Interview: CJ Peters, Founder Of Konsole Kingz

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26 May 2008

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Post By A.B. Frasier

When we started Analoghype we wanted to make a voice for the urban side of gaming, the thing about that is the voice almost doesn’t exist. Lucky me in early 2007 I found out about the Konsole Kingz, which is a movement that connects hip-hop with gaming. They hold contests, game tournaments, and game nights which I consistently take part in. They also have a channel on Xbox Live that features exclusive interviews from big hip-hop artists & popular athletes. I joined the movement and it inspired me to add on to the future of the urban gaming community. So it was only right to kick off the site with a interview from CJ Peters, founder of the Konsole Kingz to pay homage for opening the door for us. In this interview CJ talks about the start of the Konsole Kingz, Racism in gaming, and his famous “Konsole Queen” Shay ‘Buckeey’ Johnson from Flavor Of Love. Read on to get the scoop.

AB Frasier: So how long have you been a gamer?

CJ Peters: I’m not a gamer. (pause) Nah, just playing. I been a gamer since the Odyssey days. You know what that is?

AB: I have no idea man. (laughing)

CJ: Probably the first home console. Everybody thinks it is the Atari.

AB: Yea, thats as far back as I know. What kind of games you remember most on it?

CJ: I had over 20 games for it. It had a voice adapter, you put it on and the games talk back to you. It called you stupid and shit like that when you mess up. I had a game where you had to use a catapult and destroy each others castles and when you missed for a while it would be like “come on turkey hit it” funny ass shit like that. It had a game called “Pick Axe Pete” that was probably the best game on the shit. It was like an early Mario, love that game. But my mom got the Odyssey for me because she was about education being a teacher and all. She wanted me to have all the new learning tools. It came with a full keyboard on it and had math games. That was the first game she got for me, spelling games all that stuff. Man you got me going back.

AB: Was it then you knew video games was going to always be apart of your life?

CJ: Yea, pretty much I was always on that shit. Going to radio shack getting new games. I think my mom didn’t get me an Atari because this one had learning games and a keyboard, so I could learn to type. Man I love my mom. She was smart, I see that now. After that I had a Nintendo, then a Genesis, then a Super Nintendo, then I jumped to Playstation 1, then 2. I hated the Xbox. Because it had that damn space ship controller, I shunned that shit.

AB: Yea that controller had a pretty bad reputation.

CJ: Yeah. I was like Xbox? That big ass shit (laughing). But then they fixed the controller a bit because the Japanese wouldn’t buy that shit. Then I was like okay, this is better but it’s still bullshit.

AB: Things are different now. Your heavily involved with the next generation Xbox, the Xbox 360. How did that start?

CJ: Oh, back to the story. It wasn’t until Halo that I got on the Xbox. When some one forced me to play it, I saw what the hype was about. It was kind of amazing how real it was, the physics was tight. Then I got my Xbox Live account. I was like okay the PS2 is a wrap! I put that shit down completely.

AB: Wow. It was that serious? (laughing)

CJ: Yeah. The whole online shit, I never did it on PS2 and Xbox just had it all connected. With PS2 you had to have an I.D. for this, an I.D. for that, I was like fuck that shit. But at the same time that is when I started Konsole Kingz, when I was just learning about Xbox. If you look at our early dvd’s we reviewed a few Xbox games.

AB: If somebody was to ask, “Who are the Konsole Kingz and what are they about?” What would you say?

CJ: Yeah that would be a good question. The fast answer would be that Konsole Kingz are the guys that are putting hip-hop/urban flavor into gaming.

AB: You guys inspired us.

CJ: Yeah? Thanks. We still got a long way to go, but it’s nice to see others coming in the game in the same vein.

AB: With our movement really, we are all from urban backgrounds and Konsole Kingz was the only voice we saw for that in the gaming world.

CJ: True. Which is why I started it. I noticed that the video game industry was about to blow in 4 years (back when KKZ was a dvd magazine only). So I scrapped this other project I was doing and just ran with gaming. I came up with the name Konsole Kingz in about a day. Made the logo and just hit it with zero contacts, all i had was music contacts. I got tired of watching gaming shit from the “fanboy” and “nerdy” angle. Nothing is wrong with that cause I got love for those cats, but there is more than one side to any story. The hip-hop and urban side was not there at all and i just felt it needed to be there. We play a lot of games, but nothing represented our culture. The industry takes from it, they not giving shit back. Thats when I was like, I’m going to make a brand that owns this space.

AB: How did you get involved with Xbox Live? Did they notice you had the urban culture on lock?

CJ: That was part of it. Back when Xbox Live got up and going on the 360 they really didn’t have a brand that covered that hip-hop urban space. So we came along and approached them at the right time. We also had good contacts to help validate us. Plus, we had been going to E3 and CES for 3 years in a row making contacts and getting to know the companies in the industry. So when you put all of that together that is what got us on. When they announced Xbox 360 was gonna have movies and video downloads, I was like that is the move we gotta make. I didn’t know how it was gonna happen, but I went for it and used all my resources. It took 6 months to close the deal and get the first content up. It went up on my birthday, that was a pretty great gift.

AB: Perfect gift. So where do you plan on taking the brand now?

CJ: Right now, we are working on growing the community on the website and partnering with bigger brands to help expose KKZ to more people. Every week there are new people on Xbox Live learning who we are, so that says we still have more work to do. And the market is huge. A lot of cats download our Crowns because they like them, but they don’t know who KKZ is.

