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Part 1: Hip-Hop Legends DJ Battlecat, The Poetess & Ras Kass Tell The Story of West Coast Hip-Hop
Feb 15, 2022
When you put a bunch of legends in one room you get some legendary stories. DJ Battlecat, The Poetess join Sway, Heather, Rich Nice and Lord Finesse to tell iconic stories of West Coast Hip-Hop.
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0:00
because we're about to get into a
0:01
conversation
0:04
man and this is just the one part of a
0:06
mini part series we gonna do man we got
0:08
about now about 45 minutes to have this
0:10
conversation when we decided to come to
0:12
l.a there was one person the first
0:14
person i said i wanted to have
0:16
is with us right now this man i got to
0:18
know his name early in the 80s he was a
0:21
west coast dj that went to the new music
0:24
dj battle for world supremacy in the
0:26
1990 dmc u.s mixing finals in new york
0:30
city and back then anytime you had a
0:32
west coast dj that was showing off and
0:34
was that ill on those turntable skills
0:37
man they became
0:38
famous
0:39
okay because it was hard it was hard to
0:42
break on the east coast i don't care who
0:44
you were if you wasn't from the east
0:46
coast
0:47
so when dudes like this was going in
0:49
there slicing these other djs up like uh
0:51
pies you had to get that recognition
0:54
also dj latin man shout out to dj
0:56
aladdin as well
0:58
but right now man this dude man uh
1:00
original k day mix masters am i correct
1:02
yes that right okay come on man he's a
1:05
dj i mean i'm produced for everybody
1:07
from tina marie to snoop dogg to the guy
1:11
we got here today joining us in the
1:12
studio to tupac shakur to uh man he's
1:15
done the exhibit the eastsiders i mean
1:17
the list goes on and on who this man has
1:20
helped
1:21
build their careers and he's a west
1:23
coast staple a pioneer a juggernaut a
1:27
legend a icon we got the one and only dj
1:30
battle cat in here
1:33
you love family love i feel the love oh
1:37
man come on man i said i gotta have
1:40
battle cat i don't care what we do man i
1:42
was like he probably like what's sway
1:43
trying to do man is he up to something
1:46
you know and uh and he showed up man and
1:48
then my brother this is like my little
1:50
brother and i don't mean that in a
1:52
demeaning way but he's me and this man
1:54
has had such a report
1:56
such a report yeah
1:58
our rapport you know since day one even
2:00
when we first met has always been on
2:02
some brothers [ __ ] right you know rather
2:04
i was clown i used to be a clown a lot
2:07
you know on the record
2:11
what it is today like it was back in the
2:13
90s
2:15
dudes on the west coast looked at me
2:16
like you calmed down huh you tamed right
2:19
you know um but back then man i used to
2:21
really challenge this guy and not just
2:23
because it's his rhyme skill because to
2:25
me he's one of the most under
2:26
acknowledged mc's in history
2:28
you know and i think a lot of it has to
2:30
do with intimidation and and um and
2:33
people just don't really hold a candle
2:35
to him and then the truth you know he's
2:37
one of the most intellectual mc's to
2:39
ever write songs when he writes music
2:41
you learn from it you know similar to
2:43
krs one uh when he put out edutainment
2:46
this man has been doing that since day
2:47
one he talks about our history our
2:49
origins who we come from society
2:52
societal walls diabolical plots and
2:55
schemes that are put out on our people
2:57
on our community and then he'll chop
2:58
your ass up like mincemeat if you want
3:00
to step in the microwave all right uh
3:03
man the horseman uh it's one of the
3:06
crews he's been a part of um i remember
3:08
uh was the golden state warriors come on
3:11
man you know uh we did work with him too
3:13
with the come with it song with him and
3:15
the mod i mean that's the beginnings
3:17
that was the beginning that's the
3:19
beginning battlecap put me on my first
3:21
demos uh-huh i gets busy you remember
3:24
coming
3:25
crazy and y'all heard me that gave me
3:27
the ability to get here okay get to the
3:29
wake-up shot at the wake-up show and
3:30
king tech produced to come with a joint
3:32
and it was on with the street fighters
3:34
soundtrack back when the street fighter
3:36
movie came out and got me my first video
3:38
got him his first video come on man yo
3:41
hey man our roots run deep yeah give it
3:43
up for the man give it up for one of the
3:45
lsmc's ever give it up for rash cash
3:49
hoodies to this day i still got my pink
3:51
and purple hoodie
3:54
thank you that [ __ ] cold
3:56
hey and while we was at it man my sister
3:58
i hit my sister last night and i was
4:01
telling her hey man i got battle cat
4:03
coming up and to me she's one of the
4:06
most
4:07
revered voices and pins and and
4:11
visionaries and journalists and
4:12
historians to ever come out of this
4:14
culture of hip-hop music especially when
4:17
it comes to west coast the west coast
4:20
story yes
4:21
listen before i didn't meet her as a
4:23
historian i met her as an emcee
4:27
as somebody just jumping on that mic who
4:29
had an ill ass style was certain like
4:31
you had to be uh it was certain women
4:33
who had styles that just needed to be
4:35
recognized and needed to be acknowledged
4:38
and brought to the forefront and she was
4:40
doing it early and i remember coming up
4:42
to l.a and listening to her music and
4:44
then she's fine too
4:50
gonna put the extras on it
4:54
no matter what
4:57
next week you know 23rd ab up in here
4:59
but what she's done man battle cat
5:01
harass cast over the years we've been
5:04
trying to figure a way she's documented
5:06
