Rhymefest is getting a heavy career jump-start. The recent turmoil of whether he wrote all, some, or none of Kanye West’s ‘Jesus Walks’ has overshadowed Rhymfest’s stellar bootleg mix, Blue Collar, and his heavy appearances on albums from Old Dirty and Mark Ronson. But there’s a reason Rhymefest is in the media blitz. He’s on the fringe of being the hottest new artist, and nobody’s ‘alter boy.’ ‘Fest has unabashedly made his own decisions for a rougher or easier road, depending on how you look at it. Peep game as radio/ television personality Miss Info and Rhymefest talk Kanye controversy, talk rationality, and talk album. Before the Grammy’s might unveil the Chicago beast, AllHipHop gets cozy with the musical amalgam. AllHipHop.com: So you’re at the halfway point of recording your album? Rhymefest: Yeah we’re halfway, like we’re taking the album through different segments. The first part of the album is me and Mark. Me and Mark got like a real vibe. When I was first looking to do some type of record signed with somebody, I was offered two contracts – one by Kanye and one by Mark. But Mark and I had did some music together, and I liked the way he incorporated Rock and Rap and mixed different genres of music and I realized that I rap like that. So him and I – I mean the chemistry was wonderful. So I signed with Mark Ronson. Plus I didn’t want to sign under another rapper. AllHipHop.com: That’s interesting ‘cause I would’ve assumed that you would go with Kanye just given y’all’s relationship. Rhymefest: See that’s what everybody assumes. But like, my thing is that if we got a good relationship, if I signed under him, that might make it worse and then two, it’s like everybody always wanna do the obvious ‘cause they think somebody else control they destiny or control they career. Like Kanye was gonna be big and I knew it, and I knew he was gonna be explosive, so if he’s gonna be explosive, what was I gonna be if I sign with him? AllHipHop.com: You feel that you would be less than explosive? Rhymefest: I fell like I would be explosive, but I would be a shadow of him. But that’s not because I would be any less, it would be because how people would view it. [Plus], at the end of the day, Mark Ronson and I had more musical chemistry. AllHipHop.com: So let me get into the heart of the matter – ‘Jesus Walks,’ the Grammy’s are coming up, you’re credited as a co-writer – he has definitely mentioned that you’re the co-writer, it’s not a secret. Rhymefest: Yeah. AllHipHop.com: But what exactly does that mean? What part of the song did you write? Rhymefest: I don’t, like – I don’t wanna – ‘cause I feel like there’s a way to separate and degrade, like saying that, ‘Yo what did you write? What did you bring to the table?’ I look at it like this: him and I both collaborated. I’ll tell you for a fact, if it wasn’t for me, there wouldn’t have been no ‘Jesus Walks’ but if it wasn’t for Kanye, there wouldn’t have been no ‘Jesus Walks’. We both contributed a major part to the song – to a beautiful song. I look at it like this: I was a part of that vehicle – God blessed me to be a part of the vehicle to bring that song to the table, but Kanye was the driver of the vehicle. AllHipHop.com: Did you let him drive the car? Was it a car that you bought and you let him drive it? Rhymefest: It’s a car that, umm, I would say that, he had more money than me and I came to him like, ‘Yo, you see that car over there, if you buy that, woah!’ And he’s like, ‘I got the money.’ He knew how to pimp the ride out. See, I don’t think I would’ve been able to pimp the ride out like he pimped the ride out. AllHipHop.com: Okay, so let’s just be specific. The word is is that you came up with the concept of the song – you brought him the song to sample – and then you came up with the hook and then you wrote the first verse. Rhymefest: I wouldn’t say that. Alright, I’ll be specific. I helped him with the chorus –we collaborated on the chorus, and we collaborated on the first verse and I brought the sample to him. Originally it was something that I wanted for something that I was doing for my album, but at the time he had a record deal, I didn’t. He asked me, ‘Yo can I put this on my album?’ and I was like, ‘Hell yeah’, ‘cause that was an opportunity for me. AllHipHop.com: So, now that leads me to the other question: do you feel that you’ve gotten everything that you deserve from this song? Rhymefest: I don’t think it’s over yet, so I don’t know, you would have to ask me like three years from now, when all the royalties statements is in, after the Grammy’s is over. I would hope that if it’s chosen for song of the year and he performs it, that he would show love and bring me on stage to perform it with him to do that lost verse. It would help me with what I’m doing. And Kanye has shown me – with what I’m doing with my album – Kanye has in turn shown me support and been like – you know, ‘cause Kanye can charge whatever he want for a beat – and been like, ‘Whatever you need my man, you got it.’ Now that’s friendship. AllHipHop.com: Do you think that you’re taking a harder road? Do you think that you’re playing yourself by doing that,’ because you would get so much bigger so much faster with Kanye? Rhymefest: Am I Jaz-Oing […]

Nelly was thrown into the KRS-One situation a few years ago and was rushed with opposition. With scrutiny coming from Chingy, Nelly has a chance to flex his seniority, his muscle, and his mouth. But before the battle paint is spread, Nelly also takes time to reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King on his day, and also Nelly’s continued charity devotion. Here, we get two new sides of Nelly. In a very mature conversation, Nelly addresses why he dismisses Chingy’s commentary, and why he feels MLK is Hip-Hop-drenched relevant in our times. AllHipHop.com: I know that you have recently donated a large sum of money to a Dr Martin Luther King charity, why is he special to you and what prompted you to do that? Nelly: My whole life I have been learning about Dr. King and that is something that is embedded in our minds. We as black people have very few world icons and Dr. King was definitely one of them. He is one like if you have to do an essay you would do it on Dr. King or Malcolm X, because you are enthused about that. While everybody is choosing names out the hat your like give me Malcolm or Dr. King. I really wasn’t enthused about school, but when it came down to that I didn’t mind doing an essay about that. With Dr. King, you definitely believed what he was saying as far as the unity thing and time to over come. I mean what else can you say about Dr. King that hasn’t been said. He is the only brother we have a national holiday for. So that in itself speaks volumes. I wanted to contribute to his legacy. I wanted to be one of the names on the wall that helped with this project I definitely believed that it was time. I felt that it would have a great impact I was in Washington, directly across from Jefferson and people who have made this country. I definitely feel like he has made this country what it is today. AllHipHop.com: Can you speak on your Tsunami Relief efforts? Nelly: I think it is real f***ed up what happened. That is a tragedy beyond words. I stay probably like a good 30 miles from the arch downtown, and I can’t imagine water reaching me from the riverfront, and in order for it to reach me it would have to destroy so much. This is history. This is what will be in textbooks in years to come, it is not one of those incidents that was tragic, and people have to put it on a trivia card, but this is history. It doesn’t only effect the country it hit it affects the world. I do a lot of charity work, I am very much a focus point in my community, so I felt I had to do what I can. I don’t know how much of me doing what I am doing is going to help, but I know I tried. I was watching an interview with this young lady who said how she lost her child and husband, she said that she was holding her child and when she came up she didn’t have a child no more. That got to me. I have two shorties. So for me to have them in my hand, and to come above water and not have them anymore is like a nightmare. That made me feel like I had to do something. AllHipHop.com: You also have your previous charities, right? Nelly: Just us for Jackie is a stem cell donorship, [and it] is getting people to sign up – not just African Americans, but we do need more African Americans, because our bone marrow is more compatible then any other ethnic group on this planet, and could match so many. We are still doing the drives and my sister has not yet found a donor but we have been able to find donor for others, and hopefully save lives. I am working on the premier of The Longest Yard and we are putting something together were we have a premier in St. Louis, and all of the funds will be donated to the For Sure to Kids and Just us for Jackie. Adam Sandler and hopefully, Chris [Rock will] come down. Actually the Long and Sure album is coming out on my label, Dirty E&T so be checking for that. AllHipHop.com: Would you like to comment on the so-called beef with Chingy? Nelly: Where I was standing at from the jump, was me giving respect to those who have paved the way for what I was doing and the successes that I had. I always thanked people like LL, Grind, and everybody that helped make it happen. For me to hear him say that I have nothing to do with his success coming out of St. Louis – I am not asking him to say thanks to Nelly, don’t be corny, but when you’re in the magazine saying, ‘Nelly didn’t have nothing to do with me coming out from St. Louis’. So I was like, ‘That is cool, if that is how you want to look at it’. We have our own turmoil in our city, just like in every city as far as words being passed in the he say/she say mess. As far as my career has been, I don’t play into it. The “Boy” song off my album had already been out on my album and I was trying to figure out what person would call a press conference to say they have a diss record? I thought that you put the diss record in the streets and the streets tell you what is up. I didn’t know that you call a press conference to say you have a diss, and do the diss after you have seen and talked to me in Vegas. If you had a problem with me, you should have […]

Right as she dropped her debut, Yo-Yo was featured prominently in John Singleton’s Boyz N’The Hood in 1991. At times juggling her Rap career, Yo-Yo continued to work in other films such as “Sister Act 2,” “Three Strikes,” and “Panther.” This past year, she joined MC Eiht as one of the many colorful, and arguably authentic voices on the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Yo-Yo has stayed in the game, with or without an album out. Still, the musical side of Yo-Yo’s career seemed rocky, “Here I was thinkin’ my time had come and gone. And people say, ‘Oh my gosh. You’re Yo-Yo, the Ice Cube Yo-Yo?’” The Jungle Brothers’ music has kept them strong. Mike Gee and Afrika (Sammy Bee left the group around 2000) continue to tour abroad. True to their name, The JBeez may be the hardest working men in show business. “We’ve been really heavy touring since about 2002. Prior to that, we was just doing spot dates and some European tours. We’ve been pumping it up. That’s all you gotta do – you gotta tour, and you gotta record,” Mike Gee says. The type of shows differ depending on the audience. Abroad, the group is cherished for their pioneering work in Drum & Bass and early House experimentation. These foreign successes are perhaps part of the group’s decent here in the States. and Mike Gee has his justified answers, ““We started out as a Hip-Hop group. We tripped over that, ‘I’ll House You’ remix at a time when literally, the House and Hip-Hop, there wasn’t a big [difference]. There was still that love for genuine, good party music. We were able to morph into going on tour and doing straight House spots. From House, we went into doing Raves. The biggest audiences we’ve performed for haven’t been Hip-Hop, they’ve been big festival type of stuff.” But without their diverse abilities, the Jungle Brothers might not be so fortunate to stay so busy. In addition to the vast touring, the duo has continued to release albums, including 2002’s, All That We Do, to mild praise. Grand Daddy I.U. has worked Biggie and Capone-N-Noreaga. In fact, Noreaga tried to work closer with I.U., he says. “Nore wanted to get me onto the Thugged Out Entertainment. Them n***as is young. They want to go tear the club up, start fights, shoot-out’s. Nore always checkin’ for me,” says I.U. Grand Daddy honed his abilities as a producer. It was I.U. who gave KRS-One of his biggest hits in the last decade, “Hot.” I.U. followed by turning in work for hardcore groups like Das EFX, and more recently, Ice-T. “I stay in the street. I’m not selling ‘I sell drugs no more,’ but the environment that I’m in and the people I’m around, give me so much to talk about. I’m living in the real s**t out here.” The streets have been a wealth of information. Like his East Coast counterpart, Willie Dee of the Geto Boys has expanded his career through the years. He was a professional boxer in the 90’s and has pursued real estate ventures in the Middle East. Bushwick Bill may’ve suffered the cruelest of fates. Despite being the “make or break” variable to a classic Geto Boys album, recent solo albums by Bill have not fared well. Unwarranted features and poor production have kept Bill’s name stifled throughout the last decade. In 2005, The Game has everybody’s attention and JayZ’s in the swivel chair at Def Jam. Times have changed but, for the artists mentioned herein, 2005 holds a lot of promise, and quite a few answers. Grand Daddy I.U. hasn’t released an album in over ten years. His short-term goal is simple, “It’s a must that I show mothaf**kas that I ain’t fall off. Everybody thinks that if you came out in a certain era, that your music now, is gonna still sound like that. They reluctant to even give you a shot. There’s been a lot of dudes that tried to come back, and they was wack. But that’s not everybody.” At press time, Grand Daddy I.U. was wrapping up an album tentatively titled Stick to the Script, distributed by Universal and MCS Entertainment. “I just wanna make my mark. For once and for all. I just want one joint on the radio. After that, I’m producing. Ain’t no n***a really hot like that now, except Jadakiss.” The Geto Boys nine-year hiatus, The Foundation, is about to hit nationwide Willie D accepts the stark reality. “We just feel like we not gonna be accepted anyway. We don’t fit the status quo,” he comments. Countering, Bushwick Bill says, “What we’re doing is reminding today’s generation where their heroes got their talents from. Because we did that with people that went before us like Just Ice, and Kool G Rap, and Mantronix.” Futhermore, both H-Town dons have solo efforts in the works. Mike Gee of The Jungle Brothers maintains a calm Zen-like attitude, as he simply wants to get back to the purer days. “What we’re doing this time around is, the lead album we’re putting out is catered to the pure Hip-Hop fan-base that bred us. [Then,] we’re gonna be puttin’ out separate albums with various Dance mixes, Drum & Bass mixes, and give ‘em what they want,” says Mike from his North Carolina home. Out West, Yo-Yo prepares, Fearless, her comeback album. To generate a buzz, she’s recorded two remixes utilizing tracks from Ciara and The Game. Yo-Yo proudly proclaims, “I did the remix, shipped it out. I got a lot of connects. It was like a swing dance.” Yo-Yo says she’s received love from a number of radio stations and industry players. “People say it’s not like it was back in the days – it’s better,” she exclaims. The West vet has already worked with Kurupt and Petey Pablo and looks to working with Dr. Dre, The Game, Missy and others have expressed interest. “The greatest challenge is reintroducing myself, […]

