JEDI MIND TRICKS - INTERVIEW
answers provided by Eyekon the Verbal Hologram and Stoupe
by Bevan Jee
BEVAN: It's obvious how you came up with your name but are you major Star
Wars fanatics?
EYEKON: The name is more symbolic than most would think. Jedi Mind Tricks
is more of a reference to the mental rituals practiced by the Jedi Knights as
opposed to a superficial reference to a pop culture icon.
BEVAN: Who are the members of the Jedi Mind Tricks crew?
EYEKON: Basically, it's just Stoupe and I, but we have an extended squad
called Army of the Pharoahs, who will also be dropping a joint around
Springtime.
BEVAN: When does The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological, and
Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Conciousness (The LP) officially
drop?
EYEKON: November 4th
BEVAN: Do you think heads are ready for your LP?
STOUPE: Yes and no; sonically, I think it's easily accessible for most.
However cerebrally I think it will be over most people's heads.
BEVAN: How would you classify your style of hip-hop?
EYEKON: Again, musically it has been labeled as "dark" or "ominous."
But that's all part of the ultimate Jedi Mind Trick. The beats are evil at
times, but the lyrics are positive. Not necessarily positive in the
traditional way, but positive because we're exuding knowledge, wisdom and
overstanding.
BEVAN: You talk about some pretty serious topics on your debut, what do
you understand about Government Conspiricys, Extra Terrestrial Biological
Entities, and Majestic 12?
EYEKON: What I know about those things could fill a library. Let's just
say that in 2003 a ship called Niburu is coming for the 144,000 chosen.
BEVAN: Where do you see Jedi Mind Tricks 5 years down the track?
STOUPE: Operating project by project is difficult enough; let alone
predicting five years into the future without some guarantee of existence.
One never knows.
BEVAN: What are you going to be releasing after this LP?
EYEKON: The Army of the Pharoahs single entitled: War Ensemble. It will
feature a bunch of independent MC's, sort of like a "supergroup"
collaboration.
BEVAN: What equipment do you use in the studio?
STOUPE: A broken ASR-10.
BEVAN: What artists are on your label, Superregular?
EYEKON: Us (jedi mind tricks), Army of the Pharoahs, Neso and a few others
who are currently in development.
BEVAN: How did you come up with the concept for Chinese Water Tourture?
EYEKON: Basically the beat created the concept. The beat just sounded
like pain and when stoupe added the sound of water dripping it was an obvious
decision.
BEVAN: What are your feelings about the importance of having a DJ scratching
in the chourus of hip-hop songs? Do you have a DJ in your crew?
STOUPE I am the producer, and I am also the DJ. The DJ controls the mood
of whomever he wants to manipulate. The DJ is and always will be the most
integral piece of the hip hop puzzle.
BEVAN: What do you think about the current state of hip-hop?
STOUPE: It's basically garbage but we were sent here to breathe new life
into it.
BEVAN: How is the music scene in your area (Philly), who should we keep an
ear out for?
EYEKON: Obviously people like The Roots and Bahamadia got mad attention,
and rightly so. But the underground is bubbling. Look out for The Lost
Children of Babylon, Mountain Brothers, 5th Dynsaty as well as people who
are laying the foundation for hip hop culture to grow like Rich Medina
at Bobbito's Footwork.
BEVAN: What are some of your musical influences, hip-hop and otherwise?
STOUPE: Mantronix, Chuck Chillout, and The Mummers.
EYEKON: Rakim Allah, Kool Keith, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk.
BEVAN: Who are your 5 favorite MCs, Producers, and DJs?
EYEKON:
MC's: Rakim Allah, Kool Keith, Pharoah Monch, Cannibis, Killah Priest.
Producers: Prince Paul, Premier, DJ Vadim, The RZA, DJ Krush.
DJ's/Turntablists: Tony Touch, Evil D, Cash Money, Q-Bert, The X-Men.
BEVAN: Thanks for the interview, do you want to send any shoutouts?
EYEKON: Peace to Lost Children of Babylon, Bahamadia, Rich Medina, 7L and
Esoteric, and the Superegular family.
STOUPE: Paul Hogan, The Bushwackers, and that guy from the Energizer
commercials.
INTERVIURI
Moderators: .etalosed, greuceanu
Interviu acordat de catre Promoe in numele trupei Looptroop, pentru site-ul http://www.HipHopBoard.net
Hi,
HHB: Are you going to release another Looptroop album in swedish?
Well, we never really released a full length album in Swedish to this day. We've put out some Swedish songs on ep's and cassettes back when that were the fashionable medias. I don't think there will be a whole Swedish Looptroop album since especially Cosmic is kind of sceptic towards that, and thinks it's a bit of a waste of time. He thinks it's more important to
record albums in English so that we can reach our international audience.
I have personlly recorded a solo song in Swedish and I have some more ideas for material that might amount to whole Promoe album in Swedish. But that's sometime in the future, right now I'm working on my solo album in English.
HHB: Is Promoe gon' release a new album? And when?
Yes, I am - like I wrote in the answer above. I will release it next year if it goes according to plans. I have not decided if I will release the album before or after the summe though... I have recorded 9 songs so far, and would like to record 7-8 more so that I can choose the 11-12 ones that I really love.
HHB: Are there any chances that Looptroop to come in Romania to have a concert?
Certainly. We like to travel all over the world to do concerts, and we have already been to some of the countries near to Romania like Bulgaria and Hungary. It all comes down to if a serious booking agent from Romania contacts us (preferrably through [email protected] (in those matters) and wants us to come and play.
HHB: Which of your albums do you think is the best?
I'm mostly in to the album that is our latest release, which at the moment is Fort Europa. It's always like that for me. When I have released my new solo album that will be my favourite and so on... It's because I think we're evolving technically and that we're constantly getting more and more to the point of what we're trying to say with our music.
HHB: Who's the next Looptroop member that will make a solo album?
Promoe, but maybe that doesn't count since I already have released solo stuff. Maybe it will be Casual Brothers, which is not a solo project, but a project that Embee and Cosmic is doing together. Supreme always says that he has no plans for solo albums anyway... Embee will probably make another sol, but it could take a while before he releases that. He is very thorough with his work.
HHB: You had concerts in many countries. Which one was the best country?
That's hard to say. We have the biggest crowds in Sweden and Germany, but Australia (at least Melbourne) was also really nice since we received so much love from a place that we had never been to before. South Africa was also a great experience since we went there a bunch of friends (Looptroop, Timbuktu, Spotrunnaz and more) and got to see a lot of the country and what was going on there. The shows were not the best or the ones with the biggest crowds, but the whole journey was really great.
HHB: Is Embee gon' release a new album?
See answer 5.
HHB: What do you think about the direction hip-hop is going these days? I'm reffering to the bling bling trend and to all the r&b artists saying they're doing hip-hop?
Hip hop is a word that's constantly changing and is getting new meanings. I can't relate to a lot of the hip hop music that's out there today, but bviously a lot of people can. That's ok for me. I'm just gonna keep on doing the music I love no matter what you call it, and I know that there will be people that wants to hear that kind of music. That's all that matters to me.
That doesn't mean that I won't critisize capitalism, and the music it breeds, but it's a difficult question I must say. I can really only do my style of music and other people will do theirs. Music is a creative thing and can't really be questioned, but some of the values in music can, and should be questioned.
HHB: Any last words in this interview for the romanian Looptroop fans?
Let your local record stores know that you want them to sell Looptroop records (they can get from Groove Attack in Germany for example). Tell your local clubs and booking agents that you want to see Looptroop live. If everything fails, order stuff from our web page looptroop.nu/shop, and travel to a country nearby if we're playing there.
Thank you. I hope you understand everything I've written. Contact me if something isn't clear.
Peace// Promoe
Hi,
HHB: Are you going to release another Looptroop album in swedish?
Well, we never really released a full length album in Swedish to this day. We've put out some Swedish songs on ep's and cassettes back when that were the fashionable medias. I don't think there will be a whole Swedish Looptroop album since especially Cosmic is kind of sceptic towards that, and thinks it's a bit of a waste of time. He thinks it's more important to
record albums in English so that we can reach our international audience.
I have personlly recorded a solo song in Swedish and I have some more ideas for material that might amount to whole Promoe album in Swedish. But that's sometime in the future, right now I'm working on my solo album in English.
HHB: Is Promoe gon' release a new album? And when?
Yes, I am - like I wrote in the answer above. I will release it next year if it goes according to plans. I have not decided if I will release the album before or after the summe though... I have recorded 9 songs so far, and would like to record 7-8 more so that I can choose the 11-12 ones that I really love.
HHB: Are there any chances that Looptroop to come in Romania to have a concert?
Certainly. We like to travel all over the world to do concerts, and we have already been to some of the countries near to Romania like Bulgaria and Hungary. It all comes down to if a serious booking agent from Romania contacts us (preferrably through [email protected] (in those matters) and wants us to come and play.
HHB: Which of your albums do you think is the best?
I'm mostly in to the album that is our latest release, which at the moment is Fort Europa. It's always like that for me. When I have released my new solo album that will be my favourite and so on... It's because I think we're evolving technically and that we're constantly getting more and more to the point of what we're trying to say with our music.
HHB: Who's the next Looptroop member that will make a solo album?
Promoe, but maybe that doesn't count since I already have released solo stuff. Maybe it will be Casual Brothers, which is not a solo project, but a project that Embee and Cosmic is doing together. Supreme always says that he has no plans for solo albums anyway... Embee will probably make another sol, but it could take a while before he releases that. He is very thorough with his work.
HHB: You had concerts in many countries. Which one was the best country?
That's hard to say. We have the biggest crowds in Sweden and Germany, but Australia (at least Melbourne) was also really nice since we received so much love from a place that we had never been to before. South Africa was also a great experience since we went there a bunch of friends (Looptroop, Timbuktu, Spotrunnaz and more) and got to see a lot of the country and what was going on there. The shows were not the best or the ones with the biggest crowds, but the whole journey was really great.
HHB: Is Embee gon' release a new album?
See answer 5.
HHB: What do you think about the direction hip-hop is going these days? I'm reffering to the bling bling trend and to all the r&b artists saying they're doing hip-hop?
Hip hop is a word that's constantly changing and is getting new meanings. I can't relate to a lot of the hip hop music that's out there today, but bviously a lot of people can. That's ok for me. I'm just gonna keep on doing the music I love no matter what you call it, and I know that there will be people that wants to hear that kind of music. That's all that matters to me.
That doesn't mean that I won't critisize capitalism, and the music it breeds, but it's a difficult question I must say. I can really only do my style of music and other people will do theirs. Music is a creative thing and can't really be questioned, but some of the values in music can, and should be questioned.
HHB: Any last words in this interview for the romanian Looptroop fans?
Let your local record stores know that you want them to sell Looptroop records (they can get from Groove Attack in Germany for example). Tell your local clubs and booking agents that you want to see Looptroop live. If everything fails, order stuff from our web page looptroop.nu/shop, and travel to a country nearby if we're playing there.
Thank you. I hope you understand everything I've written. Contact me if something isn't clear.
