I mean it’s a honor, it’s definitely a honor. It’s a honor you know hearing Jay-Z acknowledge me more than once on records, on recordings. 50 Cent, Nas, being that I actually, you know was one of them, to try to get Nas into the game. - Kool G Rap

Last week HitHipHop.com got a chance to chop it up with arguably the most influential and skilled MCs of all time, Kool G. Rap. From his days with the Juice Crew to his role in getting artists like Nas in the game, it’s safe to say The Kool Genius Of Rap is one of hip hop’s greatest pioneers. It was definitely an honor to get in touch with the legendary Queens MC and we thank him for that. Part 1 of the interview after the jump!

Tweet

It looks like artists are now getting signed for their lyricism like Laws, Jay Electronica and J. Cole. Did you ever believe Hip Hop would take a 360 by going back to its roots?

I’m a person that knows everything comes full circle. I know if the ground roof of it was a rapper or MC’s main focus was talent, a MC job is really to stand out. You have a desire to stand out to be one of the best, you know what I’m saying. That’s what the main job line for every MC should be. It’s to stand out amongst the best and represent your skills and your capabilities and how you get down and how you come across. How you do your thing, but once it left that and went to a thing of imaging, as far as swagger, not that swagger is not a part of it. But swagger is not what MC’in or Hip Hop music in general is what it’s about. Swagger is a part of what being a MC is, you need to have a voice, the ability to command a crowd. The ability to make yourself stand out to be unique. It’s not just one of the traits and this is what modernized Hip Hop did. It took one of the traits and pushed it to the forefront like this is what Hip Hop is about and that’s definitely false.

What is the difference between Kool G Rap then and now?

Kool G. Rap is a lot more mature. So I still talk about the same subject matter, but just from a different point of view. Some songs that I do might be me being creative and other songs might just be reflections from my past. Reflections from my surroundings, that might still be affiliated with more of the street mentality or street life in general. It’s a mixture of everything, actual events of my life. Things that current, I grab from people in my environment, people in my circumference, people around me. It’s also just being creative, simply just being creative. Like as far as concepts and stories and stuff like that. You know traditional G Rap sh**.

Describe a “good day” for Kool G Rap?

Being with family or being to myself and learning something new. I’m an individual that loves to learn. I love to learn new things and I love to gain knowledge and I’m not a person that feels like he knows everything. My cup is never on full, it’s always carrying a half cup with me and allow more things to be absorbed in. And that is what a good day is for me literally.

If you were selected for the VH1’s Hip Hop Honors. Who would you want to perform your classics?

Wow! Other than myself, somebody that I give a lot of credit to. It can be anybody from Wu-Tang, you know almost anybody from Wu-Tang. You know people that are classified as real Hip Hop. I mean Nas would be like an overwhelming honor, you know what I’m saying. (Laughs) My peers and label mates, like maybe Big Daddy Kane or you know what even Roots. He’s does so well like performing records that I’ve done already like “Men at Work” and you know things like that. And me performing with The Roots, performing some of my classic songs and stuff like that. I just have a personal liking for The Roots. That’s like “I love them dudes” you know I’m saying. I love them dudes and back in my early days of being G Rap, I would of never thought gravitate to an actual Hip Hop band. Like a drummer, guitarist and all that because Hip Hop for me was on the wheels of steel. But the way Roots do it, they bring it to you in a way where it’s sometimes, you can’t tell it’s not the record, like a dj throwing on a record. So once I experienced that from The Roots, I appreciated them on so many different levels, that it’s like unthinkable, unimaginable. You know what I’m saying, I got so much love and respect for The Roots because of that. And for Black Thought for being such a talented lyricist. I give him a lot of credit, I tip my hat to Black Thought.

How does it feel to be a major influence to Hip Hop artists Raekwon, Jay Z, Eminem and 50 Cent?

I mean it’s a honor, it’s definitely a honor. It’s a honor you know hearing Jay-Z acknowledge me more than once on records, on recordings. 50 Cent, Nas, being that I actually, you know was one of them, to try to get Nas into the game and actually I did contribute to that because I introduced him to Search. I chopped his demos up at Def Jam, before Nas became Nas to the public as the public knows Nas. Papoose was another artist that I introduced to people before Papoose became you know who he is, you know what I’m saying? It’s really just a honor, I can’t even explain it in no other way being acknowledge by the best in the game. The Tupac’s, the Big Puns, the Jay-Z’s, the Nas’. I heard my name being mentioned by Biggie, you know when Biggie was alive. Just all the people that’s classified as the greats.

As always, big ups to Shiyana Bellamy for conducting the interview. Check in next Monday for part 2!

Filed under: Interviews