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

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

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

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

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

Sheek Louch! Solo effort. Sick. September 2003. All Lox slash D-Block fans salute! What’s really good with D-Block and their empire in the making? Please bookmark the history of the hood’s phenomenon. From the slick streets of Yonkers to Bad Boy on to Double R, The Lox/D-Block remained loyal as a group and to the hungry streets. Scratch through any exclusive DJ Clue mix-tape back in the late 90’s…surely they dominated block and corner music. But now it’s later, and D-Block is determined to control the rap game without attachments. Sheek’s singular effort proves that alone amidst the masses he stands thorough and able to walk. But not in the shadows of his closet comrades Pinero, the Ghost, Styles P. and the raspy voice, hook-master J-a-d-a Kiss, but simply alone. Sheek Louch is set to prove to non-believers and his loyalist fan-base that he walks without a crutch. Allhiphop.com caught up with him and J-Hood at a music session at Hot97 in Boston with DJ Chubby Chub while promoting his album, Walk With Me. They were energetic, focused, and ready to discuss the state of affairs regarding D-Block. AllHipHop.com: Sheek you gotta tell me before we get into the whole D-Block situation…we gotta go back to The Lox. How long have you been in this game? It’s been a minute. SHEEK LOUCH: Yo! I feel like a young old man in this game man. Like I’ve seen them come and go and longevity is the key in this man…but yo…we’ve been doing this since like…it’s been years. AllHipHop.com: Before Show Me The Money Part 2 (DJ Clue). Well, Well, Well… SHEEK LOUCH: Well, Well, Well wow! I gotta give you a pound on that! Yeah! It’s been a minute though man! You now what I’m saying? I mean from Puff, before Puff to just hitting the streets up heavy. And then Puff, and then Ruff Ryders, and then our own thing…D-Block-Universal and now my album. AllHipHop.com: So how does the transition go from ya’ll being just street to making it to Bad Boy? How does the foundation feel to have D-Block and know that’s your creation? SHEEK LOUCH: Yo…man it feels beautiful. I can tell you like when Styles and Kiss was doing their solo projects and all that…that’s all I had in mind. Like yo…we were all like…we gotta get a label…we gotta get a label. Boom! And I tell everybody like I wasn’t even trying to do no solo project until like…until like I started hitting the mix-tape circuit myself…and everybody was asking like yo…when is your album coming out? So that’s when I finally did that. But my whole key was like yo…I’m not doing nothing on nobody else’s label. Like for my project…it gotta be on our own thing to get some of that other money. I want to sit at that big desk and politic about J-Hood’s album coming out, and politic about this and that. So we went to Universal and they was talking the right language and the right money…and not so much as the money…but really our vision on what The Lox wanted to bring to this game, and what we wanted to do, and don’t get in our way. You know what I mean? And they were like yo dawg…ya’ll doing it anyways without no label, without no money behind ya’ll…ya’ll doing it…so here and we gonna step back. So to answer your question it feels BEAUTIFUL! AllHipHop.com: It feels beautiful to build your own creation. Now, with three of ya’ll in the group, I mean the focus depending on who you like the most…well with some people they just like the group overall. How does it feel having different weights in the group? How do you feel about having to balance the group out? Is the solo project a lot of weight on you? SHEEK LOUCH: It’s a lot of weight on me as far as the label D-Block. It’s not a lot of weight as far as me trying to outsell Kiss, outsell Styles or none of that…Naw! We all spit it. Nobody’s weak in this game. We all spit it. And we all make hit music. Naw! Like we all bring different things to the table. AllHipHop.com: I saw what ya’ll went through from being on majors to coming back off and doing the street thing. So how do you explain the loyalty amongst you three now including Hood and others in your team? SHEEK LOUCH: A lot of these other groups are put together. Or a manager found this person and put him with that person. That’s not it with us. I mean, when we ain’t doing music…Kiss is with me…I’m with Kiss…Styles is with me. We in the hood like drinking, smoking, doing whatever we do…like just thuggin’ it out…like a lot of these cats…after the videos…after they roll cameras…they go their own separate ways and they don’t see each other until then. Or when they get into the studios…they come to record that song and they all come with their verses written already. There’s no chemistry going on with them. Me, Kiss, and Styles grew up our whole lives around each other. Our families are close and everything. J-Hood, we met him in Yonkers since he was young. He’s nineteen now. This was like when he was fifteen years old just telling us he raps and letting us hear him. We got another group too, but I ain’t gonna speak on them and they’re sickening. When we get people, we ain’t just trying to get cake. We’re trying to build a family…like loyalty. There’s a lack of loyalty out there. AllHipHop.com: Now Hood, how does it feel coming into like a legendary camp like this? Although to some they might not be legendary because you know it’s not the big glam and things. They are legends from my perspective. How does it feel walking with them? J-HOOD: It feels good. It makes me feel like […]

When you see Method Man on TV, you see an element of the master. You see a clown, a jester holding court, you see a great veteran MC, you see a comedic entertainer and you see that gleam in his eye. When you get Method Man in a truer element, those aspects are still there. But a clown is appreciated much more as an artist with his make-up off. Allhiphop joined Method Man not looking to be entertained, but rather enlightened. With his third solo LP, Tical: The Prequel soon to hit record store shelves, we wanted to collect with the Mighty Ticallion Stallion. We discuss the new album, the new personnel, and the new lifestyle of media-ruled hip-hop. Method Man is as insightful as he is agile with words. In fact, he saved the small-talk and cut to the concrete. Allhiphop: One of my favorite hip-hop words is ‘steez’. You’re the first cat I ever heard rock it, and Gang Starr chopped it to the track. Was that a Meth word, or does it go back? Method Man: Steez, yeah. That goes back to EPMD. Yeah, we used to say, “Stee”, style. N##### used to [that]. It’s a New York word. [EPMD] even had a dancer called Stezo. Allhiphop: The new record is called “The Prequel”. Are you saying that this is what made you, or is it a record that’s taking us back, or what? Method Man: It’s a prequel, because on the last album, Judgement Day – judgement day is when everything ends, when everything gets judged. So after that, there’s nothing. So you have to go back to the beginning. So that’s what I did, this is the last chapter of the Tical s**t. Allhiphop: Now I haven’t heard the record. I only read your comments about it in a magazine. But, I found it interesting that you made it a point to isolate yourself to do this record. Without having heads all around you, did you ever feel like you weren’t certain on whether something was hot or not? Method Man: Well, even when I did do my s**t around people, they ain’t never really…I mean, it gets to a point where nobody wanna tell nobody nothin’ no more ‘cuz they too busy worried about they own s**t. You know? But I know what’s hot and what’s not and I’m my own worst critic, so I’m pretty confident in my own opinions about my s**t. And as far as pleasing the audience, our audience is so fickle these days that they don’t know what the f**k they want. They done been to the club about fifty-eleven times. Allhiphop: Haven’t heard. But one producer I love is No I.D. In words, talk about the cut yall did together…what it is? Method Man: When I first heard the [beat], it sounds different from anything I’ve ever heard. We have a girl, C##### singin’ on it. It’s basically a girl joint. Like girlfriend. I mean, you gotta hear it. They like it enough where I think radio’s gonna pick it up, it may be a single. Allhiphop: You also mentioned criticism a lot. You said people jump off on your guest spots but pick at your albums. Have you ever thought that there’s several layers of fans. Especially with you. There’s cats that wanna tattoo “Release Yo’ Delf” on they eardrums and hated the joint with Fred Durst, and theres vice versa. How does that strike you? Method Man: Oh, people didn’t like me fu**in’ with Durst, huh? Allhiphop: Just an example. Method Man: But they don’t make or break my m’f**kin’ career, I make my m’f**kin’ career and s**t, the sons of b######. Can’t stand the motherf**kers. Those who can’t do, criticize me. Allhiphop: Is there a specific place for a Rap critic? Method Man: Yeahhhh, there is. The trash can – stinkin’ ass m’fu**as. It’s like, they can critique a motherfu**in’ song, or a singer or some s**t. Because half those mothafu**ers don’t write they own songs. But when you sit there and tell a m’f**ka, “No, you got your life wrong. You didn’t write your life right. That’s not the way we remembered.” It’s like, Who the f**k are you to tell me that ain’t my life! Kick yo’ ass, yo’ ass, and yo’ ass. Allhiphop: Your flow is so detailed, and yet you make the rhyme delivery just look easy. What is your method for getting your messages across, while still straight murdering the beat? Method Man: Say what you feel. I been sayin’ that since day one. Do what the music tell you to do. Just make that s**t make sense [laughing] some way. Just make that make sense, to you. That’s it, man. Just that grind that s**t out and blow it up. My s**t is just words, wordplay. You can say the same s**t somebody said, but it’s the way that you say it. It’s how you spit it, it’s the confidence. That’s the whole s**t right there. Allhiphop: Hip-hop never has seen you without that confidence… Method Man: Never will, neither. ‘Cuz I know I’m dope as s**t! It’s just that the rest of the world ain’t considered it. ‘Cuz you got a lot of motherf**kas that like to hate on n##### and s**t. That hate s**t is real, man. I hate to give motherfu**as too much credit, but they put a ni**a under. S**t, Mase got out the game. Allhiphop: Is that hate plaguing hip-hop, or everything in life? Method Man: Everything. In our field, where there’s so much money at stake and s**t, now ni**as get down. AllHipHop: What do you think about the whole concept of the cameras and s**t following him around? Method Man: They exploiting that ni**a. I thought he was a General. I thought he was pimping the game. He a soldier man [not a general]. When he went to Roc-A-Fella I was happy for this ni**a I was like, “Yeah go get that […]

