Boombox Tariq King - Addicted 2 The Game Interview 31 March 2007
As urban author Tariq King releases his new book "Addicted 2 The Game" and prepares his futre projects, we caught up with him to find out all about the book and what he plan's for the future.
Evans: Tell me about the book.
Tariq: Other writers write books, but what I do is put the streets on paper. To borrow a metaphor from the streets, Addicted 2 The Game is the literary equivalent of fresh crack straight out of the Pyrex pot - once you try it, you can't put it down. Imagine a woman who you spoiled and gave everything money could buy - million dollar mansions, exotic sports cars, shopping sprees around the world, diamonds, you name it. Now imagine this same woman plotting your downfall behind your back, while you're out working hard to get the money for all these expensive things. While you were out hustlin to get that money, she was hustlin you - and you didn't even realize it. How far would you go to get revenge? That's what Addicted 2 The Game is all about - hustlin, betrayal, and revenge.
The main character is a West Coast hustler named Bishop, who's double crossed by a gold digging video vixen named Asia White. She convinces his best friend to start snitching, which puts Bishop in prison for 7 years. When he gets out, he wastes no time going after payback and working to rebuild the cocaine empire that crumbled while he was behind bars. But along the way, he's got all these obstacles to deal with - crooked cops, a Latin gang called MS-13, the Chinese and Italian Mafias, and of course snitches inside his own crew. So Addicted 2 The Game traces how he handles these different beefs while staying one step ahead of everybody. Anybody who liked the movies Scarface and Belly or the books of Donald Goines will love Addicted 2 The Game.
Evans: What was your motivation in writing it?
Tariq: The main reason I wrote Addicted 2 The Game is to give the world a taste of what life's really like at the top of the dope game. If you do your homework, Addicted 2 The Game isn't street fiction - it's street reality. I think that's why people are so excited about this book, because instead of giving you the Hollywood version, Addicted 2 The Game serves up the raw uncut truth about life in the streets. The Latin gang MS-13 that Bishop battles for control of the drug trade is a real life gang. The corrupt narcotics unit called The Red Dogs that I talk about in Addicted 2 The Game is real too - ask any hustler from the areas described in the book, they'll tell you I wasn't making that stuff up. Many of the characters are real people, walking the streets today. If I named names, you could Google them and check their backgrounds.
The gold digging models, bricks of cocaine for 17.5, crooked federal agents and politicians, duffel bags full of cash, snitches, shootouts, money laundering - everything in the book is real, it happens everyday. Check any detail of the book and you'll find it's accurate - from the weapons and tactics to the gang tattoos and culture, to the politics of the dope game and how hustlers wash their money. Every place mentioned in the book is a place I know well - I was born in Oakland CA, I currently live in Atlanta GA, and I spent the end of last year visiting the Dominican Republic. So that's why the book is so realistic.
Evans:Which parts of the book did you find most difficult to write? Which did you enjoy the most?
Tariq: Honestly it was all tough to write, because many of the characters are based on real people I used to know or know now - so I wasn't sure how those people would react to the book once it came out. That's why other than my uncle Charles Crosby, every real person in the book appears under a different name and has certain details about them slightly changed. For obvious reasons, I can't reveal certain people's real identities - many of them are still in the game, and I don't believe in snitching. The only secret I can reveal about a character's identity is that Asia White's based on my ex girlfriend. So I guess you could say revenge was another motivation for writing the book, because every reader never fails to tell me "Wow, I know someone exactly like Asia White - she was such a bitch!" And I reply, "Trust me, you have no idea!" (laughs)
Evans:Do you plan to promote the book outside the US? i.e. London etc.?
Tariq: Addicted 2 The Game isn't just a book, it's a movement - and the movement is worldwide, so we're definitely focused on continuing to expand our fan base in your area and around the world. I'm an international traveler so I have friends in London and around the globe who supported me and this book every step of the way, a great example is Birmingham beauty Lexi Martinez(www.myspace.com/sexileximartinez) in West Midlands, a model who was featured in the Sky One Top 100. We've been very close since way back and she was one of the first people to encourage me to start writing. When this book came out, she was one of the main people who helped spread the word about it. We're working together on a publicity campaign which will launch later this year, and I look forward to coming to London as part of that campaign.
Evans: What can we expect from the film version?
Tariq: Something totally different than anything you've seen before, especially in the action film genre. I'd love for Hype Williams to direct the film, because I think his movie Belly came closest to what I want visually from this picture, as far as working in this genre without turning it into the average cheesy gangster flick. He knows how to tell a good story and he's a genius with light and color, almost like the Picasso of film. After seeing what David Ayer did with the movie Harsh Times, I think he'd be a good choice too - he's great at immersing you in a world so you feel like you're actually there, instead of just passively watching a film. Ultimately, whoever does the movie has to be committed to making a great film that will stand the test of time - not just cashing out on a hot book. Because I think this is a book people will be talking about for a long time, and I want the movie to be the same way. So I'll hold onto the film rights until the right team comes along that shares that vision of making a great film, not just a great gangster film.
