Recently, I sat down with a good friend of mine, Jerome Dickens. He is a talented writer, a smart individual and a huge supporter of indie hip hop. So I decided to get a view of hip hop from a fan's point of view. Enjoy and after you're done reading, check out his blog, there is some great stuff there: jeromedickens.tumblr.com/

1. What was the first independent album that got you into the scene?

There are too many albums, songs, and even labels to narrow it down to just one LP. I got into the indie scene through Stretch & Bob, Fondle Em Records & WKCR in the early 90's. Stretch & Bob introduced me to MF DOOM, Company Flow, Cage, Yak Ballz, Yeshua, Siah, Juggaknots, Adagio, Mhz, etc. Anything that was ill, new and exclusive, Stretch & Bob played it. I remember begging my mother to get me a Sony Auto-Reverse tape deck, because if you fell asleep before turning that tape over, it was a wrap until next week, not to mention the freestyle session you missed. Then after listening to the shows, I'd hit up Fat Beats, Beat Street Records, Music Factory, Record Explosion, Tower, Sam Goody, J&R World, even the Mom & Pop joints looking for what I heard. I was that kid in HS who listened to all the new underground shit while everyone else was clambering over Pac or Biggie, claiming sides over a trumped up media beef. It was all about the music with me. For example, I remember the first time I heard Cannibal Ox. Bob played "Ox Out The Cage" and I was like, "WHO THE FUCK ARE THOSE GUYS!!!" This one show introduced all of us to a multitude of artists who shaped the way we listen to music today. Stretch & Bob are radio pioneers!

2. Why do you feel it so important to support indie hip hop?

When I support indie records, I provide capital for future releases. When I go to shows and buy merch, I keep labels afloat. When I spread the word about dope artists to other people, I bring new followers into the fold.

3. You have been a long time supporter of Uncommon Records, how did you discover them?

I was at Fat Beats one day, and I was a huge Definitive Jux fan until they closed their doors, so the Woke 12" was gonna get copped regardless. I got home and dropped the needle on that record, and instantly became a fan. RAZOR FUND!!! Nasa's production is dope and him and Cirrus Minor got lyrics too. They're not phony individuals. Cats make real music. Music I can identify with. I work everyday. I pay bills. Most of my favorite artists are working class people. I can't associate with a rapper talking about cars, women, money or stealing a former drug dealer’s identity. I ride the trains & buses, got my lady, and a little nest egg. No Bentley. No stacks. No gaudy jewelry. None of that! I'm not trying to bust a cap in anyone or degrade women. Uncommon Records releases real music from the heart. I've told Nasa on many occasions that I'm glad he started his own movement. The team is ill and diverse, and still growing. I'll always be a supporter of Uncommon Records!

4. In your opinion, what are some of the pros and cons of how the scene has changed?

The internet is a pro and con, in itself. The net has made it possible for artists to expose the masses to their music. Start a Bandcamp or Soundcloud page, have a Blog, Myspace, Facebook & Twitter pages, a website, etc. Spread the word about your movement. The net has also introduced mass bootlegging to the game, through blogs and file sharing. We're all guilty of downloading songs and LPs illegally, but when you don't support the music, that's when most artists fail to generate revenue. People don't understand what it cost to produce one record, not just a LP! Studio time, marketing, production, etc. These artists don't make any money off their projects until the label recoups the money it invested in the project. So if you're going to illegally download LPs, think about that starving artist who works a day job, just to finance a full length LP, and you're downloading it for free. You’re stealing hard earned money out of their pockets, TWICE!!!

A con would have to be the Hip Hop Ego, most definitely! Alotta artist feel like they don't need to rep anymore because there's grander opportunities out there. I don't expect any artists to stay in one zone, I expect progression, but as we've seen, some artists have alienated their fans because they want to progress musically.

5. As a fan, what would like to see change the most?

I'm tired of people coming outta nowhere and getting more recognition than majority of the legends in the game! You got cats who've become overnight success stories off just one song, or a DJ who hasn't carried any crates or rocked a jam becoming the man, based on who they know, or nothing at all. Cats need to start paying more dues. It's insane!

