Beeda Weeda
Interview by Deyu Ntebya
Photo by Ian Mosier
Continued from Murder Dog vol 15 #3
The name of your new album, ‘Da Thizzness’, what does it mean to you?
Anything that you doing that benefit you is the thizzness, like business, just put the Thizz in it. Like you’re getting your money that’s the thizzness; you shining, that’s thizzness. Anything positive. And it came out on Town Thizzness, which is like an extension of Thizz, the Oakland edition of Thizz Entertainment.
What’s it like being on Thizz?
It’s wonderful. Thizz has got a wonderful concept, and they’re really united. I was only signed to them for that one album but they real and they got a great fan base too. Thizz always helped me out in my career. They reached out to me a long time ago and tried to sign me, but at that point I wasn’t ready yet. But they helped me out always putting me onto their Block Reports, always giving me good shout outs even when I wasn’t on their label. They be holding it down for the Bay for real.
Before you put this album out on Thizz you were working with a label called PBT through Clear Label?
They put out my first album, and that album I said I was working on? It’s coming out on Clear Label too. And PTB, that’s my label, stands for ‘Pushin the Beat’. We produce, we make beats, and actually I do a lot of production. I produced my first single that was on the radio. I engineer. We do a whole a lot of stuff. Got this big building out in Oakland. A lot of rappers come through. We do T-shirts, we do jeans. Posters, everything. Shoot videos.
When did you start your label?
The label started with my big brother. He is why I started rapping. That’s who I looked up to, he was already rapping in my hood before I started. I work a lot with my big brother, he puts everything behind me. He’s one the reasons why I keep pushing, why I keep doing this.
Are you putting out any artists?
We putting out some new artists. We got this young cat named D Low, he one of the hottest cats around here right now. I’m just gonna kick the door open. Also, I give a lot to my community, give a lot back. Do a lot with the kids, picnics, back to school stuff, bicycles all that. And not too long ago they did a special on Oakland cause we is one of the worst cities in America. And when they came out here they interviewed me. Like they talked to all these officials and they interviewed me. I’m really involved in my community. A lot of times rappers would be doing stuff for the community, but on TV they always concentrate on the bad stuff.
What would you say is the current sound of the Bay?
I think it’s going back to that Mob shit. That’s where I’m taking it. I can’t really speak for everybody else, but that’s the direction that I’m moving in. Cause that’s what we really be feeling in the Bay. It’s still relevant as it was back then. Ain’t nothing much changed really. I see us making that real shit.
Interview with J-Stalin
By Keita Jones
Continued from Murder Dog vol 15 #3
How are you going to push West Oakland into the forefront of the Rap scene?
I’m from West Oakland and been in West Oakland all my life. Before I started rapping I knew everybody on my hood. When I started rapping I had fans who like me because they knew who I was and not just based off the music. I tell West Oakland the way I see it. I give you the raw and uncut. I don’t put “the two on the ten.” There ain’t hella strip clubs, there ain’t no “tip drilling” in West Oakland, niggas ain’t hittin strip clubs 500 deep and all that shit. It’s just niggas hustling, niggas robbing, niggas grinding. Even the niggas that have jobs are street niggas. There’s only two clubs in West Oakland and one is in Lower Bottoms. No one goes to Lower Bottoms because they are fucking with every hood in West Oakland except our turf (Cypress Village). I go to the club because I’m J-Stalin but other than that, don’t go to the club if you ain’t from the Bottoms. I’m just telling West Oakland how I see it. I’m not sugar coating it, downplaying it, undermining it. I’m giving it the truth how it is. You can listen to the album and be riding through West Oakland and be like, “This is MLK, he said that’s where them Ghost Town niggas be at. Filbert, that’s where them Acorn niggas be at.”
We have a lot of rappers from West Oakland. Saafir from Dogtown, Bavgate from Ghost Town, and LB from Campbell Village. You’re repping Cypress. Why do you think these rappers don’t collaborate with each other?
Because of the same shit I was just talking about. Shady Nate is from Acorn, Bavgate is from Ghost Town. Them two don’t have no problems individually but their hoods have problems. It’s a respect thing. It’s a hood thing. Acorn niggas don’t fuck with Ghost Town. If it was up to me, I’d make a whole West Oakland album. I’d love to say, “Come on Y’all let’s do this!” But the West is moving so fast everybody is hustling. And hoods don’t like each other. The niggas over there don’t like the niggas over here, the niggas upstairs don’t like the niggas downstairs, the niggas to the left don’t like the niggas on the right. I’m blessed, I’m one of the few niggas that can actually go anywhere in West Oakland. I’m older so I can have my individuality. I can say, “Judge me for me and not because of where I’m from.” Once the problems die down we can do something but these niggas is just killing each other.
Being that you have rappers from Acorn and Lower Bottoms on your label and the relationship between the neighborhoods isn’t the best, what kind of affect do you think that could have on the streets?
I hope it has a domino affect because we are on some get money shit. It ain’t about where you are from, it’s about “oh you like money, I like money, let’s go get some money together.” It ain’t all that “he from over there, I’m from over there, we ain’t fuckin with each other”.
How did you form Livewire Records?
I was fucking with Rich at the time and I was restless. I felt like he wasn’t taking interest in me like I thought he could have been. I was around him long enough to where I learned the music industry. After he did “Grab Snatches And Takes” I branched off to do my own thing. My brother Dame came home and helped me get it started. He was always fucking with Shady Nate, and then my brother went to jail. By the time he went to jail I got Livewire popping. I said to Jonah and Shady, “I know y’all was fuckin with Dame but since he’s gone you might as well come over here.” They came and we been mobbin every since. We got Lil Blood from Dogtown. There ain’t no Bloods and Crips in Oakland, that’s just how we talk. We got J-Jonah, Shady Nate, Filthy Rich from Seminary, Ronald Black from the Bottoms, HD and Lil Ruger from North Oakland, Maybach in the East. We got Livewire East and Livewire North.
