We worked together when you were known as Cyrus. Do you feel like you’ve had a rebirth since changing your name to Don Streat?

I did. It was a progression that came along, I guess, probably a couple years after that. I feel revitalized. I feel good.

What prompted the name change?

What happened was around ’05, my cousin, whose name is Curtis Don Streat, around ’05, he was killed. So I put out a mixtape called The Don Streat Theory Volume One. After that, just out of respect for my cousin and all of that and just wanting his name to live on, I adopted the name and use it as my rap name.

Did your music change with your name?

With me, it’s always changing because I feel like I’m diverse. I feel I can basically do it all even though I stick mainly with underground music because that’s the music I love. But I feel like I’m always evolving and always changing.

On your last mixtape, you worked with Khrysis, Illmind, and M-Phazes. What’s it like working with producers of that caliber?

It’s a good experience anytime you’re networking with people that’s the best at what they do and to me, there’s always pressure to not let the beat outshine you and sound like you’re supposed to be there. That’s my goal. I always try to step up my game to be better than the last time. I don’t know if I’m achieving that every time, but that’s what I shoot for and that’s what I aim for.

How do you improve as an artist?

I’m always writing. I write all the time. I try to sound as different as I can from what everybody else is doing. It don’t always come out that way, but that’s what I shoot for. I don’t try to sound like anybody.

What do you listen for when you hear beats?

It’s basically just a feeling. I tend to stick to the hardest-edged beats because that’s basically what I grew up on and grew up liking. I usually gravitate to the harder-core beats but I like all kinds of stuff. But it’s usually the beat itself that just has to grab me. Sometimes there’s just something about the beat that I’ll be like, ‘That’s the one.’

You’ve had quality projects with big names attached to them. Are you happy with how far your music has gone so far?

I’m not as happy with how far they’ve gone. With this new project, I’m trying to beat down the door with this one. I didn’t want to just put it out on my own without that steam behind it. With people, a lot of times they gravitate to people that’s already out and doing stuff, so I just figured that I would get a couple people on the record that’s at the top of their game and try to throw them on the record and with the skills I had, hopefully it would be something that would get people in tune with me and try to take it to the next level.

What’s the hardest part about trying to grab people’s attention?

I think the hardest part of the process is just getting people to listen. People’s attention spans are a finger-snap away and especially if they don’t know who you are, that’s the hardest part is basically getting them to pay attention to you. I was watching Akon’s Behind the Music about artists trying to get heard and his brother said he doesn’t listen to new music unless he knows who’s bringing him the music. Just getting people to listen to you, I think that’s the hardest part about being a new artist.

How do you feel hearing your older music today?

I still like some of the older music that I did back in the days. I think I’m more polished now but I still like a lot of the stuff that I did because I wouldn’t be who I am without that person. I like a lot of the old stuff but I think the sound is cleaner now.

You also served in the military. How did that change you?

It didn’t change me. I’m still pretty much the same. I can’t say that that experience didn’t change me at all. I was strictly an East Coast artist before and that’s all I listened to all my life and then coming down South for the military, it was like a total 360. This was before the big South explosion before I even came to North Carolina. That music was already here. It was like a culture shock to turn on the radio and not hear the music I would normally hear at home.

What can you tell us about your upcoming album?

The album has M-Phazes on there, Illmind, Khrysis, Astronotes, Sean Price, Rick Marvel, Lil’ Fame, Termanology, Chaundon, Slaine, Dynaste, Kool G. Rap. I know I’m leaving people out, but there’s a lot on there. I got a lot of dope features on there and a lot of dope production on there. That was one of the main reasons why I didn’t just want to drop the album myself and have it not go nowhere.

What are you most proud of on this album?

I think the amount of exposure that this project’s been getting so far. My song with Rustee Juxx has been getting a lot of attention. It’s putting me in the spotlight more than I’ve ever been. Just getting heard more, that’s an accomplishment in itself to me

When is the album coming out?

I was hoping to put it out by the Spring but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen so I’m hoping by early Summer I can get it out. For the most part, it’s in the mixing stage right now. I got a couple more songs I have to record. I got about five songs already mixed.

What inspires you when you make music?

Lyricism and wordplay. I try to give people music like the artists I respected growing up, the Kool G. Rap’s, the Big Daddy Kane’s, the Rakim’s. They were always dope with their wordplay and they always had a certain kind of delivery that kept your attention. That’s what I try to do when I get on the mic, just keep it as live as I can.

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Your debut album Underground Superstar is finally dropping. What makes an “underground superstar”?

Someone who is known but not known, if that makes any sense. It’s like you’re well-respected in your craft and what you do and I’m a master of my craft at that level. It still leaves more room to conquer.

There’s no question you’ve earned your stripes on the underground circuit, from tours to guest appearances and more. What took so long to get this first album done?

I never really saw myself as a solo artist. I never really just wanted to stand on my own like that. I’ve been in a group since day one with Wordsworth with the Punch and Words thing. Even in the streets, rhyming and battling, we were always together. We did the eMC album and that’s four guys right there. I never really had a desire to do an album on my own but thanks to DJ Soulclap, we made it happen.

Did he have to do some convincing?

No. It wasn’t that hard. We were always emailing songs back and forth to each other. He’d give me beats and he’d tell me that we had about ten beats now. He asked why don’t we just do an album and I said, “Sure.” He sent me a new record and that’s “Clap Your Hands” and that’s how we got started.

DJ Soulclap produced the entire Underground Superstar. What was it like working with him?

It was cool. The only hard thing was working with him in Germany. Our time schedules are different and it was just a matter of getting the right beat. He’ll send me something and if I liked it, I wrote to it and recorded it and sent it back to him. I was looking for the right, particular joints so that was always a timely process that made it hard. And I’m overseas all the time so I should get that much more love now!

Did you ever meet up with DJ Soulclap or was everything done online?

Half of the album was done through email and so forth and for the other half of the album I flew out to Germany for a week and a half and we touched up certain records and finished other songs for the album.

Is there a noticeable difference between the tracks you recorded in America and overseas?

I notice a difference. The records I did in my apartment sound different than when I record over there. We ended up keeping most of the records I recorded in my apartment. The record “Run,” he made that beat in his crib right in front of me and I sat at his table and wrote it in an hour. But I think the records I write in my own space, with my own time, come out better. I never like writing in the studio because I always feel like I’m wasting someone’s time. I always feel like I have to rush so I’ll drop something real fast and I don’t like that. I like taking my time with it.

You have the song, “Cleanin’ My Sneakers,” dedicated to your shoe collection. What are your favorite sneakers?

The Cartoon’s, the Brown Pride. The way they look with the artwork and the tattoos and the clown face, those are the first pair I ever bought that I ever fell in love with. And the Christmas edition of the Lebron James that came out a year and a half ago. The retro Jordans are always banging. And I need to get the One’s again. But there are certain ones that I like. I don’t just buy any types of Jordans.

I remember talking to Words years ago about playing pick-up ball. Do you play?

Yeah, I do.

What do you wear when you play?

I’ll probably wear the Bugs Bunny Jordans. I have one particular pair that I put to the side to play basketball in. It’s okay if they get scuffed. I play in those, it’s cool. But just those, though. I keep those to the side just to play basketball.

“Tweet” is a great song about a woman so buried in her phone that she misses everything else. Is that the most obnoxious thing a woman can do?

Nah, there’s more. She can be nosy and all up in your business. Instead of paying attention to you, she’s paying attention to what you’re doing and she’s looking for dirt. That’s kind of annoying when you accuse somebody for doing something for nothing.

What are the five most annoying things a woman can do?

Know when to pay your man some attention and when to give him his space. Don’t just bully your way in and be too forceful and ask him hundreds of questions. I’m not trying to explain the game of basketball to you when I’m watching the game. You gotta know how to cook. Three, you gotta always be sexy, because if you’re not sexy for your man, another female will be. That’s major right there. Four, you just gotta know how to handle a household. Some of them really don’t and it’s amazing. They don’t know how to clean and they take their clothes off and throw them all over the floor. I used to think women were the neatest people in the world. They’re worse than guys. And five, you gotta put it down in the bedroom.

