YYKKES  (July 2004) | Interview By: Westcoast2K

      

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WC2K: First of all, can you introduce yourself to the people who dont know you and give a little background information?

Yykkes: Yes, I'm Yykkes the toothless wonder from LA Confidential Entertainment. You may be able to find me on Dave Hollister's album which is "Real Talk" titled. You can also find me on Knoc-Turnal's album which is called "The Way I Am". On the song number 8 which is called "Click Click". I've been with LA Confidential for 4 1/2 years now. You may have known my name from the "Chronic 2001" album featuring Dr. Dre. We doing it real big this season, so its appreciated we can do this interview with you.



WC2K: Alright, What or who inspired you to rap?

Yykkes: Actually I have to say Marvin Gaye, because he's always been a big inspiration in my life and I always listen to his music and I feel people like him have the power to change the world. So I must say that Marvin Gaye was a giant inspiration in my life.



WC2K: When did you get your first big break in rap?

Yykkes: Around in 1991, I started out with a guy named Charles Stanton from Drama Sound Entertainment which you all may know as Big Chuck, formerly from Aftermath Entertainment. Thats where I really got my big break from. Ohh and big up to Gerald Levert and Mark Wooten, they had a lot to do with this as well.



WC2K: How did you get your name?

Yykkes: Dr. Dre gave me my name actually, that was in 1992.



WC2K: Knoc got his break on Dre's "2001" album, did you do anything for that record?

Yykkes: "Whats the Difference [between me and you]". I was on that song, but it was minor stipulations because my manager was A&R director for Aftermath at that time as well. And I really couldnt work like that, it was gonna be conflict of interest, so they edited the verse, but thats aight cause me and Dre we still good friends. I wrote Dre's verse, and numours other verses with Dre. But I didnt drop any verses, I ended up just moving on with my carreer, there was no need to just stand still and stay with Dre when I knew I had the talent. So I said Im just gonna go on and take everything that Ive learned and move on and make my life successful. Im not gonna let anybody stagnate anything that Im doing in my life. And Dre is well known for shelving albums. And I dont wanna sit around in the lab and the artists that are there take what I know, then blow up and I still get shelved. I rather just take my talent all as one big package and just leave with it.



WC2K: You probably knew about all the Aftermath artists that got dropped before so you didnt wanna get into that same situation?

Yykkes: Exactly, thats what Im talkin about.



WC2K: So were you actually signed to Dre's label or just worked with them?

Yykkes: Yeah Dre always wanted to sign me, but then Big D beat him to the punch, so I went with D cause you know, I knew D wouldnt gonna shelve me or anything and he was gonna give me the proper and correct artist developement. Cause at that time thats all I needed, artist developement. So when I came out I perfected my craft and here I am in 2004 ready to do it big!



WC2K: Do you feel properly appreciated and credited for the work you did on Dre's "2001" record?

Yykkes: Yes sir, yes sir.



WC2K: So how did that go down, did Knocturnal call you and say come down to the studio?

Yykkes: Actually Big D heard about me in a Dr. Dre meeting, but I really never met him before. He sent a friend of mine by the name of S-Class down to come get me. I went to meet him and I had a few battles against some of the artists Dre had there signed at that time. And after that it was all history in the making.



WC2K: You mentioned you battled some of Dre's artists, I heard you battled Eminem, is that right?

Yykkes: Well you know, not actually...I wouldnt say that, but I wouldnt mind doing a song with him!



WC2K: Are there any plans of writing for Dre's camp again? I heard Knoc's writing for Dre again.

Yykkes: Yeah Knocturnal is currently writing for Dre's projects. Knoc is a very gifted individual and special, and a very good friend to me as well, and I love him dearly. But he's a hooked genius, its something about what God did to use his words. He's an extraordinary individual.



WC2K: What's been your most memorable moment?

Yykkes: My most memorable moment I had has to be the recording sessions for the "Chronic 2001" album, because Ive got the opportunity to meet alot of celebrities that I was actually looking up to in the game at that time and work with them. Oh wait, actually my most memorable moment was the "Chicken & Beer" tour, I just got off Ludacris' "Chicken & Beer" tour. It was wonderful, 31 days on the tour with Ludacris, I-20, Shawnna, Chingy, my dogg David Banner, Marques. A few people, it was wonderful, big ups to DTP, I love them!



WC2K: So who are the artists signd to LAC?

Yykkes: Slip Capone from Dogg Pound Gangstas formerly, formerly of Death Row. Knoc-turn'al, Yykkes. We have a new artist which is is Mystikal's cousin, his name is Young Tyma from Louisiana. Man he's wonderful. then we have Whoiswho from the Aftermath Compilation. I mean we got a nice squad.



