The shiners on here would be “No Love” with the “…life is so crazy…” vocal hook produced by Nitro, Green Lantern’s haunting keys and moody guitar riff on  “Pig Latin” and the long-released Primo-laced “The Wake Up Call”.

     Smiley’s gruff, unforgiving and apparently lacks any sense of remorse for any wrongs he may have committed, noting only the necessity of his actions at the hand of a savage enviornment. If you miss the days of hard music before the current onslought of slick, often lifeless, production and the infiltration of R&B-songstress-driven hooks, then Smiley’s the guy for you. Definitely “The Antidote” to the soft, pop shit poisoning the hip-hop top 40 charts.

Lo: With this project, I gotta be on top of my game because Magestik Legend is on top of his. Because of that we bringing the best out of each other. As producers, our production is getting better so overall I think the sound is better than anything I’ve ever put out. Binary Star was me & Senim Silla rhyming over beats that me & Decompoze produced, so that would make this sound completely different.

HHS: Is it hard to do a whole project with a co-MC after having worked on solely solo material for release lately?

Lo: Not really because working with another artist brings a different side of creativity out of me that I wouldn’t necessarily get working alone. So I look forward to working in all types of different situations in order to develop my creative skills in all types of different ways.

HHS: Will this release be with Fat Beats as well or are you still looking around?

Lo: Its all up in the air right now, we’re just trying to concentrate on making this the best album we can before we get too deep into the business stuff because sometimes that can affect the way you go into the project.

HHS: I don’t imagine the stage show being any harder working with Majestik considering he’s performed at many a show with you already…any comment on that? Any changes in the live performances expected yet…

Lo: Obviously we’ll be performing new material, and because we feel confident about the material, the confidence has inspired us to take it to another level on stage.

HHS: Is all of the production being handled solely in the Subterraneous crew?

Lo: Yes. Trackezoids is holding down the production. Because we’re still recording at the moment, we don’t know how many beats are going to be on the album, at least 95% of the production is done by myself & Magestik Legend and we want to emphasize that with this project we ain’t just emcees, but also producers.

HHS: There have been a lot of collaboration rumours swirling around lately regarding you and a gang of folks…any of those you can confirm or squash?

Lo: There’s a few collabs in the works that I’m excited about and I think people would be excited about, but right now, I’m trying to focus on finishing the Security project, which is taking a lot of my creative time & energy. We’re trying to set the standard for this record, so everything I do after this will only motivate me to raise the bar even higher.

HHS: Did you meet all your own personal expectations for SONOGRAM? Did the fans and critics embrace it the way you hoped…was its content even grasped in the manner you’d intended it?

Lo: The only expectations I had for SONOGRAM was to make a record that I could listen to every day and I did that as well as build expectations for my next project and I think there’s a few people that are looking forward to what the future has in store. I got a lot of good feedback from the record, I think its pretty easy to listen to this record and walk away with a pretty good understanding of who I am and what I’m about.

HHS: Cuz I know there were a few issues about specific racial references in one of your songs…

Lo: Oh word, I wasn’t even aware of that.

HHS: What keeps Lo ticking? What keeps you constantly touring and recording?

Lo: Whatever is ticking, it wouldn’t be ticking if it wasn’t for Allah. Now what keeps me touring is the desire to pay my bills and spread this music to people who haven’t heard it yet as well as the people who want to see us bring it live and get the full experience. What keeps me recording is just the desire to express myself and make an impact.

HHS: Speaking of touring, what were your intentions with doing spots on the Warped Tour? I always wonder what exactly hip-hop acts are aiming for being on a rock tour…expanding the fan base? Exposing fans to something new?

Lo: The statement I was trying to make on the Warped tour wasn’t towards the fans it was towards the booking agents and the record labels. Showing my willingness to go out on the road and support an album. You would be surprised how many artists don’t tour at all, so me doing 70+ shows in 75 days makes a huge statement. Plus I had to prove to myself that I could do it. I went out there by myself. I drove around the country by myself. Performed sometimes 2 shows in one day, but I did it. To me that was more than music and hiphop. It was like a purification. I definitely didn’t want to give the impression that after signing to Fat Beats and dropping my record I didn’t have to do those kind of things. I experienced some things that I never experienced before on the road, like car accidents, etc. etc. but that didn’t stop me from doing what I had to do. It was a humbling experience. A lot of those places on the warped tour were places I never been before and I seen an opportunity to go to some of those places, so I went.

HHS: With three kids waiting for you at home, do touring and other artist duties ever seem more like chores than realized dreams?

Lo: For me, being an artist is no different than being a father, a man. Its just a part of my nature, so I do what I gotta do. Some people work, some people go to school. I do those same things, I just do them in the form of a music career. My social life is hiphop. My job is hip-hop. Its my way of life and my family is affected by it, but its all one in the same for me. At least for now.

HHS: Can we expect any releases from the rest of the Subterraneous roster any time soon? I recall Majestik Legend mentioning something about solo album, I think, in his “Mic Check” freestyle…

Lo: We’re all solo artists, and everybody in the crew is constantly working on material. I’m not aware of any release dates, but you can expect to hear something coming from everybody in the future.

HHS: Any particular reason that you tend to keep everythin within the family for all your releases (with the exception of the dope Pete Rock
remix to “Decepticons”)?

Lo: Well as a fan, I like what we do. As an artist, we inspire me to do what I do. As a business person, we’re trying to stamp our brand out on the world, so why sidetrack that mission by working with somebody else when we ain’t got our name out there yet. I don’t have a problem with working with other producers I just never thought about it, just like I never thought about somebody else writing my rhymes, but I do have a problem with that.

   Finally, the album is in my hand…after the white label “50/50 Amp Remix” tease, after the official single was serviced to college radio…finally here so I can finally hear. And ya know what? I’m not disappointed, it was worth the wait.

    Kaze’s appeal is his ability to go from personal narratives and dedications to his mom to other joints where he’s hard as hell. He definitely has that intelligent hoodlum feel to him, rapping at one point that teachers hated because he “got straight A’s, but D’s in conduct.” His character is definitely the three dimensional type, capable of quickly swinging from bragging bravado on “50/50 Amp” to spiritual musings on “Soul Dojo (Essence Of Life Mix)”. 9th’s simple boom bap drums and lazy, meandering strings compliment Kaze’s lyrical style perfectly, never outshining, just providing that perfect backdrop. Cop this joint, the man is so sincere…and sincerely talented, too.

    Depending on your patience or perspective, Mr. Floe’s True Links is either a decent, and promising, debut for an artist in his career’s infancy or a fairly monotonous listen; one that could have been aided by a bit of versatility in cadence and tone, or perhaps supplemented by more guest vocalists. It’s not that Edgar doesn’t bring it when you look at the micro and not the macro, as each song song is solid when considered  solely by itself. The problem arises when the album is ingested as a whole and each of its subsequent parts is recognized as a clone of the last. 

    Long story short: by purchasing True Links, you’re investing in a fairly low-risk, high-return rapper stock pick that’ll soon come into his own, especially if his follow-up has half the production contained on this release. Not there quite yet, but definitely on his way. Think of this as his NBDL outing and expect those solid NBA minutes in the near future.

What inspired me to write “Trust” was my daughter Donae being born. As a father or even just a man you tend to think about if you have a daughter, how different she’ll be treated by guys. You plan to look out for her best interest. Also I figured the songs I write are like messages or chapters she can refer to as she grows up.

