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MC BREED, Nov. 4, 1995

Five albums in five years and one greatest hits album have placed M.C. Breed at the top of the rap game when it comes to stability. One of the first to represent the Midwest, the Flint, Michigan, native has big plans for '96, with a new record deal and another new album on the way. We caught up with the Big Baller at the hip-hop spot in Chicago, George's Music Room, where he was promoting his Best of Breed album. Later on that night he did a show downtown at the Hyatt Regency, performing a mix of his new and old and even giving the crowd a samplin' from the nine-six.

What brings you to Chicago this time around?

"Well, you know, I'm just doin' some promotional spots right now for the radio. I definitely had to stop by George's Music, you know what I mean? I'm just out here promotin' this Best of Breed album right now. I got a few other things that I'm workin' on, like other groups, you know? I'm doin' some work with Sermon and Too Short."

So is that gonna be on you album or is it gonna be on theirs?

"Right now, I'm workin' on other albums. My album, it'll be together by January most likely. I'm pretty much focusin' on networking with everybody right now."

What made you decide to go ahead and do the Best of Breed? It was about that time?

"It was a mixture of both, you know? It was about that time, and I was signed to four different labels, so it was time to get off that label, too. That was just an album to show that this is over, and gave it to 'em like a gift."

What label are you going to be signed to now?

"I'm stickin' with Ichiban."

So what labels are you getting rid of?

"Power Artist and SDEG."

The cuts on the Best of Breed -- is that stuff that you picked, or is it stuff that the record company picked?

"I'mma tell you, the remixes that's on there, other than 'Game for Life', I didn't choose 'em. 'Teach My Kids', sh-- like that, I didn't. That was a good-ass song, but it was good original, without the remix. But, a lot of people that come up to me are lovin' it. So it's different vibes for different people, you know what I mean? I picked cuts like 'Tight' and 'Gotta Get Mine'. I picked the real ones that people was listenin' to. Outta five albums you would expect more than ten songs to be some hits. Everybody don't work that way. It's only like a chosen few out there that's really puttin' together a hit album. You can get hits off your album, but a hit album is what people are lookin' for, from the intro to the outro. If it's the bomb, they gonna get it. That's what I'm fittin' to give 'em in '96, though. A lot of dedication. We talkin' about production from myself; 80 percent of it's gonna be like Breed doin' the beats and hirin' people to do my basslines for me. Erick Sermon. You know once I touch the guy that's got six singles on the market right now... Once he puts his hands on me it's gonna be like a resurrection. Just like with the George Clinton thing. I just rapped on George Clinton's new single, and it'll be comin' out soon. I'm just networkin' with everybody. Gettin' them to come back and f--- with me on my album is what's gonna make my '96 sh-- even better, you know what I'm sayin'? That's all I'm lookin' forward to. I look forward to makin' that loot off of all that sh--, but then, I'm waitin' to do mine."

Are you in the studio right now?

"I've got my own studio, too, so it's like I never stop. I've got groups that are so tight, that their sh-- is like nine months old right now -- to us it's dead -- but, if I play it for you, I know what you'll be thinkin'. You'll be like, 'Man, when in the hell is this comin' out?' So many people wanna put their hands on 'em, but it's just that right now, they need to be given the fruit so that they can know what's goin' on out here. Once they eat and get their stomachs full, they can be alright, they ain't gotta be hungry for nothin'. That's what I'm pretty much doin' with 'em. I'm takin' 'em through this little Breed school, man. Cause five years of workin' with the people I work with, you see the ups, you see the downs, and there's a lot of potholes in the road."

What was it like workin' with 2Pac?

"Pac got love for who he wanna have love for, you know what I'm sayin'? When he showed love on that song ['Gotta Get Mine'], it wasn't the only song he showed love on. He also did another song called 'Survivin'' that Interscope, the same company that wouldn't go get him outta jail, didn't approve to let it go out even. And you know once me and 2Pac got together on 'Gotta Get Mine' and we do that type of sh-- again, it's on. We gonna sell every time."

So what do you think about his move to Death Row?

"It was the best move in the world. You're talkin' about the legendary Suge Knight and the legendary 2Pac. Both n----- ain't takin' nothin'. That ain't no bullsh--. On the same note, there's so much conspiracy in between our own people that's trying to keep everybody held down. Talkin' about so and so, and drawin' up their little plans to make money. That sh-- don't work. It's either gettin' down with 'em or you're not down with 'em, and 2Pac and Suge Knight must be down for each other. I got love for that situation, too, though. On the real. I wanna see what's gonna happen. We already know by him hookin' up with Suge Knight, Dre's gonna do some music. You know what this means, right? N----- out here gonna be duckin' and dodgin' from The D.O.C. and Dr. Dre and 2Pac and Snoop and Biggie Smalls. We know who's sittin' on top right now. It's no secret."

Are you still workin' with The D.O.C.?

"Yeah, yeah. Doc's so skanless. If people have heard the single, they're just gettin' warmed up, you know what I'm sayin'? They get into this album ... oh, boy. I'm talkin' like havoc. Havoc. He's tellin' the real from everything from day one to right now to the new world order. He's speakin' it all."

