How did the two songs “For The Awake” and “For The Sleepers” come about? What was the motivation behind those two tracks?

It started on The Power of Words. I got a song on The Power of Words called “The Don Cheadle Effect”, and it’s on how I feel that Don Cheadle is one of the most versatile and gifted actors in Hollywood, and everyone agrees. All his work is always critically acclaimed, but people look at it like he doesn’t get the recognition or respect that he [deserves]. He gets notoriety, but he doesn’t get it the way he should. I felt like it was the Don Cheadle effect as far as my music. People loved the record so much when that mixtape came out that I decided to revisit the idea.

If you listen to “For The Awake” the first line I say, “It’s the revisited ‘Don Cheadle Effect’,” so I’m pretty much picking up where that left off. It’s saying for “The Awake” thank you. For those who get it thanks for getting it, and then the next track is for “The Sleepers”. This is for the people who still don’t get it. Through all the work, through everything I’ve down, through all the music I put out, this is for the people who still don’t get it.

People who are new to your fan base might not realize you have been doing this for a long time. I know I became a fan when you did that Cloud 9 project with 9^th Wonder. How did you and 9^th meet?

I met 9^th in 2005 through my man Sean Don who was a part of the Justice League. He introduced me to 9^th and the whole team down there. Me and 9^th really just built a relationship. I built a relationship with all of them, but me and 9^th just started clicking up heavy. Every time he would see me he would give me a beat CD. This was before emailing beats was the thing, people were still giving beat CDs. Every time he would see me he would be like, “Yo, Skyzoo what up man? Here you go,” and it would be a cd with 15-20 joints. That’s how our relationship started, and from that it grew into a friendship, it grew into business, and just different things.

Your new album is called A Dream Deferred right? Is he going to be on that?

Yeah, he’s definitely on it.

Who else are you looking to as far as your beats?

Right now 9^th wonder, Illmind who is doing a big portion of the album, Black Milk, Jahlil Beats, Best Kept Secret …

You still work with Best Kept Secret?

Yeah, definitely! I know that’s down where you at. DJ Khalil, Focus, and a new dude who I just got put on to named Tall Black Guy. He is amazing, he got a couple joints on the album as well.

Let’s talk about your latest mixtape, The Great Debater. Who was behind that artwork for it, that classic Huxtable’s family photo?

I came up with the idea and the concept myself as far as the title, and the way I wanted the cover to look. My man, Naturel, he is actually an artist as well …

Yeah I’ve heard of Naturel.

Yeah, he’s a rapper, but he also does art. He does graphic design, and a lot of different things, so El came up with it. I pretty much sent him a bunch of pictures. I spent a Saturday afternoon just Google imaging everything. It took me hours man, and I found 200 different pictures of the Cosby Show. Cutting them down I ended up with a good ten I wanted to do things with, and those ended up becoming the single cover, the mixtape cover, the promo cover, and everything like that.

So how did you meet Naturel?

I met El through my mans Illmind years ago. I think this was maybe ’08. Me and him remained tight, and he always wanted to do some art for me. He was like, “Yo, whenever you have a project, you know I get busy, let me get the cover.” I was like, “Yeah no doubt. As soon as I have something that I think fits what you do, and your style as far as designing, we can make it happen.” This was pretty much the time.

You’re really big on storytelling, so are all the stories true? For example, on “Written in the Drums” you mention a phone call with 50 Cent. Is that just creative wordplay?

Naw, that happened. Anything I say man it really happened. If it’s something like that where it’s more literal, that really happened to me. If it’s something where I’m telling a story in more of a subjective manner or figuratively, then it may have happened to me, or someone in my family, or a friend of mine.

On “Rap Like Me” you mentioned the lovely Miss Nia Long. Have you ever had a chance to meet her since then?

Naw, but everybody knows how I feel about that.

I remember after Love Jones everybody was like, “Man, Nia Long!”

Yeah, absolutely. None like it, none better.

So what is your success? What is your desired landmark that once you meet that you feel like it’s mission complete?

For me success is definitely financial gain. I’m definitely about making as much money off this as I can, but also on top of that I want to be legendary. I want to be able to have people look back five, ten, fifthteen years from now and they’re still talking about certain albums I have created, or certain songs I have created.

We listen to Reasonable Doubt, and talk about it like it dropped yesterday. We talk about Illmatic, we talk about The Chronic, we talk about Doggystyle, we talk about Only Built 4 Cuban Linx as if they dropped yesterday. Those albums are 15, some of them even 20 years old. I think that’s what everyone strives for, or at least should strive for if you think you’re that talented. My debut album, people still talk about it to this day. I get tweets every single day, and not just one or two, tons and tons about that album in particular.

I saw a video with 9^th in it, and 9^th was talking about how the things you are doing now will be appreciated five years down the road. Like you said with Reasonable Doubt, that didn’t even sale right away …

Not at all.

He was on volume two or so, and people went back and got Reasonable Doubt. Do you feel that’s what’s going to happen to your career?

Absolutely, I definitely feel like that. As long as everything lines up the way I want it to, and the [label] takes place when it should.

What excites you in Hip Hop today? If anything does.

Just seeing new artist, and hearing new artist that actually get busy. There’s going to be a million new artists all the time. New artist that really put their best foot forward to the craft. I’m not all about it has to be underground because I’m not even on it like that myself. It’s about making the best music that you make regardless. Anything that turns me into a fan again. I’m all about remaining a fan because when you’re not a fan anymore that’s when you have an issue. No matter what you do, music, sports, fashion, anything in the arts or entertainment you have to remain a fan because if not you are going to lose the ground of where everything stands at. You are going to no longer be aware of what’s what.

I noticed you don’t have a lot of features. Like you said earlier, you work with a lot of producers, but you don’t exactly collaborate. Is that on purpose?

Honestly, it’s not on purpose. With the Salvation it kind of was because I wanted that to be extremely personal as far as my story, what I’m about, how I came up. I thought no one could tell anyone about me better than me. That one was on purpose, but everything after that it hasn’t been. It’s been the politics of the game to keep it real with you. You have artist that say they are excited and want to do a record, and it doesn’t happen.

Certain people have always come through like Wale, Wale is  a great friend of mine. We have four of five records together. Maino always comes through, Lloyd Banks, Talib Kweli, these guys always come through on records and verses. Young Chris and people like that. There have been a lot of other artist that wanted to work, and it’s just the politics of the game. It’s just how the industry works, and the way people are. It is what it is; it comes with the territory.

So what’s next for you?

Well, the album is going to be August/September, it’s called A Dream Deferred. I’m halfway down; seven songs down, seven more to go. It is really incredible so far. The production, the musicality on it, and sonically where it’s all going is amazing! I think lyrically people already know what to expect, they know I’m going to get busy. I’m extremely excited about it! This is the best work that I can put forward at this moment. Looking back on my career this is the best work.

(Visuals courtesy of Joey Amandola)

The post Exclusive Interview: Skyzoo, BK’s Finest appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

9th Wonder, J.U.S.T.I.C.E League, Don Cannon. You know these names, three giants in the production game. You know the artists they’ve worked with; Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Mac Miller, Nas….the list goes on. But if I mentioned the name Laws within that group of artists, would you know who he was? Would you know that Rook from J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League sought him out to tell him he loved his music, then signed him and helped produce an entire mixtape for him? You might not. You may not have downloaded his Don Cannon & Mick Boogie-hosted 4:57 mixtape, or his follow up, the critically acclaimed Yesterday’s Future, on which Laws collaborated with the aforementioned J.U.S.T.I.C.E League to rework some of Paul McCartney’s solo tunes to produce one of the most creative projects of 2011. It scored a 4 out of 5 with XXL, and broke the barriers of what a hip-hop mixtape is supposed to sound like.

As Laws gears up to release his next project, I spoke with the Brazilian-born emcee over the phone from his home in Florida.

Interview done by Jordan Zirm (@clevezirm)

RESPECT: You were born in Brazil. How did you end up in the U.S.?

Laws: So basically, my adoptive mother was married to a gentleman who had colon cancer at a young age. So he received a lot of chemotherapy, and they told him he couldn’t have kids anymore. So naturally, like any woman, she wanted more kids, so she contacted her uncle who worked in an orphanage in Brazil. So just kind of like talking to him, she would say “If you ever have any kids available…” on some BS, not even like half serious she asked him. And then the one day he was like “Yeah, I have a kid.” Brazil was really fucked up at this time. So to kind of put the mood of the climate, she was going into a very tumultuous country, to a place she’d never been to with a language she never spoke. And it took her like four or five months to get me back (to the U.S.). She adopted me at birth basically, I never met my birth parents. That’s how it came to be, and they took me back to New York and I spent my first 15 years of life in Long Island.

R: Then you moved out to Florida?

