I

n the Hip-Hop world, a memorable cameo appearance and endorsements from A-List artists can be both a gift and a curse. After impressive guest spots alongside one-time mentors on EPMD’s “Hardcore” and Dr. Dre’s “Deep Cover,” Redman and Snoop Dogg respectively proved that artists can parlay a quality 16-bar verse into a successful solo career. Less fortunate acts who couldn’t execute the strategy as well became the subject of barbershop gossip, or worse yet, were forced to go back to their day jobs.

Enter GLC. After scene-stealing performances on Kanye West’s “Spaceship” and alongside Paul Wall on Late Registration’s “Drive Slow,” GLC has his sights set on being much more than The Louis Vuitton Don’s right-hand man. The self-proclaimed “bad seed of G.O.O.D. Music” is taking a proactive approach by bringing his message to the masses in the form of a new mixtape, “Kanye West Presents: DJ A-Trak and GLC-Drive Slow.” Over ten years after Kanye told him to embark on a solo career, GLC explains what took so him so long, and how his newfound celebrity has changed his life with an insight that contradicts what some listeners may have become accustomed to in his feature performances.

AllHipHop.com: Everyone came to know you by guest starring on Kanye’s solo projects, how did you two hook up?

GLC: We’ve been homies since we were 15, man. Since 1993, we’ve been tight. That’s my mellow, he’s like my brother, straight up.

AllHipHop.com: You and Kanye go way back, before you two were in the group The Go Getters together you were rapping under the name Ab-ski, right?

GLC: Yeah, that’s what they used to call me, I was trying to have a motherf**kin’ rapper name ’cause they were already calling me Gangsta’ L since I was a GD [Gangster Disciple]. Then I was like, “I need to try to find a Hip-Hop name,” so I picked Ab-ski for abstract skills and said, “F**k it.” I just thought it sounded really Hip-Hop, writing raps kept me out of a lot of trouble when I could’ve been out doing all kind of other crazy ass s**t. In some instances, I did do other s**t too when I was f**king up and doing the wrong thing.

AllHipHop.com: How did being in the GD’s, The Black Panther influence and the rest of the Chicago scene affect your sound?

GLC: I grew up under these laws and policies; people are always thinking gangs are negative due to what is portrayed on TV. They only show the negative s**t, so I can’t knock them for thinking that. Really though, it was the s**t that I learned from my brother, he wasn’t a GD, but he was a dude that was going to colleges speaking about positivity, and the upliftment of African people. Now with the GD’s I learned s**t like The Five P’s, “Proper preparation prevents poor performance,” and I apply that to my everyday life. It’s like how people are always saying, “Stay ready so you never have to get ready,” The Five P’s take care of that. And if I add love, life and loyalty-love is the source of life, without love there ain’t s**t, and without life there can be no love or loyalty.

AllHipHop.com: Do you think the media are the only ones responsible for that negative perception?

GLC: When that crack hit, that f**ked up a whole lot of s**t, man. When Reagan put that crack in our hood, that s**t made motherf**kers say, “F**k this s**t! Why would I go to school or try to be like Michael Jackson or Michael Jordan when little Mike from up the street is getting paper? I can touch this man and I can shake his hand. It was good to want to be like Mike with the Gatorade and stuff, you know positive role models is something that we always needed. But, when you see a man change his whole family’s life off of street s**t, off of hustling and he’s not working a nine-to-five and probably didn’t finish high school, it looks easy. That makes you want to take the easy way out, but the violence really got worse when that crack hit. After that it wasn’t just about a motherf**ker having his hat broke off or this or that, it was mainly about that money. When they say that money is the root of all evil that s**t is not fictitious, it’s serious baby.

AllHipHop.com: Speaking of hustling, what enables you to speak so freely about personal subjects like hustling, or the loss of your mother?

GLC: That’s the only way I don’t go crazy. If I kept all of this s**t to myself like [having] diabetes, losing my momma, losing several friends, going to funerals like it was motherf**king Sunday school, I’d be sitting up in a mental hospital. I talk about it without going so far in depth as to incriminate myself or someone else, because I’m not stupid – but the bottom line is that if I didn’t talk about it I’d probably be f**ked up somewhere. This s**t is a bit disturbing.

