Discarded and Almost Forgotten

Same week I get my first check from google tube for old Wavelength  clips, I find this at the Goodwill outlet. It's an air check from the UPN incarnation of the show, which aired the closing years of the twentieth century. I was surprised to be reunited with this aritfact, complete with my handwriting. I passed these out to businesses in a vain attempt to get them to advertise with us. To answer your question, yes I bought it.

Rapper Klelph Dollaz dies

Richmond-based rapper, Kleph Dollaz, 41, was found dead today from an apparent cardiac arrest. Dollaz was former member of the 1990s hip hop group Ill Biskits and later produced music for Sean Price, Sadat X, Talib Kweli and others. Last year he released an album, "Square in the Circle," via his bandcamp page. Kleph's music took a spiritual turn in recent years, as evidenced by the above clip for "Speak the Name," directed by Marcus Holland.

Mos Def won't be Mos Def next year

Get More: Sucker Free

Mos Def has given us notice that he's changing his name in 2012. Unfortunately, his new music will still be known by it's previous name, "wack."

Philadelphia's Freeway

Found this lingering on the hard drive of my fading G5. This is likely one of the last shoots we ever did in Richmond, where Freeway stopped while on a promo tour for "Philadelphia Freedom," in 2003.

In 2004, Freeway suffered a crisis faith after the Jay-Z retired and the incaceration of label mate Beanie Sigel. After a few years off and a trip to Mecca, he returned with sophmore album, "Free At Last." His lats project, "Philadelphia Freedom 2," was released in 2009.

Stone Cold Rhymes

The new Son of Bazerk and No Self Control album is out. I'm looking forward to a physical copy, but itunes or Amazon will do for now.

Gang Starr's Guru in Coma

DJ Premier confirmed yesterday on a radio programs that, Guru, his former partner in the group Gangstarr, is in a coma. The rapper reportedly suffered a heart attack in New York City yesterday and fell into a coma. Premier added that Guru is scheduled for surgery soon.

The duo appeared to have broken up after 2003's "The Ownerz," but their may have been a reconciliation, according to a recent report in The Guardian. The UK media outlet claims that Guru recently hinted on twitter that new Gangstarr music was on the way.

The Chain and the Star

It didn't take long for rap veterans Guru and DJ Premier to gauge that former Wavelength host Yasmine wasn't well-versed on their career. The duo takes over this 2003 interview, tag-teaming on talking points, which means this interview is probably like many they did that day, but who cares? It's Gangstarr.

After the "The Ownerz," the album that duo is shelling in this interview, Gangstarr broke up and nobody really knows why. I can't put my finger on it, but some ingredient that was in there other albums just wasn't there on the last one. I love their other music so much that I wondered if, perhaps, the problem was on my end. After repeated listens, I officially cleared myself. If a reunion is going to bring more music like that, maybe I can learn to live in world without a new Gangstarr album.

The status of the duo's relationship was the subject of April Fool's Day cartoon, which would've been funnier if it didn't ring so true.

This was the group's first time meeting Yasmine, but their second appearance on Wavelength. You can read a transcript of that interview here and there.

"Hammertime" for reality TV

MC Hammer won't go away. Although he hasn't had a hit record in ages, the dancer/rapper continues to find ways to creep into the public consciousness. Hammer a.k.a Stanley Burrell was last seen during the Super Bowl telling us how easy it is to turn our golden household items into cash money. Aside from his work in commercials, which often trades on his riches-to-rags life story, he's also been a role player on reality shows. Now, it's time for the Oakland rapper to take center stage. "Hammertime," a reality show about the dancer and his family, is being produced by A&E and will premiere later this year.

The show will feature Hammer, his wife and their brood: daughter Akieba, 21, nephew Jamarius, 18, daughter Sarah, 15, Stanley Jr, 13, aka Boobie, nephew Meschek, 12, Jeremiah, 10, and 3-year old Samuel.

"Each week we'll open our home to viewers to showcase the hectic pace of our lives and our eclectic family ..." said MC Hammer.

"Hammertime" is produced by 3 Ball Productions Inc., the people responsible for the reality shows "Biggest Loser" and "Beauty and the Gee." J.D Roth, Todd Nelson and MC Hammer are executive producers. Executive Producers for A&E are Robert Sharenow, Scott Lonker and former Wavelength cameraman Stephen Harris.

Pieces of Weight

I dug legos as a kid. But I never considered building anything like the images above.  What is it about these little yellow men people find so compelling?

Skillz is For Real

The latest single and video from Richmond, Va.'s Skillz. Don't leave your girl around him.

Redman: Exploited on TV

Reggie Noble lit up the Phono Booth during his second visit to the store in 1995, in more ways than one. He kept things moving fast, but my capable co-host Dre was up for the challenge.

Enjoy Redman at his illest, as he critiques the music industry, explains his idea of success and ridicules our audio equipment.

P.S.The microphone used in this interview went on to bigger and better things.

