Playaz Circle, comprised of childhood friends Tity Boi, nee’ Tauheed Epps, and Earl Conyers, known to the masses as Dolla Boy, officially arrived on the scene back in 1997. The College Park, Georgia, rap duo scraped their meager savings together in order to release their very first outing, an indie effort titled United We Stand, United We Fall.

Unfortunately, and shortly thereafter, major bad luck struck the twosome as Tity Boy suffered gun shot wounds, while Dolla Boy was sent off to prison. Playaz Circle, as an entity, came to a complete standstill.

Grammy Award winning rapper/actor Ludacris eventually took notice as to what was going on with the group, and obviously feeling their pain reached out immediately and signed Playaz Circle to his Disturbing tha Peace roster.

October 30, 2007 saw the release of their highly-anticipated debut offering Supply & Demand, which featured their smash hit single, “Duffle Bag Boy,” a monster duet with Lil’ Wayne. Rap Industry Dot Com reached out to Playaz [an acronym for Preparing Legal Assets for Years from A-Z] Circle on the eve of the release of their eagerly awaited sophomore set, Flight 360: The Takeoff

Flight 360: The Takeoff, conceptually what does this title represent?

360 is another analogy for circle. It’s a conceptual album that talks about taking off, as well as maintaining our fly-ness.

How does Flight 360: The Takeoff compare to that of your ’07 debut Supply & Demand?

2007 was pre-duffle bag experiences. This album Flight 360: The Takeoff reflects new experiences since the last project. The things we have seen and done, all the shows and traveling. Things outside our natural environment: on the road, tours, etcetera.

What are some of your personal favorite things on or about Flight 360: The Takeoff?

This album will be the closest thing to listening to a DVD you can get. It has visual lyrics and paints a picture. Producers on the album: Big Hurc, Wonder, other young hungry up ‘n’ coming producers. Favorite song “Hold Up” — Features on the album: Cee-Lo Green, Young Dro, Lil’ Wayne, Bobby V, Jagged Edge.

Sounds hot! So, coming off of Supply & Demand — Were you somewhat disappointed in the overall commercial performance of that record?

We were not upset with the album, but the effort put behind the album.

Is that why sales-wise it wasn’t a real big success?

We didn’t connect the dots with the fans that Duffle Bag Boyz and Playaz Circle are one in the same.

Musically, when did it first begin for Tity Boi and Dolla Boy?

Been doing music all our life! Freestyle, hustling and hoopin’ was the norm. We were childhood friends who came up together and eventually became a group.

When did you all start considering rap as a career choice?

’97, ’98 we put a compilation CD together with artists from the Southside. Feedback came in that we might have a future in it. So, we stayed down.

How did you all manage to come to the attention of Ludacris, and the powers-that-be at Disturbing tha Peace?

Compilation in ’97, ’98. Ludacris was on Hot 97.5 in Atlanta. We had mutual friends who connected us with him. He liked our movement which eventually led to a situation when he started DTP.

Describe for me your sound?

Reality music! Our new project Flight 360: The Takeoff gives you a look at our lives since “Duffle Bag Boy.”

Success, define yours?

Our key to success is making good quality music. Hard work will eventually pay off.

What are some of your other future goals & plans in entertainment?

Duffle Bag Boy Records, movies and more.

And finally, how do you all view the current state of Hip-Hop?

Hip-Hop Music is constantly evolving. It continues to grow.