THE BASEMENT RADIO SHOW (September 2008) | Interview By: Eddie Gurrola

       Dubcnn recently sat down with radio hosts SeanOne, West Coast Angel, and Big D from "The Basement" for an exclusive interview.  "The Basement" is a West Coast-only radio show that airs on Saturday nights from 10PM - 1AM and Sunday afternoons from 2PM - 4PM on 92.7 KKUU in the desert area.  You can also catch a live video feed on the internet. 

    In this interview, the trio share their opinions on the state of the West Coast, tell us what they've been bumping personally, and explain more about the concept behind their unique show.

Please feel free to send any feedback regarding the interview to: eddie@dubcnn.com
 

Interview was done in August 2008.

Questions Asked By : Eddie Gurrola
 

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Dubcnn: We're sitting here with SeanOne, West Coast Angel, and Big D from the West Coast radio show "The Basement."  What's going on guys?

Basically just grinding, trying to expose as many artists as we can from the West Coast to the masses. Also trying to get used to the new schedule as far as the show goes. We were on Friday nights and Sunday, now we are on Saturday nights and still on Sundays. Dealin with management, you know? Next step will be working on the next mixtape, so if there are any artists that wanna get on it, hit us up on the email.

Dubcnn: So, first give us a little bit of background on how you became fans of West Coast hip-hop...

Like a faggot, we were born that way!

Dubcnn: Tell us about how The Basement got started...

The show was originally out at the homies' station in the 29 Palms, Yucca Valley area. Shout out the the homie Verb.  But it was different from the show you hear today.  It was more of a bootleg and b-sides type of show.  One week, we put it out there that we were going to do an all-West-Coast version of the show. The calls that came in were so positive about it that we just decided to switch the show up to what you hear now. We knew we had something when we switched to an all West version of the show because Crooked I came through as our first guest on the show.

Dubcnn: For those that don't know, let the people know exactly what The Basement is, and what type of programming you guys offer...

We are basically the best kept secret out here on the West. It might sound a little cocky, but if you hear the show you will know why.  No matter where you go or how big the market is, radio has a lot of politics and bullshit that people have to follow. We, at this point, don’t really have to follow all those rules, so you will hear all kinds of different music that you might not have ever heard on a radio station.

As long as it is West Coast and it's a good track, we will play it.  It doesn’t matter if it is a “radio” single or a “street” single, if it's fire we want it. You don’t need to have a deal either.  Like we said earlier, if you got something and you think it should be on the show, send it to us at Basement365@gmail.com.

Just make sure it's clean.  That's one rule everyone has to live by.

Dubcnn: Going to The Basement is like a party atmosphere, and I'm sure that it gets pretty crazy sometimes. Can you share some funny stories that happened in the studio with the artists?

There is a lot that has gone in there that maybe shouldn't have happened and would probably get us taken off the air!  But, let's put it like this.  We've got a camera live in the studio now, so it calmed us down a little.  But you can go online and check everything that we do and get a behind-the-scenes look at what we got going on in there.

It's also good too, because a lot of the times the artist who is in there will be on the chat with the video stream, interacting with the listeners and the viewers. If you wanna check out the video stream you can either go to live.yahoo.com/basement365 or you can go to myspace.com/basement24

Dubcnn: Which new records are you guys personally feeling from the West right now?

Big D: Right now, I'm feeling that Terrace Martin track with Quik “Bounce Rock Skate.” The other night, we played the whole "LAX" album front to back, so I'm on that one right now too.

Westcoast Angel: I really like that Bishop Lamont "Grow Up" track because it doesn’t have your “normal” radio single feel and it's getting a lot of play right now. I am also patiently waiting for Crooked I to drop his album. Where you at Crook?

SeanOne: I'm really on the New West right now.  Anyone putting out hot shit, if it's a street album, mixtape, retail album, whatever it is that you are pushing, if it's hot I'ma roll with it. Shout out to everyone on the West pushin'.  Stay heavy on that grind!

Dubcnn: What's your opinion on the state of the West Coast and the direction things are going right now?

With the recent releases like Ice Cube and The Game, we think that the West is headed in a positive direction. Plus along with the future releases of cats like Glasses Malone, Bishop Lamont, and E-40, there is a lot more to come. The thing we need now is more unity.  Without the unity of the West, we are going to have a hard, uphill battle with bringing the West to the forefront of things. The Basement is also committed to be a part of that battle uphill or not, we are going to keep pushing the West and letting people hear all the good music that this region has to offer.

Dubcnn: What are the future plans for The Basement?

We're working on getting another mixtape out there to people. We are working on a DVD, even though that has been in the works since we started. We also are really trying to keep the cross promotions with cats like Dubcnn and Underwire Magazine in order to keep putting our names out there so the people know where to find us. We also hope in the near future to try and get a couple more stations under our belt so that we can spread the gospel of the West to a larger audience.

Dubcnn: Where can the people check out The Basement?

There are a lot of different ways that you can find us or get at us. You can hit us up on our email at Basement365@gmail.com or you can hit us up on the AIM at BsmntRadio365 or CADDY8923. You can catch us on the Myspace.  If you are in the Coachella Valley or surrounding areas, you can catch us every Saturday night from 10pm to 1am PST and on Sundays 2pm to 4pm PST on KKUU 92.7FM.

If you are out of the area, you can also hear the live audio stream during the show on www.927kkuu.com or you can watch the video stream with audio live during the show at live.yahoo.com/basement365 or www.myspace.com/basement24

Dubcnn: Any last things you guys want to say?

Big D: Shout out to all the guttas, the hoods, everyone supporting and repping the West Coast as a whole. Shout out to Dubcnn for showing us love, Brian from Underwire Magazine. Hit em up at THEUIM.com

Westcoast Angel: Shout to everyone out there throwing up the dub on a daily. Shout out to Eddie at Dubcnn, Brian from Underwire Magazine. Everyone who listens to the Basement, the homie MR Cubby, the door kickin crew, Crooked Mexican and Unknown and all the SSH comrades. Also shout out to my homegirl Tha Bizness aka Supreme out of Carson.

SeanOne: Shout out the the homie Javier (my PNC), Elicit Clothing the homies over at Sik Em Clothing, Trump Tight Kennels the homie Max. Shout out to the family, kids, wife, girlfriend etc. Shout out to everyone who has ever been a part of this show.  If that means listening, artists that have been on the show or just anyone who showed some sort of support to the show. Shout out to Brian at Underwire Magazine, you can catch him every week in our chat room talking shit. Shout out to Eddie, Dubcnn, we have taken a lot of music off the site and banged it out, so you have been a big part of the show, knowingly or not.