WESTAKOASTA

[westakoasta]

Hello. I have this 50 minutes mix tonight on Rinse FM for the LuckyMe show. Strictly westcoast underground hip hop.

Mix starts around 1:30AM. You can stream it here: https://rinse.fm/

Much props to Martyn & LuckyMe for having me!

[westakoasta]

P-MINUS - 2019

Where are you from? And what’s your first memories linked to hip hop?

I’ve lived all over - Belgium, Germany, Ohio, Missouri, the Virgin Islands, San Francisco, and now Los Angeles.  But I spent the most years, including high school and college, in Missouri, so I feel like that’s where “I’m from.”  I first remember hearing hip hop while living on St. Thomas (in the Virgin Islands) and the three songs that started me on this journey were “I Need Love,” by LL Cool J, “You Be Illin’” by Run-DMC and “Fight For Your Right To Party” by the Beastie Boys.  I must have heard them on the radio, so that would have been 1987 - the year of my hip hop birth.  In 1988, I moved back to Missouri and a neighbor of mine had a ton of rap tapes so I’d borrow his tapes all the time or listen to them in his car on the drive to school.  I believe that the first tape I ever bought was Schooly D’s “Smoke Some Kill” (1988).

What got you started with Atak Distribution, how and when did it begin?

Fast forward to 1994 - I had graduated from college, where I had been the Hip Hop Director at the school’s radio station, and moved to San Francisco where I began an internship at Gavin, a music magazine that curated Top 40 lists for radio programmers.  Somehow through that job, I met DJ Stef (editor of the Vinyl Exchange) and started writing record reviews for her.  And on one fateful day, I received a copy of Sacred Hoop’s “Demo” tape for review and I thought it was the freshest thing in the world and in 1996 I officially became an underground hip hop junkie.

Were you a hardcore music collector before you started Atak?

Before Atak, I had a decent cd and record collection, full of ‘90s “golden era” major label releases, but hardly any tapes and barely anything considered “indie” or “underground.”  Back then I wasn’t a collector, just a music fan, because all this incredible music was just sitting at the record stores for $12.99.  I shopped a lot at Amoeba and Rasputin’s and a few other smaller stores in the Bay area, plus a few record labels and artists would send me promos for review.

How did you choose what would be in your catalog? How did you make contacts with the artists?

Starting with Sacred Hoop, I was certain that this amazing group wasn’t getting the exposure it deserved, so the seeds of Atak were first planted.  I then started soliciting for more submissions through the Vinyl Exchange and some other Bay area rap magazines, such as 4080.  I think that the Hoop started spreading the word, too, because I soon started getting tapes from the likes of FTA, Megabusive, San Francisco Street Music, Jedi Knights Circle, 99th Demention and others from the South Bay and SF.  Somewhere in there, I met up with the Mystic Journeymen, bought some tapes from them, and was eventually exposed to Berkeley and Oakland artists such as the Living Legends, Hobo Junction, Zion-I and Illa Dapted.  If I liked your tape, it would get in the Atak catalog.  The first printed mail-order catalog had 12 tapes in it and the very first tape sold was Mystik Journeymen’s “Escape Forever” on August 10th, 1996.

Was the mail-order a full time job or did you have other occupations (studies, other job?)?

During the first few years I had several jobs: the Gavin internship became a paid job, I worked at a grocery store and then later at a vegetarian cafe.  Eventually, since my rent was cheap and I was starting to sell more music, I was able to do Atak full-time.  All the storage and shipping was done out of my bedroom.

Did you have many overseas/international customers and what role did that play in the business?

It looks like I started getting my first international orders (from Finland!) in 1997.  I don’t know how they found out about Atak, but they were serious fans of West Coast underground so word spreads fast amongst those folks.  Fans in Finland, Australia, Canada and Japan were my strongest supporters, with a few folks in France and Germany, too.  This was before I started selling online, so these folks were trusting me with their cash and money orders and I will be forever indebted to them.  Through these customers, I was exposed to international hip hop and eventually started selling music from the likes of Ceebrolistics, the Sebutones, mcenroe, Mary Joy Recordings, Muphin and the Hilltop Hoods.

What was the « peak » year in terms of sales and in terms of quality of music?

After a year or so of mailing out catalogs and setting up tables of merchandise at shows, Atak finally got online with the help of one of my earliest customers, Todd (aka Vic aka Celph Titled), who was extremely active on hip hop message boards, and he really helped spread the word around the U.S. and the world, so Atak started getting more non-Bay area music in the catalog and I started getting  orders from everywhere.  I think that the music quality was strong start to finish.  I was listening to everything before I put it in the catalog, and if it wasn’t dope, it didn’t get in.

Did you ever wanted to make Atak a bigger thing, like UGHH or such?

There was a time in which I would have loved for Atak to get really big, because it was all so much fun - all the shows, meeting the artists, hearing a ton of new music, even the packing and shipping was fun for me.  But in hindsight, it is clear that I was better at being a huge fan of the music rather than being a savvy businessperson.  At the point in which digital music started taking off, I didn’t have the technical knowhow to adjust accordingly, and a big part of me still simply loved selling physical copies.  As a fan, I didn’t want everything to go digital, but as a businessperson I should have dived in headfirst to keep up with the other big websites.  I admired what the other sites were doing, and what friends like Shane (aka Kegs) was doing with Below the Surface - putting out records, putting on shows, opening a brick-and-mortar storefront.  But part of me liked keeping things small and simple, but that clearly pushed me into smaller and more obscure corner of the online hip hop biz and eventually bumped me out of it altogether.

You did some cd-r reissues as well as a couple of mix-cds. Any temptation of launching a proper record label (as in: « new release, no reissue ») at some point?

I’d been wanting FOREVER to start a label and put out records!  I made a feeble attempt to put out an Atak compilation in the late ‘90s, full of all the folks that were in my catalog at the time.  I was able to get maybe 7-10 crews over to my house one night to talk about it, but since I had no idea how to really put it all together, I ended up getting one original song, from Nitrous Ox, out of that great big idea.  More recently, I’ve been hoping to help folks put out releases but nothing has materialized just yet.  Nowadays almost everyone is really good at getting this stuff done themselves, so I’m happy that they are taking control of their destinies and getting their music out to the world.

Can you give us your personal Top 5 favorites in your sale catalog? Also one that you think was dope and didn’t have the recognition it deserved?

In no particular order, I’ll list a few of my favorites, but I’m obligated to mention Sacred Hoop’s “Demo” (aka “Sacred Hoop” aka “Runny Poop”) first since that tape inspired everything.  I was also thrilled to be able to pick up indie music from the Hieroglyphics (“Hiero Oldies”)and Saafir (Hobo Junction’s “Limited Edition Compilation”) since I was such a fan of their major label stuff.  I really liked Red Tide’s “Rogue MCs” tape.  Disflex6’s self-titled debut (aka “1984”) was great.  The Kracken’s “Abstract & Cognac” left me wanting much more.  The Sebutones’ “50/50 Where It Counts” blew my mind!  Early stuff Dose One and Why? showed me that hip hop had no boundaries.  This is an extremely abbreviated favorites list - as I look back through my old catalogs, I realize that I loved them all.  It was all so new and so fresh and I think these artists all deserved more recognition than they got.  I’m glad that I could help expose them a bit but I wish I could have done a lot more.

Did you developed friendship with artists/crews over those years and do you have interesting stories/ anecdotes linked to that?

My anecdotal memory is terrible so I’ve sadly forgotten a ton of great stories, fantastic show moments and hilarious conversations.  Looking back, I should have kept a journal or taken a million photographs, because we all had so much fun and did so much back then.  But, luckily for me, I’ve been able to keep in touch with a few of my very favorite people, emcees Luke Sick (Sacred Hoop/Grand Invincible) and Roughneck Jihad (Third Sight), and producer Deeskee (who has probably produced more songs in the Atak catalog than anyone else).  And luckily for everyone else, all three of these guys are still making incredible music, more than 20 years after giving me tapes to review.  A few weeks ago I got to hang out with The Grouch for a bit and he gave me a copy of his “F...the Dumb” double vinyl, 20 years after I first sold that tape in the catalog.

Why (and when) did you stopped Atak?

