Whatever happened to this cat Silverfox?

Kool G: I seen him one time after I started making records and he said he was a chef. I guess the rap shit ain’t work out for him and he started to do other things. His name not being known is fucked up. This cat is what started niggas like G Rap and LL and G Rap and LL started a bunch of other motherfuckers who started a bunch of other motherfuckers. They know Kool Herc, but they don’t know the breeder of street rap. He planted the seed for that shit.

You say you one of the only few from your era that can come out now and kill young cats on their own track. What do you do to keep your skills sharp?

Kool G: I just stay mad competitive. I don’t trap myself in my own little world and constantly relive ’86 and ’87 over and over again everyday of my life. It ain’t like I’m a nigga from back in the days that don’t like anybody now. You got a lot of [cats] who were incredible back in the days and don’t like heads out now, but there are nice [MCs] out now. It just keeps me inspired just like before I started making records. So every time I come I got that brand new fire in me and that same hunger because I’m not trying to live off of what I did from ’86-‘88. Every time I write it’s like I’m new trying to get into the game.

I saw you got the new album out called “Click of Respect.” Who’s in your crew and tell us a little bit about the new album.

Kool G: I’m a tell you like this that album is really a compilation album. The Five Family Click was birthed in the process of doing the album. It’s not like we had the click already and we decided to do the album. So this might be the first and last Five Family Click album you ever hear, so go cop it now. The hiphop beatles have done it one time and that’s it. The main focus right now is Kool G Rap and Ma Barker with a new energy and a new hunger.

The last question is on your Rawkus situation. I heard it went real sour so explain how everything went down because your album was on the shelf for two years.

Kool G: This is the deal with the Rawkus situation. These niggas lost their distribution and financial backing and instead of telling me about they just pushed the album back and was telling me other shit. I had to find out through the streets that Rupert Murdoch wasn’t fucking with them no more and that Priority wasn’t distributing Rawkus Records anymore. That’s why my album wasn’t being released. By my paperwork my project had to be marketed and promoted with a million dollars and they weren’t able to do it without their financial backing. I had to wait for them to find a whole new situation to release G Rap in the manner they agreed. Matter fact I’m sitting here with the head A&R from Rawkus at the time. What was you saying Mike? Haha

Haha. You just blew up his spot.

Mike: It was a fucked up situation. G’s an artist and those guys weren’t carrying themselves in the proper way dealing with a visionary and they made excuses, lied and fucked the whole shit up. They were kinda blaming it on him. So when he went into the studio he didn’t go with the backing of the label. It was us and them. You go into the studio and the people that’s supposed to be backing you aren’t supporting you. [Instead they’re] telling you “You’re not young like Jah Rule or sexy like Nelly” and I’m quoting that. When they tell you that you go into the studio and sit there like damn my people don’t even support me. It was a real tough situation. But the shit that he’s doing now is reminiscent of some old G Rap shit.

Kool G: And that’s not from my mouth, that’s from the dude that Rawkus hired to do A&R.

Mike: I was hired specifically for G Rap’s album, but I ended up doing the Big L album in the interim.

Kool G: And we’re both not at Rawkus because of the same fucking situation. Rawkus ain’t drop neither one of us. They didn’t fire my man and they didn’t drop G Rap. This is some real shit. My man walked out on Rawkus with his check. I walked up in Rawkus with some fucking goons [like] either let me out and pay me or pay me and keep me, then pay me again to do the next record

Which label you on now?

Kool G: We on our own shit Igloo Entertainment. This album we’re doing now is a collaboration with another independent label called Blaze Entertainment. It’s a hot album.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Posted by Halftime on Wednesday, November 12th, 2003 and is filed under HIP HOP ICON SERIES.