No doubt. Do you ever feel underappreciated in the game or have you stopped thinking about that?

No, I never stopped thinking about that. I feel I’m very much underappreciated but I feel it’s because of the level of where I’m at. The exposure is so hard to get and it’s kind of frowned upon, like, ‘Oh, you’re down there making underground records. You can’t do this, that, and the third.’ I’ve always felt underappreciated but if they ever heard me rhyme, they would understand it and I would get that much more respect from them. I push for that now.

Do you have any desire to have radio and commercial hits or are you happy with where you are and the music you make today?

I’d say that the music that I make and the music that the public gets to hear are two different things. I love to make those hit records and have that for my own personal career but I’ve written stuff for other artists that are totally out of my realm. I’ll do it but I understand that there’s a machine that comes along with it and it’s a money game as well. You can’t just have the hits. It’s a money game as well and it’s expensive and it’s a game that I can’t play at the moment.

A lot of the younger fans of hip-hop today were in elementary school during the Lyricist Lounge days. Do you think a lot of kids have gone back and did their homework about you or do you think kids need to be put on to what you’ve accomplished?

I think the younger generation needs to be put up on what I’ve accomplished in the past. I understand it and I don’t have it, but the sad thing about hip-hop is that they just don’t honor those that have done things before them. It’s like, ‘What are you doing now?’ And there are some people who go back and listen to the older stuff but the majority, nah, they don’t. They just keep it moving and only pay attention to what cats have done already. You can hear it when they’re impressed with what someone says and you tell them, “Nah, LL did that” or, “Masters of Ceremony did that.” You run into that kind of scenario a lot.

Do you find yourself schooling a lot of younger fans?

Yeah, I have. I also was working with this company called Hip-Hop Love and they had me talk to a bunch of teenagers, ranging from 16-19 years-old. We would do these hip-hop workshops where we would rhyme and freestyle and school them on the game. There are some awesome kids that are willing to learn.

But like Masta Ace said, it’s Disposable Arts.

Right now, yes, yes it is. It’s very much disposable arts at the moment. You get the music so fast and the way that you receive music now is just totally different. It’s like, ‘I heard that song three minutes ago. Who’s the next cat?’

I can see that being frustrating with trying to have a single make an impact off Underground Superstar.

Exactly. If you don’t see the post in the first three or four pages of a blog, nobody’s going that far back. That’s why I stay constantly posting the link on my Twitter and Facebook and SoundCloud page so people can always know what’s going on.

How do you balance blasting the same song out without getting repetitive and annoying fans?

I’ll probably send it to a different person that will blast it out to their circle of friends. I’ll pick different people that I’m sending it to or hit a particular celebrity or friend and let them blast it out and get people outside of my little realm to hear it. I just try to stay on top of it and I don’t do it more than one record a month. But I will throw it out at different times of the day. I will shoot a video to it and it’s the same record but now you’re getting visuals to it

What are you most proud of off of Underground Superstar?

It’s a toss-up between “Love Crazy” and “Follow Your Dream.” “Follow Your Dream,” for the content and what I’m rhyming about, it was the second-to-last song I recorded and I’ve never made a record like that. I’ve always been braggadocios and rhyming. Hopefully this will reach the younger generation so they can grow with Punchline. And “Love Crazy” because there was a situation like that that I went through.

Fans loved eMC’s album The Show. Do you guys have plans to record another record?

Yeah. We’re actually thinking about it now. Everybody has solo albums coming out. Words’ album, The Photo Album, comes out June 12. It’s real dope. I’m on there. Me, Words, and Ace have a record on there called “Vanish.” It’s a pretty good album. I think there’s sixteen joints on there. I’m pretty sure he’ll release more records. He has about three records floating around out there now. Masta Ace’s album comes out, I think, in July. Once all that comes out we’ll do another eMC album.

Have you and Wordsworth talked about a Punch and Words album?

Yeah. We talked about that. He wants everybody to get my solo point of view so that when we come together, everybody has an understanding of who we are.

What’s your focus for the next few months?

Moving forward, even if I’m on tour, I have my ideas to start recording another Punchline album all by myself with different producers. The next one will be totally me, all me. Hopefully that’ll be out early next year.

Cop Underground Superstar here.

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You’ve been working on The Package for a long time and it’s finally out.

Yeah, I’m happy that it’s finally out. I could have put it out months earlier but I wanted to make sure everything was right. I hadn’t put a mixtape out in so long that I wanted to make sure everything was right as far as the music.

What took so long to finish?

I needed to pull some favors and get some artists on a couple of records and try to get fans from their fanbases. There are people that don’t remember when I was around from five years ago. I had to make sure I have the right production and evertytihng. I’ve been known to rush things. I wanted to do this one the right way but I definitely have to speed it up though. The conveyor belt’s moving though.

Do you think a lot of your older fans are still there or do you have to bring them back and get new fans at the same time?

I feel like I probably have to bring them back. A lot of things have changed. The rappers that were the hottest rappers out then are not necessarily the hottest rappers out now. You have to bring new fans in.

When you first signed with Def Jam, artists and labels were just starting to take the internet seriously. How have you seen the game change over the past five years?

Five years ago, when I was on Def Jam, the independent artist was just emerging with the internet where you didn’t need the label and the label was just starting to stop spending the big marketing dollars and the big video budgets. You have your destiny in your own hands. You just have to build off the energy you create. I think the biggest difference now is that you just have more freedom to do what you want to do. You don’t have to wait for the label to pay for a video for you or wait for the label to do this. The indie artists can just do it. Even the people who are not indie artists are putting things out to appear as indie artists just to appear cooler. The indie artist right now is just really standing on top as opposed to being locked up in a label.

How has your approach changed to music over the years?

I think that the songs are still there but I’m using some different production because you gotta be smart. You want to make your music heard in every market. I’ll rap over a track that might be considered a Drake track or a track that might be considered a down south track. As long as the song is good and you got a good flow then you can catch anything and get your message across. The difference now is that I’m not boxed into one type of track now. I’m trying to grow with hip-hop.

How does your creative focus change with the style of beats?

There are differences. Some songs call for the chorus. The game is very chorus-heavy right now. There might be songs that are not too deep. That’s what hip-hop is. Not every song is one that’s supposed to teach but there are some songs like that on there. Music is supposed to be fun and I think the south tracks are a lot of fun. You’re gonna hear partying and it’s going to be easier for a DJ to mix into their mix. That’s the business side of what’s going on. I’m not going to box myself into one thing, especially when you’re an indie artist and you gotta put your own money up. I’m like a new artist again and I don’t want to box myself into one box. I want people to see that I can do a bunch of different types of records.

Do you have a favorite type of record to make?

If I had to pick one, something that people can easily sing along with. Those are my favorite ones. The ones that people pick up on the fastest. There’s two tracks that stick out on The Package that I think people will pick up on. One is “Paid Dues” and one is a south record I got Yo Gotti on. Both of those records are good for what they are. If I do one show in Charlotte there might be more responses to the Yo Gotti record but if I do a show at SOB’s, there might be more of a response to the Biggie record. I like having that choice where I’m not so boxed in. But I want it to sound authentic. I don’t want it to sound like I’m trying to sound like Gucci Mane, Mac Dre, or Rick Ross. The track is going to be different but it’s always going to be me. And I always switch my flows on the records so it’s not that hard.

What was it like bringing Yo Gotti into your world?

I would say the one question about my music that’s never changed is that it’s still street music and it’s never changed. Our subject matter is not that far apart and we kind of come from the same world. When I sent him the record it’s not like he had to spend a whole lot of time to figure it out. He knew what I was talking about and I knew he would be perfect for the song. I don’t look at all the dividing lines in hip-hop music.

Does it ever bother you that you’re giving all this music out for free?

Yeah. It’s tough. It’s tough. But I think you have to think about putting it out because you’re trying to sell more in the future. Nowadays it’s not so much about the records but having that one song, that one track.

