First Degree
Interview by Black Dog Bone
From Murder Dog vol 6 #4
Sacramento has the hardest Rap. First it's Gangsta and then it's got that evil shit. How do you think that sound started happening in Sac?
Brotha Lynch and C-Bo. It's a gang-bangin town, that has something to do with it. Lynch and C-Bo was comin out way back. I was a Lynch fan and I was young. He came out when I was maybe 14. I been lookin up to him for a while. C-Bo influenced a lotta people in Sac too. I know most of the Sac rappers and it's a lot of different kinds of personalities and styles. C-Bo was one of the first. Lynch and C-Bo kinda shaped what we doin now in Sac. I'm tryin to shape my own sound with people comin real and honest, with the real street. Lotta problems in Sac. People take shit real seriously. It's just hot. But like me, I'm just a regular person. You can make it sound hard and it really be kinda humorous. That's what I do sometimes, come with some hard shit and then it be about something funny, just to keep people's minds fresh.
Which part of Sac are you from?
South. Most of the Rap is comin from the South. Brotha Lynch, C-Bo--same area, same neighborhoods.
Can you name some of the Sac artists that are coming tight right now?
First of all I gotta give it up to Fahrenheit Records, which is me (First Degree The D.E.), B Gee (the old school B Gee), Soup Bone and M Sane. Then there's Siccmade--Lynch, Loki, P-Folks is tight.
Planet Zero is your second album?
It's my second, but it's my first on my own record label, Fahrenheit Records. The other I was on Death Trap Records.
Dalvin, I remember Dalvin from way back. What's up with Dalvin?
He ran into some legal problems.
Who else was on Death Trap Records?
It was me, B Gee and Young Joker.
B Gee had that album with the gorilla on the cover. All those albums were tight.
B Gee's on my label now. He's doin an album with me now on Fahrenheit. My next release that I just finished all the music for is called The Fahrenheit Underbelly. It's a group album between me, Lynch, B GEE, Soupbone and M Sane. That's the next project. I'm tryin to be like Quincy Jones or Dre, how they used to put together all the music on an album and then have artists on it. I made all the beats.
On Planet Zero you made all the beats?
Except for two. Phonk Beta did two. I did everything, man. I was in college at the time too. While I was makin my first album, Southbound, Lynch's Loaded album and Planet Zero, I was in college. It took me 6 years to graduate, I just graduated last year.
Where were you going to school?
Sac State. I majored in Communications with a minor in Criminal Justice. So with Planet Zero some of those songs are 2-3 years old. Because I was in school and tryin to run the label at the same time and workin 30 hours.
You paid dues.
Am I! I'm still payin 'em.
Which songs are old? I couldn't see any difference. All the songs flow together good.
A song called "Simon" and "Outer Limits" were done before Loaded. Loaded came out in '97. It took a long time, man, but now we're puttin out albums like 4 a year.
What inspires you to do music?
Just D.E., I am D.E., the essence of D.E.
Music doesn't inspire you?
Well I listen to a lot of instrumental albums. Like Sadé's band, they're called Sleep Back, they put out an instrumental album that I play almost every day for the last 2-3 years. I'd like to be a producer, so when I'm 50 I can still be doin it, like Dre, keep puttin 'em out.
What's your main thing, rapping or producing?
Actually, singing....singing, rapping and beats. Beats, beats is my main thing.
You're doing a lot of stuff with Brotha Lynch. How'd you meet?
I met Lynch through Beta. Phonk Beta, he's the tightest producer in Sac. He produced most of the Loaded album.
I heard about you when your first record came out, then you kinda disappeared.
Well I was goin to school and another thing, I teach. In my other life--I have many lives--in my other life I teach math and after school classes at Burbank High School and I tutor at G Parkway.
When you listen to Planet Zero you can tell that the person behind it has many lives.
What's the concept behind Planet Zero?
That's where I live, Planet Zero, that's where I just drove from. I live in the world of high.
Explain that.
I keep it loose for interpretation. Whoever can take it their own way. I'm just on Planet Zero and I'm in a whole different place and waves and limits. The album was originally called Sittin High Lookin Down. I was puttin that album together and on every song I was talkin about Planet Zero, and I was like that's where I live, that's me. I just put it together.
What kinds of things do you write about in your lyrics?
My life. I write about real life shit. I'm talkin about my everyday life, but I say it in an extreme way. I just take it to another level, and it's just real everyday shit. Talk about the kids I tutor. I use words that take people a year to understand.
You feel like you have two different lives?
More than that. About six. Like the kids in my class still don't believe I rap, and half of 'em heard my album--they don't believe it's me. And the people in the Rap world don't believe I teach. Certain communities, like 29th Street Garden Block, I worked in there for four years tutoring. The community has a respect for me and what I do. No one has tripped to the point where it cost me my job or nothing.
