Tag Archives: 1997

Talib Kweli & El-P Recall Rawkus Records Taking A Chance On Underground Hip-Hop

Run The Jewels and Company Flow co-founder El-P is the latest guest on Talib Kweli’s The People’s Party Podcast, with co-host Jasmin Leigh. The two natives of Brooklyn, New York have plenty of history together, including Hip Hop For Respect. They were label-mates at Rawkus Records during an inflection point in both artist’s careers, making albums that galvanized an iconic underground Hip-Hop label that reached the mainstream. The two men relive some history from the mid-1990s when each hungry Hip-Hop artist found a home that was down to put out music by their respective groups. Ahead of the 30:00 mark, El-P remembers working at Lower Manhattan’s Tower Records with Co Flow band-mate Bigg Jus. Notably, some years later, Kweli recalls a job selling incense and oils outside that same Lafayette Street music store. El recalls Company Flow using Tower’s postage to ship demo materials to record labels. “We’d take our money that we earned there, and we’d go record at night,” he remembers of early songs like “8 Steps To Perfection” and others. The trio (also including New Jersey producer/DJ Mr. Len) had room on the 12″ recording. That birthed the eight songs on 1996 Official Records’ Funcrusher. “That was literally as simple as it was,” El says. “Why are we just putting a song and an instrumental on this piece of plastic? It’s gonna cost the same amount of money to put eight of these songs on here.” Talib Kweli Says The New Black Star Album With Madlib Is Done Talib brings up the years that followed. “[You and I] were signed to Rawkus at the same time. Black Star was more jazzy, melodic. We were in the same circles, in terms of crews, but sonically, not so [much]. Did you ever feel like there was a competition between Company Flow and Black Star? Because we were operating in the same spaces and sort of vying for the same fan-base, just different sides of people’s brain.” El responds with what appears to be a joke, “Nah. The only time I ever thought there was a competition was when you got to the B.D.P beat before me. I was like, ‘F*ck those dudes.’ I was mad about that one.” He is referring to DJ Hi-Tek’s “Definition” track for Black Star, which samples Boogie Down Productions’ “The P Is Free (Remix).” El continues, “I think my influences were really rooted in sh*t like B.D.P, and [Public Enemy], and Run-D.M.C., and old Schoolly D, and Fat Boys, sh*t like that, and Slick Rick—big, big Hip-Hop records with stabs. To this day, that’s kinda my thing.” Kweli then reflects, “Like, we weren’t as lo-fi as a Madlib, but it was definitely a warm, fuzzier thing that we were doing.” “For sure,” El agrees. “And that’s why it worked. That’s why we coexisted. Because, to be fair, it never felt like a competition. You were always doing your thing. The thing about that period of time, and that era, which was so special, is that there were so many people doing different sh*t. The ones that really stood one—the ones that ended up being some of the groups that we’d call defining of that era, I think Company Flow is included, and I know Black Star is, and I know there’s a couple others—everybody had their slot that they filled that created this picture. There’s a lot going on in this movement. There was. You remember the open mics and sh*t; everybody would get up and have a style, and everyone was into that different style.” Evil Dee Details What Led To The Demise Of Rawkus Records Talib continues, “For me, when I got to Rawkus, what was exciting about [the label] to me was [Missin’ Linx member] Black Attack was there, and Shabaam [Sahdeeq] was there, and Sir Menelik was there; I wasn’t familiar with Menelik, but I was familiar with Kool Keith, and Company Flow was there. Y’all established it before we got there.” “I feel like Rawkus co-opted this whole ‘independent as f*ck’ thing.” El responds, “I think that Rawkus certainly recognized it, and I think they had the ability to do something about it.” El says that Company Flow came up with the mantra while hand-designing artwork at a kitchen table using glue-sticks. It would eventually become a moniker in the late 1990s and early 2000s Rap underground. Kweli recalls being introduced to Rawkus co-founder Jarret Myer, who produces The People’s Party through then-Fugees affiliate John Forté. “I remember Jarret and Brian [Brater], these two white guys from Brown University, they came to the hood—they came to Crown Heights, and John Forté was there. Everybody was rhyming their ass off; everybody had a blunt and a 40 [ounce beer]. Everybody was trying to get a record deal, rhyming their ass off. At this point, I don’t even think that they had y’all yet. I remember John Forté being like, ‘Why ain’t you rappin’?’ I’m like, ‘This indie label sh*t? I’m trying to get to a major.'” The Reflection Eternal and Black Star co-founder continues, “A short two years later, now my girl is pregnant, now I lost my job. Mos Def [aka] Yasiin Bey comes to me, he’s like, ‘Yo, I think I’ma do a single with these Rawkus dudes.’ I’m like, ‘Jarret and Brian?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah; they gave me some money.’ I’m like, ‘They gave you some money? [Laughs] How much money they give you?’ My whole thought pattern changed.” El-P, J-Live & Breeze Brewin Rap At Fat Beats’ Grand Opening (AFH TV Video) “Meeting those guys, it was very interesting, and I think Jarret can attest to this. Basically, we were having a moment in the underground, but we had very quickly—through people like Stretch & Bobbito—we had started to get a lot of attention, just from the little music that we had put out.” An assortment of major and independent labels took an interest in the New York-New Jersey trio. “Rawkus were the ones who said yes to what we thought it should look like. We were like, ‘We want to do this, and we want to own the masters. We want a 50/50 deal. And we don’t want to promise more than one album, ’cause we don’t know how it’s gonna work out. At the time, these were ludicrous thoughts. At the time, there was no [artist leverage]. We went into these guys’ offices and said the same thing that we’d said to other [labels, and they agreed]. I think that was a really genuine place for us to jump off with that sh*t. Because if they’re in that head-space where they respect that idea, and they’re willing, also, to give us money, then these guys are serious. So when you say the co-opting of the [‘independent as f*ck’ mantra], I think what they did was they [finalized] or expanded the thought. We had the thought of ‘independent as f*ck,’ the thing that became a rallying cry in our collective. We helped define that attitude.” El expands, “There was no independent record label system for dudes like us. Either you were on a major or you just were going around to different places freestyling—Washington Square Park or Nuyorican [Poets Café]. There was no middle-ground. Rawkus became the first step for a middle-ground. [They were] the first people to recognize and say—and they felt the same way that I did, politically—’this stuff actually has a monetary future. We can actually sell this, and not take this and try and change it.'” He expounds that the label offered a step apart from the politics and nepotism of the old-guard label system. El-P and Company Flow broke from Rawkus. El launched Definitive Jux Records, another heralded 2000s imprint. Juss created Subversive, and Len opened his Dummy Smacks company. Talib, who remained with Rawkus until the label was sold, has co-founded labels, including Blacksmith and Javotti Media. While both El and Talib criticized their former label on wax at times, they seemingly look back at the imprint’s positive qualities more than 20 years after signing. 10 Things You May Not Know About Rawkus Records (Audio) Elsewhere in the interview, El-P describes Zack De La Rocha living and recording with him in the days following the Rage Against The Machine breakup. He also remembers Def Jux, and confirms that Rick Rubin is not producing Run The Jewels’ fourth album. Last week, Talib Kweli confirmed that Black Star’s sophomore album, which is reportedly produced by Madlib, is completed. Talib Kweli Rocks A Rawkus Records In-Store At Fat Beats (AFH TV Video) Videos from Rawkus Records-era Talib Kweli and El-P are available at AFH TV. We are currently offering free 7-day trials.