L: Yeah, we moved out to Florida because New York was way too expensive. My parents were like a working class Bronx couple that moved out to Long Island to give their family a life away from the inner city, but it was just way too expensive. So we did what a lot of New Yorkers did and relocated to a Florida suburb.

R: When did you get interestd in hip-hop?

L: As far as music, I got to give that to my parents. My parents were avid record collectors, jazz and soul, and my brother was like eight years older than me, and we were some bad little kids. When I was like, let me say, eight or nine, he was out commiting vandalism and doing bad kid shit and sneaking me home Wu Tang records and shit. I got really into hip-hop because of my brother at a very young age.

R: At what point did you think hip-hop music was something you could really be successful at?

L: I still have my doubts man, honestly. I know they say you are supposed to believe yourself 110 percent, but I think I’ve taken the most makeshift path possible. Like myself and J.U.S.T.I.C.E League, we’ve been through so much shit together that there’s still a chance that this could all crumble. I mean there is always a chance. I think an important part of success is realizing you are never to far from failing. You have to realize that there is no net and you could plummet really quick. I’m living on the line still, I’m living dollar to dollar so, it’s no joke.

R: In your song “Knocking at the Door” on Yesterday’s Future, you talk about a less than ideal situation you had early in your career at Rawkus. What happened there?

L: Well, right before I met J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, this was like 2007, early 2008 is what “Knocking at the Door” is talking about. I was a couple years out of failing college, not knowing what I wanted to do, working at a dead end job at a hospital. Just doing what every fucking kid does, trying to figure it out. I just hit that point where I got completely frustrated with everything about rap. I was young enough to be smart and recognize like, dude you want to have kids and a family, you got a girl, you want to take care of business and rap ain’t doing it. I signed on to this little digital, one EP imprint through Rawkus. And it was basically a way for them to build up a social networking through this…I think it was called Ning or some gay shit. And they took 50 artists who basically had semi-established fan bases. I already had a couple thousand fans in Tampa, I was part of the battling scene in central Florida, and they basically used that to build up the social networking and I was in that. I was a kid with a dream man, so when I heard Rawkus I was all pixie sticks and stars and shit. Like, “Oh my god!” Like I had no idea the shit was bunk. It was just another slap in the face. Right after that I got into a real bad accident, I fucked my head up and it was just all going down hill man. Then I got a little glimmer of hope, and I know if he hears this he’s going to be like “Man that sounds so gay,” but that was Rook from J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. He hit me up like, “Yo, I fuck with your music.”

R: That had to be pretty cool. How did Rook get in contact with you?

L: Well actually, this is crazy. The first conversation with him was through Instant Messenger. That’s how old school it was. My shit was NextSkills and his shit was RookBeats. We both were on this message board called Tampahiphop.com and there was this kid who…I don’t want to hate on him because he wound up producing something very pivotal for me, but me and him got into this little argument because I didn’t give him his just due and I only mention this part of our story. But this part of our story is meeting him at a battle and the loser was going to stop rapping forever. I was dead serious, I had already been through my accident and I fucking slayed him six ways from Sunday. I ruined his shit, and Rook liked how harsh I was and how bitter and angry I was. And he hit me up like “Yo son, you killed that shit.” That’s how we just started a friendship, just enjoying music together.

R: You call the 4:57 mixtape your first “real” album. What was it like making it and working with some big name producers like 9th Wonder and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League?

L: You know, 4:57, that whole time was scary as hell for me and the reason I say that is, I made that CD literally when I had signed my record deal with Asylum. I had already signed with J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League in the summer and I had already been to their house and kicked it with them and been on summer field trips with them. We were already cool. But then we brought Asylum in to bring some paper into the situation and that’s when it got a little more, “oh my god this is real now.” Like this is Warner Bros. I’m sitting in a studio with white guys with a lot of money and they are listening to my music and bobbing their heads off beat and shit like that. I’m like, alright this is happening. And then I got my then manager Orlando McGee who is a great dude and helped me do a lot of things in the year 2010. It was just a year of change for me. I think 4:57, that CD was literally like my buoy in the ocean, you feel me? I hadn’t even been out of the state yet. I did so much shit that year. The fact that I had those dope ass songs to perform like “Hold You Down” and “Vintage Futuristic” and “Shining.” The fact that I had those? Because people would look at me when I walked into a room and I’d forget like, you aren’t in Tampa anymore dude, you’re getting the Eminem factor, you’re the weirdo that no one knows. But when that beat hits, everyone’s face just smushes and shit. So 4:57 was like my lighthouse basically. It still saves me every time I perform.

R: How did Yesterday’s Future come to fruition, because I truly think that’s one of the most creative hip-hop projects I’ve ever heard. Were you big into Paul McCartney?

L: Thank you brother, I appreciate that. Where it came from…as far as my love of old school music, I got to trace back to my parents. My dad was more the Latin persuasion of music, so my mom was more of the teeny bopper in the 60s. She listened to like, The Beatles and The Monkeys and all that shit. The Paul McCartney solo stuff, it’s kind of odd how I found it. When I was making 4:57 I was going through a period of…J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League has been very cool man, they’re very, very open with what they let me do and experiment with. I make a lot of, I hate saying this because it’s illegal as fuck but I don’t care, I make collections of peoples’ music. Basically I’ll take a person, throw their name on Wikipedia and download everything they ever did and delete all their garbage shit and make a sick ass Ipod playlist. I put that shit on shuffle and it’s just amazing music front to back. I was doing that with a lot of artists, I have a David Bowie one and a Beatles one and I was like, man, let me listen to the Beatles solo work. I tried Paul first because his catalog seemed the heftiest and I was just blown away. It was like The Beatles but with more black soul influence I guess you could say? More rhythm and blues. So then I took it to my boy Feb 9 who’s part of my crew, one of my producers, and he’s a gospel trained piano player, he’s amazing. He’s really cool, I’ll give him an old song and be like, play this but put this flavor on it, and he’ll know exactly what I mean. That’s how McCartney started. I think we did “Dear Boy” first, that was our first song. We did maybe eight or nine of them and then sent it to J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and they were like “Yo, we got to make a whole project of this.” Then it became going into TreeSound studios and recording everything for half-inch tapes. About three months before it came out I rewrote almost the whole entire thing because I didn’t like the rhymes. I had been working so much with (9th Wonder) and all these other artists that my style had developed and I wanted this Yesterday’s Future to reflect it. So I rewrote the “Bellamy” songs and “Homeland.” I’m a real revision guy, I think something can never go through too many drafts. It was basically just a long ass, arduous, what should have been a slam dunk but became a layup because we had legal troubles right at the end.

R: Did you have to clear all of those samples?

L: Well it was promotional so we didn’t have to clear anything but according to his publishing company, we were using his image. LRG was sponsoring it, so the night it came down all the links had to come down, all the links got shut down. Thankfully we had the support of all these little independent blogs and sites that put it up anyway. In hindsight the release wasn’t as big as it should have been but it still got a 4 out of 5 in XXL. To have a project get that high as my first rated one I was like, you know what man, even thought it was a little, like, pin drop, it was still kind of important.

R: Do you think McCartney has heard the project? Have you had a chance to speak with him?

L: It was really weird man The engineer that worked with us, his name is Edward Nixon, he lives in the UK, he’s J.U.S.T.I.C.E League’s engineer, he’s got about one or two degrees of separation from Paul McCartney. What we like to think is that he heard it because about a month after it came out there was a press conference where Paul McCartney is talking about how he loves these people redoing his music. And I’m like, no one is redoing Paul McCartney’s fucking music except me! It was a whole article about it, like all these artists are redoing my stuff. I’m like, no one is redoing your shit dude. So I don’t know, I like to think he did. It was really weird the way it happened and, J.U.S.T.I.C.E League, we’re all talking about it and everyone was real excited. We were like, obviously he is talking about us because there’s been no McCartney remix of that magnitude. Ever. I don’t think. I’m going to say I don’t even think there’s been a Beatles remix. Because even the DangerMouse thing wasn’t even close to what we did. All I can say is I hope it gets its recognition. If and when I do get famous persay, I hope people look back and say “Oh wow, look at this Yesterday’s Future” and it will get a nice little revamping.

R: Your next project is called Nightshift. How do you top Yesterday’s Future?

L: I’ve been through a lot in the last two years as far as internal team restructing and personal things I’ve been through and family things and relationship things and financial things. I think Nightshift is basically me stripping off all the nice guy layers and just attacking everything. It’s aggressive and extrememly graphic but without being profane. Like I find a way to curse without cursing. I’m going to be a problem with the radio, I don’t know what they’re going to do. The FCC is going to want to have me shot, bro. It’s a lot darker and it’s the best flows I’ve ever written. I feel like Turbo Laws right now dog, I just feel really good about it. I think this is what I needed to legitimately put myself in the list with anybody else who is being mentioned in any list right now. I think it’s completely undeniable now. It’s way beyond 4:57 and Yesterday’s Future on a rap level. It’s going to be sick man.

