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It’s been two years since his last release, but now Miami’s best known bad boy is ready to go straight. As his new album, ‘Thug Matrimony: Married to the Streets’ is about to drop, Trick Daddy takes time out to speak to The Situation.
Trick
Daddy is the definition of a thug: the gleaming gold grills,
the fixed scowl, the deep, gritty voice… Not to mention the grimey
rhymes that he spits, topped with that Southern drawl. If you need anymore
confirmation, just take a look at his track record, for this thug has
been in and out of trouble since he stepped onto the scene in ’96
on Uncle Luke’s ‘Scarred’.
Within the last eight years, Trick has gone on to achieve success as one of the best talents to emerge from the Dirty South, along with the likes of Master P, Mystikal, and more recently, Ludacris and Lil’ Jon. His new album, ‘Thug Matrimony: Married to the Streets’ may have been two years in the making, but with everything he has been through, it’s not surprising. “I’ve been doing time; I’ve been on probation, house arrest… I’ve just been in trouble,” told the rapper born Maurice Young. “The difference with this album and ‘Thug Holiday’ is that [this one] is more mature. I’m getting older and problems ain’t getting any better, they getting worse. Problems with the government, problems with the kids…” he said, trailing off. “It’s got Trina on there, Twista, Lil’ Jon, Ying Yang Twins, my man Ron Isley on there, T.I. There’s pretty much something for everybody of all ages. On production I got the usual suspects, Jazze Pha, Scott Storch, all those guys. I always go to them; they know my style, they know what I like.”
Miami born and bred, the artist formerly known as Trick Daddy Dollars hasn’t gotten where he is today without a struggle. As one of 27 children between his mother and father, Trick had to learn fast how to make it on his own, and it was whilst growing up in the ghetto that he developed his strong sense of humour. “We grew up hard in the projects, on welfare and food stamps. So instead of going to school and have somebody talk about my momma on food stamps or welfare, I would tell them ‘my momma gotta go get recertified for her food stamps’ or ‘we gone trade these food stamps in and go get the dice game.’ I learned to laugh and joke at myself, so before you know it, they’re on my side. They’re waiting on me to crack on somebody else.” It was this resilience that kept Trick going through the hard times, particularly whenever he got caught on the wrong side of the law. Instead of brushing it off and pretending it didn’t happen, Trick put his sentiments down on paper, and recorded them for the hard-hitting song ‘Trapped’, a warning of the revolving prison system for young African-Americans. The track features Ron Isley, who wails on the chorus: ‘No matter how loud I cry, it don’t seem loud enough/ Lord, I hope you’re hearing me/ This goes out to the lonely streets.’ Maybe it’s a sign of his age, but Trick just wanted people to know what being inside is really like. “There are a lot of people in the prison system and it’s like out of sight, out of mind. People forget about them. Where’s the love?”
One of Trick’s favourite songs on the album is ‘Children Hold On’. From the tone of his voice, you can tell that this is a subject close to his heart. “The children are the future, and we need them to be strong, to know what’s right and what’s wrong, we need to be straight up with them,” told Trick, who has a son and daughter of his own. “I was lied to and made promises to a lot when I was growing up, and I don’t want my kids to suffer like I did, just because their dad and momma aren’t together. A lot of parents do, a lot of women are taking their problems with their baby father out on the kids, and they’re the ones suffering from it, and I don’t think that’s right,” he protested. “I want my kids to have everything, for them to go to school and be learning with no problems. My son will be 3 next month, and my little girl will be 9 on Halloween this year. I don’t want them to have to deal with the problems I had growing up.”
