Sole Instant-Messenger Interview!

Aw yeah! It's the return of the IM interview! And who better to share it with than Mr. Anticon himself, Sole? It's only taken us eleven or so years, but the Werner/Sole interview has finally happened. Lingering questions from the ancient days of 45 Below Records are cleared up all the way up to his upcoming album(s) with The Skyrider Band. Are you ready? If not, feel free to step away from the computer, pace around the room a few times, and then come back. 'Cause this is historical. 8)

Sole: hello my old friend
Sole: lets do this!
Werner: ok, well, let's start with the really old school stuff... you've hinted in the past about a song called "cops ain't shit to me" with a group called l.o.c.
Werner: from, like, '91
Sole: yessir
Werner: tell me about that... was that on their album? i assume a tape release?
Sole: LOC, was recorded with me and a guy named b-bop. b-bop was kind of a shady/hustler character who worked at a local radio station. he used my address as the physical address for the radio station so all the promos were sent ot my house, because he lived out of town. it was a scam, but i got so many promos and pre-releases out of it. b-bop taught me the first rule of the game, its all bullshit. he took me under his wing cuz he liked my demo i made "even if you prayed like hammer you couldnt touch mine."
Sole: b-bop was very political, he would write these anti white rodney king kinda songs and he would even write my verses. we were trying to be like public enemy. LOC stood for lyrics of consciousness. it was never released, he sent it to his label contacts and nothing happened with it. we had about 5 songs and then i dunno what happened to him, he fell off the map... so from there i became MC tim holland
Werner: ah ok... 'splains why i could never find it. lol how about another song from that same period? time to wreck shop with partners in rhyme?
Sole: hahah
Sole: you're fucking crazy
Sole: that song was dope.
Sole: "i live and let die // i never get high // im the king of rap and my style is divine // my hat is my crown // my mic is my scepter // since rap is my profession then i think i'll be a professor// professor, putting rappers under pressure // giving rappers stress and throwing rappers.... i dont remember the rest"
Sole: giving rappers stress and then im throwing em on a stretcher
Sole: that was when i rapped like lord finesse
Werner: lol nice... did that one ever come out? who were the partners in rhyme?
Sole: it was me and this dude dj kaos
Sole: later i found out all his raps were stolen from percee p
Werner: lol
Sole: he made me tapes of lord finesse shit, and then cut out the percee p verses
Sole: one day when i bought the original album i called him out on it and we never did music again
Sole: i may be getting the timeline confused, but hey, old age will do that to you
Werner: did you guys have a tape out of that song, or any others?
Sole: i mean
Sole: back then you didnt have tapes out
Sole: we werent DIY dubbing and selling shit on the block
Sole: first tape i made was put out in 94
Sole: back then i was shopping my stuff from like 92-94
Sole: trying to get a record deal
Sole: thats what you did back then, the idea of just putting shit out like that wasn't really considered... or possible... i was 15, its not like i had investors
Werner: did you get many responses? i know eventually you'd get to that thing with jd...
Sole: i was a local hero. that was enough for me. i had followers. people that would beat people up for me. thats how i developed such a humble persona.
Sole: i ended up meeting certain people, like jameson grillo from tommy boy who worked radio promotions who later in life would give me good advice.
Werner: was that from doing shows?
Sole: but, no not really... a dj gave my shit to dj premier, a track from partners in rhyme "david duke get the dick" dj premier said "sounds like vanilla ice learning how to rap" that hurt.
Sole: i didnt really do a lot of shows back then, these contacts were made through the college radio scene. before the internet college radio was how hip-hop was promoted, especially the non yo! mtv raps stuff
Sole: i kept good relations with all the college djs in maine and they wanted me to succeed, so they helped me out. jason butler, dj from hell, and b-bop . plus i had fans so people supported me. not a ton of fans, but a lot for a little kid. i was a very good rapper back then, very intense, and people had never heard a white kid rap like that.
Werner: k, let me ask you about your first 12"... it's produced by randy nkonoki... that's the same RN from 88hiphop, yeah?
Sole: yes
Sole: indeed
Sole: when i was shopping a demo to tommy boy, where i met jameson grillo....
Sole: randy nkonki was sitting in the lobby... he was like "who the fuck are these guys"
Sole: so we started talking. he was real cool.
Werner: did he produce as in doing the beats, or more just in the traditional sense? because i haven't heard of him producing anything else?
Sole: he was working with trouble neck brothers and some other artists at the time... genesis... i believe even mr complex, im not sure....
Werner: and is he who put you in touch for "3 guys at a bar?"
Sole: no, he made the beat. i dunno, it was a pilgrimage for me and jd.
Sole: he said he'd produce a track for me, and since i thought he was hooked up it was a big deal to go to NY and record.
Sole: so when we got there, jd was exhausted from driving....
Sole: he passed out at the studio....
Sole: and i recorded a song called "i got soul it be running through my veins"
Sole: at that time i had left my old graffitti crew / gang and started writing "sole." i made a song about it, and then after that song i eventually changed my name to sole
Sole: 3 guys in a bar was also a fluke
Sole: back then my favorite record was j live's braggin writes
Sole: i had been wanting to do music with j live so i got in touch with rawshack
Sole: george, the guy who ran rawshack, i think was amused by me as well,, so he'd explain the game to me, he was someone i used to call all the time
Sole: i was trying to sign with him.
Sole: anyway, me and j live never panned out, when mr complex dropped his record it, that and saafir, totally fucked up my approach to rapping , like "i dont have to rhyme"
Sole: i sampled mr complex on a song i did with cryptic one of atoms family who i met on prodigy
Sole: i sent mr complex the CD and he was so excited to hear himself sampled he agreed to do a song with me