Big Shug's Real Talk

In 1996, at the Phono Booth Record Store, Big Shug gave Wavelength one of the most personal and revealing interviews we ever recorded. For some reason, we never aired it.

I'm not sure what happened. But now, 11 years later, it's time to hear what Shug, a founding member of Gangstarr, had to say.

The Big Bad Wu

This was another interview that almost didn't happen. The Wu-Tang Clan left the Phono Booth, our surrogate TV studio and neighborhood record store before I arrived for our scheduled interview. Imagine my disappointment. I called the label and spoke to a woman named named Charm. She shared my frustration.

Charm called their road manger right then and I stepped away from the phone. When I got back, she was laying into him something fierce. She apologized for her strong language and asked me if I could meet them at Ivory's Uptown Lounge. After seeing how she handled business, I couldn't say no.

When we walked in the VIP at Ivory's, the group recognized my partner Dre from the record store, where he worked. Dre had put then in touch with a gentleman who distributed organic pharmaceuticals independently and they indicated their pleasure with the transaction. The road manager was apologetic and invited us to film the performance.

Cash didn't rule that night. The clan were on a promotional tour with label mates the Alkaholics and performed for free. The Wu-Tang Clan was in full effect, minus at least three members. Ol' Dirty Bastard was missing in action. Ghostface was chilling with his newborn twins and RZA was producing some next shillznit.

In this interview, Method Man makes some weird noises, GZA admits to some career missteps and Raekwon predicts the future.

Saturday Nite Wavelength

Masta Ace and Lord Digga and subjected to the interview techniques of Dre and a critical review of his latest release. This interview was filmed in 1993 at the Phono Booth Record Store, which is now a laundromat.

The Redman Interview

I was concerned about our interview with Redman. The funk doctor was unlike any other rapper on the scene. He didn't fit the mold of conscious rappers, gangster rappers or just-a-regular-guy rappers. Plainly put, Redman just didn't give a fck. "Whut? thee Album," his debut, was a funkfest of hedonism, criminality and drug abuse. It was hilarious.

So I didn't know what to expect from Reggie Noble. I consulted a video promoter I trusted, who suggested I ask him about his hairstyle and phrase the other questions around his lyric content. I took her advice and hoped to survive the interview. Which I did, despite something unexpected happening. (Two points to anyone who can tell me what R&B artist caused Redman to react in this clip.)

Redman would appear on our show three times, bringing an new reason for us to be concerned with each visit.

Steady Decline

Every time I came across Warren McGlone, aka Steady B. things weren't going his way. The first time I saw him was at the Richmond Colesium in 1992. Steady B. was part of group called CEB, comprised of a couple of other past-their-prime rappers. (The name was comprised of their initials and also stood for the prophetic phrase "Count Endless Bank.") It would be a failed attempt at reinvention.

Steady B. wasn't recognizable, the baseball cap and glasses that were his hallmark were out. Now, his distinguishing features were a bald head and missing teeth. Alternate cameraman DJ Reese spotted him backstage and set up a quick interview, talking me into letting him do it in the process. Steady B. had time on his hands, as the promoter had just informed him that their would be no show and no paycheck for CEB.

The next time I saw Steady B., he was the opening act at the long gone Richmond night spot, The Flood Zone. The odds were against him, he hadn't been out for awhile and times had changed. I was hoping he could pull something off, he still had some hits. I was looking forward to hearing "Serious" again. That wasn't happening. Steady B came on stage and lit a blunt.

I looked over at a cop standing along the wall of the club. He looked offended, but just watched as Steady began a piteous performance that failed to keep the crowd's attention. He left the stage after a short set and I caught a glimpse of him behind the curtain. He was leaning against the wall with his hands over his head. I couldn't see his face, but he looked upset. Someone tried to console him, but he wouldn't budge from that spot for awhile.

Hip hop heads know how this story ends, and it ain't good. Steady B. had one more time become front page news . He was convicted of second degree murder on October 30, 1996 and is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Moments of Truth Pt. 1

It was rare that we would shoot Wavelength outside of Richmond, Va. But when I got a call from an EMI rep about Gangstarr being available at Georgetown hotel, we got on the road quick. My usual cameramen were unavailable, so I snatched up D.J. Reese from his Mom's house and explained how a video camera works on the way. (D.J. Reese woud later come up with an idea for what would become "Are You That Somebody? remix, but that's another post.)

This was before the days of mobile phones, which turned out to be a blessing. The label attempted to cancel the interview while we were enroute. There is something to be said for being out of reach. Anyway, we got to the Hyatt and and Guru was in the lounge with his road manager and couple of guys in suits, who were trying to interest the rapper in a business deal.

His partner, Premier was nowhere to be found. Guru left the hotel restaurant several times to phone his room. Each time, he'd come back with the same news.

"He'll be down in a minute. He's on the phone."

While we waited, Guru talked about his days a starving artist on Wild Pitch records, listening to Queen Latifah's "Wrath of My Madness," on repeat for days and working part-time in a lawyer's office.

