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  Third Sight Interview
interview 0387 added
09.04.06 words:
K-Per
technical:
QED
Even though they dropped their first album nearly 8 years ago, Third Sight
are still considered as one of the finest US rap group by many fans
around the world. The gap between their first, and now classic, LP
(‘Golden Shower Hour’) and the recently released ‘Symbionese Liberation
Album’ doesn’t seem to have dented said fan base or their reputation a
bit either. Kinda like fine wine really, it gets better with age.
Composed of Jihad the Roughneck on mic duties, Dufunk and D-Styles on
production and cuts, Third Sight are slowly but surely stamping their
print all over 2006 with a new LP that’s proving successful with fans
and press and a recent Japanese tour, hopefully soon to be followed by
their first European appearance as a collective.
But while some of you may know Third Sight and their music, this new
album is the perfect excuse to find out some more about this west coast
rap group, their origins and even their eating habits. So after an
aborted first attempt at a conference call with the three of them, Kper
managed to get them together on the phone for a long chat which covered
wide ranging subjects such as their origins, the current state of the
industry, lyricism, studio engineers, the near legalisation of weed in
the UK, hash, Jamiroquai’s hats, table tennis, politics and more.
Probably sounds quite crazy, but it’s actually one of the funniest and
most interesting interviews we’ve had the pleasure to conduct in a
while.
If you’ve not yet had the chance to discover Third Sight and their
music, then this interview should give you a good idea of what to
expect. And if you know about them already, then this is a perfect
occasion to convince you to go and buy their album if you haven’t
already. With one of the finest DJs of today, an MC of high calibre and
producers responsible for music that is both dark and headnodding, this
was never going to be your average Heat Magazine conversation. So sit
back and relax as Third Sight break it down and even divulge some
unknown facts about the crew. Kinda like tabloids but with a brain and a
sense of ethics.
“...Seriously though [D-Styles is] a ping pong and poker master
I don’t know if you knew that...”
Ok well let’s start at the beginning – who are Third Sight and how did
you guys get together?
Jihad: Third Sight is myself, Jihad the Roughneck, my man Dufunk,
D-Styles and there was another original member, an MC, who has since
left us and gone on to other things. He was kind of the catalyst for
Third Sight coming together – he put me in touch with Dufunk, and also
arranged for us to meet D-Styles. I wanted to have a rap group, but I
knew you couldn’t have one without a DJ. After meeting Dufunk, we hit it
off but knew we needed someone like a turntablist, even though back then
that wasn’t really a term like it is now, but we knew we need someone to
do the crazy cuts, you know? Not just dope cuts, but crazy ass shit.
Dufunk has been a DJ for a quite some time and he could cut also. So
that’s it, Third Sight is 2 DJ/producers, 2 MCs, one of which left so
there’s now three of us. And we’ve been plodding along ever since!
Why the long gap since your first LP? It’s been nearly 8 years.
J: We weren’t as organised, we didn’t have no management for a long
time, and that meant that it took a while for us to get shit together so
we could do this new album properly. It was just the three of us doing
our thing, it took a while before we found another management. Also D
went and did his own solo thing, with his album and tours, and the way
Third Sight works is that we can’t do a record without him.
At this point D-Styles joins the call.
 J: So yeah as I was saying, in between records Dufunk and I would hook
up. Dufunk would do a beat, produce something and I’d freestyle on it,
at his, getting high, chilling, vibing and it moved slowly like that.
But for the album to be finished D had to be in, so we needed the three
of us together really to get this finished, not because we couldn’t work
on our own though. We just chilled for a while then. Once D had done his
solo thing, we got back together and managed to wrap it up. Being
disorganised and lacking management for a while were definitely major
factors, that and not knowing how the industry works as well as we do
now!
What do you mean when you say that about the industry?
