BFochs: What's going on guys? Thanks for taking time to chop it up with the Fochsman, what's good, how ya'll feeling?
Beedie: Shit, you know I'm feelin good, just enjoyin' life and stayin' on my grind. thanks for havin' us we definitely appreciate it big time fam, you know it's all love.
EZ Mac: Yayup, we just been puttin' everything into this mixtape, so it's nice to get some time and finally have a finished product. It's definitely a classic, so I'm glad we took our time on it.
BFochs: It's all love on my end as well, I fux with you cats and your movement. Why don't you give the kind BBB readers an introduction. Tell 'em your name, the crew you rep, the city your from and your favorite cartoon.
Beedie: My name is Beedie, from The Ill Spoken of course, and we rep the East End Empire. Coming straight from Pittsburgh, PA...fuck all that Pistolvania shit. And my favorite cartoon is South Park. All day fam lol.
EZ Mac: Yea it's ya boy Mac, favorite cartoon is Blue's Clues...sike naw, I'm playin I ain't that young. I fuck wit that Fairly Oddparents tho.
BFochs: The Ill Spoken are in the house, East End Empire/PGH I see you. I fux with that Family Guy non-stop, Peter Griffin is dat dude lol. Every group has a story about when they linked up and what not. When did you guys meet up and decide you wanted to start a rap group?
Beedie: Well I've been knowin' Mac for years, he grew up basically in my house because he was best friends with my little brother since he was in like 2nd grade, for real. We got a 4 year age difference, it's actually funny because we got the same birthday, January 19th. I think that gives us a unique chemistry that other duo's don't have, and plus we known each other forever, so we kinda know what each other are thinkin' ya dig?
EZ Mac: Yeah like, back in the day, I used to jus spit freestyle rhymes at kids for fun, makin fun of 'em and shit. It progressed to my boys and me gettin' super hazey and freestyling for hours. I didn't know, but Beedie was doin the same thing with his boys, except he was already into the recording part and all that. I came over to cop somethin off him...uh, you know some stereo equipment lol...but I saw he had his old mic sittin' there and we smoked a little and he had me spit...I was like 14 at the time, this mothafucka was jus lookin' at me in confusion. He didn't know I could actually spit. From there we jus started writing together and ran wit it.
BFochs: Oh how herbage can bring people together lol. "The Ill Spoken" is a pretty clever name, how did you guys come up with it? Name 5 people besides yourselves who are 'ill spoken.'
Beedie: Mac actually came with the name, we decided to call that the group name because it fits too well. One thing for me personally is because it's a double meaning in a sense...we all know haters love to talk, so you can say when judged by their opinions we are "ill spoken," but it's also because we are on some ill shit and we speak whats real to us...and Sean Price is "ill spoken."
EZ Mac: Big L for sure (R.I.P.) , Sean Price, Jadakiss, Termanology, and Lauryn Hill would be my list of some Ill Spoken muthafuckas.
BFochs: You are indeed ill spoken so the name is fitting, good list of ill spoken peeps. Pittsburgh, PA is home to one of the more blossoming hip hop scenes in the country. Is it one of those cases where PGH always had heat but was getting no exposure or was there a starting point where PGH got involved heavily in Hip Hop?
Beedie: Pittsburgh has always had heat, but I think the city as a whole got motivated when we had local artists such as Tha Govament (GOV) and Wiz Khalifa starting to do big things and getting some national attention. I feel like that motivated a lot of emcees that had the talent, but weren't doing anything with it, or made them realize they had the chance to get that kind of recognition too. A lot of cats here are on their grind, and there's a ton of talent we got to show to the world, but even before GOV and Wiz, Pittsburgh has always been that city who almost had artists blow up but never quite did. From Sam Sneed to Joe Beast to Strict Flow, but we definitely always had that heat rock on the low.
EZ Mac: Yeah, I mean, goin' around the city and just seein' cats in ciphers its funny because like, the world never thought Pittsburgh had a Hip Hop scene furreal. I've seen soooooo many cats out here that are spittin' just some ill shit. Shit you won't hear on any other planet. Does being from Pittsburgh make it harder? Maybe. It's hard when the world doesn't support what Pittsburgh has to bring into Hip Hop, but if people would come through and see all these cats spittin, and bustin out tracks, I guarantee things would change. Muthafuckas can't ignore us for too much longer. I can promise that.
