RAEKWON
Interview by Black Dog Vol 7 #4
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Brooklyn New York. I moved to Staten Island when I was about nine years old. I think in the fourth grade. It was rough. It was in the ghetto. I didn’t have any older brothers. I had to go through a lot of trials and tribulations about being able to cope with going to school and having the things I need. It was rough on my mom. My mom was still in school. She was young. She was about seventeen or eighteen. My mom’s forty two right now. I was her first kid.
Why did you move from Brooklyn to Staten Island?
It was rougher in Brooklyn. We weren’t home too much in Brooklyn. My mom had us moving around. I had lived in different parts of Brooklyn and Queens. I had gone down south for two summers where I had family in North Carolina.
What about you pops?
I didn’t really know my pops too well. I don’t know him right now. I haven’t seen him in so long, he could walk right up on me right now and I wouldn’t even know it was him. That’s kind of a stab. I didn’t grow up with him.
Who did you grow up with?
Number one, I grew up in the street. My friends were my brothers. There were five or six of us and we’d be together everyday gettin into shit, having fun and going to parties or whatever. That was my parenthood. In the streets watching what was going, experiencing different things. That shit was deep because there was a lot of drugs goin around my neighborhood, old timers and a lot of prostitution. I was able to adapt to that shit. Next thing you know I found myself being apart of that life. To get the things I needed in life, like a place to stay. My mom told me that if I felt like I had to run to that to save my life I would have to do that by myself. She never supported the things I did while I was being in the street life. But as I got older she was able to respect that her son had to do what he had to do cuz he wasn’t tryin to ask her for nothin. All I would ever do was try to help her.
Did you ever have any brothers and sisters?
In the future I wound up having two brothers and one sister.
When you were growing up were you into music?
I was into music. I wasn’t writing any rhymes then. I was more or less a free styler MC-er. I would say it in my mind and have fun with it in the hall ways and the stairs and all that.
How old were you when you started getting into rhyming and Hip Hop?
It was when I was about seventeen. It got real for me when I turned around twenty-one. Before that I was just a regular street kid running with the knuckleheads. Trying to go to school, gettin my life together. Have dreams of being an athlete, goin to college one day.
Were there any other Wu Tang Clan members living on Staten Island when you were growing up?
The majority of the clan is basically from my neighborhood. Only a couple like Cheazer and Old 30 who lived in Brooklyn. Basically we all went to school together. We would all be on the bus comin home, rhyming, buggin out hearin each other’s tapes. We stuck around each other. We more or less were staircase rappers before we turned into major MC’s. We would get in the staircase of our apartment buildings, smoke some weed and bug out. In the staircase we was more or less being private about it but at the same time we didn’t care who heard it.
Is anyone from your family in Wu Tang Clan ?
Wu Tang Clan is my family regardless, right now. We’ve acquired so many good things together. But they’re not blood family.
Who was the first person in Wu Tang Clan to get in music?
I would say La Rizza. Since back as far as I could remember, wearin Adidas with fat laces. He always stuck with it. I knew he was goin to be successful cuz the energy he had behind him.
Wasn’t he more into the music but not messin with the rhymes?
No. He was fuckin with both. He was a genius at it back then cuz number one he knew how to cut. He would do chicks cuttin. He’d do all the old school records. He had a book of rhymes back then. A big thick loose leaf note book with gray hair on it. Nigga had over about five hundred rhymes back then talkin about everything. He was ill back then.
How did Wu Tang Clan come together?
We were in the neighborhood together. La Rizza was in the music business. He had caught a record deal with Tommy Boy, I think. We supported his music. Played it in our vehicle back in the days, ride around with it. Basically we knew that once he was goin to be in it that sooner or later it would happen for us. We just wanted to let him do what he had to do and hopefully he’d come around and pick us up. But unfortunately the music business tried to change his life style or however he felt about his music. And he got up out of his record deal. But at the same time, he had acquired enough knowledge to be able to learn the business and bring some new brothers in. He knew we had skills. We would all go to Rizza’s house frequently, listen to music and make our tapes. One day he told us we need to make record cuz he knew how to do it. He said if we all stick our hearts and our minds in it, Let’s make a fast song and make something happen. Us being brothers that wanted to be on the radio one day, we were with that. He had a the basic equipment at his house.
Was the neighborhood back then very different from the neighborhood now?
Oh hell yeah. When I was growin up, number one, we would be workin for somethin that we were really wantin to have. Back then we was in the streets doin whatever we was tryin to do. Brothers were into gettin their own apartments, havin bad clothes, pay your bills. Get everything that you would want. Whether it be sheepskins, leather coats, leather pants. We had more drive back then for doin things. We didn’t base our whole life around bein in that type of environment. We would go have fun. The clubs back then was more oriented where we was able to get shit or more. Nowadays I don’t really see too many brothers that want to be a part of that. They doin what they doin with out using their smarts. I see a lot of brothers nowadays they still livin with their moms. Their not doin nothin for themselves. It’s takin them a long time to see that you got to change your lifestyles sometimes. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not talkin about all the young cats. But the majority of them is really lost right now. They messin up their education. At least we was goin to school back then. Whatever I was dealin with, I definitely made sure I was able to get up and go to school that day. At least if I didn’t stay in school that whole day, I made it my business to be up a seven-thirty in the morning to go to school. Nowadays you don’t see too many shorties goin to school. That’s fucked up. They don’t got no older image to tell them what time it is. One person could tell them. One out of ten niggaz you might listen to.
Did anyone else in your blood family play music or rap?
No. My mom knows how to sing but she don’t take it seriously. Just has fun with it. I got a little brother that’s goin to be a basketball star. Colleges is callin him already. That made me feel good to know that’s what he want to do. Athletes run in my family a lot more than musicians. I’m one of the only people that I can remember. My family, my aunts and uncles, they more like southern people. But they was born in Brooklyn. They were into the old time seventies music.
What music were young listening to when you were growing up?
I started gettin into music in 1985, ‘86, ‘87, when Run DMC and Houdini. Bizmark was makin their debut with their little styles. They made New York hype because they would be doin shows in some of the places that we was able to go to. The ‘88 feeling with the clothes back then, the leather bombers, takin pictures on 42nd street. That made me definitely want to go in the direction I’m goin right now. That had a major influence on me. Those were funner days than right now. I had more fun bein a fan. I’m a fan still to this day but back then I was a bigger fan. I guess it’s different now cuz I’m an artist. In the business you see a lot of messed up stuff. When you are on the outside you see stuff you want to be like. Recently I haven’t had a chance to see no concerts. Sometimes I be wantin to go into the crowd. You can’t do that because you gettin ready to perform or whatever.
