The D.O.C; You can scramble that around however you want, it don't matter. All them niggas is cold (laughs)
Illuminati 2G What about Top 5 up and coming rappers that you think are dope that are out right now?
The D.O.C; My favorite young rapper is Slim The Mobster. But I am biased because he is my family but then I am not biased because the motherfucker is cold. Excuse my language, I don't want to be using bad language on ya site.
The D.O.C; (laughs) Yeah Slim The Mobster reminds me of the golden era. All those MC that I mentioned earlier, Slim The Mobster got a little bit of all in him. He is a throwback so Slim The Mobster and Earl Hayes are my top 2 guys. Shit I don't listen to a whole lot of anything else. Is Lil´Wayne up and coming? He is up and came (laughs)
Illuminati 2G Nah he has been around for a while. I don't consider him new.
The D.O.C; I don't really know or check out a lot of the new artists that are coming out right now. It is so many of them and they are coming from everywhere, I have no idea where the hell all of these dudes are poppin up from. But I like them all, as long as they getting money I like them, but as far as rap that I am going to buy, I can't wait till Slim The Mobster's record comes out. His music does not even leave the studio, that is how important his music is to everyone involved, and I want a copy myself.
It doesn’t get any bigger than being dubbed a Dr. Dre & Timbaland protégé throughout the internet world. In the last few months, Detroit MC Earl Hayes has seen what he describes as an “industry only buzz” travel through the walls of the public, as anticipating listeners remain curious to hear what about this latest Interscope signee has not only one legendary Hip Hop icon, but two Hip Hop icons co-signing him.
Furthering the conversation on some of Hayes’ label journeys, he takes us through his previous record deals and why the situations didn’t work out, which ultimately can be taken as advice to any artist or aspiring CEO that is trying to pick up their musical movement off the ground.
SoPrupRadio: We’re right here with Dr. Dre & Timbaland protégé and signee, Earl Hayes. Now is there is a whole lot to talk about with you because you have a lot going on, and we are going to talk about everything. First off, I want to start off with your past, something not a lot of people have paid close attention to – your Young Black Brotha’ Records days…
Earl Hayes: (laughs). That’s like, damn man, a long ass time ago. I was 16 years old when that happened, when I first touched down in California. I came out to Oakland to rap. I bumped into Khayree at a clothing store that I used to go to. I didn’t even know who he was. Me and him just kind of bumped into each other. He asked me what I do; he said I had a certain energy about myself. I told him I rap and he told me well, everybody raps nowadays. I rapped for him and he told me that he wanted to sign me. He brought me down to his studio and I met Mac Mall, Ray Luv – all of those Bay area cats, shout out to the Bay area. That’s basically how it happened.
SoPrupRadio: Being all the way from Detroit, you moved to California, staying in Oakland specifically. What made you want to even attempt to walk into a musical situation all the way in Oakland?
Earl Hayes: I would have walked into a musical situation anywhere.
SoPrupRadio: That’s crazy, seeing your dream come to fruition. Before we get into all of that, as you mentioned, Young Black Brotha’ Records was home to Mac Mall, Mac Dre and others. At such a young age, about 16, what did being around those people teach you?
Earl Hayes: Those guys were dope. I never felt anything but love around them. Every time I spit, they were like “yo, who is this dude? Where did you get him from?” with Khayree, it just used to be all love. I have nothing but good memories.
SoPrupRadio: Speaking of memories, do you have a particular memory about the late great Mac Dre that sticks out in your mind?
Earl Hayes: You know what? Not really any crazy stories about the Mac [Dre]. I only met him a few times; he was cool as a motherfucker though. That’s all I can say. I have good memories but I was so young, we didn’t really bust it up like men.
SoPrupRadio: Ok. From spending so much time in the Bay area scene, because you were based out in Oakland, what difference did you notice between the Bay area and the Los Angeles area?
Earl Hayes: I didn’t even know there was a difference until I got older. I was from Detroit; I didn’t really know California like that. I thought it was all California, I thought it was like Detroit. I figured everything in California was like everything in Michigan. That’s not true obviously. I didn’t know Southern and Northern were far as fuck from each other. I learned about the parts of California that I needed to be in to really do what I wanted to do, which was sign to Dre and get on. I used to tell my friends all the time, I’m about to go California and sign with Dr. Dre. But I was like 14-15 when I used to say that. It’s some freaky shit that you brought that up though.
SoPrupRadio: (laughs) thank you. Being from Detroit and telling all your friends about your plans to get up and go to California, tell us about what life was like in Detroit before you got to California?
Earl Hayes: It was Detroit. I always had a good head on my shoulders. I was bad but I always made due for myself. I always hustled up and kept myself fly. I kept the newest things and money in my pocket. I learned how to do this because my parents wouldn’t give me a lot. I would see things I wanted and I was always great at making realistic plans. I always laid out my goals for my own life. When my mom kicked me out, I really had to learn how to provide myself with shelter and transportation. I looked for guidance to get me through life. I think I did pretty good.
SoPrupRadio: (Laughs) As I was saying, they really dominated Hip Hop and you were around for a period of time. What was that situation like for you?
Earl Hayes: My man Supreme was on the Supreme Team. He was a dude that really brought me into the Wu and introduced me to the Wu life, and how the Wu was moving. That’s the dude that showed me the difference between Los Angeles and the Bay area. When I hooked up with Supreme, he brought me straight out to Los Angeles. He showed me that life when I as about 18 years old. He brought me out to Los Angeles and showed me what it was like out there, on a crazy level. You have to think, they were more advanced than Khayree and them. That’s when I really started getting exposed to the fast life. Then Supreme got locked up for about eight years. He just got out. That’s what happened with The Supreme Team and why it didn’t work out.
SoPrupRadio: Have you spoke with him? You said he just got out.
SoPrupRadio: He must be really impressed with your progress.
Earl Hayes: I spoke to him while he was locked up too. Oh yeah, a lot of people are impressed. A lot of years and I never came up. I refused to do anything but what I wanted to do in life. I never had a job. I looked at working for somebody else as a sign of giving up on what you really want to do. I would never do anything but what I wanted to do, and find a way to support myself at the same time.
Earl Hayes: Supreme showed me a whole other pace of life. It was totally crazy. I was under a lot of real life street dudes and Supreme was a real real real life street dude. That exposed me even more to the outside, the fast life and the quick money, the cars. He wasn’t really a flashy cat but he used to throw that paper around and that was fine.