What do you want The Package to do from here on out?

I want it to restart my career and jump start the buzz so I can get back into the flow of making more records. I’ve been doing this for so long and me coming back out with a new record again gives me energy. I need energy off of this to keep it going. If one thing carries me to the next then I think I’ll be great.

Are there still a lot of fans out there expecting battle tracks and hoping you’ll battle again?

I think there are fans that want me to do that but it’s just that I think that if you’re going to be a battle rapper, you have to love it and you have to marry it and you have to be really, really into it. I never really married it and I never really wanted it. It’s hard for a Jersey artist to come out so to do that, most Jersey rappers are battle rappers, if you ever noticed that. I think that’s because that’s the only way we really have to get in but that’s not really what I’m about and I respect everybody that does it because I know it’s only getting bigger and bigger and bigger, but that’s not really me. But I praise the people that are doing it. If I can’t go out there and do it and be the best at it, then I don’t want to go out and do it.

Do you ever regret battling to begin with?

If I wasn’t doing that, I’d be sitting home in the studio doing nothing and no one would no nothing about me. I am grateful for it. Most battle rappers are battling to get themselves some type of situation and recognition. They’re trying to get out of that to do something and I already got out of it so I don’t think I have to go back to it to get out of it again.

Do you still keep up with the battle scene?

Yeah. One of my friends is actually getting ready to get into it.

We did a song together, “Leanin’,” about a year ago. I got a lot of positive feedback from that.

Yeah, that got dope responses. I’m probably going to put that on The Package 2. We don’t want to give out all the tricks out at the same time. We got a lot of heat coming up and we’re going to be real selective with how we put it out.

What’s next for you?

The Package 2 with Lazy K and we got Trappin’ in the City with Big Kap and we got the EP we’re doing, with yours truly, yourself. We got a lot of work.

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Your new mixtape, Layer Cake, is almost finished and you’re going to Europe on a 33 day tour. You must be busy right now.

It’s crazy. For me to even do half the stuff is like a dream come true and I’m really, really proud to even have the opportunity to be flown around the world. I can’t stress that enough. I never imagined that I’d be able to do shows in Slovakia and other places. They just have a real love for hip-hop out there. Shout out to All Systems Go, they’re booking the tour. I’m going to be doing shows with Slaughterhouse, the homie Saigon, and El Da Sensei. Some of the shows I’m going to be doing myself but I’m really lucky the music I put out has drawn a broad scope of fans. The tape is almost done and hopefully I can have it pressed before I leave, not just for the internet. It actually has to be done before I leave.

What stands out to you about Layer Cake?

To me, it’s a new vision as far as I’m stepping away from doing the acronym series, like Making Doubters Over Think. It’s a new project and it’s the closest thing to me to an album since it’s going to be all original production and it’s something cool for me too because Layer Cake has a lot of meaning. On something like a wedding cake, you’re going up the rungs, rising up. It’s a mafia term too. It’s a metaphor for what I’m working on. Even though I’m moving up, there are just so many more to go.

Do you look at your music as being layered as well?

That’s the biggest metaphor, probably. There’s many layers to my music. I don’t have just a certain genre. I can fit into different styles and I think there can be different layers from the hardcore music to the funny to the conscious. I can do features with Hell Rell and Big Shug but also do something with 7L. I think that’s where the layering comes from.

Where does the versatility come from?

Not wanting to be in a box. I see dudes plateau and that’s what they are. It’s awesome to have a genre and that’s what you can do to have dedicated, loyal fans, because they like you, but if you want to expand as a person and you love music, you want to produce a beat that can be funky or soulful or you can sing a chorus. You can try different stuff. You want to always advance and get better.

How have you improved over the years?

Through dedication, man. I’m never happy with anything. I don’t even like sending older songs anymore. People ask if I can perform an old song and it drives me crazy because I feel like I can always be better now. I want to perfect my craft, the flows, metaphors. Every level of it, I want it to be perfect. A lot of people get comfortable and that’s not a knock. I want to be bigger than that. People like Krumb Snatcha is my big brother and AOTP and Snow Goons have been great. I’m not just stuck to doing one thing. I can try out different stuff in a way that fans will still hear what I’ve done before. I can make all types of records in an artistic way. J. Cole is doing that in a really good way right now. It’s fresh and it’s not too overboard. Even someone like a Mos Def, someone like that. It’s not like they have big commercial hits, but it can be acceptable, like “Oh No,” with Pharoahe Monch and Nate Dogg.

You’re still working on what you would consider to be your debut solo album. How’s that coming?

My everything is in this. It’s one of the best production line-ups I’ve ever had. I’m lucky to have all these guys. I want to really wait to release it. I want to have the right attention and the right focus for people to be knowing my music before I release it. I want to have Layer Cake and a couple of collab CDs I’m doing come out and I want to have the people be tuned in at least enough to get it. There might not even be one feature on it.

I want to do something with my music on it. Everywhere I go, I’m the most known unknown rapper. I’m on every blog, I’m touring, I’m on so many different albums, I’m on every guest appearance, but there’s nothing like, ‘Damn, that’s M-Dot’s record right there.’ I want to have something for myself. I’ve been flooded with so many features and that’s not a bad thing. I just want to do a solo record that’s more my individual music. I don’t just want something to be a 16 and a guest appearance. I want to have my message on the record. I’ve worked so hard to get to this point and I want people to realize that with anything, not just rap, you can get to anywhere. You can’t get pissed about someone not playing your or posting you. You have to stay at it. You can’t get mad at a show having ten people. You have to still perform. You have to stay with it. You can’t take off a year. You have to basically take your bumps and bruises.

And it’s crazy. I’m visiting a friend in Ohio and J. Rawls hit me up, so you might be hearing something with me and him.

You’ve done a lot of collaborations throughout your career. What are some of your favorites?

This new track I did with Tribeca and Camp Lo is really dope. To be featured by them, they’re doing a whole CD together, that was a real fun one. We’re going to shoot a video to that. There are so many dope records. I feel like there’s no one I haven’t worked with and that’s not being said in a bad way. There’s so many dope artists but that’s definitely one of them. I also did a record way back with Freestyle from The Arsonists when we toured Europe. He featured me and Wordsworth on it. It’s called “Struggle.” That’s a real serious record for me because it has a real serious message to it. Another track I was happy to be a part of was my brother from the same neighborhood, Explizit One, who has produced on Edo’s albums, featuring me and Big Pooh. It was years ago and it was called “No Surrendering.”

What do you expect from fans when you go overseas?

It’s a different type of love over there. They’re more into the boom-bap. They really enjoy the live performance. It’s not about thirty rappers who pay to perform like it is here and people come for certain acts and leave for others. In Europe, they come to shows and stay there. There’s dope shows in America, but I think there’s a lot more dope shows in Europe because they’re a lot more hungry for that underground hip-hop. I have two kids and that’s probably the worst part about going out there, being away from my kids, but it’s my job and it’s something I have to do and something I love to do. I sacrifice that but I get to be in front of all these people who might be fans of my music.

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Your new album Angel Dust and Waffles has one of the more creative titles I’ve heard in awhile. How did you come up with that title?

Me and my homeboy Dom, we recorded the album in his basement and the original title was going to be Dom’s Refrigerator and we were going to name different songs like “Brita” and “Lasagna.” Everything in his refrigerator. But I said something and he said, “That’s like angel dust and waffles” and we just laughed so hard. We were like, ‘That’s the title right there.’ It got a good response. It means it’s good food that drives you crazy. Everyone’s been coming up with their own titles for what part two should be.

Bullet and a Bracelet was another great title for an Illa Ghee album. How do you decide on a title?

Sometimes it’s simple statements that you want to come out with and just say something. Anybody that knows my music knows I always named my music by feeling. I have a song called “Designer Jacket” and it has nothing to do with a designer jacket, but the song just felt like a designer jacket. The beat just made me feel good. That’s how I come up with titles.

Dom Dirtee produced the entire project. How did you two meet and work on an entire album?

