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1/25/2007 What’s up?  I’ve been all right, bro. I can’t complain. I can’t brag neither, but I can’t complain.  Jesus Price Superstar is finally dropping. How do you feel about the finished product?    It’s spectacular. I love it. I hope the people love it the same way I do.  The album has a real cohesive sound to it. Was that a challenge for you or did that happen naturally?  You know what, when it comes to making an album like that, that’s Dru Ha. After I do what I do, I hand it to Dru Ha and he sits there and puts it together. He decides what the first and second song is and I’m just like, It is what it is. For the most part, Dru Ha put the songs together like that.   Did you do anything differently on Jesus Price Superstar than Monkey Barz?    I finished it quicker. I didn’t know what to expect on the first album. Once I saw they liked the Sean Price shit and they liked when I spit that stupid, crazy shit, I said, “Great. I’ll just give them that times ten.”    You start “Violent” off with “I’m such a failure.” Can you talk about that?  Honestly, I just said that shit because the way the beat sounded, it sounded like I was supposed to say, “I’m so fucked up.” It came out as “I’m such a failure.” We cut out the laughing because I was laughing so hard. You on “Song Cry,” Jay-Z is saying something like, “The most incredible.” We were really cracking a joke.  How many of those inside jokes are on Jesus Price Superstar?  There’s another song, “Like You,” where I say on the beginning, “Yo, Khrysis, my life will keep existing while I shit on my opponents.” That’s an inside joke. That’s a John Forte line from Cowboys. That’s what happens when you spend all day in the studio. There’s a lot of inside jokes.  You also say you make love to mothers on “Violent.” Are you looking for a cameo on Desperate Housewives?    (laughs) I’m just trying to be ill with the words. I’m a married man. I’m not with none of that crazy shit.  On “Mess You Made,” you have a line where you say you “can’t get chips off of radio play”…  It’s just that mixshows don’t give you BDS spins. That’s a real line right there. Mister Cee has the Throwback at 12 and he’ll play a Heltah Skeltah joint or an old Smif n Wesson joint and that’s cool, but it don’t equal chips. I was just being honest with the line. There’s no BDS spins on mixshows.  Looking at that, you have a lot of fans and it doesn’t reflect in your album sales. How do you take that?    It is what it is. I was, at first, frustrated, but it is what it is. I’ll give it to them one way or another. There’s so much technology. I’ll get them Sean Price.  How much attention do you pay to hip-hop on the internet?    I love the internet. They just leaked a song I did with Ayatollah. I wonder who did that, Ayatollah! There’s so much going on and you have to take advantage of the new technology and get involved. Make it work for your benefit.  Have you ever wished you had taken a different approach to the game and dumbed yourself down?    Yeah. On “Mess You Made,” I said, “The nice niggas are broke and the rest get paid.” I should have been a corny rapper. I would be popping right now.   Would you be able to look at yourself in the mirror?    Probably not. (laughs) I got too many friends like Poison Pen who are real MC’s and they would be like, Ruck, what the fuck is wrong with you? They would tell me that in a heartbeat. It is what it is. I’m enjoying my career and I’m having some kind of success so I’m all right. I don’t have any regrets. I couldn’t go stupid anyway. I would probably get dropped from the label. If you want me to do something that’s not me, I can’t do it. I’m being me. I’m being 100. It couldn’t have happened anyway.  What beats were you looking for on Jesus Price Superstar?    I don’t know ‘til I hear it, which is why it’s bugged to people when I say I’m going south to mess with 9th. I have to go down there to hear it. Him and Khrysis lace me.  What does 9th Wonder bring out of you that other producers don’t?  I’m a better person today and I grew up. I developed lyrically. Who knows, if I had the skills I had now back when I was working with Da Beatminerz, who knows? 9th and them have fire and they’re crazy. I like working with them and I like working with Da Beatminerz too. I was talking with Evil Dee and we might do a whole Beatminerz album. Just Sean and Da Beatminerz.  What do Da Beatminerz get out of you?    9th reminds me of Da Beatminerz back then. They have that sound and they’re all from the same tree if you ask me. They’re not that far removed from Da Beatminerz. They go in and they do their thing. Da Beatminerz have showed me a lot. I remember a song I did prior to Nocturnal in Evil Dee’s crib. They were giving me direction and all that. They helped me a lot. I have a lot of respect for Da Beatminerz.  