The history of Slime as told by Ola Playa.
In the middle of March, one of Atlanta's shadowiest and most quietly influential figures oozed out one of the most impressive releases of the LiveMixtapes era- Slime Season (Year of the Slime).
Even though Ola Playaâs music, until now loosely chronicled across a fragmented discography of scattered mixtapes and compilation appearances, stands on its own, itâs still imperative to recognize just how important he is in the context of figures like Young Thug and Bloody Jay who are beginning to receive serious mainstream media attention. Although the entity known as Black Portland is still shrouded in mystery, itâs safe to say that Playa can be counted among its members. His street affiliations run long but most recognizable to rap fans is probably his status as one of the founding fathers of the Young Slime Life (YSL) movement championed by Young Thug and company. Itâs impossible to fully understand or appreciate the YSL culture without first understanding Ola Playa, one of its key figures.
When I sent an Atlanta rapper I'm friendly with some initial excerpts from this interview, he responded with an anecdote that perhaps more vividly distills Ola Playaâs essence than I ever could as a remote observer, âI remember I was at a Sonic restaurant on Moreland here in Atlanta and that nigga walked up from behind me, I swear I saw the ghosts of every nigga he ever slimed crawling on the ground behind him, nigga didnât even say none, he looked at me, then looked at the menu, then a white Porsche pulled up and he just got in the passenger seat and they pulled off. I imagined that's what death looked like, either that or a real fucked up day that's about to happen.â
Ola Playa doubtlessly has an unquestioned street pedigree, but you wouldnât need to know that in order to sense the honesty and credibility dripping from his every word. You really get the feeling that Ola Playa isnât fucking around about, well, anything at all. Although I discovered in the course of this interview that Playaâs recent song with Cartel MGM, âThe Last Kingpin,â was not a self-congratulatory boast but instead a paean to the incarcerated Jerry Chester a.k.a. Poo Tang (also saluted by Young Scooter in his and Gucci Maneâs âFacesâ), who successfully evaded authorities despite an appearance on America's Most Wanted until getting arrested under a false name in conjunction with a separate drug investigation into 10 kilos of heroin, itâs still a fitting title for this stalwart of a foregone era of bona fide hustlers and street kings. Ola Playa, 26 years old, is an old soul. When he talks, he intermingles fast-talking slickness with careful moments of street wisdom. His raps are guttural and his every syllable coated in bile and ooze. There is nothing disingenuous about him.
One thing that makes Ola Playa so damn compelling is his contentment to operate in the shadows. He doesnât obnoxiously self promote. His peers borrow and adopt his lingo often without credit, but youâd never hear him protest. Playaâs motivations clearly aren't limited to success or recognition. Instead of cheaply peddling his talents like a commodity for sale, Playa seems satisfied to remain a regional influencer behind the scenes until the outside world discovers him. With his first official release, Slime Season, under his belt, Playa seems poised to finally start receiving some of that long deserved attention from the rest of the world. Riddled with Young Thug features (who is credited simply as âYSLâ), as well as appearances from Bloody Jay, Playa Fly, and Young Scooter, Slime Season is as vital and significant a document as Atlanta has produced in years. Itâs album-like in its cohesion and the consistency across the mixtape is second to none. It's on par with 1017 Thug and Street Lottery in those respects. With two titles already planned after Slime Season in a trilogy of sorts, we can rest assured in the fact that Playa will continue providing us with painfully real and compelling artifacts of Atlanta culture whether mainstream media pays attention or not. What follows is a raw, unabridged interview with King Slime himself.
Ola Playa: Say, say, say.
Drug Money: Whatâs up? Playa?
Ola Playa: Whatâs up, boss?
Drug Money: Not much, man, you ready to do this little interview?
Ola Playa: Shit. Letâs do it, letâs do it, letâs do it. I was ready for you.
Drug Money: First of all, are you from Atlanta originally?
Ola Playa: Yeah, yeah, yeah, originally from there. Exactly, homie.
Drug Money: What was growing up like?
Ola Playa: Growing up, man, you know, man, just normal shit, man. You know, just trying to make it, man. Trying to let this rap shit free me. You know whatâs going on.
Drug Money: Does growing up influence your music? Like shit you went through then. I feel like you speak on experience really well.
Ola Playa: Everything I said, man, my raps is real, you know what I mean? Itâs the truth, man, you know what I mean? Itâs reality, man, you know? Like I said, Iâve been through a lot, man, you know? 7 years old, I seen my first funeral, man, you know? I seen my first cousin, man, in the casket, man, so that really opened up my eyes and made me realize how real this world is, man. Like, then right after that, you know what I mean, a few years down the line, you know what I mean, trials and tribulations, man. I seen my older brother in a casket then. Recently, man, I took another loss, man. So everything real me around me, man, everything real, man. Ainât no façade.
Drug Money: Your friend Lil Gangsta just passed. Is that right?
