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Interview w/Dilated Peoples
By: Justin Rizzio
Since the mid nineties Dilated Peoples have gone from major label to independent to major label again and now back to independent. Over the years they have worked with almost unheard artists and ones of superstar status. They even replaced their DJ shortly after they got together. But, through all the changes they’ve gone through, one thing has always remained; since 1995 Dilated have continued to put out an extensive catalog of solid material. It’s hard to believe that while many groups can’t last more than a few singles, Dilated has managed to stay together and put out records for almost 15 years now. Though they’ve never fully broke into the mainstream, Dilated, instead, has done something even more amazing. They have managed to earn the respect of both the industry as well as fans worldwide. Visit Dilated Peoples official website at – dilatedpeoples.com
***We apologize AGAIN for all the bold going on in here (were hip hop heads not web programmers) so for a better read please Click HERE 215hiphop: You guys have performed in Philly a few times now. What do you think of the city?
Rakaa: Great place to hang out man. Cool vibes. Nothing wrong with a sunny day on South St. with a lot of excellent local Philly flavor to absorb. It’s a always cool vibe man. Good food, good crowd; it’s always a blast to come here.
Evidence: When I come out I hang out on South st. or whatever, but I haven’t been to all sides of Philly to really see how it goes down. But I like it here. The people that come out are always live so I appreciate the energy.
215: Over the years you guys have gone back and forth from independent to major and back to independent. If you knew what you know now 10 year ago, what would you have done different?
Rakaa: I probably would have just spent a little more time getting into the subtle nuances of the contracts. I mean everything was good. We worked out a great deal with the situation that we had, but anytime you have a translator speaking for you something is bound to get lost. I would have paid attention to a couple little details. But overall, we had a great run and we still in it. So there’s not too much I would change. You can’t really control other peoples levels of integrity. All you can do is do you, and we’ve been doing that to the highest degree.
Evidence: Wonderful.
215: What’s everybody working on right now?
Evidence: All kind of shit. Period.
And then next paragraph starts and it’s gonna be long and it goes like this. Next up is Crown of Thorns, Rakaa’s solo album. Ya’ll got the Weatherman LP (Evidence’s solo album) last year. Babu is dropping Duck Season 3, which is gonna be crazy. I’m back in the lab actually starting my second solo album. And most importantly, out of all three, is the new Dilated Peoples album. It’s starting to get constructed. Heavy Crown of Thorns and Duck Season promotion is coming up next. Oh, And Chemical Warfare from Alchemist.
It’s a dope time for us right now. We’re off the label, so we can do a lot of creative shit we weren’t necessarily able to to. Not creation wise, but getting it from the point of a finished record to the people. When you have a middle man, things become difficult. Right now we’re unsigned, very eager to start getting into the creative process, and do a business deal that makes sense. Not a record deal. So, when you see us coming out again, know that all our ducks are in order and everything is straight.
We’re gonna really let people know what Dilated is on the next campaign in 2009. Stay focused and stay tuned. A new website is getting built…and I almost fucked Rakaa’s feet up right there really bad (Evidence has been moving around on his skateboard since the interview started.)
Rakaa: That would have been ugly.
Evidence: I did a kickflip on stage tonight.
Rakaa: Ev put a lot on the line tonight with that. His whole reputation as a childhood skating phenomenon and various other things. His ankles and a lot of other things in jeopardy. True grace under fire.
215: A lot of groups that came out around the same time as you did are no longer around. What has kept you guys together for the past ten plus years?
Evidence: You’re right about that, you’re not wrong. But what I’ve been finding is that a lot of the groups are around but just not necessarily on the radar. Right now I just feel like there is a time and a place for everyone to do their thing and it might not be the time for a lot of those groups. Their time might come at a different time.
