Dom Pachino has been putting in work on the underground scene for over 20 years. After dropping three classic group albums with Killarmy, he embarked on a solo career that has seen him release more than ten projects through his own Napalm Recordings imprint. After a few years away from the mic, heās now back with a full length collaboration album with acclaimed beat maker Bronze Nazareth. The album marks the beginning of what seems to be a new era for Dom Pachino, as he describes the problems he has had with distributing previous releases and why he has now taken that into his own hands. Listening to the album, Dom sounds like a new man, he sounds completely rejuvenated, re-energised and is spitting like he did back in the Killarmy days. We touch on a lot of subjects throughout the interview including the reason he called out Cilvaringz on the new album, and he even turns the tables to ask a few questions of his ownā¦
PATTCH82: Whatās up man?
DOM PACHINO: Peace, whatās going on Chris?
P82: Yeah Iām good man, you?
DP: Iām good man, not bad, not bad.
P82: So the new album dropped on August 15th. The reaction has been really positive so far, you must be happy with the feedback that itās gettingā¦?
DP: Oh yeah definitely man. It took about a year to put the project together being that Bronze is in Detroit and Iām in New York so we had to work it out you know. But yeah, the response has been real positive, Iām really happy with it.
P82: You and Bronze have a really good chemistry throughout the albumā¦ He has also produced tracks on some of your previous albums, but what made you decide to do a full length collaborationā¦?
DP: Like you said itās the chemistry you know, we make good music together. He produces that sound, I guess you could say that early sound that inspired me to make music period. Really I think a lot of the cats that were making that sound kinda drifted away from that a little bit. Heās got like that old twist with the modern vibe you know.
P82: Bronze produced two tracks on your Tera Iz Him 2 albumā¦ was that the first time you worked togetherā¦?
DP: I believe so yeahā¦ He did You Used To Be and Vitamins rightā¦?
P82: Yeahā¦
DP: Yeah I believe that is the first time we worked together.
P82: He also produced The Sound Of Gunz on Bugsy Da Godās album. That was originally supposed to be a Killarmy track rightā¦?
DP: It was supposed to be yeah, but a couple of the members werenāt feeling it as a single. So it was up in the air and Bronze had already sent it to me before so I was like if we aināt goinā to use this as a single Iām gunna go ahead and do something with it. So me and Bronze worked something out and I ended up putting it on Bugsyās album.
P82: No Perseverance is another Dom Pachino / Bronze Nazareth collaboration from your The Last Armageddon album. That was the last album you made for a few years. Why did you decide to take a step backā¦?
DP: I kind of announced a retirement type of thing. I was just a little frustrated with the direction the music was going and the way it was being received and just the whole business behind it actually. Sometimes you just gotta go away to come back man. So I had to go back to the foxhole, regroup, gather my thoughts and figure out where Iām trying to go with it. I think The Last Armageddon was a great album in all actuality. It just wasnāt received as well as Iād have liked it to be. Itās hard being independent in this game man. The distributors I was dealing with man, they feel like they donāt have a big financial interest in it, meaning they aināt making a lot of money off of it, so they donāt push it as much. They donāt have a vested interest in it, they donāt push it as much and then it becomes a problem, you feel me? So I regrouped and ended up putting it out completely independent this time with no distribution and Iām doing better on it than I did with The Last Armageddon.
P82: Bronze really nailed that militant soundā¦ Did you request certain sounding beats from him or did he play you a load of beats to pick fromā¦?
DP: Well I basically arranged the album. Bronze sent me three folders of beats. So when people hear this album, itās an album arranged by me, as you can see on the credits. Bronze of course got a bunch of dope beats, heās a great producer but for this actual project Iām the one that picked the sound for it. I went through tonnes of beats from Bronze and decided to pick the ones that I wanted. Bronze didnāt really have anything to do with what actually made the album, he sent the beats, they were up for grabs for whatever I wanted, and I constructed it.
P82: So Bronze sent the beats and then was that his full involvement in the projectā¦?
DP: He did the mixing on it too. After I picked the beats that I wanted, I laid my tracks and arranged where Iām going and whoās going on the tracks and everything like that. I arranged where I want the skits to go, the whole thing. Then Bronze went and mixed it to the set up I gave him, I gave him the blueprint and he did his part with his beats as far as the sound, levelling the sounds and the vocals you know.
P82: I need to ask about the Haunted Dreams trackā¦ You go in on people that are repping the Wu that maybe shouldnāt be, especially Cilvaringz. What is the issue you have with Cilvaringzā¦? Do you feel he shouldnāt be repping the Wā¦?
DP: Nah not that he shouldnāt be repping the Wu or nothing like that, itās just the way he went about it. Iām goinā to take you back to the history of itā¦ He has a song called Man, Woman & Child which I did a feature on, I donāt know if you ever heard it. First of all he was supposed to pay me for that, then he told me his budget, he didnāt have it. You know that album he put out back then, he had Killa Sin on it, we were all in the studio, he was getting different members of the Army to get on his shyt. I went in, I worked. I went in to the studio, I wrote a rhyme or hook or whatever, I did my work on there. We had an agreement for how much I was gunna get paid and that never happened. He said I canāt pay you for it, I donāt have it in the budget. So I said alright well you just canāt use it, because I already went in there and wrote. Thatās work. Once you in the studio and you write a rhyme for somebody tailored specifically for their project, youāre on the job already. Itās like going in and building a house for somebody or a deck and then they say I donāt wanna use the deckā¦ you already done the work.
But anyway, that wasnāt the problem. So the agreement from that point on was you canāt use it. I said if you get the money together and you wanna put it out, then hit me up. I end up finding it out on some compilation album or something, I see it online for free. Thatās a snake move. That was way back then. I didnāt even know he actually released it. I go do some research and I seen the shyt about two or three months ago online. He licensed it to some sort of reggae compilation or some shyt. Iām sticking my lawyers on the situation, I already contacted them. So he ended up releasing it and Iām pretty sure he got some motherfukkinā money for it you know what Iām saying? Thatās just how the business is, it was actually released. So now thatās a problem.
So thatās one thing, now Iām gunna take you to another thingā¦ A while back, I donāt know what album I was dropping, it could have been Tera Iz Him 2. I went to hit Cilvaringz up on the Wu-Corp site because he got banners of all the Wu cats and Wu affiliated cats and I was gunna ask him how much for a banner. He turns around and hits me with a pretty big price. Now that site was built for Wu-Tang fans. First of all, he was a fan, I know him from being a fan you know. He was giving us all his little tapes and stuff and hanging out in front of the office years ago. In front of the Wu-Tang office in Manhattan. He used to come, trying to get on, he was hungry, trying to do his thing. He looked up to us, he was a fan of us and thatās cool. This was all before he got buddy-buddy with RZA and all that. My thing is this, you end up building a Wu-Tang fan site and now you charging the dudes that you looked up to money. And I didnāt even mind about the money, heās trying to run a business, thatās his site and thatās cool, but donāt try to charge me more than a site thatās bigger than yours like Undergroundhiphop.com and other sites, they give me great prices for banners and all of that. So heās trying to charge me, he came up as a fan of my music and his whole site is catered to my fan base. You trying to charge me more than another Hip-Hop site thatās bigger? Thatās faulty business.