HHS:  I managed to scrounge up a tracklisting for your new album, “Mirror Music”, and found that you have Kenn Starr, Oddisee, Masta Ace and Punchline as well as some other artists as featured vocalists, but I couldn’t find any production credits. Who ended up handling all of your production for you? I’m assuming some from Oddisee…

Well on the production side I have Ayatollah, Beatminerz, Oddisee, Curt Gowdy, Frequency, Dox 1, Dave Dar, Belief, R-thentic, Sebb, DJ Static, and Dj Avee and 3d (The courts productions).

HHS:  Why did you decide to go with upstart label Halftooth and not an established label that has a proven, or at least well-documented, track record?

Well simple, they gave me an opportunity without wondering what big names were attached to my project. I was the big name and they believe in my music. You don’t want to be with someone that could care less about your music, but about who you know. Also I felt I could help build the label and they would give me the freedom to make my music.

HHS:  I’m sure you probably love your entire album, but which of the 18 cuts is your favorite or do you see as the most important for listeners…?

I love “Be A Man” because of its soulful feeling and the content. That’s what a lot of us go thru as we try to find confirmation in to manhood. But some may disagree and say “Shoulder” is the best joint on there.

HHS:  With your long history of writing for various mediums (school assignments in rhyme, television shows, and your music), what do you have planned for the upcoming year as far as writing is concerned?

Well I’m trying to have a screen play done about my college years. That’s one of my focuses, but I’m really trying to promote the album as much as possible.

HHS:  Can we expect another Punch & Words album, or have you two moved too far apart as far as content or style is concerned that such an album would lack seamlessness or creative focus and clarity? Is such a full-length collaboration feasible anymore?

Punch and Words is still a possibility if there’s a focus for the album and not just random banter. We definitely would have to see how both of us have grown as artists and decide what we want to represent with the music. It could happen if it’s worth doing.

HHS:  When years down the road you decide it’s time to hang up the mic and retire (and not the kind of retirement where you make occasional guest appearances, but done for real), what sort of legacy do you hope to leave behind? Or to put it less melodramatically, what do you hope to achieve in the long-run as far as hip-hop is concerned?

I hope I lead a legacy of having a message in my music that inspired any up and coming artist to not be afraid to say what’s on their mind.  I want people to hear my music and realize they are not alone and that the dilemmas they face aren’t solely theirs, but I relate to them. My blood and air is my music. Also I want to represent the total package; a dope songwriter and freestyler.

HHS:  And on that note, what inspired you to throw your hat in the ring to begin with? What came before Lyricist Lounge, before Rawkus collaborations, before all that…

Well Melle Mel, Run-D.M.C, Kool G. Rap, Kane, it goes on and on. They were all sharing different perspectives and while being heard I was captivated by the music. So I was just a kid rapping in the elevator and in front of the building. I was in a group called Incognatives with me, Punch and my boy Sono. When Sono left to Atlanta, me and Punch kept rhyming, hence Punch and Words. Stretch Armstrong and Bobitto was before Lyricist Lounge and Rawkus, Bobitto named us Punch and Words. That show is why the world knows me today.

HHS:  You’re involved in Slam Bush, can you explain that campaign and your involvement in it and why you chose to involve yourself in it.

Slam Bush is a campaign to get people to vote and rid of George Bush from office. I got involved because I figured, to complain and not try to make a difference is hypocritical. I feel the youth that can vote need to have hope; and that sweeping things under the rug isn’t a good attitude. It wasn’t till the nuclear weapon search came up empty and we still went to war, that I really became interested. It’s wild to imagine that you’re sent to war to fight after the weapons weren’t found.

HHS:  Do you think all artists have a responsibility to use their position in the spotlight to motivate constituents to enter the voting booth or to advocate positive change in some other manner?

Yes, we definitely must use our notoriety to inflict change. That’s why we do music to have people feel our emotions and evoke mood swings. As far as getting people to the voting booth, yes, if you believe in it. Advocating positive change is our responsibility because we inspire people to become artists or dream seekers. The gifts we’re given to be in the spotlight are because we’re chosen to make change.

HHS:  As an eloquent, educated and obviously politically-motivated individual with an affinity for being able to clearly explain your thoughts, do you see politics in your future or is that too far-fetched? Do you see a voting population putting an MC in office?

I’m not sure if politics is my thing, but I’ll try to support what I think is right. You never know though, I’m still young and don’t know what I may be interested in accomplishing later. Yeah, I believe an M.C. can be voted in office, not sure when, but Hip Hop is becoming so overwhelming, there are no boundaries.

HHS:  Back to the music for two more questions. How does this new album differentiate itself from all your previous material?

It’s has more substance than just how ill of an MC I am. This album is personal to me, to you, and anyone you know. It’s a reflection of the worlds beings, hence Mirror Music.

HHS:  Do you plan on touring to promote this new album?

I plan on touring this album, not sure exactly where yet though. Those dates are being solidified now.

HHS:  Any last shout-outs or websites to mention…

Yeah, check out www.wordwidecommunications.com where you can pre-order the album. Also www.Halftooth.com and www.Hiphopsite.com thanks for the exposure. To all the fans, thank you and there is no me without ya’ll.

VAST: The album is done. It’s real good. It comes out April 20th on Chocolate Industries, it’s called “Look Mom, No Hands,” and it’s crazy, man.

ETHX:  What is the reasoning for choosing “Look Mom, No Hands” as the title?

VAST:  “Look Mom, No Hands” was a joke. I said it in a song I did with Aesop Rock called “Attention Span” on Aesop’s “Float” album. Ever since I did that it was a little joke of mine. Whenever you do something good, you’re like, “Look Ma, No Hands!” Or whenever you feel that you’re capable of holding your own, you’ll turn over to your guardian or, most likely, your mom and be like, “Look at me, I can do this.” It’s just a funny phrase that represents the solo album and that I can rep for my crew and just bang and do me.

ETHX: My guess had been that it had something to do with the fact that you were doing it solo, not as much a connection to everyone else on this one. “I can do it myself, too.”

VAST: Yeah. It was just a joke to my mom and anyone who’s a doubter.

ETHX: I’m sure she appreciates that.

VAST: I’m sure she does. (haha)

ETHX: On this album you got a huge line-up of guest producers and on The Cold Vein it was just El-P. Did you prefer having one producer or prefer having multiple producers? Was there a big difference between the two?

VAST: There’s definitely a difference, but there’s good things to both. There are great aspects to both sides. It’s sort of like cheeseburgers and pizza. (haha) You can’t really argue which one is better, they both play their part. With El, that’s the first album I did where all the beats were under one producer. So that was cool, but I wanted to go back to what I originally grew up on, which was running around getting up with a few different visions and putting it all together. Like Voltron in the end, it forms the biggest robot to just destroy!

ETHX:  What is the line-up on the producers? I know Jake One got a track on there, so Seattle’s representing, we’re proud of that.

VAST: Yeah, peace to Jake One! Jake One is on there, Madlib, Cryptic One, RJD2, Ayatollah, Da Beatminerz, it’s crazy, man! The album is just nuts.

ETHX:  Are the guest MCs of similar caliber coming through?

VAST:  I got Sadat X, Breez Brewin’ from the Juggaknots, S.A. Smash, Vordul of Cann Ox, Blueprint, Aesop Rock, my man MFDoom.

ETHX:  It’s like you guys are competing. Looking at Vordul’s line-up, he’s got that huge line-up, too. And you guys are both dropping in April, is that a coincidence or…did it just happen to turn out that way? (Editor’s note Vordul Young Havoc’s pushed to Summer)

VAST:  Yeah, it pretty much just turned out that way. Peace to Vordul, “Young Havocs”, coming out! We planned to hit them hard and it just so happened…mine actually got pushed back, so it just happened by accident.