so much early west coast history i mean
5:09
she has interviews with everyone that's
5:12
sitting in the vault and i know a lot of
5:14
people are going to hear this and try to
5:15
get to it but you can't get to her
5:16
unless you come to us
5:18
because we're going to protect this it
5:20
ain't been done correctly yet when it
5:22
comes to the west coast story in the
5:23
west coast history no knock on everybody
5:26
else but you should be doing your
5:27
research quit pretending like this is a
5:30
real documentary when you ain't done the
5:32
research and you're voiding out the
5:33
nuances that made up this culture don't
5:36
be scared of it cause you wasn't here
5:38
and you don't understand it just reach
5:39
out to the people who were here right
5:41
like this woman who's joining us in this
5:43
conversation today
5:45
for the queen of queens ladies and
5:46
gentlemen give it up for the one and
5:48
only the poet
5:52
thank you guys thank you guys i'm so
5:55
happy to be here because i love
5:57
everybody in this room and i started
6:00
in fact i'll tell my my rascal story
6:05
i did my video love hurts uh-huh
6:08
when it comes from the fist right and so
6:11
years later every time i would run into
6:14
rascals he would have an attitude with
6:16
me i'd be like
6:18
why is this dude giving me shade
6:20
he goes you don't remember i danced in
6:22
your video
6:24
and i was like
6:26
no i i'm sorry i didn't you know but
6:30
once he got that off his chest we you
6:32
know it's been like excited to dance on
6:34
hollywood boulevard yeah now you were a
6:37
dancer before becoming an emcee
6:40
we house is what we call it on in l.a so
6:43
like more breakdancing not like
6:45
not pop dancing it was underground
6:47
b-boying basically so that's how battle
6:50
cat met us and we did your video on
6:52
hollywood boulevard and
6:54
i got a lot of [ __ ] about it because
6:57
during when we were dancing burke kicked
6:58
me in the head
7:01
so you had that footage and we were
7:03
always looking for it so that's why i
7:05
was just messing with you that was a man
7:06
but i was just like what year was this
7:08
this happens
7:12
before the chronic yeah right before the
7:14
crime right before the chronic end i was
7:15
actually on interscope
7:17
before death row uh
7:19
moved in but i i actually hosted
7:23
tupac's last concert at the house of
7:26
blues
7:27
and suge hired me to host that event and
7:30
he and he passed wow um a few months
7:34
later
7:35
i remember that
7:36
i didn't get to go to that you know you
7:38
only got some gym
7:39
artifacts
7:42
yo battle cat let's start with two let's
7:44
let's take it back to
7:46
before the new music seminar dj battle
7:48
for world supremacy that was in 1988
7:50
right um
7:54
yeah because i was already a kd mix
7:56
master okay in 87. so yeah you're right
7:59
so k day
8:00
when was the exception of k day when did
8:02
that come
8:03
and for those who don't know k day was a
8:06
24-hour day seven days a week the only
8:09
hip-hop station that played
8:25
as many other stations that was uh
8:28
you know good and
8:29
you know
8:31
making some history for us and playing
8:32
good music giving us history you know
8:34
kace
8:36
uh uh where dr dre actually started a
8:39
lot of people don't know he was there
8:40
and radio then
8:42
and um but just to bring it up to speed
8:46
um
8:47
man it was amazing uh that this brother
8:50
would put something together greg mack
8:52
and um it was his last tryout to
8:56
uh assemble a crew
8:58
that was going to really be
8:59
you know like almost the rival of uncle
9:02
james army he wanted the uncle general
9:03
army so bad that he he created his own
9:06
crew so we called it the k-day mix
9:08
masters and dr dre was the first k-day
9:10
mix master but then nwa took off then
9:13
you got tony gonzalez and bobcat they
9:15
walk in the next day
9:17
but our cat got lifted off with ll cool
9:20
j so then we got tony he's still there
9:22
so he recruited
9:24
uh tony uh tony
9:27
tony g ended up getting my back uh julio
9:30
g
9:30
but then we needed more djs
9:33
so we had the last tryouts was at the uh
9:35
ebony showcase or for washington mid
9:38
city over there
9:39
and uh
9:41
i became a mix master as the rest of us
9:43
traysky rescue rest in peace uh ralph m
9:46
uh in walk
9:49
aladdin
9:50
um
9:51
uh jamming james dj romeo
9:55
if i left anyone out it's all good you
9:57
know who you are i love you but uh it
9:59
was a beautiful thing because it gave us
10:01
a voice i wanted to be a part of uh
10:03
uncle jam want me so bad
10:05
you know what i'm saying because that
10:06
was an escape for me to get out the hood
10:09
you know you know gangbanger was at
10:10
all-time high and one thing i love about
10:13
my neighborhood they
10:14
um they was like heroes you know i'm
10:17
saying they knew that i wasn't built for
10:19
that so they didn't
10:20
uh
10:21
keep me down they supported me and
10:24
and gave me you know money and
10:26
transportation to get wherever i needed
10:28
to be so i could be who i am today so i
10:30
appreciate that but uh man them humble's
10:33
beginnings uh uh went all the way into
10:36
the opportunity with doug doug young
10:40
uh who was one of death row's top
10:42
promoters and breaking death row records
10:44
uh he gave me the opportunity to uh go
10:47
to new york saying man your skill set is
10:49
there would you like to go and enter the
10:51
dmc and i'm like man i said i got to get
10:54
to practicing you know because you know
10:55
don't dudes ain't no joke on the east
10:57
coast yeah so it was a beautiful thing i
10:59
go out there this is when uh latin and
11:01
dub c had paid dues
11:03
uh i go out there i'm ripping the uh la
