The visual artwork of that time period is how I navigate through what I do. That's why I made the Style Wars reference. I only see "Hip-Hop" through those eyes.Count Bass D has spent much of his musical career to the left of the spotlight; that is how he likes to operate though. It becomes evident when you see that his discography spans over fifteen years featuring over twenty releases, he continues to reinvent his sound and that is just not possible for superstar artists. Whether he is dealing with instrumentation, making beats, emceeing, or singing, Count Bass D continues to prove his genius in such a subtle way, he doesn’t seem to notice it himself. This is only the beginning folks.
illRoots: What's up Count?
Count Bass D: What goes on, I was away for a second but I'm back now.
iR: It's all good, I seen your interview on Cosign. The shit you said about not fucking with the industry was dope.
CBD: Thanks. I believe that's the only reason I'm here. Well, we are all in the industry, but I believe people who I attract don't have an "industry" mentality.
iR: I'm still a fan of music, they haven't made me a complete cynic yet.
CBD: That's exactly what I mean too.
iR: During the cosign interview, You also said you don't bump anything new.
CBD: I don't listen to much new music though.
iR: You're a humble dude though, you even hit me up on last.fm. I know artists not even half your status who won't even e-mail.
CBD: I gotta be me. I appreciate the support and I'm not going to act as if I'm bigger than I actually am. If I see you supporting me, you most likely will be acknowledged by me.
iR: I can dig that, I listen to all kinds of shit, but yo do you got some Jazz recommendations? I only have like 20 jazz records.
CBD: Bill Evans. You can't go wrong with ANY Bill Evans records.
iR: Nice. I'm new at the digging and shit, will I be able to find them anywhere? I don't like putting my pirate boots on.
CBD: [Laughs] Yeah, me either. It's tempting, but overwhelming and shallow in the end. that's why I recommend Evans. I wouldn't send you on a wild goose chase so early.
iR: Wild goose chases are fun. Not in Pennsylvania though. I tried to get some records from an ad I seen in the newspaper. I was looking everywhere for the house alone turns out it was Big Band shit and I was too pissed to even cop. I was hoping for some Coltrane or something. I would of took a Bob James even and I see Bob everywhere.CBD: Big Band could take a minute to appreciate. Most people in this generation are introduced to Jazz through Hip Hop and so it's tough to take that in at first. It's wild, because I don't know how to dig in the age of the Internet and all the information it provides. I'm glad I have every record I want already.
iR: I was looking at ads and the internet actually helps. People sell storage units and if you google around a lot of them have records.
CBD: I went to school close to Wilkes-Barre, PA. Where are you located?
iR: I'm in Harrisburg right now. Wilkes-Barre for real? that's actually where I was when I found the big band shit, but I'm from the UPS, so I don't know much about PA yet.
CBD: I haven't really been upstate. I did a concert in New Paltz once, but that's it.
iR: You're not missing too much, Rochester & Buffalo are dope though.
CBD: Oh yeah, I did a concert in Buffalo as well once. It was cold at the time, but I had a great time.
iR: How many tours/concerts do you perform at?
Count Bass D: Relatively little. I record a lot more.
iR: Do you have a lot of unreleased stuff?
CBD: I guess some but not a lot per se. My style of recording helps me end up with something that I want to release in most cases.
iR: Yeah, that's good, because alot of times you hear about artists recording 100 songs for one album. To me, that just doesn't make much sense.
CBD: I've never had an experience like that. There isn't much "guess" work in what I do. I have a lot of unreleased beats maybe, but not complete songs. I admire anyone who can record that much though. In this digital age and how I've seen Tupac's legacy evolve, I think artists like me need to contemplate more activity as opposed to a mere chase of quality. The public doesn't care all that much for batting 1.000 anymore. Just more at bats. There is a place for that mentality & there are many people who benefit from it. If it becomes essential to record that way to survive, I know I won't have a problem. I just choose a different path. Have you ever seen the movie Style Wars? I call it a Cap mentality. MORE!! JUST MORE!!
iR: I haven't seen the whole thing actually.
