By Sheryl Aronson
I be in the booth with the weapon on,
the mic a 6 shooter got the Wesson on,
I been dope and never been stepped on,
I been dope and always been slept on,
middle of the garden let’s the seeds grow, but tell them never cross the line like free throw…Big Bro (Money Carsin)
Money Carsin has been at his craft for 14 years. His work ethic centers around the following philosophy, “Paying your dues is important. I also played basketball…scholarship college basketball…and coaches always will tell you, “You have to experience defeat, to appreciate the win.” Paying your dues…you gotta go through the bumps and the hurdles…”
He knows what it means to struggle, he knows what it means to fall down and pick himself up to continue fighting for a dream, he knows what it means to lose everything and start over, he knows that his creative spirit and wisdom doesn’t just benefit his own life. Money Carsin encourages and influences the younger generation of artists…the seeds in the garden… by showing them the rules of not crossing the lines…
Money Carsin can claim himself to be Big Bro!
The local corner market … the street block outside…the neighborhood gang…Big Bro encapsulates the intimate setting of everyday life in the City. As Money Carsin patronizes the market then steps onto the sidewalk we hear an eerie/dark back beat undulating… the underworld beckons. However, riding on top of the ever present wave of sound, is the hard driving rhythm where the song bursts forward. Fast cuts slash back and forth creating a kinetic energy, yet Carsin’s words pound his message loud and clear. “You already know…You already know…You already know…it’s Big Bro.” At times a hint of a smile crosses his face and at times his eyes penetrate. This is his turf. His home. And Money Carsin plans on making a difference with his band of “Black Tuna members.”
I had the opportunity to interview Money Carsin on my trip to New Jersey. I was very impressed with his deep commitment to being an artist and the messages he wants to portray for the upcoming generation of rappers.
The Hollywood 360: You’ve been an independent artist for many years now and you just signed with Mighty Works Media. Talk about why?
Money Carsin: I knew Carl Pep Brown, who is the President of the Mighty Works Media and Pop Huff back from when I was young. I could rap, but I didn’t know how to write a song. I used to be at the studio …Philadelphia International Records and I paid my dues, waited my turn, watched what they did, and learned what they did. So when Carl came back to Jersey and we hooked up, it made sense. He was someone I had watched and looked up to and realized this music thing isn’t just a fantasy. Because when you’re a kid and watch those videos …you ask yourself, ‘How did they make those? Where do they come from?’ I watched Carl bring those caliber of people through Philly International over and over again. So what me and my #BlackTunaGang Team were working on artistically… and when Carl came back around with Mighty Works Media Team, it made sense. In this industry, there’s not a lot of people you can put your faith in or trust. I know Carl is deep in the music and what he is capable of doing and what he has done. So it was a no brainer for me.
With what I’m doing and what they’re doing, it made sense to join forces.
The Hollywood 360: Let’s talk about your music. What do you have out now?
Money Carsin: I have the mixed tape out called TunaMan hosted by Dj B. Original (from out Cali). Recently I just released a new single called Big Bro produced by “NY” Bangers. The video is out on YouTube. The single is out. (iTunes, CD Baby, and Tidal.)
The Hollywood 360: Are you going to do a new project now for Mighty Works Media?
Money Carsin: I’m working on an EP. I’m also working on another project with my partner JBiggs. We’re putting together an original project where he’s going to produce everything and we’re going to feature each other. Mighty Works Media is about to jump into this Big Bro campaign as well.
The Hollywood 360: Let’s talk about how Mighty Works Media is going to help you with your campaign with Big Bro.
Money Carsin: I see them getting the song to the maximum. The blogs are picking it up…I had 6,500 views in one week which is good because I was out of the country that week and really didn’t promote it the right way. Now that I’m home, able to promote it the right way and actually do the physical work …I think we’ll be in for a nice surprise.
The Hollywood 360: What is your song Big Bro about?
Money Carsin: There’s not a solid message in it, but there is at the same time. I touch on different things around people who are in the industry or want to be in the industry. A lot of people call me Big Bro…’Good looking out Big Bro?’ I’m not a selfish person, so if I know something and you’re trying to get where I’ve been, I’m going to put you on. If you listen, great, if you don’t that’s OK too. That’s where the whole concept came from – other people calling me Big Bro and it actually feels good to be a Big Bro, because Carl Pep Brown and Huff were Big Bros to me… so now I got people with real talent who are doing stuff…calling me Big Bro. I just wanted to embrace that. A lot of people don’t want to embrace that. They want to call themselves Little so and so…Young so and so…No. I’m Big Bro. I’ll take that. And I gained a little weight …(Laughter) Big Bro.
The Hollywood 360: JBiggs is in the video. Who else do you have in it?
Money Carsin: Funch… I got a video out with him too which is his video called, Shooters. The rest of the people you see are people from around the block that I grew up with and came up with. My Dj, B. White is in there…he’s the tallest person in the video. It was a fun shoot.
The Hollywood 360: There’s a lot of fast cutting in it I noticed.
Money Carsin: The video has to match the energy of the record.
Shout out to the guy who shot it…he goes by the Homie…wants to stay anonymous. I wanted the video to match the energy of the record. The energy of the record is up there so the fast cuts made sense.
The Hollywood 360: What is your vision for your music right now?
