01. Public Enemy - Rebel Without A Pause
02. Paris - The Devil Made Me Do It
03. RUN DMC - Peter Piper
04. Eric B & Rakim - Juice (Know The Ledge)
05. Ice-T - Midnight
06. Scarface - Now I Feel Ya
07. Erick Sermon featuring Kam & Ice Cube - The Ill Shit
08. A Tribe Called Quest - Buggin' Out
09. De La Soul - Area
10. Pete Rock & CL Smooth - T.R.O.Y.
11. The Notorious B.I.G., Big Mike, Bone Thugs N Harmony, Buckshot, Busta Rhymes, Coolio, Ill Al Skratch and Redman - The Points
12. Camp Lo - Black Nostaljack
13. Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded
14. KRS ONE - Sound Of Da Police
15. Gang Starr - Mass Appeal
16. Craig Mack featuring The Notorious B.I.G., Rampage, LL Cool J & Busta Rhymes - Flava In Your Ear (remix)
17. Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta F' Wit
18. Masta Ace - Beautiful
19. Eminem - The Way I Am
20. Atmosphere - Yesterday
21. 3rd Bass - Steppin' To The A.M.
22. Black Moon - I Got Cha Opin (remix)
23. House Of Pain - Back From The Dead
24. Common Sense - I Used To Love H.E.R.
25. Brother Ali - Faheem
26. Kurious - Spell It Wit A J
27. Cypress Hill - How I Could Just Kill A Man
28. Nas - N.Y. State Of Mind
29. Doug E Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew - The Show
30. Funkdoobiest - Bow Wow Wow
31. Cage - Grand Ol' Party Crash
32. Jay-Z - 99 Problems
33. Kool Moe Dee - I Go To Work
34. Nice & Smooth - Hip Hop Junkies
35. Souls Of Mischief - 93 Til Infinity
36. NWA - Straight Outta Compton
37. Redman - Time 4 Sum Aksion
38. O.C. featuring Big L - Dangerous
39. Dr.Octagon - Blue Flowers
40. LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out
41. Cru featuring Ras Kass - The Ebonic Plague
42. The D.O.C. - It's Funky Enough
43. Eazy-E - Nobody Move
44. Fugees - Nappy Heads (remix)
45. Outkast - B.O.B.
46. Beastie Boys - Paul Revere
47. Jurassic 5 - The Influence
48. XZIBIT - Chamber Music
49. Snoop Doggy Dogg - Murder Was The Case
50. Big Daddy Kane - Raw
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
ALMIGHTY interview
Flatline: The Almighty consists of Killah Priest, M-Eighty, Bronze Nazareth, Son One, C-Rayz Walz and 5 Star. Who masterminded this project and said, let's get these particular emcee's together?
M-Eighty: That would be the genius that is M-Eighty. All jokes aside, I was in the studio with Priest and Son One on my birthday last year and had told Priest about my idea for a group that was yet to be titled. Priest and Son were definitely feeling the idea and were shocked when I was telling them who all I wanted as group members of the soon titled “Almighty” and who I would line up as features. Almost 7 months later, Almighty as a group was able to concoct a legendary album and everyone associated with the project left feeling as if the Almighty was that first step in this full circle movement back to the true essence of hip hop.
Flatline: Was it difficult coordinating everyone's schedules to get the album recorded, and on another level, the skills and personality that each member brought to the table?
M-Eighty: Surprisingly it was not difficult to coordinate all the personalities and schedules of everyone. It was a timely process and it did involve a lot of traveling back and forth between LA, Michigan, Chicago, Indianapolis, New York, Virginia, etc but I think all the traveling and hard work is what made the name Almighty resonate with truth.
Flatline: The album, "Original S.I.N." dropped at the end of July. How has the response been, in terms of sales and the live shows that you guys have been doing?
C-Rayz Walz: This is a classic album that will just get better with time. It roped out of literally nowhere. It's way too good to be something that just passed by. It wasn't promoted or supported at all by the label. Babygrande should re-release it with a full fledge tour with all member and guest artists and I guarantee the planet will shake from the force of the Almighty. The best emcee's in the world are on that LP. It is the best group record this year. If you find a better record you can punch me in the mouth. Almighty is the mayweather of hip-hop music. Period.
Flatline: You got some real nice guest spots from Planet Asia, Canibus and Keith Murray. DJ JS-1 from the Rocksteady Crew is also featured. What was it like getting down with these individuals in the studio?
M-Eighty: Due to the extensive amount of traveling I was already doing to coordinate efforts amongst the group members, I was not able to sit in on all the sessions for the features. JS-1 was referred to me by C-Rayz Walz and we would just go back and forth via email and text until he understood exactly what I was looking for on a track and was able to deliver. JS is a sharp dude and I was definitely satisfied with his work at the end of the day. The same goes for Bis and Keith. Canibus, Keith, and I had discussed the concept and the theme behind the Almighty and “Handle the Heights” on several occasions before they each recorded their joints and both of them came off exactly how I had hoped. Had it not been for that constant communication between everyone than I don’t think the track or the album for that matter would have been nearly as cohesive.
Flatline: Bronze Nazareth, after years of putting in work on various projects, you've really come into your own as a dope producer. Besides maybe an obvious influence from early RZA beats, who else inspires you?
Bronze Nazareth: I’m inspired by the greats, Primo, Pete Rock, Prince Paul, etc but I also have a good respect for producers who aren't even in my same style. I really just respect banging music. I love Polow Da Don's "Hero" that he did for Nas, I listen and respect old and new. My inspiration just comes from dope hip hop and skillful music. I can take it from the Bomb Squad, to BCC, to Polow, I just respect good music.
Flatline: To me, Son One really comes through as the underdog who shines brightest on this album. Does the lyrical company you keep help push you to write the best stuff you can?
Son One: Well, being amongst the elite emcee's in this industry you are forced to step your game up. Being a new comer to the game first impression is everything, if you don't come correct on your first showing; many times you're not given a second chance. Plus growing up listening to these artists that have influenced me, it's almost like I want to make them proud.
Flatline: As a group, did you come up with the idea for the album cover? Design-wise, it's sure to be one of the best of the year.
M-Eighty: Appreciate it very much. I was introduced to a designer in Indianapolis named Aaron Scamihorn and I told him the dynamic of the Almighty and what my intentions were for the groups effect upon hip hop in 2008 in the cover art is what he was able to come up with based off the profound way I spoke about how intense and powerful this album would be at this point in time for the hip hop community.
Flatline: What has the response been from females who have heard or seen you perform "Soul Position"? It's very much in the same vein as "Ice Cream" or "Killa Lipstick".
5-Star: Females love the song! Every good group drops a hot joint for the ladies. Tribe has “Electric Relaxation,” The Roots have “Silent Treatment,” EPMD has “Jane,” the list goes on and on. So when Eighty came at me with the title “Soul Position” and told about C-Rayz on the hook I knew it would be classic and the response from the Ladies is incredible!! They really feeling it.
Flatline: Anyone wanna speak on the upcoming election, any thoughts on the candidates?
Son One: Wow! Even though I am not very political and don't follow politics much, I know that this country needs change. Obama stands for change and if this country is to progress and get better as a nation then changes must be made. Though I can't speak much about McCain I know he shares a lot of the same interests and ideas of the current administration. This country is in no condition to deal with another four years of Bush. What other way to start change then to put the first black president in office. GO VOTE SON!
Bronze Nazareth: Obama '08 obviously! McCain is another puppet, and I don't even know where to start with Palin....
Flatline: M-Eighty, do you want to let our readers in on what you have planned for 2009?
M-Eighty: So much work in 2009 that I have moved my office into my apartment. I will be handling A&R administration for both Bronze Nazareth’s “School for the Blindman” and The Wisemen “Wisemen Arrived” albums via Babygrande Records, executive producing Almighty’s follow-up to “Original S.I.N” via Babygrande Records and A&R’ing several releases for Ken Stumbo’s and Noah Hartkoph’s new hip hop label Criminal Records Music Group based out of Washington including Sunz of Man member 60 Second Assassin, a collaborative effort between Keith Murray and Canibus, C-Rayz Walz, Son One, Kevlaar 7, and more. After all the albums are made and the tours are wrapped up then hip hop heads will be able to rejoice in what I believe to be one of the most innovative inventions of our time, “SPITBOXX”, but that is for another interview at another time.
Flatline: As I listen to the Almighty album, Wu-Tang could break up tomorrow and never make another album, but the statement holds true - "Wu-Tang Forever". I think, as a group, you guys really put in some good work on this joint that will help keep the legacy alive. What's next?
Killah Priest: No doubt. I just wrapped up “Beautiful Minds” with Chief Kamachi and am working on “Behind the Stained Glass Part 2” amongst many other things. Big up to all my G-ciples and everyone who showed me love on the road with GZA. M-Eighty is definitely a solid dude and he knows I’m gonna rep whatever project he believes in because I know he’s always believed in me.
Bronze Nazareth: Just making sure we’re working up to our potential and exceeding all expectations to make sure that mouths get fed and heads stay open.
M-Eighty: Keeping it 100, knocking negative out the box, and thanking adonai everyday for keeping me blessed. Almighty for now and forever, Peace.
M-Eighty: That would be the genius that is M-Eighty. All jokes aside, I was in the studio with Priest and Son One on my birthday last year and had told Priest about my idea for a group that was yet to be titled. Priest and Son were definitely feeling the idea and were shocked when I was telling them who all I wanted as group members of the soon titled “Almighty” and who I would line up as features. Almost 7 months later, Almighty as a group was able to concoct a legendary album and everyone associated with the project left feeling as if the Almighty was that first step in this full circle movement back to the true essence of hip hop.
Flatline: Was it difficult coordinating everyone's schedules to get the album recorded, and on another level, the skills and personality that each member brought to the table?
M-Eighty: Surprisingly it was not difficult to coordinate all the personalities and schedules of everyone. It was a timely process and it did involve a lot of traveling back and forth between LA, Michigan, Chicago, Indianapolis, New York, Virginia, etc but I think all the traveling and hard work is what made the name Almighty resonate with truth.
Flatline: The album, "Original S.I.N." dropped at the end of July. How has the response been, in terms of sales and the live shows that you guys have been doing?
C-Rayz Walz: This is a classic album that will just get better with time. It roped out of literally nowhere. It's way too good to be something that just passed by. It wasn't promoted or supported at all by the label. Babygrande should re-release it with a full fledge tour with all member and guest artists and I guarantee the planet will shake from the force of the Almighty. The best emcee's in the world are on that LP. It is the best group record this year. If you find a better record you can punch me in the mouth. Almighty is the mayweather of hip-hop music. Period.
Flatline: You got some real nice guest spots from Planet Asia, Canibus and Keith Murray. DJ JS-1 from the Rocksteady Crew is also featured. What was it like getting down with these individuals in the studio?
M-Eighty: Due to the extensive amount of traveling I was already doing to coordinate efforts amongst the group members, I was not able to sit in on all the sessions for the features. JS-1 was referred to me by C-Rayz Walz and we would just go back and forth via email and text until he understood exactly what I was looking for on a track and was able to deliver. JS is a sharp dude and I was definitely satisfied with his work at the end of the day. The same goes for Bis and Keith. Canibus, Keith, and I had discussed the concept and the theme behind the Almighty and “Handle the Heights” on several occasions before they each recorded their joints and both of them came off exactly how I had hoped. Had it not been for that constant communication between everyone than I don’t think the track or the album for that matter would have been nearly as cohesive.
Flatline: Bronze Nazareth, after years of putting in work on various projects, you've really come into your own as a dope producer. Besides maybe an obvious influence from early RZA beats, who else inspires you?
Bronze Nazareth: I’m inspired by the greats, Primo, Pete Rock, Prince Paul, etc but I also have a good respect for producers who aren't even in my same style. I really just respect banging music. I love Polow Da Don's "Hero" that he did for Nas, I listen and respect old and new. My inspiration just comes from dope hip hop and skillful music. I can take it from the Bomb Squad, to BCC, to Polow, I just respect good music.
Flatline: To me, Son One really comes through as the underdog who shines brightest on this album. Does the lyrical company you keep help push you to write the best stuff you can?
Son One: Well, being amongst the elite emcee's in this industry you are forced to step your game up. Being a new comer to the game first impression is everything, if you don't come correct on your first showing; many times you're not given a second chance. Plus growing up listening to these artists that have influenced me, it's almost like I want to make them proud.
Flatline: As a group, did you come up with the idea for the album cover? Design-wise, it's sure to be one of the best of the year.
M-Eighty: Appreciate it very much. I was introduced to a designer in Indianapolis named Aaron Scamihorn and I told him the dynamic of the Almighty and what my intentions were for the groups effect upon hip hop in 2008 in the cover art is what he was able to come up with based off the profound way I spoke about how intense and powerful this album would be at this point in time for the hip hop community.
Flatline: What has the response been from females who have heard or seen you perform "Soul Position"? It's very much in the same vein as "Ice Cream" or "Killa Lipstick".
5-Star: Females love the song! Every good group drops a hot joint for the ladies. Tribe has “Electric Relaxation,” The Roots have “Silent Treatment,” EPMD has “Jane,” the list goes on and on. So when Eighty came at me with the title “Soul Position” and told about C-Rayz on the hook I knew it would be classic and the response from the Ladies is incredible!! They really feeling it.
Flatline: Anyone wanna speak on the upcoming election, any thoughts on the candidates?
Son One: Wow! Even though I am not very political and don't follow politics much, I know that this country needs change. Obama stands for change and if this country is to progress and get better as a nation then changes must be made. Though I can't speak much about McCain I know he shares a lot of the same interests and ideas of the current administration. This country is in no condition to deal with another four years of Bush. What other way to start change then to put the first black president in office. GO VOTE SON!
Bronze Nazareth: Obama '08 obviously! McCain is another puppet, and I don't even know where to start with Palin....
Flatline: M-Eighty, do you want to let our readers in on what you have planned for 2009?
M-Eighty: So much work in 2009 that I have moved my office into my apartment. I will be handling A&R administration for both Bronze Nazareth’s “School for the Blindman” and The Wisemen “Wisemen Arrived” albums via Babygrande Records, executive producing Almighty’s follow-up to “Original S.I.N” via Babygrande Records and A&R’ing several releases for Ken Stumbo’s and Noah Hartkoph’s new hip hop label Criminal Records Music Group based out of Washington including Sunz of Man member 60 Second Assassin, a collaborative effort between Keith Murray and Canibus, C-Rayz Walz, Son One, Kevlaar 7, and more. After all the albums are made and the tours are wrapped up then hip hop heads will be able to rejoice in what I believe to be one of the most innovative inventions of our time, “SPITBOXX”, but that is for another interview at another time.