SoPrupRadio: What was your initial reaction like? It must have been like a culture shock. Even if we’re not talking from a street perspective, just in general. Earl Hayes: I remember the first time I flew out to Los Angeles. It was like an unreal feeling; I can’t even really explain it. It felt like I was about to make it. It reminded me of a scene in a movie when a dude finally makes it in Los Angeles; but it wasn’t time yet.
SoPrupRadio: You’ve been signed to Interscope once before and a number of independents. Touch on some of your label journeys.
Earl Hayes: I’m glad you brought up my previous label deals. I keep reading, I was never signed to Loud Records; people keep saying that but I never signed to Loud. I did have other several situations as you mentioned. It was more about street music and street movements. A lot of street movements don’t last long because not a lot of street dudes last long. All my situations were street affiliated and when that type of money is used to fund projects, not everybody gets to make it. There is too much shit that happens and goes on.
SoPrupRadio: I know you were already rapping and wanted to make it at 14, your still in your mid-20’s now, and “Cash Flow” came out a long time ago. Have you really been rapping that long and making progress like that?
SoPrupRadio: This record you did. I can play it for you. You did it like 1998 I think. It was on a soundtrack or something. Do you know which record I’m talking about?
Earl Hayes: (Laughs) you have this song? That’s it right there. Turn it up, let me hear it. You were able to find that on the internet? Yeah, I remember this record. I didn’t even know it was out there like that. Thank you, I just wanted to hear it.
It doesn’t get any bigger than being dubbed a Dr. Dre & Timbaland protégé throughout the internet world. In the last few months, Detroit MC Earl Hayes has seen what he describes as an “industry only buzz” travel through the walls of the public, as anticipating listeners remain curious to hear what about this latest Interscope signee has not only one legendary Hip Hop icon, but two Hip Hop icons co-signing him.
Raptalk.Net hooked up with Earl Hayes for part two of a two part interview that focuses on the present. Currently on the “Shock Value 2” tour with multi-platinum producer and Hip Hop icon Timbaland, Earl Hayes talks to us about the tour and appearing on “Shock Value 2”, a track alongside R&B songstress JoJo titled “Lose Control.”
With “The First 48” mixtape out now making its rounds, Hayes talks about hooking up with Dr. Dre & Timbaland. Talking to us about the first time he was signed to Interscope, Hayes explains why he’s confident this time around his Interscope situation will work for the better, and what changes he’s made to ensure his success on the label.
Finally, we talk about the “elephant in the room”, the much-anticipated Dr. Dre album, “Detox.” With Hayes working on the project, he gives us the details that he can. With his as of yet untitled debut album in the works, Hayes expects Dr. Dre to produce half of the project, with Timbaland contributing the other half of production. Realizing this is the set up for what could be one of the largest debut albums in the history of Hip Hop; Hayes speaks about the pressure to deliver and what it’s like recording with Dr. Dre & Timbaland.
Earl Hayes: It’s dope. We’re tired right now; me and Timbaland are in the studio working. Today we have the day off, I was sleeping before I called you, as soon as I get all the way up, I’m about to go back to the studio and get to work. I got some stuff I’ve been working on.
Raptalk.Net: Speaking of the tour, have you had any particular spots or cities you’ve really enjoyed rocking?
Earl Hayes: I like them all the same. It’s all love. Every place we’ve been too has been dope. I like the entire show, the whole show is crazy.
Earl Hayes: I’m on “Shock Value 2” but we did the song the night before mastering. The art work was already done so I didn’t get to appear on the credits. That song is me, Timbaland and JoJo. I missed the credits but I’m on that record. I just made the record. The art work was already done when Timbaland called me to come to the studio and lay down my part.
Earl Hayes: I was in the studio with [Dr.] Dre working on “Detox” and we were doing a track. I got a call from Timbaland saying for me to come to the studio, he said I got a song I want to throw you on. We did the “Lose Control” record and that’s it.
Earl Hayes: “The First 48” is like a street album I put out. I don’t even want to call it a mixtape, will call it a street album. I called it “The First 48” because for a lot of people who are just getting into my music, it’s the first 48 songs that there going to hear. It’s really about the first 48 songs people are going to hear from me. This is the first 48 songs I’m giving y’all. The whole thing is on my website, iamhayes.com. All 48 songs are up there. I’m giving out thousands of copies away for free on the tour and people are blown away that I got a double disc with 48 songs in hard copies that I’m just giving them for free. People can go to my websiteiamhayes.com and see all 48 songs.
Raptalk.Net: This is what we’ve really wanted to get into. It doesn’t get any bigger than being signed to, and being co-signed by Dr. Dre & Timbaland. How did each situation come about?
Earl Hayes: Wow, let me think. With Dre, I’ve known Dre since the end of 2003. He was the reason I got signed to Interscope in the first place. He really liked my stuff. At the time, it didn’t work out. There were a lot of people that offered me a lot of stuff. I was signed straight to Jimmy [Iovine] at Interscope. I was working on my album and I met Timbaland. We did some records together way back in the day. Our chemistry was good. Later on when everything didn’t go good with my deal, and I started dealing with Dre, Timbaland came on board.
Raptalk.Net: So if it didn’t work out the first time with Interscope, what makes you think this time will be any different?
Earl Hayes: The first time I signed to Interscope, it was just me and I was signed to Interscope directly. If you know about the Interscope system, nobody signs to just Interscope. Not one artist has ever come off just Interscope; it’s always through affiliations of one of Jimmy’s power teams. I think when Jimmy Iovine signed me, we had planned to work that out later, but we never worked it out. Dre saw me lose my deal and he came with support. He told me “this time, we’re gonna’ make sure that you blow.” We found a way to make it big. Timbaland came in, him and Dre together. It’s as big as it gets.
Raptalk.Net: That happened in about 2003 when you signed to Interscope the first time?
Earl Hayes: We were negotiating since 2003; I think I officially signed in 2004.
Raptalk.Net: So after the deal went sour, why do you think it took so long for Dre & Timbaland to come back in and make it an affiliation deal in order to make it work in the Interscope system?
Raptalk.Net: So it took a long time to get that situation over with?
Earl Hayes: Yeah, and I wasn’t trying to get it over with. We were actually about to put out a single when we ran out of our budget. We spent three million dollars working on the project. I’m gonna’ give out more information as we get closer to the release of my album.
Raptalk.Net: Understood. We want to continue touching on the Dr. Dre & Timbaland connection. In your words, what’s the difference between being in the booth with Dre & Timbaland?
Earl Hayes: I don’t see a difference. They’re both great. What’s the difference between great and great?
