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15th Anniversary- Al Kapone
From Murder Dog vol.15 #2
How did you first come across Murder Dog
Magazine? You were the first to rapper we interviewed from Memphis. When we first started Murder Dog right away we
started to connect with the South. The first one was J-Dogg and then we
connected with Rasool from Pistol’s camp in Nashville. If you look in the
second issue of Murder Dog we were already covering Southern Rap. We had Boogie
and Pistol from Nashville. Back then no one knew about Southern Rap, other than
a little what was going on in Florida and Atlanta.
I remember. What I noticed about Murder Dog was
the love you were showing to the independents, in particular to the Bay and to
the South. It was definitely at a time that nobody was fuckin with the South
unless you was a huge major star like Geto Boys or 2LiveCrew. If you weren’t on
that level it wasn’t no magazines that would fuck with you. Murder Dog really
put the spotlight on the South way before the South blew up. It was when a lot
of Southern artists that are huge now were still underground. Eightball &
MJG, UGK, even when Master P was in his first stages.
You remember how many times I came to the South
to do articles. We covered so many artists in the South. I have photos and
videos of Southern artists that no one has. I met Lil Wayne when he was like 12
years old.
I remember goin with you to New Orleans on that
trip, man! I remember that shit. The party Cash Money had when they first got
signed. I remember Mike Tyson was there. At that time I had UG-TV and I filmed
Lil Wayne when he was a little youngster. The point is, Murder Dog didn’t jump
on the South because it was the hot thing to jump on. Murder Dog was on the
South when the South needed somebody to give it a spotlight, to expose it to
other areas outside of the South. And there wasn’t nobody else doing that shit.
Murder Dog was the only one.
We were so excited about the South because it
was a very different sound in Rap. When I heard Al Kapone or Three-6 Mafia or
Big Boy Records, it was clear that a new sound had formed in the South but the
rest of the country hadn’t recognized it. You knew it because you grew up in
it.
Exactly. It’s evident now, but the South always
had its own sound and its own swagger and lingo. At that time it wasn’t nobody
up on it but Murder Dog. That was the time when the West Coast was dominating.
When Death Row was in power and the Bay was getting a lotta love. New York was
starting to get more shine with B.I.G. and the whole Bad Boy movement. The
South was still in its beginning stages, but the South artists had their own
fanbase within the South.
When I went to the South I could see there was a
lot going on down there, a lot of original, raw talent, but nobody was taking
notice.
Being a person from the South, I will personally
thank you and everybody at Murder Dog for reppin our scene and our culture when
we were getting overlooked. It was to the point where we had really stopped
caring about muthafuckas recognizing us. When you started to show love I
remember the energy. Here in Memphis and when I used to go state to state
promoting my records. I’d have Murder Dog’s with me, and there was an
excitement that independent artists felt when they saw Murder Dog. They felt
like there was a way to be seen through the magazine outlet, which we had never
experienced before. When people saw Murder Dog and saw the independent artists
lookin big like the big boys in the other magazines. The independent artists
were lookin big or bigger. And at the time when Pen & Pixel was the shit,
and all the ads were in Murder Dog. You could be looking at all the South album
covers in the ads. It was like an artwork portfolio to look through because the
covers were so fuckin immaculate at that time. The bottom line was it was
exciting for all the independent artists. They felt that Murder Dog was their
magazine.
A lot of people thought we were a Southern based
magazine because of the content. When the major labels had a Southern release
they always had an ad in Murder Dog in order to get the Southern market. We
were selling a huge amount of magazines in the South, we still do. On top of
that we were sending truckloads of free magazines for promotion in the South,
thousands of free magazines.
Not to mention, the ad prices for other
magazines was astronomical. It was way out of any independent artist’s range.
It was like they were tryin to wipe us clean. But y’all were showing love.
It’s beautiful to see how things have happened
in the South. It’s not like East Coast or California. This week you hear
something from South Carolina, next week it’s something from Memphis or Jackson
or a small town in Alabama. It’s vast. I don’t think the South is going to fade
out soon. There’s so many New York’s in the South; there’s so many LA’s in the
South.
Unlike when the other coasts had it on lock, the
South had been held back for so long that once we got a chance to have the ball
in our court we’re gonna hold onto it for a long time. We had been denied it
for so long, and during that period of denial we was able to define the sound
that we liked. And each area has developed their own individual sound. It’s so
many states in the South and so many cities in each of the states, so it’s easy
for us to migrate from one spot to the next. When one city’s sound starts to
get a little boring another city will come and hit everybody from a whole
different angle. You can go from Crunk to Screw. And it’s other areas that
still haven’t really got a chance to show what they got yet.
I feel like the South still has deep roots to
Africa. The Africanness is not watered out in the South, it’s still pure. That
was where the African people first came to the States. The spirit of Africa
still lives in the South. When I go to the South I feel those spirits from a
long time ago.
That’s a beautiful thing to remember, how the
Africans were brought through the South. The majority of Black people migrated
from the South, tryin to get away from slavery and went to other parts of the
country. Generations past, but we all have roots in the South. It’s almost like
being reconnected with something you got disconnected from. A cat from the
Bronx that never been to the South, I guarantee you their grandmomma, great
grandmomma or somebody, came from the South. And they can remember a grandmomma
who still had that Southern attitude. By the time the South music came out they
still felt some kinda kinship to it. That’s why the South was embraced
throughout the whole country.
We still love what’s going on in the South. Now
we’re seeing the music branch out. It’s growing in all directions, like how
you’re performing with a live band. What made you decide to move in that
direction? When I saw your video for that song “The Music”
I was so excited. The song was tight, the music was raw and it was not
something I’d heard before. It was great to see another side of Al Kapone.
Thank you. I’d like to say Murder Dog helped
shed a little sunshine our way. Through your support you helped Southern Rap
grow and blossom. All of us appreciate that.
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