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3/25/2008 What can you tell us about your new album T-2 Fly: The Album?  Well, actually everything is in the works now. We’re looking to do a deal through Koch. Everything is being negotiated. It’s Inspectah Deck presents Fes Taylor. It’s more than a mixtape. It’s an album. It’s Inspectah Deck introducing me. I’ve been messing with him for a minute. He’s putting his name on the line to cosign me. It’s really my album, which is a part two to an underground album I made called Taylor Made.  There’s a lot of different producers like Falling Down and Phantom of the Beats. Flip and Hectic are on there .There’s a lot of underground producers. Granddaddy I.U. is on there. It’s a dope project. We also released The Heart Foundation album. That album is a classic on the streets. We’re coming with more fire. Everything that we do, we just continue to get better and better. That’s the most I can say.  How did you first meet Inspectah Deck?   We’re all from Park Hill. I knew Deck from the ‘hood and shit. Deck was a friend of mine. I remember him and the Rhyme Rebel. They were cool. One day we were all sitting and freestyling. That was my first meeting with Deck. From there we’ve just been cool. I was in the studio with him when he was recording his shit and I had the opportunities to jump on a few things. We just grew throughout the years and I respect the nigga. The nigga taught me a lot about the game. A lot of people say I’m his protégé and that’s an honor. The dude is definitely a skilled dude. For dudes to say something like that, that’s definitely an honor on my behalf.  What does his cosign mean to you?  In this hip-hop game, anybody who listens to my music knows my music is dope. Anybody who takes the time to listen to my shit knows that I got what it takes. But this game is a “who you know” business. If you don’t know somebody over here, the chances of you getting in are really slim. If I needed to go to the lot and go pick up that new Range Rover or whatever and my credit ain’t so good, my man’s willing to put his name on the line so I can drive off with that Range Rover.  How did The Heart Foundation album do for you?  The album did great. I actually got great responses. That album actually opened up some opportunities for a few companies to want to fuck with us. One of those companies is G-Unit/Dumout. We’re in the process of talking business with them. We might be G-Unit/Dumout. I fuck with them. Shout out to Mazeradi Fox and Big Dave and all of them. The Heart Foundation shit is me and Mr. President. We were in the Shadow Government before with Specman, who unfortunately got caught up in a situation and he’s locked down right now. We actually had a deal on the table for that project and once my homeboy got snatched up, shit kinda fell apart.  We were always independent artists so we were focusing on our careers. Me and Mr. President were like, ‘We should come together on some shit.’ And then we started working and we needed to think of a group name. Before you knew it the album was done and right now several companies are trying to fuck with us. It looks like we’re going to fuck with the Dumout niggas. They’re talking right. That’s what it is. That’s how the whole Heart Foundation came about.  What makes you want to mess with Dumout?  My dude Joey, he fucks with us and The Heart Foundation. He put a lot together to make that happen. One day he brought us to his studio and we did a joint with one of their artists, A.P. Fox came in and he was a cool dude and we just started vibing and the vibe was right. That was the dude who introduced us and it all kind of came together. It’s just been a ball. I respect their movement and it’s obvious they respect our movement because they’re showing us love.  You worked with King Just back in ’94. What was that like?  I was one of the Shaolin soldiers. Big up to King Just for giving me an opportunity as a young kid who really didn’t know nothing but just knew how to rap. He let me take my talent to another level and that’s definitely what kicked it off as far as the business. We call those the golden days right there.  How have you grown as an artist since ’94?  Then, I just wanted to rap. I just wanted to be the illest rapper and the battle rapper, the battle rapper that nobody wanted to come up against. I’m still that dude, but now I know how to write songs. I’m becoming a well-rounded artist and besides that, I done learned the business. Not only am I an artist, but we’ve been running an independent company before we were getting help from anybody. I’m a businessman also and I’ve learned a lot from then ‘til now. Even though it seems like it’s been a long time and even though it seems like things are finally getting to be at a major level, now probably seems like the best time because I’m at my best now. If I was to do what I’m doing now then, I wouldn’t have been able to fulfill everything like I can now. It takes time for perfection. I look at it like being a doctor or a lawyer. I was in school and I was in training and now I’m ready to open up shop.  Being that you’re from Staten Island, how many other Wu cats do you build with?  We’re all from the same ‘hood. Big up to Meth and Street Life. I’m from the Hill so I guess I would see the Hill niggas more often. Everybody is cool and every now and then you run into a nigga and shit.  What’s the next project for you?  We’re finishing up the T-2 Fly album, which is the album that Inspectah Deck’s presenting. We’re also doing a remix album. We got the King of Hearts album out now with The Heart Foundation and we’re doing a remix album called Heart of the King. It’s all the songs we did on the album but we’re going to reach out for some industry features. We got Inspectah Deck and we’re working on Shyheim, Red Café, Mazeradi Fox and a couple of other dudes. Basically the album has been getting such dope responses and the songs are dope and the beats are dope. We’re just trying to get some well-known artists to jump on the joints and be featured on them.   What’s it like working with Deck on music?  Deck is inspirational. It’s wonderful fucking with the dude because I’ve learned a lot and he’s seen all kinds of shit that I’m just beginning to see. I learned a lot of the business and he’s schooling me to a lot of the business. I knew a lot on my own, but I know that he’s been in it longer than me and I’ll call him and he’ll give me advice. As far as being an artist and a businessman, I’ve learned a lot from him. A lot of dudes want to fuck with you, but they don’t want to fuck with you to the point where you could get something later on. He’ll fuck with you and it’s a business, but he’ll also teach you how to do it for yourself and that’s why I fuck with the nigga.  What’s the next move for Fes Taylor?  The next move is we’re trying to get this Koch shit popping. We’re going to run with that. We’re working on the G-Unit/Dumout shit. We’re going to run with that. And we’re doing a lot of talking and networking with a lot of other people. It’s negotiation time right now. If anyone wants to holler at us, now is the time for them to start throwing numbers at us.  Fes Taylor has over 10 CDs and DVDs available for purchase at http://chambermusik.com

By Brian Kayser

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