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“REVOLUTIONARIES DON’T FEAR EXECUTION- DEATH OF VISIBLE CONSTITUTION IS JUST THE BEGINNING...” -TECHNIQUE 2• 2•
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“ISN’T THIS GREAT? YOUR FLIGHT LEAVES AT EIGHT HER FLIGHT LANDS AT NINE, MY GAME JUST REWINDS” -NOTORIOUS B.I.G 3•
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*CREDITS
PUBLISHERS/ TOPPYEST DAWGS Rodrigo Bascuñán @buns Chantle Beeso @chantlebeeso EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Rodrigo Bascuñán SENIOR EDITOR Chantle Beeso MANAGING EDITOR/ TOPPER DAWG Makaya Kelday @LoveMakaya STAFF WRITER/ TOPPER DAWG Olivia Arezes @ORockk GRAPHIC DESIGN Roberto Cortez for Stunt Creative DEFACING Rask
Do a search for “Lost Boys” in Google News right now and you’ll get two sets of results. The majority of the results will be about the Lost Boys of Sudan. These Lost Boys are the 20,000 who famously walked more than a thousand miles across Sudan seeking safety from what is antiseptically called the Second Sudanese Civil War.1 It’s possible to catalogue the traumas the Lost Boys of Sudan endured: exile, isolation, orphanhood, famine, disease, slavery, rape and persecution by men and nature, but it’s impossible to divine their suffering.2 The other Lost Boys? You might be one—a Lost Boy of North AmericaHere’s the composite based on the work of psychologist Perry Adler: “I usually wake up at noon. I spend most of my days on the Internet and my nights hanging with friends. I see some of them moving on and I feel like a loser. I want to do something with my life but I don’t know what. I try to do stuff, but I lose the energy—I can’t get things started.”
PHOTOGRAPHERS Yannick Anton Chad Griffiths Jeremy Relph COVER ILLUSTRATION Adam Hilborn for PeeKay Art Dept. CONTRIBUTORS Taiwo Bah Simon Black Coburn Blair Carl Chisolm Chris Coates Del Cowie Conrad Cumberbatch Dwight Daley Sajae Elder Amir Ebrahimi Luke Fox Joe Galiwango Huda Hassan Matt Ing Angelina Irinici Pablo Pizzaro Janczur Cassandra Juradinho Jonathan Lall Angelica LeMinh Erin Lowers Wallis Millar-Blanchaer Anupa Mistry Soko Negash Christian Pearce Adhimu Stewart Vincent Tsang POUND HEADZ QUARTERS 358 Dufferin St. Suite 109 Toronto, ON M6K 1Z8 Canada pound@poundmag.com © Copyright 2011 Pound Magazine Corporation All rights reserved Pound #45, Summer 2011
IN
LOST ONES
The demons of the Lost Boys of North America are unmistakably first world: video games, pharmaceuticals and the unique apathy that arises amongst the pampered and privileged. Their pedestrian origin only engenders scorn and encourages neglect. Who feels for the kid in his basement numbing himself with an X-Box? It’s naïve, maybe even disrespectful, to compare Lost Boys. But are not all lost lives equal? Are the details of their departures relevant? I know a few Lost Boys. I think it’s time we took a walk. - Rodrigo Bascuñán What is the What? by David Eggers is an incredible account of one Lost Boy’s journey. 2 The Republic of South Sudan became the world’s newest nation on July 9, 2011. The now grown Lost Boys witnessed their native land’s independence from their myriad adopted homes. 1
The Thank Yous: Ahh. This whole editorial could’ve been Thank Yous—liner notes style in two-point font. The toppyest of thanks to Chantle Beeso, let there be no doubt that she made this issue happen (in the most literal and metaphorical senses). Beeso, you made me remember my dream, I hope you find the time to recall yours. Much love, respect and thanks to the people of Manifesto and The Remix Project, your fire and dedication inspire us all to smash barriers. Finally, a simultaneous thank you and apology to the contributors to the first version of this Re:Issue, your work was and is appreciated. *TABLE OF CONTENTS
WRITE POWER: RASK BABYLON SYSTEM/ KILL ALL MONSTERS BABYLON SYSTEM/ LIBYA THE THRONE/ RICH KIDD THE THRONE/ STALLEY KENDRICK LAMAR
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DROPPIN’ KNOWLEDGE PRODIGY J.COLE STYLIN’ PROFILIN’ POUND FOR POUND
“THE REBIRTH OF HIP-HOP ANOTHER MEMORIAL FOR MAKAVELI AND BIG POP” THE GAME 5• • POUNDMAG.COM
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RASK
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BLACK & RED
“I CAME HERE AND I SAW MY ABORIGINAL BROTHERS AND I’M LIKE ‘YO, THAT’S NOT TOO DIFFERENT FROM WHAT I’VE BEEN DOING.’”
Rask is a graffiti writer from Holland with Aboriginal Anishwabe roots. He recently immigrated to Canada in the midst of Toronto’s political choke-hold on graffiti, but his rebellion remains unaffected by the hostility towards his craft and he’s been consistently bombing everything from rooftops to fresh subway and GO Trains since he touched down. POUND: HOW OFTEN HAVE YOU BEEN PAINTING SINCE YOU ARRIVED IN CANADA? RASK: I paint three or four times a week. I never leave the house without something to write with. If I find the right location or go somewhere that I’ve never been and I see the opportunity, I’ll paint. POUND: DOES YOUR ABORIGINAL BACKGROUND INFLUENCE YOUR GRAFFITI? RASK: I used to be interested in African woodcarvings. I came over here and I see Aboriginal woodland style art and I’m like “Yo those are the same foundation lines that I have in my work.” I put it together
and I realized that first I connected to African art and then Aboriginal art. Through the culture we have different things that are esoteric but there are so many similarities [between African and Aboriginal art]. This cultural thing that I carry with me, you can see it in my art. Nobody ever taught me [Aboriginal art before]. But I came here and I saw my Aboriginal brothers and I’m like “Yo, that’s not too different from what I’ve been doing.” It’s a funny way to already have been connected and reconnect [with my Anishwabe roots] again. POUND: WHAT WAS YOUR APPROACH TO WRITING ON TRAINS BACK IN HOLLAND? RASK: From the town where I’m from, Rotterdam, if you don’t have your trains running, you’re not in the game. The train systems in Europe are different because there is way more train infrastructure. You’ve got to have at least two or three trains running each week. After 9/11 security stepped up but I was still like, “You’ve got to do a proper
“REMEMBER THE MINUTE YOU WITNESSED THE REALEST THAT EVER DID IT” CYPRESS HILL 6•
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WRITE POWER RASK
Joe Galiwango
RASK’S ALPHABET
train because that’s how shit started.” We might not be painting subways but we’re still painting trains. It’s like having a good love affair. POUND: HOW HAVE YOU MANAGED TO WRITE ON THE GO TRAINS AND SUBWAYS IN TORONTO? RASK: Before it got really cold I walked through Union Station with my bag of four cans. I walked through to the area where the trains get cleaned. I just walked on because there was a construction site there
so it was easy. I took a look around and did a six-minute piece. It was clean and tight and I was out again. After I did the first one, I knew I had to keep things under control because that’s one of the ways you can get caught. If you’ve got good spots, you can’t over do it because they’ll know and they want to catch you. GO Trains are also possible [to get pieces on]. It depends on your technique and where you place your piece on the train. If you’ve got that under control and you do your own research you can have them
running. I know guys who have pieces on Go trains running, and I have one myself. It’s how much effort and love you put into it. If you give it all your love, then it’s more than possible.
“ALLOW ME TO RE-INTRODUCE MYSELF...” JAY-Z 7•
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T-DOT GRAF HISTORY
DESTROY
e: ACT Huda Hassan @hudamina Roberto Cortez / stuntcreative
ALL MONSTERS
ROB
FORD MAYOR
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BABYLON SYSTEM DESTROY ALL MONSTERS
“Flip Hop” GRAF: Skam PHOTO: Che Kothari
HE’S BEEN TORONTO’S INCUMBENT MAYOR FOR LESS THAN A YEAR AND ALREADY ROBERT BRUCE FORD HAS DISPLAYED THAT HE IS ANTICYCLIST, ANTI-TRANSIT, ANTI-GREEN, AND NOW, ANTI-ART. During his 2010 Toronto mayoral campaign, Ford announced that if elected, one of his major initiatives would be to establish a program to clean up the “dirty, graffitistained city.” Adding, “I want people to come to the city and say ‘Wow, this is spotless and it’s safe.’” Of course, instead of targeting real issues in this city, such as poverty or homelessness, Ford felt that the only way to make The Dot safer was by dedicating our tax dollars towards the end of street art. Once elected into office, it didn’t take long for Ford to
begin working on his promise. As a solution to “cleanse” the city of graffiti, he created the Graffiti Abatement Program, which included a by-law banning graffiti in the city of Toronto. He gave business owners an ultimatum: clean up their property or they could expect a big, fat bill from the city ranging anywhere from $500 to a couple of thousand. Ford explained to The National Post, “I don’t want to be heavy handed, but I want to make sure that we’re on the map, that people know Toronto as a safe place.” Au contraire, Robert: the only way for that to be accomplished
is with the removal of the over-sized Fordzilla currently sitting in our city hall. It didn’t take long for the art community in the city to react. Graffiti artists Jaro and Paces immediately took to spray painting a Toronto sign on the 401 highway, with the message “Fuck Rob Ford” for all to see. But, this was only the beginning of the arts community’s response. A local artist, Eryn Hill, outlined the face of our mayor with the words “Remove Me” printed underneath. A documentary was released by Ryerson Film student, Char Loro, titled “Goodbye Graf-
“I’M OUT FOR DEAD PRESIDENTS TO REPRESENT ME” NAS 9• • POUNDMAG.COM
“EVOLUTION OF GRAFFITI AND REVOLT”
fiti”, which documented the unhappy street-level response to this whole predicament. Wheatpasters began to plaster the city with a cartoon of Rob Ford, disguised as “Fordzilla,” eating away at streetcars, bikes, people and spray cans. But despite the protestations, Ford continued to put together a committee of art bullies, led by the head of the graffiti enforcement team, Gus Michaels, to determine if a given piece of street art was art or not. Zion, a local graffiti artist and owner of the graffiti supply store, The Bomb Shelter, requested to be placed on this panel. “When the committee director-slash-license inspector Gus Michaels mentioned there was a committee, our immediate question was, ‘Who is on that committee?’ If it’s not one of our peers then we need to get on there.
EGR
If you’re talking judicial and you’re going to put me up for a crime, then I need to be judged amongst a crowd that includes my people.” Zion was not the only artist in the city concerned about the members of the Graffiti Abatement Program committee. Photographer and co-founder of Manifesto Community Projects, Che Kothari, was alarmed by this dilemma, inspiring him to respond with his piece, “Flip Hop”, which was showcased in the 2011’s Contact photography festival. “How can you have a panel discussing art without any artists?” he asks. “You can’t have people who don’t know anything about art discussing art. This panel must be inclusive of all genders, age, race, class and disciplines.” Zion’s response to this predic-
ament wasn’t just a chat with Mr. Ford, “What we’re starting up right now is a unified effort amongst all of people [involved] within Toronto’s art communities and we’re setting up a concentrated effort that will help to empower and engage the next generation of youth coming up. because it’s them that I fear for. We’re trying to propose something where there is a safe haven for the youth.” One of those members of this group is fellow graffiti artist, Emanuele, who was present during Zion’s first meeting with the mayor. “I’ve been checking out this wall on my way to work and there had been a piece there for over two years without anybody touching it,” Emanuele explained, as we sat with him in HomeBase, a store he opened up with his partner, Skam, dedicated to
“DIDN’T PLAY THE CARDS I WAS DEALT, I MADE THE DEALER RESHUFFLE” CYHI DA PRYNCE 10 • • POUNDMAG.COM
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street art. “They buffed it — they didn’t clean it, which is another issue. They just put a big patch of paint on it so that it’s a different color from the rest of the building, making it look horrible. Not more than a week later there were tags and throw ups on it again.” Ford’s solution has one fundamental flaw: he’s attacking everyone in the equation except his target, the vandal. “If you’re charging the store every time, you charge that business owner and he’ll spend his money and clean it. What about a week later when it comes back? Who’s gonna pay for that? The business owner has to pay for it again? This obviously can’t work. There has got to be a different solution”
WHEATPASTE
Phillip Carter, a business owner on Queen Street West revealed in an interview with the CBC that he’s paid up to $10,000 on removing tags off of his property in the past months. Since the Graffiti Abatement Program came into effect, over 100 violation notices have been sent to property owners along Queen Street alone. In attempts to stop an artistic phenomenon, Ford has formed a plan that seems to be doing damage to the property owner’s wallet more than anyone else. And whether these property owners have expressed views in favour of or against graffiti, they all share one concern: what if more of it pops up tomorrow?
