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7/3/2006 What's up? I'm great. I'm great. The 5% Album is finally out in stores. How do you feel? I feel like a kid in a candy store. It's a beautiful thing. How overdue is this album? I guess you could say it's very overdue, but at the same time, it's perfect timing. How important is The 5% Album for the hip-hop community right now? I think anything different from what's out there is needed. I'm not going to say what I make is just music. I definitely feel that what I'm saying is not only important to hip-hop, but to the world, period. What did you want to give people with "Deep Space"? It's not like every song I'm trying to necessarily give a message. On some, I'm just trying to take you into my mind. It's just a metaphor for being inside your mind and I really just wanted to be creative with it. Have you and RZA built a lot over the years? Yeah, whenever we see each other from time-to-time, we definitely build. We've always had intentions of doing stuff, but he has his life and I have my life and sometimes they don't interject right away. We finally were able to make that happen. Why did you want to talk about the 5% Nation so much on this album? It's something I've been dealing with for twenty-three years now. It's something that has helped shape and mold hip-hop from the beginning and I feel we've been kind of overlooked as of late as far as our contributions. I just wanted to make knowledge born that we've been here, we're here, and we're not going anywhere. How has the Nation of Gods and Earths been overlooked? When they talk about the greatest MC's, they don't go to the gods first. A lot of our greatest MC's were influenced by the gods if they were not gods. A lot of the people who you feel are the greatest MC's know they've been touched by the gods in a way that's bettered their lives. People talk about Biggie, 2Pac, Jay-Z, and Nas, but you can definitely come with the Rakim's and the Big Daddy Kane's and the people like that. Why do the gods get overlooked? There's been a trend in hip-hop to dumb hip-hop down. If you exalt the intelligent people, then you're being counterintuitive to what your plan is. If you're going to dumb it down, why would you want to promote what we're doing? It's seen as some "Black shit" that's threatening to the power structure. It's just too difficult to deal with for a lot of people so they'd rather take the easy route and talk about bullshit and candy and keep it moving. Have you ever wanted to do some tracks like that but felt you couldn't step outside that box? I think people expect a lot from us (Brand Nubian) because we put ourselves in that position of responsibility. Even if we turn around and talk some bullshit, which we wouldn't do, we would get criticized. I speak on it on the song "Givin' Up." I was saying how you can't give up rap until you give up your principles and morals and it's talking about seeing if you really have that love for hip-hop and the people, you don't do that. You rep for the people and you stick to your guns. It's been hard staying on that course at times, but if I did that, I wouldn't feel right inside of myself and at the end of the day I feel like I would fail. If someone doesn't have a lot of knowledge about the 5% culture, will a lot of things on the album go over their head? I think if you listen to this album and you have no knowledge of the 5% Nation, you'll get a good understanding of what we're about. Of course you're not going to get it all from an album or a book because this is a life. You have to live this to fully understand it. On "Supreme Mathematics," I let you know what each number means. That can help you in your life. All of that is helpful. I can't sit here and give you all the lessons, but I can definitely give you a basic understanding to help y'all see clearly. Of course there's always room to grow. Knowledge is infinite. It never stops. I can't give you the high sciences, but I can take you to a degree and let you grow from there. That's how we do it anyway in this Nation. You start from a basic degree and you grow. Do you see the 5% culture misrepresented by those who aren't aware of it? Absolutely. I've heard people say "earth" and "wis," like "wisdom," in their records. I'm bringing it back to when we were stronger and I'm getting the gods united and we're not going to allow you to use our language like that. Do you get angry when you hear that? I have a different emotion. This is something I really love. I guess a part of you can get a little bit angry. Me, I just get motivated. I'm the type of person where if I'm not happy with something, I'm going to do something to change it. All these motherfuckers are talking about their radio show and all that. My brother and I started our own radio show, OTBRadio.com. We play the shit we want to fucking hear. Now when I get up and I get on the internet, I'm hearing real hip-hop and I'm fucking loving it. That's my