Author Topic: Ruben Cruz AKA RC Interview (Read 193 times)

D-Nice · « **on:** April 23, 2016, 02:19:05 PM »

http://www.illuminati2g.com/untouchable/2016/04/23/ruben-cruz-aka-rc-interview/

I2G chilled with Ruben Cruz AKA RC for an exclusive interview. We discuss his time with Ruthless Records with Po Broke N Lonely, his tenure with Aftermath, upcoming projects, his thoughts on Dr. Dre new album Compton and much more so check it out.
I2G:
All right, we’re here with Ruben Cruz, AKA RC, how’s it going man?
Ruben Cruz:
Going all right man, we doing all right, how you doing?
I2G:
Good. Good. For those that aren’t familiar with your music, tell me a little bit about how you got your start in music, and who are some of your musical influences out there coming up?
Ruben Cruz:
Oh man, initially I met a couple guys, started hanging out with them, formed a group called Po’ Broke and Lonely. We did a couple demos and got signed to Ruthless Records by Dr. Dre and yeah, that’s where we got our start. My early influences were Donny Hathaway, kind of the norm, the Stevie Wonder, soul music, The Whispers, those type of groups that I grew up listening to.
I2G:
Ok, and then you worked with Po’ Broke and Lonely, the first album, No Money, No Honey in ’92 in Ruthless, what was the vibe like, being in the studio and working with Dr. Dre and being around Easy E during that time and making that album?
Ruben Cruz:
Well, actually, you know, we were really close to Dre. Dre was our guy, we used to hang out with him, we used to go to clubs, we used to go to clubs with Dre. Easy, we didn’t see too much of Easy, Easy was, you know, he was kind of with Jerry on that business side. We were real tight with Dre. We were just having fun, we were just hanging out, and talking about writing songs and lots of things we were doing. Pretty much that you hear in the lyrics is what we were living, and that’s what it was about back then. We were young and fun, and just enjoying being in the studio and taking that ride.
I2G:
Then in 1995 you guys had your follow up album, Forbidden Vibe, I consider that album highly slept on, I really enjoyed that album, just why, from the transition from the first album to the second, Dre had left and had started Death Row up with Suge?
Ruben Cruz:
That’s a good question, those who were around that circle, many of them don’t know that we kind of, we were loyal, we were loyal to a fault. Like I said before, Dre was our boy, we hung out with Dre, we did just about everything with Dre. When he left Ruthless, we felt like if they screwed Dre, they’d screw us. We kind of boycotted Ruthless, and Ruthless pretty much followed by putting us on the shelf and not really allowing us to do many things. It came about that Big B, the guy that was kind of representing us, kind of connected us with Big Beat Atlantic, they presented Ruthless with a deal and bought us out of that contract.
Ironically at that same time, we had another deal on the table, for me at least, I had met with Dre a few times, me and Dre, Dre would pick me up in a limo and drive me up to Palm Springs, we’d shoot guns in the desert, and the only reason was he was trying to get me to sign to Death Row as a solo artist. I decided that I wanted to support my boys, my homies, and I decided to go back to Po’ Broke and Lonely, and sign the deal at Big Beat Atlantic, and that’s why we didn’t sign with Death Row.
I2G:
Then transitioning from that album, you were one of the original artists signed to the original Aftermath in ’96 after Dre had left. I interviewed a couple of artists during that time frame. What was maybe the change, or the environment like, or the vibe like for you as an artist under Aftermath, from the transition from Dre leaving from Death Row and then you going on with it now being as a solo artist on Aftermath?
Ruben Cruz:
It was pretty fluid, it was pretty comfortable because everybody kind of just sort of dissolved into the Aftermath atmosphere and environment. Mike Williams was a part of the group, he became A&R over there at Aftermath, and eventually became President of A&R. Glove was on staff as a producer, Chris, the Glove, Taylor, that did all of the beats for Po’ Broke and Lonely. That was another thing about Po’ Broke and Lonely, we were self contained, is one of the words they used back then. Dre never really produced a lot of that Po’ Broke and Lonely stuff.
When I went to sign with Aftermath, that was when Dre was supposedly supposed to step in, and I was going to be kind of presented as a new artist under that Aftermath umbrella, and I was working with all the producers on staff, Stu, Glove, I did a lot of stuff with Dre, and it was just a fun time. We were going to the studio every day and at the best studios you could imagine. We kind of just continued on what we were doing before, having fun in the studio and partying.
