April 01, 2004 @ 11:42 am

Interview: Dead Prez Are Revolutionary, But Gangsta

by: Nicola A. Menzie

M-1 and stic.man, otherwise known as dead prez, aren't your ordinary rappers. There's no fast whip, no fast chicks or dissing of black women on their agenda. Since day one, these cats have been about the struggle—for the betterment of black people everywhere, as they

VIBE Online: If someone was to write it all down for the next generation, what would you want them to know about dead prez aside from, or in addition to, the music? stic.man: For what we want them to know man, we put it in all our music. We got four albums. The first one is Let's Get Free. Number two is Turn Off the Radio. Number three's Get Free or Die Tryin'. And right now it's Revolutionary But Gangsta. We got more volumes (coming) to express the whole picture. You know, for the 'hood, by the 'hood, in the 'hood. You know, for the development of the 'hood. So don't get it twisted. VIBE Online: Explain the title & term Revolutionary But Gangsta. M-1: Basically that's our way of life. And that basically means confrontationÂ… Organization by any means necessary. Direction, control, positive changeÂ… stic.man: Whether that means building our own schools, or burning down the prison systemÂ… VIBE Online: I know dead prez was having label issues, so how long did it actually take y'all to get this album together? How long have you been actually working on it? stic.man: 'Bout five hundred years of playa hatin'. M-1: No doubt. stic.man:We were supposed to come out last year, but Columbia was faking it. So basically, it was like two years and some chump change. VIBE Online: What are some of the main differences, if any, between this album and let's say, Let's Get Free? Is there much of a difference? stic.man: Yeah, there's a difference. M-1: A lot of things are different. stic.man: The sound, the flow, the songs are choppier. M-1: Different album, different conversations. But it's not a different book. Let's Get Free is like the table of contents. It's always gonna come back to Let's Get Free. I don't care if you talking about dope, food, whatever. That's what we always talk about. RBG, it defines our set, it defines our tribe. It's how we feel you gotta walk like a warrior. stic.man: In our future albums you might not hear no gunshot. You might get hit with another case, but they're all relevant. RBG is for the hood, for the riders, all the people throwing up crips, bloods, for the people throwing up g-unit, throwing up m-h. All the different nations in the streets. VIBE Online: I see you got Erykah Badu and Krayzie Bone on this album, and a "Hell Yeah" remix with Jay-Z. Do you think collaborations with artists like these will make dead prez mainstream or open y'all up to a wider audience in some way? Does that even matter to dead prez? M-1: Does it matter? That's not the focus at all. I think we 're gonna make kinships, you know, comrades. We all get down in the same 'hood. I think it's definitely important to work with artists like Badu, Krayzie, and Jay-Z 'cause their audience might not know exactly what we are. stic.man: To me, I just want a wider audience. We're trying to touch the world everywhere we at. People like Jay-Z, Krayzie Bone, and BaduÂ… Obviously, I'm a fan of their talent, but just as far as their outreach or whatever, it's a beautiful thing. None of those people charged us, number one. So it's like a blessing just to work with them, and for them to bring us into a relationshipÂ… VIBE Online: Is music just a platform for dead prez, or is it also about the money? stic.man: Definitely. Revolutionary, but gangsta. There you go right there. And I actually have fun doing this shit. In fact, I do push-ups and say, "Malcom X, Malcolm X, Malcolm X." You know what I'm saying? Niggas be having fun, blowing the weed up, you know what I mean, doing what we do. You know we just gotta focus, that's all. VIBE Online: What would y'all be doing if music wasn't in your life? M-1: Music's always been a part of our life, it's the rhythm that we grew up with. It's like, I was born, but I want to live, you know what I'm saying? Everything about our culture is expressed in it, you know. Our pain, fears, our dreams, emotions. Our people's been reppin' that shit (forever)Â… stic.man: There're many other things I feel like I would be doing. As far as book publishing, I think that's something we're going continue to develop. I mean, right now, one book is called Warriors Names of AfricaÂ… We're into a clothing line, called Clothes and Shelter, for the development of our own clothing. Basically, just in general, bulking up and trying to keep control of our own businesses. VIBE Online: Do white folks have a place in the struggle? stic.man: As far as white people's place in the struggle right now-reparations. Motherf***ing (Justin) Timberlake and goddamn Eminem. You know, motherf***ers walking aroud faking shit. If you white, and you want to get down with our struggle, get along and all that extra sh*t, then give us our reparations. Or we gonna come get that reparations. We gonna come get that cell phone, that blue PathFinderÂ… M-1: You know, the white man's government owe black people all around the world reparations, in the form of land, building supplies, raw materials and shit like that. stic.man: You know, I think white people can play a key role with their daddies. 'Cause they're the ones that's controlling the system. I think all the young, white folks that want to be politically correct, should start saying, "Yeah, why didn't black people get reparations? The Jews got theirs." You know, get information on which so-called ignorant-ass nigga said the slaves are free. That includes land, resources and rehabilitation for all the wealth they stole from the African slaves. You know, they said slavery was wrong after stealing the wealth of our work,.. So white folk definitely got a role to play. That (reparations), and whatever they gotta do. Lay down in front of the street and say "I won't let police kill blacks no more." You know, jump in front of bullets. M-1: (We need to) lay out programs and focus on what we want, and the ultimate goal is to have it. So white folk can understand what black people are doing and if anything, help out. Or get the f**k out the way. VIBE Online: How do you feel about all the stuff that's been coming out about the hip hop task force and with the NYPD and the police department in Miami? M-1: I think they been taking pictures of rappers and anyone black that's been making moves in any kind of way. I think it's apart of that dragnet they use to try and catch you up. And they're using that web to try and build a case. You know, and they build up these trumped up charges. And the more and more they do it, the more it's gonna start looking like the same kind of sh*t they've been doing to catch up organizations like the Black Panthers and so forth. I think we can benefit from those past experiencesÂ… They want to criminalize rappers and hip hop. Aw, hell no! Especially when we see who the real criminals are. In the hood killing countless members-I mean, we just came from a tour and damn near all the news was either (about people who) got jumped on, murdered, asphyxiated to death, you know, in our 'hood. So we know who the real criminal is walking around. And we're not falling for it. Check out Dead Prez & Jay-Z on the "Hell Yeah" Remix. Hell Yeah (Remix) featuring Jay-Z Hell Yeah (Pimp The System Mix) / /

Article tags: Interview, Dead, Prez, Revolutionary, But, Gangsta 

del.icio.us digg Furl Reddit YahooMyWeb

Page printed from:
http://www.vibe.com/news/online_exclusives/2004/04/interview_dead_prez_are_revolutionary_but_gangsta/

Return to previous page