Flatline: As I listen to the Almighty album, Wu-Tang could break up tomorrow and never make another album, but the statement holds true - "Wu-Tang Forever". I think, as a group, you guys really put in some good work on this joint that will help keep the legacy alive. What's next?
Killah Priest: No doubt. I just wrapped up “Beautiful Minds” with Chief Kamachi and am working on “Behind the Stained Glass Part 2” amongst many other things. Big up to all my G-ciples and everyone who showed me love on the road with GZA. M-Eighty is definitely a solid dude and he knows I’m gonna rep whatever project he believes in because I know he’s always believed in me.
Bronze Nazareth: Just making sure we’re working up to our potential and exceeding all expectations to make sure that mouths get fed and heads stay open.
M-Eighty: Keeping it 100, knocking negative out the box, and thanking adonai everyday for keeping me blessed. Almighty for now and forever, Peace.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
EVERLAST interview
Flatline: I want to know what keeps you going. Going from The Syndicate, to House Of Pain, to your solo career. What keeps you motivated musically?
Everlast: I don't know, it's hard to say. Sometimes I'm not motivated at all. Like the last couple of years, I didn't feel like doing anything so I didn't...but it helps to have the luxury of being able to do that. But just the music...in general, I like making music.
Flatline: Is it a better situation now that you're on a different label, allowing you the creative freedom to do what you want, when you want to do it?
Everlast: Yeah, I mean, it's pretty much my label. My publishing company is a partner with me and my managers, we started this distribution company...and it's small right now, but we'll see what happens. I'm happy with it. You know, I've never had anybody tell me what kind of music to make since my first album with Warner Bros. It was like they got involved with that and, you know, I didn't really like about half that record...about half that record I really like a lot, even though it was twenty years ago...
Flatline: Like, Syndicate Soldier?
Everlast: Yeah, sure...
Flatline: I Got The Knack?
Everlast: No, see, I Got The Knack, that was one of them songs where...I don't ever go around blaming people for like, oh they made me do this, they made me do that...but at that time, think about it - Wild Thing by Tone-Loc was the hot rap record. Gibson guitar, bass sample...My Sharona...I Got The Knack from My Sharona?? It was like, it wasn't even that thought out when you think about it. You can tell it was just kinda done to be done. Of course, the record people and the higher ups got those records made. Those are the ones they wanted made when I wanted a more credible stance, you know? But even then, rap was new in the game. There were very few people selling records in hip hop at that moment.
Flatline: As far back as I can recall, I don't remember ever hearing the reason why you left The Syndicate.
Everlast: It was just business, it was just business. I got hip quick to record contracts and, you know, maybe being signed to something through...although, Ice-T to this day, I just seen him not too long ago and I let him know, hey, thanks for opening the door for me and all that. I just realized it's better to be signed straight to a record company than being signed to a record company through somebody else. I learned a lot about publishing and I wasn't in control of my publishing then. So it was a bunch of stuff like that. Probably, when I left, I was like fuck this...but on the same note, I couldn't have told you that's what I was going to wind up doing for a living. Like I said, it wasn't like tons of people were making money at it. More than leaving The Syndicate, I was leaving Warner Bros. and I pissed off a lot of people there. There was a while where I couldn't send an Everlast demo anywhere because this little word had gotten out amongst a certain group of powerful people, that this guy is trouble, he's all this, that and the other. So that's kinda when House Of Pain came into play. Me and Danny - a friend of mine for a long time, Lethal was already with me from the Syndicate days. Me and Danny had an Irish kinship and a b-boy kinship. He had the name and the fuckin' look and all the graphics and it just all clicked up.
Flatline: It was like a House Of Pain brand almost...
Everlast: Yeah, and then, a lot of people don't know this - we were a live band. We were a hip hop group but we were a live band. Then, me and Muggs, who I had already known cause 7A3 was almost in The Syndicate...I bumped into him again and heard the Cypress album about eight or nine months before it came out. I was like, oh shit, y'all are gonna kill'em dog, no one even knows this is coming. Then me and B-Real started hanging out and started rhyming together. B-Real was the one that told Muggs, you better fuckin' snatch him up. The rest just kinda went down. Jump Around was made in fuckin' Muggs driveway...not even his driveway, his aunt's driveway. That's where I wrote that shit.
Flatline: That's crazy. I saw you with House Of Pain when you had Rage Against The Machine opening up for you guys...
Everlast: Right? When nobody else would take them out cause they were scared of them.
Flatline: Yeah, right before their first album dropped. I want to know, at what point did you decide to pick up a guitar and switch up your style a little bit?
Everlast: Well, I had always had guitar around me man, even before House Of Pain and all that. There's a few House Of Pain songs where I played a little piece and then we looped it up, things like that. I just kinda played to relax. When I didn't wanna think about anything else, I just strum on a guitar. When I quit House Of Pain, honestly, I didn't think I was gonna make music anymore. I was just really bummed out about leaving House Of Pain. It was a bad situation. Danny doesn't make no bones about it now but he had developed quite a serious drug problem. We just had to go our separate ways but luckily that's all changed recently, in the last few years. It was my buddy Dante Ross who called me and was just like, what are you doing? Come to New York man, let's make some music. I was like, man, I don't even know what's up with my record deal...I didn't know if I had a record deal, I wasn't House Of Pain no more. Then he was like, fuck all that, just come out here and make music. So I went there and started making a hip hop record. Like, on Whitey Ford Sings The Blues, all the straight hip hop songs got done first, those were done. We were just working on that and I was playing guitar at night.
Flatline: So, did Dante encourage you in that area or what happened?
Everlast, No, Dante heard me playing What It's Like on his couch. I was sleeping on his couch, just bummin' it around, doin' whatever...not cause I had to, just cause I wanted to. Fuck the hotel and all that, let's get down and dirty basics kinda thing. He heard me playing What It's Like and he was like, what the fuck is that? I was like, it's just a song I wrote. Basically, he was like, we're recording that tomorrow. I was like, alright cool, you know? I think at first I might have been like, I don't know what we're gonna do with it but, sure, I'll record it, what the fuck? And that's how the whole thing kinda happened...
Flatline: And you go on to sell 3 million...
Everlast: Yeah, you know...go figure.
Flatline: In my collection I have a ton of House Of Pain remixes. There was almost an albums worth of remixes between the debut and Same As It Ever Was. Was that a group decision to remix and re-work the material or was that more of a label idea?
Everlast: No, cause it was people we all liked. Butch Vig - the label don't think that far ahead dude, know what I mean? That was Danny Boy and me, being fans of "grunge" music and knowing a lot about Sub Pop and the history of that and being like, who would be a good guy...oh, Butch Vig...and him wanting to do it! Diamond D, Pete Rock, those were no-brainers. It was like, hell yeah, Pete Rock, let's have him do a remix, let's have Diamond D do a remix, let's have Lethal do his own remix. It's like whatever's whatever.
Flatline: Salaam Remi did some...
Everlast: Yeah, I remember Salaam, he did a couple. He would always submit remixes for every song. So I'm sure there's remixes I haven't ever heard.
Flatline: That's nuts...
Everlast: Yeah, I'm not the best when it comes to cataloguing or collecting my shit. You know, I'm better at collecting sneakers and shit like that, know what I mean? I don't even have any of my own albums man, it's kinda crazy. On my iPod I don't even have them all. I gotta get them from my keyboard player, he's got them all. I ain't heard some of the House Of Pain stuff in years...
Flatline: I still listen to Same As It Ever Was...
Everlast: That's a good record man...I look back on it...
Flatline: That's the best record you guys did...
Everlast: Yeah. As a group, yeah...
Flatline: And some of Muggs best production is on that record.
Everlast: Yeah, Lethal too. Muggs and Lethal together were good on that record.
Flatline: Same thing when they worked together on the first Funkdoobiest album. That was a great record!
Everlast: Yeah, yeah. I don't know how that one didn't work, how that one didn't blow. It's crazy.
Flatline: I was curious to know if your brush with death brought about a fascination with it. The topic comes up on all of your albums.
Everlast: Well, I wrote a bunch of stuff on Whitey Ford before it even happened, that was about death. But, you know, subconsciously maybe my body was telling my mind things that I didn't know about, you know what I mean? But yeah, I've always been fascinated with death man, now more than ever, cause I'll never be afraid of it really...
Flatline: Because you came that close?
Everlast: Yeah, I mean, I was on my death bed as far as I was concerned. I still trip right now and think, how the fuck am I alive? That's the thing, like I compare it to the world's scariest roller-coaster. It's only gonna be scary that one time. I'm not saying I want death, or I welcome it like I'm looking forward to it. I enjoy my life and I understand what my life is worth. The whole horror of your death - I've kinda run that route already. I have that advantage in a weird way, over maybe somebody who's still got that fear in them. I'm sure there's things I'm still afraid of in certain ways but death really ain't one of them. I don't know if you ever seen that movie Ghost Dog...
Flatline: Yeah, Forest Whitaker, and RZA did the soundtrack...
Everlast: Yeah...they talk about in there, a real samurai reflects on his death every day. That way, when it comes, it ain't a surprise. In a weird same kind of mentality, that's why I do it. I'm ready when it comes. You know, when it comes, it comes. I learned there's nothing that's gonna stop it. We are all mortal. The most invincible of us can be taken down by something the size of the head of a pin.
Flatline: I love your cover of Children's Story that you did with Rahzel. Did you ever get any feedback from Slick Rick on that?
Everlast: No, I would love to have known what Slick Rick thought of that. I know for a fact that he plays Jump Around in his show every night. My buddy Stash sent me a video of it and he's comparing old school and new school. He's like, this is old school and he plays something and he plays something else. Then he says, and this is when Irish people meet black people...boom!...Jump Around comes on. So he must be a fan of it. I'd like to know if he ever heard that and if not, I'd play it for him just to heard what he thinks. I think that's probably one of my best covers just because, if you ask me, it was meant to be a blues song.
Flatline: You've collaborated with a bunch of people on your albums. Is there anyone else you'd still like to work with?
Everlast: Well, ninety percent of the people I've worked with are friends of mine. It's really one of the prerequisites for me. I don't really go, you know, oh that dude's hot, I need to work with him. Most of the things I've done with collaborations have just kind of happened. We were hanging out, in a studio, near a studio, something happened. That's just the way things work with me. I don't plan a lot. It's not in my nature.
Flatline: I'm guessing Snoop and you working on "My Medicine" was just you guys messing around in the studio?
Everlast: No, actually...it's kind of a long story. A few years back I gave him some country music. He was like, I like that Johnny Cash shit, what else can I listen to? I told him Patsy Kline and a few other names. Jump a few years later, we're doing a La Coka Nostra show in New York and I get a call from Snoop that he's finishing up a tour and his last night is in Dublin, Ireland and he wants me to come out and do Jump Around. I was like, fuck it, I'm in New York already, I'll go over there. He was backstage listening to Patsy Kline records and all these old country records and I was like, oh shit. He was like, you were the one that put me up on this Everlast. So jump ahead another few months and we're at the Jam Master Jay Awards. We're at this party for Pharrell's BBC clothing line or something and Snoop comes up to me and says, I want you to write me a country song. I said, you want me to write you a country song? He says, I want you to write me a country song. So, it took me a couple months...and it almost didn't happen cause the day I came up with it, I sent it to him and he's like, we gotta get this today...the record's done, it's getting mastered. So it was the last damn cut for his record and he just loved it and he killed it.
Flatline: Were you frustrated at all with the way Def Jam dropped the ball a little bit on White Trash Beautiful? It seemed like it flew under the radar but contained some of your best work at the time.
Everlast: Well, what happened with that was, Lyor Cohen signed me and then a couple months after he signed me, his friend bought Warner Bros. and he left. So I just got caught in a place where...it's an old story in the music business and it's happened millions of times. When a guy like Lyor Cohen leaves, he takes all his people. Then the new guy comes in with his people. Most of them, if they didn't sign you in the record business, no one's gonna stick their neck out for something. So it was unfortunate, you know? It's one of the reasons I'll never do another record deal again.
Flatline: Kill The Emperor off the new album...
Everlast: Oh yeah...
Flatline: It reminds me of when Paris came out with Bush Killa. How did that track come about? You've really got some stuff to say on that record.
Everlast: It just came out cause I was like, what's the craziest shit about...like, you know, actually taking some kind of action. But it actually came from the thought of like, it I was alive in 1936 and I met Hitler before he became Hitler, would I smoke him? Would I just do it? You know what I mean? So that's kinda where the whole concept started from as a baby idea, and then it just turned into what it is.
Flatline: La Coka Nostra.
Everlast: Yeah.
Flatline: Album done? Ready to go?
Everlast: Album is done, barring one guest appearance we're waiting on via pony express, email, fuckin' FedEx. Somehow, we're waiting on this thing to show up. I don't wanna say who it is.
Flatline: You guys gonna tour behind the album?
Everlast: That's the plan, that's the plan. We're talking about maybe doing a whole Soul Assassins festival involving my band, Ill Bill, Psycho Realm...bunch of people.
Flatline: How did the passing of Johnny Cash affect you? Did you ever get a chance to meet with him or work with him before he passed?
Everlast: No, I didn't get to meet him. I did see his last public performance though. I was working on this Big Daddy movie soundtrack and Rick Rubin was overseeing the whole production of the album and I was in New York. He was like, they're doing this big tribute to Johnny Cash on TNT, they're doing it here in New York. All these artists came and performed and then at the end he came out and performed. I was gonna try and meet him afterwards but there was this crush of people and he was already not feeling well. As much as I would have been cool, it would have been frustrating cause I would have rather met him, if I ever got the opportunity, to just sit down and conversate with him. Same thing with Muhammad Ali. I did some work on that Ali movie, some musical work and at the premiere everyone's trying to meet him. I was just like, I don't wanna be in that crowd. If I ever get to meet him, it'll be on some sit down, yo man, you're one of the reasons I do what I do. I love Muhammad Ali, he's like one of my idols. Well, I don't like using the word idol. Hero.
The new album by Everlast - "Love, War, And The Ghost Of Whitey Ford" - available everywhere 9.23.08
Everlast and The Lordz are currently on tour now. Check your local concert listings for a show near you.
Everlast: I don't know, it's hard to say. Sometimes I'm not motivated at all. Like the last couple of years, I didn't feel like doing anything so I didn't...but it helps to have the luxury of being able to do that. But just the music...in general, I like making music.
Flatline: Is it a better situation now that you're on a different label, allowing you the creative freedom to do what you want, when you want to do it?
Everlast: Yeah, I mean, it's pretty much my label. My publishing company is a partner with me and my managers, we started this distribution company...and it's small right now, but we'll see what happens. I'm happy with it. You know, I've never had anybody tell me what kind of music to make since my first album with Warner Bros. It was like they got involved with that and, you know, I didn't really like about half that record...about half that record I really like a lot, even though it was twenty years ago...
