There's absolutely no argument that A Tribe Called Quest with its huge impact on the hip-hop scene isn't one of the most influential and greatest hip-hop grops of all time. From the heavily jazz-influenced soundscapes, to the innovative turntble work, to the positive and often hilarious lyrical concepts; all three members contributed something unique to the table. All the elements came together to form like voltron and created one of the most unique musical styles the world has ever witnessed. The chemistry beween its two vocalists, Q-Tip and Phife Dawg still holds up as one of the ultimate tag teams of rap music, and 'Tip and Ali's unmistakable mixture of boom bap tinged jazz with its heavy low end and fequent use of the Rhodes pianio was certainly a new vibe that would inspire generations to come.
The production of the three first classics, before Jay Dee was added to the fold of The Ummah, has been somewhat controversial. The Abstract, beter known as Q-Tip, was responsible for much of the beats and arrangements; it's hard not to recognize his drum patterns and innovative use of jazz samples. 'Tip has many times stated that he was the sole producer of all Tribe's music (the stuff not hadled by DiLLA of course), which I personally believe is far from the whole truth. Many of the classics gives writing or co-writing credit to Ali Shaheed, including a song like "Crooklyn" that is generally thought to be a 'Tip production, when in fact they both collaborated on the beat as anyone in´possession of the actual single can attest to. Last, but definitely not least, if Shaheed was only contributing the scratches on those records he hardly would've gotten publishing and writing credits. The Ummah, which of coures consisted of Q-Tip, Ali and Jay Dee, was one hell of a power trio which is often overlooked as to what they each contributed to the music, as they all had quite different styles, yet were all clearly very influenced by eachother whcih gave the trio a coherrent sound. Ali was probably the most soulful, R&B fusing producer out of the three, easily being able to undercut a regular R&B jam with some vintage hip-hop aesthetics without ever coming off as forced. D'Angelo's "Brown Sugar" and Jon B's "Cool Relax"are both perfect examples of this.
Although he mainly produced under The Ummah or A Tribe Called Quest banner, we can not overlook the magnitude of the plenty of songs credited only to Ali Shaheed Muhammad (something you often have to read the actual credits to gain knowledge of); and that's where this compilation comes in. Kicking things off with Sha's masterful and energetic remix of Boogie Down Production's classic single "We In Here", which is a perfect example of Ali's style as he totally flips the original, giving it a totally new sound without losing any of the rawness of the original mix. This is followed up by another ceritifed hip-hop classic in the form of the first Crooklyn Dodgers joint (Masta Ace, Buckshot & Special Ed) that was released in '94 on the "Crooklyn" soundtrack (it should be noted that both Q-Tip and Mummad are credited for this one). Now, it wouldn't be right to at least include one Tribe joint, but as is usuaul with my compilations I won't add any album material. Instead I have opted with the Mr. Muahammad remix of "Check The Rime" which beauifully flips the sonic concepts of the OG. After the '94 cut "We Run Things" from Mr. Khalyl, Lee Stone and Y-Tee. Following that we're moving into the jazz and soul realm which the producer handles with excellence; a reinivsion of the Curtis Fuller classic "Five Spot After Dark", remixed for a jazz remix compilation from 2006. Another sick departure from the traditional hip-hop bangers to the jazz realm comes in the form of legendary sax-player Greg Osby's "Rise" and Shaheed's remix where he enlists a rare guest apperance by none other than CL Smooh. The heat simply don't stop and this is in fact one of my personal favorite compilations in quite some time... In fact, I like it so much that I went back and added 320 kbps rip of many of the songs to add to our listening experience. Oh and for some good measure, check out my previous compilation of Q-Tip's prouction work, titled "Abstractions of Funk" - now that would've made a slamming double C D don't you think? TURN IT UP!!!
