Published: Wednesday - February 28, 2007
Words by Jay Casteel
Ying Yang Twins' Kaine (Photo: TVT Records)
The Ying Yang Twins' D-Roc and Kaine has been making back-to-back-to-back club bangers for the past five years, starting off heavily with the help of Lil Jon, then Mr. Collipark. Now, after parting ways with Mr. Collipark to do their own thing, it's a whole new ball game that they are both prepared to face. But first, they must face the stereotyped category they've been placed in as a group only known for their music for parties and women.
In a lengthy conversation with BallerStatus, Ying Yang member Kaine spoke in-depth about how they've always done music with messages, but no one's bothered to pay attention to it; their effortless ability to create good music; how their opposite personalities are key for their success; and what's next for the new year.
They may be known for hits like "Saltshaker" and "Wait (The Whisper Song)," but in Kaine's words, there's "no way that I can let myself fall into that category."
BallerStatus.com: Tell me about the album, Chemically Imbalanced.
Kaine: The album is a musically inclined album. It's got the first half for the true blue Ying Yang fan, and the second half is for the fans we have to grow on because we are affiliated with music on this album. We are subdued with the beat machine. Working with Wyclef and Jerry Wonder brought about grand pianos, bass and electric guitars, horns, and tum tum drums -- stuff that we weren't affiliated with as the Ying Yang Twins, but those instruments were something we dealt with in our lives growing up.
BallerStatus.com: How do you feel about the collaboration between Ying Yang and Wyclef, being that you're music styles are so much different.
Kaine: I love the collaboration for the simple fact, Wyclef seen something in D-Roc and Kaine that the industry hadn't even seen. He say, "Y'all love music, everybody else probably don't even know music." We love music.
BallerStatus.com: Before hooking up with Wyclef, is that something you guys were looking to do? To break out of the stereotypes the general listener puts Ying Yang Twins in?
Kaine: Yea. We were originally gonna break out of the stereotypes anyway because I think people be judgmental of me and D-Roc by the music we make and not by actually intervening with us. So for that, I consider people to be a lot more stupid than they think we are.
BallerStatus.com: As far as the new album, its called Chemically Imbalanced, so can you talk about why you decided to name it that?
Kaine: The title simply states that me and D-Roc... A lot of times we make a lot music and we can't gel with each other trying to put these songs together. We emotionally driven and a lot of people don't understand that because a lot of people aren't built off of emotion and they drive don't come from that. So, I wouldn't think that anyone that wasn't emotionally driven would really care about what we have going on. It's like, us being chemically imbalanced, it’s 'cause if I up on a day, D-Roc don't usually feel how I feel. If I feel down, he still feel the opposite way. That's why we titled it chemically imbalanced. And then, on top of that, D-Roc is more so of a people person. Not saying that I'm that, but I'm more of an Ebenezer Scrooge type of grouch. It's too much going on in this world to try to be friends with everybody. I don't really care too much about all that, so the love that you get from the Ying Yang Twins, nine times out of ten, that's coming from D-Roc. I be feeling like, within myself, that's enough love from you to get from me through my brother. I ain't gotta act just like him, then we wouldn't be Ying and Yang. We supposed to be holding up the name for what the original symbol stands for. So, I'm gonna continue being the Yang whether people like me being grouchy or not. That's they own personal concern. That's their opinion. Me and D-Roc, we think alike, but we think that not thinking alike is what brings out our fire.
BallerStatus.com: Like you said, you're the Ying and Yang of each other, so do you feel that you guys being so different, really shows that opposite chemistry coming forth in your music?
Kaine: Yea. I know we know how to write great music. I can write pretty stuff and all that, but prefer writing aggressive type of things. If you listen to D-Roc and Kaine's music, D-Roc be more so on the female side while I be going off on them. The whole thing that I be trying to get people to see is that just because we use those type of songs to get on, don't mean that we won't have more music that will be subjectly inclined than the songs we are known for.
On the U.S.A. album, it had all type of songs on it, but you only gonna talk about "Wait." And we got very political [on the album]. On top of that, along with all that club music, we had really got political on U.S.A. and people still wanna talk about "Wait." That's they situation, we are a group. We are a rounded group. We aren't a one dimensional group, so it's no way that I can let myself fall into that category where anybody ... I can't let nobody upset me. I got enough anger on my own, so I just mine rolling.