Atak started to slow down around 2004.  I had recently moved from the Bay area down to Los Angeles, gotten married, bought a house, and started another job that was able to pay the bills more reliably.  I was still getting orders and submissions from new artists, but wasn’t able to give Atak the focus it required to really push new artists and releases.  I didn’t have time to go to many shows anymore, and all my hip hop buddies were still up in the Bay.  I had ambitions to reboot the website, but then my web host got hacked and I had to shut down the site...and then I never got it back online.  I eventually moved my inventory onto some other online platforms and kept selling, but for the most part, Atak was done.  I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to the artists who submitted music around this time.  I was getting some great music but just didn’t have juice to do anything with it.

Any thoughts on the evolution of hip hop? What about the the come back of the cassette? Is it possible that Atak would make a comeback in the future, in some form or another?

Tough question, because I don’t keep up with much truly “underground” music anymore, so I really hope that there are a ton of dope kids putting out dope music out there, and I’m sure there are plenty of them.  I love 90’s hip hop so much, both major label and my Atak stuff, that that is what I still listen to the most, digging in my records, tapes and cds or bumping music in my car.  I agree with most true heads that a lot of today’s hip hop is junk, and though I’m happy to see rappers get big and make money, I’d much rather that it be good, original and compelling hip hop.  I’m stoked to see everyone buying and releasing tapes again, because of my love for the physical copy (though I agree that a free or cheap digital download is an essential part of that sale).  And in regards to Atak’s great big comeback, I don’t think it will happen - it would require too much time and energy to do it right.  But if I can still help out a few people, promote a few records, maybe even sell a few for my old pals, I’m happy to contribute.

A specific question from the homie Age: do you still want to reissue that Hi-State album?

I bugged my man Mr. E about that tape FOREVER and at least he finally put it up on Bandcamp (https://eightarrow.bandcamp.com/album/hi-state-project-demos-n-shit-vol-1) and we chatted about putting out a cassette reissue.  I’m sure he wouldn’t have much trouble selling a short run of 100 tapes, so I’ll remind him about it.  But I’m happy that fans can at least take a listen or buy it online.

What do you think was the most special in the 90's underground scene, and do you believe something like that would ever happen again?

I’ve never really tried to analyze that scene, but in retrospect, I bet that a lot of these emcees, producers and deejays were inspired by all the incredible major label releases that kept pouring out in that decade.  So much quality hip hop was coming out and it was easy to see on “Yo! MTV Raps” and BET and the good stuff was even getting on the radio!  It was everywhere and it was so damn good!  I’m sure that these kids just wanted to be a part of that magical time, and a lot of the underground music was super fresh, too, because it wasn’t easy to make beats and put out cds - they had to commit to it and create a whole scene and they had to be dope to do it.  Granted, I’m a old nostalgic rap dude now, but I don’t think the major or the underground scene will ever be that saturated with fantastically innovative, powerful, creative and inspired hip hop.  Nowadays there isn’t enough inspiration in the scene for there to be an onslaught of great new hip hop like there was for me back in the days.  There will always be a lucky few who can inspire themselves to be original and make great music, and hopefully these kids will get a chance to be heard.

Interview conducted by Kaliyuga Pro & Pseudzero with a bonus cameo by Age, february 2019.

[westakoasta]

MEGABUSIVE  - 2018

Can you tell us about your very  beginnings in the Hip-Hop culture and growing up in San Jose?

San Jose had a small scene that began to pick up steam in the early 90’s.  I got involved around 92 or so.  B-Boying and graffiti were pretty popular at the time.  I got my start there, and started rapping later on.  Around 1994.  The first show I ever did was at a legal graffiti spot in San Jose called the Barrio Art Gallery.  I did that show with my friend Dmitri, who is actually a cousin of my wife, but I didn’t meet her until much later, so that was a cool coincidence.  Dmitri was like a mentor to me in graffiti, and got us our first rap gig. The first rap group I was ever in was called Elements with Marc Price, Crescent, Esoin and Opski Chan.  We did some talent shows and stuff.

What led to your first demo as "Pro"?

I had been given an opportunity to do my first show, but I had no recorded songs.  A longtime friend and elder, Aiko Shirakawa gave me an opportunity to perform at an event she was putting together, but she said I needed ‘real’ songs.  I was part of a community group called Sages that Aiko helped facilitate and organize at the Hank Lopez Community Center in San Jose. It was sort of like Zulu Nation, but localized to San Jose and minus a lot of the more disciplined tenants.  We were young people who got together to talk about community issues, history, and trying to keep ourselves out of trouble.  I had attended meetings for a while, and Aiko gave me a shot to enter the more legitimate rap fray.  I was introduced to Tape Mastah Steph who helped with my first beats, along with Esoin. The songs I recorded for that show would later be featured on Four Track Anthems.

When did you switch to the name Megabusive and where does the name come from (it's a pretty cool one btw!)?

Thank you.  I appreciate that. I had been battling for a while.  Before heading off to a B-Boy event one Saturday, as I was getting ready I felt I needed a new name.  I wanted to something bold that was unconventional and got across what I was trying to do.  After fumbling around with variations of the word Mega, I just sort of fell into Megabusive.  At that moment, I knew I had found a name.

Can you tell us about this Epicenter Broadcast, how did you hook up with those guys? 

Epicenter Broadcast was a group formed by a cat named Axeom.  Axe, El Uno (the Unipersonalis), and Koan Abel were building together around ’96-97.  They were definitely pushing a more complex line than most other rappers of the time.  I had been friends with Axe for a while, and he brought me into the fold.  We were young, and everyone had different ideas about where things ought to go.  I myself was pretty wild and started focusing on my solo material. I actually recorded some of my first songs on El Uno’s 4-track.  Shortly after that I got my own 4-track.  It probably mostly had to do with my crazy behavior that we didn’t last long. We just ended up going our separate ways.  We had features together on a few different local projects, but that was pretty much it.

Your first cassette albums kind of stood out to me because it seems they were made with very simple equipment and also it was both sonically and verbally pretty original. There was a real will to offer something personal and fresh, no jazz or funk-related samples and every rap was pretty personal.

What was your state of mind when you recorded those albums? How did you live back then?

I was about 16 or so when I started making my own songs.  By that time I had been exposed to Hiero, Hobo Junction, Goodlife / Afterlife / Project Blowed, and Solesides so I was interested in more experimental music.  I leaned more toward darker tones and heavy bass because it just sounded good to me.  I really liked LL Cool J and Run DMC as a kid and so much of their stuff was mostly drum machines and DJ cuts.  I never really paid it too much mind.  When I first started getting going on solo projects, Killa Klove really hooked me up.  He did some of the first beats for songs I did as Megabusive, and taught me a lot about beat making and recording.  He sold me the drum machine and 4 track I used to record my first albums, and I just took it from there.  I didn’t have money for a sampler back then, so I worked with what I could afford.  I’ve also always felt that there’s something very fulfilling about having constructed your track from top to bottom.  I never much cared for how it compared to what other people were doing.  I was only really concerned for how I was doing what I was doing.

I was in my late teens.  Drinking, learning about drugs, hanging out with girls. Skateboarding. Graffiti.  That was my mindset.  I was going to shows by this time, so a lot of my direction also came from addressing what was happening in the local scene at the time.  Have beef with some crew…go home and do a song dissing them.  Have a fallout with a girl…make a song dissing her.  That was the formula.

Looking back, it's pretty crazy how active and influential the local scene in San Jose has been as far as west coast underground hip hop goes. Do you have some kind of an explanation for this, some key factors, or actors? Were the local scene pretty tight in the late 90’s, was there some kind of an emulation?

This was the mid-90’s so it was all still pretty new.  I’d credit Axeom and a cat named Mark Austria for influencing the tape trade in San Jose.  There were a lot of underground demos and dubs circulating at the time, but it was like some dark web shit.  Fools were mad stingy with dubs.  You had to be in with the in-crowd to even hear certain songs, sometimes.  Fortunately we had college radio and these dubs, which put us up on a lot underground artists.  There were also these cats Chad and Dylan that were deep in the tape trade.  I know they were responsible for helping spread things around. Aiko and Rob Rabang who threw Plan B at the Cactus Club are amongst the most influential.  They knew what was dope and they brought out a lot of folks from the underground to perform at their monthly events.

Another key player in the San Jose underground connection is Jason Dooley.  Jason and his crew TenSeven picked up where Plan B left off at the Cactus Club.  They brought out a lot of the really dope underground cats, and that gave us an opportunity to network and get to know each other  better.  They gave me a pretty open platform, as well.  While I wasn’t a ‘resident’ MC, you could pretty much guarantee I’d be rapping at some point during their events. Big up to BJ, Oscar, Carlos and their whole team for showing me as much love as they did.  Can’t say for certain where’d I’d be if not for them. Jason also loaned me the ASR-10 sampler that I used to produce Farewell to Analog and my record for Mary Joy.

