Despre ei...

[sunrah]

Village Voice Best Of 2005.

Best One-Camera, Low-Budget Video Shot on the Subway - SHOW ME THE MONEY

In the post??€â€??‚­9-11 terror-alert-orange Big Brother-searching-our-bags era, this one-camera underground gem, shot on the subway in the wee hours of the morn, may be the last of its kind. SHOW ME THE MONEY is a fun, tongue-in-cheek premise. Jor-El as hobo-rapper (complete with raggedy boarding school T-shirt) deliciously captures the essence of kids selling candy??€â€?not for no basketball team or nothing, just for themselves. "You do it for the love?" "Nah, show me the money!" True indeed. -Patrice Evans

Check out the video on the Conscious Podcasting Systems video page.
www.consciouspodcast.com[/quote]

[sunrah]

Peanut Butter Wolf is a dope DJ and is head of Stones Throw Records... a favorite label of all of us...
[below is taken from stones throw site]

As a young kid growing up in San Jose, Chris Manak soon realized he needed an escape from the realities of suburbian life in the Silicon Valley. The age of nine was his coming of age. This was the year he discovered sports (Pittsburgh Pirates), video games (Pac man), girls (Anita Balderama), and hip hop ("Rappers Delight"). Alongside partner Sweet Steve, young Chris fashioned primitive mix-tapes (using the pause button) and ran amok at the local roller rink.

He took on the name Peanut Butter Wolf in the late-80s when he realized that, in an odd turn of events, a girlfriend??€�s youngest brother feared the ??€?peanut butter wolf monster??€? more than death itself. Wolf and his more conventionally-named counterpart, Charizma, began recording in 1989 when the two were still teenagers. Within three years, the duo signed a contract with Hollywood Basic (Disney) alongside label mates Organized Konfusion and DJ Shadow. Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf were riding high, touring Europe, receiving press in magazines such as Billboard and (a then newspaper format) Urb , hanging with radio legends Sway & King Tech on Wake Up Show and performing live shows with groups like House of Pain, Nas and The Pharcyde. Then, in December of 1993, Charizma tragically lost his life. Stunned, Wolf temporarily gave up on music.

After releasing the song "Just Like A Test" with Charizma for David Paul's Bomb Hip Hop Compilation early in 1994, Upstairs Records, a label known primarily for house music, approached Wolf to record an instrumental LP. Thus, the Peanut Butter Breaks was born; the record became the Wolf??€�s calling card, leading to meetings and collaborations with like-minded DJs like Q-bert, Cut Chemist and Rob Swift.

After the release of Peanut Butter Breaks, PB Wolf found himself in demand as a producer. His track for the all-scratching compilation Return of the DJ was labeled ??€?incredible??€? by The Source magazine. He released a 6 song compilation for South Paw Records in 1995, featuring collaborations with up and coming San Jose MCs. He also produced Kool Keith's first single as a solo artist "Wanna Be A Star." These releases, amongst others, led to a picture disc EP for British label 2 Kool Records.

In 1996, Peanut Butter Wolf founded Stones Throw Records. Charizma??€�s posthumous "My World Premiere" was the single to launch the label. A few highlights in the beginning were the songs "Unassisted" by Rasco, Super Duck Breaks LP by DJ Babu, and hip hop 7??€? series.

Lately, PB Wolf has moved away from producing (save the odd remix or compilation track) to build the Stones Throw label and to travel as a DJ to Europe, Japan, Australia, Canada, and across the US. Through his willingness to experiment and provide Stones Throw??€�s artists with musical carte blanche, he has overseen the releases of Lootpack??€�s Soundpieces, Quasimoto??€�s The Unseen, Breakestra??€�s Live Mix, Yesterdays New Quintet??€�s Angles Without Edges, Madlib's Shades of Blue, and Jaylib's Champion Sound.

[sunrah]

Review from the JayZ/Nas concert...

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Bling took a back seat to brotherhood as Jay-Z surprised bloodthirsty fans by performing side-by-side with his rival Nas in a concert dedicated to squashing rap beefs.

ADVERTISEMENT

The star-studded event at Continental Arena on Thursday night was promoted by New York radio station Power 105 as "Jay-Z Declares War," presumably against his rivals in the treacherous rap world. Leading up to the show, the station quoted Jay-Z as saying, "I gotta smash a couple people ... everybody better make up and be my friend."

Fans stood as the curtains parted to reveal Jay-Z as Commander in Chief seated in his Oval Office, flanked by four Secret Service men. He rocketed into his performance with "Allow me to reintroduce myself, my name is HOV." An spectacular fire and light display emphasized the magnitude of the moment.

The crowd roared for Jigga Man as he displayed a youthful hunger and Michael Jackson mystique behind aviator glasses and a navy military blazer with all the trimmings. Standing alone on stage with no entourage, he went from hit single to hit single, encouraging the crowd to say the name they've grown to love.

He was flawless with his vocal delivery, paired with choreographed hand movements reminiscent of Caesar addressing the Romans. The masses, on the other hand, wanted to know whom Jay would attack. Several web sites had speculated on the victims: Former partner Damon Dash? Harlem hothead Cam'ron? Movie star 50 Cent?

The crowd wanted war. But first they had to sit through a subpar performance from Teairra Mari and an Usher clone, which took the wind out of the action-packed show.

And then expectations were shattered.

T.I., the high-energy rapper from Atlanta, took the stage alongside Jay-Z, instantly smashing rumors of conflict (although T.I. had trouble keeping the crowd's attention due to faulty mic).

Young Jeezy, a.k.a. the Snowman, performed "Soul Survivor" alongside Akon. Akon brought excitement to his part, but Jeezy seemed stuck to the stage with double-sided tape.

A newly freed Beanie Sigel showed up to give Jay-Z support. Then Jay-Z (now on his third wardrobe change), Freeway, Memphis Bleek and B Sigel helped revive the energy level with gutter word play and lessons from Handgun 101. The crowd loved Jay for it.

The peaceful plot started to reveal itself once the Lox got on stage next to Beanie Sigel. These two camps have fought vicious mixtape battles, but Thursday it was all about the Benjamins. The Lox also performed with their old nemesis Sean "Diddy" Combs (without the infamous shiny suits this time) as Diddy brought his energetic yet dated antics to the stage.

Kanye West showed up as advertised, but he didn't get a rise out of the audience until he blurted out, "White people, this is your only chance to say n-----," referring to his song "Gold Digger."

But the story of the night was Nas and Jay-Z, two stars who haven't had a kind word to say about each other for years. They performed "Dead Presidents" together (Jay sampled Nas' voice on the track from his classic debut album, "Reasonable Doubt") before Nas kicked off his own set.

Jay-Z and Nas finished with Jay's horn-drenched "Encore" as LeBron James hit the stage like micless hype man ??€� a fitting basketball-related finale on the home court of the New Jersey Nets, of which Jay is part owner. Jay-Z may be "retired," but with the Nets moving to Jay's hometown of Brooklyn, no way this king will be able to resist another return to his court.

[Haya]

tare geizi asta.

[sunrah]

Dedicated - DJ Eclipse Interview
Tuesday January 10th 2006,
Written by Keir



A modern day renaissance man, DJ Eclipse has made many contributions to hip-hop culture and it??€�s progress. From his work at Wild Pitch and then Fat Beats, to his role as DJ for super group Non Phixion, Eclipse is also a businessman, heavily involved with the daily operation of the Uncle Howie record label. Perhaps his most influential role has been with The Half Time radio show, one of the last remaining symbolic shows in NYC. In addition to his work as a DJ and host, Eclipse has also delved into the production world. His classic 1994 Remix LP, contains some amazing remixes featuring Nas, OC and more. With one of the most formidable record collections known to date, Eclipse is a walking lexicon of hip hop knowledge. Strangely under appreciated in the editorial world, DJ Eclipse has consistently progressed with his art and is well deserving of a closer look.

Keir: Where were you born and raised?

Eclipse: I was born in Providence, Rhode Island, but then moved to Columbia, South Carolina when I was 15, so I kind of grew up in both places. I moved back up north to New York around 91-92.

K: How did you first develop an interest in records, and then into hip hop?

E: A friend of my mothers gave me a bag of 45??€�s when I was young. It was a lot of different styles of music. Rock, pop, jazz, etc. I used to just sit at my mom??€�s turntable and listen to all of them. That??€�s what first got me hooked on vinyl. Then in the 5th grade we had a party in our classroom and this kid Brian Rose brought in ??€?Rapper??€�s Delight??€?. As soon as I heard it I was hooked. I couldn??€�t stop rapping the ??€?hotel, motel??€? line. I immediately went out and bought that record. A couple of years later hip-hop really started taking shape around my way. There were b-boy battles after school all the time. Battles in the park. Local groups started popping up. College radio started playing a lot of hip hop. I think the next record I picked up was Run-D.M.C. ??€?Sucker MC??€�s??€? and Sugarhill label releases.

K: What radio stations did you listen to as a youth? Which groups were you into?

E: WDOM, WRIU & WBRU were all the college stations in Providence that had hip hop shows. Aside from ??€?major??€? acts like Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Treacherous Three, Crash Crew, Run-D.M.C. and a few others, the Magical Four were some local cats that were making some dope music.

