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Huge thanks to Casual for taking time out to answer the
questions fans wanted to know!
(Interview was done by email in December of 2004)
Questions Asked By :
SGV
dubcnn.com: What up
Cas.
Casual: What up
dubcnn.com: Chillin'
man...You killed that shit Acey{alone} and Big Arch.
Casual: Thanks dogg, I like that song...
dubcnn.com: Me too. It
was something different. I never expected hearing Acey on some shit
like that.
Casual: Ha!
dubcnn.com: You know
what was hot too?That Callin Out Remix, with You, 40{E-40} and
LB{Lyrics Born}...
Casual: Yeah... 40 on my album too.
dubcnn.com: Your new
album?
Casual: Yeah.
dubcnn.com: If I wasnt
coppin' it already, I will be now.
Casual: Haha
dubcnn.com: 40 is my
favorite rapper ever man.
Casual: Yeah he's raw.
dubcnn.com: Hell yea. Yo,
You still do shit with Alchemist?
Casual: I wish.
dubcnn.com: You ain't no
more?
Casual: I tried, he's too busy.
dubcnn.com: Yea hes been
doing a lot lately but damn. So no Alchemist...Who you working with
then?
Casual: I Got J-Zone Jake One, Automator, Dante Ross, Domino,
A-Plus.
dubcnn.com: Jake One got
heat.
Casual: Stupid heat!
dubcnn.com: I bet if he
was from Cali hed get more props. But he's from Washington right?
Casual: Yeah he's from Seattle.
dubcnn.com: What other
features you got?
Casual: I got E-40 , Too Short, Richie Rich, Young Zee from the
Outsidazs, Psalm One.
dubcnn.com: Oh damn!
Casual: Yeah...
dubcnn.com: That Richie
Rich shit is probably gonna be hard.
Casual: Its the same song with Short.
dubcnn.com: Wow...
Casuall: "Oaktown Remix"
dubcnn.com: Thats some
legendary Bay shit.
Casual: Yeah. Rich and Short never did a song.
dubcnn.com: Never? You
know...You're right, I can't think of one. I always thought they
did.
Casual: Me too.
dubcnn.com: Makes sense
right?
Casual: You would think so...
dubcnn.com: You're
making history then.
Casual: Ha. Bay history!
dubcnn.com: Hip-Hop
history!
Casual: True.
dubcnn.com: Whats the
album called?
Casual: Casual Presents Smash Rockwell.
dubcnn.com: Dropping?
Casual: March.
dubcnn.com: Major or
indi?
Casual: Hiero/Imperium.
dubcnn.com: Oh ok...Whats
the first single?
Casual: Don't know yet.
dubcnn.com: Gonna do
anything with Goapele again?
Casual: Soon, but we didn't work for this album. I don't want to
exaust her.
dubcnn.com: I get you.
Shes talented though....
Casual: Yeah
dubcnn.com: Aight...I
have to ask you. Hows the situation between you and Saafir?
Casual: It ain't shit no more.
dubcnn.com: So you coo?
Casual: I seen him the other day. I was on my Bike and he was on
his, also.
dubcnn.com: Collab
maybe?
Casual: Naw. haha
dubcnn.com: DAMN! Well
it was worth a try right?
Casual: I was on my Yamaha... He was on a Beach cruiser. It looked
like a parable to me.
dubcnn.com: haha. Where
was this? In Oakland?
Casual: Yeah, on 68th.
dubcnn.com: Coo...
Hopefully one day ya'll can collab. Not to beat a dead horse, but
would you clarify the reason for the problems?
