Published: Friday - September 29, 2006
Words by Francesca Djerejian
Lake (Photo: Koch)
With the growing number of rappers getting locked up or involved in violent (and often tragic) scuffles, the lines between the streets and the music are more blurry than ever. And with what seems to be every rapper claiming to be realer than the next, it's also becoming difficult to separate the truth from the fakeness. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter, good music is good music and rap legends like Nas made classic albums that drew largely on second-hand experiences of the illegal life. Still, nobody can deny the power of hearing a verse from someone who actually did dirt in the streets and lived to tell it, no matter how embellished their story is.
While Nas was writing in his now famous book of rhymes, childhood friend Lake, a.k.a. Lakey The Kid, was hustling in the streets of Queensbridge, running from the police, getting shot and eventually incarcerated. After a seven year stint that ended in '99, Lake came home to find many of his QB peoples established in the rap game -- Esco, Mobb Deep and CNN included. In a gesture of unity, Lake got all the local rap notables together on his 41st Side Compilation, which also featured Littles, Big Noyd and Cormega. As Lake tells it, all that unity went to waste when self-interest and disloyalty got in the way of team. Though he was featured on God's Son, Lake feels that Nas dragged his feet on helping mutual friends of theirs in trouble, as well as protégés like the Bravehearts.
Not one to sit back and wait for assistance, Lake moved on to a Plan B that extends beyond the Bridge, all the way to Los Angeles, California. As the first artist signed to Death Row East -- which has definitely been a long time coming -- Lake is hoping to replicate the success of Suge Knight's one-time West Coast rap empire.
With a new album out, entited Lake featuring Cormega: My Brother's Keeper, Lake sat down with us to discuss his criminal past, the falling out with Nas, and why he believes Death Row East will succeed.
BallerStatus.com: You and Cormega have both lived the criminal life and served lengthy sentences. How do you think that differentiates you from other rappers who were not necessarily in the streets like that?
Lake: The difference is that everything that we say is things that we've experienced, not things that we heard secondhand or we've seen somebody do. When you got an artist that comes out who's speaking on something that he went through, he gonna speak about from a different viewpoint than people coming from the outside looking in, who talk about the streets and glorify it and sensationalize certain things that people who really experienced don't. So, when you hear me talking about those stories, it's because I lost a lot of people in the street, a lot of my friends were killed at a young age of 16, 17, a lot of people that were with me in the streets that was real close friends of mine went to jail when we was 17, 18, and they didn't come home yet. They been in jail every bit of 12 years now, so going thought that and putting our families through what they went through and us having to go through being in prison and being oppressed for all the time that we were in there, that's not something that I'm gonna come out here and act like that's what it is. And to really talk about it like its really all that, you misleading these other young dudes that's coming up that don't know no better. Making it look like its something worth doing, that's foul for you to do that to somebody you care about. It's like you having a son and you telling him to do wrong and go to jail. If you know how foul it is to go through that, why would you want somebody you care about to go through that?
BallerStatus.com: But when you channel your past into a career as a rapper, on some level you glorify it...
Lake: It's not glorifying it if that's what you went through. I'm not saying that's what's poppin'. If I talk about it, I have a right to talk about it because that's my life. If I made an autobiography or I made a movie, that would be my movie, but I'm not glorifying it in the movie, this is my life. If I'm talking about being shot, I've been shot in my chest and I've been shot three times. If I'm talking about being stabbed, I've been stabbed when I was incarcerated in my sleep, going to war when I was locked up. I had the police chasing me through my projects trying to blow my head off, me talking about it is not glorifying it. I went to trial facing two A-1 felonies facing natural life and the police officers coming on the stand trying to put me in jail my whole life. I had them following me and having federal probes over me. I got the right to talk about my life. So, it's not like somebody else that's talking about it and they making it seem like its something that its not, that's when it's wrong.
BallerStatus.com: On "The Oath" off the Brother's Keeper album, you compare yourself and Cormega to a "Cat and Pap in their prime." What did people from QB think of the Southside drug crews back in the day?
Lake: There was definitely a lot of respect for them. That's a whole different side from QB, but I heard about what they was doing and that's the lifestyle I was drawn to more than rap music. But, I was always doing hip-hop. I was breakdancing, going to the park before Shante, Biz and Shan performed, I was always into the culture of hip-hop, this is what I knew. I could sing everybody's songs from Doug E Fresh to Slick Rick, Fat Boys, everything... that was our style, that was the way we dressed, that was conversation and that was what we loved. The only thing I never did was make records. I didn't have the desire to make records; I wanted to be in the streets and get money and be like Fat Cat and Pappy Mason. I wanted to live that lifestyle, so that was the way I went.