WC2K: When did you sign to LAC? Right after Knocturnal signed?

Yykkes: Well Knocturnal paved the way for LA Confidential. He was the first artist to ever be signed to LA Confidential. I happened to be signed at least 2 years after him. Knoc was the first and I was almost the last artist to be signed, besides Young Tyma.



WC2K: Are there any albums droppin in the near future on LAC?

Yykkes: Yeah, my album should be droppin in August. It should be in stores, I currently have mixtape out on the street called "Ear To The Street Vol.2". I hope people enjoy it. Volume 1 came out last year, and it has been circulating for a while now.



WC2K: What can people expect on your album?

Yykkes: Its a very versatile album. Im really trying to bring laughter back into the game, cause I mean there is too much hardcore music going around. And music is raising our generation right now, so I'm trying to make an album thats gonna reflect on like... bring the comedy rap back into the game, like remember the Pharcyde, the Leaders of the New School, or Busta Rhymes, and even PM Dawn in some aspect of the game. I just wanna bring back the truth, the laughter, instead of all the anger. I mean we need peace, our world is already in a state of emergency right now with all the war and crisis. I mean we wanna bring laughter back, we dont want everybody to feel like its all about killing, or its good for you to run into some place and rob a store or shoot some kids and get mad. Everybodys goin Hollywood but they're not changing with the lyrics. You have to change the lyrics, thats why I really respect groups like Black Eyed Peas, or Dilated Peoples. I like Dead Prez, I like real groups, I miss the real groups. I'm just trying to bring that part of the game back, cause it seems like the world has forgotten about it.



WC2K: So people shouldnt expect a Gangsta Rap album from you?

Yykkes: Oh, no sir, no sir. Not at all.



WC2K: What can we expect as far as guests and producers?


Yykkes: You can expect to hear Baby S on a few songs, Shade Sheist, Jayo Felony, Knoc-Turn'al of course. I even have a song with Usher on there. Its really gonna be a diverse album. Production is mostly inhouse, we got this guy named Pidgeron. He's extremely gifted. I have some Jelly Roll tracks, I got some Scott Storch. I got some nice producers, but the majority of the album is inhouse production.




WC2K: So you not really takin the same route as Knocturnal, content wise?

Yykkes: Oh no sir, no sir.



WC2K: I remember Slip Capone told me he was up next with his album, but that was like in 2002. What happened to that?

Yykkes: I'm not too sure about that, I think there was a minor complication about the budget or whatever. So Big D just prefered to shop his deal somewhere else. But he's still gonna be on LAC, we're just switching up the major distribution for him. We were gonna go with Elektra in the beginning but since they closed down their entire Urban section up at Elektra we had to find some good business elsewhere.



WC2K: I heard there is a LA Confidential compilation coming out, is that still planned?

Yykkes: Oh Yea, LA Confidential compilation is still coming, it should be droppin real soon. Knocturnal and I are headlining it, since we happen to be one of the hottest artists on the West Coast right now, and the most different of course. D is the CEO, he doesnt really just search for talent. He searches for distinctive voices, he looks for the difference in each artist and he looks for the voice. You have a different voice and you have style to go with it, cause the originality and the creativity is whats gonna sell you in this game. Thats what he searches for.



WC2K: So talk about that "Ear to the Streets Mixtape" which came out not too long ago and the whole grind behind it.

Yykkes: So the "Ear to the Streets Mixtape" is really just alot of old stuff which we dreamed of doing when we first came out. We always wanted to meet the artists who did the original tracks to it, but probably didnt get the opportunity to do it. But we knew if we were on these songs we got the opportunity to shine as well. So what we did is we just took the beats and we just did it with a LA Confidential twist to it. Because we give the distinctive style with the LA Confidential sound to it, everyone doesnt have the LA Confidential sound. And once you have that sound you know how to really record a song, and make a song sound like a song. So with this mixape we're just showing the world that even if we were on these beats, then we could have made it sound hot too. So thats how you really just show that you have style. But we could have used our own beats but I didnt prefer to do it like that, it sounds better the way it is now.



WC2K: What type of buzz you gotten from the mixtape?

Yykkes: Well actually, people really love my style of music, they love my voice first and foremost. And it's about that time for the West to really open up and bring somebody new into the doorway thats just now all about the N.W.A. era, the whole gangsta gangsta type of stuff. I mean do it the right way, just because we come from the West and we see alot of things that happen in life, a lot of murders, a lot of robberies, a lot of killing. I mean its not wise to just focus on all that, cause you should always think like 'How can I change this?' I might not be able to change the whole world, but I can change a few.



WC2K: There are so many artists droppin mixtapes to get the word out. What did you guys do to separate yourselves from the rest?

