INTERVIURI

[cafteala]

Interviu Murs (CITITI NEAPARAT INTERVIUL ACESTA) http://www.hiphopgame.com/index2.php3?page=murs2

[sunrah]

Daca as fi fost acasa as fi ras in exces cu siguranta. Foarte proaste intrebari, foarte caterincoase raspunsuri. M-a cam atins cand l-a amintit pe Dangermouse, sper ca nu vorbea serios acolo. Oricum, tare stimul pentru amuzamnetul de seara.

[Stas]

Intetview Joe Beats


Joe Beats: Shades Of Blue
By David Ma


"Give me your address, so I can send you my new cd," immediately replied Joey Beats when I approached him for this interview.

Perhaps one of the most underrated current producers, Rhode Island's Joey Beats isn't only humble and approachable, but is also extremely skillful at what he does. The production half of the Non-Prophets??€�Sage Francis being the rapping half??€�Joe is constantly focused on his growth as a beatsmith. "I pretty much loathe all of my past work," said the Rhode Island native, "Why? Because I'm an amateur and I need to get better. Point blank period."

With a small but respectable body of work, Joey Beats' latest endeavor is a remix project of sorts, which offers his rendition of Indie Rock tunes. Why would a Hip Hop producer whose idol is Pete Rock branch out and rework songs from bands like Deerhoof, Neutral Milk Hotel and Pinback? "I got sick of sampling the same shit. When everyone went Library, I went Latin [and made the Non-Prophets record]," says the ever emergent producer. "Then everyone went Latin, so I went Brazilian. Then everyone went Brazilian. I got fed up and decided to take a dramatic turn. In the end, I ended up sticking with Indie and made Indie Rock Blues. Now everyone is post punk and, luckily for me, I got some other shit. It never ends though."

Whatever his future ambitions are, one can already see the obvious growth with each subsequent release. With a new remix collaboration with Cunninlinguists just finished, a release with Bully Records in the coming year and a growing fanbase that anxiously awaits an instrumental full length, Joey Beats answered random questions I threw at him.

With genuine insight, humor and humility, here's are his responses:

Q: Can you start of by identifying yourself for people who are unfamiliar with you and your music?

"I got by the unfortunate moniker Joey Beats. I am a producer. Some may know me through the work I've done with Sage Francis to form the duo Non-Prophets. We're exploring careers as soloists. My latest solo project is called "Indie Rock Blues". In short, it's a bunch of Indie Rock remixes I did and compiled in an unpaused mix. Danceable melancholy for the depressed."

Q: Let's get into your past a bit. What made you get into music production? How did you get started?

"The first time I heard Pete Rock back in 1991 I wondered how he did it. I didn't get the chance to start making stuff until about 7 years later in college. I worked at the radio station where they had production equipment and 30,000 promo records."

Q: Obviously the approach to making an instrumental track differs from making one for rhyming. But which process do you prefer as a beatmaker? Which is more fun/fulfilling?

"Now? Making instrumental music. On the real, forget emcees. Divas, all of them...haha."

Q: How many hours a day do you devote to making beats? Is it a daily thing or a spur- of- the-moment thing?

"I work in chunks. When I have a specific direction or project in mind I focus intensely, dive in head first, and can work pretty fast. For example, half of the beats for the Non-Prophets record were made in a two- month span. Of recent I haven't been working on stuff as much as usual because of the release of Indie Rock Blues. I do everything on my own -right down to assembling each and every cd. My workdays have been consumed with doing individual orders of Indie Rock Blues. As long as I stay distracted with that, I'll be happy."

Q: What was the last song you heard that absolutely blew you away? Why?

" Deerhoof - Gold on Black. It's an older song of theirs but I just caught them live last night and they played it. I always liked the track but couldn't appreciate it in full until I saw it live. They did a variation on it and it floored me. The drummer is a friggin' maniac. I need to do what he does, but do so on the 404."

Q: Who are some rappers/singers/producers that it'd be an honor for you to work with?

" I stopped asking myself this question a long time ago. Whomever I mention Dangermouse will probably make end up making a record with. So...whomever Dangermouse is working with, hahaha. "

Q: What's it like being in the studio with Sage?

" I don't know what it's like being in the studio with Sage. Normally, I mix down the beat with the engineer (Chris Warren) and then Sage comes in for the next session to lay down the vocals. It's a formula that works best for us. As for the times before that, I can't call it. I wasn't experienced enough back then to have an opinion on it now."

Q: How was the touring experience? Any thoughts about a Joey Beats tour?

" I loved it. I had a great time. At the same time, I was under a lot of illusions. However, I hope to be on the road soon again promoting solo work. Although next time it won't be all fun and games. I look forward to that. I will probably have to incur a lot more responsibility than I had to before. In that sense it will be more rewarding."

Q: Will we see more projects of this nature from you from now on?

" Yes. I will continue to make uncompromising music that people cannot categorize and, as a result, will not sell."

Q: Can we expect a purely instrumental album from you anytime soon?

" Yes. I don't know when it will be ready. Once it rivals the big two, I guess. In the meantime, you can check for some true instrumentals of mine to be released on Bully records in the coming year."

Q: How did the collaboration with Cunninlinguists come about? Are you pleased with the end result?

"YES!!! I'm very pleased. A Piece Of Strange is a fantastic record and I'm very honored to be considered a small part of it with the remix I did. Kno emailed me and asked if I would like to do a remix. I was flattered at first. But then when I heard the album, I was sold. Buy it."

Q: You've been pressing on for a minute now. Any last comments for followers of your music who've paid attention to your production since The Non-Prophets record "Bounce" was released in '99?

" You will hear and see more from me in 2006. I have a split 7" coming out on Shake It Records with the one and only Maker. There will be a 7" for "Indie Rock Blues" very soon. The B-side will feature a new remix not on the original release. I have another 12" dropping this year; one of the tracks is a song I did with an emcee named Blak (from One Drop). Last but not least, I plan on finishing an EP for Bully Records which will also be available online as an E-label release. I have some other tentative things in the works but I won't go into all that now. In the meantime, everyone should download my new cd Indie Rock Blues on any of the file sharing programs. If you like it and would like to own a copy with the actual booklet, you can purchase a copy directly from me off my webpage, www.joeybeats.com."


Sursa

[iLL:WiLL]

Ghostface: Words From Pretty Tony
Wednesday - April 19, 2006

Ghostface Killah recorded Fishscale while battling a broken leg, but up-and-coming MCs, don??€�t get any ideas??€�crafting classic hip-hop albums is routine activity for Dennis Coles. From his contributions as a member of the Wu-Tang Clan and sidekick tasks with Raekwon for Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, to solo opuses like Ironman and Supreme Clientele, Ghost has already made history. He has also displayed mentoring and team leader skills by helming his Theodore Unit collective to releasing 718, one of the best indie releases of 2004, and giving the group??€�s standout Trife Da God shine with album cameos and last year??€�s Put It On The Line mixtape. This year, he continued his legacy, but with a few new ingredients in his gumbo: a major label push from Def Jam, beats from underground hip-hop??€�s best, and a rejuvenated concentration on conceptual gems. In this interview with HipHopDX, Ghostface talks about employing producers like Pete Rock and MF DOOM, balancing the streets with the boardrooms, and how the sight of a random breezy fucked up his fibula.

HHDX: You??€�ve really stayed busy since The Pretty Toney Album, working on both the DOOM project and the Put It On The Line mixtape with your prot?©g?© Trife Da God. How difficult was it to find time between these other projects to work on your own album?

Ghostface: It was crazy as shit, nahmean. I fucked my leg up, I broke my ankle doing this shit, so I wrote the shit on a broke ankle inside the crib, inside the bed, really. That was it. I finished a lot earlier than I what I usually do, because I don??€�t be puffin??€� no more weed, but it was just a crazy task.

HHDX: How??€�d you break your leg?

Ghostface: Fuckin??€� with my niggas I ain??€�t seen in like eight years and shit. You know how shit be. Mothafuckas badden up on you and shit, same night and shit, fucking around outside in the snow. It was my ankle, my fibula. We??€�re just on ice, step out the car, I??€�m standing on ice. My nigga called me, I turned around and checked this bitch ass out, and just fucked around and slipped a little bit. I ain??€�t go all the way down, I held on to him and shit, but my leg just snapped back. And that??€�s what it was, I just broke the shit. I sat around for like three and a half or four months, just trying to get my shit back together. Just fucked up with pain and shit, that??€�s all.

HHDX: You have a whole lot of production from some of the game??€�s premier underground producers, like DOOM, Madlib, J. Dilla, and Pete Rock. What made you take that route this time around, even though you??€�ve established a trademark before from your own producers?

Ghostface: I didn??€�t use the Madlib one. I had too many songs on there, I had to fuck around and take it off. (As far as getting other producers) It was just a sound that I wanted a little bit, I wanted to change the sound around and go back to the old sound a little bit, that??€�s all. It wasn??€�t nothin??€� too big, it was just exactly what they had at that time.

HHDX: Fishscale is a lot grittier and more street than The Pretty Toney Album. What??€�s with the change?

