- 1 week ago
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00:00Yes!
00:01Bimba bless you, TV South Africa!
00:07Oh!
00:09I don't know where the show is, not about the distance.
00:11I'ma take it to my phone.
00:12Take it to the phone.
00:15Take it to the phone.
00:16I don't really think I'ma be hot.
00:19I'ma watch it out when you're scotting to come, what?
00:22I'm keeping it up in the street, that shit.
00:25I'm keeping it up in the street, that shit.
00:25I'm keeping it up in the street, that shit.
00:27Ah, there we go, there we go.
00:29There we go.
00:30There's nothing like hip hop music.
00:34Can I turn the phone?
00:35Can I turn the phone in our ways?
00:38Yo, OG.
00:39Is the phone good?
00:40Is the phone good this way or you want me to turn it the other way?
00:44Oh no, it's fine like this.
00:46Yeah, yeah.
00:46Welcome.
00:47Welcome.
00:49What's good?
00:50What's good?
00:51I'm good, I'm good, I'm good, OG, man.
00:54Welcome to PopNation TV, South Africa.
00:56Yeah.
00:57Good to be, good to be here, man.
00:59I love it out there.
01:00I look forward to the next time I can come back to your country, man.
01:05Definitely, definitely.
01:06I mean, cause, cause, cause, cause, um,
01:09Blue's coming to perform at Back to the City, in Johannesburg.
01:14I saw that.
01:15And, uh, Slum Village as well in Epsil.
01:18I saw that.
01:19I saw that.
01:20I was, I was like, man, I was on that.
01:24Yeah.
01:27For sure.
01:28For sure.
01:28For sure.
01:29For sure.
01:30For sure.
01:30Yeah, man.
01:31Um, but yeah, man, I'll see you, man, when the, when the universe makes it right.
01:36That's right.
01:37It's definitely gonna happen.
01:38Definitely.
01:40But yeah, yeah.
01:41I see you're a busy person.
01:43You're a busy man.
01:44How's, how's the day been going?
01:47The day has been going fine.
01:49Um, just, uh, I just spent the afternoon, um, pulling out my MPC.
01:56I haven't, I haven't, I haven't touched my MPC in 20 years, over 20 years.
02:03Wow.
02:04Wow.
02:04And I, and I just pulled it out of, uh, the, uh, out of the garage.
02:08Um, and I'm gonna have to re, I gotta relearn everything.
02:13You know what I'm saying?
02:13I, I got a friend of mine that's gonna, gonna show me the ropes.
02:16Cause I don't, I haven't touched this thing in years.
02:21So yeah, he's, I'm basically learning all over again.
02:25Whoa.
02:26Wow.
02:26Wow.
02:27Wow.
02:29So, so, so, so, so, so like, so I guess maybe sooner I will, I'll be rapping on a,
02:34on a mustache feet.
02:36Maybe you rap, you rap.
02:39Yeah.
02:39I'll send you, I'll send you, I'll send you a link.
02:43Um, and, and you'll give me your, your, your, your, your honest view.
02:48Listen, you should send one of your songs into my, my TikTok show.
02:52I do a TikTok show Monday and Friday and Fridays for all.
02:55Monday and Friday.
02:57For sure.
02:57Send a song in.
02:58Send a song in.
03:00For sure.
03:01I'm, I'm looking forward to it.
03:03All right.
03:04For sure.
03:05For sure.
03:06For sure.
03:06But yeah, man, Ochi, man, um, before we start, man, uh, you've been doing this for
03:11like almost, uh, four decades now.
03:16Almost.
03:17That's, yeah, that, that's, that's amazing.
03:21So, so, so, so, so when you look at, so when you look at the, the man you are when
03:27you started and also the man sitting here today, what, what do you feel like, uh, has
03:35changed the most about you?
03:37Man, a lot.
03:39Um, I was a kid, man.
03:41I was 22 when I started doing this.
03:44And well, I was younger than that when I started rapping, but as far as making records, I was
03:4922 when I went in the studio and I really didn't know what I was doing.
03:54I was learning and I didn't know a thing about song making album making.
04:00Um, you know, the idea of a concept album, like none of that stuff was, it was all brand
04:05new to me.
04:06Um, I was learning as I went along.
04:09Um, but I think that the, the, the, the main thing that's different about me is that
04:16and now I am not as concerned as I was when I was young, I'm not as concerned.
04:23I'm not as concerned about other rappers liking my raps.
04:29Um, it's, it's about the fans and the people that buy music and, uh, support music.
04:35Um, I'm speaking to them.
04:37I'm not, I think when I first started, I was speaking to other rappers and I'm not really
04:41doing that anymore.
04:43Oh, wow.
04:45Wow.
04:46That's, that's a, a, a, a real sign of maturity.
04:50And, and, and at the time when you were 22, um, did you ever feel like, um, what you were
04:59creating, um, would go beyond New York?
05:05No way.
05:06No way.
05:06No way.
05:07Um, there's no way I could have imagined.
05:12Being able to go to the places that I've gone around the world strictly based on music based
05:20on me rapping over beats.
05:22Like I never would have imagined it or pictured it.
05:25Um, and it's been, it's been quite a, quite a journey.
05:31Hmm.
05:33Cause I see also, I mean, um, you, you were like surrounded by like very influential people
05:40like Molly Maul, Coochie Rap, Big Daddy Kane, the Biz Marquee.
05:48Um, did you feel like, um, you understood, uh, that, that you were standing inside a like
05:56hip hop history or did you feel like you were just a young MC trying to make the next record?
06:03All, all I know is I was surrounded by cats that were incredible artists.
06:11And I was just trying to see if I could fit in somewhere.
06:14Like I was just trying to find my way.
06:16Cause he Kane is over here with his crazy bars.
06:19He reps over here with these astronomical bars.
06:21Biz Marquee's doing these incredible songs and anthems, you know?
06:26And, um, I'm like, well, I, I, I, I understood what the bar was and I just knew that I
06:33had
06:34to, to, to, to fight to, to have a voice on the label and to have a voice in, in
06:40the game.
