Written by TR Links

If you want to talk MC's in Hip Hop, Kool G Rap's name is written in stone. From his Juice crew days and appearing on the classic "The Syphony" to his solo classic "Road To The Riches" which sparked a movement just as powerful as Melle Mel's classic "The Message" did. You see Kool G Rap sparked a movement of MC's talking about hustling in the streets for means of survival and he often narrated his ways of going about it. This movement is still evident in even the youngest of MC's coming up today. He also fathered a complex rhyme pattern that was soon emulated by an entire generation.

The impact of G Rap however is often overlooked within the general public's eyes but never amongst his peers. A listen into Jay Z's "Encore" Hova himself quotes "the rest of ya'll know where i'm lyrically at/ yeah hearing me rap is like hearing G Rap in his prime." From Pun kneeling down and kissing his ring to acknowledge the father of his rapid fire flow filled with remarkable word play to Eminem's Grammy acceptance speech paying his respect to G as well. Lets not all forget Tupac's Resurrection movie and inside his book of inspirational figures, G Rap's name was mentioned right there along with the likes of Marvin Gaye.

Kool G Rap sometimes finds himself being over looked by the most "credible" of outlets. For example lets take the newly documentation titled "The MC" which is available in stores now. The DVD showcases MC's such as Rakim, Kanye West, Jada Kiss, KRS, Common, and even Bay Area's own Too Short explaining the evolution of the MC but not a single word from G Rap himself. VH1 Hip Hop honors of last year honored KRS, Tupac, Rocksteady and more but there was nothing on Kool G Rap or Juice Crew for that matter. How could this be? These things often fly by people's heads but true Hip Hop fans and G Rap's peers themselves have never failed to acknowledge the 19 year Veteran. 19 years? Yes 19 years ago "Its A Demo" was released which introduced an MC who would transcend the art of the MC as we know it.

Seems like just the other day a young Corona Queens native born Nathaniel Wilson was telling us his mafia like street tales and kicking a style that would soon influence a group of new age MC's such as Nas, AZ, Big Pun, Eminem, and Saigon just to name a few. Saigon once quoted "every dope MC from back pack to street you hear now, has taken something from G Rap and implemented it into their style". G's legacy however is yet to be defined because unlike most of the MC's G Rap came up with in the mid to late 80's, G Rap's style and hungry filled desire is still affective til this very present day. He's arguably been the most consistent MC in the history of this culture. Listen to his verse on Mobb Deep's classic LP "Murda Muzik" on "the Realest" in 1997 and you'll hear G steal the show. This is 11 years after his entry into the game. Remarkable in itself. But even more remarkable 8 years later here in 2005 Saigon's "The Letter P" features G Rap and there wasn't a single sign that the "Genius" of Rap is falling off one bit.

HHG has exposed many people to the brightest stars of tomorrow from Saigon, Grafh, Tru Life, Stimuli, Joell Ortiz, Immortal Technique as well as many others. We now bring you this 3 pt series tribute titled "Long Live G Rap". The first part of our series is our normal like feature just enhanced for the legend himself. Our 2nd part of the series will be questions only from the fans. G will answer questions only about his career and things that have to do with what you would like to know as a fan. Please restrain from asking all personal questions or making any inquiries and etc such as the "Ask Big Mike" section. Let us begin ...


1. Let me start off by welcoming you to HHG. Well you read the intro piece for this 3 part feature G. Tell me, do you think that your impact if often over looked ?

G Rap: Yeah man definitely. I mean I feel like it ain't just me that's being over looked by people ya know ? Melle Mel's name rarely gets thrown in the mix along with Kool Moe Dee and such. These cats is some of the dudes that influenced me as well as a whole generation and they rarely get mentioned. But to answer your question, yeah I do feel like what I've done for Hip Hop is often over looked by many sources that shouldn't let it fly over there heads.

2. All The DVD's about MC's, these Hip Hop honor shows, & even countdown MC list on certain media outlets, nine times out of ten the name Kool G Rap isn't mentioned. What's your take on this. Is it political, opinionated, or just lack of education to what's actually authentic ?

