On eLmatic, eLZhi pays tribute to Nas’ debut by combining the original’s song concepts with personal experiences or tweaks to make the songs his own. Right after the warm-up round of “The Genesis,” he flips Nas’ seminal “NY State of Mind” into his own “Detroit State of Mind” with references of Rose wine and crackheads selling stolen HDTVs instead of Nas’ timeless drops of Moet and drug addicts pushing broken amps. Later, Nas’ O.G. homage to his homie locked up on “One Love” is reworked into eLZhi’s tale about a romantic friendship with a woman who had a tumultuous upbringing. Despite “Life’s A Bitch” not sticking to Nas and AZ’s rhymes about life’s highs, lows and in-betweens, it still satisfies with eLZhi and Royce Da 5’9”’s solid individual verses and collaborative chemistry. The disc’s potency reiterates how timeless Nas’ album was, while still showing how talented eLZhi’s skills are to not simply prompt listeners to turn this off to hear the original.

While the technical aspects of these songs is respectable, it’s the emotion that makes them memorable. The bravado on “Detroit State of Mind” sounds like a shield to deal with the harsh realities eLZhi is describing around him, and the confidence of “The World Is Yours” meshes the confidence of its song title. The lighter tone of “One Love” seems to wistfully remember his times with the song’s female subject. Despite an inhuman efficiency, eLZhi doesn’t sound like a machine—his mastery of vocal tones and vivid imagery makes these experiences instead of songs.

Still, perhaps the most distinguishing factor of eLmatic is the inclusion of Will Sessions. The four-piece band from Detroit—known for its work on Black Milk’s albums and sold out live performances with the likes of Phat Kat and Guilty Simpson—re-created Illmatic’s soundbeds for this, and the results are astounding. Songs like “Represent” are kept to maintain their effective simplicity, while “Halftime” notably amplifies the previous version’s understated sounds to give it new life. But the band doesn’t just replay the beats and play to the background; they use their instruments and musical know-how to expound on songs’ samples or to compose their own offspring. “The World Is Yours” keeps the scratching elements of the original while adding a melodic piano solo after the rhymes die down, and the tail end of “Life’s A Bitch” re-enacts Olu Dara’s horns before unexpectedly flowing into a rendition of Gap Band’s “Yearning For Your Love” with a cameo from Mint Condition’s Stokley Williams. “One Love” is the crowning musical achievement of the project. Halfway through the song, the band seamlessly transitions from verse-ready chords into a soothing arrangement that incorporates myriad instruments—Fener Rhodes piano, electric guitars, congas, tambourines, and more—while still using the original snares as its guide.

By the time eLmatic ends with a Pete Rock shoutout and two incredible bonus tracks, it’s clear that this isn’t one of the “tributes” that other emcees have saturated the game with throughout the past couple years. Instead, the result is a project that will jog memories from ’94 and create memories in 2011 all at once.
]]> http://www.hiphopsite.com/2011/05/23/elzhi-elmatic-review/feed/ 11 http://www.hiphopsite.com/2006/09/12/dead-prez-outlawz-united-we-stand/ http://www.hiphopsite.com/2006/09/12/dead-prez-outlawz-united-we-stand/#comments Tue, 12 Sep 2006 00:00:00 +0000 http://localhost/hiphop/?p=1639 [cont.]]]> While the collaboration has always been a staple in rap music, these days, they’re commonly limited to one artist enlisting the services of the A-List producer or MC of the moment in order to boost sales. But dead prez and The Outlawz are doing things differently: the Tallahassee duo (made of M-1 and stic.man) and 2Pac’s entourage (Young Noble, Kastro and E.D.I.) recently released a entire album together, Can’t Sell Dope Forever. In an interview with HipHopSite, Young Noble and stic.man discuss how the project came to be, emphasize their similarities over their differences, and how their album is more than just a message to drug dealers.

HHS: How did your groups meet?

Young Noble: M-1 and Castro have been chopping it up for a minute, we were supposed to have been put out some music together (but never got around to it). But stic.man is in Atlanta, we’re out in Atlanta, our artist Storm got connected with stic, and we wound up getting connected. And it’s been history ever since. We always respected dead prez man. And you know they always had love for us. So you know, it was just once we got together it was natural, we got a common history.

stic.man: You know what homie? You know how you be fucking with niggas, and you don’t really remember exactly? My nigga Jaheed brought me to y’all studio, and that’s how we started doing the music shit. I connected with Storm like on the everyday and then we all just bonded. So it was Jaheed that connect me to y’all.

Young Noble: OK, OK, that’s what it is then.

HHS: When you guys first started working together, did you guys have the idea to make an entire album together, or were you just basically making songs, and seeing where they would turn up?

Young Noble: I came up with the idea that we do an album together, ’cause me, I’m in hustler mode. I see an opportunity, and I think its hot. I’m the kind of nigga that’ll think of something, and there’s no better joy than making that shit come to life. So when I first chopped up with stic.man about that, we had already did like a song or two. But I was like, “You know what? Lets just motherfuckin do a album. stic.man was like hell yea, lets do it. You know what I mean. You know they definitely familiar with us, we familiar with them. We got a common voice. Like we represent the struggle, we represent the voice of the motherfuckin people. So it was like it was almost natural for us to do that shit. Once we started working on the project, we started Banging On The System, and then the cant sell dope shit, then we did the stic and Noble album. Banging On The System is going to come out after the stick and Noble album, and it ain’t no telling what’s going gone come out after that. And we’re going to keep it moving and going.

HHS: The Outlawz and dead prez are very different artists, so how difficult was it for you guys to grow chemistry but still able to accentuate your differences?

stic.man: First, tell us from your perspective, what is the difference [between our groups]?

HHS: I think that the difference between you guys is that dead prez’ political nature seems more blatant, putting the message out explicitly, while The Outlawz political nature seems more underlying, told through stories.

stic.man: And then its all for us to answer that question, because it’s so many assumptions that we don’t really see. Our message would be going back to Pac and his relationship with The Outlawz. And his message being one of, “Get your power up, nigga,” and hope for the hopeless. That’s same movement that inspired dead prez, when we was in Tallahassee hustling, and doing certain shit, to survive and to learn ourselves. Pac was putting out “White’s Man World,” and Pac was putting out “Strictly For My N.I.G.G.A.S.,” “Never ignorant, getting goals accomplished.” And then we had Young Noble, and Hidi Amin, fucking Kastro. You know who (Fidel) Castro is, that’s Cuba. Of all of these, that’s the same message. So when people say, “Y’all are so different when y’all come together,” we look at it like, If we were so different, we couldn’t have came together. We came together because we had that much shit in common. So it’s always interesting to ask that question back to the person doing the interview.

Young Noble: Someone asked me the other day like, do I think doing the album called Cant Sell Dope like if we would of did it with somebody else, one of these major (label) dudes, would it have been a bigger impact or something like that. And I’m like hell no. We couldn’t even did this project with somebody else.

HHS: Another interesting facet of this album, to me, was how it had both of what you guys are best at: it has political messages, but it’s still is sort of gangsta. Much of rap music today is usually one or the other, without much room in between. So how difficult was it to do both of those together?

stic.man: I respond by saying, first of all, ain’t no such thing as gangsta without politics. Gangsta is dealing with people, it’s dealing with community control, it’s dealing with a philosophy of honor, loyalty, love and respect. It’s dealing with business. All these things take organization and leadership, which is what? Politics. So it ain’t no real gangsta shit that ain’t political. And if you are talking about things that govern peoples’ lives, and you’re talking about changes from a fundamental level that’s going to take by any means necessary to make it happen politically, then you’re talking about some gangsta shit, in the realest sense. So to me, real shit is going to have elements of all that. Anything that you find that don’t have that, is some made up shit.

Young Noble: And as far as like how difficult was, it was actually easy. I mean this what the fuck we do. This shit is like second nature to us my man. You know what I mean.

stic.man: It’s just part of what our understanding of the world.

