Noyd has been active since his cameo appearance on Mobb Deep's debut album Juvenile Hell. Many may remember him from his appearance on the song Just Step (Give Up the Goods) on Mobb Deep's sophomore effort The Infamous.
Since that memorable appearance the rapper Noyd has gone through his fair share of ups and downs in the music industry. Despite his strife and triumphs he is back with a new album called Illustrious. Big Noyd checks in with DC Music and Models/Cred Magazine to talk about his career, his album Mobb Deep and his company Noyd Inc.

by LD Williams

CRED: You made your first appearance actually in 1993 Mobb Deep's debut album Juvenile Hell, a lot of people seem to not know about that when you were on the song Stomp Em Out.

Big Noyd: I think a lot of people don't know that because even Mobb Deep shies away from that album. I mean they count it because they know it is in the archives but they say officially that their first album is Infamous, but yeah I've been doing it since Juvenile Hell that was the first joint I did with Mobb Deep that was really on wax that was my first real studio session.

CRED: Oh Yeah

Big Noyd: I had other studio sessions but nothing as major as that. That was up in D&D studios where Premier, Biggie Smalls that is where all of the real hip hop went down at. D&D is one of the biggest studios.

CRED: Let me ask you this do you ever get discouraged with everything that's happened with all of the politics and everything else? Do you ever feel broken down especially because you have that respect on one level you have that street respect and people look at it like, ‘ Yeah, Noyd is that dude he does do it like that he does put it down when he does do it but there's that commercial side where people don't….

Big Noyd: I mean definitely man I am a strong dude but of course you put in a lot of hard work and to see it get flushed down the toilet over not even because fans don't like it or fans don't want to hear it. Like you said it is politics, maybe it is a label situation, maybe they say you are not mainstream your stuff is more underground and stuff like that. On the same token you know what my music got a place because there are people that understand my lyrics and I am speaking a story not just for people from Queens but for people all over the world that's going through and can relate to the stuff I am talking to in my music. Even if there is a million people who don't hear my music or don't like my music if that one person where you been, man I miss you when are you going to come out with more stuff that is going to gives me the point to make music and keep it real.

CRED: Now you are on Koch how is it different doing business with Koch?

Big Noyd: Well it's a big difference because um actually this album Illustrious is coming out on my label Noyd Inc it is just distribution by Koch so it more like cutting the middle man out. You know what I mean because even though you haven't heard me for a while I still been doing my work I've been building my studio in Queens and getting my little team together and a couple of artists that I think is hot and up and coming and getting the behind the scene thing together.

CRED: Can you talk to me about some of the artists that you think are hot that you are getting together. Who can we expect to come out from Noyd Inc?

Big Noyd: Right now man it is really just one but I got like two other producers. My man BAM he's just a really street dude he is one of them dudes that get slept on because he doesn't have the pretty boy looks. People will be like he is nice but we can't market him. Noyd Inc is not going to be concerned with none of that we taking it back to the lyrics when it was about lyrics. It wasn't about hooks and we always wanted the beats. It aint about the hooks and the dance if you nice you nice and he is really nice. I also got producers my man Ric Rude he did some joints before he was messing with me he did some joints with Capone and Nore and did some stuff with Funkmaster Flex but he kind of fell out of the loop so I am bringing him back into the game so Noyd Inc is the label and Koch is the distribution.

CRED: You are talking about a lot of people from Queens Capone and Noreaga and Mobb Deep. What is your relationship with Mobb Deep today?

Big Noyd: I mean it's love man those are my brothers way before rap music and a lot of people ask me like you was on every single Mobb Deep album and now they are on G-Unit and you are not on Blood Money is there problems? Is there something going on? And it is nothing like that at all at all. It's just that like you said when it starts to get politics like 50 is not going to put Noyd on unless Noyd is signed to G-Unit. 50 was like we are going to put Mobb Deep on once they sell a million records they want to sell then we are going to bring everybody in and put them in their videos and do songs with them. Up until that point we are just going to keep it Mobb Deep.

