By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer
This year, Wink Loc has been all over the place. Indeed, things are taking off for this member of CTE. Wink Loc released his Locomotive 3 mixtape earlier this year and it features many major appearances. Outside of Wink Loc, his crew has been the source of major controversy all year.
In the midst of it all, Wink Loc has continued to deliver nothing but consistent heat with his new projects. “OMG,” which features Uncle Murda, was a successful Wink Loc single from earlier this past spring. With his solo songs doing well, Wink Loc also has made guest appearances, working with J-Haze and others.
Hip Hop Vibe talked to Wink Loc today and he reflected on his earlier mixtape release, Locomotive 3. The project was full of hit songs that featured many of the biggest artists in the game. Wink Loc also taked about what has been going on with CTE and some of his own upcoming projects.
Read the entire interview below:
Since it is going on six months since you released Locomotive 3 and it has had the chance to settle in with the fans, how do you feel about the reception to the project? I feel good about it and it makes me look forward to the next project I have coming out. This is one of the best projects I have put out and my fans loved it, so I’m proud of what I did.
You featured a lot of big names on the tape, such as Pusha T and Uncle Murda, why did you choose to take that route with this tape? Actually, I didn’t choose them. I was working on two tapes, Blue Steel (.38 Special) with Locomotive 3. I recorded about sixty tracks during this town. All of these songs were sitting there. I linked up with Pusha T through Twitter, he told me he was a big fan and then he said we could link up for a track. Then, with Uncle Murda, he linked with me ever since my first tape and he always supports, he is a good friend. My engineer produced that track.
Why did you feel a third mixtape in the Locomotive series was necessary at this junction in your career? Just closure, that’s it. It showed my growth and I learned that being around different people. I saw what Kanye West was doing with his earlier albums and I did something similar with the Locomotive series to close it out and move on to something new.
All in all, the “OMG” track with Uncle Murda is indeed a banger, will you drop a music video for that single soon? Yeah. With Locomotive 3, you will receive a visual for every song. Schedules conflicting has held the video up and the videographer has had difficulties shooting, but we will be getting it done.
Earlier this year, CTE signed a deal with Atlantic Records, are you a part of this deal as well? You can say that. There is a lot going on with CTE that you do not know. The roster has been big with Scrilla, Tone Trump, Freddie Gibbs, but unfortunately, there is no one on CTE. Now, the only members left on the label are myself and Doughboyz Cashout.
With all of the controversy going on at CTE, how do you manage to keep yourself out of the drama? I have a personal relationship with Jeezy, so I keep myself out of the drama. Some people label him a bad businessman, but with me being so close with him, it doesn’t conflict with all the drama that is going on. But, if you have drama with him, I have drama with you because that is my family and that’s just how it is.
Does it ever get hard to see all of these people coming at your boss the way they do? Yes, very hard. It’s funny how it came together. I have only been CTE for two years, I met Young Jeezy through Twitter, he had a show in my area and I hit him up on Twitter, thinking he would not respond. So, the promoter said some things to him and it led to me talking with his manager, we spoke about music, and he flew me to Miami. If looking at it through the industry, it looks like he does not do much for his artists, but in reality people overlook the fact that he is an artist, too, so him being a boss suffered. But, now Young Jeezy has gotten it together and now he is making wise decisions, he brought me on and now we are taking off, but I didn’t wait on him. I created my brand, I have to strengthen my brand, and this is how we’re doing it.
With your project being out for a while, are you working on something new? I am working on two tapes and an EP. CTE Presents Wink Loc is what I’m working on right now. My man at Atlantic is figuring out my sound now. My sound is much different than most would expect from CTE because of the fact that I am from New York. But, at the same time, I’m not a punchline rapper, I tell real stories, so right now my sound is being found and I look forward to this project because I have someone who is really on board, helping me step-by-step with my music, so that has been great ensuring everything goes according to as planned.
You have collaborated with a few artists, including J-Haze, will you be making more guest appearances? Oh yeah! So much is going on right now, I will be working with Pusha T again, Young Jeezy of course, I just bumped into Cory Gunz, there’s a few more. Nipsey Hussle, ScHoolboy Q, and Jay Rock are among some of the people I’m working with and I am open to working with anyone who brings good vibes and who is positive.
Where can we find you on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? Instagram is @WinkLoc, Twitter is @WinkLoc, my Facebook is Wink Loc. That’s where you can find me at in addition to WinkLoc.com and CTEWorld.com
