HHS: Has anybody ever spit a line on the show that was so phenomenal, it messed up your DJing?

DJ Revolution: The night after The Juice and Supernatural battle, these cats went back and forth trading lines for 40 minutes. So there goes 40 minutes of lines to mess your head up. Canibus always blows my wig back with some shit every time he comes through.

HHS: Do you ever feel intimidated knowing the number of people around the world checking out your every scratch and mix?

DJ Revolution: Only the first time I ever hit the air on the show. But it wasn’t because of the radio audience, it was just the people in the studio. Babu, Q-Bert, Shortkut, Melo-D, [Roc] Raida, Swift, Apollo etc. They were all in town for a show and they happened to fall through the studio that night. That’s some pressure for dat ass.

HHS: Didn’t the show go off the air for a time?

DJ Revolution: Yup, we went off the air in 2000 in L.A. and then In S.F. shortly after. Basically, even the “Wake Up Show” couldn’t avoid becoming a victim of the corporate monster taking over the radio world. We came back on the air in January 2003 and have been going strong ever since. Picking up new affiliates and I even got the show running in France now.

HHS: Do you ever get tired of explaining just what is you do to people that don’t get hip-hop DJs?

DJ Revolution: No, because I don’t fuck wit those kinds of people. And I don’t explain anything with words anymore. You see me in a club, hear me on the air, check me on a record or mixtape I might give you…If you don’t get what I’m doin’ by then, you just a dumbass.

HHS: What’s the most important thing about being a great DJ?

DJ Revolution: There isn’t one most important thing about being a great DJ, but I know what you’re getting at. I would say your individuality and your ability to express it well on the wheels. Bringing your experience and love of music to life in front of an audience–and do it so that everyone knows that you just played something everyone knows and loves, but you played ‘em your way. Mixed ‘em your way. Scratched ‘em your way. Or you broke a new record and everybody says later on, ‘I heard that a while back when Rev played it.’

HHS: You’ve heard it all on the Wake Up Show. Has anyone really surprised you–meaning you didn’t realize how dope they were?

DJ Revolution: Well, Eminem surprised us all. Ha ha. When he came through at first, nobody knew who the hell he was. He was just some dude playin’ the side of the room when all the major Rawkus dudes would slide through. ‘Til he hit the mic, then it was over. More people have surprised me the other way. Turning out to be much worse than I thought they would be.

HHS: There’ve been Wake Up Show moments that have turned into legendary happenings. Any stories like this you can share?

DJ Revolution: Biggie on our show doing an interview and freestyling one week before he died. Then the next week we were on the air literally one block from The Peterson Automotive Museum where they held the Vibe [party] and he was murdered. Crazy and very disturbing. Other than that, there are literally too many classic moments to share in this interview

HHS: Any new projects you are working on?

Yes, but some are so secret I won’t even let it out yet. Look out for my series of mix CDs starting with “Class of 85′.” I’m going all the way to 2005. 20 volumes. ’86 is out in a month. ’87 by the end of the year. Crazy! 2 new albums next year for sure. I’m takin’ over in 2006

HHS: You were heavy into production work for several years. You’ve seemed to be more into making mix CDs the last few years. Why the change?

DJ Revolution: Just a phase. I’m actually doing production a lot. Just not for hip-hop artists. Doing a lot for film and TV and other stuff. But I’m actually about to start recording again. I got the bug and have a lot of ideas to get out. It’s time again–and my production quality has increased ten fold.

HHS: What are some of the shows or flicks you’ve contributed music to?

DJ Revolution: My music was used in VH1′s “Hip-Hop Honors” award show. A couple of shows on ESPN. I do a lot of library production music that just gets placed without me knowing when or where. That’s some funny shit. Just watching TV and having your music pop on in a weird scene, where you’d least expect it.

HHS: Didn’t you score “Black Mask?” How was that experience?

DJ Revolution: Black Mask, with Jet Li–It was great and I learned a lot from it. I learned that I wanna do more of that kind of work, so I am.

HHS: How has the show changed with Sway’s MTV gig? Has your visibility increased?

DJ Revolution: Maybe a little bit more visibility. MTV watchers and real hip-hoppers usually don’t cross paths in what they listen to or care about. I never watch MTV and my dog is right there on it everyday. Most people don’t even know about Sway and what he really loves. Hip-hop is runnin’ through his veins, they just see him on MTV and he’s just another VJ. He mentions the show and helps artists out and always has our back, but it’s two different worlds that usually don’t scratch each other’s backs. Feel me. The show has changed because he lives in NY. He commutes, so we can do the shows. From NY to LA so often it would probably kill a normal dude. But that’s how much the dude loves hip-hop and what he does for it.

HHS: With all your upcoming discs highlighting a year in rap, do you feel like a hip-hop teacher?

DJ Revolution: Nah. I’m no teacher, just a hip-hop DJ who loves the music he grew up on and devoted his life to. I wanna make sure that the newer generation gets a taste of what they missed and are missing now. It’s all in fun, but I do hope people listen to it and say, ‘Goddamn…what the hell happened to hip-hop? It used to be something totally different.’ The series is a tribute to hip-hop and its pioneers and I went full out with the artwork also. Its done in yearbook fashion with Kool Herc as the founder and dean of students.  It’s a trip and everybody who has seen it loves it. That’s all that matters to me.