Ghostface: I don??€�t know, man. Just the beats. When I was on Pretty Toney, I was looking for certain beats that I couldn??€�t really find, so I had to deal with what I could deal with. The beats and the era, you know what I mean? That??€�s all that it really was. This one, you may have a few cocaine raps on the shit, but that??€�s just what it is.

HHDX: This album is really heavy on concept songs as well, and that isn??€�t as strong on your last albums. What made you take this approach?

Ghostface: Really, the beats are what makes me do the shit. I??€�m good at stories, I??€�m starting to really know that that??€�s really my element, so I know on the next album??€¦I might have a mixture of shit, because every time I listen to an album, I get thoughts of where I want to go for the next one. Now I know that stories are really my technique, I know what to do now. As opposed to just getting a freestyle, (but) I??€�ma have freestyle shit up there too, like regular abstract shit that people up there love me for, on some real ??€?Mighty Healthy??€? shit. I know how to mix it up. I learn from a lot of shit; sometimes when you??€�re in the mix of just doing shit, you??€�re just in the mix and you don??€�t understand it until you complete the shit. I??€�m good now, I??€�ve got the shit down to a science, and I??€�m just ready to move on.

HHDX: You??€�re one of the few artists who??€�s able to be with a major label like Def Jam, but still keep your street credibility intact. How difficult is it to balance the two?

Ghostface: I don??€�t know, man. I just do what I do, G. I know not to play myself, man. I just do what I do, make sure I do it right, let niggas know, ??€?You??€�re still fuckin??€� with a real cat, G.??€? I??€�m just one of them niggas. You??€�ve got to be that dude, unless you??€�re going to fuck around and play yourself. Niggas will have you in a suit and tie, niggas will have you doing all types of shit, G. I just know, I could be that ??€?Back Like That??€? cat, I could be that street nigga, ??€?cuz that??€�s just me. A lot of mothafuckas can??€�t do that.

HHDX: What happened with the album cover?

Ghostface: I never changed the album cover, everybody keeps saying that. That??€�s just the poster with the fish, that was only for the sampler, that wasn??€�t the album cover.

[iLL:WiLL]

DMC: Shadows of a Legend
Andres Tardio

DMC needs no introduction. The man is responsible for some of Hip-Hop??€�s greatest hits and trends. He??€�s a pioneer and he??€�s a legend. More importantly, he??€�s human and he??€�s here to share the ups and downs of life as DMC.

In this revealing interview, D opens up about emotional issues dealing with alcoholism, adoption, suicidal thoughts, family and the death of a loved one. He also speaks up about how to solve problems and triumph in the face of adversity. One third of rap??€�s first super group sat down with DX to explain how a B-Boy becomes a B-Man. Read on...

With your legendary past, what do you feel is your greatest accomplishment in the world of Hip-Hop?

Wow...that??€�s a good question. Well, before Jay died, it wasn??€�t the first to go gold, the first to go platinum, first on MTV or first on Rolling Stone, but longevity. We??€�ve seen it all. We??€�ve seen gangster-rap. We??€�ve seen Hammer come. We??€�ve seen Vanilla Ice, Tupac and Biggie come. We were here through it all. We stayed relevant. We always did what was being done before rap records were being made. For us (our greatest accomplishment is) longevity for sure. But for me now, I??€�m fortunate enough to still be here...

I wanted to speak on Jay. It was a tragic loss for everyone, but being such a close friend, can you shed light on the impact Jam Master Jay had on you while he was alive and after his passing?

First of all, the reason why Run DMC looked the way we looked and acted the way we??€�d act was because of Jay. He was the vibe, the aura of Run DMC. He gave us street-credibility and made Hip-Hop acceptable universally legit, if you understand what I??€�m sayin??€�. If you think about it, musically, he was the guy that said ??€?Let??€�s do ??€�Walk this Way??€� over.??€? We were like ??€?Naw, we gon??€� sample the beat and we gon??€� say the rhymes...??€? (Starts doing rhymes.) Jay was always the visionary. He was not afraid to do what we had to do creatively and represent. He wasn??€�t afraid to be an individual. But at the same time-he wasn??€�t afraid to be outstanding.

Run DMC for me was all I had. It was like Hip-Hop adopted me, right? I grew up with a fabulous life as a kid. I was a straight A student. I was always on the Honor Roll. Then I started on this thing called Hip-Hop in my basement. When I started, I never thought I was going to be making record. But Joe, whose brother was Russell Simmons, he knew I could make rhymes and he put me down. Jay was the neighborhood DJ so we put him down. Us three, who grew up together since Kindergarten in the same neighborhood, we become the number 1 Hip-Hop force on the Earth. And for years that??€�s all I knew besides school and my family. That was my life and Run and his brothers had Phat Farm, Def Jam and they was doing that. But for me, all I had was my rhymes and my love was Hip-Hop and my group so when Jay got murdered, for Me, my whole life was taken out from the bottom of me. So I had to figure out "What the hell do I do? Where do I go? Do I keep rhyming? Am I getting too old to be Hip-Hop? How does the B-Boy grow up into a B-Man? And if I do rap, do I try to outrhyme these young kids?" So, for me, my whole world was torn apart.

What??€�s your relationship with Run like now?

I see him on TV more than I do in person, but it??€�s just that after Jay (passed away) we had two different paths to walk now at this point in our lives.

You stayed away for a good while...What kept you away?

Well, personal things like alcoholism, I found out that I was adopted, Jay being murdered, my father died. I (have) been through a lot in the last ten years. It wasn??€�t all good like people were thinking. Yes, I??€�m the King. Yes, I??€�m a pioneer. Yes, I got fame and fortune. Yes, yes, yes all the things you want to say about me. But at the end of the day, like I say on the Sarah Mclachlan record, the most important thing I am to you guys is that I??€�m just like you. And I'm going to keep it real because Hip-Hop is about keeping it real. I was going through some things. But see everything that I went through makes me who I am, where I come from and all of that. Bottom line: before I was able to evolve as an artist, I had to evolve as a person. So, from ??€?96 up until now, it was all about ??€?What is this DMC thing meaning now? Where do I go with it and when I get there, what the hell am I going to do with it???€?

You talk about keeping it real, which is important. You??€�ve been quite open about alcoholism, but what is it like today? Does it still try to peak in and disturb your day or are you just calm and enjoying life more than before?

From ??€?91-2000, which is actually when I found out I was adopted, I did not have a drink. I started drinking probably in 1976 or something. I started drinking when I was probably 12. But in 1991, I had pancreatitis, I think people know the story. I had a bad case of pancreatitis because I used to literally drink a case of 40??€�s myself a day, in addition to going to the clubs and drinking Bacardi and Coke way back when. So, I went to the doctor and he said ??€?You have two choices. You can drink and die or not drink and live.??€? So from 1991-2000??€¦ no drinking. I didn??€�t have to go to rehab and didn??€�t need no help. I would just look at a drink and know, ??€?If I drink that, I??€�ll die!??€? So, it was easy! But then I found out I was adopted, and at the same time, I found out what kind of music I wanted to make, what kind of person I am. So I was reborn again. But in my mind, it was party time. So I was telling everybody that said ??€?D, you buggin??€� out. You can??€�t drink!??€? (I said) ??€?I feel good. I look good. I??€�m exercising. I??€�m making the music I want to do. I??€�m making a solo album. The world is coming together. Blahzay-Blah. It??€�s party time!??€? But (what) I didn??€�t know (is that) I started drinking because I didn??€�t know how to deal with the adoption thing. But I didn??€�t know that at the time. So, from 2001-2004 I was drinking 24/7. But then in 2004, people were telling me to go to rehab, that I need help. I did the whole denial thing: ??€?I don??€�t need no fucking help!??€? But then one day in 2004, I realized not only am I killing myself, I can??€�t get no higher. There??€�s something else I should be doing. Once I got in rehab, it wasn??€�t just go and get detox. The rehab I went to was like college. They taught you about your brain, body functions, genetics, nerve endings, what alcohol does....So I got an education. Out of all of that, you have 50 things up on the blackboard. You??€�re going to teachers and psychologists. I had to narrow it down to which alcoholic am I? That??€�s Me. I do that! So, once I realized and once I looked in the mirror and confronted myself and said ??€?Okay, I have to do something else besides drinking.??€? But it was a journey. It wasn??€�t easy. That??€�s why I talk about it because at the end of the day, even if you??€�re not alcoholic, you probably have an uncle or a brother...you could relate to that. See, my album is about issues. Everybody is claiming ??€?It??€�s so good, it??€�s Hip-Hop!??€? No! Some things in Hip-Hop is good, but in life, there??€�s a lot of issues people aren??€�t addressing. Hip-Hop is a culture. It's a way of life. There are not enough people talking about life. So, what I did...I could sit here and talk to the world about what I don??€�t like about Hip-Hop and I guarantee you everybody will agree with me. But they??€�re scared to agree with me, so they call it hating. No! The reason you??€�re calling me a hater is because I??€�m telling the truth and you can??€�t take it! Instead of doing that, I said ??€?What is Hip-Hop not talking about???€? The war in Iraq...Personal situation...So, I looked in the mirror and I said ??€?This happened to me. That happened to me.??€? Whatever I experience waking up in the day, I??€�m going to make records about it. At the end of the day, if you listen to my album whether you??€�re six or sixty years old or whether you??€�re black, white or Puerto Rican...There??€�s something in there that you could say ??€?Oh, wow-I think like that!??€? Or ??€?I didn??€�t know DMC was like that! I can agree with that!??€? Or you can say ??€?I totally disagree with everything he??€�s saying.??€? But at the end of the day, at least I know you??€�re not sleep-walking. You??€�re alive and you??€�re awake.