HHS: The Outlawz and dead prez are primarily known for working with your own camps. How is it different working on a whole album with other artists, as opposed to your routine group members?

Young Noble: I loved it. Stic.man is damn near a genius when it came to the studio. Like him and Castro are real particular about everything, they critique everything as far as the music is concerned. And I love that. It’s like with more people it’s the less work you got to do. So instead of me always having to do 16 bars and the hook, I might just have to the eight bars for this song or something like that. You know what I mean. But as far as like working with more dudes, I loved it, it wasn’t hard at all. It was just a beautiful thing: all these different minds working on the same goal, just different perspectives. Shit is like a masterpiece to me.

stic.man: Working with The Outlawz was a blessing, too. It’s like I see my reflection: Noble is a hustler, Noble is a nigga that that he gone do what he say he gone do. He’s super-talented. Nigga can write a crazy verse in 20 minutes or 10 minutes, and you’ll think the nigga took a few weeks to get his thoughts together and all that shit. This nigga E.D.I. was writing, without even writing it down on paper; just writing his shit in his head, and then spit it like it was written. Just the skill level that a worker, the brother’s that got ambition. When you here saying the RBG fam, shout out to all my niggas, but sometimes you work with people who don’t  have that same drive, or haven’t seen things completed before. The Outlawz have that goal-oriented mindset, to get shit done. There have been times where I’ll be getting demoralizing, feeling stagnation, like, “Nigga let’s get a million things done.” And everybody knows that with Pac whole work ethic, a million and one songs is nothing. It was like just to be inspired by that, that’s what I’ve been needing to keep myself motivated, ’cause I be that sole nigga in my camp sometimes. (Also,) I knew that all of the emcees have real shit to talk about, it was nothing corny, no corny styles. Everything was just real.

HHS: Talk about the importance that you thing this album can have for both the culture and for music. Everything. You know what I mean.. Talk about how important this album and for you guys to team up.

stic.man: I think the album is important. One main thing is because you’ve a lot of young cats, 13 or 14 years old, growing up right now, and they might look at Pac like old school. Imagine that. They not getting the benefit of Melly Mel’s “The Message,” and they not getting the benefit of even “Beat Street,” or Public Enemy, or NWA, and just the balance of real music. They’re getting that real fluffy version of what’s selling first right now. A lot of that shit is trying to sell these little niggas the idea I’m going to be a dope dealer and make a million dollars. And a lot of people are just carelessly selling that to people.

So I feel like this album, for what it’s worth-what dead prez’ credibility is worth, what Outlawz shit is worth-people get another viewpoint. Not that were attacking nobody, who’s out here rapping doing they thing, but its another viewpoint. Like you might listen to one record that’s out now and it’s talking about being a trap star and all that, but you might listen to this record and you’re going to hear the guy that was coming to the trap, and this is how his life, and his daughter and everyone is around him is being affected by it. So you gone hear the real side of the drug game. And not just the shit that people trying to sell you, the flashy (lifestyle) and the excitement of a hustler.

Also, if you look at the title of this record, its not just talking to so-called wannabe dope boys, its talking to the industry and the system itself. We’re telling the system and the industry, you can’t sell dope forever. You can’t keep pushing that same bullshit on our community that doesn’t reflect reality. We want people to know, don’t just look at it like we talking down to some dopeboys. Because the real dope boy, the biggest dopeboy is between the doctor, and the medical system, and them and George Bush. Uncle Sam is the number one pusher man. And we saying that and we saying that we not gone allow the system and the industry to sell us that same dope and doping us up with that foolishness forever. You know what I mean. We gone make a difference and you know.

HipHopSite: First off, what’s been going on with you lately?

Juelz: I’ve been on that “g-rind.”  That’s my slang for the grind right now, just grinding through whatever it takes to make things happen.  I’ve put a lot of shit into my career, so I’m just focused on what I’m doing.  I pretty much know what’s going on and know what’s expected of me, I’m just trying to make it happen.

HipHopSite: And what do you think is expected of you?

Juelz: A lot.  At a time like this, a lot of people are putting out appetizers.  Now, they’re ready for that full-course meal.  And I think they expect that from me, they don’t expect just a half-ass job from me.  There’s been a lot more expected from me, be it the grind that I’ve been on, people have been seeing the work I’ve been putting in and the effort I’ve put in on my mixtapes.  They expected me to come through this album with a lot of fire, a lot of stuff that makes sense, a lot of stuff that’s going to be different from whatever people are doing, and hopefully I’ll get people on the right page.

HipHopSite: It seems like things are going really fast for you….it seems like just yesterday, you had a few guest spots on Cam’ron’s “Come Home With Me” album.  What do you think has contributed to you getting so much of a solo reputation as opposed to your fellow Diplomats?

Juelz: Just that grind, that work I’m putting in.  I’m constantly working, because I feel like if I’m not working, someone who wants my spot is working harder than me.  I’ve got to always feel like there’s somebody’s spot that I want.  I put in a lot of work, so that’s why it’s respectable and my spot is solidified.  I have three mixtapes out, that’s like albums.  I’m so hot in the street, the way that I am, it seems like I had an album out, and I didn’t.  I’m hotter than niggas who have albums out; I can do shows, with no big names, but I (sell tickets) from my mixtape music.

HipHopSite: Even though you’re on Def Jam, you’re still putting out mixtapes on a damn near daily basis.  What makes mixtapes so important, even though you have a major label deal?

Juelz: Because that’s where I come from, and that’s what makes me a major issue.  Just always being out there, always giving the people something new, always being fresh, and always being hot.  Just motiviating people, letting them know that you’ve got to stay on that grind.  I’m putting out more shit than anybody out there, I’m smothering them.  And it’s quality.  So it’s like, “come see the dope man.”

HipHopSite: How different was it recording this album with Def Jam, as opposed to your last one?

Juelz: There’s no “process.”  I’m always making my album, it’s not like the label has any control, I pretty much do what I want to do.  I think that’s where a lot of artists get lost, they start letting the label tell them what to do as an artist.  That’s why the label signed you, because you’re an artist and they recognize your talent, so I feel like you should just do what you do.  They believed in me, they seen what I was doing when it came to my mixtapes and paying for my videos, so they gave me a little bit more leeway to just do everything my way, the way we’ve been doing it.  As far as the Diplomats, we do things the way we want anyway.

HipHopSite: What’s your relationship like with Jay-Z?

Juelz: I have no relationship like that with Jay-Z.  He’s the president of the label, we shake hands and give each other a pound when we see each other, but it’s nothing like that.  We’re both men.  Everybody in the world is not going to be the best of friends.  It’s not like we’re not the best of friends in an enemy-like way, but we never really got to be friends like that, you know?

HipHopSite: What about your relationship with Tru Life?

Juelz: What do you mean?  What happened with Tru Life?  Who is Tru Life?  I’ve never heard of him.

HipHopSite: You were in KING magazine recently with your cars.  How long have you had an infatuation with cars?

Juelz: I’m a Harlem nigga, man, so cars are always there.  They’re like toys, and as you grow up, you get bigger toys, you get bigger things.  I’ve always been into cars growing up.  I used to sit on the step and say, “That’s my car.”  Now, it is my car.

HipHopSite: What’s your favorite joint right now?  Any new additions?

Juelz: I like all my cars for different reasons.  I’ve got the Benz, the CLS500, that’s my grown-up joint when I’m just chillin, no rims or nothing, just ride out.  Maybe take my girl out, go to dinner, just cruise through the town, music not too loud, I might be playing some old schools in there.  My Corvette, that’s what I’m driving today, 2005, 420 fuckin horsepower, 200 on the dash, how much speed is that, bro?  It’s crazy.  My Z is my baby, that’s like the first coupe I got, so I always wanted the ZT50, my Nissan.  And my truck, I’ve got a Yukon Denali, she done got me through everything.  From construction, putting everything from rock in it, and she look good—white, spinners.  I like all my cars for different reasons.  And I’ve got my old school Caddy, ’95 Deville.  Had to do that.