01. Boogie Down Productions - "We In There" [A Tribe Called Quest Remix]
02. Crooklyn Dodgers - "Crooklyn'"
03. A Tribe Called Quest - "Check The Remix" [Mr. Muahmmad's Remix]
04. Da Bush Babees - "We Run Things (It's Like That)"
05. Curtis Fuller - "Five Spot After Dark" [Remix]
06. D'Angelo - "Brown Sugar"
07. Fu-Schnickens - "La Smoove" (Ft. Phife Dawg)
08. Ice Cube - "What Can I Do?" [Eastside Remix]
09.Scriti Politti / Mos Def - "Tingseltown to Boogiedown" [Shaheed Variation]
10, Gil Scott Heron - "Don't Give Up"
11. Mos Def - "Got"
12. Shaquille O'Neal / Phife Dawg - "Where Ya At?"
13. Greg Osby / CL Smooth - "Raise" [Shaheed Remix]
14. Shola Ama - "Lovely Affair"
15. Jon B. - "Cool Relax" [Ummah Remix] (Ft. GURU)
16. Fu-Schnickens - "True Fuschnicks" [Shaheed's Fix]
I can't imagine that a frequent visitor of The Lost Tapes are more than well aware of the Super Villain and his vast catalouge. I would think that fewer readers are aware of Texas jazz pianist Robert Glasper; currently signed to the one and only Blue Note Records. Since DOOM's music is often built around jazz and hip-hop samples juxtaposed, it really shouldn't come as that much of a suprise that they've been performing a smaller amount of live shows to great results. The material in question is some of the Madlib classics reinvisioned by The Robert Glasper Experiment (which consists of pianist Glasper, Derrick Hodge on bass, Casey Benjamin on keboards and produciton, as well as drummer Chris Dave. The Madvillain cuts heard here sounds great in the context of live instrumentation so make sure to check it out below.
Out of the two sets, the first (Soundcloud link), the two track medley of "Figaro" and "Rhinestone Cowboy" is from the iTunes Festival in London about a week ago. The second, three-track set, is a set from the Montreauz Jazz Festival last year, borrowed from AllTheWayLive and is a great listen for any fans of DOOM and Glasper The two combined sets run for almost 30 minutes and is a very memorable half an hour. On a side note, The Robert Glasper Experimen recently released "Black Radio",a strongly recommended projecr for fans of smooth jazz with a touch of hip-hop. Enjoy and TURN IT UP!!
Ever since the 2009 release of Brooklynites official debut "The Salvation" Skyzoo has made a name for himself as one of the most interesting emcees of this generation. While preparing for his third retail album, "A Dream Defferred", which drops on DuckDown/Jamla on October 2, Sky has teamed up with long-time collaborator DJ Prince to bring a well-executed "best of mixtape". The 30 songs found here works well as both a reminder of some of of Skyzoo's mos memorable records, as logng as some new music and older rarities. Also visit SkyzooMusic, check out the official tracklist and let the muisc hrstf brloe sweep you in...
Pharoahe Monch is set to follow up his excellent "W.A.R." with a brand new EP entitled "P.T.S.D." which will be out later this year. For the first single, Monch once again take the stand against gun violence and turns in a superb performance that will have lesser emcees trembling. The haunting production is provided by long-time collaborator Lee Stone. One of the best songs of the year!
We are many that's eagerly awaiting Roc Marciano's second official album, "Reloaded" which is set to drop on November 23 through Decon Records. I'd be very suprised if the end result is not one of the top three projects of the year, as he really have proven to have that Midas touch the last couple of years. To hold us over for the full LP, Decon lets loose another single, a self-produced cut titled "I Shot The King". The song does not appear on the tracklist which is explained due to it being a bonus track from a Deluxe Version of the LP.
The sick lyrical line-up Royce, Skillz and Diamond collaborates for this song by Boston producer G-Squared (formerly of The Kreators) and the result is not to be taken lightly. You'll find this cut, along with new music by Pharoahe Monch, Kool G Rap, Large Professor, Sean Price, Torae, Blu and many others, on "Unearthed", a compilation from Coalmine Records that should hit stores early next year. This is in fact the second single from the project, with the first being "School For Scoundrels" featuring Apathy and Celph Titled.
