Vintage Thirstin Howl Interview

I'm at the home of my friend and frequent collaborator Irina, and I found an interview she did in 1999 with (NY underground stalwart) Thirstin Howl here on her laptop, which she has given me permission to post:

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Irina Slutsky: Today is Monday, August 23, 1999 and this is Irina interviewing Thirstin Howl III

Thirstin Howl III: Skillionaire

IS: Skillionaire…. So we’ve got 25 minutes before he’s gotta roll cuz he’s a busy man. Tell me about your background and your life history….

TH: I’m originally from NY, I was born in Far Rockaway, Queens in Peninsula Hospital right across the street from Edgemere Projects and we moved to Brownsville when I was about 9 but we lived all around east NY and my family traveled around with my mother. Plus you know I lived from house to house with relatives as well cuz my mother spent a lot of time in and out of prison but I’m from Brownsville. Anyone ever asks you, I’m from Brownsville, that’s where I learned everything that’s where I became who I am.

IS: And Brownsville is a neighborhood in Brooklyn…

TH: Brownsville is one of the roughest in Brooklyn, if not THE roughest. Nothing but projects in Brownsville. Every project is surrounded by a project on every end. I lived there with my mother and my two younger sisters.

IS: Do you feel like you were a good influence on your sisters?

TH: I was their father. They’ll tell you that themselves. They hated me a lot because I was strict. Somebody had to be strict. My mother wasn’t strict. We were allowed to do whatever we wanted. I didn’t have too much discipline myself so I made sure my sisters were disciplined in some kind of sense.

IS: The first time you heard hip hop was…..

TH: I was with my sister and we were listening to Rapper’s Delight and my sister already knew all the words by heart

IS: And how did it make you feel when you heard that?

TH: I wanted to know all the words just like she did.

IS: Why?

TH: It was different, you know. It was just something that captured you automatically and I can’t really explain it. It was just something you wanted to do.

IS: And ever since then you’ve been interested in hip hop? Who did you like back them?

TH: Real pioneers like Treacherous Three, Whippa Whip, the Harlem World tapes, Grandmaster Flash, Furious Five, the Crash Crew, the Awesome Foursome, groups like that. I also used to breakdance and I really loved it. For a kid to be so young -- 12, 13 – and I disciplined myself, I practiced every day. Now I wasn’t just a breakdancer – I mastered every move, along with my brother. I have an older brother as well. But my brother lived in Florida so he would live back and forth with us. We mastered breakdancing. It just expressed how I loved this art form. I was also into graffiti, we used to go bombing trains and things like that.

IS: And it made you feel like you were part of something bigger? I’m just trying to get at why you were so drawn to it…

TH: The love … you know how when you need to have something? It didn’t make me feel like I was a part of something because it was a part of me automatically. It was a natural thing, it was my calling I feel.

IS: Who do you listen to now? If you were stuck on a desert island (sorry for the cliché) who would you take with you? What albums? Who do you respect?

TH: I respect lyrics more than anything. You can play a beat with your lyrics, that’s how I express it. Ghostface definitely. Canibus, Eminem. As far as albums, I would take Run DMC’s Greatest Hits, Grandmaster Flash, Furious Five Greatest Hits, I’d probably take a Doo Wop mixed tape from ’95 Live with all the freestyles, Tony Touch’s Power Cypher Part One, to me that was the best one he ever made.

IS: What year was that?

TH: Summer of 96. I would probably take Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth Soul Brother. Reakwon, of course, he has the greatest Wu album, to me, of all time.

IS: Who’s in your CD player right now?

TH: Nas. The I Am CD. He’s lyrical. He came back on the scene in a way nobody expected because he kind of got caught up in the Crystalle era and the player era, but the way he expressed himself on the new album – he gave everybody exactly what they didn’t expect. Most of his shit was passion or hate or whatever he was going through he expressed it very well. That’s important regardless of what you’re going through in life – you’re supposed to interpret whatever you’re going through into your music. So good times, hard times, bad times – whatever the case, a true lyricists is gonna be able to express that through his music anyway. So you can never say “I got writer’s block cuz I’m stressed.” You supposed to exercise that stress.

IS: That’s one of your talents – to exercise that stress and rhyme all night…

TH: I freestyle. That’s just something I love to do.

IS: And when did you start doing that?

TH: I did it one time when I was 16. A friend of mine used to go practice djing in the studio so he asked me to some down there. This was in Brooklyn.

IS: What studio?

TH: It was actually Funky Slice Studios. It’s still downtown Brooklyn. My man Sha was djing, practicing in the studio, he had a video camera down there. Me and my man Disco and my man Haz went down there, we played with the mics and we freestyled for 2 hours. And he recorded this on the video. I still got the tape. Watching the tape now – I got busy! Meaning, I didn’t write no rhymes I just went in there and said anything that came to my head and made sure it was on beat. But I never took it seriously and I never did it again. I didn’t do it again till I was 26!

IS: What made you do it again?

TH: Getting drunk at my house. One day we just started playing this instrumental tape and heads was freestyling, just playing – but they way I seen it was able to come out was I couldn’t stop. Everything was right and exact – I’m saying whatever comes to my head but I’m making it rhyme! When I saw I could do that, it was really getting me open. I thought, “this is what I love more than anything in life. And I could do it? Get outta here!”

IS: So you surprised yourself?

TH: I surprised myself. It turned into an everyday thing. And it led to whatever is to come about.
I just started writing one day and really getting creative as far as conceptually, coming up with some weird ideas but skilled at the same time.

IS: When was the first time that you thought you could do an album? That you could record something?

TH: I started recording first. Once I got involved in the writing, I just started taking instrumentals that I would buy from the store, go in the studio and lace some rhymes over it. That helped me develop my style to see what I was going to become. When I first started, I wasn’t Thirstin Howl.

IS: What did you call yourself?

TH: Everyone called me Big Lo The Barbarian. So that was the name I still went by, my Lo Life name. I didn’t know what exactly I would be able to do or where I would take my style until I started recording. Then once I bought a four-track, we really started recording.

