Interviews with Sticky Fingaz with questions from the Sticky Fingaz Street Team

Interview # 1

- What was that Black Trash movie ad inside your first album all about?
That was a movie that I wanted to have go with the album but no one funded it. I am now doing things in reverse, I spent my own money on Day In The Life and am making an album from that.

- On the "All We Got Iz Us" album, you produced and co-produced a few tracks. Will we be seeing some production by Sticky in the future?
Yes. Good lookin'

- Are you more focused on movies and television right now, or equally as focused on music? If so, how the hell do you find the time to do everything?
(Laughs) Focused on all equally. How the hell do I find time to do everything? I have no personal life. But I love what I do so it's not like a job and shit.

- What's going on w/ Sonsee?
In NY trying to do his own thing, really all I know.

- Can we ever expect another Onyx record?
Yes. We are currently working on an idea called "The Black Rock". If you liked the Slam remix and Judgment Night shit, it's for you. If not, there's always regular Onyx shit to look forward to. Definitely going back to the shit fans want.

-What are some of your favorite atists and/or producers? What's currently getting spins in your cd player?
I'm in the mix tape stage right now, cause I don't feel too many people's projects. Cats got good songs but not good albums. I am still waiting on a hot ass album. I listen to everybody to keep up with the times, and to know what the competition is doing. If you know the sign Scorpion (me), they do big things periodically, like drop a big ass album called BACDAFUCUP then dissapear for a minute, then be the lead of Blade then dissapear for a minute, then come back and do A Day In the Life.

-Do you listen to other genres of music, and if so, what artists?
I listen to all except country music, country I have to stomach some times when I do or watch movies and TV. I listen to everything, rock, rap,R & B, blues, soul, jazz, I listen to everything, you're asking genres of music, I break it up as good or bad music, but I shouldn't say I hate country. If someone came out with a hot country track, I'd listen to it. Good or bad, you know? Not genres.

-You are clearly the first of your kind lyrically and style wise, but who would you credit as your biggest influences?
Influenced by life, not a person.

- All your albums are insane, but if most Onyx fans had to choose one, it would be All We Got Iz Us or Shut Em Down. If Onyx recollaborates, can we expect songs with the dreary story lines and underground beats?
Yes, you can expect the more dreary concepts and stories, my opinion is Shut 'Em Down is the best, but you will definately get those underground beats and insane, hardcore lyrics.

-Where's the 50 cent beef at now?
check the track called BEEF on biggies album Duets for the answer.

-When 50 cent goes to canada, do they have to call him 58 cent?
That's funny but the exchange rate is always changing so who knows. But according to Jadakiss he's 40 cent cause he dropped the dime, so maybe he's like 47 cent when he goes there.

- What happened to that track that sticky and the singer of Slipnot made?
I don't fucking know! I been looking for that song for 2 years. If someone knows Slipknot, hook me up with their contact. We did a song that never came out, and we also did "Oh My God" which was originally a metal song. I would kill to get my hands on that shit!

-Your new album. What sound will it have?
Same hard grimey shit. Some things change, but some things always stay the same.

Interview # 2

Q: How many copies did All We Got Iz Us and Shut Em Down sell?
Sticky: Shut Em Down sold like 400,000, All We Got Iz Us went gold. But I never got a gold fucking plaque for it! If anyone got one, send it to me!

Q: What was the craziest fan experience you ever had? Someone going through your garbage? Some dude with your face tattooed to his back?
Sticky: Some girl had shown up at my agency and told the guy working there I was the father of 5 of her children. Some butt ugly bitch I never seen a day in my life. He asked me if I wanted to call the police and I said I don't care what you do, don't call me with this dumb ass shit. It was funny cause I always use protection, even with my girlfriends. It was a crazy experience because I never even saw her or met her before, and one of her kids was almost my age.

Q: What do you plan to do musically 5 to 10 years from now?
Sticky: I am gonna change the game dramatically. I have a movie I directed and am starring in called A Day in the Life. It's like a Shakespearean rap opera, I still don't know what genre to call it. But basically, people aren't going to be able to put out normal albums anymore. I am gonna be the first person to put an album in movie theaters. All music will be visual now. You know how an unfinished movie has way less impact without music put in? This is the opposite. Music is way less impactful without the visuals. I am gonna change that. The same with my movie Caught on Tape. It'll be the future.

