If you open the jacket to Freddie Foxxx's just-released/long-shelved 1994 album Crazy Like A Foxxx, you won't see production credits or liner notes. Instead, in the same handwritten font he's always used, you'll see inspirational quotes. These aren't the kind of words that are found on peel-away calendars or in fortune cookies, but time and strength-tested street wisdom.

These could be the kind of messages that one pastes to the walls of their college dormitory, or the walls of their jail cell. In fact Freddie Foxxx is nothing but time and strength-tested street wisdom, speaking to both sides of that pendulum. After 19 years of releasing albums, several disenchanting record deals, Foxxx, later as Bumpy Knuckles, embraced a role as underground rap superstar, making critically-acclaimed and commercially successful albums, without radio play or major-label backing.

Talking to HipHopDX about spirituality, his evolution as a songwriter, giving back to prison inmates and his oft underplayed production sensibilities, Freddie Foxxx's wisdom unfolds as a true, living and thriving testament to one of those quotes he's lived by - "Beware of the fury of a patient man." Respected for his raps, known for his knuckle-game, it is time to praise this emcee's patience.

HipHopDX: In the insert to Crazy Like A Foxxx, you have a number of inspirational quotes. “Beware of the fury of a patient man;” how true is that of this album?
Freddie Foxxx: One thing about me is, I’m always thinking. When I say, “Beware of the fury of a patient man,” it’s that what builds up in me is my desire to win when people are always telling me, “I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t.” It’s fury in the context of, when I come back, I’m gonna come back with a vengeance. The patience is me taking my time and putting together the right project, and making sure I think hard about what my criticisms are from the public - the negative things that they say about me, the conspiracies that they put together to keep from coming through the door, the so-called black-balling and all of that stuff. That kinda stuff is what I’m talking about. The patience is me saying, “Okay, instead of going around beatin’ up everybody like I’m some wild dude that they all expect me to be, let me put together the right project and strike with a vengeance and let it be my musical fury that I step into.”

So what I did was, I put out this thing called The O.G. If you go to my MySpace page [click to read], you’ll see a link. That’s the fury that I’m talking about. I dropped it right after Crazy Like A Foxxx came out so people could see my evolution from ’94 till now, lyrically, flow-wise, [and] the kinda content I’m comin’ after. I’m making a lane for rappers from the ‘90s by doing this, and I made it a free download so people can get it and hear it.

DX: Along those lines, some of the press that you’ve already done for this, you’ve talked a lot about the way people make albums, and talk about them. Singles aside, I waited 14 years to hear this. You look at a track like “Project Mice,” and it’s interesting to me. You’ve built a reputation as an honest, personal rapper. Back then, you appear to be more of a storyteller. Whether the stories were true or not, how did you evolve to get more personal?
Freddie Foxxx: You know what happened? I got angry, man. I’m very transparent when I’m upset about something. A lot of my anger flows through my creative pipeline. When I did [1989’s] Freddie Foxxx Is Here, I went into the music business blind. I couldn’t believe the first time I walked into the hallways of MCA Records. The first meeting I had, I said, “I want to make [a song] with Barry White.” I thought here was a guy I have his records at home, and I get a chance to pick who I want to make records with. It wasn’t real. I realized I was only signed to keep Eric B happy. So that was a disappointment for me. Now that I know I ain’t a priority, how do I maximize the situation? So I said, “At least let me get my name in the street.” That’s why you’ll always hear me say that the biggest thing that the record industry ever did for me was make my name popular by putting promotion on me.

When I did Freddie Foxxx Is Here, you’ll hear records like “The Ladies Jam” and all these happy, emcee records, ‘cause I was learning what the Cold Crush 4 used to do. They used to make records that made people feel good. After my deal went sour and I wasn’t getting the attention that I thought I deserved as a artist, and money was being stolen by the in-house promotion team, [I couldn't make happy music]. They was writin’ PO’s that I wasn’t privy to. There was a lot of thievery going on. My transition was, “Okay, what do I do now?” So I went on a prison tour, and I went to jails and was doing live performances in jail houses for all the inmates to build me an audience. Then, when I got my deal with Flavor Unit to do Crazy Like A Foxxx, that’s why I dedicated my album to the prison inmates. Because I had learned a lot from there. I had a lot of people that I was close to, friends and family, that was in prison. I did something for them for doing something for me. They brought me into the penitentiary system to do those performances, and I dedicated the album to them. Continued on page 2 »