“They pronounced me legally dead, but they resuscitated me right back. I give the glory to God more so than any machine or anything else,” South Side Chicago rapper GLC declares. At the age of 14, Leonard L. Harris’ blood sugar level was an astounding 890, and he had been pronounced legally dead. He was put on life support, placed in a coma and survived. Living up to his rap name, Gangsta Legendary Crisis, Leonard L. Harris, was not only diagnosed with diabetes, but lost his father as an infant and his mother at age 12. A youth in his position could have easily played victim and fallen into depression, but the resilient and street smart teenager managed to declare victory over his bouts with life.
With a strong passion for Hip Hop, the young boy won several talent contests rapping L.L. Cool J and Ice-T verses and became a part of the Growth and Development organization. “A lot of us didn’t have fathers in the household. We were looking for, like, male role models and manly figures to emulate,” he explains. Receiving guidance from the organization and seeing his favorite rappers live the American dream gave him hope to strive for a greater life beyond what 87th Street had to offer.
While attending Simeon Career Technical Academy, his relationship with young producer, Kanye West, began when he was invited over to listen to beats at his house through a mutual friend. The two high-schoolers shared a lot in common and formed a short-lived rap group with Arrowstar, Really Doe and Timmy G called The Go-Getters. To make ends meet, GLC worked in agriculture and in retail at a popular clothing store called The Lark. ”I was one of top five in sales and sold everything from Pelle Pelle clothes to Coogi sweaters to furs and minks, you know. It was an oasis for guys that was getting street money as well as for doctors and lawyers. If you had some bread, you’d come shop at The Lark,” he states.
As a solo artist, Kanye recruited him for his classic feature on “Spaceship” off of College Dropout . GLC’s verse was so outstanding that it not only earned him a Grammy, but it even got nods from Jay-Z himself. ”He was like, ‘Yo, that shit hard.’ Like, ‘Finish your breakfast.’ That shit was real cool,” he recalls. His other feature on Late Registration‘s ”Drive Slow” gained him a second Grammy, and he signed to G.O.O.D. Music until 2006. Never forgetting his roots, GLC has stayed true to his rocky past devoting his time giving back to the deteriorating community of Chicago by mentoring its youth. ”I urge these kids to seek information. We live in an information age where there is no excuse. When we was shorties, a motherfucker could ask you a question, and you could be like, ‘Man, I don’t know,’ but now how you gonna tell me the hell you don’t know when you got the world in the palm of your hand in your phone?”
As high murder rates splash across national headlines with Chicago set as the stage, the 39-year-old reflects on his social responsibility and dismisses the idea of glorifying its violent state in his music. ”I lost about 16 of my friends by the time I was 18 due to gang violence, so how would I be as a grown ass man out here promoting that shit to these kids as something cool when I had to bury motherfuckers by the time I was 18?” He blames the growing unemployment rate and decrease in street organizations for the high crime rates, and believes the media frenzy is due to news outlets’ “if it bleeds, it leads” mentality. “You’re only gonna see the bullshit, but that’s not all that’s going on in Chicago. All this murdering and killing that’s been going on. There’s not anything new…(It’s) just so they can keep you in line like, ‘Aww, man. Chicago’s fucked up. Oh, what I’m gonna do?’ To keep you depressed and shit.”
Often proclaiming “church” almost as often as referring to himself as “The Ism,” long gone are the days GLC struggled financially and spent his days recording two to three songs on an 8-track recorder in his sister’s basement. Tracks with established rappers Jay-Z, John Legend, Kid Cudi, and Bun B have added to his credibility, but have not swayed him from working with artists on the rise like Jon Connor and Kendrick Lamar long before he was a household name. His consistent work ethic (he drops about six projects a year) has paid off with his last two projects achieving over 30,000 downloads each. Over 20 projects deep – including 2010′s Love, Life, and Loyalty – his countless solo albums have been released at a staggering pace.
Busy in the studio simultaneously working on mixtape, The Pulpit, with Get Gwop and studio album, The Book of St. Ism, GLC’s demeanor is smooth, genuine and ultra-confident. Over the phone, he answers all of my questions cordially and professionally while also displaying a naturally charismatic and inviting personality that one does not often come by. He drops knowledge and goes into detail about his several hardships, infamous features with Kanye and what the future holds for The Ism.
Andrea Aguilar: You’re always talking about “the ism.” What makes you “the ism”?
GLC: What makes me the ism is I am the light. I am salvation. I lead these lames and these simps away from the darkness, you know what I’m sayin’? I lead them to the glow of this macking and into this enlightenment. The ism is a powerful thing because it’s wisdom. It’s simply sight beyond sight. Now how you choose to apply the ism is all up to you. You can use the ism to manifest which means to have a beautiful and wonderful evening with a beautiful young lady or you could use it for your business and grow and develop in that field. You could use it in school. You could use it in your fashion sense. Ism is just sight beyond sight. It’s the wisdom. I didn’t even ask to be the ism. I was chose. God appointed me, and here I am. Ism!
AA: (laughs) I love it. I love it.
GLC: I’m glad you love it, baby. That’s what it’s here for.
AA: You were a part of a street organization called Growth and Development. Can you give me details on what that was like?
GLC: Well, the details about it were it wasn’t always like that. It transcended from Gangster Disciples to Growth and Development. As young kids growing up in Chicago, we were just looking for something to belong to. Man, just living in the neighborhoods we lived in, the closest thing that we had of manly figures to emulate were mainly street guys who happened to be gangstas. (Starts flirting with girl in his presence) I’m sorry. She looked good. (laughs)
So as I was sayin’, our immediate connection was mainly to these guys who were gangstas, street hustlers and guys who were getting money. A lot of ‘em was very clean dressed. They had nice cars. When you made good grades in school, they were the guys giving you twenty dollar bills and this and that. When the ice cream truck came, they were the ones getting ice cream for all the kids on the block, so you looked up to these guys, and you embraced that concept like, “Wow. I wanna be like these guys!” A lot of times, you didn’t know where they worked, but you know that they were providing for their families and shit. You would see these guys at basketball courts, at schools. When you wanted to play basketball, the rims might have been taken off of the backboard and shit just from living in the ghetto, and these guys would be the ones with their own money – not even the city’s money – replacing the basketball rims for the kids to hoop on and shit, you know what I’m sayin’? At that time, although you speculated, and you assumed these guys were selling illegal substances, man, you really didn’t think about that because they actually did good things for the community aside from what the negative part was, you know? The negative part…they never did it in your face, so you didn’t see it. Didn’t even know it really existed as a shorty being naive, but then as you got older you was like, “Oh, I see. This is how they getting money.”
AA: Chicago has been in the news for its increasing violence. What changes have you observed and what do you think has led to the city’s deterioration?