Peace// Promoe
-
doru649
- dimineata verific forumu
- Posts: 662
- Joined: Thu Feb 03, 2005 7:00 pm
- Location: Kishinev
- Contact:
integ interviul e prost gandit. baieti, incercati sa va grupati intrebarile cat mai firesc si coerent - eventual il puteti redacta dupa realizarea lui propriu-zisa - ca sa nu creati impresia de haos. nu se naste nimeni intelept, dar e in firea lucrurilor sa fie asa. la fel, evitati stereotipurile si documentati'va serios. se cheama "lazy journalism" ce'ati facut aici.arigo wrote:ok, aici m-a apucat rasul si am incetat sa citesc. respect pt ca ai reusit sa vorbesti cu el. atatbLuEsHiFt wrote:HHB: Are you going to release another Looptroop album in swedish?
Well, we never really released a full length album in Swedish to this day.
-
dumbinos
- rapperu vostru preferat
- Posts: 240
- Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2005 4:59 pm
- Location: bucarest
- Contact:
Phonte Of Little Brother Speaks
By Andreas Hale
By now we all know about Little Brother getting a taste
of the Benzino and Mays shaft over at The Source which
ultimately led to the resignation of Editor-In-Chief,
Joshua "Fahiym" Ratcliffe. After the shit hit the fan
(once again), I decided to ask the man who was in the
middle of the latest ratings fiasco to speak on what
happened. What came out of this impromptu interview was
one of the most insightful, honest and compelling views
of the industry. All this coming from 1/3 of the group
that has plans to turn hip-hop on it's collective ear
with The Minstrel Show.
HHS- Phonte, explain the concept and the origins of The
Minstrel Show. For many that may not completely
understand where the concept came from and why it is so
important.
Phonte- Basically the concept came from me, Pooh and 9th
sitting around and thinking about the state of hip-hop,
thinking about what music blows up versus the music that
doesn't. A lot of times I'm the chief concept writer of
the group and a lot of times we'll have the same idea
but I'll be the one that will take it really far-
sometimes too far. (laughter) That's what we came up
with. It was like "Yo...The Minstrel Show!" And we was
like "Fuck it let's ride."
The title comes from the minstrel shows of the late
1800's/early 1900's where you had white performers in
blackface singing and dancing- essentially making a
mockery of black people. The thing about the minstrel
shows was that even though it was a very crude artform,
vulgar, racist or whatever, that it was also the most
popular form of American entertainment. In looking at
that you can draw many parallels to hip-hop. Hip Hop is
one of the top selling forms of entertainment, one of
the most commercialized forms of music. Yet, it is also
the most violent, the most misogynist, the most
materialistic.....there really isn't any kind of moral
center, I guess if you want to say that.
In the minstrel shows you had black people performing in
the shows, but in order to be in the shows they had to
wear the blackface too.
That's a pretty crazy parallel to now- you have niggas
in the game who want to rap but in order to do so they
feel that they have to talk about guns, or they have to
talk about drugs, pimpin or whatever. That essentially
is the new blackface. Niggas think that is the only way
to do it. Our forefathers and performers that came
before us had no choice but to do it. They had to
perform in the minstrel shows, work the chitlin circuit
and all that shit..... That was their only outlet. All
the entertainment cats who came before us walked through
the back door so we could walk through the front. And
now, since black folks can actually walk thru the front
door, it's like "what the fuck are we bringing to the
table?"
We are in a position where we can own our own companies,
make and distribute our own records so what kind of
legacy are we going to leave behind? It's like you don't
want your grandfather from the civil rights movement
yelling at you like "Nigga, I marched for civil rights
so you could make the fuckin whisper song!?!?" like "I
got sprayed with hoses, chased by pit bulls, white folks
calling me nigger everyday just so you can be a
mothafuckin' P.I.M.P. and all this shit?" (laughter)
And I mean, I'm a fan of both of those records, but when
songs with that kind of subject matter make up 80-90% of
the hip hop you hear on the radio there is a problem, ya
know?
This album is to bring balance to the game. Hip Hop
wouldn't be hip hop if all you heard was Little Brother,
Common and Tribe all day either, ya know? It needs a
balance. And when there isn't a balance somebody has to
blow the whistle and that is essentially what we are
doing with this record.
HHS- Would you say that today in hip hop that there is a
lot of Shuckin and Jivin going on?
Phonte- I think so. You can't play this game with clean
hands. Everybody has to give up a little of themselves
to be in this game. You should know that in hip hop you
are swimming with sharks. It's nasty, it's cutthroat and
when you get bit by a shark- i.e. a Source rating gets
changed- you can't really be fuckin' surprised
(laughter). It's like what the fuck did you expect?
I think it's a lot of cats that are scared to be
themselves or show another side of themselves. We know
they gotta get that money. So do what you gotta do to
make that first album and sell a few million copies or
whatever, and now you are set with money that should
last you a lifetime. So now that your financial future
is secure what else are you going to do? How are you
gonna give back?
For example, I personally would be much more interested
in hearing 50 Cent make songs about being a businessman
than listening to him make songs about being in the club
or flippin' bricks or whatever, ya know? Let me hear
about the business side of this shit. Let me know what
its like to deal with them white folks who hate your
guts, but won't shit on you because they know that your
album sales just put their kids' kids through college. I
wanna know about that. That struggle, that whole
dichotomy of being a successful black businessman in a
world that hates and fears black men. That is more of a
message that you can give to the youth.
Pretty much, as rappers we are like the new superheroes.
People think that kids are just listening to these
records and that's not true. Kids aren't just listening
to these records, they are LIVING by these records! Real
talk. Any nigga that deludes themselves by saying "I'm
not a role model" or whatever is fucking crazy! Kids
live and die by this shit! So what you say is going to
cause them to either live or die in some way, shape or
form.
I think the whole shuckin and jivin thing is more about
fear. I know niggas fear losing they money but I think
niggas are more scared of losing that spotlight, that
fame, ya know? Niggas will do ANYTHING to be famous!
(laughter). American culture feeds off of that shit.
Look at all these reality shows that make famous people
out of fuckin' idiots. We feed off of that stupidity.
That shit is retarded. Niggas would rather be famous
broke people than be anonymous millionaires, ya know?
They'd rather be the nigga in the club yelling "I'm the
man!" than the nigga sitting quietly outside who owns
the block that the club is sitting on. That fame shit is
a drug, man.
HHS- You touched on the Source thing, but before we get
into that, Whose fault do you think it is for not making
a change; the journalists who are scared to call a spade
a spade or the artists for continuing to perform in
blackface per se'? Or is it a combination of both?
I think it's a combination of both. We called the album
the Minstrel Show but people thought that "yo, they
callin out 50 or they callin out Lil' Jon and dissin'
all these niggas" but I'm like "nah man."
The whole idea of it is that in some way, shape or form
we are all at fault for this shit. We are all players in
the minstrel show in some way. When "P.I.M.P." came on
at a party did you get up and dance to that shit or did
you sit down and say (in uppity voice): "Oh no! That's
not right! This objectifies women! This is horrible!"
Hell naw, you didn't! If you was like me, nigga you was
dancing to it! (laughter) And if you were dancing to it
and enjoying it, that's cool, just accept your
responsibility and know that we all have played some
part in hip hop losin' its way or whatever.
The rappers and emcees have to take responsibility in
giving some kind of positive message to the kids,
though. Not even about some corny "stay in school and be
cool" shit. If you lived your life as a drug dealer then
talk about it. But there is a difference between talking
about it and glorifying it. There IS a difference. Jay-Z
is a prime example of a person who simply says "I did
this, this was my life and this is how I made it out of
that" And I think that's why he is respected so much in
this game.
On the other end, it is these journalists and magazines
who at the end of the day are all in bed with somebody,
some kind of corporation. But hopefully with cats like
Fahiym (Now FORMER editor of the Source), maybe we can
spark the revolution. Cats just calling it out as it is.
HHS: What role do the fans of hip-hop play in all of
this?
The fans have to expect more and demand better. If they
don't demand better then they don't get better.
Shit...it's like airport food. It ain't good because it
doesn't have to be good. Restaurants depend on repeat
customers like "I'm trying to build a clientele so my
shit has got to be on point. So if I'm working at
Applebees on such and such road, I want folks to know
that the steak fajitas from the Applebees on such and
such road be the bomb!" Ya know? Because they are trying
to build that long term customer that keeps coming back.
In the airport, all of their customers are mothafuckas
that's just passing through so the shit don't gotta be
good. It's like "nigga you just got off an 8 hour flight
from Bangkok so I KNOW your ass is hungry! (laughter)
How can you NOT eat this shit? I know its half cooked,
but you gonna eat it anyway." Which is a lot like
hip-hop, the shit ain't good because it don't have to be
good. People are just passing through this shit like its
a fad. There aren't many rappers trying to build
careers. There's a new rapper every damn day. Niggas
just try to hop in, get all of their money and then get
the fuck out.
All these different things (fans, journalists, people)
contribute to how retarded this rap shit is.... But then
there's the industry in itself, the powers that be or
whatever. The Clear Channels and Viacoms and shit. They
run this game, man and they have to take responsibility
too.
It's hard to say to a parent "If you don't like what's
on the radio/tv then just turn off the radio/tv" because
parents aren't with their children 24hrs a day. Unless
I'm hiding my kid under a rock or locking him in the
basement he's gonna be exposed to this shit. The
industry has got to take responsibility for some of this
shit they put out. When you have that much power and you
can put ANY music video on television and play ANY song
you want to 30-40 times a day, then you have a crazy
amount of power that can be used as a positive or a
negative. Look at it like this...
In "Super Size Me" they had a part on school cafeterias
and their lunches, and one school in particular served
lean cut chicken and more fruits and vegetables instead
of pizzas and french fries and shit. The cost was damn
near identical but they just wanted to give their kids a
better diet. And in doing that the kids' behavior
patterns changed, a lot of problems stopped. Studying
and attendance went up, instances of Attention Deficit
Disorder and such went down. So, I'm watching this shit
and asking myself: "If what you feed your body can make
a difference, why don't people think that what you feed
your mind can make a difference too?" ‘Cause that's
essentially what music is: food that subconsciously
feeds the mind.
I know if I'm a nigga that runs the record business, I
could choose to feed these people junk all day. But if I
know that it's going to cost me the same or even cheaper
to give them something that isn't as destructive then
why wouldn't I give them that? If all I feed them is a
diet of sex, murder, and drug sales, then why not throw
some more Kanye or Saigon or Common in there to at least
help balance the shit out?
There aren't a lot of kids who are able to bring their
lunch from home ya know? There are some kids that are
like "Fuck this I ain't eating this shit" –i.e. turning
off the radio- but that's a very small percent. Most
people just eat what they can because they feel like
they don't have a choice. If you know that there are
kids that don't really have a choice then why don't you
give them the best that you can give them?
HHS- Okay lets get into the magazine shit. What
happened? Give us a first person view of what went down.
Phonte- Pretty much with XXL I was told, by some of the
writers when we had the listening session in New York,
that our album was better than Common's album. So I'm
thinking that if Common's album got a XXL, and cats is
sayin that The Minstrel Show is better than that, then
ours would be up there too. Truthfully though, man, I
knew that they would never give us a perfect rating
because a) they already gave a perfect rating to Common
and if they gave us a perfect rating then people would
be like "Okay, XXL is dickriding the backpack niggas
now," and b)Kanye's Late Registration is coming out and
I know he has a lot of fans over at the magazine.
