The Hip Hop Lounge

Welcome to The Hip Hop Lounge's Interview Section. You will find one on one interviews of all the HHL featured artists and other mainstream or underground artists.

ARTIST:	STATUS:	DATE:
L.Tyrannic	HHL Featured Artist	12-MAR-2004
Move.meant	HHL Featured Artist	18-MAR-2004

L.Tyrannic

L.Tyrannic recently joined the ranks of the Hip Hop Lounge Featured Artists. As part of this process we took some time to ask him some questions about himself and his take on hip hop topics. You can also read his bio and find out additional information in the HHL'sUNDERGROUND SECTION.

HHL Staff: What is your first Hip Hop memory?
L.Tyrannic: Break dancing on cardboard.

HHL Staff: When did you know you were going to be a Hip Hop group?
L.Tyrannic: When I was 9 years old.

HHL Staff: How would you describe your style?
L.Tyrannic: Pro-Blackness, no wackness -mad herb and bad words.

HHL Staff: How long have you been together as a group?
L.Tyrannic: Magnumopis has been together for twelve years.

HHL Staff: When did you record your first track?
L.Tyrannic: 1995

HHL Staff: What is the theme of the track Soul Pushers?
L.Tyrannic: It was just on some lyrical shit.

HHL Staff: What is your definition of Hip Hop?
L.Tyrannic: Expression, Ghetto entertainment, Real life.

HHL Staff: What do you listen to mostly-Underground or Mainstream?
L.Tyrannic: I listen to mostly everything.

HHL Staff: The Hip Hop Lounge plays Hip Hop from the early 80's to late 90's, which is now labeled as "Old School". When do you think Hip Hop songs should be labeled as Old School?
L.Tyrannic: Seven or eight years after their release.

HHL Staff: What do you think the difference is between "Old School" and "New School" songs?
L.Tyrannic: Only the time in-between.

HHL Staff: What are your 5 favorite Old School tracks?
L.Tyrannic: 1. Paid in full -Rakim
2. Road to riches -Kool G. Rap
3. All for one -Brand Nubian
4. Listen to my demo -EPMD
5. Smooth operator -Kane

HHL Staff: What are your 5 favorite Old School albums?
L.Tyrannic: 1. Black Moon -Enter da Stage
2. Eric B. and Rakim -Follow the Leader
3. Big Daddy Kane -Long Live the Kane
4. Snoop -Doggystyle
5. Wu-Tang -36 Chambers

HHL Staff: How does Old School music play a role in your tracks?
L.Tyrannic: It play’s a big role because back then, it was about skills -and that’s what I’m about.

HHL Staff: Do you feel Old School songs should be sampled in new songs?
L.Tyrannic: It depends because some people do whole songs all over again. You have to “freak it” the right way.

HHL Staff: Do you have a demo/mixtape or album? What is it called?
L.Tyrannic: I have an album, it’s called “From the Bassment Up”.

HHL Staff: Describe the demo/mixtape or album in 3 words.
L.Tyrannic: Beats, Rhymes & Life.

HHL Staff: Are you currently working on new projects?
L.Tyrannic: Yeah, I’m working on “the Heat-Holdaz” LP with the “Pyro’s” (Pyro-Techz). That’s my clique.

HHL Staff: Your track will be played on Hip Hop Lounge Live Radio. Are you currently promoting elsewhere like Hip Hop shows or going on tour? What does you schedule look like for 2004?
L.Tyrannic: Yeah, with “the Pyro’s” we’re doing the “Heat-Holdaz” LP and planning to go on a non-related small east coast tour starting on June 15th 2004. Other than that, -I’m trying to make moves, spend time with my daughter. Constant elevation.

Move.meant

Move.meant recently joined the ranks of the Hip Hop Lounge Featured Artists. As part of this process we took some time to ask them some questions about them and their take on hip hop topics. The group consists of three members: Spider (dj/producer), JB (producer/drummer), and Champ (mc/producer). You can also read the groups bio and find out additional information about the group in the HHL'sUNDERGROUND SECTION.

HHL Staff: What is your first Hip Hop memory?
Move.meant: JB: Seeing the video for “The Message”.
Spider: Listening to Beastie Boys and Run DMC Tapes at school.
Champ: Mine was “The Message” video too, I think I was like 5.

HHL Staff: When did you know you were going to be a Hip Hop group?
Move.meant: JB: When I got booted out of my country band for poppin’ and lockin’ on stage.
Spider: When Champ moved to LA, we started doing shows, put out a 12” and and EP and the ball really started rolling.
Champ: Yeah, after we finished the tracks on the EP, it all kinda just came together. We’d been making music for a while, so it was just a natural progression.

HHL Staff: How would you describe your style?
Move.meant: JB: I’d say my style is kinda like if Gang Starr had sex with The Supremes, while David Lee Roth was watching.
Spider: Open minded, always evolving but still straight hip hop.
Champ: I’d say our style is balanced, because our sound is versatile.

HHL Staff: How long have you been together as a group?
Move.meant: Spider: About 3 or 4 years now.

HHL Staff: When did you record your first track?
Move.meant: Champ: Well, Spider and I started working together around ’97, but we weren’t a group yet.
Spider: Yeah, then couple years later I played him some of JB’s beats and he was really feelin’ ‘em, so we did a cut. It ended up being “For My People” off of our EP.

HHL Staff: What is the theme of the track The Rebirth?
Move.meant: JB: Bringing back the truth in Hip Hop.
Spider: It’s also like our introduction.

