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Interview
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Kryme
life has been in the rap game since as early as 1993 but made
his debut in 1997 at the Park Hill day, at the park hill
projects. Growing up in Staten Island he was exposed to hip hop
culture from an early age and made a name for himself in the
parks and on mixtapes with popular dj's like DJ Storm and
J-love. He started T.M.F. along with friends Trife Da GOD and
Tommy Whispers, but was soon plucked by Ghostface to form
Theodore Unit. After appearing on the Northstar album
Ghostface's "Supreme Clientele" and Ghost and Trifes "Put it on
the Line", he was featured on Theodore Units "718" to much
acclaim. Now with the help of Ruff-Line Entertainment he is
focused on his own album to step out of the shadows and
represent the streets as he has always done.
With an upcoming
albums and questions thrown in at random about T.M.F and Kryme
Life, Wu-International caught up with Kryme for an exclusive and
knowledgeable interview, discussing every the fans ever wanted
to know and more... Enjoy! |
All
responses were transcribed from a telephone interview
recorded 7/18/06.
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Peace Kryme, I like to say thanks first
and foremost for taking the time to answer these questions,
highly appreciated, and will also point out that nothing
will be altered, edited or changed when this is published
online.
Wu-International: So how are you, how are you doing
today?
Kryme Life:
Good, good, keeping busy trying to make real hip hop!!
Wu-International: For all the heads who don't know
who you are could you please introduce yourself?
Kryme Life: The one and only
Kryme Life a.k.a King Beef aka New Money, some may even know
me as representing blue biscuits!!
Wu-International: Ok, boring stuff first; how did you
fall into your respective crafts (emceeing)?
Kryme Life: I felt it right out
of the barrel, its in my blood generation to generation type
shit among my people, I started early back in 1993, writing
my thoughts on paper and people told me I had talent so I
kept going. That's how I came into the game. My uncles and
my Pop's lived hip-hop they were there in the beginning and
fed it to me. It got past down to me and my generation and I
just ran with it.
Wu-International: It is said you made your
first debut in 1997 at the park hill day at the Park hill
projects, could you please explain to us what this means?
Kryme Life: It was like
the event to be at, everyone in the projects who was trying
to make it was there. It was when the WU were real strong
they shut down whole city blocks, the whole Staten Island,
NY City, the Shaolin, everything was represented in one
place. It was Park Hill day know what I'm saying? It was the
nicest of the nicest who came out to grab a mic only the
selected few, Shyheim, Black Sheep, M.O.P., Redman, The
whole WU was represented. I got to do my thing alongside
some of the greatest.
Wu-International:
Nice, so who would you say are your influences
musically?
Kryme Life: Where I
came from, all the early hardcore rappers like Das Effect,
all the real MC's that paved the way, Doug-E Fresh, JAY-Z,
Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, BDP and KRS One, NAS, ICE CUBE,
ICE-T, Jam Master J, Notorious BIG, GHOST, Public Enemy, 50
cent....etc Not even just hardcore, I was in love with
Hip-Hop I looked up to so many different emcee‘s. So many
people paved the way, so many effected my life and all
influenced me to some extent.
Wu-International: Ok, moving on, the name
Kryme Life? What's the reason behind the name?
Kryme Life:
When
people hear Kryme Life they automatically think
something negative, negative vibe. But I start it
with a K because I kick rhymes its a Kick Rhyme
Life. The K also represents Knowledge I use it in
everything. I look at Kryme as everything, crimes
are committed all the time and it is not always what
the society wants to make it out to be. A lot of
people, even police commit crimes, its a crime just
for being black some days, on the real. Knowledge,
Rhymes, and Life get it together. (KYRME LIFE)
Wu-International: Interesting, so what was it
like growing up in Staten Island? What is one of
your earliest memories?
Kryme Life:
Its hard growing up out there man, kna mean? being from
NY the city that never sleeps you see a lot of
things on the real. Its so real it will be there in
your face and you just trying not to bump heads wit
it. Buts that's where I learned to be a man at,
stand on my own two feet. I was originally born in
Queens but Staten Island is in my blood flow.
Wu-International:
T.M.F.!! Please give us a little history of the
group, meaning of the name, how you all met and how
the group was formed?
