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Beanie Sigel was one of the corner stone pieces of the Roc-A-Fella record label in the early 2000s. Under Roc-A-Fella, Beans put out classic projects such as his debut album, The Truth (2000), The Reason (2001), and The B. Coming (2005).
Beanie Sigel Reveals He Wanted to Join The Roots
Sigel’s time with Roc-A-Fella Records was a historic time for hip-hop. But it nearly did not happen. During a recent appearance on Mirrors to Stages, the Philadelphia native noted that he initially wanted to sign with The Roots.
“Black Thought was my childhood friend. That was my first rap partner. I tried [to join the Roots]. They said I was too hard,” he said.
Beanie Sigel admits he didn’t know the business while expressing regret over how he handled his State Property brand, reveals he tried to join The Roots over Roc-A-Fella Records, and says he held his own on songs with Jay-Z.
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During his time with Roc-A-Fella, Sigel served as the leader of the Philadelphia-based collective State Property, which included artists like Freeway, Peedi Crakk, and the Young Gunz. The group released two studio albums and starred in the 2002 film State Property.
State Property became a staple in hip-hop in the early 2000s. However, Beans believes that the collective could have been even bigger if he had truly understood the business.
“That goes back to not knowing the business, man. I believe if I had understood back then that it wasn’t just a lick. Like I had a career, I believe that I could have taken State Property to a whole other stratosphere,” he said. “I look at it as a lick, and I was winging it. And for an artist at that time, just winging it — no management, no accountant, nothing. I was just showing up. And from me just showing up, I was able to do four studio albums, solo projects, two State Property albums, the Dynasty album, movies, and a clothing line. So I think I did pretty well from just winging it. If I had understood and known the business, I would have been gone.”