Me and Dom have always been friends. He’s done most of the covers for my CDs. He’s also a producer. We were chopping it up one day about coming out with a CD. I always felt his beats were pretty good and we decided to just do a real project, an EP, and see what happens. It can’t hurt. I think he’s a dope producer, fresh. I’m trying to stay away from the cookie cutter sound, all the music that sounds the same. It’s fresh but it’s still hard-hitting. I’m glad the people like it.

What did you hear in Dom that let you know you could do an entire album together?

I would say it’s more of an up-to-date boom-bap sound. It’s kind of a cool, gritty boom-bap sound but it’s not so gritty.

You’ve been pushing Angel Dust and Waffles on your own. You don’t have a promo team behind it or anything like that. What’s that been like?

It’s been work. It’s a job. We actually put it out through Soulspazm. We’ve just been pushing it, really pushing it. You really have to understand people and if I’m one of your favorite artists, support the project. I’m not at the point where radio is playing my stuff. I don’t have the machine behind me. In order for me to keep going, I need you to keep me going. I’m still constantly putting out projects. I may not be putting them out as fast as you want me to, but the projects that I put out, I gotta make sure they go as far as I can push it.

What’s been the biggest challenge being independent today?

It’s the awareness, making sure people are aware of the project. People still think that I can have it in the stores. Everyone doesn’t have iTunes. It’s really the awareness of where they can get it, where you can cop it at, and what other means you can use to get it as far and wide as possible.

Are you enjoying the independent process and grind?

Yeah, because if I fail, it’s my fault. There’s no one else to blame but me. Plus I’m learning as I go. There’s nothing better than learning as you go along with it.

On Twitter, you recently shouted out Maino for his success after being released from prison, a situation you’re familiar with. What does it take to be successful after prison?

My outlet didn’t work out so much. I came out and I thought Mobb Deep would teach me the ropes, but they didn’t, so I had to go out and learn them on my own, pretty much. I didn’t have a mentality for the business and they sure didn’t let me know about it. I just figured I would have the best teachers with them being in the business and if it wasn’t to be put out through them, they would show me the best way to be independent and I have to say I was wrong about that.

You were loyal to them through their various beefs from what I could see.

Yeah, I was loyal. I mean, we’re still cool today. I just learned that you can’t wait on nobody. I just wish that things would be different and unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way. Me being the person that I am, I’m not going to give up. I just took a longer road. The road is taking longer than expected.

Even through your trials and tribulations, Angel Dust and Waffles is a testament that you’re still making great music.

Yeah, because I feel I’m a good artist. I strongly feel I’m a good artist. The response that I get from the fans and new people that are introduced to my music, you know, everything has been, “No, don’t stop. A lot more people know who you are than you think.” That’s why I always say that I’m the most known unknown rapper in New York City.

Each album you’ve dropped has shown improvement in your ability to rap. How do you consistently show improvement?

It’s about matching everything up. I learned how to put together an album watching Mobb Deep and watching the Alchemist. Silently, I learned to sit there and look at how they structure an album or whatever. There is no loyalty, I learned. All you can do is just hope for the best. Whatever you feel strong about, hope the people will accept from you. You just put your best foot forward. You just can’t have albums with songs all over the place. I know different emotions come out as you write albums but you don’t want to go all over the place. It’s just a process. When you talk about different topics and different subjects, it’s how you want it to be perceived. It’s also about the beats you pick. You want to make sure you pick things where it doesn’t sound like you’ve done it before. I try my hardest not to sound repetitive.

What’s next for you now that Angel Dust and Waffles is out?

I’m working on a quite a few projects. The main ones now that I’m working on is Move Still, Lay Standing. There’s another one, The Ghee Code. And Disco Lemonade. Those are the projects right now. Me and Dom are going to work but I’m also going to work with different producers and different artists, just to fill my repertoire. I can be a part of the new talent and prove that I can stand on my own with any talent out there.

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You’ve been around for awhile but have never really dropped any J-Force project or received as much credit as you deserve for producing. Your new project, Cadillac Respect, showcases your talent as a producer. Did you feel it was finally time to be recognized?

Definitely. I’ve been making beats for a long time, since 1990. The SP-1200 was taught to me by Ski Beatz. He used to bring it around with him and back in the day, all my friends met him. He would stay at one friend’s house and then stay at mine. Everywhere he went he brought the SP and he raided everybody’s parents’ record collection. I watched him program it and work it. Since I was a drummer by nature, I felt I could definitely program some really hot samples and drums into the machine. So yeah, I’ve been doing it for a hot minute.

You remix a lot of classics on Cadillac Respect, and it’s rare that I enjoy remixes.

I call them “revisits.” A “remix” is technically readjusting treble and bass and EQs in that aspect. But we’ve been using the word “remix” on the DJ level a little loosely. To me a revisit, and there’s actually a definition on the inside of the album, a “revisit” is basically calling back a classic accapella, with no disrespect to the original composition, and bringing a new composition totally.

It’s wild. People say the first single I put out was “Bullseye.” I was recording out of Englewood, New Jersey with Ski Beatz and it was next to Dance Floor Distribution, it was a record distributor and there was a studio inside the record distributor spot and that’s where I originally met back up with Ski. I originally met Ski at WBLS, maybe the late ‘80s. My DJ used to be Kevvy Kev and he was on Saturday nights on WBLS and Pete Rock was on Friday. They did the “Marley Marl in Control” show.

So I met Ski in the lobby of WBLS and later on caught up with him at this spot in Jersey and that’s where I recorded a song called “Dippity,” that I’d just seen on YouTube recently. But the A-side wasn’t my mix. The b-side was “Dippity” and I sampled Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side,” which Tribe sampled at the same time. I took some really hot drums, I think Public Enemy used it on “Don’t Believe the Hype.” What else did I take? I took “Doo-daa dippity” from Black Sheep’s “The Choice is Yours.”

So that’s really the first single I ever really did. That came out, I believe in ’90 or ’92. I don’t have the record in front of me but that’s really the first record I ever really did. And then “Bullseye” came out in ’93. I failed to put the year on my singles for after “Bullseye” and “Runnin’ on E.” It was kind of open arms for New York underground radio. Stretch Armstrong played whatever I did. DJ Premier, whenever he did an all-star weekend, he played both my singles. I had a little sticker on both of my singles “Live and Direct from the House of Hits” because Marley mixed both of my singles. Those were the first three singles that I did, from ’93 to ’96 I put out my own stuff. “Pink Chicken” was the third single that I never came out with that’s on Cadillac Respect. But I never came out with the version that’s on Cadillac Respect. It’s actually a revisit as well. The original is on YouTube. I took Peter Frampton’s “Do You Feel Like We Do?’s” bassline with Harvey Mandel’s “Cristo Redentor.”

And that was the original mix and then I chopped up a Shirley Bassey loop and put some crazy drums on it and I did a revisit of my own track f¬or the Cadillac Respect project, because it is a revisit project, and keeping with the theme, I put one of mine on there. Basically if you’re a DJ and you appreciate mixology, you’re going to love the album and the way I seamed the interludes together. It’s for real hip-hop heads.

How do you know when you have a revisit right?

How I always make beats is usually to know the beat is hot, I’ll usually throw O.C.’s ‘Time’s Up” over it and I’ll test it with a hot accapella. You know when it’s right. If it complements the vocals and it doesn’t sound anything like the original, then I feel like you got it. If it’s not anything better or brings anything different to the original, I don’t think you really should touch it.

“Time’s Up” is a great standard.

The fact of the matter is “Time’s Up” is such a strong record that you have to come with a lot of heat to do that one over. As far as I’m concerned, it’s almost cheating because he sounds dope over almost anything. And if the revisit is not going to do what the original does, then I leave it alone. That’s why you didn’t see me come with this one here. But that song is a classic, period, the end. But it is tough. You know when the formula is right after you’ve been doing this for so many years and if you can come forth with something new and paint a new picture. And the revisit, I altered the lyrics too to do different things. I started off the Ghostface one with the hook and the “Oh my God” sample at the beginning of the Buckshot one. It’s a whole new formula and a new picture. That’s what I feel you have to do to really do a revisit correctly. It can’t be the same formula as the original recipe.