06:40And so, um, I knew it was going to be a tough, tough, you know, to, to, to be noticed.
06:46Um, and it really took me leaving that label and getting out of that crowded, talented pool
06:52pool of, of artists to really like get an opportunity to shine.
06:56That's why I went to delicious final, uh, for my second album.
07:02Whoa, whoa.
07:03So, so, um, but, but, but what I've realized, right?
07:07Like, um, one of the things that like has separated you, right?
07:11Um, from, from many MCs, like you have that ability to create, uh, characters like, um, and also like narratives.
07:20Like where, where, where do you feel that instinct, uh, to tell stories came from?
07:28That's always been, that's always been in me since I'm talking about since probably 12 years old.
07:37Wow.
07:38It's just something I was born with.
07:39I remember taking a, an exam.
07:42Um, it was like one of these, uh, standardized, uh, statewide tests.
07:47I was in seventh grade and the, the, the assignment, um, that was on this test.
07:55And this was like every kid in the city took the same test.
07:58And the assignment was, they, they gave us a word bank and the word, it might've had 25 words.
08:04And it was said, use some or all of these words and create a story using the words.
08:10Mm.
08:10And I had so much fun writing my story using, and I used all the words, like you didn't have
08:16to use all the words.
08:17I used all the words and I created this story.
08:21And, um, the teacher, the, so we didn't put our names on the exam.
08:27So no, no, none of the teachers knew who did what.
08:30Right.
08:30And so the teacher that a couple of days later we were asking, Hey, whatever happened with
08:34that, you know, that test.
08:36Um, and she was responsible for grading some of the tests, I guess.
08:41And she was like, you know, um, the teachers, we all sat down and we're grading the test.
08:46And there was just one paper, um, that, that was just like, they had this, it was just like,
08:50so, so imaginative and so, you know, and she was like, she starts telling parts of the story.
08:56And immediately I know it's my story.
08:58I'm like, Oh, she's talking about my paper.
09:00Um, and I never said, I never said, Hey, it was me.
09:04I just sat there and listen.
09:06And that moment I think gave me validation that I was, I, that I was kind of on the right
09:13path with what I, what I was feeling and what I was writing.
09:15So that, that moment in seventh grade, you know, when I was 11, 12 years old was a big
09:21moment, um, and, and, and kind of validating me as a storyteller.
09:27Hmm.
09:28Hmm.
09:29Hmm.
09:29And, and so, so do you feel like, um, when, when you're telling somebody else's story,
09:37like through a character, um, how much of, uh, Master, Master Ace is actually hiding inside
09:46that character?
09:47Um, I, yeah, I always pull from my life a little bit, bits and pieces experiences.
09:56Um, I pull from people that I've encountered along my life and people that I grew up with,
10:03bits and pieces.
10:04And I create a whole new, I create a whole new character, but it's based on three or four
10:09people that I, that I know or that I met.
10:12Um, and then sometimes there's, there's, there's pieces of me and my personality and what I,
10:18what I, uh, grew up around.
10:20Some of that shows up in these, in some of the characters too.
10:23Um, it's all fictional, but it's all based on real life people and real life situations.
10:33Cool.
10:34Cool.
10:35And so are there, are there any like particular books, like, uh, when you were, when you grew
10:40up that you feel like inspired you?
10:44I mean, there was a bunch of books, um, that we read like Catcher in the Rye.
10:51Like these are all like the books that they, every, they same books in every school in the
10:56US.
10:56Um, but then, um, I remember sister soldier wrote a book called coldest winter ever.
11:04And that might've been one of the first, like self written, you know, novels or whatever
11:11you want to call it.
11:12Um, and it was, it was a, it was a street book.
11:15It was about a girl streets and Harlem, I think.
11:18And the story, her story resonated with me.
11:24Um, in terms of the way sister soldier wrote the book and the characters that she described,
11:30I, I could relate to all of these people.
11:32Like I knew, I knew these people, like, even though I didn't know these people, I knew people
11:36just like this.
11:37And I knew, I knew girls just like this girl.
11:40That was her main character.
11:41Um, and it didn't make me want to write a book, but it definitely kind of, um, reinforce
11:50the idea of creating characters and writing stories.
11:55And I most recently took that and, and turned it into a, a, a play, a musical.
12:02I wrote a, I wrote a musical.
12:04Um, and it's called the falling season and it's in development right now.
12:09Um, we have a cabaret version of the show happening, um, next March at the world famous
12:16Lincoln center in New York city.
12:19Um, pretty, pretty big deal.
12:21Um, and we're going to be doing more of these cabaret performances.
12:26Um, but it's, it's basically a hip hop.
12:28It's a, it's a, it's a two act, um, musical, but it's a play.
12:34It's really a play with music.
12:35It's not the typical musical where every single line is sung.
12:38It's not that it's, it's, it's acting.
12:41And then there's a song and the song helps tell the story.
12:44And it took me about eight years to write it and, um, and counting cause I finished it
12:49in 2023, but I'm doing rewrites this year on act two.
12:53So it's still in the process, but you know, one day, hopefully, um, the falling season musical
13:00will, will show up in South Africa.
13:04Uh, I can't wait.
13:05I can't wait.
13:06That, that, that, that's going to be an exciting moment.
13:10And, and speaking of stories, right.
13:13Um, when you look at both of your albums, disposable arts, uh, I'm, I'm, I'm a fan.
13:24Uh, 25th.
13:27Yeah.
13:29Wow.
13:30Wow.
13:32And it feels like yesterday when I was 14 years old, uh, just, just hearing disposable
13:39arts.
13:41And also a couple of years later in high school, um, along with summer.
13:49Right.
13:50So these two albums are, are, are, are, are considered classics, right.
13:54By, by a lot of hip hop fans.
13:55I also agree with that.
13:58When, when you listen, um, back to those albums, right.
14:03Today.
14:04Um, is there something that you hear in them that maybe you couldn't hear when you first
14:10met them?
