Before Outkast accepted the award for Best New Rap Group amidst a sea of boo’s at the ‘95 Source Awards, no one really knew what rap music from Atlanta was supposed to sound like. Fourteen years later, and a quick listen to the radio might convince you that the only things going down in the “A” are choreographed dances and drug dealing. Twenty two year old, Jonesboro, GA native Ladonnis “Donnis” Crump wants to help change all that. Or, at least, help bring the climate back to ‘95 when you could pretty much rap about whatever you wanted as long as the music was good and the lyrics were dope.
With his 10 Deep sponsored mixtape “Diary of an Atlanta Brave” causing a major buzz in the industry, Donnis came by the Complex office to talk about why he loves New York City, how he managed to snag J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League production for free and why he didn’t sign with DJ A-Trak back in ‘07. And with New York currently in a frenzy over Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 and his Sept 11th concert at Madison Square Garden, Donnis hit us with an exclusive freestyle over Hova’s “Run This Town”. Read on to listen to the freestyle and read the full interview below…
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST…
Photo by Melo-X
Around 2006, New York did not have an identity. You can probably blame bitter rivalries between the city’s elder statesmen for their overall creative slump. To redefine the sound of the city, it might take a refreshing sound, like the electronica-driven sound of Europe’s dance scene, to change the tide. Enter Mickey Factz.
The Bronx-born MC began pushing the envelope by sampling forward-thinkers like N.E.R.D. Three mixtapes (Flashback, Back To The Future, and Heaven’s Fallout) later, and the 23-year-old attacked the blogosphere, releasing a new song every day this Spring with influences ranging from Portishead to The Prodigy (no, the other P). In this recent interview, Mickey puts his personal stamp on the Supra sneaker brand and talks about how he was rocking dance music influences before Kanye.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST…
According to Dark Man X, his life is a journey just like everyone else’s. It just so happens that we get a front row seat to his. So we get to see all the high points'like him changing the landscape of rap with his Ruff Ryders crew over a decade ago'and the low points, like him getting arrested seven times in one year.
We caught up with DMX in July while he was working on his seventh and eighth studio albums, Walk With Me Now and You’ll Fly With Me Later, to speak to him for our “Talking Heads” column in our August/September issue. Dude gave us more gems than we could fit inside the magazine, so here’s the uncut interview, where X talks about his scariest nightmares, how to evade the cops in a Ferrari and most importantly, how to dodge groupies…
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST…
Whether or not you relate to his All-American suburbanite persona, it's been hard to ignore Asher Roth lately. After signing with Steve Rifkind’s SRC Records (home to Akon and Wu-Tang), the white boy from Morrisville, PA made a big splash last month with his Don Cannon and DJ Drama assisted mixtape The Greenhouse Effect.
His voice and punchline-heavy flow might bear some similarity to that of a certain Detroit rapper from 8 Mile, but Roth has managed to establish a unique persona with his recent remakes of Lil Wayne's “A Milli” and Jay-Z’s “Roc Boys.” We spoke with Asher while he was in Chicago en route to working with The Cool Kids. In this exclusive interview, Asher talks about growing up on Dave Matthews, impressing Jay-Z, and why he’s not worried about his suburban rap rival John Brown.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST…
It was a rainy night during the first week of February when ?uestlove from The Roots spoke with Complex about the band’s eigth studio album, Rising Down. That same evening, he granted Complex access to Battery Studios to get the full scope of the dark and stormy album, which finally hit stores today. ?uest had this to say about the crew’s evolution:
Between the last album and this album, I think the one thing I take for granted that I have to keep reminding myself [of] is that not everyone's an engineer. In the beginning, we were on a mission to prove to people we can be boom-bappy. We lost ourselves in terms of us wanting to prove, ‘Ahh, see, you think that's a drum machine right there don't you? Nah, nigga that's me!” So now the pendulum is swinging on the other side and we want people to know that this is us. That was the main mission of the Game Theory album. It just continues with this [album]. You truly know that it's a band.
After the jump, watch all 4 Rik Cordero-directed music videos from Rising Down.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST…
According to Fat Joe and Cassidy, they were all in the same hotel room when Papoose allegedly tapped Fat Joe’s chin. In Fat Joe’s interview with Big Tigger, he claimed Yo Gotti, and Gucci Mane were there too. In all the comotion, there was no mention of the whereabouts of groupies.
