I remember it like it was yesterday pickig up a
DJ Dyems mixtape with this slamming joint
'Bomb MC' on it, I swear the tape has just about worn through where that track is. Ever since the 12" and album were always high on my wants list and only just found both recently. So when
Cheski contacted us for some info on a blog entry and introduced himself as
'The Bomb MC' I just had to hook up an interview to answer all the questions I had about
The Colored Section.
PB: I have to confess to my ignorance I have very little idea about you prior to Colored Section, where are you from and whats your history?Cheski: I grew up all over L.A. County (Pomona, Compton, Watts, Inglewood, Hawthorne, and finally Altadena). I went to John Muir High School in Pasadena which was full of hard as mc's. I did my first song wit my boy JBL in 1987. My cuzzin played keyboards and sang backound for Jody Watley and a bunch of other early 80's R&B groups, so I took 2 DJ Mark the 45 King records, and a James Brown record over his crib in Carson. I didn't know how to use the equipment, so I told him what to sample, and we did a song called "Nappy Dugout"....before Cube I might add. Then me, JBL, and my boy MOHK started a group called D.I.L.L.I.G.A.F.......short for Does It Look Like I Give A Fuck.
PB: You are obviously in to your Hip Hop history anyone who has listened to Bomb MC would know that, how did you get the thirst for hip hop knowledge? Cheski: Well my Pops was a DJ, and my mom a singer, so there was always music on full blast in my house. So coming from a musical backround, when I found Hip-Hop it was love at first listen. It wasn't necessarily a thirst for knowledge but more a thirst for music ya feel. All those things I talked about in Bomb MC weren't things I researched, those were things that I learned as a fan of all those people I rapped about.
PB: Did anyone catch any feelings with Bomb MC and you injecting yourself into some of the most important events in hip hop?Cheski: Not at all, it was all love. I'm still surprised by the success of that song because we had ZERO promotion, ZERO! Sway & Tech played that song every saturday on the Wake Up Show for like 4 months and it even made their top 25 Hip Hop songs of All-time. I heard it on Rap City, we got alot of love off of that song. What does trip me out though is how many times people have tried to recreate it. I'm not sayin no names, but there's definitely been a few biters.
PB: How did you and Coke previously of Madcap and yourself come to form Colored Section and Broadway was a part of both groups wasn't he?Cheski: Broadway was the only nigga in pasadena wit equipment and he had sum sick ass beats so ALL the Mc's from Pasadena/Altadena would be over his or LC's crib (wherever they had the shit at). I knew Coke from High school and was around when they were workin on the Madkap album. Broadway & Coke thought I was dope and really encouraged me to go solo. They felt my groupmates were holding me back, but they were my homeboys so I was like fuck that. I later realized that they were right, I would have to leave them to get my shit off. So Madkap was doin their thang, and that's around the time Exhibit A came around....u might know him as Xzibit. Coke and I planned to do a solo project for me but Madkap kinda fell out and he was like fuck it, me and you will be a group. At first he was Me n Coke, then Xhibit had left his group and we welcomed him in. Xzibit was originally in the Colored Section. That didnt last that long as he had another opportunity and he took it. Another form member was DJ Homicide of Sugar Ray. Homicide wasa ridiculous DJ, I mean ridiculous. He produced 3 cuts on the album also. But he like most DJ's was a fuckin flake, so he went on to make ALOT of money making whack ass music. I like money, but I couldn't make that bullshit no matter how much they were payin me. As far as Broadway, he wasn't a part of either group. He and LC produced the Madkap album, but he was doin his own thang while we were doin the Section.
PB: Coke dropped a Beatnuts produced gem 'Questions' on a loud compilation still under the name Madcap but saying that he had gone solo, was there ever plans that you know of for a second Madcap album or a Coke solo?Cheski: Yea, I forgot about that. Just before the Colored Section he had completed a second Madkap album without Joe or Motif, but his situation wit Loud kinda played out wrong, so that was that. On a side note, Coke played a major part in them siging Wu-Tang. He got a hold of that first single while in New York and brought it back to Rifken n told him they was the shit, next thang u know...
PB: So what happened to Colored Section?Cheski: We actually had a second album, it ust never droppped. There were a few things that happened at once. Our label, 12 inch RPM had initially promised us partnership in the label cuzz they were broke and couldn't pay us shit to sign. Not only did they re-nig on that, they were cookin the books. There were lyin about how many units we sold, and where it was selling. You know, the same ole story. Secondly, Coke was havin a lil baby mama drama. His baby mama was not lettin him see his kid. So he was like fuck it, he was soured on the rap game and sacrificed mc'in for his son. He went to court to get custody of his son. You can't tour, be at the studio til 6 in the morning when you have custody of their kid. Coke has custody of his son, and is an writer. He wrote the movie
"My Baby's Daddy" starring Anthony Anderson and Eddie Griffin.
PB: Are you still affiliated with the Likwit crew? And who do you associate yourself with these days?Cheski: My affiliation with the Likwit crew was through Broadway and Coke, I was never part of the Likwit crew. Broadway and King T were, and still are tight, and being labelmates, Coke was cool wit the Alkaholics.
PB: Have you got any plans to release any new material?Cheski: Definitely. I have a group called The Executives who have an album done. We dropped a mixtape last year, and will be releasing the album and another mixtape hopefull in March. I have about 17 songs earmarked for my album and currently recording. I'll prolly do like 5 more, then pick my favorite 15. It's definitely different than the Colored Section album. We made a concerted effort to try to just have fun and joke on that record because we felt that was missin, especially from West Coast artists.
PB: Whats your Top 10 pre nineties joints?Cheski: Not in any order, cuzz it's too hard...shit, it's hard for me to do a top ten!
1)Pure Righteousness - Lakim Shabazz
2)Let The Words Flow - Chill Rob G
3)Follow The Leader - Rakim
4)Raw - Big Daddy Kane
5)Fuck Da Police - NWA
6)The Symphony - The Juice Crew
7)Rebel Without A Pause - P.E
8)The Bridge is Over - Boogie Down Productions
9)It's Yours - T La Rock
10)Microphone Fiend - Rakim
If you ask me tomorrow, it would be a different 10!!
You can check for some new material at
Myspace.
Also check the 2 versions of Bomb MC
Bomb MC (Old Gold Remix)Bomb MC (Og Recipe)
