Published: Friday - August 10, 2007
Words by Zach Prottas
Consequence (Photo: G.O.O.D. Music)
In a genre where you might be getting your white tee pulled at by adoring fans one night and find yourself on a music industry milk carton the next morning, Consequence is a phenomenon. He is a veteran who has seen hip-hop ups and downs from a first person perspective. From the rise and fall of the legendary A Tribe Called Quest to the current reign of the Luis Vutton don's G.O.O.D. Music, Consequence makes music with a tone of undeniable experience and legitimacy.
Never scared to reveal the ways in which his personal struggles have made him stronger, Consequence brings a uniquely refreshing voice to a cluster of overly self-assured young MCs. From blue collar to fresh to death in a matter of bars, Consequence is a peoples' rapper, representing the many sides of man who calls MCing his trade. Somewhere between the brash bravado of Kanye and spiritual self-reflection of Common, Consequence is the lyrical glue that completes one of the most cohesive crew in hip-hop today.
Ballerstatus.com: Your crew, G.O.O.D. Music, have been able to make big records, not necessarily pop songs, but ones which get responses from listeners outside the typical hip-hop audience without dumbing down your sound or message. How have you been able to achieve this balance with consistency?
Consequence: For starters, I think that's off instinct, because of the way we have evolved together. We try to push the limits of creativity as far as we can go. As a collective unit, we're one of the more intelligent music crews that have been on the scene as far as rap goes, period. When you hear guys like John Legend who is border line ivy league and you have the wisdom and intelligence that a person like Common has, the musicality smarts of a Kanye West and the abundance of experience that I bring to the table, being in the game for so long, as far as the situations, I have been blessed to be in as far as making music. When you bring that all to the table and share it freely, there is really nothing but room at the top to take what you doing to another level.
Ballerstatus.com: Collectively ya'll are probably the most relevant team making, and this is cliché, but "conscious" music in hip-hop right now. Does this give you sense of responsibility as far as being in a leadership position?
Consequence: As far as I'm concerned I don't think we try to do it. We just do whatever comes to mind and heart. I don't think we intentionally tried to corner that market, it's just what comes forth from us as individuals and as well as when we come together.
Ballerstatus.com: A lot of your music's focus (particularly since you have come back on the scene) deals with the highs and lows of life, the effects of success and failure for you personally. Is there anything specific you would change about the journey that has got you to this point you're at now?
Consequence: Well, yeah of course, if I were to base it on a perfect journey, then of course. There were definitely times that I dealt with issues of self doubt that I had to get past. When you get a hit, you still have to deal with it. It's how you absorb what your dealing with that gets you to your next destination in life. Like the Tribe situation was bittersweet. I joined the group, but they were breaking up. We did Beats, Rhymes and Life and at the same to have to hear "Yo, you better than Phife" or "I don't like it because it's not the original Tribe." I mean I was coming out of high school, I was still a kid. This wasn't something I was doing maliciously; it was the chance of the lifetime and for there to be black cloud over it because people associated me with altering of the structure of something that they love. I understand now, but then I was not able to take it. I took it to heart more than I should. Because it's just business and in a business, you just ingest the sh-- and keep it moving. I know that now as a grown up, but then I was put on a platform that was in front of the world. I mean, this was Tribe after Midnight Marauders, so the world was their stage.
Ballerstatus.com: You were right there in the middle of that era where Tribe, De La, Pharcyde, etc. were at the forefront; what was different about the climate of hip-hop then in comparison to how it is now being in the game?
Consequence: It's funny that you say that because, I don't want this to come off with any tone of conceit, but I have been blessed enough that the music I do and whatever I have been involved with has been at the forefront of what's going on. The business has evolved considerably since then. The money people were making like a De La or even with Tribe... Tribe was making money then, but if they were doing now what they were doing then, at that level, they would be in a much higher income bracket.
Ballerstatus.com: Even with music industry in the state that it's in?
Consequence: Yeah, because it's about the service that you provide. When you say "music industry," keep in mind you are saying "industry," industry is based on production and the service you provide. Yes, we live in ringtone era, but there still is a considerable number of people that are willing to buy into what good artists have to say. So if they were producing at the level with what's relevant right now, then they would be rich. (Laughs) There are so many avenues available now that weren't there then to just point blank get money.