11:05
the ketty mix masters uncle jam warming
11:08
the california cat crew all
11:10
i mean everything i could think of that
11:12
that is from my coach i wanted to bring
11:14
that with me to show them the culture
11:16
the style the flavor the unique you know
11:19
different originality in djing and
11:22
then turntablism and uh you see if you
11:24
look at the video you got red alert you
11:26
got so many guys there there was this
11:29
racism yeah
11:30
i think clark yeah clark
11:32
they was all of them cats was there so
11:34
it was amazing to see them put their
11:36
eyes on me
11:37
and uh embrace me and i was just going
11:39
for mines i only waited about 1 30 at
11:42
the time
11:43
i was a slim jim you know and it was a
11:46
blessing man to be embracing and share
11:48
the culture what california is about as
11:50
far as dj is them you know
11:51
your chains weigh about 130 now man
11:56
you mentioned humble beginnings though
11:58
okay and i where did you get your name
12:00
from because we are like i always knew
12:02
about you always been a fan of it come
12:04
on man but
12:06
more than anything i remembered your
12:08
name like i was like it's one of those
12:10
names that is so original with this like
12:13
battle cat where did that where'd you
12:15
get your name from well
12:17
i needed a name to coexist with a crew
12:20
and the leader of the crew which is
12:21
bobby bobcat irving from uncle jim army
12:24
who produced ll and all the other great
12:26
classic hits from the west uh he had a
12:28
crew that was like uh the next
12:31
up-and-coming djs that we was trying to
12:34
convince roger clayton
12:36
to let us coexist with them you know
12:38
what i'm saying so
12:39
um
12:41
the the cartoon
12:43
called he-man
12:44
and when he wasn't
12:46
great and victorious and strong he would
12:48
be cringing i didn't like that you know
12:50
i me i was challenging ain't nothing
12:52
soft about me i'm very competitive
12:55
i have a young battling uh kind of
12:57
personality about my my gift because you
12:59
know it was a struggle you know becoming
13:01
who i am as a man let alone as a
13:04
producer or anything else that i dreamed
13:06
to be
13:07
and so i inherited the name and great
13:09
gave it to bob but i liked it but then i
13:12
had to still pay dues so it was a few
13:14
contests that i had i lost one against
13:17
one of my peers my big homie traysky
13:19
tracey he may put her he put a slice on
13:21
my ass
13:23
and it was so crazy that her it really
13:25
broke me down because my my ex rest in
13:27
peace at the time she was my girlfriend
13:29
and that was mc trouble so her
13:32
and um my mother was there and my mentor
13:36
booed me when i lost against my homie so
13:39
it made me furious
13:41
you know to really uh get my skills set
13:44
up and really show him that i really
13:46
belong
13:47
with him and so uh
13:49
i pulled my i put my boots up i went
13:51
back i got it together i seen him again
13:54
and uh he was convinced that uh that i
13:57
should be a part of the family
13:59
and um
14:01
it's it wasn't easy like i said you know
14:03
if you're going to have a name battle
14:04
kill you can't be win losing too many
14:06
battles you know what i'm saying
14:08
and uh you got to get rid of the names
14:12
so
14:13
so i bring the name even into the
14:15
industry as well heather and this and
14:17
it's been a blessing you know
14:19
because that was a whole nother field to
14:20
be battling in you know i'm saying and
14:22
winning and putting your feet wet into
14:24
the music side but i'm very grateful
14:26
that they all embraced me yeah which led
14:28
me into another unique situation uh dr
14:32
dre was leaving
14:33
to form nwa i got a call from uh uh my
14:37
homie from the la dream team uh richie
14:39
rich
14:40
and he said kat lonzo was having an
14:42
opportunity uh
14:45
that he really gives to people to come
14:47
and you know have a dj audition to be a
14:49
member and i said man you know
14:52
that that's dope but i'm not trying to
14:54
take dre's place like that you say well
14:56
listen this is what it's paying and you
14:58
ain't never been on on the road on the
14:59
tour on tour before so this could be a
15:01
situation to broaden your your portfolio
15:04
you know what i'm saying so i went
15:06
um i met dre
15:09
and dre showed me how to work the drum
15:10
machine he showed me how to program show
15:13
me my cadence on me my time signature
15:16
and he left and then and left me in the
15:18
studio with lonzo and
15:20
dr dre showed you all that
15:22
the same day he formed they formed nwa
15:25
dre came and showed me uh proper studio
15:28
uh etiquettes
15:30
and and all the drum programming and
15:32
then the rest was sister i never looked
15:33
back and
15:34
uh
15:35
i became the second generation of the
15:37
world class wrecking crew thanks to
15:39
lonzo and um
15:41
that that this that that put battle cat
15:43
into producing school in the sense you
15:46
know it's like a big boys club for me to
15:47
be safe like i said the streets was the
15:50
gang bang was at an all-time high so to
15:51
be able to go go from south central to
15:53
compton was a blessing to me and he
15:56
trusted me and actually you know even
15:58
with the timetables you know
16:00
uh how trustworthy lonzo was he gave me
16:03
dre's old twelves from back in the days
16:05
when he was at doodles and skate land
16:07
and to have that i didn't even have my
16:09
own pair of 12 so you know all those
16:11
kind of things like that is is is i
16:14
don't take for granted
16:16
no no i got my own but i tell you what i
16:18
do got i'll tell you what i do guys you
16:20
look on my instagram i got the original
