Mixtape Addict #84

00:00:03: You have now entered the mixtape

00:00:03: addicts show Broadcasting every day with the French connect DJ King flow.

00:00:09: Yo, this your boy Big Daddy Kane with a message

00:00:11: to all my

00:00:12: mixtape addicts.

00:00:13: This is it baby, get your fix of DJ King flow.

00:00:17: Yo, yo, yo, what's up world?

00:00:18: It's your boy B.A.

00:00:19: to the Z-Dance Dillinger from the legendary Darpan And you're in the mix right now with DJ

00:00:36: King flow AK AK Mr.

00:00:42: Mixtape Attic from Brandt.

00:00:45: Whenever I'm over

00:00:46: in France, kickin' it, you know I'm sayin' doin' my thug thing.

00:00:49: I'm with the homie

00:00:50: DJ King

00:00:51: Flo, man, keepin' it real, baby Down in France, so it

00:00:54: leans, y'all know how we do.

00:02:06: M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M.

00:03:30: Speak of Panasonic Cornering Queens.

00:03:32: My shit straight up, like the crease in your jeans.

00:03:35: Touch vanilla size, lucid dreams Couldn't tell me shit, no ends and no means.

00:03:40: But please be aware, what's happening

00:03:42: here?

00:03:43: What's happening

00:03:43: here?

00:03:44: What's happening on air?

00:03:45: No rerun bitch, this is a live feed.

00:03:48: Sit down, take notes and quote what you read.

00:03:50: So focus,

00:03:51: please take

00:03:52: notice.

00:03:53: Clean like a lotus, dope now the dopest.

00:03:56: I'm the closest beside myself can't believe.

00:04:00: I wrote this

00:04:00: panoramic.

00:04:01: they shot it in thirty five and it starts with your soul and it bleeds through your eyes.

00:04:05: every style you're claiming yeah it's mine like the first toke from your first dime.

00:04:10: maybe your first line maybe your first pick rush that you got when niggas ran.

00:04:15: they shit brush off your pumas.

00:04:16: shine your name plate dust off the wax from the blue milk crate DJ Eclipse catching a hot break.

00:04:23: Now rewind that back on your Max L tape.

00:04:25: It's like that y'all, that y'all, that y'all Like that or the that, I like that y'all.

00:04:44: It's with me and sing one time And I could give a fuck about you, so just accept

00:05:00: it.

00:05:02: Complete the party.

00:05:06: only, it's

00:05:06: fire, I'm higher than the Cheech

00:05:08: and Chunk Beach.

00:05:09: People shifted, this presence became the cave of

00:06:15: my no-guys, my

00:06:17: steps I swear they messed up, one, two, don't know how to behave.

00:06:25: Hey mama, tell the truth, please tell me what's good.

00:06:27: Why you take me out of Queens and move me into the woods?

00:06:30: Why you silence in my voice?

00:06:31: Limit

00:06:31: in every choice.

00:06:32: This here is the reckoning, so be on point.

00:06:34: Sometimes

00:06:35: decisions are made without much thought.

00:06:41: Things

00:06:41: turn dark to light.

00:06:42: Still shining different, the sight placed in the height.

00:06:45: Got me thinking about them Sunday nights.

00:06:47: Voice boom with ump.

00:06:48: Them harmonies was life.

00:06:50: Soup press with a fish-stripe

00:06:51: vest.

00:06:52: Used to love, I can't complain when he sang from his chest.

00:06:55: Dreams

00:06:55: bigger than the stress, and the bills are produced.

00:06:57: Tried to carry it all, it's still tall

00:06:59: and it's

00:06:59: true.

00:07:00: Please mama, won't you tell me the truth?

00:07:02: So much is done, and so much to do.

00:07:04: Don't wish so, got all my dad is wild.

00:07:46: Bars powerful, circle of trust.

00:07:49: Kill em, kill em, and fuck for circle of trust Nigga, we killin' Tears in my eyes, when I was choppin' the money, it's now people come Grimstone, hot in the circle, we sessin' bout bars.

00:08:38: powerful Thieves under the stars ball, let's switch yours poles.

00:09:13: Fuck her to whisper, now we eat by the rivers Up inside you strike clocks, it's your slight wave away, us hacksaw.

00:09:30: It's the thing to be imagined, the king in black

00:09:32: wings, and it's

00:09:33: never equal.

00:09:34: You feel like love will snob, so you take out

00:10:15: the

00:10:16: showers.

00:10:16: It's the win life, I hope you live it.

00:10:45: The artist that gave me inspiration When I blew past them Oh yeah, they started hating.

00:11:17: Whole game should be re-evaluated.

00:11:19: You asked me Purchase the Grammy So that award is maybe bottomed sheets.

00:11:23: It only feeds the ego Of all my scriptures moving to streaks And people change their life from a beat.

00:11:28: See, doing God's work ain't easy.

00:11:32: Got him wondering like Stevie How I'm still breathing On the sunny side of the sheets And Jesus Christ will speak through me.

00:11:44: If he's a shepherd, it's okay to be.

00:11:45: sheep Through him, we'll live again And never see eternal sleep.

00:11:49: And when I read the word applied it to my life.

00:11:52: Hurdles jumping tax brackets man it's only right.

00:11:56: I just gave my life back to Jesus Christ.

00:11:59: Now the Lord gone blessed.

00:12:00: I was in these streets.

00:12:01: I wasn't living right.

00:12:02: Now the Lord gone blessed I gave my life back to Jesus Christ.

00:12:10: Now I was in these streets.

00:12:13: I wasn't living right.

00:12:15: Now the Lord gone blessed.

00:12:17: For years they conditioned our minds.

00:12:19: Evil songs have us glorifying the worst things that humans own.

