2011’s “Mode 7” project was one of the best fusions of Jazz & Boom Bap since A Tribe Called Quest’s classic albums in the 90’s. How did the collabo between you and Jazz Spastiks come about, and what made you choose that particular style instead of a more modern sound?
Wow. That’s love homie. Thank you. It’s an honor to be compared to the legendary Tribe Called Quest. “Midnight Marauders” was my shit! To answer your question, I love Jazz Spastiks man. They are two really genuine, cool cats and their love for the culture and its jazz elements is evident in their sound. Not only that, but they have their own personality that they bring to their music, their videos, the acapella choices in their cuts. They truly deserve the acclaim they are receiving for their ingenuity.
We did a song back in 2010 called “Hot Sh!t” after they reached out for their “12 Bit Spit” album. Did y’all reach out to me? I think they did. I might be bugging and may have stalked them for a bit. But yea…soon as I heard the beat for “Hot Sh!t” I immediately thought of Souls of Mischief for some reason. I always loved their sound from “93 ’til Infinity” and “Never No More” (had the maxi single on cassette) because the drums were rugged and dirty, but the actual sounds on top of them were smooth and colorful. And I wanted to do a project with that type of sound. So I hit up The Slipmat Brothers to see if they were dee to rock with me and luckily for me they immediately agreed. I was open that they were so dee to work. Pretty sure I got VERY bent in celebration of that.
“Mode 7” was only available on CD and digital platforms when it was first released. What influenced you to release it on vinyl five years later and why do you think the project stands the test of time?
Shout to Dusty Platter. They are a German Hip Hop label that have been working extensively with Jazz Spastiks for the last few years, bringing their marvelous musical compositions to the wonderful world of vinyl. I’m glad they decided to press up “Mode 7.” I’ve often wondered why it stands the test of time and sold out year after year on CD at uggh.com. I guess people can relate to the messages and moods within the album. Joints like “Blunts” is still a smoker’s anthem even though I quit smoking years ago. “Times” still speaks to the struggle. And “Bust Ya Melon” and “Stunnin” seem to be joints that people just can’t get enough of.
Describe what makes junclassic and Jazz Spastiks different from other artists and producers on the scene?
What makes junclassic special? When people hear me, the first thing they notice and speak on is my voice. I’m thankful for that because like Guru once said, “It’s mostly the voice.” If I hear a dude or shortie spitting and I don’t like his/her voice, it’s very hard for me to get into them. Besides that, I’ve always prided myself on wordplay. On “The Mission” I say in the first verse, “Band of rebels/tell the devil let’s rock n roll.” On “Bust Ya Melon,” okayplayer.com mentioned when I posted the video that they initially missed the line, “My hershey chick saying ‘jun you’re the shit/dirty lick/have that cat purring like Eartha Kitt.” Then there are the messages. On “Times” I said, “At night I sleep tight and drool like a baby/cause I kept it 100 even with dudes that played me.” That’s one of my favorite lines. Very proud of that because I still feel that way. My 3rd verse on “Bust Ya Melon” was an anti-gang message. The 3rd verse begins, “Here’s ya brains/eggs in a frying pan/kids wanna rep the same colors as Spiderman/mo matter what I try to tell my lil’ live man/he keep banging like a drummer in a live band.” The ENTIRE verse is an anti gang message directed to my nephew who was wildin’ at the time. It’s important to me to say something in my lyrics. Like Jeru said on that skit on his classic album, “The Sun Rises In The East,” “If you have the opportunity to say something – SAY SOMETHING!” I post a lot of my lyrics on Facebook, Twitter, and my Bandcamp page for people to read along and see that I am not wasting their time and talking nonsense.
The last thing that makes me special is my flow. My flow is extremely important to me. Flow has always been important since I been listening to Run DMC, Slick Rick, and one of my favorite emcees of all time, Big Daddy Kane. I think Kane and Nas may have influenced me the most with their flows. Jadakiss too. I come from the street corner cyphers and the lunch tables. When I started rapping in 1994 that’s where I started. And I wanted to have the type of flow that would make somebody bob their head without the music. We often rapped acapella. I was the beat boxer. So if I wasn’t beat boxing I was rhyming with no beat. I thought, “If my flow could make them bob their head…then I freaked it!” So you asked what makes me special. it begins with my voice, then my penchant for punchlines, the message I am giving to the world, which comes from my life 99 percent of the time, and the flow that brings it all together.
What makes Jazz Spastiks special to me? Their sound is not a 90’s sound to me. It’s just dope. It’s NOT trap beats. It’s sampling done well, coupled with live instrumentation, some knocking drums, and the illest cuts you will find.
Walk us through the recording process of the album. Was everything planned out meticulously or did the material come together in a natural, organic fashion?
Maaan, I did “Mode 7” in 3 days my Bro. Just got bent, STAYED bent, and went in. I had the first verse of “Bust Ya Melon” already written. And I think I had the first verse for “Stunnin.” Of course “Hot Sh!t” was recorded and released a year prior. But joints like “Times,” “The Mission,” “Blunts,” and “The Essence,” along with “Stunnin” 2nd verse and “Bust Ya Melon” 2nd and 3rd verses, I just banged em out. I was excited fam. And I REALLY wanted to impress Jazz Spastiks and show them I was hungry and that they made the right choice by choosing me as the first emcee to do a full length project with. If you check my catalog that’s been my M.O. for 11 albums. One producer/production team and myself. And yea, when I’m in the zone I will barely sleep. All thoughts center around the project until it’s complete. I literally dream lyrics, wake up, write them down, and go back to sleep. It all came organically.
