Hades Forum

Talib Kweli


Touching Everything

Despite his mainstream letdowns, Talib Kweli says he can still “rhyme circles around your favorite MC.” Now the Brooklyn lyricist is growing into a leader with his own label and taking the criticism in stride.


There’s no doubt Talib Kweli can hold his own, but the Brooklyn MC has also been half of a couple of hip-hop’s most prolific duos. He first flaunted his skills with fellow Brooklynite Mos Def on 1998’s Black Star and with producer Hi-Tek on 2000’s Reflection Eternal. Three solo albums deep, Kweli is still highly regarded in many circles, even while his commercial sales have failed expectations, particularly 2004’s The Beautiful Struggle. Last year, he tacked his Blacksmith imprint (a venture with longtime manager Corey Smyth) onto Warner Bros., bringing indie artists like Jean Grae and Phil the Agony. Before releasing his next effort, Ear Drum, Talib is offering the Blacksmith mixtape Blacksmith: The Movement, and his latest album, Liberation, is a 10-track Internet-only collaboration with Oakland beatsmith Madlib. Talib spoke to xxlmag.com about his recent projects, his Blacksmith movement and how he absorbs the criticism.

Talk first about this project you did with Madlib. Was it always intended as an online-only album, or did it start out differently?
My original plan was to give it out at shows. But when I started working on Ear Drum, I had about 400 beats from Madlib. I was like, “I can’t possibly put all these beats on my album,” so doing an album with him. Then I was like, “I can’t do that, ’cause a lot of those songs have samples in them, and Madlib is real hard to get in touch with.” I was like, “The only way it would work is if I just did it, recorded it and gave it out for free.” This way, I won’t have to worry about sample clearance, and I wouldn’t have to worry about tracking Madlib down.

You’ve worked as a duo with Mos, Hi-Tek and now Madlib. What made you want to work with him, and why do you see working as a duo as a benefit?
A lot of the classic albums in hip-hop—Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth, Main
Source Breaking Atoms, any Gang Starr album—are handled by one producer. Only a handful of producers can handle a whole album. Like, Erick Sermon is someone who’s done whole albums for himself, EPMD and Redman, and he hasn’t gotten a lot of props for it. Hi-Tek, Dr. Dre, 9th Wonder. And, also, Madlib is just a very consistent producer. When Jay Dilla passed, I was in a similar situation with him. I had a whole bunch of beats, and I didn’t know which ones I was gonna use. All these wonderful dudes in my life, I just want to take the opportunity to work with them when I can. As I’ve grown as a musician, I’ve experimented with different sounds and wanted to try different things, and my fans would always roll with me. Sometimes they think I’m bugging out, but that Madlib sound is the sound that I think they’ll appreciate me on.

How do you think Liberation will benefit your actual album?
Well, the selfish part of me is saying that, “Look, if I gave you a free album, the least you could do is buy my album.” But at the same time, I’m trying to make music that touches people, whether you listen to hip-hop or not. Sometimes when you do that, you lose people in the process, because you’re trying—I don’t care whether or not you think I’m the best MC. I already know that I am, so I’m not trying to prove that on my record. And, so, the Madlib album was a way for me to say, “Okay, I still can rap circles around your favorite MC. Matter of fact, I’m so good at that, I’ma do it and give it to you for free. But now I need you to take this journey with me when I’m trying to do it [on a major-label album].”

You also said that about Right About Now, your Koch album.
Yeah, Right About Now, the mixtapes, all that. Because I realize there’s a certain segment of my fan base that I can’t forget about. I’ve lost some of them on Beautiful Struggle. I don’t make music for the fans, so I’m gonna continue to make my albums the way I want to make them. I’m not gonna listen to your suggestions about what I should be doing. But you want to hear me on some gully shit? You wanna hear me on some underground shit? You wanna hear what you’re used to me doing? Then here’s Right About Now, here’s Liberation, here’s the mixtapes. That’s for you. Because those fans—I did that for two albums, and they didn’t run out and buy them. Neither one of ’em were platinum or gold.

Do you feel kinda bitter about that?
Not bitter, [but] I do feel like it’s seductive to get caught up in what you think the fans want from you. That’s how a lot of artists fall off, and I’m very careful not to do that. If I [was] the same artist on Black Star that I was on Reflection Eternal that I was on Quality, I would be very boring and people wouldn’t be challenged. And so I have to make sure, as I get older in this game, my music remains challenging. If the same kids who loved Reflection Eternal love my new album and that’s it, then I haven’t been doing my job, ’cause I haven’t been growing.

How do you feel you’ve improved, either lyrically or otherwise?
I feel like I’m definitely stronger lyrically. I feel I’m more confident, more in command of the microphone. I feel like my range is better, as far as what I’m able to rap on, the subject matter I touch. I feel like my resources have increased. I can work with any producer I want to work with.

How much do you pay attention to the critics of your music?
I pay attention to the constructive criticism as much as possible, ’cause I believe that it makes [me] better. I read album reviews, and I actively go out and search for them, and when someone tells me they saw a review, I want to read it. And that might be a vain part of me, as well—to see what people are saying. People are real passionate about my music, a lot of my fans, so sometimes they’re so passionate that if I do something they don’t like, they’re equally passionate about how much they don’t like it. And so I get a lot of negative comments from so-called fans. But it drives me to be better.

What do [fans] want you to do that you’re actually working on? What have people said that you’re like, “Maybe I should do that”?
You know, one thing the constructive criticism has helped with has been the shows. I do 250 shows a year, and that’s very draining on my body and on my voice. And when you do hip-hop events, you’re not doing places that have great sound systems, so I’ve developed a habit of wanting to go hard. Plus, my music is considered soft and conscious and smooth, and sometimes that doesn’t play well for the stage. So I come out real rowdy and loud and screaming. It started changing the way I sounded onstage, and I started noticing criticism of that, like, “I don’t like the way you sound onstage.” So I went to a throat doctor, and she gave me some tips on how I can be better, and that’s something I’m still working on, but I feel better onstage, and I’ve seen the results. ’Cause now those same Web sites that were saying that, I’ve noticed people saying, “Oh, his live show is back to where it was.”

As far as Ear Drum, you said it’ll be a different project with different influences, compared to Liberation. How so?
That’s a little bit misleading. Madlib is doing three, maybe four tracks on Ear Drum, as well as Pete Rock, Hi-Tek, DJ Khalil—these are people who embody that sound that people have come to know me for. But I also have a record with Justin Timberlake. I have a record with Norah Jones. UGK, KRS-One [are] on the record. Liberation is sort of like [no-holds-barred]. This one, there’s definitely some rules to it. Like, I’m not putting a beat on there if it doesn’t sound right.

Can you update us on what’s going on with Blacksmith?
Strong Arm Steady has a mixtape that’s doing real well. Jean Grae—other than the song we have on the Web site, “The One,” which we released a couple months ago, I don’t know if Jean has anything new out, but Jean always has a video on YouTube. She makes her own videos. Jean is real prolific and very easy to work with. My album is the jump-off, so as soon as we get my album out, we’ll have the other albums on schedule. Jean, her album’s called Prom Night. Strong Arm is Bombs and Hammers.

Do you think hip-hop is dead?
I think hip-hop is in a wonderful state. I think the problem is that, when people make judgments about hip-hop, they’re only talking about the commercial, top-ten hip-hop that you hear on radio. I don’t even separate the terms—I look at hip-hop and rap [as the same]. We all grew up listening to Run-D.M.C. No matter how many times you say, “I’m just a hustler, not a rapper,” nigga, you know that you love rap, so stop frontin’. I appreciate the fact that you got skills selling drugs, but don’t say that you don’t love rap, you know. We all love it. I think the musical landscape of what you see on the radio and hear on the radio seems bleak, but I’m blessed to really live hip-hop. So my interest in hip-hop goes far beyond BET or MTV, or even XXL, for that matter. Even though I pay attention to all of it.

Do you think fans just accept what they’re fed or that they should expect more from their rappers?
One thing that’s hard for a progressive artist to realize, and what makes them bitter, is that the average fan doesn’t want to turn on the radio and hear Talib Kweli talk about the state of the union. The average fan turns on the radio and wants to hear a song about shaking ass or going to a party, something that’s gonna help keep their minds off the problems they’re dealing with. So as progressive artists, we can’t stick our noses in the air and think everyone’s supposed to listen to conscious music just because we happen to like it. I feel I’m dope enough that I can spit a rhyme that has gems and jewels in it and the average head will still love it, just ’cause the rhyme is dope. Sometimes I hit the mark. Sometimes I don’t. But nothing’s gonna make me stop trying for that.

K-OS INTERVIEW:

RapReviews.com wrote:k-os has been a Hip-Hop superhero to many since he first appeared on the scene in 2003 with Exit. The album featured the songs “Heaven Only Knows” and “Superstarr Pt. Zero” and quickly vaulted the Canadian artist to fame in America. Later this month k-os will be releasing his third album, Atlantis – Hymns For Disco, and he already has a 40 city tour planned with Gym Class Heroes in support of the project. Before he starts living life on the road, however, he's sitting down with us at RapReviews to discuss the new album, how God fits into it, and his feelings on people's preconceived notions of what black music should sound like.
Adam Bernard: Talk to me. I have the record, "Atlantis: Hymns for Disco," and I notice you're singing a lot on this record.
k-os: Oh for sure. For sure.


"As a musician I do all kinds of exercises. Sometimes I'll try to write a song a day..."

AB: Are you moving away from rapping or is this just another aspect of who you are?
KO: I think the best comparison is it's just another way to express emotions and it's definitely a different way of expressing yourself when you speak without melody versus using melody and I feel that I'm at a point in my life, and looking at what's going on with the planet and where we are on the planet, where this is just the best way to express myself. As a musician I do all kinds of exercises. Sometimes I'll try to write a song a day or wake up in the morning and try to see what's in my head first. Is it a poem? Is it a song? Is it a line on my guitar? Bur everything just kept coming back to melody and I was listening to a lot of Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder and a lot of great signers, so all those things influenced me and it was just a really natural progression.

