August 23, 2006 @ 10:43 am

Next Generation: Stepping Off the Bandwagon

by: Bianca Yarborough

If your father is one of the pioneers of rap, a producer that introduced the world to the West Coast sound, or holding down the Bay Area’s Hyphy Movement, then it might be easy to jump on their bandwagon. For Jo Jo "Make It Happen" Simmons, the son of Hip Hop pioneer Reverend Joseph “Run” Simmons, Hood Surgeon, the son of the legendary Dr. Dre, and Droop-E, the son of the Ambassador of the Bay, E-40, this isn't the case. These children of some of Hip Hop’s elite are making a name for themselves while standing on their own two feet. Meet the Next Generation. Jo Jo "Make It Happen" Simmons: At around the age of 12 or 13, "Make it Happen" Simmons began rapping. Now 16, he's doing just that... making it happen. As one of the stars of Run’s House, Simmons uses the show as a way to market his group Team Blackout. “There’s two members in addition to me: LP from Hempstead, Long Island and Conscious from Briarwood in Queens," says Simmons. "I’ve been working with Conscious since the seventh grade and LP, we been working together since the ninth grade. We all just became a team like maybe two years ago.” Simmon’s hunger and ambition comes alive when asked when we can expect to hear something from Team Blackout. “Hopefully, soon," he says excitedly. "Whatever label wants to come holla at me and my team, we’re ready, we’re ready to be heard in the game. I talked to my uncle [Russell Simmons] about opening my own production company, getting my own label up, and getting all my artists, me and my team out there.” Still, though he has consulted with some of his famed kin, Simmons does not plan on riding on the coattails of his family's name. “I am going to put out hot music, so they can’t just say that I’m Reverend Run’s son. They are going to have to say, ‘Wow, this kid is actually good on the microphone. He actually can perform and he can actually record good songs.’ I’m gonna show them I actually have talent.” left With his drive and his father, uncle, and Bishop Jordan as his mentors, Simmons hopes to fulfill his goal of bringing “back real rap; when people rap they’re actually talking about something, they’re telling a story in their lines.” Hood Surgeon: To fill in the shoes of one of the most influential producers and artists in Hip Hop may seem like an impossible task at feet, but Hood Surgeon is far from falling short of the challenge. From his introduction into the game at 12 as part of a group called Lyrical Assassins, to starting productions just three years ago, it is quite evident that Hood Surgeon is following in the same footsteps as his father but leaving his own footprints while at it. Hood Surgeon has a plethora of talent on his label, So Hood Records, such as Disappear, Paper, Young B, Embryo, Twine, and Too Swift. Currently, Hood Surgeon is working on a So Hood mixtape and his own album; his single “Paradise” can be heard on the airwaves now. When asked if the rumors that him and Lil Eazy might be forming a new N.W.A., Hood Surgeon replies, “I’m forming a new N.W.A - It’s a movement. I have been trying to do this for years. We’re in a new era, it has to be that new shit, with an old twist on it.” Of course, Hood Surgeon didn't take a plunge in cold water without some tough love from his papa. Like a lot of young adults, Hood Surgeon ignored his father’s advice about staying out of the industry, but he is not oblivious to the wisdom that was being shared. “I been finding out little things about what he said because people hate and you can’t make everybody happy in this game," Hood explains. "That’s the only thing that I hate about the industry, especially people from the street - they expect you to help everybody out. It’s only so much money! If I could I would help the world out. But they don’t understand that, so it’s only a certain chosen few that have your back and that stay right there, right by your side.” Hood Surgeon is very familiar with the pressures of trying to live outside his father’s shadow. “That’s very difficult because everybody is saying, ‘Does he sound like Dre?’, ‘Is he going to be better than Dre?’. That’s a pioneer, I am not even going to lie with this, dude is very intelligent. Good as him or on the same level, we both share the same brain, so I’m working on it too.” Droop-E: Droop-E is no stranger to the spotlight - He was 3 years old when he first appeared on a track with his father, E-40 - but he did not officially begin to bang out beats until he was 15 years old. “Once I started producing, I cut everything else off.” And this choice is apparently paying off. Working with Bay Area's finest - Mistah FAB, Turf Talk, Messy Marv, Kneak Da Sneak, and of course, E-40 - Droop-E is one of the busiest producers in the Bay Area’s Hyphy Movement. Working on damn near sleepless nights these days, Droop-E is currently producing on three major albums, Turf Talk’s new untitled album, Sick Wid It Umbrella II, and the Bay Bridges II Compilation. When asked how he crafts his sound, Droop-E replies, “I sit down and I just let my hands do the talking pretty much. The main thing is not to even think too much.” What’s even more impressive is how he's mastered the hyphy sound, evident in how long it takes him to drop a beat. “The better beats, I make in like 5-10 minutes, the best ones.” Even though Droop-E knows how “to work the corporate and the streets”, he still does not let his success go to his head. “I’m really humble to the heart. I feel like any of this can leave tomorrow. I don’t feel like I’m the greatest. I feel like I’m nowhere near that. I feel like hopefully one day I’ll be up there, but for right now, I’m not there.” At his rate, he’ll be up there soon. Read more vibe.com online exclusives.

Article tags: Embryo, Bishop Jordan, Conscious, Disappear, Dr. Dre, Droop-E, E-40, Hood Surgeon, Jo Jo Simmons, Kneak Da Sneak, LiL Eazy, LP, Lyrical Assassins, Messy Marv, Mistah FAB, NWA, Paper, Rev Run, Russell Simmons, Team Blackout, Too Swift, Turf Talk, Twine, Young B