Crown Royale(Buff1 & Rhettmatic) - Get It Up[Live]
Ann Arbor's Buff 1links with DJ Rhettmatic of the World Famous Beat Junkies to form Crown Royale. The duo fell through the studio to debut one of the new bangas from their upcoming collaboration project exclusively for Hip Hop Official. Get A Bar!!
______________________________________________________ Junk Science - Fire Drill (Official Video)
After being featured in Complex Magazine, Wired Magazine, MySpace, MP3.com and more, Junk Science are amping up for their next album A Miraculous New Kind of Machine.
Check out Fire Drill, the first single from their upcoming album via Embedded Music.
The track will also be featured on a Def Jux iTunes label compilation coming out on April 14th!
Check out the video for "Roads" (featuring Scott Thorough & Probe) from Junk Science's 2005 album Feeding Einstein. ______________________________________________________
Now On's video for "The Willows" from their forthcoming album, "Tomorrow Already". Directed by Henry DeMaio. _______________________________________________________ MAYOR HAWTHORNE - "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out"
The rare 2002 music video for the 1st Supastition single, da Waiting Period, off of his debut album "7 Years of Bad Luck". Video directed by Piston Honda. Song produced by Hoodmuziq. Check out more Supastition at www.supastition.com and www.myspace.com. ______________________________________________________ Keith Murray "The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World"
Keith Murray's "The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World" video, first single from his, the same titled, debut.
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Keith Murray "The Rhyme"
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THE RHYME (JAY DEE / J DILLA) REMIX
______________________________________________________ FLYING LOTUS - It's A secret Video
*unofficial video* this is a reedit of a short that we originally made for Apple's 24hr Insomniac Film Festival A multi-media production company that specializes in filming live concert performances, EPKs, music videos, and much more.
www.myspace.com/greenlabcinema (PS: Did this Video Remind you OF something?!?!?!? Well, Here is what it reminded me of. DROOOOOOP!) - HsH The Pharcyde - Drop (produced by Jay Dee / J Dilla)
This is the first release in the "Produced in Norway"series on Plastic Strip Press, a new series showcasing talent from the Norwegian music scene on quality vinyl and digipack CD format.
This release features four different up and coming producers from the Norwegian hip-hop scene
J-Ramm(Jørgen Ramm)
Kolon Productions(Intact& FLG/Erik Norderval og Joakim Martinussen)
Nutsons(Erlend & Haakon Mjømen Knudsen)
Clark F(Marius Haugan)
They all have in common (with Nutsons as an exception) that they are part of a new generation of Norwegian beat producers that has grown up on the music of Jay Dee&Madliband the sound from Detroit and Los Angeles - compared to the earlier beat makers in Norway, more influenced by New York producers like DJ Premier, Pete Rock and Large Professor.
Many of the producers have worked tightly with foreign artists, either living abroad or hooking up through MySpace and this album showcases some of the collaborations with American, Swedish and English names such as Frank N Dank, Baatin(of Slum Village)Shawn Jackson, Leaf Erikson, Johnny 5, Organism 12 Niamh Mc Cartney and Illa J. Also some of the best Norwegian rap acts are featured such as Loys Doy, Onkl P & Jaa9, Budbringer, Follo Pluss, RSP, Freakshow and Toby Tones. _______________________________________
About the artists: _______________________________________
J-RAMM J-RAMM(the artist formerly known as J-Rose) is a rapper/producer hailing from Tønsberg, Norway. He has been producing beats for 5 years for various artists such as Dudley Perkins, MED, Frank N Dank, Shawn Jackson, Phat Kat and various Norwegian artists. He is an official member of the rap collective Ville Vestfold. More info:www.myspace.com/jramm99
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Kolon Productions (FLG & Intact) Kolon Productions consists of the two beat junkies FLG & Intact who has been producing and DJ`ing since 1999, when they sold their soul to the drum machine. They have worked with various artists such as Super Smash Bros, Slum Village, Leaf Erikson, Dutchmassive, Main, Freakshow and more.
