Showbiz & A.G. Albums:

Goodfellas (1995)

Runaway Slave (1992)

Website: AGditc.com

Halftime: So what’s poppin out there in Cali? It’s gotta be a big difference from recording in NYC.

AG: Well, we in the dungeon right now recording some joints. We not really socializing like that but we down here and we haven’t left since we got here.

Halftime: I was listening to your first album, thinking about D.I.T.C. and you guys are like the most slept on crew ever. Looking at the talent you have and the current scene do you guys ever sit down and be like what the hell is wrong with the people out here?

AG: Right now, I definitely feel that we could have gotten more notoriety during the course of what we were doing which would have been crazy and great. Looking at hip hop right now though, I still appreciate it. A lot of dudes from before or when I started aren’t into the music coming out right now but I have a different take. I know that once the money becomes involved and it becomes a multi-million dollar industry people have to do what’s regular. They have to do what has already won. When you are dealing with budgets like most major labels are they aren’t really gonna take a chance on some new stuff or take a chance with an artist. They are gonna go with what’s already proven and that’s why a lot of music today sounds like the same format in my opinion. Every once and a while you get someone with some creativity that turns it into their own and come up with some original stuff. But for the most part I think the industry is just following certain patterns. I am not knocking or condoning it I’m just saying what it is. You get the sense that a lot of artists are scared to take a big chance musically. I can understand that because at the end of the day they have to pay their bills. They moved up a whole circle and you keep moving up in your career and in life and who wants to chance all of that just trying to make a creative song? I understand that as well but that’s why some people are artists and some people make money. The ones that make money are gonna make it and the artist is still gonna survive somehow.

Halftime: I read a lot of your past interviews and even on your albums you always stressed not selling out and the problems that come along with that. In a way you foreshadowed everything that’s happening right now. It’s everything you were speaking against.

AG: I learned that if you pay attention to what’s going on now instead of focusing on how things should be you can rise easier. If you pay attention to how things are you get a better grip on it. I didn’t think I’d be condoning or listening to a lot of the stuff that’s going on but I try to get caught up in the now. I have a lot of young people around me which keeps me young at heart. Hip hop is a movement of the youth and any rebellion or revolution is a movement of the youth. If you are not in tuned with the youth then you are not really in tuned with change. You aren’t trying to make things change. You are trying to keep them stable and I’ve never been one who has tried to stay the same or wanted society to stay the same. I’ve always pushed for the fight and the fight is with the youth. If that means accepting some of the things or music that they are making now to understand what’s going on then I would rather do that because my ultimate goal is to make music and have as many people hear it as possible. If I have to come with the wolf in the sheep’s clothing and then at the end of the day reveal what my real motive is like now listen to some real music then so be it. I think I tend to have that attitude about business and music nowadays. A lot of my views have changed and if it’s changed it’s to camouflage some other shit. There are a lot of artists from past eras that are still around trying to do things and they are very sour at the music and the people making the music today. Within that it becomes hard for them to see where they fit in or how they can survive. I see that through them. It’s easy for them to make money with the history they have but now you are going against the grain. They going this ain’t how we started it and that’s not real music. Alright cool but now you over here on an island by yourself. There are ways to interact and still stay true to who you are. Just use that to your advantage. There is no doubt that there are people who know there are forefathers who started this before them but then when you hear something from the pioneers its real sour. Even with the KRS-One and Nelly situation I think there is no way possible that’s supposed to go down. At the same time if you put yourself in Nelly shoes and you have KRS, who you have to respect to the fullest extent, calling you out what are you supposed to do. I’m not talking about KRS cuz he is still rocking now but I’m just using it as an example that the older cats and younger cats need to bond somehow. It would be better on both ends you can get some knowledge and I can get in on how the youth is thinking right now.

Halftime: That’s a lot of knowledge you just dropped right there.

AG: I didn’t even mean to go like that.

Marcus: Interview’s over!

Jbutters: Haha, nah that’s ill you broke it down and summed it up in a nice two paragraph package.

AG: I went through a struggle myself and this is what comes out at the end. You like damn I still know I have the capabilities and the talent to shine at a peak now. But then you have these certain old ways like this is how it’s supposed to be. As an artist you find yourself on a fine line where you are judging a lot. I think as an artist you’re not really supposed to judge. You’re supposed to take it for what it is. A lot of times when you judge that means you’re choosing a side and you can’t see the other side. As an artist you’re supposed to represent a whole community with your voice. You can’t just represent the people who want to rebel, you also have to represent the dudes who are like I like it here. You have to represent the dudes who are like look at these young kids bugging out and then represent the kids going yea but look I don’t have any guidance. You have to represent the whole spectrum. If you can complete all of that in an album and the music is good then I think it’s a good concept. That’s what I’m trying to do on this next project. Some people see me reaching here and there but its music I approve of 100% so there is no selling out. Selling out is doing something you know you’re not supposed to do but you do it anyway. If my music reaches out in anyway it’s just trying to make it bigger with the same message I’ve always had.

Halftime: Let’s say the album comes out and some of your loyal fans are questioning the direction you are taking…

AG: I have reservations about that already, haha.

Halftime: Haha

AG: That’s just the struggle every time I’m in the booth or listening to production. That’s in my mind everyday. A certain amount of fans have gotten me this far. There are times where you are not even on the radar and there are some loyal heads reaching out. If I put out a 12” and 3,000 heads buy it at $5, they just made me $15,000 that will pay rent for the next couple of months, the car note and all of that. At the end of the day it’s hard to think without thinking about them because they got you through the roughest part. But sometimes at the end of the day that also hinders you on your creative level of being an artist. Being put in a box or saying I have to do this for a certain amount of people is contrary to being an artist. You have a voice and you have to speak out and let the chips fall where they may and see who accepts it. They say a rose by any other name still smells as sweet. That means you can call it a fucking onion and it still smells sweet. So if I change what I’m doing over here its still gonna have the all the ingredients for everyone that liked me in the first place. As an artist you die when you don’t grow and I’ve been doing music the same for so long it can limit my passion. If I don’t have passion for this then I can’t be successful at it because my confidence won’t show. If you have passion you have to kinda change the approach. You’ll never hear a song and go nah I know he ain’t just do that but you will see me reach and try different things. When I’m reaching you’ll know this is the same shit anyway, it’s just done in a different format.

Halftime: Looking at the crew D.I.T.C do you feel that you guys have the same chemistry that you had back in 1992?

AG: I can’t say the same chemistry. I have to be totally honest. We worked on so many individual projects that when we come together collectively it’s a struggle but at the end of the day it’s for a good reason. If you ever seen the marine commercial where they stick the iron in the fire, burn it and chisel it down to make a sword that’s how I’d describe our chemistry. Some might not agree on things but you won’t see that side at the end of the day. What’s presented is a great album or song.

Halftime: I never thought Fat Joe would get to the level he has….

AG: I did. Anyone who knows him knew he was gonna reach that level. From day one I remember when he did Apollo and he was winning every night. He would show up in limousines with dancers, Gucci suits and the whole first three rows was his whole neighborhood. Some people look at the Apollo as a small situation but he was kinda bigger than amateur night. Normally they have amateur night then the special performance but his performance was like the special performance. You knew when you witnessed that he could be big. And this was when he was on his smooth shit, he wasn’t even doing the gangster shit. “Big Shot” was the name of the song and he had dancers, a green Gucci suit, and a cane. He just looked like a star.

Halftime: He had that Heavy D shit going on. Haha

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Posted by Jbutters on Thursday, March 16th, 2006 and is filed under HIP HOP ICON SERIES.