What'd you think of the Million Man March? Did you make it out there?

"Unfortunately I was workin' in the studio. But I'll tell you what, I was lovin' it. As a matter of fact, I was up in Too Short's studio and my boy Big G called Farrakhan, and I had to put my two cents in. That was just out cold. For him to be able to just order that type of sh--, that's like sayin', 'Okay, everybody, we need to put a dollar together and go door to door.' That can't compare to this man sayin' to his right-hand man, 'I want a Million Man March.' This right now is the Black state of emergency. Period. We in a Black state of emergency 'cause if n----- don't start gettin' their sh-- together... First of all, this AIDS sh-- is gonna kill us if we don't kill ourselves. Period. It's one or the other. They ain't openin' no doors for us. The only doors we're goin' through are the ones we put up. This sh-- ain't easy."

How's the scene down in Atlanta?

"Hotlanta. That's the networking spot. Chicago's big and it's got a lot of stars comin' out of it, but they don't mix and mingle like they do out in Atlanta. New York's big, it's got a lot of stars out there, but they don't mix and mingle like they do in Atlanta. L.A.'s big, they do mix and mingle, but it's not like they do in Atlanta. In Atlanta, people are sittin' around talkin', people are doin' sh-- together without even havin' to say, 'Pay me a million to do it.' Let's just go to the studio and do it and make the record companies battle, 'cause this is what we want. I got that from Too Short. Anything you put on. It's gonna happen. And the best part of it is, I moved there five years ago. I was a step ahead of a lot of people. Just gettin' out there, we got two radio stations basically brand new, 'cause Greg Street made V103 brand new, and 97.5 is brand new. It's just like all Black now. Everything goin' on out there is. Music -- Black. Clubs, this and that. If a person wanted to come out there and wanted to shop a deal, it wouldn't be that hard, but then, it ain't gonna be that easy, either."

How often to you get back home to Michigan?

"Man ... I'm avoidin' warrants right now. I'm not goin' up there for a minute until me and my lawyers get that sh-- settled. I do quite a few shows through there during the year, but then when it's time to drop my album I got to go home because it's the only way I can get my vibe. I can't get no vibe just bein' at the crib. It don't work that way. Not for me. Now Short, and I speak highly of the man -- y'all can probably tell who my idol is -- he's just doin' it. It's like Too Short built Dangerous Studio in these buildings, and it's goin' down like that. Well, I just heard the other day that Erick Sermon is gettin' the building next door to him. We're talkin' about networkin', man. We're talkin' about makin' money."

You mentioned that you look up to Too Short. Who else do you look up to? Like who did you look up to when you were comin' up?

"It'd have to be all the old schoolers, 'cause I came out old school, man. They're playin' me in old school sessions now. Digital Underground was one on the top of my playlist back in that time. All them New York n----- was on it. I'm thinkin', of the West Coast, too, though, when N.W.A was doin' their thing and Quik was doin' his thing, and the Geto Boys were doin' their thing, and Public Enemy was out there fightin' the power, you know what I'm sayin'? That's when I was tourin' with 'em, and I came to George's like four or five times a year."

So what's up with D.F.C.?

"D.F.C.'s started on their new stuff already. They're doin' a lot of recording at my house, and I'm writin' up a couple songs for 'em. Colin Wolfe is doin' some production. Erotic D, the same person who produced D.O.C., he's doin' some production, and Slip, from M.C. Eiht."

What kind of goals you got for the future?

"All I'd like to do is sell a million. That's all I need. That way, once I get a million sold, I can open their minds to some other sh--. I tried that. I tried to do it every other album. When I know it ain't gonna happen, I go back to what I know. Check it: When 'Ain't No Future In Your Frontin'' dropped, it hit. Gold. Next album, I tried to open their mind up to some sh-- that wasn't sittin' well with the people I was just talkin' to with 'Ain't No Future In Your Frontin''. So we went to The New Breed and got 'em back with us, you know what I'm sayin'? We sold quite a few copies of it. Then we went to Funkafied. I tried to open their mind to some sh--, and we did do somethin' with '7 Years of Bullsh--', 'Booty Call', 'Give You What You Want', and D.O.C.'s sh--. We opened their heads up, but then on the fifth album we went to Big Baller. We flipped the script. I know I put three or four on there that's tight, and the rest were left open to everybody else's judgement. Then we put the Best of Breed out. This new album that I'm comin' with, I don't know what I'm gonna title it. That's how tight it is. We usin' nothin' but funky-ass basslines. We're fittin' to really do that old school, but it's gonna be 'new school old school.' Lyric-wise, everything. And for the record, I do not pick up a piece of paper and pen and write. I don't do that. The only time I might do that is if I say a line and don't wanna lose that line, I write that one line -- one sentence -- and put it in my pocket. Every rap that I do is freestyle. We go in and piece it together on the mic, right then and there. Takes us about 30 or 45 minutes."

So do you enjoy travelin' the country, performin'?

"Man, I can't get away from it. Put it like this: it won't take you but one tour. You'll wanna go every other week, you wanna be on the road. If you're at home, you're not sellin' records."

-- Cvere and Mason Storm, The 411


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