6. What was the illest show you have been to?

A SMI Showcase w/ Masai Bey, Despot, Zestrock (Zesto!) & Non Specific. It was a small venue off Times Square. Masai Bey rocked the turns and mic. Non Specific did their set on a dusty looking couch. Despot & Zest rocked it! Fucking Nasa & Cirrus Minor were in the spot too. At the time, I knew who they were and what they looked like but I was shocked that those cats were even in the spot. But now I realize why. They're all family!

7. We have built a friendship through Twitter, how has social networking changed your ability to interact with some of your favorite artists?

Social Networking has enabled artist such as yourself, to directly interact with the people who support your music and movement. I buy music directly from you guys, majority of the time. I don't support itunes, at all. I'd rather the money go straight to your pocket.

8. As a New York resident, why do think NYC hip hop has went the direction it went? What would you like see change, if anything?

Everything is geared towards capital, and living that elusive rapper dream. The Underground Scene of the 90's really spoiled NYC. I remember when there was a show every weekend. BB Kings, Wetlands, Knitting Factory, Highland Ballroom, even little spots had shows popping off. Now, you can't catch a showcase in the city, unless you got your ear to the streets or peepers in the Village Voice. I would like to see more shows. More of the artists I like listen to, played on major NYC radio stations. Stop proclaiming cats saviors of Hip Hop when they have no bar codes under their name. For artists to be true to themselves and make the kind of music they wanna make instead of being carbon copies of someone wack.

9. Who was your favorite artist growing up? Favorite artist now?

Growing up I was a MF DOOM fan, and I still am. I was in High School when dude came back with the stocking cap. He' so ill, and elusive. We all knew he was Zev Luv X from KMD, but he came back with a sinister outlook on hip hop & life. Like Mos Def said,

"He (MF DOOM) looks how I feel."

Just a real sinister individual, who speaks of himself in 3rd person, as if he's narrating his own rhymes. He uses pop culture references that most of us haven't paid much attention to. A person, that's opened my eyes to so much culture and history. Funny thing is, every time I get angry, I listen to Operation: Doomsday, NO LIE! I just zone out on that LP!

10. You have a vast knowledge of hip hop, what aspect of it captures you the most?

I would have to say beats & samples. I grew up on what cats are sampling now, and I'm doing my own digging, study samples, and trying to get a hold of my grandfather's record collection, haha! I'm 29 yrs old and I still get amazed at hearing how a cat may have flipped or chopped a sample, and created something totally different from the Main Source, no pun intended!

 

    via: thefindmag.com

‘Uncommon Approach’ is a column written by Paul “Nasa” Loverro, owner of independent label Uncommon Records. With this frequent column, he gives readers an all access look at the ups and downs of running an independent Hip Hop label in this day and age. An in-depth column from the perspective of an Indie label owner.

When I first started this blog with the good people at The Find, it was meant to be more of a diary kind of thing about running a label more then an instruction manual. Sometimes those two things intersect, but I’d like to bring the folks that read Uncommon Approach further behind the curtain of what goes on here at this particular label on a week to week basis.




I digress….it’s 5am and I haven’t gone to sleep yet. After getting back home from my day job, I’ve stayed up all night working for the label as is the custom around here.

I’ve been prepping some emails that I’m going to send for the promotion of the Short Fuze & Nasa LP, ‘Lobotomy Music‘. This will make 3 albums released by Uncommon Records this year. I’ve approached promoting each of them all a little bit differently. I think we are literally living in a time where you just throw shit up against the wall to see what sticks as far as reaching out to people.

The Struggles
‘Lobotomy Music’ has been an exercise in patience, for both me and Short Fuze. We’ve worked on this album for damn years. That’s right years. I made all the beats, he did all the raps. I rapped some on it too.




Off the top of my head, let’s see if I can remember everything that went wrong with this record:

1- It took me about 4 hours on each track just to find the beats that I gave Short Fuze as an MP3 on my MPC in order to track it out. I literally went through dozens of Zip Discs hunting down each one due to being completely unorganized.

2- I lost the vocals for one of his tracks and he had to re-record it all over again.

3- The art person we were working with straight dipped out on us in the middle of the process. Pretty much just went “into the wind” if you will. Witness protection program? I’m not ruling it out.

