allhiphop.com Crooked I - Leader Of The New School

[Don Seer]

Crooked I: Leader of the New School:
By Jigsaw



Crooked I: Leader of the New School
By Jigsaw

It’s often been clichéd that a rolling stone gathers no moss, but the same principle hardly pertains to hip-hop rhyme styles. Tha Row’s (Death Row) hungry, battle-tested upstart Crooked I has laid his hat in many cities, and its apparent after hearing him spit, that he has adopted techniques from a variety of spots. Although he was transplanted to several cities like Las Vegas, Portland and Philadelphia, the Los Angeles-born, Long Beach-bred emcee promises a fresh era for the West Coast.

While decidedly gangsta, Crooked honed his chops side-by-side with the likes of Daz and Chino XL through venues like the legendary “Wake Up Show.” Now, with Suge Knight backing him and Tha Row beside him, the underground legend surfaces to escort the Westside into a brave, new renaissance - by all means necessary. Not one to restrain his tongue, he airs is out about Snoop, Suge, Murder Inc and his trek to legend status.

Allhiphop: How did you first hook up with Death Row?

Crooked I: Being in Long Beach. Long Beach is not that big as far as the Hip Hop community, everybody knows everybody. So we was doing our little thing on the East Side of Long Beach and I ran into Snoop, Daz and all them when they were just trying to blow it up. To make a long story short, one day Daz and my homeboy Big C-Style who started the Dogg Pound knocked on my door and said "yo, we going to do a label called Dogg Pound Records we’ll make you 20% owner and we’ll make you the first act". I was like who’s going to distribute it, he said "Death Row." I was like "okay." So that’s how it all happened.

Allhiphop: Was that after Dre, Snoop and them left?

CI: Yeah that was after they left.

Allhiphop: So when Daz left it went straight to Suge?

CI: Yeah, Daz bounced out. There’s no hard feelings homie, but I’m about to take this label to the next level if possible.

Allhiphop: Were you ever intimidated with hooking up with Suge considering the rumors or the talk?

CI: I wanted to figure out what it was about. I would here crazy things like everybody else. I grew up in the ghetto, kind of f*cked up to be honest and if I can survive that then the industry should be a walk in the park. Of course the industry is getting a little rougher but it’s not going to show me nothing I haven’t already seen. I’m like let’s do this and get this paper so when I met him it was all good.

Allhiphop: Did you have to impress Suge by rhyming, there’s a lot of talk about people having to rhyme for not just Suge just to impress him.

CI: My name was getting out there and everybody that visited him was like you have to meet this dude. When I went up there and met him, he was like "man."

Allhiphop: You must have a lot of faith in the label considering you’ve been waiting for a while to come out with your album, right?

CI: Yeah, I told him like this; as long as I’m straight financially, I can wait. What I’m going to do while waiting is take the time out to try to perfect my craft even more, and when you touch down we make history. He was like when I get out I’m doing you first. He stuck to his word.

Allhiphop: The Feds seem to be messing with a lot of people these days, ironically Irv and J Prince, but specifically Death Row. Has that affected anybody over there?

CI: You know they raided the office and that was ridiculous, 175 police on the corner of a Beverly Hills building and they went up there and tore that motherf*cker up too. I’m hearing they got special task force, they trying to organize to investigate independent black owned labels. They going to try to shut it down ‘cause it’s a lot of millionaires in the game and it’s a lot of millionaires that they don’t want to be millionaires. It’s sad that you got these people in high places worrying about what we doing when it’s a lot of other problems in the country they could be trying to fix. It’s all good ‘cause to me it’s just like being on the block walking to the liquor store and two cops harassing you because you’re black. So it’s just on a bigger scale, now you got money and you’re doing something legal and they’re still going to harass you to let you know that you’re still a nigger.

Allhiphop: What happened at the BET Awards? In your eyes what happened ‘cause I talked to Snoop and he had his view. I wanted to get your view on what happened.

