Thug Poetry: You are off Cash Money now and Gemini is cancelled. You are still on good terms with Cash Money right?

TQ: Yeah, it ain't no problem. It's just the end of my deal with them, basically. I signed with them for 3 years. I had an option for a 4th year or not and I chose to opt out.

Thug Poetry: Can you tell us something more about your situation at Cash Money?

TQ: It was just ehm... they came to L.A. like way back when I dropped Westside. Just they liked the song and they liked They Never Saw Me Coming. And they on came down on the radio and they was looking for me. So alot of people started calling me saying I need to go meet them guys, so I just met them in the hotel and we just changed numbers. And we became friends from there, really. But I was already signing into another deal, so once that deal was up they was basically the first ones in line and wanted to sign me and I hollered at em. Cause we already had a relationship, basically. I mean, it was an opportunity for me to write a lot of music, you know what I'm saying, and my music was a mix that I wrote. Opportunity for me to be on a lot of projects. We just didn't drop the record. That's the only thing about it. We just didn't drop a record but you know everything is cool. It was a learning experience. It was a good experience for me to be able to get my crap together. Man, I'm a much better writer, I'm a much better producer. I had the opportunity to just sit in the studio for three years with Mannie Fresh. That's what it came down for. That's priceless, like school time, you know what I'm saying. I liked it, it's all good.

Thug Poetry: Alright. Hey, I read in a few interviews about Gemini that you had a six piece band that you were gonna be performing with. When I saw you performing over here in Europe I didn't see any band, at all. Did you ever perform with that band?

TQ: Yeah, that's the same band I still got. I mean, we just did... I think the show I did with you was just me and my DJ. I mean, we do a lot of shows like that. That's just fun, we're doing it for the fun thing, but at the time I think when you saw me I didn't have an album out or anything and I was just over there doing some joints for the people really. But this time around I got a lot of... it's just the whole campaign we're doing this time around with the new Listen album. It's just like it was in the beginning. The first time I do it with a band and I have done it a couple of times, so we got back together. My band actually is who did the majority of the music on this new album. It's real good, it's a real good thing.

Thug Poetry: You have a new single, called Right On. What can you tell us about that single?

TQ: It's really kind of a throwback song for me. It's like I been turned on to a whole lot of different sounds and a whole lot of different vibes lately. So this song I just really kinda got back to the roots basically where I started at I guess. It's kind of an up tempo version of Westside actually, but 2004 for that. It's a joint that I produced and I wrote, so it's just 100% me, really. That's what it comes down to. I'm real happy about the song though, people that are hearing the song are really loving it. So I think it's just attention and putting the time in the studio. It's just realizing that you've done enough homework and kinda spread your wings a little bit.

Thug Poetry: Did you shoot the video yet?

TQ: We're shooting the video sunday in L.A., a week from yesterday.

Thug Poetry: Your new album Listen. What can we expect on that album?

TQ: It's like I said. Just much like the single it's some real throw back TQ music. It's like, it's just straight from the heart. It ain't no fluff to it what so ever. I think I just was really more involved with this record than I have been with any other record. I've always written all my stuff but I never really was into producing like myself. I'm kinda critical when it comes down to the production side so I don't wanna be spending a lot of time on stuff just because I can't make up my mind what to keep and what to throw away. So I've never really been into producing for myself for albums, but this time I produced basically the whole thing. Listen is kind of my baby right now. I'm working on another album in Europe at the same time. I mean, it's just a different situation and so many different experiences. It's 2 different sides of what I do, so Listen is my baby right now basically.

Thug Poetry: Can you tell us something more about the guest appearances on your album?

TQ: On Listen? It ain't no guest appearances. It's me from top to bottom, really. It's me, my band and my DJ. Looking at all the soundings that I got with all that Cash Money just throws alone. When you put them with the ones that I got before I was even there I think that my fans just really wanna hear me right now. They wanna hear what I got to say. It's been a while, it's just that they didn't have something that was really new that was for me, they just really wanna hear what I got to say. My whole plan was to just giving them exactly what I had to say. I'ma do some remixes in the future for some singles and I got some people in mind which I'm not gonna talk about right now. I wanna get down with, but we'll see.