16:22
12 14 nakai
16:24
uh tour track uh uh beta tape uh
16:28
recorder
16:29
uh it's like a it's a tour track
16:31
recorder it's the first
16:34
machine that dre
16:35
as a world-class wrecking crew member
16:37
was doing all the songs in the demo zone
16:39
as a as a member so i bought it from
16:42
lonzo just about a month ago and it's
16:44
amazing i got to have dre sign it but
16:46
it's it's all the work that drake was
16:48
doing on the mixes you know for the for
16:50
k day or kg of jail we're not all kc
16:53
it's that same mixer
16:55
and i got it for a couple of bucks and
16:57
uh it means the world to me because that
16:59
was the board that where i found i found
17:02
me my sound how to properly record mix
17:05
and everything so
17:07
thank you for sharing that man
17:11
turn off the lights
17:13
yeah yeah yeah that's crazy yeah
17:15
i had to take i had to take draenei's
17:17
place because you know mr lay went with
17:20
him too so we had mona lisa as this
17:23
backup singer and the uzi brothers i
17:25
love them brothers
17:26
come on will rock you know what i'm
17:28
saying bob dog rest in peace and kill
17:30
ken
17:31
so you know uh that was another thing i
17:33
got a chance to appreciate
17:34
instrumentation live
17:36
drums live keyboards everything how i
17:38
work with drum machines midi everything
17:40
hardware before
17:42
uh what it is today and i'm glad that
17:44
that happened because now i have a happy
17:46
medium in educating people how to
17:48
appreciate the first generation of music
17:51
to what it is now battle cat is here
17:53
razz cast the poetics right there that
17:55
was just
17:56
10 minutes of jewels right finesse
17:59
and this is interesting because laura
18:00
finesse has such a deep-rooted history
18:02
too that i'm sure he can share stuff
18:04
with us you know and the west coast
18:07
story is not told like this that's why i
18:09
wanted you to come up and so you
18:10
mentioned the la dream team right you
18:13
mentioned uncle james army yes sir and
18:15
can you talk to people about the
18:17
importance of those movements and how
18:19
they help set up what we know now as the
18:22
west coast music industry really wow
18:25
that's crazy i'm gonna try to keep it
18:26
short as i can um
18:29
because of
18:30
the dj's that was before uncle jones on
18:33
me that i can remember we're talking
18:35
about um
18:37
oh man dj reg because of dj reg in 1979
18:43
i fell in love with hip-hop and djinn
18:45
this is the same year
18:46
uh
18:48
uh rappers delight come out i'm in the
18:50
sixth grade coming out getting ready to
18:52
go to junior high middle school
18:54
and uh that did something tremendous for
18:57
me
18:58
uh seeing the foundation of that
19:01
but then
19:02
we got a chance to see
19:04
hip hop from the east coast and the
19:06
first time i seen it what a dj involved
19:08
is when rocket came out and we had pbs
19:12
that was another station in la that we
19:14
watched before cable
19:16
and uh herbie hancock and dst is
19:19
together
19:20
and so to see them two together i never
19:23
knew that hip-hop
19:26
was accepted and appreciated that way
19:28
and the
19:30
caterpillar to some other things
19:32
as well and it was so important that we
19:35
uh
19:37
jot down all this history
19:39
and
19:41
dabble in it and see what it is and
19:43
where we belong in it because it was a
19:45
like i said it was another way
19:47
uh to be a part of music
19:49
in the history of music
19:51
and so um
19:54
uh
19:55
from like i said from
19:56
uncle james on me all the way up
19:58
california cat crew world class wrecking
20:00
crew egyptian lover i love the fact that
20:03
they put out like a documentary called
20:05
uh breaking an enemy which was our beach
20:07
street which showcased the art of djing
20:10
breakdancing different crews
20:11
neighborhoods
20:13
uh how we integrated with one another
20:16
um
20:17
black you know hispanic white asian all
20:19
different nationalities was there in the
20:22
makings of it
20:23
and um it it it it did tremendous things
20:26
for us to see all this
20:29
and keep the history and that's one
20:30
thing
20:31
um we had we have bad on this side of
20:34
the town not understanding how to uh
20:38
capitalize
20:39
the moment the footage you know putting
20:41
it together someone
20:43
taking the time to get educated how to
20:46
get into television or film or anything
20:49
to uh
20:50
to uh have an outlet so we can see the
20:53
the beginnings
20:54
and uh the the the relationships the the
20:58
different walks of life of music and
21:00
everything you know but it we we still
21:02
here we ain't making no excuses
21:04
and we're gonna do a part of this had a
21:05
unique conversation with sway about
21:08
being an executive being another voice
21:11
uh to
21:12
go to the ones that still heal alive and
21:15
really get a chance to tell the story
21:16
how it should be told and it's not going
21:18
to just exist within the west coast we
21:20
got to start here but it's amazing in
21:23
how
21:23
new york integrated with us as well like
21:26
i dj for latifa i dj for kumo d i dj for
21:30
uh curtis blow you know and stuff for
21:33
the this this nature and they and they
21:35
trusted us to
21:36
you know to accompany them
21:38
and they get down and that was amazing i
21:40
owe greg mac
21:42
for these opportunities for that because
21:45
you know he could have just easily said
21:46
no you know you're gonna mess up you
21:48
know you're not proven but he felt
21:50
we was proven and we was worth the while
21:52
and those kind of things bring these
21:54
opportunities that we're talking about
21:56
uh actually it it uh
21:58
gave another voice for the crips and