Vakill, who strikingly resembles Ras Kass in vocal tone and subject matter, loves to wild out with outrageous lines like those found all over “Sickplicity”. “I’m math with Godly wrath,” he brazenly rips on the cut. “One to grow on like Pinocchio eatin’ pussy while he takin’ a polygraph.” Panik produces that track that dumps a generically sung chorus for DJ Premier-esque precision scratching. To go a step further, the Molemen’s beatmaking style throughout this LP and much of their other work suggests they just might be the finest purveyors of DJ Premier’s timeless production style aside from Primo himself.

“The Creed” is another head nodder, compliments of Memo’s emotive string arrangements. More notable lines spew from Vakill’s mouth, including “My definition of on point effects hemophiliacs and virgins all in the same manner / One prick and it’s all over.” Also among the memorable contributions is “Forbidden Scriptures”, a piano peppered posse cut fashioned by Panik that’s tightly laced by Breez Evahflowin, Jakki Tha MotaMouth, Camu Tao, and Copywrite. Though Slug shows up on the album’s most cliche’ offering, a track examining the life of a fallen rapper (yes, we’ve heard it before) appropriately titled “Fallen”, Vakill wisely handles most of this outing on his own and isn’t in need of much back up.

Lest you think Vakill’s got nothing but punchlines, he flaunts earnest storytelling skills on his most personal track, “The Flyer”. It’s a tune concerning his crumbled relationship with one time close pal and platinum selling rapper Twista. “A friendship was crushed with the gentlest touch / And oh yeah / Congratulations on Adrenaline Rush,’” he says. Vakill’s still clearly troubled by this longtime beef and if Twista hears this poignant tune, a reconciliation should be in order.

Staking his claim as a multi dimensional rhymer with a posse of lovingly traditional beatsmiths, Vakill’s piercing couplets mean bright skies lay ahead for an MC with The Darkest Cloud.

After checking this compilation, something slaps you in the dome like boos at a Dixie Chicks gig– 9th Wonder’s upper echelon skills. He’s one of indie rap’s most gifted and prolific producers, and his immense talent behind the boards often dwarfs those of other Justus League knob twisters. Check the melodic strings on “Drought of 2002 (Remix)” or the haunting, Blue Note -esque vocal sampling on “Give A Little Bit”, or try the crispy hi-hats of “Two Extremes” for just a few fantastic sounds laid down by a beatsmith that’s seems heavily influenced by ATCQ’s Ali Shaheed Muhammed and Pete Rock (the latter is an admitted Little Brother fan).

Among joints 9th Wonder didn’t create, Cesar Comanche solidly deconstructs the relentless pursuit of chedda on “Wrong Religion”. A chunky bassline and not much else back him, making the Khrysis formed track a bit hollow. Rebounding on “The Blah Blah”, Khrysis centers his sounds on looped flutes for exceptional results on a dome nodder with rhymes from the Away Team. Big Dho capably helms “You Don’t Know Me”, snagging a muffled loop from a recognizable soul track while Big Pooh leisurely unfolds lines like, “Rap Telly Savalas of this rap shit/they call me Kojak/Niggas tired of amateurs/Where the pros at?”

While Cesar Comanche and Median show promise, the man with the flyest handle (Edgar Allen Floe–could it be any doper?) impresses on cuts like “The Righteous Way To Go” where 9th once again hits paydirt through serene strings and a high pitched verse from a prominent soul crooner. This comp also boasts several Little Brother tunes, among them is the grin inducing
“Altitudes (Flyin’ High)”, where 9th Wonder’s spacious sounds simulate the ideal airline flight. “This is our flight/We’re manning it now,” raps Phonte on the cut. Even with loads of buddies joining them, Little Brother captains this mixtape.

Though this bustling compilation might contain some middling moments on the mic, 9th Wonder’s load of spacious, silky jams make a premium primer for this beatmaking talent and his notable pals.

During the 70s, most tagging was all but overlooked by lawmakers, but in the early 80s, New York City put the squeeze on writers. Style Wars stunningly depicts how they were forced to contend with cops, police dogs, towering fences, electrified third rails, and internal beefs that could eliminate prized paintings in minutes. That didn’t keep these multicultural groups of
taggers from trying though, and their triumphs and tribulations are brought to life through the words and deeds of the bombers themselves. The film’s stars display an unquenchable desire to be known through their paintings, years before hip-hop became a worldwide commercial industry. Many have said that if hip-hop’s cultural explosion can be pinpointed to a single source, Style Wars’ portrayal of graffiti hungry youth would be the jump off.

The scenes are undeniably riveting, primarily because they are unscripted. Here are but a few standout moments:

-A baby faced Crazy Legs participates in a legendary B-Boy battle.

-Writer Skeme gets into a memorable discussion with his moms, who, of course, is resolutely against his son journeying to treacherous yards late at night to bomb.

-Celebrated scenes at the Writer’s Bench, a landmark meeting place for writers at 149th street in the Bronx.

-The veteran bomber Seen’s sage like words of advice. He’s revered by many and has the power to bring groups of writers together.

-Renegade paint-over artist Cap, who in Zorro like fashion, whiteouts “Cap” over anybody’s throw ups with typically inferior tagging. In one scene, the arrogant writer deadpans, “I am a king.”

-The early history of the “Drama King,” hip-hop superstar DJ Kay Slay, who grew up tagging under the moniker “Dez”.

-Insightful and laughable interviews with then NYC mayor Ed Koch and MTA chief Richard Ravitch, who calls a bunch of unnamed graf artists “surprisingly articulate” after meeting with them in hopes of gaining a better understanding of their exploits.

