Bishop Lamont talks to DJ's, Radio and fans about his upcoming single Sodom and Gomorrah to be released on January 2, 2012 as one of the first singles from his highly anticipated album, The Reformation.
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est Interview. Afficher tous les articles
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est Interview. Afficher tous les articles
dimanche 1 janvier 2012
samedi 26 novembre 2011
Interview with DaveNY + Track with Bishop Lamont
I'm starting to post a new song with DaveNY, Rapper Big Pooh and Chali2na, produced by Astronote (Don't forgett to support dope music)
DOWNLOAD DaveNY feat Bishop Lamont, Rapper Big Pooh, & Chali2na - Music's All That I Got
Then, I post an interview of DaveNY (shoots to AftermathMusic) who talks about about his past, present, and future; including what we can expect from his album “I Gotta Story to Tell,” his relationships with Bishop Lamont and J Dilla, to name a few, and a secret to the song “You Ain’t Fresh” that holds a connection to Dr. Dre and Detox!
First off, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to do this interview:
Thank you, pimp.
Tell us a little about your upbringing- where you’re from and coming up in the world:
I’m originally from Queens NY (Jackson Heights.) At 10 we moved to Co-op City the Bronx then out to LA at 15. Moving to LA at that time was like a twilight zone episode being from NY then moving out to LA and everyone was blonde hair blues- I was stuck like “yo where is everybody? NO Puerto Ricans” barely any brothers until busing inner city came into effect (shit was crazy.)
What and/or who motivated you to get into Hip Hop and music in general?
My boy Frankie had an older brother and he would play Kool Herc tapes and that’s what really started it all, then moving to the Bronx. The birth of Hip Hop just made it that much better because we would hear cats like Kurtis Blow, Busy Bee, Love Bug Starski, Cold Crush, and yes- even the Kool Moe Dee battle with Busy Bee! Everyone had those tapes. Then break dancing started & Graffiti and those right there took me to a whole other level (to bad the only thing I’ll break now is my back, hahahaha.)
You seem to be really cool with Bishop Lamont. What made you decide to join his Diocese label?
First of all, Bishop’s like my little brother. In just the 6 years I’ve known him, we’ve had some really dope times and some rough times, but we’ve always had each other’s back so there wasn’t a question about doing this project through Diocese. DJ Ice came up with the idea (got to give props where props are due), but at the end of the day I just felt more comfortable doing this project with Bishop & Diocese. We’re a family. Period!!!
What do you feel that you and the Diocese team can bring to Hip Hop that is currently lacking in the game?
The game is and has been lacking for some time now. The true elements except for a few emcees in the game… it’s as if we (as a hip hop culture) let corp. America run what we (I say we because it’s our culture and I’ve been in it since day 1) created as B-Boys and B-girls, Breakers, Graf writers DJs, Emcees… now Corp America runs it. What’s played on the radio, what videos to show (pre YouTube) all the elements from the beginning are locked up in Corp America’s basement all for cash checks. We all need to eat, but damn, controlling what we started pisses me off. I’m not hating on nobody but let’s look at Birdman, Jay-Z, Diddy, the 100s of millions these dudes have. What’s up with Kool Herc? The founder the creator of our culture? How many millions does he have? I don’t think he’s got 1! That shit ain’t right (but that’s me). And again, I’m not hating. They did what they did to get what they have… God Bless
Tell us about the process of landing vocals on Bishop Lamont’s acclaimed street single “You Ain’t Fresh.” We got to see you in the video, but many fans would love some behind the scenes info!
J DILLA – The greatest producer EVER was the most humble & positive dude I’ve ever been around and he asked me to talk my Dave NY shit for the Shinning album (track 5 BABY) he immortalized me by recording me and putting me on his final album and “You Ain’t Fresh” was originally for (Dr. Dre’s) Detox. Bishop felt if I was on DILLA’S final album and Detox was supposed to be Dre’s final album, Dave NY should be on it
Tell us about the lead single to your album “Music is All That I Got”?
It’s kind of funny because earlier that day or the day before, I was with Talib Kweli and he asked me where did my love from music come from, and later on when we were in the dungeon (studio) I was telling Bishop about that conversation as we were going through beats and BAAAAM, there was this MONSTER beat from Astronote and I had called Chali2na to come in to get on something else but it wasn’t as MONSTER as this joint and he fell in love with the beat as well, Rapper Big Pooh came into town a few days a week later and he said he’s never done anything with Chali2na before, so Bishop played the track- Pooh was like YOOOOOOOOO! I WANT ON THIS JOINT RIGHT HERE! The rest as you know is this banging single that’s OUT NOW lol
What can you tell fans about your album?
I’ve been blessed to know 85% of the dopest emcees in the game so I’ll tell you it’s going to be on some real, I do mean REAL HIP HOP shit, not this watered-down candy wrapper crap. I’ts going to be 100% pure Hip Hop like we had when lyrics made the songs, not just a dope beat. The album “I Gotta Story To Tell” is going to be just dope emcees helping me tell my story and hopefully bring back the roots of Hip Hop
When can we expect the album to drop?
As of right now, we’re looking at a Spring release. My birthday’s on May 6th, so maybe a b-day present for the world to share.
In addition to I Gotta Story to Tell and Bishop’s The Reformation, what can we expect from Diocese Records in the future?
As well as I know Bishop and how anal he is about what he puts out: “NOTHING LESS THEN MONSTER JAMS” from dope artists. And “I Gotta Story to Tell” is going to be just dope emcees helping me tell my story and hopefully bring back the roots of Hip Hop!
samedi 9 avril 2011
lundi 21 février 2011
Bishop Lamont Interview (2007)
It was almost 5 years ago when Paul Edwards contacted Dubcnn with the idea he had to write a book focusing on the "Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC" and asking for help in speaking to artists themselves to get their input. Years later and with more interviews than countless journalists will ever manage to secure Paul finally released his epic read to critical acclaim and commercial success, it has been in Amazon's Top 10 Hip-Hop and Rap books since it came out and it's also being published in Japanese and Korean.
"How to Rap: The Art and Science of the Hip-Hop MC" is compiled from interviews with over 100 MCs, and featuring many West Coast artists.
Highlights include – Shock G describing working with 2Pac and his writing processes, RBX on ghostwriting for Dr. Dre, Lady of Rage explaining how she comes up with flows and content, B-Real recalling how he came up with Cypress Hill’s biggest hits, Crooked I on writing lyrics down and using tape recorders, DJ Quik discussing being both an MC and a produce, E-40 on coming up with slang and rhythms and much more.
Other West Coast artists and groups interviewed include Bishop Lamont, Cashis, Crooked I, Yukmouth, Glasses Malone, Guerilla Black, Omar Cruz, Spider Loc, The Federation, Tha Alkaholiks and more.
Now, thanks to the great relationship between Dubcnn and Paul Edwards, the writer has given Dubcnn rights to release all the key WestCoast interviews that were compiled to create "How to Rap: The Art and Science of the Hip-Hop MC." Each of these interviews give an insight into an artists thought process around creating a track and help you understand why being a Hip-Hop MC is truly an Art and Science!
How to Rap: How did you learn to rap – where did you pick up the skills and techniques?
Bishop Lamont: Damn, you hit me with a hard question first! I think it translated from singing, both my aunties were singers, so going with them as a kid and watching them sing, I would mimic their singing, and through talking, I guess in a sense, as a kid. And listening to a lot of old R&B and rock songs and taking it from singing form into rap form.
How to Rap: Did you ever memorize the lyrics to other rap songs as a way of learning?
Bishop Lamont: Yeah, that’s the way you do it to learn rhythms and characteristics.
How to Rap: Were there any particular songs that you memorized?
Bishop Lamont: Walk This Way - Run DMC, anything from Too Short off the first album, Das EFX…
How to Rap: Did you write a lot of raps as a way of learning?
Bishop Lamont: Yeah, you know practice makes perfect, but I was doing it just to be doing it, it was the cool thing to do. I remember the first time I freestyled a rhyme, it was only to impress some girls.
How to Rap: How long did it take you to learn how to rap?
Bishop Lamont: Man, I was doing it for years, I was doing it since I was twelve, I couldn’t even tell you when it started to make sense ‘cause we used to kick it in the treehouse as kids. When we’re eleven, twelve and be kicking the worst rhymes in the world but we thought they were fresh… probably five years… it’s vague, probably took somewhere around four to five years to see some kind of fluidness with it at whatever point that was.
How to Rap: How much practice did you have during that time?
Bishop Lamont: You had to do it everyday, it had to be, that was the only way to get better at it, it wasn’t like, “I’ll just do it on Saturdays, but during the week at school…” nah, we were doing it everyday, that’s why we didn’t pay attention in class.
How to Rap: Was there a point where you consciously sat down and decided to do it?
Bishop Lamont: I didn’t even make a conscious effort of going, “this is what I’m gonna do with my life,” it was just a great outlet and it all started from when we was breakdancing and we was doing all types of stuff to stay out of trouble and it was just a means of doing something fun and keeping us out of trouble. And the girls liked it, so I guess it was more subconscious than anything.
How to Rap: Do you listen mainly to hip-hop for your inspiration?
Bishop Lamont: I don’t listen to hip-hop at all for lyrics inspiration, unless it’s old school hip-hop, but there’s not that much dopeness out there besides Outkast records or Little Brother or Slum Village or Biggie’s second album and first album, 2pac, All Eyez On Me and Me Against The World, Souls Of Mischief first album, Keith Murray… primarily all old classic stuff. I think the most recent would be Slum Village and Little Brother that I listen to right now, Kardinal Offical. But other than that, I just listen to old rock and roll, R&B, Jazz, like Coltrane, Miles Davis – Bitches Brew, Thelonious. I really don’t listen to hip-hop to make hip-hop. For me, I can’t do it that way.
How to Rap: Is there a process you go through when you’re writing lyrics?
Bishop Lamont: It’s always a process, what do you mean in particular?
How to Rap: I mean do you have a set way of doing things, do you sit down with paper?
Bishop Lamont: I used to sit down with paper until I got so used to just writing for other artists, on-hand, on deck, right there in the studio, so pretty much I stopped writing on paper. Like being at home just with the beats and really just being in the studio and letting beats play and whatever the beat tells me to do is then what I jot down and start vibing from there. But I really don’t write at home anymore, I been trying to get back into that mode but it really works best for me in the essence, right in the moment in the studio. The only thing I really do outside the studio is freestyling.
How to Rap: Do you write to the beat you will be rapping over, or do you write without the beat?
Bishop Lamont: You gotta write with the beat or the rhythms won’t be in sync, I mean you can make it work, but it’s always better if it’s customized specifically for that.
How to Rap: Do you write a whole song in one go, or do you do it all in bits and then put it together?
Bishop Lamont: You can write a whole song like that, or you can take your time and write it in bits and pieces, it just depends on the inspiration level and what level of discipline and quality you’re trying to get out of it. If it’s one of these really, really heavy cerebral records then you might be spending some days and sometimes weeks. If it’s really easy, off the cuff, just busting, you can get two or three in one day, it depends.
How to Rap: Do you usually start with an idea for the subject matter or do you come up with some rhyming phrases first?
Bishop Lamont: All the above, it just depends you know, you might have something that pops in your mind from watching a movie or a commercial or somebody sparks a conversation that gets you a title for a record. You don’t know what the hell it means or what it’s about, but it’s been buzzing around your head or a line will come to you that’s slick and all of a sudden you get a beat CD and a beat compliments whatever that thought was, then you got a whole record, it gives you a whole concept for a song.
How to Rap: Do you do a lot of editing with your lyrics, do you go back and change things until it’s finished?
Bishop Lamont: Sometimes you write a record and it’s first verse, second verse, third verse and then it might be so potent on the third verse that you decide to switch the second verse with the third verse, things of that nature. You might wanna re-lay the hook, you might have been able to nail it a little bit doper with the way you want the pocket of the rhythms or whatever. Pretty much simple things like that, but I never really change anything because by the time it touches the microphone, it’s gonna be correct, it’s a serious process to get it complete before you even touch it on the mic and you do the rest of your cleanup on the mic.
How to Rap: Do you have a way of writing down the rhythms and the flow – how the lyrics will fit to the beat?