Yykkes: Uhh actually, we really didnt do much. [Big] D allowed us to get microphones and just do ourselves. If he tries to structure it a lot it would take some of our talent, so what he did is just let us create our own concepts and everything, go in there and do it with the best of our ability. And what really separates us is that we went nationwide and worldwide to go and put our mixtape out. From here all the way to New York we went everywhere. Most people that make a mixtape keep it local, maybe take it to a few radio stations, so they never really get the buzz that they deserve. So we had to go let the world hear it and get a global judging from everyone.



WC2K: Do you know how many copies there were pressed for the mixtape?

Yykkes: 500.000 copies.



WC2K: That many for a mixtape?

Yykkes: Yes sir, yes sir. And its doing good.



WC2K: You are not really a newcomer, but alot of new artists come quickly and leave just as fast. Whats gonna keep Yykkes from that pitfall?

Yykkes: The drive, the love for the music, the longevity. I was always taught that you cannot plan to fail, you can only fail to plan. So as long as I continuously do what Im doing now, and as long as I continuously learn through the years, I'm not planning on falling off or leaving this game anytime soon.



WC2K: Are you gonna lean on peoples shoulder or really try to make it on your own without anyones help?

Yykkes: I'm really gonna try to do it myself, I dont really like to use people as a crutch or only like to lean on anyone because I cant depend on anyone's judgement like I can depend on mine. So I like to really do things myself and I like to be independent.



WC2K: I like to ask people this question cause you get all kinds of different answers. What's your views on todays West Coast Rap and Hip Hop in general?

Yykkes: Well West Coast Rap, I feel like they are really shutting down alot of West Coast artists because of the lack of originality, because of the lack of creativity. They feel that they can just get on a song and say this and say that and its gonna be a smah hit, but its NOT gonna be like that. Its a new era of music with the Outkast's, the Lil Jon's and all those. Its a different generation of people growing up now, so the style of music eventually is gonna change, if it didnt already has. So with me, Im just gonna continuously be Yykkes as long as I can be Yykkes. I always try to sound different on each song, if you listen to me I will never sound the same on a song, I always try to change it up.



WC2K: Yeah I noticed that on the mixtape. But when you say there is no creativity, do you think artists need to step up their lyrics or get better production?

Yykkes: With the lyrics, and partially production too because a lot of producers out here are not really trying to give you the club hits, they are still used to the Ice Cube and Westside Connection sound. But people wanna go to clubs, people wanna go dance, people wanna go have a nice time. They wanna go party and express themselves through that way, through dancing to music. I mean alot of artists and producers they dont really try to upgrade their standards, they just wanna stick with who they are, and thats idiocy.



WC2K: So you think this is the main problem why it doesn't really work for new artists on a national level?

Yykkes: Well it doesnt really work because I feel the industry has given the West Coast so many chances, and lost so much money behind, and invested in so many artists that never sold a unit practically. It really took alot of trust from the distributors and everything, because they dont really wanna put their faith and their money behind most West Coast artists because most West Coast artists are if not drug dealers formal gangbangers who havent actually completely left that lifestyle alone. So they tend to backslide and backtrack which makes you look like a bad investement in the long run, so they dont really wanna trust you.



WC2K: So you're all for a new sound rather than just run with the old formula?

Yykkes: Yes sir, I consider myself a alive pokemon, I like to evolve continuously cause I dont like to stand still. I mean the sound in the 90's and early 80's was beautiful, its what made my style what it is today. It was the Kurupts and the whole Death Row and Aftermath era that brought me into changing. And then people like Eminem was coming into the game and completely tore it up and moved and pushed the black artists away beause his vocabulary is so mastered. And I think people really dont take education very serious the way they supposed to. So of course you have to have words and even if you have words and mastered vocabulary you must know the definition. So education is definitely the key to success, cause if you dont have the education you cant's speak on anything successful.



WC2K: So what else can we expect from you in the future?

Yykkes: You can expect to see a young guy with a mission that I will never get busy even if I had a million dollars (laughs). You will see more laughter, you will see alot of energy, you will see a walking explosion. I'm like a volcano waiting to errupt. For the children Im gonna make music, cause those are our future and I love them dearly. And to my fans everywhere, I love them and I'm gonna continuously give you laugh-mathic music cause thats what I'm about.



WC2K: You got a message for all the people reading this?

Yykkes: Yes sir, yes sir, yes indeed. For all the people reading this, let me tell you something. Life, you only get one chance at it. Make the best out of it, whatever you have to do in life. Stay positive, keep your head to the sky and place God first because due God all things are possible, without him there is nothing that can be in existence. So if in fact you try to make it, always go to school, always go try to attain some type of knowledge because this game is only 10% talent and 90% business.