(AllHipHop News) Evidence, one third of the celebrated Hip-Hop group Dilated Peoples, had a lot to talk about during last weekend’s Soundset Festival in Minneapolis.
The rapper and producer who released his third solo studio album, Cats & Dogs, last September is gearing up to get back in the lab with D.P. members DJ Babu and Rakaa Iriscience to put the finishing touches on their upcoming fifth album, Directors of Photography, which is slated for release at the end of the year.
“Directors of Photography is the next Dilated Peoples album and I’m excited about it, nervous about it, everything in between. We never broke up or anything like that, we’ve been supporting each other on our solo missions,” Evidence told AllHipHop.com. “Most people who know the details about Dilated know that we’re solo artists who came together to make something bigger and this is just a return to genesis so to speak.”
Evidence then spoke on the group dynamic between himself and his Dilated brethren, saying, “Sometimes we’ve got to be conscious of each other when we’re in a group because not all of our views reflect each others visions all the time. So it’s been fun to just do what we wanted to do in these off years, solo, expressing ourselves. I think our next Dilated record could really be a great sound because of this freedom we’ve had. I’m looking forward to it.”
On his last solo album, Cats & Dogs, Evidence was able to secure some production from someone that he describes as “is in the upper echelon of what a producer and his beats should sound like.” He’s referring to DJ Premier, who backed the MC during his well-received set at Rhymesayers Entertainment’s Soundset Festival.
“Throughout history, his catalogue, everything is just amazing. To work with him is one thing. It’s the sh*t and a highlight. To kick it with him and chill with him or talk on the phone is another notch up. To get in front of a crowd and have DJ Premier literally scratching for me and on the mic hyping me up; I was smiling so much I almost missed words. It was like that genuine, young youth excitement. Not from weed, not from alcohol, just like that first time getting p*ssy feeling.” He mentioned that he’s keeping his fingers crossed about getting Premier to contribute to Dilated’s Directors of Photography.
For Evidence, looking into the future is something he says he does constantly, and that’s why he had no problem talking to AllHipHop.com about his long in-the-works collaborative album with Alchemist titled Step Brothers. “That’s a project that we’ve been talking about for a long time, so that’s almost done but after Cats & Dogs I don’t want to promise dates anymore ‘cause it puts you in a weird predicament as an artist.”
“Step Brothers might even happen before Dilated, because it’s not one of those “stop the world” type of albums,” he told AllHipHop.com. “I don’t want to say it’s a novelty record or side project, because it has the potential to be much more but it’s something that can live amongst the other campaigns.
Evidence has also released a new visual for “Liner Notes” featuring Aloe Blacc from Cats & Dogs, as well as announced dates for his upcoming European tour. Check out a full list of cities and dates below:
19.06 – Thessalonki, Greece @ Eightball Club
20.06 – Athens, Greece @ Gagarin
21.06 – Catanzaro, Italy @ L’Orso Cattivo
22.06 – Naples, Italy @ Bosco Di Galu
23.06 – Wohlen, Switzerland @ Touch The Air Fest
25.06 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Bitterzoet
26.06 – Paris, France @ La Maroquinerie
27.06 – Brussels, Belgium @ Bazaar
29.06 – Duisburg, Germany @ High5 Club
30.06 – Borlange, Sweden @ Peace & Love Festival
02.07 – London, England @ Jazz Cafe
06.07 – Roskilde, Denmark @ Roskilde Festival