The second disc of extras contains hundreds of flicks from well-known artists like Daze, TC5, Rammellzee, IZ the Wiz, Zephyr and loads more. Many of those pics are accompanied by updated interviews with stars of the film – stirring before and after portraits of the former youngsters almost 20 years later. Their stories include every emotion and are uplifting, insane, gloomy and everything in-between. The extras also feature tunes from El-P, Rjd2 and Aesop Rock, among others. Simply put, it’s a no brainer, all heads should rock a copy of Style Wars.

The first disc, Build, gives a broad overview of Royce’s career on wax. Many of these tracks are recycled from multiple sources, but it’s dope to find the regulars and rarities so conveniently packaged. Among the 21 cuts, are two selections from Game’s 1998 12-inch with Eminem for the duo Bad Meets Evil (“Scary Movies”) and the scarcely played b-side tale of dastardly deeds done by folks with too much time on their hands (“Nuttin’ To Do”). “Scary Movies (The Sequel)” is included as well–essentially a less engaging extension of the first version, minus Eminem. The piano stab filled DJ Clue concoction “What The Beat” with Eminem and Method Man pops up and illustrates Royce’s knack for rolling with top venom spitters, even landing him the track’s final verse after a pair of heavy hitters.

DJ The D must have cojones of steel, because he takes a stab at remixing Royce’s signature DJ Premier produced tune, with “Boom (RJD2 Beat Mix)”, using breaks from RJD2′s “Ghost Writer”. Though it’s an unpolished recording, Rjd2′s crashing cymbals and rumbling drum kicks add a new spin to the track that landed Royce his biggest buzz to date. Well, actually, the biggest aside from his work with fluffy pop songstress Willa Ford on “I Wanna Be Bad,” where Royce dropped a verse and disgruntled a majority of his fan base. (That tune is wisely excluded here.)

Build also boasts freestyles flipped for Stretch Armstrong and Tony Touch and a pair of sub par Neptunes produced songs, one (“She’s The One”) featuring former pal Eminem. Head to the disc’s secret bonus cut at the conclusion  of side one for “The Way I Be Pimpin’,” a rarely heard tune Royce penned for Dr. Dre that eventually turned into Dre’s “Xxplosive” off his 2001 LP.

For a seemingly likeable guy, it’s somewhat surprising to see how many enemies Royce has amassed over the past few years. Most of these detractors are ruffled by Royce’s mic arrogance and some take issue with his early association and subsequent falling out with Eminem. With Destroy, the set’s second disc, Eminem, Proof, Bizarre, and the D12 clan are all given verbal pummelings within several insult-laden tracks. Royce rails against D-12 over Capone-N-Noreaga & Alchemist’s “Malcolm X (D12 Diss)”. “We gonna beat yo’ ass down,” Royce repeats in the cut where he unapologetically calls Bizarre a “fat, stuttering fuck”, and further laments “Bizarre, say G-G-G-Unit / why don’t you put some extra G’s in it? / I’ve been rolling by your house while you trying to hide / I’ll be on your porch with a cheeseburger trying to lure you outside!” Ouch. Among other solid selections is the neck vibrating, Kanye West produced “Heartbeat” another secret bonus cut that was recorded for Dr. Dre (“The Throne Is Mine’) and Jay Dee’s synthed out “Life Goes On”.

“Renegades” is tossed in for an unexpected treat that Jay-Z supporters will recognize. The Eminem produced song was slated for Royce’s debut LP but never made the cut, allegedly due to pressure from Interscope’s head-honcho Jimmy Iovine. Instead, it was redone for Jay-Z’s Blueprint LP, sans Royce. The original tune is exceptionally similar to the Jigga output and Royce rolls just as smoothly over Em’s aggro synth stabs as Jigga did on his version. Keeping in the theme of reworking cuts, Royce takes 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” beat and jabs his foes with revealing comparisons like, “Me and Eminem like Diddy and Shyne.” After years of bristling talk and innuendo, Royce formally calls out Eminem on “We Riding (Eminem Diss)”, the double disc’s most personal and Royce’s most therapeutic record yet. “It’s like you got a sign on your door that says ‘Keep Out,’” Royce shouts on the tune. “I cant find you no more, I can’t reach out.”  He goes on to matter-of-factly ask, “How the fuck you gonna forget about me nigga?” and
quips this on Em, “Now he famous/’Bout as down to Earth as Uranus.”

With a strong retrospective of aged tracks and loads of unheard compositions, Build and Destroy primes the streets for another Royce full length and brings the stardom he seeks another step closer.

“I’m the monster/I’m your sick and twisted monster,” he belts in the aptly titled “Monster”. Calling himself as a “carjacker” and “murder fanatic,” Mike makes it known that his raps are geared toward the alienated and disenfranchised. However, these tracks are wide ranging and the potential audience for a banger like “Akshon (Yeah!)” is massive. The cut’s hypnotic
beatwork from Andre 3000 of Outkast is bolstered by a distorted bassline eruption–similar to the sound a decade old boom box makes when encountering low notes it just can’t handle.

The record’s finest moment arrives on “Rap Is Dead”. “Too many niggas still ride Big & Pac?s dick,” he grumbles on the track. Loads of rapid-fire snares and swift turntable work form a tight combo and Mike won’t inspire folks to ponder either deceased rhymer when his charismatic wordplay busts through the speakers. He goes on to lament Dead Prez’s low record sales and calls himself a new school Ice Cube in the tune. Don’t like what Mike is talking about? “Make a record!” he yelps.

