It is probably hard for rappers today to fully grasp the concept of movement, but Bad Boy Records was an unstoppable force throughout the 90s into the 2000s. G. Dep, Mase, Loon, Black Rob, Faith, The Lox, and later others like Yung Joe, 8Ball & MJG and Cassie kept the legacy going despite the absence of the late Notorious One.
G. Dep and Black Rob were on the frontlines. The streets respected them for their roots deep in the New York soil as well as their ability to make fun music for all. How things have changed. Mase and Diddy are at olds in a major way. Black Rob has gone on to the ancestors. Faith is the consummate queen, whose crown needs straightening from time to time. Loon has gone to jail and emerged a community activist. The Lox remain the heart of New York and have matured into successful business men.
Dep has evolved greatly behind the walls of Fishkill Correctional Facility, but he has keeps his ears on the pulse of what is going on in the world. Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur and Dep talk about all of this including whether or not he will return to the game of rap.
AllHipHop: Yeah, no, I feel you. Do you keep up with music at all? Are you up on how things have changed?
G. Dep: Yeah, definitely, man, I definitely try to keep my ear to the Hip-Hop street, you know what I’m saying? We got the kiosk in here. We got the kiosk, so we got tablets in here, right. I know you know that, right?
AllHipHop: I do know that now. I mean, I get texts from people in prison. I get just about everything. Instagram and all.
G. Dep: Definitely. They got this thing in here called the kiosk, and we keep me going there. All the latest music is on there, you know what I’m saying? There’s still stuff that’s not on there. But for the most part, mostly everything new is on there. So I keep abreast of it that way.
I listen to the radio. I’m a little closer to New York, so sometimes certain radios could get Hot 97, stuff like that. It’s up to the individual though. If you want to stay in tune with what’s going on in Hip-Hop, you can, you know what I’m saying? It’s not really in your face like it would be if you were in the free world. But if you look for certain things, you definitely could stay abreast.
I actually try to stay up to what’s going on as far as the sound, what’s what, who’s who, stuff like that. I know I’m probably behind, but his is still a Hip-Hop culture. So dudes in here, we chop it up about who’s hot and who’s out, right now.
READ ALSO: The G. Dep Interview: How A Bad Boy Manages Life In Prison
AllHipHop: Do you still write rhymes?
G. Dep: Yeah, man. Yeah. Every now and then, man, when it comes to me, man, I definitely put it together, man. Yeah.
AllHipHop: Yeah, that’s what’s up.
G. Dep: Yeah, man, it’s always something in my head. You know what I mean, as far as that.
AllHipHop: Do you ever think you might do it again?
G. Dep: Yeah, man, I would love to record again, you know what I’m saying? I always enjoyed the recording process, the whole thing of putting together a song, you know what I’m saying? And how to sound and how to… Just actually listening to the finished product and especially the whole finished project once everything is done, you know what I’m saying? I’m a fan of hip hop, you know what I mean, first, you know what I’m saying? I really make stuff that I would want to listen to, you know what I’m saying? I enjoyed that aspect of it and being able to listen to something that I felt like was my ode to hip hop, you know what I’m saying?
AllHipHop: Yeah, you hit the nail on the head right there. I interviewed a rapper from Rochester. His name’s 38 Spesh, and he said just that. He said, “You should just record for yourself and your friends. Don’t worry about everybody in the world, just your friends and yourself because then there’s a bunch of people just like you all over the place.” So yeah, I definitely think you could touch the town if you take that mentality.
G. Dep: Wow, I appreciate it, man. Yeah, that’s just for sure.
AllHipHop: For sure, for sure.
G. Dep: I said, “Somebody’s going to relate.” You know what I mean? You know how that is, you know what I mean. There’s always somebody that could be like, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? So he’s right. He’s definitely right.
AllHipHop: So “Child of the Ghetto” is definitely my favorite song of yours. I mean, you got hits, but that’s my joint because it was so visual, you know what I mean? You could really feel that joint. Yeah, definitely. I mean, I play that joint just like it was new really to this day. For real. Yeah, man.
