Ron Artest chopped it up with Bossip.com in an exclusive interview about his new jawn “Champions” featuring T-Pain. Ron is not new to the rap game, he’s been doing his thing for the past ten years and now has his first collabo with T-Pain. He says:

“I’m like one of the only artists with a big name that’s never collabo’d with anybody.”

Pop the Top for Bossip’s Ron Artest Interview…

Bossip: Where did you find the inspiration to write “Champions”???

Ron Artest: I wrote it a year ago. Me and my man Haze did a song called “One Night” and it was kind of a club song and after that song we were just in the studio playing around and my man Brisk was on the organ and Haze just kept saying “Moment of silence for the champions”. Right from then we just created that song that night, it was like a 20 hour day for 2 songs. So we saved it, I wanted to put it out right away but everybody was like “Just save it, save it” so we saved it and the rest is history.

Bossip: Is there a video coming soon???

Ron Artest: We’ve been thinking about it. Actually what happened, it was so crazy because I didn’t expect it to get so much feedback that fast. I like to do a lot of Youtube things, I like to do videos and put them up on Youtube because I’m not on a major label. So, we put the record out and it got a lot of hits on Youtube and then we put a sick video out and it got a bunch of views. Everyone is calling it the official video because we put it out right away, but that’s not the official video. So I don’t know if I’m going to do for that, we got the remix with T-Pain. I might just do the video for the T-Pain version, but I’m trying to get 2 other rappers on it also, we’ll see what happens with that but if I can get 2 rappers on there we’ll do a video. If not, I’m just going to go on the my next single and start pushing it through on the internet.

Bossip: Which rappers would you want to collaborate with for the record???

Ron Artest: I think it would be dope, when I first heard the original version I wanted Eminem to do the hook. I just thought him in his lane and me in my lane. We’re more on the emotional rollercoaster type side as far as he speaks through his music and I speak through my basketball type thing. I think that would have been dope. After that, I was thinking either Game or 50 on the record. I think that would be dope because what I’m trying to do with this analogy thing with my game, I just thought getting The Game and 50 Cent… that would be crazy.

Bossip: The three of you in the same room, that would be very interesting.

Ron Artest: That would be crazy, but everybody has different views, so we’ll see what happens.

Bossip: So how did you hook up with T-Pain for the remix???

Ron Artest: Polow da Don hooked it up, Polow’s my man, he told me he could get T-Pain on the record. We performed one night in LA, it was like a Wednesday and I get back at like 4 in the morning and Polow calls me at like 4:30am like “You gotta hear this record, you gotta hear this record” and then I heard it with T-Pain and almost fell out my bed. That’s the first time I got a record with a major artist, so the record is dope. We performed it in LA, me and T-Pain, so the record is out right now and the show is all over the internet, so I’m hoping we get a chance to clear that record because it’s like the biggest record I’ve ever had and I need a break like that. I’m like one of the only artists with a big name that’s never collabo’d with anybody, sort of like when Jamie Fox collabo’d with Twista, Drake and Lil Wayne just to get that push and maybe T-Pain can get that record through and help me.

Bossip: If your rap career ends up taking off, would you let basketball go or try to do both???

Ron Artest: I think I can do both, I’ve been doing both for like the last 10 years. When I started 10 years ago obviously I wasn’t good at all. I’m getting better now, 10 years ago I was horrible but I still loved it. I used to make the worst records that a man can make, but I had so much fun… For now I think I can do both, I always record during the season anyway. My goal is if I ever get good momentum with the music. I’m definitely dropping an album this August so I can perform in September, I would drop an album during the season as like a season album, I probably wouldn’t have time to promote it until the summertime.

Bossip: Seems like it would be a little hard with your schedule. Do you hope to get signed to a major???

Ron Artest: I’m hoping to get partnered with a major. I think right now is the time, we just won a championship and being one of the more colorful characters not only in basketball but probably all entertainment, I guess I’m having that buzz and this is the first time I’ve got so many hits on my record, I got almost a million hits on Youtube total with different people putting the songs up. Probably right now is the time… I really can’t wait until my buzz dies down, that’s when I’m going to try to drop another single, I’m just trying to see what artist I’m going to do it with.

Bossip: Do you think people will be able to really take you seriously when it comes to rap seeing that you play in the NBA??? You can’t rap about drugs or hustlin’.

Ron Artest: I think people know I’ve been rapping for the last 5 years, a lot of underground people know I’ve been rapping for 10 years and then if you see me on TV you probably know I’m one of the truest entertainer athletes that’s most true to his neighborhood. When you got the biggest projects in America backing you, that says enough right there. I don’t really have to rap about struggle, you just have to rap about what you’re thinking and that’s it. It’s not like I’m struggling now, but I got songs where I’m rapping about balling or about the club and life and cars and all that stuff. Real life. I got songs rapping about how I grew up, how my man passed away, how my friends are in jail and dying and stuff like that. I got songs about everything, I got songs about everything that’s in my life, I got songs about how I work out a lot, I got songs about winning championships. My workout song is real crazy, it’s on the internet too, it’s a real song so it’s not like it’s about doing dumbbells and bench presses, it’s kinda hard, it’s a hard song, it’s about what I do. I’m staying in my lane, I’m not trying to be somebody else. That’s why people like “Champions”, because it was a real record.

Bossip: Anything else you would like to share???

Ron Artest: I have a new artist from China, her name is Shin Shin. She’s a R&B soul artist and when you see her, she looks like she’s a pop artist. I’m looking forward to people hearing her music, she does R&B soul. My album drops in August and it’s actually a group album. The group is called World Wide Warriors, we’ve been a group for 10 years. Also in October, I’m doing a contest on Twitter. When I get my Championship ring, I’m giving one to my wife and one to a fan.

Ron Artest Performs “Champions” with T-Pain:

Bossip