Video Credits:
Directed & edited by Bill Connell, JC Costa & Ryan Donahue
Produced by New Pace & Enemy Soil Films
Photography by Mike Thackray at Level Lens
Aerial Photography by Gary Colyer and Evan Panek at CAP Aerial
Legendary Hip Hop act De La Soul are aware of the trials and tribulations of being a collective.
The long lasting group talks to VladTV exclusively about what they’ve endured, unreleased solo projects and why fans should be okay with their favorite groups pursuing solo albums.
As one of the few long lasting groups in Hip Hop history, the trio explains how elements like money, fame and sometimes women could deter some groups from sticking together. Since they’re such close friends, they believe it’s been easier for them since they weren’t brought together by a label, but their own vibes. Trugoy the Dove says they’ve experimented with solo work and only play the tracks to each other.
Maseo says they never thought about breaking up De La Soul, but pondered on ending the group all together. He also says those moments are fairly brief because another project or tour comes along that reminds them why they should stay together.
Collectively, the group believes that break ups aren’t the end of the world. While fans may view it as such, the guys say great projects have resulted from breakups. Some examples the guys list vary from Wu-Tang’s members solo projects to Q-tip’s post-Tribe Called Quest single, “Vibrant Thing.”
Smellington Piff – ‘The Base’ featuring Cracker Jon, Jack Jetson, Eric the Red, Leaf Dog & BVA. Produced by Leaf Dog.
Taken from ‘Notice of Eviction’ Smellington Piff’s Debut 17 Track album featuring Son Doobie (Funkdoobiest), Rag’N’Bone Man, Life MC, Leaf Dog, BVA, Verb T, Fliptrix, Jack Jetson, Lee Scott, Bill Shakes, Eric the Red & Cracker Jon. It is entirely produced by Leaf Dog.
Out Now on CD and Download and Double Vinyl.
The ‘Official Supreme’ video features cameos from Slim kid tre, Illa J, Phonte, Bishop Lamont, T3, Young RJ, Rhettmatic, King Karnov, Dank, Ma Dukes Pete Rock, & Blu.
From a young age, Frank Nitt was quick to absorb the rich musical history of his native Detroit, forming the rap duo Frank N’ Dank in his teens. The group eventually landed worldwide attention & acclaim for their contributions to Dilla’s debut album Welcome 2 Detroit in 2001 and soon after signed to MCA Records.
Poised to release their debut full length 48 Hours (entirely produced by Dilla) the album ended up shelved, seemingly indefinitely, due to label politics. It wasn’t until 2013 that the album finally saw a proper official release, garnering critical praise for its irreverent, light-hearted rhymes and unconventional production.
After years as a group, Nitt parted ways with Dank to pursue a career as a solo emcee, eventually connecting with prolific LA beatsmith Madlib to release Nittyville, an installment of Madlib’s acclaimed Medicine Show series.
Most recently, Nitt released Sunset Blvd., a collaborative full-length with Illa J (younger brother to the late J Dilla) over unreleased Dilla productions and featuring hip hop heavyweights Common, Talib Kweli and members of De La Soul and the Pharcyde.
With Frankie Rothstein, his first album on Fat Beats Records which features production from the likes of J Rocc, J Dilla and DJ Rhettmatic, L.A. based, Detroit-bred MC Frank Nitt brings his distinguished, decades-long career full-circle, packing his inimitable style and years of industry-hardened grit in with a newfound maturity and growth.
Speaking at the filming of his documentary ‘Under The Influence’ at the Yotube HQ in London, the godfather of UK hip hop spoke to Nick from BlatantlyBlunt about his views on a number of different issues around the homegrown scene.