Do people recognize you right away when you go to a store?
Anywhere I got now people recognize me because of the long stretch we had in the business. Sometimes they act crazy but sometimes they just be chillin because they know that our brothers just want to be regular like them.
Were there a lot of clubs to got to when you were growing up?
We use to go to this club up in Harlem called The Roof Top and a club in Manhattan called Latin Quarters on Union Square. The Armory. Those clubs don’t still go on.
What about clubs for the kids to go to nowadays?
I guess there are a few places but it ain’t like back in the day.
How did the Kung Fu Wu Tang thing come about?
We grew up seeing the karate flicks on TV at three o’clock Saturday morning. They use to have hype ones. Right after we brothers seen it we’d go outside and talk about it. We liked the fact that anytime they was fightin they was fightin for the love of their brother or the love of their family. That means a lot to us because Wu Tang is the swords style of rhyming. Because we say the tongue is symbolic to the sword. We were into the brotherhood as well as the companionship of the family. The love and trust for your family. We saw that in the films. Anytime they would get into any drama it was about somebody messin with their family, take their food, make them starve. It’s all about not bein a punk. We’ve brought that whole concept into the Wu Tang family.
Is it still like that?
It’s definitely like that. We are more of a musical empire. We don’t worry about too much negativity stuff. We don’t involve ourselves around too much of that. I’m speakin for the nine members of Wu Tang Clan.
Wu Tang has nine members and there’s a bigger family, right?
Exactly. People we try to take care and help get their life together like we got ours.
When you were watching the kung fu films did you get into the Chinese culture?
Yeah after awhile. One thing I can say about Chinese people they definitely live for a long time. They grow to be old and look good. We definitely like to pick up on the medicines they use. That’s important. Japan won’t let you bring back certain things. That’s in a lot of places in Africa.
Did you travel with the Wu Tang Clan or did you travel on your own?
Sometimes I do both. If I’m in a rush I have to get their by myself. I’ve done shows in Japan with the clan. Shit was off the hook. Every event was packed. They even knew the songs.
Would you say Rae Kwons and Dirty Old Master’s lyrics are more into the streets than the rest of the Wu Tang?
That’s what makes the clan so ill because you got the different types of language comin at you. That’s what makes Wu Tang. You got the streets the covered. I’m more or less like a Kool G Rat rapper and Rizza is more like a KRS Public Enemy rapper. Various styles are in the group. Jizza is more like a Raw Chem level. He can get deep and turn the funness into real shit. I’m the same way but I like to make stories a little laughin and all that. Have you buggin out.
How does each person get their part when Wu Tang Clan goes into the studio?
Some are their before others sometimes. We listen to the beats. We ignore each other for a minute. I might finish a little earlier and feel confident to tell the others how something sounds. If I go in their and set it off, it might have made the nigga who was stuck for a minute rebuild his shit up. He might say he comes in perfect after me and then we’ll work off of that. Whoever comes in after that might decide he’s ready to come after that. It don’t necessarily be like it’s programmed. It might be the spirit of the moment event. I always know that I’m gonna come after Deck because Deck is like Scotty Pippin to me. All my brothers are good. They makin sure that we come on with the ball. Jizza is like a Spreewell. He passin the ball. He gonna definitely make it work. It’s important to be able to have teams.
You write your music in the studio with the beat, not at home?
I write it right on the spot. Sometimes we don’t know what beat we want to do. We might change the beat up. A lot of people might not like the beat and we change that but it’ll take a little time.
Do you live in the old neighborhood?
I still got family out there. I be out there all the time. But it’s not too safe out there now. It’s rougher. You got to be able to watch how you move. Nothin’s gonna stop me from goin to see my family and checkin on my friends cuz that’s all I got. But as far as the cost of livin out there. There’s violence and all that shit that be around. Police make it hard for a brother to go through there and be relaxed. If I come through in a big car chillin or whatever, I’m liable to be gettin some checker to be played out. They ain’t use to that comin through there like that. They don’t care about who I am or what I do. That’s fucked up when it’s in your own neighborhood like that. I done witnessed that gettin locked up for a bag of weed. I don’t got no time for that shit no more.
Where are you living now?
I live in the suburbs of Jersey. When I go home, I need peace and quiet.
Do you miss the old neighborhood?
I can’t say I miss it. I lived amongst it for twenty-five years. I’m gettin a chance to get my life together right now. I miss the friends I was around everyday.
What’s your birthday?
I’m a Capricorn. January 12th.
How did you get the name Chef? Do you like food a lot?
Definitely. Bubbas gave me the name because the chef in the karate flicks was the one that was the cook but he was nice. In a lot of the movies the chef was the fat little chubby man, but he was nice. Nobody could fuck him up. He fought all the illest niggaz and beat them. Bubbas used that in a lyrical terminology for myself. That’s the chef in our book right there because number one he got flavor, number two he’s gonna definitely prepare his dish to have it mouth watering. I ran with it. A lot of brothers in the street know me as Shalah which is my Islamic name.
What was the name your mom gave you?
My government name? I don’t like talking about that over the air. My government name is something special to me. It’s something I ain’t use to from just growin up. I only had to hear it from certain people. If it wasn’t the teacher it was my mother. Other than that everybody else knew me in the street as Shah.
Did everybody already have their names when you formed Wu Tang Clan or did you pick them then?
The names were around before we really got on. It’s not like when we made our first record we said this is your name. There’s brothers like Method Man who had his name from way back. We use to call trees marijuana methods. The method. He was such a tree head back then that he called himself method. All of us use to smoke a lot back then. Genius was always genius back then. But Rhythm’s name was like Prince Rakeen the scientist. Old Dirty Bastard was The Professor. Brothers definitely had their names way before the game even came out.
When your record first came out did you ever think that you’d become a big Wu Tang empire?
I figured it would happen. I took it as the more we put into it the more we gonna get out. I know we got talent. We already set a mark for ourselves. Now what we got to do is pursue it and keep it real with the ones that love us. That’s all we did basically.
Did you feel like you are gonna get to this level with Wu Tang Clan?
Definitely. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication, and having the right people working a the right things. Everybody can’t do the same thing. We had a structure broken down to where if Rae had to play the part of an artist, he would do that. He would focus on the things he had to. While the next man would focus on the business as far as making sure we want what we need. With out that type of foundation behind me, I wouldn’t be able to feel so good like I am right now. People don’t know that’s what’s important. It’s the people you got workin behind the Rap scene.
Has the Wu Tang Family changed since you have become so famous you from when you started in the business five or six years ago?
