Ok this is the second part of the interview and talk is of consoles, singles, The Cool and Lupe actually pauses mid interview to get Chris Brown tickets. If you haven’t read part 1 click here.
Part one finished with me asking…
So what films are you feeling at the moment?
I think Shoot Em Up is dope and the latest Resident Evil.
What would you give that out of 5?
I’d give it like a 4. I love Milla Jovovich. I love her character. I think she is dope.
What is your favourite bit from that film?
When she used her psychic powers to burn up the birds.
Part two is as follows…
I’d like to find out about what you do when you’re not in the on tv, on stage or recording so here are a few random/ quick fire questions…
Hot or Cold?
Cold.
In or out?
[Laughs] Erm… out.
Nintendo, SEGA or Sony
Ooooooow wow… [deliberates for about four seconds, then replies with a perfect replica]… SEEEEGA. I would have to say SEGA cos of Shinobi. It does depend on which era and which system we’re talking about cos Nintendo did have their day… HOLD ON, HOLD ON… TWO SECONDS TWO SECONDS… [Phone line goes quiet]. Now just listen in on the conversation… you ready…?
[I listen closely]… ok?
[Speaks on the other line] Yo D Jones!
ok?
Yo D Jones… you there?
…
Yo Yo? [Now speaks to me]… Oh, he hung up but he’s gonna call back. I want you to hear what he is actually calling me about. You’re gonna laugh your ass off.
Ok? [I carry on like it didn’t happen] Which is your favourite Superstar or Dumb It Down?
Erm… Superstar…
Do you want to give us a reason?
Erm… Cos of the way it came. The inspiration. It came from this guy named Tom Waits, who is like this weird ghetto gospel/ jazz/ blues/ vintage kind of singer. I know where it came from and I know what it means… oh and because of Mathew [Santos], he gets his chance to shine and does an exceptional job.
How would you break down those tracks?
Dumb It Down is basically is a track that I recorded after a long hiatus - from being on tour – so it was super lyrical. Everything that was kinda pent up had to come out. The hook was like, ‘man these verses are so deep, and we need to make it dumb, you know… Dumb It Down’. It was… HOLD ON, HERE IS THIS CALL… [he speaks on the other line] Yo D Jones… I need two Chris Brown tickets… what up man; I need two Chris Brown tickets man.
… [Currently holding laugher]
[mumbling]
[Laughing]
[Still speaking on the other line with this D Jones character]… tell... tell him Lupe said big favour and he needs two tickets for tonight. Chicago, I need ‘em. A’ight.
[Now speaking to me] Yo…
Is that how it is, the Chris Brown hook up?
[Laughs] yeah. [Laughs hard]… Erm yeah. [Then carries on like nothing happened]… oh, yeah the hook couldn’t be too lyrical. It’s for the people who really weren’t getting it.
Was it an attack on some of your haters?
Yeah, I was taking it away from them. I was like, ‘I know. I know I’m too lyrical. That’s the point.’ Once you start to take away people’s weapons they’re stuck.
Did you say to anything to Kanye when he lost his mum?
Yeah, yeah when it initially happened. But you know you have to let people deal with things in their own way. You have to give them space. She was a beautiful person.
How do you think he will bounce back?
You know he’ll work though it. Same kind of thing happened when my father passed. You know? You’ve gotta take it, internalise it – cos it’s a heavy loss, cos it will effect you – but you still have to go out there and live your life. That is why your parents give you life. You don’t pass on if they do. You live on.
The Cool is mentioned on the first LP, right?
Yeah, The Cool is from a song on the first album. It was from a hustler who came back to life and goes back to his own neighbourhood and gets robbed. Ironically it’s by the same gun that killed him. So I went back and expanded on the story, introducing new characters and mixed it in with the real world. Basically everyone wants to be cool and embraces the streets.
Ok…
You know, I didn’t want to do a full like, concept album but I did do it over four or five records. Which sends you back to the first album… which sends you back to certain mixtape records to kind of really get the story. So you have to go and listen to He Said She Said and then listen to The Cool again. So the story scatters around my whole career.
…
It’s a dark album cos I was in a dark mood. I’ve lost a few people on the way – there have been some personal tragedies – so this is the music that comes out… dark. So that is me embracing those things and turning them into something positive.
Are you still in that dark place?
I’m coming out of it. The Cool is like the end. You know when you’re ill and there is that last day that you start sneezing, coughing and hacking up stuff. That is when the sickness is kinda leaving.
Finally, which track would you say is your Kick, Push or your Daydreaming?
Kick, Push is probably Hip Hop Saved My Life. Daydreaming… I don’t know. High Definition maybe.
[A voice from the record label soon interrupts our cool chat.. ]
“Danny, can you make this the last question?”
So when are you coming to the UK?
I’ll be there in February-ish… you know? I’ve gotta go get my passport today actually. I lost my passport. Once that is sorted [laughs] I’ll be over there soon.
Ok, thanks for that Lupe.
I appreciate it man.
- Interview ends -
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