Queens Reigns Supreme: 50 cent fat cat book
mandrew
2,720 Posts
here's an interview with the author of:
King of QueensWhat???s the real story behind Supreme, Irv and Chris Gotti, and 50 Cent? Ethan Brown talks to Radar about the hip-hop hustle.by Jaime LoweLast Friday, Irving and Christopher Lorenzo (better known to the world as Irv and Chris Gotti) were acquitted of all charges, following a three-year federal probe into allegations that they were laundering illicit drug money through their record label, Murder Inc. For author Ethan Brown the trial was just a continuation of an ongoing saga???one that involves murder, hip-hop, hustling, and a bizarre cross-pollination of hardcore drug running and the music industry. In his new book, Queens Reign Supreme, Brown links legendary Queens gangster Kenneth ???Supreme??? McGriff with rap stars desperate for street cred. RADAR ONLINE: How did you get access to sources for this story? Kinda seems like a dangerous topic to investigate. BROWN: This story was tricky. Reporting street stuff, you have to go person by person for safety reasons. I would never meet anyone without a reference. What was the Gotti trial like? It was depressing. This was a massive federal investigation with very little substance. The government had no case???they didn???t turn up a single Murder Inc. employee to testify at the trial. They had a guy who was an intern???but he was actually a homeless person that Chris Gotti brought in off the streets, and he wasn???t even on the payroll. There was no one else on the witness list? How did they get the case to trial? The other witness was this guy, John Ragin, who was Kenneth ???Supreme??? McGriff???s partner in Picture Perfect [a film company backed by the Gotti brothers]. His story was totally bizarre. He came up with this elaborate story that there was some hit on 50 Cent based on Irv and Chris???s orders, but the judge didn???t allow that into evidence. The jury was ordered out of the courtroom, and he ruled that it was entirely irrelevant.Do you think Murder Inc. was involved in any shady deals with Supreme?I don???t think the Gottis??? role in all this is clear to anyone, or whether they were supporting Supreme while he was traveling under an alias and signing off on some checks. It???s entirely possible that Preme came to them and asked them to write a check for cash. That???s money laundering, but it???s not a money-laundering operation. I believe everyone who invested in Crime Partners [Supreme???s feature film] believed it was going to make money. That???s the opposite of money laundering. It wasn???t a front.So in the end was there any logic to their case?No. The government offered up these text messages that they say prove that Supreme was hired to keep other rappers and gangsters at bay. The messages are things like ???I???m gonna ride with you till we die, nigga.??? But that???s just the kind of stuff they say all the time. They said that to me while I was reporting the book. It???s the language of that kind of person.So the claim that Supreme was there to protect Murder Inc. had no legs?They might have thought Supreme would offer a measure of protection, but honestly there were several instances when people tried to kill Supreme, little guys just trying to make a name for themselves. 50 Cent comes out of the same Queens neighborhood that you cover in your book. What???s the relationship between ???80s drug gangs and the next generation of hip-hop hustlers? Fiddy???s movie is entirely about Supreme. It depicts Fiddy fighting off this Queens drug dealer named Majestic, who is clearly Supreme. The obsession level between Fiddy and Preme is psychotic. In some of the transcripts of Irv visiting Preme in jail, Preme asks about Fiddy???s Soundscan numbers. I mean, the guy has a death penalty case coming up. These guys are totally obsessed with each other.Why did Fiddy target Supreme initially? Fiddy is amazingly good at sizing people up. He saw that Preme wasn???t the guy he was in the ???80s and just went after him???ruthlessly. He saw that Irv and Chris were using Preme as a prop. And now Fiddy???s going to go after the Game, and he???s going to win. Even though the Game???s album is better, Game is fighting Fiddy on terms that are unfavorable to Game. You know he???s calling him a snitch, but the millions of white kids that buy Fiddy???s album don???t care if he???s a snitch. 