[Via Rapbasement]
Photo by Dirk Linder
Josh “DJ Shadow” Davis is hearing voices again. Already known for constructing mostly instrumental albums like his classic 1996 debut, Endtroducing….., Shadow is now working with vocalists from multiple genres on his third solo album, The Outsider. “[I'm doing] something different than I've done in a long time, which is embrace the vocal side of [music],” Shadow says. “I don't think I would be served at all by doing an instrumental album right now.” Shadow's reacquaintance with words has already received positive feedback. The Outsider's first single, “3 Freaks,” a Keek da Sneak and Turf Talk collaboration that marks Shadow's foray into hyphy, has been a hit on Bay Area radio since fall 2005. “I never get my music on the radio,” says the Davis, California, native. “But to hear “3 Freaks' played next to a 50 Cent song is really gratifying.” And though he stresses the diversity of this album, Shadow isn't worried about alienating longtime followers. “I think I might lose some fans,” he says. “But hearing 17-year-old kids coming out of school singing “3 Freaks'” is a lot more gratifying than listening to some 35-year-old bitch about what I'm doing and not doing on his blog.”
Interview by Thomas Golianopoulous
From the August/September 2006 issue on newsstands now
“I done been on crack; I've punched a girl out,” tells Young Dro. “One girl just met me and I paid all her notes and stuff!”
For the record, these were merely ludicrous rumors. Fittingly, Djuan “Young Dro” Hart addresses the illegitimate gossipmongers on “Don't Believe That Shit,” a Spanish-guitar-laced backhander off his debut, The Best Thang Smokin' (Grand Hustle/Atlantic).
Although Dro, born 27 good years ago in Bankhead, Atlanta, has far from reaped the commercial success of his patna' of 12 years and label honcho, T.I., the dark-skinned, agile, and flamboyant rapper is very much a bona fide star'and there's a price to pay for glistening that hard.
Not that Dro worries about hype or innuendo. He's refreshingly modest, a keen listener, and most impressively, he isn't the least bit shook to be funny. “I'm very jokeable,” he explains. “But in actuality, I use that to let you know I'm serious. Like I once told a girl: 'You keep laughing at me; I'mma laugh you right outta your panties!' And sex is not laughable.”
Equally not laughable is Dro's spit game. Articulate and charismatic to a fault, his debut showpiece is abundantly littered with rhymes and flows that are as callous as they are gracious. Over the machine-gun lazy bounce of “Gangsta Shit,” Dro strong-arms phrases and clauses just because he can. And even on the swagger-ridden, radio-friendly first single, “Shoulder Lean,” his cadence is exceptional; it's all in the way he manipulates his voice and tone.
Equally fascinating is how much ground the self-proclaimed Cartier boy's motley rap style covers. For as much as he loves Raekwon, Biggie, and 'Pac, he also idolizes Goo Goo Dolls, Staind, and Vanessa Carlton. Additionally he's a fan of mere mortals. You've just got to see him say it in his earnest, prosaic style: “I like people in general. I live for people; I live to see people live.”
By Omar Dubois
Photo by Tina Greenberg
If the slogan “Shit Happens” had a spokesperson it could be dancehall superstar Beenie Man. His 2004 smash Back To Basics should have been a joyful exclamation point on a rich, varied, and controversial career. But the album was crafted in the months following a car accident in which Beenie sustained serious injuries; while he recovered, his longtime road manager and business partner was killed in a drive-by shooting. His new album, Undisputed, didn't find him in a more peaceful frame of mind. He recorded it following the losses of both his older brother and younger sister to what he calls “freak accidents,” and yet another senseless murder claiming friend and dancehall personality Bogle. But don't expect melancholy odes about those living in the sky. “You have to think about the people you love in a joyful way, not a sad or mournful way,” says Beenie.
