January 2008

Ant Brown doesn't appear to be a happy camper. But. I guess 10 years of no appreciation will do that to even the best of us. And it’s been taking it’s toll on and off again.

“Man, I say, ‘I quit’ 100 times. The next day, fuck it, I’m back at it,” he states about the frustration that comes with any underground grinder who’s ready for the flashing lights that superstardom promises. “Something keep telling me to push, man, don’t stop now ‘cause, shit, right now, out of all these rappers in Shreveport, I’m gettin’ it the hardest.”

Rocking a white T, blue jeans and white kicks, Mr. "I am Cedar Grove" is angrily alternating between sitting back with his arms folded, face balled up, and expressing himself with his hands (so Cedar Grove). While two young girls tend to his two children and field his calls, trying to keep the peace, Ant is inadvertently doing his best to disturb it.

"Man, all these dudes hollerin', 'I got a deal'," he begins, his voice drowning out his own music in the background. "Four months later, 'I turned that deal down.' For one thing, if you got a deal, they gon' give you some up-front money. Shit, what you doing with it?" he asks before launching into a condescending tirade. "You niggas ain't got no car. You still walkin'. You steady callin' me for rides! I pass by these niggas on [24's], candy paint. I done had 22's, 23's, 24's. Last year, I got my car painted four times. Man, these niggas ain't on my level."

Materialism aside, there appears to be truth to Ant's venomous words. While most pre-teens were going through that awkward transition into adulthood known as puberty, Ant was a full-fledged man behind the mic, dropping heartfelt lyrics that even the grown folk couldn't resist bumping. "I used to get off the mu'fuckin' bus at Ridgewood [Middle School], hear mu'fuckas bumpin' my shit. I was loved, " he reminisces. A half-smile forms in the corner of his mouth. "When that 'Livin' In The Grove' dropped after that "Ratchet" [by Lava House] dropped, that was the next 'hood song. Jerome [James] and them dropped that "West Up/East Up", [Anthony] Mandigo [of Lava House] dropped "Ratchet", and then I dropped. So, it was all like a lil' chain.

By the time he was well into his teens, Ant had hooked-up with Throw’d Thankin’ Entertainment - a local collective headed by Junior Pymp that had earned a following with the teen-aged club scene. Before long, he was in full-swing of making music that touched those not even part of TTE’s target audience.

“Man, I was in the 10th grade, me and my boy Roshun [also of TTE] did a song called ‘Hard Times’. I’m talking about me growing up without a daddy. I walk into the gym, my gym coach in the locker room crying off the motherfucker. The shit crazy ‘causee he done went through the same thing. He about 40-years-old; he done went through the same thing, though.”

But the relationship with TTE wouldn’t be a lasting one. Feeling that there were too many heads on one ship, Ant went for self and defected from the multi-person crew. He still remains cool with his former TTE brethren...well, most of them anyway.

“I can’t take nothing from him. Lil’ dude talented, but lil’ dude need to come up with his own music,” he declares. All throughout the interview, it seems as though a certain light-skinned rapper has been a thorn in Ant’s side ever since a popular song gained momentum around the city. “That ‘I’m Feelin’ Myself’ song [by Wild Yella] - that’s what it’s all about.,” he explains. “I just came to lil’ dude, asked him about it, ‘cause I got a song called “Love Myself”. Man, about a month later, two months later, I hear ‘I’m Feelin’ Myself’. So that’s [what it’s] about.” But another rap beef is about as needed as another four years with Bush. When asked if he would squash the beef for the sake of the ‘hood that both rappers claim (Cedar Grove), it becomes clear that something as simple as train tracks marks the answer. “I’m from the west, he from the east. That’s a big difference. He ain’t never played where I played at, cuz."

As infamous as his words may come to be, one has to play devil’s advocate and acknowledge that the same can be said for Ant; he has never played where Yella has played: Venues of different sizes, both Shreveport radio stations that cater to the young adult crowd, people’s cell phones, and numerous online music outlets, with much popularity. To be honest, the only frontier left for Wild Yella and his camp to conquer is national exposure, and that very well may be in the works. For Ant to talk against a name that rings so heavily seems like suicide to a career that has yet to even be birthed. But, in typical underdog fashion, Ant ain’t trying to hear that, alluding that his independence means more to him than a quick rise to the top.

