thaFormula.com - Now before you dropped your debut album, I was used to you rhyming on most of G-Units more grimy tracks so it was surprising to me when I heard "So Seductive" as your first single. Looking back would you have still chose that as your first single?

Tony Yayo - Yeah. I think "So Seductive" paved the way to let people know I can make different kind of music and make music for the club. If you watch 50 Cent's formula, Biggie or Tupac or an artist like Jay-Z, Eminem or Dr. Dre, they always make them street albums but they always have them club banger hits or them hits for the ladies or the dudes in the club that wanna chill when you're in the whip to make you bounce. So I just went with the "So Seductive" 'cause you know I ain't been around ladies in a minute. The beat was crazy, 50 was on it, the idea was crazy and it worked. Plus I was just experimenting. That was my first album so you know I experimented on a couple of things. Now I know what direction I want to go with as an artist and who I am as an artist even better now.

thaFormula.com - It did seem like it was doing cool and it got a lot of video play and radio play but I noticed that the hype just stopped after the video buzzed a little. What exactly happened to 'cause that?

Tony Yayo - Well the record did 700,000 and I was on house arrest. So like a lot of promo and stuff I wanted to do I couldn't do because I was on probation and parole. When you would see me at the Vibe Awards or somewhere like that for instance I had to get permission from my parole officer to even go and then my parole officer has to get permission from their supervisor up in Albany cause they wasn't trying to let me travel like that especially with a name like G-Unit and New York city you know. A lot of people look at it like "yo what was the problem?" Well the problem was the Yayo couldn't really be out. I couldn't go to Canada, I still haven't been to Canada in my whole career yet. So you know I had a lot of shows lined up in Canada, I couldn't go overseas. I just went overseas for the first time last year heading into the year. I went to Germany and Sweden. I still haven't been to the markets like London and places that I've sold. That's why now I feel like a brand new artist because I'm off of probation and parole. I'm smokin' my little trees now, I'm in the studio going hard and I'm vibing. I'm on Timbaland's new album, you can catch me on 50's album, I'm just working man. A lot of people are gonna see a lot of things for the New Year when 50's album comes out. Right now I'm in support mode for that as well as Young Buck's album that's coming out this month, "Buck the World."

thaFormula.com - Now I know you wrote a lot of songs when you were in prison, did the vision you had for your album while you were in prison turn out to be the same vision you had when you finally released you debut album?

Tony Yayo - I think it came out the way I wanted it. Like a lot of people look at Yayo like Yayo doesn't even have to rap. You got dudes like Camron, Jim Jones and these guys. These dudes are in it for the love of it, they love the music, I love the music as well to but like I don't have to rap, you understand what I'm saying? 50 will look out for me regardless. When I came home you could see it on my DVD that was packaged with my album. You see the Jacob watches, a condo in Manhattan, now I own a home but that's what I came home to, a Mercedes Benz, so its like when you see stuff like that I mean its like I'm just G-Unit. Whoever don't like G-Unit, I'm against you, I'm the one you need to be worried about. If you got a problem with G-Unit like the Fat Joes, The Games, and Camron's, I really don't have a fond interest in too many rappers. I feel like a lot of people are sleeping on G-Unit right now but people don't understand the accomplishments we made. No rap group could accomplish that in Hip-Hop ever again.

thaFormula.com - Yeah, it seems like in a lot of people's eyes you guys are finished...

Tony Yayo - In a lot of peoples eyes you guys are finished is because fans are like fiends, they are like crack heads. A fan can like you one day cause you got good work and the next day they tired of the same work, they want some new work. So what you got to do is, you got to go back in the kitchen, cook up all the shit you got, put it on the block, then your gonna hopefully get your sales. When you see Young Bucks album coming and you see 50's album coming, it's a wrap man. Watch how the media changes like "oh my god 50's album is incredible, Bucks album is incredible," it always happens 'cause fans and media is like fiends. Me, I don't grow gray hairs over this rap stuff 'cause I think like I'm broke, it doesn't matter to me, I'm still in the streets with it you heard? So I'm not growing no gray hairs, if you buy my album you buy it, if you don't you don't, it doesn't really make a difference to me. 50 is rich off of Vitamin Water, 50 is rich off of G-Unit clothing, 50 is rich off of G-Unit sneakers.

thaFormula.com - So is CD sales not really the way to make money?

Tony Yayo - CD sales is the way to make money if you sell like 50cent, Eminem or Dr. Dre, but a lot of artists make money off of shows and money off of side ventures. It's on you what you wanna do. But a lot of rappers don't have money period, it's a facade like Camron in a rented Lamborghini. Like a lot of people look at stuff like "oh G-Unit is over," watch how people turn into PDR's. You know what a PDR is?

thaFormula.com - What's a PDR?