4- Had the album Mastered. It wasn’t a job that either of us was comfortable with, so I re-did the mastering myself.

I’m positive I’m missing some stuff here, because from my perspective looking back at that list it doesn’t even seem that bad. It just seemed like every single move we made at times was met with resistance on some level. I’m sure Short Fuze is reading this remembering mad other shit, but there is a point to all this.

The Triumph

I feel like the album is a master piece. I really mean that. Hearing all the tracks together after mixing them all down, you can tell we have something special. With all those things testing us, I wasn’t letting anything get sacrificed for the sake of a “perceived deadline”. I’ve been here before. I knew that almost every album I’ve worked on from beginning to end has trials and tribulations that you go through and you can’t get trapped into a decision made in the moment that jeopardizes what you’ve invested years of work into. More now then ever, there are no deadlines. Fuck that.

I’ll be honest, there were stages of panic, especially towards the end of this process. But we pulled through. We took a few deep breaths, got the art right, got the audio right and hustled.

“This Shit Ain’t Easy” – GURU (RIP)

I think it’s important for people to know how hard this process is and how strong willed you have to be to this. The journey is only just beginning because now, after all those hurdles and more….NOW it has to be promoted and sold. That’s a whole other episode.

But I know from the artist side, we took no prisoners, made no sacrifices and are presenting our art as best we can. And that’s all that matters at the end of the day.

Here is part two of the Short Fuze interview, in this segment we discussed my influences, where I see our music going and much more!! Once again, shout out to Pofke13lt and Nasa...

 

This is a two part interview promoting my upcoming solo album. We talk about everything from influences that inspired the album, to how babies are made...shout out to Pofke13lt aka Beer Gates for making this happen. Enjoy! Shout out to Nasa for the ill backround music...

Short Fuze- Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions and allowing the people to get to know a little more about the enigma known as Taiyamo Denku... So, I am sitting here listening to The Chronic 2001 while I am coming up with questions. So my 1st question would be, whats your favorite track of that album?

Denku- You know whats funny is there are a few beats from that album I still freestyle too but other then that I forgot every song title so as far as a favorite track I don;t know the name of it ...


SF- You have have arguably the most unique MC name in hip hop right now and I get tired of explaining the meaning behind it. So for once, can you explain it?

TD- You think I don't get tired of explaining it? Apparently not since you asked me to explain to you for the people I guess I can be nice. Well once again, It is a name that was put together it consists of three parts. The first part Tai I got from the laid back fighting style "Tai Chi" cause when I used to battle alot back in the day I would rip cats but have a laid back approach I don't need to scream my ish at my opponent like these battle emcees now and days. Oh by the way you battle emcees that do that are annoying its call delivery for a reason.

The 2nd part is "yamo" which is from llamo meaning name in Spanish I got this part cause forever and then some peeps thought I was Latin or sum ish cause of how I look so since I am not i figured I would use a fake for of name in Spanish to incorporate into my name. The last part has become my emcee nickname "Denku" which at the time when I was thinking of a name everyone and there mom was using cartoon character names like Goku and so on. so i figured I would make something sound like a cartoon name so i came up with Denku pretty much creating my own cartoon character kinda the alter ego of myself. So there ya have it.... Taiyamo Denku is formed....


SF- If you all of a sudden could not rap anymore, what would you want to do with your life?

TD- So you mean I would like get my throat slit like DOC or something... damn dat was a low blow..... naw but probably just slave for the man... wait I already do that outside of rhyming... I would say produce cause hip hop is my life so it would have to be something around the culture.

SF- We have been putting out records for almost 10 years now, going back and listening to all the material that you have cataloged what are the differences between your style then and now?

TD- Well then I sucked now I keep improving... simple as that however Lately a lot of distractions and change in hip hop changed me I can't say it is for the good but to be honest how I used to write lyrics and ish back in the day is my favorite written ish however how I flow it and deliver it now is way better....

SF- I tell people all the time that you have a ton of unreleased material that will probably never be heard being that you can write, record and produce so much music. With that said, what is your approach to making music?

