Interview in Clout #7 | Click here to purchase this issue!
Interview by J. Anaya

What was the first record you ever bought?
The first record I ever bought would probably have to be Run DMC’s first album. That was the first album that I bought where I actually knew what I was getting, ‘cause before, when we would go to the store I would just get records for the covers. That’s why there’s a lot of stuff in my collection that don’t make sense, like Iron Maiden. I would throw them in the basket ‘cause I liked the cover or based on their costumes or what they had on.

What made you want to become a DJ and producer?
I had an older cousin who was into hip-hop. He had two turntables set up in a rack system, and it was always there. It just naturally happened. I wanted to do it before I knew what DJing and producing was. I used to sit there and imitate Red Alert with my mother’s 45’s on the wooden floor scratching them up pretending to be scratching records and I didn’t really know what it was called or whatever. When I first saw Terminator X in the “Bring the Noise” video, it was a live show in London – that’s when I knew. That was probably the one and only time in my life that I was like I want to be just like that.

So Terminator X was a big influence?
It wasn’t that he was a big influence but it was just that visual of him spinning. I mean he didn’t even DJ on most of the Public Enemy albums; it was the other dude Johnny Juice I think. For the most part it was that visual seeing him go back and forth on the turntables and the mixer, but yeah that’s when I said I wanted to be like that.

Did you get the geriatric sunglasses he had? (Laughs)
Nah, I never had the glasses.

Most people think you rapped on Bleek’s album, but you didn’t. You ever think about it since it’s worked miracles for Kanye?
Not really. That’s how I started out. Me and my brother used to rhyme; as time went on he got better at rapping, I got better at making beats and DJing. I can still do it but it’s just the lifestyle that I’m not really trying to pursue. There’s people all the time trying to get me to do it, like this artist I was working with the other day was really trying to get me to rhyme on his song ‘cause he heard me spit four bars. We were trying to come up with a way to start his record; I guess he was so taken aback he was beggin’ me to do it, but it’s just something I don’t really want to do. I got the personality for it; technically, I could do it and I could probably rap better than most rappers, but like I said, overall, it’s the lifestyle and I like having what little privacy I do have.

Do you still wear your Roc chain and will you continue to work with them in the future?
I never had one.

Oh really?
Dame told me I couldn’t have one unless I cut my hair. (Laughs) I wasn’t gonna cut my hair for a piece of jewelry. What had happened was this one jeweler was trying to do a chain for me. He did a Just Blaze chain and he was just gonna have a regular turntable. Then he had an idea to turn that into the Roc-A-Fella logo. It worked, it looked cool. I used to wear it all the time. That was that; that was my Roc chain but as far as an official Roc chain, I never had one. Yeah I just did “Dear Summer” with Jay, workin’ on a mixtape with him right now. I did three records on Bleek’s album and three records on Freeway’s album so that’s not even a question. A lot of those artists are still like family. The same way those artists wouldn’t be where they are today without working with me and vice versa.

You got an Internet radio show poppin’. What’s your vision with it?
I haven’t even had time to maintain it; I had to let it go but I’mma set it up again. Everybody has Ipods but sometimes you might be at a desk and just want to hear something different because for the most part radio plays the same 27 to 30 records a day or whatever their programming allows them. While I understand that they need to make their money, hip-hop is bigger than those 30 records they’re playing at the time and there are so many other records that have been forgotten or never got their fair shot or saw the light of day or for people like me that just don’t want to hear those same 30 songs. Some people may say that’s crazy ‘cause at a lot of points, I’m involved with making one of those 30 records. That’s what I do for a profession but at the same time there’s a genuine part of the music. There’s so much more to it. While I’m not totally disappointed with the way hip-hop is right now I just think the one thing that’s missing is a lot of the younger kids and the newer audience in general that’s caught on now just doesn’t know a lot as far as the history of music, so that’s just me doing my part. A lot of time they wont even know if its sampling or not, like a lot of people don’t know that “Pump It Up” wasn’t the first time that the Kool & The Gang record was sampled; that’s why I do things like that. Sometimes I’ll make a record to really get the attention like that and then it will spark an interest to go back and find out that such and such sampled the same record and made a great record off of it 15 years ago. I’ve even sat down with rappers who didn’t know “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back”, I’ve sat down with producers that didn’t know “Long Live the Kane” or Biz…put it like this, I’ve sat with producers that didn’t know “Opp.”

