DJ Khaled believes he was born to be an entertainer. That’s understandable, considering that the 30-year-old New Orleans native has spent more than half of his life DJing. Even his birth name, Khaled Khaled, makes it seem like his life was never intended to be ordinary. For the past 15 years, that predestined entertainer has found his goal commanding South Florida Hip-Hop fans to follow Khaled’s signature phrase and “listennn.”

The Miami-based DJ is now using that same enthusiastic self-promotion for Listennn…The Album, his debut on Koch Records. The Terror Squad DJ flexed his rolodex muscle and called on some of the top names in Hip-Hop to lend vocals and production. While Khaled can forever claim to have brought Beanie and ‘Kiss full circle, he’s not quick to follow suit with his own crew’s G-Unit issues. This kind of attention may draw attraction to the project, but will that be enough? DJ compilations are traditionally dismissed by critics and consumers. However, the self-proclaimed “new logo of Koch Records” is out to spin that notion right around.

AllHipHop.com: I noticed that you only produced three songs on your album. You’ve blessed other people’s albums with beats in the past, so why have only three on your own album?

DJ Khaled: Because me producing the whole album is not what I wanted to do. I produced three songs and got other producers so I can have a different sound. I want to win. I don’t need to go out and try to take all the shine. Other producers bring different things to the record, and it’s my job to make a hit record. DJ Khaled produced three, and there are 17 songs on the album, so let’s share the love.

AllHipHop.com: You have some interesting pairings on the album like Beanie Sigel and Jadakiss. They once had beef, so how did you manage to get them on “Problem” together?

DJ Khaled: Well I had seen Beanie Sigel and recorded that song at like seven [o’clock] in the morning. I waited in the studio and played the beat, turned the mic on, and he laid the verse. Then I just said, “Yo, we’re going to put Jadakiss on this song too.” Then he said, “That’s exactly what you should do; put Jadakiss on there.”

AllHipHop.com: Did it surprise you at all that he said that?

DJ Khaled: Nah, I asked him because I wanted to do it. I wanted to put Jadakiss and Beanie Sigel on a record together. I think they’re two incredible rappers and they should do more collaborating. I think they should do an album together. That would be crazy. Beanie Sigel was all for it when I told him I wanted to put him on the song, so I called Jadakiss and told him I wanted to put him on a song with Beanie Sigel and he said, “Let’s go.” Obviously, those brothers have been wanting to work together and I provided that service. Not anybody can pull that off, so I want everybody to understand that. Not anybody can just say they want to put Jadakiss and Beanie Sigel together on a song. First of all, you have to even get Jadakiss on the phone and find him. It’s very hard to get that guy on the mic, but I made it happen and that’s why this album is so crazy.

AllHipHop.com: Terror Squad and G-Unit have had words in the past, as well. Could the two camps squash their beef and have a similar peace?

DJ Khaled: I mean, the Terror Squad and G-Unit stuff, I don’t know if that could ever be fixed. For me speaking as a Terror Squad member, they’re not even on our radar. We’re making good music and we’re for the people. We’re the streets. Terror Squad is created by the streets, for the streets, and we’re going to keep reppin’ the streets. I’m not here to talk bad about anybody, but they’re not even our radar.

AllHipHop.com: The second single is going to be “Born and Raised in the County of Dade,” right? Aren’t you afraid that people outside of Miami won’t gravitate towards the song?

DJ Khaled: That’s definitely one of the potential singles with Rick Ross, Trick Daddy, and Pitbull. I’ll have a chance to rep my city and rep it to a higher level. I think people outside of Miami will [enjoy the song] because they did it for Houston and they did it for [Atlanta]. But I’m going to have more than one single out there. I got a Young Jeezy record and Kanye West record that’s going to be f**king huge.

AllHipHop.com: Other DJ’s like Drama, Envy, or Kay Slay have deals on major labels, so does it feel weird for you to go with Koch?

