Lets play "word association." If you're unfamiliar with the game; it's when one person says something, and another person tries to connect the previous word or phrase, with one of their own. For example, if someone were to say Brooklyn; from a Hip-Hop standpoint, the closest people that would come to mind are probably Jay-Z and The Notorious B.I.G. Just like if Queens was talked about, Nas' name is most likely to roll of your tongue. And so on, and so forth.

Since you know the rules to the game, now it should be a no-brainer. Next on the list is Harlem. Home of the legendary Big L, and of course; the charismatic crew known simply as The Diplomats. If you look past Cam'ron's bravado, Juelz Santana's swagger, and Jim Jones' competitive nature; you'll find Calvin "40 Cal." Alan Byrd.

This Dipset alumni first gained momentum through the battle circuit, via the Fight Klub. After running through the mixtape scene and having numerous guest appearances with his brethren on their projects, he released his first solo offering; "Broken Safety" back in 2006. Now his sights are set towards his sophomore album; "Broken Safety 2." As he continues to erase the stigma about "so-called" battle rappers not being able to excel outside of [that] arena, he lets the world know exactly what he's aiming for.


Nobodysmiling.com : How did you first get hooked up with The Diplomats?

40 Cal : It was kind of easy, because Killa [Cam'ron] was from 140th and Lennox. And that's pretty much where I grew up at.

Nobodysmiling.com : So what would fans hear from you on a studio album, that they might not hear from you on a mixtape?

40 Cal : They can hear more song structure. Because when I do the mixtapes I go in, and I have a lot of fun with it. I don't add too much structure, I just go in and start showing off. But on [this] album, it's more song structure. I take people through different moods. I got sh*t for the n***as when I be on that hardcore punch line sh*t; like that battle sh*t. And I got sh*t for when you're just driving, and sh*t like that. And I got sh*t for the clubs.

Nobodysmiling.com : How much do you think appearing on the Fight Klub
Battles helped your movement?

40 Cal : Well Fight Klub helped a lot, know what I'm saying. It helped because I'm like the newest member of the Diplomats. Like the last one on the roster, ya dig what I'm saying. So I feel like Fight Klub helped me stick out a little bit, instead of just being like that dude in the background.

Nobodysmiling.com : Because of your success in the Fight Klub, a lot of people label you as a battle rapper. Is that a fair assessment of you?

40 Cal : Yeah I mean [long pause] that's just like a given. I'm trying to shake that image of me, as we speak. That's just what people think. It's like; if you battle, then you can't make songs. That's not true, because I'm like one of the only n***as putting out songs, and doing the battle sh*t. Ain't nobody else really doing that. I'm featured on every Dipset album, and I got my own sh*t dropping. So people can't come at me like; "battling n***as can't make songs", because I do that all day.

Nobodysmiling.com : Do you think its possible to over saturate yourself with too many mixtapes before your official release comes out?

40 Cal : Well, that's the trick. Because you want to giv...(continued below)

e people an eye-opener, but at the same time; you don't want to spoil it. Like for me, I made a mixtape called "40 To Life." And after that, I made another one called "Trigger Happy", and then I got my album. But I don't want n***as to be like; "God- damn this n***a 40 is everywhere!" [laughing] But at the same time, I don't want them to be like; "well I got the mixtape, so I'm good." So the trick is to have that balance.

Nobodysmiling.com : What do you want fans to take away from your album?

40 Cal : I want a lot of people to wake up. Because for me being the eighth member of the Diplomats, [long pause] I'm not going to say they're sleeping on me; but they're not fully awake. Because besides Jim, Cam, and Juelz, you have a lot of other people to listen to; know what I'm saying. I don't feel like I'm the last on the list, but after you listen to all [those] other people, I don't want you to be like; "oh now we gotta listen to 40 Cal now!" [laughs] So I'm just trying to wake people up with this album, and get out of that whole circle of being a Diplomat. Because I'm here to make nice music. Like if I was never on Dipset, I'd be a n***a somewhere else making nice music.

Nobodysmiling.com : With the exception of Jim Jones' last album, "Hustler's P.O.M.E. (Product Of My Environment)" not too many Dipset albums have faired well commercial wise. Does that bother as your album gets ready to drop?

40 Cal : Umm... A little I mean. Again it's about me just trying to shake that whole "mixtape-swag." When people say; "40 Cal is a mixtape rapper, or a battle rapper", I'm just trying to make people believers.

Nobodysmiling.com : What do you say to the people that think the Diplomats start trouble intentionally to gain more focus towards their own movement?

40 Cal : Truthfully most of the time [we] are defending ourselves. There were a couple of times where it might have seemed that [we] started something, or whatever. But at the same time, [we] don't even look at it like that. Because there's a lot of competitiveness that's going on in this whole game. So if you ain't competitive in this; then why are you rapping? And a lot of people confuse being competitive, with having beef. Some people are like; "yo lets get the guns, because he's talking sh*t." A lot of people take this too serious, know what I'm saying.

Nobodysmiling.com : There's been rumors that the Dipset isn't as tight as before. Is that a true statement? Or a false one?

40 Cal : Umm.. Yes and no. I'm not going to say that [we] ain't that tight, because the movement is going so big. But when we first started, [we] all was in the same studio, and [we] was real tight. Because right when one n***a gets out the booth, the next n***a gets right in. And [we] was just going back and forth with the sh*t. But if you fast forward to now; everyone got their own studio, one might be on tour, another one might be working on [his] album, and another one might be doing a show. When [we] was in the studio, it was more tight, because [we] would see n***as everyday. But being that it's a movement, it's going to keep on moving. But [we] always get together on a Duke Da God project, and do like a Jackson 5 album, you know what I'm saying. [laughing]

Nobodysmiling.com : [laughing] I dig it... So what would you say is one of the biggest misconceptions about 40 Cal?

40 Cal : Just the fact that people think I'm just a battle rapper, or a mixtape rapper. That's the biggest misconception. Like on this album, I dumbed some of the lyrics and punch lines down. Like when I do live shows, sometimes the crowd don't be understanding. So I tried to make more crowd-participation songs.

Nobodysmiling.com : So you believe a little bit of compromise is necessary?

40 Cal : I mean yeah, a little bit. Because when I do shows, I want to put the microphone into the crowd, and let [them] finish my rhyme. But it's hard to do that after 80 punch lines or whatever; know what I mean. [laughs]

Nobodysmiling.com : [laughs] Yeah, that can get a little tricky...... So has there ever been a time when you were involved in a beef, and chose not to pursue it?

40 Cal : Well last year I was on my sh*t like; A.A.I. (Address All Issues), like from a lot of people that was talking slick or whatever. I'd be like; "oh f**k DJ So-and-So, and MC Garbage" or whatever. Then the next thing you know, "MC Garbage" is popping, and he got a little name now; because I shouted him out. So now, I take a smarter approach to what I do. Not everybody is worth being called out, sometimes I shake it off.

Nobodysmiling.com : Oh, so now you shake a lot of it off?

40 Cal : I mean yeah, but I love when people say my name. I ain't gonna lie to you. Because that just shows you how relevant I am.