Ola Playa: That my little brother, my lil round, my lil whodi. Yeah, yeah, yeah. R.I.P. B.I.P. the homie, man. Thatâs like a major part of me, man. Thatâs like a part of my heart and brain, you know what I mean? That like my lil homie, man, you know what I mean? That like a major, major, major loss.
Drug Money: Seems like everybody is feeling that loss pretty tough. I liked⊠You guys had that song âTrap Life.â I loved that song.
Ola Playa: âTrap Money,â yeah, yeah. I was just trying to wake the streets up, man, like everything ainât sweet, you know what I mean? You might see the glitz and the glam, you know what I mean, but itâs always other sides to this, you know? Thatâs really what I was trying to wake people up on. Let them people know like sometimes you gotta know when to pull out, you know what I mean? Money is the root of all evil, man, so sometimes, you know what I mean, you gotta know when this shit come to an end, man, you know what Iâm saying? You know what I mean? You canât.... I was always taught any hustle is a good hustle, man, no matter what youâre doing. Youâre working, robbing, stealing, or just goddamn just trying to make it accumulate, man. But everything got a time limit on it, man. Thatâs all.
Drug Money: My condolences on Gangsta, man. Thatâs tough.
Ola Playa: I really, really appreciate that, man, âcause I donât think nobody know what lil homie means to me, man, like, know what Iâm saying? Like a New Orleans refugee, man, you know what Iâm saying, like⊠I ainât gonna say he was a Katrina victim, because they came a little bit before Katrina, but it was just his mama trying to find a new way of life, you know what I mean? So they came from New Orleans, moved to Atlanta. They really ainât had nothing or nobody. See, I met him⊠See this is why I tell you heâs my little brother. I met him when youngâun was 12 years old, and he come to me and say... I ainât even know him. I know him from my other lil partner, named Derrell. He passed away too. R.I.P. Derrell Williams. He died too. But he somehow took a liking to lil homie, man. Homie was 12 years old and he come to me, right? And he said, you had to respect this, now listen to this, man. That man told me, âHey man, my back was against the wall, bruh. I had to go hit at some people. And I milked the clip on my TEC.â He had a little TEC-9 and he milked the clip on that motherfucker. And he told me, he said, âAye big bruh, man.â He said, âI canât be out here naked, man. These people gonna kill me.â So he said like, âI need something! I need something.â Straight up. So you gotta respect somebody that young with so much heart.
Drug Money: Just him being so straight with you.
Ola Playa: Just straight about it, but for real, about it but ainât really got nothing, you know what I mean? Trying to be the breadwinner for his family and his mother and stuff, man. Just him and her, you know what I mean? And how much heart he had at that age, man. Like, I knew, it wasnât the right thing to do, but at the same time, he came to me, man, and Iâve been in positions and predicaments where, shit, I needed mine. No doubt about word, man. Itâs a concrete jungle out here, man. You got to have a pistol out here, man. You got to have your draws, man. Bottom line, man, you know what I mean- itâs kill or be killed out here, man. Homie said he milked the clip on the TEC, man, and âBig brother gon kill me,â man, and we just go with TECs ever since then, man, you know what I mean? Homes was just out going, you know what I mean? I tried to do whatever I could for lil homie, man, and he really finally got himself together, man, and really turned the fuck up on these people, man, and people had they nuts on lil homie, really soldier hated him.
Drug Money: I actually posted a song for A1 Reedup the other day that was him and Gangsta right after Gangsta passed.
Ola Playa: Salute Reed, man, but hey man, like bottom line, boy, like as far as the realest, as far as talent-wise, ainât nobody was fucking with Lil Gangsta. Ainât nobody was fuckinâ with him, man. Homie wasnât nothing but, when he passed away, nothing but 23. Homie was a real baby, man, had a real future.
Drug Money: I got excited every time yâall would do a song together. I thought yâall just had great chemistry on record.
Ola Playa: You know why we had great chemistry?
Drug Money: Whyâs that?
Ola Playa: 'Cause hey, me and lil homie the dumb way for real, man. We out here⊠Man, listen, man. Reality, like I said, man. Me and lil homie the dumb way for real, man. Like, me and⊠Iâve known him since like 12 years old, man. So I mean, homie went to prison at like 17, know what Iâm saying? Like, me and homie, we got a long history goddamn of this street shit together, man. Like homie, yeah, he the dumb way for real. All the way retarded, for real. Straight up.
Drug Money: What about Slime Season? Itâs an amazing tape.
