FLESH N BONE INTERVIEW in prison
George – Describe your feelings when you were sentenced over 6 years ago
Flesh – When I got sentenced is an experience I remember as if it occurred just a moment ago. As far as my feelings, it was a completely an emotional hell. I was really trying hard to keep my composure but I felt great stigma about myself and my mind and heart was plagued with anxiety. Prior to my getting arrested I had two weeks to go before being able to get off the probation that I was already on. Then I did that which placed me in a whole other world of ****. Just when greater blessings were coming my way I ****ed them up and let myself, my family and my fans down. I felt disappointed and there a lot of people in my corner working with me and rooting for me that I know felt disappointed in me as well. Personality wise I was suffering from drug addiction and the side effect knocked me chemically off balance rendering me temporarily psychologically unstable. Even while I was going through that I remained optimistic that doors of opportunity are always open and my faith in God grew stronger. I believed then, and still believe that he will allow me and help me to redeem myself and rise even higher than anyone could ever imagine or hardly expect.
George – The judge described your childhood as the worst she had ever seen, how has prison helped change the man that was sentenced that day?
Flesh – True, my childhood was a tough one but I wouldn’t trade my childhood or any of my family members or my parents for anything else. Through all of the hardship and struggle I’ve always held my parents in high esteem. My father is a very humble but staunch man. My mother is a woman of unique character and powerful personality. No one meets her for the first time without loving her for the free spirit that she has. Whatever I went through as a child only paints the picture for what it is, but only I am responsible for what took place in my life as an adult. Prison has helped change the man that was sentenced that day in so many powerful, positive and for the good. For one, I am no longer drug dependant and by the grace of God I’ve been restored a brand new health mentally, physically and spiritually. I have greater sense of responsibility then ever before. In prison I’ve learned that people are capable of anything. What it takes for someone to choose to do something great for himself and the world, it would take him ten times as much energy to do something terrible and inhumane. So what I’m learning how to do is recognize people for the good that is in them and trying real hard not to let the negativity of people effect who I am as a man. In prison, you’re on your own, so that’s how I stand, on my own. It’s good to have a team to have support, to have a shoulder to lean on every now and then, but every man should able to stand on his own and be his own man. Not every man can do that unfortunately.
George – IN the early days of your sentence is there ever a time where you lost hope?
Flesh – I tell you my friend that there hasn’t been a single moment in this sentence where I have lost even a shred of hope. It was not possible to do so when my family and fans are always there to offer words of encouragement and motivation. There are some instances when I felt highly fed up about some things, one of which for example, prompted me to divorce my wife but that’s a whole other subject.
George – How have you been able to keep your creative juices flowing in such a negative environment?
Flesh – For somebody possessing some kind of artistic creativity having to live in such a negative environment is like sitting on top of a gold mind of profound ideas. A real artist should be able to get his or her creative juices flowing no matter what they are. I don’t think there’s any place better then a hell hole like prison, where it’s so many examples making it easier to come up with high concepts and rich topics to expand on. Not to mention the material you can come up with when dealing with those hater *** individuals who only open up their dumb *** mouths to doubt you or say some other stupid ****. I have love for the haters because they are really a sense of motivation and it aint nothing like some hater to come along and get you fired up and spark up the creative muse. Right now I own an arsenal of dope *** material. What’s been a major plus for me is that I did Five and a half years at a prison that allowed me to keep my own personal keyboard. I have developed some crazy *** skills as a producer. My beats are just as wicked and raw as my lyrics. Over these years I have not even heard a few tracks made in the industry that stand to compare with the tracks I’m making on a $500 keyboard. Them mother ****ers is in trouble when I get my hands on some top notch high tech ****.
George – Have you been able to keep up with the Bone Thugs N Harmony situation
Flesh – I have to some degree but not to the extent that I really want however.
George – It seems that things really blew apart when you were sentenced for Bone Thugs, how important were you in keeping them focused.
Flesh – I’m what you can call Bone Thugs N Harmony’s older and bigger brother. I have a special and unique relationship with each one of them. Before being sentenced there were sometimes when I’d fall completely out of focus. I put them through a lot of **** because I would sometimes experience problems mentally. It created an unusual struggle and challenge for each of us to deal with as a group. That never stopped me from brining a unique spirit of inspiration and motivation to the table. Sometimes I was tripping out but then again, sometimes I myself was really focused and I think that it was during those times that each of them were really able to benefit from what I had to offer. My importance is to the point that even in the face of my own personal problems; I tried real damn hard to keep Bone focused professionally like a big brother is supposed to. The thing is now, mental problems is not an issue with me anymore thank God. So I am better prepared to work and right real hard to keep Bone Thugs N Harmony a five man unit and still pursue solo careers as well. Now why should that not be the case?
George – How helpful has Layzie been since you have been locked up?
Flesh – My children are crazy in love with their uncle Lay. Lay has been very helpful with them God bless him. They love spending time with him and whenever they call on him for anything his is there to take care of it.
George – What do you think will surprise people the most when you are released?
Flesh – I think they are mostly going to be surprised when they get to see me rocking the mic and performing again. Not only have I not missed a beat but on many levels, I have stepped up my game. Today’s Flesh N Bone makes the old Flesh look like an amateur. Some might even be surprised how I managed to stay looking so damn handsome and young.
George – What’s the first thing you plan on doing when you’re released?
Flesh – I want to get my children together and take them some place nice. It’s going to be a brand new life for us. I have a new love of my life who is soon to be my new wife. Once I get things situated family wise, I need to go straight to work and get involved with the newest Bone Thug developments happening at the time. I’ve been working on an immaculate business blueprint consisting of record and movie production so I’ll be shopping for distribution. What’s really going to be instrumental to that is establishing a major solo deal first just to break the ice, and then I’m going for the gusto. Right now the interesting question is who will I end up working with on my next solo project.
George – Will your new found religion change your music?
Flesh – Please understand that my new found religion has changed me as a man first and foremost. That doesn’t necessarily mean that my style of music has changed. I was a hip hop artist prior to my accepting Al-Islam and now that I have accepted and received the guidance through Al-Islam, I am a better hip hop artist. Religion is supposed to improve and enhance every aspect of human life and that is what it’s steadily doing for me. I’m a perfectionist and I strive for excellence and anything else is unacceptable. Yes I am Muslim, but I still represent the street people, those still struggling in them trenches trying to make it out of the ghettos. I am the voice for those people who can’t get their voices heard, as well as for the lost souls around the world and those brave men inside these prisons who will never see the light of day again. I’m representing for every last one of ya’ll so it’s my duty to keep my music straight raw and straight dope. The world has yet to hear the best of what I’m about to drop.
Sursa: http://www.xzibitcentral.com/forums
INTERVIURI
Moderators: .etalosed, greuceanu
il pun aici, desi ar fi trebuit sa fac topic separat cu el...
despre singurul album care conteaza aflati mai multe aici... http://www.bodog.tv/media/wu-tang-epk#[/url]
despre singurul album care conteaza aflati mai multe aici... http://www.bodog.tv/media/wu-tang-epk#[/url]
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citeam pe undeva...
mai are rost sa spun ceva?
50 Cent wrote:While the longstanding feud between 50 Cent and Nas has been dormant for the past year, Fif takes some unexpected shots at God’s Son in an interview with the LA Times. “Hip-Hop ain’t dead. That’s just coming from an artist that’s dead.” Fifty said in response to Nas’ hip-hop is dead mantra. “Hip-Hop being what it was in his era - the 2Pac/Nas/Biggie/Jay-Z era - is dead. Right now [fans] don’t want to hear that nonsense.” 50 then went on to say, “Those guys that flood their music with too much intellectual information don’t sell. You could be so creative that you just got a smock and a French accent!”
mai are rost sa spun ceva?
http://listen.radionomy.com/classic-rap.m3u Classic Rap radio 24/7 - 101% dopeness
ILL BILL OF LA COKA NOSTRA JOURNAL ENTRY #1
Thursday September 20th, 2007
"Well, I'm in the studio right now. I just recorded a couple of joints for this CD that I'm working on with Crooked I right now and I'm real excited about that. That's something dope that I don't think people were really expecting so you know we are throwing them a curveball right now. Me and Crook are gonna get this shit poppin'. We've got Blue Sky Black Death doing the beats. They brought me and Crooked together so we are gonna give you a little bit of that East Coast and that West Coast shit and bring it together and let that shit collide over some banging production. These dudes are mega underrated but they are definitely coming up in the game and grinding really hard right now and I could appreciate that because I'm doing a lot of production right now quiet as kept.
I'm branching out on the beat tip and I'm real happy on the response I've been getting for the tracks I did on the new Army Of The Pharaohs album and I've got to big up Sick Nature, that's one of my production partners. We've been working on a lot of stuff together. He worked with me on the beats that we did on the Army Of The Pharaohs record plus I'm working with Q-Unique on a bunch of beats plus I'm in the cut for dolo at the same time. I did a beat for the brand new Special Teamz album which I think drops in like a week and I actually produced the title track. It's a track called "Stereotype" and if you don't know who Special Teamz is, that's a group out from Boston consisting of Slain from La Coka Nostra, Jaysaun and Ed OG and these dudes are crazy. The album is coming out through Duck Down and it's a really dope album and I'm featured on it as well. I spit a hook on one of the joints called "Dirty Money" and it's real dope.