Werner: lol nice
Sole: so he hooked it up with d-stroy and we did this song together
Werner: so, at that time you were running 45 below pretty seriously... you had other acts
Sole: yes
Werner: how did you link up with, like, six-too?
Sole: i mean, i cant say it was really serious. it was more of a crew, 45 below was an old school crew/label run from back 90 by moodswing 9
Sole: that was the name we chose for our label
Sole: and it was me and himc
Sole: him
Sole: moodswing 9 was involved in tape trading
Sole: i was a sixtoo tape, dusty, just on some shelf and it looks cool to me.
Sole: the cover was a handprinted thing, it was totally DIY but looked really cool.
Werner: was that psyche intangible? or one of the previous tapes?
Sole: i took it home and listened to it and it blew me away, for the first time in my life i found a musician that was really close to where i wanted to go aesthetically
Sole: i believe it was progress. it had the white trash song on it
Sole: so i got psyched, hit him up, and he was living in the nova scotia, which is just a hop over the atlantic
Werner: i guess it couldn't have been PI, 'cause you were on that one actually lol
Sole: he came down, and we became friends
Sole: we clicked
Sole: thats when we recorded that song "Cave people"
Sole: so its around the same time.
Werner: and that's around when 45 became anticon... if 45 was more moodswing's, was the change in name partially about you taking it over more?
Sole: ehh... naa.... anticon was me moodswing and pedestrian
Sole: anticon had more meaning to it and it symbolized a move away from hip-hop towards more weirder, experimental shit. we felt that it was time to push hiphop in a new direction.
Werner: but at some point... i remember in 98, i was always talking to you (as opposed to moodswing), re: 45 below
Sole: right, thats because i've always been very aggressive and motivated. there came a time where i had most of the contacts and vision i guess. but i've always tried to keep shit touchy-feely
Sole: i was really business minded back then.
Sole: i saw myself as an artsy master p // suge knight character
Werner: and what happened with mr. skurge/ups? did they step away from the label, or did you decide not to put them out?
Sole: uhh
Sole: basically they made that gay bashing song on the EP and we all kind of agreed that we were not cool with that shit. we had to be really conscious of what we were about and what we weren't. back then we had really strict lyrical, ethical guidelines.
Werner: i know they had an ep that was gonna drop on 45 below... and then of course when 45 became anticon, skurge was on the comps...
Sole: for instance, if you couldn't read it as a poem, it couldnt be a record.
Sole: oh yeah.
Sole: funny
Sole: but yeah, maybe skurge was offended by that, then he fell off the map and started working at a car dealership. those guys were cool though.
Sole: and they were amazing. they made such great beats and rapped really well.
Sole: sometimes people just fall off the map. its hard to say why. or its hard to understand how you've driven certain people away, or whatever.
Sole: no one knows what truly motivates people
Werner: yeah, i know they got back into it and started recording pretty hard years later
Sole: yeah. i dunno. they got weird with me a few times, so i didn't really wanna fuck with em anymore.
Werner: infinito put out, like, 50 different cd-r albums
Sole: yeah totally. i liked infinito. those guys were great.
Werner: ok, so speaking of guys who may've been offended about their record not dropping on anticon... lol
Werner: what happened with josh martinez's project?
Sole: they're working on a new anticon record with anathallo
Sole: josh martinez, honestly, after going on tour with him, he was all about fucking girls, his music was about fucking girls and beer and all this shit, and we all decided that he wasnt motivated by what the anticon credo was, so we decided not to put his music out. im really good friends with him now, and he's doing really great for himself. we get along great, and there is no hard feelings. we were about poetry at the time and he was about having fun, we were not about having fun. we were dead serious about this art.
Werner: yeah, let's get into that a little...
Werner: you guys have been sorta on the forefront of hip-hop songs with obscure meanings... i mean, you've had artists like de la, umc's who may've had crazy metaphors... but once you figured out the one "secret meaning" (a la "potholes in my lawn" were rhyme bites), it was pretty straight forward
Sole: uh huh
Werner: but you guys were into (sometimes) songs that seemed to have completely more abstract content
Sole: well i think thats more individuals
Sole: i've never been very abstract
Sole: dose is abstract
Sole: to me, as long as it was inventive & conveying something new and interesting we weren't specific about HOW you were "advancing hip-hop" heh.
Sole: i say "advancing hip-hop" wih a sarcastic tone...
Sole: but hey, hip-hop is catching up!
Werner: well, that's something i was gonna touch on, too... you're probably the most consistently sarcastic mc in your music, too
Sole: in life too
Sole: but i dont believe in sarcasm, i think people say what they think
Sole: just somtimes i say it in a bizarre way.
Werner: was that a conscious decision, to make that part of your MCing "voice?" or it jjust comes through?
Werner: well, it's not a criticism... i think those are often my favorite moments in your stuff when the sarcasm really comes through
Sole: i dont do anything consciously, thats why my evolution has been slow and natural. i never wake up in the morning and think "im gonna change my persona, the last one didn't work"
Werner: what about when you're part of a collaborative project? i.e. dpd or skyrider band? do you try to write a certain style at those points, or it's all just whatever you'rre feelling?
Sole: i dont think most people even pick up on the sarcasm, its pretty thick and understated.
Sole: what i'm feeling.
Werner: actually, let's back up a bit... i know moodswing moved on, but what's the full story there?
Sole: well
Sole: i dont know....
Sole: it was weird.
Werner: idk... i was almost going to say you've gotten less sarcastic before this interview... but listening to the skyrider stuff it's still in there 8-)
Werner: i know he did a 7" or two with bully...
Sole: i think he just got overwhelmed. me him and pedestrian had this little apartment, and me and pedestrian turned it into the anticon flophouse