There was a point in your life where you had to deal with suicidal thoughts. What would be your advice for the youth today, dealing with similar issues?

This is my advice: You feel like there??€�s nobody you can talk to who can feel what you??€�re feeling. Before you can commit suicide, you have to search till you find that person who can feel what you??€�re feeling. The only reason why you're feeling how you??€�re feeling is because you??€�re talking to the wrong person. That??€�s why I put it on a record for millions to hear. So, if they need to talk to me, come find me. People say I??€�m a pioneer, a legend, a godfather, I may be all those things you say...the King whatever...but at the end of the day, like I said in the Sarah Mclauchlan record: ??€?There??€�s a lot of people just like me!??€? I??€�m just like you homie. I'm just like you sister. I??€�m just like you brother. White/Black-I??€�m just like you. I??€�ll sit there and talk to you about it because I??€�m ashamed of what it is. A lot of people thinking of this, they hold it in, which is the wrong thing to do. By you letting somebody know you feel like that, it could help somebody else. So, my advice is: (You can say) ??€?My mother don??€�t understand me. My girlfriend don??€�t understand me. My teachers don??€�t understand me.??€? You have to go look in the park. Go online, pick up the telephone book. Go to ??€?Suicide Anonymous??€? or whatever it is. Talk to people who are just like you.

Why did you choose to share your adoption journey with cameras? Were you out to help others who were struggling with the same predicament?

Well, first t was like this. I found out I was adopted five years ago. I didn??€�t move on it. I didn??€�t act on it. I just hit the bottle. So, after I stopped drinking, I said for me, this isn??€�t about saying my life isn??€�t my life. My parents are parents. But I needed to find out how I came into this world. So, dealing with emotions of ??€?Why did my mother give me up? Why did my parents take me? Why am I DMC???€? I went through all of that. But then I was thinking that I really need help because I really can??€�t comprehend this on an emotional and mental level. So this lady I know, who is also adopted, let me know they have adoption discussion groups. So I started attending the meetings and basically we just go there, people from all walks of life: Professional people, normal people, 9-5 people, athletes, entertainers, actors, garbage men and everything, right. We??€�d just sit there and talk about being adopted. But at the meetings, I started learning about all the adoption issues: the laws, the sealed records, birth certificates, the hospitals, the private eyes. So I learned about this and realized that there is no instructional guide to being adopted. So, being me and who I am in this position...What happened was VH1 called me up and said ??€?Would I like to do the Surreal World???€? I said, No, thank you for the invite. But I don??€�t believe in reality TV on that level because, if I do anything, whether it??€�s music, or it??€�s a video or a television show, it??€�s going to have meaning and purpose. Then I said ??€?I got an idea! From what I learned at my adoption meetings, maybe I can document me search for my parents so they'll have a blueprint for their search. If I document my search not only will it help me, but it will help other people.??€? See, I was going to do it anyway, this just let me help other people.

How did your journey affect your adoptive family and your wife?

Well everybody, believe it or not, was really supportive because everybody knew my life is my life but I needed to know, because everybody lese knew where they came from. There were little things where I felt ??€?What am I doin??€�? My Mother is going to think I don??€�t love her.??€? I felt it so I know she felt that. But I let her know, ??€?Mom, you??€�re my Mother. You and Dad are my parents. I love y??€�all. There??€�s nobody more important than y??€�all. This is just the lady that gave me birth. This lady gave me life but you allowed me to live it.??€? In the beginning it was a little shaky. Even my brother was like, ??€?Listen, man-You??€�re the adopted one. You gotta do what you gotta do. I??€�m not adopted. I don??€�t want to know what's going on over there. I love you, though but I don??€�t want to go over there because it??€�s all unfamiliar to me.??€? But you know, if I was your brother, you??€�d feel like ??€?I love you Darryl, but why you doing this to me? What? Mom??€�s not good enough for you???€? So, those thoughts were there.

Being a pioneer, how do you see Hip-Hop??€�s evolution? Do you feel it??€� headed in the right direction or do you think it??€�s going the wrong way?

No...Hip-Hop is really...Wait! I don??€�t want to criticize it. Only thing Hip-Hop has to do is continue to be Hip-Hop, right? But right now, it??€�s forgotten what Hip-Hop really represents: the way of life, right? The artform: the graffiti, the art, the dance, the music. Right now everybody's trying to be red. They??€�re wasting their time because everybody??€�s trying to see who could be the best at being red as opposed to who could be the best at being blue, pink, yellow, brown, or purple. Everybody??€�s trying to be the best at one thing! That??€�s not what Hip-Hop is about. You don??€�t have to look a certain way, talk a certain way...Hip-Hop originally was, ??€?Yo, what??€�s your flavor???€? See, it??€�s all different flavors but we??€�re all the same. You have De la Soul, Run DMC, Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane, Special Ed, The Fat Boys, Beastie Boys, Will Smith, Tribe Called Quest, Kool G. Rap, NWA, Dr. Dre... Everybody was different, but we??€�re all representing the same thing. Right now, we??€�re all the same representing the same thing. That??€�s a false representation of what Hip-Hop is about. Hip-Hop don??€�t need to do nothin??€� except being Hip-Hop. This is the question I give to everybody. I always get the younger rappers coming up to me saying, ??€?Yo, DMC, where do you think Hip-Hop is going???€? I tell them this: ??€?It??€�s not where it??€�s going, young man. It??€�s where you??€�re going to take it.??€? You should see the look of confusion on their face. They're thinking, ??€?What do you mean D???€? Listen, you don??€�t have to be 50 Cent, Jay-Z or Kanye or any of the guys you see in the video to represent. You have to represent you. You don??€�t get that. They think, ??€?I gotta rap like these guys. I gotta get tattoos like these guys. I gotta carry guns like these guys. I gotta buy whips like these guys.??€? The list goes on and on. Man, you don??€�t have to do nothin??€� except keep it real!

You??€�ve made it a point to create socially conscious records on the new albums. How important is it for emcees to make political/social commentary in their music?

Let??€�s put it like this. It??€�s not the politicians. It??€�s not the police. It??€�s not the preachers. It??€�s not the priests. It??€�s not the parents. It??€�s the rapper dudes! The emcees and DJs dictate what we drive, what we wear, how we walk and how we talk, and how we act. Even though we??€�re not role models, we have a responsibility to represent the people we claim to represent. We are the voices for them. Right now you have rappers doing everything and going everywhere having a lot. I sit here with my eleven year old son, and I say ??€?I don??€�t know what you??€�re saying cuz you ain??€�t saying nothin??€�! I know what you??€�re driving. I know what??€�s in your refrigerator. You showed me your jacuzzi on MTV Cribs. I know what you??€�re doing, who you??€�re dating, but I don??€�t know what you??€�re saying cause you ain??€�t sayin??€� nothing! It??€�s time rappers start saying something! That's only criticism because I used to think it was only the younger generation but there??€�s people 25 years old-60, that are mor elost than the kids are. The kids, they alright, cause the kids got more sense than we know. There??€�s grown ass men, 25 years old-60 that got it all wrong! We need, as the representatives of Hip-Hop, be it the athlete, the entertainer or the actor, to really start representing. You ain??€�t gotta be a role-model and be all goodie-goodie, but you have a responsibility to represent the real and ain??€�t nobody doing that. MTV Cribs and Pimp My Ride-it??€?s all good, but it shows results and it doesn??€�t show the process.

How do you respond to fans who criticize your comeback and dismiss it as ??€?He??€�s too old to rhyme or to be relevant??€?? They may not even know the past but...

Right...??€?What the hell is this old rapper guy? I heard of him, but what is he doing???€? I can only tell them this, ??€?Rap is what I do, not what I am.??€? They might not know this, but this is the answer: it??€�s for them to find out. Once they do, then maybe they??€�ll get it. Does Bruce Springstein stop doing Rock & Roll because he??€�s 50. Does Bob Dylan stop doing what he does because he??€�s 50? And people say The Rolling Stones need to stop, but here??€�s something nobody knows about them, critics and writers that think y??€�all know it all...Whatever you see Mick Jagger and them doing now, they was doing the same thing at 11 years old, before they even had a record deal. That??€�s what it??€�s about. Are you true to the game or are you true to the game. So, this is what I do. This is my life. This is my music. As I grow, I just change up what I??€�m talking about but I'ma keep doing it because my heart pumps Hip-Hop!

What would be your sales pitch for the new album and who are some of the artists featured on it? What was it like working with such a diverse group of musicians?