00:12:23: Music was created in heaven, the us has passed on And I listen in the crime songs, hoping for a brighter day.

00:12:29: What sense does that make?

00:12:30: You create a dark cloud Every time you press.

00:12:33: play with that murder music That makes a demon, you might have one living inside you If you ain't safe, cause I'm confused.

00:12:39: It's a spiritual war and you lose it.

00:12:41: I play by play, break the way you are in life.

00:12:46: Christ will meet you there and anyone that says it's too late Tell them.

00:12:49: I got a chair.

00:12:50: Well a couple seeks and they can sit in all of them.

00:12:53: Time's changing, God born his people back, he's calling them.

00:12:55: Your own dreams pick it up.

00:12:58: God bless us after we test us, just know I'm not giving

00:13:00: up.

00:13:01: I've just gave my life back to Jesus Christ.

00:13:04: Now the Lord gone blessed.

00:13:07: I was in these streets, I wasn't living right.

00:13:21: In the tens of seconds for me to kill him for compositions.

00:13:24: Shouting the wave, I was raised by the peps.

00:13:26: Influenced by the gods, gave me my strength.

00:13:28: My action for numeric, I was set in on devil.

00:13:44: as far as freedom.

00:13:45: We take up to the triple beam beam from ice breakers nice paper ice invaders smoke and smoke and ice shakers the quick board to peddling waiting for me in a birthday suit at the Sheraton.

00:14:03: It's no question who's the king of this age of Aquarius.

00:14:09: I don't

00:14:33: even need a scale Ringin' bills like the hundred back in Notre Dame.

00:14:37: Give me the whole shebang.

00:14:39: You never rode the train to outstanding felony.

00:14:41: Who wants plus a haul in Wayne?

00:14:43: We're symbol for the fame This street.

00:14:45: shit.

00:14:45: open game Mother fuck the halftime show.

00:14:48: Bring me the whole shebang All of these ice balls and water down the broke demand.

00:14:52: If they pull us over just gon' hit me with the whole shebang.

00:14:59: Bring me the whole shebang.

00:15:05: We need the whole shebang.

00:15:11: Bring me the whole shebang.

00:15:13: It's Mr.

00:15:14: Bodie James.

00:15:15: Tins is a cut over twenty six oz of flames.

00:15:18: She look like Austin Graham.

00:15:19: All of this shit.

00:15:20: a nigga overcame.

00:15:21: Shout out to my OG Crane overcame.

00:15:24: I stress the money till a nigga risk broken sprain.

00:15:26: Quick to cut you out.

00:15:27: Got enough shooters to coach

00:15:29: a gang.

00:15:29: Sipping perpcom cash while I'm on the plane.

00:15:32: Whippin' the work with the same hand I pull the

00:15:34: drink.

00:15:35: I need a pill to call my stomach.

00:15:37: He'll cause all the pain by a hundred grams of Superman.

00:15:39: Two bricks of Lois Lane.

00:15:41: I took your whole life savings and blew that on

00:15:43: the chain.

00:15:44: He sell weed, I sell blood, now we on protestant.

00:15:47: Same as I want for myself, same as I want for gang I'm still that same gang man, talkin', talkin', talkin'.

00:15:52: I feel this shit in my soul, yeah When the shape of the queen and the genius link up, that's how this shit supposed to sound.

00:16:08: You ready, sis?

00:16:11: Let's go talk to these niggas,

00:16:13: uh, yeah Look, we became the queens of underground

00:16:16: rap.

00:16:17: My passion was heat Had to wait for my time, I spent ten years rapping for free.

00:16:21: It's an honor when they mention my name.

00:16:23: Put in my ten thousand hours just for fifteen minutes of fame In the storm.

00:16:27: I made wine from water.

00:16:29: You either drink or

00:16:30: pour.

00:16:30: Married to the game, even after death.

00:16:32: We won't be divorced,

00:16:33: battlefield with thieves and whores.

00:16:34: That's why I keep a sword The more you sweat.

00:16:37: and peace, huh?

00:16:38: Unless you bleed in war The pain never lasts.

00:16:40: for my fears inside of foil Plant seeds for flowers like tears, water Seen saying at the height of my praise We do dirt our whole lives but feel the karma when we finally change Could never dick ride, I don't force vibes, I force blades.

00:16:54: I had this hustle since the fourth grade Was in my class selling dreams like candy.

00:16:58: I would extort lame soul visions to the blind and convince them to bring me more change.

00:17:02: Teach us treat me like a thorn slave.

00:17:05: Ironic how I still got rich, but I had poor grades.

00:17:08: I got the hunger of biggie smalls before fate With the influence of Wayne Carter before Drake, no such thing as like what I was capable of.

00:17:21: Check.

00:17:22: Based on principles and privilege and information,

00:17:25: do so with, yeah, yeah.

00:17:28: That I'm feeling right after

00:17:29: revenge, not quite sure if the thirst quenched baby do.

00:17:33: More than just lust for me.

00:17:34: Grab your gun and bust for me.

00:17:36: Turn my enemies to dust for me Jump start your heart, soon as you pull it all together it falls apart.

00:17:44: They sold you bullshit and they called it art.

00:17:47: Sold you guns, oil and drugs and called it God.

00:17:50: Now, what's a dollar by high fashion?

00:17:53: Pick the cotton with dye on it, kill for it, die for it.

00:17:56: I'm all seeing like the eye on it.

00:17:58: Shorty folded up a twenty made it look like the towel's burning.

00:18:02: Then she wrote it to a cylinder and snorted up an eight bar.

00:18:05: Used to be beautiful, the bitch sniffed the face off set the pain like R.I.P take off cruise controlling down the FDR she used to feed me purple passion fruit and yellow kiwi.

