It almost seems like a rare occasion when a rapper manages to successfully make a name for themselves outside of the group from which they originated. This is definitely the case when it comes to Young Buck, an original member of the huge sensation known as G-Unit. While his fellow members in the crew have also had their share of success, Buck is the only member other than 50 Cent, to have successfully built his own label from scratch. Although his new label Ca$hville Records, is still partly controlled by 50, Buck is developing something serious down south. Troubles with the law have not phased Buck's growing business sense or his incredible lyricism either. His new album, "Buck the World," is set to drop later this year and is definitely looking like it will be a classic. HHNLive.COM caught up with Young Buck to talk a little bit more about his new album.

AF: We gonna get in to talkin' about the album a little later, but I wanted to talk about the singles first. Did you expect "Do It Myself" or "Money in the Bank" to gain as much success as they have been getting recently?

Buck: Honestly, If I knew "Money In the Bank" was going to be such a big song then I probably would have kept it for myself. When I make music, I really try to get in the mind frame of just making good music. I'm not worried about album sales or nothing like that. It's just all about hard work. I have to make sure that I'm feeling it before I put it out too.

AF: "Money in the Bank" has been out for a long time now. That was from the Case Dismissed mixtape. Did you know that you all were going to make that track in to a radio single?

Buck: A lot of people didn't know that was on Case Dismissed with DJ Drama, which I did a while back. But it just built up a lot of support and then the tape made a lot of noise too. So Scrappy was making his album and we just decided to go with that.

AF: "Do It Myself" is getting a lot of play on the radio and mixtapes right now. What was your inspiration for that one?

Buck: You know how some people have dreams when they're trying to do something but they can't. Well that's exactly what happened. And I just took it to the studio and flipped it to where I said "I'm just gonna do it myself."

AF: I've been trying to figure out who is singing at the beginning. Who was that sampled from?

Buck: That's Marvin Gaye. J.U.S.T.U.S. League produced that track. They're these two guys from Florida that are coming up right now. On the album you get production from all of the big names too. We've got Eminem, Lil Jon, Timbaland, Jazze Pha, Hi-Tek, DJ Paul, and Focus. We've got a lot of features on there too. There's a track with Jeezy, T.I., and Jazze Pha on there that is crazy.

AF: I just got ahold of that "4 Kings" last night with you, Jeezy, T.I., and Jazze Pha. This joint is crazy. Who else do you have on there?

Buck: There's one with me, Snoop, and Trick Daddy. There's one with UGK and 8Ball and MJG. I've got Trey Songz on there. I combined a lot of the bigger features together so I could make room for my own tracks and so they would stand out more. I got the whole G-Unit camp on there. We've got a posse track together, which is just crazy. I've also got my artists from 615 on the album.

AF: Jazze Pha also produced "I Know You Want Some," which you actually just came out with a video for. What do you think the biggest thing is that Jazze brings to the table as far as production goes?

Buck: I think he just brings that versatility to the music. He's got that Southern soulful style and when he decides to sing it's even better. His music has that grown up southern feel to it. It's kind of like how Lil Jon has that crunk feel, bubt he can also make songs for the ladies. It was good the way the song matched the lyrical content in the song, because I wanted my first single off the album to be one that the people could listen to in the club or the car.

AF: The video for that joint is crazy as well. Who directed that and where did all of the ideas come from?

Buck: Syndrome directed the video and we just tried to collaborate together on what we wanted the video to look like. They had followed what I did for a while, so they already had their own ideas for the video, but I tried to bring in some things that I thought were important. I had to have that smoke in most of the scenes of the video, because that's just part of what I do.

AF: I know it's always difficult to choose, but what are some of your favorite tracks on the album?

Buck: This whole album is crazy. I really like the record I did with Trick Daddy and Snoop Dogg.

AF: What do you think the biggest difference is between Buck the World and Straight Outta Cashville?

Buck: It is a big difference. With my first album, I was more focused on really getting myself saturated with letting people know who I am and what my report card is. Now I can give them more of a focused effort.

AF: I mentioned the Case Dismissed mixtape you did with DJ Drama earlier. After recording for Chronic 2006 and the last two tapes with Drama, how do you decide which tracks you're going to use for the album?

