Davey D interviews the legendary Dj Premiere at RTB 2010 Bay Area for hip-hop.com. They discuss what it takes to be a dj, the passing of longtime former partner Guru. We talk about the special tributes held for Guru after his death. We talk about DJ Premiere’s hip-hop beginnings starting in Houston, Texas and culminating in NY. Most importantly we talk about the art of producing.. We discuss at length some of Premiers favorite producers..You’ll never guess who he’s included in his list.
Q-Tip
Davey D interviews the Abstact poetic emcee Q-Tip from ATCQ at RTB 2010 Bay Area for hip-hop.com. They discuss music, Q-Tip’s latest productions and upcoming collaborations that he’s doing with everyone from Kanye West to Lenny Kravitz
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Click HERE to listen to our Breakdown FM interview w/ Immortal Technique at Rock the Bells 2010
During Rock the Bells in Mountainview we caught up with one of Hip Hop’s most profound and politically astute artists Immortal Technique. He swung through 10 deep with his famed Rebel Army and did not disappoint as they lit up the Paid Dues stage.
Later that night we talked to Immortal about some of the key issues of the day starting with his thoughts on Park 51, which is the Muslim Community center being protested by anti-Islamic mobs in New York City near Ground Zero. We wanted Immortal’s thought on this because he had caused a bit of a stir a few years ago when he released the song Bin Laden where Mos Def and Jadakiss were on the hook asserting that George Bush knocked down the Twin Towers. Later he did a remix where Chuck D and KRS were on the hook. He explained that it was hypocritical to demand that a group of people who did not fly planes into those buildings be asked to back down.. He said it was more than obvious the 9-11 hijackers did not represent Islam just like Christianity wasn’t represented when Timothy McVeigh blew up the Oklahoma Fed Building or when large groups of people were massacred during the Crusades.
The other big issue we broached was immigration and the debate around Arizona’s SB 1070. He said ‘illegal immigration’ is more than just a legal issue. He said it’s a human rights issue in which people are seeking out better lives for themselves. Our foreign policies have unduly impacted many of the places that people are fleeing. We’ve made no moves to correct that. Immortal noted that many supporters of SB 1070 want the economic advantages that come from ‘undocumented labor’. They’re not making moves to remove themselves from that equation.
Immortal also pointed out that there’s a lot of hypocrisy in those who say they support laws like SB1070. He noted that many say that we must follow the law. “Well slavery was once the law”. Immortal pointed out; “Would those same people have defended the institution of slavery if they was around back in those days”?
We concluded our interview by talking to Immortal about the orphanage he opened in Afghanistan and his recent trip to Haiti. He said the idea of opening up an orphanage came during his participation at last year’s Rock the Bells where he met organizers who inspired him. He went out to Afghanistan for several weeks and avoided being embedded with the US military and instead was taken in by long time residents who took him all over the country. he said the trip was life altering.
He noted that his stay Haiti was much shorter and not as impactful compared to Afghanistan. He was disheartened by the extreme poverty and noted that there’s no excuse for this when Haiti is in our backyard.
You can listen our Breakdown FM interview with Immortal Technique by clicking the link below
http://www.swift.fm/mrdaveyd/song/60154/
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It’s always fun catching up with Hip Hop legend Blastmaster KRS-One. He always has something colorful and insightful to say when speaking. Some you may agree with, some you may disagree with. No matter what you have to appreciate his passion and confidence..
When we caught up with KRS during the Rock the Bells 2010 in Mountainview he was on his way to the stage to perform the album ‘Criminal Minded’. He did not disappoint. In 10 minutes we touched on a number of topics including his thoughts behind his new book ‘The Gospel of Hip Hop’. KRS noted that this was the Gospel for the new millenium. He says every generation has their Gospel and that he wanted to put forth his vision of Hip Hop and remind the world about its divine aspects. He believes the culture touches on the spirit in ways we simply cannot ignore.
I asked KRS with all the wisdom he’s garnered over the years, what aspects of Criminal Minded would he change?
KRS said, he regrets how people mistook the meaning behind the album cover which shows him and the late Scott La Rock wearing an ammunition belt, holding pistols and having a grenade on the table. He said many thought he and Scott were the jump off for what would eventually be called ‘gangsta rap’ when in fact, they were attempting to put forth a ‘revolutionary’ pose.
KRS explained, that no gangsta would walk around wearing ammunition and holding grenades. He talked about how BDP was influenced by the Black Panthers and Black Liberation Army and wanted that album cover to be symbolic of the stances they took.
KRS also talked about how he regrets the harsh, sexist words directed at Roxanne Shante. He noted that he was young and wild back in those days and in hindsight cringes at some of the things he uttered. He said its something all rappers will go through as they get older. How we express ourselves without full knowledge and understanding can be embarrassing once it’s obtained.
We concluded our interview by talking about President Obama. A couple of months after Obama’s inauguration , KRS came to Oakland and did a wicked freestyle where he talked about the biggest problem the president would have is the power and control of the Fed Bank. Over 100 thousand people viewed that video which sparked a lot of discussion. KRS caught al;ot of heat and was depicted as a hater. Nowadays his insight isn’t so easily dismissed or challenged
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcAGtlVqwqE
We talked about those earlier remarks and pressed KRS as to where he stands now. He stated that he respects the President, but make no mistake, Obama is a politician who runs a government.
“He’s a politician..he’s not your boy. he’s not your man”, KRS said.
He went to add, that we are now in a globalized world with a globalized economy and America has been resisting its entrance into it. KRS said, gone are the days when people could easily identify themselves as a race or religion. Things are changingas we are now in what people will deem a ‘New World Order’
written by Davey D
Here’s the link to the full interview we did with KRS at Rock the Bells.. let us know what you think..
http://www.swift.fm/mrdaveyd/song/60144/
Click HERE to hear the Breakdown FM KRS-One interview we did at Rock the Bells
Is Lauryn Hill back? It’s a question so many of us have been asking since she released her landmark album, ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill‘ and she won all those Grammys. The fact that so many keep asking the question is a testament to how dope she was.. and also how there is such an absence of female artists within the mainstream. She left folks with a lot of questions when she hit the stages for Rock the Bells in both SF and NY..
During her performance in San Francisco she started out strong, but many of her songs took on vastly different flavors from the original causing many to complain. The sista standing near me during her set was over heard complaining she did not recognize any of her Lauryn’s songs.
“She’s doing too many remixes”, she said.
During her New York performance on Governors Island similar complaints came up. Popular reporter Toure said she “was more Twista than Lauryn Hill” beccause of the uptempo remakes of her soulful songs.
Artist and TV talk show host Amanda Diva said: “Lauryn let me down bcuz her performance was completely disconnected from the sound that folks love her 4. + Band was sloppy/vocals strained”
Her tweet was in the same vein as many who were at the NY show and tweeting about it.
However Sway of MTV and the Wake Up Show who saw her during the San Bernardino show near LA tweeted that Lauryn had killed it.
Again the question, Is it unfair to expect Lauryn Hill in 2010 to be the same as the one we admired in 1998? Is she not allowed to grow and experiment as a musician or should she stay locked in a box?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKIZu0eUrM8&feature=related
