Hot Garbage

In this blog I harshly criticize a dead record by an independent MC. I usually avoid this kinda post, because struggling, starving artists don't need more negativity thrown at them - I'd much rather spotlight a dope or at least interesting record that hasn't gotten much attention... But this album annoyed me enough that I don't care, and more importantly: it answers the question "what's that album listed on your 3rd Bass page," which I've actually had 2 e-mails about.

This is the 2005 debut album by a guy named Hot Karl on Headless Horses Records, The Great Escape. I didn't know who he was, either. Like a year or so ago, I was googling around for some info on MC Serch's unreleased ridiculously titled M.any Y.oung L.ives A.go: The 1994 Sessions album (mp3-only doesn't count as released, you hear me, Serch? No vinyl is bad enough, but at least put out some CDs!)... and an EBay listing popped up for this album featuring MC Serch. So, I looked around and ordered it from Amazon for a penny (note the hole-punch in the scan). I listened to it once, updated my 3rd Bass page and put it away. Tonight, I've taken it out for my second listen and to blog about it.

So, it turns out Hot Karl is the guy on the left-hand side of the album cover holding the puppy. He's one of the billions of rappers who rap about how they're the only rapper who's against the "bling" clichés of hip-hop (hence the album cover). And he's all about pop culture punchlines. I actually realized when the CD arrived that I had heard Hot Karl before - he was on a DJ Rectangle 12" with Eminem called "You Must Be Crazy" with Dree. You could really stop the record after Eminem's verse, but Hot Karl was passable (and for the record, Dree was wack. So's the hook. Seriously, just download Em's 40-second verse onto your IPod).

Now I believe that track was originally meant to be on Hot Karl's debut album, Your Housekeeper Hates You. He was signed to Interscope and had a whole other album with appearances by people like Redman, Fabulous and Mya, which was shelved because the guy's essentially a novelty act (though a couple of the bigger guest spot tracks were white-labeled)... and Karl later put out the album, radio-blended into a mixCD called Industry Standards to promote The Great Escape. And I'm not one of those guys who says every white MC sounds like Eminem, but this guy really does sound exactly like an Eminem knock-off.

The album starts out with the MC Serch collaboration. It's a duet with Serch playing an A&R trying to talk Karl into selling out by "going jiggy," but Hot Karl stands firm for his principles. Karl makes some jokes about Serch's career, and it turns into a pure "Guilty Conscience" rip-off ("it's becoming obvious why Pete Nice kicked you out"). He's got songs like "Butter-face," which makes fun of ugly girls and of course he name dorps a lot of female celebrities, and "Kerk Gybson" a reminiscence (list) of 80's pop culture references, like Pac-Man and The Facts of Life sitcom (that one's even in the hook). "Suburban Superstar" is a horrible dance track all about how he's from the suburbs with one of many lame R&B choruses... it's like some horrible, ODB-less follow-up to Pras's "Ghetto Superstar" from the Bulworth soundtrack. "Back/Forth" is a song with a female MC named Boobie Poquito (no fooling) making 3rd grades jokes about his sexual prowess. His album is also full of skits, too, all "humorously" touting his artistic credibility, where an A&R tries to talk him into selling out in various ways and he stands firm. But it's hard to imagine anything more commercial and trite than the content he's already filled his Great Escape with.

All in all, the production on this album is super annoyingly poppy (though 9th Wonder provides one decent track towards the end), and full of cheesy hooks by studio singers. Each song and skit feels like they're playing to the same gimmicky image, and his snarky, jokey delivery will all make you wish bad things on him. A few of his punchlines are amusing, but mostly you get one random pop culture reference after another mixed with embarrassingly juvenile humor. In fact, while he's definitely doing the Eminem thing (I don't care what he says in interviews I've just googled; the man is borrowing from Em)... he's actually more along the lines of Tom Green or Jamie Kennedy. "Circle Circle Dot Dot" sounds like it was ripped straightoff this album.

The one plus side is that he wrote really nice liner notes talking about each song on the album... the anecdotes (did you know Ali Dee, who produced "Back/Forth" on this album was the voice yelling "Can't Truss It" on Public Enemy's single?) and explanations are fun and engaging, although the bit where he explains how two of the songs are inspired by David Lynch's Mulholland Drive is ridiculously pretentious. But for the most part they actually kinda make you like the guy and feel bad for hating the man's music so much.

And yeah, Hot Karl does have a myspace... there's a video up on it of his final performance, because he's quit hip-hop (no comment). He talks about how he started rapping as a gag (not news once you've heard his material) and makes a lot of punchlines about Interscope ("if you're not laughing, then you don't get the joke. And if you don't, then you should work for Interscope" etc). He does have a book he's selling, which - unsurprisingly - is a collection of 1980's pop culture references. It also lists his homepage as HotKarl.com, but apparently it's a porn site now (so no link - type it into the browser yourself, pervs). ...Anyway, now you know what that last Serch guest-spot is.

Tags: Hot Karl, MC Serch

Before Marrying Kool G Rap...

Before she married Kool G. Rap and changed her name to Ma Barker of the 5 Family Click, Satina Pearce was known as Shaqueen. I first heard of her through Shabazz the Disciple in '96-'97. In fact, when I interviewed him in '97, he brought her with him, hyped up her upcoming album (which didn't come out) and hit me up with a copy of her first single.

Sadly, a lot of that interview has been lost, but I do have a portion of it, which I'll probably post as a Necro one of these days. In the meantime, here's a small excerpt where he answers when I ask if Shaqueen will be involved with the Celestial Souljahz - him, Freestyle, Killah Priest and some others he was down with - collaborative album he was working on (which also didn't come out... the indie hip-hop scene is full of disappointment, I tells ya): "Well, she's gonna be involved... I mean, we're all involved. I just started working with them [Shaqueen and another MC they were down with, named Omen]. And, on the new album, Omen is featured on the same song I'm featured on. So, we're all touring together, we got tight. We networked. And then, you know, my man Baby J's album is coming out. You know, I asked him to be on that and bring Shaqueen, 'cause I always loved her stuff. The family's just getting tighter. The links... It's just all links in a chain."

So this is that single. "Just Because" b/w "Shaqueen Rules" on Mighty Music. The A-side is a pretty blah attempt at a crossover radio hit. The hook is a play off of DJ Quik's "Mo' Pussy" changing "just because I didn't say that I wanted to fuck, don't mean that I don't want to... Just cause you didn't say, that you wanted to suck don't mean that you don't want to," to "Just because I got a man and I'm not your boo, doesn't mean that I don't want you. Just because you got a girl and she's your boo, don't mean that I can't run through." It sounds better on paper, though - the delivery of this hook is definitely nowhere near as fun as 2nd II None's hook for Quik, and the R&B singer she has echoing her lines doesn't help much. Omen comes in to drop the perfunctory "male perspective" verse (look what you started, Positive K!), but it doesn't liven up the proceedings too much. In fact, since Shaqueen's material is better written, another verse from her would've been preferable.

But it doesn't really matter, because once you listen to the B-side, you'll never play the A again, anyway. It's just Shaqueen spitting hardcore freestyle rhymes over an unassuming beat. Omen (and The Death Tribe!) appears again to spit the hook, but fortunately he stays out of her way for each verse. There's also a nice little bit of scratching, cutting up a Slick Rick vocal sample. Her lyrics are tight and her delivery is vicious - this is still probably the best record she's ever done.

