Rock & Roll fans dream to be in Led Zeppelin. Baseball proteges fantasize of wearing Yankee pin stripes. But in hip-hop, no allegiance and commradry could possibly mean more than being down with the Legendary Rocksteady Crew. Crazy Legs has been down for over twenty-five live. He is the authority on hip-hop footwork and the strongest namesake in the b-boy story. Legs is older and wiser than the dimple faced kid we saw in flims like "Style Wars" and "Flashdance." But like his agile footwork, Crazy Legs can still amaze you with his take on hip-hop, his specific element, and his place amidst it all. Allhiphop sits down with a living legend, with nothing more to promote than the culture and a way of life. AllHipHop.com: As one of the few active hip-hop heads who’s been known since before 1980, do you find there to be an unwritten age cap in hip-hop? Crazy Legs: Nah. I mean commercially, there is. But I think when it comes to your skills, the only element with an age cap is breaking. You can’t confront your body all your life. You get injuries. You gotta pay dues. At the same time, the dues that you pay with dancing, don’t necessarily manifest into money. But they definitely can turn into injuries. It’s kind of like boxing. After you finish brawling, you learn to become a boxer. And after you box so long, and you get to that age, you learn to finesse it in your golden years. You don’t fight as much. You’re probably not even as hungry to fight, but the fire’s burning you know. AllHipHop: So as the dancer, how do you stay hungry? CL: I think I’m probably a lot more hungry to dance than my body is willing to. In terms of being involved in the game for this long, it’s just about b-boying to me, but hip-hop as a whole. I still support the dance. When I throw Rocksteady Anniversaries, I involve all elements. Throughout the years, I [have been] supportive of all types of events. When I do things, I like to incorporate them. AllHipHop: In terms of injuries, what was the most balled-up you ever got? CL: I don’t know. You have different injuries. Like right now, I have two herniated discs in my neck. I got surgery on my left knee. Surgery on my left thumb, my left toe, my left elbow. I pulled my groin muscles, my back muscles, my rib cage. I’ve pulled muscles in my arm pits. I’ve done a lot of damage to my body. S###, maybe I should’ve been a football player. AllHipHop: Is there a particular record in all of hip-hop and outside that absolutely makes you go bananas on the floor? CL: I would say" Give It Up Or Turn It Loose" by James Brown. AllHipHop: Was that a record that you had growing up too? CL: I mean, I grew up on a lot of James Brown music. I grew up on a lot of music done by other cats. For instance Babe Ruth, Sly, there’s just so many artists out there. James Brown’s music has had the biggest influence on my life. AllHipHop: The Anniversary puts Rocksteady’s name up on a lot. But how does the weekend benefit the whole crew? CL: Rocksteady’s still out there! It means that hip-hop still has legs. The legs of hip-hop are very strong if you choose to keep working at it. In terms of the essence and maintaining the foundation of [hip-hop] and not losing sight of what hip-hop can represent in terms of being a political movement, a self-sufficient financial [institution], a way to get in touch with your culture as well as be introduced to other cultures. You have everyone at these functions bridging gaps and creating opportunities for each other. AllHipHop: Breaking seems like it’s growing popularity in the suburbs and at parties as almost a novelty. Regardless of location of what have you, how does it sit with you that a lot of heads are taking this culture lightly? CL: I tell you right now, for all those people that are faking it. You should just admire it and not even try to understand it. Some people just won’t get it. There are people to that love hip-hop. They don’t have to have to fake the funk as a thug, there are just certain things that are obvious that they don’t come from that sort of upbringing or cultural background. It just comes across as trying real hard. Just chill, have fun. If you don’t know the words, hum along. AllHipHop: Even today, you got a flare, but you keep your ego in check. What’s held you back from ego trippin’? CL: I think the most important thing to a leader of any crew is to be open to criticism even if you don’t like it. Just take it and just continue to work on the attitude. It’s a crew thing. There’s times where I say bugged things and do stupid