(AllHipHop News) Legendary Roots crew lyricist Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter is once again set to host the 3rd annual Let’s Move It Philly! benefit event and concert taking place on Saturday, February 16th at Sigma Sound.
The event, which is part of a bigger GrassROOTS Community Foundation movement, will benefit young girls’ health and is a result of First Lady Michelle Obama’s national call about the state of both thephysical and emotional health of children in our nation.
The concert bill includes a number of both local and national talent such as The Roots frontman himself, two-time Grammy-nominated singer Marsha Ambrosius, Marlene Younglao, rapper Chill Moody, DJ Aktive, and Money Making Jam Boys members Dice Raw, Truck North and STS.
As the first artist signed to Prodigy’s Infamous Records, Rick Gonzalez aka Realm Reality, has his heart and soul embedded in Hip-Hop.
Despite being known first and foremost as the actor from such films as Old School, Coach Carter, Biker Boyz and War of the Worlds, Realm first honed his rap skills as a kid growing up in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Joining a long list of actors/rappers, he’s out to prove the naysayers wrong.
Rick, who just recently officially signed with Infamous Records, is gearing up for the release of his second mixtape next week titled In the Grind We Trust. The 12-track project features appearances and guest verses from the likes of Joell Ortiz, Fred the Godson, Blu, Skyzoo, and Termanology among others and is set to make quite the impact.
AllHipHop.com got the chance to speak with Rick about his signing to Infamous Records, working with rappers like Blu and Prodigy, his favorite film from 2012 and much more.
You teaming up with Prodigy seems to come out of nowhere. When did you two connect and how did your signing to his label come about?
Yeah well me and [Prodigy], through mutual friends, have known each other for a long time, like six or seven years at least, so we’ve always had a respect and friendship that was built.
When P went to jail, I sent letters in and just kept in contact with him and kept his spirits up and when he got out he knew I had been doing music so he came to L.A. I said “we need to go to the studio, I need to get you and [Havoc] on something and while we were unable to get Hav at the time, P came through and I played him the joint, he laid down his verse and gave me a hook on top of it.
P is a man of very few reactions and emotions but once we played it back he gave me this look like he loved the record and so that moment just kind of led me here.
Since you just brought up both Prodigy and Havoc, what kind if impact did last year’s break-up of Mobb Deep have on you as a native New Yorker, lyricist but more importantly someone who is a fan of Hip-Hop?
As a fan it was definitely disheartening to hear ‘cause they influenced me so much as an artist and I sympathize just as a fan like ‘wow this really hurts Hip-Hop in a big way.’ They are simply one of the greatest Hip-Hop groups of all time so it was definitely disheartening to hear.
In addition to Mobb Deep, while you were growing up, who else were you listening to and being influenced by?
That’s easy. As a kid, and I’m talking like four years old up until like ten, it was easily Slick Rick, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie… and once I got older and started thinking about rhymes, sometime around ’98, I started writing. At that time it was [Big Pun], Nas, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Eminem even really influenced me heavily and was someone that I listened to a lot. The Roots of course I listen to all their stuff. So I was dabbling in all lanes.
I was really just listening to everyone and before CD’s were available I was buying tapes of like The Pharcyde, and I think I bought the “Gas Face” by 3rd Bass tape too, and that was my thing like all day. So yeah, stuff like that.
Taking all that into consideration, shoot off your “Top 5 Dead or Alive.”
My “Top 5” changes a lot but right now, how I’m feeling, is Nas, [Eminem], [Jay-Z], [Big Pun] and because today I’m just feeling that way, I’ll say [Tupac]. But you can always switch out [Notorious B.I.G.] in there. That’s my “Top 5” right there.
That’s dope and you can tell that’s honesty because 99% of people are always going to include both Tupac and Biggie in their “Top 5.”
[Laughs] Yeah for sure.
Of course people are paying more attention to your stuff musically now especially with the release of In the Grind We Trust coming in a couple of weeks but what do you classify yourself as first, an actor or a rapper?
I mean I definitely consider myself an actor first because that was how people initially recognized me and that’s the truth of it. Unless you were from Bushwick, no one knew I was a rapper. I used to rap with people out there and certain friends of mine knew I did that but in terms of the world, it knew me as “Rick Gonzalez the Actor” first.
It’s been a long time of me just trying to gain notoriety and become visible from the music. I guess I technically have to just own it; I’m an actor first and I’m proud to say that ‘cause that’s an incredibly hard career to break into. It’s a huge blessing.
