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38 HIP-HOP / RNB www.guestlist.net Issue 45 / 2012 MASEO One third of the legendary hip hop group De La Soul was in London last month for The Doctor's Orders party On The Real. Having been in the game for over 20 years, together they have paved the way for hip hop today. Talking on his new project DJ Conductor with Mac Miller, winning a grammy and the new De La album we spoke to one of the nicest guys in hip hop. Tab Taylor | guestlist.net The Doctor's Orders got you here tonight at East Village, are you looking forward to it? Absolutely, absolutely. I played there before about 2 years ago and I had a great time then and am looking forward to it now. What would you say is the best thing about the London crowd? I think that they are very open minded to music in general. When I come to London I don't feel like I have to get stuck in a box, playing a certain type of music or a certain type of hip hop or rnb. I can play pretty much anything, you know as long as its a good DJ. So lets go back to where it first started...Long Island is the place where De La Soul grew together, what was life like for you all back then? I moved to Long Island in 1984, I was 14 when I moved there. I came from Brooklyn, New York. I was in junior high school, and I actually met the fellas in summer school we all failed some classes that year! So we met in summer school through a mutual friend and we just clicked as friends and we just started making music. That era in hip hop everybody was trying everything, from when we're young it either started with break dancing, writing graffiti or writing raps. Did you do any of that? Yeah I did it all you know, it was a major part of how we grew up. I think we just happen to cling to what we like the most and djing became more my thing and although I rapped a became a profession. Now you won a Grammy with De La Soul on a collaboration on the Gorillaz record, this must have been a crazy moment? Yeah, its was the best collaboration. That was cool, it was cool to be apart of that. To actually be part of a very creative project such as Gorillaz and have the opportunity again to be myself on the music. You started a new project DJ truly on my own in the spirit of that, without any outside input from anyone and just show my talent as a producer. On the project you said that you wanted to work with people that inspired you like Mac Miller? Mac Miller was a definite. I learned about him through my sons, they were like "there's this artist that's out right now you'll like him daddy, you need to check him out, you really need to check him out." Then my son Welcome'...I honestly think it is going to be some raw hip hop." "The title of the album is called 'You're little bit out of anything I liked to produce music, so I think everybody clinged to what they felt they were good at the most or liked the most and things became to formulate. We didn't really expect all of this success, not at all. We all had other plans, I think the goal was to accomplish putting out the first 12 inch, and then all of it has to tribute to the era that we come from, where hip hop was more of a weekend thing. It wasn't mainstream at all, all the records were independent. So it came to develop a hobby that Conductor, where you worked with people such as Mac Miller and KRS One. Tell us more about the project and what is your a main goal? Well its been pretty much long overdue, its pretty much in the spirit of Art Official Intelligence 3, that never came because of so many different reasons that when it came to putting it into a business situation people felt like it was taboo, coming off Tommy Boy. So for the most part me just doing that project sent me some links and it was Mac Miller and I was like yeah I do like this! What Dugout and how important is it for you and others to keep this project alive? is the idea behind The De La Soul Dug Out, 24/7 continues great music which I haven't been quite living up to my code haha...but I do have some great DJs and there representing. radio show that I started about Its just an online 3 years now and it was also affiliated Bubby Knuckles, Freddie Fox, Beat Minders and Mister Walk. And then I had DJs on my program such as Eddie Swift, DJ Assassin and loads of DJs. When it came down to it was just about doing the total opposite of what radio does, with Ustream developing I was actually probably the first DJ to come on you Ustream. So what we all want to know is that will there be another De La album? Absolutely. The title of the album is called 'You're Welcome'. Its going to be everywhere, that might sound a bit vane! The everywhere we go people are always saying thank you for the music thank you for this, thank you for staying together, thank you, name came the album will be telling them you're welcome and I think it is going to be a really great body of work, I honestly think it is going to be some raw hip hop, its going to be pretty raw. thank you, thank you.so because Last question, if you were invisible for the day what would trouble would you get up to? Oh my god, I would probably rob a bank! Follow Maseo @delasoulsdugout INTERVIEW