‘I had a whole bunch of songs,’ MC says of the decision to record two CDs, in Mixtape Daily. By Shaheem Reid E-40 Photo: SicWidIt Don’t Sleep: Necessary Notables Independent Albums : Revenue Retrievin’: Day Shift and Revenue Retrievin’: Night Shift Headliner : E-40 Key Cameos : “Can’t Stop the Boss” (featuring Too $hort, Snoop Dogg and Jazze Pha), “Power Up” (featuring San Quinn and Keak Da Sneak), “Whip It Up” (featuring Gucci Mane and YV), “Outta Control” (featuring Dem Hoodstarz and Mistah F.A.B.) Essential Info : About the only one in the game who can sign the independent-minded rap legend E-40 is his son, producer Droop-E. 40 kept the scrilla all in the fam by inking a deal with Droop’s Heavy on the Grind Entertainment, which is distributed through EMI. 40 also made two LPs while paying for the studio time of one. The Bay Area Ambassador was originally supposed to put out one album at the end of 2009 but decided it wasn’t financially sound to drop it during the fourth quarter. “At first I had a whole bunch of songs,” 40 explained. “I was just gonna do Revenue Retrievin’. Then I was like, ‘I’mma go ahead and do two of these.’ I didn’t want to come out in the fourth quarter, because it was just co-op pricing and positioning [in record stores]. All that stuff is double and triple as far as to buy into programs with retailers and have your stuff on the shelf. Because you competing with Christmas songs and all type of stuff during that time — it just doesn’t add up. It seems like when you do come out in the fourth quarter sometimes, once that fourth quarter is over, the album is over.” Since he had a delay in his album release, 40 kept recording and came up with an extra body of work. “I ain’t new to this two-CD thing,” he added. “I did a double CD, The Element of Surprise, in 1998. That album went gold. That double CD was all contained into one package. This one is different because it’s two separate CDs with two separate bar codes and they both complement each other: the Day Shift and the Night Shift. I took them [album cover photos] with the same poses, different locations. I did different poses with different outfits on. The Day Shift songs are things that would unfold during the daytime. Night Shift is what would unfold during the nighttime. So, that’s how I put that whole thing together. I did both all on one album budget. We got a whole lot of team players.” 40 is not stopping there; he said he’s looking to release another LP possibly by year’s end. Other Heat This Week
