SplatterTribe: Do you do any of the 40 Akers stuff during the Nappy shows?

Fishscales: Yeah. We have a 40 Akers set in the middle of the show where we come out and do a few songs.

SplatterTribe: How far along are you with the 40 Akers project? It seems like you're getting closer to something cause you're starting to hear a little more hype on it.

Fishscales: Yeah. It's building up man. It's got that snowball effect, but we pushed the date back to February because we are going to do 2 more projects to even build it up more. Actually we are going to do another Nappy Roots album, as well as a DVD. Basically the Nappy Roots album will be like the soundtrack to the DVD. So the 40 Akers project is pushed back to February 2010.

SplatterTribe: What's the story on the DVD? What all is that going to include?

Fishscales: It's called The Pursuit Of Nappiness. It's kinda like uhm......how do I say this?.....It's really just documenting us on the road and it's gonna have different sections in it. One is gonna be skits kinda acted out, you know, Nappy Roots getting into acting. Then it's gonna have a section that really shows the struggle that we've been through the last few years. It hasn't been easy. So we're kinda just exposing ourselves, you know, let people see the inside's of Nappy Roots. A side of us that they've never seen.

SplatterTribe: As far as the soundtrack, does it actually go along with the DVD or is it just being released with the DVD?

Fishscales: It's more so just songs that promote the DVD. The songs will be in the DVD. I guess to answer that, yeah it will kind of narrate the DVD cause the songs chosen for this album definitely represent certain times in The Pursuit Of Nappiness tour. It will be tied together real nice, man. I'm proud of it.

SplatterTribe: How far along are You guys on that project?

Fishscales: The album will be out on....We set the date yesterday. I think we set it for late October. I want to say maybe the last Tuesday in October and the DVD will come out in December, probably four weeks later.

signed it around January, February '98. There was no mention at all about any kind of digital (sales). The only thing Atlantic controlled was NappyRoots.com. As far as Ringtones, as far as any digital sales, they had no rights over it. They had no concern with it. I mean nowadays they have less of a concern about your physical sales than they are your digital sales. The game has totally 180'd now. It's totally sumthin' different. So it's changed and it's not all for the bad....I just kind of believe the game has gone back to sellin' singles. You just gotta adapt to what is goin' on. 

SplatterTribe: So you guys, in the beginning, where on a developmental deal for like four years or something wasn't you?

Fishscales: Well, we were probably like never supposed to come out. We where signed to Atlantic Records and it was kind of like one of those things like.....Our A&R, who's the head of A&R at Atlantic now Mike Caren, he seen the vision in us, but it was more like one of them things you throw against the wall, if it sticks then good. If it don't then write it off as such. But we came out with the song AwNaw and it just totally turned the heads of everybody in the building. They was like, you know, "We can do something with this." 

SplatterTribe: Do you think the walls you where hitting before Aw Naw was because you guys where a Hip Hop group from Kentucky? I mean that was mind blowing that you guys took of in Hip Hop from Kentucky, especially the time frame you came out in.

Fishscales: Yeah, it was damn near magical, man. You Know, I think Nelly had helped us out a lot with bringing Hip Hop to the mid-west. Even though we was already signed before he came out. I think he made the road a little easier as just mid-west music. But yeah, Kentucky, everything we did, and still doin to this day, was groundbreaking. You know, we where the first. At the time we came out, man, I can maybe name 3 other groups that was doin' (Hip Hop) music in the whole Kentucky. I'm sure there was more than that but on the level we're talking about I can maybe name three or four groups that where doin it, as opposed to over a 1000 now.

SplatterTribe: And they're takin' more serious now.

Fishscales: Yeah....They are man, but I say this......because I think Kentucky still....Well, I say Louisville still hasn't captured they're identity yet. Nappy Roots didn't come out representing Louisville. They came out representing Kentucky and I think the only city in Kentucky still hasn't got their identity to where they can be really, really taken seriously in the Hip Hop game, is Louisville. It kind of crazy, the Hip Hop game in Louisville. No big tours come through Louisville. It makes me mad when I look at it, you know, but Nappy Roots is goin' to continue to represent (Kentucky) we're not going to narrow our message out just for Louisville.

SplatterTribe: Why do you think Louisville does miss out on big tours? I mean, it's not even just Hip Hop. It happens in a lot of genre's.

Fishscales: I don't know. That's weird. You know, I was thinkin' it was just Hip Hop but, now that you mention that, I don't know. I don't know man. 

SplatterTribe: Going back to the fact that you guys signed a deal and was put on hold for four years or whatnot, do you feel you guys signed a wise deal? Do you still have any right to anything or did the major label kind of eat you guys a little bit?

Fishscales: Yeah, man we signed one of the worst contracts in history with Atlantic Records. It was a terrible contract. Uhm.....I wouldn't change....I wish I could change the contract but I wouldn't take it back. It still was a great thing because me and you wouldn't be talking right now.

SplatterTribe: Exposure.

Fishscales: Yeah, it was the exposure, to where I can go and start my own label now and we have a foundation of fans out there who support our music. It's hard for a new artist right now. You could probably make it in the NBA before you could make a successful living in the music industry. So, it was a terrible deal, but one thing, we was blessed to always keep our publishing. We never signed that over to Atlantic Records. I guess because they really where looking at us as a tax write off and I guess that slipped through the cracks. As an artist one of the most important things to keep is your publishing. That's what feeds your grandkids.

SplatterTribe: So you still hold the rights to your songs released under Atlantic Records?

Fishscales: Yeah, even though we are not on Atlantic Records, when you go out and download AwNaw and Po' Folks and The Whole World Is Country, I still get paid for that.

SplatterTribe: That's awesome.

Fishscales: Yeah, It's great. When you hear our songs....When you hear Po Folks on MTV Reality Shows, that's money. That's just a blessing man. We deserve that. We're pretty happy about it.

SplatterTribe: So what was the circumstances that led to Nappy Roots being on Atlantic Records and the owning their own label? I know when we spoke before you has said something about getting caught up in the major label mergers?