The Jux stops here

>> El-P has a field day with his Def Jux cohorts

by SCOTT C

It’s hard to believe that, even though one-man-show El-P has performed across Europe and seen the shores of Japan many times with hip hop originals Company Flow, he’s never been out on a national tour. The accomplished label head, producer and MC heads up the first-ever Def Jux cross-country jamboree, which features the various talents of label affiliates Mr. Lif, RJD2, Copywrite, Cage and Soul Position, all on one stage. I spoke to the man behind one of the most innovative and consistently challenging hip hop labels in the world today, calling in from a restaurant in NYC.

Mirror: What does the term “underground hip hop artist” mean to you in 2002?
El-P: It doesn’t really mean much to me. It’s not really something that I call myself. I’m a musician. The people that listen to the music, not the people who make it, create those kinds of things. Realistically, it’s for lack of a better term. I mean, you sell a certain amount of records, and you’re on a certain level in the industry. I don’t really care, I just question its validity.

M: It’s like, when do you stop being underground?
E: Exactly. Is it after you’ve sold a million records, and are making the exact same music? It’s completely ridiculous, but I understand that these classifications exist, and they don’t seem to be going away anytime soon.

M: Have you guys actually started this tour yet?
E: No. It officially goes into full swing later this week, when we get out on the bus. This is my very first tour-bus tour, and we’re all on the same bus.

M: That sounds like it could be like a Grade 8 graduation trip or something.
E: It could be, and I would know what that meant if I’d ever graduated from anything (laughs).

M: Let’s call it a class trip.
E: Yeah! A class trip with hedonistic rappers!

M: I’m assuming that all is well in the Def Jux universe right now.
E: Shit. I guess we’re creating that universe as we go, right? I’m never content, but I’m never dissatisfied because we’re always making progress and moving ahead. I guess if, in two years, we’re still at the same level, then I’ll know if I’m happy or not. Right now it’s up to us, and it’s our job to make whatever we want this to be.

Aesop’s Fable
M: Do you stick to the goals that you set for yourself?
E: Honestly, yeah, I do, but I set long-term goals, which makes it easier for me when they don’t come true (laughs). Naw, really, that’s the type of cat I am. Everything has sort of been laid out as a long-term plan, and so far everything has unfolded the way I had hoped it would. Where we are and the response to the music we make, and what we’re able to do right now for our artists is right on track.

M: When you take on a new artist, are you still walking into clubs and getting blown away by young MCs who you have to talk to after the show, or is it a long process that happens
over time?
E: It can be a long process, because for me, working with an artist is really about me vibing with them, feeling their shit and feeling them as people. There are people that have been around us for a long time that eventually came into the fold, because it was right timing and it just felt right, y’know? There are other times when it’s like, this cat is the shit and I need to get down with him. That’s how it was with RJD2. I was like, alright, I have to put this record out.

M: What about Aesop Rock?
E: With Aesop, I didn’t really know him that well, but he was kind of hanging around, and we slowly became friends, and then I really started to get into his music. Eventually, I asked him if he wanted to be down with us, and it was more of a slow, natural growth. We’re not really walking around trying to scoop up and sign dudes like, “I think you got da stuff, kid, and I’m gonna make you a star!”(laughs) It’s really more on some friends shit. I mean, eventually that will change too, it always does.

M: Got to keep it fresh.
E: Your resources of having a bunch of friends who are talented eventually run out. It’s important to keep shit fresh, with new blood, and that’s what I want my label to be about. I believe in doing new music, building careers. The great thing about hip hop is that there’s always a new guy in there, kicking his shit differently and interesting. If cats want to fuck with Def Jux and put their careers in our hands, it means a lot to me. It’s not something I take lightly. :

With RJD2, Mr. Lif, DJ Fakts One, Cage and Copywrite at Rainbow-Ites on Friday, Sept. 20, 9pm, $20, all ages

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