Money Carsin: My vision for my music right now is I give the people what I’ve gone through, what I’ve been through, what I’ve seen, what people around me are going through. You might hear a story I tell, and it might have happened, or not to me, but it probably happened to someone close to me. They might not be able to get that out, you might be surprised how many records I’ve done that way…and people thank me. In my music, I stick to what I know. I don’t talk about things I don’t know and I feel like people can see that. That’s why, once they hear and meet me they respect the music and appreciate it.
I feel like a lot of people rap about what they think is cool…but you can tell it’s not authentic. There are certain things I don’t do…I never sold coke. You’ll never hear me talk about coke in my records. I may say, “My flow is like coke…” but I’m not going to say I’m pushing coke.
The Hollywood 360: You have a daughter who is very talented and is being developed as a young artist by Mighty Works Media.
Money Carsin: She’s all right. My daughter JayeMarie also signed with Mighty Works Media as well. She’s a dancer, amazing actor, she has the look…she gets it from her Dad. (Laughter) I don’t know. She’s dope. She’s got a nice record now that’s about to come out called, I’m a Princess. It looks promising. This is something she always wanted to do. She’s an entertainer. If I take her into a room, she’s going to be funny. She’s not shy, she doesn’t get into the corner, runs her mouth. And it works out.
The Hollywood 360: With up and coming young rap and hip hop artists, what advice can you offer from your many years of experience? You’ve paid your dues. Let’s talk about why that’s important.
Money Carsin: Paying your dues is important. I also played basketball…scholarship college basketball…and coaches always will tell you, “You have to experience defeat, to appreciate the win.” Paying your dues…you gotta go through the bumps and the hurdles…I’ve set in the studio at Philly International where there were 10 people with me and by the time it was our turn, I was the only one left. That’s why Carl appreciates me and respects me the way he does. That’s why Pop rocks with me the way he does. I never felt like, ‘You told me to come so you owe me something.’ I’ll wait my turn. I haven’t made my money yet and you have…You want me to go to the store? Why sure, I’ll go the store. I’m not being a sucker. I’m helping the movement. A lot of people get that confused or misconstrue those intentions. And they don’t pay their dues.
People think, “I’m going to put this video on YouTube and get 100,000 spins…(holds his hands in the air) “I’m the man…blah blah blah. It’s all this arrogance. It’s not even confidence. Because, what are you being confident about? What have you done? It’s always funny to me when you see on the internet when somebody says, ‘Check my new hit single.’ That lets me know right there, you don’t know nothing about music because it can be the best song in the world, but if it isn’t on the top billboard, it’s not a hit. The numbers prove it’s a hit song. You can’t just call it that.
I don’t think there’s enough people trying to school these young artists like I’m trying to do, OR THERE’S NOT ENOUGH YOUNG ARTISTS LISTENING. They are saying to themselves, ‘I know he got a deal off of one song on YouTube so I’m better than him, so I can do it too.’ They don’t pay their dues. It hurts them in the long run.
The Hollywood 360: It not only hurts them in the long run, but when you are an artist, that’s where your creation comes from…paying your dues.
Money Carsin: Someone tells the character Robert Townsend in the movie, “The 5 Heartbeats” …You’re going to do your best writing when you experience the most pain. I had a situation where I had an independent record deal we were dealing with DefJam and my album was what was going to finish the deal. We had a video on BET….I made some mistakes and I ended up going to prison. But I learned from that.
Honestly, that was probably one of the better things that happened to me. It removed certain people from my circle…and this is another thing that is key. Just because you grew up with me doesn’t mean you rise up with me. Now I’m in a circle of people where I know I will succeed. Our goals are the same. Our vision is the same. I have people around me if I have a dumb idea, they will tell me. All my team works with me. Sometimes I am writing a record and got dope verses but I don’t know what I’m going to do with the hook. I can leave it to my team and they will think about it. I come back…there’s the hook. Dope record. Team work.
The Hollywood 360: That’s so important what you are saying. That’s being an artist. You are passionate, it’s hard work, and you keep creating.
“Heart cold like 30, below
We pull up like where is, the doe
The block hot sauce so is the flow
It’s Big bro u already know” –Big Bro, (Money Carsin)
Here’s what Money Carsin is up to recently:
The #BTG (Black Tuna Gang) crew have been traveling back and forth monthly working on his “Golden Tux” album with Grammy Award Winning producer JD Walker.
Money Carsin is on the “Chase Street” Theme song alongside Jaquar Wright and have a few records on the TV shows soundtrack and score.
Money Carsin recently has been on the HypeCity Show live on Toxic Radio. His single Big Bro has been picked up in full rotation on 98.5FM The Wire (Hip Hop station in Orlando Florida).
Money Carsin performed at Big Scott’s Annual All Black Party (11-25-16)
He had an acting role in the new LOX video “What Else You Need To Know” coming out Dec 16th on RocNation.
He’ll be live in the 1st ever “Hype City Cypher” (12-20-16)
You can find Big Bro on itunes, CD Baby, Tidal.
Big Bro Video:
Big Bro –iTunes– https://itunes.apple.com/us/ album/big-bro-single/ id1174533905
Big Bro –Cd Baby– https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/ moneycarsin12
Instagram – @MoneyCarsin
Twitter – @MoneyCarsin
FaceBook – https://www.facebook.com/ Money-Carin-281020279598/
Mighty Works Media Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Mighty-Works-Media-LLC-1654266591538389/?fref=ts
#MightyWorksMedia , #BTG
Photo Credit: Sheryl Aronson/ The Hollywood 360