00:18:19: wipe it blade switch.

00:18:20: God's

00:18:21: tears.

00:18:21: the jealous clouds hide the sun.

00:18:22: on days like this thousand y'all stare.

00:18:25: I read the signs in the clouds from my spliff.

00:18:27: this is God's tear bitch.

00:18:28: I rap like a gift.

00:18:29: the marijuana smell like ammonia.

00:18:33: my chemical romance.

00:18:34: I hold you in

00:18:35: slow

00:18:52: dance.

00:19:01: minds are the prize big brother.

00:19:03: in this digital prize big brothers from some cyber attacks while I'm from some hobbies.

00:19:25: take a crap Truman show.

00:19:31: but that's how it goes.

00:19:32: herded cattle in a row.

00:19:33: life's looking bleak outside the castle walls might as well write a barrel down Niagara Falls.

00:19:39: why you think these millionaires are moving out to Nebraska?

00:19:42: the lock is ticking even fucks

00:19:48: them.

00:19:55: in this

00:19:55: digital monster in the sky our minds are

00:19:59: the Priests desire.

00:20:11: who dresses

00:20:31: like a digging church

00:20:34: on

00:20:36: the.

00:20:37: When he was killed by the police, his Jim Crow laws still exist at your local precincts.

00:20:44: I wanna send a fuck.

00:20:45: being decent, I'm a go getter.

00:20:48: My feelings, I was dealing in olders.

00:20:51: Triple fat

00:20:51: goose,

00:20:52: coat baggies mixed with the feathers.

00:20:56: I was with whatever, cheating, lying, deceiving.

00:20:58: Sex violins, my pleasure.

00:21:00: The pirate look of predators greets humans from the beginning of time.

00:21:07: We infatuated with crime, raided all this real

00:21:11: life, like that time of hunting nights.

00:21:15: Hey yo, praise

00:21:16: to the most high.

00:21:17: You in tune with the realest

00:21:19: The nth never killed my spirit.

00:21:22: Divine intuition.

00:21:23: It's Psalms that are written From the womb love Knew.

00:21:26: my energy was derived When I changed the forecast.

00:21:30: You'll be baptized.

00:21:32: I was reigning on your ad.

00:21:36: Wolves and piranhas.

00:21:37: Only trust the fee Relative or harm.

00:21:41: Jealousy and hate Is real versus fake.

00:21:43: You see, once you come back For a second claim Living off experience I study all the tapes.

00:21:49: The devil had a chance where God Born to win, life a sin, middle finger with a grin, keep both out of kiss, they wanna spin it.

00:22:00: It's Shred

00:22:01: Inf, tell him

00:22:01: try again, always knew the light was at the end.

00:22:09: In the middle of all this shit, I'm still shining.

00:22:33: These niggas can't fuck with me, word in my soul.

00:22:36: You can tell I'm about to run it like second and go, even with every misconception I carry the load.

00:22:43: Kendrick first said the only one good on control.

00:22:46: If all we had in this world was fact-wrap, you niggas would be lap-lap, that's two times over And by any means necessary, me, my quota.

00:22:55: You just talk about the game like you.

00:22:57: Frank got shit in Legla.

00:22:59: Niggas run a mouth with no legwork, why battle niggas?

00:23:02: Smoking, I wake up every morning, be the front man, the Fran Dirtz Ebrama, just that shit with DJ Drama, it's been comma after off-sentence Diffin' rebel by the ocean, I don't know my limits.

00:23:20: Ain't no rules in this game, I just

00:23:22: know I'm in it, let's go Honey, don't play with your life, I put a bullet in your head, it's goodnight With your wife,

00:24:32: I see you checkin' and tellin'.

00:25:18: Take a nap, a nap.

00:25:21: I'm situated up on DJ King's field.

00:26:22: I'm vindicated, I'm in Black Taylor's Designed for the A-Playlist.

00:26:43: Let me say this, I'm twitchin' and gon' keep on Deep in my mind Creepin'

00:27:25: dudes in every black, logically on this sheet In the mixtape addict show we connecting the dots from France to the US as we usually do.

00:27:43: and

00:27:43: today my very special guest is none other than the legendary DJ Eclipse.

00:27:50: What's up?

00:27:51: We here man, we here.

00:27:53: So how's your day going so far bro?

00:27:55: It's just starting for me.

00:27:57: I had a late wake up today, but yeah, it's nice calm Sunday afternoon out here, so we're good.

00:28:05: Good stuff, man.

00:28:06: Good stuff.

00:28:06: Well, you know the tradition of the mixed-apartic show, man.

00:28:10: I have to ask you this.

00:28:12: Who is your all-time favorite DJ?

00:28:14: Or if you want, you can give me a top three.

00:28:19: I say my all-time favorite is probably Cash Money.

00:28:24: I would say Cash Money, but rounding out the three would probably be him, Jazzy, Jeff, and Scratch.

00:28:30: Nice talk right there.

00:28:32: And tell the people why, especially those guys.

00:28:37: Just styles, especially with Cash and Jeff.

00:28:43: I feel like a lot of DJs that came before them were nice, but there was something a little bit more perfected about Cash and Jeff, you know, saying like their their routines and their.

00:28:59: They were just more like on time, you know saying then a lot of them the other earlier DJs that I was hearing before them.

00:29:08: so when they when they came around it was just like, you know, not only with the the the additions to like the Transformers scratches that they made popular and It was just like, it was just a whole new funky style that we really hadn't heard prior to that.

00:29:27: And so with those guys, you know, and obviously with Scratch too, it's like, you know, he's kind of like very similar to those guys where it's like just the scratches and patterns that he used to do on records was so monumental, you know, it's like, it's the equivalent of a dope verse on a record, you know, when you hear like the scratches from like, so what you're saying and stuff like that, there was so just so incredible and just they resonate where it's like you sing along with the scratches as much as you sing along with the words from the song.

