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Part 2: Hip-Hop Legends DJ Battlecat, The Poetess & Ras Kass Tell The Story of West Coast Hip-Hop
Feb 15, 2022
Part two of this epic interview with hip-hop legends DJ Battlecat, Ras Kass and The Poetess as the chronicle key moments in the evolution of hip-hop on the west coast.
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0:06
um he's doing okay yeah that's good yeah
0:08
i always liked coming and he was super
0:09
crazy he's always nice
0:13
john this part don't count that's them
0:14
just hobnobbing i understand
0:18
oh that's them not west coast hobnobbing
0:23
okay uh
0:25
all right cool so i'm gonna pick up from
0:27
um
0:28
part two
0:29
uh we got we got battle cat in here dj
0:31
battle cat is telling us some just
0:33
amazing stories about his history
0:36
and this is what i love man it's the
0:38
lens that you're giving it to us from
0:39
it's from your own personal lens right
0:42
so it ain't no right or wrong it's just
0:43
what it is right yes and then we got
0:45
razz cass here as well and i want to
0:48
talk about y'all ty a little deeper all
0:50
right and then and talk to razz too
0:52
about his lens and the poetess who is
0:54
someone who's been documenting a lot of
0:56
hip-hop history in general but
0:58
especially west coast history and then
1:01
we got a a east coast historian icon
1:04
first rapper signed the motown records
1:06
original member of the track masters
1:08
production team responsible for the
1:10
likes of nas ludacris uh working with
1:13
everybody from destiny's child to will
1:16
smith
1:17
um
1:19
50 cent you know being in the studio
1:21
with 50 early on and teaching uh you
1:23
know giving him you know insight on how
1:25
to write the strongest hooks
1:27
that made him famous for the songs that
1:29
he wrote that created one of the biggest
1:32
albums of all time get rich or die
1:34
trying i remember that era you know 50
1:37
cent mania was big i had a chance to do
1:39
a lot of his early interviews and and
1:42
just really witnessed the intelligence
1:43
that came from that young man but i want
1:45
to take us back to
1:46
snoop dogg
1:47
buying death row and then
1:50
where we left off um we were talking
1:53
about how dr dre too
1:55
um i wanted to go back when you dr dre
1:57
gave you battle cat a lot of
2:00
jewels on how to produce you know his dj
2:03
equipment uh his mix board you know
2:06
giving you uh principles on how to work
2:08
in the studio
2:10
um while he was forming nwa
2:13
and so
2:15
in la the first time i saw nwa
2:19
was matter of fact one of the first
2:21
concerts i ever went to was at the
2:23
oakland coliseum
2:25
and i want to say
2:28
it was either
2:29
i want to say rock kim was performing
2:33
um
2:34
too short was opening up and that was
2:37
huge for us
2:39
at the oakland coliseum
2:41
and i remember this because a friend of
2:43
mine al skee who introduced me to king
2:46
tech
2:47
um he and i ran track together growing
2:50
up as kids al ski and i so we ran track
2:52
from i met him at seven years of age
2:55
and so as we started getting older and
2:57
you guys would be able to relate to this
2:59
we start facing these crossroads about
3:01
12 11 or 12 where dudes who grew up
3:05
regular dudes and regular households
3:07
started making decisions that took them
3:08
into the streets yes you know
3:11
made them into killers or made them
3:13
whatever hustlers hustlers and
3:16
al took a direction in the hustler
3:18
direction right and he came to us once
3:20
and said hey man y'all want to go to
3:22
this concert and it's um i think it was
3:25
right i want to say rakim i feel like
3:27
either houdini or ll was on this concert
3:30
in this group called nwa
3:33
and we weren't that hip to nwa right and
3:36
we was like okay and we had to give him
3:37
money like 25 dollars a piece so he
3:39
could buy a 75 dollar adidas suit so he
3:42
said if you give me 25 i'll turn it into
3:44
75.
3:47
we could buy adidas suits and go to the
3:48
whole click college the hustle and the
3:50
men see these concerts so i remember
3:52
being in it was the first big concert i
3:54
ever saw and nwa came out and they were
3:58
like
3:59
third to last
4:00
and we didn't understand why who's nwa
4:03
why are they you know performing at this
4:05
point and then we learned that easy e
4:08
has something to do with the promotion
4:10
that
4:11
uh
4:13
back then that smart man he was putting
4:15
himself on bit putting nwa on bills with
4:19
bigger artists so they could get exposed
4:21
to a larger audience
4:23
is what we were told right
4:25
and then um boys in the hood are always
4:28
hard right
4:29
all of a sudden became huge in the bay
4:32
area right but what was happening in the
4:35
exception inception of nwa what was that
4:38
like in l.a did since everybody knew
4:41
each other like the la dream team uncle
4:43
jim's army all these folks were
4:45
interconnected what did people think
4:47
about what dre was doing was dre forming
4:49
at nwa or was it easy it was a
4:51
combination of them both
4:53
you know because y'all seen the movie
4:55
and it's it's basically telling the
4:58
truth about the inspiration of putting
5:00
him as a center
5:02
uh piece to be the face and voice
5:06
of the group
5:07
and uh that was amazing and we never
5:10
seen it coming you know because for
5:12
those who know dre personally you know
5:15
they knew he grew up in the neighborhood
5:17
where it was hard
5:18
and it was just hard for them to see him
5:21
uh
5:22
you know transition from the wrecking
5:24
crew to something hardcore and more
5:27
gritty
5:28
but
5:28
because i got a chance to see him
5:30
personally i knew
5:32
that it was something that
5:35
that was necessary you know when we
5:36
think of the nwa we we think of
5:40
the
5:42
the extension or
5:44
replica of of uh
5:47
i say grand master flash and as fair as
5:49
five you know what i'm saying because
5:51
when you got the record like the message
5:53
and then you got iced tea
5:55
you know who set it off as well before
5:57
like drake said you know against the rap
5:59
really it's him you know he kicked that
6:02
off for us and gave us that voice
6:04
and uh it was amazing that that happened
6:07
so it's just
6:08
the more we got a chance to see them
6:10
perform you know
6:12
at different venues we seen that the
6:14
movement was was sincere and real and
6:17
we got behind it and it was a voice for
6:19
the unsung and unheard of the streets it
6:22
was amazing so it encouraged everyone
6:24
else to get in line and find their
6:27
identity in
6:28
hip-hop and gangsta rap or reality rap
6:31
you know wherever you want to call it
6:32
they were their credibility was
6:34
questioned a lot though yeah it was
6:36
because we're talking about the streets
6:38
yeah you got a lot of language and and
6:40
conversation and stories that really
6:43
belong to the killers and the gang you
6:44
know the gangsters and the hustlers so
6:47
it's like how true is this and why it
6:50
sound why does it sound so convincing
6:53
from the artists who we know that
6:54
haven't lived that life
6:56
so you're right that it was hella you
6:58
know
6:58
questionable
7:00
what was ice cube and wren
7:03
and yellow you know were uh were they
7:06
seen as street guys or were they just
7:08
seen as members of the group it was
7:11
confusing it was a little bit of both
7:13
because you talk about people who don't
7:14
know them personally and then we talk
7:16
about people who do know them so it was
7:18
a challenge to see what was this
7:21
you know thing that they picked up you
7:23
know like is this persona and character
7:25
them personally as well as
7:27
professionally as an artist it was i'm
7:30
pretty sure uh uh egos and
7:33
uh
7:34
or whatnot was flying through this
7:36
through the whole thing
7:38
and i'm pretty sure some found out like
7:40
hey i need to stay in my lane but i just
7:42
love the fact that neither one of uh of
7:45
the artists wave
7:46
their
7:47
their their true identity and voice in
7:51
the art part the artistry aspect of it
7:53
you know they stay true to it but then
7:55
you've seen a few things where
7:57
unfortunately uh
7:59
like a ruthless
8:01
uh member you know above the law you
8:03
know
8:04
had their thing with with with uh with
8:07
cube
8:08
and that whole thing and i'm glad that
