Lord Monsta Interview...and Digging In The Tapes # 4 Untitled 1990 Compilation

Introducing...Lord Monsta...the DJ for the World famous X-Clan (R.I.P. Professor X & Sugashaft) and the Direct Understudy Of The Grand Verbalizer Brother J.

Monsta is a music fiend, nothing more, nothing less, he often posts about great Hip Hop on his Facebook page, but then there will be a lot of Slayer, Opeth, Parliment, classic Funk, Jazz and soul and much, much more, we often have dope chats about Old School Hip Hop and the state of today's Hip Hop and he is intelligent, well versed and often very funny, I sent him some questions to get the information on his background, what his future plans and some questions that I know he would enjoy answering.

On with the show...

CRDS: What's good Lord Monsta, the first question has to be, how did you get to be the DJ for the great X-Clan?

Lord Monsta:

Peace Brother Jaz!!! It's All Good Loved-One!! It's a way out thing that brought me to the Mighty X-Clan My Brotha!! I've made a name for myself in Hip-Hop locally here in Long Beach. Spinning at Major Hip-Hop gigs and such. A Mutual friend & DJ hero of mine named DJ Oritor had done some work for X-Clan (The Scratching on Return From Mecca), and was (And is) a part of the Resurgence of the Clan. 

He knew what a HUUUUUUGE Fan I was Of Brother J (My Favorite MC)!! Well, Brother J performed at a spot down here in Long Beach called "THE BLUE CAFE" Where I finally met him!! We took to each other IMMEDIATELY!! It was AMAZING Man!! I was one of the House DJ's that Night, but What Really Happened was Brother J took me under his wing!! Months passed, then one day I get a Call from Oritor, he said that The God had asked about me and he gave Brother J my Math, 2 days later J calls me & the rest is History!

CRDS: That's really dope Monsta, Brother J knows a good thing when he sees one alright, please break down how you got be a DJ and list the best parts of your history.

 
 

Lord Monsta:

My brothers & Brothers In law, as well as cousins were HEAVY Into music!!  They the latest of any & everything that was hitting man! As a young'n at the age of 5 years old, I would just sit in their rooms as the music was playing, soaking it all in!!  

I was the weird kid that would sit for HOURS UPON END, Watching the record label on the turntable spin round' & round'.  That was Heaven for me!  When I was 8 years old I knew I wanted to be in Music SOME HOW!! I didn't know how, but I knew SOMEHOW!!  

I started DJing when I was 14 (1984), But before then, I started buying records at a young age!  The first record I ever bought was a used copy of The Ohio Players "Skin Tight" LP from this place here in Long Beach on the Eastside Called "Jordans Records."  

History Follows Man. From that day till now, I've obtained a little over 27,000 albums!  The storage spots here are GETTING PAID Off your boy Lol!!   From there, about 3 years later (1987), I bought a beat machine & started producing, which is what I really do more than anything!!

CRDS: Please list your 10 most influential albums, the albums that changed your life and you could not live without.

Wow, the 10 I just can't live without, in No particular order would have to be :

1 - RUN DMC - RAISING HELL (1996)

2 - SLAYER - SEASONS IN THE ABYSS (1990)

 

3 - A TRIBE CALLED QUEST - MIDNIGHT MARAUDERS (1993)

 

4 - O C - JEWELZ (1997)

 

5 - OPETH - STILL LIFE

 

6 - PARADISE LOST - DRACONIAN TIMES

 

7 - JOHN COLTRANE - A LOVE SUPREME (1965)

 

8 - AHMAD JAMAL - BUT NOT FOR ME : LIVE AT THE PERSHING

 

9 - TYPE O NEGATIVE - OCTOBER RUST

 

10 - X CLAN - TO THE EAST BLACKWARDS (1990)

 

CRDS: Boy am I glad I asked that question...alright Monsta who are your Top 5 Producers of all time please? (It does not have to be just Hip Hop ones)

Lord Monsta:

Now My Top 5 Producers Is Kinda Tricky..............Maybe :

1 - CED GEE

2 - DIAMOND D

3 - RICK RUBIN

4 - STEVEN WILSON (THE OPETH ALBUMS)

5 - DJ PREMIER

CRDS: Touring around with X-Clan, what cities or countries has been the most rowdiest and appreciative?