The music industry is universally known as a business that can make or break partnerships, as well as family ties and life-long friendships. One of the West Coast’s most influential groups, Da Lench Mob, knows this theory to be a fact. As an upstart three-man team of politically biased militants, founded by post-N.W.A. Ice Cube, their debut album, Guerillas In Tha Mist, skyrocketed to the top of the charts in 1992, attaining gold status in just three weeks. But as quickly as the hype and success came, it was swept away. The subsequent arrests of member J-Dee and T-Bone, rumors of sabotage within the ranks, and terrible mismanagement of group finances ultimately led to the untimely demise of Da Lench Mob. Group member Shorty has stood strong and kept his feet firm to the ground in the years since their parting. Shorty took time out of his surprisingly busy schedule to tell Allhiphop.com the real story about the events that led up to the group’s disbandment, the rumored beef with Ice Cube, and the many projects he is working on that he feels will shock this entire industry. Allhiphop.com: Tell us what is going on in your life right now. You are being labeled as the “Hip-Hop Hannibal,” and you have a new album you are releasing. Shorty: I’ve been putting it down for a good 13 or 14 years in this industry, man. We started out with our boy Ice Cube, and of course, from back then to now, a brother has learned the game inside and out. We’re not slaves to the industry anymore. Brothers got wise and started their own companies and production teams, and started taking it to that next level. Right now, I’ve got my hands in a few projects, man. My recent project is this thing called “Say Something,” a DVD-movie. The whole concept behind “Say Something” is that 100,000 Man March that’s coming up in October. Allhiphop.com: Where is that going to be? Shorty: At The Coliseum in Los Angeles. Basically, it’s a cry in the street trying to get brothers to cease-fire and come together in unity, man. It’s a gang intervention type of thing. All the different gang factions in L.A. will attend, and I was able to pull together some heavy hitters in the industry that actually partook in the gang life. Myself, KAM, RBX, Boo-Yaa Tribe, WC, Tray-Deee of the Eastsidaz, and Kid Frost. I basically just pulled everybody from different Blood and Crip sets, and even got Kid Frost to represent our Chicano brothers. The actual song we all made is off the hook, man. Allhiphop.com: Does the song parlay the same message as “Self Destruction?” Shorty: You know, it’s similar to that, but it’s more along the lines of “We’re All In The Same Gang.” I think it’s one of the hardest singles that has come from L.A. in a long time. Allhiphop.com: Does the DVD-movie have an entire soundtrack that comes with it? Shorty: Well, it doesn’t have a whole soundtrack. Me and my partner Hakeem went in and did it as a single. Then, at the same time, we all came up with an idea like, “man, let’s just make it a documentary.” Everybody that partook in the song actually was gang-affiliated. So, I thought it would be tight to get brothers on there, busting lyrics, but at the same time, get them to speak on how they came up. The DVD-movie is about 1 hour and 20 minutes long. It’s a hot project, man. Plus, we are about to go to Japan to lockdown a distribution deal so we can release it in October out here. Allhiphop.com: Will the project only be available in California, or are you doing nationwide distribution? Shorty: It’s going to be worldwide, man. Check for it on the website, http://www.dalenchmob.com, and we’ll keep everybody updated. Allhiphop.com: Talk about your other projects that you are currently working on. I know that your hands are in so many different pots right now. Shorty: I’m halfway through my second solo album. I released my album, Short Story, in 2001. My release date for that album was September 10th, one day before 9/11 happened. In the midst of all that going on, we went ahead and put the brakes on that because we didn’t know what the world was going through. So, we changed the date and released it last year. I did that on my own label, Bow Tie Entertainment. I had nationwide distribution on that as well. Of course, you can go to my site and get it like that, but it is in stores. I haven’t thought of a title for my new album. I had a title, but I threw it in the air, man. I think I may call my new album, The Hip-Hop Hannibal. Allhiphop.com: Sounds good to me. Let’s get into another topic of interest. What’s going on with Da Lench Mob these days? No one seems to know what’s going with those brothers, man. Shorty: As you know, one of our comrades has been down. J-Dee just made ten years last month. In ’95, everything went kind of sour and everybody started doing their thing independently. I haven’t talked to Ice Cube since ’97, and I haven’t talked to T-Bone since ’99. Allhiphop.com: I want to get into the situation with you and Cube. I read in a previous interview that you and him left on bad terms. Do you mind elaborating on that? Shorty: I don’t mind speaking on it at all…it ain’t nothing but the truth. We never got paid for Guerillas In Tha Mist. That became a serious issue with us, man. We put in a lot of work with that album. We went gold in three weeks! To make a long story short, Cube picked Pat Charbonnet to be his partner for the business. This woman was shrewd! She was his manager and Vice President of his company. We thought that […]

