She came out of being in your face. I guess that was an understatement because Ebony Eyez is poised to be more in your face than the first statement suggested. She plans to hit the streets like 50 Cent did just before he got the deal with Shady/Aftermath and that means mixtape after mixtape. Ebony’s in a new situation; she’s no longer with the same production company and you get the impression that she ready to swim with the sharks. Besides, the first time around, she was just getting her feet wet.

Sounding like all business all the while maintaining her sexy style, Ebony has goal a blueprint laid out for her success. Now that she’s in charge, she has no one else to blame and that’s the way she likes it. No excuses, no more play, Ebony wants the world to know she’s here to stay. On top of that, she indeed has something to say. I’m all ears.

JayRich: What up ma?

Ebony Eyez: “Nothing much.”

JayRich: You sound a little tired.

Ebony Eyez: “Yeah, I am…got up early and went to bed late.”

JayRich: Clubbing?

Ebony Eyez: “Naww, work of course. Ain’t no life outside that (laughs) For real.”

JayRich: You working on a new album or what?

Ebony Eyez: “Look for that some time next year, no time this year. I may drop a single in September.”

JayRich: What gonna be different about this album than the first?

Ebony Eyez: “A lot different from the first one; I got my feet wet in the first one. You’ll get a different sound; I’m no longer with the production company. They did most of the first album; since I’m not with them anymore I’m have so many other sounds. I’m going to just take it to a whole new level; the first album, the production….. I was just doing a lot of playing. You know just fun songs, this time I’m taking it on a mature level.”

JayRich: Your production company split, was it ugly or what?

Ebony Eyez: “It was….. just growing up a bit. Taking it to the next level and being more up on my business, knowing where my money being spent and where my records getting spins. They definitely help me get my foot in the door though.”

JayRich: When you say the “album sound,” does that mean less up tempo or club joints?

Ebony Eyez: “I think it’ll be more Hip-Hop based than anything. I get beats from all over; we burn one CD so I won’t know who did what and I just go off what I hear; but, I got stuff from Germany and all over.”

JayRich: What about the women in the game; why is it so hard for them to sell?

Ebony Eyez: “That’s a good question; personally I don’t think there are enough avenues for us to travel. I think we should collaborate more cuz everybody wanna pit us against each other. At the end of the day it’s about making good music and money; the guys know how to do that and we gotta to get to that point.”

JayRich: You, Remy Ma, Shawnna pretty good friends?

Ebony Eyez: “Me and Remy cool; I never met Shawnna, but I know she do her thing on the mic.”

JayRich: What about collabos, you doing that more than the first album?

Ebony Eyez: “Well, I don’t know just yet. I’m just trying to hit the mixtape scene real hard. I’m trying to do the 50 Cent thing; you gotta to get the streets behind you and that’s my focus right now.”

JayRich: I just read something with Khia saying that she was mad at all the female MC’s in the game because the ladies come out under the wing of men and she’s claiming to be the Queen of the South now. How would you respond to something like that since you came out with males?

Ebony Eyez: “I don’t know exactly what she said; I can just go off what you said. I didn’t have any man come out and solidify me as anything. I didn’t have any features on my first single. Second, this is a male dominated field. The list can go on and on; you just have to get out here and grind. I don’t understand where’s she’s coming from with that. I don’t know how she can be mad at other female MC’s. She ain’t walked in nobody else shoes and we don’t know what it’s like to walk in hers.”

JayRich: I heard that you said that you came from the old Hip-Hop ciphers?

Ebony Eyez: “Yeah.”

JayRich: You get challenged to a lot of battles still?

Ebony Eyez: “No, actually I don’t. I hear herre and therre people have made their comments about me, but that’s a part of the game. No one has come right out and said, “This is what it is; I wanna do this.” Before I got signed, I would be out there in the battles; but it wasn’t just the girls; it was guys too.”

JayRich: When you got “on” and signed; did you lose a lot of friends?

Ebony Eyez: “In a sense I did, because my lifestyle changed. My other friends had kids and the 9-to-5 and I was living a night life when they gotta go to work. I would been gone for weeks at a time and things set in. People start getting jealous and start hating so your friends start changing. My friends still remain even though we don’t talk every day; we know that we still cool. The biggest change came from female rappers that I was cool wit. I could see the envy once I got on.”

JayRich: From what I’ve heard and the things I’ve seen, I get that you’re a strong person; You’re pretty stubborn too aren’t you? You hate to be wrong don’t you?

Ebony Eyez: “Definitely. (laughs) That’s one of the things that going to get me in trouble in life. I’m always going to do it my way cause at the end of the day, you can’t blame anybody but yourself if you did it your way. Everybody say, “Go left;” I’m going right just to see what it’s going to be like. I don’t why that is, but I’m just that type of person that goes against the grain. I have very strong leadership skills. I’m a Leo. That’s definitely a true assessment about me. It’s something I’m trying to work on, but you know. At least the first step is acknowledging it. (laughs)”

JayRich: You argue a lot don’t you?

Ebony Eyez: “Naw, I don’t do the yelling and screaming thing. My voice is usually on the mellow and the laid back… I definitely get my point across.”

JayRich: Ok, you don’t do the yell and scream thing; you must have the passive aggressive thing going then?

Ebony Eyez: “Uhhh….Who have you talked to about me? (we both laugh) I’m serious.

JayRich: This just the vibe I’m getting from you that’s all.

Ebony Eyez: “You making me out to be this mad woman.”

JayRich: Naw, I just wanted to explore your personality since you don’t have album to push right now. The fans wanna know the person more than the rapper sometimes. I’m not go make you a villain though.

Ebony Eyez: “I’m very approachable; I don’t walk in the club with all the security and all that. I listen to people and mixtapes; you never know what’s gonna be the next hottest thing out. Especially the women; I like to know what’s on their mind and what they want me to talk about. I have fun; I don’t smoke, but I get my drink on. (laughs)”

JayRich: I work with some female MC’s; what advice would you give them?

Ebony Eyez: “You gotta do the give and take; you gotta bend a little, but be you. There’s people who don’t care about the lyrics and what you have to say, but if you got a tight beat and a nice hook you can reel them in. Then, you got the Hip-Hop heads who wanna hear what you got to say and want you to talk about something. All of that will make you well rounded. You gotta have some personality and some type of sex appeal; spit just as hard as the guys and at the same time keep the ladies liking you. You gotta always have the sisters behind you; they the ones that buy albums. Niggas don’t buy records. (we both laugh again)

JayRich: Exactly, that’s what I tell everybody.

Ebony Eyez: “Guys listen to mixtapes.”

JayRich: Thanks for the interview; any last remarks to the fans?

Ebony Eyez: “Yeah, I got a single coming later this year. The album is coming next year, maybe second quarter. You go get a lot of me in the mixtape scene and on some features. You go see me everywhere. For those who have supported me, I definitely thank you.”

--By Joe"JayRich"Robinson