Though much of this record is mosh pit friendly - putting Mike in an enviable position of snagging some lucrative concert dates with rap-rockers down the road – the radio friendly “A.D.I.D.A.S. (All Day I Dream About Sex)” proves a welcome sign that spring has sprung and is the most fun loving FM joint heard thus far in 2003. The tune praises the fine act of getting some with Big Boi of Outkast lending vocals to the first verse. For the record, if those within earshot want to tie the knot with Killer Mike, he busts this out, “We can jump each other’s bones, but there’s no jumping brooms.”

Though there’s too much filler in the later cuts–like a messily produced song about his concert gigs (“L.I.V.E.”) and “Blow (Get Down)” a trumpet filled ode to head giving– Mike’s debut is a potent dose of well crafted combative rap tracks. With Outkast repping for this rap rookie, Monster might not be just a solid record, but our first full-length glimpse of a potential hip-hop luminary.

Though you might not catch the Juggaknots on a major tour just yet, you can vibe with Breeze in person at NYC’s Fat Beats, where he’s worked for the past four years. You can also hear Breeze rip on Prince Paul’s remix of the Avalanches’ “Since I Left You” and the entire Juggs crew is featured on the “WKRP In NYC” 12″ on their own Matic Records. HipHopSite hit them up with some questions from a cell outside the Boogie Down Bronx about rolling into the game at the tail end of hip-hop’s golden age, their old joints’ staying power and new material on deck.

Why the long delay in re-releasing Clear Blue Skies?

Buddy Slim: We put out the record with [Bobbito Garcia] and we just wasn’t trying to have it just on the shelf collecting dust. So we decided about our future plans, about what we’re gonna do, other things besides that album. You know, the Breeze solo album, Juggs new album–we’re about to put out an EP in about two, three months. So we said, “What’s the best way to let people know we’re coming back again?” Well, why don’t we put out the original album, so people have some kind of chronological thing to check out.

Why did you once tell Bobbito you didn’t want to print any more copies of the Clear Blue Skies EP?

Buddy Slim: Well, back when we were doing it, the demand really wasn’t there. We kind of put the record out, it sold well, got good write-ups. We were actually very surprised about the write ups that we did get, because it was like the first album that we put out with Bob was kind of like the demos of each song. In ’95, we was signed to East/West, so we really didn’t want East/West coming at us saying, “Hey, even though we shelved you guys and we didn’t put this out, you guys have no right to go and sell this on the underground. So really, that first compilation we put out was songs in their beginning stages and we purposely did that, to kind of protect ourselves. That if East/West did come back now and wanted to say something, we could be like, “Hey, these are our original recordings out of our house, not what you paid for. We’re not making money off what you paid for, we’re making money off our ideas.”

Is that why some of the tracks on the re-release are so short?

Buddy Slim: We had to keep everything basically under 60 minutes. We could have went over, but the sound quality really wouldn’t have been that good. We could have put a lot more… but we just kind of did that to keep the album fresh. One thing I kind of regret, I just wish we could have indicated, this song’s a skit. This song is a full-length song. But we kind of put it out and said, “Hey, this is a body of work, digest it as you want.”

How did the “Clear Blue Skies” track come about?

Buddy Slim: One day I was just basically reasoning, looking up at the sky, while I was young. Not on even on some dusted out, tripping out, looking in the sky. Just looking in the sky. Everything down here has all this assortment of colors that divides us. But you look up, everything’s blue. If you could kind of just like, flip it, turn the world upside down to have that kind of harmony that exists in the sky. It’s “Clear Blue Skies” because there’s nothing like a strictly clear blue-sky day. There’s nothing like it. So that’s how I was reasoning about it, then I told Breeze about it and he just went to a whole other planet with it.

How do you feel about people getting hip to you now, for the first time, when the stuff you recorded here is about seven or eight years old?

Buddy Slim: I just feel very grateful. I know me and Breeze, the work that we’ve done, we’ve always just took it very seriously and always tried to create timeless music. The subject matter that we deal with, from racism to pressures of dealing with life that are evident in songs like “Loosifa”, just out here in the struggle.

Do you ever look back and think you could have had a legacy on East/West like Brand Nubian, Das EFX or KMD, in the tail end of the golden age of hip-hop?

Buddy Slim: We kind of came in on the end of all of that. Pete Rock & CL had done two albums by the time we got signed, Brand Nubian, I don’t even know what was going on with that situation. They never understood KMD, or KMD was just too much for them. They were dealing with all the stereotypes. With us, we try to deal with all the issues, but we try to deal with it in a sweeter way. Like my mother would say, “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” So we can dress up something a little bit sweeter and still try to sneak in the message, that’s kind of like what we do.

What’s up after the re-release?

Buddy Slim: I really want to just get into the new stuff and get into that. I want people to get as excited about the new stuff as they are about the old. That’s really our plight right now. As much as we love the album, we really want to just crush it and bring something that’s gonna just blow it out of the water. It’s a challenge, but a challenge that we’re up to “Right now, everything’s really grass roots. We’re looking at another situation, hopefully to try and bring what we do to a major and basically have some visibility. I mean, nobody’s ever seen the Juggaknots. So even though I know that’s not like, whatever, the independent slogan or cause, but I gotta be realistic. We’re not gonna defeat the machine. The machine is always gonna be there. I just hear from so many people that “hip-hop is dead” and all that, but it ain’t. Because it still pumps in my blood. I know it pumps in my brother’s blood and I know it pumps in a lot of other cats too, because if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be talking to you right now.