Yo-Yo was at one time, the voice of many. Before Kam, before Mack 10, it was Yo-Yo that Ice Cube endorsed. She was a star in his first movie, and he was all over her classic debut, Make Way for the Motherlode. This album was a touchstone for many women, who were witnessing the first successful California female rapper in LA since J.J. Fad, Dre’s protégés in the Reagan era. Then, Yo-Yo’s I.B.W. Crew (Intelligent Black Women) supplied listeners with uplifting jewels such as “Sisterland” with just enough gangsterism to fit in alongside the CMW’s and the NWA’s in the mix. Yo-Yo recounts her good intentions. “It wasn’t the fame I wanted. It was the money. It was sayin’ something. It was being the voice of women,” she says. “We need somebody to represent that independent, strong Black women.” But as other female rappers started peeling off clothes, the labels started peeling off female rappers. In the wake of poorly received albums in the mid-90’s, Yo-Yo hung up her mic, and called it quits. There was a time when comebacks came easier. Twenty years ago, Tina Turner proved that when she stumbled into a hit, “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” and launched spin-off success that damn near kicked Mad Max’s ass. Equally, recall football star Doug Flutie. The former Wheatie’s cereal-box quarterback returned to the NFL after an eight-year hiatus to lead the Buffalo Bills to the seemingly unreachable play-offs. In sports, in entertainment, everywhere – there is the comeback. In the immortal words of MC Shan, “You love to hear the story, again and again.” But what about Hip-Hop? This culture which began in the parks of the South Bronx has literally become Times Square. The artists, the lyrics, the images, are electric. The pace is faster than any car in Mannie Fresh’s garage. Back in the day, Hip-Hop had more options. But fifteen years ago, things were different. Less than fifteen miles apart in New York, The Jungle Brothers and Grand Daddy I.U. recall those days. For the JBeez, style was largely based upon peace and unity. The album was Done by the Forces of Nature, a break-beat and Funk sample canvas of enriching messages and pro-Black wisdom made for a hit record that still leaks onto dance-floors and mixtapes today. Over in Queens, Grand Daddy I.U. was flipping a whole different script with his Smooth Assassin debut, one of the last great Cold Chillin’ artists (along with GZA). This album featured tracks like, “Nobody Move” and “Mass Destruction” that countered some of the science that The Jungle Brothers promoted. Neither was right or wrong. Like Malcolm and Marvin, Kerry and Bush, Roe and Wade, each side had a different spin on the same struggle. By the mid-90’s, the texture of Hip-Hop started to head where it was today. Then, one wrong move, one bad album, one lousy label, and career’s crashed. Mike of the Jungle Brothers reflects. “There was a time where we just weren’t communicating. Right after Jbeez Wit The Remedy, we had bills, and families, and record label problems. We needed to sit down, we had to separate our issues.” Nevertheless, touring has recently kept The Jungle Brothers in the mix. But in the commercial US market, their most current albums have yet to equate the relevance and success of their first two albums. For Grand Daddy I.U., the event was similar. He faded to a background due to label disputes. Despite his critically acclaimed Lead Pipe follow-up in ’94, the end seemed near for Cold Chillin’ Records. “Big Daddy Kane got on that singin’ s**t, that Barry White s**t. The [label] just went. That was it right there.” And so came the dark ages. Grand Daddy I.U. remembers with bitterness the cold reality. “That mother f**kin’ money ran out! We wasn’t doing shows. We wasn’t doing s**t. They wouldn’t let me out of my deal.” I.U. is quick to name names – yet he has no regrets. He said he wouldn’t change a thing if given the change. In Texas, The Geto Boys –Scarface, Willie Dee and Bushwick Bill- were facing a similar struggle to The Jungle Brothers. Inner turmoil and personnel changes prevented the group from matching its success in the late ‘80’s and early 90’s. With the drama deep, Bushwick Bill explains, “Each one of us was looking at doing our own projects when they put us together as The Geto Boys.” Bill and Willie explored solo options, as ‘Face filled the group with different people. Although the music was never compromised, the initial reaction to the ‘original’ lineup was unmatched. For the purist, it’s been nine long years without a Geto Boys album, but the group has another opus slated for release on Rap-A-Lot Records. Still through the years, their music might’ve been there, but the group’s heart wasn’t. The genuine love seems to leave when hip-hop heads turn their eyes away from artists, but that’s often when they become busier. Who realized that Kwame was making beats for G-Unit, or that Daddy-O of Stetasonic was still bringing out artists like Eamon? Nobody cared to look over and see Tone Loc’s move into cartoon voices, or Flavor Flav’s sneak attack on reality TV. Big Daddy Kane tours regularly as did Run DMC prior to JMJ’s death. These things happened because the public wasn’t looking. But while one may use the term “comeback,” do realize that these artists really haven’t gone anywhere. They simply altered their hustle.

The other day, while going through some old boxes in my garage I found a box of cassette tapes. Most of them were unmarked. I put some of them in my recorder and to my amazement they had old interviews with Master P and many other Bay Area and LA giants. But these interviews were done before most of these rappers had national acclaim. This is the first installment of flashback interviews that AllHipHop.com will share with the world over the next year. This first interview with Master P was originally done for the now dead Rap Pages magazine in 1992. The only people that knew P was raw were in the Bay and down South. One crazy thing about this interview is that everything he said he would do- he did. You will also notice the names of other rappers mentioned that are all giants in their own right. Take note of the 5-Star General before the tank was gold plated. AllHipHop.com: What brought you to California? Master P: Well basically I moved to California to get away from the neighborhoods and the atmosphere I was in. They always told me that “if you can get to California you can make it”. You see Hollywood and stuff. I was looking for a place to be successful at what I was doing. AllHipHop.com: Where exactly are you from? New Orleans, right? P: Yeah, a place called the Calliope Projects. AllHipHop.com: What year did you come out here? P: I came out here in ‘89. AllHipHop.com: Were you already doing Hip-Hop in New Orleans? P: Yeah, basically I was doing it, but in a place like that…It’s not really known for Hip-Hop. I think I was a little bit above the time where I was at. I need to go somewhere else I could go to make it all happen. My parents wanted to move out here so I just came with them. AllHipHop.com: So you came from New Orleans to Richmond, CA? P: Yeah. AllHipHop.com: So what was it like when you started doing Hip-Hop in ‘89? Was it easy to come up? P: It wasn’t that easy because I had to learn all new styles and trends to be able to compete, with what was going on out here. I had to learn the game. I had to get better and better to make it fit, to make it all happen. AllHipHop.com: Now this is not your first release right? P: No, my first release was called Momma’s Bad Boy. AllHipHop.com: You put that out when? P: I put that out two years ago with In-A-Minute Records. AllHipHop.com: And how was the response from that? P: [Mmiles] Awwww, that’s that brought it to this here. The response that I got with it- was just cool. Instead of getting just California response I got down South response. That let people know I had a universal sound. I just had to upgrade it to get it what I got till now. AllHipHop.com: So how did you hook up with JT The Bigga Figga and San Quinn? P: Basically, we all kicked it at shows and stuff. We eventually hooked up and said, ‘Lets do something’, and we did it. AllHipHop.com: Most people would think that there would be set trippin’ between you guys, but there isn’t. P: The thing is, all that set trippin’ is with people in the game. With the rappers, it ain’t really like that. That’s why we’re trying to unite and show everybody that it’ ain’t the rappers that got problems. If you got problems with someone in my hood, go take it out on them- don’t take it out on me- ‘cause I’m makin’ records. People think if you from Richmond that you ain’t supposed to sell in Oakland or Frisco. Or if you from Frisco you ain’t supposed to sell in Richmond. AllHipHop.com: But all you guys are sellin’. How are all these MC’s selling and not bleeding over into the next man’s market? I mean, you, JT, Mac Mall, E-40, all y’all sellin’ about the same amount of records. Everybody is still getting fed when it’s all over. P: Because you can’t playa hate if it’s good. Like, whoever thought that I’d be selling 500-600 tapes a week in Oakland? It’s just unreal. Now it’s happening, because you can only playa-hate but so much. Then you gotta recognize games. If it’s tight, you gotta go out and get it, eventually. AllHipHop.com: So what motivated you to start your own business? P: I wanted to do something that I could control. Not only did I wanna be a rapper, but I wanted to be a business man. Because rappin’ don’t last forever. I need to be able to control what I am doing and market myself to the public. AllHipHop.com: so when it’s all said and done, what do you want to be doing? Where is Master P gonna be five years from now? P: I’m gonna be in movies- on TV. Doing stuff like that. Chillin’, havin’ fun. I’m gonna be going on trips and appreciating all the hard work that I’ve put in. I don’t wanna be like the other rappers sitting back famous – and broke. Most of the rappers are getting pimped. I think that’s the main reason I wanted to start my own business. I ain’t got time to get pimped. If I put all my hard work and energy into it, I wanna get paid. AllHipHop.com: You do a lot of other shows in other states. Where are some of the places you have gone? P: Kentucky, Seattle, New Orleans, Dallas, Cincinnati, Chicago. That’s the other game that I got that these other rappers do not realize- see…every city I hit, I’m promoting down there. ‘Cause every city got they own top local acts. But if I come there as a major act and promote me being major…they gotta buy it. AllHipHop.com: How are you received in a city […]