For me, it was like this - I wanted to do an album that was going to focus on the music. So, I had to work with musicians who are artists first, celebrities second. If you look at albums now, it??€�s all about who produced it, what rappers you got on there, and what name. Even though, I got big names...but I say Sara Mclaughclan and you think ??€?Wow, great voice, great songwriter, great artist.??€? I say Kid Rock? Okay, yes-he gets all the Playboy bunnies, he gets all the models, he lives the Rock & Roll lifestyle, but before anything, he??€�s a musician first. Doug E Fresh, (they ask) ??€?Why didn??€�t you get such & such who??€�s hot now???€? Because that??€�s just it: he??€�s hot NOW. Doug E Fresh is forever! It??€�s a difference...that??€�s why I did it independently. That??€�s what the label says: Why don??€�t you look at that producer? He??€�s hot now. That??€�s my answer: He??€�s hot now. Doug E Fresh will always be Doug E Fresh until the day he??€�s 90. Those guys you hear now, you won??€�t want to hear their records in two years but you??€�ll always love to hear Ladi Dadi and the The Show and the list goes on and on. I had to work with artists who were musicians to be on this record because I want the music to speak first. I want people to do this: I like the ??€?Find My Way??€? record. Kid Rock is on it, how??€?d you get Kid Rock.??€? I want them to say, ??€?Yo, I like the record. How the hell did you work with Sarah Mclauchlin anyway???€? For me, the whole selling point of the album is this: good music by good people for a good purpose.

You said it...Your pairing with Sarah McLaughlin was somewhat odd for a lot of people, but in the end it turns out you two have more in common than many thought. How has your relationship with her grown and how did it develop since you met.

Right. When I first met her, it was ??€?Mrs. Mclaughlin your music changed my life.??€? She said ??€?That??€?s what music is supposed to do.??€? She shook my hand and I didn??€�t see her for three years. I found out I was adopted, and I said ??€?I??€�m going to make a record because Sarah Mclaughclin said that??€�s what music is supposed to do.??€? So I will make a record that??€�s going to give some hope to those people. But I will call her up, because she gave me hope, so she could help me give hope to other people. I call her up, I tell her I??€�m adopted, this and that. We make the record and after the record was done, she looks over at me and says ??€?Darryl I need to tell you something.??€? I said ??€?What???€? I know about Lilith Fair, I know about her previous work and the type of person she is now. I never knew she was adopted too. That's powerful. So, that??€�s what it??€�s like for me...(I want people to say) ??€?Ayo, DMC. I??€�m adopted too.??€? ??€?Ayo D, I just got out of rehab.??€? or ??€?Yo D, I like you for speaking about the world.??€? Because none of these rappers that claim they know it all are even saying anything about it. You think about it, for me, the relationship with Sarah Mclaughclin became like we were friends already. That??€�s the power of music.

Also, you came through and talked about ??€?Who??€�s hot now???€? But let me ask you, ??€?Who do you think is hot now, but that will have longevity as well???€?

Wow...Well, let me ask you: You have a whole lot of hot cats in the last five years. Are people still talking about them? If they do, are they talking about their music or what they??€�re doing and who they're dating. So you think, De La Soul, you could go ??€?I just seen them last week in the House of Blues.??€? Wu-Tang Clan? They back on the road right now. I was in DC the other night and guess who comes on stage? All of them motherfuckers was on stage ding that shit that they do that??€?s real. Every guy who??€�s been dominant in the last five years, are we still talking about them? Nope! But you see Chuck D, you see him, you remember. You see Nas or even further back. If you see Special Ed, Big Daddy Kane...You seen what he did on Hip-Hop Honors! What??€�s crazy is all the young kids in the hood was like, ??€?Who??€�s that???€? (Laughs) That??€�s what I mean...Who??€�s hot now? Even the producers, they just fall back into obscurity...

I just want people to say...I want people to look at me and see that??€�s just a reminder of the reason why the world loves Hip-Hop. Not just in my generation, but period! I was trying to figure it out: I could go and get such and such producers and get ghostwriters and I could try to be rougher than 50, sell more records than Jay-Z and out rhyme these motherfuckers. I just did what Run DMC always did- make good fun records. That??€�s all I have to do is represent the real of Me.

[Kaen Shine]

RZA speaks on foreign hh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4syGVkSDI8

[iLL:WiLL]

Interview with Dreddy Kruger

http://rap.about.com/od/intervie2/a/DreddyKruger.htm

"RZA's about to give GZA a whole album again on some Liquid Swords sh*t, and he's doing the same with Deck. "

[iLL:WiLL]

Mr. Lif: Politically Incorrect

Boston-bred emcee Mr. Lif is not just in this rap game for the money; he??€�s one of few artists nowadays who simply does it for the passion. His love of hip hop is what??€�s driven him to stay in this industry, making record after record, garnering well-deserved critical acclaim for each since his break in 2000 with the Enter the Colossus EP on indie label, Def Jux.
Establishing himself as one of the most forward-thinking emcees of his time, Mr. Lif is one underground head you should all be familiar with. Not afraid to broach subject matters others fear to touch, Mr. Lif is set apart from the rest by his unique lyricism and his unconventional looks ??€� an African American man with spectacles, five inch thick dreadlocks and no ??€?bling??€� in sight is not the image most would conjure when thinking of the face of hip hop.
However, for rap fans tired of the 50 Cents of this world, Mr. Lif provides a refreshing and interesting take on the world and the troubles facing it, addressing issues outside of the typical ??€?girls, money and guns??€� attitude that has been widely adopted by today??€�s rappers. With his sophomore LP, Mo??€� Mega, Lif takes hip hop to a higher level, showing an intelligence and maturity that others can only learn from.

Tell us about your new album, Mo Mega??€¦

It was a record that I wanted to do a long time ago, but it took four years to get to this point. My most recent album was in 2002, so to me this album kinda sounds like the times we??€�re living in. I guess if you look to music videos right now, there??€�s all these happy, shiny images being portrayed, you know, people look like they??€�re wealthy, but what??€�s really going on for us in the US, especially with the government just running amuck, just doing things that a bunch of people don??€�t agree with, and there??€�s a lot of disparity between middle America and conservative suburban America and its just getting a bit harder to afford the costs of living and there??€�s just a lot of strife going on, so I think that we need to recognize that this album has both stressed out and aggressive, but then has flashes of pure bliss and happiness, you know? So overall, I got to really express myself and I think that this is probably the most personal record I??€�ve ever made.

You work closely with El-P again on this album ??€� what would you say makes the pairing so successful? What sets El-P??€�s production apart from the rest?

Yeah, he did eight out of 11 tracks. I think first of all, that he??€�s just a brilliant producer and you can only get his sound from him; no one imitates his sound because no one really can. He also just knows what it takes to make a good record, you know what I mean? He??€�s made groundbreaking records before and has opened a lot of doors. He??€�s had so much success from being a groundbreaking artist, so it??€�s always interesting to hear his input, what he has to say. I mean, we don??€�t always agree, by any measure of imagination, but it??€�s always good to have someone like that in your corner helping to craft a project like this, just blending the creativity.

You collaborate with MC Akrobatik as well ??€� did you think The Perceptionists would be such a success when you were putting it together?

Yeah, he??€�s my partner in crime now! We actually hoped for more of a success! At the time, we were really hoping to go for it all! Unfortunately we had problems in the group, which I think really stopped us from going further, like Fakts One decided to essentially drop out of the group right when the album was coming out, and so he didn??€�t do any of the touring with us. We had DJ Therapy from Asamov as a great replacement on tour; everything was fine, he didn??€�t feel left out of the group so it was just personally very tough to deal with. Then we had problems with management, and you know, we never really got the chance to come out and do a bunch of shows in the UK or Europe and stuff like that, so it was just a bunch of conflicting ideas, everyone had their own idea about how it was supposed to happen, then by the time things started to get sorted out, I was just like, ??€?Ok, I??€�ve gotta make another solo record??€�.

You??€�ve been frequently compared to such greats as Chuck D, KRS-1, Rakim and Guru ??€� where do you feel you stand in accordance with these legendary emcees?

You know, I guess I??€�m just like a descendent??€¦ I??€�ve obviously been a disciple of what they??€�ve been doing, or just a huge fan and really just analysed what they??€�ve done and studied the successes and pitfalls of their career, and you know, I just try to take the best elements and you know, a lot of times I feel stressed out, or feel I??€�m not doing as well as I should be??€¦ You know, it??€�s nine years into my career now, and I can??€�t believe I can sit here and say that. I dropped out of college to try and do this, and I had like, a one song demo tape and now I??€�m sitting in a hotel room in London, again, for maybe the fifth or sixth time and I??€�m maybe as hungry as I was when I did my first project, or maybe even hungrier at this point! I??€�ve had some success, but ultimately not the type or level of success I??€�ve wanted to, mainly based on the fact I haven??€�t been prolific enough. I??€�m just ready to do it all, and I think I sound pretty angry and hungry on this record, like I??€�m going right for the throat!

As a so-called ??€?politically conscious??€� MC, how do you feel about the massive loss of soldiers in the War on Iraq?