You know Duck Down has been doing their thing for years. Shout out to Buckshot, Dru Ha and my man Sean Price. Sean Price and me have been talking about working together for a really, really long time and we are finally about to get it poppin' and we're not just gonna record a joint, we are gonna do a whole CD. I know it sounds crazy.
I'm definitely doing a lot right now between the solo shit, the Coka Nostra shit and this Crooked I CD, this Sean Price CD and actually I don't think anybody has heard about this one yet, but I'm about to do a bunch of shit with Jeru the Damaja as well. So it's been a blessing man and you know its better busy than bored and I feel really blessed to be able to put in all this work right now. This is what I love doing so I'm in a real good mental space right now.
We've got to finish this La Coka Nostra record. Right now we've got a bunch of different offers on the table for that and we're gonna put the finishing touches on that in a minute. Snoop is about to jump on the record and then it will pretty much should be done after that. The response for La Coka has been off the hook. We just did a couple of shows in Europe and we had thousands of kids coming out and they knew the words to the joints and everything and we haven't even put out a record yet. It's just off of joints that we leaked off of the Internet.
My solo album got delayed but just so y'all know, the album is done. There is one more joint that I'm gonna do and the only reason why I'm doing this joint is because I can do it because I have the extra time and I don't feel like the album is done unless I have a Primo cut on it. So Primo is in the lab right now finishing up the beat for me. He is gonna hit me with it right before I leave to tour, I'm gonna write it while I'm on tour and come back and drop that shit as soon as I'm back from the tour. It will be the last thing I do before the album gets handed in to be pressed up because the album is dropping early 2008. So look out for "The Hour of Reprisal" on Uncle Howie Records CD/DVD. We've got the last show that I did at CBGB's before CBGB's closed down and I don't even need to big up CBGB's because y'all know that's like the legendary spot and it's fucked up that it got closed down the way it did. There is a lot of bullshit politics behind the scenes shit involved as far as why the spot got shut down, but luckily I was able to bring five cameras in there and mash it out before they shut it down. So that's like a bonus that is gonna come with the album.
As for the new record, just to get to work with Muggs and the whole list of people that is on the record was dope, I could list it again but all you've got to do is Google Ill Bill "The Hour of Reprisal" right now and you will get a list of everybody that is on the record. I'm sure I'm forgetting shit, but we are gonna keep this moving and we are gonna keep doing this. I'm gonna keep checking in with ThaFormula while I'm out on tour so whatever I forgot about right now, I'm gonna catch you up on the next time I speak to you all. Oh, and don't forget to buy the Necro album, "Death Rap" in stores right now. For those that don't know, that's my real brother, that's my physical. I'm on the album, so go support Psychological Records in stores. Big ups to Necro and yo, I'm out!
Thursday September 20th, 2007
"Well, I'm in the studio right now. I just recorded a couple of joints for this CD that I'm working on with Crooked I right now and I'm real excited about that. That's something dope that I don't think people were really expecting so you know we are throwing them a curveball right now. Me and Crook are gonna get this shit poppin'. We've got Blue Sky Black Death doing the beats. They brought me and Crooked together so we are gonna give you a little bit of that East Coast and that West Coast shit and bring it together and let that shit collide over some banging production. These dudes are mega underrated but they are definitely coming up in the game and grinding really hard right now and I could appreciate that because I'm doing a lot of production right now quiet as kept.
I'm branching out on the beat tip and I'm real happy on the response I've been getting for the tracks I did on the new Army Of The Pharaohs album and I've got to big up Sick Nature, that's one of my production partners. We've been working on a lot of stuff together. He worked with me on the beats that we did on the Army Of The Pharaohs record plus I'm working with Q-Unique on a bunch of beats plus I'm in the cut for dolo at the same time. I did a beat for the brand new Special Teamz album which I think drops in like a week and I actually produced the title track. It's a track called "Stereotype" and if you don't know who Special Teamz is, that's a group out from Boston consisting of Slain from La Coka Nostra, Jaysaun and Ed OG and these dudes are crazy. The album is coming out through Duck Down and it's a really dope album and I'm featured on it as well. I spit a hook on one of the joints called "Dirty Money" and it's real dope.
You know Duck Down has been doing their thing for years. Shout out to Buckshot, Dru Ha and my man Sean Price. Sean Price and me have been talking about working together for a really, really long time and we are finally about to get it poppin' and we're not just gonna record a joint, we are gonna do a whole CD. I know it sounds crazy.
I'm definitely doing a lot right now between the solo shit, the Coka Nostra shit and this Crooked I CD, this Sean Price CD and actually I don't think anybody has heard about this one yet, but I'm about to do a bunch of shit with Jeru the Damaja as well. So it's been a blessing man and you know its better busy than bored and I feel really blessed to be able to put in all this work right now. This is what I love doing so I'm in a real good mental space right now.
We've got to finish this La Coka Nostra record. Right now we've got a bunch of different offers on the table for that and we're gonna put the finishing touches on that in a minute. Snoop is about to jump on the record and then it will pretty much should be done after that. The response for La Coka has been off the hook. We just did a couple of shows in Europe and we had thousands of kids coming out and they knew the words to the joints and everything and we haven't even put out a record yet. It's just off of joints that we leaked off of the Internet.
My solo album got delayed but just so y'all know, the album is done. There is one more joint that I'm gonna do and the only reason why I'm doing this joint is because I can do it because I have the extra time and I don't feel like the album is done unless I have a Primo cut on it. So Primo is in the lab right now finishing up the beat for me. He is gonna hit me with it right before I leave to tour, I'm gonna write it while I'm on tour and come back and drop that shit as soon as I'm back from the tour. It will be the last thing I do before the album gets handed in to be pressed up because the album is dropping early 2008. So look out for "The Hour of Reprisal" on Uncle Howie Records CD/DVD. We've got the last show that I did at CBGB's before CBGB's closed down and I don't even need to big up CBGB's because y'all know that's like the legendary spot and it's fucked up that it got closed down the way it did. There is a lot of bullshit politics behind the scenes shit involved as far as why the spot got shut down, but luckily I was able to bring five cameras in there and mash it out before they shut it down. So that's like a bonus that is gonna come with the album.
As for the new record, just to get to work with Muggs and the whole list of people that is on the record was dope, I could list it again but all you've got to do is Google Ill Bill "The Hour of Reprisal" right now and you will get a list of everybody that is on the record. I'm sure I'm forgetting shit, but we are gonna keep this moving and we are gonna keep doing this. I'm gonna keep checking in with ThaFormula while I'm out on tour so whatever I forgot about right now, I'm gonna catch you up on the next time I speak to you all. Oh, and don't forget to buy the Necro album, "Death Rap" in stores right now. For those that don't know, that's my real brother, that's my physical. I'm on the album, so go support Psychological Records in stores. Big ups to Necro and yo, I'm out!
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By Tonedeff and Kathy Iandoli
Tori Amos might appear to be an unlikely fit for a Hip-Hop website. The legendary singer/songwriter/producer has a career that spans well over two decades, with a cult following that will outlive any existing fanbase for some flash in the pan artist. With 13 albums under her belt, along with countless bootlegs, EPs and imports, Tori Amos has never faltered in delivering her unapologetic message to the world. However, Hip-Hop might be vaguely familiar with her cryptic cover of Eminem’s “’97 Bonnie and Clyde,” where Amos sings from the viewpoint of the mother in the trunk. Now, on the brink of a new tour, Tori Amos would like YOU to decide her next rap cover. What better way to dig deep into the mind of a genius, than through the mind of her biggest fan? AllHipHop gave critically acclaimed MC and Producer Tonedeff the opportunity of a lifetime to chat with his muse to discuss her career and how she was the catalyst in his creating Hip-Hop music. With discussions including censorship, the state of music, and Public Enemy, Tori Amos proves that she has the balls of an MC with the rhetoric of a poet. If that’s not Hip-Hop, then what is?
Tori Amos: Before we go forward, tell me what it is that you do.
Tonedeff: Pretty much to sum it all up, I am a producer and emcee. I’ve been doing it for a really long time. I’ve released an amount of albums since I’ve started my own record label in 2001. It’s called QN5 Music. I’ve released about three CDs under my name, Tonedeff. The last one I did is called Archetype – that was the album that I really wanted to push the boundaries of what is typically expected of a rapper. It’s a singer/rapper album.
Tori Amos: Wow! That’s exciting!
Tonedeff: Yeah, it’s definitely something new. I’m singing and playing the piano and incorporating it into a Hip-Hop format – which is something that I’ve learned all from you; which is why I am really excited about doing this interview with you.
Tori Amos: Well, I would really like to hear that. I would really like to write that down, I’ll find it. You don’t have to send me a copy. I’ll buy it. I really want to hear it. Sometimes, I’m not as exposed as I want to be. That’s just the truth. Maybe you’re exposed to a lot, but when you’re creating, sometimes you don’t have the time that you want to take in because you’re busy creating. You’re under the inspiration.
Tonedeff: Yeah, that’s true. When you’re working on an album it’s easy to be influenced by what else is going on out there to come up with something original.
