The Lost & Found interview series is where we rediscover the ill cats that were holding it down (and continue to) but for whatever reason are now out of the spotlight. It’s much more than a ‘where are they now’ as we not only discuss their time on top but also the lessons they’ve learned that can be imparted to up and coming hip hop artists and fans.

We also have a section called Snapshot where we post pics of fans finding one of these “lost” artists. If you have some pics of you and say Redhead Kingpin or you’re walking down the street and bump into of Das Efx chillin at BK’s send it into us at lostpics@halftimeonline.com.

The third installment of our Lost & Found series highlights Long Island standout Grand Daddy I.U. In ’89 Biz Markie brought I.U. into the fold at the Juice Crew label, Cold Chillin Records.

During his time at the label I.U released his debut “Smooth Assassin,” including notable tracks like “Something New” and “Sugar Free” and penned tracks for both Roxanne Shante’ and Biz before dropping his second solo “Lead Pipe” in 1994. Behind the boards he’s been responsible for tracks from Heltah Skeltah, KRS, ICE-T, and Das Efx. However, since the mid 90s I.U. has been conspicuously absent from the scene finally returning this year with a new LP. We caught up with the Smooth Assassin to talk about his time with Cold Chillin’, his beef with Treach, and his expectations of the new project.

Websites:
Grand Daddy I.U.
Myspace

Halftimeonline: So what’s been going on I.U.? It’s been a hot minute since you’ve been in the limelight. A lot of cats may not know about the production side but you definitely made noise in the game both rhyming and producing. Which attracted you first and what inspired you to start writing and producing?

Grand Daddy I.U.: Damn, that shit go back to the Cold Crush, Treacherous Three and all that. I just started writing way back then but I never took that shit seriously until my brother was like man you gotta go to the studio. I was in the street and he was working. He took his job money and sponsored the studio time like yo I paid for some time get your ass up in there. So we did it and my man had the tape when he happened to see Biz Markie. Biz was looking for another artist because he had a five artist production deal and he needed one last dude. He was like yo this shit is hot go get em. That was it.

Halftimeonline: At that time were you kinda suspect or were you all for it?

Grand Daddy I.U.: Nah, actually the nigga called my crib. I lived around the corner from Blimpie’s. He was like yo where do you live and that was the landmark right there. So he’s like meet me there and I’m like this ain’t no motherfucking Biz Markie on my phone man. Me and my brother went down to Blimpie’s with baseball bats and everything like we gonna fuck somebody’s ass up for playing this trick on me. But that nigga Biz pulled up driving a 740 way back then. I was like ok this nigga is serious.

Halftimeonline: So where did it go from there? He just gave you his whole pitch and you were like I’m with it?

Grand Daddy I.U.: Nah, that nigga didn’t even have to give me no pitch. That was in 1989, me being on the street I’m thinking if I get into this shit I’m gonna be rich like a motherfucker. I was like whatever get me the contract and a pen. Let’s go. I thought it was gonna be like that but it was totally some other shit.

Halftimeonline: So Biz brought you in and you did your thing along with some ghost writing and production. Now his name was on all the tracks from your debut yet they were nowhere to be found on the second joint. He didn’t even get a shout out and in interviews it’s like you’re not really feeling him. What happened between him signing you and the “Lead Pipe” album where it was like ya’ll weren’t even cool anymore?

Grand Daddy I.U.: I seen the cat a couple months ago. Whenever I see him I’m like what up and that’s basically it. What happened was he only produced one joint on my shit and that was ‘Soul Touch.’ Other than that the nigga was nowhere to be found. We were doing what we were doing. Then when I went to LA to Warner Brothers they shot me to Warren Chappel to get my publishing check. He was like boom this is a $100,000 and $50,000 goes straight to Biz and you get $50,000. I’m looking at this nigga like what the fuck are you talking about? Why is he getting $50,000? He was like because he’s the producer and I’m like that nigga didn’t produce damn near no shit what are you talking about? So I was like wow this is how this shit works? He produced one track and that was my least favorite track on the whole joint.

Halftimeonline: Haha. Did you ever get at him like how you get your name all over my publishing?

Grand Daddy I.U.: Yea, he was like yo this is the business nigga, that’s why I brought you in this is how it works. I’m like word why didn’t you tell me that shit a long time ago? He was like I thought you knew. I’m like how the fuck would I know that if I don’t know shit about the music business.

Halftimeonline: So did you still ghostwrite and work with him on some tracks after that?

Grand Daddy I.U.: Yea, yea.

