S. Samuel
"Hi Hater" rapper Maino recently offered a theory for acquiring a southern fanbase as a New York-based emcee.
Maino addressed the question of why he, unlike some other Big Apple rappers, receives a positive reception from Southern fans.
“You already know what I’m about, I’m a solider, I’m a rider, I’m a ghetto survivor, matter of fact, I’m all of the above, you feel me,” he said in a video interview. “Over here in Orlando, Florida, just got finished performing you know…A real n*gga always gonna get love no matter what. [I get love in the South] because I’m a different kind of, different design of n*gga. You understand what I’m saying? They gonna f*ck with me because I ain’t greetin’ all the people, I’ma come down and give ’em me. I ain’t gonna come down here with some bullsh*t.” (Power Played)
Along with getting respect from the South, Maino has been known to support New York emcees including Jadakiss‘ The Last Kiss album.
Maino does what most of you clowns don’t and actually goes to the store and COPS Jadakiss’s The Last Kiss… in stores now, in case you didn’t catch that. The cashier looks mad happy in this Best Buy where Maino is buying the album. Probably because she still has a job. (SOHH NYC)
He has also addressed his stance on helping regain New York’s spotlight.
“I don’t want to say let’s bring New York back, but let’s bring New York forward,” Maino said in a statement. “And the only way to bring it forward is to breathe new life into it. That’s how you keep hip-hop alive, you give birth to the new. I want to be the one bringing that new life.” (Atlantic Records)
Maino is signed to Atlantic Records and is preparing his debut album.
Atlantic picked up Maino and his Hustle Hard imprint in 2007, and the Brooklyn native quickly issued street single “My Life Is Like a Movie” that year. Another track, “Hi Hater,” surfaced the following year, prefacing his major-label debut, If Tomorrow Comes… (All Music)
If Tomorrow Comes… is expected to hit stores later this year.
Check out Maino’s interview and performance in Florida below:
http://www.hiphopbeef.com/video/video/show?id=2359263%3AVideo%3A40968
[For more on your favorite rappers from the Big Apple peep SOHH NYC]
