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MITCHY SLICK
(January 2003) | Interview By: Westcoast2K
We sat down and talked to San
Diego's own Mitchy Slick. In This exclusive interview we discussed his last &
his upcoming album "Urban Survival Syndrome", his opinion on the underground
scene, the situation with Jayo Felony and much more..
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Alright, first question, what have
you been up to lately as far as money and music?
Money and Music is still a street hustle, everything is pretty much the same.
Independent Rap Game is kinda like, aint all with this cracked up to be but at
the same time me and my folks still gotta eat. So all the rap money is really
goin back to the rap, and everything else is just a whole other program with
me. Its just all hustle, strictly.
Alright, whats coming up on your next solo? Whats the name and when its gonna
be released?
Well its kinda crazy right now cause we got the Trigeration Station still
bubblin in the town right now, so its kinda like settin the tone for whats the
next album gonna be like. As far as features wise, I dont know. What direction
Ima be headin with the features, because all the rest of the solo songs was
just me or Don. "Urban Survival Syndrome" thats what the new album is called.
But as far as features its gonna be dependent on what type of deal Im gettin
handed to me right now and Ill be basically watin till I finish this little
underground video I got, to see what my options gonna be. So distribution is
gonna be the thing that gonna dependent on what features Im gonna have. Cause
if its gonna be strictly for the street, Imma keep it stricly street. Me and
my clique, the Wrong Kind. If its on another level, with video and radio and
all that, I got my other team. I got both aspects in the game, I hang with the
biggest cats in the game, and at the same time I hang with the grimeyest cats
in the game as well. As far as independent wise, like Juice from Frisco, Luni
from Sac, my boy Messy Marv from Frisco, a couple of other cats that I get
down with. On the next level shit, I be collaboratin with Tha Liks, my boy
Xzibit, thats the cats that introduced me to the game. So Im around both
worlds. So it just details on what the cheese is lookin like, and whos gonna
be supportin the album.
When is it gonna be released?
Well we're lookin at March right now. In March sometimes....
You said something about a video. Is that a new song?
Actually I did a video for Trigeration Station [Watch Here]. Because the album
is still bubblin, its alotta cats that didnt get the album because of my
distribution situation. I guess they wasnt feelin me as much or didnt know
that my coast was feelin me as much as everybody on the streets. But Im still
doin the same numbers in my areas after 9 or 10 months when it first dropped.
But as far as havin it in stores, in mom&pop stores, my distribution company
was SOH, they wasnt really really doin anything heavy out there. But this time
Imma make sure that it dont happen and if I deal with somebody else Imma make
sure that everything is all connected properly and get it to the streets.
What kinda of reaction did you get in San Diego when your album first dropped?
Man its crazy because in San Diego, even though these cats dont seem to know
it, but we aint no major as far as set trends in the country. San Diego niggas
think they the shit, they think they hard as anybody. So when my shit hit the
streets, it was like my town cant believe that we aint already on the
countdown, 106 & Park or whatever. Every car, Crip neighborhood, Blood
neighborhood, Mexicans, Asians, everybody supported & bumped it. And I outdid
Jigga, me & Jigga dropped the same week. I outdid him by all the main ghetto
stores, where the black folks buy the records.
Alright, what do you like to listen to in the rap game?
I'm a fan so I dont limit myself to a genre of music and at the same time I
been all over the country, I done lived in St Louis, I done lived in Tecas, I
went to A&M College in Texas, so Ive seen the Houston scene, lived in Atlanta,
been in the Bay, my folks are all around the country. So I got a wide ear, my
ear is taking alot of stuff and I know how to judge it. So basically I put my
stuff in that situation, I put myself in that ear when I listen to the music.
When I hear something Down South, Im not listening to from a West Coast
perspective, I listen to it like a South cat listens to it. So from the West
like Yukmouth, E-40, those are the cats trying to get it on another level. Im
feelin a few cats like my boy Crooked I, he's a lyricist.
Hell yea, thats right. I had a question about that. Crooked I is one of my
favorite aritsts, he hasn't dropped yet but Im really looking forward to that.