Are there other songs you look at as untouchable for a revisit?

I would say yes, absolutely, “The Symphony” being a good example. In fact, when I met up with Marley for one of the first times, I met him at a record store in Rockland County and we were both digging for records. I asked him why he picked that beat for “The Symphony 2.” You out of all people, take the Otis Redding again. I really wish the remix had a version from the original Otis Redding “Hard to Handle” sample. I actually said that to him and Marley appreciated the honesty and then we started to hang out and get tight after that.

It takes some balls to say that to Marley Marl the first time meeting him.

(laughs) Well, you know what? Honesty is the best policy to me and that’s all I am, nothing but blunt and up front. A lot of people might not like that and appreciate that. Either you want to sit around the roundtable and tell fairy tales or you want to just deal with the truth. The truth of the matter is “The Symphony 2” is nothing compared to “The Symphony.” But you’re talking to a guy where the beat is first to me. A lot of people get into the lyrics and what they’re saying. I don’t really care what they’re saying if the beat’s not hot. If the beat is hot then I want to hear what you’re saying. “The Symphony 2,” the beat was not hot to me and that’s the point. If Marley didn’t want to talk to me from there on out, that’s fine, but we all know that’s the truth. (laughs)

If fans tuned into Future Flavas, they’ll know you. What were those days like?

That was a platform for me to really flex and hone my production skills, you know, thought that show. I would rock the two SP 1200s with the mixer in between and then of course you got Pete Rock on the turntables. It was magical. Sunday nights, the show came on from 10-11 and it was the time when I was really blossoming as a beatsmith and I was fortunate to have Marley actually mix the singles that I put out with my own vocals. It was pretty cool.

Marley moved up to Chestnut Ridge, New York and I was upstate at the time and that’s how I really ran into him. He would ride around in a red Marc 7 around and he had “Marley” plates on it so it was kind of sticking out like a sore thumb. After awhile, I was invited to do the Future Flavas show with him and Pete Rock and after the show, that’s where I would record these artists that were guests. We would record them after over J-Force beats and I was in full rotation of most of the shows from ’99 to 2001. And I actually was with Marley when he changed from Hot 97 to Power 105. I was with that whole transfer. And then I kind of fell off. I didn’t really go to every show anymore and I would up actually leaving and then I popped up doing some beat stuff for documentaries and networks.

When everything was all good, what were some of your highlights?

Well, during the high points of the show, I would say it was around 2000, I was called by a music publishing company that Jay-Z’s protégé was feeling on one of the tracks that leaked out on my CD. That was Jaz-O. I went to Masters at Work to record this Jaz-O record that later became “King’s County.” To me, that’s where people would say, “We didn’t know you did that.” A lot of people didn’t know I did Future Flavas. I was just in the background with exclusives and SP beats. But the King’s County record was picked up by Fat Beats and I wasn’t credited on that. I lost a lot of stuff for awhile. That’s the nature of the beast. It’s the music industry. I’ve paid dues that I don’t even want to disclose in this conversation but you know some other stuff that I did, for sure, that I had to deal with.

I always felt that I gave you my pinky but I still had a whole hand to give and now, hopefully with the Cadillac Respect and the reception of websites, if people embrace it, I got a lot to give, man. I could be the guy that brings it back to the essence of New York City underground. I’m not really interested in crossing over. I’ve bought albums for the Premier cuts on the album, not the radio records. If I heard one track that was underground, I bought the whole album. I’m trying to be the album cut guy. Everyone is crossing over to some Golden Era-type stuff, and if it’s gonna stay where it’s at, I’ll be that street credible guy all day long. I’ll make those territory records all day long.

Do you think a lot of the younger artists rocking over ‘90s sounding beats is authentic appreciation or reaching for a gimmick?

It’s tricky because a lot of people think that I’m stuck in a time warp, but I feel like history will always repeat and if you look at the true “Golden Era” of hip-hop, I mean, I’ve been listening since Soulsonic Force records and Malcolm McLaren and Man Parrish and all those instrumental records that were from Britain that people were breakdancing too. If you think about it, I think the culmination of the Golden Era as a genre, it was definitely the ‘90s era and if I already existed in that era and that era is what we keep going back to, then why can’t that era exist again? We’ve been talking about it coming back for years. Is 2012 going to be the resurgence of that? Then let’s go. If not, then I’ll still be here and stuck in that time warp for when it does lift off again. I kind of look at myself as an untapped reservoir or music and an endless sea of music. I have DAT discs and old Adidas sneaker boxes full forever.

Are you going to release those?

I got at least a fifteen, twenty year run right now. If it was to resurge again, I’m right there.

What would it take for someone to get a J-Force beat?

Okay, great question. I’m really feeling Roc Marciano, hard. Marcberg, I’m a big U.N. fan. I’m into mic-ripping vocals and braggadocio. I’m into story-telling, of course, but I’m not into champagne-popping music. I stopped listening to mainstream radio from ’98, ’99. I don’t even know what Drake looks like, no disrespect. I’m really, like, so to the left of mainstream right now that I don’t even care to be mainstream. I think that’s a lot of girl scout hip-hop. Like, when people say, “Do you like the beat?” they mean, “Would you buy it?” and I wouldn’t buy a lot of it that’s out there. I don’t know who’s calling the shots as far as what becomes mainstream but I think hip-hop has gradually descended from 1997, 1998 to the present day.

I’ve done a slew of records with Killa Sha and Jojo Pellegrino and basically if you got gut-wrenching lyrics, I’m interested. Give me a shout. It won’t even be hard to get with a J-Force beat, but I will reserve the right to be selective.

I just want to keep my ear to the grindstone and I am less interested in the mainstream unless you’re a Christina Aguilera and you think you got some words for myself. I could see Mary J. Blige on some of my records. I always loved the meshing of R&B and I gotta give it to guys like Pete Rock and Kevvy Kev. They kind of started that back in the BLS era. They were putting Mary J. accapellas over rugged-ass beats. I love the singing over hard beats, but as far as the lyrics being Cristal-popping, eh, that’s more for the skinny jean era and the backpackers. That’s not my cup of tea at all. No disrespect. I mean, if that’s your thing, hey, I’m not hating on it. It’s not my thing.

You use the SP 1200 for your beats. What is it about that machine that brings music alive for you?

I really like the way it spits out drums. I like the way it swings without even using swing. I also like how what I put into it, it spits it out even hotter, like if I grab a snare from a random record, the way I sample the snare, the way I EQ the snare into the machine gets the machine to spit it out fuller and thicker than the original form. I would like to see the original SP 1200 with 20 second sample time. I wouldn’t even need the minute sample time. I also came up with ways to fit much more information into the machine. I get more than ten seconds worth out of it anyway, but I feel like less is more in every aspect. As far as production, it’s kind of tight. Let’s keep the emphasis on lyrics and keep the beat hard and basic. That’s really my formula. I don’t really deviate much.

Can you take us through the making of a J-Force beat?

You know, I used to start with the loop and then as soon as I chopped the loop or whatever sounds I want as the melody part, as soon as I get that part loaded, it’s very easy to add drums. Nowadays, I have tons of drum disks so all I really do is thumb through the vinyl on the Technics and sometimes I have a CD. I’ll load up a drum disk and just play a segment and actually place the needle over different parts and have the drums playing and then the loop second. It’s really either or. I do this on the spot. Also, I’ve been into comprising all the loops that I hear on a given day. I’ll just do burn CDs, I call them, where I’ll just have stuff that I like the way they sound and put them on the turntable and burn them to a disk. I’ll just collect stuff that I like the way it sounds and save it for a later date and I’ll just have tons of loops from the turntables and the way I would want them to sound as the end result.