GLC: I’ll tell you this. Gentrification is one way. You tear down the projects…at one point, it was a lot of violence in Chicago, but it wasn’t making national headlines as it does now just due to the fact that it was all taking place behind the gate, and it was going up in the sky to these skyscrapers called The Projects and shit that people lived in, and they were living in these houses. You looked at people who are poor that may be uneducated to a certain degree and just feel like they don’t have the access that other people have only because that’s what they were taught to believe from any given circumstance, so they mainly resorted to robbing and killing and doing whatever they had to do to eat ’cause at the end of the day it all boils down to getting some food in your stomach when you’re hungry. People don’t just rob people or be on bullshit for the hell of it. A lot of times, it’s mainly food driven. We gotta eat. We are hungry. I don’t have shit. This dude got something. Okay. Let me catch him at the bus stop. I’m finna hop up out this car and take whatever he got ’cause I don’t have shit. You not going down to city hall to take shit ’cause if you do that, you’re finna do time in the federal penitentiary, so a lot of times when people are frustrated. They tend to take that frustration out on the people closest to them. The gentrification led to people with different ideologies being spread all throughout the city of Chicago that don’t match the ideologies as the people who came from the projects, so now you got all these different mind states and different beliefs living amongst each other without any type of idea of unifying and putting shit together and being one or seizing economic and political control of their community. While we are at war as a people and killing each other, other ethnic groups are able to move into our community and just capitalize off of us.
AA: So unfortunate, right?
GLC: You have all these different substances that kids are doing all at the same damn time. Doing all these different drugs like highs and lows at the same time. It’s like the chemical imbalance going on in a lot of these kids’ heads as well. Now the standard gun on the streets is like a 30 shot clip. Man, shit is crazy. It’s the things that all these people have access to now which at one point they may not have had such an abundant access to. Shit’s just readily available now. With that, with being hungry mixed with drugs mixed with all the crazy shit that’s going on, it can be calamity, and right now, we are seeing the aftermath of it. They got rid of the structure of the street organizations which would…like if you tried to sell drugs near a school, you were violated for that shit. The street organization didn’t allow it. You couldn’t even drop out of high school if you were part of the street organization. Now all of the rules and laws and policies, principles and parameters have all gone down the drain. So now you’ve dismantled that, and then you tear down the projects with all these people out in different areas that ain’t from there. You’re gonna have calamity, and that’s what’s going on.
They don’t talk about Simeon High School that just won its fourth straight championship. They don’t talk about Jabari Parker who just signed to go to Duke. They don’t tell you about the positive shit that’s going on in the community. They don’t tell you about the workshops at Chicago State where they have young elementary school kids as well as high school kids coming to visit the campus. I’m one of the people that comes in and mentors the kids. You’ll never see that on the headlines. You’re only gonna only see the bullshit because it’s like “Murder City” this and that, but that’s not all that’s going on in Chicago. All this murdering and killing that’s been going on. That’s not anything new. It’s just a matter of when you take away the activities from the kids, going to hoop, roller skating or bowling, jobs for teenagers…The unemployment rate is a motherfucker. I remember when I was in high school, we had job programs for the kids. Now it’s tough for these kids to get jobs. A lot of them need jobs ’cause they coming from single parent households.
AA: You were pronounced dead at 14…. Did you have any visions or feel closer to God after? Some people see a light.
GLC: I’m not finna to give you interview bullshit like, “Yeah. I saw the pearly gates and Saint Peter like, Yo, get in here.” (laughs) I didn’t see none of that. I really don’t recall. All I remember was seeing my mom. My mom passed when I was 12, and I remember seeing her because I was actually in the same hospital she had died in two and a half years earlier. I believe in something greater than myself. Greater than what I could see in the physical world that kept me alive, and I’m a give the glory to God.
AA: Hip Hop literally saved your life. What songs in particular kept you going through all of the pain?
GLC: Yeah. I would listen to UGK, Project Pat, Three Six Mafia, Scarface. It was several different artists like the West Coast movement. Death Row and Snoop Dogg and Tupac. Biggie, of course, and Jay. You know, even A Tribe Called Quest, N.W.A.. It’s just too many artists that were poppin’ for me to sit here and name which songs because there was just so much. I was so in love with the culture. I embraced it. As far as what kept me alive, I’d have to say is my ability to process information and to use it to my advantage. I was aware of the consequences of my actions. If I do this at this time in this neighborhood, there’s a good chance I might get shot at, so I’m not gonna do that, you know what I’m sayin’? (laughs) Chicago was segregated not just based upon ethnicity or sexual preference, but also based upon the gang culture. I grew up on 87th and Main, and if I went to 86th and Main which was just one block down, there was a good chance I’d get shot at. We live in a society where people seem to be glorified by being dumb. The dumber you sound, the cooler you appear to be. Me personally I have street slang and things of that nature. It’s a cool thing to be able to speak the language, but there is nothing cool about ignorance and being dumb. You look at yourself 10 or 20 years from now, and where is ignorance gonna get you? That’s why I speak this ism. My whole thing is the people need this shit. They need to see someone that’s in the music business who has written and performed on Grammy winning albums with Kanye West to a Jay-Z to a John Legend to a Twista to a Kendrick Lamar to a Bun B to a Kid Cudi. I keep shit one hundred, and I ain’t have to. I could have easily been in that shit as a yes man or a dude that sacrificed my integrity to look like what was cool at the moment. Fuck that. I’m the ism. I don’t have to do that.
AA: You stayed positive though your parents passed at a young age. How?
GLC: Well, when I was 8 months, that’s when I was told that I learned to stand on my own two. I actually started walking at 8 months. That’s what my mom told me. A few days after I learned to walk, my father died. In life they say you gotta know how to be a man. You gotta know how to stand on ya own two, but goddamn I was only 8 months. I didn’t think I was a man ready to do that shit yet, My father’s dead like, “Damn.” Just me losing my father in that manner you gotta understand that that is something people in my community look at as a positive. Like, “Yeah, your father died at 8 months, but at least he didn’t leave.” (laughs) “At least he wasn’t still alive and just didn’t fuck with you.” Here I am a kid with no father and shit. I got two older brothers and two older sisters. They instilled a lot in me. My mom was there till I was 12, so she instilled a lot of things in me. My whole thing was I just wanted to be alive, and I wanted to be successful. I enjoy life so much it’s like, “Man, the worst thing that could happen to me (is) death.” I survived that. Losing my mom. I survived that. Losing my father. I survived that. Losing my house in a fire. I survived that. Shootouts on 87th. I survived that, so the thing is what else are you going to do to me?
AA: You were diagnosed with diabetes at 14. How have you been feeling and dealing with your condition?
GLC: Man, I be feeling great now. I be on top of it. I lost a lot of weight. I gave up alcohol. I don’t eat any red meat, pork or chicken or turkey. None of that. I just eat fish, vegetables, grains, and I prepare most of my own food, monitor my blood sugar, exercise, so I feel great now.
AA: So glad to hear it. Health is so key to everything.
GLC: You can live a great life with diabetes as long as you take care of yourself and also, not think about it. If you sitting around thinking about, “Damn. I got diabetes. What I’m gonna do?” you gonna kill yourself. Stress will kill the fuck out you.
AA: You met Kanye in high school. How much has he changed since then?
GLC: Well, I would say… I really can’t say he changed. I’ll just say that he got in the position where he got really, really well off financially, and a lot of times when a person gets in a position where they are well off financially, now they can be who they always wanted to be in the first place. A lot of times people adjust and act a certain way just based upon the situation that they in or the circumstances that they in, but once you on top, man you can really be you. Who you always wanted to be. Who you always truly was. You may sacrifice a bit of that or conceal it just because you want to fit in because this is the environment you were placed in. “Like now I gotta fit in, so I can’t do this or I can’t wear this or say this because a motherfucker might hit me in my shit, but now I’m in a position where I can do this, so I’m a do it like this. Fuck it.”
