MVRemix: What goes on?

J Bo: Right now, I’m in New York in the hotel today. We’re doing photo shoots for different magazines. Right now, I’m just kicking it in the hotel.

MVRemix: Your new album is called ‘Drankin Patnaz’. Tell us about it? Who’s producing it? Who is on it?

J Bo: Drankin! That’s what I will be doing later on tonight. ‘Drankin Patnaz’ was something that me and Sean Paul are. We came up with the name because through bad times or good times, we always drink. That’s why it was a good name for the album. Most of my patnaz drink so, we all go out and drink.

MVRemix: What are your favorite drinks?

J Bo: Tequila. My favorite is Grey Goose. Sean Paul, he’s a Hennessy addict.

MVRemix: How is this album different from ‘Against The Grain’?

J Bo: Well our first album was more some of that street sh*t. It was much harder than this one. At that time, we were buggin on a lot of things. ‘Against The Grain’ was much more hard sounding than ‘Drankin Patnaz’. This is more of a harder ride and crunk album. It’s for riding and getting crunk. On the new one you have joints like ‘Changing Lanes’ and ‘No Average Playa’ for the ladies. We have club songs like ‘Damn’. The new album is really more of a universal album so everyone can enjoy it.

MVRemix: Do you have a favorite song on ‘Drankin Patnaz’’?

J Bo: I don’t have a favorite song. I like it all. I don’t have a favorite color or a favorite food.

MVRemix: How and why did you get involved with So So Def?

J Bo: We started out on La Face and Arista. Then, went to Ghetto Vision. Then, we went to So So Def. We always knew Jermaine Dupri. He put us on his first album with ‘Jazzy Hoes’ that had Too Short and 8-Ball. We hooked it up and began living the dream, man. It’s like dat there.

MVRemix: How is So So Def different from the other labels you worked with?

J Bo: So So Def pushed us more on this one. This time, the promotion and marketing is better and stronger.

MVRemix: As an emcee, who were some of your major influences?

J Bo: Run-Dmc from back in the day. Outkast were the first to represent Atlanta. They really put it down. They really put Atlanta on the map.

MVRemix: What do you think of the new Outkast double album ‘Speakerboxx / The Love Below’?

J Bo: Fo sho. It’s growing on me. I’ve always been a fan. I always support them. It’s new. It’s something new.

MVRemix: Do you go into the studio with pre-written rhymes and themes or do you hear the beat first and write then and there?

J Bo: We just go in there and hear some beats. Who ever has that hot beat and is right there, we gonna get on it. You know we have a drankin patnaz style in the studio.

MVRemix: You collaborated with Backbone (of The Dungeon Family) on a couple of songs. Youngbloodz is on his album and he is on both of your albums. How did you hook up with Backbone and what was it like working with him?

J Bo: Backbone is an ace. He’s my homeboy. He was on the first album too. We were on his album too. We just stayed in touch and always had a respect for each other.

MVRemix: What emcee/group would you like to collaborate with in the future?

J Bo: There’s so many. I wouldn’t mind doing something with Kid Rock. He’s wild.

MVRemix: What producer would you like to collaborate with in the future?

J Bo: Maybe Neptunes or Timbaland. Dr. Dre too.

MVRemix: How would you describe growing up in Atlanta?

J Bo: Country (laughs). Trees. Growing up in Atlanta was just real. It was country, man. Red clay. Atlanta’s the home, man. We have Outkast and Ludacris. The list goes on.

MVRemix: You just did a couple of shows in New York City. How do the Northern audiences react to the shows compared to the Southern audiences? Is there a different energy or response to the music?

J Bo: In Atlanta, we put the fool down. If only people who never been to Atlanta or seen our shows in Atlanta could see how much fun we have down there. I’m not going to say who is crunker because every city has got their own style of getting crunk. They do their thing. They do things differently but they still get it crunk. They do it in their own way like we do it in our own way. We did a couple of shows in New York and the audiences got crunk just like an audience would in Atlanta. I felt like I was in Atlanta. Right now, everywhere they crunk! It’s a disease leaking everywhere. It gets in everybody’s blood and everybody starts getting that feeling.

MVRemix: What was the last incident of racism that you encountered?