I've been banging quite a bit of both Danger Mouse and DOOM stuff the last few days, so what's better than a reminder of how great they were as a team. The chances for a new full-length from the duo seems highly unlikely even if it's been talked about, however the "Mouse & Mask" LP and the "Occult Hymn" EP is enough to rank as one of the best group projects from both artists in my opinion. Of course one of their illest songs is the Talib Kweli assisted "Old School", which also was one of two singles released from the LP (the other being "Sofa King"). The way DM flips the horn-driven funk of Keith Mansfeld's "Funky Fanfare" into an unresistable hip-hop groove speaks volumes of his talents in the hip-hop field (which I really hope he returns to one day). The true greatness of this single is however the two B-sides, which are both remixes of songs from the album. Madlib's take on one of DOOM's quirkiest stories in "Space Ho's" and DM's own revisioning of "Sofa King" make this a worthwhile purchase if you stumbles across it. Both songs also appears on "Occult Hymn" but the quality found here is a lot better.
Following three smoking singles, South Africa based producer The Militia unveils his official debut in the form of the mini album / EP "Timeless Classic". Distributed by Break Beat Records and DJBooth, the 9 songs featured here shows lots of promise and will most definitely be on steady repeat for quite some time. I really hope a lot of talented emcees will take notice and grab a beat or two from him for future projects, though verses from The Legion, Skyzoo, Rome Clientel, Peter Gunz and more heard here indicates that might very well be the case.
NPR brings out another appreciated "First Listen" with an early preview of the upcoming album by much praised LA producer Flying Lotus. Possibly less experimental than previous outings, "Until The Quiet Comes" features a soothing blend of dusty jazz and scorching hip-hop breaks. Guests are kept at a minimum, but Erykah Badu and Thom Yorke both pop up for a guest apperance each. The physical album will be available in stores on October 2 via Warp Records. Click here for tracklist and individual song streams.
Some of y'all might remember Omniscence who dropped a few sriking singles on Elektra/EastWest back in the mid-'90s. Unfortunately the debut album "The Raw Factor" was ultimately shelved along with much of the label's scheduled hip-hop releases of that time, and have yet to be picked up. Since then it's been real quiet but thankfully now Omniscence is back in effect with "Raw Factor 2.0", a newly recorded joint released with an exclusive remix as a limited edition 7" single. Both sides are produced by Debonair P, and can be purchased here.
A founding member of Soundsci, one of the illest crews repping right now, Audessey has a rich and deep hip-hop history. From releasing the great "Underground Science" back in 1999 as part of
MassInfluence, to dropping one of this year's dopest LP's in "Formula 99",
he's proven to be a mainstay on the underground scene. The following interview touches on his work with both groups, his background, future projects and a lot of stuff in between, so don't sleep... And make sure to bookmark the new Soundsci.com to stay in touch with what's going on with the crew.
claaa7: You made your name known with the trio
MassInfluence, and now you rock as an integral part of Soundsci. How different
is the experience working through these respective channels?
Audessey/Ton3: One of the biggest differences
is that while I was in Mass we all lived together in a loft and with Soundsci
being that some of us are in the UK, NYC and two of us here in the United
States we really had to make technology “work for us”. With that said, Skype,
email, and having compatible systems and ways to work on material is extra
important to the process of how we make songs. Distance we thought was going to
be a challenge ended up not being an issue at all. We just found out another
way, another “system” to get stuff done that works for us and hopefully you all
hear the good results from the hard work in the music.
c7: Around 2003 you released the 12” single “The
Gusto” as Audessey the Sound Sci, which points to you being the man behind the
name for your current group. What exactly does Soundsci mean?
Ton3: Soundsci is short for “Soundscience”
and everything that goes with the Science of making the sound that we make.
c7: When I spoke to Oxygen, he mentioned that he
recorded his stuff for “Formula 99” separately from the rest of you. What was
the recording of the album like from your perspective?
Ton3: Wow…recording the F99 project
was really fun and organic actually. We really wanted to try up our game
musically from the DFV (Dig For Victory) project and push the envelope
phonically and musically. I think that is seen in the tracks itself: “Formula
99” , “Da Livin”, “Give Thanks” were far much more than just sample
running in a loop. On the song “Formula 99” we used no samples and really
experimented with effects on the vocals and using a lot of the human instrument
factor as we could. For example the back ground effect noises were just me
making random noises and then found a analog delay that we put on them and they
fit perfect in the scheme of the track and what we wanted to do with it.
c7: What’s your favorite joint off “Formula 99”,
and why?