WE KILL YOU
“THIS IS MY UNIVERSE REBIRTH” KRS-1 12 • • POUNDMAG.COM
SUMMER CONCERTS 2011 MAC MILLER
ELZHI ‘ELMATIC’ LIVE
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ATMOSPHERE
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AUGUST 9 - THE MUSIC HALL, LONDON AUGUST 10 - PHOENIX CONCERT THEATRE, TORONTO
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DJ SHADOW
THE KNUX
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AUGUST 20 - WRONGBAR, TORONTO
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“Who is benefitting from this?” asks Che Kothari. “It surely isn’t the community or the business owners. I’m finding it difficult to understand why something that is viewed as an art, a form of human expression, is labeled garbage or vandalism. But I have to look at billboards displaying messages that I don’t care about? What is the difference? Is it money, power and privilege?”
stop graffiti,” says Zion: “This has created a cat and mouse game and this is something bombers love. Whatever sort of oppression takes place against the arts, usually the arts will flourish in these types of times.” This issue’s featured graf artist, Rask, elaborates, “Rob Ford asked for it and he’s about to get it. It’s a human thing to be rebellious. If you make a rule not to do something, then we break that rule. It’s automatic.”
Ford’s already expressed his view of graffiti in The National Post, “That stuff isn’t art—it’s garbage.”
In fact, both Emanuele and Zion attempted to give Ford a warning when they finally met with him. “I don’t think he got it,” Emanuele explains. “His approach is not going to work. Its just going to bring more graffiti, more tags, more everything. We told Rob Ford this and he didn’t care.”
“Graffiti is a historical form of communication. It’s story telling, truth sharing and a voice for the community” says Che. “This isn’t going to
WHEATPASTE
“WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?”
NYC GRAF WAR CIRCA 1982 “I FUCKED MY MONEY UP, NOW I CAN’T RE-UP” WAKA FLOCKA FLAME 14 • • POUNDMAG.COM
WE KILL YOU
IN STORES NOW FEATURING THE HITS: WRITTEN IN THE STARS, PASS OUT, MIAMI 2 IBIZA (w/ Swedish House Mafia) + 3 NEW TRACKS TILL I’M GONE (w/ Wiz Khalifa), SO ADDICTED & LOVE SUICIDE tinietempah.com / vevo.com/artist/tinietempah / @TinieTempah
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BRINGING DOWN QADDAFI Foreign Intervention in Libya and a People’s Self-Determination
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“WHO YOU GON’ TELL WHEN THE REPERCUSSIONS SPIN” LAURYN HILL 16 •
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Makaya Kelday @ LoveMakaya Jeremy Relph
LIBYA: AN OVERVIEW
SINCE EARLY 2011 THE MEDIA HAS BEEN FLOODED WITH STORIES OF UPRISINGS IN TUNISIA, YEMEN, EGYPT, LIBYA, BAHRAIN, CÔTE D’IVOIRE, THE MALDIVES, SYRIA AND MORE. THE MOST TELEVISED OF THESE UPRISINGS HAS BEEN IN LIBYA, BUT WHY HAVE THE U.S. AND ITS ALLIES FIXATED ON LIBYA AND LARGELY IGNORED YEMEN, BAHRAIN AND SYRIA AMONG OTHER NATIONS IN REVOLT?
Although similar atrocities have been occurring in other countries, Libya is the only country, at this point, that foreign forces have entered. The media is selling the Libyan uprising as people rising up and fighting for their liberation against a fascist dictator. But is that really what’s going on? Can we ever fully know the truth of a situation without being on the ground in the midst of the fighting? Libya’s flamboyant and eccentric leader, Muammar alQaddafi has ruled the country since he led a military coup against King Idris in 1969. Shortly after the coup, Qaddafi closed American and British bases, nationalized foreign oil and commercial interests in Libya, and promoted oil embargoes as a political weapon for challenging the West. This, along with his staunch criticism of Israel, made him one of Uncle Sam’s biggest enemies. Predictably, in April of 1986, the U.S. government led by Ronald Reagan, bombed the Libyan capital of Tripoli in an attempt to assassinate Qaddafi. The reason for the bombing, according to the administration, was that the Libyan leader was responsible for a terrorist attack against Americans in Berlin. Though it was discovered that the bombing had been carried out by Iran and Syria, the American and British governments decided to attribute the bombing to Qaddafi because Syria, not Libya, was crucial to peace talks between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Hundreds of civilians were killed in the bombing, as well as one of Qaddafi’s sons. Sounds like 2011. 17 • • POUNDMAG.COM
INDEPENDENCE:
1947 from Italy, 1951 from the U.K. and France under the United Nations Trusteeship POPULATION: 6.5 million CAPITAL: Tripoli RELIGIONS: Muslim (97%),
Christian (1.5%) OTHER (1.5%) LANGUAGES: Arabic, Berber, Italian, English
February 15th, 2011 marks the beginning of the Libyan protest, which later evolved into widespread uprisings. On February 25th most of Libya was reported to have been under control of the opposition but by March 15th, Qaddafi’s forces had re-taken most of the lost cities. On March 17th, the United Nation Security Council passed a resolution authorizing them “to take all necessary measures… to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack…” A No-Fly Zone was implemented and the rebels regained most of the cities they lost in Qaddafi’s offensive, however being that most of the opposition forces are comprised of citizens with little-to-no military training, they quickly fell into disarray and were force into retreat. As of the end of June, out of Libya’s 22 districts, 12 were under Qaddafi’s control, 6 belonged to the opposition and 4 were contested territories. So far, the total number of casualties totals about 13,000 and some 2,500 people have been reported missing.
“I SEE A REVOLUTION IN THE INDUSTRY THAT WILL IGNITE THE REBIRTH OF EMCEES LYRICALLY” CANIBUS 17 •
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LIBYANS, COME ON!!! WE REPRESENTING’ FOR EVERYBODY WHO WANTS FREEDOM, QADDAFI AND YOUR FAKE ASS LIBYAN CREW, WHERE YOU AT? OR WHERE THE FUCK YOU HIDING? -Eminem, “Qaddafi the Coward”
The 2011 Libyan war began on February 15th, 2011 from a protest that evolved into a widespread uprising. In late February, most of Libya was reported to be under the control of the Libyan opposition and not the government of Muammar al-Qaddafi. However, by March 15th, Qaddafi’s forces had retaken more than six lost cities. On March 17th, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution that authorized member states “to take all necessary measures… to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack…” The
NATO-led military intervention in Libya began on March 19th, 2011 under the pretense of a humanitarian mission. “It’s clear that the U.S. has no leg to stand on when it comes to speaking of human rights violations,” says M1 of dead prez. Very recent history shows that the U.S. has openly supported oppressive regimes when the arrangement was beneficial to them, and if the relationship no longer suits the U.S.’s needs or goals—well, we know what happened to Saddam Hussein. The so-called humanitarian
mission to save people’s lives in Iraq resulted in the death of at least 92,000 civilians, even according to U.S. Army figures. And though there are certainly people dying in Libya, it’s obvious that the U.S. and other imperialist countries do not make such moves without a reward. If what is happening is a genuine people’s revolution, it begs the question, since when does the U.S. support a genuine people’s revolution and what is the U.S’s agenda in Operation Odyssey Dawn?
HOW WE GON’ FIGHT TO KEEP FREEDOM WHEN WE AIN’T GOT IT? YOU WANNA STOP TERRORISTS? START WITH THE U.S. IMPERALISTS AIN’T NO TRACK RECORD LIKE AMERICA’S -Dead Prez “Know Your Enemy”
Initially NATO used humanitarian rhetoric to sell the mission but this soon morphed into a campaign to remove Qaddafi and replace him with a more reliable regime. Hilary Clinton stated that NATO members are “sharing the same goal, which is to see the end of the Qaddafi regime in Libya,” adding that, “we must intensify our political, diplomatic and economic mission to pressure and isolate Qaddafi and bring about his departure.” Chicago based Libyan rapper Khaled M who strongly supports the opposition states, “We don’t want
reforms within the current government, we want a completely new government. We want Qaddafi out, that’s the first step and then we wanna rebuild. We want institutions, we want labor unions, we want parties, we want opinions, we want dissent. We want the people to be able to have a voice.” If Qaddafi’s departure is truly the Libyan people’s desire, that is indeed what should happen—but we can’t be naïve to think that foreign involvement will end there. Can we really believe that the
world’s imperialist countries, that don’t even act in the interest of their own people, are acting in the interest of the Libyan people? It only took them three weeks to intervene in Libya. It took the world three-and-a-half years to intervene in Kosovo where 11,000 died and 100,000 to 400,000 went missing. It’s been eight years since fighting began in the Darfur region of Sudan with some 300,000 killed and another 2.6 million displaced and there has yet to be any military intervention. But it took only three weeks to intervene in Libya. Their
“I MEAN THIS SHIT IS HUEY NEWTON GOIN’ STUPID YOU CAN’T RESIST” KENDRICK LAMAR 18 • • POUNDMAG.COM
“I’M BEYOND A LEGEND, I’M ICONIC, FALL OFF, REBUILD, YOUR MAN’S BIONIC” LL COOL J 19 • • POUNDMAG.COM
“QADDAFI HAS, OVER THE DECADES, EXHIBITED MANY DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES SO IT’S HARD TO KNOW WHAT A LEADER LIKE THAT WILL DO UNDER DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES.”
actions are too bold to mask with any talks of humanitarian or peace missions. But Qaddafidissidents such as Khaled M remain firm that, “the current reality of a murderous, brutal regime outweighs the potential possibility of an occupation by foreign countries.” Since Qadaffi’s regime’s “rehabilitation” in 2002, many foreign nations have had access to Libya’s vast oil reserves. BP reported that they began drilling off the Libyan coast in July 2010 and Canada’s largest oil company, Suncor, has drilling contracts in Libya. Since the west already has access to Libya’s oil, we can assume that it’s not just about oil; it’s much more complex than that. Canadian corporations have huge investments in Libya. The Quebec-based construction and engineering firm SNCLavalin has contracts for the construction of the Benghazi airport, a prison in Tripoli, and the massive Great Man-Made River Project. These are contracts signed by Qaddafi himself.