The post Interview: Laws Talks Coming to America, Instant Messaging With J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and Why His Next Mixtape is His Best Yet appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Ski Beatz requires no introduction. Nor does he require a daily dose of inspiration to get a good night’s sleep. The NC-born, NY-groomed producer is adamant about the fact that he doesn’t force his inspiration. Ski doesn’t need to cause a ruckus around town, or cause drama with a chick in order to stir up his inspiration. In fact, Ski might be the only known genius alive today who doesn’t fancy a muse to get his shit done, and believe me, the dude’s produced plenty of cold shit. From “Luchini” to “Streets Is Watching” to “Michael Knight”, Ski continues to churn out more audio dope, all the while making cats like Jean Luc Godard, Salvador Dali, and hell, even Kanye West, appear more than a little ostentatious. Ski Beatz does it strictly for the love.

Read the complete interview after the jump.   

I hear you got 24 Hour Karate School UK, Spain, and Japan, as well as Pilot Talk III with Curren$y. What’s the timeline on these projects?

24 Hour Karate School UK, Spain, and Japan are definitely coming. Pilot Talk III, we’re still trying to work it out. Hopefully I can get it done. I’m not exactly sure about the timeline.

Hopefully soon.

Yeah, definitely. But I got another album that’s about to drop, on the 12th. That’s The Twilight Zone. On that album I have Curren$y, I have Smoke DZA, I have Mikey Rocks, Mac Miller, a bunch of cool rappers in there.

Oh shit, Mac Miller.

I worked with him a while ago. It was dope. Mac is cool. He’s a funny dude, easy to work with.

You balance a lot of work. How do you do it? What’s the recipe for managing so many responsibilities?

I don’t think about it, I just do it. I don’t sit around trying to plan it out. I just make music and people come in and we record it. It just gets done, you know?

What are you doing differently this time around, because I know before you kind of burnt out and moved back home to North Carolina?

I’m just loving it, man. The difference now, when I first started doing this it was strictly all love, and I wasn’t expecting anything in return. I was just doing it for the love. I think I’m back to that original formula. I just want to make a beat and then I want someone to make a song to it, because I want to know how it’ll sound like. Once you get one song under your belt it’s like an addiction, like, “I’m want to do another song and find out what this sounds like.” So I’m going to keep that same mind-frame.

With all this work, could you ever have a girl? What’s your experience with that?

What? A girlfriend? I could definitely have a girl doing all this, yeah. I work out of my house.

Rappers and producers these days claim they never stop working, they work all night, that kind of thing. Is this just something you have to say nowadays, or does it actually hold some truth?

I don’t know. I don’t work all day and all night. I just work when I feel it. You’re never going to hear me say, “Yo, I’m not stopping, I’m a machine. I’m in the studio every day.” We just be going in. I don’t know, man. Everything just happens perfectly. I guess on my musical level a lot of people come around at the right time, and I’m inspired at the right time to do what I have to do. Once we get it started I get it done, but I’m definitely not making beats every day. I’m not in the studio every day. It might appear that I am, because there’s so much stuff coming out, but it’s really not like that with me.

If one or two days go by and you’re not in the studio making beats, do you feel guilty that you’re not in there making music?

I used to back in the day, not anymore, I just let inspiration hit me. If I don’t feel like making a beat, I don’t have to make a beat if I don’t want to. I’m going to sleep, I’m going to watch TV, I’m going to chill, and not even think about it. And then when it’s time to make a beat, and the inspiration’s there, you’ll make a beat. There’s no need to be sitting up on your equipment with no inspiration.

You don’t want to force it out.

Exactly, you don’t want to force nothing. You just want to do it, like I said, for the love, because you want to do it. You don’t want to just sit there and say, “I have to work because I have to make these beats because I’m trying to get this money to do this and that,” and end up making a batch of not-so-cool music. You got to keep it hip. If you’re feeling good the music’s going to be tight. If you’re feeling tired, you’re going to hear it and you’re going to feel it.

I totally agree. And I wondered, what’s so appealing about working with Curren$y, because you work with him so much?

To be honest, man, it’s just loving to hear what he’s going to do to the beats. I’m always amazed at the concepts and the hooks and his choice of flows, all that. It’s a treat, man.

Have you seen his “JETS” video with Trademark Da Skydiver, when he’s rapping over the “B.M.F.” beat?

No, I haven’t seen that.

They’re walking around this huge house, I think it’s Dame Dash’s house, almost like a cottage-

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, my bad. I was there that day when they shot that video. That’s the house. We go there every now and then. It’s like our getaway from the city. We go there to record. I did most of MURS’ stuff up there too.

Where is that house?

It’s upstate. I’m not sure where. It’s like an hour upstate.

Speaking of locations, when you’re making music do you ever try to capture a feeling you had at a certain locale?

Uh-uh. I don’t try to recreate anything. I just make the music. Wherever I’m at I just make the music. Bruh, I promise you, I don’t dwell on the past at all. I just stay in the immediate now and wait for the inspiration to hit me and that’s how I go.

You’ve simplified your process.

Yessir.

You sampled Roy Ayers for the one Original Flavor record, “Keep On (Searching)”. I actually met Roy the other night in Toronto, which was awesome. Have you ever met him?

I’ve never met him, man. Hopefully one day I will.

Is it crazy to finally meet someone that you’ve sampled and listened to their voice over and over again?

Yeah. Have you ever heard of the band called Doctor Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band?

No, never.

They’ve got this song called “Sunshower”. I sampled that and I got a chance to work with the actual vibe player. The guy who plays the vibes is really good. I worked with him. We played the sample. He played the sample for me, which was kind of cool.

I’ve watched The Alchemist pick his records to sample, he just picks records at random from his crates and then makes the beat from whatever he picks. Is it the same for you, or is there a reason for each record you chose to sample?

Sometimes I like the record for the cover, sometimes there might be like- say you got a famous horn player who you know is dope, I might just see his name on something at the store which makes me buy the record. A lot of it is just grabbing a stack and going home and going through it. That’s how I found “Luchini”. I wasn’t searching for it. I just grabbed a stack and found the record. I have the utmost respect for those guys who can go dig and they know where every break came from and where every sample came from. That’s a crazy talent by itself, but I was never able to do that. I just grab a bunch of records.

The inspiration was probably coming so fast.

That’s right.

Your North Carolina mate, 9th Wonder, he has a crazy story about working with Jay-Z on The Black Album. But I think you’re just as good of a storyteller. You talk about working with this cop, Jerome, and shacking up at his crib in New York. Was Jerome a tight rapper?

Naw, he was actually pretty wack. [laughs] He was pretty wack, man, but he was definitely official for me at that time because without him there wouldn’t have been any Original Flavor.

Where do you get these storytelling skills from?

You know, it’s the truth, it comes from the heart. It’s just shit that I went through. [laughs] I’m not a storyteller. I just say it how I remember it.

It’s pretty entertaining. When you were talking about Jerome, you said you were judging church talent shows. Sometimes it’s crazy where you can find talent. Where’s the most obscure place you’ve encountered a musician who you believe is extremely talented?

Wow, that’s a good question. I don’t even know.

You run into people during the day? I know the people in the subway in Toronto can be pretty crazy, even these dudes playing the bagpipes.

I know, right? The subway people are the best, man. They be the best. It just happens, man. Life brings dope things in front of you. You think, “Damn, I like the way this kid sounds, or she can sing.” It just happens, you know? I never go out and search for people, like, “I want to find some talented people, let’s have a talent festival.” Naw, I just run into people. My whole life is this accident. I live an accidental life.

[laughs] It’s working pretty well for you. I was talking to a friend the other day and I was saying how great it would be if Jay went back and did a whole album with you now, and switch things up completely, go from larger than life to minimalist.

I think that would be an amazing idea. I think that would be kind of crazy, to bring Jay back down to Earth. But his mentality has to be there and I know his mentality is on Mars right now, because he’s at the top of his game. It’s hard to bring someone back down to the streets when they ain’t in the streets. But if he reaches out to me, like, “Ski, let’s do it,” I’d definitely do it, you know that.

When Jay released Vol. 2, was that during your hiatus, or was it a blow to see nothing on that album?

That’s when I started on Roc-A-Fella, on Roc-A-Blok. There wasn’t any love lost, at the time I was just producing Camp Lo and all this other shit that I was trying to develop for myself. Did I do anything for that?

Well, I wondered if you got in the studio and he just didn’t-

Naw, naw, I wasn’t in the studio. Was “Who You Wit II” and “Streets Is Watching” on that one?

I think that was Reasonable Doubt. Reasonable Doubt is one of my favorites. Jay always says he doesn’t smoke weed. Did he back then?

He didn’t smoke anything back then. There was a lot more Moet and Cristal poppin. There wasn’t any weed smoking, not back then.