Lord Monsta: 

You know what, It all comes back to Cali man!! The people here in my home state have ALWAYS Loved & appreciated X-Clan from Day one!! But you know it's NEVER Like it is in the Birthplace of the Vanglorious Way, Brooklyn New York!!

CRDS: What things bother you most about the state of Hip Hop today and what would you do to try and change it?

Lord Monsta: 

Well, Hip-Hop is Just Fine, it always has been, it's RAP I have a MAJOR Problem with!!  Rap (The Business Music) is really, as my Grandfather would say, "Smelling It's Own Piss Now!!"  Rap is taking Liberties, & putting people in the Game that have NO BUSINESS Being in the game!!  

When I tell you that this means SOOOOOOOOOOO Much to me I'm serious!! This is NOT a test of POWER!!! This is NOT A GAME like it has been made out to be!!  My patience with clowns being Pimped by the Major Pigs (Record Labels),  has been far beyond driven to thin, but is at this time, NON-EXISTENT!!  My man DJ JS-ONE of the World Famous Rock Steady Crew made a HELL Of a Point when he said that we need to take this back to the art form where it originated..............BECAUSE IT'S OURS!!! 

From the demolition of the Mainstream Coons, to the Sacred Art of DJing in which we've allowed just ANY OL' DAMN FOOL To come in and be a part of this that people like You & I Jaz take SERIOUSLY!!  I think that if we Police OUR Music like we should, it would put an end to Idiots like Souljah Boy & Wocka Flacka, & dispel those who Shit on us like the girl who is Trying to DJ with a Ipad!!  They are as sand, and the wind blows!!

CRDS: Thanks a lot Monsta, I really appreciate that...you know I agree with you 100% percent, there has been an avalanche of soul-less trash being made like junk food and I think there is sadly a lot of ignorance...uh Run DMC, Grandmaster, Cold, Kane who?...who?...ok...To The East, Blackwards or Xodus?

Lord Monsta: 

To The East My Brotha to The East!!  What Sucks is that Xodus is equally AMAZING!!  But I have to go with the one that started it all!

CRDS: 

What are your all time favourite years for Hip Hop, if time travel was ever real, which ones you would most like to go back to?
 
Lord Monsta: 

 It's a Toss Up Between the Beginning, & the Early to Mid-90's!!  You see, the Greatest Hip-Hop Group to me EVER Is RUN DMC!!  I'd love to relive the golden years man!!

CRDS: I hear that fam...Monsta, when you play out, do you use Serato or are you strictly vinyl on the decks?
 
 Lord Monsta: 

 Lately it's been both!  When I get down locally I carry a record Bag.  For travel though, slim it down and carry the Serato.

 CRDS: It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back or Critical Beatdown?

 
 Lord Monsta:  

Oooooooooooooooh Daaaaaaaaaaaaaamn!!! Would I Blasphemy If I said "CRITICAL BEATDOWN??"  I'm sorry, this is the album that had me worshipping Ced-Gee Man!!  I played this record EVERYDAY For 5 years straight, No Lie!!!  They both changed the game!!

 CRDS: Ultramags for me too, that album was a blueprint for do it yourself, authentic and pure underground Hip Hop, both albums are true classics though.


 CRDS: What does the future for Lord Monsta, Is there anything that you would like to add?
 
 Lord Monsta:  

I'd say the future for me hold a forthcoming solo album called "Anticipate Hostility" where I'll feature some of my Heroes on the Mic to trax I've produced.  Plus, I'm working on bringing together all the Revolutionary MC's for a Project I call, "The Urban Guerillas!"  Other than that, I shall continue in the WAYS OF THE SCALES My brother!  I'll continue to spread the message of Love & Justice while learning all I can from The Grand Verbalizer Funkin' Lesson Brother J!!  This is Vanglorious Law!!

