ZAGORO MOJA
Ante Tešija
Hrvoje Bubić: Intervju s Chilly Uptown
Hrvoje Bubić
Chilly Uptown je rap glazbenik iz Seattlea, smatran pionirom Street rapa. Za Solin Live, govori nam o svom životu na ulici, suradnji s Ever Rap Records, albumu “It’s About to Get Chilly” i kako mu je raper Sir – Mix – A – Lot navodno preoteo DJ -a.
1) Take us back to your debut record ‘I Got Rules’ and tell us about that moment in your career?
If I’m correct, this one was distributed by enigma/Capital and released on vinyl and CD
Hmm hard to think so far back. But the album was put together using a house record player to make scratches. And all recording were done on a one time tape so I couldn’t TOUCH anything up. It was as RAW as an artist could get. I was a break dancer, a dance contest winner and an all-around B boy.
Your second record, “This is My Method” Was also supposed to come out on a Enigma/Capital but sadly there was a double turn in events.Enigma filed bankruptcy and worldwide demand for vinyl simply ended. That must’ve been very frustrating for you. Please describe?
I was unexperienced in the record business. But I was a HUSTLERS for 💰 money. Back then that Hustler term just meant you always made money on the side and it had nothing to do with legal or Illegal. So when it stopped I already had hundreds of dollars in my pockets every week. I was good STILL. I just had RAPS that I wanted to say and tour’s that I wanted to go on sssht haha.
You were Ever Rap Records while they lost their distributorship through Enigma, yet they still continued with the release of ‘This Is My Method’ on a cassette only format that now sells for more than a hundred dollars? In my opinion, this album is much better than ‘I got rules’ – Please explain why? I understand a lot change for you between the first and the second record.
Well with that album. I met a Cold DJ that I would put up against any scratching fool. Plus he had an ear for music. I knew classic sounds and he knew how to put them on Beat. I’ve seen him several times go into studios with the engineer and watch them work. And once he started directing things. The engineers were now Learning from him. Yeah, he’s that good. I speak of my brotha Victor Zendejas known as AKA. With his input we forged to another level
I understand he was snatched away from you by Sir Mix-A-Lot shortly after recording ‘this is my method’!
No, he wasn’t snatched. What happened was the DJ’s mom was riding him about getting a square job to pay bills around the house. I was always trying to get us show’s so he could continue doing DJ stuff. Well one day, Sir Mix-a-lot manager asked if we could do a show with them and I said yes. We went to Pullman to play for Washington State University and turned that show OUT!!!. After the show they were asking us to sign are names on other artists pictures because we ran out of ours. Well when we came back, I was talking to my DJ about a show and then got off the land line with him. Next, I called up a radio DJ named Nestor Rodriguez known as Nasty Ness and while I was talking to him, he said “Congratulations on your DJ going out with Mix!” I thanked him and PLAYED it off because I didn’t know nothing about it. My DJ didn’t tell me and like I said, I just got off the phone with my DJ. I was pissed at the time. But I understood what he was doing. But I was also done with him. I lost TRUST.
There are many types of rap, but true Rap was born of the streets. You are considered the original Street rapper of Seattle as deemed by numerous sources all over the Internet. Two questions, please explain what street rap is? And tell us what it’s like being the first of your breed? It must’ve been much more difficult than it would be for a street rapper today.
When I came to Washington, I went downtown with my radio known as my BOOM BOX and I would park or post up next to the most popular Seattle record store. Then flip a hat upside down and set it in front of the box. I would play my music up LOUD so loud you could hear it from blocks away!!! And all the tough guys would walk by and I PLUGGED in my microphone and I would start rapping LIVE on the spot!!!! I fed off the crowd’s energy. Nobody was doing it. Some thought I was lip singing other people’s songs, but it was all meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee haha. Nobody was doing that. Tell me have you ever seen with your own eyes a person doing it???? Kid’s, after a while, would ask if they could try? And I would let a few try, but I had no bouncer, no posse it was me. By myself doing it. I was RAW!!!!!
Ever Rap also released your third album “It’s About to Get Chilly” in 1992. Your first two records were good, but it’s about to get chilly was critically acclaimed. You had finally gotten the recognition you deserved. What went into the making of this masterpiece?
Hmm, master-peace huh, thank you for those kind words first off. I would say Learning from Victor how to get the most out of me vocally at that time. Cause I’m constantly growing with knowledge. And knowledge is power. I am always trying be so sufficient. If the record company stopped I could keep going. I worked at it. Learning from a DJ name Greg Burien who later changed his name to Funk Daddy who was also part of a group called Ready and Willing that I took on tour with me. I soaked up knowledge and tried to be good at it. And entertain you when you listen to it. I hope when you read this you understand what I’m saying.
