Celly Cel
Interview By Black Dog Bone
From Murder Dog Vol. 7 #5
You were with Sick Wid’ It for a long time, now you’re coming independent. What made you make the change?
When I first came into the Rap game I started my own label. It was real small, maybe four stores in the whole Bay Area. That’s how I first hooked up with E-40 and them. They heard some of the stuff I was doin, they were about to put out the Down & Dirty, that’s how we hooked up. So from the beginnin I been wantin to run my own stuff. 40 knew that. It got to the point where it was time for me to branch off and do my thing and they let me go ahead and do that. It was in the makings since the beginnin, me startin my own company.
What had you put out before you got with Sick Wit’ It?
I had a single with one song and I had a maxi-single with four songs. From there I hooked up with 40 and made my first album.
You knew Sick Wit’ It family from growing up in the Hillside?
Yeah, just growin up, I lived right down the street from them. We drank together, just kickin it. They was rappin and they found out I was rappin, so it was natural that we hooked up.
When did your first album drop?
I hooked up with Sick Wit’ It in ’94. Then I dropped my first album, Heat Fo’ Yo’ Azz. I dropped the Killa Kali album—that was the one that blew me up—I dropped that one in ’96. That one came out on Sick Wit’ It/Jive. We got with Jive in ’96. That’s when 40 dropped In A Major Way. In ’98 I came with The G Files. I was 4 years with Sick Wit’ It, 2 years with Jive. Now my first one is out on my own label, Real Side.
You had a good relationship with Sick Wit’ It?
Yeah, we was folks. I ain’t got nothing to complain. They showed me the game, they showed me how to run my own company. I took that and went from there. That’s how I’m able to do my thang. I’m doing it right. A lotta people say they got a label, but they’re not really tryin to pass a successful label. A lotta people just wanna drop, sell a few units, make a few dollars. I’m tryin to build something. I want mine to be a legitimate label.
You’ve been planning to do this for a long time.
Oh yeah. I always wanted to be my own boss. I knew I wanted to help other people to put their music out. I been thinkin about it the whole time, but I wanted to do it at the right time. I wanted to learn as much as I could before I got started. Now I don’t know everything, but I know enough to stay afloat.
There were so many labels that got started in the Bay a few years ago, and after a while they all disappeared. What do you think went wrong?
I think they got away from the music. They wasn’t comin with the heat no more. They was getting in the studio, knockin out albums in like 1 or 2 months. People was just throwin some shit out, tryin to get some quick money. Nobody was takin pride in their projects, nobody was puttin 110% into it. It shows.
They felt that the Bay was so hot that they could put anything out and make some money.
They thought everybody would just jump on it because it was from the Bay. That, and the compilation game is what really killed us. You buy a compilation and you hear a song and it’s tight. And everybody likes it. You go buy another compilation and the same song is on that compilation. People got tired of buyin the same album—just change the j-card. Same songs, different package.
In the same way the same artists were being featured on everybody’s albums. People would pay to get some big names, they’d just drop a couple of lines, it doesn’t mean anything.
That’s true, but it depends on who you’re workin with. If they don’t respect the artist, maybe they don’t care what they put on there. And then everybody gonna listen to their shit and they’re gonna listen to yours and they’re gonna know he didn’t come with it on that one. But some rappers do their best every time. Like me, I’m gonna rap on somebody’s album like it’s mine. I do a guest appearance and I say, Man I shoulda kept that for my own shit!
So you think the Bay lost it because of compilations and the music was weak?
Right. And because we was oversaturated. Every time you turn around you see an album and there’s your favorite artist on there, then you get 2 or 3 compilations and they’re on all of them compilations. Now you ain't so eager to hear ‘em. You ain’t so pumped up when they come out with their new shit. You ain’t gonna check for ‘em.
Do you think it’s changing?
I think it’s come back to a full circle. That compilation phase, I think that faded. Everybody went back to the drawin board, start tryin to come with the heat again, put in their 100%. And we’re really goin through a change, because the music comin from Down South. Everybody’s comin with the off beats and the Bounce music. Cash Money and No Limit came and took it by storm. It rotated out that way. All that kinda took us out the game for a minute, but I think it’s comin back. We have all these collaborations, like Mack 10 and Warren G came out together. Xzibit and Snoop came out. Dre and Tha Dogg Pound hooked back up. The focus shifted back to the West Coast. If anybody in the Bay’s gonna do it, now’s the time. It’s our time again now.
You’re talking about people from LA, but what about the Bay? This is the home for a lot of amazing Rap—E-40, Spice 1, Too Short, Digital Underground, even 2 Pac started here.
Right. It’s only a matter of puttin your best foot forward like we did from the beginning. In the beginning nobody knew who we was, nobody ever heard of us and we was hungry for it. And we sounded like it. When you listened to us you could tell. That’s what made people pay attention. Then a lotta people got too comfortable. Got a little money, got a little fame, then they feel like their name alone will sell the album. They got lazy and it showed. Whoever really want it, they gotta come back with that hunker again, it gotta show. They gotta come with it.