DJ Khaled: Not at all. I went to Koch because I like dealing with the underdogs. The people at Koch are family to me, and they all work. It’s not like when you’re dealing with the big companies and you have to find out who’s doing what. I can actually walk into to the office at Koch and talk to the president, Alan Grunblatt, to get what I need [on the spot]. I’m a priority at Koch; other companies might have put me on the shelf. I’m not dissing anybody, but Koch showed me a lot of love and we’re going to win! I’m going to be the new logo for Koch and I’m going to be the next Alan Grunblatt.

AllHipHop.com: You’ve always been very vocal about your pride in your Palestinian heritage. Why do you think so few Arab-Americans are in visible positions in Hip-Hop?

DJ Khaled: I mean, I hope that I’m opening the door for more of them to come out, but it’s about being on the grind, you know? It’s not where you’re from or what nationality you are; it’s about doing what you do and your hard work will pay off.

AllHipHop.com: Is that something you might promote more in the future?

DJ Khaled: I’m just going to promote peace.

AllHipHop.com: Rick Ross says you were the first DJ to play “Hustlin’” on the radio. What’s it like to give him that chance and then see him get signed?

DJ Khaled: It’s beautiful to see my brother come-up and see his dreams come true and get rich. For me to help his career, it’s a great feeling. Rick Ross is a loyal dude and he still reps for DJ Khaled. He’s part of the movement and I’m part of that movement.

AllHipHop.com: What movement?

DJ Khaled: The Miami movement. It’s an incredible, beautiful thing. We planned the whole thing out.

AllHipHop.com: On a recent episode of The Takeover, you said, “Miami is the sound, now. Out-of-towners are coming here to get the vibe from us.” What makes you say that?

DJ Khaled: Because I know that for a fact. Everybody records in Miami, everybody parties in Miami, and everybody gets their beats from Miami. We provide a vibe. When you go to New York, they provide a certain vibe for the music and that’s what we’re doing right now. That’s Miami.

AllHipHop.com: You’re originally from New Orleans, so what makes you rep Miami?

DJ Khaled: I’ve been living in Miami for 15 years and it’s only right for me to rep my city. Miami reps me and I rep them back and I love Miami. I’m going to rep them for the rest of my life.

AllHipHop.com: Have you been back to New Orleans since Katrina?

DJ Khaled: I haven’t been back. I would love to go out there soon because I still got some family out in New Orleans, so I want to go check on them when I can and see what’s happened for myself.

AllHipHop.com: Hopefully they are alright. Going back to what Rick Ross said, I also heard you recently play a song from an unsigned artist fresh out of jail. Why give a shot to an unknown like that?

DJ Khaled: People find out where I am and come see me because they know when I [play a record], it’s an automatic co-sign from me. I play what’s hot regardless of who you are because that makes me hot. Status doesn’t matter.

AllHipHop.com: What else is going on with you?

DJ Khaled: Cool & Dre, The Runners, and Fat Joe all work in Jerusalem [Khaled’s private recording studio]. I’m producing on new albums for Young Jeezy, Fat Joe, Rick Ross, and Dre from Cool & Dre. After that, I plan on going into some executive things and work with a few artists, one in particular being Brisco.

AllHipHop.com: Why didn’t you start doing nationally-released mixtapes until “This Ain’t a Movie, Dogg”?

DJ Khaled: With my mixtapes, I put so much time and energy into them, so I just couldn’t do them [more often]. I could have put something out there, but that’s not how I wanted to do it. I do mixtapes when I can because I don’t want to just put a bunch of them out there. I’m starting to do a lot of mixtapes now with Lil’ Wayne and Birdman.

AllHipHop.com: “This Ain’t a Movie, Dogg” got noticed for having Scott Storch and Timbaland rework some of their beats in a live studio session. What made you do that?

DJ Khaled: Scott Storch and Timbaland are my friends, so that was just us having fun. I feel like the mixtape game can get a lot more creative. On “This Ain’t a Movie, Dogg,” I had to switch it up and do something different. I had to make everybody in the mixtape game step it up.

AllHipHop.com: What’s the difference between making those mixtapes and making Listennn… the Album?

DJ Khaled: These are whole songs with thought-out concepts. This is the real deal. I was involved in the whole process. This wasn’t just people sending me tracks. I’m involved in everything that went into this record. This is the best album in the world, AllHipHop! Coming out June 6th.

