When it comes to Hip Hop, I don’t believe the mainstream Industry puts a spotlight on conscious and political artists like they did in the past. If you ask the average young listener who’s the most conscious or political Rapper they listen to. Most would say Kendrick Lamar or Kenye West. I’d laugh, and tell them to dig a little deeper. When I grew up, it wasn’t hard to see and hear artists like Public Enemy, Paris, Conscious Daughters and now artists like N.B.S., Equipto and T-K.A.S.H keeping that genre alive. Keeping the balance in Hip Hop. Consciously aware albums like ‘Ear To The Street’, or ‘It Takes A Nation To Hold Us Back’, or even ‘Turf War Syndrome’. It seems Hip Hop is divided as ever mentally, and as confused as ever (physically) as to what Hip Hop is. Well timing is everything and now Hip Hop has a new Classic Conscious Album in ‘Pistol Politics’. So I proudly present to you Paris, the Black Panther Of Hip Hop.
You just dropped an album last year, tell us all about it.
The album is called ‘Pistol Politics’, it came out on Sept. 11, 2015. It was my first double album and my first album in 5 or 6 years. So it was good to finally get it out. It was well received and very timely. Right about now where everything seems political except entertainment. So I’m glad that it’s out, glad I got that notch on my belt.
Aside from DJ True Justice, what else are you working on now?
That right now is the main focus. His album is ‘The Man Of Steel’. Then we have several Tours coming up. The remainder of the ‘Pistol Politics’ Tour which is still being booked. A good portion which is overseas and the DJ True Justice Tour which is both domestic and overseas. Which is ‘The Man Of Steel’ Tour. They’re separate because as with any DJ based project it’s for the most part for all intensive purposes a compilation. Because DJ’s don’t rap. So his touring party is a little different from my touring party. Although he is my DJ.
Then I got a George Clinton record. A Group, P-Funk based project called ‘Phang’ featuring George Clinton. It’s pretty much and homage to P-Funk. That is something that has been a labor of love and a work in progress for years for me. So I’m getting to release that.
Then I got the album by T-K.A.S.H., who is a Guerilla Funk artist who is featured prominently on ‘Pistol Politics’ and True Justice’s album. Then when all is said and done. I got to take a look around. I started a publishing arm of Guerilla Funk called Guerrilla Funk Publishing. I’m trying to get into Literary works and get those launched. We’ll see what the future holds.
That’s all good news to me, Let me tell you. 1 World plans to be right there next to you for all this.
I appreciate man, there are very few outlets, at least for me that take the high road in terms of content and actually in terms of quality now because I think people feel like they need to put forth the bear minimum effort. Because it’s such a roll of the dice as to whether or not you’re gonna recoup any money you put into it. And so now a lot of the music that we hear now is under produced, a lot of the times it’s rushed. Labels don’t want to spend money on anything. It’s a very poor time to be a content creator. So I’d rather take time with these projects and curate them and put them together in a way that will allow them to stand the test of time and to have a catalog that we can be proud of moving forward.
Well it’s awesome to hear you say that. It just shows and proves how good of a business man you are. Being a survivor in this Industry coming from “Selling Units Out The Trunk” to trying to survive with what is available today to sell your product.
We’re back to selling units out the trunk, lol. Everything comes full circle.
It’s a beautiful thing though, it’s a way to flush the system. And kind of start from scratch.
The system is pretty much flushing itself. It ate itself. It’s very easy to realize what the demise of Industry was. It started with the inception of Napster. Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker were catalysts to the beginning of the end. When they put Napster together. And then I just blame Labels for not adequately addressing that situation. MP3’s exist for the most part to foster piracy. I don’t think that has ever been called into question. Electronic companies that profit from the technology of MP3 players and many different inceptions. These same companies have intellectual property that they want to protect and copyrights they want to maintain. They’re diametrically opposed, and so when all is said and done it’s the content that’s gonna lose out It’s the technology that’s gonna win and that’s what we’re seeing.
It’s gonna be very hard to undo the dynamic that’s in place now because there are so many people who are accustomed to getting things for free and not paying. Touring is now a major component of making money in music. It’s all about Touring, Merchandising and Licensing. Those are the 3 avenues by which an average artist can make money. If they are savvy enough to do so. That’s how Guerilla Funk is positioned to move forward.
I see you and T-K.A.S.H. are still working together. Alone you guys hold your own weight, but when you guys come together we get some incredible sounds and songs.
His album is incredible also. It’s called ‘No Country For Black Men’. It’s a really strong project but there’s nothing worse than putting your all into something and having it go unnoticed. I want to make sure I’m taking the appropriate measures to be sure that all of this gets the shine it deserves.
Anything else you would like to say?
Please continue to follow Guerilla Funk for the best in high quality urban entertainment that will make you feel proud to be part of something that’s going for the greater good. And that we’ll see you on the road.
Guerilla Funk has been playing a major role in this subgenre of Hip Hop which is so, so vital to the preservation of Hip Hop as a whole. If you wonder why your Hip Hop music isn’t being talked about or even listened to. Think about what it is your saying. Has some other emcee said the same shit you’re saying before? Are you touching subjects that actually matter? Are you staying in your lane after you created it? Or are you trying to keep up with the traffic around you just to compete? Learn from the leaders, listen to Paris’ music, you won’t be disappointed.