So basically we was told by XXL that "Yo the album is
dope but we don't want to give two classic ratings in a
row." So either they are feeling like they already gave
it to Com so they can't give it to us, or they are about
to roll out the red carpet for Kanye. Either way, it
doesn't matter. There's a lot of good writers and good
people over at Harris who personally support niggas, so
I ain't mad. It is what it is.
HHS- We all know that folks gushed over Common's album
and rumor has it that they praised your album the same
but then all of a sudden when the issue came out you got
an XL alongside an artist like Tony Yayo; who I know had
his album shitted on by many in the industry which makes
your XL seem like a moot point so to speak. Then you
look at the Source and Fahiym trying to show you some
love and Benzino coming and basically shooting it down.
So why do you think this happens. Do you think its
because you are a new artist that doesn't have that big
label push and money to get that 5 mics or XXL or is it
that The Minstrel Show is basically mocking these people
that are gracing the covers of magazines and such and by
giving you a classic rating its almost like they are
dissing themselves?
Phonte- I don't even think it's that deep. I don't even
know if Mays and Benzino even heard the album. I don't
think it got that far. I think it was more of the fact
that we are a new group and not in anybody's pocket or
part of anybody's million dollar boys club or whatever,
not ‘heavy in the streets' or whatever the fuck... we
are pretty much on an island with no alliances. Even
though 9th did tracks for Jay and Destiny's Child we
still don't have those million dollars alliances, ya
know? We came into the game alone. Our whole career may
be like that and if that's how we gotta ride then fuck
it, at least we're doing it on our own terms.
The thing about it that hurt the most is that before
this shit happened I was one of the Source's biggest
supporters. When they gave us 4 mics on The Listening, a
lot of people was like, "yo, fuck them Source niggas
they wack, them mics don't mean shit anymore." And I
was one of the few people who was like, "Nah, those mics
STILL mean something, yo. Plenty of 16 year olds who've
never logged onto Hip Hop Site or Okayplayer might give
my record a listen on the strength of what they saw in
that magazine. Regardless of what you wanna say about
their integrity or whatever, they're still the Source.
They are still one of the most recognizable brands in
hip hop today. Plus, I know that just like XXL, there
were a lot of good people and good writers working over
there, like Fahiym and like Jerry Barrow, who now runs
Scratch, so I would always try to defend them. But at
the end of the day, the writers and editors are just
Indians, ya know. The chiefs are the ones who
ultimately make the decisions.
HHS- So what exactly happened at The Source?
Phonte- The Source man... basically Fahiym felt that the
album was dope and deserved a 4 and ½ and the writer who
wrote the review and alot of the staff felt the same
way. But Benzino and Dave Mays just didn't agree. From
what Fahiym told me, it was mainly Benzino that acted
crazy about it. So basically it was told to Fahiym that
this is what we do, we sign your checks and if you don't
like it then get out. Fahiym was like "Aiight well then
I'm out!"
HHS- Wow! How many people do you know would actually be
given that ultimatum and say fuck it I'm out. Hats off
to Fahiym! I mean how many writers have you heard of
that would do that for something they believe in?
Phonte- Very few, if anybody man! It's just rare to find
those people that have no price tag on their integrity.
It's one thing to bump heads and not agree with someone
but for you to try to play a nigga on some ‘don't bite
the hand that feeds you' type shit...its like c'mon
dawg. You ain't the only hand that can feed a nigga...
Fuck outta here! (laughter)
But you know that there are a lot of niggas that are
scared to stand up and be a man for whatever reason;
scared to lose their money or their fame or connections
or whatever. It's amazing what this industry does to
people. This isn't the only story I've heard like this.
I'm not just talking about The Source, I'm just talking
about in general. Some of this shit will amaze you- the
bullshit and personal humiliation that niggas will
tolerate to stay on the "inside" of this industry. Like,
how the fuck do yall niggas play yourselves like that?
I was a man before I was a rapper. I mean regardless of
my career I still have to look at myself in the mirror.
The day I can't do that is the day I'll stop rhyming.
I'll quit altogether. When you can't stomach the
decisions you make and straight play yourself...that's
some sad ass shit. That's pathetic. So I just take my
hat off to Fahiym. Dude stuck his neck out because he
genuinely believed in niggas, man.....that's love right
there. I got nothing but love for that brother. And
not only because he did it over our album, because if it
wasn't us then I'm sure it woulda been another group
down the line. I applaud him for having the guts to
stand by his beliefs, whether they be for LB or anybody.
I hope on the 13th of September that people just pick up
the album and make their own decision. Or they can
bootleg it when it hits the ‘net a few weeks before
that. (laughter) I think that this whole situation helps
us more than they realize you know? We got people
talking about it. So I thank them dudes (Source). Thanks
for the little bit of press. We got the wheels turning.
(laughter)
HHS- Hopefully we can change this shit up...
Phonte- Hopefully so. Change isn't one big wave, its
something that is built up by a bunch of little things
happening and this is just the start of it.
By Andreas Hale
By now we all know about Little Brother getting a taste
of the Benzino and Mays shaft over at The Source which
ultimately led to the resignation of Editor-In-Chief,
Joshua "Fahiym" Ratcliffe. After the shit hit the fan
(once again), I decided to ask the man who was in the
middle of the latest ratings fiasco to speak on what
happened. What came out of this impromptu interview was
one of the most insightful, honest and compelling views
of the industry. All this coming from 1/3 of the group
that has plans to turn hip-hop on it's collective ear
with The Minstrel Show.
HHS- Phonte, explain the concept and the origins of The
Minstrel Show. For many that may not completely
understand where the concept came from and why it is so
important.
Phonte- Basically the concept came from me, Pooh and 9th
sitting around and thinking about the state of hip-hop,
thinking about what music blows up versus the music that
doesn't. A lot of times I'm the chief concept writer of
the group and a lot of times we'll have the same idea
but I'll be the one that will take it really far-
sometimes too far. (laughter) That's what we came up
with. It was like "Yo...The Minstrel Show!" And we was
like "Fuck it let's ride."
The title comes from the minstrel shows of the late
1800's/early 1900's where you had white performers in
blackface singing and dancing- essentially making a
mockery of black people. The thing about the minstrel
shows was that even though it was a very crude artform,
vulgar, racist or whatever, that it was also the most
popular form of American entertainment. In looking at
that you can draw many parallels to hip-hop. Hip Hop is
one of the top selling forms of entertainment, one of
the most commercialized forms of music. Yet, it is also
the most violent, the most misogynist, the most
materialistic.....there really isn't any kind of moral
center, I guess if you want to say that.
In the minstrel shows you had black people performing in
the shows, but in order to be in the shows they had to
wear the blackface too.
That's a pretty crazy parallel to now- you have niggas
in the game who want to rap but in order to do so they
feel that they have to talk about guns, or they have to
talk about drugs, pimpin or whatever. That essentially
is the new blackface. Niggas think that is the only way
to do it. Our forefathers and performers that came
before us had no choice but to do it. They had to
perform in the minstrel shows, work the chitlin circuit
and all that shit..... That was their only outlet. All
the entertainment cats who came before us walked through
the back door so we could walk through the front. And
now, since black folks can actually walk thru the front
door, it's like "what the fuck are we bringing to the
table?"
We are in a position where we can own our own companies,
make and distribute our own records so what kind of
legacy are we going to leave behind? It's like you don't
want your grandfather from the civil rights movement
yelling at you like "Nigga, I marched for civil rights
so you could make the fuckin whisper song!?!?" like "I
got sprayed with hoses, chased by pit bulls, white folks
calling me nigger everyday just so you can be a
mothafuckin' P.I.M.P. and all this shit?" (laughter)
And I mean, I'm a fan of both of those records, but when
songs with that kind of subject matter make up 80-90% of
the hip hop you hear on the radio there is a problem, ya
know?
This album is to bring balance to the game. Hip Hop
wouldn't be hip hop if all you heard was Little Brother,
Common and Tribe all day either, ya know? It needs a
balance. And when there isn't a balance somebody has to
blow the whistle and that is essentially what we are
doing with this record.
HHS- Would you say that today in hip hop that there is a
lot of Shuckin and Jivin going on?
Phonte- I think so. You can't play this game with clean
hands. Everybody has to give up a little of themselves
to be in this game. You should know that in hip hop you
are swimming with sharks. It's nasty, it's cutthroat and
when you get bit by a shark- i.e. a Source rating gets
changed- you can't really be fuckin' surprised
(laughter). It's like what the fuck did you expect?
I think it's a lot of cats that are scared to be
themselves or show another side of themselves. We know
they gotta get that money. So do what you gotta do to
make that first album and sell a few million copies or
whatever, and now you are set with money that should
last you a lifetime. So now that your financial future
is secure what else are you going to do? How are you
gonna give back?
For example, I personally would be much more interested
in hearing 50 Cent make songs about being a businessman
than listening to him make songs about being in the club
or flippin' bricks or whatever, ya know? Let me hear
about the business side of this shit. Let me know what
its like to deal with them white folks who hate your
guts, but won't shit on you because they know that your
album sales just put their kids' kids through college. I
wanna know about that. That struggle, that whole
dichotomy of being a successful black businessman in a
world that hates and fears black men. That is more of a
message that you can give to the youth.
Pretty much, as rappers we are like the new superheroes.
People think that kids are just listening to these
records and that's not true. Kids aren't just listening
to these records, they are LIVING by these records! Real
talk. Any nigga that deludes themselves by saying "I'm
not a role model" or whatever is fucking crazy! Kids
live and die by this shit! So what you say is going to
cause them to either live or die in some way, shape or
form.
I think the whole shuckin and jivin thing is more about
fear. I know niggas fear losing they money but I think
niggas are more scared of losing that spotlight, that
fame, ya know? Niggas will do ANYTHING to be famous!
(laughter). American culture feeds off of that shit.
Look at all these reality shows that make famous people
out of fuckin' idiots. We feed off of that stupidity.
That shit is retarded. Niggas would rather be famous
broke people than be anonymous millionaires, ya know?
They'd rather be the nigga in the club yelling "I'm the
man!" than the nigga sitting quietly outside who owns
the block that the club is sitting on. That fame shit is
a drug, man.
HHS- You touched on the Source thing, but before we get
into that, Whose fault do you think it is for not making
a change; the journalists who are scared to call a spade
a spade or the artists for continuing to perform in
blackface per se'? Or is it a combination of both?
I think it's a combination of both. We called the album
the Minstrel Show but people thought that "yo, they
callin out 50 or they callin out Lil' Jon and dissin'
all these niggas" but I'm like "nah man."
The whole idea of it is that in some way, shape or form
we are all at fault for this shit. We are all players in
the minstrel show in some way. When "P.I.M.P." came on
at a party did you get up and dance to that shit or did
you sit down and say (in uppity voice): "Oh no! That's
not right! This objectifies women! This is horrible!"
