INTERVIURI

[Deena]

Check this out Buckshot speaks
http://www.hiphopgame.com/index2.php3?page=buckshot


ENJOY!

[sunrah]

MVRemix: You??€�re coming out to Australia in September for the Bugg??€�n tour, are you looking forward to the trip?

DJ Premier: No doubt, I??€�ve been just that one time with Gangstarr [to Australia] and it was a really beautiful experience to see the crowd so into Hip-Hop, it was really dope!

MVRemix: For the people that haven??€�t witnessed you live before, what can they expect when they see you perform on the tour?

DJ Premier: I just give them real music man, I do classic hip hop and I also do a session of classic records that I grew up on. I was inspired by all the great ones when I was a kid; Al Green, Aretha Franklin and Run DMC.

MVRemix: Do you still enjoy touring around the world or has it taken its toll?

DJ Premier: Nah, you got to love what you do. I??€�m inspired by seeing the rest of the world and seeing how far our music has gone. I??€�m used to the crowds here in the US but to go to Australia and get the same type of love from the crowds is a beautiful feeling.

MVRemix: What??€�s going on with you and Guru, is there a future for Gangstarr?

DJ Premier: Gangstarr??€�s always going to be Gangstarr. We??€�ve always taken what you call ??€?creative space??€? where we each do side projects and we??€�ve always done that. After we did Hard To Earn it took four years to do Moment of Truth. Then we did Full Clip for our ten year anniversary and then boom! We took another four years to put out The Owners. Right now we??€�re at a point where Guru wants to break-off and showcase projects, and I??€�m the same. Doing Gangstarr is a very easy thing and it??€�s also necessary because we??€�re a major part of the staple of Hip-Hop. It??€�s very important for us to keep doing our thing.

MVRemix: There is a rumour going around that you might be entirely producing Nas??€�s next album, is there any truth to that?

DJ Premier: I??€�m actually starting up with him, we??€�re going into the studio in a couple of weeks to work on his album. He asked me to do this album but I don??€�t know what his latest mind state is with that project. I??€�m going to start the project; I??€�ll do the first couple of songs to get the ball rolling and then the rest is up to Nas.

MVRemix: You have worked with some amazing artists over the years including Nas, Biggie and Jay-Z. Which artists have you enjoyed working with most?

DJ Premier: I??€�ve enjoyed working with Guru the most because we have a formula that can??€�t be matched by any group. We always make amazing records. Working with Notorious B.I.G. was fun and so was working with Nas. Before we do anything we already know how great it??€�s going to come out, so that??€�s the fun right there.

MVRemix: Is there anyone left in the Hip-Hop scene that you would like to work with?

DJ Premier: I wouldn??€�t mind working with Busta Rhymes on a joint. We??€�ve been saying that we??€�re going to do something. I might be able to get with him on this new album that he??€�s doing with Aftermath. I would like to work with DMX, too.

MVRemix: You??€�re regarded as one of the all time great producers and have made many classic tracks, is there anything left for you to achieve in Hip-Hop?

DJ Premier: Everyday I step into the studio there is something else to achieve, just the art of keeping it going. It??€�s like Viagra. People take Viagra to keep their dick hard. I just keep making beats to keep me excited [laughs]. Hip-Hop is my Viagra.

MVRemix: You bought D&D studios, what are your reasons for buying the legendary studio?

DJ Premier: For one, now I don??€�t have to pay for studio time because I spend a lot of hours in the studio which adds up to a lot of money. Now that I have the studio it makes me want to do more songs and more and more hours. 2006 belongs to me!

MVRemix: You have seen Hip-Hop change over the years. Are you happy with the current state of the scene?

DJ Premier: No, the current state of Hip-Hop isn??€�t that good. When things are not strong it takes someone like me to fix it. That??€�s what I??€�m doing right now. The studio was the first thing to do; open that and get some new equipment. The next stage is to put out a lot of music that can??€�t be touched by most artists that are selling records and taking our money from us. I have a lot of work to do and again that keeps me fresh and hungry, and ready to play the game. I??€�m not ready to take my uniform off.

[Rimu?‚?]

interviu cu dj premier...



audio AICI


scris...

"I saw hip-hop start from day one. Before there was any cutting and scratching...

We came here to play real music for real people ... Check this out, understand this, check this out, we are veterans to this sh!t when it somes to music, we dont fu*k around, we play nothing but real sh!t and you know what time it is ...

Again I go by the name of DJ Premier, and I always bring you the real!" - DJ Premier


Dice: Yes, yes, Midtown After Midnight, the jump off its ya boy Dice agin blasting of from Club Formosa. Downtown Atlanta, 255 Trinity Avenue. Hot.

DJ Premier: Hot. Real Sweat baby, real sweat.

Dice: Real Hip-Hop heads Im standing Next to a Hip-Hop Legend, mogul, and thats an understatement. The infamous DJ Premier.

DJ Premier: Just maintaining you know. Chilling in the ATL, This in one of the places I try to frequent every now and then. Though I havent been here in while I had to do a birthday party years ago at the Gentelmens Club, chopped it up, got our freak on and the whoe shit, it was beautiful.

Dice: Its very evident, man, your sweating and everything, if your show was like a football game you definately got the dirtiest jersey on the game. I see mad sweat coming down on your face, on your jersey and everything. Now you mentioned the history of music what are your motivations and influences from back in the days?

DJ Premier: Like I said I was brought up on alot of great music prior to Hip-Hop, becoming in rhyme format. Theres so many different ways I can take you to school. But To make it real short and simple, again I am 37 years old I was brought up in the 70's. I saw hip-hop start from day one. Before there was any cutting and scratching it was just the bricks. I played the Commodores, I played Kool & The Gang, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklyn, Temptations all that old classic stuff. I wasnt called R&B it was called soul. It wasnt called R&B. R&B is that bullshit they play now on the radio. I play real shit. And Soul isnt even a category if you look for the records in the store. That stuff they try to cut out and act like it wasnt important. That was the basis of all this Hip-Hop that goes on. You know Sheek, you know...who else I played tonight? ... The Silvers, all kind of things like Bob James, Bran Nubians, you know, Fearless Four.

Dice: You just played underground classics that brothers like myself play loud that are live and dont get the light of day on the radio, ie. Illmatic.

DJ Premier: You cant put those records away and let them collect dust. You have to still bring them to the joint and let them things spin. Thats what I do, I spin those, I spin new stuff, old stuff anything thats real. And if I spin it, its real trust me.

[Rimu?‚?]

Jeru Da Damaja Interview



NBS caught up with The Damaja off his latest single "Rap Wars", from Jeru the Damaja's Divine Design, a continuation of "Damaja" legacy of authentic street rap style. This 12" features an exclusive single with a guest appearance from Lil'Dap (aka Big Dap) from the Group Home letting it be known that the duo is still on the scene with "Don't Get It Twisted."

NBS : It’s been a minute since your last release, fill us in on what you’ve been doing?


Jeru : Touring the world and working on various projects. Trying to keep my head above water without selling my soul to the devil. Ya know?


NBS : Do you still maintain a relationship with Primo & Guru from gangstarr? How did you reconnect with Dap for your new release? Can we expect any more reunions?


Jeru : We’re cool. I just saw Primo the other night. Dap and I always kept in touch, he was on my last album Heroz 4 Hire so we decided to do another joint. We are actually working on an album together right now. Look out for that next year!


NBS : For those that aren’t in the know can you fill us in on what happened, why didn’t you release a third album after ‘The Wrath of the Math’ with the same record label? Were there any problems with your lyrical content and consciousness?


Jeru : I didn’t release any other albums on PayDay because I wanted to be more in control of my projects – creatively and on a business level. That’s just the type of person that I am. As far as lyrical content, I always said exactly what I wanted to say, and my former label encouraged that – controversy sells. Bottom line, I just wanted to make records on my own. I’m a natural born hustler. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.


NBS : We all know that when we pick up a Jeru album we’ll get honest, straightforward & conscious lyrics. Who or what do look at for musical inspiration?


Jeru : Life in general is my inspiration. What I see, what I experience and my opinions of those things are what I write about. I get enough inspiration just by living and observing.

NBS : What’s your philosophy as it relates to hip hop and the path of its commercial success? Did you ever believe that it would get this far?

Jeru : I always knew that it would be this big because I was doing world tours twelve years ago. It was only a matter of time for hip hop, in my opinion, to be accepted by the masses. And it’s great that hip hop is “commercial” (as a business term) because that ensures that the people doing it are able to make a living doing what they love.


NBS : Where do you foresee hip hop going? Where will Jeru take hip hop?

Jeru : Hip Hop is limitless, the possibilities are endless. It is and will continue to be used as a tool to bridge gaps between communities, a learning tool in schools and a creative outlet for people young and old who don’t necessarily want to get a deal off of it. I, Jeru, will continue to make the music that I love the way that I want to make it. I will continue to evolve as a lyricist, producer and business man doing the best I can.

NBS : We’ve had KRS the Teacher & more recently Adisa Banjoko the Bishop - some would say that your voice is missing from the roundtable discussions on matters that effect the hip hop community. Do you have any plans on blessing us with knowledge off the tracks?

Jeru : Honestly, you will hear more from me as soon as I find an outlet that I feel is appropriate and more importantly effective. Most likely with KRS One’s Temple of Hip Hop. We’ll see!

NBS : Tell the people what to look out for and where they can catch you.

Jeru : Catch me at www.thedamaja.com! PEACE!!!

[sunrah]

July 12th will be marked on any CNN (Capone-N-Norega) fans calendar in red sharpie. It could also be penciled in on that of any other Hip-Hop minded individual just curious to see how Kiam ??€?Capone??€? Holley will present his long awaited debut solo album. Capone has been relentlessly working and keeping himself out of trouble on ??€?Pain, Time and Glory.??€? Being the established, followed artist that he is, could be considered more than hindrance for Capone than it is a help, in regards to this piece of work. His hard labor will be scrutinized and criticized before it will be accepted. The reason being he has been on the scene for years but it has taken him until now to drop just one solo project, compared to running mate Nore and his trio of individual endeavors. But hearing Capone talk about his forthcoming album with the enthusiasm he does; is reason enough to go out and purchase it. Being an artist of his caliber undoubtedly has its advantages and with the love he is shown by his industry affiliates, will prove that its numerous years in the making will be easily forgotten by those who have anticipated this moment. His album features tracks with Bun B, Raekwon and the legendary Scarface. Perhaps the Pain from his recent involvement with the infamous Lil Kim trial will be eradictaed, Time will prove to be just the essence he required and Glory will be impressive album sales for the hardcore rapper. It has been more than a long time coming.

Read The Interview

[sunrah]

Isn??€�t it amazing how some of the worst artist get the most shine and exposure, yet, the best ones can go practically unnoticed at times? Indeed it is! This has been the case for a lot of talented emcees, and perhaps a little worse for female emcees! Take Philly rapstress Ms. Jade. She surfaced early in this new millenium under the care of Missy Elliott & Timbaland via ??€?Slap Slap Slap??€?, which appeared on Missy??€�s third L.P., ??€?Miss E??€¦..So Addictive??€?. Many were enamored by how Jade, a budding rapper, was able to hold her own among Missy and Ludacris. She spit pure fire and venom in her lyrics that hadn??€�t been heard of a female rapper in quite some time.

Read The Interview

[ronin]

Interviu DJ KOOL HERC

This interview was done by Scott C from tha "Mirror" an underground newspaper distributed in tha streets of MTL,before tha Under Pressure...DJ Kool Herc was at MTL Sunday 14th:

Hiphop's founding pop don't stop
Ahead of his first-ever Canadian gig at Under Pressure's 10th anniversary, the legendary DJ Kool Herc talks about respect, returning home and reality TV.