IS: When was the first time you did a semi-important show?

TH: The FIRST show I ever did was at the Lyricist’s Lounge.

IS: What year was that?

TH: March 31, 1997. Me and Master Fuol performed along with Rack Lo. I didn’t expect the response that I got. I never had done a show, I didn’t know if I could do a show, I didn’t know if I would have a crowd response. But the way the crowd screamed for the first show we ever did! And it’s my first show ever and I got a picture in The Source behind it and I was happy. And to see my picture in three other magazines for that one night. I felt like we must be doing something right. It made us concentrate a lot more on our shows and stage presence as far as what we incorporated into the entertainment aspect of it.

IS: Tell me about the Spit Squad – what is it and how it came about…

TH: The Spit Squad are all the people who I’ve met when I started rhyming. Before I started rhyming I was into other things. I hung out with certain groups of people. But when I started rhyming, I didn’t want to do anything else but always rhyme. You know how in a Karate movie, one man is travelling the roads and he runs into a bar and he fights with a guy and they become friends cuz of their skills. And then they travel to another town and fight another guy and he joins up with them and that’s how the Spit Squat got together. We all met each other on some battlin’ shit. But everybody who I met on the Spit Squad, we hit it off right away and we were together every day after that. As far as trust, as far as brotherly love for each other, as far as loyalty to each other.

IS: Can you name these people?

TH: It’s myself, Thirstin Howl aka Slobba Ranks; Master Fuol aka Iceberg Flem, Richie Balance aka The Soul Saliva, Rack Lo is Dr. Droolittle, Slick the Sniper is Hock-2-D-2, Knowledge B Born is Ernest Flemingway, Tashique is Brad Spitt, Skilla Gorilla is Mark Spitts – there’s a lot of other Spit Squodd affiliates. There’s an immediate Spit Squodd like the ones who are a group. There’s a lot of people out there that we came across in the same aspect and we’re down together. Like Punchline and Wordsworth, Quest the Madd Lad, Brooklyn Academy, Will Tell, Word of Mouth.

IS: For someone who knows little about hip hop, how would you fit yourself into the whole realm of hip hop?

TH: My motto was that as far as to capture anybody even people who don’t listen to hip hop, a lot of my stuff is very humorous, meaning – I don’t care where you’re from, what color you are, how old you are or what kind of music you listen to, everybody knows how to laugh. So if I can come across and capture a wider audience just by making them laugh, people who don’t like hip hop, people who love hip hop – whoever it is, that’s the best way I can tell them – You wanna laugh? Listen. But, I’m a very serious person.

IS: So you use humor to get across some kind of point?

TH: The humor is actually who I really am. It’s expressed naturally because I grew up around people cracking jokes all day and this is all we ever did. Those weren’t my intentions when I started. I didn’t say “Oh, let me make this funny.” It’s just the way it naturally came out.

IS: How do you feel about what the Source said – “You either endure his punchlines or run away.”

TH: It’s a battle. When I began this all I ever wanted to do was battle. I would battle everybody. I would hunt mc’s down to battle and stand outside a club waiting for rappers. I just needed to prove my point. I’m trying to get in the door. That’s all I was trying to do – let them know that I’m worthy of what I’m speaking of – I’m worthy of any of your deals or opportunities you have to offer. I wanted to show them the HUNGER and that’s how the name Thirstin Howl came about.

IS: Yes, tell us more about your name? A stupid question I hear a lot from other people – what does it have to do with Gilligan’s Island?

TH: The only thing it has to do with Gilligan’s Island is my name. We call our studio “Skilligan’s Island.” You’re not going to hear no Gilligan’s Island gimmicks. Thirstin Howl was a millionaire who bragged about money. I’m the opposite. Money ain’t my thing and I ain’t bragging about it. I don’t need that to show you I have skills. I’m a Skillionaire, that’s what it’s about to me.

IS: Like you said, you don’t talk about money. Some people say that ’98 was the year of the Thug. Sometimes, Thug is all you hear. Some DJ’s are really pushing all that type of music. People are singing about being thugs, other people claim that no one is really a thug, etc. etc. What’s your opinion on all that?

TH: A real thug is not going tell you he’s a thug. He’s not going to exploit his business. He’s going to do what he’s got to do. A lot of people glorify the thug life cuz they never lived it and they don’t understand the consequences. A lot of people worship it – I don’t know what kind of life some of these DJ’s have led -- I don’t think it’s been a thug life -- but maybe they admire thugs or look up to them or whatever. Everybody has their own interpretation for what they feel about it, but me personally it’s nothing I want to glorify and show the kids of tomorrow or even our culture that we need to be thugs or we need to be bad or better than the next person, more aggressive. There’s a lot of other things to talk about.

IS: How do you want to use your past?

TH: As an example. My past is what it is. I will never deny it. I’m not glorifying it. I just want to make claim for what actually happened, for what we did. But at the same time, I want to show people that we didn’t stay in that realm of what we were doing. We expanded. There were the transitions within our lives that brought us about from a negative to a positive aspect. And that’s what we’re into now. It’s not like we’re just going to glorify all the negative stuff. I’m going to show you the positive and set the example if I can.

IS: You put your mother’s mug shot on the back of the CD. Let’s talk about that.

TH: That’s something I’m very proud of. [Silence]

IS: Explain that because most people wouldn’t understand.

TH: OK. My mother, whatever kind of life she led, had influence on who I am. In the environment I come from, her teachings were very valuable to me. Especially, to amount to whatever I’m going to amount to today. I come from not a pretty place. Me growing up there or anybody growing up there thinks “This is the ordinary. This is the normal.” It’s really a struggle. It’s really hard. It’s really tough.

My mother taught me not to be afraid of anyone cuz she was not afraid. My mother was actually a real thug to the day she died. I needed a gun, my mother got me a gun. I need a knife, my mother got me a knife. If I need to bring a girl to handle my business, I could do that.

