WC  (August 2007) | Interview By: Nima

As ever, you can read and listen to this exclusive interview and we urge you to leave feedback on our forums or email them to nima@dubcnn.com.

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Interview was done in August 2007

Questions Asked By: Nima

WC Gave Dubcnn A Shoutout! Check That Here

Full Audio Interview Here

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Dubcnn: We're back on dubcnn with WC to talk about the album "Guilty By Affiliation", in stores now. How you doing Dub!

It's all gravy homie what's happening with you?


Dubcnn: It's been a minute since our last interview last summer, which caused a lot of controversy. Did you get some feedback off that?

That was all good though, I mean shit, I'm out here rolling around, I see a lot of cats out here, it's all handshakes and shit like that. So anytime it's a problem or anything like that, believe me, it would be out there known as a problem. I think that pretty much everybody understands that when somebody speaks their mind, it is what it is. I respect a lot of cats out here that's doing what they do, and all I ask for is the same respect.

So homie we're good, it's a West Coast thing on mine, anybody that's out there ready to win, throw that Dub up, I'm pushing for you! I don't care, new generation, old generation, I don't care, we're all under one umbrella. Anytime I got a problem with somebody like I told you in the last interview, me and that person dealt with it individually, make it happen, and we're going to keep family business behind closed doors, and we're gonna do what we do, so it's all love!


Dubcnn: Since then you've been in the studio recording "Guilty By Affiliation". Why did you go with that title?

Guilty By Affiliation... because I felt like anybody from the West Coast is guilty by affiliation! If you are affiliated with the West Coast you are guilty in the eyes of the industry of being somebody from this branch that we call gangsta rap. It's so many obstacles being from the West Coast that we gotta deal with, so that's why I chose to roll with that. And I plead guilty, straight up, being from the West Coast, being a nigga dealing with society, dealing with all the uphill battles that muthafuckas from the streets gotta deal with. So I chose to call the album "Guilty By Affiliation", which is the perfect title.


Dubcnn: How was the recording process of the record, compared to Ghetto Heisman?

It was lovely man, I got the chance to go in and do what the fuck I wanted to do, as opposed to having somebody leaning over my shoulder and telling me that this is it right now, or that I gotta do this or sound like that. I chose to do what I do, so we do what we do, this West Coast is voodoo on you!


Dubcnn: I just heard the record for the first time, and it sounds gutter as hell. You didn't compromise your sound at all on this one.

Nah, not at all! Not at all! I think that's what Dub C fans wanted though! I think that's what they want! The wanna hear WC do WC, they don't wanna hear WC try to be like Young Joc. They wanna see WC do WC. For those who ain't WC fans, they ain't gotta fuck with it! But, this who are WC fans, that's who I targeted this record to. I triggered it for WC fans.


Dubcnn: That's how it sounds!

Specially owning my masters, it was only necessary for me to do that.


Dubcnn: What influence did Ice Cube have on the album?

He was right there from the beginning, he had a lot to do with it. He sat with me, he challenged me on every song, and it was good. He was there from the beginning to the end. Actually it was the first album that he really got involved with from beginning to end. He always was coming in towards the end, listening to it, but on this one right here, he was right there with me in the studio, making sure that the beats was up to par and the lyrics were the ones that we needed to roll with. Every time I was coming to the studio, as opposed to coming to the studio with one song, I was coming to the studio with two or three songs on one track! I'd go home and literally write like two three songs on one beat. I'd just spit it for some niggas that was up in there, and everybody said how the felt about it. It was good man, it was fun, it felt good just being in there doing what we do.


Dubcnn: Is that the reason Ice Cube is on the cover too?

That was a shot right there that we took a while back, actually for Ice Cube's album, that was shot for the inside of his album cover. That was a shot we wanted to get up in there, and we said "You know what? We're gonna save this one for promo." Then we started running the ads, and a lot of people started asking questions, it sparked a lot of interest, and that's why we rolled with it.


Dubcnn: Are we going to see an official video for the album?

Yeah you're going to see an official video for the record, we're leaving to go on tour within the next week, and we'll be back in a few weeks, then we'll be shooting a video!


Dubcnn: Do you know which song it's going to be for?