Bishop Lamont: That’s just being right there in the moment because you can forget the pockets, you can forget the rhythm if you don’t jot it down and spit it out right then and there because there’s really no way, so far, to put down the rhythms you have in mind, to write them down in word form so you remember and will be able to perform them the same way you had in your mind or how you set up the verse, so you really have to do that in the moment. [Note: the book How to Rap includes a system for writing down the flows, so it now exists.]
How to Rap: Which part of a track do you write first, the hook or the verses?
Bishop Lamont: Either way, it’s no holds barred with that, sometimes the hook will come first, you’ll be like, “yo, I know what I wanna do for the hook,” and the hook feeds the verses. Or, “I gotta do the verses ‘cause then the verses are gonna present the hook.” It just depends on the beat, what the spirit of the music wants, the spirit of the music might say, “I want the verses first,” and then you give it the verses, and like ok, now here’s the hook, or, “I want the summary of the song first…” It just depends on the spirit.
How to Rap: So the music is a big influence on your lyrics then?
Bishop Lamont: Yeah, that’s where the energy is, that’s the template for whatever you’re going to utter over it.
How to Rap: Have you changed the way you put together lyrics since you first started?
Bishop Lamont: It’s always an upgrade but primarily the same, besides stepping away from writing at home in advance. I used to think writing at home in advance saved time in the studio, and then it switched and then time wasn’t an issue, because it shouldn’t be when you’re creating records. Because what you create is supposed to be timeless, so time shouldn’t be an issue when you create timeless things. So I think that’s the only thing that changed, my perception and dealing with time and time frame.
How to Rap: Do you use most of the rhymes you write, or does a lot never get recorded?
Bishop Lamont: Pretty much everything I write I’ll use, because if there’s some ideas I don’t like, they get erased, they don’t live, those foetuses get aborted, those things never see the light of day. So pretty much everything gets used, either for myself or I write records for other artists and it’s like, you know, this might work for somebody else, I’m pretty much done with this chamber, but this might be dope for somebody else. So pretty much everything gets used, ‘cause everything that’s gonna be recorded has gotta be fresh, so it’s pointless [if it’s not], erase that shit.
How to Rap: Do you find that other artists you’ve worked with write lyrics using the same process as you?
Bishop Lamont: Actually no, I haven’t really saw that many people that do the weirdo shit that I do, not really at all.
How to Rap: Have you picked up any tips from anyone else?
Bishop Lamont: Definitely Busta Rhymes, Dre always got some magic for you, not really outside of them… Elzhi, T3, Black Milk, Kardinal Offical, it’s always some kinda flavors from architects, some dope architects like that, Stat Quo. There’s a few that’s on the same page with understanding rapping in key. Because cats be sounding so garbage over their beats because they don’t realize keys, they don’t understand tones, you have to approach it the same way you approach an R&B record, that’s why motherfuckers be shouting over records that they shouldn’t be shouting over, they be sounding all raspy over shit they shouldn’t sound raspy over. They have no understanding of keys and tones and adjusting to compliment the beat. So I think collectively they’ve all shown me different aspects of that.
How to Rap: So you try to match the pitch of the music with your voice?
Bishop Lamont: Any smart motherfucker should!
How to Rap: Can you give me any examples of specific tips that other rappers have given to you?
Bishop Lamont: Err, no, because that’s priceless information!
How to Rap: I tried!
Bishop Lamont: Hey, bless you though, I already gave up so much already, that’s just the thing, it’s important to give people building blocks, but no way, I had to confide to get this information, fuck that! Cats catch me out, we conversating, I’ll make you worthy of the kung-fu techniques and then I’ll tell you but you gotta get your gi and come into the dojo, I ain’t doing no kung-fu tricks!
How to Rap: Do producers you work with ever have any input into your lyrics and suggest things?
Bishop Lamont: They tend to stay out of it, like I have a great relationship with most producers I work with from the top of the pile being Dre on down. Dre, he just does some amazing beats and you gotta come with some amazing shit over it. If he’s not feeling something, he’s gonna let you know but he’s gonna let you do what you do, he’s not gonna be over your shoulder and be like one of those kind of producers… the kind of producer I can’t fucking stand is the kind that is trying to tell you, “this is how you bust over it,” it’s like, yo, I wasn’t trying to tell you how to bust over your beats.
So that was always the biggest blessing working with Dre because I came and didn’t know what to expect, and dude does not fucking bother you, he just wants the best out of you, ‘cause he’s gonna give it his best. So pretty much all the producers I work with, I get to take the beats and then go do my thing to them. Because it’s the same as a rapper trying to tell a producer, “I want pianos here and I want cows going moo and I want…” it’s like nah, motherfucker, let him do what’s in his heart and then you compliment it with what’s in your heart and that’ll get it from there. So pretty much I just do my thing and bring it back, it’s either yay or nay.
How to Rap: Does someone like Dre ever give you a starting point, like an idea for a track, or a theme?
Bishop Lamont: Not unless it’s like really conceptual records that I’m writing for him, or he has in mind for me and him, other than that he’ll be like, yo, I got magic beats, you tell me what you think should go over it and we’ll go from there.
How to Rap: Do you freestyle any of your lyrics and does freestyling help you write lyrics?
Bishop Lamont: Definitely, that’s the whole thing about like in the moment with rhythms, like most of my rhythms are freestyled, ‘cause I’ll have an idea and I’ll just wanna get it out to a beat and that’s where it starts from, and that’s why a lot of stuff will be mostly unorthodox, ‘cause it’s not constrained or restrained to the pen.
Because you know the way you put words down is pretty much the way you’re going to pronounce them or enunciate them, whatever the proper word is. So it’s better to just blank out and come from the spirit and just spit it how you feel it, be it over the organs, say if it’s organs or a piano, or to a hi-hat or you flip it out on the snare, and you compliment that with how you spit it.
So freestyle works always best for starting a record, for starting verses or finishing verses or in the middle. That’s what made Biggie, 2Pac, or Jay-Z so influential because they would write off the top of their head, so they were basically synchronizing themselves with the beat as they went. It’s not some words and lyrics they put down and tried to structure it to follow the beat.
How to Rap: What’s more important to you, the subject matter or the flow you’re using?
Bishop Lamont: Subject matter is always… but it’s a marriage, it’s a two-way street, so both have to be above and beyond, it has to be perfect.
How to Rap: Do you prefer lyrics that are based in reality, or more abstract stuff?
Bishop Lamont: I like to combine both because that’s what the world is. As much as there is black and white, there is a grey area, and all things should be represented, and that gives it the spice.
How to Rap: Is ghost-writing lyrics for other people different from writing your own?
Bishop Lamont: Yeah, because you know yourself, so when you’re trying to write for other people you have to get to know them, or look at their body of work if you don’t get to speak to them like that and look at what they’ve done before. Like where would I go from here, if I was Cube or like Warren G, I looked at all Warren G’s old albums and then when we approached it in In The Midnight Hour, it’s like, ok, let’s take it to the next level.
So you just look at all the work they did before, videos, interviews, and then sit down with them and say, “where are you now and what are you trying to say.?” And once you get pretty much a good idea of where it’s trying to go and what their bottom line is, you can put your extras with it to give them new characteristics, to make it unpredictable to fans who’re used to hearing them bust one way or talk about these specific topics, it’s a new twist plus what they used to spit.
How to Rap: So it sounds like it’s more work doing that?
Bishop Lamont: Oh yeah, it is, definitely, but it’s fun because you can do things with them that you can’t do with yourself, because since you know yourself you’re not able to impress yourself, but when you write for other people you can impress them and excite them and they’ll add new things that you’ve not experienced in your life, thinking about your life, with what you are, and it’s like fucking two personalities in one, so it gives it even more definition.
How to Rap: Do you know how you are going to phrase things and use your voice to deliver the lyrics before you record, do you practice the delivery or do you let it come out spontaneously?
Bishop Lamont: No, it’s all on the beat, the beat’s gonna tell you everything, the beat has your script, the beat is your vocal coach, your beat sets the mood and lets you know if you’re gonna be angry on this record, if you’re gonna be on some sexy shit, some love shit, some political shit, whatever the case, comedy shit, the beats gonna tell you where you are and what you're doing with it.
How to Rap: Do you ever change any of the lyrics during the recording process?
Bishop Lamont: Yeah, the mic is the last place, after that the only editing you’re doing is cleaning up, adlibs, and mixing, so you want to make sure your shit is correct or it’s pointless.
How to Rap: Has the recording changed a lot since you first started, now that you’re working with Dre and everything?
Bishop Lamont: No, it’s just being able to have more a your disposal as far as better microphones or keyboards, or engineers that can make you sound even more super duper deluxe than you already sound, from that sense, but nothing else, it’s the same.
How to Rap: Which of your songs so far do you think has the best lyrics?
Bishop Lamont: That’s a hard one because everything is in competition with each other, a lot of times records will come along and knock other records off and then other records will compete, that’s where you want a record to be, you can’t really pick your favourite record, so I can’t even say. There’s a lot of dope shit and it keeps getting better, so that’s the only thing that I look at, it’s never a cap on the salary for where it can go, so I just keep going forward.
How to Rap: What do you think about today’s rappers, compared to older MCs?
Bishop Lamont: As far as…?
How to Rap: Just whether it was better during the early ‘90s, or whether it’s improved now…
Bishop Lamont: Well anyone that’s a real hip-hop head will tell you that it was better in the ‘90s, from the standpoint of the quality, the originality, the diversity, the dedication, the movement, the risk taking, the love that was for it.
Compared to the ‘90s MCs to the 2006-2007, or after ’96, ’97, after Biggie died, it was more of a thing about making money, so that was the good thing that artists who were making crazy money like… Slick Rick should be a millionaire, Big Daddy Kane should be a millionaire, Kool Moe Dee should be a millionaire, but it was just fucked up that the business wasn’t right like it is now, so that’s the good thing about MCs now, we can make a shitload of money.
But a shitload of money is not like a balance of what they’re creating to get that shitload of money. So I think that’s the problem, the same love and energy and craftsmanship that we saw in the ‘80s and the early ‘90s is not here. Like Smith N Wessun, Black Moon… they should be millionaires, because of the dope shit they brought forward, Quik should be a millionaire… he might be… wait, yeah, I think he is… but Compton’s Most Wanted, they should be millionaires, Above The Law should be millionaires for the dope shit they did then, Souls Of Mischief should be millionaires, Ras should be a fucking millionaire, but that’s the condition of the music.
You have some of the young cats now who didn’t get to rapping until ‘96 and ’97, that’s not saying it’s a bad thing, but they don’t know about the ‘80s, they don’t know about the early ‘90s, they don’t know about the Boogie Monsters or Lords Of The Underground or Organized Konfusion, or when O.C. went solo, they don’t know about Group Home or Gangstarr. So really their base is totally only on Biggie and ‘Pac, they don’t remember Fat Joe from Digging In The Crates, they only know Fat Joe from Lean Back, they don’t know about the Beatnuts, that’s what makes their shit so one dimensional.
I don’t like to knock anybody, but most of these cats are one dimensional, two dimensional at most, because they don’t have any more dimensions to expand with, because they don’t know about Keith Murray or EPMD, or Redman – they remember Redman, Method Man for their TV show probably! They don’t remember the Wu-Tang and The Mystery Of Chessboxing, so, long-ass answer, but that’s the difference.
But it’s starting to shift because there’s always been underground dope dudes who are now being given the chance, myself included, to be put in a mainstream situation with the top label to do dope shit, make the big money, but push dope shit. That’s the difference.
How to Rap: Do you think it’s a bigger problem with the beats or with the rhymes?
Bishop Lamont: It’s both, because again you have motherfuckers who don’t know who Pete Rock is, who don’t know who Primo is, they don’t remember RZA, they only know Dr Dre because Dr Dre stays relevant because he’s doing shit for Eminem, 50 Cent, this, that and the third.
But beyond Dr Dre, what about DJ Quik, what about Battlecat, what about DJ Muggs, what about Buckwild, Lord Finesse, so they don’t know. All they know is Neptunes, all they know is Timbaland, Scott Storch, and so that’s why everybody’s album sounds the fucking same because they go and get the same motherfuckers. So then you have motherfuckers who get the same beats because they’ll go, “aw damn, Scott Storch, he did Lean Back for Fat Joe, give me a Lean Back,” they want all the beats to sound the same, so if Fat Joe succeeded with a club record, I’m gonna make a club record too, and everybody’s got fucking club records.
