On a national tip, I was introduced to the game through the group Crooked Lettaz. [David Banner and I] signed to Tommy Boy in 1997 and released an album called Grey Skies in 1999. We had a critically acclaimed album that was commercially slept-on because Tommy Boy sucked. They continued to suck and subsequently went under. That was my introduction to the game. The rap game isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Once we got signed and got a deal, I thought we was gon’ be on easy street. I learned the hard way that’s not the case.
Were you a solo artist originally?
I started out in the mid-90’s with a group called The Network which was myself, my brother B-Dazzle, and this other cat by the name of JC from Detroit. It was kinda experimental. We were all part of a clique called the Stowaways, we all met up at Jackson State University, and Banner was a part of that clique. We’d get together and freestyle and do shows here and there, but we wasn’t really taking it seriously. We was kinda like a Southern Wu-Tang clique. We had people from Nigeria, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, and L.A. in the clique. Banner actually produced the first solo record that I did outside of The Network, and that’s who we decided to hook up as a group. Basically, he was digging me as an MC and I was digging him as an MC. There was nobody representing for Mississippi so we decided to do it.
When you chose the name Crooked Lettaz, were you worried about the pressure of representing a whole state?
No. I mean, we wanted the pressure. That’s why we named ourselves that, because wherever we went they had to say our name and immediately recognize that we were from Mississippi. So, we were prepared to take on the weight of the whole state on our backs cause we felt like we were underestimated and overlooked. Our demos was getting thrown in the garbage by A&Rs. They’d tell us that when they saw the postmark on the package they’d put it in the garbage or just wouldn’t listen to it.
The first time you went to New York, what was the experience like?
It was culture shock in a sense. I didn’t feel any of the discrimination or animosity that a lot of Southern cats say they felt from New York, but I kinda got the feeling that they liked the exclusive club they were in and didn’t wanna let in any new members. And the labels definitely had no idea what to do with Southern music, at all.
Aside from rapping, you were working at the Associated Press also?
Yeah, I was working at the AP when the rappin’ bug consumed me and that’s when I decided to go with this rap thing, all or nothing. I was making good money, I had my degree in broadcast journalism & mass communications from Jackson State. I was working for the AP in Atlanta. It was good to be working in my field, you know, everybody was happy with my life and my career except me. I was miserable going to work every day. I hated it. I liked to do feature stories and stuff, but the day-to-day busy work that was required by the Associated Press was real bland, blah, blah, blah type stuff. So fresh out of college, I’m in Atlanta covering the Olympics for the Associated Press working crazy hours. I didn’t know anybody, I was away from home, away from my little girl. But, this was right after me and Banner had got in Unsigned Hype in The Source in 1996. So actually we had a little something going on, so while I was in Atlanta working for the AP I was also hustling our demo around. The first people that actually showed an interest in Crooked Lettaz was Ichiban. Me being the impatient cat that I am, I was gonna go and sign it cause I felt like being signed was ultimately what we wanted to do. Luckily, Banner talked me out of doing that, and it turns out that Ichiban was probably a step below Tommy Boy. But, working at the AP just kinda gave me a feel for the everyday 9-to-5 grind. I just didn’t like taking orders. I didn’t like working for somebody, man, that just wasn’t my forte. And the rap bug had consumed me so much that I couldn’t think about anything else. I was at work writing rhymes, I was at work calling A&Rs, I was using their fax machine to send over press kits, I was using their FedEx number to send demos. I was basically just using that job to collect a check.
Since you used to be a journalist, what’s your opinion on hip-hop publications today?
(laughing) Let’s put it like this: hip-hop publications aren’t supposed to be used as a propaganda tool or your own platform to personally attack other artists. A hip-hop magazine isn’t supposed to be a tool for you to place your own personal gripes or beefs in the open. And of course everybody has to make ends meet, but a hip-hop magazine shouldn’t be used as your own personal cash cow. Also, there’s publications that call you and the first thing they ask is if you want to buy advertising. I understand you’ve gotta make money, but damn, man! They’re not even interested in whether your music is good or not. When I call magazines tryin’ to get some love on the editorial side, don’t just instantly shoot the ad shit to me right off the bat! A magazine should have the integrity to say, this artist is good, I believe in what he’s doing, so I’m gonna do a story on him. Some magazines are like, “I don’t give a fuck who you are. Will you buy an ad? I will put you in my magazine no matter how whack you are.” I know people gotta make money, but I’ve had several cats call me and before they were even worried about how my music sounded they were shootin’ me they ad rates. That instantly makes me not even wanna fuck with ‘em. When Our Glass is on its feet I want to get back into the publishing aspect of the game. I wanna put out a magazine, either targeting Mississippi artists or maybe a magazine that encompasses the Southern lifestyle. I’m thinking of a Southern Jet or Ebony.