Flatline: Like, Syndicate Soldier?
Everlast: Yeah, sure...
Flatline: I Got The Knack?
Everlast: No, see, I Got The Knack, that was one of them songs where...I don't ever go around blaming people for like, oh they made me do this, they made me do that...but at that time, think about it - Wild Thing by Tone-Loc was the hot rap record. Gibson guitar, bass sample...My Sharona...I Got The Knack from My Sharona?? It was like, it wasn't even that thought out when you think about it. You can tell it was just kinda done to be done. Of course, the record people and the higher ups got those records made. Those are the ones they wanted made when I wanted a more credible stance, you know? But even then, rap was new in the game. There were very few people selling records in hip hop at that moment.
Flatline: As far back as I can recall, I don't remember ever hearing the reason why you left The Syndicate.
Everlast: It was just business, it was just business. I got hip quick to record contracts and, you know, maybe being signed to something through...although, Ice-T to this day, I just seen him not too long ago and I let him know, hey, thanks for opening the door for me and all that. I just realized it's better to be signed straight to a record company than being signed to a record company through somebody else. I learned a lot about publishing and I wasn't in control of my publishing then. So it was a bunch of stuff like that. Probably, when I left, I was like fuck this...but on the same note, I couldn't have told you that's what I was going to wind up doing for a living. Like I said, it wasn't like tons of people were making money at it. More than leaving The Syndicate, I was leaving Warner Bros. and I pissed off a lot of people there. There was a while where I couldn't send an Everlast demo anywhere because this little word had gotten out amongst a certain group of powerful people, that this guy is trouble, he's all this, that and the other. So that's kinda when House Of Pain came into play. Me and Danny - a friend of mine for a long time, Lethal was already with me from the Syndicate days. Me and Danny had an Irish kinship and a b-boy kinship. He had the name and the fuckin' look and all the graphics and it just all clicked up.
Flatline: It was like a House Of Pain brand almost...
Everlast: Yeah, and then, a lot of people don't know this - we were a live band. We were a hip hop group but we were a live band. Then, me and Muggs, who I had already known cause 7A3 was almost in The Syndicate...I bumped into him again and heard the Cypress album about eight or nine months before it came out. I was like, oh shit, y'all are gonna kill'em dog, no one even knows this is coming. Then me and B-Real started hanging out and started rhyming together. B-Real was the one that told Muggs, you better fuckin' snatch him up. The rest just kinda went down. Jump Around was made in fuckin' Muggs driveway...not even his driveway, his aunt's driveway. That's where I wrote that shit.
Flatline: That's crazy. I saw you with House Of Pain when you had Rage Against The Machine opening up for you guys...
Everlast: Right? When nobody else would take them out cause they were scared of them.
Flatline: Yeah, right before their first album dropped. I want to know, at what point did you decide to pick up a guitar and switch up your style a little bit?
Everlast: Well, I had always had guitar around me man, even before House Of Pain and all that. There's a few House Of Pain songs where I played a little piece and then we looped it up, things like that. I just kinda played to relax. When I didn't wanna think about anything else, I just strum on a guitar. When I quit House Of Pain, honestly, I didn't think I was gonna make music anymore. I was just really bummed out about leaving House Of Pain. It was a bad situation. Danny doesn't make no bones about it now but he had developed quite a serious drug problem. We just had to go our separate ways but luckily that's all changed recently, in the last few years. It was my buddy Dante Ross who called me and was just like, what are you doing? Come to New York man, let's make some music. I was like, man, I don't even know what's up with my record deal...I didn't know if I had a record deal, I wasn't House Of Pain no more. Then he was like, fuck all that, just come out here and make music. So I went there and started making a hip hop record. Like, on Whitey Ford Sings The Blues, all the straight hip hop songs got done first, those were done. We were just working on that and I was playing guitar at night.
Flatline: So, did Dante encourage you in that area or what happened?
Everlast, No, Dante heard me playing What It's Like on his couch. I was sleeping on his couch, just bummin' it around, doin' whatever...not cause I had to, just cause I wanted to. Fuck the hotel and all that, let's get down and dirty basics kinda thing. He heard me playing What It's Like and he was like, what the fuck is that? I was like, it's just a song I wrote. Basically, he was like, we're recording that tomorrow. I was like, alright cool, you know? I think at first I might have been like, I don't know what we're gonna do with it but, sure, I'll record it, what the fuck? And that's how the whole thing kinda happened...
Flatline: And you go on to sell 3 million...
Everlast: Yeah, you know...go figure.
Flatline: In my collection I have a ton of House Of Pain remixes. There was almost an albums worth of remixes between the debut and Same As It Ever Was. Was that a group decision to remix and re-work the material or was that more of a label idea?
Everlast: No, cause it was people we all liked. Butch Vig - the label don't think that far ahead dude, know what I mean? That was Danny Boy and me, being fans of "grunge" music and knowing a lot about Sub Pop and the history of that and being like, who would be a good guy...oh, Butch Vig...and him wanting to do it! Diamond D, Pete Rock, those were no-brainers. It was like, hell yeah, Pete Rock, let's have him do a remix, let's have Diamond D do a remix, let's have Lethal do his own remix. It's like whatever's whatever.
Flatline: Salaam Remi did some...
Everlast: Yeah, I remember Salaam, he did a couple. He would always submit remixes for every song. So I'm sure there's remixes I haven't ever heard.
Flatline: That's nuts...
Everlast: Yeah, I'm not the best when it comes to cataloguing or collecting my shit. You know, I'm better at collecting sneakers and shit like that, know what I mean? I don't even have any of my own albums man, it's kinda crazy. On my iPod I don't even have them all. I gotta get them from my keyboard player, he's got them all. I ain't heard some of the House Of Pain stuff in years...
Flatline: I still listen to Same As It Ever Was...
Everlast: That's a good record man...I look back on it...
Flatline: That's the best record you guys did...
Everlast: Yeah. As a group, yeah...
Flatline: And some of Muggs best production is on that record.
Everlast: Yeah, Lethal too. Muggs and Lethal together were good on that record.
Flatline: Same thing when they worked together on the first Funkdoobiest album. That was a great record!
Everlast: Yeah, yeah. I don't know how that one didn't work, how that one didn't blow. It's crazy.
Flatline: I was curious to know if your brush with death brought about a fascination with it. The topic comes up on all of your albums.
Everlast: Well, I wrote a bunch of stuff on Whitey Ford before it even happened, that was about death. But, you know, subconsciously maybe my body was telling my mind things that I didn't know about, you know what I mean? But yeah, I've always been fascinated with death man, now more than ever, cause I'll never be afraid of it really...
Flatline: Because you came that close?
Everlast: Yeah, I mean, I was on my death bed as far as I was concerned. I still trip right now and think, how the fuck am I alive? That's the thing, like I compare it to the world's scariest roller-coaster. It's only gonna be scary that one time. I'm not saying I want death, or I welcome it like I'm looking forward to it. I enjoy my life and I understand what my life is worth. The whole horror of your death - I've kinda run that route already. I have that advantage in a weird way, over maybe somebody who's still got that fear in them. I'm sure there's things I'm still afraid of in certain ways but death really ain't one of them. I don't know if you ever seen that movie Ghost Dog...
Flatline: Yeah, Forest Whitaker, and RZA did the soundtrack...
Everlast: Yeah...they talk about in there, a real samurai reflects on his death every day. That way, when it comes, it ain't a surprise. In a weird same kind of mentality, that's why I do it. I'm ready when it comes. You know, when it comes, it comes. I learned there's nothing that's gonna stop it. We are all mortal. The most invincible of us can be taken down by something the size of the head of a pin.
Flatline: I love your cover of Children's Story that you did with Rahzel. Did you ever get any feedback from Slick Rick on that?
Everlast: No, I would love to have known what Slick Rick thought of that. I know for a fact that he plays Jump Around in his show every night. My buddy Stash sent me a video of it and he's comparing old school and new school. He's like, this is old school and he plays something and he plays something else. Then he says, and this is when Irish people meet black people...boom!...Jump Around comes on. So he must be a fan of it. I'd like to know if he ever heard that and if not, I'd play it for him just to heard what he thinks. I think that's probably one of my best covers just because, if you ask me, it was meant to be a blues song.
Flatline: You've collaborated with a bunch of people on your albums. Is there anyone else you'd still like to work with?
Everlast: Well, ninety percent of the people I've worked with are friends of mine. It's really one of the prerequisites for me. I don't really go, you know, oh that dude's hot, I need to work with him. Most of the things I've done with collaborations have just kind of happened. We were hanging out, in a studio, near a studio, something happened. That's just the way things work with me. I don't plan a lot. It's not in my nature.
Flatline: I'm guessing Snoop and you working on "My Medicine" was just you guys messing around in the studio?
Everlast: No, actually...it's kind of a long story. A few years back I gave him some country music. He was like, I like that Johnny Cash shit, what else can I listen to? I told him Patsy Kline and a few other names. Jump a few years later, we're doing a La Coka Nostra show in New York and I get a call from Snoop that he's finishing up a tour and his last night is in Dublin, Ireland and he wants me to come out and do Jump Around. I was like, fuck it, I'm in New York already, I'll go over there. He was backstage listening to Patsy Kline records and all these old country records and I was like, oh shit. He was like, you were the one that put me up on this Everlast. So jump ahead another few months and we're at the Jam Master Jay Awards. We're at this party for Pharrell's BBC clothing line or something and Snoop comes up to me and says, I want you to write me a country song. I said, you want me to write you a country song? He says, I want you to write me a country song. So, it took me a couple months...and it almost didn't happen cause the day I came up with it, I sent it to him and he's like, we gotta get this today...the record's done, it's getting mastered. So it was the last damn cut for his record and he just loved it and he killed it.
Flatline: Were you frustrated at all with the way Def Jam dropped the ball a little bit on White Trash Beautiful? It seemed like it flew under the radar but contained some of your best work at the time.
Everlast: Well, what happened with that was, Lyor Cohen signed me and then a couple months after he signed me, his friend bought Warner Bros. and he left. So I just got caught in a place where...it's an old story in the music business and it's happened millions of times. When a guy like Lyor Cohen leaves, he takes all his people. Then the new guy comes in with his people. Most of them, if they didn't sign you in the record business, no one's gonna stick their neck out for something. So it was unfortunate, you know? It's one of the reasons I'll never do another record deal again.
Flatline: Kill The Emperor off the new album...
Everlast: Oh yeah...
Flatline: It reminds me of when Paris came out with Bush Killa. How did that track come about? You've really got some stuff to say on that record.
Everlast: It just came out cause I was like, what's the craziest shit about...like, you know, actually taking some kind of action. But it actually came from the thought of like, it I was alive in 1936 and I met Hitler before he became Hitler, would I smoke him? Would I just do it? You know what I mean? So that's kinda where the whole concept started from as a baby idea, and then it just turned into what it is.
Flatline: La Coka Nostra.
Everlast: Yeah.
Flatline: Album done? Ready to go?
Everlast: Album is done, barring one guest appearance we're waiting on via pony express, email, fuckin' FedEx. Somehow, we're waiting on this thing to show up. I don't wanna say who it is.
Flatline: You guys gonna tour behind the album?
Everlast: That's the plan, that's the plan. We're talking about maybe doing a whole Soul Assassins festival involving my band, Ill Bill, Psycho Realm...bunch of people.
Flatline: How did the passing of Johnny Cash affect you? Did you ever get a chance to meet with him or work with him before he passed?
Everlast: No, I didn't get to meet him. I did see his last public performance though. I was working on this Big Daddy movie soundtrack and Rick Rubin was overseeing the whole production of the album and I was in New York. He was like, they're doing this big tribute to Johnny Cash on TNT, they're doing it here in New York. All these artists came and performed and then at the end he came out and performed. I was gonna try and meet him afterwards but there was this crush of people and he was already not feeling well. As much as I would have been cool, it would have been frustrating cause I would have rather met him, if I ever got the opportunity, to just sit down and conversate with him. Same thing with Muhammad Ali. I did some work on that Ali movie, some musical work and at the premiere everyone's trying to meet him. I was just like, I don't wanna be in that crowd. If I ever get to meet him, it'll be on some sit down, yo man, you're one of the reasons I do what I do. I love Muhammad Ali, he's like one of my idols. Well, I don't like using the word idol. Hero.
The new album by Everlast - "Love, War, And The Ghost Of Whitey Ford" - available everywhere 9.23.08
Everlast and The Lordz are currently on tour now. Check your local concert listings for a show near you.
Monday, June 2, 2008
SHOCK G from DIGITAL UNDERGROUND interview
Flatline: You have been so incredibly creative through out your career, both musically and artistically. Where do you grab inspiraton from?
Shock G: Love. Not just as in romantic love with a woman, but love everywhere in the world around me. People making each other laugh and smile, good times with friends & family, anytime harmony's amongst me, it inspires me. Of course, being in love is the ultimate inspiration too, when I'm lucky enough to have a special someone like that.
Flatline: It's been 10 years since the last D.U. record "Who Got The Gravy?" dropped. What made you want to go one last round with this album?
Shock G: One reason is, we finally came across a good, stereophonic, soundboard recording of a D.U. show, rather than the usual camcorder versions we have so many of. The bulk of this album was recorded at a live show in the bay area. You can hear the hometown luv in the air, and both the audience and the band was in rare form. We didn't bother to include the songs in which we simply rapped over the records. I figured we all know how the records sound already. No, instead we put the "unplugged" sections on the album in which Eric "Kenya" Baker (So Many Tears) is on guitar, DJ-NuStylez is on the turns, Juan Carlos is on percussion, and I'm at my favorite place in the world, on piano. Meanwhile the entire D.U. roster is blessing the mic. All the spin-off acts were in the building too that night - Luniz, Saafir, Element, Choice Cutz, even Strictly Dope, Tupac's original group before he joined digital underground. That's reason one.
Reason two is because, those last 10 years you spoke of, since the "Gravy" album, we've been touring constantly, worldwide, and in that time it sorta seasoned us. Our live show has evolved much tighter then before, and we recruited alot of good emcees along the way too. This album reflects that growth and showcases those emcees. And there's even a third reason...
Reason three for releasing "Cuz a D.U. Party Don't Stop" is because few Pac fans know that our clik wrote the music to practically all of Tupacs singles for his first 3 albums. For instance, So Many Tears was Eric Baker & I musically, I Get Around was myself, Homies Call & Brendas Got a Baby was our homie Deon Evans a.k.a. Big-D the Impossible. In a sense, we were Tupacs in-house band, and I was even supposed to be his music director on his up & coming overseas tour in the fall of 1996. Of course the tour never happened, but you could say this album is a taste of what it might've been like musically, because these are the cats that would've been there. And though Pac may've passed on, we at least have Ray Luv (of Strictly Dope and early ghost writer for Tupac) and Pacs' protege Mac Mall representing in Pacs honor. Plus they supplied me a 77-key Fender Rhodes electric piano that night, so I was in heaven. It's a beast of a recording.