TD- Well my approach is I make things I like things that happen that inspire me to make songs or be creative... sometimes it just hits me and other times it doesn't lately my mind has been in a wash with all the trash that is out now being buzzed by my ears it is sad how hip hop is now. but my approach is no different I make music for me. If people like what I am doing for the sake of hip hop then so be it and respect and love to those that appreciate what I do.



SF- Did you take a different mindset into creating this new album? What did you try and do differently, if anything?

TD- To be honest Articles of Mind as an album is a album made of a few years now of material. and it is just songs pretty much put down as different parts of my mind state, Like Reason for reading me is from the emotional side of me and then you got tracks like Mona Lisa with my homie Prince Po which is like my headstrong into hip hop.....so as far as the album being a full concept album i would say it is not ... it is more of a collection of songs that I put down as almost articles from my mind.......

SF- You have a rather large competitive streak, do you ever feel competition when we record new material? Or when you collab with other MC's?

TD- Well anytime I make a song I am giving a hundred percent in each verse.. I wouldn't say it is competition I am just trying to come equally dope if not better then any emcee I am on a track with just so I can help make the track something peeps will love to hear or remember in the future... it is not about competition just about loving each song that is made so i give it my all in each verse.


SF- We have done a lot of shows over the years, so here is a two part question...what is favorite show memory? The worst?

TD- My favorite show memory man Honestly rocking in NYC, least favorite would be every show we rock for the dust mites on the floor since people don;tcome out to support. Fuck the haters.....!!


SF- Ok, since he isn't here, you can be honest...am I doper than Augury? lol

TD- HA HA HA HA I am not answering dat to start a feud i will say over the years Augury keeps getting doper shame our homie has his plate more full to put music further down in his thing to do.

SF- You have a reputation for collaborating with a whole host of MC's some known and not so known. Is there anyone left you want to collab with?

TD- Hmmmmm tough question. I have collabed with a number of the peeps I always have I could honestly say I could retire and be happy... but I would say Kweli, Ghostface and maybe Jus allah and Aesop... but old Aesop like Float days.... he is not the same to me.

SF- Being in a group and being a solo artist both have advantages and disadvantages what do you like and dislike about each scenario?

TD- Being in a group I like shows, Doing solo shows kinda sucks, it is much more fun feeding off the energy of the group. also when making tracks there is a lot more you can do. Solo though you can pretty much do whatever you want to do without having to come to compromise with others.....

SF- And lastly, what is your favorite W.A.S.T.E.L.A.N.D.S. song?

Dats tough... we have a lot of songs... lol it is between "Head Trip" and "Angry Go Happy" love those tracks.... could play them over and over and over....

SF- Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions. Good Luck with your new album. I finally got a chance to listen to it and I loved it.


You can check out more music from Denku here: www.myspace.com/taiyamodenku2

 

 

 

Recently I sat down with Nasa and Cirrus Minor, better known as The Presence. I asked them about the new album, the Knicks, New York and everything in between. I hope you guys enjoy!!!

Short Fuze- I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions and its an honor to have you as the Grand Opening to ChiMil Publications. As I put together this piece I listened to Style P's "Good Times", so I guess my 1st question would be where you feeling that joint when it first dropped?

Nasa- Yeah, I thought that joint was pretty dope. I have respect for Styles P's stuff for sure. The best joint was the title track to that album, that shit is ill. "Gangster and a Gentlemen"

cirrus- "ima smoke til my lungs collapse"...hell yeah was definitely feelin that when it dropped. styles is kool.

Short Fuze- I really like that joint on there with M.O.P. speaking of the Mash Out Posse, are you guys as amped as I am about a possible new joint?

cirrus- man im always amped for new m.o.p. shit. just wish it wasnt in such small portions. its like getting new names off the steroid list. just give me the whole shit already. they havent had a real full length lp since warriorz and thats almost ten years ago.

Nasa- I don't know, Marxmen Cinema was a full album to me & it had a sick bonus disk with hard to find stuff. I know we both agree that the Mash Out Posse rock album was out of control dope. I met one of the dudes that played on that once and he told me they were kind of crazy dudes. I guess that's to be expected. Those guys are sick though. I need to end up making a beat for them someday. I know I can come up with some shit that they can shoot guns off to. September is gonna be bang with them, Raekwon, Ghostface and on another tip- Anti Pop Consortium dropping.

