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 Insight
Interview
interview 0208 added
17.06.04 words: Nikesh technical:
QED
So Insight here we are in the glorious British sun, how was your show last
night?
Show was excellent, really excellent. The crowd showed love, we were prepared
and everything went well.
Do you prefer shows with Edan or by yourself?
Well, what we do live, we’re two people and you can do things that one person
can’t do. And people like to see chemistry, going back and forth and that’s what
we do. We have music coming and it’s pretty much based on live shows and its
more fun doing it with two people because the dynamics of going back and forth,
you can’t do that with just one person. I like working with him as he does the
same thing as me…
Producer, DJ, MC…
Yeah and we can DJ for each other. It’s a show and if a show is gonna be more
than one person, you might as well play to both our strengths.
Did you check out Percee P?
Yeah, I saw him and it was good to see a legend up there, still ripping lines.
He’s still hustling. But I look at that and I learn from that. I see what he
does and I want to try and take it steps beyond that.
"...But
there’s a really good hip-hop scene out here. A lot of record collectors out
here. You can find some really good music here..."
What are your thoughts about the Dedbeat lineup?
Man, I’m here like a fan now my show is over. With UK stuff, there’s a lot of
people who I see on flyers and I’m getting to know who they are now. I’m out
there tonight, check out the Biz.
Do you check a lot of UK stuff?
Who do I check? Umm, l hear about Lewis Parker, Roots Manuva, stuff like that.
Hip-hop is universal and if you do it good you’re gonna get respect. Skills is
skills. If I see something I like, doesn’t matter where it comes from. You could
see when someone puts their heart and dedication into something. The result is
something beautiful. I don’t look at the place as much as the skills.
 What projects have you got coming out in the coming months?
I have the “Blast Radius” in August. My next album. Edan’s on it, Ed O.G. is on
there. I have a group called “Electric”, a five MC group. And the
“MaysunProject”…
That’s a really social, really conscious record…
Yeah. KRS is on that and my man, Daja.
Speaking of KRS-One, where is he?
Where is he? I mean, KRS pretty much decides he’s gonna do something a month
before. I was supposed to go on tour with him on the West Coast, and they called
me and said the tour was cancelled. KRS said @I already did that circuit”. So, I
guess it was just a last minute cancellation.
You produced some stuff for his new album which a net-only download at the
moment right?
Yeah. I produced four or five songs for him. But cos so many tracks are coming
through, I don’t know if he’s going to use them. I don’t know if his style and
taste are the same as mine, production-wise. I hit him off with beats that were
boom-bap. And I think people are waiting for him to return to that but I don’t
know if he wants to return to that.
"...None
of those marketing people are better than hip-hop, cos it will always go back to
the real shit..."
Much as KRS is one of my all-time favourite rappers, I do think that there
hasn’t been as much quality control on his beats recently…
He told me that the producer doesn’t define him. Think about his albums where
the beats weren’t hot but he was just focussed on the topic and the informations.
Yeah, lyrically he’s still on-point.
Lyrically yeah. I think that now, he’s trying to reach a younger audience but he
doesn’t need to do that and he doesn’t need to change his music. I think a lot
of problem with MCs, like Nas, they should have an executive producer that has
good taste in music. He has skills but the production as a whole album doesn't
come together. The good thing about older albums is that people had a sound and
they tried to create something with that sound. Now people try and make this
gumbo of different styles.
 Recently, I’ve noticed that a lot of albums have come out and on the front
cover there will be a sticker with a list of all the producers on there…
See, before, you had a producer and an MC and they created the sound of a group.
And now, it’s all corporate and they’re just throwing names around. It doesn’t
matter if the beats are good, they just look at the name. There’s an amount of
people desensitised to that and buy it cos of the names. None of those marketing
people are better than hip-hop, cos it will always go back to the real shit. No
matter what. Think about in 1990, the people we remember as classic, those
times, the people weren’t even big time doing stuff. The real cats weren’t
getting any love. That’s why you should just focus on doing good music.
"...I
started when I was 15 and I was living on my own. I was homeless for a period.
And I realised that you gotta act like you’re alone and you gotta do shit
yourself..."
Any final message for the UK audience?
If you haven’t heard my shit, you gotta check it out. I know I gotta get my
stuff out here more. I haven’t really got up in the UK too much. But there’s a
really good hip-hop scene out here. A lot of record collectors out here. You can
find some really good music here. But my advice as far as artists go, you gotta
make your passion your job. Put a price on whatever it is you’re trying to bring
forth to society and try to see if you can make money off thatevery month. Even
if you start off with like ten dollars, if you wanna produce, say I’m gonna make
that much off music this month and keep increasing it till you’re making more
than your job and you can quit.
Are you in that position now?
I pay the bills with rhyming. I was an electrician for four years and then I
quit. I did everything I could to get it all done. It took a long time too. I
started when I was 15 and I was living on my own. I was homeless for a period.
And I realised that you gotta act like you’re alone and you gotta do shit
yourself. Just know that you have to be humble and there’s always someone worse
off than you. I respect life. I’m happy I can do music.
-
Nikesh Shukla
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