S

ometimes people get very close to their dreams, and realize that their current path is not the right one. After opening a show for Pastor Troy and Lil’ Scrappy in 2004, Spark Dawg was allegedly courted by Scrappy’s management. The Atlanta up-and-comers were impressed the rapper from central Texas. The 22 year-old says he was not invited, but simply told that he was the newest member of Scrappy’s G’$ Up Click. However, as Spark watched other like Crime Mob and Bohagon rise through the ranks to BME’s distribution deal with Warner Brothers, the artist felt left out.

Now back in Killeen, Texas, Spark plots his career for a second time. Supported by his childhood friends-turned-rappers, Green City, Sparks, has been featured on over 30 mixtapes. One in particular, “The Streets of the Dirty South Volume 4,” a three-disc effort Spark hosted with DJ Explicit, Magno, and Paul Wall, earned the collective a SEA Award this past year. The once-disillusioned Texan will decide if he’ll beckon to a major’s call as he continues to release street-level albums on Green City Records. As records like “Say U Wanna Squash It” featuring T.I. further circulate, it is Spark’s hope that he’ll be the next crowned lyricist of the South, doing so by his own hand.

AllHipHop.com: How long have you been rapping?

Spark: Pretty much, as long as I can remember. I really started taking it seriously around the time I graduated high school, in 2000. I made that trip to Atlanta to get it poppin’.

AllHipHop.com: Was it there that how you be down with G’$ Up Click?

Spark: It was a situation I was thrown in. It’s not like I ran up on [Lil’] Scrappy and asked to be a part of the group or anything. I had opened up a show, and his manager was feeling me and wanted to take me under his wing. [So then]I looked at it as I was sharing the same manager as Scrappy. A week or two later, I come to Scrap’s crib to kick it, and they showing me the G’$ Up handshake and s**t, saying you a member of G’$ Up and s**t, so I took it for what it was worth. Let it be known there is no beef with Lil’ Scrappy, my problem was with the manager.

AllHipHop.com: What lessons did you learn as a result of that which you can use in your Green City situation?

Spark: The main thing is like don’t just try to join or jump on somebody’s bandwagon ‘cause they got they own buzz. The s**t with me and Green City is realer, because I am from Texas, and I went to school with these cats. We all grew up together: middle school, high school. We been rapping together, I just happened to be the only person to be like, “I am going to sacrifice this time over here to see what I can get poppin’ now.” I came back to pick my click up. It’s definitely a better situation because my name is way more known now that I am not with G’$ Up then I was with the so-called “Prince of Crunk” out there in Atlanta.

AllHipHop.com: Looking at your career, why did you win “Best Mixtape” at the Southern Entertainment Awards?

Spark: I think there were a couple of factors. For one, the CD cover was crazy, it caught a lot of attention. At the time, Texas was just getting hot. We had Paul Wall right in the middle of it. Magno, who used to rap with Mike Jones, he is hot in Texas. Then you had a the newcomer. I think people were picking up because you had two known guys and then the newcomer and was like, “I want to check this dude out!” We all co-hosted it, and people embraced it. It was a hot as tape; it was three discs! S**t ain’t been done like that before.

AllHipHop.com: As the newcomer, what would you say your piece in the puzzle was or is?

Spark: I feel like am a voice of the New South. You can’t just call me a “country-ass rapper,” I got lyrics too. Nowadays, the market likes the country swang, twang, the way we talk. I also bring that lyricism. I feel like I got the perfect blend of both that’s going to keep every culture interested in what I am speaking and rapping about.

AllHipHop.com: Explain the Green City situation, what separates y’all from the rest, especially somebody in the limelight like Scrappy?

Spark: The main thing coming out of Green City is that a lot of times when you go a click, it’s because the first n***a came out was hot, and you just bringing your homeboys in the game because that’s the right thing to do. I think with me and Green City, it just so happened I was the first dude to get all that shine. It’s not like with out me there is no Green City, they’ve been doing it. When I left and went to Atlanta, they maintained that buzz here in Texas, so I had something to come back to. Anybody in Green City can go hard, that’s what separates us from a lot of these groups or clicks coming out.