How did you get in Unsigned Hype?
We had send in stuff before and never got a response, so I was really disgruntled. I was tired of it, but Banner kept encouraging me like, “Go ahead and send it, send it.” The first demo that we put together in 1996, I was like, “Man, they never gonna get this demo, we don’t need to waste our time sending it in.” He was like, “Dude, just go ahead and send it.” So I was at work every day and I made these little flyers, press releases, and I printed on them in big letters: “David Banner and Kamikaze are coming!” I’d sit there and fax it like forty times. As the days went by, after I sent the package out, I made a new flyer that said: “Attention Unsigned Hype editors: David Banner and Kamikaze should be on your desk right now.” I’d fax it like six, seven times in a row, wait an hour, and fax it again like six, seven times. I bet they were like, “If this bastard faxes this shit one more time…” I did the same thing with Murder Dog and they sent a fax back saying, “Stop faxing us.” Anyway, Banner was down at Southern in school and I was working at the AP Bureau in Jackson. He called me like, “Dude, we in Unsigned Hype!” I was like, “Dude, quit bullshittin’.” He read it off to me. That was a good feeling. At that point I thought we were finally gonna get a deal, but it turned out to be 1997 before we actually got anything poppin’ off so that was a real long process.
So after you and Banner decided to go separate ways and do solo careers, what was your plan?
Based on the climate of the game, my plan was to put out the “U Ain’t Hard” record and get a few hundred spins and then sit back and wait for these offers to come in. I’ve watched the game; studied the game. I knew I had a hit record when I recorded “U Ain’t Hard,” and my plan was to sit back and finish the album, kinda follow the same path that Banner followed. Unfortunately, the massive industry shakeup happened at the end of 2003, so my timing was real, real fucked up. Nobody was tryin’ to sign shit. I got the record up to 150 spins and I was getting calls from labels every day, and I actually took a few meetings in New York but nobody was really offering anything I wanted to hear. I’ve already been fucked over as an artist, by both a record label and a manager, so I wasn’t in the market for a deal that was gonna have me lose my independence. My label Our Glass is something I’ve worked on for many years, and I didn’t want it to fall off into anonymity because of me fuckin’ with a major label. When my video comes on TV or my album comes out, I always want the Our Glass name to be prominent. I really want to be a CEO because I don’t like taking orders from people. I resorted to Plan B, which was to put the album out independently, sell some units, keep getting some spins at radio, and build up a buzz.
Wasn’t there an artist that claimed you stole “U Ain’t Hard” from him?
Oh my God, yeah. It was this cat named Factor. I don’t really know what the basis of the shit was. He had a song a few years ago with a hook saying something about “bustin’ heads to the white meat.” So when my song came out and started really hittin’, of course he came out of the woodwork saying that I bit his song or whatever. That’s just a common saying out here, like, “Word?”
Have you ever really “beat someone’s head to the white meat?”
Of course not. I’ve seen someone’s head beat to the white meat, though. See, there’s Kamikaze and then there’s Sho-Nuff. Sho-Nuff is the laid-back character and Kamikaze is the aggressive one. At the end of the day, though, to be perfectly honest with you, I’m just trying to sell records. Ultimately I want to make some type of change in society and in the world, but in order to get my message across to the people that need to hear it, I have to get their attention first. If “bustin’ heads to the white meat” didn’t get their attention, then I don’t know what will. Now I’ve got people’s ears and a nice buzz going on in the South, thanks in part to OZONE Magazine and mixtape DJs and prior connections that I had from Crooked Lettaz.
Do you think your prior affiliation with Crooked Lettaz has helped or hurt you as a solo artist?
A little bit of both. It helped me get some A&Rs to take my calls and notice my project. But at the same time, you have a lot of people with an ignorant-ass mentality. They’re thinking, “Kamikaze and David Banner don’t work together anymore, from what I can tell, he ain’t fuckin’ with him. Banner is successful and I haven’t heard anything from this Kamikaze cat up until now, so maybe I don’t really need to fuck with him.” I haven’t run into that a whole lot, but it happens. Then there’s some cats who wouldn’t give a fuck if we were at each others’ throats ‘cause it’s all about money. It’s about business.
Tell me about your new album, 2 Broke 2 Ball. Do you have any major features?
