “Yo this is crazy!” I knew who A-Trak is but I was like, You’re stupid, there’s big labels, I’m not listening to you. Then we just built a relationship and I kinda saw what he was up to and what he was doing. He kinda explained everything to me and we just kept an open relationship and we were always trying to make something work.

Complex: Why didn’t it work?

Donnis: It didn’t work because at the time I was under a different management team than I am now and I didn’t see the build that it takes. I’m still thinking, at the time, that you just go into a record label, they like you and sign you. They could think you’re super talented but they don’t care unless everybody else cares. So I kept doing that, and at the time I just was pushing the “Party Works” single that they wanted. At the time I was tired of the single, he was tired of the single.

Complex: How soon after you passed did he sign Cudi?

Donnis: He had already signed Cudi. He asked me in November of that year around Thanksgiving. They were still in talks with Cudi and they had just signed him or whatever. From there we just kept our relationship. I just kept going and looking and then I found nothing was happening so I ran back home. I was like, You know what? I didn’t get nothing so I went home and I just started working, man. I’ve been working on this mixtape since last November. I just worked and worked and worked and was looking for a sound that was still me and so I could tell my story and people could quit being like, “Oh all kids who are fashionable are hipsters.” It’s just something that I really wanted to fight, it’s not a derogatory term but you can’t just put a bunch of people in one group because I don’t sound anything like Cudi, who doesn’t sound anything like Mickey Factz, who doesn’t sound anything like Hollyweird. It was just like me kinda wanting to go in and show the people I could really rap and that I wasn’t all just about dancing and partying which is what they thought. I look at me not doing the deal at the time as a blessing in disguise because there was a lot of work to do still, I would have hated to come out with the ill party song and not been able to back it up as a real MC.

Complex: So now you’re back in Atlanta…

Donnis: I’m in Atlanta and I’m recording my ass off I’m rapping over every beat I could possibly rap over.

Complex: Are you making connections? Are people sending you beats?

Donnis: I’m online and I have a production crew I’m really cool with, they’re still my boys called the Track-Aholics and they would send me beats. It was like I’m writing and writing and we’re just really trying to develop the style really to make sure that we could compete with radio and still get that respect. So we’re working on it working on it song after song. I came up with the idea to do what I call “Snack Packs.” I don’t want to just throw a mixtape out there and it gets over looked. So we start with snack packs which is going to be a song and a video. First one, “Blueprint”, got a good response, bloggers start putting it up and stuff second one was “Watch for the Hook” and the third one was the “Claremont Lounge” one we did.

Complex: Were you meeting any big name producers?

Donnis: At this time I got a call from a girl. When people call you for shows you don’t go sit down and have coffee with them you just go do it. But she was like “Yo, I’m at Starbucks you should come by.” So I was like, OK. She happened to be really good friends with Kenny Bartolomei who is part of the J.U.S.T.I.C.E League. I didn’t know who he was at the time, she brought him to the club that night, we was just partying, “Party Works” happened to go off in the club and everybody was just like, “Donnis, yeah!” He heard it and he was like “Yo, you should come by the studio.” That’s kinda how this project really started, I blew up his phone a million times, we got into the studio together, he played me stuff and then I really found my love for music again. I found the sound that I was looking for. So along with them I just sent in different songs to different people and they were like we see it, we feel like you got it. I went and sat down with Needlez I played him a bunch of stuff and Needlez was like I believe it, I think you got something. They believed in me. I went to underground producers because who am I still? I’m just a kid trying to get it poppin’. 10 Deep saw one of the Snack Packs, they saw one of the videos and then they believed. Then we started playing them a bunch of music, they were like, “We see what you’re doing, we’re willing to take a chance.” They took a chance on me like not knowing how other people would react to a mixtape that wasn’t really a mixtape it was more like an album. I didn’t rap over anybody else’s beats, they were beats specifically made for me or just given to me. It’s just a bunch of people taking chances and I guess it’s kind working out.

Complex: How was it working with the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League?

Donnis: They’re good dudes. Kenny told me when he heard my stuff: “I believe it, I just want to play it for the guys.” They heard it and I guess they were impressed and they were like, “Well, lets do it.” They had me come over and they would just play me stuff. I’m like one of the only people to get free beats from them with the exception of Drake. So they believed in it that much that they thought that it could go. I guess so far, so good. Now I’m getting to sit down with you guys [Laughs].

Complex: You keep talking about forming this “sound.” How would you describe your sound?