s### that’s just p##### off the crew. We may argue. But the thing I appreciate the most is when somebody takes me aside and says,"Yo, we gotta point this out to you." The day that I opened the door to that, things got a lot better for Rocksteady as a family. AllHipHop: Is it rare in hip-hop for modern MC’s and producers to make break-friendly music these days? CL: Hmmm. There are bands like Breakestra and Butter and other bands coming out. I think we need to depend on them more than Rap artists. The days of MC’s dropping those joints in the late eighties like Eric B & Rakim, those days are pretty much gone, man. There are few records you can catch wreck too. Oner or two pop up every now and then. AllHipHop: Historically, the New York city administrators, particularly the mayors weren’t always supportive of hip-hop. With events like the Anniversary, has […]

Three years ago, the Spooks sprinkled the music scene and with their jazzy, hip hop single “Things I’ve Seen,” and since than the group has seen major success in Europe while they remain a talented mystery hear in the US. They’ve also lost one member, but gained a taste for more tangible lyrics. With their first album in the last three years on the horizon, the Spooks’ Mr. Booka T spoke to Allhiphop about the frustrations that come with not fitting the norm, the publicity boost they got from Laurence Fishburne, and realizing that you cannot feed babies steak. Allhiphop: What ya’ll been up to the last three years? Spooks: A lot, changing labels, building our studio and just perfecting our craft? Allhiphop: What does perfecting your craft entail, what do you mean by that? Spooks: Learning to engineer, we wanted to learn, in terms of recording our album ourselves, we wanted to learn how to mix and do a little mastering as well as getting better with our production game, we produced more on this album than we did on the first…And we been trying to put some money in our pocket. AllHipHop: For those who don’t know, how did the Spooks get together? Spooks: We got together in 1995, I (Mr. Booka T) went to college with Ming at the School of Visual Arts and grew up with Joe Davis in Philly and Hypno we met through a mutual friend. We use to get together and do freestyle ciphers and rhyming and s### like that back in Philly. People starting saying we sound cool together and saying we should get together and do some jams. At the time I (Mr. Booka T) was in a group with Joe Davis and Ming and Hypno was solo. Ming was only suppose to be on two of the songs as a guest vocalist, but once we did those two songs, it was obvious to everyone that she should stay. And then those two songs turned into three songs, then ten songs and then we did a demo and we became The Spooks. We got the name from this novel by Sam Greenlee called "The S#### Who Sat By The Door." It’s about this guy who infiltrates the CIA to learn everything that he could about different spy tactics and gurella warfare and takes that knowledge back to the gangs of Chicago and prepares them for a revolution that he felt was coming and eventually it did happen. And in a way that how we felt about trying to get into the music industry cause it was difficult because ours sound was “alternative” to a lot of people so a lot of labels didn’t really gives us a shot. So we figured we’ll produce the album and still get in the door and push our agenda and not necessarily change up and make the people come around to us, and not come around to what was going on in the mainstream at that time, so we felt that our plight was kinda similar to the main character in the novel, so we just called ourselves Spooks. Allhiphop: Have there been any line up changes? Mr. Booka T: Yeah there was one line up change, the member Water is no longer with us…yeah he’s doing like a solo project. Allhiphop: Are there any hard feelings? Mr. Booka T: Nah, we still cool he’s still fam, he just working on his joint. When it comes to Spooks, we have a certain vibe to the sound which is made up of everyone’s ideas and input…but what Water wanted to do was totally different from what we usually do…he wanted to go on a totally different path and he felt that the best way for him to express himself in that way was to work on a solo, and we were like cool. Just like we have another project we’re working on called “Tongue Is this right,” which myself (Booka T), Ming and Hypno so that’s another project we’re working on. We’re also scoring a Broadway play, we can’t tell you the name of the play just yet, but it’ gona be cool.