I2G:
Now I’ve interviewed Glove, we actually did a four part interview a few years back, and he always speaks very very highly of you, he said, if you were to drop a solo album, R. Kelly as an artist would not be as big of as artist as he was today. He said you’re kind of a cross between R. Kelly and Musiq Soulchild. He said you have a lot of Music Soul Child in your music, a lot of the newer stuff that he does, how does that make you feel when you hear something like that from Glove?
Ruben Cruz:
Well Glove is a, he’s like my big brother, he was a mentor to me because he, you know, if you interviewed him, you know how far he goes back, you know his accolades and his resume, so when I got into the game, I didn’t really have any experience in the music game, so he helped instill confidence in me to become a song writer. That’s where, that’s really what you want to do as an artist. You have a lot of R&B artists who have [inaudible 00:07:23] songs, they’re written for them by other people, but they always groomed me to be a writer.
It means the world, we pat each other on the back, we encourage and pump each other up as much as we can because we still have a love and a passion for music, and we still want to continue to do it. You never know what could happen. You never know what could happen from this point on as far as using music, it doesn’t have an age limit to it. It could be something I’ve already done that somebody samples and blows up through the water. We just support each other, that’s my brother, and he will always my brother, and I always wish him the best.
I2G:
As far as your solo career, why do you think Dre never released a solo album on you on Aftermath, and do you have any unreleased albums that are in the vault there at Aftermath?
Ruben Cruz:
I mean, I have tons of music over there, I think at the time where they put the Aftermath record out, and it didn’t really make a lot of noise, I think what happened was he got handed Eminem, and once he got handed Eminem, the focus and everything else just kind of shifted. I was still there, I was still around, I kind of saw the writing on the wall. I asked him to let me go. We talked about it, he wasn’t happy about it, I felt like I could go make a name for myself elsewhere if he was just going to be have me hanging around.
I didn’t want to be one of those guys that just never ever came out with nothing, and I did leave then, I did put a solo independent record out, a record that had a single on it called Slow Burn, Slow Burn, it made some noise in LA. I toured around, I did a show at the Pro Bowl that year, I think that was 2001, 2002, and it was growing, it was growing until basically the people that I had working with me, their finances fell short, and of course, that’s the name of the game, once that was gone, the record kind of lost
Seen Dre since then, Dre, you know, it’s like, he gets, Dre has a boss too. Dre has a boss too. His name is Jimmy Iovine, whatever Jimmy Iovine says he needs to be doing, that’s what he’s going to be working on.
I2G:
Did you have, also around this time frame, Dre started working on Detox, after the Compilation had come out, did you have any tracks or anything that you worked on with Dre that was meant for Detox that’s in the vault?
Ruben Cruz:
Well, probably not meant for that, I’ve seen Dre recycle tracks over and over and over again, like I’ve got something on, probably, I don’t know where those tapes are, but remember Explosive, and then I will come to that before Xxplosive, and then Erykah Badu did an R&B track to it. You’ve got a lot of that like that around, there’s no telling what’s going to make it to light, I do imagine that at some point, I hope that we can go back in and work again together. I’ve seen him a couple years ago, and we had a good time in the studio, it was like old times.
When I lived, I moved to Georgia to take care of my family, so when I say out of sight, out of mind, it’s not that he wouldn’t want to work with me, it’s just that I’m not there to be in his face to kind of remind him like, “Yeah man, let’s get something going,” I’m just here taking care of my family in Georgia.
I2G:
Yeah, Glove had talked about that as well, like that one track, Zoom, that he did with Snoop, ended up on Bullworth soundtrack, and then it was a King T track, I forgot the exact order, I think it was Dre and Snoop, then it was the King T track, then it was LL Cool J
Ruben Cruz:
Yeah, LL, yeah exactly, LL Cool J got it.
I2G:
I think that Xxplosive was originally a King T record.
Ruben Cruz:
Yeah, probably. I’m just saying I ain’t mad at him.
I2G:
Yeah, yeah, bring that one up a couple of times. What were your thoughts on Dre dropping the Compton record last year, his last solo record, what were your thoughts on that album, just the sound of it, and how it was put together?
Ruben Cruz:
I thought it sounded a lot like a Kendrick Lamar record. I thought it had some good moments, but it just didn’t, when people hear Dre, they want to hear that gangster sound, and it didn’t really hit home for that, that’s his fan base. But, I liked the record, I thought it was well produced, I thought it was typical Dre, I thought it was well produced, it sounded good, it’s just some of the songs, that’s what it comes down to is the songs, and do they touch peoples emotions, and do they make people move, and I think a lot of those things didn’t really resonate with everybody like that.