G Rap: Well to be real honest with you I think its a mixture of everything you just mentioned. On one end you got the political side. Most of these countdown MC list are run by people who use record sales or popularity to determine who the greatest MC's are. I mean we all know this isn't authentic. Obviously these cats have to cater to there audiences. Opinions is also based upon an individual and most of these cats basing there opinions aren't really educated in the way that they should be. If you see these countdown list some of them don't even mention Rakim, Melle Mel, Big Daddy Kane or a Kool Moe Dee. This is cause some of these cats from this era don't really know about these cats who put it down for the young cats now that they are looking up to. I guess this is why I fall into that category cause I came up from that same era and I pioneered this shit from the G Rap end.

3. The Juice Crew days with you Big Daddy Kane, Masta Ace, Marly Marl & etc. What's your best memory from those days ?

G Rap: Probably that whole time period collectively. That was the time period when I had first started making records, appearing in video's, singles, albums and all that. I mean this is when my dream of doing this shit became a reality. I got nothing but good memory's during the Juice Crew day's because of that. It was a crazy time period ya know.

4. You been in the game so many years obviously and things have changed. What's so different between the 80's and now as far as Hip Hop concerned.

G Rap: Well there's a lot of differences. Hip Hop in a whole is more wide spread now. It has a larger fan base now and is more accepted than when I came out. Matter fact, its beyond accepted. Its become part of everybody now and its also a bigger commodity. The market wasn't as saturated back then when I came out. Like these days everybody is rapping, DJ'in, producing or whatever. This is a career that everybody is pursuing right now. Which is understandable cause Hip Hop is a very influential form of lifestyle. But yeah there's a lot of differences obviously.

5. I remember you telling me in a conversation G that you used to go to a spot uptown and lamp with LL Cool J, Doug E Fresh, as well as others. Can you tell us about that time ? Was there competition in the air or was it all love sharing the stage or spittin in cyphers with these dudes?

G Rap: Nah yo there was no competition or hating shit going on, it was all fun. My man's pops owned a club uptown and cats used to go there. You know Doug E doing what he do entertaining the crowd and shit. It was fun man just rapping and actually few battles took place. LL Cool J used to slide thru with his man Silver Fox. Actually when I do interviews I always throw that name around (Silver Fox). This is actually a dude who influenced me heavy. He had some sick wordplay but I guess he never got his break. Anyway's it wasn't about battling even though I did battle once or twice up in there with some local cats from around there. I got a name up in there from doing my thing on the mic.

6. Well you just mentioned you made a name for yourself in that spot as an MC by just spittin on the mic. Around that time, what made Kool G Rap stand out as an MC from other cats around that particular time ?

G Rap: Well for one, I took the pen game more serious than these other dudes. You got your party rappers who just like to entertain the club or whatever. You got your other type of rappers who are about some other shit which is cool. Then you got your lyrical MC's and dudes who are about stepping the game up. You know I'm talking about a cat who can put words together and you can visualize everything he's talking about plus he's doing it with cleverness and in some sought of fashion that everybody else ain't doing. That's what I was about. I was doing all this and rapping with a complex pattern. Well, considered to be complex at the time cause there wasn't anybody doing it like that. You know most cats was just spitting the ABC way and I was trying to be different. So I did certain things to stand out and that was to be on top of my pen game, make my flow different from everybody else's, kick substance, & just take it serious at the same time. Basically I guess that's what made me more advanced than the average at the time. There was only a few other cats who was on top of their pen game like that and those were your Rakim's, Big Daddy Kane, & KRS just to name a few.

7. Well you read the intro piece. I think everybody wants to know, how are you still able to hold your own in every era ? I mean up to this day you are still spittin at a high level, how is that ?

G Rap: Well that's cause I still love the music. Not like it, I mean really love it. You got your dudes who like this shit and like to hear some new shit. I mean I still love to hear new shit. When I was a young kid and I was bumping Melle Mel, Moe Dee & etc off of tapes in my box I got that rush. Its a passion that I have for this Hip Hop shit and 20 plus years later even now when I hear some young crafty kid, I'm still influenced. It still motivates me until this day to do this shit. So how I see it is if you have a desire to do this shit like that you should still be getting influenced even now. Like if you came up in the 80's or low/mid 90's or whatever and your getting influenced by these kids now, your in the same position that 15 or 16 year old kid is thats ready to be that next shit. So to me its like I'm coming up all over again.

8. So do you think this is why most of the cats that you came up with or cats from a older era, do you think this is why they can't move along with the times ?