K: Can you remember your first live hip-hop show?

E: I remember seeing Melle Mel at The Living Room. Also seeing the Magical Four there as well as at USA Skating Rink. Dougie Fresh & Slick Rick at Rhodes on Pawtucket. The Fresh Fest at the Providence Civic Center. They were all around the same time.

K: In your early years, how did you become more active in the hip-hop scene?

E: Once I moved down to Columbia in ??€?85 I really started taking DJ??€�ing seriously. I started making a name for myself in school that led to me doing a lot of school related parties. Then I started doing some of the Greek Fraternity parties on the college scene while still in high school. Then I gradually started spinning at all of the local clubs in Columbia. Hooked-up with some like-minded individuals who were into hip-hop and we started working on our own music. Actually, me and one of the MC??€�s I was working with, Bam Bam, won a demo contest on some radio station in Savannah, GA and we got to open for Stetsasonic, EPMD & Public Enemy at the Savannah Civic Center. Once my name was established I ended up DJ??€�ing for a mix show on WWDM in Columbia and another station in Charleston, SC. All of this was happening between ??€?86-??€�88.

K: Can you tell me one of your most significant memories as a youth?

E: Me and my man The Mighty Maestro met Kool Moe Dee backstage at a concert. We started asking him about breakbeats because at this point we only knew the breaks by sound, not name. He told us a couple that he knew, but said we should ask his DJ, Easy Lee. After the show was over Lee pulled out an Ultimate Breaks & Beats LP and told me that was where everyone was getting them from. I wrote down the contact information off of the record. The next day I ordered doubles of all the volumes that were available at that time. Interestingly enough, we had first stepped to Eric B & Rakim with the same question at the same show and they both acted like dicks.




K: How did you become involved with Non Phixion?

E: In the early 90??€�s I was DJ??€�ing for MC Serch along with DJ Riz. Once Serch??€�s relationship with Def Jam was over he went to work for Wild Pitch Records and got me a job there as well. We were still doing shows and recording music at the time. One of our shows in Brooklyn had an opening act named M-Tri who had a hype man named Sabac Red. Serch liked what he heard of Sabac and got his number. Shortly after that Serch also hooked Sabac up with a job at Wild Pitch. One day Sabac ran into Ill Bill who was working at a clothing store in Manhattan. They started building about music and Bill hit Sabac off with his demo. Bac brought it back to the office and Serch listened to it and liked it. So then Bill started coming around. From there Non Phixion kind of formed from everyone just hanging out together and working on music. Then Bill introduced Goretex to everyone and he was the last piece of the puzzle??€¦

K: Tell me about the history of Halftime Radio.

E: Lynn Gonzalez had been doing the show on NYU for about 8 months when Riz and I stepped to her about joining forces to improve the show. You see Riz used to do the show with Mayhem and Martin Moore, but they got kicked off for cursing and drinking up in the studio. And I used to fill in for both Riz and Mayhem when they couldn??€�t do it so it was kind of like our home. At first Lynn was hesitant about us coming aboard but then decided it would be good. So we launched The Halftime Show in March of ??€?98. At that time Bobbito was holding down the CM Famalam show on KCR on Thursdays and Eli, Apex and a few others were doing The Night Train Show on KCR on Tuesdays. We fell in between both shows so I decided to call the show The Halftime Show. Also, Riz is a huge sports fanatic so it made sense that way. Once Lynn graduated me and Riz did the show by ourselves for awhile until Skizz came along. Then Riz decided he had had enough college radio and retired which brings us to date with me and Skizz handling the show.

Over the years, some of our most memorable appearances were from Q-Tip, Meth & Red, Akinyele, Ghostface and pretty much every anniversary show we??€�ve had where we bring in 2 hot producers and about 30 MC??€�s live in studio. Regardless of where I was living at the time, NY radio has always been extremely influential on me. And NYU has always had an exceptional hip hop radio show. I??€�d like to think that Halftime follows in the steps of the above mentioned as well as people like P Fine & Livio G. I feel that I have a responsibility to the listeners to give them what I feel is the best music out there. No politics. Just good music. And when we are gone hopefully the next generation of kids will have been inspired from what we have done and take their show a step further.

K: In the Non Phixion Green DVD viewers get a quick glimpse of your infinite record collection, how many records do you think you have, how do you manage to keep them all? What are some of your prized records?

E: I think I have around 30,000 records. They used to be in chronological order, but when I moved to Queens 9 years ago I just threw them on the shelves to get them off the floor. Ever since then they??€�ve been totally out of order. But now I??€�m used to where they are out of order. I have to strategically move furniture around to be able to keep adding shelving. It??€�s hard to say what??€�s a prized possession now a days since everything is reissued. Joints like Lord Shafiyq and Divine Force are some of my favorites where as some of the acetates I have of Big Daddy Kane and Kool G Rap on Cold Chillin??€� are worth more. I actually have to go back through my records one day just to remind myself of everything I have.

K: In your travels with Non Phixion, where have been some of your favorite places to visit?

E: Italy is definitely a favorite. That??€�s my heritage so it??€�s good to be able to see where you descended from. Amsterdam, Iceland, Switzerland, Greece, South America??€¦the list goes on and on. The fact that we get to see the world when most people don??€�t get off their block is something that I never forget.

K: How did you help start Uncle Howie records, what artists are on the label and what is your part with the company today?

E: Uncle Howie Records is Ill Bill??€�s label. When he started it up officially almost 3 years ago he asked me if I would help him with the retail end of it as I had experience from my days at Wild Pitch. But as any small company that first starts out there isn??€�t enough finances to bring in a team of people so him and I ended up doing everything. Every aspect from recording, editing, mixing, manufacturing, promoting, marketing, accounting and anything else you can think of was passed off between the two of us. We of course put out ourselves, Non Phixion, and dropped a solo release from ex-Arsonist Q-Unique. Aside from that we are preparing E-Dot for a full length release and have dropped some one off singles from Immortal Technique and Block McCloud of Brooklyn Academy. We??€�re trying to be a profitable label, but at the same time caring about music and the DJ culture is tricky. Bill and I run the label to this day the same way.

K: Outside of hip hop what are you interested in?

E: My girl and Tommy??€�s Pizza.

K: What is the future for DJ Eclipse?

E: The future is to continue to make a mark on this culture and leave something behind that I can be proud of.

K: Thanks?

E: DJ Eazy Lee.



DJ Eclipse - Dedication

DJ Eclipse - Nobody Loves Them

Nas - One Love (Eclipse Remix)

OC - Born 2 Live (Eclipse Remix)

Funkdoobiest - Dedicated (Eclipse Remix)

P.S.: Aaaam uitat, save link target as assstea!

[preacher]

frumos ... ai un cico Sun|Rah ... 10x Uncle Howie aaaaight

[sunrah]

Large Professor Instrumental Album On The Way



In this multi-diversified game that we call Hip Hop, there are very few within the culture that can truly be considered a genius at what they do. One Pioneer that has earned such a title is Large Professor. As a teenager growing up in [Flushing] Queens, Extra P quickly became addicted to the music he heard ??€� created on the streets of New York City. He quickly started honing his skills as a DJ, mastering his skills as an MC and dug deep into his mental to create hot beats. Large Pro wasn??€�t satisfied with just being good, he wanted to become a Hip Hop aficionado of the first order.

While in High School, LP met up with the members of the group Main Source ( ). Also during this time, Large Pro was forming relationships with the likes of Prodigy [Mobb Deep] and DJ Premier [Gang Starr]. Many may not know that DJ Premier actually credits Extra P with showing him how to master the SP-1200 (Hip Hop??€�s ultimate beat machine). Based on the philosophy of one-hand washes the other, Primo reciprocated, introducing LP to his record collection and brought Main Source to the attention of Wild Pitch Records. The group eventually created the classic album, Breaking Atoms, thus cementing Large Professor??€�s reputation as one of Hip Hip??€�s foremost producers and innovators.

In 2002, Extra P hit the ground running with the critically acclaimed, 1st Class. The album featured appearances from Nas, Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip and Akinyele.

Over the years, LP has spent a lot of time working with Hip Hop??€�s finest along with up and coming Artist??€�s. He has also been perfecting his DJ skills ??€� Heating up turntables from New York to Germany and beyond. As for this majestic figure we call The Large Pro, the best has yet to come.

Large Pro Discography

Albums/Singles:
Breaking Atoms [w/ Main Source] (Wild Pitch Records)
1st Class (Matador Records)
The Beginning/After School (12??€?) (Paul Sea Productions/Red Line Music Distribution, Inc.)
Large Pro ??€?Beatz??€? (CD and LP) Coming early 2006
(Paul Sea Productions/Red Line Music Distribution, Inc.) His first instrumental album ever!!