“Gas Nation” is a one shot release on Thizz but you are not actually signed to Thizz?
No, I’m signed to SMC and I have a label deal for Livewire. We are all connected out here. We got something called the “Five Families” and we trying to keep it organized like the Mafia. It’s Livewire, PTB, Thizz, Foeva After and Allndadoe.
San Quinn
Interview by Allen Gordon
Continued from Murder Dog vol 15 #3
It is crazy that San Francisco is the media capitol of the West Coast and Northern California yet the coverage of most of the Bay Area’s music is Oakland, Vallejo and Sacramento. I was guilty of sleeping on San Francisco too until JT The Bigga Figga pulled my coat in 1996 when he came to my office in New York. I had only focused on Rappin 4Tay, Paris and JT, and JT was hollering GLP, RBL, Dre Dog, Cougnut. He was ahead of his time talking about all of San Francisco and he was right.
I can tell you straight up that Rappin 4Tay fumbled the ball when he had that light on him. He know what his personal battles are so I’m not going to speak bad on the homie in this article, because I would hate for niggas to think that they could put hands and feet on my big homie cause I love him. But 4Tay fumbled, OK? He is supposed to be on a level where Jay Z is at right now. He should be on private planes doing the business across the globe, but when he had his turn he was concentrating on 4Tay, Frankie J and Fly, and these niggas are 50 years old. It was supposed to be 4Tay and the GLP (Get Low Playaz). I can’t put it all on 4Tay, but you dig what I’m saying. You gotta push this young talent because you selling records to young muthafuckas between the ages of 13-30. I’m only speaking on my homie because it was something you brought up and what I am saying is just from one perspective, but 4Tay wasn’t responsible like that when he had his big shot. San Quinn is responsible like that. San Quinn is responsible for a Young Bailey, Big Rich, Ya Boy, 17 Reasons, and a lot of Norteños rapping in Northern California. I am one of the first niggas to put them on. 4Tay ain’t helped nobody. Big shout out to his daughter Jas, I ain’t disrespecting his family, ya dig. I even put her on my album, “The Color of Money”, “BIG”. Basically, 4Tay just didn’t have the right etiquette like them New York niggas had at the time he got on. We didn’t have no 40 year old music maverick-millionaire out here pushing a line in San Francisco like New York had with Russell Simmons, Afrika Bambaata, Fab Five Freddy and DJ Red Alert. JT The Bigga Figga was the only rebel-soul breaking new ground and he was a baby when he got his deal. We was kids and didn’t know what the fuck we were doing. We learned as we went along. Even then JT was responsible and that’s where I learned it from. All the OG’s were on some sucker shit and trying to take money from the pot instead of brewing it.
He may not have had the mindset or the foresight for that at that time.
It’s okay. They left it open for me to score. At least Oakland and LA can say they had a reign. LA had NWA, Compton’s Most Wanted, Ice T, King T, DJ Quik, JJ Fad, The Alkaholiks, Pharcyde, Above The Law and so many others. Oakland had Hammer who went 17x platinum, Too Short, Spice 1, Del, The Coup, Hieroglyphics, 415 and more. Even though we Frisco niggas were right there when that was happening, we didn’t have that reign for ourselves. Ice Cube is starring in and making movies. You name one muthafucka who came from this 7x7 mile, 800,000 strong population outside of Bobby McFerrin, Metallica and Green Day and Carlos Santana. Paris was fucking with that Black militant shit, but he wasn’t fucking with the niggas. He was representing Oakland when he was from Frisco and he would have these hyenas with him.
That’s my friend. If you could speak with him I’m sure he could tell you what his agenda was and who fit into that.
That’s your friend? What is he doing for me and mine? Nothing!
That same question could be asked of everybody else. What did ya’ll do for him? Eazy didn’t put on everybody from Compton, he put on the talent that he or Dre thought would be best for the label. Quik wasn’t on Ruthless nor was MC Eiht. Everybody seemed to come out alright.
Look, I feel that is some sucker shit. When San Quinn drops a record it helps here. Whether it be a San Francisco nigga or a nigga in the pen. If you pushing Black Power and you ain’t helping niggas that’s fake, homie. Paris wasn’t pushing the Lakeview niggas. He didn’t help Cougnut. I shouldn’t call him fake, I‘ll just say he didn’t handle his business. People like Paris and 4Tay didn’t handle their business as Frisco representatives, ya dig. They had the shine and didn’t do anything with it. I am still San Quinn and when the light shines on me I’m like a mirror reflecting that light to my folks so they can share that light. Giving other niggas a shot or a space to learn it for themselves without the consequences. It’s easy to speak on niggas not being in their shoes, but I have more pressure on me than 4Tay or Paris had on themselves back in the day because I am still on these streets and the numbers have grown. My responsibilities in this game have multiplied. I’m still relevant and could still be killed on these streets at any time. At a time when niggas could have reached back and kept the streets separate from Hip Hop, they didn’t, and now it is too late. I am out here every day knowing I could be gone, but that’s San Quinn. That’s what the media hasn’t looked at us. When them niggas had that shine they kept the cameras and microphones looking in the other direction. You don’t know that true beauty of the sun until the moon is shining. Why does the moon shine? Because it reflects the light of the sun.
It is bigger than two cats. Oakland wasn’t held back because of Too Short and Hammer not signing 415, Del, Souls of Mischief or Spice 1.
No, but those artists were able to flourish because Hammer and Short shined a lot on their city. Hammer’s groups outside of Oaktown 3-5-7 didn’t amount to much, but Short put on Ant Banks, Spice 1, Pooh Man, Goldie and whoever and provided a lane for them. You look at LA, the majority of their legacy in Rap music is from Compton and other cities surrounding LA like Pomona and Long Beach. That didn’t happen for San Francisco like that. It was Oakland and Vallejo and now we are all Bay Area- and Frisco needs its own distinction as a part of this greater story.
Yeah, a team or a movement is needed for any area to really push that boulder uphill.