And so you’ve got everybody driving the same thing, wearing the same thing, saying the same thing, and it’s fucking boring. It’s like wearing uniforms in school, nobody got their own individualism, nobody’s got their own identity, and that’s the problem, on both sides.
How to Rap: What do you think makes a great MC?
Bishop Lamont: Being able to be a great MC! Being dope, knowing that you’re an MC, being able to freestyle, being able to make fly-ass records, really having a purpose and a movement and standing for something. Most of these motherfuckers nowadays don’t stand for anything, it’s money, it’s rims, it’s bitches… ok, so? Slick Rick had that, but Slick Rick gave us Hey Young World, Slick Rick gave us Children’s Story, so it’s like what are you doing? Slick Rick gave you Mona Lisa. Big Daddy Kane – he had motherfucking guns, minks, jewellery, but he gave you Ain’t No Half Steppin’, he gave you Raw, on and on and on, motherfucker stood for something.
Rakim, you know what Rakim stood for, he always gave you balance - at the same time he had the jewels, he had the finger-rings, he had the freshest jumpsuits, but at the same time it wasn’t about materialism, they had a message, most artists now don’t have no fucking message except they sound like a fucking commercial - “wear Prada, wear Gucci, you got that Jeep Wrangler?” It’s like y’all motherfuckers is commercials, y’all niggas is like promoters, you’re not giving anybody anything beyond name brands, price tags. They should be working at strip clubs, in the mic booth!
How to Rap: So with the stuff you’re doing are you trying to bring that old stuff back and the more underground vibe to it?
Bishop Lamont: I’m just doing what Bishop grew up on and where Bishop wants to go with it, I can’t really speak for everybody else or what I’m trying to do, it’s just about making fresh music, but you gonna see all the inspirations and influences of those past eras where I am now. From level of rhyming and my level of MCing and what I’m trying to contribute to the game, and just trying to put some paint where it ain’t, basically, trying to fill in the voids, shit is missing.
How to Rap: What sort of advice would you give to people who are learning how to rap?
Bishop Lamont: Anything in particular?
How to Rap: Like what to focus on and how to learn…
Bishop Lamont: Let’s see, because that’s so open, you can go anywhere with that!
I’d say always look at great people in history because no matter what field they’re in it reflects the same sentiment and that is - whoever these people were, they’ve mastered their field.
If you want to be someone great and someone who will be remembered, you have to master that field and that means mastering every aspect and every style that there is, be it in rap or be it in R&B. You look at Ray Charles, he took gospel and mixed it with rock and mixed it with R&B and blues, or you look at Jimi Hendrix and what he did with rock, you take Bob Marley and what he did with reggae, that’s why we still talk about Bob Marley. You take 2Pac, he mastered every element, every aspect, from originally coming from New York and coming to the West coast and putting that together. Biggie under the same circumstances, of mastering all the hemispheres of the music.
So don’t think you get one belt and you’re happy with that. Bruce Lee is Bruce Lee because he mastered all the arts and then took all the arts and created something new with his own vision, and that’s why he’s the master and that’s why you still watch Enter The Dragon and Chinese Connection to this day.
So you have to really be a master of what you create, you can’t half-ass it, there are no shortcuts to excellence, you have to sacrifice everything to be the best at this. Jimi Hendrix slept with his guitar, so you better be sleeping with your motherfucking microphone, your turntables, your notebook, whatever the fuck it is, go to sleep with the headphones on listening to records. If you don’t give your all, you’re not gonna get it all.
"How to Rap: The Art and Science of the Hip-Hop MC" is compiled from interviews with over 100 MCs, and featuring many West Coast artists.
Highlights include – Shock G describing working with 2Pac and his writing processes, RBX on ghostwriting for Dr. Dre, Lady of Rage explaining how she comes up with flows and content, B-Real recalling how he came up with Cypress Hill’s biggest hits, Crooked I on writing lyrics down and using tape recorders, DJ Quik discussing being both an MC and a produce, E-40 on coming up with slang and rhythms and much more.
Other West Coast artists and groups interviewed include Bishop Lamont, Cashis, Crooked I, Yukmouth, Glasses Malone, Guerilla Black, Omar Cruz, Spider Loc, The Federation, Tha Alkaholiks and more.
Now, thanks to the great relationship between Dubcnn and Paul Edwards, the writer has given Dubcnn rights to release all the key WestCoast interviews that were compiled to create "How to Rap: The Art and Science of the Hip-Hop MC." Each of these interviews give an insight into an artists thought process around creating a track and help you understand why being a Hip-Hop MC is truly an Art and Science!
How to Rap: How did you learn to rap – where did you pick up the skills and techniques?
Bishop Lamont: Damn, you hit me with a hard question first! I think it translated from singing, both my aunties were singers, so going with them as a kid and watching them sing, I would mimic their singing, and through talking, I guess in a sense, as a kid. And listening to a lot of old R&B and rock songs and taking it from singing form into rap form.
How to Rap: Did you ever memorize the lyrics to other rap songs as a way of learning?
Bishop Lamont: Yeah, that’s the way you do it to learn rhythms and characteristics.
How to Rap: Were there any particular songs that you memorized?
Bishop Lamont: Walk This Way - Run DMC, anything from Too Short off the first album, Das EFX…
How to Rap: Did you write a lot of raps as a way of learning?
Bishop Lamont: Yeah, you know practice makes perfect, but I was doing it just to be doing it, it was the cool thing to do. I remember the first time I freestyled a rhyme, it was only to impress some girls.
How to Rap: How long did it take you to learn how to rap?
Bishop Lamont: Man, I was doing it for years, I was doing it since I was twelve, I couldn’t even tell you when it started to make sense ‘cause we used to kick it in the treehouse as kids. When we’re eleven, twelve and be kicking the worst rhymes in the world but we thought they were fresh… probably five years… it’s vague, probably took somewhere around four to five years to see some kind of fluidness with it at whatever point that was.
How to Rap: How much practice did you have during that time?
Bishop Lamont: You had to do it everyday, it had to be, that was the only way to get better at it, it wasn’t like, “I’ll just do it on Saturdays, but during the week at school…” nah, we were doing it everyday, that’s why we didn’t pay attention in class.
How to Rap: Was there a point where you consciously sat down and decided to do it?
Bishop Lamont: I didn’t even make a conscious effort of going, “this is what I’m gonna do with my life,” it was just a great outlet and it all started from when we was breakdancing and we was doing all types of stuff to stay out of trouble and it was just a means of doing something fun and keeping us out of trouble. And the girls liked it, so I guess it was more subconscious than anything.
How to Rap: Do you listen mainly to hip-hop for your inspiration?
Bishop Lamont: I don’t listen to hip-hop at all for lyrics inspiration, unless it’s old school hip-hop, but there’s not that much dopeness out there besides Outkast records or Little Brother or Slum Village or Biggie’s second album and first album, 2pac, All Eyez On Me and Me Against The World, Souls Of Mischief first album, Keith Murray… primarily all old classic stuff. I think the most recent would be Slum Village and Little Brother that I listen to right now, Kardinal Offical. But other than that, I just listen to old rock and roll, R&B, Jazz, like Coltrane, Miles Davis – Bitches Brew, Thelonious. I really don’t listen to hip-hop to make hip-hop. For me, I can’t do it that way.
How to Rap: Is there a process you go through when you’re writing lyrics?
Bishop Lamont: It’s always a process, what do you mean in particular?
How to Rap: I mean do you have a set way of doing things, do you sit down with paper?
Bishop Lamont: I used to sit down with paper until I got so used to just writing for other artists, on-hand, on deck, right there in the studio, so pretty much I stopped writing on paper. Like being at home just with the beats and really just being in the studio and letting beats play and whatever the beat tells me to do is then what I jot down and start vibing from there. But I really don’t write at home anymore, I been trying to get back into that mode but it really works best for me in the essence, right in the moment in the studio. The only thing I really do outside the studio is freestyling.
How to Rap: Do you write to the beat you will be rapping over, or do you write without the beat?
Bishop Lamont: You gotta write with the beat or the rhythms won’t be in sync, I mean you can make it work, but it’s always better if it’s customized specifically for that.
How to Rap: Do you write a whole song in one go, or do you do it all in bits and then put it together?
Bishop Lamont: You can write a whole song like that, or you can take your time and write it in bits and pieces, it just depends on the inspiration level and what level of discipline and quality you’re trying to get out of it. If it’s one of these really, really heavy cerebral records then you might be spending some days and sometimes weeks. If it’s really easy, off the cuff, just busting, you can get two or three in one day, it depends.
How to Rap: Do you usually start with an idea for the subject matter or do you come up with some rhyming phrases first?
Bishop Lamont: All the above, it just depends you know, you might have something that pops in your mind from watching a movie or a commercial or somebody sparks a conversation that gets you a title for a record. You don’t know what the hell it means or what it’s about, but it’s been buzzing around your head or a line will come to you that’s slick and all of a sudden you get a beat CD and a beat compliments whatever that thought was, then you got a whole record, it gives you a whole concept for a song.
How to Rap: Do you do a lot of editing with your lyrics, do you go back and change things until it’s finished?
Bishop Lamont: Sometimes you write a record and it’s first verse, second verse, third verse and then it might be so potent on the third verse that you decide to switch the second verse with the third verse, things of that nature. You might wanna re-lay the hook, you might have been able to nail it a little bit doper with the way you want the pocket of the rhythms or whatever. Pretty much simple things like that, but I never really change anything because by the time it touches the microphone, it’s gonna be correct, it’s a serious process to get it complete before you even touch it on the mic and you do the rest of your cleanup on the mic.
How to Rap: Do you have a way of writing down the rhythms and the flow – how the lyrics will fit to the beat?
Bishop Lamont: That’s just being right there in the moment because you can forget the pockets, you can forget the rhythm if you don’t jot it down and spit it out right then and there because there’s really no way, so far, to put down the rhythms you have in mind, to write them down in word form so you remember and will be able to perform them the same way you had in your mind or how you set up the verse, so you really have to do that in the moment. [Note: the book How to Rap includes a system for writing down the flows, so it now exists.]
How to Rap: Which part of a track do you write first, the hook or the verses?
Bishop Lamont: Either way, it’s no holds barred with that, sometimes the hook will come first, you’ll be like, “yo, I know what I wanna do for the hook,” and the hook feeds the verses. Or, “I gotta do the verses ‘cause then the verses are gonna present the hook.” It just depends on the beat, what the spirit of the music wants, the spirit of the music might say, “I want the verses first,” and then you give it the verses, and like ok, now here’s the hook, or, “I want the summary of the song first…” It just depends on the spirit.
How to Rap: So the music is a big influence on your lyrics then?
Bishop Lamont: Yeah, that’s where the energy is, that’s the template for whatever you’re going to utter over it.
How to Rap: Have you changed the way you put together lyrics since you first started?
Bishop Lamont: It’s always an upgrade but primarily the same, besides stepping away from writing at home in advance. I used to think writing at home in advance saved time in the studio, and then it switched and then time wasn’t an issue, because it shouldn’t be when you’re creating records. Because what you create is supposed to be timeless, so time shouldn’t be an issue when you create timeless things. So I think that’s the only thing that changed, my perception and dealing with time and time frame.
How to Rap: Do you use most of the rhymes you write, or does a lot never get recorded?
Bishop Lamont: Pretty much everything I write I’ll use, because if there’s some ideas I don’t like, they get erased, they don’t live, those foetuses get aborted, those things never see the light of day. So pretty much everything gets used, either for myself or I write records for other artists and it’s like, you know, this might work for somebody else, I’m pretty much done with this chamber, but this might be dope for somebody else. So pretty much everything gets used, ‘cause everything that’s gonna be recorded has gotta be fresh, so it’s pointless [if it’s not], erase that shit.
How to Rap: Do you find that other artists you’ve worked with write lyrics using the same process as you?
Bishop Lamont: Actually no, I haven’t really saw that many people that do the weirdo shit that I do, not really at all.