My mother didn’t keep me blind to the world. She let me go taste it for myself and see what it was so I could know the difference. She wasn’t a positive role model for me, but she was who she was and I love her for everything she did. She did more prison time than I did! Probably more bids at the same time. She did her last bid in ’96! [Laughs] She was still going back to do another six months for slinging her shit or whatever.

I’m very proud of that picture. I found that picture after she passed away. I had to pack up her stuff and go through her things and I found that picture. The first thing I did after I found it was to blow it up real big and I hung it up right on the wall in the middle of all I do so I can look up every day and that’s my inspiration right there.

IS: It inspires you to….

TH: It inspires me to continue to not be afraid of shit, and love her for who she was and not worry about what she could have done for me or what went wrong. A lot of people condemn their parents for their up bringing. That picture – I’m proud of that. This is what we went through, this is the life we were subjected to but it made me a man, it made me strong. My mother used to bring razors to me on Riker’s Island. She knew how to sneak them in and all that. Where we were at, this was necessary. This was survival. So if she was able to teach me her tactics. We’d go back and forth I used to go visit her in jail too. I would take her the gold chains that I snatched so she could be thugged out in jail. You know it’s funny.

IS: A lot of people see this picture and it makes a big point.

TH: Let them know, they can’t bite that. I don’t want to see no other rapper with their mother’s mug shot on the back of their album.

IS: How do you feel you represent yourself to your female audience?

TH: Cuz of the “keep on cluckin” song? Well, if you notice, our of 27 songs that’s the only song that speaks on women. HUMOROUS. We don’t concentrate on women. Degrading them or even glorifying them. That’s not our thing. Not to diss women, we love women.

IS: What do you hear from women?

TH: There were women who got upset. The ones who related to it got upset. The ones who didn’t , thought it was funny. Those women exist. If you don’t live your life the way I describe in the song, you would never be upset. You have no reason to be upset. If I say “Bitch” and if I say “Ho” (which I rarely do) I’m talking to the bitch and the ho. You know exactly what you are. There’s bitches and there’s hos. It exists.

IS: I guess it’s not that interesting to put on a song about a woman that you like, that’s not your style?

TH: I wouldn’t say it’s not my style. I haven’t gotten to that.

IS: It’s in your future.

TH: Everything is in my future. I feel like there’s no limit to what we’re gonna do. Just cuz we did a certain kind of song doesn’t mean that you’re going to see the same kind of songs again. We gonna expand as much as we can.

IS: When you write, do you consider an audience or do you write in a vacuum?

TH: I write for myself. Almost all that stuff on the CD, we were at home playing around recording on a four track, seeing what we could come up with. Not thinking “Yo, we gonna sell these tapes.” Of course we’re thinking Demo but a demo’s three of four songs. We couldn’t stop. We got tons of material. More than this. The whole thing was to enjoy what we’re doing and love what we’re doing and that’s what we did. That’s how we were able to be creative, not concentrating on anyone but what we love and what we like. And I’m satisfied when I hear lyrics I like – I love my shit more than anybody. I listen to my own song a million times after I record it. If it goes exactly how I recorded it I’m happy with it.

IS: You have a record company right now.

TH: Skillionaire is my own label. This CD is my demo, whatever, but it’s actually what’s setting the path for me. This is something that I don’t plan to duplicate over. Whoever I sign to, whatever I do, none of these songs will ever be duplicated and put on another album. If I sign with one of the big majors, this CD will still be available only on Skillionaire.

IS: Who would you consider your musical and lyrical influences?

TH: Every era had a specific person or a specific lyricist. KRS-One dominated hip hop and rap in battle form and performance for a while. A lot of people discredit him now because he’s not on the top of his game as he used to be or shining like he used to be. He played a big part. Big Daddy Kane was a big influence for me. Just being from Brooklyn, having that Brooklyn style, the way you dress, the way you walk, the way you talk, representing yourself. Being a thug, like I said, I don’t talk all that thug stuff on here but it’s the way I grew up. It’s actually what I was bred to be.

IS: What about the Latin aspect of hip hop music? Do you feel like you fit in?

TH: Not to discredit anybody, but I feel like I’m doing what nobody has done. It’s being touched. Tony Touch is tight with his Spanish stuff he does. I like Tony a lot. Beatnuts they do their thing too, but I feel the way I bring it, the way I’m representing it, it’s totally different from what everybody’s doing.

IS: What is it that you bring that is so different?

TH: I’m a Puerto Rican, raised in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Where there are no Puerto Ricans.

IS: You were the only Puerto Rican family?

TH: On my block or whatever. There were a few here and there scattered around. It’s 90% Black and 10% Puerto Rican. Especially growing up in a project like that, I’ve seen pressures more than a lot of other people just being Puerto Rican. It made me stronger. It made me the one to apply the pressure rather than wait for the pressure to be applied to me. It actually turned me into whatever thug I was supposed to be. That contributed a lot to my whole Spanish vibe because I didn’t grow up around a lot of Spanish people who spoke Spanish to me all day. My mother didn’t speak Spanish to me. I lived with my grandmother for a while and she doesn’t speak no English. That’s how I was able to speak fluent Spanish with her. Being in Brownsville, I didn’t exercise it as much so I was just around Black people my whole life. But when I started doing rap I’m such a lyricist and I’m real critical with all the words I use and in English a lot of stuff was used. But in Spanish almost nothing was used. I don’t have to be so critical. At the same time, I’m not biting, I’m just flowing as it comes. My family roots, understanding my culture, the memories of my household, the family gatherings, the bond of my family even now is still the Puerto Rican culture is there. It’s a natural thing. I’m very proud to be a Puerto Rican.

IS: This is what you feel that you’re bringing to the forefront that’s different from anybody else.

TH: I’m a package deal. That’s what I’m bringing to the forefront. Whatever we’re bringing as a unit or even myself just solo is we’re bringing what you don’t expect. In so many aspects, I can’t even go into how many.

IS: Give me a few things people expect and how you are different from that?