CBD: Style Wars is a good film though. I'd recommend ownership rather than just seeing it.
iR: Yeah I've been meaning to watch it for years, but I always forget about older movies in favour of new. I really don't try to do that with music, but it happens sometimes.
CBD: I get a lot out of the classics. It's hard for me to spend time on entertainment that hasn't been tested by time. I have my own art for that stimulation.
iR: I don't by any means think that I like new rather than old, but things that I have on my list to get usually get shoved back on accident. Usually in favour of the new things. The way illRoots is ran is probably one main reason why.
CBD: I feel you. I had that happen to me for a long time. I had to scale back marketing opportunities so I wouldn't get caught up. In your business, you have to stay current. In mine, it could be my downfall.
iR: The way we run things. we post everything from new in mainstream to [I hate to use the term, but] the underground.
CBD: It's just words. We are all human but we still say black & white to describe easier. That's just the way I see it. I don't take offense to the labels anymore.
iR: The thing is, we need to label things, because the unknown scares people.
CBD: That's true, but people need to also make sure they keep their fear in check. I'm glad they didn't label Hip Hop as Disco so people would understand it easier. At this rate, we run the rate of never having another musical revolution because people are scared of unknown/new things.
iR: Right now, everything is about the 80's revival. The thing that's scary about that is a lot of the artists think they're doing something brand new.
CBD: By 2010 you'll see it will be a 90's revival. The industries always bite what happened 20 years prior; fashion and everything, It's easy to predict.
iR: Yeah of course. Do you think Jazz will ever get another spotlight or even Soul?CBD: Jazz never had a spotlight. Hip-Hop made more money for Jazz than Jazz itself did on it's own. Soul? There hasn't been real soul music since the 70's. There can only be an R&B revival. I can't think of 5 true soul records released in the 1990's with any large success.
iR: You don't count neo-soul as soul? I'm a fan of D'Angelo myself. A lot of the other guys are straight up biters though.
CBD: Nope. Neo means fake. D'Angelo is the only true soul artist I believe is out there besides Raphael Saadiq. You have to have a gospel foundation to make true soul music. Without a gospel foundation you can only be a biter to me. I like some neo-soul, but I don't think it's true soul. I think that's why so many neo-soul artists hate the term so much.
iR: You would put it as R&B then? because some say R&B is a shit term as well.
CBD: R&B for sure. There is awesome R&B. Teddy Riley to me is the King of the genre, but these days anyone who can hold a tune & can't rap sings over beats and calls it R&B. So the days of true R&B are gone. People are making R&B music for people and they can't play the piano.
iR: I need to listen to more R&B. I mean, at least some stuff. I was never big on New Jack Swing though.
CBD: New Jack Swing was a place in time. You had to be there. That was my high school years so it went hand in hand with Hip Hop to me. If you notice all the James Brown stabs and breakbeats, it just made sense at the time. I understand if this generation doesn't feel it though.
iR: I understand it about as much as I can, but I don't really like when people say they "get it" no matter what music style.
CBD: I feel you. Wait until 2010 or so; All you'll hear is New Jack Swing. Twenty years and everyone will be "getting it". I believe you only begin to grow old when you KNOW what's hip, and choose to say, I DO NOT LIKE IT regardless.
iR: How do you feel about folks who were apart of the early stages of Hip-Hop shunning fans because they don't get it?
CBD: I believe they did what they could, but if they would have defined the genre more, they wouldn't have a problem with people not getting it. They allowed the thing they created to become associated with dance classes at the local shopping mall and whatever else. I feel they should blame themselves for allowing people to do what they wanted with what they created.
iR: For the most part, but some don't have a large hand in it. Such as Phase 2. I've seen him bash fans.
CBD: I feel Phase 2 has the right to bash fans. He's never sold out. So anyone who is attracted to what he does should find out about it before they define it. I only feel that way because I define what I do by studying guys like that. I was speaking more about early "rap" pioneers. The visual artwork of that time period is how I navigate through what I do. That's why I made the Style Wars reference. I only see "Hip-Hop" through those eyes.
iR: Thanks for PART 1 of the interview, Count. For all the readers out there, me and Count Bass will be talking again for a new interview very soon, stay tuned! For more from Count Bass D you can visit his myspace, or even his website.