BallerStatus.com: The album also had a remake of the classic Cormega song "A Thin Line," and both versions address snitching. What do you think about the anti-snitch movement that has become so popular lately?
Lake: You know what, a lot of people say things that they think other people want to hear. They know people on the street may identify with that, so they're trying to appeal to those people when they talking about it. But, that's not necessarily them. When you put in a situation like that, you probably going to be the same motherf---er that you talking about. You will snitch if you get into something and they're telling you we're giving you 13 years or 15. That's easier said than done for you to not do that. So, unless you really had to go through that situation and you stood up and you took whatever came with that, you really can't talk about somebody else. You can say that's foul for you to snitch, I understand that, but what would you do? And you don't really know 'cause you've never been in that situation. Now I have been in that situation and I know a few other people in the game that's been through that situation and didn't go out like that and I respect them. But, most of these dudes talking about that, you can just ask them what situations have you been through? If you ask the right questions, then you get the answer that you're looking for.
BallerStatus.com: You were featured on Nas' "Revolutionary Warfare," but you two have not worked together after that. Then, you released the mixtape track "Why Nas?," which addressed several disappointments you have about him. Why do you think his support for you ended?
Lake: The support never changed, it was just that things didn't happen. And when things didn't materialize, it was like enough is enough. A lot of things was going on when I was waiting on him. When I came home, after I had the case in 2002, he wanted me to get down with him and do Ill Will and I was down. We were supposed to get together and he was gung ho about making it happen, but he never made it happen. And while I'm waiting on him, people was waiting on me and all of them went to jail. The Feds came in and built up some weak case on everybody and locked them up and they was in jail. It was like, "Come on, this is ridiculous. People are depending on us and we not doing nothing to make it happen for them." I can't do that no more.
BallerStatus.com: Are the Bravehearts mad at Nas?
Lake: The difference is, there are some things people want to say, but they may not be able to say 'cause they in a situation. And for me, to wait on somebody, it's not worth it. If I waited for somebody to do something and took orders, I wouldn't be the person I am. If we say we gonna do something and it's beneficial, then aight I can rock. But, if it's not gonna go down, I'm out. I'm gonna do something else. Certain people may do that, they may wait on them because for some people, Nas is the only person they got. Everything that they got that you know them for is through him, and if they stop messing with him, they not gonna have nothing.
BallerStatus.com: Back when you did the 41st Side album, did you think Cormega was going to be the only QB rapper you were still down with today?
Lake: No, I was proud of all of them. When I came home from jail, everybody had blown up. I went to jail in '92, I was an adolescent. During my incarceration -- I came out in '99 -- everybody blew up. Nas blew, Mobb Deep got on, so when I came home, we all had a history from when we was growing up. All of them had love for me and they had been checking for me. I was doing a lot of things when I was out there that made them look up to me and respect me like I was older than them, but that was my life. They didn't really know what they were going to do, then they got into music and it worked. But, I was out in the streets, trying to hold down the hood and stand up and and do everything that came with it. That's why I did all that time.
BallerStatus.com: Why did QB rappers fall out after 41st Side?
Lake: Because there was no unity. People will come together for a second or whatever, but when something's real and when it's not real... People are trying to make the same moves and there's so much potential for all of us to reunite, but nobody wants to be consistent with it. Nobody really cared about the other dude who wasn't getting no money. Like if you had your little situation, you're good with that, but you not trying to feed the people around you or to help anybody else come up, that's what really messed everything up.
BallerStatus.com: Who from the rap community came to see you when you were locked up?
Lake: Cormega was the only one.
BallerStatus.com: You're on Loon's last album, how did you two get together?
Lake: Me and Loon, we had a mutual friend and one day I was up there with him in Harlem and he called Loon's phone and told him I was up there. Then Loon said, "Word, Imma come there and meet him." I heard about Loon, Loon heard about me and when we got up to meet and there was a mutual respect behind the history. So, it was all love. I went down to Atlanta, stayed with him and did some records. It was poppin', that's my dude.
BallerStatus.com: On the "Mobb Style" track with Loon, you say you're from where "the average rap dude couldn't last a summer..."
Lake: That's an actual fact. A lot of these dudes want to be respected for something that they not and they don't want to pay homage or give dudes their just dues for who they are. Whatever it is, I give dudes they props, if he a get money dude, if he a smart business man, if he's real. Imma say what it is because I'm secure in who I am. These dudes act like they don't want to give respect to the people they need to pay homage to. I'm talking about dudes older than me that all of us came up under. They just want to exploit them and kick they names out there, but not pay no homage to them. You frontin' like you give a f--- about these n----s, but a lot of these dudes coming home from jail and trying to get legitimate and do sh--, none of these dudes is trying to help. And these are same people that you build your credibility off of, throwing their names to be affiliated, so people can hear that and be like, "Oh word, he f--- with so-and-so." Now you getting your credibility up and use them to get where you at, but now these same people is in a situation, but these dudes don't want to help them out. That sh-- is weak.