BFochs: I can dig it, I know first hand from listening to a lot of artists from PGH that ya'll been keepin' it fonky for quite some time, hopefully the rest of the world catches on ASAP. Who do you think the top 5 rappers in Pittsburgh are? If you could work with any one producer or rapper in PGH who would it be and why? When do you think the PGH movement will gain the popularity of say the New York or Philly scene?
Beedie: Time will only tell when our city will gain that recognition, I know that my city has a unique brand of music that the world can't sleep on for too much longer. I'm not gonna give you a top 5, but I'd say my squad and the people we're down with are some of the illest emcees to ever come out of the 'Burgh period. Shout out to Ghostwriter, Franchise, Vintage, Wild Bill, Tip, Plain English, you can find almost all those cats on the How High mixtape. I'll say that hands down, the most respected emcee in the 'Burgh is Boaz, a member of the GOV. We definitely fucks with him heavy. B.White & Billy Mayonaise go hard too, big shout to what they doing, peep that "Slowly But Surely" mixtape. The hottest producers in Pittsburgh in my opinion are Big Jerm & Johnny Juliano...check these cats out!
EZ Mac: Yeah, its hard to put together a top 5 with all the cats we have spittin' in the 'Burgh right now. All the cats Beedie named and my man Roscoe is on the come up. As far as how long it's gonna be until we have a scene like that? We got enough talent that it could be tomorrow. It ain't on us though. We are knockin' on the door. So whenever everyone out there is ready to open that shit up we are here. And if they ain't gonna open it, Beedie will kick it down, and if he can't kick it down...boy you already know ill pick that lock lol.
BFochs: That's what it is, you better let these cats in our they are breaking in! Time for the BBB interview question EVERYONE gets, and that is the one about current affairs. What is your take on this economic tomfoolery? If you guys were given the task of fixing this mess what are the first 3 things you woud do? President Bush has like an approval rating of 25 percent, so it's quite obvious folks aren't too fond of his leadership. If you had to compare President Bush to any super villain from a movie/cartoon/etc. who would it be and why?
Beedie: Well shit, I'm no presidential figure lol... if you gave me the chance to fix the economy I wouldn't be able to tell you the first thing to do, but on the real I know that times are rough and it's a problem that affects everybody. Shit ain't funny when we lookin' at goin' through another depression, but I'm a strong believer in karma and the magnetic forces of the world and all that goofy shit. So what goes up, must come down, ya dig? And we all know Bush is a clown, I think you gotta be either an oil investor gettin' cake or plain mentally handicapped to support him at this point.
EZ Mac: Yeah last I heard dudes approval rating was under 25%. He's gonna go down as the worst president to bless this country for sure. If I had to compare dude to a super villain...I'd compare him to Lex Luther, because he has a lot of power, and just sucks wit it. But I'm 16, I can't vote so I ain't got shit to say about the economy, but last I heard and saw on CNN shit sucks. So I guess all people can do is invest in Hip Hop and buy as many Ill Spoken mixtapes as possible. That seems like a good solution lol
BFochs: Bush < (insert any president) Anyone who supports him at this point and time is a fool. You have a mixtape called "How High" coming out soon. Based off the title, I must ask this question. What is your favorite thing to use to smoke, blunts? glass pieces? bongs? If you can shine a little light on a funny stoner moment/story please do so. [Editor's Note: The "How High" mixtape is out now CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD]
Beedie: Shit, you know we be all about the blunts lol....I haven't messed with no bongs or nothin' since high school, my lungs are too pruned for that schnaa, but I got a little glass piece to smoke out of when the time is right. *pauses to hit bowl*.... and for a funny story, I'll cant really shed you any light on details, but we used to get Mac fucked up when he was a young buck... I'm talkin' mad young, I'm not even gonna tell you what grade dude was in lol.
EZ Mac: I kid you not, these muthafuckas used to get me sooooo skeed. I was the only kid in my school smokin' trees. Kids that are under 11...I advise you to smoke lots of weed, it makes your childhood a lot more interesting.
BFochs: Damn lol, life is indeed interesting when you are blitzed, I can't imagine how things were at that age lol. Your new song "Chow Line" is making some good noise right now, you actually teamed up with Max B & DJ Nice for this joint. What was it like doing a track with Max B? DJ Nice laced the track with a hot beat, can we expect to see any more joints with DJ Nice production in the near future?
Beedie: Yayup, you will definitely be hearing some more bangers comin' from The Ill Spoken & DJ Nice in the near future. As for the track with Max, I'll let you in on a little secret... Max puts like 8-9 layers on his vocals, if you were to listen to one of those layers by itself you would never believe it lol... the man puts it all together nice though and he came with that flame. I'm definitely a big fan of his music...and the track is definitely some ill waves to vibe to.