AllHipHop.com: Some may’ve heard of the crew by way of the death of Big Rowdy. Can you tell us more about the man we saw in the rap obituaries…

Spark: Basically, Rowdy was a well known guy in the Central Texas area, kind of like an urban legend. He was an O.G. to us. He was the financial aspect Green City and without him, a lot of things we did would not have been possible. Promotional van, tour bus, it was all because of him. Studio time, without him, we could not have done have the s**t we did. We are the rappers, but you can’t rap with no money, it takes money to make money. It’s unfortunate that he was murdered the way he was but, in his name, we going to keep it moving. Everything we doing right now, we doing for Rowdy and his family.

AllHipHop.com: Green City is already operating on an indie level. As an artist and businessman, what are your aspirations?

Spark: I want to be known as one of the greats, man. A lot of people looked at T.I. like he was crazy when he said he was the “King of the South,” but you go to think like that. If you don’t believe you are the best at what you do, ain’t nobody going to believe in you. I just wanted to be known as one of the greats that put it down for my state. It’s a lot of greats that came out of here. Fat Pat, Screw, Paul Wall, DSR, Magno. I want to be one of those cats that came from the South, and showed the whole world that we got lyrics too, man.

AllHipHop.com: Where can you be found to show this?

Spark: I am on almost every mixtape in the South, so holler at your local hot DJ, and you will see a Spark track on there. For more information, www.myspace.com/dalonestarkid. That’s what it is.

As a founder of the D.I.T.C. crew, Buckwild has been producing some of rap’s most memorable songs for over a decade, underground and commercial. Whether it was the soulful strings of Game’s “Like Father, Like Son,” the hard drums of Sadat X’s “The Lump Lump” or the hypnotic rhythm of Black Rob’s “Whoa,” Buckwild has proven that he is one of the few beatmakers to get respect from both sides of the game.

Fearing that rap will become extinct if it remains in its current state, Buck looks to the new generation of MC’s, like Saigon and Papoose, to resurrect Hip-Hop from its creative graveyard. To prove his point, he’s already slated to produce tracks for both of them in the next few weeks. In the meantime, the Bronx beat-conductor shares the ingredients to some of his hits through the years:

Notorious B.I.G.

"I Got A Story To Tell"

O.C. "Time’s

Up"

Kool G Rap featuring Nas

"Fast

Life"

AllHipHop.com: What do you think about Dusty Fingers? A lot of producers use that compilation series to sample from and build their tracks. As a member of D.I.T.C, I’ve always wanted to hear an opinion on the series from a crate-digger’s perspective?

Buckwild: Dusty Fingers is killing the game because it’s giving away all the secrets that we go all around the world for, and puts it on a compilation for $12.99. If that’s how you wanna eat, that’s one thing. Most of the new producers have no concept of digging anyway. But, at the same time, once you give everybody the same record, that doesn’t make the record special anymore. It’s sad because these are all the things we’re fighting against to keep the game alive. The game is dying slowly.

AllHipHop.com: What makes you say that?

Buckwild: New York is dead. It’s the one-artist saturation thing: Whoever’s hitting it at one time runs the whole game. There’s no diversity. The classic time for Hip-Hop was ’94 and ’95 when you had ten different artists running the game. You had Wu-Tang, Nas, Mobb Deep, Biggie, Puffy, A Tribe Called Quest. You had mad different flavors because no two artists were the same. Now you have everybody that sounds the same. You have exceptions like Kanye, Outkast, and Common, but too many people are tired of the B.S. that’s coming out. We are definitely missing that artistry, producer and rapper-wise, and a lot of artists haven’t been discovered yet. When these artists start to surface, we’re going to have a renaissance and there’s going to be a big change in the game. We just gotta let it die.

AllHipHop.com: What I want to do now is list a couple of songs you’ve produced and break them down from a beat perspective. I want readers to get a behind-the-scenes look at how they were created.

Buckwild: Okay.

AllHipHop.com: The first one is “Time’s Up” by O.C. Was the Slick Rick hook added before or after the rest of the track?