AA: You said you left G.O.O.D. Music because the content that you rapped about was the opposite of Ye’s. Can you elaborate on that?
GLC: Well, basically G.O.O.D. music was a label in 2005, and it was distributed through Sony Ericsson and with that we had a deal, but then by 2006 less than a year later the deal folded because Sony decided to drop their whole urban department, so G.O.O.D music was left without a home. So actually since 2006, I haven’t been signed to G.O.O.D music. G.O.O.D music was pretty much my guys. My homies. Guys that fuck I with and did some records with, but I wasn’t signed to ‘em, but, the public is just like, “You work with Kanye and G.O.O.D music.” He held onto it, so we just rocked with it. He started his label again with Def Jam. I wasn’t really there, so I don’t know what the thought process was, how everything is going on over there right now because I’m not there, but when I was there, it was strong. It was a family. It felt really good, but everything that was said comes to pass. It didn’t happen. People want their separate ways.
AA: “Drive Slow” is one of my favorite tracks. Can you give me some behind the scenes about how the track came together?
GLC: Well, due to the fact that Kanye’s first album did really well and won a Grammy – I did writing on it, performed on it and shit – Kanye was working on his second album like, “Yo, G, I want you to be a part of this project,” and I was like, “No problem. Cool. Thank you. It’s a blessing,” so we were in a studio out in LA. Paul Wall came. Kanye was there. We was at Record Plant working on the record. You know, it was coming along real good. We ended up finishing it at Chalice Studios out there. We got it done. Good green. Good feeling. Everybody was feeling good. The beat came on, and man, the congregation rejoiced. Everybody started speaking the ism. Paul Wall laid his verse. I laid my verse. Then Kanye laid his like a few days later, and it was pretty much done.
AA: That and your “Spaceship” verse. Classic.
GLC: Thank you very much. Thank you. I appreciate that.
AA: You knew Kendrick was dope before most of the world did and gave him a feature on Section 80. Kendrick wasn’t really well known yet, but you realized his potential. How do you feel about his album and remix with Jay?
GLC: Man, I’m very proud of him. I think that he worked his way to where he is, you know? I feel like he’s worthy of all the accolades that he’s been receiving. I knew that the kid was dope when we did Section 80. It was kinda crazy how it happened because he was familiar with me at the time, and I wasn’t even familiar with him. He was telling a friend of mine out in LA that I was one of his favorite artists or whatever, so I was like, “Damn, for real? Who is this guy?” He was like, “Kendrick Lamar.” I was like, “Kendrick Lamar? That sounds like a down South pimp *igga. Who is this dude?” so he sent me some links to his music, and I was like, “Damn. This is kinda refreshing and shit. Dude is cold,” so I got on the phone with Kendrick. He was telling me how he really fucked with my music and how I was cold to him.” I said, “Man, thank you,” so then he sent me a record, and I sent it back in, like, two hours, and it was done, and there I was on Section 80.
AA: What are your thoughts on the “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe” remix”?
GLC: I haven’t heard about it, but I know about it. I’ve seen people post all over the Internet. I’m definitely gonna look it up when I get off the phone with you.
AA: You’re constantly coming out with music. Do you ever get writer’s block?
GLC: Nah, I don’t get writer’s block because I live an interesting life, and all I do is tell accounts of my life. Every day I get a phone call that’s more interesting than a motherfucker about somebody’s issues, and I have to guide them through it and shit, you know what I’m sayin’? You never know. That might turn out to be a song or some shit.
AA: How’s Pulpit coming along?
GLC: The Pulpit with Get Gwop. It’s a joint project that I did with an up and coming artist that I’m really, really working with and giving a lot of game and advice to. This project I’m very happy about it. It has Jon Connor on it from Flint, Michigan, my man Davies from Harlem, my man Fatale from here in Chicago, and there a few other guys. Special surprise guests. This project is dope because it’s pretty much the younger guy coming to me on a street level like, “Yo, this is what I’m going through,” and here I am as the elder statesman and shit spreading the gospel and help leading him to the light, so he comes to the pulpit to tell me everything that’s going on. He comes to confess to the Ism and shit, and I’m like “Yo, bro. This is how you get to prosperity. Church.”
AA: I saw the trailer. It looks pretty intense.
GLC: Thank you. Thank you very much. Yes it is. We got like maybe 4 or 5 videos shot for it. We ‘bout to turn up, so hopefully you enjoy the concept and the ride.
AA: Anything else you’ve been working on?
GLC: I just shot a few videos for my album. I got an album coming out this summer called The Book of St. Ism. Second studio album. Aside from that, I got the Churchill project that’ll drop right before the album. I’ll be on the road this summer doing shows with Get Gwop for the Pulpit project, clothing line called The Ism…I sell Church shirts, different Raphael pieces, like, Ezekiel on t-shirts with a little color added to it. Really, really, really dope merchandise. That’s available at http://glcitymusic.com/
“What do you think he’ll start with? ’My Last?’ ’Ass?’” a young man in the pit asks speculating Big Sean’s set list. ”Nah, he’s gotta lead up to that! He’s not gonna start with that,” his friend replies.
The Springfest crowd is bored and restless waiting for the power to recover from generator issues. ”It’ll be about another fifteen minutes,” a girl announces to the plethora of college kids and fans gathered in USC’s MCCarthy Quad. An object is flung onto the stage smacking one of the crew members smack-dab in the head. He quickly flips off the thrower without even gazing up.
After about thirty minutes, blue lights finally begin to flicker, and the power is restored as a fan yells, “Praise God!” (a reference to Sean’s track “Mula.”) SB Babyy, a graduate student performs a track about Trojan pride called “Fight On” that the students shout along to, and he hypes the crowd up by having them chant Big Sean’s name. USC’s concert committee is introduced and recognized for their hard work, and a box of condoms is heaved into the audience as a girl jokingly proclaims, “I’m a virgin!” Big Sean is finally introduced while a thick smoke begins to hit the stage.
As the smoke settles, Sean is revealed wearing an Aura Gold bomber from his clothing line, a black Detroit shirt, a backwards snapback and his own pair of “Pro Model Detroit Player” Adidas. His gold chains and bracelet glisten in the light as the heavy bassline of “Mula” begins to play at ignorant levels. He playfully dances across the platform while rapping his verses off of Wiz Khalifa’s “Gang Bang” and Meek Mill’s “Burn” and places the mic on his pants in an obscene, but comical gesture.
Unlike most rappers, a radiant smile beams across Sean’s face as the crowd reacts to his hits “I Do it,” “Marvin and Chardonnay,” “Guap” and “Ass.” He basks in the glory with his lion mascot, Rico, as showgoers bounce along to his Detroit mixtape tracks “RWT (Roll Weed Time)” and “24k of Gold.”
His feel-good energy and genuine excitement continue to grow as he tells the audience that his next album, Hall of Fame, is due out very soon – within the next couple of weeks to be exact. He introduces his latest track (with Common) recently released via Twitter. “This is my first time doing this shit for USC. My first time doing it in the world,” he clarifies before going into “Switch Up.”
By the end of the night, he is shirtless and dripping in sweat as the audience wields glow-in-the-dark swords and screams along to “I Don’t Like.” They cheer in unison when he takes a friendly shot at rival school UCLA and exclaims, “USC: That’s the shit I DO like!” He finishes off his set strongly with G.O.O.D. anthems “Mercy” and “Clique” before bowing out of the stage encompassed by a weed aroma.