EZ Mac: Them bitches sayin' OWWWWWW. Lol, that shit was definitely an eye openin' experience. That was a point where I really felt that this shit was going somewhere. If Beedie's gonna give you a secret I guess I will to... We are workin' on some more crazy collabs. I ain't givin' you the artists names yet, but stay tuned for that fire!
BFochs: Working with the Wavy one would be a wild experience, I'll definitely keep my eyes peeled for those crazy collabs you spoke of. The new project "How High" will be coming out soon. What can the fans expect when listening to "How High." What are a few of the main focal points of the project and what kind of impression are you trying to make on first time Ill Spoken listeners? What are some of the other projects you are working on right now? [Editor's Note: The "How High" mixtape is out now, CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD]
Beedie: I'm gonna flat out say, this mixtape is a bonafide Hip Hop classic. we put a lot of work into this one and I feel like it's a good introduction for first time listeners and fans of The Ill Spoken. Me and Mac are comin' with a whole new twist to this rap shit... I know you have never heard anything like us before. Old school and new school fans alike are bound to catch eye to what were about to show to the world... and this is only the beginning of whats to come... so stay tuned and don't sleep!
EZ Mac: First and foremost, we're releasin' an EP version of "How High" with all the original tracks straight onto iTunes, which will be available in a few weeks. Also comin' soon are solo tapes from both of us; as well as a couple others we are gonna suprise you with. And be on the lookout for Franchise's "Schizophrenic Mindset" hosted by DJ On Point droppin' very soon, as well as projects from Ghostwriter and Wild Bill. We are currently workin' on the next Ill Spoken EP to drop. I'm sorry to inform you but the only track we are gonna leak from it is the Max B collab. [Editor's Note: The "How High" mixtape is out now, CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ]
BFochs: The "How High" mixtape is crazy people, if you don't peep it you are screwing yourself out of some quality shit, CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD IT NOW! I heard you guys won a competition to open up for Soulja Boy. How did that all come up about? How did the performance turn out? Can we ever expect to see a collabo with Soulja Boy? lol.
Beedie: Haha I don't think ya'll should get your hopes up for that collab, but yeah there's an indoor arena called PISA that was holding a competition to get some opening acts for the event. We basically saw an opportunity and jumped at it and you know we won that shit by a landslide.
EZ Mac: We submitted the track "How Sick Am I," they were feelin' it, so that got us into the contest. We brought the most heads through to the contest show, and won the spot along with two other groups. The show almost didn't happen actually, due to bad promo. Dude in charge came to us like if we don't got this many tickets sold by the end of the week, the show is gonna be cancelled. We went out heavy and sold like 250 tickets that weekend. I'm talkin' bout runnin' through every neighborhood with flyers and tickets just grindin' heavy. We ended up saving the show and coming on and killin' it. We was the last performance beforeSoulja boy out of like 9 opening acts. By the time we got up shit was starting to go dead, but we for sure revived shit. Peep the videos on youtube.
BFochs: I'm just going to get this out there, Ill Spoken>Soulja Boy, he should have opened up for you, screw that douchebag. Let's say a blunt wrap company was feelin' your dudes vibe and they wanted to make a blunt wrap flavor in your honor. What would the flavor be and what would it be called?
Beedie: Shit can you hook that up?...because I'm wit it lol. That's a good question though, I'm more of a Swisher man myself, but I'd be more than honered. Ayo Royal Blunts holla atcha boy!
EZ Mac: Yeah I'd definitely be down to work with a blunt company. I mean it'd be nice to get a lifetime supply of blunts designed by yours truly. As far as a name, Them Ill Smokinz would have to be a option lol. Flavor wise? I'd mix some grape and some blue-raspberry with a touch of pineapple. When you're smokin' that fruity you should be rollin' that fruity ya dig?
BFochs: I dig that, you most definitely need something fruity to roll your fruity herbage in, it's like desert for your desert lol. Where do you guys see your movement and the PGH movement a year from now? Do you think the people in the right places are going to come offering deals or does the independent grind continue?
Beedie: I ain't gonna jump the gun, but let's just say were workin' on the right moves right now. Always workin on the next chess moves you feel me? And as for the PGH movement as a whole, you know we gonna be on the frontlines.