Beef is not what’s going on between hip-hop magazines XXL and The Source. But, it truly is a rivalry never seen before between a pair of hip-hop magazines and journalists. XXL has finally, and legitimately challenged the monarch, however not without widespread effect. But, when Nas dissed both publications, claiming they were not playing their positions, XXL editor-in-chief Elliot Wilson saw an opportunity to examine the love/hate relationship between the artist and the media. In a swirl of controversy, Nas appeared on the cover not only burning The Source, but XXL as well. While its not beef, it is a conflict not unlike your average rap squabble. After co-founding hugely popular zine Ego Trip in the 90s, Wilson went to work for his future adversary, The Source, as the music editor. His stay would be short-lived and after a dispute with Source co-owner Dave Mays, he bounced. Wilson soon reemerged as the head of XXL and eventually adopted a now infamous, personal and reoccurring challenge with his former employer. The back and forth between the two facets eventually got Wilson an impromptu visit from Benzino, Source co-owner and lead Made Men representative, stemming from some personal artwork in XXL. Perhaps, it is beef-just a bit undercooked. Elliot Wilson: Basically the first situation came from back in January. The New York times did an article about the beef between me and the Source at the hype of the whole Eminem and Benzino thing. In the article they quoted a couple of people. Nas was quoted in the article and he said something to the effect ‘if these two idiots want to go at each other, they should both burn down’ or something like that. People got it twisted thinking that Nas was only going to burn the Source, it was never intended to be that. Nas doesn’t play favorites like that and I think that that’s the message that I ‘m trying to put across. AllHipHop.com: What has the response has been so far? EW: Its been crazy. I think people really don’t know what to make of it. I think the Source was kinda surprised. The most criticism comes from the fact that Nas isn’t really hitting the point home strong enough in the actual interview. Which I think is a fair criticism, but I think that’s what Nas kinda does. He doesn’t allow you to really take him one way. If you ask him a softball question and try to go one way hell go the other way. He definitely doesn’t like to be pigeon holed. HH: You use to work at The Source. EW: I was from the era when Selwyn Hinds hired me to be music editor. I was there where the Source did growth. Where we became the number one magazine sold out of newsstands. I was a big part of that era. I was music editor of that magazine during that time. AHH: What did you learn at the source that you plot now. EW: I learned a lot and It was a great experience. It was the good and the bad. I took the bad elements like the fact that I didn’t feel appreciated and I saw shady business deals. Things like that I took it as what not to do and I applied it and I understood the weaknesses the Source have. I only get upset when say The Source gave me my start or is responsible for my success. I had built up Ego Trip before I went to The Source. To me, I made my own claim in this game from doing Ego Trip and being a freelance person. The Source holla’d at me because they knew I was on the come up. I don’t think they really recognized how talented I was. The fact that I can go to XXL and put together a talented staff and rebuild this magazine and really be the first true contender to really go against The Source is a testament to that. AHH: Are you gonna continue to go at the source as heavy as you have.? EW: I’m not gonna do a lot of personal attacks on them anymore. I’ve proven what I needed to prove in terms of attacking their credibility. I have to move on and set the standard and take hip hop journalism to another level, because what they’re doing is not journalism. Next month we are putting Afeni Shakur on the front cover. It’s a tupac tribute issue weve done it two years in a row we got an exclusive interview with her. I feel like the audience who loves Pac will appreciate that and go out and buy it at. At least I hope they do. I’m tired of saying I’m the best. AHH: Theres word that Benzino came in the office with some friends of his. EW: He was up here and he was upset about the illustration in the back of the book. We talked it out. I said to him man to man, I’ll fall back on the personal sh*t because I have thrown a lot of sh*t their way. At this point I’m not trying to make an industry conflict. I’m not ignorant. I’m not trying to be a thug or gangsta or all that kind of sh*t. I never tried to be a faker or be anything that I’m not. I’m a writer not a fighter. Dudes can try to jump me and all I can do is defend myself. It’s as simple as that. It aint no need for all that Ra Ra sh*t. But I do want to smack you on the newsstand. That’s what I wanna do and Imma keep doing it and if that means that it’s gonna lead to incidents like that down the line that’s fine. If a dude ask me to fallback on a personal level and we stand man to man, I’m going to stand by my word. If people think that makes me a […]

The new artist is a catch twenty-two role. You have to bring something new, but you have to fit within the familiarities of the listener’s ear. Rosco P. Coldchain might be doing the impossible. At a time where nobody believes the thug anymore, Rosco’s stories echo with an eerie truth. In an era where everybody wants to say that they’ve been hip-hop forever, Rosco admits his previous other priorities. Coldchain spares no expense in his words or his production budget. With an album on the horizon that has the hype and the sounds to keep you warm in the Winter, it’s time to spotlight the man in advance. In a candid Allhiphop interview, Rosco makes bold statements about his potential riches, the awaited album, and may even poke a shot at somebody close to his camp. You want the specifics? Read on. Allhiphop: "Cot Damn" is going crazy and won’t stop. As a new artist, how much confidence has that success given you in terms of dropping a debut album? Rosco P Coldchain: A whole lot. Actually, we thought the label was gonna do what it had to do when we brought "Hot Damn" out. But in didn’t do that, ‘cuz it went over a lot of peoples’ heads. So now, it’s a whole re-grouping situation. I just gotta slow it down from ’em. I definitely wanna hurry up and really get my album out. Allhiphop: The big rumor was that y’all brought in Premier and Alchemist late in the album’s process. True? RPC: Haha! Yes indeed! It’s definitely true. We got Alchemist. We got Premier. We got Timbaland, possibly. [We got] Kanye West. We definitely have an array of producers on the album. Allhiphop: Coming up on Star Trak, how demanding are the Neptunes as producers and executives? RPC: Honestly, Pharrell and Chad, both of them are hard workers. And like really, you just gotta fit in. Go with the program or just get pushed back. It’s with anything – if you don’t work hard, you’re gonna get what you put into it. They hard workers, and I gotta work hard with ’em. They definitely push me and give me the stride to keep it goin’. Allhiphop: A common criticism might be that your album is banging, but doesn’t get personal. So, from you, I wanna hear what’s your most personal track and why? RPC: It’s called "Blue Car". It’s featuring Pharrell. Right now, "Blue Car" is the one for me. Because it explains everything. Just me from the times it was messed up to the times of the deal and everything of that nature. It’s definitely a story-telling [track]. That’s sort of my niche. I like to tell stories and give a n#### a visual of what I’m talking about. Allhiphop: My favorite cut off the advance is "This Beat is Hot." That’s probably the closest thing I heard as far as new-old-school. Tell me about designing this cut, because it’s huge. RPC: Let me tell you about that track. I didn’t like that track at first, Paine. I said, "Pharrell, what the Hell is this?" He had the genius. We laid it. It came out well. I still didn’t like it. Because, to me, around the time we made that – a lot of people had took that scenario. You see [that] old school’s in right now. That trend didn’t start because heads inside of the club wanted it. I mean, yes, everything evolves in a circle. But Pharrell brought that back. What happened was, I’m not even gonna say no names, but a certain individual heard the song, and the next week one of his artists came with a similiar beat, nah mean, and the whole 80’s thing going for her, or him. But, it kinda stole our idea. Nobody can do it like Pharrell can. But in the same token, that just made me dislike the song even more. Just ‘cuz people were like, "We gonna try to immitate that." That whole feel. All in all, it’s the original. It’s the trend-setting song regardless. Allhiphop: I think you’re one of the first artists in recent years to really represent North Philly in the mainstream. The video captures the essence. Because it’s been a minute since somebody really took the torch outta there, how is the local love especially with this new sound, how are heads adapting to it? RPC: I would say that they’re adapting very well. It’s kind of funny because, for a minute, when the mainstream came back, and finally made its rounds back to Philly as far as the Rap Industry – it was a trend that everybody sounded kind of light. We got our own uniqueness, but in the same token, there were a lot of cats sounding like certain individuals that was already on from Philly. Then it kinda messed up the whole reputation of [Philly]. Just as far as me, I plan on bringing in back. That’s all I’m sayin’. I want to change that whole groove. Everybody’s lovin’ it. Everybody’s sayin’ I’m different. That’s a start. I’m still in the street everyday. I ain’t goin’ nowhere. They see me everyday. So, "And he’s keepin’ it real." They see Pharrell, they expect me to be like him. Like one of these cats to leave the hood. It like I can’t, but I won’t. Not right now. I need the streets. Allhiphop: You say that on the record, "I’m well off, but I’m not rich." RPC: That’s the truth, absolutely! I’m well off, but I’m not rich. I’m content with being broke. The broker you are, the realer you are. I won’t miss nothin’. If I was, God willing, if everything goes according to plan, I’m good – I’m good. I’m rich – I’m rich. Right now I’m well off. I’m content. As long as I keep my sanity, I’m good. Allhiphop: You’re being billed as a new artist. In respects to the dues you paid, talk about pre-Star Trak […]

