DX: Switching gears again, going back to the new album, you said Keith may or may not be on there, but what about other members of the Squad like Das EFX?
ES: No Das. A Hit Squad album [under the new combination Hit Squad/Def Squad moniker “The Squadron”] might be something that we might try to do though. But now Dre and Skoob are having some troubles, so…

DX: What about K-Solo? What the fuck actually happened between you guys and him? He was whylin on both of you in the last interview we did with him.
ES: Yeah, Solo’s retarded. No question about that – not to talk about nobody, but… Murray and them beat him up so bad. And he’s still going! That’s the sad part. But then he’ll contradict himself and say, “Yo, I still got love for E.” Like, I don’t understand. See, that right there you know somebody is either crazy or just bi-polar. But we haven’t seen Solo since he got beat up. I wasn’t there when Murray did that, so I haven’t seen Solo in I don’t know how many years. But when you don’t have nothing, you reach. Nobody’s gonna just give him no type of light. Nobody cares. If he was making some records, or doing something current, somebody might say something. But he’s not even doing nothing. You just having interviews with no music.

DX: You mentioned earlier about grooming a new squad of emcees like Vic Damone, so are there any other new artists that you’re working with?
ES: I got this kid named Tre from D.C. And I got my son. He’s nice as hell now. He’s 17. His name is Ryze. I know this is kinda biased, ‘cause it’s his dad saying this, but the kid is crazy! And I mean he gives it to you. He’s a great songwriter, a great chorus maker. Basically he’s like a protégé of Vic Damone. And so the stuff I hear him say I be shocked myself sometimes like, “Damn, I don’t know where you got that from.”

DX: He’s gonna be on the [EPMD] album?
ES: I would, but I’m not gonna piggyback him like that. I’ll wait till Vic Damone take him - he’s on Vic’s CD – and then hopefully I’ll be able to get something poppin’ that way. And if not, then I’ll build him. He’s got maybe like 18 songs. He’s ready to go. But you know how this game is, and he refuses to be something else besides Hip Hop. He loves the shit that people are doing [currently], but he likes to rhyme. And he was like, “Yo dad, if I can’t spit me I’m not gonna try to go in that way.”

That same type of sound [that’s popular right now] - that same clap, the same rappers, the same content…And not being no hater, but this can’t be fun. This can’t be exciting. I don’t care what anybody says. Deejays have to be getting paid money [to play these records]. In fact, I know they do ‘cause I spoke to some of ‘em. They do what they have to do to get paid, but they don’t like it.

DX: Are you seriously suggesting that “Get Silly” didn’t organically grow to become the #1 Hip Hop song in the country? [Laughs]
ES: This is what I’m saying. These kids in corporate America at the labels, this is what they pushing: music for tweens seven-to-12-year-olds, and teens 12-to-17-year-olds. But I don’t worry about them people. I’m worried about people like me, 25 to 45-year-olds who still like Hip Hop but who don’t have nobody to buy. I’m not coming out trying to recapture [my past]. And I don’t need the money. All I’m doing is making good music. And once you make some good music, it shuts everybody up. It shuts the critics up. It shuts up the haters. Everybody is forced to be like, “Oh shit, it’s actually a dope record.”

I look at Madonna at 49-years-old. I look at Jay-Z [click to read] signing that new contract at almost 40. Like, if you still can do it, then do it. We the only race that has [the label] “old school.” They don’t say “old school Madonna,” “old school U2,” “old school Metallica.” Only we do that. When they drop albums they just come out. So I’m not gonna have anybody in Hip Hop put me under because you’re thinking I’m old school. No, I’m an icon. I’m retro – that’s my new shit.