Raptalk.Net: There sound is definitely different. How do you approach their sounds and styles differently?
Earl Hayes: I’m never the same. It’s all a challenge to me. We’re all great workers and I don’t approach anything the same way. The change is beautiful. I feel right at home with everything being different all the time. Even if it wasn’t different, I would change to make it different.
Earl Hayes: A typical studio session is like, I come in and hear something, get ready to go and get right to it. I try to make the track the best I could make.
Raptalk.Net: What kind of pointers do they try and give you in the booth? What are the main similarities in terms of things you hear coming out of their mouth a lot?
Earl Hayes: They both hear things that you would never imagine. They both hear these pockets and bounces and these rhythms and tones. To me, it’s one of the best tutorials I’ve had in my life. I’ve never learned in so many different ways. To be able to do such things, I’m having a lot of fun.
Raptalk.Net: How is “Detox” shaping up? How have you contributed thus far?
Earl Hayes: I’ve contributed like a student. I’ve been working with Dre. I can’t say I’ve been writing for Dre – I’ve been working with Dre. He’s guiding me and I’ve been learning. I may make up some words but it’s all in the parameter of what he’s teaching me at that time.
Raptalk.Net: Do you think Dr. Dre is close to having the album completed? Do you think you’ll 100% appear on the record?
Earl Hayes: I’m sure I’ll be on the record when it comes out. I’m sure Dre is going to put it out when he’s finished with it.
Earl Hayes: In the studio, I don’t hear anything but good records. That man is the man. He’s been making great records. I don’t know when it’s coming out.
Earl Hayes: I got to work with Slim The Mobster and that was great. I also got to work with T.I. that was dope. I got to work with a lot of people that is working with Dre.
Earl Hayes: I haven’t had the chance to meet Eminem yet. But when I do, I’m sure it’ll be a nice Detroit moment.
Raptalk.Net: What’s the timeline like for your album? Does it have a title or is there any information on it you can give us at all?
Earl Hayes: Half of this album is supposed to be produced by Timbaland, the other half is supposed to be produced by Dr. Dre. Right now I’m on the road with Timbaland, me and him are recording every day. I’m trying to get his half done. After we get off the road, will go back to Los Angeles and seen if we can get Dre’s half done and that’s it, it’ll be out.
Raptalk.Net: I’m sure you realize, but that could be one of the biggest projects in Hip Hop history. We’re talking about an album half produced by Dr. Dre, and half produced by Timbaland. Do you feel any pressure to make sure you deliver?
Earl Hayes: Nah, I’m straight. I mean, I’m naturally going to come through because coming through is what I do. I definitely think it’s going to have a positive effect on Hip Hop. I think we’re going to give people what they want. You already know what you could expect. You’re not going to be disappointed. I can guarantee that.
Earl Hayes: I don’t know. It depends what we come up with now and what we come up with when I get home.
Raptalk.Net: You’ve been compared to The Notorious B.I.G., especially in the way you tell stories in your raps. That is evident on records like “Block Party.” How do you react to such a comparison?
Earl Hayes: To be honest, I don’t really react to that. Every time I hear that, I just keep on moving. How is that supposed to make me feel? I don’t even know how to feel about that.
Raptalk.Net: Is that because you don’t like being compared to anyone?
Earl Hayes: No, it’s not that I don’t like being compared to anyone, that was one of my biggest influences and favorite artists as far as music goes. To be compared to him before I even drop an album, for people to say that based off a couple mixtapes is phenomenal. I think that might stir up some shit. People are going to say “wait a minute, who is he? What the fuck is going on?” they are going to wanna’ know why I’m being compared to Big [The Notorious B.I.G.]. They might take the time to hear me and like me. What do you think about that comparison to Biggie?
Raptalk.Net: Honestly, I see how people get that, especially on records like “Block Party” where your storytelling is in full effect. The Intro on “The First 48” as well, I see where people are getting it from. I don’t think there are a lot of rappers out right now that are telling stories on records like you are. Do you see where an opinion like that comes from?
Earl Hayes: It’s just more Hayes music. It’s always gonna’ be the same level. As long as I’m behind the mic, you’re always going to hear something you like - I’ll never let you down.
Earl Hayes: Music I’m doing an album with Dr. Dre & Timbaland. That’s the next move. That’s what I’m focused on the most.
Raptalk.Net: There isn’t a bigger or better way to end it than like that, so thanks a whole lot for your time Hayes; I know I took a lot of it so I appreciate it…
Earl Hayes: We had a lot to get straight. You took me way back.
Raptalk.Net: That’s exactly what I had to do. We had a lot to get through so I appreciate your co-operation and your time. Do you have any last words before I let you go?
Earl Hayes: For those who are already anticipating my album, I think for a dude that nobody really ever heard of except for a few people, because I always had a buzz within the industry walls as far as ghost writing and just being a good dude. I think it’s a blessing to have anticipation on what my album is going to be like only a month or two right after you sign, no promotion yet or anything. I like that people are already anticipating the album.
Raptalk.Net: Your buzz was behind the walls and now you’re seeing that come into the public.
Earl Hayes: It’s blowing over to the public and I never had a public buzz. I always had a great buzz throughout the biggest people in the game. Everybody in the industry is very happy for me. They see me finally getting my shot.
In part one of DX's epic convo with the O.G. track-master, Jinx reveals another Jay-Z/Dre track, and nearly signing Souls of Mischief to Ruthless.
If you think nepotism is always a bad thing, you obviously don’t know Dr. Dre’s family history in the music industry. It’s relatively common knowledge that Warren G is Andre Young’s half-brother, but lesser known is that Dre also has a classics creating cousin he helped usher into the game, Sir Jinx.
After the then teenager paid his dues by working on demos for potential Ruthless Records signees, (including a then high school student who would go on to become one of the biggest names in the history of Hip Hop), Jinx branched out on his own and as a grown man music maker crafted tracks for a litany of legendary names including Kool G. Rap, Xzibit, Too Short, Public Enemy, Kurupt, Rage Against The Machine, Sadat X, Yo-Yo, Tone-Loc, Toni Braxton, and as one-fourth of WC And The Maad Circle.