I truly believe that a man can make that transformation, there have been times where I’ve been face-to-face with death and all kinds of ill situations, I’ve got homies locked away doing 50 years and s**t. When you become a rapper and you talk about the s**t that I’m talking about, you have the responsibility to raise kids. We are now like stepfathers-a lot of us didn’t have fathers so we were raised by N.W.A., Rambo, Commando, Hulk Hogan or whoever was the baddest motherf**ker around. Nino Brown, Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and them raised a lot of us and they don’t even know it. So my whole thing is, with this music, I’ve gotta’ raise these kids ‘cause these shorties are looking at us the way we looked at all those other people. When I address certain subjects, it’s history not glorification. I ain’t trying to glorify s**t that I did, because I’m not proud of a lot of that. But, I was proud when I was able to put some shoes on my nephew’s feet and make sure that his family had a big ass supper for Thanksgiving. That’s where I felt the joy, the joy wasn’t from the hustle -– that was just the rush, just the excitement. It’s a cause and effect thing; because I chose to hustle the effect was I went to jail, or it could be because I chose to hustle I was able to put food on the table.

AllHipHop.com: It sounded like you were playfully taking a shot at Kanye on “Drive Slow” about having too many TV’s in his car.

GLC: “And it don’t make no sense / but baby I’m the s**t / In everything I flick you know it’s something serious.” When you get on your guy and talk about them, that’s just something you do when you love the next man. That’s how we embrace each other, since we’ve been around each other so long. There’s a lot of things that I can relate to because he didn’t grow up under the same circumstances that I did, but for those things he has me. There are also some other things that he’s introduced me to, due to the fact that his mom had him in China and s**t when he was a shorty, since his moms was an English professor. He had been all around the world at a young age, so he’s taught me about different cultures. I learn upper echelon s**t from him and he gets that street, ghetto s**t from me.

AllHipHop.com: During an appearance on Total Request Live you mentioned that being on the “MTV Two Dollar Bill” tour, “pushed your lady rating through the roof.”

GLC: Oh hell yeah it did, but the thing is, women always chose me. I was never out here f**ked up and unable to get girls. Women were always fond of the way I carried myself, and maybe my handsomeness had something to do with it as well. Maybe it was this Chi state of mind and that Southside 87th mentality that just worked for me. Now that I’m on TV, it’s a problem, and I just want to be a good dude because I believe in Karma. Maybe it was the fact that when I was a shorty I used to chase after girls, and now that I’m grown it’s coming back to me -– they’re chasing after me.

AllHipHop.com: Did things get better or worse after the “Touch The Sky” tour?

GLC: It goes together, they both coincide. You’re on stage where it’s up close and personal and it’s going down because they’re in the crowd and they can touch, see and feel you. Then when you’re on TV that’s another aspect, because TV really means s**t to people, they’re thinking, “Wow he’s on TV!” So, it’s a matter of what us that are on TV are doing with it. Once you’re on TV people just assume you’re getting money.

AllHipHop.com: Did you think that at first?

GLC: Yeah, but it’s a big ass responsibility that comes with it. It’s so much s**t about this game that I never even thought of or fathomed that wasn’t explained to me. It’s a whole lot to it, especially growing up in a city like Chicago.

AllHipHop.com: G.O.O.D. Music has a wide range of heavy-hitters from Common and John Legend to Sa-Ra, what is going to make you stand out?

GLC: I speak from my heart and my point of view-which is unique, some people may agree with it and some may disagree. It’s just like opinions, opinions are like a#######, everybody’s got them and we all think everyone else’s stinks. I’m expressing my point of view and the principles I grew up under from hanging around the OG’s to hanging around the Chicago Southside streets. I’m going to expose you to this vision of “The ‘Go” that you have somehow failed to see. Other artists that we’ve had like Kanye, Common and John Legend are bright and it shines. My style shines as well, but it’s like I’m the dark angel or the black sheep, I’m the n***a that’s still in the hood with the thugs and s**t. I just came back from my old hood just now ‘cause one of my guys died yesterday.

AllHipHop.com: I’m sorry to hear that.

GLC: Yeah, it’s f**ked up, I just came from signing the rest in peace board and putting the candles out there and s**t. Last time I came home from shooting a video and one of my guys died that day. So I’m still here, the hood can still touch me. Although I no longer live here, I come back four or five times a month if possible, every chance I get I’m here.

AllHipHop.com: Do you think that it’s a good idea to keep going back, especially considering the recent deaths of Proof and Big Hawk?

GLC: I know motherf**kers are like, “You’re at a good time in your life where you’ve got to separate from the s**t that can bring you down,” but it’s hard to separate from some s**t that you’ve loved all your life. If it was something that I didn’t give a f**k about that would be easy, but these are people that raised me and that I love. We’ve been through the same s**t, like hoopin’ and when I go up for a lay-up hearing bullets hit the pole and s**t.

AllHipHop.com: Is there a way to balance that out when showing love to the hood seems to keep backfiring for many artists?