00:29:57: so those three you know for those reasons are my favorites.

00:30:01: those are all three DJs that we can actually you know consider as musicians like you said you know it's a verse it's like it's like pre-mode too.

00:30:10: it's not.

00:30:10: it's not as technical as those guys but you're waiting for a spot on the track.

00:30:15: you know it's like.

00:30:15: yes

00:30:16: Absolutely, absolutely.

00:30:18: Yeah, I remember I went crazy when I've learned that DJ Rob Swift was actually writing partitions, you know, like when you write music, it was writing down like scratches and it's crazy.

00:30:31: Yeah, people like that that really take it serious and advance the culture of it.

00:30:38: So props to all those dudes.

00:30:40: Yeah, props to all those guys.

00:30:41: They influence a lot of people, including you, including me, including a lot of other DJs, man.

00:30:46: So shout out to those guys.

00:30:49: Yeah, absolutely.

00:30:50: And I have another mixtape question for you.

00:30:53: I think I know the answer to this, but I'm going to ask it anyway.

00:30:57: Do you miss the mixtape format?

00:31:00: Um, yeah, I mean, you know, it's it's I missed that whole era.

00:31:06: You know I'm saying it's like just as a whole.

00:31:08: It's like it was.

00:31:09: the scene, you know was was just so Pure and so to experience it in real time, you know, I mean as it was happening.

00:31:19: You know the the the music was Better on a mainstream level, you know, I always tell people like good music is always still here.

00:31:27: It's just that you have to search for it a little bit more.

00:31:29: It's not like it's getting played on commercial radio stuff like that.

00:31:33: But back in the nineties the good stuff was getting played, you know on commercial radio at least in New York You know you could hear you know Wu Tang and mob deep and you know stuff like that during the day.

00:31:44: So just the whole era was great.

00:31:47: and then the mixtapes was.

00:31:49: there was just so many players and for me like you know I can remember being at like fat beats.

00:31:54: and you know Tony touch tapes Camillo tapes PF cotton tapes.

00:31:59: you know these were all like in my opinion the the cream of the crop of people that were giving you variety on their mix tapes.

00:32:08: Obviously, there was a ton of other people for different reasons.

00:32:12: Clue tapes people would go to because he had exclusives on there.

00:32:17: But Clue's stuff was more like he would just put the exclusives on there.

00:32:21: It wasn't as much about the mixing part of it.

00:32:25: But for me, it was like the ones I mentioned, those were the guys that were really putting it down for a quality style and also giving you a good variety of like some indie stuff and underground stuff that you might not be aware of.

00:32:38: So I always love their tapes, you know, more than most other ones, but I mean, so many dope players, duop, you know, you know, Ron G, you had these players.

00:32:47: that for different reasons.

00:32:49: It's like hip hop.

00:32:51: It's like there's different genres of hip hop.

00:32:52: There's different genres of mixtapes.

00:32:54: There was those that you would go to for style and selection.

00:32:58: There was those that you would go to just for exclusives.

00:33:01: There was those that you would go to for just blends.

00:33:04: So it was a mixture of everything, but everything was just there and available.

00:33:09: Yup, yup, it was just so dope.

00:33:12: Yeah, we had the ones with just instrumentals in there, like the Jay-Long mix

00:33:15: tape.

00:33:15: Sure, Jay-Long, shout out to Jay-Long, he had instrumentals, yeah.

00:33:20: The best stuff mix tape with Jay-Long too, you know, like...

00:33:22: Jay-Long, yeah, yeah.

00:33:23: The best ofs,

00:33:25: yeah.

00:33:25: Yeah, I remember also P Cutter's Street Walls, man, you know, like if you wanted to hear some beef, some disc tracks, you know.

00:33:33: Different types of mixtapes, man.

00:33:34: That's what made it good.

00:33:36: And nowadays, well, the game changed a little bit, but I think, you know, it's gonna come back.

00:33:40: Now we've seen the D-Strax coming back.

00:33:42: You know, we've seen the Fifty San go into a fabulous main.

00:33:47: You know, it's fun to see things like that.

00:33:49: So hopefully there'll be some DJs out there.

00:33:51: that's gonna make some

00:33:52: more,

00:33:53: you know, D-Strax mixtapes or some stuff like that, man.

00:33:56: We'll be here to listen to that for sure.

00:33:57: Yeah, of course.

00:33:58: Absolutely.

00:33:59: Absolutely.

00:34:01: And you've seen a lot of Hardest, you know, because you're the host of the Rappers Out of Control show on Shade For You Five.

00:34:06: You've seen a lot of Hardest, nice Hardest.

00:34:09: Have you ever thought about doing a mixtape like a best off of what's been going on on your show?

00:34:17: Not so much a mixtape, but before I started Rappers Out of Control, when I was doing the halftime show on uh, eighty nine point one WNYU.

00:34:28: what I would do on that show was I would do yearly anniversary shows and for those anniversary shows I would usually invite three producers and about fifty MCs give or take and it would just be two and a half hours of just live freestyles over producers doing beats like on the spot, like playing beats straight from their machines.

00:34:53: And so those, that was kind of my mixtape, as you would say, you know what I'm saying?

00:34:58: It's like, I just did it like that format, where I just picked the people that I felt were like, you know, the dopest on the scene, you know, and, and as far as producers as well, you know, and I've had everyone from, you know, Marco Polo, Premiere, Alchemist, Black Milk, you know, I've had tons, Jake won, I've had tons of dope producers be part of that cycle every year.