PROduction Credits:

Bottom Line: The Soundtrack, Vol. 1 [Yo, Yo] ??€� Matt Fingahs (Guesswyld Records)
Killer Kuts [Streets Of New York] Compilation (Cold Chillin??€�)
Make That Money/Real Hip Hop (12??€?) ??€� Neek The Exotic (From Da Bricks Ent.)
Streets Of New York (12??€?) ??€� Kool G Rap (Cold Chillin??€� Records)
Wanted: Dead Or Alive [Money In The Bank] ??€� Kool G Rap (Cold Chillin??€�)
Hypocritters (12??€?) ??€� Jazz (EMI America Records)
Illmatic [Halftime, One Time 4 Your Mind, It Ain??€�t Hard To Tell] ??€� Nas (Columbia Records)
Apache Ain??€�t Shit [Hey Girl] ??€� Apache (Tommy Boy Music)
Looks Like A Job For??€¦ [Niggaz Never Learn] ??€� Big Daddy Kane (Cold Chillin??€�)
Midnight Marauders [Keep It Rollin??€�] ??€� A Tribe Called Quest ??€� (Jive Records)
Move Ya Body/Extra Abstact Skillz [Extra Abstract Skillz] ??€� Mad Skillz (Big Beat Records)
Roxanne Shante??€�s Greatest Hits [Bros. Ain??€�t Shit, Deadly Rhymes] ??€� Roxanne Shante (Cold Chillin??€�)
High School High: The Soundtrack [The Rap World] ??€� Pete Rock (Atlantic Records)
Aktapuss [Coochie, Rather Fuck You] ??€� Akinyele (Valcano)
Anarchy [The Heist] ??€� Busta Rhymes (Electra Records)
The Last Shall Be The First (12??€?) ??€� Cella Dwellaz (Stimulated Records)
Stillmatic [You??€�re The Man, Rewind] ??€� Nas (Columbia Records)
Built From Scratch [XL] ??€� The Xecutioners (Loud Records)
The Future Is Now [Drug Music, It??€�s Us, We Are The Future] ??€� Non Phixion (Landspeed Records)
The True Meaning [The Come Up] ??€� Cormega (Landspeed Records)
10 Year Anniversary Illmatic Platinum Series [Halftime, One Time 4 Your Mind, It Ain??€�t Hard To Tell, Star Wars] ??€� Nas (Columbia Records)
Pass Da Tek/Da Funky Mode (12??€?) ??€� Tragedy (25 To Life Entertainment)

Co-PROduction Credits:

Intelligent Hoodlum [Trag Invasion, Game Type] ??€� Tragedy (A & M Records)
Mecca And The Soul Brothers [Act Like You Know] ??€� Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth (Electra)
Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hip [Freestyle ??€� Yo, That??€�s The Shit!] ??€� Diamond D (Mercury Records)

PRO Appearances:

The Originators [Originate] ??€� The Beatnuts (Landspeed Records)
Verbal Affairs/Empire Staters (12??€?) [Verbal Affairs] ??€� B*One (Rawkus)
All Samples Cleared [Funk Is Back] ??€� Biz Markie (Cold Chillin??€�)
Gameplan/Actual Facts [Actual Facts] ??€� Lord Finesse (Penalty Recordings)
Soul Survivor [Truly Yours] ??€� Pete Rock (Loud Records)
One-On Volume 1 [Hip Hop On Wax] ??€� Compilation (Grand Slam Magazine)
Unthugged [It??€�s Large] ??€� Compilation (Antidote)
Legal Hustle [Sugar Ray And Hearns] ??€� Cormega (Koch Records)
The Piece Maker 2 [Out The Box] ??€� Tony Touch (Koch Records)
Lost & Found: Hip Hop Underground Soul Classics [To Each Is Own] ??€� Compilation (Rapster Records)

PRO??€�s Track Appear On:

Spin Psycle [Back In Black] ??€� Mixmaster Mike (Moonshine)

PRO Remixes:

Sure Shot [Sure Shot] ??€� Beastie Boys (Capital Records)
Bad To The Bone [Bad To The Bone Street Mix] ??€� Kool G Rap & Polo (Cold Chillin??€�)
Daddy??€�s Little Girl [Your Man Is My Man] ??€� Nikki D (Def Jam Recordings)
Apparently Nothing (12??€?) ??€� Young Disciples (Talkin??€� Loud)
Gotta Get Over/Flip The Script [Gotta Get Over] ??€� Gang Starr (Chrysalis)
Juvenile Hell [Peer Pressure] ??€� Mobb Deep (4th & Broadway)
What??€�s Next (12??€?) ??€� Leaders Of The New School (Electra)
Behind Bars [It??€�s A Boy] ??€� Slick Rick (Def Jam Recordings)
The Rulers Remixes [It??€�s A Boy] ??€� Slick Rick (Def Jam Recordings)
Stress (12??€?) ??€� Organized Konfusion (Hollywood Basic)
Resurrection (12??€?) ??€� Common Sense (Relativity)
Hummin??€�/Summer Long Sampler [Hummin??€�] ??€� Compilation (Blue Note Records)
Dope On Plastic (12??€?) ??€� Rob Swift (Asphodel)
If I Ruled The World/It Ain??€�t Hard To Tell [It Ain??€�t Hard To Tell] ??€� Nas (Sony Urban Music)
Chizzled (12??€?) ??€� Nas (Let It Fly Records)

[tzele]

10x all care au postat biografii.au fost de ajutor!10x inca o data!

[sunrah]

J-Zone - Working Class Hero

By Charlie Bucket

Didn't you retire as a rapper a while back? Are you going to be like Too Short and keep coming back to the game?

Yeah, I retired in 2001 after Pimps Don't Pay Taxes. I wanted to stick to production, but the beat selling game ain't shit nowadays unless you got major label pull. It's not too lucrative. Plus, I began to realize that I had more fun doing beats for myself than shopping beats to other artists. I don't like to wait around, send out beat CD's and wait...with all that waiting, I was like 'fuck that, I'ma keep rappin on these shits and work on albums'. At first I was reluctant to rap, but once I found my niche and got comfortable with my own rappin style, I decided to keep doin it as long as I'm havin fun. Now I enjoy rappin, but I still won't do no freestylin or battlin. And I'm still a producer first.

How do you think you have grown as a producer since Music For Tu Madre? It seems along the way your style has changed. Is this intentional or just being influenced by new stuff?

I still have elements of my trademark sound, but I've altered it a lot, especially over the last year or two. It's both intentional and a sign of new intrests. My roots are in funk. I grew up listening to old Kool and the Gang, BT Express, James Brown, Slave, Ohio Players, etc...I wanted to go back to my funk influence. Plus, I felt I was gettin pigeonholed with my sound, like 'yeah, every song has a million soundbites, accordion samples, slapstick, circus style beats'. I wanted to change it up and get back to funk. My sound is still bugged out, but it has more of a funk/rock flavor as of recent. I
just wanted to hear and try something new. Everybody wants me to go back to "Candy Razors" or "Orphan Babies" type of shit, but I just got bored with that sound. That was 5 and 6 years ago. I think I've grown and improved a lot as a producer, but mad people say I fell off, so I guess I fell off. (Laughs)

What is your favorite cut on the new album?

Different ones for different reasons. "A Friendly Game Of Basketball" is my favorite concept, "Heavy Metal"is my favorite beat, "The Zone Report" has the lyrics that mean the most to me, I really got shit off my chest on that song. "Disco Ho" and "Baldylocks" are the funniest ones. But overall, I gotta say "Edit These", because it ranks high for me in all aspects (concepts, beats, lyrics and humor).

I noticed Huggy Bear wasn't on this one and you guys have parted ways, what happened there?

Major creative differences. We just grew far apart musically and it was a situation where it was better to remain cool with each other personally and part ways than to try and force a working relationship. No beef at all though, it wasn't personal. But, if both people aren't mutually feeling the music
they're making, the music suffers and you get tension, so we went our separate ways. I always got love for Huggy and Al-Shid, cause we came in this together. We went through the free shows, sheisty promoters and paying dues together, so that mutual respect is always there and to fuck that up for the sake of makin rap records ain't cool.

Is there any rapper out there than can beat you at b-ball? What kind of player are you?

Fuck no. Bitch, I'm NBA-bound, ho! The only rap personality that can beat me is Bobbito. Bobbito is NICE! Bob will bust my ass! I'm a mid range shooter, I shoot the 12-15 footer. I'm really streaky though. If my shot is on, your ass is toast. But if I'm off and I'm shootin bricks, I'll just use my speed to tire you out. I run Rockaway Beach 4 times a week in the summer, that shit is like 6 miles. I'm in good shape and most rappers smoke a lot, so if my shot is off, I'll just run the court like a mad man and tire you out and take it to the hoop. Basketball is my second love to music. I wanna coach high school ball one day, if I'm not laid up on an island with somebody's baby mama drinkin Long Island Ice Teas and countin' money.

Did you watch the men get killed in the olympics?

That shit wouldn't have happed if I was playin in that bitch.

What's something about you that would surprise most people?

I'm approachable. Some fans are scared to say what's up because of the Captain Back$lap character, but I only act that way when you approach me wrong. Like don't run up and ask me to start freestylin or tellin me to give you a beat CD cause you're the best rapper ever. That's annoying, I'll get real pompous fast. But people will step to me and say whats up and be surprised when I stop and have a conversation with em. I'm always cool to the fans cause they keep me up in this game. Just don't run up on that dumb shit and I'm the coolest cat you'll meet.

You helped out on MF GRIMM'S The Downfall of Ibliys album and have worked with him since. how did you get to know and work with GRIMM?

