[After the show of affection, it was time to break out.] I'm trying to get as far way from this place as possible, ... Let's go. |
[Beanie Sigel's life has changed dramatically in the last eight years. As a 23-year-old man still named Dwight Grant, he once aspired to be a barber, or perhaps to work as a hospital maintenance man, earning a modest dollar and good benefits. But in 1998 friends landed a chance to rap for the superstar Jay-Z.] I went along for the ride, ... I was just thinking I'd get to meet Jay. |
[PW spent time with Sigel in a New York recording studio shortly before he went away on his federal gun possession charge. He paged through a book of promotional photos of himself, one of which was shot shortly after 9/11. It featured him holding a copy of the Bible upright in one palm while the Koran rose from the other: the Twin Towers.] Some of the record company people, they wouldn't let me put this out, ... They said it would be too controversial. But this picture is saying 'Look, they can stand together. Don't have to be no fight.' |
Beanie Sigel: Be Right Back. |
He's just like my brother, ... If he was in my shoes I'd be right there for him too. |
His business sense is crazy. We can definitely do something. I think that might shock the world. |
I ain't write one rap since I was in jail, |
I'm just thankful for a fair jury. |
No, ... I did that as an employee of the label. I got, like, SAG [Screen Actor's Guild] wages, which are like one hundred and something dollars every couple weeks. |
Pressure busts pipes, |
That was my time off right there, being in a box, ... It's time to go right back at it. I've got a lot of stuff to do. Not just this music, I've got companies to run. |
That's what I do, ... Some people smoke weed, some people smoke cigarettes, some people snort coke ... I pop pills, I smoke and I drink syrup, that's my twist. |
We definitely could do something like that. I ain't mad at that. |
We just want to get back to him having a normal life and a normal career. |