CI: I’m going to tell you just how it went. We arrived at the awards, they wouldn’t allow us all in at once. They told Suge "look Snoop is down here is there going to be any problems?" I was standing right there and he said “I don’t know him, I’m here to enjoy the show” so they let him in, but they wouldn’t let none of us in. He went down there and sat down in there for 20 to 30 minutes by himself and nobody said nothing to him. Then they was like; I guess it’s going to be cool ‘cause he been in there for like 30 minutes and he aint said nothing and nobody said nothing to him so we could let the other guys in." When they let us in we were looking for Suge. When we found him we started walking toward him. To tell you the truth I didn’t even know Snoop was sitting that close to Suge. Nobody that was walking toward Suge even knew that Snoop was over there. We’re walking to him like, where we going to post up at? All of a sudden we hear “F*ck Death Row, What!!" We turn around and it’s Snoop. Snoop thought we was coming down there to start some sh*t with him. He didn’t even know he had just been let in and we were just trying to go down there with Suge. He thought we was coming down there to smash him so he jumped up quick trying to be on the defensive. Then when I was looking at him over there Steve Harvey came over and asked if there was going to be a problem and Suge told him "no." Suge sat back down, then we sat down and they went by the exit and start talking more sh*t, disrupting a show that’s broadcasting live in New York. So we tried to calm the sh*t down before the commercial break because we already talked to Steve. He was like "after this commercial break we on live and we don’t want to show them no drama." Suge said, “I respect that." Steve and Suge shook hands and Suge sat down and they over there still talking sh*t, by the exit. We up here trying to hold an award ceremony for successful black entertainers and you over there gang bangin’ by the exit. Leave that on the street. I was real surprised at that ‘cause I live in Long Beach. When I got back to Long Beach word was that Snoop checked Death Row, that’s what he spreading around. I’m saying this to myself, yeah he checked us from the exit behind 12 bodyguards and off duty policemen. Dude be a man, go over there and holla at who ever you got to holla at about your problem, squash it and move on. Right now, I’m questioning your business skills ‘cause you telling the whole world you haven’t been paid for Deep Cover. I would have been paid for Deep Cover, no matter what label I was on. So I’m questioning the people who are advising you that mislead youl You need to sit down and holla at what ever you got to holla about and move on. He don’t even know that that thing slows up other people on the West Coast. It’s a lot of independent labels that would love to throw shows and invite Crooked down, but they don’t know if Dogg House is going to be trippin’.

Allhiphop: Have you replied lyrically ‘cause you kind of hard on the battle rhyme? We would like to hear that.

CI: I did I replied lyrically. I got a song on my album called “The Slap Back” and we going to knock a pimp’s drink down out of his pimp cup and we’re not going to get timberland up this time.

Allhiphop: Snoop hinted at a little peace settlement in the new issue of the Source, do you think that’s in the future if everybody can come to those terms?

CI: I’m a real dude. My opinion may differ from people that I’m affiliated with. Me, I rather see peace than war. I understand that there’s always a time for war, and if it’s a war it’s a war and your going to soldier up. But
I would rather see peace than war. I’m trying to get paper and live.

Allhiphop: Can you talk about working with Murder Inc.?

CI: That was a lovely situation. Irv always call me anytime he has an empty space for 16. That’s a rare find ‘cause at the time, they moving through the game like giants and they like Crooked on a roll, lets do business with them.
I got much love for that dude because he put me on some things that are real commercial and helped our name get out there even more.

Allhiphop: Can you talk about the album and what people can expect?

CI: People can expect a full range of things. We got things for everybody, we got street sh*t, we got sh*t you can bang while you rollin’, I know the club scene is poppin’ right now but niggas still need something to roll to. The
difference between me and a lot of the cats out now on my coast isskill level for one and I’m slightly more political than the average on some songs. I want the consumer to know that I give a damn about the ghetto. Out here in L.A. they trying to classify gang bangers as domestic terrorists. So once they do that, you know a terrorist has no rights so they going to be able to roll up on a gang banger and put him in jail and he has no right to a lawyer.

Allhiphop: Mitchy Slick said a similar thing; him and Jayo Felony have had a little thing going on. He said they’re classifying people as gang members even if you’re just walking with a gang member in the street that automatically makes you one too.

CI: If I’m standing on the corner and I get stopped by four dudes on a block that I know and I’m conversating with them and the police roll up, if there is 2 felony’s within that five person group, we’re a gang. I might not even know those dudes, they might have just heard some sh*t I did on the radio and wanted to give me some props or something. I’m a gang member and now they got the right for searching me, right to detain me, it’s just crazy.
These are issue that need to be spoke on in the rap community because we don’t need the kids out there bangin’ to think it’s all about doing the Crip Walk.







Crooked I: Leader of the New School: Part 2:
By Jigsaw



Allhiphop: Can you speak about your background a little bit, a lot of people know your name, but not too many know about your background?

Crooked I: I was born in L.A. and I spent the majority of my life in Long Beach but I have lived other places. I lived in Okalahoma for a couple of years, I lived on the East Coast in Philly for a couple of years, Washington, my moms moved around a lot. That gave me a versatile style as far as picking up the different kind of vibes from the different locations. Basically, Just like every other Ghetto kid I was raised on welfare, in the projects, section 8, out there acting bad at a young age.

Allhiphop: As far as you as a young cat, when did you start getting into hip-hop?

