Party like a rap star: Hangin' with the champ of boxing and hip hop's new prince
You're listening to "Look at ya boy" by H-flo featuring Jazzy Pha courtesy of Philthy Rich Records.
Photos from H-Flo's myspace site.
Note: This isn't really an article...more like a rambling or diary entry, but I thought you might enjoy it. - DC Livers
(BlackPressMagazine.com) - Days after I interviewed VH1's hit reality TV show Charm School star Shay "Buckeey" Johnson, she called to connect me with rapper H-Flo who signed to a multi-million dollar deal with Philthy Rich Records owned by boxing legend Floyd Mayweather.
This story is full of twists and turns so stay with me.
I guess, I was the only person in America who didn't see the Floyd Mayweather vs. Oscar de la Hoya fight, at which the boxing dynamo beat de la Hoya in a world-class win. I was out buying some shoes for a trip to Los Angeles that I was planning. And, I hadn't even heard of H-Flo. But the last time I blew off an interview with someone who I never heard of he turned out to be Johnnie Legend.
I ain't no fool. Thank goodness because now H-Flo is blowing up like a match at a gas station.
At the fight, Mayweather was expected to bring out rapping heavyweight H-Flo to kick off his multi-layered marketing campaign that includes Floyd Mayweather security, creative audio and video projects, new athletes and other divisions.
All was well except Mayweather's best friend, 50 Cents came out instead of H-Flo.
"We still love H-Flo. He's part of our family," Mayweather told me during our conversation. "But, he must understand business. When 50 Cents brings me out on stage, I'm capturing some of his fan base, and when I bring 50 Cents out on 24/7, he's capturing some of my fan base. 50 Cents is a good friend of mine. He's likes to come into my world, and I like to come into his world because we have a good chemistry," said Mayweather.
Confession: During the interview with Mayweather, his comments on H-Flo really threw me off because I had planned to use the interview to intro the rapper to our audience. We literally had about 5 minutes, the time it would take from him to walk from a limo into a building, although I managed to sqeeze 00:08:46 out of him. I felt nervous and at times clueless. Because he's a finely trained athlete, his pace is blazing, so I felt like I'd chugged three Red Bulls at the end. I really didn't have the information I needed to do it properly, but I think it worked out in the end because I really got to see a side of Floyd Mayweather that many don't. For some reason, I still feel a little guilty about that cause I know several die-hard boxing fans who would have paid for the opportunity. Needless to say, I spent hours on YouTube after the interview catching myself up with Mayweather and H-Flo. I wish I had known more about boxing so that I didn't sound like such a dumb girl. Luckily, when I hung up I knew we'd be friends.
Apparently, what every person in America - but me - knew that was there was an alleged "beef" between the two related to the fight.
Not so says H-Flo, who held his silence until we spoke.
"We family so sometimes we bump heads, but at the end of the day I always got a lot of respect for Floyd, and I believe he's always got a lot of respect for me. I always got his back, and I believe he always got my back," said H-Flo. " That's all that's really important."
"You're in the media, you know you know how this goes. Somebody just put a story out...it was fabricated," H-Flo confided in me. "I don't think my CD was ready to be out there like that anyway," he said.
"It was a good look for 50 and a good look for Philthy Rich Records. I'm good with 50. He's shown me a lot and I respect him a whole lot. I'm glad to be mentioned in the same breath a Floyd Mayweather and 50 Cents. I got a lot of respect for them guys. I'm a stand up guy so if I had a problem, I would definitely not have a problem to say what's on my mind," said H-Flo.
Ironically, I caught up with Mayweather and H-Flo again a few weeks after the interview, this time in Los Angeles. The first time was on the night of the Charm School party on June 25 at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown L.A. I was on the line with Shay who was lost finding T.I.'s party when...I literally ran into Mayweather. I'm always amazed at how smooth he looks, from the clothing line he owns to his baby's bottom smooth, chestnut skin. I always fight back the urge to touch his face but since his hands are a legal weapon, I manage to maintain professionalism.
I kept running into H-Flo throughout the entire weekend, first at the Charm School party, then at the BET Awards taping and then at the BET Awards after party. There's something about him that seems to be destined to be remembered. In fact, everyone at Philthy Rich seems to be anointed with some kind of holy water that makes it impossible to fail.
My interview with Philthy Rich manager Tasha Robinson got messed up when Flavor Flav kept coming at me and finally made me break the heel of my shoe. You can hear him all throughout the interview with Mayweather, which we haven't released yet. Now that Public Enemy's back touring in the United States, maybe I can get Flav to replace my shoes. (I'll be sending the receipt for them, Flav).
Although Floyd can be very intimidating, he's such a loving and loyal person that I'm sure somewhere along the way his feelings were probably hurt by the H-Flo rumors. I was happy to play a tiny role in squashing what might have been brewing because I have a lot of respect for these men. They really embraced me and made me feel like a part of their family. But, most importantly they got to clear the air and - if only on our website - for once the media regained its reputation.
Related Story: H-Flo attends Charm School Reunion party hosted by Saaphyri Windsor and Shay "Buckeey" Johnson at Privilege Nightclub in Los Angeles, CA.
To hear other Charm School/Flavor or Love podcast interviews with Krazy, Schatar, Bootz, Leiline and Saaphyri, visit http://www.blackpressradio.com and search keyword: VH1 or Charm School or search by their names. To hear Deelishis' new single click on the "Anniversary Party Mix" showcasing unsigned artists.
To hear other Charm School/Flavor or Love podcast interviews with Schatar, Leiline, and Saaphyri, visit http://www.blackpressradio.com and search keyword: VH1 or Charm School. To hear Deelishis' new single click on the "Anniversary Party Mix" showcasing unsigned artists. Stay tuned for photos from the L.A. event today at 5 p.m. EST/2 p.m. PST.
Volunteers and interns are needed for Emergency Hip Hop Violence Townhall Meeting. To be considered send your resume, cover letter, work samples, web links and goals to [email protected]
Volunteers and interns are needed for Podapalooza: Podcasting Workshops to be held on Sept. 14-15, 2007 in Washington, DC. To be considered send your resume, cover letter, work samples, web links and goals to [email protected]