ETHX:  Do you have any plans on promoting it through a tour…Is there any possibility of you both doing solo stuff on the same tour or anything of that nature?

VAST:  Yeah, yeah. There are a lot of different tours in the works and we’re also in the lab working on two projects right now. It’s going be crazy.

ETHX:  What can fans look forward to on yours that is going to be different from The Cold Vein? How’s it going to be…

VAST:  A noticeable difference already is that you get more verses from me.  To be honest, that’s the hugest difference. On top of that, the beats were not made only by one person, so the vibe is a little more open. The songs are just well-made. I had mad fun with everyone I got up with. It’s just a real thick, powerful album. The intensity is just the same, but it’s different. It’s just a new angle.

ETHX:  Any particular reason you chose to go with Chocolate Industries and Vordul going with Nature Sounds instead of you both going with Def Jux, or did it just happen to turn out that way?

VAST:  It just happens to turn out that way. We currently work with multiple labels right now. We’re not exclusive to Def Jux. It just ended up turning out that way. I work with Chocolate Industries, Eastern Conference, Centrifugal Phorce which is the Atoms Fam label, which was my first label that put any of my music out before Def Jux. There are a lot of labels (involved).

ETHX:  A lot of Atoms Fam folks are going to be touring on that Def Jux (Presents III) tour in April, right?

VAST:  Yeah, Hangar 18′s going to be on that, getting busy, getting down.  I’m going to be on tour in April, running around. Lots of things going on. Peace to Beatminerz, Ayatollah, Sadat X.  A lot of craziness is going on right now. Everyone’s just buckling down in the labs. Everyone that I know is just in the lab working on the hottest album for ya’ll. 2004 is going to be grimy; it’s the year of Vast Aire.

ETHX:  You can hush all the haters who’re always saying, “Hip-hop’s dead!” Nah, hip-hop’s not dead, it’s just in the lab.

VAST:  Man, hip-hop is never dead. I’m dead on saying hip-hop is dead. Hip-hop just evolves, that’s what people don’t understand. It matures and grows, it’s never dead.

ETHX:   I want to bring it back to your roots for a bit:  how did you first get involved with hip-hop and was there a moment where you felt like you had made it or you had gotten that big break that determined the rest of your future?

VAST:  Bascially, I’m 26 and I’ve been rhyming since I was ten. I started hustling in the New York underground when I was around 15 and 16. I just put in a lot of work - did a lot of talent shows, did a lot of battles. I also did a lot of recording. People don’t know that that’s important. You can win 20 battles, but you ain’t never did a song. ETHX: You have to have material. Yeah, man. You have to loads of it, because all you do is learn from other songs. Me and my crew, Weathermen and Atoms Fam, all of us have put in a lot of years in this, as far as putting out independent records and good music and setting standards. It all starts from just that love when you’re a child. I grew up in New York.  I always wanted to do it.  It was always around me. From doing it enough, I started bumping into the right people. The next thing you know, the truth of the matter is you need a hot project to get proper distribution and then it’s over. Once you get a project that gets proper distribution and it can reach more people, your career starts to sky-rocket. I’ve put music out and it’s made noise, done it’s little ten thousand units or eight thousand units, but once you got distribution, now you can 60 or 80 thousand units. So that’s where it’s at and I’m happy that the response has been good and that everyone approaches me at shows and they’re like “yo, the music…” and it’s all love to know that when we put music down there are people listening and waiting, because we’re doing our thing.

ETHX:  So it’s always been hip-hop for you? There have never been other aspirations to do other careers. You just decided this is what you were going to do and did it?

VAST:  Well, I’ve had a lot of aspirations. I have a football background and an art background - my mom wanted me to be an architect, like, “Use your careers for a safe career.” I wanted to use my skills for comic books and stuff.  I’ve had a few different turns, but I’ve always done hip-hop through all of them. Playing football and rhyming, drawing and rhyming, and in the end I figured I have to do this. It feels right. I had already been doing it for a minute when Cold Vein came out, so I put everything into that. Like, “If this don’t do it…” There was no telling if I would still be… But fortunately it did do well.  But it did real well. I’ve been able to hook up with a lot of musicians that I love and cherish and respect, and I’ve worked with a lot of good musicians and I just feel comfortable doing music.

ETHX:  Speaking of inspiration and whatnot, I’m curious as to what your musical inspirations are because when you dropped Cold Vein, I didn’t think it sounded like anything out there. Who do you see as your influences, be they MCs in hip-hop or even others outside of hip-hop?

VAST:  I get influenced…I’ve learned the secret of being a good artist.  You must be able to draw inspiration from anything, not just what’s related to what you’re doing.  I draw inspiration from other musicians definitely, and definitely others that aren’t hip-hop like Jimi Hendrix or Radiohead, and then I get encouraged by a Jay-Z or Pharaohe Monch. It’s not just hip-hop. I like to just listen to good music. I’m really into OutKast.  I’m just into different types of things and different ideas.  I’m into grunge – bring me back to some Pearl Jam. I use all types.  It could be a Beethoven song that made me make “Look Mom…,” as long as it’s good.  As long as it’s good it’s going to inspire me to be good.  It could be a Prince record and that’s the reason I made “Why’sDaSkyBlue?” Because I’m able to just feed off Prince or feed off of Bruce Lee.  Bruce Lee can say something about some concept in martial arts and that’ll inspire me to write a verse.

ETHX:  Another influence that I could think of:  being from New York.  Did that play a significant influence on your music?

VAST:  It does. I feel like I have New York blood in me.  I’ve traveled the world and seen a lot of things, but at the end of the day I always have to come back to New York.  It’s just a part of me.  If this was jazz, New York is New Orleans.  You have to respect that. And it doesn’t make me better; I still had to work hard.  You can’t just be born in Shaolin and you know how to fight.  You have to practice.  The fact that I’m born in New York is fun and it definitely inspires me because of the folklore.

ETHX:  I was thinking of one of the great MCs out of the New York area and on one of your tracks on The Cold Vein you shouted out Big L. Did you have a relationship with him because he’s from around the block?

VAST:  No, I didn’t, but he actually lived up the block from Shamar (Vordul Megallah from Cann Ox).  Sometimes I would be going to Vordul’s house and Big L would be on the block, that’s word up.  The most was a “hello”, but we did not know each other.

ETHX:  He just happened to be an inspiration because he was extremely talented?

VAST:  He was extremely talented and he was from my man’s neighborhood. He was from D.I.T.C. and he was doing his thing.  He was just signing to Roc-a-fella.  He was doing big things and he had an inspirational flow.  It’s sad when anything that negative happens in life. That’s Iron Galaxy, that’s why I bigged him up on the end of that song. Because it was a real touchy time when that happened; Harlem was real edgy at the time.

ETHX:  Are there any producers or MCs of his caliber or any other caliber that you haven’t had a chance to work with yet that you hope to work with down the road?

VAST:  A few collabos…I definitely want to work with Wu. ETHX: Anyone in particular? It doesn’t matter really. I just like them, they’re really crazy. I would like to reach and get the rest of the Brand Nubian members because I’ve already worked with Sadat X.  There’s a few more than I can’t figure out right now off the top of the head.  Right now I’m just concerned with getting up with my crew and handling all this music.  We have a lot of music coming out in the next two years so it’s going to be crazy.

ETHX:  I had an individual lyric that happened to stick out to me today.  You referenced Atlas Shrugged on “Look Ma…No Hands.”  Did you read that?  Because that’s a hella long book.

VAST:  Well, I actually did not, but I knew a group that named themselves after it.  I knew a group that was actually a metal group, a thrasher group (haha), and there name was Atlas Shrugged.