Peace & Love- - -


and this interview was protected by the Red, The Black and The Green with the key sisssssyyyyy

What better way to follow a dope interview like that with a fat compilation from on of my old tapes from 1990? 

enjoy, this one is especially dedicated to you Lord Monsta :)

Digging In The Tapes-1990 Untitled Compilation

http://www.mediafire.com/?nntc301flt4v3l5

1-Sid & B-Tonn-Deathwish (Produced by SID)
2-K-Solo-Spellbound (Produced by PMD and Erick Sermon)
3-D-Nice-Crumbs On The Table (Produced by D-Nice)
4-Comptons Most Wanted-The Final Chapter (Produced by DJ Slip and Unknown)
5-Lord Finesse-Funky Technician (Produced by Diamond D)
6-A Tribe Called Quest-Foot Prints (Produced by A Tribe Called Quest)
7-Audio Two-I Get The Papers (Produced by Audio Two)
8-X-Clan-Heed The Word Of The Brother (Produced by X-Clan, Mixed by DJ Mark The 45 King)
9-Above The Law-Anotha Execution (Produced by Dr Dre)
10-King Tee-Ruff Rhyme (Back Again)(Produced by DJ Pooh)
11-CPO ft MC Ren-Ballad Of A Menace (Produced by MC Ren)
12-The Jaz ft Jay-Z-It's That Simple (Produced by Prince Paul)
13-Special Ed-Come On Let's Move It (Produced by Howie Tee)
14-Lakim Shabazz-When You See A Devil Smash Him (Produced by DJ Mark The 45 King)
15-Style-The Assassinator (Produced By The Hollywood Impact)

Black Milk Feat. Royce Da 5’9 & Elzhi – Deadly Medley

Black Milk’s Album of the Year, due out September 14th.

Earl Sweatshirt - Earl

In the rare time I get to blog now I had to post this.....

DJ Muggs vs Ill Bill – Kill Devil Hills

01. Cult Assassin
02. Trouble Shooters ft. Sean Price, O.C. & Sick Jacken
03. Paul Stanley
04. Illuminati 666
05. Amputated Saint ft. B-Real
06. Skull & Guns ft. Everlast & Slaine Of La Coka Nostra
07. Giants Stadium ft. Q-Unique
08. The Owl
09. Millenniums Of Murder
10. Chase Manhattan ft. Raekwon
11. Luciferian Imperium
12. Ill Bill TV
13. Secrets Worth Dying For ft. Chace Infinite
14. 2013
15. Kill Devil Hills ft. B-Real & Vinnie Paz
16. Narco Corridos ft. Sick Jacken & Uncle Howie

Click Here To Download

Interview with DJ SoulClap...

By way of Kiel/ Braunschweig in Germany, comes CRDS's latest interesting interview subject DJ SoulClap and this dope DJ and beat-maker has a very cool story to tell...

Once upon a time not long ago...there was a website called masterace.com and as a member on the forum, DJ Soulclap made some connects and submitted some beats he was working on at the time to B.L.O from the Bronx and Lex from Queens, this led to more contacts being made, through word of mouth and on his My Space page.

Eventually he ended up being one of the many that remixed Jay-Z's Amercian Gangster album and his remix album American Clapster was praised on websites like Kevin Nottingham's

http://kevinnottingham.com/2008/01/25/producers-spotlight-dj-soulclap

SoulClap almost had a beat of his on the Masta Ace and EDO.G collabo album Arts & Entertainment, his track "Authentic" ended up being released on a special version of the album on and EP titled Extra Entertainment

download it here from bandcamp.

http://thethrowout.bandcamp.com/track/masta-ace-edo-g-authentic-prod-dj-soul-clap

He also provided a dope beat for Superstar Quamallah's 2009 album, Invisible Man in the form of "Purity"

So to find out more about DJ SoulClap I asked him such questions and here are his responses, Chris on behalf of the blog, thank you for this and for your contributions and I look forward to what you offer us in the future.

CRDS: SoulClap, please share with us your earliest Hip Hop memory and what
was the main thing that attracted you to Hip Hop?
 
SoulClap: 

In the beginning it was all about the music for me. I remember that I
had a compilation with commercial songs, a double CD with about 40
tracks.  Till then I was listening to pretty much everything and I was
13 years old at that point. On this compilation was a Busta Rhymes
song called “Turn it Up” and I loved it. I didn’t really think about
it as a different genre, I just thought it was hot. Then I bought the
album “When disaster strikes” and since then I only bought Rap albums.
Funny thing is, the version on the compilation was neither the “Fire
it Up” version, nor the “Turn it up” version that was on the album.
Till today I have no clue what version it was and why it was on this
CD.