Now I remind you, he already did the snake business back in the day of releasing that track. I never even spoke to him about that because I didnāt know about that until after. I just found out about that a few months ago. So now Iām putting two and two together so now I just had to expose him. I know his history, I know what he do and I think heās a leech. I personally think heās leeched off of the W. I donāt care how affiliated or close he is with RZA. That has nothing to do with my personal issues with him. And Iām not the only one that feels this way. Thereās a lot of Killa Beez, and Iām talking about dudes from my era, original Killa Beez that feel the same way. I talk to them, I do shows with them, I donāt gotta say no names, they got their own feelings and they do what they wanna do, but I speak my mind.
So those are the reasons, if the fans want to know. It has nothing to do with the album, that Once Upon A Time In Shaolin or whatever theyāre trying to do. I think thatās funny business too because I know that was a Cilvaringz album that he tried to turn in to a Wu-Tang album. It wasnāt meant to be no Wu-Tang album and the true fans know that too. The true fans know that and itās all over the forums, all over his site. Thatās all Iām saying you know, sometimes dudes need to be exposed, and thatās that. So thatās my issue with Cilvaringz, you know when dudes get too big for their britches and forget to pay homage to the dudes that actually inspired them to do what they do. Thatās when I have a problem with it. Thereās a lot of that going on now, you got the Action Bronson / Ghostface thing. Thatās another situation like that, dudes that came up catering his whole style to a dude and then act like you didnāt get it from there. Thatās a problem.
P82: Did Bronze have anything to say about the Ringz dissā¦?
DP: Well Bronze got a different relationship with Cilvaringz, but you gotta understand thereās also freedom of speech. So he said just do what you do man. I told him I gotta do what I gotta do, I gotta speak my mind, thatās what I do, Iām a writer. Iām speaking for myself. This is a Bronze and Dom Pachino collaboration, but the words came out of my mouth.
P82: At the end of the track you also put the little interview clip of Meth talking about the B level Wu artists. Who do you consider to be the original Killa Beezā¦?
DP: The originals would be Royal Fam, Killarmy and Sunz of Man. Also 12 Oā Clock and you got some other dudes you know, solo dudes and stuff like that, but those are the original Killa Beez.
P82: The people that were around at the beginningā¦
DP: Yeah in the beginning. It breaks it down pretty clearly on The Swarm album. RZA broke it down, you can see the levels of Killa Beez there is. Killarmy and Sunz of Man were like the most deadly Killa Beez. You got the Wu-Tang then you got the first draft of Killa Beez which were Killarmy, Sunz of Man, Shyheim. Thatās the most lethal Killa Beez, and when I say lethal I mean even going in to sales you know, the most successful also.
P82: The next track is Warheadz and it features Bugsy and Leatha Face. Some Wu fans will remember Leatha Face from being down with U-God back in the day. We donāt really hear much from him these days apart from on a couple of your projects. Did you reach out to Leatha Face or is he someone that you work with on a regular basisā¦?
DP: Well me and Leatha got a long history because we had a group before Killarmy came out called O.M.S. It was me, Leatha and Hakim. Hak also did production on the first U-God album. So yeah, we had a group called Original Mic Stylez, O.M.S., and this was pre-Killarmy. Me and 9th Prince already had our thing, this wasnāt before me and 9th Prince got together, it was just we didnāt get to form Killarmy yet because 9th had gone to Ohio. In the meantime, I went to Junior High School with Leatha and Hak so this was when I was about 14 years old. So yeah, me and Leatha had history but then I got in to some shyt with his people back in the day. There was a little beef and I ended up actually going to jail for doing something to one of his mans. It was deep back in the day. Thatās actually on the album too, a little statement on there, itās on Guilty Conscience. I said a line about shooting somebody and having to go to jail, it breaks it down. So we had a little beef or whatever but you get older and we had a mutual respect for each other, things pass on. We still from the hood, I have a respect for his music, he has a respect for my music, there was no reason not to work together so we put something together. We bump in to each other and itās all love, itās deep rooted. We all live in the same area. We all meshed, the chemistry was cool and me and him be politicking. I be with Leatha every other day, Iām about to work with him and do something for his project now.
P82: You also got a verse from Killa Sin on the Sin of Terra track. Did you have much time to hang with Sin when he was out of jailā¦?
DP: Oh yeah yeah we got together, hung out, did our thing. We went to a party together, he was on parole at the time so he had to be easy. We did a Killarmy reunion show together while he was out so that was cool, we actually did two shows while he was out. We got in the studio. While he was out I got him on the last joint, EZ Killings off of The Last Armageddon. So yeah we got to work and we got to politic you know. Thatās my brother man and itās unfortunate what happened to him but I love him and Iām always there for him.
P82: The 9 Henchmen track is a real Wu-style posse track. Can you talk me through some of the MCās on the trackā¦
DP: We got Shogun, one of my Killarmy brothers on there, I had to get him on there because we havenāt really worked together on any of my solo releases. And also Shogun was away for a while, he was in the penitentiary for a couple of years. So we got him on the album. We got C-Rayz Walz on the album. We got Shyheim on there, I got him on there before he ended up going in. I had that verse so I mixed that in. I had some work with Shyheim, me and Shyheim is always working together so I had a verse laying around from that. I just had the idea of 9 Henchmen, whenās the last time you heard nine dudes spitting on a track together. Even when Wu-Tang did a posse track I donāt know if it was the whole nine, it might have been eight members on there. I donāt even know if they ever got the whole nine on one track. I just wanted to take it to another level with different styles, rhymes, versatility, a bunch of dudes just spitting raw bars back to back. I had the idea, and the name of the track just came in my head and I thought it sounded ill. We got Sav Killz on there, Timbo King came through with a verse for me on there. Bugsy Da God is on there, Dro Pesci. And Bronze topped it off and ended it. Did I get everybody or am I missing anyone? Itās a lot of MCās haha.
P82: Haha I think you covered them all. The first track that you released from the album was Mental Calisthenics. Can you tell me the concept behind that trackā¦?
DP: Well in a day and age where dudes donāt really have to think much about the music, itās all very very simple, a nice drum pattern and saying very simple shyt. But I guess itās commercial and itās appealing to the masses because they donāt have to think so much. So in return, the Mental Calisthenics is the workout, so when I spit my shyt youāve got to work your mind out. You might have to sit there and rewind it one time just to hear and understand what Iām saying. So I came with the concept of a mental workout and then I put in a physical workout in the process of the lyrics too. I did the comparison of comparing a mental workout to a physical, you know doing push-ups, sit-ups, taking a run, whatever. So that was the concept, basically you gotta think for this kind of music that Iām making. I wanted dudes to work their minds out, not just be lazy.
