Caught Up In The D
Detroit/Michigan Rap Report
By David Friedman
DICE AND RAZZAQ
Detroit’s 40-drinking, Neighborhood Shit Talka – the Dice man – had a
beautiful 2008 by his own estimation, thanks mainly to the release
of his second full-length album on his own Big Head Records, “Drug
Abuse.”
“It was a big album this year,” said Dice, who produced the album himself
under the name Monkey Joe Johnson. “I think it was a real good album
to me. I can’t really compare it to other albums, but it’s different
as far as the style of the music. It’s witty.”
Dice said he learned production “fuckin around with Maji,” his original
producer, who taught him how to program a drum machine. He also had to
learn how to use computer programs to program and manipulate beats. His
favorite tracks from the new album?
“I like ‘Sell Drugs,’ I like ‘Abusing Drugs,’ I like ‘Aphrodisiac (My
First Love)’ and I like ‘Dear God’ too,” Dice said. “What inspired ‘Dear
God’ was cocaine – just cocaine in general. ‘My First Love,’ that was
my first girl. I didn’t know she was smoking crack. She was a pretty
girl. She was closet-smoking, I found out. She was my first girl I loved.
Her name was Shawa, man. That was back in ’89, ’90. She was really smoking
crack. I don’t know what happened with her. I left the bitch! She had
my baby though, and the baby died. And that’s when I found out. She miscarried.
She had the baby six, seven months and the baby came stillborn.”
Dice also tackles the subject of sexual abuse of minors on the song “Daddy.”
“That was a true story from a good friend of mine who was going through
that and she told me to write about that,” Dice said. “So I did. Her
father was molesting her or whatever and he was doing it real big. Her
and her sister. I wrote it to enlighten people. They know what’s going
on, but to really know what’s really going on and what’s out here. Don’t
try to hide it. Tell your peoples that daddy’s fucking you. Don’t be
scared to speak up, you know?”
The theme of drug abuse comes from being “out here in the streets” and
seeing people abusing drugs, selling drugs, drug fiends and what people
do when they’re on drugs.
And if 2008 was a good year, Dice has plenty more in store for 2009.
For starters, he’ll be releasing two albums with Razzaq under the name
“Apt. 3.” Both the self-titled “Apt. 3” EP and the “Self Medicated” EP
will be coming out in March or April, produced by Pervert Pastor and
Monkey Joe Johnson. The pair has been working together since 1994.
“What I want them to know about it is it’s some heavy shit,” Dice said
of Apt. 3. “It’s far out. It’s shit nobody ain’t used to out here and
they’re gonna love it. We talk about whatever the fuck we want to talk
about. There ain’t no subjects. It’s straight hardcore, out-cold shit.
If we do touch on a subject, y’all will catch up to it eventually.”
“It’s a lot of entertainment, I suppose,” Razzaq added. “More action-driven
songs.”
Meanwhile, this coming spring, Dice has his next solo album, “Morphine,”
coming out.
“That album is an offspring from my ‘Drug Abuse,’ but the ‘Morphine,’
you’re fiending for more,” Dice said. “ ‘Drug Abuse’ is drug abuse, but
‘Morphine’ is gonna be a lot different. Expect some new styles, some
new shit on there.”
“He’s spreading a little more diversity, I suppose,” Razzaq said. “He’s
getting a little bit more vocal. I like the framework. It’s entertaining
to me.”
After appearing as a guest rapper on Bizarre’s latest album on the song
“Animal,” Razzaq is gearing up for the April 15 release of his solo debut,
“Pervert’s World.”
“I’ve got built-up anger management things on there, you know?” Razzaq
said. “It’s really just self-expression, the whole album. I’ve got extramarital
affairs on there. When you hear it, you’ll know it’s me. I’m not gonna
let you down. You’re not gonna be disappointed.”
Following the release of “Pervert’s World,” Razzaq plans on releasing
“Pharmaceutical Products,” his long-awaited album from his days with
Reel Life Productions. Sinister Scientist is expected to make appearances
on the Apt. 3 EPs, as well as on Razzaq’s albums.
As for other guests, Dice, who has more live shows planned for the spring,
as well as a national distribution deal in the works, said, “I don’t
fuck with nobody no more. People don’t cooperate with us. We ain’t fucking
with nobody.”
STRICT 9
When Anybody Killa’s nationwide tour rolls into your town, be sure to
get there early to check out his homie Strict 9 the Dark Prince and
his group, the Detroit Warriors. When Strict 9 has been in the music
business since he was a teenager, competing on TV shows like “Stars
Of Tomorrow” and “Star Search” as a dancer and singer. He later got
into beatboxing and finally got into rapping. His debut album, “Born
To Die,” came out on Slangtown Records, a label run by the original
Dead Mike. At the time, in 1999 to be exact, the label also included
Krazy Klan, a group comprised of Jaymo (ABK) and J-Ho (Lavel). But
that’s all ancient history.