Multi-million dollar contracts that come with stipulations that, in the end, only benefit the corporations who proposed them. Pound spoke to the author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins, who told us, “I suspect that economic hit men are very involved right now in Libya. People there are really standing up for their rights. I wondered when the people would get the message about how terribly they were being misused, primarily by international corporations and the leader who collaborated with those corporations. You know, I suspect that in a way, the G8 countries, especially the United States, were not particularly eager to get rid of Qaddafi, but things got out of control there. They certainly weren’t eager to get rid of Mubarak, but things got out of control there. Now Mubarak is gone and it appears that Qaddafi may be on the way out. I suspect there’s a lot of economic hit men trying to bring in people that will continue with those policies that are very favorable to big corporations;
“ YOU GOTTA REGULATE YOUR OWN MINDSTATE” GANG STARR 20 • • POUNDMAG.COM
Canadian, American, other G8 multi-national corporations. They want leaders who will collaborate with our corporations.” Qaddafi’s eccentricities and fluctuating contempt for the U.S. further complicates the situation. He’s a man who’s collaborated with foreign imperialist countries on many levels but also criticized them on others. M1 weighs in saying, “Qaddafi has been complicit with U.S. imperialist policies when it works for him. I’ve found his movements to be ones that need to be studied before people either call him a revolutionary or a dictator.” John Perkins adds to this idea, “Qaddafi has, over the decades, exhibited many different personalities so it’s hard to know what a leader like that will do under different circumstances. No question he is a very eccentric human being, probably borders on some sort of institutionalizable activities at times, but then again a lot of world leaders are like that, we’ve got a few in [the U.S.], so the
fact that a man’s personality is odd is not a good justification for attacking a country. This invasion of Libya has been much more triggered by economic concerns than any concerns for human rights. There’s a heck of a lot of other countries in the world who we support that have terrible human rights records.” Just months before the UN resolution that allowed the U.S. and its allies to send troops into Libya, Qaddafi was openly advocating the creation of a new currency that would rival the dollar and the euro: the gold dinar. Mr. Perkins sees this as the core issue, “I think the real intention is to get rid of a government that has threatened to basically overthrow our monetary system, the World Central Banking system and replace the U.S. dollar with the gold dinar. Qaddafi strongly encouraged African and Muslim nations to go onto this new currency system by saying ‘let’s stop the dollar as the world currency, let’s get out of this central
“’CAUSE THEY BREEDIN’ MORE REBELS THAN THE WHOLE DAMN GHETTO” 2PAC 21 • • POUNDMAG.COM
banking currency that’s pretty much controlled by the US federal reserve bank and some of the central banks of Europe.’ And we [the U.S.] don’t like it when leaders suggest these things. Sadaam Hussein suggested something similar, Chavez suggested something similar, the regime of Iran has and whenever that happens we try to get rid of these governments or at least bring them more under control.” Former U.S. congresswoman and people’s champion Cynthia McKinney addressed the issue saying, “The United States should welcome the self-determination of Africans. They have certainly denied self-determination to Africans inside the United States so we’re not surprised by anything the United States would do to hinder self-determination of Africans on the continent.” Rapper Khaled M, who immigrated to the United States after his father was imprisoned and tortured by the Qaddafi regime shares that “Libya is a wealthy country, it’s just the people that aren’t wealthy. The government makes $135 million a day on oil alone, the GDP was $96 billion and there’s only about five or six million people in the country. Yet you have two out of three people living under two dollars a day, you have higher than 30 percent unemployment rate. That’s preposterous especially when you consider that the whole reason the uprising began in Tunisia was because of unemployment and nobody could get jobs with an unemployment rate of nine percent. But there’s money and there’s motivation in Libya and all the people need is an opportunity to rebuild for themselves.” This thought seems a bit too utopian for current times. If we’ve learned anything from history, Qaddafi’s removal will not mean the redistribution of the country’s wealth. Sadly, foreign intervention in Libya is not about Qaddafi’s suffocating rule over the Libyan people. It doesn’t seem to be about the Libyan people at all. But supporters of the opposition remain optimistic. “The Libyan people know what type of help they’re getting, they know what they’re getting themselves into and the fact of the matter is there was an ongoing massacre that needed to be stopped.” says Khaled M. “People keep pointing to reasons why America would step in and what are their interests but it just doesn’t negate the facts at hand. Every single male on my father’s side of the family, that’s more than twelve people, have either been executed or jailed by Qaddafi. Every single one. And you’d
be hard pressed to find a Libyan, I guarantee you, that doesn’t have a family member that has been jailed, tortured or murdered by Qaddafi’s regime. I don’t like America’s foreign policy but because people don’t like America’s foreign policy and how they’re pushing their intentions, people also believe that nobody is dying in Libya and that Qaddafi is actually a good guy. But they’re mutually exclusive; you can believe both things. Just because the US has interest in Libya that doesn’t negate the fact that Qaddafi is a ruthless, horrible dictator and that the people needed to be free.” On June 27th, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Qaddafi’s arrest claiming that he is guilty of crimes against humanity. They have been criticized for pursuing this arrest at the expense of a political solution. Qaddafi is certainly not going to relinquish power any sooner if he knows that he’ll be put on international trial. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have backed the claim, stating that Qaddafi is guilty of war crimes. What the fuck is a war crime? Isn’t war itself a crime against humanity? Why doesn’t the ICC arrest George Bush for killing so many Iraqi civilians? Or why doesn’t the London-based Amnesty accuse their government of crimes against humanity when British soldiers kill innocent Libyan civilians? On June 21st, it was reported that NATO forces killed 19 civilians and another 15 on June 26th, though NATO said it bombed “legitimate military targets.” Libya has claimed that NATO is responsible for 700 hundred civilian deaths and NATO, of course, rejects the claim. M1 adds, “They didn’t have regard for the human life that was taken when they launched these missiles. They dehumanize it by calling someone a target when in reality it’s an assassination.” The human cost of war is too often overshadowed by the pursuit of interest. But with the number of causalities steadily growing, we start to question if all the human loss is worth it. Obviously no one wants to live under the hand of a despot but history has shown that foreign intervention, in the end, doesn’t benefit the people. The future of Libya needs to be determined by the Libyan people alone.
{QR LIBYA}
FORBIDDEN LITERATURE
“HE COULDN’T SWING OR HANG SO HE HUNG ’TILL HE DIED, REINCARNATE HIM... AND KILL HIM AGAIN” RAKIM 22 22 • • • POUNDMAG.COM • POUNDMAG.COM
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rich kidd e ntag r/MC e adva “An a produc pay for ple eing ve to of b don’t ha tell peo is I ts. I can r cheap.” bea et it fo Ig
“THIS IS THE REBIRTH I KNOW THE STREETS THIRST WATER” NAS 24 • • POUNDMAG.COM
THE THRONE RICH KIDD
Dwight Daley Yannick Anton yannickanton.tumblr.com
THRONES ARE RESERVED FOR THOSE WHO ALIGN THEMSELVES WITH ROYALTY. IN TORONTO, MANY ARTISTS ARE LOOKING FOR “KNIGHT-STATUS,” HOWEVER ONLY A SELECT FEW CAN CARRY THE HEAVY LOAD ASSOCIATED WITH SUCH STATURE. IN THE CASE OF ONE TORONTO ARTIST, THAT LOAD CONTAINS TWO SEEMINGLY SEPARATE CRAFTS THAT COME FROM THE SAME WORLD. THAT ARTIST IS RICH KIDD, AND HIS WORLD IS HIP-HOP.
As a producer/MC, finding a balance between making beats and writing rhymes may seem like a difficult task, but when you look at Rich Kidd’s catalogue, you’ll begin to think otherwise. Between producing beats for other artists and working on his own music, Rich is proving himself to be a serious contender for hip-hop supremacy in Toronto. Rich Kidd’s work ethic in conjunction with flexibility has catapulted him to rap’s forefront. As his manager Adiel Papa explains, “Rich is a triple threat. He can write, produce and rap, so the game for him is wide open.” Further displaying versatility, Rich Kidd’s We On Some Rich Kidd Shiiit mixtape series shows his natural progression as both a producer and an MC.
“RELAX AND TAKE NOTES WHILE I TAKE TOKES OF THE MARIJUANA SMOKE” NOTORIOUS B.I.G 25 • • POUNDMAG.COM
STALK BOX @richkiddbeats ALTERNATE NAME SUGGESTIONS FOR RICH KIDD, SINCE MIAMI’S RICH KIDD IS BITING HIS STEELO:
1. Richard Child 2. Dick (short for Richard) Kidd (no homo) 3. Wealthy Yute TOP RICH KIDD TWEETS:
“Barf Music, All My People Barf To It” “McRib back, McRib back, that’s all you fat niggas sayin McRib back” “How come some of yall have smart wisdom filled tweets but when I see you in person, you’re the dumbest wisdom void muthafucka I’ve talked to” “The kids hair was fucked up… I wanted to give the yute 33 cents or something”
“Rich has a very distinct sound. Many producers have their own styles of production, but very few have a style that can be picked out by the slightest detail,” says Junia-T, one half of the Smash Brovaz and a comrade of Rich Kidd. Between production credits for tracks like k-os’ “I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman” and his own single, “Take It Slow,” one can only wonder how an artist with proven mainstream radio success and the ability to shut down local venues hasn’t secured a record deal yet. In hopes of securing a deal, the man both behind the boards and in the booth hasn’t strayed far from his creative process. He understands what he needs to accomplish and how to make his skills work in his favour. “Back in the day it would have been like I could write a joint, and still come home and make a beat, but nowadays it’s kind of hard ’cause I got a crib and a life of my own. I have to take care of certain things, so there’s an allotted time for beat making as well as writing. When I do have a writer’s block, I’m usually making beats, but when I’m feeling to write, I have beats there so it works out for me,” Rich says.
As Rich’s stock continues torise, his music is beginning to take him all over the world. He’s already performed in Australia, and last summer he performed in New York for Manifesto’s Brooklyn Meets Toronto show. Though performing internationally was crucial to his career, Rich Kidd’s favourite tour stop happened to be in Canada. “Vancouver was probably the best crowd out of town that I’ve ever performed in front of, ’cause everybody was down. A lot of them were females and they felt the vibe. It’s hard to move a crowd when they haven’t heard your music, but as long as you keep it energetic and the crowd involved, they’ll love you anywhere you’re at,” he explains. Rich Kidd has also figured out something that many young artists tend to overlook – the “package.” Being a wellrounded artist is about more than just music; it’s about meticulous image control, branding, and content is imperative for success. This understanding has proven to be one of his team’s biggest assets. “Having my manager and my publicist in check helps a lot, ’cause a good publicist will get you shows and in magazines, while your manger handles the
organization of everything. All these things are essential when trying to make an impact,” he says, “In this game you can’t take no breaks ’cause there’s always someone ready to replace you.” With this in mind, Rich maintains his relevancy by providing the masses with honesty in his music. He’s often willing to share the many sides of himself, proving that he’s more than the average artist. At a time when new artists attempt to emulate icons such as RZA, Dr. Dre, Kanye and Alchemist, Rich Kidd has found his niche and plans to pave his own path to the top. “An advantage of being a producer/MC is I don’t have to pay for beats. I can tell people I get it for cheap,” adds Rich with a laugh.
WE ON SOME RICH KIDD SHIIIT
“YA’LL REMEMBER ME LEGENDARY LIVE ETERNALLY BURY ME IN PIECES CAUSE THEY FEAR REINCARNATION” -2PAC “I REPRESENT MY STRENGTH WITHOUT EFFORT” MOS DEF 26 • • POUNDMAG.COM
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STALLEY
“That blue-collar, hardworking, everyd ay man is all I grew up aro und: dudes working blu e-collar jobs, or self-made individuals”
“THE AUDIO EQUIVALENT OF BRAILLE THAT’S WHY THEY FEEL ME IN THE FAVELAS IN BRAZIL... ‘CAUSE REAL RECOGNIZE REAL” -JAY-Z 28 • 28 •
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THE THRONE STALLEY
POPPIN’ MY BLUE-COLLAR
Since April, speculation has swirled around Stalley as a potential recruit to Rick Ross’ muscular Maybach Music imprint, but the Massillon, OH rapper—born Kyle Myricks— is more nonchalant than nonplussed. “I’m still doing what I been doing before that relationship happened,” he explains, carefully dodging confirmation. It’s fun(ny) to think of Stalley’s toque and humble Philly Beard next to Rozay’s white-suited excess, but the young rapper sees the opportunity to bring his “music and name to the attention of people who might not have been familiar.” Less focused on blowing money fast, Stalley is instead positioning himself as a product of hardworking, Midwestern roots. He speaks lovingly of the assiduous, car-crazy, blue-collar neighbourhood of his childhood, saying his rap reflects that reality. Hustlers, pimps, and dope dealers were a part of life too, he says, but glorifying that lifestyle isn’t his main objective. “I know people doing that who don’t want to be doing that,” Stalley explains. “They wish they could have a family, a car, and be comfortable, and sometimes that’s what they hustle and grind for.” On his end, Stalley’s been working on a side project with recently revived great Ski Beatz as well as touring nonstop. Look for an official release in late 2011, to follow ’09’s MadStalley: The Autobiography and this year’s Lincoln Way Nights: Intelligent Trunk Music.
lot of things with $10, $15, $20, so for them to take that money and come see me is amazing.
