Brolin: What’s going on man, how you doing?

Juicy J: Hey, what’s up doc?

Brolin: First of all I want to say congratulations on the Oscar, that’s huge.

Juicy J: Hey man, thanks.

Brolin: Were you surprised to win it? Did you think that you had a shot at it?

Juicy J: No, I was so, so surprised to win that, man. I was so surprised, I mean, I was surprised we got nominated and I was surprised they wanted us to perform. That was the third surprise.

Brolin: Did you hit up all the big after parties and whatnot?

Juicy J: Yeah, I hit two big parties, I went to the Governor’s Ball and I went to the Vanity Fair.

Brolin: How was that?

Juicy J: Man, it was crazy!

Brolin: I bet. Who were the coolest movie stars that you got to meet?

Juicy J: Man, John Travolta. John Travolta’s so cool man. Taye Diggs, Lorenz Tate, Salma Hayek, there was so many people back there man.

Brolin: Nice. I know you guys have done independent movie projects before, have you ever thought about doing like soundtrack work and scores, sort of like what RZA has been doing?

Juicy J: Yeah, that’s in the works right now, that’s in the works.

Brolin: Are you guys working on any new original films? Like a Choices 3, or anything like that?

Juicy J: Yeah we got—the script is already written. Right now we just gotta find the time to shoot it man, we been so busy right now because of this Oscar nomination, and we won. We’ve been crazy busy.

Brolin: I bet. But you’re working on it?

Juicy J: Oh, yeah, yeah, most definitely. Like I said, we got the script.

Brolin: How about music, is there another Three 6 full length in the works or are you doing some more solo stuff, what’s going on with that?

Juicy J: We got a Project Pat album coming out, he is my brother, and we workin’ on a new Three 6 Mafia album.

Brolin: Cool. Is the Project Pat going to come out this year?

Juicy J: It should, yep.

Brolin: Right on. Now you guys, you know, you have been in the game a long time, put in a lot of work and been through a lot of ups and downs over the years. What do you credit to your longevity and how do you stay focused with so much crazy stuff going on in the rap business?

Juicy J: I mean, prayer, man, prayer is hustle man. Praying every day all day and being thankful for what I get and not trying to hate on anybody, man, just being true to myself. And hustle man, just day to day hustle, you know. Stay in the studio and grind.

Brolin: Is it hard to stay focused when you guys have got all these platinum plaques and gold records, and now you got a Oscar to put on the mantle?

Juicy J: It’s hard to stay focused man, but you know, you got to know where the roots came from, and the roots came from being in the house workin’ on a track. And then end it if that track don’t sound right, scratch that track and then go on to the next track. I mean, puttin’ in hard work, you know. I’m all for hard work, man, like right now I still do interviews. I mean, I’m not changin’ period. I’ll still be doing shows for radio stations, I still be doin’ guest appearances here and there, you know, and I’m still goin’ to grind man because I know that’s what got us here. Yeah.

Brolin: You guys were rapping for Memphis and the south in general a long time before southern hip-hop really blew up nationwide. Why do you think it took so long for the rest of the country to embrace the south?

Juicy J: Well, I think it’s the idea that, you know, everybody gets their chance to shine man. We all can’t shine at the same time.

Brolin: So what’s next on the agenda for you guys? Are you going to be touring anytime soon?

Juicy J: Oh, yeah, yeah, we gonna be doin’ some tourin’, we gonna be doin’ some stuff for some other pictures, some other studios. Like Paramount, we got a lot of stuff coming up there. And it’s such a blessin’, it’s such a blessin’ man, we gonna’ stay busy.

Brolin: Cool man. I just got two more questions for you, I know you’re real busy. Being that you’ve been in the game for so long, what kind of advice would you give for the younger generation, the cats that are just starting out and trying to get their foot in the door?

Juicy J: I would say prayer. Prayer, and be true to yourself man. Just don’t hate on anybody, just do what you, you know what I'm saying? Just do you, just work at it, keep workin’ at it. I mean, you know, rap ain’t out there for everybody, everybody can’t be a rapper, everybody can’t be a singer, anybody can’t just be a songwriter, but it may—there’s some profession out there you can be in. You know, some people can be president, some people can speak, some people, you know, anything that’s positive man, a dentist, a doctor. Just hang in there and never give up, and find out what is your talent. First you got to find your talent and just stick with your talent, and I guarantee you’ll get there man.

Brolin: You got any last words for the fans out there?

Juicy J: I want to say thank you to everybody that’s been supporting Three 6 Mafia all the years. Thank you.

Brolin: Well thanks a lot man, thanks for taking the time to do this, I know you got a lot on your plate right now, and congratulations again with the award.

Juicy J: Okay.

Brolin: I look forward to hearing the new records.

Juicy J: All right man, thanks.