How to Rap: Have you picked up any tips from anyone else?
Bishop Lamont: Definitely Busta Rhymes, Dre always got some magic for you, not really outside of them… Elzhi, T3, Black Milk, Kardinal Offical, it’s always some kinda flavors from architects, some dope architects like that, Stat Quo. There’s a few that’s on the same page with understanding rapping in key. Because cats be sounding so garbage over their beats because they don’t realize keys, they don’t understand tones, you have to approach it the same way you approach an R&B record, that’s why motherfuckers be shouting over records that they shouldn’t be shouting over, they be sounding all raspy over shit they shouldn’t sound raspy over. They have no understanding of keys and tones and adjusting to compliment the beat. So I think collectively they’ve all shown me different aspects of that.
How to Rap: So you try to match the pitch of the music with your voice?
Bishop Lamont: Any smart motherfucker should!
How to Rap: Can you give me any examples of specific tips that other rappers have given to you?
Bishop Lamont: Err, no, because that’s priceless information!
How to Rap: I tried!
Bishop Lamont: Hey, bless you though, I already gave up so much already, that’s just the thing, it’s important to give people building blocks, but no way, I had to confide to get this information, fuck that! Cats catch me out, we conversating, I’ll make you worthy of the kung-fu techniques and then I’ll tell you but you gotta get your gi and come into the dojo, I ain’t doing no kung-fu tricks!
How to Rap: Do producers you work with ever have any input into your lyrics and suggest things?
Bishop Lamont: They tend to stay out of it, like I have a great relationship with most producers I work with from the top of the pile being Dre on down. Dre, he just does some amazing beats and you gotta come with some amazing shit over it. If he’s not feeling something, he’s gonna let you know but he’s gonna let you do what you do, he’s not gonna be over your shoulder and be like one of those kind of producers… the kind of producer I can’t fucking stand is the kind that is trying to tell you, “this is how you bust over it,” it’s like, yo, I wasn’t trying to tell you how to bust over your beats.
So that was always the biggest blessing working with Dre because I came and didn’t know what to expect, and dude does not fucking bother you, he just wants the best out of you, ‘cause he’s gonna give it his best. So pretty much all the producers I work with, I get to take the beats and then go do my thing to them. Because it’s the same as a rapper trying to tell a producer, “I want pianos here and I want cows going moo and I want…” it’s like nah, motherfucker, let him do what’s in his heart and then you compliment it with what’s in your heart and that’ll get it from there. So pretty much I just do my thing and bring it back, it’s either yay or nay.
How to Rap: Does someone like Dre ever give you a starting point, like an idea for a track, or a theme?
Bishop Lamont: Not unless it’s like really conceptual records that I’m writing for him, or he has in mind for me and him, other than that he’ll be like, yo, I got magic beats, you tell me what you think should go over it and we’ll go from there.
How to Rap: Do you freestyle any of your lyrics and does freestyling help you write lyrics?
Bishop Lamont: Definitely, that’s the whole thing about like in the moment with rhythms, like most of my rhythms are freestyled, ‘cause I’ll have an idea and I’ll just wanna get it out to a beat and that’s where it starts from, and that’s why a lot of stuff will be mostly unorthodox, ‘cause it’s not constrained or restrained to the pen.
Because you know the way you put words down is pretty much the way you’re going to pronounce them or enunciate them, whatever the proper word is. So it’s better to just blank out and come from the spirit and just spit it how you feel it, be it over the organs, say if it’s organs or a piano, or to a hi-hat or you flip it out on the snare, and you compliment that with how you spit it.
So freestyle works always best for starting a record, for starting verses or finishing verses or in the middle. That’s what made Biggie, 2Pac, or Jay-Z so influential because they would write off the top of their head, so they were basically synchronizing themselves with the beat as they went. It’s not some words and lyrics they put down and tried to structure it to follow the beat.
How to Rap: What’s more important to you, the subject matter or the flow you’re using?
Bishop Lamont: Subject matter is always… but it’s a marriage, it’s a two-way street, so both have to be above and beyond, it has to be perfect.
How to Rap: Do you prefer lyrics that are based in reality, or more abstract stuff?
Bishop Lamont: I like to combine both because that’s what the world is. As much as there is black and white, there is a grey area, and all things should be represented, and that gives it the spice.
How to Rap: Is ghost-writing lyrics for other people different from writing your own?
Bishop Lamont: Yeah, because you know yourself, so when you’re trying to write for other people you have to get to know them, or look at their body of work if you don’t get to speak to them like that and look at what they’ve done before. Like where would I go from here, if I was Cube or like Warren G, I looked at all Warren G’s old albums and then when we approached it in In The Midnight Hour, it’s like, ok, let’s take it to the next level.
So you just look at all the work they did before, videos, interviews, and then sit down with them and say, “where are you now and what are you trying to say.?” And once you get pretty much a good idea of where it’s trying to go and what their bottom line is, you can put your extras with it to give them new characteristics, to make it unpredictable to fans who’re used to hearing them bust one way or talk about these specific topics, it’s a new twist plus what they used to spit.
How to Rap: So it sounds like it’s more work doing that?
Bishop Lamont: Oh yeah, it is, definitely, but it’s fun because you can do things with them that you can’t do with yourself, because since you know yourself you’re not able to impress yourself, but when you write for other people you can impress them and excite them and they’ll add new things that you’ve not experienced in your life, thinking about your life, with what you are, and it’s like fucking two personalities in one, so it gives it even more definition.
How to Rap: Do you know how you are going to phrase things and use your voice to deliver the lyrics before you record, do you practice the delivery or do you let it come out spontaneously?
Bishop Lamont: No, it’s all on the beat, the beat’s gonna tell you everything, the beat has your script, the beat is your vocal coach, your beat sets the mood and lets you know if you’re gonna be angry on this record, if you’re gonna be on some sexy shit, some love shit, some political shit, whatever the case, comedy shit, the beats gonna tell you where you are and what you're doing with it.
How to Rap: Do you ever change any of the lyrics during the recording process?
Bishop Lamont: Yeah, the mic is the last place, after that the only editing you’re doing is cleaning up, adlibs, and mixing, so you want to make sure your shit is correct or it’s pointless.
How to Rap: Has the recording changed a lot since you first started, now that you’re working with Dre and everything?
Bishop Lamont: No, it’s just being able to have more a your disposal as far as better microphones or keyboards, or engineers that can make you sound even more super duper deluxe than you already sound, from that sense, but nothing else, it’s the same.
How to Rap: Which of your songs so far do you think has the best lyrics?
Bishop Lamont: That’s a hard one because everything is in competition with each other, a lot of times records will come along and knock other records off and then other records will compete, that’s where you want a record to be, you can’t really pick your favourite record, so I can’t even say. There’s a lot of dope shit and it keeps getting better, so that’s the only thing that I look at, it’s never a cap on the salary for where it can go, so I just keep going forward.
How to Rap: What do you think about today’s rappers, compared to older MCs?
Bishop Lamont: As far as…?
How to Rap: Just whether it was better during the early ‘90s, or whether it’s improved now…
Bishop Lamont: Well anyone that’s a real hip-hop head will tell you that it was better in the ‘90s, from the standpoint of the quality, the originality, the diversity, the dedication, the movement, the risk taking, the love that was for it.
Compared to the ‘90s MCs to the 2006-2007, or after ’96, ’97, after Biggie died, it was more of a thing about making money, so that was the good thing that artists who were making crazy money like… Slick Rick should be a millionaire, Big Daddy Kane should be a millionaire, Kool Moe Dee should be a millionaire, but it was just fucked up that the business wasn’t right like it is now, so that’s the good thing about MCs now, we can make a shitload of money.
But a shitload of money is not like a balance of what they’re creating to get that shitload of money. So I think that’s the problem, the same love and energy and craftsmanship that we saw in the ‘80s and the early ‘90s is not here. Like Smith N Wessun, Black Moon… they should be millionaires, because of the dope shit they brought forward, Quik should be a millionaire… he might be… wait, yeah, I think he is… but Compton’s Most Wanted, they should be millionaires, Above The Law should be millionaires for the dope shit they did then, Souls Of Mischief should be millionaires, Ras should be a fucking millionaire, but that’s the condition of the music.
You have some of the young cats now who didn’t get to rapping until ‘96 and ’97, that’s not saying it’s a bad thing, but they don’t know about the ‘80s, they don’t know about the early ‘90s, they don’t know about the Boogie Monsters or Lords Of The Underground or Organized Konfusion, or when O.C. went solo, they don’t know about Group Home or Gangstarr. So really their base is totally only on Biggie and ‘Pac, they don’t remember Fat Joe from Digging In The Crates, they only know Fat Joe from Lean Back, they don’t know about the Beatnuts, that’s what makes their shit so one dimensional.
I don’t like to knock anybody, but most of these cats are one dimensional, two dimensional at most, because they don’t have any more dimensions to expand with, because they don’t know about Keith Murray or EPMD, or Redman – they remember Redman, Method Man for their TV show probably! They don’t remember the Wu-Tang and The Mystery Of Chessboxing, so, long-ass answer, but that’s the difference.
But it’s starting to shift because there’s always been underground dope dudes who are now being given the chance, myself included, to be put in a mainstream situation with the top label to do dope shit, make the big money, but push dope shit. That’s the difference.
How to Rap: Do you think it’s a bigger problem with the beats or with the rhymes?
Bishop Lamont: It’s both, because again you have motherfuckers who don’t know who Pete Rock is, who don’t know who Primo is, they don’t remember RZA, they only know Dr Dre because Dr Dre stays relevant because he’s doing shit for Eminem, 50 Cent, this, that and the third.
But beyond Dr Dre, what about DJ Quik, what about Battlecat, what about DJ Muggs, what about Buckwild, Lord Finesse, so they don’t know. All they know is Neptunes, all they know is Timbaland, Scott Storch, and so that’s why everybody’s album sounds the fucking same because they go and get the same motherfuckers. So then you have motherfuckers who get the same beats because they’ll go, “aw damn, Scott Storch, he did Lean Back for Fat Joe, give me a Lean Back,” they want all the beats to sound the same, so if Fat Joe succeeded with a club record, I’m gonna make a club record too, and everybody’s got fucking club records.
And so you’ve got everybody driving the same thing, wearing the same thing, saying the same thing, and it’s fucking boring. It’s like wearing uniforms in school, nobody got their own individualism, nobody’s got their own identity, and that’s the problem, on both sides.
How to Rap: What do you think makes a great MC?
Bishop Lamont: Being able to be a great MC! Being dope, knowing that you’re an MC, being able to freestyle, being able to make fly-ass records, really having a purpose and a movement and standing for something. Most of these motherfuckers nowadays don’t stand for anything, it’s money, it’s rims, it’s bitches… ok, so? Slick Rick had that, but Slick Rick gave us Hey Young World, Slick Rick gave us Children’s Story, so it’s like what are you doing? Slick Rick gave you Mona Lisa. Big Daddy Kane – he had motherfucking guns, minks, jewellery, but he gave you Ain’t No Half Steppin’, he gave you Raw, on and on and on, motherfucker stood for something.
Rakim, you know what Rakim stood for, he always gave you balance - at the same time he had the jewels, he had the finger-rings, he had the freshest jumpsuits, but at the same time it wasn’t about materialism, they had a message, most artists now don’t have no fucking message except they sound like a fucking commercial - “wear Prada, wear Gucci, you got that Jeep Wrangler?” It’s like y’all motherfuckers is commercials, y’all niggas is like promoters, you’re not giving anybody anything beyond name brands, price tags. They should be working at strip clubs, in the mic booth!
How to Rap: So with the stuff you’re doing are you trying to bring that old stuff back and the more underground vibe to it?
Bishop Lamont: I’m just doing what Bishop grew up on and where Bishop wants to go with it, I can’t really speak for everybody else or what I’m trying to do, it’s just about making fresh music, but you gonna see all the inspirations and influences of those past eras where I am now. From level of rhyming and my level of MCing and what I’m trying to contribute to the game, and just trying to put some paint where it ain’t, basically, trying to fill in the voids, shit is missing.
How to Rap: What sort of advice would you give to people who are learning how to rap?
Bishop Lamont: Anything in particular?