Juicy J from Three 6 Mafia produced a track I did with Nappy Roots. That’s my only major feature on the record. I didn’t wanna have any features on the record, because I think in the South cats are selling records based on who’s featured on their album. Selling my records, first thing a lot of cats ask is, “Who you got on there?” I don’t have nobody on this muthafucka. It’s just me. I don’t need anybody on this record for it to sell; I stand alone. I got Nappy Roots on the record ‘cause they family and the record kinda landed in my lap. Other than that, though, it’s just family on the record: Tony B, Godson Royal, Rell, all these cats are affiliated with Our Glass. Remember when Nas came out and had only one other voice on his record? Those days are long gone, but they need to return. MCs need to be able to stand their own ground. There needs to be a law that you have to be able to hold down a whole album by yourself. There would be a lot of unemployed rappers. A lot of rappers are surviving in the game right now just because they’re able to get guest appearances on their record. I ain’t callin’ nobody’s name, but some niggas albums be looking like compilations.
What about production?
Well, Banner did two tracks on the record, so for the record, I am fuckin’ with him, and he is fuckin’ with me. That’s my dawg and I love him to death.
Do you feel pressure to establish yourself as a solo artist? I mean, people don’t see you guys in the videos together and such, so that’s why they might assume there’s beef.
I mean, I’m a man and I wanna make it on my own and stand on my own two feet. When have you ever seen anybody associated with a successful artist come out and achieve the same success as the person that put them in the game? Me and Banner have talked about this. He don’t have to be in my videos, I don’t have to be in my videos. I was in one of his videos, actually. Scheduling conflicts prevented him from being in my video. I don’t have to be all over his record, and he doesn’t have to be all over mine. I want to be able to stand alone. I don’t want anybody out there to be able to say, “Banner put that man in the game.” I never asked that man for anything, even though I know that if the opportunity was there all I’d have to do is ask. And the same on my end. But I’ve got a point to prove on my own, just for those people who are ignorant to think that I must have been the weak link of the group. Once I prove my point with this record, they’ll see. Anyway, it’s better for Mississippi for cats to come out on they own.
Dealing with New York labels, do you think the attitude has changed towards the South or Mississippi in particular?
A little bit, but we’ve gotta get at least two or three artists gold or platinum artists out of this state. If we don’t, they’ll look at it like a fluke. I’ve got to do at least as well as Banner did, and then they’ll start scooping people up.
What’s the next single?
“Same Old Clothes.” It’s already getting spins in Central Mississippi. It’s actually been received a lot better than “U Ain’t Hard,” and I couldn’t have imagined that. It’s really catching on, though, and it’s really a blessing to be able to follow-up a big song with another song that could be bigger. “Same Old Clothes” was a sleeper song that came up at the last minute. At first I wasn’t even expecting it to be a single. The next step is to get a van, bus, truck, bicycle, skateboard, tractor, whatever we need to get on and hit every nook and cranny in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Arkansas. We’re gonna promote this record grassroots, through retail outlets and out the trunk. We’ll go to places where they don’t even know what a record store is, and we gon’ pop the trunk and we gon’ sell records.
You’re “too broke to ball,” but what happens if you make money? Does your image change?
Too broke to ball isn’t an image, it’s a mentality. It’s a state of mind. You could have millions of dollars and still be too broke to ball. It’s all about how you carry yourself. It’s about not flaunting your wealth. When you see people in the club buying Moet and Cristal and ballin’, people basically do that shit to show other people what they’ve got. I don’t have the time or the energy or desire to show off for anybody. I don’t have to prove anything. “Too broke to ball” is just a mentality. I’m not gonna frivolously spend money on twenty cars when I can only drive one at a time. I’ve got kids, and the welfare of my kids is way more important than me driving a big fancy car to impress you. It doesn’t matter how much money I have. If I’ve got twenty, thirty million dollars in the bank, I’m still gonna be the regular everyday cat. I’m still gonna appreciate and respect the everyday working man. That’s the whole basis of my album. It’s too much talk about rims and such in rap now, and it really frustrates me ‘cause it’s like people are flaunting their wealth in my face and in the faces of the people who work hard every day. There’s people I know that go out there and work their ass off 9-5 every day, and at the end of the month when they get their check they still barely making ends meet. Then they turn on the TV and see a muthafucka talking about, “I got eight cars!” And he’s pouring Moet on the ground and shit. If I saw that, I’d be pissed off. I’d either want to rob the nigga or kill him. That’s extremely frustrating, so people need to look at the TV and see somebody they can identify with. I think I’m somebody they can identify with, and they gonna get an album full of damn good music. I think this is some of my best work to date. I think it’s a diverse album. I don’t think it’s a typical Southern record. I tried to concentrate on the lyrics to this album. All I can say is, go to the website or record store and buy the CD and judge for yourself: www.Kamikaze601.com.
