Veteran West Coast Rapper C-Bo has been through a lot in his career, from being locked up by the U.S. Government over his hardcore lyrics, to having a successful solo career and being known as one of the realest and truest cats to ever touch the mic. In this interview we catch up with Bo and discuss his experiences in the rap game, his new label “West Coast Mafia Ent” and his new album.

How did you get started in the rap game?
C-Bo: I was hanging out in the streets battling and freestyling just slaying cats verbally and people started saying I was good and it just went from there.

Out of all your earlier albums which one is the most memorable one for you and why?
C-Bo: Probably Gas Chamber, it was my first album and it started all this for me.

How important has it been for you to maintain that real and raw style in this commercialised industry?
C-Bo: It’s important because I am a street type of person and to me it’s reality, and I know all the real people feel me and that’s what is important to me.

Now there was a time when you were getting prosecuted over your lyrics which caused a lot of controversy, can you reflect back on that?
C-Bo: I was on probation and they said that I couldn’t rap about all the real things on my album such as gang mentions, street mentions etc., and I could not do that because I always speak the real in my music that is what I go through and I am blessed to express it through music and I had to keep that going. So I wrote a song on what exactly the Government did not want me to speak on and I even called the Governor out on the record. They decided to arrest me for violating my parole through that song which was complete bullshit, and it made a lot of headlines throughout the media.

Now you had a chance to work with Pac and get to know him pretty well, and you always represent him in your music can you touch on your experiences with Pac?
C-Bo: Those were some memorable times and I wish Pac was still alive we would have done a few albums by now he was definitely one of the greatest if not the greatest.

Talk to me about the new banging album you have “West Coast Mafia Compilation” you got the hot guest artists, producers and the hot rhymes speak on the album.
C-Bo: Ya, its straight heat, over 16 tracks, first album where we been in control and it’s a banger and it’s in stores now people should definitely get the new album.

Who is on the album? and who were some of the producers you worked with for the album?
C-Bo: There are a lot of cats on the album and a lot of different producers we got our Wcm artists and a lot of others as well such as Killa Tay, CJ Mac, Mr. Short Khop, Bosko, Young Meek, Yuk mouth, Lil Cyco, Big Lurch, Marvelous, Pizzo, Spade, Bobby Sealz, and some of the producers were Roger JR, Bosko, Pizzo, Moe betta, Vonzail, and Wino.

West Coast Mafia Entertainment, your label how does it feel to be in full control of your music and having your own label?
C-Bo: It feels good there is no one to answer to, no one to sweat about money issues we do everything from promotions to manufacturing. I also have my own sales team as well with my partner in crime Terrance “t-po” Powe, he handles the daily operations and I come up wit the ideas and he makes them happen.

Can you speak on your next solo album how is that going and when will it come out?
C-Bo: My next solo is “My Lifestyle”, but I might change the title we are at about third of the way done and it should be out by next summer.

Also what kind of future projects do you have lined up for West Coast Mafia Ent I know you got some new artists coming up can you speak on that?
C-Bo: We are currently working on Killa Tays album plus the 151 block movement plus we got other projects coming out from Lil Cyco, Thug Missis, Worldwide Comp, and Fat Tone.

I heard earlier that you had an album project lined up with Yukmouth called the “Thuglordz”, also another possible one with Noble from the Outlawz can you give us an update on those?
C-Bo: We are working the details out wit Yuk and Rap A Lot- records and the Noble album is still in air.

That’s pretty much it is their anything else you would like to touch on that we didn’t discuss?
C-Bo: I wanna say thanks to all my loyal fans for all the support.