With the time going by and copping more Rap albums and reading
magazines I found out more about Hip Hop. About the whole thing,
graffiti,breaking, DJ’ing, MC’ing and I could identify with it. The
thing I love about Hip Hop is the unity, I got to know so many nice
people through it and I’m very thankful for that.

 
 
 
CRDS: Tell our readers about how it goes down in Germany Hip Hop scene, how
strong is it?, what groups and artists should readers listen out for?
 
SoulClap: 

The Hip Hop scene became big in Germany in the late 90’s. This kinda
was our golden age. You had cities like Hamburg, Stuttgart and
Heidelberg that were the New Yorks and LA's of Germany when it came to
Hip Hop. Hamburg was standing for fun Rap with hilarious punchlines
and crazy beats. Stuttgart was more conscious to me, the beats were
more relaxed and the lyrics were a bit deeper. 

Heidelberg bought ussome classic Rap in the mid nineties, before it became big. It was
more political. Nowadays the MC’s from back then are more experimental
and they are combining different kinds of music with Rap. Then you
have those who are trying to carry the torch and still try to sound
like it sounded 10 years ago. And then you have this gangster stuff.
We were really late with it, I think it began around 2003 or 2004 and
started in Berlin. This is the stuff that became pretty big and sold a
lot, but I can’t identify with it, it’s not the type of Rap I like to
hear. 

At least lyrics wise, the beats are good productions in my eyes.
If you are interested in German Hip Hop you should check YouTube for
Eins Zwo, Absolute Beginner, Freundeskreis or Torch. 

Those are the golden age artists. I really don’t listen to a lot of German rap
anymore, cause it either sounds outdated or is too far away from how
it used to be. It’s hard to find the balance between the old and the
new stuff, but those who can handle it are dope.

CRDS: How did the recordings with B.L.O from the Bronx and Lex from Queens
happen?, did you just contact them at mastaace.com and send them beats?

SoulClap:

The Message board on Mastaace.com used to be crazy. It was like a big
family of people who shared the same interests. We had interesting
discussions about all kinds of stuff. When I told them that I started
making beats, BLO was the first to get at me and we built a good
friendship. He was the one I sent my first beats to. 

It was similar with Lex, he heard my stuff and we wanted to collaborate on something,
so we did a track called “I found you” for his mix-tape. 

From my standpoint now the beats sucked, but I think that’s what every artists
says about his or her first recordings. It was cool because you can’t
start with Premo productions right away.

CRDS: Tell readers all about the history of the Soul Occs please.

SoulClap:

I think it was in late 2005 when Brandon J. Atlas hit me up on my 

My Space because he wanted to collaborate. 

He was on DJ Episodes
Madeline Soul LLC label back then and so I got in contact with
Episode, and through him I got to know Tony Tigerstyle. 

I think we started to write on the yahoo messenger in early 06 and the first beat
that I sent him was the one for “My ChildHOOD”. He was crazy about
that one and recorded his verses pretty soon. When I heard what he did
I flipped out, cause I couldn’t believe that I was capable of creating
something this dope. Tony is capable of making a dope beat sound even
doper when he is recording to it. In my eyes he is one of the craziest
MC’s out there and the sad thing is that people just don’t know.
We were chatting almost every day and built a strong friendship. 

We kept on doing some songs and decided to form a group and do an album.
How often do you see a 20 year old producer from Germany forming a
group with a 35 year old MC from LA?  I thought it was kinda cool. But
the process on the album was slow, maybe because of the distance. 

So I flew him out to Germany in April 2008, to do it here. Tony was staying
with me for 2 months and we recorded songs, did shows including the
legendary debut show with eMC and we basically had a great time. The
album was pretty much done at this point, but due to some personal
reasons I never got to put the finishing touches on it.

Right now we are updating the album which will be called “Soul
Brothers” and we will release it in the end of this year for FREE. It
was not an easy decision but we felt that this is the right thing to
do. We also started working on the follower which will have a
completely different sound. “Soul Brothers” will be straight boom bap
with soulful samples and hard drums. The second album will be more
modern, different drums, other samples, different sounds. I’m trying
to take the old to the new and find the right balance.