TH: People expect me to be funny like a comedian after they hear the music. Like I’m going to be joking around and laughing in your face all day. You’re not going to see that. You expect me to be ignorant or stupid just cuz my music reflect a lot of funny shit and you think I’m going to be joking around a lot. I’m very serious. I want to handle the business. I want to get down to whatever we gotta get down to and keep it moving. It’s a lot of things. We are the total opposite of what people expect.

IS: Where did you get your vocabulary base?

TH: From the prison library! [laughs all around] I did a lot of reading and a lot of writing. I had so many female friends. I was a ladies man. I got at least five to six letters a day from different women. This was every day throughout years I would get that. Every day I would write back everybody. I would write stories. Creative stories. Or just write my thoughts and make them very visual. This was way before I started rapping. This is where I believe I got my writing skill. Picking up books here and there. Being in prison, you meet a lot of intelligent people. Everybody thinks you only run into the criminals. You actually meet so many positive people, such intelligent brothers that it’s shocking. They’ve been Subjected to the f**ked up lifestyles we’re introduced to being from the ghetto, but what they had to offer was really great. I met a lot of brothers who would just throw a big word at me just so I could go look it up. We would play games like that – “Use this word in a sentence.” I wouldn’t know the word so I’m forced to go look it up. Man sharpens man, trying to make each other elevated. Whether it’s knowledge or strength. The same thing was in the gym. You make sure you got your work out partner so you push each other.

IS: Do you have a favorite book or movie or word?

TH: Beat Street. It’s a strong movie for me. I would like to Beat Street 2000. Let’s do it over, cuz breakdancing came back. RESPONSIBILITY is an important word. There’s so much that comes along with responsibility.

IS: What does that word mean to you? Responsibility for your past, your future?

TH: Responsibility for everything. If you want to be in control of anything, you have to be responsible for it.

IS: Where do you see yourself in five years? Go for it!

TH: In a big motherf**kin house. A big house with my whole family living in the house. I’m planning Thanksgiving 2000 – I plan to have a nice home with my grandmother and all my aunts cooking the biggest Thanksgiving meal we ever had. All my cousins, even the crackheads, the ones coming home from prison, the lesbian cousins, everybody is coming over. I don’t give a f**k. As long as it’s family. You need those people to keep balance – the ones who f**k up the ones who do good.

IS: What are you doing today to get you to where you want to be?

TH: I’m making sure I don’t pass up anything. My motto is “You never know.” There are so many people in different things that are in your position – if you’re a new artist trying to come out, there are new writers trying to come out, new directors trying to come out, new everything in all different aspects now. Anyone who’s hungry and eager to get into what you’re doing, they’re only going to push it for you. Meaning, I’m sitting here with you today. I would never turn away from the opportunity. I make sure I every ground. Say you write for a magazine that only has two readers. You never know who those two readers are. I’m not going to pass up anything. I’m not in a position to pass up anything right now.

IS: You’re working hard. It was hard for me to schedule an interview with you really.

TH: There’s so much on the table right now. We’re running around.

IS: What can people look for in the stores, clubs, whatever you’re doing.

TH: You can find in the stores the Brooklyn Hard Rock single with Unique London, Spit Boxers featuring Master Fuol. Coming this month, Still Live With My Moms will be on wax, on Skillionaire. By end of this year by November you’ll be getting a Game Records single from Thirstin Howl featuring Rack Lo – a song called “Polo Rican.” Another song called “Skilla B Skilled” PF Cuttin is going to produce one of the joints will tell is going to produce one. We’re working hard, trying to secure a spot in the New Skillenium, that’ s the name of the album. When it comes out on whoever we sign with. Next year. Make sure they watch the Lyricist’s Lounge TV show on MTV in January with Master Fuol.

IS: Anything else people should know?

TH: Yeah, tell them “We’re not playing.”

Montreal Graffiti Vol. 2

click on each thumbnail for the full-sized image

More of the same can be found here. Peace to Anne and Amy and the other good people I met up in MTL, and especially to the esteemed proprietor of Said the Gramophone for hosting our side trip to Ottawa.

Alchemist is Banned From This Website

Apparently noted producer The Alchemist is using "Beverly Hills Pimps n Hos," a loathsome company owned by that loser from the Paris Hilton sex tapes, to promote his new album. And with their help, Alchemist has become perhaps the first Hip-Hop artist to promote his album using comment spam, as witnessed here. Therefore he is now banned from this website until further notice. Sure, sure, he probably has no idea the company is doing this. I don't care. He's banned.

In related news, I'm going to try installing this MT plugin, has anyone else tried it out?

Stevie Wonder in Bryant Park Tomorrow Morning?

It is my understanding that Stevie will be performing in Bryant Park tomorrow morning for good Morning America, making up for the show that got cancelled last month. Does anyone have evidence to the contrary?

EDIT: I guess he wasn't there? Anybody? Bueller?

Republican Strategists Are Stupid

Do they really think they will hurt Kerry by spreading that picture around? Kerry should thank them, cuz they do him a tremendous favor by poking holes in his stiff patrician facade.

Dukakis' problem was that he came off likea dweeb, and the tank helmet picture accentuated his dweebiness, but that's not the position Kerry's in. If there's anything to be learned from the George W. Bush era, it's that America would much rather elect a average-joe goofball than a haughty upper-crust intellectual, and up until now Kerry has been looking too much like the latter. So if his unwitting Woody Allen impersonation knocks him down a few notches that might be the best thing that ever happened to his campaign.

Mean Magazine

I wrote a few pieces for a magazine that I am informed will be hitting stores this week. Writing for someone else was a painful transition after getting so used to blogging in here, especially because I'd never seen the mag before and wasn't entirely sure what tone or style they'd want. I think it turned out pretty well though.

And the magazine is quite good, I must say, I found almost everything in there worth reading.. a great interview with Darrell Hammond and Chris Matthews, Rick Rubin interviewing Rev. Run, Paul Barman interviewing Kweli and Pharrell. I did the Sleepy Brown and Jin interviews and the intro to the Eazy E tribute (that was most of the work). If I can find them I'll put up some outtakes from the interviews later..

