You think it’s that easy? Just show up on a pair of Clinton Sparks-backed mixtapes with Clipse and get glowing write-ups in national publications, then scores of year-end props? It takes years to get to this point, takes years to make opportunities fall into place. Talk to Northeast Philly native Sandman, and he’ll tell you it all funnels back to his hometown streets. Or, as he calls them, “the asphalt.”

Sandman grew up in the rough neighborhood of Germantown before moving to Northeast as a teenager. He spent Saturday nights at a local skating rink with a cousin, rapping in cyphers and getting tight with the rink’s DJ and owner. By the time he was 16, Sandman was a paid performer ($400 a weekend) who was doing radio spots on local station Q102 FM.

But roadblocks were up ahead. Like his fellow Re-Up Gang members Clipse, Sandman built career momentum only to be sidelined by label setbacks (his was with Interscope Records in 2001) and learned quickly to trust his own instincts, not those of others outside of his crew.

On a late night by phone, Sandman talked about staying close to Philly, why he prefers to stay independent, and what the future holds for the Re-Up Gang.

AllHipHop.com: I was at Power 99 when Clipse played Philly back in May, and all you guys freestyled on the air. The DJ was saying, “I’m so glad you guys did that. Nobody freestyles anymore.”

Sandman: I don’t even know what the term “freestyle” means anymore. When you come up to the radio, it’s not kicking a freestyle, because a freestyle means off the top of the head. What we were doing was just spitting over instrumentals live. All that s**t was just rhymes — we all got rhymes galore.

AllHipHop.com: What are some of your first memories of Hip-Hop?

Sandman: My mother was actually my liaison to Hip-Hop, when I was like seven years old. She had all the records that was the s**t back then: [Gransmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s] “White Lines,” and “The Message.” When I was doing my chores on Saturday, this was what I was growing up to. It was the soundtrack to my life.

AllHipHop.com: How did you get the name Sandman?

Sandman: Ah, man. A female gave it to me. I was in high school and I had this girlfriend. We used to kiss every morning and every time we would finish kissing, she used to start humming the song “Mr. Sandman.” I was like, “Why you be doing that?” And she said, “Because you’re my Sandman, your kisses make me sleepy. They make me wanna be where you’re at.” So she started calling me that. But I played football in high school, too, and they used to say, “Yeah, Sandman!” when I made a good hit. So it rolled over to the field.

AllHipHop.com: At what point did you hook up with Clark Kent and start taking rap seriously?

Sandman: I was recording with my man Artwork; he had a studio, and Clark got a hold of all my s**t. I was into song-making very early on. Like, when I was 17, I sounded like I was 28. They were comparing me to great n***as at an early age.

AllHipHop.com: So you could actually write songs, not just rap?

Sandman: Man, I’ve got hundreds of songs that no one’s ever heard. I got six mixtapes, heavy mixtapes, in the street right now.

AllHipHop.com: When did you start doing mixtapes?

Sandman: I think it was ’99 or ’98. It was with my man Filthy Rich; he’s another rapper from uptown [Philly]. He’s locked up right now; he’s got 20 [years] in the Fed. It was me, him, my man Cheech Myers, and my sister Housewife, who’s on my label, C.A.N.N.O.N.S. Inc. We did a mixtape called “Uncut Entertainment.” But me doing my solo mixtapes, that happened after my deal went bad. I was signed to Interscope when [record executive] Steve Stoute got fired. I was lookin’ at nothin’, for real.

AllHipHop.com: When were you signed to Interscope?

Sandman: It was around 2001. It was me, Eminem, and Ms. Jade on the label. [Interscope] was making they shift to Hip-Hop. I got signed off of four songs. We did an album — Trackmasters was on it, Clark Kent was on there. But the thing I was most proud of is that I put so many Philly producers on there, dudes that ain’t really get they light [before]. We gonna release that album [eventually].

AllHipHop.com: You had the album done and they dropped you?

