From Bangin

Inglewood rider Mack 10 is a hip-hop hustler. His hustle is providing fans what they're willing to pay for, be that hard-hitting gangsta rap, a similarly focused movie or a tight concert T-shirt - all of which are simply channels through which the talented and credible star makes the most out of what he's been blessed with. Right now, however, his focus is on the first of these channels.
Mack's latest offering is Bang or Ball, a solo effort destined to continue his string of gold albums. "I just aim to do better than my last time out," he says when I ask him about any sales goals he's set for this record. "I just never want to fall off."
When I caught up with the man who's been called Ice Cube's most successful and acclaimed protégé, he was in route between his two homes - one in the dirty south's Atlanta and the other in his hometown of Los Angeles. While riding on tour bus somewhere in the south, Mack 10 shared with me stories of his past and his outlook for the future.
Years ago, Mack 10 debuted on Priority Records with a self-titled first album that easily went gold, thanks in large part to the single, "Foe Life." He followed that impressive performance up with the Westside Connection collaboration with Ice Cube and WC. That impressive album, which was released in the height of the supposed East Coast / West Coast feud, earned Mack his first taste of platinum.
"I ain't even trippin' off that anymore," Mack says as he considers the over-hyped feud that robbed hip-hop of two of its finest, 2pac Shakur and Biggie Smalls. "That was back in like 1996. If you still trippin' off of stuff five, six years old, you gotta problem." Nevertheless, Mack did tell me that he still believes West Coast rappers are held to different standards than are those who came up further east, one of the inspirations for the Westside Connection project in the first place.
For now, however, Mack is all about the future. Since his Westside experience, he has married T-Boz of TLC and branched out in terms of the industry and creativity, showing that great entrepreneurial spirit is just as alive on Crenshaw Blvd. As it is on Wall St.
After his second album, Based on a True Story, reached the Top 20 and also went gold, Mack 10 dropped The Recipe, on his own label, Hoo Bangin' Records. His latest offering, Bang or Ball, dropped on Cash Money Records, home of Juvenile, the Hot Boys, Lil Wayne and the entire Cash Money millionaires clan.
"All them were my friends anyway," Mack recalls, "and after my contract was up with Priority, I was kinda like a free agent." Along with several of his Cash Money brethren, Mack 10 is also joined on Bang or Ball by Ice Cube, WC, Scarface, Xzibit, and E-40.
The new album's first single, "Hate In Yo Eyes," was produced by Westside pioneer Dr. Dre, and it entered Billboard's R&B / Hip-Hop Singles chart at #18. The single has the mass appeal of any of Dre's productions, this one inspired from an infectious Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" sample.
"I'm already getting feedback from radio that this one will be bigger than 'Backyard Boogie' or 'Foe Life' [his two biggest solo singles to date]," Mack says. "Stations that never fucked with me before are just digging the record."
Indeed, since it dropped, Bang or Ball has garnered solid reviews from fans and critics alike. "This is a gutter album," Mack 10 explains. "It's ghetto as hell. From the ghetto, you can either bang or ball. You know what bangin' is." Mack 10 may well know what bangin' is too. But he's instead decided to be a baller.
"You could be a lawyer or doctor, actor or anything, but if you're doing good for yourself, you ballin'," he adds while explaining that everyone has a choice. "You can fuck up, or you could do good for yourself."
Along with his own Hoo Bangin' Records, Mack 10 has also launched his own movie career and full-service graphic company, a joint venture with Ice Cube. "Westsiiiiide Design came from just realizing that I was dictating exactly what I wanted my posters and concert shorts to look like. So I decided, why pay someone else for this?"
The rapper also recently did his first movie, a film called Thicker Than Water. The film is about two brothers, played by Mack 10 and Fat Joe, who meet for the first time at their father's funeral. Joining the two are Ice Cube, MC Eiht and Kidada Jones.
"I wanted to be in a film, and no one was banging at my door." Mack recalls. "So I decided to do it myself." He came up with the idea and quickly hired a screenwriter and gave him two weeks to finalize the script. The project was completed just months later. For more information, visit www.thicker-than-water.com.
In just a few years, Mack 10 has done more than many rappers accomplish over their entire careers. Asked when he'll hang it up and enjoy the good life, Mack responds: "I'm enjoying the good life right now, with my wife and kids. I'll give it up when the fans don't want me anymore." But with his undeniable talent, penchant for finding ways to reinvent himself, and inspiring drive, don't hold your breath.

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