Published: Thursday - June 15, 2006
Words by Jay Casteel
Field Mob (Photo: Geffen)
Albany, Georgia duo, Field Mob, know how tough it is to break out on a national level. Being two albums deep in the game, group members Shawn Jay and Smoke have been through "trials and tribulations" as they call them, and are still here to talk about them.
As they prepare the release of their third album, Light Poles And Pine Trees, on a new label in Geffen Records and a successful hit with "Georgia" and the new single "So What," the duo feels like it's finally their time to shine.
Sitting down with BallerStatus.com, Shawn Jay and Smoke explain the politics that have kept them at bay in record sales, why they feel their previously releases were blackballed and why this time is different.
In Smoke's words, it's "double platinum or nothing."
BallerStatus.com: The album is Light Poles And Pine Trees... what's up with the title first off?
Shawn Jay: The skyline of everybody's city usually consists of major skyscrappers and whatever, whatever...the Statue of Liberty. Whatever a postcard is. If you was to look at Albany, Georgia, [you'd see] light poles and pine trees. [Albany] is the country. It's just another way of saying country; that's where we come from. Every CD has been a representation of that and where we're from -- Albany, which is 2 1/2 hours south of Atlanta.
BallerStatus.com: What should people expect when they hear this new album?
Smoke: Southern country funk. I mean, we've been giving you Southern country rap tunes since day one. That's what we're gonna continue to give you. We ain't switching up what we do or how we do; we're gonna keep it the same. But, at the same time, we're gonna recreate ourselves.
I feel like we got better lyrically because of the maturity and trials and tribulations we've been through with baby mothers, our mothers, fathers, all the kids and just life. We're better rappers that way, but we still give you lyrics, punch lines, metaphors...I don't care if you don't do it rapper, I do it. That's Field Mob's niche and we're gonna keep on continuing with our niche. We're gonna bring you Southern hip-hop tunes, songs for your momma, songs for your daddy, sister, brother and whoever else. We got variety. We're gonna do the same thing we've been doing and we're gonna keep our same formula.
BallerStatus.com: Ludacris says you guys are straight up lyricists and feels that you are one of the most underrated duos in the game right now. Why do you feel you're so underrated?
Shawn Jay: I think timing is everything. We just came out at a bad time, especially with the mission we was on. When we came in the game, we was on some "We're proud to be country. Yea, we're from the South, but we just a little bit different from these people in the South." Because we're not from Atlanta, we're from Albany. So, we're kind of exiled if you really think about it because you're in a small city of like 150,000. I got all they support, all them. But in comparison to Atlanta, it ain't the same.
The politics of the game kind of f---ed us over the first time 'cause we didn't have that big whatever, whatever. And we were signed to a f---ed up ass company. It just didn't work out none of those first two times. But this third one, it's time. We got our own lane. The game is dead, the South is killing 'em, so why not us?
They get it f---ed up 'cause in our video, we having fun. We wildin' out in that video 'cause that's what that script for that video called for. In other videos, we had other scripts. People have a perception of you, that's whatever, whatever. But, this time, me and the boy [Smoke], is doing big things now. It's easy.
The album was fun making it. I can tell you, I know it's that sh--. I mean, it's different in that it ain't what you're used to listening to. No disrespect to none of that other sh--, I love it all. But, we're doing our thing over here and you gotta get used to that.
BallerStatus.com: You mentioned Albany, which is a small town. So, tell us how you were able to break out of your city and reach other areas.
Smoke: We'll we started out doing music to ride around and smoke marijuana to. That was our thing, to ride and smoke, even though if you get caught it's f---ed up. That was just something we liked to do in our spare time. We just did it for fun at first. But when you keep doing something, you eventually get good at it. So, our craft that we just did to ride and smoke to got good and good and better. At the end of the day, we got better than the average.
So, from there, we just kept grinding and going at it until we came up with the right song AT the wrong time. Albany is a place I like to call the treadmill because you're running in place no matter how fast you are going. So, we was really pumping this sh-- in Albany, but it wasn't poppin' anywhere else. So, we started selling it in Atlanta and it took off. That's why I call Albany the treadmill 'cause as soon I we hopped off that treadmill, we're in the office doing this interview with you. It happened just like that.