POUND: You’ve opened for rappers like Mos Def and Ghostface, but what’s it like to headline? STALLEY: Right now I’m coming back from D.C. where me and CyHi Da Prynce did a show. It’s been great to go from city to city and see the types of response, or how my most recent project—Lincoln Way Nights: Intelligent Trunk Music—has touched so many people. I actually mess up rapping sometimes because I’m like “Dang, is that someone rapping along with me, word for word?” I’m trying to listen to them! People can do a
POUND: Has Lincoln Way Nights pulled in a different, or broader, fan base for you? What makes it different from your first, MadStalley: The Autobiography? STALLEY: I got more in depth with who I am on Lincoln Way Nights. I brought people into my hometown, my neighbourhood, the parks and streets I hung out on. I also got to bring people deeper into my life and paint a picture of the different sides of my personality. MadStalley was
a tone, a mood that was set—the production was by Madlib, so jazzy with live instrumentation—introducing me as an artist. Sometimes you have to reel people in with sounds. Lincoln Way Nights was an extension of the MadStalley story, but I made it fresh by creating a new sound that, maybe, reached those who weren’t accustomed to listening to a Madlib beat. I went from live instrumentation to trunk muzik and next it’s going to be trunk muzik on steroids, you know, stadium music!
“FAR REMOVED FROM THIS HIP-HOP LIFE” GZA 29 • • POUNDMAG.COM
POUND: Aside from this side project with Ski Beatz, you’ve mostly worked with Rashad. What does he bring to the studio? STALLEY: Rashad and I have more of that chemistry and connection because we come from Ohio—he’s from Columbus, I’m from Massillon. We have some of the same influences and we’re also closer to the same age. I can send him something to read, or a movie clip, a YouTube, or something I want to sample and Rashad gets it right away. It’s like Rashad is me making the beat. If I could make a beat, that’s how it would sound! POUND: What made Lincoln Way Nights “intelligent”? STALLEY: Everything is intelligent: from the instrumentation, to the way the beats are put together in a specific and exact way, to the artwork. We don’t just pick samples because they sound dope, but because they fit the project. The concepts and the lyrics are all intelligent—it’s just thinking man’s music. POUND: Speaking of, you’ve been described by some writers as “A regular guy rap”… STALLEY: I’m not really into labels, but I am a regular dude trying to make my way. If my story touches the regular lives of the world, then that’s what it is. I’m not no man on the moon or alien or robot. POUND: This is similar to how John Mayer projects himself—is that why you specifically chose his song “Assassin” for Lincoln Way Nights? STALLEY: Exactly. I mean I’m a big fan of John Mayer anyway so when I first heard that song I knew the particular part I wanted to sample. I didn’t know it was going to come out the way it did but it worked well and that’s one of my favourite songs. I’d definitely love to work with
him in the future. POUND: You come from a blue-collar town in the Midwest and you were working a 9-to-5 before making music; it seems like that’s really shaped your views. STALLEY: That blue-collar, hardworking, everyday man is all I grew up around: dudes working blue-collar jobs, or self-made individuals who had family-owned stores, car lots or mechanic shops. Everybody’s real hardworking and not afraid to get their hands dirty and that’s what I want to get across because that’s the way it is around the world. Sometimes in hip-hop we lose that because everybody’s so caught up in the rise from selling crack to wearing gold chains and popping bottles. We forget about the regular dudes who just don’t care; they don’t want anything else in the world except making sure their family is fed, clothed, and taken care of, and they got their nice Chevy sitting in the driveway of their nice little house. POUND: The Midwest is tied to the American car industry. Is that where your love of cars comes from? STALLEY: We all know what’s happened to the car industry in America, but growing up in Ohio, there were still plants and factories around—Goodyear Tires is right in Akron, OH. A lot of my family members worked in these factories and either built cars or worked on cars for fun. It was also something people spent time on. You could walk outside on any given day and see somebody under the hood, or hooking up a system, or washing their car—they just really paid attention to detail and took care of their cars. A lot of people also did restoration or rebuilding: they’d buy a ’71 Chevelle
from the junkyard and fix it up as their summer hobby. By the end of the summer they’re riding on it clean, like it just came off the manufacturing belt. [Laughs] POUND: What about your other interest: American literature. What’s your definition of the Great American Author? STALLEY: I am a great American author. My first book was MadStalley, the second one was Lincoln Way Nights—everything I just said to you about growing up— that’s America. We’re all on the same journey and have different definitions of the American dream and this is mine. I admire a lot of the greats like Jack Kerouac, Hunter S. Thompson, and Glenn O’Brien, who are all great writers that have documented American life. POUND: What’s been more important to the way you create music: your rap influences or literary influences? STALLEY: I think my literary influences have made more of an impact in how I tell my story than my rap influences— Hunter S. Thompson had as much influence on me as Nas or Bob Marley. POUND: Do you have a favourite book? STALLEY: The Qu’ran is one of my favourites. But as far as literature goes, I love both The Rum Diary and Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson. Right now I’m reading a book by Glenn O’Brien called How To Be A Man.
COMBING MY BEARD...
“I RELIEVE RAPPERS, JUST LIKE TYLENOL AND THEY KNOW IT” BIG DADDY KANE 30 • • POUNDMAG.COM
CONNeCT. CulTivaTe. CreaTe. COmmuNiCaTe. ShOwCaSe.
5 5
BIG UPS on its illus trious We misse return! d you!
yearS STrONG.
Th annual
COmiNG ThiS
SepTember. F e s T i v a l O F C O M M u n i T y & C u lT u r e
STay TuNed FOr deTailS!
Manifesto is a non-profit, youth-led organization working to unite, energize, support and celebrate Toronto’s vibrant and diverse music & arts community, and find innovative ways of working together towards common goals. We aim to provide a platform and the resources needed to advance the growth of the arts as a tool for positive change on the individual, community, city & international level. Watch exclusive Manifesto tv content, subscribe to the Manifesto neWsletter and More!
themanifesto.ca FOllOw uS aT @maNiFeSTOFeST + FaCebOOk.COm/maNiFeSTOFeSTival 31 •
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e: RE:CLAIM Olivia Arezes @orockk Yannick Anton yannickanton.tumblr.com
“THE REBIRTH OF HIP-HOP’LL BE DROPPED NOW” RAKIM 32 •
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Real Name, No Gimmicks
KENDRICK LAMAR
the ““When people go into state of being institutionalized it puts you in the will mindframe where you always be trapped”
Coming Straight Outta Compton, Kendrick Lamar is the new face of West Coast rap— and it’s a good look.
With raps equally thought provoking and witty, Kendrick Lamar is the most put-on artist since Drake. With co-signs from coast-to-coast, garnered from his critically acclaimed mixtapes, The Kendrick Lamar EP and O(verly) D(edicated), Kendrick continues to earn the respect of his peers with the release of his new album-slash-mixtape #Section.80. On the eve of his first Canadian show Pound talked to Kendrick about avoiding the trife life, the best advice he’s received from the big homie Dr. Dre, “being half Common and half Gucci Mane,” and his hoop dreams deferred.
POUND: YOU REP COMPTON REALLY HARD. HOW MUCH WOULD YOU SAY WHERE YOU’RE FROM HAS SHAPED YOU AS AN ARTIST? KENDRICK: It’s shaped me 100 percent as an artist. I put Compton in my music a lot, the experience that I had growing up in a city is something that built me into the man I am today, whether it was negative or positive. I like to put a lot of that in my music because I
know a lot of people relate to it and they’re not getting that through music anymore. So, I like to talk about stuff I experienced, stuff my homeboys experienced, stuff my mother experienced, stuff my pops experienced and putting it all in one pot man. POUND: HOW DID YOU STAY NEUTRAL AND NOT SUCCUMB TO GANG LIFE COMING UP IN A ROUGH ENVIRONMENT?
“’CAUSE I’M THE REBIRTH, SO NOW YOU GOTTA SEE ME FIRST” GANG STARR 33 •
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KENDRICK: I had so much influence around me, older influence and they always told me you know what, “We gon’ do this, but you stay right there and continue to play basketball,” —that’s what I was doing at the time. I never felt the need to[join] because I always had the protection that I needed around me. Other than that, I had a pops in my life, an active pops, and none of my homeboys had that. So, you know, when I went out in the streets and bumped my head a few times with my homeboys, he was always there to say “I told you,” because he’d been there, done that. My homeboys they didn’t have that type of mentor and influence, so when they bumped they head they’d get right back up, do the same thing and get an even more harsh punishment. I think that’s what really strayed me away. What really took me away from actually being a part of the gang environment and culture was the fact that I found light through music, I think if I never found light through music, I’d probably would’ve ended up just like the people I grew up with, so I really can say that music saved my life. POUND: THERE ARE A LOT OF ARTISTS COMING OUT OF THE WEST SIDE RIGHT NOW, WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON THE NEW FACES OF WEST COAST RAP? KENDRICK: I like it man, they takin’ it to another level. I think it’s an era now where everyone is their own unique individual, they’re not doing the same typical “West Coast” sound, you know? We still got that element there ’cause we always had that particular sound but now it’s just elevated into something bigger and better to where we want to be on a universal scale and still be true to ourselves and our culture,
so it’s not straying away from what we represent, we just making it better, and I love it. POUND: YOU’VE GOTTA BE ONE OF THE MOST PUT-ON NEW ARTISTS RIGHT NOW, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE A LOT OF MAJOR COSIGNS, LIKE DR. DRE AND SNOOP, AND ACTUALLY IN AN INTERVIEW POUND DID WITH PRODIGY, HE SAID YOU WERE THE ONE NEW ARTIST HE WAS REALLY LOOKING OUT FOR. KENDRICK: Prodigy?! Don’t tell me that! I’m gon’ speak on that! One of the albums that I actually studied when I first started doing music was [Prodigy’s] H.N.I.C, Head Nigga In Charge. That’s funny you said that man, that’s very weird. I still get overwhelmed by these people giving me these shoutouts because it’s people that I looked up to and I still consider legends and they’re people I respect, so I never downplay none of it. Like, it wasn’t supposed to happen, they don’t owe me nothing, I never came in this game figuring that somebody owed me a shout-out or should try to put me on. I came in this thing wanting to stamp myself and having that drive and that hunger that everybody respects, so I respect that more than anything, the hunger and the drive. POUND: WHAT’S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’VE GOTTEN FROM ONE OF YOUR MENTORS? KENDRICK: It had to be from Dre. Just him telling me to always have that passion for what I want to do. I look at him and his work ethic, he’s a person worth millions, he ain’t gotta rap for nothing, he ain’t ever gotta make another beat, he ain’t gotta please nobody with a classic album, but he will sit in that studio all day
until it’s perfect. He told me to always have a passion for it cause once you don’t have that passion and you’re just chasing the dollar, it’ll never come out right, everything around you, your music, your family, your love life, just yourself. If you put out positive energy in the universe it’ll come back to you, but it starts with passion. POUND: YOU RAP ABOUT BEING A MIX BETWEEN COMMON AND GUCCI MANE? WHERE DO YOU FIND A BALANCE BETWEEN YOUR MORE AND LESS CONSCIOUS CONTENT? KENDRICK: It’s the fact of the things I know and the things I wanna know. I think the problem with most conscious rappers is, well, I hate to use the word [air quotes] “conscious rapper” but, they come off preachy on a track. Me, in my situation I don’t come off preachy, I come off saying, “I wanna know things just like you, I’m in your shoes.” So when I talk about certain things I’m looking for answers too–dig what I’m saying? So when people hear it and play it back it don’t sound like I’m just giving you a bunch of stuff I have knowledge on, it sounds like I’m willing to learn. POUND: SO WHAT’S A BOO BOO? KENDRICK: That’s somebody that’s weak! Somebody that’s wack, however you wanna call it, you boo boo, you t’d, you got no style, what you just did was lame. POUND: SO, NOT ME THEN. KENDRICK: Naw you cool, you cool. POUND: A MORE SERIOUS THING YOU RAP ABOUT IS PRISON, WHAT’S YOUR
“Y’ALL FUCKERS GON’ MAKE ME RELAPSE FO’ REAL AND TAKE IT BACK TO ’98” LITTLE BROTHER 34 • • POUNDMAG.COM
“ALWAYS HAVE A PASSION FOR IT ‘CAUSE ONCE YOU DON’T HAVE THAT PASSION AND YOU’RE JUST CHASING THE DOLLAR, IT’LL NEVER COME OUT RIGHT” – Kendrick Lamar
ATTITUDE TOWARDS LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE PRISON SYSTEM IN GENERAL? KENDRICK: It’s a system made to destroy. It’s not made to teach, it’s made to continue to put people in a cage. When people go into the state of being institutionalized it puts you in the mind frame where you will always be trapped there. It’s built to destroy people that don’t have the right influence and the right mental state rather than actually teaching them as a kid early on and really showing ’em the ropes and how to learn in certain situations. Instead they tell them, “If you do something bad, you’re going to jail.” I think it’s wack. POUND: WHEN WAS THE FIRST TIME YOU REALIZED YOU WERE MAKING IT AS A RAPPER?
