The Pedestrian is walkinﾒ it like he talks it on this hookladen, jeep ready album slated for release by Blak Ice Records. Third Degree, who hails from South Central Los Angeles, grew up living right around the corner from Dub C of Westside Connection. ﾓI went to Hiphop High,ﾔ says Third. ﾓWashington High School was where I came up. A lot of hiphop people have gone there, like Dub C, Crazy Tunes from The Maad Circle, YoYo, DJ Alladin, and Sir Jinx, who DJﾒs for Xzibit, and more. Crenshaw High may have had the sports people locked up, but Washington has had the music people.ﾔ Third Degree is destined to be the next hiphop alumni to speak with authority.
With rhymes constantly flowing out of every pore of his being, Third is definitely at no loss for words. The album, which is largely produced by the musically eloquent Yabie, is tightly packed with 21 serious tracks, including the runaway single ﾓDo My Thang.ﾔ This quotable album is consistent all the way through, with no fillers or throwaway tracks. ﾓI like real writers who have subjects and topics,ﾔ he professes. ﾓIﾒm a purist kind of guy.ﾔ Third points out that Yabieﾒs work ﾓsounded like music, it didnﾒt just sound like beats. He had a whole band of people available to play guitar, bass, all that. He thinks in a very musical way.ﾔ In this manner, he compares Yabie to DJ Quik. ﾓHeﾒs got a unique style. I canﾒt quite figure out his formula.ﾔ The single, “Do My Thang,” will be out soon.
The battle-ready rapperﾒs name came his basketball days. ﾓWe called ourselves the Burn Unit,ﾔ he says. ﾓWe had names like Thermostat, Third Degree and Lava Rock.ﾔ Thirdﾒs government name is Wayne Guillory. ﾓLike guillotine. Itﾒs French,ﾔ he explains. ﾓAll my people come from Louisiana.ﾔ Either way, the world is his. Itﾒs Wayneﾒs world, as heﾒs young, gifted and black, and prolific to an extreme.
His father was a coach, who lost his life to cancer. ﾓMy mom was real concerned about me after he died. That year, she asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I told her. Had my father lived, I would have definitely not gotten those turntables!ﾔ he reminisces, shaking his head with a smile. Third became obsessed with hiphop with gospel-like devotion, and he began interpreting the world through the mind of a rhymesman. It seemed that every event in life was suddenly transformed into a searing rhyme by the verbal prodigy.
The prolific Third notes, ﾓThe single ﾓDo My Thangﾔ is a way to introduce me to people. I felt it was representative of where I was coming from. It lets people know a couple things about me, and I feel it describes me,ﾔ explains Third.
ﾓMy raps give people another view of Los Angeles. People who donﾒt live here think itﾒs all either gangbanging or Hollywood. L.A. is not all about being a gangsta. I just wanted to make this record about the regular person in L.A,ﾔ he concedes. Third believes thereﾒs a lot of pressure to rap about banging, because some of the earlier great L.A. rappers before them. ﾓPeople who donﾒt even gangbang,ﾔ he points out. ﾓI think rappers should talk about what they do. If you gangbang and you rap, talk about gangbanginﾒ in your rap. If you sell crack all day, talk about selling crack all day. Whatever it is that is you. Thatﾒs what ﾓDo My Thangﾔ is all about. Just be yourself. If itﾒs you, do it. If not, donﾒt do it.ﾔ He adds, ﾓSome of my best friends bang. But thatﾒs them. It just never occurred to me to do that.ﾔ
As far as his home front, Thirdﾒs neighborhood is well-known for being Crips territory. ﾓNHC, Neighborhood Crips. Them and Watergate Crips. Theyﾒre kind of borderline,ﾔ he observes. ﾓSlip from Comptons Most Wanted, he stayed in the Watergate for a while. As far as the NHC, Dub C, Cube and Crazy Tunes stayed there.ﾔ He comments that thereﾒs just one little street that separates everybody.
The intersection on the albumﾒs cover is the nearby corner of Imperial and Western. However, in many ways, Thirdﾒs songs reflect corners all over the country, so his rhymes hit home with those who are both near and far.
Jay Z and Ice-T may have ﾓ99 Problems,ﾔ but Third says he has ﾓProblemsﾔ of his own. ﾓThe reason I wrote the song ﾓProblemsﾔ is that for some reason, people always come talk to me about things they need to get off their chest. So I listen a lot. One day I was arguing with my mother, and that was one of the things that came out. Iﾒm not saying donﾒt talk to me about your problems. Iﾒm just saying come back in a while, because I have mine to figure out.ﾔ Some of Thirdﾒs own deepest, personal predicaments are revealed in the song, including the fact he has a handicapped brother.
The inspired ﾓStylisticﾔ is one of Thirdﾒs favorite tracks on the album. ﾓI was listening to ﾓBetcha By Golly Wow,ﾔ and I like to make up words to songs, so thatﾒs how that came about. Itﾒs basically telling people I have a new style here in L.A.,ﾔ says Third. ﾓI studied niggasﾒ style and found what not to do, itﾒs the total opposite, I rock it better than you, whoever you are niggas bite and get trophies, a Grammy for their best Tupac on Karaoke.ﾔ
ﾓHit This 40ﾔ is a party song, and itﾒs also an anti-gold diggers song. Its 40 proof melody came about much in the same way, but it comes from a Chaka Khan song called ﾓNight In Tunisia,ﾔ which Third used that part for the songﾒs chorus. Going even deeper, he explains, ﾓItﾒs actually a remake of a Coltrane song or something like that she was doing.ﾔ
Observes Third, ﾓThe culture of Los Angeles is gangs, and people get influenced by it a lot, like the white t-shirts and all, so it definitely isnﾒt all hip hop here. However, I can take you to places here that are definitely hiphop. But yes, a lot of it is gang culture here. People in the parks out here arenﾒt breaking and rapping against each other; itﾒs probably drinking and smoking weed, and a fight is going to break out any minute. But still, there is definitely a hiphop community in this city.ﾔ The discﾒs determined track ﾓThe Oneﾔ is Thirdﾒs way of saying, ﾓIﾒm entirely here for hiphop.ﾔ
With ﾓFavorite Shade Of Brown,ﾔ itﾒs all good, and love comes in all shades to Third.
ﾓEye Candyﾔ features Pupa Don, one of the illest West Coast dancehall cats.
There are a slew of other radio driven songs on the album, and the Pedestrian is no doubt, walking tall. Youﾒre now at that intersection of hiphop beats and masterful rhymes, as the Pedestrian is making his way through your speakers.
