Jay-Z may go to work every day as the president and CEO of Def Jam Records, but he’s still an MC at heart and occasionally in practice. So you can imagine what it’s like for him to hear all the whispers in the wake of Cam’ron’s recent dis record, “You Got It,” where he levels a number of accusations at Jigga and even mentions Jay’s girlfriend, Beyoncé.
Half the people in the streets are saying that Hov is too big to respond, that he’s a CEO now, that he has nothing left to prove on the mic. After all, we’ve seen how he can slay opponents in battles. But the other half of the street talk says that Hov absolutely has to come back — Killa was just too disrespectful for Jay to let it ride.
It’s a different story when it comes to the former rival Jay recently signed to Def Jam, Nas. The two are in business together and very possibly will be making music together — in fact, Hov says to bet on it. In an MTV News exclusive, Jigga tells Shaheem Reid about his current adversary’s challenge, how his truce with Nas came about, and his reaction to Cam’ron’s allegations about Jay’s former business partner, Dame Dash.
MTV: We haven’t even gotten through the first month of the year, and it’s already starting — everybody is talking about you and Cam, you and Nas.
Jay-Z: Let’s start off with the Nas sh–. I think that’s more historical. I think this is Cam sh– is gonna blow over once his album drops.
MTV: OK. When you and Nas appeared onstage together in October, I was expecting a deal to be announced soon after. But it’s taken awhile.
Jay-Z: It took more to work out because he has another album left with Sony, so we just wanted to work with Sony. [The unusual deal finds the two labels collaborating on Nas’ next two albums, the first of which is expected to be released in the fall.] We didn’t want to make them look bad or nothing like that. It was a delicate deal. He’s one of their most important artists.
MTV: Where is Nas at with you, personally and artistically?
Jay-Z: There’s a respect there. With respect anything is possible. But you can’t just sit down with somebody and be like, “We’re best friends!” That’s high school. But we’re building with that. We kick it and everything, everything is cool. As far as where he’s at artistically, I think he’s ready to make the album of his life. He feels like he’s in a position right now where he can do it. He can go all the way.
MTV: Obviously you guys had been talking before the concert — people even saw you two laughing and joking at Baseline Studios. What was the icebreaker that brought you together?
Jay-Z: That was Mark Pitts, who used to manage Biggie and now manages Nas. He arranged that meeting. He’s a friend of mine and he came to me and said, “Will you sit down with Nas?” I said, “Yeah, no problem, of course,” because like I said, there’s always been a respect thing. I’m sure he probably went to Nas and said, “Would you sit down with Jay?” He probably Don King’d the whole thing. I didn’t even ask him that. [He laughs.]
MTV: We talked to Memphis Bleek recently, and he said the concert in October was the first time he’d ever seen Nas in person. He also said that if he’d had the opportunity to sit and talk with Nas before the battle, there might not have been a battle. Do you feel the same way?
Jay-Z: Absolutely.
MTV: Is there a collaboration between you and Nas coming?
Jay-Z: We gonna be in the studio working, so we’ll see what happens. I just don’t want to do nothing forced. I been through that before with Best of Both Worlds [his two collaboration albums with R. Kelly]. I just don’t want to do nothing just [to do it]. But I’m telling you, we’re gonna be in the studio and I’m sure the vibe is going to be right. If I had to place some money on it — and I’m a betting man — I would bet on it.
MTV: Who would produce that? You have so much talent on your team: Just Blaze, Kanye.
Jay-Z: I’m going to my team first: I’m going to Kanye, Just. Then I’m reaching out: Timbaland, Dr. Dre, DJ Premier. I’mma give everybody a shot, new producers. I’m accustomed to working with new dudes who got that sound. Hopefully we’ll find a new Kanye, a new Just. But I’m going to Just and Kanye first.
MTV: The question was about just one song, but it sounds like you two could do a whole album together.
Jay-Z: Nah, it ain’t a [Jay and Nas] album.
MTV: What about a Jay album? It would make sense for you to come back out this year. It’s been 10 years since your debut, Reasonable Doubt. [Jay’s debut LP] dropped. All your collaborations last year were killer, and you said the retirement would be for two years — we have it on tape, you said “two years.” Well, it’s been two years — nobody can say you’re not a man of your word.
Jay-Z: [He laughs.] We’re [Def Jam] coming up with so much good sh– at the start of the year — I ain’t gonna lie, I don’t want to miss it. We got so much going on, I’m focused on the team and making sure everybody is focused. I’m not even thinking about [putting out an album] right now. But for a second I was like “Damn, I can’t let all this good sh– pass me by. I want some.”