Wow. (Laughs)
And I can’t hold it against any of them ‘cause they all grew up differently. It’s a real eye opener, but I’m not mad at it.

So you do think there’s a lack of hip-hop’s history being portrayed today?
Yeah, the thing about hip-hop is it’s a youth based art forum, so a lot of times it’s hard. Especially when radio is only playing the same 30 records a day. There’s some places where I’ve heard great records from six or seven years ago in the middle of the day and it’s like wow, but you don’t have that in most major markets. So yeah, the history has been definitely lacking.

Your new label is Fort Knocks; is there a meaning behind the name?
Not really. We was like yeah, that’s where they keep the gold and the platinum but we spelled it with a "C-K-S.” It actually started out like a running joke.

Saigon will be the label’s debuting artist. Is there anyone slated for its second release?
Not yet, we’re in the midst of a couple negotiations but nothing’s slated right now.

You ever think of resurrecting a once great MC to current stardom like Kanye did with Twista and Common?
Yeah, but what Kanye did with Common was different. Common has always been great but he just needed someone to draw it out for him. I’ve thought about it.; there’s a few artists I’d like to do that with but there’s only so much I can do in one day. You might see something eventually but nothing this second.

You want to speak on the Alchemist sample jacking?
Oh the Alchemist thing, it was nothing. It wasn’t even a big deal to me. I think everybody made a bigger deal out of it than me. When I first heard it, it perked my ears up ‘cause it starts out like mine but then he goes into a completely different record but I wasn’t mad. My record came out five years ago in 2000. Unless it came out in 2004, I’d be stupid walking around being mad. Second of all, I don’t own that record – Al Cooper does. He is the composer and writer of the record and Al’s spin on it was a completely different record. There was similarities obviously ‘cause we used the same part of the record but it’s not like he took it and looped it up the same way I did. In the end they were both successful – it happens. Same thing happened to me with Black Moon. They did a record that came out in August which we never heard. Ours came out in October; obviously that’s a more closer of a gap than me and the Alc record but that happens in hip-hop you know what I mean? Funny thing is we end up hearing their record right after we finished ours but at the same time it’s hip-hop, that’s the way it goes. I don’t see anything wrong with it unless it’s done with malicious intent, like purposely jacking somebody – that’s foul!

Speaking of Alchemist, who’s been known for reselling beats, have you ever been in a situation like that?
Yeah, I think we’ve all been. I can think of a few stories with a lot of different producers. We had discussed this before; no producer wants to sabotage his relationship with any artist. 90 percent of the time they need the producers but the artist is our livelihood. Most of the time it’s the A&R or someone at the label not doing their job right. In the case of the Ras Kass record I remember Al telling me that he had been trying to get at him for like a year and nobody at the label would tell him anything. The label kept telling him that the project was indefinitely shelved. So there was no contact. He was like I gotta do what I gotta do. I’ve been in a situation with Peedi Crakk. I called him and said, “I got these beats that I think you would kill.” He comes and gets them and then he ends up going to jail, so I’m not even thinking about it anymore. A few months later I run into NORE and he said, “You heard that joint me and Peedi did off your beat?” And I’m like, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” NORE said, “It’s called ‘Niggarican’” and I’m still like, “I don’t know, I never got a call from anyone at Roc-A-Fella, any of the A&R’s or even Peedi…nothing.” So I obviously didn’t know what he was talking about. A few months later I’m in the studio with Nick Cannon. I gave him some beats and Chris from the Young Gunz is in the studio and he hears the beat and he said, “Oh yo, that’s that Peedi and NORE beat, that ‘Niggarican’ record,” so I’m like great. I don’t like being in that type of situation, but at the same time Peedi’s in jail, I can’t get a hold of him or anybody at Roc-A-Fella, so I call the label and tell them, “I understand that Peedi got this song but he can’t use the beat because it’s gone. I already got the check, it’s being recorded and mixed. On the fact that I liked Peedi as a person and an artist, let me know if you plan to do something with this record and I’ll remix it, change the beat up.” They said they’ll get back to me – no one ever got back to me. Next thing you know Peedi comes home and wants to do something with the record. So I call and tell them why are y’all shootin’ yourselves in the foot putting out a record that you can’t do anything with, ‘cause now the record is getting a good response, obviously you can’t sell the record. Once again I was like give me the Pro Tools, I’ll do the beat over and they said Peedi doesn’t have a budget for a remix and I said it’s not even about the money I’ve made enough money off this situation. I like Peedi as an artist; I’ll redo the beat – don’t even worry about the money! They still don’t give it to me. Next thing you know Hot 97 is playing the record. I didn’t know what was going on internally at Roc-A-Fella at that point so I was trying to remove [myself] from the situation. Then I see this website interview with Peedi criticizing me that I gave away his beat and talkin’ kinda crazy; I cant even be mad at him for the fact God only knows who’s telling him what. So I contacted him. It took one phone call to straighten it out and that was it.