When Notorious B.I.G left the planet in ’97, we were left with musical memoirs that reminded us of why he was crowned “legendary”. It wasn’t just B.I.G’s voice and lyrics that captured us, but the hypnotic beats that surrounded those vocals. Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie provided a considerable amount of those tailor-made beats to one of the greatest rappers of the 90’s. However D-Dot did what most producers didn’t [and still don’t] do: remained quiet on the songs. D-Dot allowed his beats to speak for themselves without the need of reminding the world of who was on the track. D-Dot implores that the mixing of multiple elements in musicology will create the ideal formula. When the green-eyed world took stabs, D-Dot regenerated as the parody, The Madd Rapper, and fought right back. Since D-Dot’s been gone, the game has been made a lot easier for MC’ and producers alike. Not anymore. D-Dot’s back! He has thoughts on his former student, Kanye West, plus a lot of commentary on the past and sad state of a present. AllHipHop.com: What is your proudest production to date. D-Dot: ‘It’s All About the Benjamins’ and the Madd Rapper album are probably my most heartfelt projects – the ones that I had the most control over, and were the ones that came from me with no outside influences. That [Madd Rapper album] was the album that introduced 50 Cent to the world and Eminem. AllHipHop.com: What are some productions that you think people were unaware that you’ve done? D-Dot: A lot of people might be surprised to know that I did the Jay-Z record, ‘Where I’m From (Marcy)’ because he didn’t really say my name on the record. A lot of people also didn’t know that I did ‘24 Hours to Live’ for Ma$e. There are a lot of records that I’ve done over the years with every major artist there is. A guy interviewed me last year for this documentary called The Beat Kings. He came in and he mentioned something to me that really touched me. He said, ‘D-Dot, over the years everyone is always talking about the Top 20 MC’s in Hip-Hop." They came in with a list, and were like, ‘Out of all the people we spoke to, these are the Top 20 MC’s of all time.’ Of course they had some old school heads, but overall the basic top MC’s are B.I.G, Jay-Z, Eminem, Rakim, LL Cool J, Slick Rick, 50 Cent, Nas, Big Pun, Big Daddy Kane, and different people like that. Out of the 20, he came in the room and said I produced for 13 of them. So it made me feel good like, ‘Wow. Every major MC came to the D-Dot School eventually.’ So it made me feel proud to know throughout history, the road to success for a lot of these cats had to come through D-Dot. AllHipHop.com: What producers did you idolize, growing up? D-Dot: I grew up listening to Teddy Riley, Barry White, Roy Ayers, Gamble and Huff, EPMD, Pete Rock in the 80’s and early 90’s, The Bomb Squad with Public Enemy. Back then the producers didn’t make their presence known like they do now. Of course now, guys are just yelling their names all over tracks. Just Blaze, whenever he puts out a track yells "Just Blaze!" at the beginning. AllHipHop.com: How did you first get started? D-Dot: As a rapper, I started out with a group called Two Kings and a Cipher back in ’89-’90 with my partner Ron [Amen Ra] Lawrence and we made an album From Pyramids to Projects in 1991. That’s pretty much how I got started. Then Puff came to me one day and was like, ‘We’re gonna do this Bad Boy thing’, and I was like, ‘Let’s go’. AllHipHop.com: So when and how did the Madd Rapper come about? D-Dot: The Madd Rapper came about because of the East Coast / West Coast beef back in ’94-’95. We were making a lot of money – young Black, Latino, White men in their twenties – and making money over at Bad Boy. A lot of people were jealous, and I remember as a kid, when you wanted to get back at somebody for teasing you, you teased them back. So that’s what I did. I came up with the Madd Rapper concept to tease people to see how stupid they looked teasing us. Especially when we weren’t causing anybody any problems. So I just went into the studio and did an interlude and that’s what happened. AllHipHop.com: Will we be seeing the Madd Rapper ever again? D-Dot: Definitely. The Madd Rapper will be out in 2005. With all of the hate going on in the music business, it’s perfect timing for me. AllHipHop.com: How do you feel about the up and coming producers? D-Dot: I like a lot of them. I think a lot of them are trash, whose beats are trash. I’m a Kanye fan, I’m a Just Blaze fan, and I’m an Alchemist fan. Then there are other producers that can’t hold the water I pee in. They’re just trash and getting away with murder. But you know, I respect everybody. One thing I do have is an opinion, but I’ve got respect for anybody that dares to come into this game and do what we do, because it’s hard. AllHipHop.com: How do you distinguish yourself from other producers? D-Dot: The difference between me and a lot of producers, is that I’m a real producer. I have a problem with guys that make beats at home and mail them to the artists and call themselves producers. There was a time before I really hooked up with Kanye that he thought that sitting at home in Chicago, making beats and sending them to me, made him a real producer. He used to send me tracks and used the phrase ‘Ghost Production’. Him and me had a time where we weren’t really speaking because I took offense […]

MASTA ACE Masta Ace has done it right. Just like shrimps in a fine restaurant, a little goes a long way. For fifteen years, the Masta has been grinding, yet 2004 delivered only Ace’s fifth released album. There should be at least one more. Each album has played a role in Ace’s career as well as in Hip-Hop, varying differently. One of the last great Marley Marl produced albums, Take a Look Around, shoved Ace into the spotlight with a project that mixed whimsical lines alongside acute observations of life in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Slaughta House and Sittin’ On Chrome followed, creating a legitimate East Coast interpretation of the then popular West Coast sound. With a solid character, funny yet relevant messages, and epitomizing bass, Ace quietly trucked on. At the turn of the millennium, that’s where the story was supposed to end. Ace sat on shelves at Big Beat, got out-rapped in New York by a fledging demo-pusher called Boogie Man, and was long forgotten. This is where the story takes a turn that renders Man of Year status. Since cutting The Inc. loose, Masta Ace dropped the most personal, most revealing, and least experimental albums of his life – Disposable Arts and Long Hot Summer. In an age relying on singles to move albums, Ace still tells stories woven together in the albums. On their own, “Beautiful” and “Da Grind” are singles, but meshed against the entire “fictional” story of a veteran rapper misled in a world of users and abusers, they are keystones to complete the picture. 2004 saw Ace appreciated, by all walks of Hip-Hop. The recognition is quiet, but Long Hot Summer continues to be talked about and revered more than most albums with a hundred times the budget. With or without Ace, artists like Jean Grae, Stimuli, Wordsworth, and countless others are indebted to Ace for some of their success, as are we. AllHipHop.com bows to the Juice Crew’s most modest MC ever. DAVE CHAPELLE Since Def Comedy Jam over a decade ago, Dave Chapelle has kept us laughing. Through the movie roles and talk show appearances, we still laughed – but as passionately as Chris Rock expresses his unabashed love of Hip-Hop, Chapelle uses his comedy as the voice of the Hip-Hop population. With quips about Das EFX and Arrested Development, the aged Hip-Hopper can see themselves in Chapelle’s comedy – making it distinctly ours, for others to admire. The Chapelle Show has given the Hip-Hop community a reason to watch television again – as the expected places continue to cater to teenagers and fashion enthusiasts. Dave Chapelle will put De La Soul on his show one week, and Freeway the next. Records like “Beef” broke on the series, and performances in strange locations add color to the visual. This summer Dave Chapelle invited Hip-Hop insiders and friends to his Brooklyn block-party, which featured great groups of yesterday and today. The free event spawned a Fugees reunion, a feat thought impossible to everybody. Dave Chapelle is generous with his love of Hip-Hop, and he is single-handedly responsible for helping deserving legends get the exposure they are due. We love to hate our own after they blow, but there’s no animosity from ANYBODY – save Wayne Brady – towards Dave Chappelle. T.I. T.I. has taken a page from 50 Cent’s book. Though I’m Serious had all the making of a good album in 2001, it fell despite a strong single. T.I. made a quiet label move, did a bid, and ended up with Trap Muzik a year and a half ago. The album showered T.I.’s insights and flow on the world, and a star was born. Ever quick to follow-up, Urban Legend might not have lived up to Trap Muzik’s speed out the box – but it no doubt proved T.I.’s consistency to his audience. “Prayin’ For Help” reveals a man willing to make a difference as “Tha King” controversially made a leap towards the throne. Aside from Lil Flip, nobody has had a problem with it – not even The Geto Boys. So, it’s official. T.I. has continued to do good for his Atlanta community, and from the untimely circumstances of his jail-time, it is clear that T.I. lives what he rhymes about. The streets respect it, the sound penetrates to the dance-floors, and T.I. might be the most talented new southern artist since Trick Daddy or Ludacris. Speaking of Luda, we gotta give it up to T.I. and ‘Cris for acknowledging the silliness of their beef, and getting past it. These are manly moves for such a young artist as the ATL spitter. JAY-Z Jay-Z was like an incarcerated John Gotti. We all knew he was removed from the game, but somehow that he had a hand in everything. The year began with tremendous spill-over sales from The Black Album. At the mid-section, Unfinished Business will remain a ‘what if?’ album. Sounding as strong as the first, Jay-Z killed the entire project when he refused to endorse it with the tour. Jay requires no back-story – he may be the last artist we’ll ever see create singles without radio, and the last to be remembered line for line. Jay-Z’s impact is seen with the already noticeable Roc decline. With Jay they were a showcase. Without, the excitement was lost this past year – as was the momentum. Def Jam opened its VIP doors to Jay, making him the new shot-caller for ’05. The Roc dynasty was spit up, and now Jay will make an effort to bring the powerhouse back to their status at the top of the millennium. Joni Mitchell said, “You don’t know what you’ve got til’ it’s gone.” While we still believe Jay has several decks up his sleeve, the adage was certainly true in ’04. From a box high above the game, Jay-Z still proved to be the wise puppet-master. We tip our hats to Jay. If AllHipHop.com was to ever walk off, we’d still run it too – […]

