His multisyllabic style has influenced even legendary emcees (see: Eminem’s onetime AZ-esque flow on 1996’s “Infinite”), and his cocksure cool delivery and demeanor may have arguably been more influential to the New York Hip Hop scene over the past dozen or so years than the swagger of any of his rotten apple rap peers. There’s no need to debate his worth, what AZ has brought to the game is simply undeniable.
While he might not have ever been able to enjoy the commercial success of Biggie and Jay-Z, the fellow Brooklynites he sat at the table with in ’95 as a respected equal in Jay’s “Dead Presidents” video, he is deserved of the same respect.

Unfortunately, rap fans read Soundscan, and the perception they form from it of who’s hot and who’s not becomes the reality artists must reside in. And although his debut single, 1995’s “Sugar Hill” went gold, the classic album it was featured on, Doe Or Die, inexplicably failed to net a plaque, and therefore the light shining on AZ’s commercial career grew dimmer with each subsequent release. While his next three solo efforts (1998’s Pieces of a Man, 2001’s 9 Lives, and 2002’s Aziatic) all came close to going gold, save for 1997’s group effort with Nas, Foxy Brown and Nature, The Firm: The Album, AZ has essentially remained off of mainstream rap’s radar for a decade.

Thankfully, for fans of one “Rather Unique” emcee, AZ hasn’t given up and called it quits simply because he never attained the same chart positions of B.I.G. or Jay, or even Nas, the man who introduced AZ The Visualiza to the masses on 1994’s classic collabo, “Life’s A Bitch.” Instead, Anthony Cruz has soldiered on, destined to leave a lasting legacy of great music behind. A legacy he will continue adding onto in March with the release of his seventh solo effort, Undeniable [click here to listen to album sampler]. And in a surprisingly candid conversation with HipHopDX, AZ explains why he must establish his own musical legacy without the assistance of his onetime partner-in-rhyme, how he may have some competition on the mic emerging in his own family, and most importantly why he’ll never, never, never, stop giving us that “Uncut Raw.”

HipHopDX: My first question for you is actually a question Nas posed at a recent performance in New York, “Where’s AZ at?” So, where has the Visualiza been at?
AZ: Well, just trying to figure the game out. You know I been in the game for a minute. As you get a little older in the game, you learn a little more about the business. So I was just trying to get my business tight, ‘cause I made that transition from major to independent. I been dealing with Koch since A.W.O.L. in ’05, and that was the transition from major to independent. I had my problems with majors, from EMI to Virgin to Motown, and I just made the transition to being my own boss and I just been figuring it all out. So, that’s basically it, I been trying to master my craft, the business side and the art side.

DX: I don’t know if I’m overstepping my bounds by asking this, but are you and Nas not in regular contact? Is he really unable to find you?
AZ: [Laughs]. Listen, he’s on a cloud. He’s the one chillin’. He got the better hand, so when you got the better hand you always can reach out and reach back, and make a certain move. So, I’m accessible whenever, but at the end of the day he doin’ him and I’m doin’ me right now. We had that chance to do that Batman and Robin thing, but I feel like that time has passed. That’s my perspective, I don’t know about the fans and how he feel. I just feel that time has passed, ‘cause that window was open and we ain’t really go through it. So, now I gotta plant my feet into the legacy of Hip Hop and get my story out there. And that’s basically what this album is about. Like, I’m not saying that any of my other albums been denied, but all I’m saying is on Undeniable, I’m touching on all aspects and speaking my mind. I’m just doing me. I’m trying to get my own light, so when it’s said and done I made my mark in Hip Hop, not because, Oh, what happened to you and Nas, or under that shadow.

DX: Didn’t you guys just do a track together for Undeniable though?
AZ: No, sir.

DX: There’s a phony tracklisting out there I guess then. It’s got a track called “Visions of Gandhi” that you guys supposedly did together.
AZ: Me and Nas have not recorded a record together since… Me and Nas have not been in the studio for a while. Like I said, I would always love to get in the studio with him because it’s magic. I would love it, but once you get to a certain level, business starts playing a part and then other things start playing on the psyche of man, once they get caught up in certain zones or go through certain chambers. So, like I said, if the opportunity positions itself, I’m here. And if it’s the right situation, I’m here. But other than that, I’m a man and he’s a man, and I’m gonna get respected as one. That’s how I’ma die, respected as a man.

DX: Let’s go back to Undeniable, tell our readers what they should expect from AZ this go-round.
AZ: Aww man, AZ get better with time like wine. I don’t lose it because I stay grounded. I don’t get mixed up in a lot of bullshit that go on out in the world, not even just the music business but the streets I came from. I try to stay grounded and deal with family and day-one peoples. And [this album] is just my story. Like, all my albums were episodes or chapters, and this one is that autobiography.

DX: And just for clarification, since there’s some phony information out there, who all you got laying down beats on the album?
AZ: I got my man [Lil] Fame from M.O.P. He must’ve been [studying] under Primo, because his beats are serious. I got Street Radio bringing that street sound to the table. I got Emile, he did a lot of Ghost’s tracks. They each got about three tracks a piece.