MTV: So let’s get to Cam. You said you’re torn about whether or not to respond to his dis record, “You Got It.”
Jay-Z: That sh– is trash.
MTV: Nobody was really surprised that Cam dissed you. From the outside looking in, it looked like the two of you never really vibed. Has there been animosity between you two for some time?
Jay-Z: I don’t really think about it like that. I never thought about it as a problem. It’s like, “You don’t know me, I don’t know you.” It didn’t cross my mind. I wasn’t stuntin’ it like, “I got a problem with Cam.” I just didn’t think about it.
MTV: One of his accusations is that you blocked him from an executive position at Roc-A-Fella years ago, after Dame offered it to him. Do you think that what’s led to this?
Jay-Z: He also said he wasn’t gonna take the job because he wanted such-and-such amount of money. I really don’t think it was anything. He has an album and a movie coming out and he wanted some attention. You can’t say it’s because I put the kibosh on the [Roc-A-Fella] presidency and then say, “I wasn’t going to take the presidency because they didn’t offer this amount of money.”
MTV: There was so much speculation about who you were going to dis when you announced the “I Declare War” concert last year. Were the Dips people you were going to go at?
Jay-Z: When I went into the “I Declare War” sh–, I was half joking, half making a statement. Maybe I would have some fun. I didn’t really have anybody in mind. It wasn’t something I was really sitting home thinking about, plotting and planning. Then, later, I was like, [bringing Nas out] — that’s way more interesting than pulling out the Summer Jam screen. I did that already.
MTV: Cam kind of put Dame in the middle of this because, on the song, he says he’s riding on you for what you allegedly did to Dame. Then in an interview with Hot 97, he said that Dame told him you were looking for photos of the Dips and information to use at the “I Declare War” concert.
Jay-Z: To be honest with you, that’s the most surprising thing. That [Cam dis record] is bullsh–, but [the situation with Dame], that is like, wow. It’s shocking.
MTV: So were you looking for dirt on the Dips?
Jay-Z: I don’t know about that. Like I said, I’m still in shock about [Dame]. That’s just crazy to me.
MTV: Have you and Dame talked about it? Do you plan on talking about it with him?
Jay-Z: Nah. Nah. I’m still in shock, to be honest with you.
MTV: Earlier you said you were torn, but a lot of people have been getting at you: Cam, Jim Jones, Prodigy from Mobb Deep. Are we going to hear a “Takeover 2,” where you just address everybody?
Jay-Z: Sh–. I’m not in that space. But at the end of the day, I’m a man first — and before I’m a CEO, I’m a MC. It is what it is. At the end of the day, I’m too far advanced for these dudes. [He laughs.]
February 5th, 2006
Sean Paul is an important artist. In 2002, a year prior to his worldwide smash “Dutty Rock”, the dancehall genre was a localised, niche’ style of music. Three years on, we’re global, even full circle, with Lil’ Jon’s crunk movement and chart-toppers like Ciara riding ‘dem riddems.
We caught a few words with the man in a whirlwind of promo activity in central London mid-September, finding in the 32-year-old artist a humble, mannered man, still full of passion for his genre - despite mega record sales - and his hometown scene. Interview by ATM.
You have sold over 6m albums worldwide, picked up almost every award in music that there is and have worked with some of the biggest names in music. As early as ‘96 you released your first singles and in ‘97 you recorded with Spanner Banner on the Jamaican hit ‘Ladies Man’ then you went on to record with Jeremy Harding. After that we all pretty much know what happened. You became a household name.
My first actual song was called ‘Baby Girl’. 1995 I was doing a lot more dub plates and demos and getting out to the world in that way so I have been in the game I’d say for about ten years.
My first actual song was called ‘Baby Girl’. 1995 I was doing a lot more dub plates and demos and getting out to the world in that way so I have been in the game I’d say for about ten years.
After that you became a household name, was this always the plan? What was happening before success kicked in? Were you always destined to become a major star in music?
What I had a passion for was writing these songs. I really felt proud that I could write a song to represent my culture and from the beginning that was what is was about for me. I remember I would look at the television station and see artist like Puffy or LL Cool J and I’d say, “Dancehall can be represented like that”. And it should be. Those songs play in the clubs and so do mine. And it should represent on a big level like that.
But I never knew or thought that it would be selling nearly six million records and five singles into an album. So I was very proud but also very winded and shocked.
Do you still do a double take and say “is this really happening?”
When it was happening, when I was meeting all these different people in the business. I was more like in a whirl, saying ” ok hi” just going through the motions. Then you take a step back after a while and “Wow this is crazy”
So, what was growing up like for you? Were you privileged or was it a struggle?