HipHopSite: You also have a store, Santana’s Town.  Tell me about that.

Juelz: It’s in uptown Harlem.  It’s pretty much like a store I did in the hood for the people to come through and get Diplomat T-Shirts, all the stuff you see on the Internet.  My man DukeDaGod has our collection of mixtapes right there on hand, then we have a lot of other stuff.  My man Al Jeerz, he does shirts that’s crazy, exclusive-type stuff.

The reason why we say that is like our following is different.  People don’t just like us for the music, they like us for everything we represent, everything that comes with the music.  That’s what makes it a movement.  It’s not just the music, it’s not just, “I like his song, he’s hot.”  It’s everything.  “I like him.  I like what comes with the music.  I like his swag, I like the way they do their own thing.  Them niggas is cool, them niggas is hot niggas.  I want to be like them niggas, I fuck with them niggas.”

HipHopSite: Let’s talk about the new album a bit.  How did the joint with Young Jeezy and Lil Wayne happen?

Juelz: Those are two artists, you can find me listening to their music on my own time.  Those are people I like working with, people I fuck with on the music level.  I knew both of them.  They’re niggas that I feel that are coming from the heart, representing what they represent, coming with their own thing and not really letting anybody taint what they do.  There’s a lot of tainted music out there.

HipHopSite: You also have the song “Daddy.”  How would you say your son has changed your music and your life overall?

Juelz: In every way.  He makes me look at life just different, on a higher level.  I understand that this is bigger than me, I can’t slack for nothing now.  I’ve got to do my thing, because I’ve got to make it happen for me, and I’ve got to make it happen for him.  I don’t ever want him to struggle.

HipHopSite: Another standout is “Lil Boy Fresh.”  What made you make that song?

Juelz: That song was just….I feel like every hood has one, man.  With that beat, it’s not a club banger, but I knew that it would be a song that when they heard it, a lot of people would say that that’s their favorite song on the album.  It means so much, because people can relate to it: everybody feels like they know that little boy.  And it’s a true story too, it’s a movie called “Fresh.”

HipHopSite: You also paid for your video, “Mic Check.”  What made you come out of pocket for that?

Juelz: I just felt that at the time, I didn’t have the label’s attention.  I had the streets, and I had all my songs together, and I knew I could do it, but I needed them realize that.  It takes a little bit more to let a label know that, especially if you didn’t go platinum or double-platinum your first time around.  I had to show them a little bit more.  So I showed them I was willing to work harder than any artist they’ve ever had, and just be that hot nigga I am.

HipHopSite: How was that different than doing a video that the label funded?

Juelz: I was hands on, but I’m hand-on with all the videos that I shoot, even if they pay for it, so it doesn’t really matter.  It wasn’t no different.  From here on out, I’m going to be hands-on with everything, whether I pay for it or don’t pay for it.  I know what I want, so I know what I’m going to get, from my videos to everything I do.

Shiest: Basically, the Purple City mixtapes started two and a half years ago.  The first mixtape was called Purple City Vs. Taliban.  The core members are myself, Un Kasa, and Agallah.  Besides us, the whole Diplomat movement.

HHS: How did you guys hook up with the Diplomats?

Shiest: Well basically, I know them as people, as hanging out in the club.  I don’t know them through rap.  Even though he’s known for music in the hood, I knew him outside of music.  Once Cam got his deal, he was just like, “It’s time to roll out, you already know what it is.”

HHS: You’re getting sort of big nowadays.  What was it like the first time you saw your “Purple City Byrd Gang” video on TV?

Shiest: I shot that video with my own money, so when it finally got played on TV, more or less, I was like, “It’s about time it got played.”  I felt like I had put a lot of work in, even though at the time, I didn’t know the whole politics of the game.  People usually think that once you do a video, it hits TV right away.  It’s not always like that, especially with our procedure.  We put the video out before the single, so we used reverse strategy.  We wanted the public to get a visual on us, so they could understand our movement, instead of just doing the mixtapes.

HHS: How much newfound celebrity are you guys getting?  Do you get recognized when you go out in public, or do you still maintain a sense of anonymity?

Shiest: Now that we’re with a label, it is a little different.  People recognize who we are straight off the bat now, where as before, it was just local love.  We’re from the hood for real, everybody knows us.  Seeing us in magazines, and (on posters) in the train station, they’re like, “Man, they really made it.”

HHS: Your group name is Purple City, and you’re representing that color to the fullest in your video, on your album cover, and other forums.  What all does the color purple represent in your music and philosophy?

Shiest: What it really represents is royalty, a reigning family.  At the end of the day, it symbolizes freedom for us.  And of course, “purple haze.”  But (purple haze) was just one part of it; I felt that the color purple has lead so many nations, countries and civilizations, that it was only proper for us to rock with that.

HHS: How did you guys hook up with Babygrande?

Shiest: I started searching for deals, and (Babygrande) read an article about us in Fader magazine, and just took it from there.  I wasn’t really chasing a deal, I had started listening to offers they were giving me.  A lot of these independent deals are a break or make situation, so I wasn’t trying to rush it.  The thing with Babygrande is that (label CEO) Chuck Wilson has connects in Hollywood and stuff like that, so I saw it as a better opportunity for me to do something more than music.  Just in case music didn’t fall through how we wanted it to, we’ve always got options.  We’re street advocates.  We aren’t the dopest dopest dopest lyricists, but the way that we formulate our movement is the dopest.  We’re three street dudes that have different lives, but at the end of the day, we come together to make this music.  Not a lot of people in the hood can do that.

HHS: Tell me about the new album, Road To The Riches.

Shiest: The new album is songs that we worked on for our previous mixtapes, and a couple of joints I was working on for my new mixtapes, that happened to make the album.  Personally, if I was on the outside looking in, and I’m listening to the Purple City album, I’d give it a 7 ½ (out of 10).  I’m talking about from a new artist perspective.  If I didn’t even hear about Purple City-we have a good buzz, but it’s not a crazy buzz-I’d see that the beats are good on it, it’s some catchy songs, and it’s a transition project.  It shows growth.  I executive produced it, and I co-A&R’d it.  The mission was to give the people something where they’d be like, “This is good, but we want more.”

HHS: I don’t know if you can speak for him, but your production was handled by Agallah.  There are rumors that he’ll be producing for Jus Allah, a former member of your Babygrande labelmate group Jedi Mind Tricks.  Are these true?

Shiest: That’s true.  Agallah is an underground street lord, so he just does him.  He has that sound that every rapper can rap to.

HHS: So what’s next?

Shiest: Like I said, this was a transition project, from mixtapes to in stores.  One of the next two projects is from Agallah The Don Bishop, he’s going to finally close the legacy that he’s been doing for the past ten years.  He’s going to go out with a bang.  He produced the whole album, and he’s got a lot of features on there-Mobb Deep, Geto Boys, Nappy Roots, Jim Jones.  Right after that, in the same month in July, Un Kasa comes out with his album.  I’m going to be producing the majority of that album, I have a production company on the side called Purple City System Music Group.

      Enter Proe, a Santa Cruz MC who aspires to be like Tom Waits (if you’ve even heard that name before reading this review, send me an e-mail at WEKetchum@gmail.com).  “Welcome to the sound of the American youth/where hip-hop and rock n’ roll is the only voice we can use,” he says on “The Prelude.”  He does exactly that, but not just the heavy metal that other would-be trendsetters overuse.  “Butterfly” combines xylophones and guitar twangs, “Sleeping With the Television On” utilizes harmonica croons, and “The Last Train Home” almost channels Hendrix with its heavy electronic guitar riffs.  Aside from three tracks, the entire album is self-produced—this isn’t just a matter of finding friends in the rock world, the kid really is that multi-faceted.

