They Don’t Make Them Like They Used To

I wouldn’t be the first person to say Prince Paul is a genius. As a child growing up in Long Island, NY, Paul was exposed to a budding hip-hop culture, and by gluing himself between the speaker box and turntables, he learned the art of the DJ. Barely able to vote, Paul signed his first record deal with Tommy Boy in 1985 with the group Stetsasonic, and would go on to release three albums. However it was his work with a set of equally free-minded spirits from Long Island known as De La Soul that thrust Paul into the list of hip-hop elites. Following his own creative instincts, he branched out and produced the Gravediggaz album with the RZA, as well the infamous Handsome Boy Modeling School albums with Dan the Automator. Characterized by obscure articulation and prodigious humor, Paul has survived in a market that will love you one day, and turn its back the next. Itstrumental, his fourth solo album, is a testament of the true school essence bound in his music. Humbled by his own achievements and dedicated to his soul, Prince Paul truly is a genius.

It’s rumored this might be your last album, is that true?
No no, not this one. This is like a crazy, weird instrumental record that Peter [Agoston] put together. This isn’t the one to go out with the bang, it’s more of a bug out record.

Do you know where that rumor started?
I did an interview and I told them I might be doing my last Prince Paul record soon, as far as strictly Prince Paul records. I’ll produce other things, but as far as Prince Among Thieves, or Psychoanyalsis, ya know those type of records, those days will be done. At this point in time there isn’t a need for it.

Are you getting bored?
Nah, there’s just not a demand for it. There are a few fans here and there, which I appreciate, but if I feel like I’m not making an impact or anything like that, it’s almost useless. Some people make music for the love of it, but I make music for people to think, or at least make people bug out, at least one of the two. If I feel like I’m not doing that, then it’s like, I’m like that record or movie that comes out, and people don’t talk about it, like “have you heard that? Yeah it’s alright,” but you never bring it up ever again in life. I want something that people either intensely love, or intensely hate, but ya know has some type of impact. When I start making records that kinda just go through your system, then I don’t want to make records anymore. All I know is that I’m trying to do something new. I’ve yet to make my best record, so I’m trying to make my best record.

Is that what keeps you motivated?
Yeah of course. Some people get satisfied like “I made whatever, or I made this.” Yeah it’s cool, like I have a lot of nice critical acclaims in my life, you know like the Chris Rock record winning a Grammy was great, and the Handsome Boy stuff is great. There are always great things, but I’ve yet to feel inside, like even with 3 Feet High and Rising, people are like, “yeah that’s the best record,” or whatever, but I’ve yet to make the record that’s like, “yeah that’s what I’m talking about!” Those records are cool, but they’re just not my best work.

You talk about the acclaim, and people telling you this and that, how much of that do you take into consideration?
It looks good on paper. Like it looks good when you’re trying to sell yourself. I appreciate it, but I don’t look at it with an egotistical eye and go, “yeah I know,” ‘cause I look at it like I still have a lot to learn. I can do better than this, like I haven’t tapped into it yet and I’m trying to figure out how to do that in my career.

As a veteran do you still feel the need to justify your music?
Um, I don’t know to justify, but I always feel the need to explain it. I can’t necessarily justify why it should exist, or why you should like it, or where it fits in the marketplace, but I do have to explain a lot of times because people assume a lot of things, which is understandable. A lot of it is pretty abstract to a certain extent, so I always have to explain, “no I didn’t mean this, and yes I meant that.” That’s why I try, or what I have to do more or less.

I read somewhere that each track you make reflects certain emotions you’ve gone through. Is there a theme for this album?
When Peter told me to do this record a while ago, he was like, “hey, do an instrumental record, take some old stuff, find whatever you got.” I was like, “yeah whatever,” but somewhere along the process, I went through some weird depression that I can’t necessarily explain. So a lot of this record reflects on that whole depressive mode, which the average person probably couldn’t really tell, but when I listen to it I’m like, “ugghhhhh [laughs].” So you know, it was like a life-altering experience, which was nice, and it made me appreciate things and people a lot more.

When I listen to it, I hear instances of racism and love, which are two opposite emotions, is that accurate to say?
I would say it’s confusion. It’s not too much racism. I know what song you’re thinking about. It’s funny ‘cause that song was originally dedicated to the Pop Master, the Black Italiano. It was kind of a question, was he black or was he white? A lot of those songs were old things I’ve done in the past that no one really liked, so I just kinda kept them to myself. You know when cats listen to stuff, and turn their heads and kind of change the subject, you know it’s not working. All those songs are pretty old, about the only thing I added was hooks. I tried to make it interesting, ‘cause initially it was an instrumental record, but as I was making it, I thought it was pretty boring. I hate instrumental albums because they’re all boring. It’s just someone with a loop or whatever they’re doing. It moves a little bit, but it doesn’t really grab your attention. I like to call these “skitrumentals” now opposed to instrumentals ‘cause that’s more what it is.