22:00
bloods too because it was a lot of guys
22:02
that really didn't want to live that
22:04
life and they loved music and they
22:06
needed a way out to express themselves
22:08
so i got to give a shout out to the
22:10
crips and bloods on this side of the
22:11
town
22:12
because they was like our big brothers
22:14
and uncles and fathers we never had to
22:17
protect us while we was becoming who who
22:19
we needed to be i got to say that wow
22:22
dj battle cab real bad can i add
22:24
something um
22:26
i interviewed uh mix master spade
22:29
um
22:30
and he told me that he would spend
22:32
summers in new york and he would go to
22:34
the basement parties
22:36
the parties in the um in the park
22:39
and then he saw um
22:42
i think it was kohark
22:46
and it inspired him so much he came back
22:48
to compton there we go and had his
22:50
grandmother buy him a set of turntables
22:54
and he said he started um dj in house
22:56
parties but people they never really saw
22:59
anything like that before and so they
23:01
would stop dancing
23:03
and surround him
23:05
while he was doing his turntablism
23:08
where does that play in the history or
23:11
the start of west coast djs would you
23:14
say that
23:15
mixmaster spade kind of bridged that gap
23:19
or bought it to compton you know what i
23:21
would never uh
23:23
say that it wasn't because i my my
23:25
bureau and where i come from is not
23:27
compton mine is the south central
23:29
slaughtering crenshaw district so but
23:31
the story is very true
23:34
uh from all my peers and and uh and and
23:38
forefathers of hip-hop on the west west
23:40
side and you're so right about that you
23:43
know um
23:44
i just can't say too much on i just know
23:46
that it was a blessing
23:48
that it happened
23:49
and any one of our brothers
23:51
that was in
23:52
la and took a trip to new york whether
23:55
if it was dj pooh jenks
23:57
uh the l.a posse daryl pierce bobcat
24:01
muffler from uncle james on me these
24:02
guys you know took a trip to the other
24:05
side to see what this was ourselves
24:07
because it was it was only so much that
24:09
was being advertised we didn't see
24:12
you know the the
24:13
the background the real nitty-gritty
24:16
[ __ ] that was happening the culture we
24:18
you know you hear about it you got
24:20
cousins and stuff that come from
24:21
different parts of new york that lived
24:23
in cali early on but it was nothing like
24:26
getting on the plane to go see it for
24:27
yourself and and that was amazing for us
24:30
because then you know we couldn't let no
24:32
one uh uh uh distort the the real true
24:35
essence of what what this was you know
24:37
and we and when we came back to l.a what
24:39
it was like it's the truth they love us
24:41
you know it's kind of different and
24:43
weird if they don't really know who we
24:45
are but we the pr your presentation and
24:48
where you approach
24:49
uh uh uh different people that you've
24:51
seen and seen from new york is this you
24:53
just if you get if you're coming with
24:55
open arms you're gonna be good you know
24:56
what i'm saying you come with that vibe
24:58
like you know hey i'm the [ __ ] what's up
25:00
you know i want to battle you you know
25:02
you don't know what you're going to get
25:04
you know and uh
25:05
i'm just glad that new york embraced me
25:07
in so many ways
25:09
uh because of this history that we're
25:10
talking about yeah some understand the
25:13
pillars you know uh houdini uh i love
25:16
the fact that roger clayton brought out
25:18
so many different artists
25:20
you know new addition when they was kids
25:22
you know we got a chance to see them
25:24
early on in the 80s it was crazy
25:26
so uh we we love them you know l.a is
25:29
like a big old melting pot you know you
25:31
know we we you know until you come out
25:33
there and see what it is for yourself
25:34
you know you'll know where the love is
25:36
we we love you you know and i think
25:38
there was sort of a parallel history too
25:40
like we um
25:42
you had um
25:44
um um um escaping me planet rock
25:48
and then you had
25:49
um
25:50
uh
25:52
what rapper just like no no we had um
26:01
around the same time yeah yeah and uncle
26:03
jim army was like a
26:06
like a spin-off of
26:08
parliament
26:11
um
26:12
rick james in the sense and the grand
26:14
master flash in this first round i mean
26:16
we we love the culture too you know we
26:18
love what they what what they brought to
26:20
the table
26:21
and the positive and consciousness
26:24
and funk and hip-hop you know that's
26:26
what made me feel and fall in love with
26:28
it at first you know what i'm saying
26:30
and uh man razz i mean you hear he he he
26:33
got he got some he got some gems about
26:35
this too i don't want to overthrow
26:37
who's all in here i love it man this is
26:39
part one
26:44
i think it was the same thing for us i
26:46
think hearing and seeing only but so
26:48
much of la from new york and jersey and
26:51
just looking it's like
26:53
what's happening out there everybody
26:54
with hockey jerseys and like lumberjack
26:56
you didn't know you had to go for
26:58
yourself and i remember seeing ross in a
27:00
club i was like yo they got mcs out
27:03
there like it's like my mind said when i
27:05
got back on those [ __ ] out there with
27:07
bars like they just
27:10
spots it's like i didn't know i just
27:12
thought you had to go see it for
27:14
yourself yes that's the best experience
27:16
you got an attitude like a new york
27:18
attitude coming out to l.a it could
27:20
happen to you too
27:21
like you gotta it was the same we just
27:24
didn't know because we allowed the media
27:26