      Oh yeah—he raps too.  Proe’s lyrical content nearly rivals his musical tastes in its variety.  He addresses depression on “Cages,” social ills on “The Break Down,” and examines love on “Always Something New.”  Proe can spit the same witty, battle-ready verses that he does on the ruckus “Big Step Little Step” that he rhymes over the electric relaxation of “Robot.”
 While Proe’s new album isn’t Perfect, it still ably accomplishes experimental rap album goals: he established his own style, and made music that isn’t only bearable, but actually Grade A quality.  If he makes even more progress, a flawless LP isn’t out the picture.


Five years later, One Be Lo has become Fat Beats Records’ first officially signed solo artist.  With his new album, S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. (Sounds of Nashid Originate Good Rhymes And Music), he plans to expound on his reputation of bringing quality hip-hop.  In a candid interview with HipHopSite.com, One Be Lo talks about his new project, being his label’s franchise player, and the difference between an MC and a recording artist.

HipHopSite.com: First off, tell me about the new album, S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M.

One Be Lo: This is the official introduction to who One Be Lo is and what he’s about.  I put out records before, but as a solo artist, this is me debuting.  My intentions with this album are the give the listeners, or the fans, the consumers—whatever you want to call ‘em—an understanding of who I am as an artist, and what they can look forward to, as well as (give an understanding to) MCs, producers, record labels, distributors, whatever.  I’m just trying to bring this type of hip-hop to the table; these types of rhymes, these types of beats, this type of vibe to the table.  That’s what I grew up on, and that’s what I’m about.

HipHopSite.com: How do you think this new album differs from your first solo project, Project F.E.T.U.S.?

One Be Lo: Using the whole analogy of a fetus, (the new album) is just more developed.  The first album was just like, “I’ll never put out these records, they’re just laying around, and if I drop S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. first, I can never put this record out.  So let me drop this one first to get it off my chest.”  Originally, I was only going to press 1,000 copies and give them to the hardcore cats on the web site; but after selling 1,000 CDs that week—and I didn’t even announce it, I was “Boom! I’ve got a CD out!”—we kept pressing them.  But now I’m a more developed, more mature artist.  I’m not where I want to be at yet on S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. either, but I just want people to see the growth.

HipHopSite.com: Let’s get into your past a little bit.  You earned a reputation through Binary Star, a group which consisted of you and Senim Silla, but you two split before the release of Masters of the Universe, the re-packaged version of your first full-length album.  What’s the story behind that?

One Be Lo: What it all boils down to with that—and there’s two sides to every story…but my side, to sum it up in the smallest words possible, is that we were making good music together, but being an artist, you want to be in a creative atmosphere.  You want to work with people that inspire you to be creative to the best of your ability.  And, just because you can work with a cat in the field of art doesn’t mean you can do business together.  Up until that point, we always rhymed together, but we never really did business together.

I would just say it boiled down to creative differences.  I don’t want to quote nobody or misquote nobody, but I just didn’t agree with some of the concepts, I didn’t agree with some of the decisions he was trying to make.  And he didn’t agree with some of my stuff.  So I’m like, “Instead of me telling you how to do your thing, just go ahead and do your thing, because you aren’t going to tell me how to do my thing.  If I think it’s live, I’m going to do it.  I just thought it’d be better if we went our separate ways.”  And he’s like, “Maybe it is.”  He went his way, and I went mine.  He’s doing whatever he’s doing, and I’m doing whatever I’m doing.

HipHopSite.com: There was a bidding war amongst several independent labels for your next album.  What made you decide to go with Fat Beats Records?

One Be Lo: As far as the bidding war, I personally didn’t know nothing about that.  And from Binary Star to now, I’ve never been a record shopper, shopping my album.  My whole philosophy is, I could knock on the door saying, “Hey let me in,” or I could make noise on my own and have them at my door saying, “Yo, let us in.”  When I sent the record to my man who worked at Fat Beats, they were talking about doing a 12-inch.  So I said, “I’ll send you the whole album, just pick whatever you’re feeling.”  They heard it, and they were like, “Forget the 12-inch, let’s do the whole album.”  I put the stop on what I was doing just to see what they were talking about.

I felt like instead of me going to a huge label where I could just be another fish in the ocean, I’d rather go to a small label where I can actually be a priority.  There’s not a whole lot of money involved, but at least I can be a bigger priority; I’m not looking for somebody to save my life, I’m just looking for somebody to compliment what I’m doing.  I’m not going to lay down and let Fat Beats do it, I’m going to do what I’ve got to do to push myself, and hopefully these cats can just come in and add to that push.

HipHopSite.com: Why did you change your name from OneManArmy to One Be Lo?

One Be Lo: I would go on tour, and I would get to a venue where I had never been before, and I would see OneManArmy posters all over the wall.  Or I would get calls from people like, “Yo I heard you were in Salt Lake City this week;” I’m like, “What are you talking about?”  Well, there’s a punk-rock group out there called OneManArmy.  There’s no legal issues right now, but we just thought it’d be better to avoid that whole tug-of-war thing about who can use this name, take the album off the shelf, etc.  We just figured, before the OneManArmy name gets any bigger, lets take the fans right now and make the transition to One Be Lo.  And then everybody else, the new people, they’ll just see me as One Be Lo, so we can avoid the whole potential legal fiasco.  So that’s how the whole thing came about.  It’s not something where I’d rather be that name, but the reason that we did it was all legalities, we wanted to avoid something that was totally avoidable.  I’ll always say “OneManArmy,” and that’s what I represent, but just for marketing purposes, it’s One Be Lo.

HipHopSite.com: You’re really known for your live shows; you tour a whole lot, and you really know how to move the crowd.  First of all, tell me about the preparation you put into your shows.

One Be Lo: It’s funny, because my whole life, I don’t think I’ve ever practiced for a show.  We don’t rehearse routines, or go through songs we’re going to do.  Maybe I can afford to do this because I have a little catalog, but I’ll just go to the venue that night, and I’ll just look at the crowd and feel the vibe.  If it’s 90 percent females, I’m going to do this tonight; if I’m in the hood, and it’s all hard rocks there, I’m going to do this; and if I’m going to an elementary school, I’ve got something for them too.  I’m an artist, and I interpret my own music, but because my music is versatile, it’s like a menu.  Everybody don’t eat chicken, and everybody don’t eat meat, so if it’s a vegan crowd, I’ve got something delicious for them cats; if you eat meat, I’ve got something delicious for them cats; if you like junk food, I’ve got some of that too.  I try to feel the vibe of the night, and who I’m performing with will affect what I’m doing, whether I’m going first or if I’m going last, how big the venue is, and that’s just all from experience.  It’s nothing that I can put in a book and explain, I just go with what I’m feeling.  Whatever feels good, that’s what I’m going to do.  I might put together a set list and change it on stage because it doesn’t feel right.  When you know, you just know what the crowd wants; even if they don’t know it, you know.

HipHopSite.com: In hip-hop, a lot of cats can make great records, but they can’t put on a live show that well.  Why do you take live shows so seriously?

One Be Lo: First of all, a recording artist and an MC can be the same thing, but they aren’t always one in the same.  A person who can go in the booth and drop a classic verse, he’s a good recording artist, but is he a dope MC?  Then you’ve got cats that can go on stage and kill it, but they can’t go in the booth and kill it; he’s not a good recording artist, but he’s a good MC.  Then you’ve got people that can do it onstage, and can do it in the booth, he’s an MC/recording artist.  I know cats who have lyrics, but they can’t put it together in the booth; I don’t know if they get nervous and start sweating or what, but everybody can’t do it in the booth, the same way everybody can’t do it on stage.

