Jozeemo Goes Off On Phonte and 9th Wonder…Explains Why They Are Fake In His Mind

Yesterday, Jozeemo released a video for his single “Steam” along with a statement about how 9th Wonder and Phonte, his former label mates over at Hall Of Justus, are fake and are not loyal. I had the chance to catch up with Jozeemo to get a little more in depth about the situation that he is extremely passionate about.

Jeremiah: What’s going on my man? Saw you dropped a video yesterday for “Steam” off a new project.

Jozeemo: Yeah I dropped a little something something. It’s actually not off the new project…it’s just a single I dropped. The new project is actually called True Identity. It’s not out yet. I’m looking at the end of October maybe into November.

Jeremiah: I saw right after the video dropped, you made a statement about 9th Wonder and Phonte. Obviously you know them on a personal level because of Hall Of Justus. So what actually went down?

Jozeemo: It’s like this. I had my own movement going on and Little Brother and HOJ, reached out to me and wanted me to rock with them…wanted to show me the dough…wanted to sign me. Phonte and 9th were very instrumental in getting me to sign. Of course after I signed, the Little Brother thing fell apart — 9th left the group, Phonte says he was tired of rapping so he started doing Neo-Soul. You know, while they were beefing with each other and Phonte posted the video about 9th and how they hate each other, I was still cool with everybody cause once again, I wasn’t with them from the start. They reached out to me while it was in full stream. I had my own relationship with each one of them and it didn’t have anything to do with any of that other bullshit that was going on.

Anyway, so after they reached out to me and told me, “We think your dope, we think you got all this talent,” this, that and the third, they put me on the shelf. I [was] featured on two Little Brother albums, Getback and Leftback. Two songs–one per album and every time Little Brother did a show, they would never do my songs. They would never take me with them. I’m not saying that anyone owes me anything, but why even come to me and say you ride with me, you believe in me, you think I’m hot, and I’m dope and then when I get with you, you don’t want to do anything with me? 9th gave me a throwaway beat, everybody told me it was a throwaway beat. Khrysis told me it was a throwaway beat…all these people told me it was a throwaway beat. So the whole time they sucked me in. Then, while I was trying to get on my own feet, they cut my legs. That’s kind of the focus of what’s going on now.

I see Jamla making all these moves and what not, but really all they’re doing is supporting themselves. They want to say they support NC Hip Hop. I’ve been with these cats for a minute. I’ve been on tour with these niggas. I’ve been in the van. We’ve had conversations. I’ve been in niggas’ cribs. I’ve met their kids! So these aren’t the rants of a bitter ex-label mate. To this day, I don’t have no problems with those dudes and never would I discredit their music. I’m a fan of Phonte…I like some of 9th! I can never say that their music is wack. But them as people, the way that they just don’t care about nobody but themselves. And then [they] make it look like the faces of North Carolina Hip Hop is them…nobody else is dope in North Carolina. That’s how they carry themselves. Then, they want all the support in the world and I just feel like that’s wack so I’m gonna speak out. My personal point of view–everybody isn’t wack in North Carolina. Y’all ain’t the only niggas that can do it. Everybody got music, I got music, and there are plenty of artists I know that’s got music that’s dope. I just want to get it right and let niggas know from the inside….everybody’s scared to talk about it because it’s 9th Wonder and Phonte. If you spit your opinion about them and they’re not with it, they’ll make it so you can’t make any moves in this music. I really don’t care man. I’m a grown man so I’m gonna speak my mind just like ‘Te speak his mind, just like 9th speak his mind.

I’ve got personal beefs with these guys. Phonte called me about the group, then told everyone I called him trying to figure out where we stand. Then he said something like, “Last year, seven or eight months ago you sent me a text message that rubbed me the wrong way.” I’m like damn, if you my nigga, why didn’t you tell me then? He wait until everything all goes down, then tries to throw me in the mix with that shit. He was like, “Yeah, you know I’m gonna sever all ties with everything HOJ cause you did some underhanded, backstabbing shit.” I’m like what are you talking about dude? Talk to me,….I’m ya boy. He’s like, “Nah, I’m just gonna fall back.” Okay that was wack, but you’re a man, you can do what you want to do Phonte. Now 9th Wonder–we were at A3C in Atlanta last year and he was like, “Come holla at me…I want to holla at you.” He told me, “If you can get to California, I will put you on Murs’ album. That’s my word.” I said, “Alright.” I guess he thought I was a broke nigga or something, or I didn’t have any connections. I hopped a flight out to Cali, he and E. Jones came to the airport and picked me up, took me to the hotel. I went [to] Inglewood…Murs Studio and rocked…bodied the track. Then I come on home. This nigga had me come all the way to California and didn’t even have the nerve…the decency to pick up the phone and be like…. mind you the Murs album came out and I’d been telling everybody I’m on the Murs album… the album comes out and I’m not even mentioned. I’m like damn. I try him on the phone like, “What’s good?” I had my man call him like “Damn, that’s fucked up Jozeemo ain’t on the album and you had him come out to Cali.” 9th started getting defensive like, “Man I didn’t have anything to do with that shit. Murs only wanted West Coast cats on there.” I’m like “Damn, I’m your boy…why didn’t you call me and tell me I didn’t make the album?”