Fast forward, 28 years in the future, and you are still with Ever Rap Records and they intend on reissuing your entire catalog. “It’s About to Get Chilly” was just released in both digital and vinyl format and it’s my understanding a CD is coming as well. What’s it like to have your record reissued 28 years later?
People listening to the reissue are describing me as an old school rap pioneer whose release is as fresh today as it was in 1992. Question is, what’s sweeter, the praise back in the day or all these new accolades?
What are your future plans, like new album, tour or collaboration. Is there a chance for a show in
Croatia, Split?
I now record as the Artist Da Pimpsta for my label, County Records.
Pimpsta is an acronym standing for
P EOPLE
I NTELLIGENTLY
M AKING
P APER
S TANDING
T ALL
A LWAYS
P.I.M.P.S.T.A.
and I will continue
Until I die. I’m a
GREEDYGUT and I’ve never made enough.
If the college or some other outfit wants to bring me to Croatia, I’ll play Split and as many other cites that I’m booked in. I’ll even play on the streets and If your reader’s are interested in speaking with me have them dial this U.S. phone number 253-653-4844. I look forward to speaking to the ladies and any and all fans who want to call and converse.
HRVATSKI PRIJEVOD
Podsjeti nas na svoj debitantski album ‘I Got Rules’ i pričaj nam o tom trenutku u svojoj karijeri? Ako mislim dobro, taj album je distribuirala enigma / Capital i objavila na vinilu i CD-u.
Hmm, teško je vratiti sjećanje tako daleko.
Album je doduše sastavljen pomoću kućnoga gramofona kako bih urezao ogrebotine na snimci. I sva su snimanja odrađena na jednokratnoj vrpci, tako da nisam mogao ništa poboljšati. Bilo je sirovo koliko jedan umjetnik može uopće postići. Bio sam break dancer, pobjednik na plesnom natjecanju i svestrani dečko breakdancer.
Tvoja druga ploča, “This is my method” je također trebala izaći u izdanju enigma/ Capital-a, ali je nažalost došlo do dvostrukoga preokreta u događajima. Enigma je proglasila stečaj, a potražnja za vinilom u svijetu je jednostavno nestala. Zacijelo si bio jako frustriran time. Opiši mi to, molim te?
Nisam bio iskusan u biznisu snimanja ploča.
Doduše, zato sam bio maher za namaknuti lovicu. Tada je biti maherom za takvu radnju samo značilo redovitu zaradu sa strane, te nije imalo nikakvu poveznicu s prizmom legalnoga ili ilegalnoga. Onda kad je prestalo, već sam svaki tjedan u džepovima imao na stotine dolara. Dakako, još sam imao dovoljno za sebe.
No, imao sam i rap stihova koje sam htio izreći i turneje koje sam htio održati, hhhjeeeebote, hahaha
Bio si dio Ever Rap Records-a kad su izgubili distribuciju putem Enigme, no ipak su nastavili raditi na objavi filma “This is my method” u formatu kazete isključivo, koju se sada prodaje za više od stotinu dolara? Moje mišljenje je da je ovaj album puno bolji od albuma ‘I got rules’ – objasni mi zašto? Predviđam da je bilo puno promjena kod tebe između prvoga i drugog albuma.
Po izlasku toga albuma sam upoznao hladnokrvnoga DJ-a kojeg bih suprotstavio protiv svakoj budali koji grebe ploču. Uz to je imao sluha za glazbu. Ja sam poznavao klasične zvukove, a on ih je znao sastaviti u ritam.
Nekoliko sam puta vidio kako s inžinjerom zvuka ulazi u studije, te sam gledao kako rade. Jednom kad je počeo režirati stvari, inžinjeri su tom prilikom počeli učiti od njega. Da, toliko je bio dobar. Naravno, riječ je o mojem burazeru, Victoru Zendejasu, poznat i kao AKA. Njegovim doprinosom smo zidali na drugu razinu.
Koliko razumijem, njega je Sir Mix-A-Lot oteo tebi nedugo nakon snimanja ‘This is my method’!
Ne, nije ga oteo. Dogodilo se to da je DJ-eva mama zanovijetala zašto sebi ne priušti normalni posao kojim bi platio kućne račune. Redovito sam nama pokušavao priskrbiti nastupe kako bi on mogao nastaviti raditi kao DJ. Pa me je tako jednoga dana Sir Mix-a-lot-ov menadžer pitao možemo li napraviti nastup s njima, a ja sam rekao da. Otišli smo do Pullmana svirati za Državno Sveučilište Washington i na nastupu smo razvalili !!! Nakon nastupa su nas tražili da damo autogram na slikama drugih izvođača jer nam je bilo ponestalo vlastitih. Onda, kad smo se bili vratili, razgovarao sam sa svojim DJ-om o nekom nastupu, a zatim sam prekinuo poziv s njim na fiksnoj mreži. Nadalje, nazvao sam radijskoga DJ-a Nestora Rodrigueza poznatog kao Nasty Ness, i dok sam razgovarao s njim, rekao je: “Čestitam na DJ-ovom izlasku s Mixom!”