Nah, we've got two or three in mind right now. But you've got to understand that I'm not really tripping. I mean we definitely care about numbers, but we're not tripping off of first week numbers, we're not tripping off of "a nigga gotta sell 500,000 copies". I could sell 100,000 copies on an independent label and see more money than an artist on a major going gold. Once you truly target your fan base, and you have a feeling on where you wanna go with it financially, you can go out and make things happen. When you're doing an independent record, and not just having a label tag, cause see a lot of niggas got label tags, they not independent. We are truly independent, we own our masters, this situation I got over here with Cube is so lovely, by me owning my masters, it's all gravy.

I don't have to come out and worry about selling a million copies in order to make my money back. I got a targeted number that I can hit, and I'm good! And I know I've got the fan base to be able to achieve that. Anytime that you go independent, you gotta target your fan base, without that foundation we ain't got shit to stand on. So I gotta go out there and hit the WC fans first, first and foremost, that's why my sound is not compromised, and that's why I choose not to come out and try to do what they do. I'm doing me right now, cause I know it's a lot of muthafuckas out there who are still wanting that, who ain't been seeing that, cause everybody else is doing what everybody else does! I wanna do what the fuck I do, and I wanna give the fans that uncut raw.


Dubcnn: You kept the features to a minimum, with Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg & The Game being the only guests, with Butch Cassidy doing a hook. What made you do that?

I just wanted to go on and put the faces that are the top faces of the West Coast, the most recognizable faces of the West Coast at the present time, and everybody knows who Cube is of course, and Game and Snoop. By me doing that, cats out of town grabbing this record right here, they'll be like "I see he's got theses three cats right there, and WC is putting himself right there with them." So that's good.

But I've got a lot of artists that I'd love to work with in the future. I could have went and put Tha Trapp on there, put Young Maylay on there, put a lot of cats on. But people will be hearing records and seeing videos with me and these cats real soon, but right now, this record right here, with my fans not seeing me in a long time, I just chose to keep it 100% West Coast hard core to the fullest, and put the lead 3 right there. I felt good doing it, and I could have went and gotten a lot of features on the record, but I didn't wanna give niggas a compilation, I wanted to give niggas a WC album.


Dubcnn: You got a joint with The Game on there called "West Coast Voodoo". Tell us how that track came together.

These cats by the name of Hallway Productions that we're working with in the Lench Mob camp, Hallway Productions! DJ Crazy Toones went and scooped them up, took them under his wing, and he's been working with them for a while. Everything they do, these niggas is off the chain, Hallway Productions ya'll, on the real, just keep ya'll eyes open, keep your ears to the speakers, these niggas right here is monsters. They had a track that was BANGING, and by me knowing Game for so long, even before he got with Dre, we always talked about doing a record together.

I was towards the end of my album, and he was telling me that he was trying to get on the record, like "what's happening with it?" So I looked around and I said "Damn I got this track right here that I got a hook on, I just need somebody to get on there with me to take it to the next level!" When he heard the track he went crazy, we went into the studio and banged it out! Sat down, listened to it back and forth a gang of times, and said "You know what? This is the one right here that we need out there." So we did it, and it started a big buzz, caught on to the radio stations, and hands down everybody was jumping on the record. So I'm just letting it do what it do out there, that record right there is moving on its own right now, it's starting to get picked up on a lot of markets on its own. We ain't had no big radio promotions on it or nothing like that, cause I wanted the fans to get a taste of it and let me know how they was feeling about it. It was good man, real good.


Dubcnn: Teek Tha Beatsmith and Dee Underdue, you just mentioned them, Hallway Productions. What made you go with their beats, as they've got six tracks on the album?

Fire! They're young and they're hungry! Fire! Fire! We could start playing the dick riding game, and start grabbing all the big name niggas and everything, but I wanted to fuck with niggas that wanted to fuck with WC the most. They was real hungry! I was getting a lot of beats from a lot of big name producers, but I just needed something that was gonna compliment me, I needed something to feed my soul, and Hallway Productions they got it! Even the track with Denaun [Mr. Porter] out of Eminem's camp, he gave me "Paranoid" right there, that was a banger!

I just needed to fuck with the niggas that was giving me them rocks! I looked on the internet and I was reading that a lot of cats were feeling it! That was letting me know that it's a lot of people out there that are loving our approach and loving what we're doing> I know a lot of people would love to see a big video, a lot of people would love to see us take the route that a lot of other major artists is taking, but we're starting from the ground up baby, building it up, Lench Mob records!


