Interview with SPC/144 ELITE member JUSTICE ALLAH
JusTice AllaH from THE 144 ELITE, Houston Texas
First of all introduce yourself and tell us where you are from.
My identity is known as JusTice AllaH. I'm a born native of Houston, Texas otherwise known as H-Town. I reign from the area that the Geto Boyz made famous - 5th ward.
What music where you bumping when you was coming up.
I was lucky to be born at such a good time. As a 70's baby my house was full of music, so I had Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Aretha, Michael Jackson even Jimi Hendrix and so many other great musical influences. Then along came hip-hop and I found myself as a teenager spending all my money on records and cassette tapes from Run-DMC, BDP, Steady B, LL, Public Enemy, NWA, The Terrorists, Gangsta Nip, De La Soul, 2 Live Crew, Ice T. Music was a vast spectrum for me coming up.
What made you decide to start rapping?
After memorizing the words to Rappers Delight by SugarHill Gang and The Message by Flash and Melly Melle, I couldn't wait to let all my homies hear me spit those dudes rhymes. It was after I got in Middle school that we started rap battling- it really was more like rap bragging. It was this dude named Joeseph Mutton, that used to go by the name "Black Leather". He was the tightest rapper at Burbank Junior High. He made me want to be a rapper, and after flowing at a couple of parties that's what I became.
Tell us about your group 144 Elite who are the actual members.
The 144 ELiTE is a group of individuals that posses a great wealth of knowledge individually, who have come together collectively to disseminate the greater knowledge to the awakened public. The members of the group are DOPE E, the Terrorist, The melodious Mayadia, MJ - "The lord" and myself JusTice AllaH. Of course our secret weapon is the mysterious wizard - K-RINO, who guides, directs and also goes on the ride with us. The posse is thick in the SPC so we got 'bout a good 50 soldiers on the network when we need them.
Can you break down the name 144 Elite what does it represent.
Well we call ourselves the one fo' fo' ELITE. The 144 is representative of the 144,000 spoken of at Revelations 14:1-3. Everyone should check that out.The word EL means God. So as an ELiTE or El -ite, we are letting it be known that when it comes to gangs, cliques, crews posses and tribes...we're rolling with the true and living God. As a loyal and trusted member of that cipher, we have a divine duty to represent the elite class of rappers and artists who elevate above the status quo in this society. Not in riches or possesive type things but in matters that really matter. In the end as well as in the beginning the truth is all that matters. It gets deeper but it's probably best to let the music do all the representin'. (and just to let everyone know - NO, this is not gospel rap)
How did you all link up?
Originally Mayadia and myself were working together in another group doing jazz, reggae, hip-hop, R&B, African drumming and spoken word. She was doing original poetry and dance, plus she could sing like a bonafide diva. I had been a fan of Dope E's since around '89-90, during the Rap-A-Lot era. I finaly had the opportunity to meet him in the hood (3rd ward) at a little shop called "The Pyramid", I used to have in the area. I started hanging out at his studio with him learning right knowledge and before long I was over there everyday checking the beats he was banging. Me and Mayadia started recording songs there, a few of which ended up on The SuPreMe MaTheMaTiCs album coming out soon. Dope hooked me up with K-Rino and I got the green light to be in the South Park Coalition. We met MJ at a Millions More Movement meeting. He gave me a cd of some tracks that he had spit on and I quickly found out the kid was nice. After we started building more and more together we came to the same conclusions based on the same facts and it was only natural for us to react. Add in a few more people as supporting cast members, lots of revelation, hesitation and drama and basically you have the formation of the 144 ELiTE.
You got the album out now called "AGREEABLES Vs DISSAGREEABLES" tell us about that.
The title of the album is based on the state of affairs at this present date. In the world today you have two kinds of people living and existing together. These two kinds of people represent a type of spirit or nature, an energy or a state of being. The first is benevolent, pleasant - AGREEABLE. The other is maleovent, unpleasant, DISAGREEABLE. There was a war and there still is a war waging. In the battle you have The AgreeAbles (+positive) versus the DisAgreeAbles (-negative). The secret is that as this battle takes place throughout the planet; it is also being fought each and every day inside of ourselves. The impending decision of which side we want to belong on. In the end, the DisAgreeAbles loose. (oops I didn't want to give away the ending)
The majority of the album was produced by DOPE E who has had big hits on Rap A Lot records, what was it like working with the legend.
For me is has been wonderful and great. DOPE is the dopest producer period. It's hard to imagine that someone you grew up admiring and wanting to work with is actually receiving input from you in a real and personal way. Working with Dope is about more than just the music though. We build on God level everytime we link up. We are the ones that KNOW what has to be done and we do it. He's like a brother and a mentor.
You got a massive song on the album called "7's UP" which you have a video for which you can check out on YouTube, for those that don't know can you break down the concept of "7's UP".
