WC & DJ CRAZY TOONES ON GURU & DJ HIDEO(April 2010) | Interview By:
Nima Etminan
WC and DJ Crazy Toones reach out to dubcnn to extend their condolences to the Hip-Hop world's recent tragic losses, Guru and DJ Hideo. WC shares his memories of meeting DJ Premier and Guru back in the days, recording the "Militia" remix with Guru and Rakim, and them looking out for each other. He also touches on Premier's relationship to Guru, and the recent controversy surrounding Solar and the letter Guru supposedly wrote on his deathbed.
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Dubcnn: I know you worked with Guru (R.I.P.) and you worked with Premier. What's your opinion on everything going on right now with Solar and the letter?
WC: You can put this down on record right here. Like I told Premier, my response to anything regarding Guru: Guru and Premier will always be family to me, especially on the East Coast, because they were the first group to embrace me and act such as family, other than just an artist from the West Coast. When I first went to New York, during the time when DJ Aladdin was in the battle seminars and everything, I was out there really on my own just trying to find a place to stay, because that's how much love I had for Hip-Hop.
DJ Premier was somebody that I bumped into around the time when Showbiz and A.G. was getting down real heavy out there in New York. Me and Show was good and DJ Premier took me in, he was like "I know the seminar shit is going on for a few days, you ain't gotta worry about having a place to stay, you can come and post up with me!" I thought for a muthafucka to not really know me like that but to know of me, just heard of me and saw my grind, to me I had a brand new love and respect for DJ Premier and Guru. That was around the time when they was just on the bubble, it hadn't really cracked.
DJ Premier had me in the studio a long time ago, I was there when they did "Dwyck" (ft. Nice & Smooth), I was there when Dwyck was recorded! So I always had love for them. And saying all this, I'm saying that Guru always showed me love, even though Premier was the one that I was staying with and that always had me around, but Guru was right there and he showed me love. I got a chance to work with him on the remix of "Militia" with Rakim, and it just felt good to finally work together, other than us just kicking it and chilling and eating over each others spots when we were in town. Cause when Guru was on the West Coast, it was a lot of times where I held him down, to the point that if he needed anything or whatever, he already knew he had a place to stay.
But what fucks me up though, is that during his last days, for him and Premier not to be together in a group, it fucks me up. I know that that's the way they started it off and that's the way I wanna see it end. But I understand that shit happens. But one thing I will say is that DJ Premier got a lot of love in his heart for Guru and he never spoke negative about Guru, ever, to me or anybody around me. I've never heard anybody say anything about him speaking negative on Guru, even though they had their differences and they weren't together. So the situation that's going on at hand with Solar or whatever, I can't see Guru saying these things about Premier. That's just me. I can't see him saying them things about Premier, especially under the condition at hand, with him being in a coma. Some people said he wrote it when he came out of the coma, or he wrote it before, I don't know. All I know is that I can't see that being possible.
What i knew of Guru and what I knew of Premier, they was stand up niggas man. I just can't see one going out slandering the other like that. But I send my condolences to his family. To all the fans out there of Gangstarr, ya'll just keep banging his music and keep the shit alive man. Keep true Hip-Hop alive because that's what they stood for. That's my take on it. I was out there in New York when Guru passed, I was out there when all the questions and everything was coming in to Premier and DJ Premier, he didn't like to hear the bad news, but at the same time too he was at peace with himself, because he knew where him and Guru were. He went and visited him and everything in the hospital, he knew where he was at. That's all that counts to me right now, that member of Gangstarr was at peace with himself. It is what it is man.
Dubcnn: Did you say Premier went and visited him in the hospital?
WC: Yeah, Premier visited him in the hospital, yes he did. It was not too long ago, it was good, I remember he called me up when he left the hospital. He felt bad to see him like that, but he felt good that he got a chance to talk to him and see him, because it's just so much shit in the air man. Guru never came out of the coma, on some real shit. He never came out of the coma. That's what I was told.
DJ Crazy Toones: Yo, this Crazy Toones! I wanna say peace to my homeboy too, DJ Hideo man. My nigga DJ Hideo.
WC: DJ Hideo!
DJ Crazy Toones: My homeboy lost his fight to cancer homie, that one fucked me up.
WC: DJ Hideo man, he was a popular DJ out here, he was one of the first DJ's to take us to Japan, back in the days. We shared a lot of good moments with him, he was a good dude, a real good dude. He might not have been as popular as a lot of these DJ's like Funkmaster Flex and Felli Fel, but at the end of the day, he was popular amongst us.
Dubcnn: Anybody that fucks with West Coast music should know him, though.
WC: Yeah, he's popular amongst us over here who were trying to get their shit played on the radio. One thing I will say that is that dude will forever be remembered in our hearts. DJ Hideo rest in peace.
DJ Crayz Toones: Bumsquad DJ's!! Always. Ya'll know what's up.
