KOKANE (PART 1)(April 2010) | Interview By:
Nima Etminan
Dubcnn reached out to West Coast pioneer Kokane, who is getting ready to
release his anticipated solo album "Gimme All Mine" on June 1st, for
in-depth 2-part interview. This is Part 1, where we talk about the reasons
behind him moving to Seattle, growing a beard and hooking back up with his
OG partners Above The Law and Tha Chill for his new album. Spiritual as
ever, Koka aka Jerry Long tells us about his current mindstate, being a work
in progress and dedicating his life to God. Of course he gives us details on
his album, topics that he touches on and why this record is important for
the West Coast and the remix to "Twilight Zone" with Crooked I.
Look out for Part 2, where Kokane tells us about his mixtape "On The Back
Streets" with DJ Crazy Toones, his project with Kurupt "The 2K's", hooking
back up with Snoop Dogg, the New West/Old West controversy, his take on
Autotune and him getting involved in social networks such as Facebook and
Twitter.
As ever, you can read this exclusive interview below and we urge you to leave
feedback on our forums or email them to nima@dubcnn.com.
Download The Full Interview Audio:
Here
Download The Kokane Interview Drop Audio:
Here
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Dubcnn: We've hooked back up with the legendary Kokane for an
exclusive interview. All the visitors are very familiar with you, you've
been on the site a lot of times before. However it's been a minute since our
last interview, how you doing man?
Man I'm doing good, swell, mind body and spirit brother, how you doing
yourself?
Dubcnn: I'm great, glad to be talking to you. It's good to see you back
in the game. Since we last spoke, I heard that you moved up to Seattle. How
come?
Well, so my family could breathe. Everything ain't just built on the music
industry, so it allowed me to move my wife, to who I've been married to for
going on 21 years and got 8 kids by the same woman. So it's just a little
breathing room up here with the trees, the oxygen, and the academics up here
is real good, so that's why I moved up here.
Dubcnn: Okay. Do you still keep in touch with your roots in Pomona?
All the time man, we just shot a video with Above The Law in Pomona, cause
they're about to return real tough. I've also got them on the new album,
which will be coming out June 1st, "Gimme All Mine". Back and forth I'm
always out of town beating up the concrete, but this is where I rest my head
for the family. You know, change is good.
Dubcnn: In your new video, "Twilight Zone", we saw that you grew one of
those big Ricky Ross / Ice Cube beards. What was the motivation behind the
image change?
Well actually, wifey said "why don't you grow your beard out?" *laughs* My
wife was definitely digging it, so, I honor my wife in everything that I do,
so there it is! I've had a bunch of Cube jokes so far, but it's all good!
They like "Daamn, this nigga look like Cube!" *laughs* It's all good, that's
my nigga though.
Dubcnn: On your new album, you linked up with J. Wells and Fontana to put
it out. How did that come together?
I started my LLC with Bud-E-Boy Entertainment, using my middle name Jerry
Buddy Long, and me and J. Wells have been good friends for a long time. He
said: "Whenever you have a window of opportunity, shoot me something!" So I
shot it to him and man, that dude heard the album and said "This has got to
get exposed, because this is the content and this is the testimony that
people need to hear. People need to be educated on how you was instrumental
in playing a part in not just G-Funk sound, but a part of the element of the
West Coast." So I hooked it up with him, he shot it to Ron Spalding and it's
been beautiful ever since.
I've got Fontana and Bonzi Records really supporting me. Them guys over
there, Ron Spalding and all the dudes at Fontana is really getting behind
this record, I'm very happy about it, it's a lot of people that's enthused
about the whole thing. It's because its built up some mystique, and people
want to hear a Kokane record. They know my original roots is being a B-Boy.
Everybody had me singing on these hooks and that was cool, because that paid
the bills, but when I shot it to them, they respected it for what it was.
They said "Nah, this kid is gifted, this kid got something to say, and the
whole world needs to hear the return of Kokane."
Dubcnn: How did you hook back up with Above The Law and you also got Tha
Chill producing on your record. How did that come together?
Man, ain't no substitution for good! Tha Chill is one of the most underrated
persons in the game, but he is finna get his right now. When I heard the
beat to "Twilight Zone" a while back, I said "Man, that's one of them ones!"