I won’t say the family’s changed as people or as individuals. We ain’t the type of brothers that let the music go to our head. We just try to make good music and live our life. It might have changed as far as the way we livin right now. The majority of us is out of the ghetto when we got something to live for. But as a person it ain’t really changed. We still argue. We still go through little love changes with each other. Lettin us know how we feel about each other but we normal people just like anybody else. Music is just a tool we use to stay on board in the Hip Hop game. We love music. We fans of music as well as we make it. Just livin the normal life. And doin this Rap thing that we do is just normal to us right now. It’s a job.
What music gets you excited right now?
I listen to a lot of old music. In my car I have shit like the Whispers in their. O'Jays. I guess that’s a part of me growin up. My family listened to so much of that. I more or less like the music that was happening in the eighties than right now. There isn’t too many real song writers. Muthafuckas be singin all kinds of crazy shit right now. I love Hip Hop but I can’t listen to it everyday. I listen to various music. I listen to old school music. Cuz music relaxes your mind. You don’t want to listen to much rowdy shit that ain’t givin you time to think. I like to further my education when I listen to music as well as make raw Hip Hop.
What are some of the old school artists that you listen to?
Whispers, O’Jays. Lionel Ritchie. I love Marvin Gaye. Luther Vandros.
What do you think of some of the new R&B music out right now?
A lot of this shit is hype. A lot of them is sayin the same shit over and over. You’ll never get anyone like a Patty LaBelle and a Chahka Khan nowadays. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s cuz if you have to cater to what the people like you forget what you like. If you tryin to satisfy everybody else. Back then those artists were singin from the bottom of their heart. A lot of them was comin out of church. That’s all they knew. It was more soulful back then. Right now too much made up. They run with a pretty girl, give her a look and one record. Next thing you know she’s suppose to be all of that. I think everybody could make their first record a hit. But the next one is when people really watch. You can make one hit but let me see what you do on your second one and your third. New R&B ain’t like Gladys Knight and the Pips records.
Do you think you’re putting soul in your records?
I think what I’m doin is showin the talent of being an MC from a certain type of lifestyle and from changin my lifestyle. I’m just being able to paint a picture a little bit more better and use better colors and graphics to explain myself. Before I didn’t really give a fuck about whatever I said. But now I tr4y to keep it a little bit more positive now. Well I can’t say keepin it more positive because I definitely still be likin the same crazy shit. But think I have matured my style a little bit to where people could feel like I’m a veteran at it right now. Whereas before he was learning and now I’m more like a professional school veteran.
Are you happy with what you are doin with your records right now?
Right now I’m happy to be able to deliver good music to you all. And the fans still love me like it was yesterday. That means more to me than anything. I’ll always have the ability to rhyme or write. Because I believe in myself. If I put myself into makin good music I’m gonna always make it. I just go on the level. My drive is to feed off how the public sees it.
How different is Rae Kwon from Wu Tang Clan?
I’m more of a laid back person. I try to be by myself where I get more of a chance to think about things goin on. And be able to paint my own pictures in my head. My brothers is gonna be there with me regardless. Whereas being Rae, I feel like I’ve made a change for the better. I try to be by myself and keep thinkin about other things. I’m not a loner. There are things I got to cater to as far as being a part of my own blood family. If I could just check on brothers and hear from them, I’m alright with that. If we are trying to see each other we are definitely gonna make our way to seein each other.
Are there differences between the new album and the last album?
Definitely lyrically. My rhymes nowadays are killin the rhymes I was sayin on Cuba Links. I know how to do it better. It’s like if I was a lemonade maker back in the days makin lemonade out of the pack. Now, I know how to make homemade lemonade. At its best right now. I got my weight up from experiencing stuff and doin shit. I bettered my style. Whatever I’m dealin with now is acquired from what I was doin back then. I’m sayin it better and gettin right down to the point.
Is this album more street or less street?
This album is definitely streets. But it has a twist of vegetables. There’s nourishment in there that is good for every kid’s mind. You got your normal Rae Kwon. I made this album more or less a Cuba Link big brother album. The majority of Cuba Links is Mafia image. Right now, it’s not caught up in the street to where it’s takin over my life. I’m about prospering and tryin to better my life right now. I have songs in there catering to everybody’s lifestyle. As far as having fun. As far as emotional. As far as I need direction, I needed something to thing about. The album is not just goin one way talkin about the street life. You got the street life in there and all types of other shit for you. Vitamins.
What do you think about how New York is into this whole Mafia thing?
I started that. It’s about gettin respect. Brothers in this business want to get the name as if they was a real Mafia cat because people only respect power. When we were sayin it back in the days it was how we felt. We felt we was a family that was invincible. It wasn’t like we was all under some Mafia shit. I loved the Mafia for what they stand for more than them being the Mafia. I listen to their principles. The love for what they stand for. That shit is deep. That’s how a nigga really be feelin when they’re low. We just let everybody know we is a family that consists of just us. We make sure we are alright before we make sure everybody else is alright. People clung onto that shit. They knew that was some things kickin some real shit. We set off a trend. Now I didn’t want to make this album the exact same type of style. I didn’t want nobody to feel like I changed because I didn’t change. But I did change. I changed fifty – fifty. I still got my gangster style but at the same time I’m not just not thinkin with out a cause. I’m not a rebel without a cause. I’m for the cause more than the cause.
Do you think the Mafia underworld appeals to people because it can’t be controlled by the system?
The Mafia is about family producin. One thing about Mafia is a big corporation that involve themselves with stuff to better their life.
Is Mafia gangster type stuff still goin on in New York?
I don’t know. I guess the times have changed. All I can do is look at the news and learn from whatever you hear. To me you’re Mafia as long as you take care of your family and something to stand for and live for. And you got dreams. And you’re working as a team with the ones that you love and care about. That you countin on. I’m a brother right now where I’m gettin older, I’m thinkin for the future now. I want to be able to say after I did this I past it down to some brothers I felt it was worthy of some brothers that were worthy of holing up the name. And adding on and teaching what is suppose to be taught. As well as tellin us about your background and where you come from. Right now it’s about elevation. That’s the chamber I’m in right now. The prosperous chamber. This album deals with growth and development. Rae is catering to all his fans instead of just one set of fans.
When you make an album do you feel you pressure to please your audience or some current trend in Rap?
Back then I would have done what I want to do. But right now I have so many different fans in all complexities, nationalities and sexes. I have to make this music more visible to everybody and not just one side. A lot of brothers don’t show growth. I wanted to be able to open up to the people and get them to get what they want out of me instead of just me being just selfish on however I felt.
A lot of Wu Tang albums were talking about real Wu tang family thing or New York things and out here we wouldn’t understand. Sometimes it’s another world.
