2 new Loon albums coming!
He’s toured the world with Diddy and penned some of the biggest rap songs of this century. Now, Loon is striking out with his own Boss Up Entertainment and is releasing the sizzling album No Friends in conjunction with Cleopatra Records.
After being part of one of the most influential crews rap has ever seen, Loon knows the value of putting together a potent project. “The reason I called it No Friends is because this is the first project that I’ve put together by myself,” Loon explains. “I put it together to put something out for the streets and show some diversity and balance, things I never got to show on Bad Boy. This is me being able to put forth a balanced view of me. I’m way too interesting to be looked at one way. This is me collaborating with my own artists and putting together some treats that people might not be used to be hearing from Loon.”
The aggressive “Run,” the first No Friends cut, goes a long way to introducing another side of Loon. It’s a stark warning to phony rappers that their time in the limelight is coming to an end. “‘Run’ is a statement, telling people to get their stuff together,” Loon says. “I’m coming and people might not be paying attention to me only because I put myself in the position to be a sleeper. ‘Run’ is a warning shot. People are getting over on a combination and an opportunity in the rap business.”
Loon continues his intense approach on the fiery “Live Or Die” and the searing Ma$e dis “Anova.” After helping Ma$e establish himself in the late 1990s, the two former partners-in-rhymes fell out. Loon decided to take on the new G-Unit rapper because of his flip-flopping between being a religious man and a gangster rapper. “I got the record out there on my own independently and it made its waves,” Loon says of “Anova.” “Now that you’ve got Mase’s music pushed by the G-Unit machine, even though my record was hotter, his got visibility. I wanted people to hear my lyrical achievement.”
In addition to his harder material, Loon provides plenty of his signature female-driven material on No Friends. “Eyes On You,” in particular, features Loon rapping about bringing a regular girl into an A-List world. Over a sensuous Middle East-flavored beat, Loon assures his lady that he’ll be staying focused on her. “It’s a different way for me to apply my style to the ladies,” he says. “I think girls will get a kick out of me pointing out a few things that are true, like how girls get down in certain competitive environments.”
Elsewhere, Loon features Boss Up Entertainment signee Gritty (one-half of the group the Teamstas) on the up-tempo “Straight Jacket” and on the club-ready “Belly Dance.” “I’m not just an artist now,” Loon says. “I’m a CEO so I’ve got to look after my artists. I thought those songs were perfect opportunities to give people a look at Gritty.”
Born and raised in Harlem, Loon knows how important a person’s look can be. The son of street legends and grandson of a man who ran with Bumpy Johnson, Loon represents the real Harlem, the street side of the New York enclave that gave it its international reputation.
With these high stakes surroundings, Loon wrote diaries as a form of self-therapy. Eventually, he translated his entries into rhyme form. “It was an escape for me,” he recalls. “It was a mental and physical therapy that helped me escape the reality I was dealing with.”
Loon’s skills made his slot in Ma$e’s super group Harlem World a natural fit. The nimble rhymer also impressed Diddy and eventually joined the Bad Boy family, appearing on the smash hits “I Need A Girl” parts one and two, among others. Despite the opportunity afforded to him through Diddy, Loon felt stifled creatively.
“I just played my position,” says Loon, who released his self-titled debut album in 2003. “I didn’t really feel like the Bad Boy situation was designed for me to establish myself as a person or a complete artist. But we created something major as a team. We brought that whole ‘I Need Love,’ LL vibe back. It was a beautiful crash course of a learning experience. I was side-by-side with a mogul and I feel like I made a nice contribution that brought back a creative vibe to hip-hop when everybody was trying to be tough.”
But Loon’s frustration has turned into a blessing. Since he was known primarily as a ladies’ man, Loon knows that the new, harder edge material he unveils on No Friends will surprise—and impress—rap fans around the world.
“I’m trying to walk the fine line while I’m putting my actual album together, which is titled My Harlem, My World, and is about my transition from the streets to the music game,” he says. “No Friends is an appetizer to get people to be prepared for more integrity coming from Loon. Unfortunately, I was only able to give one dimension of myself at Bad Boy. As an artist, I wanted to make a valiant effort to change that.”
No Friends does just that.
Comments
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Loon interviewed @ Dennica's Place
redbone_18 says:
Wow…..did loon really establish Ma$e’s career when he was with BadBoy? If so that is a crying shame. What I am learning now is, if you don’t have the business knowledge then you shouldn’t be in the business. It doesn’t matter how gangsta you are. Now I hear Ma$e got slapped with a 4 million dollor lawsuit from Puffy. That’s why he hasn’t came out with an album on G-unit yet.
Loonsux says:
even though i h8 mase now, Loon DID NOT establish mase’s career, its more like mase brought loon into the game…
Waris Syed says:
We’re wondering if Loon plays basketball and if he’d like to come out and play basketball in an event for NBA player Felipe Lopez.
FELIPE LOPEZ’S 1st ANNUAL CELEBRITY CLASSIC
Saturday, August 12, 2006
4:30 PM – 8:30 PM
St. John’s University (Queens, New York)
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Sponsors VIP Pre-Game Meet and Greet Reception
4:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Pre-Game Entertainment/Warm-Ups
5:00 PM – 5:30 PM
All-Star Celebrity Classic Game
5:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Felipe Lopez’s 1st Annual Celebrity Classic will culminate with an exclusive after party at one of New York’s premier nighttime venues, The 40/40 Club.
Please let me know.
Thanks
E.J. says:
Loon doesn’t get the props he deserves, its a lot of cats out there hatin, didn’t yall hear the diss track nobody’s safe, (the world thought u had an appifany, but all u do is spending church money in tiffanys, listen B, don’t even know why u riffin me, knowing u know my history, knowing I keep the fifth with me) come on know mase can’t fuck with loon, he needs to fall back, that nigga know not to step foot in harlem unless he with 50 or more cops get it lol….
Ahmed says:
Ma$e is truly the biggest bitch in the rap game right now and he would be passed around like a joint if he ever steps foot in any hood!
SAMMAC says:
i like LOON but i would hav never heard of him if it werent 4 the mase cd
LoonisgoingtobringaHOTalbum says:
That is good to hear I can’t wait to hear all this heat froom Loon! It’s good to hear that we will get two albums to! PS-Everyone Loon’s new street mixtape/album No Friends got pushed back to Aug. 29 now to!
Vikki says:
I am happy to see that Loon is raising his degree and “doing himself” I’m not one to listen to the rumor mill but if he did help Ma$e’s career and received little or no recognition for it and if his growth was stunted at Bad Boy then shame on all who offended. What goes around comes back around. Loon, keep your third eye open, do you, thus saving yourself because everybody else is saving themselves, also keep your eyes opened for false-sees, these are people who want to surround you because of whats outside, pay close attention to those who neglect your inside intelltual these are all men meaning male and female …One Luv !!
CAMDEN AKA CMD stand up says:
yo got the NO FRIENDS, its fire, another side of Loon, lookin foward to the album