7's UP is derived from the 7th letter of the alphabet, which is "G". Those who KNOW, know that "G" stands for God. It was only fitting that in this 7th year of this new millenium we would commemorate the ideas associated with lifting God in the minds and souls of ALL people. It's common to hear people everyday say, "hello"; which is derived from satanists giving credance to the fact that hell is low. We take the stance of the positive over the negative, so for us instead of hell being low, we recognize that heaven is high...heaven is UP so therefore 7's UP - that's what's up.
What do you think of the current state of Hip Hop at the moment?
Due to the fact that there really hasn't been any rappers in the forefront that have been strong enough to take a stance on anything besides getting money, it's not suprising that the people that pay these rappers have gained control of this artform. Those people dictate what's on MTV, VH1, the radio stations, magazines and in the record store. Those people have never been friends to rap, rappers or the people that listen to rap. They don't even listen to rap, in most cases. So now rap is the hands of children...leaning with it, popping with it. They don't know what HIP-HOP is. They see it as something old, something from the past, instead of the lifeblood of the society which it has become. It's because society, in general, has become commercialized that rap music, as well as other forms of music have become commercialized. Art is supposed to imitate life or is it the other way around. The problem with it all is that most of this stuff sounds just alike. I don't think that there are enough people out here in this business that care about longevity in the business or lyrical content. Everyone is looking for the money, they just want to make a hit - whatever that turns out to be. Which is usually just like the one that someone else made last week.
Most people are disatisfied with the quality of HIP-HOP due to the lack of thought by the artists. How many ways can you say "shake your ass, show your ass, get that cash, I have a gun and will blast..." and still be able to last. There's more going on than that - in reality- but these guys that sell the most records are afraid to be creative. It might make them loose their deal with the people that control rap...that don't like rap. So they can have rap...we're trying to preserve HIP-HOP.
You have been doing some live shows, what can we expect to see at your live show.
At the 144 ELiTE show you can expect to see the South Park Coalition in force. You can expect the speakers to be vibrating at sub-atomic levels. You can expect ALL of us to be addressing the lyrics directly at you and that dude standing right behind you, plus his girlfriend at the bar. You can expect to see MC's, emcee. You might catch DOPE playing a xylophone. You could hear Mayadia sing like Badu or her friend Jill while she toys with her tamborine. Mj has been known to blow a trumpet rendition before letting you know that the "Gods Keep Coming". JusTice AllaH always packs a drum in the trunk of the car just in case the decision is made that the crowd needs to be "beat" into submission. You should always expect it to be live and never Memorex. The 144 ELiTE is on another level when it comes to the stage, so in short expect the unexpected, but expect to be pleased to the fullest degrees.
Where can people pick up the album?
The album is in distribution so folks can expect to start seeing them at Barnes & Noble, Borders, FYE and other national outlets; we have them at local record shops, support your local record shop (The Reggae Bodega, Stick-Horse records, DJ Chill's *all in H-Town); on-line you can get the album from
www.cdbaby.com , SnoCap, iTunes, or simply hit us up at
www.the144elite.com . If we see you in the street, we got the album so get it from us.
What is your myspace page?
Everyone can hit us up
www.myspace.com/the144elite
You can follow the links from there to hit up all the individual members you might be seeking.
What other projects are you working on?
We have a JusTice AllaH album featuring Mayadia called SuPreMe MaTheMaTiCs coming out very soon. The single is called BORN and you can start checking for the video coming too. DOPE E is finished with the long-awaited Terrorist album, that will be out really, really soon...check out his myspace to hear a sneak preview of his heat. We are in production on Mayadia's project, it's refreshing to say the least. MJ is wrapping up a mixxtape. Another 144 ELiTE album for the new year. And various features from everybody in the 144 ELiTE on tracks by elite artists around the world - elite artists like yourself. I hope everybody has had the chance to pick up a real hip-hop classic by K-Rino, "Book Number Seven", which is out now - Go Buy That!!! Klondike KaT is dropping an album, Point Blank is coming and Gangsta NIP. I'll be releasing some volumes of DSP Audio Lab tracks that I recorded with my partna Jones under the collaboration called "Jones & D.N.J.C." - which is the grimy side of JusTice - so peep that when you see it. We staying busy like we're supposed to.
So what plans have you got for the future?
We are the future and we affect the necessary changes in the present, which is now. K-Rino must be established as the greatest and SPC will become a household name. Personally I plan to keep recording, keep touring and doing shows. I will help to uplift my people and elevate them to a higher state of grace from which we came. There's so much to know and so many people to show. I've got a lot of work to do.
Any thing you wanna add or shout out.
I want to say it feels good to be in and give a shout to everybody in the Coalition. If the people around the globe haven't bought the albums yet then y'all need to do that. Nobody wants to be left behind. Keep your third eye open and you won't be led astray. P.E.A.C.E. to the Gods and Earths and the 5% Nation. All Praise is due to the Most High.
Interview by LATE
www.myspace.com/latewolftown
http://www.ragomagazine.com/index.asp?P ... ageID=1567
Anmelden
FAQ
Suche