On this new Celly Cel album, do you feel like you’re going back to the original Celly Cel?
I feel like I’m born again. I feel like when I first came out. I got my new label, I’m tryna blow that up. I’m tryna get my respect as a business man. I already got my respect as an artist. I want everybody to know that anything comin offa that label, it’s gonna be a tight album. I wanna show everybody I mean it. I’m rappin from my heart, givin my 110%, and plus I’m bringin artists that’re gonna do the same thing. I gotta show ‘em that ain’t nobody carryin me, I gotta carry my own weight.
When you were with Sick Wit’ It who did most of your production?
Studio Ton, Mike Mosley, Sam Bostic. That was the core of it there. The last two albums I branched out some more. I worked with Wine Time outta Seattle, Tone Capone, G-Man Stan. I have some production from some up and comin producers. I spread out as I got deeper into it. I wanted to get more variety in the sound.
You released Deep Conversation in July. How’s it doing?
Doin real nice. Third week it hit Billboard. I’m feelin good about that. As an independent, that’s a major accomplishment. There were only two independent releases on the Billboard—me and Spice 1.
For an independent to even hit Billboard is like going to number one for a major.
Cause they got all the resources. They got the radio and the video, they got it sewed up. For an independent to compete with that is a major accomplishment.
Who did your production on this album?
I worked with G-Man Stan. I worked with Bosko. I worked with Charlie Doyle, he did Mr. Ill and the Cellblock compilations. He tight and he hungry. That’s Sam Bostic’s cousin, they got the same typa vibe. I worked with DJ Fingaz outta san Diego. He came out with the MVP soundtrack. Me and Doyle did like half the record together. I just give him an idea and he takes off with it, and it comes out exactly how I want it. It’s rare to find a producer like that.
What are we getting on this new album? Is it a new Celly Cel?
I feel like I’m bringin it back to my roots, when I first came into the game. Like I’m just expressin heat, like I’m hungry for it again. That “mad at the world” mentality is back. I know what they want, give it to ‘em raw. It’s ridin music, playa shit. I know there was a time when I kinda laid back a little, but I’m givin it to ‘em now.
It’s an important album for you, the first album off Real Side Records.
That’s right. This album’s gonna determine what my label’s gonna be about. If it’s gonna come, it’s gonna come from this album. I thought about all that when I went into the studio. On this one I got something to prove. Just like in the beginning. This album is gonna reflect all that.
Interview By Black Dog Bone
From Murder Dog Vol. 7 #5
You were with Sick Wid’ It for a long time, now you’re coming independent. What made you make the change?
When I first came into the Rap game I started my own label. It was real small, maybe four stores in the whole Bay Area. That’s how I first hooked up with E-40 and them. They heard some of the stuff I was doin, they were about to put out the Down & Dirty, that’s how we hooked up. So from the beginnin I been wantin to run my own stuff. 40 knew that. It got to the point where it was time for me to branch off and do my thing and they let me go ahead and do that. It was in the makings since the beginnin, me startin my own company.
What had you put out before you got with Sick Wit’ It?
I had a single with one song and I had a maxi-single with four songs. From there I hooked up with 40 and made my first album.
You knew Sick Wit’ It family from growing up in the Hillside?
Yeah, just growin up, I lived right down the street from them. We drank together, just kickin it. They was rappin and they found out I was rappin, so it was natural that we hooked up.
When did your first album drop?
I hooked up with Sick Wit’ It in ’94. Then I dropped my first album, Heat Fo’ Yo’ Azz. I dropped the Killa Kali album—that was the one that blew me up—I dropped that one in ’96. That one came out on Sick Wit’ It/Jive. We got with Jive in ’96. That’s when 40 dropped In A Major Way. In ’98 I came with The G Files. I was 4 years with Sick Wit’ It, 2 years with Jive. Now my first one is out on my own label, Real Side.
You had a good relationship with Sick Wit’ It?
Yeah, we was folks. I ain’t got nothing to complain. They showed me the game, they showed me how to run my own company. I took that and went from there. That’s how I’m able to do my thang. I’m doing it right. A lotta people say they got a label, but they’re not really tryin to pass a successful label. A lotta people just wanna drop, sell a few units, make a few dollars. I’m tryin to build something. I want mine to be a legitimate label.
You’ve been planning to do this for a long time.
Oh yeah. I always wanted to be my own boss. I knew I wanted to help other people to put their music out. I been thinkin about it the whole time, but I wanted to do it at the right time. I wanted to learn as much as I could before I got started. Now I don’t know everything, but I know enough to stay afloat.
There were so many labels that got started in the Bay a few years ago, and after a while they all disappeared. What do you think went wrong?
I think they got away from the music. They wasn’t comin with the heat no more. They was getting in the studio, knockin out albums in like 1 or 2 months. People was just throwin some shit out, tryin to get some quick money. Nobody was takin pride in their projects, nobody was puttin 110% into it. It shows.