Trick is currently on three years supervised probation for drugs and weapons charges dating back to November 2003. As part of his community service, Trick undertook several visits to local schools, talking about the perils of guns, drugs and AIDS. For a rapper known for his “thugged out” image, these school visits must have been somewhat of an embarrassment, but not for Trick. “Nah, it was good. Speaking to the children had a big effect on me, because the kids are listening to us and what we say in the music, so I think it’s only right that we start saying positive stuff to them.” Trick also recently announced his support of the Concerned Citizens of Miami-Dade County Schools, a campaign group aiming to bring an end to the social and economic imbalance in their neighbourhood. In a county plagued with countless allegations of racism and racial discrimination in schools, Trick’s support of the group brought attention to an issue so important to him. “I live here, so I see what happens in the schools. Racists were trying to buy seats on the school boards, so it’s our job not to elect them. We need to do our bit to get the best for our children,” he said. “We need the kids to learn more, to know that not everybody’s gonna be an actor or a rapper, a basketball or football player. Some aren’t gonna be as fortunate as others, but there are other jobs out there for us, and that’s important.”
This attitude is further demonstrated on the song ‘These Are The Days’, which Trick was inspired to write after talking to the children. When it’s suggested that the thug has mellowed with age, he laughs, “Man, I just wanna sing!”
Indeed, this sentimental side that is now coming to the surface is far from what we would have expected from Trick back in ’96. Now releasing his sixth LP, Trick explained how being in the industry hasn’t really changed him at all. “Well, before I was just getting out of prison, and now I’m trying to stay out of prison! I’m still the same inside; I still hang around with some of the people I grew up with, but some are still doing the same things, so I gotta stay away from them.” Pausing momentarily, Trick continued, “The times have totally changed; this is the second president I’ve been through, about to be a third since I started doing music, so it’s a big difference.”
You wouldn’t expect many thugs to be bothered with what goes on in the world of politics, but like he’s already proven, Trick is not your average ‘thug on the street’. With the American presidential elections this week, the polls are neck and neck, and although as a convicted felon Trick can’t vote, he’s outspoken about his views. “If I could, I’d vote for Kerry. I’m at the point where I’d vote for anyone but Bush! ‘Vote or Die’ – that’s harsh, but it’s true!”
Aside from the changes in president, one of the biggest differences since Trick’s introduction in 1996 has been in the way technology has developed over the years, affecting the music industry in both good and bad ways. The aspect that has caused a lot of furore in the last couple of years is the Internet, and the ability for music pirates to share and download music online. Having seen so many artists become a victim of this technology, Trick’s new album has been closely guarded and kept under wraps until the actual release date. With all the trouble they’ve gone to to keep the album tracks off the Net, how does he feel about the subject? “Ah man, the bootleggers are killing us! They need to make a software where the music can’t be copied. When they come out with a program that does that, then it’ll be much better! People think the Internet helps, but it hurts ya as an artist,” he complained. “The lawsuits are the wrong way to go about it though. I think they need to leave the Internet alone when it comes to dealing with music. People are also stealing movies off the Net; it’s no good for the industry.”
Trick Daddy is one of several artists to have emerged from the so-called Dirty South, but artists like Ludacris and Lil’ Jon have only really come to the fore in recent years. So what else does the South have to offer? “We have Pitbull from Miami, he’s coming up. Young Geez outta Atlanta is starting to make a name for himself too,” revealed Trick. “They wouldn’t give [the South] a chance before, but now I think it’s just the moment for hip hop.”
His latest album ‘Thug Matrimony: Married To The Streets’ was delayed due to unforeseen circumstances, but his time has come. Now that he’s back on the grind and out on the streets, Trick plans to take things a lot further. “The rest of this year, I plan to learn stuff man, starting with selling a lot of records. Hopefully I’m gonna do some touring soon too. I’ll definitely come to the UK, as long as convicted servants can get through!”
With a past as colourful as his, does Trick think he’s a good role model for young children to look up to? “Of course, ’cos I always tell the kids, ‘do what I say do, not as I do!’” laughs Trick. Attempting to make a new start in life, does Trick have any words of wisdom for the young children of today? “Dress how you wanna dress, don’t go trying to be a thug. A real thug has his own mind; a real thug doesn’t blame anybody; a real thug knows that people make mistakes, so be careful.”
The new album ‘Thug Matrimony: Married To The Streets’ is out now on Atlantic Records.