Yeah Crooked I is sick, because he puttin it together, the Gangsta Shit with
the Hip Hop shit. Anybody who can do that to me, they got a fan. Then on the
West I got some other cats, like the cats in the town like Black Mikey. I dont
know if you heard of Black Mike. He been rippin it for like years, he's one of
the cats who influenced me out here. We can move to the South, and I got my
cats like Scarface. Everytime Scarfaces drops its gonna be real, and he's
gonna fuse it, the Gangsta with the Hip Hop. If you can do that to me you got
me. Then you got like Devin, hes one of my picks. And then like Capone, from
Capone-N-Noreaga. Then of course Nas, even Freeway, Im feelin Freeway from
Philly. Then my boy Planet Asia from Nothern California, he's a lyricist. I
like cats that use it all, cause I judge for all. I judge for flow,
vocabulary, voice. But voice aint all important to me, I judge a rapper or MC
the same way a English teacher would judge or grade a paper, as an artist or
writer.
Ras Kass is pretty good lyricist
Oh yeah Ras Kass, he's with my boy Xzibit right now. He's unfuckwitable, cant
nobody on the West Coast or in the country fuck with him. Maybe sit down and
go back to back with somebody like Canibus, but as far as battle raps, cant
nobody fuck with Ras Kass from the West Coast. But unfortunately his style of
music aint as appealing to the West Coast, cause West Coast is gangsta, its
95% gangsta out here. My boy Ras is West Coast for sure, he's 100% West Coast,
but he's just on a level that alot of these cats aint on as far as musically.
But when it comes to the music, we kinda more like a source of inspiration for
what we do, whereas on the East Coast they got bitches, money and all that
just because of how they flow. I wish it was like that on the West Coast, but
it just really aint like that right now. Its gettin better but cats out here
is about other shit, they aint so much into the rhyme and the pen.
Alright, so who do you wanna work with, like big name in the industry.
I dont know man, I dont really got no hell of a desire to work with nobody. Im
not sayin that I dont like nobody but my music is so personal to me that if I
wanna collabo with cats, it has to be cats that I have to deal with. Like my
cat Luni, I know wassup with Luni, with his backround and issues. Or with
Xzibit. But from a political standpoint, it would be someone like....Shit Dr.
Dre. I wanna get down with Dr Dre. Producers like that, Primo. My writing with
another cats writing, I dont kow. My shit is so personal to me. Yea I reach
out to cats, I fuck with 40, I fuck with Yuk. Those are cats I feel see the
game and live the type of life than I am. But when I'm makin music with other
cats, its on some rap shit, but me, I'm more some regular street cat than a
rapper.
In another interview you said you dont consider yourself a rapper. Why is
that?
I consider myself more of a fan. To me man, a rapper, thats gotta be your
occupation. Thats gotta be what you take for, your everything for you. So its
like with the rap shit, I gotta be able to provide, I gotta be able to pay my
taxes with that title before I go ahead and say Im a rapper or some shit like
that. Im runnin around and do the same shit before I dropped my record.
Alright how did you get in the rap game, I know Jinx discovered you, but how
was that?
Well actually, the beginning started for me like, well I think everybody got
their little path, but for me it was a trip, even in elementary school I had a
little book where I wrote the raps or whatever, but it was always a secondary
thing, I never considered myself jumpin on stage, or ever put out a record.
How do you feel about Daz, Kurupt, Snoop and DPG and all that stuff. Did you
ever work with them?
Actually, I met all them cats, wether they remember me or not. I was in the
cut fuckin with Xzibit and my cousin. So I had the opportunity to just be
around these West Coast cats and learn this game. Snoop, I got love for Snoop,
because from day 1, with a cat being that powerful and the postition he is,
givin the opportunity and the ear to a young cat he never heard off thats just
coming up. I met Snoop before he really knew who I was and he wanted to know
what I was workin with. Daz, I run into Daz on a couple of occasions. It was
cool, I dont really know Daz that well. Kurupt is cool, thats my nigga. He's
fuckin with my boy Jinx right now. My boy Jinx got a couple of new cuts with
Roscoe and Kurupt right now.
Yeah Roscoe is hot.
Oh Roscoe is the shit. Thats a young cat that I wouldnt wanna fuck with. I
like the underdogs. I like the cats that nobody heard of. I wouldnt mind doin
something with my boy Roscoe. But like the DPG situation, thats cool, thats
their thang. But what we got goin on out here with my cats, I wouldn't say way
different, but if you hear the music you would know that we aint just
listening to they shit trying to copy their shit. We got our own shit.
Alright, talk about the supposed Jayo Felony and Mitchy Slick beef.