Flatline: There's always talk of you working with Tupac but you worked with another lyrical giant on the last record - Big Pun. How did the two of you hook up and what was it like working with him in the studio?
Shock G: Real talk, on the day we were supposed to record, four plates of spanish food showed up at the studio before he arrived. Then the studio gets a call...it was Pun checking to make sure the food had got there before he showed up (!!!) I heard he was up around 500 pounds at the time. They put a chair in the vocal booth, he layed his verses while sitting down, and we had to punch him in every other sentence, so he could catch his breath. Jeeeesus, the poor dudes heart just couldn't take it any more. He was a great dude though, wayyyyy kool, wayyyyy chill.
I kept thanking him for showin up & fuckin wit our ol' skool asses, and ya know what he said? "C'mon, I had to. You were the first person to put Puerto Ricans on the map when you shouted us in the Humpty Dance."
And ya know what I said?
"Yeah, but you mean Doowutchyalike".
And he said.. "No, it was the Humpty Dance."
And I said.. "Naw, it was Doowutchyalike".
Then he just stared at me like he was trying to figure out whether I was serious or not, and I walked away, back to the soundboard to finish mixing the song. The next day when I woke up, I was like "Damn, he was right! It was the Humpty Dance! He must think I'm crazy!" I was so high from blazin wit him that day, I got stuck in a zone where I really remembered it to be Doowutchyalike!! DOH!
I asked for Pun cause his lyrics were sexually obsessive like mine were. Around that time, most cats rhymed about either crime or violence, but Pun was a ladies man like Humpty, so I thought he'd be a good match with me. And luckily, someone on our label (Jake Records) knew someone at his label and put a call in for us.
Flatline: What can the average listener expect to hear on the new record? Any guest spots we should watch out for?
Shock G: Yes, look out for BINC (a.k.a. Best in Northern Cali), he's hella funny. And also Liz Suwandi, a new female vocalist who's been touring with us lately. We call her "our Fergie".
Flatline: Why do you think Digital Underground isn't scooping up many awards or being recognized for the work you've put in over the years?
Shock G: "Grammys, Emmys, Dammys, nuthin 2 me, but when they rock us in the streets we say ooh-wee."
Witnessing the impact our music has out in the world & universe is like receiving 20 Grammy awards. Things like...when Jay-Z used the Humpty flow in his song, or watching the dancefloor go bananas when "I Get Around" or "Freaks" drops, or watching the girls come alive when they rock us in the strip clubs. (laughs) We're also in the wedding books and the kareoke books lately. We've done two tours a year almost every year since 1989. We may not have any special awards but we're blessed to have what we do have, and for that I'm grateful.
Flatline: Can we expect a solo album from Humpty Hump in the future or maybe an ep with Biz Markie?
Shock G: (laughs) I doubt it, but I'll ask Humpty next time I see him. Who knows, he might be into it.
Flatline: You're a group with a worldwide fan base on a smaller record label. How has the industry changed in your eyes since you came out with Sex Packets?
Shock G: When we came out, hip-hop was still a teeny-bopper (18 years old) so it was focused on all the things teenagers focus on; dancin & partying. But Hip Hop is all grown up now, so it's focused on more adult things like money & business, hence half the people in hip-hop also being business people. The artform is going through all the same changes R&B and Rock & Roll went through. Remember when it was Sammy Davis Jr, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, and Berry Gordy flashin' all the riches? Now it's 50-Cent, Jay-Z, Eminem, and Sean Combs baybay!! Jazz & Rock used to be the music with all the shocking deaths & excesses; Billy Holiday, Hendrix, Elvis, Lennon. Now it's Tupac, Biggie, Jam Master Jay & Eazy-E. Nothin's new under the sun, huh?
Flatline: Any thoughts on the candidates and the election this year?
Shock G: Yeah, I hope the most hicky backwoods republican wins, just to make everything worse so we can finally move on to the next system of government. Capitalism obviously doesn't support the human population very well, or the earths' resources. So it's capitalism itself I'd like to see lose. I guess Obama looks good, he offers a glimer of hope, but we all know ain't nuthin really gonna change with the american mindset unless a major revolution of some kind happens. GC for president!! Clinton or Carlin, take your pick!
Flatline: If Tupac were still alive, do you think he would have left the rap game alone and maybe entertained the idea of politics?
Shock G: I'm not good at the "what if" game, who knows what he may have done? Anything's possible. Hmm, what I do know is, he's NEVER leaving the rap game now, and his art & poetry has always been involved in politics.
Flatline: Will you be taking the new record out on tour?
Shock G: There will be no D.U. tour as we just recently disbanded. 2008 marks our 20-year anniversary (signed our first contract, and recorded our first single in 1988, Underwater Rimes) so we recently did our final show in Vegas, and have disbanded to take a much needed hiatus from the road, our first break in TWENTY YEARS! (20!!!!) Hoorayyy!!
Flatline: Yo! MTV Raps recently celebrated their 20th anniversary and you were there for that amazing period in time. What are some of your memories from doing the show and just that time period in general?
Shock G: I can't remember anything, I did too much ecstacy in the 90's.
Flatline: (laughs) Do you have a particular D.U. album or song that you are most proud of?
Shock G: I like "Sons of the P" with George Clinton and Pee Wee from the Dangerous crew. We freaked that shit!! Um..."digital Lover" is pretty cool too. Lots of open space in that song, just like Snoop's new jam.
Flatline: What does the future hold for Digital Underground?
Shock G: Can't know untill it happens. In the words of the immortal Fiona Apple...
"If there was a better way to go, it would find me.
I don't know, the road just rolls out behind me."
The new Digital Underground album will be available May 27th on iTunes, Amazon.com, CDbaby.com and stores everywhere! Go get that!
myspace.com/therealshockg myspace.com/humptyfunk
- Flatline for Rapstation.com
Shock G: Love. Not just as in romantic love with a woman, but love everywhere in the world around me. People making each other laugh and smile, good times with friends & family, anytime harmony's amongst me, it inspires me. Of course, being in love is the ultimate inspiration too, when I'm lucky enough to have a special someone like that.
Flatline: It's been 10 years since the last D.U. record "Who Got The Gravy?" dropped. What made you want to go one last round with this album?
Shock G: One reason is, we finally came across a good, stereophonic, soundboard recording of a D.U. show, rather than the usual camcorder versions we have so many of. The bulk of this album was recorded at a live show in the bay area. You can hear the hometown luv in the air, and both the audience and the band was in rare form. We didn't bother to include the songs in which we simply rapped over the records. I figured we all know how the records sound already. No, instead we put the "unplugged" sections on the album in which Eric "Kenya" Baker (So Many Tears) is on guitar, DJ-NuStylez is on the turns, Juan Carlos is on percussion, and I'm at my favorite place in the world, on piano. Meanwhile the entire D.U. roster is blessing the mic. All the spin-off acts were in the building too that night - Luniz, Saafir, Element, Choice Cutz, even Strictly Dope, Tupac's original group before he joined digital underground. That's reason one.
Reason two is because, those last 10 years you spoke of, since the "Gravy" album, we've been touring constantly, worldwide, and in that time it sorta seasoned us. Our live show has evolved much tighter then before, and we recruited alot of good emcees along the way too. This album reflects that growth and showcases those emcees. And there's even a third reason...
Reason three for releasing "Cuz a D.U. Party Don't Stop" is because few Pac fans know that our clik wrote the music to practically all of Tupacs singles for his first 3 albums. For instance, So Many Tears was Eric Baker & I musically, I Get Around was myself, Homies Call & Brendas Got a Baby was our homie Deon Evans a.k.a. Big-D the Impossible. In a sense, we were Tupacs in-house band, and I was even supposed to be his music director on his up & coming overseas tour in the fall of 1996. Of course the tour never happened, but you could say this album is a taste of what it might've been like musically, because these are the cats that would've been there. And though Pac may've passed on, we at least have Ray Luv (of Strictly Dope and early ghost writer for Tupac) and Pacs' protege Mac Mall representing in Pacs honor. Plus they supplied me a 77-key Fender Rhodes electric piano that night, so I was in heaven. It's a beast of a recording.
Flatline: There's always talk of you working with Tupac but you worked with another lyrical giant on the last record - Big Pun. How did the two of you hook up and what was it like working with him in the studio?
Shock G: Real talk, on the day we were supposed to record, four plates of spanish food showed up at the studio before he arrived. Then the studio gets a call...it was Pun checking to make sure the food had got there before he showed up (!!!) I heard he was up around 500 pounds at the time. They put a chair in the vocal booth, he layed his verses while sitting down, and we had to punch him in every other sentence, so he could catch his breath. Jeeeesus, the poor dudes heart just couldn't take it any more. He was a great dude though, wayyyyy kool, wayyyyy chill.
I kept thanking him for showin up & fuckin wit our ol' skool asses, and ya know what he said? "C'mon, I had to. You were the first person to put Puerto Ricans on the map when you shouted us in the Humpty Dance."
And ya know what I said?
"Yeah, but you mean Doowutchyalike".
And he said.. "No, it was the Humpty Dance."
And I said.. "Naw, it was Doowutchyalike".
Then he just stared at me like he was trying to figure out whether I was serious or not, and I walked away, back to the soundboard to finish mixing the song. The next day when I woke up, I was like "Damn, he was right! It was the Humpty Dance! He must think I'm crazy!" I was so high from blazin wit him that day, I got stuck in a zone where I really remembered it to be Doowutchyalike!! DOH!
I asked for Pun cause his lyrics were sexually obsessive like mine were. Around that time, most cats rhymed about either crime or violence, but Pun was a ladies man like Humpty, so I thought he'd be a good match with me. And luckily, someone on our label (Jake Records) knew someone at his label and put a call in for us.
Flatline: What can the average listener expect to hear on the new record? Any guest spots we should watch out for?
Shock G: Yes, look out for BINC (a.k.a. Best in Northern Cali), he's hella funny. And also Liz Suwandi, a new female vocalist who's been touring with us lately. We call her "our Fergie".
Flatline: Why do you think Digital Underground isn't scooping up many awards or being recognized for the work you've put in over the years?
Shock G: "Grammys, Emmys, Dammys, nuthin 2 me, but when they rock us in the streets we say ooh-wee."
Witnessing the impact our music has out in the world & universe is like receiving 20 Grammy awards. Things like...when Jay-Z used the Humpty flow in his song, or watching the dancefloor go bananas when "I Get Around" or "Freaks" drops, or watching the girls come alive when they rock us in the strip clubs. (laughs) We're also in the wedding books and the kareoke books lately. We've done two tours a year almost every year since 1989. We may not have any special awards but we're blessed to have what we do have, and for that I'm grateful.
Flatline: Can we expect a solo album from Humpty Hump in the future or maybe an ep with Biz Markie?
Shock G: (laughs) I doubt it, but I'll ask Humpty next time I see him. Who knows, he might be into it.
Flatline: You're a group with a worldwide fan base on a smaller record label. How has the industry changed in your eyes since you came out with Sex Packets?
Shock G: When we came out, hip-hop was still a teeny-bopper (18 years old) so it was focused on all the things teenagers focus on; dancin & partying. But Hip Hop is all grown up now, so it's focused on more adult things like money & business, hence half the people in hip-hop also being business people. The artform is going through all the same changes R&B and Rock & Roll went through. Remember when it was Sammy Davis Jr, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, and Berry Gordy flashin' all the riches? Now it's 50-Cent, Jay-Z, Eminem, and Sean Combs baybay!! Jazz & Rock used to be the music with all the shocking deaths & excesses; Billy Holiday, Hendrix, Elvis, Lennon. Now it's Tupac, Biggie, Jam Master Jay & Eazy-E. Nothin's new under the sun, huh?
Flatline: Any thoughts on the candidates and the election this year?
Shock G: Yeah, I hope the most hicky backwoods republican wins, just to make everything worse so we can finally move on to the next system of government. Capitalism obviously doesn't support the human population very well, or the earths' resources. So it's capitalism itself I'd like to see lose. I guess Obama looks good, he offers a glimer of hope, but we all know ain't nuthin really gonna change with the american mindset unless a major revolution of some kind happens. GC for president!! Clinton or Carlin, take your pick!
Flatline: If Tupac were still alive, do you think he would have left the rap game alone and maybe entertained the idea of politics?
Shock G: I'm not good at the "what if" game, who knows what he may have done? Anything's possible. Hmm, what I do know is, he's NEVER leaving the rap game now, and his art & poetry has always been involved in politics.
Flatline: Will you be taking the new record out on tour?
Shock G: There will be no D.U. tour as we just recently disbanded. 2008 marks our 20-year anniversary (signed our first contract, and recorded our first single in 1988, Underwater Rimes) so we recently did our final show in Vegas, and have disbanded to take a much needed hiatus from the road, our first break in TWENTY YEARS! (20!!!!) Hoorayyy!!
Flatline: Yo! MTV Raps recently celebrated their 20th anniversary and you were there for that amazing period in time. What are some of your memories from doing the show and just that time period in general?
Shock G: I can't remember anything, I did too much ecstacy in the 90's.
Flatline: (laughs) Do you have a particular D.U. album or song that you are most proud of?
Shock G: I like "Sons of the P" with George Clinton and Pee Wee from the Dangerous crew. We freaked that shit!! Um..."digital Lover" is pretty cool too. Lots of open space in that song, just like Snoop's new jam.
Flatline: What does the future hold for Digital Underground?
Shock G: Can't know untill it happens. In the words of the immortal Fiona Apple...
"If there was a better way to go, it would find me.
I don't know, the road just rolls out behind me."
The new Digital Underground album will be available May 27th on iTunes, Amazon.com, CDbaby.com and stores everywhere! Go get that!
myspace.com/therealshockg myspace.com/humptyfunk
- Flatline for Rapstation.com
DEL the FUNKY HOMOSAPIEN interview
Flatline: Who approached who for your move over to Def Jux for the new album? It seems like a match made in heaven since they heavily promote loads of creativity.
DEL: Well, I guess you could say that I was looking for a home to launch this 11th Hour project from, and they had an opening. I know El-P from a ways back, we cool. I really respect his artwork and also his drive that got him where he is now with his Def Jux thang. Plus I know Mr. Lif too, that's my folks, and he seems to be doing good with Def Jux so that kinda let me know that was a safe bet. And so far so good, I'm loving it, they looked out and I been doing what I can to make their job of getting 11th Hour out there to the people easier.
Flatline: Who are some of your favorite emcee's?....particular artists that you listen to, as an emcee, that completely blow your mind lyrically.