J: I was being naïve originally. I mean I thought you make a dope
record, you get it into shops, make a million and you have all this
fame, people carry you on their shoulders and throw rose petals at you,
you know? (laughs) But shit don’t work like this! That’s not how it
works. You got to have distribution, press, tour, get out there, kiss
babies, shake hands etc… Basically you’ve got to do a lot of stuff that
really hasn’t anything to do with being an artist – that’s one thing I
learnt.
So how did you get round to all this then?
J: Well we got some good help on the business end of things, we try to
stay updated as much as we can, our management helps us with that so we
can be on point. The new album has done quite well as a result though,
and D’s experience with his past releases helped us a lot as well.
D-Styles: Yeah basically I just knew how important it was to have proper
distribution, to get some strong promotion behind it. For us as indie
artists it’s always harder to get music in the big stores, like the HMVs,
Tower Records, to get our foot in the door you know? So to get it I knew
was important and I think it’s helped.
“...It took a while for us to get shit together so we could do
this new album properly...”
So do you guys feel it’s better to have taken the time to release this
new album? Rather than rushing it after the first one for example you’d
rather take time to work on it and get the music the way you want to.
DS: I wouldn’t want to rush something like this for time’s sake, I think
it’s best to postpone a release to ensure everything is how you want.
You want it how you want it. Sometimes there is give and take, you have
to bow down to some external needs.
Dufunk: Definitely. We definitely think like that. We want to make sure
what we put out is going to be the top stuff. Seeing as our style is
different to most stuff too.
So do guys live near each other? Because I was wondering how you worked
on the album, as I know D lives in Vegas now.
J: Well initially we all lived near each other during the first album.
Then D moved to L.A, then to Vegas, then I moved to L.A shortly after he
did and Dufunk was still in the Bay Area. But thanks to the wonders of
modern science and technology we did it, it brought us all together!
(laughs)
DS: Yeah technology is such a great thing for that, things like email
and stuff. Because you can send files easily, mp3s, Pro Tools sessions,
things like that.
J: Even when we were in the same place we still worked on our own
though. We’d do things separately. I’d do vocals, D would do cuts at his
spot and bring them all together in the studio…
DS: There’s a little echo on this line, it’s kinda cool. Anyone else
hear it?
I haven’t got any echo.
DS: It’s only on Jihad’s voice though.
J: Yeah it’s cos I’m on this cordless… El cheapo! (laughs) You wanna buy
me a new phone?
Maybe with the dividends of the album? (laughs) Do you guys like working
like that, as you were saying, doing things separately and bringing it
together at the last stages?
J: Yeah well the thing is in the studio, time is money, so you can’t
really afford to mess about. And when I write sometimes I want to take
my time with the beat, I’ve never been the type to write in the studio.
And I know D is also a perfectionist with his cuts. Being under the gun
and under the clock in the studio is a bit too much pressure so it was
always financially smarter to do it like this, get it finished before we
go in.
DS: On the first album, ‘Golden Shower Hour’, we did all the
pre-production at our houses, and then recorded at the studio. And I had
to do the cuts for ‘Rhymes Like a Scientist’ live in the studio and I
hated it because the engineer was rushing me and it was too pressurised
for my liking. I remember feeling uncomfortable. It was some rocker
dude…
DF: Peter Stanley!
That’s not really any good is it?
J: You know good work takes time and care and love, and there’s some guy
breathing down your neck the whole time talking about Vicious V
(laughs). He was like his all time favourite DJ, and he was like ‘you
guys know about Vicious V? He could really scratch’. And I’m like ‘come
on man! You’re in the studio with D-Styles you need to shut your mouth’.
Rock n Roll B-lister! (laughs)
“...I mean I thought you make a dope record, you get it into
shops, make a million and you have all this fame, people carry you on
their shoulders and throw rose petals at you, you know?...”
Well moving on I wanted to ask you guys, D-Styles and Dufunk, about the
production on this LP. How did you approach it, because I guess reading
some of the press release you can hear/feel the influences but the music
sounds genuinely unique?