On stage, it’s the best way to say, “This is who I am.  This is what I look like, this is what I sound like, this is my wit, this is my personality, this is how I perform, this is my presentation.”  You can see how a person looks on a poster, but what do they sound like?  You can see a person’s personality in an interview, but what do they look like?  In the video you can see certain things, but on stage, do you replicate the album, or do you interact with the crowd?  Onstage, you can win a person, and have a horrible CD sitting on the table over there, but you just won them with your personality.  Is (the artist) real, is he accessible, is he an asshole?  You can tell that when you meet a person, and you see the vibe that you get from them.  So that’s what the stage show is about; if you’ve got that, I don’t care what you sound like in the booth, you can go anywhere and kill it.

HipHopSite.com: You’re from Pontiac, which is right outside of Detroit.  A lot of people see Eminem as the face of Detroit hip-hop, but Detroit’s hip-hop scene is deeper than his commercial success.  Who else is making noise in Detroit “both locally and nationally”and how do you think that the Detroit hip-hop scene differs from others?

One Be Lo: When you say “making noise,” you’ve got different levels of noise.  You’ve got the mainstream level, the internet buzz, and the “everybody in Detroit knows who this cat is” (type of buzz).  Nobody’s making the noise that Eminem’s making (on the mainstream level), but a lot of people would argue that technically he isn’t even from Detroit; I’m from Pontiac, but I don’t represent Pontiac.  I don’t represent no city; I do what I do, and I don’t have a choice of where I was born from.  I represent Detroit more than a whole lot of people from Detroit do, but if I say that, (skeptics say), “That nigga’s not from Detroit.”

If we’re talking about strictly Detroit hip-hop, I’m going to have to exclude myself; but if we’re talking about the Detroit hip-hop scene and all the cats in Michigan that rock Detroit, form the scene and make it what it is—such as myself, AML, Invincible, and others—then you have a very diverse scene of very talented people on all spectrums of the rainbow.  Everybody ain’t on the same thing, but you’ve got a lot of people doing their thing.  I think that Motown has a big contribution to that.  By Motown, I mean the Midwest; growing up, I was on A Tribe Called Quest and N.W.A. and Geto Boys.  I wasn’t West Coast this or East Coast that; we’re in the middle, so we’re getting all of it.  I think cats on the East Coast—I don’t know, ‘cause I ain’t from there—but I think they’re going to be a little more biased towards the East Coast, ‘cause that’s where they’re from and that’s what they’re all around.  I never realized how beautiful it is to go record shopping and digging in Michigan until I started going other places.  We’re in Motown; do you know the history and record collections that come out of this place?  You go in record stores (in Michigan) and you see this big melting merge of music, and you go somewhere else and they’ve got some of this and some of that, but I think that the Midwest is the melting pot of music.  That’s why I think some of the biggest artists, whether it’s Michigan, Chicago, or whatever, come out of the Midwest.  There’s a lot of soul in Detroit, there’s a lot of history in Detroit, and we were influenced by East Coast, West Coast, South, all of them.  I was at least; I think that’s the big difference.

HipHopSite.com: Your album comes out February 8, and you have a multi-album deal with Fat Beats Records.  What’s next?

One Be Lo: I couldn’t even tell you man.  I would like to believe that whatever’s next is going to be hot.  The reason I say that I can’t tell you what’s next is because 90 percent of the songs I wrote just came out of nowhere.  Every album that I put out was an accident; from Binary Star to F.E.T.U.S. to Waterworld Too, it was never planned that way, but as an artist, inspiration can just come at any different time.  So because of the past, I can tell you that my next album is going to be called this, but at the last minute it might change.  So just look out for One Be Lo music.  Who am I going to collab with?  I can’t even tell you; I might do an album with DJ Premier, or I might do an acapella album, but it’s going to be the true essence of hip-hop, whatever it is.  I want to make music that’s going to be here like Enter the 36 Chambers and Illmatic; I don’t know if I can achieve that, but I just want to put a smile on somebody’s face, and get cats to think about something they don’t normally think about.

From the opening notes of the album, it’s evident that Necro isn’t letting up behind the boards. With his use of daunting piano keys, pounding organs on tracks like “Kill That Shit” or “The Dispensation Of Life And Death,” he confirms the validity of his quote, “you can tell I’m satanic from my evil beat selection” (from the aforementioned “Beautiful Music For You To Die To”), as he consistently hits the listener with abrasive, bloodcurdling instrumentals. His beats also serve as capable foils to collaborating emcees, as seen on “Nirvana,” a superior hardcore down-the-line joint that features Ill Bill, Goretex, and Mr. Hyde all spitting their best over Necro’s brass horns and thumping drums.

Necro also makes use of death metal experimentation on the disc, complete with features from some of the genre’s A-list players. Unlike other rap albums that aspire for experimentation but end up being more odd than groundbreaking – see Common’s Electric Circus – Necro’s alliances seamlessly mesh with the style he’s already established. “Push It To The Limit” features a consonant marriage of his own majestic horn and a hook from Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta, and “Empowered” serves as a death metal posse cut, with guest spots by Sid Wilson, Trevor Peres and John Tardy, Away, and Dan Lilkner, members of bands Slipknot, Obituary, Volvod, and Nuclear Assault, respectively. Since death metal is a niche market, these collaborations are mostly hit and miss.

His lyrics are in a similar situation. Since Necro’s verses are saturated with tributes to satanic ideals and blood-dripping imagery, many listeners will dismiss him as a run-of-the-mill shock value rapper. A closer listen reveals a nifty, punchline-capable MC with conceptual competence: “86 Measures Of Game” features him proficiently (albeit disturbingly) speaking on his views of the opposite sex, and he goes into autobiographical mode on “Reflection of Children Coming Up.” “Human Consumption” is self-explanatory, while “You Did It” has him giving an incredibly adept account of the suicidal psyche. Still, all of his conceptual gems, along with the horror movie samples employed in the disc’s skits, fit in with the overall theme of death; he keeps things interesting by changing concepts, but he still stays consistent by doing what he’s good at.

With The Pre-Fix To Death, Necro tops off a year of underground domination behind the scenes with a return to the spotlight. If 2004 is any indication of his work to come, he’ll soon ascend from being the most slept-on producer to one of the most sought-after ones.

This year, Edo G. has taken a back to basics approach.  His new disc, My Own Worst Enemy, is a must-have collection of ten songs  - seven of which are produced by Pete Rock – that glow with a 90′s throwback aura with their potent lyrics and solid production.  In an interview with HipHopSite.com, Edo G. talks about the new album, keeping up with the times, and how the game ‘don changed.

HipHopSite: How did the “My Own Worst Enemy” album with Pete Rock come about?

Edo G.: I basically reached out to Pete Rock; the album is ten tracks, he did seven of them.  I wanted to do a project that was different from the stuff I had done in the past.  I wanted to work with mainly one producer, and give a sound to a project.

It’s a lot more maturity on this album, and just the combination of working with Pete.  I got to collaborate with him on songs, and do different things.  From my last album, Truth Hurts, it was 2000 when I made that record, some of the songs were made in late ’99, it came out in 2001.  That was kind of big with everybody being a guest on the album.  I think the difference with this one, that was definitely a good album for me, and it was definitely a reintroduction for me back to the public, but this time I stick to the script.  I just do me, and not really have a lot of name brand guest people.  I just wanted to have a solid album with Pete, and make something real strong for the hip-hop community.

HipHopSite: This is your sixth album, your fourth full-length.  How do you manage to consistently put out album after album, still maintaining your style but keeping up with what’s going on?

Edo G.: Just by doing me.  The best way to maintain longevity in the business is to be original and to kind of stick to what made you popular.  I don’t try to switch my form or change to anything that’s going on.  And I’m still current with everything that I do because I’m still here.  I’m still out here with everybody, just like the rest of us.  I don’t think it’s too hard; some cats do get a little old-school sounding, and they get themselves dated, but that’s because they’re out of touch to what’s going on.  I think that as long as you’re in touch with what’s going on in this world, you can always be current (with your music).