Also integral to all of this were Shane Nesbitt of Below the Surface, and P-Minus at ATAK.  They were the first ones to ever sell our tapes, then later the CD’s.  Both were fully independent and mostly popped up at shows to sell merch.  Shane also had an actual storefront in Burlingame, then eventually in San Mateo, California.  They were essential to getting our music out to a broader audience, and influencing many of us to take a more professional approach to the construction and distribution of our projects.  I am eternally grateful to both of them.

You had a lot of collaborations with lots of different crews back late 90’s era (FTA/Highground, Westcoast Workforce, Shape Shifters, Sacred Hoop, New Moon, later Isolated Wax). How did you end up hooking with those crews/groups?

The FTA connection came from graffiti.  We had a little beef, but eventually became friends.  I went to school with Jaer and Demo so that helped to ease the tensions.  I was told they also appreciated that when confronted with the beef, I met it head-on instead of hiding or whatever, so that got me some respect.  I dug what those guys were doing, so I was down with mending fences.  We all really liked Hip-Hop and a few of us started writing rhymes together.  We got our real start by calling into radio shows and freestyling.  Early on we got a chance to pop by the radio station at Santa Clara University and became regulars for a short time on a show hosted by Sweet Lou.  He really helped us out back then, and I will be eternally grateful for that opportunity. Rase eventually got some equipment and that’s what really brought it all together.  His parents were really cool and let us hang out at their house a lot.  Most of the FTA stuff was done at Rase’s house in his room, or this motorhome he got and kept in the back of the house.  A lot of classic moments took place in that thing.

I’d known Joe Dub from attending Zulu Nation meetings in San Francisco when I was around 16 or 17, if memory serves. We hooked up again years later at the Cactus Club, and it was on after that.  Joey would come down to San Jose with AC75 and the homie Matty C.  They actually brought down the first 4 track we used, which eventually became Rase’s.  I think he might still have that thing somewhere.  We’d get hammered in the motor home and rap all night.  It was a great time.

I don’t want to fudge the history too much.  I was doing a lot of drugs and drinking back then, so some of the timelines are a little hazy.  To my recollection, Unbreakable Comb from FTA and his homie Liquid Gold were super committed to keeping up on all the new stuff.  They were in close contact with Axe and Mark Austria so they knew about stuff way early on.  They were the dudes who would be tuned into every college radio show, and really had their ears to the street. I’m about 98% certain they were the ones who put us all onto Sacred Hoop.  I was falling in and out of the crew during that time, while they all had been developing relationships with the Hoop. Fortunately I was able to be involved in the Moe’s Strange Hobby project.  I was a pretty wild kid at the time, and only wish maybe I would have heeded Luke Sick’s advice to take a few more shots at my verses, but still, I’m thankful to have been there at all.

During this period is also when Stealth Melters came into existence.  It started out as some sort of alias group I did by myself using 3 different voices for a song.  I had met some guys from the Santa Clara area who I thought were really dope, and had these wild styles.  I was introduced by THlostOT (lost in thought), who had actually been the person who inspired me to release my first tape.  He said he knew some people he was in college with who would dig them, so he ordered the first ever run of Megabusive tapes.  He showed me some stuff he and his friends were working on, and I was pumped.  I asked if they were down to do some tracks and it just went from there.  Pompous Kid on Trampoline/Luciferigno, Cire/White Noize, THlostOT, and I made an album together.  That was a really fun time.  Smoking a ton of weed and trying to be as absurd as we could.  It was awesome.  Later, Waste Management was created with the addition of Killichee Kows. My involvement was a little more limited there.  Later Cyvee, Deform, Killeechee Kows, and Kizmic would become Animal Liquids.  I love all those dudes to death.  

New Moon were from San Jose, and affiliated with the Daysmen Empire.  Piseas (of New Moon) is Style Misia’s cousin. I had known those guys for years, as we all came up around the same time.  Esoin and I were in Elements and he helped me with my first couple songs.  I had been really close with A-One through highschool, so we all knew each other.  New Moon had asked me to get on a track, so we did that.  They also appeared on my album Farewell to Analog.

I got to know Circus, Awol One, and Exist mostly through my having been affiliated with Anticon and through our LA connections fostered by Joe Dub.  I’d hang out at the Anticon Chalet in Oakland and they’d come through.  If they were ever elsewhere in the bay, we’d also get together.  The posse cut we did for the 3 Eyed Cows project was actually recorded in a hotel bathroom when the Shifters were visiting San Jose. I love the Shapeshifters.  Radioinactive I got to know more through hanging out with West Coast Workforce.

Workforce came about through Joe Dub.  We had been going to B-Boy Summits in San Diego and LA for a couple years and started building relationships with artists from down there.  Joe Dub was critical in keeping in contact with those guys and was eventually brought into Workforce.  I got added a little later on.  We did a couple joints and had a lot of fun.  I still have a lot of love for all those guys and still try to work with them when we can.  Much love to Subtitle, Life Rexall, Premonition, Anti MC, Joe Dub, Xololonxinxo, and Radioinactive.  Big shout out to Neila, as well.  She’s always been a major factor in the LA2THEBAY connection.

Isolated Wax is Dave Dub’s brainchild.  Dave Dub is a pillar of the San Jose rap community, along with Persevere, Barry Bones, Fanatik, Zes the Smoker, Encore, The Architect and 50 Gran. They had a crew called the Underbombers which was pretty much the toughest shit out of San Jose at the time, in my opinion. They’d all end up having the first releases out on Stones Throw and 75 Ark (run by The Automator). They had all been doing stuff for a while when I got involved in the scene.  I was a fan of Dave’s before I met him. I first met him at the Works shows that preceded Plan B.  We’d hang out a few times, and eventually became pretty close.  He had started Isolated Wax formally in about 2000.  We picked back up in the mid 2000’s because he was given a distribution opportunity and brought me onboard to help flesh things out.  All-in-all it was a pretty ambitious endeavor and I had a good time doing it.  Life has gotten very real for all parties involved, so it’s been a while since there has been an Isolated Wax release.

Your first vinyl appearance was on that dope Tags of The Times 3 compilation. How did that happen?

Man.  To tell you the truth, I don’t even remember exactly how that went down.  I recorded the songs and Deeskee’s house, though.  Deeskee is the brains behind LA2THEBAY.  At this time he was still living in Halfmoon Bay.  We’d met and hung out at different events around the Bay.  He was building up a pretty thorough endeavor at the time, so I was stoked to be recording with him on his ADAT.  I felt like I had hit the big time.

I’m really not sure how the record got initiated.  I do remember this cat Higo from Mary Joy was super cool, and really into what I was doing.  He was my contact at the label, and really helped move that along.  They had agreed to do a 12” single, but it never came out.  There’s 2 more songs and a couple test presses out floating around in the ether somewhere.  It was a huge push for me, though.  Still boggles my mind that I was even involved.  Big shout out to Higo, Shungo, and Hiro for trying to help me out.

Although you did several appearances during that period, there's a gap in your discography between 2006 and 2014 as far as doing a full album. Why such a gap?

Truth told, I just go through phases of discontentment.  I’ve had pretty severe mental health and substance abuse issues.  I’ve always enjoyed the community aspect of Hip-Hop, but feel there’s a lot questionable stuff that goes down in the music scene.  I’ve been pretty outspoken, mostly to my own detriment, and often wonder why I’m even involved.  Every few years I’m inspired by seeing what my friends and the OGs are doing, and it motivates me to put out new stuff.  I’ve been recording straight through all these years, but incentive to release records is minimal.  I’m not into this free model of giving away music and doing free shows, but I love the art and still enjoy aspects of the scene, so I do what I have to do to stay visible.  For the most part, though, being niche like I tend to be, while at odds with the establishment doesn’t generally lead to a favorable outcome.  There’s peaks and valleys.  I stopped trippin’ off people and scenarios I don’t like.  Now I just focus on the positive aspects.  It’s a lot less stressful.

How did the Hell On Hell album happened?

My good friend J the Sarge who I’ve known since highschool had been working closely with Myka 9 and the M9 imprint.  We got to talking, and one thing led to another.  The initial vision J had was more of a polished rap record, with a little more commercial sensibility.  I was recording songs and things were moving along.  While I was working on those songs, Awkward sent me the beats which would all eventually end up on Hell on Hell, and right away I started writing to those and decided I wanted to do sort of an ‘anti’ rap record.  Not against rap, but against the posturing and cool guy approach.  I had just had my first child, and thought I should be doing something more mature than what I had been known for.  There were a lot of social justice issues occurring at the time, and I just wanted to do something that was critical of the time we were living in, on all sides.  Not just the system, but also how we exist inside the system.  Not sure it went over well with the masses, but I’m glad we did it.  Much love to J and Myka for letting us do the record we wanted to do, even if ultimately it didn’t have the sort of appeal that a more hype record might have had.

You also changed your aka to Computer Chip. Was there a particular meaning to this?

I love computers and my name is Chip.  That’s the short answer.  Computer Chip is like the flip side of Megabusive.  As I’ve gotten older, the name Megabusive and the stigma it carries have sometimes felt burdensome.  I no longer battle rap.  I keep the swearing to a minimum.  The beats are more synthy and technical.  I just wanted to have an alternative outlet.  As time has gone on I’ve realized that Megabusive is both a blessing and a curse, but it’s how I’m best known and I should be proud of what I’ve built.  They’re interchangeable now.  Depends on the mood I’m in.

Then you recently started this new project with Gel Roc and Deeskee called Exalt The Anti. Can you tell us a little more about it, what the name stands for, etc.?

Basically, Gel Roc hit me up and asked if I was down to do a record.  We first met back in like ’99 and recorded for the 3 Eyed Cows tape together with the Shapes and EX2. I was down.  He also wanted me to do all the beats, which is a big deal for me because historically I’ve been told time and time again that my beats were wack.  This meant a lot to me, so I was up for the challenge.  I was moving around a bunch, and had my second child during this time.  It took a while to finish, but Gel was super cool about it and just kept encouraging me to do more beats and get songs done.  In all my time making music I’ve never had anyone take that much time and effort to help me along on a single project.  We’ve become really good friends over the course of the past few years.  I owe him a lot for that.  Luckily we were able to get Deeskee involved with the cuts, and then the final mix and master of the record.  It came together beautifully and I love those guys to death.

The name came from a chorus for the song Exalt the Anti.  We went back and forth with who’d go first, or who would do the chorus for each song.  I came up with that one just based on what we were trying to accomplish.  We both have a very similar mindset in regard to how we came up, the types of rap we like, and the way things have been on a steady decline for the past few years.  We’re not down with the bullshit.  Pretty much anti anything that isn’t what we’d deem ‘true school’.

Did you see the documentary Adult Rappers? What's your take on being 40 (or close to) and still doing that thing you love?

I haven’t seen the documentary.  I’m 39 now, and a lot of stuff still feels the same.  There’s the added concern of having a family, being more mindful of my physical and mental health, and trying to build and foster lasting/meaningful personal relationships with the people I work with. Just trying to do stuff that hasn’t really been said or done.  Dealing with cool guy shit, which is now magnified intensely by the internet.  Not having as many local events, and how few people show up to the events we are able to do is kind of a bummer, but it’s not new.  It’s just what I love. I do it for myself and the core group of people that are into it.  Trying to mature the sound some, but always having fun.  I still believe I might have a shot at doing something that reaches a larger audience, but I’m OK with how things are.  I’ve always been lazy and kinda crazy, so I believe I get out what I put in.  My wife is super supportive of what I do, and allows me the freedom to go about things at my own pace.  She even shot my last few videos.  It’s a real family affair.

Do you write the same way than back then? What did change on an personal, artistic point of view?

Having my kids has changed my perspective quite a bit.  I used to be really angry and it was reflected in my music.  I would often come off as aloof, or even bitter, but with some comedy. I was mostly just mocking other people.  Whether it was gangster rap, or other underground heads I didn’t like, I was always poking fun.  As I’ve gotten older, none of that matters as much.  My kids listen to my music and I feel like I owe it to them to be doing things more responsibly.  More personal introspection, and less anger.  With that I’ve also become more conscious of my cadences, delivery, etc.  I used to keep it to as few takes as possible.  If I had to record a song again, it probably wasn’t going to get finished.  Now I am definitely more meticulous.  I want it to be known and acknowledged that I am serious about what I do.  I also used to write more stream of consciousness style with very loose rhymes, whereas now I’m more into stacking rhymes and patterns.  Had to clean things up, and prove I’m not a one trick pony. I’ve just been a drunk with very little guidance.

And on a larger tip, how do you see the shift of that particular underground scene in terms of audience, sales, etc.?

It comes in waves.  Things will be very strong for a while, then it seems to calm down a little bit.  There are also other elements at play now, which have always been foreign to me.  Underground artists have a lot more options these days and are taking advantage of industry tools.  Coming up, I didn’t know anyone with a publicist or booking agent, and now it’s almost mandatory.  I have yet to retain such services, but have definitely considered it for future releases.  Why should everyone else get to have all the fun?  It takes a lot to get people to even check it out, let alone spend any money on it.  My feeling is that if you’ve got a strong product, and get out on the road, you should be able to move a few copies.

Finally, do you have new projects to come?

I’ve always gotten something in the pot.  Right now I’m just stacking tracks.  Dropping random one-offs online.  Just trying different things to get a read on what people like and what they don’t like.  While I make music to satisfy my own urges, it’s naive to totally ignore the audience.  I’ve learned that the hard way, but I wouldn’t trade my path for anyone else’s.  I’ve also been working on producing songs and records, so I’ve got a few collaborative efforts taking shape right now with some amazing artists, that we all know and love.  I’m really looking forward to those releases.

Thank you for taking time out to talk with me.  I apologize for taking so long.  It was a lot to remember, and I wanted to do my best not to leave anything or anyone out.

I may have mixed up a few of these dates and stories.  It’s been more than 20 years in some cases, and I’ve been a mess for a lot of it.  If anyone reading this disagrees with my memories of how things actually happened, I apologize.  If your name was mentioned, it’s all love.  There were so many people involved and it happened so quickly, in retrospect.  I want to send a thank you to everyone who has ever been cool with me, or helped me out along the way.  I’m not the easiest person to get along with, so I really appreciate those who have taken me as I am.  Peace.

https://megabusive.bandcamp.com/

https://music.abolanorecords.com/album/hip-hop-against-the-world

Interview conducted by Pseudzero, august 2018.

[westakoasta]

TOMMY V - WCI, 2003

Can you tell us about your childhood? Where did you grow up? Ok well me and my lil' brother Antonio were born at Queen of Angels Hospital in LA, my mother (RIP) was from Montana and my father is from Mexico. When we were  youngsters my mom wanted to leave LA (Mid-Wilshire area) and move back to Kalispell, Montana, where she was from. So there we were in good ol' Montana, soon after my parents got divorced, pops went back to LA and moms stayed in Montana. From then on I lived back n' forth from Montana to California, my pops then moved back to Mexico so a few times I went to live in Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico.. I've also lived in San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle... 

How about your beginnings in hip hop? What was the LA scene looking like at that time? Back in the 5th grade I started getting into Hip-Hop, I had a friend named Chris aka Killa C and we used to make up raps about random nonsense and breakdance for school plays and stuff, we were always doing music related things. Then later on in my teen-age years I met my homie Steven Gomez aka Destruct 310 (RIP). One day in Montana I saw these 2 Mexican cats wearing LA hats (Mario and Steven), this was a rare thing in Montana which is mostly white people, so I approached them and asked where they were from, it turned out they had just moved from Whittier, California, that was the city where my dad lived at the time, so it was dope to meet some heads from LA and we became best friends. We started our crew "Imprints". Destruct was a good musician who could play drums, keys, and also he was dope at beatboxing, we use to battle each other, he was really witty and good at bagging on people, then his brother Mario aka Slopoke used to rhyme too, then there was DJ Shroom who was their cousin that was a DJ. So we used to take the Amtrak back and forth from Montana to LA. While living in Whittier around 1995 I became friends with Awol One, me and Destruct had an apartment in Uptown Whittier with his big sister Angie (who sang on "Ma' Despacio" on Quarter Life Crisis). We used to hop on the bus down Whittier Blvd. and go to Awols house with records and drum machines etc.. We would make beats and freestyle and whatnot. One of the beats that we made together came out on Quarter Life Crisis. About this time there was an event called "The Brainfish" that happened every full moon at a warehouse in Santa Fe Springs, this is where you could find Awol on the mic, I remember Circus used to be there with really long dreaded hair, then there was the Endangered Element crew who I used to battle but later on we became homies thru Awol, also this tagging crew known as LSD used to hang out there. I never went to the Good Life or Project Blowed back then. Around this time my mother was diagnosed with brain cancer, this was a wack time in my family's life, she lost her battle with cancer in 1996. Then tragically a year after Destruct was killed in a head on collision. This was devastating because he was so young and full of life, if he was still here you would definitely know of him in the LA underground. He was my best friend and I carry on his legacy through my music, along with my mothers.. 

I'm not really a full time rapper because I don't really consider myself to be a very good rapper, but I am a full time musician, everyday I work on music in one way or another. We had an old Hammond Organ in our house when I was a kid and my mom used to play everyday, she knew how to read music. I never learned how to read the notes but I always took interest. Now I carry around a pocket recorder that I use to capture melodies in my head, then I try to bring them to life later on in the studio... But for the most part Hip-Hop was my introduction to the music world and that's how I started off in music. Our 1st song was recorded in 1994 with Destruct, but that tape has since been lost.. 

You used to call yourself "Imprints", now Tommy V... Why that change? Well "Imprints" was our name back before we even recorded songs and just freestyled amongst each other. After Destruct passed on the vision kind of died, but I still carry the name for his sake and probably always will, "Tommy V." is a name that is just a breakdown of my real name which is Thomas Valencia... Can you talk about your Fresh Produce album? Yeah well I got tired of sampling music and wanted to make my own music. I began hanging out with more music type heads like my homie Devin17 who plays all kinds of instruments, then you got the homies from "Anonymous Inc" who play out all their music so all of this was inspiring and influential to me. I was living with Xololanxinxo and 2Mex at the time that "Fresh Produce" was recorded, Xolo has a big collection of instruments and I began picking up guitars and messing with keyboards, trying to play flutes, clarinets, horns, whatever I could get my hands on. I got more pleasure out of making an original song from the ground up as opposed to sampling.. 

What's your process to make a song? As far as music goes, usually a melody pops in my head, then I record it to my pocket recorder. This melody might be words or a phrase or might just be sounds. Then I go to the guitar or piano and try to bring it to life, or sometimes just messing around with some instruments a nice line will surface and will turn into a song. I usually have a concept that I'd like to work with, then it's just a matter of time to see if it fits with a certain piece of music or vice versa... I like short story writing, so sometimes you'll hear little stories in my songs... I know you were part of The Evil Cow Burger album with Awol. Can you talk about these sessions? Well Awol used to live on Colima in Whittier, he had a 4-track, a sampler, some 1200's and a bunch of crates of records and this old Shure SM-58 mic. We recorded those songs in his room, nothing like some gritty 4 track recording! Ask him and Circus about the time I was recording and I had this really bad sun burn, I was breaking out in cold sweats! 

Interview conducted by Pseudzero for West Coast Indies, 2003.

[westakoasta]

DJ RASCUE aka EB.F (VARIOUS BLENDS) - 2018

I recently had the chance to interview RasCue aka Eb.F from Various Blends. Ras is a DJ/ Producer/ MC from the Bay Area and has been consistently putting dope music since the early 90es.

We discussed through mail about numerous subjects, from his beginnings alongside future Hobo Junction members or Peanut Butter Wolf to his recent unreleased VB album. 

He dedicated this interview to the memory of DJ Stef. 

Enjoy.

Can you tell us about your first steps in hip hop, meeting Friz-B, Rasco, etc. The beginnings of VB?

Various Blends started in the City of San Mateo, CA. Rasco was born in Cleveland, Ohio and moved to San Mateo as a kid in the mid 70's. Friz was born in Oakland, CA and grew up in San Mateo. I was the last one to come around when my family moved to San Mateo in 1980. I was 10 years old. Friz and I lived in East San Mateo, Rasco live on the Westside or what we say "the other side of the tracks". Where Rasco lived, there was a community center that was the Martin Luther King Center, but it was known as the "King Center". There also was a Boys Club that many kids play at. I know I saw Rasco there once or twice. Although Friz was one year older than Rasco and I, kids in different neighborhoods would meet up and hangout. I met Friz in 1980, where he lived 3 blocks away from the same elementary school we went to. It wasn't ‘til 1982 middle school where I met Rasco and we were both very much into basketball.

In 1982-83, Friz had gotten JVC turntables and a Realistic Mixer. Hip-Hop & DJing were really big in the Bay Area and many kids were getting equipment. Friz and I started deejaying together and was into popping and breaking (I popped, Friz use to break). That's were the beginnings of the music started. 

Friz and I ended up going to different high schools and Rasco and I went to high school together in 1984 and became good friends. I introduced him to Friz a few years later like ‘86-87... It was in 1988 where we all came together as close friends.

What about Children Of One Destiny?

Children of One Destiny (C.O.D.) started in the Bay Area with Various Blends, Plan Bee, Saafir, Greg and Steed in 1990 but all came together in 1991. At the time, Saafir and Friz-B were living in Stockton, California, Rasco and I were living in Fresno, CA and Plan Bee, Greg and Steed lived in Oakland. It was while I was in Fresno that I recruited Eko (Poke Martian), Contack (DJ's TK and D-Rock), The Females (Keisha, Turquoise and Endurra) and Bruce the Smurf. There was also the great KO from Stockton.

C.O.D. was more of a collective of friends who loved hip-hop and not so much a crew. There weren't many recordings together (only on 4-track) or meetings or anything like that. It was just for a few years were we were all doing music, did a few shows together and just liked hanging out. It was the connections after C.O.D. that the Hobo Junction was created and Various Blends hooked up with some local Fresno kids that called themselves the "Yard Massive" then to "Skhool Yard Massive"(Chuma, Asia aka Planet Asia and Nicky aka Kemet). Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf were never members of C.O.D., but we did a few shows together in those years. I was good friends with their manager Matt Brown and the great « Funken » Klein was signing them to the label Hollywood Basic in 1991-92.

Your first demo tape is from '91, then there's a 5-year gap between this and the « Chill As I Flex » 12'' (released in '96). What happened during that lapse?

The gap was due to us re-focusing our brand, acquiring management, a lot of studio recording and shopping for a record deal. We are moved to beginning with Friz-B moving to Fresno in '91 (Rasco in '90, myself in '88). Then in '92, I moved back to the Bay and daughter was born in May of ‘93, my only child.

By the time « Chill as I Flex » came out, we had material for at least 2 albums. Back then, it was about getting signed, which we never did, which is a shame!

After that 12'' Rasco went solo. Do you know the reasons for that choice? How did you react with Friz-B and how did it impact both your work as Various Blends?

Rasco went solo in '97 cause the group got into a argument about the group. I honestly don't remember what it was about but I think it had to do with all our commitments to the group. We split, Rasco moved back to San Mateo and was living with PB Wolf and Fanatik and Keida (Rasco, ndlr) wrote "The Unassisted" with Fanatik. Basically that whole song is about our break-up. Friz and I started recording "Levitude" in ‘97 and it came out in late '99. We had a deal through Baraka Records who were distributed by Caroline.

“Levitude” came out in '99 and is quite a classic album to a lot of heads. What are your memories from that era, the way you worked on this LP? What about the choice to put "Chill" on the LP and put Del in place of Rasco?

We had started recording 'Levitude' in '97 and it came out in '99 on Baraka. Friz knew the owner, Sasson from Brooklyn, and I knew the westcoast rep named Pete.

The first song was "Krazee Madeo Styles", which is basically about growing up in San Mateo.

Since « Chill as I Flex » was our most popular song, we wanted to include it on the album. Del was the biggest underground emcee in the Bay at the time and Friz and Del were friends, so he did it!

Various Blends had history with many different Bay Area crews and basically wanted to showcase all the homies with us on this album.

Saafir from Hobo Junction (who briefly went to Hillsdale High School in San Mateo with Rasco and I) and Friz had been recording together since the early 90's (now unreleased material) and I met Rashinel through Poke Martian (Eko -who was in C.O.D., then both were in Hobo). Peanut Butter Wolf produced a few tracks, Mystik Journeymen we know from selling tapes in Berkeley in front of records, Pismo was from a group called Burnt Batch that Friz had met from Stockton, CA, DJ Apollo and Flare we knew from Invisbl Skratch Piklz, Pam the Funkstress (R.I.P.), infamous DJ for The Coup (and ended as Prince's last DJ), who we grew up with in San Mateo/ Foster City area and Marc Stretch was from Foreign Legion.

The project was good but we left a few old songs I would have liked to be on the album.

Since you guys were from San Mateo and Stones Throw's first offices were located there, before they went to LA, was there a possibility to be signed by them at some point?

Wolf, Rasco and Fanatik all lived with each other in San Mateo. Wolf and Fanatik were from the South Bay (San Jose Area) and Rasco moved back to the Bay Area from Fresno. This was all happening shortly after VB's had split up. Wolf could have did a 12″ or LP with us but maybe the timing wasn't right and he was releasing Rasco's solo album instead. Why after that he never asked us to do a record with him, I don't know... You would have to ask him... That label owes a lot to Rasco and « The Unassisted » and neither Rasco or his music was included in the Stones Throw 20 Year Anniversary!!

I was there in Wolf's room when he decided to use the name Stones Throw (it was a cliche that his Mom would say)...

You wanna know how he got the name Peanut Butter Wolf? It was some scenario where his Mom was babysitting or something and when it was time to go to bed, a kid told him to leave the lights on cause the "Peanut Butter Wolf" was going to get him!! True story! I was there for all this stuff!

You had that tape in 97 called "Mockumentary Sampler". Was there an actual release it was suppose to be a sampler for?

The "Mockumentary" was going to be my first solo EP... Never happened...

Now about the second and unreleased album, Fanna Burn. Can you talk the general concepts about it, who's featured. And what happened with No Mayo. Why did it stay unreleased, basically.

Fanna Burn was supposed to come out in 2002 on No Mayo Records. No Mayo had put out 2 "Funky Precedent" compilations. The first one was focused on Los Angeles artists and the second on Bay Area. I had a solo song featured on the second compilation. We proceeded to schedule meetings and agreed on a album deal for Fanna Burn. The concept of the album was based on "Fanna", a word meaning 'fantasy'. We wanted to "fanna burn" meaning "burn the bullshit". The album features Rasco, J-Rawls, Marc Stretch. Planet Asia, L'Roneous, DJ Swiftrock, Rakaa Iriscience, Grand the V.I., Gen-Star, Princess, Pismo, etc...

I honestly am unclear the reason why we got dropped. I know there were some financial issues. I know that we were supposed to deejay an employee's event and that didn't happen, on the personal side of things. I am unclear if that was the scenario but Friz again would know about that. It was a while ago.

I must say I never heard of the existence of that album before somebody posted a picture of the 2xLP Instrumentals on instagram. How much copies of that 2xLP exist? Did you sold some at some point or was it promo only?

The 2xLP Instrumentals was released first so that we would have show copies. We may have pressed 100? I'm not sure... The LP was never pressed up... Just a demo sampler CD of the album mixed by Big DJ Serg.

So right now, you're looking for a label to release it, right? What' s the key factor that makes you want it to be release in 2018?

We have been looking for opportunities to collaborate on the release of our catalog of music that is just not being heard. 2018 has to be the year we at least start getting the old material out and all this new material waiting to be heard! We have Various Blends albums, Friz Solo, EBF solo, Saafir material, Plan Bee material, Friz Compilation, Rasco material Skhool Yard material and more... I have a brand new project I would like to do with Rasco, but first we want to do a 20th Anniversary tour for "Time Waits for No Man" album, which is this year.

You founded Urban Umpires in 2004. What kind of work do you do with that structure?

Urban Umpires (U.U.) is the brainchild of DJ Just Jay and Just Jay and I started Urban Umpires. We were surrounded by a massive amount of talent that were all friends and making new friends in the underground movement. It was our chance to make a contribution to hip-hop in all aspects, from radio, producers, live shows, releases, videos, studio, promotions, publicity, events, etc... We wanted to be a one stop shop for everything. It's tough to maintain such a business without investors and capital. A lot of that fell through so we weren't able to accomplish many of the goals we had set. We are all still friends though and record together.

Interview conducted by Pseudzero for Westakoasta, feb. 2018.

[westakoasta]

Zest The Smoker - WCI, 2004

Hi Zest... Can you introduce yourself and tell us how did you get your name?

My uncle wuz a tagger back in the 80's before he started crippin'. I looked up to him like a big brother, he alwayz tagged "Zest!". He wuz known all over the walls at Andrew Hill High School, South Side San Jose. I started taggin' "Zest!!". When he started gangbangin', I took over the name, droppin the extra explanation mark that notched me as the second, to plane ol' Zest. In 1993, I wrote a song about smokin' mc's (My Old Nasty Habit), that's how I picked up the Smoke alias. It's kind of a curse as well as a blessing, becuz everywhere I go people wanna Smoke me out rather I feel like smokin or not.

Can you tell us about your very beginnings in hip hop... what was the westcoast scene looking like back then and how did you met Peanut Butter Wolf?

To tell you the truth I wasn't a full fledge B-Boy in the begining. I didn't really care for rap that much, all I listen to wuz Prince. But summer 1988 changed everything. Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Eric B. & Rakim, Sir Mixalot all dropped at the same time. It wuz Kane that made me really get into battle rappin', he wasn't screaming like most mc's did at the time, he wuz calm, laid back, and you heard everything he said. His style wuz real witty, he clowned Mutha Fuckas through the whole track, just demolishing mc's. And Rakim... Wuz just plain hardcore, I loved it! As far as the West Coast scene... There wasn't one (at least in San Jose, the desolate) unless you wuz Short, Mixalot, or Hammer, at that time they wuz at the top of they game, even Hammer wuz bustin kinda hard, I bumped that shit too. I met Wolf at his house downtown San Jose (yeah Wolf iz from the Zae), my boy Dj Stephan (Tapemasta Steph) introduced me and Dave (Dub) to Wolf at the same time, back in 1994. I didn't know shit about the guy, we were just freestylin' and Wolf recorded the session, and liked us. I didn't know he wuz into the business, until later.

Can you point your discography and tell a word about each record you released?

Actually nothin' has been released officially, I released two "Junk" tapes which I really enjoyed, and "3 Face the Shape Shifta" on cd. Not too much to say about em', the Junk tapes were a bunch of 4-track recordings, but the feeling wuz so raw I had to share it wit the world. "3 Face the Shape Shifta" wuz a little unoffficial cd release just to hold people off until I completed my full length. "Interruptions" wuz released without my consent on Stones Throw, my delivery didn't match up to what we did in preproduction. The prepro delivery wuz so slippery, and flowed with ease, besides a few mistakes and low quality, there is no comparison it wuz 100% better. "My Old Nasty Habit" didn't match the prepro either, but I still gave consent.

You're part of the Camp Crystal Lake collective. Can you introduce it and his members? Do you still have anything going on with it, any release? What about Isolated Wax?

Yeah, I create CCL back in 1996. It started with just me and Los the Jackal. I invited all of the homies, but everyone has their own idea off what thet wanna do. So there are only 3 official members left in the Camp, Me, Los, and Wolf Progress. We still gonna drop some shit, we actually have hella songs on file, but most wont see the light of day, becuz we're not all together like that anymore.Isolated Wax are the homies that use to be from the Lake.

You're from San Jose. How is the local hip hop scene out there?

Sucks

Talkin about the westcoast scene, what are you thinking about it right now? The Shapeshifters? Living Legends? Afterlife?..

Never heard their material, but I heard some stuff from Afterlife, they got some heat, but some of those cats need to tone it down, and stop goofin' off. But that's just my opinion. I don't really get out much, so I can't comment on the west coast scene. But I can tell you I love the west coast up and down. I'm from Northern Cali, so I tend to lean toward Northern Cali mc's, not trying to compare, it's just we communicate different (not just slang) and have a different perspective on this hustle called life, so it's easier for me to relate to that.

Now about your work... What are your inspirations? Influences? In your bio your flow is defined as a 'rapid eye movement'... can you explain that?

I get inspired from hardcore shit, I hate most emcee's cuz they suck. I prefer to write sober. Rapid eye movement? Another way of explaining the subconcious effect my flow has on the listeners. People say shit like "Is he saying what I think he's saying"...Yep. I do shit you can zone out to, like being in a dream state, but it's actually the reality that lies beneath the lie.

Interview conducted by Pseudzero for West Coast Indies, 2004.

[westakoasta]

Dave Dub - WCI, 2007

Can you introduce yourself, tell us where you grew up, and tell us about your first contact with the hip hop culture?

My name is Dave Dub. I grew up in Frisco and San Jose. My first contact with this thing we now call hip hop was the stylings of Mohamed Ali and Malcolm X. They were running through bars with no sound needed. Real spitters.

Tell us everything about Subcontents, Isolated Wax, who are these people, how you hook up.. what the musical scene looks like in San Jose?

SubContents is a savved out, legendary, trend setting crew, that I'm proud to have been apart of. Revolving contributors consist of me, Persevere, Fanatik, Roe, Peanut Butter Wolf, Tapemastah Steph, Mr. Aeks, DJ Havik, the Architect, Zest the Smoker and a small group of San Hopeless boys and girls that mouthpieced us into international cult status. When we were kicking up dust there was definitely a collective conciousness behind us. We were more than just a crew, we were a movement. Me and Persevere met up through Tapemastah Steph and Peanut Butter Wolf produced our first track for his "Step on our Egos" e.p. This was the first unofficial Stones Throw release. Isolated Wax is my label.

Most artists from the Zay Town have this specific dark and rugged style, where does that came from? What are your influences, and who started to influence the other ones in the city as far as this dark sound?

My turf has alotta different styles and approaches to the game of rap. Me pesonally...I've always dug music that surfaces emotions that are usually found on the more sinister sides of the life experience. Lames and squares are like cattle, I allign myself with wolves. Whether its Traxamillion and them generating the hyphy shit, or us pushin buttons on that sinister shit, or P.B Wolf doin that Stones Throw shit, the south bay cultivates BOSSES...What's fucked up is when fools forget where they came from.

Your style is particular also, you got a quite agressive flow, low voice, but thoughtful lyrics ("I aint no thug I rap the good rhymes"). How would you explain this paradox? How would you define your style?

My style is a style of no style. Formless, ageless and shapeless. I do what I want on a mic. I answer to no one when it comes to style, delivery, cadence and subject matter. I really just don't give a fuck. You can determine whether or not a person is a somebody by how many haters he or she has. Me and my style have hella haters, therefore you should rest assured that we're worthy of your attention.

Somebody said (i don't remember if it was Joe Dub, or Deeskee) that you were "one of the 3 or 4 real genius in hip hop".. How do you write your lyrics, what's your ideal state to write rhymes?

Haha...those fools are the geniuses. I like to write in the lab. Or around other fools that are writing. I have to experience unreal hardship or extreme success in order to write anything of substance. When I was a kid I used to love to smoke my weed before running through bars. Nowadays, I prefer to write when I'm sober.

You've been part of Executive Lounge a few years ago, you were signed on Dan The Automator's 75 Ark. Tell us about your experience with them.. I thought they were supposed to release Notes From The Cliff? What happened to E.L.?

We were occupying a plateau that was sure to catapult our music to the next level. Unfortunately, that didin't go down the way it was supposed to. Fuck it. The politricks of the indy scene scheme. I've charged it all to the game. All the members of the Exec Lounge are still active. Persevere still records and is still in communication with the Automator. I'm still buildin with the Architect. We're all still kickin up dust regardless of what level of life we choose to do it on.

Now about your brand new album, Programmed D. We were waiting for this one for so long, why all the delay? What happened to "That, Which Don't Bleed"?

They are one in the same. Programmed D (dope, or deterioration) is definitely overdue. It just took time to manufacture. I'm proud of it. It represents a certain time in my life that I'm fond of and repulsed by at the same time.. I hope people enjoy it. If they don't, fuck em' and the pussies they crawled out of.

Who are the Sutter Cain Gang? What it refers to?

The Sutter Cain Gang represents all of my accomplices when putting together a project. This time around we had Zest the Smoker, Tapemastah Steph, Megabusive, Roe (Key), Young Trump, Clishe' and the Grand Good camp.

How do you choose people that will make beats on your projects? Can you introduce the people that worked with you on Programmed D?

I usually build with cats I know, or have alot of respect for. Tapemastah Steph is like my right hand man. He's a veteran with his production and unorthodox approach to the boards. We've been doing shit for years. Megabusive is also a vet, whether its rhyming or pushing buttons. He whipped up "Highwayman" for me and flipped the guitar sample from Bad Brain's "Riot Squad". Roe is a real thrill kill sav who makes monumental shit, he's also the DJ for SubContents and a longtime co-conspirator. Clishe' is the homie who comes through with some of the hardest shit that fools DON'T know about from the turf.

Your lyrics are oftenly poilitically oriented, what's your 2 cents about the situation of the USA right now? How does it feels to have Schwarzie as a governor of california?

I loved Arnold in Conan the Barbarian. But um...fuck him and the republican party. Fuck the democrats too. I think we should just kill the rich. That'd be great.

A word on the people of Grandgood?

They reached out and made it happen. For some cats from New York, they really know what's up with hip hop nationwide. I respect that.

The music business changed much recently, with internet, myspace and stuff.. Would you be ready to make some concessions to have a bigger career, like some ex-underground artists did (black eyed peas..) ? How do you see the evolution of the scene as an OG?

I rhyme for kicks. I rhyme for people who think like me. I equate success with a person saying to themselves "I thought it, but he said it". As far as technology leveling out the playing field? The lunatics are about to take over the asylum. Oh yeah, fuck the Black Eyed Peas and that bitch Fergie.hahahahahahahaha

What about your future projects? Something planned with Zest, or as Dub Brothers? Any vinyl?

Me and Zest are about to get our hands dirty with two homies from southern cali (Inland Empire) called "Souls owed to the Lake". The comrades are Cal Lee, Zest, Me and the homie Wolf. I'm excited about it. Me and Joe Dubare almost done with the pre production for the Dub Brothers album. I'm not at liberty to divulge the guest appearances, but fools are gonna trip. The Epidemic album is in the works (a crew featuring me, Grunge, Dnae Beats and Kaoe D). The Fuckin Mutants album (Me and Megabusive) will drop this year. Me and the comrade D-tor started a project called the "Razor Breakhers". Me and the old school comrade Mael from the Thorobreds are gonna whip up some shit this year. Me and Jihad from Third Sight have a project dropping this year under the alias "Stalin and Lenin".And last but not least, there will be another SutterCainGang release called " When the dust settles".

Ok thanks a lot for the interview, any last message? shout outs?

Yeah, me and my affiliates are kingpins. One love to France..and um....cop a gram of Programmed D!

Interview conducted by Pseudzero for West Coast Indies, 2007.

[westakoasta]

Joe Dub - WCI, 2005

Alright, tell us about your childhood in SF, the records that had an impact on you..

Growin up in "the city" was cool... It's one of the most diverse and open minded cities in the States. A lot of pride... Not just for the city itself but for culture as well. Music and art is not only embraced, it's encouraged. I started off singin in a choir and playin the trumpet. Plus my Mom would paint so I'd get in home art lessons. But I was hella into sports also. I played baseball from like 5 or 6 years old through high school. I was a raw ass in fielder... But couldn't really hit too well though... Haha! But yeah I had a typical childhood I guess. Gettin into trouble... Girls... Yunno that kinda shit. It wasn't really until like 85 that I started rhymin. It was more some fuck around shit we'd do in the schoolyard at lunchtime. Just freestyle shit.. Braggin and baggin.. Recorded some shit just for fun... I still got those tapes.. Fucking funny stuff man.

Around 86 or so I remember listening to KPOO (local hip-hop radio station in the bay) when they had dj's like... KK... Marcus Clemens and Dan the Automator. One night I remember they played Eric B and Rakim "Check out my Melody," Mixmaster Gee "The Manipulator" (check artist), BDP "My 9mm Goes Bang" and Just Ice "Latoya" in succession. I recorded that show still have that tape in fact. Anyways, once the show ended at that moment I knew I wanted to do this shit seriously. The beats moved me but I was more trying to rap then. It wasn't till 90 or 91 when I into making beats.

As far as records that inspired me rapwise? I was a fan of all of the old stuff. Flash, Kurtis Blow, Spoonie G, but it was the progressive shit that had me buggin. Anything that Kurtis Mantronik did... Just Ice (dopest mc of all time imo)... T LA Rock... All that... Schooly D was like a surrogate father to me as a child. Quite the role model!!!  Hahahahah!

Let's talk about the Westcoast Workforce. How did y'all came along together, the records/ tracks you did collectively... Everything. I once read about a reformation with you, Sub, Radioinactive, Xinxo, Liferex and Omid.. Is that true?

