It's April 18, 2024, 11:37:58 PM
Robert – On ‘Thugged Out ’you talk about Tupac. How come you never did any tracks with Tupac, or am I just not aware of them? Celly Cel – Yea, it’s just unfortunate we weren’t able to get down. But like I say every time we seen each other we talked, we kicked it and it was real. He always told me how he kept playing my records, and he was really feeling my records; and I was telling him the same thing. It’s funny because when he did come out here and he did record a song for ‘All Eyez On Me’, I wasn’t even aware he was at the studio until he left. And everybody was telling me ‘Yea Pac was just here’. I know if I was there, I know I would have been on that track with C-Bo and E 40; we all would have been on that track. So I mean I’m not even mad at that, ya know, cause I know we was kool and that he liked my music and I liked his and that’s enough for me.
Robert – Did you ever get a chance to work with Tupac?JT – I only worked with Tupac when he directed the video ‘Ghetto Theme’ from Mac Mall, and I stared in that video with him and Mac Mall. ( Watch the video ‘Ghetto Theme’ HERE ).Robert – You never spit with him? JT – I never did no lyrics with him no. Robert – Was there a reason why you never caught up with him?JT – Well actually Rappin’ 4-Tay did a song with him on ‘All Eyez On Me’ when he got out of jail, but we kinda had fell out; Fillmore fell out with Tupac and a few other dudes, and Richie Rich one time back in 1991 I believe. And ever since then there was never no bonding or nothing. Ya know he knew who I was, I knew who he was but that was pretty much where it stopped.
Robert - As long as you have been in the game, did you ever or was there a reason you never got to hook up with Tupac?Binky Mack - Guess what - well I use to work at the airport, at LAX right. Back then we had the black kaki's on, it was like a security company. And we kinda use to work with INS; sub-contracted. I wasn't making no money. And we use to have these black coats on with the black kaki's we be just like around the airport waiting for a call to do whatever we had to do.So one day I come out of, what airline at the time was that; PSA was near American West or something. Tupac was out there. And I had the van parked out in the front. So I come out and he is like looking around, he's got one little book like a phone book, but there might have been lyrics in there. He was sitting there and he said 'Hey man you know where United is'? And I said you know what; the way you go around the airport when you drive around, you got to pass United to leave the airport but you have to go around a big U. So I said I'm going that way homie, if you want I'll drop you off. He was like cool. He hopped in the van. You could tell he was buzzing ya know what I'm saying, (both Binky and Robert laugh); he was just looking straight the whole time and really wasn't saying nothing, in his own world. We got about half way around and I said to him - ya know what? I do beats. I was like I have to get in the game, this was before the whole Westside Connect thang, before I even got in the game. And he was like 'for real'? He was like cool.I said yea man - ya got a number or something. He said 'yea' and gave me some number. But it was the corporate number; he gave me a corporate number. Some office or something, I don't know.But I would have loved to hook up with him. The closest I came to even working with him was on the; what movie was that he was in? We had a song called 'Get Your Bang On'. I can't think of that sound track but yea he had a song on that and I had a song on the same album. Oh yea, "Gang Related".
Robert – As long as you have been in the game, did you ever or was there a reason you never got to hook up with Tupac?Squeak Ru – Well when we first came in that was when all the controversy was going on. And then right after that the unfortunate accident happened. But we met and talked a couple of times, chatted at some clubs and stuff like that. Pac was a good dude. You can see that from all the love he is still getting now.
I learned from Tupac that if you totally just open up, the light will shine right thru you. You’ll be illuminated because ya let the bull shit roll off your back and if you have to beef, ya know everything he did, he did like a thousand percent. I mean he was like a motorcycle fully wide open; but he was also bright. Ya know what I mean; he was like illuminated. Uninhibited and that is what I learned from him to be uninhibited. But Eazy taught me to be more steel trap, ya know what I mean; and be totally about the business so it’s kinda two conflicting, they left two different energies on me; for lack of a better analogy. Really opposite of each other.Robert – How long where you around Tupac. I mean he was only on the west coast like what 9 months?DJ Quik – Naw naw; I mean I toured with him and Digital Underground to back in ’92- ’93 when the Humpty Dance was on. Back when he use to date Yo Yo, ya know.