To me, that’s also a part of producing music and changing the tune of the way a record was originally recorded. On the Technics 1200, the green is the way it was recorded. I don’t necessarily like the way tones of a note where in it’s original form. It may have wandered plus right, negative eight, plus two. I’ll save my burn CDs and use them for a rainy day when you got beat block and you can’t hear a beat. I’ll just pop one of those in because I got tons of those too. I’ll pop one of those in. I label it with a date and I wrap the CD in a piece of paper from wherever I got the loops from so everyone can get their sample credit if it ever came out and became something, so I’ll know where I got it.

I used to just fish through vinyl and I could still do that, but mainly I got burn CDs of stuff that I like and wonder why I never did nothing with that and then I’ll load up a drum disk and figure out what drums sound right with that. I’ll loop my burn and then I’ll just keep marinating on the drums, going through snares and maybe popping in a new disk. That’s my formula nowadays. It’s easier for me. I could also go to a studio session and make them up on the spot.

How I’ve actually been working with rappers at present is I would ask them two questions. Who are you feeling right now hard? The Doors, the Temptations, and then what kind of music is it? Is it ballads? I kind of pick the rappers’ heads and if it’s a melancholic feel, I know what loops to play them and if it’s something else, I’ll know what to play them. It saves time and I can make them a custom beat. Production is the graduation of DJing. If you can play something that a crowd feels then you can tailor something for an artist that they feel.

Are you at your best when you’re making something custom for an artist?

I definitely have the catalogue. Here’s the deal. I’ve been fortunate to play beats in sessions and you’ll want two of the three. I can’t even bombard these guys with seventeen or twenty beats. I can’t even hit them with beat CDs anymore. If I feel the rapper, it takes twenty minutes to say, “Hey, I think you need this. You’re gonna like this.” That’s usually exactly how it happens. It has become a lot easier. I also hone those kinds of skills at Future Flavas. You had to be able to play stuff for people and have them like it in ten minutes. That’s cool. Not everybody is going to love a J-Force beat and if they do, not everybody is for a J-Force beat. It can’t be a forced issue, in my opinion. It has to be right, but I’m willing to work with grassroots up to established artists. If you’re tight, you’re tight and we can rock

What was it like working with Jaz-O?

I was actually working for a music publishing company at the time, Reach Global. They actually started doing Chuck D and Flava Flav’s Public Enemy catalogue. Years ago, I used to fish on my computer for writers that weren’t signed to publishing deals, like writers on Eminem records. So one day I got a call from one of the writers I worked for and we ended up publishing “The Originators” record and that was Jaz-O and Jay-Z and Jaz-O jumped over one of my beats. They called me and said they had good news and bad news. They said how much it was paying upfront and how much on the backend. We all know we’re never going to see the backend. It was $1400 on the frontend and on the backend, which I never received, which is all right. I never received the credit, which is not all right.

Fat Beats came out with it. DJ Clark Kent had the A-side of the single. I don’t believe “King’s County” even made his Immobilarie album and I don’t know why. A lot of people ask me why and I have no idea. But the bad news is I had to show up at the studio session 24 hours after I got the call and it was no problem. Jaz-O was there and we had no idea what the hook was going to be. I believe he wrote his lyrics on the spot and I did all the little ear candy drops around his lyrics and he looked at me and asked what we were going to do for the hook. I said we could Run-DMC the hook and he could say something and I could cut something. I didn’t have my rare accapellas that I liked to cut, like my Mobb Deep and Raekwon records. I ran out and came back within an hour, still on the clock, and Jaz-O actually did compliment me on my studio etiquette and he couldn’t believe how we brought that record home in six hours. The engineer was a monster Japanese kid. It was really one of my favorite moments recording anything. That was around 2000, 2001 and a lot of people, I would tell them that I made that record and they would really jump back. No one really knew. I got so many more things like that. I’m basically an untapped resource to this day.

What was it like working with Killa Sha?

Killa Sha was my dog. I miss him so much. Rest in Peace. He did so much for my career and the documentary side of me. He actually brought me to Quincy Jones III and that took me to doing the Rock the Bells Wu-Tang movie and that got me a call from Bling, that went on the network and then off the network. VH1 pulled it. It was real cerebral and about the real blood diamonds. He started all of that. I did four records with Sha. I did “Black Dracula” and actually Marley got the credit for it. I had to correct one of the blogs that posted it. I did “Raging Bull.” That was actually blogged too. I have a song called “Analyze” that came out later and now I believe my man Phantom is working on a Killa Sha release and “Raging Bull” will come out on that.

I’m trying to collect some Sha lyrics for something new and I’m actually working on something with Killa Sha and Tame One. It was recorded posthumous and I got the accapella. I talked to Phantom about recording something new. It’s gonna be special. He’s my boy. We used to vibe out on the Future Flavas show and I really miss that guy. I was fortunate enough to get a couple in with him. Some stuff might still come out. We have to drop it later. That’s if this real stuff comes back. Hopefully there’s a resurgence and the younger crowd has to hopefully get turned onto it first. That’s why I came with Cadillac Respect, to hopefully educate the young ones.

Will we hear more from J-Force in the future?

100%. I’m tired of laying. I got a couple of other projects going on already. I got myself a Mac computer. I can record in my laboratory now, which used to just be a pre-production spot. But now with technology, I got the Mac and I record everything in Garage Band. All of the stuff on Cadillac Respect was Cubase and Pro Tools. I got another project that I’m loading into that and you should be hearing a lot more from J-Force in the years to come.

Will you always use the SP 1200?

100%. I’ll never stop using that. As a matter of fact, there was a show that I remember DJ Premier coming to and him telling Marley that the thing with me on the machine is that you could never tell what equipment I’ve used. I said to him, “Hey, Premier, it’s all in the hi-hat pattern. It’s all in the way that you sample your hi-hats and how you play your hi-hats.” He looked at me like, ‘Of course. That is the right answer.’ It’s all in the drum pattern and the rate you sample your drums, to me. Sometimes a snare that doesn’t have to be tuned down in the SP, a snare that in other words that’s sampled in real time and then played in real time on the SP is really clear and almost sounds digital on the SP even though the SP is a dirty, 12-bit machine. There’s a way to sample the drums onto the machine where they sound like Akai drums with a dirty loops. That comes with time and you have to know how to freak these machines into fooling the people. I may tell you that I hung up the SP and play you five beats that you could have sworn I made on an Akai. If I play them for you on a CD you’ll never be able to tell what machine I made them on. But I like the SP. It forces creativity. You only have ten seconds and you have to bring it home. It’s raw. That’s what hip-hop is about. It’s less. Less is more, definitely.

How’s your relationship with Marley Marl and Pete Rock today?

I haven’t seen those guys in awhile. I’m loving the Cocoa Brovaz and Pete Rock album. I’ve been a huge Pete Rock fan, of course. He’s been an influence and Marley’s been an influence. I haven’t seen Marley in awhile. I hope I see him real soon and hope he’ll stand behind the album. He had a lot to do with it. There’s a lot of treats from Future Flavas that were never available until now, including the “Self Conscious” revisit. I came up with the scratch hook. It’s an official Future Flavas record. I wanted it to feel like a Future Flavas radio show, hence the crowd and some of the sound effects. I did want it to sound like a radio show album and paying homage to the Future Flavas time because that is when I started coming up and honing the craft of beatmaking.

Those days were great. I hear Marley, through the grapevine, is trying to do a reunion show on the web. I don’t know if it’s going to be on the radio again. But I look back and I wouldn’t change a thing. It was so much fun going to the show. Sunday nights will never be the same again. I loved it. I have no regrets about that. I was just really humble. I was in the background and I wasn’t shout-out hungry and I wasn’t so much into the notoriety. I just loved watching people appreciate the stuff that I was putting forth. I didn’t have a need to really be upfront. It wasn’t like that for me. It was just about flexing the skills and quietly playing the background.

