As I took my computer into the back stairwell of the office building to hold my second interview of the week, my nerves were bolstering inside me as I knew I was going to be speaking with Pete Rock and Smif-N-Wessun within seconds. I’ve done interviews with prominent musicians for almost a year, but none have matched the legendary status that these artists carry, yet I managed to pull it all together and kick off a wonderful conversation. The legendary producer has played an instrumental role in any true Hip Hop fan’s life, and the fact that I had the honor to ask Pete about his craft didn’t really hit me until after hearing what he had to say. Reaffirming much of what I already thought about Pete, and after hearing him speak on his current musical aspirations and lifetime influences, I was speechless walking back into the office, knowing I had just picked the brain of the greatest Hip Hop producer of all-time.
Now in 2011, Pete Rock and Smif-N-Wessun have linked to create a new LP, Monumental. “It was a humbling experience. We already had respect for each other, we already have a crazy history in creating things that a lot of people respect and love. So it’s like how are we going to go into the situation and create something that we love. That we can add to both of our catalogs. We totally did not want to look at it like, making another mix cd, like give me some beats and we’ll see what happens. We wanted to make this sh*t really strong, and powerful,” Remarks General Steele of Smif-N-Wessun, explaining the yearning to create something new, polished with superior effort. Explaining situations in which nobody, not even label heads, were not allowed in the studio. Pete, Tek & Steele sound off in this exclusive Q&A, speaking on their extraordinary longevity, the making of the LP and what exactly allows them to continue to make quality Hip Hop music. Read on after the jump.
RubyHornet: DJ Premier spoke recently, saying one of the reasons Smif-N-Wessun are classic is because of the smaller logistics of the group. Correct single choice, how album is sequenced. Do you still think that is important in 2011?
Pete Rock: Well, you know what, I’m going to answer that one. I don’t think that’s even important anymore, about what’s the first or second single, unless we’re passionate about a song that we have and we say ‘yo, let’s rock with this first.’ You know what I mean? But other than that, everybody just puts the album out nowadays. I mean, you may get a first single, to let you know what it is and then n*ggas come with the album. Remember back in the 90’s when we used to put out like 3-4 singles before the album came out? But now that’s irrelevant, today it’s just an album.
Steele: I’ll add on to that. I think this album, I’m not saying this because I’m a part of it, I think this album will separate that concept or belief. It will crack that belief in half. Because a lot of people have given up. But in Hip Hop you still have a thought that something will come later on. And that something that comes later on, is something like Monumental. Or it might be someone else, it might like another Jay-Z Fade To Black, but right now we’re talking about Monumental. Every time the game goes wrong, something comes along that’s like, ‘oh sh*t wow. Hip Hop is ok.’ It’s just Hip Hop, it was something that provided us a little elbow room, so to speak. We put Hip Hop at the pedestal damn near next to Obama, and if Hip Hop did anything, we were like ‘Oh hell no, I can’t stand Hip Hop, this is wrong.’… You listen to the Monumental Album, you listen to Pete Rock being an artist. When you asked Pete that question, I think of “The Creator”. You remember that song?
RubyHornet: Yep, off the first EP.
Steele: Yes, and he rapped on that s**t better than a bunch of rappers were at that time. Dude’s were like, ‘we don’t care, if it’s wack it’s wack.’ But at the same time you have to pay attention and understand what we’re utilizing, cause we we’re like, ‘if this sh*t don’t sound like this than, that ain’t poppin’.’
RubyHornet: Smif-N-Wessun, you said in the first few sessions working on the LP it was a learning experience. You had to feel each other out. What happened in those first sessions and made it clear this collaboration was going to work.
Steele: Yeah, the jungle was big. Lions in a jungle. It was like, ‘let’s see how we can live here, how can we co-exist in the jungle?’ It was a humbling experience. We already had respect for each other, we already have a crazy history in creating things that a lot of people respect and love. So it’s like ‘how are we going to go into the situation and create something that we love? That we can add to both of our catalogs?’ We totally did not want to look at it like making another mix cd, like, ‘give me some beats and we’ll see what happens.’ We wanted to make this s**t really strong, and powerful. (Pete murmurs “A Real Album”) We took our time with it, we crossed the mountains man. We crossed the mountains that a lot of other producers and artists are scared to go across. And a lot of labels, I’m going to tell you, there were nights where Duck Down couldn’t even come in the studio sessions. Only Tek, Steele and Pete. It was hot fire! It was just artists had to get there and pound it out, keep going and get to that place. And then we can deal with labels, politics and all that stuff.
Pete Rock: I think also too, it was just being in the lab with out statures. With both of us, Tek + Steele & Pete Rock, that says enough. To combine that together it was a whole lot of fun. It may have taken a while to make the album, but once we we’re finally done, and listened back to certain songs, we we’re like ‘Ok, we got something. We’re going in a good direction. That was it, it’s easy after that.
RubyHornet: Pete, the word is you bring your MPC and new vinyl to every session, is this something you have always done?