I mean, I just think that there??€�s a job that needs to be done so that certain small segment of people can become very wealthy and really dominate the world for the next century by controlling Iraq and that whole region of the world that??€�s rich in resources, and they don??€�t really mind sacrificing American lives, so they??€�ve trained those soldiers to be loyal to the Government as possible, and those guys are out there doing a job. It??€�s tough, because I??€�m not out there, and I??€�ve had contact with just a few guys that have been involved and they??€�ve said they??€�re doing a lot of positive things that the media are not portraying, you know, but ultimately they??€�re over there for bad reasons. I think they??€�re just putting their lives on the line to make certain people very rich, and those soldiers are irreplaceable to their families, you know? A lot of mothers and fathers are extremely sorrowful, from the fall of the Twin Towers to this day, it??€�s just very unjust and it??€�s just sad; it??€�s a reflection of how dogmatic the Government is - they don??€�t believe that life is the more important thing when it comes to their money.

What are your thoughts on the rise of gun crime and the rise in popularity of hip hop music and its culture? Is there a connection, do you think?

Oh yeah, absolutely, because a lot of artists don??€�t give a fuck about who listens to their music at all. The fact that they don??€�t ever say anything constructive, and the fact that they have now risen the stakes, like in the Eighties, it was cool to have a gold chain, and that was it. Now, your chain has to be platinum with diamonds in it, and maybe it should spin too! It??€�s just so hilarious to me! I hate to say it, but I kind of view black people who are acting like that on TV??€¦ as house niggas, like tearing out the American dream before America. It??€�s the land of opportunity, sure, but it all comes at a price, just like, we all know what the American dream is, but there??€�s no reason to take hip hop that was a valuable resource to people in tough conditions and it still is, ??€?cos allegedly these guys are from poor income areas and are just happy to have some money, so you know, it??€�s still at least serving that purpose because it took cats who maybe couldn??€�t earn the money any other way??€¦ but there used to be a whole theme of ??€?embetterment??€� for the black race as a whole. You had cats like Rakim, Boogie Down Productions or Public Enemy, just rappers back then were a lot more intelligent period. G Rap, he was rhyming about shooting mutherfuckers, but he was an intelligent cat that could write a song like "Streets of New York" that would really share a sympathetic view of what was going on and how bad it really was. A lot of these guys are capable of doing this stuff, I??€�m not saying their completely ignorant, but they??€�re just not doing it because they??€�re more concerned with making money. I just look at it as a fast food culture; the rap nowadays that is widely available is McDonald??€�s music. It??€�s like, you eat it, it tastes good for like, a moment while it??€�s hot, but then you got diarrhea later!

It??€�s so easy for rappers to take the commercial route nowadays to make big money ??€� how do you keep focused on doing what you do?

I can??€�t assimilate to that culture at all; if I tried to do something like that I would just be so completely rejected! I??€�ve always been an outcast my whole life, just from my upbringing until now, it??€�s just like, I don??€�t even look like those cats ??€?cos I have dreads that are like, four, five inches thick! It??€�s just hilarious to me, I could never exist in that type of world; I would just piss too many people off! Plus I like being in control, as an independent artist, my label is owned by a very good friend of mine, and I have a lot of input into how my record comes out and how the artwork is done and I can determine my tour schedule and stuff like that. I just don??€�t wanna get caught up in a big machine that major labels are; it??€�s just a bunch of bullshit really.

When you eventually put down the mic, how would you like to be remembered?

I would just like to be remembered as someone who spoke passionately and from the heart. I think that that??€�s the best way to some it up. Obviously life is very insignificant without passion in it, so I just make sure that every day of my life is extremely passionate, and I??€�m doing something that I love, so I just hope that??€�s reflected in my music. Every song that I write I feel very passionate about, and if I didn??€�t, it wouldn??€�t be on the record.

What??€�s next in the run-up to the release of your new album?

I??€�m pretty far through another album actually! I pretty much just kept recording after Mo??€� Mega, and I had a bunch of stuff that didn??€�t end up making it on the album; not that the stuff wasn??€�t good, it just didn??€�t fit with what we were trying to achieve with this album, so I??€�ve been steadily working, getting back to giving my own contributions as a producer, ??€?cause some of the bigger songs in my career have been produced by me and I didn??€�t realise that for a very long time, and I guess my first big song was "Elektro" in 1998, and then in ??€�99 it was "Inhuman Capabilities" featuring Akrobatik, and then there was production on Enter the Colossus and also on Emergency Rations. I made Home of the Brave too, and that was a huge breakout hit for me, so I was just like, you know what, maybe I should stop ignoring the fact that I make beats and make more! So now I??€�m doing a lot more of my own production and whatever areas I don??€�t excel in as far as production, I??€�m gonna have other producers fill in the gaps, so they??€�ll be a couple different flavours to round out the album. I??€�m hard at work; I wanna have another album done by the time this one comes out so that I??€�m not waiting four years again!

[sunrah]

Bun interviu! Din cate-mi aminteam eu, LIF nu era atat de modest, singurul aspect ce m-a deranjat putin. Ma bucur ca se mentine, din punct de vedere al genului, inca. Faza cu "foamea-n glanda" e cam exagerata, are profit din alte parti. Ma bucura faptul ca se intelege cu EL-P si ca treaba de la Def Jux functioneaza. Astept du?©tul LIF + CUT CHEMIST, ca tot s-au dat pe solo amandoi, iar LIF detine un contract lejer care nu impune o productie DEF JUX.
Excelenta asociere: I just look at it as a fast food culture; the rap nowadays that is widely available is McDonald??€�s music. It??€�s like, you eat it, it tastes good for like, a moment while it??€�s hot, but then you got diarrhea later! N-as fi putut trage o concluzie mai pertinenta! One Love! Ultimul album nu-l pot compara cu precedentele din multee cauze, it's a long distance!

Emergency Rations ramane favoritul meu!

[Waspy8.0]

"I Phantom" mi se pare de departe cel mai reprezentativ material pt Lif...Un tip foarte aparte oricum...

[brain killer]

mie imi place mai mult de la lif sleepy heads daca nu ma insel e cel mai tare al lui cu toate ca e primul! DAR ACUM E VARZALIT pacat dar5 asta este se castiga mi bine prin comertul de legume!!!!!!

[cafteala]

The Roots: Blood, Sweat, and No Tears

The ??€?Game Theory??€? is defined as "An agent or person who is faced with a set of moves he can play and will form a strategy, to best respond to his environment." Nobel Peace Prize-winning mathematician John Nash, the subject of the film A Beautiful Mind, developed this theory to calculate an actual formula to winning and losing. Amir "Questlove" Thompson and The Roots are poised to release their next album entitled The Game Theory demonstrating how they have always stood the test of time, musically cultivating every album to best respond to the current climate in Hip-Hop like a barometer foretelling of turbulent conditions. Questlove affirms, "For me, it??€�s important that the title of each Roots album embodies what we're going through at the time, what Hip-Hop is going through, and what the world is going through??€¦ As for The Game Theory, someone's gonna win and someone's gonna lose." The Roots don??€�t seem to be losers, and they certainly aren??€�t on a losing team. Aligned with Hova, the group retains their constant goals, as Questlove changes the production technique for their first Def Jam release. With Malik B back in the lineup and a point to prove, The Roots have the fertilizer to grow now more than ever.

AllHipHop.com: There??€�s an energy around this album, as if you??€�re finally getting your due respect in Hip-Hop, I don??€�t know if you agree or not. What makes this album different from the rest, I know a lot has occurred between now and The Tipping Point that might have developed the energy behind this album.

Questlove: I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that we actually have lasted for that long of period. But more than that, it??€�s kinda hard to tell with today??€�s marketplace, especially with the sound that we??€�re traditionally associated with.

There??€�s always a pressure to stay current in the marketplace, we were always in control of our artistic vision. The last album [The Tipping Point] we kind of let our fear get the best of us. Because we just didn??€�t have a feel for what Jimmy Iovine (at Geffen/Interscope) liked and didn??€�t like. The fact that (Jimmy) is the same guy that controls around 15 or 16 platinum acts, someone is going to get neglected if you don??€�t set a fire or raise a stinker. That was the first and last time we took the approach of doing a ??€?please the president??€? album.

AllHipHop.com: I figured now with Jay-Z this would be the time you would do a ??€?please the president??€? album.

Questlove: Yeah, but Jay already made it clear that he ain't havin' that. The first thing on his mind is that ??€?I don??€�t want to be the big bad wolf that killed The Roots.??€?

AllHipHop.com: There are a lot of people both nervous and anxious at the same time about your move to Def Jam.

Questlove: Well I think a lot of people see the move to Def Jam as, ??€?Oh man y??€�all ??€?bout to cash in, y??€�all with Hov, it??€�s over!??€? Fans already throwing diamonds in the air, but it??€�s far from it. Number one, he??€�s not on the album, we didn??€�t want him on the album. I think its important that we coast that line and not get over excited like ??€?Yay Hov, we??€�re finally gonna make it,??€? that??€�s when you start to fall off, when you start having these expectations and setting those marks for yourself that aren??€�t going to happen. I expect this album to follow the same trail, and the same potholes that we??€�ve encountered throughout our career. I??€�m still very much in the knowledge that we are a very hard group to swallow for mainstream America. Just because we??€�re on Def Jam, the world??€�s most popular Hip-Hop figure, doesn??€�t mean it??€�s going to be smooth sailing.

AllHipHop.com: Yeah, I viewed it as your greatest opportunity is also your greatest challenge. Your albums are usually a reflection of the times, are you going to do anything different this time around to fit into this marginalized Hip-Hop market? Are we going to see you sitting on 24??€�s or Hub snappin??€�?

