|
 Iriscience Interview
interview 0085 added 01.10.01 words HennaCee
It's 6pm on Tuesday 25th Sept, and I'm sat at home in my room, I've got my pen and pad, and I've plugged my hands free kit into my mobile.
Why? Cause I'm awaiting a call, not just any call but one from someone with awesome lyrical dexterity.
Now if you've read my Dilated Peoples review of their jam @ the University of London union, you might have an idea who I might be waiting for, and for you people, this is only part 2 of what's gunna be a 3 part thing.
For those of you that ain't seen the review then I'll enlighten you, I was waiting for a call from one of the Dilated Peoples. I had no idea which one; I was just told one would be calling me.
So it's now 5 past 6 and my mobile rings... after hearing and talking to some American lady from the record company, I hear a "Hello, is this HennaCee?" to which I reply " yeah man... who am I speaking to?".
It's Iriscience, one 3rd of the group Dilated Peoples, he explains that he's been told he's gunna do an interview, but he's got no idea what or who for, and that the other two 2rds, (Evidence and Babu) ain't with him.
So we have a brief chat, and I start to hit him with a few questions:
… Yeah man...Europe’s getting hit with it a whole 24 hours before us here in the states, so we'll be back to promote that…
So tell me, in your view how's "Expansion Team" different to "The Platform" and what’s the story behind the title?
Well over here in sport, when you get a new team that competes, their called an expansion team, a team that makes the league bigger, and we just felt it was another meaning for us as Dilated Peoples, as for a different approach, nah man... only that "Platform" took a few years ya know, and we put that out through ABB Records. With this one, it was done in pretty much about a year, and we feel that it's more focused in terms of what we're all about.
Cool...so how long you 3 been together as a unit?
Well I’ve known Evidence since about 92, and Babu joined us in about 96 -97.
Ok, so "Expansion Team" is set to drop in the UK on Oct 22nd, is that right?
Yeah man...Europe’s getting hit with it a whole 24 hours before us here in the states (he laughs), so we'll be back to promote that.
Yeah, it would be nice to hook up for a more informative and face to face interview when your back over,
Oh no doubt, See we been touring and opening for Linkin Park and shit, but we gunna do our own thing soon, but we just be waiting for people to calm down and shit (he's referring to people being on edge since the shit that went down in the US) so we're just in chill mode right now,
Only thing I'd say about you guys coming back is, hit bigger venues man, see I was at your London jam, and in my opinion, you guys should have been playing a larger place, what do you reckon?
(laughs) Cheers man, but really, we didn't go all out for that, as it wasn't really our tour, but we love London man, so when we got the chance to do a thing for our type of people, with pure Hip Hop, that was like home man, Hip Hop is home for us. We just wanted to do a tight show, for our people...venue size didn't really matter.
Ok, now I ain't really gunna go into great detail with questions and shit until we meet proper, but one thing I've noticed is that, Babu features heavily in most if not all of your tunes, now is that something that was done consciously, or is that just the way shit turned out, see that's one of things that I think separates you guys from various other Hip Hop that I'm hearing nowadays.
(L-R) Evidence, Iriscience and Babu
|
Man, Babu's my band, he's my all.
See, I've always been around the DJ, from when I started rhyming, but Evidence, when we hooked up with Babu, Evidence was like, how's he gunna fit, but me, I don't like going on stage to a DAT ya know, most crews seem to forget that the Dj is the whole backbone to this Hip Hop, and yo, if you ain't got no backbone, you can't stand straight, ya know what I'm saying. So yeah, Babu's decks are ALWAYS plugged in, he ain't no background gimmick to stand in the back and make us look good, Dilated is a 3 piece unit man, and Babu's there to do a job, and he's got to be one of the best at it.
Yeah I hear ya an that, loads of people seem to forget that the DJ laid the foundations of Hip Hop, DJ's were the pioneers man, and speaking of pioneers and shit, Erick Sermon...He did a remix of "The Platform" how did that come about, and why didn't ever get released?
Man, we just wanted to do something a little different, something that wasn't us, ya know. Erick Sermon came down with Dj Scratch and the truly blessed us, but we never really planned to release the remix as a track in it's own right, although we did put on later copies of "The Platform".
On that note, is there anyone that you wanna work with that you haven't had the chance to yet, as you've hooked up with some notorious and sought after heads in Hip Hop.
Yeah man, I'll tell ya, Erick Sermon is like super cool, ya know, he's such a nice guy, and then to get people like "Premier" call you up and say, "Hey I got these beats for yah, do you like them" and then to link with him in the studio and to ask him "So did you like that rhyme" man that was dope, what you gotta realise is the Premier ain't just about Hip Hop, he's a all round producer man, but we've worked with like, Beatminerz, Quest Love, Alchemist, man working at D&D studios was a mad experience man, but I'll tell you what though, I was speaking to my man Charlie 2na.. (Jurassic 5) when over in the UK and he made me mad jealous man
Yeah, Why's that?
Well he's done a couple of tracks with Roots Manuva man, and you don't know how much I wanna work with that cat, I was saying to Charlie to give me just one of the tunes, ya know, (he's laughing again). But I love Roots man, you got a lot of nice people over there, from Blak Twang, SkinnyMan and that Mud Family, Killa Kela, see I was working with Vadim and that, so it was mad nice, and we're gunna be doing some stuff when we come back over, but it's Roots... I love that man, even back from early stuff.
… I don't like going on stage to a "DAT" ya know, most crews seem to forget that the DJ is the whole backbone to this Hip Hop, and yo, if you ain't got no backbone, you can't stand straight…
So you're liking what we got over here?
Oh no doubt, the UK is on fire right now, and you guys always show us mad love, see, we've played the big festivals and shit over there, like Glastonbury and Reading, so it's nice to do the Hip Hop venues over there as well.
Cool, so back to people you would like to work with, what about from the US.
Well as for my personal favourites that I would dearly like to work with, man I'd have to say Gill Scott Heron, and KRS 1.
See when I first heard KRS, I was like damm, the way he mixed his political view so expressively in his music, I was like damm, shit like from "Blue Print" and "Edutainment"... oh and Public Enemy, everyone from the black ghetto thug to the rich white kid loved at least one PE joint, they we're just so political, but with a mad mass appeal, it was most def cool to be banging a PE joint in you car, and hey most of us was. PE were the shit.
So Oct 22nd. Expansion Team drops and you guys are gunna come and promote that one.
Of course man, you know what else I like about London, I like shopping for shoes in Camden, and checking out Mr Bongo's, going down stairs in the basement to all that special hidden shit, but hey can I ask you a question? (I'm like yeah ok, thinking what can he want me to tell him) Is your name really HennaCee?
Yeah man, it goes from way back, and yeah it's linked to the drink as well.
Man the Liquid Crew (Alcoholiks) would love you over here"
It's on that note that we decide we really need to hook up, and we talk more about how long we been doing this shit now, (Him being 29 and me being 30) and he realises that I rhyme as well, he goes mad and insists that we meet when Dilated are next in the UK, I agree that it would be nice, and he suggests we hang out and "Buy Shoes", we then exchange numbers and shit, and say are goodbyes.
I put the phone down think, that's Iriscience has got to be one of the nicest guys I've ever spoken to in this Hip Hop thing, and promptly type up what is part 2 in my 3 part series.
Dilated Peoples are coming back to the UK, not just yet, but soon, and when they get here, Damm... you guys will just have to watch this space as they say.
If you didn't get the picture, the new Dilated Peoples album 'Expansion Team' is out on the 22nd October
 
|