That’s because brothers be tryin to further your knowledge with the rhyming. We can talk about a few things more than just the street life. It’s just brothers trying to enhance their credibility with rhyming. Some people like that and some people don’t. I’ve more or less been in the street all my life so that’s really all I know. Other brothers might have not have been in the streets so long but have did a lot other things. Like studying about cultures and all of that. That’s what separates me from the next man. But we still all one because whatever I give he gonna give you the opposite side. That’s important to get all worlds for the cost of whatever you gonna get from us.
Do you find that the people on the street have any problems understanding what you have to say about Chinese or African culture?
There’s only gonna be a few that understand. That’s why you can only give them so much at a time. You can’t feed your baby steak so quick. People is able to adapt to more about what they been through than want to know about the future like that. You always gonna have brothers adapting to what they know on the street.
Did you make the album only for New York or for nationwide?
Even back then when I made Cuba Link the album was for nationwide. I thought about the West. I thought about the South. I thought about the East. I thought about the North. Right now I have respect for how little kids feel and they bein fans of our music, I didn’t want to give them a negative vibe to think about. I wanted them to feel songs by catering to them on another level. Like the respect of your mother. I got a song on my album All I got is you, Part 2 about the loyalty I have for my mother. A lot of kids that don’t respect their mother. Hopefully this song will touch them to keep an eye on their family and to help their family instead of making their moms miserable and having her crying. I just try to touch them in certain areas. Like the women. I never did an album where I had songs for women. But me loving women for loving me, I had to make a few songs to make em dance. Plus I like to dance and bug to.
Why didn’t Rizza do the production on this album?
I wanted to give different brothers a chance to get themselves together and help me on another level. Rizza doesn’t do so much work with us. I didn’t even want to begin comin on him with the album. It’s so difficult in his life cuz he’s been doin so much work. We wanted to try something new. I wanted to experiment. I wanted to feel like I did eighty percent of the album myself. It would show me that I was important and now the world was dependent on me to come across. I wanted to take advantage of this project and let everybody know that Rae could get up and represent for hisself as well as still have his brothers in his corner. I wanted to show everybody that I could do it. My brothers didn’t know that Rae could do a whole album by himself because he never did it before. I just let it be known right now. By me not having Rizza on it definitely made me show people Wu Tang do front for other producers. And that’s also about giving brothers a chance to grow.
Did Rizza do most of the production on the first album?
Rizza did all of the production on the first album. That was my first time in the business, four and half years ago. Right now I’m a grown man. Before he had to help me to a degree. But now I’m able to help myself.
Did you use family people for the production in this album?
No. One of the guys I fucked with is named Triflin. He’s a younger cat from Atlanta. He wasn’t even a big producer. he just happened to be in the studio with me one day with some friends we both knew. And he let me hear a tape. I liked it. And as a person, I was diggin how he was comin across with his shit. He had an open mind. He would pay attention to what I was sayin and he would run with that. And at the same time, I will help a brother. Just like I got help before. He was showing me that he was able to do what I needed. I was lovin it. I found somebody that I needed to see. He’s an underground cat just startin. I gave him his first track. He made about four or five tracks not all of them. These other cats called Anthony architects coming out of New York. The made about four or five tracks. All these guys are signed on the Cream Team, my new offspring group comin out. I’m bringing out couple MC’s you’ll hear about soon. That’s me coming out with new talent under my belt.
What do you think of the new Rap coming out of the Midwest and the South?
Everybody learns in this business. Hip Hop ain’t just on the East Coast or whatever. Hip Hop is national. It’s global. It’s international. It’s all over the world. It’s just showing me that brothers are getting up and doing their thing and they’re doing it correct. That’s all about growin. Brothers being there with a watch for others doing learnin off of that gettin their shit together. That’s positive to me. That’s suppose to happen. It ain’t just New York got it goin on. Everybody got it goin on. You got have your mind open for it though.
New York people sometimes think it’s not Hip Hop if it’s not New York.
You got to Understand our favorite MC’s are probably their favorites too. They learn the same way we learn. There are different actions. Different things people like. Music is something that soothes the mind. You got to have an open mind on any kind of music involved.
What was your feeling about the East Coast – West Coast conflict?
I never got involved with the East-West rivalries because I had love on both coasts. I know how to adapt when I get out to Call. I know how to adapt when I’m out in New York. I had no time for the rivalry because I knew it was Rap hype startin up shit. By not gettin involved, it showed me that I got no time to worry about how people gonna take it. I’m just representing real Hip Hop period. I got brothers I love from the West and I got brothers I love from the East. I’m not going to fool everyone out in the West because they goin through it. Ain’t nobody disrespecting me as a man. Really I don’t give a fuck. That ain’t my business.
It seems as if the East Coast rappers and the media don’t understand that the West Coast rappers have a different lifestyle so that it’s never gonna be like New York Rap.
You only know what you come from. It’s all about respectin where you from. That’s what you guys got to be satisfied more. Some West Coast cats say that said they don’t like West Coast Rap. They like the way New York cats put it together. Everybody have their own opinion. You can never knock a brother for feelin how their feelin. Music is music. The key is to be happy with whatever you like.
What do you think the Rap media saying that the South or West is not real Hip Hop?
I think people sayin that is just bein selfish and don’t want to respect both sides. And people like that definitely don’t understand both sides. Criticism will always take its course. How do you know their aren’t a bunch of West Coast people feelin that about East Coast. I once heard that they say that Hip Hop start in the West. And you know like I know that Hip Hop damn sure didn’t start in the West. But I ain’t gonna jump out the window and try to pull to nobody that it started from the West. That’s their opinion. It’s a time in this business when you got to become old and respect what the fuck is goin on. You can’t be tryin to beat yourself about something like that. Some people do live like that. Fuck it. As long as you know what time it is. I’m a democratic rapper. I’m with the people and not what everybody else think.
It wasn’t so long ago a black person couldn’t eat in a restaurant in the South. Don’t you think we should all be glad when a black man from the South is doing good?
Number one, I’m not a hater. I get a good drive off a brother doin his thing. That makes me say to myself whatever he’s capable of doin I’m capable of doin. I don’t worry about what the next man has got or is doin. It’s about me gettin my shit together and learn from the best. As you learn from the best you acquire to be the best yourself. When I go down south and listen to their thing, I understand it. It’s just so clear. It’s really jumpin. It’s like bein home. It’s like you bein up North. After awhile you listen. You adapt. You feelin what we feelin. Hip Hop is global. There are different types of Hip Hop just like there are different types of soul music. You just got to keep an open mind for music period. There’s a lot of good music out there teachin us. The shit we need comes when we need it. It’s just growin.
