College Park’s own Yung Joc entered the music industry in a big way with his monster hit, “It’s Goin Down.” The heat of that song got him a deal with P.Diddy himself. Since then, Joc has released two albums, "New Joc City" and "Hustlenomics." Collaboration is the name of the game and Joc has done that well, guesting on labelmates Danity Kane’s hit “Show Stopper” as well as T-Pain’s “Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin)” and David Banner’s recent “Get Like Me."
Forever spreading his wings, Joc is currently on the Crocs Next Step Campus Tour with Cartel and newcomer MC Lars and they are making a stop at Georgia State University, September 13. The College Park native is never too busy to share a moment with his hometown team.
Things have certainly been going well with you since you entered the game, especially since you were on Forbes’ Hip-Hop Cash Kings list last year. I think that was their first edition in showing that, as entertainers or as rappers, we also generate healthy revenue. I made it to only number 20 (with $10 million) so, nothing to brag about.
When you entered the music game, did you have a business plan? My thing was to be able to get in and to circulate my brand throughout the industry and to make a difference, as far as being like that new breed of entertainer, as far as rap anyway, to come in at a young age and actually make moves. That’s pretty much my thang. I didn’t want to be that average Joe that came in: oh he raps, alright he got some diamonds, alright, he got some cars, alright. I’ve never wanted to be that. How I made the list is by outworking myself. I ain’t in competition with nobody else.
Your first group, Hot Stylz, has been pretty successful with their single, “Lookin Boy.” I know you got a lot of Atlanta people who wanted to be put on so how did a group from Chicago win out? I wasn’t trying to get caught up in I got to put some homeboys on first. Homeboys might not take it as seriously as I need them to take it because they’re with me. It’s almost like they got a free pass because they ain’t got to outwork me to prove that they really want it. All they got to do is to remain loyal to prove that they’re loyal unlike somebody that you don’t know. I look for who really wants it. I look for that hunger.
What was it about Hot Stylz that you said "let’s roll with them"? It was different. It caught my ear. There wasn’t nothing out there like it. It had its own language. That’s what it was.
Let’s talk about this Crocs tour. It’s a more alternative tour. That’s what I’m about. Collectively, music is one of the few things that brings people together.
How do you convince people that your music is for everybody? It ain’t even about convincing them; it’s just about doing it. Sometimes the people just pick it up on their own and be like, "hey I like that" even when you think they won’t. Some people like what they don’t get every day. There may be certain music that they listen to every day, all day but there is just a couple of genres of music that may come into play and I just want to be that source for them.
Are there artists outside of rap that you like? I like James Blunt. I like the guys I’m on tour with, Cartel. I like their music. They’re pretty hot. I love music in general so you don’t know what I might want to do or what I might may like to hear.
The BET Hip-Hop Awards are coming back to Atlanta. What does that say about Atlanta? It says that these people have started paying attention to Atlanta. I’m very appreciative that they’ve considered my city to celebrate music instead of just making it.
At Metromix, we really like to eat so we have to ask where do you like to go? Oceanaire, Aquaknox
So you like seafood? Yeah boy!