AB: So how do you think this album is going to influence your fan base?
KO: I don't know. I think that I've always elements in my music of melodical ideas and I've always been a big part of the symphony of the music, like the choruses or even on a song like “Superstarr Pt. Zero” I had a signing chorus, so it's always been in there. Hopefully everyone just comes back to what I'm saying. That's the one great thing about it, people from the beginning would ask me if I consider myself a rapper or a singer and what kind of music I did. I'm really a lyricist and I think all my music comes back to the lyrics and that's the most important thing and I hope that the fans still hear that and just basically see that those lyrics are being expressed in a different way.


"[It's] about me following my heart, whether it's the singing on it, or the rock n roll on it, or if I decided to do an acoustic ballad."

AB: And the name of the album is "Atlantis." I have to know, did you go underwater to record it?
KO: (laughs) No, but that's funny because being underwater by yourself has a certain amount of silence to it. Even in the movie The Graduate there's a scene where he's back home and he feels so disconnected from his parents and for his birthday his dad buys him a scuba diving suit, and this is the 1960's so it basically looks like a space suit. You can hear all this noise, but as soon as he goes underwater everything stops. I think that's what's all good and cool about water, it's like you'll be swimming or you'll be at a friends house and there'll be all this noise in the background, but as soon as you go underwater it's like you're in your own head. Without even me really thinking about it that's a really true statement. I do believe that this music is about me following my heart, whether it's the singing on it, or the rock n roll on it, or if I decided to do an acoustic ballad. I generally stopped caring, on a punk rock level. I say this to people and they're like “how is this punk rock?” but I'm not talking about the aesthetic of the music but just the punk rock attitude of just being like I'm going to do what I'm gonna do and I don't really care what people think. So there was a lonely, going underground to do this record, feeling for sure.

AB: So punk rock rock sensibilities mixed with the scene from The Graduate where he's in the pool with his scuba gear.
KO: Word up. And also Hip-Hop sensibilities which I have to say, whether you're Iggy Pop or Chuck D, or whoever, I do believe that the punk rock attitude and the Hip-Hop attitude is about doing it for yourself and do what you feel is being original, so for sure.

AB: What are your hopes for this album?
KO: I've always had an issue with the way I see black music or urban music and what we're “allowed to do” or what is perceived as such. I really just hope that people can listen to this record and in one way it's kinda weird because the comments I always get back are “you're real different,” or “you take chances,” or “you're not like regular Hip-Hop,” when in actuality I'm so Hip-Hop, I've always been sort of a Hip-Hop nerd. I check for stuff online and I listen to really underground music and those are my influences from the beginning, but just because those things influence me doesn't mean I have to make music like Madlib or make a song that sounds like Sage Francis or Blackalicious, all of these people that I love that I listen to, but it doesn't mean that when I make my records I have to copy them. It's funny when you have those types of influences and everyone thinks that you're so different, I just hope that it broadens the spectrum of what music, not music in general, that's kind of hefty, but at least for what I do it broadens the spectrum for what's perceived as Hip-Hop music or “black” or urban music because those words exist on the chart. There are all these separations because it's human nature, we have to separate things to talk about them, to define them, to get to know them better. I would hope this record allows all of those things to exist side by side.


"I went through a whole period [...] of hiding from the audience because I feel sometimes there's a lot of, I call it soul pressure."

AB: And when you say that I'm wondering when you perform at your shows how often do you look out at the audience and check out who's checkin you out?
KO: It depends, man. I went through a whole period, almost a whole tour, two or three tours, really just kind of hiding from the audience because I feel sometimes there's a lot of, I call it soul pressure. When all those eyes are on you, it kind of bothers me to say, sometimes you have stand in front of 30,000 people to feel normal and that's a very honest thing to say, but sometimes when I'm in front of a lot of people, even if it's 1,000 people in the room and they're all looking at me there's always a little something that's inhuman about that. I'm becoming more and more comfortable looking at people but I generally tend to vibe of the room. As far as being in a band and leading my band and switching my set list on stage, like we're about to go into a song but I tell them to go into something else because I'm feeling the vibe of the room. I try to keep a room vibe and not really focus on individuals but that connection is definitely needed if you do any type of live performances. I think for me it's easier and safer to connect to the room.

AB: You're one of the few Canadian MC's to break into the US market. What quality do you feel you have, or what do you feel gave you the push, that helped you make it here?
KO: Honesty maybe? In America I feel like there's so many people doing their thing that at the end of the day people are just forced to be honest and the most honest guy gets noticed. I don't even think it's someone going “we're going to make the most honest guy,” I just think if you shoot from your heart whether you're Kanye West, Andre3000, Lauryn Hill or Ozzy Osbourne, I think it doesn't matter, when you're the most honest you're gonna have the best chance of people looking twice at you because you're making an honest statement about your life. So I just try to stay honest and let the chips fall where they may. And when I say honest I don't mean noble or holier than thou, I just mean true to what my artist statement is.

AB: So while you're being honest, tell the people something about you that they may not know already.
KO: I kinda say a lot in my music.


"I think that the greatest thing that I put out to people is that I'm completely conflicted about my ideas about spirituality and God."

AB: Is it really all there in your music?
KO: It pretty much is, man. I was going to say the biggest thing is that I grew up in a really religious household. There's a song called “The Ballad of Noah” on my new album where I kind of cover that. Bob Dylan made this statement, “I think that great music is made by people who are running from God or running towards God,” and I think that the greatest thing that I put out to people is that I'm completely conflicted about my ideas about spirituality and God. I know there is something higher that exists and I think my music is an exploration, it's a scuba dive to find out what's really there. I feel if I put my music out there that some answer's gonna come back to me. To this point it hasn't. Maybe somewhere deep in my heart I think that music is too shallow to answer those universal questions but if I would use any tool to find out why we're here I'm using music to do that and think that's why there's a depth of perception to the music that I do because I'm trying to figure out who we are using music.

AB: It also sounds like you're going to do music as long as you need to to figure all that out.
KO: Yeah. I was talking to my friends the other day and I think sometimes music in the mainstream, or as you said, you made a statement about impacting America and I think it takes a certain type of resolve to make music that's affecting in the mainstream and on the charts and on the radio. Whether my music in the future will always be like that I don't know, but for now I'm just trying to deal with touring America for the first time. But yes, I will make for the rest of my life. Who knows if I'll be using Fisher Price xylophones to make music in the future, I don't know what I'm going to do, but I'll be making music.

Common Interview [hiphopdx.com]

From putting Queensbridge on the map with one of the most memorable hood anthems ever recorded to battling it out with KRS One in a cross-borough beef which after two decades still stands among Hip-Hop’s all time greatest rivalries, MC Shan was knocking MCs out the box when your favorite rapper was still in diapers. And while the legendary Juice Crew member acknowledges his long list of accomplishments, Shan insists his legacy is far from complete. “I don’t want to be remembered for what I did”, declares the outspoken rhymesmith, “because the greatest thing that I did I haven’t done yet”.

Set to drop his first solo album in over a decade, MC Shan, now residing just outside of Atlanta, Georgia, is reinvigorated and visibly optimistic about the future. In praising the renaissance of Southern Hip-Hop, the New York rhyme vet breaks ranks with some of his peers while also crediting rap’s younger generation for keeping his skills intact. “People always talk about – oh, old school niggas inspired me and this and that. Yo, they don’t know that we sit around watching them to keep our game up”. As the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding, and if you’ve heard what Shan’s been spittin’ of late, you already know it’s that pure uncut raw. Now see what the man has to say.

Click here to listen to “Boom”, brand new fire MC Shan.

RIOTSOUND.COM: Nowadays, when rappers want to break into the music business, a lot of them have very sophisticated marketing campaigns, different teams hitting different markets and so forth. At the time you got on, in the early 80’s, how did you go from just rhyming to having your records played on the radio? Can you describe that early period?

MC SHAN: In the early period we didn’t have to spend the money really to get [our music on the radio]. If you had talent they picked your joint up and put it on. But now they made it to the point where if you ain’t got no paper for them to play your record, you ain’t getting it played, or if you’re not down with a certain so-called “click”. But that’s the politics of radio, I don’t really like getting into politics; I don’t like playing the politic game anymore, you know what I’m saying.

There’s so many avenues out here to get your music out and get it heard now that the radio actually doesn’t make a damn difference about it. You can get your music heard a lot of different places. I mean, the radio makes a big difference but as far as getting people to hear it, please, you can get people to hear your music [a lot of other ways]. The promotion tactics are different now also. Even through a lot of music is corporate, there are other avenues that you can take [like] MySpace and all this other stuff to promote; it costs you nothing.

RIOTSOUND.COM: Obviously a lot of the rap music today is very one dimensional; what are your thoughts on that? What do you think caused it to go from a place where originality was essential to a place now where a lot of times originality is a little more than an after-thought for a lot of MCs?

MC SHAN: That’s because there’s only one thing they have to listen to and that’s why it’s going in that direction. People always come to me now with that new question – is Hip-Hop dead? Hip-Hop ain’t dead, it’s just that there is only one genre [in the music]. And the people who are signing the checks are making it that way ‘cause they are only singing this kind of thing. There’s plenty of other acts and other talent out there that can be signed who are not doing the same one-faceted thing.

RIOTSOUND.COM: You recently started recording again and releasing new material. What prompted you to do that?

MC SHAN: It’s that time. I got a new album deal. I started doing that even before that song, whatever Nas said, came out [referring to “Where Are They Now”]. When it came out it was just a little better for me because here it is, Nas biggin’ me up and whatnot, you know what I’m saying. But I was doing my album long before all of that stuff. Right now there are some songs out there that’s circulating; see, I didn’t pay for that, I used that other avenue.

