MuchMusic.com: How'd you like the east coast?

Juelz: Oh, it was real nice. Shout out to the people in Halifax, all the people in Montreal - Montreal is real hood. Real gangsta out there.

MM.C: Ok, you've got so many skills. Seriously now, is there anything you can't do?

Juelz: I can't play basketball. I'm not real good at it.

MM.C: Ok, but we think you're bluffing. Anyway, you're getting a lot of love with this album.

Juelz: Yeah!

MM.C: Did you expect this kind of reaction?

Juelz: Well, I know I put a lot of hard work into the album and I always feel like you get what you put in. I know I overworked this album. I knew something good had to come out of it, you dig? I built my own studio, I did over 100 songs just recording the album, I paid for videos out of my pocket, just to make things happen the way I wanted them to happen. I'm just happy for the outcome. I just feel like I'm just getting started.

MM.C: Describe your life around the time you had a verse on "Oh Boy" with Cam'ron compared to nowish.

Juelz: Just how I've grown, just me as a person. At the time I did "Oh Boy", I was just a sidekick. Now I'm able to stand on my own, which is a good thing. Proteges never wind up really coming up strong. I feel like as proteges go, I might be one of the strongest out there. I think that's what your counterpart wants you to do. They don't bring you into the game just to stay there, you know what I'm saying? They want you to - the better you look, the better they look.

MM.C: What's the secret to a really hot club track?

Juelz: I don't even know, man. I just go in there and do what I do best. Put my heart into the music, my feelings, my energy. And I mean, be different. Be myself. Be Juelz Santana. That's all I do. It's no like, certain thing for me. It's just me being myself. I feel like I got my own swagger, I ain't trying to copy what everybody else is doing. I think people like originality, they like, energy. I got all of those things.

MM.C: You sampled Aerosmith's "Don't Wanna Miss A Thing". Do you actually like that song?

Juelz: Oh, yeah. I listen to all types of music. I listen to U2, I listen to Green Day, I love Avril Lavigne. Know what I'm saying? All types of music. I'm just a music head. It don't matter what you're singing about, rapping about, or whatever it is. We all struggle in our different ways and we all make music to get away from our problems, and when people come from the heart, I feel it. No matter what it is. Know what I'm saying? Like when Avril Lavigne did, what was the record? (Sings) "Why does everything have to be so complicated?" That's just regular! It ain't even anything I can relate to all the way, but things in my life are complicated too. On different levels, but we can relate. Just like people can relate to my music. They might not be on the street, but in a way, they can relate. Young n***a just coming up, trying to get out the hood and do better for himself.

MM.C: That Aerosmith tune is one song I can't stand, but you took it and made it hot.

Juelz: Oh thank you, thank you. I appreciate that. Really, when I heard it - like, I've heard the song and I like the song, but it wasn't like I was actually gonna sample that. My man just made the beat and that sample was there, and I'm like, "oh, the beat is crazy". And it fit what I wanted to do.

MM.C: It's nice that you're not scared to try different things.

Juelz: Oh, no. You can't be. My thing is all about being myself, being original. I feel like that's why a lot of people's losing it now, especially on the east coast. It's just that following momentum. Know what I'm saying? One person do one thing, everybody tries to copy it. One person do a record from Scott Storch, everybody wants a Scott Storch record. One person do a Swizz Beats record, everybody wants a Swizz Beats record. Not to take away from any of these producers, but I feel like you should work with people when it's time. When you're both at a level to where it's goin'. Make the people want it even more. Like now, if I do a track with Swizz, it's gonna be much better than if I'd done a track before that.

MM.C: I read that you're really driven by competition. Who's your biggest competition right now?

Juelz: Aw, man. Everybody out there. Everybody out there's competition. There's no one person. Whoever's winning is my competition. And it's all friendly competition. It's like, I wanna work with the people that I feel is my competition because it's better. But it's a lot of people out there that I'm feeling. Not a lot, I ain't gonna say a lot of people. But there's a couple of more people than last year that I'm feeling out there. I'm looking at the South now. Not even as competition but just like, I gotta get into their market cause they what's poppin'. And just as much as I love the music and they love me, so I gotta get out there and make it happen. A lot of New York rappers right now are just narrow minded. They feelin like this is where it started, so everybody gotta come here. Now, music is so spread out, people are comfortable. So now you gotta, instead of just thinking that people are gonna come to you, you gotta take it to the other people, so that's what I'm doing. There's room for everybody.

~ Wendy Heisler