Serge Fleury
Right now in this day and age of Hip-Hop, seeing an MC of the Caucasian variety isn’t such a big deal, because it has become more of the norm.
One of the artists that helped to really spearhead the movement in the early 2000’s was Memphis native, Patrick Lanshaw; better known to his fans as Lil Wyte.
Signed to Hypnotize Minds back 2002, Lil Wyte released his Doubt Me Now debut in 2003, with Three 6 Mafia’s DJ Paul and Juicy J handling all of the production duties.
From there, he went onto release four more albums; in addition to three of them successfully landing respectable spots on the music charts, he also garnered more praise for his artistry.
Now with just under 10 years in a game that guarantees no longevity, the head of Wyte Music gears up to release his sixth studio album, Still Doubted in June.
iHipHop had a chance to catch up with the longtime Three 6 Mafia affiliate to discuss the love/hate relationship of the Internet, being compared to other white MC’s, having full creative control for the first time ever, and plenty more.
iHipHop.com: You’ve been off the grid for a little bit… So what do you have new cooking?
Lil Wyte: I’m recording a new album, and it’s dropping in June called Still Doubted… There’s going to be Three 6 Mafia production, of course… I’m also working with a couple of new young producers… I started my own label, Wyte Music a couple of years back, and I released two albums through it. One of them was Sno: Year Round with Jelly Roll… I also signed Shamrock, who won The White Rapper Show on VH1… Besides that, I’ve just been grinding man…
iHipHop.com: With the name of your upcoming project being called Still Doubted, is that how you feel about your career up to this point? As if people still doubt you?
Lil Wyte: Not really doubting my career, because I know that I’m not doubted… But with Doubt Me Now, my first album being everyone’s favorite— and when I drop this album it would’ve been 10 years since Doubt Me Now… So now it’s kind of like a question: “Am I still doubted?” That’s pretty much how I went about it…
iHipHop.com: With this being your sixth studio album, has the creative process gotten easier or harder?
Lil Wyte: Well, the cool thing about this album is that I told [DJ] Paul and Juicy [J] that I wanted to put this album out through my label; Wyte Music… They told me to do what I do, and that they were still going to help me promote it and all of that…
So they gave me all creative control, and this is actually going to be my first album where I have full creative control… So I’m going to have a lot more fun with this album… There are a few topics that I really wanted to touch on for years…
But being with [DJ] Paul and Juicy [J] on the Three 6 Mafia label—there’s a certain formula that you have to stick by… There’s going to be a lot more production from other people rather than just from Three 6 Mafia…
I rap about different sh!t on other people’s beats… [DJ] Paul and Juicy’s beats just bring out that gutter stuff… I’m going to have a lot of good features on this album, and there’s going to be some surprises…
iHipHop: With this huge influx of white MC’s; people like Yelawolf, Action Bronson, Mac Miller, Asher Roth, MGK (Machine Gun Kelly), and so on; does it bother you when people are quick to group you in with them?
Lil Wyte: I just said this on the Twitter the other day; I think it’s amazing that are enough white rappers out there for us actually to be getting compared to each other now [Laughing]… I think it’s funny, I really do… I’m actually a huge fan of Yelawolf, and I’m a huge fan of Rittz… I kicked it with those guys down in Atlanta, and they’re cool people…
They both came up to me, and was saying when I album dropped, they were in their Chevys riding around in the ‘hood bumping it… All the ‘hood white rappers give me my props… So being grouped in doesn’t get under my skin; it really don’t… If they’re doing this music the wrong way; then of course… But as long as they’re doing it properly, it’s cool…
iHipHop.com: What’s your take on the Internet? Has it helped or hurt the artist?
Lil Wyte: It’s one of those love/hate relationships… Doubt Me Now dropped in ’03, so I was able to get that last little group of people that actually went out and bought CD’s… So that’s why Doubt Me Now has over 350,000 copies sold to date… That was with little promo, and no video… That was just word-of-mouth that the CD was dropping… But as the years went on, everyone’s album sales dropped because of the Internet…
But with me, I’ve slowly figured out how to use the Internet to my advantage… I keep on Twitter; “Yo, I’m in Atlanta, what’s going on tonight?” Next thing you know, you’re in the studio with God knows who because of the Internet…
So it does hurt sales-wise, but when it comes to social networking, and really getting your music to a wider audience; it makes sense… I’ve made so much money off FaceBook and Twitter… They just hit me up: “I need a show, how much do you charge?” You just have to know how to use it for you…