Donnis: I feel like I kind of got my own lane, but I think I if you mix T.I., Andre3000, Hov and Kanye you kinda get who I am. And I’m a huge fan of all of those artists, I grew up on a little bit of all them. It’s kinda like when you mix that all together, man, at the end of the day I feel like that whole theme is just kind of a story for me at least this is kinda just chapter one, where I’m the underdog, and a lot of people just didn’t believe and shutting doors on me. You’re like, Can we get a meeting? And people cancel on him and shit like that, so now we get to be the ones like, We got something to do so we’ll catch you later. This is part one of the story.

Complex: Over the past couple years, the most popular music coming out of Atlanta has been snap or trap rap. Was it hard for you to break through that?

Donnis: I’m trying to open the door for Atlanta right now. Because in Atlanta it’s really hard to get on the radio unless you’re in the trap or you got a dance, it’s just really hard. Unless you combine the two then you run radio, “I’m slangin, I’m slangin!” [laughs]

Complex: [Laughs]

Donnis: It’s really hard, I love my city, man. There are so many people doing something different in Atlanta that’s not that. But you don’t get a chance to see them. I had to leave home to be able to shine a little bit, I still got to go home and have my spokespeople such as DJ Jelly and all those cats down there be like “Yo, you need to listen to this because this is what’s good” or whatever. Because Jelly heard “Party Works” and “Dope Girl”, some old records of mine and he was like “Yo this is hot, what’s going on?” and I was like “I’m on the next plane home.” Because Jelly broke Outkast and like he’s that guy. For him to tell me it’s hot it’s like, OK something can happen with this here. I really just had to leave home for to make it happen. I’m putting it on my back so I can put on EMB and Hollyweird who don’t have a dance, they’re not in the trap. They just got a story to tell. Just take it back to what Atlanta use to be. With Outkast and Ghetto Mafia and these other people who wanted to just really spit because they had to keep up with Wu Tang and all them other people. It’s like Atlanta got so big that Atlanta stopped caring about competing with everybody else and was just like, You know what? We gonna do what we want to do. And you know what? We want to dance, we want to sell drugs [ laughs]. It’s like we can still have hip-hop down south. There are some people who do the trap thing that I’m not even mad at. I’m a huge Jeezy fan, I’m a huge T.I. fan, I’m a fan of Pill who is up and coming. Pill is the official spokesperson for the trap if you want to ask me. When’s the last time you seen someone in a video really cooking crack? It’s just amazing to me. He got like a regular girls pussy poppin in the video, [laughs]. I mean there’s people who are really doing it then there’s people who are just imitations and people playing games and people who don’t need to be rapping they’re just rapping because it looks fun on TV.

Complex: I heard you say earlier that you want to move up here from Atlanta. What’s good? Why leave Atlanta?

Donnis: I know Atlanta, I love my city. I love it up here. I’m a huge fan of restaurants and… don’t get it messed up, ain’t nothing up here messing with Waffle House [laughs], but I’m just a huge fan of culture and I just want to expand. There just so much going on out here as far as different communities. Y’all going to think I’m crazy. But being down in Atlanta I didn’t know about Orthodox Judaism. I came up here and I was like, What is this? What’s going on? I’m serious, man, I’m from Atlanta. Check out the Snack Pack video and y’all will see where I’m from. I got the one lane bridge [laughs] I didn’t know. I didn’t know how to use a Metro Card and all that. For me it was just crazy dude. It’s like I need to expand some more. I’m learning everyday. The more I’m up here, the more I travel, the more I learn, the more I get to talk about.

Complex: Makes sense.

Donnis: I just got to get away from home. I’ve been in Atlanta my whole life so why not try something different? After New York, you may catch me in Paris or something. It’s all about learning, traveling and experiencing. If you watch the Snack Pack, and you watch the first one I did over “The Blueprint” that’s literally two minutes from my house. I live where there’s fucking train tracks, cows and a one lane bridge. Anywhere we want to go it’s 15 minutes down the road. That’s where I’m from. For me I kind of have to travel and bring it back home and put everybody on and so on and so on. I think I’m up on shit enough to be able to do that.

Complex: You spoke about Cudi earlier. Do you have a relationship with any of the “new generation” of rappers?

Donnis: I feel like our new movement is just a bunch of crabs in a barrel and everybody is just looking out for themselves. For the sake of hip-hop, dude, I’m down. I don’t know Drake individually, me and Cudi had a really good relationship before everything popped off. I just seen him in the street the other day and he congratulated me, so it’s all love if we can take hip-hop to the next generation and make them want to do it and do it properly then lets go.