And I’m not totally happy with how I did it. I should have been more aggressive. I was in my 20s then and I was doing it for the love. There were a couple of times that I caught feelings, one being the Black Rob exclusive that Marley would rock at the beginning of a show for about a year or two straight. It was a Black Rob and J-Force exclusive and he actually shouted me out on it. That beat eventually became a beat for an AZ revisit. Anyway, Black Rob didn’t realize it. During the radio show, he was freestyling over an SP beat. He told Marley he would rock with us and he wanted something from them and that I should just play him the beat he rapped to and that was my beat. Then he looked at me like, ‘You made that beat?’ Then my feelings got involved and I didn’t really want to continue further. Rob wanted to know how to get in touch with me and I told him to get at me like he got at Marley and maybe I could have been on that album if I didn’t drop the ball. But no one really knew who J-Force was. I should have been more aggressive. There are regrets and maybe I should have shown a little more teeth. But I’m ready to do that now. I’m stronger, older, that much faster. Little things like that.

Who are your favorite artists to sample?

I don’t know if I should divulge that! (laughs) I like obscure, cruddy, 1960s rock records. I’m into rare soul from ’67 to ’72. I got a record at home by Manny Kellen. There’s just tons of stuff on that one record. Who else am I fishing for these days? I like R.B. Grieves, another pretty underground soul singer from back then. I got a ton of stuff that you’ve never heard of. There’s just stuff you never heard of. To me, I believe in not sampling the hits. Sampling stuff that fell by the wayside, that no one really took notice of, that’s the art of hip-hop. It’s not taking a Sister Sledge loop and adding drums to it. That’s not really what I do, anything when the loop is hot, the loop is hot and just throw some drums on it. The Ghostface record on Cadillac Respect is me looping The Escorts and I just added drums. Mainly that’s that.

Do you ever go back to older samples you’ve chopped and remaking the beats with your current mindstate?

Let me tell you what. I’m constantly known for sampling something on a Saturday morning and add the drums to it and the loop and shut the machine off without even saving the samples. That’s my new shit, and I’ll come back to it later that day or the next day. I’m really anal with what I save to discs nowadays. Not everything is floppy disk worthy. I’m really picky. It’s crazy. It’s a gift and a curse. But the formula just has to be so right. Timeless is what I shoot for. A lot of the stuff on Cadillac Respect, it’s from back then but it doesn’t get old.

And that’s what I try to bring forth in my brand of music. If it’s not classic material and it just sounds good for this season, then it’s not for me. It’s like how I come to the end result of my sound. “King’s County” doesn’t sound like it’s dated at all in my opinion. That could bang for ten, twenty years the way I sampled it. It’s a Glen Miller record and it was on the Hair Soundtrack. It’s so rare. I’ve never seen it at any expos. If you hear the original and “King’s County,” it will explain everything. I don’t even remember where I got those drums from but there’s a couple of producers who’ve used those drums. I left a couple of beat disks behind in my travels and I think people got a hold of them and I can tell those drums showed up on other records. I don’t remember where the drums on “King’s County” came from but the notes on “King’s County” that I chopped came from Glen Miller on the Hair Soundtrack. But I got a lot of rare records. That’s really all I deal with.

What’s next for you?

Ultimately I may do one more revisit project. I have these ideas of chop CDs whereas I would be sampling and chopping Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd and Kiss. I’m a Kiss freak. And have it like Pink Floyd Meets Hip-Hop. I’m thinking of some concepts and some mash-up CDs along those lines. Other than that, if you hear track fifteen on Cadillac Respect, you’ll hear “Pink Chicken.” Those are my vocals. I rap too and if somebody steps to me with the right mathematics I would like to do an album with guests. I wouldn’t rap on every track but I would produce every track and do all the interludes. Hopefully that happens but if not, I’m fine in the background playing the beats.

Download Cadillac Respect here.

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You may remember J-Force from his days at the Future Flavas radio show with Marley Marl and Pete Rock. Check out some uncovered gems from one of the most slept-on producers in hip-hop.

Download here.

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You recently dropped The Cure 2, another dope Willie the Kid mixtape. Are you happy with how it’s doing so far?

Yeah, I’m excited about it. The Cure 2 was definitely a project that I was excited about putting together last year. I did The Fly 2 and The Crates to really go in that direction for The Cure 2. It’s really an in-your-face, a rhyme-driven project. I wasn’t really looking for no radio hits or I wasn’t looking for no single hooks. I was really just trying to take it back to the cipher and the basement and we definitely got that approach, definitely.

That was my favorite part of the mixtape, just real lyrical tracks. Are those your favorite tracks to make?

I enjoy it all, man. I enjoy making stuff for the mainstream because for me, it comes natural to make that type of material. When I’m able to just go crazy and do whatever the heck I want to do, it’s therapeutic for me, man. It goes beyond making music for a career at that point. When you sign to a label and the label got certain expectations and you have things you have to do for certain markets, that’s a strategy. But when I’m making music just for me, it’s holistic, man. It’s a therapy process for me, man.

What tracks were the most fun on The Cure 2?

The most fun, I think, was picking the beats. That was probably the most fun in the process. I was getting the grimiest, most in-your-face process I could find. I went with my trustees for that and got Frank Dukes, MoSS, and getting together with all my brothers and carving out that process. That, and the artwork, putting that together.

Is it ever hard getting beats for a free download?

Oh nah, nah. Those guys are good friends of mine. Those guys, I respect their talent and they respect mine. We talk on and off the grid. I understand what they’re doing and I understand what they do. I do records for them and I never charge them anything and they send me records and never charge me anything. I think for us all, we understand that and now if I had a major release and it was dropping and I had a budget, I would definitely pay them out of being a good dude and being fair, but as far as mixtapes, I think we all recognize the power of the underground and what it means to put some good shit together, even if it’s not mainstream.

And they’ll be the first ones you’d call when you get a budget.

Damn right.

The last time we’d talked you just released the Never a Dull Moment EP with Lee Bannon and the album was forthcoming. How’s that project coming?

It’s dope. We can’t stop making the music, man. We’ve been making mad music and some of the music is so dope I want to put it out. “Drunk Ass Bitch” was really for the Never a Dull Moment but we threw that out on The Cure 2. Now we have to just sit down and organize it. We make tons of music all the time but we haven’t really started pushing anything on the project. He sends me beats and I send him songs back and we go on and on with making music but I think we have to organize what we’re doing for the project.

But it’s definitely coming out. I would say we just got lost in the sauce and the idea of making the music. We just have to get the release date and all that.

You’ve always been known for working with DJ Drama, but you weren’t on his latest album Third Power. Is everything good?

Dram’s still a good friend of mine and we still keep in touch. He’s doing what he’s doing with his career and I think I just have to keep doing what I’m doing with mine for now. I think for now, everybody, me, him, Don Cannon, Sense, La the Darkman, everybody’s found a new comfort in just going in their own direction. No hard feelings. There’s no beef, no internet blogs. Everybody just needs to work in their own space right now. We’ll get back to it eventually.

Do you want to establish yourself as a solo artist more?

Yeah. I think we never gave our solo careers a chance. We’ve always been so connected to each other for such a long time. I don’t want to say we grew out of it but we all grew into a need to pursue our individual paths. That’s what was next on the agenda for everybody.

Do you have any regrets from the moves you made back in ’06 and ’07, when you were just starting to become knowing in the hip-hop community?

I can’t say there’s anything I wouldn’t do because it all got me to where I am today. I’m not one for regrets. I think everything that happened was supposed to happen. I think being so attached to Drama and the Apphiliates and Gangsta Grillz, I think what that did was give me a platform for being able to do what I’m doing now. I think it gave me a platform. I think back then, it gave me the leverage to do this crazy shit I’m doing now.

You’ve worked with a lot of big names on Gangsta Grillz mixtapes and albums. What have you learned through those experiences?

The number one thing I learned, man, was who I am as an artist. I believe in organic, natural chemistry and an organic, natural physical process. I like to identify with the artist as a person and I think that really makes for a beautiful product. A lot of times in the past, we were doing shit because it was good for business or it flowed for what we were doing as a company, business-wise. But I think in 2011, from some of the collaborations I did, like Styles P, Cory Gunz, and Jon Connor, I think stuff like that, and Krondon from Strong Arm Steady, I think those kind of collaborations and musical projects we put together, I think they speak more to what I’m saying as far as having a true bond and a true connection with the people I’m working with for the sake of the music.

