Is Dr. Dre Planning An “Aftermath Takeover” With Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg & More?
Battlecat suggests new music from the Aftermath Entertainment boss will arrive in December.
Featured Videos
EXCLUSIVE: Tha Eastsidaz Talk New Music (VIDEO)
THE LONG BEACH REPS HAVE NEW MUSIC COMING SOON
Exclusive: Greg Mack Breaks Down The History of 1580 KDAY
No story about KDAY can be complete without going back to the beginning of where it all started and to do that you have to talk to the man responsible for putting together the format that would alter radio to this very day – Mr. Greg Mack. In the early to mid-80’s on an AM radio dial known as 1580 in Los Angeles, at a time when the music industry regarded Rap music as a passing fad, Greg Mack took a major step for street born genre by creating radio’s first Hip-Hop format. One could hear a rap song on the radio here or there or maybe on a Saturday night when programmers felt it was safe enough to play, but never could one wake up to the sounds of Run-DMC, The Fat Boys, and Whodini until 1580 KDAY made that all possible. In addition to being a force for Hip-Hop on a whole, KDAY was an outlet for local talent to shine as the station helped to create just about every West Coast star that came from the 80’s and early 90’s. In conclusion of our KDAY coverage of the past few weeks, AllHipHop.com sat down with the legendary programmer in a two part series to let him tell his story. Put on your reading glasses and get a Hip-Hop history lesson! You came to Los Angeles via Houston. First off, I was naïve to the streets when I came to Los Angeles. I’m proud to be a country boy and a lot of the rappers, gang bangers and people in the streets gave me a pass. They were like, “He doesn’t know he’s not supposed to wear Red or Blue so I’m not gonna whoop his a**.” When I first moved to South Central, I lived in mom’s backhouse. One day I was checking the mailbox and this lady came out and jumped on me because she thought I was taking her government check. I got her off of me and threw her over the fence. A crowd had gathered and I wondered what the big commotion was and they told me that this lady was my neighbor. I apologized and told her that I wasn’t trying to take her check and that I was only checking the mail. Later on some Crip approached me and asked me why I beat up his mom. He had a jheri curl and his hand on a gun. I had to explain the situation to him. Take us back to the beginning of your start at KDAY and how Hip-Hop became a music format for radio. I was a music programmer at Magic 102 in Houston so when I came to KDAY, I knew I could do the job. I did notice that everybody out here played their music loud, so if you wanted to know what everybody was in to, all you had to do was roll your window down and listen. I heard groups like Run-DMC and Sugarhill Gang and said to myself, “I think the people here like rap.” None of the stations would play rap except for a few times late at night. I met with KDAY managers Ed Kirby and Jack Patterson and told them that I would play the hits in rotation but I also wanted to experiment with Rap. They told me that I had to limit it to the night time and that’s how it started. Immediately with the first Arbitron ratings, they shot through the roof! After that they agreed to let me play a little bit of Rap in the afternoon, and then more as the kids began to eat it up. The record companies were p##### off at me because I was giving so much time to Rap when they were spending money on promoting their R & B artists. The major record stores were mad too because they weren’t carrying Rap – they thought it was just a novelty. The mom and pop stores and the swapmeets were making a killing because they were the only one’s willing to carry Hip-Hop. Even some in the community gave backlash saying that I was corrupting the youth by playing that music. I used to work with artists and actually made them change some of the lyrics for radio. I didn’t edit them or play them backwards. I had them go back in to the studio to change a verse. The argument was that even if you play a word backwards, the kids can still figure out what they were saying, and the artists would go back and change it. Even to this day I don’t understand why artists won’t do that anymore – just change the verse. Do it for the kids. You created the Mack Attack Mix Masters by taking local DJ’s from the party’s and clubs and putting them on radio. Where did this grand idea come from? I have a mentality of “there are no roadblocks, only hurdles.” When I came to Los Angeles, my sister told me about party’s that were being thrown by a crew named Uncle Jamm’s Army. I went to one of their shows at the Sports Arena and I could not believe my eyes. There were 8 to 10 thousand kids with nobody performing but the DJ’s. I had never seen anything like it in my life so I decided that I needed to get these guys to be a part of what I was doing at KDAY. I tracked down Rodger Clayton, the head of Uncle Jamm’s Army, and explained to him my idea of bringing them on to the radio. He told me that they didn’t need radio and that they were successful without it. I took that as a hurdle to my plan. The next Monday I had a meeting with people who were promoting their records and a guy came in by the name of Lonzo Williams who was promoting his group The World Class Wreckin’ Cru. I asked […]
Exclusive: Tha Chill of Compton’s Most Wanted Checks In From Prison