Nutsons Nutsonsare two legendary brothers hailing from Oslo, Norway. They have been active as DJ`s, record collectors and producers on the scene in Norway for more than 15 years and have been DJs for everything from Dirty Oppland to URO. They released their first and only release, the Sleaze Cheesebourg EP in 2002 to critical acclaim.
Clark F Clark F hailing from Tønsberg, Norway have been producing beats for more than ten years for various people such as Green Lantern, Dorthe Skappel (!!), Nils M Skills, Evig Poesi. He is an official member of the collective Ville V.
About theProduced in Norwayseries:For the last years the number of releases of quality Norwegian hip-hop and experimental music on CD and vinyl has declined, even though there are more talented rappers and producers than ever before. Digital technology has allowed new artists to merely MP3 their tracks, after they are removed from the MySpace playlist, most of the music disappears. The Produced in Norway series tries to document the vast landscape of music laying on dusty harddisks all around the country.
Go towww.plasticstrip.nofor more info, soundclips, coverart and how to get this release.
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WORDS FROM THE HERO
You have Absolutely no IDEA how exciting this is for me and how proud I am to be able to finally post this project up! Tho the project is kinda like A double edge sword for me, my love for my friends and fam completely out weights my desire for exclusive rights or being the 1st to release something. It all started back in 2005 when my good friend and Fam LEAF ERIKSON (DETROIT heavyweight) put me onto my current favorite beatmaker of all time ..... INTACT! of (KOLON PRODUCTIONS)...
I met Intact during the time I was starting to record DISC 2 of the highly anticipated (never released) album MUSIC 2 SLEEP TO. I was lucky enough to get about 7 tracks from Intact which are doper than your favorite Producers best Battle Beats. Among those tracks is the 1st single off the RE:release of Crush Your System - "THOUGHT" produced byINTACT b/w "Shuffle Step" (feat. Buff1 & Finale) produced bySamiyamwhich will be released as a Limited Edition Seven Inch.
Now, between the time we met and now, There were a few Roadblocks and changes made (1 of them being the Rawkus 50 project which derailed my plans for Music 2 Sleep To disc 2) I later Recorded an Album with ALL INTACT Production and Titled it QUIT WORK MAKE MUSIC and then as Im sure most of you know.... my Macbook Crashed and I lost everything I had done the past 2 and a half years. What people do not know about the situation is by loosing my MACBOOK I also lost all of the stuff I had on my external Hard drive which was bounced to the macbook the 2 or 3 months before the Crash during my attempt to remove Windows Parrallels and Install Logic Studio Pro(LONG STORY).......
To make a long story short, Domination Recordings is re:RELEASING a REVAMPED version of my Rawkus release"CRUSH YOUR SYSTEM" which will feature the Single mentioned above plus a few other Bangers I have managed to keep from everyones ears and inboxes (which is hard being I Love to share my music as I make it). On top ofCRUSH YOUR SYSTEM (The Physical Version)I will be releasing my new(major) album in the FALL which will feature 7 joints fromINTACTthat will make heads explode!!!! of those, will include"THOUGHT" (version 2featuringLEAF ERIKSON)& "GROW"(version 2featuringLEAF ERIKSON, BAATIN & WILL WIDDOSS) - The album will also feature productionfromDAVID LUKE, SOTU the TRAVELER, KOEN of BLOCNOTES, IllMIND, SAMIYAM, M-phazes, CROUP, MARVELOUS & ASTRONOTE + more. Only thing that is not for Certain yet is if this release will be titled "QUIT WORK MAKE MUSIC" or "THE NEXT FINAL FANTASY" either way it is my best work to date and my most personal and precious work, Ive been working on this project since 2004 and have Held off on releasing it for a number of releases (which I know producers hate) but I played my cards smart and I will win with the hand I have in the end thanks to my and everyone I worked with's patience.....