Both tracks were produced by Tony T, who did some production for late-era Cold Chillin' releases by artists like Kool G Rap and Roxanne Shanté. He was no Large Professor, but I think his work is a little underrated. Each song features clean, dirty, instrumental and dirty acapella versions; and as you can see in the scan, the original sleeve is a sticker cover. So it's a quality little release.

Shaqueen put out a few more guest verses (appearing on the Baby J album Shabazz mentioned with Omen, Big Daddy Kane's Veteranz' Day and even a Gerald Levert album) before getting down with Kool G Rap, and doing a lot of collaborations with him under her new name. A couple years ago she announced an album titled Wife Of a Don: Unforgiven Sins, to be released 4th quarter of 2006. That didn't happen (maybe she was too distracted by the drama with G Rap's ex and her book), but she still has a myspace with tracks up, including a diss track to said ex/author.

Tags: Shaqueen, Ma Barker

Platinum Is Fundamental

Platinum Ice Records is a new label co-owned by AB Money and Easy Moe Bee* ...which means you're pretty much guaranteed to get a lot of top-shelf production, giving them a nice head start on every other new label just coming out the starting gate. And this is their first release, a compilation label "sampler." The track-listing on the CD is kinda incomplete with the credits (and, yeah, there's no artwork at all, except a small "Platinum Ice" sticker on the back)... so for the sake of completion and my own convenience, I'm posting the full album track-listing, crediting every artists. I can't find production credits, though - they don't all sound like Easy Moe Bee's work. Anyway, here it is:

1. Ms Quick: You Should Have Known By Now
2. Ms Quick ft. Big Bub: Alright
3. Jay the Bossfather ft. AB Money, Smooth B and Swift: VIP
4. Jay the Bossfather: Boss In the Trap
5. Jay the Bossfather ft. AB Money, Mac A Don and (BU) Born Unfortunate: Keep It
6. (BU) Born Unfortunate ft. AB Money and Josi Wellz: Gab Gotcha
7. (BU) Born Unfortunate ft. Jay the Bossfather and AB Money: It's On
8. Tiger: It Ain't Cool
9. Tiger: Who I Am
10. Josi Wellz ft. (BU) Born Unfortunate: Roll Slow
11. Josi Wellz ft. Jay the Bossfather: What It Do

It's mostly straight hip-hop, but it opens with two tracks by R&B singer Ms. Quick... she's pretty good, and the instrumental for the first song is fantastic! Seriously, if this blog gets you to do nothing else, at least download that one song (they have one of those .99 per track download things on their myspace, which I link to below). I haven't been this into a straight R&B song since, like, The House Party soundtrack. Ha ha But, yeah; it's really dope. The second song is pretty bland, though. But after that, until you get to the two Tiger songs near the end (blah!), it's all straight hip-hop. Actually, I say "straight hip-hop," but there is a lot of singing on the hooks and what-not - not unlike what we used to hear from the Rappin Is Fundamental members who founded the label. In fact, a lot of times it's AB Money himself (which is frankly the reason I bought the CD).

The next song is the stand-out of the album, "VIP." Smooth Bee (yes, that one) does a verse and comes off slick. The instrumental sounds a little "fake, studio instrumenal"y (which in this day and age of fear of sampling, is all too rampant), but it still sounds good, and AB's constant background vocals and hook really elevate it.

Unfortunately, the rest of the album never really reaches those heights again... it's consistently OK. All the new MCs are fine but don't really stand out (from other rappers in the game today, or even from each other), except for Josi Wellz. He does a slow hip-hop sing-songy thing which is pretty cool but definitely dependent on getting solid production behind him (which he has on this sampler - I recommend you check out "Roll Slow").

More recently, PI Records just sent out an mp3 to everyone on their mailing list - the latest song by Jay the Bossfather, featuring Cappadonna, Masta Killer and AB Money (though AB's just on the hook, unfortunately) over a dope beat by Easy Moe Bee. It's fresh, but they only sent the clean version, which is fine until the third verse, which just becomes an unlistenable, edited mess. Guess we'll have to wait for the album.

He's also got some other songs on his myspace, including one with Grandmaster Caz, which is pretty dope. Jay isn't bad, but you can't help but wish Easy Moe Bee, AB and all these dope guest MCs would cut out the middle man and do a record together, instead of putting all that music and energy into playing a back-up role for this new guy. They could even give this guy a couple unwarranted guest spots, if they wanted, just to promote his upcoming project. Like I said, he's not bad. He's just kind of generic and unexceptional... he doesn't have the delivery of AB, the clever lyricism of Caz or the charisma of Masta Killer. Hell, they should just call up JR and put out the next seriously overdue RIF album.

Still, whatever they do, there's some real talent behind this label. Even the weakest tracks (well, except some of the R&B) are decent and will get your head nodding if it's playing wherever you are. They've definitely at least got my attention for what they're going to do next, which I'm sure is what this sampler was designed to do. If you want to check them out, too; the official site for Platinum Ice is platinumicerecords.com, and here's that myspace I mentioned (Jay's and the other PI artists' pages are linked in the Top Friends). Have fun. =)


*Along with two other guys who I don't think are involved in the music end.

Tags: AB Money, Platinum Ice, Easy Moe Bee, RIF, Jay the Bossfather, Rappin Is Fundamental

(Werner Necro'd) Platinum Plaques and Possums - E-40 Interview

This interview was done way back in 1998... And as you can guess from our super cheesy poses in our photo (hi, TRUNKS!), this was a fun interview. A crazy throwing down of slang, with E-40 talking about everything from his lyrics - a west coast game spitter standing up against the freestyle skill-flexing MCs that were dominating the scene in the late 90's, his independent roots, his movie, and the cartoon he was working on at the time called Patrick the Possum. No, really.

Bet. We're in here with E-40.

What's crackin'?

Who else we got here, with us, today?

We got my boy Omar, Omeezy. My manager Chaz, modulatin'. That's our team.

So how you feelin' New York?

It's cool, it's cool. I've been modulatin'. Everything's cool. it's been nothing but love, nothing but love. Ya smell me?

You got a new album coming out, right?

Yeah. It's out. It's called The Element of Surprise. It's already gold. We're seven weeks into the project. Gonna be platinum, right around the corner. The new single's "Ground Up" featuring me, Too $hort, K-Ci, and JoJo. Back to back knocks on there, twenty-four rumble. Smell me?

So what's the science behind the title, The Element of Surprise?

It's just like, when you least expect it. We all know that, you know what I mean? On this one, I took it all the way back to where I first started at, which was Federal, you know what I'm saying? The album I first came up with, where everybody really grew up on... Like, Federal, where when everybody says, "Your first album, that's the one." So I took it back to that. That's what The Element of Surprise is. They wasn't expecting it, it came at them, just straight back-to-back rumbles. Like that.

Ay-ight... Speaking of your first album, when you first started out, you were just on your own label, Sick Wid It... And then you had kind of a big thing where Jive picked you up. What was the story behind that?