HHL Staff: What is your definition of Hip Hop?
Move.meant: JB: Dope beats serving as a backdrop for MC’s to spit what’s really in their heart - not just some gun slinging money spending bullshit.
Champ: For me, It’s hard to define it because it’s branched of into so many different manifestations nowadays. It just is what it is.

HHL Staff: What do you listen to mostly-Underground or Mainstream?
Move.meant: Spider: Mostly underground, but I definitely don’t hate on the mainstream tracks, sometimes you need to get the party started. Fortunately people like Kanye West and Nas are using their mainstream status to get dope music with a message out there.
JB: I listen to a lot of Mainstream, just to size up my competition. I’m really trying to find a balance between the two.
Champ: I listen to anything as long as it’s dope. I don’t like how things are divided and people who listen to the radio won’t listen to underground or underground heads hate all mainstream cats automatically.

HHL Staff: The Hip Hop Lounge plays Hip Hop from the early 80's to late 90's, which is now labeled as "Old School". When do you think Hip Hop songs should be labeled as Old School?
Move.meant: JB: I think the true “Old School” was before the samplers and keyboards got involved. Back when they used to piece together the actual tape to loop a beat - like Rick Rubin used to, that’s “Old School”.
Spider: 80’s hip hop.
Champ: It’s all relative to when you first got down. For kids just getting into Hip Hop now, what’s on the radio and mixtapes now is gonna be “Old School” at some point.

HHL Staff: What do you think the difference is between "Old School" and "New School" songs?
Move.meant: Champ: Every few years, somebody comes in and really changes the game – it kind of establishes a new era. The sound just evolves and I think once a song sounds like it was from a different era, it becomes Old School.
Spider: The production techniques have gotten much more advanced, along with the MCs’ skills and concepts, and DJs’ scratching. Old school hip hop songs used to be raw, done for the love of music with no thought of who was buying it, just people doing what they wanted to do. Now, not as many artists make music like that.. Some new school songs are very boring, like their from a cookie cutter, people are afraid to try something new. Don’t get me wrong!! There are a lot of dope new school songs though! I feel like hip hop just keeps progressing and has a lot more room to grow.
JB: To me a lot of old school songs were just real “get the party started” kind of tracks. It was really about who could take it farther than the next man.

HHL Staff: What are your 5 favorite Old School tracks?
Move.meant: JB: 1. La Di Da Di 2. No Sleep Til Brooklyn 3. The Show 4.The Bridge is Over 5. The Message
Champ: Man, questions like that are always hard to answer. Off top, I’d say – “Choice Is Yours”, “The World Is Yours”, “Bonita Applebum”, “I Used to Love H.E.R.”, and “Fight the Power” – in no particular order.
Spider: I don’t even know where to start.

HHL Staff: What are your 5 favorite Old School albums?
Move.meant: JB: 1.BDP -Crimnal Minded 2.Gang Starr -No More Mr. Nice Guy 3.Beastie Boys – License to Ill 4.Ice Cube- Amerikkka’s Most Wanted 5.Run DMC - Raising Hell
Champ: The first 3 Tribe albums, Illmatic, and 36 Chambers

HHL Staff: How does Old School music play a role in your tracks?
Move.meant: Champ: It’s just a part of us. All that stuff we came up on is in us and influences the way we approach things now. Even though we want to progress, there are certain elements that we feel we need to keep in touch with and reinvent to make sure we don’t forget how it all started.
JB: I feel we use the same spirit and love for the music, and the same drive to make progress.
Spider: For me, it makes me want to make songs that people can party to and relate to.

HHL Staff: Do you feel Old School songs should be sampled in new songs?
Move.meant: Spider: Yeah, it’s good to know your history!
JB: I think if it works, but not just to have it in there.
Champ: I agree. I think some people just capitalize on a classic and turn it into a pop song – like sampling The Pharcyde and making it an R&B joint. But when it’s done right, it’s dope because it pays homage to the people who laid the groundwork plus it adds to the song.

HHL Staff: Do you prefer Old School to New School Hip Hop?
Move.meant: JB: Not really.
Spider: I prefer new school.
Champ: For me it depends. Sometimes I fiend for some Old School, but I love hearing new music, especially stuff that’s so dope it gives you goose bumps.

HHL Staff: Do you have a demo/mixtape or album? What is it called?
Move.meant: Spider: We put out The Rebirth b/w Heather 12”, Move.meant EP. Also, look out for our Snippet CD circulating. And I’ve got a mixtape in the works as well.

HHL Staff: Describe the demo/mixtape or album in 3 words.
Move.meant: JB: Hot, blazing, fire.
Champ: Balanced, soulful, real.
Spider: Dope Hip Hop.

HHL Staff: Are you currently working on new projects?
Move.meant: Spider: Hell yeah, we’re REALLY Busy! Playing shows, working on tracks for our album, trying to get 1 or 2 more 12” singles out, working with other artists like Trek-Life, Crush One, Blest, Cypha 7, and more.

HHL Staff: Your track will be played on Hip Hop Lounge Live Radio. Are you currently promoting elsewhere like Hip Hop shows or going on tour? What does you schedule look like for 2004?
Move.meant: Spider: We just did a DOPE show with Blackalicious, Lyrics Born, Saul Williams, Abstract Rude, Murs, and Mike Relm. So far, 2004 is looking good - an album on the way, some 12” vinyl coming, shows, working with new people, and much more. Mad busy, but the busier the better.
Champ: Yeah, and we’re hoping to get on a tour this summer, so we’ll see how that works out.