As he exits backstage, he greets me with a hug after I remind him about our phone interview two years back for DOPE magazine. He quickly hops onto a golf cart, and it speeds off as students prattle on excitedly about the show and what local pubs are on their list for the after parties.
Rapper. Producer. Director. Artist. Designer. Cat lover. Since moving from Boulder, Colorado to LA as a late teen, Tyler, the Creator has managed to build a cult-like following as leader of the West Coast gang Odd Future. Literally responsible for building a brand with his Odd Future clothing line, he has captured audiences around the world with his distinctively deep voice and lyrics grimy enough to make any parent cringe during a car ride to school.
Tyler’s long-awaited third album, WOLF, opens similarly to its predecessors Bastard and Goblin with a conversation between him and his conscience. After being introduced to new characters at Camp Flog Gnaw, he strays away from his usual raw, atheistic lyrics and focuses heavily on young love by the fourth track. He gushes about his love/hate relationship with a girl named Salem. “Man, this feels like a dream because our lips locked/You officially put my feelings inside a Ziplock bag,” he raps on “Awkward,” yet declares how much he loathes her on “IFHY” (“I Fuckin’ Hate You”). A confessed N.E.R.D. slash Neptunes fanboy, Tyler sees sounds with his hero, Pharrell Williams, on the track while mellow beats and ’70s sounding synthesizers permeate throughout the entire self-produced work.
Not only does Tyler discuss his relationships with the opposite sex on his personal favorite “Bimmer” (one of three songs compiled into a seven minute track), but he even touches on reaching out to his estranged father. ”Because when I call, I hope you pick up your phone/I’d like to talk to you/I hope you answer,” he spits over the angry yet heartfelt “Answer” filled with a melodic guitar riff over organs and solid drum beats.
Though his lyrics have graduated to a higher level of maturity, anthems “Trashwang” and “Parking Lot” are laced with humorously clever bars filled with shock value sure to appease any Odd Future mixtape fan. Like Eminem circa 2000, he addresses media claims that he is a homophobe due to his everyday use of the other F word. “Look at that article that says my subject matter is wrong/Saying I hate gays even though Frank is on 10 of my songs,” he fires back on “Rusty” referring to fellow OF member Frank Ocean who came out last year and is also featured on a homage to his bike named “Slater.”
As the album progresses, his imagination runs as rampant as the characters on his Adult Swim comedic sketch show Loiter Squad. Campers Sam and Wolf exchange heated dialogue over Salem, and his storytelling capabilities shine on “Colussus,” a song about Stans who ruin his trip to Six Flags with an invitation to “play X-Box and listen to In Search Of…and eat donuts” in their basement. With references to LA landmarks The Grove, ice cream sandwich shop Diddy Riese, Roscoe’s, and shout outs to his manager, Christian Clancy, the listener gains insight into the mind of the 6’2” 22-year-old who often posts hilarious photos on Instagram and revels in frequent trips to Fat Burger.
Minus skippable tracks like “Domo23” and “Tamale,” WOLF reveals a grown, honest and more sophisticated Tyler. “Treehome95″ featuring Erykah Badu and Coco O. sounds smooth enough to be played at a swanky lounge while “Lone,” a track where he bares his soul about the pressues of fame and losing his grandmother, is filled with beautiful strings, horns and a jazzy piano.
Overall, WOLF displays Tyler’s budding talent and serves as a reminder that he is a creative force to be reckoned with as both a rapper and producer. Strong delivery, playful but truthful lyrics and excellent production will no doubt get looks from his already established fan base, but may even draw stares from some of the rap game’s most evasive fans and the mainstream alike.
“I was trying to intern here,” reveals 27-year-old Jansport J lounging in an office chair reminiscing about college days. ”I had a Marketing class where we had to set up an internship in the field we wanted to work in. I was gonna come up here and meet with the owner, Mike Ross, but my car broke down, so I couldn’t do it. I was bummed out about it.”
Now here at Delicious Vinyl on Sunset as a music producer, he states, “It was like a full circle. I’m here now. I still bug out sometimes.” Colorful artwork speckled along with Masta Ace and Jay Dilla albums adorn the office where Hip Hop legends J-Sw!ft and Fatlip frequent.
A large, vibrant painting of a purple, shriveled up woman catches my eye. J’s manager explains it’s a painting of “Ya Mama” with the wooden legs referring to Pharcyde’s Hip Hop classic packed with insult jokes to the brim. The Eastsidaz cover a 2001 issue of a Murder Dog magazine plopped on the coffee table and platinum plaques are scattered throughout the studio space upstairs. Birds happily chirp outside the window as they bask in the perfectly picturesque February afternoon that only California dreams are made of.
Rocking shorts and black Vans, Sport sits in front of a laptop hooked up to his prized Maschine. Last September, he won the instrument at True Sounds’ Producer Showcase where West Coast legend DJ Quik was honored. He beat out fellow peers Willie B and The Futuristiks for the event’s top spot as favorite producer. ”I have like a hundred something beats on here,” he says. “I just make music all the time, so I’ll just have it stacking up.”
It’s hard to believe Sport began making FL Studio beats with his friends as a joke. One of his first tracks, “Curry Chicken,” was a parody of Project Pat’s ode to busted women everywhere – “Chickenheads.” He remembers creating his very first beat “Milky Way” at 13 before learning how to sample. “It sounded just like the Neptunes because I wanted to be Pharrell,” he admits peering through his thick, large-framed glasses. His long beard originally grown out for a ‘70s-themed music video has become his trademark along with his Jansport backpack he’s been known to carry at all times.
Born in Anchorage, Alaska, Justin Williams moved to Covina, California during his high school years. R&B permeated throughout his childhood during car rides and family barbecues, but he didn’t appreciate his parents’ choice in music at the time. ”My mom used to play old shit like The Temptations. I’d be like, ‘I hate this.’” His teenage years were spent at Glendora High School playing basketball, and he attended Pepperdine University in Malibu with the hopes of majoring in in Advertising with an emphasis in Marketing. Instead of spending his days in lecture halls, he regularly cut class choosing to work on his craft instead. During his fifth year, he made the decision to drop out and focus solely on beat making.
After being dared to remix a compilation of Ja Rule tracks in 2010, he created a Ja’s in Charge album that gained recognition on Power 106 DJ Big Boy’s blog. Since 2009, he has released various albums including instrumental LPS Movemeants I and II, Save My Soul and For Love. He currently holds down a job at the YMCA that helps pay the bills, but he aims to make the transition to full-time producer by the end of the year. Calls from Snoop and Kweli and collaborations with Dom Kennedy, Kool G Rap and Ab-Soul definitely seem to foreshadow success. The set he landed DJing at Guerilla Union’s Paid Dues festival at the end of March and a possible tour in the works also don’t hurt his chances.