Sole: one day moodwing moved out and i never heard from him again
Sole: i think he just thought i was crazy and didnt wanna work under the extreme pressure we operated under
Werner: ok, so let me ask you about vinyl... there's story after story about vinyl sales going up while cds die... has it come to a point where you can see it in anticon sales at all?
Sole: Not really.
Sole: I think thats more theoretical
Sole: like, david mathews band might be selling more vinyl
Sole: but i dont think odd nosdam is
Sole: im not sure though, i could ask him
Werner: yeah, i know it's bigger in rock & country...
Sole: well, toby kieth deserves it, he's done a lot for america.
Werner: i also wanted to ask about sampling... it seems anticon uses fewer now than in the early days, yeah?
Sole: yeah
Sole: depends, im sure odd nosdam has consistently used the same amount of samples
Sole: in my own beats its mostly samples
Werner: is clearance issues a lot of that, or largely just an artistic decision?
Werner: is it? i thought a lot of your stuff sounded more "created," but maybe that's just the aesthetic
Sole: both i think, but really, no one cares about sample clearance anymore, i think its more like... "its really easy to find a great loop, chop it, filter the bassline out, and put a drum beat under it... but its a lot more challenging and fun to try to make something from scratch." personally i prefer to use both, but im not a producer so i dont fuck with dogma when it comes to making beats. if i like a beat i'll rap on it. if i like music i'll steal it.
Werner: well, you've put out an instrumental album, etc...
has anyone really come after anticon samples, or are you still getting by under the radar?
Sole: no one has ever come after us. i try to sample people who i dont think should come after me. that may be naive, but i feel morally if bjork stepped to me about sampling i'd probably call her a hypocrite. i've never sampled bjork though.
Werner: haha right...
ok, here's something i wonder about... i know anticon's got some infamous unreleased projects (i.e. stuffed animals), but you also tend to put out like al ot of tour cds, etc... 20 years from now, global music group acquires anticon... how much/ what kind of stuff would they find in "the vaults?"
Sole: i dunno, stuffed animals never came out because it wasnt that amazing... other projects that started and were deaded is stuff thats lost on adat. they might find a lot of mediocre shit, but all the best stuff has come out.
Sole: my thing, is if we don't decide to release something, people can bootleg it as mp3s all they want.
Sole: but im not trying to eat off music im not standing behind
Werner: is there any older stuff that might still come out now or is it pretty much, if it hasn't been issued by now it never will?
Sole: i'd say there isnt much old stuff that hasnt been released that will come out.
Sole: but who knows, i dont know what everyone has sitting on their computers that they've never let anyone hear.
Werner: but none of the stuff people know about (stuffed animals, circus for prez, makeshift writers workshop)?
Sole: circus for president was really good. i wish that had come out. i still hope it will, but there just doesn't seem to be enough willpower for it to see the light of day.
Sole: which quite honestly i've never understood, but i didn't record it.
Sole: it was between nosdam & circus
Werner: well, it seems like circus has sort of dropped out of the music scene, i guess
Sole: there is a very fine line between genius and insanity. not to say anyone is a genius or anything, but you know the saying, "when you stare into the abyss it stares into you." i believe this, some highly creative people could easily get locked up if they talked to the wrong psychiatrist. thats why i've never talked to any "mental health" professionals.
Sole: circus spent some time in jail
Werner: oh ok... i know about a bit of that, but didnt know it got that far. i dont want to get to into his personal ish...
Sole: i was more talking about myself
Sole: haha
Sole: i was just speaking generally, sometimes we go through difficult times, and music suffers.
Werner: well, let's talk about sole & skyrider
how did you first link up? were you looking for a band, or they approached you?
Sole: i had just gotten into america. they were good friends with bleubird. i made a bunch of music for bird in spain, but it was a mess, he brought it to them to record his vocals and they finished the music. i was impressed with what they did. bud was living on a ranch in the everglades(or some swamp, i dont know it was beautiful) and i really liked his vibe, he was cool, we hung out and got along. i liked him cuz he was the earthiest hip-hop artist i'd come across. it reminded me of the nature kid at my core that had been forgotten in my city life. i had an opportunity to do a mini tour in florida with them, i did it, we recorded a track, played a song with em, it was really great. they were about ot move to canada, and i asked em to stop by my house in flagstaff to work on music for a month, they ended up staying. the rest is history
Werner: so is it "sole and skyrider" now for the long haul? do plan to keep doing albums and tours together indefinitely?
Sole: yeah, i mean the evolution of our band has been rocky. we were trying ot live off it all at first and it was really stressful. after some really rough tours we kinda just decided to take a step back, get jobs, and just start from scratch, and do it for fun. i think that honesty comes across in the new albums. but the evolution of skyriders production has really blown me away. the new beats they've been giving me are absolutely amazing, and will blow people away. most importantly, they're really fun guys to hang out with and work with, they've been very good friends to me, which is most important. i cant work with people i dont trust or want to break bread with.
Sole: thats not to say i wont do little things here or there, but my focus will remain sole and skyrider. but its also healthy for us not to put too much pressure on it that its not fun anymore, if this shit aint fun i'd rather go be a stock broker or a bank robber.
Sole: although in this day and age a stock broker is a bank robber.
Werner: lol true
Werner: so real quick, let's break down the members of skyrider and what they do/play?
Sole: bud berning: primary producer. he plays keyboards drums and guitars.

