My Interview With Warren G

Above is my interview with the legendary Warren G. His new CD, "The G Files," will be released on September 29th. In the interview we talk about "Regulate...G Funk Era," the highlight of Warren's career, what he feels he still has yet to accomplish, his feelings about letting his children hear his music. We also discuss a new artist he is excited about, the creative process in 213, and who he most admires. We also debut his new song, "Swagger Rich," which features Snoop Dogg and Cass. Enjoy!

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My Interview With Wordsmith

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My Interview With The New Boyz

Below is my interview with the New Boyz, who have begun to take over the world with the Jerkin' movement. Their hit single, "You're A Jerk," is climbing the charts. Get to know Legacy and Ben J, the New Boyz, by pressing play on the interview below!

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My Interview With Stat Quo

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My Interview With Stat Quo

Here is my interview with Stat Quo. We discuss his new CD, "Smokin' Mirrors," his split with Shady/Aftermath, and his desire to make his own name as an artist. We also discuss Stat's college education, his career choices, who he most admires, and the Hot 97-Funkmaster Flex-Interscope Records boycott. Enjoy!

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My Interview With 88-Keys

Below is my interview with 88-Keys. We discuss his new CD, a concept album called "The Death Of Adam," which Kanye West executive-produced. We also talk about how Kanye came to be involved in the project, 88's obsession with Polo by Ralph Lauren, his inspiration, his family, and so-called "conscious rap."  88 also debunks my theory of "the two Kanyes." Enjoy!

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My Interview with Far-East Movement

Below is my interview with Kev Nish of Far-East Movement, the Asian-American hip-hop crew from Los Angeles. Kev talks about the effort the group has put in to amass an international following, their experience working with The Stereotypes (who produced Danity Kane's "Damaged"), and how their ethnicity has impacted their career. In part two, hear Kev discuss inspiration, the Internet, and the "FM" lifestyle. You can find out more about the group at their website, here.

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My Interview With Colby O'Donis

Below is my interview with Colby O'Donis. We discuss his career--which goes back further than you may realize--his relationship with Akon, his Latino heritage, and his various musical talents. We also talk about the producers with whom Colby has worked and his current projects. Colby also debuts his next single, "Let You Go."

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Interview With Jadakiss

Below is my interview with Jadakiss.  We talk about the new Biggie biopic, "Notorious," Bill O'Reilly, Jada's squashed beef with 50 Cent and his new label, Roc-a-fella Records, and the over-usage of Auto-Tune. He also debuts his new song, "Can't Stop Me," for us. It's the first single from "The Last Kiss," scheduled to be released on March 10th. Enjoy!

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Carole King Interview

Below is an interview I did recently with Carole King, the legendary singer-songwriter.  We briefly discuss her days as a songwriter, the 2008 Presidential race, and her support for Barack Obama.  Enjoy!

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Interview With La Sinfonia

Below is an interview I did with Sony Latin recording artists La Sinfonia. You may have seen them on MTV Tr3s or heard them on Pocos Pero Locos. (This interview is with Arsenal and Vane; Seis was unable to make it, due to illness.) Enjoy!

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Interview With Kevin Rudolf

I recently wrote a column in "Pulse" about Kevin Rudolf.  Below is my entire interview with Rudolf. Listen as Cash Money's latest Mystery Man tells all...

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Interview With MC Lyte

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Rubin Makes Diamond Shine

A week ago, Hot 103 listeners heard me make a confession. It was a hard thing to do. It required a lot of thought and consideration before the choice was made to go public. I was afraid of what the listeners would think. Would they turn their back on me? Wash their hands of me? Surely they would understand.