Breeze Brewin: We got a single coming up real soon, with new music. My man DJ Eli did one side and that’s me rockin’ on some shit. And then on the flipside, my sister with Vinia Mojica. That’s gonna be out soon. There’s gonna be a CD component to that piece of vinyl which is gonna have more joints and the instrumentals as well and bonus joints. Like a maxi single/EP. We’re just gonna throw that out to tide cats over. That shit will be happening within the next two months and hopefully within the next couple months after that, either the Juggs full length will be out or I’ll be near completion with my shit.

What’s the situation with Heroine?

Buddy Slim: Heroine wasn’t always down with the squad, for no other reason that she was too young. When me and Breeze was doing our thing, she was like 13 & 14 and we was like, “You know what? Why don’t you just concentrate on that school shit. You really don’t want to jump into this too quick.” She was always down, but she wasn’t an official member because she was too young.

Heroine, how do you fit in to Juggaknots?

Heroine: Everybody’s just trying to contribute to the group. I’m just trying to keep up and do as much as I can. Hopefully in time, we’ll put out more material.

What are your plans for the future?

Heroine: More music, taking things beyond music, in other creative realms.

What kind of creative realms aside from rhyming?

Heroine: I paint in acrylic mediums, similar to my rhyme style. A combination of different styles. I paint from the gut, kind of like how I rhyme.

It seems like the perfect home for you guys would be Def Jux. Has that been discussed?

Buddy Slim: We trying to basically create our own identity. A lot of people seem to separate Juggs from Matic Records. Matic is our label. We may not have a roster like Def Jux. I think Def Jux gets a lot of pub ’cause they grime. But at the same time, I don’t got Caroline [Distribution] giving me money to do what I need to do to with my talent. So, give me money and lets have a fair fight. I just can’t surrender just like that and be like, whatever, I’m gonna Def Jux it out. El’s my man, we’ve done stuff before, he’s peoples. There’s no animosity or nothing like that. It’s just that at the end of the day, Breeze’s got kids, I got kids. To be down with Def Jux, I’d be just a part of something. Not owning something.

Breeze, do kids recognize you at Fat Beats? What do they say to you?

Breeze Brewin: Yeah. We just talk about hip-hop. Same way we talking. They be like, “Yo, I dug this verse, this record. I be like, “Yo, cool.” People really hear that verse on the last Mr. Len album and I be like, “Yo, word? Good lookin’. I’m glad you dug it.” Or the last question is, “What did you mean by this?” And I’m like well, “I was trying to say this.” And I’ll like repeat the line or whatever. It’s always peace. It’s always just like cats talking about hip-hop. I wish more girls would recognize me, [laughing], but I guess I gotta work on that one.

Do people ever ask you to rhyme at the store or to kick a little something?

Breeze Brewin: Nah. Nobody asks me to rhyme and I appreciate that. Cause it’s a little weird. Like if I be rhyming and then I’m like, you know, “Anybody need help?” It don’t look good for business. I rhymed for in-stores before because the mood was right or whatever, but I try not to do that because to me, it’s kind of unprofessional. It gets weird with the re-release in the store. I would ring up somebody and they’d be like, “Yo, sign it for me.” And I’d be like, “Yo, cool.” So I’d ring it up and in the next motion, I’m signing the shit. I mean it’s cool. I think you gotta keep it in perspective. Some cats, whatever, they might say that’s weird, that’s some herb shit. But love is love. Cats gonna show love. You buying my shit. I appreciate it. That shit helps.

Any shout outs?

Buddy Slim: I’d like to send some love to those artists locked down, Chi Ali, ARL, who rhymed with NINE on the song “Ovaconfident,” he was a nasty one, and BORN Majestic aka Yogi Bear who was part of a group called the Microphone Terrorists from the Bronx neighborhood where we all grew up.

On the introductory title track, those within earshot are alerted to Triple Threat’s newfound production prowess. “Produce, create, innovate,” shouts a chopped up KRS-ONE, alluding to the clique’s beatmaking skills.

DJ Vinroc proves to be the trio’s top beatsmith and you can count him in a select group of guitar wielding DJs as he strums the notes he samples. The former ITF champ loops an electric guitar with Oakland’s Zion I on “Hit Em Off” and an acoustic on “On And On”, featuring soon to blow crooner/MC Mystic. Vinroc breaks out his axe again for Talib Kweli and Main Flow’s memorable “Hip-Hop Worth Dying For.” While the laid back soundtrack is drum tight, Kweli’s vicious assault on overly critical, loudmouth backpackers is almost worth the price tag of Many Styles. Among the heaps of guests, Planet Asia shines on “The Realest”, and Black Thought  joins Main Flow for yet another Vinroc creation, “You Got 2″.

Although he’s a slight step behind his partners, Shortkut shows promise behind the boards on “We Got That” with Bay Area rapper Roc Roo. Since he’s been a purveyor of dancehall mixtapes, it’s appropriate that DJ Apollo mans the equipment for the chant filled “Move Down Pressa” with Ridgi Gong.

Naturally, this record’s got several turntablist tracks with boasts as cocky as a young Muhammad Ali awaiting a slugfest. Among the finest is “Two Minute Warning”, a stunning tablist creation that judiciously utilizes a more customary song structure and consequently reels in turntablist junkies and general hip-hop heads alike.