EZ Mac: Yeah I mean who knows what labels are gonna wanna do, but the one thing I can tell you is that Pittsburgh is developin' their own style which is crazy and somethin' the world ain't ready for yet. In a year from now though, I think everybody doin their thang will be gettin' what they deserve. Not sayin' everybody is gonna get signed or nothin', but everybody in the world is definitely about to know what's good wit the PGH scene.
BFochs: Word em up, your movement and the PGH movement will be in a good spot a year from now. How have you and your movement, East End Empire prepared for the move fully into the digital age with music? When do you think all the labels will have figured out that cds are going extinct and fully move into digital age?
Beedie: Shit that's a sad day for me, I grew up on cassette tapes you feel me. I still buy the actual cd's of artists that I want to support. I bought the new Nas when it came out, that new Heltah Skeltah, and I always will buy local artists' cds, but we're fully aware of the move into the digital age. I just hope that people who want to support us will support anyways and actually buy the cd, but I don't want that to stop half of my audience from hearin' it you feel me? We're still young artists, and I think that getting our name out there is the most important thing at this point.
EZ Mac: Yeah it's kinda unfortunate that muthafuckas can just download music for free that's supposed to be sold. I think that some music should be given for free. Like free mixtapes and tracks and things like that. But when a artist invests a lot of time and money into a project he'd hope that his fans will support him and buy the cd. I'm all for being able to go online and get music for free, but as far as somebodies' album you gotta get the hard copy pimpin'. That's why there's cover art,but wherever the path heads, the East End Empire is gonna be ready for it.
BFochs: I feel you exposure is crucial, the way your exposure is sold will come later. You got the "How High EP" dropping soon, after that kind of things will we see from The Ill Spoken and East End Empire?
Beedie: Yayup, that How High EP will be available exclusively through iTunes, so go cop that shit when it drops and put some money back in my pocket goddamnit. We got all kinds of shit droppin' in the near future... like we said before, The Ill Spoken is going to be dropping another EP in the near future, as well as plenty of solo projects from me and Mac. Ghostwriter from The Scholars is dropping his first solo joint too, I think it's gonna be called "Green Goblin." If ya'll don't have The Scholars first mixtape "Smarten Up" yet then go download that shit from datpiff.
EZ Mac: Yeah, there is still billions of tracks we have yet to do. Franchise got his solo tape comin' and we got some collabo tapes on the way. All I'm sayin' is we are tryin' come with a cornacopia of music for people. I want muthafuckas to type our names into the search bar of they iIunes and have enough music to play for a couple years.
BFochs: I smell what your steppin' in, you gotta give the fans a big disco to listen to. Last question and we can get this thing in the books. If the rap game was food right now which food would it be and why?
Beedie: Hmm, I would have to say its some Thai Curry....when you order some curry it's gonna come with some white rice and then the actual curry itself. You got your rappers that's just on their swag game, basically just a sauce to the song, and believe me that shit can be tasty, but it ain't all that great by itself. Then you got your "rice" rappers that just got plain substance, but they ain't really know how to get down with that swag that these young bucks want to hear. That shits classic and always gonna be good for you, but shit can be hella dry sometimes and It's just too plain. So what me and Mac are tryin' do to the game is mix that shit up in one big ass bowl you feel me? A little old school, a little new school... a little rice, a little curry. You got to come with the complete meal or else shit gets old after a few bites.
EZ Mac: And don't forget that hot sauce haha. Yeah Beedie really went all out on that. I really ain't got nothin' else to say. Ya'll should go cop some Thai Curry and meditate on the rap game. Speakin of food my moms is calling me home for dinner...
BFochs: That's what's up, a very good response to that question. The Ill Spoken and spoke! Any shout outs, last words or comments before we wrap this thing up?
Beedie - Shout out to Big Will, Geolani and Team AFFicial, RapMullet.com, GhostWriter, Franchise, Vintage, Tip, Lip The Kid, John Record, and all the people who support us and what we do and don't sleep on our movement. If you are sleepin wake the fuck up or get the fuck outta the way. And a big shoutout to bfochs.com for giving us the opportunity to do this interview. Much love homie.
EZ Mac: Shouts to the whole East End Empire, bfochs.com, Team Afficial, Diggz and Rated R and everyone who is supporting us, and this really fine hoe that sits next to me in Biology class. Yo baby! Im tryna smash! Buy yourself a new iPod and don't put anything else on it, because we are about to fill it up. One.
BFochs: No doubt, I fux with your movement and the PGH movement hardbody. Thanks once again for taking the time to do to this interview guys, I wish you and the East End Empire/PGH movement the best in the future.