00:35:21: And that was always my favorite shows of the year, but it was also the ones that took the most work to put together because it was so many moving parts.

00:35:30: And so, you know, after a while, I just kind of got burnt out on putting them together.

00:35:35: But those would be like, you know the equivalent of me doing a mixtape in you know in in the in the two thousands um where you were getting kind of like a variety of you know showcasing the mcs and also showcasing producers.

00:35:50: but as far as doing like an album i have thought about not necessarily a mixtape but maybe actually doing like a dj eclipse presents album.

00:35:58: it's been something i've thought about on and off for years now but again it's just like.

00:36:03: you know my schedule is just so busy on my day to day.

00:36:05: it's like I don't even have time to really jump into that.

00:36:08: and especially nowadays where you know music sales are lower than what it used to be and you know the streaming is what it is now it's like there's really not a lot of um monetary payoff to do stuff like that.

00:36:23: these days it's like you just gotta do it for the love and again it's kind of like I just got way too much going on to sit around and put something together.

00:36:30: that's just gonna like do the bare minimum you know i mean.

00:36:34: so

00:36:36: you never talk about doing like a limited edition.

00:36:38: you know type stuff because it's coming back now we've seen people doing that you know like they drop an album or something and they have like maybe like five hundred copies autographed.

00:36:47: you know but it's you know.

00:36:49: the thing with that is that is that you have to charge so much money for those limited pieces.

00:36:56: It's just it's still like by time You know you pay for everything being pressed and by time you you pay off everyone involved in the project.

00:37:04: There's really not much money left on it.

00:37:06: So it's like it's just not really a. you know, especially compared to you know when we came from the nineties.

00:37:12: You know there was you know, I'm at fat beats.

00:37:13: so we you know We saw records like big L and DITC and most death and records like this twelve inch singles that would sell thirty plus thousand units you know saying so.

00:37:25: it's like when you come from that era and see the payoff that was happening then compared to now.

00:37:32: it's just like it's not worth it you know saying it's like to go from thirty thousand units to five hundred units And then you have, again, you have to charge so much, then the customers are complaining because the records are so expensive.

00:37:45: It's a no win situation, really.

00:37:47: It's like, you look at what Premier and Nas just did with their vinyl.

00:37:53: They put out autographed versions for like, two hundred and fifty dollars, I think it was.

00:37:58: It's just like, it's crazy with those prices, you know what I'm saying?

00:38:02: But you have to charge that much to make it worthwhile.

00:38:08: to do a hundred copies of that, you know what I'm saying?

00:38:10: So it's like, it's a gift in the curse within itself.

00:38:14: Yup, yup, you're right man.

00:38:15: Well, you gotta make your money back, you know, so let's forget the charge so much.

00:38:18: I've seen also like exclusive hoodies with the premiere and ransom project that they did, you know, they're finding creative ways because I have to say the payoff with the streaming is, it's on bullshit.

00:38:31: Right.

00:38:32: What do you see like the future of music payouts in the next five years?

00:38:36: Do you think it's going to change and go back to something that's going to pay the artist more?

00:38:43: I don't think so.

00:38:44: I think that the only answer really is for the artist to take more control of how they get their music out there.

00:38:52: There's artists that I have up on my show from week to week, which some of them choose to not put their music on Spotify or any of those platforms.

00:39:01: They'll either put it on their own band camp or they'll put it on their own website.

00:39:08: That's probably the best way to make a bigger percentage of the streaming or even sales and stuff like that.

00:39:15: But we're just in a generation now where the cat's out the bag.

00:39:20: It's like, you know, streaming's here and the only thing we can hope to do is try to get the percentages that they pay out on it.

00:39:28: higher you know but it's still.

00:39:30: it's.

00:39:31: it's never gonna compare to the percentages we used to make off of physical sales.

00:39:36: you know even when when Apple was you know in iTunes was like the number one place to get.

00:39:40: like digital content.

00:39:42: you know the artist was still making like seventy percent.

00:39:45: you know of the of the sale.

00:39:47: you know where thirty percent was going to Apple.

00:39:49: so it's like we're nowhere even close to those numbers nowadays.

00:39:53: So I don't think it's going to go back.

00:39:56: It's just kind of like you've got to figure out how to maximize.

00:39:59: And like you mentioned, doing limited drops, doing exclusive merch, and just doing exclusive content period is really the way to try to kind of make the most money out of it.

00:40:10: But it just raises the prices of everything across the board.

00:40:13: Yup,

00:40:14: yup, and you gotta, you know, think about a lot of different things.

00:40:17: Nowadays, you cannot really just be an artist.

00:40:19: You also gotta be a creative entrepreneur, you know, like that makes me think of the stuff that Niepci also, Rest in Peace, Niepci, that he did, you know, like when you bought a CD from him or a shirt, I think there was a QR code that you could scan and that gave you a ticket to one of his shows.

00:40:36: You know, those types of strategies, man.

00:40:38: Well, I mean, today it's like content is king, you know what I'm saying?

00:40:43: So no matter what you're putting out, whether it's physical product, digital product or whatever, you just have to stay consistent and busy with putting out content to keep feeding the algorithms, to keep showing people what's going on and that you're there and what options there are, because that is all what's helping promote and push the music when you are releasing it, you know, so that's always a plus to do more things like that for sure.

00:41:11: Yup, yup, yup, so everybody that's listening, you'll make sure you be creative with your stuff, with your marketing, with the way you put out the music.

00:41:19: And you know, you might hand up in the Rappers Out of Control show, you never

00:41:21: know.

00:41:23: Very true.

00:41:24: Yeah, man.

00:41:25: And how have you discovered this passion for radio?

00:41:29: Because, you know, like you said, you work at WNYU, University radio.