SF- Ok I apologize for this next question, because I know you have fielded this next question more than you wanted to but, for the heads out there who are new to The Presence how did you guys meet?

Nasa- Cirrus, take it away!

cirrus- we first met in like junior high, but really started hangin out in high school. our last names were close alphabetically so i sat right behind nasa in homeroom for 4 years, and was buggin out sitting next to each other at graduation. that was more than a minute ago.
 
SF-When did you realize you wanted to make music?

Nasa- I realized it at 12 or 13. I think at that time your just emulating what you see and aren't really trying to be an artist or anything. I really didn't know I wanted to "make music" for real until I was about 20 believe it or not.

cirrus- never really was a conscience thought of like yeah im gonna make music now. i grew up with it. when i was young i tried messing with some instruments, but right around the same age as nasa it was just something to do. we (along with another friend james) would just see a movie, or go to some diner, or play cards,.....or rap. it just felt like it was what we should be doing. they had been doing it for awhile before i got down, and i was eventually like, yeah, i need to be doing that.

SF- First rap song you ever heard?
 
Nasa- Man, I can remember being like 5 or 6 years old and seeing The Fat Boys and Run DMC videos on old school UHF television. U-68 was the shit! NY heads know what I'm talking about! Then by the time I was 9 or 10 I was taping Red Alert and other shit that was on KISS FM back in the days on the radio. I remember "It Takes Two", "Push It", "Mary Mary". That was the shit that was pumping on my boombox in grade school. I really cherish the fact that I was a little kid, but was into this shit when joints like that came out, but also was able to enjoy the indie scene as it flourished too. I've said this to Cirrus too, we are the perfect age for this shit. People that came before us, a lot stopped listening to hip-hop a long time ago and people that came after have no idea what they missed.
 
cirrus- this one took a while for me to conjure up. for some reason one of the first rap songs i remember listening to a lot was "i think i can beat mike tyson" by dj jazzy jeff and the fresh prince. don't know why this is sticking out in my head. i remember the "it's tricky" video a lot too being one of the first and that was a few years earlier

SF- Nasa, What is your favorite aspect of Cirrus's MC style?

Nasa- There's a lot of things, I think we do the same thing but very differently. We both approach emceeing from a flow perspective first. Hearing a beat and carving out a flow that you've never done before, or perfecting one you have done. That's the goal and he does that. I think when you hear the new album your gonna hear a lot of his input, there's certain songs that he flipped a flow and then I rocked the same pattern, but that shit wouldn't have existed without Cirrus. I think my favorite aspect is that he has a totally different sound to his voice and different way of describing things then I do, but when we sit down we can do shit together that no one else can because we've known each other so long. The high level of cohesiveness and concepts  that we do, I really feel like most cats can't get to besides us in all of hip-hop. Some cats connect like that every so often and make a classic, we do that every time out the box. There's a lot of dope duos and groups out there, but you know on some joints heads are just dropping random V's. Everything we do we write together in the same room. I don't even feel right writing something with Cirrus not there even if it's some shit that we discussed fully and could pull off that way.

SF- Cirrus, What is your favorite aspect Nasa's MC and production style?
 
cirrus- well, ill speak on his production style first. i think my favorite thing for me is that there isnt a specific style. you cant pigeon hole how he makes beats or how they sound. just knowing him so long i can hear certain beats and say, yeah, thats nasa. but then there are times i go over to write and am hearing a beat for the first time, and im like whos this? and nasa is just like its my beat. plus being a firsthand witness to the maturation of his beat making keeps me on my toes. like always wondering what sound hes going for next or where the drop or next instrument is coming in....because you can bet your ass there's another instrument coming in. i think the fact that after almost ten years of listening to his beats, that he can still suprise me, that's my favorite part. now for his mc style. that's like a two parter. firstly competition. i think we keep pushing each other to the next level. any good emcee wont ever let himself get out shined or burned on a track. like if he writes first for a joint, i wanna hear it before i write cause im like ok i gotta bring it now, and i think vice versa. but at the same time we wont let each other come off weak either....after ourselves we are each others biggest critics. my favorite verses of his i can almost recite the words before hes done recording. secondly, like everything else its the constant evolution. he never lets himself get lazy with verses. he will write somethin almost impossible to spit before he writes some simple shit. he challenges himself every time out, and that challenges me. i gotta always keep up with this dude. aint easy.
 
