We've all had one of those conversations.
You know, one of those hypothetical “if
you could get any MC and any DJ/producer into
the studio together to make an album, who would
it be?” flights of fancy. It wasn't so
long ago everyone was at the edge of their seats
waiting for Rakim and Dr. Dre to make one such
fantasy combo come true, only to be horribly
disappointed after months and months of build
up. Well here’s the antidote to that cruel
prank, and its name is Grandmasters, DJ Muggs
vs GZA. If those two names have never cropped
up in one of your aforementioned hip hop hypotheticals
then you just haven’t been thinking hard
enough. Shame on you. As founding members
of their respective seminal groups Cypress Hill
and the Wu Tang Clan, these guys have been consistently
rated at the top of their fields for as long
as they’ve been around, and unlike the
Dre and Rakim debacle this East meets West combination
is all product with very little hype.
An undeniably high grade product at that, plus
it exists which is friggin' handy. With
both of these legends bringing their A-game
to the table, the result is one of the few true
gems of the new millennia. I was privileged
enough to be able to catch up with DJ Muggs
and find out how it all came together. Here’s
the result.
1. First of all, and not too faun or nothing,
but that Grandmasters album is as tight as all
fuck, how long has it been in the works?
MUGGS - Once GZA got in the studio, the album
took about EIGHT (8) days. I gave him the beats
about 3 months prior to him coming to LA. From
my first call to GZA about the project until
mastering was complete, it took a total of SEVEN
(7) months.
2. A stellar hip hop combo of the likes of
the GZA and yourself is dreamed about often
but seen rarely, and yet there didn't seem to
be much fanfare or public build up of anticipation
for this album prior to its release. Was it
part of your intent to keep the release low
key until it dropped or were you surprised about
this too?
MUGGS - Fanfare and anticipation comes from
Marketing and Promotion. This album was released
on my new label, ANGELES RECORDS (www.angelesrecords.com)
and therefore was released independently. It's
hard as an Independent label to compete with
the Majors because we can't spend the money
in marketing and promotion that they can. GZA
and I did this record for the fans. This was
a "fan record" and it is a timeless
record....and hopefully it will be thought of
as a classic. Those heads out there that are
true fans will find the record and hopefully
go out and BUY it.
3. Grandmaster's is billed as Muggs vs. GZA.
It also depicts the two of you embroiled in
the tenseness of a close chess game on the cover.
Apart from expanding on the theme of the title,
does this adversarial tone reflect the style
of collaboration between you two on this project?
Like, you and GZA both being Grandmasters, did
you get competitive about trying to match up
to each others work?
MUGGS - We weren't trying to get competitive.
We were trying to gel and come together to compliment
our individual talents. We feel that we are
both 'GRANDMASTERS' in the game. GZA as an EMCEE
and me as a dj / producer and we wanted to showcase
those talents. Chess is a game of the minds.it
is intelligent warfare and every move you make
in a chess game effects the outcome of the game
just like every move you make in life will effect
the outcome of your life.
4. So who won that chess game anyway?
MUGGS - The world will never know.
5. One producer albums seem to be becoming
more common in hip hop again, in general do
you have a preference to albums with one producer
over 12 different songs with 12 different producers
on them?
MUGGS - In my opinion, it seems throughout
the history of hip hop that emcees (or groups)
with only one producer (or consistent production
team) have put out a lot of the 'classics' or
timeless albums. For example; EPMD (Erick Sermon
and PMD), GANG STARR (DJ Premier), PUBLIC ENEMY
(The Bomb Squad) and N.W.A (Dr Dre and Yella)
just to name a few.
6. Of the albums you've produced yourself,
it's hard to pick a song from one album that
wouldn't sound out of place if you just dropped
it in another. You seem to adopt a new sound
scape for each album, is this a conscious choice
or does it just happen as a matter of course?
MUGGS - I would say it is both a conscious
choice and a matter of course. The thing is,
as an artist, you don't want to paint the same
picture twice. However, as a producer for a
group, you don't want to change too much because
your fans are expecting to hear a certain sound
from the group. If you change it up too much,
you will lose the core fan base.
7. The Grandmasters album sounds very frustrated
at the current state of hip hop. If you could
make one sweeping change to the way shit operates
right now, what would it be?
MUGGS - I wouldn't change anything. As an artist,
if you want to see change, you have to create
the change yourself. You have to prioritize
your goals and then set out on a path to conquer
those goals. That is the only way you can create
change. it has to start with YOU.
8. The album rings out on GZA saying: "Music
from the heart, not for the charts". Which
artists around at the moment do you see as living
up to this credo?
MUGGS - I would say; Self Scientific, Wu Tang
Clan, Little Brother, Dilated Peoples and DJ
Premier to name a few.
9. Britney Spears sings over hip hop beats
now. Is selling out hip hop justified if it
makes pop slightly less shit?
MUGGS - You see, people have to realize that
this is the MUSIC BUSINESS. The key to that
is the word 'BUSINESS'. and 'BUSINESS' is about
making money. If hip hop is the new 'pop music'
then everyone is going to want a piece of it
because that is what makes the money.
10 . So you've got your own record label now,
Angeles Records, any big releases planned this
year?
MUGGS - For now, I've got MITCHY SLICK coming
out on July 16, and I've got the DJ MUGGS presents
SOUL ASSASSINS II with a release date TBD.
11. What are the chances of a sequel to Grandmasters?
MUGGS - No Plans. You've got to leave a classic
alone.
12. What's Cypress Hill's status at the moment?
On hiatus, or planning to record new shit or
tour?
MUGGS - I'm not really thinking about Cypress
Hill at the moment. I put 20 years into Cypress
and now I just want to chill for a little bit.
Everything is cool though. we are still doing
some shows here and there.
13. Any new projects you're working on at
the moment?
MUGGS - For now, I'm just focused on getting
the MITCHY SLICK album done so we can meet our
July 16 release date, and after that I'm going
to be focusing on DJ MUGGS presents SOUL ASSASSINS
II.
Peace to all! Come check me out with the GZA
and SELF SCIENTIFIC for our GRANDMASTERS AUSTRALIA
TOUR presented by AREA 38. For tour info and
tickets, go to www.area38.com.au. We will be
in PERTH on May 9, SYDNEY on May 11, BRISBANE
on May 12 and MELBOURNE on May 13th. You do
not want to miss this shit if you are a real
hip hop head!
For more info on DJ MUGGS and ANGELES RECORDS
check out the following;
www.djmuggs.com
www.soulassassins.com
www.angelesrecords.com
www.mashupradio.com
GO TO INTERVIEWS
ARCHIVE
|