Interview by Black Dog Vol 7 #4
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Brooklyn New York. I moved to Staten Island when I was about nine years old. I think in the fourth grade. It was rough. It was in the ghetto. I didn’t have any older brothers. I had to go through a lot of trials and tribulations about being able to cope with going to school and having the things I need. It was rough on my mom. My mom was still in school. She was young. She was about seventeen or eighteen. My mom’s forty two right now. I was her first kid.
Why did you move from Brooklyn to Staten Island?
It was rougher in Brooklyn. We weren’t home too much in Brooklyn. My mom had us moving around. I had lived in different parts of Brooklyn and Queens. I had gone down south for two summers where I had family in North Carolina.
What about you pops?
I didn’t really know my pops too well. I don’t know him right now. I haven’t seen him in so long, he could walk right up on me right now and I wouldn’t even know it was him. That’s kind of a stab. I didn’t grow up with him.
Who did you grow up with?
Number one, I grew up in the street. My friends were my brothers. There were five or six of us and we’d be together everyday gettin into shit, having fun and going to parties or whatever. That was my parenthood. In the streets watching what was going, experiencing different things. That shit was deep because there was a lot of drugs goin around my neighborhood, old timers and a lot of prostitution. I was able to adapt to that shit. Next thing you know I found myself being apart of that life. To get the things I needed in life, like a place to stay. My mom told me that if I felt like I had to run to that to save my life I would have to do that by myself. She never supported the things I did while I was being in the street life. But as I got older she was able to respect that her son had to do what he had to do cuz he wasn’t tryin to ask her for nothin. All I would ever do was try to help her.
Did you ever have any brothers and sisters?
In the future I wound up having two brothers and one sister.
When you were growing up were you into music?
I was into music. I wasn’t writing any rhymes then. I was more or less a free styler MC-er. I would say it in my mind and have fun with it in the hall ways and the stairs and all that.
How old were you when you started getting into rhyming and Hip Hop?
It was when I was about seventeen. It got real for me when I turned around twenty-one. Before that I was just a regular street kid running with the knuckleheads. Trying to go to school, gettin my life together. Have dreams of being an athlete, goin to college one day.
Were there any other Wu Tang Clan members living on Staten Island when you were growing up?
The majority of the clan is basically from my neighborhood. Only a couple like Cheazer and Old 30 who lived in Brooklyn. Basically we all went to school together. We would all be on the bus comin home, rhyming, buggin out hearin each other’s tapes. We stuck around each other. We more or less were staircase rappers before we turned into major MC’s. We would get in the staircase of our apartment buildings, smoke some weed and bug out. In the staircase we was more or less being private about it but at the same time we didn’t care who heard it.
Is anyone from your family in Wu Tang Clan ?
Wu Tang Clan is my family regardless, right now. We’ve acquired so many good things together. But they’re not blood family.
Who was the first person in Wu Tang Clan to get in music?
I would say La Rizza. Since back as far as I could remember, wearin Adidas with fat laces. He always stuck with it. I knew he was goin to be successful cuz the energy he had behind him.
Wasn’t he more into the music but not messin with the rhymes?
No. He was fuckin with both. He was a genius at it back then cuz number one he knew how to cut. He would do chicks cuttin. He’d do all the old school records. He had a book of rhymes back then. A big thick loose leaf note book with gray hair on it. Nigga had over about five hundred rhymes back then talkin about everything. He was ill back then.
How did Wu Tang Clan come together?
We were in the neighborhood together. La Rizza was in the music business. He had caught a record deal with Tommy Boy, I think. We supported his music. Played it in our vehicle back in the days, ride around with it. Basically we knew that once he was goin to be in it that sooner or later it would happen for us. We just wanted to let him do what he had to do and hopefully he’d come around and pick us up. But unfortunately the music business tried to change his life style or however he felt about his music. And he got up out of his record deal. But at the same time, he had acquired enough knowledge to be able to learn the business and bring some new brothers in. He knew we had skills. We would all go to Rizza’s house frequently, listen to music and make our tapes. One day he told us we need to make record cuz he knew how to do it. He said if we all stick our hearts and our minds in it, Let’s make a fast song and make something happen. Us being brothers that wanted to be on the radio one day, we were with that. He had a the basic equipment at his house.
Was the neighborhood back then very different from the neighborhood now?
Oh hell yeah. When I was growin up, number one, we would be workin for somethin that we were really wantin to have. Back then we was in the streets doin whatever we was tryin to do. Brothers were into gettin their own apartments, havin bad clothes, pay your bills. Get everything that you would want. Whether it be sheepskins, leather coats, leather pants. We had more drive back then for doin things. We didn’t base our whole life around bein in that type of environment. We would go have fun. The clubs back then was more oriented where we was able to get shit or more. Nowadays I don’t really see too many brothers that want to be a part of that. They doin what they doin with out using their smarts. I see a lot of brothers nowadays they still livin with their moms. Their not doin nothin for themselves. It’s takin them a long time to see that you got to change your lifestyles sometimes. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not talkin about all the young cats. But the majority of them is really lost right now. They messin up their education. At least we was goin to school back then. Whatever I was dealin with, I definitely made sure I was able to get up and go to school that day. At least if I didn’t stay in school that whole day, I made it my business to be up a seven-thirty in the morning to go to school. Nowadays you don’t see too many shorties goin to school. That’s fucked up. They don’t got no older image to tell them what time it is. One person could tell them. One out of ten niggaz you might listen to.
Did anyone else in your blood family play music or rap?
No. My mom knows how to sing but she don’t take it seriously. Just has fun with it. I got a little brother that’s goin to be a basketball star. Colleges is callin him already. That made me feel good to know that’s what he want to do. Athletes run in my family a lot more than musicians. I’m one of the only people that I can remember. My family, my aunts and uncles, they more like southern people. But they was born in Brooklyn. They were into the old time seventies music.
What music were young listening to when you were growing up?
I started gettin into music in 1985, ‘86, ‘87, when Run DMC and Houdini. Bizmark was makin their debut with their little styles. They made New York hype because they would be doin shows in some of the places that we was able to go to. The ‘88 feeling with the clothes back then, the leather bombers, takin pictures on 42nd street. That made me definitely want to go in the direction I’m goin right now. That had a major influence on me. Those were funner days than right now. I had more fun bein a fan. I’m a fan still to this day but back then I was a bigger fan. I guess it’s different now cuz I’m an artist. In the business you see a lot of messed up stuff. When you are on the outside you see stuff you want to be like. Recently I haven’t had a chance to see no concerts. Sometimes I be wantin to go into the crowd. You can’t do that because you gettin ready to perform or whatever.