ThugLifeArmy.com – I was talking to Johnny “J” and your name came up and he said that you were a dope rap artist and he would love to hook up with you. Is that something that might interest you; working with Johnny “J”?Crooked I – Aw man no doubt. I would love to work with Johnny “J”. Let me tell ya something, when I was on Virgin one time I got a CD from Johnny “J”; he sent it to Virgin. They let me hear it and I told them look man I need this beat right here; this beat this beat. They were like a a naw we don’t know, this beat might not be that hot. Next thing ya know I think it was one of Tupac’s biggest hits. (laughs). I got nothing but respect for that dudes work.ThugLifeArmy.com – I know you didn’t get to Death Row until after Tupac (2Pac) passed, but did you ever meet or work with Tupac (2Pac)?Crooked I – Yeah man, being from Long Beach and being in this music shit I was at a lot of sessions with Snoop as part of Snoop’s entourage, that is how I met 2Pac. We would go to like Larabees or where ever they were recording at and if Pac was in there ya know we would go in and chop it up with Pac. The first night I met him, he and Snoop was recording a St. Ives commercial together. And I always wanted to meet that dude because I was a Tupac fan from when he dropped 2Pacalypse Now, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z, before he got to Death Row I was a huge Pac fan, I always felt his music. When I met him that day it was a cool experience. Of course I know all the Outlawz and all of Thug Life. I met his mother as well. I got an opportunity to go to Afeni Shakur’s house when I was on Death Row. Let me tell ya something dawg, maybe this is my niche. Maybe I am going to be the only cat that tells the whole fucking truth. People don’t want to talk about the truth, I mean Tupac (2Pac) – a lot of these artists are different shades of Tupac. But none of them are a complete package like he was. I am just going to be real about it. A lot of these dudes, you have some guys they got the shirt off, the tattoos and the six pack like Pac. Then you got some guys who make songs like I Get Around and How Do You Want It, like Pac. BUT they don’t make the Dear MaMa’s or the Ambitious As A Rider’s. When I sit back and study the game I see about 5 artists that I could put all in one person and it would be Tupac. But I think they purposely do it to make that bread, I really do.ThugLifeArmy.com – There are no artists really who have the charisma that he (Tupac) had. He could pull a crowd, black white it didn’t matter.Crooked I – Naw they don’t. Yeah it didn’t matter and they knew that shit. But they don’t have the passion that he got. Let me tell you something dawg, these dudes don’t give a fuck about the community and the hood either. They just want to get out that mutherfucker and come back and floss on everybody that’s still stuck in that bitch. That type of shit shows the people will never be fooled, even though they might like your music that’s as far as it goes. People liked Tupac (2Pac) as a person though. Everybody felt like Tupac was their home boi, instead of a person that they just listened to as just music. If you buy a Tupac record, you kinda feel like Tupac was your home boi. But when he passed away it was almost like your good friend passed away. And a lot of these artists they are not on that level and will never be on that level, because the thing is they are just trying to rape the game, or they are just trying to hustle the game or they are trying to make a quick buck and they don’t have their heart and soul in their shit. That’s the difference between these dudes; you have to have your heart and soul in this shit. You have to be a real person, and these niggaz can’t even go back to their home neighborhoods. That’s just real talk ya know. Right now as I’m talking to you I’m driving my car through Long Beach. And I’ll hop out anywhere. I don’t give a fuck who is standing on the corner or what’s going on, and they know it. And that’s what it is all about, it’s about being able to come back and show the kids and the community something other than the average drug dealer that I saw growing up. Show them somebody successful, show them somebody who is successful who is doing something legitimate and show them that they can do it to. Inspire them ‘hey you can do this shit, just put in your work and you can do this, you can have this Bentley GT right here. But that artist doesn’t exist on a higher level. Man these dudes out here, you should see them, they zoom by the ghetto. I mean mutherfucken zoom. Not even just the ghetto, I mean by their fans, by people who look up to them. I remember Tupac being active in the community. These dudes aren’t active in the community. That’s not their thing. They think it’s all about greasing up and getting in front of that mutherfuckin camera with a million tattoos and dancing around and shit. That’s what they think it’s about, but it ain’t about that.
good read... daz kind of side stepped the issue but lets be honest if 2pac was still alive deathrow would still be alive and so daz would probably have still been there.
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