Throughout the late ’90s the Hot Boys set Louisiana and the rest of the nation on fire. Standout members such as Juvenile, Mannie Fresh, and Lil Wayne would all experience major success, but B.G. helped cement the group with the mega-hits “Bling Bling” and “Get Your Shine On”. Since departing from Cash Money Records several years ago, he’s experienced his share of highs and lows. He managed to kick his long-time addiction to heroin and consistently released critically acclaimed solo albums without a major label deal.

Now B.G. is back with Too Hood 2 be Hollywood, his first release since 2006 and one of his most personal works to date.  Instead of rhyming about having a mansion on his neck and wrist, he now focuses on the grind, keeping it real and giving back to his neighborhood. The album’s creation was also an epic process. He reportedly crafted the album over the last three years and selected its final makeup from more than 80 tracks. While record sales are slow across the industry and other artists struggle to maintain, Gizzle’s artistic drive seems to be recession-proof.

Too Hood 2 be Hollywood is your 11th solo album. What can listeners expect to get from it that they haven’t got from your previous albums?

Man, my life is like a movie. Every album I drop comes from situations I’ve been through. It comes from things I’ve seen and it’s just my life story. I’ve also picked up where I left off on each album. This album right here is going to be a little bit more mature and focus on things I’ve been going through since the last album.

 

The album’s second single “My Hood” features a line about you seeing an old lady walking and helping her with her bags. This sounds very different from the B.G. of the Cash Money days. How do you feel you have grown as a person and an artist since coming into the game in the early ’90s?

I was 12 or 13 when I first started. When I was 14 or 15, I had just jumped off the porch. New Orleans was the murder capital and I saw a lot and I did a lot. The streets were rough and tough. If you lived past ’94 or ’95, you was lucky. So I was rapping about what was real. I’m 29 now and I got three kids. I’m a father now, but I still never forgot where I came from. Even though I was fortunate enough to be able to move myself and my family out of the hood, I never forgot what made me. The streets made me. So whenever I’m not in the studio or on the road, I’m in my old neighborhood kicking it with my homies. 

 

Too Hood… contains “Ya Heard Me,” which features Lil Wayne and Juvenile. What’s the status of a Hot Boys reunion album?

It’s a lot of paperwork and lawyers involved. The creativity part is the easy part; we’ve just got to get the business part together. We already recorded songs together, so once we get all the paperwork and contracts together we could move forward. I’m a free agent now. I’m not on E1. I’m signed strictly with Chopper City Records. I’ve got Cash Money trying to bring me back home and E1 and Def Jam wanting to talk to me.

I signed this joint venture with E1 to get out of my contract with Atlantic. I was signed to Atlantic for four albums, but they kept pushing my albums back and I’m not used to that. They were playing with my career, and I didn’t appreciate that. So I’m no longer an Atlantic artist; I’m officially a Chopper City artist. 

 

I also noticed that New Orleans artist Magnolia Chop appears on the album twice. How long have you two known each and when did you begin recording with one another?

I’ve known him for 10 or 12 years. He’s a very talented artist. A lot of people overlooked him, and I wanted to give him a shot. I felt like he deserved it. He’s got a voice but he doesn’t need any Auto-Tune or none of that. He just got that uncut raw street sound, church sound.

 

So would you consider making him a part of Chopper City Records in the future?

Most definitely. I’m going to do everything I can to help him get a situation because I think he deserves it.

 

What track on the album do you feel represents you the best as an artist and as a person?

“My Hood,” because that’s me. That represents me and who I am from front to back. That’s me all day.

 

Many young artists today pop up with one ringtone hit and then they disappear just as quickly as they showed up. What do you think has allowed you to stay around for over 10 years?

My longevity comes from me keeping it real with myself. If you keep it real with yourself, you can keep it real with others. I’ve got a solid fan base and there’s a ghetto or a hood in every city in the United States. People can relate to my music, and my fan base ranges from 14 to 40. I lot of people who are fans of B.G. and have all of my albums grew up listening to me. So I think my longevity comes from all of these things.

 

Speaking young artists, hip-hop was very different when you first gained fame with the Hot Boys in the ’90s. What do you think our artists must do to bring New Orleans back to the forefront on a national level?

Unity is one thing that we lack. All we need is a little more unity and we’ll be alright.

 

Growing up in New Orleans, what hip-hop artists inspired you to rap the most?

Scarface, Geto Boys, UGK, 8Ball & MJG, Soulja Slim, Tupac. A lot of artists inspired me.

 

What more do you hope to accomplish in the future artistically and business-wise with Choppa City Records?

I want to make sure I put my n***as on, own a real estate company, do some acting and probably write some scripts. There’s a lot of things I want to do, so I’m going to take it one step at a time.