I think it is fair to say that I was provided for I come from a middle class background. My mum’s an artist she paints pictures and my father was a hustler and somewhat of a troublemaker. He did go to jail sometimes when I was a kid and especially when I was thirteen he went to jail for six years until I was nineteen. So I grew up as an essential part without a father figure.
Was it just your mum?
It was my mum and my grandmother and I had to be the man of the household, my brother was there, my younger brother. It was kind of complicated but I do feel that everyone has their own fight in life.
Do you think it make you a stronger person?
I think it did and it made me realize that I would never, that I did not want to go to prison. It made be realise that you have to do as much in your life as you can. As that lasted six years. Six years in a box, you know what I mean? It made me realise not rush things down. It made me really concentrate on what life is really about.
You started getting noticed by the US music scene through places like Miami and New York - Did you have a mentor or someone you looked up to that helped you on your way?
I definitely looked up to Super Cat, definitely Shabba Ranks. Of course being a Jamaican you are really proud of Bob Marley’s work. But he is my hero also. Someone who I look up to and hold in very high esteem and him being so uncompromising. People like that. But I also had a lot of love for Hip-hop music. And that is why my music, especially ‘Dutty Rock’ blended in that respect. I think hip-hop and dance hall music are cousins or brothers. And reggae music is part of that.
Has there been any one moment that has been the key thing or pivotal for you in terms of your career
There are different moments, first time I recorded a single, which was ‘Baby Girl’. That did come out. I was no longer trying to let people know who I was. There were people asking, “Who is that?”
There are also times like in ‘98 when I got the opportunity to work on the soundtrack to ‘Belly’. It made the movie, about 3 seconds! But that was another turning point. And also when MTV BET happened. When they did pick up my work it was a main pivotal turning point when ‘Dutty Rock’ blew.
You are obviously a big lyricist do you get involved with the notes and the production, what’s the process when you are looking at a track?
I think a track is important, the first thing or the biggest thing that would catch your attention is the bassline and how banging it was. Also what the artist did on it, the melody, the tone of the voice, a smooth style or a harsh style.
These elements I try and put back into my own. I am not someone who is always instrumental in building the tracks always. I have done a few co-productions. My brother produced two tracks on this album. And in the future I plan to get more and more into that. I am now travelling with keyboards and drum and all that and plan to try and get more integrated that way.
The music industry can be quite fickle and success can arrive and leave very quickly. What would you do if things were different?
I think music took a big part of my whole energy when I realized that “yes things can get heard”. What I did realize, especially about Dancehall and reggae music was that in our genre you have people who have lasted for many years. And they have done that by keeping consistent. People like Cappleton and you know Beenie Man. These people have remained in the game for many, many years and they are still doing it. So as I said I used to watch these TV stations and I would say ” You know we could be something like that!” Without thinking that was where I would be in a few years.
I really thought that by being consistent I could be around for a while. But I didn’t think I would be that big I just thought I’d be doing the Dancehall.
Do you feel that it is right to use music and ones position of success as a platform to reach the world. And I mean not on an entertainment level but politically? With the controversy over Kanye West do you think it is right if it is going to help people?
I think we are voices of the people. Our songs are made hits because we speak on behalf of their feelings sometimes. It’s like ” yeah I feel it”. It reflects life. Art in general reflects life. And so when I do a song I am not always trying to make a point. Mainly for me it has to be a party song. But I do feel that I have a sense of responsibility to say things that I do believe.
Maybe I wouldn’t actually called out the persons name because I am from Jamaica sometimes its hard to get a visa to go and perform. Not now for me but I am always fearful of watching as I come from a third world country so I watch what I say about people but in general I am not pleased with governments, especially third world governments who end up scrapping not matter what morals and values they end up scraping from their own people.
So it is right to be a voice for the people and say what you do feel in your heart. You are one of the people but you are also a voice that they don’t have. The people of New Orleans definitely want to say that so they were probably overjoyed to hear that someone spoke for them.
January 15th, 2006
When your father is the King Of Rock ‘N’ Roll, you really have your work cut out for you if you decide to follow in his blue suede footsteps. But Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis, is clearly up for the challenge–and with her defiantly titled second album Now What? and cheekily chosen cover song “Dirty Laundry,” she’s finally making a name for herself. Just don’t call her “pop,” put her in the same category with faux-punk teenyboppers, or assume she’s making music just for the fame, or this feisty First Daughter Of Rock will get all shook up.
In the following wonderfully sarcastic and insightful interview, Lisa Marie tells Yahoo! Music executive editor Dave DiMartino all about her life as an esteemed member of rock ‘n’ roll royalty. Get ready for a little more conversation now.