to dictate how we should feel yeah
27:28
that's that there you go ahead that's it
27:30
right there that right there played a
27:32
major role in and for those who could
27:34
come hands on
27:36
excuse me and see it for themselves
27:38
believe me you will be rewarded when you
27:41
you know doing so and uh i know it did a
27:44
lot for the porters as well because then
27:46
she seen us coming we was like her
27:48
little brothers you know what i'm saying
27:50
in the makings and she seen how
27:53
consistent and dedicated we was and then
27:55
sway oh man
27:56
i know you just seen us coming i mean
28:00
it's just crazy you know and it was it
28:02
wasn't easy being the best that you know
28:05
we wanted to be as a human being and the
28:07
artist you know because we came in to
28:09
the game with no instructions
28:11
you know and we just did it for the love
28:14
and uh some of us got burnt and some of
28:16
us you know
28:17
uh you know
28:19
uh was is he still here to stand to test
28:22
the time to keep the torch lit you know
28:24
so yeah
28:25
we appreciate that
28:26
roger clayton come on
28:29
man my clock is moving man we got to do
28:32
this again man i already see this uh
28:34
razz when you were dancing
28:37
was this at the same time
28:39
that far side and all of those guys were
28:41
down yeah so all of us were were housers
28:44
um
28:46
well like 90 ish 90s yeah like
28:48
who else was dancing will i am will i am
28:52
uh
28:53
far away and new mexico
28:55
albuquerque exhibit was dancing you know
28:57
yeah
28:58
absolutely killing me on that one
29:01
uh
29:02
me and my friend dax um we danced for
29:05
king tea
29:06
so so with 40 ounces because we were
29:09
stupid hood babies
29:13
and honestly yeah um
29:16
the whole thing is cuban kind of
29:17
destroyed that you couldn't do both so
29:20
you know
29:21
cube had said uh i leave that to the
29:23
dudes with the funny haircuts so you
29:25
could not so
29:26
by the time like i'm probably like
29:28
seventh grade eighth grade whatever like
29:30
you gotta start maybe a little like 19th
29:33
you gotta make a decision so i wanted to
29:34
already transition i wanted to rhyme and
29:36
by then probably already kat had already
29:39
took us under his wing so i was trying
29:41
to transition out of the dancer but we
29:43
danced for box who was his artist our
29:45
homeboy incredible lyricist yes uh what
29:48
was he trying to he was assigned to uh
29:50
uh uh uh
29:52
windscripts
29:53
he was on the same level as edo g
29:56
right
29:57
right so our our home yeah yeah that
29:59
part yeah so so so that was our way in
30:02
was to was dancing so they brought us in
30:04
but he was cat
30:06
being birds solo nights all that whole
30:08
beginning stuff cat brings us in my mama
30:10
because i'm a watch baby and a concert
30:12
dude so my mama would literally drop us
30:14
off into
30:17
the crenshaw district yes and then i'd
30:19
have to catch a bus all the way back to
30:21
carson yeah but they would look out for
30:23
us because
30:24
i was like 14 acting like i was 16. they
30:27
they would
30:28
rest in peace clue so his best friend
30:31
they would drive us back to cars we were
30:32
kids man and he believed in us and gave
30:34
us a different direction so i always say
30:36
like
30:37
each like we were groomed and and
30:40
honestly the same way he was talking
30:41
about the neighborhood and the homies
30:43
like
30:44
my big homies which weren't necessarily
30:47
from my hood but some that were in my
30:48
hood like you know
30:50
some some homies put a burner in your
30:52
hand some homies put a dope sack and
30:54
some homies recognize you good at what
30:56
you do and they cultivate that and i'm
30:57
very grateful for people like cat like
30:59
yeah cultivated ej battle cap man um and
31:04
then he and he was produced he was one
31:05
of your first producers yeah
31:07
demo period ideas was helping me shape
31:10
myself how i wanted to you know so i
31:12
would bring me you know i would bring
31:13
records you know whatever he helped me
31:15
develop
31:16
him and battle cat
31:18
and and i would say perry wino you know
31:22
period that's my big homie from the
31:24
neighborhood i grew up in you know 190th
31:27
street it is what it is so those two men
31:29
they let me be me and it would be funny
31:32
because again i'm we were kind of a
31:34
liability they they got to drive all the
31:36
way to carson you know we passed compton
31:38
so they dropped me off from the west
31:40
side they cared about us man and then
31:43
then roberts didn't steal from us
31:44
investing in this man recognize talent
31:46
that we didn't see in ourselves and i'm
31:48
always grateful for that man that's why
31:49
i try to try to put that back on the
31:51
universe to other emcees i always try to
31:53
show that love because a lot of dudes
31:54
nowadays are just threatened and they
31:56
feel like let me eliminate the threat
31:58
before it win and get better than me or
32:00
whatever you know or let me steal all
32:01
the money from it you know that's whack
32:03
man you gotta put some love in the
32:04
universe cause that's you know honestly
32:06
this this culture saved art it changed
32:08
my trajectory changed my life it gave me
32:10
a job put me around the world more than
32:13
once you know i'm saying like it's a
32:15
blessing bro every day i wake up i'm not
32:16
in a cubicle hating my life i get to
32:19
i technically have the best job even if
32:22
i don't get paid you know the drake
32:24
money i get to walk around and tell
32:26
people what i think and expect them to
32:29
give me money i don't dance it ain't no
32:31
like fireworks i just was like yo [ __ ]
32:33
that's why i think yeah