ETHX:  I guess that has a lot to say about your influences — you bringing references to thrasher groups into your lyrics. (haha)

VAST:  Their drummer made beats on my album.  From working with him, the name was constantly on my mind. So when I made the lyrics, I just penned that lyric on some…if Atlas shrugged, who would take care of the earth? So it was just a nice little joke.  But, no, I did not read that book and that’s the third time someone asked me that. (haha)

ETHX:  I read that book in high school and it was inspirational for me, so I was like, “Hmm, I wonder if he actually read that, because it’s over a thousand pages long.”

VAST:  Man, I did not read that, I can’t even front. (haha)

ETHX:  You should. That’d be some inspiration right there. (Vast cracks up laughing) When I was doing research for this project, I was browsing the online board seeing what folks wanted to know…and a lot of folks wanted to know when you would next work with El-P because they noticed there are no El beats on your solo album or Vordul’s.

VAST:  Well, we’ll see.  We’ll see what the future brings.  There are a lot of things going on.  I’m producing, working on the MPC.  My man Camu’s (from SA Smash) been doing a lot of stuff for me.  Heads are just doing music.  If I get up with El, that could be next week or that could be next year.  Heads just get in the lab and create.  There’s definitely a lot of music coming out.

ETHX:  I guess that goes to show how saturated New York is with hip-hop, because you have so many options there that you can stumble onto at any moment.

VAST:  What people don’t understand is that El is his own entity.  He’s got things that he’s trying to do.  I’ve got things I’m trying to do.  So when it comes down to doing Ox stuff, Cold Vein was an idea, for him to do all the beats.  It wasn’t set in stone.  So when you get Ox, you’re not always going to get El-P.  It’s love that people are hungry and they want to hear more of us collaborating, but the future is very bright. All I have to say is that when it hits, it’s going to hit hard.

ETHX:  You have your album hitting, and you guest a couple tracks on Vordul’s, are there any other collaborations that you’re doing, like your works with Jean Grae on Bootleg of the Bootleg?

VAST:  I collaborated with a group called Prizm.  They’re out in Jersey.  And I’m on the Mr. Complex album. Peace to Complex.  I’m on the High & Mighty album.  That’s it for right now.

ETHX:  But you got a lot coming out in the next two years.

VAST:  Yeah, I have another solo album coming out.  There are two Cann Ox albums coming out

ETHX:  That was one question I wasn’t going to ask.  I was going to let you drop it yourself and you just said it.

VAST:  Yeah, man, there are two projects in the works.  And there’s also an Atoms Family album being made. So it’s crazy right now. It’s definitely busy running around getting it done.

ETHX:  That’s it! Any shout outs?

VAST:  Yo, man, pick up “Look Mom…No Hands” April 20th.  Crazy. I got Madlib, I got Cryptic, I got RJD2, I got Aesop Rock, MFDoom, it’s crazy, Breez Brewin’, Vordul, it’s just a wild album. I had a lot of fun. There’s a lot of music about to come out. Heads is about to come out with some powerful albums and we have to brace the public. Peace to Weathermen, Yak Ballz, Cage, Breezly Brewin, El-P, Tame One, Jakki da Mota Mouth, Camu Tao! Peace to all Atoms Fam, Def Jux, Chocolate Industries, Cetrifigul Phorce Records, Matic Records, anyone just doing it and putting it down.

ETHX:  Big ups to hip-hop in general.

VAST:  Big ups to hip-hop and anyone that’s doing it.  Peace to the Roots, I just had a real good tour with them.  Peace to OkayPlayer. Little Brother.

ETHX:  You need to do something with 9th Wonder.

VAST:  I’m sure we’ll do something in the future because I’m trying to do something with Little Brother. Peace to them, real talented brothers, and anyone putting it down.  Keep your ears to the streets because it’s real and lots of projects are coming out.  Keep focused! Peace!

Jake One: As far as just being a fan, the early Sugar Hill records was the first stuff I could remember, like Grandmaster Flash, stuff like that. It was just the first type of music I really heard that I even remember as a kid, so I just initially gravitated towards it. I was just a super head when I was a little kid, you know, Run-DMC, I was into breakdancing and that whole thing. So it’s just kind of natural that when I got older and figured out what was going on that I get involved with it somehow.

Ethx: I was about to ask if you started b-boying first or emceeing, but I guess you said you were breakdancing back in the day.

Jake One: Yah, you know, I was a lot skinnier back then. I could spin around on my head and all that stuff. Not what these kids are doing now, they’re on some other.

Ethx: I just interviewed Encore last week, who you’re all too familiar with (Jake: Yah, definitely.), and he said the same thing. He was like, “Kids these days got so much more energy and so many skills, I can’t even compare.” (laughs from both)

Jake One: Man, I see guys spin on their heads for like minutes consecutive and I can’t even relate. It’s really ill, it’s just crazy.

Ethx: We’ll switch to something that you are familiar with then. When and how did you first get your start in production? What drove you to say “I want to be a producer”, instead of DJ or MC?

Jake One: Um, I guess to me, DJ’ing and producers go hand-in-hand. So I guess maybe my freshmen year when I was going to Garfield (HS in Seattle), I actually saw…the first person I actually seen DJ’ing live was Vitamin (Vitamin D) at one of our class talent shows or something and he had done some stuff with this other dude. They were Ghetto Children back then. It was crazy to see someone just doing it that was my age, and it sounded just like things that were out, like Tribe or whatever. It was amazing. I just thought that would be dope, I had always wanted to DJ. Seeing that got me more into it. And my neighbor back then was Hussein from Sinsemilla, so he had met Vitamin and he got off into making beats, so we just kinda went at it, buying records and eventually I just bought my own equipment and started doing it, ya know.

Ethx: Speaking of your collection, how many deep do you figure you are at this point?

Jake One: I don’t even know, man, somewhere over five or six thousand. (Ethx: Ow. All over the house) Yah, and there’s probably been that many that I’ve gone through and gotten rid of over the years. (Ethx: Playing what’s hot and then getting rid of it…) Yah, it’s crazy.

Ethx: Speaking of what’s hot, what projects do you got coming out?

Jake One: As far as like major stuff, I don’t know how many songs, but I got like two or three songs on this new Kardinal Offishall record; he took some really good stuff, I like the stuff I did with him a lot. One of the songs has Pharoahe Monch on it, turned out really dope. Trying to get on this Busta record. Did a song for the Rah Digga record that looks like it’s gonna come out finally.

Ethx: Yah, you got that joint with Rah Digga that Lloyd Banks is on (“Party Over Here”), we’ll play that later. One thing that I was curious about…I went to buy the G-Unit album and I saw that track on there and I thought it was just gonna be you by yourself, but I saw that you were on there with DJ Fusion. How’d that end up coming about?

Jake One: Basically, Fusion kind of hooked it up. I pretty much had done the beat and then he was gonna add some stuff to it, but it didn’t work out. The credit thing became a fiasco, but he’s the one that kinda really made it happen. He was on the road with them, so…

Ethx: It also creates future connections for you either way.

Jake One: I don’t know, I’m just really happy to be on the record. It’s just crazy, it’s such a huge record right now. I got people calling me about it already. So…

Ethx: Speaking of that, working with G-Unit…do you prefer with working with the likes of Boom Bap Project and local folks, the lesser known but equally talented artists like Rakaa or Encore…do you prefer working with them or the likes of G-Unit or Rah Digga, both who have broken more into the mainstream at this point?