Dubcnn: For example DJ Quik & AMG have their new Fixxers group and have kind of switched to a new sound, would you ever consider doing that?

As long as it kept it gangsta on top of it, yeah, it's all gravy. I got a song called "Addicted To It" that's got a little down south swang to it. That record right there is one of them kind of records. So I ain't got a problem with doing that, but for the most part, I'ma do WC though. I read a interview where Quik said "I could do hardcore gangsta shit all day, but who's gonna buy it?" And that's true! You could do hardcore gangsta shit and we know that we're under the radar right now, we know we're under attack.

But I'ma stay down. And Quik is out there doing what he's doing man, he's a producer and I love how he goes and does what he does and always comes different with it! But since they haven't heard from me in a while, it was only right to come back and give these niggas that shit right there. And if niggas wanna go and get down south sounding shit, they can go to "Addicted To It" on the album, they can bounce all day, while I sit there lyrically and just be jabbing niggas, murdering them!


Dubcnn: You also recently hooked up with The Game & Omar Cruz on the Powerhouse track, how did that song come together?

Game called me up and was like "Dub, I need you! I got a song that I hear you on, I need you to come here! I got Omar Cruz and myself on it, and I need you to listen to it!" I came through there a little bit later to the studio, and they was all in there, a gang of niggas in the studio and they was like "Dub!" They turned it up and I said "No problem, I got you, no matter what you need, I got you." That's just the kind of nigga I am, niggas can call me up, holla at me, I'ma come there and I'ma bless them!"


Dubcnn: How does it feel to be back out grinding out a new album? Cause it's been a minute since Ghetto Heisman came out...

Feels good man, it feels good because I'm actually the owner of my product, I got equity of myself, and it feels good to be independent, for real! I'm out here, I'm doing me! I'm doing Def Jam, I'm not doing Capitol Records, I'm not doing somebody else, I'm doing me! I got a chance to go out and push me, so it feels good man. No disrespect to them other labels out there, I mean any artists out there that feel like they need to get out there and go major with it to get shine, go with it and do you, I'm loving it, I'm loving Hip-Hop in general. But for me, this is the best route right now, because I got a built fan base, I keep niggas talking, I'm so controversial every time I speak on the internet or whatever, keep niggas talking. I'm so controversial in the hood, out the hood, all around, to where it's only right for me to get out here and drop something that I own. Even with the DVD that we put out, Crazy Toones DVD.


Dubcnn: That was a crazy DVD.

I'ma keep raising the bar! Niggas is not going to be able to fuck with us, I'm telling you! The next tape, we're halfway through with it, and we got something else that we're gonna leak on the next mixtape that's gonna fuck niggas up! See Toones ain't speaking on it to ya'll, but we got some shit that we're cooking up right now that's stupid! Tha Trapp, them niggas... Man! We're about to drop a mixtape on Tha Trapp in a minute, that's stupid! Also I got the homie Young Maylay, he's up in the studio cooking up a classic... We're over here pushing the line!

But right now, my album, WC, "Guilty By Affiliation", best West Coast album of the year hands down, because it's just that uncut raw, that non stop uncut raw shit that we're giving! On the real, who else is giving ya'll that uncut raw? A lot of niggas trying to sound like they from down south, a lot of niggas coming out doing shit that ain't them! I'm doing me. And ain't nothing wrong with switching it up, like I said, but for the most part, I'm giving ya'll that uncut, that raw, that real shit, I'm doing WC. This is the platform right now.


Dubcnn: You sound a lot happier and more at peace than when we did the interview last time, how do you feel your situation has changed since this time last year?

I mean the muthafuckin' record is out! *laughs*


Dubcnn: Feels good, huh?

That's the only reason, the record is out! At the time when I was talking to you, we was working, putting it together, the record wasn't out yet, and I just had so much on my mind that was bottled up inside of me that wanted to get out! I just heard a couple of things out there that was bothering me, but it's all good right now man, it's all love. Let me tell you something my nigga, for all the new niggas out there rapping, for all the new niggas coming up that wanna go out there and make a difference, I salute ya'll! On the real, my nigga, I take my hat off and I salute you. And if it's anything you niggas need, anything, holla at me.

