Memphis Bleek Gives Advice To J. Cole

Memphis Bleek spoke with Vibe.com touching an array of topics from his relationships with Beanie and Dame Dash to his album The Process. He also reveals some gems he dropped for J. Cole about working under Jay-Z's brand and what he thinks he should do as one of the most highly anticipated new artists out. After all, Bleek was in J. Cole's spot more than 10 years ago and has learned numerous lessons about the music industry.

VIBE: You have experienced the buzz and turbulence of being the next big New York MC after appearing on Reasonable Doubt and Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life. What advice would you give to someone like a J. Cole, who is experiencing similar buzz as the main hip-hop act on Jay-Z’s Roc Nation? BLEEK: I would tell him that everybody can’t just say, “Yo, I want to be my own boss.” You have to learn the business, but more importantly you have to have the right team around you. That’s where it starts first. Before you even meet a manager or a producer or a label you have to start with your homies. Because it won’t work if you have a bunch of foul people around you who just want to see negativity. J. Cole has to go all the way in. He shouldn’t listen to someone telling him how to make his music. He should follow his heart. He’s new… he’s not from the NYC, he’s from Fayetteville, North Carolina, so he’s bringing a whole new movement with him. J. Cole has a lot on his shoulders. He can never second-guess what he’s doing. VIBE: Would you have done anything differently with the heavy buzz you were riding early on in your career? BLEEK: After “Is That Yo Chick” I wouldn’t have had so many people around me. I wouldn’t have taken the vacation we took to Miami and the situation that happened to my brother [Ed Note: Bleek’s older brother was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in Miami on Memorial Day weekend in 2000], God willing, probably wouldn’t have never happen. That’s what took some of my motivation away to do music. It was like losing your mind. Everything in the outside world I really didn’t care about because I was in jeopardy of losing my brother. From that point, it seems I was always trying to re-capture something. I was chasing that buzz. That’s why I tell J. Cole, Drake or any of the other new cats: Don’t ever let up. Because when you let up, there are new people coming for that spot.VIBE: So what does Jay think about your recent moves? BLEEK: When I told him he said people are going to respect you for that. As a man you have to do what you have to do. When I look at Jay, he’s building something new. We were on Roc-A-Fella, but that’s dead now. It’s like, come on…how long can I be putting stones in Jay’s mansion? What, are we going to build you mansion until it has 100,000 rooms [laughs]? And my crib still has one bedroom? I have to start putting stones in my house. And Jay has been all the way with it. VIBE: Jay-Z is set to co-headline two shows with Eminem in New York and Detroit in September. Has he given you any details about those shows given your part-time gig as his hype man extraordinaire? BLEEK: I’m going to keep it real. I usually don’t get any phone calls from Jay when it’s time for shows. I just get an email with an itinerary. Right now, we are supposed to start the overseas tour June 2. Jay is all the way in the South of France at the Cannes Film Festival. I just got my flight information from somebody else that I leave June 2 [laughs]. Crazy, right?