The introduction to Sport’s next album, Soul Provider, begins to play loudly and consists of beautifully blended strings and soulful basslines. He’s recorded ten to eleven tracks for the project in the past three to four weeks and has learned to make melodies using vocals. One of the tracks he recently sent Talib Kweli samples The 5th Dimension’s “Age of Aquarius.” The tracks are smooth and nostalgic complete with horns, audience claps and Soul Train snippets. Lately, he’s been listening to a lot of Soul Train interviews, so Don Cornelius’ voice is scattered throughout the next track. A woman’s sultry voice asks, “Do you enjoy being in the field of music?” Eddie Kendricks replies, “Well that’s the only field I know I really enjoy.” He pauses, and his sincere love for music shines through as he declares, “I just felt like the clip applied to my life.”
Andrea Aguilar: What are your favorite memories growing up in Covina?
Jansport J: Well, I moved to Covina freshman year, but my grandmother always lived in West Covina on Woodgate off of Shadow Oaks. My favorite memories were going to my grandmother’s house and having family barbecues. Everybody was still married, going swimming and stuff having 94.7 The Wave playing. That was fun. Me and my cousins were around the same age, and we grew up together. We would fight and all that bullshit. It’s funny because I was always been around The Cov even when I didn’t live there. I was born in Anchorage, Alaska. My parents would fly out with me, and we’d be in The Cov and then go back to Alaska.
AA: How old were you when you made your first beat?
JJ: I was 13 or 14. I always wanted to be like Timbaland, but I didn’t tell anybody that, so my best friend got Fruity Loops my freshman year of high school, and at first, we would just make spoof songs, so Project Pat had the “Chickenhead” song. We made a song “Curry Chicken,” so then when he got that program, we were like, “We can make our own beats now and make these funny songs.” I’m like, “Yeah. We can make funny songs.” On the side (I’d be) trying to make real beats like, “Yeah. We’re silly,” but I like this stuff. I wanna do this, so I was fucking around in high school. When I got to college, I didn’t have him or his computer anymore. I had my little laptop like, “How do I make beats now?” I told him, “I’m gonna come home this weekend. I need you to help me get FL studio on there.” He said he was going to help me, but he didn’t get around to it. I got impatient, so when I got my first credit card, I bought that shit. That was the first thing I bought. FL Studio. When I bought it, ironically, I was like, “Now that I spent money on this, I really have to be a producer.” 2005 was when I really started trying to produce.
AA:You like sampling.Is it harder to do a beat from scratch?
JJ: It just depends. I still do original stuff to this day. I just prefer sampling because it’s funner to me. It’s like putting puzzles together. Hearing a record and having something trigger like, “I wanna take this part.” Not only do you take it, but you chop it up and then you make a melody out of all this chaos. That’s what I like about sampling. That’s just fun to me. When you’re making something original, you can be like, “I want it to sound like this.” You have more direction with it, but fucking around with records is like discovery while you’re doing it.
AA: You sample the most random shit. The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Under the Bridge,” Dr. Dre’s “Pause for Porno” skit. Is that stuff that you just grew up on and wanted to pay homage to?
JJ: Or just stuff that people send me that was really weird. I have beats on albums that have sampled porn soundtracks. Porn clips. I sampled Barney a couple weeks ago. If you hear something that just sounds dope, just take it. I grew up listening to a lot of stuff. I didn’t grow up just around black kids. I grew up around Filipinos and Mexicans, so I remember growing up in fifth grade listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Smashing Pumpkins and Bush and all that stuff. That’s as much a part of my childhood as N.W.A. or Coolio and all that. I like to go back and listen to that and kind of draw from it.
AA: The For Love project was inspired by love. Were there any situations in particular that you drew from?
JJ: It was just like being a 27-year-old learning who I am and how I feel about everything, you know what I mean? Coming into your manhood…your own person. The things you’d want to teach your kids when you have them and stuff like that. That’s where I’m at. I think about random ass topics, and love was just a theme for the past year. I was really thinking about all the aspects of it because we always look at love like love is a good thing. I love this person, but love can also be detrimental to you too. It’s just a strong emotional attachment to something, and that’s not always the best thing. I look at myself like there’s something that I love, but I shouldn’t. It’s not that cool to be attached to something. I love music, but at times it can consume me, and it could be at the detriment of loving other people and other things, so that’s what I was focusing on during that time. With my past albums the concepts have been more like making messages or statements. This For Love album was more like a soundtrack of my thoughts at that time. I felt like whatever I was making was influenced by what I was thinking about, and that’s why that album sounds like that.
AA: What were the hardest points of your life, and how did you overcome them?
JJ: Just growing up. I’ve got a couple….a personal low point. It’s funny now that I look back at it. My freshman year of high school…This was like when my parents split up. We were in a one bedroom apartment. Me and my little sister at 14 years old. It was just a really hard thing. You know, people wanna come over, but they can’t. We had a canned food drive. I told my mom ’cause I was always into stuff like that. She found a way for me to bring canned goods to school, and I donate them. I come home that night, and we have the bag of canned goods. That was kinda like a moment like, “Wow.” That put a lot of stuff into perspective for me as far as, like, just being materialistic about stuff.
Career wise for me was Pepperdine. I was there 5 years. I was there because I was somewhat bright. That was just a trajectory for my family. Like, “He’s a smart kid. Go to college.” I thought, “I’ll go to college. I’ll get my degree. I’ll work in music and get to still do my music,” but then I just started shutting down after my sophomore year. I was like, “I don’t wanna be here,” but I was still there, and I didn’t finish. I got a fifth year. They granted me another one. I shitted that one away. I remember it was like two or three days before the graduation I called my mom like, “I’m not graduating.” I had to pack all my stuff up. I remember coming into the house with all my stuff. That was the moment where it was like, “Okay. You fucked all school, so music. This is it. You don’t have anything else but music, and you can make it happen, so go ahead and make that shit happen.” That low point…I needed that. I think about it now. If I had my degree and everything was cool, I don’t know if I’d be as hungry as I am now. I think everything happened the way it’s supposed to.
AA: Always does. It’s like a Kanye-esque story.
JJ: Right. Right. Exactly. Except I was doing it in college. I was doing like 4 or 5 beats a day not going to class. I was doing that same thing.
AA: You won the producer showcase.
JJ: Mmm hmm. It was rigged. It was rigged by Dae One. Dae One’s been trying to get me a Maschine for years. Nah. It wasn’t rigged. That was weird because I’m just a fan of all those…that list of people who were on there that night. We all love each other. We’re all inspired by each other, so to get that, it’s weird because I feel at the same time I didn’t deserve that, but that’s just a testament to fans and people really supporting me. I’m grateful for it. That was cool.
AA: What do you remember most about that night?
JJ: I remember having, like, a bad set that night.
AA: No way! I was there!
JJ: It wasn’t bad. I brought the wrong…’cause everyone was playing their hits. I was playing the For Love album pretty much. Everybody was like, “This is what I did for Kendrick.” I kinda came off stage like you know, I’m confident in myself as an artist, but I played the wrong set tonight. This is a big night. There were fans here and there, so I was going through the crowd like, “We love that. We appreciate what you do.” Fans that are really familiar with my music…that stayed with me in that atmosphere. That’s what I remember from that night and having free drinks.
AA: (laughs) So then how did that night link you to Delicious Vinyl?
