Big Hassle Media NY
44 Wall ST FL 22
New York, NY 10005
P 212.619.1360
F 212.619.1669
Big Hassle Media LA
5566 W. Washington Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90016
P 323.456.3490
Glasses Malone
Beach Cruiser LP
Only one rapper has the endorsement of Lil Wayne, Baby, Mack 10, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and The Game – and he hasn’t even put out an album yet. With the release of Glasses Malone’s landmark Beach Cruiser, music fans around the world will finally understand why the best rappers in the world believe the Watts, California lyricist stands as one of the genre’s elite.
Years in the making, Beach Cruiser soars thanks to Glasses’ unrivaled ability to deliver brilliant conceptual songs with equal doses of lyricism and menace. It’s a potent combination, one that resulted in a timeless product, much like the stylistic Southern California bikes the collection is named after.
“I wanted to make classic music that’s reminiscent of a beach cruiser, slow and steady,” Glasses says. “It describes my flow and no matter how many other bikes came out, people rolled with beach cruisers. That was what they were with. I wanted my music to be as timeless as a beach cruiser. It’s classic, gangster soul.”
Glasses spits pure unadulterated gangster music on “Eastsidin’,” a flag-waving tribute to his roots as a member of the Crip gang featuring Snoop Dogg and Nipsey Hussle, and on “Dope,” a documentation of his pastime as a drug pusher. The former reacts to the proliferation of rappers repping the Crips’ rival the Bloods, while the latter establishes Glasses as a pusher, not a user.
“It just seems like the game is full of junkies, that everybody is cool being a junkie,” he says. “I think my generation was actually the last generation of pushers. I just wanted to make sure that I separated myself from all the junkies. I’m not a victim. I’m an aggressor and I just wanted to make a song that talked about that.”
The smooth, bright feel of “Off Safety” belies its subject matter: even though Glasses is riding in a top-tier ride, he’s strapped and ready to go to war. Then there’s the synth-heavy “Rich N Thuggin” with Ya Boy, a bone-crushing boast-fest featuring the two California rappers. Longtime Glasses fans are then rewarded by the inclusion of previously released hit singles “Certified” and “I Get Doe,” time markers that signal his dedication to making music.
Indeed, it’s Glasses’ insistence on creating top-shelf music that led him to make Beach Cruiser such a well-rounded album. Although certain selections may seem to champion the gangster lifestyle, Glasses tells the whole story about gangbanging. The reflective “Car Wash,” for instance, talks about the collections people make at car washes in order to bury their loved ones
killed while repping their set, while the stark “No Sympathy” squarely places the accountability and blame for his criminal behavior on his shoulders. Yes, Glasses may be a product of his environment, but it was also his choice to partake in such destructive behavior.
“I can openly say it was a mistake,” Glasses says. “It’s a mistake that I’m still part of to this day. I put myself in the positions I that put myself into, especially gangbanging and selling drugs. I just don’t want no sympathy for it. The whole idea is you put a lot of strain on your family getting yourself involved in this. It’s really a very selfish decision.”
Glasses feels this way because he knows the pain that results from living the life of a gangster. Your friends get killed. Your family members suffer when you are incarcerated. Your community gets dragged down by the drug addicts that inhabit its streets. This reality inspired both “Club Heaven,” a conceptual marvel where Glasses parties with deceased members of his family and the rap community,” and “Feel Good Muzik,” an ode to celebrating life and not taking it for granted.
As Glasses toiled in the underground while working on Beach Cruiser, he had a chance encounter with T.I. at the airport in Los Angeles a few years ago. Although Glasses was becoming frustrated as the pace of his career, the platinum superstar told him to remain steady on his grind.
“I met him and he was one of the last rappers to encourage me to keep going,” Glasses says. “A lot of my partners I had come into this business with quit. He ran into me and he said, ‘I know who you are. Keep on doing what you’re doing. You’re going to get it.’ So ‘Call Me T.I.’ was me paying tribute to a man that encouraged me. I felt like we were alike in a lot of ways.”
Like T.I., Glasses Malone was a highly motivated, intelligent kid who grew up in tumultuous environs. Glasses’ parents were both hustlers and despite being an exceptional student, he was drawn to the streets. Fortunately, his mother’s love for music helped develop his own passion for music, from the gangster rap sounds of N.W.A and Westside Connection to the more lyrical adventures of Jay-Z.
Glasses’ underground material started gaining momentum in the Los Angeles underground and he earned a steady stream of major supporters early on, including Dr. Dre and The Game. A few years later, in 2006, Glasses met Mack 10, who then introduced Glasses to the Cash Money fold. Since then, Glasses has been a member of the Cash Money movement.
Now, with the impending release of Beach Cruiser, Glasses Malone is poised to be the next superstar from the Cash Money family, which of course boasts Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Drake and Baby.
“I’m blessed to be a part of the situation,” Glasses says. “Now I’ve just got to find my niche into it.”
Make no mistake, Beach Cruiser marks a triumphant entrance.
2410x3030
1685x2527