Source: AmbrosiaForHeads.com

Click Here to Discuss in the Forums

Spread the love
             
 
   

Schoolboy Q Celebrates The Shiny Suit Era With A Video To Get You Hype

Early this morning, ScHoolboy Q released his first solo music in nearly three years. Following 2016’s Grammy-nominated The Blank Face LP, “Numb Numb Juice” marks a loud and proud return. Groovy Q wasted no time with the visuals to the song, which clocks in at less than 2:00 in length. The single is produced by an ensemble including Hykeem Carter, DJ Fu, as well as Nez & Rio. In the video, Q pays homage to the late 1990s Hype Williams-era visuals. He offers his best recreation of The Notorious B.I.G. and Puff Daddy’s “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems” set. With the shiny red suits and the backdrop that many on social media have compared to the inside of a cheese grater, Q delivers his bars with a close associate. He raps to the camera with flare. He pauses to dance, smile, and flail his arms, just like the Bad Boy family, Missy Elliott, Will Smith, and so many others did in the late ’90s. Common & Hype Williams Release a Visually Stunning Short Film for Kingdom (Video) Other sets in the Dave Free-directed video include an elaborate mansion with a pool. In a robe, the Los Angeles, California MC dances as he lives the good life on the property. Sequences also include a glow-in-the-dark homage to Hype’s Belly feature film (and references to its characters, played by Tyler, The Creator no less). Other scenes find Q counting big bills, orchestrating martial arts on a helipad, and rolling down red paint on the highway. Early on, he also smokes up as a guest on The Joe Rogan Podcast. ScHoolboy Q is having the most fun as he ramps up for an anticipated fifth album. Back in 2016, Nas used Belly as an inspiration in the video for DJ Khaled’s “Nas Album Done.”

