SICK JACKEN new dx interview

[Elano]

HipHopDX: Let’s start with Stray Bullets. What was your intention with this one?
Sick Jacken: The idea behind Stray Bullets is pretty much songs that I did with artists who are stray away from my group. So stray bullets being that metaphor for a collection of those songs. 

DX: All of the features you chose blend seamlessly with your content, your flow, and voice especially. This is notable with Planet Asia, Murs, Immortal Technique. What do you look for in an artist when choosing collabos?
Sick Jacken: Something in the artist that I think is similar to what I do; if an artist is pretty much in the same lane – or even if he’s not in the same lane and I think I can blend good with that artist… It usually works out that way, it’s people pretty much that are around the crew, the camp, that I admire their work. Usually on all the Psycho Realm stuff, it’s just us, we never have any features. Projects like this is kind of fun for me because I get to work with the artist.

DX: How did you link up with Canada’s Swollen Members on “Sinister?”
Sick Jacken: We went on a tour with them in Japan, we went on the Tribal Tour [via] Tribal Street Wear. We picked up with those guys out there. We did a song for one of their compilations, and they reached out to me - I think it was about a year or two later - to do a chorus for a song that they had for the record Black Magic.
 
DX: Is “Paid Dues” a description of a rapper’s struggle in the Hip Hop game?
Sick Jacken: “Paid Dues” is exactly that. It came about because we were supposed to do something for the Paid Dues Festival that’s going on this summer. Getting in the studio was supposed to be me and Murs , Supernatural came through, laid the hook. And that’s exactly what the song is talking about – pretty much the struggle of somebody who’s trying to come up, paying their dues and still kind of having to pay dues and pay dues and pay dues. When does it end?

DX: What did you want to do differently with Stray Bullets from the Legend of the Mask and the Assassin?
Sick Jacken: The Legend of the Mask and the Assassin was a full concept record. The idea behind that was to kind of create this conspiracy theory world and bring everybody into that world and create kind of this environment with sound. Stray Bullets compilation was more of just a trip to music; I put clips of us from our live shows talking to the crowds; I put clips of us in the studio. So it was just pretty much the audience travelling through the studio and through the shows and what we do on the music side of things without really any particular concept.

DX: Is your brother, Big Duke, involved in artistic creation of your material?
Sick Jacken: He pretty much is behind the scenes. On Stray Bullets actually is the first time me and him worked on a song since we did our last album. We recorded our last pieces of music in 1999 when he got shot; we put out our last album together in 2003 which was the War Story Book II. And since then we haven’t worked on any music until Stray Bullets. He produced “Metal Range” and he co-wrote the chorus with me. And from that, me, him and B-Real – B-Real was the original member for the first album we put out in ’97 – we’re talking about doing another Psycho Realm record together. So he’s gonna me more involved from now on.

DX: I read a while back that you wanted to do a Spanish album on which you wanted your brother’s involvement. Is that still happening?
Sick Jacken: I still want to do a Spanish Hip Hop record. It’s not necessarily gonna be blended with Latin beats and stuff like that which is what everybody tends to go to. I’m pretty much keeping the same formula that we do with English stuff; it’s gonna be some raw Hip Hop, it’s just gonna be in a different language. It’s gonna sound way different than what anybody heard in the Spanish Hip Hop market. There’s two songs that are on the Legends of the Mask and the Assassin record that are in all Spanish and it’s pretty much gonna go that route. I still want to do the record, I’m just waiting on Universal to get their paperwork together and come at me with the right deal.
 
DX: Describe briefly the difference Hip Hop can be conveyed in English versus the way it’s conveyed in Spanish.
Sick Jacken: There’s a big difference because the language flows different. There’s different accents, there’s different slang, there’s different culture behind [it]. There’s a lot that’s different but there’s a way to convey it where it’s still in the same realm to what you do. I see a lot of people when they do Spanish, it’s almost like they’re trying to translate it to the English stuff. and I go about it that way. I pretty much do it from scratch. To me it’s easy because I’m fluent in both languages and Spanish was my first language.

DX: Is one language easier to write in than the other?
Sick Jacken: For me, it’s easy both ways. 

DX: What is the difference in vision between Psycho Realm and Sick Jacken?
Sick Jacken: Psycho Realm consists of both my brother’s element and my element. There was a certain structure to how we did things; there were certain concepts behind it, there was certain procedure. And my stuff, I think I’m still exploring and trying to find what I’m gonna do as a solo artist. That’s why I did the record with [DJ] Muggs , I did this compilation. I’m still kind of going through the motions and trying to figure out what I want to do as a solo artist. I still haven’t put out a solo record so I’m trying to find myself right now.

DX: Are you finding yourself the more that you create?
Sick Jacken: Yeah. that’s exactly how you do it. it’s going through the motions – being in the studio, writing songs, seeing what works, what doesn’t. Once you find your sound…With Psycho Realm stuff, we recorded maybe an album or two before we put out our first album. It wasn’t until I started producing all the songs that we kind of found our sound and realized what we wanted to do. 

DX: You’re part of the Soul Assassins collective and a member of Psycho Realm. B-Real was also part of the group at one point with whom you’re still affiliated presently. Will you please clarify your membership – or role - with each collective for those unfamiliar?
Sick Jacken: We came in to be affiliated with the Soul Assassins family in ’93 when we met B-Real and he signed us to his production company. So B-Real is the one that kind of brought us to the Soul Assassins camp and we’ve been part of the family ever since. From ’93 on our role has always been – like anybody else in the Soul Assassins – to do our thing, be the best that we can be and bring the crew as high as possible. B-Real is always gonna be affiliated - I just got off tour with B-Real right now. Me and him are gonna be working on a record together. I just did a song with his Smoke n’ Mirrors solo record that came out in February. He just did a track with me on Stray Bullets, “The Sickside.” Me and him are constantly working together. That’s somebody that taught us a lot when we came in the game and I’m always gonna look at him as that, I’m always gonna have that respect for him.

DX: You were recently involved in the Sneaker Pimps Tour. Tell us about it.
Sick Jacken: It’s a show that Muggs did, invited us to come down to. It’s a party where they show off all the fly kicks. And they have art, music and the sneaker culture all at one.

DX: Are you serious about the sneaker game?
Sick Jacken: Yeah; I mean not as much as others. I like to make sure my shoes are clean; and updated.

DX: Do you prefer any specific colors?
Sick Jacken: I like the dark colors, I like black. I like white shoes. but I don’t get too crazy with the colors – I don’t go neon or anything.

[805Cyclone]

Nice read.

[Elano]

too bad the spanish album is 'up in the air' @ the moment