Ola Playa: Oh, Slime Season, man? I ainât gonna tell you no more fuckin' lies, man. That shit there, man, it been in effect. Like Slime Season, man, that shit came from the bottom of my ribcage, man. From the stomach, man, like, niggas donât know, like, the bottom of my motherfucking heart, man. Let me tell you the history on this motherfucker. I really came up with that shit in the penitentiary, man. It was a slime ass nigga, man. It was an old school nigga, man, I called him âSlimeball.â His name was Deck, from 2nd Ave, from Atlanta, man. Heâs just a nigga used to steal the kitty out the poker games and shit, you know what Iâm sayinâ? Just a nigga like that, when you a real motherfuckinâ slimeball, you know what Iâm saying? [laughs] Like real sticky fingers, like real conniving, you know what Iâm sayinâ? So, you know what Iâm saying, I went to the penitentiary at 18. I got out when I was 20. But, you know what I mean, like, so homie showed me a whole ânother way of life. Iâm 26 now, so I been screaming this Slime shit. This like ainât no shit like, you know what Iâm sayinâ, I just came out of nowhere. This shit been predestined or planned, like, homie, this shit- we been screaming Slime.
Drug Money: Yeah, I was gonna ask you about Slime and YSL and all that.
Ola Playa: But Slime Season, know that shit came from the bottom of my stomach, man. I really, I really- you know what Iâm saying, thatâs just how my neck of the woods do it. Thatâs how my neighborhood do it, man. You got real OGâs who really mastered the game of finesse, like OG Major Grams, White Boy Marco, you got DT, you know what I mean, a.k.a. Swaggerific. You go back on they music, man, them people really, really the definition of the Slime shit. They mastered the game of finessing and remixing and beinâ real manipulating, you know what Iâm saying? Like, thatâs them, you know what I mean? Iâm just saluting my homies, man. But the actual word Slime came from an old school nigga named Deck. So Iâm putting all this shit together in my formula and my way of life, you know what I mean, and thatâs how I came up with Slime Season, 'cause look around you. Everybody got a slime ass nigga in they neighborhood. You know what Iâm sayinâ? That just ainât my neighborhood. You can go damn near any neighborhood, any country, town, you gon always have that youngsta, that dirty motherfucker, you know what Iâm sayinâ?
Drug Money: [laughs] That connivingâŠ
Ola Playa: Everybody got that dirty motherfucker, go to the goddamnâyou know, I donât give a fuckâdice game, poker game, stealing, goddamn, stealinâ the kitty, you know what Iâm sayinâ? Shit like that. That really manipulative motherfucker. With the trickery, man.
Drug Money: Like every trick in the book⊠the finesse shit!
Ola Playa: And anybody know, like, Atlanta, especially Summerhill, man, you know we big on finesse, man, you know what Iâm saying? We big on it. So, you know, thatâs just another lingo, man. Slime Season, man. Thatâs a shout out to my real crooks.
Drug Money: So Slime Season is kind of your debut tape, but there was also Slime Boss that was kind of on the internet. Would you say Slime Season is your first tape or do you think Slime Boss was?
Ola Playa: I didnât, I mean, Slime Boss- it definitely âposed to drop, but I ainât never officially dropped it, man, you know what I mean, just because all the shit I was going through, man, you know what Iâm saying? You know what I mean, I was fighting a lot of cases, you know what I mean, [laughs] just goddamn⊠life, life, life, man, you know what I mean? I was going through it, so it never actually dropped. So Slime Season was really like, you know what I mean, that was I would say my first tape, man. I been working on that shit for damn near, I been working on that like a year and a half ago, a year and a half 'til now, you know what I mean? I mean, itâs really like a album.
Drug Money: I love it, man. Youâve had so many loose songs in the meantime⊠I was so glad to see an official mixtape. Whatâs up with just listing the features as YSL?
Ola Playa: YSL really⊠[laughs] See, YSL, man, you know, YSL is YSL, know what I mean? That what it stand for- Young Slime Life, know what I mean? And it was just featuring one of my Slime little bros, you know what Iâm saying?
Drug Money: [laughs] Thatâs cool.
Ola Playa: You know what Iâm saying, but you know, they like 100 deep out here, man, you know what Iâm saying?
Drug Money: Thatâs what it seems like! Like 100 Slimes on Instagram alone!
Ola Playa: Yeah, it like, it really has took effect. The shit took me by storm, you know what I mean? Iâm screaming Slime and these people just really started goddamn just living and dying âbout this shit, you know what Iâm saying, and this shit just took effect, you know what Iâm saying, but thatâs just one of my young Slime bros who, you know what Iâm sayinâ, livinâ and dyinâ âbout it, so I had to put him on there. You know everybody know him.
Drug Money: Thatâs whatâs up. Speaking of that guy, what can you say about Black Portland?
Ola Playa: Black Portland? That my brothers, you know what Iâm saying? Everybody knows what goinâ on with Black Portland, man, you know? Everybody know we blazinâ, man, you know what Iâm saying? We pull up. We trailblaze ya. We on your bumper, man, you know? Black Portland, man, you know? That Bloody Jay and Thug, you know? Everybody know what going on. Thatâs real successful lately too, man, just like, you know what Iâm saying, I salute them boys 'cause I done seen them people come from like no-thing, so, you know what Iâm saying, I gotta salute somebody who really come from the bottom, know what I mean, 'cause that where I come from. But yeah, yeah, that Black Portland, that bros, you know what Iâm saying. I been recording with âem.