Complex: You’re currently unsigned, what would your ideal label situation be?

Donnis: I have no problems with majors. It’s just that the right situation has to be the right situation. Real talk, I’ve been broke this long so I think I could wait a few more months. I’m not bugging out. My whole plan was to make them call me and not me call them. Because when you call them they don’t want to answer. So you got to give them a hard time. It’s just a fucked up game the way it is right now. I’m so blessed to be breaking through right now because, how do you break through now? It took a clothing line to make people recognize me, you know what I mean? So the next kid that doesn’t have that opportunity what is he suppose to do? It’s really hard to break through right now. You just have to keep dreaming and keep pushing and take those right opportunities. I can’t express that enough. It’s crazy. A clothing line has broken like the last two or three rappers. The one rapper who didn’t break through the clothing line was already rich! [laughs] So I don’t know how they do this any more. shit is crazy, it’s real crazy.

RELATED: Download Donnis’ “Diary of an Atlanta Brave” Mixtape!

SINCE: New Era in 1920; Tradition in 2006

HOME BASE: Buffalo, NY

WHY WE CO-SIGN: As soon as Jay-Z killed the throwback jersey on wax, we started patiently waiting for sports gear to make a return. Since then we’ve seen a couple companies try to capitalize on that market with pieces that were either too uninspired or poorly designed. But finally, there seems to be a rightful heir to the throwback throne. New Era, the company that makes every hat in your closet, and Tradition, an Atlanta-based apparel design company, have come together to create New Era presents Tradition. The line signals not only a return of sports attire but also the HBCU steez that rappers used to rock heavy in the mid-’90s…

The new line will consist of caps and a full line of apparel (jerseys, jackets, sweatshirts, tees, and fleeces) to support “the Yard” initiative which works to promote and advance “the tradition, culture and aspirations of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.” And if you cop a couple items not only will it be a good look for you, you’ll also be supporting underprivileged kids as a portion of all sales will be put towards scholarships—it’s a win/win. We wouldn’t even be surprised if we saw Jigga rockin’ a couple pieces. As long as they came in all-black, of course.

WHERE TO FIND IT: New Era Tradition Collection later this month.

Complex: How has “the Yard” influenced the overall look and feel of your collection?

Gerard Murray of Tradition: The inspiration for the collection is always developed first with our Tradition creative team, who extensively research the history and rich legacy of these schools. We then find a theme for the season that fits the selected schools and build out a collection to which we feel will represent the pride and passion of the school’s current student body, alumni and faithful supporters. We stay true to being authentic and classic with every detail.

WOOL COLLEGE TEAM
Available September 15 at New Era, $170

Complex: Any anticipated collaborations?

Todd Sokolowski of New Era: Since there has been no fashionable collection put together like this,the buzz to do even more are endless for the NE / Tradition team. We are currently exploring the idea with a major footwear brand and also an electronic accessory company about creating a limited addition package for certain schools. Until licensing approval and rights are cleared they are on ice for now. We have also been in contact with notable celebrity Alumni to possibly create a small fashion group inspired by them for their school.

EVER SINCE HENLEY
Available September 15 at New Era, $50

Complex: What are your retail plans for the future?

Todd Sokolowski, New Era: The goal from the very beginning was to create a fashion forward collegiate collection for school bookstores, to cater to the students keen fashion sense in a way that’s never been done before. We also want to current with the styles/direction in the marketplace so that our key fashion retail doors would appreciate and not just look at as the standard license product seen over the years. This creative hook up with apparel and headwear, as it relates to New Era presents Tradition, has been long over due in market place.The time is now to fill this void, be it building more business it with our new & existing retail partners domestic and global. Also a major factor will be the NE flagship stores and our E shop that will also play a key role with providing an avenue to answer the demands and needs.

Atlanta is many things to many people. Musically, the A has given us everything from iggety-underaged rappers with their clothes worn backwards to hard-ass trap music, mindless stripper jams, and all kinds of experimental shit in between. On Killer Mike’s latest project, the double-disc album Underground Atlanta, that releases today, the Grand Hustle rapper brings artists from all sub-genres together to showcase the full range of talent in his hometown. Complex caught up with the big homie to get his thoughts on 10 new and emerging Atlanta artists that you should be up on. Most of them are on his album, so cop that and see what the hell he’s talking about!