DF: I think for me it’s because I like to really chop my beats up,
really obscure the samples. I don’t like just lifting something and
looping it, I like it where you can’t tell where the sample came from, I
don’t like taking 8 or 4 bar loops. Add elements to it, make it more
personal but without overloading either. Basically make it dark and
entertaining.
Yeah the darkness definitely comes through on this LP.
DF: I’d broke up with my girlfriend after the first LP and so I made
loads of beats with anger in me, I put that and my hurt towards the
music. Jihad would be like ‘get in there and make some more beats’!
(laughs)
J: Yeah there was loads of break ups during the making of this album.
Also I was wondering if there was any scratching involved in the actual
productions? Like D I know that with your album you mainly produced from
the turntable, and I don’t know if I’m just tripping when I listen to
this LP but it seems like some of the tracks have that element to them,
in the drums especially although different to your own solo stuff. They
just sound like they were produced from the turntable.
DS: Right, yeah maybe it’s because of the way I approach it, because to
me the turntable and the samplers are the same thing just different
tools. I’ll make a beat and then see if I can cut to it, and if I can I
know Jihad can rhyme to it. I guess I like to keep my music minimal too
because then the rhymes and cuts can become the filling elements – make
the thing whole and be able to stand out. I’m not one for
overproduction. But yeah I think it’s my ear is just tuned into… I guess
it’s just my… my…
Style?
J: Fetish? (laughs)
DS: I guess so yeah. It comes with scratching I think, it’s just the
rhythm in my head so that’s probably why it sounds like that.
I see what you mean. Yeah it’s just I think also that some of your
production on this also reminded me a lot of your scratch records…
DS: Yeah I know what you mean.
And Jihad, about the rhymes on the LP, where does your inspiration come
from? I mean there’s a whole range of subjects, themes, references on
there but also the flow, the way you flip words is quite different to
most MCs.
J: Partially it comes from popular culture, the climate of politics at
the moment, stuff I read in my own time… I like to read, and I always
try to be cleverer than the next MC, touch on things that people haven’t
because that way you know you can be fresh without having to think about
what the other person has already done or said. I like to find different
narratives basically. My comfort zone is being different. Sometimes I
try to throw in as many obscure references as I can so they fit with the
pattern. I hear the pattern, the rhyme pattern as an MC probably more so
than non MCs. Sometimes I get lost in the pattern, and just get the flow
and direction in my head first and so sometimes words can become
secondary to it. But then there are other times where I’ll be writing a
story, wanting to tell one and so the pattern becomes secondary to that.
“...Yeah technology is such a great thing [...] because you can
send files easily, mp3s, Pro Tools sessions...”
And going back quickly to what you said earlier on, do you prefer to
write the rhymes to the music then?
J: I rarely ever write without the music. In the beginning, when I
started I did write loads to no music, to the metronome in my head. But
I think once I have the beat I find it best to write to the music – that
way the words can be fitted to the music perfectly, each tracks have
their own personality. I want to be another instrument, so that’s my
approach. I don’t want to just scream in a mic or whatever, so I need to
have the music before writing rhymes, otherwise it wouldn’t work.
Wicked. And D I also just wanted to ask you about the cuts and how you
approached them, because as we said earlier you’re a perfectionist so I
was wondering how you took it on that aspect?
 DS: Yeah generally I will let Jihad do his rhymes, listen to the music
and find what I think it needs from me. There was only one track on this
album, ‘Run’, where I’d already done the chorus cuts by the time I’d
sent the track back to Jihad, so I had him write a rhyme around that. I
like it when the writing is done first really, it allows me to express
myself better I find.
J: Which I don’t always prefer actually! ‘Rhymes Like a Scientist’ was
done the other way round, with the cuts first as well and he set me up
properly for it! I knew I had to come good on it. I’m not complaining
because we work well together anyway.
I was also wondering about the album title. There are references
throughout the LP to activists, politicians, etc… and I was wondering if
that’s something that came along while making the LP or something you
went for more purposefully?
