Published: Tuesday - March 27, 2007
Words by Gritz
Redman (Photo: Def Jam)
Reggie Noble is a man of many nicknames: Funk Doctor Spot, Supaman Luva, Doc, Uncle Kwiley, and, of course, Redman.
He is also a man of many personas, having appeared in movies like "How High" and "Seed Of Chucky," a number of Nickelodeon cartoons, and videogames such as "Def Jam Vendetta" and "True Crime: New York City."
But to his true fans in hip-hop, he is mostly known for his punchline-heavy flows, metaphorical wordplay, and absurd album skits. Over the course of nine years, he dropped five solo albums, as well as two high-profile collabo projects with Method Man and Def Squad. Repping affiliations with the likes of EPMD and Wu-Tang, Redman came from classic stock, and his in-your-face approach to rhyming and unapologetic commitment to smoking copious amounts of weed cemented his status as an icon of '90s hip-hop.
After his 2001 release, Malpractice, was panned by critics and fans alike, it seemed like Redman's rap career might fizzle out in the new millennium as he settled into a career of playing different version of himself in movies and videogames. Beginning in 2004, there were a few signs of life from Red bubbling up from the mixtape circuit, but with two full-length albums slated for 2007 and promises of a reunion with Meth, it appears that the resurrection is complete.
Don't let Red catch you saying that, though. Like LL, he doesn't want anybody calling this a comeback, but rather a return to service. The only thing you need to know is that he's got a crew now, Gilla House, and he still smokes as much weed as he ever did, if not more.
Back at Def Jam to prepare for the March 27 release of Red Gone Wild, Mr. Noble fired up a blunt and gave Ballerstatus.com the rundown on where he's been, what the game's been missing, and what exactly the word gilla means.
Look up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane...
Ballerstatus.com: First things first: Where the hell have you been, man? It's been what, six years since the Malpractice?
Redman: Sh-- man, yeah. I done had two beautiful kids in the last four years. When Malpractice dropped I was doing "How High" at the time. And I skated off that for like two years. Then after that I did the TV show [FOX's Method and Red], and I was venturing out in other sh--, like "Seed Of Chucky." The rap game is not gonna pay your sh-- for the rest of your life. You gotta step out the box. You gotta think from '92 to 2001 -- Whut? Thee Album, Therez A Darkside, f---in' Muddy Waters, f---in' Doc's Da Name, Malpractice, Red and Meth Blackout!, the Def Squad album... That's what, seven albums? Seven albums I been bangin' out! I took a little hiatus. You step in and step out, see?
Ballerstatus.com: And what about the Ill At Will mixtapes?
Redman: F-- yeah! The Ill At Will, Volume 1 and Volume 2. I just dropped Live From The Bricks with Scoob-Doo.
Ballerstatus.com: Why put out mixtapes right now? Was that to just keep your name out there or did you want to get your crew Gilla House some shine?
Redman: That wasn't about getting nobody no shine, that was just about building the movement. Everything needs a movement now, everything needs a plan. Like if I had just had to wait on doing a Redman album like Muddy Waters, I would have been finished. Now I got crew to work up -- Saukrates, Melanie, E3, Runt Dog, Ready Roc. All these my artists. Plus Def Squad. You know, Def Squad ain't been bangin' out. E. Sermon, Keith Murray, they need deals. They're just now gettin' deals. The game been tough, man. The game been really tough. And you gotta think with the last years, I couldn't have took off at a better time. The last years I didn't come out, what happened? The whole game evolved damn near twice.
Ballerstatus.com: It just seems like you probably wouldn't have put out a mixtape in the mid-90s, though. How has the game changed since then?
Redman: I think the game's changed tremendously. Effectively? No. Tremendously? Yes. I'm not ever gonna say that hip-hop is dead. I don't believe that hip-hop is dead. But, the soul, the f---in' importance, the f---in' culture of hip-hop is gone. And what I mean by that is the way n----s build albums now. I mean, when was the last time you even heard a dope album?
Ballerstatus.com: Ghostface?