Compton’s Most Wanted member and Co-Founder, Tha Chill (also known as MC Chill), made urban gossip headlines in early 2012 when it was reported that he was arrested on domestic abuse charges. One site even went as far as to describe it as him “beating his girlfriend half to death.” Recently, Chill reached out to AllHipHop.com from prison in Norco, CA to tell us his story of what really happened. Chill also updates us on why the 1st Generation group was put on hold (and yes, it has to do with members going in and out of jail). Hopefully everybody can get out and stay out because that would be a nice album project of West Coast legends and veterans. The Compton rapper also released a new album on iTunes in September called Chillstrumentals, a mixture of unreleased songs and instrumentals from his catalogue. Stay up, Chill. AllHipHop.com: How did you really end up in the Norco CRC Prison? Tha Chill: There’s been a bunch of rumors and all types of sh*t said about what happened, saying that I beat my b*tch up and all types of crazy sh*t. I’m in here for a simple probation violation. I was on five year suspended sentence probation. Me and my b*tch were arguing and the neighbor called the cops and I was arrested two months later because I had come in contact with the police. I was at the house chilling and they arrested me. I was thinking that I was going to get right out but I violated my probation. In California if you are on probation and you come in to contact with the Police, that’s a violation of your probation. I have to finish my suspended sentence but they are only having me do eighty percent of it. AllHipHop.com: I had read reports on various gossip sites that you had beat up your girlfriend. Tha Chill: It was a simple argument. The neighbors called the cops and we were in the front yard talking sh*t. My girl didn’t call the Police on me – it was the neighbors. We didn’t even know that they had called the Police – we left. I didn’t know any of this until two months later. The cops showed up at my doorstep with a felony warrant and I’m like, “For what?” They told me that it was because the cops were called on me and I was on suspended sentence probation. AllHipHop.com: Man, they can take you in as easily as that? Tha Chill: Yeah, it was something I learned. Instead of fighting it, and with my prior record, it was worth it to take the deal just to get it out of the way, so that’s what I’m doing now. I’m just sitting here and getting it over with so I can get out and not be on probation anymore. AllHipHop.com: How much time have you officially served already? Tha Chill: I’ve been down for two years and I’ve got one more to officially go. Time is ticking and I’m getting this sentence behind me. I miss my family, my kids and making my music. AllHipHop.com: How are you holding up inside there? Tha Chill: I’m in here doing my thing, with the whole Hub to Dub car (Compton & Watts). A lot of people recognize me but they know that I’m a street dude first before a rapper. Nobody’s trying to step to me or be on some bullsh*t. There be sh*t happening but I’m not involved in any of that sh*t. AllHipHop.com: What’s your Prison day like? Tha Chill: I wake up at 4 a.m. and do about a thousand push-ups, brush my teeth, take a shower, and shave my head. Go eat some food like oatmeal with an apple pie. I’ll go chill with the homies and see what’s up with them for a minute. I’ll watch some news, TMZ, and Wendy Williams. Then I’ll go work out some more and then work on my Compton’s Most Wanted book that I’m trying to put out. I’d love to make a movie about it when I get out. It’s the story of me and MC Eiht on our beginnings and how we got to this point. I think my story can encourage people whether they are in Prison or on the streets and help them to stay out of trouble and how the California system works. AllHipHop.com: Are you able to make any kind of music at all in there? I’ve spoken to several artists who were incarcerated and some even had access to recording equipment. Tha Chill: They have programs in Church. I play drums for a band. There are real talented people in here that unfortunately will never see the streets. We have fun together and I’ve learned a lot from these guys. There are drum machines and other instruments in here but you can’t just go get them whenever you want them. AllHipHop.com: Your camp recently released a new album from you called Chillstrumentals that’s on iTunes. Tha Chill: My partner has a lot of the music that I’ve made and he convinced me to not let it sit while I’m in here. We put together some stuff from my catalogue to make an album and secured distribution through Empire. I reached out to the people on my Facebook and asked for suggestions on a title and so many responded. One of them hit me on my inbox and suggested Chillstrumentals. I thought it was good idea to do something like Pete Rock and play a beat before a song comes on. I also put some cuts from my 1st Generation(includes Kurupt, Jayo Felony, King T, Sir Jinx, MC Eiht, DJ Battlecat, Gangsta) group on there to just let people know that we still plan on rocking together. We just all want to be present. I want people to hear my talents as a Producer. A lot of people think that I just rap. Then there are […]
Mykestro [BGA] Releases “The Barmittzpha” Sampler
AllHipHop.com Breeding Ground artist, Mykestro, has just released the sampler to his upcoming two-part CD project, The Barmittzpha, which is set for release on May, 15. Hosted by DJ Skee and HUB & The Associates, The Barmittzpha will be released in two different ways, explains Mykestro: “The first disc consists of 18 original compositions and will be available on iTunes, while the second disk which is a mixture of mixtape and original songs will be available for free download.” Guest rappers on The Barmittzpha include Xzibit, Kendrick Lamar, Nottz, Daz Dillinger, Soopafly, Columbo Black, Ab-Soul, and more. Mykestro’s big brother, DJ Battlecat, leads the way on the production side along with Amplified, Willie Brown, Macado and others. Click Here To Download “The Barmittzpha” Sampler!