Sandman: Yeah. When Steve Stoute got fired, it was a wrap. Eminem had Dr. Dre, so Dre would push him forward; Jade had Timbaland, so he would push her. I had Clark Kent, who was making his re-emergence [at the time]. But without Steve, everything was a wrap.

AllHipHop.com: So what happened between then and 2005, when you hooked up with Clipse?

Sandman: After all that bulls**t with the label, my love for the music had me wanting to record [again]. I knew a lot of hot MCs [in Philly], so I formed a crew, C.A.N.N.O.N.S. Inc. I had a team when we were making my album, but my dream of being a C.E.O. and having people come up under me — to be big as the Wu but fly like Junior M.A.F.I.A. — that got pushed to the rail when I did my album. It was like, “No, you’re gonna sign here, we gonna do this with Interscope, and then you gonna blow and come back and get them.” So when it didn’t quite go like that, I said, “I’m gonna do it my way now.” I went and got the company done up and started hittin’ the streets. Heavy mixtapes, all crazy – f**kin’ with dudes I respected, some known, some unknown. If you respected by me, you need to be known, because I don’t like nobody. I think everybody is wack.

AllHipHop.com: Who are some MCs you respect?

Sandman: DMX was a n***a I definitely felt he gave his heart…The L.O.X. been ridin’ for awhile. I always respected their rhyme status but I also respect the business, like, “I’m not suckin’ nobody’s d*ck. If it takes long for me to get on but I [still] get on, then I’m with that.”…Always been a fan of Nas…B.I.G is probably my favorite rapper; I always thought he was extra slick and clever with his s**t, just like, real, real cocky. I like that.

AllHipHop.com: Being from Philly and being around Hip-Hop, you know what the scene is like there. You see people: Beans, Eve, Freeway, The Roots, Will Smith; they break out of Philly. But why do you think the Philly scene hasn’t taken it to the next level? Why hasn’t it caught on more?

Sandman: I’ll answer that for you in a real thorough way. Everybody you just named — name me one Philly rapper, outside of The Roots and Will Smith — that doesn’t have their name associated with a company that’s either out of town or with a company that has a lead, number one rapper. Name me one MC. Besides myself.

AllHipHop.com: [laughs]

Sandman: This is real s**t. And you can say, “Well, Sandman, you’re with the Re-Up Gang.” But then I can say that when I met Pusha, he had four of my CDs in his hand. That meant I was on my f**king grind. So that don’t count [laughs].

AllHipHop.com: I’m trying to think of rappers from Philly, like Kurupt, but he was with Death Row…

Sandman: Listen to me: you can’t answer that question. You have to go back to the early ’90s and late ’80s [to find someone].

AllHipHop.com: [laughs] What, Schoolly D?

Sandman: Now you went damn-near mid-’80s.

AllHipHop.com: So you’re saying anyone who’s coming out of Philly already has a bigger connection outside of the city?

Sandman: Nah, that doesn’t even matter. It’s just, if you’re not the focal point of the situation, there’s something bigger than you. You got to want to be the biggest in the situation, and the situation has to want to make you that big. Unfortunately, nobody from Philly has been in that situation. I can honestly say that 50 Cent makes it where his artists blow the f**k up. I haven’t seen Philly dudes get that shot. My thing is I want to be a focal point. I don’t wanna ever rap on another rapper’s f**king label. That is bulls**t.

AllHipHop.com: So if Interscope wanted to pick you up again, or Shady/Aftermath, G-Unit…

Sandman: Nah, I’m not takin’ none of them deals. An Aftermath deal is something different because I believe Dr. Dre has a creative vision and he knows what it takes. I think 50 Cent got a vision, too, but the G-Unit movement is more of a brand, like a team within itself. I’m not willing to succumb to another man’s team. I got my own team. When you hear me say, “Yeah…Cann-ons!” — it’s like me puttin’ a bat light in the sky and everybody know when I’m comin’. And that only represents the asphalt of Philadelphia. That’s it.