In 2006, in collaboration with ABK’s Native World label, Strict 9 reissued
a remastered version of “Born To Die,” which features ABK on the song
“Swallow My Goo.” And, in 2008, he released his “Dying To Live” EP, a
stellar effort that finds him rapping about his life and world views.
“It was something to put a little flavor out there,” Strict said in a
recent interview. “I had a lot of things going on in my life and Killa
was helping me out featuring on stuff for him. So it was time for me
to do a little something new. So I basically put that out there. ‘Dying
To Live’ ricochets off of the first one, ‘Born To Die.’ I’m a deep thinker.
I think about life and death a lot. And this is my way of expressing
stuff. I’m dying to live. I’m dying inside, but I’m trying to live. It’s
like a struggle, a fight that we all go through. But if you’re strong
enough and you keep your head up, things will work out.”
Things have certainly worked out well so far for Strict 9. In addition
to featuring as a rapper on several songs from ABK’s Native World catalog
– including “Rattlesnake” and “Guillotine, Part 2” from Killa’s “Rattlesnake”
EP – Strict recently was featured on his first national release. He raps
alongside ABK on the standout track “Thoughts Of Suicide” on Killa’s
“Mudface” LP, which was released in stores everywhere on Psychopathic
Records.
“I was kind of lucky to get on that track,” Strict said. “Actually, I
was at the studio with Killa and he was recording. He was so busy putting
that ‘Mudface’ together, man, recording two or three songs a day, going
back, changing it, fixing it – because he wanted to give fans what they
wanted because it was a longtime anticipated. So we were there one day
and he was writing it and I was bobbing my head like, ‘This is the shit!’
He said, ‘You want to get on it?’ I was like, ‘For real?’ He’s like,
‘Yeah, go ahead, see if you can write you a verse real quick. And let’s
see how it sounds. If it sounds good, we’ll let it ride.’ So I did it
and Eric (Davie) was in there recording it and it came out pretty nice.
I’m excited. I’m ecstatic about that. I appreciate that a lot. Even the
‘Guillotine’ and the ‘Rattlesnake’ – I love that.”
Fans will be sure to love “Dying To Live” as well. It includes the song
“Understand,” which makes reference to haters and people who have tried
to sidetrack Strict’s career. Meanwhile, “Hey Lil Ma” is a song for the
ladies, complete with subliminal messages to “the ladies that are fake.”
Strict wrote the song for a couple ladies in his life who he hadn’t seen
in a while.
“ ‘Keep Thuggin’ was more or less letting you know that I’m gonna keep
being me, keep doing what I do,” Strict said of the album’s leadoff track.
“I’m not trying to change for nobody. I’m just trying to keep it real,
you know? I’m just being who I am. I was born and raised in Detroit.
I live in the suburbs now, but, you know, I’m a thug. I don’t go out
and shoot people, but I’ve got the mentality of a thug, you know? I’ve
been there and I’ve done that.”
The song “Ya Boy” also lets people know that Strict has a gangsta side,
while “Give Me Life” is the sequel to “Born To Die.”
“I’m already doing my time,” Strict said. “Being born in this world was
my only crime. So it’s not like I’m out here being a bad person, but
we’ve all gotta go through the same things. We’re all trapped in this
prison on Earth, so we’ve gotta stick together and do the best we can
to try to go to the gates of heaven.”
In addition to Strict, the live lineup for Detroit Warriors includes
a second rapper, Venomiz, and sometimes special guests like AJAX. The
group’s third album, “Strike 3,” is due out roughly a month after ABK’s
tour concludes. Before that, though, Strict will release “The Best Of
Strict,” a CD featuring guest appearances from his friends, Marco and
Lavel, his 23-year-old nephew Ball Hogg, and others. The best-of collection
will be available on ABK’s tour with the Detroit Warriors and later online
through Native World.
Meanwhile, you can catch Strict 9 as the co-host of ABK’s show, “The
Warpath,” on Psychopathic’s online radio station at www.WFuckOffRadio.com.
For more information on Strict 9, visit www.MySpace.com/strict9thedarkprince.
DJ CLAY
Unlike other mixtapes that contain rehashed material, subpar tracks that
couldn’t make albums and half-heartedly put together artwork, DJ Clay
– the official mixtape master for Hatchet House and Psychopathic Records
– puts out high-quality product three times a year. Not only is his
artwork up there with the best of what’s out there, but the content
of his mixtapes is all-new tracks, hot remixes and appearances by not
only the best of Psychopathic’s roster but a who’s who of Detroit rap
and the underground scene in general.
So when I caught up with DJ Clay, hours before the ball dropped on New
Year’s Eve, he was all too happy to discuss his labors of love, the “Let
Em Bleed, The Mixxtape” series.
“I try to take it to a different level every time – make the next one
better,” DJ Clay said. “But in reality, man, I can’t say a favorite.