See, Sick Wid It started in 1988. It was grass-root. Straight home-made, home-grown, from the ground up. And, at the time, where we started in our situation, they weren't really checkin' for Bay Area rap. I mean, it was certain groups. You had Digital Underground, you had $hort, and you had some other Bay Area groups that had got signed to a major. But, during that time, when we were looking for a deal, it didn't really crack off. And I'm kinda glad, 'cause it forced us to do our own thug-thizzle. Smell me? So, we got with Jive and got major distribution. Which, that's what we was lackin'. The marbles was there, and everything, but when we got at Jive, we put it down on a national level, where, when you pull up on Sound-Scan, you're gonna see a lot more zeros than when we were just doin' it ourselves. Ya see? That's a thousand there, fifteen hundred there, that's twenty there, ya know I mean? Like that.

Yeah, 'cause I remember reading, when that happened, that was one of the biggest signings of someone who was virtually unknown, like independent.

Exactly. That was the earlier-day signings. Now they got different. You can spit a 16-measure verse, now, on somebody else that was already established's track, that's already in the game, and get a phat-ass deal now, equivalent, ya smell me? but it's all gravy. (Laughs)

And you got a lot of projects poppin' off now, right? You got the movie comin' out... Tell us about that. Charlie Hustle?

I got the Charlie Hustle, the movie of the self-made millionaire. Movie and soundtrack. It's an autobiographical movie. Documentary, pretty much talkin' about, you know, my climb up the ladder. We had to crawl before we walked, woulda took us to the point in our career, now, you know, to be straight-up established and everything, and lettin' everybody know that we didn't just blossom over-night. It wasn't no over-night sensation. Showin' moms and pops stores that delt with us in the past... a little bit of everything. And I got the soundtrack that's gonna go right along with it. I'm not gonna be on everything song, but I'm gonna have guest-appearances on there, so I'ma treat it as if it's my album, ya smell me? It's a good package.

And when's that comin' out?

That's comin' March of '99. It was gonna be November, but I moved it back 'cause I didn't wanna get caught up in the four quarter madness, ya smell me?

So, you also got another project coming out... You got the book coming out, right?

Now ya smell me on this one, right? You know I'm the king of slang, right? So what I did, basically; it was pretty much a street demand. Everybody hollerin' at me, on the street, I been hearin' about this dictionary. "40, man, when ya gonna go and put it down?" So, actually, what I did, I said, "Ok, we're gonna do it for real this time, no lolly-gaggin', no bullshittin', let's make it happen." So, of course I'ma have the fah sheezies, and the playa-hatas, and a lot of the words that a lot of the people are sayin' nowadays across the country which was founded at the Mecca of the game, which was the bay area. And, although I put down about 75% of that , it came up out my head. But, at the same token, it's time for me to go ahead, and lace everybody's tennis shoes, and show 'em what the dictionary book of slang is about. And so when I come with it, it's just gonna have the definitions of just a little bit of everything. It's gonna talk about everything except the yolla-gang (sic.), which is not public knowledge, you smell me? It's crackin'. That's early '99. That's comin' with the gypsiness. That's the motion.

And, really, the illest thing I just read - you've got a cartoon comin' out?

You know what? The cartoon is something in the head that I just gotta put together. It's called, Patrick the Possum. He's this nonchalant cat in the neighborhood. He's got the kangol, he's got the toothpick in his mouth. He's the cat, you know, in every neighborhood, there's a guy who can tie your shoes, and sprinkle you, and lace your tennis shoes, you know what I'm sayin'? Just bring you up, just teach you somethin'. 'Cause it's wisdom. He's older, but he ain't no square. He just modulates and he posts up in the hood and they come up to him. It's kinda like, remember how, Tennessee Tuxedo and Chumly and how they used to go to Mr. Wizard? (Laughs) Remember that? That's how this dude, that's how Patrick the Possum is. But he's just this player-type fool who just knows a little bit of everything. So they go to him for advice in the neighborhood and everything, ya smell me? Like that. There's a whole story-board behind it, but, you know, but it's just bright ideas behind that. That's gonna be in motion soon.

Cool. And before we end this, just one time for the record, break down the whole Sick Wid It family, the projects they got comin' out now.

Ok, for the energy, that's how we're twerkin' it, right? First of all, Sick Wid It Records is the foundation of independent rap music. You smell me? We put it down many years ago. Me and my cousin, B-Legit, my brother D-Shot, and my sister Suga-T. The group is called the Click. First album, Down and Dirty. Sold 350,000 units on the underground, way back in 1992, ya smell me? We had releases before that; there was EP's like, Mr. Flamboyant, Let's Slide, that was our earlier EP's, albums, music that we had, back then, to get us where we at now. But, anyway, we put out Down and Dirty in 1992 and we put out Game Related in 1995. Now we're doin' Rough Ridin' which is gonna hit 'em in '99. During this whole time, we've been having solo projects, ya smell me? I had Mr Flamboyant. I had The Mail Man. I had In a Major Way. I had The Hall of Game. And now I got The Element of Surprise, and, next up is, Charlie Hustle: The Blueprint of a Self-Made. That's me, personally. Then, my cousin B-Legit had B-Legit the Savage: Tryin' To Get a Buck, then he had The Hemp Museum, and now he's workin' on Hempin' Ain't Easy, which is gonna be at you in March. No, that's February, ain't it, Chaz? Chickidee? (Laughs) Then we got D-Shot comin' with his. D-Shot put out, D-Shot the Shot Caller, then he had, D-Shot: Six Figures. And, my sister, she had Suga-T: It's All Good, ya smell me?

Didn't D-Shot also have a compilation album?

Exactly. Boss Ballers One and Two, which both did well, ya smell me? Then, also, we have my cousin Lil' Bruce. I mean, there's just so many artists that came up under that umbrella. Celly-Cell, who, he got that album, The G-Files, written as we speak. We got A-1, comin' out, we got Rhythm and the Resevoir Hoggs, we got my cousin Levitti sung on a whole bunch of underground... just serious ghetto shit, you smell me? We got, uhm... Who else we got crackin'? We got The Mossie, which is my brother Young Mugzie, my cousin Tap That Ass, my cousin Kaveo, you smell me? So we're just continually working. We're gonna hit 'em real hard in '99, and, uh, Sick Wid It Records is the Mecca of the independent game.

Ay-ight, bet. So, you got anything else you wanna say to the fans checkin' this out?

Just tune in. Take time to listen to E-Fonzirelli lyrically. 'Cause, you know, I might not spit strictly metaphors 'cause a lot of people think that if you don't spit constantly metaphors or whatever, however... If you ain't comparing rap, like, "I'm like that chair over there. I can't be sat on." If you ain't doin' that, you're not the dopest rapper in the world, or you're not considered an MC. I'm a game-related-infested, street-slang rapper, you smell me? I got the stop-start and go street-talk delivery. So you might wanna focus. Listen closely. I'm not just throwin' a whole bunch of words that don't fit in a rhyme. Every word counts. Focus on E-40, Fonzirelli. Take time out, go snatch up the records. Go read up on my catalog. Ask some people about me. My dictionary might help a lot of you who don't know about what's crackulatin'. And, just be on the look-out. It's E-Feezy, Fonzireezy, smell me? Sick Wid It records all day.

Today, you know E-Fonzirelli's gonna have a myspace, and here it is. He's also got an official site at e-40.com. From all his projects you read him talking about there, realized and unrealized, it's easy to believe this man now has his own beverage on the market, 40 Water. He also has a new album coming out later this year, The Ball Street Journal. There's no stoppin' this guy.

