By Monica Morones
Anthony Germaine Walker also known as Lootenant, has an intriguing story of fame and struggle at an early age and the reality of what it’s like to be a young artist in a cut throat business. The 29 year old rapper caught my ear at a local Hip Hop show with his confident demeanor and his ability to sing. Lootenant’s performance and talent had me asking who and where is this artist from.
MM: You are originally from Biloxi, Mississippi, when did you move to the Coachella Valley?
L: I was relocated to the Coachella Valley while I was visiting, recording my first mixtape in Los Angeles. During my visit, Hurricane Katrina took out my entire community while I watched it happen on T.V. My cousin/manager at the time lived in Indio, so I stayed with him. Once I went back home to Biloxi and realized there was nothing left, I knew I needed to find a new home. It wasn’t my intention to leave my hood this way, but the hood wasn’t the same after the storm. So instead of sitting around waiting for the next move, I decided to stay in California and pursue my dreams. In a way, I felt that it was meant to be for me to have the chance to escape the aftermath and represent for my hometown at the same time.
MM: Who did you listen to growing up?
L: Growing up I listened to Scarface, Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, UGK, Lil Flip, Master P, R. Kelly, Keith Sweat, New Edition, Missy Elliot, Da Brat, Mystikal and the list goes on… I pretty much loved anything that was hip hop and R&B from the late 80’s and on.
MM: How and when did you get into music?
L: When I was growing up, I was always in church. I was in the church choir, Drill Team, and Praise Team so I always had a thing for singing. When I was 12, I joined the school band and learned to play the drums. I’ve always had a thing for music, but when I got a hold of hip-hop, I felt like it told my story. Coming up in the hood, I was around a lot of violence and poverty. I felt like hip-hop was going to be my way out. I started writing at age 13 and recorded my first song at the age of 16. Being so young, I couldn’t perform live at any nightclubs or hotspots, so I took my lyrics to the streets by battling other artists. I met my future manager/cousin at a family reunion in 2002. He informed me that he had a lot of industry connections and that he’d like to fly me out to Cali, and that with my talent I could be one of the next best artists in the game. On my graduation day, my manager had me perform my first big show with Snoop Dogg in Mobile, Alabama. That summer, I flew out to Cali to record my first single with Lil Flip called “We Ready” and came home and started to receive the respect I had been hustling for. The rest is history…
MM: At the age of 19, you signed your first record deal with Lil Flip and worked with some heavy hitters. What was it like being so young and already a signed artist?
L: It seemed like one huge dream to me. I linked up with Lil Flip at Rosarito Beach when I opened up for him, and he remembered me from our song we had together. After doing more shows and meetings with Flip, he let my management know that he’d like to consider taking me under his wing and signing me to a one album deal with his label “Clover Geez”. He liked the fact that I was very young and ambitious. I was a hungry kid with nothing to lose, so without a thought I agreed to the deal and took off! I soaked up game from some of the greatest artists in the rap industry. Besides my history with Flip, along the way I found myself making hits with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Gudda Gudda, Bun-B, Kurupt, & Devin Tha Dude. All this took place before I turned 21. So as a young dude straight out of high school, this was like a movie! Some nights I’d go from hanging with Flip and Young Buck at a G-Unit party in Vegas and flying out to Omaha, Nebraska to open up for Ludacris and Ciara. I was doing big things at a young age. I felt like a kid that graduated from high school and went straight into the NBA! I was truly blessed.
MM: In 2007 you dropped your first album Second in Charge and toured the country until 2009 when you got dropped from the label due to issues with Lil Flip and your management. What happened?
L: Flip flew me out to record the whole album in 3 weeks while living with him at his mansion. We lived in the studio! I’d wake up writing and go to sleep rapping. He showed me what it took to be a true diverse artist. He showed me how to be precise with my subject matter and how to write catchy hooks that people want to listen to. I took away so much knowledge with that experience that I still use to this day!
