Tha Eastsidaz have gotten a taste of what it feels like to be on the wrong side of the game. The group claims that the man who brought them to West Coast prominence, Snoop Dogg, duped the them of over $1 million each. With platinum and gold albums on their resume, Tha Eastsidaz say they have received about $240,000 and a platinum chain as payment for their success.

Obviously, Snoop Dogg’s alleged reciprocity practices do not bode well with Tha Eastsidaz. The situation has reportedly gotten heated to the point of violence. Alongside a reputable accounting firm, they have decided to take their fight to the legal arena to get what is due them. AllHipHop.com talked to Tha Eastsidaz’s Tray Dee hours before an alleged and well-publicized shooting incident. The rapper was arrested in his home after a witness stated he was involved with the felony.

Still, regardless of the case, the group just wants justice – by any means. Read the shocking interview.

Allhiphop.com: We received a press release with a statement saying some disparaging things about Snoop Dogg. Is any of what I read true?

Tray Deee: That’s as real as it gets, brother. They are a bunch of bustas, man. A bunch of opportunists who saw what was really going on and was hiding behind closed doors and really wasn’t participating in it. They got their stories together and created a character, man. They are like those “Peanuts” characters from Charlie Brown. They are a bunch of fabricated images without a foundation under them. One day, they kickin’ “187 on an undercover cop,” but deep down inside, he wanted to be a little pimp. I guess when the fame caught him, he got caught up in all the glitz and glamour. What he aspired to be when he looked out of his window, he wanted to be me.

Allhiphop.com: The first Eastsidaz album went platinum, right?

Tray Deee: The first one went platinum. The second one was headed to platinum, but they sabotaged it after we found out what the situation really was as far as how they did us on points and royalties.

Allhiphop.com: Did they pay you and Goldie Loc the amount of money you were due from the first album?

Tray Deee: We actually received $40,000.

Allhiphop.com: You only got $40,000 from a platinum album? Who in the hell received the gist of that money?

Tray Deee: Snoop and TVT.

Allhiphop.com: What kind of numbers did the second album hit?

Tray Deee: It went gold. It sold about 700,000 copies.

Allhiphop.com: How was the money divvied up on that album?

Tray Deee: We got a $200,000 advance and that was it. They raked in all the spoils and didn’t divide it. Snoop was all in it with that Steve Gottlieb dude. He tried to play all innocent and all that. He’s still smoking blunts and coaching kids, man. He’s the biggest sucker of them all. He ran. I tried to address the situation with him as a man. We’ve been going at it for the past two years. I’ve been trying to resolve with him diplomatically, not going to court, because I want him to say, “yeah man, I did wrong, but let me make it right.” He ain’t man enough to even do that. He would rather hire a bunch of security to protect me from getting to him. I’ve been checking him, man. He’s been living off of my “G” reputation since 1995.

Allhiphop.com: On the outside, Snoop seems cool. But you know him – how is he outside of the cameras and paparazzi?

Tray Deee: He’s a family man, wants to do right by his children. His wife runs the household. He just wants his little space to act like he’s pimpin’, but in actuality he’s paying. He’s paying Don (Magic) Juan and the hoes. He’s Don Juan’s main hoe! He don’t walk around Long Beach or nothing like that. He sends scouts out to look around to see who’s where so he knows which places to avoid. So when he shows up, everything’s cool. He has 20 bodyguards surrounding him with a bunch of blunt rollers and yes men.

Allhiphop.com: I was reading a story about he gave you and Goldie Loc a chain as payment for the album. Is there any truth to that?

Tray Deee: Yeah, a little platinum chain. He tried to say it cost $71,000, but then he turned around and said that’s what he paid for 10 of them. The first ones he gave us were cubic zirconias and silver. Then, he went to the jeweler and had them do up about 10 real pieces. I went and finished getting mine flooded out on my own expense. He’ll give you $5,000 to write a verse for him, or $5,000-$10,000 to do a song with him. He’ll turn around and make a million, or two or three.

Allhiphop.com: Snoop has to be a multi-millionaire with all of that going on.

Tray Deee: If you tell him you’re doing bad, he’ll give you $50 or something, then tell the bodyguards to show you the door.

Allhiphop.com: What was the situation when you went to his house and tried to collect the money he owes you?