CRDS: What is your equipment set up when you make beats?

SoulClap:

It may sound a little weird but I started with Cool Edit 2 and Fruity
Loops back in 04 and I still use em. Never change a winning team. I
added Cubase and WavLab to the line up for mixing and mastering,
though and I’m planning on getting an MPC 2500 soon. Of course I use
the good old Turntables and a mixer too.

CRDS: How did the collab with Masta Ace and EDO.G come about and why did the
dope song "Authentic" not make the final cut for the Arts &
Entertainment album, did you do any other songs with Ace and Ed?

Since I’ve been on mastaace.com I’ve been good friends with CC, Masta
Ace’s cousin who is running the website, and who did my logo and is
currently working on my website, by the way. 

SoulClap:

I had been working on a mix tape back then where I mixed Masta Ace songs with Live recordings
of one of his shows. She thought it was a great idea and forwarded it
to him and he got at me because he thought it was very creative. Since
then I’ve been in contact with him. Now that I talk about it, the
mix-tape never saw the light of the day, I’m pretty sure I got it on my
old external hard drive. I might have to get that out!

But anyway, Ace is on tour in Germany every year and we met for the
first time in ’06. He was in the town where I studied and had the rest
of eMC with him, which I also got to know. We were chilling after the
show and I went to the hotel the next morning to hang out a bit before
they left. The next time they were here I did my set with tony before
them and I think Ace was pretty impressed because he came to use and
said that the crowd was wilding why we did our set. 

Since then I have been sending him beats and when I sent Authentic he absolutely loved
it. He and Edo recorded their verses pretty soon and it was supposed
to be on the album. It was even on the track-list on Amazon and in the
Promo Sheet that Traffic sent around. But then the album got pushed
back and the track got kicked off together with “We want it All”.
These two tracks were supposed to be the i tunes bonus to the album,
but somebody screwed up and it didn’t happen either.

I was kinda pissed and disappointed back then, but Ace sent me an
email saying they will do Extra Entertainment with some tracks that
didn’t make the cut, so I was happy that they got it out in the end.
Plus it was the leak off that EP and he is screaming my name in the
end of the track, what he normally doesn’t do. He also told me that
they mixed the track 3 times but never were happy with it, so I think
this might have been the reason why they left it off.

And they totally made it up when they came to my town to do a show and
they did a world premiere of the track on stage. I didn’t even get to
hear the track before that. 

The first time I heard it was at the sound check
But it felt really good hearing them doing the track in my
town, screaming my name on stage and the people were going crazy. I’m
glad I got all that on camera. After the show Ace, Ed, Akrobatik,
Strick and DJ Moe-D came to my brothers crib to watch Monday night
football, because I told em the day before on ustream that I was
watching football and they couldn’t believe I can do that in Germany.
They are all huge Football heads.

Right now Ace is working on the next eMC album and Edo is working on
his album. I will help Edo with the Marketing since I just graduated
from University and Marketing is really my thing.
 

CRDS: Can readers still download your Amercian Gangster remix album,
American Clapster?

SoulClap: 
 
Ummm… I hope so, if not I definitely need to get it back up. You can
get it on www.myspace.com/djsoulclap by clicking on the cover. 

People seemed to love it. I was one of the first to do that remix album and I
think I was the only one who legally got the accapellas on wax, lol.
That’s why the lyrics don’t sound as crisp as they do on some other
albums, because I had to record em from vinyl.

CRDS: Name your top 5 Hip Hop producers and why you rate them so highly

SoulClap:

 
 
1. DJ Premier: He has been doing all my favorite records.May it be
“Boom”, “When I be On Da Mic”, “Nas is Like”, “Return of the Crooklyn
Dodgers”… man I could rattle down a list of 30 Premo joints I love
without even having to think.

2. Pete Rock: Mecca and the Soul Brother, Main Ingredient, Soul
Survivor… This man produced so many classic albums and always stayed
relevant. He is a legend.

3. Hi-Tek: Although pretty famous I think Tek is still underrated. The
beats on Train of Thought were some of the best ever made. He
sometimes makes pretty simple beats, but his ability to combine
samples and instruments or synths is crazy. Plus he is one of the best
when it comes to drum programming. He always got the right drums for
every track and that’s what separates him from others.