Ton3: I think they all are for different reason as
each song (to me) has their own special thing
about them (time that they were being recorded, topic of the song, etc) that
makes them dope on their own merit.They
all are my favorite….ROFL!!!
c7: “Formula 99” has been getting a great response
from true hip-hop heads all over, and many of us are already fiending for new
music from you guys. Have you started working on anything yet, and if so what are
you planning for the next project?
Ton3: Well, we have an EP soon to
come out (before year end) called “The Ultimate” that will feature some remixes
off the F99 project by Dj Formatt , DJ Spinna , and about 5 new Soundsci songs.
c7. How would you describe the group dynamics of
Soundsci?
Ton3: Good question…Let see if I had
to breakdown the dynamics of the group it be like this ..
JonnyCuba: Producer/DJ
Ollie Teeba: Producer/DJ
Together they are called “The Process”
and they work on the musical (beats) of Soundsci.
Oxygen: MC/DJ/Crate Invader
UGeorge: MC/Vocalist (the dude can really, really sing some soulful stuff)
Ton3: MC/BeatG33K
c7: On Soundsci’s debut EP, “Dig for Victory”, it
seems that the group just consisted of you and The Process, seeing as how even
UGeorge is listed as a guest performer. Could you tell me about the original incarnation of Soundsci, and what happened between the two
releases that made y’all into the 5 man unit that you are today?
Ton3: The dynamic of Soundsci was very
simple at first where it was just him and myself but we always wanted to find
way to expand the sound and the dynamics of the sound whether that be through
another MC, live instruments, recording techniques,etc. So when I asked Geo to
be in the song “The ?” and he came and did it with us we both felt that it
would be a very cool and interesting dynamic to have him in the group on a full
time basis. His rhyming skills along with his vocal abilities would be an
interesting element and dynamic to add
to the mix that folks would enjoy. With
that said, we asked Geo if he would like to actually be down with Soundsci and
he totally was down to be a part of the circle. So at that point Soundsci was 4
because Ollie was already working with Jonny on some of the Soundsci beats at
the time.
Jonny and Ollie have been working together for
ages and have also known each other for a very long time so it was a natural
fit with them working on beats together. In the process of us doing the F99 I
met Ox on the DWG forums (Diggers with Gratitude if you don’t know best check
it out) and in speaking to Jonny he had an existing friendship with them in
Ox’s time in Sputnik Brown. Jonny came
to me about doing the cut with him and Ox and shucks to do a joint with Ox
would be dope so cats started to build on it and Ox and I started going back forth
and we finally worked out the rhymes for “F99”. After that it just seemed
like a natural fit for him in the group as our chemistry was really dope on “In
a Flash” and Geo and Ox had a convo and as they say the rest is history so
here with are with a 5 man team.
c7: With MassInfluence you released the underground
classic “The Underground Science” in 1999. But already in ’98 there was a
limited LP set titled “Live from Mitchell Street”. I was curious about what exactly
that was?
Tone: It’s funny you say that I saw
that as well and looked for it but could never find it. I know our first major
release was Underground Science, which was all of the singles (at the time)
that we released plus some new joints and remixes of “L.i.f.e to the MC”. If
someone out there who reads this actually has a copy of this “Live from
Mitchell St.” record I really like to SEE it.
c7: My first exposure to your music actually was
through the MassInfluence cut on Mr. Len’s solo debut LP. Mr. Len was also
featured on your single “Analyze”. What was/is your relationship like with him?
Tone:We first had a connection with Mr. Len when at the time with Mass went
to Denmark and did a show with Company Flow, Mr. Live and other artist and the
relationship flourished from there. After that later on we recorded “Get Loose” for Mr. Len’s
project “Pity the Fool”.
Nito had a friendship with him and
asked him if he be down to do some cuts on the song. We later went into BullFrog
studio’s at the time and laid down the verses one Sunday afternoon for “Analyze” and then he already did his cuts
at the loft so we just sampled his cuts and lined them up with the track and
flew them in and BLAM! The cuts were in there and the song was done.
c7: Also, before MassInfluence, who really started
to make noise in the late ‘90s, you have a rather deep hip-hop history that
maybe not everyone is aware of. Could you break that down for us please?
