Since this is a crew album, I tried to involve as much of the crew as possible to make it a team effort. Chace Infinite had never worked with Alchemist either, so when he was in New York I set them up. We also had....With DJ Muggs releasing his brand new Soul Assassin's album Intermission next Tuesday, we had the pleasure of sitting down with the man himself to discuss some select cuts off of his new project. Gangsta Shit
“Gangsta Shit” is a track I started three to four years ago in Texas, playing songs with Bun-B. This one was originally going to be for the next Soul Assassins record. I added a verse from M1 and some more drum sounds and keyboards to make it a full finished song as opposed to a demo.
Classical
This one is produced by Alchemist. I had done a project with Sick Jacken (Legend Of The Mask & The Assassin) and had wanted him to be able to get in the studio with Al, so I got them together for this track. And Evidence is in the studio with Alchemist everyday, they’re like brothers, so I asked him to get a verse from Ev as well, and there it is.
Gunshots
Since this is a crew album, I tried to involve as much of the crew as possible to make it a team effort. Chace Infinite had never worked with Alchemist either, so when he was in New York I set them up. We also had Al rap too because I wanted him to have a verse on the record, and that was it. I got the track the next day, finished mix, ready to go.
Do It
This was a song that I had started for the new La Coka Nostra album, but they weren’t going to use it. So I gave it to DJ Solo to do a remix, and when they heard the beat they really liked it and wanted to use it, but had already used their lyrics for another song. They came in to record some new lyrics, and it ended up being a completely new track instead of a remix.
Good Evening LA
This was a song Chace and Khalil had recorded for the new Self Scientific album. I wanted to make sure I had a track from them on this record because they’re friends and I like their work, and so I asked them “what do you have?” They sent me several tracks, and this is the one I picked. We all know DJ Khalil is one of the hottest producers in hip-hop right now, and he’s another family member, so you know.
Intermission
“Intermission” was pieced together from a rhyme that I had from RZA from three years ago when I did the project with GZA (Grandmasters) that I hadn’t used, and that William Burk track I hadn’t used either. RZA was out of town when I called him about this record, so I said I was going to use this piece and I did. I also got Asia and B-Real on it, and it’s pretty much just straight rhyming over a beat; there’s no hook or anything like that.
Let Go (My Life)
DJ Khalil and I did this track together for the new Cypress album, though B-Real passed on the beat. With Fashawn, I had heard his mixtape and I liked it a lot. He’s an up and coming MC, and I always like to put up and coming guys on the projects, so we got him in to do this track. When we played the beat for him, he said it was great because he had never gotten to work with me, or with Khalil, and now he was working with both of us on the same track. So we just laced it; spent an afternoon working on it, and it was done that night.
Matchbox
Dust is an album I did around 2000/2001. It’s a very atmospheric record, just me experimenting with a lot of sounds and ideas, and I had a lot of material left over that I was saving for another project. So when it came time to do this record, I thought it would fit for the album to give people a taste of something different. That’s actually a demo version that made the final record. We tried recording it in a big studio, but it didn’t sound good polished; I didn’t like it with all the sounds separated and recorded clean. I liked the vibe much better as the 4-track version with the hiss and some grime to it, so that’s what you hear on the record. It has a lo-fi quality to it that I like, kind of the way PJ Harvey does her records.