Every place I go, I hear people talking bad about 9th and Phonte and all this shit. I look at them niggas like y’all don’t know them guys, y’all don’t even got no claim. I know them and I know what they’ve done. Not that they’ve ever owed me anything. I don’t feel like they owe me anything, but why come at me like you want to help me then at the end of the day don’t? That shit is wack, and I’m like it can’t be. I see the posts on KevinNottingham — “Oh yeah Jozeemo’s wack, that’s why they didn’t want…” Yeah, yeah whatever, Little Brother asked me to be on not one but two albums…go ahead and check it. Dudes asked me to be on two albums. I can’t be all that wack if they wanted to work with me in the first place. But you know, after a while people change, and people’s ideas change. And I just do the music because I like to do it…I really don’t have to. I’m solidified, I’m good. In my personal life, I’ve got the piece of the American dream. I’m extra good and they know it, 9th know it. I don’t really need this music shit. I only do it because I want to see North Carolina as a whole shine. We have plenty of artists that just need the exposure and I’m not just talking about myself. There’s artists that’s way doper than me! When they drop their albums, there’s no National North Carolina Hip Hop Day. Where’s the love? That’s my point of view, you dig?

Jeremiah: I feel you. When you say nobody gets any shine……why would 9th have so many North Carolina artists on his album?

Jozeemo: Jamla has a group called Actual Proof. Act Proof. Are you familiar with Act Proof?

Jeremiah: Yeah, for sure.

Jozeemo: Okay, locally they’ve had four shows. Do you think Jamla was there to support them at those four shows? No, they weren’t. Act Proof was coming at someone who does publicist work like booking for me asking for help. They looked at Act Proof like…you’re with 9th Wonder? They’re like “We’re trying to work with other people.” I’ve talked to 9th. I’ve talked to him personally and I’m like, “Look man you claim you rock with me, what’s good?” He’s not any help…co-signs don’t mean anything. I mean, it’s all the business man. And instead of them niggas coming out and being like, Yo, we got the monopoly on the spotlight for North Carolina, we don’t want to share it. Say that, I respect that! But you didn’t need to even holler at me in the first place. I could have kept doing my Blockhuggerz thing.

Some people are going to say I’m just saying this to promote the album. Let me tell you something man. Let me make one thing crystal clear — I have never sold an album period. I was signed to HOJ in 2007, I dropped a wack album with them, and it was wack. I can say the album was wack! It was poorly put together, the beat selection wasn’t all that great. I mean, I’m not one of those dudes that stand on the soap box and toot my own horn because I know that I’m a realist, you feel me? So, I’ve never sold an album period so I don’t care about album sales. I don’t care about, “Oh he’s just saying this to get his project popping.” Not really, I do this for the love. I don’t have to make a living out of this like some people do because I’ve been blessed. I do it because I like to do it but still, if I have an opinion I’m going to speak it. Okay, some of the music is dope, a lot of it I like, but personally these niggas wack! Simple as that man, [it’s] simple as that. I feel like they don’t want anyone to outshine them. Once again, it’s not just me I’m talking about. I know mad people that are hot but when it comes to North Carolina Hip Hop, all you hear about is 9th and Phonte. That’s not North Carolina Hip Hop. I’m out here, I live here. That’s not what we’re about. That selfishness and being all about self, but then you always want somebody to retweet your shit and promote unity. There ain’t no unity. Then every time I say something wild on Twitter, he call me personally like,“Yo, you saying something about Khrysis man, you don’t need to be putting that out there.” Nah, he just want shit to look hunky doorey when it’s not! Man, nobody in North Carolina really fuck with them dudes man because of how they treat people. I’ll tell a motherfucker to their face! If you don’t know these guys and you’re just judging them off of passing them at a show or something, these guys are busy men; they don’t have time to be listening to everybody’s CD who wants to rap. I’m not saying that 9th has got some kind of duty to look out for us, so I’m not mad at that at all. I’m just saying y’all don’t support nobody but yourselves so stop thinking everybody is supposed to rally behind y’all and make this some kind of fucking movement. It’s not a movement when everybody ain’t moving.