Q: Have you considered taking lower paying roles in potentially hit movies so the world can see your acting abilities? For example, I am sure Ludacris got paid peanuts to do Crash, but it ended up being film of the year. What do you think?
Sticky: I think it's a good move but I am not interested in a wider audience. If that were true I'd do commercial music. First and foremost I do stuff to please myself. A good thing is I have a fairly universal opinion. If I like something, usually others do as well.
I'm not into commercials, I'm into the feature presentation.

Q: What's in store for us Onyx and Sticky fans in the near future?
Really just tryin to put the Onyx black rock albums together, get back on the road to touch people, and as for Sticky Fingaz I'm tryin to take over the world.

Q: Surely you've met some of the most famous people on the planet in your life. Whose one person living you've never met you'd kill to meet?
Sticky: I'd like to meet Oprah Winfrey. I've seen her in person, at this place called Mr. Chow's. And Will Smith. Believe it or not I've never met him. Now I am actually colorblind in real life, so quite literally a person is a person to me. But to think about a black man or woman going from picking cotton and separate water fountains just a few decades ago to 20 million dollars a picture is amazing to me. I'd also like to meet Tom Cruise.

Sticky, If you hadn't done music or acting, what do you think you'd be doing?
Q: I haven't the slightest idea. I ask myself that all the time. But whatever I would be doing, I'd be successful at it. I am an insanely hard worker. If I were a bum, I'd be a successful bum. People would say "Damn! Look at that bum!". I'd be a 100 percent bum.

Interview # 3

Q: There is a line in the song Judgment Night that goes "Say what you wanna say just spell my name right". What is the meaning of that lyric? And Mike Tyson has said that as well, did he get it from you?
Sticky: Well, I didn't get it from Tyson so maybe he got it from me? That lyric is literal. I can't stand it when people spell Sticky Fingaz wrong. Like on the cover of a movie I did my fucking name is spelled wrong! Right on the cover! Same with Snoop Dogg. I did his album and right on the cover "STICKY FINGERS". When I put my albums out I always make sure that shit is correct. F-I-N-G-A-Z get it right!
Another thing about that lyric is that people say what they think and I don't give a fuck. I only care about what I think of myself and what my mother has to say. Sometimes I don't give a fuck what she says either. She'll tell me $100,000 is too much to spend on a car. And I get it anyway.

Q: How does the process of an Onyx album cover come to completion? Meaning is it ideas you guys have and other people help make it happen?
Sticky: Yeah. On Bacdafucup, it was my idea to stand on Plexi-glass while photographers took pictures of us below. I kinda wanted people to see under my boots like. I brought that idea to the Throw Ya Gunz video where we used the whole Plexi-glass thing again.
For the All We Got Iz Us album cover me and Fredro just wanted a cracked up mad face. Probably a bad idea since that was the beginning of our albums sales "cracking up". The cover to All We Got Iz Us was a metal plate only about 6" in size that photographers took pictures of, and the madface on the back of Shut 'Em Down was an actual clump of metal.

Who are you a fan of musically that’s not a rapper?
Donny Hathaway but he committed suicide by jumping out a window.

What are your favorite movies of all time?
That’s an impossible question.

Name one thing you like to do in your spare time?
I like to play chess. Have been since 10 years old.

It’s real obvious from your recent roles that you’ve put on a lot of bulk/muscle. How did you do it?
I go to the gym every single day, for two hours a day. Luckily I’m addicted to healthy food like sushi and chicken breast. I also don’t drink beer (but definitely Hennessy every fucking day) and I do eat whatever I want.

Who is your favorite rapper that you’ve worked with?
I’m a fan of Eminem. He spent two months making a verse to come after mine on “Remember Me”. I wrote my verse in a day. The average rapper would have gave up or switched places making me go last, but Eminem has talent so he spent a lot of time making his verse hot.

What ever came of that deal with Dr. Dre when he wanted to sign you for “Black Trash”?
I turned Dre down because Universal was offering me more money. I put out a great album so I regret nothing.

What’s the greatest thing you’ve accomplished since making it in the rap and movie business?
I don't know, I'm still accomplishing! But buying my Mother a house was a a highlight.

A book by the horrorcore rap group Insane Clown Posse mentions a show you did with them in 1995, where they mention saying hi to you backstage and you dissing them. They seemed pissed at the incident. Do you remember this?
Yeah I remember doing shows with ICP and Das EFX. I don't remember dissing ICP! I don’t know why they think I didn’t like them though. We thought they were crazy and I liked that. I really have no clue, maybe they took something I did or said the wrong way.