How to Rap: Like what to focus on and how to learn…
Bishop Lamont: Let’s see, because that’s so open, you can go anywhere with that!
I’d say always look at great people in history because no matter what field they’re in it reflects the same sentiment and that is - whoever these people were, they’ve mastered their field.
If you want to be someone great and someone who will be remembered, you have to master that field and that means mastering every aspect and every style that there is, be it in rap or be it in R&B. You look at Ray Charles, he took gospel and mixed it with rock and mixed it with R&B and blues, or you look at Jimi Hendrix and what he did with rock, you take Bob Marley and what he did with reggae, that’s why we still talk about Bob Marley. You take 2Pac, he mastered every element, every aspect, from originally coming from New York and coming to the West coast and putting that together. Biggie under the same circumstances, of mastering all the hemispheres of the music.
So don’t think you get one belt and you’re happy with that. Bruce Lee is Bruce Lee because he mastered all the arts and then took all the arts and created something new with his own vision, and that’s why he’s the master and that’s why you still watch Enter The Dragon and Chinese Connection to this day.
So you have to really be a master of what you create, you can’t half-ass it, there are no shortcuts to excellence, you have to sacrifice everything to be the best at this. Jimi Hendrix slept with his guitar, so you better be sleeping with your motherfucking microphone, your turntables, your notebook, whatever the fuck it is, go to sleep with the headphones on listening to records. If you don’t give your all, you’re not gonna get it all.
dimanche 26 septembre 2010
Bishop Lamont Interview With The Source
With people still awaiting Dr. Dre’s Detox and the label shrinking by the day, Aftermath survivor and latest escapee Bishop Lamont sheds some light on his experience in the house that Andre built and his run-ins with industry rule #4080 on the way to his latest project The Shawshank Redemption
So Bishop, what's going on with the new project Shawshank Redemption?
Where did that title come from?
It started out as a joke really. That's what I would compare my label stint at aftermath at times! I felt like an innocent man being punished for some shit I didn't do!
Lets talk about it. What makes you say that?
I was there for almost five years with no release date! That's a bid nigga! (Laughs) But at the same time like the movie, it made me smarter, stronger, and more resourceful! And it never could break me!
Speaking of which, you dropped some pretty strong hints in your first single “Hollow Eyes” about some of the things that went on behind the scenes at Afterrmath. Care to elaborate?
Cut throat fellow artists for one! You’re busy helping them, feeding them on your food budget, and recording budget! You cut a record, come back the next day and they done re-recorded your joint (stole your idea) but kept the hook and turn it into Dre like they did it! Two, no A&R! You’re booking your own studio time and reaching out to the producers yourself! But with no front end funding for securing records, how you gonna get shit done? And all the hits you do get first you never get paid for, so records like the Nottz joint Scarface did, or the Jake One track that ended up the Hot Rod/Mary J. Blige, are just a few! Oh yeah! And the “Conglomerate” record! But Bussa Buss is the big homie so it’s all good! And it was a great look for one of the illest, most amazing producers, that nigga focus!
So you’re saying, you’d record records and they'd be given to other artists with no credit for you? What Did Dr Dre has to say about all this? Couldn’t you go to him and fix things?
Ah! Remember I tell any more and I'll ruin the ending! But just cause you're a wonderful guy I'll say this. In the case of the Nottz record, Dre was ready to go in, but by then it was too late! We heard it on the radio!
But you weren’t without your own hits I'm sure. What stopped you from putting out your own records? "Making yourself hot" as they say?
I tried! Hence all the street albums! Three singles on the radio back to back! “Do It” and “Up And Down” produced by Scott Storch, “Feel On It” produced by Focus, and finally “Grow Up!” That was a number one record on Power! Came back from research one hundred percent but the label issued a cease and desist against the station! Even threatened to sue them! Hilarious! Who does that? Thank you to all the DJ's who supported the record still, against orders even! Bless you especially Mr. Chock!
Did Dre respond to you asking why his label would put out a cease and desist to an artist on his label?
Lmao! You don't quit do you sir? Yes and no! Without giving away the movie. We even went back in the studio to discuss how to make it all work! Obviously it didn't! And at that point you gotta pull the parachute some time, or you're gonna go splat! It was an eye opening experience! But I must say Dre tried the best he could to a certain degree! Again with out giving away the movie, he would always say to me at a dinner or some engagement, or the studio "You came into my life at a weird time, a hard time, but just be patient with me!” So I will always have love for him and we will remain family. But business is business as I soon learned the hardest way!
I believe in "live and let live." Karma can handle her own business! So I should handle mine! I'm just thankful to still have an opportunity to have a career finally! To still be relevant and have more fans now and notoriety, when I signed back in 2005! A true blessing! Remember all that while, I never got to grace any magazine covers, no major features, and I'm still here! It was like sitting in a cell and watching life go by! I use to see Ne-Yo in the studio with my boy Six John way before he got signed, out of here now popping! I saw Rick Ross while I was living in Miami before he took off I met Drake working on Detoxrecords. Luckily he didn't sign, and look at him go! (Laughs) I think you get my point!
I guess what makes this so crazy is that with all the behind the scenes insanity you’re alluding to, you were always in your interviews repping Aftermath and making it seem all good.
Well there's two points of Bishop Lamont when you look at the interviews. The fresh start happy, completely focused, didn't ever drink or smoke, green and young to the bull shit bishop! Then there's the drinking, hella-swole cause he was so angry and couldn't beat up the people doing this shit to him at the office, so all he could do was lift weights, Bishop. In the midst of beefs with niggas who he had helped get they deals, fed and clothed, or walked into a radio station for airplay! Stabbed in the back by damn near every one he put on! My grandmother died! The guilty will remain nameless, but they were playing with my checks! I take care of my whole family basically; my granny needed and deserved certain medical attention I couldn't provide for financially! And she died! I feel directly responsible even though I shouldn't! I remember holding her hand in that hospital and feeling like I had failed her! I've just barely come to terms with that and found peace as best I could! Lord have mercy! That was confession like a muthafucka right there!
So where are you now?
The full circle Bishop Lamont! The Andy at the end of Shawshank finally experiencing his dream! The no drinking, no drugs, MMA training, “Ram Dass” reading, Man vs. Food watching, retarded ass life loving nigga I was always meant to be! I have no regrets and I'm not angry or frustrated! I'm not running round beating niggas up outside clubs no more, or shaking down punk ass DJs for disrespecting! I'm working with the United Nations! Doing records with the Wailers proceeds going to the hungry all over the world! Real grown man shit! After school programs, prison outreach, and youth center projects! I'm doing and moving as God truly desired and intended for me to! Fuck these small minded, insecure, egotistical, make believe, godless, industry bitch ass niggas! U fighting over crumbs and destroying the art form, destroying the west coast, and holding up traffic! Hop yo fossilized old Asses in La Brea Tar-pits and let all these new artist in! That goes for the entire country! West coast, East coast! Where ever niggas got the runway backed up!
So Bishop, what's going on with the new project Shawshank Redemption?
Where did that title come from?
It started out as a joke really. That's what I would compare my label stint at aftermath at times! I felt like an innocent man being punished for some shit I didn't do!
Lets talk about it. What makes you say that?
I was there for almost five years with no release date! That's a bid nigga! (Laughs) But at the same time like the movie, it made me smarter, stronger, and more resourceful! And it never could break me!
Speaking of which, you dropped some pretty strong hints in your first single “Hollow Eyes” about some of the things that went on behind the scenes at Afterrmath. Care to elaborate?
Cut throat fellow artists for one! You’re busy helping them, feeding them on your food budget, and recording budget! You cut a record, come back the next day and they done re-recorded your joint (stole your idea) but kept the hook and turn it into Dre like they did it! Two, no A&R! You’re booking your own studio time and reaching out to the producers yourself! But with no front end funding for securing records, how you gonna get shit done? And all the hits you do get first you never get paid for, so records like the Nottz joint Scarface did, or the Jake One track that ended up the Hot Rod/Mary J. Blige, are just a few! Oh yeah! And the “Conglomerate” record! But Bussa Buss is the big homie so it’s all good! And it was a great look for one of the illest, most amazing producers, that nigga focus!
So you’re saying, you’d record records and they'd be given to other artists with no credit for you? What Did Dr Dre has to say about all this? Couldn’t you go to him and fix things?
Ah! Remember I tell any more and I'll ruin the ending! But just cause you're a wonderful guy I'll say this. In the case of the Nottz record, Dre was ready to go in, but by then it was too late! We heard it on the radio!
But you weren’t without your own hits I'm sure. What stopped you from putting out your own records? "Making yourself hot" as they say?
I tried! Hence all the street albums! Three singles on the radio back to back! “Do It” and “Up And Down” produced by Scott Storch, “Feel On It” produced by Focus, and finally “Grow Up!” That was a number one record on Power! Came back from research one hundred percent but the label issued a cease and desist against the station! Even threatened to sue them! Hilarious! Who does that? Thank you to all the DJ's who supported the record still, against orders even! Bless you especially Mr. Chock!
Did Dre respond to you asking why his label would put out a cease and desist to an artist on his label?
Lmao! You don't quit do you sir? Yes and no! Without giving away the movie. We even went back in the studio to discuss how to make it all work! Obviously it didn't! And at that point you gotta pull the parachute some time, or you're gonna go splat! It was an eye opening experience! But I must say Dre tried the best he could to a certain degree! Again with out giving away the movie, he would always say to me at a dinner or some engagement, or the studio "You came into my life at a weird time, a hard time, but just be patient with me!” So I will always have love for him and we will remain family. But business is business as I soon learned the hardest way!
I believe in "live and let live." Karma can handle her own business! So I should handle mine! I'm just thankful to still have an opportunity to have a career finally! To still be relevant and have more fans now and notoriety, when I signed back in 2005! A true blessing! Remember all that while, I never got to grace any magazine covers, no major features, and I'm still here! It was like sitting in a cell and watching life go by! I use to see Ne-Yo in the studio with my boy Six John way before he got signed, out of here now popping! I saw Rick Ross while I was living in Miami before he took off I met Drake working on Detoxrecords. Luckily he didn't sign, and look at him go! (Laughs) I think you get my point!
I guess what makes this so crazy is that with all the behind the scenes insanity you’re alluding to, you were always in your interviews repping Aftermath and making it seem all good.
Well there's two points of Bishop Lamont when you look at the interviews. The fresh start happy, completely focused, didn't ever drink or smoke, green and young to the bull shit bishop! Then there's the drinking, hella-swole cause he was so angry and couldn't beat up the people doing this shit to him at the office, so all he could do was lift weights, Bishop. In the midst of beefs with niggas who he had helped get they deals, fed and clothed, or walked into a radio station for airplay! Stabbed in the back by damn near every one he put on! My grandmother died! The guilty will remain nameless, but they were playing with my checks! I take care of my whole family basically; my granny needed and deserved certain medical attention I couldn't provide for financially! And she died! I feel directly responsible even though I shouldn't! I remember holding her hand in that hospital and feeling like I had failed her! I've just barely come to terms with that and found peace as best I could! Lord have mercy! That was confession like a muthafucka right there!
So where are you now?
The full circle Bishop Lamont! The Andy at the end of Shawshank finally experiencing his dream! The no drinking, no drugs, MMA training, “Ram Dass” reading, Man vs. Food watching, retarded ass life loving nigga I was always meant to be! I have no regrets and I'm not angry or frustrated! I'm not running round beating niggas up outside clubs no more, or shaking down punk ass DJs for disrespecting! I'm working with the United Nations! Doing records with the Wailers proceeds going to the hungry all over the world! Real grown man shit! After school programs, prison outreach, and youth center projects! I'm doing and moving as God truly desired and intended for me to! Fuck these small minded, insecure, egotistical, make believe, godless, industry bitch ass niggas! U fighting over crumbs and destroying the art form, destroying the west coast, and holding up traffic! Hop yo fossilized old Asses in La Brea Tar-pits and let all these new artist in! That goes for the entire country! West coast, East coast! Where ever niggas got the runway backed up!
jeudi 28 janvier 2010
After Aftermath: Bishop Lamont Discusses Leaving Dr. Dre's Label, His Future Plans and the State of the West Coast
Call Bishop Lamont hip-hop’s Conan O’Brien. Like the lanky late-night talk show host, the Carson-raised rapper ostensibly received the keys to the kingdom when he achieved the dream of every local MC: signing to Dr. Dre’s Aftermath, “The Tonight Show” of record labels. But things didn’t go according to plan. Despite dropping several highly regarded mix tapes and scoring a hit radio single with the Dr. Dre-produced “Grow Up,” Lamont was left to languish on the sidelines. To add insult to injury, the label sent a cease-and-desist letter to Power 106, barring the station from playing the tune -- a bizarre move that seems opposed to conventional music industry logic. (Aftermath did not respond to requests for comment.)