I’m on some cold independent s**t. Like the Re-Up Records thing with Clipse: those are my n***as first and foremost. We have a brotherly bond. We ask how each other’s mothers is doing, check on each other’s kids. It’s real with us. Them brothers been through the same thing I’ve been through as far as the label limbo. And me and Liva had a rapport before both our camps came into existence. We knew each other just from being Hip-Hop dudes.

AllHipHop.com: Everyone wants to know about the next “We Got It 4 Cheap” and the Re-Up Gang album. What can you say about those projects?

Sandman: You can expect a volume three in early September. The Re-Up Gang album, look out for that in the first quarter [of 2007]. We not gonna rush nothin’, ‘cause the Clipse have a classic — quote me when I say that — a classic album coming out.

AllHipHop.com: You’ve heard the whole album?

Sandman: Yeah, I’m on it. The Clipse ain’t playin’ no games. “Mr. Me Too” is a fluffer. They just snuck back in the game with that. But, man, when they turn the f**kin’ heat up on y’all … you gonna understand what I’m tellin’ you. We gonna ride the success of that and “We Got It 4 Cheap, Vol. 3” into the top of the year, then give y’all the Re-Up Gang album.

AllHipHop.com: It looks like things are finally coming together for everyone.

Sandman: Hell yeah. The snowball is beginning to build. It’s comin’ downhill full-steam ahead. As far as my solo thing, all my [mixtape] CDs is getting ready to be available on MixUnit.com. I’ve been making a lot of DJ-friends on tour, too. Dudes that feel me and love what I’m doing. I’m gonna be poppin’ up [everywhere]. Plus, I got my company and my squad. We just gonna keep floodin’ the streets. While the Re-Up Gang s**t is buzzin’, I’m always gonna be pushin’ Sandman.

The monk. Big brother Abdul. The man that would be king.

North Philly son Ab-Liva is different things to different people. To Pharrell Williams and the Re-Up Gang, he’s a reserved philosopher, pen in hand, waiting for inspiration. To his younger brothers Hassan and Anwar, who are both incarcerated, he’s a tower of hope, a glimpse at the good life that comes with timing, smart choices, and a little luck. To himself, Liva is a rapper with untapped potential, a street corner sage ready to claim his throne with a smirk and say, “Told you so.”

Since his guest turn on Clipse’s “Cot Damn” in 2002, Ab-Liva (his moniker combines his birth name, Abdul, with a boastful superlative) has rhymed with shocking comfort, adopting a husky swagger that falls somewhere between confident and cautionary. His lines on last year’s “We Got It 4 Cheap” mixtapes were highlighted by thrilling metaphors and pop culture gems that showed a working knowledge of more than just rap music.

With his tone alternating between deadly serious and surprisingly friendly, Ab-Liva broke down his game, from choosing music over sports and writing for Dr. Dre to comparisons to Jay-Z and dealing with the mainstream’s embrace.

AllHipHop.com: How did you first get up with Malice and Pusha?

Ab-Liva: It was in ’99. I was in a group called Major Figgas, from Philly. One of my homies was signed to Suave House, and they were tryin’ to sign me as a solo artist. They sent my man down to [Virgina] to work with Pharrell, and they sent me along with him to structure some songs. We were at Chad [Hugo’s] house, and Pharrell put a beat on. We was in there rappin’, and they looked at me, like, “Damn, you hot. [laughs] Who you signed to?” I told them Suave House was hollerin’ at me, but it wasn’t definite. Pharrell didn’t have a label at the time, but he was like, “Whatever you do, we wanna work with you.” So me and Pharrell and Clipse hit it off right then and there. I ran into them [again] at a video shoot with Philly’s Most Wanted. That’s where they met Roscoe P. Coldchain.

I hadn’t seen them in maybe a year and a half, and then Pharrell and Pusha came to Philly for a New Year’s Eve party, and I just happened to be there. Pusha was like, “We workin’ on [Lord Willin’], and we was just talkin’ about who we can get on this song, and your name came up.” I hadn’t seen them in a year and a half, so I was kinda skeptical. But they called me the next day and booked me on a flight to Virginia, and that’s when we did “Cot Damn.”

