DX: Reks’ Grey Hairs had a similar line-up, as far as producers and guest shots. Why do you think Massachusetts artists have gravitated toward the '90s sound so much?
Termanology: Probably because we’re so close to New York, so our sound’s really similar to New York. We’re really only four hours away, three hours if you speed. It’s that east coast sound, man. People forget Guru [click to read] and Big Shug are from Boston, and they’re Gang Starr. So the Gang Starr sound is a big part of the Boston sound. I think that shit will never go away. Even though the new school dudes coming up change with the times, you have shit like that that’s going to stick with the script and stick with the Primo style shit.

DX: Being that this record is themed after so many classics, were you adapting to the times by bringing in so many features? If you look at albums like Ready To Die, Illmatic, or the Gang Starr joints, they don’t have as many guests as you had.
Termanology: I think with the guest thing, it really wasn’t a thing I needed. If you listen to “Watch How It Go Down” and “So Amazing,” the first two singles I had out there, I was all by myself and just smashing the shit. But it was moreso for the excitement. Like, “Alright, cool. I can do a song with Bun B? Or I could not.” So I’m like, “Dog, I’ma do that fucking song with Bun B.” [Laughs] The Alchemist [click to read] joint was two verses I had that were 12s, so they were short. So Dan Green is like, “We could get Prodigy [click to read] on it, so it would be some official Mobb Deep shit.” I’m like, “Aw man, that’s the best idea I ever heard. If you can pull that off, it would be great.” So that was that. And then the “Drugs, Crime and Gorillaz” joint, I just hit one verse on it and I knew I wanted two other people on it that were beasts. So I got Freeway [click to read] on Sheek [Louch] [click to read] on that. But out the 13 tracks, it’s only four with features. The other seven are me by myself, so the bulk is still dolo.

DX: You’re recording this album, and you’ve got beats from Easy Mo Bee, Buckwild, Alchemist…everybody who’s worth getting a beat from, you made it happen. So as you’re knocking these songs out, and as these legends start stacking up, what’s going through your head?
Termanology: It just made me feel like you could do anything you want if you put your mind to it. The idea was all mine from the beginning. I always thought that would be an amazing idea for somebody to make a whole album with just the best producer, so why doesn’t anybody do it? Why doesn’t Nas do it? As a Hip Hop fan, as a little kid, dating back as a little kid to like ’95, ’96. I was like, “Somebody should do an album with Havoc, and Primo, and Pete Rock, and only them.” I always thought about that. What’s wrong with these stupid A&Rs, and label niggas? What the fuck? What’s the big deal? Just grab the tracks and put it together. So I’m like, “You know what? I’ma do that shit!” And everybody’s like, “Yeah right.” Some people would try to talk me out of it. “Don’t do that, because they’re going to put you in a box. They’re going to only look at you as underground.” I’m like, “Underground? Every producer I got is platinum-plus. … So what’s underground about that? And even then, what’s wrong with being underground, if underground is dope?”

As I went through…the first song I did for the whole album was “Baby Please Don’t Go,” so we already had Nottz. The second song was “Watch How It Go Down,” so then we had Premier. I bumped into Pete Rock, and he recognized me from the Premier song, so I got him. Then I got Buckwild. Little by little, once I had them, I’d bring them up to the next cat. Like, “I already got this dude.” They’re like, “Word? Then I’ll definitely be a part of that.” All the way up to the last beat I got on the album, which was the Havoc beat, because he was already signed to Nature Sounds. I’m like, “Word. I accomplished what I’m trying to do.”