Tags: E-40

Hold Down Those German Remixes

You might be thinking that cover in the box to the left looks familiar. Yeah, it's the exact same cover as the promo version of Big Daddy's Kane's Veteran'z Day (the promo is spelled "Veteran'z" and the official spells it "Veteranz'") from my last post, except with "Hold It Down" written across the bottom instead. In fact, Black Jam used this same cover image AGAIN as the sticker cover for their "Hold It Down" b/w "Uncut Pure" 12". I guess since they paid for that photo, dammit, they were gonna use it.

Anyway, this is a pretty interesting, European-only remix single of "Hold It Down," featuring remixes from Der Wolf (who also raps here - hence the big, red sticker), DJ Tapesh and Brian R. Busby. No, I didn't know who anyo f those people were, either... but I did some research:

Der Wolf is described on his new crew, Killergroove Formula,'s myspace page as "former German pop music star and long-time HipHop and BreakHouse DJ Jens Der Wolf Albert." He put out a bunch of 12"'s and an album or two in the late 90's and has recently become one third of the aforementioned Killergroove Formula, who released their first album in '06. DJ Tapesh is a "trance" DJ in Germany who's did a little production in the late 90's. And Brian R. Busby, who I never heard of, but according to discogs.com has done a couple remixes for a Netherlands group called 2 Brothers on the 4th Floor.

So all that research was an interesting lesson in German club music... and an interesting look into the genre of "artists who shouldn't be doing Big Daddy Kane songs." Ha ha Nah, I'm just playing. Actually, none of the remixes are too bad, and they're definitely in keeping with the vibe of Kane's original mix (no acid club house trance mixes here). They're maybe slightly jazzier than the original version, but not in an old school DITC kind of way... more like a Tribe vibes kinda way. Both the "Radio Mix" (which despite its misleading title is a full instrumental remix) and the Busby remix.

Der Wolf takes the final verse on the first "Radio Mix"... It's hard for me to say how he is, because he's rapping in German. If you speak German, maybe you will enjoy this version. If you're like me, and you don't, you'll probably want to skip right to track 2, which is the same remix, but reinstates Kane's third verse and ditches Der Wolf (sorry, Der Wolf!). The whole reason this track exists is for Kane's slick wordplay, so Der Wolf would need to have a very impressive verse to make it worthwhile even for the German speaking listeners.

Like the original US 12", this single is also b/w "Unda Presha." No remixes, just the album version. But it's a good pairing with "Hold It Down" - both are just about flexing his skill, showing off slick wordplay in battle rhymes over smoother tracks. "Unda Presha" is a little harder than "Hold It Down," though, and has no R&B hook; but I'd say they're about equal in terms of quality. Two good, underrated tracks. And these remixes don't hurt.

Before I bounce, of course, BDK has a myspace, and here it is. He also has a pretty cool website at: officialbigdaddykane.com, with some clips of unreleased tracks on there.

Tags: Big Daddy Kane, Der Wolf

Werner On the Unreleased Veteranz' Day album

Part 1:


Part 2:

^Double video blog!!
(Because one video of all new, original content created for this blog rather than linked content by somebody else just wasn't enough.)

Tags: Big Daddy Kane

Kuriouser and Kuriouser...

Just arrived: the vinyl debut of Kurious's demo sessions - previously available only as mp3s if you ordered the rerelease of Kurious's Constipated Monkey album online. Limited to only 200 copies (mine is number #21 and came with that signed, bonus artwork insert you see to the lower left there), but unlike the other limited release records I preordered and featured on this site, as of this writing, there are still copies available! So go to jibbering.co.uk and snatch 'em up quick (they also had some nice Kurious t-shirts if you'd preordered... 'fraid you've missed the boat on those now, though). But before you buy it, you might want to know how it is... it's great!

First of all, this BLOWS AWAY (all caps!!!!) the mp3s for sound quality... in fact, the difference is so drastic, it makes you wonder what the hell was wrong with the guys who put out the mp3s. The other major thing this 12" has over the mp3s (besides the facts that it's a tangible object, and an awesome sticker cover record, of course), is that this EP includes the complete version of the Pete Nice produced cut, "Fill 'Er Up." The original version fades out after the first verse, only about a minute long. This version is the full song, with three verses and a fresh breakdown in the middle.

Oh and, yeah, if you weren't already familiar with the mp3-only ("blah!" I say to that phrase) demo, the other tracks included are:

"Jorge Of the Projects (Original Version)", produced by the SD50's. This is the only song that's actually an alternate mix of an already available album cut. It's dope, though. I was tempted to say it's better than the album version, but then I listened to the album version again and thought, "damn, that's hot." So, ok; it's not better. But it's good.

"Rice and Beans (Freestyle)" produced by Prince Paul. it also says "featuring Prince Paul," but he doesn't rap or anything. Oh, and don't let the "(Freestyle)" bit fool you... this isn't some taped-off-the-radio Stretch and Bobbito freestyle; this is a proper song with a hook and dope beat.

The aforementioned complete version of "Fill 'Er Up," with a dope KMD "Gas Face" vocal sample on the hook.

"Trueness To the Blueness" produced by the SD50's. It uses the same loop Easy Moe Bee made RIF's "You Wanna Trip" out of, which is a little distracting (I keep wanting to hear RIF start harmonizing on the chorus); but it's still a good song.

"One 4 the Head," also produced by the SD50's and featuring Kalli Weed. It's more hardcore than Kurious's usual output - very cool.

And finally "Catch My Drift," a cool, slick track produced by Sam Sever and featuring Kadi (who you may remember from "Uptown Shit").

Except for the OG version of "Jorge of the Projects," it's a wonder these tracks weren't included on the retail album, because they're really fresh. Anyone who's even a casual fan of Kurious owes it to him or herself to pick this up, because it's genuinely some of his best work. Oh, and I almost forgot: Kurious doesn't seem to have a myspace - there's a couple people calling themselves "Kurious," but I don't think any are our boy.

Tags: Kurious

Invincible Instant-Messenger Interview! (Part 2)

…continued from part 1.