AllHipHop.com: What first drew you to Hip-Hop?

Ab-Liva: I just remember being a fan of Big Daddy Kane and Kool G Rap. Kool G Rap, for the most part, was my biggest influence. His wordplay was so crazy. I used to be intrigued by how he could put all them words together and make them flow. I remember my first summer job, having a Walkman and this Kool G Rap tape. [laughs] No other tapes, just Kool G Rap, goin’ to my summer job. That’s when I really thought about writin’. Up to that point, I was just a fan of the music.

I came into the game with a group called Major Figgas. We got together in ’97, in Philly. We started makin’ our own little mixtapes in our neighborhood. We was cool with Beanie Sigel, and right around the time he got on, Cosmic Kev at Power 99 had us come up to the radio station and bust some freestyles. So we just created a buzz in Philly and it went from there. We almost signed with Roc-A-Fella, but the money wasn’t right. I was runnin’ with Dr. Dre and them for a couple of years, too.

AllHipHop.com: Did Dre wanna bring you to Aftermath?

Ab-Liva: Yeah. I was in the camp for about a year and a half, two years. I did some writin’ for Dre. I wrote his verse on “The Watcher 2” [from Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse].

AllHipHop.com: You mentioned Beans — is everyone really tight in Philly or are there pockets?

Ab-Liva: It’s somewhat territorial. [laughs] I’m [originally] from North Philly, and North Philly kinda sticks with North Philly. Beans is from South Philly, so in South Philly, they hold him down. They rep for him. Me and my group, we rep for North Philly hard. It’s like any hood, though. You gotta learn fast, be on your toes. Try to stay away from the dumb s**t, try to make your way.

AllHipHop.com: Now, I’ve seen you in person, and I’ve seen your MySpace page. You’re a pretty tall dude, right?

Ab-Liva: Yeah. I’m 6’9”.

AllHipHop.com: So you had to get pulled into sports at some point, right?

Ab-Liva: Yeah, yeah. [laughs] I played basketball in high school. What’s funny is, I played sports but I didn’t look at it like a career. To me, that wasn’t my calling. It was for fun. After I graduated from high school, I knew music was it for me.

AllHipHop.com: You mention a younger brother who’s in prison on “Nothing Like It” [from “We Got It 4 Cheap, Vol. 1”]. Can you comment on that?

Ab-Liva: I actually got two brothers that’s in prison, both of my younger brothers. My youngest brother, who I talked about on Vol. 2, on the “Hate It or Love It” beat, he has life. We’re appealing it. He’s locked up for a murder he didn’t commit. He got caught in a stolen car with his homie. The police came, and they got out and ran. Cops catch him, come back to the car, find a gun. His prints weren’t on the gun or anything, but they charged him with the crime [it was used in]. Just to see him railroaded by the judicial system…cops lyin’ on the stand and it’s obvious…It was crazy when the verdict was handed down. To see such a miscarriage of justice…I just looked at the whole system as f**ked up. It can’t work. If you can get charged with something you didn’t do, and a muthaf**ka can hand down a sentence of life on somebody — to me, that just f**ked up everything.

AllHipHop.com: What’s that brother’s name?

Ab-Liva: Anwar. He’s been in jail since he was 15. He’s about to turn 25.

AllHipHop.com: So he’s already put in ten years. And you have another brother who’s in jail, too?

Ab-Liva: Yeah, Hassan.

AllHipHop.com: With two brothers in jail, did you ever worry about getting caught up like that?

Ab-Liva: Yeah, man. Me and Hassan are close in age, and we was runnin’ in the streets at the same time. I’m lucky to say I didn’t get incarcerated while I was hustlin’. There came a point in time where I started doing this music thing, and I put all that other stuff to the backburner. I’m glad I did, because I’ve been able to make my way with it. We got a lot of things poppin’ off right now, and it’s f**ked up that they couldn’t be here with me [to celebrate].