So it is A wonderful feeling thatINTACT and FLGalong with so many more Talented Producers are Finally about to get some shine!!!!! so Go ahead and check the snippets in the YOUTUBE video Below and Check all the myspace LINKS and purchase this ALBUM!!!!!! it is AMAZING HsH
THE HOBBYSHOP HERO Proudly Presents.... Super(Classic)Producer / DJ KIXNARE
WORDS FROM THE HERO
I was 1st introduced to KIXNARE by my dear friend and Amazing Musician Will Widdoss. Apparently KIXNARE had done a few tracks w/ Will for his Debut mixtape "VENTILATION" but due to the enormous amount of music content out there as well as my limited attention span, it wasn't until months after Will 1st put me onto kixnare that I actually got a chance to check out his stuff.
KIXNARE is one of the Few SUPERPRODUCERS of the NEWSCHOOL that kept to the philosophy "IF ITS NOT BROKE, DON'T FIX IT" He manages to piece together Instrumentals that Rival any and every current producer surrounding him and does it w/ A touch of nostalgia, When I Hear A track from KIXNARE It sounds like A Track that should have been on NAS "Illmatic" or Biggie smalls "Ready 2 Die". A few producers I know of can pull this off w/ ease and style: Kixnare, Dela, The Deepnotes, jewbei, just to name a few. Now, don't get me wrong im not one of those whom are stuck in the past and refuse to accept progression. In fact I can honestly say Among those of whom I just mentioned in my favorites who can pull off a Classic Golden Era sound. I Also love the Out of this world, Advanced Styles of cats like Mono/poly, Afta-1, Take, Lotus, Samiyam, Illmind, etc....
But Enough of the explaining. Today We shine our BAT Symbol Spot light on KIXNARE and his humble contributions to this culture. I have been meaning to post his "Class of 90's" mix since a little after I started the HsH but never got around to it. So when Kix hit me up and sent me a link to his new mix he did for and in collaboration w/ http://tenisufki.eu I knew that I would finally have my chance to spread this dope mix. Good thing is now instead of just one Mix, You get Two.
"Fresh Squeezed Juice" is a mix displaying Kixnare's DJ side, while "Class of 90's" Diplays Kixnare's Production over classic Accapella's from the BoomBap Golden Era. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. - HsH P.S. The Kixnare / Dutchmassive Collabo track will be posted soon.
1. flashback 2. crooklyn / crooklyn dodgers 3. c'mon wit da get down / artifacts 4. life's a bitch / nas feat. az 5. remember we / da bush babees 6. stressed out / a tribe called quest 7. 9th wonder / digable planets 8. itz soweezee / de la soul 9. danger / blahzay blahzay 10. bomdigi / erick sermon 11. last dayz / onyx 12. outcome
The Suite For Ma Dukes EP. This project was put together by Carlos Nino and Miguel Atwood Ferguson, and it's a 4 song EP featuring orchestral interpretations of some of J Dilla's finest work. Go show some support and buy the full project on iTunes, or cop the vinyl when it drops in April via Mochilla. - [source - OKAYPLAYER]
Carlos Nino & Miguel Atwood Ferguson"Fall In Love"
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WORDSFROMTHEHERO
I recieved an Email today from SuperProducer "DERT". It was A Video he took while Attending the "Suite For Ma Dukes" Concert on February 22nd, live at the Harriet and Charles Luckman Fine Arts Complex, in L.A. The Email said to post in on the Blog so here I am, and watching it via you tube doesn't hold a candle to being in the concert hall live listening to A 36-piece orchestra perform the Suite For Ma Dukes EP.
Big ups to Dert for sending this out to everyone, I hope to see more footage surface. If any does, I will update and add to this post. Id be really surprised if they don't end up releasing an Official DVD of the EVENT. I would love to own that priceless gem, but more than A Dvd I wish I could have been in L.A. for the event.
33````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````THE HOBBYSHOP HERO presents... TIME TRAVELING W/ ILLA J.
Illa J Interview(Originally Posted On UKHH.Com Oct 9th 2007)
Interviewed by Ryan Proctor
The loss of a loved one can impact those left behind in many different ways. In the case of 20-year-old John ‘Illa J’ Yancey, the tragic death last year of his older brother, producer J Dilla, motivated the aspiring beat master to start chasing his dreams.