Surprises : Wha Happened? Mase What’s more? Grand re-opening, grand closing? Mase returned with some gusto and a reminder of why 1997 wasn’t a complete wash in Rap music. Still, just as things got cozy and Mase started to make moves, did the Dipset ruin his party? It’s hard to believe so much can happen in a year, but it did. Remember when Magic came back for half a year? Enough with the Laker analogies. We were surprised to see Mason, and less that he found his way back to the top. The Fugees/Chapelle Block Party Time hasn’t treated any of the three Fugees well. So perhaps it was time to reunite. While no tracks are in order yet, the group rejoined to create a wave of media attention this summer at Chapelle’s Block Party (where AllHipHop was in full effect mind ya). We were so hung up on that Tribe stuff last year, please deliver! The Fugees can heal a lot of the wounds Hip-Hop has endured since ’96. Wyclef also righted things with Canibus. You Sausage Award winners need to take notes from ‘Clef. Mos Def The New Danger was probably the most under-promoted major album since the new millenium. Fans went to the store for that Kweli, and stumbled upon Mos’ new creation. Some were appalled by the lack of information; others were pleasantly surprised to still be surprised. In any case, there were some joints on there that coulda created a lot of buzz as singles. Hopefully, this slept-on gem isn’t through finding new fans. Revolving Def Jam Doors We all knew Jigga man had big things in the works. But after so much work to bring in LA Reid, nobody thought Jay-Z would really bring The Takeover. Well, he did. Just as single releases carried Def Jam over some rough waters, 2004 wasn’t DJ’s biggest year. But expect huge, unpredictable things with Sean Carter at the big leather chair. It feels like just yesterday when Jay was a new artist. Look what hard work can do… that’s what we keep telling the kids. Vibe Awards/ Dre Fights Back/ Young Buck Never, ever, ever ever promote violence. But for everybody’s who knocked the fake gangsterism surrounding Dr. Dre they need to step back like Luda said. Young Buck and Dr. Dre fought the good fight, when a dude started punching the good Doctor. G-Unit is mainly known for getting shot, but this situation proved that they’ve got certified street skills. We heard Banks and 50 swarmed the scene like killer bees to honey. Hip-Hop award shows and big events have magnetized violence the last five years. But this is the first time the little guys got dirty and stood up for themselves. Biggest Moments : Remember When It Was All So Simple? ODB’s Death R.I.P. Russell Jones. The Wu-Tang Clan will never be the same. The news was so surreal that it was believed to be a rumor for days after it happened. But sadly, the news was very true. As with so many of Hip-Hop’s premature deaths, ODB has left behind unheard music that will still change lives and keep the legacy as grimy and stinky as Dirt McGirt would’ve wanted it. Rick James’ Death In a year that opened with, "I’m Rick James, b####" echoing the halls everywhere – this was Rick’s big comeback. That comeback was sadly cut short. Rick James leaves behind a legacy in Rock, Soul, Funk, and Hip-Hop as a pioneer all the way around. He was candid and kind to AllHipHop, and Rick gave us our best interview EVER. We dearly miss you, Super Freak. Roc for Sale All those hand-signs, medallions, record shouts, etc. were finally cremated. Dame Dash walks away from the child he had a huge hand in, to a Def Jam merger. While it’s still unclear who, some artists stayed, others went with Dame. In any case, the Roc had too quiet of a year. Despite acquiring N.O.R.E. and Joe Budden, Jay-Z’s departure froze the building. Will this be a decline in the vein of No Limit or Death Row? Or is the Roc in transition? Time tells all. Vibe Awards Stop the fight! Dr. Dre was attacked at this year’s Vibe Awards sparked a lot of talk. Probably because Dre, and Young Buck fought (and stabbed-ouch) back. The lawsuits and red-tape are still coming in on this. Suge Knight has publicly denied involvement, though the streets have connected the hitman to Knight and Death Row. In any case, we’ve passed off the big man – Quincy Jones. The nonsense needs to stop, and this is one of the worst cases of publicized violence in years. Eminem Tape After anti-climactic hype throughout 2003, ’04 delivered the “racist” Em tape. While Last Emperor and a few others took offense, Benzino’s projected master-plan of dethroning the pale skinned MC did not happen. In any case, for all the hype… Eminem and Benzino are working towards a truce as we speak, which is getting no media attention. Comeback Artists : Welcome Me Back! Twista After 13 years, the world finally caught up and discovered Twista. With his rapid-fire style, it was as if he was ahead of the pack all along. Well, the Chi-town native took that which was underground and made Kamikaze a commercial smash with joints like “So Sexy,” “Slow Jamz,” and “Overnight Celebrity.” Real heads know this isn’t a comeback in the truest form, but Twista’s last solo album was in 1997 – let him slide! Fat Joe/Terror Squad Fat Joe’s status is so massive. All those haters got the muzzle when Fat Joe proved that he could not only bring himself back, but fix his greatest flub – The Terror Squad. Fat Joe has always made stars out of those around him – Big Pun, Cuban, and now Terror Squad & especially Remy got the respect they’ve so long deserved. The guest shots and forthcoming solo’s have a lot of promise. King of New […]

AllHipHop.com: The Grind Date has been already received as one of the better albums in your catalog. You’ve never made a poorly received album, but why do you think the album came together so well? Dave: It comes in several ways for us, man. We don’t really stick to one way of recording songs. Sometimes you’ll hear a beat and you’ll be inspired to write rhymes, and hopefully those rhymes can fall under some theme or title. Sometimes you’ll get an idea ‘cause of something you’ve seen, witnessed, or experienced, or what have you. Like I want to write a song about how you know how girls be getting guys top trick, and at the end of the day when you don’t get anything out of it, leaving guys sexless if you want to say. So it’s like what can we call it. We can call it ‘Shopping Bags’. Like wow I heard some music that will match. So it can come in any way. The approach to us is, just let it happen, oppose to trying to do it. You can’t think of a title and say you know how’s the title going to work and how can you make it creative and then you can find a beat to match that mood and then you start writing rhymes. We allow the approach come whichever way it comes. AllHipHop.com: Buhloone Mindstate is an amazing album. Ten years later, how do you feel about it now? Why do you think it’s so slept on? Dave: Ummm, me personally, I hated Buhloone Mindstate. That was one album I did not like. AllHipHop.com: Why Not? Can you go into this a little further? Dave: I didn’t like the album because I think we were just a little too creative. And to me, you should never use the phrase ‘too creative’. But I think we took it a little too far. You know I think there was a big influence on us at the time from groups we were hanging out with. Like Tribe and so many others on the Jazz tip. I just felt it went a little to the left or who we were as people and what we were accustomed to at the time. Like some of the songs personally didn’t want to do. ‘Patty Duke’ [and] ‘Area Codes’ I didn’t want to do. AllHipHop.com: How about ‘Break A Dawn’? Dave: ‘Break A Dawn’ I hated as well. I didn’t want that to be the first single. That’s just me personally. Mase and Pos may be feel differently, but to me that was an album I didn’t personally enjoy recording. I can’t even say so much the music, I just didn’t enjoy recording at the time. But from what I hear, you know a lot of De La fans feel that is their favorite album. That’s the album feel most comfortable with, so I’m happy to feel to and to know even during the time of disliking or not even feeling comfortable of what I was doing, I still put my best work into it, so it’s cool. AllHipHop.com: Now that you basically trashed Buhloone Mindstate, what’s your favorite album out of the De La Soul catalog? Dave: My favorite album would probably be Stakes Is High. I think [it] was just giving a rebirth to ourselves and doing it on our own. The message we put out on that album was important. We were obviously were in the game to establish ourselves and make great career out of it. Money is definitely important, but we come from another school – where Hip-Hop is important. I think that message was heard and respected and even lead to some people getting heated or just heeding to some of the messages we were bringing on that. That felt good too. And also the production end of it, I think that record was Hip-Hop man. I think you heard great beats, great rhymes, and also great artists like the Common’s, people who basically featured on that record. It just felt good all the way around. It felt that was the best album to me. AllHipHop.com: You guys took an aggressive approach on getting that message heard on that album. Did you catch any backlash from anyone of your peers? Dave: Yeah there were some people who maybe took offense to some things. Like you know Treach thought Pos was dissing him on the intro, even Kane to an extent came to me one day saying you know, ‘Were you dissing me on such and such song?’ And I’m like first off those were Pos rhymes, so you know maybe you should even realize who’s saying what they were saying what they were saying what they are saying, know that first. Secondly it was no disrespect, we wasn’t trying to diss anybody. We were trying to make a point we were trying to make a point to say a lot about Hip-Hop, no one in particular. I don’t think there was too much of a backlash. I think House Of Pain thought we were dissing them. I think one time we were in Atlanta for the Gavin music conference and we performed ‘The Bizness’ and ‘Stakes Is High’ and a lot of artists that approached us on some you know what you guys are right. We don’t attack people personally – we attack the game. AllHipHop.com: What’s your relationship with Prince Paul now of days? Dave: We are cool with Paul. Paul will always be family with us. We’ve done so much work on his projects from the Psychoanalysis to the Handsome Boy Modeling School. We’re family. He was in some of our studio sessions for The Grind Date and he was in the studio with us for the albums that came before that, like Stakes Is High and AOI, so it’s love. He’s been a person who’s been in our career ever since day one, so he taught us a lot. We’re in […]

Album Of Year : This Year Was A Good Year Kanye West The College Dropout (Def Jam) Arguably the album that ’04 will be most remembered by. This collage of comedy, spirituality, lyricism, and just party has borrowed from so many of the great albums past. Rightly, Kanye has quietly been a part of some of the greatest albums in the last five years. For a debut, Kanye has much to live up. But without a doubt…although AllHipHop knew this would be big, nobody predicted a massive drop this amazing. Do ya thing Mr. Dropout…you don’t need no piece of paper to get a piece of the music industry’s paper. Masta Ace Long Hot Summer (M3) Another Indie major favorite. The last of the great concept albums. This release was the sequel to Disposable Arts, which similar support, respect, and praise. This time, there were no battles or funny White roommates, but the production on this feature was the best Ace has had since Marley Marl in the late 80’s. In an age where singles outweigh the albums, Ace reminds us why he’s an outstanding entertainer. Sorry about the retirement misinterpretations buddy, we want Ace forever. Ludacris and T.I. The Red Light District & Urban Legend (Def Jam & Atlantic Records) All praise is dude to the present Kings of the South, Ludacris and T.I. Call us chickens**t for putting them on this list together, but we feel they deserve special recognition for a number of reasons. First, they had beef during the course of the year, which has since been resolved. Both represent Atlanta, the current creative hub of Hip-hop. These two gentlemen represented everything we love (and that’s lacking) in Hip-Hop – creativity and authenticity. In 04, Ludacris’ ‘bows got bigger and his penchant for punchlines almost had us OD’ing with Red Light District. No street slouch, T.I.’s Urban Legend proved that shawty has a unique ability to push units like weight, but remain in good standing his bourgeoning fan base. (I didn’t hurt that these guys were backed by the finest beat maestros that rap has to offer.) With T.I. and Luda, we were blessed with the best of both worlds and they exemplified that commercial Hip-Hop doesn’t have to be pop corn beats and watered down, clichéd rhymes. De La Soul The Grind Date (Sanctuary) No big singles. No big label, just Beyonce’s daddy. But most critics agreed, this was the first time in eight years that De La Soul has made an album without a theme that fit into their classic catalog. Soulful production and more appropriate guests made for an audible treat that will age like merlot on Hip-Hop lovers all around. De La never really went anywhere, but as they’ve grown older, they’ve grown quieter. JBeez, LONS, Monie Love, Tribe… what’s really good? Ghostface Killah The Pretty Toney (Def Jam) Like the projected Lil’ Wayne move, people assume that Def Jam will compromise a special artist’s sound. The Pretty Toney proved such a notion mostly wrong. While the music quality was a little less hissy, this album proved to follow in Ghost’s stellar discography. Tons of samples, awkwardly sung hooks, rugged slang, and intricate detail gave Ghost another great album even if the equivalent sales weren’t there. Was the company in a position to handle Ghost? That’s up for grabs, but the Ghostdini has an art that stands on its own. "Run" was as strong of a single as you’ll get, and the diehard fans rejoiced. Indie Album of Year : Independent as WHAT! K-Os Joyful Rebellion (Astralwerks) Last time K-Os dropped, he had a strong single…but Kweli and The Roots albums bodied his. This year, it’s the reverse. While the sales may never match, K-Os is winning over fans all over with his lightning fast but very careful wordplay, his up-tempo production, and his medicating messages. This album was a favorite around the AHH corridor, and everybody really has respect for Vancouver’s finest. Lil’ Jon & Eastside Boyz Crunk Juice (TVT) This was Jon’s most anticipated work, ever. Core fans might’ve felt cheated a bit, but Tuesday’s record store regulars had Jon on their grocery list. Ice Cube’s presence on the album made for a luminary classic, while Rick Rubin furthered his resurgence into Hip-Hop. This album is a time capsule for Crunk’s breakthrough into the mainstream, and who knows it better than Lil’ Jon? Masta Killa No Said Date (Nature Sounds) After a ten-year hold-up and label changes, Killa made his solo debut in the footprints of Ghost and GZA’s better work. Every Wu member joined the show, and RZA produced a heavy dosage of this album’s astounding beats. In roller coasters, the last seat gets the greatest G-Force. While this album lacked the sales of its Wu peers, it soared in critical acclaim. Well worth the wait. Royce Da 5’ 9” Death Is Certain (Koch) Some of Eminem’s scariest Stan’s might have missed Royce da 5’9” this year, but others were privy to unearth a morbid gem called  Death Is Certain. Royce finally shed his overt beefs and channeled his energies into this well-balanced story backed by Carlos Broady and others. With bangers like “Hip Hop,” “T.O.D.A.Y,” “Death Is Certain, Pt. 2 (It Hurt’s),” and “Something’s Wrong With Him,” this is an epic tale of fear, adversity, reality and gangsterism. Generic G’s, please step to the side. MF DOOM & Madlib Madvillain (Stones Throw) This album celebrated DOOM’s renaissance to the fullest. Madlib turned in some of his best work in five years, as DOOM created a timeless character that brought in comic lovers and cosmic lyricists alike for a celebration of grimy rhymes, distorted beats, and an authentic style. Last year was kind to DOOM and promised much more, despite two other solid releases, this experiment was the bigg’un. New Artists : Make room! Theodore Unit Yeah we know, Ghost stole the show on 718. But Theodore Unit gave way to a crew (if they keep the moniker) of […]