8:09
got worked out what was that you see
8:11
those type of stories yeah you don't
8:14
really know you just saw headlines and
8:16
magazines but you were there what was
8:18
that no no i wasn't there
8:20
you know and i would have you bring that
8:22
man you know uh 187 hutch to the table
8:25
and he'll tell you okay from his eye
8:28
but uh it was amazing to see how it
8:30
turned out later within the years the
8:32
same way with quicken and uh
8:35
and mca and it's pictures of the day
8:38
that i've seen them come together and
8:39
respect each other it was amazing i
8:41
think it was that snoopy's birthday
8:42
years ago it's a picture with all of us
8:44
together and it was amazing to see them
8:47
work their thing out
8:50
it's just a misunderstanding because we
8:51
grew up from different barrels of the
8:53
neighborhood you know and then when you
8:54
catch a guy one on one you really see
8:56
what it is without your homies
8:58
and uh that's a different conversation
9:00
where you got to really be who you who
9:02
you was before rap you got to really be
9:05
that person so once you show that that
9:07
oh okay this is really me this is what
9:08
i'm about i grew up i had different
9:11
folks in my ears you know i'm saying
9:13
about the perception or
9:15
perspective from where you come from
9:17
where i come from and it just got better
9:20
better later and it was amazing seeing
9:22
uh eight and and quick in the same room
9:25
producing with chill and you know within
9:27
the last 10 years i've been seeing and
9:29
it's just been amazing you know they put
9:30
aside their personal
9:32
uh
9:33
uh situation and became men and that's
9:36
that's what it's about in hip-hop you
9:37
know
9:38
um
9:39
i just wanted to add one thing about it
9:42
uh so so we
9:44
anything prior to probably about 2003
9:47
uh required some degree of of
9:49
accountability believability because
9:52
to even get heard you had it it was
9:55
local you had you know no there wasn't
9:57
an internet to where you could troll
9:59
your way into
10:00
fame you had to like
10:02
who's that dude then people in the
10:04
neighborhood like who that dude so i
10:07
think one of the biggest things
10:09
um
10:10
especially with west coast hip-hop uh
10:13
is
10:15
no matter what you do is always somebody
10:17
that knew you before you was whatever i
10:20
think that was always one of our biggest
10:21
problems as people was like well i would
10:23
do him in the seventh grade he wasn't
10:24
shooting in like come on bro like people
10:27
make the you know transition and change
10:29
and when you were saying like around the
10:31
12 and 13s or whatever it's like bro you
10:33
know that that part of it is very
10:35
interesting to me
10:37
just collectively about the west coast
10:38
and
10:39
i thought it needed to be said that
10:42
we know for a fact that
10:43
most of the biggest killers are too busy
10:46
selling dope and killing then going to
10:47
the studio yeah so they weren't usually
10:49
the best rappers or or the best
10:51
messengers oh yeah he goes down now from
10:54
the artist yeah yeah
10:56
they weren't the best messengers exactly
10:58
we were the poets the the the what the
11:01
bard you know i'm saying the the the
11:04
that even in africa the storyteller they
11:06
didn't go through all the stuff yeah the
11:07
griots you know what i'm saying so
11:08
that's kind of what even as an emcee
11:11
i believe that we have we were required
11:13
to have some degree of responsibility to
11:15
be real about you know what what we were
11:18
dealing with yeah but not to have done
11:20
it all that some of this was showcasing
11:23
the lifestyles and the in the journeys
11:26
that we were watching it's crazy that
11:27
you said it because
11:29
the credibility came later i'm glad you
11:31
you uh intervened with that
11:33
uh
11:34
real gang bangers start showing up with
11:36
the artists right and that and that
11:38
credibility really made it official you
11:41
know what i'm saying but
11:42
you know we had to separate that too
11:44
because you know it's always some some
11:46
rotten apples that that don't understand
11:49
the business and the fact that we know
11:51
our worth in the industry especially
11:53
dealing with corporate america we didn't
11:55
want
11:56
uh it to be a liability we wanted to be
11:58
an asset to this to this thing so we had
12:01
we we went through some hardships quick
12:03
went through some things everyone went
12:04
through some things with their
12:05
neighborhoods
12:07
you know
12:08
let me let me ask you this um that that
12:10
brings up poc to me like the way i the
12:13
way i knew park um
12:16
from from the town
12:17
digital underground uh um
12:20
i'll tell y'all a little story
12:21
uh recipe shock
12:27
that's crazy you say that okay uh and
12:30
ryze i'm going to get you a little
12:30
closer on the mic when you talk okay
12:32
shock g and king tech met because shaq g
12:34
used to work at this music store in the
12:36
bay uh when he moved to the bay and
12:38
shock g man i was a connector what was
12:41
the name of that story i'm trying to
12:42
think it would it will come yeah yeah
12:45
okay that's funny
12:46
it wasn't leopold it was uh
12:49
it wasn't a me but it wasn't a record
12:50
store it was a musical they sold
12:53
music leopold
12:54
amoeba were both record stores and then
12:56
um
12:57
t yuzi's and uh yeah
13:00
yeah yeah i know where y'all going
13:02
joe's music uh creative music um that he
13:06
he was selling equipment and tech was in
13:08
the store looking for equipment and
13:10
he was kind of like what you want this
13:12
for you know and tech was like well i
13:14
got a group i got a rapper
13:16
and he was like well i got a rapper your
13:17
rap is not better than my rapper you
13:19
know what i don't know
13:21
that's how shock g in tech meant and so
13:23
he was like yo we're swaying attack
13:24
flying down we just called flying
13:26
average force at that time and it's like
13:27
well i got a group called digital
13:28
underground boom boom boom so he called
13:30
i remember telling me i met this dude
13:32
man he's really cool man he wants to
13:33
meet with us
13:34
i said what is what is it about so we
13:36
went and met with shock g somewhere near
13:38
lake merit and he already had an
13:40
apartment near lake merritt though so if
13:42
you lived in oakland you lived in lake
13:44
merit i was like living
13:46
you know yeah like uh what you call that
13:48
uh
13:49
arena del rey or something like you have
13:51
some you have some money
13:53
and shock g wanted king tech to go on
13:55
tour with them and be they tour dj this
13:57
was before
13:58
i think fuse or whoever became the tour
14:01
dj and jim yeah it's crazy right and
14:04
tech was like well we got a group you
14:06
know what about my mc
14:09
shock was at that time collecting mcs
14:12
you know severe rising
14:18
uh
14:19
uh money beer tell you this story too
14:21
right you know tupac
14:23
they were um all
14:25
managed by um
14:27
adrian adrian and right and so
14:30
i knew park from that we ended up
14:32
opening up for digital underground a
14:34
couple of times in oakland
14:36
and and then layla steinberg who started
14:39
managing tupac right was very
14:41
instrumental in a
14:43
prison system you know going in there
14:45
and just dealing with folks who were
14:46
behind bars and then back then she was
14:48
instrumental in going through high
14:49
school campuses and just bringing
14:52
artists to talk to the kids so
14:55
she would take part in me to go to
14:57
different high school campuses uh high
14:59
school campuses and we would talk to
15:01
kids right and then park had a uh uh
15:04
apartment uh by lake merritt and i
15:06
remember hanging out with park and being
15:08
at his apartment money be all these
15:10
different people and poc would hold
15:12
court and
15:13
talk about protecting black women
15:16
you know financial literacy but then he
15:18
was also an actor he was wow you know
15:21
get into character and do all these
15:22
different things you know gemini right
15:25
gemini gemini stuff yeah
15:27
so we all knew he did juice and he
15:29
became very successful and then all
15:31
these other things started coming into
15:33
his life you know he had the incident
15:35