DEL: Right now? Well, there's alot of them, for different reasons, but I would have to say that, outside of Hiero, Redman is someone who particularly speaks to my demo graph. Also cats like De La are all time favorites, Q-Tip, the JB's, these are cats who constantly I can count on. But I like other stuff too, for instance, The LOX and especially Styles P have been one of my favorites for years. All of the Wu of course I love, Ghostface of course as well as Raekwon always kills it. But I also love Pete Rock as an emcee, too. Diamond D is one of my all time faves on the mic, always witty and always drops a gem or two. Andre The Giant is a favorite, matter of fact just say DITC. But Lakim Shabazz is one of my favorites too, as well as JustIce. KRS ONE of course and Chuck D as well. It's too many to name, I love all the raw dope emcees who keep it really fly with the lyrics for different reasons, but the main reason is the funkiness and the ability to spit something real every once in a while.
Flatline: I know you weren't happy with "The Best Of..." that Elektra put out a couple years ago - but getting to finally hear "The Undisputed Champs" with Q-Tip and Pep Love was amazing. What was it like getting down with Tip in the studio?
DEL: Q-Tip is truly one of my favorite dudes, man. I'll never forget how cool he was to me when we first met, he really embodied that spirit of HipHop that I thought EVERYBODY in HipHop would be like before I got into the game and really peeped it ain't all like that. Tip is someone whom I've always related to very closely. We have similar paths and I could always tell from listening to his lyrics, but when we hung out the few times that we did I could see that it was a vibe that was all over, they just did it in a NYC style, we did it in a Oakland Bay Area style. But it was all peace and I think we were both starting to just get a feel of that.
Tip actually was real cool, cause he would look out for me. That's why anytime dudes try to say he ain't the shit no more or try to call him out, say whatever about whatever without even listening to the shit...actually, by watching him, I knew how some dudes would just turn on you. Cause I seen people do it with Tribe before even listening to their new material. Their album was the Love Movement, the LOVE MOVEMENT how could people front on that? And the music was a new direction, J-Dilla included in it. Some dudes fronted and now look, J-Dilla is they hero now that he's dead. But when he was alive they were frontin, without even a listen really to base they hate on. I'm goin off, but I got respect for Tip, man. Cause he a real artist and he tries things, even when it turn out sometimes dudes front at first, he still willing to try.
Now, about the studio session. I actually was so obliterated I don't remember much. I drank basically some concoction consisting of 2 40 oz, mixed with gin and orange juice. Don't ask. Anyway, I was obviously dumb loaded, but Tip didn't badger me about it. I had a box of SP1200 disks I brought out. I was letting cats peep what I could do production wise. Tip dug it. Busta Rhymes came in, I know him from Elektra, LONS, Dinco was my man, he was dumb cool too, as well as Busta. But anyway, Busta is like peeping my heaters and he like nodding, like "Yo, these are pretty good, son!" It was nice to get that love from the East Coast cats cause it started there. They made me feel like "Ok you ill, we'll accept you into our shit."
Flatline: You've rhymed on side projects with Handsome Boy Modeling School, Gorillaz and Deltron 3030...any other super group plans in the works? I heard the sequel to Deltron will be coming out in 08 as well.
DEL: I don't know if I like the title of "super group"...seems to set up alot of anticipation only to be ultimately let down because for some out there the expectations will never be met. COULDN'T be met, it would be impossible to live up to the fantasy conjured up by some dudes. BUT...I am always trying to collaborate with real cats when I got the time to. El-P and Tame One are two that I'm working on getting crunk. A-Plus as well. Dave from De La, Prince Paul. Another Deltron of course. But also I'm working with D-Stroy, working something out with my man Pumpkinhead...alot of things, but you know, it takes time and some things are first priority. There's a Hiero album being finished up now. Basically I never stop working on stuff, I even have instrumental dance albums, funk stuff, rock stuff, punk stuff, I stay making stuff.
Flatline: "11th Hour" was produced almost entirely by yourself. How long did it take for this album to finally come together after all this time?
DEL: Once I was able to raise up out the game of the mentally insane (those who look around in the streets for someone to blame), it actually didn't take that long, but I must admit I was conceptualizing this LP for quite awhile, ever since Both Sides had ran it's course. I knew I had to learn more about music in order to take it to the next level, whatever that may be. And I worked on my Funkentelechy so I would be able to funk harder than before.
Flatline: Back around 96 or 97 I saw you and the whole Hiero crew tear it up live. Is the art of performance dead in hip hop these days?
DEL: I wouldn't exactly say that, because HipHop IS performance, it's based upon how well you perform. The live setting is where it all starts and it looks like where it will end up in this era of record labels finally losing almost all of their power over consumers. It's anarchy right now, and there's alot of jaded people who feel they been burned and won't even give anything new a chance, it's too late. It's that game again that I was talking about earlier. But all the doper cats know: you gotta be able to command attention. No matter if you got dancers and mega-props on stage or you just standing there streetsweeping with the lyrics. People wanna be entertained, how we as artists get to that point is all up to our preference and what we are best at. But the presentation we deliver will be judged based upon our personal performance, HOPEFULLY, anyway.
Flatline: Were you a fan of Radiohead before Amplive came along and got you to spit on "Videotapez"? The end result is really dope.
DEL: I have a few Radiohead LPs, I have always dug their bag, man. They do what they do and they do it well, you can't really front on them for any other reason except you just don't like them. Because they are doin it. Videotapez I did for Amplive primarily cause he asked me to be down with the project, but I also knew that it could get me a little pub. But really I did it cause Amp is my patna and he asked me to.
Flatline: It's been an interesting road for you since you debuted back in 1991. What keeps you motivated musically and lyrically?
DEL: Musically the curiosity that leads me to continuously try to explore new ways to organize music is motivation enough in itself. But also the personal feeling of gratification and achievement I feel from being able to do something well and being able to see my own growth on a continuous basis is motivational for me, and I would assume for anyone else in a similar dimension.
Lyrically, the motivation is primarily the need to speak about things that I can't get anyone to listen to any other way BUT in a rap. I'm a funky dude, meaning that I walk around in a funk alot of the time. I don't bug cats with it, I'm not a drag, you dig? I just put it away. Rapping is one of the ways I can let some of that funk free, and it's a safe way, a creative way that'll entertain people who feel the funk like I do. It also lets me aim that funk at targets in a basically harmless manner, it's just a rap dig? If it get people to pay attention then fine, and that may hurt some people's feelings but there's no name tag on the rap. If it's dug it's dug. Music is the other way I can express funky feelings in a way that lyrically I can't do. So lyrics and music work hand in hand.
- Flatline for Rapstation.com
DEL: Well, I guess you could say that I was looking for a home to launch this 11th Hour project from, and they had an opening. I know El-P from a ways back, we cool. I really respect his artwork and also his drive that got him where he is now with his Def Jux thang. Plus I know Mr. Lif too, that's my folks, and he seems to be doing good with Def Jux so that kinda let me know that was a safe bet. And so far so good, I'm loving it, they looked out and I been doing what I can to make their job of getting 11th Hour out there to the people easier.
Flatline: Who are some of your favorite emcee's?....particular artists that you listen to, as an emcee, that completely blow your mind lyrically.
DEL: Right now? Well, there's alot of them, for different reasons, but I would have to say that, outside of Hiero, Redman is someone who particularly speaks to my demo graph. Also cats like De La are all time favorites, Q-Tip, the JB's, these are cats who constantly I can count on. But I like other stuff too, for instance, The LOX and especially Styles P have been one of my favorites for years. All of the Wu of course I love, Ghostface of course as well as Raekwon always kills it. But I also love Pete Rock as an emcee, too. Diamond D is one of my all time faves on the mic, always witty and always drops a gem or two. Andre The Giant is a favorite, matter of fact just say DITC. But Lakim Shabazz is one of my favorites too, as well as JustIce. KRS ONE of course and Chuck D as well. It's too many to name, I love all the raw dope emcees who keep it really fly with the lyrics for different reasons, but the main reason is the funkiness and the ability to spit something real every once in a while.
Flatline: I know you weren't happy with "The Best Of..." that Elektra put out a couple years ago - but getting to finally hear "The Undisputed Champs" with Q-Tip and Pep Love was amazing. What was it like getting down with Tip in the studio?
DEL: Q-Tip is truly one of my favorite dudes, man. I'll never forget how cool he was to me when we first met, he really embodied that spirit of HipHop that I thought EVERYBODY in HipHop would be like before I got into the game and really peeped it ain't all like that. Tip is someone whom I've always related to very closely. We have similar paths and I could always tell from listening to his lyrics, but when we hung out the few times that we did I could see that it was a vibe that was all over, they just did it in a NYC style, we did it in a Oakland Bay Area style. But it was all peace and I think we were both starting to just get a feel of that.
Tip actually was real cool, cause he would look out for me. That's why anytime dudes try to say he ain't the shit no more or try to call him out, say whatever about whatever without even listening to the shit...actually, by watching him, I knew how some dudes would just turn on you. Cause I seen people do it with Tribe before even listening to their new material. Their album was the Love Movement, the LOVE MOVEMENT how could people front on that? And the music was a new direction, J-Dilla included in it. Some dudes fronted and now look, J-Dilla is they hero now that he's dead. But when he was alive they were frontin, without even a listen really to base they hate on. I'm goin off, but I got respect for Tip, man. Cause he a real artist and he tries things, even when it turn out sometimes dudes front at first, he still willing to try.
Now, about the studio session. I actually was so obliterated I don't remember much. I drank basically some concoction consisting of 2 40 oz, mixed with gin and orange juice. Don't ask. Anyway, I was obviously dumb loaded, but Tip didn't badger me about it. I had a box of SP1200 disks I brought out. I was letting cats peep what I could do production wise. Tip dug it. Busta Rhymes came in, I know him from Elektra, LONS, Dinco was my man, he was dumb cool too, as well as Busta. But anyway, Busta is like peeping my heaters and he like nodding, like "Yo, these are pretty good, son!" It was nice to get that love from the East Coast cats cause it started there. They made me feel like "Ok you ill, we'll accept you into our shit."
Flatline: You've rhymed on side projects with Handsome Boy Modeling School, Gorillaz and Deltron 3030...any other super group plans in the works? I heard the sequel to Deltron will be coming out in 08 as well.
DEL: I don't know if I like the title of "super group"...seems to set up alot of anticipation only to be ultimately let down because for some out there the expectations will never be met. COULDN'T be met, it would be impossible to live up to the fantasy conjured up by some dudes. BUT...I am always trying to collaborate with real cats when I got the time to. El-P and Tame One are two that I'm working on getting crunk. A-Plus as well. Dave from De La, Prince Paul. Another Deltron of course. But also I'm working with D-Stroy, working something out with my man Pumpkinhead...alot of things, but you know, it takes time and some things are first priority. There's a Hiero album being finished up now. Basically I never stop working on stuff, I even have instrumental dance albums, funk stuff, rock stuff, punk stuff, I stay making stuff.
Flatline: "11th Hour" was produced almost entirely by yourself. How long did it take for this album to finally come together after all this time?
DEL: Once I was able to raise up out the game of the mentally insane (those who look around in the streets for someone to blame), it actually didn't take that long, but I must admit I was conceptualizing this LP for quite awhile, ever since Both Sides had ran it's course. I knew I had to learn more about music in order to take it to the next level, whatever that may be. And I worked on my Funkentelechy so I would be able to funk harder than before.
Flatline: Back around 96 or 97 I saw you and the whole Hiero crew tear it up live. Is the art of performance dead in hip hop these days?
DEL: I wouldn't exactly say that, because HipHop IS performance, it's based upon how well you perform. The live setting is where it all starts and it looks like where it will end up in this era of record labels finally losing almost all of their power over consumers. It's anarchy right now, and there's alot of jaded people who feel they been burned and won't even give anything new a chance, it's too late. It's that game again that I was talking about earlier. But all the doper cats know: you gotta be able to command attention. No matter if you got dancers and mega-props on stage or you just standing there streetsweeping with the lyrics. People wanna be entertained, how we as artists get to that point is all up to our preference and what we are best at. But the presentation we deliver will be judged based upon our personal performance, HOPEFULLY, anyway.
Flatline: Were you a fan of Radiohead before Amplive came along and got you to spit on "Videotapez"? The end result is really dope.
DEL: I have a few Radiohead LPs, I have always dug their bag, man. They do what they do and they do it well, you can't really front on them for any other reason except you just don't like them. Because they are doin it. Videotapez I did for Amplive primarily cause he asked me to be down with the project, but I also knew that it could get me a little pub. But really I did it cause Amp is my patna and he asked me to.
Flatline: It's been an interesting road for you since you debuted back in 1991. What keeps you motivated musically and lyrically?
DEL: Musically the curiosity that leads me to continuously try to explore new ways to organize music is motivation enough in itself. But also the personal feeling of gratification and achievement I feel from being able to do something well and being able to see my own growth on a continuous basis is motivational for me, and I would assume for anyone else in a similar dimension.
Lyrically, the motivation is primarily the need to speak about things that I can't get anyone to listen to any other way BUT in a rap. I'm a funky dude, meaning that I walk around in a funk alot of the time. I don't bug cats with it, I'm not a drag, you dig? I just put it away. Rapping is one of the ways I can let some of that funk free, and it's a safe way, a creative way that'll entertain people who feel the funk like I do. It also lets me aim that funk at targets in a basically harmless manner, it's just a rap dig? If it get people to pay attention then fine, and that may hurt some people's feelings but there's no name tag on the rap. If it's dug it's dug. Music is the other way I can express funky feelings in a way that lyrically I can't do. So lyrics and music work hand in hand.