32:35
give me some money
32:36
fly me put me in a hotel and let me talk
32:39
this [ __ ]
32:40
that's right that's that ain't even
32:42
funny ain't even though chappelle [ __ ]
32:43
my [ __ ] ain't no jokes
32:45
give me some bread so i'm blessed like a
32:47
[ __ ] that's a great job to have
32:49
i love that you see your life like that
32:51
because
32:52
your life is a movie it's a book but
32:55
all of our lives are like that and all
32:57
of them are inspirational is what i love
32:59
about it i'ma have the rap so i know we
33:01
got to do a part two yes i know y'all
33:04
you know see i just want to warm you up
33:06
all right
33:07
but before i do you got a new single
33:09
called mlk day right right yes sir for
33:11
black history month it's part of a
33:13
greater project but uh yeah it's it's uh
33:17
uh
33:18
mlk day featuring eric j which is uh uh
33:20
green lantern's artist he's really dope
33:23
singer guitarist mc so he sings the hook
33:26
it's um yeah man i love the record and
33:28
then you also put out the uh last ride
33:31
the last ride is the horseman it took us
33:32
i call it our debut finale it took 20
33:34
years to make one okay
33:44
i think what's that you and me
33:45
poetess talking about snoop buying death
33:47
row yeah um
33:50
i wanted to ask battle cat
33:53
what you think of that snoop finally
33:56
acquiring death row records and what do
33:58
you think the future of death row
34:00
records will be it's the it's necessary
34:02
for one i mean he was the voice in the
34:05
face
34:06
that set it off and uh dre's sound
34:10
and all the components and you know put
34:13
it together that was amazing and it
34:15
inspired the world to be great and want
34:17
to do the same thing you know uh i think
34:20
it was because of what happened with
34:22
with russell simmons and def jam that's
34:24
what really kicked it off
34:26
uh unfortunately we lost lives through
34:28
the actual name
34:30
you know but the up the positive part
34:33
about it is is that you know snoopy's
34:36
here he's a voice he's a leader
34:38
uh he's reliable he's you can count on
34:42
him he take accountability for his highs
34:44
and lows in life that's what we always
34:46
wanted with anyone i i love that i love
34:49
that about that man
34:50
and uh that's gonna be the same model
34:53
and and breakdown and how i think new
34:56
death row is gonna is gonna kick off
34:58
even with harry oh being a part of it
35:00
too
35:02
that was a bit uh he played a major uh
35:05
uh role in it from the from the gate and
35:08
he definitely uh mentored me as well and
35:11
showed me my wealth behind it
35:13
and uh worth that's what i meant to say
35:16
as well so well that much money he
35:18
couldn't work
35:19
yeah yeah yeah they both work huh
35:23
so to be a part of it in in in so many
35:26
ways is amazing and to see it come to
35:28
fruition is amazing
35:30
uh they both grew they both
35:34
uh have a lot in common and i'm pretty
35:36
sure you guys will enjoy
35:38
uh where they where they at in the in
35:40
the likes of their vision and passion
35:43
about what it should be and they just
35:46
want to continue
35:47
uh off from where it was and it's not
35:50
going to be the same so don't look for
35:51
it to be the same just look for
35:53
something unique and different and all
35:55
the the family is still there rage is
35:58
there corrupt is there
36:00
you know dash is there oh that's alright
36:02
x is still there you know you know so
36:04
it's an amazing awesome movement and
36:06
then there's new talent coming aboard
36:09
crooked crook
36:10
anything is possible now
36:12
and i was just with quicken and some of
36:14
the other family of west coast and
36:17
there's brothers who never been on it
36:18
you know the trust trust how it could go
36:21
now because when you look at snoopy's
36:23
history i mean he with dabbled in the
36:25
whole lot you know master p laced his
36:28
chucks yeah he broke like the cali
36:30
you know he he did his first independent
36:32
movement we were successful with that
36:34
with the eastsiders
36:35
uh
36:36
one into playing them and goal and you
36:39
know and the doggies angels all of them
36:41
you know chan and
36:42
you know all the cognac and you know the
36:45
rest of the crew that was there cola
36:47
yeah name it so
36:48
um
36:49
just to keep it short and sweet uh i
36:52
definitely got my hands in it superfly
36:54
got his hands in it
36:55
what up
36:57
trevor lawrence jr
36:58
over at aftermath uh
37:01
just to name a few
37:02
uh
37:04
mustard got his hands in it oh my god uh
37:06
quick yeah big the monster what about
37:09
quick uh in the future you know his the
37:11
essence and the spirit of him is always
37:14
we even
37:15
when you think these guys are not a part
37:17
of it they are in their own way you'd be
37:19
surprised who's who's there uh i want to
37:22
give a shout out to all the penman too i
37:24
think who got down on this album who
37:26
pinned this album uh problems
37:29
uh superfly
37:32
just to name a few uh october london
37:35
nefertiti or finding
37:37
uh these are two artists that i'm
37:38
working with and snoop is working with
37:39
as well we got down on algorithm
37:42
battlecat got four
37:43
joints on that on that baby i opened up
37:45
the album with the first two what's the
37:47
name of the album it's called back on
37:50
death row
37:51
damn it
37:52
i want to be on it
37:54
i want to be on it
37:59
okay
38:00
so the album come out too no the 13th
38:03
that's the saturday before the super
38:05
bowl
38:06
uh we having a listening party as well
38:08
you know at a disclosed location
38:11
and i try to see if i can make some
38:13
things happen you know what i'm saying