P82: Thereās also a bonus track produced by 4th Disciple. Do you have anything else in the works with 4th at the momentā¦?
DP: Well me and 4th we talk every other day, Iām in tune with my brother. Heās going to be back in town any day now actually and he reached out to me, he wants me to do something with him. So itās always a possibility, we havenāt actually spoke about it but heās working, heās doing his thing getting active again so thatās good.
P82: He had a couple of beats on the last Wu-Tang Clan album. What were your thoughts on the albumā¦?
DP: In all honesty I ran through the album real quick, I played some tracks but that album didnāt grab me as much as a Wu-Tang Forever or a 36 Chambers you know what I mean. Thatās just my personal opinion. The most touching track on there for me was when Ghost kicked the dart about Dirty, like reminiscing. That was the one I felt the most, that verse. But it wasnāt my favourite Wu-Tang album, my two favourites are 36 Chambers and Wu-Tang Forever. Itās not what personally gets me going you know, raises the hair on my arms.
P82: Back to your album, you recently put another batch of the physical CDās for sale on your bandcamp page. Is that likely to be the last batch or will there be more if the album continues to do wellā¦?
DP: Itās probably going to be the last batch. The intention was a limited edition. We really did well with the first batch, it moved at an unexpected rate and I took it down for four or five days but the amount of emails and requests was overwhelming man. So I was like you know what, letās put it back up. Bronze hollered at me, he was like whatever you wanna do we can do either way, because theyāre bothering me too haha. So I was like fukk it man, letās get the physical back up. A lot of cats slept on it at first. So what happened was the first batch was the hardcore die hard soldiers that I have, they went and supported it and they was playing it and promoting it. And the response got so crazy that the other dudes that doubted me like āoh I dunno if heās gunna come with it this timeā, they got whiff of it and was like āWhoah! Dom P came with some shyt!ā So now they went crazy like damn I should have got in on this and they were apologising haha. I basically had to make them submit to this beautiful terrorist shyt, haha.
P82: I mentioned before that I wanted to ask a couple of questions about Killarmyā¦ what is the actual status of Killarmy as a group right nowā¦? Is there any chance we might hear new material any time soonā¦?
DP: I actually tried man, me and 9th were talking about it. We just canāt come to a common understanding, I tried every angle possible. The ball is in 9thās court, I just told him if weāre gunna do it then it has to be done a certain way due to the past dealings. We had agreements last time and tracks were leaked on his solo album, you know how it went, broke all the rules. So thatās no secret, thatās already been public. So now, like I told him, if we do it itās got to be done a certain way. So I made some suggestions because the fans do want it, and I do want to give it to them. And I think it would work out for all of us, all of my brothers. I guess heās not with it, and Iām not gunna keep forcing it, Iām good on it. The only thing that bothers me is that heās always on Twitter saying Killarmy coming soon and Iām like huh? Haha. Iām giving up on it. And the other brothers, theyāre on board with it but they aināt too crazy about doing it either due to the situation. So to be honest with you I doubt it happening. In my world I never stop working so itās not going to be a make it or break it for me. So Iām just doing my thing. Unfortunately, Iām just trying to let the fans know I would love to give them another Killarmy and I tried. I really donāt see it happening.
P82: With regards to the other members, I know Sin is locked up right now but is everyone else outā¦?
DP: Yeah Beretta is in Ohio doing his thing. Shogun is about to graduate from audio school, he went away and did some school stuff. Iām very proud of him, heās due to graduate any day now. He just put an EP out with 4th Disciple, an iTunes release. 9th is doing his thing, I guess heās working on something. Islord, me and him be kicking it. Islord is just doing his thing you know, heās doing his family life thing. We know where Sin is at and 4th is doing his thing with the production.
P82: What would you say is your favourite Killarmy album of the threeā¦?
DP: Yeah Dirty Weaponry is hands down my favourite. Not taking anything from Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars, that was what made us and established us and I love it. But as far as my favourite, I think overall as far as production and the cohesiveness of the album I would say Dirty Weaponry. But then again Fear, Love & War is dope too, to be honest with you I love all three albums, theyāre my babies. If I had to tell somebody to listen to a Killarmy album and they could only listen to one of them, I would say get Dirty Weaponry.
P82: I wanted to ask you a question about Dirty Weaponryā¦ There was a video by someone supposedly linked to the Wu saying that there was some friction in the studio when Holocaust came through to record his versesā¦
DP: No, no, no there was no friction with Holocaust. I actually seen that post on Youtube with some cat who thought he could break down Killarmy as if he knew us but his whole story was fictitious. I guess thatās what youāre talking about, that youtube video yeah?
P82: Yeahā¦
DP: He was talking about Sin having a lot of features because he had close ties with RZA, he got the whole story wrong, people just donāt know. Itās incredible out here man, and people listen to that shyt thinking this dude knows what heās talking about. He said something about some friction with Holocaust in the studio. First of all he said when Holocaust came out to New York. The album was recorded in California, not in New York so Holocaust didnāt come no where. He was in his back yard. Thatās the first thing. We did that album in California, in Sound Castle studios with Gabe, Michael Jacksonās engineer. We did the whole album in Cali. Holocaust came to the studio, we told him to come to the studio because we liked the shyt he was spitting, it wasnāt no friction or nothing. Nobody puts someone in the studio with Killarmy, we pick who is on our album. Nobody says oh heās getting on your album, nobody said that, aināt nobody forcing that. We constructed our albums, so thatās just the way it is, no friction. Holocaust was hot at the time, we had good chemistry and he was fukkinā with us so we told him to come in the studio and see what he could get on. He wouldnāt have got on the album if we didnāt want him on the album, we wouldnāt have invited him to come to our session, so thatās that.
P82: Did it inspire an element of competition having Holocaust in the sessionā¦?
DP: Thereās always competition, Iām dealing with Killarmy, you got six brothers spitting on the mic. How much more competition you need. If there was seven or eight itās not gunna change the demographic too much. It was cool, it was fun. Holocaust did his thing on the album, I think we all did our thing on the album. Everyone is going to have their favourite but I think Holocaust did his thing, he was on two tracks and he did his thing.
P82: Back to your album, are you planning on doing any touring in support of War Poetryā¦?
DP: I wanna actually get out there where you are right now, the UK. Between me and you, the UK is the champion of buying this new album man and theyāre still buying the new batch. The US came in pretty heavy with the second batch, they woke the fukk up and started copping. They went in for the first batch too after the UK pretty much bought me out. The UK is responsible for about 40% of the sales of the album so far. Thereās also France, Denmark, Switzerland, a lot of different European places coming in on this new batch. A lot of European love man. I wanna get out there, I never even toured Europe. I went to Portugal but that was the extent. So Dom Pachino is like a fresh show out there, a breath of fresh air. I donāt know if anybody ever seen my show but ask them about me man, Iāll tear the house down man, my energy is ridiculous, through the roof.
P82: That would be dope if you could get out hereā¦
DP: Any promotors if you know of any, put the word out. Iām trying to get out there, Iām trying to rock them and burn them down.