Buckwild: [O.C.] had the idea for the chorus. He had the whole song already. When you’re working with a guy like O, they already have a vision for the song because they have that artist’s perspective. They just need a canvas to paint it on, so when the beat came around, he was like “I got my verses, I got the chorus.” [The beat] was all that was needed.

AllHipHop.com: What about “I Gotta Story to Tell” by Notorious B.I.G off of Life After Death?

Buckwild: Biggie had three beats to choose from. One of them was one that The Lox wanted also. That record ended up having sample clearance issues, and never came out. Then I come to find out that he chose the one to “I Got a Story to Tell.” Biggie was a dude that thinks about his lyrics first, no matter what. With the concept and everything he was like, “Cool, I could rock with that.”

AllHipHop.com: Being from Queens, “Fast Life” by Kool G. Rap and Nas is one of my favorite tracks of yours. What was the direction you wanted to take with this song?

Buckwild: A song like that is “chasing a hit.” It’s out of character to loop up [‘80s R&B group] Surface” but it was something that his label wanted to do and it just ended up being a record with Nas. They came up with the chorus and both did their verse on the first day. Then on the second day, I had them come back and record the last verse, making sure [both of their] verses were tight. This is what I mean by producing a song. You take a guy like Nas, who is lyrically incredible, and most dudes wouldn’t know how to critique him or even produce him. I don’t think he would listen to a lot of guys who are producing out here anyway. Whatever I felt he had a flaw in, or could do better, or say in a different way, I would tell him. If he respects you, then he respects your opinion and he’s going to ask you for it.

AllHipHop.com: Do you remember what you told him?

Buckwild: Man, listen, after doing X amount of records, I can’t remember too much. But there’s records that I have stories with. Take “Rude Boy Salute” that I did for Terror Squad’s first album, where it was Big Pun, Fat Joe and Buju Banton. I had to make Pun come back at two o’clock in the morning to do his verse on the final mix, because the engineer didn’t really know how to record Pun’s vocals. The only engineer that knew how to record Pun’s vocals is my man Duro. Before I called Pun back, everyone was like “Pun’s not gonna change his verse. He said it sounds good like that.” But, I called him at two o’clock in the morning and said “Yo, old boy, this s**t don’t really sound right. I know you don’t want to put it out like this, could you come down and redo your verse?” Pun said “No problem,” and he came down and he knocked it out. That was that. I notice the difference from being a beat maker and being a producer. It’s a big difference.

AllHipHop.com: I want you to school people on your biggest record, “Whoa,” by Black Rob. A lot of people don’t know you were the producer behind it.

Buckwild: That record is what I would call a gift and a curse. It was a beat that no one wanted, and everybody thought it was too slow, and wouldn’t work in the clubs. But you never know what will happen until you make the record. That’s a curse that a lot of people don’t understand. I made a Redman record the other day, and I heard Jay came in and said, “[It] was dope, but he needs a ‘Whoa.’” You don’t know what a record’s gonna do until it comes out. The people are the ones that make the records big, not the executives. [The gift is that] I’ve been blessed. Being able to be on Gold and Platinum albums is definitely a blessing.

AllHipHop.com: After working with Biggie, Nas, 50, Pun, Fat Joe and Game, who haven’t you worked with that you want to make a song with?

Buckwild: Underground cats. I need people who want to come in and challenge the beats as opposed to me making the beat to challenge them. I’m tired of people who just need a beat from me. I need it where it’s 50% me and 50% them.

AllHipHop.com: Do people approach you with demo tapes?

Buckwild: They do, and I listen. Working with guys like Biggie, Jay-Z and Pun is another gift and a curse, because being in a studio with those guys makes you look for the same things in the tapes that you listen to. It’s hard. There’s nobody on Biggie’s, Jay-Z’s, or Nas’ level that’s even out. The brightest stars that we got is Papoose and Saigon. I’ve been hearing about this kid, Balance. I want to hear what he got, but, really, I’m trying to keep my ear to the ground to see who’s who.

AllHipHop.com: I’m going to name a couple breaks and I want to hear what you think about them, and I want to know if you think they’re overrated or not. The first one is Bob Azzam’ “Rain, Rain, Go Away.”

