Interview with Imani and Fatlip

One of the things on your new album that I noticed, is that you talk about how you don't own your own self, being in the record industry and stuff. It seems like a messed up situation. I mean, I couldn't see living like that everyday where you're putting out stuff that you don't even own.
I mean, that all originated because we was doing this compilation for Motown, State of Emergency. So they wanted us to come up with something, not so much political, but something you felt that was important, whether it be political, racial, you know what I'm saying. Something that had to do with you. So, that is what I came up with. That was one of my concerns, 'cause that's our life, livelihood, and the way we make our money and shit, whatever. So, I mean its all right, give or take. I mean the business has a lot to offer, but you don't own your own reels. The record company is in control, controllin'.

KRS-1, he says things like people should, rather than do this for a job, they should take this as...
I read that. You talkin' about that shit in Rap Pages?

Yeah.
Yeah, that's real. I totally agree with that...man, you can focus on...you go crazy thinking about that. Plus, you have to fulfill your life with other aspects to even rap about, You can't be involved with this industry bullshit.

What did you guys do before you were rappers?
Dancing. Just trying to come up. We were always trying to come up. Like when you get 20...21, you want the things that supposedly in society that's going to make you a man...a car, money, and all that shit. So, we was doing what we had to do to get that.

I think the sooner people realize that people don't need those things though, they'll do a lot better. I can't understand exactly on Splattatorium, you were saying a lot of stuff about, I want leathers and a coup. Were you for serious or was that...?
[Imani]I'm not in this business not to be not successful, and I wish success and wealth and happiness and prosperity to everybody in my section, and everybody that I come in contact with. So, of course, those are some of the material things that come along with being successful. I want to have a nice car, definitely! Lexus is just one of the cars that's nice. I definitely want to be chillin'. Just because how everything is setup you got to be chillin' to be chillin' or you're not going to be chillin'.

I mean, I'm more like, I'll take a ratty car 'cause that way I don't have to worry about people wanting to steal it.
Nah, that's you! I respect your opinion, but then you respect my opinion. You can say I want this car. That's like saying I'd rather have a leather jacket, I don't want to just have a cotton jacket. I want a leather one 'cause to me leather is better. I like the way it looks and everything, the way it lasts. Why would I want to buy a fucked up car that's not going to run a couple of weeks later. I gotta put a gang of money into it. I gotta be worrying about bullshit. I go buy a good car, a new car, I'll be rollin', I'm chillin'...and then a crib, of course, you want to be chillin' in the crib. I don't want to be a homeless person. I want to be chillin' in the crib.

I just want to...I read in something and I can't remember what magazine i t was...kind of a funny little thing...I was just wondering...You guys were dancers for "In Living Color?"
[Fat Lip] All right, the dancer thing, that was like '90. Well, OK, that was like, actually we was dancin' since we was 16 or 17. That was a little culture, like L.A...It was like dancin', that's what you did, to be cool, get pussy, all that shit. You were in a dance group. We was all you know...they had a dance contest and all that shit. Back then we wasn't even on hip-hop. Like this is '84...'85 and shit like KRS-1, all that shit, came out. That's when we got on that. But, before then niggas wasn't even wearing sneakers and shit. We was wearing turtlenecks, Pee-Wee Herman suits, and shit. So, then that evolved and I started rhymin'. I started getting more into rhymin'. See, I'm older than them, so they were still in the dance scene. So, they took it to another level...a professional level. Started out with videos and then ended up...they got their little name out. I mean it's kinda small, Hollywood. It's not that many people so they was gettin' a lot of jobs. Everybody...the industry was noticing the hip-hop movement coming in...they was trying to get everybody. Herb Albert, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson they did videos for. But, the "Living Color" thing was they were clowning Vanilla Ice. So they was little backup dancers for 'em.

Just another question...I also read in many articles where they were talking about how you had switched styles so much from the first album to the last album, and your response to this was, you know, you guys have grown up over the last couple of years and things have changed, and that's changed you style.
I look at it as...this second album we was experimenting with a lot of things. First of all, we was experimenting with production, and just being in the studio, responsible for our own...making our own record. Before we was coming in, rhymin', goin' home. That's all there was to it. So this one, we had more responsibility.

Makes you grow up a little bit?
A little somethin'. Plus, we wasn't even feelin' the same way we was before. As far as crazy and hung. Because we were coming from a different place. So right now, I'd say the third album will be different from the second album. It's going to be a mixture of both of them actually. The second album's a bridge to me. We trying to get to this other side of The Pharcyde, on the third shit. So we coming out with a third one maybe in the summer. I'm trying to hook up a little summer EP or something like that.

You seem like you came from Los Angeles, where its a scene, to a lot of people it appears to be more gangster stuff. Kind of like Detroit, where people hear it and expect it to be Detroit. Although, our underground scene is real nice. How long were you on that scene before you broke out into a major label.
With that straight-up, underground, hip-hop shit? We had K-day. That was the source of everything...It was playing West Coast and East Coast shit and I was giving props to Eazy-E, Dr. Dre...nah, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube...That's who was inspiring me. But, aside from them...Ice-T too, King Tee. But, aside from them I was listening to straight East Coast shit. But, as far as West Coast having that image, as far as gangsters...that's who came out and blew up the most. Snoop, Dr. Dre, they got the phattest shit. So they representin'.

They had what people wanted to hear.
Yeah, they representin'. That's what they representin'. So, whenever we blow up to that status, we going to change it, I guess? Then people won't look at West Coast strictly how they look at it now. But, that's mostly what it is anyway. It's a small majority of people that's checkin' for the East Coast shit. I'm pretty sure in the East Coast it's a small minority of people checkin' for the West Coast shit.

Now, I got to know how you guys decided to go with J.D. as a producer from out here.
'Cause you know he's with Tip. Every time we go to New York, we chillin' and Tip was like we got this kid and he's going to do some shit on our album, he's phat, and blah, blah, blah. He hit us with a tape and we was lovin' it...This is an instrumental beat tape. Tip had the tape. He was like you can't use that one, we using that one. We were like we want to use that, all right we not using that. So, that's what you hearing on the album.

Can I ask you guys about LSD and mushrooms? Do you try to keep that more private?
Nah, nah. I show no shame. Never did mushrooms...I mean never did LSD. Did mushrooms, a couple of times. The shit is great. I don't do it no more 'cause I think I've experienced what I was going to experience off it already. I don't need to do it no more. I'm straight sober. I don't even get high no more.

Seriously?
I don't even smoke weed no more. I've been smokin' weed for so many years...man, how high can you get?

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