Cappadonna has run a gauntlet of trials and tribulations in the recent past. A man who came up with Wu-Tang in their later years with his tiger style rhyme flow and unique delivery has done a lot and seen a lot. In the span of a few years, he has observed more than many men experience in years. From contract disputes about his publishing, to marital strife with wifey, to homelessness, The Don is really living The Struggle, which is also the name of his latest artistic offering. AHH got a chance to talk with the man who seems to be moving at a breakneck pace in life. AllHipHop.com: There’s been a lot to talk about the past few years in your life; can you talk about the situation with Wu-Tang Clan right now? Cappadonna: The relationship with Wu-Tang is what it is, we just trying to get sh*t right. Trying to go over these little issues that arise and once we take care of that hopefully we can still be friends. ‘Cause n##### don’t like the fact that I’m standing up, trying to receive my dividends that was due to me. AllHipHop.com: Members of the group don’t like that? Cappadonna: Yeah, a few members of the group don’t like it, and Rza and his brother definitely don’t like it. Its like, “Come on” if its due to me, then let me get that man. If its not then, present the right paperwork and stuff and then let bygones be bygones. I’m just going for mine. AllHipHop.com: What about the allegations with your manager, also your wife, and her connections with the Federal government causing friction between you and the group? Cappadonna: Yeah yeah, I mean, I don’t really know that sh*t. N##### were probably mad because I had a wife or something. But it really don’t matter to me no more. But me and my wife wasn’t really seeing eye to eye at the time. ‘Cause I was fighting between the political life, the marriage life, and the street life. I need all of them, ya know what I’m saying. So it did cause friction, it causes friction between the street life and the personal life. I had to learn how to balance it out and keep it moving. AllHipHop.com: Now Inspectah Deck is on your new album, no friction with him at all then? Cappadonna: Yah, Inspectah Deck is good. All he got to do is get up with me whenever he has a chance. AllHipHop.com: There’s a few things flying around about Method Man and him separating himself from the rest of Wu-Tang? Cappadonna: I mean, Meth, he do him. He do whatever he do. He had the potential to put Wu-Tang on a higher level because he knew all the people and was mainstream. But he really never bring nobody to the table. But you know, to each his own. Get yours, but then, when you fall on your face its like what you gonna do? Who you gonna call? Its like don’t forget where you come from man. AllHipHop.com: You’ve mentioned to have only collected one royalty check throughout your entire career, what’s the deal with that, just bad business deals or explain it to us? Cappadonna: Yeah, one royalty check. ‘Cause n##### be holding money and s###, smuggling and sh*t, don’t want to be giving it up. I feel like there’s a lot more due to me. Razor Sharp and Biggs Family Music got my publishing, they got to give that up. He signed me to his label and said “Yeah, you don’t get no money.” AHH: So the whole problem and all the friction is with Rza (Robert Diggs), Divine (Mitchell Diggs), Power (Oliver Grant) or who then? Cappadonna: Nah, I ain’t saying Power because I don’t know him in the business aspect. I never dealt with him; his name is one of the beneficiaries. But I’m talking about Diggs Family Publishing, and Diggs Family Music. Like you said, Rza negotiated the contracts so that’s who I’m coming at, him and his brother. If there is any money due to me then I wanna see it. If not, then f**k me, and lets just go ahead and keep it moving. Its nothing personal, its just business. AllHipHop.com: You were always one of the newer members of Wu-Tang, do you feel like you got the respect you deserved from everyone else in the group, or did they treat you like a outsider? Cappadonna: Yup, they treated me just like an outsider. ‘Cause I had my own style, did whatever I wanted to do, and that didn’t really coincide with how they wanted to live or how they think they wanted me to live. It caused separation. Lack of communication breeds separation. AllHipHop.com: Do you think any of that separation could have been caused by the rumors of your wife being connected to the Feds? Cappadonna: Huh? My wife ain’t connected to no g###### Federal government. My wife do mortgage loans She’s a loan shark. What the f**k my wife got to do with this, man, this is music right here. You know, that sh*t ain’t got nothing to do with that, those n##### stole money from me, that’s what’s up and they got to give that up. That’s where the issue is, the money. They gave me a fu**ed up contract or whatever it is. Sony is giving you royalty checks for me and you’re not giving them to me. And now your ass is under investigation, give me my money. And that’s the bottom line, my new album Struggle is all about what I’m going through just to get on. AllHipHop.com: Can you confirm the rumors about you living in the streets of Baltimore and being a cab driver, is all this true, and can you discuss some of this for us? Cappadonna: I did it because that’s what I felt like doing and sh*t. I was out there, and me and my […]

AllHipHop.com: Do yall have any particular views on the war? A lot of people especially with hip-hop came out against the war. There wasn’t a lot of support for the war, but there was support for the soldiers. NR: I hate to see soldiers dying. A lot of people don’t really want to be out there because people here don’t know that they still at war. A lot of people feel that they are there in vein, losing their lives for no reason. AllHipHop.com: You had a lawsuit with a producer. What’s the status on that? NR: My momma really told us if you never get sued, you didn’t get that famous. Nothing came out of it. What we hear is he was some guitar player that made some kind of rhythm, he just played a note that somebody else told him and he just came out the blue. It died down quick so it wasn’t nothing. It was no truth behind that, no truth. AllHipHop.com: Do yall ever fight? Do yall ever get into arguments? NR: We brothers and brothers fight and we get into it and you let it out. We keep that respect. Its boundaries we never cross. We always gonna take care of each other. AllHipHop.com: Any one of yall will ever decide maybe a solo effort? NR: We gonna do that in the future. We got everything coming. We still building the foundation. The foundation is built but we just strengthening it. AllHipHop.com: What made yall do this DVD? Can you explain it and explain what made yall do it? NR: Nappy Roots is interesting. Even when we was going through it we was like man, we could make this a movie. We just giving the fans everything that we can. We was back in some of our old classrooms and places where we use to practice. The folks is gonna trip when they see it. AllHipHop.com: So why is it called Half Truth? NR: That’s the comedic part to it. It’s a parody and it like how you see yourself is not how we see you or vice versa. Im saying there’s another side to the truth. AllHipHop.com: Who produced the movie? NR: Nappy Roots wrote and we lived it. AllHipHop.com: What’s Nappy Roots Day? NR: We gave so much to the state in our lyrics. A lot of people was making music and we brought it to a high level to Kentucky that never been done like that. Kentucky Colonels. Its one of the highest honors you can get in our state. We are the best things out of Kentucky since Kentucky Fried Chicken. Everything we did we made it happen. We came together and made a decision to put all kinds of compilations out. To sell T- Shirts and all that. Now people are more interested and more knowledgeable about Kentucky. I hear a lot of people across the globe they know about Kentucky dirt and Nappy Roots and Kentucky Fried Chicken, so we are a symbol of the state. AllHipHop.com: Now a lot of people don’t know where yall came from as far as how yall got to where you are. Can you talk about the grind yall had. Yall did a lot of underground albums like independent. NR: We did a lot of compilations. This will be our fourth album that we coming out with. We just started in the studio in the closet. We just started with the bare essentials and even in my mans apartment, at one time we was recording tracks with a dog in the background. Most people might bullsh*t with it and we took it serious even though it wasn’t proper. We was grinding that sh*t out. We had a point to prove. We started from a 4 track to an 8 track. An 8 track to the A-Deck. We just worked our way up and to get signed in 1998. You think you about to hit it and you don’t and your album doesn’t come out. You gotta go back to the drawing board and do that. Always do shows even though people might not be there your first couple of them. But you get people to believe in you in your own state and in your own block and that’s the hardest part of it right there. f*ck outside you gotta get them n*ggas on your block to believe in your ass. We stayed on the road for 16 months and grinding that sh*t out. Making the whole country believe that these boys from Kentucky and the south can do that sh*t. AllHipHop.com: Do you guys ever sit back on how far you have come. NR: Everyday. You cant forget that. Back in the days I was like its not gonna happen and now its like damn. If you keep grinding out then you never know where you gonna be in the next 2 years. I don’t think we really know what we doing, but we kind of got a sense and I think in 20 years it will really hit us. You was 25 and you got a holiday. You went to Baghdad during a war. AllHipHop.com: The ultimate goal in any life is to be successful stable money wise. You seem real humble. Do you have any other goal outside of the music business wise or other. NR: You go where the road takes you. Don’t limit yourself. No matter what believe. You gotta invest your money. Be in to real estate and own properties. We take it one day at a time making a foundation for everything and spread our seeds and spread our money around. AllHipHop.com: What about a label or any artists yall might have? There’s a label in the beginning stages with a couple of artists dropping. They all in the development form. I aint gonna make them walk to Brooklyn and get some cheesecake. We get right and we gonna see who really want it.