Kanye West just put my “Mr. Slowflow” video up on his blog. I’m reading through the comments and there’s a lot of people going, “oh shit, Dilated Peoples, I saw them open up for Kanye in ‘04.” We’re right here, but when the light doesn’t shine on you, not everyone’s gonna show up. I think it’s a beautiful thing right now to find out who my real fans are.
Rakaa: Also, I think one of the keys to our success is that we encourage each other to go out and do other things. I love to promote The Weatherman album and tell people Duck Season is dropping October 28th. I’m sure they’ll be heavily promoting Crown of Thorns. We send each other out in the world to bring different things back to the family fold.
Dilated Peoples is a group, but it’s also a family. There’s no jealousy. I hope my brothers both go diamond regardless of my sales and I’m sure they feel the same way about me. It’s a family movement. There’s always just a challenge to push ourselves with no hate involved. When that’s the case, there’s not that burnout. We don’t have to feel like we have to make that choice between being in the group or following our hearts. Do whatever you want to do. When it’s time to do a Dilated project, let’s link up and do a Dilated project. We been doing that for years.
Evidence: With us, we had a goal, and we never really deviated from that path. So we never really played ourselves out. It’s like, for a metaphor, an un-gangster version, but someone like Bun B. He’s on a different level. He’s really on his craft. I’m not trying to compare us, but as a metaphor, I think it’s dope for Dilated to never have been really overexposed. We always had a niche and I just appreciate that lane because not everyone gets it.
215: Looking back on the last 10 years of your careers, what would you say were your greatest personal accomplishments?
Dj Babu: I think to still be intact as a group is a pretty big accomplishment. Being a fan of it, you see groups break up and you’re devastated. Over the years we just had a rollercoaster ride. It’s pretty incredible to be able to do our music and do us. We have a core fan base still intact and holding us down. I’m proud that we went through our record deal making the music and fighting for the music we wanted to put out. Now we’re back to a place; back to square one. It’s back to basics with rhymes, beats, cuts and getting that out to the people. It’s a little different now, but it’s back to us three in a room making it happen. That goes from shows to music. So that’s a really big accomplishment for me. For any band in any genre of music to put out four albums on a record label and not self destruct is a feat itself.
Rakaa: We’re obviously not 100% responsible for it, but something that we help push and continue to support is the DJ presence in hip hop culture. We make sure that Babu is not an after thought. I remember Kanye checking us out on the tour that we did and on his next tour he went and picked up A-Track. There’s not no biting, he just realized that there was another level he could go to if you brought a cat on board that can really play the turntables like an instrument.
Being one of the groups, especially at our level, that really make it a point to go travel internationally and build bridges to be a world wide hip hop group. That goes back to the other question as to what’s help keep us in the game. We don’t just concentrate on where the record label says to rap because that’s where we sell records. We recognize there’s people all over the planet and that means there’s potential all over the planet.
Evidence: Krs-One knows who I am.
215: Rakaa, you appeared on the Transplants (Tim Armstrong, Rob Aston, Travis Barker) album. How did that collaboration happen?
Rakaa: My homeboy Skinhead Rob…that’s a good friend of mine. I’ve known him for a long time. We were talking about doing something for his project that he was working on with Muggs. That project didn’t happen or got put on hold, but the Transplants project came up, and I was seeing him all the time. He just asked me to get on it. He talked to Travis and everybody. I went to their home studio, hung out for a while, recorded a joint and that was that. Later on, Paul Wall chopped and screwed it, it was crazy man. It was a whole crazy experience.
215: Evidence, you’re both an mc and a producer, but if you could choose one what would it be?
Evidence: Right now it’s rapping, because I’m still young and I still have the energy to go run around the planet. I would say I’m 60% rapper and 40% producer, but as time goes on, those numbers are gonna switch. I think being 35 years old and being a more home type person with a family, there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s when I think I’m really gonna get into the business side of my hip hop and into the production side heavy. I’m not one of those dudes that’s like I can’t be old rapping. I want to get old and rap forever, but I don’t want to have to rap. I want to have other ways of doing it so it’s my choice. I don’t wanna be old and go on tour and look like a fool because there’s no other alternative. I’m trying to set myself up with options. That way I can do it at my leisure and love the music and not have to look at it like a burden.