SF- I can relate to that its the same for me and the crew. Alright, I am putting you on the spot, are we ever going to solo albums?

cirrus- ive actually thrown the idea around for myself...got some beats from some people. i have alot of ideas that havent been followed thru yet. keep ya waiting and guessing....maybe even some cirrus punk rock covers...hmm, maybe, maybe.

Nasa- yeah, I gotta get on those beats you wanted for that. Haha. For me, it's always possible, but I think solo albums happen a lot when an emcee isn't getting everything they need from their group. The group may be happy together, but there's still something that has to come to the surface. I'm not of that mind right now. I'm pretty satisfied with what we're doing and don't have that urge. The closest thing is this GROUP album that's coming together because there will be tracks where Cirrus is on with other heads and Im not, and I'll be on shit without him. I love being on tracks with other emcees though, so it's the perfect balance for me with this GROUP thing, we get to work away from each other but not really. I like to compare myself to other heads on a track, it pushes me, when I do solo joints there's something not right. Solo tracks on albums from The Presence could happen, but not on Winter.

SF- You guys are on the verge of dropping "We Want The Winter", what were some of your inspirations behind making this album?
 

Nasa- The album is a concept album. The inspiration is that we are writing from the perspective of someone that was displaced from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and we follow his "adventures" track to track. It's a long journey for him and he meets many twists and turns. At the same time, we're abstract writers, so each track can pop out of the album and stand on it's own. It's only when they are put together that they make this story.

cirrus- nasa explained the concept. my job is bring them hooks. i wrote verses to sound like hooks. some choruses to sound like verses. and lyrically to put myself as best as possible in a what would i do mode. almost like method acting. really wrapping my head around the story, like writing one verse and at the same time making sure it made sense with two tracks ago, and three tracks from now that aren't even thoughts yet.

SF- I think I might have asked this before, but the transition to this being a concept album, was it a conscience decision? Or something that happened as a natural progression? 

Nasa- It happened naturally. The single that's out now "Absentia" was actually originally one part of a two song track called "Off the Grid". That was to be part of an album that was more typical when we first started. The 2 part song thing fell apart but we really like the concept of the part of it that became "Absentia" about a dude leaving New Orleans after Katrina and saying "Fuck the world". We actually wrote that joint to a different beat originally. After we did that song, we were like, why not just keep telling this story, what's he do next? So that's what we set out to do and are almost done doing. I'm a huge fan of The Mars Volta, almost all their records are concept albums where each song is part of a story, so there's some inspiration there.

SF- What made you decide to start Uncommon Records?

Nasa- I think when we first started we were more concerned with doing things on our own terms. We could have approached different labels at the time and did to a certain extent, but I think in our heads back in 2004 was this: "We don't want anyone telling us what we need to do with our careers". Whether that was justified, right or wrong- we'll never know, but that was part of the spark of it all. I know myself, I also thought that I had an ear for this shit and wanted to see a certain kind of underground hip-hop represented and that's what lead to us going out and grabbing other heads to be on the label with us.

SF- Is there anything in particular that you look for when you look for artists? Are skills or compatibility personality wise more important when making additions to the roster?
 
Nasa- That's interesting. Everything is relative as far as skills go. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" applies with Uncommon Records. There's a lot of stuff that I think we both listen to that we would never put out and put the Uncommon stamp on. We're looking for stuff that's progressive, raw and powerful. If you can deliver on those things you are most likely talented and the rest takes care of itself. As far as personality goes, I recognize this is a business. I'm the day to day owner of this label so I have to deal with the bullshit. Sometimes that means explaining a misunderstanding to someone, sometimes that means allowing someone to do something you don't agree with or calling someone out for some shit. You deal with those issues and move on, the whole time being open and honest with people. The hard part of this business is when you get to a point where you have to cut ties with someone all together and that's happened to me several times for a variety of reasons. Some of those went down cool, some were very not cool (chuckles). But to the heart of your question, personality can kill you. If I can't get along with you, if I don't trust you, if you don't trust me, it's over. No matter how good you are at what you do, it's never worth that kind of stress.
 