Tray Deee: I went on peace to tell him to come clean with what he owes me. He ran out of his house and hopped in his truck. His bodyguard tried to tell him to come back. I told him to go ahead, add it up and chip mines off. I came back the next day to collect, and his people fired on me.

Allhiphop.com: They shot at you?

Tray Deee: Yeah, they unleashed some shots at me.

Allhiphop.com: Well, the word on the street was you were shaking Snoop down. He was actually paying you.

Tray Deee: No, we weren’t shaking him down. He was paying the homeboys to keep the rest of the homeboys off of him. He’s a b#### boy. He don’t take care of his people, man. He don’t got no businesses in the city, none of that.

Allhiphop.com: Do you have any sort of legal leg to stand on in all of this?

Tray Deee: Fa sho, fa sho! I got Fred Moutrie from an accounting firm (Moss Adams LLP) who says they owe us $1,000,000 a piece.

Allhiphop.com: You and Goldie Loc are owed in excess of $1,000,000 each?

Tray Deee: Yep. Me and Goldie. But now, I’m the talent coordinator for the Xtreme Fighting Championships.

Allhiphop.com: Really?

Tray Deee: Yeah, I’m on the Board of Directors; I’m a shareholder. Tito Ortiz is my business partner.

Allhiphop.com: Tito Ortiz is the truth. He will split your wig in four or five places in a second.

Tray Deee: I want to tell to Snoop to go to the Staples Center and meet me in the Octagon. No holds barred for $1,000,000 a piece. I’ll give him 90 days to train for it, too. Him and his security detail. We’ll match off weight classes. We’ll do it on pay per view. Him and his security against me and my homeboys. Tell him he can even get G-Unit since he’s on their nuts. He can name his squad the DPG Unit, since he’s on 50 Cent’s and Chingy’s nuts. Get 50 Cent and his boys, too! He can get G-Unit and the Chingy posse against Tray Deee and the Eastside Crips. He wants P-Diddy to produce his next album. How is he going to be a West Coast artist and his last two singles was “From The Chuuch To Da Palace” and “Beautiful?”

How would your mother

deal with it if you were shot and killed? Not many people can muster up the strength

to do what Afeni Shakur, mother of murdered rapper Tupac is doing. Her son has

left a major impression on the arts and due to much of her efforts. Her son has

sold 30 million records, 24 million of them, since his death in 1996.

And with the guidance

of a mother’s love, Shakur is making sure her son’s legacy lives on and continues

to grow and inspire the legions and legions of cult like followers he inspired.

Shakur wants to show that Pac was more than a rapper. He inspired young people

to think, reach and love each other. With a new movie, "Tupac: Resurrection"

and an accompanying soundtrack, Afeni Shakur spoke candidly with AllHipHop about

her son’s legacy.

AllHipHop.com:

How was it plowing through all of that info on your son?

Afeni Shakur: I

have yet to go through my sons things that were removed from his home seven

years ago, so what I don’t do is go through things. But Lauren and the Amaru

staff, the Amaru production team and the MTV production team, Avon, they all

did a magnificent job. My family helped, other members of my family are able

to do things like that, but I am not the person that goes through anything,

mostly (giggles).

AllHipHop.com:

Was Death Row or Suge Knight involved with this project at all?

AS: Not at all.

AllHipHop.com:

What is your relationship with Suge Knight at this point?

AS: Suge Knight

is the executive producer of music that my son made during the period of time

that he was a Death Row artist. As such because my son died, every time we use

or every time one of those pieces of music is used or needs to be used in any

way then, I have to have a relationship with Death Row because that’s who my

son made those arrangements with. I have a relationship with Death Row and Suge

Knight based upon the fact that my son had a relationship with them. We can

not erase history but you know, we also do Tupac’s things, we have our own staff.

AllHipHop.com:

Lets talk a little bit about the soundtrack, because I have seen the movie but

I haven’t heard the soundtrack, with the exception of "Running."

AS: You haven’t

heard the soundtrack? O.K. you’ve heard the one song "Running" and

your also going to love "One Day at a Tim." Why wouldn’t I love "One

Day at a Time?" I’m a recovering addict, I live my life one day at a time.

That’s the name of the next track. "One Day at a Time" which is with

the Outlaws,. Eminem produced it and I think on this one also Dre mixed it.