Pete Rock: Yeah, I always have done that. A lot of my ideas after making a song, I always look for something to intro the song, or something to scratch into it. I always bring my vinyls for hooks, just to have that vintage Hip Hop scratching in a song. Because you don’t really hear that today, on the radio.
RubyHornet: For Smif-N-Wessun, with a lot of BCC features on the LP, what does it mean to be recording with the same group of people for 15+ years now. How does it feel to be working with the same group of people yet, still evolving 15 year later?
Tek: It’s magical. Man it really feels good, we stayed together this long because we’re family. We knew each other before the music scene really popped off for us. We know more about each other than each of us know about ourselves. We’re prepared to do the work. Who knew it would be 15-20 years down the line and we’ll still be doing it? So that’s a beautiful thing, but everyday it gets better.
RubyHornet: I caught the tail end of the last interview. I heard you guys talk about the love that keeps you making music. How do you receive that love? Is it shown in a message you get from someone maybe a fan? Or is it organic and you don’t think about it?
Tek: It’s not a message from a fan or anybody. If my closest friends or my family that can still benefit off what I’m doing, that I’m able to enjoy 20 years worth of fruits of labor for doing this. They play a major role. But it’s more a of a self-assurance that I’m able to still be out here and do this music that we love to do.
RubyHornet: Pete, for you working with acts like Camp Lo & Smif-N-Wessun in 2011, these are some of the artists that were very prominent in the mid-90’s and still are now. Are there any other artists who have kept that longevity you would still like to work with?
Pete Rock: Yeah! I want to work with any and everybody that wants to work with me. I know, that I can build music around an artist and make them great, you know what I’m saying? I’ve been doing it for too long. My thing is like, if people turn that ego down a little bit, then of course, I’ll work with anybody right now. I was up with Nas and Damien the other day, and I been waiting for them to call me for the remix, haha. I know my name came up, but when they called me I was geeked. I love what’s going on in Hip Hop right now. Nobody is giving up and everyone is on their grind.
RubyHornet: Smif-N-Wessun, are there any rappers or crews in 2011 that you see embodying the same united nature and grind that was Smif-N-Wessun & BCC in the 90’s?
Steele: I can really say there are no rappers like that, but I do mess with the dude Planet Asia, Wiz Khalifa is doing his thing, it’s a lot of young cats coming up that are going to eat off what other cats put forth before them and I wish them all the best. And let them know we got more work to do. We need 50 more years of this thing right here, so we just got to stay tuned and keep our ears to the streets.
RubyHornet: Pete, I know you collect Blaxplotation films…
Pete Rock: I have every Blaxplotation film ever. Any one, just name it I got it.
RubyHornet: Do you have a favorite composer for the films? Isaac, Roy or Marvin?
Pete Rock: You know what’s funny? I just left Roy Ayers’ crib, just now. I was on the phone with Q-Tip telling him everything I saw in Roy’s house haha. Yeah, we’re doing a tour over in Europe, and we got something that’s really really dope.
RubyHornet: What’s the word with the Pete Rock, Roy Ayers collab? What is going on there?
Pete Rock: It’s going to be crazy. We’re touring right now, and that’s just one of my jazz things that I always wanted to express in music. Grabbing a real artist and getting busy with him, you know what I’m saying.
RubyHornet: That’s word. We need much more of that.
Pete Rock: Yes. And Roy is a real real cool. Real down to earth, man. But what you we’re saying about the Blaxplotation, like that’s the soundtrack to my life. Watching those kind of movies growing up. My pops, I had cousins and uncles that were in to that, street guys, all types of people I grew up around. I learned about these movies. So once I got old enough I started correcting it.
RubyHornet: So how did these movies that had great influence on the Funk & Jazz genres in the 70’s mold you into arguably the greatest producer of all-time?
Pete Rock: I think actually the music, the soundtracks to the movie. My pops had me listening to joints, you know what I’m saying. Like he would just put on the record, the whole A-side would go, he’d flip it over and the whole B-side would go, and that’s how we used to get down in the crib. That’s how I learned about the music aspect, which made me more interested in the movie side because we looked at movies like things that happened in real life. None of that Blaxplotation stuff was fake, everything was real life. We as a people, as blacks, should really actually bring that back and let people know the influence that it had on us, growing up. And I’m working with Camp Lo on a project called 80 Blocks from Tiffany’s, which is a title from a documentary about Bronx gang-life. We took the title because it was so interesting.
RubyHornet: Smif-N-Wessun, after this Monumental LP, what do you have planned next?
Steele: We’re all innovative artists, so we got a lot of different things we got going on. You just heard the homie tell what he’s working on with Camp Lo. We have a Boot Camp album we have to finish up. There will always be more, and hopefully we’ll always be inspired to do more and we’ll never give up. Stay tuned to Duckdown.com, Bucktownusa.com reach out to us on Twitter, think active in the whole Hip Hop community.