Questlove: This is the thing; this is why I??€�m mad at snappin??€� only because I view it more as a culture thing with snap music but that is one of my signature sounds. If anyone knows my production, they know that I??€�ve always used handclaps and snappin??€�. But no, there is no snappin??€� on this record. The direction of an album just follows what album came before it and how many times we had to perform set songs on stage. We??€�re one of the rare acts in Hip-Hop that have to perform these songs 200 times the previous year. By that point you??€�re usually trying to get away from that previous sound as much as possible. I??€�m the type of producer that makes a laundry list of things we haven??€�t done yet. With this album and just personally, I think of what ways can I make the drums speak this time. The whole idea of me doing the minimum drum kit that I??€�m known for of just kick, snare, high hat - that??€�s over. This is the first time I??€�ve played with like a ten- 13-piece drum set, tom toms, other symbols. I wanted more rhythmic percussion sound with this album, it gave me different textures and colors to deal with. This is still a very dark album.

AllHipHop.com: I??€�ve always viewed the song ??€?Water??€? off the Phrenology album as a turning point for the group. It showed a side of the group and Black Thought that was more personal and opening up emotionally on a record, something that was rarely seen before this record.

Questlove: I??€�m glad someone recognized that, and not just the chaotic noise. Well number one, Malik B. is back??€¦

AllHipHop.com: Really?

Questlove: Yeah that??€�s the surprise.

AllHipHop.com: There are a lot of fans that are dying to hear Malik back on a Roots record.

Questlove: Malik is the heart of The Roots. The balance of Tariq [Black Thought] and Malik was definitely based on Tariq being the more virtuoso MC, the battle MC - his style is impeccable. Malik was the heart of the group. If you actually take time to listen to what Malik says, he??€�ll say some ill s**t about how f**ked up his life is.

AllHipHop.com: In my opinion, Black Thought should be on everyone??€�s Top 10 or Top 5 list.

Questlove: Believe it or not, I do random Google searches to see what people thought of the first single and their like ??€?he??€�s lackluster, he doesn??€�t have charisma.??€? I don??€�t think charisma is a good judgment, a real MC chooses his words carefully. I??€�m saying for the record that this is definitely Tariq??€�s heaviest hitting record, as far as his lyrics are concerned. He made a complete growth and a lot of people mistaken that for "blahzayness." He??€�s not animated on this record, he??€�s very serious, he??€�s not minstrel, he??€�s not coonin??€�??€¦

AllHipHop.com: You know the first time I??€�ve ever heard Eve or Beanie Sigel was actually on a Roots record. A lot of people still don??€�t realize that Scott Storch has been down with y??€�all since the beginning. Does it bother you that people that you have put on have gone on to reach greater levels of mainstream success than the group itself?

Questlove: I find it ironic, there??€�s an ongoing joke that the women that we are no longer with from the Do You Want More?!!!??! era have all performed some sort of hex on the group. They??€�re off somewhere in West Philly with dolls and pins in our hearts. Scott has a 12 million dollar yacht and my cable just got cut off. Nah, I mean it??€�s just the nature of what it is. It really depends on what you measure as success. I??€�ll be very honest with you, there are times when I??€�m like ??€?God damn, what the hell did I do to deserve this? Why can??€�t I catch a brake?!??€? But then again not many Hip-Hop artists can say, ??€?This is my ninth great record.??€? I don??€�t feel as though we??€�ve reached out peak yet, I still feel like there is still genuine interest in the group, that to me is much more important. I never thought back in 1992 that in 2009 I??€�d still be doing it and enjoying the perks of having a good job.

AllHipHop.com: Do you feel even amongst a marginalized market with all the leanin' and rockin' and snappin', that very quietly there is a resurgence going on with the Native Tongue movement?

Questlove: To be honest, no. I??€�m still close with Common, Kweli and Mos, but clearly a tsunami has occurred on our property. I understand cats gotta run for cover. Making sure your daughter has clothes for school and a secure home, that??€�s some real s**t so you gotta do what you gotta do. I actually do see the native tongue thing occurring, but I see it with it SaRa, who??€�s signed with Kanye and this other group J.Davey. Those two, I see as part of the next Native Tongue movement, not to say that we won??€�t still be a close knit crew, but the Native Tongues have kind of drifted apart. Mos is doing his thing with his movie career, Common is on the GOOD Music side of things - we??€�ll still do s**t together. But the idea of jam sessions together, I see how the original Native Tongues just got older, but that was the time period.

AllHipHop.com: That??€�s always been the dichotomy in Hip-Hop, one side has to exist for the other to work.

< Questlove: Yeah, Hip-Hop??€�s whole existence is reactionary and based on the reactions to poverty conditions. If the economic conditions determine the course of action in Hip-Hop then it??€�s being held hostage, but I do my best to defy the odds. I want to be the first Hip-Hop group to release its 15th great album??€¦

[iLL:WiLL]

Rakim Interview <-clicky



(nu l'am citit si nu pot spune despre ce e vorba)

[iLL:WiLL]

MF Doom Interview
Added 04.07.06/words:Pootle/technical:Spoon


Pootle tells us that his latest interviewee needs no introduction so here??€�s an exclusive interview with the ever-elusive Daniel Dumile aka MF DOOM. Enjoy...

It??€�s July 4th this week??€¦and given that you were born in England (and I gather your parents are West Indian?) Does July 4th mean much to you and will you be celebrating?

Oh 4th of July? Actually, it??€�s like another day I can work to get ahead of the game. That??€�s how I look at all holidays out here really. I don??€�t think anything besides "Oh, it??€�s an off day so I can work today and get ahead." You know what I mean hehehe? But I dunno??€¦ Everyone else has fun on that day and I might take advantage of the fact that everybody??€�s home (my wife is home, my kids are home, people are barbequing) but I don??€�t necessarily celebrate the particular day though.

And given that you??€�re a kinda multi-national sorta person, have you been following the soccer World Cup and if so, who have you been supporting?

Nah man ??€� my Pops has been mad at me! See my Pops, he??€�s been playing Soccer ??€?n shit for mad years right? But I never really got into sports at all in general. So, like I say, rather than playing sports, I would be like "Okay??€¦Yo-no! I??€�ll make a beat today." I??€�m a writer, kinda nerd kinda dude so I haven??€�t been keeping up on it nah.

You??€�ve been in the game for mad long now and you??€�ve got a very uncanny ear for picking up dialogue and the way people talk. How do you keep up with the modern slang and the latest lingo in hip hop?

Yes it??€�s different sources??€¦hmmm??€¦I won??€�t reveal my sources but it??€�s different sources. You??€�ve got to do your research. It??€�s a lot of reading of course. I??€�ll pick up different dictionaries and they have different dictionaries specified to eras of slang and whatnot. Some are more in depth than others but you??€�ve got to dig and find the ones that have what you??€�re looking for (that have the most odd sayings). But then again, a lot of it comes from just looking at old movies from different eras (??€?50s, ??€?60s, ??€?70s) and just really hearing the people speak. You can??€�t get it better than if you actually watch something and hear them. When you read it, you??€�re going on how you think they might have said it (they might have the definition there) but it might not being as good as actually hearing it being used in a sentence. For more modern stuff though? Stuff that??€�s so new, like slang and the latest up-to-date shit? Well I??€�m kinda old. I be in the house, I don??€�t be in the club or in the Streets or nothing like that. But I??€�ve got younger people that I know that they keep their ear to the streets for me. Every once in a while they let me know what the new Word is.

Well I suppose you??€�ve got teenaged kids now? Can you keep up with how they talk these days?

Oh yeah! Yeah definitely. They more or less learned to speak from??€¦well it??€�s different nowadays. If it wasn??€�t for me, they wouldn??€�t pick up much slang. They don??€�t speak like me: they speak more proper??€¦I wouldn??€�t say "Queen??€�s English" but it??€�s like more Standard English for now. The way they teach them at school is more on some..and nobody??€�s trying to be "cool" like that in the schools they go to anyway. No matter how much slang I might talk, they always come home from school speaking standard, good English. I might curse here and there but they just refuse to do that. It??€�s kinda cool.

Let??€�s talk a bit about you and your career. Where you are now, I??€�d say that you as an artist enjoy the most freedom out of any rap artist I??€�ve ever known to do what you want. If you compare yourself to say, fellow Rhymesayers artist Slug, he??€�s trying to branch out but he gets a lot of flack and he??€�s often maligned for??€¦painting outside the lines. What do you think it is about you that??€�s allowed you to be so free as an artist and as a lyricist?

