The Source: Who or What has motivated you to become the artist you are today?
The Jacka: I get inspired by everything, even a young artist can inspire me. Artist like Jay-Z and Raekwon have inspired me to keep going, because they’re older and they’ve been doing it for a longtime. That just lets me know that this is a lifetime thing when you’re a part of Hip-Hop culture.

The Source: When you go out to check out a performance by The Jacka at, what can we expect?
The Jacka: A lot of High energy, water being thrown around across the stage you know, everything is possible. You get a big time performance, you’re going to see a whole different styles of a concert, you got the safe side, the jumping around side and the professionalism all at once.

The Source: Last summer you surprised many major recording artist @ The Ozone Award when you took home that Patiently Waiting: Cali award, what was going through your mind you got the word?
The Jacka: I kind of though that the politics and everything would get in the way. But it really showed me that its all in you’re ground work, even without getting as much radio play. It’s your fans that wanted it and push it, which put me in the position to win the Ozone Award. I didn’t get from radio and all that, I got it from hard work.

The Source: For those who are not familiar with MOB FIGAZ, can you explain the movement us?
The Jacka: Mobb Figaz is a group that consist of me Fed-X, Husalah, AP 9, and Rydah J. KLyde. We got discovered in Pittsburg California, that’s a city in the bay area by a rapper name C-Bo. He was from sacramento and an underground recording artist. When he was locked up in a pentitentary in pittsburg. He heard our music cause some cats in the pen were putting him on to us and he was feeling it. When he got out he came home looking for us, so ever since then we began working in the studio and putting our things together and made history.

We’re you surprised by the groups’ overnight success, selling over 80,000 indie in the late 90’s?
The Jacka: At the time I really didn’t look at that as much of a success, i didnt understand the difference between an indie and major. I wasn’t expecting to go platinum or gold, we weren’t really focused on that. We worked real hard doing anything that we had to do to get on. Cause we weren’t on the radio, we were going to state to state, every project, neighborhood. Setting up our own posters giving away cd’s do everything we had to do to get us out there.

The Source: Some say that “The Jack Artist” is a classic, would you agree?
The Jacka: My first solo album was self titled The Jacker, then The Jack Artist, and Tear Gas. Those were the three albums I put out on my own. They all came out in a time when you needed to hear something different you know, a different sound and it manage to work out. I put the same amount of energy on all three of them. My favorite is definitely Tear Gas, a lot of people like The Jack Artist, because I use a lot of samples. But Tear gas is new, it’s probably my best album I’ve ever did. In two in a half weeks I sold 15,000. I probably did that with The Jack Artist in like six or seven months.

The Source: A lot of your fans, have expressed how they feel that you’re the dude to bring the west back to the forefront of Hip Hop, Do you feel pressure to do so?
The Jacka: If that’s what their saying, well that’s what it is you know. Matter of fact, I’ve got Freeway out here right now nah mean, we’re in the lab working. But you know, I’m really just trying to bring the pride back to the grass roots period, not just the west coast. it’s like everybody needs to get sparked back, you know what I mean.

The Source: Where can we check you for new music and show dates?
The Jacka: You can check me out on myspace.com/thejackamobfigaz, you can also hit me up on twitter.com/TheJacka. Check out all my music and videos on myspace page.

The Source: Finally, what advice would you give to any artist trying to obtain?
The Jacka: The thing that I did you know is that I just stuck with it. A lot of people can get frustrated with it, but only thing I did was just hear what other people were saying about it and kept pushing. So keep driving because at the end of the day, the dude that’s grinding is the dude that’s doing it. Go real hard with yours, If you’re really serious about your music and you know you got something push it!