I love my hometown though. It's like Albany was the gym and when we left the gym, we were strong enough to take on the world. But, we've had our trials and tribulations. Like Biggie say, mo' money mo' problems, well I want more money, so there's gonna be more tribulations.
BallerStatus.com: The only songs I've heard from the new album is "Georgia" and "Friday Night," so how do those two songs reflect on how the rest of the album sounds like?
Shawn Jay: Sh--, that's Field Mob if you really just peep both of those songs. The whole procedure of how things happen is kind of funny. I'm glad you brought those two songs up 'cause "Friday Night" was supposed to the first single for this CD. But, sometimes you put that out and nobody don't notice that. Then we're like, "Sh--, you know what we're gonna do now, we're gonna contribute a song to this DTP compilation. Sh--, what'cha wanna do, you wanna do 'Georgia' Smoke? Let's do 'Georgia.' We wanted to do that sh-- for two years anyway. [Ludacris] say he wanna do it, so let's throw that out there."
So, we threw that out there and Def Jam and them hear it over there and sh--, we're runnin'. So they runnin' with it, and then, the good powers that be hear it and the train starts moving on its own steam. It's over there and it's on TV and on the radio. These weren't even records playing, these we're MP3s. People played that on they own. That song ran, literally. When I say timing, that was good timing. I finished my verse at like 10 in morning and by 4 o'clock, people from all over the state was hitting me.
"Friday Night" came out before that, but it came out under [Geffen]. At the time, [Geffen] didn't know what they had. Now, they understand what they have and me and the boy Smoke is... (makes an excited sound). "Friday Night" got slept on, but "Georgia" got a lot of love and I appreciate that.
BallerStatus.com: What did the song "Georgia" mean to you guys?
Smoke: We been had that song. Ludacris had the song too, so he say. So, I wanna say great minds think alike. We had the song 8 years, but we couldn't do it 'cause we didn't have the pull.
Shawn Jay: Yea, we thought, why do it halfway?
Smoke: Luda had the pull. He played tug-a-war with they ass, and we ended up on our side with the rope. He knew Jamie and Jamie knew Ray's folks, so they hooked it up some kind of way and it happened the way it was supposed to. But, it didn't get the recognition it deserved.
BallerStatus.com: It didn't?
Shawn Jay: I feel like because...look at 'Cris. Cris is that n----; that n---- down South. He's Grammy nominated with a jet and sh-- (I didn't mean to put you on blast Cris, but DAMN!) The politics is all f---ed up in this. The more I get closer to the money, the more I see it ain't about talent at all. It's about who knows who and who kisses whose ass.
We got blackballed on that because we new n----s. If I go to Atlanta, an envious motherf---er or a lame ass n---- that look at me like competition, yea n----s is gonna dap me up and smile, but how you think he look at me and Smoke? [He look at us] like, "Man, f--- them n----s. Them n----s don't talk like I talk." I know we don't talk like them or act like them, so because of the difference, we got politics on that song too.
Smoke: If we were from a metropolitan city, we'd have more pull. Holding that title of where you're from plays a major part, but we're from a small town. So, we're reppin' that.
BallerStatus.com: So, what about the new single "So What?"
Smoke: We're getting blackballed, but the song is unstoppable. It's like a f---in' freight train. It's a f---in' heat seeking missile bitch. You can't stop it. That's why we're at where we're at today, because of how hot the song is.
This song is really our breakout song. They say "Sick Of Being Lonely" is, but I don't think so 'cause they blackballed "Sick Of Being Lonely" and it was Grammy nominated. I could of got a Grammy! Being nominated was great. Anyway, I think this is the breakout 'cause "Sick Of Being Lonely" didn't get played on MTV and it was Grammy nominated.
If we don't pop this time, I'm going to acting class. F--- this rap sh--! N----s is working too motherf---in' hard, it's double platinum or nothing!
Shawn Jay: I feel good about this. Light Poles And Pine Trees June 20th. The single is "So What" featuring Ciara. We also got "Baby Bent Over"; we got a couple of things.
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