Source: AmbrosiaForHeads.com

Click Here to Discuss in the Forums

Spread the love
             
 
   

LL Cool J, DMX, Redman & Method Man Explain The Real Definition Of A Freestyle

Twenty-one years ago this month, LL Cool J released his “4, 3, 2, 1” single. Not unlike “I Shot Ya” two years prior, one of the most respected figures in Rap recruited a team of ferocious MCs to share the mic. In addition to Canibus, whose early career appearance and its relationship to LL took on a legend of its own, the 1997 Phenomenon cut involved L’s Def Jam Records label-mates Method Man, Redman, and DMX.

Around the time of the song, MTV News‘ Abbie Kearse spoke to LL, Red, Meth, and X together. The interview has some awkward beats but serves as a rare moment in time for four artists at different career points. As a cross-section of East Coast Rap giants from the last 15 years at the time, Kearse asks the four lyricists about the definition of a freestyle, given the cypher-style and retro chorus to “4, 3, 2, 1.” As debates linger today about what is and what isn’t a freestyle, these answers may be surprising.

Black Thought & Method Man Go Verse For Verse In A Freestyle For The Ages (Video)

“A lot of times, when people talk about freestyle, it’s interesting, because being a student of Hip-Hop and growing up on Hip-Hop, I learned that ‘freestyling’ back in the days, really, was when you write a rhyme, and then you say it,” says LL Cool J around the 2:30 mark. “What people call ‘freestyling’ now is what people used to call ‘off the top of the head.’ So it kills me when people say ‘freestyle,’ ’cause it’s the wrong definition, but it’s just taken on this ill kind of connotation.”

DMX agrees with L. “It’s just talkin’ mess, not talkin’ about any particular subject, just talkin’ about how good you are. That’s freestylin’ to me.” He adds, “Freestyle, to me, is a style—not speaking on any particular subject, just on how nice you are.” He says that it is a type of track, like a concept record, storytelling, or otherwise. Later in the conversation, DMX—who was an emerging face on MTV’s video rotation at the time, spits a verse. The bars he delivers eventually ended up on “Blackout” from 1998’s Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood.

Ever See This Classic Redman & Keith Murray Freestyle From the Mid-90s? (Video)

Redman describes how freestyles are a calling card for hungry MCs. “[There are] not too many artists you can catch freestyling unless you cypher with them [or] if they do a skit on [their] album or something like that. You gotta catch a freestyle artist at a party or something, when he gets the mic and airs it out,” said the Newark, New Jersey MC/producer not long after releasing Muddy Waters. “I’m takin’ it here on a business level, and the record industry level while they’re [doing it in] the streets. So what they’re freestyling about would be way different than [what you will hear from] somebody [in] the industry. So I really vibe off of up-and-coming artists.”

Funk Doc agrees with LL and DMX’s definition, but also contends that the contemporary term for off-the-dome rhymes works too. “Sometimes it’s off the top of the head, but sometimes it’s just lyrics that can be about anything. You can write a freestyle, just talkin’ about anything, any particular subject. You can jump from subject to subject. Matter of fact, a freestyle is what got me on with Biz [Markie] and EPMD. Biz Mark’ took me to Monticello Park in Queens, and I went out there and aired it out with a freestyle. People knew me underground for freestyle rapping. When I [worked on EPMD’s Business As Usual] it was the same way.”

Ever Heard This LL Cool J Freestyle From The ’80s? He’s In Ripper Mode (Audio)

