Fratt House: Overthrowin' Kings

Wednesday - August 17, 2005

Talithia Kelly

From Snoop to Dre to Crooked Eye and everyone in between on the West Coast the west is sTIll not what it should be. However, that may not be the case for too long. The emergence of the new generaTIon breeds hope into the future of the West Coast that seems to be on a struggling upsurge.

When Whitney said, “the children are the future” she wasn’t lying. New arrivals to the mainstream industry, Fratt House, vow to bring the West Coast back to its original state. During an interview the two guys that comprise Fratt House; E Money (E short for Eric and Money because he wants money) and GB(short for gold and black his favorite colors) discussed their thoughts and opinions about the East, West, and how their changing the game.

What’s up guys? Tell me a little bit about yourselves.
I’m GB. I like to rap, naw I’m just playing. I’m a crazy gangsta, I’m a thug like Tupac.

Okay. How old are you and how did you get into the whole rap game?
I’m 23. The whole family is in the rap game and it’s something I’ve been doing my whole life.

E Money why don’t you tell me how you got into the rap game?
I’m 23 and I’ve been doing music since I was 16. Everybody knows Snoop is my cousin and RBX is GB’s dad. It’s in the blood. We had to do it. We’re just carrying the torch.

That’s cool. So why do you guys call yourselves Fratt House?
GB: First of all we were PSC first but than TI came out with PSC. We still rep our set PSC but it’s the Fratt House because we some wild, gangsta, crazy take the house and tear apart kind of people.

Understandable, with that type of attitude what type of sound does your music have.
E Money: Our music is like we took it back a little bit and gave it like a new school twist. Remember when the Dogg Pound first came out back in the day not giving a fuck disrespecting anybody that had anything bad to say about the West. We took that method at the same time putting it with a new school twist. Everybody at the time back in the day when Tupac and Biggie had their beef, the West Coast was really the thing. After that they(East Coast) tried to say it was the West fault and they(East) picked up the torch and ran with it. They took our style and flipped it and put it with their style. So what we did is we took our style back gave it a new twist and gave it something everybody gonna love.

GB: We make universal music not like they’re just West Coast artists. We have music everybody love. That’s the thing we don’t wanna be stuck in just a West Coast dimension. That’s where a lot of rappers mess up they don’t get out.

Did Snoop and RBX play a part in you guys getting a deal?
E Money: A little bit because RBX was messing Tommy Bruno at first from back in the day and RBX brought it to our attention and we started it hanging out and Tommy loved the things that we do. Cut a long story short everything’s been good since then on.

This question is for Lil gangsta Tupac. Why do you consider yourself to be a thug like Tupac?
GB: I was just messing with you. I’m the type of person I don’t give a fuck. I’m a gangsta. I do what I want, where my clothes the way I want. I’m just a defiant, I’m just an asshole. I don’t give a damn. I say what I want to who ever I want. If they don’t like it take shots back cause we taking a lot of shots at people.

Can you tell me who you taking shots at and why?
GB: TI. First of all cause of the PSC shit. He say he the crown king of the south, I don’t believe that. He just a self proclaimed king. If he got something to say then he can take shots back. We got the whole Dogg Pound behind us. We taking shots at the East Coast because they taking our style and trying to run with it. Running around with khakis and chucks thinking they’re gangstas. That only happens on the West. The whole thing is a lot of coasts been taking shots at the West, subliminal shots. Nobody on the West Coast stands up. We’re the front line and we’re going to give it all we got. We ain’t trying to start any shit, but we going to stand up for what we believe in.

E Money: We’ll work with anybody, but don’t bring the bullshit.

When you say the East is taking your style what exactly do you mean?
GB: I mean music. Let me give you a scenario. Remember Snoop, Daz, and Kurupt and the song Change the Game look at Jay Z. He got Beanie Siegal, and Memphis Bleek. The whole beat that Jay, Beanie, and Bleek had was straight West Coast. They took our style and ran with it.

Are they the only artists you’re saying took the West style?
GB & E Money: It’s a whole bunch. You got 50 Cent, Cam’ron, and Mobb Deep. Back in the day you could pin point who was from the West and who was from the East. The market is wide open now. You can’t tell who’s from the West anymore. The only people that stand out are the South. They don’t copy anybody. They got their own sound.

You guys are talking about people copying the West’s style. How do you guys feel about sampling?
GB: Nobody’s being creative anymore. You can do anything and make money. Ain’t nothing wrong with sampling. I was listening to Kanye West’s album and every song was a sample.

E Money: I like Juelz Santa, Cam’ron, and Kanye when they don’t use samples. When they use samples they take away from the creativity of the beat. It’s disrespecting the original. It’s out the window. It’s like I’ll use this sample right here so I don’t have to come up with a hook. We try to do as many songs as possible without samples. There’s nothing wrong with it, but don’t abuse it.

GB: We ain’t got no samples so you can’t talk bad about us.

How do you guys feel about the whole 50 Cent and Game situation?
E Money: I’m with Game because first of all Game’s from the West. Don’t get me wrong I like 50and the G Unit but when it come down to it he from the East Coast. If you take a look at what he doing, he stacking all his East Coast members like Mobb Deep. He said that when he was dissing Fat Joe, Ja Rule, Jada Kiss and all them he was doing them a favor. He said, ‘at least I ain’t dissing all these niggas from the West Coast; I’m keeping it close to home’. And I heard that from a source close to him. I was like damn he rolling like that.

As a whole do you think the East and the West will come together?
GB: It’s been happening, but the way it’s going right now, I don’t think it’s gonna happen.

E Money: They can get on T.V. and say it’s going to happen but when niggas get off that camera it’s a lot of talk going on. I’ve kicked it with East Coast niggas and have seen how they feel about West Coast artists. That shit is all a front. Until it can be real with no cameras around and niggas say how they really feel, then you can talk about the East and the West Coasts coming together. It be niggas that don’t even rap keepin’ it crackin. It don’t be the artists. That’s all for record sales. It be niggas clicks that be like forget the East or forget the West.

Is there anything else you want people to know?
Yeah. Our single is dropping in August and our self-titled album, Fratt House, is dropping in September. We’re on Lethal Entertainment. Keep it Lethal!!