Buck: I decide on the material for my mixtapes by just trying to feel the wave of the music that is out at the time. That's if the music that is out is good. I never stop working though. I've got 250 records, but if you let it sit for too long, then it almost outdates itself. Whenever I'm making my mixtapes, I try to go off what I'm feeling at the time. On the album, I try to just go hard and make sure all of the tracks are something that I would want to hear.

AF: A lot of people were wondering about that verse on "G-Shit" where you said "I'm down with T.I., so kill all the rumors ‘bout that song. Get high."

Buck: I really never knew what the difference was, but I heard that they do have an understanding though. I heard that T.I.'s verse, "Me gettin beat down. That's ludicrous" was what offended Luda and then he got on the track and did his thing. It's a dead issue though at the end of the day and I think they've pretty much squashed that.

AF: You've been showcasing some of your production skills on the mixtapes as well. So are we going to hear any of that on Buck the World?

Buck: Nah, I pretty much left it to the professionals on this one. You will definitely hear my work on albums in the future. I'll definitely be doing some work for 615. I just decided to keep that on the low for now though.

AF: We interviewed Project Pat last week, who is actually supposed to be on your album also. What's your relationship with everybody down in Memphis?
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Buck: I try to fuck with everybody in Tennessee period. Outside of that, I try to work with everybody in the Dirty South and the whole country. Basically, I'm just trying to work with anybody that has the same report card

AF: Is Nashville going to be the next city to blow up in the south?

Buck: Yeah, I definitely think so. We're the number one growing city in the country. And I feel like I definitely contributed to that. So we're definitely doing our thing down here.

AF: Who are some other artists coming up out of Nashville, besides you and All Star?

Buck: All-Star is doing his thing. My artists, 615. We got Lil Murda, Hi-C, and D-Tay. They used to be in a group together called Wicker East. Then Pistol and Quani Cash are out there doing their thing. Quani Cash has a movie out right now and he's just blowing up. I want to let all the labels know that if they don't come down here and snatch him up, then I will.

AF: You've also got your own label now from what I hear. Can you tell us more about Cashville Records and if you all are affiliated with G-Unit or not?

Buck: I'd never leave G-Unit. They're the reason that we're even able to be having this conversation. 50 has provided so much for us all, but he always said that he wanted us to do our own thing. That way, if something we're to happen to him, then we would all be able to carry on. Now, if something we're to happen to me, then my people would have something to carry on with. 50 is the vice president of Cashville Records though, so it's definitely affiliated with G-Unit. There is no difference that could separate what we have built together. I would even take the underbid if a situation were to occur, just so we could keep everything in place. 50 stands behind me 100% on whatever I do though.

AF: Do you all have your own studio down there now?

Buck: Yeah. We've got our own studio, offices, the whole nine.

AF: You've been talking a lot about legal troubles and probation officers and stuff in your songs lately. What's your status right now? Did you get cleared from that shit at the Vibe Awards or what?

Buck: I'm on parole in the state of California and I'm on probation for three years. I had to do 80 hours of community service and pay a fine, but I'm all good now.

AF: Did something happen where you got the charges dropped because you used a fork?

Buck: Well, I guess they dropped it to a lesser charge, but I had to make a deal with them.

AF: Lloyd Banks is about to drop his album and I think 50 is going to drop his after Buck the World. Is G-Unit going to slaughter Jay-Z, Nas, and Game in the fourth quarter?

Buck: We're not really trying to compete with anyone like that, but G-Unit is standing real strong. We're actually standing stronger than ever.

AF: What's going on with Game? You all basically humiliated him with that mixtape cover and now he's trying to squash the beef to promote his album or something?

Buck: I've just grown enough not to believe everything that he says. It's gotten to the point now where it's just like the Boy who Cried Wolf. He's done this before, where he said he wanted to squash the beef and then we turned around the next day and he was on the radio talkin' shit. He actually called Spider Loc's phone one time talking about how he wanted to throw in the towel. I thought it sounded like a good idea, so I told 50 what was going on and I guess he didn't really pay any attention. At the time, I was like "Man, 50 is trippin," because I thought it would be a good thing, but now I understand where 50 was coming from. It's like everything is cool what he is trying to say, but actions always speak louder than words.

AF: So you think he's probably just doing to promote the album then?

Buck: I guess that's what he's going for. He's got an album coming out soon.

AF: Last Question. Beg For Mercy was a very successful album. Do you all have any more plans to go back and record another group effort?

Buck: Hell yeah. That's coming right after 50's album. We've already talked about doing that again and it's definitely going to happen.