14:11Just like when you, you mentioned, um, the teacher, when, when, when she read your story.
14:20Um, I haven't listened to a long hot summer from beginning to end in a very, very long time.
14:25Um, I most recently listened to disposable arts because we did a, we did a anniversary
14:31tour in Europe.
14:34Um, and we, I performed the whole album from beginning to end, including all the skits.
14:38So I got to kind of revisit disposable arts and kind of, I had to memorize the songs that
14:46I've never performed before.
14:47I had to go back and listen to all of these songs and remember all of the lyrics.
14:51Um, but I just remember that time of recording that album and long hot summer, but really
14:58disposable, um, where I was kind of at a crossroads where I kind of thought probably this was going
15:03to be my last album.
15:04I felt like, um, the industry was kind of done with me and the fans were kind of done
15:09with me and I just wanted to make one last album and really make the exact album that I had
15:16in my head.
15:17Like I had these ideas for a while, like the, some of the skits and interludes, these were
15:24ideas that were written down years before this album came out.
15:27Um, and I said, well, this is probably going to be my last chance to really do this exactly
15:35what I have in my head.
15:37And so I went in and just really just tried to like put my all into this record thinking
15:43it was going to be the last album.
15:44So I wanted it to come out exactly the way I envisioned it.
15:48And it came out exactly how, and it was the first album of my career up to that point
15:54that was like, it came out exactly the way I wanted it to come out.
15:58Um, and then all that was carried over from that as well.
16:05Whoa.
16:06Whoa.
16:06And, uh, what, what, what do you think?
16:08Do you think there are particular like, um, formulas or skill sets of, of, um, creating,
16:18uh, an album that that's like a narrative, like for, for me, maybe for like for, for, for,
16:24for young MCs that might want to, to know how, how, how do you begin the journey?
16:30There is a, there is a certain skillset, I guess.
16:33Uh, I mean, you have to really have a passion about writing and storytelling, um, to really,
16:39really put, pull it off.
16:40But then you have to have an, uh, um, an attention to detail, um, when you're putting
16:46together these skits and interludes to make sure that the background sounds naturally like
16:50wherever you're supposed to be, wherever your characters are talking, it should sound like
16:55you're there.
16:55And, you know, we go to great lengths to bring in room sound and background sound.
17:00And maybe there's a car with music playing and it's two blocks away and not playing.
17:06Like these are all like little, if you have headphones on and you listen to like a long, hot summer,
17:12listen to the skits, you can really, really hear.
17:14It really sounds like we're on the block and this stuff is happening.
17:19Um, and it, it, it, it takes time to kind of develop that.
17:25And you gotta be willing to take the time to do it.
17:27It's fun for me.
17:27So I don't, it's not work.
17:29It's not tedious.
17:30It's like, this is fun.
17:31I can't, I can't wait for, and I know every single person is not going to take the time
17:35to listen to the skits and get into the skits and the story.
17:40Um, but I make it for those people that are like me, that want to put the headphones on
17:44and just close their eyes and, and picture everything that's happening.
17:49Um, those are the people that I really make these records for.
17:52And so I would say to young artists that are trying to do that same thing, you know, make,
17:59make an album that you would want to hear, make an album that you, if it wasn't you doing it,
18:06that you would, if you, if you've picked that album up in the store that you would be like,
18:09Oh, I want to play this.
18:10This is great.
18:11Um, and, um, make it entertaining.
18:14It's at the end of the day, we still are entertaining people.
18:19True, true, true.
18:20So, so, um, what was it intentional when, for example, um, in, in 2016, you did, uh, the,
18:30the fall in season, right?
18:32Um, was it intentional that you, you, you, you started the narrative from when, when you
18:39were like in your twenties or like, you know, uh, much older and then all the way down to,
18:46to bring to, to, to, to high school?
18:48Because some people would have maybe done, um, the typical way of coming out from here.
18:56Yeah.
18:58Uh, it wasn't, this is, it's not like Star Wars where, you know, he had, he had all his, all
19:10before they started coming out.
19:12Yeah.
19:12I, I didn't have that.
19:14It wasn't planned that way.
19:16Um, it, it just made sense when I did Son of Yvonne, they made doing Son of Yvonne.
19:22And that was dealing with my younger years.
19:25Um, it just made sense to go, uh, from that age to high school.
19:30And so it was really the connection between, um, and they doing Son of Yvonne album and the
19:37falling season, because on the, on the Son of Yvonne album, I'm like, just about to, I'm,
19:45I'm at the age where I'm about to go to, to middle school.
19:49Um, and so I was like, well, this next record, I want to, I want to like deal with the
19:54high
19:54school years.
19:55And then it was a great opportunity to bring back the Fats character, um, from, uh, from
20:02a long, hot summer.
20:03Um, since people, people love that character so much, it was a great opportunity to bring
20:08that character back.
20:09And, you know, I went to high school with guys just like that.
20:12So it was like perfect.
20:13Um, and it was just a cool way to kind of revisit it.
20:17Uh, so yeah.
20:20Well, well, and, and so, so when I, so speaking of, um, that kind of evolution, right?
20:31Um, you, you've watched, many of you guys have watched, um, hip hop going from vinyls, cassettes
20:41to CDs, downloads, you know, like streaming and social media and everything.
20:46Like.
20:47To what we have here.
20:49Right.
20:50Do you think, um, what, what do you feel like a hip hop gained from that evolution and
20:58what do you think it lost?
21:01I definitely think I'll start with what it lost.
21:05It lost, um, a real feeling and connection for the fans to the music, the physical music.
21:13There used to be something special about holding the CD or vinyl in your hand while you're listening
21:20to the album.
21:21And as you're listening to the album, you're reading the credits, you're reading, seeing
21:25who's featured on it.
21:26You're seeing, you know, who produced it.
21:28It's an experience that's, that, that, and now don't have the opportunity.
21:33Now you can just, you know, go to your streaming platform, press play on the, on the album and
21:39listen to it.