38:14
yeah me and poetic
38:16
yeah
38:22
let's do this uh since i only got so
38:24
much time i got to mention tomorrow uh
38:26
to the citizens our show will be from 9
38:28
00 a.m to 12 p.m west coast good in that
38:30
gang okay all right and we got a special
38:32
show for the super bowl we're gonna have
38:34
a lot of uh
38:36
nfl players coming by a lot of special
38:37
guests also we'll be talking with eminem
38:40
we had a conversation with him they got
38:42
a mod spaghetti pop-up shop here you go
38:45
to postmates if you want to open uh
38:47
order some mods spaghettis but um listen
38:49
poetics i love you i want to thank you
38:51
for joining us we're going to do part
38:52
two you see what we have wait wait wait
38:54
wait wait is objective
38:56
yo man wow
39:03
[Laughter]
39:09
battle cap man you are so important to
39:12
all of this thank
39:23
come on man hey so i want to end
39:25
how we all began
39:28
on the mic
39:29
you know and since we got rap don't
39:31
worry politics you're good this time all
39:32
right all right
39:34
we got lord vanessa i told razz man
39:37
bring something for me man i'ma have
39:39
something special bro we gonna have lord
39:42
finesse throw a beat on for you brother
39:43
okay okay thanks vanessa appreciate you
39:47
and then we're gonna end the show with
39:48
mlk day
39:50
yeah yeah all right okay
39:52
let's go let's go let's see we got
39:54
citizens t from l.a i'ma holla at you
39:56
later yeah i was that kid inspired by
39:59
crush group b street boys in the hood
40:01
drop had the deuce father cheap he might
40:04
pull up at the sideshow elite jeeps and
40:06
street sweep i'm a rider we run the road
40:08
like meet me knee deep in that [ __ ]
40:10
luckily mama prayed love is a luxury
40:13
y'all beta males it cuts to me i see
40:16
freak fools
40:18
one more time
40:20
i was that kid inspired by crush group b
40:23
street boys in the hood dropped had the
40:25
deuce five the cheap heat might pull up
40:27
at the side show elite jeeps and street
40:29
sweet i'm a rider we run the road like
40:31
meet me knee deep in that [ __ ]
40:33
luckily mama prayed love is a luxury
40:36
y'all better mails it cucks to me i see
40:38
lames and choker chains and goofy kicks
40:41
these rap [ __ ] be more groupie than
40:43
the groupie chicks these dudes just
40:44
shove a baby to get an ig pick and call
40:47
it brandon must be trojans you be riding
40:49
dick
40:50
they told this rap was real spitting but
40:52
let the fake cats get most of power
40:54
positions you artificial these artifacts
40:57
i should win pulitzer prizes for the
40:59
auto rap hamad r barry got me jogging
41:02
with the gat how these rednecks
41:03
slaughtered blacks it's either that a
41:05
heart attacks immodelize is the best you
41:08
ever slept on keep sleeping stab you in
41:10
your dreams like freddie with the glove
41:12
bleeding good times i'm lenny i got
41:14
printed satisfy your [ __ ] i give it a
41:17
dick al dente i got options wifey never
41:20
be my solomente [ __ ] a ball and chain
41:22
chop off my foot cool to kente
41:24
v-e-r-s-a-c-e pronounced versace so how
41:27
you living in my plossy a lot of my
41:29
fossee
41:30
talk [ __ ] but you scared of the devil
41:32
can't drink out the [ __ ] might as well
41:34
be sharing a needle
41:36
i'm preparing the hebrews you've been
41:38
harmless your whole life you're a
41:40
[ __ ] placebo took my kindness to
41:42
weakness now [ __ ] it i'm evil replace it
41:44
with a new negro like i'm doing don
41:46
cheadle and nobody even miss you don't
41:49
however them see you leave you a fetal
41:51
feeding alcazal to the seagulls assigned
41:53
to the same label as the beatles stole
41:55
my album and played the victim hashtag
41:57
me too [ __ ] this industry and [ __ ] you
42:00
rap [ __ ] i'm a contractor adapted clap
42:03
spitters yo
42:07
yo [ __ ] it yo
42:09
why is some all good but fuller ball is
42:11
awful the future apostle coming like
42:14
perv in the brothel hostel ballin on my
42:16
bread like falafel the thought crushed
42:18
the oxy and sniffed it up a nostril
42:21
amount of cop cars colossal i copped the
42:23
roscoe not chicken and waffles watching
42:25
[ __ ] play hostile have it your way
42:27
vinnie
42:29
this first killed the blind hoe and
42:31
escaped in the bronco
42:35
tennis slipped in and the master truck
42:37
passed you by then i scored they bought
42:39
the passenger side force ones touch
42:41
earth 160 pounds and leave a swoosh in
42:44
the sand i'm i ran with a nuke in my
42:46
hand make payday like groundhog day
42:49
scramble a faberge egg holding my web
42:51
holes like dice clay seven and seven
42:53
like a ice tray and [ __ ] your rachel
42:55
identity cause death always comes in a
42:57
nice gray
42:58
i'm rolling tobacco like the british
43:00
before i finish the sentence my account
43:02
talking yiddish razz is sick i'm the
43:04
illest survivor where the fittest give
43:06
you the business side of the broom like
43:08
quidditch [ __ ] no
43:10
[ __ ] i'm not finished i will give you
43:13
the teeth that i knocked out your
43:14
dentist
43:16
how they gonna be administered society
43:17
when it ain't no men in it oh they
43:20
womenis
43:22
yo just having fun with it
43:28
[Laughter]
43:31
[Applause]
43:38
laughing
43:41
[Laughter]
43:43
y'all i love you rash i love you man
43:46
battle cat i love you brother thank you
43:48
guys man poetess i love you man
43:52
we want to thank buddy for coming by
43:53
today we did a world premiere with buddy
43:56
today i love you man i'm not going to
43:58
sing at hb lord finesse we love you
44:00
thank you for that poetry we love you
44:06
[Music]
44:18
you
#Arts & Entertainment