My first records were pushed by niggas from the street and niggas in the pen giving me game. I’ve seen niggas put other niggas on and work together- that real street etiquette. Real San Francisco niggas, who I can’t say they names here, but dealt with me in these streets and gave me that instruction and told me what the fuck to do. I can’t do this by myself—it has to be a movement. San Quinn is weak as fuck by himself, homie. I am weak as fuck by myself if there ain’t no Messy Marv, Bailey, Big Rich or if Willie Hen ain’t on the team. Nigga, we from 8 Blocks. Fillmore is 8 blocks from Van Ness to Masonic. We rough. We just ain’t had no real money or real help on the music tip. It’s a bunch of suckers who made this lane for me and mine. I’m grateful that these suckers gave me the opportunity to be THE GUY. And once I get in, there will not be an entry fee for suckers. No suckers allowed.
How is that all that talent came from those eight blocks in Fillmore? Hugh E MC, Messy Marv, JT the Bigga Figga, Andre Nickatina, Seff The Gaffla and Rappin 4Tay.
That’s interesting, especially since I am the youngest of one pack and the oldest of this younger crew coming up now. To answer your question, I think it goes back to the 1930s with Jazz. Fillmore District was the Harlem of the West Coast. If you wanted to play Jazz and Blues music on the West Coast Fillmore was the place to be more so than Central Avenue in Los Angeles because of the racial thing. San Francisco was the city to be in and all the music and nightlife was all up and down Fillmore. So when we came along that spirit was already here with us. When Hugh E MC came with that bad-ass record he was on to something, but he was a victim of the streets. He had a bad record company in In-A-Minute Records, then the heroin and blow thing got a hold of him, like that blow thing got a hold of me. But Hugh E bounced back and is spinning records on KPOO like legend that he is. He was ahead of his time, because that album he put out back then was lyrically better than most of the shit that has come out over the last six years. And that was 18 years ago. Hugh E is really who I patterned myself after as a lyricist, because he had a gangsta side and a poetry side, and I always thought that was the best style of telling a story or making niggas rewind your tape to hear what the fuck you said.
That’s always been a hallmark of your records.
I come from that environment, but I have never killed anybody or ordained a murder. I am from that world but not of that world. Like Ice Cube, I live in the hood and can articulate that because I am from that, but I don’t be shooting niggas and shit. I am around those type of niggas. I can’t reveal my gangsta handle but I will reveal my Rap handle. You hear it in my raps.
Fillmore is cutthroat and family oriented like New Orleans. How did all your friendships with each other manage to survive that when we have seen other crews fall out over money and fame?
It’s cutthroat in Fillmore, but it’s family too. We was raised together. I can’t explain why the talent moved in that area like it did with Rap, it just did. When I first heard Hip Hop music, I was infatuated with words and how that were used. When I started rapping I wanted to be better than the niggas I was listening to on the East Coast. I really believe that the spirits of Fillmore were in the air. But what really pushed it was when JT joined the Nation of Islam and got that independent mind state. He pushed that Islam to us as well and that put us on that path of doing for ourselves and maintaining that responsible mind state I was telling you about earlier. I believe we just have a winner’s attitude out here. We have friendly competitions.
You could have played the other side of the fence long ago. What kept you grounded?
Nah! A nigga always wanna be able to come back home. A nigga will always represent Fillmore so I ain’t gonna be no snitch or be a sucker or on some pedophile shit, you feel me! I represent with pride and I don’t want niggas laughing and shit. Niggas will quickly say your shit is “can” if your shit is weak or if you are on some sucker shit. You might put out a weak album, but come with another one and have it be heated. You might catch a beatdown or slip and fall, but nigga get up. That’s the support base we got because we family like that, even if we don’t speak all that often or whatever. This is how we were raised with each other.
I am going to rattle off a few names and I want you to briefly tell me what you learned from these individuals or how they were a source of inspiration. First, JT The Bigga Figga.
JT, that’s my big brother right there. That’s my brother. I would never disrespect JT. His mother is like my mother, my auntie Pearl. His son is really my cousin because he has a baby through my cousin so we have real blood ties. JT taught me humility and hustle. Our business is separate and we push our own lines, but he is the one who made me assertive like that. He also told me to keep God first which is where I learned how to stay humble. I love JT.
Messy Marv.
Mess? I love Mess. I am real proud of what he is doing with his music. Everywhere I go people always say, “I like Quinn, but where that boy Mess at!” That speaks volumes about how people have embraced his music. Mess has had a very hard life, so trust does not come easy for him. It’s hard for him to trust people. But I want him to know that I love him and I respect him as an MC and a man. He is also my cousin through Ya Boy and Bailey. I will always respect him and what he is doing. Bullshit is nothing, man. We family.
Seff The Gaffla.
That’s my bruh right there. Seff was famous before Rap music. It’s always humbling talking to Seff because he had a name out here when I was in the 5th grade when a nigga didn’t have no rap. And that’s what a lot of niggas got to keep in mind. I made my name in Rap music, so I don’t expect niggas to be scared of me when I push through somewhere. Now the 6 or 7 niggas I got in my entourage may give you something to fear, but not me. Seff was a nigga that may cause you to pause before you get beside yourself. He is a G representing Fillmore. Talk about swagger or swag, Seff had that before the word was even used.
Hugh E MC.
That’s my inspiration. Like I said about 4Tay earlier, I don’t hold Hugh E up to that responsibility because 4Tay had much more action in the industry. He loses his humility when he is put in a powerful position. Not to talk about Hugh E to get on 4, but I am supposed to get bigger so I can have a job for Hugh E so I can pay him for his insight as I grow. Hugh E MC was always that nigga to be in this game and I need that wisdom.
Rappin 4Tay
I learned how not to handle power or privilege when it comes your way. You learn from people’s triumphs and trials, just like someone will learn from mine.
Back to the new album, you seem to have much more focus and your musical selection has become more fitting to the tone and power of your voice. What has changed?