By Scott C

When you look at the massive global reach of Hiphop culture, and the power and influence it's had in shaping the world that we live in right now,it's hard to imagine the humble beginnings of this now multibillion-dollar industry coming from the mind of one single person.
Regardless of how big it's become, Hiphop got it start when young Clive Campbell emigrated from Jamaica in 1967.Campbell used to spend a lot of time in the weight room in high school, and soon people began calling him Hercules, a nickname that would stay with him his entire life. DJ Kool Herc became a New York legend in the late '70s and early '80s, rocking genre-jumping house parties, outdoor soundsytem blockos, and clubs like Disco Fever, Hilltop and Twilight Zone. He pioneered extending breakbeats on a two-turntable setup, and paved the way for DJing and scratching as we know them now.
With the aid of MC Coke La Rock, he helped make the MC, or Master of Ceremonies, a permanent fixture at any party, and believe it or not, actually coined the term Hiphop. Now, even though he never made a record, Herc should hold the same sort of place in Hiphop history that Elvis has in rock 'n' roll, but this is not the case. Most people would look at you funny if you dropped his name in coversation, and it seems that the business of Hiphop hasn't yet taken time to properly acknowledge his contributions. As part of the Under Pressure Graffiti Convention's 10th anniversary celebrations, Montreal will host the Father of Hiphop's first ever Canadian appearance. The Mirror spoke to DJ Kool Herc over the phone from his home in New York.

Mirror:
I want to talk about the fact that you haven't been given due respect for your contribution to Hiphop culture.

Kool Herc:
I've got no qualms with that, man. I'm still doing what I love to do, and people are loving it. People are introducing me to their grandchildren, their great grandchilden, letting them know what I did. As far as people in the industry, in the business--I don't know, man. There's a lot of people in this business who don't even care where it came from, and I don't know if it's their upbringing or if they just have bad manners.

M:
So, no hard feelings on your end of things?

KH:
Oh, no. I'm comfortable. They can't take my shit away. I started this, and when the dust clears and the record stops, I'm the George Washington of this shit. People don't remember who the 47th president was. They know who the president is now, and they know who came first, and that's why I'm the George Washington of this game, and the Rodney Dangerfield of Hiphop--no respect (laughs). You'd think somebody out there had conscience, and said to themselves, "I'm living so bontiful off of this thing called Hiphop--who started this?" It wasn't no Bambaataa or Flash. It was me. I ain't trying to get no money or pussy off this, man. I come from people's choice.

M:
There must have been times over the years that you just got fustrated with the whole thing and threw your hands up. The whole culture exploded and I can't believe that you got left out of the equation.

KH:
I wasn't raised to look at other people's money, belongings and things and want them, man. It looks good on the outside but you don't know what's inside. Brother, I'm not a mad rapper or a mad wrestler, running around making noise about how I was shortchanged. My record is Hiphop. Beat that. I didn't have to make a record, because we named it Hiphop and it's still here.



Hardy Yardie

M:
I noticed that you've never been to Canada before, but has your notoriety allowed you to travel different corners of the world?

KH:
That's the best part, my man. Hiphop has taken me to places that I'd never thought I'd be. The first trip I ever took out of the USA was to England. Then Italy, France, Germany, Ireland, Australia, and I'm making plans for Japan. Even Jamaica is planning to have a homecoming for me (laughs). They're repping me, but they don't wanna come find me. Sean Paul is running my name out his mouth in interviews, and Bennie Man too, but where da man dey?

M:
When was the last time you went to Jamaica?

KH:
I haven't been to Jamaica in 20 years, man.

M:
Serious?

KH:
Last time I was tere was when my father passed, but that was a different kind of trip. I left Jamaica for a better life, my brother, and I could have been in England or Canada, but I ended up in the USA.

M:
How old were you when you arrived in the States?

KH:
I was very young, man, probably about 11 or 12 years old. I didn't come here as a hardcore Jamaican, 19, 20 years old.

M:
You came as a yout' dem--

KH:
Yes. This was when it was not fashionable to be a Jamaican in New York City. They was throwing Jamaicans in garbage cans, mother-fuckers know that. Now, it's cool to be Jamaican, so people are saying where they from now.

M:
You still working out?

KH:
I never did stop working out, man. People are gonna see me the way I am now in a new video Jin has out. I'm in there, and Jin is wearing a T-shirt that says, "Where's Kool Herc's Royalty Check At?"

Not down with brown

M:
Being the father of all this, you must have been approached for sponsorship, or to do endorsements for companies, products and the like, right?

KH:
Never did. Never been approached, and those who were able to get those deals never pointed the finger in my way either.

M:
I can't believe that, man.

KH:
You know what? This could be the making of a new reality show. You get the camera, and me and you will go knock on a few well-known Hiphop motherfuckers' doors, and we'll see how people react (laughs). Instead of doing Bobby Brown and the Osbournes, they should document a few days in the life of the guy who started all of this. Let's roll!

M:
If I had a camera, and we had a reality show, who would we go and visit first?

KH:
You start from the top. Let's visit the biggest name in Hiphop today, let the camera roll, and let people hear what I have to say about him and what he has to say about me. What has a guy with six cars in the driveway given back? You're in Forbes magazine , let's stop the bullshit. I think people would enjoy that show. You should shop that deal, man! (laughs) It'd be better coming from Canada them from here.

M:
I'm on it, man. I'm on it.

KH:
Man! Even Bobby Brown has a show now! C'mon, gimme a break!

M:
I know. Nobody wants to see that, especially me.

KH:
That nigga is an example of ignorance in the highest degree. Why are we messin' with him? He's a train-wreck waiting to happen, and they're gonna catch that. That's mockery of our race, man.

M:
I saw him putting Preparation H on his face for wrinkles on the show, and I had to turn it off. It's like the minstrel show.

KH:
Exactly. All the successful black people out there, and they have to do a show about Bobby Brown. I started a culture, worldwide, hands down, still going strong. Ain't no sign of lettin' up, and crossing all cultural barriers, and there's no reality on thay? Houston, we have a problem.

[Deena]

Lady of Rage: Waiting to Exhale Part One
By Paine



Any man who has ever played the wall at a club can tell you there??€�s nothing more refreshing than an assertive woman. In the world of Rap, it??€�s an understatement to say it requires assertion to come of age around Suge Knight, Dr. Dre, Snoop, and Tha Dogg Pound. The Lady of Rage??€�s pounding lyricism on ??€?Stranded on Death Row??€? only foreshadowed her praises on ??€?Afro Puffs??€? two years later.

The Lady of Rage??€�s time came at last, in 1997, with Necessary Roughness. Though critics praised the album, the headless record company didn??€�t support the project ??€� allowing the album to break a flawless label history of Gold and Platinum. In the year following, added to the murders in Rap, Rage retreated to her native, Virginia.

With acting roles in Next Friday plus other appearances, Rage stayed busy ??€� but removed from her past. With a few guest verses, compilation work, and several AllHipHop Rumor updates, a return to Rap had been long projected. Last week, a mixtape, ??€?VA to L.A.??€? was released, and AllHipHop.com quickly delivered Lady of Rage to our masses ??€� touching on the past and the future.

AHH: ??€?Unfucwithable??€? on Doggystyle All-Stars was the last big piece of work I remember of yours. What have you been up to the last two or three years?

Lady of Rage: I??€�ve been up to: working on album; trying to get a deal. I??€�ve been working on myself ??€� my spirit and my outlook on life.

AHH: On your outro, you mention that industry people are not always returning your calls. How has the search for the deal been going?

Lady of Rage: With Boss Lady Entertainment [the company behind the mixtape], we really haven??€�t gone full steam ahead as far as actually pounding the pavement for a deal. [As far as the phone calls], I??€�d see certain artists or producers out and say, ??€?Is there anything I can do for your???€? and [we??€�d exchange numbers]. When I??€�d call or follow-up, it??€�s phony. I hate it. I hate it with a passion. I hate the runaround. After I call a person four or five times, I don??€�t call ??€?em anymore. I hold grudges. I shouldn??€�t, but I take all of that stuff personally.

AHH: Mixtapes mean different things for different artists. For you, what is the best case scenario as a result of this mixtape?

Lady of Rage: The best case scenario is that Jay-Z would hear it and want to sign me. The next best case scenario is that people will know that I??€�m still doin??€� this, my skills haven??€�t dulled or anything, and I??€�m free agent. Whoever comes with the best offer to me will definitely not regret it.

AHH: I think the average Hip-Hopper would see you wanting to get signed, and say ??€?Why not Snoop? Why not Dre???€? Why not?

Lady of Rage: As far as Snoop, yes ??€� we were supposed to do business together, but things didn??€�t work that way. I think the distributor wasn??€�t sure if I was or wasn??€�t still signed to Death Row, and didn??€�t want the hassle. As far as Snoop, it??€�s not anything personal. As far as Dre, I would love to work with Dre ??€� but I don??€�t have any contact to him. He??€�s a hard guy to get in touch with. I don??€�t think I have any burnt bridges at all. Even with Suge, I saw Suge a while ago when I was at Death Row [offices], and he knows I??€�m venturing on and stuff. Even if he offered me a deal, if it was right, I might go that route. I??€�m just trying to get the best thing. This is my second time around. My first time, I came out in the midst of turmoil as far as Suge going to jail, Dre leaving, ??€?Pac getting killed ??€� and in the midst of that, [Necessary Roughness] was released with no type of marketing or promotion.

AHH: I??€�ve always been intrigued by your album. In 1997, Death Row released more albums in one year, than they have in the last seven or eight. I had heard specifically, that your project was salvaged by DJ Premier because it was old material on the cutting room floor??€¦

Lady of Rage: That??€�s news to me. I didn??€�t know all that. I don??€�t know if Premier saved the project. But I know Premier, was definitely one of the artists I wanted to work with. I wasn??€�t allowed to work with many of the producers I wanted to. I had to work with what I had.

AHH: How does Necessary Roughness sit with you today?

Lady of Rage: I wish it could have gotten more exposure. Those lyrics on there??€¦I feel if that whole album was remixed, and put out right now, it??€�d [do well]. I feel that I??€�m still a dope lyricist, and as far as females are concerned, if I??€�m not in the Top Three, there??€�s something wrong, and as far as males, if I??€�m not in the Top Twenty, lyrically [something??€�s wrong]. That??€�s how much I believe in my music. I could be under false pretense, but I don??€�t think so. If everybody could??€�ve heard Necessary Roughness, then they??€�d know, ??€?Wow, she really is a dope MC.??€?

AHH: This was 1997. ??€?Afro Puffs??€? was three years prior. Why was the ??€?strike while the iron??€�s hot??€? motto not used?

Lady of Rage: When I first came to Death Row, they told me my album was going to be the next album put out after The Chronic. Then they said Snoop??€�s, but after Snoop??€�s mine. Then came Above The Rim. So, I kept getting pushed back. I don??€�t know if it was a male thing or not. ??€?Afro Puffs??€? I believe, could??€�ve gone platinum as a single. Also, when I write, I don??€�t write like Snoop and Daz and everybody like that. I don??€�t feel like writing in the studio ??€?cause I don??€�t like a lot of people around me. I like to be at home, in my room. I was slower than the rest. I really don??€�t know.

AHH: The chemistry with you and Dre was so right, but so minimal. Is there unreleased material from those days?

Lady of Rage: Oh no! Like I said, when I write ??€� I don??€�t do anything extra. I do what I have to do, that??€�s it. If I die tonight, you wouldn??€�t get another album from Rage.

