Zitat:
By: Marty Caballero
The one man army is back, and we’re not talking about Sylvester Stallone’s steroid-pumped biceps in that new Rambo flick. OneBeLo is flexing muscles of a different kind. Three years removed from his acclaimed solo jump-off S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M., the Binary Star member speaks with UGHH about his new album R.E.B.I.R.T.H., life after Fat Beats and more.
UGHH: First things first, you are no longer on Fat Beats, correct?
OBL: That is correct, my friend.
U: Could you give us some insight into what happened? In your press release it mentions something about “shady business partners” and “phony cohorts”...?
OBL: Yeah I don’t even know who that was about. You know, I just felt like it was time for me to move on basically. We wasn’t moving together like, you know... Me personally, I feel like I should get a certain level of attention. I’m up here recording some pretty amazing music, and they was kind of like, 'Yeah, we’re really feeling you.' And we’ve been talking about this for the last year, year and a half. But you know, nothing was happening. They weren’t following up with any action. I really didn’t understand why that was happening, and they weren’t really explaining it. So, regardless of what their excuses are, what their intentions were, like I said, I got music, fans want to hear it and it needs to come out. I just feel like it was better for me to just do my own thing and let them focus on whatever it was they were over there focusing on.
It was cool because I’m a free agent now and if I want to talk to somebody I can do that, but right now I’m just focused on making some more music, then I’m going to start talking to people. I’m in a real good position right now because I ain’t got no handcuffs on me.
U: This album is coming out on your own label. How is it running your own independent project?
OBL: I mean, its nothing really different from what I always did. The only difference is I don’t have handcuffs on me. My fan base is growing, my networking is a little stronger than it was so... It’s not like working with a major, but I got a little bit more control over what I’m doing as an artist. And the doors always open for distributors or whoever to come pick up the project. So I have more control, I need more in return. When you sign with another company, you’re getting a smaller percentage of your own music back. You gotta ask them for copies of your records so you can use them at shows. Like I said, I want to put out this record and possibly another one before I sign for somebody else because its going to be a project that I’m in complete control of. Sometimes it takes a minute for an album to kick in, and once it kicks in, whoever is in control of that project is going to see the majority of the profits. I figure like when I do sign with somebody, and the publicity kicks in, my back catalogue is going to open up. So when people ask, ‘What else you got?’ I got the R.E.B.I.R.T.H. joint. I’m basically regrouping right now.
U: How have things changed since your last album?
OBL: Just life, you know? My last album came out three years ago; personally, business-wise, musically, all kinds of different ways. I’d like to think that I’ve grown a lot, as far as my different experiences. Networking with other artists...most importantly I just learned a lot about myself, personally and as an artist. So right now, I just know when to say what and I know what beats to take. I know how to bring the best out of me. I’m kinda amped right now to see what’s going to happen next because I’m making some really good music right now. The people around me are excited, but most importantly I’m excited because I recognize that I’m in the zone right now. I don’t want to step out of that zone right now. Sometimes business and negotiations and that shit can’t snatch you away from that zone. But right now I’m so in the zone. I think it’s more important to make incredible music than it is to get that one deal. I can record 75 songs right now and then go out and shop ‘em. I’d rather do that than spend the next 3 months trying to shop these 10 songs.
U: Is that what you did with this album?
OBL: Yeah, I just recorded a lot of stuff and kind of picked.
U: How’d you get it down to 12 songs?
OBL: Well...to be honest with you, originally, this album was supposed to be like a mix tape. I wanted to pick songs that were really dope, but not dope enough to make my album. So the songs that you’re hearing on this album were the songs that technically weren’t going to make my album. And then, when I sent them to my man who was mixing them, and I added all the interludes and stuff, I was like ‘This shit could stand as an album!’ I’m not saying that its my dopest album or people would think its one of my top projects, but I was like ‘Man, this could be considered an album right here.’ The way the songs came, they just came out way better than I anticipated. And these were the songs that didn’t make the album. So, like I said, I feel like I’m in a really good position right now because this is just something I kind of put out there but at the same time I got a lot of good shit in the works too. That’s a good thing, when you’ve got longevity.
U: The R.E.B.I.R.T.H. stands for “Real Emcees Bring Intelligent Rhymes to Hip Hop.’ What is a real MC to you?
OBL: Passion. To me, an MC mean the passion for MCing. It doesn’t matter how many rhymes you write or how many times you’ve been on stage or how many bars you can freestyle or nothing like that. How I feel personally, I just love the craft of MCing. I have a passion for it. When I write rhymes, when I talk about it and when I think about it I’m excited. And an MC is supposed to move the crowd, so not only do I have a passion for this MCing but I have a passion for the crowd. I ain’t about just rapping about what I want to rap about and making myself feel good. You want to see hands up and people bopping their head and really absorbing what you’re saying. I’m thinking about the listener as well. That’s motivation in itself.
U: Do you have a favorite song from the album?
OBL: One of the most fun songs to me is “Don’t Sleep.” The reason why I like “Don’t Sleep” is because, coming from an MCs perspective, if its about wordplay, the wordplay is ridiculous. If its about patterns, the patterns are ridiculous. If its about storytelling... There’s not a lot of people that can flip words, come with the punch lines, tell a story, still have a deep meaning and still be dope. You listen to that song and it got a party aspect to it. It’s got a street element, an intellectual element, a political element. That song is everything. It’s fun, its political, its sarcastic, its all of that. It’s real lyrical, but its simple. To me, that’s like OneBeLo at his best. You can play it in the club, but its still like an everybody type of song.
U: On the political tip, you have any thoughts on the upcoming election?
OBL: To be honest with you man, the only thing I’ve been getting deep into is my writing. I haven’t really been following it like... I read the newspaper every now and then, TV now and then. I have a discussion every now and then. But what I do feel is that when I hear Obama speak, I just feel like he’s realer than the rest of them dudes. He seems to be more natural and more genuine. I ain’t saying he’s not a politician, but that’s how I feel, that’s what I believe. But, I’m not the kind of person to tell somebody to vote or not vote or vote for this person...I just got my license renewed and I’m not even registered to vote. That doesn’t mean I won’t, but you know, fuck politics. That’s just my own personal stance on it.
U: Any chance of a Binary Star reunion?
OBL: Oh, of course. You know we talk about it, but the reality of the situation is that that dude lives in L.A and I live in Egypt. It’s not about do we want to do it, it’s more finding the time and space to do it. With me having my own career, with him doing his own thing, it’s not as easy to just link up. It’s not easy for me to just sit down for three or four weeks and just know it out like that. But we talk about it and maybe we’ll do the e-mail thing or...It’s easier for me to do that with other people because I don’t know those people. But when I’m used to working with a certain person, e-mailing a verse is still kind of weird. So, the chemistry that we had on the first album was because we basically lived together. That chemistry came from our lifestyles. And we have totally different lifestyles then we did 10 years ago. So, it’s possible.
U: What’s up with hip-hop in Egypt?
OBL: I’ve seen some Wu-Tang graffiti on the wall but... When I’m over there I’m not rocking shows or anything.
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