Queens, N.Y. has given birth to some of the realest, grittiest, and most hardcore emcees in hip-hop. While other emcees claim they are hardcore, claim they sell drugs, or say that they will kill you, Big Noyd is that emcee who is straight from the gritty streets of Queens. Originally known for his stellar performances on countless Mobb Deep songs, his verse on “Give Up The Goods (Just Step)” was probably most memorable. Around the time Mobb Deep released “The Infamous”, Big Noyd had a record deal with Tommy Boy. His debut album “Episodes Of A Hustla” was an un-balanced and short affair that was practically cut short because of jail-time and his arrest for attempted murder. Out of the 11 tracks, one of them was an intro, two of them were skits, and one was a remixed version of a previous track on the album. While “Episodes Of A Hustla” was extremely short for a hip-hop album, the production by Havoc and guest spots by Mobb Deep and Infamous Mobb made it just as gritty and hardcore as any Mobb Deep album. While some emcees are known for their jewels and other emcees are known for punch lines, Big Noyd is known for his hardcore realistic street credibility. Along with Cormega, Big Noyd is one of the realest street emcees ever to rock a microphone. After many run-ins with the police, Big Noyd came back into the spotlight with his song-stealing middle verse on Mobb Deep’s “The Learning (Burn)”. After years of collaborations and being in the background, Big Noyd has returned with his sophomore album “Only The Strong” on Landspeed Records. With production by Havoc, Alchemist, and Noyd himself, “Only The Strong” has thick, sinister and gritty beats that fans of Mobb Deep have loved. “Shoot Em Up (Bang Bang)” has been featured on many mix-tapes and has become a modern classic. In a time where vocal samples are being used constantly, “Shoot Em Up (Bang Bang)” has a vocal sample that both creative, original, and sinister. It has been said that only the strong survive. Big Noyd is without question, one of the strong. Through a maelstrom of trouble, Big Noyd has survived and he will continue to do so

T.JONES: “What goes on?”
BIG NOYD: “Ain't nothing, just waiting for this album to drop…October 21st. Go cop it.”

T.JONES: “Your new album is called ‘Only The Strong’. Tell us about it. Who is on it? Who produced it?”
BIG NOYD: “The album is hot man.  It got about 15 bangers on there. Umm as far as who’s on the album, I wanted this album to basically be all about Noyd, you know what I'm saying, but we also got Mobb Deep on a couple of cuts and also my mans PMD on this joint called 'Going Right At Em'.  That joint is crazy right there.  And we got my mans Alchemist and Havoc on production.”

T.JONES: “Do you have a favorite song on the album?”
BIG NOYD: “I can’t really say. All them sh*ts are fire. It’s different all the time, depending on how I’m feeling at the time, know what I mean?”

T.JONES: “What took you so long to release your second album?”
BIG NOYD: “A bunch of sh*t, man. Being locked up, lot of politics, basically just finding the right situation for me to be in.”

T.JONES: “What happened with Tommy Boy?”
BIG NOYD:  “Tommy Boy? They didn’t know what they were doing, man.  It just didn’t work out between me and them. What it basically boiled down to was… they didn’t know how to deal with the kind of music I was doing. Feel me?”

T.JONES: “How did you hook up with Mobb Deep?”
BIG NOYD: “Mobb Deep is fam. We go way back.”

T.JONES: “Mobb Deep and your crew have had some beef in the past with a couple of rappers. What is the situation with Jay-Z? What do you think of Jay-Z? Is there still animosity between Jay-Z and Mobb Deep?”
BIG NOYD: “That beef with Jay and Mobb Deep is between them.  I think the beef had died down a minute ago, that shit is old. They got better things to do besides going at each other forever, nah mean?”

T.JONES: “What about Nas? What do you think of Nas? Is there still animosity between Nas and Mobb Deep?”
BIG NOYD: “I mean, Nas is Nas. You gotta respect what he’s done for Queens or even just the rap game. You can’t deny that. As far as I know, there was never any real beef between him and Mobb. I know Havoc wasn’t even involved. He was basically talking to P and I don’t think you can even call that sh*t real beef.”

T.JONES: “What happened to the movie ‘Murda Muzik’? Will it ever come out?”
BIG NOYD: “I dunno, man, you’re asking the wrong person. You gotta talk to either P or Hav about that.”

T.JONES: “When did you first start rhyming?”
BIG NOYD: “Man, as far back as I can remember.”

T.JONES: “What was one of the first songs that made you fall in love with hip-hop?”
BIG NOYD: “Man, that’s a hard one. I can’t really name one song because ever since I was young, it was around me. Nahmean? So, it wasn’t really like that.”

T.JONES: “When recording, do you go into the studio with pre-written lyrics and pre-produced beats or do you just let it flow in a spontaneous manner?”
BIG NOYD: “I do a little of both. I got some writtens and sometimes, I go into the studio and write my shit in there.”

T.JONES: “What artist or group would you like to work with in the future that you haven’t worked with yet?”
BIG NOYD: “I don’t really think about it like that.  I like working with fam, like Hav and P.”

