YKIGS: Now that Dirty Money has released the album and toured, do you see yourself doing another album as part of Dirty Money? Would you do another album if asked?

Kalenna: We recorded so many songs that Puff could put out another album if he desires. If asked to go back into the studio with them to record more, I most definitely would say yes.

YKIGS: Talk to me about the Hitmen since you’re a current member with Bad Boy. We’ve had a chance to actually interview a bunch of the original members like Chucky Thompson, Stevie J., J-Dub and others. Tell us your story about you originally became a part of the crew.

Amadeus: When I started, I actually got a chance to meet Deric “D-Dot” Angelette who was one of the original Hitmen and we bonded immediately. He obviously saw something special in me as a producer and kinda mentored me. He always wanted to hear my tracks and what I was doing so he could critique them and give me whatever I needed to know in order to improve what I was doing and what I was creating. So I always had an in. One thing about me is I knew the importance of relationships and I knew the importance and the power of knowing people that are connected. I was always in label meetings and finding ways to find contacts and I wasn’t scared or ashamed to reach out to people and let people know what I did and try to meet up with them. I got into Bad Boy with D-Dot and got a chance to meet Harve Pierre back in the day and Conrad who was the A&R and got to hang around Puff for a little bit. Not too close, but I was in the mix. Everybody was pretty much familiar with who I was since I had always submitted music to them and I was always on their radar. When an opportunity presented itself in regard to me needing producer management, we all sat down and figured it out and everybody was comfortable and happy with it. So I signed on the dotted line and became a Bad Boy Hitmen. So it was just history after that.

Was it a no-brainer to sign with Puff?

Yeah, definitely, because I'm a different kind of guy from his other artists. People are always like you shouldn't f*** with him, like don't do it, don't do it, like don't go in that door Jack.

Honestly did you hear a lot of that?

Hell yeah. C'mon. I know you hear it. It's not no bulls***. People have their perceptions of people but they don't know them. They just know what other people say and another person's situation, but you don't really know that other person's situation because he ain't telling you everything. There are other people that might approach their situation different when it comes to something like this. I don't think they maximize every opportunity Puff gave to them. Puff gave these motherf****** platinum albums, hit records, and I just don't think these motherf****** were ready to be their own men. They just wanted to be Puff's little men. That's where the problem was. They weren't prepared to take the wheel and drive and it's like "Nah I'm cool in the backseat or the shotgun seat. I'll let him drive." If they give you the opportunity and usher you to the front, go, go, go, you got to go. His knees might be hurting. I can get you here, but now it's your time.

SG: You just shot the new video for “Be Still” with Janelle Monae. Janelle is obviously signed to your label as well, on the album. How did the two of your first connect?

BB: Janelle was singing background for an artist I had signed named Scar, and she used to be around, stank on the edges, a cute little school girl, and I caught her at open mic night at Justin’s – P. Diddy’s soul food restaurant in Atlanta – and I heard her singing and I told her I had to have her. I brought her in and just really vibed with her for some years, until it was time for her to come out. She’s one of those artists that you don’t have to lead the way on; you don’t have to hold their hand, they’ve always got input. I like artists with vision. She’s definitely one of those, and she’s gonna be here for a long time.

VIBE: Honestly, we’re starting simple. How did you get the name Red Café?

Red Café: Red is a name that I grew up with. My pops name was Red—my hair is red. When my hair used to be long; I had long braids. I was more like Little Red. That was a name I grew up with. Even my moms doesn’t call me by my government name, ever. Nobody really knows me as my real name, except in school, but even in school. You know how that goes. Café was a name that I acquired in the streets. That was my stamp. I was in the streets doing a lot of different things as far as supplying different…

Back in 1995, I came down here straight out of school. My homeboy was doing music in Detroit, he hooked up with some cats down in Atlanta and he was like “Come on man, let’s go down here and do this album,” so I came down and did the album. And then I hooked up with Noontime who had a group called Absolute (signed to Def Soul). I did their demo. Noontime shopped that demo to everybody: Def Jam, Sony and of course Bad Boy. When Diddy heard the demo, he immediately flew to Atlanta on a Friday and that Sunday I was in New York, and like Monday or Tuesday I was signed. So my career took off literally overnight, like I was sleeping on floors and doing demos to producing everybody’s music from Biggie to Total. The rest is history.

YKIGS: What about “Thought You Said” by Brandy and Diddy?

MW: Oh man that song. That track is a very special track to me. I was working on it in New York and it had kind of had a techno different type of feel to it. Brandy came in and it was a perfect fit for her. That was pretty much it, that song moved on really good. She’s phenomenal in the way she came in with her vocals and how unique the lyrics were to the record and she just nailed it.