He graduated before me. He used to come back to the school after he graduated and I'd engineer recording sessions for him. He brought Grimm up to record that "Landslide" "12 for Fondle Em Records, I engineered that session at my college. I had been a fan of Grimm since "So What You Want, Nigga?", so I gave him a tape of Music For Tu Madre before it ever came out. He called me the next day like "Yo, we gotta do some shit." We became cool and he helped me get a lot of connections for Music For Tu Madre. Downfall of Iblyiss was recorded at my house, but before I got to do a track with him he got locked up. When he got out I got right at him, cause it was overdue and we did the "Taken" b/w "Dancing" single. I got much love for
Grimm, cause he looked out for me when I was comin up when he coulda put himself on. I was always his engineer, but it was cool
to have him rock on my beats. That's my dog.

How was it working with Biz Markie?

Hahaha, Biz! I drove all the way to his studio in Maryland to track the beat for "Chinese Food" cause I didn't have Pro Tools at the time. I walk in and the first thing he says is "Yo man, I thought you'd be Chinese!" We went into the other room and he played me like 30 songs he was workin on. Some of them were incredible and they never came out. I played him my latest beat CD and he picked 2 beats, but he wound up not usin em cause off time issues. They wound up bein "Ho Kung Fu" and "Gimme Gimme Gimme" from $ick Of Bein Rich. He autographed my Diabolical Biz album cover for me, I laid the "Chinese Food" beat to Pro Tools and broke out. That was one of the highlights of my career. Just me and Biz chillin for an hour playin beats. If it all ended for me tomorrow, I couldn't be too mad. I got to work with and get the mutual respect from all the people I grew up listening to. Biz, Masta
Ace, King T, Devin the Dude, J-Ro, Akinyele, Prince Po...you can't put a price on that. I'm a fan first, an artist second.

Who do you want to collaborate with now?

Suga Free, Project Pat, Redman, Slick Rick, Kool G. Rap, Too $hort, Ghostface, MOP, E-40, Ol Dirty Bastard and Milk D from Audio 2.

Do you think the fact that you are seen as an "underground" NY guy that you don't have a chance to work with some people you would like to?

Definitely. That's what I mean about pigeonholing. If you look at the list of people I named above, you'd probably think I was kidding about half of them, but I'm dead serious. Just cause my records are funny and harmless, that don't mean I can't do a beat for MOP, cause I'd love to! Project Pat is Dirty South, Suga Free and E-40 are straight west coast, but that don't mean shit to me. To work with them would be a challenge and a dream come true. I'd kill to work with artists out of my "subgenre", cause it helps you grow as a producer.

What upsets you off about hip-hop right now?

That fuckin segregation, like I was sayin. The division. Why can't I do a beat for Ludicris? Cause he's on MTV and I'm "underground"? That's wack. Back
in '89, De La Soul, LL Cool J, NWA and Slick Rick all toured together. Look how different each of those artists are. Why the fuck can't we have that now? Shit don't make sense. You gotta only like and work with artists that are grouped with you and if you wanna step out and show interest outside your labeled group, they say you're a sellout or a perpetrator.

And finally this being an election year do you have any comment on politics and where the nation is at right now?

Bobby Brown for President! ODB for Vice Prez and Baby and Manny Fresh for House of Representatives. Rock the vote!

[sunrah]

Eyedea & Abilities: E&A Day Is Here

By Max Herman

Eyedea & Abilities have been taking risks with hip-hop since they were still in high school and their new album, E&A, is the big payoff. Never bothering with college these two recorded their first album and went touring coast-to-coast with Atmosphere when they were still teenagers. But a lot has changed since then. I talked with both the man behind the boards and tables (Abilities) and the man behind the mic (Eyedea) about their new album and why they want to be the Led Zeppelin of rap. What follows are segments of each discussion.

Round One: DJ Abilities

HHS: What would you like people to know about the album (E&A) as a work on the whole?

Abilities: I don't know... it's good (laughter). It's probably something that they've never heard before, or it's gonna be something that they haven't heard before. It's rhyming, DJing--it's just good. It's just good hip-hop music.

HHS: And compared to First Born?

Abilities: I mean, First Born, it's a very old record. It's kind of just a phase. We were in high school when we made it. It was just kind of like an experiment almost whereas this one is an actual representation of what him (Eyedea) and I do more. A lot of times a knock on us is that they like our live show but not necessarily the recorded version, whereas this record is definitely catching more of our live aspect--which is us. Music is live. You could perform it. We could perform everything on that record. The whole thing; we just took more effort on it too. It was just more fine-crafted.

HHS: This album definitely has more cuts and scratches than any other album these days. How important do you think that is for an album today?

Abilities: Well, for me personally, I got sick of making these DJ routines right? I was spending all this time on these DJ routines and they kill, they do really good live, but I could only perform them like three times. You know, 'cause people have seen them. It's almost like a magic trick. Like, 'Oh, that's a dope trick.' You see this trick enough times and you figure out how it's done and you're like, 'It's not impressive anymore.' But whereas I see fuckin' rapper motherfuckers, like I'll see Slug do "Scapegoat," and he's been doing it for years and it's still tight. You know? Or it's like Aerosmith will still do "Walk This Way." You know what I mean? This is like 30-years-old!

That's another thing, other shit I've done previously, it's almost like my turntables, talent and production shit was separate. Like I need to put them together so when me and this kid (Eyedea) rock we just do the song. I don't need a separate set--we're performing. Then it doesn't feel like it's an interlude to the show. When we do the show now I feel like I'm performing the entire time just like he is. It's there. That was definitely a constant effort to make that happen. Really, this is just beginning of what it could be. 'Cause right now it's still just beats and cuts and I'm working on shit with the turntables that's gonna be really integral.

HHS: Can you get into that right now?

Abilities: I mean have you heard the end of "Now," the second song, that guitar piece?

HHS: Yeah.

Abilities: Well I'm gonna do more shit that's melodic based where I might rock the whole melody through the whole song--like I'm a guitar player. Change it here, change it there, have a solo in it. That type of stuff is kind of more of where I'm going as far as turntable shit. But then always still just raw cuttin'. One thing that I like about our approach to music is that we want to do new things. We want to make a new sound. You have to have your own voice if you're going to be anything. But there's also the homage and there's always this respect for just raw shit. I still practice, at least try to practice everyday, just cuttin' raw and fresh--just working on the raw, technical ability to cut. That's the essence as much as I'm trying to do the stuff that I feel is some of the next level shit of turntablism.

Round Two: Eyedea

Eyedea: Yo.

HHS: Hey what's up?

Eyedea: Pretty much disregard everything this dude just said and put my shit up.

HHS: Ha, ha. No problem man. First and foremost, on the lead single, "E&A Day" all the shit talkers are definitely put in their place. Were you singling out cats who talk shit on the Internet or was it geared towards shit talkers in general?

Eyedea: I don't really think about the Internet as much. Early on in the Internet game, when the websites would start talking about shit, the first week of that we were reading what people thought. And then we were like, 'We do not give a shit.' I remember when our first single, "Pushing Buttons" came out we were reading what people think, but then we were on tour at the time and we were like, 'We know what people think, we fuckin' murdered it last night!' That's all we need, seeing what peoples' faces look like when we get off stage. Certain people will browse the net. I don't even read magazines. I haven't read a music magazine in fuckin' two years. I just really don't pay attention to none of this shit. I know where I derive my pleasure from and I know that when we play live all my gratification comes form external sources (and) is definitely available to me when we do a show. So I don't really fuck with any of that. So anyways, that whole approach is just people talking shit, maybe even people I knew, you know--people around me. Just in general man, don't talk shit, I'll fuck you up big time.

HHS: So all that counts is what the fans say at the shows right--the direct response?

Eyedea: Exactly. I mean everything counts. I don't want to have a whole nation of critics thinking I'm a horrible musician but if that was the case, what am I going to do? I do what I do. I make my music. If they dig it, they do, if not, whatever.

HHS: I've been to your shows and I've seen that you take the time after the show to talk to the fans. What kind of conversations have you had? What are some of the most interesting things people have said to you?

Eyedea: Ah man, sometimes it's really ill. Some of my favorite shit is just to see the look on somebody's face, and they might be an aspiring musician themselves, when they just give me that look. They're like 'Man... yeah,' and they don't say anything. That's my favorite shit. That's how I am, that's how I was and that's how it will still be if I meet certain people--certain musicians I look up to. It's everything from, 'You're songs have inspired me to live my life different,' to 'I fuckin' hate your guts and I think you're a fuckin' disgrace to the music industry'--all of it. I welcome it all. It's great.

HHS: Back to the album, Abilities was just telling me that he hits with the beats first and then you write from that. So how does that process go as far as selecting beats?