With producer’s names being as big or sometimes bigger than the rappers, how do you feel about companies using big named producers to break new artists?
Obviously I can’t complain; look what it did for me. I can’t be mad. If you bought an album ten years ago the producer was never mentioned. That started to change when Puff became prominent. That was before he became an artist himself. I can’t even knock him for that ‘cause really, a producer is the person who has the vision for the record and shapes it into what it is. He’s not just the person hitting the buttons and that’s what a lot of people tend to forget. Any other form of music a producer might not even touch anything, like Quincy Jones, even though he can play, he’s basically the director. What we do is artistry; sometimes people don’t realize that there is a lot of artistry involved in making a beat. So I’m definitely not mad at it. It’s made my life a lot easier.

Why haven’t you worked with many West Coast artists, and is there any you would like to work with?
It’s more of a situation of things. It’s not like I’m saying I refuse to work with any West Coast artists. It’s just where you’re at and where you spend most of your time. Just like you don’t see many West Coast artists working with many East Coast producers; it’s just more so where you’re from. I worked with Snoop, Game and Xzibit, not his last album, the one before that. I’m open to working with anybody, but more so it’s just a location thing.

Would you ever work with somebody that you’re not feeling as an artist?
I’ve done it before and it’s not a good feeling. Most times, you do a record for someone ‘cause you’re cool with their manager or A&R or the label throws a lot of money in your face. I haven’t done that too many times as far as just for the money. 90 percent of the time it’s A, not a good feeling and B, not really worth it because at the end of the day even with the label throwing 70 to 80 grand in your face it’s like A, I know I’m not giving this artist the best beat, B, they’re gonna kick their passable rhymes and it will be a passable record…

So basically it will be perfect for radio? (Laughs)
Yeah, sometimes they’re good for radio, sometimes the record goes nowhere. Then all you have is an extra 60 or 70 grand and another spot on your track record. So when you look at it longevity wise it doesn’t really help you. ‘Cause people will still see the video and hear the song and it will lower your respect level. Say if you do three of those kind of records in a row, people are gonna remember that. That’s one of the reasons I slowed down because there wasn’t necessarily many artists in the industry that were hot or that I was feeling; I was like you know what, money wise, I’m good. Let me just sit back and start to make records that count and will be respected. Now you got “Breathe”, Fat Joe’s “The Incredible” and few of the records on Game’s album I really started working on quality not quantity. I was working on Game’s album and I was sitting with Dre. He said, “I really like what you did,” and I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “The way you slowed it down and started making records that counted.” It bugged me out that he even paid attention to my career like that; at the end of the day it could have been any producer but it just happened to be a legendary producer.