BallerStatus.com: Shyne and you are close, right?
Lake: Shyne's my boy. He was going to sign me with Gangland and he was structuring the deal. We was making it happen the first week of January and that's when they came with the case and the Son of Sam law and shut down Godfather Buried Alive, so that f---ed everything up. But, Shyne always been a supporter of mine. He would do whatever he could do -- send money, make phone calls. So, when I got with Suge and that started to work out, he was still in support of what I was doing. He wanted to help co-executive produce the album, work with me and try to make this sh-- pop any way he can 'til he come out. I'm rocking with Shyne regardless, no matter what he do. If he get Gangland poppin', I'm down with him.
BallerStatus.com: Is any beef with Diddy on the horizon?
Lake: It ain't even about Diddy. Shyne ain't thinking about that and Diddy not thinking about it either. He about his business and Shyne is about his business. He just learned something and it cost him a lot to learn what he learned, but he's going to utilize that to his benefit. The beef and all that, he ain't thinking about that. Shyne's trying to get his life together; he got every bit of almost eight years in. He lost a lot and he can't get that back. None of these dudes are killers; they not a threat, so it's no beef.
BallerStatus.com: You did seven years, do you feel like you lost time?
Lake: Time is something I definitely can't make up, I'm just trying to get what I can with the time that I got. And I'm glad I got an opportunity to do some of these things. The things that I lost, I can't play catch up or none of that. I know I lost a lot and there's a lot of time I spent in prison that I can't get back. I'm never going to be able to change that, but that's what keeps me focused out here. Looking back on that, no matter how bad it get, it could be worse. Long as I still got my ability to move around, I'm gonna be able to survive. I could be one conversation or one phone call away from changing my life and being in a whole different situation as long as I'm here. Being in jail, you don't have that option. Being in jail, you definitely miss a lot and that's why I'm focused.
BallerStatus.com: Do you ever miss your days of hustling?
Lake: Rap is the only career I can have after that where I can still be myself. My life is too crazy to put in conversation. The things that I go through--I could never miss nothing 'cause I'm right here. I'm in the street, my life don't change. People around me catch cases every day. The things that we go through every day is ridiculous. The pressures I gotta deal with from the police, who anytime they get their hands on me, build cases on me and try to come at me sideways and get at me. I'm right here. I'm not far away from it to where I'm able to look back, I'm still trying to get out of it. And that's one thing that make a difference between the rappers that's out is that I don't have to reach. And if you look at the artists that have been out and really made their mark, they did it when they were closer to the streets. When you get detached from it, you still trying to reach, but this is not what you seeing, so you trying to come back or live vicariously through it.
BallerStatus.com: Do you think New York rap is in a bad spot right now?
Lake: Nah, New York is still powerful. New York is always powerful. On whatever level we doing it, we always going to be doing it. The biggest rappers in the game right now is in New York. People act like they ain't from New York, but dudes from Queens are poppin'; they doing their thing. What are you talkin' about New York ain't poppin'? The most known and the most successful rappers right now are from here, so maybe its different with the sound. It may be more party or it may not be as edgy as what they started making, but they still doing what they doing. New York is still relevant and as long as the artists don't lose sight of who they are and try to chase these dudes too much, it'll work itself out.
BallerStatus.com: Do you have confidence in Suge as a business man today?
Lake: I respect Suge's business. The places that he took himself and his company to was monumental when he did it. He really laid it down. Nobody can take that from him, so for me to be able to sit down with him and learn some of the things that he learned is gonna take me beyond my years in the game. He knows how to make it happen and for me get to this point is priceless, so I appreciate that in itself. I'm learning a lot of stuff that I never would have known if I didn't get with Suge, so my business is going to be good.
BallerStatus.com: Is he giving you a lot of autonomy on your project?
Lake: Yeah, Suge doesn't micromanage at all. He lets me do what I want to do. He tells me what he thinks, what he like the most, but he rocking with me. He believes in what I do and he had no reason to. He had all types of people give him CDs and all types of sh--, but when he got with me, he really loved the music and he really wanted get with me. I had never met Suge or nothing before, so we didn't have any type of history.
BallerStatus.com: What's the plan with Death Row East?
Lake: We plan on getting the music out, building this into exactly what they did on the West Coast. They laid down the flag and they let everybody know what they was coming with. That's exactly what we gonna do. Now its time to build, to get the story out there, to get the buzz, to get everybody knowing who I am and what we doing and connect with the streets. After we do that, everything else falls into place.
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