RIOTSOUND.COM: Do you think with the advent of all these new technologies and alternative means of promoting and getting the music out to the fans; is that going to be a big advantage for a lot of artists, as far as having creative freedom and not necessarily having to always bend to the corporate standard, so to speak?

MC SHAN: You know what’s gonna happen, somebody gotta step up like me and take my space. That’s it, I’m not asking. Somebody just gotta step up and say – look, this is what I’m doing, that’s what it is. ‘Cause there’s a lot times, as far a being “old school”, which is what they would want to classify you, that’ll be the first excuse somebody will give you not to listen to your music. Like “I don’t wanna sign you, what are you gonna do with that old school shit?” – before they even listen to your tape. I got a lot of stuff that’s – my style is still me and I do what I wanna do on songs that I feel that I like to do – I got some down Southy type records and things like this. I’m not gonna have people telling me what I can do. I’m gonna do some shit that’s gonna make people look and say, “damn! he’s still spittin’ it like that? Get the fuck outta here! He ain’t fucking been around since Jesus and shit” [laughs].

RIOTSOUND.COM: You now reside just outside of Atlanta. Has being down South and seeing the explosion of Southern rap music first hand influenced you as an MC?

MC SHAN: It hasn’t influenced me as an MC because like I just said I’m gonna do what I wanna do, I’m not gonna switch up my style.

RIOTSOUND.COM: But as far as your perspective and outlook on things, has that changed at all?

MC SHAN: that I need to broaden my horizons and get me some of these down South acts as well as all of the acts that I got from everywhere else. I need to get some of that because there’s a market for it. Like right now I got this song up on the internet and it really has a Southy feel to it. I’m asking for comments and one dude commented me back like “I really really can’t stand the Dirty South sound”. That’s fine, but me as an artist, I’m not gonna be sitting down here in the South and you not gonna send me into no studio with none of these niggas down here and I’m not gonna be able to fucking spit and get on track with them. So I adjust my style and my things to who I got around me and where I’m at, you know what I’m saying. You got to freak it like a chameleon.

RIOTSOUND.COM: A few months ago you and Roxanne Shante came together to work on bringing the Juice Crew back with some new members for the new generation; how has that progressed?

MC SHAN: How it’s unfolding is I got a label deal and that’s the main avenue to put out these acts that we’re trying to get. In the meantime that’s being stagnant right now for the simple fact that my album has to come out and the label has to get structured. Once the label is structured, then we’ll go back in full swing because then we’ll have an avenue, we won’t have to ask anybody. Anything that we sign, we’ll sign and put it out. We won’t have to get the artist and then go begging somebody for some distribution. So [the new Juice Crew] is still in effect but it’s just the fact of the bureaucrats and their politic bullcrap again.

My album was supposed to come out in January, then it got moved to February, then to March. Man, I don’t really like this fucking deal that I got because I’m back in the same spot. It’s trough Universal and I’m in the bureaucratic situation. It’s not like I can do what I want and put it out tomorrow like we used to do.

RIOTSOUND.COM: As of now, do you definitely see your album dropping in March?

MC SHAN: I see it dropping in March but even if it doesn’t it’ll be a good factor because I got like eight new songs. I just wrote another song last night. I was listening to that Lil Wayne “Leather So Soft”. Lil Wayne, I been listening to him lately. That little nigga got some lyrics. But last night I turned on that “Leather So Soft” thing and I ain’t stop writing. I finished writing my song five o’clock in the morning and it was to that beat. See, certain songs give me a thing to write to and that “Leather So Soft”, that thing is so tight, it’s like damn, that’s a real MC, you hear some real tight shit. Its like – yo, I got to get up on something like this [laughs].

People always talk about – oh, old school niggas inspired me and this and that. Yo, they don’t know that we sit around watching them to keep our game up. Some of us do and some of us don’t and when you hear certain people rhyming you could hear who of the old school doesn’t and who of the old school keeps up with their craft.

RIOTSOUND.COM: A lot of times MCs today seem like they fabricate battles and beefs just to generate a buzz and sell records. Having been part of such a legendary battle on wax, do you feel that some of the phony beefs we see today are crossing the line as far as what’s proper and what’s not?

MC SHAN: I can’t really comment on how they doing they battles and shit ‘cause I kinda started the fucking shit [laughs], you know what I’m saying. I was the first one on a record talking about shooting motherfuckers, if you think it about, with the Kris records. So I can’t really criticize on what’s going on and what’s doing.

RIOTSOUND.COM: Marley Marl recently recorded a song with KRS One called “Rising” where KRS says he owes you credit for the start of his career, what are your thoughts on that?

MC SHAN: Well, you know what people need to do? Stop talking shit and listen to what he’s saying. I’ve been trying to tell people that for years [laughs]. And Kris know I didn’t quit rhyming because of Kris. Fuck that, Kris know I woulda got at him. Back in the days if anybody came at me, the whole industry knew that Shan was that motherfucker. You wanna battle, you wanna have confrontation? Talk about Shan.

Now in between the time of Kris and Cold Chillin’ came Snow. I got paid! I was like, fuck all this, I’m not fucking with you Cold Chillin’, I don’t care what this one or that one says. And due to the fact of Marley Marl, he was a sucker, I’m telling it again because I’m tired of people putting that on me. Back in the days I woulda got at you, I woulda got at his momma, I woulda got at anybody. And Marley was like - yo, don’t make no more records about Kris, it’s gonna make him famous. So he’s the producer and I listened and now I’m stuck with that stigma and then 20 years later [Marley] goes and makes a record with [KRS One], you faggot [referring to Marley Marl].

And you see that right there, I’d make a record with the motherfucker [referring to KRS] but it would have to be real. We gonna have to get paid in the end but it ain’t gonna be about the cash, like – oh let’s do this record for the money. And I do hear that [Marley Marl and KRS One] did an album but I don’t hear it bumping in the street; so what the fuck is that?

RIOTSOUND.COM: The legacy of Hip-Hop coming from Queensbridge at this point in time is immeasurable. From yourself and Marley all the way down to Nas, Mobb Deep and Cormega, the Bridge has blossomed since you, in effect, put it on the map. In a sense, KRS One saying “The Bridge Is Over” was kind of ironic since the Bridge was just getting started and the Bronx would actually fade a little in the years after that. How do you feel knowing that you laid the foundation for such a powerful legacy in Hip-Hop?

MC SHAN: I’m not looking at that. See, that’s what’s the problem with a lot of old school artists; they keep looking back and saying, remember me for this and that. No, I don’t want to be remembered for what I did because the greatest thing that I did I haven’t done yet. And so I don’t like looking back and saying, praise me for this and praise me for that. Watch out for the next thing I’m gonna do because with the old school artists, that’s one thing I can’t stand, they always talking about - remember me, I was from so and so, I did this and I was the first one to scratch and I was the first one to say this on a record. Oh shut the fuck up and go do some new shit. Shut the fuck up please and tell ‘em Shan said so. Fuck that, you wanna battle nigga? Saying something.

And see, that was another thing. Back then I’d talk about you because, you wanna know why? Back then I ain’t have to worry about you coming and sticking a gun in my back. See what I’m saying? So if I had something to say about you, oh believe me I was gonna put it on a record. LL, everybody, I don’t care who it was. You do remember “Beat Biter” right?

RIOTSOUND.COM: Yea, of course. That was the record where you came at LL Cool J before the whole thing with Kris.

MC SHAN: Yup. See, people don’t look at that. But LL used the tactic that Marley tried to use with Kris. LL was thinking that he was so much larger than me like – oh, I don’t have to respond to Shan. No, you ain’t gotta respond to Shan, I just took your ass out on a record nigga and you ain’t say shit [laughs].

RIOTSOUND.COM: So even with all that history, you still feel like you don’t want to be recognized for all those classic moments?

MC SHAN: I mean, it’s nice to recognize those things, that’s all good because that’s what makes me me. [I’m not saying] to totally wipe that away but I’m just saying, recognize me for what I’m trying to do for you now. Hip-Hop is like a bitch. She always saying, what the fuck have you done for me lately?

RIOTSOUND.COM: What would you say to a fourteen or fifteen year old kid who’s maybe just getting into Hip-Hop and hasn’t heard of you; what would you want them to know about MC Shan?

MC SHAN: What I would tell them is don’t judge me by one song. Listen to the whole album first because my album isn’t going to be a one sided thing. You might hear a song about how a bitch fucked me over, you’ll hear a song about how I’m gonna knock this motherfucker’s head off when I catch him and then you might hear me spitting something different like - I don’t know where Shan came up with that style but that’s a good one.

But, I mean, the whole beef thing gave a little bit of light to me because that’s what a lot of young kids talk about when they see me like – wow, didn’t I see you in Beef? And I still look the same [so they can recognize me]. And so that right there opened up a lot of avenues for a lot of young kids who didn’t know who I was. And then came Nas talking about Shan on a record; I know some people going – who the hell is Shan? [laughs]

RIOTSOUND.COM: You got the new album dropping, what else should fans be looking out for as far as MC Shan goes?

MC SHAN: That Juice Crew thing, I’m gonna pick back up on that. Basically I’m going to be doing whatever falls into my lap. Whatever I wake up in the morning and think of, that’s what the hell’s gonna happen, I don’t even know yet. I got a set road but ain’t no buildings built along my highway yet. I’m constructing as I go.

Interviu cu Pebblee Poo daca e cineva interesat.

It's fucking Coka

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

un interviu din 97 din Suedia cu ODB & Method Man ... merita vazut 4 parti

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvkTAzBZZSk[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7iezeeJ6Co[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivIDMHyUI1E[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qB4Z9lKmvM[/youtube]

This past Saturday (April 21st) 50 Cent was in London as a guest on the Tim Westwood’s radio show. Topics ran wild from his new album (producers and guests), Eminem, Dr. Dre, Yayo, Young Buck and more.

50 starts off immediately talking about C.U.R.T.I.S. (which will be releasing June 26th in the U.S.). How he’s been in the studio with Dre, Kanye West, Pharrell, Swizz Beatz, Polow Da Don, and will.i.am. And how most will make the final cut, while some will be left off as the album will be 18 tracks deep.

