MC EIHT (July 2010) | Interview By: Nima Etminan

..........................................................................................
MC Eiht // Video Interview // Dubcnn

Press Play to stream footage (Fast Connections Recommended)


..........................................................................................

Dubcnn: MC Eiht, you're back on Dubcnn to talk about your new album. Let us know what it's called!

"Which Way Iz West", Geah!


Dubcnn: Everybody has been talking about the fact that DJ Premier is heavily involved in the record. For those who don't know, let us know how you and Primo first linked up.

Shit, I've been knowing Premier since the early days, since Gangstarr first started, we used to tour with them and then Premier remixed one of my Def Wish songs for the Music To Driveby album, so we've had a long time connection. From there, we just stayed in contact through the years, bumping into each other on the road, me going to New York for different projects.

We just always stayed in contact. I found out that Premier started his own label Year Round Records, and after that he hit me up and let me know that he was coming to L.A. and wanted to get me on a remix to Blaq Poet, which was his first artist on his label. So I listened to the song, I thought it was tight and me and Young Maylay jumped on the remix, did the little video or whatever. From there we just got to choppin it up, I let him hear a couple of songs that I was working on, and from there we just decided to put out the record.

He figured that there was a lane for the shit for the shit we was doin' and nobody was trying to bring back that authenticity in rap. Him being one of the best producers, giving me the thumbs up letting me know that the songs was on point, we just decided to take it to another level and do the whole album.


Dubcnn: You dropped a lot independent records in the last couple of years. But it feels like with this one, you took a little more time and from the songs that we've heard so far, it sounds like it's gonna be a more thought out album. Is that correct?

Oh definitely! I've been working on this project for the last 2 years, really. Just trying to pick the right songs. Seeing the direction in which the music is going, I just figured I had to sit back and analyze what was going on. It's a lot of newcomers coming up, a lot of materialism in rap, braggadocios stuff. That's always been fun and games or whatever, but rap was taking a different turn.

I just wanted to analyze rap and see what the people was missing, getting feedback from niggas in the neighborhood, females who had been fans of mines or whatever. The feedback was that we need some authenticity in rap. I just thought of going back to the drawing board and writing songs that I felt people were going to enjoy, but then still sticking to a West Coast concept, just changing it up a little bit. The thought process went way long, that's why it took so long. I didn't just wanna throw out anything, just because a nigga is MC Eiht.


Dubcnn: What's interesting is, the album is called "Which Way Iz West", it's overseen by DJ Premier from the East, and I believe a European producer from Austria did a chunk of the album?

Brenk Sinatra! He did a chunk of the album. Brenk got that funk. Premier executive producing means that he's giving me the OK stamp. He's also got like 4 tracks on the album, as well as this cat Marco Polo, one of his guys in his camp. I've also reached out to Easy Mo Bee, chatted up with him and I'm supposed to get a track from him. Basically, the feel of the album is gonna be West Coast, it's West Coast record. It's jut that I wanted to get somebody who had a better input on the music game and the industry, coming from the East Coast, and not showing favoritism. Somebody who's going to really tell me, "Naw this cut ain't working." That's why I think I really chose Premier and we sat down and really hammered it out.


Dubcnn: You dropped the first video a few days ago, "So Well". What are you gonna follow that up with?

Right now we're trying to figure it out. It's so many cuts on the record, so much interesting stuff on the record that it's kinda hard. That's what's been taking so long too, Premier has had a hard time trying to pick the songs. Like I'd send him 10 songs and he'd say all these is banging. Then I send him another 10 songs and he goes "I gotta pick all 20" and then I still send him another 10 songs. I've probably sent Premier over 60 songs in the last 4 months. It's been a real good feel just doing the project and taking my time and having fun with it.


Dubcnn: When are you trying to release the album?

We was looking at August, but I'm thinking September. We've got about three songs right now we're thinking about coming with for the next single. It may be a song called "Blue Stamp" or it may be a song called "It's On". Right now we're gonna lead off with another song called "Fine By Me", that Premier just remixed. That's a song I had in the cut, playing on MySpace, but Premier liked it so good that he remixed it. So that's the next single and we're gonna do a real official video to that one. The record should probably hit around September, I'll push it and say October just to be safe.


Dubcnn: A few years back. it was announced that you were a part of a group that Snoop was putting together, The Warzone (Eiht, Goldie Loc & Kam). What was the reason that that project never came to fruition?

From my understanding, from what I got from the business aspect, was that we didn't fit into the criteria of what Koch was distributing. They told me that basically the Warzone didn't fit their roster. So the project fell through. It's kinda puzzling to me, because dealing with Koch before, and dealing with them as far as doing independent projects and knowing their independence, it kinda puzzled me for them to say that we didn't fit into their criteria, but it's politics in the rap game.