Of course, common sense has paid few house calls lately to the laboratory that Andre Young built. Since Busta Rhymes’ “The Big Bang” in 2006, Aftermath has released just three records, a pair from 50 Cent and another from fellow longtime meal ticket Eminem. The Interscope subsidiary handed Rhymes, Chef Raekwon, Rakim and Joell Ortiz their walking papers. As for Dr. Dre's “Detox,” the long-awaited “Unicorn of Rap,” both Raekwon’s laughably tardy “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2” and Guns N’ Roses’ “Chinese Democracy” beat it into stores. At this point, cynics cluck that it ought to be called “Botox,” considering we’ll all need cosmetic work by the time it sees the light of day.
Yet through it all, Lamont remained the loyal soldier -- clearly frustrated with the foot-dragging but unwilling to criticize his mentor (other label executives were a different story) and laboring diligently on Dre’s “Detox” and his own debut, “The Reformation.” Over the last year, rumors swirled that Lamont had been dropped from the label, with the rapper born Phillip Martin vehemently denying the accounts. But last month, he revealed that he had parted ways with Aftermath, telling Shade 45’s “The All Out Show” " that it was like “ 'Shawshank Redemption'… I still love them over there, but thank God… I was going out to the prison yard, shaking gravel out my pants…trying to crawl through the sewer."
Lamont declined to comment further on the disarray at his old home, but spoke to Pop & Hiss about the 700 masters he left with, his forthcoming releases, hanging out with Ram Dass and his future plans for his own imprint, Diocese Records.
You were able to secure your masters per the terms of the severance agreement with Aftermath. What exactly is contained on those recordings?
We’re about to finally bless the world with a lot of music. It got to the point where it wasn’t fair to the fans or to myself to have to keep on waiting. I understand that labels have obligations, but it was difficult to have fans coming up to you and asking when I was going to get a release date. There’s a lot of crazy records I got to take with me. There’s a J Dilla record that I got with the blessing of DJ House Shoes. Tracks from DJ Khalil, Lord Finesse, 9th Wonder, Mr. Porter, Focus, basically a who’s who of underground hip-hop.
And tracks from Dr. Dre?
Yes, there are tracks from the good doctor in there.
What’s the status of your relationship with Dre?
It’s as good as it’s ever been. In the course of the time it took to get out of the Aftermath contract, I never wanted it to cause our friendship to suffer. He's like my big brother. I understand that business is business, and I’m hoping to continue working with him in the future.
What’s the plan for your next release?
I’m going to put out “The Shawshank Redemption,” a mix tape with Bink and DJ Drama that will talk about what I've been going through.
You’d been working on a follow-up to “Caltroit,” the sequel to the original collaboration with Black Milk. What’s the status on that?
There was so much going on over the past year that it had to take a back seat. But we did a record called “Fat Gold Dookie Rope” that’s probably going to be one of the first singles off the new project that we release.
At one point you were planning to release a tape called “No Country For Old Men,” in which you were going to take shots at West Coast veterans for not supporting younger artists. What happened with that project?
Snoop actually reached out to me, which was really dope. I’ve known him since I was a teenager and his brother and I are friends. A lot of people thought it was a ploy for attention, but it was about older artists supporting the younger artists. Those guys are heroes to us and it’s important to carry on the tradition. But we had a heart to heart and he explained that he’s willing to support all of us, which you can see now.
It’s important to keep the West from falling into the standard boxes you think of when you think of West Coast artists. There’s a lot of talented people out here who don’t get the shine they deserve: Pac Div, U-N-I, Med and Rocc C and Oh No from Oxnard, and a bunch more I’m forgetting at the moment. I’m liking the direction we’re going in, but there needs to be more unity and I’m in a great position where I can lead by example and move at my own pace.
You’re not the only West Coast artist who has had difficulty getting a major label to release your record. At the moment, Glasses Malone, Nipsey Hussle and Jay Rock have all been able to land singles on Power 106 and still don’t have a release date in sight. Neither do Pac Div. What do you make of that?
It's ridiculous. Nipsey's been doing his thing, Jay Rock had a hit song with Lil Wayne and will.i.am. and no one can get a release date. People sometimes get it twisted that I hate the skinny jeans kids, but that's not true at all. I love that The New Boyz are speaking for kids their own age in a way that hyphy never had the chance to do. But none of the labels are giving the West Coast artists a chance right now, they're busy trying to figure out a new design for the business -- all of a sudden the machine they created is working against them. That's one of the reasons why I'm working toward getting Diocese Records off the ground.
I'm trying to build a label for everything from rap to R&B to jazz to alternative rock to country. We're trying to do everything in-house, with videos done by DJ Skee and Matt Alonzo, and radio and Internet promotion done right. Artists would come to me when I was at Aftermath and I told them that their best bet was to avoid signing with a major. They thought I was hating, but the labels want to give you 360 degree deals and take all of your publishing and your merchandise and publishing. If an artist can sell 40,000 copies on their own, they're rich. If they sell 40,000 on a major, they get dropped.
What's the status of your own album, "The Reformation?"
It's almost finished. There's so many records, but I've had the blessing to be able to sit with Ram Dass lately in Maui, and the books he's given me and the things I've learned have been so dope. I'm almost overwhelmed. It's hard to know where to begin. I've been sitting down with so many amazing people lately and learning and evolving so much, that's it's just crazy. There's nothing better than being able to have my freedom.
Of course, common sense has paid few house calls lately to the laboratory that Andre Young built. Since Busta Rhymes’ “The Big Bang” in 2006, Aftermath has released just three records, a pair from 50 Cent and another from fellow longtime meal ticket Eminem. The Interscope subsidiary handed Rhymes, Chef Raekwon, Rakim and Joell Ortiz their walking papers. As for Dr. Dre's “Detox,” the long-awaited “Unicorn of Rap,” both Raekwon’s laughably tardy “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2” and Guns N’ Roses’ “Chinese Democracy” beat it into stores. At this point, cynics cluck that it ought to be called “Botox,” considering we’ll all need cosmetic work by the time it sees the light of day.
Yet through it all, Lamont remained the loyal soldier -- clearly frustrated with the foot-dragging but unwilling to criticize his mentor (other label executives were a different story) and laboring diligently on Dre’s “Detox” and his own debut, “The Reformation.” Over the last year, rumors swirled that Lamont had been dropped from the label, with the rapper born Phillip Martin vehemently denying the accounts. But last month, he revealed that he had parted ways with Aftermath, telling Shade 45’s “The All Out Show” " that it was like “ 'Shawshank Redemption'… I still love them over there, but thank God… I was going out to the prison yard, shaking gravel out my pants…trying to crawl through the sewer."
Lamont declined to comment further on the disarray at his old home, but spoke to Pop & Hiss about the 700 masters he left with, his forthcoming releases, hanging out with Ram Dass and his future plans for his own imprint, Diocese Records.
You were able to secure your masters per the terms of the severance agreement with Aftermath. What exactly is contained on those recordings?
We’re about to finally bless the world with a lot of music. It got to the point where it wasn’t fair to the fans or to myself to have to keep on waiting. I understand that labels have obligations, but it was difficult to have fans coming up to you and asking when I was going to get a release date. There’s a lot of crazy records I got to take with me. There’s a J Dilla record that I got with the blessing of DJ House Shoes. Tracks from DJ Khalil, Lord Finesse, 9th Wonder, Mr. Porter, Focus, basically a who’s who of underground hip-hop.
And tracks from Dr. Dre?
Yes, there are tracks from the good doctor in there.
What’s the status of your relationship with Dre?
It’s as good as it’s ever been. In the course of the time it took to get out of the Aftermath contract, I never wanted it to cause our friendship to suffer. He's like my big brother. I understand that business is business, and I’m hoping to continue working with him in the future.
What’s the plan for your next release?
I’m going to put out “The Shawshank Redemption,” a mix tape with Bink and DJ Drama that will talk about what I've been going through.
You’d been working on a follow-up to “Caltroit,” the sequel to the original collaboration with Black Milk. What’s the status on that?
There was so much going on over the past year that it had to take a back seat. But we did a record called “Fat Gold Dookie Rope” that’s probably going to be one of the first singles off the new project that we release.
At one point you were planning to release a tape called “No Country For Old Men,” in which you were going to take shots at West Coast veterans for not supporting younger artists. What happened with that project?
Snoop actually reached out to me, which was really dope. I’ve known him since I was a teenager and his brother and I are friends. A lot of people thought it was a ploy for attention, but it was about older artists supporting the younger artists. Those guys are heroes to us and it’s important to carry on the tradition. But we had a heart to heart and he explained that he’s willing to support all of us, which you can see now.
It’s important to keep the West from falling into the standard boxes you think of when you think of West Coast artists. There’s a lot of talented people out here who don’t get the shine they deserve: Pac Div, U-N-I, Med and Rocc C and Oh No from Oxnard, and a bunch more I’m forgetting at the moment. I’m liking the direction we’re going in, but there needs to be more unity and I’m in a great position where I can lead by example and move at my own pace.
You’re not the only West Coast artist who has had difficulty getting a major label to release your record. At the moment, Glasses Malone, Nipsey Hussle and Jay Rock have all been able to land singles on Power 106 and still don’t have a release date in sight. Neither do Pac Div. What do you make of that?
It's ridiculous. Nipsey's been doing his thing, Jay Rock had a hit song with Lil Wayne and will.i.am. and no one can get a release date. People sometimes get it twisted that I hate the skinny jeans kids, but that's not true at all. I love that The New Boyz are speaking for kids their own age in a way that hyphy never had the chance to do. But none of the labels are giving the West Coast artists a chance right now, they're busy trying to figure out a new design for the business -- all of a sudden the machine they created is working against them. That's one of the reasons why I'm working toward getting Diocese Records off the ground.
I'm trying to build a label for everything from rap to R&B to jazz to alternative rock to country. We're trying to do everything in-house, with videos done by DJ Skee and Matt Alonzo, and radio and Internet promotion done right. Artists would come to me when I was at Aftermath and I told them that their best bet was to avoid signing with a major. They thought I was hating, but the labels want to give you 360 degree deals and take all of your publishing and your merchandise and publishing. If an artist can sell 40,000 copies on their own, they're rich. If they sell 40,000 on a major, they get dropped.
What's the status of your own album, "The Reformation?"
It's almost finished. There's so many records, but I've had the blessing to be able to sit with Ram Dass lately in Maui, and the books he's given me and the things I've learned have been so dope. I'm almost overwhelmed. It's hard to know where to begin. I've been sitting down with so many amazing people lately and learning and evolving so much, that's it's just crazy. There's nothing better than being able to have my freedom.
jeudi 1 octobre 2009
Acclaim Street Lifestyle Magazine Interviews Bishop Lamont (September)
How has being on Aftermath impacted the way in which you create music?
I mean. You’re on a world stage. You’re not just making music for your neighbourhood or another hood. You’re making music for the world. It broadens your horizons as far as how hard you go in on creating a record. It amplifies everything and with that comes a responsibility to do something phenomenal and impactful coming behind the likes of Dre, 50 and Em.
So your upcoming projects aren’t necessarily going to have a West Coast sound?
I mean, with the heritage of where I’m from the West Coast element is always gonna be there. But it’s just about ill music, period! I mean, I know a lot of ill niggas from New York that sound like niggas from Long Beach. I know a lot of cats from Compton, Watts that sound like they’re from Brooklyn. Naamean?