What’s the direction? How did you make it happen?

This album feels like Batman Begins. It feels like Get Rich or Die Trying. The punchlines, some of them have a child’s innocence to them. The only record that reflects on my financial state is Straight to the Bank, and that’s why I started that way.

We're in an era of records not selling.

It needs people to put stronger efforts to create full albums of quality material. When you have the material being held to Dr. Dre, Eminem and my standards before we can actually release it. That’s the formula to keeping the material good enough for everyone to enjoy themselves,” 50 replied. “There’s artists in the U.S. that got a little momentum going but there records aren’t selling. Like MIMS, Rich Boy. Because there’s only one record in connection with them artists. … They didn’t give the general public enough to make them happy with spending their money on the disc.

Eminem?

They also should be looking forward to Em. Cause Em is working. Some people were under the impression that that was his last record, ‘cause he called it Curtain Call. … The return of Batman and Robin.

The Cam’ron beef is crazy.

That’s the competitive nature of hip hop. It don’t come from anything in the street that would make it turn into that. I already moved away from that. You can’t continue to beef with someone that isn’t intelligent enough to know when they lost. What you’ll do is, you’ll exhaust yourself on it and the general public on you talking about it.

What’s the setup for the album?

This record, I’m gonna release four records before the actual album releases. This song that you should look forward to hearing is called Come and Go, its produced by Dr. Dre. It’s like In Da Club pt. 2. Another record I wanna release is called Follow My Lead, it’s featuring Robin Thicke. And Amusement Park,” 50 answered. “I’m shooting a video for all four of those records. Away from the television networks, I have the opportunity to play four different music videos from 50 cent at the same time. You can always go to YouTube on the internet and check it out at your leisure. … I feel like people are ready to hear me and see me again.

So what’s you take on the Tony Yayo situation. (see: Shooting at Tony Yayo's Mother's Home)

People who shoot houses aren’t really a big threat. People who shoot people are. [Laughs] Ain’t nothing changed. When they talk about the house his mom lives in, that’s the house we grew up in. And the music is a direct reflection of the environment we come from. That where the aggressive content comes from. So sometimes they be like ahh hip hop music this, hip hop music that. But, it’s actually real. There’s always indications on some level that it’s actually going on.

Why does hip hop hate woman?

Hip hop loves women. I love women. If you look at what they do. Women are twice as marketable as men. When you want to sell a magazine to a woman, you put a woman on the cover. When you want to sell a magazine to a man, you put a woman on the cover. We all want to see beautiful women. So when you put a beautiful women in your music video, it becomes exciting [in these days and times] for males AND women. … Hip hop didn’t make up the word ‘bitch’. That word was there long before. We’ll utilize it, because there are women out there that have an attitude. Countless amounts of times I’ve heard women call women bitches.

Don Imus?

It’s not the statement ‘nappy headed hos’ that got him fired. It’s the advertisers pulling advertisements, that got him fired.

Virginia Tech Tragedy?

When Columbine happened, they blamed it on Marilyn Manson. Virginia Tech, the guy just walked in the school and killed 30 people. And he’s a big Led Zepplin fan. You got Ozzy Ozzborne and his followers at that point that is totally getting overlooked. Rock sales are actually increasing at this point. So I guess they would rather they kids paint their fingernails black and worship Satan. I guess that’s what you’d like over listenin’ to hip hop.

Are you mad at Young Buck?

Nah actually me and Buck got off the phone earlier today. I spoke to him. What it is, people generally make assumptions based on what they hearing in the music. And they got an example of Buck being willing to handle a situation with Dr. Dre at the award show. So he’s not that comfortable with everybody being kind of antsy or afraid when he comes around. So he wanted to tell everybody there ain’t no problems. In doing so, he kind of separates himself from me. Cause I’m not willing to reach out to those people and tell them I don’t have a problem with them. Cause I didn’t initiate the problem. To think that you can resolve a situation with someone who actually created it from nowhere is not really smart.

Any tracks from Timbo on the album?

Yea, I got a song from Timbaland featuring Justin Timberlake.

In your whole body of work. What is the favorite joint that you’ve done?

Favorite song? Man, probably In Da Club. That one was timeless. It’s a celebration of life. Everyday it’s someone’s birthday. The song’s relevant all over everyday.

What was your favorite moment of your career so far?

When I found out my first weeks sales. On the first album. On Get Rich or Die Trying. It was unbelieveblae to me. Did like 822,000 the first week. And the second week was really mind boggling cause I did another 800 something thousand. And you know how you usually expect to do a 40/50 percent decrease. And I didn’t do nothing. I didn’t decrease nothing.

Low moments?

It’s the sacrifices to build other artist. When I did Best Friend I was doing that to keep Olivia warm. When I could’a easily been doing I’ll Whip Ya Head Boy. I could’a been doing Trick Get In My Car when I was doing the Outta Control Remix with Mobb Deep. I always sacrifice, I always make decisions to go in different directions to try and help people around me.

Be sure to check out the audio of the interview in HipHopDX’s audio section! CLICK HERE.

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/audio/id. ... w-04-21-07

ILL BILL's DJ, ECLIPSE INTERVIEW - ALLHIPHOP.COM

http://www.allhiphop.com/features/?ID=1791

DJ Eclipse: Time's Up
By Paine

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Over the last five years, many of us have watched music stores either condense or remove vinyl from their inventory. Besides a very niche community, who�s buying it? Moreover, who�s playing it?

DJ Eclipse is not only playing it, he�s keeping it sold in stores. By day, Eclipse manages the sacred grounds of New York�s Fat Beats location. At night, when he�s not on the road with his former Non-Phixion brothers Ill Bill and Sabac, Eclipse is holding down the tonearms � weekly on WNYU�s The Halftime Show. A former fill-in for Stretch Armstrong on the legendary Stretch & Bobbito show of the �90s, Eclipse�s hands have been in greatness for three Hip-Hop decades in various facets.

One of the most powerful men in underground and independent Hip-Hop, Eclipse discusses the ninth anniversary of his radio show (which Kanye West, 50 Cent and Redman have all participated in), his days at Wild Pitch Records, the status of the underground and why Diddy didn�t just invent the remix.

AllHipHop.com: A lot of your fans may be surprised to learn that you worked in commercial radio in South Carolina back in the day. Given your experience on both sides of it, how do you think radio has changed for better or worse?

DJ Eclipse: It�s changed for the worse. [My commercial radio stint] was short-lived, because people at the station weren�t understanding what I was doing, coming from a Northeast mentality. I was playing album cuts from Chubb Rock and Audio Two and they were like, �Who the hell are these guys?� I was only on for two or three months.

To me, coming up and listening to mix shows, the mix show was supposed to be an outlet to hear other music that you don�t hear during the day. Nowadays, most of the mix shows that I hear on commercial radio, it just seems to be reiterating what they�re doing during the day: same artists, same songs. Of course, you�ve got exceptions � people like Kay Slay who play whatever they can get that�s new. But a lot of the other guys, they [don�t].

AllHipHop.com: You worked for Wild Pitch Records in the early '90s. That label seemed to succeed, even in its later days, of getting records like �Time�s Up� by O.C. significant airplay. How did that compare to five years later when your group Non-Phixion started pushing serious singles at radio?

DJ Eclipse: That was the turning point of everything. The O.C. project was �94, and Wild Pitch was going against Bad Boy. The two biggest records at the time was O.C.'s �Time�s Up� and Craig Mack's �Flava in Ya Ear.� Those two records, if you were listening to Hot97, were close to getting equal play for a while. Then it came down to money, and Wild Pitch did not have the bank that Bad Boy had. In the long run, the Craig Macks won. A year later, in �95, you saw Puffy stepping up. To me, really, he�s the one who set forth changing the game from where it came from. You saw the whole style: the shiny suits, the music, sampling the most popular songs he could find, and not flippin� �em. That really seemed to set the new standard of what people were supposed to do to sell records. That�s when everything from underground. Acts that were mainstream [before] then became underground if they didn�t fit within that mold of what people were supposed to sound like.

1995 was when these underground acts started forming, such as your Non-Phixions, your Juggaknots, Natural Elements, Company Flows � all these acts that felt they didn�t fit in with what was going on with commercial radio. The philosophy then, with stations like WKCR with Stretch [Armstrong] & Bobbito playing joints and stores like Fat Beats that having recently been opened, those entities basically let us know that there was room for the music we were making. We could do it ourselves and do it independently. It was a learning process, but people picked up on it.

AllHipHop.com: Recently, I discovered that vinyl singles are no longer being carried at online stores or most local record shops. What is that saying about the state of underground Hip-Hop?

DJ Eclipse: I don�t think it�s the state of �underground� as much as it�s the state of technology. When underground groups first started in �95 and �96, people didn�t have access to the Internet to download. Even releases for independent groups, there weren�t any on CDs. It was really just straight-up vinyl. So if you were a fan, regardless if you were a DJ, you needed vinyl to hear it. Nowadays, you take the same premise, and people can just download it.

AllHipHop.com: Speaking about that era, and the decline of the appreciation, it�s a perfect segue-way, because that�s when your Halftime Radio Show started. To outsiders, how would you explain the show�s importance?

DJ Eclipse: It is one of the very few stations in New York that continues to have an outlet for people to hear the type of music and type of style that they grew up listening to. There are other college stations out there, and there are a plethora of Internet radio stations and Sirius satellite stations, but I think a lot of people forget about the mixing aspect of it. Even with the mix CD game, all these DJs nowadays just look for new, exclusive music and they don�t have any style in putting it together. I think what we continue to do with The Halftime Show is play the best of what�s independent, the best of what�s major label, combine �em, and present it to you in a style that�s Hip-Hop. I�m not the best DJ out there, but I do work my ass off to make sure my set is as perfect as could be with the mixing, and that it flows from beginning to end. A good DJ knows how to make records talk to each other, meaning, yeah, two records might mix together, but they might not have any business next to each other. When I play my music in a set, I want to make sure that the styles flow like a story.