Actually I wouldnt say its no beef. Cause out here where Im from you get shot
and killed when you got beef. So me and him dont got no beef. I would never
gon beef on some bullshit, rap shit. Rappin about people on some record. To
me, I come from a situation where you dont say nothing to nobody unless you
really wanna get into some shit. Cause where Im from the littlest things can
escalate. And the thing came from where Jay took shots at me on an underground
rap tape on some rap shit. I dont look at myself as no rapper type of shit. I
dont play with that, I dont play with words. I dont make statements to people
and shit like that. So basically it was more of a situation where he shot some
shit at me on some rap shit or whatever, and I just aint with that. A few
things been discussed between his folks and my folks or whatever, but me and
him dont have no beef. Me and nobody aint never gon' beef if I dont know you.
I dont know him like that, I dont cat. I dont know dude like that, me and him
never had beef. Everytime I've seen him Ive looked at him as a rapper, I like
his raps. Before I was rappin he had a record out. Before I even considered
rappin he had a record out. So he was just some cat from my town who know how
to rap good. When I had a underground radio show called "Power Move" in San
Diego, we used take over some shit and I used to play his records, you know
what Im sayin? I dont know why they got my name bubblin in the underground,
thats Jayo's thing, he likes to take shots at cats or whatever. I'm in this
rap shit to let the whole country know about my shit, how me and my folks get
down and make paper off of it. And thats it and thats all. If there was no
money involved I would not be rappin. So whoever dont like that, Hip Hop
mothafuckaz dont like that they can suck my dick. So me and his beef is not no
real beef like everbody is makin it out to be, like a real beef. He only lives
over there. Dont get it wrong, his turf and my turf is like next to eachother.
If me and him havin problems, we personally havin problems, not on some rap
bullshit.
Alright, what do you think about all the industry fragmentation as far as
mainstream and underground?
Man, Im the kinda cat man like...I be callin them cats who be knockin
everybody and talkin about this or that cat, I be callin them rap police.
Mothafuckaz who be makin them rap police raps. You dont rap like this and shit
like that. If you rap then rap however you wanna rap. If Ja Rule can make a
song with a bitch singing on it and its gonna sell millions, then more power
to him and Im with it. The only thing I dont like is when the fuckin media or
the mainstream people get the rest of the country into a mode. And I dont
blame them neither, cause its all about the paper. But I just dont like when
they try to feed this happy shit and then they just make it seem that what I
am talkin about shouldnt be heard or shouldnt be on the radio. But they make
it seem that you gotta have a R&B singer in a beat in order to have a good
song to be on the radio. I dont knock nobody because I know if I was any of
these people, these executives, these CEO's, these program directors, I'd do
whatever it takes to make the cheese, no doubt, cause thats how you survive.
Get the paper, all Im tryin to do is get my paper. Im not no hater, Im not
gonna knock what other cats do, you know what Im sayin?
Which album do you like the most so far. "Trigeration Station" or "Urban
Survival Syndrome"?
To me its just a continuation. Basically it is like a part two of Trigeration
Station. What you gotta know about my record homie is that everything on my
shit is real. Its all non-fiction, everything. Everything is a story, damn
near everything that you hear is one of my a experience. I havent even got to
everything that I wanna show the world yet. So I got so many stories to tell,
and I aint even goin into details about all this shit. So "Urban Survival
Syndrome" is just another story, another long ass story, broke up into about
15 pieces, about what goes on in my neighborhood. And the title came from a
desist that was used by a young black cat in Texas, in a court situation with
my man and his lawyer was usin that as a desist. Because of the situation he
grew up he felt that in order to survive he had to kill. Like a kill-kill
situation. No doubt they didnt go for this shit and they locked my nigga up
and gave him life or whatever the fuck. So thats my position, thats the
situation Im in and Im livin this way. Ima cool cat for all the shit that I
been through and that I do. Basically what I do to survive, and thats what
describes me, and thats what describes this album. Im just breakin it down,
lettin mothafuckaz know whats happenin, what goes down in Daygo. And it aint
just a Daygo story. Me, I'm an individual, Im a special mothafucka. Im special
just for being alive right now. And I want folks to know that. And I got a
documentary Im about to be droppin, called "Trigeration Station - The
Documentary". Its a DVD and it shows whats goin on where Im at. Im sure alotta
cats gonna trip but we gonna try to keep it as cool as we can.
Alright, whats more important to you, the lyrics or production?