AHH: One of the little known moments was the b-side to ??€?Dre Day,??€? called ??€?Puffin??€� on Blunts and Drankin??€� Tanqueray.??€? This freestyle with you, Tha Dogg Pound, and Dre was classic. Tell me about that moment??€¦

Lady of Rage: Those days were just??€¦I don??€�t know if magic is the word. There was just a vibe. Dre used to make beats, and I would always walk in and say, ??€?I don??€�t like that beat??€? ??€� from the gate. I was always the one complainin??€�. But when I walked in that day, and I heard that track, I was like, ??€?I like that!??€? Blunts and Tanqueray were circulating, and we just did it. I??€�m at a loss for words. I think I got [The Quotable] in The Source that month for that. I??€�ve gotten that twice. The other was, ??€?Microphone Pon Cok.??€?

AHH: A lot of artists do crazy things to get kicked off labels. It??€�s rumored that you did a number on Death Row??€�s lobby. Is there any merit to that?

Lady of Rage: [laughs] Well??€¦ I don??€�t know if I did a number on it. I went up there one day to pick something up. I??€�d been going up there all the time. Suge was locked up at the time, things were run differently. When I got to the lobby, the guy there told me I needed an appointment to go upstairs. I was like, ??€?I need an appointment? For what???€? All I got was, ??€?Things are different now.??€? I was insulted by that. I??€�m one of the artists, one of the reasons this office is here, I feel. I didn??€�t sell millions of records, but I was on those things. This is mine??€�s like Dre??€�s, Snoop??€�s, Suge??€�s, whatever. I said, ??€?Can you go get the package for me???€? When he went upstairs, I picked up something and I broke some things up, and really give them a reason for not lettin??€� me in here. I never went back again until I couple of months ago. I was just mad. I was pregnant, I was mad, that was slap in the face.

AHH: What was it like on the recent visit? And why would you go back to Death Row?

Lady of Rage: I went back because my daughter??€�s father works up there. I didn??€�t go back there for business or anything. I went up there for that. Suge was in the parking lot at the time. I hadn??€�t seen him since he got released. We spoke to each other like, ??€?You look nice,??€? and that was it. No, ??€?What the Hell you doin??€� here???€? None of that. That [lobby] incident, I don??€�t believe Suge had anything to do with it. I told him about it. I wrote him a couple letters ??€� told him how I was upset about different things, and I didn??€�t wanna be on Death Row anymore. That was it. He said that whatever I wanted to do, he was with me.

[sunrah]

Aftermathmusic.com:
First, We'd like to congratulate you for signing to Aftermath Entertainment. So Gage, what have you been up to recently?
G.A.G.E.:
Just working my ass off day after day, hour after hour in trying to create one of the greatest first time albums of existing history; you know.....Just doing me-ha ha.
But really I'm just staying focused getting prepared for the beginning of a brand new life...

Aftermathmusic.com:
Why did you choose the name Gage
G.A.G.E.:
When I say Gage, I'm not referring to a 12 gauge shot gun. G.A.G.E. actually stands for Germantown-Ave-Gotta-Eat. That is the avenue that I made fast cash and also, the avenue that my father was killed on!

Aftermathmusic.com:
Can you give us a little info on where you grew up? And what was it like growing up there?
G.A.G.E.:
I grew up in Philadelphia, PA on Germantown Avenue. My crib was on Washington Lane, and that block was weak; So I journeyed my way around the corner to the back blocks. That's where I learned my middle name "Trouble". It was fun; I had a good childhood until my mother oded and my father was killed by a hit and run. That was when life became hard and stressful.
The days in Philly became darker and the nights became colder; I had to become a man. I must admit I starved, I was poor, and in the winter I had no heat and had no fresh clothes. I also, must admit that people said I couldn't rap; and that it would not work.
Look where I am now.......HA, HA

Aftermathmusic.com:
When did you start rapping? And what inspired you the most to pursue a career in Hip Hop?
G.A.G.E.:
I had to be about eleven years old when my rappin started out as poetry. Soon after that I put them to beats......Who would have thought that eleven years later I'd be in the store pricing an Aftermath chain.........
What Inspires Me To Rap? The tear drops that stream down a persons cheek after hearing one of my deep heart felt songs; to where you can see in their eyes that for at least one minute my words make them become me; to the point where they make my pain as if it were they're pain and my life as if it was thiers. That would mean, that I've done my job reaching them.
Another thing that inspires me to rap is the reaction I get from the people when they hear one of my club bangers. It inspires me to see them almost break their neck; from bobbing their head. That makes me realize that I gotta keep coming with those hits. I really love music as well as making it.

Aftermathmusic.com:
What is the Hip Hop scene like in Philly?
G.A.G.E.:
There is a lot of talent in Philadelphia, but very little budget floating around. Philly is hip-hop! Shit, Mothafuckas in Philly still break dance and we offer a different variety of music from Eve. To Beans and from Gage; to the Roots Band; yall see how we get down!

Aftermathmusic.com:
What are your thoughts on Dre's Aftermath? And how it stands in Hip Hop today?
G.A.G.E.:
Aftermath is a Dream Team! Aftermath is like La Unda which is a wave that can't be stopped.
The lable stands tall.... Aftermath definitely holds the title as the most powerful lable of all times... The world is Aftermath's.

Aftermathmusic.com:
Aftermath has a mighty roster that includes Eminem, The Game, 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Stat Quo, Eve, and newcomer Bishop Lamont. What's it like being part of this family?
G.A.G.E.:
Well to me, it's a privalege to be in the most respected family around; and to be able to get the same opportunities as Em, Game, Busta, Eve, Stat Quo, Bishop Lamont and 50 Cent - It is an honor! So you already know I'm about to take this shit to the moon!

Aftermathmusic.com:
Every album to come out of The Math has had outstanding production, especially with a talented crew that includes Focus, Mike Elizondo and Hi-Tek. How does it feel to be able to work with such a great team?
G.A.G.E.:
I haven't had the chance to work with Mike or Hi Tek. I do look forward to working with them and creating some of that "Crack Rap". Focus is my nigga; He understands me and I understand him, and you can tell that it's pure chemistry; when you hear the music.

Aftermathmusic.com:
Most importantly, you will have the opportunity to work with the best Hip Hop producer to do it; Dr. Dre. What goes on in your head when you think about that?
G.A.G.E.:
What goes on In my head is.....Snoop, Easy, Cube, Doc, 2 Pac, Eminim, 50 Cent, Chronic, Dogg Pound and G-Unit. I just think of greatness, and I know that Dre could take me to that level. I feel that I deserve this and I know that fucking with Dre will have me financially able to give my family and friends the life they deserve.

Aftermathmusic.com:
Did you ever think you would have the opportunity to work with such a great label in music?
G.A.G.E.:
Honestly; No! I knew I had the talent. So, I knew that one day I would get heard; if I just stuck with it. I've been through so many hardships; there had to be a reward somewhere..... You feel me?

Aftermathmusic.com:
When did the opportunity arise for getting signed to Aftermath Entertainment?
G.A.G.E.:
About five months ago....

Aftermathmusic.com:
Tell us about the process of your signing? How did it happen?
G.A.G.E.:
It was a long process. It started about two and a half years ago; when Jay Bible, a close friend of Dre's, became interested in my music. I stayed down all that time and just continued to send my music out to LA; until Jay finally received a package that he was confident enough to let the "Good Doctor" hear. From then on it went from pain, sweat, blood and tears; to a magical place where dreams actually come true.

Aftermathmusic.com:
Did any other labels try to get you on a record deal?
G.A.G.E.:
Everybody wanted me from major lables to independent lables, to drug dealers that had the money to promote me, but I turned them down. All for a dream and a wish that one day my phone would ring and it would be Aftermath telling me to pack up my shit and come help them count some of that math money. And that's exactly how it happend...

Aftermathmusic.com:
How did you feel when you first learned that Dr. Dre was interested in signing you?
G.A.G.E.:
I felt like a two ton weight was lifted off of my shoulders. Shit; I felt like a Billion Dollars...

Aftermathmusic.com:
What was it like when you first met and spoke to Dr. Dre?
G.A.G.E.:
Well me and Dre are Aquarius's. So, we clicked from the gate and even if the deal didn't go through after I met him; Dre standing in my face, telling me "my shit is hot!" would have been good enough. Dre got twenty years in the game, with a constant buzz. Nigga twenty years ago, I was just learning how to talk, eat baby food and shit like that. He's a good person; he actually saved me. Really it's just crazy; actually meeting a person I grew up listening to and watching their video's.
YO DRE, LETS GET THESE BILLIONS.

Aftermathmusic.com:
Well, now you're signed with the elite. What do you hope to bring to listeners in the future?
G.A.G.E.:
I hope to bring the listeners a story that they can relate to. I hope to bring them, not just good music but good music with moral and a message. So, yall better get your mind right and your ear to the stereo; if you know what's good for you.

Aftermathmusic.com:
Have you and Dre discussed plans for your Aftermath debut album?
G.A.G.E.:
Yes, Dre and I discussed my album and we actually have already placed three tracks for the record.

Aftermathmusic.com:
Can we expect to hear you on any upcoming mix-tapes?
G.A.G.E.:
Hell Yeah; We bout to burn the mix tape world down! You definitely should hear me on some Aftermath releases. So, if you see my name on it; I would advise you to pull ya money out and take it to the register. The Aftermath Music mixtape is coming!

Aftermathmusic.com:
What about upcoming Aftermath releases? Is it possible you'll be appearing on any of your label mates' LP's?
G.A.G.E.:
If requested; whatever the Doctor Asks of me I will put my work in. Ya know what I mean?

Aftermathmusic.com:
With a potentially successful future ahead of you, is there anything you would like to say to the fans?
G.A.G.E.:
I just want to let the fans know that if you stick with me, I promise that I will not let you down. This is like the presidential election; I may be the best candidate for the job, but without my loyal followers I am nothing. I need my fans; So, I have nothing but love for all of my supporters and trust me when I tell you; that I won't let you down. Your boy Gage got you, and will have you when nobody else will. Real Talk.
He's working with Aftermath' Focus on some new tracks for his CD and for the upcoming Aftermath Music Mixtape Vol. 2, which will be in stores soon. Be on the look out for some exclusive tracks and freestyles, news, pictures and more in the next couple of days.

(aftermathmusic.com)

[Deena]

Lady of Rage: Waiting to Exhale Part Two By Paine


AHH: When you left Death Row, what was your relationship like with Rap?

Lady of Rage: Basically, I was through with it. After Tupac died and Biggie got killed, it took the love away from me. It seemed like it was turning to something ugly. I didn??€�t wanna be on stage performing with someone and because you have beef with this guy I??€�m performing with, you taking aim at him ??€� and I??€�m skipping along singing, and I get killed because of somebody else??€�s animosity for who I??€�m with. I didn??€�t like that. DMX??€�s album is what made me want to get back in this.

AHH: Which album?

Lady of Rage: The first two:It??€�s Dark, and Hell is Hot and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood.I was listening to him, and I was like, ??€?Yeah, that??€�s how you do it!??€? I was in awe with him. I??€�m gonna do this s**t. They need me. I like his single now with The Ruff Ryders, ??€?Get Wild??€? too. I can relate to his passion for it. I rhyme with conviction, and that??€�s how he strikes me.

AHH: I need some clarification though. You??€�ve got this line on a song on the mixtape: ??€?Arrest me if ya catch me, playa / I was locked on Death Row, so misdemeanors don??€�t impress me, playa,??€? Are you dissing Missy, who is also from Virginia like you?