and um in marin where some kid got lost
15:38
his life at a concert and all these
15:39
different things that didn't go well for
15:41
him and then when he went to jail and
15:43
you know he got you know accused of um
15:46
i believe rape or whatever like
15:48
sometimes inside of me and then he went
15:49
to death row
15:50
man that's crazy okay uh i'm i'm
15:53
obviously i'm summer right yeah yeah
15:55
he's going there then he went to death
15:56
row
15:57
and he's standing next to suge and it
16:00
just feel like he's fully embracing
16:03
what we knew as gang culture right yes
16:06
at that time what was
16:09
what do you think the perception was of
16:10
him in l.a uh was he
16:13
you know what did did his legitimacy in
16:16
that get questioned or because he was
16:18
such a revolutionary
16:21
he was embraced like we embraced them in
16:22
the bay
16:23
i don't know the actual
16:26
uh
16:27
story of that but from what i got out of
16:29
it especially dealing with thug life you
16:31
know
16:32
a couple of the members of from folies
16:35
rated you know reddit r and my boys you
16:38
know so
16:39
uh
16:41
you know that that rebellious
16:44
uh
16:45
victorious
16:46
you know leadership that he had you know
16:48
that all it was it's the same body
16:51
language of
16:52
a gang member or someone who really
16:54
banging and they took you know liking to
16:57
that
16:58
and so i'm pretty sure it was
17:00
challenging moments but
17:02
uh
17:03
he earned their respect for them to
17:05
coexist with them you know even from the
17:08
music scene bobcat produced them as well
17:11
he came out to photos so it was a lot of
17:14
uh things
17:15
key points that co-signed his
17:18
his walk in his get down
17:20
and uh
17:22
it's crazy that we're speaking about
17:23
this because i had a
17:25
uh unique
17:26
run-in with him as well before he went
17:29
to death row and i got a chance to see
17:31
him face to face up close
17:33
myself
17:34
and uh
17:36
his spirit is strong man he's a warrior
17:39
and uh he'll look you in your eye and
17:41
size you up and everything to make sure
17:43
that you know you know he's looking at
17:44
what he what he what he need to see that
17:47
that is cool for him you know it's no
17:49
disrespect it's just where he come from
17:51
man the hearts of men he has that
17:54
warrior spirit where he's he's just he
17:57
just want to see who you are what you're
17:58
made of and if there's anything worth
18:00
the while that he feel that
18:02
that that should be a part of him he he
18:05
you would have a special moment with i
18:06
did a couple of times i did i get a
18:08
round remix yeah and i did temptation
18:11
remix uh
18:12
the temptation remix came
18:14
from him sitting down and he wrote a
18:16
letter to interscope
18:18
to me to do a remix and uh
18:20
i blessed him with and he blessed me it
18:22
was a it's a magic moment what was your
18:24
interaction like like when you would did
18:26
you get a chance to sit and talk with
18:28
him how much you know it's funny you
18:29
know he was upset at this you know
18:31
because he got this favorite studio he
18:33
likes to record out of
18:36
uh i want to say enterprise enterprise
18:38
in north hollywood
18:41
uh not too uh right next door to where
18:43
nymphs studio used to be back in the day
18:45
so
18:46
um
18:49
i i got a call from the front desk
18:53
and i can hear why they holding the
18:55
monitor
18:56
button down to talk to me i can hear
18:58
pocket in the background talking mad
19:00
[ __ ] like who the [ __ ] is this battle
19:02
cat
19:03
you know this is the third week in this
19:04
[ __ ] you know i'm saying you
19:06
know he ain't got no music with me you
19:08
know i'm saying you know i want to see
19:09
who the [ __ ] it is that got my favorite
19:11
room on like i'm here to do my [ __ ]
19:14
so uh at the time still you know i was
19:16
hario had me
19:18
security you know up you know because i
19:20
was
19:21
i was a blessing and still is to him and
19:23
he wanted to protect anything that he
19:25
had
19:26
had within with him in the makings of
19:28
this this this project we was doing you
19:30
know we was getting money and everything
19:32
was having the cars out there benzes
19:34
everything so
19:35
we making things happen and then uh just
19:38
my my two uh security came to the uh
19:42
lounge and met him
19:44
and uh
19:45
they made sure he was silent in 100 and
19:48
he just he just ain't hurting me that
19:50
way you know like damn who is he to be
19:52
having all this already bodyguard so he
19:54
came to the room
19:56
came with his boy stretched
19:58
and uh
20:00
he coming down
20:02
and uh to meet me and then he looked and
20:04
he like i said that the sizing up part
20:06
he looked me up and down but he had a
20:08
smile on his face so i'm glad he did
20:10
because you know me i'm a stand-up guy
20:12
and i ain't having not come out the
20:14
neighborhood too where we ain't playing
20:15
that you know you're demeaning you and
20:17
your eye contact it's got to be it's got
20:20
to feel like an invitation
20:22
more than the confrontation so
20:24
and uh we hugged each other and he said
20:26
man let me hear something
20:28
what you working on so i'm doing cam i
20:30
was working on cam's album
20:32
and a whole bunch of stuff that's close
20:34
yeah yeah voice coach cam smooth seven
20:37
you know who was signed the motown mad
20:38
sounds i was working on his joint
20:41
and uh and yo-yo album at the same time
20:43
doing three records i got two studios
20:45
booked two of them at the same time like
20:47
playing pool table the whole night y'all
20:49
we having fun but just to sum it up man
20:51
you know he we uh we hooked up
20:55
and uh something didn't happen and then
20:58
uh i got a call from uh howard johnson
21:00
the legendary singing who's singing so
21:02
fine him and john mcclane gave me that
21:04
first opportunity to do
21:05
i get around remix which is a
21:08
chuck g's contribution and i was very
21:09
intimidated to be a part of that because
21:11
it was already a hit you know what what
21:13
can i add to it
21:14
and then it happened and then when he
21:17
had to sit down and do some time
21:19
uh he gave me the second opportunity and
21:21
history was made so god blessed tupac
21:23
thank you brother wow i was gonna say i
21:26
think tupac was widely accepted because
21:29
he was a great articulator of
21:33
la life bay life so i think a lot of
21:36
people gravitated toward pot because
21:40
he was one of the
21:42
great
21:43
um or raiders
21:45
of
21:46
our time yeah
21:48
just to add on to that i think so too i
21:50
think did you ever meet him yeah yeah
21:53
talk about that's a new one for me yeah
21:55
yeah quite a few things um
22:01
the first people to take me under their
22:02
wings before i even meet you guys no
22:05
after i meet you guys but the second
22:06
people is
22:08
mine in them is shot money being shot
22:10
underground yeah who pulls me in and
22:11
then
22:12
sophia was park's roommate okay and then
22:15
on the flip side because of this man and
22:18
because
22:19
we ran we ran in in that neighborhood on
22:22
crenshaw you mean they lived together
22:24
they couldn't they were roommates
22:26
imagine how arrogant
22:28
think about how arrogant
22:31
and so pretty boy sofia buff pretty boy
22:34
and a pretty boy tupac
22:37
both got peers and they knows
22:40
so imagine so there was cats and dogs
22:42
apparently yeah loved each other hating
22:44
each other
22:46
barely yeah so so no i
22:48
on both sides so
22:50
through cat i knew thug life so so i
22:53
would see
22:54
you know i saw him a couple of times
22:56
then
22:57
and then ironically when machiavelli
22:59
came out you know because they you know
23:02
they had to get the bad news from from
23:04
from
23:05
outlaws that were really more so thug
23:07
like like yo you know
23:10
you know talks you know it's an exhibit
23:12
you know i'm saying so before they even
23:15
come out so i get told and then i kind
23:17
of threw myself in the middle of that
23:18
like hey man
23:20
it's not he wasn't disempowered it was
23:22
the the uh
23:24
what was that about pox uh
23:27
okay so our demos exhibits demo was
23:30
paparazzi yeah it's a shame [ __ ] in
23:32
the rap game only for the money in the
23:33
fame yeah so
23:35
that's a year later that his album and