AllHipHop.com: In between “Cot Damn” and when you re-emerged last year, what was your career like?

Ab-Liva: I was still out in L.A., doing some work with Dre. He produced some songs for me. Then I went on tour with Clipse. We were on the road for about two and a half years straight. We did Europe with Jay-Z; we were on every tour through 2003 and 2004. In 2004 was when the Re-Up Gang took shape. That’s when Clipse was workin’ on Hell Hath No Fury and goin’ through all the label drama.

AllHipHop.com: What did you think when the mixtapes came out last year and publications like Pitchfork Media and Village Voice embraced them?

Ab-Liva: It caught me so off-guard. I got a call from Pusha one day. He was like, “Yo, we in the new Blender magazine.” They put our mixtape as one of the top 50 albums of 2005. I’m like, “What?” It was just a mixtape and they put it as one of the top 50 albums [of the year].

To me, it let us know we were going in the right direction. We couldn’t say on the mixtapes, “Yo, we doin’ this like an album,” [just] so people would get it. [laughs] We said, “Let’s just do the music right”; make sure the ad-libs are tight; the verses are tight; the hooks are tight. We wanted it to show.

AllHipHop.com: So what’s next for you? I know there are some big projects coming up.

Ab-Liva: The Clipse album is coming. The song that features the Re-Up Gang is crazy, absolutely crazy. It’s called “Ain’t Cha”. It’s so g###### hard. We workin’ on the Re-Up Gang album right now. For the listeners, we got some s**t lined up. [laughs] It’s gonna be some great ridin’ around, volume turned all the way up, just zonin’ music. I’m workin’ on my solo album, too. That should be out after the Re-Up Gang album, hopefully next summer. And I still got that window open with Dr. Dre. I’m supposed to do some writin’ on the Detox album. I went out there end of 2004, beginning of 2005, and was workin’ on it then. I wrote on a couple joints, but he [ended up] scrapping the album. About six or seven months ago, he had me come out there [again] and listen to some of the beats he was pickin’ out.

AllHipHop.com: You’ve worked with Pharrell and Dre, two of the most innovative producers ever. What can you say about the way they work?

Ab-Liva: Man, listen. I’ve worked with a lot of producers. Those two guys, they have different approaches to making music, but they fine-tune what they do so well. Pharrell, his inspiration is just crazy. He’ll start hummin’ and then flesh out a whole song — chorus and everything. And Dre, his ear is crazy. He’ll be workin’ on a beat, and you’ll be there listenin’ to it. He’ll give you the look, and you’ll give him the look back, like, “Yeah, this s**t is crazy.” And then he’ll be like, “Hold up.” And he’ll change something around, and when he plays it back it’ll be twice as good as it was before. It’s been a pleasure workin’ with both of those guys.

AllHipHop.com: In some of your lines, you talk about being a king. That’s a word that catches everyone’s ear when they hear it. What do you mean by that?

Ab-Liva: I’ve always said that. If you look at the “Hot Damn” video, which was 2003, it says “the man that would be king” on the screen, right before I rap.

I was working in a studio in Philly with these engineers: Mark, a real cool guy, and another guy, Otto. These guys were Rock engineers [laughs], not your usual rap engineers. But they would always tell me that they really felt my flow and how I put words together. I ain’t know how good their rap ear was, but they knew music, so I told them I appreciated it. One day we was sittin’ around, smokin’. Otto looked at me and he goes, “I got a title for you. The man that would be king. That’s how I look at you.” And when he said that to me, I was like, “S**t, that’s hard.” [laughs]

Lyrically, I don’t think a lot of cats can f**k with me. Not sayin’ that to be cocky; I just know I’m good at what I do. That’s why it’s “the man that would be king” — as soon as I get my shot to really show ’em, they’ll see the light.