J: It’s been part of my make up, politically for quite some time. I’m an
activist in my own way, maybe not as obvious as some other people, but
in my own way I do my own kind of activism, I have my own political
ideas. So I wanted the title of the album to raise the consciousness of
the group, the Symbionese Liberation Army who were a Bay Area pseudo
revolutionary group, because I think that the SLA was an important part
of American politics, and is a group that isn’t as talked about as much
as other revolutionary groups like the Black Panthers, or the Nation of
Islam. And I thought that they were really peculiar in their formation
because they only had one African American member who’d broke out of
prison with help from some communist workers and he couldn’t get any
other African Americans to join his organisation so he had this multi
racial group, and Third Sight and everybody we brought in for this album
are very multi racial.
“...We’d really like to go to Holland, do a Holland album [...]
and we wouldn't come back...”
And also I wanted to raise the consciousness that
Patty Hearst, the millionaire’s heiress who was kidnapped by the group,
spent six months in jail and was then released and pardoned while
everyone else met a quite gruesome ending or did a lot of years in
prison. And I think it really was on the basis of her class, and being a
member of the aristocracy, that she could get the best lawyers and get
out. And her family’s, the Hearsts, financial contribution to the
Democratic party over here allowed Clinton to pardon her for what she’d
done and I just don’t believe that she was totally brainwashed. I just
believe it was a class thing. And I always compare it to OJ Simpson, who
also had the financial means to mount a defence that got him out and
proved reasonable doubt, and he’s still out on the streets right now.
And so I don’t think that in either case it was a matter of race but a
matter of class and if you have the resources very little is gonna stick
to you in a court of law.
Yeah totally, it’s another example that money just talks louder than
words…
J: Exactly.
Ok and I also wanted to touch on the collaborations on this album – was
it a case of you guys approaching these people purposefully or was it
more because you all knew each other, and are mainly all based on the
West Coast?
J: It was a case by case thing really. Ricci had initially approached me
for his track, ‘The People vs The Fake’, which he’s also used on his EP,
‘Like a Box of Chocolates’, before our album. The version on our album
is slightly different, different mix and bits D added in. But yeah all
these guys are friends of ours, all the MCs who appear on ‘Rip Mics in
Half’. We didn’t have any guests on the first album too, so we wanted to
branch out and try something different. Jerry D, Raggedy Andy – I’m
actually working with Raggedy Andy on another project at the moment. MF
Grimm was the only one who I actually met through our management. And he
listened to the album in its earlier stages and loved ‘Will I Get Shot
by a Dope fiend?’ and asked if he could be on it and it happened.
“...The thing is in the studio, time is money, so you can’t
really afford to mess about...”
Yeah I wanted to ask you about that, because I was wondering how this
rework came about?
J: Yeah it would have pretty much appeared the way it does on the 12”.
He loved it and we actually had a long conversation, where I pretty much
told him about my life story, and he wrote his verse in return I think
inspired by that conversation and it shows in the rhyme I believe. I
really appreciated it, it was a nice gesture, he’s a real cool cat and
it’s good to have a little bit of NY on there too, as it’s the cradle of
hip hop civilisation.
And who’s Sir Limpdick then?
J: Well actually Dufunk and Sir Limp, he’s our boy, his name is Flash,
have always been in the back. There’s been me and some other MCs passing
though, but there’s always been this huge DJ presence and Flash is the
guy who’s been DJing the longest…
DF: He taught me!
J: He’s always DJing alongside us, he taught Dufunk, and he’s always
been giving us advice and just being there, and so we don’t have an
album until he says something (laughs).
Ok well this is a bit of a ‘classic’ question or whatever, but I was
wondering about what your thoughts were on the US rap scene really? How
do you see yourselves within it, because in the US and around the world,
things seem to be spinning out of control a bit, and so with your music
being the way it is I was wondering how you saw yourselves really?
DF: What’s your opinion Jihad?
