Styles P. isn’t looking for respect, he knows he’s got it already. Recently released from jail, the often overshadowed former LOX member is ready to release his sophomore album Time is Money and the title tells all. After his stint behind bars, Styles P. has gained a new perspective on the meaning of time, and now he’s out to turn it in to more money.

I recently caught up with the Yonkers, NY artist, to chat about life after jail and putting his money where his mouth is, literally.

You’ve said that your first album, A Gangster and A Gentlemen, did better than you expected, what do you expect from Time is Money?
I expect it to do better because it’s a better album. It’s more mature—more of a grown man album. It’s got a deeper perspective

How did you gain this new perspective?
Life. Life itself. Trials and tribulations ya know. If you’re asking about my time being in jail, yes, it inspired me.

What was the worst part about being in jail?
Everything. All of it. You just don’t want to be there. That’s your freedom. Your freedom is gone. You’re a slave, it’s like slavery part two. Slavery all over kid.

Lyrically you have been very critical of current rap artists. Who do you feel is big right now, but doesn’t back it up with lyrics?
I mean pretty much everybody on top. There’s not too many people out there right now that are nice.

What rappers in the game do you actually admire right now?
Um, well Jay Z. But I respect everybody’s work, I don’t disrespect their work, I just said they’re not lyrical.

In the past you’ve been part of a group that had distanced itself from mainstream imagery, (i.e. Bad Boy and the shiny suits), are you now looking for mainstream success?
Nah. I’m striving for more money. I’m good with my stardom, I get the most respect on the streets. You have to understand you’ve got the streets and you’ve got the industry. The industry is not hip-hop. So the thing is, if you don’t broaden your horizons, you can’t get that certain type of buck. I’m alright with my stardom--being the most respected on the streets, but there’s a lot of money being made out there right now and I would like some more of it. I got to get a bigger piece of the pie.

So are you now looking at this album from more of a business standpoint?
I’m still an artist first. Everything is about being an artist first. If I was just looking from a business standpoint, that would be totally ludicrous. I just felt that this time, I had to make different songs that I wouldn’t make before. I had the ladies in mind on this album. I had to make some songs for the ladies.

How important is it to you to stay in the mixtape circuit?
I’m a MC. I may be business minded, but at the end of the day I like to make music. I like to show how nice I am. We make a lot of music, and we make a lot of mixtape stuff. Some people still care about giving the streets something to listen to. Some do and some don’t. Some people get in the industry and stop making stuff for the streets, and that’s it, they just don’t rhyme that much.

Do you respond to the beef with 50 Cent on the album?
I wouldn’t call it beef, but I got a song for it. It’s a war of the words ya know. I mean it’s not beef because we don’t know them and because nobody’s mad. We don’t know them, we’ve never met them before. You know they just manufactured that mess for marketing and stuff.

You wrote a song on the album called I’m Black, which discusses the hardships of being a black man in America. Are you getting in to more conscious rap?
I’ve always wanted to make a song about being black. When I was in jail it just came to me, but I think every rapper is conscious. If you mean a path leaning to a righteous state of mind, I think that all conscious artists should be supported. Talib Kweli, Common, Dead Presidents, they should all be supported.

What legacy do you want to leave for your kids?
Work hard. Get what you deserve and earn it. To me that counts more than everything else, respect above everything.
Leigh Davenport