Before he’s even released an album, Cory Gunz has a history in hip-hop that would put most rappers to shame. From being the son of Bronx legend Peter Gunz to having Shaquille O'Neal  as a godfather to being signed to Tommy Mottola and Def Jam as well, Cory Gunz has experienced a lot in his short time on Earth.

In addition to the history is the talent. His flow is more that of a seasoned veteran than a 20 year old kid. For years he has been lauded as a lyricist to be reckoned with and is by many considered to be the second coming of East Coast hip-hop. While politics has kept him relatively quiet it’s only a matter of time before his talent speaks for itself.

Rarely one to give interviews, Cory Gunz sat down with Sixshot.com for an exclusive. While he did stay tight lipped on certain issues I was able to squeeze some facts out of him about leaving Def Jam, what’s going on with him and Young Money, and his future in the rap game.

The first thing I want to ask you about is the Def Jam situation because a lot of people were confused about it. Were you signed to Def Jam?

Yeah I was.

What happened over there?

I mean my pops really don’t want to me to address that but it was just a lot of little things going on. T here was a bunch of little shenanigans. Put it like this. You see how you didn’t know I was up there? It was little things like that. People didn’t know I was up there. That was one thing that bothered me and there were a lot of promised made that never came through.

I felt like if I wasn’t gonna be paid attention then there was really no reason for us to be up there. Def Jam did a lot. I can’t take nothing away from them but there was a lot of stuff going on up there. There were a lot of different priorities and projects and just a lot of other stuff going on up there. A lot of people got laid off. Like I said, I can’t say too much about it but I really wasn’t comfortable up there.

You’re one of the premier young MC’s coming up and you’re respected as a lyricist. Do you feel you’re the one that is going to usher in that new school of MC’s?

Absolutely. I been feeling like that for a long time. It’s just that there’s been so much stuff going on. It was kinda my fault for letting it get in the way of my music. Now though I feel like I have so much to tell my fans and just so much to tell everybody. I been through a lot and it’s crazy. It’s gonna come out in my music.

Now as far as having the legendary Peter Gunz as your father, how did that affect you in terms of just growing up and in terms of your music?

It was a really big help. I grew up in the studio basically. He’s one of the main reasons I picked up a pen at all and if it wasn’t for my dad I don’t think that I would be rapping period. My father would be in the studio working long hours and I would be right there with him. I would go straight to school from the studio. That’s how passionate he was about his craft and that’s how I am. It’s not just rapping to me. I love music, period. My father is busy right now. He’s executive producing my project and he’s got a lot of stuff in the mix.

A lot of people want to know so I’m gonna ask. Are you officially Young Money?

(Laughs) I can’t really call that right now. Wayne and me are peoples. It’s a situation where anything he needs from me he got it and vice versa. He did a verse on my album and he didn’t charge me a dime and that was at the time when he was on fire. I really respect him for that because he didn’t have to do that. He stepped out of his schedule to do that because that was when Tha Carter II came out. I think it was the day before it came out that we did that record. Shout out to Tyga and Young Money by the way.

You seem like you would fit in well over there with Tyga, Wayne, and Millz. You think it would be a good fit for you?

Yeah man, it’s like a family thing up there. It’s all love. It’s basically a situation where it’s like whatever Wayne wants to do. I told him already. That’s definitely in the mix but I can’t really speak on it. (Laughs)

You’re on Tha Carter III, which is an extremely highly anticipated album. What was it like working on that?

Yeah man. I actually got a call from Wayne and he told me he had to holla at me about something. I was in the crib writing and I got a text from Wayne’s manager. He told me that Wayne had a record that he wanted me to get on and this dude is at a great point in his career so it’s great to be involved in it like that. It’s all love.

That album is expected to move a lot of units. Do you think it will bring you a lot of attention?

Yeah man and that’s why I say the whole Young Money/Cash Money thing is like a family because he reached out to me at a time when he didn’t have to. It’s like he’s shining a light on me. Tyga is over there putting a lot of work in. Wayne is really helping everybody. There’s nothing really bad you could say about the man and he’s doing his thing, you know what I’m sayin’?

I was always curious about this. What was your fathers’ reaction when you said you wanted to be a rapper?

At first he was kinda upset because he didn’t want me to rap. He didn’t consider rap to be a guaranteed thing. It’s not concrete. With rap it’s like who knows what’s gonna happen at the end of the day? He wanted me to focus on another career like getting out there and being a doctor or a lawyer or something like that. At the end of the day for me it’s all about music. There’s never a day that goes by that I don’t pick up a pen and write something or think of a beat in my head. Music is like my life. I don’t play any instruments yet but that’s what I’m picking up on now. Some of the producers I work with are showing me how to pick up on the instruments.

So you’re looking to do the whole performing with a live band thing and all that?

Most definitely. Like I said I just love music. Growing up my grandfather was playing James Brown and my grandmother was playing gospel. My father plays a lot of instruments. A lot of dudes thinks he just raps but he can pick up the guitar, drums, keyboard, anything really. I’m just gonna go so hard that it’s not gonna make sense. People are gonna have no choice but to pay attention to me.

Aight man, so tell us what you got coming up that we can check for.

I got the Best Kept Secret mixtape, which is my first mixtape coming out around June. I got a mixtape coming out with Green Lantern and one with Big Mike which we don’t got titles to yet, that’s the problem. I got the Militia mixtape coming out around June or July. The Young Hash mixtape I’m In A Class All By Myself is coming out as well. I’m working on my album as well which is called God Forgives, I Don’t.

You got a lot of fans out there and a lot of people that are waiting on you. Anything you wanna say to them?

I just wanna say to the people that really look out for me and listen thank you and keep your ears open for the real lyricism. A lot of people don’t appreciate it anymore. I take the time to put thought into everything I do and for people to really sit and listen to that it shows a lot of appreciation on their part. I love ya’ll and I’m not gonna let you down.