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Huge thanks to Adisa Banjoko for allowing us to
publish this unreleased interview he conducted way back in 1992!!
Questions Asked By :
Adisa Banjoko
A few weeks ago I found some old
tapes with some vintage interviews on it. One of them is with Ray
Luv, and pioneer rapper in the game. This interview covers how he
got down with the legendary Young Black Brotha Records, how he met
Mac Dre and Pac and why the Bay Area rap scene is so rich. This
interview was conducted at the Young Black Brotha Offices in Vallejo
California. Read this and you can start to see how the OG’s layed it
down so that the west could be won. - Adisa Banjoko
dubcnn.com: How is it that you got down with Young Black
Brotha Records? And how did this whole scene in Vallejo start?
About the Vallejo scene starting- I’m not sure. I came in on the
late freight. I was fuckin’ with Mac Dre. Acutally I knew his cousin
Los. Los brought me into this. He seen me in Santa Rosa. I went to
high school with Los. I had been doing some work with Digital
Underground and TNT. I had just broke from the label. He told me
“Why don’t you come out here, and see what we doin’ out here”. I had
always admired Khayrees Music. ‘Cause he was VICIOUS…So, I wanted
him to produce a track for me, ANYWAY. But I came out here.
The ironic thing was that they day I came out here was the day of
The Mac’s funeral. He was one of the first artists they had on
Strictly Business Records. He kicked shit off and paved the way,
really, for all the shit we doin’ now…
dubcnn.com: How did he die? What were the circumstances
behind that?
Mistaken identity. They was looking for somebody else. It was some
bullshit though. So, I came out here and I rapped for Khayree.
Matter of fact, we at was Crest Park.
dubcnn.com: Los plugged you with Khayree?
Los plugged me with Dre [Mac Dre]. We was in Crest park rappin’ and
kickin’ it and freestylin’. Mac Dre was like “Yo, I’ma take you to
Khayree and let Khayree check you out. So, I came to Khayree and the
rest is history.
dubcnn.com: So how did you hook up with Mac Mall?
He was like, my young potnah…When we kicked it when I was out on the
road with the “Get Ya Money On” thing in 1992. He was young and he
was vicious but he had his head on straight. First and foremost he
had a good moms. She let him go do his thing, as long as he
graduated. He’s about to graduate. So it all worked out.
dubcnn.com: Now, you and Tupac been cool for a while right?
We had a group, with Diz [DJ DIZE] called Strictly Dope. That was
back in 89. We just went our own separate ways. We had some problems
with TNT. Shock from Digital Underground scooped him up…Took him on
the road, and I came to Vallejo. But everything worked out.
dubcnn.com: So now, you are getting ready to come out with
your own album right?
Yup, “Don’t Nothin’ Move But the Money”. Prolly 14 on the CD, 12 on
the album. I don’t wanna put too many cuts on the album. Because I
know how that can be. You can put too many on there and then it
never really gets absorbed. So, I came through with the underground
hustle.
dubcnn.com: I talked to a lot of MC’s and DJ’s back east and
everybody says the indie hustle exists here in the Bay, like nowhere
else. How is it that so many artists are able to come out and
everybody is making money?
It’s like this. Nigga go out and they buy a ten sack, or a twenty
sack of weed…they roll it up…They go out, they smoke and they get
high…They get them a tape and do the same thang!!! Nobody is
crossing over into anybody else because everybody gotta have ALL OF
IT… If I hear “Yeah they got this kid Young Lay- he VICIOUS”- I’m
gonna get it. I don’t care if I got 100 tapes at home- I gotta have
it.
dubcnn.com: So how long you been in this game?
12 years the end of this summer. I think Run DMC brought me in this,
and everything else solidified it. But the one who made me wanna get
in this and get my money- Short [TOO SHORT]. I seen him doin’ it. He
a regular nigga like us. He talk like us, dress like us…Like all
them niggas out there was doing the same thing- but he getting’ his
money. So I respect that. What E-40 and the Click is doin’ over
there….To be independent and was like # 14 on the Billboards? You
gotta respect that. You gotta watch it, and see how you can change
your game plan. It ain’t about being jealous of muthafuckas. It’s
too late in the game for that.
dubcnn.com: How old are you?
22
dubcnn.com: Whats Ray Luv gonan be doin’ in 5 years?
Still doin’ music. Still in the streets. Still trying to make this
happen. Trying to bring more and more of us in this. How I look at
it….what I do, is hustle the music. When I met people that was like
fans of “Get Ya Money On” and they say “that made us wanna get our
money”….I don’t want that to stop with the album. Because for us as
Black people, that’s the only way we gonna get around this…You can’t
fight the police with ya guns…YOU CAN, but only to an extent. You
gotta get your fetti…When you talk, people listen. If you say “Man
this is some bullshit over here” this and that- you get air
time….People will hear and they feel you and they pay
attention…That’s what I’m gonna be doing in 5 years….More than I’m
doing now…
Right now I’m caught up in the in between stages of making my money,
getting the product and helping my folks get by. But after I get my
people straight I wanna do a bunch of different things. I might try
to do movies- if the opportunity jumps. We go to the schools, and
teach the kids, not preachin- but teaching. I wanna keep doing that.
The next 2-3 years, I’m gonna have kids, so I wanna teach the youth
the right way.
dubcnn.com: Any other products?
Master P called me this morning. WE gonna do a compilation. I gotta
song with Dangerous Dame on it. RBL on it, everybody from Frisco…the
East Bay all that…When you think about it, the Chronic tape is the
best of they [LA’s] stuff….Now we wanna get down and show what we
got.
dubcnn.com: What is that you think keeps everybody from set
trippin’…
I think brothas is coming to a level….for JT The Bigga Figga,
myself, Ant D.O.G.- we had went to Los Angeles. I was talking to Ice
T about whats going on with the whole LA scene….And really, it
depends on us. If you say you representing, then you are a
spokesperson for YOUR SET.If you can get two whole areas like Frisco
and Vallejo to come together…Like JT and Mall did for a record [GAME
RECOGNIZE GAME] that’s a big accomplishment. I guess we seen each
other from performing. Everybody sat down and talked. You see all
the killin’ and the bullshit that’s going on…You know just by
something you say on a record y’all could change some shit?!? Why
NOT!?
I’m about to go do a track with JT. They neighborhood, Filmore [IN
SAN FRANCISCO] Nigga when I was younger, shit, I had problems from
people from Filmore. But we workin’ that out. It’s important, before
the problem gets outta hand. And ti will get outta hand [IF BROTHERS
DON’T STOP KILLING ONE ANOTHER OVER PETTY ISSUES]. Niggas startin’
to realize it’s getting outta hand when they can’t even walk in
THEIR OWN neighborhoods. Things are coming together. You just can’t
continue to set trip. I can’t continue to be in the same bullshit
that kept me down for 12 years!! That’s half my life. I can;’t let
the same old dumb shit keep me back. I’m not trying to rip and run
so much, I’m trying to get things done right.
Adisa Banjoko is author of the new book that’s kickin’ pure
knowledge to the streets “Lyrical Swords Vol. 1: Hip Hop and
Politics in the Mix”. Buy one today at
www.lyricalswords.com or
www.amazon.com !!
Dubcnn.com Shoutout :
Here
Bishop Lamont Dropped A Verse! Check That
Here
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Ray Luv