This is wonderful music. They are three new songs. The other one would be "Ghost."

They are three new songs and they are magnificent. We are really, really, really

proud of them and then they work well with the other Tupac music. It’s like

a nice walk down the lane. I think I can’t remember, I’ll mess it up if I try

to tell you now. I’m so bad at it you know, but you know what else is on it

which I like a lot (giggles from having a hard time remembering the title of

a song)?

AllHipHop.com:

“Dear Mama?”

AS: No, Oh God,

it’s the one with 50 Cent. I’m sorry, I hope it’s not a bad thing for me

to say it. I know people like whatever, but really I like when he says ( giggles)

I love it, when he says "Until Makeveli returns, all eyes on me" (giggles)

I love it, I love it, I love it. So that’s the last song on the track. So it

begins one way then the last thing is 50 Cent and Tupac I love it. It’s great.

I really think that it’s amazing it has that much passion. It’s a wonderful

album, people will be happy, people will be alright about it.

AllHipHop.com:

What made you release the Biggie/Tupac song or re-release it, was there any

particular statement you were making?

AS: I can tell

the truth and change the devil and let me tell you something. That song was

in the original mix to go in the movie, yes it was, but that’s not how we saw

that song. We need to give thanks to Eminem because that’s his vision for that

song, and I resisted it. When I first heard it I said, "What is this? And

then he said "please" just humble very, very humble. "Please

I have a vision for this. I know what you are trying to do just trust me."

Once he did it, I cried. A lot of us did. I cried because I would have wanted

to do that, yes I would have, but I did not have the talent. He made it such

a big song. I mean like the energy of it, it’s a big song. It’s the best that

I heard of Biggie since he’s been gone. He’s so clear, so good you know, I like

that. I like that we are able to honor Ms. Wallace with that song. She’s a good

lady you know, and I need for her. She always says very nice things about me

and I want to thank her like that. So I’m very proud of that song.

AllHipHop.com:

What do want people to remember most about Tupac, and is it hard for you to

do these interviews?

AS: The reason

it’s not hard is because I don’t do them everyday. I say to the people, like

before I started today I said, "You must remember now I’m not an entertainer,

I’m the mother of the murdered person who is the subject of this movie."

And this is not hard for me because I don’t do it everyday, I remain everyday

Tupac’s mom and as his mother, today this is my responsibility. That’s exactly

the way I do it and it’s nothing as long as I do it like that. But, if I was

getting involved in trying to be a media person then it would be a problem,

but this is OK, it just has a beginning, a middle, and an end. I can do anything

like if long as I practice.

AllHipHop.com:

What do you want people to remember most about him?

AS: About my son,

I would like for people to remember him as a complete artist. I would like for

them to be touched and moved by his music and by his art. I would like for them

to appreciate him as a artist, to judge him by the totality of his work the

way that all artists are done. If they do that, it is sufficient for me, I would

be quite satisfied with that.

AllHipHop.com:

Is there any new aspect of his personality that people who are most familiar

with him through his music they can get from the movie?

AS: Absolutely,

people who did not know him on a one to one basis will discover Tupac and the

people that knew him, will sit there and think that Tupac is talking individually

to them. The good thing is that you see every aspect of Tupac’s personality.AllHipHop: What is

your view on all the unauthorized DVDs that are floating around on your son?

Afeni Shakur: Painful

that people feel like, I guess, that they don’t think maybe that I would do

the right thing by my son. said in ’96 that I was going to put my son’s work

out in an organized, rational way. This is seven years later and I feel comfortable

in that’s what we’ve done. The fact that others have felt it necessary to do

[DVDs], that’s ok. We did what we needed to do. I’m not angry with anybody.

I don’t feel hostility. We are just doing what we think Tupac would want. Tupac

had a real forceful way of making you understand what he wanted for himself.

We are clear.

AllHipHop: This

is story on disconnect about two generations. Not only Tupac, but his generation.

What happened along the way?

Afeni Shakur: My

generation was frightened into panic. I think we spent a lot of time lying to

our young people, hiding and blaming them from what we have done. That’s what

I think. Where that lead me was to a crack pipe. I am forever grateful to God

that I was on that crack because I made me completely broken so that I could

examine my life. Today what I know is that we are responsible for these young

people. If there is a disconnect its our fault because we stopped talking to

them honestly.