J: Well… (laughs) Rap is multifaceted. The one facet that doesn’t get
much shine is the original recipe, like KFC you know? Herbs and spices.
Just 2 turntables, a fader, pad, pen and whatever you do the production
on. We make the music we don’t hear so much, and it’s out of our
affinity for that flavour of music and we take it really seriously. We
don’t want to make pop, we’re not trying to use the underground as a
springboard to go pop. There’s already people making good pop, we’ll
never make as good a pop record as 50 cent, because he’s the master of
pop or whatever. I have appreciation for fans who say what we do is
what’s been missing and please continue to do what you’re doing. So we
know what our flavour is and we try to do it to death and in the current
vacuum of pop pop and crap rap, it shines. Lucky for us. I hope it
inspires people and makes others want to do similar things. Not to just
use the underground as a springboard and then go do songs with Mariah
Carey later. But so be it, whatever the case maybe we’ll keep doing what
we do. I don’t listen to the radio anymore really, there’s nothing there
for me, I just go through my old records and listen to the stuff I used
to enjoy and so we do what we do and because of that I don’t have much
time or tolerance for the rest of the stuff. If everybody is really
structured in their production, with 16, 8, 16, 8, and the DJ is often
replaced by singers or songs have cuts which are dressed up, then it’s
no wonder that the turntablists have decided to go on and do their own
thing, which is only to be expected as commercial hip hop decided not to
embrace them. But that’s what we do here we choose to embrace the DJ.
How do you feel about that D? (laughs)
D: Yeah man I don’t think we’re going after a formula, I think we just
make music we want to hear. And it’s weird because I read reviews and
people are saying what we do is a great throwback to the 90s hip hop… I
guess so if you want to call it that but it’s just the music we want to
make really, this is us. This ain’t no retro back thing! (laughs)
DF: This is what you get! (laughs)
J: When most people try to understand something new they generally need
a point of reference, especially if they don’t want to make an effort or
the music doesn’t fit in their frame of reference. So they say this
sounds like that because they can’t say this sounds like nothing I’ve
ever heard before, especially as it’s a foreign thought process for most
people. So I get compared to a bunch of MCs I’ve nothing in common with.
Whatever (laughs)
“...I don’t like just lifting something and looping it, I like
it where you can’t tell where the sample came from...”
What was the worst comparison?
J: Well I don’t wanna you know… but I’ve been regularly compared to Gift
of Gab, who is one of my favourite MCs, and Last Emperor. I’m rarely
compared to my larger influences, the MCs I grew up on but I think maybe
they’re just not as much a part of the popular consciousness anymore,
I’m waiting for someone to say ‘he’s the new Rakim’. I don’t get that so
yeah whatever works, Rakim, G Rap, Kool Keith and Kane were some of my
favourite all time MCs, and people who put a little more effort into
rhyming, you know?
Being based on the US west coast would you say that it’s more of a
fertile ground for you to be able to do what you want to do and put it
out how you want to? I’m thinking that recently for example there seems
to be a lot of interest in what’s happening there, people around the
world seem to think a lot of exciting things are coming out of there,
and even before that the west coast seems to have a tradition of people
coming through who are unique and uncompromising – the tablist
revolution in part came from there, and so on. As you all live there and
work there do you feel it as artists?
J: I don’t know the west coast has a lot going on for it right now – I
mean I don’t really follow a lot of what goes on in the underground here
but I know recently the Hyphy movement out of the Bay Area has been
getting a lot of attention…
Yeah that’s it, that was one of the things I’ve been hearing about.
J: Errr… we’re not actually a part of that!
I know, I know! That’s not what I was trying to say (laughs). Ok I’ve
put my foot in it now haven’t I? (more laughs). I was more thinking with
regards to the long history of the Bay Area and the west coast in
general as a fertile ground for independent music, and music that
doesn’t follow a ‘template’.