Redman: But Ghost is not in the new cat era. Ghost is from my era, so of course he gotta have a dope album. But besides that, no new artists have dope albums. And, I mean, I love these new artists, and I think hip-hop provides a job for everyone, so that's good. I like that a new artist can be a boss. But the game has changed so tremendously that it moved into business instead the culture. And what that means is, f--- your singles!
You remember back in the day it was hot to have an album cut from a n---- instead of their single. Like, "I know that's playing, but y'all might wanna hear this sh--, though!" All that is gone. And that comes from not knowing how to build an album, forgetting about the grassroots of buildings an album, not listening to the KRS-Ones and the boom-bap. Not listening to the first Ice Cube album, AmeriKKKaz Most Wanted, or NWA's n----z 4 Life, or maybe my first album, or EPMD's album, or any old-school artist that you could relate your album to. What I notice today with all the new artists is it's so much business that the producers are stars now. And what do you get when you have a whole gang of producers that's stars? What do they want when you come to them? When you ask a producer to do you a beat, what are they shooting to get?
Ballerstatus.com: A single?
Redman: Exactly! Now, you're a new artist, and you f--- with so many producers not knowing that all they're after is your single. So they're not giving you those album cuts that will help you evolve the hip-hop culture, because album cuts is the cuts that let you know who I am. Not the single, that stuff lets you know the business part. The album cuts is letting you know who I am, what kind of flows I got. But what happens when you get a bunch of singles? You lose the whole culture of hip-hop. You just have a whole album that's about dancing with no kind of story, no kind of f---kn', "Oh sh--, I had to catch that!" None of that sh--. I blame it on how the business is. I can't really say the artists because, hey, this is what it is. It's about money, and that's what they going for. And everything that happens, all the way the game changes, it evolves for a reason. And I can't really down it. I can't really sit here and say, "Well, I think the game is bullsh--." No, I'm happy that the game is still providing jobs for motherf---ers to do what the f--- they want to do. But the culture of this mutherf---in' game is lost, and I blame that on [the business] partially, but also the radio stations. Radio stations got you thinking that you have to be like this to win. It wasn't back in the day when you turned on f---in' WBLS and it was KRS-One playin' with boom bap. (Singing) "WHOOP WHOOP, the sound of a police!" That hard sh-- is what we love, but now it's the money.
So what do we do about it? Like, ask yourself what do you do about it? What can you do to make a change? Can you make a change by yourself? No, I don't think so. It takes a whole gang of us to think like we think. We're saying, what you're doing is cool, but this is what it's really about. Now, if you mix this with that, y'all gonna be riders. So, back to your question, I think about the state of hip-hop, where it's going and where it's been, it's like, "Man, I could be like all these other motherf---ers out here." But I consider myself a good veteran. A good vet MC. You know how some motherf---ers is like, "I don't want to be called no vet?" Nah, I'm a vet, n----, 'cause I got motherf---ers that followed me and won. And I'm not gonna I sit around and say, "Well, hip-hop ain't this." I'm gonna tell them I love what you're doing, I think it just needs a little adjustment. My whole thing is, I just think hip-hop needs a little adjustment. I don't think nobody has said that. It just needs a little fine-tuning and adjustment on some culture.
Ballerstatus.com: Do you see anyone of the new era who has that perspective?
Redman: You gotta ask yourself again, what is the new era? The reason why I'm speaking so much on this is 'cause you gotta know why you're asking these questions. Right now, the only person I feel is doing hip-hop is... I can't really say because if you look at it, all the youngsters is thinking they're doing hip-hop, you understand what I'm saying? They might not know about the NWA or Ice Cube or what is the deal. They might think -- just based on what they seen growing up -- that they doing hip-hop right now. And I can't say that they're not. Because when my ass came out with the motherf---in' hat and the tissue up my nose, don't you think all them other MCs like Big Daddy Kane was like, "Who is these motherf---ers?" Or LL, like, "Who is this motherf---er with the tissue up his nose?" 'Cause when our era came it was out of the Kool G and back into the boom boom boom. Das EFX. Black Timberlands. That era came in, so you have to think that these n----s like the Big Daddy Kanes was like, "What is this, wearing Timberlands? What is this new era? This ain't gonna win. Where is hip-hop going?" So I don't know, man, it's real critical on how you explain yourself without sounding like you mad. That's why I gotta explain it to you like that. 'Cause some interviewers will just say, "Well, you say that hip-hop is like this," and just make a person like myself seem mad at the game. And I don't want that. I love the game, it just needs adjustment and fine-tuning. And I just broke down why. It's 'cause of lack of homework and lack of culture. I don't think hip-hop is dead, I think it's still bumpin' 'cause we still have jobs. People just don't have that deep of attention to look back and find out what was really going on. The first artist that goes back like that, a new artists who says, "I want to do that sh-- like they was doing back then," they gonna f---in' turn the whole game around!