Lady of Rage: I??€�m glad you asked me about that. When I did that song, I didn??€�t think about it. I didn??€�t think people would take it as a diss. When I went to Virginia, two people asked me if I was dissin??€� Missy. When I got back to California, one person asked me if I was dissin??€� Missy. No! Not at all. I would love to work with Missy. Beef is not my thing ??€� unless you do something to me, personally. It had no reference to Missy at all. I admire her work, plus she??€�s from Virginia. That??€�s not my style.

AHH: Tell me about your relationship with Tupac??€¦

Lady of Rage: My relationship with Tupac was??€¦ I don??€�t know what it was. He thought I didn??€�t like him. What I didn??€�t like was the vibe that seemed to have come with him to Death Row. Because he was beefin??€� with Biggie, he wanted me to diss Lil??€� Kim and Foxy Brown. Before that, he told me that I was the weak link on Death Row??€¦

AHH: He told you this to your face?


Lady of Rage: Yep. Because at [1995] The Source Awards, when Suge said at that stuff, most of the people from Death Row stood up, I didn??€�t. I didn??€�t agree. With Biggie, Junior M.A.F.I.A., and Lil??€� Kim came out, I stood up. I liked the song. I??€�m the type that ??€� you can??€�t make me dislike somebody ??€?cause you don??€�t like him. So I said, ??€?I don??€�t think that makes me the weak link, I think it makes me the strong link. I??€�m an individual.??€? He thought I was the weak link ??€� okay, that??€�s fine. Me and Foxy Brown never had any type of beef. Secondly, me and Lil??€� Kim used to talk on occasions. I liked her stuff. He said, ??€?You not my homegirl???€? I said, ??€?Yeah, I??€�m your homegirl.??€? He said, ??€?You not gonna diss someone, they tried to kill me!??€? I said, ??€?Why don??€�t you see ??€?em face to face.??€? He said, ??€?I??€�m not trying to kill the motherf**ka, I??€�m tryin??€� to kill his career.??€? This is what he told me ??€� he didn??€�t wanna kill Biggie or Puffy, he just wanted to make it bad for them to make money.

We had another incident. We were always coming to stuff. In the studio, he was always coming in on my time. I told him that. He said, ??€?When I call up to the studio, and they ask me what studio I want, and I tell them, they say, ??€?Okay, it??€�ll be ready for you.??€�??€? I went to the office. They were like, ??€?What it is, nobody wants to tell ??€?Pac no.??€? I??€�m like, ??€?What about my stuff? It??€�s just not important???€? There was no answer. I told [??€?Pac] what was said. The next time, he was like, ??€?You need more time???€? He was trying to work with me. He was more concerned. He asked me if I was gonna be on the One Nation album. He??€�s like, ??€?I got East Coast mothaf**kas on there, we need you.??€? I said, ??€?Aiight, I be on it.??€? That??€�s why I wasn??€�t on his album. I didn??€�t want to be in any controversy. That??€�s how I played it.

The Saturday he got shot, they went to Vegas, they came over. I was staying at Suge??€�s house at the time. Everybody left from there. I can??€�t see too good. I??€�m supposed to wear glasses but I don??€�t. I believe he waved at me, but I don??€�t know. After I got in, I was like, ??€?Damn, was ??€?Pac wavin??€� at me???€? I never got to say bye to him. He never came back. Other than that, he was a cool guy. I remember he told me, ??€?Rage, I don??€�t like big girls. But there??€�s something about you I do like.??€? I said, ??€?Yeah? Okay.??€? He expressed hisself. He didn??€�t bite his tongue and I didn??€�t bite mine neither. I guess we had a respect for each other.

AHH:Was ??€?Big Bad Lady??€? on your album an actual collaboration? Or did the label do that?

Lady of Rage: Yeah, he did that.

AHH: Your comments on Lil??€� Kim are interesting ??€� the friendship. I remember on Charli Baltimore??€�s first album, you were on a posse cut called, ??€?Thorough B*tches.??€? I always thought that was an answer to ??€?Ladies Night??€???€¦

Lady of Rage: Oh, I don??€�t have a clue! Wow. I was invited to do ??€?Ladies Night.??€? Uh, the powers that be, being that they had creative control and all that, I couldn??€�t do it. ??€?Thorough B*tches,??€? Jacob [York] asked me if I??€�d be on the track. I never thought of it as an answer or anything. I think DaBrat was on [both songs].

AHH: Is it true that Chubb Rock was really instrumental in your discovery?

Lady of Rage: Yes he was. Not my discovery. At the time, I was working and living at Chung King Studios, and he was doing he thing. One night I was in there writing a rhyme, and I caught him peeking at me. He asked me if I wanted to be on a song. At the time he was going on the road. He gave me keys to his apartment and money for cab fare for nothin??€� ??€� I didn??€�t have sex with this guy, never touched him. It was a genuine concern like, ??€?Wow, this girl is living here ??€� washing up in the sink. There??€�s no hot water.??€? Sometimes I??€�d eat the food left at a session. I did that. I remember meeting a lot of people through Chung King: Charlie Brown, Puffy, Mary J. Blige, all of them. I read an article on Madonna a long time ago that said she lived in a shelter in New York. If living homeless or living in a shelter would get me to the status that Madonna is, no problem ??€� I??€�ll do it. I initially was working with the L.A. Posse, they were working with LL Cool J. Dre heard the album, wanted to get in touch with me. Suge called, wanted to know if I wanted to come to L.A. Chubb Rock didn??€�t trust it. Ice Cube had left and got Yo-Yo. He didn??€�t know if they were trying to recruit a girl in they camp to go against Ice Cube and Yo-Yo. ??€?But Dr. Dre? Dr. Dre!??€? Two months later, [Chubb] came out to L.A., told me he was bringing me back with him. I said, ??€?Let me wait a lil??€� longer.??€? Two months later, ??€?Deep Cover??€? came out, and got the ball rollin??€�.

AHH: It went uncredited, but your first verse was actually on Chubb Rock??€�s The One album?

Lady of Rage: That was me [as] Rockin??€� Robin!

AHH: Touching on acting briefly, was your character in Next Friday at all a reflection of the Lady of Rage?

Lady of Rage: No. Rage is not that character. When people meet me, ??€?Don??€�t beat me up.??€? I think my rhymes ??€� my style of rhymes is so hard. I separate Rage from Robin. When people meet me, they getting Robin ??€� they expecting Rage. Rage is when I??€�m really angry, when I??€�m on stage, or when I??€�m writing. I??€�m not like that in person. I tend to play these roles very well. If I had my ideal role, it??€�d be showing a range of emotions. But I can??€�t knock what gets me from point A to point B. I don??€�t wanna keep doing those roles, ??€?cause I don??€�t want to be ??€� typecast. In two or three months, I??€�m gonna start auditioning again. I would love to be on The Wire though.

AHH: Lastly, Jean Grae is a staff member of AllHipHop. On your outro, you shouted her out. What do you like about Jean?

Lady of Rage: She reminds me of myself. Conviction, a passion. You can hear it in what she??€�s saying. She??€�s not rhyming about her diamonds, or what anybody else is rhyming about. Because I??€�m not rhyming about what everybody else is, I might not get too much play. But the people that??€�s checking for the realness, they know Jean Grae. The [women MC??€�s] I didn??€�t mention [on the mixtape outro] are because they??€�re not underground, or they didn??€�t come to my mind. They blew up. I??€�m mentioning the ones that didn??€�t blew up. DaBrat blew up, Eve blew up, Foxy blew up, Kim blew up, Missy blew up. I??€�m [shouting out] those that didn??€�t. But, in time ??€� in time.

AHH: Where can fans get the mixtape?

Lady of Rage: Very soon at www.bossladyent.com [as the site finishes construction, deliciousvinyl@cs.com

[Deena]

Rev Run: Distortion To Static
By Tiffany Hamilton


Reverend Run needs no name on the program. The man who has long proclaimed anywhere to be his house, can certainly make a bid to say so about Hip-Hop. But any doubts gained from the Crown Royal project, are said to be made up for on the forthcoming, Distortion.

Besides blessing fans with a new album, the Reverend is also giving us a glimpse of what it??€�s like everyday in the Joseph Simmons household with his new reality show on MTV, Run??€�s House scheduled to hit the air this fall. AllHipHop.com spoke to the Rev about his new album Distortion, his show, his spiritual journey and his mission for the masses. The King of Rock is proving that although he has changed his old habits, one thing will always remain and that??€�s to bring destruction to the powers that be in the industry. Get ready to be blessed with words of wisdom from a true pioneer.

AHH: How is your reality show coming along?

Rev Run: It??€�s coming along great; we are almost finished with it. I feel that it??€�s definitely going to give fans a view inside of what it??€�s like to be in my house. I know that the show will reach a lot of people, because I know that I am here to inspire. People come up to me all the time and tell me how I have inspired them at some point in their life, so I really want this show to not only be an inspiration, but also teach lessons.

AHH: ABC Family taped you first to do the reality show, with so many reality shows on TV what made you choose to do a reality show about your family?

Rev Run: I chose to do the show, because I wanted to show a rapper in a positive light. Like the LL Cool J commercial where he is braiding his daughter??€�s hair on the stoop, I wanted to show that rappers have a life and that we do have families that we care for. Every morning I wake up, pray, read the bible and do my ??€?Words of Wisdom??€? segment that goes out to radio shows all over the country, on top of taking care of and praying with my family and the audience will get to see that because each show has a message. So to sum it up I wanted to show another side of Rap and I know that this show is it, I know it will be very positive, inspirational and motivational to everyone watching.

AHH: It sounds like something that kids of our culture and in general need to see today with all of the negativity on TV.

Rev Run: Exactly, but I like the Bobby Brown Show. It??€�s hilarious because it shows another side of Bobby that people don??€�t get to see, it shows them going on barbeques and camping and it also shows that they have a lot of love inside their marriage. A lot of people ridiculed their marriage, but their marriage has lasted a lot longer than other celebrities that people knew would last. But I say that about their show because that is how my show is. It??€�s really fun but it also let??€�s people know that the guy who made [the song]??€?Tricky??€? and ??€?Walk This Way??€? is a now a Reverend. It really shines a light on my family life and who I am. Not that all lights aren??€�t good, but this will be a different one.

AHH: When is the first episode going to air?

Rev Run: September 14th

AHH: There are rumors that Distortion is going to be an all Rock sounding album, is that true and if so what made you go that route?

Rev Run: It??€�s not a completely Rock sounding album, it??€�s a Run sounding album, it??€�s a Hip-Hop album. If you look back at Run-DMC, our sound has always been different, so Distortion is not an R&B album, let??€�s put it that way. It??€�s not Rock but it has a couple of Rock rifts like ??€?King of Rock??€?, ??€?Rock Box??€? and ??€?Walk This Way??€?, so it??€�s a loud sounding album. The music is loud, I??€�m screaming loud and so it??€�s not like your Jay-Z suave or the 50 Cent cool sounding album, but has me screaming the vocals the way I did on the vocals for Tougher Than Leather, so basically I??€�m back sounding like Run.

AHH: Is there a reason that you chose to work with White Boy [of Joe Budden fame] exclusively to handle the production?

Rev Run: It was a strategy that I used to keep the album sounding like Run. I didn??€�t want to run out and get the hottest producer and end up being influenced by another sound, so I just stuck with one producer so I could maintain control and do it my way.

AHH: Do you think that the decision to let others influence or change their sound is the downfall of a lot of vets who come back to Hip-Hop?

Rev Run: I think that it is. Because fans who know you love you for who you are and as a vet we should be happy with that. When you come back trying to sound like the new school fans can see right through that and they lose love for you.

