Balance
Interview by Moke Kelekome
Continued from Murder Dog Vol 13 #1
If some of those avenues aren’t available, how are you planning to reach to central Cali (Modesto, Fresno, and Bakersfield)?
Sacramento just added my song. If you can capture the Bay Area and LA, the rest will spread. You just have to be ready to hop in that car and head out to those areas and do the in-store, make those connections with college radio DJ’s and local promoters. There’s so much to do and I’m mapping out my strategy well before my album drops so that I am prepared to do what needs to be done when the album drops. Right now I’m performing at high schools. I have a high school tour planned. A lot of the college kids are on the Internet so my website helps in reaching those communities. Myspace.com also works for me like that. Having some free music on my website and myspace really goes a long way in establishing a presence to people you can’t reach through the record store at the moment.
If you look at Hieroglyphics or Quannum, these are two powerhouses who have built and nurtured communities through the web. How come more Bay artists don’t see this? Even if you’re sooper dooper thugged out, if money is in technology, you can’t be slipping on the hustle.
You would have to pose that question to whoever you want to ask. A lot of niggas may look at it as nerd shit, but they fuck with Protools and studio equipment. I don’t know, I can’t answer that one.
What is it about your debut album, Young and Restless, that is going to hold my attention more so than Ghostface, Ice Cube or whatever else is coming out around that time? What’s going to hold my attention?
I don’t think you can satisfy everybody, but my answer would be good music. From the backpacker to the gangsta shit, there are so many albums being dropped on all levels and there is a lot of shit that doesn’t represent good music. You can tell when niggas didn't put they're heart and soul into the music when you hear it. I go through a hard process, like a strainer. I take my beats to my folks that rap, girls, parents, backpackers, thug niggas. I let other people vibe to it first. Then I take my time with it before I start writing to the music. That shit has to make me feel great. Sometimes the beat I like may not move you, but somebody else may like it. I just took my time to make a very solid album.
If I’m a backpacker why would I like your album?
Because of the lyrics. This is a very lyrical album and it’s battle orientated. It’s about being the best rapper I can be.
If I am a young radio listener or club head, why would I like Young and Restless?
You may or may not? How many spins I get may play into that. Lyrically and musically I have something they may enjoy, but that depends on their tastes.
If I am a straight turf music fan, why would I like Young and Restless?
Because I got slap. Turf cats are very beat orientated and like clever raps about the streets. I got that knock for the trunks. That’s one of the things I am looking forward to—seeing somebody riding down the street bumping my shit. That’s how we all learned about Too Short, 415, Dangerous Dame, MC Ant, and Spice 1. I think my album is based on what Hip Hop is all about and still has everything that makes a West Coast album what it is.
Nothing for the young Black, Filipino, Mexican and White women who buy a shit load of records in the Bay?
Usually women buy Rap albums because they like a certain song, watched a video and thought a nigga was cute. I don’t think that is something you can really create in the studio if you aren’t that type of nigga. To make seductive songs or dance songs that really pop you have to be of that element. Biggie might have been the only cat to make heartthrob music and not really be one, but he made fun of himself and let his personality take over. That’s part of it. I have some songs they may enjoy especially because of my voice, but I don’t have any "female" songs so to speak. From what I know, females usually don’t like those songs that get introduced as "this is for the ladies," or "this is for the bitches."
Who did your musical handiwork? What producers help create Young and Restless?
E-A-Ski and CMT, Left from Frontline, Bedrock, Aristotle, Erk Tha Jerk, The Products, Trakademiks, and a few other producers.
How will you avoid the stigma of you album being another Bay album without people even listening to it?
I sent songs to different people and the reactions have been positive, but the problem is that we in the Bay don’t really get out. We don’t get the same support that other artists get out of town. We certainly give a lot when they come through here to promote. I’m just trying to network with different cats to help that presence blossom, not just for me for the Bay.
With the exception of a few artists, I don’t think people in the Bay have been making fantastic music over the last few years. Niggas make albums and collect their bread and put out another album, but a lack of quality has hurt our scene as well.
I disagree. I think Bay artists have made very good music over the last few years; it’s just not getting out.
It’s just like high school football in Florida and Texas as opposed to the Bay. In Florida and Texas, the community nurtures youth football from Pop Warner to College. It’s almost religious and the kids are bred for that. Everyone gets involved. In the Bay, that may be truer for youth baseball or basketball, but not football. Basically, niggas aren’t mastering their craft without the support base and a community to nurture it. It’s too easy for cats to make an album and get bread from Rasputin or City Hall. Cats treat the music like a bitch.
