Mentalsatin.Com Interviews Krayzie Bone

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ms: What was the inspiration behind the first single, "Hard Time Hustlin'"?

kb: It came from personal experiences. Like when I was strugglin' in the house w/ my sisters, brother, and my mother--how our living conditions were low. Livin' in the house w/ no gas, water, nothing-you know what I'm sayin'. Like when I got older, I got tired of it, so I just  went out on my own tryin' to make money on my own, hustlin'. And I got caught up and went to jail for it. So basically, it's a rundown of everything I'd went through.

ms: How many songs did you produce on the album?

kb: I produced about 4 songs on the CD, but I had the final say on everything. Made sure it was tight in the right places.

ms: Do you have any favorites?

kb: Yeah, I like "Hard Time Hustlin'"- 'cuz I'm a big fan of Sade.

ms: Yeah, I love Sade, she's that girl!

kb: Yeah, and for me to be doin' that song w/ her is like- unbelievable to me still. I still listen to it and I'm like 'maaan! I got Sade on here!'. It's crazy.

ms: Yeah I know right?

kb: Yeah, and I like another one a lot, too. The one w/ my group Kneight Riduz, "Kneight Riduz Wuz Here".

ms: Kneight Riduz?

kb: Yeah, they're real different- the group is rock, rap, and they wear masks--their faces are never seen. It's how they are, even off stage.

ms: Oh yeah? Will they be coming out w/ something soon?

kb: Yeah, they're workin' on their album right now. I have a lot of people interested in them, but I want them to be all the way developed before they make any commitments.

ms: How many songs did they do on this album?

kb: Just one song on this album. They were also on my last album and did one song. I don't want to give people too much of them yet. I want them to hear them and want more.

ms: Yeah, you want to have us antcipatin', huh?

kb: Yeah, that's what's happenin' right now too, 'cuz everybody is comin' up to me askin' "who are they?" "where do they come from?" They're really different. I had to sign 'em, 'cuz I'm really feelin' their music and their image.

ms: Do you think that artists are trying to be more diverse, or do you think everyone is sounding the same?

kb: I think it's a lot of people sounding the same, you know what I'm sayin', because to me, it's like everybody tries to do what's out there. Like, there could be a Ja Rule song out there--like the "me & you", and then the record company, they would want their artists to do something just like that, just because the concept was a winner and it was a number one song. But it aint cool, 'cuz everybody started tryin' to do that one thing, the same concept, just like that. Then you get too much of it. You've got to go the opposite way everybody else is goin', and that's what I try to do.

ms: Right, goin' against the grain.

kb: Oh yeah, all the time. I love goin' against the grain because I feel like I know how to put it out there in a way that it will be accepted. I can do it musically and still keep it thug.

ms: WELLLLLLL! <laughs> So what do you think makes you stand out?

kb: Well, mainly w/ BTNH, the fact that we sing. We harmonize w/ our raps-the way we rap-the speed of the raps we do. We were just a different sound, a different look. You know what I'm sayin', we came out, we was wearin' braids, afros, and it was what everybody was remembering about us: our style of rapping and our hair. <laughs> You know, they would describe us by our hair--the one w/ the 2 braids, the one w/ the hair all over his head. <laughs> It was crazy.

ms: Well, around the same time y'all came out, another group came out....but umm, we don't hear too much from them anymore.

kb: Yeah, yeah.... I think I know who you talkin' about. It was either Crucial Conflict or Do or Die.

ms: Yeah, and you guys have been doing more than just maintaining-- y'all have longevity.

kb: Oh yeah, definitely.

ms: Are you or any other members of BTNH venturing out beyond music?

kb: Yeah, I'm tryin' to get into acting. I'm workin' on a movie right now. We had a song called "Ghetto Cowboys", and we're makin' a movie based on that.

ms: Oh yeah? Tell me a little about it.

kb: It's gonna be a Black western. It's will star hip hop  and R & B artists, as well as some other actors. It's gonna be an all-star cast, and it will be action packed.

ms: When will that jump off?

kb: Well, right now we just landed it w/ Wesley Snipes' company. We're looking for a director right now. We're movin' right along with it.

ms: When did you start rapping?

kb: I started rappin' back in the 6th grade--from 1st through 5th grade, I was singing. I used to want to be a singer, I used to want to be like Michael Jackson and New Edition. Then when I went to the 6th grade, I started gettin' hip to rap, started listening to Run-DMC.

ms: Yeah... The singing brought a whole new dynamic to y'alls group.

kb: Yeah, 'cuz all of us have a singing background--Bizzy sings, too. We all have that old school musical background because of our parents, and just being into music. So once we all came together, it all clicked and we came up w/ our style.

ms: Yeah, y'all did. There are a lot of peeps who sound the same, and y'all managed to stay away from that. If you notice some of the clicks out there, their music sounds the same.

kb: Yeah, yeah, that happens a lot. That's why I tell a lot of my artists to be different. I used to get artists and they used to try and do exactly what I did, sound like me. And I would tell people- 'man, start rappin' the way you feel comfortable'. You aint gotta impress me, do what you do. And I stress that being original is the best thing. Because if you're original, people will respect what you do. It's better to have people tryin' to do what you do, than to do what everybody else is doin'.

ms: It's cool that you encourage originality. Do you have anyone else on your label? Thugline Records, right?

kb: Yeah, Thugline Records. Wishbone will be releasing his album on my label, and I have a female R & B artist, her name is La Reece. She's on about 8 songs on my album. She's gonna be the first artist released on Thugline.

ms: When will that drop?

kb: Right now she's wrapping up her album, so hopefully, not too long after my album drops. I'm trying to get her out there as soon as possible, because she's ready, she's beautiful, and man, she's talented.

ms: Well great! We need some more women out there to represent! And you brought Boss back into the light!! Thank you!

kb: <laughs> Oh yeah! Boss is on my album. She's on two songs: "Thugger Level" and "Rollin' On Some Mo'".

ms: How did that collab come about?

kb: Def Jef works for my label and he used to produce Boss back in the day. So when I was workin' on the album, he mentioned her one day and I was like 'man what's up w/ her? what she doin' now?' and he said she was still rappin', tryin to do her thing. So I was like, 'maaan, you need to tell her to come on out to Thugline'. So he hit her up and she told him she loved Bone. She came out to LA., and we just started puttin' stuff down. And now, she's rollin' with Thugline.

ms: That's cool, 'cuz she's got skillz.

kb: Yeah, 'cuz she's just amazing. She aint missin' a beat. She fallin' right in w/ the times. But she still sounds like "Boss", she's just new and improved. She's off the hook.

ms: Do you plan to tour w/ this album?

kb: Oh yeah. Right now the record company is putting together a tour for the artists.

ms: Are y'all gonna tour out here in Europe?

kb: Definitely--I think I'm coming out there in September for the European tour.

ms: Well, thank you so much Krayzie for sitting down with me. I'm really diggin' the first single from the new album.

kb:Thank you.

ms: Much success to you.

kb: Thanks a lot.
 

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