Tori Amos: That’s the time that I put stuff in my brain, I call it the “input period,” where you collect ideas, and thoughts, and it becomes a part of my sonic thoughts. Then, you have to shut the doors and start to use what you’ve collected in order to create something. I support what you’re saying. You can start making work that’s too close to something else. You don’t want to do that. Nobody wants to steal. There are only 12 notes so you have to be careful!
Tonedeff: Let me first just start off by saying that you are the one artist in my life that has completely changed everything that I know. Literally, I’ve taught myself how to play the piano, sing, and write songs at the age of 18. I don’t have any formal training, I do it all by ear. This is all because of [you]. Did you ever think that you’d be having a conversation with a rapper based on your role as inspiration?
Tori Amos: Well, no because sometimes I’m consumed with my own war. To be able to make the music that I’ve made over the years, you have to figure that I’m not totally naïve about the music business. You’re not either since you’re quite involved in it. Sometimes, in order to retain the commitment in creating work that might not be what the people that love the industry understand, as what is going to be what generates quote-on-quote “sales and commerce.” You have to be so committed to what you’re doing. Sometimes, it’s a lonely road. When I hear that you have been moved by it, sometimes, it makes it all worth it.
Sometimes; something as simple as this conversation. You have to figure that there are some of us on the front line and they are taking a lot of bullets. A lot of people don’t know that you are, and I don’t need anybody to take my bullets for me. I can take them just fine. But there is a side when you’re going up against corporate all of the time, and having to find your own funding for your own tours because you’re not going to compromise. It does affect me, because all of this work and commitment has moved somebody. The fact that it has moved one person, like you, makes this all worth it.
Tonedeff: That’s really awesome, that’s really great.
Tori Amos: I kind of needed to hear this today. It’s so strange how these things work. [laughs] See, my birthday is tomorrow. You wonder sometimes in life, you ask questions, “Should I have done this differently?” “Should I’ve done that differently?” You know you do. There are certain stages when you’re like, “Should I have done this that way?” Well, if I had, I might not be talking to you right now. How would I have known how that would affect my life?
At the same time, you’re going to ask yourself about purpose and why you’re making music. What is your destiny? Why do you do it? It’s easy to get seduced - and you know this better than anybody – you make records for all kinds of reasons. Right, so you have to remember why you’re doing it and so do I.
Tonedeff: Definitely, and just in general, I know that at this point in my career making music is more of a therapeutic type of thing. I’ve kind of gotten away from trying to be #1 Mr. Pop Star. I literally write from the inside out. At this point, I don’t even go trying to bother shooting for charts. These are all things that I’ve kind of taken away from your work, which lyrically is kind of my next point. What you do lyrically is amazing. From an emcee or a writer, I try to filter the world and put my own little spin on it so that people from a rather unique perspective can appreciate it. This I think you do beautifully.
You make really, really profound statements. Another thing about you is that you are very careful with your words. I’ve seen your writing process on video. I’ve seen you at your piano. You let the moment take control of you. You have your pen in your mouth and you’re just slamming away at the keys as you jot things down. When you write your songs is this your normal process? Is it completely spontaneous? Or do you sit down and map out what you want to do per song?
Tori Amos: Yes. There are many moments to making music, and when those moments happen, there is nothing like it. That is something that is out of my control. When it happens, I drop everything and I try to jot it down. It can be two or three things. Sometimes, it’s not a lot. Collect those moments that happen to you over time. Sometimes, it takes years for one to find their way into a song just because you cannot honestly just bring something in. It has to work architecturally. You collect these little ideas. Sometimes, you get more than the two that are phrased. When those moments come, then there is nothing that I can really explain. If you’ve had that happened to you, then you know what that feels like.
The other side of the mountain is a disciplined, routine way of writing, of hammering your way. For example, working on this album for hours and hours of just hammering away at taping it and listening to it back. It’s really hard to listen back. After an hour or an hour and a half, then I may have something worth keeping or listening to. Then I go back to hammering and doing it again. You’ll have razors of colors and then you’ll begin to have this sonic building. You’ll begin to see what kind of shape it’s going to take.
Tonedeff: With that said, I’d like to talk a little bit about lyricism. I really want to get in your head in terms of this. Lyrically, I know that you’ve said some generally provocative stuff. With songs like Leather, Precious Things, there are times when you’ve cursed in your records and I love that. Pardon my French but, you do whatever the f*** you want, and that’s just the way that it has to be. I love that about you. In that sense, have you ever found yourself being self-centering when you’ve had to protect someone else’s feelings?
Tori Amos: To be great you can’t do that. I’m sorry. I can’t dissolve. You can’t dissolve. I’ll change the name, but I don’t use names. If I do, they are not the real ones. That’s as far as I go. Luckily for me, I married the right guy. He’s an engineer. He’s like, “I don’t want to know what the songs are about and I like them now. If you want me to like them, please don’t tell me what they are about.” That’s our rule. That’s why it works. Once you start compromising the content because you’re walking on egg shells then I’m sorry you don’t get the chance to be a part of the mother f**king writers. Good bye!
You’re a really good writer, but you can leave the room. That’s the way it is. Now as a writer, yes I have a conscious but my conscious is to respect the syllable and the time. Do I understand the word association? That is my job as writer. Do I understand the music? Do I understand what it is telling me? Do I want it to be a paradox? Do I want it to be a melody? It’s a double agent. That is where the morality comes in at. The morality comes in as being a clear and divine creativity. You have to stand by everything that you say, and if I’m going to be creative, take the money, and take the publishing, then I have to stand by the consequences. You understand? So if I’m going to talk about cutting up guys penises, which I haven’t, then I have to be willing to stand by that – right?
That’s what bugs me when writers say it and don’t mean it. So if you’re going to talk about cutting up a girls p***y, then you better stand by that mother f***er. [laughs] You can’t take the publishing. You cannot do it. Otherwise, you’re George Bush, and Dick Cheney. You cannot do that! The true thing is that they’re not being hypocrites. They’re being exactly who they say they are [politicians]. If you’re going to say it, even if you’re angry, you say it and stand by it. You have to be willing to take the heat when people question it. You can’t say, “Oh, I’m sorry.” So what I’m saying to you is that it’s a double edge sword. That’s what I’m saying to you, Tone. You have to be able to stand by it. I’ve been angry in songs, and I’ve said some things. I’ve thrown some stones at people and it’s okay.
As a writer, you have to do that. Not all writers are there to stir it up. Some are there to really make you think of rainbows and sunshine. Sometimes, I roll my eyes at them. I respect them because that’s who they are. You and I both know you have to know what kind of writer you’re trying to be. You will say something’s that will rip the skin off of people. You don’t try to expose the people, but the feeling. Everybody knows if they walk into my life they’ll never know when they’ll end up in a song. If you walk into a room where I am, you’ll be in a mill – if you’re interesting. If I’m good, you won’t know it’s you.
Tonedeff: Being that this is AlHipHop.com, I want to pick your head about this a little bit. You have been notorious for your live-covered versions of your songs; I’ve seen you live at least 12 times now, which is kind of scary. You’ve done entire cover versions, which keep your little spin on it. You’ve even done a full album cover with Strange Little Girls. You have a version which is [Eminem’s] Bonnie and Clyde. One of the creepiest things that I’ve heard is that if you flip it, it brings another side of the song. That made it diabolic. I don’t think Eminem had that in mind when he wrote it. How did you create that?
Tori Amos: Well, this is my job – a part of it. A part of my job in life is to crawl into the piece itself and then you’ll be able to allow it to become you. It’s the idea that when we go back to Native American ideas and shifting. If you allow the song to come alive in your own being, then you have to get yourself out there. I understand that I’m talking to you in a theorist way, it’s not very tangible. But you have to be able to walk into the dream world in order to be able to let [out] somebody else’s song child – it’s a dangerous thing; it’s almost like kidnapping.
I’ve sat and talked to all of the songs, I’ve talked to their spirits. I look at it as a psychic study. You go into the psyche of the piece, because that tune of the mother was a man; I crawl into it to listen the anima – the female psyche of the piece. I’ve decided to take on their character and I’ve listened to everything she was saying. She wasn’t exactly dead. When you kill your ex-wife, you don’t know if she’s exactly dead until she’s dead. She wasn’t dead yet. She heard everything he was saying to her daughter. I couldn’t think of nothing more harrowing than hearing your child being told something that you can’t defend. That’s the last thing she hears and she dies. I thought that was incredibly tragic.
My persona is that I think that [Eminem] is a great writer. I was like, “Listen here you little groovy hipsters, if you’re going to dance with your little cocktails and what have you, if you’re going to dance in the blood of this woman, then I’m going to give you something to think about. You know I’m not a nice lady. I’m a mother f***er. Ask my daughter. If you stop by my house, I’ll give you cookies and spaghetti. But if you ask me to cover your tune, I’m going to kick your a**. Hopefully, you’ll look back and see what type of job you’ve done and see what type of song you’ve written. If you’ve written a good song, then it has the ability to have a good perspective. It was a great song, I’m acknowledging that.
Tonedeff: Seeing that you’ve been able to crawl into a song and see it from a different perspective - I think that this has been something that has come up in music as far as different perspectives and the collage of music to make something new – with you, I’ve noticed that with certain songs, you’ve used samples. How do you feel about other artist sampling your work?
