Reggaematic: Welcome back to Philly.

Vegas: Yeah man, how you mean. Good to be down here, man, fi real.

RM: Yes, yes. Big things a gwaan. First thing I must say is congrats on your new label deal.

V: Yeah, Delicious Vinyl.

RM: Tell us a little bit about that.

V: Well, basically, after leaving Greensleeves - because Greensleeves is based in Europe, so I don’t think they could do enough for me in America in terms of marketing and promotion, you know – so Delicious Vinyl has been down with, you know, Born Jamericans, Pharcyde, and all dem people. So basically, they have a distribution deal with Interscope, so that just make it sound better. So we just went into the studio with Vada Nobles – who worked on the Lauren Hill project, the Miseducation [of Lauren Hill] album - and we just did some work.

RM: So what happens when you leave a Greensleeves and you sign to a quote-unquote “major” label? I mean, do you get like a million-dollar advance?

V: [Laughs]. Well basically, it nuh really reach deyso - it soon reach! [laughs]. Basically, it’s not even really all about the advance, because if you get a million dollar advance you still have to pay it back. Some people think you get a million dollars and that’s good, but if you get a million dollars from a label – if it’s even 20 years time, even if you go to sign with another label – you still have to pay back that money. So right now, we don’t just take a million dollars, but we try to sell some records to make more than a million dollars.

RM: So it’s a three album deal, and the first album is due when?

V: In March. But trust me, with what we doin’ now, it might blow up earlier, the album might drop earlier. You never can tell. Because we wanna try to beat the pirates to the sales. So, pirates?: Pirate and leave some for me still, OK? Like, if you was gonna pirate two, pirate one instead!

RM: And then, knowing Reggae artists, the album might just get pushed back.

V: No, this one not goin’ get pushed back, trust me. If this one get pushed back, it’s a retirement program me a set up. [Editor’s Note: Delicious Vinyl has pushed the release date back to April 13, 2004].

RM: And the name of the album is?

V: It’s going to be called Pull Up, or you know, if something else pop up some changes might happen along the line, but right now they sticking with Pull Up.

RM: Is it almost completed?

V: I’m finished recording, they’re just mastering right now.

RM: And as far as creative control, was that all you?

V: Well, me and Vada, you know? Vada is like a big part of that still. He has like five or six songs on the album, I think he’s a good producer. He did the “Tamale” track, he did a joint with me and Foxxy Brown – that’s tight, you know?

RM: You and Foxxy Brown! How did that collabo come about?

V: Well me and Foxxy go way back still, you know. A mi likkle bredrin, still, yuh know? [laughs]. As a matter of fact, you have to really give it to somebody like Foxxy Brown, because she was one of the cats, a major Hip-Hop artist, who was messin’ with reggae from early up, before it even got this big. She was doing that stuff with Spragga [Benz] and Baby Cham - I think if she did that now, it would blow up even bigger! When she was doing that, people was like “yo, this Reggae-Reggae ting she a try, that is not her,” but now everyone is trying to do that. You have Beyoncé do it and go number one. So you have to give big respect to [Foxxy] still. So when she heard the song, she was like “yo, this is crazy, I wanna flow on this.” So I say, it’s all good.

RM: That song is called?

V: It’s called “Thank You Girl.” For all the girls dem. It’s gonna be the Valentines anthem, trust me.

RM: So in ‘99 you had that big hit with you and Sean [Paul] - that’s some time back. Since then you’ve been kind of off the scene. What have you been doing?

V: Well, basically, trying’ not to... It’s good to be missing. It’s good for people to say “where is Vegas?” It’s good for people to want to hear you. ‘Cause if you’re out there every day, people will get tired of you. You see what I’m sayin’? Your fan base will drop and everything. Basically we’ve been in the studio producing other joints, you know. That “Clappas” beat was produced by my whole crew and me, you know. Just basically in the studio voicing other artists. Capleton, Beenie Man, the younger artists in Jamaica, you name it. You know, I’ve been still putting out some joints still, but you know, when you putting out some joints, but it ain’t the real joints to go on the road and really promote, you not gonna all out to promote and stuff like that. So right now we have the real joints, so we’re back on the streets.

RM: So, do you find the business more competitive now?

V: It’s crazy competitive. It’s like too much artists in Jamaica right now, in that likkle small country [laughs]. Trust me, if you get a rhythm album right now - you know, Roger - it’s like 30 artists on the album, and 20 other artists did not get on! And you can only play 2 or 3 songs.

RM: I know, there’s a particular rhythm called “Coolie Dance,” which you of course have a big tune on...