SF- I have known you both for a long time and we have had conversations about how garbage rap is nowadays but is there a particular radio oriented song that you have a guilty pleasure for?

Nasa- I'd love to say "of course" and name something that blows people's minds but I can't. It's not because I'm a pretentious jackass, it's just that I don't get exposed to pop rap much. About 6 or 7 years ago I stopped watching music videos cold turkey. I haven't watched more then a few seconds of one on TV (if you can find them nowadays) in that amount of time. I never listen to the radio either because I know there's nothing there for me. I'm not a hard headed guy, I listen to hip-hop, metal, prog rock, stoner rock, fusion jazz shit, I've even started to get into old Soul records (long overdue). I just have mature tastes right now in my life and live day to day trying to get up on that next shit no matter what. Cirrus may be able to help you better with that (laughs).
 
cirrus- i can....unfortunately. and what a good term guilty pleasure is. nothing crazy but im kinda feelin that mims joint, "move (if u wanna)". just like the beat change up. that's it though, i swear.

SF- Who would you like to collaborate with most?

Nasa- Man, I hate to be a dick about it, but I love everybody I work with and that's who I'd say I want to collaborate with. I've reached out to certain people and gotten cold shoulders and they can catch the middle for that. I like to hang with homies that are down for the cause and want to progress this shit, not these industry fuckers. If I had to choose a collaborator that I have never had the opportunity to work with though I guess I'd have to say Doom or Anti-Pop Consortium. I'd love to do something with Mike Ladd actually, I haven't seen him in years but when I worked with him like 10 years ago (wow) I had a lot of fun on his projects. He's a really cool dude.

cirrus- ladd would be kool. most people i want to collab with are people im kool with and already have. if i had to say one i guess maybe gza.

SF- With both being life long New Yorkers, Nasa how did you become a Pacers fan? And Cirrus how did you become a Spurs fan? Do the Knicks suck that bad?

Nasa- Man, you can't root for the Knicks. They were my arch enemy. I didn't get into the NBA until I was in High School. Before that I lead a very sheltered MLB life in sports. I literally sat down that year during the playoffs and chose a team. I checked out which unis I liked and what players jumped out at me. The only first round series that year that went 5 games was the Pacers beating the Magic on a 3 pointer from Byron Scott. I started watching the 2nd Round that year and who could watch Reggie Miller without being inspired. That ended up being the year of the Spike Lee series in the Eastern Conference Finals and the rest is history. To do this day of all my teams I go hardest for the Pacers.

cirrus- nasa can attest to this. when i was in junior high i was into black and silver teams. raiders, la kings, white sox and spurs. was a big admiral fan too. ironically the spurs are the only one of those teams i still root for.

SF- You guys both like a lot of shitty teams (laughs). I think one of you might have mentioned this to me, but is it
true there were a lot of secret Bulls fans in New York in the early 90's?

cirrus- they werent secret at all....anyone who is weak enough to front run and root for jordan, or even kobe now while livin and breathin ny aint too bashful to let people know about it. woods where you at? haha

Nasa- It's hard for me to pick on all the New York Cavaliers fans that are in this city right now and all the Jordan jockers from the 90's since I was pulling for Reggie when he got up in Spike Lee's grill. With that said, them cats are everywhere and they are pretty vocal.


SF-Being residents of Staten Island, who is your favorite Wu Tang Clan member? Favorite song?

Nasa- Wu was the shit. You have to understand that being on Staten Island when they dropped was like being at the epicenter of an earthquake. It hit hard out here. It showed everybody that Staten had emcees that were equal to the best in the city. Before that cats that were from Staten lied about it. Today, I'd say Ghostface is my favorite. Over the years I've gone through phases of who my favorite is, Raekwon and GZA have had runs in the top spot too. The song for me is probably "Liquid Swords". As someone that on Shaolin and was in the back seat of cars cruising around in high school with that shit pumping and feeling that bass when it dropped back in like 95, that shit was magical.

cirrus- although listening to certain ghost or rae songs might get me hype more....gza has consistently been my favorite. i even put the liquid swords album right up there with 36 chambers, and that's saying a lot. for song, id definitely have to say "4th chamber" from liquid swords. that intro and ghost, killah priest, rza and gza all kill that shit.