Nappy Roots have endured and struggled through trials and tribulations that would break up the most tight knit groups. Hailing from Kentucky, an area of the country that’s not known as a hot bed of hip-hop activity, the Nappy Roots have pulled in platinum sales, fed the homeless, traveled the globe and performed during a war and received their own state recognized "Nappy Roots" day. The group has proven that there’s more in Kentucky than the Colonels fried chicken. Peep out their secret recipe. AllHipHop.com: I interviewed a couple of months ago. How has the group changed since coming into the industry? You guys can’t say you haven’t changed. Nappy Roots: We see everything for what it is. We aint so quiet anymore. We don’t hold nothing back anymore. We aint virgins. We don’t have any problem. We are being more real with ourselves. Just keep the bullsh*t away from us. We got a bigger budget this year too. We living better. It’s a lot of things that come with it having a platinum album. You more nervous. We all getting our families together. It aint just about us. Its more than that. AllHipHop.com: Is it ever difficult dealing with success? NR: I think it can get hard sometimes. You gotta look at it as your job and you do have a family. Take care of your family like you suppose to take care of everybody. Leaving your children, your woman or whatever, that makes it difficult. Other than that, we know we got a job to do and the only way Nappy Roots is going to get that done is if Nappy Roots is going to do it. For the most part we aint change too much, but it’ like the rest of the world changed. You gotta surround yourself with real people. AllHipHop.com: The industry is very grimy but yall seem like yall come from pretty humble beginnings. How do you deal with that contrast? NR: We what matters to us is each other. Our fans matter. Our family matters. We don’t give in to that industry bullsh*t. I don’t give a f*ck what you bought last week. f*ck who’s ya brother. I didn’t ask who done that beat. We didn’t ask you for no verse. I don’t need no remix from you. Don’t let it get into you if it don’t mean sh*t to you. We love those who loves us. Everybody go they own little thing so we just do us. This is what we bout. Not to be against anybody else, but this is just what we is. AllHipHop.com: On the new album do you have any guest appearances? NR: We got our folks. They just country cousins. David Banner hooked us up, but other than that, Mike City kept it the same. He pretty much produced on Watermelon Chicken and Grits. He got some new flavor. AllHipHop.com: So on the new album is there gonna be some different things. What’s the differences? NR: We seen the world. We not just rapping about Kentucky or Oakland or Georgia. We seen more of the world. We been to London to Germany to Baghdad, Kuwait and all over North America. We been to every state except for 2. This album you going to hear more unity. Because it took a lot of unity to get past all this bullsh*t to figure out what we need and what we don’t need. AllHipHop.com: What about the music. How is the music this time? NR: We basically stepped up. we had to. The people that we work with, Mike City and Raphael Saadiq. They been making hits for people for years. Nappy had to step up our lyrical game. We coming with different concepts on every song. People is going to relate to it regardless of what color skin tone. Just like the last one. AllHipHop.com: Can somebody explain the name of the album? NR: It gets better with the weather. You can actually past this album down and the last album down to the next family. Its gonna last you forever. AllHipHop.com: You guys performed in Kuwait. What was that all about. What are your views on the war? NR: They did a poll with the soldiers over there and they was like they wanna hear Nappy Roots. I aint gonna lie because at first, I was like me being a reserve and seeing the inside of the war, its different than folks see it on the outside. They wanted us so we had to go. It was love man. It was like 125 degrees over there. The moment you got off the plane it was hot. And then you see after that there aint nothing but fatigues. Everybody you see is in fatigues. They all draped down in their robes. Going to all the bases and actually meeting with the soldiers and shaking their hands and they telling us stories and we telling our stories. We was on tour with everybody. We was smoking and drinking. That’s what I like. All the camraderie between all the stars. It was athletes actors actresses. We had Kid Rock, Bubba Sparxxx, Robert Dinero, Irving Johnson. It was a lot of people that went.

Allhiphop.com: Talk about your most current project and what else may be in the works for the Black Panthers. JC: "All Of Us" is the first album from the Black Panther Fugitives, which I am a member of. It’s myself and two other members (Terrence "Jug" Trotter, and Jeffrey "Bones" McMullen). Like Dorion talked about earlier, it’s a good mixture of the music, the medium Hip-Hop that is, and the message. It’s only natural that "All Of Us" features tracks that speak to some of the things that are going on, and contains speeches from Huey (Newton), George Jackson, Fred Hampton, and the list goes on. At the same token that you are listening to these tracks, you get a little information, not just drinking and smoking. Again, we are trying to give that alternative, but give an alternative the way we know how to give it. The way we know how to do it has never been commercial or gimmicky. We all got on black leather berets, walking around with our fist up. DH: It took a minute just because that was our first project. Now, we are working on the next project. We got a video to one of the singles, which is called "The Party Line." You can check it out at http://www.blackpanthertours.com. JC: This first album is really a good synopsis and mild introduction to what we are about to bring. Allhiphop.com: How do you go about not getting pigeonholed and being seen in one aspect? How do you avoid the stigma that has haunted your organization for 37 years? JC: The biggest misconception is the importance of the Black Panther Party from 1966 to 1980. I think that’s what this generation is missing and tries to sugarcoat. We are put in this one light and one realm that all we did was raise guns and chase cops down the street. Nah, man! This is a situation and an organization where change was made. If you want to talk about revolution in your contemporary times, here it was, in your face 37 years ago. DH: Let’s talk about right now. This is the Black Panthers. This is the Dr. Huey P. Newton Black Panther Records, Inc. This is still the same blood and the same fire that was used 37 years ago. It’s just another generation putting it in another format for another generation. The same actions aren’t necessary today as they were 37 years ago. So, we must take a new approach. JC: We must take an economic approach. DH: It’s about economics today. The social programs have been implemented and the opportunities have been given. What we do today is continue to be wise black men and learn from them as they have from us. We have to take our economics and put them back into ourselves. The Panther Party was not about an organization; it was about an ideology and a philosophy in which the organization existed upon. That’s how our record company exists today. This is not about making a whole bunch of money in Hip-Hop. We care more about the youth than we do about making money because we got kids, and we take care of our kids. Allhiphop.com: Do you believe that there is a consciousness in Hip-Hop anymore? If you take a look at the media, the videos, and the magazines, all you see is rappers with a mouth full of platinum, hoards of jewelry around people’s necks, and glorified images of negativity in all aspects. What does one do to combat those sort of sight unseen things that deserve no glory? DH: That’s the commercial element of Hip-Hop, the more glorified side. The Panthers have always stood behind the more oppressed and more suffering individuals. Those are those from the street. So, when we talk about the conscience element of Hip-Hop, we want to talk about the underground, the part that’s not getting the mainstream exposure. We are trying to deal with and compete from the broke side of Hip-Hop. (laughs) Allhiphop.com: I’ve got news for you. There are not a lot of people in this business getting paid like that. Hip-Hop is predominantly broke! Artists are walking around with whip marks on their backs, broke. DH: That’s why we have to work collectively as an independent. If you are truly independent and have some constituents and fan bases, then you are not worried about going platinum and gold and all that stuff. Allhiphop.com: So, what do you think about companies such as BET that would sell out to the other side for the sole purpose of larger capital gain? JC: They are in it to make money, you know what I mean? It’s good business practice. They have been making money off of black people for years, so why stop now? We are not willing to stop it, and neither are they. DH: There’s a lot of ways to look at that, from the corporate control to Robert Johnson feeling like it’s a great opportunity for him as a businessman. There’s a whole lot to take into consideration before we go there. JC: When Bill Cosby was trying to buy NBC, we should have been behind him. Instead, we let him go by himself, and he came up empty-handed. Allhiphop.com: That’s because we are too busy defending fools like OJ Simpson. We put our precious energies into the wrong places. JC: You feel me! And it becomes a matter of put up or shut up. Allhiphop.com: Bill Cosby was that close to buying the biggest, most well known network on God’s green earth out of his own pocket. JC: Do you realize how many people didn’t know about that? DH: He should have gone and started his own network. He didn’t even have to be bothered with them. People are always trying to get someone else’s stuff. Get your own stuff! Allhiphop.com: At the end of the day, what is the ultimate vision of the record company? […]