JJ: L.A. Jay saw me there. I don’t remember meeting L.A. Jay that night, but he’s one of the original producers of the Pharcyde on the first album. He hit me up in an email afterwards a couple weeks later saying, “My name’s L.A. Jay. I saw you at the producer showcase. Pharcyde is working on a new album. Send me some stuff.” I have to be honest. I wasn’t too familiar with L.A. Jay’s name, but I knew the music, so of course I hit my boy House Shoes up like, “Yo. You know who L.A. Jay is? Does this sound right to you?” He was like, “Dude, L.A. Jay?” I felt stupid for asking, but that’s when I sent him stuff. He loved it. He invited me up here to do Delicious Vinyl TV that night. The chemistry from that night…the first time I came up here it felt like family. He was like, “Anytime you wanna come up here and just vibe out, just do it.” I’m a asshole who takes advantage like that, so the next weekend I’m like, “I’m coming up there. I’m using all your records. You said I could come up there. I’m coming up there.” So yeah, that’s what I’ve been doing every other weekend since. Jay’s been incredible. He’s been a good mentor, and the whole staff at Delicious Vinyl from Mike Ross to everybody. It’s been crazy.
AA: I love that. You sent that message out into the universe, and it came back to fruition. Now you’re going to do Paid Dues. What are you doing to prepare and what exactly does that entail?
JJ: I’m DJing at Paid Dues, so I’m in DJ boot camp. Getting comfortable so that I can do it in front of 15,000 people. I’m gonna do beat sets too because I figure maybe Murs wants me to do that ’cause I’m not known as a DJ, so the fact that he called me up and offered that to me… I definitely want to do something a little different. I’m starting to focus on and look forward to that.
AA: I was gonna say that I didn’t know you spinned.
JJ: Nah. I didn’t know either. That’s the story of my life. Sometimes you just get an opportunity, and you just have to take it and figure it out, you know what I mean? So that’s what I’m doing with this.
AA: Is it gonna be on vinyl or Serato?
JJ: I’m learning on vinyl now. I’m learning the hard way, so I can be comfortable with it and be ready for anything that goes wrong. The ironic thing is that before I knew what a producer was, I wanted to be a DJ. I was seven years old with a See N’ Say, and I’d always mess around with it. In a way, I’m going to be living my lifelong dream of becoming a DJ, so that’s kind of cool and stuff. It’s as fun as it looks too. I’m doing the Black Cloud Monster energy stage with Noa James and Curtiss King and all them. I met Noa James back in 2007 in a random ass alley way. We had no idea what we were doing with music. It was a cypher. He was freestyling. I had a crew I was with at the time. I was a producer. I was just there, but we met each other that night. We’ve been friends since then. I watch them on tour with Murs now, and I’m bugging out. He’s like, “You’re doing Paid Dues with us now.” Same thing with Curtiss. Me and Curtiss used to have long ass talks back in ’09 about everything that’s going on right now. It’s dope to see everybody coming up.
AA: What are your goals for the rest of the year?
JJ: To do a record with Ja Rule. Yeah. Pain is Love 2. Nah. I mean the Ja Rule thing that’s for real though. I want to put out the Soul Provider album and tentatively two tours. See how it goes. The goal is to really make the transition from working my little job to being a full-time producer. That’s my goal for this year. That transition. Doing that successfully and not looking back. With that, you know, trying to get placements and working on the album and touring. Just try to line everything up so I can do it and do it comfortably.
“Even if you’re having a bad day, it just looks so nice though,” King Chip states admiring the Los Angeles weather. ”If you’re having a bad day in Cleveland, it look like it too,” he laughs in the best of spirits. “It’s amazing. If you got nowhere to sleep, there’s no snow or rain when you wake up in the morning. You ain’t gonna be ice cold or shivering.”
Soaking up the warm, Cali sun and acclimating to the LA lifestyle has been more than an easy transition for King Chip. Signing with the prestigious Creative Artists Agency, dabbling into acting and attending video shoots from the likes of Hit-Boy and The Game are now the norm for the 26-year-old rapper, but he remains surprisingly humble.
Charles Jawanzaa Worth grew up in the slums idolizing fellow Cleveland rappers Bone Thugs-N-Harmony while also enjoying the sounds of New Yorkers Jay-Z and 50 and the gritty rhymes of Houston’s Bun B. Known as Chip tha Ripper, he spent his high school days battling other rappers on the schoolyard, but he was often troubled by somber news of friends being murdered throughout the city. Music helped ease the pain, and dreams of MCing drifted deeply throughout his mind. Little did he know that meeting Scott Mescudi (Kid Cudi) through a mutual friend would one day be key in strengthening his foundation in the rap game.
At age 19, Chip inked a deal with Atlantic Records, but he quickly spent his earnings from the label and began living the blue-collar life as a factory worker until he decided to quit in 2006. “I had a good job. I was the supervisor. I had a dental plan and 401K, health insurance and all that. One day, I’m just like, ‘I can’t. I can’t keep being here every day till I get old. This is gonna be a boring life.’” After regrouping, he displayed his staggering work ethic by recording a slew of mixtapes including Money, Can’t Stop Me and The Cleveland Show within seven months. He made his first major appearance on Hi-Tek’s Hi-Teknology 3 and made a name for himself by appearing on “Hyerr” and “The End” on Cudi’s studio albums.
Now referring to himself as King Chip, he took to Twitter to announce his name change this summer. “I am King Chip. Actually born in the ghetto slums of east Cleveland, Ohio. Rest in Peace my mentor & former King Hawk. His death made me….My birth name is Charles Jawanzaa Worth. Jawanzaa is Swahili and it means ‘great leader and great warrior,’” he explained. He has recently been heard on Big Sean’s Detroit mixtape with Juicy J on “Experimental” and Cudi’s “Just What I Am.” He is excited and humbled to work with Kanye after the Chicago superstar approached him for a collaboration at South by Southwest earlier this year. Though he states his features “have to organically come together,” he confirms MMG signee Stalley made the cut for his debut album, Charles Worth. The first single “7-8 Rings” incorporates braggadocio over a synth-laced beat by Cardo while his new mixtape, Clevelafornia, is also in the works.
Aside from studio producing and working with Cudi on their joint album as duo, The Almighty Gloryus, he enjoys spending his free time playing with his son, Cash, and prepping his acting skills. As the Hollywood lights shine brightly with opportunity, it is clear Chip’s fond memories of Cleveland will never dim and its inhabitants will always warm his heart. “If I could bring all the people that I know and love to California, I would. Hopefully, one day, I will. That’s my goal in life. Or wherever they’d wanna be.”
Andrea Aguilar: You moved to LA earlier this year. How have you adjusted to the lifestyle?
King Chip: I’ve been here a lot. I travel a lot. Out of all the places I’ve been – I’ve been overseas a lot too – I think Cali is one of the dopest places. Along with San Tropez, it’s dope on every level. Cleveland’s like boot camp. It prepares you for the worst. A lot of good people…successful sharks come out of Cleveland. They can’t lose ’cause they come from a place where that’s all there is to do – lose.
AA: Shoot. I need to travel myself.
KC: I think Atlanta’s pretty dope. Miami. Toronto. A New York cab driver said I need to go to Africa. I think I’m gonna try to set up shop in Africa for a couple of years. South Africa.
AA: Can you talk about the most difficult time in your life and how you overcame it?
KC: I used to live down south of Georgia. It was a pretty rough time down there. Deep down in the dirty South like near Florida. There was some real trap. Picture Leatherface. There’s a lot of ‘em. There’s monsters, but they’re dudes. Like Leatherface meets Tales from the Hood or something. When I was down there, I was overcoming that with my music. People look at me as a hollow shell or person, but people who know I’m good at music know it’s solid. Solid gold. That’s how I got through a lot of hard times down there.