HipHopSite: Why did you decide to get Pete Rock to produce the bulk of the album?

Edo G.: I’ve always liked his style.  On top of that, he hadn’t did a project for anybody in a long time.  There was the stuff he did for himself, but he hadn’t done stuff for just one MC.  I wanted to reach out to someone that had hot, hot production, but all of his stuff is still current, so that’s why I decided to work with him.

HipHopSite: Along with Pete Rock, you have some really well respected names on the album: Diamond D, Masta Ace, Krumb Snatcha, DJ Revolution, DJ Supreme.  How did you get all of these cats on the album, and what were some collaborations that stuck out?

Edo G.: Revolution is my man, I’ve known him for a little while; we had done some stuff before on my EP, and I definitely wanted to work with him for the new album.  Diamond D, he wanted to be involved with the project when he heard I was dealing with Pete.  He reached out, so I went to his crib, and picked the beat.  Me and Masta Ace did the trade-off thing (from appearing on Masta Ace’s A Long, Hot Summer LP), so that’s how I got him on the album.  My mans Jaysaun, he’s part of my team, so he’s all over the album.  I liked everything I did, and everybody I did it with.  I’m just happy with how it came out, and the short sweetness of it.

HipHopSite: Nowadays, a lot of rap albums have at least 15 songs, give or take a couple of skits.  What made you decide to make this album only ten tracks?

Edo G.: Because there’s so much garbage out there, that people don’t want to hear it.  The truth of the matter is, you only get paid for ten songs off of publishing anyway.  A lot of cats don’t really know what’s going on behind the scenes for their own records, so they don’t even know that.  You can put 15 tracks on there, and you’re only getting paid for 10.  I wanted to keep it short and sweet; I did the record deal with Fat Beats, and with them you’re only required to list ten songs, and that’s what I did.  I did ten songs I thought were good, and I thought that would definitely be enough.  With Pete doing seven, I didn’t want to overdo it.  I think it worked out rather good, it’s straight to the point.

HipHopSite: Let’s talk about some specific songs.  First, the Masta Ace joint, “Wishing.”  It’s sort of reminiscint of the Jadakiss single, “Why.”

Edo G.: We’ve all got wishes and dreams of the way we think the world can be.  The track is actually produced by my man Insight; DJ Supreme One did the original track, but we couldn’t clear the sample, so we had to have Insight remix it.  The original track had “wishing” all through the hook, it had a sample and it was pretty dope, but we couldn’t use it, so we ended up remixing it.  It’s just a track of cats wanting to get a lot of stuff off their chest.

HipHopSite: What about “Pay the Price?”

Edo G.: “Pay the Price” is produced by Pete.  We basically did that right in the studio.  In the two verses, I’m talking about a young girl that’s out there.  You see a lot of young girls stripping in houses and stuff; out here in Boston, cats have strip parties and stuff, I don’t know how they are where you’re at.  But it’s how I see a lot of young girls getting out there, getting fast at an early age.

HipHopSite: You’ve also got the song “Boston.”  A lot of people misconceive Boston, because all they know about is the Benzino situation.  How do you feel about the whole situation with Boston, and what’s really going on up there?

Edo G.: There’s a whole lot going on here.  The thing that happened with Eminem and Benzino, I think that was more of a publicity type thing that went on.  There’s some fat talent here, there a lot of people doing a lot of things.  Special Teams, that’s my crew.  You’ve got cats like Dre Robinson, Slain, Jaysaun, Akrobatik, Insight, doing things out here.  In 2005, you’re going to hear about a lot more cats in the mainstream, as opposed to just the indie side of things.

HipHopSite: You came out in ’91.  How has the game changed from when you came in to now?

Edo G.: I think it’s a progression.  The good thing about it is that just like with NBA players, every year the younger the cats get, the more money they get.  I think the progression, from a monetary standpoint, has changed definitely for the better.  A cat can come out now, and have one hit record and get rich.  So I think that aspect is good.  I think the only that sucks about the game is the way that the radio controls all powers.  That aspect kind of messes it up.

HipHopSite: First off, tell me about the new album, The Grind Date.

Dave: This album actually wasn’t the album we were supposed to be working on; we were supposed to be working on a DJ joint to close out the AOI series.  But when we started getting the beats, and started feeling them, a lot of stuff that seemed that it was supposed to fall under the instrumental, with scratches over it, and stuff like that (worked better with written verses).  Myself and Pos just started writing, and started creating great songs, and we didn’t want to trash stuff and start from scratch.  We sat down as a unit and were like, “Everything that we’ve been doing has been coming out real good.  Mase especially, how do you feel?  Do you feel like we should chuck this stuff and start from scratch?  What are you thinking?”  Maseo was actually part of the idea of putting AOI Part 3 on hold and just doing another De La record.  Putting together a record where all of us were involved rhyming, cutting, producing, and so on.  We started putting out songs, with just the regular routine, how we do it.  As time went on, we had 12 great songs.

Plus, a part of it was getting into this venture with Sanctuary Records.  We felt like we couldn’t really give them a novelty record for our first product; we figured, let’s put together this De La record since it’s coming together as cool as it is, and keep it moving.

HipHopSite: How do you manage to continue to make music that keeps your signature old school hip-hop vibe while still keeping up with the rest of what’s going on?

Posdnuos: It’s a lot of things.  I think one of them is that we maintain a true love for what we do, and one of the things we loved in what we were doing was trying to do something different and fresh.  Unlike a lot of many other groups, we never got caught up while we succeeded so well in any vibe.  We didn’t get stuck there like, “Yeah, look what we did.  Weren’t those the days?”  We left that alone, and started on the next album.  We’re always down for progression and change, and even if that change may not be in your favor, we’re down to play on the team and try to make great music to be a part of what’s going on.  We’re going to do it our own way, but we always want to be a part of what’s going on.  I think we always remain to be students of the culture, because we learned not only how we did from Run-DMC and Rakim, while still doing what we want to do; we learn from Jadakiss, and Lloyd Banks, and still do what we want to do.

HipHopSite: Back to the album for a minute.  You guys’ guest list is crazy: you’ve got Ghostface, Common, Doom, Carl Thomas, and even Flava Flav.  How’d you go about getting these appearances, specifically Doom?

Dave: We’ve known Doom ever since back in the day.  Doom was on tour with us when he was coupled up with KMD.  We’ve known Doom from Long Island, 3rd Bass, all that.  Just now, following his career within the last two years, seeing how much noise he was making on the underground tip, and just identifying with his talent.  Doom’s rhyming his ass off, he’s one of the hottest MCs out there.  Creative, exciting to listen to, and mysterious as well as for his performances and appearances and what have you.  So it’s kind of the stuff that we were into period, and hearing MCs like that places makes us like to hear them on an everyday basis.  So when we heard the track that Jake1 in Seattle had produced, we were like, “This is the menacing, mysterious sound that I would love to hear Doom on.”  So naturally, when we hear it, we just approach the individual that we hear on it.  He’s like, “No problem, come on through, let’s do it.”

For us, I feel like we never really go through any tough times trying to get an artist.  We have approached some who are like, “No, I don’t want to do it,” or “I can’t.”  But 90 percent of the time when we go to somebody and we really feel like a song would really compliment them and vice versa, they feel it as well.  When Doom heard the beat, he was like “I want to do this, this is crazy.”  When Ghost heard the joint, he was like, “I want to rhyme on that.”  So we try to have a good ear for who should be on what, and most of the time they hear it as well, so they get down.

HipHopSite: How do you guys manage to have guest appearances that big, while still keeping it a real De La Soul album?