Ballerstatus.com: So for you, is this new album an attempt to bring back those days, or just to simply keep doing what you were doing after taking a break to have some kids?
Redman: I don't even want it to be like, "I'm trying to come back" or anything, 'cause I'm just doing what I'm doing. It's like, y'all know what the game is right now, I'm not tryin' to come in complaining and let you know that "I am hip-hop" and all that sh--. This album is just to let y'all know that I got a crew now. Gilla House. And I've grown. I'm 36-years-old now. I can't be talkin' about the same sh-- I was talkin' about when I was 24-years-old. I gotta let y'all know that I've grown and I'm sure that my fans have grown with me. They were with me when I was doing Whut? Thee Album, but I'm sure they grown as hell now too. So you know, I gotta just let 'em know that I'm still here. I mean, these rock n' rollers out here can rock n' roll 'til f---in' 55 and 60! And still go on tour! Like Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead and all that. Why can't our game do it? Why can't our culture do that? Why is it that rap is limited? When these rock n' rollers go on tour 'til they 55. I just know that I'm tryin' to be one of those. I'm tryin' to still have fans when I'm 55, I don't care if I only pack 100 in there, as long as I can still rock. And that's what I'm after. And the only way you gonna get like that is if you perceive yourself like I'm doing. Like, "I see what's going on in hip-hop, I see what we need to be, and I'm going for it." Why can't we be rock n' rollers and why can't we still be out on tour? We need to start it right now. And once you put that word out there it's like, "Yeah, that's what it is."
Ballerstatus.com: Did you hear that Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5 are getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Redman: For real? For what? "The Message" and all their clothes and sh--?
Ballerstatus.com: Yeah, I guess. The whole thing they were doing and their influence.
Redman: Nice!
Ballerstatus.com: So you say you're also gonna do Muddy Waters 2 also?
Redman: Yep.
Ballerstatus.com: That's kind of like Nas dropping Stillmatic. A name like that creates certain expectations...
Redman: Man, the way you gotta look at it is like, where is the game at? What are people starving for? They want f---in' hard sh--. It's gonna be easy. First of all, if you check our mixtapes or anything I've been doing lately, ain't no young 'un spittin' like me. Why? Because everybody's on business and talkin' about that sh--. Nobody is on punchlines like me anymore, nobody's flappin' no punchlines. Who? Bring 'em out! I'll wait. Point 'em out. I'll turn my back and I'll wait...
Ballerstatus.com: Luda?
Redman: But Luda will tell you, he followed me, you see what I'm saying? Eminem will tell you, he followed me. That's why I say I'm cool with being a vet, 'cause I got two n----s that said, "Redman is one of my favorite artists," and they won! And I love 'em for that. I love Luda and Eminem for giving me credit, lettin' the game know. They're like, "I know who y'all n----s is, but my n---- is Redman, and I'm winnin'!" I'm sure Luda gets it all the time like, "You sound like Redman," or whatever. He's probably like, "I don't give f---, I admire the n----. I'm winnin' and I'm eatin'." And what I'm gonna say, "You bitin'"? Nah, I'm glad that I was able to brush off some of that funk on you and you could win and take care of your family. So when I got n----s like that backin' me and I look at the game going, "These two n----s is what it is, but let me go over here and listen to these young n----s." So I go over and listen to the radio... Now, you can just ask yourself, who was the last dope MC that came out between 2001 and now? Tell me. I'll wait. Name five, name 'em on one hand. 'Cause see when I was coming out, there was dope n----s coming out constantly. When I came out, Wu-Tang came out, Keith Murray came out, then Eminem came out. Everybody was dope. Everybody made a change when they came out. Everybody was superheroes! They had superhero names: Busta Rhymes, O.D.B., Keith Murray. Those are names you can say 20 years from now. What is names now. Young what? Young this? Lil this? With names like that, you can already expect what type of sh-- they gonna be spittin'. You don't even know the last dope lyricist to come out between 2001 and now, I don't even got to look at you!