GRIP PLYAZ
Killer Mike says: He is a skinny jean wearin’, Vans shoe rockin’, Basic cigarette smokin’, different type of dude. He’s not a hipster, he’ll tell you he’s not a hipster, he’s just hip to shit and he lives in his own world. His style is kinda awkward and nerdy and still dirty and street at the same time, like a hipster with the same street savoir-faire and dare I say swag of a Sean P from the YoungBloodZ.
Key tracks: “Fuck Dat Hipster Shit”
Myspace: www.myspace.com/cumgitslum

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YUNG RALPH
Killer Mike says: He calls himself the Jugg Man, which has trap rapper implications, but he really has an everyman worker’s voice that’s inspiring. “I Work Hard” best exemplifies that. Everybody talks about robbin’, stealin’, killin’, ballin’, rappin’, trappin’, and snappin’, but nobody’s talkin’ about working hard and enjoying the very simple parts of your life that everybody can relate to. I can listen to Ralph with the young men I mentor because his message, albeit street, is less about “I serve this much work” than “I work,” even if it is servin’ work.
Key tracks: “I Work Hard”; “Oh Yeah”
Myspace: www.myspace.com/yungralph

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RICH KIDS
Killer Mike says: They’re what Atlanta classically was, ABC and Kriss Kross, but these kids are a lot more neighborhood and a lot less suburban. Their music is jookin’. They’re doin’ music that feels sonically like it’s for the skating rink and middle school girls—my own daughter is crazy about ‘em—but the subject matter is edgier and it’s hood. It’s got that accessible pop element without sellin’ out. They just make hood pop for everybody. And they put on a good show. Everything about them is just right.
Key tracks: “Wasup”; “Partna Dem”
Myspace: www.myspace.com/richkidspartnadem

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PRYNCE CY HI
Killer Mike says: It’s dope ’cause most people try to tell you how G they are, but he really speaks on his trappin’ experience very matter of factly. You can tell there’s a level of thought to his stuff, and lyrically, he’s solid. He does some harmonies in his hook, and dare I say his hooks are as passionate as DMX, but just not with the aggression. His stuff has the realism of blues music.
Key tracks: “Can’t Go Outside”; “Sweet Georgia”
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/dapryncehoodlum

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TRAVIS PORTER
Killer Mike says: They make comparable music, in terms of the way it feels, to the Rich Kids, but they’re wilder. By behavior, by dress, and by overall zaniness, they feel like something out of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off mixed with early Blink-182 mixed with the Beastie Boys, like they just wanna party, have fun, hang with as many girls as they possibly can. I would advise people to go check them out on Youtube and just watch ’em. The music that they make, it’s irreverent, it’s funny, it’s thoughtless, and it’s jammin’. It’s like having three Fresh Princes in a group except they got the Carlton Polo swag down.
Key tracks: “Freaky Girls”
Myspace: www.myspace.com/whoistravisporter

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BOBBY CREEKWATER
Killer Mike says: Not only is he an incredible MC, he’s a dope-ass beat-maker. To me, he could be an Andre 3000 had Dre rode all the way through with Southernplayalistic, staying ingrained in the street culture of hip-hop, and where that would’ve taken him. Creekwater brings that amount of skill and thoughtfulness to street subjects. He don’t just talk about the trap, he talks about the social and mental dilemmas, over his beats that are jammin’. He has an amazing voice also.
Key tracks: Anthem to the Streets (Mike wants you download the whole damn mixtape!)
Myspace: www.myspace.com/bobbycreekwater

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PILL
Killer Mike says: Pill is like a machine gun on tracks. He’s just amazing with his lyrical dexterity, being able to tackle subject matter. He’s a true student of rap and a real star in a neat little package with dreadlocks and a Newport hangin’ out his mouth. I knew he was amazing when I first heard him at 17 years old and he’s been riding with Grind Time ever since.
Key tracks: “Trap Goin’ Ham”; “Back Outside”
Myspace: www.myspace.com/gangstapill

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SL JONES
Killer Mike says: He’s from Little Rock, Arkansas but he’s been in Atlanta for years. If you could imagine someone who has the subject matter of a west coast gang lifestyle, the harmony and the ability to use melody like a Drake or a Dre 3000, and the lyrical ability of a Fabolous, if you marry all that together, you still would only have 50% of how good Jones is. Get the C.O.L.O.R.S. mixtape and see for yourself.
Key tracks: “Sags and Flags”; “Mind Blowin”
Myspace: www.myspace.com/sljonesy