SF- I always loved Deck and The GZA. As a matter of fact, in my early days I patterned my style after Deck's. Do you think nowadays there are some MC's that are "hanging on" too long? Some have said that about Wu in recent years.

cirrus- i saw a video with chubb rock the other day...i hung my head in shame.

nasa- in 2009 I don't think it's possible to hang on too long. More power to anybody doing this still. I think hip-hop is at a point where we should appreciate all these elder cats. If some random 80's rapper wants to do some music, I'll always be down to peep it. Wu Forever though, fuck that!

SF- If someone was making their first trip to New York, is there a place that you could recommend that isn't talked about a whole lot?

cirrus- monkey town in williamsburg. or anywhere else the presence is rockin when your in town. yeah

nasa- on the real, Monkey Town was pretty ill.

Rocking on mics in the middle of the room with 4 movie screens surrounding us while people were eating dinner was ill. That place is to be seen. Adobe Blues on Shaolin too. When you walk in there, it's like your not in New York, especially when they have live music. They have Blues bands and shit, the food is off the scale and they have like 250 beers up in there. That's my kind of place, when you guys are here again this year- we're gonna go there yo!

SF- Sounds like a plan, lets make that happen!!

What hopes or expectations you have for "We Want The Winter"

Nasa- I would have to say just that it gets to people and they hear it. That people that's gonna feel it respect it enough to buy it and support and to go out of their way to spread the word that they feel what we do. That's all you can ask. The rest of it comes down to the work you put in, and even that isn't enough. You really shouldn't have anything too lofty in mind these days. The lofty part comes in the creative process for me.

SF-Do you feel that white MC's are getting more respect in Hip Hop? Or is that something that you try not to think about?

Nasa- I really don't think about it. I don't have a meter in my head that says, "the white guys are catching up more then
ever this year in rap" or vice versa. I see myself as a rapper, plain and simple. I don't see myself as a white rapper any more then I see you as a Hispanic rapper or someone else as a black rapper. I truly just don't have that in my heart. I see us all as rappers doing it. Your either dope or your not. I'm very much beyond race in terms of how I see myself. I feel that I'm to a point in my life where I am very educated in both the racial history of this country and the racial history of rap music. I understand the context in which I work and live, but when I wake up in the mirror I don't see a white guy, I just see a guy.

cirrus- yeah man, to be honest its just something i never think about. i never have. i think about whether the people im kool with or are down with are getting the respect or recognition they deserve but that's about it.

SF- That's how I feel about it too, I was just curious about your perspective. Hip Hop has always had a huge impact internationally, name one place overseas you would want to rock and why?

cirrus- well theres mad places id like to see just for my own reasons....but for hip hop, or music in general, its hard to front on japan. they are some enthusiastic motherfuckers. saw some video of rancid doin a show out there in like 2000 or something and there were like 60,000 people just boucing. thats some ill shit.

Nasa- man, I'd like to go everywhere man. I'm 31 years old. I live every day like it's my last or I try to. I hope someday this music can take me across the world. I'd love to do England, Amsterdam, Sweden, Germany, France, Australia, Brazil, Chile and any place in Africa that will have me. Straight up, World tour mofos! If the flight is paid for I will be at your doorstep- that's my word!

SF-And lastly, what is your favorite W.A.S.T.E.L.A.N.D.S song? Sorry had to get that in there...ha ha.

Nasa- The true test of a dope album is whether your favorite track switches and with your guys last album it does. At first I jumped on Dead End Sketch and Monumental State of Mind, then I started really pumping Wonder Years. Today I heard Skeleton Key and was like "oh shit". Gun to my head today- I'd say "WonderYears".

cirrus- that's tough too. right now, i'd have to say "life blood". trippy ass beat. but "locust myst" is still my shit.

Nasa- awww, all my beats. Nice.

SF-Well thanks for taking the time to do this interview, I am a huge fan of you guys outside of us being friends. I am really looking forward to the new album...peace