AllHipHop.com: Stretch & Bob had what is considered �the Greatest Hip-Hop Radio Show, ever.� You had a hand in that too. But for people who may remember that, how is what you�re doing similar and different?

DJ Eclipse: I learned a lot from those guys listening to them for a couple years before I was able to take part in that show. That was the greatest Hip-Hop show of all time. It was just that era where we all knew a little more than we did growing up listening to Red [Alert] and Marley [Marl]. It became more of family by the time Stretch & Bobbito came; we knew the artists we played. They had the best of everything for that show. I took a lot of that from that show. The Halftime Show is definitely mirrored in their image along with whatever else I bring to the table. The downside to things, is because you have satellite radio, Internet radio, I don�t think radio is as important now, overall as it was then. If you can remember those days, if Stretch played a new Rakim record, everyone was talking about that record the next day. The only way they could hear that record was if somebody taped the show, or they�d have to hope he played it again the next Thursday. Now, it�s like if I play a new record, nine times out of 10, that record�s already been posted online. That�s the difference; there�s no exclusivity now to records.

AllHipHop.com: Of the nine years, do you have a favorite memory?

DJ Eclipse: I don�t have one, but around �99 to �00, that era, we definitely had bigger artists up there. We just had Redman up on the show. I told Red, �The last time we had you up here was during The Blackout album, that�s too long!� It�s unfortunate, but a lot of the bigger artists that we�ve had on the show have been in the past. RZA, Method Man, Redman, Slick Rick, Q-Tip, Eminem, 50 Cent, and Kanye � all these artists have been through the show in the early part of their careers. I�m not complaining, because I still like a lot of the guests that we bring up to the show, but it is biased to more of the independent artists. There�s so many outlets for these major label artists now that they just don�t care about the college radio stations like they used to. Redman just said he�ll make it a point to make sure he comes to all college stations while he�s doing his commercial radio runs. Hopefully, he�s true to that. I think it�s important for the listeners to know that these guys haven�t forgotten about them as well.

AllHipHop.com: For people outside of the area, I know you�ve put out �best of� CDs. Are more of those coming, and can people get down on the net?

DJ Eclipse: The website for the radio station is www.wnyu.org, and over the last year, they�ve been able to archive the shows. So anyone that missed a show in the last year or so can go to that website and look for archives. Anything older than that, those have to wait till we put it out on CD. We�ve put out some random recent shows, but we haven�t put out any of the classics yet. That is something I�m getting ready to do though. Stretch & Bobbito are doing the same thing.

AllHipHop.com: You and Riz produced all of MC Serch�s Many Young Lives Ago album from 1994, which he just released via the Internet. As the producer, how does it feel to see some of your earliest work come to the light?

DJ Eclipse: [Laughs] I�m 50/50 on it, to be honest with you. It�s great for him; I�m real happy for him. A lot of cats don�t realize the legacy that he�s left behind. I wish we would have had time to sit and finish that album before it was actually released. A lot of those songs were just ideas and demos that we laid back in �92, �93, and didn�t go back them just because of what was going on with Serch and Def Jam. It�s very pure and very raw, and that�s cool. From a producer�s standpoint, I don�t want people to listen to it and be like, �Oh, this is the best [Eclipse] had at the time,� because I didn�t get a chance to finish the stuff. It was good times and bad times. It was bad times for him politically at Def Jam. It was good times for me and Riz working with him; I think my first show with him was actually flying out to L.A. for Arsenio Hall. That was huge for me. Where do you go from there?

The Magnificent Jazzy Jeff

Interviewed by Darin Gloe

Who would have thought that nearly 20 years ago a duo from Philadelphia would show the world the best DJ the world would ever see. Every hip-hop head and especially every DJ know the name Jazzy Jeff. If you don't, just click off the page now. You are about to embark on a trip down memory lane, a trip to the future and a sit down in the present. Jazzy Jeff is not only one of the most respected DJs in hip-hop today, but one of the most respected people in the industry. He has been to the highest of the high winning a Grammy in 1988 and is still putting out incredible music 19 years later. "The Return of the Magnificent" dropped on May 8th on BBE Records and once again Jazzy Jeff doesn't disappoint. From the high profile collaborations with Method Man, Rhymefest, and Big Daddy Kane to constantly breaking new artist like Eshon Burgundy and Chinah Blac Jazzy Jeff is as relevant today as he was 19 years ago. It was my esteemed pleasure to sit down with the person who influenced me to become a part of the hip-hop culture and made me want to pick up a pair of 1200's. Young and old gather around, if threw was one interview you needed to read, this is most definitely it.

Words cannot explain how excited I am to talk to someone who has had such an influence in hip-hop and in myself all these years, how are things?

I appreciate that. I'm real good, it's a little hectic but hectic is not bad.

You are the reason I got into the hip-hop in the first place so, before we get into the album a couple of things I would like to know personally.

Sure, go ahead.

Since I'm a DJ and you are in my opinion the best DJ to ever touch a 1200, what made you to decide you wanted to DJ?

It's funny because I remember going to block parties in Philly. During this time it was either a DJ or a band. I used to find it intriguing to go and see this guy who would have these humongous stacks of speakers and he would be playing records and basically have everybody's attention. He commanded the crowd, whatever he told them to do they did. I remember going to the block parties and just sitting there thinking, that is who I want to be I want to be that guy.

So, did you ever rap or always just the DJ?

No, not at all.

Do you have a favorite record of all time?

I've been saying this a lot, but it's really hard to pick just one. I look at records like my kids and I can't pick my favorite son.

(Laughs)

I love so much music, I could say "Dance to the Drummers Beat" or I could say "Jive Rhythm Tracks", I could name a thousand records. But if I said "Jive Rhythm Tracks" it would almost be like doing a disservice to "Dance to the Drummers Beat". It's always been hard when I'm asked that question about Top 10 tracks, it's impossible. It's like I have a thousand kids and I have to the 10 favorite ones.

Nearly everybody knows you and Will Smith relationship in the late 80's early 90's, but a lot of people don't know how you met, how did you go on to form the group DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince? We are here to educated young people.

Will was in a crew called the Hypnotic MCs and I was already DJing and going by Jazzy Jeff and we would see each other at the parties. We knew each other but we didn't know each other. So, what happened I got asked to do a party on the street he lived on and the MC I had at the time was sick and couldn't go. When Will showed up at the party and we shook hands and said what up. So about 10 minutes into the party he realized that I didn't have an MC, so he was like "you mind if I get on the mic"? What happened is that we had a crazy chemistry that we had the whole night. We bugged out all night and had a good time. It was just the chemistry that we had that night. Any DJ that has had an MC will understand that the DJ, MC combination is just incredible. The party was over and he was still with a whole other crew. But, I was like I have a party tomorrow night if you want to come through. He was like yeah, and so without officially getting together it just happened and that's pretty much how everything started.

Along those same lines, since you played Jazz on the show, did you ever want to pursue acting as a career?

I'm not going to say never but what I knew is that I have a musical itch that I had to get out. There was something that I needed to do musically and I needed to do that before I tried anything out. Music was my passion, I enjoyed doing the show even though that wasn't what I wanted to but I had a great time. I couldn't pursue that until I at least give what my passion was a try.

So how much of the character Jazz is Jeff ?

I'm not as dumb as Jazz is

(Laughs)

A lot of that was just my personality, laughing joking and being care free. I'm the first to tell you that I wasn't trying to be an actor. I was just doing it.

Enough of the personal questions, let's talk about "The Return of the Magnificent" which is dropped May 8th on BBE Records. I'm sure you have had many offers, why stick with BBE?

I have been in the record business so long and have dealt with record companies for years. It's very rare that you get a record company that gives you the creative freedom that you want. I've always said, artists have two main problems with record companies. One is payment and the other is creative freedom. To go in the studio and make a record that defines who you are without someone telling you that you need this type of record for airplay or this type of record for sales, is rare. From the first record that I did with BBE they gave me creative freedom and allowed me to express who I am as an artist, and it's never changed.

So what makes this album different from "The Magnificent"?

It is primarily growth. I pretty much did everything for "The Return of the Magnificent". This is the album where I decided to pick up the phone and call a lot of the people that I wanted to work with over the years and see if I could get them to help me out with collaborations. More than anything, this is in the same direction of "The Magnificent" but it's the natural growth and the natural step up from "The Magnificent"

So this time around you produced the entire album.

Every track.

That's what as a fan I like to hear because you as a producer have a very distinct sound. Even though the last album had guests on the boards it seemed like Kev Brown, Oddissee and those guys were inside your head when they were making tracks.

Absolutely, the whole Touch of Jazz thing was a really big school. That was my role, my role was to teach those guys how to be producers, how to make records, and how to get you're sound to sound full. That was my job. So, naturally my sound was going to come through in their production.

On the "Return of the Magnificent" you decide to pay homage to my favorite track of all time "Brand New Funk", why did you decide to remake that classic and why choose Peedi Crack for the remake?

You know what, I've had a couple people ask me to re-do the record. I wanted to re-do it but it had to be done with someone from Philly, to keep that classic feel about it. I felt that Peedi would do it justice. I heard Peedi do his remake to a Slick Rick record and he payed homage to the original but added his own flavor. To me that is what makes a remake good. You want to make sure you pay some kind of tribute to the original but you also want to make it your own. I asked Peedi if you would be interested in doing it and he did it. I wouldn't have put it out if I didn't think he did it justice, and I think he did an incredible job.

In this day and age it's good to revisit something like "Brand New Funk" for the youth of America. So they can hear how it used to be and maybe they will go pick up the original.

Yeah, yeah. That was good because we put somebody from today on a classic and it's like educating the younger generation without actually telling them.