Halftimeonline: So how did that work? Did he come at you like since I screwed you over on this end here’s some cash to do this?

Grand Daddy I.U.: Nah, he just was like I need some shit and I was like yea well I need some money. It was a match made in heaven. We were cool for a little while after that but I saw the way he was really moving and I was like nah.

Halftimeonline: We wanted to talk a little bit more about the Cold Chillin days. Back then they was pushing you a little something and ‘Something New’ blew up back then. What happened?

Grand Daddy I.U.: Them niggas was doing a lot of shit they wasn’t supposed to be doing. They got to a point where they just didn’t give a fuck anymore because Cold Chillin was on the decline. They were like whatever. First of all they were supposed to put ‘Sugar Free’ out as a single but they didn’t do it. They was like we not gonna do it like that we are gonna make motherfuckers go buy the whole album. That shit didn’t really work to my benefit and after that they were just getting high and it was a whole lot of bullshit. After that Kane broke out and then he started singing. Everything was fucked up. They were losing money and they didn’t have any money. Then the white boy broke out and it was all downhill.

Halftimeonline: What were you doing at the time to maintain or at least separate yourself from the situation?

Grand Daddy I.U.: At that time I didn’t really give a fuck. I was just in the streets. I didn’t have my head screwed on straight. I was real wild. All of that shit was nothing to me, if it crash and burn then whatever. Now I wish I wasn’t that way. I wish I was on top of my business game but you can’t take that shit back now.

Halftimeonline: I read one interview where you said GZA was coming at you on ‘Protect Your Neck’ with that whole ‘suit and tie rap that’s cleaner than a bar of soap.’ I didn’t even think about that until I read it and then it clicked.

Grand Daddy I.U.: Yea, cuz I was wearing the suit and tie shit back then on some old time gangster shit. He had that other shit like, ‘Girl come do me.’ I guess they wasn’t feeling that shit so they chose to push me harder than they pushed him. That ain’t my fault what the fuck are you mad at me for? So you know how that shit is. He ain’t gonna come to my face and say nothing so later on he put that shit in his little rhyme or whatever throwing a subliminal jab. That shit is neither here nor there.

Halftimeonline: What were your thoughts when you first heard it?

Grand Daddy I.U.: I ain’t even catch onto that shit until my man put me up on it. He was like yo this nigga is talking about you yo! I listened to it and was like oh shit this motherfucker but by the time I saw him after that it ain’t make no sense to be beefing over that. But when I seen the nigga for the first time after that he looked at me like I don’t know what this nigga might try to do right now like is it safe or is it beef. I just looked at the nigga and was like what up but I let him know I saw that shit he tried to pull. It wasn’t really nothing though. If he would have been like ‘yo this punk ass nigga…’ or something like that then I would have had to be like off with his head.

Halftimeonline: Even though a lot of cats today may not know you and you’re under the radar you’ve seen and done a lot in the industry. What are some of the more interesting things to happen in your career? I heard one time you had beef with Treach and all kinds of random shit.

Grand Daddy I.U.: Yea, I had beef with that nigga over that Shante shit I wrote [where she dissed Latifah]. Niggas ain’t realize that Fly Ty was the dude who called me up like yo I want you to write a dis record and gave me a list of names like do what you do. I got paid for that. So me and my brother whipped up a track, went to the studio, wrote the shit down and the rest was history. Then niggas want to get mad at me cuz I wrote it. They didn’t pay me not to write it. So then Treach started going on shows popping shit onstage. I used to live around the corner from Run and he called me up like yo I don’t know what the hell you did to Treach but I just did a show with him in Jersey and he was on stage saying when he catch you he gonna break ya jaw. I’m like what? Then it was a long time before I seen him. We were going to this club and everybody was out and I seen him walk right past me around the corner. So I was like yo wasn’t that the nigga talking shit and my man was like yea. So this nigga comes back around the corner in his car, stopped in the middle of the street and started calling his boys like yo let’s get this nigga. So it’s me, two dudes and a girl. So I’m like ok whatever. I’m coming in the middle of the street taking off my jewelry like me and this nigga is about to do it. But he called all these other motherfuckers. So I was like ok whatever these dudes is gonna jump me I’ve been jumped before. Then he was like pop the trunk and he goes in the trunk like he was gonna get a biscuit. Then Shakim was like nah don’t jump him ya’ll go head up. He don’t want to do that.

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Posted by Jbutters on Tuesday, November 21st, 2006 and is filed under SICKWIDIT, LOST & FOUND, INTERVIEWS.