I understand it because it was about business it would have worked out but Mobb Deep didn't sell the records that they were supposed to sell. It was kind of like a domino effect where it's like once Mobb Deep didn't sell the records then we couldn't do what was in the plans. At the same token it is all good because even Prodigy put out Return of the Mac on Koch, Alchemist album is coming out on Koch, Havoc just did an independent album Kush that just came out on Nature Sounds and I'm doing my own Noyd Inc thing on Koch so its like a double edge sword you want to be on a major label because they got machine, got the money, got the push then again a whole lot goes into that look at Mobb Deep they was under someone who controlled not putting Noyd on the album. If you think about it if it was up to them they would be like ‘Hell yeah Noyd has to be on the album are you crazy?' but because their boss even though 50 is a cool dude but it's business. It's because 50 telling them we are going to put your entourage on the next project Mobb Deep wasn't able to do it even though in their heart they wanted to do it they were not able to do it. That is that politics stuff and I want everybody to live and get money I try to stay out of trouble and me and 50 is cool that is what makes it more crazy I know people are like what is up with you and the Mobb.

No me and 50 is mad cool I remember before he even blew up and got with Dre and Em we did Bump Dat together. I remember him coming to the studio and looking at me like ‘Damn Noyd you always kill it, I love y'all niggas y'sll make me want to rhyme' like he was open off Mobb Deep and our Queensbridge sound. Man I see him like they did local shows in New York area and stuff like that before they went on the G-Unit tour and 50 is like make sure you bring Noyd just my vibe he wanted to be around me he grew up listening to Mobb Deep. It is all love because he knows that I understand the game. He knows I understand this business thing so there is no problem at all between me and the Mobb.

CRED: Let's get focused on Illustrious you worked with Joell Ortiz on ‘Ghetto' what was it like working with him?

Big Noyd: Oh man he is exactly what we are talking about right now he is one of those lyricists. He probably got good hooks or whatever but when you hear his music it is about lyrics and that is what I love. I knew his manager Mike Herron shout outs to Mike Herron I see you baby. I knew him actually because Mike Herron used to work at Rawkus and he got in touch with me through Alchemist and he said we want Noyd to be on Soundbombing 3 and I didn't know Mike Herron at the time and Alchemist called me and said this kid Mike Herron wants you to get on this joint for Rawkus.

I was like let's do it. Alchemist did the beat I did the rhyme and that is how I met Mike Herron. Year's passed like two or three years passed and he comes up to me in the studio and he's like I got this boy Joell Ortiz I got this boy Joell Ortiz and I'm like word we gonna get up we gonna get up I met Joell Ortiz but we didn't do no music. Another year passed and Mike calls me up again and says we are doing this mixtape and I want you to come get on it I went to the studio and he played it for me it was called 125 Grams I heard this boy spit son man and I was like he got it. I fuck with him because he is right up the alley of what I love with the lyrics. It Is like real recognizing real, with the Illustrious album it is executive produced by Lil Fame from M.O.P and I wanted to do something out of the box I know everybody all through the years expected me to be with Mobb Deep this that and the third which it ain't no problem it ain't no problem with me and my dudes but with the consumer what could I do different between this CD and the last.

I wanted to do something a little bit different even though I love the Mobb Deep sound and the Queensbridge sound I just got to come out of the box a little bit. So, I got up with Fame we did like ten joints we picked the best four out of the ten, you know what I mean we used that for the album. He helped me pick beats, he helped me with hooks, he helped me with concepts for songs so he was really hands on with this album so I gave him executive producer credit.

I also got my boy Ric Rude one of the dudes I was telling you about coming up under me on Noyd Inc, DJ Skeez, I got these kids called Day Up they hot they got two joints on the album, and I also got these kids called Streetradio they have the second single off my album called “Money Talks”. I am trying to have something for everybody and still stay relevant in a time as much as people may love Noyd for his verses time is changing there are some kids out there who don't know who Noyd is and my music don't sound like the music they listening to now. I still want them to enjoy my music without them feeling if isn't that bubblegum rhyme I am not going to listen to it. I still have to stay within what I love to do whether they relate or not but I try to make something for everybody within my standards.

CRED: Are you satisfied with the way the whole product came out now that it is in stores and it was a two year process. Are you satisfied the aggregate if everything now that it is out in stores. Are you satisfied with the way the project came out?

