One of the hardest things about writing is when your hard work doesn’t see the light of day. At times they are quotes that got lost during the editing process or whole interviews that never made it because of my blatant disregard for deadlines. This section is where I’ll post material that was probably too good for your magazine, anyway.

A couple of weeks before dropping his debut album, Flockaveli, I spoke to Waka Flocka Flame in an attempt to dig deeper on the meaning behind the title of his debut album and the noticeable absence of labelmates and longtime collaborators Gucci Mane and OJ Da Juiceman. To say I was excited before the interview is an understatement but between horrible phone connection and an uninterested Mr. Flame randomly blurting out “Waka!” mid question, it was by far one of the most confusing yet greatest moments of my life. Below is the raw, unedited interview which, for obvious reasons, never saw the light of day.

Are you in NY?
Yea, I’m in the big apple.

You were tweeting about strip clubs. What do you do when you come home?
(laughs) I was in perfections. I’m in town, going in.

Congrats on the BET nomination.
It made me feel good.

You and Nikki are up for the same category. Is there any friendly competition?
That’s gangster. Nikki’s the homegirl.

You were also up for MTV’s Hottest Breakthrough MC and Wiz Khalifa took it. Do you feel like you should’ve won it since you had some big hits without an album out and he’s been out for years.
You’re phone keeps going in and out.

You and Wiz were both up for Hottest Breakthrough MC. Do you feel like you should’ve won since you had some big hits this year without an album out.
I feel like Wiz should’ve won it because the fans chose him and that was a great decision.

Can you tell me about your album?
Flockaveli should have a warning symbol on it. It should come with a bottle of Gatorade because it has so much energy. You’re going to waste so much energy listening to it that you’re going to need Gatorade, Powerade and Redbull when you listen to that. It’s turned up, man! It’s going to put you in the zone and it’s going rise your spirit. I guarantee it.

What’s the meaning behind the title?
There is a meaning but it’s personal. I’m going release that in a couple of weeks after the album drops.

Was it influenced by Tupac’s Makaveli album?
Tupac introduced me to Makaveli and it made me read up on it. And I just… I’ll talk about it in a couple of weeks.

Flockaveli was supposed to be a mixtape hosted by DJ Hoiday. When did it become an official album?
I brought it to the label as a street album and my whole team thought it was so hard that they decided to develop it into an album. FLOCKA! FLOCKA! WAKA! FLOCKA!

Was it ready to be an official album?
Yea. they said it was so hard they wanted it to be an album.

I saw the track listing and..
I’m the mixtape prince. I’m just going to drop mixtape like hotcakes! WAKA!

Exactly. I read you’re not dropping any more until you release the album.
Yup, but after the album drops I’m going in.

I saw the track listing and noticed Gucci and OJ are missing…
You noticed what?

Gucci and OJ aren’t..
WAKA!

They aren’t on the album.
What about them?

They’re not featured on any of the tracks.
Nah, I ain’t speak to Gucci or OJ on this one. This one was more like street album. If it was an album then you would see them.

You often take to Twitter your dislikes about your label and on the album you have a song called “F**k The Industry”
I say fuck the industry because… man, don’t let this industry make you into person that you ain’t. It’s just not what you expect. You get so frustrated and mad that it’ll make you into a person that you really ain’t. Like a monster. A selfish, conceited monster. I’m in these streets so I’m going to always be how I was when I was in the street. There’s a lot of emotions, problems, angers… I just put it all in one song.

Do you feel like it turned you into a monster?
I can’t hear you. You’re phone is going in and out.

Can you give me an example…
Give you a what?

An example of…
[Phone hangs up]

Just last Summer I was confronted by a “friend” to participate in a friendly wager that I couldn’t stay off  Twitter  for a week. If I won the bet, I would win a whole case (4-six packs) of Guinness (the other side of the bet wasn’t important because I knew I was not going to lose).

At first, I was torn between my two vices. Do I turn my back on my many followers for my sweet dark love? It was one of the hardest decisions ever. Soon, I snapped out of it and thought to myself, “My followers have never done ANYTHING for me.” Who was there when I got fired? Guinness. Who was there when my girlfriend left me? Guinness Extra Stout and Craigslist “Casual Encounters” listings (that’s a whole other blogpost). So, like expected, I agreed to the bet and it was by far the longest 168 hours of my entire life.  Besides the overwhelming feeling of my entire world crashing down on me, most of that week is now, thankfully, a blur. In the end, I  laughed, I cried, but most importantly, I won and got completely drunk.

I got a chance to meet some of the Guinness representatives at an open bar event last fall and they quickly recognized my ability to chug a pint of their beer with swift, merciless action and reckless abandon. Fast forward a couple of months later and thanks to a higher power (Blue Flame marketing) I was asked to be one of the faces of Guinness’ digital campaign. You can now go to the Guinness Facebook page and see my facial fluff basking in debauchery and covered in fluffy, brown foam. Bottoms up!