That may be true for a few cats, but we have a lot of talent out here that needs to be heard outside of Northern Cali. You got Cellski, Mac Mall, Messy Marv, Turf Talk, San Quinn, Ray Luv, Mistah FAB, Frontline…man, we got so much talent! I hear what you’re saying. You have wack niggas everywhere—in Houston, New York, L.A—wack niggas come with the territory, but that has nothing to do with the hardest rappers from the area not getting promoted to other areas. I feel like this, if any of these other areas had access to Bay music and hear it like we hear their shit, the Bay would be in a better position. It doesn’t help us if five record stores In Atlanta only carry six albums by Bay artists and order low numbers. Looking at a Clipse video, you mean to tell me that niggas in their videos wouldn’t go dumb listening to Messy Marv or Frontline? I disagree with you on a few points. I think other areas not having access to Bay Area artists stunts the growth.
How can you buy an album that doesn’t come through the major label marketing machine, when you have a thriving scene with 300 artists in your own backyard? If I was from Houston, Atlanta, Los Angeles or New York I wouldn’t have time to listen to anything that wasn’t on my radar unless I’m stealing the slang and swagger.
We are living in a fast food time. We live in an area where people get bored with shit faster. People have short attention spans and get bored with the newest thing faster than ever. Back in the day, a good album could hold you for a few months whether you played in on your walkman or home stereo. Nowadays, you don’t have to have a walkman, you can walk down the street and somebody is bumping the latest album. People have Ipods. The radio plays a big part now that every station is "Where Hip Hop Lives" or "Plays the Best in Hip Hop and R&B". You wake up to new shit and go to sleep to it, just like you hear it all day, so shit plays out a lot faster than it used to. Plus, there are so many albums coming out from across the world that you may not get to enjoy the record like you used to five years ago. Snoop has an album coming out today, next week Jay Z, Mistah FAB, and Outkast have new albums, the week after that six more top artists, two underground, five new mix CDs are coming out. You can’t possibly enjoy all the albums at the same time. In a matter of three weeks you done spent almost $200 on albums you may listen to for a day or two at the most before popping in the next one.
What are the top five factors that you see as positive happenings in the Bay Area music scene right now?
Number one, people have come to understand that we have to turn this shit around and put that spotlight back on us, and it’s happening. You’ve got the Delinquents signing to Hieroglyphics, E-40 signed with Lil Jon, New Bay and E-A-Ski working together, Frontline and myself, Mac Mall and Mistah FAB signing with Thizz. We have a lot of young hungry cats like Turf Talk, The Team, The Federation. I think cats are taking the necessary steps to really take advantage of their talent and relationships that will put them in a better position to put the Bay back to where it should be in this game. Number two, Lyrics Born sold 120,000 copies of Later That Day and toured all over the world. Here’s a Town cat that has been doing this for years and his album had a single with E-40 and Casual ("Callin Out" remix) that went around the whole world in homes that many of us haven’t invaded. So that was real big. That song went all over the world with no real urban radio play. Rock stations started playing that song and that was big. Number three, Keyshia Cole going gold. I mean, Keyshia Cole is somebody that everybody knows in the town. To see her go gold and winning awards is like, real inspiring. Just seeing people from the Bay on MTV with her, Goapele, Locksmith, Sway. These are people that we know. What’s that three so far? Okay, number four, The New Bay movements, Hyphy, Thizz. All these movements show the creativity is taking place once again. Cats are clicking up and creating new sounds, dances, and got more shit to spit about. Number five, the radio out here being real supportive of local artists. I mean we are getting play of course in San Francisco, but also in Sac, Stockton, Reno, Las Vegas, Fresno, Los Angeles, San Diego and Phoenix. That’s a big step for us in getting heard all over.
What’s keeping the veteran rappers from networking with younger ones?
If you would have asked that question last year, my answer would be different, but now I think it’s starting to happen. You have B-Legit working with Clyde Carson; Richie Rich worked with me, E-A-Ski worked with Frontline, E-40 and the Delinquents worked with FAB. It’s coming together. I thing the OG's, most OG's, look at the youngsters like we talk big game and sit back and watch us prove ourselves. Once they respect what we do then we have access to them. That is real important for our scene to grow.
You originally titled the album, "The Day Cali Died", and then changed it to "Young and Restless." Why the change?
The album didn’t sound like it should. It didn’t sound like the title, so I changed it. I’m an artist where the title has to match the music and the music has to match the artwork, and all that. How I present myself is very important because that is a representation of what I am. Everything has to be on point and accurate. We need to get that focus back on the West Coast. It’s about access. If our music was available in stores anywhere like it is here we would be on a better footing. Plus at home, we need to bring our communities together so that our music can flourish at shows, in stores, radio. We should all have access to the avenues that can put us on that new level. Our club scene had died for Black folks for a long time, now people are going back to the clubs and some cats are making music for that scene. Niggas need to dance and express themselves, which is why the Hyphy shit is so big. That didn’t start in a club that started on the corner in East Oakland. That creative dance fueled the inspiration for music and lyrics to capture what that scene is about.