23:37
video come out in the meantime within
23:40
two three months of that parked and put
23:42
out how do you want it i don't want to
23:44
bring the money all i want the money
23:46
[ __ ] the f or what whatever something i
23:48
forgot what the line was but it sounded
23:50
like exhibit was answering him it did it
23:53
was just ironic bad timing
23:56
and uh so he he came after he was
23:58
shooting at exhibit he's shooting that
23:59
mob deep uh he was shooting at chino xl
24:03
i'm on the record with chino xl where
24:05
you say the [ __ ] up line
24:07
so i basically i'm i'm preparing to get
24:09
shot too i'm like it's oh man i'm [ __ ]
24:12
up both ways i'm in the middle of this
24:14
[ __ ] exhibit [ __ ] and i'm on the song
24:16
with chino so i'm already knowing i'm
24:18
gonna get this but the blessing is
24:20
i was family and i think he already knew
24:22
that i you know i didn't condone the
24:25
chino line or whatever so yeah he never
24:27
he never shot at me and then i saw him
24:30
uh
24:32
randomly we carson has never had a good
24:34
club except for like santa rico hall
24:36
randomly
24:37
oh yeah no no
24:40
that's kind of dope though yeah randomly
24:48
i um carson had a club we had this kind
24:51
of grown sexy pointy shoe it was
24:54
supposed to be the car because we never
24:55
have clubs like we don't have nothing in
24:57
carson like to socialize or whatever um
25:00
and they had this carson club
25:03
and i pulled up
25:05
uh which was so weird because it was him
25:08
and suga and a bitly and i'm just like
25:10
and i pull up next to them and like yo
25:12
what up and i'm like what up we chopped
25:14
it for a hot minute and then they left
25:16
because they was getting in the car and
25:17
i was pulling up
25:18
and i was like what are you doing and
25:20
across the street from the carson ball
25:21
like why are you here yeah like you're a
25:24
tupac and shook night and it has got to
25:26
be better things to do on a saturday
25:28
night than thing by the carson mall bro
25:31
super random but no he always showed
25:33
love man i think
25:34
i personally feel like
25:37
as my ear i was a younger kid with my
25:39
ear to the street watching this dude do
25:41
that i knew had so much love
25:44
on both sides from from my [ __ ] homeboys
25:46
over here and from my bay area homies
25:48
over here
25:49
i felt like
25:51
nobody told him the thing that he should
25:53
have been told and i've told other
25:55
artists i'm gonna mention them but
25:57
i always said look bro if you're not
25:59
born here
26:00
and you not and you're not
26:02
if you 17 or over don't step into a gang
26:05
it's too late yeah those are decisions
26:07
that we make at 12 13 14 15 16. so
26:11
i would have told poc
26:13
you could be down with whoever you down
26:16
with but you don't have to step in
26:17
because it's kind of too late you know
26:19
what i'm saying but i just kind of felt
26:21
like park
26:23
had made a decision i don't know him
26:26
so weird but i just felt like
26:28
after he he wasn't going back to prison
26:30
is kind of what i saw
26:32
his whole mind was being like i'm gonna
26:33
ride this [ __ ] out
26:35
and i'm gonna go full
26:37
100 percent ride on whoever whoever i
26:39
feel wrong to me
26:41
and so i'm enjoying this [ __ ] because
26:44
this is the this is the machine this is
26:46
the money that got me out of my
26:47
situation this the team and it's the
26:49
side and it seemed like he was loyal to
26:51
that team and wrote it all the way out
26:53
uh it was never expected
26:55
to
26:56
the end game yeah he no i think he did i
26:59
think he knew he was already like def
27:01
calling i'm going i think he wanted to
27:03
ride that out because he was catching
27:05
more cases man the odds are was that
27:07
he's going to
27:08
have to go back and some people it just
27:11
is yeah
27:12
yeah you just [ __ ] me up with that
27:13
because he still was on bail yeah he was
27:15
on battle
27:17
yeah and he popping he you know shooting
27:19
police like you know he got away with a
27:21
couple but you know i just felt like he
27:23
wrote it out and and i would have just
27:26
as much as i know he had you know love
27:29
for me
27:30
uh just as an artist some little dude
27:32
that was down with you know money b or
27:34
whatever you know whatever whatever i
27:36
was
27:37
um
27:38
i sometimes
27:41
if you don't have somebody around you to
27:43
to give you because half the time a lot
27:45
of people keep yes men around and yes
27:47
men will yes you to your death
27:49
it's death by a thousand cuts and
27:52
and i
27:53
the easiest thing that somebody could
27:55
have told him was
27:57
you know
27:58
i mean the same things he was saying
28:00
life goes on don't join a gang period
28:02
you don't join no gang when you already
28:04
own
28:05
you don't join the gang if you're
28:06
already 18. and and people that don't
28:08
know that come here and get turned out
28:10
yeah and then they end up laid out bro i
28:12
don't watch a lot of people come out
28:13
here and think it's sweet or think it's
28:15
just like the
28:16
tv you know people get marked out here
28:18
and slumped way like for way less are
28:21
you coming out here you look like meat
28:23
and food and opportunities these [ __ ]
28:25
hungry out here man you know it's i
28:27
always i used to tell this to new
28:29
yorkers
28:30
you could keep confusing what your
28:32
project looks like to
28:34
what a killer is um what do you know
28:37
what i'm saying so they think that the
28:39
more [ __ ] up your block look
28:43
like we [ __ ] because it's sunshine and
28:45
palm trees yeah and i used to have to
28:47
tell
28:47
my brothers like bro you come out here
28:49
and keep playing with these [ __ ] [ __ ]
28:51
don't let the sunshine and the pretty
28:53
[ __ ] [ __ ] will send a [ __ ] at you
28:55
like [ __ ] la has his own we invented
28:57
the drive-by we've different kinds of
28:58
things in high places and locally that's
29:00
what's so cool and so so and you know a
29:03
lot a lot of that was just i just wish i
29:05
could have you know influence
29:08
yeah as a human being to another human
29:10
being you know just to say like bro
29:13
don't do that like you
29:15
don't go to don't join a gang just you
29:17
know i i
29:19
i just always like i internalize it
29:21
because i've watched a lot of people
29:22
come to my city you know new york is a
29:24
hard-ass city to live in it'll look
29:27
visibly hard but it's dope you know we
29:29
rock and roll and breathe it that's my
29:31
second home i love the city
29:33
[ __ ] [ __ ] feel like i am a new york
29:36
[ __ ] really more than an ally [ __ ] but
29:38
you know this one is prettier l.a is
29:39
like the venus fly trap yeah and you
29:41
know this is the you know our sister
29:43
city the two biggest cities in the
29:45
country and and we're competitive but
29:48
this one looks pretty and then it'll
29:49
trick [ __ ] and he gets [ __ ] wiped
29:51
out
29:52
you
29:58
yeah i want to i want to go back a
30:00
little bit um you know the history of
30:03
hip-hop radio
30:04
on the west coast is not really told you
30:07
have a very large staple in it and with
30:09
kde well um
30:11
i'm told and from a little research i've
30:13
done there's another station that was
30:15
smaller in oxnard california i know
30:18
nothing about it maybe maybe
30:20
sir yeah yeah maybe my sister can speak
30:22
on that because she's uh i don't
30:25
remember that either i just always knew
30:28
that k-day was the rave
30:30
because all that greg mack and even russ
30:33
parr and
30:35
the djs that were doing it there but
30:39
um also
30:40
roger clayton had a lot to do with the
30:43
radio and i remember
30:47
when i interviewed
30:49
dmc from run dmc
30:52
he talked about how um
30:55
roger clayton had this these big uncle
30:58
jam army events
31:00
and
31:01
the label bought run dmc out here west
31:04
coast really was not that familiar with
31:06
run dmc at the time right
31:09
but when they came out here kday played
31:11
their music and they performed at
31:14
the uncle james army function which um
31:18
dmc will tell you we weren't the draw
31:21
they already had a sold out
31:24
crowd they didn't need run dmc to come
31:27
right to sell any tickets
31:29
but they said that the next day they
31:32