G Rap: Yeah I think certain cats might not feel that the rappers today have any real talent. You know which I can agree with to a certain extent because there are a lot of dudes out there that ain't that lyrical, talented, or crafty with their shit. But come on lets be real, there are some cats coming up now who are nice and crafty that ain't from our era. This is something I know. I never been the type to put myself above everybody else like most cats be doing. I'm not even that type of person outside of rap even knowing what I did for this shit. But when you are that type of person and you rap at the same time, you keep yourself from catching what the new cats is doing. I pay attention to all these cats and I still add new shit to my flow til this day. You know times change, flows change, music changes, slang and etc. So if you aren't influenced at all or nobody moves you, where are you getting your desire from? You feel me? You know cats forget that before they started rapping they was listening to somebody else that helped them do what they do. I mean once you get to the point where nobody moves you anymore I just wonder where these cats get there drive from. And its telling when you hear they shit. They still stuck on what they was doing 10 or more years ago.

9. On a J Love mixtape I heard a song "#1 with a bullet" with Nas. This was a lost tape type of record. The original song was on one of your LP's with Big Daddy Kane on it. When hearing it its obvious Nas was about 16 or so. Tell us your relationship with Nas since you guys go way back....

G Rap: Well me and Nas go way back. We go back even before "Live at the BBQ" which is where the majority of folks heard him. I first heard about him when I was recording my 2nd album "Wanted Dead or Alive" from Large Professor who was doing most of the production for me at the time. He was telling me about this kid from QB, young nigga who's crazy nice. Large brought him thru one time and me and Nas just became real cool. A little bit later I met Akinyele and I was trying to hook up both Ak & Nas with some situations. I had a situation for Akinyele with Cold Chillin but Ak was a good business dude so he got himself a even better situation with Interscope. But yeah Nas used to come to my crib when I lived in Flushing. I had a little 16 track studio set up in my crib. We used to record some shit and just spit rhymes back and forth all day. Search used to actually pop up every now and then at my crib. In fact that's how Nas actually got his situation with Columbia. He met Search at my crib and they swapped numbers and that was that. But yeah Nas was my homeboy from way back.

10. "Fast Life" is considered a classic by most. How did that song come about ?

G Rap: I mean not much to it. I was recording "4,5,6". Nas came up to the studio to check me and shit and we just banged out the record. Buckwild did the track and me and Nas just sat down and just started tossing idea's around. In fact I will say this much, that was the most involved I ever got with any artist as far as a collaboration is concerned. With every other artist usually I just hear the beat and just write to it and that's that. With "Fast Life" me and Nas was shooting ideas back and forth and all that. There was a lot of cohesiveness, I will say that. But yeah that's that.

11. Big Pun showed you the utmost respect both personally and publicly. You guys did several songs together. Describe your relationship with Pun if you don't mind ..

G Rap: Nah its cool. Yeah I met Pun through Fat Joe at one of Joe's clothing stores in the BX at the time. Actually when I met Pun {laughs for a sec} he got down on one knee and called me the "god of rap" or something like that. I don't really remember but I was real honored that dude had that respect and admiration for me. He told me he spits and Joe told me too that he was mad nice. I was in AZ when they sent me the song "Wishful Thinking" with B Real, Fat Joe & at the end Pun was spittin. When I heard it I was like "damn this dude is nice". And obviously I remembered him and shit. He introduced himself to me as "Punisher". So that stuck with me right off top that son had crazy skills.

12. Do you feel that Pun is overlooked by some as an MC ?

G Rap: Oh hell yeah. I mean when I hear people mention there list of top rappers and shit cats be forgetting Pun. I never understood that shit cause Pun was retarded. Lyrically, flow wise, cleverness, word play, charisma, character, humor, yo whatever. This dude was a lot of things wrapped in one and that's a gift and a half. He could be gangster, funny, or flip that club shit. I feel he's heavily over looked by some cats and that's crazy to me.

13. Tupac had your name written down in his book of inspirational figures along with some other legends. What was your reaction when you seen that ?