Drug Money: Yeah, 'cause you and Lil Gangsta are both on there.
Ola Playa: Say me and Lil Gangsta? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you know that I gotta put him on everything, like we got moâ music, moâ and moâ music, you know what Iâm sayinâ. His legacy gonna live on for a long time, man. I got plenty more to drop with Lil Gangsta of music they ainât heard.
Drug Money: Speaking of Thug again, Slim told me you introduced Thug to Gucci. Is that right?
Ola Playa: I mean, yeah, yeah, yeah, fuckinâ right, you know what Iâm saying? I remember goddamn we goinâ in there, Guwop say âMan, letâs go pop a seal.â It was really, it was Rockoâs session. It was actually Rockoâs session. Boo Dirty was in that motherfucker. Bloody Jay was in that motherfucker, know what I mean? One of them lil DC cats Gucci was fucking with real hard, you know what I mean. And we actually had dropped, know what Iâm saying, that âCold Heart Cash.â Like, I fuck with Gucci long way, man. I remember back when my little bros was in that motherfucker, he said âHey Playa, hey man. Yâall gotta go, man. Yâall know I canât be around all that shit.â I done brought too many choppers to that niggaâs spot, man!
Drug Money: I ask because the first time I ever heard you was on I Came From Nothing 3 and Blatlanta. Those were the first times I heard you rap.
Ola Playa: Ah yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember that like yesterday, man, you know what I mean, real good vibe, man, you know? We runninâ around like a motherfucker, man. We was with Rocko, man, and we was on 11th St., ya know what I mean. Big shouts out to the engineer Steve, man. And we came out with what really was a hit. It was a real fuckinâ hit.
Drug Money: âSex Money Murderâ is one of my favorite songs ever.
Ola Playa: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was like a lot of shit that got overlooked, man, you know what I mean, and people starting to come, you know what I mean. Salute it now and pay homage to the shit now, know what I mean? You know, itâs all about that lil recognition at first, man, you know what I mean?
Drug Money: Oh yeah, I actually posted about it back in 2012 when Blatlanta came out! That song. That song, man. Yâall went crazy that on that one.
Ola Playa: A lot of these niggas mustard, man, they gotta ketchup! [laughs]
Drug Money: I mean, people gotta figure this shit out, right?
Ola Playa: I mean, you know what I mean, I donât want recognition for none of this shit, man. You know, like I said, people gotta catch up. They gonna catch up to it one day. It ainât all about the recognition for me, man. Itâs all about just getting lot of people out this poverty, man, you know. We come- a lot of my friends and my family, man, we come from the bottom. Poverty, man, so you know what I mean, Iâm big on that Brotherly Love Overrides Oppression and Destruction.
Drug Money: I feel you. Is Bloody Jay still locked up?
Ola Playa: [laughs] I just talked to bruh today, man. Aye man, free motherfucking Bloody Jay, man! You know, he should be home on the 3rd, man. It ainât nothing real too major, man. Just some people holding they nuts on him, man, you know what I mean? These real police rap ass niggas, man. Duck and dive, man. [laughs]
Drug Money: Thatâs good to hear. I wasnât sure if it was a serious case or what. So heâs coming back soon, huh?
Ola Playa: Yeah, yeah, yeah. He cominâ. He ainât facing no L or nothing, you know? Heâll be home in a minute. You know, I know he talk real greasy, man, but ainât nothing with no Mâs in it or nothinâ. Unless you talkinâ bout M&Mâs, you know. [laughs]
Drug Money: Do you want to say anything about Major Grams, the ABG CEO?
Ola Playa: Oh yeah, man, you know, big salute, man, to Major, man, you know what I mean. Big from the my bottom of my heart. Big from King Slime himself, man. Major introduced me to a lot of shit, man, you know what I mean. Like homes was a real influential person, man, you know what I mean. Big influenced my life and a lot of other peopleâs lives, man. Like, homes been doing the big jewelry, Jacob watches, 40 pointers on his wrist, man, you know. Ice game amazing, man, you know. They had to soldier hate him too, man, you know what Iâm saying, but like, homesâŠÂ Thatâs what a lot of shit bum from is Major, man. Thatâs where this shit come from. Major Grams. Shouts out to the CEO ABG ENT.
Drug Money: There it is. And what about Snake? Heâs locked up?
Ola Playa: Oh yeah, man. Somebody had like two nickels, man, and dropped a dime on him, man. So man, you know what I mean, like we been goinâ through it, bro, you know what I mean. Like ABG stamp like an Atlanta landmark, man, you know what Iâm saying. Itâs like a real landmark, so like homes was real⊠Like homes got bars for real, man, and heâs an authentic guy, man. So, with Snake, man, itâs like high salute with homes, you know what I mean. It was no limits to what homes was gonna really take it, man. Like, I salute homes. Homes really got bars, man. They need to be heard.