Casual: Sure...1 sec.
dubcnn.com: Aight
{Casual shows me an expert of his up coming book.}
"When that beef started, it was between Casual and Safir, and it
really started because I didn't want to be on his album. (This is
the first time I told anyone this.) Truth is, I asked Saafir to be
on my album because he was my boy at the time. But in the short time
we kicked it, I seen he was a fake ass nigga. I mean, I met Saafir,
through A+. I needed some weed one day, and Plee was like, "my nigga
got bomb." I was like, "Who," Plee was like, "this nigga Saafir, he
be trying to rap and shit." I'm like, "cool." Saafir was a "street
nigga" so when we met we was cool like that from the gate. I mean, I
was blowing my money on weed and he had fat sacks, so we started to
see each other often. We started to kick too. That nigga had a clean
ass white 72 malibu, I had a 80 Z28 Camaro. And we was on some "nigga
your shit ain't as tight as mine!" shit. Chillin though, now here
comes the bullshit. First out, it took me a minute to notice how
much this nigga was bashing 2 Pac (Pac was alive then). I would have
been like, "yeah whatever" but this nigga and Tupac was really boys.
He would tell me stories about how Tupac punked out and he had to
whoop some niggas for him, hella shit like that. But I'm sitting
there like, "damn I thought this nigga was Pac dogg?" Anyway his
boastfullness and his betrayal qualities were starting to surface, I
was like "I ain't fuckin' with dude know more"(subconsciencly). This
is about the time he asked me to be on his album, I tell no lie,
when he called, I was layed up. He asked me to come to the studio at
bout 8. I was like "alright," but I really was thinkin', "damn, I
don't wanna go." I called that dude back at about 7:45 and threw
some drama about how I couldn't make it and he should work on
something else. He was like whatever. A few days later I got a call
from Sasfir, I was at Domino's house playing video games. I answered
the phone, "Hello"? he was like, "Blood you wrong fa fakin' on me."
I was like "what?! (still talking calmly), he said, "You made me
lose money the other night." My sense went off instantly. Before I
replied I was thinking "damn, he trying to play me, i fucked up,"
and to keep it real, i replied (verbatim) "Dude you putting too much
on it." This is when the calm broke. "Too much on it!!!!!!!!! Nigga
what!!! How am I putting too much on it? etc. blah blah nigga blah
nigga!!!!!!!!" Next think I know, I got beef with these niggas.
Now every time I seen them niggas in the street, I was with some
nigga that they probably didn't expect me to know. To keep it real,
this shit was big, it was all in the streets, every body I knew was
talking about this beef I had with Ssafir. Niggas started really
fonkin'. The cold part is, them niggas was from Fresno, I was born
and raised in Oakland. Don't get it twisted, Fresno is gangsta,
but when you start some beef with a well known artist, in the
streets of his home city, its gonna be problems. What everyone
didn't know is, me and Saafir would speak on occasions. If I seen
that nigga in the club, I would always address him first, like "Whats
up Saafir?" He would be like,"sup nigga" and we would go on about
our business, no prob. But when other members of our crews seen each
other there would be confrontations. It was all typa shit. (Buy the
Book when it come out!)
Saafir came to my house in North Oakland a few days before the
battle, bout 8:30.pm. I looked through the peep hole and said, "Hell
haw!!!!!!" I went and grabbed that little 380 he was rappin bout,
and tucked it in the pocket of my Hiero hoodie. I opend the doe',
this nigga was like "blood i need to holla at you," i was like,
"alright." We went outside, I'm thinking its about to get grimey. I
see this nigga got his homie sitting in the car bout 15 feet away, I
got my hand in my pocket, heart just pounding, then this nigga gonna
start talking about his rap strategy!!!! "I'm gonna kick some
written shit Cas, how you comin'?" This was the weirdest Hip Hop
beef moment. I was like "What!! I'm coming freestyle dogg."
The night of the imfamous Wake Up Show Battle, dudes heard that and
was coming out the woodworks!!! I tell know lie, when we entered the
studio room before the battle it was Hiero and Hobo. After that two
hour broadcast we exited the studio and it was all typa niggas,
nigga from the block, niggas I was raised with, dudes I hadn't seen
since the second fuckin' grade was like, " you alright my nigga?"