Kryme Life: TMF stands for “Truth Means Facts”,
What’s True is that which is universal, if something
is universal it is a fact. Also it represents the
"The Most Feared" because the |
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truth is something that is
always feared. My boys Tomhawk, and Trife Diesel, we
been together since the public school days trying to
get this gwop, that’s our bond, it runs deep.
Wu-International: T.M.F. has done a number of
collaborations with a host of artists, 9th Prince,
Killarmy, Ghostface Killah, Northstar and more, why
has the group not released an album to date?
Kryme Life: Basically, there is
no explanation other than I feel down the line
somewhere some time It will pop off, we're the best
kept secret. All the niggas in the WU, everyone from
around they know what we can do, but it wasn't our
time no body offered us a contract we were just
freelancing working with others trying to feed our
family.
Wu-International: With you and Trife both working on
a solo project right now, will the fans ever see a
full album from from the group?
Kryme Life: Without a doubt,
its something we talk about all the time and
actually Ruff-Line would love to get down and we
plan on doing some shows together soon. We always
had it together, we just never had the opportunity
present itself, and when we did some stuff together
before we didn't have a major budget to work with to
get it out there, we released it on the streets. But
it’s coming ASAP
Wu-International: How would you describe the differences
or main difference between you and your partners
Trife, or Tommy Whispers on the mic?
Kryme Life: Trife Diesel is the
metaphor man, a lot of times he will come up with
some hard concepts or a metaphor and then we build
from that, Tommy is the one with the infinite flow,
his flow is unorthodox, he'll make you sit down and
think, he'll make you get up and get hype. I'm the
one bringing the real shit, I just let it go, I let
that thing fly, I stick that thing. The combination
is lethal. Tommy's like the bread, Kryme's the
brawn, and Trife is the brains. We come at you
anytime from anywhere!!
Wu-International: When recording a song, do
you usually go into the studio with pre-written
lyrics?
Kryme Life: Some stuff is written down, some is in my
head, and some is stuff that comes out as I flow
with the beat. But, all of it is material that I
work over and over, I try to find the best way of
saying what I am feeling. That’s the difference
between just freestyling and recording, you have the
time to meticulously put the rhymes together.
Wu-International: You did a track on
Northstar's last album, how did that come about?
Kryme Life:: Me and Trife had been doing some shows
and my niggas from Cali (Meko & Christ) called me,
and they were in a studio in Manhattan. They wanted
us to lay something down, so we came through and put
our sprinkles on it. We didn't get any bread for it,
its all good though sometimes you gotta take it on
the chin like that we were just doing it for the
love, kna mean? For exposure and shit, one.
Wu-International: You and Trife were snatched
up for the group Theodore Unit, was Tommy Whispers
not offered a part or was he not interested on
joining the Unit?
Kryme Life: Whatever we do, he do, wherever we go he
go. We always roll together but unfortunately at
that time Tommy was locked down so he wasn't able to
tear it up with us. But like I said before, our time
is coming for a lot of reasons. Over the years we
all have had our ups and downs but I feel we are the
next generation and its coming together now for us
to take the torch.
Wu-International: True indeed, so how did you meet
Ghost and eventually got involved with Theodore
unit?
Kryme Life: We are all from
Staten Island, before he was in the WU he was in the
hood. From an early age he was like ya'll nigga's
keep on writing and one day I'll put you on some
shit. Our shit was about to pop off in 1992-93 and
people from the hood recognized what we had.
Wu-International: Ok the Wu-Tang question, not sure
if you are aware of this or not, but you as well as
your group are seen as part of the Wu-tang family
tree, what is your take on this and do you think
being Wu affiliated would help your career or put a
lot of pressure on you to live up to the name?
Kryme Life: I'm not really
tripping off the situation. Its all good either way
I feel like everyone thinks everyone from Staten
Island is WU. That’s not the case, I got mad love
for them, but we are not part of Wu-Tang, that was
their era, they are fam, we are an offshoot of what
they did for the hood. WU is always there and the WU
is always around. But we are the new Staten Island,
I rep WU everywhere I go and I always will, but now
its about T.M.F. and my thing.
Wu-International: ok, lets talk about your upcoming
album, The Kryme Wave, please tell us more about the
album, what exactly is the album going to be like,
who are the guests, producers, how many tracks etc.?