I used to listen to people too much. I am just now getting to the point where I can think for myself without being self-conscious or incorporating a certain trend suggested by a producer, executive producer, fellow rapper, or the homies. I went to E-A-Ski to get a hit. When I turn on the radio I hear Frontline, Keak the Sneak and Federation- so if I want those type of spins I have to go to Ski or Rick Rock. I played the game to figure out what worked for me. I know what a radio hit is and how to make it happen. But on my new album, “From a Boy To a Man”, I understood what type of beats I sound good on. I am a rapper and freestylin MC and I could rap over the simplest drums or the most elaborate musical composition. At 30 years old I am finally in charge of my own shit for the first time in my life. Dealing with executive producers I was subject to the ideas of whoever was leading the project. Now it is all on me. I am still in debt, but I am in charge of my own shit. “The Mighty Quinn”, I feel I bricked with that album.
I love that album.
Damn, see I don’t. I was 23 years old and I was tired of rapping about shit I wasn’t involved in though I was close to the action. So I wanted to back off of the bullshit Rap.
Like I was saying a minute ago, there is a lot of strength and conviction in the tone and power of your lyrics, and you seem to have a fluid collaboration between your creativity and what’s in your heart. So “The Mighty Quinn” worked for me even if the music wasn’t as commanding as your raps.
Yeah. You probably come from the school where there is two different Hip Hops. You could appreciate what I was doing on that album because of your sensibilities. Just like you like my album “The Rock”. I was going through it on that album. I was snorting cocaine bad and I had hurt my family. I was having problems with infidelity and had lost my whole crew from Big Rich to Bailey and everyone around me. But it ended up being a good record thanks to SMC and the Hyphy Movement. The timing was right for it to be successful, despite my personal problems. Now I am back with “From a Boy To a Man” and it is a great record. This is just my journey through life to this point having a new spirit, completely humbled and with a greater focus than ever before. From top to bottom this is the best album. I want to drop this album and few more, have them do well and make that transition to an executive so I can put more people on from Frisco and the Bay Area and make it pop. People in Atlanta put on people in ATL, I just want Frisco to have that spotlight and for all my folks to be in that mode. Let’s face it, when Rap niggas come through Northern California all the Hip Hop shit runs through San Francisco. San Jose hasn’t been as open to Rap shows, but that is a regular thing for Frisco. I want my city on the map like that.
J-Diggs
Interview by Scott Bejda
Continued from Murder Dog vol 15 #3
Who started the Romper Room crew?
It was started by my close homeboy “EB” who they called “The Daddy of the Hood”. He was the one who started our crew and this was back in ’88-’87.
How many people were in the Crew?
They had so many articles around saying that there was 50-something members, but in all fairness the Romper Room Crew has never been more than about thirteen members. If you listen to the newspapers they say we had over fifty members and all kinds of different stories.
What’s amazing is that you were so young. How old were you?
I was 19 years old. I was in the streets just taking the chances. The funny thing is, when I finally did get incarcerated I was the suspect in 23 takeover bank robberies, but I was never found guilty for none.
What were you found guilty of?
I was found guilty of conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery. That was me, Dre, and Kilo’s case in 1992. That was the case I was sentenced ten years for.
It has to feel so good to have done your time and put that part of your life in the past!
That is the best feeling in the world! For anyone to have done ten years of their life locked up and then to be free is a blessing. Serving ten years and being back on the streets is one thing, but getting back on the streets and being able to have everything you want in life is another thing. I wasn’t expected to get out after ten years and regain control of my life. I’m the president of one of the top record labels in the country, and I have a lot going on. This is a good situation for me. I cannot complain at all.
Now you have so much going on with running the label, doing your music and making movies.
Most certainly. I got a lot of shit going on. You can youtube me and I got over a hundred videos of some sort on youtube right now. Thizz is a big movement and we are not stopping! The mash is not stopping. You can expect to see something real big from Thizz Entertainment in ’09. This year we are really going to make a move.
Thizz has been the only label since No Limit to supply so much quality product to the fans. What drives you and Thizz to be so consistent?
It’s just about keeping it alive, as far as what Mac Dre started for us. We were already a struggling independent label prior to Dre going down and everybody wanted to see what would happen after we lost him. People didn’t expect us to stand up, because they didn’t know what kind of talent we were working with and what kind of artists we had over here. Once we lost Dre it was up to us. Me and my lil’ cousin Kilo fore-fronted the label and it was time for us to take it to another level. We never got sidetracked and we knew we had to keep pushing and keep doing just like if Dre was here. Whatever it took to put out another CD or another DVD, we just stayed motivated and kept our nose to the grind.
If someone just started listening to rap and didn’t know any better you would really think that Mac Dre is still alive. You rep him so hard! He is just as relevant now as he was back in the day when he was living. You all need to be commended for that!
Thank you! Everything we do is in the name of Mac Dre. He left this label for us to branch off of and it’s only right that we give back and keep his name and spirit alive if nothing else. Everywhere I go I keep him on my chest every day of my life.
How hard is it to run a label like Thizz?
It’s definitely a challenge especially being on this level. Everybody these days wants to be in the music game and have a label. I’m in a position to put albums out whenever I want to. I have creative control and that’s something a lot of artists don’t have. I’m able to put out projects when I want to and how I want to. We have a bunch of artists under Thizz, but then you have artists in the streets too. Every independent artist that’s trying to get on will come up to us, but we can only do so much. We made stars from almost every city within the Bay Area. We have put a lot of people under the label. Now we are branching into different states. Our first project will be Thizz Nation Phoenix Arizona. I understand that there is a lot of independent artists in the game that can’t get their music out or their music might be out but it only opens up to a small pipeline. As soon as our pipeline opens up a little bit more that’s one of the things that we are going to do. We are going to reach into some of these states that we haven’t even been in and give some of these artists a chance a shine. We are not a selfish label. We don’t mind showcasing another talent as long as you sound good.