Allhiphop: Your first album got a little publicity from Laurence Fishburne, talk about that? Mr. Booka T: The people from our first label, Artemis, were in touch with Laurence Fishburne, and the people from our label brought him the demo and he actually liked a few of the songs and it kinda took off from there, he loved the song “Things I’ve Seen,” and so he used it for his directorial debut, Once In The Life, and o when we did the video, we asked if he could come and do a guest appearance and he did. And after that he started passing the album to all his actor friends, so we would be performing places and we’d see cast members from OZ. We stayed in contact with a friend of his named Barry Cole and that’s how we did the Disappearing Acts Soundtrack and the “O” Soundtrack, it’s also out connection with Laurence that we’re doing this Broadway play. Allhiphop: Your first single “Things I’ve Seen,” was like the number one played single in Europe in 2001, is it disheartening to be more successful in Europe than here? Mr. Booka T: For some of us it is and for some of us it isn’t. For me (Booka T), I appreciate all the love we get over there but sometimes it’s a shame that people determine how hot you are as a band by how much promotion your record company puts behind you. Overseas we were promoted properly and we were on even playing field with a lot of other bands that were out, but over here, Artemis was independent and we didn’t get a lot of promotion and different things. That can be bothersome when that the only thing that stops a good album or song from being heard. Before being a recording artist, I’m just an artist, and I make music because I want people to enjoy it and people to hear it. So when you have an album that’s been our for three months and people walk up to you and ask you ‘yo, when your album coming out,’ it’s like damn. Truthfully, I’m (Ming) just glad we have our music out anywhere and that people actually like it and that we have a fan base and get to travel. Of course you always want to blow up at home first and then venture out, but I really can’t be mad if it happens the opposite way, plus it gives us a reason to get on a plane. In the end it’s just about people who love your music and want to watch you perform and support you and wherever that is I’m there. Allhiphop: Why do you guys think you were more successful in Europe, do you think its your sound or do you think it relates to some decisions the record label made? Mr. Booka T: From what I’ve experienced in Europe, it’s different over there with TV and their programming and their radio, like over here things kind of have their own station or their own pockets, like nothings really cross referenced, you won’t hear hip hop next to modern rock on the same station, it’s either hip hop or rock. Whereas in Europe it’s mixed up more, and because of that, it sort of allows people a broader perspective and open mindedness to something that may not have that mainstream sound…I (Booka T) don’t think that we were playing on an even playing field in some cases. We toured with a lot of people, like Busta and Common, a lot of times nobody even knew we had an album out cause we didn’t have ads in all the magazines. A lot of programmers were like, we don’t know were you guys fit, I was like just fit us in anywhere else that you play The Roots, or you would play Common, or Les Nubian. Allhiphop: Do you think any of those things have changed? Mr. Booka T: I don’t know, I hope so. I think the albums hot. I think this album will reach more people than maybe the first album did. Allhiphop: What can we expect on the new album? Mr. Booka T: The difference between this album as compared to S.I.O.S.O.S. is that we have some featured artist, we have Chali 2na from Jurassic 5 on the lead single “Faster Than You Know,” and we have Lady Alma, who is like a Black Lily legend in Philly, she like the queen of neo soul, pre Jill Scott, she’s actually Jaguar Wrights cousin. We have an underground group from Philly called POG. We got Evil Dee on a cut, a Philly and Brooklyn collaboration type thing. We got these hot producers called Pitch Black, they’ve produced everyone from Musiq to Blu Cantrell. I think this album is a bit more down to earth in some aspects. We talk about a lot of everyday things. We have a song called “Deadbeat,” it’s a song about deadbeat fathers and that unfortunate situation that is pretty prevalent, but it’s cool because it’s done to a real upbeat kind of trip-hoppy beat, it’s a really important topic, and hopefully a lot of people will peep the words and learn a lesson from it. We making em dance with songs like “Crazy,” which was produced by Super Dave West. Allhiphop: Lyrically, the album feels a little different than the last one, did you guys work on your lyrics in the past three years? Mr. Booka T: When we wrote the first album, we were just more concerned about flow, we were just all over the place, on one song we might have like 10 different flows by one person, and the lyrics were a lot more abstract cause we were in our own world like ‘we’re in the S#### world and we just like making music for the sake of making music and who gives a damn if anyone understands what’s going on.’ But with this album […]