P82: Yeah definitely. Do you have any other projects in the pipeline at the minuteā¦?
DP: Yeah I got my artists album, Bugsy Da God coming in about another two weeks heās going up for pre-order. Havoc from Mobb Deep produced a track on the album, 4th Disciple got a couple of tracks on the album. Heās got Afu-Ra on the album, Prodigal Sunn, Tragedy Khadafi, Killah Priest. He got pretty much the whole Killarmy on the album. Big Noyd is on there. The banner is up somewhere floating around online. Itās very heavy on the production. Itās a dope album man, I think heās topped his first album and the first one was dope and well received. We working hard on this end man.
P82: Are you going the independent route with Bugsyās album tooā¦?
DP: Definitely man, Iām winning with it. I came with a formula right now. It makes no sense to distribute anywhere else when I got the set up to distribute on my own. It makes no sense no more. This is how a lot of these sites workā¦ you sell your album over there, they buy a certain amount and then all of a sudden theyāre mass producing your shyt and you donāt even know. Theyāre mass producing your shyt without you knowing because they already have permission, you already gave them your album. So you donāt know how many units itās selling. They act like theyāre selling five or ten meanwhile theyāre selling a hundred and they just keep reproducing your shyt and you donāt know because youāre not the fan receiving it in the mail. So this eliminates all of that funny business, you gotta get it directly from me. And Iām legit, every fan that bought my album received it. My sales history is legit, thereās no oh I never got the album. Everybody got the album, theyāre posting pictures of it, everybody got it. I deliver. Good customer service, anybody have a problem just hit me up they get a response back asap. Weāre working over here.
P82: Anything else you would like to put out there for the fansā¦?
DP: I really wanna give a crazy shout out to Europe, the whole of Europe for all the support. I love yāall out there. Go knock down doors for me man, get me out there man, I wanna build with yāall and see what itās like on that side of the land. Aside from that, Chris thank you for reaching out and making this interview happen. It was very in depth, Iām sure a lot of fans had questions of why this and why that and I think they all got answered. Thanks for all of the support. Peace to all my fans worldwide. It just goes to show that this music Iām making, this militant brand Napalm is universal. Chris though, personally how do you feel about the album? I got a question for you, how about that, Iām reversing the interviewā¦
P82: Iāve listened to pretty much nothing else for the last week. I missed the boat on the first batch of physicals but I got my order in on the second batch. Itās easily one of your best solo projects. I think itās better than The Last Armageddon, itās better than Tera Iz Him 2. They are both good albums, but Iām really feeling this one from front to back.
DP: What about my earlier workā¦ Tera Iz Him and Unreleased, is it topping those too?
P82: Well for me, my favourite solo project of yours is Dominationā¦
DP: Domination? Oh wow thatās what I wanna hear, thatās a change. Thatās a first, nobody really talks too much about Domination. Thatās real good you brought that up.
P82: The original Tera Iz Him I always felt was more of a mixtape than an actual album.
DP: Yeah yeah it was like a mixtape yo. OK I like that man, you know your shyt.
P82: Haha yeah Iām a big Wu-Head, big Killarmy fanā¦
DP: Thatās dope man, I appreciate it, I appreciate all the love and support man and Iām glad we got to touch some topics. As far as Killarmy albums, whatās your favourite on that? Iām curious.
P82: For me, itās between the last twoā¦ Dirty Weaponry and Fear, Love & War. On Dirty Weaponry you and Sin just went crazy on there.
DP: Thatās why itās one of my favourites man, I really got to open up, I grew in to my flow and my style a little bit more on that album. I grew as an artist on that album, that was my transition. Thatās when my pen turned to napalm flames. It was lukewarm on the first album and then it turned to napalm flames on that album and then from that point on Iāve just been working. So yeah I was just curious man I wanted to pick your brain. What did you think of the last Wu-Tang album, what was your take on that?
P82: It was just different. It wasnāt necessarily bad, it just wasnāt what I expect or what Iām used to hearing from a Wu-Tang Clan album. I think 4th Disciple had the two best beats on the album because RZA went a little left field with it.
DP: OK I guess you pretty much got the same take on it as meā¦
P82: Yeah pretty much. 4th came with some heat on there.
DP: Well 4th is incredible you know haha! Heās my favourite producer to date, thatās just how it is. Heās my brother also. Thatās my sound, heās the craftsman of that Killarmy sound, that militant sound.
P82: Another question I wanted to askā¦ going back to this album you sound rejuvenated, reenergized again. Go back a few albums to maybe Power Rulez where your flow less energetic, more laid back, was that you trying to switch it up a bit with the stylesā¦?
DP: Yeah well you know what it is, people gotta understand that as an artist you grow, you evolve, you try different things. I didnāt start off doing music for fans, I didnāt know Iād ever have a fan. I made music for me and for my dudes to see who is the best MC, or see who raps the best amongst personal circles. So when I create, I create for me. If the world loves it thatās a plus, if the fans go crazy for it thatās a plus. As an artist you paint a picture, you donāt paint it with the thought that people are going to like it. You paint it because it comes from his heart, his mind, his body and soul, everything he gives he puts in to it. So when I do projects itās about the vibe, the energy, where Iām going artistically. Itās not about what they think, or if they receive it or they donāt. Sometimes theyāll be well received, sometimes theyāre not. I was in a different place. Was I not as inspired on that album as I am now? Yeah. Was I not as hungry on Power Rulez? Yeah. Did that have something to do with it? Possibly. But still, that donāt take from going in different directions and artistically grow. Even on Rice & Beanz, which I think is one of my best albums in my personal opinion, but it got slept on because people thought I was doing some Spanish shyt or some reggaeton shyt. But when you listen to the album, itās only really like two tracks on there that is actually a Spanish vibe to it. So they got thrown off with that. But I think if you listen to it, itās a little more for the masses, a lot of different people could feel it, I had a lot of positive songs on there like Fly Away and Build It Up, a lot of stuff that I was kicking that was positive on there along with some real grimy shyt like My Rap.
P82: I like a few tracks off of Rice & Beanzā¦ My Raps, Thugz R Us, Box With Meā¦
DP: Box With Me was a hit you know what I mean, thatās one of my favourite tracks. When I do that at shows they go crazy, the production and everything is crazy. So like I was saying, I made music as an artist for myself first, I did this because it was something that I love to do, itās my passion. If the people feel it and receive it thatās a plus. Right now my pen is on fire again, Iām revived and regenerated, Iām working on a new project now as we speak. Itās gunna be crazy, letās put it that way. This album was something I had to do in a specific way, this was actually catered towards the fan base. I did this album more so for the original fan base.
P82: You can tell that too, you could play Dirty Weaponry and then War Poetry back to back andā¦
DP: You get that same energy and vibe. So you get where Iām coming from man.
P82: Definitely. Thanks again for taking the time to speak with me.