john wagner: he works with bud on all the production and finalizing of music. he is the drummer. he is also the member of the band that helps me with the business stuff, web promotions, bookings, strategy, and he manages our street team.

william ryan fritch: he is the melodic backbone, he plays everything, guitar, keyboard, drums, violin, cello, stand up bass, whatever. good thing about him, is he can solo on any instrument, not just competently stay in tune.

our process usually works like... bud, ryan, john or i start a beat, i write to and rap on it and send it back to bud and john they remix it send it to ryan he adds instrumentation and sends it back to everyone for final approval. at that point my vocals might not sound good so i may re=record.
Werner: so when you guys start a beat... is that like samples and drum machines? and then the band/john replays it, or some of it stays...?
Sole: we try to do it differently everytime.
Sole: if there is a sample we keep it usually.
Werner: i wanted to ask you about a couple of appearances you've done, too... you have a new one on an album with time, who i really don't know anything about except you're on their new album
Sole: what do you mean
Werner: it's a song called "trouble?" i dont know... seen it on ughh
Sole: ahhh
Sole: thats my homey time.
Sole: he's from denver.
Sole: he's become a good friend of mine.
Sole: sometimes when i think someone shows a lot of promise i do music with them.
Sole: if i have time and im in the right space.
Sole: him and extra kool are actually on my new mixtape nuclear winter, we did a denver version of "put on"
Werner: what's the story with that (mixtape)? i've seen you mention it a bit on the forums...
Sole: URB wanted me to do a podcast and i didnt wanna do some lame uninteresting podcast, and i was kinda bored so i thought it'd be fun to re-do a few gangster rap songs and turn em into anarcho-marxist anthems. it turned into an album. the only music i've been into in the last 5 years is silver mount zion and gangster rap, so it only makes sense that i try to make that shit too. there is a ganster influence in all the SSRB stuff.
Werner: is there anything specifically you can point out (gangsta influence on ssrb material)?
Sole: but after a serious album, its important for me to just do some shit for fun, with no pressure, it always creates something interesting.
Sole: battlefields was originally written to the beat "shoot me down" by lil wayne
Sole: longshots wass straight, TRAE beat in the beginning.
Sole: pissin in the wind is gangsta as fuck
Sole: even mr insurgent, which is a folk song, has gangster 808s under it.
Sole: its subtle. we dont use it like a gimmick or to be ironic, we just allow ourselves to be influenced by that form of music.
Sole: at the same time we're really influenced by post rock and folk and shit, so thats why our music confuses people
Werner: yeah, it's definitely less "straight hip-hop" then other sole stuff... i remember having conversations in the 90's and people would try to argue that sole wasn't hip-hop, which back then struck me as way off, now maybe you're actually moving that way a bit lol
Sole: yeah but now im swinging back that way to my rap roots. rap inspires me now. so thats good. maybe not in the way some people would want, but what i like is what i like.
Sole: and what im indifferent to is what im indifferent to
Werner: does the fact that you're now with skyrider (and out in az) kind of preclude the more classic "sole album," where you'd have a track or two produced by each of the anticon producers?
Sole: well first of all, skyrider is in LA, and im in denver. i've left the desert. im still working on music with nosdam and jel, i love those guys, we havent worked much in the last few years but i expect to work with them a lot more in the future.
Werner: oh ok... thought you were still in az
what's it like in denver?
Sole: denver is the most european city in america.
Sole: in my opinion
Sole: denver is heaven, i've been trying to move here for 4 years, but it took a while to convince my girl.
Sole: when we were in AZ there was a dispute over where we lived, no one wanted to really move to denver, and they're younger and single and wanted to be in LA.
Werner: nice... i don't even know much about denver. did you kind of "discover" it from doing shows there?
Sole: yeah, it was close to flagstaff, 8 hours, so i would play there more often living in arizona. i developed a real love for the mountains living in flagstaff, but culturally that place is a toilet, so i wanted to live in a city that was clean, beautiful and cheap, but that i could still drive 20 minutes and be in the mountains.
Sole: my dogs were raised on a river in arizona, so they swam every day in the summer. here in denver, the cherry creek runs 2 blocks from my house, its a bike highway that cuts through the city, and i bring my dogs there to swim in the summer. not many american cities have rivers that clean.
Werner: nice... yeah, definitely not the ones i've been to lol
Sole: not to mention, i really wanna ski this winter if i can afford it.
Sole: i miss skiing.
Sole: i used to do it as a kid but as an adult/artist i've been so broke i can hardly afford to pay rent, let alone do fun recreational shit. x
Werner: yeah, no doubt
oh, i forgot i had another guest appearance i wanted to ask you about... the kool keith/ dr. octagon song with sage... how did that happen? did he come to you guys?
Sole: no i never talked to him. his manager in florida, fuck i forget his name but he's a cool motherfucker... anyway, he had divinci remixing a kool kieth track while we were in teh car, and i hit up divinci and said "let me geton that" he asked the manager, and then me and sage recorded it. it was really fun. most people pay for a kool kieth verse, we got paid FOR it. that was really an honor. i would have paid to do the song. well, no i wouldnt have, but if i had money i would.