As a DJ what do you think about the South’s screwed and chopped sound?
To be honest I haven’t heard too much to really know. Obviously it’s floated into the mainstream. It’s like the crunk music; they’ve been doing it for years but it just takes the rest of the country, i.e. the mainstream, longer to catch up so it’s cool. It’s something that originated from a DJ. DJ Screw originated it and now it’s one of the biggest things in hip-hop, but I can’t speak on it ‘cause I really don’t know much about it.

Do you think hip-hop is missing the scratching in the songs and do you think it will ever return to the rapper and the DJ era?
I never noticed it was gone until I did “The Incredible.” I have done scratches before but that was the first one to get heavy attention that had scratches on it. It’s not just the disappearance of the DJ; I think it’s the disappearance of the traditional East Coast record with the scratches on it. Missy has been having scratches on her records with her old school thing. I think it’s just the traditional boom bap with the scratches that’s missing.

How do you feel about soul sampling now?
It’s cool. I wasn’t the first to do it, Kanye wasn’t the first to do it; we kinda brought it back to the forefront. We started on “The Dynasty” and then it kinda really culminated on the “Blueprint.” Of course there’s a million carbon copy albums. It gets me frustrated, but it’s like when Timbaland came out with the drum and bass records everybody started copying that. I can look back at myself and say I was a part of an album that changed the sound of hip-hop. Again, in that case it’s like a blessing and I’m happy for it but the imitations is something you can expect.

I see you’re making more appearances in videos of joints you’ve produced. Do you enjoy doing them?
Sometimes, but it just goes back to not wanting to be a rapper, being in front of the camera and the hot lights for hours and hours. It can drive you crazy after a while. Between that and having to make regular appearances and being behind the camera all the time, it’s cool but it’s just not for everybody and I realize that at a certain point I was like I still want to get the respect of my peers and people but I didn’t want to waste my time in front of the cameras and the lights. With everything I’m doing now with the label and all, you got to make your face well known and market yourself. You gotta do it sometimes because of the way today’s market is. The music sells but sometimes you gotta have a face that goes along with it. I just play my part.

Is it true that you got hurt on the set of Kweli’s video when you kicked homeboy off the seat?
Yeah, we were on an elevated stage. They initially wanted me to beat the dude down and mush him in the face but I didn’t want to do that to money ‘cause he was a real musician; he wasn’t an actor or a stunt man. They came to play the part as the band. Next thing I know they’re telling the keyboard player, “You’re gonna get beat up, mushed and kicked off the stage to make it look authentic.” I would have had to do that for real but I didn’t want to do that to dude, so I tried a couple different ways but obviously I had to embarrass him ‘cause he was supposed to be screwing up my record. So we rehearsed it a few times and then we did the take and when he rolled back and with all the other action going on, the chair shifted. I landed in the chair and felt myself falling back. Being that we were on a video set, there’s a lot of lights and equipment everywhere, and usually when you fall you put your arms or legs out to brace yourself but I didn’t know what I’d be falling on so I didn’t. So I kinda let myself go limp and I killed my back and my arm. I ended up having to shoot the rest of that with my arm wrapped up in ice. That incident got twisted into me getting into a fight and falling off stage at a show; it became a big rumor with details, but I was like, “Yo, I haven’t even been to a show in months.” So I figured that it must have stemmed from that incident.

I hear you’re quite a video game fanatic. Can you ballpark how many games and systems you have?

I’m more of a collector. With my career I really don’t have the time to play them. To be dead honest with you, I haven’t touched a PS2 or an XBox in seven or eight months with the exception of reviewing the game that I do for my game review column. I do mention the PSP ‘cause it’s a good system and it’s portable. I actually have every game system available; they’re all in storage but I got ‘em. It’s safe to say, no pun intended, but I probably have every game system ever made and thousands of games all in storage. I’m a collector. I’m like my mom; I can’t get rid of anything. I collect video games, I collect sneakers, I don’t even have the time to read them but I still collect comic books here and there. Like sneakers, I probably have seven to eight hundred pairs, but as far as how many video games and simulators I have, it’s well over 20,000.