Movies influence you at all?

I used to watch a bunch of Kung Fu shit. It didn’t influence me to make music. What influenced me to make music is when I got caught up in that whole hip-hop culture, you know, everybody knows I started as a breakdancer, then I started DJing, then I started doing graffiti, then I started rapping, then I started producing. I went through the whole culture of hip-hop. That whole colorful backdrop, the graffiti and all that, it became embedded in my DNA and that’s how my music comes out.

Do you still bust out the occasional dance move?

Matter-of-fact my piano player is a down-hard B-boy. So any time I see him dance, he’s like, “C’mon, Ski, do a move.” I always break with him.

Have you been in Toronto lately, touring?

Yeah, we went to Canada. I can’t remember the name of the spot. Oh, man. It was my second time going there. The first time was with Murs. Yeah, it’s a good spot. I’m actually going back to Toronto. I’m doing this Beat Academy thing with my homegirl.

– By @petermarrack

The post Exclusive Interview: Ski Beatz Talks ‘The Twilight Zone’, Curren$y, Jay-Z & His Creative Process appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Love him. Hate him. You can’t ignore him. Lil B’s a poignant provocateur poised to take a dedicated cult following to greater heights. Sky’s the limit, Based God. 

Words by Elliott Wilson
Images by Trevor Traynor

This social-media assassin sure sounds friendly on the telephone.

Beaming in from the Bay Area on my phone line is Lil B The Based God, the big dreamer MC who’s used MySpace, YouTube and Twitter to build a captive audience that continues to grow with him. Just a few minutes into the conversation, it’s clear that his charm can disarm a hater—of which he has plenty.

They all came out in full force when Brandon McCartney declared this past spring during his Coachella set that his next collection of underground tunes was going to be released under the title I’m Gay. No, B isn’t a homosexual, but he does know the power of words. His catchphrases, such as “Thank You, Based God,” have become part of daily hip-hop jargon, and he’s even been offered the ladyfriends of a few impassioned fellas at concerts on occasion. Must be nice.

Seriously, the kid from The Pack has a knack for gettin’ under fel- low rappers’ skins with his ambitious antics, but he’s also networked his way into career-turning achievements, like his recent guest spot on Lil Wayne’s Sorry 4 The Wait mixtape. Yup, you can attack his still developing art, but don’t dare dismiss this online hero’s hunger and desire for more. Good luck, young homie.

Lil B tells his own story, after the jump.

“I just feel like I’m on a path to being rap’s Michael Jackson in my world. I feel different. Anytime I get on a song, I feel like every- body listens, and everybody really cares, and everybody’s really moved. I just feel like Lil B is something that stirs up so much, and that’s so passionate with rap, and that has so much love, it’s crazy. There’s going to be something epic, like when people look back on the greatest painter, and all the greats—the Einsteins and stuff, peo- ple who really made history. I’mma be one of the hip-hop forefathers based on the music I’ve produced, all the things I’ve brought to hip- hop, the sounds, the trends, all the stuff I’m doing right now. I got history to make.

“I understand what Tupac was doing. Look, Tupac said stuff in his videos that I speak about daily to my partners, or that I just preach about. You know, I don’t even watch his videos, because we’re on the same tip. I do sometimes now, but then it’s so weird. I feel the same thing with Lil Wayne. Before I met him and we recorded the first time in the studio, I was always like, Man, Wayne is doing it right, writing and stuff. And this is years ago. Wayne made me work hard. And now to have my music touching people, and the letters that I get, all that, man. It’s like, tattoos of the songs. I feel different, for real.

“I feel like I’m going to be one of the mega-bosses, like Jay-Z, like Wayne. My brand is going to be trusted like Whole Foods, because the greats embrace me and understand me. That’s the main thing. The people who have the great opinions, like Jay-Z, Wayne, people who really mean something…Jay Electronica, Freeway, Lupe. And that’s just off the dome, that I can remember. The people talking, the rappers that’s hating, it’s like I understand. But then, I don’t never hate and not know what I’m talking about. First, I don’t even hate, but it’s like, All right, if I’mma hate on something, I’d rather just know what I’m talk- ing ’bout, or research. Like when I made the Joe Budden diss: I don’t know Joe Budden. All I did was pull shit off the Internet and things that I thought about. And that was hating on my part.

“But it’s like, if you’re going to hate on somebody, if you’re gonna hate on Lil B, you have to do your research. And then when you do the research, it’s going to hurt you, ’cause it’ll be like, Ay, ay, bam, bam, bam, you’re going to dig, and then you’re going to find some- thing you like, and then it’s gonna hurt ’em [laughs].

“I used to be that way a long time ago. I didn’t used to understand Tech N9ne and Insane Clown Posse. Used to be scared of Three 6 Mafia. I was like, Three 6 Mafia works with the devil a little bit. Like, Why does Tech N9ne have the face paint on? It’s scaring me. Insane Clown Posse, they scary. I still haven’t grasped Tech N9ne, but I know he’s amazing—not saying I haven’t grasped it because I don’t understand it, I just haven’t really been listening to him how I should be, and I’m ’bout to start, I’m ’bout to get on in. So I understand when people are like “All right, whatever” about me. People misun- derstand me because…it’s just like…I’m a great. People just kind of have to take it for what it is. I used to hate on my name. Now my name means something epic. I’m also—I got the exterior, the Based God—Lil B the Based God. But I’m always Lil B, for sure.

“The Based God came from my freestyles. I freestyled over, like, 1,300 songs. During that time, I was rocking, finding out stuff about myself and going into parts of my brain. What being based means is just being yourself, doing what you want to do, making people accept you for you, staying positive. When I was doing that, I was like, Man, you know, I feel like the ultimate, like, I-don’t-give-a-fuck ultimate, like I’ll do anything I want to.

“The “Thank You, Based God” thing…I was just making fun in my songs, joking around in some of my freestyles, saying funny stuff like, “Thank You, Based God,” like, “Fuck my bitch, Based God.” We’d all be joking on the Internet, people started making pictures and writing, and then we’d write it in a funny language. A lot of people who fuck with my music, nerds and funny people and some cool people, they like to joke and they like to be serious. Broke people rock with my music, rich people, fresh people rock with my music. It’s girls—slutty girls that rock with my music, dirty girls. You know, brother, you know we respect women. The tumblr? You know! It’s love, man. The [Dior Paint] tumblr is going down [laughs].

“I came out the fire, brother. I came out the fire. I’m successful. You know what I mean? I’m still breathing, when I first did it… Now everybody’s trying to hop back on and forget about it. I’m telling you, when I first did it, man, muthafuckin’ friends was hitting me, or so- called friends hitting me like, “I can’t fuck with you no more” [laughs].

“Muthafuckas were dropping like flies, you feel me? Like friends and fans were just lost, lost so many supposed fans. Really, it was just like a strike in history for me. Because who’s ever been that savage? I’m different, bruh. You know why, family? Because, look, bro, who can call their album—who could disrespect themselves, in American terms, the worst thing…. This might just be me being ignorant, but I’m just saying, in America, if you’re not gay, it’s disrespectful to call yourself gay. You know hip-hop does not fuck with the gay shit. So it’s like, I went further than anybody will ever go in life, I went further than anybody, and still being a straight man and holding my dignity. [Calling myself a “pretty bitch”] wasn’t enough, wasn’t powerful enough.

“Nah, the [“I’m Happy” in parentheses] wasn’t to clean it up—it’s just that I’m not gay. If I was really a homosexual, then I’d keep it as I’m Gay, but I’m not. People thought I was trying to cop out, but I’m not trying to cop out. If I was gay [laughs], then I’d be like, “Yeah, I’m gay, there’s no stopping it.” I’ve helped some of my homophobic fans that don’t respect the gay lifestyle, and now they accept it for what it is and accept people and love. I’ve helped people in hip-hop be less homophobic. I’ve changed the world and helped the world because of this. That’s how I feel.

“Since I own all my stuff and I’m unsigned, I do what I want to do. And to tell the truth, I’m Gay was a mixtape. The hype was so big, people started calling it an album. I mean, everything I’ve put out has been, like, LPs, and these are original works, and those are original works, but when my real album comes out, y’all gon’ know. That’s gon’ be worldwide, in the stores, no problem, on TV, I’m talking about the whole nine. I got the master plan, and I’ve been working on my album my whole career—six years strong. I’m only 50 percent done. But that’s going to be coming in due time.

“I haven’t really dropped my official first album. Nah, nah, not yet. And this is me talking to you about this first. I respect the love I’ve been given, and it’s not bad selling a couple thousand mixtapes. My mixtape made it on Billboard, the Heat Seekers. I’m Gay was an amazing piece of art to add to my collection. It made Billboard charts, and I pulled that album out of my ass. I’m not done.