Join Us On the Radio Tonight

Once again we hit the airwaves tonight at Midnight EST, with our radio show the Underground Railroad. You can hear us online here, or on WBAI 99.5 FM if you live in the tri-state area. And while you check out the sounds you also can talk to us live in the chat room.

I am writing this from Ottawa, which means I most likely not be in the studio tonight, but the rest of the crew will be here holding it down as usual. and there is a chance I might pop into the chatroom...

A Quick Post From North of the Border

Best line from Triumph's concert in Montreal: "Seriously though, I am not a puppet, I am a real dog. I mean, what grown man would actually spend his life crouching behind a desk and manipulating a puppet everyday? No man would humiliate himself like that. Oh, well except for Dick Cheney."

Possibly the Best Trip Ever (for me to poop on?)

I'm on my way to Montreal again this weekend, with two destinations in mind:

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog live in concert on Thursday, returning to Quebec for the first time since his mockery of the Quebecois sparked national outrage (or at least set off some uptight politicians) last February.

And later this weekend a screening of the newly restored Shaw Brothers classic "Golden Swallow." Cheng Pei-Pei, Jimmy Wang Yu and Lo Lieh directed by Chang Cheh, action choreography by Liu Chia-Liang?? It gets no rougher.

What else is going on up there this weekend, Montrealers?

(the radio show will continue as usual, with the rest of our crew holding it down.. I heard Mr. Complex might stop by.)

Prince at MSG, 7/13/04: My Mom's Review

One day in 1987, I came home from high school to find my mother bursting with excitement about a new double album she just bought. "John, you've got to hear this new Prince record! It's too funky." Then she put the needle down on "Housequake," and needless to say my life has never been the same. That was how my mom introduced me to the love of my life, an album named "Sign of the Times."

About a year later my mom's friend had an extra ticket to see Prince's Lovesexy tour at Madison Square Garden, but since she knew what a devoted Prince fan I'd become, she stepped aside and let me take the spot, and I saw my funk hero for the first time thanks to my mom's sacrifice.

So I've always hoped for a chance to pay her back by taking her to see the man, and last week I finally got the opportunity as we caught Mr. Nelson's 2nd of 3 shows at MSG. I asked my mom if she would write a review for the site, and here's what she put down:

It’s true that Prince’s concert was an entertainment masterpiece, balancing world-class musicianship with an exciting visual and entertainment spectacle carried off by both performers and crew with flair and flow.

It’s also true that the band was tighter than OJ’s glove.

But besides the superb writing, arranging, dancing, singing and playing, other things also stood out: the unbelievable diversity of the crowd! It seemed like every age, class, sensibility, lifestyle and appearance was there to see Prince. Also, Prince is a black artist who has crossed over and brought his own people with him. It’s a beautiful thing to see such a big diverse crowd of people supporting an artist of Prince’s stature.

He is as talented as Miles Davis, and could treat the audience with the same contempt and get away with it. Instead Prince charmed the audience with his warmth and playful sense of humor. Having seen Sammy Davis Jr. live, the same genius emanates from Prince as he sings, dances, talks and trades vibes with the audience as if a crowded Madison Square Garden was his living room. What can it feel like to hold the entire mass folks of folks in the Garden in the palm of your hand?

Maceo Parker sang “Georgia” as a tribute to Ray Charles—an unexpected and special treat!

Prince and his entire entourage, performers and crew, performed at 120%, and when the concert ended after 3 hours Prince was going strong.

Beside Sammy Davis Jr., the show echoed great artists and entertainers like Cab Calloway; Jimi Hendrix (Prince’s virtuoso guitar playing); of course James Brown (Prince is so funky I bet there’s some kind of undiscovered medical benefit from listening to his music); Stevie Wonder (the genius of Prince’s compositions and of his vocal performance); and Caetano Veloso (the sophisticated diversity of Prince’s compositions.) Prince belongs in the Pantheon!

What a mellow and happy crowd! The euphoria created by Prince’s concert could be a tool for world peace, because as they filed out of the Garden into New York’s concrete jungle, people looked way too mellow to fight, argue or have harsh words!

I've seen Prince about a dozen times now, and at least ten of them could vie for Best Show I've Ever Seen, but this one will always have a special place in my heart, since I got to share it with her. I'll just add a few notes about this show compared to the others I caught this year:

Prince is a master of making the rehearsed seem spontaneous, so who knows if he was just pulling the paisley over my eyes, but it seemed like he was really feeling it that night, extending and exploring the jams a little further than usual. He kept beatboxing patterns for John Blackwell to copy on the drums, then sometimes announcing a key for the band to groove on. When he went into "A Love Bizarre" it seemed like a surprise to the band, cuz they just stood there and let him accompany himself on guitar while the Blackwell stayed in the pocket. And in the part of his acoustic set where he usually does that "something's funky, is that your breath or mine" he seemed to be actually freestyling a new verse this time, starting each line with "I ain't got no more words, I'm making it up as I go along.."

But the biggest surprise for me was seeing him do a complete version of Bambi.. once he got about halfway through I was on the edge of my seat thinking "I know he's not gonna do the 'baby you need to bleed' part, right??" but sure enough he did it!

As much as I disagree with the message of that song, it was still kinda nice to see him loosen up that much, in this hyper-sanctified post-profanity era of his career. Maybe his current beliefs still allow little vulgarity, if it's in the name of promoting puritanism?

Then he followed Bambi up with his version of Led Zeppelin "Whole Lotta Love," which was cool to see in person.. he stayed on it a while and did a lot of soloing.

Anyway I could on forever, but you should know by now that when it comes to live performance, nobody is touching Mr. Nelson. Seriously, if you love music and haven't seen him yet, make it a priority. It's easy to tell yourself you can catch him next time around, but you never know what the future will bring.. I saw Curtis Mayfield a few weeks before his accident in 1990, never would have thought at the time I was catching one of the last concerts he'd ever do. And I'll always regret never having caught Ray Charles.. treasures like these you need to cherish, every chance you get.

