For some the life of Mr. Mean Mug is what movies and gangsta rap is made of: drugs, guns, a broken home, music, jail and then redemption. But for the man born Shane Gregory it is much deeper than that. What he has lived through over the past 29 years is not something he would have chosen. It is, however, what he was dealt, and he has emerged a stronger, wiser man because of it. Now with a new lease on life he lives everyday to its fullest with an emphasis on how he can use the time he has been given to make a difference in the life of those around him. With his debut novel TATTOO TEARS creating a steady buzz in the streets, he is using the pen and his words to get people to stop and listen to the words of what some would consider an unlikely messenger.

In this exclusive interview with Cyrus A. Webb of Conversations Magazine, Conversations Book Club and Conversations LIVE! Radio, Gregory opens up like never before and it is worthwhile to pay attention to what he has to say.

Here is their conversation:



Mr. Mean Mug, I appreciate your taking out the time to talk with us about your journey. Before we begin I have to say that some might look at you or hear your name and not find you to be that approachable.
Yeah, people talk about the serious look on my face, but it's not for what they might thing. I think alot. If they see me like that I'm thinking tough, thinking hard. Always thinking ahead to my next move in life.;

Since you were released from prison you haven't been pursuing music. You told me, though, that you wanted to still incorporate music in your mission today. Explain.
I teamed up with a recording artist that will help me mix music and the message of my book by including a cd inside the cover. That way I can let them read and hear some of the soundtrack of the lessons I have learned in life.

Thanks for taking out the time to talk with me. Take us back to the beginning. I appreciate your letting me tell my story. I was born Shane Gregory in Ohio. My family was really big into church, and about the time I was 3 or 4 we moved to Texas to follow our church. It was after that move that things started to happen in my family. My dad got involved with drugs. There were days he wasn't around and that us kids were home alone with Mom. I learned quickly that to live and survive we would have to do it without him.

Do you think that what happened with your dad contributed to the life you turned to?
Definitely. As the years went by I got in the streets. I didn't know how to sell dope or anything like, that because I didn't grow up like that. Instead I started jacking cars and dope houses. Even then I was a go-getter and knew how to get what I needed. It's funny because now instead of snatching pockets I am mugging minds through the truth I am sharing.

You have done some bad things, Mean, but what you did in the streets didn't make you a bad person. Realistically we know that some look at you and will say that no good could ever come from you. How would you respond to that?
People who look like me can have intelligence. Those of us that were in the streets and come from the streets are a different breed, but that doesn't mean we can't have what others do. Some will automatically judge me and others who look like me. That kind of prejudice is hurting alot of people...

Read the interview in its entirety here: http://authorstaketen.blogspot.com/2009/09/take-ten-our-exclusive-with-mr-mean-mug.html