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Beanie Sigel gave us a look at his living conditions with photos from behind the wall. Beans is currently serving 24-months for a drug possession charge and should be out before we know it. The Philly native has had previous run-ins with the law, especially a high-profile case of him charged with attempted murder several years ago. In “Justify My Thug,” Beanie Sigel stays calm and collected, even when he knows his rap career and life could be jeopardized. Read on.

He's the future of Roc-A-Fella Records and the Philadelphia police's public enemy numero uno. In an exclusive sit-down, Beanie Sigel speaks candidly about having his rap career-and his life-both on the line.

Written By Jermaine Hall

On the exterior, Beanie Sigel shows few signs of stress. Armed with the cutting snaps of a seasoned lunchroom smart-ass, he acts as if he’s keeping it together. Observe: A Roc-A-Fella worker bee struts into Damon Dash’s contemporary Midtown digs to show off the shine on his timepiece’s bezel.

(For the record, it’s low-grade). Beans greets his stuntin’ with a fake chuckle—the kind Dr. Evil would deliver if he were Black—then fires: “Those ain’t Rolex diamonds. What the fuck you done to that?”

Such sharp humor from the intimidating Philly scrap—who was released from federal custody on October 8—is encouraging, but he could very well be putting on a show of David Blaine proportions. Despite the lighthearted moment, Sigel’s inner thoughts must be miles away from Comedy Central. Heavy questions need answering. Here’s one: Could forever-young hip-hop fans have any interest in a 50-year-old former rap star named Dwight Grant?

On July 3, Sigel, 29, was charged with attempted murder, stemming from a July 1 incident in which he is accused of firing five or six bullets at Philadelphia native Terrance Speller in front of the Pony Tail Bar, a strip club in West Philly. Speller took a bullet to the chest and heel before hitting the pavement. If a jury in Philadelphia—a city that has acquitted only 14 of 974 gun cases since January, 1999—finds Sigel guilty, he will face a maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years. Those numbers fatten when prosecutors stack on previously pending charges of assault and illegal gun possession.

Signed to Roc-A-Fella by Jay-Z in 1998, Sigel, the leader of the up-and-coming group State Property, has sold over a million records in his career. But with a long history with Philadelphia police, and his future uncertain, Sigel must now worry. Worry that Speller—who was terrified to cooperate with the prosecution because of what he called Sigel’s “long arms,” according to Philadelphia Special Investigative Unit Detective Michael Chitwood—has already given the prosecution videotaped testimony. Worry that this same Mr. Speller might reenact for the jury his panicked thoughts—“I’m not gonna die!,” he told himself again and again—the night the bullet pierced his chest. Worry that Sigel’s rumored addiction to Percocet and cough medicine—called “pancakes and syrup” on Philly streets—could be confirmed by the fact the police allegedly found two 16-ounce bottles of medicine, 22 Xanax and 21 Percocet pills in his Escalade last April 20.

There’s one story Sigel won’t have to sweat, however. One that, sadly, will probably never make it to the jury: On the day he was arrested after performing at the Camden, NJ, Rock The Mic concert, three young boys, ages eight through 11, stood at the 18th Police District waiting to talk to police about their dirt bikes, which had been stolen. When Sigel walked into the building, the overexcited tykes instantly forgot about their two-wheelers. Spotting the kids waiting patiently, Detective Chitwood asked Sigel if he would mind talking to them. Sigel agreed and proceeded to give the boys a presentation on the importance of school, and the benefits of obeying parents and teachers.

How funny is that?

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XXL: Do you believe that you have a temper?
No more temper than anybody else.

You don’t think that you’re quicker to flip than the next individual?
It all depends. What’s the situation?

Okay. You go to a club tonight and a total stranger approaches you and says, “I’m not really feeling you, Sigel!” Could you walk away?
I would be like, “And you’re saying all that to say what?” That would be my reaction: “You saying all that to say what?”