Well??€¦I??€�ve been doing this for a while??€¦I??€�m up to a point where my credentials ain??€�t really questioned. Ain??€�t nobody??€�s really going to try and question me. I??€�ve been rhyming since day #1, before even me and my brother was making money off this shit. So it??€�s almost like a respect for the veteran: "Yo that crazy old man!? Let him do whatever he wants to do, fuck it!" It??€�s kinda like that in a way but it??€�s still kinda in a respectful way. And I see how Slug does it too. And it??€�s difficult for me too. It??€�s not always easy even for me. Every time you try to break into new ground and set trends, you get some type of offensive flack for it??€¦until you pull it off and then everybody??€�s sweating you and shit right? I get that too. But I just ignore that shit: "Whatever. I??€�m just doing me." This is me and this is how I do my shit. Nothing is set in stone anyway. Somebody made up the standard of maybe only one album a year and people just tend to follow that. It??€�s human behaviour: we tend to follow whatever works for the next guy. But then I??€�m like yo! In my experience, sometimes what the next guy does don??€�t work for me. Matter of fact, with everything I can think of, it doesn??€�t work like that. I had to find my own way early so that??€�s the stuff that I do normally. I??€�ll look at what the standard way of doing it is and I??€�ll be like "??€�ight. I??€�ll do it this way. This works. I??€�ll put my mark on it." I??€�ll update it and make it for me. So I??€�ve brought that same mentality into the game. This is something that comes from this being a self-employment thing. I look at it like this: if I??€�m the one who??€�s writing it and I??€�m the one who??€�s recording this, well then I should have full decision over how I do it on all perimeters and everybody else should work round that. A lot of times in the hip hop game, you??€�ve got people other than the artists dictating the process and the artists are trying to conform to that. And yeah it??€�s flexible and artists are people who want to please others. But you??€�ve got artists conforming to a game that??€�s designed by people who don??€�t even do it. That??€�s the thing. I??€�m like "Yo we??€�re the ones doing it so let??€�s design the game. And these people who are making a living from the sidelines? They??€�ve got to go by how we do it and if they make money, they lucky."

But what do you think it is about you that??€�s got all these different labels wanting to put out your material (like Big Dada from the UK putting out the King Geedorah album) and all these producers wanting to do your beats (like the Victor Vaughn albums)? Why do you think it is that all these people are queuing up to work with you and yet other artists aren??€�t so fortunate?

Uh.. I think that maybe if they would have tried, they would have been as fortunate with it as I was. The people who I work with? I talk to them, let them know how I feel "we??€�re gonna do this bla bla bla," and we do it. They??€�re like "Yo I??€�m with it" because they see I??€�m serious. I say this, you judge a tree by the fruit it bares. So when they??€�ve seen me pull it off twice, they know I can do it so either get down with it or don??€�t. It??€�s almost like my effort gives them a chance to take a risk ??€?cus y??€�know, they??€�re used to the status quo shit too. But most of the people I deal with, at our age, one person might be into journalism, this dude might be a record company exec but we??€�re all the same age. So once you can meet somebody on that level and talk to them like "yo! Let??€�s do it! Let??€�s go for it: Yes or no?" You at least need some type of basis to why the theory should work. So I??€�m like "I did this twice so let??€�s go for it!" A lot of times, cats just like in a whirlwind of excitement off of it. Like Big Dada and your man over there, my man, your boy Will Ashon. I never met Will in person but we??€�ve just been doing it over the phone and emails and once we kinda both got the understanding of the shit, the cat was like "Yo fuck it! Let??€�s do it!" And we did it and it worked out. And I think that??€�s my appeal. I think if a lot of artists would just take the steps, "yo I??€�ve got this idea, how about we do it like this?" And however they explained it and made it make sense, yeah you??€�ll find that people will disagree with it and be like "Nah. I??€�ve got other concerned and I don??€�t want to take that risk." But then you??€�ve got cats like me. So, the people that I deal with are Cats just like me. No matter what field your expertise is in (as I say, you might be a journalist or you might be a record exec or you might just be a cat on the street that??€�s just putting up the posters) I??€�m going to find a way that we can relate and like be "Yo let??€�s just do it!" And just do it. That??€�s the fun part about it for me and why I do it. Plus! I??€�m like there??€�s no limit to nothing yo! Especially nowadays, moving into the future, you??€�ve got the internet, access to all information yeah?

Yeah.

If the input is more then the output can be greater. So this is just expressing all the input I??€�ve been getting. I have to find a way to facilitate my expression. One album a year is not going to be enough to facilitate all that information: I have to separate it. Sometimes it??€�s a difference of opinion involved or just different sides of a coin that determines releases. It??€�s like in the news, you have to present both sides of a story and let people judge for themselves and I look at my music the same way. If I??€�m doing an album, Doom may have a view of something that may seem more conservative or strict in certain ways so then I??€�ll do an album as Vic??€� just so Vic??€� can pose the other side. Both sides are just as valid: it??€�s just two of many different points of view.

In the last couple of years, you??€�ve been known for working with producers and providing the vocals, be that for Madvillain, Victor Vaughn or now DangerDoom. Is there any chance of you putting on your producer??€�s cap back on and being the producer side of a collaboration?

Yep??€�Yeap - You must be reading my mind or something yo!? But yeah, it??€�s gradually going in that direction again. Like Ghostface Killah has this Fish Scale album out?

Yeah.

I had the chance to produce like five joints on that one. That??€�s more joints than anybody else produced on that joint. So that??€�s one step in that direction on a major level. I??€�ve got a whole new slew of instrumentals about to come out. Essential Elements is what I call that album. It??€�s all based around physics and the periodic table. But then, at the same time, I??€�m doing another album with Starks (y??€�know, that??€�s "Tony Starks," of Ghostface Killah fame) and that??€�s like a duet album like how Madvillain would be except with me and him. I??€�ll be producing it but I??€�ll be rhyming moooooore than Madlib rhymed on the last Madvillain album. But it will be an all-Doom-Production with both Doom and Starks on the mic so that like another notch on the production belt just to rep that side of me a little bit more. An artist coming out on my label is JR (John Robinson). I produced his whole record with the exception of like two songs but I basically put that whole thing together like thematically. So it??€�s a pretty good album and the Nigga??€�s bringing some ill hot shit! I??€�m looking into the direction of developing artists as well as producing them. I won??€�t just give somebody a bit, I want to know how they??€�re going to freak it and their whole presentation of it. That??€�s what I want to do with your boy Nas if he??€�ll let me yo! He??€�s a cool dude??€¦I??€�ve hit him up with a couple of my shits so??€¦ So you??€�ll hear Doom on a major level, Imma keep repping on an underground level ??€� and just keeping music out there period.

Is there anything you want to do but are currently finding impossible or very difficult to get done?

You know??€¦ I never thought it would almost get like this and I almost don??€�t want to say anything. But it could get like that if I let it get to me. I do have to compromise here and there. Sometimes I??€�ve got to just go and be alone for maybe two weeks to focus. Sometimes I just can??€�t be around my family as much as I would like to and stuff like that but I definitely have to make time to do this music. That??€�s now as opposed to before, when I wasn??€�t so busy. I didn??€�t have anything to do, I was broke and my phone wasn??€�t ringing because nobody was calling so I had time to do things. But Now? It??€�s busier with so many people trying to get at me, I??€�ve got more children now and stuff like that so it??€�s a bit of a balancing act. I??€�ve got to take time out to go into that cabin ??€� you know how sometimes these writers will go away to some cabin somewhere and lock down with some typewriter or something? It??€�s almost like that and I??€�ve got to do it. You??€�ve definitely you have to make the time to do it. I??€�ve got so many ideas right now that I don??€�t even know if I can do them all but I??€�m trying to find a way to do it. There should, logically, be a way to do it. If I just cut out some of the shit maybe? I don??€�t go to the clubs anyway so that??€�s a big plus right there. I might go to the bar but that don??€�t take no time.

So I take it then that you??€�ve never suffered from Writer??€�s Block?

I couldn??€�t say I was immune to that though. It comes with the length of time: you??€�ve just got to roll with it. It clears up but when it comes, that just means "Alright. Right now??€�s just not my time to write: I??€�ve got to do something else". I??€�ll listen to music or go do something else instead until it clears up. The whole writing thing? It comes in waves to me. It??€�s a kind of energy thing where, when it hits you, it hits you: you??€�ve just got to hope that you have a pen and a pad ready to take down that information. Sometimes it comes to me and I??€�ll laugh at the rhyme "Awh shit! That was an ill one!" But forget to write it down and then, the next day, I try to remember it and it??€�s gone. So it??€�s a matter of trying to be professional. It??€�s about keeping a pen and a pad and write that shit down, collect them all and then spit them. The writer??€�s block will come and go and I ain??€�t going to say I??€�m immune to it.

Totally on a different tangent: one of the guys that gave you your early break was MC Serch and I don??€�t know if you know but he??€�s putting together a reality TV programme called "The White Rapper Show" which, I gather, is a spoof reality TV series about White Rappers. I wonder if you had any comments about that?

Heheheheh: sounds interesting.

Don??€�t you think it??€�s a bit of a step backward for American hip hop culture and race relations there in?...Nah, I dunno??€¦.?

I have to see the show to truly comment on that one. But knowing Michael, the way he probably freaked it, it??€�ll have to have a twist to it because he??€�s a smart dude. He??€�s probably covered all the angles and all that. But it depends: I have to see it to comment really.

Which did you prefer: X-Men III or The Fantastic Four movie?

Oh alright??€¦ I have to say that being a comic-book fan ??€�

"None of them?" Hehehehe?