21:40And you don't know anything about the album and there's no connection.
21:42There's no physical, um, connection.
21:46Um, you used to have to go to a record store, physically walk in with your money, put it
21:52on the counter, buy this piece of art, take it home.
21:56Um, now it has more value to you cause you just spent, you know, $15 on this album.
22:04So you're going to try to get something out of it.
22:06You're going to, you know, you're going to find songs that you like and love and, and
22:10connect to.
22:11Um, and, and you're, you're almost certainly not going to risk that $15 on a project that
22:22you're not sure is going to be good.
22:24So there was a little bit more, um, care and with fans in terms of what they bought
22:29and what they trusted to buy.
22:31Um, I, I remember fans in the UK telling me that, um, anything that came out on cold chilling
22:39records, if they saw that pink label, they knew it was safe to buy.
22:42They didn't even question it.
22:43They just bought it because of the label.
22:46They knew that it was going to be something good.
22:48Um, but in terms of what, what we gained.
22:52Um, I guess we gained access.
22:55There's a lot more access for fans around the world, because there's a lot of places in
23:01around the world that didn't have record stores, didn't have a place to go buy music.
23:06Um, and for whatever, you know, government reasons, whatever.
23:11But now fans can just through the internet, they can now listen to music that they never
23:16may have had, have that have had access to.
23:19So that's one of the, I think, I think that's one of the positives from it is, is access around
23:24for fans around the world.
23:28Well, and, and from, from, from your opinion, do you think, um, there might be modern ways
23:35for us to go back to having that connection?
23:39I will, I hope so.
23:41Um, I don't, I don't know other, other than the live show.
23:45Cause I think that's really the only real way is, um, artists who tour like myself, um,
23:53coming to your city, um, and performing these songs.
23:59And, you know, I do, I do meet and greet after every show.
24:02Um, I go to the merch table and I meet the people, I take pictures and sign whatever people
24:08want me to sign.
24:09Um, those experiences, AI can't duplicate streaming platforms, can't duplicate.
24:16Um, and so for an artist like myself who, who tours actively tours, um, I try to make
24:23sure that the fans that pay money to come to my shows are going to feel like they got something
24:28different than they got if they just put in the, uh, into the streaming platform and
24:32press play.
24:35Well, wow.
24:37Wow.
24:37I mean, uh, also like speaking of connection, right.
24:41Um, you've had like the most influential MCs, like saying, like the, they look up to you,
24:50right.
24:51For example, um, even Eminem in his Grammys, when he gave you a shout out.
24:56Um, how was that like?
25:00And also, um, what's something about today's generation of MCs that you actually admire?
25:08Well, it's nice to get, um, acknowledgement by artists, like an artist is as huge as Eminem
25:15as, um, as popular, as famous as he is, um, that he had, you know, had it in him to
25:23mention
25:23my name among, you know, cats like LL and Kane and Rakim and people like that.
25:30Um, Tretch and Redman.
25:32Um, it was nice to be thrown into that mix of people that he feels, you know, that he
25:38was influenced by.
25:40Um, that, that, that, that's, that's, that's a beautiful thing.
25:44Um, what was the second part of your question?
25:48I'm sorry.
25:49Yeah, I was saying, um, what's something about today's generation of, of, uh, that you actually
25:58admire?
25:58Yeah.
25:59Well, I, you know, there are cats out there that's rhyming in schemes that, uh, that I
26:05won't even attempt.
26:07Like, uh, some of these double time faster schemes that they do.
26:13Like, I'm like, woo, like, and, and you can understand it.
26:17Like, um, if I attempted, uh, if I, if I attempted a style like that, I would be, I would,
26:24it would
26:25sound like jumble mouth.
26:26Like it wouldn't be clear.
26:27It wouldn't be crystal clear.
26:28So I admire some of the stuff that like a cat, like a J Cole does, or even, even a
26:33Kendrick
26:34or, or, or, or Drake.
26:35Drake doesn't really do the fast stuff, but he does, you know, styles that he has adopted
26:41in his songs are styles that I would never even thought to rap in that style or, or attempt
26:48that style.
26:49Um, so there's always still guys, you know, pushing the envelope in terms of.
26:56Uh, cadences and styles and I pay attention to all of it.
27:00I don't, I don't attempt all of it because I know what I'm capable of.
27:04Um, um, my, my ability to spit certain styles just doesn't, doesn't come naturally.
27:13Like there's a new song on the, um, album with me and Marco Polo, which is being, we're
27:19mixing it right now.
27:20It's coming out, um, end of this year, beginning of next year.
27:23Um, but there's a song on that album called 30 plus, where it's kind of a bounce, a bounce
27:28kind of, the vibe of it is like a bounce joint.
27:31And I love the beat and I'm like, I'm going to figure out how to rap to this.
27:35And I, I wrote it in a way where it's very more intricate, more intricate than I normally
27:42rap.
27:42Right.
27:43Um, but, but I, that's the one song on the album that I went back five or six times different
27:51days to redo the vocals because I still wasn't happy.
27:54It wasn't, it wasn't clear.
27:55It wasn't crisp.
27:56I didn't say everything the way I want it.
27:58And I just kept going back.
27:59Every time I went back to the studio, I want to do that one again.
28:03And Marco's like, oh man, the last one, I think the last one's okay.
28:05I'm like, nah, nah, I'm not happy with it.
28:07I want to do it again.
28:08And we, we, you know, we had to just, I had to get to a point where I liked it
28:12and it
28:12sounded clean and crisp and we got it to a point.
28:15So look out for that song.
28:16It's called 30 plus on a new master.
28:19I'm coming soon.
28:21Ooh.
28:22Well, I, I can't wait for it.
28:24So, so I mean, cause I mean, also, I mean like, um, when, when you did like, uh, the
28:30MA too, that was like different.
28:33What inspired that?
28:36That got inspired by my friend, a good friend of mine.
28:40Uh, his name is Roman open played in the NFL.
28:43Um, I'm riding in the car with him and he's playing these MF doom instrumentals.