J Bo: I can’t really recall. It doesn’t really happen like that. I really can’t recall. It’s been a long time.

MVRemix: What do you think hip-hop needs these days?

J Bo: Right now hip-hop needs somebody to come out here and do something different. I can’t really pin point it right off the top but we need something different. We as Youngbloodz try to do something different but hip-hop always needs some new flavor. It’s alright now. I love a lot of music that is out right now.”

MVRemix: What LP or CD has been in your turntable or your player recently? What have you been listening to lately?

J Bo: Man, I listen to Jay-Z, Chingy, Nappy Roots, Outkast. The list goes on. I listen to a lot of old school too. Prince. I love music. Every time I travel, every city I go to, I buy an album.

MVRemix: What do people in the Atlanta music scene think of Cee-Lo leaving Goodie Mob?

J Bo: People aren’t bitter. I would not say that but he had to do what he had to do. People still have love for him. There ain’t no hard feelings or anything. Goodie Mob is still going on without him. ‘Mutant Mindframe’, that Big Gipp album is hot.

MVRemix: If you could remake any classic hip-hop song. What song would it be? How would you approach the remake?

J Bo: We were just talking about that the other day. We were just talking about it. I can’t think about it right now.

MVRemix: Word association time. I’m going to say a name of a group/emcee and you say the first word that pops in your head. So, if I say ‘Chuck D’, you may say ‘Revolution’. If I said ‘Flavor Flav’, you may say ‘Crack’ Okay?

J Bo: Okay.

MVRemix: Cee-Lo

J Bo: Family.

MVRemix: B.G. Oh, I love B.G.! He’s a fool.

J Bo:

MVRemix: Eminem.

J Bo: Controversy.

MVRemix: Outkast.

J Bo: Stankonia.

MVRemix: Jay-Z.

J Bo: Hot.

MVRemix: A Tribe Called Quest.

J Bo: Old school.

MVRemix: Common.

J Bo: Different.

MVRemix: What are some major misconceptions that you think people have of you?

J Bo: People think we are gang members. Yeah, they actually do. They think that we are young Blood members. Just to let everybody know, we are not gang members.

MVRemix: So can you break down the name Youngbloodz?

J Bo: Fo sho! Youngbloodz comes from young, which is meant for the energy. We are all young bloods to the Lord. No matter how old you get, you never stop learning. You learn something new everyday. That’s one thing people screw up. Some people know.

MVRemix: Where did you get your name, J Bo, from?

J Bo: Sean Paul gave me the name one night. I looked tired and it came out of his mouth. It stuck with me ever since.

MVRemix: What is your favorite part of your live show?

J Bo: I would say when we do ‘Damn’. It’s the last song. I wish everybody could see the crowd. The crowd gets crunk like you wouldn’t believe. I just wish you could see it when we do a show.

MVRemix: What was it like working with Lil Jon on ‘Damn’?

J Bo: Man, working with Lil Jon was excellent. He brings it every time. He has fun and I like to be around people who are having fun. I don’t like to hang around people with negative energy. I like to hang out, hang around and drink. Lil Jon is my drinking partner too. It was real fun. He came in and did it like there.

MVRemix: What is the biggest mistake you made in your career?

J Bo: Right now, I haven’t made any big mistakes Life is good. Everything is intact.

MVRemix: What is in the future for Youngbloodz?

J Bo: We are gonna do some solo albums. We got Sean Paul’s solo album coming out soon. We have an Attic Crew album. We have a label coming out. We have a lot of new things. It will be coming out real soon too.

MVRemix: Who is actually in The Attic Crew?

J Bo: You have us, Youngbloodz, Jim Crow. The list goes on. There’s 15 or 20 others in The Attic Crew.

MVRemix: Are there any remixes or future collaborations fans should look out for?

J Bo: We may do a remix of ‘Damn’. It’s our next single so look out for it.

MVRemix: What advice would you give to people trying to get in the rap game?

J Bo: To anybody trying to get into the game, keep your head up and be yourself. When you be yourself, you can never go wrong. Keep God in your life. Never let anybody tell you that you can’t do something, because you can.

MVRemix: Any final words for the people who will be reading this?

J Bo: Everybody knows that Youngbloodz put their heart and soul into this right here. Go get the album.