Exclusive Interview with "THE PACK"

THE ALMIGHTY MIXTAPE has been responsible for launching countless careers in the hip-hop world and such is the story of these four youngins from the Bay Area known collectively as THE PACK.

One day rap veteran Too $hort was driving to a show in Berkeley when he heard somebody bumping The Pack's latest mixtape. He got out to see who it was and instantly decided he needed to find this group. It just so turned out he knew Uno's father and the rest is history as they say. Mix that type of serendipity with the hard work and grinding it took to put the mixtapes out and add the infinite reach of Myspace to their Based music (a combination of hyphy,crunk and Miami Bass) and you get instantaneous success. "I gotta be a star. Anything else would be uncivilized," casually says Stunnaman.

All under legal drinking and voting age, this hip-hop Based Music quartet has blown up and achieved monumental success spreading their California sound across the country. Their single "Vans" did for skateboarders what "Air Force Ones" did for Midwesterners, their episode of "You Heard It First" was the most viewed and downloaded show in MTV.com history, and their video held the #1 spot on MTV2 for several weeks and they have yet to release their debut album. And we thought Kanye was the only one who got that type of buzz before putting out an album.... Nope and with a record like this Mixtape Kings had to sit down with some of Jive Record's youngest and hottest in the game right now.

It was truly a pleasure to talk to Lil B, Stunnaman, Uno, and Young L. They are full of jokes, laughter, insight, and love for their mamas (yes they are mama's boys). Of course the first thing I had to ask is what has it been like working with Too $hort, the originator of raw and uncut rap. No crazy stories or outlandish adventures (at least none the minors shared) but they were full of admiration and respect saying $hort has taught them a lot about rap music and being focused to get your hands on the prize. In addition to having $hort as a mentor, Uno's dad used to rap back in the day with $hort, Stunnaman's brother makes beats, and his mom is a poet who started him acting at a young age providing multiple sources of advice and support for the teenagers.

Being fresh faces on a rap scene that has become redundant, The Pack has inspirations that range from James Brown, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Hendrix to modern day Jeezy, Fabolous, 2 Live Crew, and Pac, with their biggest influence being themselves. "I try to keep my mind fresh so I can create my own thing because when you are influenced by someone you somewhat recycle the person who inspired you," says Stunnaman who looks to himself for most of his inspiration. Perhaps this why they have made a made a courageous decision to have no features on their debut album outside of production, an 8 bar and a vocalist who makes a guest appearance, a rarity for an emerging group but fully confident of their skills and charisma the groups says they are not looking for other people's names to boost them.

With solid minds in place to keep them grounded, these young men are much more than rap's latest carnation of the boy band. They are well rounded and educated ensuring that a hit song or cd will not be the summation of their life. "A lot of people say I want to be a rapper and they focus 100% of their energy on that and don't look back. They don't have a backup plan. Anybody who wants to be anything in life needs to make sure they are in school," says Young L who was in college studying business until tour demands became too much. Stunnaman, on the other hand, reminds us that we can go to school even if we are not in school. "I'm from the hood off the block. I never could pay for college and I don't want to go into debt owing nobody nothing. My mother always taught me school is supposed to be free.I am going to make enough money and then pay for myself to go to college so I am not left owing. I am not knocking school or what professors teach but learn how to pick up a book because you want to and don't let school kill your creativity."

On that note (and after a back and forth about being self taught and going to college along with a whole lot of cracking on each other and jokes) the guys had to run to the next interview but before I let them go I had to find out what they had on their feet and see if anyone was wearing Vans. The answer: one pair of Vans, throwback 1996 Nikes, some Creative Recs, and Pradas.

Their last words to Mixtape Kings on the importance of the mixtape: "Having mixtapes out is a real push. It was a big help putting music out and flooding the streets. It is always a major boost. It gives everyone a chance to get a feel for you and helps you build life long supporters."

The Pack's debut album, "Based Boys" drops on Octoer 30th.