Do you have any children?
No, but I do have Godchildren.

From your memory, what was your favorite live show you ever did?
Every show something crazy happens and I love them all. But sorry, picking a favorite show is like picking a favorite child.

Has a fan ever done anything to piss you off?
Nah. People don’t piss me off. I do the pissing.

You were very prominent in the Def Jam video games. Are there any video games you’re into?
I like the Xbox 360. I will beat the shit out of anyone in Fight Night.

Any TV shows you’re into?
Curb Your Enthusiasm, Hell Date, The Wire, Sopranos.

Favorite comedians?
Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Katt Williams...all the greats.

Is there a rapper you’d like to work with that you haven’t?
I've worked with all the greats...including Biggie, but that song hasn't come out yet. But I'd have to say Tupac, we gonna do a song together when I die.

There is an interview with Tyra Banks where she says she is a huge fan of Onyx and listens to your music during photo shoots. Considering her squeaky clean image, this is somewhat surprising. Who surprised you when you found out they were a fan of your music?
Definitely Raven Symone.

You produced some great Onyx songs such as the track "2 Wrongs". That beat is phenomenal. Will you consider producing more in the future?
Definitely. I am producing my next solo album, the Black Rock project with Onyx, Caught on Tape, A Day in the Life…

Hardcore hip hop is becoming a rarity these days. Candy coated shit is taking up the airwaves and it seems like no one is making hardcore hip hop any more, and if anyone is it usually falls flat. Can we count on Onyx to bring back underground hip hop? The way I see it is like this: There's a million dating websites out there. If you started one up, you'd probably fail. But if you made a dating website for midgets, you'd be a success. Why? Because you stand out in an overcrowded market and cater to a certain group of people. There's a huge group of people who want hardcore hip hop, and Onyx would be the only group putting that out. All We Got Iz Us wasn't an album filled with overly complicated beats. The title track was one of the best and was just a simple bass line over drum beats. What is your opinion on this?
Remember Justin Timberlake’s song “I’m Bringing Sexy Back”? Onyx are bringing hardcore back. Onyx is hardcore. You can only be what you are. On the flipside, if something is not commercial, it doesn’t get awareness like commercial stuff does. So fans have to be behind it 100%. You have to buy the shit and not download illegally instead. You can be underground and do something to get awareness as well. But the fans really have to support it.

I was watching some videos of the Lost Boyz the other day. I wanted to know if Fredro and Scarred 4 Life are in the "Lex Coups, Bimmaz and Benz" video? It looked just like them.
I’m not sure but it probably was because we all grew up together so it probably was them in the video.

Who is your idol in acting?
I don’t have one.

What’s something about you that even a hardcore fan of yours may not know?
That I’m a neat freak.

What’s up with Sonsee?
He will be a part of The Black Rock project with Onyx. Don’t worry.

In your opinion, what is the best track you’ve ever been on/made?
That’s another impossible question to answer because my opinion changes daily. One day one song might be my favorite, next day I don’t like it any more.

Do you or Onyx currently have beef with any artists?
No.

What’s your favorite book?
I don’t want to tell you because I can’t give you that much knowledge. Knowledge is power.

Who designed the logo for the group? Walk us through that process.
The logo is actually my face, from a point in my life where I never ever smiled.

How does it feel making the music that brings joy to people on the other side of the planet, who may not even know the words?
It’s incredible. I recently went to Columbia with Onyx and did a show for 40,000 people where we headlined. 80% of them did not speak English but knew every lyric to every song we did. It’s incredible. I wonder if I loved a song in another language if I could memorize it. Probably not.

Is there anything in your career you regret?
No. No regrets. Regrets causes stress and I have no stress.

What was the defining moment thus far in your musical career? And acting career?
The best moment of my music career is that I got signed to a major deal with a major label without even trying. I joined Onyx and right away we were signed. We took off, blew up, it was effortless for me. In movies, having Spike Lee put me in my first movie was the defining moment.

Your name is always mentioned along with polls about the most underrated rappers of all time. Do you see this as a compliment or a thorn in your side?
Both. I take it as a compliment because it means I am thought of as a great rapper. It’s also a thorn in my side because I want everyone to know the truth.

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