Werner: well, i think i'm near wrapping up w my questions... but i did want to ask you one more "biggish" one... maybe it's more of just an online thing, but you seem to be a pretty devisive figure in hip-hop... anticon as a whole is, but you even more than almost anyone else affiliated with it
Sole: to my detriment
Sole: benefit
Sole: anyway whats your question?
Werner: well, why do you think that is, for one?
Sole: because, my words and my balls is all i have.
Werner: yeah, i mean... i'd sort of expect heads to embrace you more than someone like dose, since he's more "weird" and you've been more traditionally hip-hop. but it doesn't seem to work out that way
Sole: i dont play around. i believe that art is war. i spent many years of my life living in the writings of "guy debord" and artists like brecht, adorno, emma goldman... i believe in what these people say.... tha the role of art is to challenge the status quo... to speak true to power... to shine light on subjects... to be honest.... i've never been afraid to start a war with a journalist who gets too personal in a review. i've never tried to hide my beliefs. i've never worried much about whether or not some hipsterblog was gonna like me more if i made a love song.
Sole: in fact, i dont see value in art that doesn't challenge the status quo.
Sole: otherwise, you're bringing water to a well.
Sole: bring water to sudan!
Werner: but it doesn't seem like you're challenging the sort of things heads wouldn't want challenged or wouldn’t side with you on...
Sole: yeah, i mean, some people go about their shit in a more strategic way, "do a song with this person, climb the ladder, etc." i've never done that with my music. making music is a very personal thing to me, and i keep it close to my chest. i dont wanna invest time and energy into someone i dont know, regardless of what they can do for me.
Sole: yeah, but its not trendy
Sole: doing coke and smoking cigarrettes and ironic 80s/90s kickback shit, thats what everyone is on
Sole: dance, forget about the world.
Sole: people listen to music to be entertained.
Sole: i dont listen to music. i listen to democracy now.
Werner: yeah... but there's acts like dead prez, immortal technique... or even just the more raw stuff like blaq poet that get embraced
Sole: well, they're not white. or if they are white, they are thuggish and look hispanic or something. i think race plays a huge role in this. i respect all the acts you mention and anyone who is talking about this shit, but the way i approach it is more subtle, its more of an undertone then the acts you mention... im not calling for revolution on my tracks, and my message isn't so easy to digest as the acts you talk about. i cram a lot of syllables over a mini orchestra. some people dont like that. hipsters want coke rap or their soft indy rock trendy dance crap, they dont want to cross the streams. i've never understood it personally, but i cant control it.
Sole: i want to make music that is easier to digest that maintains integrity. i think this new record is a step towards that.
Sole: i always think "This is gonna be huge"
Werner: does that have anything to do with the title, "plastique?"
Sole: and then... it comes out... and im like... wtf... xlr8tr passed on the feature AGAIN? how much do i have to pay these people?
Sole: plastique, is about blowing shit up and about the world being false.
Sole: plus it sounds french, so that makes me sound more cultured.
Sole: which is good cuz i jock french philosophy.
Werner: lol true... like l'trimm ;-)
Sole: also a lot of it has to do with being a "rapper" people havent seen me as a rapper.
Sole: i want to remind them that i am indeed a "rapper"
Werner: yeah... i mean, unlike dose, why, or even alias... you've definitely stayed true to being a straight-up rapper
Sole: oh well.
Werner: so what does anticon have coming up? it looks like a pretty nice immediate future with your lp/ep (plus mixtape), crownsdown.... why? just dropped...
Sole: i honestly have no idea whats coming out after why?
Werner: (and seriously, when the hell is pedestrian coming with another release?)
Werner: that's terrible... can you be fired from anticon? lol
Sole: i can fire myself.
Sole: i dont run the label, the daily business of the office hasn't been my responsibility since selling live water.
Sole: since i started focusing on art.
Werner: oh really? i didn't realized you'd stepped so far away from that
Sole: yeah.
Sole: when the collective was formalized baillie parker began running the label and all the artists got equal shares in the business.
Sole: like a true collective.
Werner: does that mean anticon could be like "we won't release this sole album" or "we're gonna drop this release that sole is for whatever reason totally against?"
Sole: absolutely.
Sole: but im not gonna say which bands i've voted against.
Sole: or acts
Sole: or records
Werner: oh ok... i didn't realize it had changed over so completely... i know baille had come in, but i guess i thought of him as just a business manager and one more partner...
well, we do know that you're lp and ep are about to drop... pre-orders end in like 2 days, right?
Sole: i guess so. 2 days left!
Werner: and is it still too early to say about the mixtape yet, or do you have specific plans/dates?
Sole: i imagine it'll be up for download next week... a preview version of it called "nuclear autumn" which will feature some SSRB tracks from our albums and a l ot of the songs for the mixtape. i imagine i'll have the mixtape on tour.
Werner: and the soleone store at some point hopefully?
Sole: yessir. i'll be announcing a preorder for this after the fake four shit drops, i just dont wanna confuse people.
Werner: cool... well, i should get this up before the plastique preorder ends, so people can jump on it if they're quick!
Sole: heheh thank you my friend.
Sole: and thank you for being so supportive over the years.
Sole: its been a long journey!