00:41:34: now you're on shade forty-five.

00:41:36: So how did you?

00:41:37: You know fell in love with the radio word man?

00:41:41: You know what it was.

00:41:42: it was never about falling in love with radio as much as it was about Falling in love with exposing people to new music.

00:41:53: and that's that's.

00:41:54: that's the difference between me I think and a lot of other DJs that are on radio.

00:41:59: I would never stay on radio if I had to play from a playlist that was given to me, you know, from the station.

00:42:09: It's never been about me being a public figure on radio.

00:42:14: It's more about just wanting that opportunity to be able for an hour or two to be able to play music.

00:42:21: that people wouldn't have heard elsewhere.

00:42:24: And that's always been what, that's why I became a DJ, period.

00:42:27: You know, it was like, because I wanted to turn people on to other music that they might not be familiar with.

00:42:33: And everything I've done since I started, Being a DJ, I worked at record stores throughout my life.

00:42:41: Everything I've done has been in a position of people coming into a store, people tuning into the show, and me having the opportunity to show them or play them music that they might not be familiar with.

00:42:55: And that's always been what it is.

00:42:57: Radio could end tomorrow and it doesn't change who I am, it doesn't change what I do.

00:43:03: It's just one facet of an outlet of my journey of just helping build, continue to build this foundation of hip hop culture and make sure people know that there is other options out there.

00:43:21: I respect that a lot, man, especially nowadays.

00:43:25: Because it's hard to deal with the hardest.

00:43:28: It's a pain in the ass sometimes.

00:43:29: And you've been doing that for a long time.

00:43:32: and you're still doing it and a lot of people at your place they probably want to be the.

00:43:36: you know the face of the radio or something like that but you rather focus on the music you know and help people out And it's something that's so respectable, man.

00:43:46: So shout out to you really, you know, for doing it.

00:43:48: I told you about that when we met in New York when you invited me to your show.

00:43:52: But I'll say it again for the people that did not hear that.

00:43:56: We need more people like you, bro.

00:43:58: You know, people that are just helping others, all the attention, truly, you

00:44:04: know.

00:44:04: I mean, I mean you're doing the same thing, you know, it's like there there are those of us, you know I happen to be in New York I happen to be on a on a worldwide platform You know, but it doesn't change the job we do.

00:44:19: you know saying it's like it's still up to all of us in different pockets of the world to do our best to you know whether it's college radio community radio online radio podcast whatever it is.

00:44:31: it's like just do your best you know to put your take on what you feel is a good show.

00:44:37: And we see it now with like, I mean, podcasts seem to be the new trend, where it's like they've kind of taken over the mix shows, so to speak.

00:44:45: But you still see new podcasts coming out and getting bigger.

00:44:50: So it's like, there's always an outlet, there's always room for someone else to come and do something.

00:44:56: It's just about what are you gonna do a little bit different than what the other person is doing.

00:45:00: How are you going to feel what's missing in your show?

00:45:05: Yeah, but it's about being consistent too, because a lot of people want to do podcasts, but if you don't have anything serious to talk about, you just want to have a podcast, it's not going to work.

00:45:15: Exactly.

00:45:16: Shout out to the ones that've been there for a while, like Drink Chance,

00:45:19: for example.

00:45:20: Sure,

00:45:20: sure.

00:45:21: Don't bother to,

00:45:22: you know.

00:45:22: Yeah, yeah, enough for sure.

00:45:23: That's what I'm saying, like there's enough of them going around and they all have something a little bit different.

00:45:27: you know, then, you know, with Joe Budden, it's more of like interviews and stuff like that, but I feel like Drink Champs is more of stories, you know what I'm saying?

00:45:35: It's like, you just want to hear the stories, and you know, it's like, so there's different angles of what they're going for, and it works,

00:45:42: you know?

00:45:42: Yup, yup, for sure, man.

00:45:44: And do you remember the time when you decided to take your career seriously and start as a professional DJ?

00:45:51: Like, do you remember those times and what really made you want to do that?

00:45:55: Yeah, I mean, you know, it's funny because I was just thinking about this because someone else had asked me a similar question where, you know, I never had another option of what I wanted to do.

00:46:06: It was always this, you know, when I was nine, I bought Rapids Delight.

00:46:11: when it came out, you know what I'm saying?

00:46:13: And that changed my, I won't even say changed because I didn't have an opinion then, but that opened my eyes to something that was for me.

00:46:24: You know, it's like music was always around, but I never really paid too much attention to music until I heard that song.

00:46:30: And when I heard Rappas Delight, I was like, yo, this is crazy.

00:46:33: It's something totally different.

00:46:35: And it sent me down the path of like, you know, starting to buy Sugar Hill records.

00:46:40: And like, you know, and then back then it wasn't a ton of records, you know, between like, seventy nine and eighty one.

00:46:45: It wasn't a whole lot of hip hop records coming out.

00:46:47: So it was kind of it was easier to kind of keep up on what was coming out.

00:46:52: But at the same time, my ears were now listening to other stuff too.

00:46:57: Like Top Forty radio was big for me at the time and like Hall and Oats and Billy Joel and Rick James and artists like that that were big on radio.

00:47:08: I was enjoying that at the same time, enjoying the few hip hop records that were coming out.

00:47:13: But the hip hop records made me want to learn more.

00:47:17: about the culture of hip-hop.

00:47:18: because now you're seeing that there's DJs in hip-hop, you're seeing that there's MCs, you're seeing that there's b-boys, you know, you're seeing that there's graph writers.

00:47:26: and so it made me go down the rabbit hole of learning about the different elements of hip-hop.

00:47:34: and so from like nine to fourteen I was just, you know, became a b-boy And, you know, I was buying records, although I still wasn't a DJ because really I was the only way to get the music was to buy the records.