Dubcnn: You've been involved in quite a few East/West collaborations in your career. Which one is your personal favorite, looking back?

I think the collaboration I did with Pete Rock, the "One Life To Live", that was a real personal project. I had always been a fan of Pete Rock and CL Smooth. I always thought that Pete Rock was one of the premier producers on the East too, I had followed Pete Rock from his production for Heavy D to his own group throughout the years. I think that was one of the most sought after or one of my best projects from a East Coast perspective. I got down with Ol Dirty on a song, I got down with a couple of cats, Eric Sermon and Redman on a song, and Pete Rock sought me out, so to speak, so I look at that as a real personal project. Also, the Soul Assassins project was tight too, shout out to Pete Rock for that.


Dubcnn: You were on the "Throw Your Hands In The Air" Remix, when ya'll did the video with everybody in there. Do you feel like that's something that's missing nowadays, people complementing each other on what their doing instead of it being so much rivalry?

Right now it's just… It's a lot of haterism or whatever people wanna call it in their music. But yeah we've been missing that! That was one of my favorite things coming up in the rap game, being able to do a song with Spice, or collaborate with Scarface, Ol Dirty, Cypress Hill! I think we're missing that today because it's a lot of braggadocios, money floundering competition as far as the flossing goes. I think everybody wants to stay in the own section and alienate each other. We're definitely missing that on the West. We need it on the West, bad!


Dubcnn: Everybody talking about New West/Old West, why can't it be just West?

That's my saying on it! Niggas been going around saying it's beef, it's problems, like the Glasses Malone shit, or this other cat, Problem or whoever. My thang is, I just don't take it in a whole, like why it's gotta be a New West. What's new about the West Coast? We've been making records since Egyptian Lover days! When it was time for them cats to step aside, Egyptian Lover, the Wrecking Cru, whoever was coming out at the time, I could never see myself telling Toddy Tee or Mixmaster Spade, "it's time for ya'll to step over, cause we're the New West now!"

It's the same shit going on in the West Coast, if you're supposed to be from Watts or Compton or South Central, shit niggas is still banging, niggas is still selling trying to make ends meet, bitches is still having kids, niggas is still going to jail, welfare still exists, the police is still jacking muthafuckas and niggas is still getting shot. So I don't understand what's new about it. Because your slang and your braggadocios wants to be new? That's fine. Okay, you're the new nigga, but when you try to alienate, you picking sides, talking about we the New West, and you're old, you need to step aside. These niggas ain't doing shit but bragging on themselves and shit that they ain't never seen or witnessed. Our foundation is West Coast music. Niggas talk about their hoods, niggas talk about their struggle, niggas talk about their homes that done passed. Whatever your situation is, we're just West Coast artists.

I don't got no picket sign up going around saying "Fuck the New West" or whatever, I'm just saying niggas need to come together as a whole, we're just the West Coast! You don't hear them on the East Coast saying "This the New East" or "The New South". That's just our mentality on the West Coast. Niggas wanna be hooded out, niggas living in the projects on the streets, we bang, we represent, so we wanna separate ourselves with a new identity. But that ain't the way to go, cause ain't nothing wrong with my flow! I can still get out there and bust, I'm on tour right now, I'm still putting out records, so for you to tell me I'm old, I gotta step aside, shit, don't nobody tell Jigga he's too old, don't nobody tell Cube to stop rapping, or Scarface or Busta Rhymes, don't nobody tell Dre to stop doing beats! So that's just the aspect of it all.

Shit I ain't got no beef with none of these cats. Glasses Malone saw me at the gas station, we hollered, shit I asked him how he likes his situation at Hoo Bangin' at basically being at Cash Money. That was our conversation! Niggas take it personal cause of the song I did with King Tee, which we did fuckin' two years ago! Now that this New West shit is heating up, I guess niggas is takin it personal cause they rereleased the song and I made a line about new niggas and whatever. I'm talking about new niggas with all the shit about jerky pants and tight jeans and dance steps! That ain't our identity. That's what I was speaking on. Niggas take it personal, so be it, but all this New West/Old West, it's just West Coast!


Dubcnn: Go ahead and promote "Which Way Iz West" again before we go!

Geah! Ya'll be on the look out for that new album, MC Eiht & DJ Premier, Which Way Iz West, on my label Blue Stamp Music, Premier's label Year Round Records. The mixtape is out right now, All Starz & Strapz Vol. 2. Shout out to Dubcnn for keeping it West West. Keep it Compton!