|
|
|
We're
off to see the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Hip Hop, We hear he is a wonderful Wiz if ever there wiz there was…if ever the …well erm you get the point. Riz, your roving reporter, has gone out again followed the yellow pricked toad from the swamps of Hip Hop, through a forest of flying monkeys and shit, Breakers and Graffers and Deejays oh my! Hung out with a Tin man, got the shit scared out of me by a Diana Ross loving Lion and gave a Scarecrow a copy of "The Message" so he could concentrate more on his breaking! … And all this time I've had a ugly ass witch chasing me about the place trying to steal my shell toes " I'll get you my pretty!" get your own! Bloody chicken head! Anyway, I finally got to see the big man…I had one wish, was too early and pissed to go home so I got an interview off him instead.. there's no music like Hip Hop, there's no music like Hip Hop…
But to make a long story short, the sound track was done for Wild Style before we done any taping,
'cos me, Charlie and Chris (Blondies Husband), we got together and did the soundtrack. A lot of people don't know that, that I did the soundtrack for Wild Style. Taping it was strange
'cos we weren't acting in that movie, it's just what we do, that's what made Wild Style so unique from Beat Street and all the other movies…
So be honest then, what's out in America right now that just straight up pisses you off!
© ukhh.com 2000
Grand
Wizard Theodore Interview
deejay feature
000
So Grand Wizard.. You wanna take us through a little bit of Wild Style?
Before we did the Film Wild Style, the Director Charlie Ahern, he used to come round with me, Busy B and
Starski, watch us do all the clubs. Various parties, block parties, like shit down in the Bronx, this place called " The PAL, Ecstasy Garage" places like that. We used to bring Charlie around so he could get to know every body.
I mean I ain't taking anything away from the other movies but…
Style Wars was more of a documentary though…
Yeah, that's right.
And Beat street was more of a Love story…
It's just it is more real… It's like that was what we do!
"A lot of guys wanna get into rap so they can make the money, we got into it 'cos we loved it."
So the Clubs in Wild Style, were they the actual real clubs?
Yeah they were. The Club that Fab 5 Freddie was in was Ecstasy Garage, no sorry the um Dixie Club, that's the club that Flash made famous. The Dixie Club was the kind of place that you could go to and just have a good time. You know? You just see a girl that you like and ask her to dance, she'll come and dance with you, there was no fights no nothing, you could just come and you know you were gonna have a good time.
So what's changed in New York from the Wild Style era to the way New York is today, what are the main differences as you see them?
It's changed, it's changed, it's got more business, it's like we did it 'cos we loved it, we didn't do it
'cos we were gonna make some money out of it … I mean we knew we would make some money out of it, but we never knew it was gonna turn out into something like this. We did it for the love, it was our way of getting away from our every day problems. I mean everybody had problems, you could be the richest guy in the world and have problems. It was just to be in the park with your friends playing music and escaping your problems. But now it's changed into like
erm..
It's mostly business, I mean in New York you have executives saying they don't like Hip Hop, yet they own record companies who sign these kid's on and they are making millions of dollars, so you wanna knock it then make crazy money!?
What really pisses me off is that know body knows their history. If you talk to either Michael Jordan or any known base ball player or football player, they are gonna start talking about the guys that made it so they could make it, like Michael will talk about Waul Frasier and all those guys. The way how they paved the way for them to make more money than them. People need to learn their history, where it came from to know where their going.
"That was all going on people getting shot, people selling drugs on the corner, but we were trying to get away from all of that. If you are gonna do that, at the end of the song you should say I don't do that no more."
So by history do you mean Black history or history of…
The history as far as Kool Herc, Grand Master Flash, myself, you know? How was the first to have a big sound system, the first to have reggae at their party, the first scratch, the first person to drop the needle, backspins, people have to learn all this. Your average rapper today doesn't know this, he doesn't know who Grand Wizard Theodore is! They have probably heard of me but they don't know that I created the scratch, I'm down with Grand Master Flash since a long time ago. They don't know that a lot of cats from back in the day used to make our own fliers, used to hand out our own fliers, we used to drive up in the van with our equipment, take it out, hook it up, play for eight hours. Now you have guys with it all set up for them, they come do their bit and then just leave.
We put blood sweat and tears into this! People don't know their history, that's what pisses me off, you have to know your history.
So the inventor of the Scratch, if someone was to tell you it was'nt you it was someone else… where do you stand on this?
Well obviously, I invented the first scratch, as far as other guys are concerned, they have taken it to another level, transforming and crabs and all that, they just basically took it to another level.
So what made you put your hand on the record and think I wonder if?
I stumbled upon it not knowing what I was doing, playing music in the house and my moms she was like banging on the door because I was playing music to loud this particular day. And while she was standing in the door way, you know, yelling at me, while the record was playing, I was holding the other record you know moving it back and forth, and when she left the room, I was like wow that was one record playing and I was moving the other one back and forth. So what I did was took my time as developed it, I invented the scratch.
So did you realise what you had invented then, to imagine the reaction that you had made to the likes of today?
No, no idea because my main objective was to get people to come to my parties and have a good time. Like tonight, I only played one record I wanted to hear and that was Honkey Tonk Woman. I am hear for the people. The people made me what I am today. I am here for you.
So who do you listen to, I mean who would be on your Walkman right now, you said you listen to Old Skool, where do you class yourself in there?
I am Tru Skool, there is an Old Skool and a Nu Skool, but you need to be tru! A lot of guys wanna get into rap so they can make the money, we got into it
'cos we loved it.
So not to ruin the conversation, but where do you stand on Gangster rap? I know you have thoughts on that, tell us some more?
Some people actually live it, and if they live it they should talk about it, I mean I used to shoot people and gangbang but then you have to realise that you have young kid's listening to your music, I don't do that anymore. You have some kid's listening thinking it's a thing to do, rappers don't realise a lot of them are role models. There are rappers who have never held a gun in their hand before, yet they still talk about gangster rap. That was all going on people getting shot, people selling drugs on the corner, but we were trying to get away from all of that. If you are gonna do that, at the end of the song you should say I don't do that no more.
So with Block parties, were you aware that the music you were creating was spreading like wild fire across Europe?
No we weren't aware at the time, I mean there was tapes going around, tapes would get lost of stuff coming out from over here but we just weren't aware.
So is there any UK Hip Hop you check for now?
I get stuff sent to me from all over world, I am hardly home 'cos I travel a lot so I don't really get to listen to a lot. I like the Chemical Brothers, we did a tour with them in London, wow they are incredible, incredible man.
I am doing the scratching on their new album.
So what would you say to an aspiring DeeJay?
I would tell them to be real about what they are doing, believe in what they are doing. Analysis everybody but don't worry about the next man. You have to care about every body to make sure they have a good time. Stay real and you will succeed.
Last words?
Just to reiterate, learn your history, learn where it came from to know where you are going!
And with he disappeared in a giant hot air balloon.. OK well he didn't, none the less we parted company. I was fully aware that I had just met a genuinely nice bloke, a bit aggrieved at the general public's lack of knowledge. But he knew, as we all do, there is no music like Hip Hop!…
there is no music like Hip Hop!