To compete for a championship, you gotta assemble a team that has the perfect balance between superstar, experienced veterans, rookies, and free agent pick-ups. Dame Dash, Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella have been getting their GM duties on by constructing super group State Property. And with a franchise player in place in Beanie Sigel, and Freeway approaching perennial All-Star status with the success of his debut album, Philadelphia Freewayit’s time to develop the young scrappers, and for the off-season—or in this case, between album—signee to show and prove. With the Young Gunz scoring a hit with the success of their anachronistic sounding, “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop,” State P is still in the game, despite star player Sigel on the bench facing federal gun charges and a separate attempted murder charge. Prepped with their game faces, the Philly five of Chris & Neef, Oschino & Sparks and Peedi Crakk are poised to show Chain Gang Vol. II is proof that the team has their sights set on more than just the Eastern Conference. With improved role players, they are trying to do what the ’01 Sixers couldn’t do: win it all. AllHipHop: Why the decision to not put out the movie and album at the same time, like how y’all did before? Freeway: Cause the streets needed the album. State Property is just so hot that they was just calling for it and we had to do it, you know? AllHipHop: Can you explain the difference between the two State Property albums? Freeway: On the State Property 2 album, we actually took the time and sat down, and put songs together. On the State Property 1 album, it was just like a bunch of songs that we was doing and then put it together. It wasn’t really planned out or nothing. They was just like, we gon’ do a State Property album. AllHipHop: I’m in the Philly area right now and “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop” is getting’ crazy play here. What’s it like on tour, are the other spots feelin’ it? Are they open to it? Neef: Hell yeah! If you look at BDS we ain’t just getting spins in Philly. In some places they didn’t even know the song, they just rocking with us, you know what I’m saying? It’s just catching on to them. But, most cities we was killin’ it. We tore everything down. AllHipHop: Your track kind of sounds old school with the beat. Neef: It’s new school on the old school. AllHipHop: Word, and is that what y’all was trying to do? Neef: Yeah, like we ain’t…we just knock out songs. We do songs. We don’t think one is hotter than the next one, you know what I’m saying? We just knock them out and it just became a hit. We just threw it out on a mixtape, The Youngest in Charge. We did our own mixtapes, DJ Enuff hosted them, and we just put it out on there and like, mufuckas just started playing that s### by they self. These DJ’s started playing it by they self without it being out. And then they had to put it out there, they had to vinyl it up and get it out there, with no choice, because it was getting’ hot. And once we started getting 500 spins they had to shoot the video. AllHipHop: And how do you feel about that new Joe Budden track (“Fire”) that is out? Cause your hooks is similar. Chris: That’s crazy; I don’t know what’s up with that. I don’t know if he heard it, and went and did his, or if he had it in the cut, I don’t know? It’s all good. AllHipHop: How long ago did you record “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop”? Chris: A couple of months ago. We heard the beat and then we put it out on our mixtape, then n##### followed up on it. We put it out first. AllHipHop: Who laced the beat? Chris: A guy named Digga, from up N-Y. I heard he had an attitude when we put it out. AllHipHop: Word? Chris: Then when they started spinning it, and they got that change right—it was all good. AllHipHop: Are you gonna go out and tour for State Property 2? Chris: We going right back out. Sparks: Oh fa’ sho’, in fact we are on a radio tour. It’s gonna be crazy. AllHipHop: Peedi, are you looking forward to anything being different on tour now that your face is in videos and magazines? Peedi Crakk: More people listening, more ears. Cause that’s the main thing to me, to be heard. All of the fame and s###, that come with it, the money come with it, you know what I mean? But I like for my music to get heard, especially when people appreciate it, and people know the words to my rap. I love that; I get my kick out of that. AllHipHop: Your flow is real unique, people are describing it as sing-song, how’d you start rhyming like that? Peedi Crakk: The flow? I don’t want to say I don’t know. I use to spit fast as s### when I was a young boy. I use to spit fast like Fu-Schnickens and like Das EFX, and all that s###, I use to rap like that when I was like 13. It stems from that. My spit game is fluid, like I can take it anywhere. But, I’m not really a slow-flow type dude. I’m not into the slow flow; I like to keep it moving. AllHipHop: I also wanted to ask, on “The Come Up Show” on Power 99(Philadelphia), Q-Deezy (radio personality) said that the Young Gunz came up with the whisper-style rap that Jay-Z uses, is there any truth to that? Neef: Nah, we all get stuff from each other; we get stuff from him and he gets stuff from us, he pick up slang from us. We from different places, he from New York and we from Philly, so we […]