Let’s talk about the project itself since that’s what is up next for you. Of course your man Prodigy is on it, as is Joell Ortiz but so is Blu. I have to ask man, how the hell did you get a verse from Blu, he’s not the kind of artist to just hop on anyone’s track.
[Laughs] I don’t know man this is the second time that someone has told me that. Is it really that hard to get Blu on a track? I have no idea.
I go to Alchemist’s studio all the time and Blu is always there, that’s how I met him. He showed me love at the studio and I told him ‘I’m a fan and I think your music is dope as hell.’ We just knocked it out and I told him we had to do something. I just waited for the right moment to get the right production and I got him on this joint produced by Nottz Raw that is not going to disappoint. Trust me, it’s not going to disappoint in any way and I got Fred the Godson on that track too so it’s just nuts.
What was the reaction and reception to the music when you were playing it at your listening event in NYC last week?
It was good honestly because I wasn’t really in the trenches, I was with P most of the time just kind of hosting it and giving a narrative for each track and I kind of pay attention to the energy in the room and it just seemed like everyone was enjoying themselves and the music wasn’t removing them from having a good time it was actually helping so that really let me know I was going in the right direction and that people were actually interested in it.
It was my first listening event ever so I understood the parameters of people drinking and talking was going to be more prevalent then the music BUT if it doesn’t remove the energy from the room and you don’t get a bad vibe from the room then it’s a good thing and I definitely felt good vibes. I think people are going to really enjoy it once they grab it and really listen to it.
As someone who has their foot in both the movie and music industry, I’m curious what a highlight from each in 2012 was for you. Was there an album and movie that really stuck with you?
Kendrick Lamar’s album was really good and in terms of film…what the hell did I see last year that was really good? Oh yeah, Life of Pi was amazing.
Interesting choice movie wise, I was expecting something like The Avengers or Django Unchained.
Man, Life of Pi was mind-blowing. I went to see it at a screening with a good friend of mine and this was before the whole awards season started happening and I just knew it was going to get recognized as an amazing film. I haven’t had a chance to see Django but I really do need to see it.
Is there anything on your slate coming up that you can speak on?
I do have a couple of things but I can’t really speak on them right now ‘cause they’re being developed so the production companies would not be happy to have me speak on them but there is definitely things in the pipeline coming in 2013. Yes you will see me working.
Would one of those projects in the pipeline be 179th Street with Fat Joe?
I don’t really know where the process is with that and I can’t really speak on it ‘cause I’m not the producer of it so I don’t really know what to say about that one.
Last but not least, tell me how you got the name Realm Reality? Does it have some personal significance?
It actually came from a friend of mine in the neighborhood who was also an emcee and he just came to me with it. I was 18 and we would read each other rhymes out of our notebooks and he just came to me with the name Realm Reality and it didn’t make any sense to me you know I mean? I didn’t care though.
I said I was going to take it and run with it and I was just honored and humbled that my man gave me a name ‘cause my mom never gave me a nickname, people in the neighborhood didn’t give me a nickname so the fact that he gave it to me at the time, I just knew I was going to do something with it.
Realm Reality’s In the Grind We Trust Drops February 12th!
Gucci Mane Did WHAT?
You know Gucci Mane is known to buss his gun off, but that has been a long while ago. The latest has deeper implications, especially since Gucci just spoke at career day at an Atlanta Middle School. Rumor has it, Gucci beat down a DJ to near death after the DJ played an unreleased track from the rapper! It was all good, dudes were spending money on strippers and everything that goes along with the “life.” Suddenly, that song came on. Word is, Gucci stepped to the dude and they allegedly beat his a### and destroyed his DJ equipment. It was so bad that both the police and the paramedics were called to the scene. The DJ is reportedly in the hospital resting in stable condition.
Gucci allegedly fled the scene with the entourage.
Geto Boy finds God.
Bushwick Bill has long been claiming to come out at a Christian rapper and I’m now hearing it is finally coming true. According to my sources, the lil big man will be coming out as a Holy Hip-Hopper. This is not really new because the rumors have been swirling for quite some time. I am hearing that he will have a tour, DVD and album all starting in May. We’ll see!
OH…I got my first death threat of the year. So proud of myself.
Did you here about Biggie choking Kim til she passed out? Whoa, dude! That man had a pimp hand. In the vid below, Kim talks about it at the 3 minute mark.
They keep us talking, but if we stop talking about them then they should worry! -illseed.