Your albums always seem to fuse hip-hop and the neo-soul sound together to create incredible records. In your own words, describe the relationship of hip-hop to neo-soul.

I don't really like using the term Neo-Soul. That's the terminology they gave soul music because they didn't want to call it just soul, they wanted to have it be new soul. To me, every type of music has a soul to it. If you really listen to music one of the most soulful genres out is country and western. The heartfelt lyrics, the heartfelt music, and I try to tap into the soul of every music whether it's R&B or Hip-Hop. You want something that you don't just hear, but you can feel because that is the type of music I grew up on. I think it's a natural fusion that I have always tried to do.

The album has some well known names such as Method Man, Big Daddy Kane, and CL Smooth but with each album you find that diamond in the rough, who would you say that is on "The Return of the Magnificent"

There are actually two, Eshon Burgundy and Black Ice. Black Ice is fairly well known due to Def Poetry and he's got album out on Koch. Eshon Burgundy is a really good brother that I really wanted to showcase. Tell you the truth even more so than Eshon is Chinah Blac. She is Erykah Badu's background arranger and has been on the road with Erykah for years. She is just a dynamic soul singer. When I heard her voice I thought I had to do something with her. The first record we did I wasn't giving it up, I had to take it for myself and put it on the album. That's my whole thing, I don't care if you are established or if you are new. I want something that will be a little bit creative and I will put you out.

After your early years it seems that you gravitate more to singers than to rappers, do you prefer song over rap?

You know what it is? I think it's hard because I'm still longing for the hip-hop of yesterday.

Aren't we all.

Until I can find that young cat who has the style and the flow of today but the mindset of yesterday, you know? Actually, I think I might have found him and we are going to get in the studio and knock out a record as soon as we can. It's not that I have favoritism but you get a little bit sad when you hear a lot of the stuff that is out today.

We know you have always represented hip-hop and its culture to the fullest. Every DJ I know you are in someway their mentor. Why do you think you have been able to stay relevant and stay true for nearly 20 years?

First and foremost, I don't claim to know everything. I don't care how much credibility you gain or how long you have done something you are always a student. I always think there is a 14 year old kid out there that is going to show me something and help me to become better or help my longevity this year. As long as you keep it open, because I know I lot of older cats who think they know it all. They get to a point where they think they need to be paid homage to and they've mastered the game. The way I look at it like the day I don't enjoy what I'm doing anymore is the day I'm going to stop. I still do what I do for fun. Regardless of the type of living it has afforded me, the bottom line of why I do it is because I enjoy it. I think people can see that. I don't do this to make a whole lot of money. I look at it like basketball. I don't know too many people, especially back in the day who got into playing basketball because they wanted to be rich, it's just something that they enjoyed doing. If was the richest man in the world I would still make beats and I would still DJ somebody's party.

Why do you think we have gotten to the state in hip-hop we are in right now? Could it have been prevented?

Well, yes and no. I think we got here because hip-hop became so popular that the masses and the corporate side of things realized that it could make and generate a whole lot of money. What happened is that music in general, not just hip-hop is not run by music people anymore. It's run by the corporations and that's what tainted the whole thing. That's where it started to go left. You can't blame the state of hip-hop on any one individual because it was one of those things. If you make these kids believe that they can be rich, they will follow it to the end and that is exactly what has happened. What you are slowly starting to see is that the corporations are starting to lose their grip on hip-hop. They have to, it almost has to tear itself down for them to give it back to us.

Is there anything we can do to take hip-hop back from the media and make it ours again and would you want to if you could?

I don't think we are going to have to take it back. These corporations are doing it themselves, they are destroying it. You get to the point where there are a million great hip-hop records out but you only hear the radio play 10 and slowly but surely people are getting sick and tired of it. The corporations are going to find the next new thing, hip-hop isn't making us any money anymore so let's go to movies. They have to throw it in the trash in order for us to get it back and start it all over again. It's going to come full circle again but the older generation has seen hip-hop go downhill. It's going to crash and burn but what you have to understand and you have to keep in mind is that we will never live in a world without music. The only thing that will truly crash and burn are the corporations prostituting hip-hop. So after that, we are going to pick it up, dust it off, throw our Kangols back on and our fat laces and continue.

In the essence of old school, I know you are a proponent of Serato and so many of us use Serato, I bought it because I saw you use it. What are your thoughts on the industry going strictly to digital?

What's funny is, I'm a purest, but you cannot fight technology. I don't care how much you love that rotary phone the push button is here. It's the same thing with Serato. As a DJ I always had that fear that they would one day they would completely stop making vinyl and I would be forced to start DJing with CDs. At the end of the day, if they stop making vinyl , they only thing we are going to do are play old records.

(Laughs) True.

If they don't put anything new or current on vinyl, as a DJ you are screwed. We don't call all the shots. So when they came out with Serato which doesn't sacrifice the integrity of a DJ because you can still do everything you do with vinyl but takes us into the future as far as technology.

So if there was one thing you could change about Serato, what would it be?

Wow, honestly I am very happy with Serato and can't think of anything I would change.

You have worked with so many artists in your career and I'm sure you have been asked before, but personally I still want to know if there is anybody you would still like to work with?

Sting. I have always been a fan of Sting. I look at all the collaborations as a recipe. You throw Jazzy Jeff in a pot you get this, you throw Jazzy Jeff in a pot with Method Man you get that. I just think it would be very interesting to throw Jazzy Jeff and Sting in a pot.

I'll have to agree, that is something we would all to hear.

In my opinion, you're the best DJ of all time and DJ Premier is the best producer of all time, could we get a Jazzy Jeff collaboration with Primo before its all said and done?

Aww man, you don't understand that me and Premier are like brothers. We talk once or twice a week and that could definitely happen.

Every DJ needs to read this interview and gain some insight with a true legend, is there anything you have left to say?

Thanks for the love. One thing is that I do know is that none of this is promised to anybody and you should never take any of this for granted. I appreciate all the love people have given me throughout the years.

Sursa : www.hiphopsite.com

WD is diggin' in the vaults as they relive the "Magic" of Vegas. This week listen in as we interview Ill Bill, formerly of Non-Phixion, now of La Coka Nostra about the LCN Coke Head Army, the proper way to say Methadone, and his upcoming solo album. Oh yeah, fuck you Mick Jagger.

Ill Bill Audio Interview

[ download ]

BEST INTERVIEW EVER!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAH

"you dont understand how much time I've put into your musiccc! come on mannn. I'm workin soooo hard'!!!!!!!!!!!"

http://www.zshare.net/audio/23389540ced359/

Penaaaaaaaaal omu' ala... nu mai pot =)))))

" "i'mma go on air and i'mma call you a fucking dickhead, i'm Necro, i never had sex in my life" "

HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Raekwon : Hells kitchen interview.

The Chef. Lex Diamonds. Whatever you address him as, no one should ever make the mistake of calling Raekwon scared. In this candid interview Rae fearlessly tells HipHopDX what’s really going on with the delayed release of his long-awaited Cuban Linx II album. He also frankly addresses rumors that the Wu-Tang Clan’s 8 Diagrams may never see the light of day, and that a certain former Team member is actually a Ghost writer. And before Rae can jet back to the kitchen to cook up some more heat, he lets us all know why we should cop his extended fam Icewater’s Polluted Water on August 28th, and why he is now officially a Lil’ Wayne fan.



HHDX: Is the Wu album really gonna drop this year? That URB article seemed to suggest the whole project may be falling apart.

Raekwon: Yeah, it’s gonna drop. We like 90% done with it. It’s a couple more things that we gotta add to the situation with it. It’s a classic in my eyes, as far as production and just what you would normally expect from Wu-Tang. It’s a good project and it’s definitely gonna be out this year.

HHDX: At the end of that same article, RZA is quoted as saying, with regards to 8 Diagrams, “If it’s not coming this year, it ain’t coming at all…If it doesn’t come this year, it don’t mean nothing no more.” Do you agree with his statement?

Raekwon: Yeah, I agree with that. We never wanted to put out a project with not everybody on it. So I respect that [statement]. People wanna see the whole Clan on the album. We all do our own personal shit, so everybody had to sacrifice the time to appear on the record. If that wasn’t gonna happen, then it wouldn’t have been worth doing.

HHDX: And that segues perfectly into my next question. Again in that same article RZA said Ghostface hadn’t recorded at all for the album. Is that still true?

Raekwon: Nah, Ghost is on the record. He did a couple of things on it. I guess at the time Ghost had a lot of things he had to do. Before Wu-Tang attained legendary status, we all came in as a family. But at the end of the day, we all got individual obligations that we gotta fulfill. So it gets rough sometimes. But it’s about sacrificing. And we all came to that agreement, that the fans love us when we do our thing together so we gonna give ‘em that. We knew how important doing this record was and so it got done.

HHDX: What was your manager talking about when he told the writer of the URB piece, in reference to your involvement in 8 Diagrams, “If the business is not taken care of [then] there will be no album or tour”?

Raekwon: Business is important. When you dealing with a team everything gotta be correct. Managers gotta make sure that they know what their artist is getting into, as far as everything that come with doing a record. You could never try to get something done if it ain’t organized. That’s one of the things that we all stessin’ on this go-round, that everybody is able to provide the quality time that’s needed for this record. We had to come to some kind of agreement before we could actually say this record was gonna come to life.

HHDX: In an interview you did with ThaFormula.com back in April you said, with regards to your new album, “I will not give you this Cuban Linx II album until I feel everything is right with me and my business…”

Raekwon: That’s definitely important to me, because when you dealing with a classic record, the return of something classic, I want everything to be right. I wanna be at a house that actually believes in whatever I’m dealing with. And if I gotta feel kinda skeptical and doubtful about who’s gonna help me move this record the way it needs to be moved, I wouldn’t put it out. I’m not gonna sabotage myself. First and foremost, I got an all-star cast on it. Everybody did they thing. I did my thing. And I refuse to throw it out there and it don’t get the proper legwork that it needs.

HHDX: Is that a concern you’ve had with Aftermath, or Interscope?