AHH: Being a well respected pioneer in Hip-Hop but also being a Reverend, do you think that being ??€?saved??€? in an ??€?unsaved??€? industry will work; because we all remember Mase??€�s comeback?

Rev Run: No disrespect to Mase because he is a great guy, but I am older than Mase. I have been doing this for a long time and people respect me for just being Run. So I??€�m not worried about what people will say about me, I have more stability in who I am and I am not trying to make or chase the younger audience to see me. I??€�m just making an album that is filled with Run sounding stuff and people will like it or they won??€�t, but you won??€�t see me jumping around in videos or throwing champagne up in the air. It will be more of a grown man effort; [Distortion] wasn??€�t done to see what people would say about me, it was done just to do what I do.

AHH: As a pioneer in the game, where do you see a lot of artists making mistakes?

Rev Run: I feel the biggest mistakes are made when artists feel like they have something to prove. Not to sound arrogant, but I know that people already respect me and that??€�s because I don??€�t chase the audience and never have. It??€�s something about when you do you that gravitates people towards you more than when you try to conform. And that applies to any area in life, but a lot of artists don??€�t know that.

AHH: Let??€�s touch on your sneaker line, you have Run Athletics, are you planning on following the steps of your brother and creating a full fledge clothing line?

Rev Run: No, that was never my intention. With Run Athletics, I wanted it to be a sneaker line only; we may do some t-shirts that match the shoes kind of like Nike but no full line because my focus is on footwear.

AHH: What are you most looking forward to with your solo debut?

Rev Run: I am looking forward to fans listening to the old Run-DMC stuff and listening to the new record and saying, ??€?Wow, this sounds like Run,??€? and being happy with that. I??€�m not looking to compete in radio with the Chingys and I don??€�t expect to impress the youth culture, if they grab it, then I am happy but my mission is all about putting out an album that people can listen to and have a good time.

AHH: Do you think that you would ever link back up with DMC to create an album in the future?

Rev Run: No. I retired the group because Jam Master Jay was so influential in our group and so my thing is you can??€�t just replace him like a drummer. I really just want fans to look back on the legacy that we created and find something that they love, but to do something new [with DMC] is not a good for me now.

AHH: Lat but not least what do you want to say to your fans?

Rev Run: Get ready, because we are about to have fun and you will love what I am about to offer.

[Deena]

Q-Tip: Check The Time Y'all
By Tai Saint-Louis


In an industry dominated by new, young talent, it's not easy for a rapper with a career spanning more than ten years to be taken seriously. Sure, that rapper would be respected, but not necessarily as someone who could drop a relevant album. Those who have tried, with the exception of a rare few, have either seen their efforts lost between shelves and label politics; or have sorely disappointed their eager fans, thus solidifying their "has-been" status.

With Live at the Renaissance, set to hit stores this fall, Q-Tip hopes to escape the curse of the comeback album and maybe teach a history lesson or two. In addition to creating a more-than-solid offering, bolstered with guest appearances by collaborators old and new [think Consequence and Andre 3000 on the same track]; Q-Tip's timing couldn't be better. After all, the first two generations of Hip-Hop fans are now in their late twenties and upward, and are ready for music with a little more substance. Since he's admittedly feeling less experimental than he has been since entering the post-Tribe Called Quest phase, new audiences may be more receptive of what he has to say. And from what record execs and journalist heard this summer during a listening session for Q-Tip's second solo effort, he's certainly back to classic form.

AHH: Where has your musical vision taken you to now with this album?

Q-Tip: I feel like as a Hip-Hop nation, we've been really successful in terms of business. A lot of dudes have been able to expand their brands or spin 'em off into different insulary worlds: teams, clothing lines, all this and all that. And it's great that dudes is making paper or whatever, running they companies and everything. But now that we've gained some sort of success and made some money, now we need to come back and focus on the music and making the music strong again, and making it colorful and exciting again. 'Cause I feel like it hit a wall. And I just think that dudes need to focus on the music and make it great again. Make music that people can play 10-15 years from now. Somebody's always gonna listen to Paid In Full. But you know, certain dudes make records that, they may be hot and may be bangin' in the clubs, but you gonna hear it 15 years from now. I just want dudes to really take care of the game.

AHH: Having come from a time when most artists had a more realistic message to their music how do you think we managed to get to where we are now? It seems like Hip-Hop has gone so far left from where we started. How did we lose the balance between the party side and the responsible side?

Q-Tip: Absolute power corrupts absolutely. So when dudes get in the position where they making all this money and they striving, getting all this power, n***as forget about any form of consciousness. Because they so wrapped up in the paper chase that anything that has anything to do with anything spiritual is just a hold up. Because anything spiritual or anything of some form of consciousness, for lack of a better word, is going to inform you of the trials and tribulations of success, or of monetary success rather. So that may get n***as off they hustle, and n***as ain't got time for that. They got time for giving n***as what they think that they want and just supplying that. And dudes don't wanna f**k up they money, so they just keep hitting dudes with the same thing. But if everybody is so hood, n***as gonna know one of the things we used to say when we used to shoot cee-lo: scared money don't make no money. So you gotta take chances. I think unfortunately, the fact that dudes is making all this money has deaded consciousness because they get money doing that one thing.

AHH: Even when you were with A Tribe Called Quest, you never really stuck to the formula that everybody else was using. Yet, for someone who's regarded as an icon in the genre, it has to be frustrating that people are so reluctant to accept it when you do bring something different.

Q-Tip: Yeah, I was saying to somebody earlier today, it's not the age where you can just come with something and be out the box different and pop off. Today, you have to have an association with somebody.

AHH: And you?re Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest?

Q-Tip: History don't make a difference either. History don?t matter no more. N***as is looking at me like, :Aight, yeah?" People who are informed, say nice things and that's cool. But the people out there, they don't care about history, they just care about what's poppin' now. And the thing about me and my music is I really feel like I try to put something that sticks to your gut, something that can make you get in that happier mood, and make you think about who you are as an individual, think about certain things, think about love. You know, think about things to charge your soul in a positive light. But at the same time, I'm not trying to be sappy or be corny. I still have an edge and all of that. I just try to be inventive. So I think, to answer your question, the way that you can do it if you have something that feel may be off the beaten path, is that you have to be strategic and think of a way, how can I slip this thing on dudes where I don't take them too far left, but just enough that they can say "Oh, this is different but I still like it." And then you can start putting a little bit more on.

AHH: With Live at the Renaissance, what did you do differently than you did with Amplified?

Q-Tip: The different thing about this that people will notice is that I used live musicians. I mean, I still got the Hip-Hop beats bangin' and all of that. It's still got a little bit of that feeling of almost Tribe in a way. But you know, early Hip-Hop records with like, Grandmaster Flash, Treacherous Three, Whodini, they used live musicians and still had a Hip-Hop sound to it. So I just, in my own way, incorporated live musicians in my music, but making it sound real Hip-Hop. People are gonna notice that difference. And it kind of has more of a hard edge to it. Those qualities are existing on this record.

AHH: Lately, there's been a lot of TV shows and specials paying homage to Hip-Hop. And now almost every college or university has a Hip-Hop class. But it seems like that education isn't going back to the Hip-Hop culture. How do you think we can manage to get that back to our youth?

Q-Tip: I think it's incumbent upon the artists and it's incumbent upon the industry to institute that. In terms of artists, I be speaking to Flash all the time and I'm trying to figure out a record to do with him so that I don't beat people in the head, [but] where people are like, "Who?s Grandmaster Flash?," and then they do the knowledge on they own. Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa and Kool Herc invented Hip-Hop! If it wasn't for the three of them, none of us would be here. Them three right there laid the groundwork for what this s**t is. Them dudes need to be respected and honored constantly by every Hip-Hop artist, regardless of what side of the fence you're on. Them three dudes right there, and that's far as it goes. And people need to know that. People need to know how Hip-Hop came about in 1974 in The Bronx, New York in a desolate, f**ked up ghetto; almost on the end of Vietnam, post-Civil Rights movement, heroin is running rampant throughout the ghetto. We just came out of a sexual revolution, Black folks can't find no jobs, there?s a lot of gangs that's been formed. And the education system is poor, there?s no music in schools, or whatever. We got stripped of a lot of s**t, so how did this thing come about, from a social, and artistic and a spiritual point? The artists need to know this! So that when we go in the studio to make some new s**t, we have that history in us so we can start drawing on that information and poppin? it in the music.

AHH: How do you personally take what you've gotten out of your musical career to affect change socially? Do you feel that's something you are able do?

Q-Tip: Yeah. I feel spoken word is powerful. I feel like I could definitely affect a change to that. And I hope to do that. I have a, I don?t know how well this song is gonna go, but I have a song called "F**k Fox," about Fox News. But I'm not doing it from a position of "Fox News is the devil;" I put myself in a regular cat sitting, flipping the channels and doing the knowledge and saying, "Hold up! And then just putting it in a real regular dude instinct, so regular folks can do the knowledge. So little s**t like that, I think the music, again, is a tool to kinda bring some sort of awareness about it, but not beat dudes in the head where [they] feel like you talking above them.

AHH: Do you still find that you get more acceptance outside of the U.S. than you do here?

Q-Tip: Yeah, I do. The crowds out in Europe, or Africa, Australia, Japan, the Philippines Hip-Hop is huge all over there. They know the history. It's crazy, you say DJ Pete Jones to them, and they like, "Yeah, from The Bronx." They know they s**t.

AHH: Do you think it's because we have too much access to it here?

Q-Tip: We don't appreciate it.

AHH: Has that changed over the years or has it always been this way?

Q-Tip: That we don't appreciate? I think as Americans, that's just how it is.

AHH: So how you gonna be all conscious and everything, and we see you in the newspaper linked to Nicole Kidman and all of that?

Q-Tip: [Laughs] What do you mean, "How am I gonna be conscious?"

AHH: To a lot of people that might seem contradictory...

Q-Tip: To dispel all of that: Nicole, I know through my acting coach. We first met because there was talks of us doing a flick together. And then, we just became friends. This girl she works with was a great friend of mine, we?ve know each other for years. So it's just like, you know people through people. And then when dudes walk down the street and kick it with somebody, all of a sudden you f**kin' 'em.

AHH: You mentioned the acting. Are you working on anything on that front?

Q-Tip: I'm developing this film for Killer Films about Miles Davis. It's called Funny Valentine, Nelson George wrote it. So, I'm excited.

AHH: I heard you say in another interview that, despite the Tribe Called Quest reunion tour, there won't be a reunion album. Is that still the case?

Q-Tip: Yeah. The Tribe thing, we gonna keep doing shows. But it's just the label situation with Jive, where we're at with the contracts, we still at a stalemate, we don't know how it's gonna progress. So, we just tell everybody, right now: it's not looking good.

AHH: This is the first time New York isn't on top of the Hip-Hop game. Do you think that?s a plus or a minus for the industry as a whole and for New York?

Q-Tip: I mean, it's Hip-Hop that's being played, so that?s a plus. But, just me being New York and having that New York bias, I'd like to see dudes in New York stick together more and be more creative. 'Cause this is the home. So it'd be nice if dudes could stop fighting. Everybody in New York got beef with everybody. Jada got beef with 50; 50 got beef with Fat Joe; Jay-Z got beef with Nas? N***as is stupid for that, to me personally. I think the n***as is crazy, because everybody really needs to be camaradering together. Because, really it's like, what are we fighting over? Let all of that go and people need to start focusing on getting music poppin.'

[Deena]

Damian Marley: Rising Son
By Clover Hope


Damian Marley has been making beautiful music for awhile now, but lately that music has become a thunderous roar. With the release of his searing single, ??€?Welcome to Jamrock??€?, Jr. Gong has rekindled the mainstream Reggae movement and stirred hearts with his vivid depictions of a ravaged Jamaica much different than the turquoise waters and posh hotels portrayed in vacation packages.

