CLASSIC - Ozone Magazine

With his new single “Hercules”hot in the streets andDJ Prostyle backing him,rapper Traffik is in his ownlane. While you’re on yourway to the game or partyingduring the Classic, pop in hisCD because this rapper hassomething FOR EVERYONE.What do you have going on right now?I got the “Hercules” song out right now. It’sbeen getting a lot of buzz and play in Orlando.We’ve got Jadakiss, Pitbull, and Gorilla Zoefor the remix, and we just shot a big video forthat. I’m just working on my album right now.What’s going to be the name of your album?Die Hard Fan.When does the album come out?We’re pushing for the second quarter, andwe’re trying to drop the single in January.When you collaborated with Jadakiss,Pitbull, and Gorilla Zoe, were you guys alltogether?Yeah, we were all together.How was it working with all of them?It was crazy. I learned a lot from each one ofthem. Pitbull told me to “stick to my grind,”Gorilla Zoe told me to “have fun”, and Jadakiss,he just told me a lot. It was really legendaryfor me.How did you hook up with DJ Prostyle?I hooked up with Prostyle like in 2002. I wasback and forth from Ohio to Brooklyn – I wasborn in Brooklyn and moved to Ohio after Igraduated. I came down here and just hookedup with him through listening to the radio. Iheard him doing his thing so I started freestyling,and then I used to go to the clubs he wasat and I would give him my CD. I would stayon my grind like that. He would play some ofmy joints on the radio and I would freestylefor him and that’s how I met him. It’s crazy becausea lot of people thought I knew Prostylebut I didn’t know him at all, it was all just ahustling thing. When I moved down to FloridaI was listening to 102 Jamz and I heard himtalking his shit like he do and I just got at him,so he got my rhymes and would play it on the5:00 Traffic Jam.How do you think living in New York, Ohio,and Florida has influenced your rhymes andlyrics?I left Brooklyn when I was 13 to move to Ohio,but then I left Ohio and moved back to NewYork to try to get my record deal poppingover there. I used to mess with a lot of rapperslike Wu-Tang; I been around for a long timeand I learned a lot up there. But I really didn’tget the thing I was looking for up there so Iwas thinking, let me move down to Florida. Iwas going to move to Miami but I moved toOrlando.What made you move to Orlando?Well, actually when I was in New York, I metthis chick from Miami and she put me on toFlorida. But I didn’t follow her all the way toMiami. I stopped in Orlando. I guess you cansay it was the will of God and everything hasbeen working for me since I got here. I can’tcomplain.Was it hard adjusting from the North to theSouth?Not really, because when I was living in NewYork and moved to Ohio, I got put on to differentmusic. When I was living in New York Iwas listening to all New York shit. When I gotto Ohio that’s when I got put on to Ice Cube,Bun B, the Geto Boys, and all them other cats.So it definitely affected the way I was rhymingbecause it told to accept all music. That’s onething about me now; I love all music.Your song “Dead Homies” is a really goodsong that some people, including myself, canrelate to. How has having some of your lovedones passing affected you?Well it’s crazy because actually in 2002 twoof my cousins died. One of my cousins hadjust got shot in a random shooting in Dayton,Ohio. My other cousin was 32 and died fromlung cancer, so I lost two close cousins in oneyear. It’s made me look at life differently andnot take it for granted.Besides your album coming out, do you haveany mixtapes coming out?I did a mixtape called The Hoodlum. That’swhat really caught Prostyle’s attention. I didthat with my homeboy Vegas Stacks and Syllabusright in Pine Hills in my crib. It got a lot ofunderground love.What do you have going on for the Classic?I will probably slide through some clubs.OZONE MAG // 21