If you open a textbook and read the history of the Black Panther Party, you will see how prevalent they were in the social movement. For almost 40 years, they have been on the frontlines, tackling and confronting America’s most important issues with action as their weapon. This elite group of black men and women have time and again stared in the face of adversity and laughed hysterically. This isn’t to say that there have not been many mountains to climb along the way. Primarily known as an organization of action and resource, the Black Panthers have begun to utilize music as an alternative tool to get their message to the public. With the inception of Black Panther Records, they are finalizing several projects, most notably their debut album, "All Of Us," which features the three-man group, Black Panther Fugitives. Allhiphop.com had an opportunity to speak with CEO Dorion Hilliard and BPF member Jamiel Calhoun about continuing the legacy of the Black Panther Party and the challenges that may lie ahead. Allhiphop.com: First and foremost, let’s talk about Black Panther Records. Who came up with the idea, who is in charge of the operation, etc? Dorion Hilliard: Basically, what we are about doing is representing the legacy of the Black Panther Party. Music is one of the vehicles that we utilize to do that. Me and my father had been talking about it for five or six years. He encountered Jamiel at his mother-in-law’s bookstore looking at a CD Jamiel had put out. We talked to his wife about the project, and come to find out, Jamiel was a Panther child. So, we’ve been doing our thing ever since then. It’s really a proud time for us to just come together as former Panther child members, sharing our wits with our generation, because we are Hip-Hop. This is putting that revolutionary twist, coming from the bloodline, on Hip-Hop. We are bringing that real perspective. Me and my father had been playing with ideas and trying to come up with more effective ways to get this history to the generation that seem to have lacked politics in their action, and to give them the opportunity to embrace the Panther legacy that was proven. One of the broadest mediums was this Hip-Hop culture that has taken this world by surprise. Allhiphop.com: I’ll always believe that Hip-Hop is the final relevant voice of Black people, and the most powerful tool to make an impact, whether it is positive or negative. With that said, how challenging is it to bring a strong message in a time where strong messages are lacking in the music industry? Jamiel Calhoun: The studio aspect is really not that hard, because it’s our diet of ideas, it’s the way we sing, and it’s the way we get down anyway. The hard part actually comes in trying to implement to the mass media, the public, and those who are too busy shaking booties and popping Cristal. We’re not preaching to you, but at the same token, there’s so much more going on around you, and the decisions and the things that you are doing are now affecting how it’s going to be brought about. We use music to gather them around and get them feeling the beats first, and then we try to loop them back in with some content. DH: It isn’t to say that commercial Hip-Hop is bad, because through commercialism, you gain a level of success. It allows you to convey your message, your product, or whatever your constituent base is. So, we are OK with the commercial aspect. We are trying to bring some level of respectability and responsibility. Hip-Hop has influenced a couple of generations of our youth. We as former Panther children give ourselves to the youth. We are not trying to go out there and pretend to be hard; we are just who we are. We are former Panther children that have become adults and have been a part of this Hip-Hop generation. This is what you call the true essence of revolutionary music. We are the blood of that struggle. JC: Exactly. DH: We are looking to galvanize some Black pride and some cultural pride, and create some ideas for this generation through our music. Allhiphop.com: With the images that you have chosen to bring forth over the years, do you think there will be any sort of backlash that can come from that? Over the years, the image that was set of the Black Panthers was Black men and women wearing dark shades, sporting big Afros, and toting even bigger guns. Are you going to bring back that image or are you bringing forth the Black Panther Party in a lighter sense? JC: What we are doing is in no way what Nike would do or is in no way what IBM or Apple has done. We ain’t changing nothing. Ain’t nothing about our history that we are ashamed of, and if that’s the image that they want to portray, we can’t stop that. That was a part of the Panther history, but if you’re going to know Panther history, know it all. The guns were just a self-defense phase, which was first. Then we had the program and community building. We had the international connection going on with 47 chapters going on across the country. We are going to make sure that it’s understood on all levels. DH: What’s important is that you and the public understand that we are not posturing no image. It wasn’t about posturing; it was about solutions and finalizing things by action. It ain’t about those images. That’s what this generation of Hip-Hop has been about. Taking images and old music, sampling and not utilizing their inept creativity, their God-given creativity. So, we are not pushing images, we are pushing ideology and practices that show a greater level of success as individuals. JC: I also want to point out that the term "revolutionary" doesn’t mean […]

Allhiphop: Ok, Doom, talk to me about what Nas an artist means to you, and why you ran to his album? MF Doom: Yeah, no question. Nas is an MC the way that he approaches the joints that he do. If you think about it, all of us get the beats plain. Then for whatever the beat inspires you, that’s what you put it there. I’m like, just listening to the choice of beats from Nas’ early stuff, and the choice of lyrics that he put on there – he came with that s###, like everytime. [He] never ceased to amaze me. He is a real ill writer. 9th Wonder: Big is a great story-teller, and Tupac is most influential. But Nas is probably the most prolific writer that hip-hop has ever seen. Illmatic, arguably, is probably the best record that hip-hop ever heard. He started the new revolution. I always been a fan of Nas. I just haven’t been a fan of Nas recent work as far as his choice of beats. Because, he’s not a club dude. Because he doesn’t have the swagger of a Jay-Z or a Biggie. He’s a street champion. But you can still grow as a lyricist, which he did. If you listen to God’s Son, and I listened to it [while remixing] and I was like, "Wow, he has really grown from Illmatic to now." But you can’t tell that with the beats that he had. The beats really killed the mood. So what I tried to do was give each song its own personality to make it sound like an album. That’s what Illmatic was. Allhiphop: History question for Doom. I know when you were in KMD you was producing for 3rd Bass back in the early 90’s. And MC Serch was a cat who really was big in getting Nas a deal and whatnot. Was Nas around for your sessions back then, or you ever cross paths? MF Doom: Nah, I didn’t get a chance to meet that brother. I think I met him once, just briefly in passing. But I never really sit down and kick it. Allhiphop: What was your response to God’s Son, as a cat who really understand hip-hop? MF Doom: Lost Tapes was f##### rugged as a m###########! The God’s Son [though], there’s some joints on there! That was the one with "My Book of Rhymes" on there? That n#### came ill! Let a cat who trying to discredit any MC, try to do the same s###. Nas’ll eat any n#### who like, "I didn’t like this album, like that album." Every album you ever come out with is gonna be different. I think a lot of people set high expectations and expect it to be the same as an Illmatic. I’m like this yo, I know from a rhymer point of view, and Nas is like a n#### when he sets the standard so high for himself, that a lot of people are probably gonna say lil’ things like that. If I had them beats and that kinda pressure to stay on top with the battle back-and-forth s###, the way that he came with that God’s Son s###? Pssh! To me, he took that s### with that s###. He got the crown right there. Allhiphop: The "Second Childhood" remix is mouth-dropping. To remix a Preemo track is something that rarely happens in itself. To work around the scratch-chorus and a track that you can’t forget to begin with, how did you go about presenting such a formidable remix? Soul Supreme: Basically, I knew I would never be able to make a better similar beat, so instead I tried to make a beat that brought a different feel to the song. I wanted the remix to sound a bit darker and more desperate. I knew that the sample to the song had been used a couple of times before, but I felt that it was worth it using it again. Allhiphop: You dig it then? MF Doom: Yeah, I was wondering how it was gonna sound. Then he sent it to me, and I had a chance to vibe off it and s### is kinda ill. Each joint caught me off guard. Snap, like the joint he used – "Bang, Bang", that s### fit on there crazy ill. I was impressed with what he did. Allhiphop: Then let’s talk about one you yourself did. Last year you remixed "One Love" which was amazing. MF Doom: Yeah, I hooked that up on a special recipe promotional type of thing. Allhiphop: 9th, what’s going on with Little Brother right now? 9th Wonder: We’re [about to be] on MTV2. We’re trying to graduate to the big leagues, get on a major [label]. If you want the type of music you love, and you grew up on played on radio, and you want everybody to feel what you feel when you listen to Mos or Comm, or whoever, you gotta get on a major. I’m not displeased with ABB at all. ABB been good to us, but it’s time to move on. Allhiphop: Soul – while we talking, tell us about how you and O.C. tried to recraft the ambience behind his first two LP’s? Soul Supreme: Well, I have not been in the studio with O.C. [yet], but I think that my production style fits him pretty well, since I’ve always been listening to mainly New Yorkesque hiphop. From what I’ve heard of the upcoming album, it will be more thoughtfull and reflecting than "Bon Apetit." That, by the way is mad under-rated, and perhaps a little more soulfull than his first two albums [in terms of beats]. Allhiphop: Doom, everybody’s talking about your Mad Villain project with Madlib. What’s this album gonna be like? MF Doom: Basically the same old rec yo! Madlib, he’s the type of producer that just comes with those beats that are just like a canvas. But the canvas that he be givin’ me, […]

