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2/28/2007 What’s up?  Good, man. I’m good. I’m just working hard, grinding.  The Soundchron compilation, Sound Chronicles Volume 1, is about to drop. What made you put the compilation together?    Me and Ayatollah had been kicking around this idea for awhile. One day we were walking around Brooklyn and we ended up at Steele from Smif N Wesson’s place. We were just in there hanging out, and all of a sudden ‘Tollah and Steele were talking about making music and they ended up in the studio making tracks, and we were like, “Let’s do it. Let’s put this together.”    Are you happy with how it came out?    I think it’s crazy. I think it’s dope. I think it’s really dope. It was a really, really fun album to make. It was all really spontaneous, like the Steele track. It just came out of nowhere. Then it was like, “Let’s get Sean Price, Cormega and Masta Ace.” It was real fun.   You produced “All That I Got” for Planet Asia on the compilation. What was that like?    That was really cool. I went out to LA to do that. We had a lot of New York artists on there and I wanted to get my favorite West Coast artists on there. I had worked with Planet Asia before and I had to get him on this album. We got in there with about a pound of herb and some backwoods and just banged out the track.   You went to college in California before moving back East. How connected do you stay to the West Coast?    Real connected. My homie M*E is out there. That’s my boy. I’m going out there in March for a release party. Tash is going to be performing. I go out there frequently.   You and Ayatollah did the majority of the production for the Sound Chronicles Volume 1. What’s it like working with Ayatollah?  He’s a good dude. That’s a good dude. I love that guy. And he’s one of the illest producers out there. He’s really, really underrated.  Have you been able to learn a lot from him?  Oh yeah. He’s been a huge influence on me. I’ve learned a lot from him, just from listening and watching. We used to go record shopping together a lot. We used to walk around Brooklyn, digging in the crates. He’d tell me what to check for and every now and then I would throw him a record. He’s been a huge influence on me.  With Soundchron Records, you’ve put out an Ayatollah instrumental album and now this compilation. Where do you want to take Soundchron?    To the next level. It’s about getting bigger and better.  Does it ever get difficult working out of Baltimore where there’s not as much hip-hop as other cities?    Yeah, but it’s a dope city. There’s a good scene here, but it’s different. I’ve been in New York and LA most of the time I’ve been doing Soundchron, but there’s a lot of good stuff going on out here. It’s not hard to stay connected. I take trips to LA and New York every now and then. It’s not that big of a deal.  Soundchron is also putting out M*E’s debut album. Why should we check for him?    That dude is crazy. He has mind-blowing delivery and his voice and delivery just make you stop and think about what he said. It’s some shit that’s really mind-expanding. It’s mind-expanding hip-hop.  How’s his debut LP, Holy War, coming?  It’s coming along good. I’m mixing and mastering it now. It should be out sometime in the summer.  You’re also doing Imam Thug’s album. How’s that coming?    Good. He’s got Mobb Deep on there, Infamous Mobb, Ayatollah’s production, Steve Sola’s production…That’s a really big album. That’s on its way too.  It’s good that he’s finally dropping an album.  Yeah. He’s been around for awhile and he’s got some really dope stuff. He’s been slept on but he’s got some really crazy shit. The tracks he’s got with Prodigy and Havoc are really crazy. I think it’s really going to blow up when we put that out, which should be sometime in the summer or fall. I’m not sure when it’s going to drop.  Is Ayatollah working on another instrumental album?    We’ve been talking about it. It’s definitely in the works. I don’t know when it’s going to be, but we’re definitely working on it. I don’t want to speak on any other projects that aren’t definite, but that’s what we got for this year. I’m just going to focus on that for now.  You DJ, produce and run Soundchron. Just how much work goes into running an independent hip-hop label on a day-to-day basis?    (laughs) A lot! It consumes your whole life. When you’re not doing something, you’re thinking about it. It’s a lot of stuff. From making music to doing shows and all the planning, that’s the easy part. People don’t even think about all the paperwork, taxes, lawyers and accountants. There’s a lot of stuff to do. It takes a lot out of you and you really have to put your life into it.  What do you want to say to everybody?  Go cop the album and the Smif N Wesson 12”.  www.myspace.com/soundchron for more info  Purchase the album here: http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/store/detail.asp?UPC=GSE0175CD

By Brian Kayser

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