Dave: Honestly, I think we put people in a position to challenge themselves; they sort of have to try to come into our world.  I have to honestly say, we hold our weight.  But on my end, I can certainly say that on something like the Doom record….Doom kills it, but does he kill it better than Dave?  Personally, I think he definitely reps it out, and kills it better than Dave.  But at the same time, we try to make sure that people come into our world, and sometimes conform to what we’re doing, to make it sound like everybody’s in sync as a unit.  Everybody’s complimenting a track, and you respect each individual for what they do.  With De La Soul, it’s not about getting somebody in there because they’re the hot item, and they’re going to blow up your record while and you just fall back and add the spice here and there.  When we do a song, we come together, we sit down and talk about the concept so everybody can come in 33 percent and create 100 when it comes to rhymes.  Here’s the idea: get it, come into our world, feel what we do.  If you need to hear ours first to understand, here they go; if not, let’s write them together.  With the Common track, we wrote the chorus together.  I think it’s really sitting down and putting it together, as opposed to, “I need 16 bars, let me mail you the session via e-mail and you send it back to me.”  We try to pull the person in as the third MC or the fourth member of the group, and work together on it so there’s some sort of cohesiveness, as opposed to one person shining and the others are not.

HipHopSite: How did your situation with Tommy Boy go sour?

Dave: It wasn’t actually between us and Tommy Boy; fortunately, it’s not like we had a falling out and got taken off of the label.  Unfortunately, (Tommy Boy founder) Tom Silverman’s business ended the deal with Warner Bros.  Due to what kind of commitment he had on himself that he couldn’t deliver on, they basically pulled all his artists and took all of his masters throughout the years of Tommy Boy’s existence as payback for what he owed.  It left him with no artists, no catalog, no anything.

We got pulled from Tommy Boy into the system, and we ended up Elektra first.  Elektra felt like they didn’t have the time, they weren’t on the same angle of where we were coming from as far as putting out records in the future.  So we were about to go to Atlantic, and then from Atlantic, Warner Bros. just wanted to pull us up.  As opposed to just being shuffled and maybe eventually sell, we had friends up at Warner Bros. in high places, and we asked for a release.  Just (something to the effect of), “Can we get out of this, because we feel like what’s going to happen is that De La is going to be sitting around for a little while.”  These people at the executive end of things and high places were fans, and were like, “That is exactly what was going to happen.  We’d rather let you guys go, to just make great music somewhere else instead of just caging you.”  So we were out of there.

HipHopSite: With some comments you guys made on the album, it doesn’t seem like it was the most friendly breakup.

Dave: It really wasn’t.  (But) We bumped into Tom Silverman on maybe two or three occasions since then, and he asked us how we were doing over at Sanctuary and how our business was coming along, just as much as we asked him how he was doing.  We did have beef with Tom and the company when it was about promoting our albums, and putting the money into it, and even just the effort and the love into it.  Yeah we had problems, just like any other label, or any other company when you’re trying to sell a product.  But at the end of the day, it’s a legacy.  We’d been at Tom Silverman’s label since day one; we stuck through it for six albums, and we worked things out made some good music.  There’s never going to be anything sour about it; we’re so relieved to be out of that machine and out of that company, but there’s no bad blood.  We move on and do what we’ve gotta do.

HipHopSite: How’d you hook up with Sanctuary?

Dave: There were maybe five or six companies who were coming at us, trying to figure out where we were at, and what we had.  We didn’t want to just get signed to a label as just artists again, we didn’t want to do what we did with Tommy Boy.  We wanted to get in the driver’s seat just as much as the label was.  Our first idea was to do a split venture with the company; there were only two companies willing to do that, the first was Sanctuary, and I believe the other one was Riko.  Sanctuary presented the better deal; and then finding out that Matthew (Knowles, father of R&B star Beyoncé Knowles) was going to be a part of a portion of Sanctuary that was going to be dedicated to urban music only (helped the decision).  We felt more comfortable, knowing that his power, his strength, his history, his relevance with today’s music, would help us as well.  Hearing that Matthew was getting on board, and knowing that Sanctuary brought the best deal to the table, that was the best option.

HipHopSite: With you guys’ respect from all over, from hip-hop heads and other artists to critics, why do you think that it hasn’t reflected in terms of record sales?

Posdnuos: 3 Feet High and Rising was a very critically acclaimed album, but if you didn’t have “Me, Myself and I” for that time and period to sell the record and make it go every place, I think sales would’ve been low for that as well.  It’s all about marketing; you should make your art the way you want to make it, but when it comes to marketing that art, and giving it to some people, that’s a big part of it.  In these days and times, it’s a lot different, because people look to one place to try and get art and try to understand things.  They may look to one particular radio station, and if they don’t hear a song on that radio station, they evict themselves.  “I heard this song because someone else is playing it, and I think it’s dope, but since it’s not being bombarded on me on the hottest radio station in this city, and since I don’t see it on TRL or BET, it’s not making me want to go out and get it.”  I think that’s the whole point; I think we as consumers these days are all caught up in hype.  Of course you’re going to go out and buy Jay-Z, because Jay-Z’s got plaques on the wall, you’re going to hear it advertised on the radio station, you’re going to see the TV commercial, you’re going to the commercial during the music show.  It’s just the shit that’s got to be bombarded to you.  If you’re not bombarded with it, you may not buy it, or you may not even know it exists.  I run into fans who love De La, and still to this day are asking me when the new album comes out, when it came out October 5.

HipHopSite: You’ve been in the game for 15 years.  How has it changed since you came in?

Posdnuos: One of the biggest changes is that a lot of people, whether they’re from an urban community or not, there’s a lot of artists are really able to survive off of this music.  They’re able to get people in their corner to help them get money, and live and prosper.  In that respect, that’s one of the great things that has changed.

One of the most unfortunate things is that it’s not balanced music out.  When we first came out, you could have Public Enemy talking about what they’re talking about, and Naughty By Nature talking about what they’re talking about.  You could have N.W.A, you could have us.  When we came out, we were on tour with LL, Slick Rick, N.W.A., all these different people, all together on one stage.  That’s the difference.  There’s just not that balance of music; there’s Jada, and there’s Common, but it’s a lot of Common’s lacking.  You’ve got Mos, but Fugees aren’t around no more, Tribe’s not around no more, you aren’t even sure if Outkast is going to stay together.  A lot of the more so-called “agreeable” groups, or groups that just don’t talk about the norm…which is mostly partying, or maybe street vibe of music…those artists aren’t around as much.

HipHopSite: You’ve got a new album, and a new label.  What’s next?

Posdnuos: Just trying our best to get this album off the ground.  Also, getting our own label, which is a partnership through the label that we’re a part of; our label is AOI Records, and we’re partnered with Sanctuary Urban Records Group.  With that, as obviously making more money, comes more responsibility.  We were always very into our projects, but now there’s a lot of things, even financially, that we’re responsible for as an active record label.  So we’re just trying to get all that correct, get whoever we need to hire to make sure that all that is correct with the label, people are wanting to submit demos.  So just getting our own label off the ground and trying to become great execs in this game.

HipHopSite: How many albums do you guys think you have left in you?

Posdnuos: Honestly, making music is a gift I think we’ve been blessed to have.  So as far as wanting to just constantly grow with it, the way you’re growing and learning knowledge with reading books, it’s the same with music.  I feel like we can make music as long as people want us around.  As long as Aerosmith has been around in there genre of music, they’re allowed to be around the same as U2; we look at ourselves the same way.  We stay abreast on what’s going on, and we’re a very functional as a group that can remain relevant in whatever times we’re part of.  We’ll continue to always give our best, and saying that, we would love to be around for however long people would want us around.

Though Marley’s rise to prominence was in the late 80′s and then again with LL on Mama Said Knock You Out, he is about to make a triumphant return to the scene with his contribution, Re-Entry, to the Beat Generation Series.  And as Marley reiterated to me, “Re-Entry does not symbolize his return to the industry, because he never left, it is merely a Re-Entry into people’s minds.

HHS: How did you become involved in the Beat Generation Series?