Ok, so you heard the man... only 2 days left! If you're interested in the pre-order (only place to get the Battlefields EP), it's right here at Fake Four. And for more on Sole, of course, check out his own site at soleone.org. Or, if you're more of a myspace kinda guy, that's right here.

What Wendy Wants She Gets

(Youtube version is here.)

Legends of Hip Hop

"LEGENDS OF HIP HOP describes a project that includes more than 35 hiphop legends from the first hour veterans to the recent stars. It includes names like Bambaataa, Melle Mel, Grandmaster Flash, Kurtis Blow, Ice-T... just to mention a few. The album was based on an idea to connect rap and hiphop greats from both the old and new skool[sic.] scene into one big project. The highlight of the album is the track 'The Fifth Element' which is performmed[sic.] by 34 hiphop legends."

That's the introduction to an album that I can't believe has somehow managed to be pretty much never written about. Legends of Hip Hop came out in 2002 on Absolut Records. Yes, like the vodka. A full-length album that features all original (well, almost... more on that later) material by such great big names in hip-hop that somehow managed to fly completely under the radar? How? Why?

Well, the album was put together by Kurtis Blow, in association with his Legends of Hip Hip old school tours. Blow co-produced all the music on this album with two guys named Informer and DJ Buck. They utilize a lot of live instrumentation, too... the liner notes credit musicians for guitars, trumpets, sax, a couple of violins and a viola. So, how is it? What exactly do we have here?

Ok, let's start with the "highlight of the album" (according to the liner notes quoted above... I actually disagree), the mega-posse cut "The Fifth Element." 34 hip-hop legends. That's pretty impressive, right? And the actual list will probably impress you more: Melle Mel, Ice-T, Flava Flav, Cheeks, Special K, Bambaataa, Run, Smooth Approach, Sha-Rock, Doc Ice, Busy Bee, Whodini, Raheem, Reggie Reg, Grandmaster Caz, DLB, LA Sunshine, Grand Puba, Pete DJ Jones, Kurtis Blow, Hollywood, Eddie Cheeba, Big Daddy Kane, Dano, Ceelo (as in Goodie Mob, yeah), Waterbed Kev, Speech, Kidd Creole, Grand Wizard Theodore, Dota Rock, Rakim & DJ Kool Herc. That's not a bunch of nobodies peppered with a few names, that's an incredible assembly of an all-star line-up!

...But, wait. The song's only four minutes long. And it's got a recurring hook, which takes up almost 50% of the song. And, half those guys are DJs, how do they rap on this track?

Well, if you guessed that everybody is given about 6-8 words to perform, you'd be right! But you didn't guess that, did you? Because that would be so ridiculously wack, you ruled it out before the thought could even fully form in your mind, right? But it's what they did. Excited to hear a Rakim feature you never heard before? Wanna read the lyrics? Well, here ya go:

"Ya owe it to yourself; get your education."

...That was it. That was the entirety of his contribution. And his was longer than a lot of the others!

So, yeah. They call it the "highlight of the album." They even include two mixes on here, the original and "Beathoavenz RMX," which liberally samples some Beethoven. I call it a big, fat "who cares?"

