THA CROW  (May 2008) | Interview By: Javon Adams

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Interview was done in May 2008

Questions Asked By: Javon Adams

Tha Crow Interview Audio: Listen Here
 

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Related Media

Tha Crow - Str8 Off Da Block (Mixtape)
Tha Crow - Money, Clothes, Fast Cars (Prod By Fame)
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Dubcnn: Dubcnn: Alright, so we are sitting down with Tha Crow. Dubcnn with Tha Crow. What’s going on man?

Man, hard work, you know what I’m sayin’? Trying to keep this grind hard. That’s about it. Keepin’ it West Coast fa sho!


Dubcnn: Ok, I hear that. Now, some folks at Dubcnn might not know about you. So tell them a little bit about who Tha Crow is.

Man, Tha Crow is Loud.com’s finest. I’m from the West Coast. From South Central Los Angeles. I’m built for the rap game. This is all I’ve been working on for the past 4 years and I’m coming to bring classic music to the West once again. I mean, it’s already here it’s just not being shown. So, that’s me.


Dubcnn: Ok, so you mentioned the Loud, Loud.com. I know there’s a contest going on so tell me a little bit about that. The contest with SRC Records and that whole thing. What’s going on with that?

Ah, it’s a beautiful thang going on. Steve Rifkind, that’s my dude right there. That’s a brilliant guy right there. That’s a brilliant guy. He made a contest for underground rappers that don’t get a chance to get their shine. And it is all internet. You gotta upload your tracks on the internet and get your fans up and everything. So it teaches you how to run yourself in the music biz and everything. So, Loud.com has been a blessing.

You go on there, you upload your tracks. I won 25 Grand. Now, they even give you money! (laughs) It’s better than pushing demos. It’s the best thing for breaking artists, underground artists that wanna get they name out, it’s the best thing.


Dubcnn: And the contest has been going on since July, right? That’s when you won your 25 Grand, right?

Yeah, last July


Dubcnn: Ok. So is it difficult to keep your eye on the prize even if it’s, I know the grand prize is $100,000 plus a deal. Is it difficult to keep your eye on the prize even with that at stake since it’s been going on so long?

Nah. That’s one thing about me man. I’m real focused and I’m relentless on something that I want. If something that I vision is sitting right there in my face I’m gonna get it. So, no matter if the competition last for 2 years I’m still gonna be focused and I’m still gonna be going straight for that gold. And that’s the 100 Grand and the deal with SRC.


Dubcnn: I hear you. You mentioned some of the things he was having you do. Putting you through different types of challenges like recording rhymes to an established producers beats, hittin’ the club on promotions, street hustle, etc. So which of those challenges was the easiest for you?

Damn. (Laughs) That’s putting me on blast right there.


Dubcnn: Nah, it’s all good. I mean you’re one of the four finalists so you did something right.

I’d say the video task was the easiest for me. The song was made, I was a finalist, you know what I’m sayin’. I was a finalist so I had to create a song and then they made you go shoot a video to that song within 7 days. So the visual that I already had for the song was easy for me to shoot the video. It was nothin’.


Dubcnn: Ok. So, now flippin’ it, which one was the most challenging?

When I had to go to Power 106 and get my record spun.


Dubcnn: What was so difficult about that? I didn’t get a chance to look at all of the different clips but I did see that that was one of the challenges. Did that teach you a lot?

Yeah, it taught me a whole lot. It taught me to be persistent, to stay hungry and not to let anyone deter you from your goal. If you know what you want then keep going for it. You know Felli Fel, shouts out to my dude Felli Fel one of the hardest working DJs on the West Coast. Man, I had to find DJ Felli Fel. I had to get my track to this dude and that’s a hard workin’ man. As you can see he got the hottest record on the West Coast right know poppin in the clubs. He’s a busy man. He’s got the New At Two everyday, you know what I’m sayin’? So, I had to find a way to get at this man. You know, going up to Power 106 you ain’t got no leeway you gonna get stopped at the door. (laughs)


Dubcnn: I feel you. Well, on your bio on the Loud.com site you said that you started out as a battle emcee and now you make music. Explain the difference between the two.

A battle emcee. It’s like, you take everything, that’s where it first really started from anyway, cats battling. You take everything you got and you spit it at your competition and you spit it at a n#gga like, “What it do?”. You grimy, you basically tear a n#gga a@$hole apart, know what I’m sayin’?

On the music side, you create music, you create something that the people want to hear repeatedly. Everybody can sit back and crush a rapper, but can you make a hot track? So I was crushing rappers for, like two years, know what I’m sayin? They say a battle rapper can’t make the transition into making good music. Well, you see I’m a finalist and I’ve been making good music for a year and a half right know. So, I’m on my grind.


