“And where I’m living now is actually rightacross the street from the studio where JamMaster Jay was killed. I was at work when Iheard he’d been shot, and that really hurtbecause I used to see him all the time.”
You must have plenty of ‘back in the day’stories having been around so manyprominent hip-hop figures?
“Let me tell you some history: I was actuallysupposed to hook-up with Rakim years ago. I wason a job hunt in the city, dressed up in my suit,and I saw Rakim in his jeep. This was rightaround the time when the ‘Follow The Leader’album was out. I saw Rakim go into this buildingand decided to wait awhile because I wasthinking, ‘I ain’t leaving until I’ve met Rakim!’ Hecame out of the building with his lady and theiryoung son, so I approached him like, ‘Ra, I’myour biggest fan. I’ve been waiting out here forover an hour and was hoping you could listen tosome of my music and give me your opinion?’“Rakim invited me into his jeep and put hisgirl and baby in the backseat so I could sitshotgun and play my cassette. I played him a joint and was looking out for some sort ofreaction. Then he started nodding his head andsaid, ‘Yo, you’ve got some skills’. To hear thatfrom someone like Rakim made me feel realgood. So he asked me who I was working withand I told him Tim McKasty. Ra was like, ‘Paul C’sbrother?! I’m about to do some stuff with him.Next time you’re over there maybe we’ll hook-upand see what happens.’ Unfortunately, shortlyafter that was when Paul C was murdered, so themeeting with Rakim never happened.”
Are you concerned that, even though you’rereleasing your first album, people mightautomatically place you in an older eracategory because of your history and thelength of time you’ve been around?
“If people want to call me old school that’s coolwith me because to me that was the realest erawhen the music and the lyrics actually meantsomething. Back in the day people knew thedifference between good music and bad music,but today consumers are almost beingbrainwashed to just accept whatever it is they’rebeing given regardless of its quality. It’s likepeople feel as though they’re going to be left outif they’re not listening to one of the five recordsyou’re hearing on the radio all day. But I don’tcare if a song sells a trillion copies – if I’m notfeeling it then I’m not feeling it.”
For those who might be confused by the titleof your album, what exactly does the word‘Yowzah’ mean?
“Yowzah is a word that describes the impact ofsomething. If someone drops a brick on your footyou might shout ‘Ouch!’ If you see a girl with anice behind you might say ‘Damn!’ Yowzah is aword that can be used like that. So when peoplehear my music I want them to be like ‘Yowzah!’because it’s hitting them that hard. That’s whatthe title ‘Bringin’ Da Yowzah!!!’ means.”
Your current single ‘Kill Da Killin’’ dealspartly with the increasing number of violentbeefs in hip-hop today. Was there a particularincident that inspired you to write that song?
“It was really a combination of things that I wasseeing around me, like rappers dyingunnecessarily over nonsense. It just feels likepeople have had to elevate the levels of tensionin the game to prove how real they are.Nowadays it’s not enough to just battle someoneon wax – cats feel like they’ve got to take it to aphysical level. But when that happens it’s notabout the music anymore, so to me that’s notwhat hip-hop is about. I mean, if all you want todo is shoot people then you may as well just jointhe army and go to Iraq or something.“The level of ignorance out there is so highnow that people think the beef route is the onlyway to make a name for yourself as an artisttoday. Battling has always been a part of hip-hopsince the very beginning, but regardless of whatwas being said, the artists involved in any battlewere still being judged on their talent. Nowadays,a lot of these dudes involved in beefs aren’tmaking good music, but they’re still gettingattention because of the drama they’re causing.“People’s egos get hurt too quickly nowadays,and that’s when the guns and knives start to comeinto play. Cats really need to start understanding
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HIP-HOP CONNECTION #224
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