- Flatline for Rapstation.com
Sunday, December 9, 2007
EFF being HARD, Posdnuos is COMPLICATED
WELL ALRIGHT THEN. The blogs seem to pop up whenever, but when they do - READ. The next big thing...actually, I'm not gonna tell you just yet...let's just say it involves BALLZ and your PURSE. Handbag, clutch, over the shoulder...whatever. It's ALL FAIR GAME. You have been warned. So I went to a party last night. Say word. Homie don't really do parties. I haven't been to a PARTY in many many many years. Eons ago. I get really uncomfortable. Anxiety uncomfortable. Sure enough, felt it last night - big time. Then...much to my surprise, I overcame it. I faced it, dealt with it and shot it down. I'm proud of myself. Baby steps equal big steps. The party was cool too, pour me another Bacardi and Coke...I'll drink it. I drank it. I ammm. I didddd. I wassss. I played DJ for a bit with the iPod and ended up with a TOTO on each leg...how do these things happen???? Clearly I am still recovering. Clearly my fly little Puerto Rican from The Bronx can SHAKE THAT. Hell to the yeah. Clearly I've gotta shout out Kevin and Stacie cause I got to hang with them again and that made me happy. Clearly, Kevin has an issue that will turn itself into one of the biggest things WORLDWIDE. Myspace? Old news. Facebook? What's that?? Again, you have been warned. Consider yourself (all 7 of you) lucky to receive such highly guarded information. I feel like I've been typing for a good 30 minutes now - it's been about five. Moving right along party people in the place...the new Scarface album and the new Ghostface Killah album are fantastic. It's amazing how Scarface is able to still come with it 20+ years in the game.....and it's unbelievable how GOOD Ghostface is at this point in his career. He's got to be the SHARPEST emcee doin' it right now. He can make the most simple subject matter sound like the flyest thing you've ever heard in your life. I tried to find some lyrics online but no such luck. Trust me - "The Big Doe Rehab" is a great album. Get that, get "Made" by Scarface and you're set. I think some little muthafucka named Lupe Fiasco has or is releasing his second album. I got a middle finger for him and his lack of respect for A Tribe Called Quest. My copy of his album was pawned with a quickness, that's like poison in my collection. Is this blog over yet? So tired. Going to bed at 2am will do that to the kid. Need to catch mad zed's...play some zed catch up. Oh, and Celine Dion's new album got...drum roll please...ONE effing star in the new issue of Rolling Stone. THAT is a BEAUTIFUL fooking THING. My heart will go on. Alright, I'm signing off but with a quick reminder before I leave - stay fly, all day, every day.......
Sunday, December 2, 2007
HIT ya LIKE a LYRICAL MURDERER
I know you think I have, but yo, I never heard of ya! The tree is up, the roses are on the table and party people in the place, it is time once again to get on down! Sometimes, one must wake up at 3am and watch a True Life marathon until 5am. It happens...especially if you're battling a cold like I am. It tried to make an appearance late Wednesday. Battling, battling, winning, losing, winning, losing. I'm sick, I'm not sick, I'm sick, I'm not sick...I'm sick. So annoying. Since I ran out of Jack Daniel's, I have resorted to Absolut New Orleans. Alcohol kills germs, right? I got'em. It snowed like a MUTHA this weekend, dumping a solid eight inches where I was at. Cuckoo for cocoa puffs. Ever watch that show Intervention on A&E? Brutal. Not always a happy ending. Same thing with some of those True Life episodes that they do. I can't believe it's December already. I can't believe I'm sick. I can't believe how lucky I am to have a fly little Puerto Rican from The Bronx to take care of me when I'm not feeling well. She cooks me amazing things too - blackened tofu, beans & rice, crazy silly good garlic bread, pasta, salad - she hooks it UP. I'm going to get her a cooking show. The F.L.P.R.F.T.B. Cooking Show. Coming soon. It's so freaking cold. Having not been home all weekend, I returned to my MEAT LOCKER of an apartment, switched on the heat, and quickly made my exit, going to get some gas (hate you George W) and some Taco Time. The veggie wrap is gone and yet...I crave more food. Didn't really eat today, not much of an appetite. Although let me assure you, I ate plenty yesterday. Appetites come and go. So do good hip hop posse cuts. When was the last time you heard a really, REALLY good one? Here's the last really good one I heard - Craig Mack featuring The Notorious B.I.G., Rampage, LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes. They put it DOWN on the Flava In Ya Ear remix. "Don't be mad, UPS is hiring". Deadly. I caught a video for a great posse cut tonight - DJ Khaled featuring Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Fat Joe, Rick Ross, Big Boi, Busta Rhymes, Lil Wayne and Birdman. While I'm not a fan of everyone on there, everybody put it DOWN - especially Luda, Big Boi and Busta - they tore it UP!! While I'm babbling about hip hop, new Scarface and Ghostface Killah albums are out this Tuesday. You can NOT go wrong with either one of those dudes. I've been listening to Scarface's "The Fix" album in anticipation of his new joint...and I can conclude that "The Fix" is now a top 20 of all time album for me. One of the most soulful hip hop albums ever - you FEEL it. Now me and my Absolut are gonna go chill and rest and kick this damn cold to the curb. You continue on, doing whatever it is you're doing. Oh, and make a note of it - stay fly - all day, every day.....
Monday, November 26, 2007
187 with MY BLOG in ya MOUTH
Like we always do about this time! 3 blogs in a row, 2 days of silence and back up in here once again. I'm amped off some wonderful hip hop news - RBX and MC Ren are finished up an album together. RBX has been M.I.A. for a minute and when I last spoke with MC Ren, he was planning to drop a new solo album, then he planned to work with Paris on a project and then...he retired. Not the case. This is gonna be some straight WEST COAST hip hop - hardcore, ruff, rugged and raw. Now if only that DJ Quik and AMG album would get a release date, the WEST WEST could really be back on top - a true resurrection...just until Dre releases DETOX, then, it's DRE DAY alllllll over again. Off of the hip hop babble we go and into some babble about a restaurant I frequent often - Red Robin. I like their food - in particular, the different Gardenburgers I can get with different combinations of stuff. YUM. I still wish the seasoning for their fries was actually cooked INTO the fries, but you can't always get what you want. (wow, lots of CAPS tonight) So, I'm thinking that Red Robin did a survey with 100 people and the results of the survey have your server now saying the following: "Hi, welcome to Red Robin, have you been here before?" YES. "Oh, that's great. Welcome back." Really muthafuckaz???????? People don't just wander off the street and into a Red Robin cause they're curious about how their mixologists make the drinks or, gee honey, let's go some place ROMANTIC tonight - maybe we should try out that place down the road, Red Robin I think it's called? BULLSHIT. It's stupid. It's got me upset. I'm calling the manager. ~on hold~ 2 minutes have passed ~still on hold~ Okay...so the manager says that the servers are required to say that. I told him it's odd. He said he was sorry. My job is done here. Moving right along to....how freaking cold it is in Seattle right now...how I feel like I'm in a MEAT LOCKER when I wake up in the morning. (not a good feeling, and definitely requires all caps) The Passat told me it was 37 degrees this morning...THIRTY SEVEN DEGREES...with a little snowflake beside the temperature. I do not want it to snow here...again. Last year sucked with the snow and I'm really not trying to drive around in all that. Yet, I feel like it is our destiny. I just wanna know why it's so cold. What happened to global warming? I would like warmth please. I'm about to light my speakers on fire for heat. SPEAKING OF SPEAKERS...guy and his girlfriend pull up next to me near Southcenter with my dad and Max in the car. "Hey! Hey, want a set of speakers? They're not hot or anything, I got them from work cause we were overstocked." Really? Who does that? They are HOT and you ARE shady. I've been crazy way before radio didn't play me. I got the best pictures of Max over the weekend. I think I will end things off here with one of my favorites and if you go to Red Robin and they ask you that ridiculous question, tell'em you have never been here before and that you didn't even know the place existed. Ask them to tell you the history of Red Robin and what their mission statement is. Do they give back to the community? Do they put MSG in their food? Cause let me tell you something - they put SOMETHING in there - how else can you explain my addiction to that place?? I get the shakes if I don't go for over two weeks. I joke. I sign off. I go watch the television. You read the blog. YOU stay fly, all day, every day.....
Friday, November 23, 2007
EDITION not ADDITION fool
I sat down, fingers on the keys, posture not so great...ready to BABBLE. When suddenly it hit me. Something's not right! I raced out of my room and into the kitchen. No signs of smoke but the emergency signal was definitely ringing in loud and clear. The solution to all this panic - Absolut New Orleans poured over ice. Got your heart racing a bit, didn't it? Terrifying...kinda like what I'm about to sit here and blog about. No agenda means ideas and random thoughts all over the damn place. Pause. Sip. Carry on. I ventured out into day after thanksgiving sale shopping chaos people acting retarded to save 5 bucks day with Max. We got gas at Costco...I hate you George W...and then, instead of heading to Target like we had planned, we ended up going to Coulon Park over in Renton. Beautiful park, Max loves it there. I should mention that my car (ahem, the Passat) is very clean right now and almost every time I go to Coulon, tradegy strikes via birds from above. We head out into the park which, for whatever reason, is not getting any sun...the ground is frozen. I drink down my mocha in about 2 1/2 minutes. It warms me...then I feel sick. Play at the park for probably 45 minutes and then head back to the car to inspect the damage. Nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada. HOORAY. Off we go in the still shiny automobile listening to Class Of 3000 by Andre 3000 from Outkast. Unexpected random babble - Prince has a new single on iTunes called F.U.N.K. and it sounds damn good. Back to the babble. Max wants something to eat so we stop at Burger King and get him some chicken and fries. He's happy, I'm happy, we head back to the car to head over to Target. GASP!! WWWWHUT?!!? What in the.....?!?!? The birds. The birds moved shop and hang out at the Burger King parking lot in Tukwila. Little fuckers - I don't even eat your cousins and nephews and great aunts and shit. SHOW SOME RESPECT! Target was busy but not crazy busy like I thought it would be. I parked as FAR AWAY as possible, next to the Target sign actually...which of course, PLEASED ME. We also checked out Circuit City after Target but found nothing. From there it was time to go home and chill. Did I mention I couldn't feel my hands when we left Coulon? True story. How I love you heated seats. You make me so very, very happy. Max's grandpa is coming into town tomorrow - could potentially pump the blog writing brakes, but you know, I'll see what I can do. This is three blogs in a row isn't it? I'm like a blog writing COMET right about now. OH...and I bought one of my favorite childhood into adulthood movies today - THE GOONIES. I sat down with Max tonight, telling him he's gonna love the movie and this and that and it's so cool and he's all excited to see it. So then, within 5 minutes of the movie starting, Chunk says "shit". And Max repeats it. So now I'm dreading what's coming next. More "bad" language for a 5 year old, including two more "shit's" after the first one in the five minutes after that. Dammit Steven Spielberg. So I switched it off. I didn't want to. I really, really didn't want to. He's just gonna have to wait until he's 10 to see it - the same age as when I first saw it. WORD. Is this muthasucka getting kinda long and pointless or what? Perfect opportunity to just....KEEP GOING! Or not. I select not. Still, it's on and poppin' - and do I need to remind you? STAY capital F-L-Y...all day, every day....
Thursday, November 22, 2007
I MAKE ya FEEL LOST like HIGH SCHOOL HISTORY
Stickabush...stickabush. Happy thanksgiving from your Canadian on America soil. I don't celebrate Canadian thanksgiving as it always passes me by without notice. And while I don't "celebrate" American thanksgiving either - it is absolutely a day for me to reflect and take that extra minute or two to really recognize and give thanks to people in my life. For the next 4 days it's just me and Max rollin' solo and I give thanks EVERY SINGLE DAY for having that little boy in my life. No matter past circumstances, he is nothing but pure GOODNESS, a wonderful little child with endless potential. Watching him grow by leaps and bounds makes me PROUD in every single fucking sense of the word. You won't find a parent much prouder than myself. World's proudest father is in the BUILDING...holla!! Just to go off track for a minute, cause that's what I DOO if you're just tuning in, I have completely spaced on RAVING about Jay-Z's "American Gangster" record. He was inspired to write it and record it after seeing a rough cut of the film, but what he ended up doing, is making the best album of his career. I've never been a Jay-Z fan...always thought he made better singles than complete albums. THIS JOINT is a complete ALBUM...and if you take a look around the wasteland called "hip hop" right about now - NO ONE is making an album that plays from start to finish anymore. So big up to Jay-Z cause the dude is a monster...check that live VH1 special if you don't believe me where he ran through almost every track over the course of an hour. Now where was I? Oh yes...giving thanks. I give thanks for April 16th, 2007 where my life was completely turned upside down in the most amazing of ways. Do you believe in love at first sight? Let's just say I really don't believe I'd be here or be in the kinda mindframe I'm in without MY FLY LITTLE PUERTO RICAN FROM THE BRONX. I can endlessly rave about her...I do every day...ask her. But I am just SO thankful that she came into my life when she did. What we share is really, TRULY special...untouchable, unbelievable...I pinch myself constantly. Upgrade 2007 til infinity. So THIS is what love is all about. Alright then. THANK YOU for you. When I talk to you on the phone, send you text messages, when I see you next week, I'll thank you...over and over again. To my man Champagne, The Warrior Of Chaos, Brian, T-Diggy, SamMan and Serafin...you have all held me up and held it down for me in one form or another. Thankful for you all. To Kevin & Stacie, to Mommy - you are such amazing additions to my life and have welcomed me with open arms. Thank you. Tonia (hey hey hey) my little chocolate drop - you've got my back quite like no other and I wanna thank you too. I should thank Emma (age 4) and Reese (age 3) as well since I'm pretty sure both of them are probably able to read this. I heard Emma is working with Stephen Hawking on a new edition of A Brief History Of Time and Reese is going to contribute as well with illustrations. How nice. This blog has gotten a bit personal and I hesitate to post but thanks again to all and take that extra minute to thank some of your peeps. Two blogs within 24 hours and the hits just keep on comin'. Time to chill with this glass of Absolut New Orleans and to remind you to stay fly, all day every day.....thank you.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
IT TAKES TWO to MAKE it OUT OF SIGHT
I wanna blog right now. I know it's been a HOT MINUTE since the last blog. For the seven of you reading this, it must seem like an eternity...like when X-Files was really popular and there would be months inbetween new episodes. The truth is out there. The truth of the matter is, I tried to write a blog last weekend, but I wasn't on my own computer, my keyboard...and never knew, until that moment, that it actually makes a difference. Down to BIZNESS. Last Friday night I saw Rob Base (no DJ E-Z Rock), Naughty By Nature and Coolio. Rob Base was pretty bad, Coolio was really bad (the crack is back) but it was like Nineteen Naughty III all over again when Treach and Vinnie took the stage. OPP, Everything's Gonna Be Alright, It's On, Uptown Anthem, Hip Hop Hooray, Craziest, Guard Your Grill, Feel Me Flow...they ran through them all, with passion...not even close to going through the motions...and you know they've performed these same damn songs for 10-15 year now. They brought it and I was a happy man. New album coming in 08. Oddest moment of the Naughty set - Treach pouring cognac over the Tupac tattoo on his arm while saying the following...(and I wish I had an audio clip)..."When I drink, you drink. When I smoke, you smoke. When I fuck, you fuck"......ooooo-kay there Mr.Treach. Last Saturday me and my fly little Puerto Rican from the BRONX chilled until late afternoon when it became time to get our sushi ON. So damn good. Wasabi Bistro - best sushi in Seattle. Their sister restaurant, Red Fin, has a great atmosphere, but you can NOT beat Wasabi's rolls. HELLZ to tha NO. Don't even try it, you might cause a riot, what the radio won't play, the underground will supply it. Ice-T quote from Squeeze The Trigger off Rhyme Pays. Random hip hop quotes happen to the best of us. Embrace it. Embrace beer. Kevin and Stacie got a garage full of it and I was lucky enough to sample it and sample it and sample it and sample it on Saturday evening, while taking in an amazing comedy routine that lasted a good 3 hours. (damn that was a HELL of a run-on sentence there Baird) The brat is asleep...I repeat, the brat is asleep. I'd like to shout them both out for a great evening. The war of the iPod's rages on. Winner yet to be determined but DAMN if I wasn't THRILLED OUT OF MY SKULL when selections from Buhloone Mind State by De La Soul started popping up. Really...all seven of you....okay, all 6 cause Stacie's got it....you must have De La Soul's third album in your collection. You may see 3 Feet High & Rising and De La Soul Is Dead on various top 20 lists of all time but the one, and I mean THE ONE you've got to own is BUHLOONE MIND STATE. Stickabush...stickabush...stickabush...stickabush. Sunday/Monday will now be known as the infamous 48 hour hangover...I don't want to talk about it. But let's talk about this - it's Wednesday night....and there's a blog here. For the next couple days I will check in with more ramblings than you can imagine. Maybe not that many, but I'm planning on more over the next 4 days. You have been warned. New episode of Project Runway in 45 minutes from now best reality show on tv - period. I sign off now, only to return again in another 24 hours. When I sign off, you sign off. When I blog, you blog. When I say you stay fly, you STAY FLY ON THE REAL TO REAL....