AllHipHop: Do you

think that the people overlook Tupac’s more political side, his more positive

side?

Afeni Shakur: You

know when Tupac was alive, all of the people I used to know they would ask me,

"Why doesn’t he write something political?" And I would say, "What

planet are you on?" The thing about Tupac is that he was discomforting

to some people. He made people very uncomfortable. People will be able to look

at this documentary in a nice comfortable movie seat, so they won’t be afraid

that he’ll jump off stage and spit in their face.

Part 2 of "Resurrection"

will appear next week on AllHipHop.com.

You may not know her name, but you’ve seen the programs she helped create. Lauren Lazin has helmed the production of dozens of documentaries and original programs for MTV, including “Cribs,” “True Life,” and “Diary.” With a cable network docu-drama background, the jump to directing a feature-length film fitted for the big screen proved to be more of a leap, especially considering her big-screen debut would focus on Hip-Hop’s greatest influence: Tupac Shakur. With the help of Afeni Shakur, Lazin undertook the daunting task of piloting the ship that could steer Tupac’s legacy into uncharted territory. As Pac’s influence reaches a peak more than seven years after his death, Lazin presents a larger than life view of the man, dispels the myriad myths, and opens viewers’ minds to what Pac meant and means to generations of Hip-Hop heads and non-heads alike in “Tupac: Resurrection.”

AllHipHop: Where did the idea originate to create a feature-length film about Tupac’s life?

Lauren Lazin: From both Afeni and myself. It was a dream of hers. I’ve long wanted to make a documentary film and Tupac is obviously the most important artist of the last 20 years. I truly believe he is an icon and that’s a term people throw around very loosely these days, but I think he merits it. Tupac lived his life larger than life and I knew that he was someone that could really fill the screen.

AllHipHop: How was the making of a feature length documentary different for you?

Lazin: I was definitely ready for the challenge. I wanted to do something that would be an-hour-and-a-half, no commercials, that would be seen on a big screen. We conceived of it theatrically. And I’m hoping people go see it in a theater because it’s a real theatrical experience. The music is incredible and the visuals really take you through his life. At the same time it is a very personal and intimate film. It is Tupac’s life told through his own words.

AllHipHop: Describe the process of directing a film from footage you had no control over creating.

Lazin: It was daunting. There was a lot we did shoot, visually, to bring out the story and to give it that theatrical feel, but the meat of the material were the interviews done during his life. The great thing we had going for us was Tupac. He never gave a bad interview. He always really respected the people he was talking to, whether it was an important sit-down interview with BET or MTV, whether it was a deposition, whether it was a junket for a movie – he was very thoughtful and insightful. I really believe he wanted his story told in this manner. He was very helpful to us, there were a lot of clues about how he wanted his story to be told. My job was to make it into a movie that was dramatic and had a strong linear narrative to make sure it felt like him. Before I did anything on this film I talked with people who did know him. His mother, his aunt, his cousins, his sister, his closest friends – just so I could get a sense of him as a person. He was a very complex person. So it was important to get a sense of him from the people close to him.

AllHipHop: Would you say you were a fan of Tupac’s before you began this project?

Lazin: I was definitely a fan. Like a lot of people, I loved the hits. I always found him to be very entertaining. I directed a documentary on Dr. Dre right before this and any footage that Tupac was in really made me see how he jumped off the screen. He is the person you look at first. You’re drawn to him. I really grew to understand how remarkable a person he was. His influence on Hip-Hop and this generation is undeniable. He was truly a poet.

AllHipHop: Tupac was full of contradictions. How were you able to build a cohesive vision for the story given so many inconsistencies in his life and message?

Lazin: Human beings are complex. This movie is not black and white and neither was Tupac. He expressed the complexity of human nature, both in how he lived his life and how he talked about his life. I am proud that the film doesn’t reduce him to simple motives and actions. You get a very well rounded picture of Tupac in this film. He was very aware of his own complexity. This film is not only true to his life, but also everyone’s life.

AllHipHop: Where do you think Tupac turned the corner and began predicting his unavoidable early death?