“Right now, I’m having some thoughts. You know, I definitely wanna work with Weezy again. I wanna work with him on my album. I’m in the best position ever. The stuff I got upcoming, it’s going to blow people away. People are not gonna expect it. I was blown away when I did this verse, and I can’t tell you with who, but I’mma tell you like this: We got in the studio this month, and I’m telling you, man, it’s going to be crazy. It was that one, in how hard I went, and who I’m rapping on there with. It is going to shut the game down. I don’t know how I did it unsigned, bro. I don’t know how I’m doing it, but I’m doing it. Yeah, this is worldwide. I’mma say it like this: Some might say he’s the greatest of all time.

“I’m really trying to finish what Drake started. I’m trying to go like how Drake was with it. He kept killing it. I do what I want, I’m happy at the end of the day, and I’m getting money with it. I’m in the right position, you know? Shouts out to Mack Maine, that’s my fam. Really, I’ve been rocking with them for a minute, like Mack, and having love for Wayne, reaching out to them for some years, even before they were super-super-super poppin’. A nigga always been a supporter. It was just a matter of time. Wayne said he really liked a song I did called “Free Wayne” when he went to jail. Like I’m glad just— me as a fan—you know, it was over a beat that he and the Hot Boys did called “50 Shots,” and I redid it.

“I was just listening to him heavy, and I’m like, man, like Wayne killed this, so I did it for him. When I finally met him for the first time in Miami…how I met him was so crazy. We were in a club and I had the glasses on, and I couldn’t even see, and I see a muthafucka screaming like, “Ayee,” and I looked, and it was Wayne. It didn’t register in my head. I’m like, “Ah, man, that’s what it do,” and then 10 seconds later, it hit me. I’m like “Fuck this, bro.” I started screaming like, “Ayee!” and started tripping out. Man, those moments are some of the reasons why I do it, why a muthafucka’s got swag and shit. Wayne gave the whole industry a motivation and a pedestal for the longest. It’s great to be embraced by him. We met up and just chopped it up for a second, real fast, not really, and then I found out the next day: “Wayne wants to get you on the song for a mixtape.” I’m like, “Let’s do it.” So muthafuckas hit the studio later on that night. And you know, man, I’m not gonna lie, I was nervous the first time being in the studio with Wayne. He had everything already ready, too. It was a bunch of rappers in there. Muthafuckas was surprised, too, like, “Damn, boy, like who this nigga B, how is he here?” Like, “I can’t believe it.” All these rap niggas is spitting, and I’m in there like, “That’s what it do,” ’cause it really just hit me like, Man, I’m a star. Like, I made it. I mean, God bless Wayne for giving me this motivation and this positive energy, and respecting me enough to want to get me on his mixtape.

“I’ve always been a warrior and also always had a good, pure heart. I just look at it like, man, stay positive, stay out the way of the negative and deal with situations as they come. It’s the only way I’ve found that I can make it in life. I just think that’s the best thing I can promote, unconsciously and consciously, and just say it even when I don’t want to say it. Staying positive, being positive means a lot to the brain and to the spirit. It means love, peace, just being relaxed, having fun. Because America sucks. Coming back from Europe to America, I was thinking about making a move, because America is like the land of the real killers. There are real hunters in America. Muthafuckas got guns… there are real savages out here in America. Real inhumane humans. Everybody has to find out how they want to live. I found out how I wanna live, and now I’m happy with life. I don’t wanna die. I don’t wanna get shot. I don’t wanna fuck around. Because I’m so happy.

“Music saved my life. Rap saved my life. I live my life to rap.”

The post RESPECT. Online Exclusive – “Who Gon Stop Me” – Lil B, in His Own Words appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Jay-Z and Kanye have just made more history together, and hip-hop will never be the same again. From the projects to the penthouse, rap has a new home. Get your weight up—not your hate up.

There has never been an album like this. No. Truly. You never thought that hip-hop would take it this far.

Watch The Throne was created by two of our culture’s biggest stars— truly united in one vision to raise the bar. Set the standards. Lead hip-hop to uncharted territory. They were in the studio working together in every moment—from Peter Gabriel’s recording facility in Bath, England, to New York’s Mercer Hotel—and Jay-Z and Kanye have delivered an amazing album that celebrates success, excess…and progress.

It’s unfair to dismiss this collection of introspective, celebratory, angry, intelligent tunes as an out-of-touch collection of big-money talk at odds with America’s current troubled economic condition. Like Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith, Shawn Carter and Kanye West are black folk who have overcome hardship, accomplished great things and grinded to the top. Why can’t they rap about it? Honest hip-hop. Can they live?

Here’s a news flash: At least one of your favorite rappers is a multimillionaire. He’s got plenty of money, even if he doesn’t feel comfortable talkin’ about it. Hip-hop came from poor New York City kids who wanted to succeed, have nice things. Hip-hop wanted to change that world, and guess what? It did. For many. Reap the benefits with closed mouths? Nah, that ain’t our style.

No one recognized us, but we are the best. We say what we feel. We grab the mic and our dicks and tell you about it. Bragging and boasting. In our rhymes, we always wanted to get rich—come up. Get large. Aspiration. Ambition. From The Sugarhill Gang’s “I got a color TV so I can see the Knicks play basketball” to the Notorious One’s “Birthdays was the worst days/ Now we sip Champagne when we thirst-ay.” Dream big. Roll the dice.

Life after Biggie and Pac proved it was possible. The Master Ps and the Puffys have always had more impact on the culture than the poor righteous teachers. The point is: A conversation must be had. We’re in this together—rich, poor or the disappearing middle class. I’m 40 and can connect to the artistry found on Watch The Throne. I admire the courage that Jay and Kanye demonstrate on this album. They spit about deep shit: money, paranoia, women, love, death, family, failed friendships, failed relationships, politics, crime, blackness. The future will prove me right—this is the most important album in hip-hop history.

Two of our biggest winners have overcome their big brother/lil brother trust issues. Their gift to us? The sharing of truths. To make our heads bob one minute and think the next. Ignite imagination. Inspiration. Holy intellect. This record is a reminder that there’s no ending to the power of hip-hop. Our culture. Our drive. Our reward. We’re on a mission.

Let’s explore.

“No Church in the Wild”
Main Producer: 88 Keys
Track Murderer: Jay > ’Ye. ’Ye > Jay. Draw.

Watch The Throne commences with a courageous curveball. The opening track is surprisingly dark, produced by Polo-gear-obsessed producer 88 Keys and led by the soulful punch of Odd Future’s Frank Ocean on the chorus. “What’s a God to a non-believer?” he asks, which anchors one of WTT’s most consistent themes: mortality. Jay-Z paints vivid introspective pictures, Yeezy rhymes about crazy bitches. There’s a captive congregation, and Mr. Carter is ready to address them: “Jesus was a carpenter/ Yeezy laid beats/ Hova flow the Holy Ghost/ Get the hell up out your seats.” To hell with the song’s bizarre bridge lead by The-Dream, because it comes off as clumsy as his part on Jay Electronica’s 2010 “Shiny Suit Theory.” Hey, didn’t Jay kill Autotune already? Anyway, Mr. West sounds agitated. A boisterous bachelor livin’ the rock star life—but it weighs on him. “Sunglasses and Advil/ Last night was mad real.” Fresh off a crazy night at the club, ’Ye nails the best punchline, noting that the lady in leopard was “rubbin’ the wood like Kiki Shepard.” It’s showtime!

“Lift Off”
Main Producer: Kanye
Track Murderer: ’Ye. (Jay doesn’t really rhyme here, though.)

This seems more like an album opener. Beyoncé belts, “We gon take it to the moon/ Take it to the stars/ How many people you know can take it this far?” in over-the-top Vegas cabaret glory. If you saw that documentary that prematurely leaked, you know Kanye was pretty geeked about this tune also. He’s so gassed, he forgot to write rhymes. He rumbles and stumbles through his verses—reminiscent of the times in concert when he ad-libs melodies in between his antimedia tirades. Delightful. Jay pops up briefly, basically to let us know that he knows other rappers are gonna be “pissed off” when this album drops. The space shuttle clips make this clunker suck even more. The cool lil tribal bridge is too little too late. Although not as horrendous as Kingdom Come’s “Hollywood,” “Lift Off” never leaves the gate.

“Niggas in Paris”
Main Producer: Hit-Boy
Track Murderer: ’Ye.

He gets his Quincy Jones on—Kanye executive produces the fuck out of other dude’s beats. I don’t know if he touched up young producer Hit-Boy’s track, but this is the LP’s best production. An unabashed club banger 2.0, it will have you standing on a couch with a drink in your hand in no time. Jay speaks of his Nets ownership and the time he was fined $50K for visiting the Kentucky Wildcats’ locker room during the 2011 NCAA Tournament (owners aren’t permitted to associate with collegiate players). But this is an ode to a different type of ballin’. Word to Jim Jones. Fun and frolicking in France, ’Ye is in party mode again: “Prince William ain’t do it right/ If you ask me/ ’Cause if I was him, I would have married Kate and Ashley.” Later ’Ye declares, “Don’t let me get in my zone,” over the song’s electro-crunch-filled finish. Makes you feel like you’re already watching the two at a concert performance. Powerful stuff.