That would be your reaction? Real talk.
What I’ma do? See, I’m under a microscope so hard right now that it’s really hard to answer these questions. You know how I would act. You know. I’ma answer it like that. I would handle it like a perfect gentleman [winks]. I’m not that dude who’s out looking for shit. But when you so used to doing stuff a certain way, it’s hard to change, especially where I come from. That’s what I do. I can’t isolate myself like that. I’m not gonna be stupid and just do dumb shit. But I’m not Martin Luther King. I’m not gonna keep turning the cheek so you could slap me on the other side. Nah, man. I don’t know nobody who can do that. I mean there’s people out there who do, but not me.

Do you think it’s difficult to step away because certain instincts have been instilled in you from growing up in your particular hood?
Jay tells me that all the time. He said it on his record. I think it was The Blueprint: “Beans, I ain’t tryin’ to change you/Just give you some game to make the transition/From the street to the fame.” I fuck with Jay for that. That’s what’s up. But it’s a process.

Are you close to completing the process?
Yeah. A couple of years ago I wasn’t trying to hear none of that. When Jay first said that shit, I was like, Damn, I can’t believe this dude put me out there like that. Fuck! But then after a while, you respect it.

You’re not hurting financially, yet you keep an apartment in the neighborhood that you grew up in. Does the fact that you spend so much time in the same place where you caught your first charge prolong the transition?
That’s where I’m from. I was already a man when I came in the game, and I was still doing whatever I was doing. If I came in the game at the teenage age, it would have probably been different. But it’s been instilled in me so long, so that’s what I know. I like being able to walk to the Chinese store and get me four chicken wings and fried rice. That’s in me. I like that shit, man. That’s also where the kids are. I used to be them, so that’s the main reason I’m in the hood. If these kids see me in the hood it gives them hope.

Being an example to these kids is worth all the potential drama you could walk into at any given moment?
Yeah, all the stuff I go through, whether it be good or bad, is good. The kids can learn from me what not to do. They love being able to walk around the corner and go to the schoolyard and see me. That means a lot. My main problem is, I guess you can say, when I’m in the hood, I got friends that can’t do what I do. They only know how to do what they do. So I try to give them another outlet, like, You should do this or do that. Because I love ’em. I grew up with these dudes. So I can’t just be like, Aight, I made it out, I’m gone. It’s on y’all. Y’all gotta do what y’all gotta do. That ain’t it. At least, not with me… I feel where they come from, because I ain’t think that I could make that change, but I did. I’m not just a rapper. I got a clothing line that I started. I’m doing the movie thing. My own sneakers. Cartoon. I’m like, Look, this is what I’m doing. You can do it too, come on.

Can you remember the first time you got a gun?
I can’t even talk about that. Damn. That shit was crazy. Young. I was young, though.

Some kids view guns as a prize and never have any intent to use them. You, I’m guessing, had a gun at an early age out of necessity.
I never [looked at a gun as] a prize. I don’t glorify that. Look at the murder rate in Philadelphia. It’s off the hook, man. And the guys that ’s committing the murders is getting younger and younger. We don’t make guns. I’d be a fool not to protect myself, or anybody else. Not just me. If that’s where you’re at every day, and that’s what people are doing, why not be in a position where you can protect yourself?

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Talk to me about your relationship with the Philadelphia police. Do they have a vendetta against Beanie Sigel?
It’s been personal. They tried to charge me with attempted murder on a cop back in ’93, but it ain’t come out the way they wanted it to. Me and my homie and the cop get shot. I’m shot the fuck up, handcuffed to a hospital bed, and they tell me I got an attempted murder charge on a police officer. But when the shit came out, it wasn’t that. But they just swept that one under the rug.

Did you sue?
Yeah, we sued them.

What was the outcome?
I ain’t get nothing. My man got some shit. He settled out of court. I was trying to get the big change.

What happened with your case?
I lost the civil suit. I lost the case. How’d they let that go down? [The cop] ain’t get charged with nothing.

Can you elaborate on what happened?
The cop passed his gun off and his homie shot me. The cop ain’t get charged for shit.

So the cop was off-duty.
Yeah, but you a cop 24 hours. I don’t really want to talk about that shit.