Born into a musical Detroit family, the youngest of the Yancey clan watched as his big bro climbed the hip-hop career ladder one dope track at a time, ascending from underground Motor City talent to being considered one of the greatest producers of all-time by the global rap audience. When Dilla lost his lengthy battle with the lupus disease last February, Illa J decided to turn personal tragedy into triumph, making moves towards his own music career while honouring his talented sibling every step of the way. In April 2006 Illa was asked by live band Guerrilla Funk Mob to perform Dilla’s rhymes at a Detroit tribute show, a concept which was taken on the road soon after for a European tour. The young Yancey was also seen appearing as his brother’s likeness in the video to ‘Won’t Do’, a track lifted from Dilla’s posthumously released BBE album ‘The Shining’.
Having dropped out of university and relocated to Los Angeles in order to further his plans, it’s clear that Illa J is serious about leaving his mark on the hip-hop landscape. Currently putting the finishing touches to a debut album that will see Illa both producing and rhyming, he’s also working on projects with former Dilla-associates such as Guilty Simpson and Phat Kat, as well as filling the void left by his brother in the Cake Boys collective, which also counts Frank-N-Dank as members.
In London for a few days recently, UKHH met up with a humble but determined Illa J at his Camden hotel to talk about Dilla’s legacy, musical influences, and the need to be original.
Turn it up!
Considering you were substantially younger than Dilla, at what point did you actually realise that your brother was a producer?
There wasn’t really a particular point when I realised that my brother was a producer because music was something he’d always been doing while I was growing up. I’d go to bed at night and he’d be working on something and then I’d wake up in the morning to go to school and his music would still be playing (laughs). My parents were musicians as well so music was just something I was used to being around and it was a natural thing to me.
Was there a moment though when you realised that the music your brother had been working on in your family home was actually having an impact across the world?
The first time I saw the video to The Pharcyde’s ‘Drop’ on TV I was like, ‘Oh damn! My brother did that.’ Then the ‘Runnin’ song blew-up for them as well. But at that point I was still so used to Dilla being involved in music that it really didn’t register with me how many people were actually out there hearing what he was doing. It was until after Dilla passed and I did a tour in Europe that I really saw the impact of what he did. It was just amazing to me that I was all the way out in another country and yet my brother had touched so many people in these different places with his music. That’s when I really felt the impact of what he’d achieved. It was crazy to see that but it also gave me a sense of closure and comfort knowing that so many other people had love for my brother and that his memory will always stay alive because of that.
When did you decide to get involved in making music yourself?
I always wanted to do music from when I was younger, but at that point in my life I was worrying too much about what other people would think. Beings as my brother was so exceptional at what he did, I didn’t want to get into it because of all the pressure that would come from being Dilla’s brother. But after he passed I realised that life is short and that I should just do what I love to do, which is make music. Plus, I felt it was my responsibility to help keep my brother’s legacy alive and try to take it to the next level where it deserves to be.
How would you describe the Detroit sound?
All of the music comes from the surroundings. If you’ve ever been to Detroit it’s like there’s a feeling there that influences all of the music that comes out of the city. It’s a hard thing to try and explain, but there’s a soulful sound in Detroit that comes from back in the Motown days, but then there’s also a hardness to what we do which comes from the environment people are living in today.
Do you have a particular approach to making beats?
For me, it just comes naturally. At the end of the day, I don’t like to force anything. If I have an idea I’ll work on it, but if I don’t have an idea on a particular day I won’t sit down and try to push something out. It just so happens that ideas do come to me a whole lot (laughs). I mean, I write songs all the time. I was at the Prince concert here in London last night and I wrote a song while I was sitting waiting for him to come onstage. Whenever an idea comes to me I’ll try and put it down right then because I like to let the creativity flow and let it be natural. I’m on the edge of so many different musical genres with what I do but it still has that hip-hop feel to it. The one thing that all great recording artists have in common is that whenever they put out a new album, you don’t know exactly what to expect, but you know it’s going to be something fresh and exciting. A true artist isn’t afraid to try new things. I mean, if you look at what my brother did, he reinvented his sound a number of times. The early music he made as Jay-Dee sounds different to what he did as Dilla, which sounds different to the Dill Withers stuff that came out on ‘Donuts’. That’s what music is about to me, just letting your creativity flow in whatever direction it wants to go in.
