Interview with RAYDAR ELLIS – by Todd E. Jones

TODD E. JONES: “What goes on?”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “I’m chilling, just got my laptop back from the shop, so I’m hyped. I was on the desktop earlier.”

TODD E. JONES: “Your new CD, ‘Late Pass’ was just released. Tell us about it.”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “‘Late Pass’ is something like an organized confusion to me. Not the group, but the way it’s structured. It’s an album about an album. The confusion comes from me popping tapes randomly, in and out of the deck, which become the songs you hear. But, the organization is the reason I’m doing that, to get my album into my label on time.”
TODD E. JONES: “What song on ‘Late Pass’ took the longest to complete? Why?”

“What song on ‘ took the longest to complete? Why?” RAYDAR ELLIS: “‘3 Steps’, the second single, because of all the places it had to travel. It went from Philly to NY, where I got the beat from Hezekiah at Beat Society. Then, it went to NJ and to MA, where I wrote and recorded my parts. Then, it went to Cali to get Honeylungs on the hook. Then, back to me in Boston. Then, back to Hezekiah in Philly. That song just took forever because of Fed Ex.”
TODD E. JONES: “What is the meaning behind the title, ‘Late Pass’?”

“What is the meaning behind the title, ‘?” RAYDAR ELLIS: “It all comes from the label calling me at the beginning of the album saying, ‘You’re late on turning your album in’. So, for the rest of the album, I’m trying to figure out what the album should be. I called it ‘Late Pass’ because that’s basically what the label gives me on the record, so I can hand the album in.”

TODD E. JONES: “When creating a track, do you have a set theme and pre-written lyrics, or do you start with an idea or the music first?”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “Usually, it is either a theme or the beat first. I rarely write without a beat because I’m always making beats. Like, ‘3 Steps’ was done with the beat first. Then topic, then lyrics. ‘Paint Your Picture’ was concept first. Then, the beat.”

TODD E. JONES: “How did you hook up with Edo.G for ‘Shut Shit Down’? What was that collaboration like? Was it done in the studio?”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “Karma at Brick hooked that up. I had been listening to him for years. When Karma suggested it, I was like ‘Oh Hell yeah! Great idea!’ We recorded at Beyonder’s studio and the collaboration was dope! I felt like a kid on Christmas. He’s a really down to earth dude and very professional.”

TODD E. JONES: “What made you choose the producers for ‘Late Pass’?”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “Most of the cats I got down with, I had known for years, like The Beboy, Macfly, and Clokwork. Actually, Macfly was my room mate. So, for ‘I 4 An I’, all I had to do was go across the hallway to get a beat. Hezekiah came randomly, from when I went to Beat Society. I ran into him at the door, copped his album, and asked if he had a beat CD. He hooked me up and ‘3 Steps’ was born. 7L came on board when we were thinking about a remix for the 1st single. But his remix was so dope that we had to put it on the album.”

TODD E. JONES: “How did you hook up with Brick Records?”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “I literally just showed up on their doorstep one
day.”

TODD E. JONES: “What is the meaning behind the name, Raydar Ellis?”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “I’m a thinker and a researcher. I like to research random topics when they cross my mind. As a result, my friends were always like ‘You always looking for something. You’re like a radar.’ So, the name was born. I added Ellis because that is my last name.”

TODD E. JONES: “On the song, ‘Power, Money And Influence’ from Guru’s ‘Version 7.0: The Street Scriptures’ album, Talib Kweli remarks that Pro-Tools made producers lazy. Do you agree?”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “In some aspects, yes. In others, no. It’s all dependent on how someone uses it. You can’t, currently at least, open up Pro-Tools and ‘Poof!’ There’s a radio hit, ready to go. It takes time to learn the functions, to learn how to mix with it, to understand how Pro-Tools effects your computer, and to get the best sound for your music out of it. Sure, it’s a lot easier that editing tape, but technology isn’t around to make usually difficult thing harder. That’s customer support’s job. It’s just a different education. I don’t think James Brown knows much about Fruity Loops. Or does he?”

TODD E. JONES: “What are some songs you are most proud of?”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “I’m proud of the whole record. I know, I know. Cliché response. My favorites, at this moment in life, are ‘Applause’, ‘Dickrider’, ‘3 Steps’, and ‘Paint Your Picture’.”

TODD E. JONES: “Who are some producers you would like to collaborate with in the future?”

“Who are some producers you would like to collaborate with in the future?” RAYDAR ELLIS: “Madlib. I got a specific song in mind, concept first. D&S, Dawaun Parker, Ge-ology, Spinna, and everyone from this album again. Why stop now?”

TODD E. JONES: “Who are some artists you would like to collaborate with in the future?”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “I’m down to try stuff with damn near anybody. Going to Berkley exposes you to so many different styles of artists. I’m down to work with anyone from any genre. I love music too much to just stay in hip-hop my whole life. I want to do some more work with my homie Christian Scott, maybe a Bjork remix, and stuff like that. Anjuli Stars! She’s dope!”