Werner: hey
Invincible: wutup!
Werner: how's it going - how was the show?
Invincible: the show was INCREDIBLE
Invincible: have u heard much of Guilty's music?
Werner: not a lot... i heard him on percee's album and i think a couple of other guest spot's, but i haven't checked any of his own official material
Invincible: ok
Invincible: yea he's a legend here
Invincible: and it was PACKED
Invincible: and he killed it
Invincible: his energy on stage is ridiculous
Werner: nice; ill have to check out his album... hopefully what he has live translates to record
Invincible: and the way he is period he is very humble and laid back even tho his music is mad street and arrogant
Invincible: the perfect combo
Invincible: yea somewhat but def gotta see him live
Invincible: you heard the song me him and buff1 did on Buff1's album?
Invincible: its called "Supreme"
Werner: you should do a bootleg volume 2, because you've got so many guest spots out, and a lot are pretty obscure (not that the buff1 was obscure... but a lot were)
Invincible: that's one of my fav joints i've done recently
Invincible: yea part 2 is in the works lol
Invincible: it will have pieces from Last Warning too since i stopped making those
Invincible: it will be a mixtape with old new and exclusives DJ Graffiti is compiling
Invincible: will come out in time for the album (right before or right after depending on when we finish)
Werner: cool... make sure you include the really hard to find stuff. haha
Invincible: like what?
Invincible: lol...seems like you got EVERTHING
Invincible: i appreciate that tho forreal :)
Werner: ha ha thanks, i try
stuff like "won't be fooled again," "war," "Confused..."
Werner: "LAMP Post" would be another good one.... even the 3 tracks off the war album
Invincible: oh yea not alot of people heard that cuz the distro was kinda wack for it
Invincible: (War LP)
Invincible: and definitely LAMP post
Invincible: u got more qs?
Werner: yeah, we didn't even get into the basics yet, of like where you're from and how you got into hip-hop…
Invincible: no doubt. Basically born in champagne. Moved to israel palestine age 1 and moved to ann arbor Michigan 6 years later and pretty much learned english thru transcribing hiphop lyrics
Werner: where's champagne?
Invincible: (Champagne, illinois) Used to trade tapes with my homie that went back n forth to ny and also thru my best friends older sister who put me on to Paris (Sleeping with the Enemy). That's what was my
Invincible: Introduction to overtly political hiphop and combined with native tongues gang starr peterock cl smooth outkast and michigan cats like boss breed etc I developed my own style inspired by all of that...
Invincible: Started rhyming at age 9 but that was just for fun. Began takin it seriously and freestylin, doing open mics at age 15. Snuck into clubs around ann arbor/ypsi.
Invincible: I'd throw my own all ages events too in abandoned buildings. Then I connected with SUN and brown who had a group UBU who took me under their wing we did shows in Detroit...at the Mahogany, Phat House, etc.
Werner: back then were you looking to grow into doing records, or was it a purely live "in the scene" kind of thing?
Invincible: Around that time I spent a lot of time on hiphop radio shows on u of m radio and met some folks from ny who I traveled out their with at age 16. I fell in love
Invincible: With the scene out there and particularly ANOMOLIES as a supportive collective of female artists so I moved out at age 17.
Invincible: It was def scene first cuz I've never been in a rush to do records but of course I was open to that too. I just always wanted the crew to come out first
Werner: so, just how did ANOMOLIES form? were you a part from day 1, or did you join a bit later?
Invincible: I joined a year after they already started so you should have the founders tell it:-)
Werner: cool - yeah.
Werner: so how did you become a part of it?
Invincible: The first time I visited ny I met DSTROY from Arsonists and he told me abt this female hiphop army that repped all elements and I was in awe. lol...the next
Invincible: Visit he introd me and Helixx at the Nuyorican Cafe and we traded verses outside the club...then I met the rest of the crew and we all clicked right away...
Invincible: So I decided to move to build more in depth with them. I stayed with helixx and our manager at the time, Tina when I first got to ny...we recorded and didshows steadily
Invincible: Learned ALOT from each of them and still do. Its a family
Werner: so, how did you find yourself in the blaze battle, and do you think it affected your career?
Invincible: Lol the blaze battle was simply a battle. I was in that phase of my development as an mc and it helped me grow. I connected with a lot of dope cats that nite
Invincible: That was the last time I saw Bugz and Slang Ton RIP.
Werner: yeah, i met slang a couple of times... he was a really cool guy - not to mention talented
were you in the studio with Bugz for "clash of the titans," or were your parts recorded separate?
Invincible: Yes I love Slang too. Really good people. I was in the studio with Bugz for clash definitely. We also saw each other around before I left and he always had my back.
Invincible: Proof was also there that nite of the blaze battle he was in my corner the whole time trying to encourage me to keep going even tho I didn't really care
Invincible: For battling but felt it was a necessary step in my process to become a real mc. Both Proof and Bugz had my back a lot that nite. I think it was controversial at the time tho.
Invincible: How did u feel about that battle?lol
Werner: i didnt see it... i read about it in the mag, though (that was first issue)... i remember you were getting props for skill, but one verse (i think with young zee) got pretty racial
Invincible: Yea it was ignorant. The whole battle was ignorant and shock value based and I got caught up in that as well. That was the nature of battling at that time :-(
Invincible: The first issue of blaze was the one pri won against young zee btw. I was against a cat from nc I can't remember the name tho...
Werner: it's been a long time... but i think i remember it was the guy you were battling made a punchline about your appearance as a white female, and you kind of played off that ... but it was a little "high concept" with a sensitive subject for a battle rap lol
Invincible: Lol high concept?
Werner: well, yeah, because it wasn't like you came out making racist comments at the guy... you were playing with the concept the other guy introduced (from my bad memory lol)
[Screw my bad memory, guys; here's the actual excerpt. And she was right, it wasn't issue #1. - Again, I apologize for AOL's image size limits... hopefully you can make it out.]

Invincible: Yea honestly I'm more concerned with making albums and releasing classic material than battles lol. It was simply a phase.
Werner: so, tell me about that rawkus 12"... what was the A-side going ot be and what happened to it? and are there also more invincible joints locked in a rawkus vault or anything?
Invincible: a-side was a joint called "lemme find out" produced by supa dave west as well. He and I were developing a group at the time
Werner: who else was going to be in that group?
Invincible: It was he and I but it didn't go beyond those two songs.
Werner: oh ok. is there any chance that "lemme find out" will get released at any point?
Invincible: It might sneak onto a bootleg mixtape at some point but its definitely not where I'm at now. Lol
Invincible: ShapeShifters is my first official project after all these years. I'm excitedfor ppl to hear that first and then If enough ppl ask the old school might come out
Werner: so, what about the title "shapeshifters?" why's it called that/ what are you referring to with that name?
Invincible: The album title is about my versatility and innovation musically, but content wise its about self transformation, and changing our communities through
Invincible: Hip Hop, as well as through the process of taking action in our lives to develop new ways to relate to each other, our survival, and evolution. Its also...
Invincible: Inspired by my recent fascination with octavia butler and other sci fi that weaves in social and political commentary about current issues into futuristic worlds
Werner: well, ok... if we're doing an anomolies crew interview down the road... maybe a couple of questions i have would be better for the whole crew. so i guess i'll just wrap up with a couple short/fun questions and we're done =)
Invincible: Ok dope!
Werner: ok, so real quick...
Werner: since you're from detroit: awesome dre or mc breed?
Invincible: lol. That's a really hard one. I have to say Awesome Dre tho. He's so slept on
Werner: ok, and #2. since it's coming into election time... which presidential candidate (any party)?
Invincible: I vote for communities organizing themselves :-)
Invincible: And building real power
Werner: so, basically... no federal gov't at all? ;)
Invincible: Lol no that's not my point but I believe strongly in our communities determining our own fate. Whoever is in office should respond to those demands
Invincible: I favor obama as far as candidates in top running go but his middle east and other policies suck. I will continue to work for grassroots leadership when our so
Invincible: Called leaders fall short whether kwame [I believe she's referring to the current mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick, not The Boy Genius hehe] or obama there is an abundance of people working to build the world they want to live in regardless.
Werner: ok, so finally, then: any parting words, or anything you want my readers to know that i didn't get to in my questions?
Invincible: Last words? Come visit Detroit. Its what the rest of the country has to look forward to. And if u want good music u gotta support it. Especially independently
Invincible: make sure to cop the presale album available on EMERGENCEmusic.net very soon! Big ups to my fam: Detroit Summer, Finale, Lab Techs, Waajeed and bling47.com!

So, now that the interview's done, you can go drop by her myspace page. You can also find the pages for the Anomolies crew and the other members in her top friends... there's some dope music on each page. And to download Invincible's "Sledgehammer" single and see that promo video she mentioned, check out: EmergenceMusic.net. Oh, and you can still order copies of her Last Warning mixCD from bling47.com (the track-listing may seem short, but there's like five or six "bonus tracks" which all adds up to a pretty full disc).