Lazin: I don’t know if there was one point where he turned a corner. There were definitely shifts and turns. Prison was a very dark time for him. But his interviews from prison were the most insightful. He wasn’t getting high and he was very clear spoken. Sometimes during his darkest periods he was the most full of light.

AllHipHop: Do you believe Pac was always his own person or do you believe he was the person he thought would have the most influence?

Lazin: He was always true to himself. And that’s one way he was an inspiration to his fans. He was very aware of his own change and growth. He talks frankly in the film about his own mistakes, the things he wishes he could have done differently. He was honest, he spoke from the heart and a lot of that is due to Afeni.

AllHipHop: Is there a side to Tupac that is seen in the film that we perhaps haven’t seen before?

Lazin: People who have seen the film, and certainly the non-fans who have seen the film, fall in love with him. What’s been gratifying for me is that hard-core Tupac fans have told me they’ve learned new things about him from watching the film. He’s very funny and his politics are really given a spotlight in this film. So much has been said about the murder and the controversy, but we haven’t really had a chance to focus on his message. He had a revolutionary voice and had a very powerful political message. His philosophy on Thug Life for the first time is really explained, and it’s not what people think they’re going to hear. It’s inspiring.

AllHipHop: Did you make an effort to expose his vulnerability and not just his larger than life persona?

Lazin: Very much so. But I would add that he exposes his own vulnerability. This is a film where Tupac takes the lead and I was just there to shape it for the audience. He was the first one to express his vulnerabilities and it’s a very strong internal portrait of the man.

AllHipHop: What do you hope this film will accomplish?

Lazin: I’d like the film to speak for itself. It’s always interesting and exciting for me to hear what people to take away from the film. There are several messages in the movie and the strongest for me is the legacy he left behind. And the onus is on Tupac’s fans today to carry on his work. Hopefully people will be inspired by this.

AllHipHop: Do you think his legacy is being exploited today?

Lazin: I can’t really speak to that. My mission was to make sure this wasn’t an exploitative piece. This was something the family wanted and this was something I believe Tupac himself would have wanted.

AllHipHop: How will it be possible for any artist to surpass his Pac’s social relevance?

Lazin: The challenge is out there and you never know where the next great leader and voice is going to come from.

AllHipHop: Do you think it will be possible for any artist to achieve what Pac achieved?

Lazin: Hopefully someone can take it to the next step. It’s a tragedy, he died at a really young age and you can only imagine what he could have accomplished had he lived even into his thirties. Hopefully the next generation will learn from his mistakes and carry out that work.

AllHipHop: Is there anything else you want to add about the film or that you want to say to a new generation of fans that didn’t grow up on his music, but can certainly hear his influence on the music of today?

Lazin: I just hope they go to the theaters. Paramount is giving this film a very wide distribution and this is a great film for not only his fans, but for also their parents. This film elevates the dialogue.

AllHipHop: Was that a conscious effort to bridge the gap between generations of listeners?

Lazin: I feel that Tupac did that. It was just a matter of getting people to listen to him. I didn’t have to do that work, Tupac did that work, it was just a matter of getting that out there. I know that something that Afeni wanted and that I wanted, was to elevate the dialogue around Tupac’s life and his importance and I think we’ve achieved that.

Along with DJ Clue, Fatman Scoop was an original DJ yelling on tracks. When you hear the mighty “Mixdrop!” you know who’s mixing. In his downtime from being a staple radio host at Hot 97, Scoop has grown internationally known through his productions and label work.

Scoop recently hosted and co-produced the “Inside Hip Hop” debut DVD. The first disc features superb interviews with hip-hop power movers like Lyor Cohen, Dame Dash, Steve Rifkind, Fat Joe and others. Somewhere between his radio show, his DVDs, and even hosting AllHipHop’s own “True Grit Volume 2” mix, Scoop sits down to catch up on things, discuss the movie, and reflect on his career as one of the best known radio personalities of our time.

AllHipHop.com: So besides hosting, what is your role behind the scenes on “Inside Hip Hop”?

Fatman Scoop: Something like Associate Producer. My thing is like I don’t credit for something I really don’t know about. Like saying that being a director is so easy and hands on. What I did was let [the directors] take the lead, so to speak, and I watched them. I’m an Associate Director, Associate Producer. By the third go round with this project, I should be able to take the reigns myself.