Beedie: Shit, you know I'm feelin good, just enjoyin' life and stayin' on my grind. thanks for havin' us we definitely appreciate it big time fam, you know it's all love.
EZ Mac: Yayup, we just been puttin' everything into this mixtape, so it's nice to get some time and finally have a finished product. It's definitely a classic, so I'm glad we took our time on it.
BFochs: It's all love on my end as well, I fux with you cats and your movement. Why don't you give the kind BBB readers an introduction. Tell 'em your name, the crew you rep, the city your from and your favorite cartoon.
Beedie: My name is Beedie, from The Ill Spoken of course, and we rep the East End Empire. Coming straight from Pittsburgh, PA...fuck all that Pistolvania shit. And my favorite cartoon is South Park. All day fam lol.
EZ Mac: Yea it's ya boy Mac, favorite cartoon is Blue's Clues...sike naw, I'm playin I ain't that young. I fuck wit that Fairly Oddparents tho.
BFochs: The Ill Spoken are in the house, East End Empire/PGH I see you. I fux with that Family Guy non-stop, Peter Griffin is dat dude lol. Every group has a story about when they linked up and what not. When did you guys meet up and decide you wanted to start a rap group?
Beedie: Well I've been knowin' Mac for years, he grew up basically in my house because he was best friends with my little brother since he was in like 2nd grade, for real. We got a 4 year age difference, it's actually funny because we got the same birthday, January 19th. I think that gives us a unique chemistry that other duo's don't have, and plus we known each other forever, so we kinda know what each other are thinkin' ya dig?
EZ Mac: Yeah like, back in the day, I used to jus spit freestyle rhymes at kids for fun, makin fun of 'em and shit. It progressed to my boys and me gettin' super hazey and freestyling for hours. I didn't know, but Beedie was doin the same thing with his boys, except he was already into the recording part and all that. I came over to cop somethin off him...uh, you know some stereo equipment lol...but I saw he had his old mic sittin' there and we smoked a little and he had me spit...I was like 14 at the time, this mothafucka was jus lookin' at me in confusion. He didn't know I could actually spit. From there we jus started writing together and ran wit it.
BFochs: Oh how herbage can bring people together lol. "The Ill Spoken" is a pretty clever name, how did you guys come up with it? Name 5 people besides yourselves who are 'ill spoken.'
Beedie: Mac actually came with the name, we decided to call that the group name because it fits too well. One thing for me personally is because it's a double meaning in a sense...we all know haters love to talk, so you can say when judged by their opinions we are "ill spoken," but it's also because we are on some ill shit and we speak whats real to us...and Sean Price is "ill spoken."
EZ Mac: Big L for sure (R.I.P.) , Sean Price, Jadakiss, Termanology, and Lauryn Hill would be my list of some Ill Spoken muthafuckas.
BFochs: You are indeed ill spoken so the name is fitting, good list of ill spoken peeps. Pittsburgh, PA is home to one of the more blossoming hip hop scenes in the country. Is it one of those cases where PGH always had heat but was getting no exposure or was there a starting point where PGH got involved heavily in Hip Hop?
Beedie: Pittsburgh has always had heat, but I think the city as a whole got motivated when we had local artists such as Tha Govament (GOV) and Wiz Khalifa starting to do big things and getting some national attention. I feel like that motivated a lot of emcees that had the talent, but weren't doing anything with it, or made them realize they had the chance to get that kind of recognition too. A lot of cats here are on their grind, and there's a ton of talent we got to show to the world, but even before GOV and Wiz, Pittsburgh has always been that city who almost had artists blow up but never quite did. From Sam Sneed to Joe Beast to Strict Flow, but we definitely always had that heat rock on the low.
EZ Mac: Yeah, I mean, goin' around the city and just seein' cats in ciphers its funny because like, the world never thought Pittsburgh had a Hip Hop scene furreal. I've seen soooooo many cats out here that are spittin' just some ill shit. Shit you won't hear on any other planet. Does being from Pittsburgh make it harder? Maybe. It's hard when the world doesn't support what Pittsburgh has to bring into Hip Hop, but if people would come through and see all these cats spittin, and bustin out tracks, I guarantee things would change. Muthafuckas can't ignore us for too much longer. I can promise that.
BFochs: I can dig it, I know first hand from listening to a lot of artists from PGH that ya'll been keepin' it fonky for quite some time, hopefully the rest of the world catches on ASAP. Who do you think the top 5 rappers in Pittsburgh are? If you could work with any one producer or rapper in PGH who would it be and why? When do you think the PGH movement will gain the popularity of say the New York or Philly scene?