Interview by Deyu Ntebya
Photo by Ian Mosier
Continued from Murder Dog vol 15 #3
The name of your new album, ‘Da Thizzness’, what does it mean to you?
Anything that you doing that benefit you is the thizzness, like business, just put the Thizz in it. Like you’re getting your money that’s the thizzness; you shining, that’s thizzness. Anything positive. And it came out on Town Thizzness, which is like an extension of Thizz, the Oakland edition of Thizz Entertainment.
What’s it like being on Thizz?
It’s wonderful. Thizz has got a wonderful concept, and they’re really united. I was only signed to them for that one album but they real and they got a great fan base too. Thizz always helped me out in my career. They reached out to me a long time ago and tried to sign me, but at that point I wasn’t ready yet. But they helped me out always putting me onto their Block Reports, always giving me good shout outs even when I wasn’t on their label. They be holding it down for the Bay for real.
Before you put this album out on Thizz you were working with a label called PBT through Clear Label?
They put out my first album, and that album I said I was working on? It’s coming out on Clear Label too. And PTB, that’s my label, stands for ‘Pushin the Beat’. We produce, we make beats, and actually I do a lot of production. I produced my first single that was on the radio. I engineer. We do a whole a lot of stuff. Got this big building out in Oakland. A lot of rappers come through. We do T-shirts, we do jeans. Posters, everything. Shoot videos.
When did you start your label?
The label started with my big brother. He is why I started rapping. That’s who I looked up to, he was already rapping in my hood before I started. I work a lot with my big brother, he puts everything behind me. He’s one the reasons why I keep pushing, why I keep doing this.
Are you putting out any artists?
We putting out some new artists. We got this young cat named D Low, he one of the hottest cats around here right now. I’m just gonna kick the door open. Also, I give a lot to my community, give a lot back. Do a lot with the kids, picnics, back to school stuff, bicycles all that. And not too long ago they did a special on Oakland cause we is one of the worst cities in America. And when they came out here they interviewed me. Like they talked to all these officials and they interviewed me. I’m really involved in my community. A lot of times rappers would be doing stuff for the community, but on TV they always concentrate on the bad stuff.
What would you say is the current sound of the Bay?
I think it’s going back to that Mob shit. That’s where I’m taking it. I can’t really speak for everybody else, but that’s the direction that I’m moving in. Cause that’s what we really be feeling in the Bay. It’s still relevant as it was back then. Ain’t nothing much changed really. I see us making that real shit.
Interview with J-Stalin
By Keita Jones
Continued from Murder Dog vol 15 #3
How are you going to push West Oakland into the forefront of the Rap scene?
I’m from West Oakland and been in West Oakland all my life. Before I started rapping I knew everybody on my hood. When I started rapping I had fans who like me because they knew who I was and not just based off the music. I tell West Oakland the way I see it. I give you the raw and uncut. I don’t put “the two on the ten.” There ain’t hella strip clubs, there ain’t no “tip drilling” in West Oakland, niggas ain’t hittin strip clubs 500 deep and all that shit. It’s just niggas hustling, niggas robbing, niggas grinding. Even the niggas that have jobs are street niggas. There’s only two clubs in West Oakland and one is in Lower Bottoms. No one goes to Lower Bottoms because they are fucking with every hood in West Oakland except our turf (Cypress Village). I go to the club because I’m J-Stalin but other than that, don’t go to the club if you ain’t from the Bottoms. I’m just telling West Oakland how I see it. I’m not sugar coating it, downplaying it, undermining it. I’m giving it the truth how it is. You can listen to the album and be riding through West Oakland and be like, “This is MLK, he said that’s where them Ghost Town niggas be at. Filbert, that’s where them Acorn niggas be at.”
We have a lot of rappers from West Oakland. Saafir from Dogtown, Bavgate from Ghost Town, and LB from Campbell Village. You’re repping Cypress. Why do you think these rappers don’t collaborate with each other?
Because of the same shit I was just talking about. Shady Nate is from Acorn, Bavgate is from Ghost Town. Them two don’t have no problems individually but their hoods have problems. It’s a respect thing. It’s a hood thing. Acorn niggas don’t fuck with Ghost Town. If it was up to me, I’d make a whole West Oakland album. I’d love to say, “Come on Y’all let’s do this!” But the West is moving so fast everybody is hustling. And hoods don’t like each other. The niggas over there don’t like the niggas over here, the niggas upstairs don’t like the niggas downstairs, the niggas to the left don’t like the niggas on the right. I’m blessed, I’m one of the few niggas that can actually go anywhere in West Oakland. I’m older so I can have my individuality. I can say, “Judge me for me and not because of where I’m from.” Once the problems die down we can do something but these niggas is just killing each other.
Being that you have rappers from Acorn and Lower Bottoms on your label and the relationship between the neighborhoods isn’t the best, what kind of affect do you think that could have on the streets?
I hope it has a domino affect because we are on some get money shit. It ain’t about where you are from, it’s about “oh you like money, I like money, let’s go get some money together.” It ain’t all that “he from over there, I’m from over there, we ain’t fuckin with each other”.
How did you form Livewire Records?
I was fucking with Rich at the time and I was restless. I felt like he wasn’t taking interest in me like I thought he could have been. I was around him long enough to where I learned the music industry. After he did “Grab Snatches And Takes” I branched off to do my own thing. My brother Dame came home and helped me get it started. He was always fucking with Shady Nate, and then my brother went to jail. By the time he went to jail I got Livewire popping. I said to Jonah and Shady, “I know y’all was fuckin with Dame but since he’s gone you might as well come over here.” They came and we been mobbin every since. We got Lil Blood from Dogtown. There ain’t no Bloods and Crips in Oakland, that’s just how we talk. We got J-Jonah, Shady Nate, Filthy Rich from Seminary, Ronald Black from the Bottoms, HD and Lil Ruger from North Oakland, Maybach in the East. We got Livewire East and Livewire North.