Interview by Moke Kelekome
Continued from Murder Dog Vol 13 #1
If some of those avenues aren’t available, how are you planning to reach to central Cali (Modesto, Fresno, and Bakersfield)?
Sacramento just added my song. If you can capture the Bay Area and LA, the rest will spread. You just have to be ready to hop in that car and head out to those areas and do the in-store, make those connections with college radio DJ’s and local promoters. There’s so much to do and I’m mapping out my strategy well before my album drops so that I am prepared to do what needs to be done when the album drops. Right now I’m performing at high schools. I have a high school tour planned. A lot of the college kids are on the Internet so my website helps in reaching those communities. Myspace.com also works for me like that. Having some free music on my website and myspace really goes a long way in establishing a presence to people you can’t reach through the record store at the moment.
If you look at Hieroglyphics or Quannum, these are two powerhouses who have built and nurtured communities through the web. How come more Bay artists don’t see this? Even if you’re sooper dooper thugged out, if money is in technology, you can’t be slipping on the hustle.
You would have to pose that question to whoever you want to ask. A lot of niggas may look at it as nerd shit, but they fuck with Protools and studio equipment. I don’t know, I can’t answer that one.
What is it about your debut album, Young and Restless, that is going to hold my attention more so than Ghostface, Ice Cube or whatever else is coming out around that time? What’s going to hold my attention?
I don’t think you can satisfy everybody, but my answer would be good music. From the backpacker to the gangsta shit, there are so many albums being dropped on all levels and there is a lot of shit that doesn’t represent good music. You can tell when niggas didn't put they're heart and soul into the music when you hear it. I go through a hard process, like a strainer. I take my beats to my folks that rap, girls, parents, backpackers, thug niggas. I let other people vibe to it first. Then I take my time with it before I start writing to the music. That shit has to make me feel great. Sometimes the beat I like may not move you, but somebody else may like it. I just took my time to make a very solid album.
If I’m a backpacker why would I like your album?
Because of the lyrics. This is a very lyrical album and it’s battle orientated. It’s about being the best rapper I can be.
If I am a young radio listener or club head, why would I like Young and Restless?
You may or may not? How many spins I get may play into that. Lyrically and musically I have something they may enjoy, but that depends on their tastes.
If I am a straight turf music fan, why would I like Young and Restless?
Because I got slap. Turf cats are very beat orientated and like clever raps about the streets. I got that knock for the trunks. That’s one of the things I am looking forward to—seeing somebody riding down the street bumping my shit. That’s how we all learned about Too Short, 415, Dangerous Dame, MC Ant, and Spice 1. I think my album is based on what Hip Hop is all about and still has everything that makes a West Coast album what it is.
Nothing for the young Black, Filipino, Mexican and White women who buy a shit load of records in the Bay?
Usually women buy Rap albums because they like a certain song, watched a video and thought a nigga was cute. I don’t think that is something you can really create in the studio if you aren’t that type of nigga. To make seductive songs or dance songs that really pop you have to be of that element. Biggie might have been the only cat to make heartthrob music and not really be one, but he made fun of himself and let his personality take over. That’s part of it. I have some songs they may enjoy especially because of my voice, but I don’t have any "female" songs so to speak. From what I know, females usually don’t like those songs that get introduced as "this is for the ladies," or "this is for the bitches."
Who did your musical handiwork? What producers help create Young and Restless?
E-A-Ski and CMT, Left from Frontline, Bedrock, Aristotle, Erk Tha Jerk, The Products, Trakademiks, and a few other producers.
How will you avoid the stigma of you album being another Bay album without people even listening to it?
I sent songs to different people and the reactions have been positive, but the problem is that we in the Bay don’t really get out. We don’t get the same support that other artists get out of town. We certainly give a lot when they come through here to promote. I’m just trying to network with different cats to help that presence blossom, not just for me for the Bay.
With the exception of a few artists, I don’t think people in the Bay have been making fantastic music over the last few years. Niggas make albums and collect their bread and put out another album, but a lack of quality has hurt our scene as well.
I disagree. I think Bay artists have made very good music over the last few years; it’s just not getting out.
It’s just like high school football in Florida and Texas as opposed to the Bay. In Florida and Texas, the community nurtures youth football from Pop Warner to College. It’s almost religious and the kids are bred for that. Everyone gets involved. In the Bay, that may be truer for youth baseball or basketball, but not football. Basically, niggas aren’t mastering their craft without the support base and a community to nurture it. It’s too easy for cats to make an album and get bread from Rasputin or City Hall. Cats treat the music like a bitch.