Jake One: The thing is, with the big artists I don’t get a chance to do anything with them. I just send the beat on Pro Tools. I mean, I heard the G-Unit song when everybody else did, same with the Rah Digga thing. Like I get to talk to them on the phone or whatever, but it’s not like I get to be in the session. To me it’s just like…I don’t know, to me as far as like actually physically working (with someone), I have a better time working with people I can actually be in the studio with and say “yay” or “nay”. I don’t necessarily believe it has to be all about vibing or whatever in the studio, but it helps when you can at least bounce some ideas. I feel like a lot of stuff I do on the bigger labels, I don’t get to complete what I want to do, because I don’t really get to finish the track. I just kind of throw stuff out there, ya know.

Ethx: You have less artistic control…

Jake One: Definitely, definitely. There’s different things you need to think of as far as like…you can’t just throw a little record in there. You gotta pay for that. That sort of stuff definitely creeps in your mind when you start doing records like that because everything’s so big and the money factor’s so serious as far as samples and whatnot. With a lot of other stuff I just have complete reign to just do what I want.

Ethx: Do you usually start your projects, when you’re making beats, do you make it with a specific MC in mind and say, “I can mold this.” Or do you just make beats for yourself and say, “Oh this guy might like this,” and hand them a beat tape? Or…

Jake One: I don’t know. I’m into so much different stuff, and I just get into…I just try to do a different style for a while and then I’ll get tired of it and do something else and after I get done making all this stuff, I be like, “hmm…that’s sounds like something Gab would want.” And usually I just give people CDs and let them figure it out, because I honestly have no idea what people want to hear from me. Some of the stuff that ends up being the best songs are beats that I didn’t even like. What they did with the song just brought something out in the music that I didn’t hear. But like right now I’ve just being trying to make…seems like everyone just wants a prototypical hard sound from me. I’ve just been building that up. So it’s like, I’ll get into a phase doing that, and I haven’t really been doing much straightforward Hip Hop stuff because I’ve just done so much of it I’ve been getting tired of it. But I’m sure I’ll get tired of doing what I’m doing now and go right back to it.

Ethx: What equipment do you typically work on? And do you prefer the synthesized stuff, or do you…obviously you were a DJ first, so you dig a lot for your samples.

Jake One: Pretty much everything I do is based on records, even if I play something. Like the G-Unit record is a record I had, I just re-played it. Killed me on the publishing, but…that’s another story. But I use the ASR-10 mostly for everything as far as just…it’s my favorite machine. And I have a Triton and some other stuff I use just to throw some other little stuff in. I’m just not really fully a keyboard beatmaker yet. I mean, I’d like to Battlecat one day, but I don’t know…

Ethx: Are there any artists that you’d like to work with at this point that you haven’t had the chance to either get a beat tape into their hands or someone you’d like to actually sit down and work with…I guess the dream person and someone who is more attainable at this point?

Jake One: Most of the people I’ve gotten to work with…I’ve gotten to work with a lot of people that I thought was dope. I mean, a couple of people like Nas, Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, just people that I like to just genuinely listen to a lot. MOP, just people I’m a fan of. And it’s like, I haven’t necessarily had the chance to make that connection…I mean, I have a couple little links, but you just never know. There’s so much other stuff that goes on beyond just making a beat that somebody likes. Cuz everybody at every label has their own A&R and he’s got five producers. It’s a really competitive game at that level, so hopefully something will happen. I see it happen for friends of mine, so it’s not out of reach.

Ethx: Does being in Seattle make things difficult for you? Because a lot of people will come out of the mecca’s of Hip Hop, like LA or NYC or San Francisco…do you find it difficult getting beats to people being in Seattle?

Jake One: It just depends. My manager is in L.A., so he can pretty much get anything to anybody on the west coast and a lot of the New York stuff. I think it definitely hurts in the fact that I can’t just go down to the studio and play somebody my beats, which it happens and it’s not like it’s a big thing. But the more records I’ve done and the more my name goes around, it’s a lot easier because people are actually wanting to hear something from me. When you get to that stage it’s a lot easier because they’re already open to what you’re doing. I don’t know, I’ve thought of moving to New York, I almost did it at one point. I’m just not that guy. I just don’t really like it out there like that. (Ethx: Too fast paced, you like it in Seattle.) Yah, I’ve lived my whole life in Seattle so I couldn’t really imagine doing anything else. Who knows though, I might end up moving one day. With the way people are…as long as you got people hustling for you in all these different areas, it doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t hurt though. If you grew up on the block with the A&R for so and so or some powerful somebody, it obviously helps you have your “in”.

Ethx: Back the collaboration idea for a second. Have you ever had any aspirations of doing a long-term collaboration, like Gang Starr or something of that nature, where you got one MC that you work with for a whole album or even multiple albums.

Jake One: It was gonna be Arcee, that’s fam. But he’s got things going on in his life. And I can’t wait around for anybody. I think that’s why Encore’s record and Gift of Gab’s record I really enjoyed doing. Even though I didn’t do all the beats, just the fact that me and Vitamin did everything. It allowed us to build a sound and make a full album that had that same sound. And I would guess that we’re going to continue to work with them on numerous projects. We’re already getting started on both of their next albums.

Ethx: You did what, seven beats on the Encore? And about half of the beats on the Gift of Gab?

Jake One: Yeah, I did 8 or 9 on Gift of Gab, but I don’t have the CD on me. It’s somewhere around there. Gift of Gab’s is all me and Vitamin. And ‘Core is all me and Vitamin except three songs. (Ethx: Architect on those.) And they both kind of have the same sound so I think people will get to hear something that doesn’t sound like Boom Bap or anything else I’ve done, probably. Which I’m proud of, because I’m not necessarily about just doing that kind of music all the time, I do everything. (Ethx: You got to show your versatility to folks.) Yah, I mean, I’m just genuinely into…I like a G-Unit just as much as a Dilated or whatever it is.

Ethx: Do you think you’ll end up doing one of those compilation albums where you’re the producer doing all sorts of different featured guests, I’m thinking a Mark Ronson, I don’t even know if he did any of the production, but you know what I mean. Do you see yourself doing one of those?

Jake One: That’s something I was supposed to have been doing forever, it just ends up coming out that all these people I work with, they end up getting all the good beats for their record. For me, I wouldn’t want to do it unless I felt that I had something really strong. I wouldn’t want to just put something out, because I have tons of extra songs…I mean, I’m going to be put a bunch of 12″s out. There’s like an E-40 record I did that they didn’t use for the last record that I think we’re going to put out. Lots of Planet Asia stuff. Gab has a bunch of songs that we didn’t use…Encore, all these guys that we didn’t use, there’s tons of songs. So that’s something that’s probably going to be on the horizon. More than likely, I’ll probably end up doing a record with Vitamin before I do that, because then I only have to do half the beats. So it’s less work and I have someone to carry me, haha. (Ethx: Would he do the vocals as well?) I don’t know, we’ve just been preliminarily thinking about it. We got all these other records done, so it’s like, “What’s next?” And he’s doing his album, too, and I did some stuff on there.

Ethx: If you guy did end up doing something together, who do you think you’d see yourself going with? Like he’s on Rhymesayers, for his 12″ at least. (Jake One: Yeah.) Would that be the road you’d go?