But on the real though my nigga, I salute us, for doing what we're doing, because we are definitely under attack. West Coast music right now is considered underground music in the eyes of the industry! They're trying to wipe us out! So for us to be sitting up and going at it with each other, dissing each other and all that bullshit, man we under attack right now, so on the real my nigga, I'm saluting every nigga from over here that's pushing this line, that's trying to make it happen, I don't care where you're from, what you're doing or whatever. If I don't fuck with you, I'ma let you know personally. But on the real, I'm here for anybody that's pushing this W, that's up under this umbrella.

We gotta take this shit back in our own hands. To all the niggas out there that don't have deals, listen to me! On the real, from a nigga that done walked it, you are in the best situation that you could ever be in right now, because you are in a situation to get out there and create awareness and make it happen! Don't wait for a nigga to give you nothing! Get out there and make it happen, get out there and do you! Do you, so when these muthafuckas step to you to sign you, you can go in and say "I'm ready to move this on my own, I done moved this amount of units on my own! So this is what I'm working, we calculated how much money this is worth." You can go and get it on your own man, start your own movement, and make it happen.

It could be a lot worse! It could be to a point where a nigga can't rap! It's a lot of niggas that's locked up! All my niggas in jail, stay strong man, stay down, keep doing what you doing. It's a lot of niggas in there with talent that I wanna shout out. It's a lot of niggas I want to shout out who can't rap because they're locked down.

So for all my niggas that don't have a deal, it ain't over yet, don't be scared of taking shit into your own hands! Sometimes we gotta put our money where our mouth is and gotta pick our careers in our own hands! Don't sit there and start tripping over a nigga not having a video on MTV or a nigga not being on Rap City or 106 & Park or whatever. Them muthafuckas don't dictate us! Niggas can't start believing that shit, like them niggas dictate us! We dictate what the fuck they do! Them niggas always came in and took our lifestyle and made the shit commercial! Look at the C-Walking now! That shit is a commercialized dance right now! That shit wasn't supposed to be like that! But once them cameras hit a nigga and they saw them ankles moving on the Up In Smoke Tour, everybody just ran with it, that was out of my control! But they always try to water it down, they just want muthafuckas to be extinct man, and until we're extinct, muthafuckas gonna keep their hands in our pot and try to get us for everything they can.

So for everybody out there trying to come up, trying to get in the game, my nigga keep grinding, keep doing what you do, I got you my nigga, I got you. And all them little niggas out there that think WC is tripping on them, that's bullshit! I'm just a nigga that speaks my mind, like a real nigga, if you can't respect a real nigga on the streets, then you need to stay off the streets, cause you ain't no real nigga. That's how it is! Anybody out there that feels like it's all over with because they ain't got no record deal, thinking about hanging it up, do not hang it up! Keep doing what you doing, keep doing what you doing, I'm here homie, I'm living proof of that!


Dubcnn: What can you tell us about Ice Cube's upcoming album "Raw Footage"?

Raw Footage! *laughs* That shit is so retarded! The title for itself just explains everything, it's raw footage, it's uncut, it's that raw shit. He got about five songs right now that we knocked out, and he's just working right now. Gangsta rap at its finest man! He's feeling good, he's loving rap once again, because we got a chance to do what the fuck we wanna do! He could have just said fuck it and kept doing movies and say "I'm cool, I ain't fucking with it no more." But he said "We need to create a situation where we can do us!" It's coming across in the music! My album man, on the real, I got a street record. I just got some hood shit, and I'm loving the fact that we can go out there and we can give our fans that.

We can target our fans and we can give them niggas that. I ain't giving a fuck if niggas out of town ain't fucking with me, because eventually they will. If you a hood nigga, if you a street nigga, you gonna respect it. When I see Lil Wayne getting down and doing him, I love that. I don't wanna see Lil Wayne trying to be like a L.A. nigga, or sound like a L.A. nigga. I wanna see Lil Wayne do Lil Wayne, I love that, I love it when I see the nigga go hard and do what he do. Just like niggas wanna see us do us! A lot of niggas get caught up and they say "What's the album like? How it sound? Who you got on the record?" But deep down, them niggas is saying in the back of their mind when you get to naming all these niggas or doing shit that ain't you, deep down they're like "Old dickriding ass nigga, that ain't even you!"

