Phonte, DJ Premier & Royce Da 5’9″ Geek Out About Rap, Memories & Battles (Video)
Structure isn’t everything in Hip-Hop interviews. Sometimes organic, natural, nonrestrictive discussions go a heck of a lot farther.
In their ongoing PRhyme media campaign, DJ Premier and Royce Da 5’9″ get an unlikely guest in Phonte. The Stashed orchestrates a casual discussion about a number of things with these three Hip-Hop icons, who have not all worked together (see: Phonte and Premier) but go way, way back with a mutual respect in the industry.
At nearly 30 minutes long, Phonte remembers meeting Premo shortly after The Listening at the original Knitting Factory in Lower Manhattan. When the Little Brother MC stepped to the Gang Starr DJ/producer backstage, thanking him for all the music, the Texas native deadpan joked, “Yo son, I only did two records in my life.”
Later on, the trio recalls the mid-2000s AllHipHop Week Battle, which would result in Mistah FAB competitively battling an unsuspecting Royce Da 5’9″ on stage in NYC. Phonte laughs, explaining why he backed out (along with Joe Budden) as a preliminary judge, and Royce laughs, explaining he was set-up.
Additionally, all three men—fathers at that—explain how having children has affected their habits, music-making, and ambition. Premier, who only recently had a son, admits that having a family has made him get back into his most famous form. “Re-establishing my work ethic that I had in the ’90s.” Nickel Nine admits that he distances himself from his family when writing and recording (not as a man), but considers them. Phonte, with two adolescent kids of his own, is trying to be more than just a dad to each.
If that’s not enough, Phonte offers up his next child to PRhyme, if he can get a HQ copy of “Ding! Ding!,” from the first Bar Exam. This is just a cool, mutually-respectful moment in Hip-Hop from three amazing minds, B-boys, and proven greats.
#Bonus Beat: “Ding! Ding!”: