Originally published in Verbicide issue #24

What about working with Ice Cube on the George Clinton inspired album I Wish My Brother George Was Here led you to re-evaluate your sound, eventually culminating in the formation of the Hieroglyphics crew?
It was more of a personal problem as opposed to something wrong with what we did with the 1st album. People who were hip-hop elitists at the time that associated with be basically hated on my 1st album, saying it was wack, P-Funk is gangsta music, it ain’t the real hip-hop, etc. Same sillyness that goes on now, but worse now. I was young so that affected me for years, it took a lot of reflection to get to the bottom of why I felt I had to try so hard to prove to cats that I really could spit, I got the real hip-hop. I knew that already, but I felt the 1st album ruined it, at the time. In actuality, it wasn’t like that, remembering back with my own thoughts, I remember loving that whole process, nothing with it was a problem to me and I learned a lot from working with pros. It boils down to this: those cats who were dissing me were basically projecting their insecurity on me and I wasn’t mature enough yet to ward it off, so I had to suffer through that. Then there came the realization that I could do something about that, and I did. Furthermore, my 1st album was the most successful and the most natural for me to do. Most of the concepts and ideas were mine, just fine-tuned by the pros surrounding me. That was based on the real me, not the me I became trying to prove to haters that I’m real. I’m not mad, it’s what is supposed to happen, it makes things crystallize in your mind and it gives my work an aura of authenticity because I know what I’m spitting from experience.

Hieroglyphics actually was a collective before I even signed with Street Knowledge and Sir Jinx and Ice Cube actually have known A-Plus and Tajai for a long time from myself and Jinx working with them as well as working with me. So it was always the plan for me to come out with this opportunity that Jinx and Cube presented to me, then I promised Hiero that I’d try to put them on. Sleeping On My Couch 12” I believe I did that with the song Burnt, which featured all of Hiero at the time. That was the debut right there.

What has the experience been like touring and working with the artists at Def Jux?
I actually haven’t been on the road with any of Def Jux yet. I was on tour with Mr. Lif in Germany, Europe, but that was years before he got down with Def Jux. As far as working with them, it’s a pleasure. I’ve known El-P for quite a while now, so it’s all good. I pretty much envisioned it working out cool and that’s the reason I went that way. The press has been excellent, people pretty much appreciate the LP, so I’m set up now to continue and go for the next goal, which is getting more and better music out. This right here is basically the set-up for the rest of my life and I’m taking all of this serious.

How has the hyphy explosion in the Bay area affected you musically?
You know, I stay hip as far as most stuff out, but honestly I’m really focused on developing my own funk technique. I do respect the hyphy movement, I think there’s a lot you can do with that type of musical style. I can do some hyphy stuff in my own way if someone wanted that, but you know I try not to be a jack of all trades. Funk is the root of all of it anyway, so I feel that what I’m focused on will be useful for whatever it is. I respect the youth though and they tend to respect me and let me be a part of whatever it is.

Why is it important to reinvent yourself both musically and image-wise as you did with Deltron and Gorillaz? Are you planning another collaboration/reinvention?
I don’t really go out of my way as far as that’s concerned, it’s more about my own personal advancement. So I guess that just crosses over to the music as well. That is something that I do feel is important to do because you can get stuck in the past, man. All the best dudes knew how to stay hip. Some may think they re-inventing themselves but it may just be that it would be wack to come out exactly the same as they did say, 25 years ago.

Deltron was simply another creative idea that I had that I validated with enough importance to rationalize further development. It just grew, man. I guess I’m just hip, though. Well, most of my influences are mainstays in our youth culture at this point. I just still try to keep up with em, you know? Some cats get older and they think that stuff is for kids or it’s not relevant anymore, or they feel they can’t relate anymore.

On stage you’ve described yourself as more of a comedian than a mouthpiece for social issues because you’re an entertainer first and foremost. Is it just as important to be entertained by hip-hop as it is to be educated by hip-hop?
I just feel that preaching, nobody likes to hear that when they tryin to just relax, you know? A concert or club setting ain’t exactly the place to be spouting off that kinda thing. Some can do it and make it entertaining, don’t get me wrong, and this is just my opinion anyway. So I’m not suggesting that it’s more important to entertain. In the grand scheme of things it may not be. But there’s a time for everything, it’s all about timing.

One thing I will say though, is that people appreciate the truth and things they can relate to in their entertainment. As MCs, we sorta represent the unseen, unheard side of things. We give it to you the uncut way, like funk. You may not agree with the method, but hey, it is what it is.

So to really answer your question, I wouldn’t say MCs should go out of their way to try to teach things, but it should be natural for one to wanna speak about what’s really real if they an mc. People can learn from the truth, but that’s up to the individual.

You’ve talked about making the 11th hour album more basic and more accessible for the casual hip-hop fan. How did your musical approach change in order to accomplish this?
By more basic and accessible I meant being clearer in general. When I was younger I did whatever I wanted, no thought about it. Now that spirit is good to have in the creative process, but at a certain part in the process one has to start analyzing the pieces and putting them together to finish the project. The first album it was basically done for me. Ever since then it’s been a learning experience. So one part of the growth in my process was to create a better machine, so to speak, be more efficient with my process. That’s for both creative and monetary reasons.

Also, I felt that the audience should be considered when the music is created. Not appeased, but considered. I learned the basis of music theory and then studied a great deal about Black music in America in general, you know, groove and swing and all of that, the blues. All of that gave me the confidence to make music that I felt would be at least cool to most people, without resorting to making the club banger, or the song for chicks, or the strip club song, or whatever trendy wave people jump on. I felt that I could now do me without worrying about trying too hard to appease people.

Personally, I wanted my lyrics to grow and contain more than just battling other rappers. I just felt that that had become kinda stale. Of course I can still do it, and I’ve found a way to convey my lyrics in a free-flowing style and also speak on other things within that. I’ll always love just raw spitting, that’s my favorite. But I realize that not everyone is an MC. Of course I love the pure battle stuff, I’m an mc. You gotta meet your audience half-way, and the type of artist you are will determine how wide your audience will be. I’ve always been the type to get along with everyone and see the value in whatever it is individuals wanna do. I’m into what a lot of people are into. Once I realized that, I decided to work on making my music reflect that, cause I felt like, creatively, I was holding myself back. You come to realizations in life and you really see what matters, then you grow from that so basically that’s what went down. But that is a process that never ends, I’m always growing and trying to stay hip to the scene.