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Interview
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Call‘em
what you want… MMO...Money Makin Operation…Money
Makin Outlaws…Money Members Only….but one thing is
for certain. the initials M.M.O. remain the same for
TRIGG-NOMM (Trigga) & Itchy Finga Sha, two rugged
emcees repping BK (Brooklyn) to the fullest.
[BROOKLYN] The streets of BK will rejoice when MMO
finally drops their debut album, “We MMO” this Fall
2005. MMO got their start from hustling the streets
of Brooklyn and eventually toured the world as
openers for the famed legendary rap crew, Wu-Tang
Clan. Trigga says, “We are a Money Makin Operation….
but first we are poets.”
Money Makin’ Operation is destined to be the
movement for the new millennium. The forth coming
album asks the supreme question, “If you’re not
trying to make money then what else are you doing to
survive in this world?” Don’t ask these Brooklyn
cats that question cause they’ll tell you, “You know
we gettin’ dough…”WE MMO!” Wu-International caught
up with Trigga for a brief Q&A about the group and
more....
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Thanks first and foremost for
taking the time to answer these interviews and I would like to
add on that nothing will be altered, edited or changed
when this is published online.
Question: Let’s first get into the history of the group,
please tell us how MMO got started as a group?
MMO got started as brothers hanging out in Coney Island,
making money. We decided we wanted to make music to make
more money (laughs). We met as teenagers, initially my
partner Sha was like my hype man, I was signed to Wu Tang
Management and Sha was like my hype man, as we toured with
Wu Tang and did more work together we relaxed, we had a good
combination so we decided to change Coney Island Gangsters
into Money Makin Operation.
Sha already had a crew, Money Making Outlaws, but I felt it
was too close to Tupac’s outlaws, so we changed it to Money
Makin Operation, plus when you “outlaw” yourself you outcast
yourself.
Question: I am aware of 4 members of MMO but they could
be more, or less, it seems the current roster is just
Trigga-nomm, & Itchy Finga, Please give us a full list of
the original members of the group and kindly tell us what
happened to the other members?
Trigga-nommtry (Big Trig, Trigga)
Itchy Finga (Sha)
Louicoinz
Sir Kac-off
7-Up
Pearl Handles
Naisha
Black Az Billy da Kidd
Bam Bam da Bad Man
The First Lady
Foogie (my little brother from the old Harlem)
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Question: How did you hook up with John “Mook” Gibbons?
We grew up together, that’s how we hooked up. When he moved
to Staten Island, and started Wu Tang, he heard a lot about
me, and we met with him, let him hear some music, and that’s
how we got in the whole Protect Your Neck situation.
Question: Are you still close or in touch with any member
of the wu-tang clan / fam?
We always stay in touch, we always gonna be cool.
Question: There was a rumour of a trigga solo project
some time back that never came out, can’t remember the title
now, is this true and could you please shed more light on
this?
The Trigga album is coming out this fall. It’s untitled at
the moment.
Question: After the release of “All About The Money” via
Protect Ya Neck records, Not much was heard from the group,
what were/have you guys been up to as a group or
individually?
Been in the studio working, we been underground preparing
for war….in a hole somewhere in the middle east, we dropping
bombs this summer. We’re working on the MMO album, working
on the different albums for the different cats in the group.
We try to keep busy and keep all them boys in the lab
working, cause practice makes perfect. As long as you stay
in the lab working, writing, rhyming, you can get perfect.
Just building up our catalog, so when we come, it will be
non stop.
Question: When will your new album come out?
Our new album will be released: this summer
Question: What will it be called?
Our new album will be called: MMO – Money Makin Operation,
self titled
Question: Featured guests?
Featured artists: Dirty might be on the album, but we
haven’t decided on the collabs yet
Producers: PadroM (bad Boy, La Confidential, Nocturnal),
Select (RZA), Reefa (Biggie), TP (Wu Tang, SwizzBeats, ODB)
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Question: You have been featured on a number of
projects, MP3 releases and so on, why has it taken
you so long to drop this album?
For a minute the operation was under
reconstruction, we had to transform, we had a
situation with legal things, family things, it was a
few different reasons…..it wasn’t the right time.
With this music thing its all about timing. We
didn’t want to just drop any thing, we wanted it to
be right, we wanted the whole situation to be right,
the artists, the management, the label. All it takes
is one weak link and the chain would pop…so we tried
to make a strong team so that things would be strong
when we decided to do what we do. The industry ain’t
going no where.
MMO isn’t even a group, it’s an operation.
Technically we’re all solo artists, and right now
Sha and me represent the operation. When the time is
right, we’ll pass the mike, and the next man is
going to take the stand and we’ll sit in the back.
We been making music, cds, money and all that, but
we’re gonna be officially in the stores this summer.
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Questions: What obstacles if any have been faced by
the group in the past or present in reference to
your music careers?