AA: When did you decide on the name change and why?
KC: Well, I never picked my name. My name was given to me. You know, I used to battle rap. Somebody gave me my name when I was a battle rapper. It kinda just went from that. That’s how people started knowing who I was. They were like, “You’re that dude, Chip tha Ripper.” So I’m like, “Yeah.” It got to the point where that was the form of identity I had in the Hip Hop community in Cleveland. I had to capitalize on that name that was given to me. It spread all over the world. It got out of control. I never thought I’d make it out the hood. Me moving to California alone and signing with a company like CAA let me know things were getting real, you know what I mean? That’s why I changed it from Chip tha Ripper. Why I chose King Chip was because it gets people to recognize my greatness. I believe anyone I respect is a king or a queen. At my shows it’s all kings and queens in the house. I want people to be aware of how amazing they are, how talented they are and how much power people have. Recognizing that is the first step. That’s why I changed my name to King Chip. It’s good to be humble, but you gotta know there’s a possibility that you could be the last hope on earth, you know what I mean? You gotta really be at a certain level in your mind. Whatever you’re doing in your life. We’re all taught that we’re sinners. As a whole, that we ain’t shit basically. I think someone needs to come along and tell them that we’re kings and queens. We need to live like that. Believe that. Wake up. Grant some positivity.
AA: King Chip is so fitting. We’re all royalty. I like that.
KC: Clevelafornia is in the works right now. I’m still working on it. Every day I’m better. The hold up is me really ’cause I’m always trying to outdo myself. I’ve got hundreds of records that people haven’t heard, but it’s all about picking the right one. Mixtapes are crazy ’cause the music doesn’t last long, you know what I mean? I remember sitting in front of the TV waiting for a video to come on. Now we got the Internet, so I think the appreciation for it has kinda dropped. Music is only new for two weeks now, and I don’t feel that that’s right ’cause you put so much into it. It’s like, “Man, two weeks? Come on, man! Serious?” It doesn’t even matter who you are almost. People are like, “That was the jam.” Like, “What do you mean? That came out two weeks ago!” It’s bittersweet. It definitely changed my life in a positive way, but goddamn, I gotta find a way to work around that. These gems I drop -that’s why I don’t put music out too much – ’cause I want people to marinate. When these people get hits from me, they gotta go back and see what I been doing. I don’t wanna make them fish through like twenty mixtapes, so I just kinda put music out as if I was putting it out on the shelf. I’m not trying to keep up with the protocol of the rap game. I like to think my way. I’m not signed with no label or nothin’ so people wanna hear a hit record or whatever the fuck that is, but a hit record is something someone believes in and can do something.
AA: What’s going on with The Almighty Gloryus? Will youand Cudi have a studio album together?
KC: Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Almighty Gloryus is gonna be on another level of crazy like Detox or something. It’s gonna take awhile to cook up. We just dropped the video to the single “Just What I Am” the other day, but it’s gonna be amazing. It’s gonna create a buzz. Rock ‘n’ Roll music doesn’t have much promo. People end up telling each other. Almighty Gloryus is gonna be the same way. Having people wait for it. We’ll create some waves. Create an awareness. Everybody is trying to be ahead of the curve. Shout out to my homie, Travis Scott. He’s a real talented dude. He’s been doing stuff for awhile. People tryin’ to keep up with Travis Scott just so they could say they knew about him before the world did.
AA: What was it like shooting the “Just What I Am” video?
KC: It was pretty cool. It was dope. It was hot as hell. Shout out to the girl in makeup that followed me around and dried my face all day like crazy. She made my day go from 0 to 100. I couldn’t even imagine having someone do something like that for me. But other than that, it was the dopest video, man. Shout out to everybody who came through. Cudi directed it.
AA: Fans were in the video, right?
KC: Yeah! Real fans were in it. The video is real crazy, man. It has the frame around it. You don’t usually see that.
AA: How involved are you with Inicud? You obviously have the feature, but are you involved with it any more than that?
KC: Yeah. Cudi told me he was producing the whole album, and Father’s Day was coming up. I got him a beat machine for Father’s Day like, “Yo, man. Try this out. I don’t know how it works, but we got the engineers.” These *iggas was just coming up with the jams. He came up with a lot of stuff on it. Crazy stuff. We was on a lot of Universal property. I was like, “Man, you should use this. I’ve seen a lot of these at the studio.” I really wanted to come up with the coldest sound ever ‘cause I knew the way his mind works that he could make the craziest shit ever. Besides that, I’m sitting around sending good vibes and trying to come up with good ideas when I can or whatever the case may be. He’s got it. I just kinda watch him. He knows what he’s doing. He spends a lot of time working. He works a lot.
AA: Tell me how your relationship with Cudi has evolved over the years.
KC: It gets better as time goes on. That’s my bro, man. That’s my dogg. A lot of people, they just be music cool. If stuff go down in the club, I’m knockin’ somebody out. He’d do the same thing.
AA:How is Charles Worth coming along?
KC: It’s coming along good. I got a couple that are definitely keepers. In California, you just never know. I was in Game’s video. I was given like 15 minute notice. I was coming to the studio and got a call. It’s not like that in Cleveland.
AA: Are you producing on it?
KC: Yeah. I’ve been producing. I produced on Gift Raps a little. Not like whole records or anything like that. Me and my homie, Rami, started a production team called Who Cares. So it’ll be like, “This track is so dope. Who did this beat?” “Who cares.” (laughs) Little kids listening don’t ask who did the beat because they love the music and enjoy it the way you supposed to enjoy it. Now we’re so political. Who cares? We’re just a bunch of guys with real talent. Me, Duke and Rami. Rami produced “Experimental” with Juicy J on Big Sean’s Detroit. He also did “Ask About Me” with Kid Cudi.
AA: I know that you’ve also been acting. Are you going on auditions or anything?
KC: I got a film agent at CAA. He’s a pretty cool guy. He’s got my back. My first case of acting was in theatre. I had a reading. All of the readings were based on author John Edgar Wideman’s short stories. I was on stage with Keith David, Bill Cobbs. I’m just around all these great actors. Geoffrey (Joseph Marcell) from Fresh Prince. People ask, “Does he really talk like that?” I’m like, “Yeah.” (laughs) That was my first time doing something on that level.AA: What’s your favorite thing to do with your son in your spare time?KC: Aww, man. We have this game where if I take off running, he’ll chase me. I’ll hit a corner through the house, and I’ll wait for him ‘till he’s on the other side of the room and take off running frustrated. It’s the funniest thing ever. He’s only 20 months, so he can’t talk yet or anything. We just hang out, run around, and he pretty much slams stuff on the ground wherever he can…and then slams more things on the ground. (laughs)
AA: You had a birthday in October. What did you do to celebrate?
KC: I didn’t. I had a show on my birthday. I was in New York October 20th with Travis Scott and a group called Phony Ppl. It was a real dope show. I think Action Bronson was there too. I got to hang out with my agent, Cara Lewis, who signed me to CAA. She’s like the oracle of the whole game. I watched every part of the show that I wasn’t a part of with her.
AA: Anything else you wanna add?KC: Check out the video for “Just What I Am.” Dope questions.
