DX: You’ve also performed with Eminem. How is working with Eminem different from working with Nas?
DJ Green Lantern: Really similar! [Laughs] Very similar, dog. They’re both real cool and down to earth dudes. Sit on the bus and crack jokes and watch DVDs. They’re just regular people. They’re very similar.

DX: You have your own radio show on the new Grand Theft Auto game. What was that whole experience like for you?
DJ Green Lantern: It was kind of crazy. It was definitely some responsibility put into it, because I had to produce the whole radio show. I had to make all the music that I play. Every other radio show on the video game—if you’re familiar with the video game, you know that you get in the car and listen to the radio, and there’s “x” amount of radio stations with “x” amount of radio shows. The whole radio show that I was on, I had to go get the artists, make the songs, produce the songs, mix all the songs, and then be the deejay and play it and make it all exciting and hype for radio. Which is a little bit of work, but that’s what I do anyway. But now this is on a corporate level. So there’s a definite responsibility to make sure all T’s are crossed and I’s are dotted as far as legalities and things like that. But I’m glad I did it, because it’s getting views based on what it is, which is a very aggressive set of songs on a very aggressive video game. So I think I did my job.

DX: Is this your first project where you’ve produced everything at once like that?
DJ Green Lantern: You know what? I think it is. I know definitely as far as in the video game and in a corporate sense as well, definitely. Other stuff is mixtapes, but nothing on that scale.

DX: Along with the obvious perks of more exposure, what about the royalties for cats like MC Lyte and Brand Nubian who are on Primo’s show? Where do royalties for these other cats play in with the game’s sales being so high?
DJ Green Lantern: I mean, honestly, I would rather not go into details on stuff like that. But what somebody may be getting might not be what somebody else may be getting. So I don’t talk numbers like that. ‘Cause I can tell I’ma start getting some phone calls. “You leave those numbers alone, man!”

DX: You’ve also been working with Uncle Murda. How did Jay-Z leaving Def Jam affect Murda’s situation?
DJ Green Lantern: Not too much, man. [Jay-Z] [click to read] has been involved with the project. He keeps up on the work on a regular basis, and has been checking in. He’s definitely still on board with everything.

DX: Is there a tentative release date for his album yet?
DJ Green Lantern: There are a few dates being thrown around, but they’re not solid yet, so I can’t throw it out there yet.

DX: So what else are you working on? You’ve got the Nas tour, the Nas mixtape, Uncle Murda. Anything else you’ve got going?
DJ Green Lantern: Yeah. I’m actually working on the Barack Obama Mixtape; I got caught up doing the Nas [The Nigger Tape] [click to listen] and the tour a little bit, so that should be wrapping up pretty soon. There’s a bunch of songs on that I made exclusive: like the “Black President” remix is on there, a crazy joint with Styles P [click to read] and Cassidy [click to read] is on there, a bunch of crazy records that I made. I’m also working on this mixtape/album with dead prez right now. That’ll probably be released commercially, like the Immortal Technique [click to read] project was, The 3rd World [click to read]. That was released in the stores, ‘cause technically it’s a mixtape, but there’s still a barcode on it. So that’s what that’s looking like. Also, a project with Jay Electronica, that project is called The Wrath of the Staff. The project with dead prez is called Post to the People. Those both will be commercial releases. So you can really look forward to Green Lantern. The next step is, as I do these mixtapes, people say, “Damn son, that should be released in the store!” The more and more artists are independent, the easier it is for us to put forth a project we can sell with a barcode on it. If there’s no major label constraint on them, we can put it in the store. We’ve got to stay away from samples, and rocking over other peoples’ beats, but that doesn’t take away from the music at all. I’m still going to put my all into it.

DX: Where did the idea of the Barack Obama Mixtape come from, and what can we expect from it?
DJ Green Lantern: I know Russell [Simmons] e-mailed me one day and said he was throwing his hat in the ring for Obama. I’m like, “Alright, well what can I do? … How about make a mixtape?” I started calling people; I got some responses, and I got some non-responses. Some of the non-responses were a little surprising, but I’m rocking with the responses. So I made a bunch of records, and I’m still sort of fine-tuning it, because it’s a big deal. I think it’s a statement that needs to be made for our generation. Continued on page 3 »