But best known for his early-‘90s contributions to Ice Cube’s first four solo albums, Sir Jinx became a household name in the Rap game as Cube’s right-hand man. Growing up in the same South Central, Los Angeles neighborhood as Cube, the then high schoolers joined forces (along with K-Dee) to form the short-lived mid-‘80s trio, C.I.A. (Cru In Action). Dr. Dre’s befriending of Cube during the C.I.A. days subsequently led to Cube’s inclusion in N.W.A. Once Cube’s well-documented monetary disputes with Ruthless Records reached a boiling point, Jinx decided to step away from his own cousin and bounce from Ruthless with Cube to form The Lench Mob crew. Jinx then worked alongside Cube and Public Enemy’s Bomb Squad beatmakers for Cube’s solo debut, Amerikkka’s Most Wanted, before taking the reigns for 10 tracks on Cube’s controversial classic Death Certificate. But following that astounding album, (which featured Cube’s new Nation Of Islam-driven direction), scant contributions soon followed from Jinx for Cube’s third and fourth solos, The Predator and Lethal Injection, and nearly two decades followed those albums before the onetime musical partners reunited, (sort of), for Cube’s recently-released ninth full-length, I Am The West.
Speaking to HipHopDX last Wednesday, (October 6th), Sir Jinx candidly revealed where his relationship with Cube currently stands, as well as what has come of his newfound working relationship with Dr. Dre, (and if a particular Jinx production featuring Jay-Z will make its way to Detox). And finally, the 20-year vet recalled his dog days at Ruthless Records and how the Hieroglyphics crew nearly became Ruthless’ first Alt-Rap signing.
HipHopDX: So it was 17 years between “Lil’ Ass Gee” on Lethal Injection and “Life In California” on I Am The West. Why did it take so long for you and Cube to reconnect? Sir Jinx: Well…the era had changed. And when [Ice] Cube went to the Lench Mob-type of music, [like] the “Horny [Lil’] Devil” [song on Death Certificate] and stuff like that, I didn’t really wanna do music like that. So, we kinda went our separate ways… It was a lot of things he was getting into that I really wasn’t agreeing with at the time when I was growing as a producer. So, I did other things. I went and [produced for] CeCe Peniston…Gerald Levert and stuff like that, rather than staying locked into that kind of music [Cube was doing at the time]… I assumed that The Lench Mob was gonna be more like the Ruff Ryders, not like the message kinda rhymes. I didn’t think The Lench Mob was gon’ be like that. I thought The Lench Mob was gon’ be like the N.W.A. [stuff]… I didn’t believe that Hip Hop and religion mixed together. So, I [eventually] left that environment.
DX: And so how did y’all reconnect to get that placement on I Am The West?
Sir Jinx: He’s a multi-millionaire, [and] I’m sure you hear [about] the relationships that Jay-Z has with his people and Dr. Dre has with his people and all the people that are really high up in the Rap food chain [have with their people], [so] it’s kinda hard to talk to ‘em like you would talk to any other rapper. So, how we hooked [back] up, it was me just being pursuant at wanting the world to hear more of Ice Cube and Sir Jinx. Because if it wasn’t for that, then he probably wouldn’t care.
DX: Did you consider giving Cube some retro flava and revisit that “No Vaseline” funkiness? Sir Jinx: Well, like I said, when you get with artists that reach that high food chain it’s kinda hard to implement what you want, when they’ll base it on what have you done [to earn that right to advise]. So if you like say, “Hey, Jay-Z, I think you should let your hair grow out.” And he’ll be like, “Who told you that?” …Then it becomes, I don’t want him to come around ‘cause he has ideas that I don’t like.
DX: I was just curious if you know – Hearing that you were gonna be involved in this project I just thought maybe you guys might try to take it back to ’91…
Sir Jinx: He didn’t use any of my influence on his record…whatsoever. I kinda dealt with him through Brother Ron, [Cube’s] guy that he deals with… And Brother Ron wants that [reunion] to happen. He wanted it to happen [for I Am The West]. And actually, me and Brother Ron had our differences back in the day, and who would of thought the person you had your differences with would instantly give your conversation to the person that you used to talk to? So he ended up being the person that talked in between me and Cube. I never talked to Cube, ever.
DX: You don’t wanna go into why you guys don’t speak…?
Sir Jinx: I mean, like I said, when you see how the moguls of today, how they treat everybody, you just gotta get in line. It’s a million people that wanna give him beats. And when I wanna give him a beat maybe my beat might cost a little more… But I don’t know how he makes his music anymore. So I just sit and do what I’m supposed to do as a producer and send him beats - for the love of Hip Hop… And I just wanted to continue that, but I guess the formula that he has around him doesn’t – it’s no room for Sir Jinx… He must have something inside of him that wants to work with Jinx, but it’s just not his faith, body and mind. [Laughs]
DX: Since I asked about you and Cube working together again, it’s mandatory I ask about you and your cousin Dr. Dre working together for the first time, ever. So…how’s that going? [Laughs]
Sir Jinx: Well…I think I already [indirectly] touched on that. [Laughs] Ditto, basically [the same thing as] the Cube environment. These guys are millionaires and they do what they do, and you would have to be a psychic to understand what they go through everyday. That’s why I think inside [of me] I don’t have hate [for them] because I kinda don’t want their position… But, I talked to him, and all the songs that I heard [from Dr. Dre's Detox] was real dope. And the thing that’s funny is, the songs that got leaked were never the songs he was playing [me].
DX: Just out of curiosity…was the stuff you heard the "Ghetto Techno" that we been sort of led to believe the sound is gonna be for the album?
Sir Jinx: Nah… I remember [in] one interview I said it kinda sound like a sinister Kanye West. Some of the songs sounded like that. They don’t sound like Above The Law – [Dre] did Above The Law, and that album, [Livin’ Like Hustlers], was amazing! He also did The Firm’s album, but it don’t sound like that.
DX: I thought after “Under Pressure” that he was going in the sorta Kraftwerk direction?
Sir Jinx: That was none of the stuff that I heard. Technically, if you wanna feel what the Detox record was – the direction I feel it was going in – was that song that was [in] the Dr. Pepper commercial. Now I heard that one a bunch of times…with the rap on it, with Slim Da Mobster on it, with it being produced better, without T.I. on it – I think that’s the [leak, the Dr. Pepper commercial song, that T.I. is on… So I never even heard the “Under Pressure” song. [I would have remembered if I had] because I have a song with [Dr. Dre for Detox] and it involves Jay-Z as well. So when I heard [about a Dr. Dre song featuring Jay-Z] I said, “Oh shit, my song got leaked.” It was not my song. [But], the song that I did with Dre, Jay-Z had something to do with [that one] as well… The song that I got with Dre, it’s amazing. It’s a dope, dope, dope song.
DX: Are you confident [that song is] gonna make it to the finish line [for Detox]?