The album deal was made between Lil Flip and my manager. Since I was so young and ready, I never went over the agreement thoroughly. So once the album was released, for some reason I could not contact Flip at all. I called my management to find out our next step for the album release, and they notified me that they had no funds to help me promote the album. At that point I felt like I was getting jerked around. Here I am with a hot album with platinum legend features on the shelves, no money in my pocket, no food in the fridge, and no copies of my project to help promote myself. I felt like the industry straight robbed me. I started to blame everyone but myself. But as time went by, I realized I jumped in head first without taking the right precautions to protect my rights as an artist. I found out from Flip months later, that he fell out with my manager over funds from a recent tour and he dropped him from his management team. He said since he cut off all ties with him, he’d also decided to quit working with me. Since my first album was released he owed me nothing else. At this point I decided to leave my management and start off from scratch as an independent artist. I felt betrayed by everyone I trusted, but since I was so green and ambitious I really hurt myself by not thinking about my future goals and knowing that nothing lasts forever. So to any young entertainer who wants to go somewhere in the industry, just know that you should always make every move with the “end game” in mind. Never let your guard down, and always take a moment to look at the bigger picture!
MM: How did you make the transition from signed artist to indie artist?
L: Since I lived in Indio it was rough at first. I started to collaborate with the local rap artists in the CV. As an indie artist, you have no sponsors or celebrity entourages to hang with. No one cares about who you signed with back then. So the only way to be heard is by word of mouth. With independent rap, you have to be more focused on lyricism than the everyday fads that the labels want to hear. When I was with a label, they wanted me to sound a certain way, dress a certain way, and act a certain way. So even though the label is a quicker pathway to success, it’s a beautiful feeling to be an indie artist and have your own freedom to express yourself. The fame was nice, but as an artist if you don’t struggle your way to the top, if you fall off you won’t know how to get back up! Prime example of that would be my story. I’ve grown so much, more as an indie artist because my music is straight from the heart. When I was signed, my life consisted of drugs, parties, shows, and groupies. So that’s what I wrote about back then. Once I lost everything, I turned that anger into hunger and strived to be the greatest lyrical artist ever. Everything I write now is about real life shit that my listeners can relate to, and I having fun doing it. My fan base is a lot smaller but I have real core fans that love what I do and I’m grateful for them.
MM: What would you describe as your style?
L: Lyrically, I like to amaze my listeners with every note, and transform myself into a new me on every song. I like to consider myself as a chameleon. The more difficult the subject or beat, the more eager I am to write the song. I challenge myself to always do better than the last song, and always switch up my rhyming patterns so no one can copy my style. I like to compete with some of the greats of the industry because “Style-wise” I feel like I have what it takes to be the greatest.
MM: One thing that stood out about your music is that you sing your own hooks. Do you feel it gives you an advantage in composing your music?
L: Since I was a youngster I always loved the mix of Hip Hop and R&B. They go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly. From a hip-hop listeners ears a “rapping hook” is dope! But if I have sick lyrics, I can sing my own hooks, and my lyrical delivery is on point, that makes me a triple threat! So I infused my singing talent with my lyrical content and I just bring it all to the table. I also feel like I can cut out the middle man if I can really sing my own hooks, I don’t have to call anyone to sing them for me.
MM: Who is your all-time favorite MC and why?
L: My favorite MC is Eminem. His diverse flow and the way he took over the industry with his crazy hooks and “I don’t give a damn attitude” just changed the game in so many ways. With other “white rappers” they had soul, but Em told us how it felt to grow up as a white boy in the hood and we felt it. Although I don’t know him, his lyrics helped me get through some hard times so I feel like I know him. He’s always made me want to reach for the craziest way to amaze my listeners by saying the most off the wall things but still staying on subject. To this day Em will always be the greatest MC, not white rapper, but THE GREATEST MC OF ALL TIME!!
MM: What do you think of the Hip Hop scene in the Coachella Valley?