Drug Money: Totally. Heâs got those freestyles on YouTube too. I mean, he can really rap, huh?
Ola Playa: Snake can⊠Snake is a real MC, man. Like, you could call up⊠KRS-One! You could call up Rakim! And you could call up the Jigga Man! Salute all them, man, donât take nothing away from âem, man, but homes can go with the best of âem, man. Like he got bars, man, you know what I mean, and that shit is proven. You go back to all the way back from âABG,â the little song who put the city on this gangbang shit, you know?
Drug Money: Iâve seen that MGABG video from a long time ago with yâall all in that courtyard.
Ola Playa: Yeah exactly, man. Just go back to that, man. Just listen, man, you know, like the Jiggaman said, man, you know, you canât just stand through music, man, you gotta listen to it, holmes. Naw, dead serious.
Drug Money: I was also gonna ask you about your songs with Playa Fly. How did yâall link up?
Ola Playa: Big boss Bloody Jay really set it up, man. Because, like, me and Bloody Jay- that what we used to get high to. We used to really listen to homie. Homes really got something to say, man, you know, like as far as this Southern culture, you know what Iâm saying? This Southern⊠you know what I mean? I know a lot of people overlook him, but you know what Iâm saying, like any other people like Project Pat, Playa Fly, people like that, homie- them pioneers. Gotta salute them, know what I mean? And know what I mean, like I say, man, like as far as this Southern culture, I really fuck with Playa Fly, man, like that my brother. We done sat and there and sipped plenty pints of got damn lean together, man. And I had did a song. Me and Bloody Jay did a song- âNobody Needs Nobody,â but we really wanted him on that motherfucker, know what I mean? But you know, the timing, the timing. Everything about timing, you know what I mean? But we ended up goddamn knocking out a whole bunch of them one night with homes, and thatâs just out of the respect and you know what I mean, he pioneered this shit, man, thatâs Playa Fly. You know what Iâm saying, you go do your history and if you donât know who Playa Fly is, man, do your history, homes pioneered this shit. You know, Juicy J. He came up under them people. Three 6 Mafia. He was beefing with them people at one point, man, you know?
Drug Money: I love that 90âs Memphis and early Playa Fly stuff too.
Ola Playa: You hear my music, you know what I mean, other than that gangsta music, you know what I mean, these streets take a toll on you. We make geek music too. We make music for the geekers. âAll Kinda Drugs,â man.
Drug Money: I fuck with that song. Is that gonna be the single?
Ola Playa: Yeah, thatâs the single. Thatâs just something just so, you know what I mean, something that anybody can relate to, who in the streets, you know what I mean? We on it.
Drug Money: Another song I was talking about with Slimâmaybe my favorite song, one of my favorite songs youâve ever doneâis âLo Lifeâ and he mentioned yâall might remaster that and release that as a single some day.
Ola Playa: Yeah⊠I agree with that, bro. I agree with that a lot. You know what Iâm saying, like, anybody who⊠who comes from the low life, like this poverty level, really not having shit, you know what I mean, and trying to grasp it and really becoming something out here, you know what I mean? And you know, you got a lot of people on your trail, so you gotta live a low life, know what I mean? Anybody who⊠You ainât even gotta be from the streets, man! You can just be a millionaire, man! We just got a lot of leaches out here so you know a lot of people gotta live that low life. Yeah, I definitely agree that should be a single, man, like know what Iâm saying, like I said, people gonna catch up.
Drug Money: You know they will. One thing I was gonna ask you about is like, I feel like you have a lot in common with some of the Louisana and Baton Rouge rappers, like Boosie and the Trill ENT stuff.
Ola Playa: [laughs] Like, like, like, I already know where youâre going with it, right? You know what I mean, I ainât even gonna lie about it, man. Ainât gonna sugarcoat shit, man, like Boosie was my favorite rapper and I thought Lil Phat was gonna be the next him. Lil Phat, when he moved, they had to soldier hate him too, man. Thatâs the first little young nigga Iâve seen pulling up the Audi A7, man, 19 years old with a hundred pints of lean on him, man. Homes was a real guy. He was a real guy. A real street cat. And then he had meaning to his music too, like you know what Iâm saying, I understood to that shit. I could relate to that shit.
Drug Money: I feel like you guys both have a street narrative thing going on. Obviously thereâs something more. Yâall, like you and those Louisiana rappers, donât just sing about molly, you know?
Ola Playa: Yeah, you know, like my little brother, goinâ back from Lil Gangsta, you know, my little round, you know what Iâm saying? Thatâs how I started understanding Louisana culture, you know what I mean? I started to understand them people, man.
Drug Money: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah! 'Cause thatâs where he was originally from, you were saying.