TODD E. JONES: “What LPs have you been listening to during the last couple of days?”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “Some Mandrill, Charlie Watts, Hank Mobley, with a little Manu Dibango on the side.”

TODD E. JONES: “Some songs on ‘Late Pass’ have live instrumentation. Creative-wise, how different is creating a song with live instrumentation as opposed to the usual way?”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “It’s definitely different, as far as constructing the instrumental, because I’m working with other people. So, before I want to change something on a record, I have to check with six other people, The Fundamental. As far as the writing and recording of the lyrics though, it’s pretty much the same. They just let me go off to write and record the way I usually do it. But, neither side is more difficult, just a different approach.”
TODD E. JONES: “The song, ‘3 Steps’ is about the full life-cycle of a romantic relationship. Do you still speak to the woman in question? What is your relationship like now? Did she ever hear the song?”

“The song, ‘3 Steps’ is about the full life-cycle of a romantic relationship. Do you still speak to the woman in question? What is your relationship like now? Did she ever hear the song?” RAYDAR ELLIS: “Her and I still communicate every once in a while. Mostly, a text message here and there on holidays. My relationship with her is cool, but I haven’t seen her in about a year. She still hasn’t heard the song though.”

TODD E. JONES: “How much of ‘3 Steps’ is actually true?”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “All of it, the whole shebang.”

TODD E. JONES: “How have women reacted to the song, ‘Fat Chicks’?”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “A whole bunch! Most ladies I run into, who have my album, say that it’s their favorite song. The only complaint I’ve gotten is from skinny girls because I didn’t do a song for them.”

TODD E. JONES: “My favorite track on ‘Late Pass’ is ‘And It Sounds Like’. Tell us about the creative process of this track.”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “I wanted to set that song as a marker for myself. I try my best to be a student of the culture of Hip-Hop. Even though I’m in this industry, there’s always room for growth. ‘And it Sounds Like…’ is like my starting point to hopefully making songs in the same caliber as the records I scratched on the hook. The verses were to let folks know exactly what it took to make this album because it wasn’t easy at all.”

TODD E. JONES: “What is the Short Bus Alumni?”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “The Short Bus Alumni is a group of over 30 of my homies. Most of them make music, but some of them are just homies who like to hang out. We started on the campus of NC A&T. The Short Bus is comprised of 4 core members. They are RuDi Devino, Ansom, Rhimestone, and me. So, there is The Short Bus and Short Bus Alumni. We have other sub-groups inside the Alumni, such as Ex Cons, Bionic 6, Nobody Knows & Nobody Cares, et cetera.”

TODD E. JONES: “What was the last incident of racism you experienced?”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “When I was in Boston shopping for some Fig Newtons. The store clerk kept following me around the store. That was about a month and a half ago.”

TODD E. JONES: “Where were you on the September 11th terrorist attack? How did you handle it?”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “I was asleep, so I didn’t find out till way later in the day. When I found out, I called everyone I knew in NY to make sure they were okay. I spent the rest of the day chilling, discussing the last time we experienced loss and what this event could mean to America.”
TODD E. JONES: “Word association. When I say a name of a name, you say the first word that pops into your head. So, if I said, ‘Flava Flav’, you may say ‘Clock’, ‘Crack’, or ‘The Surreal Life’. Okay?”

“Word association. When I say a name of a name, you say the first word that pops into your head. So, if I said, ‘, you may say ‘’, ‘’, or ‘’. Okay?” RAYDAR ELLIS: “Okay. Hit me.”

TODD E. JONES: “Mr. Lif.”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “Dreads.”
TODD E. JONES: “Dead Prez.”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “Blackness.”
TODD E. JONES: “Public Enemy.”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “Boyeeeee!”

“Public Enemy.” TODD E. JONES: “Common.”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “Be.”
TODD E. JONES: “Mos Def.”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “Oscar.”
TODD E. JONES: “Happy Mondays.”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “Office Space.”
TODD E. JONES: “Phife Dawg.”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “Classic.”
TODD E. JONES: “Curtis Mayfield.”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “Legendary.”
TODD E. JONES: “Atmosphere.”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “Space.”
TODD E. JONES: “J Dilla.”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “Missed.”

“J Dilla.” TODD E. JONES: “Gangstarr.”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “Consistent.”
TODD E. JONES: “Jay-Z.”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “Hov!”
TODD E. JONES: “Eminem.”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “Label head.”

TODD E. JONES: “Kool Keith.”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “???”

TODD E. JONES: “Akrobatik.”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “Dreads part two.”

TODD E. JONES: “George Bush.”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “Toddler.”

TODD E. JONES: “What is the biggest lesson you have learned in your career so far?”
RAYDAR ELLIS: “That you have to damn near do everything yourself before folks want to offer you what you’ve already been doing.”
TODD E. JONES: “What are some major misconceptions do you think people have of you?”

“What are some major misconceptions do you think people have of you?” RAYDAR ELLIS: “I really don’t know what people think of me. I never really thought about it.”
TODD E. JONES: “What is the main thing that every good emcee needs?”