Sir Jinx: Um…I’m…I mean, it’s just like what Dre want. He wants something that’s original, he wants something that’s brand new, and that’s definitely our relationship in this time and day.
DX: Can you reveal…any more about the sound of the song?
Sir Jinx: I would hate for me to kill myself.
DX: [Laughs]
Sir Jinx: I’ll just say that I’m glad that [my song] had a little bit to do with Jay-Z, but it wasn’t the [“Under Pressure” record]. It wasn’t that song.
DX: …You guys just did this one song together last year and that was it? Have you guys recorded at all together since?
Sir Jinx: Well, Dre has a process [with] the way he does his music. If you submit a song, it’s not like you gonna give him a track and it’s gonna end up that way. He’s gonna turn it into a Dr. Dre track. So that [process] took some time… Through last year, [for] maybe four or five months - he [wound] up getting different people to help out with the songs. Then he [came] to me and [was] like, “Guess who might be on it? …R. Kelly might be on it. Beyonce might…” – all these different people… [So] I dunno [what he does after I submit a track]. He just takes it. And…I don’t even want a copy of it. I don’t even wanna be the leak - somebody steal my computer and instantly gets a full Dr. Dre album. [So] I don’t want it. I just sit and enjoy it from [a] bird’s eye view.
DX: But you guys haven’t been like in [contact] with each other recently doing any more music…?
Sir Jinx: Well actually, we did like four [tracks]. We did a few songs… I can do as much [music] as I can, but it’s also [other producers already] there in line that’s trying to get on the Eminem thing, trying to get on all the projects that Dr. Dre has. And excluding our relationship as cousins, I still have to produce hot tracks. So it’s no favoritism whatsoever when it comes to getting songs placed over there.
DX: …I’m still a little unclear as to why it took 20 years for you and Dr. Dre to make music together?
Sir Jinx: Well, I’m my own Saddam, man… I got a chip on my shoulder too. I’m racing the game [too]. Just like he racing after Quincy Jones, I’m chasing after Dr. Dre. So sometimes when you don’t want that crutch, you won’t go there. I don’t need that… And now when I go over there, you gotta get in line. There’s no personal nothing about it. It’s all business, not personal. So I can’t go over there and assume that I’m gonna throw my favorite tracks [into] an Aftermath [Entertainment] environment – get ‘em sewed up, I can’t slang ‘em to nobody ‘cause then I’m going behind Aftermath back…it’s hard. If you make a track for Aftermath, it’s designated for Aftermath. You can’t go shop that. That becomes very expensive. So to try to deal with the Dr. Dre environment and make a whole bunch of tracks - I can’t go take them tracks and give ‘em to somebody else, ‘cause then what if Dre call me from Detroit like, “Yo, where that track at?” [And] I’m like, “Oh, I gave it to Snippy D that gave me $1,500 for it.” So, you gotta [deal with that], and I been doing my own thing [all these years]. I had really no reason to go to the Dre environment because I was working with Xzibit [before he worked with Dre]. We did [seven tracks together for] the 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz [album]. We did a lot of stuff. I work with artists that need to prepare themselves for Dr. Dre. Everybody that I worked with always ended up working with Dr. Dre. I even worked with Snoop Dogg before Dre did.
DX: Yeah, I was shocked to learn that from reading your Producer’s Corner feature that you did Snoop Dogg’s demo when he was 15, 16-years-old. How did y’all link up?
Sir Jinx: Warren G is Dre’s stepbrother, [and] me and Warren G is the same age. So [when we were teenagers] we were kinda both getting shunned on in the Audio Achievements [Studios] – [during] the [recordings for] Dr. Dre, Michel’le, N.W.A., Eazy-E, J.J. Fad, all that stuff that was going on then. Me and Warren G were kinda like the scrubs. And it was a place that was uncomfortable. It wasn’t even cool to be a [Ruthless Records] entourage [member] then. [Laughs] They would dump [on you] and do tricks [to you] and do all kinda stuff to you if you [didn’t] have no work over there... I got shunned so much [it motivated] me to [bounce from Ruthless with Ice Cube and] do Amerikkka’s Most [Wanted]... That came from the intensity of what pressure you had [on you] to be accepted over there.
DX: Going back to that demo that you did for Snoop when he was still in high school, did you do that with Warren G?
Sir Jinx: Yeah. I lived in South Central, and of course they lived in Long Beach, and they would catch the bus to my house – ditch [school] and come catch the bus and get to my house [at] maybe three [o'clock in the afternoon], and then we would work on my little four-track… [And] me and Warren [would] go back and forth [talking about our problems with Ruthless], because being in the scrub role over there, that’s like the union at a job, [so] me and him complained to only each other. [Laughs] So, [at] that point we kinda had a connection. And he wanted to see it happen. I wanted to see it happen. Obviously, Snoop Dogg was supposed to happen. And then it was funny, ‘cause back then [Snoop] was shorter than all of us. So it was like a summer or two [and] like he went to jail, [or] he went to camp or some shit, and this nigga come out [and] he’s six [feet] and some change. He was [called] Snoop because of being short. The name Snoop in the gangster world usually comes from short dogs. [Snoopy from Peanuts] is not a tall dog. [Laughs] Now he like Marmaduke.
DX: Did you and Warren try to take Snoop’s demo at that point, like in the late ‘80s, to Dre?
Sir Jinx: Nah, it wasn’t even that [kind of thing]. It was just striking matches, just gettin’ it in, thinking that, “Okay, we can do a good song” – So maybe it was to be presented to Ruthless. Maybe it was, because back then I was even doing demos with Tajai and Adam [A-Plus]. I was trying to get them signed over at Ruthless. And [they’re now known as part of] Souls Of Mischief. They were my group [originally].
DX: Oh wow, you were fuckin’ with them before Del [The Funky Homosapien]?
Sir Jinx: Actually, Del [The Funky Homosapien] and them [came] together. They came as a crew. And Del’s [emcee] name was [his initials], T.D.K., back then… And they [group] name was Rhythm. And they used to come out [to Los Angeles]. Dre used to give me money for them to catch the train from Oakland out here to do demos to get signed to Ruthless. That’s how hot Del was… [But] nobody [else at Ruthless] would fuck with that shit. I was trying my hardest to make ‘em fuck with that shit.
Stay tuned to HipHopDX for the even more revealing conclusion to our conversation with Sir Jinx, in which he takes a further stroll down memory lane and shares more of his Hip Hop stories, including the tale of 2Pac, Kool G. Rap and Jinx driving around during the 1992 L.A. Riots (while ‘Pac busted his gun in between stops to sign autographs for fans). Jinx also explains why you’ve never had a friend like “Uncle Suge,” reveals the historic film project The D.O.C. is currently working on, and much, much more.