Hell naw, you didn't! If you was like me, nigga you was
dancing to it! (laughter) And if you were dancing to it
and enjoying it, that's cool, just accept your
responsibility and know that we all have played some
part in hip hop losin' its way or whatever.
The rappers and emcees have to take responsibility in
giving some kind of positive message to the kids,
though. Not even about some corny "stay in school and be
cool" shit. If you lived your life as a drug dealer then
talk about it. But there is a difference between talking
about it and glorifying it. There IS a difference. Jay-Z
is a prime example of a person who simply says "I did
this, this was my life and this is how I made it out of
that" And I think that's why he is respected so much in
this game.
On the other end, it is these journalists and magazines
who at the end of the day are all in bed with somebody,
some kind of corporation. But hopefully with cats like
Fahiym (Now FORMER editor of the Source), maybe we can
spark the revolution. Cats just calling it out as it is.
HHS: What role do the fans of hip-hop play in all of
this?
The fans have to expect more and demand better. If they
don't demand better then they don't get better.
Shit...it's like airport food. It ain't good because it
doesn't have to be good. Restaurants depend on repeat
customers like "I'm trying to build a clientele so my
shit has got to be on point. So if I'm working at
Applebees on such and such road, I want folks to know
that the steak fajitas from the Applebees on such and
such road be the bomb!" Ya know? Because they are trying
to build that long term customer that keeps coming back.
In the airport, all of their customers are mothafuckas
that's just passing through so the shit don't gotta be
good. It's like "nigga you just got off an 8 hour flight
from Bangkok so I KNOW your ass is hungry! (laughter)
How can you NOT eat this shit? I know its half cooked,
but you gonna eat it anyway." Which is a lot like
hip-hop, the shit ain't good because it don't have to be
good. People are just passing through this shit like its
a fad. There aren't many rappers trying to build
careers. There's a new rapper every damn day. Niggas
just try to hop in, get all of their money and then get
the fuck out.
All these different things (fans, journalists, people)
contribute to how retarded this rap shit is.... But then
there's the industry in itself, the powers that be or
whatever. The Clear Channels and Viacoms and shit. They
run this game, man and they have to take responsibility
too.
It's hard to say to a parent "If you don't like what's
on the radio/tv then just turn off the radio/tv" because
parents aren't with their children 24hrs a day. Unless
I'm hiding my kid under a rock or locking him in the
basement he's gonna be exposed to this shit. The
industry has got to take responsibility for some of this
shit they put out. When you have that much power and you
can put ANY music video on television and play ANY song
you want to 30-40 times a day, then you have a crazy
amount of power that can be used as a positive or a
negative. Look at it like this...
In "Super Size Me" they had a part on school cafeterias
and their lunches, and one school in particular served
lean cut chicken and more fruits and vegetables instead
of pizzas and french fries and shit. The cost was damn
near identical but they just wanted to give their kids a
better diet. And in doing that the kids' behavior
patterns changed, a lot of problems stopped. Studying
and attendance went up, instances of Attention Deficit
Disorder and such went down. So, I'm watching this shit
and asking myself: "If what you feed your body can make
a difference, why don't people think that what you feed
your mind can make a difference too?" ‘Cause that's
essentially what music is: food that subconsciously
feeds the mind.
I know if I'm a nigga that runs the record business, I
could choose to feed these people junk all day. But if I
know that it's going to cost me the same or even cheaper
to give them something that isn't as destructive then
why wouldn't I give them that? If all I feed them is a
diet of sex, murder, and drug sales, then why not throw
some more Kanye or Saigon or Common in there to at least
help balance the shit out?
There aren't a lot of kids who are able to bring their
lunch from home ya know? There are some kids that are
like "Fuck this I ain't eating this shit" –i.e. turning
off the radio- but that's a very small percent. Most
people just eat what they can because they feel like
they don't have a choice. If you know that there are
kids that don't really have a choice then why don't you
give them the best that you can give them?
HHS- Okay lets get into the magazine shit. What
happened? Give us a first person view of what went down.
Phonte- Pretty much with XXL I was told, by some of the
writers when we had the listening session in New York,
that our album was better than Common's album. So I'm
thinking that if Common's album got a XXL, and cats is
sayin that The Minstrel Show is better than that, then
ours would be up there too. Truthfully though, man, I
knew that they would never give us a perfect rating
because a) they already gave a perfect rating to Common
and if they gave us a perfect rating then people would
be like "Okay, XXL is dickriding the backpack niggas
now," and b)Kanye's Late Registration is coming out and
I know he has a lot of fans over at the magazine.
So basically we was told by XXL that "Yo the album is
dope but we don't want to give two classic ratings in a
row." So either they are feeling like they already gave
it to Com so they can't give it to us, or they are about
to roll out the red carpet for Kanye. Either way, it
doesn't matter. There's a lot of good writers and good
people over at Harris who personally support niggas, so
I ain't mad. It is what it is.
HHS- We all know that folks gushed over Common's album
and rumor has it that they praised your album the same
but then all of a sudden when the issue came out you got
an XL alongside an artist like Tony Yayo; who I know had
his album shitted on by many in the industry which makes
your XL seem like a moot point so to speak. Then you
look at the Source and Fahiym trying to show you some
love and Benzino coming and basically shooting it down.
So why do you think this happens. Do you think its
because you are a new artist that doesn't have that big
label push and money to get that 5 mics or XXL or is it
that The Minstrel Show is basically mocking these people
that are gracing the covers of magazines and such and by
giving you a classic rating its almost like they are
dissing themselves?
Phonte- I don't even think it's that deep. I don't even
know if Mays and Benzino even heard the album. I don't
think it got that far. I think it was more of the fact
that we are a new group and not in anybody's pocket or
part of anybody's million dollar boys club or whatever,
not ‘heavy in the streets' or whatever the fuck... we
are pretty much on an island with no alliances. Even
though 9th did tracks for Jay and Destiny's Child we
still don't have those million dollars alliances, ya
know? We came into the game alone. Our whole career may
be like that and if that's how we gotta ride then fuck
it, at least we're doing it on our own terms.
The thing about it that hurt the most is that before
this shit happened I was one of the Source's biggest
supporters. When they gave us 4 mics on The Listening, a
lot of people was like, "yo, fuck them Source niggas
they wack, them mics don't mean shit anymore." And I
was one of the few people who was like, "Nah, those mics
STILL mean something, yo. Plenty of 16 year olds who've
never logged onto Hip Hop Site or Okayplayer might give
my record a listen on the strength of what they saw in
that magazine. Regardless of what you wanna say about
their integrity or whatever, they're still the Source.
They are still one of the most recognizable brands in
hip hop today. Plus, I know that just like XXL, there
were a lot of good people and good writers working over
there, like Fahiym and like Jerry Barrow, who now runs
Scratch, so I would always try to defend them. But at
the end of the day, the writers and editors are just
Indians, ya know. The chiefs are the ones who
ultimately make the decisions.
HHS- So what exactly happened at The Source?
Phonte- The Source man... basically Fahiym felt that the
album was dope and deserved a 4 and ½ and the writer who
wrote the review and alot of the staff felt the same
way. But Benzino and Dave Mays just didn't agree. From
what Fahiym told me, it was mainly Benzino that acted
crazy about it. So basically it was told to Fahiym that
this is what we do, we sign your checks and if you don't
like it then get out. Fahiym was like "Aiight well then
I'm out!"
HHS- Wow! How many people do you know would actually be
given that ultimatum and say fuck it I'm out. Hats off
to Fahiym! I mean how many writers have you heard of
that would do that for something they believe in?
Phonte- Very few, if anybody man! It's just rare to find
those people that have no price tag on their integrity.
It's one thing to bump heads and not agree with someone
but for you to try to play a nigga on some ‘don't bite
the hand that feeds you' type shit...its like c'mon
dawg. You ain't the only hand that can feed a nigga...
Fuck outta here! (laughter)
But you know that there are a lot of niggas that are
scared to stand up and be a man for whatever reason;
scared to lose their money or their fame or connections
or whatever. It's amazing what this industry does to
people. This isn't the only story I've heard like this.
I'm not just talking about The Source, I'm just talking
about in general. Some of this shit will amaze you- the
bullshit and personal humiliation that niggas will
tolerate to stay on the "inside" of this industry. Like,
how the fuck do yall niggas play yourselves like that?
I was a man before I was a rapper. I mean regardless of
my career I still have to look at myself in the mirror.
The day I can't do that is the day I'll stop rhyming.
I'll quit altogether. When you can't stomach the
decisions you make and straight play yourself...that's
some sad ass shit. That's pathetic. So I just take my
hat off to Fahiym. Dude stuck his neck out because he
genuinely believed in niggas, man.....that's love right
there. I got nothing but love for that brother. And
not only because he did it over our album, because if it
wasn't us then I'm sure it woulda been another group
down the line. I applaud him for having the guts to
stand by his beliefs, whether they be for LB or anybody.
I hope on the 13th of September that people just pick up
the album and make their own decision. Or they can
bootleg it when it hits the ‘net a few weeks before
that. (laughter) I think that this whole situation helps
us more than they realize you know? We got people
talking about it. So I thank them dudes (Source). Thanks
for the little bit of press. We got the wheels turning.
(laughter)
HHS- Hopefully we can change this shit up...
Phonte- Hopefully so. Change isn't one big wave, its
something that is built up by a bunch of little things
happening and this is just the start of it.
-
dumbinos
- rapperu vostru preferat
- Posts: 240
- Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2005 4:59 pm
- Location: bucarest
- Contact:
Being Common Sense
By William Ketchum III
For years, Common has been the ying to commercial
hip-hop's yang—and aside from attaining gold status with
his new album, Be, he still is. Rather than enlist a
"who's who" pile of A-List producers, he was content
with the duo Kanye West and J. Dilla. While most of
today's hip-hop albums overfeed listeners with skits and
filler tracks, Be is physically fit with a lean 11
songs. And while many young MCs boast possession of a
plethora of women, Common would rather be "Faithful" to
one. But, as he tells HipHopSite.com, Common still
loves the kids.
HipHopSite: what is it like to experience widespread
success this late in your career?
Common: First of all, it's a blessing. I feel grateful
that I'm at this point, but I've always looked at my
career as a mountain climb. There's still a long way to
go. There's just one level that I'm at now, and I've
got to go higher and higher. There's still a long way
to go, and this is a career. I thank God that He's
allowed me to make music that's relevant for this period
of time, and I believe, hope and pray that I'll continue
to keep progressing. I feel great about (widespread
success), but I've got a long way to go. I'm hungry.
HipHopSite: You came into hip-hop during the golden era;
what do you think you represent from that?
Common: I represent the spirit of what MCing is. I feel
that I can bring the MC that can talk about
spirituality, that can talk about love, that can talk
about God, that can talk about streets, that can talk
about other MCs, that uses his imagination, that's
creative, that has a hunger. I feel that I'm one of
those brings that to present-day hip-hop.
HipHopSite: What made you choose "Testify" for the next
single?
Common: So many people respond to it at shows, and radio
stations are already playing. That's the song that when
we go around the country, as soon as it comes on, people
start jumping up. That's the joint, and we can do an
excellent video for it.