The fictional character of Clark Kent has super powers allowing his alter ego to rescue and protect what he sees fit. The DJ Clark Kent we all know within our spectrum possesses similar super powers when it comes to music and not just Hip-Hop. And after a career spanning twenty years, experiencing multiple countries and interactions with nothing but thebest,Clark Kent isat a place where he wants to do him.

DJ, Producer, A&R are all avenues walked, working with “Brooklyn’s Finest” to grooming the platinum success of pop sensations 98 Degrees; his resume reeks of nothing but metal, the disc variety. Now it’s time to groom and nurture his own roster. Setting up his own company, Clark World, with partner Andre Council, the time has come to have his protégé step up to the plate.

With the F.D.N.Y (Five Defenders of New York) , a collective of lyricists from New York, prepping their joint project as well as solo ones and The Re-Up Gang’s Sandman working on his individual project, Clark Kent may be looking at another twenty year run in the game. He understands the importance of a great song, he gets that we have to move with the times and he damn sure knows what makes our feet tap, therefore being on his team is about victory. This interview is the thoughts and opinions of a man who has been there, seen it and done it…successfully.

AllHipHop.com: It’s the ten year anniversary of Reasonable Doubt. Had Protools been around when you were creating that project, what difference would it have made to making that album?

DJ Clark Kent: To me, the music, Protools doesn’t change the music; Protools changes the way you record music. Had there been Protools back then, the album would have been done a lot faster, but it would have been the same music because at that point that’s what was needed, that’s what was real.

AllHipHop.com: Is Dame still looking for production credit on “Brooklyn’s Finest”?

DJ Clark Kent: [Laughs] You know what, how about this, Dame can have credit. I don’t care about that as everyone knows who made the beat. I had made the beat before for one of his groups for a remix and he was just like, “Use it again.” If he says use it again, that can warrant production credit so I won’t argue with that. There are other producers that get production credit that have never touched a machine before in their lives, but if they can say what they want to hear done, that is considered production credit. That’s why I never argue with it, the whole world knows who made the beat. I am cool with everyone knowing who originally made the beat.

AllHipHop.com: Hip-Hop purists say that if you go from producing Hip-Hop to Pop, you are selling out. You went from working with the likes of Biggie and Jay to 98 Degrees, how do you respond to that?

DJ Clark Kent: If someone can say I am not pure, then they are not looking at the fact that I am a producer. I am a DJ first and before there was Hip-Hop. I played Pop, R&B, Disco; those were the basis of what rappers used to rhyme too, what the DJs played with a certain rhythm. It was Pop records, it was Disco records, and it was Funk records, it was whatever, so who gauge what is pure anymore?

AllHipHop.com: I watched a documentary the other week I am…Choke, No Joke, which showed the break down at Roc-a-Fella Records. You were A&R at the Roc at that time, how did that divide effect employees?

DJ Clark Kent: It affected employees because they generally loved everybody there; then when you have a split you have to decide where you want to go, that is a pretty hard or harsh reality to come to. I think, basically that was what it was. The people that worked there loved the idea of Roc-a-Fella, but when the split came, it was almost the idea that these three guys who were friends who had built themselves up, it is a hurtful thing for people to go through.

AllHipHop.com: Did people know what was going on before it became common knowledge?

DJ Clark Kent: I think they knew, I think they felt but no-one knows until it actually happens.

AllHipHop.com: So what are you up to now?

DJ Clark Kent: Right now, me and my partner Dre, we have a company called Clark World Entertainment, where we are building artists, that we are, who we were building solo; we built a group and called it The F.D.N.Y. We are putting their album together right now and shopping.

AllHipHop.com: How involved are you in that, are you producing?<br<

DJ Clark Kent: We are producing, we are using outside producers, but we are 150% on top of the whole album.

AllHipHop.com: So do you think that you are at a point in your life after doing so much for other labels and other companies, that you can be comfortable doing your own thing?

