Halftime: When a group has one emcee and one producer you always end up hearing the emcee say that they can’t wait to do their solo so I can get my point of views across. What were some of those things you had to pull back on a little bit?

CL: I guess just everything. It’s like you’re dealing with a nut genius. So on the things where you make a mistake he might be like hell no I like that. You as the balancer might have to give or take or just give give give to finish this certain project. It depends on what mood he is in and what authoritative figure he feels like he is today. He might feel like ultimately you’re on MY beat. You’re on my beat, this is my song so I’m going to take my song and go over here with it. That’s kind of a clash of creativity cuz I’m over here saying once my voice is on this shit it’s no longer yours it’s mine. It’s ours if anything but it’s mostly mine because I have to come out and perform it. That was the clash of two leaders. After a while you got somebody over here saying you should be doing this and somebody in my ear saying he ain’t doing enough. We’re trying to commit to 30 dates and he’s saying he can only do 3 because he gotta go to the studio. Everything that built him and built us you have to feed. You can’t just say oh they like me because I’m a great producer. They like you because you made legendary songs with your legendary group and they said hey we want a piece of that too. Not to say that they just like you or your beat. Probably there was that time. I give him his props he was a great great producer and at that time we came out it was the year of the producer. That was when hip hop was being established and developing that whole 90s sound.

Halftime: Now on allhiphop.com there were a couple of interviews with you guys and fans were hurt because there definitely seemed to be some love lost between you two to say the least. He was talking about carrying you and you were like “make my beats faggot” and everyone was like woah what’s going on?

CL: Yea, like you’re gonna come to me. The proof is there that’s why I was so upset. For so many years I don’t say nothing. People have been asking me what do you think and I’m like I don’t think nothing. I’m living my life and doing my thing. He’s still in the industry. So for him to come back to me with anything other than a beat is a fucking violation. So I’m looking at it like this any project Pete Rock ever had – pick one- he had to always get CL on one of them fucking tracks. So in that essence just doing plain and simple research here’s Pete Rock Soul Survivor, Soul Survivor 2, here’s Pete Rock Soul Survivor 800, CL is on everyone of those projects even to the point where he don’t ask me. He’s like this is my beat your lyrics are on it so I just put it on there.

Halftime: He was coming at you like that?

CL: Oh man he came at me. People who feel like they’re your brother or that they know you or that you owe them something they gonna rock with you like that. The thing is a dude of my caliber knows he ain’t gonna mess with me like that. It’s always a weasel that’s gonna nitpick me. Once you go upside the weasel’s head it’s foul. He’s all over the ground accosted. With my nature and temperament it looks like I’m a bully. It looks like I’m jumping on this kid’s back because he always cries wolf. Oh he hit me or oh he threatened me and I can’t work under these conditions! But what about me [he’s like] don’t come to the studio with your manager, don’t come with nobody. You always want me to be by myself and now I don’t have any proof of how you’re acting like a jackass. I need people to see what you’re doing not hear what you’re doing. So now your personality is taking on the project. It ain’t doing nothing and I’m seeing you want your wife and everybody to get behind it but let’s get somebody more professional whose neutral who has a great interest in both of us. She only has a great interest in you. And then after ten years why you want to get around me and still do the same faggot ass shit. That’s like the old girlfriend who can’t take no for an answer. Yo I don’t want you no more but you still keep coming back every three or four years. Somebody just told me the other day he had a check for me. I’m like yo he’s not fucking resting. He’s still baiting me with this little lame ass fish. I’m in the ocean and you’re still at this fucking pond. I’m catching big fish and you’re still using these little guppies to catch me man that shit ain’t gonna work. Stop antagonizing me, go run around and chase ghosts and do what you do. I don’t have time to fix everything. [But you know what] we went on a great tour. A great, great tour.

Halftime: Yea, I heard about that.

CL: Yo this shit was so incredible and the motherfucker did nothing but interviews about how it could be better and that I wasn’t really prepared. I said oh shit this dude is crazy. Then on top of that we’re doing interviews and he’s kicking tables over. This is your tour, this is about you and I’m just here assisting you. This is your shit why are you gonna kick over tables and flip out talking about “I’ve been touring and doing interviews all day fuck this!”

Halftime: He was just spazzing out in the middle of the interview?

CL: Yo kicking chairs over like yo I’m finished with this interview. You’re like the dude who everyone says he’s harmless but as soon as you turn your back he’s like that grown ass kid on Bugs Bunny with a diaper on and he’s a grown ass man. You’re not innocent. You appear to be innocent but you’re just a bank robbing, gun slinging motherfucker. You’re not innocent you play on that baby shit. It’s just that I don’t play on the baby shit. I’m a realist. I gotta be around the thugs and the killers having them say poor Pete leave Pete alone. You know how Pete is. Everyone says it and you feel bad for him. My man died and he got into a big fight with Pete. He said the worst thing he ever did was fight Pete. That was the only thing he regretted. I looked at him like he had three heads. I’m like as much shit as you did the only thing you regret is having a fight with him? He said yea. I understood it in a way because the shit is beneath you to be fighting. Why you want to argue with CL? Anybody on this planet who deals with music would not treat CL like that. I don’t feel bad either cuz anyone who encounters the Pete Rock experience knows it comes with the same exact shit. Sometimes I really do get tired of talking about him but I want people to understand that this is my brother and I love him from a far. I couldn’t love him from near. I gotta love the process we got because there are only a few people who had a really great impact on my life and he’s one of them. I could look at it from a negative way but that would stunt my growth. It’s about moving on and showing him that hey you made a big mistake man. You don’t have to struggle. You’re struggling because of ignorance and selfishness. You want to be the one to get the praise. If we hang out and they’re not feeling him more than they are feeling me he ain’t feeling it. I’m saying where are you getting this shit from? Where is this coming from? It’s like when everyone said the shine will be taken away from me this is the shit that’s gonna break him. I’m saying how when all I fight to be is normal. I’m not saying I’m perfect I’m just fighting to be normal. I don’t need nobody telling me how great I am everyday. I know I’m great. I know when I get on the basketball court and play six, seven or eight games I know I’m a great dude cuz I can still come out here and have fun. I know I can go to the gym and run ninety minutes on the treadmill. I know I can do that because it took dedication and preparation. So you can’t tell me I can’t make it work with Pete Rock but Pete Rock don’t want to see CL eat and that’s alright cuz CL is gonna take that energy and that positive motivation and do the same thing he did with you with it. He’s helping me because I don’t think the fire would really be there if he didn’t spark the disappointment of not doing that reunion album. I wouldn’t have even felt this way but ultimately I have to thank this dude for sparking me. For making me so angry that I’m going to get this dude back by making the best album I could possibly make so his peers gotta say you know what Pete you fucked up buddy. You know what Pete you should have done his records what’s wrong with you? You could sit at home and barricade yourself but why can’t you make money off of that dude? Why can’t you give the people what they want? If the people want it who gives a fuck if you don’t like him. Let the people get what they want and then you can move on. I gave you what you want people, what do you want me to be stuck with this motherfucker forever? We’re not the Ojays. This is not the Spinners or the Temptations. This is basically built to move on. There’s one producer and one emcee. How long do you want to hear these motherfuckers together? At some point it has to drown out.

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Posted by Jbutters on Tuesday, November 21st, 2006 and is filed under HIP HOP ICON SERIES.