V: Yo, there is like two album with “Coolie Dance!” [laughs] Trust me. Yo, they couldn’t name this rhythm any better than “Coolie Dance!” You know Coolie people like a lot of kids? Like a Coolie woman, she just pregnant-pregnant-pregnant, she just love babies! Or a Coolie man just give nuff baby! Coolie Dance? Yo, fifty artists!

RM: Yeah, it’s crazy for any producer to voice over 40 artists on one rhythm.

V: It’s 40 on one album! [laughs] So it’s like 80. And I can tell you, I know like 10 people who did not make it onto that rhythm! People like [“Coolie Dance” producer] Skatta [Burrell] was like “hmmm... tune just aright, you know? Can’t put this out.” So if those ten were on?

RM: Yeah, I mean, the funniest thing is, after I got the Greensleeves version, Greensleeves have, I guess, 21 on theirs. And VP have another 20. And I am looking and I’m saying “Mr. Vegas’ big tune is not even on any of these albums!”

V: That’s by choice though. Because I wanted to have mine exclusive, compared to like “Heads High,” “Hot Gal Today,” all dem tracks. “She’s a Ho,” all dem tracks. “Sucky Ducky,” all dem tracks. Dem tracks was like on every compilation. So if you couldn’t find a Mr. Vegas album, you could find a “Heads High” on like five other albums. You can find it on something from VP, you could find it on something else from Greensleeves, who is still my label. So for you to sell records and make money, it’s like that is not gonna happen, because you’re gonna sell less albums, because the singles are all over the place. So with my tune “Pull Up” on the “Coolie Dance,” I decided that I want this tune exclusive for my album, you know? So I just went into the studio, do it by myself, add a bass line to my own - to make it sound a little bit harder in the club - so right now we’re on the road promoting that. So that’s why it really stands out, and you know, I would say getting more spins on international radio, because I’m out thee promoting it on my own. It’s not like something with 50 other songs, you know?

RM: So the first single is gonna be?

V: The first single is “Pull Up,” that’s already out. “Tamale” is gonna be like the next single. And this “Thank You Girl” joint, we might just jump on that as the third single, for all the ladies. For all you Caribbean people who don’t know what’s a tamale: A tamale is like a hot pepper, or a candy, or like a Mexican dish that’s a very nice dish, but it’s hot. So quit saying “yow my girl, you look good.” Now say “baby, you’re a tamale.”

RM: So how do you come from a tropical country like Jamaica, and you’re here in the winter working the streets for your new single and album?

V: I know! All my spit freeze when I go outside! Yo, trust me. Some people think this is easy, but this is harder than mixing cement [laughs]. Trust me, because you mix cement - you go to work at like, nine o’clock, you get off at five - but this is like nonstop. I’ve been on the road like two months and some weeks now, nonstop. Clubs, radio, all over the place. From Richmond to Washington to New York to all ‘bout. You go to Miami, Miami is hot, you come back to New York, New York cold, you go upstate, Rochester is freezing, you go Boston, you can’t walk. Yo, it’s crazy. You come Philadelphia right now, trust me, I need to walk with like a live blanket [laughs]. It’s too cold for me. This is like living in a deep freezer in Jamaica! I feel like a steak! [laughs]

RM: You’ve had two albums under your belt so far, this is gonna be your third...

V: Two legal ones. Maybe I have like four on Audiomaxxx[.com], you know? [laughs].

RM: [laughs] Ok, this is gonna be your third legal album. What’s so different about the Pull Up album different from the others that you’ve done with Greensleeves?

V: Well, basically, Heads High album is a classic.

RM: Heads High is like, The Best Of Vegas. [laughs] That’s what I thought when I heard it! Like Vegas: The Singles. [laughs]

V: [laughs] They had some exclusive tracks on it too! That’s how they do it in Reggae music, man! But alright, there you go. This album is different. This album have stuff you never heard before. I’m sorry I leaked that Foxxy Brown track to you, because you’re gonna be calling my album more singles now! [laughs] Nah, but it’s stuff nobody has heard. It’s like a Hip-Hop or an R&B album where you know one or two songs and the rest is like exclusive joints. We’re gonna be releasing stuff off the album that people don’t even know. I think that’s what makes an album sell, too, you know? Like Beyoncé and dem album. It’s like some songs, like “Me, Myself and I,” I didn’t even know that song was on the album. It’s her third single. And that makes the album start selling again. Because people are like “Oh, I like that song,” and they go and buy the album, and it’s the same album with “Baby Boy.”

RM: And, if you notice, they’re all different kinds of grooves.

