LORDS
of the Underground
"From the ground under," it doesn't seem
like almost two years have passed since we
got a taste of real underground flava. The
type hooked up by the legendary Marly
Marl, only to be served up by Lords Of The
Underground. After three consecutive smash-
es like "Chief Rocka," "Funky Child," and
Psycho," the trio from Jersey are back with
twelve crazy phat tracks that are sure to put
some bump in your trunk straight through
next summer. Thrasher caught up with the
Lords recently to talk about the flavor found
on their second album Keepers Of The Funk.
-Rap Lady G
How is your new album different?
Doitall: Our new album, Keepers Of The Funk,
is much tighter and crisper. People can relate to
us better now because they know where we're
coming from. They know our attitude is funk.
Funk doesn't just mean music; it's a way of life.
76TH
What do you mean by that?
Doitall: Funk is a way of life, just like hip hop
is a way of life. Like, when people think back
to the funk music of the late 60s and early 70s,
funk had a substance to it. Now, you listen to
the funk of the 90s, you hear bitches, hoes, my
gun, this type of funk. Funk is positive, funk is
negative, but we choose to speak on the funk
as George Clinton did. Feel good funk.
Even though you say your music is a positive
brand of funk, it's evident you guys are no
joke. Do you ever feel pressured to be hard?
Mr Funke: No. We're exactly the opposite. It's
our realism that makes us who we are. We don't
have to tote guns or nothin'. It's never been a
question of our manhood, or that we have to
practice being hard in the mirror.
DJ Lord Jazz: We try and come across as being
real. It's like, ten million people are out there
saying, "Keep it real," "It's from the heart..."
Keeping it real is something like telling
your mother and father, "Thanks for the help.
I love you."
What's the next single?
DJ Lord Jazz: The next single is called "What
I'm After." What we're after is the gold and the
platinum. If this was a sport, we'd be out to win
the championship. That's how we're looking at
the rap industry. We want to get to the top. It's
a lot of groups out there saying, "I'm strictly
hardcore. I'm just making music for my niggaz."
Why do you want to just get out and press-up
songs to sell around the way? It's like this, we're
in this to win it. It's like this, we don't want to be
on stage one day, and the next day we have to
go to work at 7-Eleven.
So what's it gonna take to reach your goal?
DJ Lord Jazz: A lot of hard work, determination
and a whole lot of people buying our album.
ORANGE 9mm
Chaka Malik is one of the most
famous guys you never heard of.
Because of the immense influence
of his previous band, Burn, Chaka
had already gained legendary
status in the annals of New York
hardcore even before Orange
9mm put out their first CD last
year. With a major label release
this winter, Chaka is on his way
to the kind of success his former
band mates (now in Quicksand
and Die-116) have been enjoying.
This is the first night of a 25 date
US tour with Quicksand (and for
the few first dates, Helmet). The
setting is a rainy November night
in Poughkeepsie, New York. The
air is filled with the energy of
destiny. We're sitting in the cushy
tour bus Orange 9 is sharing with
Quicksand (who also have the
same manager). Joining us is the
bass player from an up and com
ing local band called Withdrawn.
The four guys in Orange 9mm
(Chaka, Chris Traynor, Matthew
Cross and David Gentile) are
living this kid's dream-playing
music all the time, travelling the
country, getting paid. Turns out,
it's their dream too.
-Morgan Walker
Is this a dream come true?
Chris: It's all we ever wanted to do,
to be in a band, play music all day.
and be out there all the time, try
ing to make better music.
What can you say about the influ-
ence Burn had and how your
music has evolved since then?
Chaka: Me and Gavin, and Alan at
the beginning, and Alex and those
guys, we created Burn based on
our fears, desires and emotions.
The initial four songs represent
what Burn was. I think it's great
that kids can dig on something that
we did a long time ago and get
ideas from it. I do that every day
when I listen to my records. So, if 1
can be a part of that, I think that's
incredible. I hope that this band,
even if we don't sell a trillion
records, people will say, "Yeah,
Orange 9 Millimeter, they were
doing some serious shit back
then." As far as the music evolving
in Burn, it was me and Gavin's dif
ferent opinions, and it ended up
being a little of mine and a little of
his and not one of anybody's.
Chris: When we first started out,
Orange 9mm, it was just me and
Chaka, and we talked and became
clear and unified about what we
wanted to do.
Chaka: We especially wanted to
create something that was honest
that could mean something emo-
tionally to people. I can guarantee
that when you come to one of our
shows, you will get an honest rep-
resentation of what we're feeling
at that moment.
I saw Chaka do a full flip off the
stage during another band's set.
Matt: He's the finest in the field,
by the way. In slow motion, the
grace and style could be in a Hall-
mark commercial.
Chaka: I try to land on my butt so
as not to injure anyone. But I could
land on my feet if necessary. I think
I'm gonna have to start saving the
stage dives for our band.
Is your record company paying
high insurance premiums?
Chris: The woman from the record
company had to leave the room
the last time she saw him do it.
Do you guys skate?
Matt: I'm better at falling, but yes.
Chris: We just got back from doing
our album in California, and we saw
all the banks, and we were like,
"We gotta get boards!" And we
went out and made sure that no
one was looking at us. That's how a
lot of kids got into hardcore, 'cuz a
lot of them skated.
Chaka: I got my first board from a
homeless gentlemen for five bucks.
I went home, and I was just bone-
lessing all day. It was the best.