Tori Amos: I hope I set the sample rate. My lawyers tell me that I did. For example, Matt Chamberlain, we’re always trying to do things if we’re not using something else. Like I set the sample rate – I think it’s important. Matt comes up with making the samples himself. I think loops are incredibly exciting to write to and play to. They really excite me. Sometimes, I am a bit naughty. Sometimes, I listen to a loop and write over it and then I go back and write over it again. You got to do what you got to do. As long as you know, okay – I’m honest. I see how one woman in a movie seduces her husband and I use her technique in my way to apply it to a song. I do that.
One of the big corners of my life is Public Enemy’s Fear the Black Planet. Nobody would know that was the inspiration behind Little Earthquakes; but it was. That’s the truth. [laughs] Energetically, this is a woman fighting for her soul and they were fighting for their souls. You know what we should do that would be kind of crazy? It would be fun to see what three Hip-Hop songs I can cover on this tour. Maybe we should have them vote them in, and then you can be like, that’s a good idea but ah no! It needs to be these three. And please, softly, pull out the big artillery and I really want you guys to think that I can’t do it. I want those to be the ones that I do. I want them. Don’t jerk off with me.
Tonedeff: I’m going to pull out my NWA album right now.
Tori Amos: N***as with Attitude, give them to me!
Tonedeff: [laughs] I love this woman!
Tori Amos: Now, I have to hold up my end of the bargain; it has to be done. I have until the 18th of December. Now, the people have to send in their thoughts. It’s nice to see what people think. Even though it’s you to decide what comes in the end, it’s still nice to see what they think.
I have to tell you what I think is the shame, in music; we get divided into our own categories. I was overseas in Belgium, and some of those people had been so filtered in. Some of the people there had been there. Granted it’s very different music, they don’t open themselves into, say Hip-Hop, because they get distracted by the packaging. They don’t like it because it’s talking. It’s rapping. I want an energetic experience. I want lift off, man, I want that lift off. As a female singer and song writer, there is no f***king lift-off. I’m sorry but I can’t even wang myself off into something that exciting. I’m sorry, but I can’t. Where am I going to go?
Tonedeff: I can’t believe you don’t see the flaws in someone else’s performance.
Tori Amos: Well, let’s take this a step further: a live performance for you and a live performance for me. You and I are a tribe. We’re a part of the same tribe, but we do two different things because the tribe has to be when you put your hands on that 220 voltage, you have to be willing to let it take you where it’s willing to take you. You have to be willing to be completely blown to smithereens by the energy. You have to serve the creative force, but that also means that you can’t then do it just for the ego or the commercial success.
Most of the commercial success does not come to the dangerous poets and performers. That is because you’re threatening the status quo way too much. They won’t give us that must air time. It depends. You can slip through the cracks, but if it isn’t shocking then you’ll have your moment of time. Don’t think that they don’t know who we are. They know who we are! If you’re trying – you’re either there to emancipate the soul of the masses so that they can be as powerful as they need to be, but understand that they won’t need us anymore. It’s a sacrifice.
I do this because I know they’re going to stand around me and say, “Thank you Tori, but it’s time for you to go now.” You got to be able to let it go, and that’s doing it for the right reasons. When you come to my show, I’ve been to shows too where you just watch, but I look at them and they are just sucking the life out of their audience. They’re emotional vampires and they are sucking the f***ing life out of their audience. Instead of coming together so that they are both exposed. It becomes this ceremony, which is a very different thing, instead of hysterically raping this audience. It blows my mind how people keep coming back to get rammed in the a** again. It really does!
Tori Amos might appear to be an unlikely fit for a Hip-Hop website. The legendary singer/songwriter/producer has a career that spans well over two decades, with a cult following that will outlive any existing fanbase for some flash in the pan artist. With 13 albums under her belt, along with countless bootlegs, EPs and imports, Tori Amos has never faltered in delivering her unapologetic message to the world. However, Hip-Hop might be vaguely familiar with her cryptic cover of Eminem’s “’97 Bonnie and Clyde,” where Amos sings from the viewpoint of the mother in the trunk. Now, on the brink of a new tour, Tori Amos would like YOU to decide her next rap cover. What better way to dig deep into the mind of a genius, than through the mind of her biggest fan? AllHipHop gave critically acclaimed MC and Producer Tonedeff the opportunity of a lifetime to chat with his muse to discuss her career and how she was the catalyst in his creating Hip-Hop music. With discussions including censorship, the state of music, and Public Enemy, Tori Amos proves that she has the balls of an MC with the rhetoric of a poet. If that’s not Hip-Hop, then what is?
Tori Amos: Before we go forward, tell me what it is that you do.
Tonedeff: Pretty much to sum it all up, I am a producer and emcee. I’ve been doing it for a really long time. I’ve released an amount of albums since I’ve started my own record label in 2001. It’s called QN5 Music. I’ve released about three CDs under my name, Tonedeff. The last one I did is called Archetype – that was the album that I really wanted to push the boundaries of what is typically expected of a rapper. It’s a singer/rapper album.
Tori Amos: Wow! That’s exciting!
Tonedeff: Yeah, it’s definitely something new. I’m singing and playing the piano and incorporating it into a Hip-Hop format – which is something that I’ve learned all from you; which is why I am really excited about doing this interview with you.
Tori Amos: Well, I would really like to hear that. I would really like to write that down, I’ll find it. You don’t have to send me a copy. I’ll buy it. I really want to hear it. Sometimes, I’m not as exposed as I want to be. That’s just the truth. Maybe you’re exposed to a lot, but when you’re creating, sometimes you don’t have the time that you want to take in because you’re busy creating. You’re under the inspiration.
Tonedeff: Yeah, that’s true. When you’re working on an album it’s easy to be influenced by what else is going on out there to come up with something original.
Tori Amos: That’s the time that I put stuff in my brain, I call it the “input period,” where you collect ideas, and thoughts, and it becomes a part of my sonic thoughts. Then, you have to shut the doors and start to use what you’ve collected in order to create something. I support what you’re saying. You can start making work that’s too close to something else. You don’t want to do that. Nobody wants to steal. There are only 12 notes so you have to be careful!
Tonedeff: Let me first just start off by saying that you are the one artist in my life that has completely changed everything that I know. Literally, I’ve taught myself how to play the piano, sing, and write songs at the age of 18. I don’t have any formal training, I do it all by ear. This is all because of [you]. Did you ever think that you’d be having a conversation with a rapper based on your role as inspiration?
Tori Amos: Well, no because sometimes I’m consumed with my own war. To be able to make the music that I’ve made over the years, you have to figure that I’m not totally naïve about the music business. You’re not either since you’re quite involved in it. Sometimes, in order to retain the commitment in creating work that might not be what the people that love the industry understand, as what is going to be what generates quote-on-quote “sales and commerce.” You have to be so committed to what you’re doing. Sometimes, it’s a lonely road. When I hear that you have been moved by it, sometimes, it makes it all worth it.
Sometimes; something as simple as this conversation. You have to figure that there are some of us on the front line and they are taking a lot of bullets. A lot of people don’t know that you are, and I don’t need anybody to take my bullets for me. I can take them just fine. But there is a side when you’re going up against corporate all of the time, and having to find your own funding for your own tours because you’re not going to compromise. It does affect me, because all of this work and commitment has moved somebody. The fact that it has moved one person, like you, makes this all worth it.
Tonedeff: That’s really awesome, that’s really great.
Tori Amos: I kind of needed to hear this today. It’s so strange how these things work. [laughs] See, my birthday is tomorrow. You wonder sometimes in life, you ask questions, “Should I have done this differently?” “Should I’ve done that differently?” You know you do. There are certain stages when you’re like, “Should I have done this that way?” Well, if I had, I might not be talking to you right now. How would I have known how that would affect my life?
At the same time, you’re going to ask yourself about purpose and why you’re making music. What is your destiny? Why do you do it? It’s easy to get seduced - and you know this better than anybody – you make records for all kinds of reasons. Right, so you have to remember why you’re doing it and so do I.
Tonedeff: Definitely, and just in general, I know that at this point in my career making music is more of a therapeutic type of thing. I’ve kind of gotten away from trying to be #1 Mr. Pop Star. I literally write from the inside out. At this point, I don’t even go trying to bother shooting for charts. These are all things that I’ve kind of taken away from your work, which lyrically is kind of my next point. What you do lyrically is amazing. From an emcee or a writer, I try to filter the world and put my own little spin on it so that people from a rather unique perspective can appreciate it. This I think you do beautifully.
You make really, really profound statements. Another thing about you is that you are very careful with your words. I’ve seen your writing process on video. I’ve seen you at your piano. You let the moment take control of you. You have your pen in your mouth and you’re just slamming away at the keys as you jot things down. When you write your songs is this your normal process? Is it completely spontaneous? Or do you sit down and map out what you want to do per song?
Tori Amos: Yes. There are many moments to making music, and when those moments happen, there is nothing like it. That is something that is out of my control. When it happens, I drop everything and I try to jot it down. It can be two or three things. Sometimes, it’s not a lot. Collect those moments that happen to you over time. Sometimes, it takes years for one to find their way into a song just because you cannot honestly just bring something in. It has to work architecturally. You collect these little ideas. Sometimes, you get more than the two that are phrased. When those moments come, then there is nothing that I can really explain. If you’ve had that happened to you, then you know what that feels like.