GLC: Sometimes it does backfire, but I balance it out by putting it in God’s hands. You gotta’ have faith and spirituality by getting to know God. That’s some real s**t, that’s my best friend and I talk to him about anything without worrying about him talking about me behind my back or exposing me. He may not agree with everything that I do, but my God is a forgiving God. So, I’m just trying to do what I gotta’ do and lead these kids down a path of righteousness because right now we’re on the eve of destruction baby.

AllHipHop.com: As far as the album is concerned, do you have a tentative title or release date?

GLC: It should be out this fall, early fall. Pray for me man ‘cause I hope it’s coming out. We’ve got two different titles that we’re deciding on just depending on how everything flows. We’re either going to call it Love, Life and Loyalty or Welcome To Haterville.

A

brother with strong business acumen is extremely important in today’s America, especially when you’re dealing with the pythons and cobras of the recording industry. Devo Harris is in a real G.O.O.D spot. He proudly encourages, “Naysayer, please show me one example why Kanye’s crew ain’t the s**t and I could refute you with five,” proving that he has some of the swagger that the label’s known for.

The one-time college roommate of John Legend in Philadelphia now locks himself in a downtown New York studio. On the verge of going to Pop and Rock music, this Grammy-nominated producer and DJ showed he was all about “Diamonds” without flossing a single baguette.

AllHipHop.com: Can you give us a brief introduction?

Devo Springsteen: People may know me from producing [Kanye West’s] “Diamonds,” and producing songs for John Legend’s first album, Get Lifted. I’m also John’s DJ and a producer for G.O.O.D Music. My name is Devo Harris, but my stage name is Devo Springsteen. Consequence started that, and it just circulated throughout our music family because I’m the boss. I really think it’s because I live in downtown Manhattan, I party like a rock star and know a lot of white people.

AllHipHop.com: What were your adolescent years like?

Devo Springsteen: I moved around a lot, did a lot of sports. I was real active between sports and singing in different choirs. I was more into sports than music. I played football and wrestled in college.

AllHipHop.com: Does having a Grammy skyrocket you to a whole new stratosphere?

Devo Springsteen: I don’t think so. Jermaine Dupri didn’t win a Grammy this year and people are most likely going to holla at him before me. The Grammy recognizes what you’ve done, but I feel that in Hip-Hop it doesn’t create any new opportunities. “Diamonds” wasn’t necessarily the hottest song of the year, but it’s depth made a difference. Depth sells records and that’s what you’ll get from me.

AllHipHop.com: Do you play any instruments?

Devo Springsteen: Nah, but what I do is real musical. If I don’t sample, I get musicians to come through and play everyday. So, I don’t know what a C or a G is…

AllHipHop.com: You’ve got a strong ear for music.

Devo Springsteen: Yeah I started DJing in the ‘90s out in Philly. John Legend was my roommate at [University of Pennsylvania]. Naturally, like so many DJ’s, I started making beats. And through working with Kanye and John things just evolved. They’re crazy musical and I learned a lot from the both of them. I try to implement all that into what I do.

I feel like I’m more of an executive producer. I don’t just make beats… I signed John Legend to G.O.O.D Music. There’s years of defining John’s sound. Even artists that John and I are working with now, we’re really working to define what they do. We also find other outlets and press opportunities for these artists to get exposure before their albums come out.

AllHipHop.com: Who are some of the DJ’s you look up to?

Devo Springsteen: Kid Capri is my favorite. I’m not too much into the technicalities of DJ’ing. I used to be into the scratching aspect, but now I’m more interested in making sure people have a good time. I do a lot of special events. This summer, I went to Africa and DJ’ed out there for MTV. It’s definitely all about the music, but on a grander scale, I’m trying to make some things happen outside of just making beats.

AllHipHop.com: What are some of the recent songs that set the club on fire?

Devo Springsteen: It depends on where you are. It’s mainly Down South records that are hot nationwide. It’s usually harder for me to play New York/East Coast records.

AllHipHop.com: Are there any genres outside of rap that you listen to?

Devo Springsteen: I like all types of music. I like alternative Rock and Pop music. I try to incorporate it in my sound and work on that type of music. When you hear John Legend’s new album, you’ll hear those influences. It’s not like the Beatles, but it is leaning left. I’m getting calls for Britney Spears’ label and I love it. I’m a Hip-Hop DJ, but I’m a fan of music. This past year I was up for Grammys in the R&B and Hip-Hop field. This year I hope to be up for Grammys in the Pop or Rock field. I’m very active about it, but Hip-Hop isn’t the only thing that defines me.

AllHipHop.com: What was it about John’s sound that made you sign him?