Last Thursday at 6:40 p.m., I turned to Danny G in the Hot 103 studio and—with everyone listening—said, “I have a confession to make. I was on MySpace today, and you know how they have the ‘featured artist?’ Well, it was Neil Diamond. And. I. Checked. It. Out.”
“Uh, really?” said Danny.
“Yeah. And his new stuff…It’s not, uh…It’s not that bad.”
“REALLY?” said Danny.
Stuttering, fumbling, justifying: “Yeah. But, but, but It’s not like I’m a Neil Diamond fan or anything. It was produced by Rick Rubin. So that makes it okay…Right?”

I’m a fan of Bob Dylan’s. I’m not ashamed of it. I also like Frank Sinatra, Neil Young, Counting Crows, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. I’m not ashamed of those, either. It’s just that I’ve never seen myself as the Neil Diamond type. He’s typically a little too Barry Manilow-Wayne Newton-Tom Jones for my taste. But let me tell you friends: this past Tuesday marked the second coming of Neil Diamond. On Tuesday, Neil became cool.

On Tuesday, his latest CD, “12 Songs,” hit shelves to rave reviews. Rolling Stone magazine has given it four stars (out of five). Esquire is calling it his best album in forty years, and “Rubin’s best work ever.” The Billboard/SoundScan charts won’t be out until early next week, but you should expect to see it near the top.

For those who don’t know, Rick Rubin is the legendary, genre-jumping uberproducer responsible for more hit records than Suge Knight has felony convictions. He has racked up more production credits than Angelina Jolie has frequent-flyer miles. His career has almost spanned the entire history of hip-hop, as co-founder of Def Jam Records with Russell Simmons in 1984. He has produced tracks for the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy and Jay-Z, to name but a few. In fact, it was Rubin who, in 1985, produced LL Cool J’s classic album “Radio,” one of the first hip-hop CDs by a solo artist.

In the late 1980s, Rubin broke away from Simmons and Def Jam to create his own label, Def American. He would later drop the “Def,” and the label would be known simply as “American Recordings.” It was under this label and Rubin’s production and tutelage that Johnny Cash launched his comeback in 1994. And, mark my words, Rick’s about to do the same thing for Neil Diamond.

Though his role in the evolution in hip-hop is indelible, the same could be said of his production of rock music. He has helmed efforts from Mick Jagger to Slayer, from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. He also—almost single-handedly—created the genre of rap-rock.

If it’s still posted, you can preview the entire album, “12 Songs” at www.myspace.com/neildiamond. If not, run out and grab a few copies. You won’t be disappointed.

-From Pulse
November 10, 2005

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Who? Mike Jones

Mike Jones has exactly two people to thank for his success: himself and his grandmother. Sure, there were peripheral players along the way, but the things that shape our image of the Houston rapper—the marketing gimmicks—can be traced back to Jones’s late grandmother, Elsia Mae Jones. The cell phone number? Her idea. The “Who? Mike Jones,” her idea.

The 24-year-old self-proclaimed “king of the south” broke onto the mainstream scene in April of this year with his major-label debut “Who Is Mike Jones,” but his name has been whispered in underground circles for about three years.

Jones didn’t grow up with his eye on platinum records, though. His dream was to make a career in professional basketball. In fact, he didn’t even pick up a microphone until four years ago. Houston has grown famous for producing a lot of “accidental rappers.” Paul Wall, for example, claims he found rap only as a means to further is jewelry business.

But when Mike Jones set his sights on hip-hop, he jumped in with both feet—against the advice of those closest to him. “Out of ten people,” Jones said in an online interview, “my grandmother was the only one who said I could do [this rap thing.] I went against all nine and went with her. And I’m glad I did.”

His legions of fans are also glad. Before he got his major deal, Jones formed his own label, Ice Age Entertainment. Through Ice Age he released several mixtapes, and with no promotion or distribution, managed to move more than a quarter-million CDs. To call this a major achievement for an independent label would be a severe understatement.