28:51And I'm like, what is this?
28:52And he's like, this is, this is all doom's instrumentals.
28:54It's called special herbs.
28:55He's like, it's like four volumes, five volumes or something.
28:58This is just like two volumes of it.
29:00And I was like, yo, can I get a copy?
29:02He's like, yeah, yeah.
29:03So he, this, this was back when you, you know, we were still burning CDs for each other.
29:07Yeah.
29:09He, he burned me a, he burned me a CD.
29:12Um, of the special herbs.
29:14And that was just my driving music.
29:16I would just, you know, when I was driving around New York city, I didn't like listening
29:20to the radio.
29:20Cause it was the same old songs and a lot of the music I didn't care for.
29:23So I would always play the music.
29:25So I, I started playing that special herbs all the time.
29:29And after a couple months of driving with it, some of the beats started speaking to me.
29:34Like there's a song here.
29:35And I'm like, well, he already did a song to these, to these beats, but I think I want
29:40to just like do a mixtape.
29:41And so that was the idea.
29:43I'm gonna do a mixtape.
29:44I'm just going to wrap over, um, a bunch of these instrumentals and put it out as a
29:48free mixtape.
29:50And then, um, the, uh, Fab Beats records who, who's our distributor, they, I mentioned
29:57it.
29:57I mentioned it at a meeting that I was going to do this free mixtape and they were
30:01like, wait a minute, mixtape free.
30:03Hold on.
30:03We can turn this into an album.
30:05And once they started giving me that energy, like they wanted it to be an actual real album.
30:11Um, then I went in and I said, I'm going to write it a certain way and I'm going to
30:15tell
30:15a story.
30:16And that's when it turned, that's when it took, took shape.
30:18It was going to just be a bunch of raps over the, over his beats and we were just going
30:22to put it out on, you know, on internet or whatever.
30:24But Fab Beats stepped in and they, they, they, they're really the ones who turned it into
30:29a real album.
30:31Wow.
30:32Wow.
30:32And, um, I mean, since, since, uh, Doom has passed, um, do you feel like, um, what, what,
30:41what do you, uh, think people understood about Doom?
30:47And then what do you think, uh, they completely missed?
30:53I mean, there's a lot of people that still don't know about Doom.
30:57I would say real hip hop fans know all about Doom, but there's still so many people that
31:04have not dug into his music, um, in any real way.
31:08Um, I have some of, some of the guys that I rolled around with, even, I got a couple
31:12of DJ friends, um, that never even listened to a Doom record.
31:18Um, and I mentioned it and, and then, uh, and then like probably around the time that
31:23he passed, these guys started doing their homework and like, oh man.
31:29Yeah.
31:30And I'm like, why you gotta wait for him to, to God, you know, to, to die before you
31:34discover this music?
31:35Like it was always there.
31:37Yeah.
31:37And that's the question for each individual DJ and fan to decide for themselves.
31:42Why wait, um, until somebody passes to discover them when you had every opportunity to listen
31:48to it before.
31:49Um, um, but people miss, people miss his wordplay and, um, his very particular style of making
31:59words connect.
32:00I always liked the way he makes stuff connect.
32:03Um, and, uh, the voice, the voice is undeniable.
32:08Uh, great voice, great writer, great writer.
32:13Cool.
32:15Cool.
32:15Rest in peace to MF2.
32:17In peace.
32:18Um, for sure, for sure.
32:21Cool.
32:22And I mean, first forward, then, then you did an album, Brooklyn Story.
32:32Um, I think one of my favorite songs, there's the one where you featured, uh, Smith and Wilson.
32:40Yeah.
32:41Brooklyn.
32:41It's called Brooklyn.
32:42Yeah.
32:43Brooklyn.
32:44Yeah.
32:44Wow.
32:46Uh, yeah.
32:48I remember playing there when I was still in varsity.
32:51Okay.
32:52Um, yeah, yeah.
32:54Um, what inspired that?
32:56I mean, um, well, with you and Marco Polo and also, I mean, I love how you also conjured
33:05up his story.
33:07Yeah.
33:07When I heard the beat, um, when I heard the beat, it just felt like it needed to be a
33:14heartfelt
33:14story about Brooklyn.
33:16Brooklyn.
33:17Cause I felt at that time, there was a few songs about Brooklyn that were, that were
33:21like fairly new and they were floating around.
33:23And every single song was about crime and violence and drug selling.
33:29Brooklyn.
33:29And I was like, all these songs, it's all these songs about Brooklyn, but nobody's like
33:34pointing out or shining a light on the beauty of Brooklyn.
33:37It's beautiful.
33:37It's also a beautiful place.
33:39I don't want people around the world to think that it's just a grimy ass hole in the wall,
33:43hell hole of a place to live.
33:45It's there's beauty in Brooklyn.
33:46So I decided to try to, um, you know, bring out that part of Brooklyn.
33:53Um, so that's why, uh, and then the Smith and Wesson collab, I mean, I knew, I knew, I
34:00kind of knew what the hook was going to be.
34:02But, um, I want to say it was probably Marco's idea.
34:06Marco's always good with suggesting people to me, um, for, for hooks and for features.
34:14And it was like, it was like, yeah, that makes sense.
34:17You know?
34:18Um, and then we just made it happen.
34:21And those are my bros.
34:23They, you know, they bootcamp, everybody over at bootcamp, those that's like family.
34:27So, you know, they did it.
34:29They knocked it out super fast.
34:30I was happy that they were able to be in the video as well.
34:33Um, that just took the video to another, um, but yeah, shout to those brothers.
34:38Love them guys.
34:40For sure.
34:41For sure.
34:41And also, I also saw your feature with, um, Farrah March on the fight song.
34:50Yeah.
34:51Yeah.
34:52Yeah.
34:53What inspired that song?
34:57That song was inspired by a rapper named MC Paul Barman.
35:01Um, if you're familiar with the Disposable Arts album, like I know you are.
35:07Yeah.