Thug Poetry: Qu wants to know if there's gonna be any weed song on the album.

TQ: If there's gonna be a weed song on the album? Actually, we smoking in a couple of em but I didn't just dedicate one to herb actually, I just didn't. There might be one on the next one, maybe not.

Thug Poetry: You told us about your new album and another album you're gonna release in Europe on Sony. Can you tell us something more about that album?

TQ: It's actually a little bit different from Listen. I feel like I'm under the influence of so many different kinds of music that I don't think people are ready for just putting it all on one album yet. Maybe they'll get to that eventually, but I don't think they necessarily ready for that right now. Not jsut them, radio stations and stores, but I don't think the mass public is ready for that kind of record. Hopefully it'll get there, but this record I kinda... the Europe record I'm kinda stretching a little bit. It's just a different vibe. It's hard to explain. I think you just have to hear it to make your own comparisons. I think it's definately more experimental. It's like things that I'm trying and I really haven't done before. Things that I like always wanted to do and I said well let's do this. It don't necessarily fit the scope of Listen and things that I'm trying to do here in the States and the things that I'm trying to say here in the States. It's really just being creative, I guess, and just trying things and see how far I can go. I just remade the old Eagles hit Hotel California for my album over there. A lot of people are gonna be like "damn, whats tthat right there, that ain't no TQ song". But basically it is. I mean, I heard that song all my life. I'm just tryna do this joint over. Not necessarily for the States, the States might not be ready for that, but in Europe I can stretch it like that.

Thug Poetry: Alright. Well, it's a good song.

TQ: Yeah yeah, fa sho.

Thug Poetry: You are off Cash Money now. Are there any songs you're gonna use for your new albums or for other projects that you recorded on Cash Money?

TQ: Yeah, just a couple of em that Mannie produced that I'm gonna end up using. I ain't gonna say no names right now, but anybody that knows the history... You'll know when you hear it.

Thug Poetry: Is Mike Mosley gonna produce any songs of your albums or upcoming projects?

TQ: Maybe so, we haven't talked about getting back together. I haven't ran into him. I mean, he's got a lot of stuff going on in his hometown and stuff. I just be moving around so much but I will never mind getting back with Mike. That's the original team right there. We know each other's sound.

Thug Poetry: Why did you decide to sign with Warner Bros and Sony?

TQ: For a couple of reasons. I'm just not under the belief that signing to one company for the whole world, as big as the world is, as many people as many different languages and everything. I don't feel like that's maximized. I mean, it took a while to learn that, but I had a bad situation before I got to Cash Money where the label overseas were doing great things and the label in the States just couldn't get passed the philosophy of what we was trying to do. That was just a really bad situation and it really kinda threw up a flag for me. I just said that I would never do a world wide deal with anybody ever again. But at the same time everything has its goods and its bads. It's gonna be a lot more work for me. It's gonna be a lot of time spent doing this. But hey, what it is, is what it is. If you love it, you love it man.

Thug Poetry: A few years back you released that Headbeaterz compilation. What can you tell us about the next Headbeaterz compilation?

TQ: The next Headbeaterz compilation? You know what, we haven't even really thought about it yet. I mean, I really wanna focus on getting these 2 albums done and out and put together. I really want this Europe album to come out as good as I feel Listen came out. I don't wanna get wrapped into too many things at one time, but it's damn near possible to everything as good as everything else. You only got so much time, it's only 24 hours in a day. If you're gonna focus on writing and producing and performing and promoting. Good music, that's just a 24/7 job. I don't wanna overspin myself basically.

Thug Poetry: Is there anyone you worked with in the past that we haven't heard about but you think we should know about it?

TQ: Yeah it is. This cat AtWill. You probably heard him from the Headbeaterz compilation. I'm still down with him cause he one of the hottest cats out there so I'm really into doing some more stuff with him and in the near future doing the album situation together or something. I'm just into him, I'm his fan. And another cat is Mikkey, who was with Cash Money when I was there. I think Mikkey can meet up the majority of the people that I just hear whether it be people who are famous or just people from the street. A lot of people come up to me, a lot of people are giving me their music and I tend to listen to it a lot. It's just, I put Mikkey up with anybody in a freestyle contest. His delivery and his flow is just off the chain, so I kinda wanna do some more stuff with him in the future too.