215: Babu, as a DJ, you’ve seen the art form change a lot over the years. Are you pro-technology?
Babu: I’m very pro about technology. I’ve really embraced it. Not to long ago, our whole culture was built up on taking things not meant for what they were and flipping it into something dope. That goes from fat laces to turntables to baggy clothes. We took hand-me-downs and turned it into a fresh style. It’s actually incredible that companies and big industries make things for what we do. Drum machines, DJ programs, pro-tools; I think it’s a part of my job to stay open on technology and see what’s out there for our group and for myself to know what’s on the cutting edge of technology. I’m genuinely interested in it too, but at the same time, it becomes part of being a DJ. It’s very important for us to know about these things.
But, on the flipside, I can’t stress enough just the foundation of DJing. Sometime I feel like the technology makes it easy for kids to skip steps. I don’t think there’s a right order for what you’re supposed to learn. But, sooner or later, you realize you gotta go back and do your homework. I love the technology, but I always try to use it with a flare of original DJing. I think that’s very important.
215: What about downloading? Has it hurt you guys at all over the years?
Evidence: Our last album scanned over 20,000 copies and had over 70,000 downloads. You figure that shit out. It’s all good though, as long as people show up and buy a shirt or show support in some other way. I thinks that’s what music is headed towards. It’s just a promotional avenue toward other shit. With the way things are going, with technology moving so fast, it might have to be where music isn’t sold, but other things are. There are other ways for artists to make a living. I’m not mad, I’m just adapting.
Rakaa: It’s hurting in a certain way because a lot of things are based on record sales and record scans, even video and radio spins. In that respect, it hasn’t helped. But at the same time, like Ev said, everything gets balanced out. More people get exposed to it, even if they get it for free. Maybe they buy a t-shirt on line or at the concert. I grew up dubbing tapes. It was how I was exposed to bands that later I would buy their products and go see them in concert and go buy their shirts. I think it all balances out. I think other things that surround the music business are still based on the old idea of album scans equating to peoples interest in the band. That’s unfortunate.
Babu: Like Ev said, it’s nothing that should make an artist run scared. You have to adapt. If you didn’t see this coming, you were living under a rock. Most kids are tuned in to the computer more than anything else. It’s part of the business now. You can’t be a dinosaur. You have to be able to adapt if you want to make it in the biz. It’s something that we’ve kept in mind for a very long time.
Evidence: The live show is gonna help us when other people got wack shows.
215: Babu, as far as your production goes, will we be seeing you branch out at all anytime soon?
Babu: You have to ask those other people. Personally, I’d love to be all over everyone’s records. At the same time though, I’m really blessed because there are so many producers out there that don’t have a group. I can go to the studio and get a rap from Evidence or Rakaa or Defari or whoever. It’s not the end all, but for the most part, I’d love to send beats out and try to make connections. Maybe one day I’ll have a manager out there selling the dream for me. Until then, I’ll just keep banging away at the beats, keep my head down, and hopefully I’m in the right place at the right time.
215: You guys have been touring together for years. Is there anything you just can’t stand about each other on the road?
Evidence: All kind of shit. (laughs) This is risky.
Babu: (laughs) Right in the middle of tour…that’s a tough question. Maybe things we do that we think annoys others?
Evidence: No, that’s even worse. I’m not trying to be introspective. I think as long as the air conditioner continues to work…
Rakaa: Yeah, when it’s hot, it’s like the projects man. It gets a little touchy out there.
Evidence: And thank god I don’t sleep anywhere near Babu.
Babu: Yeah…and…uh…I like everybody. Everybody’s cool with me.
Evidence: As long as we got weed and no one’s sick, it’s wonderful