What prompted your decision to move from Detroit to Los Angeles and how has that influenced your creativity?
The first time I went to LA I was visiting my brother while he was out there and I loved the place from that point on. After Dilla passed I wanted to move out there because he’d lived out there and I wanted to follow in my brother’s footsteps. I think it was the right move for me to make and it really helped me deal with Dilla’s passing. Plus, I feel so much better out there than when I’m in Detroit. When I go back to Detroit, almost as soon as I land I can feel how stressful it is there. Also, there’s a lot going on in Detroit that distracts me from doing what I need to do. But in LA I feel totally free and that’s how I think my mindset should be as an artist; I should be able to let my mind float freely and let all the creative juices go to work. Plus, in LA people get things done, whereas in Detroit a lot of people talk about doing things but don’t ever actually do them. It seems there’s more of an aggressive mind state in LA, compared to Detroit which can sometimes have something of a lazy atmosphere.
Aside from your brother, who were your musical influences growing-up?
Well, as with Dilla, my musical influences really start with my mom and dad. They had a jazz acapella group and would always rehearse in our living room. That’s really how I got my musical ear from watching and listening to my parents. The first actual artist’s music I remember listening to was James Brown. After that, I’d say my other influences would be Michael Jackson, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Sam Cooke, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Zapp & Roger Troutman, Nirvana. I have very broad musical tastes, so it’s hard for me to name all of my musical influences. But as far as right now, I’m loving The White Stripes and Amy Winehouse. I listen to everything.
You’ve mentioned a lot of older artists there as influences which isn’t something that’s particularly common amongst younger artists today, particularly in hip-hop. Do you think it’s important to have an overall awareness of those musicians who’ve come before you?
Yeah, I definitely think that’s important. You should know the history of the music you’re getting into and where it came from. That can only help in what you do because it enables you to appreciate the music more.
As Dilla’s brother, do you think people will only expect a certain sound from you and do you feel pressured to conform to those expectations?
I feel comfortable putting out whatever I want to put out, with respect to what people expect from me as Dilla’s brother. I mean, my brother told me to just do me and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Whether other people like it or not, at the end of the day I have to like the music I put out otherwise there wouldn’t be any real purpose to it. It’s crucial for me to feel what I’m doing myself before I even let anyone else hear it. But when people ask me about comparisons to my brother I always tell them, there will only ever be one J Dilla, and when I come out it’ll be as myself, Illa J. If I was going to say anything about myself as an artist, it’s that I’m original. Everything that I do comes from the heart.
Are you getting a lot of support from those artists Dilla worked with himself?
It’s weird because although I do get respect for what I’m doing, the Detroit crowd still see me like ‘Ohh, it’s Dilla’s little brother’ (laughs). So in a way I’m looking at that as a challenge to come out and prove myself to them because I don’t think the Detroit crowd really get it yet (laughs). But the people I’ve already worked with definitely have respect for me as an artist first and foremost. At the end of the day, I don’t want to build my career just off of being Dilla’s brother. I want people to be able to look beyond that and see me as an artist.
If there was one album throughout history you could’ve been involved in as a producer what would it be?
It would have to be Michael Jackson’s ‘Off The Wall’ album because every time I listen to it I can hear all the hard work they put into it, but at the same time you can tell they were having fun with the music as well. Like on ‘Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough’ and ‘Workin’ Day And Night’, they’re playing with glass bottles, shakers, anything they could get their hands on (laughs). That whole album has got such a good feeling to it and its energy is timeless.
If we were to sit down again in five years time, what one career goal would you want to have achieved?
