Hip Hop Artist Interviews
Industry heavyweights and fast rising phenoms step inside the DJBooth for exclusive interviews with DJ Z
DJ Drama Interview
Filed under: DJs, Industry Heavyweights, Interviews
Where mainstream listeners are concerned, mixtape DJs aren’t the best-known players in the game, but if there’s one man among them who needs no introduction it’s Aphilliates Music Group cofounder DJ Drama. That’s due in part to his tendency to live up to his name, attracting controversy like iron filings to a magnet, but moreso because he’s one of the best in his class—a major factor …
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Raekwon Interview
Filed under: Street Veterans, Interviews
Though many of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan‘s founding members went on to drop successful, critically acclaimed solo projects, none matched the game-changing impact of Raekwon‘s ‘95 debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. In addition to selling more than 1.1 million copies in the US alone, the seminal LP set the standard and established the vocabulary for mafioso epics to follow. Though plans for a sequel were …
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Tech N9ne Interview
Filed under: Street Veterans, Underground, Interviews
It’s an unfortunate fact of the industry that, for every emcee willing to put in the work to become a monster on the mic, there’s at least one who skates by on lowest-common-denominator pop appeal—and it’s often members of the latter camp that are accepted into the mainstream. As an industry vet whose skill, dedication, and unbelievable live show made him indie rap’s first million-seller, Tech …
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LeToya Interview
Filed under: R&B, We Got Next, Interviews
Romance may be the bread and butter of modern R&B, but one thing the pop airwaves could always use more of is good relationship advice, especially when it’s delivered by a strong female voice. Though the lead single off Destiny’s Child alumnus LeToya Luckett‘s ‘06 solo debut found her “Torn” over the decision of leaving a man who wasn’t living up to her expectations, it seems …
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Willy Northpole Interview
Filed under: We Got Next, Interviews
The classic image of an up-and-coming rapper is that of a “Hood Dreamer” struggling to rise above a crime-ridden environment and a painful past to express himself through music. Though many are quick to claim these origins, Willy Northpole counts himself among those who actually experienced it—crack dealing, jail time, and the brutal shooting death of his cousin were all part of his early life in …
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Teairra Mari Interview
Filed under: R&B, We Got Next, Interviews
Achieving pop stardom is never a walk in the park, but the road to musical success can be especially rocky for those who enter the business as young adults. Thus, it’s understandable that, after a stint as teenage “Princess of the Roc,” Teairra Mari took a hiatus from the game to finish up high school without the added pressure of life in the spotlight. During her …
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Twista Interview
Filed under: Industry Heavyweights, Interviews
Wikipedia describes a Category F5 tornado as a natural disaster of epic proportions, sure to inflict “total damage” on the area of impact, and goes on to state that “incredible phenomena will occur.” That kind of lyrical destruction is exactly what fans have come to expect from Twista, a Chi-town legend and one-time “fastest rapper alive” known to tear through tracks like a Tasmanian devil on …
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Asher Roth Interview
Filed under: We Got Next, Interviews
It’s a well-documented fact that one of hip-hop’s biggest audiences resides in America’s suburbs, yet you’d be hard-pressed to find an emcee willing to speak to these listeners’ day-to-day lives—even artists who grew up in these settings are quick to market themselves as products of the streets. Asher Roth, on the other hand, makes no secret of his unconventional background; a West Chester University graduate born …
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Day26 Interview
Filed under: R&B, We Got Next, Interviews
If there’s one lesson to be learned from the last decade or so of television, it’s that reality-show success doesn’t always add up to longevity—particularly where musical stardom is concerned, those who lack true talent or dedication are quick to fall off the national radar. Brian, Mike, Que, Robert, and Willie of Making the Band 4 creation Day26, however, clearly possess both of these qualities and …
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Yung L.A. Interview
Filed under: We Got Next, Interviews
If, as many have stated, the future is now, it’s quite a bit different than most of us expected—flying cars are nowhere to be found, only the very wealthiest are able to afford space vacations, and robot maids are looking like less and less of a possibility. Fortunately, a few of today’s hottest hip-hop artists have undertaken to provide the soundtrack to the science-fiction future we …
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