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Chairmen of the board >> After 10 years, Gangstarr still sits at the head of the table of the underground hip hop feeding frenzy by SCOTT C
Mirror: You're a hard man to get a hold of! Guru: I was in the studio working with one of my groups all night, so I didn't get up until 5 p.m. M: That explains it. How'd that show with the Roots and Macy Gray go the other night? G: Off the hook! That was one of the best shows of my career. They cut our time though, so we didn't get to do all of our shit. M: They cut you off? G: We only had 50 minutes to perform, and our show is a hour and a half. M: Well, that's good to know. Have you played with the Roots before? G: Once, with Jazzamatazz. Actually it was a couple of times. M: That would be a hell of a show to see. After playing alongside a group like that, do you think there's still a spirit of competition in hip hop? Something that inspires people to stay creative? G: Oh yeah. There's still that battling aspect. Skills are still important too, it's just that there's the whole money thing now. The difference between the old days and now is it was purely about art, skill and love. But 50 per cent of it now is about money. M: Only 50 per cent? G: At least, I'm sayin'...
Street platinum status M: So if there's a split, with the underground guys over here and the commercial guys over here, where does Gangstarr see itself? Are you within these boundaries? G: We set our own boundaries, so it's not about following anybody else. If you were to put us anywhere, I guess we would be the "chairmen of the board" of the underground (laughs). Y'know, cause we still never went platinum. Even though we're popular worldwide and we got "street platinum" respect, respect from our colleagues and peers in the industry, we're still a little bit underrated and under-promoted. M: You said you were working in the studio all night with one of your groups? G: I'm workin' with this guy Smiley the Ghetto Child who was on the Group Home album on a song called "The Realness." The Group Home album is coming out soon too. I'm executive producer of that album. Lil Dap is like my homeboy for life. I love that dude. And Premier is doin' their next single called "The Legacy." We're recording that on Saturday. Premier is executive producer of Afu Ra, who everybody knows from Jeru's albums. M: Are you guys still down with Jeru? G: Jeru's my boy but he's producing his own stuff, he wants to produce his own beats. So we don't have any business together, but we puff lye and shit. He just comes by and hangs out. M: So there's no beef or hard feelings because he wants to make his own beats? G: Naw, that's all rumors. You know how that goes. M: You guys have always seemed to keep a pretty tight crew around from the beginning, and all those guys have stuck with you through the years. Big Shug, Jeru, Lil Dap, Freddy Foxx. How important is that to the group dynamic? G: You know what it is? All those guys are from the days when I was eatin' 50-cent noodles, and they used to take me to their moms' houses to eat. So I can't forget them. At the same time, if they're talented, I'm a show them how to walk their dogs, I'm a help them out. M: Does that kind of loyalty have anything to do with you guys lasting so long? G: There's a huge connection, because that's what kept me in touch with the streets. That's why a lot of other rappers fall off. They don't stay connected, they start livin' good and they forget about their roots.
No substitute M: Comin' back to this side of the border, I heard you did a song with Choclair on his new album. G: Oh yeah. He's actually a label-mate on Virgin too, so it was easy. I've always been into the scene in T.O. with Saukrates, Kardinall, Rascalz. There's a lot of talent out there and I support that. M: What's the song called? G: "Bare Witness." They laid the track and then brought it down here where we put the vocals down and sent it back to Toronto to be mixed. M: Are you planning any more Jazzamatazz installments? G: Hell yeah! I got Jazzamatazz Vol. 3 comin' out next year. I want to get people like Sade and Rakim on a Premier track, know what I mean? I also want to do another Gangstarr album, a couple more actually. I also want to do some acting. M: Oh yeah? Have you done anything like that before? G: I was in a movie called The Substitute 2. I'm starting to read for some more parts and get into that. I been doing that for a while on the low. If you ever get a chance to check that movie out, that's me in there, man (laughs). M: Is that the one with Tom Berenger? G: No. Part 2 is with Treat Williams, you're thinking of part one. I play this guy called Little B, this little thug and shit (laughs). There's a lot of things I want to do, man. I want to get a label. I'm doin' some things with Ill Kid under my alias, Bald Head Slick. We got an underground album comin' out next year with them. I did a track on there with Masta Ace, Big Daddy Kane.
Secret formula M: As an MC, how important to you is a dope beat, or does it even matter? G: It's everything. The beat is everything, because you won't even want to listen to the lyrics if the beat isn't dope. Most people catch the music first. In fact, the formula that we use starts with titles. I give song titles to Premier and he picks the song titles that he thinks are dope. He puts those titles on a wall and every day he picks one to work on, and he makes the music around the title. He creates the atmosphere like that. Then I write the lyrics after that, and finally he puts the scratches after I put the lyrics. M: Wow. Systematic! The formula is definitely working, man! G: (laughs) Thank you!
With Choclair at the Spectrum on Saturday, August 21, 8pm, $22 |
While the world of hip hop is filled with hundreds of stories of groups who jumped on the bandwagon only to subsequently fall off a short time later, there are far fewer stories of consistence and long-standing success. The success of NYC duo Gangstarr has roots that reach back to the old school, and a list of hip hop classics that have kept heads steady bobbin' for the last decade. They may not have broken any records for number of units sold, and they may not be the most high profile group in the history of hip hop, but Guru and DJ Premier know how to make music that innovates and inspires, challenges and crushes the competition, all in one shot. I spoke to Guru in New York last week, as his cellphone slowly died right before our ears.