LAS VEGAS--When Roy Jones
Jr. wrote his debut album, Round One, he was at the top of
the boxing world. The album contained such memorable tracks as “Who
Wanna Get Knocked Out”, “You Don’t Wanna Go There”,
and “Y’all Must’ve Forgot.” With his aggressive,
in-your-face style, Jones boasted about his boxing prowess and his ability
to crush his opponents with ease. Now that he has lost his title to
Antonio Tarver, Jones is working on a painfully honest rap song about
getting his head bashed in.
“You know, I just like to express myself through my music, man,”
said Jones, his left eye swollen shut. “My first album was about
all them motherfuckers who I bitch-slapped in the ring. Now I’m
rappin about how I got my head bashed in with one punch. I fell down
like a sack of dirt, man, and that’s gonna be the theme of my
new album, Where Am I?”
The first single from the album, “Lyin’ on Da Mat”,
should be available on Jones’s website in early June. The song
was written and performed in his unique, hard driving fashion, and contains
plenty of memorable passages. In the first verse, Jones recounts the
moment of impact: “I be dancin round da ring/ like a bee gettin
ready to sting/ then I feel a fist in my face/ like I been sprayed with
some mace/ my body be swayin’ dis way and dat/ clear the way,
mothafucka, cuz I’m lyin on da mat!”
“That song is just my way of expressing what I was feeling when
I got my skull crushed by Taver,” said Jones. “And if you
think that’s severe, wait till you hear the second single ‘I
Been Xposed’ Check this out: ‘All
my life, I been fightin stiffs and fags/ Then I fight a real man and
get brained real bad/ Then da blood starts rushin out my mouth and nose/
My career be ova, mothafucka. I been X-posed!’ Is that phat or
what? I don’t hear that punk ass Taver dropping rhymes like that.
Ain't nobody fall to the mat like me, motherfucker! Nobody!”
Jones has yet to find a record company willing to distribute the new
album. Edel America Records, which produced Jones’s first album,
has already indicated that it would not be involved in the new one.
Nonetheless, Jones is confident it will be on store shelves in the near
future.
“This album’s too good to keep to myself. When it’s
done, I’ll find someone to release it,” said Jones. “Columbia,
Sony, Elektra, Edel—they’d all be lucky to put their names
on my record. They’re just being shy cause I lost the title. But
that’s OK. I’m not just a fighter. I can rap, too. That’s
why my first album went Platinum. Well, not Platinum, exactly, but my
mom did buy a copy.”
Executives from Edel records said that although they have been in touch
with Jones, they have expressed no interest in distributing and releasing
any future albums. Despite what he believes, the former heavyweight
champ seems to have lost more than just his title.
“Look, his first album was a piece of shit, but at least he was
the champ and had a little clout in the industry,” said Jonathan
Frist, president of Edel Records. “It was dirt-cheap to make,
sold a few copies, and we just about broke even on it. However, we’re
not really in the business of promoting rap albums from boxers who aren’t
even champions anymore. How are we gonna promote it? ‘Here’s
the new album from the guy who just got beat up by Antonio Tavers?’
Please. I’ll give Roy a little credit, though. He’s the
only guy that would write a rap song bragging about getting knocked
out.”
Despite the apparent lack of interest, Jones is still working on additional
tracks for the album. He claims to have seven tracks completed, all
of which will be available for download on his website, regardless of
whether the album is actually printed and distributed. Jones claims
that he is currently working on a track that directly confronts Tavers,
and hopes that the “punk” will hear the song someday.
“I really lay into that punk-ass Tavers on the track I’m
working on right now, ‘Your Fist in my Eye,’” said
Jones. “It’s still a work in progress, but here’s
what I got so far: ‘You think you a badass, but you Ain’t
nothin but a punk-ass/ You put your fist in my face, nigga, and took
away my belt/ You lay me on da mat, like a pile of shit/ Well, maybe
you are kind of a badass/ Now that I think about it.’ Like I said,
it’s a work in progress, but you get the idea. I just hope that
punk-ass motherfucker hears it. Then he won’t be laughin so hard.”
Though Edel Records has distanced itself from Roy Jones, Frist has indicated
that they may be interested in working with other rapping pugilists
in the future.
“We’re certainly not adverse to working with athletes or
other boxers,” said Frist. “Actually, we’d love to
work with Antonio Tavers. He has that certain something that we look
for in our rapping boxers—a title. So if you know how to get in
touch with him, tell him to call me. We’d love to record another
album featuring a boxer bragging about his fighting ability. Those babies
are always hot sellers.”
When reached at his home in Orlando, Tavers revealed that he is, in
fact, working on a rap album of his own.
“Of course I’m working on a rap album,” he said. “Rap
is the perfect avenue for boxers to express themselves. Since most rapping
consists of boasting about one thing or another, and boxers are famous
for boasting, it’s a perfect match. I’m thinking of calling
my first record 'How I Bashed Roy Jones’s Head In'. What do you
think? Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”
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