Here are two really great interviews with Cormega covering a wide array of subjects. One of the things I’ve always appreciated about him as an artist (other than the ability to pick really solid beats) is his candor and honesty in interviews. Can’t wait for the “Who Am I” DVD/CD to drop in November and the release show at SOBs! And to hear that KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, Grand Puba, PMD and DJ Red Alert track! thaformula interview, tss interview part one, tss interview part two
What was going through your mind when [the reunion with Nas] happened?
When I came out at that shit, I was scared as fuck because that was an all-Nas crowd. It wasn’t like it was announced “Cormega will be here.” You know what I’m saying? It was ALL Nas fans. So as far as I knew they could’ve been like ‘boo’ or whatever when I came out. I was nervous as hell. I’m not gonna tell you no lie. I already knew how we were going to come out. We had an idea how we were going to do it but at the last minute I didn’t know how. But then L.E.S. put me on point and they gave me the mic. And then Nas said ‘what up with Cormega?/did ya see him, are y’all together?’ so I just walked out. And I heard somebody go like ‘Ohhhh!’ not like appreciation but like shock. The first two seconds were like shock. Then the ovation was bananas. It fucked all of us up. Nas was fucked up. When we left the stage and went backstage, we were all fucked up. And it made us realized ‘damn, we fucked up’…all these years of beefing with each other, we stripped ourselves of something because we realized how much the world wants to see us together…for years Nas fans have been writing me on my site like ‘nah I ain’t gon’ front I like your music and I like Nas…I wish y’all would squash the beef’ yada yada. So I guess when we did that, we fucked everybody up. It was unexpected and unannounced.
Are you happy with what you have done and where you are at right now?
I could never live the way I wanna live because I have such high expectations and I want so much more. It ain’t about me right now, it’s about my daughter. I done lived already. Like in between the time that I put out albums, I done did it. I done had everything I always wanted, but everything I always wanted was foolish. I was chasing a cultural illusion. I wanted a Rolex, I wanted cars, etc., and stuff like that doesn’t define me as a person or as a man. I had cars, jewelry and all that shit but there was other things that I want. Right now it’s not about me. Right now it’s about how can I make my daughters life incredible or how can I be the best father that I can be or how can I be the best artist that I can be because I’m never satisfied. Satisfaction is for the content person. I’m not content. I think me not being content is what keeps me driven. Like I can go in the booth and say a rhyme and be like “nah I want to do it over” and people will look at me like I’m crazy. But they don’t understand, I’m trying to do better then what I have done previously or I’m trying to make sure its perfect. So it’s like I could say I’m living good or I could say life is alright for me but there is other things that I want. I am happy though with what I have been able to provide for my family because when I look at my daughter, I envy my daughter. I wanted my daughter’s life to be better then mine and since she was born, her life was better then mine. My daughter left the hospital in a BMW and she’s got her own room, a DVD player and X-Box when she was 1. She’s got everything she needs. She’s got toys, goes to school and is provided for. But at the same time, that’s just superficial stuff, it’s like what more can I do? I want her to love me and know me for more then just giving her stuff like this. I also want her to understand that it’s a blessing for her to have these things. Every child doesn’t have this.
It’s been almost 5 years since your last solo album. How much of that time has been spent working on this new album? Would you say all these years have been spent on this album or have you been sitting on this album for a while now?
It depends because I got a song that I just mixed that I just put together like two weeks ago. Alright my first album “The Realness” had two guest appearances, one was Tragedy and the other one was Mobb Deep. So the other day, I said I’m gonna give people “The Realness” all in one song because I’m not gonna have a bunch of features on my album. Because I got the song “Fresh” and I just did that song the other day with me, Tragedy and Havoc so it’s like alright, you got “The Realness” features right here on this one record. The song is dope and then you got the song “Fresh” and that’s my most proud guest appearance record because it has KRS-1, Big Daddy Kane, Grand Puba, and PMD and all those artists that I look up to and respect.
see also:
Cormega – Who Am I (Mega Trailer)
Cormega And Nasty Nas Publicly Squash Decade Old Beef