That’s fair. What is your recollection of what happened the night of July 1?
I don’t know what happened, homie. I can’t talk about none of that. I was advised by my lawyer not to speak about that. I know what you know, from reading the papers.

Rumors have spread that you paid Terrance Speller off?
I ain’t paid him shit. I don’t know nothing about that shit.

The police said they found Percocet and cough syrup in your Escalade last April. Can you comment on that?
I can’t speak on that.

Is this a case of mistaken identity?
Can’t talk about that. Dog, they trying to give me 40 years. You think I’m gonna talk about that shit, man? These mutherfuckas wanna give me 40 years… They might as well say that they wanna give me life. I’m about to turn 30. If they give me 20 years that means I’ma be 50 when I come home. What the fuck am I gonna do at 50 years old?

Who was the first person you spoke to when the alleged situation went down?
I ain’t speak to nobody. My lawyer let me know [about it].

Did you speak to Jay about it?
I let him know what was going on. I didn’t leave him in the dark. I told him when I was on tour, “Yo, I just found out that I’m gonna get arrested.” He was like, “For what?” When I told him “Attempted murder,” he was like, “What!” I said, “I know, I feel the same way, homie. What the fuck is they talking about?” It was brief. It’s no secret that Jay intends to put a bulk of the weight on you artistically, in terms of the Roc. Do you feel as if you may have let him down?

Jay is good money. He’s cool. If anything, I feel for my artists—Freeway, Young Gunz, Peedi Crakk. If I won’t be able to be there for them, that’s who I’ll really feel [I let down]. They all came up under me, so they looking for me to lead them. So I really feel for them. I mean, Jay loves me to death. No doubt about that, but he’s good money. Knowing Jay, the type of person he is, he might feel as if he let me down. He probably thinking like, “I saw some shit like this coming. I should have just gripped that nigga up.” I know how Jay is.

He came to speak on your behalf in court. Will that bring a tear to your eyes 10 years from now?
Shit, not even 10 years. That day I said, Damn, look at my man. He got me regardless… Him and Dame and Biggs, every court date I had they was there. Every one. Jay was flying off tour on a jet making those dates. Dame was there with his suit on and his big tie. This shit is Roc La Familia for real, homie. I ain’t go to court one time and look over my shoulder and not see them.

You’ve always had a close relationship with your mother. How is she holding up?
She’s going crazy right now. She’s fucked up.

Has she sat you down and tried to get you to curb your routine?
Nah. Her main thing is: “No matter what happens, I got you.” I ain’t do nothing for her to be like, “You need to stay in the house, you need to stop doing what you doing.” I’m innocent.

Have you called an official State Property meeting to hash out damage control, just in case the jury doesn’t believe that?
I haven’t gotten a chance to really talk to the whole State Property. Everybody is busy doing their thing, and you know I’m on house arrest. I talk to Free a lot, though. Free was there before
everybody else, so I’ve been giving him a lot of shit that he might have to start doing music-wise and business-wise for everybody.

Some may feel that’s ambitious. Do you believe the members of State Property can have extended careers without you making sure they get the proper push?
Yeah, because they had their talent without me. I ain’t give nobody their talent. It was just me directing, putting things together and organizing it. That’s why I talk to Free a lot. He got ’em, man. He’s gonna hold everything down. Plus Dame and Jay are still around. They gonna be cool. They gonna be good.

In his documentary, Tupac: Resurrection, Tupac mentions that he didn’t write while he was in prison because being locked up killed his spirit. Did you write while you were away?
I didn’t write one rhyme. Nothin’. There’s too much other shit to think about, man. That shit is a thinking process. I was told every life begins in a single cell. So whatever you was doing, it’s a new life. I mean, the thoughts are up here. But being locked up, you don’t have the spirit to do nothing that you used to do. If you were a ballplayer, I don’t think you would go out and be able to shoot ball every day with everybody. Worst-case scenario: Dwight Grant has to go away for a while. What would you want those kids in South Philly to take from that? Take it as a learning experience. Whatever I did to put myself in that situation, make sure you don’t do the same and put yourself in the same situation.

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