Part 2;
In part two of DX's epic convo with the OG track-master, Jinx details his experience rioting with 'Pac, his friendship with Suge, and The D.O.C.'s documentary.
In part one of Sir Jinx’s revealing conversation with HipHopDX the veteran beatmaker revealed that his 17-year delayed reunion with Ice Cube did not come to fruition as it was originally intended for I Am The West, (explaining why the once musical partners no longer speak to one another). Dr. Dre’s cousin also revealed his recent work with the good doctor for Detox, (work that included the assistance of Jay-Z). Additionally, the onetime Ruthless Records “scrub” further revealed his work in the late ‘80s with a then-teenage Snoop Dogg, as well as the work he put in a little over 20 years ago attempting to get the Hieroglyphics crew signed to Ruthless.
Now, in the conclusion to DX’s discussion with Sir Jinx, the man born Anthony Wheaton shares one more story from his historic past, this time recalling his hilarious experience rioting with 2Pac in Los Angeles during the 1992 rebellion. Jinx also reveals if he can ever release the long lost original recordings he made with fellow rioter Kool G. Rap. The producer/emcee additionally explains why “Suge is my friend,” why he is rechristening himself “Tony Villa,” and finally, what his involvement is in the upcoming documentary on the tragically cut-short career of The D.O.C.
HipHopDX: I want to go back to your Producer’s Corner feature for one more bit of information, something you said that grabbed my eye. You’ve got to be the only person in this industry who’s ever been quoted as saying, “Suge is my man…” [Laughs]
Sir Jinx: I don’t know how you grew up…but everybody got either a uncle in they family they don’t like, or a big cousin, or a big brother – you don’t like ‘em until the shit go bad. At all the picnics they fucking up…cursing people out, but soon as that dude run into your car in the supermarket and five dudes jump out, you not calling Auntie Shay Shay, you calling Suge [Knight].
DX: [Laughs] Uncle Suge.
Sir Jinx: Uncle Suge. And if you don’t want it done right, don’t call Suge. So, that’s the cold thing when people say that Suge whatever, whatever - I mean, he did what he did. If everybody was in his shoes, then they could say what kind of person he is. Everybody say [Suge had something to do with] the situation with [2Pac] and all that, but nobody don’t know. I know Suge, and [the conspiracy theory that Suge Knight had 2Pac killed] don’t add up to me like that. And I ain’t in it – don’t put [me in it] – but I see the nigga eye-to-eye and it’s hard [to see him in that way]… I been knowing Suge since he was a limousine driver. And he never swung [at] or hit me or jumped me. [But] then, I never put myself in that position anyway. ‘Cause I always had my other shit going [on]. And he was always happy for me because I didn’t have to follow behind [Dr.] Dre… He was like, “You know I always respected you, man. You went and did your own thing, man. Most of these niggas sideline Dre, kiss Dre ass…” And I’d be like, “Yeah, but he’s still my cousin.” I feel like he can be the king and I can be the prince. I don’t want his world. I don’t want them pressures that he has to deal with…
DX: One more thing I learned from your Producer’s Corner feature is that you produced Kool G. Rap & DJ Polo’s Live and Let Die in its entirety before it was remixed by the Trackmasters and others [due to sample clearance issues]. So would you ever consider reaching out to G. Rap to release those originals?
Sir Jinx: Um…they still got sample infringements in [the tracks]. Because see…we finished that album, [but] they [didn’t release it until] a year later [in 1992]. The Trackmasters…when they went back in and took the samples out, [after] I gave them the masters…I don’t know. They released a whole different [album] than I gave Cold Chillin’ [Records]… I gave Cold Chillin’ something else, and they went back in and remixed a lot of them songs. [But] with [Kool] G. Rap, that’s my nig right there. I would love to work with G. Rap [again], but he gotta wanna do it.
DX: Speaking of G. Rap, when I spoke with him back in ’08 for his DX feature he recounted for me the story of you, he and Tupac “…riding around, poppin’ they burner off out the window” during the ’92 L.A. riots. [Laughs] Just to keep it a hunnid though, was ‘Pac really riding around, shooting out the car window?
Sir Jinx: Put it like this, we saw a dude in a security guard outfit and ‘Pac pointed the gun at him and laughed. That’s the intensity of the street [on] that day. It was a dude standing at the bus [stop] – ‘Cause we driving down Wilshire [Boulevard], I’m driving my car [and] he letting it loose through the sunroof: boom, boom. I mean, it’s shells in my car. I actually took ‘Pac to my neighborhood over there off of Western [Avenue] & 106th [Street] and that’s where he got more bullets from – ‘cause he emptied his gun in my car. [Laughs] And for some reason it wasn’t wrong. [Laughs] …That was the day I was supposed to work with 2Pac. That was the only day, because after that he got into some shit and then we never went back into the studio… The day before [the Rodney King trial verdict came down] he was working with some other guys in the same studio. [And] so the next day he was off from them, and I was off from working on G. Rap’s shit. [But] that’s why G. Rap was there [in the studio too]. You know how you work with artists [and they’ll] be like, “Let me take a day off [from recording] to write.” So he took a day off, and that day on [for me in the studio] was supposed to be [me working] with 2Pac, but as soon as we [started] going through the beats my homeboys come through the door with like five hats on they head like the Mad Hatter, with arms full of liquor, talking about “L.A. is on fire.” And I’m like, “What are you talking about?” I don’t know nothing. We in the studio…[but] I don’t watch T.V. in the studio. So I turned the T.V. on, [and] L.A.’s on fire. We said, “Okay, we’re gonna come back tomorrow.” [Laughs] So we went down to L.A. to see what the fuck was going on. And then while we was going down there, while we riding down Wilshire, boom, boom, boom, boom, he dumping out the sunroof. So then we go all the way down, we hit L.A., we hit Crenshaw, we in the middle of Crenshaw. I parked my car in the middle of the street, because everybody has just parked sideways like the world coming to an end. We go into Tempo Records – Tempo Records is on fire! In the back, we get in, [and] Tupac [starts] signing autographs…signing his records. I’m like, “C’mon! Let’s go! Let’s go!” …[Then] it’s like…some muthafuckin’ A-Team shit, we jump back in the car, [and then] we go to the bottoms. We go some place that I ain’t never been – ‘cause I grew up on like the Crip side, so I ain’t have no reason to be over there. [Laughs] And they would spot me out by just being from where I lived. So we go over there, the swap meet is up to your shin in water because the sprinkler system came on, because some part of the building is on fire. So we slushing through the water, getting stuff, doing stuff – this nigga [‘Pac is] outside taking pictures. [So finally] we jump in the car and then that was our day of [rioting]. That was my nigga. ‘Pac was my friend…just like Suge is my friend. [Laughs] I know some of the craftiest people on the planet, but…it’s better to have ‘em on your team than against you… [Some people don’t understand] what it takes to do business with people like Suge. And some people didn’t like 2Pac [either]. But at the end of the day, when something go wrong, who you gon’ call?