Like Eazy-E juggling success between N.W.A. and his illustrious solo career, GURU first proved that he could be huge whether the MC for Gangstarr or the host with the most on his Jazzmatazz releases. So many new talents have unveiled new labels and introduced boring artists while true visionaries like GURU have let his Ill Kid Records grow dusty. In the coming year, that legacy will be revitalized. GURU and partner Solar [not the French rapper], are presenting Seven Grand to the public. A new label, a new vision, and a new platform for GURU’s celebrated solo releases – plus a home to future artists. Check up on the new side of one of Hip-Hop’s most beloved voices. In a conversation with AllHipHop.com, Solar and GURU share their vision, and reflect on social changes, and what’s prompting them to go this route. AllHipHop.com: Lets talk about the new project and the new direction. GURU: We’ve got a new project a new venture. The label is called Seven Grand and the project is called Guru Version 7.0, it’s dated for release April 19,2005. After which, we’ll be releasing Jazzmatazz Volume 4. And we’re very excited about the label because it’s a chance for Solar and myself to take total control over our musical destiny, so to speak. Being that I came in the game when everybody was you know signing into major’s and things like that and the whole independent thing wasn’t that big, all the entrepreneur and stuff that have spawn from that came after you know my era. But I was able to look at the younger cats and see what they were doing and learn from that. As a pose to being one of those bitter cats you know whose looking at the younger cats in a spiteful way and so forth, I could never be that dude. So, I saw the changes and the evolution in the game and made some moves, and here we are with the new label Seven Grand and the new project… Solar: …At the same time, these cats who’ve been doing that, they don’t have the experience that [GURU] has. So it’s like in essence – looking at what’s there, and saying how can we make this better? And at the same time just like we’ve learned from them. It’s an opportunity to let them learn from us. GURU: That’s what Hip-Hop should be about, that’s what it was about an exchange of information. . AllHipHop.com: But how is this different from Ill Kid Records? GURU: Well, in the early years I dabbled in some independent ventures – Ill Kid, one of them. I brought out artist like Jeru, Group Home, and Bahamadia, and that was basically my training ground. But with Seven Grand, I wanted to start with something new. Everything is new with me right now. I’ve gotten ride of a lot of middlemen so to speak, and we’re at the helm now, controlling it and it feels good… Solar: And with a solid vision. Ill Kid, once again, is almost like Gangstarr – it had it’s own identity, a small identity of course compared to Gangstarr, and with Seven Grand it’s more designed, more thought out, more of something that sees different stages of development as it goes along. So this is one stage, but then we’ll see another stage, and then another stage. AllHipHop.com: So what does Seven Grand stand for? GURU: Well, seven is a divine number. So we see seven as the representation of perfection, a perfect number, or the seventh letter of the alphabet – which is G, which represents GOD. And grand means something of a large or extraordinary measure. AllHipHop.com: Any new artist that you might be working with? GURU: Well right now, it’s just myself. We’re focused on getting me to that level that I should be at – reintroducing me to the market. I been away from the scene so to speak, I haven’t really been away. I been in the lab of course, creating new songs for over two years now. I mean we have over 40 to 50 songs now. What we did first is put out some singles to bubble the streets and to give the streets back, and the audience back the love that they have shown me over the years. Currently we have a single on vinyl in the market that’s called “Cave In” that’s been out now about three months now. This is my first time rhyming at 116 beats per minute, so it’s real up-tempo, club banger, B-boy. We’re about to shot a video to that, and the next singles that we’ll have is called, "Surviving the Game" which I believe by the first of the year, should be out on vinyl. AllHipHop.com: How can that cult following stay well-informed into the album? GURU: You can get updates and info on the web site which is www.GURUGANGSTARR.com. AllHipHop.com: Besides the single, has the public had a chance to get ready? GURU: We’ve been touring around the U.S. and abroad. We have a real interesting live show, and it’s something that people should defiantly get a chance to come out and see. Of course we do the classic Gangstarr stuff, and we do the classic Jazzmatazz stuff, and then we introduce four or five new songs, and then we have DJ Doo-Wop, the mixtape king from the Bronx, cutting it up. It’s real interesting because he adds a real fly flavor to the show, and he be spittin’ with me in certain parts, you know so people get a little shocked when they see the DJ rhyming. My favorite artist always reinvent themselves and so that’s how I’m looking at it. What would your favorite artist do at this point in his or her career? So this is what the GURU doing, I’m going to that "7.0" level. It’s just like when you upgrade ya AOL. AllHipHop.com What specific things can we see that are […]

Slick Rick, Monie Love, and Maybach’s aren’t the only dope English exports to Hip-Hop. Mark Ronson’s audio vision has been running its course on Hip-Hop the last five years. From the soulful Gap ads, to providing the sweeter sounds behind Beanie Sigel and Dirt McGirt, to his criminally slept-on Here Comes the Fuzz album last year, Ronson has made massive, but quiet moves. The quiet segment is soon to be over. With the help of powerful manager, Rich Kleiman [producer for Fade to Black], Ronson has set up shop with Allido Records, which will unveil “Jesus Walks” co-writer Rhymefest. Get ready, Mark Ronson’s modestly restrained his name from so much of what does. After this, there will be no more. Mark Ronson is fusing Hip-Hop with Rock and Soul with unique sensibility. The music is about to be fun again, for real for real. AllHipHop.com: You dropped the mixtape companion to Fade to Black. Having worked with Jay in recent years, from a DJ’s perspective, what track in your mix best embodies who Jay really is? Ronson: There’s two different sides of Jay that I love. As a DJ, I love the s**t with his best beats, on a record like, ‘Public Service Announcement’ it’s amazing – the synthesis, how he comes in. But then, as far as Jay – the lyricist, I would never play ‘Cashmere Thoughts’ in a club. But listening to the flow on that is just amazing, how ahead of his time he was on that, but it still so sounds so relevant. AllHipHop.com: Rich, as an integral part of Fade to Black, do you sense a stronger reaction to the film had the media not accused his retirement vow as a hoax? Rich: I don’t think so. When you’re at the stage that he’s at in his career, you’re able to decipher the difference between being completely done, and somebody with Jay-Z’s presence is never gonna be forgotten or gone the way Larry Bird walked off the basketball court and was back after seven years. He’s more the Michael Jordan. It’s in his blood. Jay-Z as we knew him, was done. The ultimate night was that night at the Garden. The proof of that happened [more recently] with R. Kelly. The film isn’t as much about seeing him at the end, than seeing him at the ultimate height. AllHipHop.com: Your own album got really overlooked. It took some bold risks and fused some different things. This year, those same experiments were rewarded. How does time’s cruel fate sit with you? Ronson: It’s nothing I really lost sleep over, honestly. I never put all my eggs in one basket. I had a lot things working against me. A – it’s a DJ record. B – I was on Elektra. But every DJ I’ve ever met has at least one joint [they love] off of that. In other countries, the Ghostface record, ‘Oweeee’ was a huge hit. It was cool. It gave me an opportunity to work with most of my favorite artists in Hip-Hop. Plus, it put on a lot of artists like Saigon and Rhymefest and Daniel Merriweather. AllHipHop.com: Let’s talk about Rhymefest. A coworker passed me his Blue Collar mix this past year. I adored it. Why do you think he is the future for you? Ronson: He’s great man. We just did a new record with Old Dirty right before – his unfortunate passing. Rhymefest was in the studio when I did that “Lift Up Your Skirt” song that Funkmaster Flex is banging all summer by Dirty that unfortunately from the Roc-A-Fella situation, never came out. We also did a collaboration with Old Dirty for Rhymefest’s album. He’s a great lyricist. He beat Eminem in a battle. But his favorite MC’s are the Biz Markie’s and ODB’s and larger-than-life characters. He loves that s**t. Rich: That Blue Collar is just a hundredth of what you’ll see from him. He was just down in Nashville with Gatemouth Brown, an 80 year old Blues singer [and slide-guitar player]. He’ll bring that Biz Markie fun flavor into it, but at the same time, he wrote ‘Jesus Walks’. You can never question his ability. AllHipHop.com: How’s the record progressing? Ronson: Right now it’s exciting. Even though we applied a sound, there’s other producers. Kanye did a few joints. Just Blaze, Premier… AllHipHop.com: Damn, Premier cosigned it? Ronson: We sat with Premier in the studio and told him what we’re trying to do with the record. He’s just finishing his record right now. I’m not gonna turn in an album though til’ I rap him to death, ‘cause he’s my favorite. AllHipHop.com: Your stepfather was in Foreigner. What’s your musical relationship like with his body of work? Ronson: It’s great, man. He’s a big influence on what I want to do. There was some great Rock that came out in the late 70’s, AM era, and it really has an influence on my guitar playing. Take a record like Nikka Costa’s “Like a Feather”, that was what I thought was – making a Premo beat and playing Foreigner style guitars over it. When it all came together, Premier didn’t think it sounded like anything he’d do, and nobody cited Foreigner. When M.O.P. sampled ‘Cold As Ice’, we all went down to the video shoot. He and them were getting on like a house on fire. AllHipHop.com: What are some records you love, but could never play at a party? Ronson: That’s a good question because I play so much across the board. Maybe Fiona Apple ‘Love Ridden’. That’s just the most beautiful break-up ballad ever. Maybe ‘Paranoid Android’ by Radiohead. I have played that at a party, but only once. For me to play something once, may as well not have played it. AllHipHop.com: Do you foresee a future working relationship with the Roc? Ronson: Absolutely. Freeway is somebody that whenever I think I have something he’d like, I call him up. Beanie, I did a remix to […]