35:07The character on that album that was my college roommate named Paul, that's Paul Barman, the
35:13rapper.
35:14And so, uh, one day we were just talking and he was the one who was like, yo man, what
35:22do you ever think about doing a song?
35:24You know, where you're like battling MS, but battling from like a raps, like as with your
35:29raps.
35:30And he had, you know, he gave me the idea.
35:32And I was like, that's a dope idea, Paul, but I don't really have a beat for that.
35:36And I said, if I come up with a beat for it, I'll revisit it.
35:39And then a couple of months went by and there was this one beat that, you know, Mark sent
35:44me and it wasn't arranged in the way that I would have wanted it to be arranged.
35:50And once I, once I got the vision for the song, I told him how I wanted him to arrange
35:54it with, with the drums only happening in the chorus.
35:57And he gave me a version like that.
35:59And once he gave me that version, then I could, then I wrote it really, really fast.
36:02I wrote my verse really fast.
36:04And once again, Marco with the suggestion on Pharoah Munch for the, for the feature, he's,
36:09he's been, he's been knocking it out of the park with the suggestions on features.
36:13Um, and we knew that Pharoah was going to kill it, which he did.
36:18Um, he really personified the disease.
36:21Um, once he heard my verse, he's like, oh man, this should, this, he's like, this should
36:25be nominated for a Grammy.
36:26Um, a couple of people said that, but you know, those are nice things for people to say.
36:32Um, and he just, he just felt like it was a great song that the world should hear.
36:37That was it.
36:40Well, well, well, well.
36:42And then, uh, so, so which, which songs would you say were like your favorite on, on Brooklyn
36:49story?
36:51Oh man.
36:53Oh boy.
36:54Brooklyn for sure.
36:57Brooklyn for sure.
36:58It's a couple, man.
37:00Damn.
37:01A couple of joints on that, on that album.
37:03Um, get shot.
37:05Of course.
37:07Yeah.
37:08Um, all the joints that we shot videos to, you know, was, was, was, oh, um, shoot.
37:14Um, sunken place is one of my favorites for sure.
37:17I love that joint.
37:20Don't can place.
37:21Um, there's a couple, man.
37:22Um, I, I, if I had it in front of me to look at the titles, I probably, I'm probably
37:27going to name four though.
37:28I'm not going to name one.
37:28Yeah.
37:29I got a couple, I got a couple of favorites on that album.
37:32A couple.
37:34For sure.
37:35For sure.
37:36And okay.
37:37Let's say, let's say if you had a time portal, right.
37:40And you were able to go back to the young master is who hasn't done any record yet.
37:48No, no store the house.
37:50No, no, no disposable.
37:52Ask nothing.
37:53Which song would you play him first?
37:56Which one would I play?
37:58Yeah.
37:59Which song would you play for him first?
38:01Like he hasn't written any, he hasn't done any album.
38:06He hasn't met, maybe he hasn't even met Molly Marl.
38:09He hasn't met Dick Dick Kane or anyone.
38:12Oh, I see what you're saying.
38:13So any record period, not my record, but any record, right?
38:17Any artist.
38:18No, no.
38:18I'm saying your record.
38:20My catalog.
38:21My catalog.
38:21Yeah.
38:22Or even any other catalog.
38:26So from my catalog, I would probably play him Son of Yvonne.
38:34Yeah.
38:35Because I would want him to, as a young kid to, you know, it's funny you bringing this
38:43up because we have a song on a new album called Little Me where I'm rapping to Little Me
38:48in the song.
38:49Like the song is, the verse is me rapping to me as a young man.
38:54And so one of the things is tell your mother that you love her more.
38:58So I would play Son of Yvonne to open my young eyes up to say, honor your mother and say,
39:06I love
39:07you.
39:07And, you know, when we're, when we're young and, you know, sometimes mom calls, you see
39:13your mother call and you're like, oh man, you know, you only want to pick up because you
39:17know it's going to be long.
39:18And, you know, it's going to be, man, let me answer this call.
39:23And so, you know, I tell, I tell, I always tell young people like, and I would tell my
39:30younger self, like, be, be, enjoy those calls, embrace those calls, embrace those times, those
39:39talks, ask questions, learn about her.
39:41There's so many questions that I didn't get to ask as a young man that I, that I, I was
39:48so busy trying to hurry up and get off the phone and get about my life and go, you know,
39:52go meet up with some friends or some girls or whatever.
39:55And so, yeah, it would be that song for sure, because it would be shedding a light on the
40:03younger me that, you know, sometimes our moms aren't here as long as we want them to be.
40:08So pay, pay attention.
40:12Wow.
40:13Wow.
40:14That's amazing.
40:15Because I even saw, um, the passion that you put in, in performing that song on the
40:22orchestra performance.
40:25Tiny Desk?
40:27Was it Tiny Desk?
40:29The one in, yeah, Tiny Desk and also the one in Germany, I think.
40:34Dusseldorf, yeah.
40:36Yeah.
40:37Yeah, yeah, yeah.
40:37The way you perform that song.
40:40I'm going to say, I'm going to say other songs are not, are not dope, but I don't, the, the
40:45magic that's, that's the, I can't explain it.
40:50Yeah, yeah.
40:52Yeah.
40:53So, so, so, so with, um, Richmond Hill, um, did you feel like it was a bit more challenging
41:00because already, you had already had a story with, uh, Brooklyn story with, uh, Marco Polo,
41:08and then, um, did you feel like, um, there's a pleasure of how to continue the, the story?
41:15Because now it's a, it's a second segment.
41:18Well, I knew that there was more to Marco's story that people needed to know.
41:22So we went back to the day he was born to tell that part, you know, I have this tendency
41:28to tell part of the story and then go back and tell the story before it.
41:31Um, and that's kind of what, you know, that's kind of what, what we did.
41:36Um, and so people could, could, could, could, you know, the album starts through the day
41:41he was born.
41:42Um, and it takes you all the way up to his birth, his birthday on, on Christmas, Christmas
41:46Eve.