“Gas Nation” is a one shot release on Thizz but you are not actually signed to Thizz?
No, I’m signed to SMC and I have a label deal for Livewire. We are all connected out here. We got something called the “Five Families” and we trying to keep it organized like the Mafia. It’s Livewire, PTB, Thizz, Foeva After and Allndadoe.
San Quinn
Interview by Allen Gordon
Continued from Murder Dog vol 15 #3
It is crazy that San Francisco is the media capitol of the West Coast and Northern California yet the coverage of most of the Bay Area’s music is Oakland, Vallejo and Sacramento. I was guilty of sleeping on San Francisco too until JT The Bigga Figga pulled my coat in 1996 when he came to my office in New York. I had only focused on Rappin 4Tay, Paris and JT, and JT was hollering GLP, RBL, Dre Dog, Cougnut. He was ahead of his time talking about all of San Francisco and he was right.
I can tell you straight up that Rappin 4Tay fumbled the ball when he had that light on him. He know what his personal battles are so I’m not going to speak bad on the homie in this article, because I would hate for niggas to think that they could put hands and feet on my big homie cause I love him. But 4Tay fumbled, OK? He is supposed to be on a level where Jay Z is at right now. He should be on private planes doing the business across the globe, but when he had his turn he was concentrating on 4Tay, Frankie J and Fly, and these niggas are 50 years old. It was supposed to be 4Tay and the GLP (Get Low Playaz). I can’t put it all on 4Tay, but you dig what I’m saying. You gotta push this young talent because you selling records to young muthafuckas between the ages of 13-30. I’m only speaking on my homie because it was something you brought up and what I am saying is just from one perspective, but 4Tay wasn’t responsible like that when he had his big shot. San Quinn is responsible like that. San Quinn is responsible for a Young Bailey, Big Rich, Ya Boy, 17 Reasons, and a lot of Norteños rapping in Northern California. I am one of the first niggas to put them on. 4Tay ain’t helped nobody. Big shout out to his daughter Jas, I ain’t disrespecting his family, ya dig. I even put her on my album, “The Color of Money”, “BIG”. Basically, 4Tay just didn’t have the right etiquette like them New York niggas had at the time he got on. We didn’t have no 40 year old music maverick-millionaire out here pushing a line in San Francisco like New York had with Russell Simmons, Afrika Bambaata, Fab Five Freddy and DJ Red Alert. JT The Bigga Figga was the only rebel-soul breaking new ground and he was a baby when he got his deal. We was kids and didn’t know what the fuck we were doing. We learned as we went along. Even then JT was responsible and that’s where I learned it from. All the OG’s were on some sucker shit and trying to take money from the pot instead of brewing it.
He may not have had the mindset or the foresight for that at that time.
It’s okay. They left it open for me to score. At least Oakland and LA can say they had a reign. LA had NWA, Compton’s Most Wanted, Ice T, King T, DJ Quik, JJ Fad, The Alkaholiks, Pharcyde, Above The Law and so many others. Oakland had Hammer who went 17x platinum, Too Short, Spice 1, Del, The Coup, Hieroglyphics, 415 and more. Even though we Frisco niggas were right there when that was happening, we didn’t have that reign for ourselves. Ice Cube is starring in and making movies. You name one muthafucka who came from this 7x7 mile, 800,000 strong population outside of Bobby McFerrin, Metallica and Green Day and Carlos Santana. Paris was fucking with that Black militant shit, but he wasn’t fucking with the niggas. He was representing Oakland when he was from Frisco and he would have these hyenas with him.
That’s my friend. If you could speak with him I’m sure he could tell you what his agenda was and who fit into that.
That’s your friend? What is he doing for me and mine? Nothing!
That same question could be asked of everybody else. What did ya’ll do for him? Eazy didn’t put on everybody from Compton, he put on the talent that he or Dre thought would be best for the label. Quik wasn’t on Ruthless nor was MC Eiht. Everybody seemed to come out alright.
Look, I feel that is some sucker shit. When San Quinn drops a record it helps here. Whether it be a San Francisco nigga or a nigga in the pen. If you pushing Black Power and you ain’t helping niggas that’s fake, homie. Paris wasn’t pushing the Lakeview niggas. He didn’t help Cougnut. I shouldn’t call him fake, I‘ll just say he didn’t handle his business. People like Paris and 4Tay didn’t handle their business as Frisco representatives, ya dig. They had the shine and didn’t do anything with it. I am still San Quinn and when the light shines on me I’m like a mirror reflecting that light to my folks so they can share that light. Giving other niggas a shot or a space to learn it for themselves without the consequences. It’s easy to speak on niggas not being in their shoes, but I have more pressure on me than 4Tay or Paris had on themselves back in the day because I am still on these streets and the numbers have grown. My responsibilities in this game have multiplied. I’m still relevant and could still be killed on these streets at any time. At a time when niggas could have reached back and kept the streets separate from Hip Hop, they didn’t, and now it is too late. I am out here every day knowing I could be gone, but that’s San Quinn. That’s what the media hasn’t looked at us. When them niggas had that shine they kept the cameras and microphones looking in the other direction. You don’t know that true beauty of the sun until the moon is shining. Why does the moon shine? Because it reflects the light of the sun.
It is bigger than two cats. Oakland wasn’t held back because of Too Short and Hammer not signing 415, Del, Souls of Mischief or Spice 1.
No, but those artists were able to flourish because Hammer and Short shined a lot on their city. Hammer’s groups outside of Oaktown 3-5-7 didn’t amount to much, but Short put on Ant Banks, Spice 1, Pooh Man, Goldie and whoever and provided a lane for them. You look at LA, the majority of their legacy in Rap music is from Compton and other cities surrounding LA like Pomona and Long Beach. That didn’t happen for San Francisco like that. It was Oakland and Vallejo and now we are all Bay Area- and Frisco needs its own distinction as a part of this greater story.
Yeah, a team or a movement is needed for any area to really push that boulder uphill.