Inheriting the torch of arguably the most eminent reggae artist of all time, Bob Marley, Damian??€�s musical voyage started at a young age and continued as he joined The Shepherds, comprised of several other reggae offspring. After the group??€�s exodus, Damian released Mr. Marley in 1996 and the Grammy-nominated Halfway Tree five years later. Here, he speaks with AllHipHop Alternatives about his hugely popular single and album of the same name, and gets more in-depth about political affairs in Jamaica and the U.S.

AHHA: Everybody knows this song ??€?Welcome to Jamrock??€?. It??€�s been big in the clubs, radio, everywhere throughout the summer - but some people might be so addicted to the beat that they don??€�t hear the lyrics. It??€�s really about the poor conditions and the political environment of Jamaica, right?

Damian Marley: Yeah, it??€�s about the struggle that the people of Jamaica face as opposed to what is really advertised to the public in the international marketplace of Jamaica.

AHHA: Let??€�s talk about a couple of the verses some people might not understand. You say: ??€?To see the sufferation sicken me/Them suit no fit me/To win election they trick we/And them don't do nuttin at all.??€? What does that mean?

Damian: Well, to see how people suffer is upsetting, so that??€�s why the suits don??€�t fit me. In other words, the agenda of what the politicians deal with doesn??€�t fit my ideology. And to win elections, they trick us. To win elections, they promise a lot of things, and then when they win, they don??€�t deliver.

AHHA: Another line is: ??€?Police come inna jeep and them can??€�t stop it/Some say them a playboy, a playboy rabbit/Funnyman a get dropped like a bad habit.??€?

Damian: A lot of times, police who have a problem in Jamaica can turn to violence. And then, there??€�s no room for nonsense, is what the rest of [the phrase] is saying. Your lickle gimmicks and ya lickle ego, there??€�s no room for that. If you??€�re not the real thing then don??€�t come around here. Those topics are relevant and affect all of us living in Jamaica now, and citizens of Jamaica and people [in America] have loved ones there.

AHHA: What about politics here in America; what are your thoughts on the war in Iraq??€�are you for it or against it?

Damian: I??€�m not for any war. War only bring more war. If you hit somebody then you go to war, they hit you back. And when they hit you back, what you gonna wanna do? You??€�re gonna wanna hit them back again. So war only bring more war. I don??€�t think there??€�s justification for any war. There??€�s no justification for people fighting on behalf of leaders. If leaders have a discrepancy??€�you guys went to the highest colleges and schools and all a this thing??€�you tellin??€� me that they can??€�t find an educated way to work out their problems without having us kill each other? It??€�s a joke.

AHHA: Is your album more of the same political vibe as the single?

Damian: Well, it??€�s mixed. It??€�s life, so you have one or two tracks that kind of have that overtone, still. But you have tracks that [are] nothing at all like it.

AHHA: How long did the album take to make?

Damian: It took about two years, with doing some tours and stuff in-between. We??€�d work for a few months and then go on the road and come back.

AHHA: When you go back to Jamaica, what??€�s the first thing you do?

Damian: Roll one up. [Laughs]

AHHA: [Laughs]. So what??€�s the second thing you do?

Damian: Light it! [Laughs] Nah, when we reach Jamaica, we stay at Bob Marley museum, so basically that??€�s where we are. But the first thing when we reach there is to link up with all the people, our brethren and stuff.

AHHA: What kind of feeling do you get when you go back, do you sense that things have changed since you actually lived there?

Damian: Well I live there still, ya know. It??€�s just that I??€�ve been spending a lot of time in America recently. But, I mean, the more things change, it??€�s like the more they remain the same in a way. Things change??€�we have a few new highways now, cars are more available to the public than maybe ten years ago, things like that??€�but at the same time, the basics and a far amount of things haven??€�t changed. You still have a few war, on top of the masses suffering.

AHHA: Do you think there are a lot of misconceptions about Jamaica?

Damian: No, I wouldn??€�t say a lot of misconceptions. It??€�s just half the story hasn??€�t been told. Cause there??€�s, very much, places in Jamaica that you can go and enjoy yourself, and it??€�s beautiful. It??€�s not all negative, but there??€�s a side of it that??€�the thing about it, there??€�s a side of it that the majority of citizens face in Jamaica. It??€�s a struggle right now.

AHHA: What are some positive things about Jamaica that you shed light on with your album or you wish more people would talk about?

Damian: It??€�s the people, really. The people of Jamaica have a great heart. It??€�s very intense??€�it??€�s either love or hate, as they say. There??€�s no in-between. So there??€�s a vibe to Jamaica itself, it??€�s a very roots place, a very free place in that sense.

AHHA: It??€�s interesting to see the contrast in your video for ??€?Welcome to Jamrock??€?, with you as basically Reggae royalty along with the rough conditions in Kingston.

Damian: It??€�s a real contrast because, you know, those things are there also. People in Jamaica??€�it??€�s not like that??€�s the first time a BMW rolled through.

AHHA: You said you named your last album Halfway Tree because your father is from the ghetto and your mother is from uptown so you??€�re kind of like a bridge between the two. How do you think their upbringing has affected your political perspective of Jamaica?

Damian: Well, I mean, in that sense I have no reason to really be partial to any side. So I just accept what I think is the truth. Growing up, my stepfather was a politician, so I know that a politician is not somebody who??€�s just a demon walking around. He has good parts of him too, he is a human. But, I mean, we just need to start facing the facts and stop trying to save face.

AHHA: You??€�ve described your music as ??€?street music??€?, which is what most of Rap is, basically. In what ways do you think Reggae is similar to Rap?

Damian: Both of them [are] like rebel music, and that??€�s the thing. It??€�s just from the slums in that sense, and it can be used for a lot of things. Right now, it??€�s one of the outlets that we see the inner city youth are looking to escape the situation that they??€�re in.

AHHA: Are you a student of Reggae?

Damian: Well, if you want to call listening to a lot of Reggae music over the years studying, then yeah.

AHHA: And who are some of your inspirations?

Damian: Lots and lots. My earliest inspirations were mostly dancehall artists??€�people like Peter Metro, Shabba Ranks.

AHHA: When did you realize you yourself wanted to be a musician?

Damian: Kind of always, [then] getting more serious about it as a groove, coming into my teens. What kind of really attracted me to being a musician was watching other people perform live on stage. I can remember watching Shabba Ranks and the kids just loving it.

AHHA: Do you embrace the comparisons to Bob Marley or do you kind of wish people would see you as an individual first?

Damian: Well, being compared to the best, why not? [Laughs] I??€�ll embrace that any day. Him special, you know what I mean.

AHHA: Did you see your father a lot growing up?

Damian: I mean, yeah, but of course he passed in the flesh when I was very young.

AHHA: Do you think you accomplished what you wanted with the release of the single ??€?Welcome to Jamrock??€? got more people to notice more of the realistic side of Jamaica?

Damian: Yeah, [that??€�s] what??€�s going on, and I think it??€�s good. The lyrics are very important, and to see that people are really listening and understanding what I??€�m saying and rapping off of, that is satisfying.

[dumbinos]

bai cumetrilor... j-zone asta e de departe cel mai hilar om din cati au existat in muzica asta... ma sparg de ras de fiecare data cand ascult din albumele lui... ca sa nu spun ca pe deasupra e un producator FOARTE bun


J-ZONE: IN THE ZONE WITH... CAPTAIN BACKSLAP AKA THE TOM JONES OF RAP

‘You better lock up the Bacardi at ya party when the Zone roll through’, J-Zone rapped on ‘Spoiled Rotten’, a hit song of his terrific 2004 ‘A Job Ain’t Nuthin But Work’ album, his fifth album already, releasin just one year after ‘Sick Of Bein Rich’. The track also featured Celph Titled, with whom J-Zone has just finished the recordings of the ‘Bo$$ Hogg Barbarian$’ album. Jep, anno 2005, J-Zone is still one busy man: he released a remix album and produced for artists like Access Immortal and Majik Most....

But today we caught him on a time-out, suffering from a bad knee injury and tropical temperatures, time to kick back and talk about music, music and more music...

Wassup J-Zone?

Gas prices!

Majik Most told me you did a sandwich dance with two lesbians in a club called Empire and no money was spent, so I guess Florida was great fun for you?

Oh yes! I loved Florida. Me, Celph and Majik went wild. I got tore up and was throwin up in the airport the next morning. Second drunkest I ever been in my life! Lesbians will dyke out in Florida and let you joke around with em. In New York, you gotta buy them bitches drinks and sweat em all night. They act like we should be impressed that they're makin out. Bitch, I don't care, that shit ain't new! Then they give you attitude. Fuck New York and all these snotty hipster ass bitches and punk ass hoes.

When’s the ‘Bo$$ Hogg Barbarian$’ album with Celph Titled comin out? What can we expect from it?

Early 2006, probably March. It's different from what you'd expect. I mean, it's hilarious, rude and wild like you'd expect, but the beats are straight funk. There's maybe three or four songs that have that ‘Eatadiccup’/’Spoiled Rotten’ vibe. The rest is straight hoggin on some funky ass beats. Me and Celph did the beats, and we got one beat from Mr. Walt of Da Beatminerz. Don't expect ‘Pimps Don't Pay Taxes’ meets ‘The Godz Must Be Crazy’, it's some all new shit.

You did this album called ‘Hotter Than Fish Grease’ with Dick Stallion. What was the idea behind that?

We just got drunk, watched ‘American Pimp’ and said ‘let's do an album in one night’. So we just jacked all the obvious funk loops, sampled a bunch Too $hort albums for the hooks and got crazy. Written, produced, recorded and mixed in one night while we were drunk! People that heard it took it too serious, sayin ‘oh, J-Zone used to be dope, he let me down’. It was a joke! We did it for fun, it was totally unprofessional. Sometimes you gotta do outrageous shit to keep from goin crazy with all that hip-hop shit.

Wassup with Dick Stallion?

Stallion is chillin. He sang two hooks on the ‘Bo$$ Hog’ album. He's a high school teacher (seriously) and a preacher at the Church Of Pimpin.

What about Al-Shid? Is he gonna release a solo album soon?

Shid is workin on an album and he makes his own beats.I did a beat for his album and we're still real cool, but he's tryin to get his own shit off the ground. He just built a studio. I'm pressurin him to hurry up cause everybody asks about his album! Shid is the dopest MC I know.

’I rather play ‘Ice Ice Baby’ cuz that even sounds better than all of that shit out now’ you rap on your first album. Do you still play Vanilla Ice often? Was that being sarcastic or do you really dislike today’s music scene?

(laughs) Me and Celph just did a parody of that song. I was being dead serious when I said that. I mean, Vanilla Ice was weak, but he's way better than 8 out of every 10 rap songs that play on MTV now. Vanilla Ice was a perpretrator, which was mainly why he got hated on. His rhymes were just below average, and most dudes back then was at least average, but that muthafucka was flowin real dope on that song! Don't front, I'm bein serious. He could flow. I hate soundin like a bitter old man, but most dudes rhymin now is trash, so in retrospect Vanilla Ice wasn't that bad. If he came out now, he'd be pretty decent.

What do you think of the older commercial acts like MC Hammer, Kris Kross, Skee-Lo,...?

I won't lie, I like some of it. I never liked Kris Kross or Skee-Lo, but Hammer had ‘Turn This Mutha Out’. That was dope! Young MC had one or two cuts on his first album that was cool. Tone Loc's second album too.