Dubcnn: So, on the same side would you say that the battle mentality kinda helped you in this contest a little bit?

Yeah, it helped a whole lot in this competition cuz I didn’t come in to coexist with nobody. I came in, straight up with that “F#ck You!” Mentality cuz I ain’t here to coexist with nobody. I ain’t here to make friends. I’m here to impress and deal with Steve (Rifkind) and deal with SRC. Anybody else, I ain’t f#ckin’ wit ya. (laughs)


Dubcnn: Cool, cool. I noticed on your myspace page that among all the different West Coast artists that you said influenced you King T was one of them. That kinda stood out to me. What about him influenced your style?

Gangsta! (laughs)

Straight West Coast gangsta. I’m a keep it real. My uncle used to bump King T everyday. I used to be in his Cadillac, lowridin’ and everything and he would let me hit a little bit out the 40oz. bottle (laughs). Shout to my n#gga, what it do baby!

This n#gga had the cd. I know everybody know it. It’s a classic cover cd where he got the Khaki Suit on, house shoes, walkin’ with the Mossberg. Nigga, now that’s gangsta!


Dubcnn: Yeah, Act A Fool!

Every since then that my Uncle been bumpin’ them tracks that was like my introduction to gangsta-ness on the West Coast.


Dubcnn: Nothing wrong with that. I read where you said that the money you received from winning Bracket A back in July went straight to the bank. So, I gotta ask you is it still there? Are you investing it? What’s up with that?

Well, before a lot of the competition thang started I didn’t really know how long the competition was gonna last. So, I had the money in the bank at the time but now you gotta go for the gusto. So, marketing, promotion and everything. I’ve made 1,000 T-shirts with my name and a Loud logo on the back of it. I’ve done photo shoots. Shouts out to my boy Manny at Street Watch Clothing. It’s kinda there, you know what I mean but you know I’m leaking a little bit. (laughs)


Dubcnn: I know you gotta be confident, so WHEN you win the $100,000 and the deal are you going to splurge a little bit? Are you going to find ways to invest that? Put it in the bank? Whatchu gonna do with that?

We’ll find out ways to invest it. And fa sho I got a daughter, that’s another thing I did wit the 25. I invested in her schooling cuz that is a part of me, my child. So I have to invest in her school. She goes to private school. You know, that’s coming out the pocket cold.


Dubcnn: I know what you mean

So, I put her in school. She’s in a good school and I make sure she’s straight. So with the $100,000 I’m going to put that towards her college fund cuz she wants to go to Harvard. She gets straight A’s, she got a B last report card, but she gets straight A’s. So I’m going to send her where she wants to go. She wants to go to Harvard so I’m going to give her money to go to Harvard.


Dubcnn: I like to hear that man. I gotta emphasize that in this interview. It sounds like you are a good father. How old is your daughter?

My daughter 15. I had her when I was 15.


Dubcnn: That’s cool. Well you gotta put that up cuz you got college comin’ soon.

Yeah, exactly (laughs) So I’ve been on the grind hard, you know that I mean. That’s my shorty. I only got one, so I take good care of her. Besides me being a rapper I gotta give you the other side. I am a father, you know what I mean? I do my fatherly duties. I’m home every night. Even if I’m out in Dego or somewhere far I make sure I come home every night to kiss my baby. Because I never know if its going to be the last time that interacting with her. You know how crazy s#it is on these streets. You’re always supposed to be in tune with your child. So I make sure I’m in tune with mine.


Dubcnn: True, true. You speak about the grind. You’ve touched on it a couple of times. Now do you see the possibility of a label deal as “making it” or will it be just the beginning of your grind?

That’ll just be the beginning


Dubcnn: Now, tell me what’s the reaction you’ve been getting because I listened to the “I am King” Remix with Glasses Malone and Omar Cruz. What’s the reaction been for that one?

I’ve been getting major love. Shouts out to Glasses Malone and Omar Cruz. Good lookin’ for coming through. I appreciate y’all. Man, I’ve been getting straight love. Shout out to my boy DJ Tricks and Cashville Radio and everybody putting that thang in rotation.

That’s one thing I can say. N#ggas are actually jumping behind and supporting ya boy. Cuz there’s a lot of hating going on. It’s easy to hate and tear down something but it’s hard as f*ck to build something up. From the ground up and still have a positive strenuous flow with it.


Dubcnn: Going back to that track again, the fact that you got them on the track kinda speaks to grinding and hustling and doing all of those things. How was it working with them?

Man, it was real good with Omar Cruz. Omar Cruz came down and blessed ya boy right at the studio. We got our smoke on and kicked it. Fat shouts out to your boy Lulu. He did the damn thang.  G. Malone, he was busy working on another project so he was at the studio. When I shouted out to him he was like, “No thang, I got your back. Dude, I’ll take care of you.”