My first records were pushed by niggas from the street and niggas in the pen giving me game. I’ve seen niggas put other niggas on and work together- that real street etiquette. Real San Francisco niggas, who I can’t say they names here, but dealt with me in these streets and gave me that instruction and told me what the fuck to do. I can’t do this by myself—it has to be a movement. San Quinn is weak as fuck by himself, homie. I am weak as fuck by myself if there ain’t no Messy Marv, Bailey, Big Rich or if Willie Hen ain’t on the team. Nigga, we from 8 Blocks. Fillmore is 8 blocks from Van Ness to Masonic. We rough. We just ain’t had no real money or real help on the music tip. It’s a bunch of suckers who made this lane for me and mine. I’m grateful that these suckers gave me the opportunity to be THE GUY. And once I get in, there will not be an entry fee for suckers. No suckers allowed.
How is that all that talent came from those eight blocks in Fillmore? Hugh E MC, Messy Marv, JT the Bigga Figga, Andre Nickatina, Seff The Gaffla and Rappin 4Tay.
That’s interesting, especially since I am the youngest of one pack and the oldest of this younger crew coming up now. To answer your question, I think it goes back to the 1930s with Jazz. Fillmore District was the Harlem of the West Coast. If you wanted to play Jazz and Blues music on the West Coast Fillmore was the place to be more so than Central Avenue in Los Angeles because of the racial thing. San Francisco was the city to be in and all the music and nightlife was all up and down Fillmore. So when we came along that spirit was already here with us. When Hugh E MC came with that bad-ass record he was on to something, but he was a victim of the streets. He had a bad record company in In-A-Minute Records, then the heroin and blow thing got a hold of him, like that blow thing got a hold of me. But Hugh E bounced back and is spinning records on KPOO like legend that he is. He was ahead of his time, because that album he put out back then was lyrically better than most of the shit that has come out over the last six years. And that was 18 years ago. Hugh E is really who I patterned myself after as a lyricist, because he had a gangsta side and a poetry side, and I always thought that was the best style of telling a story or making niggas rewind your tape to hear what the fuck you said.
That’s always been a hallmark of your records.
I come from that environment, but I have never killed anybody or ordained a murder. I am from that world but not of that world. Like Ice Cube, I live in the hood and can articulate that because I am from that, but I don’t be shooting niggas and shit. I am around those type of niggas. I can’t reveal my gangsta handle but I will reveal my Rap handle. You hear it in my raps.
Fillmore is cutthroat and family oriented like New Orleans. How did all your friendships with each other manage to survive that when we have seen other crews fall out over money and fame?
It’s cutthroat in Fillmore, but it’s family too. We was raised together. I can’t explain why the talent moved in that area like it did with Rap, it just did. When I first heard Hip Hop music, I was infatuated with words and how that were used. When I started rapping I wanted to be better than the niggas I was listening to on the East Coast. I really believe that the spirits of Fillmore were in the air. But what really pushed it was when JT joined the Nation of Islam and got that independent mind state. He pushed that Islam to us as well and that put us on that path of doing for ourselves and maintaining that responsible mind state I was telling you about earlier. I believe we just have a winner’s attitude out here. We have friendly competitions.
You could have played the other side of the fence long ago. What kept you grounded?
Nah! A nigga always wanna be able to come back home. A nigga will always represent Fillmore so I ain’t gonna be no snitch or be a sucker or on some pedophile shit, you feel me! I represent with pride and I don’t want niggas laughing and shit. Niggas will quickly say your shit is “can” if your shit is weak or if you are on some sucker shit. You might put out a weak album, but come with another one and have it be heated. You might catch a beatdown or slip and fall, but nigga get up. That’s the support base we got because we family like that, even if we don’t speak all that often or whatever. This is how we were raised with each other.
I am going to rattle off a few names and I want you to briefly tell me what you learned from these individuals or how they were a source of inspiration. First, JT The Bigga Figga.
JT, that’s my big brother right there. That’s my brother. I would never disrespect JT. His mother is like my mother, my auntie Pearl. His son is really my cousin because he has a baby through my cousin so we have real blood ties. JT taught me humility and hustle. Our business is separate and we push our own lines, but he is the one who made me assertive like that. He also told me to keep God first which is where I learned how to stay humble. I love JT.
Messy Marv.
Mess? I love Mess. I am real proud of what he is doing with his music. Everywhere I go people always say, “I like Quinn, but where that boy Mess at!” That speaks volumes about how people have embraced his music. Mess has had a very hard life, so trust does not come easy for him. It’s hard for him to trust people. But I want him to know that I love him and I respect him as an MC and a man. He is also my cousin through Ya Boy and Bailey. I will always respect him and what he is doing. Bullshit is nothing, man. We family.
Seff The Gaffla.
That’s my bruh right there. Seff was famous before Rap music. It’s always humbling talking to Seff because he had a name out here when I was in the 5th grade when a nigga didn’t have no rap. And that’s what a lot of niggas got to keep in mind. I made my name in Rap music, so I don’t expect niggas to be scared of me when I push through somewhere. Now the 6 or 7 niggas I got in my entourage may give you something to fear, but not me. Seff was a nigga that may cause you to pause before you get beside yourself. He is a G representing Fillmore. Talk about swagger or swag, Seff had that before the word was even used.
Hugh E MC.
That’s my inspiration. Like I said about 4Tay earlier, I don’t hold Hugh E up to that responsibility because 4Tay had much more action in the industry. He loses his humility when he is put in a powerful position. Not to talk about Hugh E to get on 4, but I am supposed to get bigger so I can have a job for Hugh E so I can pay him for his insight as I grow. Hugh E MC was always that nigga to be in this game and I need that wisdom.
Rappin 4Tay
I learned how not to handle power or privilege when it comes your way. You learn from people’s triumphs and trials, just like someone will learn from mine.
Back to the new album, you seem to have much more focus and your musical selection has become more fitting to the tone and power of your voice. What has changed?