Barbara Ehrenreich and Liberal Bloggers

Barbara Ehrenreich recently started filling in for Tom Friedman in the NY Times op-ed pages, and some liberal bloggers are not taking it very well.

Most of the A-List lefty bloggers are not really all that far to the left, at least compared to the wild-eyed hippies I hang out with at WBAI. And I don't have any problem with that, we need a variety of voices out there.. but it's disappointing to see how smugly contemptuous some of these guys can be towards folks who are a little further left than themselves.

Ehrenreich's crime, evidently, was to voice her support for Ralph Nader in 2000, which so offended these guys that four years later they still disparage her mental health and (quoting Lenin) diagnose her with an "infantile disorder."

And now that Ehrenreich is joining them in rejecting Nader's 2004 campaign, they can't let go of their grudge, and just keep on with the sniping and condescension even when she's on their side.

Their bias against her is so strong they can't even recognize when she is joking:

So, Ralph, sit down. Pour yourself a Diet Pepsi and rejoice in the fact that -- post-Enron and post-Iraq war -- millions have absorbed your message. You're entitled to a little time out now, a few weeks on the beach catching up on back issues of The Congressional Record. Meanwhile, I've thrown my mighty weight behind Dennis Kucinich, who, unnoticed by the media, is still soldiering along on the campaign trail. In the event that he fails to get the Democratic nomination, I'll have to consider my options.

I think most readers will find it obvious that she she's only kidding when she implies that Kucinich still has a shot (and with the boasts of her own "mighty weight"). I mean, you'd have to assume that Ehrenreich is an abject doofus to think she really believes that. But apparently Matthew Yglesias and Ezra at Pandagon (one of my favorite blogs, for the record) are so caught up in their sense of intellectual superiority over (former) Nader supporters that they will assume just that. And even after Ezra gets called out on his blunder and admits it, he keeps digging himself deeper by insisting it was Barbara's joke that was a misfire, rather than his errant response. Dude, just admit you goofed and move on! It happens to everybody.

Listen, guys, I greatly appreciate the work you all do in your blogs, and I can to some extent understand your frustration with voters who choose principles over pragmatism. But sometimes you can cling to a grudge so tightly it stops the flow of blood to your brain. And if you want those who supported Nader in the past to feel welcome joining you this time, you should probably stop treating them like you think they are idiots.

Join Us On The Radio Tonight

Once again we hit the airwaves tonight at Midnight EST, with our radio show the Underground Railroad. You can hear us online here, or on WBAI 99.5 FM if you live in the tri-state area. And while you check out the sounds you also can talk to us live in the chat room.

Jadakiss Spins His Bush Quote

Okay check out Jada's first explanation of his "Why did Bush knock down the towers?" lyric:

As for the controversial line, the Yonkers, N.Y., rapper's view is unwavering. "I just felt [Bush] had something to do with that," Jadakiss says, referring to the events of Sept. 11. "That's why I put it in there like that. A lot of my people felt that he had something to do with it."

And compare that to the latest one:

Rapper Jadakiss blames Bush for Sept. 11 in new song

...seven words in his new song Why?— "Why did Bush knock down the towers?" — has gotten Jadakiss the most mainstream attention, and criticism, of his career.

"It caught the ear of white America," he said proudly during a phone interview with The Associated Press. "It's a good thing. No matter what you do, somebody's not going to like it, but for the most part, most people love the song."

...Jadakiss doesn't really believe Bush ordered the towers destroyed — he says the line is a metaphor, and that Bush should take the blame for the terrorist attack because his administration didn't do enough to stop it.

"They didn't follow up on a lot of things properly," says Jadakiss. "It's the president of the United States. The buck stops with him."

...Hearing Jadakiss converse about political issues is a new concept — the rapper, who began his career as part of the group The Lox, is more known for his gritty rhymes about street life. But Jadakiss says his outlook has changed.

"I'm growing up, I'm getting a little older. I've got two kids. I'm almost 30 years old," says the Yonkers, N.Y. native.

He talks up Fahrenheit 9/11 as an important, must-see movie — he's watched it twice — and he's even registering to vote in the upcoming presidential election, a first for him. (He backs John Kerry.) He wants the minimum wage raised and more jobs created.

"As a rapper, as an artist, we've got power," he said. "If we can get people to vote from the ages 18 to 44, we can make a change."

Well, if he must backtrack, at least he's backtracking towards awareness. I just want to know why he was wearing that Ronald Reagan shirt on the Jimmy Kimmel show.

I, Robot: Once Again the Brother Gets No Love

A couple of months ago my friends and I watched the trailer for "I Robot," and as soon as they introduced Bridget Moynihan as the co-star I said "oh, this is gonna be another movie where they don't let the Black leading man have any romance with the white leading lady, even though the formula would always call for romance otherwise."

My friends kinda scoffed and said "nahhh, are things still really that bad?" But sure enough, check out the reviews:

Smith carries the movie on his broad and often bare shoulders, which is a heavy load since nearly everyone including the human cast acts like automatons.. Moynahan brings a stiff beauty to the role of the techno-scientist, but her timid filmmakers won't allow romantic sparks to fly between their black male and white female leads. That's not futuristic; that's retro."

I told you so! Hollywood's (and America's) fear of Black male sexuality is alive and well.

Label Trouble for Nikka Costa?

Earlier this week Nikka Costa updated her website with audio from her single "I Don't Think We've Met" and an "Electronic Press Kit" video with clips of her working on the new album. I'm not sure how I feel about the single yet, but some of those tracks in the EPK are sounding tasty.. especially the last one where they are playing in 5/4.

The album is slated to come out October 24th, but release dates from major labels are about as reliable as intelligence reports from Colin Powell. And judging by this message Nikka posted on her site yesterday, she might be running into another case of industry rule #4080:

FROM NIKKA:

HELLO ALL MUSIC LOVERS.....THE PEOPLE AT THE TOP SEEM TO NEED A LITTLE BIT OF HELP WITH THE BIG PICTURE....

