Post by Kephrem on May 23, 2005 14:02:21 GMT -5
Black Market Militia: Struggle Onward
By Kenny Rodriguez
Perhaps it is blind determination that compelled Killah Priest, Tragedy Khadafi, Hell Razah, Timbo King, and William Cooper to unite and form the supergroup Black Market Militia. Each MC respectively conveys a gritty style of street storytelling underlined with Islamic beliefs, Hebraic teachings, and Five-Percenter ideology. This combination of the secular and the spiritual leads to quite an interesting dichotomy. As Tragedy explains, “I believe all of us have a street side to us, as well as a conscious side.” The vibe between these five MC’s was immediate, and what initially was meant to be a one-song collaboration eventually expanded into an entire album.
With musical roots stemming back to the Wu-Tang Clan and Juice Crew era, Black Market Militia has the potential to shake up a lot of heads in the Hip-Hop industry. Several members of the group sat down with AllHipHop.com to discuss how their collaborative project came about, and whether or not the world is ready for what these MC’s really have to say.
AllHipHop.com: How’d the Black Market Militia project first come about?
Killah Priest: Well, we wanted to focus on making a militant album, ‘cause that’s the way it was set up. At first, I just wanted to make like a crazy Hip-Hop joint, but you know the struggle stuff always comes up so we threw that up in there. It was first me and Tragedy, ‘cause we met at The Source party a while back. We exchanged numbers back-and-forth, and I thought it’d be ill if me and him came together and made like a new, even harder, Mobb Deep, you know? Then he brought in William Cooper, and my whole fam was like, “Who is this cat?” So it’s like all right, I’ll bring in my boy. I brought in Hell Razah and Timbo King. So that’s how it all happened, everybody was feeling the vibe of it in the studio, and we just started recording.
AllHipHop.com: What’s the meaning behind the title? The name alone carries a lot of connotations.
Tragedy: Black Market is something that’s underground, that people deem under the radar. To me, that was my affiliation with the concept. The interesting thing about it is that all of us have different perspectives, but that’s what makes it what it is. My perspective is mine, but at the same time we can all build and come together on a record with different perspectives that are positive. We all coming from different angles.
Killah Priest: A militia is a movement you ain’t gonna hear everywhere. It’s four general MC’s and the newcomer, William Cooper, [we’re] just blazing ‘cause we can’t be touched. That’s the attitude we took to it.
AllHipHop.com: You all have strong spiritual beliefs, yet you each ascribe to different teachings. How’d that play out in the studio?
Hell Razah: It all worked out because we each learned something about each other’s cultures. At the same time, it’s a lot of the same stuff; whether you deal with Islam or you with Hebrew Israelites, it all comes from Abraham. So it all boils down to one thing regardless. There was a lot of s**t happening while we was recording. Iraq, Bush being reelected, all of that was going on while we was recording. So the studio was crazy. We was watching Illuminati DVDs, Che Guevara movies. The studio session was like a temple; everybody brought something. Somebody might bring a book, a tape, a document – like, “Yo check this out!” Then somebody else would be like, “Oh word, well you seen this?” Just building, it’s like steel sharpened steel.
Killah Priest: We would all just come to the studio and start building. Some of the songs was even done in Jerusalem when I went out there. Everyone was just building, from a seed to the tallest tree, you know? We took it on every level, every aspect.
We all got one movement, and that’s the struggle. We all see eye-to-eye. When we building on conspiracy theories and things like that, just hearing Trag speak I was like, “Ah man, the god is kinda ill with his speaking.” I’d listen, then I’d add on. Then Razah who’s an incredible speaker, he had all types of books. So we was just going back-and-forth, it was like a vibe. Like being in an Indian tent.
AllHipHop.com: An underlying theme that runs throughout your lyrics is the mixture of street life with righteous teaching. Do you see these two lifestyles as being inseparable?
Tragedy: A lot of us come from the street, so that’s a part of us. If you’re a smart dude and you come from the streets, that’s gonna be your basic education. That’s where you learn how to deal with the world. So me, I learned certain things off the streets that became part of my character. But at the same time, you learn other things about the world that’s not just on a street level. When I spit, I wanna reach out to everyone and give them my perspective on how I see the world. That’s not to say my perspective is right or wrong, that’s just my perspective on s**t. I believe all of us have a street side to us, as well as a conscious side. Especially speaking for myself, I know that’s what I added to it.