DP: Thanks for having me like I said. Spread the word. All of the fans that wanna cop my music and where itās available, iTunes is where you go, I got about ten projects on there. Most of them are under the name Dom Pachino but thereās two projects under P.R. Terrorist. Thanks a lot Chris, just hit me up whenever, keep me posted whenever you need to reach out. Peace.
PATTCH82 HIP-HOP INTERVIEWS: Dom Pachino - The Napalm General Rises Again (August 26th 2015)
PATTCH82: Whatās up man?
DOM PACHINO: Peace, whatās going on Chris?
P82: Yeah Iām good man, you?
DP: Iām good man, not bad, not bad.
P82: So the new album dropped on August 15th. The reaction has been really positive so far, you must be happy with the feedback that itās gettingā¦?
DP: Oh yeah definitely man. It took about a year to put the project together being that Bronze is in Detroit and Iām in New York so we had to work it out you know. But yeah, the response has been real positive, Iām really happy with it.
P82: You and Bronze have a really good chemistry throughout the albumā¦ He has also produced tracks on some of your previous albums, but what made you decide to do a full length collaborationā¦?
DP: Like you said itās the chemistry you know, we make good music together. He produces that sound, I guess you could say that early sound that inspired me to make music period. Really I think a lot of the cats that were making that sound kinda drifted away from that a little bit. Heās got like that old twist with the modern vibe you know.
P82: Bronze produced two tracks on your Tera Iz Him 2 albumā¦ was that the first time you worked togetherā¦?
DP: I believe so yeahā¦ He did You Used To Be and Vitamins rightā¦?
P82: Yeahā¦
DP: Yeah I believe that is the first time we worked together.
P82: He also produced The Sound Of Gunz on Bugsy Da Godās album. That was originally supposed to be a Killarmy track rightā¦?
DP: It was supposed to be yeah, but a couple of the members werenāt feeling it as a single. So it was up in the air and Bronze had already sent it to me before so I was like if we aināt goinā to use this as a single Iām gunna go ahead and do something with it. So me and Bronze worked something out and I ended up putting it on Bugsyās album.
P82: No Perseverance is another Dom Pachino / Bronze Nazareth collaboration from your The Last Armageddon album. That was the last album you made for a few years. Why did you decide to take a step backā¦?
DP: I kind of announced a retirement type of thing. I was just a little frustrated with the direction the music was going and the way it was being received and just the whole business behind it actually. Sometimes you just gotta go away to come back man. So I had to go back to the foxhole, regroup, gather my thoughts and figure out where Iām trying to go with it. I think The Last Armageddon was a great album in all actuality. It just wasnāt received as well as Iād have liked it to be. Itās hard being independent in this game man. The distributors I was dealing with man, they feel like they donāt have a big financial interest in it, meaning they aināt making a lot of money off of it, so they donāt push it as much. They donāt have a vested interest in it, they donāt push it as much and then it becomes a problem, you feel me? So I regrouped and ended up putting it out completely independent this time with no distribution and Iām doing better on it than I did with The Last Armageddon.
P82: Bronze really nailed that militant soundā¦ Did you request certain sounding beats from him or did he play you a load of beats to pick fromā¦?
DP: Well I basically arranged the album. Bronze sent me three folders of beats. So when people hear this album, itās an album arranged by me, as you can see on the credits. Bronze of course got a bunch of dope beats, heās a great producer but for this actual project Iām the one that picked the sound for it. I went through tonnes of beats from Bronze and decided to pick the ones that I wanted. Bronze didnāt really have anything to do with what actually made the album, he sent the beats, they were up for grabs for whatever I wanted, and I constructed it.
P82: So Bronze sent the beats and then was that his full involvement in the projectā¦?
DP: He did the mixing on it too. After I picked the beats that I wanted, I laid my tracks and arranged where Iām going and whoās going on the tracks and everything like that. I arranged where I want the skits to go, the whole thing. Then Bronze went and mixed it to the set up I gave him, I gave him the blueprint and he did his part with his beats as far as the sound, levelling the sounds and the vocals you know.
P82: I need to ask about the Haunted Dreams trackā¦ You go in on people that are repping the Wu that maybe shouldnāt be, especially Cilvaringz. What is the issue you have with Cilvaringzā¦? Do you feel he shouldnāt be repping the Wā¦?
DP: Nah not that he shouldnāt be repping the Wu or nothing like that, itās just the way he went about it. Iām goinā to take you back to the history of itā¦ He has a song called Man, Woman & Child which I did a feature on, I donāt know if you ever heard it. First of all he was supposed to pay me for that, then he told me his budget, he didnāt have it. You know that album he put out back then, he had Killa Sin on it, we were all in the studio, he was getting different members of the Army to get on his shyt. I went in, I worked. I went in to the studio, I wrote a rhyme or hook or whatever, I did my work on there. We had an agreement for how much I was gunna get paid and that never happened. He said I canāt pay you for it, I donāt have it in the budget. So I said alright well you just canāt use it, because I already went in there and wrote. Thatās work. Once you in the studio and you write a rhyme for somebody tailored specifically for their project, youāre on the job already. Itās like going in and building a house for somebody or a deck and then they say I donāt wanna use the deckā¦ you already done the work.
But anyway, that wasnāt the problem. So the agreement from that point on was you canāt use it. I said if you get the money together and you wanna put it out, then hit me up. I end up finding it out on some compilation album or something, I see it online for free. Thatās a snake move. That was way back then. I didnāt even know he actually released it. I go do some research and I seen the shyt about two or three months ago online. He licensed it to some sort of reggae compilation or some shyt. Iām sticking my lawyers on the situation, I already contacted them. So he ended up releasing it and Iām pretty sure he got some motherfukkinā money for it you know what Iām saying? Thatās just how the business is, it was actually released. So now thatās a problem.
So thatās one thing, now Iām gunna take you to another thingā¦ A while back, I donāt know what album I was dropping, it could have been Tera Iz Him 2. I went to hit Cilvaringz up on the Wu-Corp site because he got banners of all the Wu cats and Wu affiliated cats and I was gunna ask him how much for a banner. He turns around and hits me with a pretty big price. Now that site was built for Wu-Tang fans. First of all, he was a fan, I know him from being a fan you know. He was giving us all his little tapes and stuff and hanging out in front of the office years ago. In front of the Wu-Tang office in Manhattan. He used to come, trying to get on, he was hungry, trying to do his thing. He looked up to us, he was a fan of us and thatās cool. This was all before he got buddy-buddy with RZA and all that. My thing is this, you end up building a Wu-Tang fan site and now you charging the dudes that you looked up to money. And I didnāt even mind about the money, heās trying to run a business, thatās his site and thatās cool, but donāt try to charge me more than a site thatās bigger than yours like Undergroundhiphop.com and other sites, they give me great prices for banners and all of that. So heās trying to charge me, he came up as a fan of my music and his whole site is catered to my fan base. You trying to charge me more than another Hip-Hop site thatās bigger? Thatās faulty business.