KENDRICK: The first time I felt like I was making it was the first time I actually felt good to be myself on a record. I felt like I just kept coming up with stuff and it felt good. I was like, “Damn, this must be how Jay-Z feels when he get into his zone,” and how he’s able to make fucking 14 albums. When I felt like I was in that zone, I was like 20, I felt like, “You know what, I’m making it!” I didn’t have the funds, but in my heart as far as the passion and the music and the creative sense of it, I felt like this is where I need to be. POUND: DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST RAP? KENDRICK: I can’t remember my first rap, but I can remember the first album that inspired me to write it, DMX’s first album, It’s Dark and Hell is Hot. I always tell people I was a big Tupac fan—I still am. When he passed there was a void that
“BULLSHIT KEPT TO A MINIMUM COME AT ME ALL SUBLIMINAL, IM’MA RETALIATE STRAIGHT” LLOYD BANKS 35 • • POUNDMAG.COM
STALK BOX @kendrick_lamar
Compton named 8th most dangerous city in the U.S by the FBI’s 2010 annual report of crime statistics. What he’d be doing if he wasn’t rapping: A die hard Bulls fan, Kendrick thought he was destined for the NBA until he realized he wasn’t going to grow taller than 5’6. Notable Alumni from Kendrick’s High School (Centennial High School): Dr. Dre, Arron Afflalo (basketball player) He was George W. Bush’s neighbour, well maybe not but Dubya did live in Compton for a year from 1949 to 1950.
was missing in hip-hop—a rawness—and DMX came with that album and it inspired me to start doing my own thing off-the-top because it was a sense of energy that he brought back into the game where he was actually talking about real experiences that people can relate to. Me being a kid I was relating to him because I’m watching these people that are growing up around me going through these same situations and I just started writing from there man. I sounded like DMX probably too, my first few bars, [laughs] and I eventually just graduated and managed to study the game and I came into my own niche. POUND: WHAT’S BEEN THE HIGHEST POINT OF YOUR CAREER SO FAR? KENDRICK: There’s been a few. Other than Dre respecting my music, I think that the highest that I could be is going out in these streets shaking people’s hands and actually seeing tears in they eyes. That’s something I’m not used to, and it lets me know that the music ain’t just for me; I stopped being selfish. [There are] people out here that are really going through these situations that I’m talking about and they’re really living this life. So when I go out here and I shake their hands and I see tears trickling down they face it’s crazy to know that I’m actually touching people like that, so I think that’s the highest
point—and it’s happened like six times in the last six months. POUND: WHAT’S BEEN YOUR LOWEST POINT? KENDRICK: My lowest point would probably have to be when I was in the space where I was trying to make nothing but radio singles, and that’s a space you don’t want to be in, because when you do that you’re actually chasing the dollar instead of chasing the dream. When I jumped into that space that was my wackest creative moment. I didn’t want to come out with the best music, I didn’t want to come out with music I actually liked or what I thought the general population would like, I just wanted to come out with something I thought the radio would like. I think I was like 17 or 18 when I was doing that, so through trial and error, I learned.
WHATCHU LOOKIN’ AT KENDRICK?
“WHEN REAL RECOGNIZE REAL I GETS MINES” CANIBUS 36 • • POUNDMAG.COM
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Girls dutty wining ’til the wee hours of the morning: KASHA & OLIVIA Photo credit: Kimberly Esquila
FUNDAMENT: “What other hip-hop show will you find an equal amount of white-boy rappers as women grinding on a stage?”
REDI: “We don’t just bob heads.” 1990: “Element brought out the big gunz for this one.”
“BITCH RECOGNIZE GAME WHEN IT’S IN YOUR FACE” ICE T 38 • • POUNDMAG.COM
PEOPLE’S INSTINCTIVE TRAVELS Olivia Arezes @orockk
ENTER TORONTO’S RIVOLI ON THE FIRST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH AND YOU’LL FIND YOURSELF PARTYING WITH JUST AS MANY LOCAL ARTISTS IN THE AUDIENCE AS THERE ARE ON THE PERFORMANCE BILL. SCANTILY CLAD FEMALES BOUNCE AND DANCE IN THE FRONT ROW—DRINKS IN HAND—CHALLENGING THE MEN TO GET JUST AS WILD. THE AIR THICKENS AS THE BODY HEAT FROM THE PACKED 20-SOMETHINGS RISES. IT’S 11 PM AND DROPPIN’ KNOWLEDGE IS JUST GETTING STARTED.
“I RETIRE YOUR TRAIN OF THOUGHT DRAIN A QUART OF BLOOD OUT YOUR BRAIN” BIG PUN 39 • • POUNDMAG.COM
Droppin’ Knowledge, or as the regulars call it, DK, attracts quite the mix. Fitted caps and hoodies blend with lace body suits and six-inch heels; 90 lb. hipsters in skinny jeans stand sideby-side with seven-foot tall thugs in oversized jerseys and doo-rags. With such a diverse crowd and an uncommonly high number of females in attendance every month (when compared to your average hip-hop show), DK dispels stereotypes of the typical g’d up from the feet up, screwfaced rap show. DK started in ’08 as a weekly open mic at Vinyl in Montreal by a group of friends going to school in the city. Taken over shortly thereafter by Tim “Fundament” Stuart and then, partnerin-crime, Roly “1990” Broere (two young emcees with virtually no connections) DK began its journey to become the monthly sybaratic celebration it is today. The DK movement quickly spread through Montreal like venereal disease in groupies. Fundament and 1990, originally from Toronto but residing in Montreal, realized DK would thrive just as well in their hometown and decided to branch out. With the help of resident DJ and crowd favourite, James Redi, they began traveling between sister cities, organizing and performing in shows. Police were regular guests at early Toronto DKs. After just two shows, a few drunken brawls and hundreds of dollars in damages at its first Toronto home, The Central, DK was blacklisted and forever banned from the venue, forcing Fundament to find a new home for DK; settling on Queen West’s The Rivoli. When bottles weren’t being broken on patrons’ heads and weaves weren’t flying, DK was growing into something bigger than a rugged houseparty-esque show, becoming one of the main platforms in Toronto and Montreal for up-andcoming artists to share stages with some of Canada’s more established emcees like Eternia and D-Sisive. (DK acts include WraBeanz, Fundament, Smash Brovaz, Rez Raida, Element, KJ, Spek Won, Wolf J McFarlane, Harr1s, Charlie Murphy and many more.) After about a year of successful T.O and MTL
shows, 1990 decided to put MTL DKs on an indefinite hiatus, but lead by Fundament and sidekick James Redi, Toronto DKs continue to flourish. Young Toronto hip-hop heads continue to congregate monthly and whyle out at the city’s self-proclaimed “premier hip-hop league,” which, much to the ladies’ satisfaction, turns into a full fledged reggae-infused hip-hop dance party after the performances, where the stage is rushed every single time and pussy poppin’ on a headstand is nothing out of the ordinary.
“IT DON’T TAKE A WHOLE DAY TO RECOGNIZE SUNSHINE” COMMON 40 • • POUNDMAG.COM
Photo credit: TENNY MONTGOMERY Left to right: FUNDAMENT and REDI
FUNDAMENT: “We go way back! We got arrested for graf together when we were 14!”
REDI: “We have a criminal record together!”
“AND ALL THAT DEEP SHIT I WAS PREVIOUSLY DOWN FOR REPLACED BY FREAK SHIT I AM CURRENTLY DOWN FOR” J COLE 41 • • POUNDMAG.COM
Photo credit: GARRETT “Welldone” RAMSAY Girl about to bang-out other girl: CYATE Girl about to be banged-out: TAMARA
FUNDAMENT: “Just another classic weave moment.” REDI: “I have a whole playlist dedicated to breaking up fights.
I remember playing ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’ this particular fight”
1990: “I was on stage at this point trying to get them to calm down, at first I thought they were just hyped for the show but I was terribly wrong”
“I GOT YOU STUCK OFF THE REALNESS” MOBB DEEP 42 • • POUNDMAG.COM
FUNDAMENT: “FUCK THA POLICE.” REDI: “I remember playing ‘Fuck The Police’ when the po stormed
into The Central, and obviously everyone sang along. They weren’t too happy about that”
Photo credit: GARRETT “Welldone” RAMSAY
BOOTY: ONE OF THE MAIN COMPONENTS OF DK
JUST YOUR MONTHLY DK FUCKERY (MORE BOOTY)
“SOME NIGGAS RECOGNIZE THE LIGHT BUT THEY CAN’T HANDLE THE GLARE” COMMON 43 • • POUNDMAG.COM
Photo credit: OLIVIA AREZES Spittin’ hot fiyah: ETERNIA
REDI: “Djing for Eternia was awesome, I had big shoes to fill and we killed it.”/ “Eternia set the bar really high.”ong” Photo credit: GARRETT “Welldone” RAMSAY Rockin’ the crowd: SAIDAH of Wrabeanz, Audience from left to right: KAYCE, MORGAN, GABRIELLA
FUNDAMENT: “It’s an awesome dichotomy that women are main
players at DK and they love that we incorporate reggae and dancehall so heavily into a hip-hop show.”
REDI: “DK is not all male centered like so many hip-hop shows are,
we have a strong female following and Saidah represents them to the fullest.”
“RELIEVE YOU OF YOUR WEAPONS GET UNDRESSED AND DIVE DEEP INTO THE ESTROGEN” SLUG 44 • • POUNDMAG.COM
“SOMETIMES I ASK MYSELF IF I WAS GONE WHO WOULD REMEMBER ME?” J. COLE 45 • • POUNDMAG.COM
e: LEASE
“REAL G SHIT BOY THAT’S REALLY UNHEARD OF WHEN YOU GET MORE TIME FOR SELLIN’ DOPE THAN MURDER” -YOUNG JEEZY 46 • 46 •
• WINTER • POUNDMAG.COM
RE LEASE Makaya Kelday @LoveMakaya Alex Sheriff
THERE COMES A TIME IN EVERY DUN’S LIFE WHERE HE’S GOTTA GROW UP, FOR MOBB DEEP’S PRODIGY THAT TIME IS NOW.
Having been released on March 7th, 2011 after a three-and-a-half year bid for a gun possession charge, the slightly taller half of Mobb Deep has emerged healthier, stronger and more focused than ever. It seems like prison really was a place of rehabilitation for Mobb Deep’s Prodigy. The Prodigy that I grew up listening to, the Prodigy that single-handedly inspired me to be the toughest, most screw-faced, Timb-wearing chick on the block, has shed his guns and cloak of negativity in favor of a peaceful and positive outlook (or so he says). While we might miss the arrogant, never-scared MC who penned rhymes like, “Rock you in your face, stab your brain with your nose bone,” how can we be mad?
POUND: You said that you never thought that you would actually write a book. What made you do it? PRODIGY: Well I came up with the idea to write the book in ’99 when we did Murda Muzik the movie and I just thought it was a good idea to help promote Mobb Deep music and help promote Mobb Deep on different shelves, so everywhere you turn you see us somewhere. So around 2004 I actually started writing it and I decided to make it more about my life story since I was gonna do all the writing. So I made it more about my family history, my life story growing up and my struggles
with sickle cell and coming up in the music industry and all that. And plus, a lot of misconceptions and rumors go around about us, you know things that people need to be clear on, so I definitely wanted to put the real story out there so people wouldn’t be confused on anything.
been. She definitely helped out a lot just keeping me focused and making me wanna succeed. She made me wanna be successful just so I could make her happy. Besides making myself happy, I wanted to please my woman and show her that we could be successful and have a good life.
POUND: There’s an underlying theme to the book that’s all about you and your wife, Kiki. How important has she been through everything that you’ve been through?
POUND: One of my favorite stories from the book is when you and Havoc went to Def Jam for the first time to supposedly meet with Russell Simmons and the crazy situation that ensued. Can you re-tell the story for our readers who don’t have the book yet?