Tell me about some of your other lives?
Robo D.E. Robo D.E. is the person within us all--when we don't feel like doin something, ditching your emotions and just doin what you gotta do to pull the hustle. Whatever it is, gettin up in the morning, goin to the studio, whatever you gotta do. Robo D.E. is just droppin your emotions. Then Blackula. Blackula is as sexual juggernaut. He's a prowler, night, in the tree, 2 'o clock in the morning--I'm a night owl. Mr. Colen is the teacher. D.E. is a smart person, all game. First Degree is business-y.
On the first album you were just First Degree?
I was still sayin D.E. People just call me D.E. now, so I switched my name to First Degree The D.E. One day I'm gonna come out with an all singin album and it's gonna be under the name D.E., just D.E. Not like singing like R & B, but like Di'angelo, like the singing I did on Planet Zero.
You like Di'angelo?
I love Di'angelo. He makes his own beats and he sings tight, like D.E. For someone to impress me they have to have the whole package. Like Lynch makes some of the tightest beats in the United States, and he raps--everybody knows how he raps. When you can make tight beats too! And when you got those kinda lyrics with the beats. I like shit where they just go in the studio for a month and come out with platinum type shit--they don't need anybody's help.
Brotha Lynch is working on a new album?
He's workin on a movie and the soundtrack to the movie is his new album, it's called EBK 4. I'm on it, Snoop is on it...he's still workin on it, it's still fresh.
I thought he was already done with the album. Wasn't it called MidEvil?
He's gonna wait on that one. He changed his plan. Black Market is signed with Tommy Boy now and they had this big plan with this movie and everything. Lynch asked me to narrate the movie. We'll see, I'm lookin forward to it. Lynch and I are tight. He tells me I'm one of his top three favorite rappers and he's definitely one of my top three. We got a lotta respect, so it works out.
What's coming up on Fahrenheit Records?
We got Fahrenheit Underbelly Volume I, comin out with Underbelly's every year. Then M Sane's solo album called Unda The Influence, Soupbone's solo album and B Gee's next solo album. All those are highly anticipated albums.
Are you working on another solo album for First Degree?
I'm taking a break for about a year before I even touch that album, but that's gonna be tight. Right now I'm puttin everything into Fahrenheit Records.
Interview by Black Dog Bone
From Murder Dog vol 6 #4
Sacramento has the hardest Rap. First it's Gangsta and then it's got that evil shit. How do you think that sound started happening in Sac?
Brotha Lynch and C-Bo. It's a gang-bangin town, that has something to do with it. Lynch and C-Bo was comin out way back. I was a Lynch fan and I was young. He came out when I was maybe 14. I been lookin up to him for a while. C-Bo influenced a lotta people in Sac too. I know most of the Sac rappers and it's a lot of different kinds of personalities and styles. C-Bo was one of the first. Lynch and C-Bo kinda shaped what we doin now in Sac. I'm tryin to shape my own sound with people comin real and honest, with the real street. Lotta problems in Sac. People take shit real seriously. It's just hot. But like me, I'm just a regular person. You can make it sound hard and it really be kinda humorous. That's what I do sometimes, come with some hard shit and then it be about something funny, just to keep people's minds fresh.
Which part of Sac are you from?
South. Most of the Rap is comin from the South. Brotha Lynch, C-Bo--same area, same neighborhoods.
Can you name some of the Sac artists that are coming tight right now?
First of all I gotta give it up to Fahrenheit Records, which is me (First Degree The D.E.), B Gee (the old school B Gee), Soup Bone and M Sane. Then there's Siccmade--Lynch, Loki, P-Folks is tight.
Planet Zero is your second album?
It's my second, but it's my first on my own record label, Fahrenheit Records. The other I was on Death Trap Records.
Dalvin, I remember Dalvin from way back. What's up with Dalvin?
He ran into some legal problems.
Who else was on Death Trap Records?
It was me, B Gee and Young Joker.
B Gee had that album with the gorilla on the cover. All those albums were tight.
B Gee's on my label now. He's doin an album with me now on Fahrenheit. My next release that I just finished all the music for is called The Fahrenheit Underbelly. It's a group album between me, Lynch, B GEE, Soupbone and M Sane. That's the next project. I'm tryin to be like Quincy Jones or Dre, how they used to put together all the music on an album and then have artists on it. I made all the beats.
On Planet Zero you made all the beats?
Except for two. Phonk Beta did two. I did everything, man. I was in college at the time too. While I was makin my first album, Southbound, Lynch's Loaded album and Planet Zero, I was in college. It took me 6 years to graduate, I just graduated last year.
