It was just a dream to be rolling with like a MC Shan, a Shante, a Marley Marl, and Mr. Magic like “what!”. These are the like the pioneers or legends and some of the contributors of hip hop music that you have to take extremely serious. - Kool G. Rap

A couple of weeks ago, Hithiphop.com got a chance to chop it up with the legendary Queens rapper Kool G. Rap. In part 1 of the in-depth interview, we discussed his influence on some of today’s biggest stars & how he’s matured as an artist. In part 2, G. Rap talks memorable moments with the Juice Crew, today’s hip hop scene, which artists are on his radar & more. Check that out after the jump!

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A lot of rappers are always critiquing themselves or trying to create a new sound. You are someone who did just that by creating a “mafiaso” flow. Where did this come from?

When I finally did get in the game, when I finally did get to meet up with Marley Marl and I linked up with Polo, I mean the things that was going on then, you was hearing about John Gotti in the news. Along with me being a person that had a love with mafioso type of films. Stuff like The Godfather and being fascinated by the life of Al Capone and Lucky Luciano and things of that nature, I mean that lifestyle was an’ attraction to more then just G. Rap. That was an attraction to most males from every walk of life cuz it had something to do with the male ego and macho-ism and all that. And most males carry a ego with them. Or a certain sense of macho-ism. Everybody wanna be macho or that dude that stands up to him. Those are the things that were popular in the male community. (Laughs) Even tho women, back then, wanted to shy away from violence and stuff like that. They kinda equivalent to men now in these days but back then they kinda wanted to shy away from too much violence or too much blood and gore and things of that nature. This is what made the early horror flicks so popular. Cuz people would go as a couple and the girlfriend would throw her face in they boyfriends chest when a scary scene pop up. Seeing somebody get they head cut off by Jason know what I’m saying, that’s what makes horror movies, you know, horror movies, in a classic sense. (Laughs) So you know, I grew up with that in me. You know I was fascinated by Godfather, Scarface and then the real life characters like John Gotti and Paul Castellano. Like all the names you were hearing bombard the news in the mid-eighty’s, late eighty’s. I was fascinated like everyone else. John Gotti used to have a crowd outside the courtroom cheering him on hoping he would beat his charges cuz everyone loves the Robin Hood. The Robin Hood of they times. And John Gotti was considered to be a Robin Hood in his neighborhood and beyond that.

Now as we all know, you were a part of the legendary Juice Crew. What were some memorable experiences with the group?

I would probably say my first time leaving New York and going overseas and experiencing what London was like. The crowd was just a whole different energy out there. Like before we went to London I experienced doing shows with the Juice Crew at various different places throughout the boroughs, even outta state like it could of been Philly or Jersey and stuff like that. But when we went to London it was like you experienced the energy from a whole different culture. People that wasnt from your part of the world. And how they react to it. It was amazing. I never heard people in the crowd, blowing whistles, like actual whistles and stuff like that until I went to London. That’s what they do out there at concerts, and rap shows, they be like numbers of people with whistles and shit like that. It was an experience and it was a new experience for me at that time, and my age at that time, I had a great time, a wonderful time out there. Besides it already being a wonderful time performing alongside of a Biz Markie, a Roxanne Shante, a Big Daddy Kane, MC Shan. Some of these people before I got in the game, I was already looking up to them like “Oh my god yo”. It was just a dream to be rolling with like a MC Shan, a Shante, a Marley Marl, and Mr. Magic like “what!”. These are the like the pioneers or legends and some of the contributors of hip hop music that you have to take extremely serious. Like to me no one will be able to do what Mr. Magic did. Mr. Magic was like the perfect balance. He was street enough. He was educated enough. to hold the balance of; he’s not to street, he’s not too sophisticated to connect to the hip hop community. He had the perfect balance of both. To me Ive never heard a radio host that had that quality to the extent that Mr. Magic did. There’s nothing like hearing.. “It’s a world premiere, premiere, premiere..” There’s nothing like hearing that. Even with Flex dropping bombs, and no disrespect to Flex, when Flex drop a bomb on something it takes it to the next level but where it all comes from, when people wanna put a signature a certain release or a certain record that they playing, it comes from “world premiere”. And that comes from Mr. Magic.

As far as today’s hip hop scene, is there anyone that you’ve become a fan of?

To be honest my ears is not to the radio right now. I’m more of a mixtape dude. Like my ears is mainly to the streets an not to the radio waves. The radio is not appealing to me right now it dont do nothing for me. I can hear certain songs from certain cats, and I don’t knock those people, but these are not the NWA’s, The Geto Boys, Public Enemy, the KRS-One’s, the Rakims, the Big Daddy Kane’s, the people that made a cat like me have to have their album or have to have to have to hear it or what they doing. Nobody on the radio does that to me so I keep my ears to the street basically.

So then as far as the underground scene and artists on the rise, is there anyone that grabs your attention?

Oh yeah absolutely. Joell Ortiz is one of those people. But he’s not on the rise, I mean, he definitely established like a nice following and fan base, he did his thing. Crooked I, Vinnie Paz, niggas like that. I enjoy these people when I listen to them… I just love real hip hop in general.

Amen. Now before we let you go, what’s next for Kool G. Rap?

Besides dropping this next album, “Riches, Loyalty & Respect” I’m also working on this clothes line Gian Cana. It’s a clothing line & shoe line. This has been my main focus from late 2009 up to now in 2010. We plan to be out there marketing and promoting Gian Cana, sometime in 2011.

Once again, thanks to Shiyana Bellamy for conducting the interview.

Filed under: Interviews