The other side of the mountain is a disciplined, routine way of writing, of hammering your way. For example, working on this album for hours and hours of just hammering away at taping it and listening to it back. It’s really hard to listen back. After an hour or an hour and a half, then I may have something worth keeping or listening to. Then I go back to hammering and doing it again. You’ll have razors of colors and then you’ll begin to have this sonic building. You’ll begin to see what kind of shape it’s going to take.
Tonedeff: With that said, I’d like to talk a little bit about lyricism. I really want to get in your head in terms of this. Lyrically, I know that you’ve said some generally provocative stuff. With songs like Leather, Precious Things, there are times when you’ve cursed in your records and I love that. Pardon my French but, you do whatever the f*** you want, and that’s just the way that it has to be. I love that about you. In that sense, have you ever found yourself being self-centering when you’ve had to protect someone else’s feelings?
Tori Amos: To be great you can’t do that. I’m sorry. I can’t dissolve. You can’t dissolve. I’ll change the name, but I don’t use names. If I do, they are not the real ones. That’s as far as I go. Luckily for me, I married the right guy. He’s an engineer. He’s like, “I don’t want to know what the songs are about and I like them now. If you want me to like them, please don’t tell me what they are about.” That’s our rule. That’s why it works. Once you start compromising the content because you’re walking on egg shells then I’m sorry you don’t get the chance to be a part of the mother f**king writers. Good bye!
You’re a really good writer, but you can leave the room. That’s the way it is. Now as a writer, yes I have a conscious but my conscious is to respect the syllable and the time. Do I understand the word association? That is my job as writer. Do I understand the music? Do I understand what it is telling me? Do I want it to be a paradox? Do I want it to be a melody? It’s a double agent. That is where the morality comes in at. The morality comes in as being a clear and divine creativity. You have to stand by everything that you say, and if I’m going to be creative, take the money, and take the publishing, then I have to stand by the consequences. You understand? So if I’m going to talk about cutting up guys penises, which I haven’t, then I have to be willing to stand by that – right?
That’s what bugs me when writers say it and don’t mean it. So if you’re going to talk about cutting up a girls p***y, then you better stand by that mother f***er. [laughs] You can’t take the publishing. You cannot do it. Otherwise, you’re George Bush, and Dick Cheney. You cannot do that! The true thing is that they’re not being hypocrites. They’re being exactly who they say they are [politicians]. If you’re going to say it, even if you’re angry, you say it and stand by it. You have to be willing to take the heat when people question it. You can’t say, “Oh, I’m sorry.” So what I’m saying to you is that it’s a double edge sword. That’s what I’m saying to you, Tone. You have to be able to stand by it. I’ve been angry in songs, and I’ve said some things. I’ve thrown some stones at people and it’s okay.
As a writer, you have to do that. Not all writers are there to stir it up. Some are there to really make you think of rainbows and sunshine. Sometimes, I roll my eyes at them. I respect them because that’s who they are. You and I both know you have to know what kind of writer you’re trying to be. You will say something’s that will rip the skin off of people. You don’t try to expose the people, but the feeling. Everybody knows if they walk into my life they’ll never know when they’ll end up in a song. If you walk into a room where I am, you’ll be in a mill – if you’re interesting. If I’m good, you won’t know it’s you.
Tonedeff: Being that this is AlHipHop.com, I want to pick your head about this a little bit. You have been notorious for your live-covered versions of your songs; I’ve seen you live at least 12 times now, which is kind of scary. You’ve done entire cover versions, which keep your little spin on it. You’ve even done a full album cover with Strange Little Girls. You have a version which is [Eminem’s] Bonnie and Clyde. One of the creepiest things that I’ve heard is that if you flip it, it brings another side of the song. That made it diabolic. I don’t think Eminem had that in mind when he wrote it. How did you create that?
Tori Amos: Well, this is my job – a part of it. A part of my job in life is to crawl into the piece itself and then you’ll be able to allow it to become you. It’s the idea that when we go back to Native American ideas and shifting. If you allow the song to come alive in your own being, then you have to get yourself out there. I understand that I’m talking to you in a theorist way, it’s not very tangible. But you have to be able to walk into the dream world in order to be able to let [out] somebody else’s song child – it’s a dangerous thing; it’s almost like kidnapping.
I’ve sat and talked to all of the songs, I’ve talked to their spirits. I look at it as a psychic study. You go into the psyche of the piece, because that tune of the mother was a man; I crawl into it to listen the anima – the female psyche of the piece. I’ve decided to take on their character and I’ve listened to everything she was saying. She wasn’t exactly dead. When you kill your ex-wife, you don’t know if she’s exactly dead until she’s dead. She wasn’t dead yet. She heard everything he was saying to her daughter. I couldn’t think of nothing more harrowing than hearing your child being told something that you can’t defend. That’s the last thing she hears and she dies. I thought that was incredibly tragic.
My persona is that I think that [Eminem] is a great writer. I was like, “Listen here you little groovy hipsters, if you’re going to dance with your little cocktails and what have you, if you’re going to dance in the blood of this woman, then I’m going to give you something to think about. You know I’m not a nice lady. I’m a mother f***er. Ask my daughter. If you stop by my house, I’ll give you cookies and spaghetti. But if you ask me to cover your tune, I’m going to kick your a**. Hopefully, you’ll look back and see what type of job you’ve done and see what type of song you’ve written. If you’ve written a good song, then it has the ability to have a good perspective. It was a great song, I’m acknowledging that.
Tonedeff: Seeing that you’ve been able to crawl into a song and see it from a different perspective - I think that this has been something that has come up in music as far as different perspectives and the collage of music to make something new – with you, I’ve noticed that with certain songs, you’ve used samples. How do you feel about other artist sampling your work?
Tori Amos: I hope I set the sample rate. My lawyers tell me that I did. For example, Matt Chamberlain, we’re always trying to do things if we’re not using something else. Like I set the sample rate – I think it’s important. Matt comes up with making the samples himself. I think loops are incredibly exciting to write to and play to. They really excite me. Sometimes, I am a bit naughty. Sometimes, I listen to a loop and write over it and then I go back and write over it again. You got to do what you got to do. As long as you know, okay – I’m honest. I see how one woman in a movie seduces her husband and I use her technique in my way to apply it to a song. I do that.
One of the big corners of my life is Public Enemy’s Fear the Black Planet. Nobody would know that was the inspiration behind Little Earthquakes; but it was. That’s the truth. [laughs] Energetically, this is a woman fighting for her soul and they were fighting for their souls. You know what we should do that would be kind of crazy? It would be fun to see what three Hip-Hop songs I can cover on this tour. Maybe we should have them vote them in, and then you can be like, that’s a good idea but ah no! It needs to be these three. And please, softly, pull out the big artillery and I really want you guys to think that I can’t do it. I want those to be the ones that I do. I want them. Don’t jerk off with me.
Tonedeff: I’m going to pull out my NWA album right now.
Tori Amos: N***as with Attitude, give them to me!
Tonedeff: [laughs] I love this woman!
Tori Amos: Now, I have to hold up my end of the bargain; it has to be done. I have until the 18th of December. Now, the people have to send in their thoughts. It’s nice to see what people think. Even though it’s you to decide what comes in the end, it’s still nice to see what they think.
I have to tell you what I think is the shame, in music; we get divided into our own categories. I was overseas in Belgium, and some of those people had been so filtered in. Some of the people there had been there. Granted it’s very different music, they don’t open themselves into, say Hip-Hop, because they get distracted by the packaging. They don’t like it because it’s talking. It’s rapping. I want an energetic experience. I want lift off, man, I want that lift off. As a female singer and song writer, there is no f***king lift-off. I’m sorry but I can’t even wang myself off into something that exciting. I’m sorry, but I can’t. Where am I going to go?
Tonedeff: I can’t believe you don’t see the flaws in someone else’s performance.
Tori Amos: Well, let’s take this a step further: a live performance for you and a live performance for me. You and I are a tribe. We’re a part of the same tribe, but we do two different things because the tribe has to be when you put your hands on that 220 voltage, you have to be willing to let it take you where it’s willing to take you. You have to be willing to be completely blown to smithereens by the energy. You have to serve the creative force, but that also means that you can’t then do it just for the ego or the commercial success.
Most of the commercial success does not come to the dangerous poets and performers. That is because you’re threatening the status quo way too much. They won’t give us that must air time. It depends. You can slip through the cracks, but if it isn’t shocking then you’ll have your moment of time. Don’t think that they don’t know who we are. They know who we are! If you’re trying – you’re either there to emancipate the soul of the masses so that they can be as powerful as they need to be, but understand that they won’t need us anymore. It’s a sacrifice.
I do this because I know they’re going to stand around me and say, “Thank you Tori, but it’s time for you to go now.” You got to be able to let it go, and that’s doing it for the right reasons. When you come to my show, I’ve been to shows too where you just watch, but I look at them and they are just sucking the life out of their audience. They’re emotional vampires and they are sucking the f***ing life out of their audience. Instead of coming together so that they are both exposed. It becomes this ceremony, which is a very different thing, instead of hysterically raping this audience. It blows my mind how people keep coming back to get rammed in the a** again. It really does!