Now I remind you, he already did the snake business back in the day of releasing that track. I never even spoke to him about that because I didnāt know about that until after. I just found out about that a few months ago. So now Iām putting two and two together so now I just had to expose him. I know his history, I know what he do and I think heās a leech. I personally think heās leeched off of the W. I donāt care how affiliated or close he is with RZA. That has nothing to do with my personal issues with him. And Iām not the only one that feels this way. Thereās a lot of Killa Beez, and Iām talking about dudes from my era, original Killa Beez that feel the same way. I talk to them, I do shows with them, I donāt gotta say no names, they got their own feelings and they do what they wanna do, but I speak my mind.
So those are the reasons, if the fans want to know. It has nothing to do with the album, that Once Upon A Time In Shaolin or whatever theyāre trying to do. I think thatās funny business too because I know that was a Cilvaringz album that he tried to turn in to a Wu-Tang album. It wasnāt meant to be no Wu-Tang album and the true fans know that too. The true fans know that and itās all over the forums, all over his site. Thatās all Iām saying you know, sometimes dudes need to be exposed, and thatās that. So thatās my issue with Cilvaringz, you know when dudes get too big for their britches and forget to pay homage to the dudes that actually inspired them to do what they do. Thatās when I have a problem with it. Thereās a lot of that going on now, you got the Action Bronson / Ghostface thing. Thatās another situation like that, dudes that came up catering his whole style to a dude and then act like you didnāt get it from there. Thatās a problem.
P82: Did Bronze have anything to say about the Ringz dissā¦?
DP: Well Bronze got a different relationship with Cilvaringz, but you gotta understand thereās also freedom of speech. So he said just do what you do man. I told him I gotta do what I gotta do, I gotta speak my mind, thatās what I do, Iām a writer. Iām speaking for myself. This is a Bronze and Dom Pachino collaboration, but the words came out of my mouth.
P82: At the end of the track you also put the little interview clip of Meth talking about the B level Wu artists. Who do you consider to be the original Killa Beezā¦?
DP: The originals would be Royal Fam, Killarmy and Sunz of Man. Also 12 Oā Clock and you got some other dudes you know, solo dudes and stuff like that, but those are the original Killa Beez.
P82: The people that were around at the beginningā¦
DP: Yeah in the beginning. It breaks it down pretty clearly on The Swarm album. RZA broke it down, you can see the levels of Killa Beez there is. Killarmy and Sunz of Man were like the most deadly Killa Beez. You got the Wu-Tang then you got the first draft of Killa Beez which were Killarmy, Sunz of Man, Shyheim. Thatās the most lethal Killa Beez, and when I say lethal I mean even going in to sales you know, the most successful also.
P82: The next track is Warheadz and it features Bugsy and Leatha Face. Some Wu fans will remember Leatha Face from being down with U-God back in the day. We donāt really hear much from him these days apart from on a couple of your projects. Did you reach out to Leatha Face or is he someone that you work with on a regular basisā¦?
DP: Well me and Leatha got a long history because we had a group before Killarmy came out called O.M.S. It was me, Leatha and Hakim. Hak also did production on the first U-God album. So yeah, we had a group called Original Mic Stylez, O.M.S., and this was pre-Killarmy. Me and 9th Prince already had our thing, this wasnāt before me and 9th Prince got together, it was just we didnāt get to form Killarmy yet because 9th had gone to Ohio. In the meantime, I went to Junior High School with Leatha and Hak so this was when I was about 14 years old. So yeah, me and Leatha had history but then I got in to some shyt with his people back in the day. There was a little beef and I ended up actually going to jail for doing something to one of his mans. It was deep back in the day. Thatās actually on the album too, a little statement on there, itās on Guilty Conscience. I said a line about shooting somebody and having to go to jail, it breaks it down. So we had a little beef or whatever but you get older and we had a mutual respect for each other, things pass on. We still from the hood, I have a respect for his music, he has a respect for my music, there was no reason not to work together so we put something together. We bump in to each other and itās all love, itās deep rooted. We all live in the same area. We all meshed, the chemistry was cool and me and him be politicking. I be with Leatha every other day, Iām about to work with him and do something for his project now.
P82: You also got a verse from Killa Sin on the Sin of Terra track. Did you have much time to hang with Sin when he was out of jailā¦?
DP: Oh yeah yeah we got together, hung out, did our thing. We went to a party together, he was on parole at the time so he had to be easy. We did a Killarmy reunion show together while he was out so that was cool, we actually did two shows while he was out. We got in the studio. While he was out I got him on the last joint, EZ Killings off of The Last Armageddon. So yeah we got to work and we got to politic you know. Thatās my brother man and itās unfortunate what happened to him but I love him and Iām always there for him.
P82: The 9 Henchmen track is a real Wu-style posse track. Can you talk me through some of the MCās on the trackā¦
DP: We got Shogun, one of my Killarmy brothers on there, I had to get him on there because we havenāt really worked together on any of my solo releases. And also Shogun was away for a while, he was in the penitentiary for a couple of years. So we got him on the album. We got C-Rayz Walz on the album. We got Shyheim on there, I got him on there before he ended up going in. I had that verse so I mixed that in. I had some work with Shyheim, me and Shyheim is always working together so I had a verse laying around from that. I just had the idea of 9 Henchmen, whenās the last time you heard nine dudes spitting on a track together. Even when Wu-Tang did a posse track I donāt know if it was the whole nine, it might have been eight members on there. I donāt even know if they ever got the whole nine on one track. I just wanted to take it to another level with different styles, rhymes, versatility, a bunch of dudes just spitting raw bars back to back. I had the idea, and the name of the track just came in my head and I thought it sounded ill. We got Sav Killz on there, Timbo King came through with a verse for me on there. Bugsy Da God is on there, Dro Pesci. And Bronze topped it off and ended it. Did I get everybody or am I missing anyone? Itās a lot of MCās haha.
P82: Haha I think you covered them all. The first track that you released from the album was Mental Calisthenics. Can you tell me the concept behind that trackā¦?
DP: Well in a day and age where dudes donāt really have to think much about the music, itās all very very simple, a nice drum pattern and saying very simple shyt. But I guess itās commercial and itās appealing to the masses because they donāt have to think so much. So in return, the Mental Calisthenics is the workout, so when I spit my shyt youāve got to work your mind out. You might have to sit there and rewind it one time just to hear and understand what Iām saying. So I came with the concept of a mental workout and then I put in a physical workout in the process of the lyrics too. I did the comparison of comparing a mental workout to a physical, you know doing push-ups, sit-ups, taking a run, whatever. So that was the concept, basically you gotta think for this kind of music that Iām making. I wanted dudes to work their minds out, not just be lazy.
P82: Thereās also a bonus track produced by 4th Disciple. Do you have anything else in the works with 4th at the momentā¦?
DP: Well me and 4th we talk every other day, Iām in tune with my brother. Heās going to be back in town any day now actually and he reached out to me, he wants me to do something with him. So itās always a possibility, we havenāt actually spoke about it but heās working, heās doing his thing getting active again so thatās good.