Is it good for you to leave New York City and go down to North Carolina to record?    Yeah, because there is nothing to do out there. There is a school across the street and woods all over. Nobody knows me out there besides the Justus League and there’s no phone calls. I go out there to do what I have to do. It’s all work but it’s fun too.  When I interviewed you for Monkey Barz, you weren’t happy with the promotion. Is it better this time around?    No. Not at all. I don’t think an artist is ever going to be 100% happy with the promotion. But is it to the point where I want to go up to the label and choke out Dru Ha? Not at all. I commend the whole staff. They make miracles happen out of shells. I love Dru Ha. That’s my brother. I’m mad at the system as a whole. I’m not mad at him. It’s not him. He’s making it happen with what he’s got.  Why is it so hard to be independent in 2007?    Because we don’t have the marketing and promotions money the big dogs do. Even when I was on Priority I wasn’t happy with that shit. I don’t think anybody will ever be happy.  Your listening party was on a party bus. How was it?  It was cool. People came through and listened to the album. We smoked and drank and it was fun. People still talk about it to this day.   Did you snatch any notebooks?    Nah! (laughs) I didn’t snatch anybody’s books. I let them do what they want. Even that guy that got his notebook snatched, he did what he had to do.  At this stage in the game, you have classic albums with Heltah Skeltah and a successful solo career. Does the criticism bother you today?    It’s just one man’s opinion. But this is HipHopGame. When you post a Sean P song up there, I don’t know what’s wrong with these guys. They rate the song. If you like it, cool. If you don’t like it, cool. These dudes are calling me a “cocksucker” and inviting me to their penis. If you tell me to suck your dick in person, I’m knocking you out. I can take criticism, but when you’re like, Fuck this cocksucker, I’m ready to beat the shit out of you. Don’t invite me to your dick. I’ll punch your fucking head off.  You never know who said it.   I know, right? Fucking pussies. If you don’t like it, I can live with that. Just don’t be inviting me to parts of your body. You’ll get fucked up for that.    On “Heartburn” off Monkey Barz, you talk about how your wife can’t cook. Poison Pen, in his HipHopGame Journal, said Mrs. Price can cook.  Yeah. Quote that. I dogged her on “Heartburn,” but Poison Pen was here on Christmas and he said my wife can cook. She can cook.  So the alcohol hasn’t numbed Pen’s taste buds?    (laughs) She did her thing! The food was excellent, for real.  From my experience, women don’t like being told they can’t cook.   She was like, Why the fuck did you say that? Her cousins are always getting on her about that. She can cook though. It was excellent. You should have been here. We had catfish, shrimp, lobster tails, two roasted ducks and ziti. Trust me, my wife can cook.   Did you, Pen and Agallah go Christmas caroling after?    Nah, we just got drunk! We had a little rap session though.  Would you consider the last Boot Camp album, The Last Stand, a success?    Hell yeah. That was a good way to put shit out. I could have put out Jesus Price Superstar after Tek and Steele’s Reloaded. I could have went right in but Dru put a cap on it and said, “Let’s do this Boot Camp album.” I got busy on the Boot Camp album and I went in. People showed me wild love on that album. That was a good setup for this album.  Was The Last Stand tour successful?  You have the older crowd who loves Heltah Skeltah and O.G.C. and then you have the younger crowd that loves Monkey Barz. Some of the younger crowd doesn’t even know Sean P is Ruck.  Is the older crowd making the transition to your new music?    Some of them. The only difference between Sean Price and Ruck is that Sean Price is more of a man. He’s more responsible. He takes care of what he needs to take care of. Sean is more responsible and handles his business.  How important is it for you to stay on the road?    That’s very important. That’s the bulk of my money along with features. It damn-sure isn’t from sales. That’s my bread and butter right there.  Does the bootlegging of your music ever bother you?  It bothers me, but that’s the game. It wasn’t a real copy of the album that leaked anyway. It has the press overdubs. The response I’ve been getting from it has been incredible anyways. Rest assured, I do have another banging album.  Is Ruck coming back for the Heltah Skeltah album?    Definitely.  How’s the album coming?    We’re working on it right now. It’s coming. It’s a work in progress. That’s all I can say. I don’t want to give anybody a release date. We’ll put it out when it’s right.   Has the chemistry changed between you and Rock over the years?    