Beedie: Time will only tell when our city will gain that recognition, I know that my city has a unique brand of music that the world can't sleep on for too much longer. I'm not gonna give you a top 5, but I'd say my squad and the people we're down with are some of the illest emcees to ever come out of the 'Burgh period. Shout out to Ghostwriter, Franchise, Vintage, Wild Bill, Tip, Plain English, you can find almost all those cats on the How High mixtape. I'll say that hands down, the most respected emcee in the 'Burgh is Boaz, a member of the GOV. We definitely fucks with him heavy. B.White & Billy Mayonaise go hard too, big shout to what they doing, peep that "Slowly But Surely" mixtape. The hottest producers in Pittsburgh in my opinion are Big Jerm & Johnny Juliano...check these cats out!
EZ Mac: Yeah, its hard to put together a top 5 with all the cats we have spittin' in the 'Burgh right now. All the cats Beedie named and my man Roscoe is on the come up. As far as how long it's gonna be until we have a scene like that? We got enough talent that it could be tomorrow. It ain't on us though. We are knockin' on the door. So whenever everyone out there is ready to open that shit up we are here. And if they ain't gonna open it, Beedie will kick it down, and if he can't kick it down...boy you already know ill pick that lock lol.
BFochs: That's what it is, you better let these cats in our they are breaking in! Time for the BBB interview question EVERYONE gets, and that is the one about current affairs. What is your take on this economic tomfoolery? If you guys were given the task of fixing this mess what are the first 3 things you woud do? President Bush has like an approval rating of 25 percent, so it's quite obvious folks aren't too fond of his leadership. If you had to compare President Bush to any super villain from a movie/cartoon/etc. who would it be and why?
Beedie: Well shit, I'm no presidential figure lol... if you gave me the chance to fix the economy I wouldn't be able to tell you the first thing to do, but on the real I know that times are rough and it's a problem that affects everybody. Shit ain't funny when we lookin' at goin' through another depression, but I'm a strong believer in karma and the magnetic forces of the world and all that goofy shit. So what goes up, must come down, ya dig? And we all know Bush is a clown, I think you gotta be either an oil investor gettin' cake or plain mentally handicapped to support him at this point.
EZ Mac: Yeah last I heard dudes approval rating was under 25%. He's gonna go down as the worst president to bless this country for sure. If I had to compare dude to a super villain...I'd compare him to Lex Luther, because he has a lot of power, and just sucks wit it. But I'm 16, I can't vote so I ain't got shit to say about the economy, but last I heard and saw on CNN shit sucks. So I guess all people can do is invest in Hip Hop and buy as many Ill Spoken mixtapes as possible. That seems like a good solution lol
BFochs: Bush < (insert any president) Anyone who supports him at this point and time is a fool. You have a mixtape called "How High" coming out soon. Based off the title, I must ask this question. What is your favorite thing to use to smoke, blunts? glass pieces? bongs? If you can shine a little light on a funny stoner moment/story please do so. [Editor's Note: The "How High" mixtape is out now CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD]
Beedie: Shit, you know we be all about the blunts lol....I haven't messed with no bongs or nothin' since high school, my lungs are too pruned for that schnaa, but I got a little glass piece to smoke out of when the time is right. *pauses to hit bowl*.... and for a funny story, I'll cant really shed you any light on details, but we used to get Mac fucked up when he was a young buck... I'm talkin' mad young, I'm not even gonna tell you what grade dude was in lol.
EZ Mac: I kid you not, these muthafuckas used to get me sooooo skeed. I was the only kid in my school smokin' trees. Kids that are under 11...I advise you to smoke lots of weed, it makes your childhood a lot more interesting.
BFochs: Damn lol, life is indeed interesting when you are blitzed, I can't imagine how things were at that age lol. Your new song "Chow Line" is making some good noise right now, you actually teamed up with Max B & DJ Nice for this joint. What was it like doing a track with Max B? DJ Nice laced the track with a hot beat, can we expect to see any more joints with DJ Nice production in the near future?
Beedie: Yayup, you will definitely be hearing some more bangers comin' from The Ill Spoken & DJ Nice in the near future. As for the track with Max, I'll let you in on a little secret... Max puts like 8-9 layers on his vocals, if you were to listen to one of those layers by itself you would never believe it lol... the man puts it all together nice though and he came with that flame. I'm definitely a big fan of his music...and the track is definitely some ill waves to vibe to.