Eyedea: We were working on it everyday. We would take the weekends and go do separate things and by Monday or whatever he would have new beats. He's like, 'Look at 'em,' 'What do you think of this?' I mean he probably made shit that he didn't even play me 'cause it wasn't even there. Like he probably made shit that didn't even get played. But out of the shit that did get played, we sat down together and were like, 'Is this it?' Is it raw?' 'Is this good enough?' The first song we made was "Now," and "Now" kind of set the standard for the rest of the record. We were like if in some form or fashion these songs aren't as good as this one, we're not even going to make it--we're just going to move on and do something else. That's kind of what we compared it to. And once the beats were there we kind of sat down and fucking arranged it and thought about the ideas of it, what's behind it, what does he think, what do I think? And we really spent a lot of time together arranging it and making it like spills and chills--just feel right. There were even vocal pieces where Abilities would say, 'At this point this should be the pattern: da da da da da da.' It was completely 50/50 after that point. It was just lots of thinking about accentuating each other at the right part and making a certain part epic and then bringing it down. You know, like an emotional fluctuation of the song--that's what we spent a lot of time together doing. I'm actually happy 'cause I think on a couple songs we accomplished that.

HHS: Yeah, I think the whole album shows how well you two work together, but for me, especially "Kept" really shows it. Are there any plans to make that a single?

Eyedea: The "Kept" song?

HHS: Yeah.

Eyedea: Oh God, no! No way! (Talking to Abilities) I'm like, 'I almost didn't hear him.' I was like, 'He can't really be saying this.'

HHS: Aw man, c'mon...

Eyedea: That's Abilities shit. That's his joint. It's cool though. The standout songs are "Now" obviously and "Glass." If we did a second single it would be something around "Glass." "Glass" is something else.

HHS: From you what you say on "E&A Day" and because of your extensive tour schedule I assume you guys don't have 9-to-5s.

Eyedea: No (laughing). We had them for a while, which is cool.

HHS: So did you guys go to school at all, after high school?

Eyedea: Oh no. By the time that was happening it was all already kind of falling into place. That's why even on "E&A Day" I say, "I accomplish more than you will in your whole life by the time I was eighteen." By the time I was old enough to have to put my life together I had already done more than what most people do. I wouldn't say that it's real life, or in real emotional context; it's a good thing to say when you're trying to make people feel like shit.

HHS: Ha, ha yeah. But how does feel to be able to live off hip-hop--you're contributions to hip-hop?

Eyedea: I don't really know. I guess I don't think of it in those terms. I just feel like I'm on this plight. Me and Abilities have this driving desire to become great musicians. We're always striving to make epic, great music. Whether or not that's achieved, we have no control over that. We can only make music and get better and better as we go along. And really, that's the only thing I think about. And so I don't know how it related to hip-hop as a whole--I'm not sure. I'm glad we're trying to push an art form that I think is one of the most purest and genius art forms in the past hundred years. We have a lot of influences. We listen to a lot of different kinds of music, which is why we always make sure that people know where we're coming from. We're making hip-hop music--it's just our version of it.

HHS: What do you want to do next to build even further off of what you've already created?

Eyedea: Next is some different shit, because right now, I'm sure Max (Abilities) already told you, we're basically making the turntablist like the lead guitarist. He's gonna be the lead guitarist. We've said it a million times, but it's Robert Plant and Jimmy Paige. That's what we're trying to be: the Led Zeppelin of rap--the true front men that are two badass motherfuckers, technically and emotionally and whatever. Technically, Abilities is always working on his cuts but he's also working on the emotional, melodic, how to hit chords. I mean he's doing shit that I've never even fucking hear about. Me, it's the same way--it's like I'll always keep the edge of technically being able to flip styles and come up with new patterns, but on the flipside I'm also learning the more emotional way to present myself and finding the right tone or voice and the just the right way to say things.

Right now we're both working on writing music from scratch, writing a lot of piano music. I really see in the future us being more of a production team that's just kind of layered this bed for us to just fucking solo over. It might be me coming up with a piano riff and sending it over to Max and him coming up with the drums and a horn sample and him sending it back to me and me having a guitar player I know play on it and him having it sent back to him and him coming up with a turntable baseline, then him coming up with the main melody on the turntable, going all the way through and then us doing the structure of the song. I really want that because I feel it's engrained in us to just take it somewhere else. I'll just say this too: there's going to some day where you see E&A on stage and there's going to be grand piano, drums, guitars, fuckin' ten sets of turntables, microphones and effects, peddles and shit, but it's only going to be two motherfuckers up there and that's E&A doing all the work. That's like really what we're going at right now, just creating music from complete, honest rock bottom with the turntables and there it is.

What can people expect from your upcoming E&A shows?

Eyedea: You know this is the most arrogant shit I will ever say and I will say it: they have never seen a rap show like this and they probably never will unless there's motherfuckers biting our shit. To me our live show is better than our record. And everything on the record, you'll see how it translates--all the guitar peddles and effects, guitar solos on the turntable with the vocals and just the interaction between us two--you can physically see it, which is really something significant. Keep your eyes open for that 'cause it's something new.

[sunrah]

Virtuoso At War

By Darin Gloe

Hailing from Cambridge, Mass just up the road from the likes of Edo G and Brick Records comes Virtuoso. Making his debut on Boston based Brick Records "Rebel Alliance" LP, Virt was immediately recognized for his intricate wordplay and his social awareness. After dropping the acclaimed independent favorite, "Word War I: The Voice of Reason", and several 12"s, he is back with a new album and some insight into the industry.

Let??€�s talk about the beginning, the Rebel Alliance LP, how did you get hooked up with that project and with Brick Records?

Yeah that was the first thing I ever appeared on, I was like 16 when I met those guys. They were older like 21 or whatever, I had actually already made "Omnipotent" and I had been gaining a reputation in my High School as an ill freestyler, and battling cats in corners. Then I met Fakts One at the Concrete Click??€�s (Kay-Gee from NBN old group) release party. I was battling some cats in the corner and he invited me up to ERS and then from there some people came up to my High School and invited me to do a showcase. I ended up linking up with Madsoul and Esoteric and then met Lif later at the party. They let me know what??€�s up with the Brick Compilation, Brick hadn??€�t really had anything out so I gave them "Omnipotent" and then Eso asked me to drop a verse on "Be Alert" and the rest is history.

The new joint "Fahrenheit 9/11", why that name?

I had a lot of political s#it about society on the record, and I had a friend that was younger than me join the military at like 17, and now he is over in Iraq. Then 9/11 went down and I don??€�t really agree with what we are doing over there so, I had been writing a lot of this stuff before everything went down. Then right about the time my album came out, the film (Fahrenheit 9/11) dropped and I wanted to give Michael Moore props for putting it out there on such a high level and exposing a lot of stuff. I had a lot of songs on there but it was one of the more recent ones and I just wanted to update some stuff and give Moore props.

So you have the full length "Evolution of the Torturer: Word War II" and the Mixtape "Fahrenheit 617", what prompted you to do both of those?

The mixtape was just kind of a promotional tool; we threw on some songs from the album and some freestyles and what not to give the people a little something extra when they bought the album. "Word War II" is the actual album, but honestly it has been done for quite sometime, a lot of the political material has been done for like a year and half or 2 years. This album was actually going to be put on Hiero, but they pushed all their release dates back to 2005 so I had to switch up business situations due to the fact I wanted to get this album out around election time.

Speaking of Hiero, I noticed there are not one, but two songs featuring Del. Are you guys good friends or was this a strictly business deal?

I actually met Del in like ??€�98 or ??€�99, we did a tour with him in Europe. It was me Del, Casual, Lif and Esoteric in support of the "Rebel Alliance" LP. Over the years we have stayed in contact and he was actually on my first album which came out in 2000, we have made a lot of songs together. On "War of the Masses" we trade verses back and forth and then we have the other joint that also features Jaz-O. We just happened to be working together a lot at the time and making a lot of songs and the two that ended up on the album, just kind of fit. It wasn??€�t really a planned thing that he was going to be on 2 song it just kind of worked out that way. He??€�s been a really good friend for a while, good guy and a dope artist.

You have a different style and voice than most people out these days, would you call yourself a political emcee IE Public Enemy, Dead Prez or more of a battle rapper IE Copywrite, Juice?

I wouldn??€�t call myself either one of those; I just say that whatever I??€�m talking about it, it always ends up being intricate with the lyrics and all that. I just have the voice I have, but sometimes I??€�m yelling more and my voice is higher pitched. I would say a lot of the songs on my new album are me rapping in a more natural tone using my normal speaking voice because it??€�s more of a straight forward record, it??€�s not really about ripping up emcees. On the first album I had a lot of songs about society, but on this album I have a song talking about my real life and real experiences. "Devilish" is a song about my life, my childhood, high school, and how life changes as we get older. I would call my self a "real-life" emcee, I can always take it to a battle, but I wouldn??€�t characterize myself as one certain kind of an emcee, I would just say I??€�m a lyricist.

Right now the industry has been called in a state of emergency, do you feel this is a correct assumption, or are people blowing it out of proportion?

It has already been a problem, I wouldn??€�t say it is in a state of emergency, but it is definitely a turbulent time. I mean there is a lot of stuff wrong with the industry and it does need some change that is for sure. People have to be creative in what they are doing right now, it is a tough time for entertainment and everything is a little down, it??€�s a crazy time.

What are you thoughts about MTV and BET and the lack of independent artists and labels on those 2 channels, or any channel for that matter?

