As if the Soulja Boy and Chris Brown saga couldn’t get any more ridiculous.
Breezy’s trainer for the upcoming Dubai boxing match, Iron Mike Tyson himself, dropped his Soulja diss track “If You Show Up” Monday (January 17) and apparently, it’s only the beginning.
The accompanying music video showcased lip syncing models as they partook in activities ranging from working out to beating up a beanie-wearing Deandre Way doppelganger. Tyson so graciously made a small cameo in his own video near the end.
Speaking with the record’s producer Damon Elliott, fans, haters and general onlookers alike can expect more to come. Yes, that means an album.
AD LOADING...
“Damn right, we’re going to put some more singles out there and put a compilation together,” Elliott tells HipHopDX during a phone call. “Why not? I’m saying it out of my mouth. I sold 150 million albums and got a Grammy — and been nominated seven times. Mike is coming for real and I’m happy about it.”
Elliott says his friendship with Tyson goes back to their earlier teens and Kid Dynamite has always been into music.
“Mike has watched me produce all types of artists from Bone Thugs-n-Harmony to Destiny’s Child,” he recalls. “He’s always had a keen ear for music and he’s very educated in that world.”
According to Elliott, “If You Show Up” wasn’t even the first record they recorded together.
AD LOADING...
“I mentioned to him it would be fun to mess around in the studio and do some songs,” he said. “He was like yeah, why not? I started dropping some beats and he started dropping some lyrics. We did a lot of music together. We got back to the house and he mentioned in passing that Chris Brown wanted to be trained by him. I had no idea he was fighting Soulja Boy. Then, I was like we should go back in the studio and make a song just for fun. Basically, I went back home, flew back to Vegas a couple of days later, got in the studio with him and we dropped the ‘If You Show Up’ joint.”
From Elliott’s perspective, it’s all fun and in the spirit of Hip Hop for Tyson.
“It’s not to hurt anybody’s feelings or cause chaos,” he said. “Everybody knows Mike, if he wants to get it popping, he’ll get it popping. But, this is one of those records that is fun and I’m very proud of the way he rhymed and comes off. I’m like let’s do more.”
Remember What Happened Last Time Mike Tyson Made A Diss Song?
The alleged upcoming fight between Brown and Soulja Boy has drawn criticism from various personalities, including Puff Daddy who claimed the drama was “killing the culture” with its “buffoonery and coonery.” Elliott mentioned the boxing matches were better than more deadly forms of violence.
AD LOADING...
“I prefer boxing matches over people shooting each other,” he said. “I think killing people isn’t a good representation of Hip Hop. I think there’s nothing wrong with two grown men putting gloves on, going in the ring and settling whatever it is. That’s the old school mentality. You had dance battles, rap battles and boxing goes back to the medieval days. If someone had a problem, you’d enter the ring and handle situations there. That’s manly to me.”
Though Soulja recruited Floyd Mayweather to be his trainer, Elliott already had an idea of how the fight would play out.
“Chris is a dancer who has wind, stamina and moves,” he said. “If he choreographs his fight right and puts together that combination right, he’s going to be a problem. I’m saying this for the record. Mike is going to teach him how to knock his ass out. And, that’s going to be it.”
Celebrated professional boxer Adrien Broner also went on record with similar predictions. In a recent interview with HipHopDX, he too picked Brown to be the last man standing, stating “when it comes to the real deal, throwing hands and knowing what you’re doing, I’m with Chris Brown cause I personally know that Chris Brown can really fight.”
AD LOADING...
When Elliott isn’t producing for the boxer-turned-rapper, the Grammy Award-winning producer is working on the music for an upcoming Ronda Rousey documentary titled Through My Father’s Eyes, set to be released this spring.
