Raven The Blazin Eurasian catches up with one-half of the legendary Smif-N-Wessun, Tek, out in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.
On the importance of DuckDown's 15 Year Anniversary: "Just for the simple fact that it is the 15th year of an independent label that's been putting out good music, good quality music with major artists such as Sean [Price], Blackmoon, 9th Wonder. We got KRS-One on the roster. We just got Pharoahe Monch on the roster. Kidz In The Hall. Cypress Hill albums. Not to mention Smif-N-Wessun, can't forget about them guys. The music is timeless with DuckDown. It's just a family thing and there's not many groups that last together for fifteen years of music. That's a young teenagers life right there. So, you know, it's just a beautiful thing to be able to keep on doing it and still be relevant..."
On industry differences over the past fifteen years: "I would say the only difference is really the music that's being put out today. Compared to back then, there is a whole new sound again. The sounds of the instruments switched up. The production sounds, from a production point of view is different to the ear now. Before I would say you had a little bit more hardcore music or two-step, stand around and neck-snap, beat-boppin' music. Now, it's back to the clubs again. Now you're jerkin' or you're doing whatever other dance you're doing."
On adjusting to a changing fan base: "I mean, you always wanna aim towards the people who started out with you from day one. When I started, we were just talking to the blocks that we were raised on. And now, being able to do that, Dah Shinin' the album has taken us around the world like three or four times, made us be able to do four more albums. Now we're working on our fifth album with Pete Rock, Monumental, and now we definitely have to think outside of the box. We can't just talk to the block anymore. Now we have to talk to the females, we have to talk to the males, we have to talk to the people that's riding, the taxi drivers, the blue collar nine-to-fivers. You know, something for everybody."
On the amount of success achieved over the past 15 years: "When we first started, I didn't even know what the f*ck backgrounds was on a record. I just knew say your verse and come out of the booth. There's no fixing it up, or ad-libing, or double up. And then once we started hooking up with Da Beatminerz, it became something different because they opened our eyes to new ways of recording and making music. Recording in their backyard or in their basement when, rest in peace, their mom was still around. You couldn't smoke in the house. So you know, shit was hectic for a minute. You had to learn to adapt to it. For the most part it worked out beautifully."
On what to expect from Smif-N-Wessun's performance during the 2010 Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival: "[We're going to do] some new joints off the Pete Rock/Smif-N-Wessun album, Monumental, be out in September. We're definitely going to kick some of those off."
On what to expect from new album, Monumental: "We have one of the top dopest producers doing the entire album in Pete Rock. So with Pete Rock and Smif-N-Wessun together, there is no other name but Monumental. With the beats he's going to bring and the lyrics we're going to bring, each studio session was just f*cking like magic."
PURCHASE TICKETS TO THE 2010 BROOKLYN HIP-HOP FESTIVAL HEREPURCHASE MUSIC BY SMIF-N-WESSUN HERE
FOR MORE ON SMIF-N-WESSUN AND THE 2010 BHF, VISIT WWW.BKHIPHOPFESTIVAL.COM