I used to listen to people too much. I am just now getting to the point where I can think for myself without being self-conscious or incorporating a certain trend suggested by a producer, executive producer, fellow rapper, or the homies. I went to E-A-Ski to get a hit. When I turn on the radio I hear Frontline, Keak the Sneak and Federation- so if I want those type of spins I have to go to Ski or Rick Rock. I played the game to figure out what worked for me. I know what a radio hit is and how to make it happen. But on my new album, “From a Boy To a Man”, I understood what type of beats I sound good on. I am a rapper and freestylin MC and I could rap over the simplest drums or the most elaborate musical composition. At 30 years old I am finally in charge of my own shit for the first time in my life. Dealing with executive producers I was subject to the ideas of whoever was leading the project. Now it is all on me. I am still in debt, but I am in charge of my own shit. “The Mighty Quinn”, I feel I bricked with that album.
I love that album.
Damn, see I don’t. I was 23 years old and I was tired of rapping about shit I wasn’t involved in though I was close to the action. So I wanted to back off of the bullshit Rap.
Like I was saying a minute ago, there is a lot of strength and conviction in the tone and power of your lyrics, and you seem to have a fluid collaboration between your creativity and what’s in your heart. So “The Mighty Quinn” worked for me even if the music wasn’t as commanding as your raps.
Yeah. You probably come from the school where there is two different Hip Hops. You could appreciate what I was doing on that album because of your sensibilities. Just like you like my album “The Rock”. I was going through it on that album. I was snorting cocaine bad and I had hurt my family. I was having problems with infidelity and had lost my whole crew from Big Rich to Bailey and everyone around me. But it ended up being a good record thanks to SMC and the Hyphy Movement. The timing was right for it to be successful, despite my personal problems. Now I am back with “From a Boy To a Man” and it is a great record. This is just my journey through life to this point having a new spirit, completely humbled and with a greater focus than ever before. From top to bottom this is the best album. I want to drop this album and few more, have them do well and make that transition to an executive so I can put more people on from Frisco and the Bay Area and make it pop. People in Atlanta put on people in ATL, I just want Frisco to have that spotlight and for all my folks to be in that mode. Let’s face it, when Rap niggas come through Northern California all the Hip Hop shit runs through San Francisco. San Jose hasn’t been as open to Rap shows, but that is a regular thing for Frisco. I want my city on the map like that.
J-Diggs
Interview by Scott Bejda
Continued from Murder Dog vol 15 #3
Who started the Romper Room crew?
It was started by my close homeboy “EB” who they called “The Daddy of the Hood”. He was the one who started our crew and this was back in ’88-’87.
How many people were in the Crew?
They had so many articles around saying that there was 50-something members, but in all fairness the Romper Room Crew has never been more than about thirteen members. If you listen to the newspapers they say we had over fifty members and all kinds of different stories.
What’s amazing is that you were so young. How old were you?
I was 19 years old. I was in the streets just taking the chances. The funny thing is, when I finally did get incarcerated I was the suspect in 23 takeover bank robberies, but I was never found guilty for none.
What were you found guilty of?
I was found guilty of conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery. That was me, Dre, and Kilo’s case in 1992. That was the case I was sentenced ten years for.
It has to feel so good to have done your time and put that part of your life in the past!
That is the best feeling in the world! For anyone to have done ten years of their life locked up and then to be free is a blessing. Serving ten years and being back on the streets is one thing, but getting back on the streets and being able to have everything you want in life is another thing. I wasn’t expected to get out after ten years and regain control of my life. I’m the president of one of the top record labels in the country, and I have a lot going on. This is a good situation for me. I cannot complain at all.
Now you have so much going on with running the label, doing your music and making movies.
Most certainly. I got a lot of shit going on. You can youtube me and I got over a hundred videos of some sort on youtube right now. Thizz is a big movement and we are not stopping! The mash is not stopping. You can expect to see something real big from Thizz Entertainment in ’09. This year we are really going to make a move.
Thizz has been the only label since No Limit to supply so much quality product to the fans. What drives you and Thizz to be so consistent?
It’s just about keeping it alive, as far as what Mac Dre started for us. We were already a struggling independent label prior to Dre going down and everybody wanted to see what would happen after we lost him. People didn’t expect us to stand up, because they didn’t know what kind of talent we were working with and what kind of artists we had over here. Once we lost Dre it was up to us. Me and my lil’ cousin Kilo fore-fronted the label and it was time for us to take it to another level. We never got sidetracked and we knew we had to keep pushing and keep doing just like if Dre was here. Whatever it took to put out another CD or another DVD, we just stayed motivated and kept our nose to the grind.
If someone just started listening to rap and didn’t know any better you would really think that Mac Dre is still alive. You rep him so hard! He is just as relevant now as he was back in the day when he was living. You all need to be commended for that!
Thank you! Everything we do is in the name of Mac Dre. He left this label for us to branch off of and it’s only right that we give back and keep his name and spirit alive if nothing else. Everywhere I go I keep him on my chest every day of my life.
How hard is it to run a label like Thizz?
It’s definitely a challenge especially being on this level. Everybody these days wants to be in the music game and have a label. I’m in a position to put albums out whenever I want to. I have creative control and that’s something a lot of artists don’t have. I’m able to put out projects when I want to and how I want to. We have a bunch of artists under Thizz, but then you have artists in the streets too. Every independent artist that’s trying to get on will come up to us, but we can only do so much. We made stars from almost every city within the Bay Area. We have put a lot of people under the label. Now we are branching into different states. Our first project will be Thizz Nation Phoenix Arizona. I understand that there is a lot of independent artists in the game that can’t get their music out or their music might be out but it only opens up to a small pipeline. As soon as our pipeline opens up a little bit more that’s one of the things that we are going to do. We are going to reach into some of these states that we haven’t even been in and give some of these artists a chance a shine. We are not a selfish label. We don’t mind showcasing another talent as long as you sound good.