But the rest of the album is much more interesting. Most (plus a few other dudes) of the artists featured on that silly posse cut turn up again on this album to perform all new songs. Most are collaborations you've never seen happen before and are pretty interesting. Raheem, Grandmaster Caz and Shinehead provide a song called "Be 4," Ice-T, Chilli Mac and Rakim perform "Game of Life," Reggie Reg, Skeeta Ranks, Jalil, Ecstasy and Doc Ice do "Shake Them Hips," etc. Here we actually get to hear these artists get a chance to do something!

Just for the record, the other artists who turn up on this album are: Thug Nation, Kurupt, Harry Balz (don't know who that is? He's the other half of One and One, who we last heard from on Next Plateau Records in 1997!), The Ying Yang Twins, Steph Lova, T.O.P., GQ, and Lovebug Starski.

So, how are these songs? Well, they're varied... there's some nice lyrical performances, a variety of concepts and a good mix of styles. The production team of Blow, Informer and Buck I'm sure doesn't have you at the edge of your seat, but they're at least attempting something creatively different that's still got a traditional hip-hop vibe. It's not a great album, but guys like Ice-T, Melle, Sha-Rock, Kane, and others do drop some head-nodding verses. Flava Flav provides an amusingly bugged hook to "Old School Ball," with a faux British accent. The live instrumentation helps keep things interesting and some songs have nice cuts, too. It's a mixed bag, certainly; but a lot of this is really better than you jaded vets would expect.

To add to that mixed bag feeling, though, we have to address why Eminem and Royce da 5'9's names are on the cover. Well, "Nuttin To Do" by Bad Meets Evil is on here. Yes, the song from their '98 12" in Game Recordings. Why? I dunno. More interestingly, though, is "Bad Meets Evil - New Shrooms Mix." Yeah, Blow and team actually do their own, exclusive remix of the song from the Slim Shady LP. It's, uh... yeah, it's pretty corny.

But except for those two tracks and one other - this album also features Justine Simmons' dance tune "Praise My DJ's" featuring Run that originally dropped in 2000 - this is all new, original material, reminiscent of the noteworthy Raiders Of the Lost Art compilation released in 1994.

Now, in addition to this album, there are three related releases you should probably know about:

1) A 12" release of "The Fifth Element," which includes the original version and the Beathoavenz Remix version that's featured on this disc, as well as four more remixes (specifically: Sleepwalker Remix, Efe & Leeroy Remix, Nasty Remix and the Double Remix). Interesting, but I never picked this up, because frankly changing the beat wouldn't fix what's wrong with this song.

2) Another, completely unrelated hip-hop compilation called Legends of Hip Hop, which is just a generic collection of songs by 2 Live Crew, Ice-T and The World Class Wreckin' Crew on a label called Blue Dolphin. They're entirely unrelated save for the coincidentally matching title, so you can go ahead and disregard it... just be careful if you're ordering online that you know which one you're getting.

3) A 2-disc version that was released in Europe. Disc 1 is essentially the same as the US version, except it's missing the Bad Meets Evil remix, and instead features the Sleepwalker Remix of "Fifth Element" (from the 12" above). The second disc is then just another generic compilation of pre-existing hip-hop songs, this time basically a greatest hits of rap, featuring stuff like "Express Yourself" by NWA and "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince. Personally, I'd stick with the single-disc US version, since it has the exclusive Bad Meets Evil remix, and if you really want the "Fifth Element," remix you could get the 12".

So, yeah. It's not a great album, but it has some worthwhile material. And with all the talent involved, it deserves at least to be talked about.

Serch's Melissa

(What an unfortunate thumbnail... lol
Anyway, Youtube version is here.)

Do You Like Pina Colada?

Have you ever heard that old Rupert Holmes (yes, I looked it up) tune "Escape (The Pina Colada" Song)" and got it stuck in your head? The one that goes, "Do you like Pina Colada? And getting caught in the rain?" You thought it was kinda catchy, but you're too staunch a hip-hop head to spin some corny old 70's lounge record? Well, the music industry was looking out for fans like you in 1997, and came up with the solution "U Like Pina Colada" by Da Real One.

This is a song off of LaFace Records' bass compilation album, And Then There Was Bass, which was then released as a successful single. Da Real One looked like an unknown artist when you checked out the album's track-listing, but once you gave it a listen, it turned out to be the new identity of Dr. Ace, from Young & Restless. His partner had already changed his name and put out a few records as The P.O.D. Prince of Darkness, but this was Ace's first solo outing.

So, yeah, this is the hip-hop version (written and produced by Ace) of the 1979 record, and it heavily samples the original, including keeping Rupert's vocals on the chorus (though Ace sings over them and completely overshadows them). Interestingly, it's got a few bottom-dropping bass drops, but they're used very sparingly; it's mostly about the ever-present funk guitar loop, some funky breakdowns and a lot of BPM. And of course it's got all new words. The style and lyrics stay very true to the tone set by your favorite Young & Restless records:

"Now I met another lady...
Check out what she had to say:
I asked her where her man at?
She said, 'baby, I'm gay.'
I said, 'that don't really matter...
As long as you ain't got a sex change.
Because I'm down with a threesome...
But I need to know some thangs."