HipHopSite: You've started a hat line, and around the
time Electric Circus came out, fashion was looked at as
one of your weaknesses. What's it like to go from that,
to getting a full-size fashion spread in KING magazine?
Common: As much as people talked, people still paid
attention to what I was wearing. When you're an
individual, people are going to talk, but if people are
talking, you're relevant, something you're doing is
important. I was still confident in myself and my
style, and knowing that it evolved to something that now
the masses are enjoying is a good feeling. It's like,
"Yeah, they see where I'm at now. Now, they connected
with me" I may go through other changes, but they'll be
like, "Hey, that's what he's doing." But right now, I'm
glad they can connect with it. I'm glad I can be noted
as someone fashionable and stylish, because I always
felt that I have good styles. Sometimes, I just go into
my own thing, and my own thing isn't what everybody
likes.
HipHopSite: You've had sex symbol status for a while
now, but with "GO!" you came more aggressive.
Common: For me, it was just a way of showing a side of
me that I think people neglected to see, or (a side)
that maybe I didn't show the last couple of years. It's
just a fun song. It is me, so I just wanted to express
it, and be able to be creative and be sexual, and talk
about things that I fantasize and like. I wanted to
show the balance of who I am as a person. Every day and
every hour isn't about the Bible or Koraan. Though I
live that, and that's in my songs, sometimes I party.
Sometimes I might drink some red wine and sit down and
talk with some nice ladies. I just feel that we're
humans, and we can show that everything isn't just
squeaky-clean and perfect.
HipHopSite: You have a seven-year-old daughter, and you
have children talking on the outro of the album. You
also have a line on the intro where you say, "I look
into my daughter's eyes, and realize, I'ma learn through
her/the Messiah might even return through her/if I'ma do
it, I've got to change the world through her." First
off, what did you mean by that line?
Common: Sometimes, you can learn a lot from your own
child and just children in general, and the truth they
express. I started realizing that there are some things
in life that she's going to teach me, the same way that
my mother is learning from me. We have to be open to
learn from our children too, as well as teaching them.
As far as "change the world through her," the
resurrection may come through listening to children. If
we give them enough knowledge, enough love, and enough
wisdom, our wisdom is going to come through their
spirits. They can help change the world. When you
plant good energy, good thoughts and good morals, they
go out into the world. They're the ones that are going
to be here later, so that's how you change the world,
when they go out practicing what you taught them.
HipHopSite: How big do you think is the gap is between
the two generations, and what do you think is hip-hop's
role in that?
Common: Hip-hop is the bridge, baby. My mother liked
College Dropout, my daughter liked College Dropout, I
liked College Dropout. My mother can talk to me about
certain things that's going on with Nas, and my daughter
might like one of his songs. It's bringing together a
lot of generations. Older folks are starting to pay
attention to it, because hip-hop is so popular. For
other folks, it's their music, it's always the music of
the youth too. The young adults, we grew up with this,
this is our culture that we created, and the next
generation is the son of it.
HipHopSite: Recently, Tom Cruise caught some headlines
for speaking out against Ritalin and other prescription
drugs. You're involved with the ONE organization. A
lot of people were critizing Cruise, saying that he was
talking, but that he wasn't an expert. How important do
you think it is for artists to voice their opinions?
Common: If it's your opinion, you've got to at least
know what you're talking about. If you're standing for
something, you should know what you're standing for.
Maybe Tom Cruise's heart was in the right place, or
maybe he didn't know all the information. And so
what—even if he didn't know every fact, if he knew the
general idea of what he was speaking, and he was
speaking from his heart, then let it be. I don't know
exactly what happened with him, but as a public figure
as a hip-hop artist, I feel like we do need to take
stances on certain things that we believe in.
By William Ketchum III
For years, Common has been the ying to commercial
hip-hop's yang—and aside from attaining gold status with
his new album, Be, he still is. Rather than enlist a
"who's who" pile of A-List producers, he was content
with the duo Kanye West and J. Dilla. While most of
today's hip-hop albums overfeed listeners with skits and
filler tracks, Be is physically fit with a lean 11
songs. And while many young MCs boast possession of a
plethora of women, Common would rather be "Faithful" to
one. But, as he tells HipHopSite.com, Common still
loves the kids.
HipHopSite: what is it like to experience widespread
success this late in your career?
Common: First of all, it's a blessing. I feel grateful
that I'm at this point, but I've always looked at my
career as a mountain climb. There's still a long way to
go. There's just one level that I'm at now, and I've
got to go higher and higher. There's still a long way
to go, and this is a career. I thank God that He's
allowed me to make music that's relevant for this period
of time, and I believe, hope and pray that I'll continue
to keep progressing. I feel great about (widespread
success), but I've got a long way to go. I'm hungry.
HipHopSite: You came into hip-hop during the golden era;
what do you think you represent from that?
Common: I represent the spirit of what MCing is. I feel
that I can bring the MC that can talk about
spirituality, that can talk about love, that can talk
about God, that can talk about streets, that can talk
about other MCs, that uses his imagination, that's
creative, that has a hunger. I feel that I'm one of
those brings that to present-day hip-hop.
HipHopSite: What made you choose "Testify" for the next
single?
Common: So many people respond to it at shows, and radio
stations are already playing. That's the song that when
we go around the country, as soon as it comes on, people
start jumping up. That's the joint, and we can do an
excellent video for it.
HipHopSite: You've started a hat line, and around the
time Electric Circus came out, fashion was looked at as
one of your weaknesses. What's it like to go from that,
to getting a full-size fashion spread in KING magazine?
Common: As much as people talked, people still paid
attention to what I was wearing. When you're an
individual, people are going to talk, but if people are
talking, you're relevant, something you're doing is
important. I was still confident in myself and my
style, and knowing that it evolved to something that now
the masses are enjoying is a good feeling. It's like,
"Yeah, they see where I'm at now. Now, they connected
with me" I may go through other changes, but they'll be
like, "Hey, that's what he's doing." But right now, I'm
glad they can connect with it. I'm glad I can be noted
as someone fashionable and stylish, because I always
felt that I have good styles. Sometimes, I just go into
my own thing, and my own thing isn't what everybody
likes.
HipHopSite: You've had sex symbol status for a while
now, but with "GO!" you came more aggressive.
Common: For me, it was just a way of showing a side of
me that I think people neglected to see, or (a side)
that maybe I didn't show the last couple of years. It's
just a fun song. It is me, so I just wanted to express
it, and be able to be creative and be sexual, and talk
about things that I fantasize and like. I wanted to
show the balance of who I am as a person. Every day and
every hour isn't about the Bible or Koraan. Though I
live that, and that's in my songs, sometimes I party.
Sometimes I might drink some red wine and sit down and
talk with some nice ladies. I just feel that we're
humans, and we can show that everything isn't just
squeaky-clean and perfect.
HipHopSite: You have a seven-year-old daughter, and you
have children talking on the outro of the album. You
also have a line on the intro where you say, "I look
into my daughter's eyes, and realize, I'ma learn through
her/the Messiah might even return through her/if I'ma do
it, I've got to change the world through her." First
off, what did you mean by that line?
Common: Sometimes, you can learn a lot from your own
child and just children in general, and the truth they
express. I started realizing that there are some things
in life that she's going to teach me, the same way that
my mother is learning from me. We have to be open to
learn from our children too, as well as teaching them.
As far as "change the world through her," the
resurrection may come through listening to children. If
we give them enough knowledge, enough love, and enough
wisdom, our wisdom is going to come through their
spirits. They can help change the world. When you
plant good energy, good thoughts and good morals, they
go out into the world. They're the ones that are going
to be here later, so that's how you change the world,
when they go out practicing what you taught them.
HipHopSite: How big do you think is the gap is between
the two generations, and what do you think is hip-hop's
role in that?
Common: Hip-hop is the bridge, baby. My mother liked
College Dropout, my daughter liked College Dropout, I
liked College Dropout. My mother can talk to me about
certain things that's going on with Nas, and my daughter
might like one of his songs. It's bringing together a
lot of generations. Older folks are starting to pay
attention to it, because hip-hop is so popular. For
other folks, it's their music, it's always the music of
the youth too. The young adults, we grew up with this,
this is our culture that we created, and the next
generation is the son of it.
HipHopSite: Recently, Tom Cruise caught some headlines
for speaking out against Ritalin and other prescription
drugs. You're involved with the ONE organization. A
lot of people were critizing Cruise, saying that he was
talking, but that he wasn't an expert. How important do
you think it is for artists to voice their opinions?
Common: If it's your opinion, you've got to at least
know what you're talking about. If you're standing for
something, you should know what you're standing for.
Maybe Tom Cruise's heart was in the right place, or
maybe he didn't know all the information. And so
what—even if he didn't know every fact, if he knew the
general idea of what he was speaking, and he was
speaking from his heart, then let it be. I don't know
exactly what happened with him, but as a public figure
as a hip-hop artist, I feel like we do need to take
stances on certain things that we believe in.
Rihanna: Brightest Star
By Clover Hope
Vlad, interviul asta e pt tine
Prior to her U.S. relocation, 17-year-old Rihanna was enjoying the mild comforts of island life in her native Barbados. Then, the green-eyed soulstress met a record producer, landed a deal on the spot after auditioning for Jay-Z, and created one of the hottest singles of the summer, ??€?Pon de Replay??€?.
Now she??€�s prepared to keep feeding the masses with her sexy blend of Reggae, Hip-Hop, and R&B on her new album, Music Of The Sun. Rihanna spoke with AHH Alternatives recently about her regional and musical moves.
AHHA: How has the transition been so far for you, having moved to the States just this year?
Rihanna: It??€�s been really good. I love it all ??€?cause I used to just live a very normal, simple life in Barbados, going to school. And now I??€�m here pursuing a career and living a dream, so it??€�s changed for the better.
AHHA: What??€�s the biggest thing you??€�ve had to adjust to so far?
Rihanna: Living away from family and leaving all my friends. And the schools are different.
AHHA: What does your family in Barbados think of all your success?
Rihanna: They are so excited, so proud of me, and very supportive. My mom [and] all my family is from Guyana. Only up to my generation and down was born in Barbados, but everybody above me is Guyanese. I only moved here a week after I got my deal. So I was still living in Barbados after I met Jay-Z.
AHHA: How did that work out, how??€�d the deal come about?
Rihanna: A producer was vacationing in Barbados. His wife is from Barbados. So my friend who knew them wanted me to meet with them. I met with them. I sang for them, they were impressed, so they invited me to the studio to record. We recorded a demo and sent it to some labels. Def Jam happened to be the first label to call back, and they were the most enthusiastic for everything. So the meeting with Jay-Z??€�I had to call in and meet with him, and he was very impressed by the audition.
AHHA: Yeah, I heard he was really excited to sign you. What did he say immediately after you auditioned?
Rihanna: He started clapping and smiling. Then he was like, ??€?Okay!??€? He said, ??€?You know, we don??€�t sign songs here; we sign artists.??€? [Then] he said, ??€?We??€�re interested.??€?
AHHA: What was the first thing you did after you got signed?
Rihanna: Not sleep for three days. [Laughs]
AHHA: Why do you think a legend like Jay-Z would react like that? What do you think sets you apart from other R&B acts that auditioned for him before?