Jake One: Yeah, it’s definitely an option. Right now I think it’s cool because we can pretty much work with who we want to work with on an indie level, it’s all there. People are willing to do stuff. I don’t know…I think we’d have to get the record done first and just look and see where we’re going to go with it. But I think if we do end up doing this, all the beats together, it’s going to be a collaborative effort, we might even involve other people from around town on this project. (Ethx: Keep it local?) Yeah, definitely. I don’t think people really realize a lot of the stuff that goes on, or they don’t get to hear it. I think, personally, the best local stuff I ever heard never comes out. (Ethx: Any examples?) All the stuff Vitamin was even doing maybe 2 or 3 years ago or 5 years ago. Some classic stuff, it’s just never going to see the light of day for whatever reason. There’s definitely a lot of Ghetto Children that nobody got to hear. I think that stuff is really top flight and people need to hear it. I know it’ll come to light at some point. I know he’s working on a mixtape right now, kinda lost Pharmacy (Vitamin D’s studio) classics and stuff. When that drops I think people will really bug out off that. (Ethx: Realize what they missed.) Unfortunately it wasn’t really there to miss. We didn’t really have our business right early on. All the stuff is kind of coming together now. Just getting older and seeing more things happen. We were younger back then and didn’t really know what we were doing. We just did music. (Ethx: You just did it for love and now you have the opportunity to present it to folks.) Yeah, and that’s always a good thing. To me the most exciting thing about the G-Unit record is that 2 million people are going to hear something that I did. It’s crazy.

Ethx: Another type of compilation album that I was thinking of was…do you ever see yourself doing a concept album a la’ Sharpshooters or DJ Shadow or RJD2? Just like a lot of instrumental tracks and some featuring MCs or anything along those lines. Or do you even like that type of music?

Jake One: I don’t know. That stuff…I just prefer listening to rappers, but that’s just me. I think DJ Shadow and RJD2 and them are good at what they do, but I’m just more into hearing…I just want to hear rap for the most part. I listen to old records when I want to hear instrumental stuff for the most part. And that stuff is just a lot of work. I’m lazy. There’s only so much beats I can do. If I did something like that, it would take me a long time to get it right. I don’t have the passion for it, but I’ve tried to do instrumental stuff in the past, it just feels like something’s missing even if I have 30 records involved in one track. It gets boring to me after a while.

Ethx: Do you think Gift of Gab will be debuting any of your tracks at Brainstorm (MC Battle) when he comes through? (Note: He actually cancelled due to medical emergency.)

Jake One: Yah, definitely. I think he’s already trying to perform stuff at the Blackalicious shows. I don’t know if he even knows what he’s gonna do at your show. I imagine he’s gotta do some of the new cuts. I think Vitamin’s going to DJ for him, but not sure about that. It’s going to be interesting, it’s a different sound for him and it’s a different sound for us. Just the way he has the ability to write songs, I think it was real cool seeing how he worked, how he put stuff together. (Ethx: He’s a prolific artist.) No he’s definitely prolific. I mean, we’d come out and he’d have three songs ready. He’d do those and be like, “ehhh…” I remember one night I gave him a CD and he ended up writing three songs that night and they ended up being three of the better songs that we did. He’s just very focused. He’s REALLY focused. He didn’t do anything but rap. We didn’t see him anywhere. He was in the studio; that’s what he did. It was real cool being around somebody that just worked like that.

(rest of the convo was just us bullshittin’ about NBA and NCAA football, til…)

Ethx: I forgot, I had one more question for you. Why the name White Van Music when you do your production?

Jake One: That was just something that when I first started doing beats, a friend in high school had a dirty white van and it looked like one of those kidnapper vans. We used to play my beat tapes in there a long time ago. He did a song called “The White Van”. This is a LONG time ago. I just did it to show those guys, my friends from high school…just to let them know it’s still alive. My friend called me after looking at the G-Unit album and he was like, “You’re putting that stuff on recod, dude? Are you crazy?!” He just couldn’t believe that’s what it said on the record. So it’s nothing deep or symbolic.

Ethx: Just a connection to the past. Do you have any shout outs?

Jake One: Just go buy the Encore album when it comes out because he needs the support and Gift of Gab does, too. Thanks for supporting what I’m doing and regardless of who I work with, I’m still Seattle. And that’s going to further us, just period. When me and Vitamin do something nationally, people are going to know about Seattle now. Something that needs to happen, that hasn’t happened.

Thank you.

For those of my guests that don’t know who you are do you want to go ahead and do a quick introduction of yourself?

Yah, my name is Encore The Essence. I’m part of the Executive Lounge. I had an album out in 2000 called “Self-Preservation”, it was on 75 Ark with Dan the Autmator, you may remember him. I had a single on “Handsome Boy Modeling School” record and now I got a new album coming out in February 2004 called “Layover” with the Heiroglphics Imperium. Big Up  to Heiro.

Especially at this show, they did a good job on their set…following up Little Brother, [who's'] performance was also dope. I’m gonna hit with the questions, considering you’re a busy man and all. When and how did you first get started with hip-hop? The very beginning…

The very beginning of hip-hop was probably…I had “The Breaks” 45 with Kurtis Blow, “The Breaks”. That was my first introduction to hip-hop. That was like, wow! Actually my neighbor had one, I saw his record and I was like, “Ah man, I gotta get that, gotta get that!” I picked it up, from there it when on and on.

You started off as a fan and a listener like everbody else…

Just Like everybody else, man.

Did you start off b-boying before you picked up the MC’ing game or did you DJ first, or has it always been MC’ing?

Back when I started doing it, we tried to do everything. But I was pretty much the bboy at that point. I was like poppin’ and everything, much more of a popper than a breaker.

I gotcha. Do you think artists these days, or up-and-comers these days, like the roundedness that you have as an artist coming out a decade ago when you got your start?

I think you can’t help but do that [now]. There’s so much other shit, so many other things going on, it’s hard to focus…you pretty much have to focus on one thing to be good at it now. Back then it was in infant stages and you had to do everything. It was just more of just a natural thing to do everything. Now it’s like, “Okay, I wanna be a rapper.” Or, “I wanna be a DJ.” And the level of the game has stepped up so much in everything that you can’t…you have to just focus on one. Even, like, bboying…bboys, the stuff they’re doing now, it’s so far ahead of the game now, from what I was doing. Like, you have to be doing just that now, that’s life now.

It’s kinda similar to sports, how we used to have more multi-sport pro athletes, but now the level of competition is higher. It’s very analogous?

Exactly.

Do you think coming from the Bay Area — originally being born in Palo Alto, and being raised in Milpitas ( corrects pronunciation…”yah south bay”) — has had any impact on your style, be it MC’ing or hip-hop in general, and on your success?

Yah, I think so. Being from the Bay, we have your Too $horts, your Richie Rich’s…but at the same time, when we were listening to hip-hop, when I was growing up in high school and junior high, we were listening to Too $hort and KRS-One,  Ice Cube and Rakim, 4N5 and Big Daddy Kane, you know we had this big mix, where I’m sure on the East they were just listening to East Coast music. So we had the wide range of East Coast / West Coast. I can tell my style…I can tell when I do certain things with my lyrics, I say, “okay, that’s a Too $hort” or “that’s a Cube”, maybe something real subtle, but maybe something I wouldn’t have done if I was just into one Coast. But being from the Bay, you were forced to listen to everything

They didn’t have the scene when you started that the East Coast had so you were a little more influenced than [the East Coast was]?

We had a scene, it was just a different scene. It was just more open to listening to different things because we weren’t living the New York life, we were living the Bay Area life. I’m influenced by a lot of East Coast lyricists as far as far as styles are concerned, but as far as what we talk about and what influences us on a day-to-day life, it was Bay Area stuff. It was Bay Area things.

I was noticing when I was looking up history on you that you had help in the beginning by being introduced to Stones Throw co-founder Peanut Butter Wolf through your guys’ mutual friend Charisma, who passed away back in ’94. Are you looking forward to their album finally coming out? I guess it’s coming out right about now.