S#it, it would be great if they would play that stuff all the time, if they dedicated half their time to good music. But, you know whatever is greasing their pockets is what they are going to go with. Personally, it sucks; it sucks for the people working really hard to get on. I mean sometimes they play some stuff under the radar or BET uncut or whatever, but it is a serious lack of support for Indies. I mean the gap is getting larger and larger between major and indie labels. The major labels aren??€�t really messing with Indies anymore, because they have lost so much money. Right now it??€�s all about an image, so people can hear the music as well as see the music. The majority of music isn??€�t really saying anything, I??€�m not saying that every song has to have a crazy message, but I think it is important to see some things talked about in the music. Right now mainstream hip-hop is really at an all-time low, it??€�s really really bad. It??€�s close to the time when it was shiny suits and all that. It has become so repetitive I would think even the followers have to be getting tired of this S#it.

Do you have any interest in signing with a major?

I have talked with people in the past and I wasn??€�t interested in what was coming up at that time. Until you have really made a serious dent yourself, you can??€�t really get things on your terms. I??€�m not interested in getting robbed, or somebody telling me how to do my music. I think that if I was ever going to do something like that I would rather do a collaboration type thing, where I still have a lot of control. That??€�s kind of why I started my own company because I was tired of having my stuff in other people??€�s hands. So me and my partner Snipe started Omnipotent Records, we have just been working on building the label, building the Virtuoso thing, and working on getting to know the business better. I??€�m not interested in being a slave, but I want my music to reach as many people as possible. If the right thing came along I wouldn??€�t say no, but I have seen some crazy things and some real bulls#it in the game. At the moment I??€�m not really gunning for it, but I won??€�t rule out the possibility.

So let??€�s talk briefly about the label, do you think you are going to step back as an emcee and really mentor and run the label or stay in the forefront?

I have been doing a lot of different things; I have been in the studio doing a lot of studio work as well as producing. I have a lot of different interests and I love to do business, I am definitely going to be out there as an emcee, but we have a lot of things about to drop. Jus Allah formally of JMT and T-Ruckus of Knights of the Round Table (T-Ruckus, Mr. Lif, and Insight) will both be dropping soon, plus the compilation "Era of the Titans" which are songs from all of us plus C-Rayz Walz and some others, so we have a lot of stuff coming. I??€�m also working on a new album which is half way finished. I??€�m not going to speak much on the album, I??€�m not going to really let the cat out of the bag, I??€�m thinking I might switch it up a little, but you??€�ll hear about it.

So since Fakts was one of the first cats you met, you think you??€�ll use some of his production.

You know I haven??€�t really spoken to Fakts, but that is a good idea I??€�m glad you reminded me. I have a crew of cats that I have been developing and working with, but yeah getting at Fakts would be dope.

Thanks a lot Virt, we appreciate you taking the time during the holiday season to sit down with us. "Evolution of the Torturer: Word War II" is in stores now on Omnipotent/Raptivism records, so stay tuned big things in 2005. Shout Outs?

www.bigvirt.com and the label site: www.masshiphop.com.

[sunrah]

J-Live: Back To Skool

By William Ketchum III

How would you describe your sound?

A lot of people throw the phrase "Old school" to describe my shit, but to me, it's more about not sounding like everything that's out at the time. For lack of a better term, they call it "Old school," when it's really just not following whatever the new trends might be. When everybody got all over the core trinity sound, and just started running through the same voices, I wasn't doing that. The fact that I wasn't doing that, it didn't sound new to other people. When rap was really, really, really went gangsta, ask where it was before. People that weren't necessarily gangsta started jumping on the bandwagon-I didn't do that. For that to be the new thing, if I wasn't new, then what was it? It's just being original-I think people mix up the two things.

I can only say I'm old school as far as my ethics and how I do this, but not in terms of how my music sounds. I continue to do things that have never been done before, so how can that be old school? There was never a record like "Them That's Not" before, never a record like "One For The Griot" and "All In Together Now." There was never anything remotely close to "Bragging Rights," even as simple as it was, with two turntables and a mic. What I do isn't styled in the way back, it's just original, and usually you have to talk to the elders to get those kinds of ethics.

How difficult is it to make stuff that's so against the norm, and keep it relevant to what people are listening to?

I try to let my music grow in the same direction that I'm growing. The best part came out when I was in college, it was recorded and written while I was in school. All of The Above was me becoming a family man. During the time that I was writing that, I was working in public schools, so it was a more mature album. And now, The Hear After, you're talking about somebody who is in full-blown family mode, who has had some success with his career, who is looking back on things and just trying to make his mark. The next album will be reflective on the success from this one, and what I'm able to do in terms of turning into more of a hip-hop businessperson than just an artist.

Everything is going in the direction of my life, so that's what keeps it relevant. People can relate to me, people doing what I'm trying to do: making music that people can vibe with physically and mentally. Struggling with what we as people have to go through every day - not just the real, real lows, or the real, real highs, but all that shit in the middle that people tend to forget matters when they turn the mic on. It's always been important to me to do something that hasn't done. There are so many things that haven't been done creatively, because it won't get done until it comes out of you. But if you spend your time trying to sound relevant, or sound what things are sounding like now, then you're going to start to repeat what's already been said. And that's not what I'm into.

You said that you've experienced success with your last album. It almost seems like nowadays, platinum is a standard.

I think there are different standards for different weight classes. I only say that to say that standards in terms of what you're selling. On the outside looking in, for people who don't know that much about the industry, they think, "If you go gold, or go platinum, that measures if you're successful." But the fact of the matter is, if you go gold and spend platinum, you're not putting out another record. If you go platinum and spend diamond, you aren't putting out another record. Perversely, if I go wood and spend aluminum, I'm doing all right for myself (laughs). You didn't even crack 100,000 records (sold), but you spent such that when you crack 20,000, you've already made back what you need to make back. So in terms of being able to make my living off this, feed my family off of this, tour??€�I don't have millions and millions of fans, but the hundreds of thousands of fans that I have feel stronger about my shit than they do the four or five platinum CDs that may be in their rotation right now. They relate to me, they know what I'm going through. They're happy that someone's still making the kind of music that people may not invest a lot of money into, but once you have it, you can invest a lot of time into it because it's good quality shit.

People talk about success, but we haven't really spent like that to be worried about going gold or platinum. For the budgets they've put in, people have been happy with what they've gotten out. On that level, that's the success I'm talking about. The people who have heard it feel like it's one of the best albums of the year, and they're dying for more people to hear it. Not everybody can say that about their platinum record. There's a lot of records that go platinum, and the next album goes wood, because even though a lot of people bought it, they didn't necessarily like it, they just got sucked into that marketing machine. I make good, quality music, so it's slowly developing to the point that maybe this record will go gold, and maybe the next one will go gold and a half or something. But it won't be because I tried to alter what I do; it'll be more about people recognizing what I've been doing.

You spoke of different weight classes. In hip-hop music right now, it's almost like you have two groups of fans: you've got the underground fans who just shun off commercial shit, and you have the people who just sort of love commercial shit, and don't know about underground shit. Do you see the industry as A)a lot of dope underground shit, and mostly wack commercial shit, B)the other way around, or C)a medium between the two?

I think there's definitely a medium. You've got to establish a couple of things before you answer that. First of all, "underground" has more to do with your budget than your style of music. It has a lot more to do with the ability to get your record over ground and on the airwaves than with which snare or high hat you use, or what you're talking about. Amongst the underground, you've got a lot of bullshit records out there only because dude put it out himself. Amongst commercial, you've got bullshit that's only out there because they sound like somebody that sold and (the label) is trying to do it again. Conversely, you have a lot of good commercial shit, that even if it's ignorant, but that might be fun to listen to for one month. But it's fun for that month (laughs). A lot of people would jump on Mike Jones, but that's a whole genre of hip-hop right there from the south, that people from the north have been fronting on for years. It's just taken that long to blow. You can lump all this independent stuff from the northeast and say the same thing. It has its cult following, and Def Junkies out there selling out shows, and it's only a matter of time until the rest of the world on a mass level understands what they were talking about. It's only a matter of time before Sway is doing an expos?© on El-P (laughs).

Conversely, I'd like to say that my fans have similar tastes to me. If you listen to me DJ, you're going to hear some Ying Yang Twins, and you're going to hear some Jugganauts. You're going to hear something you've never heard before, and you're going to hear the same song you heard on the way to the club. That's more about dope and wack; I think people really need to let that go. Around the late 90s and the early 00s, people got way too involved with the inner workings of the music industry, because so much information was put out there about what it means to be an A&R, what ASCAP is about. So many artists shout out their labels more than they do their families. The average, everyday listener is under the impression that they're well-versed on how this shit works, and because of that, it becomes part of their appeal for the music. It gives them a familiarity with an industry that they really have no idea about, except for the little bit that gets shout out on the video shows and on the radio.