PRODIGY: I think that she was very instrumental in keeping my head on straight or as straight as it could have
“A NEW ASSHOLE MIGHT GET TORN, TEDDY PAIN A NEW STAR HAS JUST BEEN REBORN” T-PAIN 47 • • POUNDMAG.COM
STALK BOX @prodigymobbdeep 70,000 – Approximate number of Americans affected by Sickle Cell Anemia GROSSEST POST-JAIL LINE:
“Drinking pineapple juice all night/ So I could taste sweet in your mouth, it’s alright” 7- Number of people that announced they were unfollowing Prodigy on twitter for think-
ing he’s illuminati
2 – Number of Poundlings Prodigy follows on twitter 2 – Number of times Prodigy stood us up for this interview
PRODIGY: When Hav and I were first trying to get on we were shopping our demo around to different labels and one of the main ones we wanted to go to was Def Jam. So we used to stand outside the building to see rappers come out and ask them to listen to our demo, and Q-Tip was like the first person to stop for us and listen to it and bring us into the office. So we set up a meeting with Russell Simmons to play him our music and see if maybe he’d want to sign us. The day of the meeting, me and Havoc–we went to school in Manhattan and it was real rough cause we were dealing with a lot of the boroughs you know at that time with all five boroughs going to school in Manhattan and there was a lot of gangs back then so I used to carry a gun to school to protect myself cause a lot of people was gettin’ cut in the face with razors. This was when all that gettin’ cut in your face with a razor shit started so I used to carry a gun. The day of the meeting with Russell Simmons I didn’t wanna bring my gun in Russell’s crib so I left it in the Def Jam office with a friend of ours that worked there. So we went to
the meeting–that ended up being with Lyor ‘cause Russell couldn’t make it and Lyor heard our music, you know we were young kids about 13, he said we curse too much, we were too young to talk about all this street stuff and he wasn’t interested in signing us because he felt like Def Jam would get a lawsuit for having some little kids talking like that. So whatever, that didn’t work out, he didn’t wanna sign us so we was like, whatever it’s your loss, we didn’t mind. We were going to leave and went down to my man’s office where we had the gun and when he pulled it out, Hav was actually closer to him so he passed it to Hav, and long story short, Hav was playing with the gun in the office and it went off and shot homeboy that we knew and yeah, it was a nasty situation right inside of Def Jam. POUND: But you came out ok and everything was fine right? PRODIGY: Well, Hav got arrested but they dropped it cause they knew it was an accident, we weren’t going on there ruthlessly to hurt someone, it was just an accident. And the next morning on
KISS FM–my moms used to listen to KISS FM everyday– they said that two rappers shot a record exec because they didn’t wanna sign them, so that’s how they was promoting it on the radio, like we shot someone ‘cause Def Jam didn’t wanna sign us. POUND: It’s a pretty amazing story… Now if you could imagine for a minute what your life would have been like if you never stepped a foot into Queensbridge. PRODIGY: Ah man, it would probably be very boring! It’d be a boring life ’cause Queensbridge taught me a lot and everybody from that hood embraced me, well, not everybody, but mostly everybody embraced me as a brother and a friend and they took me in. I learned a lot from them and they learned a lot from me, we learned a lot from each other you know what I’m saying? So yeah, I don’t know where I would be right now. POUND: Why do you think you’ve had so many beefs over the years? PRODIGY: Probably because our music is so aggressive.
“IT’S KINDA HARD WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE, REALIZE THE PAST REALLY REPEAT.” KJ 48 • • POUNDMAG.COM
It’s like some of the most aggressive rap music that there is in the game as far as being reality based and not no fantasy. This is like reality music, we talking about what’s really going on in our lives and things that we really dealing with, so I think that it really has a connection with the people when it’s like that and people can see like wow, this is something that’s real. And a lot of people wanna challenge that. A lot of people may not believe that it’s real like that. They might look at other rappers and they see people rap about things that they don’t live and things that they don’t really experience so I think it comes from a lot of that; people wanna challenge us because they think it’s not real. I heard people actually say that I’m rappin’ about their life and that’s like the funniest thing I ever heard in my life, for someone to say that I’m rappin’ about their life is just hilarious to me. So some people, they really got it twisted, they not dealing with reality, so you know, that’s how beefs happen. POUND: Were any of the beefs over the years publicity stunts or were they all real? PRODIGY: Oh no, nothing was ever a publicity stunt, I’ll tell you that much.
POUND: You mention that you know who shot Pac and that he knew who shot him and that it wasn’t P.Diddy and Biggie, but that Pac said it was them so that he could sell more records. Are you concerned at all about what people might think when they read that in the book? PRODIGY: They can feel how they wanna feel about it because I’m telling a story that my friend E-Money Bags was telling me. So basically those are Bags’ words, I’m just repeating what he was telling me, so if people are gonna be mad at me for telling a story that someone told me, that’s up to them you know what I’m saying? POUND: The Autobiography of Malcolm X was a huge inspiration to you growing up. How did it affect your way of thinking? PRODIGY: It made me realize our origin and black history and how people transformed their lives from negative to positive and it was just a good inspiration for me to wanna transform myself into a more intelligent, positive individual. POUND: And the next big inspiration for you was Dr. Malachi York. What was it about his teachings that resonated with you?
“I HEARD PEOPLE ACTUALLY SAY THAT I’M RAPPIN’ ABOUT THEIR LIFE AND THAT’S LIKE THE FUNNIEST THING I EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE.” – Prodigy
“THE TV GOT US REACHIN’ FOR THE STARS, NOT THE ONES BETWEEN VENUS AND MARS” TALIB KWELI 49 • • POUNDMAG.COM
“I’M DEFINITELY STARTING WITH A NICE CLEAN SLATE RIGHT NOW AND I JUST GOTTA BE CAREFUL WITH MY MOVEMENTS AND MAKE SURE I DO THE RIGHT THING AND CONTINUE TO WALK THAT STRAIGHT, POSITIVE LINE...” – Prodigy PRODIGY: Dr. York teaches about things that people are scared to talk about, or things that people really have no knowledge of. You know he gets into a lot of deep things about the origins of religions and cultures and people and governments, he gets to the root of the situation. If you wanna learn about something you have to find out how it started and where it came from and why it started so you know, that’s what Doc teaches about and that’s why I was so into his books. ‘Cause a lot of these books out here, they’ll tell you the story but they don’t tell you how it started. For example, you could pick up a book about the Federal Reserve and they’ll teach you all about it, but they won’t tell you how it started, why it started, whose idea it was, and get really to the bottom of it. I hate books that don’t get to the bottom of things and actually teach you how things begin, because that’s where the real information is. POUND: So, then talking about books that don’t really get to the bottom of things, you do recommend that people read the Bible, in particular the Book of Revelations. Don’t you think that the Bible leaves a lot to be questioned?
PRODIGY: I mean I’m definitely starting with a nice clean slate right now and I just gotta be careful with my movements and make sure I do the right thing and continue to walk that straight, positive line and I’ll be alright. POUND: You said you were gonna come out healthier and with a better mind state than ever before. Is that how you’re feeling? PRODIGY: I think I accomplished that goal, definitely. POUND: Do you think it will last? Or do you think you’ll be lured back into that life of partying and drinking, doing drugs? PRODIGY: Nah, I did all of that since I was 13 years old. Partying, wildin’, I did a lot at a young age, everything. We done toured the world, had all kinds of groupies, money, power, fame, it doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. I understand the importance of some of the lifestyle that comes along with the whole hiphop thing but you know, we did it already so there’s no thrill in it for me.
PRODIGY: There’s just certain things in there that you can just tell are real cause that’s what’s happening in the world right now. Exactly what that Book of Revelations is saying is what’s happening in the world, you don’t have to have too much intelligence to know that’s happening right now. So I’ll point people in that direction so they can see that it’s really going on. I’m not really a religious person; you know I’m not into the organized religion thing. I know it’s good for some people, it helps save some people’s lives; prostitutes, crack heads, what have you, they lives get changed because of the church sometimes, so it’s a good thing for some people but it’s just not for me. I have my own connection with God, like my body is my temple; I don’t have to go to one.
POUND: You stated that you’ve finally grown up. What made you come to that?
POUND: You believe in karma and you stated in the book that you have paid for all the bad things you did. Do you think you have a clean slate at this point?
POUND: What’s coming up for you and for Mobb Deep?
PRODIGY: You know, when you get everything snatched from you; your family, your career and are made to sit in prison for three years, you start realizing that you really messed up and you gotta get it together. Even before I was in there it clicked in my head, “Wow, it’s time to change your life kid.” POUND: How is it going to affect your music? PRODIGY: It’s gonna affect it in a good way. I’m more focused now, I’m writing more songs than ever, I got crazy features out right now. I’m just focused man, you know what I mean?
PRODIGY: Yeah Mobb Deep is working on a
“AND THEY SAY I’M INSANE, ’CAUSE I SEE THE REMAINS OF THE WHIPS AND THE CHAINS” PHAROAHE MONCH 50 • • POUNDMAG.COM
next album, it’ll be out there in August sometime. As far as Prodigy music goes, I don’t really got nothing else planned until we do this Mobb Deep thing, but I dropped a little six song EP with Complex [Ed. Note: The Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson EP], it’s free, just to have something out there for the people ‘cause I know that they wanna hear something. POUND: People always accuse you of being an angry guy, but here you are on the phone with me and you seem pretty nice. Why do you think people always perceive you that way?
PRODIGY: Because I was an angry person. I was very angry growing up. My sickle cell, the pain I was going through, you know, I been in situations where I almost died a few times dealing with this. So it made me angry at God, it made me just angry at the world, like I didn’t care and I really had a chip on my shoulder and attitude problem and all that. Yeah, I was a bad person growing up. I was very mad for real and that wasn’t good and basically it trickled over into my adult life and that was part of the reason I got locked up ‘cause I wasn’t living right.
“THAT MIGHT BE GAY DUDE”
FOR ALL THE REAL MOBB REPRESENTATIVES
“NOW I WAS BORN AS A REBEL, MAKING TROUBLE FOR THE DEVIL” 2PAC 51 • • POUNDMAG.COM
e: VIVE
52 •
• POUNDMAG.COM
IF I RULED THE W RLD Chantle Beeso @chantlebeeso, Cassandra Juradinho @CassJuradinho Photography: Chad Griffiths
In 1991 an unknown teenager dropped a single verse that created a buzz that lasted for three years. His name was Nas, the song was “Live at the Barbeque,” and we all know the result. Twenty years later a fan of Lil B’s put together a compilation of his MySpace songs—all 676 of them. B’s got a good buzz, but you’ll have to trust us on this—Nas’ single verse had a bigger impact. Enter Cole. More Nas than B, but a comtemporary of the later, he’s a throwback enigmatic MC in an overconnected rap game. If it were up to Cole, all he’d do is write rhymes past the margins.
“THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT MAKE YOU LOOK FIVE POUNDS THINNER” GIL SCOTT HERON 53 •
• POUNDMAG.COM
POUND: You often mention that you could’ve been another unsuccessful rap story. Explain what you mean by that. J-COLE: I was just saying that there are a lot of people that probably chased that dream or chased that goal and really thought it would happen and it didn’t happen for them. So when I said that I think I was just telling the story about how it’s kind of crazy that I had the nerve to be like, “Aw, I can do it,” when in actuality the chances that I would actually do it were really small. POUND: Where does that confidence come from? J-COLE: Definitely has to be [from] my mom. She was really one of those parents that was like, “You can do anything you want to do, if you put your mind to it.” I really believed it, for some reason. I really believed I’d go to the NBA one day and I was gonna be an astronaut, president if I wanted. I really believed these
things. It was just a matter of going to do it and making it happen. The rap thing was the same way. I really believed I could go do it, not knowing how hard it was gonna be. POUND: Being from North Carolina, what made you choose to come to New York as opposed to another major hip-hop centre? J-COLE: My thoughts and my ideas of what New York was like was the reason I came. I thought it was going to be hip-hop central and every night [there would be] freestyle battles, and beat battles and open-mics. That’s just what I thought it would be like. It’s like when you have dreams of Hollywood as an actor or something and you move out there; it’s never what you think it is. So when I got here there was none of that. That scene had died a long time ago but it still got me up here. POUND: What were your thoughts when you realized that New York wasn’t what you thought
“I’M BEYOND A LEGEND, I’M ICONIC FALL OFF, REBUILD, YOUR MAN’S BIONIC” LL COOL J 54 • • POUNDMAG.COM
“…MY IDEA OF WHAT NEW YORK WAS LIKE WAS THE REASON I CAME. I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE HIP-HOP CENTRAL AND EVERY NIGHT [THERE WOULD BE] FREESTYLE BATTLES, AND BEAT BATTLES AND OPEN-MICS. ”
to sleep listening to Nas’ album and studying his album anyway, and Tupac was my favourite but I remember the first time I heard Canibus. My homeboy told me about him. When I heard I was like, ‘Oh my God,’ because what he was saying was so smart. Not in terms of mathematical smart but he was witty. You could tell it took time to say what he was saying. The types of punch lines he was saying, I was like, ‘“Aw, man, I wanna be that.” That’s when I started trying to copy him and copying Eminem and then Nas and Jay. POUND: What was the transitional period like, after meeting with Jay-Z for the first time then having to go back to your telephone bill-collecting job?
it would be? Were there doubts? J-COLE: There were no doubts but it kind of threw me off. Since that wasn’t there, there was nothing to be excited about [and] I kind of fell into my college mode. I’m dealing with girls on campus and I’m living by myself and I’m living away from my mom for the first time. I’m in a dorm in New York City. So there [were] other things keeping my interest since there was no rap stuff to turn to. So it probably set me off track about two years.[It was] more about being a college student in New York rather than an unsigned artist. And then I switched gears once I remembered what I was here for. POUND: You’ve mentioned being put on to Master P. and No Limit as a young rapper. When did you gravitate toward the Nas’ and Jay-Z’s of the game? J-COLE: I think it took Canibus and Eminem. It was like ’97, ’98 when I heard Canibus and how he was rapping. I did like Nas. I used to go
J-COLE: [Sighs and laughs] It was weird. One day, literally, I remember the feeling, like, this is incredible. Yesterday I was just in Jay-Z’s office meeting with him, he’s complimenting my work, breakin’ it down and telling me why the music is so good and why he likes it. And then the next day I’m sitting in this office with a headset on next to mad people and we’re collecting late payments. It was the craziest feeling to go from that to the other end. But it was also a good feeling. It was confirmation as to why I was even there in the first place. I got a college degree, I really wasn’t supposed to be at no job making whatever I was making an hour. I was supposed to be somewhere else with a nine-tofive and a real career. So it was confirmation, like, “Alright, that’s why I’m here.” The next two months that I had to wait for the deal to actually go through was easy. POUND: Were you expecting to be signed after that meeting? J-COLE: Yeah. Yeah, I had a feeling. I had to wait like a week just for the confirmation but I had a good feeling. It felt like one of those things. It was a good feeling. POUND: What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned thus far from Jay-Z? J-COLE: Most valuable lesson? I don’t know a specific lesson but it’s definitely not settling. He won’t allow me, personally, to settle for what I got. You think you got it but you might not have it. He gave me a story the other day about how when he was doing The Dynasty album and he was about to go with the first single. They were three days away from shooting a video for “Parking Lot Pimpin’” of all songs. He said
“RESPECT TO THE MACS AND THE ACS, TO THE FREAKS IN THE JEEPS, LICK SHOT TO MY PEEPS” NOTORIOUS B.I.G 55 • • POUNDMAG.COM
three days before they shot the video, he heard “Give It To Me,” you know, [singing] “give it to me,” and obviously he shut down “Parking Lot Pimpin’.” But that was three days before. So it’s like you never know what’s gonna happen. You never stop working, basically, is the thing I’m tryna say. POUND: What are some misconceptions you think people have about J.Cole? J-COLE: I get that question a lot and I never have an answer for it. I haven’t heard any misconceptions. I don’t even know if I’m to that level yet, I don’t think there are many misconceptions. POUND: When you say, ‘to that level,’ what do
you mean? J-COLE: You know, once you get to a certain level like a Jay or a Kanye, you’re gonna have a lot of misconceptions. People are gonna think you’re this kind of person but you’re really not. [There are] just a lot of things when you’re that high up. I don’t think I’m that high up yet. POUND: You’ve mentioned being taken aback when people started giving you props for your music particularly when females do so. Why is that? J-COLE: It wasn’t odd. It kind of caught me off guard. It’s like when I go to a show and I see the whole front row and 80 percent of the front row is women. The surprising thing
“GIVE PRIEST A COUPLE OF SECONDS I REBUILD HEAVEN ON RECORDS” KILLAH PRIEST 56 • • POUNDMAG.COM
STALK BOX @jcolenc Where to Retire magazine names Cole’s hometown of Fayetteville, NC one of the best places to retire in America 629,975 - twitter followers 3230 - number of people at the Toronto J. Cole show last December 311 - number of girls at the concert that asked Pound if we could introduce them to Cole
about that is I don’t [make] what has been the standard music geared toward women. I don’t make songs like, “Oh, this the girl record right here,” you know what I’m sayin’? I think that’s actually why the women are appreciative. I feel like they can sense that. I’m not really going for that. So, I say all that to say when I see a woman rapping all the words to a record as hard as “Who Dat” or “Grown Simba,” it’s dope to see. POUND: Being someone who addresses social issues in their music, what effects do you think rap has on society, if any? J-COLE: I used to think, man, “I feel like you can change the world through your music” but in reality, the change is small. Very small, nothing drastic. When I was younger I used to believe that I’d come to change the world through my music. But now, if I could just reach a section of people or a few people. Everybody might listen to the same song and you might not get any message from it. You just might like the way it sounds or the way I’m saying things. But there might be two or three people out there that get exactly what I’m talking about. That’s the little bit of change I’m talking about. They might look at the world differently now. I used to believe there could be grand, massive change, but I believe it’s all small changes. POUND: What is your strategy to rapping consciously without sounding preachy or corny? J-COLE: That’s a good question, that’s definitely what I look to do. I guess it comes from a couple places. One is being a fan of Tupac,
He was almost your best friend and your role model all in one. And when he did talk about issues it never came across preachy, and I always respected that. Then, some artists that I did love, not to say any names, that I did love growing up too, and still do love, I would hear people say things about them like, “Yeah he nice, but he’s always preaching.” You know, some people get turned off by that and I’ve always recognized that. So I don’t know the formula but I think it comes from being relatable. It’s cool to talk about issues and try to teach, but you never want to make it seem like you’re better than somebody. You always want to let people know that, “Yeah, I mess up too. I might drink, I might smoke, I might chase women and all these things, but let’s still recognize what’s right and wrong and recognize how we’re living.” So just don’t put yourself on a higher plateau, make them feel like you’re a part of them or one of them and then that will open the door for you to say what’s on your mind. I know I’m giving you the longest answer right now [laughing], I got to get to the point. POUND: So basically you want to make sure you don’t come off condescending. J-COLE: Exactly. You see, I could’ve just said that [laughing]. POUND: What about through progression: do you think you can make that massive change over a period of time? J-COLE: Over time? For instance, I think Tupac has made a change. He hasn’t changed the world but he’s changed people’s lives, in a sense. There’s music that’s actually keeping people alive. I had a kid come up to me at a show, I couldn’t believe it. I got this song called “Dolla and a Dream,” the second one. I think he said, “Yo, man, ‘Dolla and a Dream’ saved my life.” And I was like, “Okay I appreciate that.” I didn’t really know what he was saying. He was like, “No, really, literally.” He said he had cancer and he said he listened to “Dolla and a Dream” every day, damn near non-stop while he was going through whatever he was going through, I guess his treatment. Now, did it really save his life? I don’t know. But he truly believed it through the conversation I had with him. He really believed that that’s the song that got him through it or gave him the strength to get
“YALL RECORD I RECALL ’CAUSE I REALLY BEEN THERE BEFORE” JAY Z 57 • • POUNDMAG.COM
through the cancer. On a grand scheme of [the entire] world, that’s a small change, but it’s a change. I feel like Tupac had a lot of that. Bob Marley had a lot of that. Artists of that scale had a lot of those types of stories. But you gotta be a true revolutionary in your heart to really want to change the whole world. I don’t have the energy for that [laughing]. I just want to make good music.
relate to. You can sit back and be like, “Oh my God, I know exactly what he’s talking about,” or “He was saying exactly what I was thinking or feeling but I didn’t really know how to say it.” I think that’s the best, at least my favourite, music to make.
POUND: What is good music to you?
J-COLE: No, my mom is from Michigan originally. But, she joined the military and that’s where her and my father met, they were both in the army. So when I was born, they were stationed out in Germany.
J-COLE: I think it just has to tap into people’s emotions, really. Make people feel something. Whether it’s happy or sad, I think that’s the best music. At least that’s the music I like to make the most. I do the fun songs and I do the fun raps where I might not really be talking about anything but my favourite music to [make is] the stories that people can actually
POUND: You were born in Germany right? Is that where she’s originally from?
POUND: Being raised by a single mother as a young man comes with its set of challenges. How did you manage to stay on track pursuing an education/career as opposed to the streets?
“I’M ’BOUT TO REVEAL IT, DESTROY IT, REBUILD IT THEN CONCEAL IT BEFORE ANOTHER NIGGA STEALS IT” JOE BUDDEN 58 • • POUNDMAG.COM
J-COLE: Honestly, it just came from good parenting. And also I got to credit my older brother too because I look at it like he was the guinea pig. I think my mother tried to instill the same values in him that she did in me but it’s only us two, so when you’re the first child sometimes you have to make the mistakes first. That was the situation with my brother, he made a lot of, I guess, bad choices growing up. You know, his grades kind of started to slip and he started hanging around with the wrong crowd, but regardless, I love him for that. What he did was, he allowed me to see what was happening with him and avoid all of those things. So it’s a combination of my mother of course, and also my brother as well- I got to give him some credit because if it wasn’t for him, I could’ve been the one making the mistakes. That kind of kept me focused. Like, “Oh man, I don’t want to be like that. I know what happens when I make that type of decision.” So it’s kind of like he was the guinea pig, and in turn he allowed me to learn from his mistakes. So everything happens for a reason. POUND: When you envision a successful rap career for yourself, what do you see? J-COLE: Fifteen years from now, I still want to be relevant. I’ve mixed people’s careers up and try to get a sense of what I want. Sometimes I wanna have Jay’s career, sometimes I’d rather have Nas’ career – less limelight but still the same amount of respect. Sometimes I want to have Kanye’s career, that freedom. He’s got a lot of artistic freedom. I know I want to still be doing this years from now. I don’t know how it’s gonna pan out or whatever. And then sometimes I really want Will Smith’s life [laughs].
whether it’s the deepest song in the world or whether it’s a party song, you’re not gonna see me slacking. I think Jay is like that, Eminem is like that, they won’t slack. I’m not even mad at Waka for saying that. I think as time goes on we learn that there [are] a lot of lanes and everybody has their lane. Like Soulja Boy, he doesn’t really have to be a great rapper if he doesn’t want to be because he’s making music that people enjoy and there’s a lane for that. Same with Waka. There [are] a whole bunch of people out there who think he really can rap, you know what I’m saying, so who are we to tell him that he can’t? That’s just my thing. I want everybody to hear my songs and be like, “God.” That’s just me though. That’s the path I chose. It’s a harder path but that’s what gets me the most excited. POUND: You’ve mentioned having minimal features on the album, are you sticking to that? COLE: Yeah, for the most part. I don’t know about zero features, I always said if I get a feature I do want Jay featured. And I’m really specifically speaking rap. I don’t mind maybe getting a female artist I respect on a hook but really when it comes to rap I got a lot to say to be giving up verse spots to other rappers.
BEHIND THE SCENES
POUND: You seem to pride yourself as being a true lyricist. When you have rappers like Waka Flocka admitting to the fact that he’s not a very good rapper, where do you feel you fit into hip-hop today? COLE: Everybody’s got their lane. That’s just my lane; I actually care about the lyrics. So “I GOT THE URGE FOR SELF-REINVENTION” NAS 59 • • POUNDMAG.COM
BABY SIMBA
e: FRESH
STYLIN’ PROFILIN’
60
Photography: Vicent Tsang, MTL; Boli, TO; Amir Ebrahimi, NYC.