AllHipHop: Were there executives that you thought should of gone on the first volume, that didn’t?

FMS: Sure, sure! I give you the list right now: Puffy, Steve Stout, who else? Jimmy Iovine, a couple people I didn’t get to on this trip because it was so tough reaching out to them. Now Puffy, I’ve known for many years. I had to contend with his schedule. He’s a work horse. He’s doin’ thirty different things at forty different times. So I just have to wait on him. Jimmy Iovine, I’ll probably be going to the West Coast sometime [soon]. Dre, the good doctor, [we’ll] get him on there, and a couple other people. But there are people missing.

AllHipHop: And that’s what leaves the viewer looking for number two.

FMS: Exactly. So I didn’t have to go for the entire gusto right away. [Because on this there’s] executives who have done things that have changed Hip-hop. Look at Steve Rifkind! That man created the street team. My grand-mother has a street team. Your uncle has a street team. Paul Rosenberg, that’s Eminem. What’s bigger than that? Mona Scott, Violator. Busta Bus, LL, anybody that’s had some power, has been on Violator. Craig Cowman, the man runs Atlantic. Jesus Christ, Atlantic Records. That’s Sean Paul, that’s Lil’ Kim, that’s household names. Baby from Cash Money, [Fat] Joe from Terror Squad. I got Joe because I wanted to show that unique situation where the artist is the CEO. Same thing with Baby [Williams], the artist is actually the executive, and I wanted to show that side of it too.

AllHipHop: Was there any point in the making, and I realize you’re a Hip-hop veteran and authority, but were you at all intimidated or humbled?

FMS: Not intimidated because I know all these people personally, so it could be looked at as maybe more of a situation where I’m learning something. Just talking to Damon Dash. Now I’ve known Damon Dash for many years. Damon Dash is actually from my neighborhood in Harlem. Just listening to him talk was really great for me. It’s not an intimidation factor, it’s more like, “Wow, I didn’t know this about you.”

AllHipHop: Changing up, just wanted to thank you for hosting our last mixtape.

FMS: AllHipHop, and just having a connection with them, that’s a connection that happened organically. It’s not a connection where we had to pay for it or something like that. I genuinely like your site. I genuinely like the email alerts I get everyday. So what I did was, I sat down and figured out a way that we could both get together. And that will continue in the future! Because I love you guys. So, just that, and basically the fact that I’m about to own part of AV8 [Records] and be an owner in that. That’s where I come from. I come from being a record executive. I worked for Tommy Boy for two years so I understand what it’s like to be an executive and run a company.

AllHipHop: Looking at your career, can you cite a big break that was instrumental in who you’ve become today?

FMS: I can give two. One of my biggest breaks was being involved with a gentleman by the name of Alby Regusso. A guy named Daryl Rockhart was my original mentor. He taught me how to do things and do promotion. But my big break was when I met Alby Regusso, who at the time was the Don of Tommy Boy Records. He put me on with Tom Silverman and Monica Lynch. That’s where I took off with the pictures on the back of The Source, and all that type of stuff. The next big break was when I got involved with Hot 97. Those are the two big breaks. The final is just recently, a milestone in my career, [was] scoring a number one single in the United Kingdom over people like Liberty X and Suger Babes and Brittney Spears and groups that had millions of dollars in promotion and I didn’t have [that]. To see that triumph over giant monsters like [them], it was just a major thing for me.

AllHipHop: Just like GURU says, “It’s mostly the voice.” Your voice is so much what we know you by best. What can you say about that.

FMS: The voice is everything man. But the voice is one part of it. God is another part of it. And for God to put you in a position where you can have your voice out there as a platform, that in itself is another thing you got to thank God for. And I do every morning. And I don’t care if anybody thinks that I’m corny or wack or whatever, but thanking God – I do that. Number two is it’s also having the determination to get your voice out there. In the big picture, your voice is important. If I had to say something to anybody, it’d be work hard. It doesn’t matter what you have, it’s how you put it out there. At the end of the day, it’s about developing your own style too. At the end of the day, if you pick five people who are on Hot 97 now, I guarantee you that none alike: Erykah Badu, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Ja Rule. They do their own thing.