4. J Dilla: Most versatile producer in history. It seemed like he was
reinventing himself every other year. He has produced so many classic
cuts and is an inspiration for every producer.

5. Timbaland: This one might be surprising, but Timbaland has done the
best commercial Hip Hop beats. His percussion's and drums are always
crazy. I even bought Justin Timberlake's last album because Timbaland
absolutely murdered the production. I heard he is using trash cans and
sh*t like that to record his percussion. 

I mean, he has people who
play melodies for him and he is mostly working with the drums, but if
you can afford that, why not, I’d do the same.

CRDS: Can you recommend any artists that you think are very under rated for
the readers?

SoulClap: 

 
Definitely check out my man Tony Tigerstle and Wyldbunch! Two crazy
lyricists. I’m not saying that because I work with em, I work with em
because I’m saying that, lol. Other underrated artists might be Dynas,
Has-Lo, Paten Locke and Tiye Phoenix. I loved all the albums that
these people put out last year, you definitely have to check for em if
you haven’t already.

 CRDS: What is next on the list for DJ SoulClap?, do you ever see yourself
touring down under?, are you still sending your beats out to MC's and
groups?

SoulClap: 

 
 Next step will be my official debut mix-tape. I’m working on it with DJ
Easy from Berlin, who will mix everything. I can’t do it myself
because I don’t have Serato, I’m still sticking to vinyl. It will be
some songs I produced in the last years and some exclusive joints. It
will feature Masta Ace, Edo.G, Punch & Words, Chaundon, Superstar
Quamallah, Pav Bundy, Donny Goines, K.Sparks, Respect Tha God, H.Stax,
Doitall, Tony Tigerstyle, Wyldbunch, Dominique Larue and some other
surprise guests. I got word from Blaq Poet too, but I don’t wanna say
anything until I got the vocals from everybody.

The next thing will be The Soul Occs album “Soul Brothers” which I
already mentioned and my album with Wyldbunch from BK. Both albums
will be crazy. I’m not somebody who always calls his own albums
classic, that’s somebody that the people decide. 

All I can say that, as a fan of Hip Hop, love em. Not because I made the beats, but
because it’s good music from the heart and people will hear that. The
album with Bunch will be called “Life” and it will be something
everybody can relate to, from pain to joy, some storytelling, you
definitely need to hear it.

I’m also still sending beats out, so if anybody wants to buy some, hit
me at djsoulclap@gmail.com. I also make beats that contain no samples,
I’m trying to stay versatile, I don’t want to be pushed in a certain
direction.

If there is an opportunity to go down under I will definitely do it.
One of my DJ friends moved to Perth last year. I also know the
producer from the duo Low Budget.

 
CRDS: Please tell readers about your upcoming cookbook 'Soul's Kitchen'...

SoulClap: 
 
This will be something special. I always loved to cook, it’s one of my
passions. But I changed the plan a bit. It might not be called Soul’s
kitchen because I will collaborate on this book with Chaundon. You
definitely need to stay tuned, because it will combine different
things that will be interesting for you. I don’t want to let loose of
the concept right now, but you will love it. You will find recipes
that won’t be super complicated with 30 ingredients, you will find
something you can cook on a regular basis.
 
So please stay tuned and check in with me. Add me on facebook:
www.facebook.com/DJSoulClap to keep updated and witness a lot of
random acts of f--kery! I’m also on twitter, my space and sound cloud.

Always just type djsoulclap after the slash and you will find me.
I have a little bonus for the readers of coldrockdaspot. It’s the
first single of the upcoming album with Wyldbunch called “Never forget
you”. It’s dedicated to everybody who ever lost somebody.

http://www.mediafire.com/?5orl3o21bwjk2fg

Ummmm...

"Isn't it cool when you cut your hair and the blood is red, instead of SELLOUT green,This is not the music for an R&B mind "...

That's all I am going to say...

On a better note...an interview with DJ SoulClap coming really soon and lots and lots and lots of compilations,,,stay tuned...

Aloe Blacc - Politician (Live on KUBE 93's Sound Session)

Good Things album, dropping September 28th via Stones Throw Records.