sold over 12 000
31:35
copies 12 uh 12 inches wow
31:38
and so
31:40
a lot of people don't know that k day
31:42
broke a lot of that music because a lot
31:45
of the radio stations around the country
31:47
was not playing rap music or hip-hop or
31:50
whatever facts so um i i have to really
31:53
give my hats off to
31:56
roger clayton
31:58
and greg mack because they really kind
32:00
of bridged
32:02
um the east and west coast um in terms
32:06
of
32:06
breaking music right bringing the uh
32:10
yeah let's talk about the clubs a little
32:12
bit i know carolina west was a club and
32:14
picasa and disco daddy and those let's
32:17
talk about some of the clubs hollywood
32:19
live
32:21
um i just remember the casa carolina
32:24
west and then
32:25
this club was on its way out with which
32:27
was osco's which is where they
32:30
did uh was was radiotron radio track
32:33
radio tron was one of the popular that
32:36
would be actually
32:38
yeah that was like the you know i don't
32:40
know what was in manhattan yeah what was
32:43
manhattan spot for hip-hop and
32:45
breakdancing what was they spot um we
32:48
had in the grill which was downtown on
32:50
the east side in the village uh we had
32:52
the roxy that came later the rocks
32:54
there's
32:59
we also had a tea connection which
33:01
preceded both of them that grand master
33:03
flash used to perform there and the
33:04
furious five and also um cool herx dj of
33:08
the original dj clark kent was the house
33:10
dj for t connection and a lot of those
33:13
tapes came out here from people that
33:15
joined the armed forces
33:17
oh uh there's another one i i think you
33:20
yes one more uh it's gonna come it's
33:22
gonna count
33:36
somebody
33:37
in l.a was it the club usa the world or
33:40
something we had we had the world we had
33:42
hollywood hollywood uh uh hollywood live
33:45
was it hollywood live
33:58
the reality not reality but the uh like
34:01
a johnny carson who was there that took
34:02
that over jimmy kimmel jimmy yeah
34:16
one of my most memorable nights at water
34:19
the bush was when search came right
34:23
so search was there and an emcee or
34:26
somebody tried to challenge search and
34:28
he killed it i was like i had to take my
34:32
house off to search that night cause he
34:34
hung with the best of them yes before
34:36
the vanilla ice right yeah yeah i i told
34:39
just the little back story i was 13
34:42
and i would go because kalani and me and
34:45
dags and all those so i was 13 trying to
34:46
act like i was 15. i had my homeboy eric
34:49
davis's fake id and we would go to funk
34:52
jungle
34:53
um and but i was too stupid because i
34:56
was drunk off a 40 ounce that i had
34:57
probably stolen and then
35:00
and so it was hit or miss like two out
35:02
of every three times they'd be like this
35:04
ain't you kid and then they'd be like
35:06
well what's the address i couldn't
35:08
remember nothing i was stupid so we'd
35:09
sneak in but that was the funk jungle is
35:12
what i just remember the culture iced
35:14
tea there everlast
35:16
uh it was
35:17
when hip to me
35:19
it was like hip hop
35:22
it people hadn't separated there wasn't
35:24
like gangster rap and y'all back taking
35:27
over at that time
35:41
um i saw
35:42
the first time i saw it jeff got a shout
35:44
about shout out today
35:47
the first time i saw nwa perform was at
35:50
the casa yes that was and i remember
35:53
slick rick and dougie fresh also
35:55
performed that same night that same
35:57
night that's crazy yeah cat what was the
36:00
club that you would
36:02
sneak into or go to prior to djing like
36:05
at the beginning of djing like watching
36:07
going
36:08
it's uncle james army because they were
36:10
there they was and still is to me in my
36:13
heart you know like i said they all they
36:15
was the grandmaster flash they was the
36:17
cool hurts the red alerts of our or
36:20
african bimbada of our of our of our
36:23
coast
36:24
and um it was amazing man seeing
36:28
uh bobcat at the age of 15 16 not old
36:31
enough to get into clubs but because of
36:33
his skill set and reputation from the
36:35
streets to
36:36
to uh to these club scenes you know he
36:39
he was a special guy that got got in and
36:42
did some crazy things that really
36:45
changed the narrative and opportunity
36:47
for dj's young to be inspired and uh and
36:51
be somebody you know he really paved the
36:53
way for a lot of young djs he was the
36:56
youngest that was special to the to the
36:58
og's like uh
37:00
uh
37:01
dr dre and an egyptian lover and rabie
37:04
and prince and the rest of the crew you
37:06
know all the uncle jam army members
37:08
sydney thomas uh dj reds you know just
37:11
to name a few that i knew
37:13
who was the big brothers or be our
37:15
forefathers of the get down uh even uh
37:18
edward edwin from music people who
37:20
provided the system for all these
37:23
moments that we're talking about i still
37:25
get down with these guys him and lonzo
37:26
they played a major role
37:29
in uh and mentoring us and showing us
37:32
how this thing goes from disco to hip
37:35
hop all the way up you know
37:37
wow this is
37:38
so i you know it's interesting like when
37:40
you mention these clubs this is when me
37:42
and tech was sneaking down in l.a and
37:44
just
37:45
catching vibes like from the bay from
37:47
the bay right and uh i used to see
37:49
divine styler and all these different i
37:51
used to see ice-t out at clubs and stuff
37:53
and and just be blown away
37:56
and i think that was really instrumental
37:58
in how we developed our show to be so
38:01
open-armed to every region because you
38:04
got so much gain from
38:06
every region and then the
38:10
poet has brought up the parallels that
38:12
would be happening in different places
38:13
so while these things are happening
38:15
there is stuff happening in the bay you
38:17
know yeah brothers sweet jimmies or
38:19
jeffries all these you know
38:21
all these different clubs that we we
38:23
start throwing a club called the jungle
38:25
and i got that i kind of bit that from
38:27
la vibe really honest with you do you
38:29
remember ever hearing being able to hear
38:32
k day from the bay yo i don't know how
38:35
but yeah we have to because it was what
38:37
was something sick what's the 15th
38:40
yeah
38:41
am
38:42
and now you have a transistor radio and
38:44
somehow that signal would bounce
38:46
all the way up to the bay so we had
38:50
k pool
38:52
at that time
38:54
with marcus clements um um we
38:58
had uh uh what is the one davey d worked
39:02
on okay uh cal x was it klx uh we had
39:05
that as well we had uh we had a kzsu
39:08
stanford we had a kdia is what we had in
39:11
the bay too that's where my dad
39:18
my dad worked at ksol in the 60s with
39:21
sly stone
39:23
before sly stone became a superstar and
39:26
then he was at kdia and then he moved
39:30
here and was on kgf challenge
39:35
and uh so yeah i was born in radio so
39:38
yeah so all of those things were
39:40
happening and mike that but this is why
39:43
this history is so important because i
39:46
haven't even we haven't really been see
39:47
now we're starting to connect
39:49
northern cali right to southern
39:52
california southern yeah we even went to
39:53
central right you know because that's a
39:56
whole nother history that was happening
39:58
where where planet asia is from yeah you
40:00
know what i mean it's fresno and all
40:02
that and he brought up oxnard yeah
40:04
because oxnard had anderson pakistan
40:07
anderson pakistan
40:11
all those different mc's they got dope
40:13
mc's that's not from oxnard razz i
40:15
always wanted to know from you one
40:17
reason why i love you and we always
40:18
supported you is because
40:21
um
40:22
when you when your star was rising i
40:24
always felt like you was always catching
40:26
a bad rap
40:30
[ __ ] yo razz used to call us
40:32
yeah man i just went you know i just
40:34
this just happened i was like what the
40:35
[ __ ]
40:37
i mean one time you called me and
40:38
something happened and i was like yo i
40:40
got off the phone with tech and tech was
40:42
like well what happened this time i said
40:43
dude something always happens with them
40:46
how did you not get disenchanted
40:47
especially when priority records
40:49
happened
40:50
