Parlé: Where do you get the inspiration for your music?
Yo Gotti: Real life, everything I say is real life.
Parlé: How often would you say that you write a rap?
Yo Gotti: Every other day. When I’m in the studio I come to work. I’ll play the beat, and I just write. Most of the time though, a topic would come to me when I’m not focusin’ on music. Like if I’m drivin’, I might come up with an idea. I could be listening to someone else song, and I won’t even hear their words, I’ll just hear mine in my head over the beat.
Parlé: When was the first time you really felt that you were the King of Memphis?
Yo Gotti: I Did a show in Memphis and the crowd was sayin’ it. It wasn’t somethin’ that I planned, or was plottin’ to do. But when I would be walkin’ in the malls and the streets they said the same thing.
Parlé: What were you thinking while they were chanting something like that?
Yo Gotti: I was just thinkin’ like, they want me to be the king so I’ma be the king.
Parlé: What sets Memphis Hip-Hop apart from NY, Atlanta, Texas, Miami and the West Coast?
Yo Gotti: I think its slower, beat wise, as well as educational wise. It’s not like ATL, or N.Y. where people know the ins and outs of the music business and just music in general. People don’t know the ropes. What they got to do to get out of the streets and make it in the music. I’m probably the first artist out of Memphis, that’s 100% solo to this point, without a group. I respect it more ‘cause I did it on my own. Especially since it’s kind of like the street, as far as this shit being like what I seen before, in the street. The industry could be the fakest shit I seen.
Parlé: What would you say is the fakest thing, or things that you have seen since you’ve been in the industry?
Yo Gotti: Aww man, record labels who sell you a dream; DJ’s that give you speeches about how hot your shit is, but never play your record. And everybody is friends in your face, artists too.
Parlé: The women too?
Yo Gotti: Aww you already know how the women is, but that’s with everything. Once they see someone with jewelry they might be on dude crazy.
Parlé: What message do you want to convey to your fanbase?
Yo Gotti: Just to show ’em that I’m a real dude. What I say in my music is, its reality music. Nobody speak on shit I did. When I say it, if its to a person from the hood, they gon’ relate to it. If you aint do it, you heard a situation close to it. Just so that they know my stuff ain’t some stuff that’s just off the wall.
Parlé: I’ve seen one of your concerts on a Come Up DVD and you had that crowd rocking like crazy, I don’t know if it was students or what, but what does it mean to you, when you see your fans going crazy like that?
Yo Gotti: Performin’ and getting love is the best part of what I do. That’s the one thing like, out of all the hard work. And that concert you saw probably had about 10,000 people in there. To see that many people chantin’ your shit, word for word, aint nothin’ like that.
Parlé: Did you envision that, seeing people chanting your music word for word like that while you were coming up?
Yo Gotti: Comin’ up I did it ‘cause I liked it, but I was still stuck in a space.
Parlé: Do you think it’s harder for a Memphis artist to get put on than an artist from other places?
Yo Gotti: Nah, I don’t think so, I’m proof that you can do it. They don’t have the outlets that others have.
Parlé: What was your outlet?
Yo Gotti: I’m determined, I’ma hustler, I’ma get it. It’s in my bloodline. I was makin’ songs people messed with hard. Nobody handed me with anything. I had a song out called “Got White (Shawty),” that was playin’ on the radio in 26 cities. I was doin’ shows every weekend. Then I came out with the Life CD, and that sold 100,000 copies independently.
Parlé: What does success in the rap game mean to you today?
Yo Gotti: To me that’s really a two answer question. One answer, I would say, as a man is to stay out of jail, and keep my moms and my family livin’ good. Keepin’ my kids in a good position as a man, and as a hustler that’s success to me. As far as on some Rap shit, just bein’ competitive, bein’ at the top.
Parlé: Cool cool man, that’s what’s up. So what’s the deal with this new album you got dropping this year?
Yo Gotti: Live From The Kitchen, I’m just tryin’ to make it classic. I got Ross and Wayne on there. And just my crew for the most part, not too many rappers. I want to give my fans a true Yo Gotti album. And with the production I got Jim Jonsin, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Toomp, Hot Rod.
Parlé: Got a due date for it yet?
Yo Gotti: We’re lookin’ at the end of March, or the first week of April.
Parlé: Gotti good looking out. Thanks for giving Parle some of your time.
Yo Gotti: Ight, Believe that.