URB: You also have another album, Arms & Hammers, due out later this year. How are the two records different?
KRONDON: They were almost done by two different groups. Having two records come out in the same year is sort of weird since they were done at two different times, in two different frames of mind. But they’re both incredible in their own rights. Stoney Jackson is the daytime, and Arms & Hammers is the nighttime.
Stoney only has one producer, and it was recorded like a jazz record because that’s his style. It was done completely backwards. We didn’t contact Stones Throw, make any formal offers, or sign any contracts. We had been working on Arms & Hammers for four years, and [Blacksmith Records label head Talib] Kweli was taking forever. We didn’t want to sit around and wait, so we talked to Madlib, whom we’ve worked with loosely before. He’s from the West Coast, he’s loosely affiliated with our crew, and he’s one of the best to do it, so why wouldn’t we? It’s not like some far-fetched situation where we went down south looking for someone to work with. We simply wanted to get together and make some music. Their eyes lit up. We came up with the idea on a Monday, and by Friday, Madlib and J-Rocc were at the studio with 300 beats. He just left the beats and said he would be back. If you know Madlib, you would know that he doesn’t say much. After realizing that we have more beats from him than anyone right now, we decided that we weren’t going to approach this like we’ve ever approached anything. We were going to come together and jam like jazz musicians. We weren’t going to designate roles for each person on each song; it didn’t matter who came up with the hook, or the concept, or whatever. There’s no set structure. We didn’t consciously do things with an initiative. We just let things flow, and it worked. We rapped on it, and they did the music. We had thirty songs when we were done, which we handed over to Madlib and J-Rocc in order to put the album and the order together. They picked the songs they liked best. The whole record was done like a true creative process should be done–not trying to hit a bull’s eye, not overthinking.
Arms & Hammers is more of a commercial record with big producers and big features, done with lots of label politics. It was done for Warner Bros. Look at what Murs did with 9th Wonder, and then look at the album he did for Warner. We struggle with that same thing. We have this expectancy of success, but we come from the underground and are getting a major look. The record is the sound of a bunch of people working towards a certain goal musically. It’s a great record. Not since the days of The Chronic, Doggystyle, 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz, and Death Certificate have you had a record that represented the West Coast yet is universally viable. I think Arms & Hammers will be in that echelon of music. So Stoney Jackson is the height of our maturity, progression, and creativity as artists, while Arms & Hammers is the bell and whistle you want to hear when you put a record out. You have one record that’s purely art and another that’s done within the corporate structure but is still art.
URB: What are your thoughts on present-day West Coast rap?
KRONDON: It’s the best it’s been in almost twenty years, since the days of Snoop, Death Row, Pharcyde, and Alkaholiks. When The Game came out, the West Coast hadn’t seen anyone like that for a long time, someone who could enter any market and start some new attention for the scene. He’s helping along this resurgence in interest in West Coast rap, and many things wouldn’t have seen the light of day if it wasn’t for his popularity and his creativity. And we’ve been bringing you that “gangsta” image for so long that it’s pigeonholed us. When I turned thirty, I threw all my khakis away. The thing about Game is that he went beyond that. He’s always progressive; he’s working with Robin Thicke and Justin Timberlake. It’s allowing the West Coast to broaden its scope and break free from the “gangsta” label. I sense a creative, intellectual, and lifestyle progression happening here that’s completely genuine. The sound, the fashion, and the way of living have developed substantially since the time I was growing up, and we’re all co-existing. I’m overwhelmed by it because I came from an era where backpackers, gangstas, and hipsters were all divided. Now the veil has been lifted, and I’m working with people that are so much different from me, like U-N-I, Nipsey Hussle, and Fashawn, We all look different, we all sound different, but we all work together to create a scene to fill the void left by Death Row.
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