STILL BREAKIN’ NEWS
Words: N. Ali Early

Fuck what you heard. E-40 is classic. He’s donkey ropes, black & red pumas and a Le Coq Sportif sweatsuit. Emmanuel Khan’s with the snakeskin rims, or better yet, 14k Gazelle’s, tinted to shield the sun, but inviting enough to lure the prissiest around the way girl. The boy got game. EA Sports, Nintendo Wii, Xbox? They’d be nothing without Intellivision, Coleco and yes, Atari 2600. Yeah, classic… that classic shit. That’s E-40.

But nostalgia would be nothing without the present. Without the ability to align outstanding parallels, memories would literally be nonexistent. That is the sole reason why E-40, The Ambassador of the Bay, continues to evolve. While the new booties attempt to work their way in on the ringtone rap circus that has attempted to overwhelm hip hop with mindless music and new age cooning, 40 H2O opts to repackage an already proven brand.

It’s the reason why, after an eventful night at the third annual Hip Hop Awards, he’s the center of attention at the Warner Brothers Suite in Midtown Atlanta’s W Hotel. For hours it seems fans, colleagues and fellow rappers, all anticipate his arrival. A steady stream of people, including WB execs, models and runners, come and go, then do it all over again. By 3:30 AM it feels like he just might skip the damn thing. The most obvious reason is… well, it’s damn near 4 AM. The other, is he’s reportedly blowed (that means upset) about his seating arrangements earlier that night. Considering only a year ago he was the official emcee for what was undoubtedly the breakout show of its three year existence, it makes perfect sense. A reliable source indicates that he’s so ‘upset’ he just might skip his own Landy Cognac sponsored suite and call it a night/morning.

But that ain’t 40. He just isn’t the type to let his public down.

On cue, minutes after the guests restlessness is tempered with a hot buffet courtesy of South West Atlanta’s The Beautiful Restaurant, word comes from the lobby that E-40 is in the building. He arrives on the penthouse level floor draped in a custom 49ers jacket; designer glasses and a fitted SF hat to harness his new look dreads. Sick Widit Crew in tow, he works his way through the relieved and somewhat overzealous crowd. On his way to a designated corner of the room, he manages to give dap to practically every hand in his narrow path. Swift, but genuine conversation follows each salutation and upon making his way to a cozy offing of the decadent suite, he rests for a spell, consuming a refreshing swig of 40 Water.

It’s a sneak peak of the new look bottle, which includes a transparent look with the same crispy logo intact and four refreshing flavors – watermelon, orange, fruit punch and lemon lime – to choose from. The ’09 version of what’s become one of the most popular thirst quenchers on the West Coast, cut out some unneeded sugar and added an antioxidant boost. Given his desire to develop a drink with the body and spirit in mind, 40’s water has oft times been confused with Vitamin Water – a misconception he’s gone about clarifying with a new and improved description.

“When you say ‘vitamin water,’ off top people think you’re talking about Glacieu,” 40 explains in between sips. “When I had mentioned it before and I said that, that’s what people thought. This is not with them. I wouldn’t mind if it was, but it’s not. So that’s why I started calling it an ‘enhancement beverage.’”

His attention drifts to the suite door, which sees guest after guest walk through it, some five minutes subsequent to his arrival. A constant flow of fellow celebrities/artists follow in his wake, among them DJ Drama, Nivea, Lil Scrappy and Outkast’s Big Boi. Even though BET passed on a repeat E-40 performance, it’s clear his influence on the night is fixed and party goers trust his direction.

 “I’m just a narrator. I rap for everybody. It’s a bigger world. I don’t just rap for the Bay and I never have just rapped for just the Bay. But I’ve always been Bay’d out.”

Since the release of My Ghetto Report Card, which featured undeniable successes such as “Tell Me When To Go” and “U And Dat,” then “Snap Yo Fingers” before them, the love affair between E-40 and the city of Atlanta has never been more apparent. So go the lead singles – “Wake It Up” and “Break Ya Ankles” for his latest release, The Ball Street Journal, which caps twenty solid years in the game. And understand, this legacy ain’t happen by accident.

“You have to give a lot of different impressions right now,” 40 concedes, making his way to the all you can drink Landy Cognac bar. “The way music is right now, it’s real brutal out there. Rappers are coming from everywhere. It’s real crowded and one single won’t satisfy [the masses]. I don’t care how hot it is. You gotta put out at least four of them out before your album comes out. I’ve seen about every artist in 2008 do that. They don’t necessarily have to be official singles, but at least something to sprinkle out there.”

For the hustlas, the Bay’d out thugs who feed off of slap music, 40 allowed at least two other tracks (“Got Rich Twice” and “Poor Man Hydraulics”) from the Ball Street Journal to make their way to the masses. The others, well that’s another story. “Three or four of my songs leaked without my knowledge,” he says incredulously. “It’s a mystery, something that I’m very pissed about.”

“Got Rich Twice,” an E-40 approved up tempo thumper featuring his younger cousin and Sick Wid It label mate Turf Talk, is throwback rattle romp and a lively reminder that 40 has no reason to go nowhere… the boy too nice. “40 Water,” one of the leaks, is a reflective, high energy track that two years ago, many would have likened to hyphy music. Let 40 tell it though, it’s simply what happened as a result of a recording session. See, as the Ambassador of the Bay, it was his duty to usher in the new sound and it is equally his responsibility to denounce the idea that the Bay cannot or will not survive without some trumped up gimmick.

“We just gotta make good music now,” he says assertively. “Really it ain’t no sound or nuthin’, you just gotta do you. Niggas just gotta hustle. It’s all about hustlin’ right now.”

And no one hustles harder than Earl Stevens. Since he was a college student at Grambling State University building a network that supports him to the day, to The Click’s Down and Dirty, which featured prophetic outpours such as “Tired of Being Stepped On” and “Mr. Flamboyant,” E-40 has been a ‘hustler on the go.’ That’s why the game can’t help but to reimburse him for his priceless contributions. 

 “I done already lived everything there is to be talked about really. I done already covered every part of the game. Now it’s just recycled game.”

“I done already lived everything there is to be talked about really,” 40 says matter of factly. “I done already covered every part of the game. Now it’s just recycled game. Ain’t nuthin’ new under the sun. Everything comes back around full circle. History repeats itself. So to be honest, I’m just a narrator. I rap for everybody. It’s a bigger world. I don’t just rap for the Bay and I never have just rapped for just the Bay. But I’ve always been Bay’d out.

“We know we the shit. We the fuckin’ trendsetters of this whole fuckin’ industry. We been ridin’ old schools, muscle cars, vogues and all that shit. We been ahead of our time.”

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.