“Otis”
Main Producer: Kanye
Track Murderer: ’Ye. Close, though.

This is more of what people would expect of a Jay-Z/Kanye album. Donda’s baby boy behind the boards, choppin’ up soul samples the way No ID taught him. This is The Blueprint 10 years later—but this time, ’Ye gets to rhyme. Hov stays classy and “photo shoot” fresh, while Kanye is happy to keep it crass and get in the competition’s ass. YMCMB? Do you know who we be? “Niggas talking real reckless/ Stuntmen/ I adopted these niggas/ Phillip Drummon’d them/ Now I’m about to make them tuck their whole summer in.” This is a back-and-forth, pass-the-mic, tag-team, vintage Roc-a-Fella Records session shared with the world. The fact that this song with no hook was presented as the project’s first single speaks to this dynamic duo’s desire not to abandon our culture’s foundation.

“Gotta Have It”
Main Producer: Neptunes
Track Murderer: Jay.

The first song of the second quarter of WTT fittingly follows “Otis”—it finds Shawn and Kanye still sharing the ball like LeBron and D. Wade (who they namedrop over playful Neptunes-produced bounce). This is one of three tunes (“No Church in the Wild” and “Otis”) that feature vocal samples from James Brown’s nifty funk of 1974’s “Don’t Tell a Lie About Me and I Won’t Tell The Truth on You” to spice up the mix. It’s needed ’cause the song is really about nothing. But the rhymes here are nonsensical and clever. ’Ye: “Sorry I’m in pajamas/ But I just got off the PJ” (private jet). And Jay shows he keeps up with current affairs in his reference to “plankin’ on a million.” Cash rules!

“New Day”
Main Producer: RZA
Track Murderer: Draw.

Playtime is over. Jay and ’Ye take a page out of Tupac’s book and pen verses to their unborn children. Mr. West warns the young lad not to follow in his steps and draws from his public scandals: the 2005 Katrina telethon and the Taylor Swift clash at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. He draws from his relationships: dumping his college girlfriend and getting into a relationship with a former stripper. The most moving part is Kanye’s reference to his deceased mother: “I’ll never let his mom move to L.A. knowing she couldn’t take the pressure, now we all pray.” Strong and sentimental stuff, but Shawn follows strongly. “Sorry, junior, I already ruined ya,” he snaps, detailing how he’d be the strong father figure he never had. “Look a man dead in his eyes so he know you talk truth when you speak it/ Give your word, keep it.” The almost G-Funk groove produced here by the Wu-Tang leader is infectious, as is the refrain by each MC, enough to make any rap nerd crack a Kool-Aid smile: “Me and the RZA connect.” Bong!

“That’s My Bitch”
Main Producer: Q-Tip
Track Murderer: Kanye.

Return to the celebration. It ain’t safe in the city, because Mr. West is on the hunt for late-night lovelies over a romping Q-Tip track that incorporates classic hip-hop breakbeats, like the Incredible Bongo Band’s “Apache.” “Too $hort called, told me I fell in love with her,” he jokes and drops the killer line: “My dick worth money/ I put Monie in the middle.” If you really wanna party with ’Ye. Hov tackles the topic a different way, wondering why he sees so few beautiful, iconic images of women of color: “Put some colored girls in the MOMA/ Half these broads ain’t got nothing on Willona?/ Don’t make me bring Thelma in it.” Man, good times. And before the song closes, the elephant in the room gets addressed “Now, shoo children, stop lookin’ at her tits/ Get your own dog, ya heard/ That’s my bitch.” What up, B!

“Welcome to the Jungle”
Producer: Swizz Beatz
Track Murderer: Jay. (‘Ye doesn’t really rhyme here, though.)

In a parade of production stars, Kaseem Dean shines. He’s solely credited here and delivers the hooks—and the ad libs (right…oh!). From 1998’s “Money Cash Hoes” to 2009’s “On to the Next One,” Swizz has shown his ability to get the best out of Shawn. The opposite of “Lift Off,” ’Ye takes a backseat and lets Hov shine. Jay lyrically blacks out over the tinkering thump: eulogizing the losses of his uncle, his father, his nephew and Michael Jackson (“Rest in peace to the leader of the Jackson 5”). Yup, Gloria’s warrior is having a bad day. “Mama, look at ya son/ What happened to my smile?” It’s a great vocal performance. Unfortunately, after Shawn pours out his soul, things abruptly end. No Kanye verse. Swizz’s final refrain, “Goddamnit,” is pretty fitting.

“Who Gon Stop Me”
Main Producer: Sak Pase
Track Murderer: Jay.

The most ambitious track on the album finds the Throne rhyming over dubstep. This is some Speed Racer rap shit, and you almost wish SC would flash back to his double-time rhymin’ roots with Jaz- O. His new rhyme partner, ’Ye, is still gettin’ freaky like Marv Albert, but once again Hov flourishes. Jay gets so locked in the pocket, he instructs engineer Noah Goldstein to put some more beat on it as he declares a “middle finger to my old life.” The Kanye-led chorus is also sure to shake things up: “This is something like the Holocaust/ Millions of our people lost.” Referring to the internal conflict in the African-American community, Jay keeps a black strap with an I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude. But the sentiment here harkens back to “Niggas in Paris”: Ball ’til you fall. Ride ’til the wheels fall off.

“Murder to Excellence”
Main Producers: Swizz/S1
Track Murderer: Jay.

Currency doesn’t replace consciousness. These two rap superstars can’t save the world, but they are concerned with the ills of it. Black-on-black crime is addressed in the first half of this two-part song. On “Murder,” Jay acknowledges the senseless slaying of student and star athlete Danroy Henry, and West reminds us his hometown is the U.S.A.’s murder capital and compares the deaths in his city to the number of soldiers lost in Iraq. Hov informs us his birthday is the day Fred Hampton was murdered in a 1969 Chicago police raid. Hov’s message remains: The success of Shawn Carter should be an inspiration to his people. The “Excellence” portion is about pride and achievement. Hov namedrops fellow elites Will Smith and Oprah and observes, “That ain’t enough, we gonna need a million more.” Kanye drives the point further that he and Jay are rich, blessed but stressed just like everyone else.

“Made in America”
Main Producer: Sak Pase
Track Murderer: Kanye.

It gets blacker as Frank Ocean returns with an earnest chorus that name-checks MLKJR, Malcolm X—and God. Seriously, this song could play at the NAACP Image Awards. This is hip-hop a black kid could play his grandfather. Kanye speaks of his mother again, and how she was so instrumental in his career and his fellow Throne partner’s: “Niggas hustle every day for a beat from ’Ye/ What I do? Turn around and give them beats to Jay/ And I’m rappin’ on the beats they were supposed to buy/ I guess I’m gettin’ high off my own supply.” SC returns to BK and his grandma’s banana pudding. But he still can’t knock the hustle. “I pledge allegiance to the scramblers/ This is the Star-Spangled Banner.” A tad sappy but still spine-tingling, this track connects another one of the album’s central themes: black excellence.

“Why I Love You”
Main Producer: Mike Dean
Track Murderer: Jay.

Jay and Kanye are the last two standing triumphantly from the Roc-a-Fella Records era, so you knew that legacy, old partners and friends had to be addressed. You don’t know the pain Hov feels: “I tried to teach niggas how to be kings/ And all they ever wanted to be was soldiers.” Is he talkin’ about outspoken former artists like Beanie Sigel or his former partner, Dame Dash? It’s probably both. “Fuck you, squares/ The circle got smaller/ The castle got bigger/ The walls got taller.” Ouch! “Wasn’t I a good king?” Jay asks rhetorically as Kanye serves as his hype man, cosigning their allegiance all the way through to the awkwardly brilliant last verse. Who woulda thought? The kid with the pink Polo was the heir to the throne.

“Illest Motherfucker Alive”
Main Producer: Southside
Track Murderer: Jay.

There’s a painful three-minute-long silence break before this song begins on WTT’s deluxe edition. Guess the Throne wanted the sentiment of “Why I Love You” to really sink in. The broke and bitter aren’t gonna like this one. Kanye got staples on his dick ’cause he’s fuckin’ centerfolds and wearing $1,000 Lanvin Ts with no logos. King Hov compares his 11 number-one albums to Bill Russell’s 11 NBA Championship rings. And no, Jay didn’t say that he, ’Ye, Beyoncé and Rihanna are the new Beatles, did he? Ha! With an audacious classical backdrop, the Throne don’t let up on detailing their glamorous life. Every day is like a video shoot.

“H.A.M.”
Main Producer: Lex Luger
Track Murderer: Jay-Z.