Marley- Basically, Peter [Arkwadh] called me and asked me if I would like to be involved and I told him of course—hell yeah!  I had to sit down and think about what my contribution to the Beat Generation Series could be, I laid out my plan and that’s how it was born.

HHS: In an age where hip-hop is very predictable, the Beat Generation Series seems to rally around mass experimentation, did that attract your initial interest?

Marley- Yeah, I like the fact that on Beat Generation we were able to have total artistic freedom with what we wanted to do.

HHS: Did that outweigh everything else?

Marley- Yes it did, cause you know I deal with allot of record companies and allot of recordings and no one wants to set trends, everybody just wants to suck off what everyone else is doing. What really attracted me to this project was the fact that, you can do what you want.  If you got sessions, if you’re working on this or that, go ahead, we’ll sanction it.  It was great!

HHS: Most heads do not realize that hip-hop artists have a diverse range of musical interests; it’s just not all about hip-hop.  What are some of your tastes?

Marley- I listen to all types of music; hip-hop, R&B and Jazz.  I just listen to all types of music.

HHS: You have been an influential figure in hip-hop for 15-years, from the Juice Crew, to producing for luminary emcees, to your radio-show with Pete Rock (Future Flavaz).  What do you credit your longevity too?

Marley- Staying a fan to the game and staying a fan of hip-hop.  If I didn’t stay a fan to it and check what was going on, I would probably go in another direction that wouldn’t be good for me.  I credit everything with staying a fan to the game you know.

HHS: What is your fondest memory, or experience in the hip-hop business?

Marley- When I was recording LL Cool J’s Mama Said Knock You Out LL was arguing with the engineer at the beginning of the record and that was recorded by accident.  He was like “come on man”, screaming at the engineer, but he did not know it was on record and that was before the beat dropped on the record.  And on the beginning of that record you can hear the “Come on man.”  That was a funny moment in my life right there.  LL was actually sick that day and he was mad because the engineer kept rolling the tape back to far and it was taking too much time to do his vocals.  He was screaming at the engineer at that point when it was already on record and it just fell right there.  I just kept it.  Those were the vocals I kept too because he was mad.

HHS: Much debate is made about the state of hip-hop; you have an interesting perspective because you’ve been there from the beginning, what are your feelings on hip-hop’s current climate?

Marley: It’s definitely a roller-coaster ride I’ll tell you that!  I’ll call it a natural progression for the music itself.

HHS: It’s a different time, and a different era, but in your opinion has money, and greed watered down hip-hop?

Marley- Allot of people mad more money and basically you don’t have to be as good as before to get in the game.  Right now, if I was Jay-Z’s cousin and I had no skills, I could probably get a record deal for a large amount of money; with the premise that maybe Jay-Z would be on my record one day. And that’s what has happened to the game.

HHS: On Re-Entry, you partner back up with Kane, did you automatically re-connect?

Marley- No doubt!  That was a one-night session and what happened was, he basically heard tracks and laid vocals on the track he was most comfortable with and sounded the best on.

HHS: How does your relationship with Kane differ now, then from your Juice Crew days?

Marley- Well obviously before that session we had not been sitting in the same studio for a number of years.  We got back in the studio and we was going thru some beats, but when he started rhyming I started feeling that feeling again.  Kane is a very talented person; I’m very talented with what I do.  When you put two talents together such as me and Big Daddy Kane, you see what can happen!

HHS: You have contributed to some of the most influential LP’s in hip-hop history.  When you were making Road To The Riches with Kool G Rap & Polo, or Long Live The Kane with Big Daddy, or L.L.’s Mama Said Knock You Out, did you have any inkling they would influence so many artists and fans?

Marley- No I didn’t.  Actually, the thing about me is I never made records for popularity or fame.  I just did it because I had the studio and I love the game.  I can still go into the studio and make good records, just off the strength that I’m a fan of this.  I like to contribute to what’s going on.  When I did these records back in the day, I never expected them to be such classics, cause I was doing it from the heart.  I wasn’t doing it for the money.  I wasn’t like, yo, I want to be the richest person in the world; it wasn’t like that.  It was actually, I was having fun doing what I was doing, that’s why those records came out like that!  That’s probably why people can feel those records from the heart.

HHS: Your latest project is called Re-Entry, but it seems as if you have never left.  What’s the meaning behind the title?

Marley- It’s not a Re-Entry back into the industry; it’s a Re-Entry back into people’s minds.  I didn’t go anywhere, I been making records, I still drop something, a hot remix every year.  It’s just a Re-Entry back into the mind.

HHS: The production on Re-Entry makes it very obvious that you still have beats galore.  Why have you taken a step-back from producing for other emcees?

Marley- Basically, when I did the Mama Said Knock You Out album, when I left Cold Chillin’ and wasn’t under good terms, I felt that I could balance out my career by working with Def Jam and doing Mama Said with LL; which was a great album, I believe it’s 7X platinum.  But, since Russell Simmons kinda jerked my money [laughs] and I never started seeing residuals from a double/triple or quad, you know what I’m saying Quad-triple Platinum (at that time) album, it really discouraged me about the business.  So, before I would go and hurt somebody to get my money, I just backed up, I backed up from the scene and lived my life a little.

HHS: Considering you helped bring the first Grammy to Def Jam, did getting jerked bother you more from a respect standpoint, or from a business standpoint?

Marley- Everything!  It fucked my head up really bad.  I knew I was a talented person and I know I’ve seen people who did less then me in the music industry get much further.  I know that I am one of the most talented producers in the whole game.  I understand and know that!  By me knowing that helps me keep my cool.  If you got talent you always rise.  Somebody with no talent is going to be a flash in the pan, a one hit wonder or whatever.  That’s not going to be me! I know I have talent, I know the structure of the whole music industry hip-hop and R&B wise, everyone is copying what I laid; I already know that.  So I just decided, well let me sit back, and plus I wasn’t even happy with how the industry was going.  I did not want to be a part of all that bullshit.  I did not want to be one of the main producers during the “Puffy” era [laughs].  I don’t want to be that…

HHS: Did you ever repair your relationship with Russell?

Marley- No…  I don’t even know how I would act if I saw him in public to be honest—and you can print that too!

HHS: Who are the illest emcees, and producers you have ever heard?

Marley- Emcee; Jay-Z’s phenomenal.  I like Jay-Z, just off the strength that I worked with him on a Shai remix and we just gave him the subject, it wasn’t written down and he went and spit the vocals.  We tried to throw a little bone in the game, a little monkey wrench and we gave him another subject and he just went in and knocked out the sixteen-bars without anything written down.  That’s talent to me!   Producers; Pete Rock, Large Professor, Alchemist, Timbaland sometimes, Swizz Beatz is cool sometimes, and a new cat Mike Heron (Kool G Rap, Screwball).

HHS: No DJ Premier?

Marley- Primo too of course, did I leave him off?  Primo is like one of my students, he told me that every record he makes is based off of “Nobody Beats The Biz”, from the cuts [Marley cutting up "Star Of The Show" with his voice].  He said yo, that’s where I get that from!  When Primo cuts up three and four different things on a record, he told me that he is pattering all these songs from “Nobody Beats The Biz”; and the way I did the intro.  I’m like oh thanks, put that in your interviews you know [laughs]….

HHS:  Considering you were involved in the Juice Crew disses back in the day, what do you think of all the growing beefs that are going on now?

Marley- It’s not healthy!  It’s a different time in hip-hop and people have different attitudes.  First it starts off emcee vs. emcee, then project vs. project, then housing projects, then borough vs. borough.  It’s just unhealthy at this point and time.

HHS: Let us know what you have going on, the floor is yours…

Marley- Pick up Re-Entry on Oct 23, and check me and Pete Rock out on www.futureflavazonline.com. You can check us out doing our show live, and we have an extra hour of underground and uncensored music after we finish the Hot 97 broadcast called the “Future Flavaz Afterparty”.  It’s a fun place to be so come visit us.