Raekwon: We going back and forth. It’s definitely a tight situation, but it’s all about being comfortable and being secure with a strong team behind you. But everything is still just basically being litigated.

HHDX: So when are we gonna get that purple CD?

Raekwon: It’s damn near 200% done. I wanna drop it on a major, but you’re definitely gonna get it by the summer of next year. By hook or crook. If I gotta do it independent, I gotta release it. I did a lot of hard work on this record and I refuse to throw it out and people be like, Yo Rae, I ain’t know your shit was out. Nah, I can’t afford for that to happen no more. That happened to me on The Lex Diamond Story. That happened to me on Immobilarity. I’m not going for it on this one. I’m not letting the industry control my destiny on this record. People been wanting this record for the last 10 years, so I gotta make sure that this shit is bulletproof.

HHDX: While we’re clearing up old quotes, is there any truth to the old rumor made new again via Tony Yayo’s recent comments in Spin claiming Superb, of your pre-Icewater crew American Cream Team, wrote all of Supreme Clientele for Ghostface?

Raekwon: He know damn well he ain’t write that fuckin’ album. I don’t even wanna get into shit like that, because it just makes me upset that muthafuckas be running they mouth all kinda ways. But at the end of the day, I think Ghost gonna have to really say what he gotta say.

HHDX: Yeah, the only reason I asked you about this is ‘cause Superb came out of your crew.

Raekwon: Yeah, that’s my son. That’s my son, and trust me he ain’t write nobody’s fuckin’ album.

HHDX: Now that we got that out the way regarding your old crewmember, let’s talk about your new crew, Icewater, and their new album, Polluted Water.

Raekwon: I been training them, getting them niggas right. This is not no overnight project right here. Anything with my name on it, I can’t let it go out any kinda way. I feel like they reached the level of respect that I want from them, and so I’m able to go out and support it the way it’s supposed to be. This is definitely a beautiful look for them. It’s a come-up thing for Staten Island. You haven’t really heard too many niggas come from outta Staten Island. These are the real goons and gorillas of Staten Island. This is not no commercial team right here. This is some niggas that really lived it.

HHDX: I need to go back to 8 Diagrams and for the fans sake find out if you can reveal what the first official single’s gonna be?

Raekwon: I can’t even comment on the first single, because we gotta actually feel good about the record, as far as which direction we gonna go. We not really them radio dudes. But for the most part we wanna make sure that we hit the people with something very strong. And I didn’t get a chance to huddle up with the crew and call that shot yet. So you just gotta keep your eyes and ears open.

HHDX: Are there any details though that you can give the hungry-for-info fans about 8 Diagrams?

Raekwon: Like I said, everybody’s on the record. There’s a lot of authentic music on there. It’s RZA going to the next level with his production. It’s brothers rhyming they ass off, like we normally do. You got the young generation now that probably ain’t even up on our chemistry. But we hoping that the fans that already know what we do will respect what we dealing with and take it for what it is. If you don’t feel it, hey, you can’t get everybody.

HHDX: So far the rumors about the album sound dope. It’s like Q-Tip, Easy Mo Bee, a real old school vibe to it. Can you confirm that vibe is gonna be there?

Raekwon : They definitely gonna be involved with the project. When you think of them guys right there you think of legends in they own belt class. Easy Mo Bee had a lot to do with B.I.G. – God bless the dead. Q-Tip, he made classics with A Tribe Called Quest. These are dudes that we look up to in the game that don’t necessarily have to be on the forefront, but they know how to deliver. I think that’s so important because people get caught up in today’s music and not art music. We make art. We don’t make commercial music that just pop overnight and then it disappears. Nah, our shit is classic. We ain’t never been dudes to go outside of our character and be something that we’re not. Wu-Tang, we always had our own different sound. We had our own style. We a concept clique. You gotta be prepared for all of that. If you not prepared for all of that then how much of a Wu fan is you really? If you looking for a nigga to come out sounding like Puffy and all that shit then you got the wrong dudes. Puffy is Puffy. Wu-Tang is Wu-Tang.

HHDX: I guess it may be too early to get any details about Cuban Linx II?
Raekwon : Nah, it ain’t never too early. That’s my baby right there. I feel 900% good about it. What I don’t feel good about is just dealing with the drama of these bullshit-ass fuckin’ record companies. I’m dealing with a classic record that I know everybody wants. But I can’t go up to the labels and be frontin’ with them, and I don’t feel secure about the company that I’m around.

HHDX: And what is that… It’s like, I’m not trying to put you in a bad spot…

Raekwon : Nah, keep it a 100.

HHDX: Is it Aftermath or is it Interscope? Is it Dre or is it Jimmy?

Raekwon : It’s not Dre. And actually I never had a conversation with Jimmy [Iovine]. It’s just more about who’s gonna appreciate it. Who’s gonna sit here and say, Yo, we believe in you Chef. You already know Dre believes in me. Dre ain’t the type of nigga to be fucking with something if it ain’t worth it. So I can’t say anything bad about Dre. It’s just, I understand Dre is a very busy dude, but I need quality time too. And if you can’t give the kid that dealing with a classic, then we gonna have some problems. But other than that I respect Dre’s integrity. I respect his work ethic. Jimmy is looking at it on a business level. And when everything pan out correct, it’ll pan out correct. So I’m not gonna step on nobody and be on bad terms. It’s just that politics is a muthafucka.

HHDX: The final question I have for you is on a more positive note. I just have to ask how it feels to hear Lil’ Wayne on the new Ja Rule song, “Uh Oh,” paying homage when he spits, “Call me young Raekwon, I’m a chef in hell’s kitchen”?

Raekwon : Yo, that’s good money right there. I’m glad he feel like that. That means that he’s recognizing my mustache. He respects my mustache, and I respect his for even saying that. I feel like when these young dudes pay homage they track record becomes more respected, because you respect dudes that already did it. So I can’t do nothing but take my hat off to the kid and just say, yo, I admire that. That’s what it’s all about, real detecting real. I appreciate that.

sursa www.hiphopdx.com

Ce tare , albumu e 200% gata ...da apare vara viitoare! Frumos interviu oricum.

XzibitCentral.com: XzibitCentral.com has interviewed you at a number of stages in your career:
First one you were stuck on Sony Music, Second time you were getting off Sony - So what’s it like flying solo being a completely independent artist?



Xzibit: I mean its a lot more work involved, you know, you don’t have the luxury of promotion budgets that seem to never run out, you know what I’m saying, big budget videos... But what you do have is ownership - and those things in comparison are night and day, you know a - video budget, a radio promotion budget will be gone and you'll be charged and you don’t see the results but ownership is forever so down the line when these songs are going to be licensed out there's other avenues for your music to be generated that you have the ownership and you can dictate how that goes and that’s what you have for the rest of your life.


XzibitCentral.com: What's in the works for your own record label, Open Bar (Entertainment)?



Xzibit: Right now we're just going to focus on Xzibit, keep this going. I'm really not feeling any signings right now - there’s a lot of work to do here on the home front so were going to work that angle and make sure that we do in the future is for sure and concrete and on the table and ready to go.



XzibitCentral.com: How was the feedback you received from the fans after Full Circle?



Xzibit: It was crazy you know what I’m saying! A lot of people appreciate the music, a lot of people expected some mature music and that’s what they got, real solid hip hop music, straight forward.



XzibitCentral.com: Tell us about the new video clip for Thank You.



Xzibit: Well we just did a video for "Thank You" in London, you know we just filmed the first part of it, while we've been out on the road - I've been out here for 2 months so i pulled together an all female orchestra and they nailed the song and we filmed it - one night at one of the concerts we just threw some camera's up and it came out crazy so now we're just going to put some more edits in it, you know, put some more images that we need to keep the song in context and its going to be crazy.


XzibitCentral.com: Will we see that on Xzibit.com first?


Xzibit: We'll see it, we’ll see it somewhere first (laughs).


XzibitCentral.com: What recent issues have been the biggest influence in your music?



Xzibit: Umm, well the issues at hand have been real personal - Full Circle is just a real reflective album - it's self analysing, once again, you know which makes it reflective for me to reach back and appreciate what I fell in hip hop about - what I feel in my heart, my soul, I'm hoping that the audience can relate to it.



XzibitCentral.com: There's rumours on the internet that you and Crooked I have beef with DMX?



Xzibit: Man, come on, man, no! I haven’t talked to Crooked I in a long time, and I haven’t seen DMX. The last time I saw it was like wassup, you know what I’m saying, wassup man - I don’t got no problems with no rappers, it’s not that serious. I haven’t talked to Crooked I, I haven’t talked to DMX, I don’t even know what the rumour is - what’s the rumour?


XzibitCentral.com: I just saw it on Wikipedia on your page, there's a feud with DMX upcoming...


Xzibit: Oh now we scheduling beefs? We can schedule beefs!? I didn’t know that! It's upcoming beef that’s going to go down? Nah man come on. Yo - Crooked I is my dog, DMX is my dog, and you're hearing it straight from me.





XzibitCentral.com: The Gumball 3000 Rally sounded like a good time, what were some of the highlights from the rally?



Xzibit: Man it was a lot of driving, I got to meet the president of Albania, I drove a Lamborghini through parts of Europe that I otherwise would have never seen in my life and it was a great bunch of people a lot of cats came out, a lot of comradery - it was cool.


XzibitCentral.com: So what was the story in Belgium was it?


Xzibit: Yeah I got speeding ticket, got a fine, I don’t know the difference between Miles and Kilometres you know what I’m saying, it’s all numbers to me. But it was all good man, you know it is what it is; I got a fine and had to pay the fine, so there it is.





XzibitCentral.com: So now you've got your own website, Xzibit.com, what have you got planned for it?