Where were you going to school?
Sac State. I majored in Communications with a minor in Criminal Justice. So with Planet Zero some of those songs are 2-3 years old. Because I was in school and tryin to run the label at the same time and workin 30 hours.
You paid dues.
Am I! I'm still payin 'em.
Which songs are old? I couldn't see any difference. All the songs flow together good.
A song called "Simon" and "Outer Limits" were done before Loaded. Loaded came out in '97. It took a long time, man, but now we're puttin out albums like 4 a year.
What inspires you to do music?
Just D.E., I am D.E., the essence of D.E.
Music doesn't inspire you?
Well I listen to a lot of instrumental albums. Like Sadé's band, they're called Sleep Back, they put out an instrumental album that I play almost every day for the last 2-3 years. I'd like to be a producer, so when I'm 50 I can still be doin it, like Dre, keep puttin 'em out.
What's your main thing, rapping or producing?
Actually, singing....singing, rapping and beats. Beats, beats is my main thing.
You're doing a lot of stuff with Brotha Lynch. How'd you meet?
I met Lynch through Beta. Phonk Beta, he's the tightest producer in Sac. He produced most of the Loaded album.
I heard about you when your first record came out, then you kinda disappeared.
Well I was goin to school and another thing, I teach. In my other life--I have many lives--in my other life I teach math and after school classes at Burbank High School and I tutor at G Parkway.
When you listen to Planet Zero you can tell that the person behind it has many lives.
What's the concept behind Planet Zero?
That's where I live, Planet Zero, that's where I just drove from. I live in the world of high.
Explain that.
I keep it loose for interpretation. Whoever can take it their own way. I'm just on Planet Zero and I'm in a whole different place and waves and limits. The album was originally called Sittin High Lookin Down. I was puttin that album together and on every song I was talkin about Planet Zero, and I was like that's where I live, that's me. I just put it together.
What kinds of things do you write about in your lyrics?
My life. I write about real life shit. I'm talkin about my everyday life, but I say it in an extreme way. I just take it to another level, and it's just real everyday shit. Talk about the kids I tutor. I use words that take people a year to understand.
You feel like you have two different lives?
More than that. About six. Like the kids in my class still don't believe I rap, and half of 'em heard my album--they don't believe it's me. And the people in the Rap world don't believe I teach. Certain communities, like 29th Street Garden Block, I worked in there for four years tutoring. The community has a respect for me and what I do. No one has tripped to the point where it cost me my job or nothing.
Tell me about some of your other lives?
Robo D.E. Robo D.E. is the person within us all--when we don't feel like doin something, ditching your emotions and just doin what you gotta do to pull the hustle. Whatever it is, gettin up in the morning, goin to the studio, whatever you gotta do. Robo D.E. is just droppin your emotions. Then Blackula. Blackula is as sexual juggernaut. He's a prowler, night, in the tree, 2 'o clock in the morning--I'm a night owl. Mr. Colen is the teacher. D.E. is a smart person, all game. First Degree is business-y.
On the first album you were just First Degree?
I was still sayin D.E. People just call me D.E. now, so I switched my name to First Degree The D.E. One day I'm gonna come out with an all singin album and it's gonna be under the name D.E., just D.E. Not like singing like R & B, but like Di'angelo, like the singing I did on Planet Zero.
You like Di'angelo?
I love Di'angelo. He makes his own beats and he sings tight, like D.E. For someone to impress me they have to have the whole package. Like Lynch makes some of the tightest beats in the United States, and he raps--everybody knows how he raps. When you can make tight beats too! And when you got those kinda lyrics with the beats. I like shit where they just go in the studio for a month and come out with platinum type shit--they don't need anybody's help.
Brotha Lynch is working on a new album?
He's workin on a movie and the soundtrack to the movie is his new album, it's called EBK 4. I'm on it, Snoop is on it...he's still workin on it, it's still fresh.
I thought he was already done with the album. Wasn't it called MidEvil?
He's gonna wait on that one. He changed his plan. Black Market is signed with Tommy Boy now and they had this big plan with this movie and everything. Lynch asked me to narrate the movie. We'll see, I'm lookin forward to it. Lynch and I are tight. He tells me I'm one of his top three favorite rappers and he's definitely one of my top three. We got a lotta respect, so it works out.
What's coming up on Fahrenheit Records?
We got Fahrenheit Underbelly Volume I, comin out with Underbelly's every year. Then M Sane's solo album called Unda The Influence, Soupbone's solo album and B Gee's next solo album. All those are highly anticipated albums.
Are you working on another solo album for First Degree?
I'm taking a break for about a year before I even touch that album, but that's gonna be tight. Right now I'm puttin everything into Fahrenheit Records.