Fat Joe: Blame It On The Beats
Fat Joe has named his eighth solo album The Elephant In The Room. The phrase comes from that awareness we all have for something, but aren't talking about. Perhaps with Joey Crack, this could be his deep-rooted role in hardcore Hip Hop.
Few artists who have reached the commercial and celebrity success of Fat Joe have attained his respectability in the field of Hip Hop. Beyond just bringing Big Pun to our ears, Joe has played a role in super-group D.I.T.C., unified coasts at critical times, prompted awareness to veterans, and arguably remained the most consistent star from The Bronx since KRS-One stepped out of the mainstream limelight a decade ago.
With singles like "Make It Rain" and the newly-released "I Won't Tell," Joe's other side is rarely discussed by those who know, and rarely conveyed to those who don't. But as his new album balances the hits with tracks like the DJ Premier-assisted "Thank God For That White," the man who 14 years ago introduced himself as "Fat Joe Da Gangsta," is still true to form. In an exclusive interview with HipHopDX, Fat Joe manages his south-exploiting criticism, talks about his agelessness and blames producers, with a gangster's chuckle, for the "ignorant shit" that he continues to give his hardcore heads. Flow Joe!
HipHopDX: Being a hardcore Hip Hop guy, I wanted to ask you about this track from the new album “Thank God For That White.” What does it feel like, as fellow ‘90s hardcore Hip Hop guys, to work with DJ Premier on a song that’s seemingly about what so many rappers today are talking?
Fat Joe: Premo is…if not the greatest producer of all-time, one of the greatest. He is the definition of Hip Hop. So to work with him, you have no choice but to be honored, and be humbled that he would even do a beat for you. So whenever I team up with Premo, it’s like he’s God. It’s nothing but an honor to rock out with him, so I gotta bring my best to the table.
DX: Tell me what you can about the record itself…
FJ: The record is just that hardcore, corner block slingin’ Hip Hop…that picks up where [Notorious B.I.G.’s] “Kick in the Door” left off.
DX: Some folks have been critical of what they call your catering to the south with the last two albums. As I think about that, I can’t help but remember when you extended a hand to the west in the late ‘90s when that sound was unfavorable in the marketplace. Do you think your pursuits of nationwide sounds are just misunderstood, or is it just musical experimentation?
FJ: What I do is I make music. I like to think of Fat Joe is from New York, but Fat Joe is universal. I make music for kids all over – kids in Oregon, kids in Connecticut. I like to make hit records. First of all, when I drop my singles, they’re always hit records that can play everywhere. The album, I like [to fill] with that shoot-em-up, bang bang; that’s what Fat Joe has always been since day one [with] “Da Fat Gangsta.” I got a big fan-base to please. I gotta make that hit record that the fans know me for, and I gotta make those Premo, those Streetrunner, those LV tracks that just get my core fans riled up. I don’t like to think because I did a “Make it Rain,” which had a bounce with it, meant I was going south. I made a hit record that was relevant for the time. This new single [“I Won’t Tell”] ain’t got nothing to do with the south. Like you said, I did joints with guys in the west coast too. I’m just a universal artist; I don’t like nobody to just put me in a bubble and force me to be one thing. I came in the game to be a superstar and make music for everybody.
DX: You mentioned some names in Streetrunner and LV. Both guys are getting a lot of acclaim right now for work they did this year. Starting back to 1993, you really showed that Diamond and Showbiz could bring artists out, or Scott Storch. You’ve always been ahead of the curve with producers. What’s your process like when artists shop you beats? You gotta be your own A&R…
FJ: I am my own A&R. I have a very good gift, which some of my favorite rappers don’t have, and it’s beat-picking. I got the ear for beautiful beats. I got the ear for working with new and upcoming producers that no one has heard of before they turn into stars. It’s just a gift I got, and I think that’s what’s kept me in the game so long. It’s not only always advancing my skills, lyrically, but just being able to be ahead of the curve in knowing what hot beats are.
DX: Dr. Dre always plays his beats in his car. When you get these beats, any special practice you do?
FJ: I listen to beats…it can be from somebody as big as Scott Storch or somebody little, and I listen to the beats, and if I hear [something] that I love, it starts talking to me and telling me what to say. It literally starts telling me what to say. So blame it on the beat if I killed kids on record, or “Thank God For That White”… if Premo comes and gives me a “Kick In The Door,” am I supposed to rhyme about Gospel? The beat is telling me what to say. Blame the producers!
DX: I’m not on that Imus tip… [Laughs]
FJ: [Laughs] Yeah, I know, blame the producers for giving me that crack cocaine.
DX: Hey, I love the ignorant shit.
FJ: I love the ignorant shit too! In fact, that’s that one record I love from Jay-Z right now is “Ignorant Shit.” [Laughs]
DX: I don’t think there is an independent artist in Hip Hop who finds more success and support from radio than you do? Besides just good music, how do you prove to do what so many independent artists consider to be the impossible?
FJ: The radio has a lot of success from me. I make the kind of records that girls get involved with; I make the kind of records that people want to hear all day on the radio, so they request them all the time. So my track-record has been pretty great with radio. Of course they play stuff that the people want to hear, and they want to hear the Fat Joe singles. That, and me, I own my own independent label, so I hired my own radio team, which happen to be some of the best people. See, Fat Joe used to put up his own promo stickers and go to jail for putting up his own posters and promote, standing outside clubs, giving out flyers about my records. I did all that; that’s where I come from. So in order for me to hire, anybody on my team has to be able to roll up their sleeves and work. I don’t hire guys who just look nice in fancy suits. I hire the guys who really get the job done.
DX: You’ve got a younger generation really behind you. Have you found that these younger audience are doing the research and buying your first three albums?
FJ: I can’t tell you. I really don’t keep track of that. I hope so. I don’t know. I rather them just likin’ my stuff now, ‘cause I’m so much better now than I’ve ever been.
DX: Doing some research, I realized that all but two of your albums were released in cold weather months in the year. Last year, it was good to hear “Make It Rain” on snowy, messy days in the northeast. Is there a strategy behind this?
FJ: You’re actually right. Boy, you’ve done some good research. [Laughs] I guess that’s just my timetable, my frame of work. I notice that. Yesterday I was doing my album cover artwork and I was wearing a skully and coat on. It’s got that vibe. I’m always a diehard New Yorker, always!
DX: One thing about you is, you’re like the Dick Clark of Hip Hop. I say that respectfully, because despite being a consistent veteran, you look the same and still get new fans. In music and in image, what makes that possible?
FJ: ‘Cause I stay fly! For one, I’m one of the flyest guys as far as dressing. I take a lot of time out to make sure my wardrobe is up to par. I make sure anytime anybody ever sees me, my haircut is right. I take care of myself. As far as being in the streets, I never left the streets. I’m in the streets. I risk my life going to the clubs where no rapper can go. I’m in the hood. I know what the people want. I know what they sayin’ about me. I know what they want to hear. I have never been able to be bougie. No matter what. Tonight [November 29] I’m being honored at a charity event for something I do for kids, and I’m almost fighting the fact that I’ve got to wear a suit. I just…haven’t changed. In my heart, I’m 18 years old. That’s the big thing about it. I still act like an 18-year-old. I get a new gold medallion and feel like, “Oh God, I wanna walk through the whole Bronx with it.” There’s a lot of adolescence to me.
DX: What is the charity with children that you’re being honored for?
FJ: Leave it to Fat Joe to have a gangster charity. [Chuckles] Kids with incarcerated parents, there’s no ways of getting them to visit their parents. We try to generate money to have that family bond. As well as, when it comes Christmas time, these kids’ parents are obviously in jail, so we’ll play Santa Claus for ‘em and stuff like that. They’re honoring me for just helping out.
sursa:HHDX
Fat Joe has named his eighth solo album The Elephant In The Room. The phrase comes from that awareness we all have for something, but aren't talking about. Perhaps with Joey Crack, this could be his deep-rooted role in hardcore Hip Hop.
Few artists who have reached the commercial and celebrity success of Fat Joe have attained his respectability in the field of Hip Hop. Beyond just bringing Big Pun to our ears, Joe has played a role in super-group D.I.T.C., unified coasts at critical times, prompted awareness to veterans, and arguably remained the most consistent star from The Bronx since KRS-One stepped out of the mainstream limelight a decade ago.
With singles like "Make It Rain" and the newly-released "I Won't Tell," Joe's other side is rarely discussed by those who know, and rarely conveyed to those who don't. But as his new album balances the hits with tracks like the DJ Premier-assisted "Thank God For That White," the man who 14 years ago introduced himself as "Fat Joe Da Gangsta," is still true to form. In an exclusive interview with HipHopDX, Fat Joe manages his south-exploiting criticism, talks about his agelessness and blames producers, with a gangster's chuckle, for the "ignorant shit" that he continues to give his hardcore heads. Flow Joe!
HipHopDX: Being a hardcore Hip Hop guy, I wanted to ask you about this track from the new album “Thank God For That White.” What does it feel like, as fellow ‘90s hardcore Hip Hop guys, to work with DJ Premier on a song that’s seemingly about what so many rappers today are talking?
Fat Joe: Premo is…if not the greatest producer of all-time, one of the greatest. He is the definition of Hip Hop. So to work with him, you have no choice but to be honored, and be humbled that he would even do a beat for you. So whenever I team up with Premo, it’s like he’s God. It’s nothing but an honor to rock out with him, so I gotta bring my best to the table.