I2G:
Ok, another track, one of my favorites from you is track entitled Water Drops with DJ BattleCat.
Ruben Cruz:
Yeah.
I2G
Do you have any memories, creating that record? That’s one of my all time favorites from you.
Ruben Cruz:
Really? Man, I haven’t heard that in a long time, of course, BattleCat is one of my favorites, always like what BattleCat does in the studio, and I’m glad to see that he’s well, and I think he’s over there working with Dre a lot, you know Cat was like, Cat played keys on those, on that Po’ Broke and Lonely Forbidden Vibe record, him and Warren Campbell, I know you’re familiar with Warren Campbell.
I2G:
Oh yeah.
Ruben Cruz:
Played keys on that, so you know we’ve touched a lot of people that have done some major things in the game, and Cat was one of them, still to this day one of my favorites, I love his sound, I love the funk that he puts on, when you hear, you know it’s a Cat beat.
I2G:
Absolutely, absolutely, he’s got one of the signature sounds, Dre’s signature sound, Quik, Muggs, BattleCat, that’s my West Coast finest right there as far as producers.
Ruben Cruz:
You’ve got good taste.
I2G:
Appreciate it, thank you. So what are you up to these days, are you working on any new solo records, or where you’re currently, are you still doing music, or what’s up next for you?
Ruben Cruz:
Absolutely, Yeah, I mean I’ll be doing music for the rest of my life. I’ve been recording songs for at least, since I left LA, at least 10-11 years, I’ve got stuff on my computer, just trying to polish some things up, I also have my daughter, she’s 19, she’s a vocal artist as well. Couple other things in the can that we working on, just trying to make sure that they top notch when we start letting folks hear it. I’m in the studio, I’m sitting at my home studio right now, I’ve got the full set up, I’ve got the drums, I’ve got the full set up, we’re ready to go. Out here in Georgia, I’ve done some nightclubs, I’ve been getting out in the band scene, and getting up on the mic and performing. We do, this is what we do, we love it, and we’ll do it till the day we die.
I2G:
Any future work or collaborations, have you gotten back in touch with Glove, is Glove going to be on any of your future projects?
Ruben Cruz:
I always talk to Glove, I mean, if it’s not through Facebook, we talk on the phone, I’ve got some stuff that people have never heard that Dre, that Glove has sent me, I’ve got tracks that, when I left LA Dre sent me, before I left LA, I got 27 tracks from Dre.
I2G:
Oh wow.
Ruben Cruz:
I have stuff written on all of those things, so like I said, I really want to put something special together, and I’m kind of just going through the tracks, and trying to fine tune them and working with an engineer and trying to make sure that everything is top notch, so stay tuned, cause there’s definitely something coming for sure.
I2G:
Ok, absolutely, absolutely. Do you have any upcoming shows or tour dates or anything coming up for you that you’d like to let people know about?
Ruben Cruz:
Not at the moment, but they can always reach me at Facebook, or at Crimson Monroe, that’s the little alter ego that I’m coming out with, RubeCruz on Twitter, I’m also on Instagram as Crimson Monroe, C-R-I-M-S-O-N-M-O-N-R-O-E, Crimson Monroe, in case you didn’t know.
I2G:
All right, well that’s all the questions I have for you, appreciate you being down for the interview, I must say I’ve been big fan of your music ever since Po’ Broke and Lonely, I’m definitely looking forward to any new music that you’re dropping, and definitely ever since the Fame track that you redid with David Bowie, I mean, the list goes on and on on tracks that I’ve appreciated that you’ve been doing, so I’m definitely hyped to hear any new music that you’ve got coming out.
Ruben Cruz:
I appreciate that, I’ve done a couple interviews like this over the last couple of years, and it inspires me, and kind of reminds me that I do have some people that would like to hear what I’m doing, and motivates me to get back in the studio and touch basis, and I appreciate you.
I2G:
Absolutely, do you have any last words or shout outs?
Ruben Cruz:
Man, I just want to say stay tuned for the Crimson Monroe project, and the Rissa Pearl, Cali girl, project, and Koinonia Entertainment, that’s how we’re doing it in 2016, and just let me know where I can let people hear about the interview when you get done.