Sunday, November 4, 2007
GANGSTA GANGSTA that's WHAT they're YELLIN'
It's not about a salary, it's all about reality. Can I get an extension on the weekend please? Another 48 hours would be good for me. Please and thanks. Met up with dear friends Brian & Guy on Saturday and got my hair cut by Toyo - little Japanese man with some SERIOUS SCISSOR SKILLZ. His technique is unlike anything I've ever come across. I was in awe the whole time and walked out very happy. My fly little Puerto Rican from The Bronx and I hopped into the back seat of Brian & Guy's new CLS (which is freakin' GORGEOUS) and we headed off to Ray's to grab a late lunch and drinks. Checked out Tiffany's afterwards and then grabbed some more drinks. Martini's for this kid all day long. WHUT?! Today, with the time change in full effect, we headed off to Macy's and the mall to look at stuff and then took in the 1:10 showing of AMERICAN GANGSTER. Oh, you're gonna wait until next week to see it? Oh, you're gonna wait until it comes out on dvd? Mark my words when I say that is one of the finest pieces of filmmaking in 07. Denzel and Russell came through with some SERIOUS a-game. Also some nice cameos in there from Fab 5 Freddy and Anthony Hamilton in one of the clubs scenes. Check for RZA in there and watch for his giant WU-TANG tattoo on his arm. Dope. Common and T.I. both seemed a bit under-used but held their own during their brief moments of screen time with Denzel. I am fascinated with true stories like this, where the character sets up and establishes his empire, gaining all this money and power, only to have it all taken away from him, everything crumbling in the end. You've really gotta see it - yes, YOU. All seven of you! The Amazing Race starts in 60 seconds. I will continue to type like a madman for your reading pleasure. Oh, and Jay-Z's "American Gangster" album is out on Tuesday - never been excited for one of his albums until now. Actually, not true - his Unplugged album is incredibly dope with The Roots backing him up. I'm a hustler baby, I just want you to know. I ain't where Stacie's been, but where she's about to go. BIG SHOUT OUT for not holding back on that trick bitch. Truly. Capital T to the R-I-C-K beeeeotch! We don't love dem hoes...and I definitely don't love anyone who is gonna come at you and your family all twisted like that. Best believe I got your back. It's like that, and that's the way it is. Damn that new Britney album is good - SAY WHUT?! It's Britney bitch. Break it down...break it down...break it down...break it down. It's frightening how it's stuck in my head the way it is. DOO DOO DOO! Alright look, I would write more but with The Amazing Race and America's Most Smartest Model on at the same time, I've got some serious flipping back and forth between channels to do. Wish me luck and on the real to real - STAY FLY...all day, every day.......
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
DON'T MOVE muthafucka! DON'T MOVE!!
This ain't gonna be one of those blogs where I'm all chipper and shit. Clearly, the first sentence says it all doesn't it? Read on. I've had a fucked up day. Start to finish - fucked. And guess what? You're about to read about it! Or swing on over to eonline.com and check something there. Travis drink (number two) in hand, let's go! Met up with the apartment peeps regarding a neighbor cranking the SHIT out of The Transformers movie last night. When I can feel the bass and hear the dialogue in my living room, we've got some muthafuckin' ISSUES. They will be dealt with. And can I get some peeps to change a lightbulb in the elevated ceilings? I only called LAST MONDAY. That'll be dealt with on Friday. Hip hop hooray. I need to figure out my living situation within the next month - that ish has me stressed. More than I really wanna get into right now, let's move on. I took the day off today and got to take Max to school for the first time. Such a big boy, walked him in and he went down the hall to his classroom by himself. The changes going on with him in the last 30 days alone are absolutely mindboggling in a good way. Doesn't mean there's not issues. He is shy (like his dad) and doesn't really talk much when peeps come at him. We had a long talk about that this afternoon after he basically ignored or said very little to peeps at my work. (we stopped by, he likes daddy's work) We spent the afternoon over at Pacific Science Center which was like a ghost town. I highly recommend you bust over there if you've got kids on a Wednesday afternoon. You can hear yourself think, you don't trip over kids who aren't being watched - it's great. I don't need to go into great detail over the next item cause it will do no good but make me fucking pissed off all over again. In review "fuck you" via the phone and text summed it up very nicely. Oh, and if you happen to be someone who fucked me over a year ago and then you call me up a year later being all chipper and fake and shit, you can catch a bad one. You may also come collect a "fuck you" as well. I've got an endless amount, especially tonight. I'm really not one to be fucked with. To put the cherry on top of my day of hell, Max was chased down the driveway of my complex by a dog who was not leashed. SECOND fucking time it has happened. Max was scared out of his mind (as was I) and I went talked to management immediately. He will also be dealt with. If it happens again, I've got a FUCKING BRICK with his dogs name on it. Try me. I do NOT fucking PLAY when it comes to my son. You will catch a fucking bad one. So tonight, chilled on the couch watching Animal Planet (Max's new favorite) and......DING DONG.....who could that be? The dog's owner? The Transformers neighbor? No. My fly little Puerto Rican from The Bronx here to save the day and my SANITY. I close off here with the biggest smile on my face. The most wonderful things can happen when you least expect them. Believe that....and STAY FLY dammit........
Sunday, October 28, 2007
THOOOM bizotches
What a beautiful weekend. If you were in Seattle the past two days, you know this to be true. Why is our fall nicer than our summer? I saw The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D on Saturday. Max loved it. What an incredible piece of filmmaking, truly some crazy ass creativity going on there. As much as I like Pixar and some of the other animated things for kids, that claymation and stop and start action going on is leaps and bounds better. Call me old school - it will be taken as a compliment. That also brings to mind James & The Giant Peach - another masterpiece which I'll introduce to Max soon as well. Max is zedding away, I'm doing some laundry and I start flipping through channels, landing on MTV Cribs. Now, some people on there, you know their stuff is paid for, they're making crazy amounts of ca$h. You see someone on there like Brooke Valentine who had one hit and yet, somehow, has 2 Benz's and an Escalade - you gotta question what's going on there. Answer: she's got roommates. Yup, that's not gangsta. And while I'm at it, if you catch the episode, take off those damn hoops that are bigger than your fucking head. I breathe in, I breathe out. Really, not something to get worked up over. Six in the morning police at my door, fresh Adidas squeakin' cross the bathroom floor. I was listening to Ice-T this morning. "OG Original Gangster" is still, to this day, one of the best damn hip hop albums ever. I'm rollin' in the damn Passat, reciting every line, word for word. I was there for the filming of the "Lethal Weapon" video in 90 and saw him again with Body Count in 91. Ask anyone, he's the one (or at least in the top 3) of people I'd like to interview. Rakim and KRS ONE would round out the other two. Back to the Passat for a minute - had it all washed up on Friday. Woke up and had that morning moisture, that morning DEW if you will, on all the windows. Do I use my wiperblades to get that DEW off of there? Hell to the no. I wipe that off, dry that off, get that all shined up. No lines, no streaks, no mess. I ain't havin' it. I may not drive a Benz, but I do treat my Passat like one. I am borderline crazy. You have all been warned. American Gangster with Russell and Denzel is coming out on Friday isn't it? That flick is gonna be crazy good. If you are a Cingular customer (will peeps stop calling them that now that they're AT&T?) I wonder if you know that the clocks didn't really change last night. There was no falling back, that happens next weekend. What UP? I'm with T-Mobile and apparently I really DO get more cause they didn't change the time on my phone. The time on my G4 changed though. You win some, you lose some. But somewhere, right now, there's someone who didn't hear the news and they'll be early/late for something tomorrow. I laugh out loud with glee. Borderline crazy, remember? Not crazy like THE HULK but borderline something or other. My p-p-p-posse from the Bronx is THICK...! Ever do something you swear you could never do and then, out of the blue, you're able to do it? Good feeling isn't it? AMAZING. Straight up and down, this is some all over the fucking place rambling. Everyone still with me? I feel like I need motion sickness pills just writing it. Bacon tastes good, porkchops taste good. Pulp Fiction should be released in audio form. Bizarre that it's not. Must I come up with all the good ideas on my own people?? PEOPLE!! Alright, these eyelids are getting heavy (yes, I know it's only a bit after 9) so I will close off here. If I could somehow hand out those little bags that you throw up in before each blog I would. This kid needs to rest. Very sleepy. Very much ending it off here cause it's just how we doo. Straight up, if you're really come through, might wanna come fly, and stay fly and just BE FLY...all day, every day......YA HEARD!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
MARINATED bloggidy GOODNESS
It's Britney bitch. Shout out to The Warrior of Chaos. BOOYA. Ever lose touch with someone that you thought was one of the coolest, nicest, most talented people you've ever met? And then, one day, they show up in your inbox after around 12-13 years of no contact? That happened to me today. Mr.Dorey (aka: X-ian) is alive and well. We go back to high school, shared a love of music...Public Enemy, Paris, Consolidated, Meat Beat Manifesto...and both of us were definitely on the artistic tip coming up. You can get with this, or you can get with that. I just wanted to shout him out as well - it is DEFINITELY a beautiful thing being back in contact. Much respect. I'm just getting over a cold. I woke up with it on Friday morning with its claws well into me and there was no fighting it. I'd say I'm sitting at a comfortable 90% better now with a full weekend (and Monday) of rest. Take THAT. During my weekend of rest I became addicted to a few terrible shows - America's Most Smartest Model http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/americas_most_smartest_model/series.jhtml . . . Keeping Up With The Kardashians http://www.eonline.com/on/shows/kardashians/index.jsp?sid=nav-shows . . . and The Real Housewives Of Orange County http://www.bravotv.com/Real_Housewives_2 . . . which I think was a marathon of season one. All guilty pleasures and great to watch while on Tylenol Cold and Jack Daniels. I'm just coming through with that marinated bloggidy goodness...what more do you want from me? Back to Public Enemy for a minute, the Paris produced "Remix Of A Nation" ( www.guerrillafunk.com ) hits stores today. SUPPORT THAT! Also, the new PE video went up today over at www.publicenemy.com for "Black Is Back". Originally they wanted to sample AC/DC for the track but they couldn't obtain the rights. These things I know. I also know that waiting in a McDonald's drive-thru for 10 minutes with only one car in front of you is not right. That's why I let dude at the window know...and without cussing. So proud of myself. Can't have Max saying "you're a muthafuckin' bitch" to his friends in kindergarten. Not a good look. Just in case you haven't seen it written all over my face - I am madly in love with my fly little Puerto Rican from The Bronx. BX is in the BUILDING! What more can I say?! I'm so proud of my little man, he fits the very definition of EXCEL. He's writing letters and coloring and drawing pictures of me and him and it's just SO amazing to watch. He's only been in kindergarten for a month and half and it has been such a positive thing for him. Oh, and November 4th in Seattle - Rakim, Ghostface Killah and Brother Ali. To go or not to go, that is the question. To see the R, the fucking 18th letter just RIP mics in half LIVE would be incredible, Ghostface is solid and Brother Ali's latest confirmed that he's one of the few still carrying the torch for hip hop. Ponder young man ponder. Ramble young man ramble. So while the blogs may be few and far inbetween at times, I'm still here, doin' it, head above water, forward motion, keep movin' and movin'. Forward motion, stay fly and STAY FLY.....
Saturday, October 13, 2007
BOOGIE DOWN volume EIGHT
Cru - GOIN' DOWN
"It's goin down...boogie boogie down...boogie boogie boogie boogie down...down down down..."
Lady Sovereign - LOVE ME OR HATE ME (Jason Nevins remix)
"If you love me then thank you!..."
The 2 Live Crew - ME SO HORNY
"Im like a dog in heat, a freak without warning...I have an appetite for sex, cause me so horny..."
Marc Anthony - PARECE MENTIRA
(translator please)
Salt N Pepa - LET THE RHYTHM RUN
"Is it over yet? Never, it gets better...we'll let the rhythm run harder than ever..."
The Notorious B.I.G. - HYPNOTIZE
"Never lose, never choose to, bruise crews who...do something to us, talk go through us..."
Mya - MY LOVE IS LIKE...WO
"I hope you have an appetite...so tell me, baby, will you come and spend the night..."
Fugees featuring Bounty Killer - KILLING ME SOFTLY (remix)
"Yo Mona Lisa, could I get a date on Friday..."
Montell Jordan - THIS IS HOW WE DO IT
"So tip up your cup and throw your hands up and let me hear the party say...I'm kinda buzzed and its all because...this is how we do it..."
Busta Rhymes featuring P.Diddy & Pharrell - PASS THE COURVOISIER part II
"I said Busta (whassup son?)...you leave them girls rollin... and it look like (c'mon)...they asses is swollen..."
DJ Shadow featuring Chris James - YOU MADE IT
"So we crawl out from under...the water...out of darkness..."
Foxy Brown featuring Method Man - ILL NA NA
"True Absolut vodka, straight shots...for the has-beens and have-nots, dolla dolla...real and it don't stop, we movin up...first the mansion then the yacht, sound proper..."
Mariah Carey featuring Jadakiss & Styles P - WE BELONG TOGETHER
"It's our time right now, more than ever...til the death, we gon' get it on together..."
Domino - SWEET POTATO PIE
"It's like this...I'm that guy, you're so fly...gotta get a piece of that sweet potato pie..."
Christina Aguilera - CANDYMAN
"He's a one stop, got me hot, makin' my "uh" pop...(sweet, sugar, candyman)...he's a one stop, get it while it's hot, baby don't stop...(sweet, sugar)...."