Since 1991 only one white rapper has sold more than one million copies of a single album. In the past 12 years (post Vanilla Ice) only one white rapper has attained platinum status: Eminem. For all of you out there that subscribe to the theory that white artists in hip-hop are rapidly gaining control of the culture due to their ability to be more commercially viable to the white masses than their black and brown counterparts, you might be surprised to know that for the one Eminem commercial breakthrough, there has been a seemingly endless list of Caucasian artists who have never even surpassed 100,000 copies of a single album sold (El-P, Non-Phixion, Cage, Copywrite, and Haystak, just to name a few). In the late-90’s (pre Slim Shady LP) Bubba Sparxxx too was one of those white MC’s trying desperately to be heard. After the first version of his debut album, Dark Days, Bright Nights was released independently, Bubba’s album landed in the hands of white rapper guarantor and Interscope Records CEO, Jimmy Iovine. The man who discovered Eminem (kinda sorta) decided to pass the Southern spitter’s album to super producer Timbaland. Due to an industry that believes white MCs have to be "shepherded" into the game by black producers and artists to somehow pacify typical wary receptions by the hip-hop community, Jimmy knew Bubba would need to be paired with Timbaland, much in the same way Eminem was paired with Dre, to attempt to ward off the whispers of ineptness that are seemingly ever-present around any melanin deficient MC. Fortunately for LaGrange, Georgia’s most famous MC the hook-up with Timbaland could not have been a better (and more natural) union, as Bubba was made the charter artist of Timbo’s Beat Club Records in 2001. The label re-released Bubba’s indie disc with some fresh new Tim concoctions, and faster than you could say "Ugly," Bubba had himself a gold plaque. Now the founder (that’s right founder) of the New South Movement is gearing up for the September release of his sophomore album, Deliverance, an album who’s objective is best summed up by Bubba on one of the new set’s selections, "Nowhere:" "It all comes down to this, one last chance to advance / beyond the second round of the big dance / all my plans / of being viewed as something special, more than just the other one" Allhiphop.com: So what can our readers expect to hear when they pop Deliverance into their stereos? Bubba Sparxxx: It’s just a real, real, real, real, thoroughly, thoroughly, thoroughly painted picture of rural life, and particularly Bubba Sparxxx’ rural life, what my life was like growing up, what it’s like now, and what ultimately I hope it can be in the future. Allhiphop: I noticed there’s not really a club banger like “Ugly” on this album, so what’s the game plan to draw people to Deliverance? Bubba Sparxxx: I can’t really say that I set out to not make another song like “Ugly,” but as we went along we realized we just weren’t making those kind of records. I think maybe I was a little p##### off this time, ‘cause I knew how much more I was than what some people perceived me as. So I had a little chip on my shoulder when I went back into the studio. I went back in there with some purpose, Timbaland went back in there with some purpose, Organized Noize went in there with some purpose, and so this album happens to have a more serious, less club-happy tone, that’s just what it is. T-Mo from the Goodie Mob said on Goodie Mob’s first album, “taking what I say for what it’s worth, it don’t matter ‘cause how I feel might be two different thoughts I had in the past.” So I might feel on the next album, I might work with Lil’ Jon on half the album. Allhiphop: Do you think this more serious tone is gonna prevent some people from gravitating towards the album, harder to get those sales? Bubba Sparxxx: Man one thing I learned, I had about as big a club song as you can have and I went Gold, in between Gold and Platinum. I was just determined to have substance this time, that’s originally the music I set out to make. And at the end of the day, if this album don’t sell one copy, and that’s not to say I don’t hope it sells 50 million, but if it don’t sell one copy I can lay my head down on that pillow at night and go to sleep with ease ‘cause I made my music. That’s a great feeling, that’s the feeling of freedom. Allhiphop: I have an advance copy of the album, but a lot of people have already heard the whole record via the online leak. Are you planning to record any new songs for the retail version of Deliverance? Bubba Sparxxx: Initially I wanted to when I heard it had been leaked, but as time’s gone on I’ve just bumped into so many people on this promo tour who say they’ve heard the whole album and say “we had this perception of you but now that we hearing the album we love this sh*t.” At least people who are getting it are loving it. Allhiphop: You may just want to keep the album the way it is because in the September ’03 issue of XXL they nearly pronounced Deliverance a classic. So how did it feel to read that? Bubba Sparxxx: Based on the words they wanted to give that album a XXL, but they knew there would be a backlash. But I’m still appreciative; it’s still a great review. Allhiphop: So how does it feel to have the critical love this time that maybe you didn’t have the first time? Bubba Sparxxx: It’s something that I enjoy obviously, and honestly I wish that The Source was a little less biased at this point ‘cause […]