Game recognized The Game. Dr. Dre signed the Compton neophyte to Aftermath, 50 Cent marketed him as his West Coast G-Unit soldier, and The House That Jimmy Iovine Built, Interscope Records, will distribute his debut album. Not bad company for a fledging rapper. But with all the attention surrounding Game aka Chuck Taylor—whether due to his affiliations or his beefs with other rappers—the former high school basketball star knows his hype will only last as long as the hits score. Never one to bit his tongue, The Game talked to AllHipHop.com and tacked his old stomping grounds, his Web site, and whether or not he plans to resurrect the West Coast. You’ve been warned. AllHipHop.com: Can you explain the decision to name your album The Documentary rather than n***a Witta Attitude? From my understanding it was due to legal issues, is that true? The Game: Yeah, we ran into a couple roadblocks trying to clear N.W.A. Eric’s [Easy E] wife, Tomika Wright, and a couple of ownership issues. So pretty much, at the end of the day, I’m not fighting for s**t. It gets to where you lose money and it’s an enduring battle. So it’s like f**k it, let’s change the name. It was real important, but on second thought, I got to get my album out so let’s not let this s**t be the hold up. AllHipHop.com: You have movie coming out with it, too, right? The Game: Yeah, well, it’s not really a movie. It’s pretty much my life story rolled into about an hour and a half of footage. It’s nothing you’ve seen before. It’s so raw. It’s hood. It’s my life, you know what I’m saying? I walk you through every aspect of my life, basically. We had a listening party at The Hit Factory and we had like writers, DJ’s, artists, a bunch of legal people there. A bunch of people teared up. A lot of people were crying in that motherf**ker. AllHipHop.com: Could you talk about where you grew up, in Cedar Block, Compton? And the gang-culture that permeated within the neighborhood? The Game: It keeps me grounded, grass rooted. They say never forget where you come from. You can’t never forget where you came from if you never leave. Which is pretty much my mentality. Cedar Block is one of the more bigger blood gangs in Compton. It’s on the West Side. It’s a branch of the West Side Pyrus. Just dealing with that s**t, I went behind my brother and his big homie. When I was younger, my brother, he pretty much was a fixture of the gang s**t. I had different plans. In no way, shape or form, was I trying to follow behind my brother when he was just f**king up. He was like a straight A student, but on the other hand, he would go out and do what he did to get money, but not legally. And that wasn’t my forte. I pretty much was real athletic. I played basketball. I went to Compton High, which is an all Crip school. ‘Cause I went to Centennial and my basketball s**t didn’t work there, which was the blood school. I got into a bunch of fights and used to get jumped, because they knew I was from the west side of town. But once I started playing basketball, I guess n***as got tired of whupping my ass everyday, and me fighting back, and me bringing my brother in. So I just became regular, like, ‘Yo, there go J.’ And I was outstanding on the basketball court so they pretty much accepted me after the first two years. Eleventh grade, twelfth grade, I was playing ball. Basketball was my s**t. After I graduated high school, I had a scholarship to Washington State. I went there and got kicked out for some drug s**t, some drug violations. Came back and after that I ain’t have nowhere else to run. I pretty much always had a problem with authority—be it teachers, principals, police, whatever—so when I came back I wasn’t going back to school. So I just started running behind my brother. And at that point is when I started banging. You get a lot of people that say, ‘Oh Game, he wasn’t no banger, I want to high school with him.’ Damn, right. I was trying to get an education, f**king idiot. Until that didn’t work, you know what I’m saying? That’s when I took on gang banging as my new hobby. And then my brother got killed and a whole bunch of other s**t that made me real angry and real rebellious and that’s when I turned into the monster. AllHipHop.com: Do you think, overall, that people have a misperception that you overdo it with your image? The Game: One of the things about me is that I think is one of my best characteristics is that I don’t give one f**k about what people think about me, man. Which is why I do all the s**t that I do, which people on the outside looking in they think that I’m crazy. They think that I’m crazy, they think that I’m overdoing it. But at the end of the day, who gives a f**k? The only person I care about being a role model to—or doing something right or wrong for—is my son. Anybody outside that box can suck my dick, man. I don’t give a f**k. n***as know me. I’m the mad rapper. I don’t give a s**t about nobody in this whole f**king world except my kid. n***as can suck my dick if they don’t like it. Bottom line. AllHipHop.com: You interact with people on your Web site, right? The Game: Hell yeah. All the time. AllHipHop.com: What’s your response when someone says that it’s not very gangster to be on the Internet? The Game: What the f**k? John Gotti had a f**king laptop in his cell before he died. What the f**k does that mean? How […]

Nore has seen his share of beefs in hip-hop from the East/West turbulence to crew squabbles to petty rap bellyaching. These days, the original “What, What” man has settled down like sand in a calm pond. A long cry from his CNN days, and is enjoying the juicy fruits of his labor. Still, Nore’s got more oomph exemplified in One Fan A Day, his fourth solo album, which is fueled by the hit “Oye Mi Canto.” Check the metamorphosis of Nore. AllHipHop.com: Do you live in the suburbs? Nore: Yeah, I do now. AllHipHop.com: Is it crazy being that you’re from the hood? Nore: I’m used to it. As wild as it seems, I’m used to it. I worked for it. I deserve to live somewhere nice and have white neighbors – whether they like me or not. We made this the hood. We flick ash on the floor, and we have 50 n***as here so I believe you could bring the hood wherever you at. AllHipHop.com: Do you look at your rap career as a job now? Nore: It’s always been a job but you take it a little more serious. It’s just a job that I love doing. I love going to towns and meeting people. That’s why I’m naming my album One Fan A Day. I was going to call it Normicale but that didn’t have much meaning to it. One day I was with my man and he said, “Every time I’m with you, you make one fan a day.” AllHipHop.com: Meeting fans personally? That’s interesting. How do you view rappers that walk around with security? Nore: I don’t look at people who walk with security and say “They not real,” because I know that people are in different situations. But me, I try to stay humble and I treat people how I would want to be treated. KRS-One said something in his raps like, “Watch what you say because you might attract it.” AllHipHop.com: These days Lil’ Jon uses “what” a lot, but you were doubling it up like “what what!” How did that come about? Nore: Actually it about cause we was in the studio with Nas, Tragedy [Kadafi], Mobb Deep and these cats were on some laid back s**t. They from Queensbridge, I’m from Lefrak and they were so laid back that I got tired of that laid back s**t and I started yelling “What! What!” And I just rolled with it. A fan actually came up to me and was like “What, What!” I was like “Damn you be hearing my ad libs in the back like that?” When I was making “Super Thug,” I couldn’t come up with a chorus and I started saying “what, what, what …” and that actually was a reference chorus. And he just mixed it. AllHipHop.com: With the Reggaeton, you have changed your energy in a different way. Did you speak to the artists or did they reach out to you? Nore: Well Gem Star is apart of my Thugged Out family. That’s my artist. Daddy Yankee is the No. 1 Reggaeton artist on Billboard. I just wanted to take something that Pun said and keep his legacy alive. AllHipHop.com: Even though your single is bubbling in New York, did you ever consider it being risky at any time? Nore: I really don’t consider “Oye Mi Canto” my [first] single. It’s bubbling everywhere actually. It’s very risky but if it didn’t work, it would even been more risky the fact is besides the Black and Latin people are feeling it, the White people are liking it which is crazy. MTV never had Reggaeton. It’s never been on BET. These guys have been working for year and they never been able to get to our market and I been working for years and I never been able to get to their market so its like whoa! Were trading markets. AllHipHop.com: It’s looking like you’re the face of Reggaeton. Nore: Nah that’s not fair. I can’t say that. I’m just the person who made it popular in America. AllHipHop.com: I’m sure people will look at it like a reinvention. Nore: I look at it that way as well, because with me doing Hip-Hop, [Reggaeton] is my other side. Like I gave [Latinos] hints with Spanish titles like “Este Loca” and “Fiesta” – Spanish oriented but I never gave them a full Spanish record. I didn’t intend to do it this time, I just put out a record it started from one mix tape and gave it to one DJ and its all over the world. I just came back from London and they playing it. There’s not even Spanish people in London. There’s not even Spanish people in Hawaii. Its crazy now. I thought it was going to be big but I didn’t know how big it would be. AllHipHop.com: There have been some serious changes at Roc-A-Fella, but talk about why you made the leap. Nore: It was basically so much opportunities as opposed to just music. I’ve always handled my music part of it don’t matter what label I’m on, my unit is secure. Penalty [Recordings] had 12 workers – just 12. I’m serious and I made a platinum album over there. As far the record label thing, I’ma handle my business. I’ma make my marketing and create my own lane but as far as the other opportunities like the sneaker thing or the clothing line, it just made sense to me. I signed to Def Jam for Kevin Liles and Lyor Cohen and with them leaving, its like telling someone “Yo come and hang out with me in my hood – I got you” and you go to the hood and he bounced and you still in the hood. You don’t know what to do. You only know one other n***a down the block and you’re like f**k it, “I know this dude may not know him like that but he has looked out for […]

Everybody wants to be a star, yet few are actually willing to put in the work required to achieve their goals. For former Bad Boy recording artist Loon, however, this wasn’t the case. As the latest in a long line of P.Diddy sidekicks, the Harlem-bred rapper paid his dues by ghostwriting the boss’s hits and remaining a good company man. This while his debut album was delayed as a result of label changes and—according to him—eventually floundered because the lack of promotion it received. Not one to be deterred, Loon asked out of his contract. Like Treach, Loon figured he would do his dirt all by his lonely. Surprisingly, Puff relented and granted Loon what he calls the “the greatest gift you can receive in the music business.” His freedom. With the New Year ahead, the future for Loon is as bright as the Fourth of July at nighttime. AllHipHop.com: From my understanding, you’re no longer with Bad Boy? Loon: This is very true. I just definitely want the people to get the right idea of my whole move, my whole transition. ‘Cause I think it’s a very big thing for me, a big thing for Puff, you know? Allowing an artist to take his steps into entrepreneurial-ship is like the greatest gift you can receive in the music business. It’s one thing to get a record deal—you know what I’m saying? It’s one thing to get a hot video. It’s one thing to get a hot cameo. But to get an opportunity to be your own man, it like the epitome of what you can receive in this business as an artist. I’m just excited about that move right now. Definitely on a good note, Puffy will always be my partner. He’s like a brother to me. He’s next door. A great coach. I learned a lot from him. AllHipHop.com: Could you explain your situation so it’s clear? Loon: The situation now is I’m independent. The name of my company is Boss Up Entertainment. It’s very exciting. I had a rough year. I came through four years ago when Bad Boy was under fire. Puff was dealing with backlash from the court case; Jennifer Lopez was trashing us on the radio, all those thing came up. And I think through the course of that I never really got a chance to establish all the multiple impressions that I have, the multiple dimensions that I possess. ‘Cause like everybody has this perception that Loon is just a lady’s man—‘All he do is songs for the girls.’ Now I finally have a opportunity to balance all that out. AllHipHop.com: Was your leaving Bad Boy due to your request? Loon: Yeah, definitely something that I requested. I didn’t really want to be the nagging artist. Like constantly pulling on dude’s coat like, Yo, remember me? Remember me? ‘Cause being that my contribution has helped escalate him to the level that he’s at it’s definitely fascinating to sit back and see dude at his pinnacle. And me being a contributor to that it’s only right that any man in his right mind—any man’s that confident and secure with himself—is definitely gonna want to take that same initiative to make themselves rich. Or put they self on that pedestal. Without being harsh or nasty. AllHipHop.com: You mentioned not wanted to be the nagging artist, but it seems that you would have Puff’s ear more than any artist on label. Because you were a steady force for him during Bad Boy’s slow years. Loon: Exactly. But you got to also understand that this is a guy juggling probably like 12 to 13 companies at once. It’s very true that I did have Puff’s ear like that. I think dude respected me a great deal. But at the same token you can also see how overwhelming his position has became. Like I said, I don’t want to be the nagging artist and try to distress that whole vibe. I went through that stuff. The last thing I want is my artists feeling like that. That’s why the whole Boss Up thing is important to me. ‘Cause what I’m trying to instill in my artists is first you become your own boss Once you hit your first 2, 3, 4, 5 million, fam, Loon ain’t trying to hold you up. If you want to be here that’s on you. Boss Up, baby. AllHipHop.com: Is if fair to say your experience with Puff and his commitment to his companies is similar to the situations he’s had with the Lox, 112, and Faith? Loon: Like I said, when I stepped into the situation—don’t get me wrong—I already knew what I was dealing with. This is a guy who is juggling multiple positions. All you got to do is play your position. And the key to success at Bad Boy is to just play your position. Any artist that ever did that has won. And I could name a few. Biggie played his position. Even though we all know that’s the house that Biggie built. We all knew he was the mayor, the president, all that. But at the end of the day the owner of Bad Boy is definitely puff. Dude played his position, he never did anything to try to overshadow Puff; they shared the light together. The same thing with Mase. When Mase came he played his position. He played his position to where he even had a number 2 shirt on. The ones that have been successful are the ones that have played his position. AllHipHop.com: To be clear, your departure was due more to you wanting to be your own boss rather than say the lack of promotion or the sales of your debut album? Loon: Well, I do blame the company for that. I don’t blame Puff. A lot of people like to blame Puff. I was signed to Bad Boy. I wasn’t signed to P.Diddy Records. I wasn’t signed to Sean Combs Records. […]