Yah, it’s actually funny. I just found out about it right now, when I was on tour. I haven’t talked to Wolf yet about that. But I’m definitely juiced about that, man. Charisma was, Rest In Peace,…to me, when people come to me looking for who Charisma was, he was in that Big L, Mad Skillz vein, where he had the punch lines and that high voice. He was them before them, not saying he was doper than them or anything like that, I’m just saying he was them before they even came out, or before I ever heard of them.

He had a major impact on your career — do you figure?

He had an impact on me…cuz we went to high school together, and before I was even rapping seriously, he already had a deal. I learned a lot from him about how the record industry worked before I even got into the industry myself. It was real weird cuz he had gotten and dropped before anything was even going down with me.

Before you were even on the radar…So he was kind of a mentor and a friend?

Yah, the thing is, we weren’t cool for a little while in high school. We played YBA basketball when we were real young and then we didn’t keep in contact. Then in high school there was a period of time where we weren’t even cool because he was kind of arrogant at some point in time cuz he got the deal and he was like, “I’m dope. Nobody else can fade me.” And I wasn’t really like into rapping as much then as I was when I started getting into it seriously. There was a period of time where he got a little arrogant, a little cocky with everybody. So me and him weren’t cool, but we ended up squashing stuff maybe a year before he passed. We were actually gonna start working on music together, but it didn’t happen.

So it’s kinda fortunate you got to squash things before he ended up passing away.

Yah, but it wasn’t anything like a Nas/Jay-Z type of thing, we just weren’t cool on some friend levels. We weren’t cool for a minute, then we squashed it and it was all good.

Good deal, we’ll move on. Is there any particular reason why you chose to go with Heiro on their new label, Heiro Imperium, as opposed to sticking with 75 Ark for another EP or album with them?

Part of it was timing, 75 Ark was actually folded. I actually got out of the contract because of that. Automator was  gonna start another label, I still think he’s gonna start another label. He signed to MCA and MCA, and he was having issues with MCA. And the timing was good. Me and Domino (of Heiro) had been cool for a while. I used to go over to his house, we’d watch football games and everything. And he was like, “You should just do something with me.” And I was still working on my album independently, and the timing was like, “Okay, let’s do it.” I feel like I’m a direct descendant of Heiro. Even though we’re all the same age; you know, Heiroglyphics, they’re like the direct lineage from De La and Tribe and the whole Native Tongues thing and brought it to the west. Anybody on the underground, on the West coast, that came out after or during the time of Heiro is linked to them. You know I’ve always been a fan, I’ve had Pep on my last album. It was pretty much like we were family anyway. ( It fit well.) You know I was worried about the business aspect of it, you know, I don’t want to mess any business up or friendships up over business stuff. But it all worked out and it’s going well for me right now, for all of us right now.

Did they have any sort of creative control with you or did Domino just stand over it as a business perspective and say “maybe do this, maybe do that” because they have the experience of however many 12″s and numerous albums they’ve put out over the years, or was it mostly just a business…

He pretty much knew where I was coming from with my album; my album was pretty much done before I even handed it to him. I mean it wasn’t mastered or anything, or mixed, all the songs were pretty much done though. He pretty much knew that I’m coming from — I’m part of Heiro — but I’m coming from a different angle than Heiro, I’m just bringing a different element to the label. So he was pretty much like, “okay”, and pretty much put it in my hands as long as I was breaking the bank on the budget.

You worked exclusively with three producers on this album: Vitamin D, JakeOne, and Architect?

Vitamin D, JakeOne, Architect. Architect was on my last album; he did about 99% of the beats on the last album. This one he does three. Jake does a majority of the album. Big up to JakeOne, Vitamin, Architect…but [Jake] does a majority of the album. And Vitamin does three songs on there was well.

What was the decision making when you decided to bring in JakeOne and Vitamin D? Obviously we’re happy, considering I’m from Seattle (interview originally broadcast at University of Washington’s RainyDawg Radio www.rainydawg.com), to see Seattle producers doing big things. We’re gonna try to have Jake next week to follow-up this interview.

Word, word. Basically Jake did a remix to a song that I did on Certified Records. Big up to DJ Fingers in San Diego. Yah, he did a remix for…( For the “Filthy” track?)…yah, it was either “Filthy” or “Ice Age”. He might have…he did two remixes. Anyway, yah, people were like, “you need to get with Jake.” But the crazy thing is, that remix, and you can tell him this, too, he’ll probably get mad but, I wasn’t even that juiced on that remix. I was like, “Okay, this is cool.” But you know what I mean, the way people were talking about it was like it was more. ( Like it’s an end-all, be-all. And you’re like, “nah, it’s alright.”) No, it was cool, I liked it, I just wasn’t as impressed as I was when I heard his beat tapes. What ended up happening is, his manager Walt, I know Walt. Walt hit me off with a CD, a beat tape and I was feeling it. And I said, “Man, Walt, let me get his number so I can chop it up with him.” Walt was kind of hesistant. He thought I was gonna get it over him on some pricing, but I just wanted to build with him. I’m the type of person where I just wanna build. So I was just talking to Jake and we just started building. We really started building, he was giving me other beats and stuff for listening to.

Was he the one that suggested Vitamin D, to suggest his stuff, or were you just familiar with him from coming through Seattle?

Well, Walt, he was at that time managing Vitamin D, too. He sent me Vitamin’s beats, too. I wanted to bring more facets to the game. It wasn’t any disrespect to Arc, that’s like my brother right there. But at the same time, what I like from Arc is a specific sound I like from Arc. And I didn’t want my whole album sounding like that. Because whenever I think of a beat from Architect, it has a particular vibe to it and I felt people were kind of pigeon-holing me as far as what they thought I was gonna be rapping over and what I like. And I was like I have more facets to my whole personality and if I want to use this music as a vehicle to get things off my chest and explain where I’m at at any given time in my career and my life, I need to have a little more well-rounded music as far as giving an over-all soundscape of what I’m about at that particular time. And having Vitamin and Jake helped me achieve that. Vitamin brings that vibrant, colorful shit…both of them, they both bring that colorful shit to my music. ( Both very happy-natured guys.) Yah, no, I shouldn’t say “happy rap”, but they both definitely have more color to their music. Where Arc brings me a more conceptual, a little more darker tone, at least that’s the type of music that I like from him.

This way you can show the more multi-faceted side of yourself, the artist known as Encore The Essence. What’s been the most interesting or fulfulling stop on the Full Circle tour so far?

Well, the tour has ended and the whole tour’s just been crazy; I’ve been places I’ve never been before. And the interesting thing is doing shows where you’re not sure the people even know who you are. Those are the crazy shows. It’s like — Ottowa, never been to Ottowa, and nobody knew who I was, but that place just rocked, that place was cracking. Toronto was big, Detroit was a suprise for me, Orlando was a suprise for me, Seattle was big, Baltimore was big, just a lot of random spots that I wouldn’t have expected…Cleveland was big for me, Austin was big. ( Sounds like it was all a success.) Yah, the tour as a whole was just real successful. It just worked real good. We had good people on the tour. I think it was just good for everybody, interacting. I was on the same RV as Little Brother and my man Z-Man. And it was like, we didn’t know each other at first, but we became a family. It’s crazy how you end up meeting people you don’t know if you’re gonna click with.

You gonna try to get a 9th Wonder beat for the next, next album?

I mean I met 9th before the tour. We’ll probably do something…I want him on there, and I know he wants to get on there, too. So I mean…he’s busy, he’s got a lot of stuff going on.