“You took my style/I’m takin’ it back” How Ya Like Me Now – Kool Moe DeeIs it just me or does Black History Month always seem like a bad movie script? There will be the usual programs about slavery and the life and times of Dr. Martin Luther King. We will be bombarded by hundreds of commercials by that same Barry White sounding brotha braggin’ about how some company loves Black people. And somewhere near the end of the month , every city in America will throw some multicultural shindig that talks about every issue under the sun except the ones that are relevant to African Americans in 2013.Although the question is posed every year “Is Black History Month still relevant”, the question that we should be asking is whether or not Black History is controlled by Black people ? And if not , is it really Black History or a watered down, white washed version of our culture.?
Back in 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson started what was ,then, Negro History Week as a way to save the story of a great people from falling into the dark abyss of Euro-centric falsehood. However, since then, the celebration has been exploited by everything from car companies that want to sell Black people pimped out new rides to restaurants that create a soul food dollar menu every year ,complete with fried chicken, watermelon and red Kool Aid.
What is most disturbing is that many of the companies that will have “Say it Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud” blastin’ out of the intercom systems during February 2013 are the same ones that dissed Black folks in the 90’s.
Although AT&T has commercials playing ‘round the clock on black networks , back in 1993, the company came under fire from African Americans when their employee magazine contained an ad which featured a picture of a monkey representing the people of Africa.
In 1994 , Denny’s Restaurant chain , which takes great pride in its diversity programs ,was sued for racial discrimination. Ironically, it was the Denny’s chain that brought out some of the old “S####” restaurants.
Also, the old Texaco gas stations had to shell out some major dollars in 1996 when the company’s top officials were busted for referring to their African American employees as “black jellybeans.” (among other things)
And these are the types of people who we trust to tell our story?
Really?
Under the guise of Black History, they give us just enough to keep “Black leaders “ happy and to ease white guilt. So we get the same old rehashed slavery/MLK/civil rights stories over and over again.
What happened to the great African civilizations of Ethiopia and Egypt? What about those brave warriors who fought against the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.Or how about the thousands of Black people who fought against racism before and after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr?
This version of Black History is considered too controversial for the mainstream.
Although controversy may sell rap cds, it doesn’t sell cell phones. So, in most cases, telling the truth about Black History may be bad for business.
For instance, if more Black children knew about the damage done in Africa over the scramble for gold and diamonds, maybe “bling” wouldn’t be so popular. Nor would rappers like Trinidad James singin’ about “gold all in my chain/gold all in my ring..” still have a career. Thus impacting both the jewelry and the music industry, simultaneously.
If Black kids got a strong dose of true African history during Black History Month, maybe they would start wearing dashikis and kufis instead of snapbacks and True Religion Jeans. Which would impact the clothing industry.
Also, if our youth learned about the historical origin of Black on Black violence every February, they may be less likely to pick up an assault rifle. Thus, impacting the gun industry.
So, the only ones who truly benefit from true Black history are Black people.
This is why our story must be told and it must be told by us. There must be a hostile takeover of Black History Month.
Black History is more than a way to push a product. It is the tie that binds people of African descent together. So, before we even begin to talk about “taking back Hip Hop” or” taking back our community,” we must concern ourselves with taking back our history.
Unlike during the time of our parents, we now have the technology to make it happen right at our fingertips.
The Black By Nature/Conscious By Choice campaign is on a mission to bring back Black consciousness and there is no better time to start than right now. Just as Public Enemy had as its mission to raise up 5,000 Black leaders during the late 80’s, our task today, is to raise up 5,000 intellectual warriors.
For Black History Month we are suggesting the following steps.
Instead of depending on the media to give us the truth about our history, we must use Youtube , Facebook and Twitter to start a “Black History :The Lost Episodes” series where we will post and Tweet information that has been purposely hidden from the masses of Black people.
Hip Hop must also get involved as we are asking rappers to adopt the names of our Black heroes and heroines during Black History Month. If rappers can name themselves after comic book heroes like “Johnny Blaze” and Hollywood gangsters’s like “Frank White” and “Scarface” , why can’t we have , “The King Tut of the Turntables,” “The Nat Turner of Rap”,” or “The Harriet Tubman of Hip Hop.? “
Also, we must form Afro-centric media watch groups to make sure that our history is not distorted by the media, especially during Black History Month.
So, the hostile takeover of Black History Month must happen.
Like Malcolm X would put it , we must take back our culture this year, “By any means necessary.”
We can do this the easy way or the hard way..
Or like Biggie Smalls once rapped “the fast way, ski mask way… ransom note….”
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott’s site is No Warning Shots Fired.com. Follow on Twitter @ truthminista For more information about the Black By Nature/Conscious By Choice Campaign contact in**@*****************ed.com or call (919) 972-8305
Illseed, Out.