50 Cent has built his entire career based on his street life. He???s smarter than anyone else in the music business. Even though he???s not really welcome back in Southeast Queens, a lot of those guys respect him because he operates in a similar way. He sees someone, goes after him, takes him down, and destroys him. A guy who said he used to be part of the Supreme team approached me out of the blue and said, ???You know, I don???t like Fiddy???s music, but he moves like he???s from the block.??? Do you think there???s a separation between drugs and hip-hop now? No. Juelz Santana [a prot??g?? of Cam???ron and a member of Harlem???s Diplomat Set crew] is completely steeped in crack language. The CD booklet actually has a step-by-step photo series of cooking crack. There???s a new hustling paradigm in hip-hop. It???s much more direct than anything Irv or Fiddy was doing. It seems as though the industry is cyclical. So what???s the lesson in all of this? Irv and Chris were all alone in the end at Murder Inc. Everyone walked away. The big record companies walk away every time, and the black record execs hold the bag every time. The feds??? position is that Def Jam was tricked into making this deal with Supreme. Not only do the big companies get off, but they don???t have to take responsibility for who they partner with. But the Gottis have to take some responsibility for partnering with Supreme. Irv had no idea who Supreme was before he entered into this relationship. Believing the whole myth of the street gangster is just dangerous. The feds were looking at Supreme the minute he stepped out of jail in the ???90s. He was a huge guy back then. You know, the police hold him responsible for Edward Byrne [a 22-year-old cop killed in 1988], and Preme was still tied to Fat Cat [a Queens drug lord]. It seems as if so much hip-hop feuding has less to do with rival gangs than with petty arguments. The Tupac thing and his feud with Biggie set the tone for hip-hop. It???s really just theater and record sales. There???s very little that???s real about the rivalries, except the consequences. But really, I don???t think Tupac or Biggie???s death had anything to do with hip-hop stuff at all. Tupac pissed off a gang member, and Biggie got involved with some really rough Crip guys for security. Both of their deaths seem unrelated to hip-hop. Now they???re both martyrs.These hip-hop guys constantly misjudge street guys. Whether it???s Tupac and his shooting at the Quad, or Irv, it seems to be a running theme. These guys are out of their element. And no matter how successful you are, everyone walks away. Suge Knight???s attorney said the same thing. ???Why is Suge being targeted, when Interscope executives are not???? There???s racism there, but ultimately it doesn???t matter how successful you are. Multiplatinum album or not, if anything goes down, you will be left alone. Ethan is a contributing writer for Radar. Queens Reigns Supreme (Anchor) is now available at bookstores.fromhttp://www.radaronline.com/web-only/q-and-a/2005/12/king-of-queens.phpDISCUSS
King of QueensWhat???s the real story behind Supreme, Irv and Chris Gotti, and 50 Cent? Ethan Brown talks to Radar about the hip-hop hustle.by Jaime LoweLast Friday, Irving and Christopher Lorenzo (better known to the world as Irv and Chris Gotti) were acquitted of all charges, following a three-year federal probe into allegations that they were laundering illicit drug money through their record label, Murder Inc. For author Ethan Brown the trial was just a continuation of an ongoing saga???one that involves murder, hip-hop, hustling, and a bizarre cross-pollination of hardcore drug running and the music industry. In his new book, Queens Reign Supreme, Brown links legendary Queens gangster Kenneth ???Supreme??? McGriff with rap stars desperate for street cred. RADAR ONLINE: How did you get access to sources for this story? Kinda seems like a dangerous topic to investigate. BROWN: This story was tricky. Reporting street stuff, you have to go person by person for safety reasons. I would never meet anyone without a reference. What was the Gotti trial like? It was depressing. This was a massive federal investigation with very little substance. The government had no case???they didn???t turn up a single Murder Inc. employee to testify at the trial. They had a guy who was an intern???but he was actually a homeless person that Chris Gotti brought in off the streets, and he wasn???t even on the payroll. There was no one else on the witness list? How did they get the case to trial? The other witness was this guy, John Ragin, who was Kenneth ???Supreme??? McGriff???s partner in Picture Perfect [a film company backed by the Gotti brothers]. His story was totally bizarre. He came up with this elaborate story that there was some hit on 50 Cent based on Irv and Chris???s orders, but the judge didn???t allow that into evidence. The jury was ordered out of the courtroom, and he ruled that it was entirely irrelevant.Do you think Murder Inc. was involved in any shady deals with Supreme?I don???t think the Gottis??? role in all this is clear to anyone, or whether they were supporting Supreme while he was traveling under an alias and signing off on some checks. It???s entirely possible that Preme came to them and asked them to write a check for cash. That???s money laundering, but it???s not a money-laundering operation. I believe everyone who invested in Crime Partners [Supreme???s feature film] believed it was