Uhh Production. The only reason I said that is because this is how I feel,
cause Im into this shit. With me, like right now we're standin at the block
and somebody got the Escalade with the Rimz on it ridiculous and everything,
and they bumpin a Acapella, that wouldnt do shit. But you can bump an
Instrumental and you can have a party. You feel me? Thats the reason why I say
production is more important, because its the music. The Africans party and
have just drums and beats, cause thats what makes you dance and move, thats
what makes the speakers bump. So I'm a production cat first, not more
important but first. If I hear the beat its gotta be knockin to me right of
the bat or else Im not gonna rap on it. Unless someone is paying me and I
still might not even rap on it. Even when I feature, I pick the beats. Like
the shit with Luni, I wanted to get on that shit, the shit we did "Wrong or
Right".
I like what you were saying on the 2nd song in the intro of "End of Da'
World".
Ohh hell yea.....This whole world gonna be over in a minute man. We got Bloods
and Crips too, and the next time you see somebody roll up....
Alright, what producer brings the best out of you?
Oh Cricet fo sho. Other cats tryna use my nigga and it dont come out the same.
But the thing with me and Cricet is like, he get a certain vibe, a certain
mood. I just dont go pick beats, he makes em for me. I bust a rap right there
on the spot where he did the beat, so thats my cat. Its a Daygo thang you
know? Dont sound like Battlecat, dont sound like Dre, dont sound like Quik.
Its Hip Hop but its Gangsta though. Its all the elements of Gangsta. We Hip
Hop cats, we aint just givin some bass and claps, we on some Hip Hop Shit.
What are your plans after your next album? Are you gonna tour or somthing?
I wanna go on a nation wide tour with the Liks so basically when I drop this
new album I got a few cats with me, cause 40 let me roll wherever, pretty much
everywhere he popped up and I needed to be there he had no problem with it. So
when I get my album out and get ready to put it down I prolly even like try to
get with him cause I like 40's croud. And then like Tha Liks, thats my Hip Hop
bottle, I just did some shit with my boy Krondon upon LA. Or my boy Phil Da
Agony from the Likwit Crew. So right now Im mixtapin it right now, Im vocaly
tourin right now. Im just droppin pieces wherever I can. Imma go down to the
Mid-West anf fuck with my Denver cats.
Alright, with your name around how do you feel abour your current status in
Hip Hop?
Man, I feel like I got a looong way to go man. If I could just get any city on
the West Coast, or at least 5 major cities, like I got with San Diego. Sell
like 20.000 pieces this time now, majority came from just this town. If I
could get about 3 or 4 more downs to feel San Diego feel about me, then I
could get that deal I want. Because to me, Im used to be on top or whatever,
no matter what it is. We can take it to the street shit, to the Gangsta shit,
to the flossin, money shit, to bitches. I know that I aint really shit unless
Im on the countdown, really sell hella units or really get features with major
cats. Im tryin to be major man, Im tryin to be on TV. So my status is like, Im
cool because everybody that heard from me.. when you go to LA and you're from
San Diego and cats dont know who you are then you aint really shit. I dont
think Im shit, Im still tryin to get in. But as far as the streets go, I dont
have the backing from a company to make sure that everyknow knows who I am.
Everybody that I can touch, they feelin me, they lovin Mitch. All the rappers
in the game, I know all the rappers on the West Coast. Even some East Coast
cats. But it gotta be some work done. It gotta be some fuckin label,
Universal, Priority, Sony, somebody gotta recognize whats goin on. Im not just
no average mothafucka man. Mothafucka got hella skillz, mothafucka that make
movies, fuckin directed my own videos and shit. I got hella shit to offer. And
I got alotta cats thats hella down with me to make these moves. I just need
somebody to give us that opportunity.
Alright you got any shout outs you wanna give before this interview is over?
Fo sho, I wanna give a shout out to everybody from San Diego thats tryin put
it down. I wanna give a shout out to everybody that bought my record, and
everybody thats supportin this independent shit, independent rap and aint
trippin off a mothafucka being no blood or crip. Just like keep good music
cause thats whats gonna keep this crackin, thats whats gonna keep a cat like
me being able to eat. Im sendin a shout to all them. Just my local block
hustlaz, my boy Jank. And fo sho to everybody thats independent and aint
mainstream. That go from the websites, to the magazines, Murder Dog magazine,
all the cats that show cats like me love who aint on TV. All yall cats
included, Westcoast2k included, all that.
Alright you wanna drop a verse or anything for the site?
Oh yea Id love that. Ok lemme kick one for you, off this new cut I got,
straight uncut.
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