Evans: Having said that, how did you get involved in this?
Tariq: Some people choose the game, others are born into it. To me it's natural to write about the streets because my real education came from choppin up the game with OG hustlers who trained me to think like a boss. From a young age, I was always running with an older crowd and soaking up as much game as possible. My uncle Charles Crosby (www.myspace.com/callmegodmother) is the former number 2 boss in the Medellin Cartel, he allegedly made over $100 million in 8 years. His story was chronicled in the best selling DVD Cocaine Cowboys, which sold over 250,000 units in a little over 8 weeks. In fact we're both in Cocaine Cowboys 2, which releases worldwide this May. But Uncle Charles would always tell me if he had it to do all over again, he would've chosen a different path - so it was up to me to find a way to channel my hustler's instincts into something that would keep me out of trouble but make money at the same time. For me, that was writing.
They say write what you know best, so I decided to write about the game and how to stay on top of it. I love books like The 48 Laws Of Power by Robert Green, The Art Of War by Sun Tzu, and The Prince by Machiavelli - I think people will find Addicted 2 The Game equally useful because it's about the same thing, which is power and how to deal with threats to your power. What makes Bishop such a dangerous character isn't just his fighting skills, it's his mind. If you look at how he stays one step ahead of everybody in the book, he uses many of the secrets you'll find in those books I just named. So reading books like that definitely influenced my decision to write and what I write about, in addition to my background.
Evans: How was it working with your uncle Charles Crosby on this book?
Tariq: It was great because I was able to take many word for word conversations we've had, and include those in the book.When you see Bishop talking to Charles, who appears in the book under his real name, those are almost all real discussions we had at various times. He's one of my best friends and definitely someone I've learned a lot from. We also appear together in the film Cocaine Cowboys 2 which drops in May, and that film goes deeper into our backgrounds and our history together.
Evans: When can we start looking out for Still Addicted 2 the Game?
Tariq: I can promise it will be out this year, probably by fall. The streets are already fiending for it, so I may have to go ahead and drop it this summer. I'm also collaborating on a hot new book with author Daynomi Dymond (http://www.myspace.com/dycentertainment) who's got a huge cult following, so keep an eye out for that later this year too. Even though our collaborative book isn't out yet, she heavily promoted my book Addicted 2 The Game to her entire fan base and that was definitely a big part of Addicted 2 The Game's success.
Evans: Could you tell us of any big projects that may be up and coming from BMF Entertainment? What are they?
Tariq: You'd have to contact the BMF South Music Group for all the details about that, but I can tell you this - the next two big rappers are coming out of the South, and one of them is Oowee from BMF Entertainment (http://www.myspace.com/ooweebmfent).I'm not just saying that cuz that's my homeboy, he's got lyrical skills and swagger to match the best rapper toe to toe and I'd put $10,000 on him in a battle against any MC on the planet real talk. The other next superstar rapper to watch is named Trubble (www.myspace.com/trubb), he's got a song about the game called No Sleep that's going to be the next "Everyday I'm Hustling" so keep ya ears open for that cuz you'll be hearing it all summer. I'd put $10,000 on Trubble in a battle against any MC too, cuz he's that talented - I don't think anybody can hang with him right now. That's like my lil bro, we go way back. People have a stereotype that rappers from the Southern US aren't lyrical and they can only make dance music, so it's good to see some MC's proving that's BS.
When I'm in the car I'm banging tracks by those two or I put in The World Is BMF's Vol. 2 compilation, don't sleep on it! The other big thing goin on right now is the BMF clothing line(www.myspace.com/blackmafiafashion), if you haven't seen the t-shirts and hoodies yet you're playing yourself. A lot of people are afraid to show support right now, but many of them helped push this book hard even before it hit the streets so I've got nothing but love for em and I'm never afraid to shout out the team - that's why they take up most of the dedication page. Free Meech!
Evans: Any final thoughts you'd like to leave us with?
Tariq: Today, a minority of the population represents more than 90 percent of the prison population. Many of these convictions are drug related, and I think we've got to ask ourselves the question - who's really behind the dope business? Because when I look at the kids on the corner, they're taking the rap but we all know they had to get the stuff they're selling from somewhere. And whoever they bought it from, he had a connect - and that connect worked with people with planes and boats and resources that are way over these kids' heads. Who's the connect working with? It's been well documented, we know who he's working with - the government.
There's a great book by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Gary Webb that lays out the evidence, it's called Dark Alliance: The CIA, The Contras, And The Cocaine Explosion. So this isn't conspiracy rumors or opinion, it's been proven. And it's nothing new, it's historical. If you look at the Opium Wars back in the 1800s, China was actually invaded to force them to stop blocking drug shipments into the country. So I hope people will read books like Dark Alliance and Addicted 2 The Game that talk about the role corruption plays in the success of the dope business, and start to question why minorities are taking the rap for running a business the government's been behind since at least the 1800's. We've got to start holding the real drug dealers responsible - and the biggest dealers in the world are our governments. If my book raises an eyebrow about that, then I'm satisfied.
