Style Life And Music THE POWER ISSUE | Page 26

Antonio Servidio, continued

hustling. Selling small amounts of weed
and stuff like that. I was still in high school
and I was passing out flyers promoting for
a friends record label which was Young
Black Brotha Records up in Vallejo. I was
pretty much getting my feet wet and having
fun doing it. Passing out fliers at the malls,
meeting girls, so on and so forth. Then I
had come across a friend of mine that was
friend’s with Tupac. Basically he told me
“that Tupac wants to meet up with you, he
wants to buy some guns.” At that time I was
also selling guns and dope. I was sixteen
or seventeen. I had met Pac a couple times
and we had kicked it. I had took him out
shooting with me. He actually took me to my
first concert.
SM: Really, what was that?
AS: That was a concert he was doing out
in Vacaville. Way, way back in the day at a
place called Texas Jacks.
SM: How crazy is that, your first concert was
seeing Tupac, and going with Tupac.
AS: It was a cool experience and I just
loved it. I was addicted right away. Not to
me rapping, because I wasn’t a rapper, but
just how everything came together. How
I got to go in the back with Tupac, watch
the promoter pay him the money. Just the
energy of the crowd when he went on stage.
Pretty much just how it all came together. I
knew right then this was like an adrenaline
high, I want to do this.
SM: And that’s how you got introduced and
started taking it to the next level.
AS: Yep, and a lot of my friends around at
the time, they were all involved in hip hop.
A friend of mine Mac Mall, he was really
successful at a young age. He had a hit
album out. He had been telling me, “Man
you need to get out of the streets, you need
to do this rap thing.” But I just didn’t know
where I fit in because I wasn’t a rapper.
SM: Weren’t you an artist? All those plaques
I have seen online in your house, where did
those come from?
AS: I never made music. Those were
presented to me. I guess you could say I
am on the business side. The record labels
present them to you for organizing the
tours, contributing to the album sales.
Different people contribute to album sales
in different ways. Like the rappers, the
producers and then people like me, we
handle the business behind the scenes by
putting these tours together and help the
artists sell albums.
SM: You have worked with everyone, huge
legends. Are you currently still working as a
promoter?
AS: Yes I am still working. I still own two
booking agencies and I produce concerts
and tours. I’m not as active as I used to
be just because this whole movie thing
has been taking up my time. Bring in the
hip hop business for twenty-five years, it
kind of wears on you too, you know. I have
my hands involved in other things too like
26 | THE POWER ISSUE

Antonio Servidio on set with Robert Miano
©facebook.com/tunnelvisionmovie

E-40 and Antonio Servidio
©facebook.com/tunnelvisionmovie

real estate and stuff like that. Hip hop has
always been a part of my life, and music
and touring.
SM: How this magazine that I am launching
with your article surrounding your movie
Tunnel Vision came about was I used
to actually work on a magazine that
was based out of the Bay. It was called
“Southwest Bound.” It was made by DJ
Daric B and B-12.
AS: Ok, from Eminem’s camp? Wait, B-12. Is
he from Sacramento? White guy?
SM: Yeah!
AS: Oh wow, I know him. He knows me from
Vallejo. I was in Johnny Z’s studio with Mac
Dre a long time ago, when Dre first got out.
I had went there. Someone there owed me
money for some street deal that went bad
and I started smacking him up. Brandon (B12) was like, “you can’t do this bro, this is my
studio.” I