Kryme Life: I'll tell you
what's good with the Kryme Wave. Its a street
reality joint and the reason I call it the wave is
because it is going to flow out over the nations and
then the world. brothers better be ready for that,
straight NY shit. All the things in my life, just
spitting that real shit out to ya'll. My album is
everything to me, its something I’ve been waiting to
get out for years, and it’s my album my way. I wrote
and co-produced the album as well as performed and
even selected all the beats.
Wu-International: How close are you to
completing the album?
Kryme Life: We have almost finished recording
all the tracks but we are going to be doing a lot of
mixing and remixing till we get everything right,
I've been waiting to drop this album for years I'm
gonna make sure its sounding right.
Wu-International: You are gearing up to drop a
single soon Thugs In Da Club, is this your favorite
song off the album, or why have you picked it to be
the first single?
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Kryme
Life:
I
really like the track especially since I got my
uncles on the track in the background but I like
other tracks too. We had to save some special stuff
for album, but I felt the three tracks on the “Thugs
in Da Club” EP were a good taste of that NY style
that I am bringing to the table. But, you better
believe we have a ton of hot tracks for the album
and even some radio songs that we will be getting on
the air pretty soon.
Wu-International: So what are some of your
favorite songs from your catalogue so far, generally
speaking, not just for the Kryme wave but overall?
Kryme Life: I like a bunch of stuff but I feel
like everything gets better so I always believe the
next one I lay down is the one I feel the most. But
I love the “Right Back” joint I did with Trife on
the 718 album and 85 hip-hop off the Put It On The
line, and pretty much all the shit I'm working on
right now I think is gonna be hot.
Wu-International: So with this new album, how
do you think the public, and more specifically your
fan base, is going to see this album in terms of
your style? I mean, is it something completely new,
is it something that’ll put you in a cool niche in
the hip-hop world, or maybe its just straight up,
original TMF material?
Kryme Life: Reality rap, the truth, T.M.F. to
death with new beats, new rhymes. It is, what it is,
“the Kryme Wave”. It is my statement to hip-hop and
to all those that love hip-hop.
Wu-International: What would you say you are
trying to achieve with your music?
Kryme Life: Just trying to relay my struggle and
feed my family. Bring everyone the realness of the
streets, the reality of life, something we all can
relate to. Spark your brain, motivational music
straight up.
Wu-International: You are dropping the album
independently through Ruff-Line Entertainment, is
this your label? if not how did you hook up with
Ruff-Line?
Kryme Life: Ruff-Line entertainment, I'm putting
my stamp on that, my uncle came through with the
idea that we were going to do this together. Triple
O.G, my uncle, hooked us all up and my man Brams we
sat down at the table, and we came to an
understanding. Its been a Ruff- Line for all of us,
but we walked it and survived, were still here, and
we gonna do this together. There a lot of labels out
there but this is a family thing and it allows we to
do this the way I want to get it done, not the way
some record exec tells me.
Wu-International: Alright, so who else is on
Ruff-Line apart from yourself?
Kryme Life: Right now Ruff-Line is focused on my
album there are some other players you will be
hearing about down the road, but I am not authorized
to let the information get out. I’ll let them speak
for themselves when it is their time to shine.
Wu-International: What do you think the most
irritating thing is about hip hop, about the music
and about the scene right now?
Kryme Life: I feel like there is a lot of fake
shit out there right now, na mean. But you know, all
power to them dudes, like I say I’m gonna let the
music speak for itself this year. But right now
everyone's getting that synthetic shit, I'm coming
out with the realness so people can feel it, na
mean. I ain't gonna knock anybody because we all in
the game, we all coming through trying to do our
thing. They trying to do their thing all power to em,
the niggas pumping that dry synthetic shit whatever
you want to call it.
Wu-International:
What music or artist are you currently feeling or
listening to this very moment?
Kryme Life: I listen to everything I try to stay
with the times and see what niggas are putting out
there.
Wu-International: Who would you like to work
with at the moment? Please list at least one rapper
from the east, west and south respectively?
Kryme Life: You know I'll fuck with all my east
coast niggas, all my real niggas that know how to
make good music. If I had to pick, Nas is like my
brother from another mother, I would love to work
with him, west coast OG’s Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and
em, from the south T.I.P. one of the realest niggas,
real stand up brother, I met him on the real world
tour with Jay-z and Ghost and all that. I still
wanna work with Jay-z, I never really got sit down
and talk to the brother, I admire and respect him a
great deal.