Buckwild: Well, I introduced the break, so…[laughs] It’s on The Artifacts’ “C’Mon Wit Da G## Down Remix” and [Mic Geronimo’s] “Masta I.C.” It’s a bit overrated, you’re right, and the money the dealers want for this record is astronomical.

Allhiphop.com: I heard Prince Be from PM Dawn paid $700 for it…

Buckwild: You gotta be kidding me. I paid three bucks for it! [laughs] These dudes are worse than the record labels now. S**t, for $700, I could have sold him mine! [laughs]

AllHipHop.com: I’m gonna throw you Skull Snaps’ “It’s a New Day.” I wanna hear what you think of that.

Buckwild: Come on, now. That’s an all-time classic break that you really won’t find. [9th Wonder] said the other day, “I don’t know nobody that has the original.” I got the original. I ain’t even gonna front, I got it at the Roosevelt Record show for $100 [laughs]. If I’m not mistaken, I think I might have two.

AllHipHop.com: Hook me up with one.

Buckwild: [silence]

AllHipHop.com: Just kidding.

Buckwild: [laughs]. What’s ill is that I seen one at Sound Library around five or six months ago sitting on a wall for $150. That’s not bad for a record you can’t find. I came back a week later, and it was gone. I knew that wasn’t going to stay there long.

AllHipHop: What about Melvin Bliss’ “Synthetic Substitution”?

Buckwild: That’s the classic all-time break. Are you talking about the official one or the re-pressed bootleg one with the same label? [laughs] If you could catch that, you’ll pay whatever for it. I got that and the original [Honeydrippers’] “Impeach the President.” I’m an original dude, man. I don’t really do reissues, so most of the records that I got are the official ones. My favorite David Axelrod album is Songs of Experience and the second one is Earth Rot. It’s a dope album that you can just listen to, music-wise. The way I do beats, now, is from listening to [Axelrod]; I hear the progression of the way everything changes and I want to work with dudes who could help make that happen. He was dope as a producer and arranger. I’m trying to get a chance to rock with him. You can’t f**k with his sound. If he was producing today, he would be the one dude that could produce rap records.

AllHipHop.com: I want to build on that and ask you about your opinion of Puffy. What do you think about him as a producer?

Buckwild: PD, Mister Producer extrodinaire. He showed me and a lot of other dudes what a producer really is. He showed the part of production that most dudes never really knew, like, when you’re coming in and not even touching the drum machine. You’re shooting ideas like, “Yo, this needs to be like this,” and “No, you gotta do this like this.” He showed that part of production that dudes never really knew: You thought just because you made beats, you’re the producer? You’re not.

AllHipHop.com: It came out in the news recently that you and several other artists and producers have a lawsuit against him for royalties owed.

Buckwild: Alright. Let’s set this straight: There’s no lawsuit that’s out against Puff.

AllHipHop.com: Okay, what is it?

Buckwild: The only things that’s going on is that dudes haven’t been paid on a few albums. So, Warner Brothers is getting their books updated so everyone can get paid. I think what probably happened was, in the time that he left Arista, a lot of people weren’t getting their statements from that point on. [For me], it’s my part of Life After Death, part of Life Story and any albums that came out after that. It’s residuals. It’s just a matter of Warner Brothers getting everything updated so everyone can get paid what they’re supposed to. Knowing Warner Brothers, it should be finished in the next few months.

AllHipHop.com: That’s what’s up. What are you working on now?

Buckwild: Let’s see, almost everything’s that out now: Redman, Saigon, Papoose told me they got a record, Snoop, Fat Joe. We gotta cover what we got so we don’t lose this thing, man. Keep Hip-Hop alive and give it resuscitation, so it don’t keep dying slowly.

T

here are only two reactions to adversity – win or lose. Roadblocks are certain to affect progress in an environment as political and shark-infested as the music industry. Hit-making machine Dame Grease has gotten the job done time and time again, but has seemingly hit a glass ceiling when its time for that special promotion to legendary status.

Throughout his 10-plus year career, he’s crafted songs for DMX, Kelis, Mobb Deep, The Lox, Slick Rick, Nas and even scored several films. Grease has helped construct the sonic foundation for the wildly successful Ruff Ryders label, but charges that he’s been wronged by the very people he helped build. Outspoken but not bitter, Grease says he has pushed through the invisible career cap to maintain his course to greatness.