Honestly, all those BET awards and everything are cool, but I want some Grammies on my shelf (laughs). I have such a strong passion for music and I want to share that with as many people as possible.
Illa J:Aww nothing just you know, staying on my craft, you know just pretty much moving forward with the music.
Mikey McFly: Let's get down to it, how is your upcoming album, Yancey Boys, coming along and what brought about the concept for that project?
Illa J:Well first it came out like really dope, in a sense I expected it a certain way, and actually it turned out better than I thought it would turn out and I exceeded my expectations, but as far as how the project came about, I know a lot of people think I already had the beats and just kind of went in and did an album but Delicious Vinyl actually already had the tracks. Like all the tracks on the album were made from 95-98, so like 10 to 13 years ago and I met Mike Ross, the president of Delicious vinyl, last spring in April of '07 or maybe before that and he gave me a CD with like 38 tracks, those were tracks that my brother did between 95-98, tracks he did for Pharcyde and remixes for Delicious Vinyl. At that time, he didn't even know I did music and and he told me to pick a track and let's see what turns out. The next time I saw him was January '08 and I let him listen to a song that I wrote about December 13, 2007, when I went to see Stevie at the Nokia center. I mean, it's Stevie and I was so inspired [by his performance] that I eventually started teaching myself piano. A week after that I wrote my first song on piano I contacted Mike Ross and told him about it. I was like "You got to hear this song!" In February '08 I played him the song on the motif that I wrote he said "oh man thats dope" and I played him some more joints and he wanted me to play at some clubs and on that thursday, which happened to be my brother's birthday I performed the songs. Originally the project was going to be compilation with all the artist my brother has worked with but then it was decided that I should do the whole album and thats how it started.
Mikey McFly:The funny thing is after I heard your first single "We Here" and the joint "R U Listenin ?" with Guilty Simpson, I realized that those beats don't sound aged at all, almost as if he just made them.
Illa J:They are relevant and they are still ahead of their time.
Mikey McFly: My first introduction to you came by way of your appearance in J. Dilla's "Won't Do" video and after snooping around on the net, I came up on your EP. How long have you been creating music?
Illa J:Well the EP honestly wasn't really an EP at the time just a collection of songs. At that time I didn't have studio equipment and when I could use somebody else's studio, I'd go in and make some beats and create some joints pretty much to get some practice in . Practice makes perfect, you got to start somewhere with your craft. The EP was just me messing around with different machines. Music has been with me since I was brought into this world because of my family, music was always around, it was apart of the daily life in my household because everybody was a musician, everybody could sing and being from Detroit, everybody knows somebody who sings or does music, there are so many musicians in the city. I always knew growing up that I'd get into music whether it would be being an artist or on the business side. Before my brother passed, around the first two years of college I first realized that music would takeover and I couldn't help but to write . After he passed, I realized life is short and Feb 10, 2006 [Date of Dilla's passing], I knew everything was going to change.
Mikey McFly: My favorite track from that EP, that really wasn't an EP, was a track called "I Ain't Gonna Die". How did you start making beats?
Illa J:At that time, thats when I just got out to Cali, my mom would come out and we would stay at Common's crib. Eventually my boy Houseshoes from the D moved out here as well. He said he had the 2 and the 3 (MPC 2000 and 3000) , I asked to come over and get a little one on one with the machines. Coming up as an artist, I didn't really have the money to get studio time and I didn't have the room for a drum set. I just started with 3 and 2 and just started making beats at House shoes'. Thats kind of like my beginning stages, you could tell, I'm just messing with different kinds of sounds. Those were my first tracks and it was fun making them. You get geeked the first time you hear yourself recorded. eventually you find your own unique voice and understand the right pattern to sing or rhyme to.
Mikey McFly:In your opinion, what are the advantages of being an emcee and producer?
Illa J:Well first, I produce a little bit but I see myself more as a songwriter. People get confused because they want me to produce for them but I'm more of a song writer with a vision of a producer. As soon as i make something I write to it. Eventually I'll start putting a band together when I start recording my tracks. The music ais orchestrated in my head and it would be dope to have a band to translate my vision.