i picked them you know at the end of the
40:52
day is um
40:56
what what i can truly say is
41:00
i got out of this what i wanted
41:02
initially so i wanted a vinyl or tape
41:05
with my voice on it my face to give it
41:08
to my mother she believed in my dream
41:10
when
41:11
other people said
41:13
you
41:14
you know be a regular person go do that
41:16
regular job have your regular life
41:18
and then i wanted uh
41:21
the people who i looked up to so
41:24
dj battle cat nas tupac
41:27
big ale rock cam carrots want to say kid
41:30
you're kind of dope you you're coming
41:31
along you could be like us one day i
41:33
just that was my
41:35
dream
41:36
um
41:37
i wasn't dreaming some people get into
41:39
this like i'm gonna be a million dollars
41:40
don't be a superstar and i did not focus
41:42
on those things i promise in my heart of
41:44
hearts
41:45
i never
41:47
i figured i would be okay and i'd make
41:49
you know i'd rock i'd get some bread but
41:52
i wanted i love this crap to change my
41:54
life rakim said i'm god and i was like
41:56
i grew up catholic i'm like [ __ ] you
41:58
going to hell but like but the record
42:00
was so hard i would i like i thought it
42:03
was from new york [ __ ] like i'm gone
42:05
like g.o.l i'm trying to make excuses
42:07
for this [ __ ]
42:09
you know and that and now i got
42:10
knowledge itself i'm like i'm god [ __ ]
42:13
you know this [ __ ] changed my belief
42:16
system like made me question everything
42:19
helped me change i wrote nature to
42:20
threat and they helped me change other
42:22
people's belief systems too are you an
42:23
avid reader
42:25
uh not as much as i would like to now
42:27
i'm not where did you get all your
42:28
knowledge i was i mean i researched i
42:30
went to school for it i went to college
42:31
i went to university all that took uh
42:33
cultural anthropology physical
42:34
anthropology see people don't know that
42:37
you know linguistics yeah it's not your
42:38
typical yeah i'm not judging you yeah
42:40
because you'd be spending something
42:42
yeah
42:57
it just knee goose right
42:58
the combination right
43:00
right there right the goose what's up
43:02
the goose right how many labels
43:05
for me no i'm one just that probably one
43:08
plantation yeah they just kept changing
43:09
tonight
43:10
yeah so it was party and then uh
43:13
the owner around two thousand right and
43:15
brian he sold half then he sold the
43:17
other half he was the figurehead they
43:19
got rid of him then we went straight to
43:21
capital they only kept a couple of us
43:23
they only kept me and snoop
43:25
yeah you went capital party you're right
43:28
and the whole thing was you know i got
43:30
this whole
43:31
pep talk about
43:33
we made some mistakes now we get it
43:36
snoop will be you know he'll be you know
43:38
shaq and you get to be the kobe i'm like
43:39
alright man you know whatever and then
43:41
they you know mess that up they merged
43:43
us it was like me
43:45
it was like it was like five of us
43:47
like black because capital didn't care
43:49
about you know urban music it's just not
43:51
their interest they get a lot of money
43:53
from the beatles every year they put out
43:55
a oh remastered we found paul mccartney
43:58
farting then we put that on there and
43:59
they'll sell a billion of them make a
44:01
lot of money so they just didn't care
44:02
about
44:03
our culture our people and the music and
44:05
it's always reflected since then faith
44:07
evans yeah like once we merged it was
44:09
like like dilated people it was like
44:10
only four or five of us there and they
44:12
just
44:13
yeah we both been signed to some
44:14
historic [ __ ] labels i would sign the
44:16
madonna right exactly
44:18
we auditioned don't you remember
44:29
[Music]
44:33
i was label mates with them
45:02
you know what
45:04
it was a combination of signing dan and
45:06
ding ding ding haven't put nothing out
45:08
since 1986 and uh harry old took took
45:11
him we both took uh danny dane up on on
45:14
under our wings and they weren't going
45:16
to give him that big kind of deal
45:17
because he haven't you know you know how
45:19
to get him going put out but me i had
45:21
like five
45:23
dominoes you know i had like five
45:24
records in the top 20. you know what i'm
45:26
saying so they was looking at that you
45:28
know i was like oh okay the potential
45:30
the potential oh yeah him he got his
45:32
hands on this to see
45:33
you know what happened and i was
45:35
inspired and thrust into doing my album
45:38
but i really needed to be next to my big
45:40
brother to understand but he was in his
45:42
transition
45:43
to doing his first solo and that was
45:45
when dre was doing the chronic yeah if i
45:47
could have sit with him maybe a year
45:50
or you know earlier or something like
45:52
that i would have had the right
45:54
information on how to come grab you and
45:56
we wouldn't do a compilation
45:59
of artists to showcase who is ready and
46:02
then just just just just shoot them out
46:04
one by one by one but i'll learn later
46:06
how that how that goes and harry you'll
46:08
help me understand that so you're going
46:10
to see something uh happen this year too
46:12
a battle cat is putting out a couple of
46:14
albums come on i want in oh look i got
46:17
to put this out in the universe i want
46:18
in man it's it's something i got that
46:20
here it's amazing amazing things
46:22
happening and um
46:23
the the people that i'm gravitating to
46:26
is g's
46:27
g's and and up-and-coming
46:30
uh artists and musicians who really want
46:32
to you know get they just doing music
46:35
and film as well i'm on both sides i'm
46:37
on the other side of the game with it
46:38
now so
46:39
um and i appreciate this platform and
46:42
all you guys mentioning me and and in
46:44
your own circle and
46:46
place of business is is because amazing
46:49
opportunities has happened by you guys
46:52
speaking in the places you be so i i
46:54
just want to take my hat off to you
46:56
porters
46:58
uh
46:59
any everyone here you know rich you know
47:02
sway it's it's been amazing and have to
47:04
be yeah come on you know what in the
47:06
indirect yeah
47:08
guys do do what you do you know and i
47:10
couldn't wait to and horace just come so
47:12
this is this is perfect this is black
47:14
history it's black history time i know
47:16
rav's got a um babysit
47:19
hilarious two things i thought i was
47:21
free bro y'all
47:30
please let me shout out coast contra
47:32
that's my two twins razzitaj oh and
47:35
there's mention they got bars they got
47:38
balls they got bars and yeah and then
47:40
i'm gonna take the the terrorists as the
47:42
little four-year-old i gotta take him i
47:43
love him yeah and he's keeping you young
47:46
um
47:47
draining me
47:48
you you brought up you and snoop sign at
47:51
the same time last time i talked to
47:53
snoop
47:54
yo it's funny this is how much i rock
47:56
with you this maybe a month ago we were
47:58
talking when he dropped the project on
47:59
down yeah yeah yeah yeah and i was like
48:02
we start talking about doing this thing
48:03
we doing right now like really talking
48:05
about well i told poetess that too
48:06
because i brought her up in the
48:07
conversation too and i said man like we
48:10
need to talk about people like razz cass
48:12
he's like man rascals me and rash used
48:14
to battle
48:16
is that true
48:17
[Music]
48:19
the fact that dog remembers this stuff
48:21
is hilarious
48:23
yeah well
48:25
because i'm
48:27
oh damn this is hilarious the dog knows
48:29
this all right so i'll tell you the real
48:31
story
48:32
i'm from i'm the carson kid
48:35
but i'm going over getting my demos made
48:37
now we got homies
48:39
that that go to my high school
48:42
and my middle school but this is really
48:44
about high school [ __ ] so when i'm in
48:46
high school dogging them out of high
48:47
school but they're popping [ __ ] long
48:49
beach whatever carson and they really
48:51
got to
48:52
compton and they you know what i'm
48:54
saying that ain't
48:55
g thing baby or you know just [ __ ] yeah
48:58
yeah they're still rocking the roxy
49:00
right
49:03
came out so they popular but i'm a
49:06
popular
49:08
little rap [ __ ] myself
49:10
so they came about middle school
49:12
so when he says perfection is perfected