DX: Tell me what you can about the record itself…
FJ: The record is just that hardcore, corner block slingin’ Hip Hop…that picks up where [Notorious B.I.G.’s] “Kick in the Door” left off.
DX: Some folks have been critical of what they call your catering to the south with the last two albums. As I think about that, I can’t help but remember when you extended a hand to the west in the late ‘90s when that sound was unfavorable in the marketplace. Do you think your pursuits of nationwide sounds are just misunderstood, or is it just musical experimentation?
FJ: What I do is I make music. I like to think of Fat Joe is from New York, but Fat Joe is universal. I make music for kids all over – kids in Oregon, kids in Connecticut. I like to make hit records. First of all, when I drop my singles, they’re always hit records that can play everywhere. The album, I like [to fill] with that shoot-em-up, bang bang; that’s what Fat Joe has always been since day one [with] “Da Fat Gangsta.” I got a big fan-base to please. I gotta make that hit record that the fans know me for, and I gotta make those Premo, those Streetrunner, those LV tracks that just get my core fans riled up. I don’t like to think because I did a “Make it Rain,” which had a bounce with it, meant I was going south. I made a hit record that was relevant for the time. This new single [“I Won’t Tell”] ain’t got nothing to do with the south. Like you said, I did joints with guys in the west coast too. I’m just a universal artist; I don’t like nobody to just put me in a bubble and force me to be one thing. I came in the game to be a superstar and make music for everybody.
DX: You mentioned some names in Streetrunner and LV. Both guys are getting a lot of acclaim right now for work they did this year. Starting back to 1993, you really showed that Diamond and Showbiz could bring artists out, or Scott Storch. You’ve always been ahead of the curve with producers. What’s your process like when artists shop you beats? You gotta be your own A&R…
FJ: I am my own A&R. I have a very good gift, which some of my favorite rappers don’t have, and it’s beat-picking. I got the ear for beautiful beats. I got the ear for working with new and upcoming producers that no one has heard of before they turn into stars. It’s just a gift I got, and I think that’s what’s kept me in the game so long. It’s not only always advancing my skills, lyrically, but just being able to be ahead of the curve in knowing what hot beats are.
DX: Dr. Dre always plays his beats in his car. When you get these beats, any special practice you do?
FJ: I listen to beats…it can be from somebody as big as Scott Storch or somebody little, and I listen to the beats, and if I hear [something] that I love, it starts talking to me and telling me what to say. It literally starts telling me what to say. So blame it on the beat if I killed kids on record, or “Thank God For That White”… if Premo comes and gives me a “Kick In The Door,” am I supposed to rhyme about Gospel? The beat is telling me what to say. Blame the producers!
DX: I’m not on that Imus tip… [Laughs]
FJ: [Laughs] Yeah, I know, blame the producers for giving me that crack cocaine.
DX: Hey, I love the ignorant shit.
FJ: I love the ignorant shit too! In fact, that’s that one record I love from Jay-Z right now is “Ignorant Shit.” [Laughs]
DX: I don’t think there is an independent artist in Hip Hop who finds more success and support from radio than you do? Besides just good music, how do you prove to do what so many independent artists consider to be the impossible?
FJ: The radio has a lot of success from me. I make the kind of records that girls get involved with; I make the kind of records that people want to hear all day on the radio, so they request them all the time. So my track-record has been pretty great with radio. Of course they play stuff that the people want to hear, and they want to hear the Fat Joe singles. That, and me, I own my own independent label, so I hired my own radio team, which happen to be some of the best people. See, Fat Joe used to put up his own promo stickers and go to jail for putting up his own posters and promote, standing outside clubs, giving out flyers about my records. I did all that; that’s where I come from. So in order for me to hire, anybody on my team has to be able to roll up their sleeves and work. I don’t hire guys who just look nice in fancy suits. I hire the guys who really get the job done.
DX: You’ve got a younger generation really behind you. Have you found that these younger audience are doing the research and buying your first three albums?
FJ: I can’t tell you. I really don’t keep track of that. I hope so. I don’t know. I rather them just likin’ my stuff now, ‘cause I’m so much better now than I’ve ever been.
DX: Doing some research, I realized that all but two of your albums were released in cold weather months in the year. Last year, it was good to hear “Make It Rain” on snowy, messy days in the northeast. Is there a strategy behind this?
FJ: You’re actually right. Boy, you’ve done some good research. [Laughs] I guess that’s just my timetable, my frame of work. I notice that. Yesterday I was doing my album cover artwork and I was wearing a skully and coat on. It’s got that vibe. I’m always a diehard New Yorker, always!
DX: One thing about you is, you’re like the Dick Clark of Hip Hop. I say that respectfully, because despite being a consistent veteran, you look the same and still get new fans. In music and in image, what makes that possible?
FJ: ‘Cause I stay fly! For one, I’m one of the flyest guys as far as dressing. I take a lot of time out to make sure my wardrobe is up to par. I make sure anytime anybody ever sees me, my haircut is right. I take care of myself. As far as being in the streets, I never left the streets. I’m in the streets. I risk my life going to the clubs where no rapper can go. I’m in the hood. I know what the people want. I know what they sayin’ about me. I know what they want to hear. I have never been able to be bougie. No matter what. Tonight [November 29] I’m being honored at a charity event for something I do for kids, and I’m almost fighting the fact that I’ve got to wear a suit. I just…haven’t changed. In my heart, I’m 18 years old. That’s the big thing about it. I still act like an 18-year-old. I get a new gold medallion and feel like, “Oh God, I wanna walk through the whole Bronx with it.” There’s a lot of adolescence to me.
DX: What is the charity with children that you’re being honored for?
FJ: Leave it to Fat Joe to have a gangster charity. [Chuckles] Kids with incarcerated parents, there’s no ways of getting them to visit their parents. We try to generate money to have that family bond. As well as, when it comes Christmas time, these kids’ parents are obviously in jail, so we’ll play Santa Claus for ‘em and stuff like that. They’re honoring me for just helping out.
sursa:HHDX
By Martin A. Berrios
Method Man goes in on his acting, cartoons and smart dumb cats who read rumors. As for Wu-Tang; we tried.
As a founding member of the legendary Wu Tang Clan, Method Man was originally considered the stand out star of the nine man crew. His break out hit “M.E.T.H.O.D. Man” from their classic Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) debut instantly put him under the Hip-Hop spotlight. He would go on to be a credible solo artist in his own right; garnering a couple of plaques for the work he put in. Now fast-forward to the present and the landscape has changed for Meth.
Mr. Tical’s last two albums, Tical 0: The Prequel and 4:21…The Day After, went under the radar receiving little fanfare. Furthermore there is an apparent disruption in the Clan with some of the members crying foul about the group’s current creative direction. Still, Hot Nicks pushes on as his verses on 8 Diagrams and Ghostface’s The Big Doe Rehab suggest despite his Hollywood hustle, his rap darts still reach their mark. Ironically, in this game where your words are your livelihood, Method Man had very little to share with regards to the WTC n. But his choice words still weigh a ton.
AllHipHop.com: Tell us about your recent role in Law & Order.
Method Man: In the Law & Order episode I play a street thug and basically he beats someone to death in front of everybody in the neighborhood. He’s sitting back on the fact that you know snitches get stitches, and don’t snitch and all of that. Somebody actually steps up and says they witnessed it and they’re going to testify against them. So what they do is kill his wife. The cops go to investigate and find out he’s a polygamist and he has more than one wife and he gets arrested. So the neighborhood is like, S**t, if we do tell we go to jail and if we don’t…it’s basically about snitching and the people that snitch and s**t like that. It’s like you can’t trust the cops and you can’t trust the n***as you snitching on.
AllHipHop.com: Speaking of the snitching controversy, where do you stand on that?
Method Man: I'd rather leave that alone man. I got no comment on that.
AllHipHop.com: Okay, let’s bring things up to speed. What are your feelings on the new Wu-Tang Clan album 8 Diagrams?
Method Man: I don’t have anything to say about that either. No comment.
AllHipHop.com: From listening to 8 Diagrams and The Big Doe Rehab it seems like you have a newfound hunger. You really went in on those tracks.
Method Man: I’ve always been like that. People never took the time out to listen. Being an artist you go to do different things, you go to grow. I felt like my audience is basically trying to stagnate my growth. Because all of my new stuff that I was trying was just that, new stuff, I couldn’t stay in the same era that I was in. I was growing. There were so many different things that I wanted to try. Some people stuck with me, other people it is what it is. The people that stuck with me, it’s no surprise to them. People in the industry dramatize things like I’m hungry now, no I’ve been eating well for a while now.
AllHipHop.com: There are rumors that Raekwon is putting together a project called Shaolin vs. Wu Tang. In his displeasure of the production on 8 Diagrams, this will feature Wu-Tang but with no RZA production. Any comment on that?
Method Man: You won’t get me to talk about that either. That’s all Raekwon right there; you got to talk to him about that. No comment.
AllHipHop.com: Another thing that has come to light is that some of the members have had issues with the finances within the group. Have you ever experienced any of that?
Method Man: No comment. Let’s talk about something else dude.
AllHipHop.com: Sure. Let’s take it back to Hollywood. What else you got going on the big screen?