Devo Springsteen: Well, his voice is very soulful. That’s why they call him John Legend. And Kanye’s music is soulful, but they are both slightly different. So hearing them for years, I was imagining them working together and combining their unique sounds and what they could add to each other’s music. And working for Kanye, he was at the point where it was time to start his own company and sign artists and I felt John was the perfect guy. It was a no-brainer.

AllHipHop.com: How is G.O.O.D Music separate from the other sounds out today?

Devo Springsteen: It’s just exciting to even be involved. Tell me a flyer label, a more talented label. Kanye West, John Legend, and Common? Nine out of ten songs or artists you hear nowadays are reactive. “What’s hot, let’s react to it, the 2006 version, the girls version;” there’s a lot of formulas. With G.O.O.D Music, nothing is reactive everything is progressive. Kanye is the spokesperson for a whole genre.

AllHipHop.com: As a producer, what’s unique about what you bring to the table?

Devo Springsteen: I’ve lived overseas and all across the country. I have a perspective that a lot of producers can’t offer. I play in a live band and have DJ’ed around the world for years. I was an assistant to Kanye for five years and I have a commercial businessman mind. I offer musicality and I write. I want joints that bang in the club. It’s important to make records that are exclusively relevant to the artist.

AllHipHop.com: What’s 2006 looking like for G.O.O.D Music?

Devo Springsteen: It’s going to be a really exciting year. Kanye’s focused on blowing up G.O.O.D Music. He already started work on his new album; John Legend’s album is going to be coming out, Fonsworth Bentley… I feel like people know that if Kanye’s involved, the music is going to be decent at worst, if not classic. Common’s going to be coming out [in September]. GLC and Consequence’s buzz is gaining momentum. I’m doing a lot of different things; several major pop artists are in the works. Sa-Ra is crazy. There’s going to be a lot of exposure for G.O.O.D Music. We’re taking it real seriously and throwing a lot of events. Our branding is innovative and wholesome.

AllHipHop.com: What’s it like working with Kanye?

Devo Springsteen: It’s cool. Kanye is a genius.

AllHipHop.com: Genius?

Devo Springsteen: Have you heard anything wack from him? I know a lot of smart people. Music-wise and marketing-wise he’s a genius. For a Rap album, on Roc-A-Fella records, to have a stuffed bear on your album cover is crazy. “Through The Wire” he paid for. There were no labels supporting it, and without that you can’t get on the radio or TV. He’s able to talk things into existence. But musically, he’s on top of it and it’s spoiled me to work with other artists. John is talented the same way and they both put in a lot of work. It’s a pleasure and I know that whatever we’re working on is the next s**t. I’ve already worked with some of the best so I try to keep the bar high.

AllHipHop.com: What are some of the hardships that you’ve had to face?

Devo Springsteen: A lot of fake people. Promise-breakers, the dynamics of people and how cutthroat the business can be plays out as hardship. People are very reactive and it’s difficult going into a meeting with a banging record and hearing “Well, we really wanted a record like the one last year.” At times I would give in but I don’t think that’s going to get me any further in life. I saw Kanye go through the same thing. It’s hard trying to eat while not making the same stuff as everyone else. People are beginning to appreciate it and I feel like I’m turning a corner. I just produced and wrote a song for Aretha Franklin.

B

rother J of the X-Clan once rapped, “I’ll walk with the lions, stalk with the elephant / pivot like gorilla, pigs become irrelevant.” Fifteen years ago, Hip-Hop and nature seem to have existed on a much more parallel plane than today. However, gear peddler extraordinaire, Marc Ecko seeks to change that. For decades, Ecko Unlimited has covered your favorite rapper in rhinos in their memorable ad campaigns. On Thursday, June 8, Hip-Hop is out to cover the rhinos in return.

Central Park’s annual summer concert will feature a new spin. Rakim, Common, and Lupe Fiasco intend to fill capacity where the money raised will go to saving the seriously endangered rhinoceroses of the world. In preparation for a show that already has so much significance to their careers, Rakim chimes in how he’ll move the crowd as Common revisits the zoo with a b-boy stance. Both icons, along with Lupe, are out to not only preserve nature, but to save the Hip-Hop that they have carried through the last 20 years.