Tone: Well…. my history goes back to when I was in
middle school and I started out beatboxing and break dancing with this crew in
Virginia called “The Jam Masters” ( in the early 80’s)at the time my tag was “Jet Set” and then “
Crazy Fresh”.I was doing talent shows
beatboxing and dancing and then toward the end of middle school I started
writing rhymes and listening to the many different emcees at the time BDP,
Kane, Biz, TLaRock, JustIce, FatBoys, RunDMC, Skinny boys and I was able to
start to learn flow and cadence. My grandmother who lived in New Jersey at the
time (Irvington) was huge because being able to go up north to the city and
listen to the likeof 98.7 Kiss and WBLS
was hiphop heaven for me. I would make tapes of the show and then come back
home and listen to them for hours practicing. We had one hip hop show when I
was little which was on Sunday nights with DJ Frankski and Chocolate Jam and
they would play all the latest and greatest hip hop.I kept on rhyming in high school doing talent
shows and when I went to college in West VA I continued to write rhyme and got
a chance to work on the college radio station while I was up there introducing
kids to hip hop music that was really up to speed on it. I then came home and
started being a hype man in this group called “State of Mind” which then we
went our ways and started rhyming with this cat in the 90’s name B-double and we
had a group called True Soul which later turned into the “Urbanytes” (doing locals shows and releases) and I hooked
up with a childhood friend of mine (DJ Red Assassin) who let me borrow his EPS
16 Plus and I learned how to make beats I would say this is around the early
90’s (say 90-93). It wasn’t until 94 when I met H on a trip to Atlanta with
Nito and the birth of MassInfluence started.
c7: You’re from Atlanta, but the music you make
often has that vintage boom bap sound that many would associate most with NYC.
How much has the city of ATL itself and the music from there really inspired or
influenced you?
Tone: When I first moved down to
Atlanta in the mid 90’s I lived right smack in the middle of downtown right
before the Olympics so it was a crazy time for the city ,but being in the
middle of that and just taking in life at the time and even now that I’m older
has really shaped my perspective and understanding say as a man, a person for
which will affect my craft which is making dope hip hop music. I’ve had the
chance in my time in Georgia to live all around the areaso it gave me a nice perspective to really
soak it all in.
I think that living, breathing,
growing, learning in the here really influenced me a lot. Being that there are
so many different scenes here (jazz, R&B,blues, southern hip hop,
underground hip hop) you will always come across something that catches your
ear. First and foremost I love music and even though I might be put in a box to
make a certain kind of music I think its only natural that being in the place
for so long (since 96) would have an impact, but with the soul and jazz roots
here in Atlanta and surrounding areas being in Georgia has opened up my mind
and ears to all different styles of music.
c7: So, besides the things that we have touched
upon, is there anything else you’re working on or planning that we need to be
on the lookout for in the near future?
Tone: Um lets see…I am also working
on a project (untitled at the moment with a talented producer from France (A
Cat Called Fritz) DJ Lyrik. Also,were
working on some other new Soundscistuff
that potentially mightbe released next
year sometime but we’ll just have to see how it goes. Also, UGeorge will be
having an EP/LP coming out next year as well as Ollie Tebba’s EP, and finally
Oxygen and I have a project with IllTreats called “Classic Material”. On top of
that were forming a label called WorldExpo Records so there is a lot going on
right now…a lot to get done ,but its all such positive stuff. We are really
blessed.
c7: I'll definitely keep my eyes and ears open for those projects. In conclusion many thanks for taking the time to do
this interview with The Lost Tapes, it’s super appreciated. I hope to hear a
lot more banging music from you as soon as possible!
Tone: Man first of it should be me THANKING
YOU for the dope interview and taking the time to talk to a bro. It’s people
like you and what you are doing that make making music worthwhile. THANK YOU
for supporting Soundsci and hip hop!
The Militia treats us to another single from his debut release, "Timeless Classic EP" that will be out as a free download via DJBooth on September 25. Everything has sounded real solid so far, so I would be suprised if this doesn't blow a lot of people out the water when it drops. Bringin in Rome Clientel and Skyzoo for the vocal takes doesn't exactly hurt either... Stay tuned!