Who would you like to work with next?

I’m excited to work with some producers. I can rap for three or four motherfuckers. I want to work with the RZA, Kanye West, Havoc, Pete Rock. All the producers, man. Madlib. I want to work with some producers. That’s who I want to get with.

What does it take for up-and-coming producers to catch your ear?

I don’t know, man. I just know when I hear it. Friends of mine say I’m too picky and they’ll play me a beat and I won’t like it and a week later I will. I’m real funny about beats and I’m real particular about beats. I got to a point now where I don’t even rap on beats unless it makes me go crazy at first. I don’t believe in “grow-on-me” beats. The song magically comes together in my mind before I can write it down. That’s the kind of beats I’m looking for and I got some real good friends in the business that I can turn to for beats. Every time Alchemist sends me beats it’s always incredible. I think Al’s one of my favorites right now and of course Lee Bannon. They send me shit and it always goes. And my man V. Don out of Harlem, New York. He’s got some crazy shit too. When I get beats from them brothers, I’m straight. But I do want to branch out and make some more music with up-and-coming producers and I think that’ll come as I keep making music.

What’s next for you?

I’m about to do this project called Moment in Time. It’s going to basically be, I’m not even sure what to call it at this point, it’s going to be a package where you download a link and you get some videos, rare throwback footage and rare behind the scenes footage. It’s basically going to be an interview and music to go along with it. It’ll be like when an artist went on Rap City and they showed all their videos at that time. I’m going to give a real in-depth interview about my career and videos from throughout my career.

How’s your big brother La the Darkman doing?

Oh, he’s doing well. He’s doing really well. He was doing some dates with Wu-Tang on the Wu-Tang Tour. He was just reaching out and going back to his roots with the Clan. Him and RZA’s relationship has always been great. We got some great things coming in the future with La and RZA so check out for that.

What talent should we be watching for from Michigan next?

My man S. Class Sonny. Make sure you check out for him. He’s a friend I grew up with and he had to go away, pay a debt to society. But he always stayed in touch and when he came back, I told him all my resources would be his. He’s my friend, but I’m telling you he’s one of the most influential and hardest-working cats I know. I’m not talking about the ones that are already on the radio and known already. He’s one of the fastest growing guys. Check for him.

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When I first heard you were writing a book, I was really excited to read it and now that I have, I’d definitely recommend it to everyone. How did the idea for a book come about in the first place?

I had been writing stuff and posting it on my blog on Dante Ross’ website in 2009. The stuff was getting good feedback and people wanted more, but a lot of the material was stuff I’d written over the years so I was really just archiving. The blog game is like the mixtape game – you have to drop something very often or you’re forgotten. I was writing pieces that were 2000-3000 words and there was no way I could keep that up at a one post per week rate, so I decided to compile them into a book and make it a cohesive project. I was always a full-length album-driven artist when I was doing music, not a mixtape or 12” single artist. I like pulling a bunch of one ideas into one project, so a book was a good option. I also wanted to write one because my grandfather wrote one and he could never get it published, so I’m kind of living out the dream for him.

What were some of the challenges you faced writing a book?

The editing process was much harder than the writing. It was also hard to revisit some of the rougher moments at the end of my rap career because I’d already put those moments behind me, but I found that writing about them helped me find humor in them.

You mention in Root for the Villain about how you never “broke through” to the side of super-stardom, yet you still had a very successful career as an MC. It seems like you wrestle with the notion of success and failure on an everyday basis.

Of course, because we live in a world where everyone is judging you 24/7. It’s easy for you to find pride in what you’ve accomplished because you know what went into it, but on the surface people will trivialize what you’ve done and been through. When it comes to hip-hop, if someone says “I’ve never heard of you,” its not like they’re curious and trying to check for you because you may have been slept on for a multitude of circumstances. It means you can’t be worth much if you’re not known on a major scale. It’s like, “Oh, he only has 500 YouTube views, 4,000 Twitter followers, 1400 Facebook likes, and no Wikipedia page; he must be wack!” So when music is all you’ve been about and your career didn’t produce tangible commercial success, people start mentioning failure. And as artists, many of us forget to separate our artist personas from who we are as regular people. If J-Zone didn’t sell a lot of records, Jay the person feels like a failure because when music is both your passion and income, the two entities are connected. I had to learn to separate myself from J-Zone to appreciate what I’ve done.

Do you feel you ever look at the ideas of success and failure as mutually exclusive?

They’re both relative, not exclusive. I personally only see things as a failure if you don’t meet your goal and you don’t learn from the experience. As long as you walk away with something, it can’t be a total failure. And even if it is, so what? It’s not a dirty word; you have to embrace it and use it to your advantage. A lot of people misunderstood what I meant by “failure” in the book title. I don’t believe I’m a failure, but by the standards of the music business and the average person who’s not in the know of how it works, I was.

You titled your book Root for the Villain. Was that a nod to Nas’ “One Time for Your Mind”? Where did the title come from?

(Laughs) Nah. It just meant to support the person who walks the road less traveled and refuses to play by the rules simply because they’re there. That road is one where things can easily go wrong, but it’s cool to show love to a cat who has the balls to do things his own way and not compromise.

It’s been entertaining reading your various writings across different websites over the years. What got you into writing?

I always wrote, since middle school. Even when I was doing the music full-time, I wrote columns for Hip-Hop Connection, SLAM Magazine, The Source, Hip-Hop DX, and Elemental. It was a side hustle for as long as I’ve been active in the music business.

Are you still making beats and networking with artists today?

Not so much. I made a few beats in 2011, maybe 3 or 4. One of them came out, a remix I did for my man Has-Lo. I do beats when I feel inspired; it’s more like an occasional hobby now. I started learning how to play drums just to keep some music going in my life and I DJ from time to time, but that’s it for now.

Do you have plans for any new J-Zone albums in the near future, especially with the publicity you’ve generated with Root for the Villain?

(Laughs) No, I seriously doubt it. I had my time. Not saying never; maybe I’ll do a comeback album from called “Live from the Nursing Home” in 2041.

Any plans for new books in the future?

I hope so! I want to write another one, but I can’t do it in the same style as this one. “Root for the Villain” is 34 years of living rolled into about 200 pages. I want to work on a biography for another musician or maybe write a book about one thing in particular. I definitely want to keep at it, but I have no idea what the next one will be about. It just has to come to me naturally.

You’ve been covering high school basketball for awhile. What prospects in the NYC area should we be on the lookout for in the future?

In the years I’ve been doing this, I’ve interviewed and/or covered Kemba Walker, Charles Jenkins, Sebastian Telfair, Tobias Harris, Kyrie Irving, and Lance Stephenson when they were in high school – they all went to the NBA. That being said, NYC basketball is down at the moment. New Jersey and other places around the country are much better areas to recruit talent. But there are a few bright spots here. Leroy “Truck” Fludd from Boys & Girls HS in Brooklyn is a tough dude; he dominates games. Jefferson HS in Brooklyn has a young, rugged team that’s real exciting to watch. Mount Vernon always runs a great program; they always have talent and good coaching and the players go on to be solid young men. So there’s a few bright spots out there.

If you’re the GM of the Knicks, what moves are you making to turn them into a serious contender?

Put the New York Liberty on the court instead.

Do you think fans will dig into your older music after reading the book?

So far they have.

Has your grandmother, Evil E read Root for the Villain yet?

Yes. She liked it and thought it was funny, but said I curse too much and had a tough time reading because she needed a magnifying glass to see all the print.

GoVillainGo

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Big Fendi (The Man Who Discovered And Brought You Nicki Minaj) Goes In On Her! [

Love the line “I told her to talk about p****.” In all honesty, without Fendi and Reggie at Dirty Money, Nicki never would have gotten any HipHopGame love, which was her intro to the online world. Fendi’s a great example of why you have to have airtight contracts when you’re doing real business. Also goes in on Jordan Tower here. This is a classic interview for anyone paying attention to the mixtape scene in the mid 2000s.

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