11/4/2005

What's good man?

Everything's pretty good. Now is a time that I've been waiting a long time for, as far as the album dropping. It hasn't really hit me yet. This next month is going to be exciting.

How long did it take you to get "Doujah Raze" done?

If you really look at it, about four or five years. It was slow-going. We wanted to put it out years ago, but tracks would get added, tracks would get dropped, this and that. I think it's time now.

How has your life changed from when you started working on the album to today?

Wow. It's changed dramatically. The first track I ever wrote was "Hard Times." I was in college then. The one on the album is the third version of it. From then to now, I've graduated college, moved back to VA for a couple years, moved to New York, toured the world, put five or six records out. It's changed a lot. It's good to see the progress through the singles, that's what lets me know that this album can be successful. Life is a whole different thing now.

Why did you choose to go with a self-titled album?

I think "Doujah Raze" is enough for people to digest anyways. This album is an introduction of me and what I've been doing in my beginnings. It's an interesting enough name and there was nothing else that could capture the essence of this album better. I like it man, it says what it's supposed to say.

"Plastic World" is a dope single, it sounds like a lot of things are bothering you…

I'm pretty cool. A few things do bother me here and there. I'm pretty cool for the most part. When I heard the beat and the hook, that track is fire. It's got some anger in there. I figured I would flip it and give a commentary on what I think is wrong and fake things we need to fix.

You have a lot of diverse cuts on the album, what did you want to give people with this?

I wanted it to flow through a couple different areas and parts of me. As I recorded tracks over the past five years, some of them when I recorded them would go on the album, because it served a certain purpose. I start out with some energy, like "Plastic World," then I have a smoother, more spiritual section with a song about my grandfather, the devil, and God. Then the last part is my older tracks that the cats with vinyl will love, and those that haven't heard those songs on it need to hear it.

Can you talk about the Sam Lipton R.I.P. Interlude?

That is my grandfather. He always wanted to be a singer, he always wanted to be famous and be a star. He was always pushing me. He told me I didn't have to work a regular job. He paid for me to take music lessons. I have these old tapes of him, and what better way to honor his life than to put him on CD? That's my favorite part of the album.

Music seems to run in your family, do you have any other musical abilities?

I can rock a little party, but I grew up playing piano, playing guitar…I can definitely get behind the boards and exercising that. Music runs through me.

How has being a DJ in the past influenced your music?

I think being a DJ gives me a different respect for the music. It tunes your ear to things and it makes me hear music differently than I did before I DJ'd. That will help me write and produce better. It gives you a whole new vantage point. That was a real positive force for me and it was my start. I was DJ'ing seriously before I was rapping seriously.

How was it working with Disco D?

We've been doing tracks for a long time. He did the intro, that was crazy. He's out in Virginia Beach holding me down. He's cool to work with. He's easy to work with. It's especially great to do cuts with him because he's nasty. Me and Double J (manager) will come up with it and tell him, and he'll do it better than we ever thought of it coming out. He's fun to work with.

Shuko is starting to get his name out more, what's it like working with him?

He's like family now. He's actually staying at our crib right now, he's in New York right now. We linked up on the internet with him sending beats. We met when I went overseas, we chilled, we hung out. Whenever I hear a new beat slide through, because Double J manages him, I try to take it. Plus we're doing an LP together for release in Germany.

You also worked with O.C. back in the day, what did you learn working with him?

I learned that real rap cats can be real cool regular dudes. I saw him a couple nights ago, we had a show together. He's a funny dude. He's regular. He has mad respect for the game. It's good to work with somebody that you grew up idolizing and then to find out that they're cool and real down-to-earth.

You've put out a grip of 12"'s, how important have those been to your career?

It's been the most positive force. That's the reason people know who I am. Double J has promoted them all, he's the driving force behind that. He's the best college promoter in the country, and he started with me. Pressing vinyl is the life force for me, it's the reason a lot of people know who I am, and it's because we pressed vinyl.

The artwork has always been dope too, how important is that to you?

That's what we wanted. We wanted the complete package. We wanted it to sound dope and look dope. For the singles, the first five, we worked with the same artist, we were homies from college. It's a little more expensive now when you're working with different artists to do your artwork, but I think presentation is really important, especially with the CD. We had the artwork for the CD done twice because we really wanted to get that presentation exactly how we wanted. If it doesn't look right, it's going to taint it.

How did going to James Madison help your career?

It was big because that's where I found out what I wanted to do. I met Double J there, we formed Trilogy Records there. I was DJ'ing parties. I had decided that I wanted to pursue music and also a 9-5 job. JMU is where it happened. I have a lot of love for Harrisonburg. That was the beginning for Trilogy Records.

What have you seen to be the main differences between New York and Virginia?

Everything's different. The part of VA I'm from is D.C. basically. D.C. and New York, they're both urban environments, they're both cities, but New York is a very creative environment. It's where the music is pumping, where the music was born. I'm able to meet artists up here and make moves. There's not as much potential for growth in D.C. There are a lot of good artists down there, but New York has shown me a lot of love. You can't compare New York to any place really.

With the over-saturation of people rapping in New York, do you feel like being there can hurt as well?

I don't know how it can hurt. I totally agree that it is way over-saturated. New York is my base, and it's great that there are so many other artists here and the industry is here. For shows, I prefer performing outside of New York, but I think it's a great base. If you're not on-point and your game isn't right, you're not going to succeed. But you wouldn't succeed anywhere.

You've been a lot of places, what's been your favorite spot to rock?

My favorite show I did was this spot east of Prague out in eastern Europe. There was 15,000 people out at the festival, and it was a sea of people that were crazy. Europe is a lot of fun, Germany, Switzerland, Holland. The U.S. is great too. I've done shows in Richmond, Bangor, Maine, through New Hampshire…

Everybody has an album today, why should we check for yours?

It is going to be a classic album. It's been a long time in the making. We put a lot of energy into it. If people like that soulful, boom-bap with the hard-hitting drums, that early to mid-90's, they're really going to enjoy this. It's like I'm looking back to that era and I'm looking forward to a new era. I'm really trying to do something important with this album. It's going to be available in lots of spots online and throughout the world.

What's next for you after this?

Some collab joints. I'm working on that LP with Shuko. I'm going to be working on an EP with this cat Skinny Man from over in London. I'm doing a joint with Sean Price, another with A.G. There's a lot of things for 2006. We're going to drop some more singles and record the next album which we want to put out early 2007. You can catch me on tour too, I'm working on those also.

What do you want to say to everyone out there reading this?

HipHopGame is the site, Doujah Raze is the artist, Trilogy Records is the label. For real, people need to check for it. If you don't know, pick it up. You can download free music at trilogyonwax.com, check it out. Everyone that's loved the Doujah Raze records, please get the album, and check for me when I come through your town.