DJ Clark Kent: Definitely. We had to do our own thing as giving it away the whole time, it doesn’t really add up.

AllHipHop.com: Do you think there is a cut off age for when people should really give it in and stop trying to get a deal?

DJ Clark Kent: I don’t think so. Jay-Z was rapping from 14, and I was aware of him by 15, and his reality happened at 27. So what do you say, “I’ve been here for twelve years and now I am going to stop?” No, it’s just that it was his time. You got to look, LL Cool J is still rapping and he is still rapping and being good, still rapping, making great records and having an impact on music. Jay-Z, if he puts another album out this year, he will be 37 with probably the best album out this year; so when is the cut off age when you have that talent? The thing is that people equate rap with youth instead of associating rap with talent.

AllHipHop.com: Is that where we are right now?

DJ Clark Kent: That is where we are at right now, as the youth are dictating what is right and wrong. You know I am sitting around watching some 20 year old dude say some raps that we think are ‘whatever,’ and they are going to accept him before they accept the dude who is 36, because he is 36. How about if this 36 year old said some of the best lyrical content you ever heard? I would rather have that than have some 20 year old dude that is only going to be good for a year and a half or two years. Look at Jaz-O, he is up there and lyrically he is one of the best MCs I have heard in my life. He is in my Top Five still and he is 41. He is untouchable, lyrically.

AllHipHop.com: As an A&R, do you find Hip-Hop goes with an image now though instead of lyrical capabilities?

DJ Clark Kent: When an image plays into a record, or into an artist, that artist has to pull that image off and if that doesn’t happen, if you don’t pull that image off, no one is going to buy into it. So like with a guy like Jeezy, you know you might think he may not be the best rapper, but he is one of the most believable rappers and people take it when they listen to his records, people feel like they know him when they listen to his records so it makes it easier to buy him. Like T.I, he is believable. His swagger talks before his rap and then he raps really well. So you buy that because you buy that because you believe it. You can tell whose swagger is phony, just look at the record sales.

AllHipHop.com: You talked about talent, what else does it take to impress you?

DJ Clark Kent: [Laughs] I would love to hear a rapper make a record to minimalize his lies to one lie a record, because if you didn’t do it and we can tell in your rap, don’t say it because you are not going to be able to pull it off. There have been rappers who have lied, who rhymed, or have said their rhymes with so much conviction, affection and believability that you may believe he killed these people, so you are lucky. But when you are in front of me, I really want to believe what you say and you don’t have to be a killer for me to think you are good. You don’t have to sell the most crack to be good, because 85% of the rappers who said they sold crack are so scared of crack that you can tell right through them, so I am not listening to you. Most crack dealers, can’t rap real good because they are too busy selling crack. Unless you are a prodigy; they are so busy trying to get money, they don’t have the ability to rhyme real well.

AllHipHop.com: So what makes a hot song?

DJ Clark Kent: You know it when you hear it. It’s not something that makes a hot song, it is something that happens when you hear it. There is no formula to it, you know perfect hook, great rhyme and an infected beat; just something that hits you when you hear it. When you heard “What You Know”, it automatically was a hit record to you and you are not even paying attention that he is screaming or rapping for the whole song because it was just so good. Like when you heard “I Just Wanna Love You”, you didn’t care that some dude was saying “Give me that stuff, that funk,” you just didn’t care because it just felt perfect. When you heard Biggie’s “Juicy”, we were in the studio together and Big was like, “I hate this record,” and Puff was like, “Just trust me, this is your first record,” and he was like, “I hate this record, I want my first record to be ‘Unbelievable.’ I said, ‘Unbelievable’ is hot but it isn’t ‘Juicy’,” And we were going on tour and he didn’t want to do the record and half way through the record and he was telling them to cut the record on stage and the crowd is going “Nooo” and he’s not understanding how that record is perfect. That record told the perfect introduction, it made you feel like you actually knew him in three verses. It was a perfect record, perfect hook, perfect music, perfect rhymes. It is hard to get that, but when you do.