Michigan State’s Mateen Cleaves talks about his new career in the music industry, his close relationship with Alabama running Mark Ingram, naming his son after coach Tom Izzo and the story behind his peculiar photo with Ingram, the Heisman Trophy and his son (run time is 7:04; transcript).

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This is Jim Weber from LostLettermen.com and I’m joined by Michigan State’s Mateen Cleaves. Mateen thanks for joining us.

A lot people know that you are now a rap manager. Could you talk about how you got involved in that after your playing career?

Mateen Cleaves: Well actually I was dibbling and dabbling a little bit in the music industry when I was playing and once I finished playing I got a little more hands on with it.

I’m not a manager, I own a record label and I have an artist right now who’s a phenomenal talent in Jon Connor.

So I’ve just been pushing him and we’ve been doing shows and doing whatever we need to do to promote Jon. We’ve just been working hard and going at it.

LL: I know you heard him while going to a friend’s house. Did you know right away that this was going to be the future of your company?

MC: Actually when I got involved with Jon I wasn’t getting involved to help. I was taking a step back from the music thing.

Then I went out one day and I saw Jon, saw him perform. I knew he was a nice kid so I was doing whatever I could do to help him. The people that I knew in the music industry I was trying to get his music them and do anything I could do to help.

After talking with Jon and spending time with him he wanted me to come onboard and be a part of what he was doing. We should go and live out his dreams.

Shoot, he’s a great guy, a hard worker, a great talent, so we just meshed together. We have the same views about a lot of stuff and it just kind of came together. We hit the ground running so far.

LL: I know he’s got quite a following so far. Could you tell people who this guy reminds you of? It seems like he’s a little bit rap, a little bit R&B.

MC: Yeah, he’s a rapper. Not only a rapper he’s a producer as well. The kind of style, yeah it’s a Jay Z, Kanye West kind of swag to him. Really, really talented and he’s in the business of making good music.

He’s got substance with his music. He’s talking about something that you would love to hear about and he’s trying to take it back to the old school days when hip hop just first started, just good music.

And he really practices his craft. He’s a really phenomenal talent. He’s got blessings from really major arts. Guys like Nas, that’s really been in the industry and is probably one of the top 5 MCs ever of all time.

So it’s really been going well.

LL: You were most recently in the D-League with the Bakersfield Jam. At what point did you decide you were going to pursue this music thing full time and not play basketball anymore?

MC: After my last year in the D-League … And I was playing in the D-League because I like to play basketball. I like to compete and I enjoy basketball. That’s my heart, that’s my love, that was my life.

Last summer I just thought that it was just time. A perfect time to go all in with Jon. Put everything I had into it and get out here and push him. And that’s what I’m going to do because I’m a hard worker in everything I do.

And I just thought it was a perfect time to get out and push Jon and just jump out. Jump out there. A lot of people thought I was crazy for passing up basketball and jumping into a new arena but I’m really excited about it and I thought it was the perfect time this summer just to go all in. All or nothing.

LL: I wanted to ask you also about your relationship with Alabama running back Mark Ingram. I know he’s a Flint native but how did you guys become so close where you’re now “Uncle Mateen” and you’re flying out t the Rose Bowl to watch the national championship game?

MC: Well you know Mark, since he’s been growing up our families have been pretty close. I was really a fan of his dad. We all grew up in Flint, Michigan, looking up to Mark Ingram. He played football at Michigan State; not only at Michigan State but throughout his career.

And our families became kind of close and I was young coming up in sports and Mark has always been like a big brother/uncle type figure to me, his dad.

And me and little Mark is next. I started going to his high school games when he was in ninth grade, throughout his high school career. And we just started spending some time together and it’s been like an uncle nephew relationship.

LL: I gotta ask you about a picture floating around the Internet of you, Mark Ingram, the Heisman and a baby. What’s the genesis of that photo and whose child is that? Is that yours?

MC: Yeah that’s my son. I just had a son six months ago. His name is Mateen, middle name is Izzy, named after Tom Izzo, last name Cleaves. Yeah, I always … my son … I think I made a comment on there like “NCAA Final Four MVP, the Heisman Trophy … guess who’s next?”

So that’ll be a picture I’ll be hanging up in his room and let him know where the bar is in our family. We don’t accept … we shoot for the stars in this family here.

I want him every time he gets out there, every day, to look at that picture and know where the bar is and that’s what you want to do if you pursue sports or not even just sports. Whatever it is, just strive to be successful in life.

LL: You were also wearing a “Free Plaxico” shirt. Do you talk to him at all while he’s in prison? Or do you have any contact with him?

MC: Yeah we write each other a lot. I talk to his wife a lot, too. His wife Tiffany, she’s like my sister so we talk a lot. But I write Plax any chance I get.

But really I wear those shirts al the time. And what it is, I support Plax. That’s my brother. I’m behind him 100 percent. And I don’t mind being on record saying I think he got a raw deal.

It’s an unfortunate incident that happened but that’s my brother. I’m 100 percent behind him and I’m going to stick with him. And I hope all the stuff blows over and he can come back from that and get back into football and do what he does best.

And not only get back to football but get back to his family. A lot of people talk about him getting away from football and my main focus is that a father is away from his kids and a husband is away from his wife.

So we’re just praying and hoping he can get out and be the father and the husband that I know he can be.

Got a question or comment? E-mail him here

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