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On an already freezing December evening, Kate and myself headed down to Brighton, through even colder cross Channel winds on some David Attenborough ish, to observe the mythical three headed beast:
The Cannibal Ox. We were well prepared with a fat bag of herbal tranquilisers and we were fortunate enough to catch the Ox frolicking with the lesser spotted 'Aes Rizzy', exploring these parts for the first time….
Ko: As far as battling goes, are you still doing a lot of that? © ukhh.com 2002
interview
0094 added 05.03.02 words
Kobi & Lady Cook
Kobi: So this is your first time over here isn't it?
Aesop Rock: Yes it is
Ko: So how are you finding the crowds?
AR: So far everything has been very, very dope. We haven't had a bad show; some have been better than others but everyone seems to have been receptive and we've done everything from 200 to like 3000 people, so we've been getting a lot of love. I know their record (Nodding towards Vast Aire, Vordel Megala and DJ Cip 1) came out here about 3 or 4 months ago and mine came out maybe about a month ago, so it's still fresh in people's minds but going to Scala I didn't think anyone would know it but we got a lot of love.
Ko: Yeah, they've always been pretty open at the Scala…
AR: It's because it's my first time here I didn't know what to expect…
Ko: Oh yeah definitely, have you had a chance to check out any British hip hop since you've been over here?
AR: Not too much 'cos we literally have been just travelling. This'll be our ninth show in a row and tomorrow's our first day off. We're travelling all day everyday and then we get to the venue…We're in every city for 15 hours tops. We haven't really heard much music tomorrow we're gonna try and explore a little during the day
Ko: Are you down here?
AR: Yeah we have a day off in Brighton.
Ko: There's definitely some interesting spots round here. There's a battle tomorrow. Brighton versus Bristol if you're about all day
AR: Oh really… Is there money involved?
Ko: I dunno there might well be…
Kate: Are you in London next week?
AR: We're there for a day
Ka: There's a battle on Thursday at Subterenia with a £750 prize. We could enter you and say that I know you and you're over from New York….
(Conspiratorial muttering followed by laughter)
Ko: That's good money, man…
One third of Cannibal Ox, Vast Aire, who had been suffering from a coughing fit for most of the interview suddenly perks up after hearing the words "money" and "battle" being mentioned in such close proximity…
Vast Aire: What did he say?
AR: There's a battle for £750….
VA: We all enter individually…..
AR: So one of us has gotta win
(Laughter)
One of us has gotta win
Aesoprock
AR: Not really, I think we're now established artists and we're like trying to make good songs…
VA: I battle…. Heads battle with reason, I still battle, but its more on a reason thing, you know, which is the basis of battling…
AR: I mean it's always fun battles when we're all together, but it's been a while since I've had to battle someone on some shit. Last time I thought I was gonna have to was in Oakland when I met the other Aesop, from Living Legends, and…
VA: People around us talked it up…I knew nothing was going down
AR: I'm cool with a lot of their crew and shit, but we were stood outside the venue like "Aiight he's rolling up", y'know and we didn't know if he was gonna be like "Whassup, y'know let's battle for the name" But he came up, he was like "WASSUP Y'ALL!"
VA: He mad cool, peace to the Living Legends…But like battling is for a reason. I'll battle if I'm being attacked, or crews are trying to attack my crew…I'm a musician, man and heads are musicians, we trying to….
AR: We're musicians and we're not 18 anymore so no-one's gonna instigate anything, we've all proven ourselves with albums. I'm 25 and these cats are 24-25. I'm just trying to make good songs
VA: Yeah I'm trying to make incredible albums…
AR: Not even battling… like in New York a lot of years were spent ciphering just open mics and trying to prove yourself…
VA: Yeah!…. We done that for years. We don't have 20 albums that are all banging. That's the realm that we wanna be in now recording banging music, touring the world and strengthening our labels and our name as artists. I did that when I was sixteen…when I was eighteen I did all the battle and all that won some, lost some, technically won some…Went through all that, I'm done with that, I do my music now…
AR: It's a learning thing…
VA: I do my music now, yaknamean? But heads will battle if ya come out ya face, heads will show you its not all gravy all the time, you know, 'cos there's some young cats that are so hungry that's all I know. All they know is "In order for me to get light, I gotta come at Aesop or Vast 'cos they got all the light" They don't understand that our light is coming from years of winning battles and reputations from good shows and good songs….
AR: It's longevity. Cats know we've been rhyming for a while…
VA: It's not just I beat some dude in a battle, got money and was able to come the next week and do three songs. It's not always like that…
AR: Young kids wanna just step on the scene and be the kid who beat Aesop Rock outta nowhere, y'know instead of just doing their thing at open mics and building a rep…It's just like stupid, go and do your thing, grow up with your generation, and be dope for what you are… You never pass battling. Some of the songs we do now are still talking shit, but that's just a definite foundation for hip hop…
VA: Sometimes….I just have to talk shit! That's a record in my assault. I know how to say things to touch something…
AR: There's always a joint that's like by the way, for all y'all that think we're just on this shit, I can still destroy you if you want me to (Laughs)
VA: That's how I did it. For years all I did is enter open mics. I didn't try to battle the people that were making noise. They're putting records out, they're performing every week, they got they songs on vinyl…
AR: People try to slip their foot through the door, before even going into the hallway….
VA: For years all I did is just enter the open fucking mics. That's all. I just want the crowd to know that I'm nice too.
Ko: Yeah, for sure…
VA: Then it became you do the open mic and you get in a cipher outside once it ends…
AR: Which is almost as if you've got more to prove then…
VA: Between those two that's how I got my name, that's how we all got our name out. I ain't never seen none of us disrespect somebody at they show while they performing, you know what I mean?
Ko: Definitely man…
VA: I never entered a circle and just …I asked to come in a circle. When a circle was closed you don't just walk in there. I asked to go in. Someone opens they shoulder, now I'm in there and I'm waiting my turn, yaknowwhamsayin? It's a respect thing. A lot of it is unspoken heard, you just gotta have common sense…If its already closed, you gonna come over and cut someone off you don't know, you don't understand….
At this point Vordel Megala, the second of the Can Ox MC's enters the room, munching a burger…
Continue on to Part
2