Zahvalio sam mu i pravio sam se kao da o tome nisam imao pojma. Moj DJ mi to nije napomenuo, i kao što sam rekao, netom prije sam bio prekino poziv sa svojim DJ-om. Bio sam bijesan tad. Dapače, razumio sam što radi, no raskrstio sam s njim. Izgubio sam POVJERENJE.
Postoje mnoge vrste rap-a, ali prava rap glazba je nastala na ulicama. Smatraju te originalnim uličnim reperom iz Seattla, kako navode brojni izvori širom interneta. Dva pitanja, molim te objasni što je ulični rap? I reci nam kako je to biti prvi svoje vrste? Sigurno je bilo puno teže nego što bi bilo danas uličnu reperu.
Kad sam stigao u Washington, otišao sam u centar grada sa svojim radijom, odnosno kako ga zove BOOM BOX, a nakon toga bih se parkirao ili bih se nasadio pored najpopularnije prodavaonice ploča u Seattlu. Zatim uzmeš šešir, i postaviš ga naopako ispred radija. Puštao bih svoju glazbu GLASNO , tako glasno da ju se moglo čuti par ulica dalje!!! Svi mrcine bi znali prolaziti, a ja BIH PRIKLJUČIO svoj mikrofon i počeo bih na licu mjesta repati UŽIVO !!!!
Hranio sam se energijom gomile. Nitko to nije radio. Neki su mislili da usnama skidam tuđe pjesme, ali sve sam ja izvodio haha. Nitko to nije radio. Reci mi jesi li ikad svojim očima vidio osobu koja to radi ???? Djeca bi nakon nekoga vremena pitala smiju li oni probati? I pustio bih nekolicini da se okušaju, međutim, nisam imao plesača, niti plesnu pratnju. Sve sam radio sam.
Bio sam SIROV!!!!
Ever Rap je također izdao svoj treći album “It’s About to Get Chilly” 1992. god. Tvoje prve dvije ploče su bile dobre, ali album “It’s About to Get Chilly” je kritika pohvalila. Napokon si bio dobio zasluženo priznanje. Što je ušlo u stvaranje ovog remek-djela?
Hmm, REMEK-djelo ha, hvala ti prvo na lijepim riječima. Rekao bih da sam u to vrijeme učio od Victora kako vokalno izvući maksimum iz sebe. A to je zato što stalno upijam što više znanja kako rastem. A znanje je snaga. Uvijek se trudim biti do te mjere samoodrživ, u slučaju ako diskografska kuća prestane s radom, da mogu sam nastaviti. Radio sam na tome. Učio sam na primjeru DJ-a Grega Buriena koji je kasnije promijenio ime u Funk Daddy, i koji je također bio dio grupe Ready and Willing koju sam poveo sa sobom na turneju. Upijao sam znanje i trudio se biti dobar u tome, te zabavljati ljude kad bi slušali. Nadam se kada ovo budete pročitali, da ćete shvatiti što govorim.
Premotajmo brzo naprijed, 28 godina u budućnost – ti si dalje s Ever Rap Recordsom i oni namjeravaju ponovno izdati cijeli tvoj katalog. “It’s About to Get Chilly” upravo je objavljen u digitalnom i vinilnom formatu, a koliko razumijem dolazi i CD. Kakav je osjećaj da ti ploča bude izdana 28 godina kasnije?
Ljudi koji slušaju ponovno izdanje me opisuju kao staroškolskoga pionira rap-a čije je izdanje danas jednako svježe kao i 1992. Pitanje je: Što je slađe — pohvala u prošlosti ili sva ta nova priznanja?
Koji su tvoji budući planovi, poput novog albuma, turneje ili suradnje? Postoji li šansa za nastup u Hrvatskoj, odnosno u Splitu?
Sada snimam kao izvođač pod imenom Da Pimpsta za svoju izdavačku kuću County Records.
Pimpsta je na engleskom kratica za:
LJUDI INTELIGENTNO ČINE DA PAPIR STOJI USPRAVNO
I činit ću tako dok ne budem umro. Ja sam pohlepni grabljivac i nikad nisam zaradio dovoljno.
Ako me kakva udruga ili kakva faca žele dovesti u Hrvatsku, svirat ću u Splitu i u koliko god gradova me budu unajmili. Svirat ću čak na ulicama, i ako tvoje čitatelje zanima razgovor sa mnom, neka biraju ovaj američki telefonski broj 253-653-4844. Radujem se razgovoru s damama i svim obožavateljima koji me žele nazvati i razgovarati.