Tags: Invincible, Anomolies

Invincible Instant-Messenger Interview! (Part 1)

Any of you guys who were even passively into the NY indie hip-hop of the late 90's - the days of labels Fondle 'Em, Rawkus, and basically a million and one self-pressed 12"'s - which spawned artists like Natural Elements, Natural Resource, Thirstin Howl III, and countless others - should already know of The Anomolies crew. And all of you who've heard any of their dope, rare vinyl offerings (i.e. Helixx's killer duet with Jise One, their No More Prisons 12" exclusive B-side, Apani's massive posse cut, "Estragen") are surely as disappointed as I am that they never recorded an album. Well now Invincible is finally (FINALLY!) the first Anomolies member to be coming out the gate with a new album. And from what's been released so far, she's one of those rare rap artists whose new material is as dope as when she first came out ten years ago. I got her to come onto Instant Messenger with me to talk about it.

Werner: Invincible!
Invincible: wutup!! I'm at Guilty's release party in the D but I can text for now and we can follow up on aim tomorrow if that's cool with u
Werner: yeah, that's cool 8)
Werner: well, i guess i'll start with the most obvious question - why, in over 10 years, has there been no ANOMOLIES album or even 12"?
Invincible: great question. We ask ourselves daily. ANOMOLIES is a crew and more than that a family. We all build regularly and support each other dreams.
Invincible:.But I think for now we all have many focuses solo wise and life wise. Big Tara is one of the illest bgirls alive and co-founded Fox Force 5 crew.
Invincible: Pri is focused on production and recently launched a female producers based networking site. Kandi is directing a play for the GABRIELA network amongst other things, and Helixx is consistently writing dope songs for various projects.
Werner: now, am I right in thinking that you at one time had a 12" deal with Rawkus at one point, and "Perfectionists" was meant to be the b-side?
Invincible: Yea wow how did you know that?
Werner: I heard that somewhere way back and kept waiting on Rawkus to put it out
Werner: So, what was the A-side meant to be? And did Rawkus just not put it out because they were starting to hit financial troubles at that point, or what was the story there?
Invincible: The story is verrrry long but to make a long story short I prefer putting my own music out for many reasons. Rawkus is definitely 1 of the reasons lol.
Werner: lol ok
Werner: did you move out to ny at that time?
Invincible: yes I moved to ny at age 17 to work with ANOMOLIES and partly to connect with the ny fam I had built over visits: Words, Guy, Gaston, What What, etc...
Invincible: I lived there for 3 years and moved back to Michigan shortly after 9/11 but that's an even longer story lol.
Werner: did the move back have anything to do with 9/11, or just happened around that time?
Invincible: definitely related
Werner: ok, i saw the new single is up for download now... are there going to be hardcopies available?
Invincible: I'm releasing the whole album officially on my label- EMERGENCE june 17th but I'm gonna have release parties in May where copies will be available. The new single is on 12"
Werner: and when's the single coming out?
Invincible: Its the title track "ShapeShifters" coming out along with album June 17th officially, May for the release parties I'll have copies available tho!
Werner: oh ok... so Sledgehammer!/In the Mourning/Looongawaited isn't the actual single? i heard there was like a CD single if you preorder the album or something?
Invincible: Oh yea I spraypainted by hand each and every one of the 200! Lol. Only were at shows for a limited time. But I'll have bonuses for preorders of course ;-)
Werner: haha cool... i havent seen the video yet
Invincible: U can see me spraying in the promo video. Big tara was filming me doing that in the freezing cold...
Werner: are you still involved in the no more prisons project? obviously, ANOMOLIES had a song on one of their first 12"'s, but years later you put out a song on Raptivism that also seemed to be about NMP (the door)
Werner: hello?
Invincible: Sorry bout that guilty is KILLIN IT. Its packed in here everyone is here Denaun Black Milk Phat Kat Royce Marvwon Monica Blaire and Jay Electronica to name a few…
Invincible: Guilty is the future
Werner: nice; no worries
Invincible: Sorry but yea Helixx and Pri did "'Lunchbreak" on nmp I did "The Door" on "The We That Sets Us Free: building a world without prisons." It was a compilation put out by jnow.org
Werner: so i take it that's something you believe in pretty strongly? what's the full idea behind NMP?
Invincible: I wasn't on nmp and not sure their vision but the main focus of jnows project isprison abolition. Building a world without prisons is much more work than just saying no more prisons.
Invincible: Its about building community institutions and ways ofliving that we need more of. Get to the root of the problem with sustainable solutions and action
Werner: so, really, you (ubiquitous you) wouldn't be focused on abolishing prisons until you've essentially built up better systems that hopefully eradicated the need for prisons, right?
Invincible: Yea but abolishing is still the goal, and at least stopping the building of more new prisons.
Werner: i remember seeing all the "no more prisons" stamps on the ny sidewalks... and being like, "well, jeffrey dahmer's not moving in with me!" and thinking: i hope the idea's a little more complicated then just "let's close all the prisons now"
Invincible: Lol yea its much deeper than that… Angela Davis has a book called "Are prisons Obsolete?" that breaks it down but basically "the ultimate critique is the solution" meaning if I know prisons
Invincible: Don't truly keep us safe (in the sense they criminalize and lock up millions and don't address the root issues) I need to work to create something better
Invincible: That quote (the ultimate critique is the solution) drives all my work and is ANOMOLIES' motto of sorts as well.
Werner: i'm surprised you guys didn't even just press up a 12" or two back in the late 90's when everybody was doing it. seemed like anomolies were in the right place at the right time for that
Invincible: yea it was really unfortunate
Invincible: We were and wanted to but u know the answer to that is so complicated I wouldnt know where to begin honestly.
Werner: did it have anything to do with being tied to exclusive label contracts (i.e. rawkus)?
Invincible: not at all
Invincible: We didn't have the loot ourselves. Labels didn't understand our sound our vision or how to market us. We are all perfectionists musically but also in business we wanted things a certain way...
Invincible: And ultimately almost all members had family responsibilities that had to be prioritized above the industry bullshit.
Invincible: We have all continued making music and grinding in the industry but we each found ways to balance that with those priorities. For me and kandi it was balance
Invincible: With our activism. With Tara it was with dance and with Helixx and Pri it was fam.(they both have sons) we are still working on solo and crew projects tho :-)
Werner: so are plans for a crew album still unlikely for a while?
Invincible: The working title was inspired by a trip the crew made to rock a show in detroit with me and we stopped by the motown museum we saw an old record called.....
Invincible: I'll keep that under wraps for now..but our working title is inspired by it its called MEET THE ANOMOLIES
Werner: lol ok so how far along is that? is it mostly recorded, or still a ways to go?
Invincible: still got a way to go. The crew appears on my album ShapeShifters on a song called RANSOM NOTES as well...thats an epic joint can't wait for the world to hear it
Invincible: the thing I love about guilty simpson is when I congratulated him about the album coming out he told me that he feels as if he's one of many talented artists in
Invincible: Detroit that have inspired him over the years and vice versa. And that his album just so happens to be ready 1st. That's the way I feel about ANOMOLIES & Detroit. So I hope my project is a launching pad for the rest of the crew and my people's in Detroit as well.
Invincible: Pri and I are performing at the trinity intl hiphop fest april 5th in hartford. The whole crew will rock at my nyc release may 8th at southpaw bklyn.
Invincible: They will also be at the allied media conference in detroit june 20-22 (hope u can make it out!)
Werner: =)
Invincible: Which is also related to my natl release june 17th :-)
Werner: those releases are pretty far apart... when's the album generally going to be available?
Invincible: The album is coming out completely self distributed at the may release parties (il get u exact dates and venues asap) and on my website emergencemusic.net...
Invincible: Then fat beats and other store distros as well as itunes type digital distro will kick in june 17th...
Invincible: That way the true heads will have first access to it!
Invincible: Thru EMERGENCE and my album I'm testing out a whole model of cooperative economics and hiphop that will hopefully serve as a viable model for my crew & others.
Werner: what's the model?
Invincible: My model is that artists should have full understanding of their business and marketing and that those two should be as creative and full of integrity as the music itself.
Its also connected to a larger vision for community self reliance based in cooperatively run and small businesses like your bookstore :)
Invincible: I'm bout to pass out but let's build tomorrow!
Invincible: Thanks for reachin out once again! Much respect
Werner: definitely - thanks for doing the interview and answering my annoying questions :-D
Invincible: Not annoying! Best intvw qs ever...hands down!!