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YELAWOLF
Killer Mike says: He’s a white kid from Alabama that’s up here on the Atlanta scene. He’s a hybrid of the Dungeon Family and Lynyrd Skynyrd—and there is nothing more southern than those two experiences. This kid is truly what a country musician is—not country music, but an artist from the country. They have to the ability to come to places, affect themselves, take those experiences, reinterpret them, and put them back out into the world as beautiful art. There are a lot of great live performers here and he’s one of the best I’ve seen. He doesn’t miss a beat, controlling the chaos of his shows. He’s dope as shit.
Key tracks: “Kickin’”; “Come On Over”
Myspace: www.myspace.com/yelawolf

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BIG KUNTRY KING
Killer Mike says: He’s from P$C, that big nigga with the good hair he don’t deserve. Big Kuntry got heat, I can’t even bullshit you. Being over at Grand Hustle, I probably done learned more about how to make a club jam watching him than from hangin’ around clubs for a year straight. He has his finger directly on the pulse of the clubs in Atlanta. When you hear “I Do,” you got a fifth of tequila and the prettiest girl in the club, and you rockin’.
Key tracks: “I Do”; “I’mma Fool Wit It”
Myspace: www.myspace.com/bigkuntryking

CITY: Peachtree, Atlanta location in August 2003; Lenox Square, Atlanta in November 2008

SINCE: 2003

FOUNDED BY: Farshad Arshid

PRICES: $$$ (out of 5)

WHY WE COSIGN: When you think of the fashion capitals of the country, the usual suspects quickly come to mind: New York, Los Angeles and Miami. Now thanks to shops like Standard, you may have to include Atlanta on your sartorial short list. Founded in ATL by Farshad Arshid , Standard features all the brands you’ve come to love and lust after like, Stüssy ,Play Cloths, and ALIFE as well as Gant, Public School and Generic Surplus. So you can go with the traditional streetwear look or go a little up-market with some cut and sew pieces. Or feel free to mix and match—doesn’t matter, whatever works for you, Standard can do. “Our goal is to push individuality and originality when it comes to fashion.” says Farshad. And no, the prices won’t have you eating Ramen for the rest of the month: t-shirts run from $24 to $100 and sneakers from $40 to $120. Sounds like that should be the standard for every store, no?

For more pics/info of the store and an interview with Farshad hit the jump…

BRANDS CARRIED: Nike, BBC Ice Cream, G-Star, Maharishi, DC, Creative Recreation, The Hundreds, Gant, Clae, 10.Deep, Stüssy, WeSC, Gourmet, Generic Surplus.

Complex: What was the inspiration behind Standard Atlanta?
Farshad Arshid: With the first store, we wanted to create a very clean minimalist space where the clothes and footwear took center stage and with the second location we got a bit more creative especially with the addition of synthetic turf and the comic style cells on the walls.

Complex: What styles can we anticipate for the fall/winter 2009 season?
Farshad Arshid: I see fall/winter having a lot of navy and charcoal colors. Hybrid sneakers are gonna be big, as well as the return of the penny loafers.

Complex: What do you foresee in menswear?
Farshad Arshid: Menswear is going back to the classics. Less loud and crazy and more subtle and clean.

STORE INFO:
STANDARD ATLANTA
Peachtree
1841 Peachtree Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30309
404.355.1410
Monday – Thursday: 1 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Saturday: 1 p.m. – 11 p.m.
Sun: Closed

Lenox Square
3393 Peachtree Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30326
404.846.8535
Monday – Saturday: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Sunday: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m.

While Kuntry’s spent almost ten years in T.I.’s shadow, he’s capitalizing on that shady position by dropping his album on the same day as Tip’s Paper Trail. Hopefully this marketing move will bring some new fans to the South’s other King. After listening to the album yesterday, Kuntry gave Complex his track-by-track analysis…

“INTRO” f/ Lil’ Duval

Producer: James “Nard” Rosser & Brandon “B” Rackley
Kuntry’s Commentary: “The intro is really who Big Kuntry is. Yeah, I play games, it’s funny, I make jokes, but I’m serious. It start off with all the jokes, but the verse is serious. I’m comfortable in my own skin, but I’m not comfortable in this game. This first album is more like an introduction, so I can get this out the way and get to a bigger, broader audience. [Comedian Lil'] Duval been with us since the beginning, since I’m Serious. Met him doing shows in Jacksonville, Florida, and he been ridin’ with us since. He’s in everybody’s damn video.”