AllHipHop.com: What cans expect from Rakim on this Central Park concert? I know a lot of fans in the vicinity had gotten a preliminary taste over the weekend at Summer Jam…

Rakim: That’s kinda like my arena there. I got to come out with Busta and say a lil’ verse, but I ain’t really get time to get loose or say nothin’, or talk to the crowd. But that’s not my time, that’s Busta’s thing, and I respected that. But he hollered at me to come out with him. At my show, I’m gonna do some classics, then hit ‘em with a lil’ somethin’ new – let ‘em know what’s poppin’ with Rakim. I got my man, Kid Capri DJing for me. We did a couple shows already together, and I like the way that we get down. Things pop off, and I always respected my man Capri. He really knows how to move the crowd. I just wanna do my thing, man. It’s Rakim time. I got a couple surprises for ‘em. I got some time though, so it should get right out there.

AllHipHop.com: I saw you perform in Philly, back in the day, and you were stage-diving like crazy. You actually stage-dove on me. It was crazy…

Rakim: I got little things I like to do. The crowd loves you with that s**t. They let you know that you can trust ‘em, and go out there and be with ‘em, and party with ‘em. I don’t do too much movin’ around out there, but I like to get right.

AllHipHop.com: Common, to start, how did you become involved in the Save the Rhinos part of the concert in Central Park?

Common: Well actually man…to be honest, I was just told that I was doing Central Park’s summer stage [event]. I recently found out that it was for “Save the Rhinos,” and I just became a part of it through Marc Ecko and Ecko Unlimited requestin’ me, really, to be honest.

AllHipHop.com: Fans might get the impression that you are from your music, but are you an animal lover?

Common: Umm…I have respect for animals – for all living things, I respect. I do have love for the animals. I have for respect for ‘em ‘cause they God’s creation. I personally don’t feel that we should abuse any animal. Like, I gotta say this: I was told about the show, and once I found out what it was for, I was feelin’ even better about doin’ it.

AllHipHop.com: Growing up in Chicago, did you get the opportunity to go to the zoo much and see wild animals?

Common: Aw, yeah! I definitely got to go to the zoo.

AllHipHop.com: How important do you think it is for kids growing up in urban environments to get the opportunity to experience something like that? I mean, ideally, they’d witness it in nature, but…

Common: I think it’s important that we use Hip-Hop to bring about that awareness. Inner-city kids, we don’t necessarily think about those things, ‘cause we do have a lot of our own situations that we deal with, but it is somethin’ to be considered and to be brought up, and hopefully – it’ll be effective. My awareness was raised because of the [Save the Rhinos] show, so I hope that others’ will too. That’s what we here for, as Hip-Hop artists and as people.

AllHipHop.com: To be sharing the stage with Rakim and Lupe Fiasco, one could say that it symbolizes “The Three Kings of Hip-Hop” – yesterday, today, and hopefully tomorrow. Do you see it as that?

Common: Yeah. I definitely feel like it’s symbolic. Rakim, as much as he is “yesterday,” he’s “tomorrow” too, in a way – because we continue to listen to his records for good. That’s the music that I strive to make. I make it today, but hopefully, it’ll carry into tomorrow. I hope it carries some of the spirit of yesterday [too]. Lupe, is obviously…definitely the future. He’s shootin’ towards making that creative music that’ll last forever too. I think it’s a dope ticket to have that, like you said, yesterday, today, and tomorrow – and for us to transcend that too.

AllHipHop.com: Your performance is one of the best in Hip-Hop history whether with a DJ, with a band, or assisting another artist. How does a Common set differ when you’re in Central Park, miles south of the birthplace of Hip-Hop?

Common: You feel the vibe of the birth of Hip-Hop. In New York, you always wanna [boost your] show to the highest level of performin’. Also, New York is the Hip-Hop mecca. So you can do other things ‘cause they’re aware of so much Hip-Hop. It’s the [origin], so you can do a lot of things, even if the crowd is younger, they still got the traditional roots wit’ ‘em.

AllHipHop.com: Records like “I Used to Love H.E.R.” and “Respiration” have taken on their own interpretation and sense of identity in New York, as opposed to how they may’ve been intended. What does that mean to you?

Common: I love when somebody can [write] something specific, but that resonates to people all around because it’s so honest and so real, any human can feel it. Like, I can tell you a story about my grandmother, and you might feel my story, just because you have a grandmother in the same situation. So, when I talk about Chicago, some of the things about Chicago is similar to New York life. I love the fact that New Yorkers can feel that, and really get into it – and people everywhere, to be honest.

AllHipHop.com: Can fans expect a sneak appearance from Sadat X, Talib Kweli, or maybe Mos Def?

Common: Um, I do want to have some people, but I don’t know who’s gonna be able to show up. I might start gettin’ on the horn and see who can come through. I do take pride in just havin’ a good show and sellin’ it. If it’s just me up there, I want y’all to know you gonna get a beautiful show.

For information on Save the Rhinos, visit www.rhinos-irf.org