MITCHY SLICK  (December 2007) | Interview By: Nima

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Interview was done in December 2007

Questions Asked By: Nima

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Through the past few years, Mitchy Slick has proven that he's a force to be reckoned with in the rap game. A street rapper from San Diego who built up a rep in his own city before heading up north to link up with Los Angeles lyricists Phil Da Agony and Krondon and form the Strong Arm Steady crew under the supervision of superstar Xzibit, while dropping solo projects independently on the side. Strong Arm Steady are now signed to Talib Kweli's Blacksmith record label and they're currently working on their major debut "Arms & Hammers". At the same time, Mitchy is getting ready to release a new solo project called "48 Hours On Gang Street".

Dubcnn had the chance to catch up with Mitch to talk about all the current projects. When asked about his new solo, he said: "48 Hours On Gang Street is similar to the first Mitchy Slick album. On [the last album] "Urban Survival Syndrome" with Muggs, I put creative handlebars in the hands of [Muggs] and Angeles Records. It was going to be more universal, but on this album I went back to Criccet, Dubb Knoxx and my new producer Kye Kong." Other producers on the record include DJ Khalil, Ecay Uno, Tha Bizness and Drew, who produced the song "Won't Stop B'n A Blood", which features Big Wy, Young Hootie, 211 and several other artists. He's actually planning on putting out three different versions of that record..

As we continue on about this album, Mitchy explains his aim: "On this record I'm doing it straight for my people. I ain't giving a fuck how much money is made off the record, I just wanna go 'head and mash for the coast and put out the music that I want people to know me as. In the South, they say they ghetto and the labels know how to market it, but on the West, the label's arent here, except for Angeles Records. It's hard for them to push the record in the streets, the big people in the power positions don't understand where we come from.". He's planning to drop "48 Hours On Gang Street in March or April 2008, and Mitch says he's not decided yet whether he's going to make it a double album or not. He's currently finishing up the features, and the list is already pretty impressive: G. Malone, Damu, Roccett, T-Nutty, Spider Loc, Jay Rock, Lil Fat Bat, Sean Deez are only a few of the names that are on the record.

He's not very concerned about the marketing of the record. It's coming out through Wrongkind Records, and he's planning on going from hood to hood with it, selling it out the pocket, and Siccness.net will also be handling distribution, like they did on the Messy Marv & Mitchy Slick album that came out earlier this year. When asked about that record, Mitchy has mixed feelings: "The Messy Marv record was great, but the Bay, they don't really open up. I think it got a lot to do with how Southern Cali was getting down in the late 90's, they was doing they thing, and the Bay was feeling a little left out. I understand it a little better because I'm from San Diego, I'm in the same situation. Us and the Bay go hand in hand with doing this shit. I reached out to a lot of cats, I fuck with everybody from the West, I fuck with Mack 10, Snoop Dogg, E-40, Yukmouth, C-Bo, these are niggas I really fuck with, not just some email shit, I got relationships with these people".

It sounds like some of these relationships could also come into play when it comes to Strong Arm Steady's major label release "Arms & Hammers", which is set to drop on Talib Kweli's Blacksmith Music. Mitch is reluctant when it comes to giving up information on that album: "I can't really talk about that shit, but this is the album that's going to be for the mainstream and the main public. Some of the biggest people in music period are featured on the record," he boasts.

When asked about a release date, he explains: "The album is finished, but timelines are hard. We pushed the album back a couple of months, it's going to come out around spring. We tried to get the big money for that, the record is so explosive, it wouldn't make no sense for it not to come out as big as as T.I. record or a Luda record or anything of that caliber." A first street single has been floating around on the net, called "Swack You Out", which is produced by Dubb Knox. "That's just the first warm-up record. The next single features the biggest muthafucka making music today, and it's banging. That "Deep Hearted" record was more of a collection of songs we've done, leading up to "Arms & Hammers", where we're really showcasing us as a group."

We're definitely on the lookout for all these projects, and will be bringing you the latest information concerning them. Check back with us next week for a first taste of "48 Hours On Gang Street", Mitchy Slick's upcoming solo album.