going to make money. That???s the opposite of money laundering. It wasn???t a front.So in the end was there any logic to their case?No. The government offered up these text messages that they say prove that Supreme was hired to keep other rappers and gangsters at bay. The messages are things like ???I???m gonna ride with you till we die, nigga.??? But that???s just the kind of stuff they say all the time. They said that to me while I was reporting the book. It???s the language of that kind of person.So the claim that Supreme was there to protect Murder Inc. had no legs?They might have thought Supreme would offer a measure of protection, but honestly there were several instances when people tried to kill Supreme, little guys just trying to make a name for themselves. 50 Cent comes out of the same Queens neighborhood that you cover in your book. What???s the relationship between ???80s drug gangs and the next generation of hip-hop hustlers? Fiddy???s movie is entirely about Supreme. It depicts Fiddy fighting off this Queens drug dealer named Majestic, who is clearly Supreme. The obsession level between Fiddy and Preme is psychotic. In some of the transcripts of Irv visiting Preme in jail, Preme asks about Fiddy???s Soundscan numbers. I mean, the guy has a death penalty case coming up. These guys are totally obsessed with each other.Why did Fiddy target Supreme initially? Fiddy is amazingly good at sizing people up. He saw that Preme wasn???t the guy he was in the ???80s and just went after him???ruthlessly. He saw that Irv and Chris were using Preme as a prop. And now Fiddy???s going to go after the Game, and he???s going to win. Even though the Game???s album is better, Game is fighting Fiddy on terms that are unfavorable to Game. You know he???s calling him a snitch, but the millions of white kids that buy Fiddy???s album don???t care if he???s a snitch. 50 Cent has built his entire career based on his street life. He???s smarter than anyone else in the music business. Even though he???s not really welcome back in Southeast Queens, a lot of those guys respect him because he operates in a similar way. He sees someone, goes after him, takes him down, and destroys him. A guy who said he used to be part of the Supreme team approached me out of the blue and said, ???You know, I don???t like Fiddy???s music, but he moves like he???s from the block.??? Do you think there???s a separation between drugs and hip-hop now? No. Juelz Santana [a prot??g?? of Cam???ron and a member of Harlem???s Diplomat Set crew] is completely steeped in crack language. The CD booklet actually has a step-by-step photo series of cooking crack. There???s a new hustling paradigm in hip-hop. It???s much more direct than anything Irv or Fiddy was doing. It seems as though the industry is cyclical. So what???s the lesson in all of this? Irv and Chris were all alone in the end at Murder Inc. Everyone walked away. The big record companies walk away every time, and the black record execs hold the bag every time. The feds??? position is that Def Jam was tricked into making this deal with Supreme. Not only do the big companies get off, but they don???t have to take responsibility for who they partner with. But the Gottis have to take some responsibility for partnering with Supreme. Irv had no idea who Supreme was before he entered into this relationship. Believing the whole myth of the street gangster is just dangerous. The feds were looking at Supreme the minute he stepped out of jail in the ???90s. He was a huge guy back then. You know, the police hold him responsible for Edward Byrne [a 22-year-old cop killed in 1988], and Preme was still tied to Fat Cat [a Queens drug lord]. It seems as if so much hip-hop feuding has less to do with rival gangs than with petty arguments. The Tupac thing and his feud with Biggie set the tone for hip-hop. It???s really just theater and record sales. There???s very little that???s real about the rivalries, except the consequences. But really, I don???t think Tupac or Biggie???s death had anything to do with hip-hop stuff at all. Tupac pissed off a gang member, and Biggie got involved with some really rough Crip guys for security. Both of their deaths seem unrelated to hip-hop. Now they???re both martyrs.These hip-hop guys constantly misjudge street guys. Whether it???s Tupac and his shooting at the Quad, or Irv, it seems to be a running theme. These guys are out of their element. And no matter how successful you are, everyone walks away. Suge Knight???s attorney said the same thing. ???Why is Suge being targeted, when Interscope executives are not???? There???s racism there, but ultimately it doesn???t matter how successful you are. Multiplatinum album or not, if anything goes down, you will be left alone. Ethan is a contributing writer for Radar. Queens Reigns Supreme (Anchor) is now available at bookstores.fromhttp://www.radaronline.com/web-only/q-and-a/2005/12/king-of-queens.phpDISCUSS