The Glitch Mob - Drink The Sea Part 2: The Mixtape

Click Here To Download

Interview with Dues Paid (New Zealand)

Interview with Dues Paid (New Zealand)

By Jaz for Cold Rock Da Spot




Ridge Jaggers and Leary



Po' Cus aka Young Prety



CRDS: Please tell readers about your past group history, I remember a great track from Hazardous Dukes years back, who was in that group and did you do an album or a lot of tracks together?

The dukes was ridge, po cus, sativa, chop suey, me and asian. we made quite a few tracks, some of them you can get on our website on the album by The Hazardous Dukes - Old Gold. Most of that shit was done around 2001-2003, its pretty damn old!

CRDS: You all hail from Dunedin in the South Island, could you please break down what the Hip Hop scene is like down there, what groups inspired you?

Leary: Dunedin is an out of it place. Theres' some good fellas like IMC and SAID doing their thing down there still these days. Shan (DJ) has always been a dope c--t. I gota say haha that MC Hambone and the Funky Feelings were pretty inspirational back in the day :P

Ridge: When we started Young Pretty had a Hip Hop band 'MC Hambone and the Funky Fellings' that started round 97 i think , I saw it quite a few gigs as I worked as security at the venue 'Fuel' that He usually played at , then he moved over the road from Me and i got to know him thru a reggae singer Blair that i was recording . Then met Leary from DJing I think him and his crew wanted to borrow my Battle records , then we ended up having a big DJ battle between our 2 crews 'The Eastablelists and Deckcowrecktors , it was huge. Leary was MCing with MC Sativa and Me, Young Prety aka Po Cus and MC Curio aka Chop-Sui started making tracks together.



CRDS: What would say are the main differences between South and North Island scenes?

Leary: I dunno if there's much of a difference, there's just more emcees up here I reckon. More DJs too just grinding hard for gigs. Wellington is dope.

Ridge: More people at gigs up north , bars are less hiphop orientated down here , but in saying that its a lot easier to get gigs in the south compared to up north, however it harder to get a crowed down here .. does that make sense ???

CRDS: Leary, what prompted your move to Wellington and how have you found the Welli scene?

Hmm I moved up here to finish uni, and been working here government styles since. I'm about to gap to japan for a year, and I'm pretty keen to check the scene out there.. it might be ambitious but id like to be able to free a bit in Japanese by the time i come back. there's some real good c--ts around here in Wellington, and I'll be a bit sad to leave. big ups to Loaded Welli and the GAG gang (I'm late for work as I write this)

CRDS: What happens with Ridge Jaggers beats, when you first started did you all sit down in a room together and choose which beats you wanted, or would you go home with a beats CD and practice
your verses that way?

Leary: Back in the day, we'd just go to Jags stood, chill, drink, smoke, decide which one of his latest beats we're feelin if we're all on somethin and then just do it. Other times Id just sit there with my book trying rhymes over everything till something really stuck. Jags makes some pretty different beats tho, a lot of the beats he makes I mite not feel for something I wana do, but Cus would be all over it. Jags knows what we want these days and just comes to us with f----n lovely beats. Ridge Jaggers is the f----n man. Believe it.

Ridge: usually beats where made or worked on during a day long drinking/party session and mc's would get together and write to the continuous loop of the chosen instrumental , but sometimes it would work the other way a MC would come with a writen track and we would find a beat that we felt worked with the lyrics. usually the best tracks happened fast , the longer they took the more they sucked.



CRDS: Ridge, what is your modus operandi for making beats? where do you find your samples, how did you learn how to produce and where did you learn to produce through a course or were you just self-taught?

Leary: don't give em' the secrets Jag

Ridge: when I was 14 my Dad got me a cracked version of acid pro , which was a sample based music software program and id record the radio into it and muck around with samples etc , after a while I got into scratching due to buying the Shiggar Fragger Show CD's(a dj turntablist show) and got a huge bank loan to buy a DJ set up , then got into digging hard at the local record stores , lurking round the 50c record bins looking 4 the most bizar records ect. then found out about the MPC and grabbed one , love that thing as it takes the visual aspect out of making music which is hard to get away from when using computers to compose on.