Well the Workforce was around before I was put on. It was Xinxo, Sub, AntiMC, Radio, Premonition, Memorex, Rhetoric and some other folks. It wasn't until 99 when I was at the B-boy Summit that I met Sub and AntiMC. We traded tapes and that was that. That was like February or March. Then in July of 99 P-minus hits me up and is like "Radio and Antimc are in town and trying to get at you" gave me the number. I called em... Chopped it up for a good second but we never got a chance to hang out then. In September, Deeskee, Maleko and I rolled down to LA to kick it at the Shapeshifter house in Westwood where Rob One (RIP), Exist, Bleek and Dr. Lewd lived. We left SF at about 5 AM and got in at 10 PM. Pull up to the house and Rob is sitting outside car full of records, sayin "cool you guys are here... Let's go." He had a gig and was waitin on us. So we go to the show... And i'm outside smokin and sub walks up and he's like what's up, you wanna be down with the Workforce? That was pretty much it. Megabusive, Liferexall and them got down right after that. As for getting back together, me, Xinxo, Radio, Subtitle, and Rexall, got together and talked about it when I was in LA in 2004. Some of the old names came up, but due to differences and conflictin schedules we left it at that. Omid and Premonition were included as well. But with everyone doing solo shit right now, it's just a name we claim, no albums or tours will be coming anytime soon. Me and Xinxo joke that we are the Workforce. But all of us still work together... Still hang out and what not... The timing is just off right now. I'm trying to get a Workforce song on my album... We'll see!

You probably have one of the most prolific discography in the bay, tones of collaborations and obscure groups... What were the most important ones  to you? Also there's this one called The Citadel, which was supposed to be you, Sub, Liferexall and Megabusive.. Does this one only ever existed?

I've been blessed to work with the people I have! My favorite one would have to be with the folks I know the most. Friends... Not just MC's doin songs together... People. Cuz there's no chemistry there. It's not just like "Hey let's do a song to do a song". It's because you know the person and you know they'd fit the mood of the song, whatever it may be. Some shit is fuck around and some is serious with money involved, but either way if it's the homies... It's fun! The folks I like workin with are like... All the Workforce, Deeskee, the Shapes, Khule, Topic, Tommy V, and the list goes on. It's laid back and relaxed when we work. Bustin jokes... Talkin story... That's what I like. Like me and 2Mex did this song when he was in Hawaii... Some quick shit... He's talking about his trip to Hawaii... I was talking about mine to LA. It's probably won't ever come out... But those are the best collabs when you do it for fun.

Citadel? HAHAHA. How'd you hear about that? Yeah we did that at Sub's mom's house in Mid City. Me, Megabusive, Subtitle, and Life were kickin it hard. We all made beats and rapped so Sub had the idea let's each make a 2 beats and do songs in like a week. But the only way Sub would let me rap on it was if I styled hard....HAHAHA! See he saw me freestyle once and I was stylin it up... Haha... Blowed style. But that's another story... So yeah we did that shit... Came out tight. But it was just for fun... Wait so you have a copy? Cuz I don't. I think Sub is the only one with it.

You moved recently to Hawaï... Tell us about it, how's life out there, differences with California, the hip hop scene, if it's a good place for cratedigging... Anything.

Life in Hawaii is slow. A far cry from the pace of the rest of the States. Everybody out here does things at their own speed. Where as in Cali everythings done on a schedule. I pretty much work between the two... Though it's tough sometimes. It's a small island so the scene is smaller than I'm used to. There's some good talent and the fans support. I don't get out that much though so I can't speak on it too much. Yeah man there's a few dope spots for diggin out here. I left a lot of my records back in Cali and I have like 5,000 here in Hawaii. Most of which I got here, some common shit, some rare shit, but theres a lot of come ups, not many people out here are lookin for the kind of stuff I am. So I always find something worth while. Plus, the prices are cheap... No record is ever over $20... Almost everything is under $5... I'm kind of spoiled with that!

Do you have a job besides hip hop?

Nah, I haven't had a 9 to 5 in about 3 or 4 years. Music hasn't been great to be but it's been good enough. I just sell beats and work on music all day. Hit the beach and drink myself to sleep.

You got an album with Ellay Khule called In A World Of My Own that will be released soon... Can you tell us about it? And also, what about this 8′’ vinyl released by Anti-Party? I'm curious to see what a 8" looks like?

It's actually called "In My Own World". The album came about through a mutual friend of Khule and I. He told Khule to check out my beats and I've always been a fan of Khule since I can remember so I was obviously down. At first I'd send him beats in the mail... Then he wrote the songs... Then I flew out to LA to lay the beats and vocals down.... I prefer doing music in person not long distance. It helps the chemistry. But yeah, I didn't want to give him elaborate beats... I wanted his vocals to be the focus... There's something for every Khule fan on the album... There's some hard Rifleman shit... Some Ellay Khule aggressive styling... And some real heart felt personal shit... This album is probably the most complete project i've worked on to date... Me and Khule have talked about doin another project together so this definately won't a one shot deal... As for the 8′’... It's a collection of about 5 or 6 songs off my old "Noise Pollution" tape... Yeah DJ Plankton from Anti-Party really wanted to release the whole album on vinyl but... I'm about moving forward... Plus the sound quality on that tape really wouldn't cut in on vinyl... So we agreed to bust a limited run of 8"'s with some of the songs off Noise Pollution instead... It should be coming out in july... Very limited though... I heard something like under 100 are being pressed...

What's your opinion on the evolution of the underground scene?

Umm I mean... Damn... Haha... It's weird... I'm kinda removed from the Cali scene being out here in Hawaii... But... I’ll say this... The way the scene used to be... Everyone knew their place... You had the MCs/ DJs/ producers/ B-Boys... The vendors... Promoters... And the fans. And who you were was cool. Everyone respected it... Now with all the advancements with technology and free programs for computers... I'd have to honestly say that 70-75% of the people in the scene are MC's or producers now... Now i'm not saying that people shouldn't be allowed their voice... But... Go through the proper channels... Pay dues... Hustle... No one has to hustle anymore... We used to take the last 100 bucks we had... Go get tapes made... Have about 20 bucks left... Spend that on gas and roll to LA... Just to slang tapes at shows...n Ad to tap into a different region... Get our shit out there... Sleep in cars... On couches whatever... We'd sell about 50 tapes or so in a weekend for 5 bones... And come back home broke... But to us the trips were always a success... Now... Everyones got a website with a store... It's so easy now... You don't have to leave your house and you can move 1000 units no sweat... I'd have to sum it up by saying that there's less passion nowadays... I really don't want to go any deeper into this.... Haha.

How do you see yourself at 50? And do you project yourself in the future as a rapper, I mean, do you have plans of doing something else?

At 50?.... If i make it that far... I'll still be making music....if i'm rappin still it'll probably just be for myself....but i'll still be producing...i'm a proud drop out...so....i don't think i'll ever rock a career or a 9 to 5 for that matter again....but if my life changes drastically by then....i can say i'll always have music....

What are you listening to right now... and your all time 5 favorite lps..?

Right now....i'm listening to ellay khule-califormula...alot of mandrill.....gong....totally insane....young ed....alot of my beats(not because i'm an ego maniac...but because i'm kinda forced to listen to them as i make them)....and all the myspace mc's who want me to "check out their tracks".......all time 5?......shit.....here i mean.....i'll just give you 5 incredible albums i'm listening to now.....utfo-lethal earth wind and fire-greatest hits...sade-love deluxe......cid-harder they come.....just ice-back to the old school

What about your future releases? do you plan to have some other artists on Asita?

For me i got my new album "pooretry" almost completed...that should be coming out in like sept/oct of this year....the pain killers album...which is me and my homegirl topic...that's gonna be out on beyond space ent....not really sure of the date there....but that one's bangin....we got beats from...sach...deeskee...liferexall...matth...meaty ogre...alex75 and many many more.....like i said before....the khule album is pretty much done...we're just waiting for califormula to drop....before we release it.....yeah there's gonna be alot of other folks comin out on asita....once i finish my album...i'm going to start a project with nocando....he's a younger cat coming out of blowed and his crew customer service...he's got some specific shit he wants to do so i'm making sure i'm free of all commitments before i start on that....plus an asita/la2thebay beat series....the first installment i believe will be myself...deeskee...liferexall and sach....just all instrumentals...some old some new....we'll be puttin out new ones like twice a year...featuring all the producers in the family....and i'm currently trying to do a couple projects with some other folks but so far it's just talk.....

Thanks a lot for the interview.. any last words?

I guess just thanks to all the supporters world wide....from hawaii to europe....and of course one love to all my family....blood/friends/musicians.....the people i do this for... be easy.

Interview conducted by Pseudzero for West Coast Indies, 2005.