Do people recognize you right away when you go to a store?
Anywhere I got now people recognize me because of the long stretch we had in the business. Sometimes they act crazy but sometimes they just be chillin because they know that our brothers just want to be regular like them.
Were there a lot of clubs to got to when you were growing up?
We use to go to this club up in Harlem called The Roof Top and a club in Manhattan called Latin Quarters on Union Square. The Armory. Those clubs don’t still go on.
What about clubs for the kids to go to nowadays?
I guess there are a few places but it ain’t like back in the day.
How did the Kung Fu Wu Tang thing come about?
We grew up seeing the karate flicks on TV at three o’clock Saturday morning. They use to have hype ones. Right after we brothers seen it we’d go outside and talk about it. We liked the fact that anytime they was fightin they was fightin for the love of their brother or the love of their family. That means a lot to us because Wu Tang is the swords style of rhyming. Because we say the tongue is symbolic to the sword. We were into the brotherhood as well as the companionship of the family. The love and trust for your family. We saw that in the films. Anytime they would get into any drama it was about somebody messin with their family, take their food, make them starve. It’s all about not bein a punk. We’ve brought that whole concept into the Wu Tang family.
Is it still like that?
It’s definitely like that. We are more of a musical empire. We don’t worry about too much negativity stuff. We don’t involve ourselves around too much of that. I’m speakin for the nine members of Wu Tang Clan.
Wu Tang has nine members and there’s a bigger family, right?
Exactly. People we try to take care and help get their life together like we got ours.
When you were watching the kung fu films did you get into the Chinese culture?
Yeah after awhile. One thing I can say about Chinese people they definitely live for a long time. They grow to be old and look good. We definitely like to pick up on the medicines they use. That’s important. Japan won’t let you bring back certain things. That’s in a lot of places in Africa.
Did you travel with the Wu Tang Clan or did you travel on your own?
Sometimes I do both. If I’m in a rush I have to get their by myself. I’ve done shows in Japan with the clan. Shit was off the hook. Every event was packed. They even knew the songs.
Would you say Rae Kwons and Dirty Old Master’s lyrics are more into the streets than the rest of the Wu Tang?
That’s what makes the clan so ill because you got the different types of language comin at you. That’s what makes Wu Tang. You got the streets the covered. I’m more or less like a Kool G Rat rapper and Rizza is more like a KRS Public Enemy rapper. Various styles are in the group. Jizza is more like a Raw Chem level. He can get deep and turn the funness into real shit. I’m the same way but I like to make stories a little laughin and all that. Have you buggin out.
How does each person get their part when Wu Tang Clan goes into the studio?
Some are their before others sometimes. We listen to the beats. We ignore each other for a minute. I might finish a little earlier and feel confident to tell the others how something sounds. If I go in their and set it off, it might have made the nigga who was stuck for a minute rebuild his shit up. He might say he comes in perfect after me and then we’ll work off of that. Whoever comes in after that might decide he’s ready to come after that. It don’t necessarily be like it’s programmed. It might be the spirit of the moment event. I always know that I’m gonna come after Deck because Deck is like Scotty Pippin to me. All my brothers are good. They makin sure that we come on with the ball. Jizza is like a Spreewell. He passin the ball. He gonna definitely make it work. It’s important to be able to have teams.
You write your music in the studio with the beat, not at home?
I write it right on the spot. Sometimes we don’t know what beat we want to do. We might change the beat up. A lot of people might not like the beat and we change that but it’ll take a little time.
Do you live in the old neighborhood?
I still got family out there. I be out there all the time. But it’s not too safe out there now. It’s rougher. You got to be able to watch how you move. Nothin’s gonna stop me from goin to see my family and checkin on my friends cuz that’s all I got. But as far as the cost of livin out there. There’s violence and all that shit that be around. Police make it hard for a brother to go through there and be relaxed. If I come through in a big car chillin or whatever, I’m liable to be gettin some checker to be played out. They ain’t use to that comin through there like that. They don’t care about who I am or what I do. That’s fucked up when it’s in your own neighborhood like that. I done witnessed that gettin locked up for a bag of weed. I don’t got no time for that shit no more.
Where are you living now?
I live in the suburbs of Jersey. When I go home, I need peace and quiet.
Do you miss the old neighborhood?
I can’t say I miss it. I lived amongst it for twenty-five years. I’m gettin a chance to get my life together right now. I miss the friends I was around everyday.
What’s your birthday?
I’m a Capricorn. January 12th.
How did you get the name Chef? Do you like food a lot?
Definitely. Bubbas gave me the name because the chef in the karate flicks was the one that was the cook but he was nice. In a lot of the movies the chef was the fat little chubby man, but he was nice. Nobody could fuck him up. He fought all the illest niggaz and beat them. Bubbas used that in a lyrical terminology for myself. That’s the chef in our book right there because number one he got flavor, number two he’s gonna definitely prepare his dish to have it mouth watering. I ran with it. A lot of brothers in the street know me as Shalah which is my Islamic name.
What was the name your mom gave you?
My government name? I don’t like talking about that over the air. My government name is something special to me. It’s something I ain’t use to from just growin up. I only had to hear it from certain people. If it wasn’t the teacher it was my mother. Other than that everybody else knew me in the street as Shah.
Did everybody already have their names when you formed Wu Tang Clan or did you pick them then?
The names were around before we really got on. It’s not like when we made our first record we said this is your name. There’s brothers like Method Man who had his name from way back. We use to call trees marijuana methods. The method. He was such a tree head back then that he called himself method. All of us use to smoke a lot back then. Genius was always genius back then. But Rhythm’s name was like Prince Rakeen the scientist. Old Dirty Bastard was The Professor. Brothers definitely had their names way before the game even came out.
When your record first came out did you ever think that you’d become a big Wu Tang empire?
I figured it would happen. I took it as the more we put into it the more we gonna get out. I know we got talent. We already set a mark for ourselves. Now what we got to do is pursue it and keep it real with the ones that love us. That’s all we did basically.
Did you feel like you are gonna get to this level with Wu Tang Clan?
Definitely. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication, and having the right people working a the right things. Everybody can’t do the same thing. We had a structure broken down to where if Rae had to play the part of an artist, he would do that. He would focus on the things he had to. While the next man would focus on the business as far as making sure we want what we need. With out that type of foundation behind me, I wouldn’t be able to feel so good like I am right now. People don’t know that’s what’s important. It’s the people you got workin behind the Rap scene.
Has the Wu Tang Family changed since you have become so famous you from when you started in the business five or six years ago?