philosophy. I made an album I wanted to hear. This is some shit I really want to hear. I'm a god and I want to hear gods glorifying the gods on some hot hip-hop shit. Nobody else did it so I guess I had to do it. Why haven't other gods promoted the 5% Nation as hard as you are doing now? You're going to have to ask them that question. I would venture to say they don't think other people don't want to hear it. I'm doing this for a specific group of people. I'm doing this for the Five-Percenters first, then everyone else can like it. Then I'm doing it for the real hip-hop fans. The 5% Nation is going to love it. I don't have to worry about the pressure. Once I made that decision, the pressure was off. I don't have to worry about who likes this song and that song. As long as my family likes it, I'm happy. What kind of feedback have you gotten so far? It's been phenomenal, from the oldest to the youngest. It's ridiculous. The motivation I'm seeing now is what I wanted to see happen, and it's happening right before my eyes and I'm loving it. Even the non-Five-Percenters are loving it because it's good music. It's a well-crafted and well-put together album. There are a lot of white kids where I'm at and they love hip-hop. They're not necessarily old school or in the Five Percent Nation, but they bought my album, read my book, came to my show, and are loving it. It's bugging me out a little bit. That was my focus. It's something that people can feel. People feel the energy I put into this shit. I put my heart and soul into this fucking album, I bullshit you not. This is not something you can make in just two weeks. I've been working on this for over a year. How did you go about doing the book? When there was talk of doing the book from the beginning, I thought a writer was going to come in. Then I found out I was expected to write the book. I was like, "Oh, shit." It was a little intimidating. I got it done and I got some excerpts from some books. I compiled pictures from older gods and just put it all together. I wrote things that I thought and we had a 90-page book. You must be proud of that. I am proud of that. When you're a little kid, you think writing books is impossible. When I was a little kid, I thought it was hard to write a book and I've always been intimidating like that. Now I see how the process goes and it's definitely doable. Do you have plans for more books? Not right at the moment, but I feel like I could do it again if I wanted to. I try to write in a way that would make you want to read it. Should fans listen to the album first or read the book first? To me, that's neither here nor there. You choose how you want to do that. I don't care, as long as you take them both in. As long as you do both, the order is up to you. "Young Gods" must have been a special track for you since you worked with your son. Yeah. I worked him like any other artist I've worked with. I put his ass in the booth and I had him say his shit until it was right. That's how I do it with any artist. I pretty much know what artists can do. He's been recording songs since he was seven or eight years-old. He's used to being in the studio and saying lines, so I knew what he was capable of already as far as his energy and all that. I just put him in there and I made him do it how I make anybody else do it and it was good and at the end, I was happy with it and he was happy with it. I was happy that I worked with my son and that he's on the album. If he chooses to rap, this is an opportunity for him. I'm not trying to make him a rapper. I don't even think he necessarily wants to be a rapper, but he's doing it. It's not like he has a bunch of demos. We do it because it's something to do like a father/son thing. Is it intimidating for him to be in your shadow? I guess it can be. I just want him to be a part of the song. I couldn't have other people's sons on the album and not have him on the album. With Young Lord, Young Justice, and Young Dirty, are we going to see a new generation of rapper's kids on the mic? Absolutely. You also have Lil' Eazy out in California. For a lot of them, it just might be in their blood and DNA where they want to fuck with this rap shit because it's in them. Hopefully in the future we'll have more examples of what rap is that's more than what we're seeing now like that "Laffy Taffy" bullshit. I'm happy with anyone getting their money, but if that's where their skill-level is (exhales), then how am I not on the radio, not that I've tried. Who do you blame for all this dumb music? The corporations, the fucking rappers making it, and the people buying it. The rappers are making it, the people are buying it, and the radio stations are playing it. That's who the fuck I blame. A lot of people say southern music is feel-good music. Don't you want to get back to where you can have some positivity in party tracks? Definitely. That's what we were known for when we first came out. We had party music, but it was