Interview by Ms Rivercity
Fresh off a weekend of shows at SXSW, Paul Wall sits down with DramaLikeTheDJ.com to discuss his mixtape with DJ Drama, working with new TX artists, and getting fit. He also talks about the jewelry game, and the worth of his personal collection.
What’s the response been like on the tape? It’s been a while since you gave the people a new project, were they talking about it at SXSW?
It’s been a real good response. I pressed up copies we were giving away, but most people had downloaded it and heard about it. People are liking the new sound, the style – a lot of the features are new up-and-coming artists and people are liking that.
Which songs did you perform at SXSW from the new project?
I performed “Bread on the Menu” [Feat. Killa Kyleon] and “Ballin” [Feat. Slim Thug].
Are those the standout songs from the tape, the ones fans are requesting most?
A lot of people been liking “Knowmtalmbout” with Kirko Bangz but the song is screwed so I been trying to figure out how to perform it since it’s screwed, like are we gonna perform it slow like that or speed it up. But for the other ones, since my show was a family show for all ages I didn’t perform some of the other ones. They been liking “2Cups” and “Right Now.”
Why did you work with DJ Drama on this tape as opposed to another DJ or one from Houston?
We’d talked about doing something for the longest, we had done some stuff in the past, whether it was choppin’ and screwin’ some of his mixtapes or us doing an actual mixtape together. He’s one of the top DJs in the world so of course he’s at the top of the list for somebody to work with.
Even though we might not hear you on the radio as much, you tour and do shows consistently. How do you keep your audience’s interest in wanting to see you perform?
I think if you keep ‘em engaged through Twitter, Facebook, Google+, stuff like that, you’ll stay on people’s mind whether it’s musically or in general. I try to stay active in the other areas like clothing lines, jewelry and grills, and side ventures like this health initiative me and my wife are doing with FeelRich.com.
What made y’all want to get more active in a healthier lifestyle? Was there a major breaking point for you that changed your way of living?
We wanted to be good role models for our family. We wanted to take control of our own health too. If we could be good role models for our family, maybe we could be good role models for others too. There weren’t too many companies that catered to the hood teaching them healthy habits. Feel Rich is QD3’s company (Quincy Jones’ son) with a guy named Shawn Ullman out of Austin. We teamed up with ‘em to get people involved in learning healthy habits. My wife is a fitness instructor. She does Zumba every day and has fitness expos once a month in Houston, Dallas, and other areas. It’s starting to catch on, partly because we’re so sincere about it, and also because there’s not a lot of companies catering to hood health.
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