The second single from Slap and Term's collaborative project, "Fizzyology" (November 6)is here, and just like the title track this one goes HARD. It's got a real heavy M.O.P.-ish vibe which makes me think that this is one of Fame's own productions. In fact, I remember that DJ Premier played "Too Tough For TV" on LiveFromHQ at least one year ago, which is cool because it let's us know that this duo really has taken their time with the LP.
Brother Ali's latest opus ("Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color") is now out on Rhymesayers Entertainment, who has put up a streaming link of the entire project which you can check out above. Entirely produced by Jake One, this is another very solid project from Ali. Pick it up on vinyl or CD @ UGHH.
1. Letter To My Countrymen 2. Only Life I Know 3. Stop The Press 4. Mourning In America 5. Gather Round 6. Work Everyday 7. Need a Knot 8. Won More Hit 9. Say Amen 10. Fajr 11. Namesake 12. All You Need 13. My Beloved 14. Singing This Song
My man Pattch82, who previously contributed and collaborated on some brilliant compilations for The Lost Tapes, got the chance to pick the brains of one of hip-hop's true greats - DJ Prince Paul. This a fantastic read, and Pattch did a great job with the questions so I bet y'all will enjoy this one like crazy. Because of the blog format I am only posting a selection of the Q&A here, but make sure to head over to HipHopSite and peep the rest because there's a lot more to it.
PATTCH82:
First off, what is the concept behind your new album Negroes On Ice...? Didn’t it start out as a theatre show of some
sort, like a comedy/sketch show…?
PRINCE PAUL: The concept is kinda like a
day in the life of a teenager, obviously it’s highly exaggerated, it’s more or
less like a story that builds into music and goes into the story, almost like A Prince Among Thieves but this is more
like a one man show type of thing where he kinda gets up and just tells everything
about what his day is like, it’s like a bizarre exaggerated day in the life of
a teenager.To be honest it’s really
stupid… it’s just bizarre. It’s really hard to describe, some people listen to
it and think it’s great, some people listen to it and think I’m ruining Hip-Hop
and here, there and everything else so we’ll see.
P82:
So is your Son, DJ P. Forreal, the main MC on this project…?
PAUL: Umm, well actually we have a few
other MC’s but he kinda splits it half and half with the other guys. He doesn’t
really rhyme, I kinda made him rhyme by default you know, when we came to do
this we didn’t have the budget so he was forced to rhyme some of the stuff,
it’s difficult because he can’t rhyme so it was horrible, horrible times but we
got through it, made it work haha.
P82:
I heard the ‘Textual Healing’ track and didn’t think the rhyming was bad…
PAUL: Yeah I mean, what people don’t
realise you know… well actually he did that one pretty quick but a lot of the
times on the album it’s like a billion takes, you know like “do it again, do it again, do it again, do
it again” haha. I guess its almost like when Eazy-E rhymed on NWA records,
you know you’d hear the stories about how he had to punch in and do stuff over because
he really wasn’t an MC.It’s almost like
the same thing, but he’s getting the hang of it now, he’s getting better.
P82:
Do you handle all of the production on the album…?
PAUL: No actually it’s split between me and
him, initially he did most of the production on there but as time went on we
needed to pick songs so we’re doing 50-50. And there’s also a guy, a friend of
his that he works with which is another Paul, named Paul Mackenzie and he plays
the keyboards so they put a lot of stuff together between them two on the album
as well.
P82:
When it came time to do the second Gravediggaz album was it a decision that you
made to take more of a back seat on the production side of things…?
PAUL: Yeah, I only really wanted to do the
first album, that was my main thing. When it came to the second album I
remember me and RZA were talking about not doing it, like yeah we cool, but
felt that Poetic and Frukwan weren’t really in a position to move on. We still
had another album contract and budget, so you know, to make it financially
better for them we decided to do the second album. I told them I wasn’t really
into doing the production as much so I told RZA it would be wise if he did his
part, he was starting to put together his production team, he had people
working under him he was building his Wu-Tang conglomerate. And he decided hey,
let’s get everybody paid, so everyone can produce some tracks in addition to
himself.And I’m cool, I just want to
chill out, you know, I’m on to the next thing.