Nas is certainly a producer’s favorite MC. The way that he drives his words, his cadences, and overall the content matter – are all true to hip-hop of the past, future, and present. Since Illmatic, Nas has never settled with one sound, while some of us may have wish he had. Instead, Nas evolved to make every record a ground-breaking effort for less or better. This year, two budding producers attempted to remix full Nas albums. 9th Wonder, the musical genius behind Little Brother was the first, and attempted God’s Son. 9th’s successes and creativity was followed by Soul Supreme, a Boston beatmaker who re-laced Stillmatic. Just when we thought it was done, KMD front-man and underground super-veteran, MF Doom attacked Nastradamus. The results of all efforts were heavy topic of conversation, and trend-setting alike. AllHipHop.com assembled 9th Wonder, Soul Supreme, and MF Doom to discuss God’s Son, beats and rhymes. Did the remixes work? It ain’t hard to tell. Allhiphop: 9th, I know you did this project, God’s Step Son, because you had the accapellas laying around. But beyond that, what moved you to do this concept? 9th Wonder: I learn from greats. I know that when greats do new beats, they throw accapellas over them to see if they work. You never know the potential of a track until [you do that]. That’s how I started doing remixes. I did that for a while. A guy by the name of DJ Bumrush brought the [Nas] accapellas to the house on a Saturday. My mom just so happened to be down visiting me. She came down and she cooked and I cooked, and two days later I got eleven joints done. I didn’t do the rest of those joints because I really didn’t feel the words like that. I wanted to hear a Nas record with some traditional hip-hop on there, because he’s a traditional lyricist. Allhiphop: Soul, your approach was really different than his. You seem to pull from a later era of soul…deeper in the 70’s. How did you map out the direction you were going to take ahead of actually getting down? Soul Supreme: Well basically, I just wanted to make the remixes from a Soul Supreme point of view. That means that I wanted to continue with the vibe from "The Saturday Nite Agenda", but switch it up to fit the songs and concepts on Stillmatic. Allhiphop: Doom, your remix was more of a promotional item rather than selling it on its own? MF Doom: Actually, I was approached by Mike Pizzo from hiphopsite. And he told me that he had blended my instrumentals with the accapellas. He was just asking me for permission to use my beats. I didn’t really do it. So I gave him permission, just as a novelty, promotional thing. I think it came out pretty ill. Allhiphop: Were these beats supposed to be for Little Brother or other artists? How’d it pan out, 9th? 9th Wonder: The first joint I made the day I started working on the [project]. "Made You Look" is like two years old. "Last Real N#### Alive" I did that day. "Hey Nas" I had used before, but I re-freaked it. I did it that day. "I Can", I cooked it up that day. "Book of Rhymes", that was a Big Pooh solo joint. "Mastermind" is a beat that was six-seven months old. "Warrior’s Song" I cooked up a couple days before that, it matched pretty well. "Thugs Mansion", I cooked up five-six months prior. The "Ether" joint, that was a remix I had done a while back. Only one was for Little Brother. Allhiphop: You were the first to do this. You been doing the remix promos. This is a huge trend now. How does that sit with you, especially with the Nas remixes that followed? 9th Wonder: We all learn from other cats. Not to say they learned from me or whatever. But somebody had to start doing something. Who’s to say that if Soul Supreme had done it first that I would’ve came behind and did a Nas record. I see it as flattery. Soul Supreme is a dope producer. MF Doom is a legend. I don’t see it as an insult or a bite, I see it as flattery. Allhiphop: So, Soul, your remixes dropped second. I know you and 9th are cool. But did you feel at all like you were stepping on toes? Soul Supreme: Not really, If I was 9th I’d take it as a compliment that somebody was biting my idea, haha.

AHH: Is that were the title " The Awakening " comes from? PMD: Yea because I was supposed to have got caught up in all of this. But God was like come on, yall seen " Strictly Business," yall seen "It’s My Thing," yall seen "Gold Digga." Red Man still runnin around here. It was never wack, something happened in my real life that had me questioning and when the Lord tells you to step up to do a job, you know you have to step up and do it, or pay the consequences. Now I see evidence ( Points to his poster on the wall, and his self promoting T-Shirt) I see evidence. People don’t get it, God is in you, every day you wake up you have a opportunity for what direction you want to take your life. There are 3 voices, yours Gods and the Devil’s. AHH: EPMD is in the top few greatest rap groups of all time. The chemistry was crazy. But as far as a solo act, you haven’t had the same success. What will be different on this album? PMD: The first two, "Shady Business" and "Business iz Business", I wasn’t even there. I did so much work in my first lifetime with the first 4 albums, Das Efx, Redman, there was no competition. There was no Bad Boy, there was no Terror Squad, there was no Flip mode, it was just me. It wasn’t Russell, it was nobody. So now, I’m thinking, the fans don’t want to see me by myself and they don’t want to see Eric by himself, so I beat myself before I even got started. AHH: What’s your relationship like now with Eric? PMD: Me and Eric’s relationship is dope because when EPMD was broken up the first 5 years, we didn’t really see each other because he move to Atlanta. Then in 97 when we did "Back In Business," he moved back to New York. So we was pollying and you know we were naturally out of sync because before we was like one. When we got back it wasn’t like we could just record the album because there was so many politics in the business and so many politics in the crew. But the beats and the tracks was hot, but me and Eric we say it til today , we just rapped on those albums. So then "Out of Business" came and that wasn’t even supposed to be the title, it was supposed to be "Major Business." So to our fans it was like, how can we be gone for 5 years, come "Back In Business" and be "Out Of Business" on some marketing scam? I never used any type of scam to market us. We just came through and let our music speak. AHH: So you guys are cool now? PMD: Yea we got 7 songs done on the album, We got hits. We got hits sittin there. But we also know from the 5 years we took off, that we seen a lot of guys just rush up and not do it right. And once you play yourself, That’s it in the game you can’t come back. So that’s why I’m doing my homework, you know were not on J Records no more, I got distribution. And Clive hooked us up and helped us. And Russell hooked us up and helped us. When we come through, we have to know how to put our own poster together, and put our own t-shirt together and not have to call this person or that person to hook that up. Ahh: Will the next EPMD Album be an independent release? PMD: Well, whever the chips may fall, that’s the beauty of it. We have something just sittin there waiting to do whatever we want to do with it. AHH: When you and Eric did have problems was it politics, money, or ego? PMD: With me, I was lucky because I was handling the business. The only thing that I didn’t do on EPMD’s first 3 albums was write Eric’s rhymes. Eric wrote his own rhymes. 90% of the production, PMD did. So when your wrapped up in the production, the management, the business, and the touring, I was in a zone. I had options, but the problems started in 1991 and it all came to a head in 92. I was like let me finish this business and then I’ll get back and see what’s going on. Luckily I did that because that was what made the legendary status. So If I would have gotten caught up in all that stuff , you would have never even heard of Redman or Das Efx. All the problems that we were having started in 1991 not 92. And I had to make decisions because Russell had millions in this and Sylvia had millions in this so I did what I had to do. I took the tour out there to see what was up. When I came back home it got crazy. It was mass confusion. AHH: With you doing most of the production, was the money split causing the riff? PMD: That’s the crazy part, because with all the work I was doing, it was still a 50/50 split. So everything was split half. That’s what I’m saying, it wasn’t a direct hit. It was heat coming from the outside. And I was still cool with it even to this day. EPMD is 50/50. Redman, I don’t even want any part of that, take it. Das Efx, there was a 10 % differential for the simple fact that I knew how to do the deal, I took care of the image, and I had an existing relationship with Sylvia Rhone through my production deal with K-Solo. Shuma management already existed in 1990 before the Hit Squad. So with all that, it was only a 10 percent difference with the Das Efx deal. Eric had Redman, I had […]

