There’s a stigma that if it ain’t about the paper, rappers don’t do shit. Every rapper on [Untold Scriptures] [click to read] did it out of love, out of respect. We all ride together. I can call Joe Budden and just poly with him, the same thing with Crooked I, Grafh. We all know the odds are stacked against us. I think I represent the new class in general.

DX: You mentioned Joell. This month we have it confirmed that America’s ready for a black president. Do you think Hip Hop is ready for a Latin superstar. Certainly, we’ve seen that with Cypress Hill, Big Pun and Fat Joe, but they’ve never been credited as thee best.
NB: I think Hip Hop’s ready for it. I think a lot of Hip Hop doesn’t look at Joell as a Latin emcee. Even though he was signed with Aftermath, he didn’t get an Aftermath push. We don’t know if they’re ready right now. Joell Ortiz has been widely accepted through the realm that he’s been exposed to. He hasn’t been exposed to the major MTV crowd and whatnot, but for what he’s done, dropping under Koch and appearing on a lot of underground shit, people have accepted him. Yeah, you’ll hear the Latin stuff – the Pun comparisons on records like “Brooklyn Bullshit.” People were ready for Eminem, I don’t know how they’re not gonna be ready for a Latin emcee. I don’t look at Nas a “black rapper.” If somebody told me Jay-Z [click to read] was half-white, I wouldn’t be like, “Aw man.” It is what it is. I don’t look at race. We didn’t get our chance yet.

DX: You’ve positioned yourself between underground and mainstream. I can see you going to a major, or perhaps doing something similar to what Termanology or Joe Budden do. How careful have you been in your career to ride that middle?
NB: I don’t knows if I’ve been careful. The main thing with me is I’m really just trying to be true to myself, keep doing the music I’m doing, and I really just want creative control. I don’t care what the label is. As long as they believe in my vision, and give me creative control, I’m willing to work with them. If not, I’m happy to stay where I’m at right now. I feel like I’m marketable and can be accepted in the mainstream, yeah, but that’s not up to me. I don’t have one million dollars. I don’t have the resources to get on MTV, BET and these major radio stations. I just be myself. When I did Untold Scriptures, for instance, I didn’t glorify selling drugs on “Means of Survival.” I’m saying, “get the fuck out the hood.” I’m saying things that a lot of dudes ain’t sayin’. I’m not telling people to sell drugs to be rims, jewelry and whatnot. I’m being true to myself, and trying to be lyrical.

DX: Being of that late ‘90s class, what does storytelling mean to you and your work?
NB: You can drop jewels all day, in a number of different rhymes. But when you tell a story, you’re painting a picture for them. It’s more descriptive and elaborate for the listener. People understand what you do a lot more ‘cause there’s no disguise. “Cause of Influence,” [click to listen] it did exactly what it was supposed to do. It’s about a kid from the ‘burbs getting influenced by a Hip Hop record, and ended up taking it too far, and an innocent female ended up getting shot and passed away due to this dude’s ignorance. You can debate it from whatever angle you want to debate it from, but I guess when I tell a story, I guess it gets the message across so much clearer.

DX: How much went into “Third Degree”[click to listen]?
NB: A lot. To be honest with you, back in the days, the art of the feature was a little more sacred. When you heard Mobb Deep collaborating with Nas [on “Eye For An Eye”], these records were put together with a purpose. They weren’t just, “Yo, can you hop on this record ‘cause I need your name to appeal to your fan-base?” “Third Degree” did take effort, ‘cause we wanted to make sure that the order was right. We wanted to make sure that everybody came off and did their thing. Everybody who rapped on that record heard what the person did prior to them, so we wanted to make sure that the record had some continuity. That’s important, ‘cause if you’re gonna put a record out with [Saigon, Crooked I, Scram Jones] on it, make it worthwhile, make it last, make a statement with it. It’s hard, ‘cause a lot of people’s schedules are a little different, but it’s a testament to a dude like Saigon, because he didn’t have to do that record. He just did a record ["C’mon Baby remix"[click to listen]] with Jay-Z half a year ago; he didn’t have to do a song with Nino Bless. But he said, “Fuck that, I want to be a part of a record with real lyricists on it.” Crooked as well. Continued on page 3 »