Tony Yayo - A PDR is a professional dick rider. That's what people is gonna turn to when we bring that good crack or that good dope to them. That's it. What makes us a failure? Lloyd Banks still sold 2 million, Young Buck still did 1.5 million, I still did 700,000 on house arrest, 50 still sold 11 million. He still sold 9 million on his second album and did 1.4 his first week. Who beat that? Jay-Z? Nas? Anybody? Name somebody! Name somebody who beat our sells! Fat Joe? Do people think they are winning because he has R. Kelly on his remix? His record sold nothing! What did he do? A buck twenty-five or something? Come on, you could have R Kelly signing on your remix, it doesn't matter! 'Cause of Game? 50's mix tape is selling more then Games album! Do you realize that? Lets get the Soundscan right now! I mean like come on, G-Unit hasn't fell off. I mean a lot of people look at it like what happened with the success of the Mobb Deep album.

thaFormula.com - Yeah a lot of people are basing it on the Mobb Deep album... 

Tony Yayo - I mean you know things happen sometimes. Sometimes it's not the right timing, sometimes it might not be the record, sometimes fans, uh weren't probably used to seeing Mobb Deep with G-Unit but at the end of the day that was the most exposure Mobb Deep ever had in their whole career. You realize that? So if a lot of people say we losing, then who the hell is winning? If G-Unit is losing tell me who is winning! That's what I wanna know. Don't say Fat Joe because he did what 225,000, don't say Jim Jones cause he's on Koch and he did 2 (hundred thousand) and change, you can't say Camron cause he rhymes like my daughter. Who else, who's winning?

thaFormula.com - But on the other side of it, people think they are winning cause Koch pays so much more a record supposedly...

Tony Yayo - Now you mean to tell me if Koch was paying 7 dollars a record, you don't think 50 would negotiate a deal over there and why wouldn't they wanna deal with 50 cent and G-Unit? See people always look at when you fail. Nobody likes us so when we fail everybody looks, but when we do good everybody PDR's. It's all good man, like I said I'm here and I got my mix tape out that's killing the streets, my album "Godfather of the Ghetto" is coming and uh, here we go I got the Soundscan in front of me right now. 50 cent, Eminem presents the Re-Up is at 915,000 and Game is at 878,000 my brother at 17 weeks brother! His last album he did 6 (hundred thousand) and change his first week when 50 wrote the first 3 singles. So you tell us who is winning and who is losing.

thaFormula.com - There is no doubt that what you guys accomplished sales wise will go down in history...

Tony Yayo - We already went down in history. You can never take away the sales of "Get Rich or Die Trying," 11 million records, you can never take away the sales of "Beg For Mercy," 3 to 4 million records, you could never take the sales from Lloyd Banks, 2 million records, you can never take the sales from Young Buck 1.5 million, you can never take the sales from the movie soundtrack, 3 million, you can never take the sales from me 700,000, you could never take the sales from "The Massacre" 8 to 9 million. No one has ever did that in Hip-Hop and let me tell you something, I want you to put this out to the media! Listen, 50's new album is better then "Get Rich or Die Trying" and the reason why I say that is because he never did a star-studded album. "Get Rich or Die Trying" had me, Banks, Buck, Eminem and Dr. Dre. "Massacre" had me, Banks, Buck, Eminem, Dr. Dre and Jamie Foxx. History is in the past, G-Unit we are still here man. Once 50 Cent drops, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Young Buck, its a G-Unit, Shady season for like the next 4 to 5 years. People say down South is winning too. Like, we can take 20 down South artists and they still couldn't accomplish up to the sales of 50 cent alone. I'm not taking nothing from the South though. I love Jeezy, I like T.I., I like Young Buck, I like a lot of down south artists but I mean you know, times change.

thaFormula.com - Are you guys feeling a lot of pressure right now though man?

Tony Yayo - Me, I don't feel any pressure at all, I really don't care. I would take a big bag of money and flip it into real estate, it doesn't mean nothing to me.

thaFormula.com - Now I was wondering, was there stuff that you guys did during the Katrina situation that maybe the media or fans never knew about?

Tony Yayo - Of course. We got in contact with David Banner and there was a G-Unit clothing drive. People never see the positive, they only see the negative when it comes to us. They don't know that I personally went to 3 or 4 shelters Christmas time. When I'm busy 50 do it, when 50 busy Banks do it. We have a G-Unity foundation that pays for kids to go see colleges and stuff like that in the hood. But like media never shows that, but its all good though. We had a G-Unit clothing drive through David Banner's people and stuff like that. So all the clothes that we had and stuff like that, we donated it straight to New Orleans. People don't realize that man.

thaFormula.com - You know I look at the south man and I notice that for the most part they are really united and work together a lot. Why is it to this day especially since the Death Row and Bad Boy era that L.A & N.Y. rappers still got beef within each other? You got so many NY rappers beefin' with New York rappers and L.A. rappers beefin' with L.A. rappers and so on man…