V: Ah. That’s what I’m trying to accomplish on my album. The joint with Foxxy Brown is different. The “Tamale” is different. The “Pull Up” is a real club banger – like “Heads High” – for the people who really hardcore. ‘Cause they still have people whe you have to keep it hardcore for, because they’ll say you a sell out.

RM: Yeah. Now is like the right time for Dancehall, because of the success of like Sean Paul - and it’s so funny, because Sean Paul’s first hit [“Hot Gal Today”] was you and Sean Paul.

V: Yeah, thanks be to God, you know? At least I’m a part of history, you know?

RM: Do you sit back and look at Sean and say “that could have been me?”

V: No, no. You know what happen still? I thanks for what I achieve still. Coming from nothing, trust me. One time I would just pray to get a visa, just a visa would be good for me, to come to America to make a living. Right now, I just thank God for where I’m at still. Because everybody can’t be at the same level. And if that happened, the world a go mash up.

RM: You and Sean still cool?

V: Yeah, we just do, um, two shows in Europe. You know, he called me up on stage, that was cool still. So we’re glad that that little, um, vibe we had between us start to deteriorate.

RM: So as far as doing more records together...

V: No, I don’t know ‘bout that yet still. [laughs] Aright, like the fans, that’s what they wanna see. Because you have tracks like “Here Comes The Boom” with Sean Paul, you have “Tiger Bone” with Sean Paul, you have “Hot Gal Today” with Sean Paul. And people wanna see that still.

RM: Yeah, it was a good formula.

V: Yeah. But me and Lexxus have a good formula too. “Video Light,” you know?

RM: Yeah, but that’s only one tune [laughs].

V: You right. Cool nuh? [laughs] Maybe we need to do another one [laughs]. But Sean Paul still, it’s like when them two voice come together, you know? It’s crazy. But you always have obstacles still, and you always have people trying to go inside people’s heads and trying to mash up friendships. Just like how you have some girls who like to mash up other girls relationships, you just have some people whe try to mash up friendships. Like you and your bredrin a good bredrin, and a man a go say “yo, Roger said something ‘bout you, you know?” Or “Roger a tek advantage of you,” or whatever it is. You always have people there who put things in people head and break up friendships and good relationships, you know?

RM: Well, yeah. But it’s definitely the right time for your album, still. Reggae is on the move. Dancehall is on the move. Some people are still sleeping, though. I kinda feel the same way like with Hip-Hop, you know. Like you know with Hip-Hop, back in the ‘80s, people were saying “it’s a fad, it’s not gonna last.” And I’ve been hearing certain radio programming directors and others saying the same thing for the past ten years: “It’s a fad, it’s a fad.” And, of course Shabba Ranks was blowing up over ten years ago, so go figure!

V: One thing we know is that whenever it drops in the club, the people go crazy you know? So we love that still.

RM: Yeah, since Shabba Ranks. Reggae – in terms of mainstream American clubs – has been there ever since.

V: Trust me, I’ve been to clubs and see “Heads High” play still, and it’s like the biggest forward for the night. And “She’s A Ho” play, and it’s like crazy.

RM: We need people to start taking our music serious!

V: Well, Billboard is taking it serious, so they will have to follow. ‘cause “Baby Boy” [by R&B star Beyoncé] is Reggae still, right? “Diwali” beat? Reggae, straight up.

RM: But of course, as soon as you have certain type of music start to cross over, they put it in the Hip-Hop category and the R&B category.

V: Yeah, yeah! Sometimes that’s hard, star. Because sometimes you’re doing a drop for like a radio DJ, and he wants you to say “blazing Hip-Hop and R&B,” you know? You can’t even slide in a little “Reggae” in there. They just class Dancehall in the Hip-Hop segment.

RM: It’s politics. We’re trying to change that.

V: Well, as long as you keep playing the music still, you know Roger, it will change. Right now, I’m not trying to be the politician and change anything [laughs]. Roger: you can change those things! I leave that to you, star! [laughs].

RM: Well, I wish you all the best with your third legal album.

V: Third paid-for album [laughs]. The third album I’ll be getting royalties from! Not like that JetStar! [laughs] Don’t buy that JetStar album [Mr. Vegas: Reggae Max]!

RM: [Laughs]. OK, this March. The album called Pull Up. The name might change, but, for now, it’s Pull Up.

V: Yo, yo. The name not gonna change. Pull Up. ‘Cause we don’t want people to go to the record store and say “where is the Name Might Change album?”

RM: OK, Pull Up. Mr. Vegas, thanks man for passin’ through.

V: Yeah, thanks.