Method Man admits that his first freestyle was based on the theme to Gilligan’s Island. The Staten Island, New Yorker says that it was not the best, but forced him to improve. “They was throwin’ empty crack vials at ni**as and all that sh*t. When we was up in the club, it was bad—up in the rec’ room parties [at] Park Hill.” Meth’ also brings the discussion to monetary terms and levels of respect. “I don’t like somebody to come up to me and ask me to rhyme off the top in the street like that. I don’t care if there’s a camera in my face, [if I am] on radio, whatever. If I came here to do one thing, I came here to do one thing. So when you know you’re gettin’ paid for this, and it’s a job, you’re holdin’ all your stuff.” The comment appears to also suggest to MTV News to not ask on this particular day. However, there is more to it than just disinterest. “It’s like, ‘Man, I ain’t givin’ this out for free no more.’ So when they say ‘freestyle,’ [it] gets funny at times. Freestyle? Ain’t nothin’ for free; that’s why you got pay-styles now.” Method Man adds that freestyling should always be a choice for MCs who have proven themselves. He says he enjoys listening to hungry rappers, who Meth’ has been devoted to helping for much of his career. “[After] the show is over, and you’re in the parking lot or the motel that we’re at, and [MCs are] there, and they’re starting it themselves, but they open it up enough for you to step in and listen, that’s peace right there. ‘Cause they ain’t asking you for nothing. If anything, they’re giving: ‘Check us out; this is how we get down.’ If you feel like you want to join in, join in. [As a Hip-Hop Head] I’ll be out there ’til sun-up.”

Twenty years after this segment, Method Man, joined by his The Deuce co-star Black Thought, showed cameras what it looks like when the spirit moves him. Both legendary MCs went back-to-back with freestyles on Sway In The Morning.

Method Man Shows These Wack Rappers How To Rock A Trap Beat Properly

LL Cool J builds upon what his collaborator is saying. He likens it to sports. “As good as Michael Jordan is at a playground, the reality is that he probably wouldn’t stop at a playground and risk [his career by] dunking around and soaring over cracks in the asphalt. There’s just certain levels to it.” Years before YouTube, these Rap stars knew that freestyling has casualties. A rapper can be bested by a hungry competitor, which according to many, is what Canibus attempted to do to LL Cool J on “4, 3, 2, 1.” The Rap star can make a public mistake on the big stage when they’ve already proven themselves and arguably should not have to. Meanwhile, as Method Man says, styles can be taken and game can be soaked up for free.

Thirteen years after his first 12″ single, LL continues, “I think freestyling is very important, ’cause it keeps you on your P’s and Q’s, and it makes sure that you are sharp in terms of the way that you articulate what you’re feeling. The reality is, I think you have to constantly grow. There has to be growth there.”

Parrish Smith Discusses LL Cool J Dissing EPMD ON THEIR OWN SONG (Video)

DMX asserts that he is not a new artist, but a new act on the label. Still, as the least familiar face to MTV News in 1997, X delivers the freestyle for the camera. He asks if he can curse, and then spits an incredibly raw and very trademark Dark Man X type of rhyme. It is the perfect moment to show new viewers just what the would-be superstar is about.

The rest of the discussion in the segment deals with the song, embedded below:

Twenty-one years ago this month, LL Cool J released his “4, 3, 2, 1” single. Not unlike “I Shot Ya” two years prior, one of the most respected figures in Rap recruited a team of ferocious MCs to share the mic. In addition to Canibus, whose early career appearance and its relationship to LL took on a legend of its own, the 1997 Phenomenon cut involved L’s Def Jam Records label-mates Method Man, Redman, and DMX.

Around the time of the song, MTV News‘ Abbie Kearse spoke to LL, Red, Meth, and X together. The interview has some awkward beats but serves as a rare moment in time for four artists at different career points. As a cross-section of East Coast Rap giants from the last 15 years at the time, Kearse asks the four lyricists about the definition of a freestyle, given the cypher-style and retro chorus to “4, 3, 2, 1.” As debates linger today about what is and what isn’t a freestyle, these answers may be surprising.

Black Thought & Method Man Go Verse For Verse In A Freestyle For The Ages (Video)

“A lot of times, when people talk about freestyle, it’s interesting, because being a student of Hip-Hop and growing up on Hip-Hop, I learned that ‘freestyling’ back in the days, really, was when you write a rhyme, and then you say it,” says LL Cool J around the 2:30 mark. “What people call ‘freestyling’ now is what people used to call ‘off the top of the head.’ So it kills me when people say ‘freestyle,’ ’cause it’s the wrong definition, but it’s just taken on this ill kind of connotation.”

DMX agrees with L. “It’s just talkin’ mess, not talkin’ about any particular subject, just talkin’ about how good you are. That’s freestylin’ to me.” He adds, “Freestyle, to me, is a style—not speaking on any particular subject, just on how nice you are.” He says that it is a type of track, like a concept record, storytelling, or otherwise. Later in the conversation, DMX—who was an emerging face on MTV’s video rotation at the time, spits a verse. The bars he delivers eventually ended up on “Blackout” from 1998’s Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood.