T.JONES: “What producer would you like to work with in the future that you haven’t worked with yet?”
BIG NOYD: “If your sh*t is hot, I’m a rhyme to it! Nahmean? Right now, Hav and Al (Alchemist) is bringing the heat so I’m f*cking with them.”

T.JONES: “What was it like growing up in Queens?”
BIG NOYD: “I mean Queens is Queens, like any place there’s some good and bad shit about it.”

T.JONES: “Where were you during the Sept. 11th World Trade Center Terrorist Attack? How did you deal with it? How do you think it has affected hip-hop?”
BIG NOYD: “I was chilling in the crib and when I turned on the TV and all the channels were on the Towers. Smoke was coming from them. I mean, you deal with it like any other situation.  Yeah, it was a f*cked up thing, but fucked up things happen all the time, especially in the projects.  You just got to accept what happens and move on and make sure sh*t like that doesn’t happen again.  Shit happened 2 years ago, so you tell me how it affected hip-hop.”

T.JONES: “Abortion: Pro-choice or Pro-life?”
BIG NOYD: “Choice.”

T.JONES: “Death Penalty- For or against?”
BIG NOYD: “Against.”

T.JONES: “What is the last incident of racism that you experienced?”
BIG NOYD: “Cops harassing me on the street.”

T.JONES: “Do you have any advice for someone who is just starting in the music industry?”
BIG NOYD: “Shit is mad f*cked up and cats will backstab you any chance they get.”

T.JONES: “If you weren’t in the music industry, what would you be doing for money?”
BIG NOYD: “I don’t know, man, probably something illegal.”

T.JONES: “Tell us about Killa B. Who was he? What happened to him?”
BIG NOYD: “Killa B was a young cat from around the way. He committed suicide.  Shit is f*cked up. RIP.”

T.JONES: “What are some major misconceptions about you?”
BIG NOYD: “Some people think that I am not approachable or hard to work with.”

T.JONES: “Word association time. I am going to say a name of an artist or group and you say the first word that pops in your mind. So, if I said ‘Chuck D’, you may say ‘revolutionary’. Ok?”

T.JONES: “Eminem.”
BIG NOYD: “Emcee.”

T.JONES: “Jay-Z.”
BIG NOYD: “Nice.”

T.JONES: “Nas.”
BIG NOYD: “Queensbridge.”

T.JONES: “Cormega.”
BIG NOYD: “Queensbridge, again.”

T.JONES: “Wu-Tang Clan.”
BIG NOYD: “Pioneers.”

T.JONES: “Phife Dawg”
BIG NOYD: “Tribe.”

T.JONES: “Tragedy”
BIG NOYD: “Real.”

T.JONES: “George Bush.”
BIG NOYD: “Liar.”

T.JONES: “You were locked up during the recording of ‘Episodes Of A Hustla’. How did you eventually record that album? Were you happy with the result? What would you have done differently?”
BIG NOYD: “I think the album was rushed.  I would have spent more time getting beats and just making it a hotter album plus all the shit going on was a distraction.”

T.JONES: “What did you get arrested for?”
BIG NOYD: “Attempted murder.”

T.JONES: “When was the last time you got arrested? What was the charge?”
BIG NOYD: “A couple of months ago. Nothing serious. I’m not making the same mistake I did before.”

T.JONES: “Since you have been arrested in the past a couple of times, do you feel that the police have made you a target?”
BIG NOYD: “I mean the police is always going to be targeting cats like me. That’s something in society that you have to accept and it ain’t gonna change for a minute.”

T.JONES: “Have the past arrests caused any problems for you getting visas for doing shows overseas?”
BIG NOYD: “Nah.”

T.JONES: “What classic hip-hop song would you like to remake?”
BIG NOYD: “I don’t touch classic records for two reasons. First, I respect the record cause sh*t was hot .Why should I try to change what someone made? Two, if that shit is classic, what are the chances that I’m a make it sound better?”

T.JONES: “Hove you evolved as an artist?”
BIG NOYD: “I would say so. As an artist, I think you should be constantly evolving your game.”

T.JONES: “Do you have any collaborations coming out that we should look out for?”
BIG NOYD: “Right now, I’m just focusing on the dropping of my album.  But if I do collaborate with anyone, it would probably be just fam again.”

T.JONES:  “What is the biggest mistake you have ever made?”
BIG NOYD: “Probably going out the night of the attempted murder.”

T.JONES: “After ‘Only The Strong’, what is next for Big Noyd?”
BIG NOYD: “Hopefully more albums, I think I’m a be on some cuts for the 1st Infantry album and of course doing more sh*t with the Mobb Deep.”

T.JONES:  “What do you want on your epitaph? (Your headstone when you’re dead?)”
BIG NOYD: “That I lived a good life and that I was a real n*gga.”

T.JONES:   “Do you have any last words for the people who will be reading this?”
BIG NOYD: “Yeah go cop the album, ‘Only the Strong’ Oct. 21st!”