Big Noyd: In my heart on a scale from 1 through 10 with 10 being the highest. I definitely give it a 7and a half the reason why I say that is because there was a lot more things that I wanted to do as far as I mean overall as far as the video and everything because I had joints with Havoc that we did but I couldn't clear the sample I mean if I tried to switch the beat up and the song came out so ill we wrote it to that beat. Infamous Mobb I don't got them on the album and I really wanted them but they were all over the place.

Infamous Mobb which contains Gambino, Ty Nitti and God I really wanted them on the album real bad I also wanted my homegirl Chinky the first lady of the Mobb. I really wanted her on the album real bad and it just didn't happen. Them couple of things right there I would've gave this album a 9 the sample cleared with the joint with Hav, if I had Infamous Mobb and Chinky on there and that's just personal reasons far as the music I love it. I love the album I think people like the album more than I do that's what I love about it even more. I'm like ‘Damn I could've done this in my sleep I could've literally done this in my sleep the way this album came out. The sound sounds different as far as working with Lil Fame and working with new producers that I have never worked with before.

My lyrics and the flow of my music and I can do it in my sleep. The only reason I gave this album a 7 and a half close to a 8 is because I don't have my family on it the way I want to. I am not talking about Hav and P Mobb Deep. I'm talking about my homegirl Chinky who I'd definitely like to have on this album. At the end of the day I got Noyd Inc and people didn't hear from me in a while so with this album right here I am not going to wait another year to come out with another album. You are going to see another Noyd project in another eight months.

CRED: So we are definitely going to have another Noyd project before the end of 2008?

Big Noyd: Definitely. Me, Havoc and Alchemist spoke about doing Episodes of a Hustla 2.

DC Music and Models: Is there anything that you want to say especially to the DC artists you know the rap market here is burgeoning. We here at DC Music and Models and CRED magazine we want the indies to go mainstream nobody has really broken ,and a lot of times people look at the artist and they think 50 cent and this guy not to knock these guys you have really been in the industry 15 years and you've gone through being incarcerated when a borderline classic came out, to a record company going bankrupt, you have had labels drop the ball I know Episodes of a Hustla only had 11 songs. You have gone through a lot up and down up and down classic verses. What can you say to everybody that is going to be a artist that is going to deal with the bull. What advice can you give them so that they are better prepared?

Big Noyd: I mean man this is straight from the heart to be honest with you I do not have the answers to this game. That is exactly what this is it is a game so I'm a tell you have to have patience. I hear first hand to tell you as much trials and tribulations as I been through in my career all the stuff that I been through if I didn't have the patience to deal with certain people and certain things I wouldn't be here at this interview. I'd be back on the block selling drugs or maybe just another profession. I would be doing something else because even though in my heart there is nothing else I'd love to do but this music whether it is me rhyming or putting someone else on you know producing another artist.

I always wanted to be in the music business but you definitely have to have patience and you definitely have to be hands on with your project. Don't leave you career up to anyone whether it is a record exec in a big company, your mother, your father, your homeboy or someone who been in the game before you so you think they know. Go with your heart and what you believe in with your music if you go bumpy roads along the way at least you get to find out those mistakes on your own because other people always got hidden agendas no matter what you could be the hottest MC and they will be like I just want to make money off of this kid. You could be the hottest MC and they'll be like don't do this don't do that because they do not want to see you blow. They know the decisions you make that could help you they will say nah don't do it because they do not want to see you blow up.

You got a lot of people like that and I had to learn that the hard way. People don't like to see you shine when they are not shining themselves. Be hands on and another thing that you got that I didn't have coming in is this internet and this YouTube thing man. You can have an album out there and a million people or a hundred thousand people can listen to it without having a record deal now. You can put a song on the internet on your myspace leak it to this person and that person and it might catch a buzz or do a crazy video on YouTube and come up with an ill idea and have an ill video and people will be like did you see that video.

You don't even have to have a record deal nowadays. You definitely have a great advantage in this game I know with this internet thing with the download it is a double edge sword you can make a lot of music and you are not a one hit wonder go ahead and leak that hit don't hold it leak it out to the people and see what their response is. Give it away sometimes give it away because if you are a good artist to where you are not a one hit wonder and you can make those songs you are always going to make hits so don't sweat it.