I wrote the whole song in like 30-35 minutes, the words just came out. Then
he shot me another song that I got on the album called "The Killing Fields",
which I got my sons in the video for, and the content I'm talking about is
needed. When I heard that track, I was like "Man, I'm gonna go bananas on
this." Right now, that's what the game needs. The West Coast was about
touching on hard core socially conscious messages as well, and of course
along the way, we kinda lost that content and follow other situations and
other coasts.
But now, we're getting back to the point to where we talk about why did Eazy-E
say "fuck the police" at one time. With this album, it's like a modern day
Public Enemy with a NWA twist. Of course, we know how to ride and we know
how to come up with a couple of club songs on the album, but this album, "Gimme
All Mine", it's one of them ones man. People are gonna feel the testimony,
because people are encouraged by that change. Me doing that is going to be a
big reward for the whole hood, for the whole West Coast.
Dubcnn: Historically, the artist Kokane is known for his very raw,
uncensored, some might say nasty content, as far as your lyrical content.
But then, a few years ago, you were doing your gospel thing for a minute,
you were planning on putting out the "Ghetto Gospel" EP, which never came
out. Where are you at right now, mentally?
I'm a work in progress. See the element I was missing, is the fact that I
tried to change it instead of allowing God to change it. You gotta
understand, everybody is a sinner. So therefore, by you acknowledging your
sins, whether good or bad, God can use even the bad part. What I had to do,
I jumped the horse before the gun, instead of saying "God, let me go ahead
and take steps." Because you can't give a baby no whole piece of steak. God
humbled me a little bit more and allowed me to change my environment. It
allowed me to come up to Seattle, take a fresh breath of air, and to really
evaluate myself.
All I'm saying to the people, I ain't trying to be some holier than thou
people, but I'm a part of what Proverb 22 says, "A generous man will himself
be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor." So it's like, I can't
clean out the sin in my dude's eyes or my young comrades eyes, when I was
just there. But one thing that I know, is that it's better to be a work in
progress, than not to be a work in progress at all. So that way, I don't
jump out there and be a hypocrite. It's certain issues and things that God
needed to eliminate in my life, and he's still doing it. So of course along
the way, I will eventually get to the point to where it's all there. By me
saying that, it's just being honest and truthful. God is the ultimate one
that has to turn it around. So how I'm moving right now is according to the
way God wants me to move. No more, no less.
Dubcnn: On your first single "Twilight Zone", you touch on the current
state of the West Coast and what needs to be done. What are some other
topics that you talk about on this album?
On this album we get real deep. We got a song produced by Vitamin D up here
in Seattle, he's a hard hard producer. It's a cut called "Have you made a
difference in your hood today" and I say one line which is going to be
controversial, but me coming from Pomona and having the grace from God to be
alive at my age at 41, I say "2010 to me gangbanging is playing out / how
you gonna let a color interfere with your paper route?!"
That's just to say, things that are perpetuated, from the turf to what's
going on, no one ever says forget where you're from, but at the same time,
if we don't start perpetuating good things in our life, it's just gonna be a
dead end story. It's gonna be like two dogs barking at each other all the
time. So the only thing that I can give to the whole word is my testimony,
where I've been from, and to try and change these brothers minds. Food for
thought, like "Look young homie, you ain't gotta go the route that I went,
you ain't gotta go the route some of these brothers went."
Because it's a bunch of bullshit and illusion when people are still on that
bullshit. I got homies on both sides, but at the same time, we gotta get to
the point to where we can start leaving something good for our kids. I can
only speak from my family's perspective, because I got 8 beautiful kids and
I would never have them do some of the things that I did as a child. It's a
crock of shit thinking that everybody's gonna listen to it, but I'm man
enough and bold enough to say that. Have you made a difference in your hood
today?
Then on the flipside, I got this dude called West Coast Stone, who's George
Clinton's nephew, he did a song with me called "Can A Thug Get To Heaven?"
Going back on the Makaveli time, that's the heart of the West Coast,
touching on it. You know, ten toes to the floor with your romeos with the
taps at the bottom with the golf hats, you know what I'm saying? We're
touching on that ever that made us special to the whole world. I just wanna
give that right back. At the same time, we have fun records, cause I'm still
part of that secular zone. We got a song called "Rollin' Up in a candy paint
cuddle mac" for which I got Snoop in the video, Mac Shawn, Daz and the Dogg
Pound Gang.