YAHOO! MUSIC: Was there some goal with your second record that you wanted to make this time, that you didn’t want to make last time?
LISA MARIE: Well, with, the first one, I had a lot of mountains to climb and things to barriers through. I broke through a lot of them, though not all of them. But with the second one, it all kinda went backwards. You know, I performed [first album] To Whom It May Concern all over the place and I didn’t really have the exchange with the audience of singing live or getting to hear feedback or any of that stuff, until later when I toured. And fortunately, towards the end it all kinda came together, in that the fans were responding and writing me letters saying, “You know, I didn’t kill myself” or “You helped me with this” or “You helped me with that,” and basically that inspired me. Like, that’s what it was all about. I realized that is why I did this, and it’s not because of anything else. So with this particular record, I can sort of stop trying to convince people, and just do what I do, because I did sort of get a fanbase. To just do my music and play live is mostly what I want to do.
YAHOO! MUSIC: Looking back, do you feel like you were treated as fairly as you wanted to be, or could be, by the public and the press?
LISA MARIE: Yes. I can say that I was. I mean, whoever wanted to really listen and get beyond whatever they already had preconceived in their head, I think those people gave me a fair critique or fair treatment. It’s just that there were those with the preconceived stuff: “Ugh, I hate it. She sucks. She’s not like her father.” You know what I mean?
YAHOO! MUSIC: You seem like someone who really has personality–with the videos, the music, everything.
LISA MARIE: Thank you. But I don’t know if that’s so appealing to have a personality anymore. [laughs] If you’re naked and you’re cute and you’re 12, that seems more appealing than having any kind of personality. [laughs]
YAHOO! MUSIC: Are you still happy with your debut album now?
LISA MARIE: I feel like the debut just represents that time, and that’s what it was. I feel like it was a good start, a good step. I was a new artist. A lot of people a long time ago–actually, not very long ago–used to be able to do a few records and build themselves. You know what I mean? Now it’s like, you have a five-minute span. If it’s the first week and you don’t sell, you’re done. You’re over. So I would like to have a long career and really work my way. Do one record, and then hopefully the next one is a step further and not a step backwards. I kind of want a singer-songwriter-type career. I don’t want to be some flash in the pan for five minutes.
YAHOO! MUSIC: How do you think you stepped in that direction with the new record?
LISA MARIE: I think that I just was more focused. It was done a lot faster and I kinda knew what I was headed for this time. I had learned a lot, yeah. So that’s what I mean when I say the first one was like a step, you know? And I just want to keep walking. I don’t think that it was that fantastic. I think that it was good; it was a good entrance. But I can get a hell of a lot better.
YAHOO! MUSIC: Who were some of the people instrumental in putting this record together?
LISA MARIE: Well, I have the same producer, who is Eric Ross, and Michael Lockwood, who is executive producer with me on the record. Linda Perry wrote some songs and that was pretty much it. And another friend, a guy named Gus that I write with occasionally.
YAHOO! MUSIC: How is it when you collaborate with somebody, in terms of expressing what you feel? Does it have to be the right person?
LISA MARIE: You know, it’s gotta be the right person. I’ve sat with people before, where somebody puts me with somebody, and I’m sitting there going, “OK, this is really not happening,” and they’re probably thinking the same thing. To go through that process you really do have to be sitting with somebody you like, ’cause it’s a very personal thing, very purging, and you can’t just force yourself to be creative.
YAHOO! MUSIC: Tell me about the appeal of Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry,” and what it’s like to cover it.
LISA MARIE: I fell in love with “Dirty Laundry” when I first heard it. I wanted to sing it about 12 years ago, but somebody said, “If you sing that you’re gonna look like a whiny ass, so don’t do that.” And it’s true, if it’s your first thing out, you know? So I had done the first record and I was recording the second one, and I heard it and said, “Oh my God, I’ve always wanted to do that!” And we were looking for what cover to put on the record. I didn’t even pick it to be about me personally. I just think it very poignantly points out the general state of affairs right now, in terms of what our entertainment is. And it’s an important song, and it’s also, you know, a catchy, safe song. I don’t think that my album’s that commercial, but if I’m gonna try to make things sort of familiar and safe, that would be the way I’d do it.
YAHOO! MUSIC: How does pop singing, rock singing, whatever, fulfill your creativity, compared to other things you might be doing?