00:47:49: You know, you weren't you weren't hearing them on the radio.

00:47:51: It was like you had to go buy them.

00:47:52: So I was buying all this stuff.

00:47:54: And then by the time I became fourteen, I decided that of all the elements of hip hop, I wanted to DJ like.

00:48:01: that was the one that I felt was my calling.

00:48:04: You know, so I started buying some pieces of equipment when I was fourteen, got some equipment for like Christmas.

00:48:12: And between fourteen going into fifteen is when I actually became a DJ, had a full set up, and just started practicing.

00:48:23: And I knew, I didn't know exactly, you know, what my job would be years later, but I knew that I wanted to be a DJ in hip hop.

00:48:32: And that set it off.

00:48:33: And again, it goes back to me saying that I enjoyed exposing music to other people.

00:48:39: So back then it was exposing music to my friends, you know, saying my friends that may have only known of like, you know, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five or something like that.

00:48:48: But it was like me playing them other, you know, playing them the Boogie Boys, you know, playing them stuff that might have slipped through the cracks, you know, saying and putting them onto stuff.

00:48:58: And so that was the beginning of it.

00:49:00: And from that point on, I just I moved from Providence down to Columbia, South Carolina.

00:49:08: And down in Columbia, I started making a name for myself.

00:49:12: And I started doing a lot of parties and clubs and stuff like that.

00:49:15: And so that was it.

00:49:17: I made a name locally.

00:49:20: And just started working with local people, doing demos and stuff like that.

00:49:25: And it was like, all of it led to me having the opportunity to meet and work with MC Search from third base and then that was my in to come back up north but this time to New York.

00:49:39: and you know I came back.

00:49:42: I came to New York in ninety two and never left.

00:49:45: you know that was it.

00:49:46: it was like from that point on and I just made my name in New York.

00:49:50: you know and it's like and you know my work ethic and no matter what I do is always um official.

00:49:57: you know what I'm saying.

00:49:57: it's like.

00:49:58: I'm very I'm very persistent I'm very um anal about details and stuff like that.

00:50:04: so it's like no matter what I'm doing I'm gonna make sure I do a good job with it.

00:50:07: so I think a lot of that um helped me into get where I am today.

00:50:12: you know.

00:50:13: yeah legendary career man thanks for the breakdown man you know that's yeah.

00:50:18: yeah the work ethic you know and the respect that you gain it from others you know.

00:50:23: that's.

00:50:24: that's why You are who you are now, you know?

00:50:27: But that's what I'm saying.

00:50:28: Your name, everyone's name, you know, like to quote, you know, the wire, my name is my name.

00:50:34: You know what I'm saying?

00:50:34: It's like, it's, it's you, your work builds up your character, builds up your name.

00:50:40: And so your name travels and you want your name to be in good standings.

00:50:45: And to, and for people to know that when they hear your name, they know they can trust what you're going to do, you know?

00:50:51: And you've done something that's going to.

00:50:54: Well, that's already written in hip-hop history and that's gonna keep You know for the legacy of hip-hop, you know, yeah after we all be dead, you know people gonna remember the work that you put in.

00:51:05: That's why you know, it's important to do stuff like that, bro.

00:51:07: Absolutely.

00:51:09: Absolutely

00:51:09: And we have two two points in common.

00:51:12: You started at nine years old I started at nine two and your life changed.

00:51:16: you took it seriously at fourteen same for me.

00:51:19: Okay,

00:51:19: nice.

00:51:20: Yeah, that's funny man.

00:51:22: Yeah

00:51:22: Do you have any words of advice, man, for the young DJs out there?

00:51:27: Well, just building off of what we were just talking about.

00:51:29: It's like, you know, you have to want to do something not for the fame, but to leave a mark.

00:51:36: You know what I'm saying?

00:51:36: It's like, you know, leaving a mark.

00:51:37: Because think about all the records that come out nowadays.

00:51:42: You know, the quote unquote, one hit wonders, you know, especially for the music that's current in today's top forties.

00:51:48: You know, it's not music that we really relate to.

00:51:51: But they're dudes that will make a record.

00:51:54: and then where are they ten years from now?

00:51:56: You know what I'm saying?

00:51:56: It's like they had the one record.

00:51:58: They're going, you know, an artist, a legacy artist is good because of their talent and because of what they're building.

00:52:08: You know what I'm saying?

00:52:08: It's like if you're here for the quick five minutes of fame, you're going to be forgotten in five years or ten years.

00:52:16: You want to build something that is a legacy that is lifelong.

00:52:21: You know what I'm saying?

00:52:22: And so that is what I would suggest to everyone.

00:52:26: getting into this is get into it for the right reasons.

00:52:28: Get into it because you love it.

00:52:30: Get into it because you want to participate and you want to build on to what is already happening and you want to help it grow.

00:52:39: Come in with those reasons and more so you'll probably go further.

00:52:44: than someone that's just looking to make some quick money and become famous.

00:52:48: You know what I'm saying?

00:52:48: That's not what most of us got into it for.

00:52:51: You know, especially back in the days, back in the days, you know, everyone was doing it for free and they were doing it because it was what they were good at.

00:52:57: It was what they found that they loved and, you know, they ended up making a name for themselves and actually building a culture behind it.

00:53:04: You know what I'm saying?

00:53:05: And the rest of us that come after, we have to do our part to continue with those traditions.

00:53:10: Yup, yup, for sure.

00:53:11: And you know, the one-hit wonders, I don't think they're really passionate about, about what they do, because imagine, you know, if you drop something, it's hot for a moment, then it stops.

00:53:21: And what the hell are you gonna do after that?

00:53:23: If you're really passionate about it, do something you do every day, every day, you sacrifice your life for that.