For “The King Of Dancehall,” joyful equals doing what has always come naturally and celebrating life's more explicit ["illicit"?] pleasures. Building on Basics, blatant cross-genre-hopping is kept to a minimum with Brooke Valentine (”Dutty Wine”), Akon (”Girls”), and Scott Storch (”Jamaican Ting”) blending in with the slick, electronic rhythms from heavyweights like Don Corleon and Tony Kelly. Beenie lays his game down quite flat all over “Hmm Hmm” and “Dreaming of You,” and playfully brags, “International models me dating,” on “Girls.” “My World” adds to the surprisingly ecstatic mood, with Beenie and Lady Saw running tings over Jon Jon's sliding synths and staccato claps. “I've never been down or out or flopped,” Beenie says confidently. “For 13 years I'm standing firm.” Even when shit happens.
By Toshitaka Kondo
Photo by Steve Carty/Contour Photos
Little Miss Sunshine, a low-budget ensemble comedy about a dysfunctional family on a road trip, wasn't expected to kill at the box office. This past weekend, it was the nation's number three film, and its earning stand at $23 million and climbing. One explanation for the movie's popularity is Paul Dano. The 22-year-old actor is brilliantly understated playing Dwayne, the sullen son who follows Nietzsche, hates everyone, and has taken a vow of silence until he can escape his family and go to the Air Force Academy. When he absolutely must converse with his kin, he scribbles notes on a pad. Why didn't you think of that? Check out the full interview below from our June/July 2006 issue.
When did you realize you wanted to act?
I always liked performing to a certain degree whether it was acting or singing, just in school. The film thing never seemed like a reality when I was going to high school. It didn't seem like a feasible thing, 'Oh, I can be an actor.' It still doesn't make sense to me that I can do what I'm doing and live off it because it is so fun and interesting.
How did your family take you doing this?
My parents were really cool and luckily they are really supportive. I grew up in midtown Manhattan and then I moved to Connecticut for middle school and high school because the apartment was too small. I definitely wanted to get out of there when I graduated and get back here to New York.
How did you latch onto Little Miss Sunshine?
I got the script, read it, was really into it, met with the directors John and Val and auditioned. It went really well and I was hoping that I would get the part, the movie then gets pushed and pushed [back]. Every time I go to LA, I meet with John and Val because they want to see how much I'm growing and see if I was too old for the part. I must have hoped to get that part for over two years. I was always wondering when and when it would happen and then it did.
When you were reading the script, were you thinking, 'Okay, when do I talk?'
I guess so. That's the unique thing about the character and also proved to be the most challenging part of the film and one of the most challenging things I've ever done. It's very uncomfortable. You have to get used to not talking, especially on camera, you're used to responding to things and I found myself very self conscious the entire time. I had never done this before. But that was pretty cool.
Were you method acting like Brando and walked around on set not talking for two weeks?
Nah. I did it a couple of days on my own and I tried to not to not talk around my family which was impossible not to yell and get pissed off. We had a really great week of rehearsals where we stayed in character. We drove around and did family activities like go to lunch or go bowling and I wasn't talking and it was really fun.
What scene did you do in the audition?
The one where I'm talking to Steve Carrell's character and I'm using the notepad. Then I did the scene where I learned I'm color blind and started screaming. Then we did the scene at the end when I'm talking to my uncle.
That scene where you break down must have been really tough because the movie is a comedy but you don't want to play it for laughs.
No you don't. That was a rough scene. It's hard to label the film for me because it's not just a comedy to any of us. It's certainly a little different than what people would think is a comedy.
Why was it so hard getting it made?
Gosh, I don't know dude. It was such a good script. It was really well written. We had an awesome script to work with. I think maybe they didn't know how to market a movie where the grandpa is snorting heroin. But people have responded to it well.
What's next?
I did Weapons, which is a small indie film with Nick Cannon, Fast Food Nation, which is directed by Richard Linklater and is an ensemble.
Did you read the book before you read for the role?
No. I'm a hardcore meat eater because I'm so scrawny where if I stopped eating meat, I'd die. I did read it, and I definitely don't eat fast food anymore. Recently, I drove down to Virginia, which is an eight-hour drive, and I nearly starved to death because I couldn't find a quick place to stop and eat. I ate mad granola bars that I picked up from a gas station. Reading that book traumatized me from the whole fast food thing. I play a kid who works in a fast food restaurant…I don't want to say too much about the part.
Interview by Thomas Golianopoulos
Photo by Christy Bush
June/July 2006
