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The Guru & Solar Interview
Mike V, Guru & Solar
Guru and Solar: The State of Hip Hop
Whether rocking a beat with DJ Premier or collaborating with Solar Guru still brings the flavor to the tracks and thats what helps make him one of hip hop’s elite lyricists. With the new release of Jazzamatz Vol. 4 coming out Solar and Guru are poised to deliver what the game’s been missing, some jazz mixed with hip hop. The duo recently kicked with Mike V and this is what was said:
Mike V: What’s Good Guru, You've been a busy man this year; tell the Legacy readers what’s poppin fam?
Guru: What’s poppin? It's that 7 Grand, got the new album coming out Jazzamatazz 4…The hip hop messenger back to the future some of my best work ever…16 banging tracks produced by the super producer Solar…Something that everybody should be in tune with…
Mike V: Please explain how the collaboration began between Guru and the super producer Solar?
Guru: The collaboration between myself and Solar started after we were introduced by a mutual friend about 6 years ago…Then we after 2 years of being friends and hanging out we started talking about doing music together and once I heard his tracks I was blown away…Then we started putting the label together 7 Grand Records starting in like 2004 putting together…Then we put out our first record in 2005 Guru Version 7.0 the Street Scriptures and sold over 100,000 of those plus worldwide on a very small independent distribution network but that enabled us to get the bigger worldwide deal we have now for Jazzamatazz 4 and for 7 Grand…Now it’s all about your favorite rapper linked with the hottest new producer in the game on the next level right now, some of my best work ever, probably my best work ever…The best Jazzamatazz!!! And for those that don’t know check it out!!!
Mike V: What’s good Solar? Tell the Legacy readers who or what inspired you to create such crazy beats as you do?
Solar: Well being born and raised in New York on hip hop I’ve always been the biggest hip hop fan of all the pioneers, Flash, to Herc, Theodore you know what I mean and then seeing that evolution go from DJ to producer you know what I mean…The earlier producers that came out on the scene were an inspiration…And the ones that came first I tend to pay a lot of attention to and of course I appreciate the ones that came after the Pete Rocks, the Rza’s, Marley Marls and all the great producers out of New York and whether they came originally from New York or transplanted or what have you…So I build and born on that on that scenario of I’m gonna rep where I’m from you know and as much as admire music from other places, my ability to bring forth a futuristic sound and stamp it with a New York signature and bring a new style to the game is what inspires me and pushes me the most and at the root of that is New York hip hop…
Mike V: Speak on your recent success?
Solar: Success…The term is relative but to me I’m in the grind, I’m deep in the grind…I appreciate the artist of certain caliber step up but at the same time I do look towards those new artists and see what they doing…So I’m gonna take it like it’s a good thing, success is necessary and I’ll equate success with elevation I see that as constant and always necessary…
Mike V: Talk to us about your Label Seven Grand Records? Congrats...
Guru: Seven Grand Records is the new label to watch you know…It’s all about putting a better face on New York, East Coast Hip Hop…It’s all about being at the forefront of change of necessary positive change that’s happening right now in hip hop…So we are the catalyst right now…We are the ones helping to create that change…Seven Grand is essential to the growth of hip hop…
Mike V: Who are some artists that will be on it?
Guru: Seven Grand records is made up of myself as the first artist Guru…Of course we have Solar, he has an album coming out soon some of ya’ll don’t know that he spits but you will know…Then we got K-Born and High Powered from Philly and of course we got DJ Doo Woop working on a mix cd album and a few more things to come so stayed tuned definitely…We got documentaries, films all kinds of things…
Mike V: Being a rap legend, how do you manage to stay tight with your rhymes and on top of your shit?
Guru: For me it’s all about livin you know…Rhyming is about what you living…You got to be able to express what you going through, how you see things…I got a certain repertoire that I deal with I got rhymes, freestyle rhymes, battle rhymes…I got rhymes about society…I got rhymes about the industry…I got rhymes about relationships, whatever…I got a repertoire and I just build on that, but the beats inspire me and now that I’m working with Solar his beats are pushing me to a whole different level…That’s what its about keeping things fresh, evolving, reinventing and re-creating…
Mike V: Where do you think the state of hip hop is at?
Guru: The state of hip hop is need of a change…That’s why I was speaking on Seven Grand as being the catalyst for that change…Right now the audience is being force fed a certain type of hip hop and that’s not the only hip hop that’s out there…So there needs to be more opportunities to hear other forms of hip hop, that’s what its all about…If you want to access us you could check us out at myspace.com/gurusevengrand and Guru’s Jazzamatazz.net…
Mike V: What challenges did you have working on Jazzmatazz vol.4?
Solar: The biggest challenge was to first believe that I could do it…I never really like part 2 or part 3 anything and I pretty much found that part 2 and 3 was corny so part 4 was definitely pushing the envelope…Really the hardest part was finding the inspiration to come up with a unique vision so that the franchise could be re-invigorated, resparked, regenerated…
Mike V: So any last words any words of advice to the catz out there?
Solar: Yeah man of course…First of all big shout to all my dudes pounding away on your drum machines and shit no matter what it be, working with your computers…My advice to all you catz is that don’t chase what the next man is doing, stay true to yourself, true to your vision and don’t let the bullshit control you man, you know what I mean…Its more to life then chains and big butts and all we doing is reducing ourselves down to an animalistic stage…Look at me see how I’m reppin mine use intelligence and put your mind first, put your spirit right, get your whole situation in a disciplined orderly fashion you know what I mean…People look to the youth…If they see the youth breakdown into degeneracy then what do you think the future is ? You have no future if you do that…You give your future up…
Mike V: Thank you for the interview and your time…Good luck with Seven Grand Records and I wish you much success…
Legacymag.Net Exclusive
Interviewed by Mike V for LegacyMag.Net
LEGACY Exclusivez
LegacyMag.Net
Nothing But the Best!!!! That'z our WERD!!!!!
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