00:53:28: So what are you gonna do when everything stops, you know?

00:53:31: Exactly, you know, that's another thing too.

00:53:33: It's like, you know, most of us, we come into this game young, we leave old, and when you're young, You don't necessarily care about a lot of things except just doing what you want to do, you know, but you do have to have that long term plan, you know, especially when you see a lot of artists that have made it in hip hop and then lost it.

00:53:57: And it's just like, you know, to think that a lot of them had millions and millions of dollars flow through their hands, but foolishly Spent it, you know or just didn't you know?

00:54:07: regulate what their expenses were properly and stuff like that.

00:54:11: bad management.

00:54:13: and so you know just get into it because you love it because you want to add on and Then start to have a plan start to have a. you know as you're starting to make a name for yourself as you're starting to help and build on Start to have a plan of like how this is gonna help you, you know, ten years from now, you know saying it's like.

00:54:30: and for me, you know, I honestly didn't have a plan originally outside of just wanting to, you know, leave my mark.

00:54:39: But that in itself led me to working in so many different fields, you know, from working at retail, from working at radio, um, from being, you know, you know, part of the rock steady crew DJs, you know, from the thing I've, I've now touched on so many different aspects of hip hop and helped in different ways.

00:55:01: And so.

00:55:02: My name is good in different genres of hip-hop and different fields of it.

00:55:07: And so, you know, it's almost to the point where, you know, I can fall back on my name, you know what I'm saying?

00:55:16: Because if one thing closes, my name is good enough to go somewhere else, you know what I mean?

00:55:21: So, you know, so that's what it is.

00:55:24: Again, it's just about building your brand and about, you know, keeping those

00:55:29: options

00:55:29: open for you.

00:55:31: So if you want to do multiple things or different things, you're gonna have that opportunity.

00:55:35: Yeah, that should be an album title for you.

00:55:37: My name is my name.

00:55:42: Yeah, man.

00:55:46: Yeah, man.

00:55:47: You talked about seeing yourself in maybe like ten years or something like that.

00:55:50: Where do you see yourself in five years, man?

00:55:53: Like five years from now?

00:55:56: I think that, you know, I'm on the path of slowing down a bit.

00:56:02: I still have a very active schedule.

00:56:06: you know day-to-day and I have you know I work at fat beats which is like a full-time thing.

00:56:12: I have my management company.

00:56:13: you know pay-to-win where I manage like half a dozen.

00:56:16: you know artists.

00:56:17: I have the radio show.

00:56:20: you know it's like there's just so many different things I'm involved in.

00:56:24: and as I get older you know your your.

00:56:28: The patience you have to do all this stuff is not as much, you know what I'm saying?

00:56:32: It's like this is you kind of got to like?

00:56:34: I want to start slowing down and enjoying things a little bit more and not have to always be working like twenty four hours a day, you know, that's my bowl.

00:56:45: Yeah, you got to take some time for yourself.

00:56:47: Yeah, you've

00:56:48: done a lot.

00:56:48: You've accomplished greatness already.

00:56:50: So you don't have to, you know, force it too much, man.

00:56:53: Like you say, the name is the name.

00:56:55: You do a lot of stuff now.

00:56:57: People know you, man, you got to spend time with your family and enjoy life.

00:57:01: No

00:57:01: doubt.

00:57:03: Because if you go, you know, if you work too much, you're going to end up doing some type of burnout, you know?

00:57:08: You're going to

00:57:08: get burnt out for sure.

00:57:09: Absolutely.

00:57:10: Absolutely.

00:57:11: Yeah, man.

00:57:12: Do you have any last words like for your fans, you know, for the ones that's been listening to you for maybe since you started?

00:57:18: What could you say to your fans, bro?

00:57:20: um pay pay it forward.

00:57:22: you know i'm saying that's what i say to everyone pay it forward.

00:57:24: you know i i came up studying the greats but i also studied the people that were local In my area in Providence, you know, people like DJ Buck and the magical four, you know, people that I was actually able to see in person and see how things worked, see how DJs worked, see how MCs were rocking the stage.

00:57:46: You know, I wasn't in New York, you know, in the eighties.

00:57:49: It was the nineties when I got there, so I didn't see a lot of the stuff earlier in New York.

00:57:53: But for me, it was all the stuff I saw in Providence.

00:57:55: And those guys very much so inspired me to go that route.

00:58:01: And so every time I do stuff now, I always think in my head, like, I hope they're proud.

00:58:07: of what I've accomplished because it stems from what they did, you know what I'm saying?

00:58:12: So I hope other people take that away from me, you know what I'm saying?

00:58:14: Hopefully people listen to what I did on the show or listen to the music I play and found a lane for themselves and maybe in some small way what I did helped influence them to want to do something, you know what I mean?

00:58:27: So just pay it forward, you know what I'm saying?

00:58:29: To other people.

00:58:30: Yup.

00:58:31: And you hundred percent inspired a lot of DJs.

00:58:34: You know, me included to be very hot with you.

00:58:36: You know, the stuff you've done, man.

00:58:38: It's legendary.

00:58:39: So, you know, it's inspiration to a lot of people, including myself.

00:58:42: So much respect to you, man.

00:58:44: Thank you, man.

00:58:44: Appreciate that.

00:58:46: Yeah.

00:58:46: Yeah.

00:58:46: And thank you for your time, man.

00:58:47: It was a pleasure to have you on the show, you know, connected.

00:58:50: That's, you know, even if... Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:58:53: Yeah, yeah, man.

00:58:54: Good convo.

00:58:55: Take care of my man.

00:58:56: All right, man.

00:58:56: I'll talk to you soon.

00:58:57: Peace.

00:58:57: Peace.