Ola Playa: Right, right. Thatâs where I started, you know what I mean, understanding, you know what I mean, trying to put this⊠You know, from Katrina, you know a lot of New Orleans people came up here. You know what I mean, almost like refugees, they was coming down trying to start new lives and stuff, so I started to understand their culture, man, and I started fucking with the Soulja Slims a.k.a. Magnolia Slims and know what I mean, from all the way from up top to the Baton Rouge rappers and shit, man. Like I understand their culture, man, and you know, we got a lot of similarities, man. They just geechie than a motherfucker.
Drug Money: Right. Iâm from Houston and we had a lot of refugees.
Ola Playa: They had a lot of em in Houston too, right, exactly. And thatâs how I look at myself too, you know what Iâm saying, Under Ground King like Iâm from Porth Arthur, man.
Drug Money: I was gonna ask if you if there was any other Houston rap you fucked with, actually.
Ola Playa: I mean, you know, I remember their movement reminded me so much of Atlanta movement like a few years when they had the Paul Walls, the Screwed Up Clicks, like DJ Screw, you know what Iâm saying? Thatâs where that shit come from. We sip pints of lean just like they sip it, but you know, I salute it 'cause like I go back and say, mane, they pioneers of a lot of shit. Them people been sipping lean, know what I mean. But like, my favorite artist out of Texas is them boys from Port Arthur, them men from Port Arthur, and thatâs Pimp C, you know what Iâm saying?
Drug Money: He had the best Southern sneer.
Ola Playa: And he talked that reality, you know what I mean? I respect Pimp C to the fullest, man, and thatâs why I be saying, really man, Iâm too street to go commercial. Iâm an Under Ground King like Iâm from Port Arthur, man, you know what Iâm sayinâ? [laughs] Naw, for real though.
Drug Money: What do you think about Thug with Young Money and Rich Gang, all that? Is it cool to see him breaking pretty big right now?
Ola Playa: I mean, shit, you know, all that shit is about politics and money. Get your paper. Get your paper, man. By any means necessary, man. Get your money, man. You know? I salute Gucci 'cause Guwop brought a lot of people in the game and donât get me wrong, you know what I mean, I done seen Nicki Minaj and French Montana and a lot of people come fuckinâ with homie and Waka Flocka. I know that come from out, letâs not forget, Miss Debbie. But Guwop, you know what I mean, was a part of a lot of this history shit coming out of Atlanta, even with Thug. So you gotta salute homes. And heâs a real street nigga who shed blood behind his stamp.
Drug Money: There was a tour Gucci was doing before he went to jail a couple years ago that had Thug and PeeWee and Migos and Scooter and everything thatâs kind of blowing up right now. But Gucci called it all.
Ola Playa: He knows music, man. You can call him what you wanna call him, man, but homieâs a fuckinâ genius, man. I mean, shit probably donât play out like he want it, mane, but you know, everybody just ainât gonna be loyal. You know how the game is. Shitâs a slimey ass game. Niggas after the checks man, at the end of the day, man. Niggas after the paperwork, man. Get your money, man. By any means.
Drug Money: Are you gonna be touring on Slime Season?
Ola Playa: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Iâm finna go around the globe with that, man. But you know, Slime Season is almost like a trilogy, you know, Slime Season, you gonna have The Return of the Slime, you know, and I canât give you more, man, but itâs gonna be almost like a trilogy, man. You know, you canât stop this slime.
Drug Money: One of my favorite lines is when you say âMy heart donât pump blood. It pump alien piss.â
Ola Playa: Right, right. [laughs] Like, like, see, niggas donât even know how deep that shit get, man. âMy heart donât pump blood. It pump alien piss.â You know, itâs like thatâs like some real slimey as shit to say. But at the same time you go back to âI miss my AKâ! You know what Iâm saying, you go back to Boosie. Boosie said âThat heart donât pump blood. It pump alien piss,â you know what Iâm saying? Iâm saluting. Iâm saluting Lil Boosie at the same time. You know what Iâm saying that was all the way in his incarceration and when I come out on âOoooze,â âIâm bominâ out like a soldier from Angola,â man, thatâs just all like salutes, man. Iâm saluting the homie, man, you know what Iâm sayinâ.
Drug Money: And now Boosieâs out, huh?
Ola Playa: Hey man, I ainât gonna sign to shit but Bad Azz Ent., man. Iâm independent 'til then, homie.
Drug Money: Yeah, who needs âem? No reason to give someone else your money, right?
Ola Playa: Nah, but Bad Azz E.N.T., man. Shout out to Lil Donk, man, you know. I just was up there in this lil night club called Rockefeller, man, fuckinâ with Lil Donk hard, man. They the streets. Fuck with âem. I canât wait to make some money with âem.
Drug Money: Yo, whatâs your favorite strip club in Atlanta?