Your next mixtape is “No Country for Old Men” with Crooked I…
Yeah but we gotta put that on hold. Cause you know Crooked was involved in some bullshit. Praise god that he’s alive and he’s well. Fuck the hater that did that. Right now we just need Crooked to get well. So right now it’s just about finishing up [my album] The Reformation… finishing up Detox, Xzibit’s new album, Warren G’s new album…
I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk about the concept behind The Reformation. Where does this title come from?
The Reformation was a point in history in early Europe where the people rebelled against the law and the church to re-establish a right way of living. I look at the music business in the same way. That kind of rebellion is necessary in HipHop. It’s necessary in our society today. It’s about reforming things, destroying the old and building the new. If there are things that need to be rectified, they’re going to be rectified. It’s the rebuilding of the West Coast, it’s the rebuilding of Hip Hop - period. It takes intricate parts from East Coast, from the South, from the West, Detroit… all over! And it’s just great that everybody is feeling it and is in tune with it.
What are some things in particular you wish to reform in the music business?
The basic things. It’s about going back to originality. It’s about going back to the supreme architects of production. People should know about Large Professor, people should know about Lord Finesse, people should know about Buck Wild, people should know about Clark Kent, people should know about Primo, Selaam Remi and The Beatnuts. Stop chasing all these corny producers just because they got hits on the radio. Back in the day that wasn’t HipHop. Niggas got with the ill shit and made ill shit. I want people to start being individuals again. I want people to start getting on that Wu Tang again when niggas got with the grimiest illest shit because that was their chamber. People had their chambers of Mobb Deep, De La Soul, Tribe, Kingpin because that was their chamber. Whatever it was people had their separate universe, but we all coincided. So with “The Reformation” it’s about getting down and being about originality and being leaders and being individuals and coming with a new flavour instead of everybody sampling and borrowing and coming with the same flavour, the same technique, the same direction. We need to be about going against the grain again, being rebellious again, actually putting thought into your music, actually having a cause, saying something. Niggas aint saying nothing now. It’s all corny. You can see through niggas.
So are we likely to hear Souljah Boy on your album?
Oh (laughs), you’re funny. You know what though? No matter what people say about Souljah Boy he’s a young man and he’s doing the kind of music he loves so you can’t be mad at him. But do I listen to Souljah Boy? No! I’m a grown ass man. I come from another era of ill shit. But I love that little dude because he’s a real ass dude and he’s doing what he does. If he said that he’s better than Nas or that he’s bringing that real HipHop shit, then I would be mad at him. But he’s making fun music for the kids. That’s not the revolution. But I love that dude. We might hang out some time, we might party, I don’t fucken know. We might even do a song, who knows! (laughs)
Originally you were scheduled to come out before Em, 50 n Dre. And many people looked at your single “Grow Up” as the release that signified the beginning of the new Aftermath movement. What has happened since this release?
Well basically just label stuff. Jimmy [Iovine] wants the juggernauts first because things are just so fucked up at the label as far as red tape with deficits, you know? I was about to blast off, but Jimmy’s boss and he was like “Yo, we need these cats first before we can pour money into a new artist. We need to get this money right first with Em, 50, Detox then BOOM! The world is yours”. But I’m glad that we were at least allowed to unleash [Grow Up] for people to get a feeling for where I’m taking the movement and of what I have to give to the game. I stand alone from anything that’s come out of there yet.
I’d imagine that this situation would end up working out a lot better for you anyway as far as the momentum you get to enjoy?
Oh shit it’s beautiful. It gives me more to time to really get the album finished and really understand how everything works. I mean it’s a much higher level than what people know. I get to understand the politics and work at the biggest label in the world. It’s a whole other thing though. It’s not just about writing rhymes. You gotta be in them offices. You gotta be in the meetings with these executives. There’s a whole another level that goes with it. So it’s just made me that much more of a savvy businessman as well as another juggernaut coming into the game. It’s a beautiful thing.
That’s a really interesting point, how you can’t just be an artist any more. You have to be an entrepreneur as well…
Exactly, so I have that blessing and I’m just beasting and having a great time.
And most people are already familiar with you because you got that single out before it all went down
Right and when people bless it you get to go overseas. I aint even got an album out yet. It’s just the love. It’s just the movement and people are receiving it, so I’m back overseas again in a couple of weeks.
Where to?
I can’t say (laughs) It’s a surprise! But I’ve got to come to Australia though. Xzibit was telling me about it. Warren was telling me about it. I gotta come out there.
If I got pimps out there, if I got players out there, I gotta come rock with them.
Speaking of things that are being kept hush-hush… What’s the latest update with the Bigfoot album [Detox]?
Ha! He said the Bigfoot album! Dre just went to Vegas, he’s finishing off 50’s album getting that monster ready. Em is pretty much set to go again. They’re all in Vegas, getting fucked up and making great music. So yeah, that’s what’s up with the Bigfoot album (laughs)
I think I heard somewhere that over 2000 records have been recorded in the process of creating Detox
Shit, I think it’s even more than that really. I mean he has a vault of records that he’s been dibbling and dabbling with for about ten years now. So I can’t even imagine how many more he’s got in there. Imagine doing 75 records in two nights, just vibing and zoning. There aint no telling how many he’s got. I mean after 22 years he’s like, I’ve seen that, I’ve tasted that, I’ve ate that. So he’s really gotta come with something you’ve never seen before. He’s really gotta come come with something he’s never heard before conceptually and production-wise. That’s where the bar has been set. So it’s a serious thing to do. He has to go beyond himself to get to levels that he’s teeing in his mind. It’s rare that you can achieve what you see in your mind or even come close. So to come that correctly is an arduous task.
And I understand that this work ethic has even brushed off on you where you have created over 200 records for Detox.
Yeah…
But my question is… what’s going to happen with all this remaining material?
I couldn’t tell you man. It’s probably gonna sit in the vault or be used for something else. I never look back though. Once it’s done I keep looking forward. Either he cuts it or it makes the cut. It is what it is. My thing is about progression. My thing is about growth. If it aint about the future what is it?
At the same time though wouldn’t you like to be able to look back at your past works when you’re not feeling so creative and just see how you were thinking at that particular time?
Man, I don’t even look back. I really don’t even care [laughs]. I swear to god. You’re living for now, so you’re looking at it like “Okay, where are we?” And if I really want to get in to that chamber I’m not even going to listen to my own stuff. That’s like looking at your own highlight films. I’m gonna go listen to Wu Tang. I’m gonna go listen to Pharaoh Monche, know what I mean? I’m gonna go listen to the old Naughty by Nature, I’m gonna listen to The Outsiders, The Fugees. That’s what I’m gonna try study if I want to think about the old days, rock some Keith Murray or something. I’m not gonna go back to my own stuff, I don’t even care about that stuff. As soon as it’s etched in stone, it’s on to the next.
Tell me about some of the artists you mess with outside of the Aftermath camp
Talib, Common, Madlib, Illa J, Percee P, XL, Raekwon, Jadakiss, Nas, there’s so many people it’s just a blessing to move in these same circles and run into these fresh niggas. Black Milk…
Black Milk is incredible. How did you guys come about doing mixtapes together?
Through my man Hex when I first met Slum Village. At the time my nigga RJ and Black Milk were still BR Gunner. And we just stayed in contact. I think the first thing we did was on the weekend of Proof’s (D12) funeral. Rest in Peace. And we did our first joint called “Go Ape”. From then it was on. It was my man Hex’ idea for us to do a whole album together, so I can’t take all the credit.
What about the more immediate people you have around you? The cats thatyou are trying to bring up?
Oh yeah. We’ve got this new Hot Box [mixtape] that Whoo Kid’s hosting with Pr1me, Dae One, Noe Spitz, G.O, JRK, Diverse, Rocket, Infa Red, Flave, Big Wise Young Dre [Dr Dre’s son], Joe Moses. I could be telling that shit all day long!
And do you plan to have a sub-label for these guys the same way Em and 50 have?
I’ve already got [my label] “Diosys”, so you know we’re putting fresh cats out. I’ve just got to rub my album off first. I’m only doing three albums, period. Then I’m getting behind the desk. Me and my partners want to build Diosys to be the label that every artist dreams of coming to. I only have so much to say that’s necessary for the doors to open and for us to converge and move to where we need to be. So I’m gonna be more on the business side. We’re gonna build a ship, from HipHop to alternative, if it’s ill we’re doing it.
What are you leaning towards as far as alternative?
Man, I don’t care! If cats can compare to this rock group I’ve found called the New Royales, there it is! If they’re ill, there it is! If it’s some ill jazz, there it is! I don’t care! I listen to everything. I’m looking for the next embodiment for all these different genres, cause right now everything has been so watered down and it’s not that revolutionary shit. It’s not that cutting edge shit. All I want to manufacture is the Mega, the amazing. I don’t want to be like other labels who say “Oh, we do HipHop and R[[[[[&]]]]]B” It’s gonna be alotta different genres.
I heard the story about how you were originally wanting to be signed Kanye West?
Yeah…
I can’t imagine you being on Kanye’s roster.....
(Awkward silence) … Why couldn’t you imagine that?
Because “Mohawks, tight jeans just aint you” (quoting an extract from “Grow Up”)
(Laughs hysterically) Bless your soul man. I mean again, everybody’s got their style but for me this is how I get down. But they’re family, you’d be surprised at who I get down with. It’d be the same thing if I happened to come out under Kanye, you probably couldn’t picture me being on Aftermath working with Dre. There was a time when I could have been signed with Dame Dash or Jay-Z. In the same way I’m sure you couldn’t even picture me being on Rocafella, you know
Have you had any more correspondence with The Game since you were calling him “Baby Girl”?
Nah you know what? We’re done with that. I just had to get at homie right. Homie was disrespecting me but at the end of the day I don’t believe in restless shit. I don’t have a problem with dude. Dude just does sideways shit sometimes to get attention or to feel like he’s the biggest nigga on the West Coast. I don’t get down like that. I spread love. I roll with everybody. Things are good with dude. At the end of the day, his mama and my mama go on vacation together. So I’d look real stupid if I wanted to beat this nigga up and hurt this nigga. But his other man we had to beat the shit out of at the club that night. But we good now. Sometimes you just gotta beat peoples asses to get their minds right, you know. So it’s love to that nigga. Some day you WILL see me and Game on a record together. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. His big bro [Big Fase 100] that’s my man, his little sister B-Fly that’s my little sister. So we’re all family regardless, know what I mean.
The stance you took from the start pretty much told me that ultimately you’d love to be able to just keep it peaceful and even work together.....
Yeah, ‘cause it aint shit to me. Everybody’s tryna make it on the West Coast. Everybody’s tryna do they thing. I’m about unity, so when you’ve got people causing division you gotta deal with that adequately. As much as I’m a peaceful nigga, I’m a warrior at the same time. I’m a General. I have to be setting the guidelines and organising these things correctly. That’s nothing to me. Cats wanna do records, lets do records. It’s all love. Let’s get it.
I think I read somewhere that you even tried to give Game a book on leadership?
Oh nah, that was his little man. That was someone I tried to teach. But the dudes a little gypsy rapper, the dudes a little rapist. I mean that’s one of the dudes I beat up, so we’re off of that now. It’s love for Game. But no love for bitch ass niggas. No love for cowards. No love for Judaists. We slay Judaists. That’s what that is. My arms are open. I embrace niggas with love. But if niggas want otherwise I’m gonna give you the Hannibal kind. I’m gonna give you the history of what I come from.
Haha. Like for example, what you did to DJ Strong?
Ha! DJ Thong! But let’s get off the negative though I don’t care about those dudes. We about Detox, we about the Relapse albums, we about Before I Self Destruct, we about the G-Files (Warren G’s new album)
Well then on a more positive note what else would Bishop Lamont like to achieve in his lifetime beyond music?
Just being able to provide for the communities. I’m setting up foundations now. I’m setting up a kickboxing and mixed martial arts school and some other things to keep kids out the streets. Ummm… more work in the churches, more work in politics. There’s a lot of things I want to do, that’s why my time is short in the music business. I gotta get what this is, but God has a greater plan for me. I mean some day I’ve got to return to the church being the true Bishop I’m supposed to do. There’s a lot of fresh stuff out there for me. I don’t wanna say too much else. I need to stay stupid right now. I gotta seem like I’m just another rapper. Naaameeean? (laughs)
mercredi 10 juin 2009
jeudi 5 mars 2009
Bishop Reveals Interscope's '09 Plans & More ...
