AZ - The Format...7th November.
A dude from SOHH got to interview AZ personally & asked questions for other SOHH memebers, it's a nice read.
On The “Show Me What You Got” freestyle, you gave a lot of shout outs to New York emcees.
Just trying to bring it all together man and bring that camaraderie together.
Why did you jump on that beat?
That beat alone, I'm sure a lot of brothers can’t get on it because it’s so unorthodox. I just wanted to show n prove that there’s still artists that still lyrically inclined and New York is the birth place of hip hop and its still here and we still able to have fun.
You worked with DJ Premier again for The Format. You guys have great chemistry but everyone always talks about the Premier/Nas album. What about a Premier/AZ album?
Oh man, it sounds good. I know Premier is everywhere and I'm just trying to get my fan base real up there right now because a lot of brothers that just stop and ya know fell off the face of the map. But I guess one more song from Primo and if they embrace it we can do an album together.
What’s the deal with the video for The Format and the fireworks?
I just wanted to put a video on the internet circuit just to get it out there. The fireworks I just wanted to catch live Independence Day and I’m independent and I wanted to put fireworks in the air and just basically capture New York and the lights and focus on me.
The internet got a larger fan base and there are more people that tune in and show that love and I just wanted to give it back.
What can people expect from the new album?
The album is serious man. I mean me keeping one foot in the hood I’m always gonna deliver AZ to my best potential. I got Premier, Emile, J Cardin, and Fame from M.O.P. and ya know a lot of hungry producers that wanna show n prove at the end of day still keeping hip hop alive. Me, I just feel like every album lyrically I step it up. You got M.O.P. on the album, Jah Jah from Dipset, and Little Brother they underground to the 5th power also and I think man for my hardcore fans this album is great and I’m startin' to get more fans coming to the table.
What do you think of Phonte’s stance on the music industry?
I mean the music business is what it is, it’s a music business and people that’s in the business on a high level they play the business how its supposed to be play so when you comin' from the underground its hard to really get on the level of the majors because that’s what it is, you playing major. It is what it is at the end of day and as long as you work hard independent, you gotta rise.
What have you learned about the industry over the years?
It’s a dirty game, for one. The game is real dirty. And man its good to be in control of what you trying to do and that’s why I went the independent route because I went from majors to majors to majors and even the majors was having difficulties with other majors so its always a war going on in, even in the corporates. I just felt like I was getting caught up in the war so now I wanted to go independent and it just feels better. You know what I mean, there’s more creative control, and you get more buck for the bang at the end of the day. I can navigate my career instead of having other people navigate for me.
What have you learned about the independent game?
You learn once you go independent you cut the middle man out. The majors is just the middle man so now you just dealin' with distribution and you can really more or less analyze your stronger markets, your weaker markets. You learn a whole different side of the game.
You have a one of a kind flow. Do you think you were blessed with it?
I think it was given to me, but I guess when I first heard rap I was always influenced by it but when rap came to the era of me Nas, Wu, Biggie, Snoop and the revolutionary change came of street hip hop I just felt like I had a better part to play in it because I was living it and at the same time I lost a lot of family members and friends so we just speaking life man and we speak life as a beginning know no endin' man
Does writing an AZ rhyme take a lot of hard work?
Actually it’s as easy as pouring a glass of water. Haha. It is. I guess I’m blessed.
Were you shocked when 50 Cent said you make “bull**** joints?”
Yea, I felt the waves but I also know anybody he talks about he admires at the end of day and he had to be a fan. So it was cool ya know I mean to get some recognition, I’d love to get just 5 percent of his fan base so it’s cool at the end of day. I’m not mad at him we men and we express ourselves and I guess that’s his way of communicating so that’s why I just gave him more tough love than trying to battle him or go at him subliminally, so it’s basically brotherly love man take it easy know what it is and this is how its supposed to be. Period.
Being that you’re half Dominican, do you see the race relations between Latinos and African Americans in a different light?
Not necessarily I grew up in the hood with my moms when pops wasn’t around so my peers they afro American but I also had Latino friends from the hood and everything was cool. I don’t see no real divide and conquer. It’s out in the west coast harder.
Will you and Nas ever collaborate again?
I dunno, its been so long and so many other artists have came out and rap itself has evolved to a whole other level and you know me and Nas are really lyrically inclined artists so I’m thinking maybe the different audience now maybe they don’t wanna hear that. At the end of the day, I’m not sure maybe they do I mean you have real hip hop heads out there but then again right now its about dancing, party and bull****.
Will there ever be a Firm reunion?
Do the people wanna hear that, do you think? Do you think people wanna hear a firm reunion or is the firm buried? What do you think? It’d probably be good, be creative. My doors really are open for everything but I’m hoping we still have that magic when we together. I hope the magic is still there and from a business aspect I dunno know what would happen.
I once heard someone say that AZ reads a ton of books. Do you read a lot?
Very much yea. I read a little too much at the end of day.
Does all that reading influence your rhymes?
Nah not at all. It probably enhances my vocabulary but it don’t influence none of my poetry because I speak from my heart ya know what I mean in my mind what I feel.
What is AZ reading?
To be honest I read everything, fiction, nonfiction, political, autobiographies I read a little bit of everything.
When is the Quiet Money album coming?
07 Quiet Money album coming we got a few artists like Animal coming so we trying to put out a Quiet Money album by summer 07.
Do you have any other business ventures aside from music right now?
Well right now really Quiet Money is getting lifted off I’m really trying to focus on this. I was dealing with a restaurant, but that’s still there, ya know that’s a whole other zone and ya know a clothing line and movies and all I’m trying to do everything. The nucleus is the album and quiet money getting off the ground because it catapults everything else.
With the restaurant, are you trying to be a chef?
Haha Nah, I just love soul food so I wanted a soul food restaurant with fish n chips. It’s in my own neighborhood, its still in the workings at the end of the day. Hopefully in 07, it will pop off again.
What was it like on the set of Jay-Z’s “Dead Presidents” music video?
It was good being around all the Brooklyn heads and everybody just chillin', laughin'. And everyone was basically happy and successful at that time. Jay-Z was just coming in the game, he’s happy and excited. And with me with the Sugar Hill it was cool, it was a good vibe.