positive. That's what people loved about Brand Nubian. There are songs on this album that's feel-good music. And I'm not calling my shit "positive" or "conscious" right now. It's hardbody-godbody music. "Conscious" and "positive" have become code words for soft shit that is not relevant. Don't call my shit "conscious" and don't call my shit "positive." You can call it "intelligent," but I'm also hesitant to say that too. My shit is hardbody-godbody. How do you see your influence in the game today? We, as a group, have been underrated the same way the gods are. There were a lot of groups from our era, but a lot of times our name gets left out. I feel like that's bullshit because a lot of these guys ate off what we brought to the table. We're not crying. I'm just doing what I have to do. Why was Brand Nubian overlooked? Were people scared of the lyrics? It's a combination of things. It's that, plus we had the break-up and we didn't solidify things that could have been solidified better. There was confusion with our fan-base and it's easier for you to remember A Tribe Called Quest because they had no turmoil and they just made good records. Is a new Brand Nubian album coming? We're not in the studio now, but we probably will be soon. X is doing an album because he's going to have to do eight months for some shit he did. I'm getting ready to help him on some of that. We're going to do another one probably, but right now, this album is my focus, and there's nothing wrong with that. Everyone has their time. Everyone else in Brand Nubian has at least three solo joints out. Right now, it's my time to focus on me. Looking back on Fire in the Hole, are you happy with how that album did? No. It could have been better. A lot of things could have been done better on our behalf and the record company's behalf and people in general. Now that The 5% Album is out, what do you have to do from here on out to make it as successful as it can be? I have to get out there and do these shows. They need to see my stage show because I have a lot of energy and that's always been good for us. You might like our music, but when you see us live, it takes it to a new level. You might like my music, but when you see me live, you're going to like it even more because it's real hip-hop and it's a real hip-hop show. We're not doing that stupid shit. I just have to get on my grind. Do you see this album raising more awareness in the hip-hop community for the 5% Nation? Absolutely. It's already done that and it can only do more. The cream rises to the top. That's what this album was crafted to do and that's what the album is doing as we speak. Is Busta doing a good job of promoting the Nation of Gods and Earths? Definitely. See, the wise man can play the part of the fool but the fool can never play the part of the wise man. I always knew Busta had knowledge of self, but he never made that completely aware to the world. He got paid and when he saw they were trying to blackball the gods, he said, "Ok, I'm godbody, but I don't necessarily have to let them know that." That's a strategy. Now that he's in there and he's selling all these records, now he can shout out the gods and bring people's attention to us. Even though he didn't do a whole album for it, he put the bat signal up and now I'm coming out of the cave. He's bringing an awareness and now I'm following up with the information. You have to be loving the timing of everything. Oh, am I! The Source and FEDS Magazine did an article on the 5% Nation before this album came out. It's definitely a good time for this album and I'm seeing the responses I'm getting from the gods and the earths across the globe on my MySpace. The response is ridiculous. The one word I'm really seeing is "motivation." They want to tell people about it and they want to be a part of it. I'm loving that. What's the next move for Lord Jamar? Get out there on the road. I'm trying to get on somebody's tour...Rakim, Method Man, somebody that makes sense. I'm trying to get out there and sell these albums. I'm going to support this record and build my connections with the Nation of Gods and Earths and keep it moving. Do you have any more acting gigs coming up? Yeah. I have an independent film called Just My Friends that I did. I think that's supposed to be coming out pretty soon. I'm also the voice of Major League Soccer right now. I'm doing some voiceover commercials for Major League Soccer. There's also some other things going on that I can't talk about right now. What do you want to say to everyone? Thank you for the support from people who have been down with me from Brand Nubian or if they've been down recently or if they only know me from Oz of something else. Thank you. I'm always going to give you quality whether it's producing, putting out an artist, whatever I do, there's going to be quality behind it so you don't feel like you've been raped and robbed.

By Brian Kayser

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