Well that??€�s harsh but that??€�s the truth. Looking back, when we used to read those joints when we was younger, we had to picture in our heads the actual action sequences. Yes they have pictures in the comicbooks of course but it??€�s a two-dimensional still-frame. But then in our imagination, we could really see them flying or cutting some dude in half and we could really picture it. Some of these films I wouldn??€�t even bother to go and see but with The X-men joint? I think I brought my nephew and my son with me and we just went and saw it??€¦. And, well y??€�know: I??€�m no fan of remakes from comics to movies. You know, with all the digital shit, it wasn??€�t as ill as Lou Farigno. The whole digital shit made it kind of corny. But if I had to choose any one that I would say was the closest depiction and the most accurate recreation, it would have to be X-men. That Fantastic Four shit!? As soon as I saw Doom with that ugly-ass cape on, I knew I wasn??€�t going to bother go see. It was like corny: they changed the story around too much. Some of them are not supposed to be in some people??€�s hands. You??€�ve got to leave it in the hands of somebody that??€�s going to do justice to it you know what I mean? The first X-men movie? That shit was kinda ill!

Excellent! Now your Homeboy Ghostface, when he was in the Wu they had a comic book out ??€� and I know that subsequent to that, Ghostface released like an action figure ??€� y??€�know, a doll? Are you going to be doing a similar multi-media thing?

Oh no doubt! No doubt. Starks is a leader in the industry and cutting-edge technology so he always kinda beats us all to the punch. But every time he does something like that, it opens doors for us less fortunate to come through hehehehe. He broke the ice. So yeah you??€�ll probably see some Doom merchandise out there similar to that ??€� but it??€�s still gotta have a Doom twist. It won??€�t be anything that you can really imagine. It??€�ll have something bugged out about it ??€� like the mask is not removable or some ill shit like that. I??€�ve got some ill shit in the works. I??€�ve got a cartoon I??€�m working on??€¦ I??€�ve got a lot of ill-dope shit coming up. Nobody will be bored with what I have coming.

Excellent! I??€�ve heard, through the grapevine, that King Geedorah??€�s making a comeback? Can you tell me who??€�s going to be playing the other two heads ??€� because I gather you??€�re not tight with one of the former members of King Geedorah if that??€�s correct?

Oh. I hire artists to do this shit. With King Geedorah, how it will be is that??€¦well, it??€�s always going to be different motherfuckers on that shit. It don??€�t matter who I??€�m "tight" with or not or whatever: it??€�s always going to be new motherfuckers every time as I??€�m bringing new artists out. I??€�ll break an artist in, give them a chance to shine and then I??€�m going on to the next artist. It??€�s up to them if they want to sink or swim. If they want to get personal or any of that bullshit, that??€�s up to them. But me? I??€�m on some rough and rugged art shit. So on the new Geedorah shit, you might hear??€¦Lord Smog ??€� If I can find them, they??€�re my peoples. You??€�ve got a couple of different Cats ??€� like Cats who couldn??€�t fit on the last album ??€� like??€¦this cat Mulgera, he??€�s an artist I??€�m going to get on this one??€¦. People I??€�m not "tight" with? Whatever. Them motherfuckers wouldn??€�t turn down no money, I??€�ll bet you that much. If I need a horn section, Imma hire me a horn section ??€� WHATEVER!

What have you got in your Walkman or on your IPod at the moment?

Oh. You know I just got one of those IPod things. I tried to stay away from it but y??€�know I got pulled into the whole technological thing and couldn??€�t avoid it no more right? So what do I have on it? Mostly Jazz and Brazilian stuff. The joint Alter Ego by James Williams. The Kenny Darren Trio did another version of that so I??€�ve got a few versions of Alter Ego on there. Then I have Brazilian stuff on there too like Georgie Ben, some Caetano Veloso and stuff like that. I don??€�t keep too much hip hop on there unless it??€�s a song that I??€�m working on and I??€�ve got to listen to to add a verse or fix something. It??€�s mainly stuff like that that influences hip hop and not necessarily hip hop that??€�s already made. I would like to get back to listening to some of that stuff ??€� it might be interesting. But doing this, I had to make the choice between making hip hop or listening to it. Either I??€�m a fan or I??€�m a professional. Right now I??€�m a professional but I??€�ve been a fan for a long time. Now I??€�m in the game, I??€�ve got to be about my business.

And when you listen to music, are you able to just listen to music for fun? Or are you always listening to music with an ear toward sampling it?

See mainly I just listen to listen. But then, I look for music to complement the mood to wherever I??€�m at. Whether you??€�re on the beach, in the park or at home, whether you??€�re alone or in a party situation, music sets the tone. Sometimes I might go to a party and they might be playing some funk but I won??€�t notice: I??€�m just there with my friends. But then somebody will play a record and I??€�ll be "Shit! What the fuck was that!?" I may be listening to jazz just to tune out ??€� y??€�know: I feel like chilling out; the kids aren??€�t here; I??€�ve got a couple days by myself; I want to get into the mood to write. So I mostly listen to jazz. It??€�s mostly instrumental so it doesn??€�t throw my words off. But then, I might hear something that might come in ten minutes into the record like some drums and I??€�m like "Snap!" I guess that that??€�s a side effect of casual listening.

Here in the UK, some politicians have started kicking up a fuss over Rap lyrics all over again. Do you censor what your kids listen to? Do you take an active interest in what your kids listen to?

I definitely take an active interest in what they??€�re listening to. I??€�m aware of what??€�s out there. I??€�m like this: if you drive your children in the right direction and let them know what??€�s going on in the world (pros AND cons), I??€�m noticing they themselves, if they are giving the opportunity to choose for themselves, they usually choose the right one ??€� especially if they use you their parent as an example. My son is fourteen. He don??€�t listen to Rap shit at all. He??€�s more like me. But then I??€�ve got a son who??€�s three, he??€�s new to the world. So if BET is on and he hears a beat he likes, he??€�s going to be jamming to that beat. My Mom??€�s like "don??€�t be putting that on whilst he??€�s here??€¦put some childrens??€� programmes instead." But I can see how certain sounds might be appealing to him so I??€�ll explain it to him as he gets older. I??€�ll explain the content and make sure to instil the right morals and whatnot. But I think that with children in general, if you show them both sides of the coin and be honest with them ??€� and don??€�t try to hide anything from them ??€� they generally get a head start on things. Yes they see what their peers are doing but they also see what their parents are doing. My sons are my best friends ??€� and if you treat kids like that, it generally works out good.

I??€�m coming to the end of my questions ??€� Phew! We got through them quickly??€¦ Can you tell me a bit about what you have got lined up after the new Dangerdoom? Is there anything else we should be looking out for?

Yeah: right now we??€�ve got the Dangerdoom remixes. It??€�s like I did a whole other nine songs real quick. What with the momentum of the album, I got the opposite of writer??€�s block I guess. What??€�s the opposite of "writer??€�s block?" Once you break writer??€�s block and you??€�ve got the momentum going, you??€�ve got a lot of residual shit left so a lot of that went into the Dangerdoom remixes ??€� available online @ cartoonnetwork.com or at adultswim.com for free download. So that??€�s something I did. I??€�m working on part 2 of Madvillainy right now ??€� that??€�s coming out bananas! It??€�s going to feel like a continuation but at the same time, you won??€�t know what to expect. Also the Doom/Stark duet album is coming soon. Like I say, it??€�s my production but I might let somebody catch some wreck too. It??€�ll be me and Starks and I??€�ll try to keep ahead of him as possible on a lyrical tip but you??€�ve got to understand I??€�m doing the beats too ??€� I??€�m not making any excuses heheheh. What else? A straight-up Doom album will come later??€¦ After all these duet joints, you??€�ll hear from The Villain in canon form like that. Of course the next Geedorah album??€¦ I??€�m doing something with your boy Nas like I said before ??€� it might be a duet kind of thing similar to the Ghost joint. So there??€�s things going on in the mainstream, things going on in the so-called "Underground" and just keeping it interesting all around.

Just to very finally draw things to a close, if you want to end with any shout-outs, words of wisdom or (once again) flag up anything we should be checking for in the near future?

Like I said: The Dangerdoom album is still out there; the remixes are out there; Support Dangermouse because he??€�s a good dude; my production records; Me and Tony Starks/Ghostface Killah are working on our album right now; Ghostface??€�s album Fish Scale is out right now and that shit is banging so if you haven??€�t checked that, go check that. Other than that? Listen to Rap and you??€�ll hear about the Villain.

[sunrah]

Rakim Interview <-clicky
(nu l'am citit si nu pot spune despre ce e vorba)

Fa bine si citeste-l. I ain??€�t played one in a couple of years but I think that had a lot to do with my rhyme flow. Playing the sax and then enjoying jazz music man. It??€�s like I learned how to find words inside of the beat. Back in the day rappers were bump bump bump ba bump ba bump. They was rhyming like that but I was like bababa bump bump babum ba babump bababa bump. The syncopation and the pauses is all from knowing music, playing the saxophone, listening to John Coltrane and Thelonius Monk and the crazy shit they were doing. I just tried to incorporate that into my rhyme flow. That played a big part in my flow.
Am extras la un moment dat vreo sapte fragmente, am realizat pe final ca as comite o mare prostie, extraordinar interviul! Chiar nu trebuie neglijat vreun raspuns. Its a love thing, its Rakim!