DX: I appreciate this walk down memory lane, it’s been enjoyable, [Laughs], but I need to go ahead and wrap things up. But before I let you go, I wanna get a rundown of any new projects you got in the works?
Sir Jinx: Well right now I got a couple of things that’s coming out. I done changed my [performing] name… So I got some music that I got coming out [under that name]. And the name is Tony Villa. And that’s just like my alter-ego… I got a bunch of cats that I work with, and now I’m just gon’ come out with some good music [featuring them]. Now you got the Internet, [so] I don’t have to slave myself to a record company… So a lot of the music that I’m working on with the Tony Villa project is just basically using the [new technology of] the time. Like, I would use the [technology of the] time in ’89 [and] use the SP1200 or…the Oberheim to make my world come alive. Now I got Reason…Pro Tools. So it’s just a breath of fresh air. It’s just like my album [back in the mid-‘90s], Chastisement, when I put that record out [with features from] Gerald Levert and Isaac Hayes, I didn’t make music to compete with people. I make music to listen to [and enjoy]. So I got the new project, the Tony Villa project… [The] album [is] called RSVP. That’s gonna be coming out [soon]. It got a lot of cats on it. It got Kurupt on it, Jayo Felony, it got Ya Boy on it, it got Medusa on it, it got…King Tee is on it, Domino’s on it… I’m trying to take that little hand that I got, that [Dr.] Dre gave me, and put together some good hot shit with the artists that might not get no deal. But you still wanna hear Rodney O, you still wanna hear what’s going on with Paperboy, you still wanna hear what’s going on with these other emcees – Candyman – that’s still hot. These dudes is lyricists but maybe the time has changed. But if they get up to date with what’s going on, then they gon’ be on some records.
DX: [And] you’re gonna be rappin’ on this…?
Sir Jinx: Yes, [as] a performer, Tony Villa. And I been holding it back so long because the west coast will make you feel stagnated [creatively], until you go out to Atlanta, until you got out to Detroit, until you go out to places and see what [the] west coast did for the [whole] United States. Then that’s when I [started] figuring out, “Okay, well then there is another world for Sir Jinx.” …Just reinventing yourself is another idea in Hip Hop that you get to do. Now if you wanna ride that [old west] wave of “What’s happenin’ homie?” then that’s good [for you], but I like to deal with the new shit… When the technology caught up [to where it is now], then I was able to be able to produce myself as well as do music closer to the concept that I believe… The song that I gave to [Ice] Cube, [“Life In California”], was a song that was on my album [originally]. I just took my vocals off and gave him the instrumental… So I shot him the [beat] with the hook, and with Jayo Felony [already] on it. And that’s how he got the song. [But] what he did to it after that, that was on him. So that’s why I [explained that] I never talked to him – it was just through the engineer or through Brother Ron.
DX: We all have our personal relationships that aren’t where we want ‘em to be, [but] it’s just kinda disappointing to hear that you guys aren’t like [back] in one room [working] together.
Sir Jinx: I don’t even know how to put it. I guess with…the new people that he have [working with him], he might get a better vibe, a more comfortable vibe. But we actually scheduled time for us to be in one room together, and he didn’t make it. But I don’t want it to [sound] bad. It’s just how life goes… You know [the Atlanta Falcons] got rid of Mike Vick, [but] I’m sure they feel it now.
[Conversation goes off the record before resuming] That’s with me and [The] D.O.C. I been dealing with D.O.C., and D.O.C.’s recreating that day – that day when he came to California [from Texas].
DX: He’s recreating – Like, he’s making a movie or something?
Sir Jinx: He’s making a documentary on him. So he’s getting all the cats together [that were around him in the late ‘80s]. And I’m the only person – See let me tell you something, if Cube never left [Ruthless Records], I probably woulda been D.O.C.’s deejay. Because if you look at the old, funny N.W.A. tapes with them making fun of Cube, I’m actually the deejay. We all in it. It wasn’t meant to be a disrespect. It was [just] that everybody had a video camera and they was making tapes about each other.
Fat Cap magazine; You have a pretty versatile background. Growing up in LA, the home of gangster rap, you were hanging out in Snoop’s garage with his brother Bada Bing, and Warren G is one of your best friends. Still, your own style is far from gangster, how come?
Bishop Lamont; ‘Cause that’s not really me. I could make music for the gangsters, and I do make music for the streets, because I grew up in the same places. We have gone through the same things, but my life does not parallel that far when it comes to music. So the rebellion is there, the danger is there, the excitement is there, but other than that? There is more to it. I am an MC, so I have to MC.
Bishop Lamont; Oh no, they are MC’s too! You can take people that are MC’s, like D.O.C.– they are not gangsters, you know. Crooked I is an MC, but he is from the streets. Cube is not a gangster.
Bishop Lamont; Yeah, you can, but my thing is: I’m going to be who I’m going to be completely. I am not going to dress up a certain way to appeal to people. If it’s real If it´s street People are going to respect it regardless Of what background you come from, So that´s just me speaking for me.
Fat Cap magazine; You're part of what’s called the “new west” movement. Is the movement strong enough to stand on its own feet if the “old west” retires?
Bishop Lamont; Naw, they would have to hang their jerseys up. The crown is not important to me; I’d rather be the pope. The legacy continues, but as far as the crown, it stays where it is and that’s what’s important to me. It’s more about opening up more opportunities for a variety of MC’s – more new faces, more new music, and more new ideas. The new people are just used to the old people, and the old people don’t like to speak about the new people, so the music speaks for itself, and time speaks for itself. A prime example is: Are Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson still playing? No! But these guys were great players in their day, and then they became commentators, and now they help new players come onto the stage.
Fat Cap magazine; So why do you think people still depend on Dre to keep on going, and to bring forth new artists?
Bishop Lamont; Because that’s where Dre positions himself. We don’t depend on him, we respect him. People outside depend on him, because that’s all they know, but now there are more new faces. They have more people to choose from.