G Rap: Well I was captivated and caught by surprise by that. I had met Pac in Cali and when I met him I was already a fan of the dude prior. I used to stay bumping some of his shit back in NYC before I went to record my LP in Cali. So when I met him he had mad love for a dude but it was mutual cause I was bumping this cat. But yeah Pac was crazy cool when I met him we was in the same studio recording. Same studio but different rooms and this was during the LA riots. This was during the time when that whole state was flipping upside down over the Rodney King situation. We was in the lab when the verdicts were announced and then everything just went crazy. So me and Pac left the studio and we was with my man Jinx and my man Gooch. We was out riding around the city and shit was crazy cause everybody flipping out over the verdicts. We was in the back of my man's whip popping off and shit showing our frustration over the verdicts. This nigga Pac shot at somebody's store window and niggaz ran up in there taking shit. We was bugging the fuck out. The cops wasn't doing shit cause that wasn't even a police situation. That was more of a National Guard situation cause the whole state was flipping. So that was my experience with meeting Pac but I would have never known dude had that much respect for a G Rap. I mean even being next to a name like Marvin Gaye, that's just crazy to me in any book. So when I seen that I was honored to say the least yo. More so cause it was so unexpected.

14. Ok well let's get into what you are currently doing. I've heard about a mixtape or project you are doing called "Top 5 Dead or Alive". What can we expect from this ? Is this a collection of old and new stuff or what ?

G Rap: Well this definitely ain't nothing old. The oldest of material you getting that's on this is maybe a couple of months old. This is G Rap now of 2005 as far music, my mindset, and all that. When people hear this its all G Rap of now.

15. Is this a mixtape or an album ?

G Rap: Well it's a mixtape technically but in reality to me its a album. That's why I like to call it a street album. So put it out there as a street album. The reason I I don't want to call it a mixtape is because I ain't put work into this like somebody would towards a mixtape. I put work into this like it was an album so that's why it represents more. Technically its a mixtape but quality wise its an album. So this is "Top 5 Dead or Alive" the street album. This is for the streets we giving you 18 plus original songs so take that. There's a few surprise guest appearances on there. I ain't go too heavy with it but I got some real credible cats and names that dude's should be excited to hear G Rap with.

16. With that being said G, do you take this as a comeback right now or do you feel you've never gone anywhere ?

G Rap: I mean, me personally I know I was always here. I mean lyrically and etc. Most cats know G Rap ain't never go anywhere and that I ain't never fell off. For those that don't, I guess this is a wake up call. These are the dudes who just view me as a nigga from back then. But every time I do a feature with somebody that cats is looking up to at the time, cats know what time it is. If I was somebody who needed to continuously make a comeback everytime I do a feature with somebody these new dudes would just be running thru me with no problem, like a hot knife through butter. It ain't like that though and it never was. The real dudes know what time it is though. That's why we giving this to the streets so cats know what it is.

17. Do you currently have a situation with a label or is anything on the table ?

G Rap: There's a couple of things going on and I'm talking with a few people. Not much I can really speak on at the moment.

18. G is there anything you want to say to the HHG community ?

G Rap: Let's bring this shit back to real hiphop. When I say real Hip Hop I'm not just talking about hardcore lyrics, I'm talking about real Hip Hop music all around. You know what I'm saying...lets kick these candy coated, pop corn niggaz out this shit. It ain't about the new dudes either cause I got some new dudes on the album. I put dudes on my shit that I respect lyrically and that's what it is young or whatever. Thanks to all the fans and cats who support G Rap and still believe in what I'm doing even now. All the cats checking the new shit especially and showing love. 5 Fam Click nigga watch out for my camp cause that's what we doing after this shit. My wife Ma Barker, 40 cal., Catalyst, Nino Bless, Big East, & Man Slaughter. Production wise Scram Jones, Twinz, Dead Beat Bros, Phrequency, Fokus, Elite and all that. We got a squad and trust me ain't nothing but quality coming out from this side. We got lyrical shit, hood shit, and all that other shit cats need. Shout outs to Big Al, Questchon, Vinny, Jan, Mike Heron, Well Connected, the Catch 22 movement and all the niggaz contributing day in and day out and holding a nigga down. Don't take it personal if I left you out, shits on some spur of the moment tip. All the DJ's lets start playing some real shit, open the market up cause ya'll niggaz got the power to do this shit to so stop playing. Lets get this Long Live G Rap Section on and popping and hopefully the fans appreciate how I'm reaching out. Last thing to my nigga Nawz (Gorrila Breed) hold ya head baby.

[3] REACT TO THIS INTERVIEW

For the next part, G Rap will be answering YOUR questions, click here to email us (Please restrain from asking all personal questions or making any inquiries)