While a DJ spins, many like to chat with (more like annoy) the turntable maestro. So, between tracks, Triple Threat employs hilariously lifelike skits showcasing the chaotic life of a club DJ. In one, a big-mouthed rhymer begs to grab a mic he should be avoiding like the plague. In another, a scratch groupie pleads for crabs and flares, while adding he’d love to get an autograph on the mixer in his knapsack.

Shunning scratch masturbation for behind the boards excellence and mic ripping guest shots, Many Styles ensures listeners won’t pigeonhole them as DJs, but embrace them as accomplished musicians.

“After that independent album comes out, me and Columbia gotta talk,” Royce says. “I can’t even guarantee I’m gonna be on Columbia.” In a very candid interview, Royce spit about beefs with Eminem and Funkmaster Flex, label politics, his son and lots more.

How did you find out the Columbia version of Rock City was getting so badly bootlegged?

I started getting phone calls. They was coming like in bunches. “Yo, I heard the album was on this and I hear the album was on that.” Then, people actually started telling me that they was buying the album. A couple stores here selling it. None of them would tell, like the sources where they got it from. It was just a real bad thing. It was right after it went to master, so I think it had something to do with the mastering studio.

Do you feel that if Columbia put it out sooner, you wouldn’t have had that problem?

Not necessarily sooner. Honestly, my feeling on the whole bootlegging thing, even though it got bootlegged very bad and everything, I think if they would have put it out the scheduled time they was supposed to put it out, I think it still would have did aiight.

There’s a rumor about you dissing Funkmaster Flex. Maybe you can speak on that.

I said a line, “Funk Flex is dropping bombs ’till he damages thoughts.” You know how Flex drops bombs on records? I said “Funk Flexin’” and people thought I said “Fuck Flex.” I definitely wouldn’t diss Flex. Flex is my man. And Clue, the same thing. They said the same thing about Clue and I didn’t diss him neither. That’s my man.

Sounds like people are listening to your lyrics.

Which is a good thing. I don’t mind the rumors though. In a perfect world there would be no rumors. It wouldn’t be no fun if there wasn’t rumors.

The re-released “Boom” song on Columbia had a new, sung hook on it. How do you feel about that?

Me and Primo never wanted to change the record. When I singed to Columbia, they loved “Boom”, they wanted to put it on the Carmen soundtrack. So when they remanufactured it and packaged it and sent it out, all the DJs said, “Nah, we had this record already, we burnt this record already. Give us another record.” So, Columbia came up with the bright idea, why don’t you just put a hook on it and then maybe the DJs will play it. Of course, me and Preem didn’t agree with it, but we still did it anyway. We sat down trying to come up with stuff and we finally put that hook on there. It went on the Carmen soundtrack like that and it went on the album that was supposed to come out on Columbia, just Columbia. So when we updated the album and changed it from Rock City to Rock City Version 2.0, we went with the original version. We went with all our original, like, dirtier songs and took a lot of the radio sounding records off.

Are you tired of talking about Eminem in all these interviews?

It’s always gonna come up, in every interview. I don’t mind it. Uknowhutimsayin? It’s like, you know, he did a lot for me and my name is obviously connected to his, so of course it’s going to come up. It’s like, not really a big deal to me.

When was the last time you actually spoke with him?

It’s been a while. Actually, I talked to him like right before they went on that last tour, The Anger Management tour. I ain’t really spoke to him since then.

Break down what happened with the Anger Management mixtape.

I did a verse over Busta Rhymes’ beat for the Anger Management mixtape. And somehow, when him/D12 heard it, one of them assumed that I was dissin’ Em in certain lines, I don’t know why. Everything I say gotta be a subliminal dis, but you know, they like that with me. They put it in [Eminem's] head, they finally got him to agree, like “OK, maybe Royce is dissin’ me.” And we never really talked about it, so, he never called me to ask me was I dissin’ him or he never called me to get my whole aim on it, he just assumed that I was dissin’ him, you know, and that’s how all the rumors and stuff started. It’s like, I don’t really have a problem with Slim, I just resent the way he handles these situations. Because it’s like ever since I’ve been around, ever since he got that cool with his crew, which was D12, it’s been like their duty to push me out of shit. Ever since they came, “Who is this guy,
why is Slim helping him for?” It’s been like a jealously thing. And they always been like, trying to compete with me, and anybody who listens to music know it’s no competition. But, it is what it is. So you know, they succeeded in their mission, which was to push me out. So now I guess like me and Slim’s relationship is sabotaged. And really, I’m to the point now where I could care less.

If you ran into him right now, what would you want to tell him? Would you want to tell him you did not diss him? Would you even bother with that?

It’s respect. If somebody is supposed to be your man, and you hearing that oh, maybe my friend might have had something to say about me. I’m gonna call that man. Out of respect, I’m gonna call him and find out what’s going on… But to just say yo, I’m not going to talk to Royce about it forget it, whatever, he must be dissing me. I just ain’t gonna deal with ‘em. That’s weak to me. So if I seen him, I wouldn’t jump into it, because that’s supposed to be him coming to ask me because I did nothing to this man. So if I see him, all it would be is “hi” and “bye”. If he don’t wanna talk about it, I don’t wanna talk about it. I’m grown.

Ball is in his court.

