After him, the deluge

>> Dilated Peoples MC/producer Evidence’s predictions for his solo debut The Weatherman

by SCOTT C

Hailing from sunny Venice, California, Evidence is best known for his role as an MC/producer in underground hip hop group Dilated Peoples, who formed in 1997 and released their fifth album 20/20 last year. This week, Ev’s first solo album, The Weatherman, on ABB Records, makes its way to the people after years of classic beats and bars from this hip hop original. The Mirror rang Evidence up in Venice.

Mirror: What would you say is the main factor driving your career in 2007?

Evidence: Well, I got my solo album dropping tomorrow, and it’s really a brand new day for me. I kind of feel reborn with this record. I still have my same work ethic and my principles are pretty much the same, and I haven’t really deviated from the path I started out on. Things evolve though, and you either evolve with them or you become extinct, so I’ve tried to hold on to my hunger. I’ve tried to rid myself of old ways and habits, but my excitement every day is just being independent again, and putting my grind to the test with the understanding that it’s gonna be a reflection of me at the end of the day.

M: If you look back to when you were on the road and in the studio with Dilated Peoples, how far back were the seeds planted for this solo outing?

E: When we first hooked up to do Dilated, that was always our intention. If you look in the liner notes on the inside of Expansion Team in 2001, I wrote, “Look out for our solo LPs coming soon.” I was really convinced that it was gonna happen a lot sooner than it actually did. We were under contract with Capitol, and if I wanted to put out a solo record, I would have had to sign a separate five-album deal on top of the five-album deal we had with Dilated. Tying yourself up anywhere for 10 albums is not a good look. I also thought it was a conflict of interest to have my solo LP on the same label as the group, so I had to be patient and wait the contract out, which was very trying. After we fulfilled our contractual obligations last year with 20/20, I took advantage of the freedom and jumped into the studio to do this record.

Eyes off the prize

M: Talk to me about what comes with winning a Grammy, because not a lot of underground hip hop cats can say they’ve done that. Did everything change, or is it just another trophy on the mantle?

E: First and foremost, I’m a “co-producing” Grammy Award winner (laughs). I co-produced “Last Call, ” and Kanye West gets the credit where credit is due. I just brought him a rough sketch, and he took that sketch and made it into a masterpiece.

M: Stop being modest, man.

E: (laughs) He really did his thing on that, man, I can’t even lie. It’s similar to winning Junos for Swollen Members records, I guess, but I don’t really trip off that too much. If it was me actually going up there and accepting an award, it would be a different thing, but right now it’s more or less just another trophy on the mantle.

M: When I’ve asked other artists what they’re listening to at the moment, a lot of hip hop cats have started their list with their own music and then gone on from there. Is that the case with you?

E: My rule is to play the shit out of my record until the day it drops to the public, and then I put it down. It’s fun for me to listen to it while I know the rest of the world doesn’t have it, but once they have it, I don’t really need to listen to it anymore because other ears have the creation.

M: So what are you listening to to get amped, man?

E: I’m listening to my album one more time! (laughs) I got one more day before I put it down.

With the Alchemist, Mr. Choc, Malicious and
DJ Manzo at Foufounes Électriques on
Wednesday, March 28, 9 p.m., $14