“TOOL IN DA POCKET”

Producer: Keith Mack
Kuntry’s Commentary: “I thug it out a lil bit. When we walk in that club, and ol’ Billy Badass wanna be Billy Badass, but remember pot’na'I’m in the club by myself, but best’a know I got ‘it’ on me. You want to be Billy Badass tonight, you might not make it home. That’s not even for me, that’s for people just to open your eyes up. You might have a safer time in the club because you gotta realize these cats is out there in the club just like that'it’s just their mindframe.”

“DA BADDEST” f/Trey Songz

Producer: Shawty Redd
Kuntry’s Commentary: “Me and Shawty Redd been trying to get together before he was even doing stuff with Young Jeezy, back when Jeezy was just Jeezy. We always partied together anyway, we just get in the studio and knock out a lot of songs. He just nice with it. When we get together, it just feel right when we make the music together. Redd make alternative music too; he make all different type of sounds that y’all haven’t heard yet, but he got that signature street music. He don’t use no samples, he got that signature sound, but a lot of people copying that sound. But he’s the best one with it.”

“WE IZ”

Producer: J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League
Kuntry’s Commentary: “They let me hear a lot of songs like ‘Maybach Music’. But at the time, when I was doing my album I was like, ‘Nah man, that’s not the south homie, I can’t get on that right now.’ At first I didn’t like the beat, and then it just started flowing through. It’s so different, it’s hard. They gave me another beat that I might use for the next album that’s jammin’.”

“POTS AND PANS”

Producer: Shawty Redd
Kuntry’s Commentary: “If you feel like it’s [hip-hop] dead, come down here, and you’ll see me getting to the money and we still doing what we doing. It’s almost like modern day racism. It’s already hard being a black man, now I’m from the South, you hate me for that too? Because I don’t drop lyrics like the people you grew up listening to? Whoever your pioneers are are not our pioneers Down South. I’m talking for the South, this is how we feel. We was always rapping for our corner, our block. But now radio stations started saying, ‘We ’bout to start playing what’s in our city,’ and that’s how the South got up.”

“SOUL OF A MAN” f/Ricco

Producer: Keith Mack, James “Nard” Rosser & Brandon “B” Rackley
Kuntry’s Commentary: “I can’t be more than the soul of a man. I want you to feel me more than a hit song on this record. Do a song gotta be a hit for you to feel the soul of a man? It’s hard for a big company like Atlantic to see what they have, just like it was hard for Arista to see that they had a T.I., Colombia didn’t see they had a 50 Cent. So don’t oversee me because I’m the soul of a man. It’s all G to me, because if you don’t believe in me, that’s more work for me to do.”

“LOVE YOU THE RIGHT WAY” f/Lloyd

Producer: D. Johnson
Kuntry’s Commentary: “I put this record on there because i was going so hard, I don’t want to lose the ladies. So I told the woman, if your man can’t fulfill your dreams, your dreams will come true over here. Lloyd make it R&B like a mutha, but I try to go against him and be on the same page, and the women eat that up. So if a male scan through that song, they’ll be like, Aww that’s an R&B song. But if they listen to it, they’ll be like, That’s right up my alley. Because that’s how it is.”

“WE HERE”

Producer: Shawty Redd
Kuntry’s Commentary: “It’s a real big street song. All that playing, you think it’s a game around here, nah we here. I’m a big boy boss, I’m the big homie, you need to get to know that.”

“FOCUS” f/Young Dro

Producer: Tony Galvin
Kuntry’s Commentary: “Dro do his thing man, he’s crazy with the wordplay ["Super like Mario/Meatball raviol/29 hundred million, Grandma on the patio"]. Just separating ourselves from the rest. We high, but we focused.”

“POSSE” f/MacBoney & Yung LA

Producer: Marvelous J
Kuntry’s Commentary: “‘Posse’ might start some fights. I wanted to make something for the real gang bangers out in the street, because I got some friends that do that…not saying they bad people, just saying…Yung LA is futuristic swag. He’s a youngster; he got the young cats behind him. From the beginning, I had him on ‘Going Ham,’ ‘Killin’ Em,’ and we did ‘Ain’t I’ together. After I took him under my wing and had him on shows with me, now he’s getting his own shows.”

“YEAH (I’M ON IT)”

Producer: Marvelous J
Kuntry’s Commentary: “That’s been blazing in Atlanta for a minute, and they still like it like it’s a new song. I put it on there so people that never heard it could catch up to it. Like ‘Going Ham,’ folks just catching onto the saying ‘going ham’. And that’s how my music always been. But I was way ahead of my time, so seven months later, that’s when the song blew up. Just like everybody feeling ‘The Baddest’ now. At first they weren’t feeling it, now they love it. Now shows poppin’ up for that song. I try to make music that’s relevant for now.”