Seagram(R.I.P), a local rapper at the time, was in the lobby of KMEL
Punking them niggas!!! Dudes road all the way from Vallejo to San
Fran to hold me down. It was big. The only thing that was in the
back of my head was, them horrible freestyles I was kicking. I was
so dissapointed in Kmel, Tech, Sway, Saafir, and mostly, myself. I
don't know why, but I felt exploited. It really was the single
biggest event in Wake Up Show history. And I didn't see how me or
Saafir would benifit. After I was like, "Thats it?!! Did the beef
end with the broadcast? Damn was this shit staged? Written ass raps?
Hell naw!"
dubcnn.com: Aight so
that explains it in depth haha. When can we expect that book?
Casual: Damn... I just been writing various event so far. But I'ma
put it all together eventually.
dubcnn.com: Is it about
your life? The Rap industry?
Casual: Hiero
dubcnn.com: Oh
ok...Sounds good. I asked Del before but Ill ask you too, whats up
on another Hiero album?
Casual: I think at the end of the year. But who knows...
dubcnn.com: You know the
fans always want a Hiero album.
Casual: Yeah...but they need to go buy that last one.
dubcnn.com: haha
Casual: 70,000, I need 100,000.
dubcnn.com: Ya'll need
another Hiero tour! haha. You'll get that 30 plus more.
Casual: True!
dubcnn.com: But for an
indi release that ain't bad at all.
Casual: Never...
dubcnn.com: Whats your
thoughts on the New Bay?
Casual: hahahahahaha. I got a line that says: "There is even hyphee
youngsters tryin' to start up this NewBay Shit." it's not a problem,
OG's taught them how to do they shit.
dubcnn.com: I feel you.
You know...Balance reminds me of a younger version of you. Haha.
Casual: haha. He's my dogg. {And} I just met Lock the other day.
dubcnn.com: I'd like to
hear that collab!
Casual: We're workin' on it.
dubcnn.com: Other Bay
cats have a problem with them.
Casual: But thats because they ain't got thier Bars up. If you get
your bars up you wouldn't be trippin' off the New Bay.
dubcnn.com: That's the
truth though.
Casual: {By the way} Who are they?
dubcnn.com: I know Yuk
said some things about them. Messy Marv, too. Not saying Yuk and
Messy Marv ain't nice...Yuk's last album and Marv's last album were
heaters.
Casual: Naw...Yuk bananas. We go back.
dubcnn.com: Yea man.
What you think of that shit with him and Game?
Casual: Fuck Game
dubcnn.com: haha
Casual: Dude look like a buster. I ain't buying it.
dubcnn.com: You dont
think he reppin the Coast right?
Casual: Hell naw. A Cali nigga with a Yonkers Flow?
dubcnn.com: haha
Casual: He said it himself.
dubcnn.com: That shit is
gonna haunt him.
Casual: I ain't hatin' but Yuk my nigga.
dubcnn.com: You one of
the illest out here..Who do you think reps the Coast the right way,
lyrically.
Casual: Thanks... Well, Yuk kinda, Snoop. Snoop fasho. E-40 fa sho.
dubcnn.com: Lyrically
though?
Casual: Well, you gotta feel Snoop. Them raps are so real, they
aren't easy to write.
dubcnn.com: I get you.
Casual: The Game would never sound that real.
dubcnn.com: The rap game
has changed since the Doggystyle days, but I feel you. Game is
supposed to be the second coming of the West...A lot of people don't
feel that way though.
Casual: The Game is Just OK at best, and the second coming of the
West Coast ain't in G-Unit.
dubcnn.com: haha
Casual: We more indie out here than that.
dubcnn.com: True man.
You know though, Game is a lot different now than he was with JT.
Casual: JT is a real nigga. He capitalize on all them niggas...
dubcnn.com: People don't
feel me when I say Game owes JT.
Casual: That's Bay Pimpin'!
dubcnn.com: Haha yea JT
is the King of Capitalizng.
Casual: Fa real... Gotta respect that.
dubcnn.com: Who are your
favorite Bay rappers/producers ever?
Casual: Bay? Too Short & Ant Banks.
dubcnn.com: Where is Ant
Banks?