P82: He had a couple of beats on the last Wu-Tang Clan album. What were your thoughts on the albumā¦?
DP: In all honesty I ran through the album real quick, I played some tracks but that album didnāt grab me as much as a Wu-Tang Forever or a 36 Chambers you know what I mean. Thatās just my personal opinion. The most touching track on there for me was when Ghost kicked the dart about Dirty, like reminiscing. That was the one I felt the most, that verse. But it wasnāt my favourite Wu-Tang album, my two favourites are 36 Chambers and Wu-Tang Forever. Itās not what personally gets me going you know, raises the hair on my arms.
P82: Back to your album, you recently put another batch of the physical CDās for sale on your bandcamp page. Is that likely to be the last batch or will there be more if the album continues to do wellā¦?
DP: Itās probably going to be the last batch. The intention was a limited edition. We really did well with the first batch, it moved at an unexpected rate and I took it down for four or five days but the amount of emails and requests was overwhelming man. So I was like you know what, letās put it back up. Bronze hollered at me, he was like whatever you wanna do we can do either way, because theyāre bothering me too haha. So I was like fukk it man, letās get the physical back up. A lot of cats slept on it at first. So what happened was the first batch was the hardcore die hard soldiers that I have, they went and supported it and they was playing it and promoting it. And the response got so crazy that the other dudes that doubted me like āoh I dunno if heās gunna come with it this timeā, they got whiff of it and was like āWhoah! Dom P came with some shyt!ā So now they went crazy like damn I should have got in on this and they were apologising haha. I basically had to make them submit to this beautiful terrorist shyt, haha.
P82: I mentioned before that I wanted to ask a couple of questions about Killarmyā¦ what is the actual status of Killarmy as a group right nowā¦? Is there any chance we might hear new material any time soonā¦?
DP: I actually tried man, me and 9th were talking about it. We just canāt come to a common understanding, I tried every angle possible. The ball is in 9thās court, I just told him if weāre gunna do it then it has to be done a certain way due to the past dealings. We had agreements last time and tracks were leaked on his solo album, you know how it went, broke all the rules. So thatās no secret, thatās already been public. So now, like I told him, if we do it itās got to be done a certain way. So I made some suggestions because the fans do want it, and I do want to give it to them. And I think it would work out for all of us, all of my brothers. I guess heās not with it, and Iām not gunna keep forcing it, Iām good on it. The only thing that bothers me is that heās always on Twitter saying Killarmy coming soon and Iām like huh? Haha. Iām giving up on it. And the other brothers, theyāre on board with it but they aināt too crazy about doing it either due to the situation. So to be honest with you I doubt it happening. In my world I never stop working so itās not going to be a make it or break it for me. So Iām just doing my thing. Unfortunately, Iām just trying to let the fans know I would love to give them another Killarmy and I tried. I really donāt see it happening.
P82: With regards to the other members, I know Sin is locked up right now but is everyone else outā¦?
DP: Yeah Beretta is in Ohio doing his thing. Shogun is about to graduate from audio school, he went away and did some school stuff. Iām very proud of him, heās due to graduate any day now. He just put an EP out with 4th Disciple, an iTunes release. 9th is doing his thing, I guess heās working on something. Islord, me and him be kicking it. Islord is just doing his thing you know, heās doing his family life thing. We know where Sin is at and 4th is doing his thing with the production.
P82: What would you say is your favourite Killarmy album of the threeā¦?
DP: Yeah Dirty Weaponry is hands down my favourite. Not taking anything from Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars, that was what made us and established us and I love it. But as far as my favourite, I think overall as far as production and the cohesiveness of the album I would say Dirty Weaponry. But then again Fear, Love & War is dope too, to be honest with you I love all three albums, theyāre my babies. If I had to tell somebody to listen to a Killarmy album and they could only listen to one of them, I would say get Dirty Weaponry.
P82: I wanted to ask you a question about Dirty Weaponryā¦ There was a video by someone supposedly linked to the Wu saying that there was some friction in the studio when Holocaust came through to record his versesā¦
DP: No, no, no there was no friction with Holocaust. I actually seen that post on Youtube with some cat who thought he could break down Killarmy as if he knew us but his whole story was fictitious. I guess thatās what youāre talking about, that youtube video yeah?
P82: Yeahā¦
DP: He was talking about Sin having a lot of features because he had close ties with RZA, he got the whole story wrong, people just donāt know. Itās incredible out here man, and people listen to that shyt thinking this dude knows what heās talking about. He said something about some friction with Holocaust in the studio. First of all he said when Holocaust came out to New York. The album was recorded in California, not in New York so Holocaust didnāt come no where. He was in his back yard. Thatās the first thing. We did that album in California, in Sound Castle studios with Gabe, Michael Jacksonās engineer. We did the whole album in Cali. Holocaust came to the studio, we told him to come to the studio because we liked the shyt he was spitting, it wasnāt no friction or nothing. Nobody puts someone in the studio with Killarmy, we pick who is on our album. Nobody says oh heās getting on your album, nobody said that, aināt nobody forcing that. We constructed our albums, so thatās just the way it is, no friction. Holocaust was hot at the time, we had good chemistry and he was fukkinā with us so we told him to come in the studio and see what he could get on. He wouldnāt have got on the album if we didnāt want him on the album, we wouldnāt have invited him to come to our session, so thatās that.
P82: Did it inspire an element of competition having Holocaust in the sessionā¦?
DP: Thereās always competition, Iām dealing with Killarmy, you got six brothers spitting on the mic. How much more competition you need. If there was seven or eight itās not gunna change the demographic too much. It was cool, it was fun. Holocaust did his thing on the album, I think we all did our thing on the album. Everyone is going to have their favourite but I think Holocaust did his thing, he was on two tracks and he did his thing.
P82: Back to your album, are you planning on doing any touring in support of War Poetryā¦?
DP: I wanna actually get out there where you are right now, the UK. Between me and you, the UK is the champion of buying this new album man and theyāre still buying the new batch. The US came in pretty heavy with the second batch, they woke the fukk up and started copping. They went in for the first batch too after the UK pretty much bought me out. The UK is responsible for about 40% of the sales of the album so far. Thereās also France, Denmark, Switzerland, a lot of different European places coming in on this new batch. A lot of European love man. I wanna get out there, I never even toured Europe. I went to Portugal but that was the extent. So Dom Pachino is like a fresh show out there, a breath of fresh air. I donāt know if anybody ever seen my show but ask them about me man, Iāll tear the house down man, my energy is ridiculous, through the roof.
P82: That would be dope if you could get out hereā¦
DP: Any promotors if you know of any, put the word out. Iām trying to get out there, Iām trying to rock them and burn them down.
P82: Yeah definitely. Do you have any other projects in the pipeline at the minuteā¦?