LISA MARIE: Well, let’s clarify: I’m not pop. I’d rather not be categorized as that, thank you. I’m a huge music fan, a music lover. It’s always been my life. So my hopes in doing this was to do this first for myself, and then get through and affect people. You know, not to stand in front of a microphone and dance onstage, and not to be cute and wear sexy outfits, not to be some chart-topping blah, blah, blah that lasts for 20 minutes. You know what I mean? It’s none of that. I am just basically doing what I’ve always loved to do and hoping that it affects people. And in the end, if it does, then I’m doing my job and that makes me feel good. But it has to be real. It has to be that, I’ve seen that it’s happened. In other ways, you can sorta lose yourself and go, “What the f–k am I doing?”
YAHOO! MUSIC: You’ve mentioned the 20-minutes-of-fame thing…
LISA MARIE: Or being 12 and naked.
YAHOO! MUSIC: Exactly…
LISA MARIE: Or how about being a pseudo-punk when you’re 13. Like, “I’m a punk rocker!” Oh, I love that. That makes me so excited when I see that. Oh my God. [laughs] My fangs are coming out. Sorry. But that really pisses me off. Sorry. [laughs] I hate it! They’re 15 and they’re like, “I’m a punk!” God, please, stop it. You know? Sorry.
YAHOO! MUSIC: Can you deal with it, and are you dealing with it?
LISA MARIE: It definitely pisses me off that that’s the way things are right now. But you know, it was against all my better judgment to put a record out right now because of the way that things are in music, and because of how shallow it is. And I am shooting my own ass, sorry, when saying that, but whatever. It’s not unlike me to do that. I think that it was against my better judgment to do it, but at the same time I don’t want to not do what I want to do. So if they don’t play it on the radio I’m not necessarily gonna be offended right this minute, to be honest with you. [laughs] At the same time, it’s nice when they do, ’cause it helps get it out there, but I also have a lot of friends who I’ve admired, female vocalists who have been there before on the top of the charts and who can’t get on there anymore. You I can’t take it personally. It seems to be a bit of a Stepford situation right now in music.
YAHOO! MUSIC: How does parading around in front of people fit into your personality?
LISA MARIE: You mean being on the front of the stage?
YAHOO! MUSIC: Yeah, do you feel awkward? Or do you feel this is what you were born to do?
LISA MARIE: I’m not innately a vain person or someone who likes to have the spotlight and camera attention on me, so it is difficult to be on the front of the stage when you have that in your personality. But I figured out a way where it took me a while to warm up to it. And I finally did. It took a lot of touring though before I was like, “All right, I can settle into this. I can do it.”
YAHOO! MUSIC: When you were little, did you ever grab the hairbrush and imagine you were someone famous singing? Who were you trying to be?
LISA MARIE: I grabbed either a brush, a fake microphone, or a tennis racket pretending to be either Ann Wilson from Heart, Pat Benatar, or Olivia Newton-John way back when. Those were my three big ones at the time.
YAHOO! MUSIC: Do you like that everyone knows who you are, or does it make you uncomfortable?
LISA MARIE: I think I’ve just sort of found the medium ground on that one. I’m fine. I mean, either way–I’ve been to places where they don’t know who I am and I’m fine with that too. And I’ve been to places where they do know me, and I’m fine with that. It’s kind of neither here nor there.
YAHOO! MUSIC: Do you think a musician can be good at business and being a performer too? How do you feel about straddling that line between being a businesswoman and being a performer?
LISA MARIE: Well, the business part of things is something I was accustomed to and brought into when I was 16. My mom was breaking me in for a long time. So it’s easy for me to do both. I just learn to balance it–and I’m also a mother, so there’s a lot of things.
YAHOO! MUSIC: What do your kids think now about Mommy doing what she’s doing?
LISA MARIE: They’re OK. I think they like it, you know? Whatever I do, I’m still Mom.
YAHOO! MUSIC: Do you think there are aspects you might get tired of, or will you always maintain your interests because you don’t have to work?
LISA MARIE: Let me think. I’m not personally happy unless I know I’m doing something to contribute to people, and helping people. I’m just that way. And I’m not blowing smoke up anybody’s butt–it’s just true. So if I can do that via music–I mean, I do it in other ways; I am very much a part of a lot a different charities and things like that–but this is another way for me to contribute and give back. You know what I mean? Otherwise, I’m not comfortable just being famous for, for my heritage. That’s great and I don’t not honor that, it’s just that I can’t live for that alone.
YAHOO! MUSIC: Is music something you see yourself doing for quite some time?
LISA MARIE: Yes. I’m not just doing this to get some attention or be a rock star. It’s not like that. There’s too much of the other side of the story that’s gonna want you to go down and want to eat you alive. Your ass is on the frying pan. The more you’re out there doing it, the more your ass is on the frying pan. So I don’t recommend not being very serious and passionate about something unless you’re willing to take the ass-frying part. [laughs]
January 10th, 2006