Rihanna: I think it??€�s my whole musical style. I brought something different to the industry. There??€�s no other 17-year-old girl doing Reggae fused with Hip-Hop and R&B. So I think he saw that, and he saw that I??€�m a real artist, and that??€�s what made him want to sign me.
AHHA: Do you see yourself in competition with any other young singers out right now?
Rihanna: There??€�s nobody really in my league, but there??€�s competition everywhere. The whole industry is competition. There are people who like other artists, and there are people who like me, and there are people who like both.
AHHA: I spoke to Teairra Mari a few weeks ago and she was saying how close you guys are. Do you think the industry needs more of that with young artists?
Rihanna: We met each other at a showcase - we had to perform at together, and we just connected from then. We exchanged emails, we mail each other every now and then, give each other a call now and then, but she??€�s a sweetheart. As far as conflict and jealousy and being envious, that should be cut out, you know. It doesn??€�t make sense, not at all.
AHHA: It seems like the summer is a great time to release a single like ??€?Pon de Replay??€?. The song sounds kind of similar to the Nina Sky and Lumidee hits.
Rihanna: Nina Sky and Lumidee are far from what I??€�m doing. They sing to Reggae riddims. I sing to beats that are actually produced and are fused with Hip-Hop and R&B. That??€�s not what they??€�re doing. Nina Sky, they??€�re Reggaeton artists. It??€�s totally different.
AHHA: Right, but the hardest part about having such a great debut hit is following it up with something better. Is your next single gonna be along the same lines?
Rihanna: Not the exact same feel, but this second single [??€?If It??€�s Lovin??€� That You Want??€?] is a smash, and I??€�m projecting it from now. We just shot the video in L.A. Crazy video, baby! Beautiful.
AHHA: On your album, you??€�ve got tracks featuring Elephant Man and Vybz Kartel, and Damian Marley??€�s song [??€?Welcome to Jamrock??€?] has been really hot. How do you feel about the impact of Reggae music right now?
Rihanna: I love that song! And I feel so proud to see the Caribbean just getting put on the map, and people really accepting and respecting our music.
AHHA: What about dancing, that seems to be a major part of your performance.
Rihanna: I don??€�t need to incorporate it. I don??€�t need dancing to make a performance ??€?cause I??€�m a vocalist. Dancing is a bonus to a performance. You shouldn??€�t have to depend on dancing. You should be able to stand up at a mic stand and perform a ballad and keep people wrapped up in your performance.
By Clover Hope
Vlad, interviul asta e pt tine
Prior to her U.S. relocation, 17-year-old Rihanna was enjoying the mild comforts of island life in her native Barbados. Then, the green-eyed soulstress met a record producer, landed a deal on the spot after auditioning for Jay-Z, and created one of the hottest singles of the summer, ??€?Pon de Replay??€?.
Now she??€�s prepared to keep feeding the masses with her sexy blend of Reggae, Hip-Hop, and R&B on her new album, Music Of The Sun. Rihanna spoke with AHH Alternatives recently about her regional and musical moves.
AHHA: How has the transition been so far for you, having moved to the States just this year?
Rihanna: It??€�s been really good. I love it all ??€?cause I used to just live a very normal, simple life in Barbados, going to school. And now I??€�m here pursuing a career and living a dream, so it??€�s changed for the better.
AHHA: What??€�s the biggest thing you??€�ve had to adjust to so far?
Rihanna: Living away from family and leaving all my friends. And the schools are different.
AHHA: What does your family in Barbados think of all your success?
Rihanna: They are so excited, so proud of me, and very supportive. My mom [and] all my family is from Guyana. Only up to my generation and down was born in Barbados, but everybody above me is Guyanese. I only moved here a week after I got my deal. So I was still living in Barbados after I met Jay-Z.
AHHA: How did that work out, how??€�d the deal come about?
Rihanna: A producer was vacationing in Barbados. His wife is from Barbados. So my friend who knew them wanted me to meet with them. I met with them. I sang for them, they were impressed, so they invited me to the studio to record. We recorded a demo and sent it to some labels. Def Jam happened to be the first label to call back, and they were the most enthusiastic for everything. So the meeting with Jay-Z??€�I had to call in and meet with him, and he was very impressed by the audition.
AHHA: Yeah, I heard he was really excited to sign you. What did he say immediately after you auditioned?
Rihanna: He started clapping and smiling. Then he was like, ??€?Okay!??€? He said, ??€?You know, we don??€�t sign songs here; we sign artists.??€? [Then] he said, ??€?We??€�re interested.??€?
AHHA: What was the first thing you did after you got signed?
Rihanna: Not sleep for three days. [Laughs]
AHHA: Why do you think a legend like Jay-Z would react like that? What do you think sets you apart from other R&B acts that auditioned for him before?
Rihanna: I think it??€�s my whole musical style. I brought something different to the industry. There??€�s no other 17-year-old girl doing Reggae fused with Hip-Hop and R&B. So I think he saw that, and he saw that I??€�m a real artist, and that??€�s what made him want to sign me.
AHHA: Do you see yourself in competition with any other young singers out right now?
Rihanna: There??€�s nobody really in my league, but there??€�s competition everywhere. The whole industry is competition. There are people who like other artists, and there are people who like me, and there are people who like both.
AHHA: I spoke to Teairra Mari a few weeks ago and she was saying how close you guys are. Do you think the industry needs more of that with young artists?
Rihanna: We met each other at a showcase - we had to perform at together, and we just connected from then. We exchanged emails, we mail each other every now and then, give each other a call now and then, but she??€�s a sweetheart. As far as conflict and jealousy and being envious, that should be cut out, you know. It doesn??€�t make sense, not at all.
AHHA: It seems like the summer is a great time to release a single like ??€?Pon de Replay??€?. The song sounds kind of similar to the Nina Sky and Lumidee hits.
Rihanna: Nina Sky and Lumidee are far from what I??€�m doing. They sing to Reggae riddims. I sing to beats that are actually produced and are fused with Hip-Hop and R&B. That??€�s not what they??€�re doing. Nina Sky, they??€�re Reggaeton artists. It??€�s totally different.
AHHA: Right, but the hardest part about having such a great debut hit is following it up with something better. Is your next single gonna be along the same lines?
Rihanna: Not the exact same feel, but this second single [??€?If It??€�s Lovin??€� That You Want??€?] is a smash, and I??€�m projecting it from now. We just shot the video in L.A. Crazy video, baby! Beautiful.
AHHA: On your album, you??€�ve got tracks featuring Elephant Man and Vybz Kartel, and Damian Marley??€�s song [??€?Welcome to Jamrock??€?] has been really hot. How do you feel about the impact of Reggae music right now?
Rihanna: I love that song! And I feel so proud to see the Caribbean just getting put on the map, and people really accepting and respecting our music.
AHHA: What about dancing, that seems to be a major part of your performance.
Rihanna: I don??€�t need to incorporate it. I don??€�t need dancing to make a performance ??€?cause I??€�m a vocalist. Dancing is a bonus to a performance. You shouldn??€�t have to depend on dancing. You should be able to stand up at a mic stand and perform a ballad and keep people wrapped up in your performance.
![[img=http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/2521/p119631050.jpg]](http://img709.imageshack.us/i/p119631050.jpg/){kind=link}
Interview??€�Barry White. Artwork??€�Benny Tour & Fontski
excerpt:
In your opinion, what does music go hand-in-hand with?
Breathing.
I've heard your music been compared to the production style of early 90's hiphop, and psychadelia. How would you describe your style? Where does it come from?
No idea...probably just from listening to loads and loads of music every hour every day my entire life. As far as that description goes, I don't really agree with it but since I don't realy have a better one I guess I shouldn't crap on it...i'm more into straight up 60s pop shit than psych stuff.
As far as the early 90s hip hop thing goes don't know if I 'd agree either cause my favourite era of hip hop is probably like 86-91, probably cause that's when I was most obsessed exclusively with it....but I definitely wouldn't say I was on a late 80s hip hop vibe either. To summarize...I have now idea how to describe my style...probably involves tapered pants in some way though.
Are their any particular tracks, artists, bands, producers, albums that really define your musical tastes and style?
Too many...It's not like I listen to shit and think, "what can I get out of this for my own shit?,"...I just listen to a lot of stuff that moves me??€�raw disco, 80s soul, retarded french folk shit, or some jiggy shit or whatever else I can't explain??€�and whatever comes out comes out. Quick list off the top of some of my favourites are: Sly Stone, Beach Boys, My Bloody Valentine, Funkadelic, Marley Marl, George Harrison, Prince Paul. New shit: I 'm loving Kanye West right now...he's just killin shit beatwise. Over the past 4-5 years I 've been obsessed with Madlib, Dilla and Doom more than anyone else.
As far as DJing and producing goes, how long have you been in the game?
DJing..hmmm, maybe since I was 14...since I was a about 8 my brother had decks set up in our basement and I 'd sneak down and fuck with em. I did radio for a long time, CFMU in Hamilton for like 4 years with my friend Ketan (Harlem River Drive forever!), in England on Bailrigg FM and a brief stint with the BBC. I 'm back doing it here at WRUV rights now. Producing...same shit, my brother had gear in our basement??€�samplers from SK-5 to 950 depending on what year, weird keyboards, etc. It's only been in the last 2-3 years that I've actually let anyone (including my best friends) hear anything though...don't know why.
You are from Dundas, Ontario. What kind of an effect did growing up there and living there have on you musically?
Honestly...probably none. As much I love Dundas and my friends from there I don't think it had an impact on me musically. Now where them Creedence tapes at?
How did you get into singing? Did it spawn from rappin'?
Man, I don't think I 've even pretended to write a rhyme since I was 10 years old. My Mom's a classical Indian singer and I would go to these classical indian singing classes with her when I was like 5 or something and sing there .... (hmmm...I gotta see if I can track any old tapes down)....she's actually heading to India at the end of the month to cut another album...should be pure heat.
Without giving away any secrets, what kind of tools (samplers, etc.) do you use to make music? What's influential or motivating for you in the process of music-making?
Tools: whatever's around. right now I have the most ghetto set up equipmentwise. Other than the vocals shit's all samples. What's influential: whatever's around. Motivating: no idea.
How did you link up with Stones Throw?
Egon's been a friend for the last couple of years. My friend Ketan used to hand out stickers for them and we went to a show at Lee's Palace where Madlib, E and Wolf were playing and Ketan introduced me to Egon and we hit it off right away talking about records and why Indian girls in N. America are insane (he's half Indian) or some shit...
Anyway, this friend of mine in London, this dude who records under the name Fourtet, convinced me to let me put some shit I had put on a cd out on a 7" on his label and I went along...Egon, Wolf and crew were into it and for no reason helped promote it out here and shit. A while later I was gonna do this other record (this slap bass joint which by my own fault still hasn't come out) and I asked Jeff Jank (their Art guy) if he would do the sleeve and he did (amazing btw)...somewhere in this I get a message asking if I was interested in doing a record with them...i think my response was somewhere between "hell yeah" and "are you joking?" I finished up some shit I was working on, sent it out and got the thumbs up. I think that's about it. Easy. Well that and I kidnapped Funkaho's goat parents and threatened to sacrifice them if they didn't cooperate. No joke.