Unlike most underground fans, you’re a big fan of E40, B-Legit, Juvenile, Suga Free,... What arguments do you have to convince underground heads to listen to these artists anyway?

All them dudes you mentioned make dope hip-hop, it's just different from the hip-hop most underground kids are used to. They got different accents and they have sample-free beats, but that doesn't mean they ain't dope. Them dudes you mentioned can all rap they ass off. If Suga Free or E-40 were to rhyme up against 98% of the underground rappers, they'd destroy the underground dudes. I put every dime I have on that bet.

You released a remix album this year, and you finally featured on a Eazy-E track! The chemistry was blazin, man! You must’ve been playing with that idea for many years before puttin it out?

(laughs) Thanks. I always wanted to do a song with Eazy, so when I decided to do the remix album I remembered I had an acapella of his song with Erick Sermon. No disrespect to Erick, but instead of just remixin the whole song, I replaced his verse with mine to make it a new song. I'll never get a chance to work with Eazy, so I had to do it.

Why did you put out this remix album?

That remix album was to show people that I'm a fan of a wide range of rappers and I got beats to fit em all. From De La Soul, to MOP, to Redman to Project Pat, who's the complete opposite of De La! I wanna work with everybody I remixed, so hopefully the project is a step closer to makin it happen.

Did you get some reactions on the ‘A Game Of Friendly Basketball’ track (of the ‘A Job Ain’t Nuthin But Work’ album), from Bow Wow, Scottie Pippen or Large Professor?

Nobody said shit. I think Large Professor is the only dude out of all of them that even heard it.

So have you been invited to a celebrity all-star match yet?

They used the song during the Celebrity All-Star Game on ESPN this year which was cool.

Let’s talk production; what’s your equipment?

MPC-2000, TR-Rack sound module with the Oxygen 8 MIDI keyboard, turntables, a Mac with ProTools, a CD-J 800, some old tube compressors and an old Tascam Analog Board.

Has it always been the same since you started producin?

I switched from SP-1200 to MPC-2000 in 1997. I started usin the sound modules in 2002. I got the CD-J in 2003 and got ProTools in 2004.

How do you like ProTools ?

‘A Job Ain't Nuthin But Work’ was my first ProTools project, I was usin DA-88 tape machines before that. ProTools makes me nervous cause computers scare me, but it makes life 1000% easier. I love how much more convenient it is. Instead of sampling acapellas and flying them in over the beats manually, I just open the session. That song ‘Edit These’ where I reverse everything but the curses, that woulda been a nightmare if I didn't have ProTools. Same with the remix album, cause I changed the tempo of the Eazy-E joint without changing the pitch of his voice. That's impossible without a computer or CD-J.

You often emphasize the importance of drum programming. Paul C was definitely one of the best in programming, but you never really mention him in interviews as being an influence. So did he influence you?

Oh hell yeah! I've mentioned him before, but there so many producers that influenced me that it's hard to remember them all on the spot. He was a damn genius. That ‘Gets No Deeper’ remix by Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud! Where he dismantled the ‘Love City’ drums?! To this day I don't know how he did it. That shit was bananas! Paul C and Ced Gee would have samples pan mixed and snatch different parts from different sides of the stereo image, which I definitely do with my beats. He was raw. Paul C, RIP. Him, Pete Rock and Timberland all revolutionized drum programming.

Listening to your beats, you can hear that you use different records of all kinds of music...What was some of the craziest shit you ever sampled?

’County Check Pimpin’ was some wild Greek shit. ‘Candy Razors’ was some foreign chant record. ‘Kill Pretty’ was some retarded rock shit. ‘Slick Talkin’ by Tame One was the weirdest Asian record I ever heard. The cover and everything. It was bizarre, dog! I used a lotta bugged shit for this upcoming album with Celph too.

You produced for household names like Biz Markie, Akinyele, Cage,...but also produced for unknown up-and-coming artists like Access Immortal, is that important for you, to keep a balance between big names and underground artists who aren’t that known?

Yeah. I try to work with household names to keep my name out and expand my audience, but I work with up-and-comers to show that I still got an ear to the ground and you never know when one of these up-and-comers is gonna blow up. I hadn't heard of Access Immortal, I knew his producer, Vanderslice. I played Access beats and he was a cool dude and I never even heard him, Vanderslice asked me to play beats and I trusted him on it. I get back the acapella for the song we did and Access was dope. I heard his album and it was real dope, it caught me by surprise. I wasn't sleepin, but most underground albums I'm not into. I liked his album though. All of a sudden people are askin me about him and there's a lil buzz on-line with his album. Now my name is attatched to the buzz. You never know when that next dude is gonna take off, so if they're dope, I'll work with an unknown.

You also engineered on a few hip-hop records fans might not be aware of, can you name some of those recordings?

I was a gofer/intern/assistant for the known records, but the records I actually engineered never came out! That's my luck. I was an intern at Power Play Studios in Queens when I was 15 years old, in 1992. I saw Akinyele's ‘Vagina Diner’ and Roxanne Shante's ‘The Bitch Is Back’ recording sessions. In 1994, when I was 17 years old, I was at Vance Wright's studio. Vance was my mentor and Slick Rick's DJ. I never met Rick cause he was in jail at the time, but I saw some sessions for Nice-N-Smooth's ‘Return Of The HipHop Freaks’ Remix and Grand Puba's ‘2000’ album. I engineered a song for Greyson (from Greyson & Jasun), and Amil (yeah, that Amil from Roc-A-Fella). They did a demo together over one of my beats in 1996, but I lost the fuckin tape. That was before she was rollin with Jay-Z. I did a session with the YG’z (they were down with Pete Rock). My first record ever was when I did a beat for Preacher Earl (down with Nice-N-Smooth) called ‘Fool, I Got Your Back’. It came out in 1996, I was 18 or 19 at the time.

During your internship at Powerplay Studios in 1992; who else did you bump into except for Large Pro and Akinyele?

I saw Rob Swift there. He and Ak was always playin the Ms. Pac Man arcade game in the studio lobby. I saw Kool G Rap, Grand Daddy I.U. and Roxanne Shante there workin on her album. Her son was with her and he had a big ass rope chain on! I pretty much gofered sessions for the unknowns, those two were the only sessions I saw with famous people.

What did you learn from your internship at Powerplay?

I didn't learn shit there except for how to wrap cables, run errands and clean trash cans, but I knew at that point I wanted to do music for a career. I always wanted to have a career in music, but at the time I was becoming a pretty good athlete. I played football, ran track and played basketball in high school. I was thinkin about sports a little bit cause I got a few minor looks for college, but I got a bad sports injury running track. Hospitalized for a week and the whole shit. That injury and those internships made me realize that the music is what I was meant to do.

Years later you produced for Akinyele... Did he still know you from the Powerplay days?

Naah. I was just an intern. I never even spoke to any of them except Large Pro. I asked him where he got his SP-1200. He told me they stopped makin em. Three months later I found one, it was my first real sampler.I told both Large and Ak about that internship when I met them years later and they both laughed. Neither remembered me.

You also did an internship with Vance Wright, tell us more about that experience...

That internship is where I really started to learn. I started out cleaning the studio and goin to the store for Vance and Greg Nice, but it was smaller than Power Play so Vance always gave me an hour of free studio time every day for myself, to figure out shit, make beat tapes, go through his records, whatever. That was summer 1994, so I was there five days a week from 11AM to 8PM. Vance and Mark Spark (a producer that did shit for Nice-N-Smooth, Grand Puba and Salt N Pepa) taught me how to program drums. Vance taught me all the equipment. When I started there, all I knew was the SP-1200. That was also the first time I got to meet the artists and talk to them at length. Like when Greg Nice told me about when him and Smooth B went down to the Sleeping Bag Records office and the gates were pulled down. The label folded and nobody called and told them, they just showed up to a shut down office! Those days were the best cause I was young and excited and learning shit everyday. I hated high school and was depressed about the sports injury, so goin to the studio after school and in the summer kept my spirit up. I eventually became a paid engineer and I'd do sessions all weekend and spend the money at the Roosevelt Hotel record conventions on Sundays, buying break beats and shit. Leavin flat broke! Those were the days. To be a high school senior and that was my job, workin with people all the kids my age looked up to, was crazy. I owe Vance for life.

Do you still have contact with him? What’s he up to nowadays?

Yeah, I spoke to him last week. He's in Atlanta with a regular job, wife and kids. He just dabbles in the music for fun. I went down there and saw him in April. He still got better beats than most these dudes that’s out.

You told me earlier you saw Greyson & Jasun...

Yeah, I still speak to them too.

What did you think of their album ‘Sweatin Me Wet’ ?

I love that album. I still bump that. The cover art looks real R&B style, so a lot of people slept on it, plus Atlantic sucked as a rap label back then, so it was underpromoted. That album was hard as a muthafucka.

Are they still doin music?

Greyson does video editing, Jasun still does beats. He just put out something with an artist named Sunshine. Greyson was talkin bout doin some new shit. He'll still destroy half these dudes on the mic. I made 4 demos with him back in the day. I still got 3 of em on tape. The only one I don't got is the one with Amil!

Do they have a fan club so we can order some T-shirts?

(laughs) I don't think so.

I read somewhere that you asked Milk D for a copy of Audio Two’s ‘First Dead Indian LP’, you got it already?

Milk only had it on DAT, but he didn't have a DAT machine anymore. I was gonna go to his crib with my DAT and burn a CD, but he was busy with the Eamon tour and went outta town. I ain't spoke to him in a year, I gotta hit him up.

What’s the deal exactly with that album?

That album never came out. I think their label, First Priority, had a problem with Atlantic. See? Fuck Atlantic.

Which Audio Two album do you like the most?

’I Don't Care -The Album’ by far !! Love that album. In my Top 20 of all time. I got in trouble with my moms for singin the lyrics to ‘Whatcha Lookin At?’ around the house. ‘Top Billin’ was cool, but ‘Get Your Mother Off The Crack’ is Milk at his best!

Do you like Milk D’s solo album ‘Never Dated’, released on American Recordings?

Hell yeah. ‘Get Off My Log’, ‘Rude and Cocky’...classic Milk. And ‘Go 2 Hell’, where he don't even rhyme on the whole song. Milk is one of my biggest influences. The original arrogant brat rapper and a dope producer.

Definitely, Audio Two were excellent producers too. The beats they did for Barsha, for example, that was maaad hard!

That's what I'm sayin! ‘Knockin Hiney’ and ‘Pimp Of The Year’ by Barsha were my favorites. I also liked ‘Fish Heads’ by Alliance and the shit they did on the second MC Lyte album. They also had that group UBC that put out ‘2 All Serious Thinkers’, but they fell out and UBC came out on EMI and tried to diss Audio Two on a song called ‘Burning Bridges’.

What’s your opinion on Ebay and the high prices you sometimes have to pay. Would you pay 200 dollars for Makeba&Skratch’s ‘Mental Fitness’ record or even 250 or more for J Rock’s ‘Street Wise’ ?

I bought most of that shit when it dropped, but sometimes you just want a clean copy and don't wanna spend that loot. I got J Rock on vinyl and it sounds shitty cause 25 minutes per side on single vinyl. I gave the tape away like an asshole back in the day, and it never dropped on CD that I know of. So now I gotta try to burn the shitty soundin vinyl to CD to preserve it. The prices is outta control, but you can't do shit about it.

Did you ever bought something on Ebay?

Yeah, but nothing too expensive. I needed No Face's 'Wake Your Daughter Up' on CD and I spent $18.

Talkin about rare albums; euhm... I also read you got the Mob Style stuff?

