Going Stupid Doo Doo Dumb with Mistah F.A.B.

Mistah FAB is one of the shinning stars of the Bay Area “Hyphy” Rap world — but this M.C. has a lot more heart than your adverage rapper.

By Amber Johnson
September 9, 2006
New America Media

Every day there is a new Bay Area rapper rising out of their daily worries and into a struggle to dust off haters. Stanley P. Cox, otherwise known as Mistah F.A.B., has overcome every hole in the ground and those days when there was no sunlight – just dark gray skies – in order to become one of the biggest rappers in the Hyphy movement.

F.A.B. came straight out of North Oakland, California – where he lost his father and was raised by his single mother. He managed to stay focused, slangin’ his CDs at every event in Oakland and beating MCs in freestyle competitions, and it paid off. F.A.B. was signed to Thizz Entertainment, the home of Bay Area’s most-loved Mac Dre, and it wasn’t long before he blew on up.

It was one of the hottest days in the Bay, when we tried to track down Mistah F.A.B. After a lot of running around, we finally caught up with him at the Wild 94.9 radio station, where he was going stupid-doo-doo-dumb-yellow-bus to his fresh new single, “Ghost Riding,” which bumped to the sick beat of the Ghostbusters theme song.

YO!: Tell us a little bit about your childhood?

MISTAH F.A.B.: I just came up in a single parent home. Pops died when I was real young, just came up like a dream. I always wanted to do something big, um, just growin’ up, tryin’ to find a way to do my dream. That’s what it’s about. I had a mom who really supported, helped me out a lot. Not only the material things, but the dreams. That’s how I came up, just like wanting to be what ever I wanted to be and tryin’ to get there.

YO!: How old were when you got into music?

MF: When I got real serious about rap, I say I was about 14/15. One of the reasons that got me, like, serious … I did this one song with this chick. I was goin’ to summer school. Her name was Ebony somthin’ … and I did a song with her. I got like $150 for it. I was like: ‘You can get paid for rappin’?’ And ever since then, I was like, ‘Man, I can do something I love and get paid for it!’ I fell in love with rap after that.

YO!: Who was there, by your side, even when you thought of giving up?

MF: I mean, my mom, that’s like my best friend. When all else fail, when everybody is just gone and when you hot – Moms is always there. That’s my best friend, that’s really the strength behind me, no matter what I do.

YO!: When did your dreams come true?

MF: I mean, my dream is still in the works. I’m living a working dream. What that mean is every day when I wake up, and it’s music related, I’m living my dream. You know, so I’m makin’ my dream come true by constantly going after it, reaching towards it and accomplishing it. What I want is my dream to come true. When I can get up and do some music and don’t have do nothing foolish to get income. When I can make music and do a song with somebody and go get like $1500 in 10 to 15 minutes – that’s a dream come true. So, in a way I’m livin’ my dream every day.

YO!: What would you tell Bay Area youth trying to make it in the money world?

MF: No matter what you do in this industry, you have to have a goal and dream. So, it’s one thing to say, “Oh yeah, I want to be the best rapper or the best singer,” or whatever it is that you are doing. But the way to attack and handle your business is to keep a positive mind frame in what you are doin’ out there, cause sometimes we get distracted by what we are doing in life. Sometimes we all make decisions where it’s like: ‘Why’d I do that?” at the end of the day. But if you want to be something and you want to go after it … what you have to do is accomplish it and be the best at what you want to be. Stay going when everybody tell you that you won’t accomplish nothing. Keep faith. Keep god.

YO!: How do you feel about the violence in Oakland?

MF: It’s not just violence in Oakland, it’s violence everywhere. It’s constantly a war going on. The violence in Oakland compared to the violence overseas is nothing. You know millions of people die over there everyday, bombs and stuff like that. At home, it’s a war going on too. It may not be like that, but people dying every day. In the places that we live in, it’s like survival and it’s sad that over a couple of dollars — people getting killed. It’s like, man, we just need to open up more opportunities. It’s no opportunities for these kids, for these grown men. You know, it’s like we got to do something, to allow them to make money, to feed their family. We just got to continue to open opportunities for them and give some people a chance. You got talented people everywhere you go. It’s just they haven’t had no chance to show their talent, to really do what they know how. So, they rob, they steal and go to jail – and it’s all because they just want to do something. So you just got to find stuff for people to do. So, you just got to find things people can do that’s positive.

YO!: Have you ever lost someone and it had an effect on you?

MF: Yeah, all the time. I lost my Dad to AIDS. That was a real big fact of why I do a lot of things today. A lot of reasons why I am so focused on my dreams. I just look at things differently in life. I lost some homies and it affect you so much to were you like, Damn! I really got to focus. You really got to focus because it’s easier to give up and to go out of the game, than it is to stay focused on making your dream come true.

YO!: What was your experience like working with Mac Dre?

MF: Man, Dre was the homie, man. He was the patna. He was just like your big brother, that one dude you can just go to and ask anything. And he gonna keep it real with you. He was a good dude. He was some body that was gonna always give back and help you out if you really needed it. You know, keeping a good sprit and he is always gonna be remembered. No matter what he do, no matter how hard a person gonna try – even if you only met him one time – you gonna remember him. He’s a legend.

YO!: What do you have in your CD player right now?

MF: Really, I just been listing to myself cause I’m trying to finish up this new album: The Yellow Bus Rider. So, I really been trying to just listen and see if this get you hyphy. I listen to Messy Marv. Messy get you hyphy. Turf Talk and Keak (da Sneak) – he always gonna get you Hyphy. No matter what, you gonna be feelin’ it. Who else? I like what they play on the radio … that Young Jock get you hyphy though. When that come on, that go! “I know you see it, I know you see it.” (sings)

YO!: How do you get love beyond the Bay?

MF: You got to travel. You got to show them love. You got to get out. I just got back from England and Spain. You just got to show them love. You got to go out to these places and show them love. They gonna love you. They gonna be like, “He came out here. He came to the Block!”

YO!: Where do you see yourself in ten years?

MF: Um, man … I hope what ever it is I’m doing, I be the best at what I am. I mean, if I’m still rapping, I hope to be one of the best rappers in the world with number one records. If I’m a CEO, then I hope to have the best artists on my label, you know? Whatever it is, I just want to be doing the best, striving to not let people down. Not letting the legacies from my dad or my mom down. Giving back an opportunity to the community – that’s what I hope to be doing.

Source: news.ncmonline.com