EZ Mac: Them bitches sayin' OWWWWWW. Lol, that shit was definitely an eye openin' experience. That was a point where I really felt that this shit was going somewhere. If Beedie's gonna give you a secret I guess I will to... We are workin' on some more crazy collabs. I ain't givin' you the artists names yet, but stay tuned for that fire!
BFochs: Working with the Wavy one would be a wild experience, I'll definitely keep my eyes peeled for those crazy collabs you spoke of. The new project "How High" will be coming out soon. What can the fans expect when listening to "How High." What are a few of the main focal points of the project and what kind of impression are you trying to make on first time Ill Spoken listeners? What are some of the other projects you are working on right now? [Editor's Note: The "How High" mixtape is out now, CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD]
Beedie: I'm gonna flat out say, this mixtape is a bonafide Hip Hop classic. we put a lot of work into this one and I feel like it's a good introduction for first time listeners and fans of The Ill Spoken. Me and Mac are comin' with a whole new twist to this rap shit... I know you have never heard anything like us before. Old school and new school fans alike are bound to catch eye to what were about to show to the world... and this is only the beginning of whats to come... so stay tuned and don't sleep!
EZ Mac: First and foremost, we're releasin' an EP version of "How High" with all the original tracks straight onto iTunes, which will be available in a few weeks. Also comin' soon are solo tapes from both of us; as well as a couple others we are gonna suprise you with. And be on the lookout for Franchise's "Schizophrenic Mindset" hosted by DJ On Point droppin' very soon, as well as projects from Ghostwriter and Wild Bill. We are currently workin' on the next Ill Spoken EP to drop. I'm sorry to inform you but the only track we are gonna leak from it is the Max B collab. [Editor's Note: The "How High" mixtape is out now, CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ]
BFochs: The "How High" mixtape is crazy people, if you don't peep it you are screwing yourself out of some quality shit, CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD IT NOW! I heard you guys won a competition to open up for Soulja Boy. How did that all come up about? How did the performance turn out? Can we ever expect to see a collabo with Soulja Boy? lol.
Beedie: Haha I don't think ya'll should get your hopes up for that collab, but yeah there's an indoor arena called PISA that was holding a competition to get some opening acts for the event. We basically saw an opportunity and jumped at it and you know we won that shit by a landslide.
EZ Mac: We submitted the track "How Sick Am I," they were feelin' it, so that got us into the contest. We brought the most heads through to the contest show, and won the spot along with two other groups. The show almost didn't happen actually, due to bad promo. Dude in charge came to us like if we don't got this many tickets sold by the end of the week, the show is gonna be cancelled. We went out heavy and sold like 250 tickets that weekend. I'm talkin' bout runnin' through every neighborhood with flyers and tickets just grindin' heavy. We ended up saving the show and coming on and killin' it. We was the last performance beforeSoulja boy out of like 9 opening acts. By the time we got up shit was starting to go dead, but we for sure revived shit. Peep the videos on youtube.
BFochs: I'm just going to get this out there, Ill Spoken>Soulja Boy, he should have opened up for you, screw that douchebag. Let's say a blunt wrap company was feelin' your dudes vibe and they wanted to make a blunt wrap flavor in your honor. What would the flavor be and what would it be called?
Beedie: Shit can you hook that up?...because I'm wit it lol. That's a good question though, I'm more of a Swisher man myself, but I'd be more than honered. Ayo Royal Blunts holla atcha boy!
EZ Mac: Yeah I'd definitely be down to work with a blunt company. I mean it'd be nice to get a lifetime supply of blunts designed by yours truly. As far as a name, Them Ill Smokinz would have to be a option lol. Flavor wise? I'd mix some grape and some blue-raspberry with a touch of pineapple. When you're smokin' that fruity you should be rollin' that fruity ya dig?
BFochs: I dig that, you most definitely need something fruity to roll your fruity herbage in, it's like desert for your desert lol. Where do you guys see your movement and the PGH movement a year from now? Do you think the people in the right places are going to come offering deals or does the independent grind continue?
Beedie: I ain't gonna jump the gun, but let's just say were workin' on the right moves right now. Always workin on the next chess moves you feel me? And as for the PGH movement as a whole, you know we gonna be on the frontlines.
EZ Mac: Yeah I mean who knows what labels are gonna wanna do, but the one thing I can tell you is that Pittsburgh is developin' their own style which is crazy and somethin' the world ain't ready for yet. In a year from now though, I think everybody doin their thang will be gettin' what they deserve. Not sayin' everybody is gonna get signed or nothin', but everybody in the world is definitely about to know what's good wit the PGH scene.
