Rampage
hose surrounded by greatness tend to wander down the
same trail. At the tender age of 17, Rampage, the Last Boy
Scout, began touring with his cousin Busta Rhymes on the
Leaders of the New School tour, then shortly thereafter was fea-
tured on the "Flava In Ya Ear" Remix
by Craig Mack. Now, dropping
the name the Last Boy
Scout and comin' with his
own album, Scout's
Honor By Way of
Blood, this "lyrical
lieutenant,"
demonstrates
he's got enough
skills to shine
on his own.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I'm 22, born and raised in Flatbush, Brooklyn. I'm a
good father. I have a daughter; her name's Gabrielle Rose. I'm into
playing Sony PlayStation; favorite games: Ms Pac-Man, Robatron,
Joust and Defenders. Other than that, I like writing rhymes, going
into the studio, and laying down new songs.
There are a lot of new artists these days. What makes you
any different from the next guy?
What makes me different is my style is more rugged, and you can
hear me. I don't slur my words, I enunciate. My music is much tighter,
because I took the time out to custom-make my style. We at Flipmode are
just stylists when it comes to lyrics. We actually get our message across, and
that makes us quite different. A lot of crews sound the same. We don't sound
like each other or anyone else in the industry. We make sure before we
release anything that we nit-pick, making sure the shit is tight.
What does the term hip-hop mean to you?
It means a very strong music; a type of music that you can
mix everything with. It's universal, and the messages are powerful. It's
the only music you can mix with country, and it'll sound good. It's
the only music you can mix with Swahili, and it'll sound good.
Certain people can do it, and certain people can't.
What determines who can and who can't?
Different styles, how you're coming, how your delivery is. See,
people need to separate the two things: hip-hop and rap. The difference.
is hip-hop is deeper than it is. Rap is just you get a pen and a pad and
you just write then rap. Hip-hop is a culture; it's deep and it's strong.
Anyone can rap, but it don't mean a thing if it ain't from the heart.
A lot of people are coming with the "make my shit, make my
money, and get out" mentality.
See, they can make one-hit wonders, but there are repercus-
sions. All these one-hitters that weren't really hot before are trying
to get back the shit they used to have, but they ain't gettin' it 'cause
they took too long coming back. Then, bam!, they get slapped in their
fucking forehead. Repercussion upside the head. As much time as they
put in the studio trying to make the bomb shit, the next man who's
newer, hotter and more motivated col' took their spot. They should've
held that shit down. They thought driving a 500SL, buying a house, and
spending all the money they made from tour was cool, but, no!
Repercussions once again slap them in the head. Now they're in the studio
running around with their head cut off and can't make no shit. Their mind
is fucked up. And when your mind is fucked up, you start crying about how
the label fucked you over. But it's not the label, it's the artists who fucked
themselves over. They was mackin' out buying houses, then their accounts
got low, and suddenly they realize they no longer can maintain.
Tell us some baby Busta stories, like some doo-doo in the
pants type shit.
No, I ain't going there. But I will tell you that he and I used to beat
on pots and pans in the basement, making music. We made our beats on a
tape cassette. We'd be banging on the wall, trying to come up with some
bassy beats and rhyming into the cassette. You know, one of those old type
cassette players that had the built-in mic and handle. We never knew shit
was gonna develop like this. But we stuck with it and came a long way.
Do you have any plans outside of hip-hop?
Yeah. You never know when it's all gonna be over, so you've gotta
do everything: movies, television, clothing. Me, I wanna do some acting,
then write a book, and someday write a movie about my experiences in
the rap game. It's all about sharing information, each one teach one. I
wanna do a National Geographic of rap.
What's it like having all these things on your plate and
being a parent?
It's beautiful. I've got a 3-year-old; she watches me on TV and
learns from me by my word and by example. I try to be home when-
ever I can, so she can see and know me, the real me. I want her to
know where I'm coming from. She really don't know what's up right
now, but she knows when I go away, because every time a plane flies
over the house, she runs to the window and says, "Mommy!
Daddy's on that plane!" So, she kinda has an idea of what's going
on, and I make sure I keep the videos around the house. I don't.
curse around her, and I never smoke or drink.
Was there a time in your life when you were
smoking or drinking?
Never. I just don't like that in my system. And she don't
need to see that stuff. So, I feel that makes me a good par-
ent. I'm showing her what's right and wrong, not just
telling her. You know what's funny, she'll be in school,
and the teacher will be like, "What's your father's
name?" And she'll answer, "Rampage!" So, she kinda
knows what's up. The other day she called me up
and said, "Daddy, you're on the radio! And I just saw
you on TV, too." Then she'll be quiet for a second,
then say, "Daddy, rock on, rock on!"-Chris Nieratko
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ALAN PETERSEN