He was like, “I’ll have to shoot it to you from the other studio cuz I’m workin’ on a project right now.” So he knocked it out with no problem, sent it back to me and it was a wrap.


Dubcnn: Tell me about being a finalist. Has it raised your visibility at all? Are you getting hit up for shows and collabs?

Yeah, I’m getting hit up for everything. Shout out to my boy DJ September 7, Cali Untouchables. I’m on a lot of mixtapes right now. Just hit up Game remix, Big Dreams. I’m on that. You can go to Youtube and type your boy name in. Tha Crow, T-H-A C-R-O-W and you can check that out too.

I’ve been getting a lot of work right know but I gotta stay focused on the task that’s at hand which is SRC, Loud.com being the man. So that’s what I’m focused on until then. That’s when I can branch out and work with everybody else with no problem. I gotta take care of home base first.


Dubcnn: Speaking of the contest again, why should Steve Rifkind choose you over the other three finalists.

Cuz I’m hot! I’m fly! I’m young! I’m fresh! I keep it real. And I keep it real hood. I think cats think it’s a joke when you actually spit your life. Everybody want to be that gangsta, that hood. I’m actually a cool dude until you piss me the f*ck off. That’s when I’m gonna go upside your head and be that gangsta that you really don’t wanna see. But otherwise I’m real cool with it. I’m fly and keep my s*it clean. That’s what I’m bringing, that flyness back.

Everybody think on the West Coast we gotta be gun toting or we gangsta with my pants saggin’ from my a*s. But I’m real fresh with it. White Tee everyday, stay clean. New Nikes, new Jordans. I like to catch a b*tch eye! I don’t want her to look at me and say, “Oh, that’s a dirt bucket!” Nah, so I’m keepin’ it fly, young and fresh. That’s why SRC should f*ck with me. Cuz I keep it fly, young and fresh. And that’s timeless. That never plays out.


Dubcnn: I saw where you mentioned that if you win the contest you’ll still be able to find you in the hood. Now, I was curious. Did you mean that you’ll still have the same hard working, grinding emcee mentality regardless of the money? Tell me what you meant by that.

A lot of cats come out, whether your West Coast, East Coast, Down South they get that money and you don’t see them anymore. You know what I mean? They fly out to the suburbs, know what I’m sayin’? The only time you’ll see them is on B.E.T. or hear them on the radio or a show you probably go to. I’m hood, I grew up here. I grew up in the ghetto so why the f*ck should I flee from it when I become successful? I’m gonna be right in the hood so I’m visual to you. You can be like, “This cat made it from nothing, now look at him!”

So you actually inspire other people. When you run from that you f*ck the game up. So you can find me straight in the hood when I win this. I’m going to be in the hood. Come holla at me.


Dubcnn: Do you have any projects in the works or anything people can pick up?

The last mixtape I dropped was Str8 off Da Block [download above] with various artists on there. Killed it, smashed it. It was free, FREE99. I didn’t want anybody to pay for it. I wanted your ears. I wanted to bless you with the West so now I’m working on Byrd Food. I gotta feed you now. That’s the next mixtape I’m coming with. I got major artists on it.

I brought you Omar Cruz! I brought you G. Malone! So just think about what I’m bringing y’all! Come on man! I’m bringing some more heat!


Dubcnn: Ok, ok. You sound excited so I’m getting pumped too. Before we head out is there anything else you want Dubcnn to know? The floor is yours.

Tha Crow is a real n#gga. Tha Crow is hungry. Tha Crow is fly. Tha Crow is about money.

Yeah, it’s easy to beef, you know what I’m sayin’? Beef is nothin’. Beef is what Biggie said, “Beef is when I see you in the street.” And it go down ain’t even no talkin’. Music is in my blood! Music is my passion! I want to bring that back. I want to bring the West Coast to that positive light. Everybody thinks that if you come on the West Coast that you gonna get leaked. Nah, you come out here and just have a good time just be respectful about the situation.

I want to bring that Dear Mama back. I want to bring that Biggie flow back. When you felt good about the music and it touches you. It’s cool to club and snap your hands and snap your fingers and s*it, that’s all lovely. But what about knowing the artists? I can’t feel you if I don’t know you. So, when 2pac dropped Dear Mama I felt that n*gga. That let you know it was a man talking about his mama and how much he loved her. How much he appreciated her. So that’s what I’m bringing back. I’m bringing back that s*it you can feel.


Dubcnn: Ok. Well, thanks for your time man. And good luck!

Thanks, dog I appreciate it. West West!