41:47Oh, not Christmas, day after Christmas.
41:49Um, so it was just, it was just the opportunity to tell the rest of his story.
41:53Um, and to make sure that his mom and dad were a part of the, you know, the story because
42:00they play a big part, a big role in his, in his, in his life.
42:04So I wanted to make sure that his story got told.
42:06It wasn't about me.
42:09Wow.
42:10Wow.
42:10Um, did, do you feel like, uh, was it something you felt like maybe a lot of producers, um,
42:20we don't get to hear, um, their, their side of the story because they are the guys within
42:26the background.
42:27And sometimes as MCs, we, we take for granted, um, of the people that contribute like the
42:33sound engineers, the, the DJs, you know, and everyone else that contributes to, to, to,
42:41to the brand.
42:42See, I think me and Marco, we became like real friends.
42:45Like, um, it wasn't just like a working relationship.
42:49Um, where I, you know, I had dinner at his dad's house and hung out with his mom.
42:54And, you know, she comes to our houses, our house for dinner and stuff like that.
42:59So it's like a different level.
43:00So, and so he got to tell me like a lot of his story along the way.
43:04This is before we even did the album.
43:07And as I was learning his story, I was like, your story is very interesting.
43:11Like you should, we should tell your story.
43:13Like people, you could help people.
43:15You could help people.
43:16You know, he went through a period of drug addiction and stuff like that.
43:19And I'm like, he doesn't talk about it much in interviews.
43:22Um, people don't really ask about it, but you know, I just told him like, we should,
43:25we should put it out there and, and, and you can help some people.
43:28And he was, he was down to do it.
43:32Well, well, but that's, that's something, uh, amazing.
43:36And also a very like, uh, therapeutic.
43:39Um, so, so, so, so with the next album, um, do you guys already have a title for it?
43:47We do.
43:48We finally do.
43:49I've been asked, people have been asking me this for the last three months.
43:52And I would not say because I was still unsure about what the title was.
43:59I was still in between a few different titles and the album is going to be called.
44:04And you're the first person I'm saying this to.
44:07Oh, I'm honored.
44:08This is the first time I'm revealing the name of the album.
44:12So make sure you put that as a headline.
44:15For sure.
44:16The album is called The Crossing.
44:18The Crossing.
44:20Whoa.
44:22Whoa.
44:23Whoa.
44:25Should I tell you what it's about?
44:27Yeah.
44:27Yeah.
44:28Peace.
44:28Peace too.
44:29I was about to ask the concept behind that.
44:32So the album, the album starts with me, um, at, at the customs office in Canada.
44:42I am about to change my citizenship from American to Canadian.
44:48I'm, I'm, it's like, I'm, I'm, I'm, I want to, I want to leave America and go to, and, and
44:52move to Canada.
44:53And so it's about me, um, crossing from the U S into Canada, become a citizen, um, and moving
45:01to Toronto.
45:01So it's like literally the reversal of what Marco did on the first album.
45:06Oh, okay.
45:07Okay.
45:08I was about to say, don't, don't give up too much.
45:10Oh yeah.
45:13But it's fine.
45:15Um, wow.
45:16Wow.
45:17And, um, I, are you, if you guys already discussed when, when it's about to come out
45:24or should we, we're mixing it.
45:27So we're, we're still in the mixing process, but we're close.
45:29Like there's only like four songs left to finish.
45:32Um, and we're finishing up our deal with fat beats.
45:35Um, I think, I think it could still come out this year.
45:39Um, um, it just depends on how quickly fat beats is ready to move.
45:48If it's, if it's feeling like it's going to be November, December, then they're going
45:53to want to wait till top of the year.
45:55That's, that's, that's probably what's going to happen.
45:56But, um, I may, maybe a single and a video this year.
46:01And then there's the album next year that I would say that's, that's more likely a single
46:06and a video this year.
46:07And then the album, uh, 2027.
46:12Wow.
46:13Wow.
46:14And, and I mean, 27, I mean, the number seven is a completion as well.
46:18So definitely, um, that, that's, that, that's a, that's a prophecy in its way.
46:25Um, your show, you mentioned you're doing a show, um, on, on, on Mondays.
46:33Yeah.
46:34Mondays and Fridays.
46:36Mondays and Fridays.
46:37Mondays and Fridays.
46:38Yes.
46:39Monday is for producers and Fridays are for artists.
46:43Wow.
46:44Wow.
46:45Um, was it, what, did you intentionally do that because of, um, beat making and MCing
46:54are the, like, the first elements of hip hop or?
46:58No, I just, no, it was just, I had this email for years, um, beats to ACE at Gmail.
47:07And it was where I would, anytime producers, um, reached out to me and they said they wanted
47:12to send me beats, I would say, send it here, send it here, send it here.
47:16And we're talking about almost 20 years of, of beats being sent to this email.
47:24And I would only go there if I was looking for something specific.
47:27I would, but for the most part, I didn't listen to any of these beats.
47:31And I'm like, man, like I should do something with these beats.
47:35Let me play them on this.
47:36Let me play these.
47:37Let me play the music on the show.
47:39Let me, let me start the show and I'll play this music.
47:42Um, the beats that were sent to me.
47:44Um, and so I came up with a format and I reached out to all the producers that have
47:49sent me stuff.
47:49And I said, you know, I'm doing this show now.
47:51If you want to send me some stuff, here's where you send it.
47:54And this is what the show is going to be.
47:56Um, I had beats.
47:57I had beats in that folder from like 2014.
48:00That's how far back that, that folder goes.
48:03So, so yeah, so I reached out to every single person that sent me a beat.
48:08I said, you know, some of those people never reached, reach back because they probably
48:11don't even have that email anymore.
48:13It's been so many years.
48:14Um, but that's how it started.
48:16It started from that email where I had all these producers sending me beats.
48:20Um, and, but now we're like turning it into something that's really cool.
48:24Um, and I, I, I picked my favorites and at the end of the show, I replayed my favorite
48:30ones.
