интервью Блок Битаз октябрь 28/2008


What’s up with the Block Beattaz right now, what are you guys workin’ on?

CP:
Honestly, any and everything that’s moving in our city (Huntsville, Alabama) music wise. Especially on the rap level. Mali is right here working on the Mata project as we speak. Mata got a track featuring ST that go real hard. I just got done with a track called Zion with the Cole Boyz. They are real heavy down here too. This group talks about nothing that you have heard thus far…spiritual and hard…imagine that.

The new G-Side project is about to come out, did you produce the whole thing?

CP:
Yeah the Block Beattaz produced the whole joint pretty much. All the live instrumentation that you hear was done by Darrien. He is a beast too. A one man show that can play anything he hear. Guitar, bass, keys…probably drums too but we will see on the next record.

What kind of flavor are you coming with on Starshipz and Rocketz?

CP:
Believe it or not, this album is almost 2 years in the making. We had the blueprint early but it wasn’t painting the picture or the message that we were trying to convey. So Mali went back and re-worked Youth of the Ghetto, Run Things and a few more songs and I reworked a few songs but mainly concentrated on the mixes and quality of the songs, and the overall presentation. Ironically, a lot of artists are beginning to travel to outer space now so that gave us more of a reason to speed up the process. Me and Mali work better under pressure anyway and that will be evident when the listener hears our seamless integration of the visual audio which we call CD HD lol.

Aside from the G-Side joint, what other releases with Block Beattaz production should we be on the lookout for?

CP:
Man, if they putting out an album in Huntsville, we probably had or have our fingerprints all over it. Mata, Jhi Ali, Gunt, 6 Tre G, B.Sykes, C.O.R., Dennis the Menace, G Mane, Artillery South, Whosane, Lil P, Hit Squav, Mix Boi, T Da Mane, Jackie Chain, Laponne, Bipolar, Untamed, Betta Half, Cole Boyz, Kristmas, Mic Strange, B Dewitt, Rap Tight, Short Change, Cant Stop Records, Block Boyz, Lil Weavah, Modesty X.O., Fitz, Grilla and D County, Lyrx , Nicky 2 States and Hater Proof. Things are moving at the speed of sound for us man. We just appreciate people still breaking bread with us in the middle of the recession cause shit is hard out here, especially here.

You flipped crazy samples on numerous occasions, like on Rollin’ or Wood Grain, are you doing this on purpose to make people go “oh shit they sampled that?!?!” or it just happens?

Mali Boi:
Make them go oh shit!…I seen the Rollin sample on tv.

CP:
Me and Mali don’t even listen to rap honestly. We still hip hop at the core, so we still dig in the crates, digitally. Mali be into to that crazy shit anyway, so once he start noddin his head I know something finna get jacked and its gone be hard…straight to the computer and then straight to reason 4.0.

How’s a day in the life of the Block Beattaz?

Mali Boi:
Wake up…sometimes I put clothes on, sometimes I just keep my robe on and go to the studio…clean myself up and go to studio. Ain’t no tellin’ what I might do that day.

CP:
Go to my 9-5 from 6 to 3pm, work out, handle my daughter and I’m in the studio till midnight during the week…weekends, we might not leave the studio at all.

What makes Huntsville special?

CP:
Just the dynamics of this town…Our nickname used to be HustleVille. It’s so much money here in this town, legal and illegal, so you really have to be the best at what you do. Slowmotion Soundz is connected and we have relationships city wide that allow us to maneuver. SlowMotion Soundz/Block Beattaz set the tone for music in this city because we were successful. If you listen, Gump music don’t sound like Huntsville music. You hear that aggressiveness in Deuce Komradz and Dirty. We are more laid back and cool up North but still hard.

Any plans on working with artists outside of Alabama?

CP:
Of course…Mali been getting a lot of calls from everywhere so we are doing that now anyway. It’s really an honor for anybody to feel like we are good enough to be on their album anyway. We are just glad people appreciate what we do because we work hard and sacrifice a lot.

5 albums you can’t live without?

Mali Boi:
Jill Scott “The Real Thing”, Lupe “The Cool”, D’Angelo’s first album, Devin The Dude “Just Tryin To Live”, and Maroon 5.

CP:
Nas “Illmatic”, Black Moon “Enta Da Stage”, Fred Hammond “Spirit Of David”, Jah Cure, the one with “Love Is”…and Nirvana.

5 producers who greatly influenced you?

Mali Boi:
Тimbaland, Kanye West, DJ Paul, really that’s all I can think of…I really like Shawty Redd but he didn’t really influence me.

CP:
DJ Premier, Organized Noise, Paul and Juicy J, Don Gilmore(Linkin Park), and Mali Boi.

How important is the internet for the Block Beattaz grind?

CP:
We ought our mainstream success to the internet. Our marketing guy Codie Gihad along with Trmndus from Southwest-Connection put us all the way enroute initially. Now with websites like Fairtilizer, our potential has grown exponentially. We actually talk to our fans online. Ain’t no automatic emails or shit like that, we reach out.

How do you see the internet evolve in the future?

CP:
It’s kind of scary honestly. It’s getting to the point where you won’t even have to leave your house to do anything from groceries to getting girls. I don’t think that was the original intent but this is what it has evolved into. You are literally connected to every person in the world almost. Hell, I can even email my brother Chico 2000 who is currently in the feds now!! I believe it should be regulated in regards to exploiting children and shit but when it comes to free speech and the free market, it’s perfect.