Missy Elliott featuring Eve - 4 MY PEOPLE
"Make me grind my hips, make me move my waist...when the music comes on, you take my breath away..."
LL Cool J featuring Boys II Men - HEY LOVER
"Swimming in the timeless, currents of pure bliss...fantasies interchanging with each kiss...undying passion unities our souls..."
Beyonce featuring Jay-Z - CRAZY IN LOVE
"It's the way that you know what I thought I knew...it's the beat that my heart skips when I'm with you..."
J.J. Fad - SUPERSONIC
"You see, the 'S' is for super, and the 'U' is for unique...the 'P' is for perfection and you know that we are freaks..."
Raphael Saadiq - STILL RAY
"Night is where I find you and peace of mind...my days are filled with glee...that's why I truly give you what you need...because you love me for me..."
"It's goin down...boogie boogie down...boogie boogie boogie boogie down...down down down..."
Lady Sovereign - LOVE ME OR HATE ME (Jason Nevins remix)
"If you love me then thank you!..."
The 2 Live Crew - ME SO HORNY
"Im like a dog in heat, a freak without warning...I have an appetite for sex, cause me so horny..."
Marc Anthony - PARECE MENTIRA
(translator please)
Salt N Pepa - LET THE RHYTHM RUN
"Is it over yet? Never, it gets better...we'll let the rhythm run harder than ever..."
The Notorious B.I.G. - HYPNOTIZE
"Never lose, never choose to, bruise crews who...do something to us, talk go through us..."
Mya - MY LOVE IS LIKE...WO
"I hope you have an appetite...so tell me, baby, will you come and spend the night..."
Fugees featuring Bounty Killer - KILLING ME SOFTLY (remix)
"Yo Mona Lisa, could I get a date on Friday..."
Montell Jordan - THIS IS HOW WE DO IT
"So tip up your cup and throw your hands up and let me hear the party say...I'm kinda buzzed and its all because...this is how we do it..."
Busta Rhymes featuring P.Diddy & Pharrell - PASS THE COURVOISIER part II
"I said Busta (whassup son?)...you leave them girls rollin... and it look like (c'mon)...they asses is swollen..."
DJ Shadow featuring Chris James - YOU MADE IT
"So we crawl out from under...the water...out of darkness..."
Foxy Brown featuring Method Man - ILL NA NA
"True Absolut vodka, straight shots...for the has-beens and have-nots, dolla dolla...real and it don't stop, we movin up...first the mansion then the yacht, sound proper..."
Mariah Carey featuring Jadakiss & Styles P - WE BELONG TOGETHER
"It's our time right now, more than ever...til the death, we gon' get it on together..."
Domino - SWEET POTATO PIE
"It's like this...I'm that guy, you're so fly...gotta get a piece of that sweet potato pie..."
Christina Aguilera - CANDYMAN
"He's a one stop, got me hot, makin' my "uh" pop...(sweet, sugar, candyman)...he's a one stop, get it while it's hot, baby don't stop...(sweet, sugar)...."
Missy Elliott featuring Eve - 4 MY PEOPLE
"Make me grind my hips, make me move my waist...when the music comes on, you take my breath away..."
LL Cool J featuring Boys II Men - HEY LOVER
"Swimming in the timeless, currents of pure bliss...fantasies interchanging with each kiss...undying passion unities our souls..."
Beyonce featuring Jay-Z - CRAZY IN LOVE
"It's the way that you know what I thought I knew...it's the beat that my heart skips when I'm with you..."
J.J. Fad - SUPERSONIC
"You see, the 'S' is for super, and the 'U' is for unique...the 'P' is for perfection and you know that we are freaks..."
Raphael Saadiq - STILL RAY
"Night is where I find you and peace of mind...my days are filled with glee...that's why I truly give you what you need...because you love me for me..."
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
ELECTRIC RELAXATION
Once again, it's been a minute. These blogs are starting to marinate over a week or two. Don't know what to tell you except that IT'S LIKE THAT...and THAT'S THE WAY IT IS. I'd like to big up Absolut for creating Absolut New Orleans - mango and black pepper flavored vodka. All proceeds from the sale go towards Gulf Coast charities. Get yourself two bottles. Then, drop Absolut an email asking them why they don't have any drink recipes for it on their website. Still, over ice is nice and the flavor is really wonderful. www.absolut.com Did anyone watch the VH1 Hip Hop Honors show on Monday? Good stuff...mostly. Missy was honored much too early and Snoop being honored before Dre is crazy.....nothing comes out when they move they lips, just a bunch of jibberish and muthafuckaz act like they forgot about Dre. I like'em both but it's like they cut in line before some other people in the game and/or VH1 just got lazy. A Tribe Called Quest getting honored was HUGE. Phife, a diabetic, is in need of a kidney transplant YESTERDAY. I was shocked and saddened to see him looking so ill. I really hope he's okay. A Tribe Called Quest to me, really, is absolutely top 5 group of all time material. Who's a better group who released sooooo much incredible material? The first three albums are CLASSIC. Word is bond. People's Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm, The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders are ESSENTIAL. Beats, Rhymes & Life and The Love Movement round things out nicely although hurt a bit due to the sampling laws that came into affect after their 3rd album. Doesn't take away from the fact that they're one of the dopest groups ever. So since they are so good, you'd think some of these younger emcee's would recognize and show respect. Lupe Fiasco can catch a bad one. I'm done with dude. He came out for the Tribe tribute and forgot the classic verse, then went on to say that he's never even listened to Midnight Marauders and never will and that Eightball & MJG put out better stuff. REALLY?? He just shot his entire career (what's left of it) right in his FACE. Not his foot. His face. He will not recover. Kanye can't save you now you little bastard - he gave away all his good beats to Common and didn't even save any for his wack ass third album. CATCH A BAD ONE. I saw Transformers with Max and he loved it, as did I. Even though it's a bit different than the cartoon I grew up on, that is one monster of an action flick. A 180 from that is the new David Cronenberg film, Eastern Promises, starring Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts. Good movie, which has stayed with me since Saturday on the brain, and GREAT performance from Viggo. It's been compared to The Godfather which is a HUGE stretch, to say the least, but it's got LEGS and I'm hoping for a sequel. Why are my eyelids suddenly so heavy? Oh yeah - Absolut New Orleans. GET YOU SOME!! Clearly I didn't have anything of major importance to babble about so this would be the perfect blog. Why are my sentences coming out so funny tonight? Is it just me? I'm closing off here and there's nothing you can do to stop me. Keep this mind, right there at the forefront of your cranium in big letters, all caps - STAY FLY, ALL DAY, EVERY DAY....
Saturday, September 29, 2007
BOOGIE DOWN volume SEVEN
Rozalla - I LOVE MUSIC
"Nothing can be better than a sweet love song...so sweet so sweet so mellow mellow...when you got the girl that you love in your arms...oh honey I love you I love you yeah..."
Run DMC - RUN'S HOUSE
"Some underestimate, and miscalculate...my intent to create what I call the great..."
Kelis featuring Nas - IN PUBLIC
"Don't try to run from me...I'll make your toes curl up and make your body scream..."
Talib Kweli - GET BY
"I let them know we missin you, the love is unconditional...even when the condition is critical, when the livin is miserable...your position is pivotal, I ain't bullshittin you..."
The Verve - LORD I GUESS I'LL NEVER KNOW
"Tell me, who do you see when you die in your dreams?...tell me, who do you touch when you --- in your dreams?..."
Blaque - BRING IT ALL TO ME
"There's not a single question that we can't make this right...cause it's you I need every day and night..."
Gang Starr featuring K-Ci & JoJo - ROYALTY
"I'll open up the door always before you pass me...baby doll, because you're royalty..."
De La Soul featuring E.Yummy - SPECIAL
"It's gotta be you, it's gotta be right...no time for games, it's gotta be tight...I just want this to be special, special..."
Joss Stone - GIRL THEY WON'T BELIEVE IT
"Girl they won't believe it...I finally found some sweet through the bitters of life...ooh ooh girl they won't believe it...in a world where the sun's even shining inside..."
Yo-Yo featuring MC Lyte - ONE FOR THE CUTIES
"One for the cutie, two for the cutie with the big D..."
Robin Thicke - TEACH U A LESSON
"U feel so good...U smell so good...U feel so warm...just like I knew U would...I can't let u go..."
Black Sheep - THE CHOICE IS YOURS (revisited)
"Back, middle, to the front, don't front...wanna good time, gonna give you what you want..."
Deee-Lite - SAY AHHH...
"All day in my mind I replay the 2nd time we chimed...so sweet what a treat sensuelle...skin on skin is swingingly swell..."
John Forte - NINETY NINE (Flash The Message)
"Subway sparks after dark...flash the message: something's out there..."
Gwen Stefani featuring Pharrell - YUMMY
"I’m feelin yummy head to toe...you see me...ain’t got no patience so let’s go..."
Pharoahe Monch featuring Apani - THE ASS
"The ass!...the ass!....the ass!....the ass!..."
Oasis - WONDERWALL (acoustic version)
"I don't believe that anybody...feels the way I do about you now..."
"Nothing can be better than a sweet love song...so sweet so sweet so mellow mellow...when you got the girl that you love in your arms...oh honey I love you I love you yeah..."
Run DMC - RUN'S HOUSE
"Some underestimate, and miscalculate...my intent to create what I call the great..."
Kelis featuring Nas - IN PUBLIC
"Don't try to run from me...I'll make your toes curl up and make your body scream..."
Talib Kweli - GET BY
"I let them know we missin you, the love is unconditional...even when the condition is critical, when the livin is miserable...your position is pivotal, I ain't bullshittin you..."
The Verve - LORD I GUESS I'LL NEVER KNOW
"Tell me, who do you see when you die in your dreams?...tell me, who do you touch when you --- in your dreams?..."
Blaque - BRING IT ALL TO ME
"There's not a single question that we can't make this right...cause it's you I need every day and night..."
Gang Starr featuring K-Ci & JoJo - ROYALTY
"I'll open up the door always before you pass me...baby doll, because you're royalty..."
De La Soul featuring E.Yummy - SPECIAL
"It's gotta be you, it's gotta be right...no time for games, it's gotta be tight...I just want this to be special, special..."
Joss Stone - GIRL THEY WON'T BELIEVE IT
"Girl they won't believe it...I finally found some sweet through the bitters of life...ooh ooh girl they won't believe it...in a world where the sun's even shining inside..."
Yo-Yo featuring MC Lyte - ONE FOR THE CUTIES
"One for the cutie, two for the cutie with the big D..."
Robin Thicke - TEACH U A LESSON
"U feel so good...U smell so good...U feel so warm...just like I knew U would...I can't let u go..."
Black Sheep - THE CHOICE IS YOURS (revisited)
"Back, middle, to the front, don't front...wanna good time, gonna give you what you want..."
Deee-Lite - SAY AHHH...
"All day in my mind I replay the 2nd time we chimed...so sweet what a treat sensuelle...skin on skin is swingingly swell..."
John Forte - NINETY NINE (Flash The Message)
"Subway sparks after dark...flash the message: something's out there..."
Gwen Stefani featuring Pharrell - YUMMY
"I’m feelin yummy head to toe...you see me...ain’t got no patience so let’s go..."
Pharoahe Monch featuring Apani - THE ASS
"The ass!...the ass!....the ass!....the ass!..."
Oasis - WONDERWALL (acoustic version)
"I don't believe that anybody...feels the way I do about you now..."
Thursday, September 27, 2007
READ it LATER. YOU are HALF ASLEEP.
It's like that...and that's the way it is. Sippin' on hennessy and you know it's all good. Warmed to the core and I'm feeling just fine. I sit here, in the dark, trying to make out the letters on the keyboard, knowing that if I concentrate hard enough, I actually might write something of importance this evening. Sometimes you need to pause, take a second...just take a second. Listen to the little voice in your head. You know what mine is saying? Refill on the hennessy please! Besides that, as much as life is a struggle sometimes, everything's gonna be alright...alright. Material possessions aside, how happy are you right now? Me, on a scale of 1 to 10, I'm closing in on 10. I wanna feel that pure bliss and know what I need to do to get there. The feelers are out. Stacie has my back like WOW. I've got an amazing support system in place. I think everyone knows it's about to happen. The time has come for bigger and better things in life. I don't wanna struggle anymore. I just wanna be COMFORTABLE. The kid wants to be comfy. Get ya comf on. Now, to totally switch up topics for a sec - if you are sick and coughing and sneezing and you come to work, I would love to throw you down a flight of stairs or just take you out to pasture. NEIGH biznotch. Now back to our regularly scheduled program - I am SO HAPPY. Life has done another 180 on me. You read my last blog, about my time in my city with my fly little Puerto Rican from the Bronx. Think that's a one time deal? Think things aren't always that great? Guess what?...things are all that and then some....except when you spill a Travis drink all over the couch. That's a two minute time out right there. Penalty on the kid from Canada. Drop and give me twenty sucka. I went running for the first time in about nine months last night. I psyched myself up, got the new Public Enemy "Remix Of A Nation" going on (available online now for download, in stores in October) and just hit the street. 100 miles and runnin'. The 25 minutes I was out there felt like an eternity. The pain I feel in my entire body today is reeeeee-dic. I wish I had never stopped but I got it going on now. A little run here, a little run there and I should be good. I'd like to give a shout out to mommy. Oh mommy, 10 years in the making and tomorrow is the big day. We'll be thinking of you - all will be very very well. Oh, and why had I forgot about "Army Of Me" by Bjork? Damn that's a great song. True dat, howudoodat?! My boy was a mess tonight like I have never seen. I picked him up from the community center after work and he wants a toy. I say no - tears. We get home - more tears and whining for 25 minutes. I should have just left him there and went for another run! I joke. Always joke. Joke all the time. Got him calmed down from the 25 minute crying/whining session and then he starts up AGAIN!! Don't know what the deal is but wasn't diggin' on that at all. Another drink for the father typing the blog please. Thank you. I used to watch The Office. I think the second season of The Office is some of the best television I've seen in recent years. Why am I not watching the one hour season premiere tonight? TV is a waste of time and money. Television, the drug of the nation, breeding ignorance and feeding radiation. Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy quote for those keeping score. Damn, I am all OVER the place tonight. GOOD. Oh, and that new Kanye West is the biggest disappointment of the year. But the good news - Milk Dee from Audio Two is working on a new solo album. SAY WORD. Did I ever even talk about the MTV Video Music Awards? I don't think I did. Clearly old news and clearly the worst television ever beamed into my home. They're still talking about Britney. Too high, can't come down. Alright, that's all I got. I'm gonna find a picture of Britney from when she looked good and post it with a big smile on my face. My girl could teach her a lil' something. A little somethin' about staying FLY - all day, every day.....
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