DX: No Primo?
AZ: No Primo right now. It’s not a bad thing. We gotta skip an album every now and then so they can learn to appreciate Primo. He was on the last two joints that I did [2005’s A.W.O.L. and 2006’s The Format], which was a good look, and I would love to work with Primo [again] ‘cause he’s Hip Hop. But, I don’t think my fans are gonna miss that because this is one of them albums where you get into AZ. It ain’t even all about the production, even though the production is serious, this [album] is more about understanding my story.

DX: I love the beats I heard on the album sampler. You always know how to pick them ‘80’s R&B vibe tracks but with a modern twist to ‘em.
AZ: Right, which works for me. Everything don’t work for everybody. It works for me and helps me get my story across.

DX: I thought I read somewhere that you were grooming a new artist, is he on the album?
AZ: I didn’t get him on the album yet. I didn’t even hand the album in all the way yet, so he might jump on it. [His name is] StarKim. But if we throw that name out there I just wanna be sure that a few other names get out there like Y.G. [Young God], Fresh, and my man Animal. I just wanna keep those names out there because however it goes down them my peoples. It’s one dream, one team.

DX: So is Quiet Money as a label still in effect?
AZ: Yes, sir.

DX: You looking to do anything beyond this AZ project to get them names out there more?
AZ: Oh, no doubt. We gonna mixtape it to death, see who the crowd gravitate towards and go with that person. We just gonna try to get everybody out there. That’s my main thing is to let other people shine.

DX: Would you ever take them, or yourself, to a major label? It kinda sounds like you’re way past that, but would you ever go back to a major?
AZ: I mean, if it’s the right situation, if I could go to a major where we in business together, not me under somebody.

DX: And how many more indie AZ albums you think we gonna get? Do you ever think about the day you’re not gonna be doing this no more?
AZ: [Laughs]. I thought about it a couple times, but I get stronger the longer I go, and that’s the truth. I sit back and I say, "Damn, you know what, as time go on I start loving my music more and more myself." And so at the end of the day, I don’t think I ever really wanna stop. But, like I said, I’m my own boss and I’m not contractually under nothing and so I can always say, "Fuck it," and chill, or put out three or four albums a year if I want to.

DX: [Starts rappin’ lyrics from “The Game Don’t Stop” off Undeniable] The game don’t stop/‘Til the player get knocked/Or the shit flip flop and you sittin’ on top.
AZ: Ya dig! That’s the anthem for ’08. The game never stops, either you under the bus and someone else is filling your spot, or you on top of things and calling the shots.

DX: So outside of AZ solo albums, we gonna ever see any more collabo albums, maybe another Firm project?
AZ: Paul, I’ma be honest.

DX: It’s been a minute.
AZ: It’s been a minute, and I’m open to a lot of things because I feel we all grown now. So if The Firm present itself, I am here. If the Nas situation presents itself, I am here. As long as everything is real, and no games or no shadiness [is going on], I’m good money. I’m gonna hold it down.

DX: Have you spoken or written to Foxy since she’s been locked down?
AZ: I wanna go see her. I did a song on her [upcoming] album. I don’t know if she heard it or not yet, but I did a song on her album that hopefully makes the album. I’m looking forward to seeing her, ‘cause at the end of the day, even outside of music we all peoples, we A-alikes.

DX: It’s ironic to me, and maybe it shouldn’t be, that based on his sometimes strained relationship with Nas that you and Cormega would have a working relationship. You guys recently collaborated for Statik Selektah’s album, so can we expect more ‘Mega and AZ records to follow?
AZ: I know ‘Mega’s doing him. There’s no qualms [to working together again] over here. We can work, the door’s always open. I put it like this, I don’t look forward to anything, but when the situations present themselves that’s when I’m open for ‘em. I’m never bitter or salty about nothing, ‘cause I’m a man and there’s too much energy for that. I just never try to premeditate anything. That’s what angle I’m speaking from, it’s like whatever. I don’t look forward towards anything, but if it presents itself and it’s a good look, let’s get it poppin’. If it’s not a good look, love is always love.

DX: I wanna switch gears here and ask you about a few verses you spit on the new album, the first being from the title-track, “I’m a decade in, from my borough/Way wicked than Wes Craven/Then again, certain things I could never do.” What things were you speaking on?
AZ: [Laughs] Just certain things, a lot of sucka shit that goes on. Like, I can’t shit on my peoples. And I’m talking about my real peoples, not somebody like, Oh, that’s my man from high school. And, if I’m gonna do the crime I’m gonna do the time. That’s the type of person I am. There’s just certain things I’d never do, go out the back door on somebody, I’m not a thief. I don’t steal. I don’t take. There’s just certain principles I stand by. And there’s just certain things that I would never do that would equate to a crab level because that’s not in my nature. You ain’t gotta worry about me doing none of that sucka shit.

DX: I thought maybe you were referring to moves in this music business?
AZ: Including that. When I speak it’s all of the above. It’s hard to differentiate the streets from the music business because the same type of people exist in both. They’re mirror reflections of each other.