Being signed to Stones Throw, probably one of the most influential and quality labels in hip hop right now, is this more of a starting point, or a major pinnacle in your life?
Definitely just a starting point. (Hopefully anyway...unless I get run over on the way home.) I haven't thought about it too much, but every once in a while when I 'm talking to the phone to a friend or whatever it'll hit me how surreal it is to be between between releases with Madlib, Jay Dee and Doom...three of my favorite fucking people in music for the last big chunk of time. The Quasimoto album is one of my favorite albums ever made; Soundpieces The Andidote was fucking gold; The Unassisted, etc, etc.
I finally mailed off this thing the other day to them for the next record in their white label series. I did some remixes of various Stones Throw things??€�Definition of Ill, Homeliss Derilix, Dooley-O's "Watch My Moves", and the craziest thing was this unreleased EPMD dis track by Stezo! That was bananas to me cause as a kid I used to catch a ride into Hamilton on Saturdays when my parents went to the farmers market and go to cheapies to check what few hip hop things they might have gotten in the back...for ages they had the Stezo album there (Crazy Noise, you know the one, don't think I could do it justice describing the cover but it's got mad ripped acid wash full denim with marker on it outfit action) but for some reason it was high import price (like $20! which was like double what the other records were) and as a kid with a paper route I couldn't fuck with it cause there was so many other hot records coming out at the same time (even though I loved the singles and wanted it bad)...ended up getting a dub on tape and finally getting the record years later..such an underatted album. Anyway, so it's totally bizarre to me doing that.
Source it's in ma signature
you just never know when you're living in a golden age.
Sean Price: Oh Daddy
By Jarrod Miller-Dean
Some Hip-Hop fans may??€�ve thought that Sean Price was forever Rock??€�s wingman in Heltah Skeltah. Though he lacked the baritone delivery that sounded sweet on hooks, Sean??€�s solo debut, Monkey Barz is proving to be a lead-pony in Duck Down Records??€� ??€?Triple Threat Summer??€? of albums from Buckshot and Smiff-N-Wesson.
Away from his partner, Sean Price??€�s personality can??€�t be misplaced. The man who wears the title of ??€?Best rapper in Boot Camp??€? is also a loving and devoted father, who hates the neighbor??€�s kids. He??€�s a loving husband, who can admit embarrassing sexcapades from his youth. He??€�s above talking about Gucci Mane and Young Jeezy??€�s squabbles, but considers 9th Wonder and Method Man friends. All these jewels of information come to life as Sean and AHH get colorful while looking at an often overlooked Brownsville, Brooklyn ball-buster.
AHH: How do you feel about Monkey Barz now that it??€�s been out a minute?
Sean Price: It??€�s a good feeling. I??€�m happy with the album. Am I happy with the sales? No, not really. It??€�s independent, so I??€�m not really tripping. I honestly believe that if my s**t was on the major, I??€�d be the most talked about cat in town. I honestly believe that.
AHH: What do you think that you, as an independent artist, or any others can do to increase sales?
Sean Price: I??€�ve got the little magazine ads, not The Source by any means, but they??€�re out there. Could it be more? Yes. Do you know what it is with me? Nobody believed me. Everyone was sucking Rock??€�s d**k, thinking that he??€�s the man. I can??€�t do it. When people think of Heltah Skeltah, people think of Rock and the other guy. They on his d**k because of his f**king voice and s**t. Well, the other guy gets f**king busy now. I already proved that to people, so we??€�ll see what happens the next time. I don??€�t mind having to prove it because I??€�m f**king nice.
AHH: So, you and Rock aren??€�t cool anymore?
Sean Price: Me and Rock are real cool, but I??€�m f**king nice. Yeah, we??€�re working on an album. Me and Rock are heading to Virginia because we have a few heads doing some joints on the new album.
AHH: You have a lot of different producers on the album. How was it working in the studio?
Sean Price: I wasn??€�t with any of the producers. They sent me a grip of CDs and I made it happen. I didn??€�t have anyone in there. I don??€�t need a crowd of cats. I don??€�t need 10,000 bags of weed and a bunch of Henney. No big entourage, no crowds - it was me, Buckshot, Dru Ha and a few other heads. I??€�m not with all of that extra s**t. I don??€�t live that Hip-Hop entourage, a bunch of corny mother f**kers. I??€�m a regular dude man. Brownsville man, you know what I mean? I??€�m in the hood all the time. You couldn??€�t call me and ask me for another rapper??€�s phone number. I don??€�t have it.
AHH: On ??€?Monkey Barz,??€? you said, ??€?Sean Price, the brokest rapper that you will ever know.??€? It doesn??€�t seem like you??€�re broke to me. It seems like you??€�re doing a lot of stuff. Do you think that Redman has a good running with you as the brokest rapper?
Sean Price: Redman? I don??€�t know about the God??€�s finances. I know that the God is a funny dude. He probably got a s**t-load of money and happy where he is man. Redman used to be my favorite rapper. Red and Meth used to be my favorite rappers. His stuff sounds a little weird, but I love him like Kung-fu. Meth??€�s my friend. And Red, I haven??€�t heard anything from in a while.
AHH: Are you getting the feedback that you feel that you deserve?
Sean Price: The feedback is cool. As far as the brokest rapper part, ain??€�t nothing changed, I??€�m just starting to get rewarded for the stuff that I do. Hopefully I can spend it as fast I get it, but I??€�ve been getting it lately. You want to be rewarded for your craft. It??€�s definitely paying off. Some of those joints I do for free. It??€�s not always about money, but sometimes I see the bigger picture and do them anyway. A lot of the time its all business, but it won??€�t seem like it. Cats like 9th [Wonder] are like family.
AHH: Were you spewing a mix of emotions when writing Monkey Barz?
San Price: It is what it is. I wrote what I felt. Like the brokest rapper [line]. No one slapped me a five. No one said anything after I walked out of the booth. What do you say after some stuff like that? I write how I feel. Words can??€�t explain how I feel. I couldn??€�t just write any bulls**t.
AHH: The Boot Camp Click has one of the deepest line-ups in Hip-Hop. People often confuse groups and members. What sets you apart from other members?
Sean Price: I??€�m the best at that rapping thing. They??€�ll tell you that too. It??€�s not like I??€�m trying to have s**t over my friends. I wouldn??€�t say it unless they said it first. I??€�m not cocky like that. Buck says it. Steele calls me, "the President." As long as they say it, I??€�m gonna always pop that Boot Camp s**t. Let??€�s not forget that they were my teachers though. If you are a good student, eventually you??€�re gonna get nice anyway. They call me the best and I am.
AHH: What??€�s in your CD player right now?
Sean Price: Young Jeezy.
AHH: Young Jeezy, what do you think about the beef with him and Gucci Mane?
Sean Price: I don??€�t think about it. That s** ain??€�t got nothing to do with me, Boot Camp or Elijah Price. So I don??€�t give a f**k. Ya live longer if you mind your own f**king business. Know what I mean?
AHH: Yeah, but the Hip-Hop, stuff like that is what pop??€�s off. Little kids see that stuff and think that??€�s what??€�s up.
Sean Price: My son is ten-years-old and he doesn??€�t care about any of that stuff. He likes his dad because it??€�s his dad, but he cares nothing about that. I don??€�t know what others do with their kids, but mine doesn??€�t know anything about Gucci Maine shooting at cats. My kid is great. He??€�s excellent in school and doesn??€�t get in trouble. He doesn??€�t emulate stupid Hip-Hop s**t. People need to watch their kids. My son is on the honor roll. He??€�s a mathematician. He??€�s great in school. He??€�s a great kid and I??€�m glad to be his father. I don??€�t get any of that extra bulls**t. We live in the hood. People need to watch their kids. As far as that Gucci Maine s**t, I don??€�t get involved, I hate that in interviews. I hate when cats ask me about what I think of others cats. Don??€�t ask me about that. If they don??€�t say Sean Price, then it??€�s not important. I don??€�t give a f**k.
AHH: It??€�s not a comparison but Ghost face refers t himself as a ??€?soul baby.??€? You have a lot of those kinds of beats on your new album. Do you thin of yourself as a ??€?soul baby???€?
Sean Price: Yeah, I??€�m defiantly a soul baby. My moms she used to own a record store in east New York. I was into all of that s**t. She used to have a singing group in the 60??€�s. I forgot the name of it, but it wasn??€�t tat popular. But it was a little Bee-Bop. She could sing. [Steele??€�s] grandmother lived in Brownsville projects. He joined the center across from my grandmother??€�s crib. It was called the Brownsville Heritage House. They taught you about African culture and how the Black man is God. We used to do Swahili and all kinds of African drum stuff. I took the martial arts a little bit. We had music class and dance class. That??€�s where got all of the extra stuff. I met Evelyn ??€?Champagne??€? King. She and a bunch of others, including Thelonius Monk were around.
AHH: Since you were inspired by all of these people, do you feel a need to give back? A lot of heads say that they aren??€�t role models but what about you?
Sean Price: Yeah, that??€�s my nickname. I wish that I could open a center a reach out to the kids. That was very important in my come-up. I can??€�t front tough, I hate kids. If it??€�s your own, that??€�s one thing but they get in my nerves. I hate to sound cruel, but I hate little kids.
AHH: Was the track, ??€?I Love You,??€? about a woman or your relationship with Hip-Hop or Duck Down?
Sean Price: I was talking about a woman. The first verse just wasn??€�t about one woman in particular, but rather a bunch. People usually say stuff like, ??€?You know words can??€�t express how I feel...??€? They usually something romantic afterwards. ??€?Words can??€�t express how I feel, so I want to punch your f**king head off.??€? That??€�s why on the track, I started whistling. I??€�ve had some relationships like that in my past. Some really sad and disgusting b*tches. I used to get with this one b*tch - while I was f**king her; she was drinking a 40 of [Olde English] When she woke up, it had been in the windowsill all night; took a piss and drank the rest. I??€�ve had some disgusting b*tches in my life, man and I just wanted to put all of that out there on wax. The messed up part is that I used to love some of those b*tches. I wanted it to be a love song, but not a punk one. I wanted to keep it on the real. A lot of cats have been in love with b*tches like that, but they just won??€�t admit it. I just kept it funky. ??€?I love you, I hate you. I hate you I love you. What ever it is, let??€�s do it on the sprit of the kids.??€? The two of you can go through some real stuff, but if you have a seed involved, it??€�s about that kid. I??€�m not gonna front like I have a chain that says ??€?Number 1 Dad!??€? I used to be a f**ked up father also. I caught myself before it got to monotonous. I??€�ve been working on being a good father. For the past five years, I??€�ve really been working on being in my son??€�s life. He??€�s ten now. I was always in his life, but I was lame. Now, I??€�m in there. In the hood my nickname is ??€?Ill-Cosby.??€?
AHH: That??€�s good because there are too many fathers out there that either don??€�t care or catch themselves too late.
San Price: Yeah, I have to give credit to my son??€�s mother. She really showed me what was up. She got in my ear about that s**t. She really held it down and still does. Definitely, respect to her for telling me to step up and be a man. She was about that. I really needed to hear it too. You don??€�t want to hear it, but you really do. She??€�s really telling the truth. Sometimes the truth really hurts.
