Dog In The Yard

Outlawz Rap member E.D.I. MEAN talks about growing up in New York and then moving to California and getting involved early in the hip hop game through his childhood buddy , Tupac. EDI shares how he had brushes with the law and how people around him were there to get him back on the music path. He breaks down his trips to Clinton penitentiary to visit Tupac and how that experience and the stayed with them and motivated them to do what they needed to not end up there.He talks about how after Tupacs death the group moved ahead and was working with Death Row Records and Suge Knight. After a series of hit albums with the Outlawz, EDI has continued to make his own music and release his own tracks and collaborations through his production company.

From the time he was 9, South Central’s Blood gang member Kaybe was getting in trouble with the law. He remembers stealing the neighborhood ice ladies pursue and getting caught and and twelve he was arrested for carrying a gun. Things got serious after that and by 16 he was charged for armed robbery, ski mask and all. His first stint in jail he saw young men his age hanging themselves because they couldn’t handle the life behind bars. After he got out and saw the destruction that occurred in his own neighborhood with the killing of Nipsey Hussle, Kaybe make the hardest decision he ever faced. He pulled back from banging and started going down the right side of the street. He now manages some aspiring young rappers from South Central and tries to steer them from banging on the streets as he always says, “ Banging gets you either in jail or dead”. This is a story of a man who has been there and done it all and now is walking the talk.

LIL EAZY E grew up in Compton with a celebrity Dad, EAZY-E, the legendary founder of NWA and Ruthless Records. Then two weeks before his 11th birthday his Dad died suddenly and his world got turned upside down. He jumped off the porch and started gang banging and running in the streets. He has had to face the demons and the legacy of his Dad.For a long time he was full of anger and emotion. The pressure of being a black man being taught to fight with his own kind to keep the suppression going in the hood. His jail experiences taught him how the societal situation is designed to keep the injustice going. Lil Eazy touches on Suge Knight, Snoop, Dre and many of the HipHop elite his Dad was connected with. Five years out of prison, Lil E now takes those learnings and the wisdom of maturing. From acting in Straight outta Compton and being in Growing Up Hiphop to running Rich and Ruthless with Big Arnold and he back to making music. He lets all know learn from my path don't follow my path. Give it up for Lil E........

Crenshaw's Own Smokeone aka "SMOKE", an up and coming artist of Big U's, shares his journey from working the streets to going away for 4 years and having to wake up everyday in jail ready to go to war/ Smoke tells about his first day in the prison yard and seeing the dude next to him stabbed and thinking "man its like this?" Smoke explains how once he got out he made a vow to leave the hustle of the street and be the best rapper he could be. Today he and close friend D5 make up the rap duo OSBS and taking a different path. They were friends of Nipsey Hussle and still see him as their mentor and roll model to this day.

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony is a legendary rap group. Lean back and listen to Flesh-n-Bone lay out how he started writing rap songs at 12 and was beatboxing with, Krayzie Bone, and Layzie Bone in their junior high school math class. Flesh-nBone shares how he and his family were living on government checks but he never stopped dreaming big. He always thought his basketball skills would bring him fame and fortune and make him the next Michale Jordan. He was a college recruit and hoopster, but he didn't realize that what would make him famous was his rapping with his best friends. He and his boys get hooked up with Easy E and they became the biggest rap band in the world. But with his new found fame came problems. Drugs became a way of the life and before he knew it, he was making platinum albums while strung out on PCP. It caught up with him and Flesh-n-Bone couldn't even function. He was arrested and was a drug addict and he had to break off from the group. He was sentenced to 13 years for drugs and gun possession and did nine years of hard time. It rocked his world. He had to watch is boys continue their fame making multiple gold records from behind bars. He went from rapping to rioting and just trying to survive. Fighting and beefing became a way of life. But Flesh-n-Bone never lost faith. That was all it took. he made a promise to himself to kick the addiction and get his act together. This is one story you don't want to miss.