After almost an hour, the hip hop duo reunited for a interview in the rear of the hotel's restaurant. When this inteview was done, Primo hadn't given many interviews and had a mystique about him. But for some reason, he felt like talking, so we let him.

Gangstarr remains one of the most consistent, solid and prolific rap duos in history. Guru's confident montone, Primo's scratches and drum kicks are essential elements of any hip hop collection. While the group's reign may have ended, their legacy remains untouchable.

CRAIG: What's up fellas?

GURU: Ay yo, we're just doin' this promotional tour, we stopping through.

DJ PREMIER: I'm coolin'. Jus' loungin' with you right here in the "HI" in G-town on Wisconsin.

CRAIG: Alright. Premier, what we're you doing before this happened? (Holds up a picture of Gangstarr's first LP, "No More Mr. Nice Guy."

PRIMO: Oh wow. I was, you know, djing all the parties and whatnot. I was into hip-hop like crazy already 'cause my brother was still in New York and he would send all the records to Texas and everything. While I was doin' that, a friend of mine named Top Ski, who was from Boston, he motivated me too take it to a music level and actually be in the business. I was for bein' in the business, but as a producer, not really as an artist. After constantly doin' little things together, with him rhyming, he motivated me to wanting to get a record deal. But things didn't work out too well with me and him and I ended up being on my own.

And this man over here (nods toward GURU) had a few singles out, and he was having some problems with the members of his group so we were both two lost souls tryin' to find the right niche. I sent a demo to the label that he was on at that time, and he liked my demo. He used to listen to all the demos that came to the office. The owner of the label called me and we started vibin' with each over the phone. I was always making beats and stuff, but actually not for anybody, just for my own enjoyment.

Once I heard this brother ... he had a song called "Bust A Move," he had a song called "To be a Champion." I actually saw one of his shows on the dl, but we didn't get to meet. I just saw him do a performance and everything and I liked his style. Once we hooked up, I already knew a little bit about his background, as an artist at least. Not as a person but as an artist. He liked my style, I like his, we hooked up. We're still Gangstarr.

CRAIG: Keith E, What were you doin' before you first LP?

GURU: Well, Before that [gestures towards first LP] happened, like he said, I had a couple of singles. Really how it all started, I moved from Boston to New York in '82 and I started shoppin' my demo all around. That's my advice to the young people out there that want to get into this rap game, you know, it's not about jus' battling. It's not about goin' up to someone and sayin' I wanna battle you. That's not going to get you a record deal. That's not going to get you nothing. It might get you a little respect on your block for a day or two, that' about it . What I was doin', goin' into record stores lookin' on the labels, the different rap labels gettin the address, or even gettin the address of the management company. A lot of times, labels won't even accept any demo material, unless its through a middle person. They call that unsolicited material, they'll send that back to you, without even listenin' to it.

So I went through all that for like four years. Then finally in 1986, I got signed to Wild Pitch. It was a good move as a far gettin' out there in the market, but we paid a lot of dues, on the financial tip. You know what I'm sayin'? Now things are gettin better, but it's all about looking at it as a business. It's not fun and games all the time.

CRAIG: You said you moved from Boston to New York. Do you think its possible for a hip hop act to break out of an area like Boston?

GURU: Ed O.G. is from Boston, he's one of the best rappers out today. He like myself, had to make connections in New York in order to get busy on the national tip. There's a lot of talent there. There's a new group called RSO from Boston on Tommy Boy, they got one called "One in the Chamba."

CRAIG: You were among the first rap acts signed to Chrysalis Records. Did you encounter any difficulties as they had never handled a rap act before?

GURU: For us it was cool, at least we got to be with some people that were takin' more of an interest in us. There were some ... you know little, minor problems during the course of "Step into the Arena" last year. That's probably why it didn't do as well as it should have. Now EMI bought Chrysalis, and EMI is like slammin'. Their black music staff is very dedicated. They respect us, they work with us, so things are fine right now.

I'll post Part 2 upon request.

Rappers from the Basement

It's hard to remember a time when a rapper could admit to enjoying role playing games and not expect complete humiliation. But once upon a time in 1993, we met A rap duo that wasn't afraid to talk about the dragons and dungeons,the Cella Dwellas.

Like many artists on Loud during this era, the Cella Dwellas (Phantasm the Tall Man & Augide the Imagination) found it hard to thrive in the shadow of the giant W mark of The Wu-Tang Clan. You would think with a name like Cella Dwellas, there would nowhere to go but up.

Change the Style

The Son of Bazerk were a rap band far ahead of their contemporaries. Unfortunately for them, they were also way ahead of their intended audience. The beats, the look, the style were borrowed from the future and stolen from the past. A silk-suited rapper whose style went from reggae to hardcore mid-song was "too much for the mental." Bazerk was joined by bandmates with names like "No Self Control," "Sandman" and "Half Pint." It was 1991 when I interviewed Son of Bazerk and the music industry still hasn't caught up with them.