See, what people fail to realize is, our relationship was solid when it started. Now it’s like, whenever you’re in a situation when you’re in a relationship and one of the people are rich and the other is not rich, they determine what the relationship is. He’s determining what our relationship is. He can call me right now, we can be best friends tomorrow if we talk for five minutes. He’s choosing not to do that. That’s not how I deal with things with my friends, but if that’s how he wanna deal with shit, then that’s him.

Have you seen 8 Mile?

Nah, actually ain’t had a chance to. It’s not even nothing personal, I just honestly been too busy to go see it. I’ve been planning to go see it though, I heard it was good.

Was there ever any talk about you joining Emimen’s label at any point?

After my “Rock City” single came out when I was on Columbia, I felt Columbia made a lotta bad decisions. Once again, no disrespect to Columbia, I just felt like they made a lotta bad decisions and I think they kinda messed those records up. So I went to Slim for help again, I went to him and said look, I told him I want to try and come to Shady [Records]. And he said, “Well, I don’t think they’re gonna let you go. But I mean, even so man, I’m so busy man, I got the D12 album, I got the 8 Mile soundtrack, I got Obie’s album. Man, I just don’t want to sign you and have you sitting around. I’m too busy basically. I’m busy.” Right? I said, “Ok”.Three weeks later, he signed 50 Cent.

He didn’t talk to you about that?

No. But this is what I’m saying. I can’t even speak out about certain things because it makes me look ungrateful for the things that he’s done for me in the past. It’s just crazy the way that people’s relationships go.  I don’t know if he’s losing respect for me as an artist? Am I not as dope as you? Like, now it’s to the point where I need to just be by myself and not dependent to nobody. I need to just stick, just be Royce and gain that respect back from everybody. I don’t want anybody looking at me like a dependent, ’cause that’s not my character.

What is coming up next from you?

[An album with] all underground cats. Straight up underground cats. I’ll never sway away again. I guarantee you that.

Are you happy with where you’re at today?

I’m satisfied with what I’ve put into it and what I’ve gotten out of it so far, but I’m never content. I try not to get content, because along with content comes being comfortable, and they you kind of slack off or feel like “I made it.” If I make a million, then I want two million. I know I’ve been in the game six years and I’m not like, mad that I haven’t fully blown up yet, I’m definitely not looking at it like that because I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. And especially because I’m doing it on my own right now. I’m by myself, I’m not hanging onto Slim no more. This is me, just me. So this is like a new beginning for me anyway.

You wrote the track “Life” for your son. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned that you would impart to your son when he gets old enough.

Don’t get in this business [laughs]…If for some reason, this whole rap thing don’t work for me, which it’d take me another few years to realize it, I’ve lost like eight years. I might as well have went to prison for eight years, because what else can I do now? My advice to him would definitely be don’t even get involved in it. Do something else.

Was that him you were just talking to?

Yeah, he was running with a sucker in his mouth. I hate when he do that.

Listening to Krumb Snatcha’s second full length, Respect All Fear None, the thinking man’s reality rhymer has a rough time choosing sides. In his latest, he spews lyrics endorsing thug life and attempting to enlighten. It’s an odd paring, but for a man who did a bid in a Massachusetts state pen for kidnapping and attempted murder, there must be a grip of conflicted feelings to contend with.

Early on, Krumb provides what he calls a “thug thesis” on “What’s Life”. Talking glocks and Hearses might be tired, but Krumb ventures deeper than your average ruffian. The track’s hot keyboard squelches are from vet Easy Moe Bee and a complex chorus ponders street life. “What’s life?/Livin’ with guns aimed at your head/We already dead/lyin’ on death beds for meds.” His guise might be overly gangsta, but his reflective verses encourage (gasp!) critical thinking.

As Krumb’s a Gang Starr foundation member, Guru and DJ Premier guest on the aptly titled “Incredible”. Just as Premier did for Krumb earlier in his career with “Closer To God”, his signature scratching generates another standout. Though the record boasts production from Da Beatminerz, Alchemist, and Nottz, D&D Records  labelmate Curt Cazal submits the most affecting sounds on “Prison Life”. Here, Krumb’s in an audible comfort zone over the ominous track where hollering isn’t necessary and the subject matter of daily life in the big house couldn’t be more personal. Talk of cracking gates, block brawling and shady shanks make the descriptive, first person account of jail time a wax based equivalent to HBO’s addictively gruesome OZ.

“House Party” explains how Krumb stays away from home based celebrations due to inevitable beefs, while “Rich Man Poor Man” eloquently delves into class struggles. “Is there God for the ghetto?” Krumb asks on the cut. “Or we just slaves of the devil in iced out religious medals?”

Despite the thoughtful tunes, “Oxygen” feat. BoogieMan is a second-rate stab at club play with a synth blips from an under performing Nottz. Also disappointing is Guru dousing Krumb with excessive praise on “Words From The General” and Krumb’s faux interview on “D&D Radio”. Both tracks are filled with superfluous blabbering about Krumb, attempting to bring additional cred to his rep. Fortunately for listeners, his heady street speak packs more cred into one verse than most criminals on wax earn in an album’s worth of thug talk.

The Originators doesn’t veer off their well-tested beat path and folks who want “The Nuts” get ‘em throughout 14 cuts. Their best work hits early on and the crew doesn’t waste much time shooting their wad, busting a classic nut in the third track (“Yae Yo”). Flute filled soundscapes flutter like a butterfly over assertive flows from invited guests Ill Bill and Problemz, but this hot track could even make Fred Durst’s mic sound nice. The rhythmic flute loop chopped up here recalls similarly energetic notes utilized in their 1999 banger “Watch Out Now”.