J: It’s true that in the Bay Area there’s always been movements that
stay true to their roots, a lot of underground rap crews like
Hieroglyphics, Hobbo Junction, Quannum, all the great DJs and
turntablists. People do good stuff out here but it doesn’t get the most
publicity as opposed to some of the more commercial artists that come
out the area. But in a way our fan base is largely global, I wouldn’t
say the west coast gobbles up most of our music as opposed to other
parts of the world. Personally though we’re not so steeped in tradition,
in that we’re not trying to follow in anyone’s footsteps or some sort of
west coast template.
And I was also wondering about your Japanese connection, as I know
you’ve recently done a tour out there – have you got a big fanbase out
there then?
J: Well Dufunk has 3 kids out there so we go out there and tour to help
feed his babies… nah just kidding (laughs). Japan gives love though,
they have a lot of love for turntablism as well as hip hop and even I
guess there’s room in Japan for a love of commercial music. As for the
tour it was because we have good friends out there who facilitated the
tour. It was my first tour as well, so it was a virgin experience for me
and it was great. I was like ‘whooaaa this is neat’.
I didn’t realise it was your first tour.
J: Yeah hopefully the first of about 3,000 more! Hopefully it’ll happen
soon. We want to come to Europe for sure, we’re putting stuff in the
works for that and basically wherever people want to hear our brand of
hip hop we’re doing our darnndest to bring it to them.
Yeah it’d be great for you to be able to come out here, especially as
you were saying that you have a huge following in some parts of Europe.
DS: Yeah Europe is where most of our fan base is actually. Especially
France and Germany. For some reason our records sell really well out
there.
“...I’ll make a beat and then see if I can cut to it, and if I
can I know Jihad can rhyme to it...”
Have you ever find out why?
DS: I think with those two countries there’s a definite appreciation for
quality lyrics and quality cutting. They’ve really embraced our mixture
of those two things and so our stuff really hits them. It seems like
it’s more their cup of tea you know?
It’d be nice to have you guys out here for sure.
J: Yeah and I heard you guys practically legalised weed out there (ed
note: in the UK) so we’re coming out for sure!
Well actually they’re backtracking out here so you might want to get
over before they’ve totally backtracked to the point where they’ll throw
you out for smoking a spliff in the street again. You can still go to
Holland though and smoke there – but in England they don’t seem to know
what they want to do.
 J: Well I was hoping we would follow your lead…
Yeah if only politicians out here stopped being so stupid. They’ve
declassified it to a class C so you can’t get thrown in jail for an
eighth anymore.
J: Oh that’s great (laughs). They wouldn’t change the class here though.
What class is it out there?
J: I’m not too familiar but I was talking to a guy who grows it and he
was talking about the fact it would be nice to move it to class C, so I
would assume it’s a class B now. So depending on how much you get caught
with it varies… I got a hefty fine for getting caught with a half of a
blunt.
Yeah it gets a bit silly after a while. I was cautioned and held for a
while for a bit of hash.
J: Ahhh yes hash!
See that’s another thing you can enjoy, some good hash when you come out
here.
J: See we don’t get hardly any hash at all out here. It’s something they
might have at the clubs for the medical patients but not on the streets.
It’s been a few years since I’ve had any here.
Yeah Holland the best place for that really. And also the south of
France, loads of good hash from North Africa down there.
J: Oh that’s good.
DS: Ahhh yeah that’s it.
J: We’d really like to go to Holland, do a Holland album.
Third Sight does Europe! (laughs)
J: And we wouldn’t come back.
“...I like to find different narratives [for my rhyming]. My
comfort zone is being different...”
Sounds like a good plan to me. And I had one more quick question, about
the live shows. You mentioned earlier on that you wanted to bring it
back to the original formula, and so I was wondering how you approach
the live shows? Is it as simple as D on the decks, you on the mic and
doing what you do best?
J: Yeah best case scenario that’s exactly what would happen.
