Growing up in the Marcy housing projects of Brooklyn, New York as a child, Malik "Memphis Bleek" Cox rarely had a holiday season that could compete with the specials he saw on television. Apparently, Father Christmas did not come to visit him and his family often on those December 25th mornings.
Currently putting the finishing touches on his part of an upcoming Rocafella mixtape, the Def Jam artist spoke with VIBE about what it was like to be a have-not, what he's getting his family this Christmas, why Jay-Z's latest album made his year, and how Hov might be the only person to get him a present he doesn't already own.
VIBE: What was the highlight of 2007 for you?
MEMPHIS BLEEK: American Gangster. Just to see the big homie take it back to the street. I'm in the projects all the time. I'm in the clubs. I'm in all the local areas. You hear people always saying "Yo, Jay's Hollywood. He's over the top with it." For him to come back to the street with it and still be so successful is amazing to me.
What was it like growing as a Brooklyn kid in the projects around Christmas time?
It was difficult, you know? You want a lot. Your wish list is long, but your get list is short. Growing up in the projects back in the days, it was different things that kids in my era wanted. We wanted Transformers, G.I. Joes, Gobots and stuff like that. Now, I don't even think there are cartoons out with toys. My son only talks about Spiderman and Batman. The difference from back then is that our moms didn't have it. So they made it happen with what little they did have and it seemed like a lot and we enjoyed it. I ain't gonna lie.
What was your favorite Christmas as a kid? Were there any special gifts?
Come on. Nintendo, man. You open up that box and see Nintendo, with Mario Brothers? There's nothing better than that. I don't think these kids know about Mario Brothers. Like, I mean real Mario Brothers [laughs]. That was probably around 1990 for me.
Now that you have more money than in the old days, what is the best part about Christmas now?
Just to see the kids and the excitement they have is great. I have one son and a god daughter. So you can say I have two kids. They're able to get what they want. To see my little brothers and sisters, my son, my nephews, the excitement they have when they have every single thing that they picked out and they wanted. That's the most exciting part of the holidays for me. I look at it like this: I don't get anything for the holidays anymore. When I made records and I made some money for myself and my family, I bought everything I always wanted and never had. So I basically have left little room for anybody to buy me something, because I already have it. So now I think it's for the kids. The children have a beautiful childhood, what we imagined for, but they're living it.
Have your kids already put together their Christmas lists for Santa?
My son actually circled everything he wanted in the store pamphlets we got in the mail. He actually circled everything in like seven paper. My god daughter, all she told me that she wants is an Xbox 360 and a laptop. She's only seven years old. She's simple and plain.
What's the biggest gift you've given for Christmas?
I don't know. I've given so much. I give things on regular days. I bought my mom a car recently, just to do it. It wasn't a special day. I gave my mom a house. It wasn't a special day. So on Christmas, the best gift I give my family is the ability to bring us all together. If I have family traveling in from somewhere, I can make it happen and bring us all together for that day.
Even though you pretty much have it all, is there anything that you are looking forward to getting?
Yeah [laughs]. The only thing I'd cop now from somebody is Jay selling me the [Rolls Royce] Phantom. That would be a nice Christmas gift to wrap that up.
What do you have planned for 2008?
Man, for '08, I'm gonna be on my supa-supa-doopa grind. My thing is to catch up with lost time. I feel like a lot of people have been reppin' me for years and I never put out enough material for them to hold it down in these arguments that they've been having about me. So now my goal is just to flood the industry with as much music as I can. I want to drop my next album, The Process on Def Jam/Rocafella in August '08.
For a while, it seemed like Kanye West and Jay-Z were the only artists on Rocafella. How does it feel now that now you all are moving full steam ahead, with Kanye, Jay, Freeway and Beanie all releasing albums in the last four months and Jadakiss recently joining the team?
I feel good that everybody's getting on board. Everybody is on the same train. The next move is to get everybody on the same car in the train. We're moving and we're working, but the magic happens when we work together.
What's your New Year's Resolution?
My New Year's Resolution is to grind harder. That's it. I feel like '07, '06 and all of that, I was just coasting. I didn't put the foot to the pedal like I should have. This time I'm flooring it.
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star0812 says:
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January 10, 2008 at 7:18 pm