Cool Prince Paul video interview from 2003 at Red Bull Music Academy. Link
Excerpt of dialogue:
Session held in Cape Town 2003
Fellow innovator Steve “Steinski” Stein called this man ‘the closest thing hip hop has to a genius’. By the age of ten, Prince Paul’s pals were comparing him to Grandmaster Flash. He had to convince them otherwise, and has been challenging people’s preconceptions about Hip Hop ever since: from his scratches in Stetsasonic to his groundbreaking production with De La Soul. Heads should take note that rebellion and money were never the focus – even Hip Hop itself wasn’t the focus. ‘The focus, that was always the music’.
RBMA: »Let’s welcome my man Prince Paul here.«
Prince Paul: »Thank you, thank you! Well, I feel still like hugging the microphone. That’s Hip Hop for you. I should hold it like this [in a proper microphone position], right?«
RBMA: »I mean, you are the guy who is producing, so you should tell us how we should hold it.«
Prince Paul: »Yeah, hold it like this (holds the mike upside down to his mouth). That’s when you gangster…«
RBMA: »How did you get the name Prince Paul?«
Prince Paul: »Prince Paul was given to me, because, they said my regular name – that was DJ Paul – was boring. You don’t want to say ‘DJ Paul’ on the microphone, you know. I’m a humble dude, but I was forced on that whole Hip Hop ego thing.«
RBMA: »Since when do you DJ?«
Prince Paul: »I been DJing since I was my son’s age (pointing his finger), that’s him
right there, actually a little younger than him. When I was 10 years old, I’ve heard, I was the fake Grandmaster Flash of my day. And when you’re 10 or 11 years old, that’s pretty traumatizing. That’s why I’m here today, it’s to prove the world, that I’m not the fake Grandmaster Flash…«RBMA: »Being the fake Grandmaster Flash, who came up with that name then?«
Prince Paul: »That was back in school. (…) For me DJing started or Hip Hop, it wasn’t
called Hip Hop when I started, I was like my son’s age. I was like 10 years old. Hip Hop for me is a lot different from what people see out here now. Especially the commercialized side of it, when I was coming up it was more or less DJing in the park. MCs rarely had any substance to say.«RBMA: »So when you were the DJ it wasn’t like that (posing in front of Paul)? Hey, where’s the DJ? I’m the rapper!«
Prince Paul: »DJ was the primary focus. That’s why you had Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five, Grandwizard Theodore and The Fantastic Five, Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince. It was a lot different back than: it was about having fun, you battle people and you did your thing. But it was basically going out to see people dance. As opposed to now, it’s just a little bit different – well it’s a lot different! I think once the money gets
involved, it changed a lot.«