Just a few days before his very famous wife announced to the world that she was filing for divorce because of "irreconcilable differences," paparazzi punching bag Kevin Federline sat down and talked to Salon about his fledgling recording career, which officially launched last week with the release "Playing With Fire." The album -- which features the 28-year-old Federline rapping, primarily about his love of weed and his woman -- immediately received some of the year's most scathing reviews; Rolling Stone called it "reprehensible'' and "poison." Federline also had to deal with the cancellation of some concerts, reportedly due to low ticket sales. But still, Federline seemed relaxed last Friday night, happy to talk about his new musical career and the scorn it's received. And while we were asked by his publicist not to bring up his better-known half, he brought her up before we he had a chance, speaking openly about why he thought the public didn't embrace him as Mr. Britney Spears. "They saw this street kid. The world doesn't want that for Britney Spears. That's their queen," he said. "They don't want some dude that looks like a hoodlum ... They want her to be with the all-American boy." Federline spoke to Salon while nursing a drink at the nightclub Stereo. So the reviews were pretty harsh.
I expected that. That's what they do. That's what they've been doing to me from the beginning, and eventually my spirit will shine through that.
People will see my passion for this. It's slow and it's not an easy road, but I don't like taking the easy road. I'm all about hard work and really proving myself -- especially to the hip-hop community.
Would it have been easier if you weren't famous?
Probably. I think it definitely could've been.
If people didn't know who I was, a couple of the records that I've thrown out would've probably blown up huge by now. It would've just come out of nowhere -- people wouldn't know what to expect. I think the fact that I got a lot of stuff built up behind me, you know, I gotta kinda battle that. But at the same time I'm really learning that I don't have to battle that. What I gotta do is get my ass out and go walk around these streets and talk to people because that's what's gonna get it done.
Have you had a chance to talk to people yet?
Yeah, man. I been out in New York all over the place, dude. I love it. You can't keep me off the streets out here, dude!
That's when the old Federline comes back in -- the dude from Fresno that people don't know about. I'll go walk through every 'hood out here -- I don't care -- and show everybody how real I am. It's a lot of support. It's crazy because you see all the stuff in the tabloids and you read about me, but then when I go and get in people's faces, everybody's like, "Don't let them hold you down" and "Don't let them hate on you."
I really think this album has the potential of going from the bottom of the barrel first week to selling a million, 2 million. It really does. The industry hasn't seen that in such a long time. Everybody's so worried about first week, first week, first week -- make it or break it. I
'm going to tell you right now, my first week might not be shit, and they might come out and say that my album bombed, but then the second week I'm going to sell more than my first week, and the third week I'm going to sell more than my second week.
That's the climb, and it's gonna happen. I already see it happening.
Through word of mouth?
Very much so. It's good.
I just went to the radio with [radio DJ] DJ Clue and gave him the record -- he hasn't heard any of the music at all -- so I think he's really gonna be inspired.
That's what it is -- I need to get with artists on that level. I need to get with people in the industry and let it be heard, because radio ain't really trying to play it too much. It's gonna be about word of mouth, man. It's gonna be about people picking it up, listening to it, talking about it, going to their friends and telling them, "You know what?" And it's already happening.
Yeah, the critics and whoever -- who is a critic? You know what I'm saying? Who deserves to be a critic?
What happened to "Popozao"?
I cut it. I axed that out of there. If you heard the album, then you realize that "Popozao" doesn't fit in the category of what I was trying to do with this album. Maybe it will on another album or anything, but it's already out.
"Popozao" had its time. It's on iTunes if people wanna pick that up, go ahead. I'm focused on the new album and what I'm about to do with it. I'm not going to stop promotion, and I'm not gonna stop anything just because people are telling other people or critics are telling people ...
Give me a star, give me a quarter of a star -- shit, fuck that, don't give me any stars. I don't care. That's the motivation I need to keep moving my shit. Move units, dude. Even if I gotta go out and sell 'em myself. The Kevin Federline that's on the album -- how close is that to the real Kevin Federline? How much of it is a character you're creating for the record? Actually, it's all Kevin Federline. It's all my reaction. Everything I'm talking about on there, either I've been through it or I'm experiencing it right now. I stay as real as I can.
These days that's pretty upfront and blunt in people's face. I'm not afraid to tell people what I think. I get a little bit nervous here and there when I'm going into the radio stations with the big dogs and coming out to New York -- it's been a stress on my spirit. It's been crazy.
You get in the radio station and people wanna talk all that gossip shit but at the same time they don't give a damn where I came from because they don't really know me. All they know me as is Britney Spears' husband. The questions about me and my wife are getting less and less and less and less. To the point where we were on the radio today and Clue was like, "Your buzz is bigger than your wife's right now. That's real. They fuckin' talk about you more than they do about anybody."
So, I'm doing something right. Even if they're saying it and trying to hate or whatever. Haters motivate.
To a certain extent you invite questions about your family by talking about it so much on the record.
Not really. I spoke on there because it's been out there so much; because I don't have a choice. If I had a choice I would keep my family just completely away from everything. But that's not the way it is. My family is talked about, and my family is judged, and people in my family are judged, and I'm judged.
It's not right, but at the same time it's fine because it's the ammunition that I used for this album. This is my foot in the door in telling people that I'm standing up for myself, I'm standing up for my wife, I'm standing up for my kids.
Go ahead and keep messing with us, and that's fine. This is my shot at you. I'm not going to do it too much anymore.
The rest of my music is going the universal route. I think that's where I'm going to win.