Zab “Super” Judah’s ability to punish as a boxer has rarely been questioned, but as a hip-hop CEO? In July, the newly appointed WBO Junior Welterweight Champion pounded Demarcus “Chop Chop” Corley despite breaking his hand in the third round. Of course he’s got other rumbles on deck, but in the interim, the Brooklyn native is getting his rising career moving on different playing field. The 140-pounder has launched a record label, recently inked a deal with Roc-A-Wear and even admits that he likes to spit in the booth every now an then. AllHipHop Alternatives spoke with Judah on his now, later, present and lone loss. AllHipHop Alternatives: You beat “Chop Chop” and now you have his championship belt – how’s it feel? Zab: Well I’m very please at myself because I took a year and a half day off. I came back with another fight previous to this one with a tough guy Omar Rice and I beat him and then I did another year layoff to come back straight for the title. A lot of fighters today don’t do things like that. They comeback and take two months and pick and choose guys. I’m coming back, taking on the best because I feel like what I’m gonna put into this game and what I’m going to bring to these dudes I’m ready for the battle. I would of feel bad if I would of just went in there fighting forth, the number thirteenth guy because I need a tune in up, What do you mean tune in up, tune me in, ya know what I sayin’ I don’t need no tune up, just tune in. I feel like I accomplish a big goal not only just winning the WBO, but just having so much time off and coming back and doing what I did. I broke a hand in the fight went twelve rounds with one hand ya know with a year off. AHHA: I wondered why you didn’t finish him off after knocking him down. Zab: It was hurting like hell, but I guess like when you in, its like you in a fight like you in the street your adrenaline is pumping and all you know is win, win, win. So I felt like if I would of start like [complaining about the pain] then he would have seen that and picked up on that. So, I said I just got to stay focused and put my mind somewhere else and that’s how I managed to get through it. AHHA: Now he was kind of a like a little bit different of a fighter. He wears ladies underwear, had his eyebrows done, and really came in the ring glammed out. Does that ever throw you because people say he may be gay, even though he say he’s not? Zab: Like I said what the man do with his personal life, I don t know, but all I know that he was the WBO Champion of the world. He made three successful title defenses and he was the guy I had to beat to get to the next level, you know what I saying? Whether he wore his g-string in the ring that night, I had to get in there and rumble up with this dude, so it was not a point about what he do when he is out the ring. I mean if you look at the history of boxing you have a lot of gay boxers that’s been hidden and later on came out. AHHA: What did you learn most about the whole Kostya Tszyu fight and aftermath? To me, it just seem like to me was a premature stoppage, but I guess your body language made the ref stop it early. Zab: I think my Kostya Tszyu fight was a blessing in disguised meaning that Kostya did not beat me, I beat myself. But the Lord also taught me a lesson like, “Zab, alright be cool, slow down a little bit, I’m put you on time out for a little bit. But you gonna get back.” And he did he put me right back in this situation of [getting the championship]. The only thing with the whole Kostya Tszyu thing was it wasn’t that he could beat me or if we was to fight tomorrow I mean I’ll show the world, but never the less I mean like I said I’m not going to chase Kostya Tszyu. I know it s a fight that I want worth business-wise, but I really don’t need him. I don’t really need him business wise. There is a lot of guys out here to fight Gatti you got Vivian Harris, Ricky Hatten, Junior Witter you got plenty guys to make money. Kostya Tszyu is just a name that there God forbid somebody don’t beat him you know what I ‘m sayin’ so, anything is possible its boxing. AHHA: So what is the very next thing for you fight-wise? Zab: Well I’m just looking at rehabilitating my hand, getting my hand back to one hundred percent and I’m looking forward to a big fight with [Arturo] Gatto. AHHA: Ok, that would be a real fight. Have you ever had a tough opponent with heart like Gatti? Zab: I use to spar with Gatti. The last couple spars that Gatti had with Micky Ward. I fought Micky Ward. I beat Micky, so it’s a lot of different thing going on that people don’t know about me beating Ward, I use to spar with Gatti. I can go in there with these dudes and show the world, in front of the world on live TV. I can get it done. AHHA: Now lets talk about stuff outside of boxing. First of all everybody saw the suit the outfit you had with Roc-A-Wear can you speak on that a little bit? Zab: Yea, yea we just entered into a big deal Roc-A-Wear deal, I’m the first spokes sports model for the […]