There are many figures in the relatively short history of Hip-Hop as a movement, a music and a cultural phenomenon. For every pro, there is a con—either gaining our admiration or our enmity via their service or lack thereof to our culture, respect.One central figure has earned both our respect and our anger at once. One who inspires both love and fear. One who has influenced the very music we listen to and love. That man is Marion “Suge” Knight. This AllHipHop.com piece is a part of a fictional series intent on examining reality in a different manner. What if he didn’t get cut from pro football? What if he didn’t end up body guarding for the D.O.C.? What if he never co-founded Death Row Records with Dr. Dre? What if he never bailed Tupac out of jail? IN FACT, WHAT IF SUGE KNIGHT NEVER MET HIP-HOP AT ALL?The impact, or lack of, is felt immediately. Without Suge’s notorious muscle and the legal assistance of lawyer David Kenner, producer Dr. Dre is unable to leave Ruthless Records. Dre continues to provide the soundtrack to N.W.A.’s five times platinum album, Music to Kill To, which succeeds Straight Outta Compton (1988), 100 Miles & Runnin’ (1990 EP) and Niggaz4life (1991). Tracks such as “Beverly Hills Massacre” and “Daggers for the D.A.” send chills to the spines of Right Wing conservatives across America, prompting some politicians to take action. The furor from parents groups increases as the suburban youth of America continue to feast on NWA’s increasingly nihilistic music. Priority Records, independent distributor of Ruthless Records, is put under investigation by the feds and its assets are frozen. With no Priority records to back him, Percy “Master P.” Miller, owner of No Limit Records, out of Richmond, CA, never gets a distribution network to put out his No Limit Record Label.Warren G never gets to pass his tape off to his step brother Dre, because after many talks about how bad his Ruthless contract is, Warren becomes disheartened. As a result, his friends, Nate and Calvin from 213, never get to share their talent with the world and young Calvin aka Snoop Doggy Dogg is killed in a gang-related altercation with Philip Woldemariam. Friend and crooner Nate Dogg sings at his funeral and is discovered by an L.A. Record exec. His album Rhythm and Gangsta changes the game and Nate is cemented in hip-hop history as the most prolific hip-hop hook singer of all time.With Priority floundering, a burdened Eazy-E searches for a new distributor and makes an alliance with Lyor Cohen for the creation of Def Jam West. Jerry Heller, Eazy’s Jewish partner becomes outraged by now, having the Israeli Cohen in charge of his operation. Similarly, Lorenzo Patterson aka MC Ren decides to leave the group in a huff. With no lyricists to speak of, Dr. Dre begins a nationwide search for replacements. Fiery, political rapper Tupac Shakur is appointed Ren’s replacement on NWA. The oft-troubled rapper proves to be the perfect replacement with a lyrical approach that appears to be Ren and Cube combined. Shakur backed by Dre’s block-busting beats and Eazy-E’s maniacal ravings prove to be a match made in heaven.But all is not well, for some realities are unavoidable.Eazy- E takes ill in the summer of 1995 and Shakur is unable to stay out of trouble for long. The multi-platinum success of NWA’s1994 epic album, Heaven for a N#####’s, is muted by Shakur’s looming sexual assault charges, brought on by an night of partying gone wrong in New York. Soon after falling sick, Eazy-E’s mystery sickness is diagnosed as AIDS and he tragically dies soon after. The Godfather of Gangsta Rap never gets a chance to meet and sign four wayward youths from Cleveland named Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.With Def Jam West/Ruthless imprint a new cash cow, Cohen blows off a meeting with self-proclaimed “cakeaholic” Dame Dash and his prime artist Jay-Z. The duo and partner Kareem “Biggs” Burke head elsewhere to get their blossoming music out to the world. After signing a joint venture with Rawkus, Roc-A-Fella Records never achieves the success it would have with Def Jam and after selling 300,000 units of Reasonable Doubt, Shawn Carter realizes hustling is more profitable. But the don will eventually become powerful enough to be slapped with RICO charges from the federal government. Still in jail, Shakur has no Knight to bail him out. Eazy-E’s estate is embroiled in a legal battle with Cohen and Heller for ownership of Ruthless’ masters. Def Jam, fat from the sales of Heaven for a N####, decides to let Shakur stay in jail so he can be rehabilitated. Tupac remains in prison and his indomitable spirit is redirected under the weight of a five-to-10 year sentence. After six moths in prison, Shakur begins to write and organize prisoners to change the horrible conditions in Dannemora State Prison. The jailhouse revolutionary raises the ire of the warden and his staff, who plot the covert assassination of Shakur. The murder of Tupac Shakur sparks a week-long riot at the prison and eventually the governor signs a bill of reform after the injustice is discovered. Shakur’s 1000-page jail memoirs of poetry, letters, and prison stories become the source of a novel about his life and countless books that garner him more praise and understanding than criticism. In 1998, three years after his death, dozens of hours of tape are found in the vaults of what used to be Ruthless Records. Tamika Wright, sole executor of Eazy-E’s estate, works with Shakur’s mother Afeni to release these songs on Amaru/Phoenix Records.Where does Dr. Dre stand in all this, one may ask.Chained to Ruthless by a Draconian contract since the original days of NWA, Dre produces hit after hit for the label while reaping some level of financial comfort. After Eazy-E’s death, Tamika, now in sole possession of all rights to every artist/contract on Ruthless, grants Dre his freedom.With no artist to produce for, no label to work for, Dre falls […]

Jay-Z is one of the greatest lyricists in rap history, but questions loom as to whether or not the multi-platinum semi-retired Brooklyn emcee is capable of running hip-hop’s most legendary record label as a vigilant decision-maker instead of an on-court player.   Following the official announcement of Jay-Z’s appointment as president of Def Jam Records, the hip-hop world seemed taken aback by the news, though reports were wildly circulated in the past months. Perhaps the fanfare was caused because few hip-hop stars have been able to crossover successfully to the music industry’s executive realm. Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter, may be the first of his caliber to attempt the feat on such a level.   Sean “P. Diddy” Combs is one rival, though his status as an emcee is not that of the self-proclaimed “god MC.” And even the seemingly unstoppable intern-turned-rapper-turned-entrepreneur was unable to sustain the 90’s potency of his Bad Boy Entertainment label, he still maintained by diversifying into fashion (Sean John), acting, running marathons and numerous business ventures. Jay, along with Dame Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke, has followed suit with his own Rocawear line, liquor, Nets NBA team, new film company and a host of other properties.   Not surprising, Jay-Z steps into his new presidential shoes with a few setbacks admitted New Jersey rapper Joe Budden. “This whole year, Def Jam has been one big soap opera as far as people who hold extremely important positions coming and going,” Budden said to AllHipHop.com. Budden who recently signed with Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella. And he refers to the several executives from Def Jam and their parent label, Universal Records, who have departed in the last year, including Jay-Z’s former associates Kevin Lyles and Lyor Cohen. “Not only is the label in limbo phase, so are the artists. And in the end, the fans are the ones [who] suffer the most. God willing, Jay will handle his,” Budden continued.   While some appear eager to see Jay-Z possibly usher in a new era of authentic hip-hop, others critique that Hov is just another name to add to the Def Jam brand. And some question what will become of Jay-Z’s friend and former business partner, Roc-A-Fella CEO Damon Dash, who is reportedly furnishing a label called Roc 4 Life. Not too soon before Jay was named president, Island Def Jam purchased Roc-A-Fella Records from Jay-Z and his partners, Dash and Biggs for $10 million dollars.    St. Louis rapper and emerging mogul Nelly, who is under the Universal Records umbrella with Derrty/Fo Reel Entertainment, said Jay-Z is coming from a different perspective that artists can relate to and therefore respect.   "I see it as a young black brother getting a chance, moving up,” Nelly told AllHipHop.com. “I think it needs to be more presidents like that coming from experiences like [Jay-Z’s], getting a chance to see it from a whole ‘nother level, from a whole ‘nother era, from a whole ‘nother view."   With artists like Ja Rule and LL Cool J now under Jay-Z’s helm, there have been some grumblings, however many have been publicly supportive of the promotion. Will Jay-Z instinctively favor his own Roc-A-Fella artists like Kanye West, Memphis Bleek and Beanie Sigel.” "We are a big part of what’s to come with Jay,” the Roc’s Young Gunz boasted. “Young Gunz taking over.”   In an interview prior to Jay’s appointment, Atlanta rapper and Def Jam artist Ludacris said Jay-Z is perfectly capable of running the record label, as long as he keeps rapping behind him.   “It’s cool if he stays true as far as retiring. Because I know as [an] artist and a CEO it is difficult [to separate business with artistry],” Luda expressed. “Being that Jay-Z was in the industry so long, I’m pretty sure that he has a lot of wisdom and experience, and I know that [he] would know what to do if he was appointed that position.”   The news of Jay-Z’s “promotion” comes only months after he released his final solo record, The Black Album, and announced his official retirement from the rap game. In a now foreboding interview on Late Show with Carson Daly in early November, Jay-Z expressed his desire to “put the focus back on artistry, put the music first.”   Similarly, Lyor Cohen, the former Island Def Jam chairman, stressed the magnitude of Jay-Z’s arrival to the record company that Cohen helped revitalize during his tenure. "Jay taking on the responsibility of Def Jam is critical to me and the entire hip-hop community,” Cohen told AllHipHop.com. “Def Jam is the number one brand in hip-hop and needs to be in capable hands.” For the time being, most people are just happy and will eagerly wait to see what happens hereon. "We all have watched him grow from a hustler to a business man, and this is good for music as a whole. This is a guy who loves all kinds of music and I’m sure that’s gonna show that with some of the artists he puts the machine behind," said VA rapper Skillz. "He understands the streets and the corporate side of this game so I know we gonna see a whole new Def Jam. I’m excited to see what he has in store."  Universal purchased Def Jam from hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons in 1999 for over $100 million dollars and merged it with Island, forming the Island/Def Jam Music Group. Jay-Z will continue to run Roc-A-Fella Records as part of his deal and will report directly to Island Def Jam Music Group CEO Antonio “LA” Reid.   Jay-Z’s appointment is effective January 3, 2005.