Unfortunately when we were out in Japan somebody stole our records, so
we had to do it another way. I know that, money permitting, D would like
to make a scratch record for the tour, so we would definitely be going
off the vinyl but luckily when everything went south in Japan we had
mp3s and computers and things like that so we could keep it going. So
yeah we want our live shows to sound like the album and not like some
guy rapping through the headphones (laughs). It doesn’t get much better
than D cutting live so… hopefully we can bring it to you all.
Wicked. Well have you guys got any last words? Any parting comments for
the readers out there?
J: Keep vinyl alive and er…
DS: Nando’s Chicken, shout out to Nando’s Chicken! (laughs)
DF: Hello? Hello?
J: And if you have any hash bring some to the shows for the artists.
DF: Hello? Chicken?
J: The hell you talking about? Hash not chicken fat boy!
DF: I got the honey butter oil right now don’t even worry about it.
J: I don’t care, you gonna eat the whole lunch tray once you done with
it too. (laughs)
You gotta try Nando’s Chicken when you come here though, ask D he’s
hooked on that stuff.
DS: Yeah man, it’s good. What is it again like Portuguese chicken?
Yeah that or
Brazilian, South American I can’t remember for sure. It’s
mighty nice.
DS: Yeah it’s amazing.
J: Is it a chain or something?
Yeah that’s why I was surprised you don’t get it out there. I first had
it in South Africa and then in the UK a few years ago they started
popping up. I don’t think they have it all over Europe.
DF: Is it a better chicken?
“...If you have the resources very little is gonna stick to you
in a court of law...”
As far as chicken goes out here it’s pretty fine. Don’t know what
quality you guys get out there.
DS: It’s like a rotisserie man, it’s good.
DF: Oh good.
DS: They got the good marinades they use on it.
DF: Definitely check that out.
J: Dufunk only eats chicken and shrimp so he’ll be in heaven.
Ha ha, yeah you’ll have to do a proper trip to Nando’s then. You can
take some back through customs as well (laughs)
J: Ha ha, he won’t even be able to fit through customs man. He won’t
make it out the restaurant.
DF: In Japan I was known to eat very seriously.
J: What you mean in Japan, all over the globe you’re known to very eat
seriously. He was scaring Japanese waitresses by ordering 2 or 3 full
entrees.
DF: It’s cos they have too small portions out there.
J: Man you’re not gonna like Europe then (laughs) They don’t have Dufunk
sized portions over there.
You got to go to southern Europe then man, they’ll be so happy to see
that they’ll just keep feeding you.
J: Oh no, we’ve got to keep him away from that.
In Italy you get 2 starters before you even get to your main. Have some
pasta, some risotto. It’s dope man. I just got back from there with a
lot of food after a short, eating trip.
DF: Yeah I’ll be spending a lot of money on food.
You gotta, or eat it and bring the memories back with you. (laughs)
J: That’s a good one.
DF: Or a full stomach and a load in the bathroom on the other side of
the country (laughs)
“...[MF Grimm] loved ‘Will I Get Shot by a Dope fiend?’ and
asked if he could be on it and it happened...”
Ok well we’re done but I got one more quick question. Can you tell me
and the readers three things about Third Sight that we wouldn’t know.
One each.
(few moments of silence)
DF: If they don’t know who’s who…
J: I think they know who’s who! (laughs)
 DF: Nah let me see…
J: Just tell them something about Dufunk they don’t know.
Yeah let’s do it like that.
DF: I’ve been a DJ since 82. You know what I’m saying. And I like
Marvel, and I like eating. (laughs)
J: I think that’s self evident, they’re not gonna think you got that way
by being a vegan. (laughs) What about you D?
DS: Er… I guess a lot of people don’t know that there was another MC in
the group before.
Yeah I’ve just learnt that actually.
J: Yeah Smooth Tone that was his name.
DS: Where is he at now? Missouri?
J: Yeah I think he’s still in Saint Louis.
DS: And I wanna say someone out there bit his rhyme style.
J: Yeah I think the whole of Saint Louis did! (laughs)
DS: Everyone who rhymes out there bit his whole style I think.