The bottom line is if you listen to a record, and you feel like hearing it again. That's what's going to determine if you turn your radio on or off, if you go to the store to pick up a CD, if you go pick up the next album before you hear it. I stress this in every interview I get. If it's dope, it's dope. If it's wack, it's wack. When I DJ, the only people who aren't going to be happy are the two polar ends of the spectrum that you described (laughs), and it's not as big as you think. Program directors may be on one end, and mom-and-pop record store subscribers might be on the other. But there's a whole world out there that knows what the hell they're listening to, and knows why, and knows when. One minute they want to hear DangerDoom, and another minute they want to hear Mike Jones. There's nothing wrong with that, it's called being well-versed. This is the only genre that I know of that calls for you to take sides to such an extent, and it really doesn't, it's just a perception about how people are thinking. I think it perpetuates itself. (child starts talking in the background, J-Live talks back) I'm on the phone right now. Go tell Mommy. Daddy's doing an interview right now.

How old is your daughter?

One's five, one's two, and my boy is nine months.

How do they affect your music?

It affects how frequently I'm able to make music, and how loud I'm able to play music (laughs). It definitely has an influence on my subject matter, because when I talk about my struggle in this industry, they're a direct effect of that. What I'm willing to do, what I'm not willing to do, how often I stay on the road, how often I have to pass up shows for less money because it's not worth leaving the house now, or how I have to take a show for less money because I need to take care of the house.

It keeps things in perspective, and I think that's part of what the new album is about. Growing up in college, messing around with girls, it was always in the back of my mind, this longing to be a family man. That's my nature, that's what I wanted for myself. Now that it's like that, this is what you were talking about. This is what you were looking down the road for. This is your chance to step up for your kids after your mom held it down for you so long. This is having a clean slate and defining what a father is, because my father wasn't around. It definitely affects my music. Nowadays, songs like "Weather the Storm," "After" and "Harder," you can hear it in there. You're listening to a father talking.

All right, let's switch gears. What is this "fool-proof plan" on the Knicks making the Eastern Conference semi-finals?

I really feel that cats are sleeping on what Isaiah's been doing. I think that if we just stay patient, there will be a lot of room in a couple of years. If you look at the way the team is structured right now, there's a lot of youth, and a lot of deadwood is on its way out. Even the people that are there right now??€�Rose, Williams, and to a lesser degree, Taylor??€�can teach guys coming in, along with Larry Brown, what defense is about. It hurt my heart when Nazr Muhammed left, and I'm glad he got his ring, because I like him as a player. I think the way things are right now, there's just a couple pieces missing, and rather than trying to replace and refurbish throughout the course of the season, use what you have and teach. Develop Ariza so he can play the 2 and the 3, develop Lee so he can play the 3 and the 4. Teach Nate Robinson more about how to be a point guard, let Steph and Brown do their thing to wherever it's going to be. People hate on Isaiah all the time, from getting rid of Van Horn to getting rid of Kurt Thomas, but personally, I think they have some pieces there where they can really do some damage, so I'm looking forward to the season.

I sort of see the Knicks as that Portland squad back in the day, that had a lovely squad, but just couldn't win.

It's important to keep New York involved from a marketing perspective for the NBA, and because that's where I'm from (laughs). We ain't really won since '73, so it's not like we're trying to build on a dynasty??€�we're trying to start one. Somebody brought it to my attention that there's only seven or eight teams that have won the championship in the past 20-something years. Once you get past the Lakers, Celtics, Pistons, Spurs, Rockets, that's like 10-15 years worth of championships. That's kind of foul. New York can definitely get a piece of that over time. We'll see about Jerome James; I don't think there's any reason that he can't be more productive than he was if he stays out of foul trouble. I think they've got the right coach, and there's a little bit of a log jam at guard and power forward. I want to see Channing Frye be a real center, not just an oversized power forward. And I think they should move Lee to 3, just from what I've seen in summer leagues??€�I didn't get to see the games??€�but he looks like he could play 3 if he wanted to. There's always that New York pressure, but I think that if cats just relax a little bit, they'll really see something build.

[sunrah]

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.

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.

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.

Would you say that today in hip hop that there is a lot of Shuckin and Jivin going on?

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.

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.

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?

Okay lets get into the magazine shit. What happened? Give us a first person view of what went down.

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.

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?

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.

So what exactly happened at The Source?

The Source man... basically Fahiym felt that the album was dope and deserved a 4 and ?‚? 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!"

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?

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)

Hopefully we can change this shit up...

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.

[sunrah]

Smif N' Wessun: Okay! They Reloaded!!

By: Jillina Baxter

The dynamic duo from Duck Down who brought you hits such as "Sound Bwoy Burial", "Stand Strong", and "Bucktown" are back and believe me, it's a blessing to have Smif N' Wessun on the block again. I contacted Tek and Steele to find out how they feel about their new material and their thoughts on mainstream music.

TEK: "Reloaded" is new music coming out from Smif N' Wessun out of The Boot Camp (Clik). It's just great inspirational music, it's just great listening music and it feels good to be back having that work done again. Hopefully everybody will appreciate the work that we did on it and what's to come.

So let's talk about the first single coming from the "Reloaded" album and give us a breakdown.

TEK: Oh well right now, it's this song called "Timz" and that's just basically saying these boots are made for walking and that's what they're gonna do and one day, these boots are gonna walk all over you. But naw, it's basically just saying how we travel around and just try to take care of the B.I. in the industry and just standing up for what you believe in.

Who did you work with on the CD as far as production?

TEK: Well, of course, we have our family, Da Beatminerz. We got a couple of joints from Coptic; he's one of The Hitmen, Khrysis from Justus League, Roc Raida, Moss. We got a couple of other beats from this up and coming producer from Sweden so we spread some love around and mixed up a couple, but we stuck to the format for the sound of the album.

Who are some of the artists featured on this CD?

TEK: This is all Smif 'N Wessun besides our extended Boot Camp Clik family. We did a joint with RBG, Dead Prez you know that's family. It was been supposed to get done, but the opportunity and the time didn't present itself until right now which was the perfect timing for "Reloaded". We did something with Talib Kweli. Buckshot, of course, The Boot Camp (Clik), Sean Price, O.G.C., but for the most part of the album, straight Tek and Steel Smif 'N Wessun.

You were recording under another name, Cocoa Brovaz. How did that name change come about and what happened that you went back to recording under the name Smif 'N Wessun?

Well Cocoa Brovaz was just something that they were calling us in the hood so it wasn't that hard to switch over to that, but regardless of what they call us we're always gonna be Smif 'N Wessun. That's what we are to the fans and that's what we are. It was just an easy transition.

It's been like a 3 year hiatus for Smif 'N Wessun so what have you guys been doing in between that period?

TEK: Constantly working, putting on different artists. Then PNC still has a video show called "Bucktown USATV". We're constantly on the road, across seas and different parts of town putting on shows, working with different types of organizations. We're still with the Shakur Organization out in Atlanta, doing stuff for the kids and just in the studio. When weren't not on the road, we've just been putting different material together.

Some of these artists you mentioned working with are they established artists or someone we should be listening out for on the come up?

TEK: We don't really work with too many established artists. We try to take it back to where we came from and give back and let some other people get a chance to what this Hip-Hop business is about, this music business. So we're all working with up and coming artists. We give little classes about how to control and conduct yourself in public, how to conduct interviews, things like that, but you know, it's not on a world-wide level just yet so it's still under wraps, it's still in the making. We're having fun with it.

So how has music changed, especially Rap music since Smif 'N Wessun got on. Do you think it's for the better, has gotten worse, how do you view it?

TEK: It's for the better. It has to be for the better, because it's still around and you know, it's making people's lives better. It's employing whole families, whole blocks where dudes and females were just doing nothing. Now Hip-Hop has given them something to wake up in the morning early to pay their bills and to afford nice living areas, so it's definitely for the better. If anything changes, it should be for the better.

Any plans for tours to promote your upcoming CD?

TEK: Right now, we're just knocking out a whole bunch of press work and just getting all the dates in the cities lined up. Just telling them what to expect from the album, how the music is gonna be coming. It's still a lot of venues that don't want Hip-Hop in their establishments so we just gotta take it easy and it's gonna fall into place.

So what advice do you want to give to the newcomers trying to make it in the game?

TEK: Just believe in yourself and for the most part, this isn't a game. This Hip-Hop music is a business that's why they refer to it as the music business. At the end of the day, master your art and learn what you gonna learn and know what you're gonna have to take care of, because at the end of the day, it's gonna fall on you.

Steel, share your thoughts about the CD and how it feels to be back on the scene.

STEEL: Well it means a lot. At this point, we've been in the game and our album came out about 10 years ago. So for us, it's a 10th anniversary as Smif 'N Wessun. We had a problem with our name in between the album. This is supposed to be our 3rd official release and it's almost like a second coming for us. It's dropping on September 13th which is the day that Tupac was declared dead which was another one of our PMC's who taught us a lot. We brought a lot in our knapsacks and in our rucksacks. About "Reloaded" it's just perfect, because the timeframe and the individuals that we're working with it just makes so much sense. We're Smif 'N Wessun we're named after a gun and "Reloaded" has cogitations to a gun, but we're coming with the power of verse, the power of verb, the power of music. It just lets you know that we're coming with a new, refreshing voice. It's the same Smif 'N Wessun, but a refreshing voice, because you haven't heard this in a decade. You may have heard Cocoa Brovaz, you may have heard Boot Camp, but you haven't heard Tek and Steel together back to back giving you jewels, giving you soul food and giving it to you over music which you have been lacking. You have a lot of party music, you have a lot of Reggaeton, you can have Reggae music vibes and R&B stuff, but then there's always something more that you can get or something that is missing. So "Reloaded" is right on point, because when you open it up, it's gonna be like eating M&Ms, you're not gonna be able to stop eating them. It's gonna be sweet and piece after piece it's just gonna get greater.