Domineering Hip-Hop Soul Queen Mary J. Blige has held the game tightly in her hand for 10 years strong and probably won’t let it slip from her vice-grip anytime soon. On her upcoming album, Love and Life she flips it back to ’92 as she and P. Diddy return to her musical roots. And thus, Mary showers fans with the sort of music that made them fall in love with her in the beginning. At a party in Dallas, Allhiphop.com and Mary J. shot the breeze about her new stage in life, returning to her roots, looming movie aspirations and even her thoughts on a certain “Princess of Hip Hop and R&B.” AHHA: Aside from your obvious talent, what has contributed to your longevity? MJB: The one thing that I know that has sustained me was not a positive thing, it was me not knowing who I was or what my self-worth was. I didn’t know that Mary J. Blige was a star or whatever you want to call it until like last year. It really kicked in last year that I was “somebody.” So I guess that’s what sustained me, if you want to call it humility… but at the same time not knowing who you are for real. AHHA: What are your plans for the future, are you going to do any films? MJB: Music is my first love. I love music, but I’m definitely going to go into film. But I’m not going to go into film just because I can and the door is open. I’m going to get an acting coach and try to do it correctly because people like Queen Latifah opened the door for us to get in and do it right. AHHA: They’re trying to market Ashanti as the princess of hip hop and r&b and that really makes it sound like she’s supposed to be the next coming of you, what do you think about that? MJB: I look at business like this, there is no other Aretha Franklin. There is Aretha Franklin, there is Mary J. Blige, and you cannot come to me and say “you’re the next Aretha Franklin.” No I’m not the next Aretha Franklin… Ashanti is Ashanti. And without the title “the Queen of Hip Hop/Soul” I can still do 12 more albums, so they can have the title if that’s what they want. AHHA: I wanted to know Mary, personally, going through your changes right now what artists do you get along with, who do you kick it with in the industry? MJB: Right now my real good friend is Monica. Monica is the most sincere and realest person I’ve ever met that none of this phases her. And that’s the kind of people I really want to deal with. Monica’s one of my really good friends. AHHA: What inspires you? MJB: My foundation is God and that’s what keeps me going through the day, knowing that I’m going to wake up each morning… knowing that I’ll have a chance that through my music and through my experience I’ll have a chance to edify people and women on how to be strong–and men. And tell women that there are some good brothers out there. AHHA: Does this album represent a stage in your life and if so, what does it represent? MJB: This album does represent a stage in my life, and in this stage I learned how to love Mary. I like Mary an awful lot and loving and liking Mary an awful lot, I’ve drawn to me someone that likes me a lot and I’m singing to him. I’m singing to the man I’m engaged to because he’s my other half. The part of my brain that doesn’t work, he works for it. And there’s a lot of songs on there dedicated to my fans, just thanking them and letting them know that “you know what, in my lifetime we were suffering yall, but we made it out.” And for the ladies that are still suffering, and are still in those relationships where they believe that the guy loves them and he actually hates them, there’s songs on there for them too. AHHA: A lot of female singers struggle with fame and notoriety and become scandalized. How do you manage to remain scandal-less? MJB: Well the way that I’ve remained in this music business without killing someone is because I really didn’t care what people said about me. And if I did care I did something about it. I was a savage, I didn’t care. I was a street girl… and I handled it street. So it never really bothered me because I knew that I was going to defend myself any way possible. But the way I defend myself now–I look at it like “I know who I am, and I’m not any of those things so I don’t care what you say about me. Your opinion is just your opinion.” AHHA: You look really good, really healthy and everything. Do you work with a trainer now? MJB: I do have a personal trainer. I work out three times a week, whenever I can. I’ll do an hour on each body part. I don’t eat pork, I’m alcohol-free… I curse a lot, but you know everybody’s got something. The bottom line is I drink a lot of water and I eat six meals a day and I’ve done one month without carbs. AHHA: What advice would you give to someone that wants the same kind of longevity as you? MJB: I’d say don’t let anyone talk you into trying to be someone else. Be who you are and that’s what’s important. Be who you are, and understand that this is the beginning of your career. You might not make that $5000 check, you might get a $500 check for a show. Do that show, pay those dues and you’ll survive in this business. AHHA: Besides P. Diddy, who else did you work with […]