Xzibit: Well we're just going to keep building it, you know the traffic is steadily growing every day, every week, and now we're just making it interactive. You know this a way and a step into the future that people need to really pay attention to - this is direct connect with my fans, this is how they know they know its me and the way that we communicating is pure - its not filtered through a marketing promotion "well we want to push this" and it's not to be manipulated. Its straight direct connect with the fans, straight to the artist, and that’s how its supposed to be.





XzibitCentral.com: So Japan is the next stop (on the tour), I understand your son Tremayne will join you in Japan?



Xzibit: Yes, yes - but I'm not gonna give you any information cause if there’s stalkers out there, f*ck you, know what I’m saying! Yeah my little dudes comin' but that’s it! You know its secret service around this mother f*cker! (hahaha…)


XzibitCentral.com: So you’re doing the [Live Earth concert]?


Xzibit: Oh yeah, Live Earth. Yep, Al Gore called up all the homies and we're going out to Tokyo to get down, you know what I’m saying, he's throwing the big gig so we're gonna go party with Al - He's trying to save the earth man, you know.





XzibitCentral.com: You've been on tour for months now, what’s the first thing you want to do when you get back to the states? Not to make you think about it just before...



Xzibit: I will probably end up doing three things at once (hahaha..), I’ll probably be doing three things at the same time, know what I'm saying. I want to drive my car very fast, I want to drive my Bentley, cause I just miss driving and I’ve been missing it since the Gumball rally, I want to drive my car. Then, i want to feed my dogs... And you know the other things (hahaha..) - I prolly you know, I’ll be hanging out man. I'll be at my house for a minute, that’s for sure, sleep in my own bed. Wow, you've got me thinking about the crib - F*ck you Justin! (hahaha..).
Xzibit: Liz [Member of Xzibit's management team], what are you going to do when you get home?
Liz: I've still got to work
Xzibit: YEAH! (Xzibit laughs hysterically)
Liz: But then I'm going to go home for a week - he [Xzibit] doesn’t know that yet, I’m going home for a week.
Xzibit: Hey man you're on the internet right now, your stalkers are on you!
Liz: I'm going to Boston
Xzibit: (Xzibit laughs) OH MY GOD! The stalkers are on you man, they are on you, see and when they are at the airport saying "Elizibeth" (hahaha...)



QUESTIONS DIRECT FROM THE FANS



XzibitCentral.com: Now these ones [next questions] are direct from the fans - the fans sent in a few emails. From your collection of work, do you have a favourite track and album?



Xzibit: Of my stuff? Umm favourite track and album, umm I don’t know man its hard – I’ve said it so many times, its like trying to pick one of your kids you like the best, you cant really do that. I think I appreciate all my records differently - I look at my records like this, like its kind of like a recorded time of my life - better than a video tape, better than an audio tape - its kind of like pictures and reflections of where I am mentally and physically at that moment, that I can see because of the way I’m spittin' and the way I talk so it's like I can rewind 10 years of my life, which is a spectacular thing to do you know what I’m saying because you can tell from pictures at that moment, but on albums it brings back memories of the times and dates and movements and shit. I can really put myself right there with that shit, so that’s how I look at my records - I cant really separate it and be like - well this song is that because some songs like "At The Speed Of Life" was cracking to us just as hard as it was cracking for Dre when we did "Bitch Please". Like going out, rocking the shows, how the response was, you know it’s different for me.





XzibitCentral.com: Do you play any video games?



Xzibit: Yeah, yeah I’ve got all the systems - come on I've got a little boy - he's not going to let me get away with not playing no video games. We've got all the systems every one lined up in front of the TV with a switch box - (OK play this one!)





XzibitCentral.com: One of the guys wanted to know will you ever have an album chopped and screwed?



Xzibit: I did one already - Paul Wall did it for me - when I first put out Weapons [of Mass Destruction]. Yeah I put out Weapons of Mass Destruction and Paul Wall chopped and screwed it.





XzibitCentral.com: Who was your biggest inspiration to make you start, or what was the biggest inspiration?



Xzibit: Just my love for the music. I was always in to writing, my mother was a writer, my father was an educator, so they always had me in a book. Comprehension was strong so when you just have that much just sitting there idle and then you find something that actually funnelled and used it, you know that’s what Hip Hop was to me - I had all this shit sitting up there, but then this was a way for me to be creative with it, so it wasn’t boring - cause its one thing that somebody says ok now sit down and write me a paper, sit down and write me an essay, sit down and put this together, put that together, but then when you find something that you have interest in, it was cool to me, like listening to "Big Daddy Kane" and "Eric B" and "Rakim", you know all the things that attracted me and made me fall in love with hip hop was started because I could write and I could do it myself and that’s where it started from.





XzibitCentral.com: Were you ever told that you couldn’t do it and that you would fail, and how did you over come that?



Xzibit: Ahh man, people always tell you that, they tell you that right now! (hysterical laughter) You know what I’m saying, but you've got to look at them and be like, If your not doing it yourself then you really don’t have room to speak on anybody else - I personally can give a f*ck less about what someone says I cant do - I say I’m the shit until somebody proves me wrong. Nah if you've got something to say to prove me wrong, so be it, but until then, that mother f*cker aint showed up yet so until then I guess you can keep on saying what you've got to say because I’m not really going to sit there and waste breath and energy to try to argue with a mother f*cker when I’ve got other shit I could be doing.





XzibitCentral.com: How do you stay level headed and focused on the fans and your career when there are so many distractions that draw you away from it?



Xzibit: I don’t know man, I do get distracted some times but I do have a good team behind me - its by no means done by myself so I cant take the credit for doing that - I have a large group of people that support me and a small group of people that work with me to help me make the things happen around me that happen. We've got to take the good with the bad, we appreciate our wins as much as our losses and shit its a growing process, no bodies got the answer, no body can say I’ve got the definitive way to win because some times that shit works and then it stops working, you know what I’m saying, but if you persevere and stay consistent that’s how you get longevity and that’s where I’m at with it.





XzibitCentral.com: I got this email from a crazy Buddhist, they said they swear that the set of the Concentrate video looks just like their house and she's like "we must have communicated telepathically"


Xzibit: Hahaha Oh shit see, see, communicating telepathically with the fans! See!


XzibitCentral.com: But for real, where did you get the inspiration for the video?


Xzibit: Umm you know the inspiration came from RT and Little Lex, myself coming together wanting to fit the vibe and the context of the song with the visual so that’s where it went, it naturally went there, you know it was just about what we were going to do with it so it didn’t seem repetitive - We've seen those kinds of images before but we wanted to do something different so that’s where the martial art theme came in and the long shots, levitation, you know it came together nice all the elements.





XzibitCentral.com: A lot of the fans want to know if they can land a deal on Open Bar Entertainment or what they can do to get someone to listen to what they've got?



Xzibit: Well I guess lets make submissions to the website - If you've got a video clip or you've got some kind of record that you want to post you can post it there but don’t post no spam because we're going to wipe that shit out, but become a member and post your best shit up on the net and lets see what’s happening!





XzibitCentral.com: Apparently you've got a lot of fans in France, do you think you will ever visit France maybe on your next world tour?


Xzibit: I just came from France; I did a show at the Paradis mo mon (sic) right? Paradis mo mon (sic), Paradis mo mon (sic)... (Background laughter) Don’t laugh at my French!





XzibitCentral.com: Have you ever been on stage and totally forgot the next line?
Xzibit: Yes! Yes I have.
XzibitCentral.com: What did you do to regroup?
Xzibit: Nothin'! You just keep going, and you pick up the next word, and look real crazy!

XzibitCentral.com: Do you still jump of the stage into the crowd?
Xzibit: No, nah I haven’t done that.
XzibitCentral.com: How did it feel when you used to do it?
Xzibit: It was great, it was great?



XzibitCentral.com: This question came before the whole rove shit happened, but what do you think of the comments left on Myspace and websites like XzibitCentral.com?


Xzibit: I mean come on its comments, they’re opinions, its not fact, its not scripture, its not life altering, you know they are opinions.


XzibitCentral.com: What do you think about the good posts and comments?


Xzibit: I think, yeah that’s what I’m talking about, they are great, I appreciate that the fans be able to come through and actually have direct contact and direct communication with me and you know that’s a good thing - you cant please everybody all the time, so I don’t see the point - If I hate a motherf*cker I wont go to his website and type to him, I will type some hateful shit on my website or somebody who wants to hear that shit, know what im saying, but it just lets me know how lame and pathetic these people [the haters] lives really are, that they really want to, know what I’m saying damn, you guys need to drink a sprite or something, you know, go for a walk, get some air, have some sex if somebody will touch you in that manner, that’s probably what the problem is! Like come on, it’s all gravy though, you've got to take the good with the bad, you can’t please everybody all the time.





XzibitCentral.com: What's a normal day in the life of Xzibit when you're on tour?


Xzibit: There is no normal day on tour, its all kinds of ups and downs and twists and turns, its goes like that man.





XzibitCentral.com: What's your favourite overall car?


Xzibit: My favourite car is the Phantom.





XzibitCentral.com: What does the 38 tattoo on your arm represent?


Xzibit: That’s for my little dude, his name is Trey, he was born on the 8th so its a little more creative than getting Tremayne written on me when he was born, you know everybody does that.





XzibitCentral.com: In Dublin this girl Claire made a baseball cap for you and was wondering if it actually got through to you


Xzibit: No – But I did get the paper mache Xzibit that was made in France that was given to me in a shoe box... it looked like a voodoo doll but we kept it and it was very nice, thank you.





XzibitCentral.com: To get the facts straight, on Wikipedia it says your name "Alvin Nathaniel Joiner IV" [the forth]


Xzibit: No! I'm not a forth - there's no 3 other Alvin's! There's no 3 other Alvin Nathaniel's man! Unless you guys know something that I don’t! Somebody added that shit, no dude, I’m named after my grandfather and my father; there’s only 1 you know!





A MESSAGE TO THE FANS



Thanks for the support, thanks for the love, keep in contact and let me finish up this tour and cook up something next for you!

sursa : www.xzibitcentral.com (site oficial Xzibit)