P82:
Were you still present at the recording sessions and mixing sessions…?
PAUL: A lot of times I was there, more when
they were recording the lyrics rather than the music because you know a lot of
producers make beats in the house and then laid the track down at the studio so
I felt like they didn’t need me there, it was their own production I didn’t
want to step in.
P82:
The project that you were working on straight after the first Gravediggaz album
was the Horror City album right…?
PAUL: Well the Horror City stuff, I kinda
did it at the tail end of the Gravediggaz record. What freaked people out,
especially when I tried to shop the Horror City stuff, people thought it was
the same thing as Gravediggaz because of the name Horror City. But Horror City
is just the slang for Amityville, that’s what it’s called because of the
Amityville horror. And so people got it all mixed up and it caused a whole lot
of stress but yeah I recorded that at the tail end of making the first
Gravediggaz record. I think it was a really good album man, but nobody heard it
at the time.
P82:
It gets pretty much universal acclaim on Hip-Hop blogs since you put it out
online. The beats are like a natural progression from what you were doing on 6 Feet Deep, were you still in a dark
place at that time…?
PAUL: Yeah, yeah, all of those beats were
made around the same time. Sometimes I go back and listen to it, at that point
I was doing a lot of that stuff on ADAT tapes so I listen to those tapes,
there’s maybe ten songs on a tape. Sometimes I listen to those songs back to
back and they all have that same vibe. It’s what I was going through at the
time. In some ways I wish I could repeat that again, it’s a time and space as
far as getting back in to it.
P82:
You produced the Resident Alien album when you had your Doo Dew Man label. Were
there any other acts that you were producing, or was anyone else signed to the
label…?
PAUL: Oh yeah there was a gentleman by the
name of Mic Teluxe, a good friend of mine, I grew up with him actually. To me,
he is exceptionally good lyrically. We did maybe half an album and it never got
released and I’ll probably throw a song or two on Soundcloud. I thought he was
really, really good but the label just crumbled and things didn’t work out so I
didn’t get a chance to put his music out but I still have a few of his songs.
P82:
Have you been working with any other groups or MC’s lately…?The Souls Of Mischief album that you did a few
years back is a personal classic!!
PAUL: No not really. The Souls Of Mischief
album was a hard record to make too but it was a lot of fun in the sense that I
got a chance to really hang with those guys and get away from the house. We
spent like a month, almost a month in a house out in the woods man it was
horrible haha you know, bugs all over the place it was hardcore!Working on my Mac laptop you know, it was
some gully recording but it was cool. But yeah, there’s been a few things I’ve
tried to put together over the last few years but it’s just hard getting people
together. Back in the day if you had a budget, it’s easier to get guys together
and MC’s together and say hey here’s some money let’s work on this record. One,
they’re motivated because they’re getting paid and they can take time off because
they’re getting paid. And the other part of it is they obviously love the
music. So now it’s difficult for me to go to MC’s and say hey, lets work on
this project together, and they go ‘For what?’ haha. And I’m like ‘to make
great music!’ haha.And they go, ohhh
ok, and it never gets done.
P82:
Going back to the new album, Negroes On
Ice, when does that drop…?
PAUL: It changed, it was September 25th, it’s
now October 2nd and the vinyl and the CD’s come out on the 16th on Nature
Sounds.
P82:
Can you shed any light on the other MC’s on the new album…?
PAUL: Umm I can give some basic ones out,
there’s a lot of vocalists and vocal appearances on here, there’s Breeze Brewin
who I’ve worked with before, my Son’s friend his name is T Harris, there’s Soce
The Elemental Wizard, obviously my Son, there’s a bunch of vocalists. I’m not
at liberty to say just yet, I kinda want to surprise people when they hear the
album and they’ll go that’s such and
such, man that’s such and such. There’s a lot of guest appearances on there.
P82:
Good luck with the album when it drops and thanks for taking the time to answer
these questions…
PAUL: Thank you. I appreciate it man and no
problem at all.
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