It’s the return of WTT’s first offering. The critically panned Lex Luger concoction was the album’s non-starter—it dropped back in January. Why did it not exactly light up the rap stratosphere? Kanye’s unsure and clumsy verse provides some answer. He’s snarling with all swag and no substance. Hov’s contribution has way more bite. He snaps, “Fuck y’all mad at me for?” and proceeds to put his Timbo up his peers’ asses: “You got baby money/ Keep it real with niggas/ Niggas ain’t got my lady’s money.” Royal family rap. Mike Dean’s churchlike symphony at the song’s bridge almost makes the tune something special—but almost doesn’t count.

“Primetime”
Main Producer: No ID
Track Murderer: Draw.

It was a big mistake omitting, in the final hours, this song from the non-deluxe album’s main track list. This is the sensational sleeper of the disc, as Hov flourishes on his opening verse, which revolves around numbers. The “40-year-old phenom” effortlessly glides and guides you through his journey: “Started in ’88/ Got warm in ’92/ I landed in ’96, that’s the year I came through.” He also promises that at “42 he’ll be better than 24.” Get SC’s b-day card ready for December 4. Ha! ’Ye holds his own and is still lady-chasin’ starlets. Why must an angel be his centerfold? “Well, Adam gave up a rib, so mine better be prime,” he reasons. Plus, he provides some philosophy: “I never live in fear/ I’m too out of my mind.” Who was crazy enough not to recognize this gem? Sorry, Dion.

“The Joy”
Main Producer: Pete Rock
Track Murderer: Kanye

A vibrant leftover from Kanye’s Good Music Friday releases, this is the Throne once again showcasing a legendary producer. Pete Rock leads this (Curtis Mayfield–sampled) soul ride as the album’s emotive ride comes to a close. Kanye is the star of this show as he dissects fatherhood (“Don C just had a shorty, so it’s not that bad/ But I still hear the ghosts of the kids I never had”) and his career comeback from Swift-Gate (“You know the demo/ Your boy act wild/ You ain’t get the memo/ Yeezy’s back in style”). With ’Ye havin’ two verses, Hov’s appearance comes off as a feature. But his endorsement is monumental as he proclaims, “Pete Rock make the needle drop,” and delves into his childhood—and sippin’ his pop’s Miller nips. Pause. Kid Cudi’s refrain at the end is prophetic: “Don’t let them take your fire.”

OUTRO

I’m anxious to see where The Throne’s musical marriage goes next. WTT is the close of a trilogy of a true creative partnership. Kanye used to make beats for Jay in the early 2000s. Now they truly compose music together. Lest we forget, Kanye shaped the direction of Jay’s 2009 Blueprint 3, and Hov’s presence was abundant with great guest turns on Kanye’s 2010 My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. All three discs are the sound of the expansion of hip-hop. Follow the leaders. An A-level rapper and producer, Kanye has always been clear about his goal to be a cultural icon. Jay-Z, the GOAT MC, has grown into that. They’re not businessmen. They’re businesses, man. Walking, breathing, global brands. Ask Steve Stoute. It’s no shock that their sound has changed. If you want their old shit, buy their old albums. From BK to Brixton, from Chicago to Copenhagen, they want to move the masses. WTT’s production stretches hip-hop’s boom-bap aesthetic and embraces electronic dance music in an organic way without losing its—our—edge.

Longevity. Legacy. Stadium status. How many five-star albums can Mr. West make? Hov beat Elvis, but can he really knock out eight more number-one albums and beat The Beatles? If you still don’t enjoy the album, are you really not gonna go to a show on the tour? Ha! This is an important moment in hip-hop. It’s okay to savor it. Get inspired!

The post RESPECT. Online Exclusive – “Royal Flush” – Elliott Wilson on “Watch the Throne” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

For someone who woke up at 6 a.m. last Friday morning to start a full-day of interviews, Sylenna Johnson looks radiant. Sitting in the offices of Cornerstone, which also houses The Fader, her friendly and joyous demeanor is candid as she concludes one interview about finishing her degree in another passion, nutrition science. Even as a Grammy-nominated recording artist, Johnson is always thinking of a way to grow as a person.

It’s no coincidence that this strong attitude, built after her years of rocky relationships, becoming a mother of two children, a wife, and downshifting from Jive to independent label Aneelys, has yet another test to overcome. With the release of the next chapter in Johnson’s album series, Chapter V: Underrated, she wants to prove that this 35-year-old veteran is still in control of her R&B legacy.

Many of us recognize Johnson by her work with Kanye West on “All Falls Down” or being former labelmates with R.Kelly, but on Chapter V, things are different now. She is determined to set the record straight. No more labels. No more being placed in a box. It’s all about celebrating better times in life through music.

Chapter V is an album that explores many of Johnson’s familiar staples – love, women empowerment, sincerity – while presenting intimate details of a freer artist. Just listen to the fiery opener, “Underrated,” spitting boasts and carrying a cockiness that’s fitting for a bossy songstress. Underrated? Nah, Johnson is here to bring back the heart in R&B. And it’s very much appreciated.

Read the interview, which talks about the album, her influences from soul heavyweight Syl Johnson and their upcoming collaborative effort and more. Chapter V: Underrated is available on iTunes and in stores now.

After the jump, check the full interview!

You decided to give a live concert stream on Stageit on the release day of your album. You gave a 50 minute set, took requests from a chat room, and people got to witness the video of “Angry Girl” being made. How did it go?

It was fantastic. Unfortunately, it was just live, so no one can ever see it again. But we did videotape the whole thing, so what I want to try and do is create a DVD and release it with the album as a deluxe package.

You interact with your fans a lot, how did they feel about the concert?

I think they love that. I don’t feel like I need to be guarded against my fans. You know, we talk all the time, I tell ‘em it’s like I’m text messaging my fans all day. I love it, I think it’s awesome.

I feel like not a lot of artists would release their album and do a live concert.

That’s what I wanted to do with “Angry Girl,” bring back the live aspect because it is acoustic – there’s only two guitars, three background singers and a Conga in the show. I thought it would be real cool for us to get a fresh … you know, we are such a computerized generation now, but you can use the social network to link with live music. I thought that was so awesome. I thought it would be cool to shoot the video of a live performance and make that the video.

From the opener, “Underrated,” it certainly has a lot of boasts: 15 years in the game, getting married and having two children. What does this latest chapter represent for you?

Just growth. In the “Underrated” intro, it’s supposed to be cocky. And to kind of say, a shock factor. I hate being put in a box. I hate being called “old soul” or “soul” this, even though I’m soulful, I hate for that to be the only thing that I do, or being called “neo-soul” because I’m not. It’s just R&B. R&B music, fortunately, is fueled with so many different aspects of music within the genre of R&B. I don’t want to be classified or be put in the box. So, with this album, I just did whatever.

A lot of your fans rave about your intros, especially Chapter Two: The Voice’s intro.

Yeah, Chapter Two! They do rave about that intro! That intro was a good time. Me and Hi-Tek did that intro.

I guess to not put you in a box, but there is a trend of fans checking the latest R&B diva, the one that has the latest hits on the radio or whatever, often overlooking veterans such as yourself. How will Underrated get newer fans to notice the quality you bring?

There are going to know because the quality is there. It goes without saying. I don’t have to say much, it’s all in the music. That was the purpose, to put everything in the music. When they go out and get it, if you see on my [Twitter] timeline: “She’s done it again!” and “She’s not disappointed.” Nobody is saying “This is whack.” Everybody, so far, is saying that this is an amazing album; it’s refreshing R&B. So I’m real proud and so honored to be part of that. I like to be first on stuff or part of a movement. So I’m really excited that people are listening and their liking it and they are not saying, “You shouldn’t be singing that.”

Looking back on your previous works, you relate each title to the Bible. It also feels like a moment in time for you. Can you explain your creative process for this album?

For this album, I wanted to be honest. I wanted it to be positive, strong. I didn’t want any sappy love songs. If you listen to this album, there’s one song that has the you-did-me-wrong twinge to it. But I had to give the Sylenna Johnson fans that love “Another Relationship,” “Guess What” and “I Am Your Woman.” I had to give them something, which is “My Shoes.” That’s the only song that will give you I-am-leaving-you, you-did-me-wrong thing. But with this album, I paid attention to everything I did lyrically because I definitely did not want to do sappy, love, nothing. I am not in that place in my life. I am in a very healthy relationship with my kids and my husband, and I am really blessed right now. And I am happy. I feel strong because I’ve been here for so long and I have longevity.

So you are very free on this album. One of the songs that stood out to me was “Label Me.” You have a line – “That’s that girl with R.Kelly and sang with Kanye.” Are you trying to move away from this association, and do you feel this album will do that?