Cincinnati sucks! I should know because I live there. An almost non-existent music scene, coupled with racist, homicidal cops, an inordinate amount of illegal business (see: “Traffic,” “In Too Deep”), and post-riot economic and racial distress all add up to one f*ckin’ cesspool of a city. But in this gloomy environment there are a few flickers of light that have managed to shine through, namely a handful of talented hip-hop artists who have consistently blessed the locals with some much needed quality entertainment.

One such ray of light consists of Fat Jon (MC/Producer), Pase Rock (MC/DJ), Kyle David (MC), and Sonic (Producer), the foursome known to every true hip-hop head as Five Deez.

The Deez made their full-length debut in the fall of 2001 with the release of Koolmotor, an homage to their wide range of musical influences. In addition to their work as a unit, the group has also released a string of successful solo (Fat Jon, Pase) and side projects (3582) in the past few years that have elevated the Deez standing in the independent rap game.

Now with the recent release of their sophomore full-length, Kinkynasti, the ‘Nati quartet is seeking to expand beyond the parameters of their past work by encompassing a less multifarious, but no less dope sound. Hopefully with this album Five Deez will finally be able to shine a light on a city currently immersed in social ill and hip-hop obscurity.

Allhiphop.com: Let’s give our readers who may not be too familiar with Five Deez some background on the group. First, where did the name Five Deez come from?

Fat Jon: Five Deez came from Fifth Dimension; that was the original name of the group. But there’s already a group called Fifth Dimension, so we flipped it hip-hop style and made it Five Deez.

Allhiphop: When did the group come together?

Fat Jon: ’93, officially. We were all doing sh*t in other groups before, and hanging out and rhyming and everything, but we decided to officially become a crew in ’93.

Allhiphop: What and when was the first official Five Deez release?

Fat Jon: The first official Five Deez release was “The WVDZ Sessions” in 1998.

Allhiphop: How would you describe the Five Deez sound to those unfamiliar with your music?

Pase Rock: It’s classic hip-hop at its core, but a little bit on the progressive side as far as the beats and the lyrics are concerned. I would say we try to just keep it real soulful and groovy. You can definitely hear the groove in every song, like each song definitely has a groove to it, a little bounce to it, a nice swing in the music.

Fat Jon: Progressive sh*t you can feel.

Allhiphop: Are there any groups out there you would feel comfortable comparing your sound to?

Fat Jon &

Pase Rock: Nope.

Allhiphop: No rappers wanna do that.

Fat Jon &

Pase Rock: (laughs)

Allhiphop: Five Deez hail from my hometown, the “home of jazz fest and blown spots/bearcats and bengals, no culture, no hip-hop.” So sum up for our readers your impression of the Cincinnati hip-hop scene, past and/or present?

Pase Rock: I think it’s a two-sided coin, like good and bad. It’s bad in the sense that a lot of the groups don’t get exposure, I think a majority of the scene has an inferiority complex, it’s like because of the geography they feel that they can’t really get stuff jumping off on a larger scale. They get satisfied with local props. I think that’s the bad side of the coin. The good side of the coin is it’s a loosely unified scene; everybody is down with each other. They’re pretty supportive for the most part.

Allhiphop: So how do you think that changed? Back in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s we were a musical Mecca.

Fat Jon: Not for hip-hop; there was never a foundation until recently for that. There were a few people actually doing it, hand-to-hand selling tapes and CD’s, but nobody really got down for each other until ’92, ’93, ’94. And that started bumbling into what’s there today. But I know for (hip-hop) in the mid-‘80’s, late ‘80’s, it was horrible man.

Allhiphop: Five Deez came on the scene around the same time as Mood and Hi-Tek, but you guys never signed to a major-label like they did, how come?

Pase Rock: We weren’t really ready at that time. We were just off on our own, focusing on making the music and not as much on the business side, we were just honing our skills in the studio.

Fat Jon: Just developing a sound. Because we got together and we had a lot of fun and sh*t…

Pase Rock: And that’s pretty much what our focus was – having fun, making music. It wasn’t, ‘yo, let’s make a career out of this,’ where as Mood and Hi-Tek were more interested in the commerce side of things.

Fat Jon: They were ‘bout it before we were. And they introduced those (business) elements to us, they were like, ‘it’s like this fellas.’

Pase Rock: Them and a few other people were like, ‘yo, y’all got what it takes, y’all need to be doing this.’

