Dark Lo has a possible prison sentence on his mind. His longtime friend and collaborator AR-Ab was recently sentenced to 45 years and Lo got jammed up trying to help him by sending a jail letter to the informant that put Ab in this situation. But some folks on the internet are trying to paint a different picture.
The Philadelphia rapper plead guilty to witness intimidation and is now out on bail ready to set the record straight. He also dropped off his first single—“Vultures” featuring AR-Ab—from his upcoming project with Harry Fraud. Lo says he has a bunch of music in the chamber ready to go for when he finally has to do his bid.
Check out the single above and check out our interview with Lo below, along with the artwork and tracklist for Borrowed Time which will be dropping May 21.
What is there that you want to talk about regarding AR-Ab’s case? I’ve been reading up on it and it’s a touchy situation.
Yeah. It’s real touchy. I wasn’t really trying to get into this whole case but, you know, just get into the basics because the fans want to know what’s going on. But I don’t want to get all the way into it because he still got appeal, and plus I’m still out on bail. So I really don’t want to get all the way into it. And there are rumors about me saying I told on him or something. It’s just crazy right now.
Because you plead guilty, went in for a bit, and now you’re out?
They putting dirt on my name like I told on Ab, or told on any of the men in the case. You got a video, Ab told you, I ain’t tell on him or nothing. Plus, I got locked up for a guy telling on him. So why would I get locked up for writing a message to some guy that was like my little brother, and the guy gave the letter to the Feds and I got pickled? Dude was just basically… It always comes from the inside, it always comes from family. It ain’t coming from nowhere else but from family. You know jealousy, niggas hatin’. Then they said I came home too quick. I came home on compassionate release and I caught COVID in there. I was ready to die in that joint. The judge let me come home until my case was over.
I just want to address the fans and let the fans know what was going on with that. You’ve got to understand, I write a letter to somebody that’s testifying on my brother, and I get picked up. I talked to the cops, whatever, I’m trying to get him out. I’m trying to make it smooth for Ab. So I’m talking to them. And at this time, I’m so cocky and I’m just feeling myself. Y’all picked me up for a letter? Like, alright, let’s talk. You know what I’m saying? It ain’t like they picked me up for drugs, with guns, none of that. My lawyer was like, “Y’all picked him up for a letter? Let’s see what you’re all talking about then.”
If you told, people can find the paperwork. Some people don’t understand that. If you told in court, or even if, let’s say, if you told the cops or whatever some shit, you would have to testify.
No question about that. You’re going to have to testify.
Especially with a case like that.
Exactly.
You have to corroborate what you told in a court or you would be an informant for them and they would have to protect your identity and put you in witness protection.
Shit. But everybody knows that. It’s just a few haters, few dudes that have been hating that’s just really trying to push it. When you’ve got the statement, you’ve got Ab saying, “No, he didn’t snitch.” Everybody is not even paying attention to this.
So what kind of time are you still looking at?
So my deal was, they were going to drop the gun case if I plead guilty to witness intimidation. So I plead guilty because they found a gun in my house. I was basically caught red-handed. Me and my lawyer were going back and forth with the DA. You know what I’m saying? They told me like basically, alright, we’ll drop this gun charge if you plead guilty to the witness intimidation charge. So I did that.
Which is a lesser charge, right?
Yeah. It’s a lesser charge. Now I’m just waiting to get sentenced in August.
There’s an article from The Philadelphia Inquirer that says you can face up to 20 years. Is that really what you’re looking at?
No, that’s basically if I violate. Let’s say when I get on federal probation. Now if I mess up on federal probation, they could come back and give me 20 years. But I’m facing up to nine years. I’m blessed to have a fair judge for them even letting me out. There are a lot of bad judges where I was locked up at, but I was blessed to have a fair judge, so hopefully he has a little leniency on me.
Even if he has leniency, do you think you would have to go inside? Or you think you could get probation or something? You’re preparing yourself for having to be in jail for a little bit?
Yeah. I’m preparing myself for having to go to jail for at least a year or two. I’ve just been recording every day. I got so much music. It’s going to be like I never left.
What do you have to say to the folks that are saying Ab did this to himself? There’s compilations on YouTube of him “snitching” on himself and you have the VladTV interviews.
You gotta understand that everything that Ab talked about was back in the day, like 2000, 2001, 2002. We’re grown ass men now. He’s in this situation because somebody told on him. They’re saying he told on himself, that’s bullshit. He never told on himself, we all got histories. If that’s the case, then Jay-Z told on himself. He told you he was selling bricks in ‘88. He told on himself too.
Ok, let’s get into the music. This is your first time working with Harry Fraud, how did you guys link up?
Yeah, this is my first time working with Harry Fraud, personally. I jacked “Birds on the Wire” with Ab back in the day. That’s still one of my biggest songs. The chemistry was just crazy. Just automatically connected.
What are some of the things that fans can expect?
This one is real personal, some storytelling. You got the aggressiveness, you got the calmness, the whole Dark Lo package. Dark Lo at his best, once again. Like a gift. Just sit in my passenger’s seat and let me do the driving.
When can we expect the new Dark Lo and V Don project?
Don’t get it twisted, the Harry project is crazy, but me and V Don’s chemistry is immaculate. We should be dropping around the end of June.
So, how many projects are you planning on releasing this year? Harry Fraud and V Don, that’s two.
Four. I’m going to drop four. I’m going for four. I got so many projects, like I told you, I’m like, I’m looking at it like I’m gonna be gone for a little bit. I got enough projects to last for a couple of years. Harry Fraud we dropping this month. And you got V Don dropping next month. If not next month, definitely July. And you got Ron Harvey Part 2 dropping. And you got Blood in My Eyes dropping. Me and this kid named Quiet Genius and plenty more, lots more.
How about doing a tape with Benny? You guys have incredible chemistry. Streets need that.
That’s coming. We already have four songs together, so we need four more. Should be happening this summer.
Have you already started thinking about what you’re going to do when you come home, when all this is over?
Yeah, I’ll definitely keep making music. It’s like wine, like fine wine. Like you said, I’m in my 30s but you got rock and roll dudes who go to like age 65, 70. I’m gonna own my record label. That’s a goal to have a record label and to help other artists coming up. Be able to snatch other artists and put them in a better position. It’s OBH forever, you know what I mean? But I got my own shit right now. It’s called Extreme Measures. So it’s like how Ab came and helped a lot of dudes out in the city. I’m going to do the same thing. Everything is going to happen with this, as soon as I get out and I know what I’m doing, I’m right at it. We’re going to really do what we got to do.
OK, so “Vultures.” You got Ab on there, and I’m assuming it’s a going away verse.
That was a verse that we never released. I did my verse and Harry got his verse, and we blended it right in real decent. Ab really don’t want to release no music right now. He definitely got a lot of music. But for right now, he’s just focusing on his people and his situation. That was like one of our last songs that we did together, right there, we called that “Last Drink.”
Do you have any visuals planned for this Harry Fraud tape?
I’m going to try and shoot like four videos off this project. So, the first one’s done already. Me and AR, both of us, might do animation with the “Vultures” joint.
How long do you see yourself being home for?
They said August, but they’d probably let me stay up an extra month, to September, because I’ve been compliant on house arrest. So, they probably give me another extra month. But we’ll see. We’ll see.
1. “Daily Prayers”
2. “Premonition”
3. “Shots Ringing”
4. “Vultures” f/ AR-Ab
5. “Right Left Interlude”
6. “Blicky”
7. “Missing Summers” f/ Boldy James
8. “Auntie Had Withdrawals”
9. “Careless”