48:30Then I, then I narrow it down to the final three and then I picked my final one and whoever,
48:36whoever wins, I got to write a verse and I have to spit the verse on the show the next
48:41week.
48:41So every single Monday and Friday, I'm spreading a new verse from the previous one from the
48:45week before.
48:47Wow.
48:49Wow.
48:49Wow.
48:50And, and, um, do you, do you, where do you see the, do you, do you have a particular vision
48:58of where you see the show going maybe in the next five years?
49:03I can't see that far ahead.
49:05We've only been doing it for about four months.
49:06Uh, I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't know.
49:10It's going to definitely be on YouTube at some point.
49:12Um, I'm going to, I'm going to start, uh, broadcasting on YouTube simultaneously.
49:17Um, that's, that's definitely where we're headed.
49:20Um, but I just see like more and more, um, up and coming producers and talented artists,
49:28um, sending in their music.
49:29And I think that I'm telling you over the course of the last four months, the beat submissions
49:35have gotten better and better and better.
49:37And the song submissions gotten better.
49:39I think producers now understand you can't just send in, you know, a throwaway.
49:43You got to send in something that you really feel strongly about because a lot of those
49:48throwaways, you know, they don't, they don't make it into the, into the final, uh, uh,
49:52round to, to get listened to again.
49:55Um, so producers are understanding they're learning and they're, and they're now sending in
49:59their best work and it's going well, man.
50:02I hope you get a chance to tune in to the, um, to the show on Monday.
50:06Um, or, or the show on Friday.
50:08And maybe you'll send me one of your songs so I can play it on the show.
50:11For sure.
50:13I'll, I'll definitely do a play.
50:15Uh, I definitely will send it.
50:16Yeah.
50:17Yeah.
50:17Yeah.
50:18Um, yeah.
50:19But I know, I know you, you, you, you, you're running out of time and you know, you got
50:23people for, for, for, for, for, for the show.
50:28Yeah.
50:28Um, yeah.
50:29I just want to thank you for, for, for letting us interview you.
50:31Uh, and I'm hoping, um, before the album comes out, um, I'll get to have a conversation
50:41with you and Marco Polo.
50:42Um, so we can.
50:44Yeah.
50:44Just email me.
50:45We can, we can set up a, a, a interview with both of us.
50:49Yeah, please.
50:50Please.
50:50Uh, so we can spread, um, the, the, the album coming out as well.
50:55Yeah.
50:56Definitely.
50:56When you, when you, um, post the end of you just tagged me or whatever and let me, so
51:01I can post it.
51:02Um, repost it for you.
51:05Yeah.
51:05Yeah.
51:05Yeah.
51:06For, for this interview, right?
51:07Yeah.
51:09For sure.
51:10For sure.
51:10Um, definitely.
51:12I'll tag you.
51:13Um, also, uh, cause I'm not sure if I have your, okay.
51:18Uh, I'll, I'll, you'll send me also the, your, the, your YouTube link, right?
51:23Yeah.
51:23I don't, it's not even set up yet, but as soon as I get it, I'll send it.
51:26I'll send it.
51:27Okay.
51:27No, it's fine.
51:28I'll tell you on, on, on Instagram then.
51:31All right.
51:31And then, uh, tick tock.
51:33Yeah.
51:34For sure.
51:35All right, man.
51:36Much love.
51:37Blessings.
51:38For sure.
51:39I'll be watching.
51:40All right, brother.
51:41Peace.
51:42Peace.
51:43On love.
51:54Yo, guys.
51:56There we go.
51:58Oh, gee.
52:01Master Ace.
52:04At this point.
52:05I don't know.
52:07I don't know what to say, guys.
52:09Um, honestly, I'd be lying if I said I had something to say right now.
52:13Uh, I can't, I can't, I can't believe I actually did an interview with Master Ace.
52:21Um, yo, shout out to, to, to Marco Polo as well.
52:28Um, yo, uh, Brooklyn Story, Richmond Hill, man, those albums are also amazing as well.
52:39Um, to see the consistency of the OG reach this far.
52:44Uh, it's amazing.
52:46Um, shout out to, to Master Ace team.
52:49Um, yo, shout out to, to Mr. Switch it up for, for watching.
52:54Thanks, man.
52:54Thanks.
52:55Thanks for watching Mr. Switch it up.
52:57Um, and also everyone that was watching and everyone else is going to be watching that
53:02might've missed the show.
53:03So, so yeah, um, I'm ecliptic as you can see, check me out on Instagram.
53:10Uh, I'm on Facebook as well.
53:13Yeah.
53:13So yeah, do check out our show, which is live on YouTube.
53:21Um, yeah, we're also on Buzzsprout.
53:25So yeah, do also check out our audio versions of the interviews on Buzz, on Buzzsprout.
53:34Yeah.
53:35Um, soon I'll be dropping something on coffee.
53:38So yeah, we're trying to expand.
53:40Yeah.
53:41Do support us, man.
53:42Uh, on coffee as well, you know?
53:45So yeah.
53:46And, and subscribe to our shows, man, so we can bring more guests, you know?
53:51Yeah.
53:51Anyway, uh, much love guys.
53:53Uh, I'm out, man.
53:56Yo.
53:57Yo.
53:58I can't even believe, uh, I did an interview with Mr. Ace.
54:06Bruh, at this point, can I, am I allowed to have any retirement?
54:11Cause yo.
54:16Peace.
54:16I'm out.
54:17Where I'm at the go for.
54:19Let me make you show a little love for it.
54:21Show a little love for it.
54:21Show a little love for it.
54:21Show a little love for it.
54:23Show a little love for it.
54:23Show a little love for it.
54:23Chur-a littleb—
54:24How do you feel, Do something you feel, do it?
54:28How do you feel, Do something you feel, do something you feel?
54:38That would you feel, Do something you feel, Do something you feel, Do something you feel,
54:41Let me put you all down at the wall, at the side of the side, and the troupe the side
54:45put the
54:45bill in the pocket, and the chrome in the pocket.
54:48Oh, Allah.