AB: They downloading those Konsole Queenz pictures also, what made you start that movement?

CJ: (laughing). Man, that is just me. KKZ is like a reflection of me. I like games, hip-hop and hot women. I wanted a gaming brand that was for the more adult gamer, not all this “kiddy” shit. Something for the cool ass dudes that game and get girls. You know?

AB: Yea I’m on the same page. Girls,money, & games. I also noticed you had a familiar face among those Konsole Queenz, Buckeey from Flavor Of Love.

CJ: Yeah, Shay that’s my baby (laughing)

AB: Oh okay, I see. She into games as much as you?

CJ: I don’t mean she is my baby like that (laughing), but we cool. To be honest all the queens dont game. Some just are there to look pretty only a few of them game. But Shay had got on Xbox Live and played uno with the KKZ fans. We going to do some more stuff with other queens. Black is a Konsole Queen too, she games hard and Toni Leigh.

AB: Im sure a lot of fellas will be glad to hear that.

CJ: And Xtine. Xtine was a gears head. Toni hosts a show on heavy.com. Yeah, we try to mix all of the flavors with the queens.

AB: So whats the connection with the music industry and Konsole Kingz? How did you get involved with hip-hop artist?

CJ: I was a dj in college. Had a show called “Underground Sounds at LSU”. Then while I was doing that I started a hip-hop music video show called “Rapdown” on campus. I did both but I had to give the video show up to another cat cause the radio show was taking up all my time. Had me sleeping in class (laughing). It was from 12am to 3am. I met David Banner from that. Then I moved to Atlanta, he looked me up because he needed a website for his label. From there I met Bonecrusher and between the both of them I started learning folks in the music industry in Atlanta. I did David Banner five indie websites for his label. Basically I was his web team. I was the man behind www.crookedlettaz.com, when it was up. You meet a lot of folks hanging with rappers.

AB: How big is the difference as far as the business goes from the music industry to the games industry?

CJ: Hmm. For KKZ their are similarities. KKZ in the gaming world is like a rapper with a buzz trying to blow up. We have to operate like an indy label to get KKZ known, sort of how a new artist does before he gets signed. So we use some of those same techniques but on the other side entertainment moves way faster than gaming because gaming is technical. Tech companies have to have meetings about meetings. Music industry is like, “oh this hot, sign the deal lets do it”.

AB: Yea people don’t invest so easily in gaming.

CJ: In the gaming industry its more people involved and the money is bigger, in a way the risk is bigger in gaming. So it has to move slower, you have cats working on a game for 2 years and if it flop that shit is not good. You can’t just whip another game out like you can a single.

AB: Do you think games like 50 cent are a bad representation for hip-hop culture with gaming or a good one?

CJ: No, I don’t because that is only one side of the hip-hop urban culture. Until we get more folks making games and controlling projects that are from our culture they can only use what they see. Makes sense? They say “Oh 50 cent is huge, he push this many units, he got a huge base. If we do a game we could make this much money”. I cant get mad at that. 50 is the only hip-hop guy to get 3 games, ever, period. I gotta take that victory.

AB: Do you think racism exist with black characters in gaming?

CJ: (laughing). Don’t you?

AB: Yea, pretty much.

CJ: Maybe not racism per say but stereotyping. Perfect example is the cat in Gears Of War, another example in early fighting games all the black guys and girls where boxers or did Capoeira. Resident Evil 5 is about to set it off (laughing), man.

AB: Whats your thoughts on that game?

CJ: The game as a whole, great series. I don’t really play it, I watched when the other kings played it. It was like a movie. They taking it to Africa because that is the mother of civilization, if I recall correctly. But shooting Africans is not going to be good.

AB: Do you think it will be a big uproar?

CJ: Yes, it will. You are gonna have those that don’t game vs those looking at it from the culture subliminal impact. Going to get ugly.

AB: I can see it on Fox News already.

CJ: Yeah, “Games shoot black people” (laughing). “Game endorsed by the KKK”.

AB: So its Memorial Day weekend any events planned for the Konsole Kingz?

Cj: Not at all. I mean the biggest news item that is related to KKZ is the buckeey sextape clip.

AB: She has a sex tape?

CJ: I have said too much (laughing). Yeah it is. Some lame ass cat put it out, its going to just make her bigger. So he has helped her and KKZ actually. But it is a bitch ass move on his part, if he was doing it to bring her down.

AB: So where can all the fans find u online?

CJ: You can find me at www.konsolekingz.com, on www.myspace.com/konsolekingz, leave me a message on Xbox Live at KONSOLEKINGz. Email me - kingsoul[at]konsolekingz.com. I have a PS3 account, but that shit is dusty.

AB: (laughing) Thanks for taking the time out for this.

CJ: All good, was a good time. Probably the best personal interview i have done, honestly.

AB: Any last words for the people reading? or shouts?

CJ: Shout out to all the Kingz and extended family. Make sure you check the Kingz Court podcast every Saturday on Blogtalk Radio. Keep repping KKZ on Xbox Live and please spread the word.

AB: We will defintely do our part.

CJ: The more doors we open up the better for all of us. Oh and hit up www.konsolekingz.com, we posting new videos, never before seen interviews and all that. Shout to you guys for having the coolest name, besides KKZ of course (laughing).

AB: We standing next to yall so we good enough (laughing).

CJ: Well lets go to the top playaz!