Method Man: I got a movie called The Wackness that just got picked up by the Sundance Movie Festival. It’s a movie starring Josh Peck, Ben Kingsley, and Mary Kate Olson is in it too. She has a kissing scene with Ben Kingsley, so they making a big deal out of that. But the movie is basically a coming of age flick where dude is graduating from High School and he’s having all these problems at home. He’s seeing a psychiatrist who is also one of his customers because he sells weed. Ben Kingsley is his psychiatrist is a f***ing drug addict. I’m the dude’s supplier. So I play a Jamaican weed dealer. It’s pretty cool, I think I’m going to surprise a lot of people.
AllHipHop.com: Almost all your roles depict you as a street thug or as a pothead. Don’t you worry about being pigeonholed in those stereotypical roles?
Method Man: I don’t care about that s**t. I just don’t want to be pigeonholed into the comedy s**t because they tried to keep me in that for a while. Luckily I got a good agent who’s gotten me in The Wire, The Corner, OZ; looking out for me and trying to get me these drama roles. So now I got a chance to show my range and basically show people I go beyond rapping. I think I’m pretty good at it but I have a lot to learn. When I can walk on the set and rewrite a scene, then I’m on. That’s what dudes like Deniro do. They get scripts and can just demand rewrites. I also got a comedy called Meet The Spartans coming out in February I believe. It’s done by the same people who did Date Movie.
AllHipHop.com: So will you be leaning on doing more acting rather than rapping in 2008?
Method Man: I’m just going wherever the wind blows. If I need to be in the studio then I’m going to the studio, if I get these calls for movies then I’m going there. Like I didn’t audition for Law & Order, not that I don’t like the show, it’s a great show. It’s just that Ludacris is on that show and I’m not trying to follow behind any other Rap dudes like that. But these people called and requested me.
AllHipHop.com: In your opinion what’s the best show on TV?
Method Man: I would say the The Wire but that doesn’t come back on until next year. The best show on TV is Family Guy. That sh*t is funny as hell. They off the wall and they f**k with everybody; South Park still my s**t too, though. Butters is my favorite character on South Park. Butters - Doctor Chaos. I got to give ya’ll compliments on the site. AllHipHop.com stays on top of the grizzly man but ya’ll put a lot of hack s**t up there too.
AllHipHop.com: What do you mean?
Method Man: Ya’ll be on some bulls**t sometimes.
AllHipHop.com: Well this is your chance to speak your mind. Air it out.
Method Man: Like some people be putting up half truths and s**t like that. That’s hack s**t right there son.
AllHipHop.com: Are you referring to Illseed’s rumor section?
Method Man: Yeah, that’s hack s**t right there for real. That be f***ing with people’s lives. Ya’ll should put up a disclaimer on there. Because there are more dumb people than smart people in this world and they take that s**t as a gospel. But I’m giving ya’ll a compliment on your site, ya’ll do ya’ll thing and I like your site.
AllHipHop.com: Thank you. Anything else on your mind?
Method Man: Nah, I’m good son.
http://allhiphop.com/stories/features/a ... 94791.aspx
Method Man goes in on his acting, cartoons and smart dumb cats who read rumors. As for Wu-Tang; we tried.
As a founding member of the legendary Wu Tang Clan, Method Man was originally considered the stand out star of the nine man crew. His break out hit “M.E.T.H.O.D. Man” from their classic Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) debut instantly put him under the Hip-Hop spotlight. He would go on to be a credible solo artist in his own right; garnering a couple of plaques for the work he put in. Now fast-forward to the present and the landscape has changed for Meth.
Mr. Tical’s last two albums, Tical 0: The Prequel and 4:21…The Day After, went under the radar receiving little fanfare. Furthermore there is an apparent disruption in the Clan with some of the members crying foul about the group’s current creative direction. Still, Hot Nicks pushes on as his verses on 8 Diagrams and Ghostface’s The Big Doe Rehab suggest despite his Hollywood hustle, his rap darts still reach their mark. Ironically, in this game where your words are your livelihood, Method Man had very little to share with regards to the WTC n. But his choice words still weigh a ton.
AllHipHop.com: Tell us about your recent role in Law & Order.
Method Man: In the Law & Order episode I play a street thug and basically he beats someone to death in front of everybody in the neighborhood. He’s sitting back on the fact that you know snitches get stitches, and don’t snitch and all of that. Somebody actually steps up and says they witnessed it and they’re going to testify against them. So what they do is kill his wife. The cops go to investigate and find out he’s a polygamist and he has more than one wife and he gets arrested. So the neighborhood is like, S**t, if we do tell we go to jail and if we don’t…it’s basically about snitching and the people that snitch and s**t like that. It’s like you can’t trust the cops and you can’t trust the n***as you snitching on.
AllHipHop.com: Speaking of the snitching controversy, where do you stand on that?
Method Man: I'd rather leave that alone man. I got no comment on that.
AllHipHop.com: Okay, let’s bring things up to speed. What are your feelings on the new Wu-Tang Clan album 8 Diagrams?
Method Man: I don’t have anything to say about that either. No comment.
AllHipHop.com: From listening to 8 Diagrams and The Big Doe Rehab it seems like you have a newfound hunger. You really went in on those tracks.
Method Man: I’ve always been like that. People never took the time out to listen. Being an artist you go to do different things, you go to grow. I felt like my audience is basically trying to stagnate my growth. Because all of my new stuff that I was trying was just that, new stuff, I couldn’t stay in the same era that I was in. I was growing. There were so many different things that I wanted to try. Some people stuck with me, other people it is what it is. The people that stuck with me, it’s no surprise to them. People in the industry dramatize things like I’m hungry now, no I’ve been eating well for a while now.
AllHipHop.com: There are rumors that Raekwon is putting together a project called Shaolin vs. Wu Tang. In his displeasure of the production on 8 Diagrams, this will feature Wu-Tang but with no RZA production. Any comment on that?
Method Man: You won’t get me to talk about that either. That’s all Raekwon right there; you got to talk to him about that. No comment.
AllHipHop.com: Another thing that has come to light is that some of the members have had issues with the finances within the group. Have you ever experienced any of that?
Method Man: No comment. Let’s talk about something else dude.
AllHipHop.com: Sure. Let’s take it back to Hollywood. What else you got going on the big screen?
Method Man: I got a movie called The Wackness that just got picked up by the Sundance Movie Festival. It’s a movie starring Josh Peck, Ben Kingsley, and Mary Kate Olson is in it too. She has a kissing scene with Ben Kingsley, so they making a big deal out of that. But the movie is basically a coming of age flick where dude is graduating from High School and he’s having all these problems at home. He’s seeing a psychiatrist who is also one of his customers because he sells weed. Ben Kingsley is his psychiatrist is a f***ing drug addict. I’m the dude’s supplier. So I play a Jamaican weed dealer. It’s pretty cool, I think I’m going to surprise a lot of people.
AllHipHop.com: Almost all your roles depict you as a street thug or as a pothead. Don’t you worry about being pigeonholed in those stereotypical roles?
Method Man: I don’t care about that s**t. I just don’t want to be pigeonholed into the comedy s**t because they tried to keep me in that for a while. Luckily I got a good agent who’s gotten me in The Wire, The Corner, OZ; looking out for me and trying to get me these drama roles. So now I got a chance to show my range and basically show people I go beyond rapping. I think I’m pretty good at it but I have a lot to learn. When I can walk on the set and rewrite a scene, then I’m on. That’s what dudes like Deniro do. They get scripts and can just demand rewrites. I also got a comedy called Meet The Spartans coming out in February I believe. It’s done by the same people who did Date Movie.
AllHipHop.com: So will you be leaning on doing more acting rather than rapping in 2008?
Method Man: I’m just going wherever the wind blows. If I need to be in the studio then I’m going to the studio, if I get these calls for movies then I’m going there. Like I didn’t audition for Law & Order, not that I don’t like the show, it’s a great show. It’s just that Ludacris is on that show and I’m not trying to follow behind any other Rap dudes like that. But these people called and requested me.
AllHipHop.com: In your opinion what’s the best show on TV?
Method Man: I would say the The Wire but that doesn’t come back on until next year. The best show on TV is Family Guy. That sh*t is funny as hell. They off the wall and they f**k with everybody; South Park still my s**t too, though. Butters is my favorite character on South Park. Butters - Doctor Chaos. I got to give ya’ll compliments on the site. AllHipHop.com stays on top of the grizzly man but ya’ll put a lot of hack s**t up there too.
AllHipHop.com: What do you mean?
Method Man: Ya’ll be on some bulls**t sometimes.
AllHipHop.com: Well this is your chance to speak your mind. Air it out.
Method Man: Like some people be putting up half truths and s**t like that. That’s hack s**t right there son.
AllHipHop.com: Are you referring to Illseed’s rumor section?
Method Man: Yeah, that’s hack s**t right there for real. That be f***ing with people’s lives. Ya’ll should put up a disclaimer on there. Because there are more dumb people than smart people in this world and they take that s**t as a gospel. But I’m giving ya’ll a compliment on your site, ya’ll do ya’ll thing and I like your site.
AllHipHop.com: Thank you. Anything else on your mind?
Method Man: Nah, I’m good son.
http://allhiphop.com/stories/features/a ... 94791.aspx