When you in the game and you doing your homework like me, f--- if I'm worried about these young motherf---ers! Let 'em do what they gonna do. I got n----s over here that's like, "I still wanna hear that sh--." And you gonna go pick up my sh-- to see what I'm talkin' about because you're so disgusted with what's going on. So it's like, why not pick up Redman? It ain't about if I still got it in me, 'cause I know I still got it on me. It ain't about tryin' to make a comeback, it's about tryin' to bring back what's needed. I'm tryin' to provide my service. That's what we all doing, providing a service. It's just about, how long are you gonna let me provide it? Have I gave good service over the years? That's what I'm going after the fans and saying. Have I gave y'all good service? Have I been on MTV "Cribs" and sh--, showing you my sh--ty little crib? Haven't I been keeping it real all these f---in' years, and been broke, and been in the hood all this time. What every motherf---er say about Redman? "He's the most down-to-earth rapper." Yeah. It takes a motherf---in' job to be down-to-earth. It takes a job to be in the hood every day and still get your credibility. It's a job. It's a f---in' job.
I don't think of none of it as a comeback. Nah, Redman is just providing his services. I tried to get off Def Jam, but they wasn't let me go nowhere. It is what is, they wouldn't let me go nowhere 'cause they know what type of funk I bring. They could have said, "We're just gonna pay you for the rest of your contract and let you go," but they saw this n---- still got life. He's still getting sh-- poppin' on the street. His last album, Malpractice, he ain't do one show on that album! Not one tour, not one radio station, 'cause I was doin' a movie. Everyone knows with Malpractice I rushed through that or whatever, but still I sold 700,000 with nothing. And Def Jam and people take that into consideration. They see, regardless of how long this n---- been out, he sold 700,000 last album with no f---in' promotion.
Ballerstatus.com: But don't you think fans are disappointed to hear something like that?
Redman: Well, yeah, sorta. But you know, like I said, they was disappointed, but "How High?" made up for it. I got so much white credibility off that movie that it's like, even my white fans now is looking for me, so that's something I didn't even attract just doing my albums.
Ballerstatus.com: You talk about rappers as superheroes, and you've certainly got your persona popping off in videogames and cartoons. Where did you get the inspiration for the character from Doc's The Name with the Tims and beanie and overalls?
Redman: A long time ago I was working with Doc Rodriguez. Doc Rodriguez is one of the guys that mixed all EPMD stuff, "So Cha You Sayin?", "You Gots to Chill," all that heavy sh--. And Doc Rodriguez sat down and gave me that mascot a long time ago. We sat down and I was like, I want a little character or something. I want something that represents me with a hat, smoking a blunt. (Coughs). Came up with that man, and that sh-- been bangin' out. You seen the new character, right?
Ballerstatus.com: Yeah, I saw the artwork for the album, it's kind of crazy. Like some wild Japanese-style cartoon...
Redman: Yeah, that new character is crazy. It's not really Japanese, it's just the way the new art is now. You know, the new technical art is real 3Dish now. The colors have more depth, the definition has more depth like [Xbox] 360 art, it ain't just like a regular sketch and sh--. That's one thing I feel I maintained on all my albums was a good album cover. You know, colorful. Something on it to stand out when it's in the record store. (Smokes more).
Ballerstatus.com: Now, let's go back to the MTV "Cribs" episode, because a lot of people rate that as the best 15 minutes of television ever. How do you feel about that being one of your greatest legacies?