I won’t say the family’s changed as people or as individuals. We ain’t the type of brothers that let the music go to our head. We just try to make good music and live our life. It might have changed as far as the way we livin right now. The majority of us is out of the ghetto when we got something to live for. But as a person it ain’t really changed. We still argue. We still go through little love changes with each other. Lettin us know how we feel about each other but we normal people just like anybody else. Music is just a tool we use to stay on board in the Hip Hop game. We love music. We fans of music as well as we make it. Just livin the normal life. And doin this Rap thing that we do is just normal to us right now. It’s a job.
What music gets you excited right now?
I listen to a lot of old music. In my car I have shit like the Whispers in their. O'Jays. I guess that’s a part of me growin up. My family listened to so much of that. I more or less like the music that was happening in the eighties than right now. There isn’t too many real song writers. Muthafuckas be singin all kinds of crazy shit right now. I love Hip Hop but I can’t listen to it everyday. I listen to various music. I listen to old school music. Cuz music relaxes your mind. You don’t want to listen to much rowdy shit that ain’t givin you time to think. I like to further my education when I listen to music as well as make raw Hip Hop.
What are some of the old school artists that you listen to?
Whispers, O’Jays. Lionel Ritchie. I love Marvin Gaye. Luther Vandros.
What do you think of some of the new R&B music out right now?
A lot of this shit is hype. A lot of them is sayin the same shit over and over. You’ll never get anyone like a Patty LaBelle and a Chahka Khan nowadays. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s cuz if you have to cater to what the people like you forget what you like. If you tryin to satisfy everybody else. Back then those artists were singin from the bottom of their heart. A lot of them was comin out of church. That’s all they knew. It was more soulful back then. Right now too much made up. They run with a pretty girl, give her a look and one record. Next thing you know she’s suppose to be all of that. I think everybody could make their first record a hit. But the next one is when people really watch. You can make one hit but let me see what you do on your second one and your third. New R&B ain’t like Gladys Knight and the Pips records.
Do you think you’re putting soul in your records?
I think what I’m doin is showin the talent of being an MC from a certain type of lifestyle and from changin my lifestyle. I’m just being able to paint a picture a little bit more better and use better colors and graphics to explain myself. Before I didn’t really give a fuck about whatever I said. But now I tr4y to keep it a little bit more positive now. Well I can’t say keepin it more positive because I definitely still be likin the same crazy shit. But think I have matured my style a little bit to where people could feel like I’m a veteran at it right now. Whereas before he was learning and now I’m more like a professional school veteran.
Are you happy with what you are doin with your records right now?
Right now I’m happy to be able to deliver good music to you all. And the fans still love me like it was yesterday. That means more to me than anything. I’ll always have the ability to rhyme or write. Because I believe in myself. If I put myself into makin good music I’m gonna always make it. I just go on the level. My drive is to feed off how the public sees it.
How different is Rae Kwon from Wu Tang Clan?
I’m more of a laid back person. I try to be by myself where I get more of a chance to think about things goin on. And be able to paint my own pictures in my head. My brothers is gonna be there with me regardless. Whereas being Rae, I feel like I’ve made a change for the better. I try to be by myself and keep thinkin about other things. I’m not a loner. There are things I got to cater to as far as being a part of my own blood family. If I could just check on brothers and hear from them, I’m alright with that. If we are trying to see each other we are definitely gonna make our way to seein each other.
Are there differences between the new album and the last album?
Definitely lyrically. My rhymes nowadays are killin the rhymes I was sayin on Cuba Links. I know how to do it better. It’s like if I was a lemonade maker back in the days makin lemonade out of the pack. Now, I know how to make homemade lemonade. At its best right now. I got my weight up from experiencing stuff and doin shit. I bettered my style. Whatever I’m dealin with now is acquired from what I was doin back then. I’m sayin it better and gettin right down to the point.
Is this album more street or less street?
This album is definitely streets. But it has a twist of vegetables. There’s nourishment in there that is good for every kid’s mind. You got your normal Rae Kwon. I made this album more or less a Cuba Link big brother album. The majority of Cuba Links is Mafia image. Right now, it’s not caught up in the street to where it’s takin over my life. I’m about prospering and tryin to better my life right now. I have songs in there catering to everybody’s lifestyle. As far as having fun. As far as emotional. As far as I need direction, I needed something to thing about. The album is not just goin one way talkin about the street life. You got the street life in there and all types of other shit for you. Vitamins.
What do you think about how New York is into this whole Mafia thing?
I started that. It’s about gettin respect. Brothers in this business want to get the name as if they was a real Mafia cat because people only respect power. When we were sayin it back in the days it was how we felt. We felt we was a family that was invincible. It wasn’t like we was all under some Mafia shit. I loved the Mafia for what they stand for more than them being the Mafia. I listen to their principles. The love for what they stand for. That shit is deep. That’s how a nigga really be feelin when they’re low. We just let everybody know we is a family that consists of just us. We make sure we are alright before we make sure everybody else is alright. People clung onto that shit. They knew that was some things kickin some real shit. We set off a trend. Now I didn’t want to make this album the exact same type of style. I didn’t want nobody to feel like I changed because I didn’t change. But I did change. I changed fifty – fifty. I still got my gangster style but at the same time I’m not just not thinkin with out a cause. I’m not a rebel without a cause. I’m for the cause more than the cause.
Do you think the Mafia underworld appeals to people because it can’t be controlled by the system?
The Mafia is about family producin. One thing about Mafia is a big corporation that involve themselves with stuff to better their life.
Is Mafia gangster type stuff still goin on in New York?
I don’t know. I guess the times have changed. All I can do is look at the news and learn from whatever you hear. To me you’re Mafia as long as you take care of your family and something to stand for and live for. And you got dreams. And you’re working as a team with the ones that you love and care about. That you countin on. I’m a brother right now where I’m gettin older, I’m thinkin for the future now. I want to be able to say after I did this I past it down to some brothers I felt it was worthy of some brothers that were worthy of holing up the name. And adding on and teaching what is suppose to be taught. As well as tellin us about your background and where you come from. Right now it’s about elevation. That’s the chamber I’m in right now. The prosperous chamber. This album deals with growth and development. Rae is catering to all his fans instead of just one set of fans.
When you make an album do you feel you pressure to please your audience or some current trend in Rap?
Back then I would have done what I want to do. But right now I have so many different fans in all complexities, nationalities and sexes. I have to make this music more visible to everybody and not just one side. A lot of brothers don’t show growth. I wanted to be able to open up to the people and get them to get what they want out of me instead of just me being just selfish on however I felt.
A lot of Wu Tang albums were talking about real Wu tang family thing or New York things and out here we wouldn’t understand. Sometimes it’s another world.