That’s dope! I’m curious, when did your interest in Hip Hop begin and who were your major influences and why?
My older brother Bobby (God Bless The Dead) put me onto The Fat Boys in 1982. A song called “Stick ‘Em.” “Bddddha Stick Em! Ha ha ha Stick Em!” I’d walk by the room and hear the music coming from his boom box. Or, while I’m playing “Pole Position” and “Donkey Kong” on his Commodore 64 I would hear “La Di Da Di” and Run DMC. He occasionally bumped the gangsta rap, but he leaned towards cats like De La Soul, Heavy D, Redhead Kingpin, Kwame. I think he dug them because he could relate to the messages in their music. So he made me appreciate cats that were talking about real life experiences outside of street activity and the hood struggle. And I love him to this day for that. Of course, because I was born and raised in Southside Jamaica Queens, we were all open when Onyx, who are from Southside, came out and took over the game with Jam Master Jay (Rest In Paradise) in 1992.
Everybody ’round the way had a bald head because of Onyx! Hahahaha! There’s even a mugshot of 50 Cent from 1994 and he had a baldie! So my influences were my neighborhood and the lyrical rappers my brother Bobby exposed me to. Kid N Play inspired me to write my first rhyme in 1989. Trying to impress a girl. Of course Tribe Called Quest. I LOVED Phife’s punchline game. I dug Phife more than Tip. Then Method Man and Biggie became MAJOR influences and made me wanna take rhyming serious. Then Nas dropped “Illmatic” and I wanted to burn my rhyme book and start over [laughs]. DOOM might be the illest though because he is the underground king. God Bless Pimp C. I am extraordinarily influenced by what DOOM has accomplished by being a lyrical genius and achieving such success and notoriety while remaining true to the independent spirit. He does what he wants when he wants and we love him for it. That is fascinating to me.
Do you feel that underground Hip Hop has the same impact it had in the 90’s? Who are some of the current artists and producers that you listen to and why do they stand out to you?
I don’t feel that underground hip hop has the same impact it had in the 90’s. In the 90’s underground hip hop was commercial! I think Angie Martinez or somebody recently posted a Hot 97 playlist from 1994. It was all “underground” music! Wu Tang, Jeru, Redman. Over and over all day. I think Puffy changed it. Once he had Biggie do “Juicy” the game began to change. By 1998 it was done. Funny that 1998 is the most commercially successful year for hip hop music ever. Suddenly there was a way to do “commercial music.” Get a smooth beat with a familiar sample and have a dope R & B star on the hook. Can’t be mad that Puff had the foresight to do that though.
Current artists that I listen to are Brownsville Ka, billy woods, WestSideGunn and Conway, Kendrick Lamar, of course Nas, hyped for the new De La album, and I also listen to Kodak Black and French Montana. I LOVE Ka’s music because it has an atmosphere. Ka takes you to other places. His beats are like a score for late nights on Pitkin Ave, Linden Blvd, Nostrand Ave, and other Brooklyn strips that I am very familiar with from the 90’s when NY was not so pretty. And his wordplay is mind boggling. “Come to frame me I pose with the chrome.” Ka is an enigma. You can hear the hard work in his lyricism. Kendrick Lamar is dope to me because you never know what he will talk about, how he will deliver it, and what his flow will sound like. He epitomizes versatility to me. I think it is extremely impressive when an emcee can keep you guessing and you don’t know what he is going to come with. Not many can do that.
Nas is simply the GOAT. He is the illest. His flow, his themes and subject matter, storytelling, metaphors…he is untouchable. Best to do it hands down. I like Kodak Black and French Montana because of the way they sound on them dope ass trap beats they rock over. You might hear me pull up on ya block knocking “Lock Jaw” by Kodak Black and French Montana. Don’t be surprised. You know that beat is fire.
Will there be more junclassic/Jazz Spastiks collabos in the near future? Also, tell us about other upcoming projects in the works.
I damn sure hope there will be more collabs with The Slipmat Brothers! But I know The Spastiks stay busy. That’s what happens when you are good at what you do. They are in demand and I am extremely happy for them. They deserve all the success in the world. By the way, I saw that new Mark Farina record hit #1 on Billboard! And y’all got TWO tracks on there? WHAAAAT!!! Congrats to my Bros. My upcoming project is the Live Percenters album with my Bros Phat Hentoff and iBe4Ever dropping late 2016 or early 2017. Keep an eye and an ear out. You never heard anything like it I promise! Also finishing a project with my homies Pen Pals, who happen to be dropping a record with Jazz Spastiks in September called “Made For The Underground.” That album is crazy. And go scoop the vinyl of my last album “Better Than Fiction Too” produced by my brother Wun Two on vinyldigital.com. Also, go cop my man X Ray’s album, “All The King’s Men,” where I have two features including a solo record on there.
Sounds good. Any final thoughts? Shoutouts?
Shout to Insomniac Magazine. I used to cop the print magazine in the ’90s at Tower Records on West 4th (RIP). BiggUp Jazz Spastiks, Dusty Platter, and all those who appreciate good music. Cop that “Mode 7” vinyl at dustyplatter.bigcartel.com. Stay up. Peace.
(Coming soon: Part 2 of the interview featuring “Mode 7” producers, Jazz Spastiks)
– Interview by Kevin Keith