And the hook is updated from:

"If you like Pina Coladas,
And getting caught in the rain.
If you're not into yoga,
If you have half-a-brain.
If you like making love at midnight,
In the dunes of the cape.
I'm the love that you've looked for,
Write to me, and escape."

to:

"If you like Pina Colada,
Alize or champagne.
If you like juice in your gin;
Me, myself Hennessy.
If you like making love at midnight?
Rolling out on the avenue.
If you like firing up a fat one,
Well, then you're down with my crew."

The only problem I have with this song, is that it's all done in the sing-songy delivery of the original (albeit with a modern twist); and he never quite busts out and raps over the track, which would've really pushed it over the edge. But i guess that's the lack of Prince's influence showing? Remember how I said you feel the loss of Ace in P.O.D.'s solo material? Well, I guess it works the other way 'round, too (not that they were irreparably separated... Young & Restless reunited on two songs from Ace's Southern Conference project). Though, I suppose there was already a precedent set for this, in Young & Restless's debut single "Poison Ivy." But I just wish for a little more of what they did with "Louie Louie," in terms of transforming it further into a proper rap song.

Oh well; it's still a lot of fun, and the 12" comes loaded with with Clean, Dirty, Instrumental and Acappella versions in a sticker cover.

Furthermore, it's b/w another song from the compilation, Luke's "Let's Ride." Most of the songs on And Then There Was Bass were all-new material, but this one's on loan from Luke's Changin' the Game album. I guess that's why LaFace didn't bother to credit the featured artists on this song: Jiggie and No Good But So Good. The song (which is produced by Luke himself) ain't not bad... It's hectically paced, has some nice change-ups, and the guest rappers keep it from being all Luke shouting, like a lot of his records become. And, as with the A-side, the 12" provides the full rationing of Dirty, Clean, Instrumental and Acappella versions for the song.

This is the only record Dr. Ace would put out as Da Real One. After this, he changed his name to Mr. Charlie and released a couple more records. And he's still around doing his thing: check out his myspace.

Boom Boom, Skeet Skeet!

Urban Dictionary credits the phrase "boom boom skeet skeet"* to a brief line in a 2004 Trick Daddy song ("J.O.D.D." off of Thug Matrimony: Married To the Streets). Well, they're correct in that he said the phrase, but it's actually a reference to another Miami artist's record: The P.O.D. Prince of Darkness's "Give Me '50 Feet," which came out a full 9 years earlier on World Wide Entertainment Enterprise. It's the catchy, oft-repeated hook, "boom boom, skeet skeet! You got to give me fifty feet!" It's even printed on the label, so shoppers would know, "this is the boom boom, skeet skeet song."

And Trick Daddy was surely familiar with The P.O.D., since he appeared on his 2001 album, The Power of Dollars. 'Cause, if you don't know, P.O.D. is the artist formerly known as The Prince of Power, a.k.a. Young & Restless; and this was his first solo joint.

It's produced by E-Chill, who was also managing P.O.D. (or something along those lines), up to and including his 2001 full-length. It's a super high-energy, high BPM dance track with a couple fast but simple raps by Prince and a lot of hook, mega-deep bass, shout & call responses, whistles and classic Miami-style samples. It was certainly not the type of song built to convince east coast lyricists to give props to the Florida scene, but it's well-crafted good times.

If you're expecting the humorous side of Young & Restless, though, forget it (perhaps that's what changing his name from Prince of Power to Prince of Darkness was meant to signify?). The tone certainly isn't dark, but the raps are kept pretty short and simple. Not that you'd want a joke song, but a little bit of Dr. Ace's songwriting goes a long way. Still, his delivery is quick and we're not subjected to any corny one-liners; but it seems like the intent here is really not to draw any attention to the lyrics at all, and just bridge the gap to the next hook or breakdown:

"Now you learned the hook;
Where your eyes at? Where you wanna look?
Keep swingin' that monkey,
Poppin' that coochie or ridin' that donkey.
Break it down to the ground,
And bring it back up with the doo-doo brown.
And if the niggas say
You ain't anyway, then that is when you say..."

The 12" features Raw and Radio Edits (not that this is a dirty song... despite the title, it's a pretty innocent dance song with just a few quick references to "the niggas" and "gangsta bitches" in the club), plus the Instrumental and P.O.D.'s Remix, which is disappointingly more of a dub version. It's stripped-down with more of an emphasis on the bass, but unfortunately during the rap verses, they only play the back-ups and double-lines, so you can't fully enjoy the remix as a proper song. Oh well, the original's better anyway.

So, if you're looking for some disenfranchised-youth-vs.-the-illuminati-type music, keep on walkin'. But if you want good times, hey. It's the original "boom boom, skeet skeet" song. 'Nuff said.


*In before any underage Lil' Jon fans post a comment asking what "skeet" means... that's a conversation for y'all to have with your parents. ...Actually, on second thought, I don't think that's a conversation you really want to have with your parents. Ask on the schoolyard.