For marketing advice, Jones repeatedly turned to his supportive grandmother. “I used to go to clubs and give deejays my CD. They’d be like ‘who are you?’ And I’d be like ‘Mike Jones.’ And they’d be like ‘Who?’ ‘Mike Jones.’ ‘Who?’ ‘Mike Jones.’ Then I’d go home and tell my grandmomma I gave a couple of deejays my CD, and they didn’t know who I was. She said ‘just start saying who? Mike Jones. Who? Mike Jones.’” And so the greatest hip-hop marketing tool of the last several years was born.

Elsia Mae also advised Mike to give out his cell phone number to fans. After an imposter claiming to be Mike Jones was booed off the stage at a New Orleans concert, the real Mike Jones began incorporating his cell phone number into his flows so that fans could reach him. “I had to give out my number so people could call me [about shows] so I can tell them if I’ma be there or not,” he recently said in an interview with the Associated Press. At the time his number was 281-455-1858, but Cingular was charging him for all of those incoming calls. He was racking up charges in excess of $1,000 a month. Jones switched to another provider (with a more rhyme-friendly number), lowering his bills to a flat $150 a month. Now the Mike Jones fanline is the famous 281-330-8004.

Sadly, Elsia Mae passed away in 2002, before she could see her grandson make it big.

Mike Jones will be performing live at Cohen Stadium in El Paso this Friday night at nine. Tickets are $10 in advance through Ticketmaster.

-From Pulse
October 20, 2005

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The Oldies Circuit

  I had the chance last weekend to visit my hometown of Fort Sumner, on the eastern side of the state.  I had two full days to wander the backroads of my youth and haunt the halls of my alma mater, Ft. Sumner High.  The occasion was a high school reunion with a twist; every five years or so, the Ex-Students Association holds a reunion for all ex-alumni—teachers and students alike.

  This year, the Saturday night entertainment was provided by The Fireballs.  Hailing from Raton, NM, the group had six Top 40 hits in their career.  Their most memorable was “Sugar Shack,” which spent five weeks at the top of the charts in the summer of 1963.  They had another top ten hit in 1968 with the boozy sing-along, “Bottle of Wine.”

  My dad, a huge fan of early rock and roll, was in charge of booking the band, and taking care of them while they were in town.  Saturday evening, two of the Fireballs—George Tomsco and Ron Cardenas—came over to our house for dinner.

  They told us that this year they’ve been busy, playing a lot of reunions, car shows, state fairs and casino shows.  Then we started talking about the Indian casinos and the business they are bringing all of these oldies acts. 

  This is not a story about The Fireballs.  This is a story about the hundreds of groups and artists out there just like them—artists that are still entertaining, artists that still love to make music.  This is a story about the casinos giving them that opportunity.

  James Brown, Dionne Warwick, Lou Rawls, Mel Tillis, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, The Kingsmen, Paul Revere and The Raiders, Don McLean…These are just a few of the names you can catch in the Indian casinos around the state (and around the country).  These are artists that can’t play stadiums and arenas anymore, but still love to entertain crowds with their music.  In fact, it’s all they know.

  Casinos are offering great concerts at a great price, week after week.  And they can do it because they’re not afraid to take a chance.  A concert that flops won’t break them.  Their bread is not buttered on the side of concert promotion; it’s simply a way to get a few more people to drop a few more quarters into a few more slot machines.  Of course, concerts are also a way to reward big spenders.  Most casinos let players club members trade points for concert tickets.

  Concert promotion is also casino promotion.  If I tell twenty people I just saw Willie Nelson at Sandia Casino, and everyone who attends the concert does the same—well, it’s hard to buy that kind of advertising. 

  Casinos are becoming the new small venue of choice for many musicians—legends, has-beens, and up-and-comers alike.  They’re not as rowdy as clubs, making them better venues for the artist and his or her fans.

  Whether you’re a fan of gambling or not, pay attention to the marquee as you drive past that casino.  Who knows?  This may be your last chance to see Talking Heads or the Psychedelic Furs.

-From Pulse
   August 4, 2005

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