Ola Playa: [laughs] See, motherfuckers in music, man. Iâm a tell you like this here, man, Motherfuckers gon goddamn flex and say all the fuckin DOAâs, the Kamal 21âs, the Magic Cityâs, right? You gon find the King Slimers in the Blaze, Foxy Lady, Pin-Ups, you know? Iâm gonna be in the Flaaame. Iâm gonna be in the sewer spots, man, where the streets at, man.
Drug Money: I hate bottle service spots.
Ola Playa: Aye man, Iâm gonna go to a club where a bitch respect a twenty and a kush blunt, man, you know?
Drug Money: Iâm with that. I feel the same way! I hate those other spots.
Ola Playa: Oh, so you know about them clubs that I just mentioned?
Drug Money: No, no, but weâve just got the same kinds here. Getting bottle service and a table and all that. No way.
Ola Playa: Them niggas got them hos too spoiled, man. Got they head fucked up or something, man. Itâs like, Iâd rather, I like to fuck with my kind, man. I canât fuck with too many of those spoiled hos, man. Go to Blaze, man, you know? Let me goddamn pour me a little, let me sip my bottle of lean in that motherfucker, man, and let me goddamn spend a couple hundred. We gon be aight. The rest of it, man, Iâm really with some shit depositing money in the bank, man. I ainât with goddamn throwing my shit around, man. Straight Up.
Drug Money: Iâll cry for every dollar I throw, man. My favorite video youâve ever done is that âGrind Modeâ video.
Ola Playa: Oh yeah, âGrind Modeâ? Man, you know, all this shit we do, bruh, we donât even mufuckin'⊠We just go in, bruh, however we feelinâ, man, you know what Iâm sayinâ. None of this shit scripted. None of this shit wrote down. None of this shit premeditated, man. We just go in. We were feelinâ like we was in grind mode. We did âGrind Mode.â Found us a fuckinâ cameraman, shout out to Nash. We found us a cameraman and just shot that shit, man, know what Iâm saying? Gotta go. Just fresh off one, you know what Iâm saying? 20 racks on me, so we just shot that bitch and just turned up off that motherfucker.
Drug Money: I fuck with the end too. That part at the end with you and Thug in the back of the car!
Ola Playa: Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Slime-o-nauts, man, with the Slime-o-racks all on us, man. You know? Like I just said, ainât none of that shit was scripted. Thatâs just we just had a fuckinâ cameraman and we just fuckinâ shot a fuckinâ video. âGrind Mode.â And I ainât know the streets liked a nigga like that, you know what Iâm saying? I just played the streets. I didnât do this shit randomly. I didnât expect that shit. That shit did numbers. I was goinâ inside DeKalb and motherfuckers playinâ my shit, you know what Iâm sayin, inside DeKalb Mall all the way up on the East side, Candler Road, you know what Iâm saying? Niggas playing our shit, man, Iâm like âOkay, this shit real. This shit reality.â Aye, rap game easy, man. Dope game hard.
Drug Money: Yeah, that was one of those moments I was like âDamn, this guy Playa has arrived.â
Ola Playa: Right, like you or anybody could relate to that, man. You could have a regular 9 to 5 or you could just be in grind mode trying to run up some paper, man. [laughs] Just trying to get it up, man, you know. This shit ainât scripted. That just what we was doinâ right now and no premeditation shit, man, just like this interview, man. Straight from the stomach.
Drug Money: I really appreciate it, man. Thereâs nothing worse than those boring fucking rap interviews where they just name the single and say itâs buzzing in the streets and thatâs the whole interview.
Ola Playa: It bout that time, bro, you know what I mean, to let the streets know what the fuck is going on, man. Lifeâs too short.
Drug Money: How many Atlanta rappers are lying, do you think?
Ola Playa: Shiiit. [laughs] That ainât on me to expose niggas, man. You know, I fucks with Alley Boy, man. Shit, I let him do the exposing, man, like shiiit, you know. But you leave it up to me, man⊠Shit... Shit⊠99% of these rappers lying. [laughs] Just put me in the tally of the point one.
Drug Money: I just heard that âLast Kingpinâ and I thought that was a really good title for you.
Ola Playa: Oh yeah, 'cause I fuck with the streets for real, mane, you know what Iâm saying? Yâall gotta do yâall research and history, man. A real person who had another influence in my life was Poo Tang, man. I just saluted his grind, man. Poo Tang. They snatched him up, man. And thatâs just how they got me feeling right now.
Drug Money: One thing I really like about yâall is all the unity, the brotherhood, you know, this Slime shit.
Ola Playa: We brothers, you know what I mean? Itâs unity, you know what Iâm saying? But, you know, everyday is slime, man, you know? Half of my homies ainât my homies, you know? This shit, aye man, this Slime shit is for real in Atlanta, man. These niggas live and die by this shit, man. Everyday niggas step in ooze, man! [laughs] Aye man, we no longer live in no trap no more, man. Itâs the booby trap, man. So, you know what Iâm saying, you gotta be careful, man. Anytime youâre liable to get ambushed, man, you know? But, you know, I gotta salute all my females too, because they the first, they who invented the Slime. They the ones who invented Triple Cross Kings, you know what Iâm saying? You know, you go back in history, man, a woman will put a black snake in your sheets, man. So, you know what I mean, they the breadwinners at the end of the day, you know what Iâm saying? Thatâs just what it is.