BFochs: Word em up, your movement and the PGH movement will be in a good spot a year from now. How have you and your movement, East End Empire prepared for the move fully into the digital age with music? When do you think all the labels will have figured out that cds are going extinct and fully move into digital age?
Beedie: Shit that's a sad day for me, I grew up on cassette tapes you feel me. I still buy the actual cd's of artists that I want to support. I bought the new Nas when it came out, that new Heltah Skeltah, and I always will buy local artists' cds, but we're fully aware of the move into the digital age. I just hope that people who want to support us will support anyways and actually buy the cd, but I don't want that to stop half of my audience from hearin' it you feel me? We're still young artists, and I think that getting our name out there is the most important thing at this point.
EZ Mac: Yeah it's kinda unfortunate that muthafuckas can just download music for free that's supposed to be sold. I think that some music should be given for free. Like free mixtapes and tracks and things like that. But when a artist invests a lot of time and money into a project he'd hope that his fans will support him and buy the cd. I'm all for being able to go online and get music for free, but as far as somebodies' album you gotta get the hard copy pimpin'. That's why there's cover art,but wherever the path heads, the East End Empire is gonna be ready for it.
BFochs: I feel you exposure is crucial, the way your exposure is sold will come later. You got the "How High EP" dropping soon, after that kind of things will we see from The Ill Spoken and East End Empire?
Beedie: Yayup, that How High EP will be available exclusively through iTunes, so go cop that shit when it drops and put some money back in my pocket goddamnit. We got all kinds of shit droppin' in the near future... like we said before, The Ill Spoken is going to be dropping another EP in the near future, as well as plenty of solo projects from me and Mac. Ghostwriter from The Scholars is dropping his first solo joint too, I think it's gonna be called "Green Goblin." If ya'll don't have The Scholars first mixtape "Smarten Up" yet then go download that shit from datpiff.
EZ Mac: Yeah, there is still billions of tracks we have yet to do. Franchise got his solo tape comin' and we got some collabo tapes on the way. All I'm sayin' is we are tryin' come with a cornacopia of music for people. I want muthafuckas to type our names into the search bar of they iIunes and have enough music to play for a couple years.
BFochs: I smell what your steppin' in, you gotta give the fans a big disco to listen to. Last question and we can get this thing in the books. If the rap game was food right now which food would it be and why?
Beedie: Hmm, I would have to say its some Thai Curry....when you order some curry it's gonna come with some white rice and then the actual curry itself. You got your rappers that's just on their swag game, basically just a sauce to the song, and believe me that shit can be tasty, but it ain't all that great by itself. Then you got your "rice" rappers that just got plain substance, but they ain't really know how to get down with that swag that these young bucks want to hear. That shits classic and always gonna be good for you, but shit can be hella dry sometimes and It's just too plain. So what me and Mac are tryin' do to the game is mix that shit up in one big ass bowl you feel me? A little old school, a little new school... a little rice, a little curry. You got to come with the complete meal or else shit gets old after a few bites.
EZ Mac: And don't forget that hot sauce haha. Yeah Beedie really went all out on that. I really ain't got nothin' else to say. Ya'll should go cop some Thai Curry and meditate on the rap game. Speakin of food my moms is calling me home for dinner...
BFochs: That's what's up, a very good response to that question. The Ill Spoken and spoke! Any shout outs, last words or comments before we wrap this thing up?
Beedie - Shout out to Big Will, Geolani and Team AFFicial, RapMullet.com, GhostWriter, Franchise, Vintage, Tip, Lip The Kid, John Record, and all the people who support us and what we do and don't sleep on our movement. If you are sleepin wake the fuck up or get the fuck outta the way. And a big shoutout to bfochs.com for giving us the opportunity to do this interview. Much love homie.
EZ Mac: Shouts to the whole East End Empire, bfochs.com, Team Afficial, Diggz and Rated R and everyone who is supporting us, and this really fine hoe that sits next to me in Biology class. Yo baby! Im tryna smash! Buy yourself a new iPod and don't put anything else on it, because we are about to fill it up. One.
BFochs: No doubt, I fux with your movement and the PGH movement hardbody. Thanks once again for taking the time to do to this interview guys, I wish you and the East End Empire/PGH movement the best in the future.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE ILL SPOKEN'S TAPE "HOW HIGH" NOW!!!
HIT THE ILL SPOKEN UP ON MYSPACE TOO!!!
HIT THE ILL SPOKEN UP ON MYSPACE TOO!!!
BBB@BFochs.com
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