49:14
so i'm gonna make it understood on
49:17
that's all they were older than us but
49:19
they had brothers that were
49:21
in in my grade or around me but you know
49:24
dog and then probably had us by like you
49:25
know all of them and born and all them
49:27
and probably like four years four or
49:29
five years whatever that is so but we're
49:31
like the
49:33
at this time i think i might have been
49:35
in the ninth grade
49:37
and and maybe some of them were in high
49:39
school still but they performed they
49:41
were performing at our middle school all
49:43
kind of [ __ ] um
49:45
and one time
49:47
like one time perfection performed and
49:50
they didn't do good and they blamed the
49:51
school some of the people booed and they
49:53
said i did it
49:55
so perfection said that i made the whole
49:57
hot the whole middle school i'm like how
49:59
the [ __ ] did i you know
50:01
and so so it's always funny so long
50:03
story short
50:05
go through my journey
50:06
we're kind of like
50:08
you know
50:09
the competition like ah you know i'm
50:10
saying we better into them we don't [ __ ]
50:12
with them
50:14
and then the group was called perfection
50:16
yeah yeah yeah
50:17
it was warren snoop warren snoop uh even
50:20
dominating domino here we go here we go
50:26
i've been a factor for a minute but
50:28
they're older than me i figured then i
50:30
one day you know uh 187 comes on monday
50:34
i'm like yo
50:35
that's the [ __ ] you know what i'm
50:36
saying
50:37
they did it like this [ __ ] crazy so i
50:39
just fanned out and really went into my
50:41
support mode because i really am
50:43
genuinely a fan of dope [ __ ] so
50:47
the whole journey goes on i get my own
50:49
record deal i meet snoop dogg the
50:52
perfection guy from way years ago he got
50:55
oh nice to meet you ass cass and then we
50:57
cool and then one day he got drunk he's
50:59
like raising and he called me my
51:01
nickname
51:04
he went into the hole
51:05
in my forehead he was like oh i went old
51:07
school on you huh i was like [ __ ] you
51:09
know me this whole time [ __ ] since i
51:11
was like [ __ ] 13 [ __ ] i was like you
51:14
ain't [ __ ] [ __ ] that's funny so yes
51:16
yeah shouts out man yeah yeah battle
51:19
though we would be battling yeah battle
51:21
them [ __ ] [ __ ] i'll be in long beach
51:22
battling bar [ __ ] out you got to go
51:24
you do did you beat snoop in the battle
51:26
you ain't saying that you ain't going
51:27
that far you know what like honestly i i
51:29
was taking all comers and i i i i was
51:32
yes or no
51:35
look crap
51:36
look i'm trying to get up i'm trying to
51:38
go over there and go work with snoop so
51:39
i would say
51:41
no comment i want to work on these
51:43
records homie [ __ ] that car carson in
51:46
long beach together you know you're in
51:47
trouble
51:49
i'm glad i worked with some of the dope
51:50
lyricists
51:52
uh before they became stars corrupt yeah
51:55
yourself uh i caught snoop later of
51:58
course
51:59
uh
52:00
uh it's just amazing man uh la it's a
52:03
great place to be you know
52:05
i just love the culture and the history
52:07
man it's crazy that's what's up did you
52:09
you in game yeah what about them did did
52:12
y'all ever resolve
52:13
we're not we're not friends we're not
52:15
good no no no no that doesn't matter i
52:18
don't like lose sleep over somebody that
52:21
majority of it is a lie anyway so i
52:23
don't i don't really care okay no i mean
52:25
the scenario is being the lie not him
52:28
this per se being alive right
52:30
[Music]
52:45
documented getting hit me in the back of
52:46
there with a bottle i don't buy about
52:48
that i don't forgive it
52:49
period so you know without over
52:51
promoting that i just don't [ __ ] with
52:53
with that if you box a [ __ ] and break
52:55
your soul that's different yeah doing
52:57
the bit [ __ ] is not i'll never accept
52:59
that that's not okay with me okay all
53:01
right well we we we won't even go
53:03
further today
53:06
[Music]
53:08
now i'm positive i'm a positive person
53:10
about that west coast unity that's all
53:29
we can agree to be separate man i'm all
53:31
about to live and let live brother yeah
53:34
i'm glad you said that that's what the
53:35
encouraging conversation i had with
53:37
snoop dogg
53:38
to do uh let bygones be
53:41
where we wanted to give suge night as
53:43
flowers right because that's amazing for
53:46
all the [ __ ] that them two been through
53:48
i never forget i was working on a record
53:50
with him and chaka khan and he bunked me
53:52
in he said cat you know i just saw
53:54
your boy shook i was like is that right
53:57
he said man the conversation was
53:59
incredible cat and that was like maybe
54:01
five years away before we even did did
54:03
the record
54:04
and uh he was like man we sat at the
54:06
table he had his goons i had my guns and
54:08
we told them we was going to be all
54:09
right we
54:11
they could see us through a glass window
54:13
and seeing that we was all right we
54:14
talked about some some things some heavy
54:16
[ __ ] you know why did you sick this
54:18
person on me while you do that you know
54:19
they had to talk about the ugly [ __ ]
54:21
first and at the end they ended up
54:23
hugging each other and walking on it was
54:24
amazing so
54:26
that's when we see you can see it on
54:27
youtube
54:28
the interview where snoopy talked about
54:30
how he felt about you know suge knight
54:32
and it was some real [ __ ] you know and i
54:34
was a part of witnessing such a moment
54:38
and then later on when he was doing
54:40
doing his album uh i kind of encouraged
54:43
him
54:43
uh i set up a uh insert and took the the
54:46
the interview with him speaking about
54:49
sug
54:50
and we turned it into a song called let
54:52
bygones be bygones and i'm glad we did
54:55
it was inspiring
54:56
uh to do so because you know
54:59
uh he still was in the place with
55:02
in doing things that we couldn't do for
55:04
ourselves
55:05
and how you represent the artist and the
55:07
company and
55:08
and uh getting insight things on how to
55:10
be independent and have ownership and
55:13
publishing and things of that nature and
55:14
making sure we had a fair fair shake
55:16
even though his situation was a wasn't a
55:19
fair handshake but it is to this day see
55:21
how god work
55:22
what what the position that where snoop
55:24
is now you know because he stayed down
55:26
that's something very very rare that
55:29
ever happened so that's another moment
55:31
of black history i want to say smooth
55:33
has had a
55:35
a
55:37
four-leaf clover in his hand
55:40
he is one of the most amazing as my
55:42
label mate just watching dog you know a
55:45
lot of people would not have made it
55:46
through some of the rough things that he
55:48
had to go through you know the murder
55:50
cases your labels you know it's it's the
55:53
animosity yeah you know what i'm saying
55:55
yeah like he he over here
55:56
[Music]
55:57
ain't any hard work to do you know
55:59
because again i i had a very fortunate
56:02
opportunity to be
56:05
i'm not a fly on the wall but kind of
56:06
sort of like these were my label mates
56:09
snoop dogg you know um
56:12
master p
56:13
ice cube like i just got to
56:17
not only watch history ea ski and be a
56:20
part of it yeah you know you know
56:24
dancing
56:25
yeah yeah yeah
56:26
in a great place yeah a little spinning
56:28
on my head [ __ ] you know like having
56:30
these bars and you know
56:32
you know but watching snoop like you
56:34
know like
56:35
to me i just i'm always encouraged it's
56:37
like you know you watch people like like
56:39
bro had he went through some [ __ ] man a
56:41
lot of you know a lot of trials and
56:43
tribulations he's a funny dude you know
56:45
i like that you know he kept saying he
56:47
kept yeah he kept stopping crying is
56:49
really with us just getting down
56:51
having a sense of humor
56:53
is that man but sway man
56:55
what can i say man i got to bring it
56:57
back to you guys man this is so dope
56:59
doing this man oh yeah man come on man
57:01
y'all y'all family man and it's
57:03
interesting we all
57:05
we've all done some historical [ __ ] in
57:07
our lives right and then he never even
57:09
dreamt of being here being able to do
57:11
this bro and so
57:13