Tony Yayo - You know what it is with me man, I'm what you call a G. You ain't gonna tell me that your gonna throw my daughter in a blender or kill my mother or tell me to suck your dick and think we are still cool. I'm in the streets my man. Me, I don't give a fuck. 'Til the day I die, its fuck Game, it's fuck Fat Joe, it's fuck everybody. If it ain't 50 and the team, its fuck you and when I see you in the streets, uh you can ask any of these clown ass niggaz how I get down. These niggaz ain't real, they WWF and I'm starting to realize this everyday, so instead of me wasting my bail money or my friends bail money trying to pop somebody's top off or hurting somebody or somebody hurting me where I cant see my daughter, I'ma fall back 'cause these dudes is WWF!! Game, WWF! Fat Joe, WWF!! Camron and Dipset, WWF!! Nobody can see me and I'm not saying it can't happen to me or I can't get hurt, but when you see these dudes? Come on Jim Jones, he tried to reach out to me. He called me an immigrant on the radio then tried to reach out to me? Game, come on he's trying to reach out to 50 and everybody 'cause you ain't selling no records! Fat Joe, you are a fat Puerto Rican that don't sell no records b. Nobody cares about you bro. So its like if it ain't about G-Unit then fuck you!

thaFormula.com - Now I know you have kids Yayo, as time goes by do you ever start to think about all the gun talk and all that and how it might affect certain kids?

Tony Yayo - Well my son is crazy, he is G-Unit'd out, I ain't even gonna lie to you. He loves the music and he knows what's going on and he has the picture of Camron with the gun to his head on his Myspace. I can't stop that dog! You know what I'm saying? My son loves 50, he wears a vest and everything, I can't stop that dog. These kids get on the computer and they do what they do, but as for you telling me I'm gonna throw your kids in a blender and then you see me and wanna say what up? That's WWF. All these rappers is WWF. If 50 wasn't selling no records, there wouldn't be no hate.

thaFormula.com - So has there ever been a beef that you would say was actually real beef between you guys?

Tony Yayo - I don't know about these other dudes, but all my beef is real. I didn't like Game, I don't like Fat Joe, I don't like nobody. I'm gonna be honest with you. Every beef I have is serious with me.

thaFormula.com - I meant more like have they ever taken to the level that you take it?

Tony Yayo - Nah, they don't want that problem. My truck is bullet proof brother, 50 got it for me. I prepared for the war so I'm good. I don't walk around stupid.

thaFormula.com - How did it feel to see Benzino and Mays no longer running the Source magazine?

Tony Yayo - I love it. It's good for Hip-Hop because you can't have a hater running the magazine cause you don't like Eminem or 50 Cent. If I owned a magazine and I'm a rapper and is making all this money selling the magazine, why would I associate my beefs wit the magazine? You turned the source into your personal beef. I jumped out on Benzino too in Miami, ask him about it. He was shaking in his boots. Ask Benzino. He put G-Unot on his cover the next week, but it's all good cause he don't work there no more. I hope he's successful with his magazine with Wendy Williams and everybody else. Hopefully they will be getting at us too so its all good, I'm not mad.

thaFormula.com - Do you guys have a good relationship with The Source now?

Tony Yayo - Yeah, because Benzino and Dave Mays is gone, so its all good.

thaFormula.com - Now I know you were really into the track "Self Destruction" back in the day because you liked how all the rappers got together for a track. Could you ever see that happening today?

Tony Yayo - I could see that happening, but me and 50 ain't gonna be on the record because all that is gonna be is a "We Are the World Record" against us.

thaFormula.com - Now you were someone that was struggling all your life when you were young man, how does it feel to go from that to having access to all this money and fame so quickly?

Tony Yayo - It feels good man. You want me to tell you how my weekend was. Friday, I was in the studio with 50 cent, Eminem and Dr. Dre. Saturday, we fly to Vegas. We go to Floyd Mayweather's crib so you know there is bitches over there dog. He's talking about how he is gonna whoop De La Hoya's ass. Then we go to his birthday party. Then the next day we fly to Miami and we are with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. My life is great man you know what I mean? The money is good dog, and the bitches too.

thaFormula.com - Now you came to realize that Interscope only cares about 3 people, Dre, Eminem and 50 cent. When did you realize this and what made you realize this?

Tony Yayo - I realized that after my first album. Interscope cares about 3 people. Eminem, Dr. Dre, and 50 Cent and you can't be mad, and from a drug dealer perspective, I would look at it like this, if 50 Cent, Eminem and Dr. Dre are moving 300 bricks and me and a couple of other dudes are only moving like 5 or 6 bricks, who you think Jimmy Iovine is gonna go to? Who would you go to? I know I'm rolling the dice with Eminem, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent. It's reality man.

thaFormula.com - What I like about you man as that you never come off at all like a jealous or envious dude of any of your G-Unit peoples?

Tony Yayo - Nah, I'm not jealous man, I'm fortunate man. When you're in a cell and you come home to like money and cars and stuff like that, uh you know 50 didn't have to do that for me. That's why my whole thing is man I don't want drama with everybody, but the whole thing is that if you got beef with 50, you got beef with me, that's just how I'm on it. Why do I need to be friends with you, when my best friend sells the most records and looks out for me? I can borrow a couple of million on a phone call. Can you lend me a couple of million right now?

thaFormula.com - (Laughs) Now you were only on a couple of tracks on the actual G-Unit album. Will there be another G-Unit album anytime soon?

Tony Yayo - Yeah, there is gonna be another G-Unit album, its in the works and you never know who it might be with. It might be with Dr Dre, or with Timbaland. There is a lot of stuff in the works people don't know about, but you know 50 and Buck is about to blow and then things is gonna change.

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