By Kenny Rodriguez
Perhaps it is blind determination that compelled Killah Priest, Tragedy Khadafi, Hell Razah, Timbo King, and William Cooper to unite and form the supergroup Black Market Militia. Each MC respectively conveys a gritty style of street storytelling underlined with Islamic beliefs, Hebraic teachings, and Five-Percenter ideology. This combination of the secular and the spiritual leads to quite an interesting dichotomy. As Tragedy explains, “I believe all of us have a street side to us, as well as a conscious side.” The vibe between these five MC’s was immediate, and what initially was meant to be a one-song collaboration eventually expanded into an entire album.
With musical roots stemming back to the Wu-Tang Clan and Juice Crew era, Black Market Militia has the potential to shake up a lot of heads in the Hip-Hop industry. Several members of the group sat down with AllHipHop.com to discuss how their collaborative project came about, and whether or not the world is ready for what these MC’s really have to say.
AllHipHop.com: How’d the Black Market Militia project first come about?
Killah Priest: Well, we wanted to focus on making a militant album, ‘cause that’s the way it was set up. At first, I just wanted to make like a crazy Hip-Hop joint, but you know the struggle stuff always comes up so we threw that up in there. It was first me and Tragedy, ‘cause we met at The Source party a while back. We exchanged numbers back-and-forth, and I thought it’d be ill if me and him came together and made like a new, even harder, Mobb Deep, you know? Then he brought in William Cooper, and my whole fam was like, “Who is this cat?” So it’s like all right, I’ll bring in my boy. I brought in Hell Razah and Timbo King. So that’s how it all happened, everybody was feeling the vibe of it in the studio, and we just started recording.
AllHipHop.com: What’s the meaning behind the title? The name alone carries a lot of connotations.
Tragedy: Black Market is something that’s underground, that people deem under the radar. To me, that was my affiliation with the concept. The interesting thing about it is that all of us have different perspectives, but that’s what makes it what it is. My perspective is mine, but at the same time we can all build and come together on a record with different perspectives that are positive. We all coming from different angles.
Killah Priest: A militia is a movement you ain’t gonna hear everywhere. It’s four general MC’s and the newcomer, William Cooper, [we’re] just blazing ‘cause we can’t be touched. That’s the attitude we took to it.
AllHipHop.com: You all have strong spiritual beliefs, yet you each ascribe to different teachings. How’d that play out in the studio?
Hell Razah: It all worked out because we each learned something about each other’s cultures. At the same time, it’s a lot of the same stuff; whether you deal with Islam or you with Hebrew Israelites, it all comes from Abraham. So it all boils down to one thing regardless. There was a lot of s**t happening while we was recording. Iraq, Bush being reelected, all of that was going on while we was recording. So the studio was crazy. We was watching Illuminati DVDs, Che Guevara movies. The studio session was like a temple; everybody brought something. Somebody might bring a book, a tape, a document – like, “Yo check this out!” Then somebody else would be like, “Oh word, well you seen this?” Just building, it’s like steel sharpened steel.
Killah Priest: We would all just come to the studio and start building. Some of the songs was even done in Jerusalem when I went out there. Everyone was just building, from a seed to the tallest tree, you know? We took it on every level, every aspect.
We all got one movement, and that’s the struggle. We all see eye-to-eye. When we building on conspiracy theories and things like that, just hearing Trag speak I was like, “Ah man, the god is kinda ill with his speaking.” I’d listen, then I’d add on. Then Razah who’s an incredible speaker, he had all types of books. So we was just going back-and-forth, it was like a vibe. Like being in an Indian tent.
AllHipHop.com: An underlying theme that runs throughout your lyrics is the mixture of street life with righteous teaching. Do you see these two lifestyles as being inseparable?
Tragedy: A lot of us come from the street, so that’s a part of us. If you’re a smart dude and you come from the streets, that’s gonna be your basic education. That’s where you learn how to deal with the world. So me, I learned certain things off the streets that became part of my character. But at the same time, you learn other things about the world that’s not just on a street level. When I spit, I wanna reach out to everyone and give them my perspective on how I see the world. That’s not to say my perspective is right or wrong, that’s just my perspective on s**t. I believe all of us have a street side to us, as well as a conscious side. Especially speaking for myself, I know that’s what I added to it.
