S1 & Frankie Cutlass

Frankie Cutlass: Boricua On Da Set



For many years Frankie Cutlass laid the foundation for Latinos in hip hop, especially all the Reggaeton artists. You can call him the Godfather of Latin hip hop with his classic smash hit “Puerto Rico”. Frankie took a little break from the game and you won’t believe what my man has been up to for the past 7 years since last being on the scene. S1 recently caught up to Frankie and this is what homeboy had to say:

S1: Yeah, yeah, yeah….What’s going on my people! You know who this is S1 the muthfuckin man!!! Legacy Magazine, Legacy Radio, legacymag.net and today I got my nigga Frankie Cutlass… What’s poppin my nigga? What’s good in the hood baby?

FC: Ah man you know, just tryin to make things happen over here…You know I just wanna say thank God for his push in my life you know what I’m sayin…Just encouraging me to wake up everyday and do what I do best with this music you know what I’m sayin…We just making it crack over here know what I’m sayin…That’s just what it is dawg…

S1: Alright, alright…For all of ya’ll that don’t know Frankie Cutlass is definitely a legend in NYC putting it on smash longer then a minute you know what I’m sayin…But yo lets take it back real quick…Where you originated from? What was your first major hit? But go ahead break it down let niggas know what time it is…

FC: Strictly from Spanish Harlem, I’m from Harlem, New York City…I started at the age of 13 DJayin local parties, sweet 16’s and weddings and all that…I got my first break , I did like dance music…My first record was on Mic Mac Records I produced for artists in dance music like TKA, The Covergirls stuff like that…I think my major, major break was when I created my label called Hoody Records and that was distributed by MoonRoof Freeze records…I came out with a couple little records here and there…After I came out with those songs I came out with the official anthem… the song…and I must say the song that paved the way for a lot Hispanics especially Puerto Ricans…That song “Puerto Rico” I never thought that it would still be played today and considered a classic…You know I did Puerto Rico…A lot people don’t know I did “Shake What Ya Momma Gave You” and then I did “Boricua’s On Da Set”…

S1: But wait before we get to Boricua’s on da Set, before we get to “Shake What Ya Mama gave you”…”Fuck You For Free” by Akinelye that was an underground classic…Everybody that’s into that nasty shit know what song I’m talking about…they may have never heard of that shit on the radio…How was it working with that sick bastard Akinelye?

FC: Basically “Fuck You For Free” was gonna be on my album Politics and Bullshit…Ak was managed by the same people that I was managed by The Flip Squad…So we went into the studio and I gave him that joint instead of putting it on my album because he had just come out with “Put It In Your Mouth” so “Fuck You For Free” was a good follow up to that joint and its still an underground classic…I still getting checks for that joint here and there!!!

S1: Now “Boricua’s On Da Set” talk to us about that dawg…

FC: After “Puerto Rico” became such a smash the radio was playin it like crazy…One day I did a show for a radio station here in New York City… Hot 97…And I bumped into Fat Joe and Fat Joe was like yo I’m really feeling that “Puerto Rico” joint…And I was like yo you wanna do something…We were really going to do a remix of “Puerto Rico” but I was like nah lets not touch that one, I was like let’s just do a whole new song about Hispanics and stuff like that…So I met up with my man who down with us Doo Wop and he was with it, so we got together and created that song “Boricua On Da Set” and that’s how that song came about…Doo Woop opened it up, Fat Joe was on the 2nd verse and my man Ray Boogie closed it up…It was big in Puerto Rico man and actually a lot of Reggaeton artists remember me from those records and they give me a lot of respect…

S1: So listen man…What have you been up to since Boricua’s on Da Set? I know that you have been doin a little producing for the movies…Bring us up to date…Put us on…

FC: After Boricua’s on Da Set I got the deal with Violator and I dropped Politics and Bullshit which featured like 25 of the greatest emcees. I did stuff with Biggie and Lost Boyz…I did soundtracks like Don’t Be A Menace To South Central and Charlie’s Angels that did like 3 million worldwide…Ah man its just so many stuff I can’t remember…

S1: But the point here is that Frankie Cutlass never went no where he was still doing his shit, you know what I’m sayin…

FC: Well I had to take a little break though…I ain’t gonna front…A lot people ain’t see me for like 7, 8 years…You know I got into a lot of trouble man I ain’t gonna front but you know I’m Puerto Rican from Spanish Harlem in the projects you know what I’m sayin…You don’t know how to act know what I’m sayin, I dropped out of 8th grade so you know I didn’t have, I wasn’t thinking straight man…you know the smoking, the weed, the drinking and the 40’s…Tricking my money on the girls you know and I was young bro…I got lost bro and I wanted more so I joined a gangs and stuff like that and we started doing stupid crap out there you know what I’m sayin, stupid shit…And what happened was I had got into whole lot of trouble so I had to take it easy man because my life was basically on the line. Either I would fall back or I would be dead right now and to be honest with you I really was at the point where I should have been dead…I lost my moms too man so I was suffering at the same time and you I had a family, I had a wife and I had a kid and they was like screaming and crying for me like yo you need to chill with us over here…It was really hectic man you go thru ups and downs in life sometimes man and I was young like I said…So I began falling back and my brother-in-law began to pray for me and my family is very religious, they come with spiritual things…My family is Christian you know what I mean…So they started praying for me and my brother-in-law was like yo why don’t you come to church with me? So I end up going to church and I met the lord and stuff man…I felt good, I felt confident…I felt that love that peace man and that’s what happened to Frankie Cutlass for the last 7 years I was chillin in church, sharing my testimony…I was trying to talk to young thugs on the streets and letting them know yo man that not the way of life man…Sometimes you got to think man and save your money and try not to do too much drugs…cause this life is like a movie man one minute you’re here the next your not…

S1: Why don’t you tell us what next for Frankie Cutlass? What you got on the radar my nigga?

FC: Yo we decided like I said…Those 7 years that I was out my dude I basically kept hearing my song Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico here Puerto Rico there…Jennifer Lopez took it…Everybody would take and go Puerto Rico! So I said you know what I think I’m gonna come back and first of all I gonna win my Spanish people back and that I would never let them down and that I was still here…So we did the remix of Puerto Rico my dude you know what I’m sayin we tried to get other artists and it like my album a lot of Politics and Bullshit you know what I’m sayin is what basically happened with them other artists…And we I got my man Julio Golpio, Lumidee and Joell Ortiz to lay their vocals down and we made it happen…Its playing crazy out here in New York and other parts of the state, its not really hard right now but people are gonna get to hear and within the next month its gonna have a crazy buzz out on the street man…I also got the Mobb Deep joint I did its called : No Other Game” which is getting a lot of underground buzz and that on the new Mobb Deep mixtape Down With The King…

S1: So any advice for young producers coming up in the game?

FC: Basically man just focus…Stay up and try not to take the easy way out …be ambitious and be bold with everything you do…And most importantly save your money as a producer you have to save your money cause it won’t last forever…We trying to take the music back to the park dawg that’s what we trying to do…

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Interviewed by S1 for LegacyMag.Net
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