To be continued immediately...

Tags: Invincible, Anomolies

The One That Didn't Make It

This is kind of a rarity. ...I see a bunch of online sellers hyping how "crazy rare" this record is, but that's the thing: a bunch of sellers. So it can't really be that rare - at any rate, if you decide you want it after reading this, you won't have a hard time finding a copy.

Now, if you haven't looked at the thumbnail to the left yet, I'm talking about Ras Kass's "Home Sweet Home" 12", which Priority Records released promotionally in 2001. It was meant to be the lead single off of his third album, Van Gogh, but that didn't wind up getting released either. It all got leaked on Napster and what-not, but this is the only legit release of the song, available just briefly as a promo-only before it was pulled.

A lot of you probably already know why it was pulled, but if not - here's the story: the track's produced by Alchemist. There were delays with his label (just a small part of a long and ugly history of Priority delaying Ras's material), and when he was just getting his 12" to mixtape DJs, he heard the same beat on another record, by Jadakiss. At the time, he said to MTV News, "I paid him for the track and picked the track. I don't know what the circumstances were, but he ends up trying to sell it to Ruff Ryders and Jadakiss specifically and tries to play like he didn't do it. ...Dude cashed the check and now he's playing stupid. After we try to resolve the situation, they take it to Hot 97 and try to blast off on the shit and give it to DJ Clue. That's some foul shit. Alchemist needs to step up and be a man. For him to sell them the same beat, that's his wrong. At the same time, I don't know what the conversation was for them to go and take it to Hot 97 when we've been trying to deal with this for the past two weeks with our lawyers."

Listening to Ras declare on this song, "Heard I was one hit from being a star, baby; like Boy George, one dress from bein' the First Lady," then, it's easy to imagine how frustrating it must have been when Jada's version BLEW THE FUCK UP and became the huge hit, "We Gone Make It" with fellow Lox member Styles P. on Interscope. Styles P, by the way, later released a 12" version of this song himself, remixed to add a verse from Eve, and there was a video produced for that mix as well. But you guys reading this don't need me to tell you what a big hit it was - you've surely heard it eighty million times already.

Still, I'm doubtful if Ras could've had nearly as much of the hit as Jada managed with this instrumental. His career just wasn't in the same place and his label obviously wasn't as behind him. And while his hook flows a little more naturally than Jada's, honestly neither version really outshines the other lyrically. In both cases, the MCs get a couple of clever lines in and flow nicely but unexceptionally over a hot track that overshadows them. ...But it probably would've sold enough copies to get Priority to at least release Van Gogh.

Anyway, a little while later, The Alchemist came out with his side of the story (also to MTV News), "Priority put me on hold and left me hanging. After I got the first half [of the payment], they left me on hold. ... For whatever reason, his A&Rs and whoever was related to his project was ignoring me... I tried to call everybody to let them know [other artists were interested], but nobody wanted to return my calls. So finally when I reach him to tell him that I'm using it, I start hearing it on mix tapes. I called Priority and was like, 'Hold up, we don't have any paperwork for this.' ...Now I see in the press that Ras is saying, 'I bought this beat off of Alchemist eight months ago, and he just sat around with the paperwork.' What he's talking about is eight months ago when he found out that it was coming out with somebody else, he had his lawyers send over paperwork for the production of one beat, 'Home Sweat Home,' $7,500 full payment. They just took it upon themselves to make that first half of the three beats the full payment for one beat, which we never discussed. Of course, I just put that paperwork to the side. I laughed at it. ...I tried to call Ras and extend my hand to him. I said, 'If you want that money back, I'll give it right back because I don't want it to feel like I got over on you or your record label. I'm not trying to get over on anybody. I got beats. I wish we could just continue to work. ... It's a shame that it had to happen like this."

And for his part, Jadakiss eventually commented on the issue to MTV, too, simply saying, "that controversy is with Alchemist and Ras Kass. He played the beat for me, I paid him his money and I laid my vocals on it. I ain't got nothing to do with that other shit. I ain't get a call from Ras Kass, no nothing, so I'm good. The album is my only concern for the next six to eight months."

So in the end, I favor this version for a slightly better hook, and this is the version I recommend. I also want to give it the edge simply for being Ras Kass instead of Jadakiss, just based on both artists' legacy of work... but honestly, comparing each MC on this one pair of songs only, the difference is academic.

There is one more thing that the Ras Kass 12" has in favor over the Jadakiss 12" (or the Styles P 12" for that matter) - a b-side. Flip this sucker over and you get "4 Much," a posse cut featuring Bad Azz, Lil J, Nate Dogg and Tash. ...Or basically Tash and a lot of filler. Battlecat's beat, like all of Battlecat's beats, is decent, even effective, but nothing anyone's going to get excited about. The bassline is catchy and overall it's an ok song... it actually would be a lot better if it was just stripped down to Ras Kass and Tash's verses (making a special point of removing the hook); but as it is you'll mainly just want this if you're a serious fan.

It's a nice collector's item for serious Ras Kass fans. And for the more casual listeners, it's still worth picking up if you can get it for a good price.

That loop sure gets in your head, huh?

Coming soon: the return of the Instant Messenger interview (my favorite kind)! It's a brand new one (not a Necro) with a dope MC. I'm excited - hopefully it will be ready tomorrow.

Tags: Ras Kass, Alchemist, Jadakiss, Styles P., Tash, Battlecat

(Werner Necro'd) Big Pun Interview

This interview isn't the greatest... It was done over the phone, and Pun's connection really sucked - we could barely hear each other! Plus, a lot of the "scoops" I was getting - like "are you gonna be on the DITC album," won't really impress anybody now that it's almost 10-years old news. But there's still some interesting bits in there I think; and none of us will get a chance to interview Pun again, so I'm posting it. This interview was done just as The Terror Squad's first single, "Whatcha Gon Do?" hit the radio in '99.

So what's up, man? What are you working on, now, these days?

I just finished working on The Terror Squad album, you know? And, I'm starting my album, right now, and I've also got my label goin' on, with my artists, like Tony Sunshine, a R&B singer.

And what are you doing on your album? Who's working on it?

