HOW IT SHOULD BE DONE: SEASONED VET AZ LAYS OUT “THE FORMAT”
By Khalid J. Strickland a.k.a. Dirty Angel
Before “get rich or die tryin'” the saying was “DOE OR DIE”
As the author of some of hip-hop’s most memorable verses, Brooklyn-bred rapper AZ has chosen an appropriate time to release his fifth solo album, “The Format”. Nas (who was a member of rap super-group The Firm along with AZ, Foxy Brown and Nature), has come to the conclusion that “Hip-Hop is Dead”. While the mainstream music industry continues to serve disposable and uninspired junk-food music, fans of deft lyricism and majestic flows have been on a hunger strike. The time is right for AZ, one of the game’s most consistent veterans, to toss his hat into the ring.
Building on his classic “Life’s A Bitch” verse from Nas’ debut LP, the immortal “Illmatic”, AZ has since released five solo albums: 1995’s “Doe or Die”, 1998’s “Pieces Of A Man”, 2001’s “9 Lives”, 2002’s “Aziatic” and 2005’s “A.W.O.L.”. Over the course of a solid career, AZ’s masterful verses have graced the beats of production gods Dr. Dre, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Buckwild and The Trackmasters. The bangin’ title track from “The Format”, which is also the album’s lead single, is produced by Premier. Lil’ Fame of M.O.P. also contributed three hot beats to AZ’s cause. AZ can also add record label CEO to his credentials as he releases “The Format” under his own Quiet Money/Fastlife Music imprint.
In an interview with Insomniac Magazine, AZ detailed his latest project and also addressed the unprovoked lyrical jab sent his way by rap megastar 50 Cent (on 50’s song, “What If?”).
Angel: Why did you choose to title your album “The Format”?
AZ: Me doing a couple of songs and just lookin’ at the end of the day; by the sixth or seventh song I realized this album is the format for survival for the cats that’s trying to get in the game and do it as long as I’m doin’ it. I see I still have my two-step. I’m like, “Man, this is the format for those that’s trying to follow in the footsteps.” There’s a format to it, y’know what I’m sayin’? Stay true to what you do.
Dirty Angel: How does “The Format” fit into your catalog? Is there anything that separates this joint from your other albums?
AZ: To me every album, lyrically, it steps up. I just feel like lyrically, musically it all fits with what’s going on and what I’m trying to capture.
Angel: Talk a little about your company, Quiet Money/Fastlife Music. What are the advantages of taking the independent route?
AZ: At the end of the day independent is more hands on. You really plant your own seed and watch it grow, y’know what I mean? Creative control… you own all your masters and publishing and things of that nature. You just basically cut the middleman out. That’s what independent is more about.
Angel: Aside from M.O.P. and Little Brother you don’t really have any guest appearances on “The Format”. In this day and age n****s have so many guests on their albums they sound like compilations. Why do you have so few?
AZ: I feel I hold my sword with preciseness and I represent at the end of the day. That’s what I’m trying to reflect. The record sales are all good when you’re trying to capture other people’s fans and all that, but I just try to stay true to what I do and just reflect that.
Angel: You’re the author of a classic verse, one of the best ever written. That, of course, is “Life’s A Bitch”. What was your mind state when you wrote that and how’d things go down in the studio? That’s hip-hop history right there.
AZ: It was self-explanatory, my mind state was life is a bitch, that’s how I felt at that time. In the studio none of that was pre-meditated. It was just… music was playing, I was in a zone. That was the second or third time I was in the studio with Mister Nas and he was like, “Yo, I like that. Go and spit that.” I’m like, “You sure? You want an album filler?” It was done and then everything else took place.
Angel: 50 Cent had some slick s**t to say about you in one of his joints. I know you address that on this album, what was your reaction when you first heard the song that he did?
AZ: He was just yappin’ at the end of the day. I don’t take Fifty for a lyricist. He’s a good businessman and he knows how to strategize. Anybody that you throw a blow at, you admire, so I feel like he admired my style at the end of the day. He just tried to play a Jedi mind trick on the public. That’s cool, ‘cause I would take five percent of his fans any day to add on to my catalog. But it was good, you know what I’m sayin’? That’s why my response wasn’t a battle response. It was just tough brotherly love to let him know that I know what it is, be easy. If the only way we communicate is through records, that’s fine by me. But I’m not going to play that tag game with you, you know?
Angel: I ain’t trying to get in your business or nothing, but do ya’all know each other personally? Because it just seemed like it came out of nowhere. You handle your business, you ain’t really out here trying to get at nobody like that, you do your thing.
AZ: Nah, I don’t know homie at all. That’s how I know it was hogwash, you know?
Angel: (Rapper) Remy Martin made a statement recently and a lot of younger rappers are saying the same thing. She says rappers should retire by 30, that there should be an age limit on how old you should be when you rhyme. What are your thoughts on that statement, man?
That’s her opinion, man. I mean… if you’re able to capture the days and times of what’s going on you should be relevant. That’s like telling Luther and them don’t sing after they’re thirty. This is life we speak about. I feel (if) at thirty if somebody lost their mojo, they need to fall back. But if you’re thirty and you’re still razor-sharp with it, you got to respect the G-code. But you know, Remy talks, she express herself. She’s one of the few women that express themselves and her opinions very well. She’s outspoken, so… but, a real n***a do the do, ya’heard?
Angel: Your street credentials are unquestioned. You’re a real n***a. You’re also a great lyricist. In the vein of M.O.P., Cormega… ya’all are real dudes who can actually rhyme, so let me ask you a theoretical question. If you got a dude that’s never hustled, he ain’t never been out there in the streets, but he’s a great lyricist and he knows how to articulate the streets through a song, do you think he should be allowed to spit that type of street material?
AZ: Uh… I…Gee… uh, damn, that’s a good one (laughs). You said if he rap, but he’s never in the streets? How can he spit it though? Somebody else got to be writing it for him. How could he bring something to life that he never lived?
Angel: Well, you know, there’s some dudes that somebody might tell them a story; or maybe he knows dudes in the streets or whatever. He may not have been out there, but he may take somebody else’s life or someone else’s stories and he just knows how to articulate it.
AZ: You know what? To me, I don’t even study a lot of artists at the end of the day. So, I’m sure there’s quite a few of them out there that’s living that type of life, to be honest. That’s them, I stay focused on what I do, personally. A few rappers, I like ‘em. I know what they been through, personally. And there’s a few I don’t know personally, but that’s a man’s choice if he move like that.
For more information on AZ and “The Format”, visit www.myspace.com/doeordie.
For more information on Khalid Strickland a.k.a. Dirty Angel visit www.supremearsenal.com and www.myspace.com/blackpacino.