“THAT’S RIGHT” f/ T.I.

Producer: James “Nard” Rosser & Brandon “B” Rackley
Kuntry’s Commentary: “That’s a record that’s been out for a while, but the whole world hasn’t heard it. I had to put it on there because it just broke the ice. I took Tip’s hook from a song he didn’t finish. And he was like, “how you gonna take my hook'can I at least say it over?” So I had my producers, Nard and B, make a beat around it. So when folks be like, Tip trying to help Kuntry out on a record like “Shoulder Lean,” it’s not the same thing because I actually took it off a song and put it together.

BONUS COMMENTARY
Kuntry on T.I.’s feud with Shawty Lo…

I’m the oldest, Tip is like my young brother, ya dig. And the thing about [Shawty] Lo, Lo never been no bad person. When he lashed out at Tip with the little underground stuff, we didn’t understand what was going on. Especially when we asked him, ‘What’s up?’ He would be like, he ain’t had no problems. I don’t know if it was a publicity stunt; I don’t know what it is. I just feel like anything a person really do and feel, they’ll check it at the door. But that’s a situation Tip can handle. We handle all situations. I’m not finna addressed that, stick to the G-Code. I don’t live on the internet, I’m not a blogger. You gotta see about me just like you always saw about me, and that’s in the streets. Internet cats can’t get to the street. That’s why it’s not really beef, just the he-say she-say.

Which brings us to the ATL-based trio Supreeme. We’ve been rocking with them for a minute, and for good reason: These dudes are bringing ‘08 forward, fuck bringing ‘88 back. The music is weird, the raps are fresh, and the lane is entirely their own. Get familiar.

To tease the pre-album mixtape Silver Medallion (out Sept. 12), they VHS-filmed a video for “I’m Crazy.” See the video and check out a quick Q&A with Negashi Armada (the second MC on the track) below…

Complex: What’s the concept of the video?

Negashi: In Atlanta, they came out with a new program for crazy people to work out their issues making music. So we’re the crazy guys, and the two guys in the beginning are police officers'something like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Then when we get out, all the people are wearing “I'm Crazy” shirts so the police can't find us. They are our disciples.

Complex: You shot this on VHS?

Negashi: Yeah. About a year ago, I was at a store called Value Village'that’s where T.I.’s character worked in ATL'and I happened to stumble upon an old VHS camera. It turned out the shit actually works. We shot it on there, in the spirit of an old MTV 120 Minutes video or one of those Nigerian or Jamaican hood movies.

Complex: And you guys did it on your own?

Negashi: Completely on our own, self-funded. We shot it in one weekend in Atlanta'the chase scene in one day, the studio scenes the next day.

Complex: Will the song be on the new mixtape?

Negashi: Yeah, we’re giving away Silver Medallion online on Sept. 12 as a prequel to the upcoming Gold Medallion album on Warner Brothers. Silver Medallion sounds like the Ruff Ryders/Cash Money reunion tour in the year 2240.

Complex: What’s your thoughts on the whole hipster rap craze?

Negashi: I think within hipster rap, a lot is placed on glossiness…it’s very clean, pristine. To me hipster rappers are a nice weird intersection between pretty boys and nerds. Maybe we've been lumped in with it but we're not really a part of that. We're coming from a totally different tradition of artists. And I hate the retro music.

Complex: Word. Anything else?

Negashi: Check our MySpace and web site…it gets crazier there.

More than just a premium sneaker and streetwear boutique, Wish carries brands like Corpus, Diesel, Gourmet, In4mation, Staple Design, and Australian label PAM. Its premium accounts with coveted brands and limited releases by MadFoot, JB Classics, Nike Quick Strike, and Alife have created long lines around the block by the local repeat customers. While you’re there, spend some time in the library-esque lower level, which if filled with dramatic glass and a wood sneaker display. See more of the store’s chic interior below.

Wish
447 Moreland Ave.
Atlanta, GA 30307
404-880-0402
wishatl.com

The single was produced by Jim Jonsin, who’s on a bit of a roll right now after banging out Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop.” And although Jonsin has produced everything from teeny pop (Pretty Ricky’s “Grind With Me”) to heavy metal rap (Trick Daddy’s “Let’s Go”) in the past, his collaboration with Tip has the same airy synths and sing-along verses as Weezy’s recent hit. Listen to “Whatever You Like” below.

