Show biz is rough. We know what happened to Elvis, Bon Scott, Andy Gibb. But the live fast die young curse of popular music means nothing to Bugsy Bugsy Ice. He is intent on becoming rap's newest king, heir to the legacy of a torrid past and the fallen bodies of the rappers that have gone before him. What happened to Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur seems to mean nothing to this rapper with an attitude. The recent gunning down of his childhood nanny at a popular L.A. hair salon has had little effect on his in your face demeanor. A front page ad in the The Los Angeles Examiner claimed that a contract had been placed on fellow rapper, X-tra, and an appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno almost landed Jay in the hospital with a kick to the ribs. I recently had a chance to speak to the rapper in his home in Santa Monica, California. What follows is an honest, deep confession of a troubled man yearning to "get his" before his time expires.
Yellow Dog: Bugsy, I noticed that you live just down the street from Sheryl Crow. What's that like? Exciting, I bet.
Bugsy: Shut the fuck up.Yellow Dog: Bugsy, your latest disc, Eat My Dog, has been released to a hailstorm of controversy. There's so much to discuss, but I'd like to start with "Ya Stink Like Your Momma's Butt." Given what's happened with your own mother and you putting her in a home, was this a personal statement?
Bugsy: Yo, man. Are you talking about my momma?
Yellow Dog: Scratch that question. What about the song, "Gonna Teach You Who To Diss." What inspired you to write this little ditty?
Bugsy: It's like this, man. This mother fucker in L.A., I ain't gonna say who, but let's just call him that fat boy with the big D in his name, he gone and take my ho. So, I go down to his house, see, and I smash out all the windows in his Mercedes. And then comes the song. This'll teach you who to diss. Know what I mean?
Yellow Dog: What about your inclusion of a ballad on the new disc? "Stickin It To You" is one of the most romantic rap songs to come out in years. A song like that makes me realize just how much that "I Feel Like I Can Fly" song is crap.
Bugsy: Right, right. You got the dope. I wanted people to see that Bugsy Bugsy Ice has a sensitive side as well, you know what I mean. That song was written for my main girl, Brenda B. I just got inspired one night, you know what I'm saying? I said, "Baby, get the fuck off of me. I got to right this down." When I got through with her, I read it to her, and she cried.
Yellow Dog: There's one line that's particulary moving: "You got big breasts/across your chest/you sure is blessed/I gotta confess/when I see you/I want to undress." Moving. Simply moving.
Bugsy: You got that right. I'm working on a new one now for my new girlfriend. It's called, "Shake It Or I'll Break It." One line goes, "Big ole bootie/full of cooties/ sweet pattootie/you look fly when nudie."
Yellow Dog: Will there be another duet with L.L. X.Y?
Bugsy: Just as soon as that sucker gets out of the joint. Yo, he never killed no taxi cab driver. That was just hype. It's all a conspiracy like what the Contras did in L.A.
Yellow Dog: Interesting. Bugsy, what about the movies? Are you going to follow Tupac Shakur and Ice Cube and do a picture?
Bugsy: Yo, like I said to those homeboys at Rolling Stone, I'm doing a flick with that kid from "Growing Pains." What the fuck was his name?
Yellow Dog: I have absolutely know idea. What's it about?
Bugsy: We're like a white cop and a black cop, and we go around bustin drug dealers and blowin up buildings and shit. It's hype.
Yellow Dog: I bet. Bugsy, do you think that you'll ever let Yolanda Swatch back in the back up band?
Bugsy: No way, man. What that chick told the press, that's total disrespect to her man. I never wore no woman's underpants. I'm writing a song about that shit right now. It's called, "Hope You Get Busted Up In The Head."
Yellow Dog: Bugsy, would you call your music violent? Some critics have called you a poor man's Ice T? How do you respond? Are you setting the right image for today's youth?
Bugsy: Look, I've had enough of this Ice T crap. I'm Bugsy Bugsy Ice, and you better get it. I'm number one. And I don't endorse violence or any of that shit, know what I mean, but if some mother fucker gets in my way, I'm gonna mess his ass up. And let me tell you something, homeboy, youth or not, I'm the only image. Some kid wants to be cool, he better find himself acting like Bugsy Bugsy Ice. Else, he'll just get his ass kicked in one day. Word.
Yellow Dog: How's the tour going?
Bugsy: Great. We're doing a few shows with Snoop and then a gig with Pajama Boy in Jacksonville. We're probably going to be at the New York Super Rap Fest with Public Enemy, Ice Cube, and Boys II Men.
Yellow Dog: So you will be taking your band, the Sock Stuffers, out on the road this time? I remember what happened on your 1996 tour. That was one nasty scene. Some critics thought you'd never recover from the unpleasant media coverage.
Bugsy: Yea, man. But those were the old days. We've matured. We're not gonna invite anybody back stage who's not fourteen. That's the truth. Yo, man. You catch the show. I'll mess you up. That's what's up. Bugsy Bugsy Ice. Comin at you, sucker.