How far back in your career do some of these beats go?
Most of them are stemming from like the ‘80s all the way to 2000, with the exception of the “The Boston Top.” The one “I Want You (I’m an ‘80s Man),” that’s from like ‘88 to ‘89. A lot of them are from the Gravediggaz days. One beat, “El Ka Bong,” that’s the first beat I ever made when I got my ASR-10, which was in like ‘93. A lot of them are all over the place. It was like me going through discs, and old tapes—ya know like old cassette multi-track tapes—and me being like, okay, I can make something out of this.

I can’t believe no one picked some of these tracks up.
Some of them I didn’t play for anybody, some of them I might have put on a tape for somebody back in the day for them to pick and choose from, and it didn’t really fit in their range. Some of them I knew just by listening to them like this is only for myself, like no one will ever really like this. Whenever I get an opportunity to make a record like this on an independent level, then I’m able to take those songs no one really liked and put them out, and not really worry too much.

It’s crazy because it shows that they’re timeless, because they’re up to par with everything that’s going on now. Is it weird to you that something you made so long ago is still just
as relevant?
Wow, I’ve never really looked at it like that. From my perspective, I’ve never really like paid attention to that, but having you say that is flattering more than anything. I guess since I’ve heard them for billions of years, it’s all dated to me. When I think of music now I think of, ummm, Dipset. My music doesn’t fit in that Dipset category.

Is there any reason why you haven’t done more outside production for more current artists?
I get asked every once in a while. I don’t know if it’s an insecurity, or what it is, but I always feel like I can’t really help those people on their level. Somebody says, “hey, I need to do this track,” or whatever, for the most part I feel like “wow, I like you the way you are, I don’t want to mess that up. Ya know what ya do.” But when I make my own records, I’m responsible for myself, so if I get people to rhyme on the records I’m doing, I don’t feel as bad, because ultimately it’s my record. When it’s their record, I’m concerned, ‘cause it’s a lot of pressure. I’m competitive in the sense that I’d want to make the best record that’s on their album. An example of what makes it difficult, I did this remix for They Might Be Giants, it was a kids song for the letter E. I thought it came out really good, especially from the original. I had Wordsworth rhyme on it, played out this piano thing, it had bridges and everything else. I heard that they didn’t like it, and I was like, “are you crazy?! It far surpasses the orginal. What are you talking about?” That’s when the ego crept in ‘cause I knew I put a lot of time into it. “Yeah Paul they want to e-mail you back, ‘cause they really want you to take another crack at it.” Things like that make me second guess myself, and my ear. After I did that remix, I said to myself, “I will avoid doing remixes ever again.” A lot of my remixes get turned down, like I did one for Linkin Park which they didn’t like and I’m like, “are you crazy? This is great.” It’s funny ‘cause what happens is 10 years later, it ends up on albums like this.

What if Dipset hit you up for a remix, would you be obliged to work with them?
I would like the challenge, but I would probably be a little apprehensive. I like being challenged, that’s why I took on stuff like They Might Be Giants and Linkin Park because I’ve never done stuff like that. So if Dipset shuts me down and says I’m wack, then I know I don’t fit in alternative rock, I don’t fit in kids records and I don’t fit in today’s hip-hop. That shuts me out of a lot of things.

How have you been affected by sampling laws?
It’s horrible. It affects everyone. That’s why the only time I’ll even attempt to put something out with sampling is on a low, low scale. I can’t go out on a major level and make a record, because the clearing of samples is too expensive and people are really touchy about it. But when you make a record that makes no money, it’s not that difficult.

Has it forced you to change your formula?
Yeah, when I’m doing stuff like remixes and records, I now need to get out quick, like the Handsome Boy stuff, anything on a major. It makes you use technology more and reduplicate sounds, not necessarily interpolate, but get the feel of those records and use pieces of equipment we wouldn’t normally use. Yeah, it does tap into your brain a little more which is good, because the sampling laws are making me a better writer/producer, and make me understand the technology a lot which
definitely helps.

Do you think those laws are a threat to the state of hip-hop?
I think it’s a threat to hip-hop as we knew it at one point. A certain generation of hip-hop is gone, and it’s just going to usher in I guess a more technological age of hip-hop which we are already hearing. To me, I wouldn’t necessarily say I like it, but not everybody can do it well, some people can do it really good. It’s just a change, whether it’s good or bad, talk to me in two years, we’ll figure it out.

After doing the whole major label thing, and doing records like this on the independent level, would you return back to a major?
Provided a few things; a nice budget I could live with, and two, provided freedom. I think if I was on a major and they gave me a budget I’d make the most ground breaking record ever, like if I was on my own, not saying Handsome Boy which is on a major, but it would give me an opportunity to make that record, not from a creative standpoint, but I guess recording techniques, and getting certain people I’d like to get on there, I could probably make one of the best records in the history of me making records. What I want to do honestly, is hopefully before 2010 is make a record to really shake up everybody. I have yet to figure out how or what to do but that is where my mind is going. I don’t want to make records to make them. When you look back on the history of hip hop I want to let everybody know I had something to contribute, even though people might say, “oh you did whatever”. It’s not the impact, I want to change the way of thinking and living. That to me is a big deal.

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