I like them all. Certain days – not just because it’s my shit either,
it could be somebody else putting them out – I can put the first one
in, listen to it all the way through. After that, I can put the second
one in, listen to it all the way through. After that, I can put the third
one in, listen to it all the way through. But I really do like the third
one. The third one came out real nice. And I’m doing No. 4 right now.
That boy’s coming out real nice too.”
Let’s talk about No. 4, which is due out March 31 on Hatchet House.
“I’ve got Three 6 (Mafia),” DJ Clay said. “It was a long-awaited. The
Juggalos were waiting for that next ICP-Three 6 collabo. And now it’s
the time. It happened. Why not on the ‘Let Em Bleed Mixxtape,’ huh? Let’s
do it. We’ve got it and it pops off nice. It’s pretty sweet. It’s ICP
and Twiztid and Three 6 Mafia – just like ‘Just Anotha Crazy Click,’
just like that song. The name of the (new) song is ‘I Shot A Hater.’
”
DJ Clay has a couple other big names in the works for Vol. 4, but they
were still pending at press time, so he didn’t want to reveal them prematurely.
“If I can’t get them on Vol. 4, best believe they’ll be on Vol. 5,” he
said. “But I know sometime in the future, I am shooting for Kottonmouth
Kings, maybe a couple other cats from Strange Music squad, people like
that. I would like to get Brotha Lynch Hung on one of these mixtapes
one day. I think all those mothafuckas are the shit and they would be
dope on the ‘Let Em Bleeds.’ ”
On Vol. 3, there’s one track featuring Detroit rap pioneers Awesome Dre,
Big Herk, Esham, Merciless Ameer, Shaggy 2 Dope and Boss. It’s called
“Can’t Hold Me Back ’09.” “There’s a lot of history on that track,” DJ
Clay said.
Other standout tracks include ABK’s “Walk Away” and two tracks by Hatchet
House artists Axe Murder Boyz, “Ima Get Mine” and “Fuck The Devil.” AMB
also shines alongside the entire Psychopathic and Hatchet House family
of artists on the closing track “Kept Grindin.”
“AMB, ‘Fuck The Devil,’ I produced that track, handed it out to them
and was like, ‘Hey, here’s a beat. You guys want to do it for the mixtape?’
” DJ Clay said. “They were like, ‘Hell, yeah, man.’ So they did it and
they freaked it. That’s how tracks like that come along. I pay attention
to Axe Murder Boyz, the people themselves – Axe Murder Boyz, the rappers.
And they’ve got hella skills all around. Best believe you’re gonna hear
Axe Murder Boyz on Vol. 4, Vol. 5, Vol. 6, all the DJ Clay mixtapes to
come. They’re part of the Hatchet House family right now and they’re
just doing it up real big. I sent them some beats for the Vol. 3, they
came correct on them. The first song on ‘Let Em Bleed, Vol. 3,’ the ‘Ima
Get Mine’ that me and them did together, that’s another one of my favorites.
That song’s so dope. We just all was ripping on that one, man.”
How about the remixes DJ Clay does for his mixtape series? Is there any
rhyme or reason to which songs he chooses?
“These remixes, all of them have a meaning behind it to me, for most
of them,” he said. “They’re usually songs that I feel need to be put
out there again. Like when I remixed ‘Rollin Over’ from (ICP’s) ‘The
Calm,’ they’re saying something on that song. And I felt like it was
overlooked. So I’m like, ‘I’m gonna remix it, put it back out again on
this mixtape.’ Volume 2, I had it on. People need to listen to this song.”
On the forthcoming Vol. 4, DJ Clay will have his remix of ICP’s “High
Rise” from the wicked clowns’ “Eye Of The Storm” EP.
“Oh, my gosh, it’s phenomenal the way I remixed it,” DJ Clay said. “I
remix them the way I thought they should have sounded. It brings out
the lyrics a lot more. I get responses from Violent J and stuff like,
‘Wow, shit was dope. That’s my new favorite version of that.’ ”
In fact, DJ Clay said, his remix of Twiztid’s “Karma” went over so well
that fans shouldn’t be surprised if Madrox and Monoxide perform the remixed
version live from now on.
DJ Clay, 24, has been DJing since he was 13 and producing and rapping
since he was 15. His solo track, “Keys 2 Life,” appears on Vol. 3, as
does his rapping collaboration with Tech N9ne, “Let’s Ride.” Will there
be a full-on rap album by DJ Clay featuring all of his own original songs?
“Yes, sooner or later, there will be one,” he said. “I can’t tell you
when, but there will be one. I want to take my time on it. I feel like
I haven’t done what I need to do on these mixtapes yet.”
To submit CDs, DVDs, press releases and other material to be considered for inclusion in “Caught Up in the D,” contact David Friedman at the_bullgod@hotmail.com.