Casual: Don't know...
dubcnn.com: He's been
M.I.A. for a hot minute. Aight...Who are your 3 favorite emcees
ever.
Casual: Chill Rob Gee, Lord Finesse, Big Daddy Kane.
dubcnn.com: That's a
nice list. Very diferent from the typical "Jay, Big and Pac" lists.
Casual: ha! Dude, Jay, Big and Pac are my peers, or used to be.
dubcnn.com: I feel you
Casual: When I think of greats, I don't think of my peers. Although,
them some legends.
dubcnn.com: Yea....
Casual: Thoses are legends, Jay is a Mogule. Pac is the hardest
rapper ever.
dubcnn.com: I never felt
Pac like that.
Casual: Some didn't, alot did.
dubcnn.com: Yea, At
least you're understanding. Some foos wanna kill you when you say
that
Casual: I know. Fuck em.
dubcnn.com: haha. Can't
stand male groupies.
Casual: haha
dubcnn.com: How are you,
a grown ass man, dickriding another grown ass man?
Casual: haha
dubcnn.com: What are you
thoughts on the state of Hip Hop?
Casual: Better than ever. Have you noticed that theres no Gangsta
Rap anymore? Everything is gangsta. haha R&B is gangsta? How is R&B
gangsta?
dubcnn.com: haha I dont
know man.
Casual: Neo Soul is gangsta dude.
dubcnn.com: Since R.
Kelly? R&B Thug haha.
Casual: haha
dubcnn.com: I guess
singing for women is gangsta.
Casual: I ain't mad but love would blow up right now. haha
dubcnn.com: haha
Casual: Love would go Platunim, hope would be triple.
dubcnn.com: Remember
when only LL rapped about love?
Casual: Ja Rule?
dubcnn.com: You think
Love Raps was the downfall of Hip Hop?
Casual: haha. Naw Common still does it.
dubcnn.com: But Common
raw with it.
Casual: Fa sho.
dubcnn.com: Cuz he
really means it.
Casual: Thats what I mean. Talib got love in his shit. Nas got
Gangsta love.
dubcnn.com: I showed my
moms the video for the "Light" and she loved it. She hates rap too.
Casual: Dope.
dubcnn.com: You like
Kwelis new album?
Casual: I ain't heard it, but I hope it ain't the same song over and
over.
dubcnn.com: haha
Casual: "I can't live my life!"
dubcnn.com: I think he
did a lot with Kanye on the album, I aint heard it yet.
Casual: Well, Talib is raw so, it will be.
dubcnn.com: Yea...If you
had to choose one album from the Hiero Catalog, be it solo or group,
what would it be?
Casual: My new shit. It's shuttin' down our whole catalog. Watch
"Casual Presents Smash Rockwell!"
dubcnn.com: haha Thats a
big statement.
Casual: Yeah
dubcnn.com: How many
tracks on it?
Casual: 13 watch dude...
dubcnn.com: Short and
sweet.
Casual: haha
dubcnn.com: How about
some word association?
Casual: Cool
dubcnn.com: Aight...Oakland.
Casual: Raiders.
dubcnn.com: Casual.
Casual: Footlooker. hahaha I don't know, it just came.
dubcnn.com: haha Hip
Hop.
Casual: hoorray.
dubcnn.com: haha! Bush.
Casual: hmmm. Thoughtless.
dubcnn.com: Diplomats
Casual: Cam'Ron.
dubcnn.com: Hiero.
Casual: Del.
dubcnn.com: Smash
Rockwell.
Casual: 100,000 indie!
dubcnn.com: ha!
Sideshows
Casual: 73rd
dubcnn.com: One last
one... 3rd Eye Vision.
Casual: Full Circle.
dubcnn.com: Tight...Go
head and Plug your album one more time.
Casual: Well, Smash Rockwell is Casual at his finest, if you like
Cas, you'll love Smash Rockwell. Coming in March to wake Hip-Hop
up!! Watch!
dubcnn.com: Thats whats
up. Thanks! Good luck with the project!
Casual: Thanks
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Casual