AS MOST OF YOU KNOW I WAS NOT PUT HERE TO CONFORM TO WHAT IS BEING PUSHED ON MOST AIRWAVES....AND IT SEEMS THESE DAYS THERE IS LITTLE FAITH IN SOMETHING THAT IS DIFFERENT OR SOMETHING THAT MIGHT PUSH A FEW BUTTONS....IT IS SO EASY TO PLAY SAFE BUT WHAT WOULD OUR WORLD BE IF THAT'S ALL WE EVER DID?

IF YOU CARE ABOUT GOOD MUSIC, SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING WITH SOME BALLS AND NOT AFRAID TO CARVE A NEW LANE THEN PLEASE EMAIL THE CEO OF VIRGIN RECORDS AND LET HIM KNOW HOW YOU FEEL. PLEASE PASS THIS EMAIL ON TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS WHO CARE ABOUT GOOD MUSIC....THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME IN PARTICULAR BUT MY PASSION FOR SOMETHING BESIDES WHAT WE ARE FORCEFED EVERYDAY IN POP CULTURE AND ON THE RADIO.

THANKS AND I'LL SEE YOU ON THE ROAD!!!

If you want to help Nikka fight the power, you can hit the CEO of Virgin at: matt.serletic@virgin-records.com

A Conversation With Ty

Barry King, Ty, DJ Bizznizz

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A couple of weeks ago we had the honor of welcoming Ty to the radio station, along with DJ Barry King and DJ Bizznizz, who's been on the UK hip-hop scene for 20+ years. Here some excerpts from our conversation:

• Part 1
- "It try to paint pictures of myself as a victim as well as a victor.."

• Part 2 - Are Hip-Hop's traditions more respected abroad than in the US?


• Part 3 - Race in the UK

I'm also posting this to test the viability of using mp3 instead of realaudio around here. The sound is not as good on the 2nd file, although I encoded them all the same way. Maybe the levels were too high on that one?

Ty also did a quick freestyle for us, that I will add later.

Help Me Escape Realaudio

Since I got my new computer i've spent about a week struggling to make the latest version of the realaudio encoder perform what should be the most basic, easiest functions, to no avail. At this point I'm ready to do what I should have done a long time ago, and stop supporting this evil empire at all.

So I need some help, can you guys recommend the best way to make files that are of similar size and quality to realaudio files, without subjecting myself and my visitors to the horror of realaudio products?

Skillz Vs. Shaq

A month or two ago Shaquille O-Neal aimed a dis record at Virginia's underground stalwart Skillz (formerly Madd Skillz), sparking possibly the most peculiar beef in hip-hop history.

Skillz, after denying that he himself wrote Shaq's verse about him as part of a staged publicity stunt, came back at Shaq with a lukewarm response named "The Champ is Here," that began with a painfully stilted "guest appearance" by Ben Wallace, sounding an awful lot like Skillz took some Sportscenter clips and of Ben and pretended he was talking to him.

And now, according to hiphopsite, Skillz is about to put the Dis back into Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by aiming seven new tracks at Shaq on an upcoming mixtape.

To be honest, based on those first two tracks I think Shaq is actually winning this battle so far. But either way, something is seriously wrong if you need 7 tracks to beat anyone in a battle, much less Kazaam.

I still think this is all staged anyway, and will culminate in a three-way cage match between Shaq, Skillz and John Cena.

(via okayplayer)

Democracy is Like Sex, Get Free Tickets

Just got alerted to a promising event in Brooklyn tomorrow night, and the organizers have been cool enough to let me offer two pairs of tickets to you, my beloved readers. I need to get to sleep right now, but I will come back later this morning and put up a trivia question for the tickets..

EDIT: Okay here is the question: Up in the Bronx where the people are fresh, who was the one DJ that could pass the test? The first two people who send the correct answer to contest @ hiphopmusic.com will win a pair of tickets for the concert.

NEW EDIT: I heard through the grapevine the show is free now, and they will just ask for donations at the door.

And in the meantime check the info below, looks like a tight show for a good cause:

DEMOCRACY IS LIKE SEX: IT'S ONLY GOOD IF YOU PARTICIPATE

An incredible artist lineup including the legendary Pete Rock, Kurtis Blow, Immortal Technique, The Fire Department (Eric & Neal from Soulive), Groove Collective, Anthony B and MORE, in a show to benefit X The Box, The League of Pissed Off Voters, and ActivElement.

SO GET DOWN TO BROOKLYN AND SHAKE YOUR JUICY TO SOME GOOD GROOVES, because who wants a revolution they can't dance to? It is time to SWING THIS ELECTION OUR WAY... and if you got the groove, you got the power!

Thursday July 8
at VOLUME
Williamsburg Brooklyn
99 N 13th ST
Bedford stop on the L
Doors at 7
Show at 8
Tickets are 20$ at the door
18+

Featuring:
PETE ROCK
KURTIS BLOW
GROOVE COLLECTIVE
THE FIRE DEPARTMENT (Eric & Neal from Soulive) w/ special guest MCs
ANTHONY B
DJ G BROWN
DJ MKL
IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE
CUBAN LINK
AND MORE..

With Special guest speakers

http://www.rezenebe.com/democracy/

Music For America will be there registering people to vote

I thought the punchline would be "Democracy is like sex, you never ever want to see Dubya involved in either one," but they took it in another direction.

Escaping (and Finding) America

This weekend on the radio show we were graced with the presence of the mighty O-Dub and the esteemed Mr. Len (along with his group Bully Mouth, who need some home training but are nice on the mic). Then after things wrapped up I went home to pack for a quick trip to Montreal, where I am sitting now in an internet cafe on St. Denis.

Some of you may know I've been scoping out this town for a while, as an escape route if Dubya gets in again. One thing I can tell you for sure is I will definitely be back here every July from now on, because this Montreal Jazz Festival is redonkuloso. I can't believe this has been going on every year and I've missing it..

Most of my memories will be from the random acts on various stages that I'd never heard of, and the unofficial performers holding it down on streetcorners around the fair, like the group led by one of these guys that was killing "Chameleon" in front of the Musiqueplus on St. Catherine.

