The road’s been long and winding for Paul Wall. From many reuniting with a former friend and musical ally to one of his closest friends barely surviving a near fatal plane crash, the last few years were arguably the most intensive of his life. Back with a new album and renewed focus, Paul Wall a.k.a. The People’s Champ is looking to take the game on again and if this interview is any indication, he’s more than ready to give the world the much needed definition of a champion.
AIS: What’s been going on with you?
PW: My new album, Heart of a Champion, just came out last Tuesday. I’m hitting the road to promote it.
AIS: What can fans expect?
PW: They can expect some real good music. The album is produced by my boy Travis Barker and Beans ‘N Kornbread and with Beans ‘N Kornbread being from Texas, we got that strong southern vibe going on. Feature-wise, I got Bun B, Z-Ro, Devin the Dude, Slim Thug, Chamillionaire, Jay Electronica, Raekwon, Yelawolf, Kid Sister and a few others that really rounded out the record. It’s really a compilation because every song got somebody on there. I had the opportunity to work with these people and I wasn’t about to turn it down.
AIS: Johnny Dang, better known as TV Johnny, jumped on one song. To hear him rap is something that most never thought would happen. How’d that come about?
PW: That’s the most talked about song on the album. When we did it, we did it for fun, you know? We weren’t even going to put it on the album at first and when we were, it was going to be a bonus cut. He was wanting to rap and was like “write me a rap” and it ended up being a lot of people’s favorite song on the album. We’re thinking of putting that out as a single. It’s already getting some radio play from it so we might run with that as the next single. That’s what hip hop’s all about, right? Having fun.
AIS: You’ve been touring with Chamillionaire. I interviewed him about this time last year and he was saying that the collabo, re-union show and possible CCC album was unlikely. Now you’ve done songs together since the split, toured together and that shows that anything can happen.
PW: If you would’ve asked me 10 years ago, 5 years ago if that would’ve gone down, I would’ve said no. By the grace of God it worked out and we got back on good terms and build our friendship back up. It’s good to not be fighting with your brother anymore. These are small steps that lead to bigger things.
AIS: You’re always talking about the importance of hustle in your songs. Give us your definition of being a hustler and the attributes they have.
PW: Being a hustler means that you’re a go getter. It means you know how to make it make sense when it doesn’t and make it work when it otherwise wouldn’t. You don’t take ‘no’ for an answer and won’t rest until you get the job done. No matter what, against all odds, you’re a hustler so you’ll go get it.
AIS: Outside of rap, you run several businesses. Could you tell us about how you became an entrepreneur and why it’s important to diversify your hustle?
PW: I was thinking about it, [opening a Subway franchise] but I didn’t. I was always taught that you need to have a different hustle for every season to counteract the down slopes. Think of it like a sport, football comes in when basketball ends and when those end, get on your baseball game. Maintain yourself through making other things pop. I own a clothing line, Expensive Taste, with two of my homeboys. The URL is ExpensiveTaste.net and that’s been going on for a while now. Why wear other people’s clothes when I can wear my own… Check out the rest of this interview on AmbitionIsSexy
