Published: Wednesday - August 9, 2006
Words by Jeremy Simmonds
Numskull (Photo: All Bay Group)
The Bay may be seeing some much deserved exposure in mainstream America due to the uprising of the hyphy movement, but that's not what they were always known for. In the mid-90's, most of you may remember a group by the name of the Luniz -- made up of Yukmouth and Numskull -- who had everyone putting "5" on the next bag with their hit single "I Got 5 On It," which peaked at no. 8 on the Billboard charts in '95.
Well, Yukmouth may be more at the forefront of the pair as a Rap-A-Lot Records solo artist, but that doesn't mean Numskull has fallen off of the planet. Independently, he's released a collaboration album with Clee of Digital Underground in 2000 and presented the Bay Area group Hittaz On The Payroll in 2003.
During a chat session with BallerStatus.com, Numskull spoke of his history in the music industry, the Bay Area music scene and his future plans for his career.
Ballerstatus.com: People may not know this, but you were on Dru Down's Fools From the Streets album. How old were you then?
Numskull: I was 18.
Ballerstatus.com: How would you describe your style of rapping?
Numskull: I'm honest, I like just being myself.
Ballerstatus.com: You have the more aggressive and clear flow of the Luniz, while Yukmouth uses more metaphors and similes in his raps...
Numskull: Yeah, Yuk has definitely one of the best flows out there.
Ballerstatus.com: How many albums have you sold?
Numskull: I've sold between two to three million albums worldwide.
Ballerstatus.com: Are you still doing shows with Digital Underground? How did you hook up with them?
Numskull: Yeah, I still tour with them. We hooked up through my manager AJ Pavel.
Ballerstatus.com: What is one of your proudest accomplishments or momement as one-half of the Luniz?
Numskull: We had one of the first songs put out by a West Coast artist that got played in New York. There isn't really one moment or anything, but just the first time going overseas, seeing a different culture, seeing a different way of life people live, that to me is most special.
Ballerstatus.com: What are the advantages and disadvantages to putting out a record on a major label or independently, being that you've experience both sides of the coin?
Numskull: Independent there is more money, and on a major there is more fame.
Ballerstatus.com: With your classic "I've Got 5 On It," which sampled Club Nouveau, you went out and got Mike Marshall to sing the hook on it. So, you recognized where you got the sound from. Do you feel that new artists from the Bay are paying homage to the rappers before them? For example, on MTV's "My Block: The Bay"," they featured Keak Da Sneak, but didn't even mention 3XKrazy.
Numskull: Well, we got 3XKrazy signed. The hyphy artists today, they know and appreciate where they got their style from. Just knowing that is important. And I think they recognize the people that laid the foundation for them. I mean, they're the younger generation, so they deserve their own time to shine.
Ballerstatus.com: Do you think that people appreciate the influence that the Luniz had? Like in the movie "Friday," you see an ice cream truck with gold rims, with Faizon Love and Ice Cube there, but no Luniz.
Numskull: Yeah, I think people could have had us recognized more, like in the movie you just mentioned. Master P should have recognized where he got the ice cream man from.
Ballerstatus.com: Bobby Seale and Huey Newton started the Black Panthers out in Oakland, and their organization was really about self sufficiency. They wanted Blacks to have their own education, economy and government. Does that relate at all to the huge independent music scene in Oakland?
Numskull: In Oakland, something like music is all you have to keep you sane. Just like the hyphy movement today. It came from hustling and being broke. It all comes from independency.
Ballerstatus.com: Why was there a lack of push behind the latest Luniz album, Silver & Black?
Numskull: There were issues between Rap-A-Lot and C-Note. Rap-A-Lot had a deadline for the release, C-Note wasn't happy with the album. But, Rap-A-Lot released it anyways. There was no video, there was one commercial for it, so it didn't get much promotion at all.
Ballerstatus.com: Were you happy with the album itself?
Numskull: Yeah, it was good. It was bootlegged though. In the Bay Area alone, we probably lost about 200-300,000 copies because of that.
Ballerstatus.com: The connection that you, Yukmouth, and Dru Down had at C-Note Records, was their a real connection there or was it more business relating to the fact you were all on one label?
Numskull: We were brothers, and every time we did anything together, it was all love.
Ballerstatus.com: Will we see a new Luniz album in the near future?
Numskull: Yeah, I think so.
Ballerstatus.com: What would you like to do in the future with your career?
Numskull: See the world some more.
For more info on Numskull, visit AllBayGroup.com or MySpace.com/SirDrankALot.
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