NAME: BLAKE AGE: 27 CITY: QUEEN & DUFFERIN, TORONTO @caringtonworld
THINK TANK HAT
YOUR LIFE’S SOUNDTRACK: DARE 2 DREAM Blake Carrington
THINK TANK TANK
URBAN OUTFITTERS GLASSES
RING ALDO
LEVIS CARGOS What song best describes your style? “FRESH{ER THAN THE REST}” Blake
Carrington ft. Rich Kidd
CONVERSE SHOES
1 “REBIRTH AND REGENERATION AS EMBODIED IN THE RHYTHM OF JUAN JUANCO” GIL SCOTT HERON 60 • • POUNDMAG.COM
“WE TAKIN ANOTHER ROUTE TO REPRESENT THE DUNGEON FAMILY ” OUTKAST 61 • • POUNDMAG.COM
e: FRESH 60
3
2 2
NAME: MICHAEL AGE: 25 CITY: BERRY & NORTH 7TH, BROOKLYN BOOTS: HUNTER SHIRT: J.CREW WATCH: ROLEX SPECS: ANGLO AMERICAN PANTS: NORSE PROJECT What song best describes your style? ANYTHING BY HARRY NELSON Your life’s soundtrack? “BIG WEEKEND” LEMONADE
3
NAME: TIMOTHY AGE: “30-ISH” CITY: SPADINA & RICHMOND, TORONTO SHOES: NIKE SKY FORCE STÜSSY SHORTS: VINTAGE ARMY SHIRT: WINGS & HORNS HAT: NORSE PROJECTS TATS: LIZ & VARIOUS TALENTED FEMALE TATTOO ARTISTS What song best describes your style? “VIBES & STUFF” A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
4
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NAME: DARIA AGE: 34 CITY: BEDFORD & NORTH 3RD, BROOKLYN TOP: AMERICAN APPAREL BAG: CAMBRIDGE SATCHEL COMPANY SHOES: K.JACQUES NECKLACE: K.JACQUES YUTE’S DRESS: ALL SAINTS YUTE’S SHOES: CONVERSE What song best describes your style? “FITTER HAPPIER” RADIOHEAD
“HOW DO YOU RESPAWN THE STUDENTS AND REFRESH THE PAGE” KANYE WEST 62 • • POUNDMAG.COM
NAME: CHERISSE AGE: 23 CITY: BEDFORD & NORTH 6TH, BROOKLYN @weatherforecast
YOUR LIFE’S SOUNDTRACK: “LADY FINGERZ” SHIRT BON MARCHE
Why?
SKIRT FRIPP STAR
GOODWILL PURSE
GOODWILL SANDALS
5 “NO REMORSE OR REMISSION, THE FLOW IS GORGEOUSLY SICKENED” LINGUISTICS 63 • • POUNDMAG.COM
e: FRESH 60
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NAME: JOHNNY AGE: 26 CITY: DOWNTOWN MONTREAL
@SHOTBYJFK
HAT: BRIXTON TEE: FRESHJIVE JEANS: WeSC SHOES: VANS POUCH: ST-PAULI What song best matches your style? “GIRLS WITH ACCENTS” FENCES What’s your life’s soundtrack? ENTRODUCING DJ SHADOW
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NAME: ELLEN AGE: 21 CITY: BEDFORD AND SOUTH 2ND, BROOKLYN TANK TOP: H&M SHORTS: VINTAGE BACKPACK: FJÄLL RÄVEN GLASSES: RAY BAN SHOES: NEW BALANCE BRACELET: OLD LADY MAGNET What’s your life’s soundtrack ANYTHING BY WHY?
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@JESSE_THE_TIGER NAME: JESSE AGE: 33 CITY: CITY: MONTREAL (ST HENRI)
HAT: BRIXTON SUNGLASSES: WeSC SHIRT: WeSC SHORTS: WeSC FOOTWEAR: GRAM What’s your life’s soundtrack? “TRAILBLAZERS” RADIOHEAD What song best describes your style? “SLAPP” STALLEY
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7 “REMEMBER RAPPIN’ DUKE? DUH-HAR, DUH-HAR” NOTORIOUS B.I.G 64 • • POUNDMAG.COM
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NAME: HODA AGE: 23 CITY: QUEEN & MARKHAM, TORONTO @thefakehoda
GLASSES DIOR VINTAGE SCARF HER MOM’S VINTAGE
YOUR LIFE’S SOUNDTRACK: THE WEEKND + FRANK OCEAN
SHIRT SILENCE & NOISE
SHORTS VINTAGE
PINK CIG. PINK ELEPHANT
BAG LOUIS VUITTON
SHOES FASHIONABLY YOURS
9 “I RELIEVE TENSION THE PATH TO MY LESSON IS THE HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN” CL SMOOTH 65 • • POUNDMAG.COM
BATTLE OF THE RE:BORN
POUNDFORPOUND BROADCAST LIVE FROM VOSTOK, RUSSIA
DIVINE DIVISION
RRRRRAAGGGHHH DIVISION
JESUS vs DALAI LAMA
ZOMBIE vs MUMMY
HEIGHT
HEIGHT
HEIGHT
HEIGHT
THE MOST HIGH
OH, ABOUT 5’8”
WEIGHT
WEIGHT
NEEDS TO GET IT UP A LIL BIT
GETTING A LITTLE ROTUND THESE DAYS
THEY’RE ALL SLOUCHY & HUNCHY SO IT’S HARD TO TELL
THEY’RE ALL SHRUNKEN SO IT’S HARD TO TELL
WEIGHT
REACH
REACH
ALL SKIN AND BONES!
EVANGELICALLY EXPANDING
WHY WOULD YOU REACH FOR SOMETHING IF YOU DESIRE NOTHING?
REACH
WEIGHT ALL SKIN AND DRIED UP ORGANS!
KO’S
KO’S
YOU JUST WAIT ‘TIL JUDGEMENT DAY
CHINA’S SUPER AWESOME HUMAN RIGHTS’ RECORD
ARE WE TALKING ABOUT OL’ SCHOOL SLOW ZOMBIES OR NEW SCHOOL FAST ZOMBIES? KO’S
REACH ALL STIFF-LIKE KO’S THE VERY VERY SLOW
ORIGINAL IDEAS IN HOLLYWOOD
JESUS
DALAI LAMA (RESPONSE)
ZOMBIE
MUMMY
Three facts first, no delay/ I’m black, I’m rap, and I gotta beard—no Freeway/ Crucified, thought I died, bounce back in three days/ One long weekend and I make a glorious recovery/ 2,000 years later, 33% of Earth still lovin’ me/ Normally I’m on my all-you-can-drink-wine Cana tip/ But today I go Old Testament/ Swap vestments for sheepskin attire/ Cookin’ Lama on a brimstone fire/ Serve his baldy with a side of fish/ Which is my favourite dish/ Bottom-feeding sucker, pucker for the kiss/ Tonight, Jesus finna play Judas and Brutus/ On some peaceful Buddha bliss? Naw, that’s cowardice/ Jehovah! Witness this reverse Lazarus/ In the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit, I’m sonning this perverted monk ’til His Holiness bruise/ Tell Jimmy Iovine and Jerry Heller, I’m King of the Jews/ Funny, it’s paradoxical for me to even fight/ If I body ya, I’m actually giving you life/ Father, forgive him, for Dalai know not with whom he screw/ Only one set of footprints left Tibet—it was then I buried you…
Good golly, diss Dalai?! Better call me Ali Lama/ Keep comin’ back for my title, that’s word to Mary mama/ WWJD, hmmm, What Would Jesus Do?/ In a P for P wit’ we, Watch While Jetsun Destroy you/ Son, you can bring Joe blue-balls and Daddy two too/ This is Passion of the Christ, I go Mel Gibson on a Jew / Do you Arnie-style, Commando under robes and Yellow Hat/ Leave the Trinity really holey, laid like a maid, and bet I’ll be back/ Mischief-free soul, from 1391 ’til infinity / This boy n the Buddhahood, you just a spiritual Mini-Me/ What do you mean, John 3:16? / God so loved the world, he put DL 14 on the scene/ You been long gone, twits trip like you on your way back / But May two-one passed, and the sky still ain’t cracked/ Stuck above the clouds, can’t get back to the future, I beseech ya/ This Pound for Pound like tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacha…
These are you last days/ and I’m ‘bout to cause a mass plague/ this P4P is like the zombie king vs. The posterboy for bandaids/ see the problem is, you don’t know how we zombies live/ sneak up in your rotten crypt and catch you slippin’ in your sarcophogus/ now, before the apocalypse I was just a college kid focusing on scholarships and getting my grades/ but since I’m on my zombie ish, I told your girl to ‘give me some brains!’/ now, saying I’m gon’ lose is something I expect from haters/ but now its time for me to kill The Mummy, I’m raps Brendan Fraser/ Lyrically, your raps aint tight, they all falling apart/ while physically, your wraps aint tight, you all falling apart/ me, I’m fresh to death, a zombie mr. Clean/ you got that ‘fresh out the tomb’ breath, go battle some listerine/ so I don’t care what you bring up, you nowhere near my eeriness/ you so UN-frightening King Tut is probably rolling in his pyramid!
Before I even wipe the crust out my optic, Ra, I get accosted/ Zombie Egyptologists, hollerin’ at my profits/ Rhymes must’ve ate a man’s mind, now he’s thoughtless/ Reach in my sarcophogus, clap! You get assaulted/ A cannibal with a George A. Romero groan/ Spit corn syrup at the gold ancient pharoah throne?/ You get vexed in the triangle terrordome/ Then get left in the snakes -- Indiana Jones/ Embalming fluid in my gold bong/ I mummy a wrap tied around the neck of this fuckin’ zomb/ ‘Cause you’re more of a cog in a flash mob/ Thriller video cameo filler, I’m Seti I, dog!/ In this apocalyptic inferno, 28 Days Later on, I’m eternal/ 56 days later on, that’ll learn you/ To ever test the spirit with the hieroglyphic journal!
FINAL
JESUS vs ZOMBIE JESUS
ZOMBIE (RESPONSE)
Je-sus stalks/ Je-sus stalks his prey… Left arm Drizzy, left leg Weezy/ Right arm Shady, right leg Yeezy/ I’m-a be here forever, Z, believe me/ J.H.C. rollin’ with criminals and prostitutes/ Know how to pepper a leper: stop, cock and shoot/ Shotgun slammin’ in your chestpiece—blaow!/ New Era crown of thorns tilted on my brow/ Moe Dee shades, how ya like me now?/ Holier than thou/ Plus you think my rhymes too dense/ Let’s just chalk it up to my God complex/ Magazines be half pop gossip, half rap fashion/ Crucifying hip-hop till the children lose passion/ Zombie creep too slow to catch this life everlastin’/ Walk on water, water down wine/ Whine and moan, arms outstretched blind/ You first died ’cause you failed to save your behind/ I died once, true, but to save all mankind/ You suckin’ on brains, but Jesus just blew your mind/ Selector, reeeeee-wind!
Son of God? You must certainly jest!/ Joseph happy as hell they didn’t have paternity tests/ Your real pops, probably cooler than Bethlehem nights/ soon as he hit it he left and took flight/ Why you mad? ’cause your dad bounced, wishing his ass had used protection?/ And ya mom’s actually embarrassed/ Sad and she’s pathetic/ So she made up some stuff about the immaculate conception/ and truth be told, Mary Magdalene could get it/ I heard she sins, so I brought her out back to give confessions/ God said you ain’t his son, because he had a rubber/ Jesus lookin’ like the original hanson brother/ Jesus gets no girls, I said he would fail/ His crucifixion was the only time he ever got nailed/ I used to be a young heathen, yellin’ bun Jesus, and I sang it proud/ Give him a cross and a few nails if you want Jesus to hang around/ You really think ya moms was chaste/ She used to have me saying hail mary, full of waist…
*JUDGES’ SCORECARD ST
Jesus may walk, but Zombies stalk. Plus their box-offices are bigger.
“YOUR WHOLE BEING COMES FROM GREATNESS DO YOU REMEMBER?” Q-TIP 66 66 • • • POUNDMAG.COM • POUNDMAG.COM
“MY DEFINITION OF A SOULJA, REVOLUTIONARY MILITARY MINDED AND READY FOR WHATEVER” -DEAD PREZ 67 •
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“SOMETIMES I ASK MYSELF IF I WAS GONE WHO WOULD REMEMBER ME?” J. COLE 68 •
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