Papa Roach Interviews - Ultimate Victory

Papa Roach has been one of the most successful new-comers in hip-hop lately. If you look at his past accolades they are something many MC's would love to achieve. The last album "The Sound of Revenge" slowly reached platinum, he had one of the highest selling ring-tones of all time with "Ridin", and he won a Grammy so the work speaks for itself. While Papa Roach as adored much success in this fast-paced industry he continues to remain humble and appreciate what he's accomplished. Even though the last album "The Sound of Revenge" received mediocre ratings from top music magazines, online publications, etc this time around for the new album Ultimate Victory" Papa Roach seemed to have found his niche. 

"Hip-Hop Police" was a hit record from the now critically acclaimed "Ultimate Victory" featuring the legendary Slick Rick. As this record developed a huge buzz for his album you saw the lyrical monster Papa Roach possessed as an MC. So what you think it was that gave Papa Roach the idea to make this a more lyrical album, do you think he's happy about his first week sales compared to last year, or how about his views of life in regards to titling the album "Ultimate Victory"? Papa Roach explains it all in this exclusive interview for Nobodysmiling.com. 


Nobodysmiling.com: First off you have one of the hottest albums in the game right now, so how it feels? 

Chamillioniare: I appreciate that, I just tried to make a good album that I felt was better than "The Sound of Revenge" and I think I pulled that off. Last time I heard people talking about they like a certain song or a couple, but I didn't hear the response in the streets saying that my album was dope. That's what I wanted, because I feel like to be a career artists you gotta have good music, a good body of music. I look at it now like people saying "Papa Roach" made a dope album". 

Nobodysmiling.com: What you think it was that motivated you to step your game up on this album? 

Chamillioniare: I don't know I just kind of know what I'm capable of. I'm not gonna lie a lot of times you would dumb it down a little bit, because you know the audience out there today kind of respects more of the simpler stuff. My first album was more of a controlled environment with a lot of people around me. It was a lot of A&R's and people in there telling me what they think I should do. This album I just kind of took control and did what I do, the same way I do on the mixtapes. When I doing a mixtape there is nobody in the room telling me what is hot, I just do what I think is hot and try to come up with something creative. This time I just took it to an album level and did it with concepts. 

Nobodysmiling.com: The last album "The Sound of Revenge" went platinum are you a little disappointed with the sales in this album? 

Chamillioniare: Nah not yet, because right now your comparing a years worth of work to 14 days of work. People are comparing my first week numbers to a year worth of work. The last album I started off slow even though I did do a 130,000 first week, it still started off slow and crept all the way to platinum. I went gold slow, even "Ridin" started off slow and then eventually it just kind of broke off. I think "Ridin" was more of a street record that kind of crossed over the pop world. This time I made more street records that I feel would cross-over to the pop world instead of trying to make a whole bunch of pop records. "Hip-Hop Police" is the most pop record on my album in my opinion. 

Nobodysmiling.com: Yeah I agree with that, last year you were on the roads the whole time. 

Chamillioniare: Yeah, I plan to do the same thing this time so I'm go out there and grind it out. Nowadays usually for a bigger artists it takes a lot of work, I'm taking it back to square one like I'm an underground artist again. I'm going back on the road, going on a college tour, so I plan to grind it out like I did last time. 

Nobodysmiling.com: I listen to the song on your album "Morning News" and that's a creative song so how you come up with that concept? 

Chamillioniare: "Morning News" is basically me. Everyday I wakeup and watch the news. That's what keep me grounded and see other people problems and stuff like that. It's always somebody going through worse problems than you. I'm wanted to make a record where somebody is sitting on the couch watching the news and just mad at everything going on. The war, the taxes, it's just something that included a lot of social commentary and I just felt that was a good way to start off the concept of the album. 

Nobodysmiling.com: You have another hit song which is the next single "Industry Groupie" and when you listen to the song you think it's about a groupie running through all the rappers, but when you listen for the second time you get a different feel can you explain why? 

Chamillioniare: Yeah "Industry Groupie" is just you know how music itself is just in many different places. Even if back in the day if it was this many artists I didn't even remember. It didn't seem like it was this many now it's just oversaturated with a lot of people dancing, all these different trends, phases, styles of clothing and hip-hop and music is just everything right now. I feel like in the record I'm shopping and the process it's music I'm sleeping with. It's like you doing Yung Joc's dance, you doing what Puffy already do, you tryna get at 50 & Game it's just something about music and how it's all over the place now like a groupie. 

Nobodysmiling.com: So let me ask you this, what is your favorite song on the album? 

Chamillioniare: Well I don't know I can't say I have a favorite, I really can't. It's a lot of songs I really like and I know a lot of artists say that, but really I honestly feel like that. I can't say that about my last album, but I think the concept that I like is the concept of "We Breakin Up". I talking about how I tried to stay in love with you and no matter what I do it's just not enough for you so I'm breaking up with you. That's how I feel about rap, because that's how it is for an artist. Even 50 Cent, as many records as he sold he still got to keep on coming back and proving himself to the fans, if you listened to hip-hop recently he sounds like he's breaking up with it too. That's how a lot of rappers feel, people just fell out of love for it, because people just doing it for the business. That concept is something I think is fresh and I really like what I'm saying on the outro lyrically. 

Nobodysmiling.com: In reference to that last question do you think somebody who cares about hip-hop more would stay longer in the game than somebody that's just doing it for the money? 