“To tell you the truth, man, he got the hot seat right now,” he says, acknowledging his aversary’s success. “But everybody have they little time. Like I said, when I first got in the game, what these niggas doing, I been did that. I’m 21-years-old. Half these dudes - some older than me, some younger than me - they got dudes with money, putting it behind them. Everything I got, man, I do it myself. Put my own money up, cuz, get my own money, make my own money back...How I see it, it’s them against me.”

In Ant’s mind, Yella may be from the wrong side of the ‘hood, but, in reality, he’s in the right place. 5 Ent./Rap-A-Lot Records’ Bulletproof-Teflon, Wild Yella, Mr. Mandigo, 3 Feet --even Hurricane Chris-- are all popular names that lay claim to East Cedar Grove. Due to his bridges being burned, Ant’s name is as obscure as the side he reps. With the exception of DJ Jabber Jaws, his support system is far and in-between.

“That’s why I say I’ll be underground forever, cuz, ‘cause I know 3 Feet and [DJ Hollyhood} Bay Bay got their list and their roster of who they want to go through the door,” he says of limited avenues to the outside. “At the same time, niggas want you to kiss their ass. I ain’t finna kiss no nigga’s ass,” he declares vehemently. “Like 3 Feet and Bay Bay - I respect what these niggas doing, but, shit, before you [were] lookin’ to get this [major label deal via Hurricane Chris], I’m on the mu’fuckin’ road with these niggas in Lusiana [sic] and everything. But, shit, when y’all get this deal, you playin’ me like I’m a lil' man. Nigga, I put 10 years into this shit! Nigga, you better respect me like I'm mu'fuckin' Mandigo around this bitch!" he proclaims, likening himself to the now-incarcerated CEO. "I own my own label, too, nigga, like you. Then when you get these mu'fuckin' niggas with these one-hit-wonder-ass songs - a nigga made a song yesterday - they gon' play that shit all in the club. [They] get all this mu'fuckin' fame and shit. Then you got a nigga like me - been out here 10 years - and they don't show no love. So, I feel like, Fuck all these niggas." After venting, Ant silently sits back in his dining room chair with his arms folded, allowing his words to marinate. There's been loud whispers on the streets of Shreveport that DJ Hollyhood Bay Bay (the namesake of the 2007 summer hit "A Bay Bay") cares nothing about the little man if it doesn't mean a profit for him. In other words: If you ain't talking money, Bay Bay ain't with it.

When this is mentioned, as if on cue, Ant snaps, "Man, Bay Bay can go suck a dick. Money, man, ain't never been no issue with me. If you ever catch me, cuz, ask me to show you a bank. I got money. I got two kids; I gotta keep money. Put it like that."

Reading this interview, you're probably brushing Ant Brown off as another no-name rapper who has an acute case of Hateritis, jealous that he never got on. But for the first time in my life, I actually sympathize with a rapper. Ant's ranting and curse-filled disses sound less like a threat and more like a cry for help. His words are not saying, "Fuck you" but more like, "Hey, I'm here, too. Give me a chance." This is further exhibited by the fact that months after the interview, he uploaded a MySpace track that featured 3 Feet - the same cat that he called out during the interview. When backed into a corner, the common reaction is to come out swinging. It's uncertain if Ant will make it to greener pastures, with so many bridges being burned, but one thing's for sure: Should he make it, it's going to be his way, and on his terms.

'It's all about being true to yourself," he stated earlier in the interview. "Why rap about you done shot nine people? They go back to the news and ain't seen nine bodies on the news. They gon' say they done killed fifteen people in Bossier [City]. Bossier only had one murder last year!" he laments, mocking whoever. "I'ma keep it real with myself. That's what I said when I dropped that 'Livin' In The Grove'. Fuck with keeping it real with the next man."

"I'm an underdog, just a one-man army. I feel like really, man, fuck all these niggas around this bitch. They been holdin’ they nuts too long. By now, I feel they need to let my nuts go, cuz. Let me get me.”

Rumble, young man. Rumble.