That’s because brothers be tryin to further your knowledge with the rhyming. We can talk about a few things more than just the street life. It’s just brothers trying to enhance their credibility with rhyming. Some people like that and some people don’t. I’ve more or less been in the street all my life so that’s really all I know. Other brothers might have not have been in the streets so long but have did a lot other things. Like studying about cultures and all of that. That’s what separates me from the next man. But we still all one because whatever I give he gonna give you the opposite side. That’s important to get all worlds for the cost of whatever you gonna get from us.
Do you find that the people on the street have any problems understanding what you have to say about Chinese or African culture?
There’s only gonna be a few that understand. That’s why you can only give them so much at a time. You can’t feed your baby steak so quick. People is able to adapt to more about what they been through than want to know about the future like that. You always gonna have brothers adapting to what they know on the street.
Did you make the album only for New York or for nationwide?
Even back then when I made Cuba Link the album was for nationwide. I thought about the West. I thought about the South. I thought about the East. I thought about the North. Right now I have respect for how little kids feel and they bein fans of our music, I didn’t want to give them a negative vibe to think about. I wanted them to feel songs by catering to them on another level. Like the respect of your mother. I got a song on my album All I got is you, Part 2 about the loyalty I have for my mother. A lot of kids that don’t respect their mother. Hopefully this song will touch them to keep an eye on their family and to help their family instead of making their moms miserable and having her crying. I just try to touch them in certain areas. Like the women. I never did an album where I had songs for women. But me loving women for loving me, I had to make a few songs to make em dance. Plus I like to dance and bug to.
Why didn’t Rizza do the production on this album?
I wanted to give different brothers a chance to get themselves together and help me on another level. Rizza doesn’t do so much work with us. I didn’t even want to begin comin on him with the album. It’s so difficult in his life cuz he’s been doin so much work. We wanted to try something new. I wanted to experiment. I wanted to feel like I did eighty percent of the album myself. It would show me that I was important and now the world was dependent on me to come across. I wanted to take advantage of this project and let everybody know that Rae could get up and represent for hisself as well as still have his brothers in his corner. I wanted to show everybody that I could do it. My brothers didn’t know that Rae could do a whole album by himself because he never did it before. I just let it be known right now. By me not having Rizza on it definitely made me show people Wu Tang do front for other producers. And that’s also about giving brothers a chance to grow.
Did Rizza do most of the production on the first album?
Rizza did all of the production on the first album. That was my first time in the business, four and half years ago. Right now I’m a grown man. Before he had to help me to a degree. But now I’m able to help myself.
Did you use family people for the production in this album?
No. One of the guys I fucked with is named Triflin. He’s a younger cat from Atlanta. He wasn’t even a big producer. he just happened to be in the studio with me one day with some friends we both knew. And he let me hear a tape. I liked it. And as a person, I was diggin how he was comin across with his shit. He had an open mind. He would pay attention to what I was sayin and he would run with that. And at the same time, I will help a brother. Just like I got help before. He was showing me that he was able to do what I needed. I was lovin it. I found somebody that I needed to see. He’s an underground cat just startin. I gave him his first track. He made about four or five tracks not all of them. These other cats called Anthony architects coming out of New York. The made about four or five tracks. All these guys are signed on the Cream Team, my new offspring group comin out. I’m bringing out couple MC’s you’ll hear about soon. That’s me coming out with new talent under my belt.
What do you think of the new Rap coming out of the Midwest and the South?
Everybody learns in this business. Hip Hop ain’t just on the East Coast or whatever. Hip Hop is national. It’s global. It’s international. It’s all over the world. It’s just showing me that brothers are getting up and doing their thing and they’re doing it correct. That’s all about growin. Brothers being there with a watch for others doing learnin off of that gettin their shit together. That’s positive to me. That’s suppose to happen. It ain’t just New York got it goin on. Everybody got it goin on. You got have your mind open for it though.
New York people sometimes think it’s not Hip Hop if it’s not New York.
You got to Understand our favorite MC’s are probably their favorites too. They learn the same way we learn. There are different actions. Different things people like. Music is something that soothes the mind. You got to have an open mind on any kind of music involved.
What was your feeling about the East Coast – West Coast conflict?
I never got involved with the East-West rivalries because I had love on both coasts. I know how to adapt when I get out to Call. I know how to adapt when I’m out in New York. I had no time for the rivalry because I knew it was Rap hype startin up shit. By not gettin involved, it showed me that I got no time to worry about how people gonna take it. I’m just representing real Hip Hop period. I got brothers I love from the West and I got brothers I love from the East. I’m not going to fool everyone out in the West because they goin through it. Ain’t nobody disrespecting me as a man. Really I don’t give a fuck. That ain’t my business.
It seems as if the East Coast rappers and the media don’t understand that the West Coast rappers have a different lifestyle so that it’s never gonna be like New York Rap.
You only know what you come from. It’s all about respectin where you from. That’s what you guys got to be satisfied more. Some West Coast cats say that said they don’t like West Coast Rap. They like the way New York cats put it together. Everybody have their own opinion. You can never knock a brother for feelin how their feelin. Music is music. The key is to be happy with whatever you like.
What do you think the Rap media saying that the South or West is not real Hip Hop?
I think people sayin that is just bein selfish and don’t want to respect both sides. And people like that definitely don’t understand both sides. Criticism will always take its course. How do you know their aren’t a bunch of West Coast people feelin that about East Coast. I once heard that they say that Hip Hop start in the West. And you know like I know that Hip Hop damn sure didn’t start in the West. But I ain’t gonna jump out the window and try to pull to nobody that it started from the West. That’s their opinion. It’s a time in this business when you got to become old and respect what the fuck is goin on. You can’t be tryin to beat yourself about something like that. Some people do live like that. Fuck it. As long as you know what time it is. I’m a democratic rapper. I’m with the people and not what everybody else think.
It wasn’t so long ago a black person couldn’t eat in a restaurant in the South. Don’t you think we should all be glad when a black man from the South is doing good?
Number one, I’m not a hater. I get a good drive off a brother doin his thing. That makes me say to myself whatever he’s capable of doin I’m capable of doin. I don’t worry about what the next man has got or is doin. It’s about me gettin my shit together and learn from the best. As you learn from the best you acquire to be the best yourself. When I go down south and listen to their thing, I understand it. It’s just so clear. It’s really jumpin. It’s like bein home. It’s like you bein up North. After awhile you listen. You adapt. You feelin what we feelin. Hip Hop is global. There are different types of Hip Hop just like there are different types of soul music. You just got to keep an open mind for music period. There’s a lot of good music out there teachin us. The shit we need comes when we need it. It’s just growin.