That may be true for a few cats, but we have a lot of talent out here that needs to be heard outside of Northern Cali. You got Cellski, Mac Mall, Messy Marv, Turf Talk, San Quinn, Ray Luv, Mistah FAB, Frontline…man, we got so much talent! I hear what you’re saying. You have wack niggas everywhere—in Houston, New York, L.A—wack niggas come with the territory, but that has nothing to do with the hardest rappers from the area not getting promoted to other areas. I feel like this, if any of these other areas had access to Bay music and hear it like we hear their shit, the Bay would be in a better position. It doesn’t help us if five record stores In Atlanta only carry six albums by Bay artists and order low numbers. Looking at a Clipse video, you mean to tell me that niggas in their videos wouldn’t go dumb listening to Messy Marv or Frontline? I disagree with you on a few points. I think other areas not having access to Bay Area artists stunts the growth.
How can you buy an album that doesn’t come through the major label marketing machine, when you have a thriving scene with 300 artists in your own backyard? If I was from Houston, Atlanta, Los Angeles or New York I wouldn’t have time to listen to anything that wasn’t on my radar unless I’m stealing the slang and swagger.
We are living in a fast food time. We live in an area where people get bored with shit faster. People have short attention spans and get bored with the newest thing faster than ever. Back in the day, a good album could hold you for a few months whether you played in on your walkman or home stereo. Nowadays, you don’t have to have a walkman, you can walk down the street and somebody is bumping the latest album. People have Ipods. The radio plays a big part now that every station is "Where Hip Hop Lives" or "Plays the Best in Hip Hop and R&B". You wake up to new shit and go to sleep to it, just like you hear it all day, so shit plays out a lot faster than it used to. Plus, there are so many albums coming out from across the world that you may not get to enjoy the record like you used to five years ago. Snoop has an album coming out today, next week Jay Z, Mistah FAB, and Outkast have new albums, the week after that six more top artists, two underground, five new mix CDs are coming out. You can’t possibly enjoy all the albums at the same time. In a matter of three weeks you done spent almost $200 on albums you may listen to for a day or two at the most before popping in the next one.
What are the top five factors that you see as positive happenings in the Bay Area music scene right now?
Number one, people have come to understand that we have to turn this shit around and put that spotlight back on us, and it’s happening. You’ve got the Delinquents signing to Hieroglyphics, E-40 signed with Lil Jon, New Bay and E-A-Ski working together, Frontline and myself, Mac Mall and Mistah FAB signing with Thizz. We have a lot of young hungry cats like Turf Talk, The Team, The Federation. I think cats are taking the necessary steps to really take advantage of their talent and relationships that will put them in a better position to put the Bay back to where it should be in this game. Number two, Lyrics Born sold 120,000 copies of Later That Day and toured all over the world. Here’s a Town cat that has been doing this for years and his album had a single with E-40 and Casual ("Callin Out" remix) that went around the whole world in homes that many of us haven’t invaded. So that was real big. That song went all over the world with no real urban radio play. Rock stations started playing that song and that was big. Number three, Keyshia Cole going gold. I mean, Keyshia Cole is somebody that everybody knows in the town. To see her go gold and winning awards is like, real inspiring. Just seeing people from the Bay on MTV with her, Goapele, Locksmith, Sway. These are people that we know. What’s that three so far? Okay, number four, The New Bay movements, Hyphy, Thizz. All these movements show the creativity is taking place once again. Cats are clicking up and creating new sounds, dances, and got more shit to spit about. Number five, the radio out here being real supportive of local artists. I mean we are getting play of course in San Francisco, but also in Sac, Stockton, Reno, Las Vegas, Fresno, Los Angeles, San Diego and Phoenix. That’s a big step for us in getting heard all over.
What’s keeping the veteran rappers from networking with younger ones?
If you would have asked that question last year, my answer would be different, but now I think it’s starting to happen. You have B-Legit working with Clyde Carson; Richie Rich worked with me, E-A-Ski worked with Frontline, E-40 and the Delinquents worked with FAB. It’s coming together. I thing the OG's, most OG's, look at the youngsters like we talk big game and sit back and watch us prove ourselves. Once they respect what we do then we have access to them. That is real important for our scene to grow.
You originally titled the album, "The Day Cali Died", and then changed it to "Young and Restless." Why the change?
The album didn’t sound like it should. It didn’t sound like the title, so I changed it. I’m an artist where the title has to match the music and the music has to match the artwork, and all that. How I present myself is very important because that is a representation of what I am. Everything has to be on point and accurate. We need to get that focus back on the West Coast. It’s about access. If our music was available in stores anywhere like it is here we would be on a better footing. Plus at home, we need to bring our communities together so that our music can flourish at shows, in stores, radio. We should all have access to the avenues that can put us on that new level. Our club scene had died for Black folks for a long time, now people are going back to the clubs and some cats are making music for that scene. Niggas need to dance and express themselves, which is why the Hyphy shit is so big. That didn’t start in a club that started on the corner in East Oakland. That creative dance fueled the inspiration for music and lyrics to capture what that scene is about.