Being away from Hip-Hop for a while, did you find the album making process to be a little difficult this time around?

The only thing I felt was difficult was the process of getting beats, cause I spent my career basically with one producer, and it wasn't hard. All I'd do was go in the basement and all my stuff was laid out for me. But now you have to go around and get ya new sound. You have to get someone that not only likes to work with you, but wants to work with you, and knows about your history and knows what you need, to take it to the next level. A lot of producers just love making music and never know how to develop an artist the producers I went to, I very much respected and it was a process of trying to get the project to be successful and I think C.L. can ride off a great project rather then trying to build C.L. up. Let C.L. build himself up and let the producers make what they need to make in order for C.L. to be successful at what he does.

I heard somewhere that there was supposed to be a reunion album in the works between you and Pete Rock. Whatever happened to that situation?

We were supposed to get back but it didn't work out because we had these different views points to what success is to us. Whether your best friends or not, or grew up together or not, when you spend time away from each other, you change, you have different view points, you learn, you grow wiser and if you can't coagulate and you can't understand that, ya not gonna be successful. I've learned that the keys to success are coming together, having a common bond and a common understanding of where you guys need to go in order to be successful. To make a long story short, just be on the same page.

So are you guys gonna get back?

Me, I'm always gonna keep a positive aspect. Right now anything is possible, as long as I stay on a successful scale of what I'm doing, anything is possible. If unsuccessful then that's kind of like a far fetched cry from what I need to accomplish, I don't I can’t look forward to anything else but American Me because this is something I have to prove before I can answer any other questions about returns or reunions.

Being a pure lyricist such as yourself, did you feel any need to simplify your lyrics a little bit since it seems like most of today's audience basically only cares for catchy hooks and nice beats?

I think my success was built on making great music they that I grew up making it and I didn't see any reason to change my formula because I began successful with it, I was successful with it, and I wanted to return successful with it and let people know with the success came a measure of growth and I wanted to give people an opportunity to focus on it and see it and get a chance to be entertained by it. So I didn't see any reason to put pressure on myself and try and be better than when I first started. Continued on page 4 »