They felt that the Bay was so hot that they could put anything out and make some money.
They thought everybody would just jump on it because it was from the Bay. That, and the compilation game is what really killed us. You buy a compilation and you hear a song and it’s tight. And everybody likes it. You go buy another compilation and the same song is on that compilation. People got tired of buyin the same album—just change the j-card. Same songs, different package.
In the same way the same artists were being featured on everybody’s albums. People would pay to get some big names, they’d just drop a couple of lines, it doesn’t mean anything.
That’s true, but it depends on who you’re workin with. If they don’t respect the artist, maybe they don’t care what they put on there. And then everybody gonna listen to their shit and they’re gonna listen to yours and they’re gonna know he didn’t come with it on that one. But some rappers do their best every time. Like me, I’m gonna rap on somebody’s album like it’s mine. I do a guest appearance and I say, Man I shoulda kept that for my own shit!
So you think the Bay lost it because of compilations and the music was weak?
Right. And because we was oversaturated. Every time you turn around you see an album and there’s your favorite artist on there, then you get 2 or 3 compilations and they’re on all of them compilations. Now you ain't so eager to hear ‘em. You ain’t so pumped up when they come out with their new shit. You ain’t gonna check for ‘em.
Do you think it’s changing?
I think it’s come back to a full circle. That compilation phase, I think that faded. Everybody went back to the drawin board, start tryin to come with the heat again, put in their 100%. And we’re really goin through a change, because the music comin from Down South. Everybody’s comin with the off beats and the Bounce music. Cash Money and No Limit came and took it by storm. It rotated out that way. All that kinda took us out the game for a minute, but I think it’s comin back. We have all these collaborations, like Mack 10 and Warren G came out together. Xzibit and Snoop came out. Dre and Tha Dogg Pound hooked back up. The focus shifted back to the West Coast. If anybody in the Bay’s gonna do it, now’s the time. It’s our time again now.
You’re talking about people from LA, but what about the Bay? This is the home for a lot of amazing Rap—E-40, Spice 1, Too Short, Digital Underground, even 2 Pac started here.
Right. It’s only a matter of puttin your best foot forward like we did from the beginning. In the beginning nobody knew who we was, nobody ever heard of us and we was hungry for it. And we sounded like it. When you listened to us you could tell. That’s what made people pay attention. Then a lotta people got too comfortable. Got a little money, got a little fame, then they feel like their name alone will sell the album. They got lazy and it showed. Whoever really want it, they gotta come back with that hunker again, it gotta show. They gotta come with it.
On this new Celly Cel album, do you feel like you’re going back to the original Celly Cel?
I feel like I’m born again. I feel like when I first came out. I got my new label, I’m tryna blow that up. I’m tryna get my respect as a business man. I already got my respect as an artist. I want everybody to know that anything comin offa that label, it’s gonna be a tight album. I wanna show everybody I mean it. I’m rappin from my heart, givin my 110%, and plus I’m bringin artists that’re gonna do the same thing. I gotta show ‘em that ain’t nobody carryin me, I gotta carry my own weight.
When you were with Sick Wit’ It who did most of your production?
Studio Ton, Mike Mosley, Sam Bostic. That was the core of it there. The last two albums I branched out some more. I worked with Wine Time outta Seattle, Tone Capone, G-Man Stan. I have some production from some up and comin producers. I spread out as I got deeper into it. I wanted to get more variety in the sound.
You released Deep Conversation in July. How’s it doing?
Doin real nice. Third week it hit Billboard. I’m feelin good about that. As an independent, that’s a major accomplishment. There were only two independent releases on the Billboard—me and Spice 1.
For an independent to even hit Billboard is like going to number one for a major.
Cause they got all the resources. They got the radio and the video, they got it sewed up. For an independent to compete with that is a major accomplishment.
Who did your production on this album?
I worked with G-Man Stan. I worked with Bosko. I worked with Charlie Doyle, he did Mr. Ill and the Cellblock compilations. He tight and he hungry. That’s Sam Bostic’s cousin, they got the same typa vibe. I worked with DJ Fingaz outta san Diego. He came out with the MVP soundtrack. Me and Doyle did like half the record together. I just give him an idea and he takes off with it, and it comes out exactly how I want it. It’s rare to find a producer like that.
What are we getting on this new album? Is it a new Celly Cel?
I feel like I’m bringin it back to my roots, when I first came into the game. Like I’m just expressin heat, like I’m hungry for it again. That “mad at the world” mentality is back. I know what they want, give it to ‘em raw. It’s ridin music, playa shit. I know there was a time when I kinda laid back a little, but I’m givin it to ‘em now.
It’s an important album for you, the first album off Real Side Records.
That’s right. This album’s gonna determine what my label’s gonna be about. If it’s gonna come, it’s gonna come from this album. I thought about all that when I went into the studio. On this one I got something to prove. Just like in the beginning. This album is gonna reflect all that.