[sunrah]

Foreign Exchange: Imported, Certified & Soul'd

By Marlon Regis

With a tour promised for late September, the Foreign Exchange ??€� comprised of producer Nicolay from the Netherlands and Phonte of Little Brother in North Carolina ??€� are making big waves in creating the first of its kind hip hop project, where upon completing their debut LP titled Connected, they hadn't even physically met each other. It took over a year, not to mention hefty phone bills and countless of music files being sent via Instant Messenger, for the two to finally compile some of the best work yet between a foreign-based producer and an American emcee in the hip hop world ever. While most are anxiously awaiting the new Little Brother album, New Minstrel Show, that wait can definitely be put on hold to properly digest and enjoy what so far is to me, one of 2004's most enjoyable hip hop LPs. If you're in college, don't take this back to campus for the Fall '04 semester ??€� you'll ??€?misplace' it if you have a roommate. And if you're lucky to hold on to it, you'll never concentrate on homework. And what if you're not in college? Well, for the first time listening to this CD - don't be driving. Avoiding periodic outbursts of joy and waves of incredible pleasure once this is playing, is just too risky for any driver behind the wheel. It's so potent, I'm yet to get tired of listening to it and I've secretly had it since May 2004. However, not too longer back in mid-July, Phonte, Nicolay and myself all got connected, and without any static or crossed lines to interrupt our conversation, within this interview lies the key to the making of one of the most unique, soul-enriched unnoticed hip hop albums for the year.

First of all, who put y'all together ??€� it's just really far-fetched to most a lot here in the game that a producer from the Netherlands and an emcee from the US could pair and make a viable impact in hip-hop.

Phonte: "It all pretty much came together through the Internet man, I had Nicolay's tracks online at Okplayer.com. Heard them, liked them and asked if I could rhyme over them. Me and Pooh (from Little Brother) rhymed over one of his beats which later became "Light it Up" ??€� the B-Side to our single, "The Listening." From that point on after we did "Light it Up," me and Nic got building. He kept sending me tracks (online), I kept rhyming over them and getting people involved in it, then about a year and a half after, that's how it all happened."

So initially, it really wasn't something that you'll had planned?

Nicolay: "Nah, not at all, it pretty much happened, not by accident, but basically it started with one track and we liked what had happened to it, so we sort of just kept it going."

So Phonte, you didn't know or weren't searching for Nicolay when you discovered his beats online, did you?

Phonte: "I was just really playing around, looking for new talent, looking for new music. He'd put up a poster on OKPlayer.com saying ??€� 'Check out my new tracks' by me or whatever, and I just heard it and I was like, ??€?MAAN!!' I gotta get with that....and from that point on, I was like, look man, there's something with this guy, let me just stay on him, see what we could do. It didn't start out like we intended to do an album, I just really loved his tracks and it inspired me to create and so that's how the Foreign Exchange was born out of ??€� that desire to just make music."

In this world today, of great communication technology, obviously a great factor in making this LP possible, what were some of the obvious and not so obvious obstacles you both encountered?

Nicolay: "Well the obvious one was like ah....the time difference. Like ah....Phonte not having a computer." (EVERYONE LAUGHS!!) "So that was like the obvious stuff. I guess the lesser obvious stuff would be ah....well, it took time because Phonte was busy touring so we had to do it in between a lot of other stuff. So in the end, it took a long time."

Phonte: "The surprising thing about it all was that, out of those obstacles, like none of them were musical obstacles. I never had a problem communicating an idea to Nicolay. Like we were talking about mixes ??€� granted this is all online now ??€� I'm typing this into a computer and I'm like, ??€?yo, I think the beat should drop out at such and such part,' and he'll automatically get it, yuhknowhati'msayin? So that was cool, we got it. All the problems I say is like external things like time, scheduling, but musically, it was never a problem, like we'd pick up on each other's ideas almost kinda instinctively."

Phonte, this one is for you ??€� was 9th Wonder scared out of his sneakers after hearing these incredible tracks from Nicolay? As a producer, I would feel threatened!

Phonte: (BEGINS TO LAUGH OUT OUT!!) "Nah man, he wasn't scared, but he was just like, 'Maan, Maaan, I'm just glad I don't make the types of beats that Nicolay makes, or I'll be outta a job!' Yeah, yeah, he makes it hard, but it was never a thing like that, 'cause the thing with the Justus League and Little Brother, our whole philosophy on making music is that we don't have to worry about being necessarily better than the next man. I just gotta be the best me, like I ain't gotta outshine this dude, or compete with this dude. No. As long as I'm the best me and hold my skills, then cats is gonna like me for one reason that they might not like him. Cats might like Nic's beats for one reason, they gonna like 9th's beats for another reason, but they both like dope music."

Nicolay, this one is for you ??€� is Phonte the first emcee project from the US you worked with? You'll seem to fit so perfectly, I'm really complimenting you both on this man....

Nicolay: "Yeah he is, I know, yeah I had a good start right? Well, it was really Phonte and Pooh for "Light it Up," they were the first cats to ever bless the track that I did, like American or European. So yeah, that was like a nice head start."

Not to take anything away from you or this project, but in the Netherlands, are you like this lone unique hip-hop/soul music producer, or are there many other Nicolays out there waiting to be given this US exposure or break you're getting?

Nicolay: "Right, I don't know, I think they're slowly picking up on what's happening in my hometown too. So ah.....basically what was happening is that I tried to get my foot in between the door like for a couple of years, like '90-'95 and on in all sorts of groups, but it never really happened. I guess this is my chance to do it, on my own terms and come back to enter through the back door, so to speak. Right now people are getting the buzz that actually someone from the Netherlands did some shit! It's a combination of some people there feeling proud, and also thinking, ??€?how the fuck did that happen?'"

Every so often, there's that LP unknown to the masses that has slipped in as one of the most classic-to-be, before-its-time type of sounds. This to me is Connected. The beats, music, just heavenly ??€� the lyrics, flow, more than relevant and entertaining and on point! This magic, where is it coming from?

Phonte: "Well, ahh maan, before I did this album, I took a fast for 40 days and I asked God, yuhknowhati'msayin', to tell me if there's a light out there in the universe, 'cause I was really thinking about giving up music, I was going through a lot, I was working as a Sales Clerk. Things wasn't going too good, I wasn't making the sales I normally was. They had me in the Gift Wrap section, I couldn't quite wrap the gifts as fast as I should. I was just going through a hard time at my job man....so no lie, I went on a fast for 40 days and 40 nights. I asked God to send me, if there is a sign or a light, if this is really not it for me send me a light. Send me something to show me that all is not lost, and that I'm here to do this music. And the next day, that was when I heard the beat for "Light it Up," and I just broke down and cried man, cause Nic just really brought me back, he brought me out. It's like that song in church they sing (HE BEGINS TO SING VICARIOUSLY): 'He's bringing you Owwwwuuut, oowwwoohhh, he's bring you owwwwwut!!!' So that's where the magic comes, it comes from up above, from God. It's like Nic is my brother from another color man."

You're too funny man, so like a sort of revelation. The openness and beauty of hip hop is the nature of having lyrics already written looking for a mate, and applying it towards a groovy beat, and the same strategy can be applied vice versa. How was each track lined up to match the lyrics, or vice versa?

Phonte: "It started off with beats first, like Nic would just send the beats, then I'd write to the beats. I don't have like rhymes laying around, I always write specifically with the beat in mind."

Phonte ??€� upon receiving the tracks, which one was so incredible, it gave you a hard on?

Phonte: (THE ROOM BURSTS OUT IN LAUGHTER FOR 10 SECONDS STRAIGHT) "Ah well, ah....well (PHONTE STARTS TO GOOF AROUND NOW) I....I....I....at the time (NIC INTERRUPTS BURSTING INTO LAUGHTER AGAIN) ah well, I don't know if I was getting a hard on, but I....I....I felt the....ah mean, I do like Nic and all, but we're not Connected in that way....(PHONTE IS STRAIGHT CLOWNING NOW). But as far as the track that ah.... it AROUSED me....ah, well, ah....I guess "All that You Are" that would be the track that aroused me, that was about a woman in my life at the time, ahh..she was giving me a hard on. That track, yeah, that one...." (LAUGHTER CONTINUING)

Hey, you know I am glad I asked the question that way, I've never laughed so hard in an interview, and it seemed you'll got a great kick out of it too. Nic's literally crying with laughter. So, Nicolay ??€� upon hearing the lyrics Phonte wrote, which one ??€� again assuming the titled song is on the album ??€� had you the most open?

Nicolay: (A LITTLE LAUGHTER ANTICIPATES THE END OF THE QUESTION). "Right. My favorite lyrics was in the "Happiness" cut, because that's about like daily life, about the bull shit you go through and struggle, and then at the end of the day, coming out victorious. That would definitely be my favorite lyrics, Word Up."