My album has everybody from Premier to Puff Daddy. From The Beatnuts to new cats.

You got a title for it yet?

Endangered Species: Y2K.

So what's up with the Terror Squad album?

Terror Squad, we're gonna make history this year, more than one time. Listen to the album; we're gonna be the first clique to ever totally dominate every area of hip-hop, every angle. Where every one is just as good as the last, no weak links whatsoever, just one strong chain, pulling the whole game.

Is that gonna be on LOUD, too?

That's on Atlantic.

So, you've been doing a lot of guest spots on other peoples' albums, and...

That's what I had to do to get my name out, you know, because it's hard for me to be the underdog. Whenever you see Latino artists, you don't really hear to much success, so I had to make sure people understood where I was comin' from, just like anybody else. So, I just made sure that I was in your face, so you had to accept to the fact that the kid was dope, make sure every song is killer, you know?

So, working with all those people, who were you most impressed with? Who do you think was the illest?

The illest? Uhhmm? People I work with the most, like Nore. People I can relate to more. If we just did some business type thing I won't really enjoy myself. If we're cool, we see each other on the streets, in the clubs, we pop bottles together. Those are the cats I like to work with the most. Nore, G Rap, and the Beatnuts, people like that.

Are you gonna be on the DITC album?

I'm gonna be on the DITC album, on like two songs. As a matter of fact, I'm on the first single. Me and Milano: dope cat out of Harlem, I believe.

What was it like being the only East Coast artists on the NWA project with Fat Joe?

That was dope. We love NWA... what they did in hip-hop; that's something that we're trying to do right now. It was cool, because I love NWA, and it's something I never thought we was gonna do. I used to try to rhyme like them, goofin' around in the hallway, you know? And it paid off, because those cats called me and I was ready to work.

What did you think about their not putting "Something to Dance To" on the remake album?

I don't know. I mentioned that. I don't think too much about it, but I'm glad that you mentioned it. It was interesting.

What was it like working with Digital Underground? How'd you hook that project up?

Oh, you know. My manager called me. We rhymed with them because I'm a fan of theirs and we hooked up. And that's what the deal was there. I wanted to be Humpty.

Say what?

I wanted to be Humpty Hump.

What do you feel about people who are saying there's a renaissance in hip-hop, now... coming up in the underground, with people like Aceyalone, Living Legends, and sort of like we had with the indie NY scene but going in different directions on the west coast and even now other places?

Yeah, well, you know what it is? I think everything moves in a circle. Right now, we're in a period of time where people wanna hear lyrics. That's why, no matter what happens, I'm always gonna keep that kind of rhyme, 'cause I don't know when it's gonna be my turn. You don't know when it's gonna turn back to original. So, what I can do is keep it there for as long as it lasts, and if it ain't hittin' the time I'm doin' it, I'll just get it next time around, you know? But, when I do get my shine, it's gonna be worth it.

How do you thinkyour new album, that you're working on now, is gonna be different from your last? What can people look for?

Well, I'm not trying to be badder than anybody else, or harder. I just wanna make sure my own is as deep as it can be. And I want it to be an outlet. Like somebody who goes to the gym because he's angry, he has frustrations. So he hits the bag and bangs out his problems, instead of goin' out on the street and hurtin' somebody. Just put my album on to release, through my eyes and my lyrics, all your problems. My music is an outlet. When you close the book, it's like, "Wow." You feel just relaxation. I took you there, you know?

So, do you think, then, it's going to be more hardcore?

Hardcore always. It's always gonna be hardcore, but, right now it's just gonna be more so you can actually play it on the radio, you know? I'm always gonna have my hardcore joints, but I'm gonna have more joints like? You saw how Nore's album was hardcore, but it was also for the radio. I was just like street hardcore, but now I'm gonna hit you with something else.

So, do you think, then, you're going to have less cursing and such on your album? Because, there was a lot of complaints about that with your last album, especially the violence? [There was a recent flare-up in the press at the time... somebody apparently reminded the media that rappers curse a lot.]

Well, you know that's good. As long as I'm not lying, I don't care what they say. Publicity's good. People will have a problem with anything. People will say I'm too fat; if I get skinny, people will complain I'm too skinny... either way. You can't be wrong, you can't be right; so all I can do is tell the truth. When I write, I write about what I know about. I'm not gonna write about green grass and dandelions, because I don't know about that. I write about what I see everyday, bring it to you like that, and do it as mature as I can, you know? I just hope you can relate. It's weird. I don't see people sayin' that Wes Craven is a rapist because Freddy Kruegar is killing young girls in their dreams; they say he's a genius. Or Steven Spielberg's crazy because he's writing about dinosaurs stomping off and eating people; that's his vision. This is my vision. I'm the same as him, no different.

You wanna take it back a little, to how you got started out with "Firewater" and that type of shit?

Yeah, that type of shit that you love to hear. That "Firewater" shit. My symphonies are always good because I get competitive, you know? So, if you put me on a song with a bunch of cats, I'm gonna shine, because that's my thing right there. If you put me in a song by myself, I'm just battling myself, so you don't know what the hell is going on, you know what I mean? I'd just be thinking, "I just gotta kill everything," and people'd be like, "Yeah, what the fuck is he saying?" The whole thing with my album is that, why it sold for so long, at a steady pace, because the people, who heard my album, two months later, finally caught what I said. Right now, I'm gonna slow it down a little bit. My voice has matured a lot more; my pace has slowed down a little more. So, now I'm not so beefed as I was before, you know what I mean?

Are you down for battling somebody off a record? Do you still do that at all?

Uhh... Well, first of all, if you're battling me, you're trying to disrespect me, as far as I'm concerned. So, first of all, there's beef involved. So, there's gonna be physical beef, too. I'll battle you, but, after the battle's over, there's gonna be physical beef, too. You can't just come, try to take what I have from me, and then, when it's over, it's over. There's consequences.

What else does the Terror Squad have coming out, now, besides the group album, which you mentioned? Like what's Fat Joe up to?

Well, the Terror Squad's on Joe's label. I'm just backing up Joe like always. So, everything that I'm doing is what he's doing, 'cause it's the same thing. I believe the Terror Squad album's coming out in August, and I'm on the first single, as a matter of fact. It's called "Whatcha Gon Do?"

Who else is on that?

Well, actually, it's my solo. My artist, Tony Sunshine, you'll hear him in the chorus a little bit, he'll harmonize a little bit, if you listen really good. I think that's gonna come out before the album. As a matter of fact, we're gonna shoot a video called "Pass the Glock," a video for Terror Squad, and then we're gonna shoot a video for "Whatcha Gon Do?"

So, taking it back to your album title, Y2K - Is that something you're worried about? Or with the internet...

The Internet? I like all that computer shit. It's all good. I don't like the after-effects like the Y2K that also comes along with it. The computers fix everything up, and make things a lot easier, but then something shuts down, you gotta wait 'till they fix that before you can have clean water. It's like, what the hell is going on?

Do you get online much yourself?

Yeah, I get online. I got, like, my secret little thing I get online and chat, see what's going on in the world. It's cool; it's fun. But, like I said, it's dangerous.

Tragically, Pun passed on a few months after this interview was conducted (early February, 2000). His second album wound up being called Yeeeah Baby, but LOUD Records later used the title Endangered Species for a posthumous compilation album of guest spots and odds and ends, almost all of which had already been previously released.

Tags: Big Punisher, Big Pun