Wu-International: Ok... so who's been the
most influential person in your life?
Kryme Life: my grandmamma and my moms, and in my
present and future my soon to be wife Niquana we’ve
been through a lot together through thick and thick.
They make me wanna get up everyday and go extra
hard. |
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Wu-International: Some of your fans, who have
grown up loving T.M.F. music and that Wu sound all
around the world, have now gotten their hands wet on
productions and are giving away beats to their
favorite emcees for free, an example would be Lord
Jamar (Brand Nubian) who met an upcoming producer on
myspace, and he laced him with probably the best
tracks on his album, are you open to using any
producer with dope beat on your album or you have
your mind set on certain producers who you already
know?
Kryme Life: My current album is almost finished,
but I write everyday and I want beats from any
upcoming producer that’s doing it and feels like its
got that flavor. It doesn't matter if they’re
established because sometimes the best stuff comes
from the young hungry niggas.
Wu-International: What are your thoughts on the
mixtape circuits? Are you for this sort of promotion
or do you feel like some labels do it to profit from
your work?
Kryme Life: I believe that the mix-tape circuits
are for the streets, and if you want to make it you
have to have the streets behind you. I love the
mix-tape circuit its like the college, every nigga
that wants to put it in the air, they gotta go to
college. |
That’s
where I see the mix-tapes its where niggas get drafted into
the pros. I'm gonna be hitting it up real soon with "the
Streets Most Wanted" cause I gotta get it out there, the
most anticipated, Kna mean.
Wu-International: So can the fans expect a
mixtape from Kryme Life before or after your album?
Kryme Life: We are working on a mix-tape right
now and will probably release it before the album to help
hype album sales. Its going to be called “the Streets Most
Wanted” and it will be hitting the streets real soon.
Wu-International: Where would you see Kryme Life in the
next 5 years?
Kryme Life: By the grace of god I see kryme life in a
very strong position in the next five years, in an
entrepreneur position spreading the wealth around. Bringing
all the people back together that are doing this the way its
supposed to be done. That’s where I see Kryme Life.
Wu-International: Ok, close to end of interview, great
answers so far, what do you get up to normally when not
recording, as in hobbies etc?
Kryme Life: I just write, when I'm not writing I'm
spending time with my daughter, or contemplating my next
move. My next move is my best move, straight up.
Wu-International: Give us a run down for whats next for
the rest of 2006 and beyond for Kryme Life?
Kryme Life: Couple of EP's, a mixtape with my crew and a
lot of brothers from around the way, some shows and
finishing the album and hopefully getting a good
distribution deal so I can get the album to everyone world
wide and put NY reality rap on that global tip once more.
Wu-International: Wu-tang has a massive fan base in
Europe that embraces the likes of T.M.F., Theodore and of
course Kryme Life, do you plan any tours overseas outside
the US?
Kryme Life: My plan is to tour the whole world once I
get my music out there and people get a chance to hear it.
My label owner is from Europe so I expect that is one of the
first locations once we get all the sponsors lined up. I
love to travel so I definitely plan on showcasing my
shit worldwide.
Wu-International: Great answers man, thanks very much
for your time Kryme, it is highly appreciated, best wishes
on your endeavours, anything else you might want to add that
we missed? Any last words to your fans or potential fans?
Shout outs?
Kryme Life: To all my niggas striving out there, keep
going even if times are hard. Its gets better later. Shout
out to all my niggas at home Trife Diesel, Buck, Super, Bea-nillz,
Flip-A-Mil, Tomahawk, all my niggas, shout out to my whole
crew there’s to many to name, Wu-Tang, and a shout out to
WU-International. Make sure you let everyone know the Kryme
Wave is coming, and grab your floaty’s bitches!!!!
Wu-International: No doubt, thanks, special shout out to
Dan Bramley too.
The EP "Thugz In Da Club" will be made available for download
soon by Ruff-Line Entertainment, and CDs will later be sold
online once the website is completed, Any information
regarding this release, Kryme Life and Rufflin Entertainment
will definitely be updated on this page as soon as we find
out on our main page, forums and network sites. You can now
buy the EP of Catch Kryme
Life from his myspace account by logging on to
www.myspace.com/krymelife or Ruff-Line Entertainment at
www.myspace.com/rufflineentertainment.
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