Lately, Brian McKnight has been victimized by the music listening public’s mass narcolepsy. Nevertheless, B. McNeezy remains an R&B icon whose romantic songs have quietly influenced a generation, if not the population. Not only a singer, he’s a down-low musician, producer, athlete and biking enthusiast with thug-like undertones. Still, for over a decade he’s blessed listeners with a homogenized blend of R&B, jazz, harmony, gospel, hip-hop and even rock-n-roll. Brian McKnight, the debut album, dropped in 1992 and now, in 2003, he’s come full circle. He’s got the Grammys, the American Music awards and now he drops U Turn, his latest effort. But, understand, for all of his acclaim and notoriety, we don’t hardly know Brian McKnight. And he’s pretty cool with that. AllHipHop Alternatives: Can you talk about what is the deal with this album? B: Basically the short version. This is the most personal record I ever made. It’s filled with cats like Joe, Carl Thomas, Tank, Tyrese, Nelly, Fabolous and Kirk Franklin. Basically it’s an album for everyone. I said there’s every age group, every nationality and there’s every walk of life. I just wanna be able to sorta appeal to everybody out there. AHHA: Did you take more of a hip-hop approach? B: No, there are 3 hip-hop songs on the album out of 13 songs. I think its that the very first song with Nelly I did and some people go confused. They make their judgment on the first thing they hear. There is no rock on this record. There’s jazz. R&B, pop and there’s inspirational music all across the board and every tempo. AHHA: You are considered a veteran. I saw you Ruben and Ron Isley came out on an awards show. How is to see a new generation kind of creep in and then your considered the veteran. B: I think it great. I think what that says to me is that I’ve been in this business long enough to have gone from being a new guy to an established guy , to a veteran and not everybody gets to do that. I’m still making records and people are still buying them. AHHA: How long have you been out? B: I’ve been a professional in this business for 15 years. AHHA: I read a recent interview with you in KING magazine and you were riding a motorcycle and they said you rode with the Ruff Ryderz. Whats that all about? B: The LA motorcycle scene is a wild sorta thing. I ride with everyone. I don’t make myself exclusive. My best friend is the west coast director of the Ruff Ryderz and he taught me. We ride together and I ride with a lot of the other guys. One of my past [gigs] was being a stunt rider on street bikes. Seriously, there’s competition and there’s candy racing that we do. Its dangerous and its all the things people think it is but its release for me. Its the only place where I can be truly alone and concentrate on only that is when I’m riding my bike. AHHA: I had a friend that actually died a couple of years ago in a motorcycle accident. Does that ever worry you? He didn’t get hit or anything. He hit a patch of gravel and crashed. Does it ever concern you? B: I think that when you’re a real rider you cant really let those moments of doubt creep in. It’s all around you and its constantly around when your on your motorcycle. But if your mind is on anything but what your doing, its over. I would much rather be doing something that I love to do. I watch some of these crazy videos where a guy was walking down the street and a building fell on him. I’m sure that’s not how you want it to go when you die. I’m not trying to die on a motorcycle either but it doesn’t stop me. I want to die doing something I love. AHHA: Who is the real Brian McKnight because in that same article I saw you cussing up a storm? B: You know what I didn’t [cuss]. That’s the whole point. The funniest thing about some of these interviews, especially some of these magazines. If you really think that I was standing there doing all that cussing, you out of you mind. “F**k your neighbors?” I didn’t say any of that. It was so funny to me to read that and have somebody write that hoping that that made the article more interesting and more edgy. And even with the picture with the cigarette. What I was trying to accomplish was I was trying to blow the smoke out while I was smoking the tires. Of course they showed the picture of when I was actually smoking the cigarette. So that was kind of interesting. AHHA: Do you ever have trouble living up to the balladeer image? That’s the first thing that I thought of. You sing these love songs all day. B: There are so many sides to me man and I think that I’m just finally now starting to let people see those sides. I really only cared that they knew about what I was doing musically. Very few people are gonna be remembered for anything in this life. I’ve been know known as a balladeer so at least I have that. When I step on the basketball court against guys who never played against me you can imagine some of the things that they say. But when they see that I can play then it almost becomes an antagonizing sort of situation because they cant believe that a guy with soft songs can do this. On one hand its great because you get to dispel rumors or dispel that sort of psychology that says if you do this, that’s all you do. I try to be the jack of all trades. I wanted to do everything. I wanted to […]