With this project, I also wanted to reconnect with Above The Law. Everybody
remembers that "Black Superman" and for those that don't remember, it's just
reintroducing it, reeducating the people about who is the element behind
that G-Funk, who is the ones that participated and were a gigantic puzzle
piece on this West Coast movement. People gotta know. Now it's time, without
being bitter, cause bitter ain't gonna get us nowhere, to just simply go
ahead and educate the people on it. That way we can move as one unit. That
way, the next generation can get educated on what the hell is going on,
cause if you don't know the past, you don't know the future.
Dubcnn: I heard that Warren G was doing a remix to "Twlight Zone", is
that still planned?
Man, I've been trying to get at Warren, he's in the mix right now. Hopefully
it can happen. But I already got one remix already with Crooked I, that shit
is HOT! Oh my god. That shit is hot. I'm trying to give Warren like a week.
Dubcnn: You want Warren to drop a verse or remake the beat?
Nah, I was gonna have him do a verse!
Dubcnn: Oh okay cause people thought that it was gonna be a Warren G
Remix to the beat.
I would love that, I gotta talk to J. Wells, but we've been moving so tough
man. I hope he can come through. But as far as the spit, wait till you hear
this shit with Crooked I, man. That dude… I ain't trying to iron out the
wrinkles in his balls man, but this nigga is hard man.
Dubcnn: On Snoop's last record, you appeared on a track called "Secrets".
However, that was an old Kokane record that Snoop jumped on. How did that
come about? (For those who don't know, that was actually a Kokane record
originally, before Snoop jumped on it)
Well, if it's timeless, it's timeless. It's best that it came out instead of
collecting dust. Battlecat shot the kite to Snoop and then Snoop turned
around and said "Man, this shit is undeniable. I need that there." So we
mixed it up, I recorded the vocals, technology is beautiful, he sent it over
the wire and I sent it right back. It made the album, so I was happy to be a
part of that again.
Dubcnn: Do you think it takes away from the song making process, when the
artists working together aren't even in the same room or don't even meet
when making a song?
Whether you're in the same room or in New Zealand and Compton, California,
if it's magic on it, it don't matter where you're at. But I would prefer
being in the same room, that's how I usually work my best magic, being in
the same room, vibing, It's nothing like a vibe. When Snoop came up here and
did his show up here, he said "Come here Koka I got something for you."
We went up there, smoked something real good and then he said "I want you to
come out on stage." That let me know that Dogg and myself, the relationship
is really rekindled and we're just gonna do what we do and have fun doing it
again. That's what we're all getting back to. The West Coast is really
getting back to this movement. The more that we connect with each other, the
more we'll be able to move even further. It's a good thing.
Dubcnn: Getting back to your album, what other guest appearances and
producers did you work with on there?
On this album, I didn't want to have a bunch of features on there. They said
"that's risky" because everybody is saying "Well you need this person on
here, you need this person." But one of the things that we did, was be a
part of that cutting innovation level. What me and J. Wells wanted to do is
just put a bunch of guest appearances in the video of the singles. If you
look at Outkast or Dungeon Family videos, a record should be based on how
dope it is.
So the only features that I wanted on this project was Above The Law and a
couple of locals that I feel would advance as far as the new groups that's
coming up. So far so good, the single is getting a good viral response,
people are really anticipating this project and J. Wells is saying "Look,
fuck the risk, you did your thang on there by yourself, homie!" Because I
come with all kind of different styles anyway, so you can't subject my stuff
to just one thing. If you want some B-Boy, you hear some B-Boy, if you want
some Rick James, you hear some Rick James. So I kinda went out on a limb on
it, but it was a good calculated risk, because now Fontana is really really
behind it and J. Wells is really pushing the line. Everything is starting to
be assembled together, I'm bumping into old and new heads and they're saying
"Man, I'm glad you finally stepped off on your own right and you're doing
this right."
That's the good thing about dubcnn. Not to iron out the wrinkles in your
balls, Nima! You're my nigga! But at the same time, I appreciate everything
you and dubcnn are doing. Because that's what it takes, somebody to keep
pressing that line.
Dubcnn: You already know. We've been doing it for 8 years strong now.
Yeah! So it's a beautiful thing, everybody support that. I ain't saying no
other website company's names, but ya'll really pressing for the West Coast,
across the world. So big ups to that!
Dubcnn: Do you remember when we first started talking, that was when you
were supposed to do a project with Kurupt called the 2K's. What ever happened to that?