AHH: That??€�s good to hear because not only in the Hip-Hop community, but in the Black community as well, there??€�s too much of that.
Sean Price: All I have to say to that is to wear a condom. I don??€�t want to sound like a public service announcement or anything, but it??€�s true. We f**k with these dumb bitches raw and splash up in them. We be the first cats to go. I know because was one of them. Cat??€�ll be like, ??€?Get rid of that s**t. Go to the chop shop.??€? Really cold-blooded. Recently, me and my wife were at the crib watching an abortion on TV. I saw it go down, and it made me sick. I don??€�t want to even go into the details. It??€�s f**ked up. I believe if every man saw that, they would never tell a woman to have an abortion. [They would] apologize a hundred times. That s**t is disgusting.
By Jarrod Miller-Dean
Some Hip-Hop fans may??€�ve thought that Sean Price was forever Rock??€�s wingman in Heltah Skeltah. Though he lacked the baritone delivery that sounded sweet on hooks, Sean??€�s solo debut, Monkey Barz is proving to be a lead-pony in Duck Down Records??€� ??€?Triple Threat Summer??€? of albums from Buckshot and Smiff-N-Wesson.
Away from his partner, Sean Price??€�s personality can??€�t be misplaced. The man who wears the title of ??€?Best rapper in Boot Camp??€? is also a loving and devoted father, who hates the neighbor??€�s kids. He??€�s a loving husband, who can admit embarrassing sexcapades from his youth. He??€�s above talking about Gucci Mane and Young Jeezy??€�s squabbles, but considers 9th Wonder and Method Man friends. All these jewels of information come to life as Sean and AHH get colorful while looking at an often overlooked Brownsville, Brooklyn ball-buster.
AHH: How do you feel about Monkey Barz now that it??€�s been out a minute?
Sean Price: It??€�s a good feeling. I??€�m happy with the album. Am I happy with the sales? No, not really. It??€�s independent, so I??€�m not really tripping. I honestly believe that if my s**t was on the major, I??€�d be the most talked about cat in town. I honestly believe that.
AHH: What do you think that you, as an independent artist, or any others can do to increase sales?
Sean Price: I??€�ve got the little magazine ads, not The Source by any means, but they??€�re out there. Could it be more? Yes. Do you know what it is with me? Nobody believed me. Everyone was sucking Rock??€�s d**k, thinking that he??€�s the man. I can??€�t do it. When people think of Heltah Skeltah, people think of Rock and the other guy. They on his d**k because of his f**king voice and s**t. Well, the other guy gets f**king busy now. I already proved that to people, so we??€�ll see what happens the next time. I don??€�t mind having to prove it because I??€�m f**king nice.
AHH: So, you and Rock aren??€�t cool anymore?
Sean Price: Me and Rock are real cool, but I??€�m f**king nice. Yeah, we??€�re working on an album. Me and Rock are heading to Virginia because we have a few heads doing some joints on the new album.
AHH: You have a lot of different producers on the album. How was it working in the studio?
Sean Price: I wasn??€�t with any of the producers. They sent me a grip of CDs and I made it happen. I didn??€�t have anyone in there. I don??€�t need a crowd of cats. I don??€�t need 10,000 bags of weed and a bunch of Henney. No big entourage, no crowds - it was me, Buckshot, Dru Ha and a few other heads. I??€�m not with all of that extra s**t. I don??€�t live that Hip-Hop entourage, a bunch of corny mother f**kers. I??€�m a regular dude man. Brownsville man, you know what I mean? I??€�m in the hood all the time. You couldn??€�t call me and ask me for another rapper??€�s phone number. I don??€�t have it.
AHH: On ??€?Monkey Barz,??€? you said, ??€?Sean Price, the brokest rapper that you will ever know.??€? It doesn??€�t seem like you??€�re broke to me. It seems like you??€�re doing a lot of stuff. Do you think that Redman has a good running with you as the brokest rapper?
Sean Price: Redman? I don??€�t know about the God??€�s finances. I know that the God is a funny dude. He probably got a s**t-load of money and happy where he is man. Redman used to be my favorite rapper. Red and Meth used to be my favorite rappers. His stuff sounds a little weird, but I love him like Kung-fu. Meth??€�s my friend. And Red, I haven??€�t heard anything from in a while.
AHH: Are you getting the feedback that you feel that you deserve?
Sean Price: The feedback is cool. As far as the brokest rapper part, ain??€�t nothing changed, I??€�m just starting to get rewarded for the stuff that I do. Hopefully I can spend it as fast I get it, but I??€�ve been getting it lately. You want to be rewarded for your craft. It??€�s definitely paying off. Some of those joints I do for free. It??€�s not always about money, but sometimes I see the bigger picture and do them anyway. A lot of the time its all business, but it won??€�t seem like it. Cats like 9th [Wonder] are like family.
AHH: Were you spewing a mix of emotions when writing Monkey Barz?
San Price: It is what it is. I wrote what I felt. Like the brokest rapper [line]. No one slapped me a five. No one said anything after I walked out of the booth. What do you say after some stuff like that? I write how I feel. Words can??€�t explain how I feel. I couldn??€�t just write any bulls**t.
AHH: The Boot Camp Click has one of the deepest line-ups in Hip-Hop. People often confuse groups and members. What sets you apart from other members?
Sean Price: I??€�m the best at that rapping thing. They??€�ll tell you that too. It??€�s not like I??€�m trying to have s**t over my friends. I wouldn??€�t say it unless they said it first. I??€�m not cocky like that. Buck says it. Steele calls me, "the President." As long as they say it, I??€�m gonna always pop that Boot Camp s**t. Let??€�s not forget that they were my teachers though. If you are a good student, eventually you??€�re gonna get nice anyway. They call me the best and I am.
AHH: What??€�s in your CD player right now?
Sean Price: Young Jeezy.
AHH: Young Jeezy, what do you think about the beef with him and Gucci Mane?
Sean Price: I don??€�t think about it. That s** ain??€�t got nothing to do with me, Boot Camp or Elijah Price. So I don??€�t give a f**k. Ya live longer if you mind your own f**king business. Know what I mean?
AHH: Yeah, but the Hip-Hop, stuff like that is what pop??€�s off. Little kids see that stuff and think that??€�s what??€�s up.
Sean Price: My son is ten-years-old and he doesn??€�t care about any of that stuff. He likes his dad because it??€�s his dad, but he cares nothing about that. I don??€�t know what others do with their kids, but mine doesn??€�t know anything about Gucci Maine shooting at cats. My kid is great. He??€�s excellent in school and doesn??€�t get in trouble. He doesn??€�t emulate stupid Hip-Hop s**t. People need to watch their kids. My son is on the honor roll. He??€�s a mathematician. He??€�s great in school. He??€�s a great kid and I??€�m glad to be his father. I don??€�t get any of that extra bulls**t. We live in the hood. People need to watch their kids. As far as that Gucci Maine s**t, I don??€�t get involved, I hate that in interviews. I hate when cats ask me about what I think of others cats. Don??€�t ask me about that. If they don??€�t say Sean Price, then it??€�s not important. I don??€�t give a f**k.
AHH: It??€�s not a comparison but Ghost face refers t himself as a ??€?soul baby.??€? You have a lot of those kinds of beats on your new album. Do you thin of yourself as a ??€?soul baby???€?
Sean Price: Yeah, I??€�m defiantly a soul baby. My moms she used to own a record store in east New York. I was into all of that s**t. She used to have a singing group in the 60??€�s. I forgot the name of it, but it wasn??€�t tat popular. But it was a little Bee-Bop. She could sing. [Steele??€�s] grandmother lived in Brownsville projects. He joined the center across from my grandmother??€�s crib. It was called the Brownsville Heritage House. They taught you about African culture and how the Black man is God. We used to do Swahili and all kinds of African drum stuff. I took the martial arts a little bit. We had music class and dance class. That??€�s where got all of the extra stuff. I met Evelyn ??€?Champagne??€? King. She and a bunch of others, including Thelonius Monk were around.
AHH: Since you were inspired by all of these people, do you feel a need to give back? A lot of heads say that they aren??€�t role models but what about you?
Sean Price: Yeah, that??€�s my nickname. I wish that I could open a center a reach out to the kids. That was very important in my come-up. I can??€�t front tough, I hate kids. If it??€�s your own, that??€�s one thing but they get in my nerves. I hate to sound cruel, but I hate little kids.
AHH: Was the track, ??€?I Love You,??€? about a woman or your relationship with Hip-Hop or Duck Down?
Sean Price: I was talking about a woman. The first verse just wasn??€�t about one woman in particular, but rather a bunch. People usually say stuff like, ??€?You know words can??€�t express how I feel...??€? They usually something romantic afterwards. ??€?Words can??€�t express how I feel, so I want to punch your f**king head off.??€? That??€�s why on the track, I started whistling. I??€�ve had some relationships like that in my past. Some really sad and disgusting b*tches. I used to get with this one b*tch - while I was f**king her; she was drinking a 40 of [Olde English] When she woke up, it had been in the windowsill all night; took a piss and drank the rest. I??€�ve had some disgusting b*tches in my life, man and I just wanted to put all of that out there on wax. The messed up part is that I used to love some of those b*tches. I wanted it to be a love song, but not a punk one. I wanted to keep it on the real. A lot of cats have been in love with b*tches like that, but they just won??€�t admit it. I just kept it funky. ??€?I love you, I hate you. I hate you I love you. What ever it is, let??€�s do it on the sprit of the kids.??€? The two of you can go through some real stuff, but if you have a seed involved, it??€�s about that kid. I??€�m not gonna front like I have a chain that says ??€?Number 1 Dad!??€? I used to be a f**ked up father also. I caught myself before it got to monotonous. I??€�ve been working on being a good father. For the past five years, I??€�ve really been working on being in my son??€�s life. He??€�s ten now. I was always in his life, but I was lame. Now, I??€�m in there. In the hood my nickname is ??€?Ill-Cosby.??€?
AHH: That??€�s good because there are too many fathers out there that either don??€�t care or catch themselves too late.
San Price: Yeah, I have to give credit to my son??€�s mother. She really showed me what was up. She got in my ear about that s**t. She really held it down and still does. Definitely, respect to her for telling me to step up and be a man. She was about that. I really needed to hear it too. You don??€�t want to hear it, but you really do. She??€�s really telling the truth. Sometimes the truth really hurts.
AHH: That??€�s good to hear because not only in the Hip-Hop community, but in the Black community as well, there??€�s too much of that.
Sean Price: All I have to say to that is to wear a condom. I don??€�t want to sound like a public service announcement or anything, but it??€�s true. We f**k with these dumb bitches raw and splash up in them. We be the first cats to go. I know because was one of them. Cat??€�ll be like, ??€?Get rid of that s**t. Go to the chop shop.??€? Really cold-blooded. Recently, me and my wife were at the crib watching an abortion on TV. I saw it go down, and it made me sick. I don??€�t want to even go into the details. It??€�s f**ked up. I believe if every man saw that, they would never tell a woman to have an abortion. [They would] apologize a hundred times. That s**t is disgusting.