He may not be a thug, hustler, or what one might label an emcee, but Nelly has somehow ensnared the rap world and beyond with his country charm. His 2000 street anthem “Country Grammar,” recognized as the playful rhyming tune (“Down, Down Baby”) the ‘hood used to chant back in the days, instantly connected to the hip-hop audience. And the sing-songy hook was catchy enough to capture the interest of the MTV crowd. Ever since, the St. Louis native’s dialectic flow has earned him platinum-selling status and a universal appeal that has eluded even the sharpest lyricists. But that hasn’t halted claims of misogyny and steady attacks aimed at his commercial reputation. That aside, Nelly’s latest albums Sweat and Suit, released simultaneously, made him the first solo artist to debut at number one and two on the Billboard Charts, and his singles have remained atop the charts since he surfaced on the music scene. Nelly spoke candidly with AllHipHop.com one evening to discuss his commerciality, talk basketball, and settle rumors of a romantic link between him and R&B singer Ashanti. AllHipHop.com: How would you rate yourself as a singer? Nelly: I don’t know, I wouldn’t. I’d probably do okay for a rapper, but if I was to call myself a singer, I think people would tear me apart. AllHipHop.com: What about the comparisons to Ja Rule, who got some backlash for his rapping/singing. What’s your reaction to that criticism? Nelly: People are always gonna compare, but I mean, that’s not for me to say. That’s not really for me to say or nothing like that. I enjoy duke music too, so it’s nothing like that, but this is something I’ve been doing since my first album. AllHipHop.com: Some people say you’re not really a lyricist like for example, Nas or Jay Z. I think lyricist is a different definition than rapper. Nelly: Well, yeah. I think it is. AllHipHop.com: Do you consider yourself a lyricist? Nelly: I mean…as far as like with Nas and Jay-Z and different people, I think, different people for different reasons. I think I have did certain songs where I probably…you know, I probably did a few songs on each of my albums where people really didn’t listen. AllHipHop.com: Which songs do you think? Nelly: I think “On the Grind,” I don’t think people listened, off the Nellyville album. I thought “Greed, Hate, Envy” was pretty good off the Country Grammar album. “Tho Dem Wrappas” off the Country Grammar album, I thought was pretty hot. I think on this album, I think [pauses] “River Don’t Runnn.” I also think off of this album, off the Sweat album, I think “Na-NaNa-Na” was hot to me. AllHipHop.com: Some people tend to see you as a commercial rapper, a pop artist. I’m wondering if you see yourself that way too. Nelly: Nah, I don’t see that as far as like, when you say commercial in the aspect of…I mean, I’ve been able to appeal, but who hasn’t? Is 50 [Cent] a commercial rapper? He sold 6 million albums, you know. Jay-Z sold 5 million albums on an album before. And once you get to a certain [point], you are pop music. It’s funny because a lot of rappers say that, until they achieve that type of success, and then you see a slight change in them. At least mine been the same since day one. AllHipHop.com: Do you write all your own lyrics? Nelly: Yeaah, I hope so. AllHipHop.com: Would you ever consider changing your style, for example a lot of rappers are doing the political thing now. Nelly: Well, I mean, again, it’s about me evolving and stuff like that, so I don’t know what might happen. I grew up on gangsta rap. First record I bought was Eazy-E. I grew up on “Dopeman, Dopeman” and N***az4life and all that, so that was what I was on. I didn’t get to this ‘til after I started seeing music as really a way out of where the hell I was in, as a new hustle for me basically. Because I was like, ‘hey, well wait a minute, y’all gon’ pay me what for this?’ I feel if I could sell drugs, I ain’t got no problem with selling music, you can’t be serious. AllHipHop.com: You said in a recent interview that there are rappers that stay on top of the beat and those that stay behind the beat, but you want to be inside the beat. What did you mean by that? Nelly: Well, just that. You might have heard a lot of rappers on the beat and it sound like they kinda fighting the beat. It’s like ‘oh, no. You shouldn’t be on that beat’ [laughs]. And then you have some people it’s like, oh yeah, like you got busy. And you know, the ones who I think, I think Jay-Z is one good for finding a way inside the beat. I think Missy is another one that’s good for finding her way inside the beat. I think Fabolous is another, for finding his way to get inside the beat. Ja [Rule] is the same, you know. You gotta find your way inside that beat, though. Some people just hear a hot beat, yet still they say the same rap the same way as they would say on any other beat. That’s not it, you hear that and you’re like ughh [laughs]. AllHipHop.com: I heard you’re going to be hosting an episode of "MAD TV" at the end of this month. Nelly: Well, not really hosting "MAD TV," but I’m promoting it. AllHipHop.com: So you’re performing on it? Nelly: Yeah, I performed on it. AllHipHop.com: Do you see yourself getting into acting heavily? Nelly: If the fans allow me to. To be honest. They might not want to see me like that, or they might not feel me. So if they allow me to, then so be it. If they don’t, then I mean, I’m content, sweetheart. I […]

Mobb Deep has gone to war to good and bad results with the best of them. When the West Coast began firing shots at the East on record, the Mobb was among the first ones to grab their verbal guns and fire back, as they licked off countless shots at Left Coast figures like the late Tupac Shakur. At the height of Jay-Z’s career, they jousted, and some might argue, directed their entire “Infamy” album at the self-proclaimed god MC. But there have always been a fair share of Mobb Deep critics who’ve claimed their tough talk is just a façade, and that they’re act too gangsta for their own good. Now, they face an even greater task, as Littles, their once QB comrade and manager, has waged an all out lyrical street war against Mobb Deep. Littles charges that the duo has exercised poor business practices and overall disloyalty to their QB affiliates like Big Noyd, Bars and Hooks, and Infamous Mobb. To punctuate his point, Littles has released “What’s Beef: F**k Prodigy,” a mixtape that’s bubbling in the streets, reaffirms that Mobb has split and he blasts his former brethren like never before. Let the beef cook: AllHipHop.com: A lot of people know you’ve been associated with Mobb Deep for a long time. You’ve been on their albums, they’ve been on yours. You’ve put out their DVDs. You’ve managed them. Is there an exact reason for this beef with Mobb Deep or is it just a buildup of things? Littles: It’s a buildup of things for themselves going through problems, but there’s an exact reason for me. And the exact reason for me is basically knowing someone for 20 years and then at the end of the day, getting a 2way from someone wanting to go their own direction. Not wanting to be a part of a group is one thing, but not wanting to be part of a company that’s already up and running is another thing. Basically, Prodigy wanted out all the way after I’ve done nothing but sacrifice my life and time and energy for the longest dealing with this Infamous Records thing. AllHipHop.com: What was the driving force behind Prodigy wanting to end the company? Littles: I think the driving force behind him wanting to end the company was him wanting to do what he’s doing with Alchemist. Prodigy probably had a million things, but I’ve learned that he’s the type of person that will have good intentions in the beginning, but when things seem to hard or they don’t work right, he’ll just give up. Prodigy has been getting his chain taken for years, he’s been getting beat up and herbed for years. He’ll promise you something and then give you a wrong number or change his number, or just never answer you back until one day you run into him. And that’s what happened on the side of Nas Central Park stage. Someone just happened to run into him after a year of trying to get in contact with him for something they had already started on. And the brush-in began. And what did Littles do? He jumped in the middle, deaded the brush-in, caused myself to have my friends and their friends shooting at each other in the projects, going to war over someone who doesn’t know what loyalty is. It’s proven that they don’t know what loyalty is, because look where Noyd is- he’s in the projects hurting, on the train. Look where Bars & Hooks are- they’re in the projects hurting, sitting on a bench. Infamous Mobb is the same way. And for years the mindset has been, ‘One more Mobb Deep album, when this blow up, then we’ll focus on everyone else’s album.’ That s**t has been like that album after album, the same talk. That’s where the black couch comes into play. In every studio there’s a black couch. That’s where all the flunkies sit and wait for their career to come to them, and I just refuse to be a part of that black couch. AllHipHop.com: Would you say you have some issues with Alchemist that sort of conflict with your relationship with Prodigy? Littles: Actually, I didn’t have anything with Alchemist. What happened was that Alchemist got smacked up and got his chain taken by someone who was affiliated with all of us, and I was guilty by association and they wanted to know why I didn’t stop it. The whole thing is, Alchemist is a grown man. He’s defenseless to me. But what happens is that he put himself in a situation of selling beats and re-selling beats, and getting a bad name for himself around the camp. He’s the same dude who plugged Tru Life into what studio Mobb Deep records in, and had Tru Life come in there and strip all of Mobb Deep’s friends, beat everybody up with guns, blew a shotgun off in the studio. They weren’t wrong for how they felt because Prodigy did a song with them for a lot of money and then re-spit his verse on a mixtape, but it shows you that no matter how defenseless you are, you can still be harmful. By Alchemist letting Tru Life know what studio Mobb Deep was in – he was there and they didn’t touch him. I would watch money transfers and you see Mobb Deep do six or seven songs for him on his album for free, and then you get an invoice from him for double digits and big points, I’m thinking something’s wrong here because things are conflicting here. But at the end of the day, it was just Alchemist and Prodigy breaking money up. The smartest thing that Alchemist has ever done is stay away from the shadows of that pen and paperwork with them. I actually respect his hustle. Allhiphop: What did P say on the 2way you mentioned? Littles: [Reading the 2way message] From Prodigy, on October 29th, 2004, 12:07 PM: […]

Crunk is a man’s sport, even more so that traditional Hip-Hop. Fortunately, there are a few strong women that can breakup the testosterone party. Picking up trails blazed by pioneers like Gangsta Boo, Princess and Diamond represent the next generation of the genre with their Atlanta-based group Crime Mob, a group that’s got crowds crazy with "Knuck if Yo Buck." With due respect to other group members Lil Jay, Princess, Killa C, MIG, and Psycho Blak, its high time the world discover what makes these girls want to get buck so bad AllHipHop.com: So tell me how did you get hook up in the Crime Mob, and how did you get into the Rap game? Diamond: I was [always] into writing poetry. I had books and books. I had so many books of poetry; it was to the point where people use to steal my books, and wouldn’t give it back or whatever. But Princess and Lil’ Jay, they [supported] me. And one day, I was walking outside, and they were all inside Lil’ Jay’s house with the studio, which we were recording, “Knuck if You Buck.” And Princess was outside, and I asked her what was going on, and what were they doing she said they were rapping and I told her I was interested. So she said then, me and her will form our own group. As a family, we would be Crime Mob, but just us two, we would be Diamond and Princess. Princess: I never thought “Knuck if You Buck” would go this far. I used to hate that song, because my brother is a perfectionist, and he would not stop until he thought the beat was right. He would wake me up at four in the morning on a school night, so that I can hear a beat. He would always play that beat to the point were I was, ‘Okay, Jon John the beat sounds the same, all your beats sound the same.’ I learned to like it. AllHipHop.com: So how old are you if you don’t mind me asking you? Diamond: I’m 16. Princess: I am 17 years old. AllHipHop.com: Okay, so you’re still in school and everything? Princess: Yeah, I do home-school. AllHipHop.com: How’s it been trying to juggle you rap career and school at the same time? Princess: Last year, it slipped a little bit because we were doing shows on week days; getting home at three and getting up at six that was really tiring. Once the teachers found out I was rapping and when I would ask them for homework and assignments I missed, they would chastise me by saying, ‘You shouldn’t have been out in the streets rapping and you should have been here and I am not going to give you the homework.’ So I had to find ways around that, and now that I am in home-schooled. Diamond: It’s been hard work; it’s kind of like two different worlds. Monday through Friday, when we here in Atlanta it basically school work, you know kind of living a regular life. And then from Friday to Sunday, we are celebrities. It’s a good thing, but it’s also something you cant just slack up on, it’s hard work you got to maintain and make sure you stay on top in your game. I feel that education should be the most important thing in case anything happen, I mean I can lose my voice, and if I’m educated, I can have something to…on do something else with my life. AllHipHop.com: Diamond, do you have haters in school, people getting jealous and stuff? Diamond: Oh yeah. Petty much when you do anything, and the person sees you coming to the top, you know it’s going to be that one person out of the whole bunch who is going to be jealous, but I would say its more love than hate. AllHipHop.com: I assume, you and your mom are pretty close and what not. You’re doing a little cursing on the record, does she say anything about it? Diamond: The way my mom sees it, outside of rapping I’m Britney, I have respect, I’ve been brought up well to know how to act in certain environment, to respect my elders, or to have respect for my self so other people can respect me. My mother looks at it as me being a performer, but outside of the performance, I’m still her baby, I’m still her daughter, and I still do what I have to do whenever she tell me to do it. She is accepting it more now, because that just my style. As long as it’s nothing degrading, I don’t dress degrading. A lot of my body, I don’t do anything that’ll make me look bad. AllHipHop.com: Speaking of performance, you were sounding kind of hard on the record, how much of that is really you? Princess: In a way it is a part of my personality, but I just don’t show it. It only comes out when it is provoked. I don’t start it, I won’t go up to somebody like, ‘What’s up B####?’ Well maybe, if I knew the person and [it was] in a funny way. But if somebody comes up to me, I’ll be ready to get it poppin’ with my stilettos. But I don’t start fights, I finish them. I took a couple of classes. I got trophies to show you and got stuff in my year books to show you, that I be knuckin’ and buckin’, and ready to fight. Diamond: Basically I’m cool and kind hearted, I’ll go out my way for a person in a minute if they need anything from me, but at the same time, once you cross the line, that’s it. AllHipHop.com: Do you feel that there is pressure to live up to the standards you brother has set? Princess: No, not really. To me, it is no pressure because that is my brother. That is my heart, and as […]