Published: Monday - August 21, 2006
Words by Michael Cooper
Agallah (Photo: Babygrande)
Agallah's solo debut, You Already Know, is different than other unveilings. Why? Well, because as the title suggests, you should already know. Agallah, The Don Bishop, has been around for years as a producer who has created tracks for some of the biggest names in the business. This man has shown up everywhere, and certainly has stories to tell.
He hails from one of the roughest neighborhoods in Brooklyn and has overcome quite a bit of tragedy and loss over the years. However, he insists that this is not why he is so determined to make something of this hip-hop thing. Rather, he's doing it for himself.
Agallah is raving about his current work that he describes as the culmination of his career up to this point. Both rapping and producing on this album, Agallah proves his versatility and introduces himself to the nation.
A very outspoken Agallah spoke with BallerStatus.com about some of the aspects of the genre that need a facelift, the political and social structures that require an overhaul, and the state of affairs in the ghetto.
BallerStatus.com: How have you been, man?
Agallah: Hectic.
BallerStatus.com: Yeah? You're a tough man to get a hold of, I'll tell you that.
Agallah: Yeah, well I'm just one dude: Agallah. I ain't Purple City, know what I'm saying? I'm not three dudes no more, just by myself right now.
BallerStatus.com: You been following this crazy war going on over in the Middle East?
Agallah: Yeah, I've been following the war. I understand what's going on. It's been going on since 9-11, my dude.
BallerStatus.com: If you were President how would you handle this mess?
Agallah: Wow! That would never happen, my dude. I'm Puerto Rican and Black -- that would never happen. So that's an unrealistic question.
BallerStatus.com: I'm kind of interested to know how recording artists feel when random people ask them for words of "wisdom" regarding politics and such.
Agallah: Politics is basically what the government holds over people's heads every day of our lives to keep us at a different level. The government separates themselves from the people by doing that. And that's basically the world right now in front of you. These are your people that make these decisions. You know what I'm saying? That sends people to war. Those are your people, you know that right? You're Caucasian right?
BallerStatus.com: Correct.
Agallah: This is not racist; this is just the reality of it. The reality is that the man in the White House is George Bush. The reality is that he is the one making the decisions on people getting killed over oil and that mess...Minorities built this country. Even Irish people are minorities. From the Holocaust to slavery, we have been taken over by one type of people. And it's basically evident right now that we are in trouble. Something's going to have to happen. It's going to take reporters like you, and media like you, to stop printing the bullsh-- that the government wants us to see on television. That brainwashes the people into thinking what's wrong. You asked me if I could be the president, and other rappers probably get asked that, but I'm not completely Black. I'm Puerto Rican and not white. That's lesser than the norm here in America. I've been put here against my will. You dig what I'm saying to you man? I was raised in the projects with nothing. I come from Brownsville Projects, you know where that is?
BallerStatus.com: Yeah.
Agallah: Yep, in Brooklyn, and it's not a good place. It's like second to third world Somalia in Africa; only it's here in America. You understand? A place normal people would never dream of living or trying to survive in.
BallerStatus.com: Um hum, but you're making it out of there.
Agallah: Hip-hop is a struggle. It's a struggle my dude, and I'm a spokesman for it.
BallerStatus.com: Guess we ought to get to the album now. What was the cause for the push back?
Agallah: Well, really no reason at all. It was my reason because the label and myself were not prepared for the promotion and marketing of it. We had to push it back a bit because the record is so much more. You know what I mean? This is my first album in fifteen years. It's been a long time coming, recording, and putting those rhymes together.
BallerStatus.com: So how exactly did you get started in production?
Agallah: Well, it came from my man Bobby Crawford, R.I.P; he got murdered on Thanksgiving in 1997. He taught me and I took what I learned and keep my skill and craft going. Overall, I've had a love for music since I was five years old. I bought records, I was a DJ, I beat-boxed, I rapped at school talent shows -- I did it all.
BallerStatus.com: Who did you listen to growing up?
Agallah: I am the epitome of hip-hop. I basically listened to KRS-One, Kool G Rap, BDP, NWA, A Tribe Called Quest, and so on. My influence comes from the early stages of hip-hop.
BallerStatus.com: Coming from that rough neighborhood if you weren't involved in music where would you see yourself?
Agallah: Where do you think? I mean, where do you think I would be? You know where I would be? On that f---ing corner, with n----s on the block, hustling. I'm not a college graduate. I don't have a trust fund. I don't have a bank account that my family left for me to live off of. So, where do you think I'm going to get my job at? Where do you think I'm going to get my education at? Where do you think I'm going to survive at? Right here in the ghetto. That's what it is, what white people have been doing to us for years. They put us in slavery, now they put us in the projects. The word project means test in the dictionary, in the American dictionary. Am I correct?