Yup, I got both. ‘The Good, The Bad The Ugly’ on tape and ‘Game Of Death’ on vinyl. I got AZ's solo album, ‘Streetwise’, on tape. That one is so rare it don't even got a barcode. I hope they re-issue it though. ‘The Good, The Bad The Ugly’ is out again on CD. I'm not some elitist snob that wants everything to be rare. People should hear these albums cause they never got the props they deserved back then, so I hope they get reissued.

Any more rare records from your crates you wanna mention?

MC Sergio - ‘Makin A Killin'

Royal Flush - '976-DOPE' (not the Ghetto Millionaire Royal Flush, a group from Texas)

415 - '415in'

Too Much Trouble's first 2 albums on Rap-A-Lot

All the Pretty Tone Capone (from Mob Style) 12”s. I got a Pretty Tone Capone song on a Source Magazine sampler from 1991 that never came out officially called ‘Can't Talk Too Long On The Telephone’. Classic song, and if you search the net for it, you come up with nothing.

Romeo Black – ‘Chemical Warfare’ b/w 'Same Old Same Old’ 12”

1-Five Posse - Lifestyles of The Young and Crazy

Javier & The Str8 Jackers - The Hard Way (Jermaine Dupri produced this album when he was 16 and all the beats were dope)

Anttex - ‘The Corner’ b/w ‘Ya Open’ and ‘The Other Side’ 12”

C-Lo - 817 Most Wanted (not the Goodie Mob, a gangsta rap dude from Texas)

St. Ides Malt Liquor Commercials on triple vinyl

Wow! So are there any more albums you absolutely want to have in your collection?

I need Ganksta Nip's 'South park Psycho' real bad.

What was the first record you bought?

First ever? 'The Hardness Of The World' by Slave. First rap record? The ‘High Rollers’ single by Ice-T.

What was your first remembrance of hip-hop?

1984. New York City Breakers compilation tape. My friend Rob and I went to the store with our moms and they bought us each a copy. ‘Sucker MC's’ was amazing and it had ‘White Lines’ on there too. Those were my first two rap songs I really liked. I got into hip-hop late, cause I didn't hear ‘Rapper's Delight’ and all that late 70's/ early 80's shit til later. I didn't really become a rap fanatic til 1988-89. My moms bought me the ‘Roxanne, Roxanne’ 45” by UTFO around '85. I still got that 45”. It's fried so bad it barely plays!

Let’s take the time for some names, feel free to leave some comment:

Tim Dog

Responsible for my second favorite rap album ever. ‘Penicillin On Wax’ is classic!!!

Word. So you were a big fan of Timster but also a big fan of West Coast gangsta rap. Was it hard to choose between Eazy and Tim?

Yeah man, I loved em both! I was more into Tim Dog than Eazy back then, but over the years it evened out.

Freshco & DJ Miz

I met DJ Miz and did a show with him in Australia. He spun for me. I was honored and in shock. Him, DJ Alladdin and DJ Scratch are my favorite DJ's to this day. I got footage of Freshco & Miz on MTV Raps in 1990 with Ed Lover & Doctor Dre. Miz kept buggin me for it, but I wouldn't give it up!

King T

He called me at 4 in the morning the other day, drunk as hell (laughs). He was givin me props for ‘Heavy Metal’ with Al-Shid, from my last album. He put it on his new mixtape and he was drunk and raving about it! Gotta love Teela, he's a muthafuckin legend. ‘The Triflin Album’ is a major inspiration for me to this day, and I was happy to have him on ‘Sick Of Bein' Rich’. Dream come true.

Devin The Dude

Another underrated legend. I grew up on his shit too. The Odd Squad was my shit in high school. All his solo albums are brilliant. And he's the coolest, most down to earth dude. He picked a beat from me for his next album, I hope it gets used. I hope he gets a platinum album soon, cause if he don't, it's more proof that the rap game is dead and buried.

Steady B

Ironically, I think Steady B’s ‘V' is his best album. I love that album. I guess it didn't sell cause he had to do bank jobs. I listened to his C.E.B. album with Cool C, last week. C.E.B. probably stood for ‘Casing Every Bank’!

Superlover Cee & Casanova Rud

Superlover Cee was underrated and so dope on the mic. His flow was raw!!! And their beats was hittin. 'Girls I Got Em Locked' was a classic album and the ‘Romeo’ single was one of my favorite 12”s ever, but the 'Blow Up Da Spot' EP sucked.

Style

Tony Tone! That's my dog, I know him personally. I spoke to him on the phone and I started quotin shit from the 'In Tone We Trust' album and he was buggin! He goes by T.O.N.E. now and he's still doin music. I chilled at his crib in the Bronx once, and we went to New Jersey to visit Hollywood Impact (he produced all the Style, King Sun and Twin Hype shit). I lost his numbers when I lost my cel, I gotta get at him.

Kid N Play

Just because I was a real light skinned black dude with a hi-top fade in junior high school, people used to call me Kid. Especially after ‘House Party’ came out. So I cut my hair to a gumby instead so people would shut up. Their 'Funhouse' album had some beats on it.

Rated X (the group on Tandem Rec)

You got me on that one. I never heard em.

Joeski Love

Never liked him.

Willie D

Yes!!! Everything he ever did is classic to me. All three solo albums, the Geto Boys, all that shit. He was rude as hell and would kick your ass because he was a boxer, but he was also a real intelligent dude. I still wanna do a song with him.

Robin Givens

Gold diggin tramp ass bitch, but she is so fine. I had a crush on her when she was on the ‘Head Of The Class’ TV show. And in ‘Boomerang’ I'd marry that bitch, but she did Tyson wrong.

Lucy Liu

I gave up the crush I had on her, but I'd still marry her. She's too fine. Just give me 4 minutes with her, that's all I need. 4 minutes.

Alicia Keys

She could get the Zonestroke too, but I'm not into her music.

Jada Pinkett

I'll put it on Jada too. And what's Will gonna do about it? He thinks he can beat Mike Tyson, but he can't beat me!

You performed in Amsterdam and Paris, but I believe you’ve never been to Belgium. People are waiting!

Hook it up!

We’re the land of French Fries and chocolate. And we also have the best beers in the world, but you’re not really into brew, right? What do you prefer instead?

A glass of rum and a Belgian Waffle.

I’m eager to make one myself; what exactly is in a Long Island Iced Tea?

It has five different liquors in it. Vodka, tequila, rum, gin and triple sec. Then add sweet and sour mix and Coca Cola. Just one will get you fucked up!

You call yourself the Tom Jones of Rap. Engelbert Humperfunk (who’s responsible for the funk record reviews) wonders why you didn’t pick his idol, Engelbert Humperdinck It’s because of the ‘What’s New Pussycat’ song right?

Naah, cause Grand Puba already mentioned Engelbert Humperdink on ‘All For One’!

Humperfunk is a funk addict and most of the hip-hop he listens to is based on funk music like Redman, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Son Of Bazerk, X-Clan, Stezo... You being a big funk fan, does that go for you too, do you rather listen to funk inspired hip-hop?

Yup. I never liked that smooth mellow shit. Nothin better than a raw funk loop. I didn't start makin funk type beats till ‘A Job Ain't Nuthin But Work’. Humperfunk will love the ‘Bo$$ Hog Barbarians’ album.

I’m sure he will. So how”s your grandma Evil-E doin?

Chillin, drivin me crazy.

What music does she listens to?

Brotha Lynch Hung. Naah, she doesn't listen to music, she just watches TV.

Do you sometimes play the song ‘Funky Granny’ (by Kool and The Gang) for her?

No, but I think of her everytime I hear ‘Funky Granny’.

What’s your favorite Kool and The Gang records:

'Music Is The Message', 'Kool & The Gang' (the first one) and 'Good Times'.

Your favorite Kool and The Gang breaks:

Breaks? Probably ‘Give It Up’, ‘Breeze & Soul’, ‘Chocolate Buttermilk’, ‘Music Is The Message’, ‘The Frog’, ‘Rated X’, ‘Let The Music Take Your Mind’, ‘Come Together’ and ‘Superband’. Everybody loves ‘NT’. I like ‘NT’ a lot, but not as much as these.

Your favorite James Brown breaks:

’Time Is Running Out’, ‘Mind Power’, ‘Get Up, Get Into It’, ‘Soul Pride’ and ‘I Can't Stand It '74’

Your favorite J-Zone record:

Album: ‘A Job Ain't Nuthin But Work’.
Song: ‘Rockaway & Crenshaw’ Feat. Eazy-E from the Gimme Dat Beat Fool remix album.

Your favorite First Priority records:

Audio Two - ‘I Don't Care - The Album’
Kings Of Swing – ‘Strategy’
First Priority – ‘Basement Flavor Compilation’
MC Lyte – ‘Eyes On This’
Barsha – ‘Barsha's Explicit Lyrics’

Your favorite Rap-A-Lot records:

Scarface – ‘Mr. Scarface Is Back’
Too Much Trouble – ‘Player's Choice’
Odd Squad – ‘Fadanuffaerybody’
Ganksta Nip – ‘South Park Psycho’
Geto Boys – ‘We Can't Be Stopped’

Your favorite Rhyme Syndicate records:

Ice-T – ‘O.G-Original Gangster’
Ice-T – ‘Power’
Ice-T – ‘Freedom of Speech’
Divine Styler – ‘Word Power’
Donald D – ‘Let The Horns Blow’

Your favorite LL Cool J records:

Album: ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’
Song: ‘I'm Bad’ (from Bigger & Deffer album)

Your favorite Kool G Rap records:

Album: ‘Wanted Dead Or Alive’
Song: ‘Talk Like Sex’
Verse: ‘Break A Bitch Neck’ (with Akinyele)

Your favorite Beatnuts records:

Album: ‘The Beatnuts’
Song: ‘Story’ (from Intoxicated Demons EP)

Your favorite Fat Boy:

Buffy

Your favorite Skinny Boy:

The one all the way to the left on the ‘Skinny & Proud’ album cover.

Your favorite Bizzie Boy:

Never got into em.

Your favorite Boogie Boy:

See Bizzie Boy answer.

Your favorite Wu-Tang Clanner:

ODB baby!!! RIP

Your favorite X-Clanner:

Brother J. He's incredible and mad slept on.

Your favorite Poison Clanner:

JT Money the Bitchizer, of course!

Your favorite hip-hop album covers:

C-Lo – ‘817 Most Wanted’
Big Tymers – ‘How U Love That?’
Bustdown – ‘Nasty Bitch’
J-Zone – ‘A Job Ain't Nuthin But Work’ and ‘Music For Tu Madre’ (US pressing)
Master P – ‘Mama's Bad Boy’
2 Live Crew – ‘Sports Weekend’
Ice-T – ‘Power’

What are you listening to right now?

Terminator X & The Valley Of The Jeep Beets and Da Lench Mob's ‘Guerillas In The Mist LP’.

You wrote for a few hip-hop magazines like Fatlace Magazine (famous for its reconstruction of Steady B and Cool C’s robbery, your interview with Vance Wright and the item ‘Cookin with Diamond Shell’). Does that magazine still exist?

Fatlace is dead as far as I know.

Are you still writing for a magazine and if so, if we wanted you to do a column about ‘hoodrats, doo rags and hairstyles throughout hip-hop history’ and an interview with K-Dee (author of the ‘Ass, Gass or Cash: Nobody Rides for free’ album) how much should we have to pay you?

I don't write for anybody now, except for Bounce, which is Bobbito Garcia's basketball magazine. No music mags though. If you can find me the Ganksta Nip album or the First Dead Indian album, I'll do it.

I’ll start diggin right now. Thanks a lot J-Zone!

Word up.

[sunrah]

Westcoast2K Interviews DJ Quik - September 9, 2005