Drug Money: What rap did you grew up on? What was the first rap you were really fucking with?
Ola Playa: Like my hometown, you know what Iâm sayinâ, Scottdale. Thatâs in Decatur, man. Itâs a little local group, man, that came up out of Scottdale called A-Dam-Shame. They were the first people I ever heard call it or say a âtrap,â you know what I mean? You go and do your history. They, A-Dam-Shame, had a lil hit song called âGet It.â Like, I had them people on repeat, you know what Iâm saying. Thatâs all we used to listen to back in the days when I was 8, 9 years old doing the âBeef It Upâ for real, you know what I mean. That shitâs a real hood dance, you know? But you know, other rappers like Project Pat, you know, I was big on that Iâm Serious, you know what Iâm saying, by TIP. Shit, you know⊠Guwop. You know what Iâm saying, Iâm a fan of a lot of these niggas, man. You know what Iâm saying, like I said, Iâm a big Baton Rouge fan. Boosie, you know, that niggaâs on repeat.
Drug Money: And one more song I was gonna ask you about was âGreen Thumb.â
Ola Playa: Oh yeah, my thumbâs turning green right now. My thumbâs turning green right now, I swear. [laughs]
Drug Money: Okay, two last questions and then Iâll let you go. Is that cool? Do you mind two more?
Ola Playa: Man, give it to me, some more shit. You my brother, man, you know what I mean. I just love your support man. Iâm here, man.
Drug Money: Thank you so much, man. What would you say are the biggest lessons youâve learned from the street?
Ola Playa: The biggest lesson I learned from the street? You canât trust nobody. You canât trust a soul. You canât really trust nothing with teeth. Now, Iâm dead serious though when I say it though, you know what Iâm saying. Like niggas got trust issues, man, when it comes down to it, from just having paperwork to a nigga fuck you over with that pen and paper, man. You canât trust nothing, man. Niggas real conniving, convincing, real slick at the mouth, man. So you really gotta read in between the lines, man, 'cause aye man, you know what Iâm saying, you canât trust shit. And you know what I mean, the biggest point, man, niggas will do anything for the almighty dollar, man, but you gotta realize thatâs the root of all evil, you know. This money is getting a lot of niggas tricked off the streets, a lot of niggas playing their boys, a lot of niggas go out bad just because a dollar man. That shit donât make you a man. Like, I grew up in poverty, man. Off Cedar Street, off Reed Street, man. We used to shit in goddamn Cub Foods bags, so I donât need all that to make me happy. But Iâm a get plenty of it just to make sure everybody happy around me. But yeah, like, donât trust a soul, man. You gotta know the pain and the agony this paper will bring a nigga, man. And the envy.
Drug Money: Isnât that the fucking truth⊠Last question- do you think that you, Thug, and Jay will ever do a whole mixtape together?
Ola Playa: Oh, that shit is in the making, man! You know what Iâm saying, Iâm gonna stay working with my brothers. That shit is cominâ, man. You know what Iâm saying, the mixtape Black Portland, man, Bloody Jay, man, Thug, man. That shit is on the fuckinâ way, man. Yâall look out for that shit, man, you know. Iâm a give the streets what they want because thatâs what they keep on asking me, man. Ainât not a day I goddamn walk across the street and donât get that same question, man, âIs yâall gon ever drop one?â Yeah, thereâs one dropping, we just setting shit up, building the momentum.
Drug Money: Yâall got âGotta Be Hard,â âNo Strings,â âFa Sum,â âAgainst Me,â all those, manâŠ
Ola Playa: All that shit, boy, that shit already out, man. Them people own that shit, man, you know? Iâm gonna give them fresh material, man.
Drug Money: Itâs good to hear thatâs on the way. So would you say youâre in Black Portland?
Ola Playa: Yeah, yeah fuckinâ right, Iâm Black Portland, man, you know? If you know the definition of it, damn right, you know what Iâm saying?
Drug Money: What would you say is the definition of it?
Ola Playa: You know, man, shit, the street know whatâs going on. Trailblazing, man. Blatt blatt blatt.
Drug Money: Well, Playa, man, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.
Ola Playa: Already, already, bro. King Slime. Iâm signing out this motherfucker, man.
Drug Money: Thatâs whatâs up, man. You got anything left you wanna say?
Ola Playa: Uh shit, man, you know. Better slime safe, man, for real, man, you know what I mean. Go to sleep with one eye open or youâll wake up with slime in your face, man. You know whatâs going on, man. Blatt!
Slime Season (Year of the Slime)
on LiveMixtapes. Big thanks to