BallerStatus.com: You mentioned how your music is more diverse than what everyone hears on the radio, so why do you feel Ying Yang is pigeon holed as a group who only do club songs and songs like "Wait?"
Kaine: We came out on the female music, so that's what was that was gonna give us the drive about. Me trying to say that we were never gonna be one dimensional unless they was talking about females, that's gonna make people think that they can raise arguments with us. Because in the last 20 years, ain't nobody seen our original pallet like back in the day. That's why they got everything to say about D-Roc and Kaine, except that those guys are truly talented.
Wyclef put the call in, not to TVT Records, but to Collipark Music. He called us personally and said that he wanted to work with us. That speaks for itself.
BallerStatus.com: Now that you've parted ways with Mr. Collipark, what's in the future?
Kaine: A lot of people would like for us to feel like that Mr. Collipark was part of our group and he wasn't. We were a group that he seen something in and we helped him launch his label, as you can see everybody has been successful. Mr. Collipark has his things going, D-Roc has his brothers with Da Musicianz and I have a solo album coming where I get to express more sides of the Yang's perspective side of life. Because being in the Ying Yang Twins, we promote a good feeling so bad people don't really wanna hear me be a scrooge. So, I gotta do the whole Yang's perspective on my solo project.
We're working [Chemically Imbalanced] right now with the promotional tour and its going good. Phones is ringing off the hook 'cause me and D-Roc have started on this tour. And it's the same drive as any other album once we get to these concerts and do these songs and introduce these new songs to our fans. They picking up on them.
We also got another Ying Yang album sitting celibate.
BallerStatus.com: Wow, so another album is already done huh? The work doesn't stop.
Kaine: Right. I mean, you wouldn't have to ask Al Pacino that. He came into the game with dark black hair and now he got a head of gray hair [laughs]. It should be everybody's mission to get old in this if you got love for it.
BallerStatus.com: So far, how has the crowds' reactions been to the new music, compared to you're already known tracks?
Kaine: It's the same. A lot of people have picked up the album and a lot of people are slow about picking it up because of the slow start, which was the departure of Kaine and Mr. Collipark. He was a main locator for us as a group, you know? Like I said, we set out to launch his label for him and we done that, so I don't feel like there should be no bad blood. Although I did have some, I don't have it now. You just gotta learn to be grown, man.
BallerStatus.com: So with you leaving Collipark Music, are you guys forming you're own label?
Kaine: We already got our label deal. D-Roc already dropped his brother and them last year with "Camera Phone." They got a new album coming, Da Musicianz is coming back. And my solo album is yet to be dropped. Hopefully all my hard earned work, sweat, pain and aggression, love and joy... hopefully I can expose it to my fans so they can see that it ain't bad to be a scrooge 'cause you ain't really trying to get to know everybody in your life. All the success I've had, I still hang around with the same homeboy I've had since I was 12 years old.
BallerStatus.com: When's the solo album dropping? Kaine: Sometime this year man. I actually wanted to re-route it. People already been asking me about it 'cause everybody wanna see just I'd do if I was alone 'cause my brain don't ever stop. I do a lot of different type of things, man.
Like, just to give you an example, the front half of the U.S.A. album, all those street songs, all that was me. That's what I brought to the Ying Yang Twins. As a group, our m.o. was to be about women because that was Mr. Collipark's drive and that was the drive that D-Roc had.
They had already been in the game; I was a no-name dude when I got with them. People in the industry had already known about DJ Smurf and D-Roc. I was a nobody. I can write tremendously well though.
BallerStatus.com: Yea, I mean, no matter what people say about the Ying Yang Twins, your major songs are always creative. Even the "Wait" song was different and creative when it dropped...
Kaine: Right. I mean, a lot of people are picking up on "Dangerous" (with Wyclef Jean). I like it myself 'cause it's got that old "Maneater" in there... (sings "She's a maneaterrrrr, woahhh").
BallerStatus.com: [laughing] Right, yea, that’s what I mean. You guys always come with some different from what you did the time before.
Kaine: Yep. That's what people have to realize. See, people haven't heard things that sound original that may not be samples. It's been so long, that's why they wanna do everything except give us our true credibility.
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