Well, you know it’s the regular obstacles any other
artist goes thru, constant rejection, regrouping,
trying to get it right. I wouldn’t call it
obstacles, I call it dues, I come from a whole other
era in hip hop and I relate to what’s going on, once
we pay our dues, then the time is come. I feel like
this album coming will show that it’s the right time
for the album to drop. I don’t feel like its too
late, I feel confident. I feel like were covering
all grounds, from Mid West, West Coast, East Coast,
down South.
We’re keeping it 100 BK style, showing what we
really want to represent. It was never an obstacle,
just paying dues. We cool with it, cause once we do
get up in the majors, we gonna be ready. We got a
whole catalog of music; every song would make a
great single. We want to change the game where
niggas gotta come right. Forget all that shit cats
been coming with, where everything sounds the same
or they got boring ass albums. We wanna change that,
we want niggas to get they game up. We never been
signed to a label
Question: With the popularity of mixtapes now,
did the group ever consider releasing a mixtape
before the album hits the streets?
The mixtape should be out March 2006, Dipset Killas.
We’re doing a Big Mike mixtape too. There will
probably be three mixtapes between March, April and
May, cause we have an “MMO South” mixtape. We’re
going to Fla to get that done. We’re also doing some
things with Young Mook and Juice out of Waco TX.
Question: Are you still working with Storm & Prez?
Occasionally
Questions: what is an ideal record for you to
make, as in, what type of stuff would you have on
it, conceptually, production-wise, maybe guests, all
that?
Truthfully, we’re very self contained, and we’re in
a zone right now. So there’s no perfect situation
that I could give you hypothetically, there has to
be chemistry, a given chemistry…a sincere automatic
chemistry. I love music, artists, writers, rappers,
entertainers, singers…we’re open minded really, to
anything, whatever can make some money.
If the chemistry is right, we can really work with
anything and anybody.
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Questions: What label is it on and how can fans be
able to get a hold of the album?
It will be available through our website,
www.officialmmo.com, and if things change as far as
a label we’ll let you know, right now it’s being
released independently.
Questions: One of my favourite tracks from your last EP was
“So Near, So Far” do you have any stand out tracks or
favourites from the forth coming album, if so why?
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Bounce like Dat is good because it’s a club banger,
featuring this cat Links
Gangsters Thugs – I like it because a real
underground gutter banger, but it also has a lot of style
and rhythm to it that is very attractive, the whole concept
is gritty and grimey, it’s like an all-star banger.
And of course the single which is out now Boo Ya,
classic MMO, Buckethead, its like a female rank, like
pigeons
Question: I would like to know who has influenced your
style, outside of how you shaped it in your own way. On your
press release you mentioned the Golden Era of ’93 and ’94,
but anyone specifically?
I’ve always kind followed what I feel. I don’t really feel
like I’ve been influenced by any one person, but more like
the history of hip hop music itself. I like to change my
flow up and do story style, like Rakim, Slick Rick, Raquan,
down to Biggie, Nas.
I keep that kind of laid back style, but then I like to get
hype. But I really leave that to Itchy, he does that so
well, that’s why he makes a great hype man, he’s hyped up.
We have a lot of different flavours and styles, we’re all
influencing each other really, we all vibe off of each
other, everyone has their own character as an individual,
but we all compliment each other.
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"
We’re keeping it 100 BK style, showing what we
really want to represent. It was never an obstacle,
just paying dues.." |
Question: Who are you listening to or feeling at
this moment musically?
I’m listening to MMO and I’m feeling MMO (laughs).
I’m still listening to Jay Z, Biggie, Nas. I’m still
listening to the veterans; I haven’t gotten quite in
tune with a lot of these new dudes.
Word is they all rats, and they chit chat….(laughs)
and I can crush most of them…like cockroaches. I
hear everybody, but I’m not impressed or influenced
by them and that’s what keeps me going. |
Question: Each member have been putting in work in
the game for a while now so it will be safe to call
you guys veterans in your own right, but still a lot
of people don’t know about you. What should people
know about MMO?
They should know that lyrically we’re nice. That’s
it…for now. They should know where we came from, the
era, the element, we came from. Lyrically you HAD to
be nice, so automatically they should know,
lyrically, we’re nice.
Question: So after this project is released, what
is next on the menu for MMO, any solo projects, new
album, shows etc?
We just did a show with Black Rob and G Def, we try
to stay busy with that.
Question: Is there anything else you want to
throw in, anything else we didn’t cover, that you
want to say, shout outs, etc?
We’re gonna be down at All-Star weekend with
Carmello Anthony chillin, him and Big Juss. We’re
gonna be in Vegas at the Magic convention. Finishing
up the mixtapes, like the DJ Kenny Ken, King of
Backspins mixtape. Our goal is to drop a mixtape
every month.
Thanks
very much for your time...... |
Keep up to date with MMO on their official website
www.officialmmo.com or drop them a line on myspace at
www.myspace.com/officialmmo.
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