Ever See This Classic Redman & Keith Murray Freestyle From the Mid-90s? (Video)

Redman describes how freestyles are a calling card for hungry MCs. “[There are] not too many artists you can catch freestyling unless you cypher with them [or] if they do a skit on [their] album or something like that. You gotta catch a freestyle artist at a party or something, when he gets the mic and airs it out,” said the Newark, New Jersey MC/producer not long after releasing Muddy Waters. “I’m takin’ it here on a business level, and the record industry level while they’re [doing it in] the streets. So what they’re freestyling about would be way different than [what you will hear from] somebody [in] the industry. So I really vibe off of up-and-coming artists.”

Funk Doc agrees with LL and DMX’s definition, but also contends that the contemporary term for off-the-dome rhymes works too. “Sometimes it’s off the top of the head, but sometimes it’s just lyrics that can be about anything. You can write a freestyle, just talkin’ about anything, any particular subject. You can jump from subject to subject. Matter of fact, a freestyle is what got me on with Biz [Markie] and EPMD. Biz Mark’ took me to Monticello Park in Queens, and I went out there and aired it out with a freestyle. People knew me underground for freestyle rapping. When I [worked on EPMD’s Business As Usual] it was the same way.”

Ever Heard This LL Cool J Freestyle From The ’80s? He’s In Ripper Mode (Audio)

Method Man admits that his first freestyle was based on the theme to Gilligan’s Island. The Staten Island, New Yorker says that it was not the best, but forced him to improve. “They was throwin’ empty crack vials at ni**as and all that sh*t. When we was up in the club, it was bad—up in the rec’ room parties [at] Park Hill.” Meth’ also brings the discussion to monetary terms and levels of respect. “I don’t like somebody to come up to me and ask me to rhyme off the top in the street like that. I don’t care if there’s a camera in my face, [if I am] on radio, whatever. If I came here to do one thing, I came here to do one thing. So when you know you’re gettin’ paid for this, and it’s a job, you’re holdin’ all your stuff.” The comment appears to also suggest to MTV News to not ask on this particular day. However, there is more to it than just disinterest. “It’s like, ‘Man, I ain’t givin’ this out for free no more.’ So when they say ‘freestyle,’ [it] gets funny at times. Freestyle? Ain’t nothin’ for free; that’s why you got pay-styles now.” Method Man adds that freestyling should always be a choice for MCs who have proven themselves. He says he enjoys listening to hungry rappers, who Meth’ has been devoted to helping for much of his career. “[After] the show is over, and you’re in the parking lot or the motel that we’re at, and [MCs are] there, and they’re starting it themselves, but they open it up enough for you to step in and listen, that’s peace right there. ‘Cause they ain’t asking you for nothing. If anything, they’re giving: ‘Check us out; this is how we get down.’ If you feel like you want to join in, join in. [As a Hip-Hop Head] I’ll be out there ’til sun-up.”

Twenty years after this segment, Method Man, joined by his The Deuce co-star Black Thought, showed cameras what it looks like when the spirit moves him. Both legendary MCs went back-to-back with freestyles on Sway In The Morning.

Method Man Shows These Wack Rappers How To Rock A Trap Beat Properly

LL Cool J builds upon what his collaborator is saying. He likens it to sports. “As good as Michael Jordan is at a playground, the reality is that he probably wouldn’t stop at a playground and risk [his career by] dunking around and soaring over cracks in the asphalt. There’s just certain levels to it.” Years before YouTube, these Rap stars knew that freestyling has casualties. A rapper can be bested by a hungry competitor, which according to many, is what Canibus attempted to do to LL Cool J on “4, 3, 2, 1.” The Rap star can make a public mistake on the big stage when they’ve already proven themselves and arguably should not have to. Meanwhile, as Method Man says, styles can be taken and game can be soaked up for free.

Thirteen years after his first 12″ single, LL continues, “I think freestyling is very important, ’cause it keeps you on your P’s and Q’s, and it makes sure that you are sharp in terms of the way that you articulate what you’re feeling. The reality is, I think you have to constantly grow. There has to be growth there.”

Parrish Smith Discusses LL Cool J Dissing EPMD ON THEIR OWN SONG (Video)

DMX asserts that he is not a new artist, but a new act on the label. Still, as the least familiar face to MTV News in 1997, X delivers the freestyle for the camera. He asks if he can curse, and then spits an incredibly raw and very trademark Dark Man X type of rhyme. It is the perfect moment to show new viewers just what the would-be superstar is about.

The rest of the discussion in the segment deals with the song, embedded below:

Source: AmbrosiaForHeads.com

Click Here to Discuss in the Forums

Spread the love