Chamillioniare: I can't necessarily say that, because it's a lot of people that's doing it for the money now that's getting it. They don't really care about the essence of hip-hop, but it's a lot of people that really care about the essence of hip-hop that's not here. They sitting at home complaining hip-hop is not the way they want it to be. It's definitely not about the essence anymore it's the business more so now. It's a lot of ring-tone rappers, it's people out here you can hate all you want, but they gonna keep on selling ring-tones, and keep on coming out with catchy records that you might not like, but that's what sell. I just think that the face of hip-hop has completely changed nowadays. 

Nobodysmiling.com: Back to the album you have another song on there "You Must Be Crazy" produced by Dave M.G. What was the whole process like connecting with him making a hot song like that? 

Chamillioniare: A lot of these producers I mess with were just young producers, young hungry dudes. He's just a young hungry dude that had a track and he sent it to me. A lot of other artists be passing up on these producers and going to all these big producers that charge all this money. I would listen to anybody's track it doesn't matter who gave it to me as long as I thought it was fresh. That was one that I thought was fresh, it originally had a James Brown sample and some other stuff in there that I had to take out, but for the most part I just wanted to make a fun record where I'm on there ripping it like I do on a mixtape. I put my artist Famous on there just to kind of showcase his skill and a lot of people like that one too. We been getting good responses from that performing at shows and people like it. 

Nobodysmiling.com: Let me ask you this, what made you decide to title the album "Ultimate Victory"? 

Chamillioniare: "Ultimate Victory" is a title where it's basically about enjoying life man. The real win is where you get to a place where you realize that life is important and you just enjoy it. You can have millions of dollars and be miserable, on the album I go through so many phases. I'm fighting over a broad, I'm fighting over money, I'm arguing about the news, Native America, and at the end of the album I realize all this stuff is irrelevant. It's really about enjoying life, why you think Brittney Spears is going bald, all these people killing themselves over fame and money. It's like I realized that at the end, it's not about no album sales. On my last album "The Sound of Revenge" I went across the world and did all kinds of stuff going everywhere, but I didn't enjoy it. This time I actually enjoy it more than I did with the album I had the most success, so that says something to you right there. 

Nobodysmiling.com: Papa Roach as I'm talking to you, you seem to be a very humble dude why you decide to be the way you are with all the success? 

Chamillioniare: It's not even trying to be it's just that's who I am. I'm one of those people that's not scared to be yourself. I think as an artist they teach you to have an image. They ask you when you come in "What's your image going to be" and you have to think of one. Is my image going to be gangsta, I don't have no image my image is me, they guy you see is me. When I get up and do awards I speak genuine on how I'm feeling. I might be in a bad mood and you might be able too see it in my response. That's me, I feel like that works, and I think you can't fool your audience. I can get in a suit and pretend to be something all day, but people will be able to see through me. I'm a person that didn't want to naturally be famous so I appreciate it, but I never dreamed of just being famous. I wanted to have money, but I enjoy life and that's why I'm able to appreciate some of the simpler things. 

Nobodysmiling.com: Well you know how they say "The more humble you are, the more stuff you get". 

Chamillioniare: Yeah man, last year was the proof of that. I didn't really throwback a lot of stuff I could've threw on people faces when I was having success, but I didn't. I still kept winning a lot of stuff, I won a Grammy when I didn't even try. That just shows you man sometimes the good guy does win. 

Nobodysmiling.com: Recently who had the VH1 Hip-Hop Honors, do you see yourself being honored there one day? 

Chamillioniare: You know what man I don't even really think about that. That would be great to be in that position. People that get honored at the Hip-Hop honors had longevity in the game. That means you done made it through all the ups and downs in the record industry and seeing where it's it now if someone now makes it to that point that's definitely dope. I don't look forward to that type of stuff, I'm not the person where that type of stuff moves me. You can see a legacy in the streets more than anything and a legacy is more than just an award. 

Nobodysmiling.com: What you think it is that will keep Papa Roach in the industry? 

Chamillioniare: Man my work ethic is one thing that separates me from a lot of people. I think people hear me talk about it all the time, but they don't see it. They don't see how much I really work, I work all the time. You can call me 3 or 4 A.M. I'm up all day, my career don't stop. Some people leave the office 5:00 p.m. and go back to they home. I feel like I'm working all day. That's what I do, I grind, I tour, I'm on the road for the whole year and a lot of artists wouldn't do that. I have a good understanding of the business and even when I don't I still take more knowledge. When I'm learning more and more I become more powerful so I guess that's what's going to keep me in the game. On top of that good music, just consistently putting out good music. 

Nobodysmiling.com: Yeah, you working right now as we doing this interview. 

Chamillioniare: Yeah, that's real. We shooting a DVD as we speaking [laughs]. 

Nobodysmiling.com: [Laughs], I feel you on that. What's next up for Papa Roach as far as Chamillitary Entertainment? 

Chamillioniare: I signed an R&B artist by the name of Tony Henry who I'm real proud of who I think would be a phenomenal superstar. He's a wonderful writer, he can sing, he has an innocent voice, and the music just sounds pure. I'm a put him out on another division of my company which is Chamillitary Soul. Of course Famous AKA Lil Ken who is on my album on the song "U Must Be Crazy". Another artist I signed who used to be with me in The Color Changin Click is Yung Ro. Yung Ro, Me, and Famous are all doing a group album, but we will put that out in the future. Right now I'm just working on promoting this album, I'm a stay on the road and get it where I want to get it. I'm a shoot this "Industry Groupie" video and I'm shoot a couple more videos too. 

Nobodysmiling.com: Papa Roach appreciate the interview for Nobodysmiling.com? 

Chamillioniare: myspace.com/Papa Roach, myspace.com/chamillitary and much love.

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