CI: when I first heard Rappers Delight as a little kid, it had already been out for a while but when I first heard it. I was like this is what I want to do. I think I was in Kindergarten and I learned every word to the song. I hit the talent show, I got up there and did everybody’s part and I was like 5 years old. Everybody was like this little dude is crazy ‘cause I’m up there talking about busting them out with my super sperm, I didn’t know what the hell I was talking about. I’m just spitting it and then after that the energy from the crowd, I was like I’m going to do this. I got serious about it, I went and brought notebooks, and I was MCing. That really helped me ‘cause I dropped out of school at a young age, but I would always be on the street hanging out with older cats because wasn’t nobody at my age dropped out. Rap music kept me so knowledgeable about things because back then we had the Public Enemy’s, Rakim’s, KRS One’s and they was speaking on more than having a good time, they was speaking on real political issues. They had me into books trying to figure things out. When I got 17 I was tired of being in shootouts with dudes and the whole street life, I wanted to get my GED and go to college and all that other stuff. I walked in a GED place with a Junior High education ‘cause I dropped out of Junior High. I was early because poverty was kicking my ass and I couldn’t spend any time in the classroom, I had to get my paper to help moms pay the bills. What good is me being in this classroom if I come home and there’s no lights on. The Education that Hip Hop gave me and the push that it gave me, because I wanted to have ultimate writing skills I read shakespeare and things like that.

Allhiphop: Where were you in this period of you being educated by rap?

CI: I was all over the place. I was in L.A. and out here we had Ice- T he was doing his thing with “6 In The Morning” WC was in “Low Profile” Eazy E was just breaking into it. When I went out toward the Mid-West they was big on The
Geto Boys ‘cause Scarface and them was doing they thing out there and when I was out East they had the forefathers. I used to hate traveling; I used to hate leaving Cali. But, when I look back on it I’m happy I did ‘cause it gave me a different perspective.

Allhiphop: Can you speak on paying your dues as a MC, I first noticed you on the wake up show, you used to go back and forth, I remember this one legendary thing when you and Chino XL was on there. I thought that was
incredible considering Chino is so ill as a battle MC.

CI: I was so hungry out there and I wanted to get my name to spread quick, I didn’t really want to waste no time, now was the time to hit the streets and make my name spread. The Wake Up Show extended a hand like come up and holla. When I went up there I smashed on some MC’s, I didn’t know who they was. Sway and Tech was like you got to come back. I developed a relationship with them where we was just hanging out, not just on the show we could just go kick it with each other. Chino came up and they was like look we got a vote over here on who we would like to see go back and forth with each other for an opportunity on BET and the listeners voted you and Chino. I never been an underdog to myself, but I think I was the underdog coming into that. I paid a lot of dues ‘cause I used rap as a hustle at first before I got the deal. I used to go down south and write for people with independent labels, go up north and hit up a few independent labels and it was making me good money. I was leaving town and coming back like I was hitting licks. I come back with money like the homeboys on the block slinging D and I’m doing this and it’s legal they can’t touch me.

Allhiphop: What kind of rapper do you consider yourself?

CI: I just consider myself a ghetto MC. Gangsta rap is a term but to me there’s only two types of rappers, Dope and whack. I’m not going to label you a gangsta rapper because of your lyrical content because to me listen to "9MM" by Kros or Kool G Rap “Road to Riches.” Those are gangsta. Cats been rapping about the streets and the ghetto, it’s just that I think that term is kind of negative because it puts all these so called people into one group and most of the time they look down on them.

Allhiphop: How do you feel about that balance you have to play out right now being that rap so commercialized? How do you feel as far as balancing that and the commercial aspects of having to sell?

CI: Having to sell is some real sh*t. Your record company is not going to get behind you if your whole idea is to kill people on microphone. The good thing about me is that I can honestly say that I am still a consumer. I don’t think a strip club song may seem commercial to a cat but when you in a strip club you want to hear that, ‘cause that’s what’s going to make her move it. I’m a well-rounded consumer I buy anything from M.O.P to E-40 so I make music according to my mood.

Allhiphop: If you could name one rapper or MC that’s your favorite, which one would you say was most influential on you?

CI: Back in day, Rakim.

Allhiphop: Why?

CI: Because he was saying stuff at a time that wasn’t being said. He was ghetto with it, that’s what really attracted me because he was rapping about being a stick up kid but at the same time he had science. Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G. Rap. Ice Cube is hard. I always go back and forth, but those are the biggest influences on me.

[On The Edge of Insanity]

Pretty dope interview, but still no word on a release date

[GfUnKLBC]

the whole snoop/bet awards situation seems believable the way crooked I is tellin it, it makes sense after weighing out all the different stories, but who knows

any ways, hope this crooked I album will be dope

[Hatesrats™]

That was tight read.

Thanx for bringing it to the forum...otherwise I might never of seen it.

OnE
Hatesrats 2000Tre

[Darksider]

good interview