The Nuts move from flute to accordion on “Buying Out The Bar”, where an instrument prominent in polka music gets top billing. The corny hook makes it only a mild success, but you can’t help but crack a wry smile when Juju accurately describes their rep: “Classical shit/Gotta have it in the party/The battery pack that start movin’ everybody.”

Their knack for superb crate mining is well known. At their best, you’ll be hard pressed to find the vinyl homes to their samples, like the plucked bass line on “Routine”. Juju’s even willing to throw a challenge to beat diggers and song publishers alike with this money saving boast: “Producers try to bite but they don’t come near it/Loops so obscure you don’t even gotta clear
it.”

“Bionic” reunites the original Beatnuts trio, with Al Tariq (formerly Fashion) guesting on a robotic styled cut that’s likely the most futuristic they’ve ever created. There are a few underachievers though, including the raunchy offering “Work That Pole” with Tony Touch that reaches out to radio too blatantly and “Originate”, which underutilizes Large Professor’s skillful storytelling with a stale, dark track.

Don’t fret though, there’s still plenty of slammin’ tracks to go around. With a predictable, but intoxicating set, more of the same means these Nuts are still at the top of their game.

Grandmoms and the Queens based J-Zone return with A Bottle of Whup Ass EP. With this new output, he’s back in familiar territory–producing each track, offering tight turntable techniques and spending a majority of the EP behind the mic. His production style is eclectic and varies from flute loops and crisp kick drums “No Consequences”) to high-pitched music box jingles coupled with traditional Italian guitar strums (“The Smurf Syndrome”).

Behind the microphone, J-Zone’s skills are solid and his oddball quips bring out smirks. “I guess success wasn’t meant for me/a job eating lead paint chips is really tempting me,” he jokingly explains on “Orphan Babies”. Soon after, we learn more than we need to know when J-Zone reveals what gives him a wet dream in the peculiarly humorous interlude “Nocturnal Emission”. (For the record, it’s Robin Givens, Sade and Vanity.)

Even with J-Zone’s considerable talent, there’s no doubt that his beats could use more variety behind the mic. Fellow rhymers Huggy Bear and Al-Shid appear often, but are satisfactory at best, lacking confident or originality in their flows and lyricism. J could share the wealth a little more when it comes to his beat making, so MCs take note; call up this cat and request a J-Zone remix.

Jumping off with “Bring It Back” emcees Kimani and Oracle trade verses in between a familiar KRS-ONE sample. A quick clavichord loop runs throughout, begging DJs to attempt a beat juggle.

“The Fast Way” finds Company Flow’s Mr. Len slicing up B.I.G. on the EP’s least spectacular cut. It’s a little too methodical and lacks energy, aside from Len’s cutting. But that’s to be expected on an EP-and while most EP’s suffer from wack jams most of the way through, that doesn’t happen here. Things speed up nicely with Mr. Khaliyl (formerly Mr. Man of Bush Babees) on “Joints”. Kimani describes the track with deadly accuracy when he rhymes, “Three of the best that’s unsigned at one time.”

“Hip-Hop Music” contains a head nodding bass line and the duo offer heads even more slanguistics. The spontaneous sounding jam finds Kimani and Oracle having fun and explaining their love for hip-hop. While L-Fudge’s appearance on “Onetwothree” is unquestionably dope, the record’s gem is a more reflective cut “Memories”. An elongated piano loop over an unobtrusive ride cymbal provides the emotional background for two important stories. Kimani begins by recalling vivid memories of his father who died at an early age, and the lifetime of pain it has caused. Oracle then follows with a related tale. Faced with a similar situation to that of Kimani’s pops, Oracle talks of his own unexpected child and the complex problems and immense joy that came with it. Lyrical venom with a purpose? Don’t wait for their album, pick up the EP now.

Leading off the cuts featuring guest rhymers, What What of Natural Resource delivers two sure shot joints. “Mission Improbable” is a smooth tale of espionage told over a slow bassline and sharp, but gentle guitar strums. Equally laid back is “Let It Go”, where piano drops help describe what this female MC does when a situation gets out of control. Speaking of dope female MCs, Illadelphian Bahamadia holds court on “When I Shine”. And just when it seems these laid back joints are all that represent The Herbaliser, check for “Who’s The Realest”. This thumping cut is what a DJ track should be: head-nodding beats with precise and impressive scratching. The cuts are supplied by DJ Ollie Teeba, who flexes mightily on the wheels by asking “Who’s The Realest” via Fat Joe’s intimidating vocal samples.

Equally tight is “Road Of Many Signs” featuring the severely under-appreciated Dream Warriors, who get open over a lush vibe accented track with yet another slow, but funky Jake Wherry bassline. “Wall Crawling Giant Insect Breaks” is another standout jam giving sonic thanks to turntable pioneers and former pause tape masters everywhere. Coming to the record’s close, “The Missing Suitcase” is an instrumental cut that could easily find its way into a Hollywood flick during moments of heated action. The tune suggests that a film score should be next on The Herbaliser’s “to do” list.

Very Mercenary avoids trip-hop pitfalls by keeping it hype with a healthy helping of fat beats to go along with varied production styles. Dope MCs added to the mix result in these Londoners keeping it real–and realer than many