So usually I'll make a beat on the MPC and record it straight out of it into the computer , I'm not much of a audio engineer so the tracks are usually quite raw and un-mastered.

CRDS: Now that you all live away from each other and with you Leary re-locating to Japan for a bit, do you think Dues Paid will still continue?

Leary: Yeah, we're already all over the show, its nothing new really. Dues Paid is more like a label than our actual crew. It's our collective from Dunedin to Welly to Motueka to Christchurch Mens, and now to Yamagata, Japan. We're each artists in our own right, and I doubt we're stopping making music anytime soon...I'm taking my mics to japan, I can tell you that much (Leary is now based in Japan).
Ridge: Yes due to the large technological leaps in the last 10 years, its quite easy to send beats and verses to one and other also good recording gear is getting cheap as , Young Pretty could be up in a space station and email me a verse or hook.

CRDS: Leary and Po-Cus, how do you prepare for writing your verses or do you often just write lines down when in the studio?

I haven't written anything in ages to be honest. I recorded a track the other day about the 9-5 grind, but its stuff i wrote about a year ago. Mainly Ive just been free styling, and I've been loving it. Nothing like a sweet cipher, it's like that with instruments too, jamming is always the most fun. F--k a rehearsal.

CRDS: It's the age old question, but I always feel that it is an important one, who are you influences, who do you listen to mostly and who are your favourite kiwi artists?

Leary: this is just what I listen to, the guys'll listen to other ish

listen to:

atmosphere
brother ali <- dude is so dope
mac lethal
louis logic
gang starr
rjd2
clutchy hopkins
wu tang
nas
vadim
de la soul

I could go on forever...

kiwi artists:

home brew*
cancer
louie knuxx
tourettes
tommy ill
tyna
venemous mic technicians
lewztheryn

*home brew are f----n dope, their s--t is great just on a 'Hip-Hop' level, forget the 'New Zealand Hip Hop' level, if you know what I mean?. I think everyone would agree that cats are raising the bar. Toms a top bloke, always got something nice to say about my s--t too. Those fellas are good c---s and I hope they go large. Chea




CRDS: What don't you enjoy about Hip Hop today?

Leary: Just wack egos that are rarely justified.

Ridge: It just keeps getting madder and madder
CRDS: Can you please break down the history of the Dues Paid-A Few Reciepts From The Shoebox album and is there any unreleased material out there?

We've got heaps of stuff aye, so many Jags beats. and yea we've got crazy amounts of 'unreleased' material. The history of Dues Paid is pretty much the history of the Hazardous Dukes, same people, pretty much same crew, but we're all over the show now. Jag might have a good rundown of events. I don't think we've had a full Dues Paid gig with all of us since the Dukes, just like me and jags, or cus and jags, or me and Asian. I think there might have been some misinterpretation around the Dues Paid name. Prety came up with the concept, of the stamps like a PAID stamp. We just sat around and laughed about it and loved it, so we ran with it, dues paid baby unngh! dreams come true when you paid your dues haha

CRDS: Anything you would like to add?

Look out for Black Dave, and our man Sativa is back with us in a couple of months we hope, cats been rhyming heaps so who knows what he's got in store. I'll be trying to hook up with some cats in Japan too so who knows wot kinda collabs are gonna happen.

Downloads: Dues Paid-A few receipts from the shoebox



http://duespaid.bandcamp.com

Hazardous Dukes-Old Gold



http://duespaid.bandcamp.com/album/old-gold-hazardous-dukes

Ridge Jaggers and Leary-70 Bars Freestyle

http://www.mediafire.com/?u1899ebdcw48iva

I hope you enjoyed this interview, Cold Rock Da Spot has upcoming interviews with Lord Monsta (X-Clan's DJ), DJ Soul-Clap and Sidney Reynolds and more...stay tuned.

Dzilla ft The Diaz Brothers-I Told Yall

Dope new video clip from Dzilla and The Diaz Brothers (Tony Touch and Doo Wop)

Spot all of the ill cameo appearances...




Big ups to Chris Moss for sending this clip through

It is also posted here at Unkut

http://www.unkut.com/2010/08/video-dzilla-feat-diaz-brothers-i-told-yall/

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