Thug Poetry: Are there any other artists you would like to work with in the future that you haven’t worked with yet?

TQ: Nobody in particular. I dont know it's like, I'm not really... It's not too many people that I'm apposed to working with. Anybody wanna get down, can get down, for real. I would say on the production tip I'd really wanna do a song with Dr Dre before it's all over. That would be nice.

Thug Poetry: Who do you think is real hot in the music scene right now? Like what cd's are you bumping at the moment?

TQ: Actually, I got All Eyez On Me, I got Makaveli, I got Me Against the world, 2Pac's Greatest Hits, and ehm... the Red Hot Chili Peppers, that’s what's in my cd player. Oh and In My Lifetime from Jay-Z. That’s what I got in my changer right now so that'll let you know what's going on. I ain't really up on the brand new hot music. I seem to be getting stuff late cause I spend all my time in the studio. I bought my old favorites, man. I've always been a Pac fan, I always will be. I still think he's the coldest and he's colder than anybody living, so it's like, I just ride off his old records, really.

Thug Poetry: Just 2Pac.

TQ: For the most part, but you know... I'm really into the Chili Peppers though, I like the Chili Peppers a lot, I listen to their records too. That's just totally to the left of what anybody would think, but I like their sound. I like Californication.

Thug Poetry: Do you still have a place in New Orleans?

TQ: Nah, not no more. Back to the west completely.

Thug Poetry: You have worked with Sarah Connor on a couple of tracks. You two are like completely different artists. How was working with her?

TQ: It was cool man. She's more down to earth than people would think. She's real cool man and she can sing, she can really sing real good, so that’s really why I got with her. When I heard her sing live I'm like, yeah alright lets do some songs together. Let's do some music together. It's cool, it's like I was talking about earlier man, it's a lot different things musically that I could do. So why just do one thing? I do what I like.

Thug Poetry: When are you gonna go on tour again? In the States first?

TQ: Yeah, well I'm doing a lot of promotional stuff right now, it's what I'm getting at, I gotta kick it off with the promotional tour starting next Friday in L.A for most of the summer actually, all around the country. I'm definitely going to have the website updated with all the dates and that and the cities we coming to, you know I just wanna get in the streets, hit off stores, hit the people up and kinda get back to the grass roots of things.

Thug Poetry: When are you coming to Europe again?

TQ: I'll be right back in Europe at the end of the summer. I gotta go back and finish my album, so I'ma go do that. At the end of August, I guess. The album over there should be coming out at the end of the year.

Thug Poetry: When are you going to tour in Europe again?

TQ: Probably next year sometime, that tour is going to be hot, that tour is going to be extremely hot, whenever we go out to Europe it's going to be a very, very nice show. I feel like the people over there, they always have my back man. I try to go that extra mile as much as I can, because I know a lot of American artists just keep it to our own country and our own set of fans cause we really don’t know what's going on in the rest of the world but I've been so many places and I get so much love from so many different people so I just feel like, you know, alright let's get in this, let's do it for them. They did this for you, let's do it back. We're going to spend a lot of money putting that show together for Europe, for real. So they can get what they want when they come to check me out so it's going to be hot.

Thug Poetry: I look forward to it.

TQ: Fa sho.

Thug Poetry: These were basically all the questions I had, do you have any last words for your fans?

TQ: I just wanna say to everybody out there on ThugPoetry.com I love ya’ll to death. You stuck with me for a long time through a whole lot of stuff. You're about to get what you want. So I wanna give everybody on the website props. They really got it all in motion for this whole new situation that is going on right now and as much as I can I try and check it faithfully. Sometimes I log in and talk back and sometimes I don't, but I read what's going on. And it's really some ridaz out there that's really been with me a long time. Mauz, you included, Coop, Qu, Lovababy and Elke and everybody so I got love for all of ya'll man. Just keep it going, there's going to be a lot of new people coming in cause this is the official TQ Listen site for the whole world man. For my Europe album I'm promoting just like I'm promoting over here so Thug Poetry is attached to me from here on out, that’s the way we doing it.

Thug Poetry: That's right.

TQ: Yuh!