G. Dep: That was one of them joints, man, that it was kind of like a on spur of the moment. It was kind of really live, you know what I mean? Even though we recorded it, but it was kind of just a vibe, you know what I mean? I kind of recorded it on a whim. I actually recorded it in the camcorder and then, you know what I mean? And just freestyling it all over the top. And then I went back and looked at it and just wrote everything that I was saying, you know what I’m saying? And that’s why it sounds like that. It sounds like… I don’t know if you could tell, but it sounds like everywhere. It’s all over the place, you know what I’m saying? So that was why it was just more like a live song, kind of.
AllHipHop: Yeah, super natural with it.
G. Dep: Yeah. Thank you.
AllHipHop: How did you hear about Black Rob’s passing and his unfortunate death? And what was your reaction? Obviously that was your man. What was your thoughts on it and how did you… Kind of, dumb question, but what were you thinking?
G. Dep: I mean, it was rough, man. It was really hard, man. That was the closest I could say, aside from family, he was the closest brother that I knew that passed away to me. Closest to me, you know what I mean? It was hard, man. It was hard. But at the same time, I really felt him more so when he… I don’t know, it’s funny because when I heard he died, it felt like he was right there with me.
AllHipHop: Right, right.
G. Dep: I guess he was telling me like, yo, I’m going to be here now for real, for real. You know what I’m saying? I heard about it through the email and kiosk and stuff like that, my man. They were keeping me abreast of what was going on with him and they were just, “Yeah, I’m with Rob, we at the hospital and he’s not feeling that well and send your prayers.” And we was just back and forth with that. And then I got the message, man, that he passed. It was just like, wow.
AllHipHop: Yeah, man, It was definitely sad. It kind of played out in real time because I just couldn’t believe it was going down like this but I guess that’s just…
G. Dep: Yeah. I can imagine. Yeah man because y’all got to really see him in the hospital and the footage and things like that. I didn’t see all of that. A lot of people was telling me about it, like, “Yo man, yeah, he doing good,” stuff like that. And I just had him in my prayers. Something like that.
AllHipHop: Yeah, definitely. I don’t know if this is a touchy subject or not, but have you heard from Diddy or do you ever correspond with him at all?
G. Dep: Not really man, nah.
AllHipHop: I’m not trying to be funny here, but there’s a lot of people talk about the Bad Boy roster and the fate that a lot of the artists have. So I’m not trying to egg you on or anything like that, but I guess what I’m saying is you’re still here, so I’m just curious if you guys might reconnect or something so they make sure you’re good when you get out, basically. They just named Diddy a billionaire by the way. They saying Diddy’s the newest billionaire so I’m just like, okay, so we should be taking care of some of these [former Bad Boy artists]? Is that anything that interests…you know?
G. Dep: I know Puff is like… He’s on another planet, man, you know what I’m saying? And he’s doing the business. At the end of the day, he’s a business man, you know what I’m saying? So me and him is all right personally, you know what I’m saying? There’s no issues between us, you know what I’m saying? But if I did have any business that I was trying to take care of, I probably would highlight them if I came home. You know what I’m saying? That’s the only thing I can’t really say, you know what I’m saying? He shouted me out a few times just to check on me, all was good. Everything, peace and love, you know what I’m saying? But I think he really realizes that I was on a mission. I was doing my… I had to figure myself out and what I was doing. So I figured, men got to let men be men. You know what I’m saying?
AllHipHop: Yeah.
G. Dep: I respect it, you know what I mean? Like I said. But if I did need any help with some business or any business plan that I had, I would probably highlight him, know what I’m saying?
AllHipHop: Yeah, nah, free.
G. Dep: That’s all I can expect, know what I mean?
AllHipHop: Yeah, that makes sense. Did you know that him and Mase were beefing? They going back and forth.
G. Dep: Yeah, I heard about that, man.
AllHipHop: Mase going hard right now.
G. Dep: Yeah, man. I heard. I heard, man. I don’t know, man. I don’t know, man. I don’t know what kind of issues that they had with each other as far as business, you know what I’m saying? So I can’t even speak on it, man. I don’t know. I don’t know. I thought they were a little tighter, you know what saying, but… You know what I mean?