But the highlight so far (since the Jorge Ben show got cancelled) was seeing the Funk Brothers last night with Joan Osborne, Sam Moore, and the Four Tops (sans Levi). Such an honor getting to see so much history on stage, and having a chance to give some love to these men who gave us so much and got so little recognition for it. The evening felt especially historic when Sam Moore came out, since as Sam pointed out we were witnessing the first time in history that a Stax artist was backed up by the Motown band, as he held it down on "Shop Around" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg."

It was a beatiful night. I can't think of a better way to spend the 4th of July, in these strange and ugly times for our country, than taking the opportunity to step outside our borders and spend the evening with thousands of Quebecois and visitors from around the world, all coming together on Avenue Du President Kennedy to honor the pioneers of the Motown sound, the quintessential American music. A reminder, for one night at least, that America doesn't always have to be the shame of the planet. That once in a while, in our best moments, we ugly Americans can fill the world with beauty, and touch hearts around the globe with our love.

Join Us On the Radio Tonight: Fahrenheit 9/11 Giveaway

Once again we hit the airwaves tonight at Midnight EST, with our radio show the Underground Railroad. You can hear us online here, or on WBAI 99.5 FM if you live in the tri-state area. And while you check out the sounds you also can talk to us live in the chat room.

Thanks to our partner Joyce, we will celebrate Independence Day on the radio show tonight by giving away two pairs of tickets to Fahrenheit 9/11.

The tickets are for the Tuesday 7PM showing at Clearview First & 62nd Cinemas, and the winners will meet Joyce at the theater at 6PM to pick up their tickets. Joyce wants us to make sure some real hip-hop heads use these tickets, so we will be cooking up some trivia questions for you..

Tonight's show will also feature cameo appearances by Mr Len and several of his associates.

Female Emcees (and My Blueprint for Hip-Hop Blogging)

So seriously, I've been out of the game for so long, can someone remind me how this hip-hop blogging business works?

Oh yeah, I think I remember the formula now. I unearth some obscure web page that says something clueless about hip-hop, and then fulminate with rage against their cluelessness, milk it for a few snappy wisecracks, and use it as a springboard to pontificate ad nauseum. And, whenever possible, mention some famous person with whom I've discussed the issue.

Here's a breakdown of the recipe:

Step One: Quotation
Step Two: Fulmination
Step Three: Sarcastication
Step Four: Refutation
Step Five: Corroboration (i.e. gratuitous-name-drop-ization)
Step Six: Oh So Witty Summation

And now I will demonstrate, annotating each step, with an atrocity I recently found at CNN.com:

----------------

The first female rapper? The answer is...¹

No, the first woman to release a rap single was not Lauryn Hill or Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Queen Latifah or even Roxanne Shante.

Punk songstress Deborah Harry of Blondie served up the first female voice of rap. In the middle of "Rapture," a song that dominated the airwaves in the early 1980s, Harry launched into a rapid patter of words atop an irresistible beat. The formula, merging street with sexy, proved so powerful that Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown and other female hip-hop stars use it today.

Who the hell wrote this, and what the crap are they yapping about?!?!??² Golly, after watching CNN's coverage of the war in Iraq I would never imagined they could get a story so totally, totally wrong.³

As I'm sure most of this blog's readers will know, the first female emcees who put out a record were in a group known Sequence⁴, made up of Gwendolyn Chisholm aka Blondie (so if you said "Blondie did the first female rap record" you'd be sorta half right), Cheryl Cook aka Cheryl the Pearl (as cited by Kool Moe Dee on "Let's Go," where he mockingly compared LL's voice to hers), and Angie B (now known as R&B diva Angie Stone). Their single "Funk You Up" came out on Sugar Hill about a year before "Rapture."

And just as the Sugarhill Gang were far from the first rappers, Sequence were not the first female emcees by any means. Long before anyone was rapping on wax there were already female voices in the mix, includingPebblee Poo of the Masterdon Committee, Sha Rock of the Funky Four Plus One More (who later performed alongside Debbie Harry as the first rappers ever on Saturday Night Live), and the first all female crew the Mercedes Ladies.

Last Sunday the grand exalted Kool DJ Red Alert⁵ teamed up with my crew of DJs at Table 50 on Bleeker Street, and while he was waiting for his turn to burn G-Man and I asked Red to name the first female emcee he could remember, as a head who was around from the very beginning. He agreed with G that Sha Rock was the best female of the era, but said the first two he remembered seeing were Smiley (presumably the same one from the Mercedes Ladies) and before her a young woman known as "Little Lee" or "Lil Lee," who he said was also Melle Mel's girlfriend in the very early days.

I've never heard of Little Lee before, and neither has Google, but I would damn sure never doubt the Propmaster. Do any of our older readers remember her?

And for real though, does anyone know who I can talk to at CNN about this embarrassment? If CNN is this far off I shudder to think how Fox News would do: "and in 1988 the rap world welcomed a female voice for the first time, with the avant-garde innovations of Paula Abdul on 'Cold Hearted Snake.' Paula's pioneering work paved the way for today's reigning Queens of Rap, Northern State."⁶

----------

There you go, see how easy that was? It's just like shooting fish in a barrel riding a bicycle!

Picture Us Cooling Out on the First of July...

a coffee shop in montreal, callously mocking our fearless leaders

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Evidently you guys up north are having some kind of holiday? There seems to be some dispute over what you ought to be celebrating. But if nothing else you can always look southward and think of this as "At Least We're Not Those Guys" Day..

For example, you could revel in the pitiful truth that many Americans still wish the other side had won our Civil War. Like this guy, who ends his feeble critique of Air America thusly: "Hopefully, the liberal left is beginning their lonely march out of the American political landscape. Perhaps, we won't have to secede again after all! " Uhh, listen man, if you really want to leave that badly, don't let us keep you.

Think of How Many Weak Blogs You Slept Through..

Times up, sorry I kept you.

Okay party people, internet service has now been restored in my bedroom at our headquarters, and the hiatus is over.

Now, how does this blogging thing work again?