ROUS BEWU
As a new rap era draws upon us, the
Wu-Tang Clan return to stimulate the
next generation of hip-hoppers with
their own RZA-laced memories. Wu-
Tang Forever, the new Shaolin sympho-
ny, reminds fans why we first fell in love
..
on the radio? You don't really like it, I know.
That's why we did a double album. 25 tracks,
When we came with Enter The Wu-Tang 36
doin it everyday, all day. But you gotta weigh
and judge for yourself. Whatever you see and
Chambers, we opened a lot of doors for whatever you hear, disregard it. You need to
brothers to get in, and at the same time closed
with these cats, while at the same time on a lot of other brothers. Heads bit us
seek and find and define life for yourself. Don't
let the Wu-Tang or nobody else change you,
change yourself.
delivering powerful, insightful mes- before, just bit our shit, but it's gonna be hard When you opened that door, you let a lot
sages. So, read on and let CappaDonna,
Inspectah Deck, and Raekwon infiltrate
your mindstate.
Not graduating high school, what do you
say to your daughter when you talk
about school and getting good grades?
CappaDonna: I encourage her. I tell her to
keep going strong with what she's doing, keep
striving for perfection. She don't have to do
what I did, 'cause kids can't be doin' that
these days. You need that paper for most jobs..
The name of my game is survival. She can
learn from my experiences and attack life from
a different angle.
I heard you cats are looking
to do skateboards.
Inspectah Deck: We already got skateboards
at the New York and Atlanta Wu-Wear stores,
but it won't be long before they're everywhere.
It's just more power. I used to love skateboard-
ing. I always wanted to be able to ollie onto
cars and speakers. That's wild. I don't under-
stand how they be doin' that shit. I used to be
down with bikes, but skateboards came along
strong, and I was on that. That shit is all dope.
But I don't fuck with the rollerblades, though.
How do you stay on top of all the shit
you have going?
Inspectah Deck: I've got the illest people
around me. It's like a never-ending flame. I like
letting other people handle my shit, but I'm
always on top of everything I'm doing,
because my people that handle the smaller
end of things keep me in the loop. That way,
there's always someone looking after your shit.
What made you want to do a double album?
Inspectah Deck: Because it's time. It's been,
what, four or five years? Yeah, it's time, And
let me ask you, what do you think of most shit
Inspectah
Deck
•
this time around. We keeping it consistent for
25 joints. If you tryin' to ride that bandwagon,
that's like trying to ride the Scream Machine
with no shoulder straps. There ain't no free
ride this time. We gonna take it back, too. If
you wasn't there, you ain't gonna be there.
There were times when kids wouldn't even say
their rhymes, because if you wasn't sharp, you
couldn't say nothin'. The DJ couldn't get up if
he didn't have skills. That's how it started
b
before money was involved. Now stakes is
deeper, that's why we chose to drop knowl-
edge. We try to drop jewels when we do our
thing instead of just giving people the hip-hop.
The combination is fucking people up. You got
9, 10, 11 or however many of us on the track,
hitting you from different angles. We all differ-
ent, we all got our own style. You can't com-
pare two different styles.
Raekwon: This album is gonna have kids
wild. It's for all the muthfuckas who got caught
up on sampling, thinking that's what made nig-
gas dance. No, no. We comin' with the real
lyrics. It's a collaboration of the best of what
hip-hop has to offer. Niggas been waitin' for
this shit, and now they finally got what they
wanted. Llike a baby with a bottle, heads been
drinkin' milk for too long, now they ready for
some apple juice. Too many preservatives out
there. This shit we doin' is fresh and natural:
This new album is a big step away from
what anybody else is doing. %
CappaDonna: This album is based upon the
everyday ups and downs of life, the sweetness
of bullshit rappers in with you.
CappaDonna: Everybody's bullshit amounts
to some shit. You can learn just as much from
a fool as from a wise man. Learn from mis-
takes as you would from example.
Inspectah Deck: No doubt. But they about to
get weeded out. When we came and hit the
people with some new shit, they wasn't ready.
But they got used to it, they grew to love it.
Like food, they ate it, and they enjoyed it, they
wanted more. So, we just handed them little
snacks with each solo album. They've been
waiting for that full course meal again, and
ain't nobody gonna be ready for this album.
Raekwon: It's like a sport. Not everybody can
be an athlete in this shit. Not everybody can be
a baseball or basketball player, and everybody
can't be a rapper. That's how we taking it. We
like, "If you livin' this shit in your heart, and it's
been with you for the longest, it's gonna show.
But if you're tryin' too hard, it ain't gonna
work. It's gotta be natural." When I buy an
album, it's gotta be good music. I've gotta be
able to understand it and feel it. I like all types
of music. If it has a good sound, I'm gonna
support it. I'm mostly a slow jam man. I be
havin' to get off the rah-rah hip-hop shit and
relax for a minute, get my thoughts together.
Can't be having that hip-hop shit on your mind
24/7. It's good to an extent, don't get me
wrong, I'm still real with my shit, but if you
catch me in the street, you're liable to catch
me playin' some slow relaxation shit, making
and bitterness. We sayin' not to always be me at one with the world. On Sundays, my
smokin' and drinkin' your life away. We kno whole day is slow shit. I don't wanna hear n
you might want to hit the joint or take a
swig-ain't nobody
mad at ya if you
do-just know
you can't be
•
00
rap on Sundays.
What advice do you have for new cats
trying to get in the game?
Inspectah Deck: Come with your own shit.
Don't ride no dicks. Dick riders get treated
like
outsiders. -Chris Nieratko
CappaDonna
Raekwon
MENAGE
96 THRASHE
IGE
www.menaceu.com / 213.746.1200
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