http://xrl.us/owj8c
Or
http://tinyurl.com/6m3x4w
Or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_oK9K1alik
Yall Need To Read This Quinn Interview
http://siccness.net/vb/showthread.php?t=298151
Good Shit bytha pound mag
Heres A Quick Review
Or
http://tinyurl.com/6m3x4w
Or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_oK9K1alik
Yall Need To Read This Quinn Interview
http://siccness.net/vb/showthread.php?t=298151
Good Shit bytha pound mag
Heres A Quick Review
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.
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.