Ballerstatus.com: What is one of those things about music right now that you would like to see change?
Consequence: The only thing I would say is this, for the type of artists I grew up on... Well, you got to understand that you have to produce; you got records that come out every week. There has been a new record every ten days coming from regions other than New York, I want to say, since the top of the year. What was a hit last week isn't a hit this week. So when people say hip-hop is dead, it's dead because the heart of that music isn't pumping out any blood. So when a "I Get Money" comes out, people go crazy over it because they still want that music, but they are getting bombarded with something else. But you need to understand that it's all rap music, if someone says it isn't, they're lying. They are trying to make you assume that there are divisions where there aren't; a song like "Crispy" belongs to hip-hop. People make it want to seem like it's simply a Southern record because black music is the only music that is a victim of separatism, there is not such thing as South rock music.
Ballerstatus.com: Right, hip-hop is the most regional music there is.
Consequence: Exactly, it's regionalized, so if "I'm So Crispy" goes number one, it's the number one hip-hop record, not number one southern hip-hop record. It belongs to all of us as people who are a part of hip-hop.
Ballerstatus.com: In the skit "Guess What," you and your mother have an argument about remaining a realist versus chasing a dream. If the roles were reversed and you, as a father, had a child who came to you with something that in your eyes seemed very unrealistic, what advice would you give? How would handle the situation from that side?
Consequence: Well what my parents do is this: my father who didn't live with me, he still had a real presence in the home and actually on the next record called You Win Some You Lose Some, I'm going to introduce the father in the skits. So depending on the age, like if it was like in the skits, you have to -- as a parent -- almost be like a manager. It's kind of like a manager and an artist. You might, as the parent, have to say the things that they don't want to hear, but they need to hear it. They might not want to hear that "hey you might not make it as artist and you need a back up plan" because that's the reality of being an adult. When you're an adult, that innocence that you lose means you don't dream like a teenager or child does. I think the pinnacle of when you dream in as a teenager because you still have some of that innocence of a kid, but you have the hopes and beliefs of an adult who wants to see their own reality change. But when you become an adult, you sort of sacrifice that to have what is needed in order to have balance. You can't be dreaming with your kids because bills are real. If the roles were reversed, I would have to take on that role as the parent.
Ballerstatus.com: Speaking of age and generations, if you could pick one non-hip-hop artist of any time period to liken your music to whom would it be?
Consequence: With myself, I borrow and am inspired by different music, so I couldn't choose just one. As far a story telling, Slick Rick and even Marvin Gaye. When I did "Pretty Little Sexy Mama," it was my best Marvin impression (laughs). Just everyone I grew up on... put it like this, when I did that song I was mimicking Marvin Gaye, when did "Uncle Raheem," I was mimicking Michael McDonald (long laugh from both of us). On the track, like in the listing, it says Michael McDonald riff. But for real, I like the Doobie Brothers, Smokey Robinson and the whole Motown movement.
Ballerstatus.com: What part of your own music making process do you enjoy doing most?
Consequence: Rapping. That's the driving factor with me doing this. When I come up with something I like, when I come up with a line and it's just like, "Damn that was ill!" When you catch that good line that's the remaining reminisce of the cipher.
Ballerstatus.com: Well it's obvious you still seem to love rap so do you ever cipher?
Consequence: Well sometimes, but I can only do it with my friends. Because anything else it's like boom! You tube!
Ballerstatus.com: Well I don't give many plug questions, but I'm looking forward to the joint, so why don't you give the people a little info on what's coming up with you?
Consequence: Alright, Don't Quit Your Day Job is in stores right now. The new album coming out early next year called You Win Some You Lose Some; it's a continuation of Don't Quit Your Day Job and you'll definitely know it's coming out this time (laughs)... and a new mixtape coming out the end of the month hosted by DJ Whoo Kid and features the "Don't Forget Em" remix, which is me, Kanye West, Common and Tony Williams. It's the G.O.O.D music remix and it's crazy. There's a gang of sh-- on there. I got a song with Nas, a song with Jae Millz. The Uncle Raheem video starring the legendry DMC of a little group called Run DMC. He plays Uncle Raheem in the video and it's incredible. The video also stars Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest. Finally we got the "Good, The Bad and Ugly" video coming out.
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