DX: Now this next bar is from “Superstar,” which is like my favorite track on the Undeniable sampler, “I was told they want the old God back, I’m here.” Do you feel you strayed from the AZ of old?
AZ: We grow, but yeah, I strayed a little bit from keeping it raw, keeping it one hunnid. But I’m here now.

DX: On “The Game Don’t Stop” did I understand the story you were telling correctly, your seed made you walk away from the game at 19?
AZ: That made me walk away from the street game. I left the streets and embraced the music business.

DX: So is there an AZ Jr.?
AZ: [Laughs] Yeah, I got a son. I got two sons actually.

DX: They found their way to a microphone yet?
AZ: I think my oldest one trying to work towards it, so we’ll see what comes out of it.

DX: Word. Hey, put him on the album.
AZ: I know, right, see what he do. We might gotta experiment with that.

DX: He got a rap name?
AZ: He calls himself Lil AZ. He gotta find his own attribute. That’s what I’m always trying to tell him, Be you. But for now he’s Lil AZ.

DX: We’re in this new era, man, where it’s really like second, third generation and we’re gonna see if the next generation can do anything with it.
AZ: Can they? I wanna see it. I wanna see some substance brought to the table. We know what it is, we know music comes in all different forms, but when we grew up it was substance and it helped sculpt us into the people we are. So with this second and third generation I wanna see what they bring to the table, because it’s experience that’s the best teacher. This new generation isn’t experiencing what we went through, so it’s hard to forecast what’s gonna come from them musically.

DX: Some of the second generation of rappers get it, like Peter Gunz son Cory Gunz, but they don’t get heard unfortunately.
AZ: You right. I like him too, I like Cory Gunz.

DX: Now I got a few questions here about stuff you spit on “Life On The Line,” the first being were you referring to L.L. Cool J when you said, “Rap well, since ‘Sugar Hill,’ homie ask L?”
AZ: No, the L was for L.E.S., who produced “Life’s A Bitch” and “Sugar Hill.”

DX: The next verse from that song I wanna ask you about is, “I’m still rhyming/I’m surviving on tour, with them war wounds on me/Y’all dudes so corny, cowards.” Who are the cornballs you’re referring to?
AZ: [Laughs]. Just the muthafuckas that ain’t letting me in the game, that’s all. Let me in. Let’s stop the blackballing and the hating and just let me in. It is the music business and with business you got your positives and you got your negatives. There’s certain people in power that can make certain things happen or not happen, ya dig what I’m saying? So, c’mon, let’s play fair instead of saying, Well, I’ma lock radio down and make sure nobody else shit get played. Only play these artists, don’t play these artists.

DX: Now this final line from “Life On The Line” I gotta ask you about is a pretty obvious one, “Nas got rich and reached back, I ain’t rich yet.” Can you elaborate on what you were saying there?
AZ: It’s like this, like I said I got sons and they listen to Hip Hop and they hearing all of this beefin’ going on, like with 50. And he hears me on Nas’ album and is like, “What’s up with y’all? Y’all not doing no more music?”

DX: He’s interviewing you before I even get to you.
AZ: Ya dig what I’m sayin’! And I’m like, “Nah, he’s doing him now.” I’m trying to explain it to him, and he’s like, “So, are you gonna start a beef with Nas? Like, that’s how you can sell records.” He’s thinking that’s the way to sell records. And I’m saying, “No, you gotta be successful based on your own merit. He got rich and reached back, I ain’t rich yet and you see me still doing what I’m doing. Be a man.” And if I can reach him like that, [I can reach] everybody else that’s coming into the game thinking that’s the way it is. Like, No, you ain’t gotta do that to sell records. Show your talent to sell records. Be a man. And I know a lot of brothers will take that [verse] and misconstrue it. “Nas got rich and reached back, I ain’t rich yet,” like, Oh, the muthafucka just said fuck Nas. But that’s not gonna stop me. I know the world want us to go to war. What you think, Paul, they want us to go to war?

DX: Nah, we want more “[The] Esscence,” more “The Flyest.”
AZ: You a good brother, because you know somebody reading this gonna be like, "Nah, fuck that."

DX: What would be the point?
AZ: There’s no point, that’s what I’m trying to show to the younger fans. He got rich and reached back, I ain’t rich yet, meaning I’m still doing me and I’m still being successful, y’all can do the same. Altercation is not always the answer to everything.

DX: Well the final couple bars I wanna ask you about are in regards to this line from “Now I Know,” “Few regrets, breathe through the youth/I’ma seasoned vet, I need no excuse.” What did you mean when you said “I need no excuse?”
AZ: Meaning I’m doing me, and that’s what it is. Everybody ask, “Why you not selling this? Why you not doing this?” And once again it goes back to just, “Why you ain’t going at Nas?” Or, “If him and Jay went through that and got over it, whatever the bullshit you and him going through, c’mon with you fuckin’ guys.” Everybody got something to say, and I’m like, "Man, fuck it, it is what it is." I got no regrets over what happened or what’s going on now, and I need no excuse to explain to everybody what’s going on. Just give me my lane and let me do me.