Born in Germany and raised in Compton, rapper Problem has not only rocked several crowds on the mic, but he has penned songs for some of the West Coast’s finest including Snoop Dogg and E-40. Known to knock out songs almost as hard as the beats he raps over (once boasting 35 completed tracks in two weeks), he has shined nationally along with YG and IamSu on E-40’s radio banger “Function.”
Though he was eventually released from a 2008 deal with Universal Republic, the 26-year-old has a new home at independent label Diamond Lane Music Group and made major moves with his party-inciting mixtapes Welcome 2 Mollywood one and two. Also a producer, engineer and arranger, Jason Martin represents the West to the fullest while also allocating precious time to fatherhood.
Fresh off the Hollywood Key Club stage filled with fans and supporters, Problem is dressed in a red snapback, ripped denim jacket with silver spikes mixed with animal prints and camel Timbs. With his debut album Plan B on the way, I take a moment to chop it up with him about his busy career, life living in LA and Diamond Lane’s upcoming projects.
Andrea Aguilar: What did you love most about being raised in Compton?
Problem: Just to be from there, you know what I mean? Everybody that’s from there is really proud of it.
AA: What about it specifically do you think makes people feel that way?
P: It makes you who you are. You’re just proud to be from there, you know what I mean? There’s something about being from Compton. I’m from there. I’m happy with who I am. I can’t pinpoint one particular thing.
AA: What 9 to 5s did you have before you blew up?
P: I worked in the park in the summertime. You know, like, the summer little day camps? They had the (teenagers) there working over the summer. I did a little scam and got fired. I wasn’t really a working guy. (laughs)
AA: Fired? What happened?
P: Something to do with my timesheet, man. Trying to add extra hours. Something minor. (laughs)
AA: You’ve written for West Coast legends Snoop & E-40. Is it easier writing for another person versus yourself?
P: You know what? It is ‘cause when I’m writing for myself, I critique myself hella hard. I’m a little more freer when I’m writing for other people. When it’s for myself, it’s like, I’m going against every song I ever made. Really thinking about what to say and shit like that. With other people, I’m kinda just flying. Giving them whatever I can to add to their vibe. Just doing that.
AA: When the Universal Republic deal fell through, how did you keep from getting discouraged?
P: Actually, I did get discouraged. (laughs) Nothing in life ever came easy for me though, so I’m just used to it. Going the long way, you know what I’m sayin’? (Told myself), “I’m gonna get there though. I’m gonna keep that in my mind. That’s what I’m supposed to do.”
AA: Can you pick a time in your life when you were really being challenged? How did you overcome it?
P:I guess it was roller coasters. (laughs) I remember I used to want to get on ‘em, but I was scared out of my mind to get on them when I was younger. I just said, “You know what? I’m going to go up there and get on every fuckin’ rollercoaster. Fuck what it feels like. I don’t care.” I’m really like that when it comes to shit that I’m nervous or fearful of. I get so tight that I wanna go straight to it. I wanna know what I’m scared for.
AA: Where’d you go? Six Flags or something?
P: Yup. I went on a day when there was like 12 people there.
AA: How was your approach different while recording Welcome to Mollywood 2 as opposed to Part 1?
P: I know there was a buzz around the second one, so that added a little extra umph to it, you know what I’m sayin’? People were expecting something this time. The first one kinda came out of nowhere.
AA: Yeah. The first one you wrote as a soundtrack to getting high, right?
P: Yeah. I just really followed the same method I guess for the second one. I really wasn’t trying to top it. Just continue it. Just keep the party going. I’m not that deep. People make me seem a lot deeper than I am. I’m really not. (laughs) If it bangs, I’m fuckin’ with it. If it don’t, do another song. Cut it back.
AA: What are your favorite LA party spots?
P: The studio. That’s where I’m at. I don’t really go out like that unless I gotta go perform or to an event or something. Studio or the homie’s house. That’s what I’m used to. Working and chillin’.
AA: The energy at the Key Club was live, and the crowd was crazy.
P: It was hella fun. I had a blast.
AA: It’s like you’re partying on stage basically.
P: Yeah. I try to bring that vibe to the people. Like, “This *igga really having fun doing his shit.”
AA: What are your drinks of choice? Or do you prefer weed and mollies?
P: (smiling) Yes, yes and yes. Let me think. 1800 Coconut. Coconut tequila.
AA: I’ve never had it.
P: You can take shots or you can mix it with some Simply Lemonade. It’s crack.
AA: What’s the status of Plan B right now?
P: Plan B? I’m working on it. I feel like the first album, you work on it until you put it out. Of course, we stubborn. I got records. I could say it’s done, but not till next year. I really don’t know the date. I’ve got a couple of projects over at Diamond Lane coming out. Badd Lucc’s project just came out, and I’m supposed to drop another tape. Our collabo is called Diamond Lane America.
AA: What has been the most surreal moment of your career?
P: Performing and getting interviewed on 106 & Park. That was like the dream. You know, everybody wants to do that. That was monumental. Monumental. Shit, there’s a lot of ‘em man. Just getting paid for music. I’ve got a lot of good moments. They all tied for first.
AA: Tell me about Diamond Lane Music Group.
P: The CEO is Fast Lane. He’s running it. I trust everything he does. It’s dope. It’s crazy. The fact that he’s my friend makes it a lot better. We can say anything to each other, so that’s what makes it dope.
AA: You’re always working and constantly in the studio. What do you do in your spare time to treat yourself?
P: I’ll pick up my kids. I play with them. We go do stuff. We play basketball, but I really don’t have a lot of spare time. I’m trying to do that while I’m working, you know what I’m sayin’? Basketball, spend time with the kids. If I could sit down and and watch a movie, I’d do it.
AA: Do you have a title for the new mixtape?
P: I haven’t picked one yet. I have one in mind, but I’m not sure which one if I wanna go with it. I wanna call it The Separation. We just getting everything in order for it right now. I’ma tell you, man. It’s gonna be pretty crazy. We got some dope records. Cool people on it. The is like the first time I’ve had features on a project, so it’s gonna be cool.
AA: Can you name any names?
P: Nah. I can’t be naming names. You gotta keep some stuff under wraps, but just know there’s some hitters on there.
AA: Anything else you wanna add?
P: Shout out to the squad. man. Diamond Lane Music Group. Time to turn up. We gonna finish strong. Everybody needs to beware.
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About anDREa
Los Angeles native Andrea Aguilar has always had a strong passion for Hip Hop and journalism. She created allabouteminem.com at the age of 15 and garnered media attention from the LA Times, Fox 11 News and The Today Show. She also defended his lyrics at a Grammy "Intolerance in Music" town hall meeting in 2001. Eminem's publicist, Dennis Dennehy, took notice and arranged a meet and greet with the acclaimed rapper during his Anger Management 2 Tour.
In 2007, she received a BA in Communications - Entertainment Studies with a Minor in Radio/TV/Film from Cal State Fullerton and worked for Interscope/Geffen/A&M Records. She is the writer and creator of beautifulstruggles.comand currently writes for online and print Urban publication TRUE magazine.
Formerly the Editor-at-Large at DOPE magazine, her articles include feature and cover stories on Hip Hop artists, actors and professional athletes. She has interviewed renowned artists like Big Sean, Pusha T, Game, Tyga and Far East Movement.