Redman: The way I look at it is like... First of all, Gilla House. Gilla House means over-the-top. Gilla. Short for guerilla, just didn't want to use guerilla. Gilla! Like, "Is that gilla enough?" Gilla means like, say for instance you do paintings. You're showing people your paintings, like, "See this one's nice, but I don't really like that one. But this one... I don't really like this one either." Gilla is like, why have those two in there? Why not take the time to make those two dope and have a full dope package? And over-the-top. That's basically what gilla is: Over-the-top. And, um... I forgot the question. (Laughs).
Ballerstatus.com: Well, that was interesting as well...
Redman: (Laughs). What'd you ask me the first time?
Ballerstatus.com: The "Cribs" episode...
Redman: Yeah! The "Cribs" episode! I was getting back to that. Over-the-top. So I was getting back to what I was saying about the cribs and the gilla -- it was over-the-top. If you're gonna do something, do it big. Be over-the-top with it. Now, I could've gone out and rented a house like some of these people do. I don't really know, but they [MTV] wanted to rent me a house...
Ballerstatus.com: So they were going to rent you a house, but that wasn't gilla enough?
Redman: Yeah, they wanted to rent me a house. But I couldn't front like that. I'm still heavily affiliated in my hood. Like really heavily affiliated, like I never left. Like literally. You know how some n----s is like, "I be in my hood," and roll around and stand on the corner for like five minutes? Nah, I'm really affiliated with my same n----s I grew up with and everything. So I wasn't gonna be up in a crib and have them be like, "How the f--- you get a crib like that and we don't know about it?" That sh-- would've come fake as hell! So I just told them to come to my crib, I was gonna try to clean it up before they got there, but they was tryin' to pull some early sh--. They came way earlier than they was supposed to, tryin' to catch me off guard. And they damn sure did!
Ballerstatus.com: You still have the box of ones above the refrigerator?
Redman: The Dollar Box. Yeah, those is going on sale soon too. The Redman Dollar Box. $10.
Ballerstatus.com: Is your middle name really "heaintsh--"?
Redman: Is my middle name heaintsh--? (Laughs). Nah...
Ballerstatus.com: Is it "f--- you?"
Redman: Nah, but in some case I still ain't sh--.
Ballerstatus.com: With all the controversy surrounding Native American mascots in sports, do you ever consider changing your name.
Redman: No. Not ever. I love my name!
Ballerstatus.com: Other than yourself, who's the best rapper out of Jersey?
Redman: Out of New Jersey... (Long silence).
Ballerstatus.com: Lauryn Hill?
Redman: She's a dope rapper. (More silence). You know what though, I don't really consider myself the best rapper out of Jersey. Even though people give me that a lot in Jersey, I never really like to take that title 'cause other people deserve a chance too. Honestly, my best n----s out of Jersey that I think is dope to me is Runt Dog, Ready Rock, Double-O, Downtown...
Ballerstatus.com: When you play "Def Jam Vendetta," do you always play as yourself?
Redman: You know, I play "Def Jam Vendetta," but this new "Def Jam Icon," it's f---in' nuts. I advice everyone to get that f---in' game. I mean, it is f---in' nuts! And I'm not a fighting game person, I'm a one-hand shootin' game person. "Counterstrike," "Halo," games like that. But that game is out of f---in' control, seriously. And I ain't just sayin' that sh-- 'cause I'm on it, 'cause I been on that bitch for all three consecutively. But this one is way out of control.
Ballerstatus.com: But do you ever play against yourself?
Redman: Never. I don't need to see how I could whoop my ass.
Ballerstatus.com: If you could fight a real rapper, who would it be?
Redman: I wouldn't even waste my time on another rapper, 'cause we all rappers, you know? I wouldn't even fight any of these n----s. I can't even answer that question, I'm too much on this other sh--... (Smokes more).
Ballerstatus.com: You and Meth gonna do another album?
Redman: Yeah, another Blackout album, probably at the end of the year.
Ballerstatus.com: What's more gilla, Brick City or Shaolin?
Redman: Brick City. I ain't really got too many gilla n----s out of Shaolin. I'm in Brick City and Brooklyn. Saukrates is from Canada. Melanie is from Michigan. E3's from Boston.
Ballerstatus.com: Do you still smoke as much weed as you did on the "Backstage" DVD for the Hard Knock Life Tour?
Redman: Sh-- n----, I think I smoke more than I did back then!
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