T.I. “Whatever You Like”

from Paper Trail (2008)

This week’s street detail tag team from Atlanta must frequent the same stores, because they sent in a photo of themselves rocking coordinated outfits with the same colors and brands. But even with all the similarities, some key details give them each a unique look. Read about their outfits after the jump, then vote on whether you think they’re “Stylin’” or “Wildin’” in our new poll.

[Want to be featured in our weekly Street Detail blog? Email a picture of yourself to streetdetail@complex.com]

Name: Lester Batiste aka LES (left) / Charles Waterman (right)

Age: 21 / 18

Location: Atlanta, GA

Pullover / Jacket: Christian Dior

Denim: Levi’s

Footwear: Air Jordan III / Bally boat shoes

Bag: Louis Vuitton / Pierre Cardin

Now, on the brand new “Foolish” remix, which features DJ Khaled, Rick Ross, Jim Jones and Birdman (on the vocoder!), Lo contunues his quest to bring Tip’s Bankhead origins into question: “Cross your T’s and dot your I’s / I’m the real Bankhead, that’s no lie!” It ain’t exactly an ether, but its the closest either of them have come to saying the other man’s name on record. Listen after the jump.

Shawty Lo f/ DJ Khaled, Rick Ross, Birdman & Jim Jones “Foolish (Remix)”


Related:

- T.I. Returns With “No Matter What”

- Shawty Lo Dunn Dunn It All

- Killer Mike Reps The Real Atlanta On “2 Sides”

On a typically busy night in Atlanta last week, Greg Street and his Sneaker Friends '08 event at the Fabulous Fox Theatre found itself in direct competition with a Lil Wayne show only a few blocks away. Its safe to say that most ATLiens prefer Ice Creams over Lollipops.

The sneaker heads were definitely in the house as both local retailers like Laced Up and national brands like Puma put their best foot forward to bring attention to Atlanta's much slept-on sneaker culture. Check out a gang of photos from the event after the jump.

Hot spot Standard definitely set one this night

BELIEVE THE HYPE!

Luda Puma

Adidas' NBA collection was looking much better this time around

The Iceman Cometh

This guy is expecting $700 for this 1996 Allen Iverson G-town Hoyas jersey. You got it?

Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda

Jordan Love

Greg Street and the YO! MTV RAPS Pumas

Custom Made Grouch Dunks by Kojo of TheSnkrBox

Danniel of Y-3 and Ernel of Laced Up

Don Cannon and Greg Street

This guy makes these himself!

Bo Probably Don't Know Where To Find These Now

G-Roc of TheShoeGame.com

The 'Sole' Train Line

On Paper Trail, the album he started recording in his home studio while on house arrest awaiting his gun trial, Tip seems determined to right his wrongs. He’s working with Toomp again, and the album’s title is even a reference to the fact that he’s been meticulously writing out his verses, rather than just freestyling off the dome. This morning, “No Matter What,” the first official joint from Paper Trail leaked, and it doesn’t disappoint. This is Tip at his most thoughtful and unflinchingly honest, speaking about overcoming his legal troubles like a motivational speaker. He even finds time to fire back at Shawty Lo, who has been throwing subliminal jabs at the King of the South over the last year:

“Set the standard in Atlanta, how to get, get, get it/So you up and coming rappers wanna diss, just kill it/I’m officially the realest/Point blank period/Whether I still live in the hood or just visit/Whatever you could do in the hood, I done did it/That’s why the dope boys and the misfits feel it.”

Listen to Tip’s return below.

[Nah Right]

His new single, “My Ride (Double Bubble),” an ode to his fresh whip, could be Stat’s best shot yet. This fun-loving duet with fellow ATLien B.O.B. is filled with an infectious doo-wop sound that has “summer anthem” written all over it. Listen to the track after the jump.

Related:
-
B.O.B. Shakes Off the Haterz In His New Video
-
Stat-Quo Album Review

Killer Mike isn’t from Bankhead, but he reps Adamsville, another area on the Westside. On his new joint “2 Sides,” the former OutKast affiliate turns Lo’s memorable line into an anthem for the entire A, calling out folks for falsely claiming the Eastside, Southside and Northside as well. With Atlanta going through a boom lately, attracting out of towners from all over, keeping sight of the real ATL seems more important than ever. This joint is rumored to be on Mike’s upcoming album I Pledge Allegience To The Grind II. Listen after the jump.

Killer Mike f/ Shawty Lo “2 Sides”

from I Pledge Allegience To The Grind II

Related: Shawty Lo’s “Dunn Dunn/Foolish” Video

[REZIDUE]

Check the video after the jump.