Like anything, hip-hop has experienced its share of directional shifts within the genre. Over the years it has been labeled conscious, gangster, boom-bap, crunk, and has had so many sub divisions and sub, sub divisions form that often fans question whether the music they are listening is actually still hip-hop. Fans will often reflect back, most often to the early ’90s, to when they felt the music was at its pinnacle or most inspirational. The need for reflection is directly related to the overwhelming feeling that there is something missing in the music that is being made today. We search to try and identify what was so timeless about the music that we reflect on music from the past and use it as a model of measurement to calculate what is missing with the music that is being released today. For artists, this feeling is often no different, and for the truly great ones, they look back to the past as a way to remind themselves of what was exciting about working on a particular project while continuing to look forward and fill in the pieces that are missing that are absent. Last month, Kurupt released Street Lights. This is an album that succeeds not because it tries to recreate what we know from this legendary MC but because he continues to push himself into new directions while reminding us why he is truly underrated. Recently URB had the chance to catch up with Kurupt to discuss his latest project, his various collaborative projects and passing of GURU.
URB: On the title track of the album, you state that you were reflecting back to a time when you when you were working with Jay Dee on the first Slum Village album. You have worked some legendary producers in your time. What was it like working with Jay Dee?
Kurupt: I was young in the game, and you know ain’t nothing like your first time working with someone. He brought a whole new musical element to the table, different sounds, different drums. He was a trendsetter. It was completely different from the gangster rap I was used to. It made me feel like I was going to a different world. Jay Dee along with all of the other Slum Village artists opened my eyes on that project. It was big. It was real big.
URB: On the “Streetlights” track, you mention that you wanted to recreate that experience of having something old and something new, so what was it about that experience of working on that project that you wanted to recapture on this new project?
Kurupt: You can’t recapture the Jay Dilla experience. It is just impossible. He is one of a kind. I didn’t really try and recapture any of the old albums I made or any of the Death Row era. I just told a couple of good tales, hit with some education, and try to hit them with some grown folk music, which is actually the title of my next album.
Leave A Comment!