Mikey McFly: It's almost like you want to play the role of Quincy Jones, almost like how he produced Michael Jackson's Off The Wall album.
Illa J:Yeah, I want to be on some Prince type shit. Right now I play bass, and piano. I'm going to start taking drum lessons this year. I have so many ideas and sometimes another person wont be able to express the ideas you have so why not learn to do it yourself.
Mikey McFly: The city of Detroit has made many contributions to music from Berry Gordy and Motown to Hip-Hop acts such as your brother, Royce Da 5'9", Eminem, Slum Village, etc. How do you plan to make your mark?
Illa J:I dont know how people look at Illa J, when I make my music I make its always from the heart and soul,because at the end of the day I can only be the best at what i do. Once the right producer comes along and helps my writing, things can progress. I want to be like my brother, just leave my mark as far as no matter what music you listen to, you know that it came from my heart. That's whats good about Delicious Vinyl, they allow me to truly be an artist and and on my album I'm freely expressing myself and there are no limits on what I can and can't do.
Mikey McFly: Alot of artists seem to forget how music should be made. At the end of day isn't about the materialism, it's all about coming from the heart.
Illa J:Like one thing I've learned as a writer, its already been songs written about everything but whats different is that if you have something to say thats from your heart and you put it on record its different because all through history you had songs with the same song titles and the same kind of song concepts. Perfect example was when I first came out here me and Shoes would have beat contests where we would try to flip the same record. His beat was what he got from the record and and when I made my beat thats how I expressed myself as an artist. In a sense of being original, you can't be anybody but you, and you have to be yourself as an artist.
Mikey McFly: What artists do you want to collaborate with in the near future?
Illa J:I definitely know when I schedule it, I want to work with Karriem Riggins, his sound goes with my songwriting style. The type of music he makes is funky. He's a polished drummer but he's funky and on the next album I definitely got to get a verse from Common.
Mikey McFly: I want to give you props on the AOL freestyle with Aaron Lacrate. We all know that freestyling is an essential part of rap and its good to see artists keep that tradition alive. What is your view on the current climate of hip-hop?
Illa J:To me Hip-hop never really left, its just not being put out there as much. Its wierd, because we need these times to appreciate on the music that we have. Honestly alot of this music is garbage and you appreciate when people do it for the love. I think overtime, artist will continue to do it from the heart and get back to how it should be done. When people do it from the heart, it becomes inspiring. I think over time will continue to just do it from the heart. We all go through our little recessions. Music went through many phases from funk then disco , to superpop in 80's. I think it's definitely going come back around to the liveness and the freshness, its not gonna be exactly like the golden era but you know its gonna be that live feeling, lets have some fun that lets rock the spot, what its really about, our escape from what we go through during the week. Like lets listen to Redman's Rock Da Spot, like thats the shit, for when i wanna vibe out, man its so fresh. "You can quote this, I'm the Moby Dick of dopeness..." It's not going to be exactly like it was, I mean even with the whole political shit, it takes these recessions and these hard times for us to learn how to be better the next time.
Mikey McFly: Your brother, Jay Dee, was one of hip-hop's greatest producers. I'm sure as his younger sibling you've been exposed to a great deal. What was the best lesson that you've learned.
Illa J:As far as from my pops he brought me up on straight up jazz and it made it easier to understand the rest of the genres . He put me on to all the acapella jazz groups His main thing was to make sure that I learned music. My whole family supports all the music that I'm doing. As far as my brother, at one point even if they don’t goe all the way through with it, people think about Djing. One day, my brother set up the turntables and the mixer he said practice. I learned so much from that, I mean he could only show me much, and I have to find it within myself and put in that work ethic. You won't become a vet overnight, it takes alot of work and dedication and if it's worth it then why not? I mean one day you can look back and admire all the hard work you put in and see how far you came.
Illa J's Yancey Boys will be available on November 4th!! Go out and support real Hip-Hop.
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