"I'm not white, I'm Armenian," says Profit while sipping a Sapporo in his North Hollywood studio. With him are his two producers, Taron and Kris P (together, the three call themselves Entity). "Some people might say ‘whatever man, you're white,’ but that's like calling a Chinese person an Asian and leaving it at that. That person knows he's not just Asian, because he's got things in his culture that are unique to his people and there's a lot that comes with that."
Profit (born Nazaret Aslanian) is done with his extensive demo (bluntly titled DEMO OF THE YEAR). "I just got the boxes from the manufacturer and it feels good to get this far. Starting out, a lot of people try to put you down. People who've always seen you as just you instead of an artist look at you like ‘you're trying to do music?’ - but it's all good. The cats who are stubborn are the only ones who can progress in this type of business."
There's a knock at the door and Profit jumps up - declaring "there's nothin like family man!" He lets in two individuals, both excited to see their cousin. "So we good for this month?" he asks to one of them, and gets a nod in return. "I'm starting out doing shows here in LA, just to see how people react.
The girls like the club joints, and anyone who hears my Zankou Chicken song laughs in shock the first time around. I mean, I did a fuckin' song about chicken! Can you believe that shit?! I had people at work begging me to take them to Zankou after hearing the song. Have you eaten there?" While I haven't eaten there, the song is stuck in my head and it's got me ready to try the food. Pretty brilliant marketing, but the funny part is Profit doesn't actually work for Zankou. "The owner should pay me with food," he adds.
The door rattles again and in come two darker fellas, neither of whom could be mistaken for white. "This is Young City, who's also part of Entity, and his brother Young Fresh." The two will be recording a song tonight for their own mixtape.
"I'm a different type of animal" Profit continues. "I never sold drugs, never banged. I was around some people who did both, but that wasn't me. I come from a family who built their way to middle class living from nothing when they left Armenia. They did it by sticking together, working hard, and being smart with their money. Those were the things that stayed in me, and I was able to do it through school and work. I'm that nine-to-five hustler, and that's what's crazy about it. People call me professional by day, rapper by night, but the two are the same to me, because I'll be in a marketing meeting at work and thinking in the back of my head, ‘how can this help me get in the game?’" Now that's Profit.