as as much as you appreciative i'm
57:16
appreciative yes cause i'm a fan
57:19
battle cat i'm a fan brother man you yo
57:22
we still rockin man come on man come on
57:24
rash no
57:36
oh
57:52
fred wreck came to l.a oh wow well so
57:56
folks don't know that swaying tech
57:58
brought fred wreck i didn't know l.a i
58:00
did not know that bro yeah that's insane
58:04
production
58:06
big paul right who rest in power
58:08
yes sir uh used to do street team work
58:12
at 106 kmel
58:14
and
58:15
uh me and tech that's when we my
58:17
businesses start just [ __ ] you know
58:19
glowing you know
58:21
because we got [ __ ] around with giant
58:23
records and then we were doing
58:24
independent records and then we got into
58:26
radio by chance and but by that time i
58:29
have been through so much in the
58:30
business so i was like we gonna do this
58:32
creative thing but we're gonna build a
58:33
business around this radio syndication
58:36
and all those different things and we
58:37
needed a team
58:38
and so we brought a dude named joe
58:40
quicks down in l.a
58:42
who went to high school with keen tech
58:44
i didn't know joe quicks i met him
58:46
through tech everybody we met through
58:47
tech right it was all his friends i was
58:49
from oakland i was like all right man if
58:51
you say he cool all right uh but big
58:53
paul was so dependable just a beautiful
58:56
dude that i told ted when we go to l.a
58:59
let's bring him with us
59:00
um you know cause we needed somebody he
59:02
gets just stay at our house sleep on the
59:04
couch whatever
59:05
and it was the same with i can't
59:07
remember what happened with fred but
59:09
fred ended up coming to la with us two
59:11
and then fred moved in the house so you
59:13
remember we used to do all them stuff
59:14
yeah we used to do because we lived in
59:16
silver lake and swaying them lived in
59:18
eagle rock and every other sunday we
59:20
would
59:21
do breakfast as suedes and we would do
59:23
breakfast at my house but prior to them
59:27
moving to l.a
59:29
sway and fred wreck came down one time
59:32
and um they needed a place to crash and
59:34
by then you know i was poetess i had an
59:36
album out you know bikers
59:41
so swaying them were at my house so
59:43
swayed they wanted to crash at my house
59:45
and you know i want to
59:46
i want it to hit sway oh
59:50
an attitude comes out i need a sound
59:52
effect
59:57
did you have the dreads back then
1:00:12
chocolate vanilla strawberry
1:00:16
so anyway suede
1:00:18
wasn't with it so i told him in
1:00:20
frederick they had to go
1:00:24
you guys to go like you can't stay at
1:00:37
so
1:00:37
but she did it like
1:00:40
we had nowhere to go so it was like it
1:00:42
was nice
1:00:46
at late night
1:00:48
it's late night
1:00:49
i was respectful that's all it was you
1:00:52
know but i didn't know how much a savage
1:00:54
she was
1:00:56
like you gotta get out the house get out
1:00:58
the house
1:00:59
where are we gonna go
1:01:01
fortunately
1:01:03
fred and i yo she had neighbors we met
1:01:05
earlier
1:01:07
some two girls we met earlier
1:01:14
got to know one of the uh girls and so
1:01:16
fred called the girl so he was
1:01:18
she didn't even know we were sleeping
1:01:20
upstairs
1:01:21
oh my god i slept in a room by myself on
1:01:24
the floor of some strangers wow right
1:01:27
you know because you wouldn't give up no
1:01:29
means no man
1:01:31
i was like yo that usually would be the
1:01:33
other way around
1:01:34
but she is
1:02:02
[Music]
1:02:03
oh
1:02:13
we actually talked about it on bishop
1:02:15
don juan's show so
1:02:17
yeah talked about it
1:02:20
and we mentioned that part yeah see they
1:02:23
look they got inside that part he talked
1:02:25
about let's go let's go he went they
1:02:28
went and spent the night with the girls
1:02:30
and one of the girls wanted i guess [ __ ]
1:02:32
with sway sway was not [ __ ] at night
1:02:34
period wow but that's fragile you go
1:02:37
sway two rejections like that's that's
1:02:39
right
1:02:42
i was on another level
1:02:50
and so anyway so fred hit one of the
1:02:53
girls
1:02:54
okay and then was itching the next day
1:02:58
fred wreck respect my jeep
1:03:00
[Music]
1:03:14
what are you doing at the
1:03:27
our relationship right man and y'all was
1:03:30
cool yeah
1:03:32
we got to be cool yeah we laugh about it
1:03:34
to this day that was 30 years later
1:03:36
right right yeah we were young but i'm
1:03:38
going to say this before we wrap up i
1:03:40
have to give sway his props because
1:03:43
when he's a friend to you he's a friend
1:03:45
to you i've had so many up and downs in
1:03:47
my career and sway has always been there
1:03:51
to support me in some way you know when
1:03:54
i didn't have a job i got digged up in
1:03:57
mtv when i started my podcast studio
1:04:00
just
1:04:01
one day what's your bank account number
1:04:03
i didn't ask him for anything and he
1:04:04
just
1:04:05
has been uh
1:04:07
the best friend anybody can have i love
1:04:10
him and you know what at the end of the
1:04:13
day all right
1:04:14
i'm glad we didn't do that you wouldn't
1:04:16
have gotten none of that
1:04:19
all right i love you guys
1:04:22
that's awesome that's a moment
1:04:31
but this is amazing man and just spread
1:04:34
the word cat we doing this man yes we
1:04:36
telling these stories brother the way we
1:04:38
tell it it's our narrative you know what
1:04:39
i mean and congratulations on the
1:04:42
success to come
1:04:43
not just what we've accomplished what
1:04:45
we're about to accomplish the bad part
1:04:47
thank you brother
1:04:48
my brother and sister on behalf of the
1:04:50
hip-hop education center for me this is
1:04:53
all super knowledge i don't know if i
1:04:54
got a whole spreadsheet of information
1:04:57
i'm saying it's like i'm telling your
1:04:59
title uh well you know you ain't gonna
1:05:02
get out of here yeah i gotta get out of
1:05:03
that
1:05:07
we're both money on the board we're in
1:05:08
the board for the hip-hop museum and the
1:05:10
reason why i'm not getting my title for
1:05:11
the hip-hop education center because i'm
1:05:12
actually going to a higher title and so
1:05:14
we're going to do a whole rollout with
1:05:16
that because now i have a department
1:05:17
that i'm actually see overseeing and
1:05:19
that's why that's why this is so
1:05:21
important
1:05:22
it's a whole spreadsheet i got to get
1:05:23
what you posted you see some of the
1:05:24
yellow things when i when i first got
1:05:27
the timeline it was so incorrect and i
1:05:29
just stayed up like maybe two weeks i
1:05:31
was blowing his phone up i was like bro
1:05:32
if i read you some of this stuff i'm
1:05:34
from new york how do i know this and and
1:05:37
i kept saying to get to poetess every
1:05:39
time police say you got to get reported
1:05:41
she's the she's the thread you know to
1:05:43
the needle yep i have a lot of
1:05:45
interviews the day back 20 30 years
1:05:49
at the beginning of snoop's career at
1:05:52
the beginning of even shock g i have an
1:05:54
interview from 1990 1991.
1:05:58
um mixmaster spade and even roger
1:06:00
clayton and roger clayton rarely did
1:06:03
interviews but um and they are really
1:06:07
the forefathers that never really got
1:06:09
their true
1:06:11
just do now we have to do that because
1:06:14
even right now on the on the east coast
1:06:16
we're even doing history of people that
1:06:19
inspired cool herc from jamaica yeah so
1:06:22
we're doing that history as well so this
1:06:24
is i mean i'm talking about popping taco
1:06:26
to people they're like huh yeah popping
1:06:28
chocolate what's that and i'm like wow
1:06:30
right oh that's why we doing this right
1:06:32
now so man razz thank you man i love you
1:06:35
beautiful battle cat you're beautiful
1:06:38
poetess
1:06:39
you know what it is yeah y'all don't get
1:06:40
it twisted cause a black man said
1:06:42
another black man is beautiful yeah
1:06:47
you know people just don't understand
1:06:48
and when you realize what that is man
1:06:51
the beauty that we possess it comes from
1:06:53
both sides our mothers our fathers
1:06:55
uh our aunties our uncles our
1:06:57
grandmothers
1:07:08
would i be there
1:07:13
[Applause]
1:07:20
thank you all right
1:07:21
absolutely universe
1:07:28
[Music]
1:07:38
[Music]
#Arts & Entertainment