After taking a few years off to “go to college,” Dame Grease leaps back into the rough waters with a wiser mentality, a focused ambition and a sonic arsenal that could fend off Jaws. Touting recent work with long time friend DMX, Freeway, and Dipset, Grease says he’s long overdue for that promotion.

Three Dame Grease notables:

DMX "Let Me

Fly"

Diplomats "More Than

Music"

Mary J. Blige

"Dance For

Me"

AllHipHop.com: What are you currently working on?

Dame Grease: Right now one of the latest joints I just put out is “It’s Nuttin’”’ off the [Funkmaster] Flex album, with Cam’ron and Juelz [Santana]. I got about three cuts on the Freeway album coming out. I got a couple cuts with Mase, J.R. Writer, Hell Rell and all them guys. I got five cuts on the new DMX album, and it’s a lot going on.

AllHipHop.com: You started out with Ruff Ryders and DMX. How did you begin working with them?

Dame Grease: I had my group NIB. We used to mix with Cam and them in St. Nick’s Projects, that’s how we all know each other and got a certain respect for each other’s talents. From there, I had a big buzz in Harlem and that’s where I met the owners of Ruff Ryders. I used to come around and they would be like, “Grease we want you to get down with us.” I was like, “Get out of here I’m doing [my label,] Vacant Lot.” Then they said “We want to manage you.” I’m like, “Hey, that sounds alright.” So I came in there and brung in my sound – which is the Harlem sound. I hooked up with their artists which was the Lox and DMX at the time, and I kind of made they whole careers and got their sound out of them and sent them on their way. As far as the first DMX album coming out, we all had a super buzz on the streets. Ruff Ryders went and did the deal with Interscope, and part of the deal with Interscope was based on their number one producer, which is [me]. When they came, they was like hey we got this little [check] for you. I was like Dog I’m a hustler dog, I’m not just a dude making a hot beat, so you can’t just bamboozle me with bulls**t. So after that, we had a fall out. We went our separate ways, but I just thought, “Okay, they do what they do, and I do what I do. “ I didn’t know that motherf**kers was calling people and blackballing me.

AllHipHop.com: Do you know this for a fact?

Dame Grease: Quote unquote, a call went in to Jermaine Dupri — I ain’t gonna say where it came from, but a call went in to Jermaine Dupi and told him, “Don’t take no Grease tracks for the Da Brat album.” One of the guys from [So So Def], a good friend of mine, was like, “Yo Grease, the joints you got is crazy, but a phone call came through my n***a.” So my Live on Lennox album was like Anti Ruff Ryder. I know it for a fact. Being the hottest thing on the streets to not getting calls and getting the confirmation from executives.

AllHipHop.com: So you attribute it to you being the backbone of Ruff Ryder label?

Dame Grease : Yeah, Ruff Ryders is Grease. The black and silver colors, that’s Grease, that’s Vacant Lot. That’s me. That’s my tradition. I ain’t gonna lie, we still cool.

AllHipHop.com: So you do still remain cool with them?

Dame Grease: I mean we say what’s up. You gotta understand… I mean, [DMX], that’s my brother, that’s my blood, I love him. He loves my kids, I love his kids, we family. Me and him is forever linked you know what I’m saying? Throughout music or labels, f**k all that s**t , we homies. When it got down to it, me and him did a lot of talking. He used to tell me, “Grease, I love you, just keep doing what you do.”

AllHipHop.com: So your personal relationship with DMX kept you doing music?

Dame Grease: He was the guy that actually kept me going. When everything went down, he said, “Grease, I’m doing movies, I want you to score the movies.” That’s how I went on to score all of his movies. That’s why I forever got the love and the gratitude for him. It’s real stuff, I hear a lot of people say a lot of stuff about DMX, but he is a real person.

AllHipHop.com: You and Swizz Beats started out with Ruff Ryders together right?

Dame Grease: When I started at Ruff Ryders, Swizz Beats was still learning how to work the MPC. He was just learning how to make beats and so forth. All the producers used to watch what I do and try to emulate what I do. When the blackball came in, all the calls that came for Grease, went to Swizz Beats.