I don’t mind anybody linking me to those two. What I don’t like is this: “That’s that girl that sang with R.Kelly?” First off all, I didn’t sing with him, we didn’t sing together. Second of all, we were labelmates. He did not discover me and I am not his protégé. We were labelmates and we were both signed by the same guy and became friends through my A&R guy, which was Wayne Williams, and he always loved my talent so I was lucky to be able to work with him. Kanye, same thing, we were in the studio just working. [It was] regular producer and artist situation.

I don’t mind being link to them, but what I do mind is being put in a box. I don’t like to be a label to something. A lot times in the industry as a woman, to have any type of anything, you have to be connected with a man. It’s always going to be this way, I try and break from that.

Again, to not put you in a box, but from all your albums, you have a way of balancing soul and blues with urban hip-hop standards. Let’s talk about your father, the great Syl Johnson. How has he inspired your style?

I can’t get around the fact that me and my father have the same tone. He’s my dad. The biggest influence I got from my father and I think all of us did – me and my sisters – we are kind of musically related because my father used to play the guitar every single day. I used to think that was the best in the world. I used to watch him outside the patio and play the guitar every day. He played records all the time. He recorded his records in the basement. We were influenced by music by default. I think that was the biggest influence he had in my life. Other than that, he kind of kept us away. We were sheltered. We were not really out in the clubs or at the shows. We lived a normal life. I think that living in the house with music, it’s inevitable that you are going to pick that up.

And you guys ended up doing a collaboration album?

Yes, we did a collaboration album. I was 17 years old. I used to sing background for him and wrote songs for him. And we are working on an album right now. Everybody is going to have a good time with this album. It’s true, original R&B. We are remaking all the songs that were R&B in the 60s and we are doing it with live instrumentation.  We’re doing that right now, it’s called the Rebirth of Soul or something like that. I’ve done Etta James, Bettye Swann, Betty Everett (“There’ll Come a Time”), Otis Redding (“These Arms of Mine”), Jackie Wilson (“Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher and Higher”). That’s going to be so good. People love things that are authentic, and that’s going to bring back that authentic sound like no keyboard linked to the Casio. All live.

How does your father feel about Underrated?

I don’t know how he feels about Underrated, but he’s jealous and bias. He’s not going to embrace Chapter V right now because we are doing our album. He only wants to like his stuff. But if we weren’t doing his stuff, he would of embrace Chapter V. He would of went all through it and said “This is what’s good, this is a hit!”

You mentioned how your father was a hereditary influence, and you are from Chicago, so who are some of the local artists that you gotten some influences from?

Again, we were sheltered. But some Chicago artists like Chaka Khan, Donny Hathaway and Curtis Mayfield from that disco era, that Studio 54 era, that’s Chicago. We can play songs from that day and it would turn the party up.

For Syleena Johnson, an amazing soul singer in your own right, and with this chapter behind you, what will the next bring?

I intend to work this album through as much as I can until the very end. It’s a great album and its got great songs that can be reignited all the time because of so many good songs. The reality show, we are going to start shooting in October, it’s called Diary of A Diva. Its Faith Evans presents: Diary of A Diva. It has Faith Evans, Angie Stone, Nicci Gilbert from Brownstone, Lelee from SWV, Monifah, and Keke Wyatt. It depicts our lives, R&B housewives meets Unsung. We haven’t been on the scene. In the current industry’s mind, we are not current. So it’s going to reintroduce us back into the game.

The post Diva/Boss – An Interview With Syleena Johnson appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Slim The Mobster is probably best known, right now, as Dr. Dre’s protege, which isn’t necessarily a good thing considering the number of times Detox has ‘almost’ come out. But after listening to Slim’s latest offering, “Fuck You”, from his upcoming street album, War Music, I don’t believe Slim is all too concerned. In fact, life is good for Slim (I’d assume). He lives in a million dollar mansion somewhere out there in sunny California, he makes music for a living (I’d assume), and he’s already accomplished the hardest task in Hip Hop, which is creating your own lane. All N.W.A. comparisons aside, Slim The Mobster is his own artist, a talented one at that, and quite frankly, the dude scares me. Good thing I got this MacBook to hide behind.

Read the complete interview after the jump.

War Music, what can you tell us about it?

It’s my first street album. It’s featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Prodigy of Mobb Deep. I think it’s going to be something that people should really like, because it’s not what’s going on in music right now.

Is it going to be different from your mixtape?

What you mean by that?

Will it be the same sound?

No, it’s totally different.

Why did you decide on black and white for the videos?

I wanted it to have a certain element to it. I wanted to make it more ‘street’. It’s more of my vision, versus it being colored. I’m saving those things for my album.

“Gunplay” reminds me of old N.W.A., like “Natural Born Killaz”. Are the Dre comparisons getting old?

Naw, I love it. He’s rich. As long as they compare me to rich people, then that means I’ve got a chance at being rich.

But you live in a million dollar mansion… or did the internet exaggerate that?

Ugh, no. I do.

That’s cool.

[laughs]

A lot of Hip Hop artists coming up look like they’re still in high school, but you look like you’ve been through some shit, jail, etc. Where does that put you exactly, industry-wise?

I never really thought about it like that, because I’m not a role model. I’m an entertainer. My job is to give you things that allows for your entertainment. So I’m going to say some shit that’s not expected. That’s the essence of it.

Did N.W.A. influence you?

Oh yeah, of course. When I was a young kid, I had the pleasure of meeting Tupac. I had the pleasure of meeting Eazy. These people are my influences. These are the people I really had a chance to look up to, deeper than just the music. Most people don’t even understand where Tupac was coming from, or why he talked about what he talked about, or why he did what he did. It’s because those were the elements of his life.

Is there anything like an N.W.A. lane these days?

Naw, I mean, I don’t want to say I’m in a lane, because I got my own establishment. I feel like I’ve got my own genre of music. I call it ‘Alternative Hip Hop’.

“Work For It (Price On Ya Head)” is a great record. Who exactly has a price on your head. I hope not Suge Knight.

Ah, man. [laughs] If you notice what I said, “somebody needs to come for it [my head]”.

You want them to back up their words.

In that aspect, not necessarily. I’m not saying somebody wants to kill me, but ‘haters is haters’, and nobody wants to see you win. And if you want to see me lose, then you’ve got a price on my head.

Jealousy.

Right.

Back to Suge Knight. I was under the impression he killed Tupac, but Glasses Malone informed me the other day that that’s preposterous. What do you think?

I don’t know. I’m not a murder investigator. I can’t tell you anything about shit I don’t know about.

Have you ever been to this place Umami Burger?

Naw, I missed that one.

Where’s your spot?

The Watts Coffee House.

I know of it. What makes it so special?

It’s in the hood. It’s like a neutral ground. Everybody knows about it in Watts. You can go there and get you some good food.

I read the real Rick Ross, Freeway Rick Ross, is your uncle. Considering you named yourself after a pimp, what do you think of the Ross lawsuit?

Well, I didn’t name myself after a pimp, like my name was already Slim. It was more like me being crowned a ‘Slim’. It wasn’t like he just gave me my name. And the Rick Ross thing, I’ve known him [Freeway Rick Ross] for years, since I was a little kid. I really know him. When I say he’s my uncle, I say that because he knows my family, you know what I mean. He’s not actually my uncle, but he is one of the dudes that I looked up to. The thing with Rick Ross, that’s something the courts have to deal with. I feel like, if I use anything remotely close, like if my name was Fillmore Slim, it would be different than me saying my name is Slim The Mobster. That’s not Slim The Pimp. Those are two different things. But when you use someone’s name, and you don’t feel like you owe anything to that person, that doesn’t make any sense to me. I actually like Rick Ross’s music. The nigga’s hard. I just don’t like it, you know, you call yourself a real nigga, then you know there’s supposed to be some kind of compensation, straight up. Not on a bully level, but like, “nigga, you used my name, nigga,” you know?

Yes. Like a copyright.

Right, pretty much.

You mentioned Prodigy before. How’d you hook that up?

My manager’s from Queens, he’s from Queens. They were in L.A., and shit, we got it in.

When’s War Music dropping? I forgot to ask.

10/25/11, War Music.

That’s soon. Um, I know Dre’s a legend and all, but is there anything, anything at all, you’re better than him at?

Umm, nothing.

Nothing?

I never try to put myself in a competition with him.

I don’t mean just musically.

Yeah, and I mean that in every aspect. I got a different mentality. I never want to outshine the master. I don’t want to be that good. I know how good I am, me just being myself. Dre and I never had any arm wrestling match, no ‘I can run faster than you’, none of those things. We never had a competition.

Like you said, you have your own genre, you do you.

Right, aha, you’re a fast learner.

Yeah. [laughs] Thanks.

You can follow Slim The Mobster on Twitter @Slimthemobster, Youtube at SlimTheMobsterTv, and Facebook at SlimTheMobster.

The post Interview: Slim The Mobster – Alternative Hip Hop appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.