DP: Yeah I got my artists album, Bugsy Da God coming in about another two weeks heās going up for pre-order. Havoc from Mobb Deep produced a track on the album, 4th Disciple got a couple of tracks on the album. Heās got Afu-Ra on the album, Prodigal Sunn, Tragedy Khadafi, Killah Priest. He got pretty much the whole Killarmy on the album. Big Noyd is on there. The banner is up somewhere floating around online. Itās very heavy on the production. Itās a dope album man, I think heās topped his first album and the first one was dope and well received. We working hard on this end man.
P82: Are you going the independent route with Bugsyās album tooā¦?
DP: Definitely man, Iām winning with it. I came with a formula right now. It makes no sense to distribute anywhere else when I got the set up to distribute on my own. It makes no sense no more. This is how a lot of these sites workā¦ you sell your album over there, they buy a certain amount and then all of a sudden theyāre mass producing your shyt and you donāt even know. Theyāre mass producing your shyt without you knowing because they already have permission, you already gave them your album. So you donāt know how many units itās selling. They act like theyāre selling five or ten meanwhile theyāre selling a hundred and they just keep reproducing your shyt and you donāt know because youāre not the fan receiving it in the mail. So this eliminates all of that funny business, you gotta get it directly from me. And Iām legit, every fan that bought my album received it. My sales history is legit, thereās no oh I never got the album. Everybody got the album, theyāre posting pictures of it, everybody got it. I deliver. Good customer service, anybody have a problem just hit me up they get a response back asap. Weāre working over here.
P82: Anything else you would like to put out there for the fansā¦?
DP: I really wanna give a crazy shout out to Europe, the whole of Europe for all the support. I love yāall out there. Go knock down doors for me man, get me out there man, I wanna build with yāall and see what itās like on that side of the land. Aside from that, Chris thank you for reaching out and making this interview happen. It was very in depth, Iām sure a lot of fans had questions of why this and why that and I think they all got answered. Thanks for all of the support. Peace to all my fans worldwide. It just goes to show that this music Iām making, this militant brand Napalm is universal. Chris though, personally how do you feel about the album? I got a question for you, how about that, Iām reversing the interviewā¦
P82: Iāve listened to pretty much nothing else for the last week. I missed the boat on the first batch of physicals but I got my order in on the second batch. Itās easily one of your best solo projects. I think itās better than The Last Armageddon, itās better than Tera Iz Him 2. They are both good albums, but Iām really feeling this one from front to back.
DP: What about my earlier workā¦ Tera Iz Him and Unreleased, is it topping those too?
P82: Well for me, my favourite solo project of yours is Dominationā¦
DP: Domination? Oh wow thatās what I wanna hear, thatās a change. Thatās a first, nobody really talks too much about Domination. Thatās real good you brought that up.
P82: The original Tera Iz Him I always felt was more of a mixtape than an actual album.
DP: Yeah yeah it was like a mixtape yo. OK I like that man, you know your shyt.
P82: Haha yeah Iām a big Wu-Head, big Killarmy fanā¦
DP: Thatās dope man, I appreciate it, I appreciate all the love and support man and Iām glad we got to touch some topics. As far as Killarmy albums, whatās your favourite on that? Iām curious.
P82: For me, itās between the last twoā¦ Dirty Weaponry and Fear, Love & War. On Dirty Weaponry you and Sin just went crazy on there.
DP: Thatās why itās one of my favourites man, I really got to open up, I grew in to my flow and my style a little bit more on that album. I grew as an artist on that album, that was my transition. Thatās when my pen turned to napalm flames. It was lukewarm on the first album and then it turned to napalm flames on that album and then from that point on Iāve just been working. So yeah I was just curious man I wanted to pick your brain. What did you think of the last Wu-Tang album, what was your take on that?
P82: It was just different. It wasnāt necessarily bad, it just wasnāt what I expect or what Iām used to hearing from a Wu-Tang Clan album. I think 4th Disciple had the two best beats on the album because RZA went a little left field with it.
DP: OK I guess you pretty much got the same take on it as meā¦
P82: Yeah pretty much. 4th came with some heat on there.
DP: Well 4th is incredible you know haha! Heās my favourite producer to date, thatās just how it is. Heās my brother also. Thatās my sound, heās the craftsman of that Killarmy sound, that militant sound.
P82: Another question I wanted to askā¦ going back to this album you sound rejuvenated, reenergized again. Go back a few albums to maybe Power Rulez where your flow less energetic, more laid back, was that you trying to switch it up a bit with the stylesā¦?
DP: Yeah well you know what it is, people gotta understand that as an artist you grow, you evolve, you try different things. I didnāt start off doing music for fans, I didnāt know Iād ever have a fan. I made music for me and for my dudes to see who is the best MC, or see who raps the best amongst personal circles. So when I create, I create for me. If the world loves it thatās a plus, if the fans go crazy for it thatās a plus. As an artist you paint a picture, you donāt paint it with the thought that people are going to like it. You paint it because it comes from his heart, his mind, his body and soul, everything he gives he puts in to it. So when I do projects itās about the vibe, the energy, where Iām going artistically. Itās not about what they think, or if they receive it or they donāt. Sometimes theyāll be well received, sometimes theyāre not. I was in a different place. Was I not as inspired on that album as I am now? Yeah. Was I not as hungry on Power Rulez? Yeah. Did that have something to do with it? Possibly. But still, that donāt take from going in different directions and artistically grow. Even on Rice & Beanz, which I think is one of my best albums in my personal opinion, but it got slept on because people thought I was doing some Spanish shyt or some reggaeton shyt. But when you listen to the album, itās only really like two tracks on there that is actually a Spanish vibe to it. So they got thrown off with that. But I think if you listen to it, itās a little more for the masses, a lot of different people could feel it, I had a lot of positive songs on there like Fly Away and Build It Up, a lot of stuff that I was kicking that was positive on there along with some real grimy shyt like My Rap.
P82: I like a few tracks off of Rice & Beanzā¦ My Raps, Thugz R Us, Box With Meā¦
DP: Box With Me was a hit you know what I mean, thatās one of my favourite tracks. When I do that at shows they go crazy, the production and everything is crazy. So like I was saying, I made music as an artist for myself first, I did this because it was something that I love to do, itās my passion. If the people feel it and receive it thatās a plus. Right now my pen is on fire again, Iām revived and regenerated, Iām working on a new project now as we speak. Itās gunna be crazy, letās put it that way. This album was something I had to do in a specific way, this was actually catered towards the fan base. I did this album more so for the original fan base.
P82: You can tell that too, you could play Dirty Weaponry and then War Poetry back to back andā¦
DP: You get that same energy and vibe. So you get where Iām coming from man.
P82: Definitely. Thanks again for taking the time to speak with me.
DP: Thanks for having me like I said. Spread the word. All of the fans that wanna cop my music and where itās available, iTunes is where you go, I got about ten projects on there. Most of them are under the name Dom Pachino but thereās two projects under P.R. Terrorist. Thanks a lot Chris, just hit me up whenever, keep me posted whenever you need to reach out. Peace.
PATTCH82 HIP-HOP INTERVIEWS: Dom Pachino - The Napalm General Rises Again (August 26th 2015)
always on point *subs*