L: I think there is an abundance of great talent In the Coachella valley. I also believe out of all that great talent, there is a lot of ego. Some of them have more ego than others. I can admit that when I first came along, I had a lot of ego issues as well. But instead of this CV movement trying to link up and take off, there’s too many artists trying to be the BEST in the valley instead of understanding that we will never make it unless we stick together instead of hating on each other. As a whole, we need more unity in order to survive without fading out. There is clearly more artists than listeners, and because the valley is so small, if we don’t show each other love, than our fans won’t show love to other artists. Also if I don’t connect with another artist because I’m a hater, I’m not only losing potential fans, but I’m possibly missing out on resources that could benefit my success. I think lately, thanks to artists like J. Patron with this whole #PuroOroMovement and Tiptoe Stallone for shedding a positive light on the valley with these hip hop battles and performances, we’ve had a great comeback with CV Hip Hop in 2014. Everything will be just fine in 2015 if we can just keep up the good vibes and keep moving as a unit
MM: With all the media coverage, exposure of police brutality, and the violence among the black community this past year, do you feel that as a young black artist there is anything you can do to bring positivity and awareness on subjects so controversial?
L: I’m not surprised that young black men are being killed by police. I was raised in Mississippi, I’ve had a friend that was tortured and murdered by a police officer. In the south, I’ve been harassed and abused by the police, and in the state of California I’ve had my fair share of getting beat up by the police as well. This year I believe the media has made it a point to televise what’s been going on for decades. In a way it’s good for it to finally be seen by people that can make a difference, but today we live in an age where we are not active in our community when we see things happen. Instead we hide behind our phones and our keyboards and try to be online activists. I feel like as rap artists, we have the voice of the people at our fingertips. We can move mountains with just the slip of the tongue! This is our chance to speak to our youth that the cops are killing. This is our chance to stop poisoning our future generations with songs with no subject and no morals and give them something to get them through these hard times. The more we feed our community with something worth listening and stop bouncing around the truth, the better chance we have to survive this madness! We have cops killing our kids, and our kids killing each other and the only way to make it stop is to start from within. Artists and entertainers are the ones with the biggest voice nowadays. If we can speak something to our community other than the garbage that’s in the mainstream, I believe we can make a change, but it has to start NOW!!
MM: You are currently in the process of working on a new album L-Double-O 2.0 which should be dropping April 2015. What is this album about?
L: My album L-Double- 2.0 is everything I didn’t give you in my first album. On my album with Flip, I didn’t have much “say so” as to how I wanted my image as an artist. I was so green to the industry and my style hadn’t been formed yet. I lost my hunger when I got signed at such a young age. When I lost everything and had to bounce back from falling off, it made me want to come back not only to get back on, but to kill off everything I touch. I’ve teamed up with a super producer by the name of Tariq Beats on this project. He’s played a big part in changing my sound to compliment my style!! So with this album we’re going to give you the bigger, better, faster and the illest Lootenant you’ve ever heard thus far! This is why I named it L-double-O 2.0 I also have a mixtape in the works by the name of All In The Streets dropping in March 2015 and I’m starting my own record label “All In Entertainment” as well in 2015.
MM: What is the root of your inspiration?
L: The root of my inspiration has always been my family. They’ve always had my back 100% from when I was on top, to when I fell off, and now that I’m back on. My kinfolk back home in Mississippi keep me pushing as well. Things back home haven’t been the same since Hurricane Katrina. So with the moves I plan to make in 2015, I’d like to work on some relief efforts to give back to my hometown. I had a best friend that passed away in 2012 by the name of Kevin Kelly. His dream was to come out to Cali and pursue this dream with me, so in a way I feel like I’ll never give up for him. I know he’s looking down watching me do my thing so I have to make sure I show out!! And as always one of my biggest motivators is myself. I strive to be a greater, more lyrical, “game-changing” artist than what I was yesterday. I want to show my family and future generations to come that Hip Hop isn’t dead, and if I can be one of the sickest MC’s, they can too!
Photos By La Maniaca
