DUO LIVE (November 2007) | Interview By: Eddie Gurrola

       Dubcnn linked up with NYC’s Duo Live for an exclusive interview. As pioneers of the New York mixtape game and masters of selling records independently, Duo Live have plenty of experience to share with everyone on the West Coast. We talk about the keys to success for selling albums in the streets, and the importance of mastering one’s craft before going public with their music. We also discuss the duo’s new album, “The Color Of Money,” which is in stores now. We cover their long-lasting relationship with Talib Kweli, and their experience recording the current single “Princess” with Fabolous as well. Read on to find out about all of these topics and much more.


As always we have both the transcript and the audio for you to check and please feel free to send any feedback regarding the interview to: eddie@dubcnn.com

 

Interview was done in November 2007.

Questions Asked By : Eddie Gurrola

Duo Live Gave Dubcnn.com A Shoutout! Check That Here

Full Interview In Audio : Here

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Dubcnn: We’re here with Duo Live. Go ahead and introduce yourselves to everyone on Dubcnn so they can get to know you…

MC Fre: What up, this is MC Fre, one half of Duo Live.

DJ Sid V: What’s good Westside, this is DJ Sid V, the other half of Duo Live.


Dubcnn: You guys came from the New York mixtape circuit. Over here on the West Coast, a lot of us don’t understand how important the mixtape game is over there. Can you give us an idea of what it takes to get a deal out of the mixtape game out there?

MC Fre: We’re one of the pioneers in New York with that. We put our mixtape out in 2000, and it was around the time that 50 Cent was just about to drop his mixtapes. Up until that point, not so many cats were really doing mix CDs like that. [There] were more DJs doing them than artists. So we were one of the first artists to come out, and it exploded! You’ve got cats to this day, like Papoose, who got deals coming directly out of the mixtape circuit.

We actually come more out of the whole independent grind than just the mixtape circuit. We weren’t limited to mixtape circles. We were putting albums out as well as mixtapes. But we put out six mixtapes, and they’ve all been very successful. We’ve probably sold 100,000 copies just off our mixtapes. You know, it’s beautiful man! The mixtape scene has blossomed and bloomed, and we love it because that’s where you get to hear your artist make raw songs, just doing it for the love. No gimmicks, no hooks, no nothing, just rapping - it’s like old school hip-hop.


Dubcnn: What do you think the secret is to being successful with that grind of getting out those mixtapes and selling 100,00 copies independently?

DJ Sid V: Will and perseverance man! Knowing that it’s hard work, and just knowing that it’s not gonna happen overnight.

MC Fre: [I’d say] the grind and the organization. A lot of people aren’t organized with their hustle. A lot of cats just hustle willy-nilly, and go out when they feel [like it.] We literally made a job, and a career, out of hustlin’ in the streets. We had a set time everyday where we would go out, [and] we had a set time when we would stop. We had an office man, and this was off a straight grind! We had an office, we had a whole team and staff, promo materials, and it was really organized. That’s why Duo Live has been the most successful independent hip-hop group on the streets ever - selling over 200,000 CDs independently - because we organized ourselves! We made an actual distribution network, [instead of] a fly-by-night hustle. It takes a lot of work man. You’ve got to believe in yourself, and you’ve got to have good products.


Dubcnn: What advice would you give to a new artist who is just starting out?

DJ Sid V: I’d say master your craft. Make sure the product that you put out is good and viable. We started our label in ‘96, but we started doing music together in ’89 man! Between ’89 and ’96, we didn’t put out a song! We put out our first song in ’96, and it was just one song.

People now - they start rapping, they’ll do a little freestyling, or they start producing, and they throw those songs immediately out [to the public.] Like, “OK, I started rapping, I’m trying to put this mixtape together.” I mean, in one sense you applaud their effort, but another is like “Yo, you’re not ready yet man!” You’re really not ready, you need to master your craft. People that buy whack music in the street, alienates them from buying other peoples’ CDs. You fucked up the streets totally [by selling bad music.]

MC Fre: That’s another thing I wanted to say. Don’t treat the streets as something separate than the mainstream. Don’t feel like because you’re on the streets, your music can be of a lesser quality. That’s bullshit! Duo Live has always been as dope, or doper, than any artist that’s out in any shelf in any record store. We made it a point that we don’t put any music out until we were comparable with our peers. So don’t look at music and say, “I know my shit ain’t like Kanye, so I can go put it on the streets! I won’t put it in the stores, but I’ll put it in the streets.” That’s bullshit! Your music should be comparable to anybody else out there.

Duo Live is trying to compete with 50, Kanye, and everybody else in the game. So when we put music out on the street, it’s [of] the same quality that you would put out in the stores. I want to caution the young people that want to come up in the game: don’t undervalue or underrate the underground market or the street market. Don’t do that!


Dubcnn: You guys have just wrapped up your studio album. When recording it, was there a different approach to it conceptually, compared to when you guys were working on mixtapes?

MC Fre: Defintiely. You know what’s funny? All our projects - even our mixtapes - carry themes. We do themed projects, so in a lot of ways we approached it similarly. But we’re much more careful about the album of course. It’s songs, versus a mixtape, which might not even be songs so much as ideas. These are actual ideas that we’ve developed into songs – into records that we feel like we want to introduce to the world. We do most of our mixtapes for the streets, to be honest with you. We do it for a certain, select set of people. But when we do albums, we do them for everybody. So this new album we’ve got, it’s called “The Color Of Money.” It’s for the world to hear! We designed it and themed it for everyone - people of all ages, no matter where you’re from [or] what language you speak. So yeah, it’s a little different approach. Similar, yet different.


