gillie1.jpgFor better or worse, Gillie Da Kid is a magnet for drama. On February 6, Gillie was arrested in Philadelphia, PA, on allegations he was operating two drug houses. Gillie spent10 days in jail and was eventually released on bail. He claims it was one of the lowest points in his life and continually asserts his innocence. For Gillie, it was another reminder of the harsh realities of the streets. On June 14, 2006, he was also involved in an incident, as he was shot three times — once in the arm, twice in the leg — by an unknown assailant. Both situations — along with his ongoing battle with Lil Wayne — has lead to a storm of media attention that has propelled Gillie back into the spotlight.

While most hip-hop fans are familiar with Gillie through his claims of ghostwriting for Lil Wayne, the Philly native was introduced as a member of Major Figgas. The seven-member crew released their debut album — Figgas 4 Life — in 2000 and scored a hit with their single “Yeah That’s Us.” But after a falling out with their label —Warner Bros. — Gillie signed with Cash Money Records, which then ended after money disputes. Gillie stayed relatively quiet until he claims he was dragged into a highly publicized conflict with Wayne. The beef turned Gillie into a superstar overnight. Now, with animosity still simmering, Gillie speaks to XXLMag.com about Lil Wayne’s recent comments and his new deal in the works with a big record label.

Why release a Best of Mixtape on Babygrande Records instead of a street album with new material?
Because right now I’m in the process of finishing my deal. So I know my album is about to come soon. So I just fed ‘em some mixtape stuff, ‘cause I know I’m about to give them the main course in a matter of six months.

So you’re fielding offers?
I have a lot of situations on the table. I got one main situation that I’m close to wrapping up. We are days away. And its where I always wanted to be, so I really can’t complain.

Is that with G-Unit?
Na, not with G-Unit directly. You feel me? [Laughs]

So with Interscope/Geffen?
Yeah

Is your album — Get It How Ya Live — done then?
Yeah. Its been a long time coming, so I really have to let the people hear what I have to say. None of my records [on this album] sound the same. There is a really good flow to it right now. I got really hot records – from top to bottom. I got so many singles. But I need to have a balance so I'm doing a lot of street records. I’m bringing it back to when you could listen to a rap album straight through.

In the new issue of XXL, Lil Wayne says, “How you could write for me and I don’t write?” What’s your response?
I don’t even have anything to say about Wayne. He is basically saying everything for me. Y'all asked him about me and he said, “Who that is?” That right there alone just lets you know. So for him to respond like, “Well, if he wrote this, then why don’t he got money,” makes me ask, ‘Who are you trying to fool into believing I don’t have any money?’ Nobody is going to believe that. Let’s be honest. Okay, you may have a Bentley, but I have a ’07 Jaguar. Who are you fooling with that shit? At the end of the day, you are scared! You're like a kid who is scared and doesn’t know what to say. You really don’t know how to respond. So I’m not really thinking about shorty because his main problem is about to happen, and that’s when I hit that screen. ‘Cause when I hit that screen, then the people are going to have something to compare him to. Once that happens, its fucked up for him. ‘Cause at the end of the day, he’s just not me! You have to born with a certain thing called charisma, and Wayne’s trying to get that.

gillie-2.jpgHe also said, “I heard this nigga do an interview and say he got like $30 thousand a song. Show me one of them $30 thousand checks.” Do you have a check to prove that?
First of all, someone asked me [in an interview] what was the most money I ever received for a song. And I never said that’s what I received every time or that was the standard. Because every time I didn’t do the same amount of work. When you write a verse for someone, that’s not required to get the same amount of money if you write a whole song – hook and everything. So when that question was asked, I told them the most I ever received. But at the end of the day, I’m not getting into showing old checks. The check isn't gonna say, "This is a 20 thousand dollar check for writing a song for Lil Wayne." Its not gonna say that. I mean, I can pull up checks from Baby all day. But what is that going to prove? I’m not trying to go back and forth with shorty. He is scared to death of me. He went in a magazine and said, “Yeah, I had a party in Philadelphia and I gave $15 thousand back because everybody knows who I’m beefin’ with. And I feel like my life is more important than some money.” That man is scared to death!

Everything I have said in my raps has come to light. Am I right? [Gillie starts rapping] ‘God dammit Dwayne Carter, you kissed Stunna in his mouth, is you Birdman’s daughter.’ When I first said that, people didn’t take it seriously. They thought I was just rapping. Then they actually seen them kissing. Then I said, ‘It must be the drugs that got you acting like that.’ Then, two months later, he gets locked for Oxycotton and marijuana. The fact that I said Trina was Stunna’s old bitch — everybody in the industry already knows that. That’s not a secret. The fact that I said, ‘Shorty, you never got a publishing check,’ isn't a secret. His problems are about to get heavy once I hit that screen and everyone says, “Oh, that’s that guy who was writing Lil Wayne’s raps. Yeah, I can actually see that now.”

How did it feel to be blackballed in the industry?
Everybody in the game knows that I’ve been blackballed to a certain extent. Lets just keep it real. I’m not a lay down nigga. I refuse to let a label fuck me over. But that’s because you have all these old ass rappers who don’t want to pass the torch. They want to keep recycling themselves. They have four albums and instead of putting somebody else on who’s new or hot, they are trying to repackage themselves and sell it again. Like, what are you gonna say that people haven’t heard already in four albums? The problem is all the old niggas is washed up and they making these bullshit records. They are so far away from the streets. They ain’t in the ‘hood anymore. They in Barbados with their feet up. They don’t know the new slang or the new shit.

All these bullshit rappers that are stealing, they ain’t gonna be able to do that anymore ‘cause there is gonna be a different level of rapping going on now. Its gonna go back to when niggas could really appreciate what you are saying. Its gonna go back to when niggas rap your words to your song in the club. They ain’t just dancing and waiting until the hook comes on. Then you got rappers who think they are hot, but I’m sitting her watching a video and it’s the same exact song as the niggas’ first video. You can sing the hook off his first single and it goes exactly to the beat of his second single. How fucked up is that? That’s just how the game is. So its time to step everything up. But its about to go down because I’m about to sign with a powerhouse. There’s gonna be a lot of panicking going on. There is already panic. People think I signed with 50 Cent. I ain’t sign with 50, but he's is a real nigga, though. He reached out to me while I was in jail, so I’ll always respect him. ‘Cause for a person of that status to reach out to me while I’m at one of lowest point in my life — I respect that ‘cause that’s something he didn’t have to do.

What were you guys talking about?
He just reached out to me and he made some situations happen faster. So shout out to 50 and the whole G-Unit, ‘cause he a real nigga.

Why do you think he did for you?
I can’t tell you why he did that. Only 50 knows why he did it, but I respect him for it. I have the utmost respect for dude as a man and a businessman.

I know you can’t talk about your current legal situation. But do you feel you have to be more careful or separate yourself from the streets?
I mean, I always feel like I have to be careful or cautious to a certain extent, but I’m in the streets. I always go through my ‘hood and holla. But I’m also in the studio working. If I ain’t in the ‘hood, then I’m in the studio, and vice versa. Its just in me. Maybe one day I’ll get to the status where I’m $200 million up and I feel like the ‘hood needs to come to me. But until then, that’s all I really know. But I am very conscious about what I do.

Check out a couple of tracks from Gillie's The Best of the GDK Mixtapes which hit stores on March 13.

"Paper's Line" ft. Spade

"Sucker Free" ft. Dutch and Bump

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