Perhaps no one person in the history of music has had their hand in more hits with more artists than Scott Storch. He is a true legend. Storch had worked with the whose who of music early in his career including The Roots, Beyonce, Drake, Snoop Dogg, Missy Elliott, Dr. Dre, Justin Timberlake, Lil Kim, Mariah Carey, Fat Joe, LL Cool J, Remy Ma, Ice Cube, TI, Ludacris, Ricky Martin, 50 Cent, Chris Brown, Game, Toni Braxton, Nas, and scores of others. But as fast as the success came, so came the trouble. He was the real life example of "Mo money , mo problems". Scott was a quiet kid and even with early success stayed away form the limelight until he got hooked up with jet set super models. Before he knew he was partying 24X7 and sniffing right off the brick of cocaine every day with the group he was hangin with. Suddenly he stopped producing and when the money stopped the drug use accelerated and soon the phone stopped ringing and the biggest names in music didn't want to be near him. His friends abandoned him. His manger gave up on him. He went from hanging with super models to hangin with hoochies. After losing everything and becoming virtually homeless , Scott just decided to go cold turkey one day and start the greatest come back music has ever seen. Good fortune started coming his way and his first break came through a chance meeting with music boss and AR legend, Steve Lobel. Scott straight up asked Steve would he manage him and help him get back on his feet. Steve known for his the "drill sergeant" style of managing , thought about and said yes, but Scott would need to start working with lesser known young new artists and once he made them hit artists the big names would be back. The strategy worked like a charm and today Scott is back on top making monster hits with Artists like Bone Thugs and Harmony, Chloe & Halle, Megan the Stallion, Trippie Redd, Ariana Grande, Chris Brown, Russ, Tyga, The Game, French Montana, More importantly, Scott has been sober for over eight years and is now giving back and helping those that are going through addiction issues through his newly created Heavenly Center in LA with his partner Steve Lobel. Scott is living proof that comebacks are always possible and to quote the legend "IT'S GREATER LATER".

Every bid is different. In John's case, he saw plenty of the dark side in prison and was forced to learn the "do's and don'ts quickly and how to be a dog and no dog food. From prison riots to cellmates killing each other and even killing themselves. Surviving and getting out on the other side and a path to freedom was not easy. Take the journey with him and Pistol Pete from a young teenager to a mature adult man. John now is in the music game and partnered with LA street legend Baldacci.

Give it up for John

Baldacci was working the streets of South Central at 13 and as. teenage he had one day where he stole stole three different cars and was caught by the police each time! Later he was shot five times with a AK47 semi automatic in a gang fight only to survive after two months in a coma. Afteer years in prison, he eventually turned his life around.

Susie grew up in Long Beach and had a strong family, but the street game was exciting and glamorous and soon she was dealing. She caught a drug charge and her world changed. Prison made her grow up and get tough real fast. She developed a reputation as "Big Sue" the toughest female on the block After getting out, she had four children and but couldn't leave the game and was back in jail again. After her parents told her they didn't want her in their life, it was her first wake up call. The next time she got out she had a 19 year daughter who was pregnant.That was the final wake up call for her and to realize that her family was way too important to sacrifice anymore and she made the commitment to rehabilitate herself. Now she is a happy successful women and grandmother helping others when ever she can.

Being Lebanese and Arminian, Player had to be tough. He was on the streets his whole life. Starting at 14 years old, he was finding trouble. He started running the illegal weed distribution from No Cal to So Cal. It caught up with him and he started doing hard time from county jail to prison in the hole. Being a South Sider he knew the rules and how to represent in jail. He talks about how he and his homies mopped up a child offender that crossed the line. His stories are legend of violence and gang politics and riots in the yard. he shares how racism is reenforced in jail. He went on the run to Lebanon and when he returned he was cuffed at the airport. He was ready to do it the right way. His brothers gave him the chance to get into legal marijuana and partner with legends like Berner and Steve Lobel. Player now has his on line of strains.