AllHipHop.com: You have an artist Meeno who had a slight beef with Jay-Z. Do you think that had an affect on your career or you being blackballed?

Dame Grease: As far as my label, it has tainted it. Meeno was the first person to go at Jay-Z, and that was done with a partner I had at the time. A crab mother f**er who put that influence within a person to do that. Me myself, I don’t fear any man. I don’t fear any bleeding air-breathing creature, but I’m not stupid. It was actually with Kay Slay, he put the song on what was his biggest tape. The whole Meeno dissing Jay-Z, that’s how he got the name “Drama King.” I’m not a stupid dumb individual.

AllHipHop.com: So that may have affected Vacant Lot Records, but you don’t feel like it affected your production work?

Dame Grease: Nah, from me being a man and know that my ground base is to do music. I keep that fact within myself. For two years, I had to get a big broom and start sweeping up s**t. Actually, me and Jay had done a Rap City show when he was putting out The Black Album. All through the show it was subliminal messages being thrown back and forth and s**t. My whole thing is I wasn’t there to actually beef with Jay on none of that s**t.

AllHipHop.com: Did you make the effort to patch that up?

Dame Grease: [During the show, there were] subliminals thrown at each other. He was like “This is a good look for Harlem,” and I said “You already know.” Little t## for tat s**t. He went to do a freestyle, and I said, “Alright, what beat you want?” He said, “Put that Ludacris and Kanye West joint on.” So I played it and then stepped back from the turntables just to let dude know I’m not here for no bulls**t. I ain’t gonna sabotage your freestyle. After the show we actually shook hands and said what’s up.

AllHipHop.com: So now you’re wide open to work with Def Jam?

Dame Grease : I’m open to work with anyone. Grease is unpolitical. You ain’t gonna hear me talk about anyone. I just do music. I did two tracks on the Freeway album, and Jay’s on one of the tracks. You see how that s**t is like history? That’s actually my first song I ever worked with him. It’s a good thing, you’re a young dude, you live and you learn.

AllHipHop.com: You’ve been in Hip-Hop for over ten years. You’ve watched New York dominate to now the south taking over. What does New York Hip-Hop need to come back?

Dame Grease: I hope you got a lot of motherf**kin’ tape [laughs]. Real talk, I watched the giants of New York destroy the f**king rap game. All them motherf**kers is to blame. If they can get the s**t back and say we f**ked it up, and start rebuilding, that’s when we’re all gonna be good. It takes a man to know his mistakes to rise.

AllHipHop.com: What mistakes do you think were made and who made them?

Dame Grease: All I do is talk the real, but I wont mention who, because I don’t want no problems [laughs]. You have one kid who’s a rap fan, say he’s from upstate New York. In his six-CD changer, let’s say he has Jay-Z, DMX, Ja Rule, Lox, P. Diddy, Biggie, and ‘Pac. They got all these guys. Now you got two guys: DMX and Ja Rule going at each other. Then Jay-Z and Nas going at each other. Now the kid is like, “Who am I supposed to listen to?” The kid is confused. Now you have a guy with dreads [Lil’ Jon] that yells a lot. And he says “Yo, you motherf**kers wanna have fun?” And everybody puts the CD changers down, and say, “We’re gonna roll with this guy because he’s only making good music. It’ s nothing in between or no subliminal [lines].” It got right back to music. That’s what the south is on right now, just making good music. I ain’t gonna knock them guys. They’ve been trying to do their music for a while and with the political stuff from up here, we were like, “Yeah, whatever.”

AllHipHop.com: So you think it was the beefs that destroyed every thing?

Dame Grease: The beef s**t murdered it because it made the consumer confused. The consumer loves Jay-Z and Nas, why do we have to choose?

AllHipHop.com: do you think what Jay-Z did on his I declare War concert is a beginning of a comeback?

Dame Grease: Yes sir. He was a smart enough person to look like it like that. He’s one of the main players. He looked at it and said we did f**k this s**t up and we got to do something. That was the first step to give some strength and structure back to this part of the world’s Hip-Hop.