With your label, what do you look for in a young artist?

I look for talent. I look at their music, the buzz they got in their city. I like to meet up and know them as a person, see if they’re the type of person that would switch and turn bitch. I look for all that shit. But, mostly I look for talent and their dedication. They could have all the shit to make a hit record but have no dedication. You can get a hit from damn near a mistake and have no will to go in that studio and keep on doing it.

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Pimp C gave you your first shot. How does it feel to have the opportunity to be that bridge for a younger artist, now, the way he did for you?

It makes me feel like I have a responsibility. I basically give the same steps that Pimp gave to me: I never show them too much enthusiasm. They’ll let me hear me a record, I’ll be like, “It’s aight.” That make them work harder. That make them know that that’s not they best even if I feel it’s they best. That’s what Pimp did to me. He kept me hungry. I wanted to please him. I took that as a CEO of my own label. It always made me wanna go in there and make more records. When I came into Pimp, I was already damn near regional but he made me feel like I was local again so I had to become nationwide.

Where do you find that hunger now?

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My motivation now is for my kids. I done basically had everything I wanted out of life because I come from nothing. I made a million dollars and felt like I crossed the damn Nile River. So now, I’m doing it for my kids and building them up so they have a better life than I did. My fans keep me going, too. When they see me they see, “Boosie we need another one!” They keep me going.

It can’t be a secret to you that you’re a living legend. Your place in rap history is stamped just off how many people you touch with your stories. What is it like to know that?

It’s a good feeling, man. It’s a good feeling. Make me wanna live longer, make me wanna take care of myself better. It makes me wanna exercise, make me wanna get this diabetes out of my body. I got cancer out of my body. Me knowing I’m a legend, I don’t want it to end even though when I’m gone it’ll never end. I wanna be around to see my kids have kids. I wanna go out on top and see my kids go out on top. If not, I had a hell of a run baby.