J: Yeah he was originally from Queens, and he had this really early
rockaway Queens style, and he actually taught me a lot about that, that
New York pattering and I think it really helped me in my writing. He
used to have a lot of ‘Yes, yes ya’ll, shimmy, shimmy’ coco puff rhymes
and stuff. And then right after he moved out there a couple of years
later everyone started doing that so I don’t know.
DS: Yeah that’s it.
“...Rap is multifaceted. The one facet that doesn’t get much
shine is the original recipe, like KFC you know?...”
And you Jihad?
J: I listen to a lot Jamiroquai. (laughs) People probably don’t know
that.
DS: Nah he really does.
DF: Yup he does.
J: I’m not kidding!
Really?
J: Really, it’s true.
DF: You can print that.
Wicked I’ll give it to the British tabloids (laughs).
J: I was really upset, well no I wasn’t I was really ecstatic that we
were going on tour but I missed his first L.A gig in like 6 years. It’s
really a departure from our music but you know?
DF: He actually tries to sing like him! (laughs)
J: Nah that’s not true, I’ve got his moves down though. And I’m trying
to get some of his hats too.
What like the ones with the horns yeah?
J: Yeah the ones with horns, those are the ones. Women love horned hats
I don’t know if you know that? (laughs)
I haven’t got any experience of it, but I’ll take your word for it.
(laughs)
J: You should try it one of these nights. (laughs) Also D speaks a lot
of languages too by the way.
“...I don’t think we’re going after a formula, I think we just
make music we want to hear...”
Really?
DS: Nah I wish though. (laughs)
He speaks scratch though (laughs)
J: Yeah scratch, beats… he also speaks more Japanese then either of us.
DF: Yeah.
DS: Well I know words, enough to get by. The only language I really
understand and speak is a dialect in the Philippines.
J: Yeah that’s what I heard last night I didn’t even know that.
DF: Oh really?
DS: Yeah.
DF: How many dialects?
J: Just one he just said!
DF: Calm down!
J: You get an F for participation. (laughs)
I was gonna say you need to know Japanese, seeing as you’ve been out
there so many times.
DS: Yeah enough to get by, you know like ‘how much is this?’, bla bla
bla.
J: Would you like to challenge me to a game of ping pong? (laughs)
Seriously though he’s a ping pong and poker master I don’t know if you
knew that.
DF: Yeah.
I knew about the poker, but I guess the ping pong is one thing people
wouldn’t know about D-Styles.
DS: Oh yeah! There you go I’m a hardcore ping pong… er… ping pong…
player! (laughs)
Are you like some sort of secret ping pong master basically?
DS: Well actually it’s called table tennis, you say ping pong but that’s
an insult!
“...I heard you guys practically legalised weed out [in the UK]
so we’re coming out for sure!...”
I thought so, we call it ping pong in France, but we’re a bunch of
degenerates anyway so.
DS: Ha ha, right.
J: Heh I’m a degenerate too!
Wicked, well is there anything else you guys wanna say or tell people?
DF: Just wanna give a big shout out to everyone over there, nahm’
saying. Hope to see you all soon.
J: Did you vote for Tony Blair? (laughs)
Did I vote for him? Nah I don’t vote, I should really but I don’t.
J: Ah it’s cool. Seriously though thanks for the time, and hopefully we
can come out there and rock some spots. And then hang out and get some
chicken.
Ha ha, yeah it’s on me if you make it to London.
J: Careful we’ll hold you to that.
Yeah shit actually, thinking about it now after what you just said I
better start saving! (laughs)
J: I hope you got a good job!
Tell you what I’ll watch and you guys can eat.
DF: Yeah you got to all join in though, ain’t no fun if it’s just me.
J: It could be like its own reality show, ‘Dufunk eats’ (laughs).
So there you have it, Third Sight’s new album, ‘Symbionese Liberation
Album’, is out now in all good record stores.
-
Kper
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