There’s definitely a difference. Before I was overshadowed when we were Heltah Skeltah. It was Rock and the other guy. I was the other guy. That’s why I wanted to drop two solo albums before we dropped Heltah Skeltah so I could solidify myself as a solo artist. It’s not because me and Rock don’t get along. It’s because I’m a solo artist for life. I think I’ve solidified myself as a solo artist and I’m ready to do the Heltah Skeltah album now.   What’s going on with your 12 Monkeys project?    We don’t have no label. We have Pen, Pumpkin head, Block McCloud and some others. My man Nems is in jail so when he comes home, we can really put it down how we need to. We’re just going to go in. We’re just going to put it out. We might not even do it on a label. We might just do it ourselves. It’s crazy so far.   I’m also working with Guilty Simpson on an album produced by Black Milk. He’s doing the bulk of the production. We’re working on that too. It’s coming out dope. The boy is fire. I’m not even going to front. I heard his name and I never heard the music. When my man Dan Green asked me if I wanted to do this compilation, I listened to his music, I loved it and I wanted to do the album. Let’s do it! The boy has that fire and Black Milk is crazy with the beats. It’s going to be interesting. Stay tuned.  Are you still doing an album with Agallah?  We could put that out tomorrow. Me and Ag got a lot of material together. It’s just that he’s on Babygrande and he’s on Duck Down. We’re trying to figure out how we want to do it and where it’s going to come out at. It’s done though. I know how to get money without getting a record deal and I told Cheeze (Dru Ha) that I didn’t want to sign another record deal. I know how to get paid. We were discussing that too.  Are you happy with how Brooklyn is represented today?  I love Brooklyn. I’m from Brownsville, born and raised. Brooklyn is cool. The new breed that’s representing Brooklyn is all right. I like Papoose and I like Uncle Murder. That’s about it. Whoever else is coming out, they’re whatever-whatever. But Uncle Murder and Papoose sound great. I think they have a good chance of getting it popping. There are a lot of Brooklyn MC’s that are straight trash. I don’t understand it and what people tell them. They’re black people and I love them and get your money, but I think they’re horrible.   Do you ever find Uncle Murder’s music morally offensive?    I love that shit! I love that shit! He don’t like police. Neither do I. I love that shit. Especially after that Sean Bell shit. This is his time to drop an album. Right now. That was a fucked up situation. One police officer shot 31 times. What the fuck was his problem? He needs to be locked under the jail. One dude fired 31 times. Another cop shot 11 times. This one guy shot 31 times. What the fuck is that? He needs to be under the jail. I think it’s fucked up. I think it’s real fucked up. I don’t like police and that just made it worse. Fuck police.  How has the police’s presence changed in Brooklyn since the Sean Bell shooting?    There’s more cops in Brooklyn. You know what’s funny? As many cops as they put on the street, the same shit is going on. And half of them are more scared of you. Start throwing shit at those motherfuckers.  Do you see yourself dropping another solo album soon?   Definitely. I’m definitely going to start working on round three. After this Heltah Skeltah album, it’s back to round three. Me and Dru are doing the Rustee Juxx album. That’s my artist.   How’s the Rustee Juxx project coming?  That shit is hardbody. That’s coming out real nice. That is hardbody. Trust me. Go to YouTube and check out his song called “Rock On.” That and his other joint “Vic Flair.” Type in “Rustee Juxx” on YouTube and check out his videos. They’re cheesy-ass videos, but they’re just something to put out for the people to see.  Look out for the Heltah Skeltah album and the Rustee Juxx album. Look out for January 30 when my album drops. Smif n Wesson are back in the studio. We’re coming with some shit.   What advice do you have for up-and-coming MC’s?  Work on your craft and stick to it. Don’t be one of these disposable one-hit wonders. Have some longevity in the game. Get your pen game down right.  What do you have to do to be successful in 2007?    I have to keep doing what I’ve been doing, but do more. Whatever I’ve been doing has been working for me, I just have to do more. I’m not doing nothing new. I’m just doing what I’m doing on a higher level. Every day I’ve been doing work and the mixtapes and the rapping and the features and the shows. I just have to do more of it on a grander scale.   What do you want to say to everybody?    The mother of ignorance is always pregnant and for the Sean Price album, the bitch is having twins.  http://duckdown.com

By Brian Kayser

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