For Los Angeles natives, only getting drafted by the Lakers can top signing a deal with Dr. Dre, the legendary producer who has directly or indirectly helped shape the career of nearly every great rapper the city has produced in the last 20 years.
But four years ago, when Carson-raised Bishop Lamont released his first mixtape, “Who I Gotta Kill to Get a Record Deal,” the idea of signing with Dre seemed quixotic. Originally, his goal was to ink a contract with Kanye West, who had been rumored to have liked Lamont’s debut. So when Lamont learned that West was slated to appear in the video for the Game’s “Dreams,” he and his friend Glasses Malone (currently signed to Cash Money Records) broke onto the set, swiped a video cart and loitered around the craft services table, waiting for the self-proclaimed "Louis Vuitton Don" to appear.
Instead, Dre emerged from a nearby trailer, causing Lamont to jettison his original plan and beg a mutual friend for an introduction. Promising that he’d bump it on the drive home, Dre took a mixtape from the skeptical Lamont, who never expected to hear from him again. Yet two weeks later, on Power 106, Dre name-dropped Lamont and expressed his desire to meet him.
Nearly five years later, the now Aftermath-signed Lamont continues to labor on both Dre’s mythically delayed “Detox” and his own similarly dilatory debut, "The Reformation." To sustain subterranean buzz, he’s released six mixtapes in the interim, including "Caltroit," his 2007 collaboration with Detroit production phenom Black Milk featuring guest spots ranging from Dre, Busta Rhymes, Ras Kass and Royce Da’ 5’9".
It’s this readiness to breach the increasingly irrelevant gap between major label and independent, coupled with a brutal, unedited and hilarious honesty that makes Lamont so refreshing. Moreover, in the course of his seven mixtapes, Lamont’s flashed an artistic breadth that delineates him from the DatPiff horde, writing everything from introspective eulogies to crossover 50 Cent-like ballads to slaughterhouse battle raps.
While “The Reformation” remains sans release date, Lamont stays sanguine and always in the studio, planning a sequel to "Caltroit," continuing work on “Detox,” his own album and upcoming Xzibit and Warren G efforts — unless he gets drafted by the Lakers first.
You just got back from New York. What were you doing out there?
I was doing some records with 50 Cent, a little bit of radio stuff, a Source article, just trying to finish my record, doing some documentaries and DVD stuff for it. You know how it is.
Were the records with 50 for his album or yours?
For mine.
How’s it coming along?
It’s coming along amazing. I’m good friends with DJ Whoo Kid, and 50, Yayo and Banks are like my big brothers. So we set something up and they always show me love. I was trying to plug myself correctly in New York, because I rarely have the opportunity to get out there. 50 and Whoo Kid always give me the best advice on the industry.
So can we expect to see you in the next Pimpin’ Curly skit?
Pimpin’ Curly is between Rick Ross and 50. A lot of people have been trying to jump on the bandwagon and take sides, but I’m cool with both of them.
Last time we spoke, you’d expressed frustration about the time frame related to the release of “The Reformation.” Has the situation improved?
It always gets better. We’ve got a time in place. We have to put “Detox” out first and we’re finishing it now. Eminem’s going to drop soon, then 50, then Detox, then me and Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks. Smash after smash. You’re always dealing with the politics of the labels, but it’s a million times better now. There’s a lot more communication.
You’d also mentioned a who’s who of producers that you were working with. Have you enlisted any new contributors?
It’s still a who’s who of producers [laughs]. We’ve got new amazing stuff from Scoop DeVille, that guy is incredible. And Kahlil, King Karnov, who is insanely good. Of course, Hi-Tek, Clark Kent, DJ Premier, there’s always somebody new. I’ve been fortunate to come in contact with a lot of amazing people. I’m looking forward to working with will.i.am. I also challenged Timbaland to a bench-pressing contest for a beat, so hopefully, I’ll get a beat from Timbaland.
How much can you bench?
450 pounds.
That’s insane.
That’s what stress and this business will do to you.
So how is the album itself progressing?
It just keeps getting better in terms of the direction of where I want it go. It’s like “America’s Next Top Model,” when a hotter model comes along, another one gets out. They still might get a contract and do magazine work, but I want to make sure that what I have is the freshest and best stuff out there. And, of course, continue to put out dope street albums for the people.
Whatever happened to your plans to make a “Team America: World Police"-themed project?
It still must happen, but “Caltroit: Metropolis" is probably the next thing I’m going to put out, and me and [highly regarded Long Beach rapper] Crooked I are doing a “No Country for Old Men” tape. I just don’t want to lose focus. When it comes to my album, I go into overdrive — I want all my craziest energy into the project.
So is it true that the “No Country for Old Men” tape is targeted at Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg?
Yup, they wanted to speak on Crooked and I in a derogatory manner, as though we couldn’t hold up the West Coast. We’re not doing it in a manner of trying to slander them, but we’re facing adversity in trying to establish ourselves and it’s frustrating to see guys we looked up to not wanting us to succeed, Snoop in particular. We still love those dudes, but we won’t tolerate any disrespect. It shouldn’t be like this, with outsiders looking at us and saying the West Coast has no unity. Those guys are like Larry Bird and Dr. J, they’re not still trying to play ball. Either show love or go to work as a color commentator... and it’s not like the old days, where we didn’t have our business down right. We know how to make it work. But if they don’t want to pass the torch and they think they can still ball, then they need to step on the court.
You also spoke about problems with the Game recently. How does that situation currently stand?
I’m not trying to hate on the Game. At the end of the day, his mom and my mom are close friends. They go on vacation with T-Pain’s mom and Lil Wayne’s mom. It’s an issue of disrespect. He knows what it’s about. I’m not on some Wrestlemania-type stuff; he talked about me and I dished it back.
If someone had never been to a Bishop Lamont show, what can they expect?
Always something ignorant, comedy, surprises. I’ll be sharing the light at the Knitting Factory show, giving shine and exposure to new artists. It’s about positivity. People come in with problems and you want them to leave with good energy.
But four years ago, when Carson-raised Bishop Lamont released his first mixtape, “Who I Gotta Kill to Get a Record Deal,” the idea of signing with Dre seemed quixotic. Originally, his goal was to ink a contract with Kanye West, who had been rumored to have liked Lamont’s debut. So when Lamont learned that West was slated to appear in the video for the Game’s “Dreams,” he and his friend Glasses Malone (currently signed to Cash Money Records) broke onto the set, swiped a video cart and loitered around the craft services table, waiting for the self-proclaimed "Louis Vuitton Don" to appear.
Instead, Dre emerged from a nearby trailer, causing Lamont to jettison his original plan and beg a mutual friend for an introduction. Promising that he’d bump it on the drive home, Dre took a mixtape from the skeptical Lamont, who never expected to hear from him again. Yet two weeks later, on Power 106, Dre name-dropped Lamont and expressed his desire to meet him.
Nearly five years later, the now Aftermath-signed Lamont continues to labor on both Dre’s mythically delayed “Detox” and his own similarly dilatory debut, "The Reformation." To sustain subterranean buzz, he’s released six mixtapes in the interim, including "Caltroit," his 2007 collaboration with Detroit production phenom Black Milk featuring guest spots ranging from Dre, Busta Rhymes, Ras Kass and Royce Da’ 5’9".
It’s this readiness to breach the increasingly irrelevant gap between major label and independent, coupled with a brutal, unedited and hilarious honesty that makes Lamont so refreshing. Moreover, in the course of his seven mixtapes, Lamont’s flashed an artistic breadth that delineates him from the DatPiff horde, writing everything from introspective eulogies to crossover 50 Cent-like ballads to slaughterhouse battle raps.
While “The Reformation” remains sans release date, Lamont stays sanguine and always in the studio, planning a sequel to "Caltroit," continuing work on “Detox,” his own album and upcoming Xzibit and Warren G efforts — unless he gets drafted by the Lakers first.
You just got back from New York. What were you doing out there?
I was doing some records with 50 Cent, a little bit of radio stuff, a Source article, just trying to finish my record, doing some documentaries and DVD stuff for it. You know how it is.
Were the records with 50 for his album or yours?
For mine.
How’s it coming along?
It’s coming along amazing. I’m good friends with DJ Whoo Kid, and 50, Yayo and Banks are like my big brothers. So we set something up and they always show me love. I was trying to plug myself correctly in New York, because I rarely have the opportunity to get out there. 50 and Whoo Kid always give me the best advice on the industry.
So can we expect to see you in the next Pimpin’ Curly skit?
Pimpin’ Curly is between Rick Ross and 50. A lot of people have been trying to jump on the bandwagon and take sides, but I’m cool with both of them.
Last time we spoke, you’d expressed frustration about the time frame related to the release of “The Reformation.” Has the situation improved?
It always gets better. We’ve got a time in place. We have to put “Detox” out first and we’re finishing it now. Eminem’s going to drop soon, then 50, then Detox, then me and Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks. Smash after smash. You’re always dealing with the politics of the labels, but it’s a million times better now. There’s a lot more communication.
You’d also mentioned a who’s who of producers that you were working with. Have you enlisted any new contributors?
It’s still a who’s who of producers [laughs]. We’ve got new amazing stuff from Scoop DeVille, that guy is incredible. And Kahlil, King Karnov, who is insanely good. Of course, Hi-Tek, Clark Kent, DJ Premier, there’s always somebody new. I’ve been fortunate to come in contact with a lot of amazing people. I’m looking forward to working with will.i.am. I also challenged Timbaland to a bench-pressing contest for a beat, so hopefully, I’ll get a beat from Timbaland.
How much can you bench?
450 pounds.
That’s insane.
That’s what stress and this business will do to you.
So how is the album itself progressing?
It just keeps getting better in terms of the direction of where I want it go. It’s like “America’s Next Top Model,” when a hotter model comes along, another one gets out. They still might get a contract and do magazine work, but I want to make sure that what I have is the freshest and best stuff out there. And, of course, continue to put out dope street albums for the people.
Whatever happened to your plans to make a “Team America: World Police"-themed project?
It still must happen, but “Caltroit: Metropolis" is probably the next thing I’m going to put out, and me and [highly regarded Long Beach rapper] Crooked I are doing a “No Country for Old Men” tape. I just don’t want to lose focus. When it comes to my album, I go into overdrive — I want all my craziest energy into the project.
So is it true that the “No Country for Old Men” tape is targeted at Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg?
Yup, they wanted to speak on Crooked and I in a derogatory manner, as though we couldn’t hold up the West Coast. We’re not doing it in a manner of trying to slander them, but we’re facing adversity in trying to establish ourselves and it’s frustrating to see guys we looked up to not wanting us to succeed, Snoop in particular. We still love those dudes, but we won’t tolerate any disrespect. It shouldn’t be like this, with outsiders looking at us and saying the West Coast has no unity. Those guys are like Larry Bird and Dr. J, they’re not still trying to play ball. Either show love or go to work as a color commentator... and it’s not like the old days, where we didn’t have our business down right. We know how to make it work. But if they don’t want to pass the torch and they think they can still ball, then they need to step on the court.
You also spoke about problems with the Game recently. How does that situation currently stand?
I’m not trying to hate on the Game. At the end of the day, his mom and my mom are close friends. They go on vacation with T-Pain’s mom and Lil Wayne’s mom. It’s an issue of disrespect. He knows what it’s about. I’m not on some Wrestlemania-type stuff; he talked about me and I dished it back.
If someone had never been to a Bishop Lamont show, what can they expect?
Always something ignorant, comedy, surprises. I’ll be sharing the light at the Knitting Factory show, giving shine and exposure to new artists. It’s about positivity. People come in with problems and you want them to leave with good energy.
samedi 17 janvier 2009
“The West Coast Grind”: Special Edition With Bishop Lamont & Xzibit
.
You Can Download Or Listen The Interview On This Link : Special Edition With Bishop Lamont & Xzibit
You Can Download Or Listen The Interview On This Link : Special Edition With Bishop Lamont & Xzibit
samedi 10 janvier 2009
Bishop Disses The Game (Video)
In an interview with DJ Whoo Kid, Bishop claims that “baby girl” got beat up and robbed in Amsterdam.
jeudi 11 décembre 2008
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