Bishop Lamont; Yeah, but I’m already coming forward. One man can’t control, or contain, a movement forever. So, he’s doing his job, but it’s a whole new direction, and movement, and faces, and those flood gates are opening. And once that happens, there’s no turning back. He knows that as well.
On, ^“why you want to piss me off”,^ you suggested that old rappers should hang up the mic and who wouldn't acknowledge you. Who, and what, was that about?
Fat Cap magazine; Do you think it's possible to release a real hip hop album on a major label when you look at the current state of the rap industry?
Bishop Lamont; It’s necessary, because people are tired of corny, predictable, ring-tone bullshit. They’re tired of music that has no soul, they’re tired of music that has no direction, and they’re tired of music that has no purpose. So it’s a necessity, so that people all over can see – and change – the world when it comes to how fucked up America, and our government, really is. They want a new person to come in and to change the world, and to do it with the same respect that we’re doing with the music. That’s what we do with the communities that are waiting for a different artist from whatever hood, whatever gang affiliation. Everybody is fronting the move together; they want more opportunities for everybody. They are tired off the same shit on the radio, they are tired of seeing the same videos.
^Grow up^
Fat Cap magazine; You are under the guidance of Dr. Dre, one of the great producers of the west coast sound. Do you think there will be a shift in the mainstream music style? Your “Grow Up” single is quite different from the more uptempo sound that popular at the moment. Do you think people will accept this?
Bishop Lamont; Yeah, that’s why everybody loves that record. Jimmy is about making money, but he can’t stop the move. That record is still everywhere and we are still shooting the video, so it didn’t stop anything. You can’t stop the music. You can try all you want, but if the people want it, the people are going to get it. You can’t stop the universe either – people want great music, people want good energy, people want new.
Bishop Lamont; I Dominate” is another crazy record, but there are so many amazing records that it’s hard to decide what stays and what goes.
Fat Cap magazine; What ever happened to the days when albums had one MC and one producer?
Bishop Lamont; Those days are gone. People want a variety. For some people it works, but for other people it doesn’t. For me, I couldn’t just sit and do that, with the exception of DJ Khalil. And with him it was because he is so versatile that everything sounds so different. If you go back and listen to Snoop’s Doggystyle, everything, to a certain extent, sounds exactly the same. For me, consistency and variety, and consistency in different sonics and feels, that’s what’s important to me. So, for my first album, it was important to not only have Dr. Dre, but also DJ Quik, and Just Blaze, and Premo, and Hi-Tek … It was part of my thing.
Bishop Lamont; Next year, but I don’t have a date. You never have release dates with Aftermath. But it’s coming.
Fat Cap magazine; I heard that you used a large amount of your advance on CD’s. You must have a large record collection, and have you always been a music collector?
Bishop Lamont; That’s true, because there’s so much music that you can learn so much from. You can have so many things you want to study and research, so the only thing that makes sense is to go and buy shitloads. A variety in music, not only rap, but also jazz, blues, old rock and roll, whatever it is. My collection is ridiculous.
Fat Cap magazine; I've also heard that you have been both an active B-Boy and a graffiti writer! Tell us a little bit about that?
Bishop Lamont; Used to be. I just love to draw, I love to do graffiti. I loved to break (dance). I was an idiot when I was a kid, I was doing everything! So to have a real life, and a real experience, and a real pursuit of the art form, you should be able to know how to DJ somewhat, be the one that dug in the crates, be the one that was breaking on cardboard on the sidewalks – do a little spin on your head, you know what I’m saying? Mess up some walls with graffiti, and control the mic. For me that was what it was supposed to be.
Bishop Lamont; Yes, but more Comic book skills. I could draw, so my thing was more characters and stuff. It wasn’t just about the words, my thing was more like Marvell. Spiderman and stuff like that is what I loved to do. I was just drawing comics.
Fat Cap magazine; It seems important to you to represent all the elements of the Hip Hop culture.
Bishop Lamont; Yes, because you have to respect them. A lot of people say that they respect Hip Hop, but they only have one aspect of it. They have never seen Wild Style, never seen Beat Street. Most of them don’t…
Fat Cap magazine; For a lot of the old school cats, breaking was their first encounter with the culture. Which element fascinated you first?
Bishop Lamont; Breaking was my first element. From breaking I got into rhyming. In between breaking and rhyming I did a little graffiti. From rhyming I wanted to learn about DJ’ing, and so my boy, DJ Butter, would let me come to his basement. Then we would fuck up some records and make some mix tapes, and after that I learned to make beats and instrumentals.
Fat Cap magazine; Do you still keep track of the breaking and graffiti scenes in LA
Bishop Lamont; When I can, but I’m so much distracted in the studio. But I believe I get out as much as I need to. I have cats coming to my shows and break and shit. Other than that, I’m in the studio full time
Fat Cap magazine; I have noticed that you have used Star Wars references lots of times in your lyrics and in interviews. I assume you're a big fan?
Bishop Lamont; Oh yeah! I have always been a big fan – how could you not be?
Fat Cap magazine; At one point, Dre said he didn't want to do Detox anymore, and he felt like that was a huge weight off his shoulders. What eventually made him pick up the project again?
Bishop Lamont; I really can’t say, because he felt like that for a long time, and he still feels like that at times, being 44 now, and being at a different point in his life. I can’t speak directly for him all the way, but I do know, from when we sat in the studio and talked about it, that he just wants to make sure that he is still relevant, and that what he does makes sense for the world. He doesn’t want it to be a waste of time.
Fat Cap magazine; As you know, Detox is a rap album that's been eagerly anticipated by a lot of people for a couple of years now. Do you think that the high expectations could hurt the album when it's finally released? And will Dre ever be satisfied with Detox?
Bishop Lamont; He will never feel that it’s good enough, nothing he has ever done has felt good enough. He would do it all over again if he could change time.
Fat Cap magazine; Dre said last year that he wanted to try to include everybody that he has worked with in the past. Do you think that would be realistic? Wouldn’t it have to be a 10 CD compilation?
Fat Cap magazine; You recently said that Dre is working on two versions of Detox, and that he’ll decide from there.
Bishop Lamont; Actually, a couple of different versions of songs were recorded, but not the whole album. He was just trying to figure his direction. Who knows with him? I can’t say.
Produced by Focus, Bink, Mark Batson, Che, DJ Khalil, Nottz, King Kornov, Scott Storch, Dae One, Jake One, Diverse, The New Royales, Danja, Tha Bizness, Denaun Porter & GOD