Sounds like it with all the stuff he’s got coming out. How did you end up choosing the name for your new album, “The Layover”?

Layover to me is kind of symbolic, cuz the direction of my music is a little more broad than on “Self-Preservation”. Like I said, I’m showing a little more facets to my musical tastes. Layover’s kind of like where you’re waiting for your flight, you’re siting there on hold, that’s what I feel like. This record is the limbo of where’s he gonna go with his music. It’s the middle between “Self-Preservation” and where I’m trying to take my music. I don’t want to be pigeon-holed, that’s the main thing I don’t ever want to do, I don’t want people to ever think when they hear an Encore record they’ve heard him all. So this like…I stepped out of my maybe my listener’s comfort zone, my “Self-Preservation” listener’s comfort zone with some songs, but I didn’t go completely out of that element. It’s not out of my element, it may be out of my listener’s element. It’s just a gradual step, and this is Layover, okay, I’m on hold, I’m just waiting here, I’m gonna get me this beat, til I really feel the fan-base is ready. But I’m still gonna take you a couple baby steps forward and then  when I actually take that flight, that’s when you’re gonna see me doing stuff, doing some different things. Basically people have to accept you, accept change from you and the change has to be done gradually, you know. I don’t want to hit people over the head with just some brand new thing, you know, and they’re not ready for it.

Other than showing your new side by bringing in new producer’s, Vitamin D and JakeOne, and showing a different style, be it a concept or your flow itself, are you bringing in any other MCs you want to introduce them to, is there any radical change between “Self-Preservation” and “The Layover” that listeners who have followed you would notice or that new listeners might want to look out for especially?

Well, the one thing is that I didn’t get anyone off Executive Lounge on my album, I wanted to get Turbin, big up to Turbin. I wanted to get Grand on there, but I couldn’t get them on there, just a time thing. But I got my man Arcee from Toronto, he’s on there. I have Pep Love on there, and I got Opio and A-Plus from Souls of Mischief on there, and I got Ladybug Mecca from Digable Planets on there.

A lot of folks from within the family and just the area, too?

Yah, what I wanted to do, and what I always want to do with any collaboration is, first of all, if I’m doing an Encore album, I don’t want to be loaded with cameos and stuff cuz then it’s not my album, it’s just an album full of people on there. And, two, when I do collaborations I want them to stick right, I don’t want to do a collaboration just for the sake of doing a collaboration, like the song I did with Pep. It’s about being homeless. If you heard [Pep Love's] “Ascension”, and you gotta go get “Ascension”, you know he’s good with concepts and I feel like I’m good with concepts. And I felt like, we did something before and we meshed well. Plus Pep, he’s a dope MC.

So you want them to kind of fit roles rather than being a compilation album?

Yah, you know, cuz that’s kind of the same thing with Mecca, the song I did with Mecca; it’s kind of like, I don’t don’t know if you remember Positive K song “I Got A Man”. Like you’re going back and forth with a girl, that’s how it is with Mecca. Like the first verse where we go back and forth, I wrote that whole verse, but I wrote it with her in mind, with her whole image in mind, and with her voice and style in mind and that just worked out perfectly. That’s gonna be the new single, it’s called “Real Talk”. I just want any collaboration I do, like his voice and his style will fit this beat perfectly, and I think will mesh real well with it. I don’t wanna be like, “Let me get Busta, cuz Busta’s dope, or because Busta’s known for the cameos.” I don’t want that.

You don’t want just name recognition. What would you say is your final aspiration, like your ultimate goal in music is?

My ultimate goal is to have a catalogue where people can say, “Okay, this is what Encore was on on this album.” Like you pick up Marvin Gaye’s “Here, My Dear” (?), he was going through some shit right there. He was tripping, he was about to go through a divorce and his drama. You pick up “What’s Going On?” and it’s like he was really into the war. I want people to say, “Encore, this is the vibe he was on on this record. He’s going through some things here. He had some issues he wanted to get off his chest.” Basically every album is “Self-Preservation” even if it doesn’t sound anything alike. Self-preservation to me is making sure that music is a vehicle to get things off my chest. Make me look back and be like this is a photo of where I was at in this particular period of time, I want to be able to capture that for me. So when I look back, I can be like, “2004, Layover, he was on this type of vibe. This is what he’s really about.” I want to be able to piece in memory what I was doing at that time listening to my music cuz ultimately it’s for me.

Sounds like a very good goal.

Don’t get me wrong, I want to sell millions and millions of records. I don’t want to give the wrong impression. But I want to try to be as honest as I possibly can, to my audience and to myself. That’s hard, as much people say “be honest” and this and that, it’s hard to be as open and honest to the public as you may want to be, but I’d like to try to do that cuz to me that’s when your best work is done.

Do you have any dream producers or fellow MCs that you’d like to work with in the future, like possibly the album after “The Layover” or any in the future, is there any super god MC that you want to work with or a DJ Premier-esque DJ or producer you want to work with?

I get asked that a lot, but it’s really hard for me to say that cuz it really just depends on the music…like I’ve always liked Digable Planets, but before Vitamin gave me that beat, I wouldn’t have really gone out of my way thinking I wanted to make a song with Mecca. You know what I’m saying…My idols are like Rakim, Ice Cube, Large Professor, and things of that nature but it really just depends on the music or the idea that I’ve come up with or idea that we’ve both come up with; it’s really just timing, how I’m feeling at the time. You know I’d like to say that I’d like to work with everybody, ideally I would. But I don’t want to work with them just to say I’ve worked with them. And I feel like sometimes that happens a lot.

We were just talking about your idols…what would you say your all-time favorite album is, it doesn’t necessarily have to be in hip-hop, it could be in any musical genre?

Um, wow, you ask me any other day I’ll probably tell you something different. Probably “Innervisions”.

Last question, non-musical related…you a basketball fan at all?

Big basketball fan.

Who do you thinks gonna take the championship this year, I know it’s early and there’s lots of injuries, but I’m a basketball fan so I’m always curious.

Purple and gold, baby, come on! ( Ah, man!) Haha. I grew up a…people always want to say, “You’re a fair-weather Lakers fan.” But I grew up with the Lakers man. I’m actually kind of pissed off they picked up Karl Malone and Gary Payton. I mean I love GP, I’d have loved to just had GP, but I can’t stand Karl Malone, I can’t lie.

It’s really funny, I had an interview at the beginning of the summer when both those guys had just been traded and that was with Aceyalone and he’s also a Lakers fan and me being in Seattle, being a Sonics fan, I was kind of pissed off losing Gary Payton, especially to the Lakers, cuz you know how everybody who’s not a Lakers fan feels about the Lakers.

Yah, exactly. But, no, I’m a die-hard Lakers fan. I know the ins and outs about the squad. I know my game. Ask Jake, that’s part of the reason that he and I get along so well.

Yah, he’s a fan as well, right?

Yah, me and him go at it. He’s a Seattle Seahawks fan and a Sonics fan, I’m a Lakers fan and a Steelers fan and we go at it.

You don’t love your Bay area sports teams?

I like the Warriors, but I grew up a Lakers fan. And I probably don’t like the ’9ers the way people don’t like the Lakers. But all my family’s from Pennsylvania so that’s how I’m a Steelers fan.

At this point you got any shout outs you want to do?

Just want to shout out “Layover”, February 2004, got my man A-Plus, Opio, Pep Love from Heiro, got my girl Ladybug Mecca and Arcee from Toronto. Want to shout out the Executive Lounge, Grand da Visitor, Architect. Big up to the Full Circle tour people, Z-Man, Little Brother. Vitamin D, JakeOne always. And it’s like that.