Allhiphop: So did you guys ever actually shop to a major?

Pase Rock: We did a couple of things, but not too hard, we weren’t pursuing it.

Fat Jon: We always knew that was just a way to get stroked. We never knew anybody that had a good story to tell, it’s all f*cked up stories.

Pase Rock: We were young and just happy-go-lucky, we didn’t have any responsibilities and priorities at the time, and so it wasn’t really an issue to get signed.

Allhiphop: You guys have a huge following in the ‘Nati, but I noticed you guys are bigger in Tokyo than you are in Clifton (University Of Cincinnati campus). How did that happen?

Pase Rock: They just latched on to it for whatever reason. I can’t really call it. And then we went over there and probably made it worse.

Allhiphop: Why the overseas focus, and not, ‘let’s try and get in The Ritz (local club) every Saturday’?

Fat Jon: Honestly man, I can only speak for me, my personal opinion is that I would rather have a dedicated fan than a fickle fan. I’d rather have somebody who’s down for Five Deez forever than somebody who just likes two of our songs. And most of the people who have more of an appreciation for music are not in the U.S.

Pase Rock: It’s the type of music we make. We’re not gonna make a song about our car rims.

Allhiphop: Why not call it that, but make it about something else, do some subliminally metaphorical sh*t?

Fat Jon: People don’t want to hear metaphors. They’d be like, ‘man, that’s a metaphor, they should have just came out and talked about the rims.’

Pase Rock: That’s not our approach. We’re not gonna do something trendy, just ‘cause it’s hot right now, it don’t last. That’s never been our approach. That particular audience is the prevalent market in Cincinnati. They just want what’s hot at the moment. Cincinnati doesn’t have an identity, it’s got an identity crisis and an inferiority complex.

Fat Jon: But we always knew that our music isn’t the most accessible, popular sh*t anyway. Either you get it, or you don’t get it, or it just grown on you.

Allhiphop: Sometimes I don’t get it either. I gotta be honest, I wasn’t really feeling y’all first full-length, Koolmotor, but I’m loving Kinkynasti. So explain to our readers the difference between the two.

Fat Jon: Koolmotor is like an explosion. That album goes in so many different directions genre wise. Kinkynasti is focused, like a laser-beam. And we did it like that on purpose. When we were making Koolmotor we knew we wanted to make a record that went everywhere, so that we could go anywhere after that record. We didn’t want to just come out like, ‘yo, we sound like this.’ We wanted to come out and show that we can sound like anything. So then when we did Kinkynasti, we decided, ‘ok, let’s make a record that sounds like this.’

Allhiphop: Now, Jon you’re also a member of 3582, along with J. Rawls from Lone Catalysts, so how’d that partnership come about?

Fat Jon: Man, the first day I met J we were making music. We just had this chemistry, and we both have the same mentality when it comes to production. And people don’t know this but J can f*ckin’ rap, he just doesn’t. So we would f*ck around and talk sh*t like, ‘yo man, we should be a group.’ And then one day we just decided, ‘you know what, let’s just f*ckin’ do it.’ We decided to do 3582 for fun and sh*t, because being in The Deez is pressure, being in Lone Catalysts is pressure; you’re in a group, you compromise, and you have ideas that don’t always fit into the concept of the group. So you have this other outlet where you can just do this sh*t. We just decided that’s our side-project, fun sh*t, let’s just be stupid and have a ball.

Allhiphop: So what can your fans expect to hear from 3582 on the group’s new album, Situational Ethics?

Fat Jon: They can expect to hear a bunch of crazy, different situations. It’s a storybook record about what you think you are. Are you a pimp? Are you a cool m*th*f*cka? Do you get *ss? They can expect a buncha of that sh*t, just different situations and what would you do in those situations.

Allhiphop: Pase, you also have a project outside of the group. Tell the people out there about your solo album, Bullsh*t As Usual.

Pase Rock: It’s just this record I did in Japan. It’s kinda cool just having something exclusive to just one country. But I might release it in the states eventually. It’s cool having these side projects that ain’t as accessible as everything else.

Allhiphop: So what’s the future hold for Five Deez? You guys gonna be doing this twenty years from now?

Fat Jon: We’ll definitely be doing music in some form or fashion.