Masked gunmen storm your house and tie up your friends in an attempt to find you. Meanwhile, you are on a tour of the country with your boy Erick and crew the Hit Squad (Das EFX, Redman and K-Solo). You play it cool and continue with the business of hip-hop legacy building. While most people would lose their wits, for PMD it was business. A converted soloist, PMD dropped a pair of albums without E, but he’s finally come into his own with The Awakening . The album features Fat Joe, Hit Squad alumni K-Solo, The new Hit Squad (The Final Chapter) and even Erick. AllHipHop talked to PMD about his life, the way things were and the current state of affairs. AllHipHop.com: Talk to me about the new album PMD: The new album is called the Awakening, it has 18 cuts on it. Basically it’s cool cause it’s on my new label Boondocks and I took the independent route. It’s distributed through Caroline and I don’t have the pressure to go gold or platinum. I already did that. So now, I been in the game like 15 years. I came in on Sleeping Bag, Came in on Def Jam, was on J records. When your younger, you just wanted to be an artist and hear your song on the radio. That’s basically what everybody wanted to do. But now that I’m on the other side, I am able to keep the creative point of view and be able to run the business at the same time. AHH: Did you step back from production because of the rigors of running the business? PMD: To be honest with you, I been in the game since 82 and then in 92 with the EPMD break up and Redman , Das EFX and K-Solo, there wasn’t like somebody helping me to do that. I just had heart from the hood. So after Unfinished Business, I didn’t want to have sons near me, I wanted to take other artists, let them become established, so they can be on the same level. AHH: EPMD defiantly prophesized all that’s going on in hip hop with " The Cross Over". With you new album, are you staying away from the radio friendly material? PMD: Yea, yea, with EPMD I never had to cross over. I had a dope song and basically with "The Cross Over" we told people that you could crossover with out playing yourself. You check out the hook, with the Roger Trautman in it and the respect is there really because hip-hop decides who they like and who they don’t. People turn this into a big street thing, and the streets, and the streets. But when Kool Herc and Bambataa, and all of them started this , the whole purpose of hip-hop was to get out of the streets. You know you don’t have to be out there with the gat and you don’t have to be out there slingin. You can tag or you can DJ or you can rap. Now these cats are so, whatever the right word is with the street game , that they prophesized it and they talked it into existence. And when you do that, you see with Pac and Biggie, you seen it with us. And we were like yo let’s put this pen down because were writing the wrath that’s coming to us. So you gotta learn more about the world you live in and America as a whole and know that we can only know so much from the hoods that we came up in because we are in little boxes. Hip hop allowed us to know what was going on in NY and Cali and ok we got a little thing going. But, America’s been here for years, we don’t understand enough about this money, we don’t understand enough about these taxes. So we need to fall back, get used to handling money, get used to dealing with people because it aint about you. AHH: One thing that EPMD was always respected for was the "Boondocks" theme and not really claiming any street hood. So how did the street aspect of the game come back to you? PMD: Well what happens is when your young and your in the hood, nobody’s really messing with you because nothing’s really jumping off, you just like everybody else. But then the minute stuff starts to pop, you have to trust somebody. It’s just like any movie for years, you never know when you got a kook in your camp. A lot of people when they have success, they surround themselves with people , But you really don’t know. And if you surround yourself with a wack team and they just yes men, when they’re around you everything is cool but when your not around their on the phone or plottin or whatever the case may be. So what I learned through all of these years is that you only have control over yourself. And somehow or another, through the success of EPMD, when you one of the most ruggedest groups, when your one of the people bringing the truth and speaking truth, and people hear your lyrics how you coming straight from the heart, then they get intimidated or whatever and they feel like they gotta take other means. As opposed to just speaking to you like a man. So with Eric and I, our biggest downfall was trying to pull too many people on. Then the plane got to heavy and if you didn’t have the eject systems, you would go down with the plane. I had my eject systems, and I love my mic so much no matter what would go on, the point is that you still gotta be able to spit that fire, without sounding like struggling and you still gotta be able to take care of that business. AHH: Did those experiences cause you to step away a bit? PMD: Yea, because […]

Hip-hop is defined by character. Tupac, Biggie, Snoop, and LL Cool J all were icons to the world due to that element of character. Sadly, hip-hop is dry on character these days. While there’s a plethera of great artists, even great people…we seem to be lacking the individual who has the charisma, the candor, and that b-boy grace to represent our foundation beyond just the music. Louis Logic is as good a canidate of this as any. While his debut album, Sin-A-Matic, officially drops this week, Lou has been putting in visable work for years. He has collaborated with many artists from yesteryear’s unerground that are finally getting recognition. Logic has also bounced around the northeast until finally returning to his Big Apple homeland, where he lives and drinks. Lou’s exciting life and dynamic past truly make what he has to say, worth hearing. That fore-mentioned character is very prevalent in this interview. With his signature subtle humor, the great storytelling rapper, tells Allhiphop a few stories that help make order out of Logic’s chaotic past. Allhiphop: Talk about your growing up, I know it wasn’t easy. Louis Logic: I’m originally from Long Island. My pop was an NYPD cop in Harlem. When he retired, he wanted to move back to a real small town where he was from. It was close to Lock Haven [Pennsylvania]. This is about ’88. I went to high school [there] from ninth grade to eleventh. That’s pretty much where all the drama took place. Allhiphop: What sense of hip-hop did you already have before out to the sticks? LL: Truthfully, it all started because of skateboarding, which I took up when I was about ten. I skated for ten years and did that whole thing. I was actually on a team called Number 9, from Long Island. They now make all the boards for Zoo York. I had a best friend. We were like the two mutts out of the crew. Because we were both mixed [racially]. He skated and rhymed. We’d go out and skate for the day, get all tired and pooped out, sitting on the curb, thinking we were little bad a####, smoking cigarettes and sh*t, drinking beer outta paper bags. He’d spit for me, and I was so impressed. Because he could freestyle and I never heard anything like that before. So, oroginally, I was just a listener, but he’d coax me into doing it. Because freestyling gets lonely by yourself. I would try here and there. This kid’s name was Charlie Tucker, and I’d really like to thank him. He essentially, personally, taught me how to rhyme. Allhiphop: Did the racism and adversity you would later face when you moved, push you further into rhyming and hip-hop? LL: There was a time when I wanted to fit in. I tried to fit in. I tried to get the clothes that those kids wore and stuff like that. I wouldn’t nessecarily say that it changed my listening habits or anything. Because that was all personal stuff. When I first showed up there, I had Caberiches on, and black Adidas sneakers with whjite stripes. And an I.O.U. sweater, very Long Island. They were all freaked out by this. They didn’t know what to think. Most of them, because of fear or what, they were really really mean to me. I got into a lot of fights. It was not an uncommon thing to walk down the hallway and hear, "N#####" behind me. My dad actually started driving the school bus, cause he was bored – retirement will do that to you. My dad had to kick me off the bus because I punched this kid in the face cause he said, "How far do I have to chase a n##### to get these shoes?" Those black Adidas. Crazy sh*t like that happened to me on a regular basis. Allhiphop: Did that struggle draw you in further? LL: Yeah, I understand what you’re saying. Yeah I would say that it did have an influence on my me getting more involved in urban music and just generally into Black culture. Because I didn’t know much about it before that. And I didn’t really have any Black friends. My neighborhood was real Italian. I started to develop this shell like, "f*ck these guys, I’m proud to be who I am." Ican put up with a lot of sh*t about being Black. It became a more serious thing to me. And urban music, styles of dress, hairstyles, everything it became my guard against that. The more they pushed at me – the more I was like, "sh*t, I’m a Malcolm X n*gga, I like sh*t like that!" I started getting into reading about Black history, and writing more rhymes and stuff. Buying all Black music, Black designers. It got pretty serious to the point where my mom and dad were kinda freaked out by it for a little bit. They were trying to be good about it. They didn’t understand what was happening. I wrote something in my liner notes, "I want to thank my mom and dad for adopting me and allowing me to experiment as extensively as I have to find my voice." There was a long time where I didn’t know what to think of myself. Because I am mixed, and I was adopted. Allhiphop: Then onto college which sent you on your path meeting Chops and all ? LL: Definitley. College was the best thing that I ever did, seriously. I mean prior to making this album. Because this [album] is the most important thing to me I’ve ever done. Music has become everything to me in life. But yeah, if it wasn’t for college, I don’t think I would’ve gotten into recording music. Allhiphop: The sound of your record is very unique. How did you plan it out? LL: I tried to make a record that would be a soundtrack to your life. Whatever time period you’re in, you would […]