When I got to New York and I fuck with niggas in New York in the projects and all around, these niggas love our music! It's just that the people in power at the radio stations and the video shows, they ain't fuckin' with it like that. But the streets love it! And I'm doing shows non stop, I ain't stopped doing shows since "Laugh Now, Cry Later" dropped! I been doing shows, I'm always going to do shows. I just came from Japan, and I'm going to New Zealand and Australia now! It's WC fans out there, it's West Coast fans out there, it's Hip-Hop fans out there, I'm just sick of all these muthafuckas saying that we gotta do a certain kind of music. We're doing us homie, we're doing us. But to go back and to answer your question, Ice Cube's album is coming along real good cause he got a chance to do him, and that's where we're at with it.


Dubcnn: Have you spoken to Mack 10 lately?

Nah, I ain’t hollered at Mack 10! But ain't no love lost on my end, ain't no love lost! Niggas just doing their own thing. Why have you hollered at him?


Dubcnn: Nah, I ain't spoken to him... I just seen he's fuckin' with Glasses Malone right now.

Yeah, that's good man, that's good! Glasses Malone is a good dude, and I wanna see Glasses win! Glasses been out here putting it down, just like a lot of other new niggas that's putting it down and everything. And he's standing for something, he' standing for Watts and that West Coast! That's good man, that's good. Hopefully Glasses Malone can see Maylay out there doing him, he can see Tha Trapp out there doing them! Bad Lucc! What's happening with it, where you at my nigga? I told you they couldn't fuck with you a long time ago! Back in Warren Campbell's spot, the backyard nigga! You know what it is!


Dubcnn: Bad Lucc is dope!

He's a beast!!!


Dubcnn: In our last interview, you told me you were on your way to see Dr. Dre, did any music materialize out of that?

Hell naw! Hell naw!! But you know what though, we did start working on a record, but Dre right now is... he's tied up right now doing him man. He's trying to get that record together and everything, and I wish him much love and success. Ain't no love lost man. I ain't gonna stop knocking on the door and try to holla at the homie and make it happen, cause I know where we're at with it. Fuck what another nigga say, I know where we're at with it. We got unfinished business that we gotta handle, and it's gonna happen eventually. It's all good.


Dubcnn: I gotta give a shout out to DJ Crazy Toones for putting the scratches down on the album, that was good to hear!

Oh is that right, you was fuckin' with that?


Dubcnn: Yeah, it's been a minute since we heard so real live scratching on a record.

Okay so there you go! Right now, you're cosigning what I just said earlier! Tell me if I'm lying, but to me that's that authentic hood ghetto shit that niggas been missing, that these records have been missing!


Dubcnn: So what's next for WC after "Guilty By Affiliation"?

Next for WC is going on the road, beating the road up, putting Tha Trapp album out, Tha Trapp will be out pretty soon! Don't get it fucked up, just cause they wasn't on the album, like I said, I wanted to put the elite three on the record, but we all working on their records, Tha Trapp coming out, I'm helping the homie Young Maylay on his project as well, he'll be coming out. We'll also be working on another WC album, we'll be on the road! Be looking out for me on the big screen as well, so it don't stop! DJ Crazy Toones got this mixtape that we're in the middle of, and we got something big attached to that, something real big attached to that, sounds like a movie to me that's gonna be coming along with it! It's all gravy!


Dubcnn: You know, I did a interview with Jayo Felony like 4-5 years ago, and he told me that back then ya'll was trying to put together a group consisting of you, Jayo, CJ Mac & C-Bo. Did anything happen out of that?

4-5 years ago? Yup, that must have been an idea from back then, I remember when we was hollering about that, it was cats that the streets was really feeling and that didn't get their just due. That was that record right there, I admire and I respect every artist that you just named on there, I salute them to the fullest, but nothing every came out of that right there. But Jayo Felony is one of the coldest cats on the mic to me that never really got his, and I'd love to see Jayo get out there and make it happen, and I'd have no problems working with Jayo.


Dubcnn: Alright man, before we go, is there anything else you'd like to let everybody know?

Shit, go grab the muthafuckin' album, "Guilty By Affiliation", put that shit in and bang that shit, turn that muthafucka up! It's a banger, it's a collective album, you gotta have it!