Really great two part interview with the legendary Kool G Rap. He speaks on a number of topics such as a possible Juice Crew reunion show, his Cold Chillin’ days and how he writes rhymes. Part One, Part Two
How has the definition of gangster changed over the years? Or has it?
What gangster is now it’s more image than anything right now. See, I’m from an era where gangsters were really gangsters. A gangster didn’t rap and a gangster wasn’t trying to be concerned with rapping. They did other things. You can pretty much pick up an old album cover and flip it over and see me on the back cover with the original 50 cent and them. Those were real gangsters for real. Legendary gangsters. The legendary gangster I’ve been around they really put it down. I was surrounded by so many of them that I know the difference between real gangsters and so called gangster rappers. It’s even with all the beef and the drama that goes on in hip hop today. If that was something from my era the people I’ve been around it would be different. They be taking it too far now with the beefs and drama. You couldn’t do stuff like that like back then somebody’s definitely gonna die behind that and they did.I’m glad you said that because that was something I wanted to ask you. You have been someone who has been in the music business for almost 20 years and you’ve never really had any beef. What do you have to say about all this beef?
Now they do it for publicity stunts and they do it to sell records but they ain’t really about it like that. A lot of dudes ain’t really about that they don’t really want no parts of that cuz real beef is very traumatizing. You know what I’m saying?Cuz real dudes that put it down you’re stopped. You can’t do shows like that anymore. You gotta watch yourself in the streets. You gotta be careful who comes up to you for an autograph. That’s what I’m saying. A lot of these dudes don’t really got real beef like that. That’s not real beef. Even if some shots get popped off dudes are shooting at each other from across the street and stuff but it’s nothing like somebody laying up under a car in front of your house and waiting to see you and get out a stand on top of you and dump em in your head. Understand? In my day that’s beef. They gonna get you. There’s no coming back from it no nothing. I mean I’ve been around dudes that they only used certain kind of guns cuz they not trying to have somebody live. You know. They wouldn’t be bringing 9’s to a beef; they bringing 45’s, they bringing 44’s, they bringing 3 pound 7’s. They brining something where if you catching those the chances are very slim that you would be making it from that.
