G.E.D.O.com: Who influenced you musically?
Knocka: Harlem is a big industry within itself. There are a lot of people who are doing their thing. I grew up with people like T-Rex, DJ Webstar and other cats that were making it happen. When you see other people around your way making moves musically it motivates you to want to work all the harder.
G.E.D.O.com: When did you start pursuing the rap game full-time?
Knocka: I have been rapping for as long as I can remember. I was sixteen when I started to look at rap as a full-time gig. I am twenty now but I am much better than I was when I was sixteen. I was starting four years ago. Like with anything else when you first start you are not as nearly as good as when you begin to get some experience under your belt. After doing this for a while I realized that I was going to have put some work in if I was going to shine. When I turned eighteen I made a song called Get Crazy with Webstar and Young B, and Chicken Noodle Soup with my boy named Ron and Show Money. After that song caught a buzz on the underground scene people started to realize who I was and what I was trying to accomplish.
G.E.D.O.com: How were you able to build and maintain your buzz after Get Crazy?
Knocka: When I made the song Get Crazy I did not go to a CD store and have me burned any CD's. I burned five thousand CD's all by myself. I gave some of them out for free but I sold the rest. I copied every single one myself by hand. I made five thousand CD's by hand. I sold some of the CD's for a dollar but I made sure that all of the CD's got out there on the streets. I was giving most of them out because I was just coming out and wanted people to know who I was. After a while of giving them out the song just hit the clubs and after that the song was starting to get a buzz. There was not such a thing as Myspace.com at time so I just kept doing my thing. After the original five thousand copies, the clubs and the internet made the buzz bigger. I handed the copies of this song out in Brooklyn, Queens and Harlem. The grind that I was on for this single got me my buzz. When I did the song with Max B and Nikki Minaj (Million Dollar Baby remix) who was signed with Lil' Wayne, that kind of put me in a position to be King of the Underground in the streets of NY.
G.E.D.O.com : How did you hook up with Frenchy, Nikki Minaj and Max B?
Knocka: I just finished dropping ten to fifteen thousand dollars on his CD. When I did Million Dollar Baby I kind of took over Harlem. I reached out to Max B and he was already familiar with who I was and he agreed to get on that track with me and we just did it. I met Nikki Minaj on Myspace.com. I hooked up with her and she agreed to do the track.
G.E.D.O: How can you be able to stand out among all of the lyrical signed and unsigned heavyweights in NYC?
Knocka: Don't get me wrong don't think anything I do is easy. I have to put a lot of work into what I do. Understand everyone in Harlem and NYC for that matter is hungry for a chance to shine. I just choose to be unique just to stand out from everyone else. If everyone is shining I strive to be the best period. No disrespect to anyone else. There is much competition. I strive to make the most noise by keeping my buzz going. If you are not making crazy noise on the streets then you are not going to get heard. Being persistent will get you far in this game, or anything that you do for that matter. I did not just stop at just making one track. I kept cranking out dope tracks after doper tracks to keep myself in the ear of the streets. My street team is crazy too. There are like 70 people strong in my organization to keep the folks aware of what I am doing. Ya hear me? I got people in the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn, Staten Island and New Jersey hitting the pavement to make sure that I stay in the minds and ears of the people. So when I put something in the streets I am going into major parts of the big apple to ensure that people hear me. Whether I am on Fordham Road or Jay Street or 125th Street or Staten Island people are going to hear me regardless because I am hungry and want this thing man. From all of this hard work I stand out.
G.E.D.O.com: What are you currently working on right now as far as the grind is concerned?
Knocka: I am working on a lot of things right now. I sold 10,200 copies of my mixtape. I am working on the King of Harlem part two right now as we speak. I got a new single with my man that is about to drop right now. He is fucking with Jim Jones you know what I am saying? I got another song with Ron Browz and Murder Mook called Swagger Like Us. That song is gonna kill the streets when we drop it. The format is gonna be crazy. I am looking to get at anyone regardless of where they are from geographically. Anyone out there who is serious about working with me to get this money in the rap game come talk to me! I am looking forward to getting signed with G-Unit because I feel comfortable there, but if something else comes up before then and the numbers are right, then I am down for whatever. I am talking to a couple people from Universal and Atlantic records but at the same time I am unsigned… but I am willing to work with whoever is ready to do it big. The game is crazy right now and I am just trying to put myself in the best situation possible. My swag, my aura and lyricism and marketability, hard work and determination will catapult me to the top. It does not matter where I end up I am going to shine regardless.
G.E.D.O.com: The south is hot right now and rightfully so. Would you be willing to follow Frenchy and Nikki Minaj's path and use your NY swag, lyricism and street cred over a southern beat to make a hit record with a southern artist?
Knocka: A lot of people are upset that the south is on top right now but I respect their gangsta and street hustle. There is no reason why people should be mad at anyone else. If you work hard you deserve to shine. These cats are from a different part of the country so their sound is going to be unique. If you are making beautiful music you are going to shine. Everyone in the south is not crazy. So these niggas gotta be doing something right, know what I am saying? I do not know why Ice-T disrespected Soldier Boy for doing his thing. He should not get mad that his acting gig or his buzz is not as big as it used to be. No disrepect but his comments were foolish because he should be focusing on himself instead of another cat. I mean no disrespect to the south. Lil Wayne and TIP and all of those other cats are fly and doing it big. But when I come out I am determined to be the best and outshine everyone. I am sure if you asked these dudes the same thing they would agree. I guarantee you that I will make waves and shine. People are not putting in enough work and this is why they are not shining like they should be on the east coast. I am willing to work with anyone. I do not give a fuck man. I do not care if you are from Antarctica, north, east, south or west. If you dope, serious and from the south or wherever, and want to do a song with me, come holla at me. People can't get mad at the South for making the wrong record that is not marketable. They can only get mad at themselves.
Where I am situated all of the record companies are situated here but they are hitting the south and are looking short term. There are plenty ill cats out of the south but like New York everyone is not in the same league as a Lil Wayne, A TIP or a Rick Ross. To tell you the truth, a lot of these magazines and record labels do not really understand what the south is saying or respect what these cats are trying to accomplish. I think that shit is wrong because they are only about the artist and not the people but that is business. The south is holding down its own and will keep making good music for many years to come. The south does not give a fuck and is going to do them anyway. All the more respect to them for handling their business and not getting jerked by these record companies. You have to respect the South's hustle. All I know is when I come out I am going to shine brightly too. You got cats like Jeezy too who is hot, has street cred and has a pretty good story to tell but you cant put every rapper in the north of south in that category. When I get signed I am gonna be crazy man. I am 20 years old and spit better than cats who have been in the game for a minute. I need only 3 or 4 hours of sleep a day. I work hard and grind and my efforts will be rewarded.