BallerStatus.com: You're right; it's something along those lines.
Agallah: It means test, which means they put people through a test. You know they have the thing called a rat race where they put a bunch of rats in a hole and let them migrate for two weeks until they kill each other off like genocide. That's what the projects is: Genocide made by the white man, so we can all love each other and kill each other in the same vicinity until there is no more of us left. And I want to see all of this on Ballerstatus. I don't want to see my sh-- edited. I don't want to see my sh-- f---ed up. I know what I'm telling you. No disrespect to you, but I got to treat the media like this because those people f--- our sh-- up all the time. I am tired of this sh--. Word? I am not a f---ing Hollywood dude. I'm from the ghetto. I don't got no Bentleys my dude. I am out here grinding for mine. So, I want to see my sh-- real. Know what I mean?
BallerStatus.com: I respect what you've done. And how you've overcome some tragedy?
Agallah: My life, man, is life. How am I going to let life imitate art knowing that this industry never compares to my street upbringing? You dig me? I've been raised around the worst type of people, and good types of people, that have given me the knowledge of life to move on. Why would rap do that to me? Why? Why would that do that to me? Do it for yourself. And that's where people lose the focus of getting inspiration. Life is an inspiration alone if you're living. There's so much more things than music out here. There are different elements of life, and we have yet to travel to understand other elements. And that's what life is all about. It ain't about rap, not with me.
BallerStatus.com: Back to the album real quick. There are several guests on there, how hard was it to corral some of these guys?
Agallah: Like I said, this album was fifteen years in the making. This album is my first album, ever. This album right here defines hip-hop. Where it needs to be, and what hip-hop is. Anything prior, before me or after me, is irrelevant to my existence. I basically got with Dead Prez, Kool G Rap, DJ Premier, Alchemist, Nappy Roots, and Ike Eyez. I brought all these elements together, which had never been done before and created, instigated, what I basically put to the game as a producer and artist for so many years. Now I feel vindicated. I don't have to put another album out after this. I mean, I will definitely. I'm already working on another one -- my next album. This album is very meaningful to me. This is the album I can die in a casket with, real talk. I can die after this album and say, "I did what I had to do for hip-hop."
BallerStatus.com: What's next for Purple City?
Agallah: Right now Purple City is definitely still there, but I have my own agenda right now. I have ventured on into my own movement, into my own level right now, to make the world see what's really popping. I am what's really popping right now. Sheist will come out with an album after mine, I'm sure, and basically match the level of intensity that the fans want to hear. But at the same time, this right here is unmatchable.
BallerStatus.com: Who's your favorite, of some of those others, to collaborate with?
Agallah: Well, I'm so wide ranged I have love for a lot of good music. Rap isn't up to par like it should be. But, there are a couple of cats in the game that's bringing it back and I appreciate what they're doing. We just have to bring it to a full circle. And I think it's more about the movement then about the rapper now. I am part of a movement, and I keep it moving with that I'm doing. That's what I stand for. That's what my whole life has been: a struggle into this game.
BallerStatus.com: You mentioned rap isn't up to par like it should be. What needs to be done to get it back on track?
Agallah: I think rappers need to start being more responsible and living out what they say. And basically bringing the people together, which I stress. I stress that to every rapper. Know who your fans are, know who your supporters are, and know who's behind you. But, also know who your enemy is because literally everybody is not on the same side. So at the end of the day, we have to know where we are, what we can do, and what reality is. I deal with reality...if I ain't got no promotion or marketing, I'm not going to sell a million records. I might have to walk the dog myself, like I'm doing now. I'm walking dogs myself. Like Babygrande...they don't want to give an artist promotion or marketing because they ain't trying to see you pop off like that. I got to walk that walk. I'm letting it be known right now, I'm walking the walk. Not the label, I am. So it's all you, it's all who you are, my dude. It's all on who you are and what you're bringing to the game. I don't rely on Chuck Wilson (Babygrande) for nothing. It's business, so he knows and I know what I got to do. I play my position, he play his label position. And at the end of the day, if I can't get promotion or marketing, I got to make it happen myself. I have to take that reality and run with it.
BallerStatus.com: So 2007 is looking like a big year for The Don Bishop. You got a tour in the works?
Agallah: Yeah, check on my Myspace online. You can go to TheDonBishop.com, it shows updates and all that. We'll be going all over my dude. This is a real campaign. It's the f---ing artificial love campaign. F--- all that artificial love. Who wants to show real love to Agallah? That's what I'm going to find out.
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