Dubcnn: What would you say is the concept behind the album?

DJ Sid V: Money! Nah, I’m just jokin’.

MC Fre: The concept is money, but it’s more about the socioeconomic relevance of money in the black community, and in the ghetto communities across the world. It’s a socioeconomic synopsis of the struggle - the day to day struggle - of people who don’t have money, weren’t taught how to spend money, weren’t taught how to acquire money, [or] weren’t taught how to maintain or sustain money once they get it. That seems to be [an issue] in our community, and it’s kind of destroying the black family; the fact that we can’t hold onto money. First we can’t get it, then once we get it we don’t know how to hold onto it, or develop it and turn it into an empire.

So, it’s a dope album man! It’s an ill album because all of the messages are so well-crafted. There’s not a preachy word or line on the album. None of the beats are too overpowering or too emotional, [or] too stirring for someone to be like, “I can’t get into this.” It’s something for everybody. It’s dope music, dope beats, dope rhymes, and the theme is there. The message is obviously there. We need to get this money, we need to establish ourselves with this money, [and] we need to use this money for good and not evil. That’s the bottom line.


Dubcnn: That seems extremely interesting. How would you describe the sound of the album?

DJ Sid V: Our sound, personally we call “Rasta Rap,” because we follow the life and times of His Imperial Majesty. We incorporate that into our music, but like he said, [it’s] not preachy. We also have Caribbean influences – both of our families come from islands in the Caribbean. That, along with that old school, New York boom-bap! All of that combined is what we call “Rasta Rap.”

MC Fre: I think this album particularly, [and] I’m just going off the pace of it and the mood, is a head-nod album. This is definitely an album that you listen to [while] you pour yourself a nice drink, sit with your girl, [and] roll something up. You can ride out to this album - it’s definitely car music, ridin’ music. This [is an] album you wake up to in the morning. [It] starts your day, gets you motivated, and it might be an album [that] you close your day with as well. It’s one of those albums - it’s a motivating album. It’s good music.


Dubcnn: You’re working a lot with Talib Kweli on this album. Tell us about your relationship with him…

DJ Sid V: He’s family. When we started back in ’89, the duo was a trio actually, and it was myself, Fre, and Talib. He just went on to his own thing [after that.] Fre and I were raised in the same neighborhood, so we kept [collaborating.] Talib is featured on the album, [on] a song called “Caught Up.” We’ve also been doing some shows with him in different areas.

MC Fre: That’s family man. We came up together, so it’s a pleasure for us to reunite at this time, when his career is peaking, and our careers are really starting to go mainstream. We’ve peaked in the streets, so it’s a beautiful vibe. We both have mutual respect for each others’ work, so our relationship is dope.


Dubcnn: You’ve got Fabolous on the single “Princess.” Tell us about your experience in the studio recording that…

DJ Sid V: It was dope man. We did the song “Princess,” and we were looking for the right type of person to put on the record. We thought [of] Fab. He’s from the ‘Sty in Brooklyn, and we actually came up with his management and people that run his label - we all went to high school together - so it was kind of a no-brainer. We thought Fab was perfect. We’re trying to get at the ladies with this record, [so] who better?

Fabolous is cool as a fan man, [he’s] a humble, humble dude, came in the studio, turned professional [and] knocked this shit out. He listened to what I did, got focused, and he joined in on the record in the best possible way. Shouts to Fab. That’s a real nigga, that’s a good dude. I’ve worked with a lot of artists, [and] his professionalism, as young as he is, definitely precedes him. He comes to the studio, handles his business, takes care of it, and gets it done. It was a pleasure working with Fab.


Dubcnn: What do you hope people will get out of your album at the end of the day?

MC Fre: Honestly, this is a set-up album. I hope that they listen, say “These kids got some shit, and I can’t wait for the next album!” God knows we can’t wait for the next album, and Dubcnn can’t wait for the next album! Trust me, it’s gonna be crazy. So I really hope that people get the set up and remember this album because that’s what we’re trying to do. [We want] to give people the idea of the type of colors that Duo Live is bringing to this game. Once they see that rainbow, they say, “Wow. We can fuck with these kids. They’ve got a lot of different stuff to offer, and different sounds. I can’t wait to see what they do next.” That’s what we’re trying to do – bring them into the Duo Live world!


Dubcnn: Is there anything else you guys want to say to all the fans, and everyone on Dubcnn reading this?

MC Fre: Check us out man, Duo Live, our album [is in stores now,] it’s called “The Color Of Money.” Support the hood - that’s one of our mottos. By buying our album, you definitely support the hood in many more ways than one – not just because we’re hood, but because we support the hood. Our message, our efforts, everything supports the hood. So support the hood, [and] cop Duo Live’s “The Color Of Money.” Check our website out too [Redemption Music Group]. No offense Dubcnn, but our motto is “our website’s better than yours!” Check that out, check the MySpace out, also the YouTube page.

Yeah man. It’s a pleasure doing this interview with Dubcnn. We love the West Coast, we represent that too, and we plan to be out there a lot!